"Thanks for tagging along. I bet you have better things to do. You can leave if you want."

 

Ruri struggled to keep up, "No no. It's okay. Not like I had anything planned today." Toshi glanced back at her, "My sister wouldn't let me out of her sight without a babysitter." He reached over to take back his book bag that Ruri was holding, but she swatted his hand away for the third time, "Stop That!" Toshi sighed, "I'm stronger than you." She snorted, "And you got shot a week ago so if anyone saw me letting you carry any books, everyone would get on my case." Toshi slowed down enough to let Ruri catch up, "I thought Naora was leaving you alone."

 

Ruri adjusted her backpack before looking at Toshi, "She is." They took several more steps before she continued, "Wait, do you think Naora is the only bully in school? I'm the lowest of the low, socially." She paused, "Well... I was. Now I'm Toshi's personal servant, so it's a step up." Toshi stopped, "What?" Ruri took a few more steps before stopping as well. She looked back at Toshi, "What do you mean, what?" She pointed back and forth between the two of them, "We're always hanging out. You keep doing weird things that need correcting. I handle those corrections with your sister's approval." She shrugged, "And nobody believes that we're dating or anything. So..."

 

Toshi frowned, "So you're my servant?"

 

Ruri nodded, then walked back a few steps, "Hey. It's okay. It's a step up. I get talked to all the time by people who want me to relay messages to you." She shrugged, "Nobody beats me up. I hardly ever get made fun of anymore-" Toshi rushed up to Ruri, getting right in her face.

"WHO?"

Ruri stumbled back a step in surprise, "Uh... everyone?" She looked afraid as she saw Toshi flex his fists, "WHOA! Calm down! It's okay! I'm... fine with it! You don't have to fight all my battles, okay?" Toshi closed the distance and took Ruri's chin in his hand, "I feel like a bastard. You're my friend, NOT my servant." He leaned in close, eye to eye, "You want to fight your own battles, fine, but don't think you are alone." He let go and ran his hand down her arm, "Thanks for putting up with me."

 

She shuddered and stammered as she looked away, her face flushed with embarrassment, "I-I-I uh-I'm..." She swallowed as her ability to think failed her. She finally composed herself as she looked anywhere but at Toshi's handsome face, "Where are we going, anyways? This doesn't look-"

 

"I lied to my sister." Toshi pointed into the distance, "I just turned sixteen, so of course, we're going there." Ruri looked over at the store in question. It stood sandwiched between two other shops, but its appearance stood it apart from all the other stores on this strip of road. Or rather, its LACK of appearance. The windows were blacked out. There was no obvious storefront sign and it was a rather run-down area. Ruri's eyes popped out of her head when she figured it out where they were going.

 

"No. No no no no no no NO. WE-"

 

---

 

As the door to the adult book store opened, the chime went 'Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow'

 

Ruri followed after Toshi as he walked in, "...Can't-!" She paused as they entered and lowered her voice to a whisper, "We can't come in here! Do you know what they sell here?" Toshi walked right up to the counter. A middle-aged lady sat behind the counter. She was reading a magazine with a picture of a mostly naked man on the cover tied to a bed. The title was, 'MY WIFE, MY PIMP' She slowly lowered her reading material as Toshi stepped up to the counter. She blinked in surprise, then partially stood up to lean forward and leer down at Toshi, "May I help you?"

 

Toshi leaned on the counter with one elbow. He looked off into the distance, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, "Where might I find a selection of your best, 'women enslaved' pornography, please?" Ruri nearly spit out her own skull. The old woman looked Toshi up and down, "How old are you?" Toshi smirked and cheerfully announced, "Just turned sixteen!"

 

The old woman shook her head, "Eighteen or older only." She went back to reading. Toshi frowned, "Hey! I checked it out! It said sixteen on the internet!" The old woman didn't even look up from her magazine, "For girls. Sixteen for girls. Eighteen for boys." Toshi's jaw dropped open as he squinted with one eye at the old woman. He slowly turned to look at Ruri.

 

Her eyes went wide as Toshi spoke in a sing-song voice, "Oh Rur-Reeee!"

 

Ruri shook her head, "No! No way! Besides-" She pointed at the old woman, "She knows I'm buying it for you." The old woman spoke as she turned a page, "I don't care what you do with your purchase after you pay for it." Ruri glared at the old woman, "You aren't helping!" Toshi sighed, "Well... if you won't buy it for me, I guess I'll just have to hang out front waiting for some kind woman to come along and help me." He started to shuffle towards the exit, "But what if they get the wrong idea? Perhaps they will find a way to take advantage of me and-"

 

Ruri jumped in front of Toshi, "FINE!" She looked around and lowered her voice, "Why don't you use the internet like everyone else?" Toshi sighed, "Mom is really good with computers. I can't get through the firewall." He started walking into the back of the store, "And I tried looking at that flash drive. Holy crap is that some weird shit. I just can't get off on guys being that submissive." Ruri followed along, looking increasingly confused, "Wait a minute... you're a guy!" Toshi stopped, looked down at himself, then up at Ruri, "Last I checked, yes."

 

Ruri glanced about, then tapped him on the shoulder, "Guys don't... you know!"  Toshi looked back at her with an expression that clearly said, 'No, I don't know.'

 

Ruri looked away, embarrassed to even say the words. She muttered through clenched teeth, "Jill off." Toshi looked back at her and blinked, "Jill off?" He snorted, "Uh. Guys... JILL off." He started to look through the magazines, "Any guy who says he doesn't is lying."

 

The chime from the entrance rang, indicating that someone walked in. Ruri pushed Toshi behind a support pillar. She whispered, "Keep Quiet!" Toshi blinked, "Or what?" She looked at him, "What if someone sees you? Or ME! They'll say I dragged you in here!" Toshi sighed and looked like he was going to just push her aside, but then he saw her face. It was a look of utter anguish like her life was going to end shortly. Toshi enjoyed torturing Ruri, but even he had a limit to how much suffering he could inflict and NOT feel like crap. His smirk faded as he lowered his voice, "Oh, alright."

 

Ruri looked over her shoulder then back at him, "I'll get you something, okay? You get out of here and I'll find you something." She bit her lower lip in desperation. Toshi let out a sigh, "Something with submissive women?" She nodded vigorously, "Anything! Just get out of here!" She looked to the employee-only area where at the end of a long corridor was a rear exit. Toshi shrugged, "Fine. I'll go. But only because you asked." He glanced to the front of the store. There was a blond girl with ponytails wearing a white collared, short-sleeved shirt and a blue-black pinafore. She looked focused on magazines in front of her, so Toshi slipped out the back. Briefly, the old woman looked up like she was going to say something, but just smirked, letting Toshi go.

 

~He is going to be surprised when he finds out there is no way back to the street that way.~

 

---

 

Toshi found himself in an alleyway behind a strip of stores. He tried to find his way back to the street but kept getting turned around. They had tall fences up everywhere to cut off access to this area. It was a bit of a maze. He ran into either unclimbable walls, fences that were topped with barbed wire, or an easy-to-climb chain link fence that just led to another dead end.

 

And the door back into the adult bookstore wouldn't open from the outside.

 

Toshi was not one to give up easily. Determined would be a good word to describe him. Stubborn would be more accurate. Pig-headed would also be on that particular list. It was for this reason that he just picked a direction and pushed on, figuring sooner or later he'd come to a street or something. That something was an alleyway. There was a gate at the end, but push came to shove, it looked like he might be able to climb over it to the street beyond. He turned down it and pushed on through abandoned crates, dumpsters, trashcans, and a wide assortment of spider-infested detritus, ~Good place to get murdered. I bet they wouldn't find my body for a week.~

 

He was coming up on an open garage door. From this point on, the alley was clear enough that it was obvious that you could do deliveries. He heard a conversation drifting out from the open garage and slowed down. He was getting worried that maybe he wandered into a restricted area and might get arrested. As he got closer, one of the voices sounded familiar.

 

It was Naora.

 

Toshi came to a halt at the edge of the garage and listened. He wasn't sure if it'd be a good idea to just stroll past without getting the lay of the land first, so to speak. As he listened, the bits of conversation that he managed to overhear indicated there were about four women in there. One was in charge and she wasn't happy with Naora.

 

Apparently, Naora wasn't selling enough drugs.

 

Now THAT was an eye-opener. Toshi took a step backward, ~You know what? I think I'll find another-~ And that's when he felt something metallic poke him in the small of his back. He looked over his shoulder to see a woman who was big as an ox holding a pistol against his spine. She smirked then jutted her chin towards the garage. Toshi slowly raised his hands, walked into the garage, and thought, ~What The-~ As he stepped out, Naora looked up and, as if she was reading his mind, finished his thought.

 

"Fuck."

 

---

 

Apparently, Toshi wasn't just wandering around the bad part of town.

 

Toshi had stumbled across the personal headquarters for the local hub of drug traffickers. The gal behind him had been watching from one of the doorways that Toshi had walked right past. The hired thug gave Toshi a hard shove and he stumbled into the middle of the garage, immediately drawing all attention upon himself. There was Naora and three others. One of them could have been the sister of the thug behind him. She was slouching against a crate as Toshi entered. When she noticed him, she straightened up and put a hand under her coat, but did nothing else.

 

One of them looked like an older version of Naora and more than likely was her mother. She was looking sweaty and on edge. Whatever was going on, she was feeling the squeeze from the last woman. The last woman was short but stocky. She wore a nice dark pantsuit that probably ran over a hundred thousand yen, easily. Her hair was short and businesslike, much like the owner. Her attitude practically screamed, 'I'm in charge. Don't like it? DIE.'

 

If Naora's mom was in a tight spot, Naora was being squeezed like a lemon in a juicer. Her body language indicated she did not want to be here because she screwed up and the Boss was here to lay down the law. She had a clear sheen of sweat across all exposed skin. Her eyes darted about like prey trapped in a dead end. She was desperately looking for a way out of whatever predicament she was currently in.

 

Toshi looked at Naora. Naora looked back. Toshi knew Naora was screwed because she didn't immediately start to flirt with him. The Boss picked up on the fact there was some sort of connection between the two and scowled, "Naora... do you know this boy?"

 

The thug with the gun stepped up close behind Toshi and sniffed his hair before leaning in close to growl into his ear, "Hey Pochi-kun. I got a ViHypnol with your name on it." Toshi's skin crawled as he could hear her make smacking sounds. Toshi's eyes darted about as he tried to figure a way out of this. He froze as the craziest possible idea popped into his head.

 

The problem was, that he couldn't think of anything better.

 

Naora looked at her Boss and let out a nervous laugh, "Heh. Actually, this is... just some guy from my school." Naora paused as she watched the boss check out Toshi. The woman in her late thirties was blatantly checking out Toshi's ass and she clearly approved of what she was seeing. Naora had a growing look on her face that was a combination of revulsion and fear. Fortunately, everyone was focused on Toshi so this passed unnoticed

 

Naora was going to continue talking when Toshi decided that the only way out was through. He flipped his hair and threw a snap over his shoulder, "Just... a GUY???" Everyone looked a bit confused. Toshi sauntered over to Naora, "I'm just... SOME GUY... from school?" He slid up to her and looked her in the eyes as he stroked her arm slowly with a single finger. He pouted.

 

"You take my virginity and I'm JUST some guy from school?"

 

---

 

Everyone was stunned silent, but nobody more than Naora herself. Toshi took advantage to crank it up to eleven, "Mistress..." Toshi whined and purred at the same time. He tried to sound like every really bad porno actress he'd ever watched, "It has been over a WEEK." He bit his lower lip and leered at her in the most lecherous way possible.

 

In his mind, he wasn't entirely faking.  She was physically fit, tanned, and of ample bosom. She was wearing a light T-shirt and tight jeans that showed off her assets well. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, one Toshi wouldn't mind getting a nice handful of. On the other hand, strictly speaking, Naora wasn't Toshi's type. She was the strong, take-charge type of woman who turned Toshi off. However, since clearly he needed to talk his way out of this, he'd push ahead with his insane scheme and do his best to pretend otherwise.

 

The boss stepped up to the two of them and looked from one to the other, "This?" She hooked a thumb at Toshi while talking to Naora, "This piece of ass is yours?" Before Naora could answer Toshi draped himself around Naora's shoulders and pouted, "Piece of ass? Hardly!" He leaned his head against her shoulder, "She used to think of me as nothing more than fuck meat, but I've proved myself and graduated to fuck toy!" He looked up at Naora through his fluttering eyelashes, "Someday I hope to become her official, one and only, bed warmer."

 

Naora's expression could only be described as the Blue Screen Of Death.

 

On one hand, she knew that Toshi was faking, but he was faking so WELL, that she couldn't help but... RESPOND. Her face went red, her nipples became so hard you could cut glass with them, and she was certain she was going to have to change her underwear later because they were going to be soaked. Naora's mother moved to stand next to the two, but opposite of the boss, "Wait. Is this that boy you were talking about?" She looked a combination of disbelieving and proud, "The one who was the brother of Hina-Ban? The one who took a bullet for you?"

 

Toshi nodded and let his hand slide down her body towards her crotch, "Any man would take a bullet for some of this!" All the color drained from Naora's face as she forced a smile and started to, somehow, sweat even more. 

 

The thug with the gun put it away and moved to slouch next to her twin. They both relaxed and allowed the drama to unfold as the other four wished. They were hired muscle, not therapists. The boss stepped back and looked Toshi up and down one more time, "Say, you mind letting me take a spin with your fuck toy?" She asked Naora. Toshi snapped his head around to glare at the boss, "Fuck you." The boss frowned. The thugs tensed up. The mother winced and Naora turned white.

 

"She might have been... aggressive, but after that first time, she's the only one for me.", Toshi grabbed Naora's hand and pulled it to his crotch. Her eyes went wide as Toshi berated Naora's boss,  He looked lovingly at Naora, "What was it you said, twenty no's and a yes, is a yes?" Naora's face had gone from white to beat red. She started to wobble a little as she became dizzy from the rapid changes in blood pressure. "She's the only mistress for me." Toshi purred as he cupped her cheek, "Which reminds me! That's why I came here right after school!" He smiled softly, "My parents are out on a date and won't be back until eight, and my sister said she had to go out for a few hours, so if we leave right now, we can do that thing you wanted!"

 

The boss looked curious. Naora's mother asked, "Thing?" Naora cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. The first word out of her mouth was about three octaves too high. She cleared her throat and sounded much more in control, "I'm sorry. Refresh my memory." She added, "Fuck toy." Toshi shuddered at the words 'Fuck toy'. He rubbed his hand over hers that was still on his crotch, "You wanted to fuck me on my sister's bed." He humped her hand as he said in a wickedly, sultry voice, "Remember?"

 

Naora started to laugh and cough in spurts. She pulled her hand away and took a step away from Toshi. Her brain was clearly having a hard time processing this, "Wait. Hold it." She was shaking all over, "First of all, how did you find me?" Toshi straightened up. He thought back to his recent encounter with his 'Ex-Girlfriend Stalker' and gave Naora a look with just as much obsession as Takana. His voice was soft and carried just a hint of menace, "Mistress... I always know where you are." He stepped closer, his face becoming flat and drained of all emotions, "ALWAYS."

 

Naora recoiled a step and her voice had a tinge of terror to it, "Really?" Up until this point, Toshi was mostly doing this out of desperation. However, this was the point where something started to dawn on him. Naora, for all her bluff and bluster, no matter how tough she was, she completely froze up when it came to anything to do with sex. Toshi had to admit, he liked it when Ruri got all flustered like this, and watching Naora become completely at a loss for words was, well...

 

Kinda sexy.

 

Toshi bit his lower lip and avoided her gaze, as he thought of a way to crank it up even more. He gave his voice a hint of trembling fear, "You... don't want me anymore?" He looked up at her through his eyelashes, then rolled his eyes and made a 'duh' sound, "Oh! Silly me! I forgot!" He reached down to undo his belt and pulled it out. He slipped the end through the buckle, put his head through the loop, and tightened it to create a makeshift leash. He handed the end to Naora who took it without thinking.

 

Toshi held up his hands like they were paws and whimpered like a hungry puppy, "Pweeeeeeze Mistress? I haven't touched myself in a WEEK." He nuzzled at the hand holding his 'leash' with the top of his head as he asked, "Pweeze fuck me on my sister's bed?" He finished by giving her the biggest, saddest, puppy dog eyes he could muster, "Pwheeeeze???" This absolutely broke Naora. She was on shaky ground before Toshi showed up. The stress of the meeting was already eating away at her sanity, but this was just too much to process. She completely locked up, staring at Toshi as her brain completely shut down.

 

Naora jumped when her boss slapped a hand down on her shoulder and squeezed, "Now I get it!"

 

Naora was sweating everywhere. All exposed flesh was a bright red and she was trembling. She looked at her boss, "Get what?" Her Boss laughed, "Why you haven't been selling anything!" The boss reached out to caress Toshi's cheek, "If I had this horny slut after my cooch, I wouldn't have time for getting any work done, either!" Toshi leaned in closer to Naora and narrowed his eyes as he growled protectively.

 

The boss just laughed and shook Naora's shoulder, "You're useless right now." The boss jogged her head towards the exit, "Go get laid and come back tomorrow when your ovaries aren't doing the thinking." Toshi shook his head, "Give her a week. I'm gonna pound her so hard she'll be walking funny for that long at least." Everyone, except Naora, burst out laughing! Her mother reached into a pocket and pulled out a set of car keys, "You've wasted too much time already. Take the car. Fuck in his sister's bed." She tossed the keys, "Show that bitch who's boss."

 

Naora caught the keys and stared at them.

Then the leash.

Then into Toshi's not-so-innocent eyes.

 

---

 

The silence was deafening.

 

Naora was driving, Toshi was in the passenger seat, and they weren't going to Toshi's house. They were just driving. Naora needed some time to think and process what the hell just happened. Toshi on the other hand, just stared out the window, deep in thought. After driving aimlessly, Naora seemed to finally find her mental footing and spoke, "I have no idea why you said what you said, or did what you did. I know you were lying, that's for sure." She glanced over at Toshi, "However, you can't just turn a girl on like that and not expect-"

 

"You're a drug dealer."

 

Naora froze at the interruption. What little confidence she had managed to gather up vanished with that one statement. She nodded a few times then said simply, "Yes." Toshi kept watching out the window. "You sell ViHypnol, a combination of Viagra and Rohypnol." Naora winced. She was silent for a while, "It is used as a party drug. There isn't much Rohypnol in it. A trace amount. Some guys buy it because they want to seem like super studs." She swallowed and cleared her throat, "It's harmless. We wind up selling it to a lot of hookers. They like how it makes the job easier while making the time pass by faster." Her tone sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Toshi.

 

Toshi barked out a short burst of laughter. He thought to himself, ~I don't know what actually happened, but if I'm going to get through to her, I'm going to have to lay it thick.~ Toshi looked directly at Naora, "You know what's odd? Everyone knows I had an allergic reaction to a drug and that's why I have memory loss, but nobody asks what drug I had an allergic reaction TO." Naora kept driving, going into a cloverleaf as she tried her damnedest not to look at Toshi. She could feel his eyes burning a hole into the side of her head.

 

She eventually snapped, "What drug-"

"Rohypnol."

 

Naora's pulse shot up into the triple digits. The entire car seemed to be collapsing in on her. She felt detached from reality. When she spoke, it sounded to her ears like someone else was talking in her voice, "That would mean-"

 

"I was raped." Naora started to shake, "It was ViHypnol, to be exact. I was only allergic to Rohypnol part of the drug." He leaned in closer, "Do you want me to describe what it is like when you suffocate while being fucked to death?" Naora seemed to have some sort of seizure and just covered her face with both hands. Toshi wasn't paying attention to the road as he lectured her and barely noticed the fact they were about to plow right into a support pylon. Toshi grabbed the steering wheel and yanked. The car turned sharply. This snapped Naora back to reality and she tried to compensate.

 

The car spun out of control. Fortunately, there weren't any other vehicles nearby, so as they whirled around, Naora was able to direct the car off the road into a gravel parking area next to the overpass. The car slid to a halt in a cloud of slowly settling dust. Inside the car, Naora was having a full-blown panic attack.

 

She fumbled to undo her seatbelt, opened her door, and fell out of the car while hyperventilating. Toshi reached for her but she slipped from his grasp. He got out to circle around to her, but she was already running away, stumbling, falling, getting back up, and grasping her chest as she fled. Naora found herself on the side of the road. In the distance, a large black truck was speeding along, going way too fast for the local speed limit.

 

If someone were to jump out in front of it, it would never stop in time.

 

Naoma waited for it to get closer. She coiled up her legs for a single burst of speed and leaned forward. The truck entered the shadow of the bridge. The change in lighting conditions would make it harder to see a small figure jumping into the middle of the road.

 

She leapt.

She felt the sensation of being strangled as someone grabbed her collar from behind.

 

The world spun around and the next thing she knew, she was lying down, gravel and stones digging into her back and Toshi's knee digging into her stomach. He was yelling and gesturing wildly. She couldn't understand him because the blood rushing through her ears made it impossible to hear anything. She blinked up at him as it became apparent what just happened. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. He sounded like he was yelling from a mile away when he asked, "What The Hell Is Wrong With You?"

 

She calmly stated, "Everything."

Then burst into tears before curling up in a little ball.

 

---

 

On one hand, Toshi was pissed off to an insane degree. On the other hand, a crying woman was not something he could walk away from. He had been taught and internalized that a woman's tears is a terrible thing and he must, as a man, help said woman. No matter how much the woman might deserve to be hurt, he couldn't walk away any more than he could tear off his own arm. He waffled for a bit, then reached down to pull her to her feet, "C'mon. You can't have a breakdown here. Get back in the car."

 

Naora was shaking and having a hard time standing, but the words sunk in. As terrible as she felt, a woman's pain is taboo. A woman crying is a thing of shame. She was already at rock bottom, but she wouldn't be humiliated by being seen crying in public. Toshi helped Naora into the back seat of the car and had her lie down. He sat next to her with the side door open so he had room for his legs. He reached over to the front passenger seat and rummaged through his bag until he found some tissues. For the first time, he was grateful his father had insisted he carry tissues. He started to wipe away Naora's tears.

 

This made her jump.

 

She didn't say anything, just huffing and snuffling as her sinuses overflowed with snot. She looked miserable. Toshi wiped away the mucus and tears until she eventually calmed down enough to speak. She looked up at him with an expression wracked with guilt, "I-I... I only sold the drug once." Toshi peered at her sideways as she continued, "That's why I was getting chewed out. I... I can't do it. I just can't. I don't want to sell this crap, but that's what I'm supposed to sell and I keep making excuses but your sister is graduating soon and I'll have no choice but to start selling and-"

 

Toshi put a finger upon her lips to silence her. She looked up at him, looking terrified and vulnerable. Toshi took his finger away, "Why don't you have a choice?"

 

That is when Naora started having what could only be described as a cascading panic attack. She alternated between begging for forgiveness, wishing for death, lamenting how she was failing her friends and family, and talking about how she never wanted to be 'this'. Toshi just sat in the backseat with her, holding her hand as she descended into a complete collapse of her ego. As she babbled Toshi managed to put together the story.

 

From her point of view, she had nothing to do with the whole thing with Kimi. She didn't know it had happened at the time. She was just trying to survive with a con artist of a mother. There were times they ate well, and times her mom screwed up and it was nothing but noodles. Then the family decided to try and rebuild and guess who's currently got the purest blood of her generation? Now Naora has been selected to be a 'contender'. This means she has to prove herself to the rest of the family. Show that she has what it takes to be the strongest of the strong and the toughest of the tough.

 

Naora, on the other hand, just wants to be a plumber.

No. Seriously.

 

She doesn't want to go to college, considering how much money you have to borrow and what little you get in return. She likes working with her hands and just has a knack for fixing houses. She'd been tearing things apart and putting them back together ever since she was a kid. She always had to fix things around the house cause her mother couldn't use a tool to save her life. She likes handling things with her hands.

 

Now she is on a path where she is 'destined for greatness'. She's been trying to prove her worth to the family, but she can't do it. She keeps lying and faking sales. She keeps making excuses and doing everything in her power to meet expectations, but she sucks. What's worse is how many people depend on her. If she fails, everyone who is backing her fails as well. Kagi took a bullet for her and there's nothing she can do to pay her back. If she doesn't become the big boss, anyone who takes her place cannot let Naora live. Either Naora climbs her way to the top, or her replacement kills her as a threat.

 

Needless to say, the stress has pushed Naora right to the edge.

 

Naora started to shake all over as she covered her face, "I want to die." She jumped as she got flicked in her ear. She blinked at Toshi just as he flicked her in the nose. She brought up her hands to shield her face as he kept flicking her over and over until she finally said, "STOP IT!" Toshi stopped, "Only if you promise to never kill yourself." Naora slowly lowered her hands, "Are... are you so brain damaged you don't understand what I've been telling-"

 

Toshi kissed her.

 

---

 

There are some things in mirror world that one just takes for granted.

 

For example, women are aggressive and men are passive. That's just how it works. That's how it has always worked. Anything else is perversion.  After Toshi finished, Naora came to the conclusion she had to be the biggest pervert on the planet. For the first time, she didn't have to do anything. Toshi just took her. There weren't any sweet words whispered in ears, or lovey-dovey goo-goo eyes, or tender caresses. Naora had heard a certain phrase once before, but this was the first time she truly understood it.

 

Toshi fucked her brains out.

 

Every other boy she had been with had been work. Work to court them, work to seduce them, work to get them in bed, work to get them in the mood. Work. Work. Work. Toshi on the other had completely taken control, tied her hands up with a seat belt, then proceeded to bang her like a drum. She had to do nothing more than surrender to him, an utterly perverted act. No woman submits, especially not a Terauchi.

 

The very thought made her shudder all over.

 

The following thirty minutes was nothing more than a blur of her being restrained while being ordered what to do and how to do it.  She loved every single moment of it. With a handful of her hair and fingernails dug into her hips, Toshi completely lost control of his mind and absolutely railed Naora. On one level, she knew that she should be scared, as after this, Toshi could destroy her. If anyone knew she was this weak, it would destroy her reputation. It would make her the laughingstock of the school. Hell, Gen could use this to get rid of her once and for all.

 

She should have been afraid. Instead, she was never more relaxed. She never felt better, because there was no one more trustworthy than Toshi. For the first time in years, she felt safe. What was even more of a rush was the fact that she was DESIRED. It was a heady feeling. Guys wanted her for her connections, for her power, for money, or so many reasons but this was the first time some guy wanted to have sex with her. She was attractive to Toshi and for once she didn't need to do a damn thing.

 

It felt amazing to NOT be in control.

 

---

 

~What Have I Done?~

 

Later he would put it together that it was just the perfect storm. He was still worked up from when he teased her before, she was emotionally devastated and super submissive, and he was pissed at her. Lying there, half-naked and intertwined, the two of them had finally stopped doing anything but breathing. Toshi had Naora lying on his shoulder as they both tried to collect their thoughts, ~I can't believe I just did that. What the hell was I thinking?~ He shifted his head to look at her. Her cute face had that post-coitus glow, ~I was thinking I wanted to hate fuck her brains out.~

 

And that he had, but now that it was over, he felt terrible. He felt like a monster. Here was a young woman who was vulnerable and what did he do? He took advantage of her. He turned to look at the roof of the car, ~Wait... Did... I even ask when I tied her up? WHY DID I TIE HER UP?~ His mind started to spiral into self-destructive thoughts, ~Oh fuck what sort of monster am I?~ He looked down at her again. She had a goofy smile on her face as she slowly dragged a finger across his chest. ~But why does she seem happy? I... fuck oh fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!~ Toshi felt the guilt building up inside. It felt wrong like he did something he wasn't supposed to. He reached down to gently take her hand and spoke softly, "I... I'm sorry... I-"

 

Naora raised her head slightly, "Sorry? For what?"

Toshi looked uncomfortable, "Taking advantage of you. You-"

Naora let out a burst of laughter right in Toshi's face, then just stared at him with a look of utter disbelief.

She touched his cheek and said, "You are completely insane."

Her head fell against his chest, "God help me I'm fucking a madman."

Toshi just stared at her as she went back to dragging a finger around on his chest.

 

"And I love it."

 

---

 

"That was unexpected."

 

Toshi and Naora were in the back seat of her mother's car with steamed-up windows and articles of clothing tossed about like a tornado roared through. Naora was lying on her side with her head on Toshi's shoulder as she slowly caressed his chest. Toshi was finally coming back to his senses. Naora's comment took him off guard, "What were you expecting? The sex to be terrible?"

 

Naora lifted her gaze to look up at him, "Honestly? Yes. I never... never thought you'd... be..." She blushed, "This good at it. Holy father of god, I thought I was supposed to be the one on top not-" She shuddered all over, "Just... wow." She bit her lip, "Are... you okay? You... seemed..." She searched for the right word, "Aggressive?" Toshi raised an eyebrow, "Not like what you see in porn, eh?"

 

Naora went back to stroking his chest, "Not at all. I mean..." She bit her lower lip in thought, "My whole life I needed to be... on. I'm always on. On guard. On top. On my own. I'm the one who has to take charge. The one who throws the first punch. I can never relax." She closed her eyes and snuggled into Toshi's shoulder, "Sex was sold as this amazing thing everybody wants and it turned out to just be more... ON."

 

"You have to seduce the guy. You have to make sure he's satisfied. You have to hold back until the right moment." She furrowed her eyebrows, "I honestly had no idea why anyone liked sex. For me, it was sort of like... juggling. It looks neat, but it takes a lot of practice, a lot of concentration, and it's not very fun. It was more about the accomplishment than actually enjoying it." She started to blush, "But... You did all the work. I..." She shuddered from her head to her toes, "The sex before... it was nothing like this. Not even close."

 

Toshi thought for a while, "Ah. Is that why you were holding back?"

 

Naora blushed even more, "A girl is supposed to wait. No girl wants to be known as a quirk squirt... but you kept yelling at me to... umm... right away." She turned bright red and averted her eyes, "I wasn't sure why you kept ordering me to... uh... so I hope you don't mind but, I couldn't hold back, not with you... fuck, Toshi. You have got a foul mouth. You just started talking so dirty and... dominating." She bit her lip again, "Is it strange that I was turned on by that? I only thought weak, pathetic cucked bitches would enjoy... THAT. Is there something wrong with me?"

 

Toshi stroked her cheek and saw how young and vulnerable she looked as she turned her gaze up at him. He got stabbed with a pang of guilt right through the heart, "Well... I guess it's understandable. If you always have to be... 'On', then I guess you'd like someone else to do the work. That's not strange. That's just wanting to have someone do all the... uh... heavy lifting." Naora laughed, "Heavy Lifting? Is that what you call it?" She waggled her eyebrows, "Well, that sure is a heavy thing you are lifting, pochi-kun, I'll attest to THAT!"

 

This annoyed Toshi for some reason. He reached out and grabbed her by the back of her head, holding her hair tight in his fist, "You know all that submissive stuff I said back at the garage?" She tensed up and then let out a squeak, "yes?" Toshi leaned closer and gave her a forceful kiss. She squeaked when he pulled away, "That's what I want from my woman. I want THAT from you. You were vulnerable and weak and I love that. I'm-" He let go, "I took advantage of you. I'm a bastard. I'm sorry."

 

Naora looked very confused, then reached out to touch his face, "I really don't understand, but... I loved it. I-" she swallowed then put her head down on his chest, "I was starting to think I was a lesbian." Toshi blinked, "Huh?" She nodded, "Yeah. Everyone says how great sex is and I hated it. It was so much effort for so little return. The guys just lie there and never do anything. I just started to think I was wired wrong, but then..." She tensed up and shuddered all over, "I think I fell for you right about the time you head-butted me." She let her hand wander, "You're the strongest-willed guy I know. I don't feel like I have to take care of you. I feel like you could be my partner, not just a husband."

 

Toshi held up his hands in a 'T', "Whoa whoa whoa... time out!" She looked up at him concerned, "This?" He pointed a finger and waggled it between them, "This is called, 'Friends with benefits'" He 'sliced' his hand across his throat, "Ixnay the Husband talk." She blinked, "Wait... you want to fuck, but... DON'T want to... get married or date or-" She sat up, "So If I go around screwing other guys...?"

 

Toshi quipped, "Can I watch?"

 

Naora's mouth hung open. Toshi smirked, "If you leave your mouth open like that, I just might put something in it!" He waggled his eyebrows. Naora's mouth snapped shut and she blushed right up to the tips of her ears. She started to sit up and looked around at the fogged-up windows as she tried to find her clothes, "I..." She scratched her head, "The last-" She stopped, "Can we talk about this? I mean... I... you aren't my first."

 

Toshi started getting dressed as well, "I got raped so, you aren't my first, either."

 

Naora winced, "I mean-" She cut herself off, "You don't remember if you-" Her voice trailed off. Toshi shook his head, "I just... got a feeling. What I like. I know what I like." She eyed him, "Usually boys who fuck before getting married want to force you into getting married, or they are doing it because they want money." Toshi looked stunned, "Wait. I could get paid for this?" He gave Naora his best impression of a Surprised Pikachu face, "Well Then, You owe me one yen." He bit his lip and leaned in to speak in a husky voice, "Because I want you to treat me like a cheap whore."

 

Naora flinched and jumped at the same time, bashing her head on the roof of the car before settling down. She flailed about for a second before backing as far away as possible. She stared at him with wide eyes while cringing against the far door. Toshi was smirking, but his expression faded, "What? I'm joking." Naora frowned, "My... family owns a bunch of soaplands." Toshi recoiled, "Oh." She reached out to cup his cheek, "I... like you. I've never met anyone like you." She ran her fingers down his neck, then chest, then stopped over his heart, "Don't sell yourself. Ever. You... If you need money you-"

 

"I'm rich."

 

Naora blinked, "What?" Toshi started getting dressed, "Insurance. I had a lot of insurance. When I lost my memory, the policy kicked in, and it turns out I was insured for fifty million yen." Naora just stared at Toshi for a while, then finished getting dressed as well. "Wait... why would you be insured for that much for brain injuries?" She looked confused. Toshi paused, "Before I go any further, we never talk about what happened here, or what is said here. To anyone..." He leveled a glare at her, "EVER." He squinted, "Promise me."

 

Naora easily agreed, "I promise."

 

Toshi kept squinting, "Because not only will my sister kill you, but my mother will as well." He paused, "And if you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you-" He leaned in close, "I'll kill you." Naora recoiled, but nodded, "Of course. Okay. What? You're secretly a prince?" Toshi opened his car door, "I'm Honey Whitefox." He stepped out and closed it. Naora got out of her side of the car, "WHAT?" Toshi nodded at her, then got in the front passenger seat. She got in the driver's seat, "Excuse me. Run that by me again?"

 

Toshi looked at her with a flat expression, "I got raped before my last show. Never woke up and died. I got revived, was in a coma for three days, but forgot everything. Including how to sing. So, my career was over. The insurance was in case something happened to 'End My Career'. I had to pay out about ten million yen to get out of all my contracts, but yeah." He bobbed his head, "Forty million left. My parents are holding onto it until I turn 18." [EDITOR: 40 million yen is about 400k American.]

 

Naora stared at Toshi, "I got laid by Honey Whitefox."

 

Toshi flicked her on the side of the head, "That's the takeaway? Yer a star fucker?" Naora winced, "Hey! I mean... I can kinda see it. But the platinum hair-" He finished her sentence, "Is an animatronic wig. The ears are attached to my head with electrodes. I can make them move by flexing my scalp. Very expensive. I'll show you sometime." He waggled his eyebrows and gave her a salacious smirk,  "We can play Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf sometime."

 

Naora tilted her head to the side, "Is that... never heard of that." She turned to look out the front window, "Okay. Let me review." She started to count on her fingers, "You don't want money, or to date me. You only want me to keep quiet about this because you don't want your family to know. I can't tell anyone you are Honey Whitefox." She muttered under her breath that nobody would believe her anyways, "And You were raped by someone using the drugs my family sells..." She stopped counting, "I need to know where we stand on that because I think you'd hate me, not..." She blushed, "Keep your promise to bang me so hard I walk funny for a week."

 

Toshi thought a long time before he answered, "I suppose... that's why I hate fucked you."

 

She blinked, "That was your idea of a hate fuck?" She looked away and took a deep breath, "I need to piss you off more because that was incredible."

 

Toshi reached out to touch her hand. She looked down at him, then up into his eyes. He looked sad, yet smiled, "It was. I've been... stressed and fucked in the head and I took it all out on you. I shouldn't have done this, but I... am going to lie to myself and say I needed this. You were weak and I took advantage of-" She leaned in to kiss Toshi and cut him off.

 

When she pulled away she smiled, "Oh Pochi-kun. You have no idea how bad it's been. I honestly wanted to die. I just wanted all this to end and then..." She took a deep breath and shuddered all over, "I... haven't felt this good in years. I could get addicted to this." She looked Toshi up and down, "You have nothing to be sorry about, and If anything... I'm the one in the wrong." She put a hand behind his head and pulled him closer, "I think of the two of us, I'm the one taking advantage of YOU. You are so... god almighty, I don't know what you are. You're like an angel. You are this beautiful innocence that knows exactly how perverted I am and how sick in the head I am and STILL wants to fuck me."

 

Toshi looked puzzled, "Wait a minute... what do you mean... pervert?" She looked out the front window as she pulled away, "Women, especially women in my family, are not... uh..." Toshi waited a few moments then suggested, "Submissive?" She nodded, "Yeah. It's... sick. Really, sick. I mean... My family might kill me if they find out, level of sick." Toshi's eyes went wide, "Wait a sec-"

 

She cut him off, "Toshi, if this is some long con, if you plan on betraying me, just do it. Kill me now. I couldn't take it if you betrayed me. I mean it. I need at least one person I can trust in this world. You can't do all this for me then-" Toshi cut her off with a long kiss. Eventually, he pulled back, "I don't kick someone when they are down. I don't think you are perverted, but if this is a bit too much, I'll keep it a secret." He traced a finger along her lips, "Officially, to your family only, I'm your little fuck toy."

 

Naora let out a snort, "I think you have successfully graduated to personal bed warmer." Naora laughed bitterly, "I'm a mess and I know it. I'm not wife material. But... damn I needed this. I mean, I REALLY needed this. I-" Her tone shifted as her words filled with dread, "Is this it?" Toshi thought for a bit, "I think- No." She looked surprised, "No?"

 

Toshi looked off into the distance, "I enjoyed it. I think you're hot. I love the idea of doing this with more room and a bed to tie you down on." Naora's face turned bright red. He continued, "But not tomorrow, not for a few days, not for a while... I need to sort this out." He tapped the side of his head, "Up here."

 

Naora nodded slowly, "Ah." Her expression was a mix of hope and disappointment. Toshi continued, "But I REALLY get horny sometimes and I-" Naora's eyes went wide at that as he continued, "I can't just jump anyone because my sister has my crotch under house arrest." He turned to look out the passenger side window, "Honestly, nobody else is brave enough to even talk to me. If I don't talk to any girls, how can I get to know them or even have a relationship? You're the only one brave enough to even approach me and you only did it to piss off my sister."

 

Naora suddenly twinged as she felt a shaft of guilt pierce her heart.

 

Toshi failed to notice, "That's why you are the perfect fuck buddy. You don't have any feelings for me." He glanced back at her, "I mean, that is how this is, right? Friends with benefits? Just let me know if you fuck anyone else because I want to make sure I don't get a sexually transmitted disease. I'll do the same for you, of course." There was a pause, then something dawned on Toshi, "I know it is a bit late to ask, but... how old are you?"

 

Naora eyed Toshi with one eye squinting and the other eye open wide, "Uhh... eighteen as of two months ago. What kind of-" She went quiet, "Oh wait. You are a first year. That would make you..." Toshi nodded, "Just turned sixteen." She winced, "Oh crap. You're not legal." She started to chew on her thumbnail, "We need to keep this a secret." Toshi quipped, "Down-low." She looked at him confused, "Huh?" He explained, "We need to keep this on the Down-Low. That's the phrase." She thought for a bit, "Never heard that one but... yeah. It fits." She smiled softly at him, "We need to keep this on... the down-low."

 

Naora giggled, "Do you know you're very funny?" Toshi smiles back, "Good. Because I like how you laugh." Her smile faded as she became a combination of serious and flattered, "You do?" She looked away and nervously pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Toshi nodded, "What? nobody ever told you how nice your laugh is?" She started to frown as dark thoughts invaded her mind, "No... mom says I laugh like a boy." Toshi leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Remind me to tie you down and tickle you relentlessly so I can hear that boyish giggle for hours." Her eyes went wide as he nibbled on her ear, then she half closed them as she melted against him, "You don't fight fair. How am I supposed to drive?" Toshi stopped at her words and pulled back, "You're right... we do need to go."

 

They both went silent as the conversation wound down. Naora put her hands on the wheel and drummed her fingers, "Well... anything else?"

 

Toshi thought for a second, then cleared his throat and spoke in a reassuring tone, "I don't think it's my place, but I feel the need to say this anyway." He took a deep breath before continuing, "The situation... With your family? I don't think you should try and become the head of your family. I don't think, deep down inside, you could do it. You'd hate yourself too much." He shook his head, "It's too late for you to learn how to be a monster. I don't think you are. I don't think you were meant to be." He smiled, "And for what it's worth, even if that one time you sold that drug it turns out that specific pill is what lobotomized me, well..."

 

Naora started to tremble. She carefully moved her hand next to Toshi's and held her breath.

 

Toshi put his hand over hers and squeezed, "I forgive you." She let out a gasp as her free hand flew to her mouth. She started to choke up as he continued, "I thought of demanding that you stop selling drugs, but I'm not so naive as to ask for that. I know your situation is screwed, so, do what you got to do." She turned away to look out the driver's side window as she tried to regain control of herself. She turned her hand over to intertwine her fingers with Toshi's.

 

He continued, "I'm also not going to blow you into the police. Yet." She snapped her eyes towards him. He frowned, "I say 'yet' because if something happens that crosses a line and I find out it was you, I will. So, I'm not demanding you stop, but I will hold your feet to the fire if something really bad happens." Naora frowned, "Toshi... if you go to the cops with actual evidence, my great aunt will have you killed." He shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time I died."

 

She abruptly smacked him upside the head, "This Isn't A JOKE! You have no idea what they are capable of!"

 

Toshi flinched at the blow. His face lost all expression, "That bitch with the gun whispered in my ear she was going to give me ViHypnol and rape me." Naora's face drained of all color. He leaned in closer, "Is that the sort of person you want to work with? You want to be the leader of a bunch of rapists?" He moved closer as he yanked her hand toward his crotch, "You gonna pimp this out?"

 

Naora wrenched her hand free and stared at him, both horrified and speechless.

 

Toshi stared back, "Your expression says everything." His voice became kinder and compassionate, "This isn't you. This is a step too far. This is a line you can't cross without losing yourself." He leaned back in his seat, "And you haven't crossed it yet. You are damn close, but you haven't done it yet." Toshi turned away, "My family is pissed I took a bullet for you. I did it because it was the right thing. They're having a hard time dealing with that. I don't care, because I'm the one who will have to live with my choices and I happen to like sleeping at night." He turned back, "If you do something I can't live with, I will do the right thing. I don't care what your family will or won't do." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at his back, "You can count on it." Naora sat there, silent, lost in her thoughts for over a minute before she abruptly turned on the car and said, "I'll drop you off around the corner from your house."

 

From that moment on, for the rest of the time they were in the car together, not another word was spoken.