Panties and Hickeys

As fast as the first blow, Saito moved away from Haruki and stood up.

"COFF COFF," Haruki coughed as he felt his throat clear. The windpipe hurt when air went through. He put his hands on his neck to massage the place. The singer was concerned if he could speak normally, and more, if he could sing after this near strangulation.

"Please excuse me Haruki! I got scared," the mountaineer spoke embarrassed, bowing to the singer. And then he approached Haruki again to look at the damage he had done to his throat. The singer realized that the mountaineer hurt him in a reflex act.

Haruki's heart was beating fast. 'He was so agile!' He needed some time to calm down. He looked at the mountaineer in silent respect. Saito could have killed him, if he wanted to.

"Let me do this, please," Saito asked to massage the wounded throat site.

Haruki dropped his hands, allowing his attacker to massage him. 'Of course! He was the son of a Judo legend. Saito must have been trained from a very young age.' Even so, seeing his expertise and reflex skills was scary.

The singer remembered Jun warning him that Saito was dangerous, 'Does Jun also know how to fight?'

"Haruki, talk to me. How are you feeling now?" Saito asked, looking distressed.

His concern drove Haruki's thoughts away from Jun, bringing the singer to the present. Haruki paid attention to the man in front of him, and realized that now Saito gave him the chills.

The mountaineer was the 'Pandora's Box' and the singer found out he didn't want to see it open.

"Um, I'm better. It's enough, thank you very much," finally Haruki said with a little effort, without facing the mountaineer. He got up and went to the bathroom to see if there would be any marks.

With disgust he discovered that his skin was blotchy, his bruised skin was an ugly shade of purple, and that big patch against his fair skin stood out from a distance. Haruki snorted, resigned.

He took a long, cold shower to speed up his healing. The throat hurt. He went into the warm water. When going to get dressed, Haruki looked in all the clothes for a blouse that had the highest collar. He didn't want to parade this bruise around.

As if reading his mind, Saito extended a knitted shirt to him. Haruki tried it, but even with the collar being rolled up, the bruise was still visible.

"Haruki, tell me how I can redeem myself, please." Saito looked mortified and the singer remembered himself apologizing to Miyu-chan.

"Hey man, we're fine. As long as I stay on the couch, okay?"

The mountaineer made an expression that Haruki didn't understand what it would be. Perhaps concern?

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," and Saito left the room before the singer.

Not hungry, perhaps because of the pain, Haruki decided to do some exercise first and then go to eat. He went for a walk, paying attention to his surroundings to see if there was any further change in the game's environment. It might just be his impression, but it looked like the temperature was changing for the first time. The sky was greyish, and the temperature, dropping.

Haruki stopped walking when he saw Hinata crouched down looking at a bush.

"Hi Hinata-kun! Good morning!" And getting closer, Haruki realized the senior student was burying something. Hinata had red cheeks, and rushed to finish what he was doing.

"Hi good morning Haruki-senpai, please don't tell anyone," he asked the singer.

"Hm not telling anyone about what?" Haruki didn't see what Hinata had buried. Hinata, on the other hand, seemed to be even more embarrassed and indignant at having spoken unnecessarily about his secret.

"Ooh nevermind, nevermind. Wow, it's getting cold. Are we going back, senpai?" Hinata stared at Haruki, making a suffering face as he rubbed his arms vigorously to give veracity to his argument.

"Yes, we might. Hey, not so fast. We go after you tell me what you buried and why," Hinata's behavior was so weird, and Haruki was dying with curiosity.

"Aff," sighed Hinata, taking a breath to speak,

"Ooh, it's so embarrassing! Please senpai, please." Hinata was pleading not to speak. But in the face of Haruki's stare, the student gave up and said,

"It's my outfit. Ita-san didn't wash it," Hinata's ears and neck were red from embarrassment.

Haruki wanted to laugh out loud, but he didn't, coughing to hide his laughter,

"Hm, and did you prefer to bury it than doing laundry?"

"I hate housework. I have done all the cleaning of our house since the day my father picked me up at the police station," Hinata said all the while looking at the floor, embarrassed.

Haruki nodded in agreement that it was hard for Hinata. But he also understood why his father had punished him so severely. For a high-ranking police officer to be called to a police station because of his son's misconduct was very shameful. As if Hinata was not getting an education about right and wrong at home.

The singer also looked at the ground, sympathetic to Hinata. And Haruki fixed his eyes on the hiding place. It was a small hole. Too small to fit Hinata's clothes.

"Hm you did a good job with storytelling and acting, Hinata-san! You only forgot that evidence is indisputable. Looking at that mound of dirt, it's hard to accept you just buried trousers, underwear, shirt..."

"Panties. I buried some panties," Hinata's voice shrieked as he spoke.

Dumbstruck by surprise, Haruki blushed afterward for having forced the boy to confess his secrets.

"They didn't just make fun of you. In my closet, I found see-through panties."

Haruki cussed, not holding his surprise anymore.

"I'm slowly burying them, I didn't want to attract attention. Please senpai, don't tell them anything!"

Hinata was such a child. Thinking it was his fault for being cute.

Haruki was fuming, in fact. He wanted to call Honda-san and rub 'the evidence' on the screen. However, he would first need to get Hinata's permission.

"Hinata-kun, you needn't be ashamed of anything. Whoever did this, is an immature moron. You know, it has nothing to do with whom we are in reality, but who they think we are. Okay, it was weird how I said that. What I'm saying is," Haruki stopped talking when he saw the boy lift a finger and put it over his lips.

"I understood. And I know that being androgynous has this bias, I know I cause desire in some men. I know some of them to look at me and desire me. I even know these souvenirs reveal more of who designed them for me than he imagines. I just don't want to be a laughing stock here. You know, that day of the show for Jun-san?! I would have thrown myself overboard if Saito-san had chosen me to be his sub," Hinata explained to the singer his impressions of that day.

Haruki felt his cheeks burn.

Only after Hinata vented his memories, the senior student looked at Haruki. His teeny face turned a frown as he expressed his astonishment when he saw the mark on the singer's neck. With his lips forming a surprised pout, Hinata raised his right hand with his index finger pointing at the hickey showing above the turtleneck while saying, flustered,

"Oh oh, senpai your neck is black! Oh oh, are you still roleplaying? Did he choke you? Oh oh, are you lovers? Oh oh did you like it?"

Hinata asked one insane question after another. Haruki pressed his lips and clenched his fists.

"It's not like that, Hinata-kun! What a wild imagination," as soon as he spoke, the singer realized that his denial didn't convince Hinata. The student now had both hands covering his mouth. The boy's eyes were still fixed on Haruki's neck.

A lightning bolt cleared the sky, and then thunder deafened their eardrums. The first drops of water lashed them.

Hinata ran to the mansion. Haruki looked around, saw the sea in the distance forming huge waves. He also ran to the house, surprised they had a storm inside the game.

Haruki stayed in the room after Hinata's scandal over his bruise. With nothing to do, he lay there watching the rainwater hit the window, thinking about how to leave the room without creating new friction with Saito. Only his mind did not contribute to any merely viable idea.

Bored, the singer left the room and wandered around the room designed by Kenta. It was exactly the way he had left it.

Haruki then went to see the other rooms in order to get out of the 'paranoid' theory. In the room that Hinata stayed, his dirty clothes were still lying in a corner. Haruki passed room by room, realizing that they were all dusty.

The last room he entered was where Jun slept.

Everything was perfectly organized. Jun, contrary to what he looked like, was an orderly man. But there was also dust there. Haruki turned to leave when Jun entered the room and came to him, stopping inches from Haruki.

'Hm, the little blabbermouth spilled the beans to Jun, out of everyone else' thought Haruki.

Jun circled Haruki and narrowed his eyes to check his neck. Huffing, he asked,

"Shall I ask Saito what this is?"