WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 7 of Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro!, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
In Don't Toy With Me, Ms. Nagatoro!, Hayase Nagatoro set her sights on Naoto Hachioji, drawn by his artistic side, and became his newest sadodere bully/friend every day after class, making for an eventful school year. But on summer vacation, Hayase has to go out of her way to find her favorite upperclassman. Until her friends, Gamo and Yoshi, solve that dilemma for her.
On the evening of Episode 7's summer festival, Gamo and Yoshi spirit Naoto away and hold him for ransom from Hayase. As she works to win him back, Hayase's idyllic vision of a classic summer festival magic moment drifts away. Except, it might not be quite so out of reach, after all.
Before he got snatched up, Naoto was at home, debating whether to visit the summer festival and, what's more, whether he should invite Hayase to come along. While Naoto can hardly believe that he's actually debating it with himself, it does show how far he's come with Hayase, if he's even considering asking her to spend time with him. In the end, Naoto casually pops in for a quick visit to the festival grounds, to buy a few snacks and then head out. That's when Gamo and Yoshi, Hayase's troublemaker friends, pounce on him and lock a dog collar (a prize they won) around his neck. With "Paisen" now theirs, the girls text Hayase a photo of their prize to tease her.
This is like round two of the beach trip, when Hayase battled her two best friends over their hapless upperclassman. Hayase, who is toweling off at school after a late swim practice session, races over after seeing the text, determined to win back her friend. Gamo and Yoshi make her fight for him, though, and they compete to see who can win the best prizes and keep Naoto to themselves. Hayase gets the edge when she wins a huge stuffed squid and bribes Yoshi with it to win Naoto's freedom. The collar is removed, and Gamo and Yoshi finally call it a night, leaving Hayase and Naoto alone. It's a surprising amount of pressure for a pair who haven't quite come to terms with their feelings yet.
Naoto can't decide if this counts as a full-blown date or not, just as he couldn't earlier, when he considered asking Hayase to the festival. All the same, Hayase is having a great time, and Naoto eases up, finally enjoying himself after following Hayase's example. They eventually join a line for the fireworks show, but it moves way too slow. So Naoto takes Hayase by the wrist and guides her through the forest to a secret spot to watch the fireworks display. It's a gutsy move, a first for Naoto, and Hayase teases him, wondering if he's a big pervert after all, taking a girl like her to a secluded spot like that.
But then the fireworks display pressures them both with a heart-shaped explosion, and Naoto and Hayase realize that a few couples are around them, making out in the secluded spot. They're getting along better now, but it's too soon for that, and they both flee. On the way home, Naoto and Hayase reflect on how much fun they had and float the idea of going to next year's festival in matching yukatas. Hayase shoots it down, though, and denies liking the idea in the first place. But that just might be a ruse, and the way things are going, maybe she would like to match with Naoto at the next festival. It's tough to tell with sadoderes.
