Chapter 14

The man that walked through the cramped door looked like a gangster and for a moment, I contemplated elbowing Nanami in the balls and making a run for it. This surely wasn't what a smart girl did. She didn't wander off to abandoned buildings out in the middle of the mountains and take the word of men who looked like they sold organs on the side. She didn't look to the mysterious stranger who had gotten her into this mess and follow his lead when he rose, taking in the new additions to the room like a financial advisor adding up your latest credit card debts.

That's what I found myself doing, though, my whole body bending stiffly, my eyes blinking down at the worn azure carpet in mute astonishment.

Because smart, normal girls also didn't get attacked by things that people couldn't see.

I straightened, feeling slightly dizzy as I realized that everyone's eyes had shifted to me, assessing.

"This her?" a man at least a foot taller than me growled, his eyes covered by shades so dark that I could see my own reflection in them. His hair was shaved close on the sides, the dark strands spiky on top, a well-trimmed beard darkening his jaw. He wore the same dark outfit that Gojo had on, except his was pure black, the material making him look like a void in the room because of how burly he was.

He would have been intimidating on his own, but the man just beside him made my skin go clammy. His nagajuban was white, tucked neatly into plum purple hakama, a wizen cane clutched in his hands as he strode slowly across the room and stopped abruptly in front of me, the low table the only thing separating us. I could barely see his eyes his brow was so low and broad, the pinpricks of his pupils gleaming from beneath long, curling eyebrows that had grown past his brow. His hair was shaved entirely bald; the only other hair on his head was the goatee that dangled past his hunched shoulders and down his chest.

This man was at least closer to my height - although that didn't seem like so much of a blessing since I could clearly see the severe curve of his lips as he sneered across the table at me. He looked like he wanted to tear out my insides and drag them along the halls behind him.

If I had thought that this meeting would have eased my mind about my growing entanglement into a criminal enterprise, then I was severely mistaken. These men looked like they would sooner toss me into a pile of needles then help with anything.

I leaned a bit farther into Nanami's side, waiting as he gave a slow, deep sigh and tipped down so that I could whisper in his ear. "You're not going to sell me into a sex ring, are you?"

He jerked back, his eyes widening as he gaped down at me. His voice was a low, bewildered hiss when he finally answered. "No."

I blinked up at him, the sudden reality of this whole situation absurdly plain. I was in the middle of nowhere with one bar of service in a room filled with men that I barely knew.

I was an idiot.

I was going to get myself killed.

I whipped out my phone, snapping a quick picture of both Nanami and me before sending it off to the first open chat that I had with the date and time in a message beneath. Nanami spluttered, looking baffled by my sudden wariness.

"You can't kill me," I rushed out, turning with a boldness to the rest of the room that I definitely didn't feel. I straightened my spine, ignoring the fact that I was all up trying to slither farther behind Nanami's shoulder. No one moved. My insides withered as I caught the blank expression on the two men in front of me. "I know - I know that you guys are running a very - um - secretive organization here but I just sent a message to one of my friends-" I didn't have any friends. In all honesty, I could have just sent that to the delivery person who I had been messaging earlier that day. "If I go missing, this guy-" I jabbed a finger aggressively up at the man I was currently trying to cower behind. "Is going to be in big, big trouble and he probably leads back to you all. So. Think about that."

I huffed out a breath into Nanami's bicep, my legs awkwardly crushed between his and the couches. There was a beat of long, excruciating silence which was filled with the rhythmic beeping of my phone going off. With one bar of service, it could very well be a message from my provider saying that it couldn't be sent. My head spun dully as I thought over the possibility that I had just pissed off some very powerful people - people that were part of a secret organization that sold not only body parts and drugs but also killed supernatural beings.

I was so screwed.

Laughter - loud and booming - cut through the air, bursting the bubble of tension that had been created around us. I glanced back as Gojo curled in on himself, his face going a startling shade of red as another peel of laughter tore from him. He slammed his head against one of the cabinets as he mimed me taking a picture. Tears welled up behind the shade of his glasses, sliding down his jaw as he guffawed, clutching his stomach.

"She's gonna blackmail us-" he stopped, sounding like he was sobbing as he let out another wail of laughter. "She took a picture like you were her fucking pimp, Nanami."

"Can you shut up?" Nanami growled, looking about ready to tear across the room and drag the other man out of the room. His head turned slowly in my direction and I suddenly wanted to shrink into the couch. He was mad. Veins popped in the corded muscles of his throat, the pinpricks of his eyes seeming liking little voids that would kick out my knees and make me beg at his feet. I gulped down a breath, my shoulders going up as I tried to make myself as small as possible. His teeth flashed, white and sharp in a snarl. "What did I tell you, little girl?"

Oh.

I had fucked up.

I let out a whimper that had been stuck in my throat, my eyes sliding to the leather of his shoes. I could barely bring myself to stand in front of him, much less keep his eyes. My voice was small and thin when I finally answered. "I'm sorry. I made a mistake." I paused, a single lone bubble of annoyance bubbling up. "And I'm not a little girl."

The growl that rumbled through him and riverberated around the room was enough to make me quiver and I suddenly remembered how he looked with that creatures blood splattered across him in the abandoned house. I had fucked up so bad.

"You're right," he snarled. "You're not a little girl. You're a pain in the ass." He pinned me with the most disapproving look I had ever received. "We'll talk about this later."

He turned away, dismissing me as if I wasn't anything other than a shadow. I was still tucked safely behind him but there was significantly less of a feeling of satisfaction about it.

Gojo's voice flitted to me, low and lilting. "You made daddy maaadddd~"

I resisted the urge to flip him the bird behind my back. I was already in enough trouble without his stupid instigation. Mentally, I berated myself. That whole thing had been stupid and infantile and completely against the set of rules that Nanami had given me for a reason.

But there was also so much… so much raw energy in this room right now. I could feel it pressing against me, pushing me down until I could barely draw in a clean breath. That scent of burning herbs had grown so pungent that my brain felt like it was being pressed in a pestle pot. It was from them - from all of them being in this room on these grounds. Every nerve in my entire body screamed for me to run - to get out of their as quickly as possible.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea to bring her here." The scorn in Nanami's voice was enough to make my head dip farther down, shame making my cheeks hot. "You've scared her-"

"I understand your concern but this isn't a matter that can be easily brushed off and put under a rug." It was the man who looked like a debt collector who was talking, his voice deep and flecked with dimming amusement. "This girl-"

"Woman," Nanami snapped and I glanced up to catch the fury darkening his brow, the other man's lips twitching in surprise as he paused before continuing.

"This woman became able to see curses out of the blue. That doesn't happen everyday-"

"Ever," the older man bit out severely, his eyes still tracking me in a way that made me thoroughly uncomfortable.

The other, burlier man sighed. "We need to make precautions." His attention seemed to shift to me, his head tipping to the side as he tried to catch my eyes. "What do you do, Miss Minato Tanaka?"

I frowned down at the ground, unwilling to answer anything. Nanami had told me to keep quiet. He had told me that for a reason. And so far I had been causing him trouble not listening to him. Had he shown any reason that he wanted to hurt me? No. The answer was a resounding no. In fact, he had helped me even when it seemed like he shouldn't have.

"Miss Tanaka?" I pressed my lips tighter together, finally dragging me eyes upwards to where Nanami had angled his head so that he could see me behind his shoulder. His face was utterly unreadable, the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones making him resemble stone. Slowly, almost inperceptively he nodded.

"A baker," I supplied quietly.

Gojo snorted, beginning an unhurried perusal of the condiments shoved into the kitchenette's cabinets. "She's the owner of a bakery not just a baker."

"It a small store," I gritted out before clamping my lips closed again.

"A baker," the wizened old man scoffed and I could almost hear his eyes roll. "Next we'll have a painter joining our ranks." My hackles rose, the jab not lost on me. "What's she going to use against a curse? A rolling pin?"

We use knives too, you jackass, I seethed, fuming silently.

"I think you and I both know that she isn't going to be fighting curses," Nanami said with deadly calm, his eyes blazing as he stared at the older man. "She didn't sign up for this."

"You're right," the old man snapped, his eyes flashing from the darkness of his brow as he glared up at Nanami. "She was drafted."

I feel a cold shiver of sickness tighten my gut. Wh-what? What the fuck did that mean? My hand reaches out without thinking, curling around the harsh leather of Nanami's belt. My fingers had started to shake, I realized almost distantly, trying to draw in a single breath. Nanami's shoulders tense, his gaze flicking back to me with - concern? Anxiety? Rage? I couldn't tell but what I did know was that the news was an unwelcome surprise.

"You sound senile, old man," Gojo scoffed, that every present smile curling his words but I could feel the sharpness of his amusement, could feel how his body was at complete odds with the silent threat in his eyes.

"We both know the situation that Juijutsu Sorcerers have always been in." His voice didn't waver, sounding thin and brittle like the branches of a dying tree. His eyes are hard when they slip to me. "It's good to have troops on the sidelines."

I can feel all the blood drain from my face, my body locking up as I try and fail to draw in a solid breath. I wasn't - I was a baker.

Gojo gives a long whistle, sounding endlessly amused. "I always wanted to know what it was like to fight beside an unwilling participant."

"What are you getting at, Gakuganji?" Nanami's voice dropped an octave or two, deceptively calm.

"I think I've made it clear." His gaze snapped back from glaring at the silver-haired man behind us, his lips tightening. "We both know that untrained sorcerers are a liability to both our world and their own. What would she do if she came across a curse?"

I felt the words like rocks being pelted down at me. We both knew what I would do. I would scramble to get away. Scream for help. Put up a decent fight but ultimately be murdered in a grisly and frankly embarassing fashion.

A tick in Nanami's jaw started to pulse as he stared hard at the older man. "She can't use cursed energy. She has no way of defending herself."

"Yet," the burlier man finally chimed in again. He, at least, had the decency to look thoroughly uncomfortable with the way that they were strong arming me into this.

Gojo's words suddenly came back me with the force of a stampede of horses. They had already made their decision. Now they had just dragged us here to dictate it down.

"Or ever, Yaga," Nanami growled and I could feel the raw, beating violence that was starting to pulse beneath. "You both act as if she's been a undercover sorcerer for decades however I can safely inform you that she showed no signs before this. You're betting on a unicorn. There's no proof - not a shred of evidence to indicate that she will continue to progress."

"Except for the sudden development of sight to curses," Gakuganji shot back and I saw the tick in Nanami's jaw pulse.

"A miracle in and of itself," he bit out.

"Listen," Yaga started, his voice soothingly appeasing, his big hands going up to make a sincere splaying of his hands. "We both know that Miss Tanaka doesn't have the experience with cursed energy or the creatures that come with that. We know that it's only a matter of time before she draws attention to herself and ends up dead. Having her around the institute will help us keep an eye on her and also possibly get ahead of whatever's going on inside - whether that's these new abilities flatlining or growing into something more."

"You all just want shiny new toys," I heard Gojo grumble behind me and I couldn't help but feel the same.

It felt and sounded like they wanted me to turn into some secret weapon - a changeling finally revealed in their midst. My head went light, dizziness making the room around me pulse.

Nanami's voice is strained. "Her abilities are weak - barely enough to see curses let alone fight them. You would be putting time and money-"

"I appreciate your logical leaps, Nanami," Gakuganji rumbles and I can hear the patronizing undertones in the way that he draws out the sentence. I would slip forward and slap him if I wasn't feeling like my ehad was a balloon slowly filling up until I floated away. "But the other option is sealing her until we know-"

"No." The word is so harsh that Gakuganji actually flinches, the long lengths of his brows and beard wavering as he startles. Nanami's teeth flash in barely concealed fury as he glares across the space. "That isn't an option."

"You know what happens when someone draws the wrong attention from a curse," Yaga finally slides in, his voice soft as he gives Nanami an imploring stare. "You know how dangerous it will be for her to be out there untrained with abilities that no one knows."

The packed muscles along Nanami's shoulders and back are so tense that I think I would bounce right off of him if I tried to run at him. I can see how much what the other man says is affecting him - the undertones to what he said. It means a lot more - much more than what my limited experience with the people in this room can allow me to grasp.

"It's for her own good," Gakuganji dismisses, his cane slamming decisively against the ground. I jumped.

A long silence followed, filled with the frantic beating of my heart. There had to be some way to get out of this. Some way to stop this. I shifted my gaze upwards, staring imploringly at the side of Nanami's face as he scowled across the room. His adam's apple bobbed, his eyes narrowing as he took in the deathly serious look on both of their faces. Do something, I begged silently. Please.

"I get to train her." I blinked, What? That sounded like agreement. I let out a sharp breath, whirling in time to see both men give considering nods. "I get to decide when she comes here and how often and what she learns. She won't be here without my knowledge or presence."

"Now, I don't-" Gakuganji was already protesting but the burlier man was already nodding.

"This is what you get," Nanami spits out and I can see the shock on everyone's faces at the venom in his tone.

"He's volunteering to be a babysitter for your new little expironment," Gojo calls out and I can almost feel the disgust that mars the words. "I would suggest taking his offer."

The sneer that curdles Gakuganji's face would be foul enough to curdle fresh milk. "As you wish. Although we both know that this will only be an added responsibility to the already insurmountable heap."

"Nanami," I can't help breathing, feeling closer to passing out than I ever thought. I clutch at his belt, yanking a bit as I try desperately to get his attention. He doesn't so much as blink, his jaw tight, his eyes hard and set on the two other men.

"This was the right decision," the burlier man says consolingly, sending me a thin smile as both of them make their way to the door.

I want to rush after them. I want to demand that they come back here right this instant and have this conversation out again with me involved this time. I feel suddenly and frightening like a bystander to my own life, watching it speed by. And it absolutely terrifies me.

"Nanami," I breath again, tugging at his belt once more as I watch them make their way to the door and just… and just leave.

I gape. I feel like someone just doused me with ice cold water. I feel like my best friend just pushed me off the top of a skyscraper. I feel like my favorite toy just got torn to shreds in front of me.

My hands slam against Nanami's back, sending him forward a slow step before he turns to me with a sigh. Dizzy rage fills my lunges, burning up all of my oxygen until I'm a panting, fuming, sweaty mess in front of him. "What the fuck - what the hell was that?" He doesn't say anything, his eyes distant as he stares down at me for a moment longer and that vacant expression just makes me more frantic, tears bursting up and bubbling over as I feel like voice rising. "I - I trusted you. You told me that you would help me! You told me that you would make this better!"

"Minato-" He starts calmly but I don't want him to speak. I shove him one more time, burning up as his feet stay where they are and he sways like a tree in a light breeze.

"You sold me!" I wail, feeling the betrayal deep in my gut. "You sold me to them like I was the latest model in a new robotics line-"

"Don't say that," he snaps, his voice pure gravel as he crowds me, his eyes dark as he forces me to crane backward to see his face fully. "Don't ever say that."

I splutter, gaping as I struggle to think rationally . But all I know is that I've just fallen deeper into this world that he's a part of and - and dammit, I'm just a baker. Just a baker in a small shop outside of a busy subway station.

"He just gave you a bit more time." Gojo's moved to stand just a few feet away, his face tight with serious lines for the first time since I've seen him. "By making it so that he controls the times that you come and go and what you learn, he's given you a bit of an out."

Nanami's face is still stony, his eyes hard as he stares down at me. "You don't know how this would work but what they were going to do if I didn't agree would have been far worse."

"Here," Gojo started, his face turning to the darkening sky outside of the windows just beyond. "They have specific rules when it comes to the unknown. If you don't know the outcome, it's better to keep it in chains and kill it before it can get free and kill innocent people. You, my dear, are a liability. A cute one who can make chocolate croissants but one none the less."

"I won't be forcing you to fight curses, Minato," Nanami says and I flinch as his voice lowers, his head tipping closer as he makes sure that I can see the truth of the words in his eyes. Instead I end up thinking about how tall he is - how broad his shoulders are and how sure he looks in that moment. "This can give us some time to find out what's going on with you and maybe fix it."

I gulp down a starved breath, not even realizing that I've been holding my breath this whole time. All of the anger seeped out of me in slow breathes, leaving behind the hollow terror of not knowing what would happen next, not understanding the nuances of this world or how to negotiate in it.

Perhaps… perhaps I did need to learn. Just a little bit.

"Can you do this, Minato?" His breath was warm against my cheek as he leaned closer. One hand came to cup my nape gently, his thumb tipping my chin a bit up so that he could see my eyes more clearly. It felt strangely intimate. "I told you, you'd always have a choice and I meant it. Even though I agreed to what Gakuganji and Yaga… I'll do what I can to get you out of this if that's what you want."

"I-" I forced myself to suck in a calming breath. "It would be better for everyone if I knew more about what I was getting myself into. I can… I can do this. I'll-" I gulped, feeling my insides quiver as his thumb stroked a reassuring line along the underside of my jaw. "I'll learn."

I felt the ghost of his smile against my cheek, his thumb running roughly along my jaw one final time. "Brave girl."

I felt the praise light through me like a sip of whiskey, sharp and burning. It settled lowly in my gut as he pulled back, moving away and leaving my outsides cold even as I caught fire inside.

"I'll stay back," Gojo was saying as Nanami and I moved toward the exit. His eyes were shadowed, troubled as he slouched closer. "I have some business to attend to."

"Don't message me at 4 in the morning," Nanami said as a brisk warning.

A secretive smile curled Gojo's lips but he didn't respond, turning instead to look down at me. "It was nice meeting you, little baker. Hopefully you don't die."

I felt like I was going to throw up.

Nanami gave a wordless growl, towing me away with a hand to my back and a seething glare directed at the other man.

The campus had grown dark, only one prick of light visible from a cover of trees in the distance. The gaunt man who had driven us here was still waiting where we had been, his face nervously apprehensive as he watched us approach.

Something about this felt like a bubble being suddenly popped while you were miles beneath the sea. I didn't fully know how I was functioning anymore - didn't know what was being said around me just that Nanami was talking quietly with Ijichi, directing me with a soft tap to the hand or a guiding press of his hands.

Before I knew it, we were back at the train station, the cement slab with it's lone bench, the rickety roof seeming particularly lonely in the darkness. A single bulb blinked from a lamp hanging forlornly in the middle of the station. Nanami lifted me up onto the foundation without a word, hopping up after me in a way that somehow made him look infinitely cooler.

"Come on, Minnow," he whispered, his hand warm and sure at my waist as he brought us to the bench and settled me against his side. In a different place, at a different time, the way my body curved into his side, the way that I could feel every breath expanding his chest, would have felt like a fairytale. Instead it reminded me of a drowning person being hauled out of the ocean - like I was clinging on to the most stable thing near me.

The ride back to my small shop was quiet, people moving here and there in the glaze of the late night. Gone was the urgency that had pushed me around before, the people on this train mostly coming home after a long tiring day at work. Nanami kept me tucked to his side, his eyes watchful as we watched the stations come and go around us.

People mill around, shopping and having drowsy conversations on the corners and as they cross the busier sections of the road. Nanami and I drift through it like ghosts, stuck in dizzy silence.

I don't even think about it when I unlock my darkened shop, running a tired eye over the clean interior. Riku's stuck a note to the counter: Hot date? I roll my eyes so hard that I feel like they might pop out of my skull, tossing the offending paper into the trash and making my way tiredly up to the narrow stairs that will lead to my loft.

Nanami clears his throat.

Right. My hot date.

Warily, I turn to meet his dark gaze, taking in the way that his eyes dip to the shoes that I had started to unlace. I gulp, feeling suddenly too awak for my own good as his eyes run slowly back up the expanse of my legs and the over my stomach and breasts and then finally my face, the pupils dilated. He's taking up so much of the front door, leaning against the door jamb that I can barely see outside. I take in another nervous breath.

"We have to talk." His voice is low, warmed gravel rolling under tires and it travels along my spine like a caress. That wasn't an insinuation. It was a statement. Simple. Just a statement.

"I-" I fumble, feeling the heat blaze along my nape and cheeks. "Right. Um… My apartment."

I gesture jerkily to the back, waiting until he pushes off of the door before I scamper away.

"Are you involved with anyone?" The absurdity of the question stops me dead, my hands raised to unlock my front door sitlling around the handle. Astonished, I blink down the dark steps, trying not to think too hard about the way taht he has to hunch his shoulders to even be able to fit fully, his blonde hair touching the low brick ceilings. He looks like a beast about to come and kidnap me.

"I-" I blink. "I'm very busy."

"People date, Minato," he replies and I can hear the edge of amusement in his voice. His lips tip up as he watches me fumble. "Even busy people."

"I…don't." I winced. That was lame. Blushing, I whirled around, fumbling around until I was finally able to open the door. The purple hue of grow lights bathed the hallway in a hypnotic glow and I didn't miss the way that Nanami's brows rose. I toed off my shoes in the entryway, not waiting for him to do the same as I hurried in and then sort of… lingered.

My bed was still unmade - like it always was - the purple sheets tangled, the mustard yellow blankets in a messy heap on the floor next to two throw pillows. My nightstand was dusty and filled with post it notes that had been either stuffed into cooking books or on top of them. And the plants. Lord, the plants. Suddenly the collection that I had fussed over seemed too messy. Just too…much. The hanging plants that crowded my open balcony door and that I had hooked onto the wallsseemed like encroaching weeds. The pots that overflowed from the stands and racks that I had crowded onto the balcony and around every available window looked disorganized and chaotic.

On the table, a few monsteras that I needed to repot sat in overgrown glory, dirt splayed along the glass surface. Clothes trailed from my bathroom to my closet and I scrambled over to push them all inside and then panicked - what if he needed to use the bathroom - and kicked them into a pile by my bed. At least, I always kept that part of my apartment clean. I glanced accusingly at the pile of clothes. Mostly.

There was no getting around it. I looked like a woman in crisis.

I had always known that my apartment was on the tinier end but seeing Nanami standing just inside my entryway, his jacket already off and hanging on a hook just inside, it felt even smaller. His chest is broad and muscular and I can't help my eyes being drawn down to the hypnotic motion of his fingers slowly rolling up his cuffs, the corded muscles of his forearm flexing. It shouldn't make my mouth go dry but it does.

"I never said thank you," I blurt out, watching as he makes his way slowly to where my emerald velvet couch is, reaching out a long finger to drag along one of it's wide leaves. I gulp, feeling somehow flustered by the motion. "You've helped me a lot. And I haven't - well, I tried to follow your rules-"

"I think we both know that you haven't," he rumbled and I blinked at the deep amusement that marred his words. His eyes flicked to me, darkening and for a moment I was stunned into silence as I saw the barest tip of his lips. "I didn't make those rules to boss you around, Minato." He stopped, thinking it over for a moment before those lips hitch up a little bit further. "I'll retract that. I do enjoy bossing you around."

"Why?" It's the barest whisper but I can't help uttering it, my eyes unable to tear away from the way his hands have slipped to another portion of my plant, sliding along the newest leaf that's about to pop out.

He's eyeing me now, considering his next words carefully before he give a shrug and turns fully to face me. "I like to be in control. I like the way your lips press together when you want to argue with me but know I'm right. I like it when you huff and fume and get that adorable blush on your cheeks. I even like it when you've had enough, and you decide that you want to break my rules."

I like it too, I think, and then jerk back because I shouldn't like it. I'm a grown adult. I have my own mind, my own thoughts, and I've gotten through my life successfully - even when others doubted me. I run a bakery, and I take care of my employees, and dammit, I work hard. I shouldn't like this man giving me rules and calling me a little girl, and praising me when I do what he says. Or looking at me like he is now. Like he wants to see how I taste, sink his teeth into me.

We've both been silent for so long now, the time ticking away, this moment suspended on a cord so thin that I think any sound, any movement, might break it. And I don't want it to break. I want him to stay.

His eyes are shadowed as he looks at me with an intensity that I'm not used to.

I gulp. Something's changed. I don't think we're talking about the meeting with the Jujuitsu Sorcerers anymore or even his rules. His eyes catch me and hold, beckoning me to take a leap. I want to think… I want to think that this is more, but there's a part of me that recoils away from the thought, unwilling to let myself live in such an absurd fantasy.

Suddenly, I'm standing an inch from him, and I'm not sure which of us moved or when it happened, but I know that I think I've lost my mind. Kiss me, I think suddenly. Please. I shouldn't even allow my mind to go there. It's a fantasy. A fairytale. There's no way.

"What's in that gorgeous brain of yours, baby?" I shiver, my whole body tightening at that single word. Baby. My whole body is one beating, pulsing nerve, hot and ready to short circuit at any moment. I can smell that cloying sweetness that seems to cling to him, the undertones of espresso and something earthier. His body curves around me, shielding me in a way that makes me want to drag him closer.

"I want you to kiss me," I blurt out shakily, and I can feel his lips curve upwards in a smile.

His eyes are hard, unwavering as he catches my jaw, drawing my head back with a firm press to my chin. "Do you deserve a kiss?"

I shouldn't know what he means. But I do.

My mind flits back to how many times I had gone against what he had told me to do today - how irritated and disappointed he had been when I made that embarrassing outburst in his office. My eyes dip, breaking eye contact in shame to stare at the collar of his shirt. "I don't know."

"Ah," he breathes, and I can hear the amusement in his voice. His breath is hot against my cheek, his fingers squeezing around my jaw as he draws my attention back up to him. "I don't think that's true at all."

I keep my mouth shut for a moment longer before caving. "No."

"Poor baby," he croons, our noses meeting, pressing against each other until our breath becomes one, the act oddly intimate. Tremors skate up my spine, urging me forward another step until our chests are flush, and I can feel the hard line of his abs pressing against my breasts. His hand slides along my chin, diving slowly into the strands at my nape. His eyes grow serious as he draws back, leaving me chasing after him, only able to stop when I feel the tug of his hand in my hair. "I like to be in charge, Minato. I want to make that very clear. I don't want you to be confused about what this is."

"You-" My brain spins, and I struggle for a solid breath. "You want me?"

"That feels like an understatement," he murmurs, and my heart clenches. "I want to hear how my name sounds on your lips when you come. I want to hear you beg. I want to see you on your knees for me. I want a lot of things when it comes to you, Minato."

I was dreaming. My mouth went dry, my breath coming hard.

His hand tightened in my hair, forcing my head farther back. "Do you want that?"

I nodded - too quickly. My scalp stung as I pulled against his hold. His breath was hot against my throat, his lips dragging along the sensitive skin of my throat until I couldn't help but whimper.

"I want your words," he rumbled, and I felt an answering ache start deep inside of me. My thighs clenched, the steely command in his voice making it hard to breathe. "Be a good girl and tell me exactly what you want."

I struggled, unsure, before whispering out a soft: "I want you to kiss me."

"So sweet." He grinned, and I whimpered as I felt his hand drag slowly up my thigh, taking my skirt with it until his fingers curled into the delicate skin of my hip. "But not what you deserve. Tonight I think we'll have that punishment. For all the nasty things you said about yourself."

"Punishment?" I blurted, head spinning as he completely pulled away, untangling his hands from my hair and stepping back. I felt his absence like a slap, my stomach clenching as he kept a safe distance between us.

"My rules are simple, Minato," he murmured, dragging a hand through the mess of his blonde hair, pushing it back. My fingers ached to reach forward and run my hands through it - pull his lips back to mine. His other hand came forward to loosen his tie, undoing a few of his buttons and making my stomach clench in longing. I wanted him bad enough that it physically hurt. "When you're good, you get rewarded. And when you're bad, you get punished. Today you broke rules that I put in place specifically to protect you. You constantly pushed back. Not only that, you talked about yourself in the worst way I've heard in a while." His eyes ran over me with such intensity that I had to look away. I didn't particularly think that what I had said was so bad. I also didn't think it was a particularly good idea to disagree with him at the moment. His gaze gentled, all the playfulness and stern reprimand peeling away. "You have a choice, Minato. You always have one. You can tell me no, and I'll stop. Right away. Always. Or we can continue, and you can accept whatever punishment I give you."

"What if - what if I get scared?" I gulped down the sudden nerves that tightened my chest. Images flashed through my mind. I didn't think that Nanami was capable of anything so vile but… but things could change in a matter of seconds. "What if I want to stop?"

His hand reached out slowly, watching for any signs that I wasn't okay with him touching me. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear, his eyes serious. "We can stop and talk about it. Or you can stop everything entirely. At any point. This is your choice. I'd never take that away from you. I don't get any joy in terrorizing someone that isn't willing. It's only enjoyable for me if you like it as well."

His hand dropped, leaving me to my own thoughts. It felt like I was jumping off the edge of a cliff. We were talking about having sex. Not just any sex - the kind of thing that I had heard my others whisper about. The kind of things that had secretly kept me up at night with want. I liked the way that Nanami talked to me, and I liked what he was offering as well. Spanking? I had heard about it, and it didn't particularly scare me. I didn't know what else could be on the table - wasn't entirely sure, but if I got scared, we could stop and talk about it. If I got scared, this whole thing would stop.

That leadened my gut. I wanted this. I wanted to take the leap.

Seeing the resolve in my eyes, that quiet amusement returned to his face, his lips ticking up. Slowly, still giving me time to change my mind, he stepped back. Those logn, capable hands came up to undo his tie completely, leaving it to hang along the defined lines of his chest. He sank down into my too-small couch, his arms going back to rest on the back, his legs spread. He looked like the devil about to offer me something wicked.

And I wasn't ashamed to say that I would more than likely accept.

His teeth flashed in a sinful smirk. "Come sit on my lap like a good girl."

This chapter was mammoth. Jeez, I didn't not expect that. And I know, I know. I promised smut but honestly it just got too long. So little lemon with an orchard next chapter, deal?

Please be sure to review!