"Morning, beautiful."
Kotonoha yawned. "Morning."
She had slept really well. Makoto holding her in his arms probably had a lot to do with that.
He was still holding her now. His hands slowly crawled upwards to cup her breasts. Kotonoha smiled and settled into his arms.
Then, realised there was something very hard pressing against her butt.
Makoto only had to pull his boxers down and he could put it right in. The thought was very-
"How about we go to the pool today?" Kotonoha quickly said. "It's been a while."
She stood up.
"Sounds fun," he mumbled. He didn't seem keen on getting out of bed.
"I'll go home and pick up my bikini and some clothes."
Where were her clothes?
"Is there something wrong? You're acting weird."
"No," she lied as she put on her bra.
He grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her back down on the bed.
"Either you tell me what's going on, or you tell me it's none of my business. But don't lie to me, Kotonoha. I know something is wrong."
"Stop that." She pulled out of his grasp and got back up. "I don't like it when you're so forceful."
"And I don't like it when you hide things from me."
A strained silence fell.
She should probably apologise.
"It's nothing important." Kotonoha put on her skirt. "I'll meet you at Sakakino, okay?"
"You don't want me to come with you?"
She closed the buttons of her blouse. "No. You seem tired, so you can keep snoozing for a bit. Can I have my panties?"
He picked them up from the nightstand. "Maybe."
"Makoto," she said. "You've had enough fun now."
"Convince me," he said.
Kotonoha sighed. She gave him a short peck on the lips.
"That's hardly convincing."
She kissed him again. A long tongue kiss this time.
"Satisfied?" she asked.
"Almost."
"Makoto," she insisted. "I'm really not in the mood."
"Alright you can have them," he said. "If you tell me what's wrong."
She sighed. She might as well say it because he clearly wouldn't give up.
"I uhm… I want our next time to be… real sex. Does that make sense?"
"Not really. But then again, you're usually not making much sense."
"I-I want it, Makoto," she said. "I want it so bad. After watching Sekai, I just… I can hardly control myself anymore. Last night was… so hard. I just wanted to do it."
"So it's the exact opposite? You're too much in the mood?"
"I guess so." She twisted a loose hairlock around.
"But why didn't you do it then? If you want it, and I want it, then-"
"No," she cut him off. "I want to, but I'm gonna regret it later. I've been dreaming of this for so long. You've been waiting so patiently for me. I want to do it properly. Not just… normal."
"What does that mean?"
"I just need to take care of some things first," she told him. "It shouldn't take that long. A few days at the most. But in the meantime, I-"
"You're scared things are gonna get out of hand?"
"Yeah. And then it's all ruined."
"And that's why you want to go to a public pool."
She nodded. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I've been waiting for so long, what's a few more days?"
"Thanks."
"I'll meet you at the pool then." He lied back down.
"Okay." She held out her hand.
Makoto gave her the panties. She put them on right away.
Kotonoha could smell her own arousal on them. But this was the only pair she had and it beat going commando. Although for some reason, the thought of going commando made her wet again.
Maybe it would have been… okay if Makoto had kept it up and not given her those panties.
But there was no way she could ask him to do that.
"Okay, I'm going then," Kotonoha said.
"Hold on."
He pulled her closer so they could share one more kiss. The kiss made her reconsider leaving.
But she had to.
Kotonoha broke it off before she would lose control.
"I miss you already."
"Me too."
She went outside. She could see Maskoto turn on his side before she closed the door.
Kotonoha walked to the station.
On the train, she took out her phone. She wanted to dial Sekai, but then she reconsidered. It was still early. It had been late for Sekai as well, so she was probably still sleeping. Best to call her a bit later.
The train arrived at her stop. She lost her balance and reached for Makoto, but he wasn't there. She was more scared by that than she should have been.
However, she eventually managed to grab onto a pole and balance herself.
The doors open. Kotonoha quickly got out.
Taking the train was scary. What if someone harassed her right now? She wouldn't be able to do anything. She was pretty much helpless alone.
No, no, this was silly. It wasn't the middle of the night. There were plenty of people out here. No one would harass her out in public.
Even so, she walked home on a quicker pace than strictly necessary.
Kotonoha had expected no one to be home, but she was wrong.
"Kotonoha."
She immediately sensed something was very wrong. She slowly peered inside the living room.
"Yes mom?"
"What do you think you're doing?" her mother demanded.
"Mom? What are you talking about?" Kotonoha entered.
Her mom took out…
Oh no.
"I found this in your room."
"What are you doing in my room?" Kotonoha snapped. She closed the rest of their distance quickly.
"What are you doing with a…" Manami hesitated. "A…"
"It's called a shock collar," Kotonoha barked. "And it's none of your business. Stay out of my room."
She grabbed the collar from her mom's hand.
"I found something else too," Manami said.
"I swear, if you-"
Her mother took out a cell phone. Her dad's cell phone.
Kotonoha froze instantly.
"I called the last dialed number," Manami said calmly. "Can you believe my surprise when Sekai picked up? Sekai was your classmate, right?"
Kotonoha's eyes widened. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
She tried to grab the phone, but Manami held it out of her reach.
"Why do you have his phone?" her mom demanded, finally getting angry.
"As a memento."
A silence fell. What she said was technically true.
"What?" Manami seemed confused.
"You think I haven't noticed? You're moving all his pictures, you've locked his study and you're getting rid of his clothes. It's like he never existed."
"So you've been in my room too then?"
Kotonoha said nothing.
"I called the cops," Manami said. "They told me that the last dialed number was his secretary and she said they were having an affair. But his secretary is still here and she doesn't know where he is either. What's going on here, Kotonoha?"
She had to do something. Everything was going to unravel.
"Okay," Kotonoha admitted. "I do know something."
"Yes?"
"It's a long story. Why don't I make us some tea?"
Manami hesitated. "Hm, okay then."
Kotonoha went to the kitchen. She closed the door behind her.
That was close. Very close.
But there was still a way out of this.
She started on the tea. When she was done, she walked back with a tray.
"Here you go." She handed her mom a mug, careful to pick the right one.
Manami took a sip. "Hm, weird taste."
"Maybe you should put some sugar in it?" Kotonoha suggested.
"Oh, right." She put in a few spoons of sugar, stirred and drank deep. "That's better."
"Okay so… dad… he uhm…"
"Yes?" Manami urged her.
"He had an affair. You know that, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Well, the affair is… it's with…"
"You've got to be kidding me."
"He met Sekai during the last festival and they started talking and… you know… things happen."
Come on, start working.
"That's insane. That's not even legal."
"That's exactly why he asked me to keep it a secret. He knew you would-"
"You bet I will." Manami jumped up. She winced. Her hand went to her head. "I… I feel weird."
"What's wrong?" Kotonoha faked. They worked pretty fast apparently.
"I don't know." Manami sat down again. "I just feel…"
She put her head down and fell asleep.
Kotonoha let out her breath. That was close.
She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"We have a problem."
[Can't find your bikini?] He asked. [Well I guess you'll have to swim nak-]
"My mom found out."
[What?] His playful tone vanished right away.
"She found my dad's phone and-"
[You mean the phone I told you to destroy?] he asked sharply.
Her legs started shaking. Kotonoha quickly said down.
"I…" she swallowed hard.
[What have you done with her?] he asked.
"I-I gave her sleeping pills."
[Hm. At least you didn't fuck that up.]
"I'm so sorry. I should have-"
[Save your apology for later. First we need to fix this. Well, I need to fix this.]
"O-Okay."
[Stay right there. I'm coming.]
She nodded, completely forgetting she was on the phone.
Only a few minutes later did she realise she was no longer calling him.
Kotonoha lowered her phone again and stared in front of her.
It was okay, she told herself. Makoto could fix this.
Eventually, her phone vibrated.
[I'm here.]
She went to open the door.
"Makoto." Kotonoha fell into his arms.
"Shh, it's okay." He patted her back. Gently, he pushed her back inside and closed the door.
"I'm so sorry. I know I promised I'd destroy it, but… I just couldn't."
"You promised me."
"I know, but-"
"But what?" he snapped. "Don't give me your stupid excuses, Kotonoha. You endangered everything. Do you want us to go to jail?"
"No… I…" wait a sec. "Us?"
"Oh, you never considered I would be in trouble too? I got rid of the body for you, that's accessory. If this comes to a trial, I'm doomed."
"I never thought-"
"That's right, you don't think," he said coldly. "Why don't you just leave the thinking to me? Just do as you're told, Kotonoha. Or is that too hard for you? Cause apparently it is."
Kotonoha burst into tears. She fell down on her knees. "I'm so sorry. I'm completely useless."
"Hey," he softened his tone. "Come here."
Makoto held out his hand.
"No."
"Do as you're told, Kotonoha," he ordered coldly.
Scared, she reached out and took his hand.
He pulled her up and hugged her again.
"It's gonna be okay," he assured her. "I'll take care of this."
Makoto held her in silence for a while. She kept shaking and sobbing.
Then, gently, he led her in the living room and put her down on the couch.
Kotonoha wiped her tears away.
"I promise," she said. "I'll do anything you tell me to. I can't be trusted to make my own decisions. Please make them for me."
"I will."
"I'm sorry I'm such a bother."
Makoto said nothing.
"Will you…" Kotonoha hesitated.
"Tell me," he urged her.
She picked up the shock collar from the coffee table.
"Collar me, please." She wanted him to… to take ownership of her.
He nodded. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"I understand."
Makoto put the collar around her neck.
He took out a small padlock from his pocket and locked it in place.
"W-Where… where did you get that?"
"Does it matter?"
"No." There was probably a reasonable explanation for it. Maybe he had a dream that he would need a padlock. But it didn't matter in the end. She trusted Makoto.
Kotonoha handed him the remote. "You have to punish me for not destroying that phone."
She knew it had to be done. And Makoto seemed to realise it as well.
"Alright. Ready?"
She nodded.
He navigated to a number and pressed the button.
Kotonoha yelped. She threw her head back on the couch.
Fuck. That was a lot.
"Breathe," he said.
She breathed in and out a few times. "Okay. More please."
Another shock came right away. She didn't know how high he had put it. It didn't matter anyway.
Kotonoha regained her composure. "Again, please."
A third shock.
It hurt badly. But she could take more.
"Another one."
"That's enough for now. Maybe later."
"But-"
"Kotonoha," he said calmly. "Electricity is pretty dangerous. I don't want to do permanent damage."
"Oh."
"Besides, I still have this… situation to deal with. Let's do that first."
She nodded. "I understand."
He put the remote on the coffee table. Then, he sat down next to a sleeping Manami and checked her neck.
Makoto froze.
"What's wrong?"
"How much sleeping pills did you give her?" he asked, not taking his eyes of her mom.
"Uhm, a lot? She's used to taking them so I figured…" her voice trailed off.
"Get me the package."
She hurried to the kitchen and retrieved the pills.
She handed it to him. "Anything else, S-Sir?"
It felt weird to call him that, but also kind of right.
Makoto studied the package. "These are really strong ones. Do you know how many she usually takes?"
"No," Kotonoha admitted. "I just know she takes them."
"And you don't remember how much you gave her?"
"It happened so quickly, I…" Kotonoha hesitated. "I-I'll call the-"
"You won't call anyone," he said sharply. "Hand me your phone." He held out his hand.
"But-"
He picked up the remote of her shock collar. "Do I need to repeat myself?"
"I'm sorry." She handed her phone to him.
"Looks like I can't even trust you with this."
"I-I don't get it, Sir."
"That's cause you're stupid and you should leave the thinking to me." He counted the pills left in the box.
"I…" She felt tears stinging in her eyes, but she pushed them back. Somehow, this hurt way more than the shock before.
"Aren't you?" he asked sharply.
Kotonoha looked down. "Y-Yes, I'm stupid. Sorry for being so useless. W-Will you please explain it to me, Sir?"
He sighed. "How were you going to explain this in the hospital? She accidentally took an overdose of sleeping pills? In the morning?"
"I guess…" he did have a good point there.
"The cops would get on it right away. And they would notice her husband went missing not long ago. How long do you think it will take them to piece that together?"
She said nothing.
"And she knows. How where you gonna keep her silent once she wakes up again?"
"I don't know," Kotonoha admitted.
"Besides," Makoto finished. "It doesn't matter. It's too late already."
Kotonoha felt very cold all of a sudden. "W-What?"
"Check for yourself. She doesn't have a heartbeat and she's not breathing."
"M-Maybe… maybe we can still do CP-"
"Kotonoha," he said calmly. "It's no use. Even if we can get her heart started, it's likely she already has serious brain damage. And with the poison still entering her system…"
"But that means I… I-"
"You didn't do it on purpose," he quickly said.
"This can't be happening. Not again." Her tears were coming again.
"We don't have time for this," he said. "When is your sister coming home? Where is she?"
"I-I don't know," Kotonoha admitted. She hadn't even considered Kokoro could come home any minute.
"Go to your room and stay there."
"No, I-"
A weak electric shock cut her off.
"Don't make me do that again, Kotonoha," he said. "Your sister could come home any moment. Go to your room."
"Yes, Sir," she said meekly. The shock had somewhat calmed her.
Kotonoha stood up and went to her room. She sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees.
After a while, he entered. She didn't know how long it was. Time had become a foreign concept to her.
"I've taken care of it," he said. He sat down next to her.
She nodded weakly.
It was silent for a while. They knew just taking care of the body wasn't enough.
"We'll need a plan," Makoto said eventually. "People will ask questions."
"You sure you want to ask a useless girl like me?"
He sighed. "I know I said some things, but I was under a lot of pressure. Come here, I'll take off that collar."
"No." She touched the steel. "Don't."
"Kotonoha?"
"You were right. I can't be trusted. This can't happen again, Makoto. Keep me like this please."
"I can't. You can't go to school wearing that. You can't sleep with that either. And what are you gonna tell Kokoro if she sees you with that?"
"E-Even so, I want…"
"Hold on."
He stood up from her bed.
She vaguely noticed he was searching for something in her room.
Then, he returned.
"You like this one?" he held up a pendant. It had to be one of her necklaces. She had a lot of jewelry so most things weren't worn much. Yet she knew she owned this one.
Kotonoha nodded slowly.
Makoto replaced her shock collar with the necklace.
She touched it. It felt good.
"D-Dad had a lot of houses," Kotonoha said. "He probably uses the same code for his bank account as for his phone."
"Hm. You want to move?"
"I know it's insane to ask you this, but… I want to…"
"Live together?" he suggested.
She nodded.
"I guess we don't have much other options. If I leave you alone it's not gonna end well."
"I'm sorry. I-"
"It's okay. I don't mind much. I love you. And we were gonna live together eventually."
She said nothing.
Suddenly, he smiled.
"What's wrong?"
"Well it's not the order I expected," Makoto said.
"How so?"
"Usually people have sex first before they move in together."
"Oh," she blushed. "Well I don't care much about social conventions. Do you?"
"Not really."
"Okay." She leaned down on his shoulder. She could stay like this forever.
"We should probably get going. Moving is gonna take a lot of work."
"Can we go swim first?"
"Sure."
She stood up from the bed. "Now where did I put my bikini?"
"Kotonoha?"
"Hm?" She looked at him.
"I…" Makoto hesitated. "Never mind. Let's go swimming."
"Okay."
She didn't get it. Makoto looked like there was some problem, but everything was going alright, wasn't it? She was going to move in with Makoto. In fact, things couldn't get any better.