Chapter 05: Queen of the Castle
"
2 weeks, 4 days, 21 hours, 8 minutes, 21 seconds...
"
"I'm thinking about writing a novel," Minako said casually, laying back on the floor in Rei's bedroom by the study table, looking up at the plain white ceiling, right ankle resting on her left knee. It was only her and Ami in the room, Ami sitting cross-legged on the floor at the table, examining an open book in front of her while writing on a notepad to her right.
Ami did her very best to completely ignore her, pencil scritching across the paper pad.
"Yeah, a romance novel. It's gonna be about this female, straight-A high school student who pretends to be immune to sexual desire, but then begins a torrid secret love affair with the hunkiest guy in school, the son of a show-business star."
Ami's eye twitched, and her handwriting received a rare hiccup as she brought her pencil tip down a few centimeters more than needed, but quickly recovered.
"The girl's name is gonna be Jamie," Minako added, glancing down towards Ami without picking her head up. "And she's gonna keep a vibrator in a locked drawer under her computer desk, the key to which is hidden in a poetry book on her bookshelf."
Crack!
The top portion of Ami's pencil toppled over, having been snapped off, leaving only a small stub in Ami's fingers. Ami's face went dark red, unable to suppress her reflexive reaction, looking over at Minako. She looked positively murderous, fingers clenching around what was left of her pencil in a tight fist, the corners of her mouth twitching as she fought to find the best response.
Minako gave a naughty little snicker as Ami frantically reached into her bookbag to pull out a new pencil.
"I'm gonna call it 'Fifty Shades of Blue'—"
"OKAY! Okay!" Ami shouted, putting her palms down on the table and looking over at Minako. "I surrender! I give!"
Minako put her hands up behind her head, returning her gaze to the ceiling.
Ami sighed dramatically, then forced a pained smile on her face, eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Alright, Mina, I...I think I understand what's going on here, and...you know, I'm not even mad." She gave a small nod. "In fact, I...I respect the strategy, honestly." Ami forced her eyes open, looking down at her friend with what she hoped was a warm gaze. "Alright, Mina, you win. If you promise to stop making fun of me about this...whole Isao and contest business, I will speak to my mother, and get her to lift your apartment ban—"
"Not even close to being worth it," Minako snickered.
Ami's faked smile immediately fell from her face, and after giving a frustrated groan, she slumped forward onto the study table, upper body splayed on top of her studying materials.
The bedroom door was flung open violently, Rei marching in with a small wooden plank in her hands, supporting two food items. She quickly made her way over to the table and threw the platter down next to Minako. She gave an over-exaggerated bow in Minako's direction. "Anything else, your majesty?!"
Minako gave a mildly glum look at the wooden platter. The large serving tray supported a loaf of sandwich bread, sealed inside a clear plastic bag, and a sack of chocolate chips. "Uh...maybe a little effort?"
"What, you have a problem with the way I choose to feed my guests?!" Rei snapped. "That's what I have, that's what you'll eat!"
Minako sat up, grabbing the neck of the bread bag. "I mean, I get it, sometimes the fridge is a little light, but...the least you could do is take the bread out of the bag so it looks better." She lifted the bag up off the platter, eyes widening in mild shock. "Oh my God," she muttered, getting to her feet in a smooth motion, standing up next to Rei.
"What?!" Rei hissed, Minako standing at her side and holding the bread bag up in her right hand.
"This...this weighs like five pounds!" Minako said, placing the bag into her left palm to feel the weight. "W-what is this? Rei, you eat this? You put this in your body?"
Rei snatched the bag from Minako's hand. "Yeah, it's good bread, it has no yeast in it!" She ripped the tie off the bag and reached her hand down into the mouth, roughly grabbing a handful of bread slices.
"Uh, pretty sure yeast is a key ingredient in—" Minako started, only to be cut off as Rei shoved the ball of food into her face.
"Try some, it's good for you, God knows someone needs to start thinking about your eating habits!" Rei said, shaking the clump at Minako.
"Uh, not really that hungry, actually, I'll—"
Rei tackled Minako to the floor, spilling the sack of chocolate chips to the floor as she did. She placed her left hand on Minako's right shoulder to keep her pinned, raising her bread-filled right hand up in the air and emphatically shoving it down towards Minako's mouth. Minako quickly sealed her lips shut, leaving Rei futilely pressing the bread down into her face.
"YOU'RE GONNA EAT THIS FUCKIN BREAD!" Rei roared, reaching her left hand up and grabbing Minako's mouth, trying to pull her lower jaw down to admit the food. Minako wrapped both of her hands around Rei's right wrist, attempting to lift the appendage off her mouth.
After a few seconds, Minako was able to jerk Rei's arm off to the right. Rei responded by forcing her left hand's fingers into Minako's mouth and attempting to force it open. Before Rei was able to leverage this small opening into a target for bread-shoving, she was suddenly pushed from her perch atop Minako, unceremoniously hitting the floor at Minako's side, looking up to see Ami standing above the two of them.
"Rei," Ami said sternly, placing her hands on her hips. "I've had enough of this."
"Oh, you wanna go?!" Rei launched herself up to her feet and quickly got up into Ami's grill, using her couple extra inches of height well. Ami quickly flinched back as Rei scowled down at her. "You wanna go, bitch?!"
Ami glanced away, shrinking back slightly. "Uh, I-I think maybe you...misinterpreted me there," she said nervously. "I—"
The bedroom door slid open, relieving Ami of the responsibility of talking her way out of danger. Usagi skipped in, humming to herself, a content smile on her face. Suddenly, Ami and Minako were the last thing on Rei's mind.
For a moment, Rei contemplated launching herself across the room and tackling Usagi into the wall for having the nerve to hum in her bedroom. But her train of thought was violently derailed as Usagi went over to the corner of Rei's computer desk, pulled her purse off of her shoulder, and reached inside of it.
Rei's eyes widened slightly and she stood up straight, mouth slightly open as Usagi, after a moment of searching, pulled a series of ruffled bills from the bag and set them down on the surface. Still smiling and still humming, Usagi obliviously dropped her purse to the floor by the desk and skipped over to the study table.
Rei dashed over to the desk, staring down at the quintet of yen notes. She bent in closely to them, examining them. She turned to look at Usagi, who seemed quite ignorant of the fact that all three girls in the room were regarding her as if she was an alien. The blonde sat down at the table, finally looking up.
"Hey, girls," she said casually. "Something on my face?"
The south-facing wall suddenly tore open, several rice paper panels and thin wooden beams making way for a tall brunette, who had apparently decided doors weren't good enough a method for providing access from the outdoors to the indoors. Rei didn't even react to this, still giving every bit of her attention to Usagi.
Makoto saw Rei out of the corner of her eye, just enough to draw her attention to the contents of the desk. Her scowl quickly melted as she realized what was sitting there, the logical conclusion coming to her as she saw Rei staring dumbfoundedly at Usagi. The pain in her loins momentarily forgotten, Makoto waited whatever other shoe would be dropping.
Minako and Ami also fixated their attentions on her, waiting for her to explain herself.
"Usagi." Rei pointed her right hand's index finger over at her friend. "If you're trying to jerk me around, I'm gonna give you one...one chance. Right now. To come clean. And if you...you don't take it, so help me God—"
"What are you talking about?" Usagi asked, looking over at Rei. She gestured over at the small pile of money. "Does that not speak for itself?"
Makoto slowly walked over behind Usagi, towering over the sitting girl, eyes still wide in mild shock. "Usagi, are you...really?"
"Do I have to draw a picture?" Usagi asked. "I'm out. The bet was five grand, right?"
"U-uh...out of the...the contest?" Rei babbled, slowly coming over from the desk as well. "The masturbation contest?"
Usagi fought to not roll her eyes. "Yes! Are we doing any other contests right now that I forgot about—"
"SPILL!" Minako suddenly leapt across the table and over to Usagi, grabbing her shirt collar and pulling her close to her face. "SPILL IT! Something juicy happened last night, I can feel it!"
Usagi quickly scrambled backwards, away from Minako, then stood up. "Gosh, you people—" she accidentally backed into Makoto, harmlessly bouncing off of her sizable chest and nearly falling over. "What do you think happened last night, I had sex!"
"Oh my GOD, it finally happened, she's cheating on him!" Minako gasped.
"W-what—"
Minako put her hands up toward Usagi, palms out. "N-now, Usagi, don't get me wrong, while I strongly disapprove, your secret is safe with me! I mean, he brought it on himself anyway with these ridiculous sex rules."
Usagi shook her head emphatically. "N-no, Mina, I—"
"However, I know from experience we have a blabbermouth here, soooo..." Minako twisted her body around to the right, placing herself on top of Ami's notebook, staring directly at her blue-haired companion. "Ami, keep your trap shut on this one, or there will be consequences!"
Ami gave Minako a deadpan stare in reply, but was spared a verbal response by Usagi.
"Mina! I didn't cheat on Mamoru last night!" Usagi snapped, frowning.
"Uh...what happened to once a month?" Makoto asked, raising an eyebrow at Usagi.
"Good question," Usagi conceded. "Something happened...not gonna question it though. Just gonna enjoy it."
Rei continued to stare at Usagi as if a second head had just sprouted from her neck. "But...but...I don't get it," she said dully.
"What don't you get?" Usagi asked. "What's not to get?"
"You...I mean, it...it kills me to say it, but...you were winning." Rei stood at Usagi's side. "You...you could have won. And you...yeah, you...you could have won."
Usagi looked back over at Rei with a mildly vacant look. "So?"
"I...you...you could have won," Rei repeated, mystified. "He just asked for...for sex and you just...said okay?"
"Well...I mean, don't get me wrong, it wasn't quite that simple," Usagi admitted. "I was...compensated."
"Wait." Makoto put her right palm out towards Usagi. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Wait. Compensated, what...how do you mean?"
"Yeah, he gave me ten thousand yen, so...all good, y'know?" Usagi nervously glanced back and forth between Makoto and Rei, who still seemed to be quite fascinated with her revelation.
It took several seconds of silence, that might almost have one believe the conversation was over, for Rei to speak up. "Usagi. Say that again."
"He...Mamo-chan gave me ten thousan yen," Usagi said, shrugging. "And then we had sex."
After a beat, a small smile broke out on Rei's face. "So...he gave you money...and you...you had sex with him."
"...yes," Usagi said slowly, giving Rei a curious look. "Yes, that's what happened."
"So, there was an exchange, in which he provided you money, and you in turn provided a service of a sexual nature," Makoto said, starting to crack a little grin herself for the first time in many days.
"Uh, yeah!" Usagi's face wrinkled slightly in agitation. "What's up with you people today?"
"Usagi." Minako jumped up from her prone position on the table, eyes wide. "So he...he paid you...to have sex with him? That's what you're saying?"
"Yes! Yes, that's what I'm saying!" Usagi said exasperatedly. "He paid me to have sex with him, I...I..." Slowly, the revelation dawned on her, her thought process defined clearly by her irritation melting away. "Oh."
"Yeah," Rei said, giving Usagi a knowing look made possible by the temporary relief of pain in her crotch. "Yeah."
"I know your grades aren't great, Usagi, but...you're not even out of your teens yet," Makoto chuckled, reaching up to pat her on the shoulder. "Jumping the gun just a bit on the hooker career."
Usagi gave her head a quick shake. "No, no, no, it wasn't like...like that!" she insisted. "He...he didn't pay me for sex, he paid me to...to compensate me for my lost entry fee to the contest, which freed me to have sex with him! Completely different, I'm not a hooker!"
"Ah." Rei nodded. "Right. So that was the first five thousand yen. Only the second five thousand was for sex!"
"Which makes you a cheap hooker," Makoto added. "I guess Mamoru gets some sort of frequent customer discount?"
"Ha. Ha." Usagi pushed Makoto's hand off of her shoulder. "We came to an agreement that both of us were happy with, that's all that happened."
"Uh-huh." Rei reached over, wrapping her arm around Usagi's shoulders and pulling her closer, giving her a very wry grin. "Well. You, my friend, have crossed the line that divides woman and prostitute." She nodded knowingly. "You are now...a prostitute."
"Yeah, well, this prostitute just got paid ten grand to have sex, so nyeh," Usagi said, sticking her tongue out at Rei and sitting back down on the floor.
Minako frowned, sitting back down at Usagi's side. "You got paid and got to have sex? God, what am I doing with my life?"
"Five thousand for one screw...don't worry Usagi," Makoto continued to jeer. "You'll be able to charge more as you get better, things will pick up."
Usagi rolled her eyes. "You people really need to get laid...and also, it wasn't one screw, just for your information." She looked up at Makoto.
"W-what?" Minako snapped back into focus, pressing her nose up near Usagi's face. "Wait, wait, don't tell me!" She started sniffing, slowly moving her head around near Usagi, seemingly trying to pick up a scent.
"Mina, what are you doing?" Rei asked. "And what does that mean, Usag—"
"Buhbuhbuh!" Minako raised her hand up towards Rei, index finger up. "Hold it...hold it..." She finally leaned back away from Usagi, face twitching with thought. "Okay...okay...I'm gonna go with...seven."
"Nine," Usagi corrected.
"Guh!" Minako grunted, pursing her lips together tightly and jerking her head down. "I knew it was more, don't know why I went conservative."
"What?!" Rei squatted down at Usagi's side, looking mildly terrified. "P-please tell me I totally misinterpreted that!"
"You had sex nine times last night?!" Makoto gasped, looking down at her seated friend. "How are you still alive?!"
Usagi held her hands out in front of her, all five fingers on her right hand and one finger on her left hand pointed out. "Well...no, not quite..." she ticked one of her left hand's fingers up. "It was...it was seven last night...two this morning...I think."
"Wow," Rei muttered. "I...uh...wow."
"Ami, stop pretending like you're not intently listening to everything," Minako said without looking over at Ami, who had taken to hiding her face behind a schoolbook yet again.
"Man, you're lucky he didn't snap you in two," Makoto murmured.
Usagi laid back on the floor, putting her hands behind her head and smiling blissfully. "Nah, he was stellar. I mean, we're talking...sexual napalm here, really!"
"Huh," Rei said before expelling a large breath. "Okay, so...anyway..." she turned back to look at the pile of money on her computer desk. "Usagi's out."
"And then..." Makoto slowly extended her right hand out towards Rei as the shrine miko turned back to face her lone remaining competitor.
"...there were two." Rei reached her own hand out, clasping it around her palm and giving it a quick shake, a slight grin on her face still.
"No." Ami pulled the book from her face and closed it up, setting it down on the table, finally at peace with the fact that everyone knew her face was dark red anyway. "No, this contest is over!"
Minako snorted a couple times. "Hey Ami, your Darth Maul halloween costume could use some work."
Ami tried to rub her cheeks with her little fingers, failing to work the coloration from them. "Rei, we talked about this, so please end this nonsense."
"Mind your own business, Ami," Rei said, voice containing a surprising amount of patience. "Two woman race."
"Rei!" Ami hissed. "You told me that you didn't want to lose to Usagi! Usagi is now out of the contest! So, please, just bow out gracefully, because I can't take this anymore!"
Rei sat down at the edge of the study table, swallowing down hard.
"Rei, please!" Ami begged. "I mean it, this has gone on long enough! You said this was about beating Usagi, so please end this!"
"Wait." Usagi lifted her head up and looked over at Rei. "She didn't want to lose to me? What? Why?"
"Because she's insane!" Ami answered quickly. "Now, Rei?"
Rei gave a sheepish little grimace, looking over at Makoto. "But...but I'm so close now!"
"Auuuugh," Ami groaned, again slamming her face into the surface of the desk.
"No, really, I...I think I'm getting my second wind!" Rei insisted, an optimistic smile on her face. "Really, I think...I think I'm gonna be much better from here on out!" She nodded, Ami still splayed out on top of the table. "I feel like a new woman! I'm gonna..."
A quick burst of wind caught her attention, eyes quickly finding the massive hole in the wall. Quick as a flash, she stood up, storming towards the damaged property with a scowl.
"Oh, what the FUCK?!" she shouted, looking at the Makoto-sized hole. "Oh, you fucking dumb gorilla! Look at this!"
"Well, maybe there wouldn't be a problem if you had another door built into the yard over there!" Makoto retorted hotly.
Ami could only give a strangled groan, face still buried into the desk.
"
2 weeks, 6 days, 18 hours, 3 minutes, 56 seconds...
"
Makoto used the still-lit tip of what remained of one cigarette to light a second one, discarding the remains of the first in a coffee cup to her left.
"Mako, could you at the very least, please, please, PLEASE do that outside?!" Ami pleaded, watching her friend lift the cigarette to her lips and take in a long puff.
Like clockwork, Makoto began an extended series of hacking coughs, sounding for all the world as if she was dying. It took several seconds for it to pass. "Try and make me then!" she dared.
Ami looked over at Rei, seated opposite her at the table. "Rei, she's filling your bedroom with secondhand smoke, don't you—"
"Oh, no, I welcome it!" Rei grunted out, looking like a horror movie villain, skin blotchy and eyes veiny. "Secondhand smoke, can't get enough of it, really gets me through the day!" She inhaled a deep breath as Makoto continued to fill the room with tobacco smoke.
Ami gave a groan of defeat, lifting up a small handheld fan, the handle approximately pen-shaped, in the hopes of keeping her little section of room unpolluted. "Swear to God, one of these days I'm going to move in with Setsuna," she grumbled under her breath.
"Yeah, be nicer to Ami," Minako said, giving her a sly look. "She prefers to only indulge in cigarettes immediately following orgasm. So like three a day."
Ami stood up, slamming her book shut and making a beeline for the bedroom door.
"Damn, pretty early in the day for a semen-and-nicotine double dip!" Minako taunted. "Oh well, heart wants what the heart wants!"
Ami quickly escaped out into the hallway, practically ripping her cell phone out of her right pocket and bringing it up in front of her. A handful of finger taps later, a call was transmitted. She placed the electronic up to her ear.
A loud crashing sound caused her to wince and jump slightly, spinning around and reaching for the knob before deciding that she's rather live in ignorance of whatever was going on within the room for the time being. Finally, the repeated ringing ended.
"Hello?" Usagi hailed.
"Usagi, it's me, look...we expected you here half an hour ago, and...look, you can't leave me alone with these people, are you going to be here soon?" Ami quickly reeled off. "I'm serious, I need some degree of sanity here before I lose my mind, you're the only—"
"HA!" Usagi yelled through the phone. Ami pulled the phone a few inches away from her ear, wincing at the unexpected burst of volume. "Voicemail! Leave it at the tone."
Ami grimaced, grip on the phone tightening as she glared down at it. A loud, long beep emitted from the speaker just as Ami ended the call.
"
Mamoru tapped the pause button on the small remote control in his right hand, setting it down on his bedside table and looking over at Usagi. "You've seriously never heard that song before?"
Usagi shook her head. "No, I...I don't think I have." She pulled the blankets up her torso a little bit, covering her chest, laying back against the propped-up set of bed pillows behind her.
"Wow." Mamoru gave her a bewildered look. "That's legitimately amazing. Who hasn't heard Stairway to Heaven? Like, it's practically impossible!"
Usagi shook her head. "No, I really think I haven't heard it before."
"Man." Mamoru shrugged, picking the blankets on top of him up and peering down at his lower body. "They've played that song so much, you're not even allowed to play it in guitar stores anymore."
"Maybe that's why I haven't heard it," Usagi mused.
"Huh. I got a lot of stuff I need to show you, I guess," Mamoru mused. "Anyway, looks like I'm hard again, so..."
"W-wait," Usagi said, reaching over and grabbing her phone from the the table on her side of the bed. "I gotta return this call, give me a second."
As Usagi placed the call, however, Mamoru's arms snaked across his bed and wrapped around his fiance, ensnaring her and pulling her closer to the middle of the bed. Usagi gave a little yelp as Mamoru pulled her close and started frenching her left temple.
"Oh c-come on, just gimme a second," she giggled, feeling a telltale prod down on her thigh.
"Usagi, where are you?" Ami immediately questioned as the connection was made.
"U-uh...I'm doing stuff," she gasped as Mamoru started running his strong fingers through her hair, reaching down into her scalp and sending sparks of pleasure through her nerves. "Busy!"
Ami gave an audible sigh. "Usagi, we're at the shrine, waiting for you! When are you getting here? I seriously need you here, I can't be alone with these people!"
"U-uh...I dunno, I've got some pretty important things to take care of today," Usagi said quickly, Mamoru now nibbling on her left earlobe, then slowly moving down her jawline, leaving tender kisses on it as he made his way down to her chin.
There was a small pause on the line as Mamoru slowly began to pull Usagi's small figure on top of him, delicately moving her into position as he continued his erotic work.
"You're at Mamoru's, aren't you?" Ami said accusingly.
"Uh, well—ah!" Mamoru's ever-roaming hands had made their way down her body. "Y-yeah, yeah, we're—"
"You've been having sex all afternoon," Ami continued, agitation evident in her voice. "You're having sex right now, aren't you?"
"No," Usagi gasped out, unable to hold back on some little giggling titters as Mamoru bent down and started kissing the nape of her neck. As she released a few sensual moans, Mamoru slowly made his way south. "Okay, okay, y-yeah, I am," she admitted, chuckling. "It's seriously awesome."
"Usagi—"
"C-can you give me a few minutes?" Usagi interrupted, setting the phone up on the top right corner of the bed as Mamoru moved his trail of kisses past her belly button.
"
Ami sat in the hallway of Rei's shrine, holding her cell phone at her side, scowling deeply. A series of primal grunts and moans were erupting from the small speaker, Ami opting to spare her eardrum the full brunt of it. Behind her, she could hear Makoto's violent cough mixed in with Rei yelling at her math textbook. Slowly, she shook her head.
"Madhouse...it's a madhouse..." she said under her breath.
The howls of lust crescendoed from the other side of the phone connection, culminating with Ami getting treated with a clattering crash. She fumed to herself as a dual set of loud panting came through the device. After a few minutes, she heard a quiet scraping noise, followed by heavy breathing.
"O-okay, I'm back, you there?" Usagi asked.
"Unfortunately," Ami said tersely. "Usagi, I really don't want to leave, but I'm seriously contemplating it, can you please just get over here?!"
"Y-yeah, okay," Usagi relented. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes—ah!"
Ami was barely able to make out a series of throaty chuckles from the other end.
"Make that forty-five," Usagi said naughtily, followed immediately by the dull extended tone of a terminated phone connection. Ami scowled, then started slamming the top right corner of her phone down onto the floor repeatedly.
"
3 weeks, 2 days, 23 hours, 45 minutes, 13 seconds...
"
Rei sat in a seiza position, staring deep into the sacred fire, sweat pouring from every orifice she had, heart pounding in her chest. She forced herself to focus on the dancing licks of flame before her, trying desperately to think about anything else but the hell happening inside of her loins.
Ice no longer did her any good. Just a half-measure. There was nothing left for her to fall back on but her meditation techniques. She fought to shut down the intense pains of denial coming from her lower half, trying to find some degree of solace in the peaceful act of exploring one's spirituality.
A gentle scrape from behind distracted her. She twisted her head around to see the door into the room sliding open. To both her delight and frustration, Nobu slipped through the opening in the wall, gently shutting the portal behind him.
She grimaced, but forced a rather ugly smile to her face. "Hey!" she said.
"Evening," Nobu replied, slowly approaching. "How are you tonight?"
"Oh, just fantastic!" Rei answered, turning back to the fire, ripping her eyes away from her student. "Just awesome!"
"You don't look so good," he commented, stopping behind her. "In fact...no offense...you look like hell."
"Yeah, but I feel great!" Rei said loudly. "S-so, Nobu, where were we from last time? Do you remember, I'm having a bit of a hard time—"
Nobu kneeled down behind her. "Y'know, Rei...just to put the offer on the table for you...I mean, the stuff you've taught me recently, it's really, really helped me find inner peace and relax, and I really do appreciate it."
"O-oh, it's...just doing my duty!" she said, voice cracking slightly.
"Sure, but I'd love to get a chance to return the favor," he added. "I'm actually going to school to become a physical therapist. You know, for like, athletes and celebrities, pretty lucrative."
"Yeah, I-I think you...mentioned that awhile back," Rei said.
"So I can tell a highly stressed-out person when I see one," he continued. Gently, he placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to tense up. "Maybe I could help you relax."
Rei went deathly pale, heart-rate increasing as she felt his firm, yet pleasant grip on her shoulders.
"I'm at the top of my class," he added. "How about it?"
Rei gave a high-pitched little whine, body starting to shake.
"
Makoto threw the hinged lid off the top of the large green dumpster, then immediately threw herself into the large container. The smell she released could have been weaponized, but she barely even noticed as she started frantically digging through the massive pile of trash.
Her vision was starting to shake and blur as she fought with the pains of both orgasm denial and nicotine denial. She scooped an armful of trash out from the container and tossed it out onto the ground, eyes lighting up at the sight of a cigarette carton. She grabbed it, only to find it empty. She tossed this out of the container as well, then resumed digging through the rubbish.
Grunting in frustration, Makoto sifted through the dumpster's contents, legs slowly sinking into the garbage until she was knee-deep. She could feel some unsanitary liquid on her feet, her shoes now soaked in some unholy watery mixture. She ripped open a black plastic bag, spilling out the contents in front of her, then frantically digging through it. Another pair of cigarette cartons exposed themselves, but again, they were empty.
After several minutes, she gave the back side of the dumpster a mighty punch, groaning in defeat, then reluctantly pulled herself out of the container. Her lower half was drenched in an unspeakable mix of water fit for a sewer. She jumped back down to the ground, amid a large pile of garbage that she had tossed from the dumpster.
She gave a low hiss, then started beating her fists into the brick wall on the opposite side of the alley repeatedly, bruising her knuckles and causing little flecks of mortar to fall to her feet. She growled and moaned as she futilely beat on the building for a good minute, then finally gave a heavy sigh and stopped.
She turned to look out at the street. An elementary school boy stood there on the sidewalk, eyes on the brawny schoolgirl, horror and disgust on his face as he regarded her wretched state.
Makoto thought about saying something, but instead just leveled a nasty scowl at him, then turned around and stormed off down the opposite end of the alley.
"A-are...are you gonna clean this up?" the boy asked timidly, pointing at the pile of loose trash. "Because...because this is littering, and I'll have to report you—"
Makoto spun around, reaching down to grab her crotch, giving it a good shake towards the boy as she walked backwards away from him. "REPORT THIS!" she shouted, spinning back around and quickly walking off.
"
3 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes, 16 seconds...
"
"It's been thirty-six hours since my last smoke," Makoto moaned, walking bow-leggedly down the sidewalk. "What kind of shit city is this, nobody throws away cigarettes anymore! It's bullshit, what it is!"
"Maybe I can cop a few from my father," Minako offered. "Y'know, for the right price."
"No, I can't cut into my profits when I win this contest," Makoto replied, practically limping to keep up with her friends.
"Oh, well, too bad. Offer's open anyway—"
Makoto reached forward and roughly grabbed Minako by the shoulder. "I didn't say no."
"Yeah, well, if you can't pay me, I'm not gonna take on that risk," Minako insisted. Makoto spun her around, gripping both of her shoulders and pressing her nose close up to her face.
"Mina, don't make me beat you til your legs don't work!" Makoto threatened. "You get me those cigarettes or—"
Ami forced her way inbetween the two, using her body to force them apart. "God, Mako, listen to yourself! Stop!"
"You might wanna stay out of this," Makoto said menacingly. "Unless you think you can get me cigarettes."
"Mako, when this stupid contest is over, promise me you'll join a help group," Ami pleaded. "Because, seriously, this is a problem—"
"The only problem here is that I'm out of smokes!" Makoto interrupted. "So if someone here doesn't—"
"Skyyyyrockets in flight!"
The three girls looked up the sidewalk. Usagi, oblivious to their little scuffle, had skipping ahead, cheerfully singing to herself.
"Afternoon delight!"
Makoto released Minako's shoulders, quickly sweeping past Ami and Minako. "Stop singing! Now!"
Usagi quickly skipped up the steps leading to the Hiwaka shrine, Makoto taking them three at a time to catch up to her.
"Usagi, stop singing!" Makoto demanded, grabbing her right forearm. "Usagi, knock it off!" She yanked her in close. "Look into my eyes, Usagi. Do you see the animal within?! You wanna screw with me right now?!"
Usagi raised her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, sorry!"
Makoto released the smaller girl and swept past her up the steps. Usagi gave a small shrug, then followed her upwards.
Minako and Ami caught up after a moment, the four of them gathering back up half-way to the entrance of the main structure.
"So, how many times did you do it last night?" Minako asked, leaning in close to Usagi's ear, trying to shield her conversation from Makoto.
"Three," Usagi replied. "But two of them were on the lake in a rowboat."
"Nice!" Minako clapped her on the back. "That's what I'm talking about! Yeah!"
"We listened to a lot of music," Usagi explained. "I dunno, it's weird, he's...he seemed really offended that I didn't know who this Steely Dan guy is." She shrugged again.
"It's the name of the band," Ami said quickly under her breath, adjusting the strap of her schoolbag on her shoulder.
"Huh?" Usagi turned to look at Ami as the friends entered the building's front entrance.
"Steely Dan is the name of the band, not the person," she explained rapidly, eyes still on Makoto's back. "They named the band after a...a..." she caught herself. "N-nevermind."
"—completely unacceptable for me to behave like that, really, and really, when I behave like that, call me out."
Makoto stopped dead in her tracks, Usagi, Minako and Ami nearly colliding into her back. All four of them fell deathly silent, eyeing the right turn just a few steps in front of them in the hallway.
"H-hey, actually, it didn't even bother me that much, I'm not even...thinking about it anymore—"
"No, no. Yuuchirou, no, you can't...I can't act like that, you can't let me act like that. Seriously, I mean it! When I get like that about something, speak up! Hold me accountable!"
The four girls slowly crept up to the corner in the hallway, ears perked up for the pair of voices coming from the other side of the right turn.
"A-anyway, I don't want this to be about you, this is...it's about me, and...I can't be like that. So, from the bottom of my heart, I'm...I'm sorry you had to experience that. Really, I can't, and I'm incredibly sorry!"
"Hey, hey, forget it, it's nothing, I...I kinda deserved it—"
"No, you didn't! That's the thing, you didn't. You never deserve that, because...because you're great and we love having you here. Really, we really appreciate all the good stuff you do for us, you have no idea how much we appreciate it, and...I think sometimes I'm less-than-clear on that. And I'm sorry for that, really."
Minako dared a slow peak around the corner, sticking her head out slightly into the hall, just in time to see Rei embrace Yuuchirou in a hug. Yuuchirou tensed up at the physical show of affection.
"I...I actually feel really bad about that whole stupid business, so...look, I don't know what it's gonna be, but...but I really wanna make it up to you. Like really make it up to you," Rei continued, gently patting Yuuchirou's back. "Just don't let me forget, really, because...that was so not cool of me, and you're great, and...I don't wanna be like that. So really, don't let me forget, okay?"
Makoto, Usagi and Ami stuck their heads around the corner as well, watching the scene play out in front of them.
"Y-yeah," Yuuchirou said, nodding as Rei pulled away from him. "Sure, uh...y'know, don't go too crazy, I'm really totally fine."
"Alright, see you later," Rei said, giving him a small bow as she ducked back into her bedroom. Yuuchirou stood there for a moment, then turned down the hall and skipped off, humming to himself.
The four girls all exchanged meaningful looks between each other. Even Makoto's hands had stopped shaking. Carefully, the group turned the corner and made their way down the hall, almost as if they were afraid they could break the moment if they didn't treat it like an eggshell.
Usagi pulled the door open. Rei was sitting at the foot of her bed, cell phone in her hand, looking down at the screen, fingers playing across it. She was humming a little tune to herself, just barely audible across the room.
"So, that was sweet," Usagi said, as the four girls entered the room.
"Yeah, I...I hope that's how it played," Rei replied quietly.
"W-what are you gonna do to make it up to him?" Minako asked, walking over to the study table in the corner.
"I'm not sure yet," Rei said softly.
Minako sat down on the floor. "What's he in to?"
"Uh...music...I think he likes baseball. Probably something in there—"
"No, no, I mean...what's he in to?" Minako pried. "Like, really, you said you really wanted to make it up to him, so...is is a breast man? Ass man? C'mon, you've known him for awhile."
Rei looked up from her phone, shooting Minako a tired look. "W-what are you babbling about?"
Minako laid back on the floor. "Not that it's any of my business—"
"Yeah, it's not," Rei cut her off.
"...but, you really did kinda mess up with him, so I think you need to go above and beyond with this." Minako gazed over at Rei. "So really, what's he into? Come on, you wanna make it up to him, give him what he really wants!"
"Mina—"
"Maybe he's into feet, then it would actually be really easy for you to—"
Rei held her hand out towards Minako. "Okay, enough, stop talking! Please!"
An extended silence hung in the room, everyone just staring at each other, waiting for someone to say something.
"So." Ami went over to the bed, sitting down next to Rei. "Anything you want to say?"
Rei gave a curt nod, setting the phone down. "As a matter of fact...yes, I do." She gestured over towards Makoto. "Mako, if I may, are you still...Queen of the castle?"
Usagi sat herself down next to Minako. "We've been at school with her all day. Trust us, she's still in."
Rei gave a little sigh, but stood up from the corner of the bed never the less. "Very well then." She grabbed a small tin box from behind her on the bed, and made her way over towards her taller friend. "I suppose this is yours then."
She opened the top lid of the little box, revealing a pile of assorted yen notes and coins. Makoto reached forward and took the container, looking down at the currency within.
"All yours. Twenty thousand yen." Rei gave a nod. "Spend it in good health."
A shaky, thin smile came to Makoto's face. Ami came over from the bed and placed her hand on Rei's shoulder.
"Well, Rei, I've hardly been the biggest supporter of your actions in recent times, but let me say, in this moment...I'm proud of you," she said, giving her a little pat before walking over to the study table.
"So...you're out?" Makoto asked, scooping the money from the tin.
Rei nodded. "Yeah. As of last night. I lost, fair and square. You're the winner."
Makoto slipped the money into her purse's opening. "Official and final?"
"Yeah." Rei reached her right hand forward towards Makoto. "Congratulations. You're too much for me."
Makoto took her hand and gave it a quick pump. "Alright." She nodded to herself. "I win. Cool." She stood there for a moment, then tried to step past Rei. "Alright, I gotta use your bathroom."
It took Rei half a second to react, reaching up to grab the front of Makoto's school uniform. "NO!" she snapped, pushing her back in front of her, putting her body between Makoto and the door. "Absolutely not!"
"W-what, I need to pee, what's the big..." Makoto again tried to go around Rei, but Rei slid over to keep in front of her, again reaching forward to grab a fistful of her uniform.
"No, in fact, you are not leaving my sight until you leave later!" Rei insisted. Makoto reached down and tried to pry Rei's fingers from her shirt front. Rei shoved her back, away from the door. "I am not an idiot!"
"Oh, for the love of...I need to pee, just—" Makoto suddenly charged into Rei's chest, knocking her over, but Rei was able to wrap her arms around Makoto's torso and bring her down to the floor along with her. Makoto struggled to get up, but Rei refused to let her go, wrapping her legs around her waste in an effort to keep her down.
"I...wasn't born yesterday!" Rei snapped, trying to flip over so she would be on top of Makoto. Makoto reached up, grabbing at Rei's face, trying to force her to let her go. "You're not going anywhere near that bathroom!"
The three girls watched from across the room as the two tussled about.
"Should we do something?" Usagi asked as Makoto managed to stick her middle and index fingers up Rei's nostrils.
"You can if you want to," Minako said, vague amusement on her face.
"Okay, fine!" Makoto shouted as Rei managed to get her fingers out of her nose. "Yeah, I got business to handle, and you're not stopping me!"
Rei finally managed to heave Makoto underneath her, trying to use every bit of her weight to keep her pinned. She absorbed a knee to the stomach from Makoto, huffing and puffing with effort. "You've...gone three weeks...you can go another few hours!" she heaved, grabbing Makoto's right wrist and pushing it away from her as it attempted to push her off.
"No, I can't!" Makoto yelled. "It's a bathroom, who cares what happens in there?!"
"I don't care!" Rei retorted, Makoto managing to lift Rei up to the side, but Rei keeping her right leg on top of her to keep her down. "You...are not...masturbating...in my bathroom!"
"Okay, fine, then now, this is happening!" Makoto suddenly plunged her left hand into the waistband of her skirt.
Rei's eyes popped wide, and she desperately reached down to grab her wrist, using every bit of strength in her body to get Makoto's hand from the private area. "NO! NO!" Rei screamed, slowly managing to inch Makoto's hand back out from within the skirt. "NO! Absolutely NOT!"
"Here, or bathroom!" Makoto grunted, gaining the upper hand as Rei was distracted with the task of keeping Makoto's hand from her crotch. "Here, or bathroom!"
"NO!" Rei demanded. Makoto had managed to coil her legs together underneath her, planting her feet into Rei's chest. Rei did the best she could, but Makoto was stronger, and with a mighty thrust from Makoto's strong legs as she uncoiled, Rei was launched halfway across her room.
Immediately, Makoto stabbed her right hand back inside of her skirt, long strong fingers finding the happy zone in short order. Rei landed with a painful crash, but immediately threw herself back across the room, leaping on Makoto.
"NO, NO!" Rei continued to shout as Makoto's body convulsed around from her self-stimulation. Rei quickly mounted her and grabbed her wrist, yanking her hand back out. But it was too late. Makoto's body arched up and her eyes rolled back into her head. She unleashed an orgasmic scream, head bending back and toes curling as she unleashed more than three weeks of painful denial in a few mind-shattering seconds.
Acknowledging yet another defeat, Rei simply collapsed on top of Makoto, panting heavily. Makoto finally collapsed in a heap onto the floor as the pleasure wave washed over her. She released several satisfied little moans and sighs.
Rei groaned, sighing deeply, catching a deep whiff of Makoto's juices as she did so. She rolled over to the side, laying out on the floor. "Oh my God...oh my God...I hate you so much," she moaned.
Makoto replied only with more pleasurable little gasps and sighs. Rei planted her forehead into the ground.
"I...I can't not believe...you just did that," Rei grunted. "Oh my God...I need new friends."
"In about twenty minutes I'll feel pretty bad about doing that," Makoto admitted. "But...right now? Clooooooud nine, baby!"
Usagi's jaw was halfway to the floor, eyes trained on Makoto's finally-relaxed form. "Oh my GOD!" she gasped. Even Minako looked shocked.
Rei just kept on panting heavily. "I'm gonna get you for this. You're gonna pay," she threatened.
"Yup," Makoto replied, chuckling lightly to herself.
The door was violently flung open, Yuuchirou standing there, holding a wooden training katana in his hands. "I-I heard screaming, I...what's...what..."
Yuuchirou lowered the training weapon to his side slowly as he looked down at the sight before him on the floor. Makoto still wore the most pleasurable of smiles on her face, eyes closed, looking as if she was in heaven. Right beside her was Rei, panting.
Yuuchirou's mouth fell slightly open. His nostrils twitched a couple times, picking up the unmistakable strong scent that was fast filling the room.
Quickly, Rei got up into a kneeling position, hands out towards Yuuchirou. "Hey, Yuuchirou, buddy, hey, I...uh...me and Mako were just...just talking about how...about how...this absolutely is nothing what it looks like...and certainly nothing what it smells like, so—"
Makoto reached up and grabbed Rei by the front collar, yanking her up close before she could think to resist. She planted a kiss right onto Rei's lips. Rei's eyes practically bugged out from their sockets as Makoto locked their lips together, and she frantically reached down towards her to push her away.
The two girls pulled apart, Rei looking horrified. Makoto gave her a lidded glare, grinning. "I hope that was as good for you as it was for me," she said seductively.
Yuuchirou's mouth fell the rest of the way open.
"No. Fucking. Way!" he managed to squeak out.
Rei put her palms up towards Yuuchirou. "Y-Yuuchirou, it's...it's really not—"
Yuuchirou's eyelids fluttered a couple times and he slumped to the side, consciousness leaving him and a thin stream of blood beginning to pour from his nose. He hit the floor with a resounding thud.
Rei gave the most pitiful of groans, slumping over next to Makoto again, splaying out on the groan. "Oh...you dick," Rei moaned. "You...you big...massive dick."
Makoto chuckled to herself again. "Yeah." She put her hands up behind her head, sighing in ecstasy yet again.
Usagi couldn't turn away from the scene by the door, mouth still hanging open. "Wow."
Minako turned to look at Ami, who had once again tried to find refuge inside of a schoolbook. "Hey, so...this seems like a pretty good time to come clean. I did actually masturbate in your bedroom that day."
Ami sighed audibly, keeping the book up in front of her face.
"J-just so we're clear, I...yeah." She shrugged. "It had been four days, so...sorry about that, really."
Ami set the book down on the table so she could be freed to glare daggers at Minako, as well as reveal the reddening effect Rei and Makoto had had on her face.
"But hey!" Minako said enthusiastically. "Suddenly I don't look so bad, huh? I mean, at least I waited until you left the room!"
Ami's gazed narrowed into little slits.
"And, in all fairness, you never explicitly told me I couldn't masturbate in your bedroom, so...I mean really...after what just happened over there, I think I handled myself admirably."
Ami closed her eyes and slowly shook her head back and forth.
"So. Yeah, just...just clearing the air. You definitely don't have a squirrel nest on your fire escape or anything, so...you can stop looking," Minako finished.
Ami opened her eyes. "Rei," she called out. "If you ever find those new friends, let me know please."
"Yeah," Rei answered, still too exhausted to get up off the floor.
The room hung in silence, save for the continuing little giggles from Makoto.
"
THE END
Thanks to everyone who read. Sorry this chapter didn't get up sooner, I fell ill for awhile there. Feel free to review or message me with any thoughts you might have.
As a notice to everyone, my next Sailor Moon fanfiction is going to be a massive epic, so I am going to be disappearing 'into the lab' for at least a few months to set things up and write ahead. To those of you who are familiar with The Million Dollar Grant, this next story is going to thematically be similar to that one, and will require me to spend some serious time writing ahead and planning things out before I upload anything. As such, unless I write a random oneshot, I wouldn't expect to see me post anything new for awhile.
Until then, thanks to all who read!