The World Half Conquered
Miyoshi limped into the open courtyard of the evil fortress. It was their fortress now. All of the soldiers had either been knocked out, run off, or rounded up and throw into the cages that, just minutes ago, had held the villagers of Umai.
She was exhausted to her very bones, but a sense of giddiness that she thought she'd never feel again kept her upright. Yumi was leaning on her, needing the help to stay on her feet.
"We did it!" shouted Mayor Ryouta, his arm held in a hurriedly tied sling. "We've won! Hurrah for Umai! Banzai! Banzai!"
He stopped when he saw Miyoshi. His face flushed red, and he tried not to look at her when he spoke.
"Of course, we have you to thank, as always."
Miyoshi suddenly felt embarrassed herself. They'd just spent all day seeing her naked, hanging from a cross in the middle of the courtyard. That was going to be hard to forget.
"Miyoshi!"
It was Haru. He had a few cuts and a nasty bruise above his eye, but they didn't seem to bother him. Chiyo was cradled in his arms, unmoving. At first Miyoshi feared the worst, but then a slight shift in her weight showed her that she was just sleeping.
"She passed out as soon as I caught her. What happened? Did you..."
Taiko made her entrance, dragging an unconscious Akio into view to the cheers of all of the villagers.
"Yep!" said Miyoshi. "We got him good."
"All according to my plan," said-
Miyoshi looked down. She thought she'd seen the fox before, but in her daze that followed the fight she hadn't paid much attention to him.
"Good job, everyone," said the fox. "I don't know if I couldn't have done it without you, but it was definitely easier this way. I really showed that jerk Akio who not to mess with tonight!"
"Um... hello," said Miyoshi.
"That's Aka," said Taiko. "Be careful. He's trouble."
"Don't listen to her," said Aka as she left earshot. "I totally saved her life earlier. And your friend's upstairs. In fact, none of this would have worked if not for me."
Miyoshi resolved to get the real story later.
Taiko dragged Akio over to one of the cages and threw him in. Everyone cheered again. It was feeling like old times again, inasmuch as two days ago could be called that.
Miyoshi brought Yumi over to where Taiko was lining people up for healing and set her down. She plopped down herself, and had to fight not to close her eyes. She noticed Aka following them, looking around for something.
"Well done!"
It was another voice that Miyoshi didn't recognize. A glowing blue spirit appeared next to Taiko. She seemed to recognize him, sighing in relief.
"Yeah, I guess so. I have a feeling this was just the easy part, though."
"Probably," he said. "But it was still a hell of an accomplishment. Nobody else has been able to touch Lord Akio. Of course, from you, it would be expected."
"Hey, Minoru," asked Aka. "Where's Kuzuno? She should be here by now."
"Oh, she was. She stirred things up a bit before Akio captured her. She's in a cage down in the cellar."
"She's what?" he barked, taking off immediately and disappearing back into the keep.
"Miyoshi, this is Minoru," said Takio. "He's a new friend."
"It's nice to meet you," said Miyoshi. "Thank you for your help. I don't know how much longer we'd have lasted."
"A long time, I'm afraid," said Minoru.
The way he said it chilled her, even thought there was only sympathy in his voice.
Their conversation was interrupted by a murmuring from the villagers. Miyoshi looked over and immediately found the source. Akio was awake, reaching around to try to figure out where he was. It was a pitiful sight, even though pity was the last thing Miyoshi wanted to feel for him.
Taiko was the first to talk.
"You can't see it right now, but you're in one of your own cages. Your days of terrorizing everyone around you are over."
"Bold talk," he seethed. "But Ishi-jo fortress isn't my only stronghold. Tonight you've guaranteed that the next time you face my men they won't be looking to take prisoners. You're only where you are now because I went easy on you when you were in my power."
"Easy on us?" shouted Miyoshi. She surprised herself with her own outburst.
"You did every terrible thing to us you could think of! You're a horrible bully, hurting people and enjoying it when they're helpless to protect themselves! If you were so strong you wouldn't need to do those things just to make yourself feel all big and important. You're lucky we're not monsters like you are, or we wouldn't have been looking to take prisoners either!"
Miyoshi felt Taiko holding her arm. She was trembling and feeling light-headed. They'd won. They'd beaten him. But it didn't make things better. He'd taken something from her that she couldn’t take back, no matter what she did now. She wished he could just disappear forever.
"Hey," said Yumi. "Tell me how to get this stuff you put on my neck off."
Akio laughed.
"The only thing that can dissolve the kurosumi's tar is the blood of a deepshrieker. You won't find it anywhere now but in the depths of Frostspire, the heart of Queen Tomiko's power. I'm afraid you're as stuck as I am."
"Queen Tomiko, huh?" said Taiko. "Maybe we should offer you a trade. I hear that you're old enemies. It'll save us from having to figure out what to do with you and get us what we need at the same time."
"Queen Tomiko does not trade. If you think my rule was harsh then you'll never be prepared for her cruelty. Go to her asking for a deal and she'll have all of us taken prisoner, and she won't treat you as warmly as I have."
"He's not lying," said Minoru. "Tomiko is beyond mere exploitation of those in her power. She has a bit of madness to her. True madness. Sometimes I think that Akio was the only thing distracting her long enough to keep her from destroying her own kingdom. Don't plan on going there asking for anything."
"Who's this 'Tomiko'?" asked Miyoshi
Minoru didn't answer, and to Miyoshi's distaste Akio spoke in his stead.
"Queen Tomiko is my only real rival for power in this world. She is an unmatched beauty, and ever since she refused my offer to join our realms in marriage, we've been at war. She and her underlings are vicious and ruthless, and she herself is the ultimate prize for any man. One day I will have her as my slave- the crown jewel of my collection."
Miyoshi's stomach churned when she heard the desire in his voice. Maybe it was no wonder if Queen Tomiko went mad with this man trying to get his hands on her.
"Well," said Taiko, "If we can't get her to give it to us, then we'll have to sneak in and take it."
"Sneak in? To Frostspire? That's rich. There is no place in the world more carefully guarded, and you have no idea what you're looking for or what you'll find inside."
"He's right again," said Minoru. "Frostspire is a much tougher nut to crack than Ishi-jo, and you don't have a village full of allies waiting inside of Frostspire to help you."
"It can't be impossible," said Taiko. "Besides, there's that other thing-"
"What other thing?" asked Miyoshi.
"It's... Minoru, can you explain?"
"The five of you are from a different world than Akio and Tomiko. Those two worlds are fusing together now, for reasons still unknown. I don't suppose you can shed any light on that one, Akio?"
"Worlds fusing? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"I guess no, then. I looked around the keep for anything that might point me toward what's causing it, but there's nothing here from what I see."
Miyoshi was lost, but she didn't want to interrupt.
"Then it's probably at Frostspire, right?" asked Taiko.
"It might be. I don't know."
"You won't get in anyway," said Akio. "Not without me."
"Who's talking about bringing you along? Like you'd be any help!" said Yumi.
"I've studied Frostspire's defenses more than anyone else. I've studied Queen Tomiko more than anyone else. You'll be running in blind- unless you take me with you."
"And why would you come with us?" asked Taiko.
"Because I need the deepshrieker's blood as well, obviously. You'll only get it with my help, and I want my share of it in return."
"Fat chance," said Yumi. "We're going to leave you blind forever."
"Yeah," said Miyoshi. "We're not going to help you on your way to taking over again and putting anyone else what you put us through."
"We don't have a choice," said Taiko.
"What? Are you nuts?" said Yumi.
"Even if you feel like keeping that mark on you forever, what about Ikumi? She needs the blood too. Worse than you or Akio do."
"But we don't need him! He'll just be waiting to stab us in the back!"
"Minoru," said Taiko, "How much can you help us if we go to Frostspire?"
Minoru's face was darker than it was a few moments ago. Miyoshi thought that he almost looked sad. He took his time responding, and when he spoke his voice was quiet and hesitant.
"I can help you a bit. More about Tomiko than her castle's security. I'll do what I can, but..."
"But we need Akio."
"I don't like your chances at all- but Akio would put it within the realm of possibility."
"But then what are we going to do with him?" asked Yumi.
"We'll figure that out later," said Taiko.
"Allies until we have what we need from each other, then?" said Akio.
Taiko sighed.
"We need to think about all of this," said Taiko. "And you guys need some rest before having to make this kind of decision. Come on, I know you're all starving. Let's talk about it in the morning. None of us can think straight right now."
"Taiko!" shouted Hiroji, running frantically toward her. "We need your healing magic! Kajiyachan's been attacked!"
"What? By who?" asked Yumi, trying to rise to a fighting stance but falling to her knee instead.
"By a prisoner he'd just released," said Hiroji, already turning to run back to the keep.
"How bad is it?" asked Taiko as she ran after him.
By the time he responded, he was too far away for Miyoshi to make out his response.
"The hapless fool is lucky if he still breathes," said Akio. "It sounds like he found Kori."
"Kori?" asked Miyoshi, suddenly anxious to follow Taiko.
"A good first taste of Tomiko's power," he said, grinning maliciously.
Miyoshi didn't waste any more time listening to him, taking off after Taiko instead. By the time she caught up, Kajiyachan was trying to stand again. There was blood on the floor- more than Miyoshi could stand to see. Taiko found two other villagers in need of help, the last describing Kori's escape through one of the keep's windows. None of them could tell Miyoshi why this 'Kori' would attack the people who'd rescued her.
Maybe it took a mind like Akio's to understand. Miyoshi shuddered at the thought of such a thing being needed for their mission.
Taiko chewed on a haunch of smoked… something. It was probably a bird. The impromptu feast had been pulled together over the last hour from the keep’s stores and kitchen. Not nearly enough time to prepare one properly, especially not with the unfamiliar foods they found, but nobody was complaining.
Miyoshi was devouring everything that made the mistake of getting close to her, from dried fish rations to fruits to slightly stale biscuits. Yumi was doing her best to put away as much as Miyoshi, even if she was falling behind a little. They were wearing some of Akio's soldiers' spare uniforms, although Miyoshi had dyed and tailored them a bit while the others were getting the feast ready.
Taiko didn’t find the food to as tasty as what she was used to in Umai. It wasn’t bad, but nothing was very sweet, spicy, or flavorful. She felt sorry for the people of this world who'd never had the food at one of Umai's festivals. Still, it was a happy time. There was a lot of off-key singing and bad dancing, and everyone was loving it. Everyone was laughing again.
The only person who wasn't here was Chiyo. She'd woken up, eaten a few bites, then said that she was tired and wanted to go lie down. Taiko had tried to get her to stay, but she just excused herself and left. Miyoshi and Yumi were being evasive too. They didn't want to talk about what happened while they were Akio's prisoners. It worried Taiko, but she wanted to give them at least one night of peace before she pried.
A creaking sound caught Taiko's attention. She turned around and saw that the fortress gate was being opened. She was pleasantly surprised to see Nǎinai and a few of the other Punnydins walk in. They were in obvious awe at being inside the dreaded Ishi-jo fortress, and only entered nervously.
"Nǎinai!" shouted Taiko, waving her over.
She wasn't fast in coming over, but eventually she reached the spot where Taiko was sitting.
"I can't believe it," she said. "You've actually beaten Lord Akio. Maybe you really have brought a little of your world to ours."
"There's still plenty of work to be done," said Taiko. "We need to figure out what to do with all of Akio's soldiers. And what to do with this place, and what to do about all of the other places that people still loyal to Akio hold."
"Once news of this gets out I'm sure you'll have people oozing out of every corner to help you. Everyone hates lord Akio and his men, and now that they're vulnerable- No, it won't be easy. I'm sure you'll have plenty of challenges ahead, but after tonight I won't underestimate you again."
Taiko felt something soft brush against her elbow. She looked to her side and found Aka sneaking something off of her plate.
"Hey!" she shouted, smacking him lightly on the head. "There's plenty here, if you asked for it. Why are you stealing my food?"
"Sorry," he said, after darting back and swallowing a biscuit. "Force of habit. I found Kuzuno; she's all better now. She wanted to talk to you about something important."
"Where is she?"
Aka crept closer to her and checked to make sure Miyoshi and Yumi were occupied before talking again.
"She's upstairs. She said it has to do with what happened here. To your friends."
Taiko was torn. She didn't want to go behind her friends' backs to hear things they didn't want to tell her. But she was also worried about them. She didn't want to make them tell her things that would hurt them to tell her, either.
She looked back to Nǎinai and found that Mayor Ryouta had already come by to claim her attention, doubtlessly already planning his rule over whatever alliance they put together.
"Okay, let's go."
Aka lead her into the keep. She still felt a chill stepping inside. He led her to the top floor, to a nicely furnished bedroom. Judging by the lack of any personal affects, it must have been for guests.
Kuzuno was there, as promised. She was sitting on a dresser with her legs dangling over the side. Taiko found herself wary; she knew what she'd done before wasn't her fault, but it was hard to forget regardless.
"Hello, Taiko," she said with a warm smile. She winked and hopped off the dresser. "We haven't really met, have we? I'm the real Kuzuno- not that creature who tried to kill you. I'm really happy to be back, and I owe you a lot."
"Aka said you knew something important. Something about what Akio did to my friends."
Taiko had made up her mind to listen to just enough to get an idea of how she should approach them. She'd let them decide what she really needed to hear- she just needed to know what questions to ask them.
"I do," she said. "Do you know anything about sex, Taiko?"
Taiko blushed red with embarrassment. It was that one word that did it to her- sex. She didn't understand it, but she could feel it. Some instinct kept nagging her about it, and it always made her react this way.
"I thought so," said Kuzuno. "I talked to Minoru. Your world must be so adorably chaste. But you're in our world now, so it's time you learned."
Kuzuno walked over to her and put her hand on Taiko's face.
"Sex is something very, very special. It's beautiful. Or at least it should be. But an evil man like Akio can make it very ugly. If you keep asking about what happened to your friends, you'll find out. Nobody should find out about sex like that- so I'm going to make sure you don't."
Kuzuno was leaning in closer. Takio's heart was beating as fast as if she was running up a hill. She couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful the kitsune was, or how tender her touch seemed. She was under a spell, and it took all of her willpower to reach up to push her away.
Or at least try to. Taiko's arms wouldn't move. She was under a spell. A real one. Once she recognized the glamor it faded, and she found her arms bound in rope behind her back.
"Hey! What are-"
Kuzuno pressed her against the wall and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Shhh... nobody can hear you. I sang one of my songs while you were on your way up here. It'll last for a while, and anyone hearing it will ignore whatever comes out of this room."
Her smile was sharp and purposeful now, and Taiko felt like a rabbit being stared down by the fox. For some reason, she wasn't scared. No, she was, but not in the way that real danger should scare her. This was excitement. Strange, terrifying excitement.
"Back when you captured me, I told you that I could smell your lust on you. I wasn't lying about that. You might not understand it, but you want me. Tonight, you're going to learn about pure, raw pleasure like you've never imagined it."
Kuzuno moved her hand and kissed Taiko. It was a kind of kiss Taiko hadn't known existed, wet and full on her lips. She should have found it gross, but instead she just found herself grown hot and anxious. The kiss lasted longer than a kiss was supposed to, and Taiko was shocked to find her own lips unconsciously working with hers.
Taiko twisted her head to the side, breaking the embrace.
"Stop that! What are you doing?"
"Doesn't it feel good?" asked Kuzuno, loosing Taiko's shirt so that her hands could find their way inside to touch her bare skin.
Taiko gasped, taken by surprise at how... at how sensual it felt. The idea, the instinct for what this was crept forward. She wasn't surprised when Kuzuno's hands went for her breasts, but the sensation of her fingers kneading into them made her squeal. Kuzuno laughed and kissed her again, chasing her mouth while her hands caressed her chest.
Without warning she threw Taiko to the mat. It was thankfully soft. Kuzuno prowled toward her while Taiko struggled to get her arms free. Her wrists had been placed against each other with each hand against the opposite's forearm. There was rope binding them directly together, but there was also rope tied around her upper arms to keep her from trying to pull her wrists free. She couldn't push them down, either- her wrists were also tied to the rope that stretched between her arms.
It wasn't nearly as tight as when the monster in the cave had wrapped her up in webbing, but it did a god job of keep her arms in a neat little package where she couldn't use them to defend herself. Kuzuno was on top of her now, smiling wickedly while undoing her skirt. Taiko lifted her legs to stop her, but Kuzuno pushed them down and yanked her skirt off. She slipped one finger into her underwear and with a flick of her wrist sent it flying down to her ankles. Taiko squirmed on top of the map, searching for a way to get her hands loose. She could move her arms a surprising amount, but the rope stubbornly stayed fast where it had been coiled around her limbs, refusing to slip out of place anywhere or let her work her hands through the bindings on her wrists.
"Please... I think I understand now. This is far enough!"
"No, it's not," said Kuzuno, her voice dripping with lewd intent.
"I'm not ready! I don't think I can..."
Kuzuno kissed her again, this time pushing her whole tongue into Taiko's mouth. Taiko wanted to fight her, but she found herself almost paralyzed, easily defeated in every attempt by the red woman.
"You're ready. I told you, I can smell it."
Kuzuno took her legs and folded them, laying the shin of one leg against the calf of the other, spreading her legs in the process. Taiko realized that Kuzuno was getting a full-on view of her vagina, left wide open by the position of her legs.
The kitsune found some more rope from somewhere and tied her legs where she'd placed them. Taiko couldn't tell if she was just stronger than her or if some magic was keeping her from fighting back properly. Maybe it was both, but either way Taiko was soon tied in way that kept her from either sitting up or rolling over, and with her shirt having been slipped over her shoulders the whole of her naked body was there for Kuzuno to play with.
She put her hands on Taiko's thighs and leaned in toward her waiting loins. Taiko didn't know what she was going to do next, only that she was going to push her over a line that terrified her.
Kuzuno kissed her pussy. In an instant, Taiko knew a hundred things she didn't before. She knew that this was what her body was so anxious for, what it needed. She still didn't know if she could handle the intense reaction from her loins, but she knew that she needed some kind of release, and that Kuzuno's touch was going to give it to her.
Taiko gasped as Kuzuno's lips slip over her pussy. She kissed her all along her slit, driving Taiko out of her mind. She couldn't say anything to protest anymore, her mind too heavily under assault by a kind of pleasure that threatened to wretch control of her body from her. She struggled, but shamed herself by being thankful that the ropes held, keeping her at Kuzuno's mercy.
Taiko felt her tongue probing her and tickling her in places that nothing had dared touch before. Taiko moaned uncontrollably, her reason slipping away as arousal flooded her body. Kuzuno lapped at her, and Taiko urged her hips toward her in response. She cried out as the sensations that started with Kuzuno's kiss took on a life of their own, fueled by her continued action, but throbbing inside of her while they grew more intense.
Kuzuno wasn't in a hurry, and Taiko couldn't do anything to rush her.
"Please," she said, resorting to begging, "Make it... make it finish."
Kuzuno paid her no heed. Taiko's chest was heaving, and she screamed as her climax approached her. It was slow in coming but it made her feel it every moment that passed. She couldn't tell what was Kuzuno's saliva and what was her own fluid anymore, only that her wetness let Kuzuno's tongue and mouth glide effortlessly over sensitive organs.
Taiko had her first orgasm, a wild surge of ecstasy that made her body buck wildly while her voice was squeezed out of her. Kuzuno slowed down and stopped as Taiko came down. Her tension slowly ebbed away, and she felt a surreal kind of peace settle over her.
Kuzuno crawled over and sat on her stomach, absently playing with her breasts. Taiko accepted her position as the kitsune's slave, her earlier nervousness burned away in her climax.
"Now you know," she said. "You've seen the power that sex can have over you; how deeply it can touch your soul."
Kuzuno's voice grew mournful.
"Now imagine that power being used by a man like Akio."
Taiko shuddered.
"You mean, he-"
"Yes."
The thought made her ill. What could she say to that? How could she ask her friends to talk about it?
Kuzuno laid her head on Taiko's chest.
"It'll be hard for them. It'll take someone very special to get them to understand what we just had- what they could have, if they could forget what happened here."
Taiko and Kuzuno lay silently together, Taiko still trying to come to grips with the beautiful and horrible new reality she'd just been introduced to.
Kuzuno sighed.
"It's your turn now," she said, sitting up.
"What do you mean my turn?"
Kuzuno smiled and slid up, her kimono parting as she lowered herself over Taiko's face. Her eyes went wide when she realized what Kuzuno wanted.
"Hold on, I-"
She sank gently, muffling Taiko's protest when her lips pressed against Taiko's face. She squealed in surprised, but Kuzuno only smiled, and started grinding softly against Taiko's mouth.
"I'm not letting you go until you do it," she said. "I won't mind playing with you all night. Especially if you're going to be so adorably embarrassed."
Taiko was stuck, Kuzuno's legs firmly pining her head. She had no choice but to do what she wanted, opening her mouth and reaching out to lick her. Kuzuno let out a sultry moan as Taiko had to learn to work her pussy the same way Kuzuno had her's.
To her surprise, she found herself enjoying it, the warmth of her loins, the sweet sound of her pleasure, and her helpless service to such a beautiful creature.
Kuzuno squirted all over Taiko's face, rubbing it into her as she came. When she finally lifted off Taiko was left panting almost as much as Kuzuno was, trying to figure out how she felt about Kuzuno's fluids being smeared all over her face. Somehow, she didn't mind that much.
"I have to go now," said Kuzuno after a while. "I've been neglecting many things, friends, places- all while I was not myself."
She got up and stretched, then walked toward the door.
"I hope I meet you again soon. If you make it back from your mission."
"Hey," said Taiko, "I, uh, still need help getting free."
"I'm sure someone will come along," she said with an air of mischief. "Maybe one of the village men will come by. There are still plenty of things you need to learn, Taiko."
Kuzuno vanished, as if a wind blew her image away. Taiko started to panic. She didn't want to be found like this; Kuzuno's allure had disarmed her, making her want what happened. But Taiko thought she would die if anyone walked in on her like this, and she certainly didn't want just anyone coming along and touching her the way Kuzuno had. Worse, she wondered how long it would take for someone to find her.
Taiko struggled, wondering if she should try yelling for help. For a moment she calmed down, and in the stillness she heard Kuzuno's song. It had been there all the time, but Taiko had been too preoccupied to listen for it. Now that she was, she sensed the magic in it, and she realized that she was still under one of Kuzuno's spells. She focused, clearing her mind and searching for how the spell was affecting her.
It was her ropes. They were already loose, and she hadn't noticed. Taiko slipped free of them, made a point to get back at Kuzuno for her mischief, and started looking for where her underwear had gone.
Yumi had to stop to lean against the wall. Now that she'd finally eaten she felt stronger, and she hoped to feel even better then next morning, but the mark was still making its presence felt. She continued on, not being able to imagine how she could live the rest of her life this way.
For now, she just wanted to get some sleep. She was looking for a quiet room to lie down in, hoping that she wouldn't have to climb the stairs to find one. As she turned a corner she saw Haru. He was holding a plate in his hand and knocking on a closed door.
"Haru?" she asked. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, hey Yumi. Chiyo left the party early, and I wanted to make sure she was getting some food. She isn't answering, though."
"Is the door locked?"
"I don't know, I haven't-"
Yumi muscled past him, which fortunately he didn't resist, and opened the door. It was dark inside, but Yumi could see Chiyo sitting against a wall. She didn't react at all to their intrusion, not even to lift her head. Yumi took the plate of food from Haru and entered the room.
"Hey, Chiyo. You hungry?"
Chiyo shifted slightly, but still wouldn't look at Yumi. She put the plate down in front of her and sat down against the wall by her side.
"If we get that blood, and Akio gets that stuff out of his eyes, I'm going to poke them out."
Yumi only got silence in response. She wondered what she was even doing. She was probably the last person that Chiyo wanted trying to talk to her right now. She wished that Chiyo would at least say it- accuse her of getting her and Miyoshi tortured. But she just sat quietly instead.
Someone else appeared in the doorway. At first Yumi though it was Haru, but when she looked up Miyoshi was there.
"I'm stuffed," she said. "You should eat too, Chiyo. I know it's not great, but you need it."
Yumi saw the pain and worry on Miyoshi's face when Chiyo ignored her.
"Come on, I know things have been rough, but it's over now, right? That's worth smiling about, isn't it?"
Miyoshi's usual cheer was strained, and Yumi could tell that she was trying to convince herself as much as Chiyo. She sat down, taking Chiyo's other side. Then she started to sing.
It was a lullaby, and old one that Yumi hadn't heard in many years. The purity and gentleness of her voice filled the quiet room, and even Yumi had to fight to keep tears out of her eyes. After a few verses Chiyo slid down, putting her head in Miyoshi's lap. She reached for the plate and took a bit of cheese, putting in her mouth and chewing it slowly.
They sat there until Miyoshi finally dozed off, Chiyo already asleep. The two of them looked peaceful, and it gave Yumi just a little hope that things could be alright after all.
Yumi crawled over to a sleeping mat and lay down. She was as tired as anyone else, but there was still a tension in her body that wouldn't go away.
Her mind drifted back to a few hours ago, when she was on tied up on her knees while Akio groped her and declared his intent to take her body. A little bit of the arousal she felt at that time returned, and with it the shame that a man she hated so much could make her desire him. She imagined that it had been her, and not Miyoshi, who had received his attentions a night ago. It would have been better that way. Yumi was stronger, and she could have more easily borne it.
Yumi drifted into a dream with that thought, with her hand pressed between her legs.