WARNING: Mild sensuality.

NOTE: Winding up to the end now! I'm going to be publishing these last few chapters a little more rapidly in the days leading up to Christmas, so I hope you all enjoy and have a good holiday!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

~ x JUDGMENT x ~

"Seems I was right," Sae sighed with a nod. "And wrong. There was more but it wasn't what I anticipated."

"I told you, Sis. You really were certain she was taking advantage of me, but you're wrong; if anything… I'm the one taking advantage of her."

The elder sister was surprised. "What? That's not… what on earth do you mean?"

"Part of me is worried that she's just humouring me." Makoto fiddled with her fingers, staring down and through the table at unseen ghosts in her memory. "I have this gay crush and she feels like it's her fault, so she can't let me down easy. I've tried to make sure over and over she knows my feelings are genuine, even if I don't understand them. But… does she know that she doesn't have to return them? If they aren't there for her?"

The room was quiet for a moment as the student council president trembled, biting her lips. Full of tension without sound. Sae stood and rounded the table, leaning back against it with her palms on either side of her rear as she stared straight ahead. Just wanting to be a tiny bit less distant from her sister.

"You couldn't hurt a fly, Makoto. Don't worry so much. I'm sure she is with you because she wants to be. Whether or not she's been coercing you into things you aren't ready for remains my only question; the reverse is simply… impossible."

"Not impossible," she breathed. "Just… unlikely, I guess. And you don't want to think your own sister is a disgusting little-"

"Don't even finish that sentence." Her hand finally rose, hesitated, then rested on Makoto's shoulder. "You're a smart girl. And a good sister."

"I'm not useless?"

"No. Why would you think you are?"

"Because you told me I am."

The hand vanished. Sae didn't move or say anything more, but she did sit perfectly still, eyes narrowed as if trying to burn a hole through the wall. After a moment or two, Makoto rested her hand on top of the one on the table.

"It's okay."

"No, it isn't. You're right; I've been…" A helpless laugh fell from the prosecutor's lips. "I've been taking out all of my work-related frustrations on the only person in my life."

Tilting her head to the side, trying to get a better look, she asked, "The only family close to you. Right?"

"No. I meant what I said."

"You have other people in your life, I'm sure." No response. Slowly, Makoto drew back in dismay. "But you have such an important job… you have to have coworkers who…"

The silence was even more oppressive now. So Sae broke it. "My job is hard, thankless. And it's a male-dominated field. The ones who don't see me as an 'invading force' simply don't know what to make of me, or they steer clear to avoid angering the ones who actively dislike me. Or they're disinterested. I'm not going to be making friends."

"No…" Heart breaking, she swallowed hard and whispered up at her, "That isn't fair to you."

"Life isn't always fair." Then she fixed her sister with a half-smirk. "You went over to her apartment next. Take me through that so we can get to the important things."

Makoto narrowed her eyes. "This is important. My sister is important to me." But Sae didn't budge. So she sighed, looked down, and gathered her thoughts. To get it over and done with.

~ x The Priestess x ~

"Hey," Sadayo sighed as she opened the door to her apartment, smile tired but still a true smile.

"Hi." My heart was pounding in my chest with anticipation. We had waited until a couple of days had passed, so as to not book the two visits so close together, at least, but it somehow both felt like no time at all had passed and a thousand years. I was more than ready. "Got my books."

"Good, good. Get in here; I have some Pocky if you want it, and some coffee if you really get sleepy."

I chuckled a little. "What, no scotch on the rocks?" But she rolled her eyes and yanked me inside so she could shut the door.

"Don't you start, you little brat." However, she caressed my hair the instant we were alone. Then she laughed and pulled her hand away, holding it with the other as if burned. "Wow. That is… so easy to do, and weird."

"Mmm," I breathed a little belatedly. Then I cleared my throat. "Okay. So um, I guess we should do a little studying first, just to… make our excuse legitimate."

"Sure, of course. I know you don't really need it but don't mind giving you a refresher. Grab a seat."

Miss Kawakami's apartment was tiny, and a little messy. All of her furniture was dilapidated and older, and she had taken pretty good care of it but some pieces could have used replacing. The sofa was definitely a Western-style sleeper; the way the cushions bounced told me it had to be. Still, I parked myself there and waited for her to come back.

Then we set to work. My teacher walked me through the more intricate facets of Nihongo, the parts that would probably come up in my exams. For a little while, we both slipped into work mode and actually managed to forget about how strange it was that she had a student on her couch, and I was in my teacher's apartment. A few times, one of us would laugh at some comment or another and the other would grin or reach out automatically with an affectionate gesture. Still, we were both fairly serious about academics and kept our hands to ourselves.

Mostly.

"You sure you don't want something?" she finally asked when we had finished a unit and she was getting up to use the restroom. "Help yourself if you want but my fridge is pretty, uh… gross, and mostly full of old rice and ramen. Maybe some eggs?"

I chuckled and called out, "How do you live like this?!" Then stared down at my socks as I fiddled with the book on my lap. I really wasn't sure what to do with myself. What were we going to do when the studying ran out? This barely counted as a relationship at all; we kissed a few times. And I had no idea how to be one half of a couple, anyway! Did she want me to assume the 'male' role? She was going to be out of luck; I knew nothing about any of that.

Another terrifying thought blindsided me. Did she want me to 'set the mood' while she 'freshened up'?!

The door clicked back open before I could mobilise any plans. Sadayo took one look at my face and her own mild expression turned to one of concern. "What? What's the matter - did you need to get in there?"

"Oh, no, no," I reassured her with a self-conscious laugh. "I'm just… yeah. I don't know."

"Nervous?" she half-chuckled as she slid into the couch next to me again. This felt better. She was wearing her usual denim skirt and a white top today; simple clothes, what she had been teaching in. No crazy maid costume, no fancy evening gown. Just the natural state of the woman I was quickly growing so fond of.

"Definitely. Wouldn't you be in my shoes?"

"In your shoes, I'd be running for the door. You have no idea what I'm like but I do, and you can do way better than my crazy ass."

"We both could do 'better', in a way. But I know what I want now."

One hand slid into the back of her hair as she smiled shyly, and she was so beautiful to me in that moment that I wanted to tackle her. But I refrained. We needed to take this slow if we wanted to figure out what we genuinely needed from each other. "Do you?"

"Yes." I took up her other hand and began to rub the back of it with my thumb. "We've already conducted the tests, haven't we? Kissing you feels right. Being in your arms… and we like each other. At least, I like you. So it would be pointless for me to keep pretending I'm not sure."

"Pointless, huh?" Her eyes turned sad, guilty. "I must be pretty pointless then."

"What? No, don't say that."

"But I still don't know what I want, Makoto. Playing with you is a lot of fun, obviously, but no matter how much we 'conduct tests' I still feel like a monster. Look how I caught you like a mouse and dragged you back to my lair."

"What are you talking about?" I chuckled as I petted her neck - and she sighed. Goosebumps erupted across my arms.

"You know… cats, or something?"

"Sure, sure. But I don't feel like a caught mouse at all." I scooted closer and ghosted my lips over hers, and she sighed, eyes falling closed. "Hey. I want this to make you feel good, because you deserve it. If you don't feel good I'll stop - I could leave. Whatever you want is what I want."

A tear slid down her cheek, and I figured she was about to kick me out. What she whispered was, "I want this. How do you make me feel more desirable than any man ever has? How do you do that? I'm honestly… I do not understand it at all."

"Those tryhards got nothing on me." Maybe I was emulating Ryuji in that moment. At least the statement made her laugh. "Sorry. But I mean it; if those men didn't even make you feel desirable, then they were failures."

"Or maybe you're just a very charismatic girl."

"Nobody has ever accused me of being charismatic before," I said with a slight smile as she nuzzled the side of my face, and my breath caught. "Mmhhh… they think I'm a robot."

"No robot could be this warm." Another little kiss. "Sweet…" Another. "God you're perfect…"

That was as long as we could keep our hands off each other. Lips locked around each other and legs entwined as we gave over to desire. I lost track of time. We wound up with her pushed back into the crack between the cushions and the back of the couch, hands wandering up and down backs and sides as we just barely brushed the tips of our tongues against each other now and then. And I loved every minute.

Until her thigh pushed too high, and I groaned - and she pulled away from me. "Hnnhhh, wha…?"

"Sorry," she whispered, eyes wide in alarm.

"For what? It felt pretty great, I'm just… not used to that."

"But we're still…" Her hand moved up to graze along my neck, and I shivered. "I told myself I wouldn't, um… go too far until you graduate from Shujin. So I'm not shitting where I'm eating."

"Go too far? Oh, you mean- ohhhh. But why? I mean, what difference does it make?"

"Well… a lot. There is a difference between making out with my student and actually fucking her."

My head instinctively ducked from the vulgarity of the word. "Ah!"

"Sorry!" she whimpered as she grimaced. "God, I'm really making a mess out of everything! At least I act like an awkward teenager."

"N-no, it's fine," I stuttered, face clearly a blushing mess. Betraying my true thoughts. "But I think I understand. And if you were asking my advice without me being part of the situation… I would agree with you. It's smarter to wait until I'm not… until you aren't 'in charge' of me."

"Right," she sighed, clearly grateful that I understood that aspect of our relationship. "That really makes me uncomfortable. Like, it's kinda hot, but also I feel so guilty that it's not worth it."

"Kinda hot?"

Sadayo's eyes went wide as she realised what she had said. "Um… can we rewind a few seconds to before I said that part?"

"Afraid not." My smile was just playful enough that she looked even more ashamed of herself. "You like that I'm your student, don't you?"

"No. I hate it." When I just kept staring at her, she shifted a little, bit her lip, then rolled her eyes and admitted, "I hate that it's hot, too. Okay? There, you made me say it."

"Makes sense," I giggled as I kissed her cheek. "Because that's exactly how I feel about you when you're 'on the clock'. I don't like that I can tell you to do things… but I do like it. Weird."

"Yeah…"

"Sorry."

She shook her head before pecking me on the cheek. "Well, they say absolute power corrupts absolutely. People like to feel like they have control of something; it's exhilarating, right? Even if it's a little messed up when that power is over another person, it still feels incredible."

"Yeah," I breathed ashamedly. "But… I don't want power over you. I like this, right here. Just being together and… and equal."

"Oh, honey…" Her brows furrowed, even as she smiled across at me. "That's okay, too. I wasn't saying we take turns tying each other up; just acknowledging that power dynamics can be kinda fun for a reason. Just part of human nature. Doesn't mean we have to do anything about it."

Now I was blushing for a brand new reason. Tying Sadayo up, hm? For some reason, my very first thought was her in the maid costume, hands bound behind her back, gag in her mouth… and the throb between my legs was impossible to ignore. But it made me feel sad an instant later. Even if the daydream was enticing I could never go through with it. I cared about her too much.

Then I thought about her tying me up. That didn't really do anything for me. However, if it turned her on, I could probably stand it; I wanted her to enjoy herself as much as was possible. No big deal.

~ x JUDGMENT x ~

Sae got up from her chair and began to pace back and forth. It took a moment before Makoto spoke again, and when she did, it was to ask, "Something wrong?"

"Oh, no, it's fine. Obviously I wanted to hear about my little sister contemplating BDSM activities and saying they are 'no big deal'."

"We weren't really," she sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "More like, discussing that they exist. Nobody was about to start tying anybody up."

"Good. Then I don't have to find her and claw her eyes out."

Both of the sisters fell silent for a few seconds. Then the younger one asked, "You seem… a little too protective of me in this department. I don't understand."

"What's to understand?" she flung down at her as her heels echoed against the claustrophobic walls. "You're my little sister. This is perfectly normal; I have every right to want to protect your innocence until you're old enough to truly date - and that's without me being your legal guardian."

"To be blunt, this isn't your choice. But…"

Finally, she came to a stop. "What?"

"But it does feel good to hear you care about me, Sis. Just so you don't think I'm unappreciative."

"Oh." Wrongfooted more than she expected, Sae coughed and folded her arms over her chest. "Of course I care. And it's not 'your choice' until after you've moved on to university; then you can make all the mistakes you want. Even if I'll still be worried."

"And I'll call you every day if you want me to," she insisted, frowning up at her. "So you don't have to worry so much. I promise."

"Thank you." Even though she said it brusquely, the words were deeply meant. Sae sat herself down again and asked, "So what else happened?"

Resigned to having to go back to being interrogated, Makoto sat back and rested her hands in her lap. "Nothing, that day. We discussed how weird our feelings were for a little while and then kissed a little while longer. She made me some tea and we talked about school. Then I went home."

"So I can see your relationship was progressing," the prosecutor sighed as she prodded her bottom lip with her pen, staring into the corner. "And I appreciate that it wasn't simply physical; you've done a good job of casting it in that light, and I have no reason to think you're lying. How long ago was this study session?"

"About two weeks."

"Very well. Why don't you take me up until the moment this all came to a head?"

"I can do that," she relented with a little nod.

~ x The Priestess x ~

Those two weeks did feel like a few hours, they happened so fast. Ren and Ann asked me a few questions about Sadayo now and then - especially Ann - and I kept the details thin but gave them enough to be satisfied. Ren seemed to approve because he knew I would take care of her, and Ann merely wanted to gossip and say she was jealous of how close we were already. I reassured her that she was so beautiful that the right guy would come along and sweep her off her feet, but… she didn't seem to believe me.

Or at least, she didn't agree for some reason. But she did at one point mention that she was inspired by how bold I had been and that she wanted to be just as bold. Of course, I told her that she had my support… even if I had no idea what she meant.

Then there was my Sadayo. Every moment with her was an adventure, and filled me with joy. We had an argument or two, but they were always about whether or not we should be dating at all. She constantly wanted to pull the plug. Eventually, I was able to trust that it had nothing to do with me after the first couple of times; I knew it was my age. I didn't mind that she was older, but she certainly minded that I was younger - 'too young', in her mind. Which was true from an objective standpoint, of course.

But I wanted her, and she wanted me. And we fit together so well that it honestly shocked me. Sadayo Kawakami, of all the people I knew…

We got into a routine of me coming over to her place once during the week and her coming over to mine on a Friday or Saturday evening, while she was working. I loved being able to give her some money to help her scrape by, and she despised taking it from me. But I would threaten to bite her if she didn't take it and she would laugh and dare me to do it. We made a running joke out of the monetary issue and that helped to make it feel less strange.

Now we did more than kiss and panic. We ate dinner, cuddled and watched movies together. Sometimes I ordered her to clean just so she would laugh when she realised I had already cleaned the apartment before she got there. Once, I asked if she wanted me to dress up in the Becky outfit and clean her apartment instead - and got a lot of very flustered laughter along with the firm refusal. It was cute.

Everything was like a dream. Until that night.

We knew we were probably pushing it to request her through Victoria twice in the same weekend. But I wanted to see her - craved more. And she craved it enough not to refuse, even though she couldn't really turn me down without it being conspicuous. But we always discussed it the day of to make sure she was okay with being requested before I made it official.

"Hello again, Master!" she chirruped with a bow as I leaned against the door frame. "I think your apartment is going to sparkle when I'm done!"

"I hope so," I purred as I let her slip inside. She stepped out of her shiny black heels and waited for me to shut the door before she grabbed me by the lapels and pulled me in close for a heated kiss. "Mmhhh…"

That kiss lasted about three minutes before we broke apart for air. Then she whispered, "GOD, I've wanted to do that all day."

"Me too." Resting my hand on her side, I asked, "What do you wanna do tonight? We have some rice and eggs and things - oh, and some leftover Big Bang Burger in the fridge. And I thought we could break out my old Famidrive if you wanted to do something different."

Her expression lit with mingling mirth and surprise. "You have a Famidrive? Isn't that a little before your time? I mean, I had one when I was a kid, and it was dated even then."

"It was my dad's," I admitted with a wistful smile. "His guilty pleasure. I found it in the closet one day and he let me get it out and hook it up. Some of those games really bring back memories."

"Sure," she said readily, grinning from ear to ear in that way that was too endearing to be allowed. "Why don't I make us some curry or something while you set it up?"

"That sounds great! I mean… if you don't mind."

She held up a finger as she backed toward the kitchen. "Ah, ah, ah, we've been over this. The least you can do is let me do some domestic work while you're paying me for it. Otherwise I won't let you request m-"

"Yeah, yeah," I waved her off, rolling my eyes even as I grinned. "I know. Get to work, Becky."

"Yes, Master! Right away! I'll make your stomach so happy!"

"Just do it, you nerd!"

Dinner was a quick and simple affair. She complained about her other clients, even though she withheld names, and I talked about my trip to Akihabara with Ren and Futaba. Light, everyday topics. Then we started in on Star Forneus and Power Intuition, both eager to see whose rusty gaming skills could beat the other one's rusty skills. I seemed to win most of our Power Intuition matches, but she did a lot better in Forenus; I was never any good at space shooters. But we both failed often enough that we almost spent more time laughing than playing.

She was the one who dared me to strip-game when we started in on Gambla Goemon. I mean, it made sense; it was a gambling game, right? I could tell she was joking, and just laughed… until I lost my next bet. And started to peel off my socks.

"Hm? Oh, you getting a little warm?"

"No, I thought we were stripping."

"Huh?!" Then her eyes widened even more. "Oh - you were serious? I was just kidding around!"

Smirking playfully as I tossed them on the coffee table, I said, "Well, I wasn't." She was glancing at my legs and back up at me. "You alright?"

"No, no, it's… fine. I guess. I mean, I've seen enough naked girls in the locker rooms at school, right? Plus I bathed you once! That already happened!"

The blush budding on her cheeks said it definitely wasn't the same now. But I pretended not to notice. "Good. Then you'll be fine. Ante up."

So she did. And she lost the next hand. I think that one was purely because I flustered her so much that she wasn't playing very well anymore.

It was hard to keep my eyes on her face as she took off the apron. Even though her body was still covered by her maid dress, it still set my heart pounding to know that a layer of clothing was gone now - and more would follow, if I could play my cards right. Literally speaking.

Back and forth we went until we were down to underwear. I was really glad I chose to wear a bra, even though I wasn't leaving the house; one more thing to keep from losing right away. Even with that added delay in being naked in front of her… I still felt like I already was. And her face was more red than ever, so I knew I wasn't alone in that.

"Maybe… we should stop," she whispered softly when the prompt came up to ask if we wanted to play again.

"Are you scared of losing?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yes, actually. Or of winning. Both of those are…"

My smirk vanished, and I took the controller from her to lay both of ours aside so I could hold her hands. "We can stop. I'm sorry, this was supposed to be fun, not… I don't know. Scary."

"It has been fun until now," she admitted with a soft smile, squeezing my fingers. "Seriously! But if we keep going, it might change everything, and… you know my policy."

"I do. And I respect it, even if… y'know. I do things that look like I don't." The worst of my thoughts burst out excitedly, unwilling to be held back. "I just want to keep going so bad! I want you!"

Her throat constricted as she tried to swallow her nerves, and I noticed she was trembling a little now. "God, I want you, too. But I'm… I can't. I just can't, okay?"

"That's not- I didn't mean you had to, I just wanted you to know what I…" My eyes lowered. "I apologise, Sadayo."

"Why? You feel what you feel, it's okay."

"Yeah, but I keep kind of pushing for more, a-and I should get by now that it upsets you."

"That's not…" After a second or two, she pulled me forward to kiss my lips tenderly, and I melted into the touch. The one I craved every moment of the day by now; that urgency had only grown the longer we were together. "I'm not upset. Even if I'm trying to be responsible, you wanting more is not upsetting. I promise."

Instead of answering with words, I just kissed her again, harder and with more urgency. Within the next minute, we were rolling around on the living room floor, limbs tingling and mouths trying their best to fuse into one. It did feel a little different without all those layers of clothing between us, but then again she had already seen me nude once before. This was just the least amount of clothing I had ever seen on her.

Or felt.

Sadayo pulled back to look down into my eyes after God only knew how long of drinking in the pleasures of the flesh. Breathing hard and cheeks rosy, lips parted, she represented pure sensuality to me in that exact second of time. The older woman who could teach me everything I wanted to know - and not just in the classroom.

"We should stop," I said before she had the chance. "Right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, definitely." But there was an uncertainty in her eyes as she kept me pinned against the floor.

"Sadayo?"

"Sorry." Clearing her throat, she favored me with a small smile. "Got a little carried away. Maybe… we should find a different game."

Taking a calculated risk, I pouted up at her. "But I like this one."

My teacher gaped at me for a few seconds before she shook her head. "You… little… what am I supposed to do with you? Seriously!"

"Just teasing," I giggled. And I was. If it ended up prompting her to make out with me a little longer, I would take it, but I didn't honestly expect her to fall for such an obvious ploy.

"Okay, good," she chuckled back as she caressed the side of my neck. "For a minute there I thought you were trying to get me in-"

The sound of a key scraping in a lock shattered the comfortable atmosphere as if it were a gunshot.

"…trouble."

To Be Continued…