Bound hand and foot, Haruno thrashed with everything she had.
The stimulation was too much. Every muscle in her body drew taut, and the laughter poured out of her without a single pause.
"Stop."
"It tickles, I'm dying, just let me—hahaha—rest for a second—"
"Please, I'm begging you…"
Haruno's stomach already ached from laughing. The ropes had left clear welts all over her, red lines standing out sharp against snow-white skin.
But the pain from those welts couldn't begin to cancel out the itch Lin Ye was inflicting on her.
She couldn't bear it.
She clenched her teeth, and moments later her jaw fell open again and the laughter came pouring out.
It wouldn't stop. It absolutely wouldn't stop.
The laughing simply would not stop.
Her stomach hurt past bearing.
And the stimulation kept coming, everywhere at once.
Yukino watched from the side, swallowing again and again.
Worry gnawed at her.
She remembered reading that laughing too hard could damage muscles and nerves.
This punishment inflicted no serious physical injury, but it was hardly gentle either.
One slip, and it could lead to something severe.
Yukino was, in spite of everything, a little worried.
"Yuki… please, I'm begging you…"
"Help me… Lin-kun… hahahaha…"
Haruno writhed and pleaded toward her sister.
But in the face of those cries, Yukino stayed exactly where she stood.
As she saw it, Haruno had brought this on herself. It hurt to watch, yes—but if she actually stepped in, her sister would never learn her lesson, would never grasp what she should and shouldn't do.
So Yukino chose to ignore her.
…
At first Yukino simply stood and watched. Later she dragged a chair over and watched from that.
Every one of her sister's shrieks, every violent convulsion, set her own heart hammering. Even after she'd grown used to it, the sudden outbursts still made her pulse jump.
On that point, at least, Yukino had a clear-eyed understanding of herself.
In any case, she had seen a new side of Lin Ye today. If she ever truly provoked him, she would probably end up enduring exactly what her sister was enduring now.
She wanted no part of that. None whatsoever.
Better to keep herself steady and well-behaved.
And Yukino Yukinoshita would never do anything to anger Lin Ye.
She also knew that her own small transgressions, the little things that annoyed him, would never drive him to a punishment like this.
This time it was because her sister's behavior a few days ago had gone too far—far enough that even Yukino had found it excessive. Which made it clear that what Haruno was suffering today was, more than anything, deserved.
"Done?"
Yukino asked, slow and quiet.
Her sister had already passed out and Lin Ye had sat down to rest, so she figured it was safe to ask something.
As things stood now, she honestly had no idea what else she was supposed to do.
"Done. Or do you want a couple of turns yourself?"
Lin Ye had offered earlier to let her take over, and Yukino had declined.
She hadn't spoken up to beg for her sister, but at least she'd managed to stay out of it.
Whatever else, Haruno was her sister. She couldn't push things to the breaking point.
Watching was enough. Anything beyond that—she'd rather let it go.
Then again, after an experience like this, would her sister finally learn? Surely she would.
Yukino thought it over and decided that after a punishment like this, Haruno would remember. She'd finally understand what she could and couldn't do.
Doing wrong meant accepting punishment. She couldn't just run wild on the strength of who she was.
In the past, Haruno had leaned on her looks and her family to torment people for fun—men especially. No matter how far she pushed, most men said nothing and simply took it.
Part of that was her sister's face. The other part was the standing and influence of the Yukinoshita family.
But Lin Ye was another matter entirely.
His family background was ordinary, yet his own strength gave him a standing far above all that. Her sister had used Lin Ye's body for her amusement—and Lin Ye, who had no interest in her, no designs on her at all,
had no great reserve of tolerance for her either.
Under a punishment like this, most men would have been stirred into doing something. Lin Ye hadn't. He wore the expression of a man with zero interest in her sister.
Yukino understood that, and could accept it—but what did it say? It said something about Lin Ye's attitude. Toward women, he was not the type to covet a girl's body.
So it was fair to say that Haruno had no leverage over him at all. Her excesses would only earn her more retaliation from him.
"You really won't? It's fun. Chances like this don't come around—miss it and it's gone," Lin Ye said.
But Yukino caught a faint glint of mischief in his eyes.
He was definitely looking forward to the sight of her turning on her own sister.
This guy had the same streak of nasty humor her sister did.
So of course she refused, flatly, without leaving the smallest opening.
"No thank you. It's dinnertime. Should we go out to eat later, or should I go buy something and bring it back?"
Going out would mean just the two of them.
Her sister would have to stay behind at the love hotel, and they'd bring a little dinner back for her.
But Lin Ye had been at it hard for three hours; he probably couldn't be bothered to go anywhere.
Yukino looked at him resting a short distance away and waited for his answer.
"I'll stay. Just grab whatever for us," Lin Ye said.
The odds of Haruno waking up were low, but on the off chance she woke and tried to leave—well, she wouldn't get far.
Besides, Lin Ye didn't feel like moving.
"All right."
Yukino nodded.
She'd make the trip.
Ten minutes later.
Yukino stepped out of the room and left the love hotel. She pulled out her phone and checked the map for shops or restaurants nearby.
"Something simple. Bentos, maybe."
Convenience stores carried bentos.
The clerk could heat them in the microwave and they'd be ready to eat.
Simple and convenient.
Yukino settled on a direction and set off on foot.
Ten minutes later.
She spotted a convenience store.
"Welcome!"
Yukino walked in.
She went straight to the prepared-food section.
Her eyes skimmed the dazzling rows of packages, and she quickly picked out three dinners.
Heated up.
After all, love hotels didn't come with microwaves.
A short while later, Yukino left with the bentos in hand.
"Bzzz, bzzz…"
Her phone was vibrating.
It was a call from Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei.
Hiratsuka-sensei had called once before, and Yukino had let it ring.
This time, given where she currently was, Yukino thought about it and picked up.
"Sensei. Is something the matter?" Yukino asked.
She had her guesses about why Shizuka Hiratsuka was calling, though she didn't know how much the teacher had figured out.
Probably very little.
Yukino Yukinoshita thought of Meguri Shiromeguri—the only person who could have leaked anything useful. Rui Tachibana wouldn't say a word, and Sensei wouldn't even think to ask her,
unless Rui Tachibana volunteered it.
But considering Rui Tachibana now regarded herself as Lin Ye's girlfriend, surely a girlfriend wouldn't do anything to betray him.
"What's the matter? Yukinoshita, don't tell me you don't know."
"Well, Sensei, if you don't say it, I really don't."
"You two sisters give the exact same answers. Sisters through and through," Shizuka Hiratsuka said, unable to keep it in.
When she'd asked Haruno a similar question before, Haruno's answer had been word for word what Yukino Yukinoshita had just given her.
It genuinely startled her.
All she could conclude was that sisters were sisters—somewhere underneath, the essence was identical.
"Sensei, I truly don't know why you're calling."
"Even more alike. Haruno said that exact line too," Shizuka Hiratsuka sighed.
The first time was coincidence. The second time was no coincidence at all—it was habit, it was inevitability.
The two of them didn't share a single personality trait, and yet in everything else they were eerily similar.
"Sensei."
"Fine. I want to know how Lin Ye is doing right now."
Shizuka Hiratsuka was afraid Lin Ye had been broken, that Haruno had gone after him with everything she had. Her worry for him ran high.
"Student Lin is perfectly fine," Yukino said calmly.
Everything she said was true. Lin Ye was fine, not a scratch on him—a touch of fatigue at most. Compared to her sister, who was battered and unconscious, Lin Ye was doing more than fine.
"Yukino, lying to me isn't nice. Don't think I can't tell," Shizuka Hiratsuka said, raising her voice.
It was her standard tactic.
Bluff hard.
Anyone with a shaky nerve, an unsteady mind, would spill the truth.
"Sensei, what I said is the truth. Student Lin is fine. Nothing serious happened."
"I've called him several times and nobody picks up."
"It's nothing."
"I called Haruno several times too. Still nobody picks up," Shizuka Hiratsuka went on.
For her, not being able to reach Lin Ye was the crux of it, the thing that worried her most.
And right now Yukino was the only one she could reach.
All she could say was that she'd done what she could. If she knew where they were, she'd have charged straight over.
But Chiba was enormous, and without something concrete to go on there wasn't much she could do.
"Is Haruno with Lin Ye right now?"
Yukino fell silent.
She couldn't deny it.
And that silence gave Shizuka Hiratsuka her answer.
"I knew it. Aren't you worried that with you gone, Haruno's bullying him?"
"She isn't."
"Then you'd actually leave Lin Ye alone with Haruno?"
"It's fine."
"…"
Shizuka Hiratsuka had no idea where Yukino's confidence came from.
But what she needed right now was to find out where Lin Ye and Haruno were.
"Tell me where you are. I'll come pick you up."
"Sensei, there's no need. Please just go home and rest."
Yukino Yukinoshita knew exactly what Shizuka Hiratsuka wanted, knew she meant to come find the three of them.
But under no circumstances could Hiratsuka-sensei be allowed to show up.
If Shizuka Hiratsuka learned that the one being punished and tormented right now was her sister Haruno, what would her reaction be?
Stunned, surely. Hilarious to watch, surely.
That expression on her face…
A little thrill of anticipation spread through Yukino—but in the end she thought better of it and didn't give in.
She knew where the line was. She might share her sister's appetite for amusement, but compared to Haruno, her self-management and restraint were on another level entirely.
"Yukino, are you really going to stand by and watch Haruno bully Lin Ye?"
Yukino had no reply to that.
"Relax, Sensei. Rest easy. With me here, Student Lin won't be bullied or hurt."
Right now the one being bullied and hurt was Haruno—her lofty, untouchable sister. Not Lin Ye.
Who in this world could possibly bully Lin Ye?
Yukino thought about it and couldn't come up with a single candidate.
With that man's strength, nobody could.
The thought came to her without effort.
"Of course I trust you, but I want to see Lin Ye. It's been more than half a day. That's enough, isn't it?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka still wanted to see him. She still couldn't settle.
"I'll have Student Lin call Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei in a bit. That should put your mind at ease, won't it?"
"Compared to just a phone call, I'd rather—"
"Sensei, you'll see Student Lin tomorrow and you'll know he's fine. Whatever else my sister might do, she'd never cause bodily harm."
Faced with that,
Shizuka Hiratsuka couldn't say she accepted it gracefully.
But accept it was all she could do.
"Fine, then," Shizuka Hiratsuka answered, resigned.
These days—days with not a shred of a teacher's dignity or authority left—she'd truly had enough of them.
And it was only these few students: Haruno, Yukino, Lin Ye. Oh, and add Meguri Shiromeguri to the list. Every other student in the school accepted her arrangements without fuss and did as she said.
Shizuka Hiratsuka was starting to miss that.
"Then I'll hang up now, Sensei."
"Mm."
"Goodbye."
With that, Yukino ended the call.
It was when she turned her attention back to the street that she blanked out entirely.
She'd been walking while she talked, and now that she'd surfaced she noticed the problem: this was a road she had never once walked before.
She had no idea where she was.
"Map."
Yukino Yukinoshita pulled her phone out again and opened the digital map.
Except—
she found it was still a bit beyond her.
Five minutes of walking, and she'd worked out precisely nothing.
In the end, out of options, she contacted Lin Ye and explained her situation.
Several minutes later,
Lin Ye arrived. The girl was standing there waiting with a helpless look on her face, and he simply took the bentos out of her hand.
"Thank you."
"Don't be so formal with me."
Yukino made a small sound of assent.
She was his girlfriend, his fiancee. For something like this, there was no need to thank him at all.
The two of them walked side by side.
"Hiratsuka-sensei called just now. You should call her back later."
"Got it."
"I didn't tell her anything about my sister."
Yukino gave Lin Ye a brief account of her conversation with Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei.
Lin Ye filed away the important parts.
Hiratsuka-sensei still believed Haruno was bullying him, and she was worried.
Concern like that, coming from a teacher, did stir something in him.
Shizuka Hiratsuka really was a rare kind of good teacher.
…
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