Chapter 9

Satou arrived at your house at six PM sharp. You stressed to her how much punctuality mattered to Minoru. Although, she was looking worse for wear.

“Guess who wiped out on their way over here!” She crowed as if it were no big deal, holding her roller skates up by their laces as if to punish them for doing this to her.

Her right cheekbone was scuffed. She obviously threw her arms up to protect her pretty face. Her forearms looked as if they had been skinned. Both of her knees looked like ground meat, bloody and with bits of gravel and dirt still stuck in them.

Minoru floated over to the door like a leaf on a summer breeze and just blinked at her injured guest. “My dear, what happened?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it! I just ate pavement while I was skating. I don’t even know what happened. I was cruising along, then I hit a bump or a pebble or something and faceplanted,” she laughed, looking bashful but still in good spirits.

Probably the game’s way of endearing Satou to Minoru, you thought as you opened the door further for her to step inside.

Satou looked so pathetic, so unfairly battered, that Minoru’s brain needed time to process it. There was color high on her face, and she bit her lip fervently. “Come with me,” she said at last, holding out a hand for the pink-haired girl to take. Satou accepted it as graciously as Snow White accepted the poisoned apple. “I’ll get you fixed and cleaned up.”

“Come into my parlor,” said the spider to the fly, you thought to yourself, closing the door behind her. Satou followed Minoru to the bathroom like a lamb to the slaughter.

You watched them walk down the hall and into the bathroom, where Minoru kept her first aid kit. You didn’t follow them, however. Better to let the love birds have some alone time together. Maybe they’d build a nest in the master bedroom and you could spend the night in the guest room.

Instead, you resumed setting the table. The steaks were ready and Oshiro was already seated. You gave her two butter knives instead of a knife and fork out of pettiness, so she’d have to get up later to get a fork.

“I don’t understand you,” she sighed at last. Her elbows were on the table. Minoru hated that, said she had no manners.

“That’s because you use your fists more than your words,” you told her in a monotone.

Somewhere down the hall, you heard Satou laugh, big and boisterous.

“She’s not gonna let you go because you gave her someone new to wait on. I tried that with Hinata. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.”

Your heart jumped up in your throat and then sank in your stomach as she read your intentions clear as day.

“I’ve given up trying to get away,” you lied. “Now I’m just making quality of life changes. I can’t live as Minoru’s only princess. I’d rather kill myself. So, unless you want another death on your conscience, I suggest you make Satou feel at home.”

Oshiro didn’t say anything to that, just put her head in her hands. She still had a lot of regret concerning Kimiko, as she should. At least she was free. You were starting to worry that the only freedom you could find would be in death as well.

But then Satou appeared, carrying a torch with her. The only light you had seen in a while, and just within reach. All you needed to do was grab it and not let go.

Minoru and Satou came to the table a little while later. Satou was covered in bandages and gauze from head to toe but looked happy as a clam. Minoru fluttered around her like a butterfly. “How do you feel? The pain-relieving gel should be taking the edge off. I have painkillers if that’s not enough.”

“I’ll take a painkiller, if you have one,” Satou said.

Minoru nodded and disappeared to go grab some Oxycodone. That and Xanax were her two favorite medicines to administer. Sometimes she liked to pepper in Adderall or Ritalin, just to make sure she had all of your attention.

You gave the main character a panicked look and a little shake of your head, but she just laughed and winked at you.

That’s when you remembered. She played the original game, including “Aina’s secret ending.” She knew all about Minoru and her machinations of control. She was fully aware of what she was doing. She wanted it.

I’ll never understand you, you thought, shaking your head again as you openly stared at her. She just preened under your gaze, batted her eyes and twirled a ringlet around her finger.

Minoru returned with an unmarked tablet and a tall glass of water. “Open up,” she told her new baby. Satou let her mouth fall open and Minoru put the pill on the tip of her tongue. Then she passed her the cup of water with a murmured, “Good girl.”

Those two words sent a chill down your spine. You were only good when you submitted.

You had been a lot of things these last few months but submissive wasn’t one of them. You fought tooth and nail, bit and scratched and punched and kicked. And, despite all the pain and strife that brought you, you were still proud of that fact. You were a fighter.

You, Oshiro, and Satou sat at the table while Minoru remained standing, playing hostess. It was her third favorite role to play, right after Mommy and nurse.

She served Oshiro and Satou their steaks first before you. She didn’t walk away after transferring a steak to your plate, however. Instead, she picked up your knife and fork and started cutting your meat for you.

“Quit it!” You told her with a blush, trying to wrestle your silverware away. You weren’t a child. You could cut your own steak.

“Just let me-“

“I said stop!”

“Can you cut my meat for me?” Satou interjected into your fight. Both you and Minoru looked up at her in shock. She wriggled a little in her seat, as if embarrassed, but continued, “I’ve never done it before. And I don’t like fat.”

There was a long pause before Minoru put your silverware down and headed to Satou’s side of the table. “Yes, of course.”

You watched across the table as Minoru removed the fat from her steak before cutting it into bite-sized pieces. When she was done, she served herself a steak and began eating. That’s when you and Satou began to eat as well.

Meanwhile, Oshiro had already finished by that time and left the table without so much as an introduction.