He reached out, but didn't touch that tempting skin. Instead, he picked up a strand of sea-blue hair that had fallen loose and brought it to his nose.
"Mm, lovely scent."
His voice was soft. "The fragrance of sacrifice."
Uika's heart seized.
He saw through me?!
This demon had known she was acting from the very beginning!
A chill mixed with shame and terror swept through her entire body.
What do I do?
Open my eyes and run? No! That would ruin everything!
Saki is still waiting for me!
He's just bluffing! As long as I don't admit it, as long as I keep pretending, he can't do anything to me!
Uika forced her rigid muscles to relax, maintaining steady breathing.
The next second, cool fingertips landed on her cheek, gently stroking.
"Truly excellent skin," Seiji spoke like a professional appraiser evaluating merchandise. "Like silk. I wonder how it compares to Sakiko's."
Uika nearly shuddered. Humiliation exploded through her.
He was comparing her to Saki?
What did he think they were?
Goods to be casually critiqued?
Anger burned inside her, but she didn't dare move. To get the evidence, to send this demon to hell, she had to endure.
"Oh?"
Sensing that subtle reaction, Seiji's smile deepened. "It seems our sleeping beauty is quite sensitive. In that case... a little inspection shouldn't be too much, right?"
His fingers traced down her neck, over her collarbone, then around to her back, finding the zipper of her gown with precision.
Zzzip—
The sound of the zipper opening was painfully loud in the quiet corner.
Her back went cold as the moon-white gown fell open, exposing a wide expanse of pale skin to the air. Uika froze completely, forgetting even to breathe.
The man's fingers traced down her spine, vertebra by vertebra.
"Beautiful bone structure. Golden proportions. Dawn Entertainment certainly has an eye for talent."
Every word stabbed at Uika's pride like a knife. She bit her lower lip hard, using pain to fight the shameful trembling.
Endure! This is just the beginning!
Seiji's large hand suddenly gripped her and flipped her over, leaving her lying face-up on the couch.
Without the zipper's restraint, the gown hung loosely on her body, the curves of her chest nearly visible.
Seiji glanced down and let out a soft laugh. "Perfect proportions. No faking here."
His hand didn't linger. It slid down her flat stomach, reaching the thigh hidden beneath her skirt.
Through that silky fabric, his fingers drew slow circles.
BOOM—!
A powerful current exploded through her.
Uika's body arched violently. She nearly cried out, only barely managing to hold it in at the last moment.
Instinct screamed at her to clamp her legs together, to push away that offending hand. But reason shrieked louder: Don't move! Moving now means all of this was for nothing!
This violent conflict between body and mind made her tremble uncontrollably on the couch.
"It seems our sleeping beauty is having pleasant dreams."
Seiji felt it, of course.
His smile grew crueler. "Since that's the case, let me help you realize this dream."
His finger hooked the edge of her pure white underwear and tugged downward.
That subtle sensation of fabric sliding against skin nearly stopped Uika's heart. It was her last line of defense as an idol, and now it was being stripped away so easily, bunched around her knees.
Cold air swept over her most private place.
Shame exploded through her.
In this moment, she was no longer a radiant idol. Just a plaything stripped bare and laid out on a couch.
The man's fingers didn't plunge in immediately. Instead, with cruel playfulness, they traced lightly along the sensitive skin of her inner thighs.
That gentle touch was worse than being cut with a knife. Uika bit her lip hard, her body trembling even more violently.
He's trying to force me! He's trying to make me wake up!
Uika screamed inside: He wouldn't really do anything! This is a semi-public place. He absolutely wouldn't dare!
But Seiji didn't hesitate.
"Mm..."
Uika's spine locked as unfamiliar pleasure surged through her like a flood.
How can this be?
She was alarmed to discover that the sensations were a hundred times more intense than she'd imagined!
This man... he knows a woman's body far too well.
Uika tried to stay calm.
But Seiji gave her no chance to catch her breath.
Soon, Uika couldn't hold back any longer. Her breathing grew obviously heavy.
She couldn't keep pretending.
Yet just then, Seiji suddenly stopped all movement.
He sat up straight, even kindly helping adjust her gown to cover her exposed skin.
Silence returned to the corner. Only Uika's ragged breathing remained.
What happened? Why did he stop?
Uika's mind was chaos. An absurd thought surfaced: Did he let me go?
The next second, a cold voice shattered her fantasy.
"Uika Misumi."
This time he used her full name. "I'm giving you ten seconds. Wake up. I have no interest in playing with a corpse."
Every muscle in Uika's body clenched.
This was her last chance, and also the cruelest trap.
If she woke up now, she could preserve her chastity, but it would mean admitting everything before had been a farce. It would mean her ridiculous "rescue plan" had completely failed. She would become a joke.
And if she didn't wake up? Kept pretending?
That meant tacitly accepting whatever came next. It meant becoming nothing but a plaything.
Forward was the abyss. Retreat was humiliation.
This was what it meant to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
Ten seconds stretched on like a century.
Countless images flashed through Uika's mind: Saki's profile on stage, her back pressed against the office floor, and the oath she herself had sworn.
No... I can't give up. Saki is still waiting for me!
And besides... he wouldn't dare!
He must be bluffing!
This is the banquet hall. No matter how lawless he is, he wouldn't dare do that in front of everyone!
As long as I win this bet, as long as I refuse to wake up, he'll have to let me go!
This mad thought consumed her mind.
She decided to gamble. To bet on this man's limits.
So she continued lying there, motionless.
Ten seconds passed.
Seiji looked at the girl whose eyes remained firmly shut and smiled like a demon.
He lowered his head, bringing his lips to her ear, and whispered in a voice only they could hear:
"Still not waking up?"
"In that case... never wake up again."
...
...
Minato, Tokyo. Genesis Manor. Master bedroom, top floor.
1:15 AM.
Heavy curtains blocked out the night. Only a single floor lamp glowed in the room. In that dim light, Uika Misumi lay on the deep black velvet bed.
Her silver-fringed short skirt was in disarray, the hem hiked up to her waist, exposing large expanses of pale skin.
She was still pretending to sleep.
Even after Seiji had taken her from the banquet, brought her to this unfamiliar place, she hadn't given up her act.
This was no longer just a test of acting skill. It was an all-or-nothing gamble.
Don't move... Uika, don't you dare move.
She desperately warned herself.
Her heart was about to leap from her throat, but she had to control her breathing, mimicking the sluggishness of drunken sleep.
Her plan was simple:
He brought me here to humiliate me.
As long as I keep pretending to be drunk, when he actually commits the crime, I can record it with the micro-recorder hidden in my purse. With that evidence, I can force him to let Sakiko go.
But the large hand resting on her waist wasn't in any hurry to tear away her disguise.
It was a broad, dry palm radiating heat. Through the thin fabric of her gown, it slid slowly from her lower back up to her spine, finally stopping at the sensitive nape of her neck.
"Truly a perfect body."
Seiji's voice came from directly above her, laced with mockery. "As expected of Sumimi's centerpiece. Even your sleeping act is this seductive."
Uika's eyelid twitched.
Is he testing me? Or did he really figure it out?
Stay calm... he's just probing. If I open my eyes now, I lose.
She forced herself to let out a mumbled sleep-sound and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow.
The next second, that hand suddenly gripped tight.
"So you really do enjoy playing sleeping beauty."
Seiji's tone turned ice-cold. "Since you don't want to wake up, don't blame me for being rude."
RRRIP—!!
A sharp tearing sound.
Her back went cold as the haute couture gown was torn open by bare hands. Then a scalding palm pressed directly against her spine.
She couldn't keep pretending. This was naked violence.
"Ahh—!"
Uika let out a terrified scream, eyes flying open as she bolted upright and scrambled to the corner of the bed, clutching her chest. "Are you insane?! This is a crime! I'm calling the police—"
"The police?"
Seiji sat on the edge of the bed, toying with a scrap of silver fabric, his gaze amused. "This is my private residence. You're the one who refused to leave my car. You're the one who walked into my room. The security cameras caught everything crystal clear."
He stood and advanced on her. "As for the dress... who's to say you didn't tear it yourself in a drunken fit?"
"You're shameless!" Uika trembled with rage.
"I'm shameless?"
Seiji braced both hands against the wall, trapping her in shadow. "Compared to me, isn't the idol who pretended to be drunk just so she could crawl into a man's bed for some purpose... even more shameless?"
Uika's breath caught.
She'd been seen through from the very beginning.
"You... you knew..."
"Of course I knew." Seiji gripped her chin, forcing her head up. "You wanted to save Sakiko? Get dirt on me? Uika, your eyes gave you away. That self-satisfied martyrdom was written all over your face."
His thumb ground across her trembling lips, his gaze turning dangerous. "Since you're so eager to sacrifice yourself, I'll grant your wish."
He gave Uika no time to react before pressing down on her.
"Mmph—! Let go..."
Uika struggled desperately, but both her hands were instantly pinned above her head by one of his. His other hand showed no mercy as it dove beneath her skirt.
"No... please..."
Tears burst forth.
If it had been for evidence, she could have endured. But now this had become a meaningless assault.
"Begging won't help." Seiji chuckled. "At this point, do you really think I'd let you go, Uika?"
As he moved, Uika's cries gradually changed pitch.
Uika was horrified to discover that even though her mind was rejecting this, her body was beginning to soften.
Her breathing quickened, heat spreading across her skin, cheeks flushing deep.
"Such a good response, Uika." Seiji's voice was cruelly soft at her ear.
"No... that's not..." Uika shook her head violently.
"Still so stubborn?"
Seiji snorted coldly, seized both her wrists with one hand, and pinned them above her head. With the other, he tore what remained of her gown away and spread her thighs apart.
Uika felt him press against her entrance, thick and impossibly hot. "No... please, not like this..."
He pushed in. Uika's back arched off the bed and a choked cry tore from her throat. He was big, stretching her in ways she'd never experienced, and he gave her no time to adjust. His hips snapped forward, burying himself completely, and she felt something inside her give way.
"Mm... ah..."
No matter how unwilling she was, soft moans escaped her lips unbidden. His pace was relentless, each thrust driving the air from her lungs. She could feel every inch of him inside her, the friction making her body burn.
In the full-length mirror beside the bed, she could see herself. That woman with her designer gown in tatters, pale skin exposed, face flushed and tear-streaked, being fucked into the mattress by a man she'd come here to destroy. Was that really the national idol?
Uika closed her eyes and wept. Her hips rocked up to meet his thrusts on their own. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper. The wet sounds of their bodies joining filled the room.
"So... so intense..." The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Seiji shifted her legs over his shoulders and drove in at a new angle that hit something deep. Uika screamed, hands clawing at the sheets, her entire body shaking. He held that angle, pounding into her with methodical force until she came apart beneath him, clenching and shuddering around his cock.
He didn't stop. He fucked her through the orgasm and into the next, until Uika was sobbing and incoherent beneath him, her voice hoarse from screaming.
"Good." Seiji growled with satisfaction and drove in one final time, burying himself to the hilt and emptying inside her.
...
Past ten in the morning. Faint morning light filtered through the curtain gaps. The room was thick with a decadent scent. Uika lay curled in the corner of the bed, a thin blanket covering her. Kiss marks dotted her exposed shoulder. She'd been awake for a while. Or rather, she'd barely slept at all. Every breath brought aching pain that reminded her of what had happened last night. It's over. I didn't save Sakiko. I only destroyed myself.
Click. The bathroom door opened. Seiji Fujiwara emerged in a dark gray bathrobe, looking refreshed and invigorated. He walked to the bed. Uika instinctively flinched.
"What? Scared now?"
Seiji pulled back a corner of the blanket. "You were much more enthusiastic when you were begging last night."
"Stop it!" Uika covered her ears, breaking down in tears. "You demon! You've ruined me..."
"Ruined you?" Seiji scoffed. "You delivered yourself to my door."
He casually tossed a black memory card onto the coffee table.
"This contains last night's complete HD recording. Including how you resisted at first, and how you ended up clinging to me begging for more... every detail is perfectly clear."
Uika's pupils contracted. Her blood froze.
A recording. If it got out, it would be social death.
"Don't worry, I'm only keeping it for private viewing." Seiji leaned down to look at her. "We'll be making many more recordings in the future. Watching them while we do it... you'll find it even more exciting."
"No... I can't..."
"You don't have a choice." Seiji's voice was leisurely. "You know what I'm capable of."
Uika fell silent.
After a long time.
She lowered her head and spoke. "I... understand."
"Good." Seiji patted her cheek. "Go shower and clean up. Your manager's been waiting downstairs for an hour."
Uika nodded mechanically and walked toward the bathroom like a zombie.
Watching the bathroom door close, Seiji's lips curved into a cold smile.
[System Notification]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Successfully captured target: Uika Misumi.]
[Received Phase Two Reward: Global Fashion Resources.]
...
One week later. Genesis Manor, dressing room. Sakiko wore a professional suit as she organized ties. Faint kiss marks were visible at her collar. The pride that once filled her eyes was completely gone. "These are for tomorrow's business trip..." She had grown accustomed to being summoned every night.
...
Tsukinomori Girls' Academy.
Soyo still maintained her gentle image, smiling as she declined a classmate's weekend invitation. "Sorry, I have special training this weekend."
A lie.
The so-called "training" meant going to the manor to "work overtime."
...
Haneoka Girls' Academy, Astronomy Club. Tomori Takamatsu sat alone in a corner, fiddling with rocks. Her eyes held a kind of morbid tranquility. The hollow emptiness of someone who no longer needed to think about the future after being "filled."
Anon walked into the classroom. When she saw Tomori, her gaze turned cold and distant. "I have something to do. I'm leaving." She turned and left. She'd seen Tomori getting into that luxury car. She knew what had happened. Tomori's attitude of "as long as I'm possessed, I don't need to feel pain," that willing descent into corruption, disgusted her.
Tomori gripped her rock tighter. It's fine. As long as I have that person's approval, being abandoned by the whole world doesn't matter.
---
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