Makoto stirred.
"Makoto?" she asked. "Are you awake?"
He had to be awake. What would she do without him?
His eyes fluttered open. Kotonoha let out a breath of relief.
"W-What happened?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said. "You just collapsed at the pool. I thought it was the heat, but…"
"You didn't take me to the hospital, right?"
"No, of course not," Kotonoha said. "Taisuke helped me get you home. He was pretty annoyed he didn't get to finish though."
"Oh." He looked around. "Well at least we didn't draw attention to ourselves."
Kotonoha touched his forehead. "You're hot."
He smiled weakly. "I know."
"No, I mean… you're burning. You've got a fever."
"It's gonna be okay," he said. "Probably the flu or something."
"Yeah, maybe," she said, unconvinced. "You must have overexerted yourself."
"Maybe," he said. "But I've got you to take care of me, right?"
"Y-Yes, of course."
"This seems like an excellent opportunity to try out that new outfit of yours," he said.
"Now?"
"Well yeah. I need a sexy nurse to take care of me, right?"
"I… I guess."
"Go put it on, Kotonoha," he ordered.
"O-Okay. It's in the attic. I'll be right back."
She walked outside. She had hidden it in the attic to make sure Kokoro didn't find it. For some reason, she still had this silly shame.
Honestly, what was wrong with her? Eventually, he'd make Kokoro-chan wear that as well. No point in delaying things.
Kotonoha pulled down the ladder.
Carefully, she climbed up on the attic.
It didn't take long to find the box.
The nurse outfit was very sexy. It consisted of a set of fishnet stockings, high heels and a very short white-red dress with buttons. There was also a stethoscope.
Kotonoha hesitated.
Should she really wear this?
It hadn't been her idea to buy this, Makoto had forced it upon her. He had taken her to that shop without even asking and…
She sighed.
Was this really what she wanted? Makoto was…
Why was she so confused? She had never really questioned all of this before. If Makoto wanted her to wear this, she'd wear it, right?
Right?
Wait.
What about what she wanted? What if she was embarrassed to wear that?
Had he ever really asked her opinion? Or didn't he care about that?
No, no. Of course he cared. What was wrong with her? She clearly wanted him to pick her clothes. She sent him signals all the time that she wanted to be dominated.
Or did he send signals he wanted to dominate her?
"Onee-chan?" a voice called from below.
"Huh? Kokoro?"
"What are you doing up there?" her sister asked. "Where is Makoto-kun?"
"Hold on."
Kotonoha took the ladder back down.
"What's going on?" Kokoro asked.
"Makoto-kun is sick," she explained.
"I want to see him," she said.
"No. It may be contagious."
"And what about you?"
"I… if I could be infected, I would have already been. But you haven't been near him since he got sick."
"But I want to see him," Kokoro insisted.
"It's only for a few days," Kotonoha said. "You don't want to get sick, do you?"
"No," Kokoro admitted.
"Go to your room," Kotonoha said. "I'll handle it."
Kokoro went to her room, leaving Kotonoha all alone in the hallway.
She took a deep breath.
Something was wrong. Usually Makoto made her feel good. But now… she was scared. No, wait. Makoto had scared her before. But that was different. It was more of an exciting kind of fear. She never felt unsafe. Not once.
Until now.
She had to talk to someone.
But who? There was no one to talk to.
Kotonoha took out her phone and scrolled through the contacts.
Was there anyone she trusted? Anyone at all?
Wait, there was.
Sekai groaned. She turned around and reached out with her hand. Her fingers found the smartphone. She lifted it to her face so she could see.
Kotonoha?
Frowning, Sekai picked up.
[Hello?]
"Kotonoha?"
[Sorry for calling at this hour. Did I wake you up?]
"Yeah. But it's okay. What's up?"
[I don't know.]
Sekai sat upright. "What do you mean?"
[I don't know. I just feel… weird.]
"That's odd."
[How so?]
"Well," Sekai hesitated.
Could she trust Kotonoha?
[Look,] Kotonoha said. [You probably think I'm crazy, and maybe I am. But you can trust me.]
"You won't say anything to Makoto-kun?"
[I promise.]
"Okay then. I uhm… I'm wearing pyjamas right now."
[Uhm. Okay?]
"You don't understand. I never unpacked my pyjamas. I've been sleeping in a tank top and panties every night. Sometimes even less than that. No matter how cold it is. I just use extra blankets."
[Sleeping?] Kotonoha pressed her.
"I… I keep thinking about Makoto," Sekai admitted. "And I… I can't stop… touching myself."
[Every night?]
"Not every night. And less and less lately. But tonight, I woke up to go pee. And when I returned, I felt cold. So I took out thick pyjamas and put them on."
[When was that?]
"A couple hours ago."
[Damn.]
"Is he…" Sekai swallowed hard. "Did something happen to Makoto-kun?"
She couldn't say the words. He couldn't be dead.
And yet. What else could it be? Something must have happened to him. For such a sudden shift to occur.
[He's sick,] Kotonoha said.
"Oh thank God."
[What?]
"Ah, sorry. I just… is it serious?"
[I don't know. It feels like a common flu, but…]
"But what?"
[Well right before it happened, he… strange things started to happen.]
"Like what?" Sekai asked.
[We were at the pool and… he asked me to take off my top."
"A public pool?"
[Yeah.]
"What the hell? You didn't do that, right?"
[Well I kinda… you know. Obeyed him.]
"That's crazy."
[No. The crazy part is that every other girl inside had done the same. And everyone acted like it was normal. And it wasn't an act. I saw Sawanaga-san and he acted normal.]
"That desperate virgin?"
[No longer a virgin,] Kotonoha corrected her. [He and Hikari-san did… some things.]
"What? When?"
[A couple hours ago. I was there.]
"You need to get out of there," Sekai said.
[Aren't you overreacting a little bit?]
"Aren't you underreacting? Kotonoha, this is insane. You need to go."
[But… Makoto-kun makes me feel good.]
"This isn't good for you."
[I… I was having fun at the pool. Yes, it was weird and a little humiliating, but… I came so hard. I just… no one else can make me feel like that, Sekai.]
"How do you know that?"
[I just know.]
"Then why are you calling me?"
[I just needed to confirm something.]
"Confirm?"
[Thank you, Saionji-san.]
The connection broke.
"Kotonoha? Hey, Kotonoha?"
Sekai lowered the phone.
What the hell?