Chapter 30

Calm down. Think this through. If it spiralled out of hand, I could always buy a reload. My heart was beating louder than the wilderness around us. Sweat beaded from every pore of my skin. Akemi had her back to me. She leaned against a telephone pole, quietly smoking and waiting for a response from me. I expected her to have had an explosive reaction like before. This time, she seemed more subdued.

I must have taken too long to respond, because Akemi faced me. Our eyes met. Years of having known each other, I recognized her look of disappointment. In me.

"If you're having a hard time answering that, then it's proof enough you still feel guilty," Akemi said.

"How?" I squeezed my arm and glanced away.

"You're on Glimpse." She turned her phone to me, playing a video of me enthusiastically giving someone a blowjob. "I recognized Principal Iwata's office, where you and, who I can only assume is Miyamori, had sex in for your first video. I wasn't exactly a good kid back then. Got singled out for a talk there more than once."

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid me. I had been so worried about viewers finding out where I lived, it slipped my mind that someone much closer could have discovered me. That ended up being Akemi. Of course, she knew it was the principal's office at our school.

Akemi sighed. "Marika, I don't know what's going on in your private life that led you to doing this, but… it ain't my problem. That's your business. I'm too empty to want to do anything about it. My plan hasn't changed though. I'm going to leave Togetsu with my mom after Tanabata. Where? Dunno. I'll drive and see where it takes me."

"You're going to leave everything behind? Will I ever see you again?" I asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's not what you want to hear, but I'm a mess. I can't stand another day of this place. I really can't! I wake up in cold sweat, dreaming for more. I constantly think about how lucky your Keita is for getting out while still young. Sometimes, I still see Sato in the corner of my eyes even though I know he was A.I. generated. Who knows? I might regret it some day, ten… twenty years later. But I'd rather regret it later than be left wondering what could've been for the rest of my life."

The cigarette slipped from Akemi's fingers. She threw a brief fit, swallowing the urge to cry. I walked over and hugged her, even as she tried to push me away. I held on tighter. My old friend eventually relented and hugged back. When we parted, I caught a glimpse of her younger self. So full of life. To the point of being a big troublemaker. 

However, that visage faded and gave way to dark circles, the subtle crease of wrinkles, and a weary countenance.

"Tetsu deserves better. The two of us can at least agree on that," Akemi said.

"How…" A burst of anger bubbled within me. "How can you say that about Tetsu, when you've left Maruyama waiting for a chance? You couldn't even spare him that."

She stared at me with her mouth agape. "This and that are completely unrelated! You and Tetsu love each other. I don't feel the same way, and I'm sorry. Sorry I can't help how I feel about Maruyama, which is seeing him as a good friend. Just because he's liked me all these years doesn't mean I owe him love. That wouldn't be fair to either of us! Better we stay the way we are than break his heart worse later like—"

Akemi clamped her mouth shut. I didn't need to hear the rest of her sentence to know what she was going to say next.

"Can we go back? Sato's probably lost in the mountains looking for you anyway," I said.

"Yeah. Get in." Akemi flicked her cigarette butt to the ground and stomped on it.

We returned to Togetsumura to a much more rowdy scene. More visitors had come in the time that we were gone, and more were likely to arrive over the course of the day. Cars packed the only two lots we allocated as the designated parking. Children played kickball on the dried open fields. Older men sat on the embankments with beer while casting their fishing lines into the creek. Friends met together in front of homes to catch up and gossip.

There was a time when our town used to be this way daily. That must have been my grandparents and early in my parents' time. Once Tanabata had passed, it was back to the dying town I grew up with. Back to Togetsu with one less familiar face.

Akemi pulled up to my house and let me out.

"Hey," Akemi rolled down the window and called out. "You're going to do great tonight. With the play, I mean."

"Thanks." I smiled.

As soon as Akemi drove off, I entered my house to freshen up. No one was home, as expected. They had all gone out to enjoy Tanabata. I collapsed in the foyer, hand to my mouth. It took every ounce of effort not to vomit. Nausea hit me hard and fast.

It couldn't be.

Actually, I had no time to worry about that right now. It was something to take care of after Tanabata. I should buy a [Save Point] here after preventing Akemi's accident. My non-event points totalled 405,000. Purchasing it brought me down to 365,000 points.

[Save point logged at hallway, 8:27 AM.]

The end of Tanabata was about thirteen and a half hours away. I had to start taking more drastic steps to earn the remaining 280,000 event points. I checked [Shop+] for other things similar to the butt plug that could award me some along the way. A few worth consideration caught my eye.

[Double-up: The next time you earn points, gain twice as much. (5,000 points, 1-use).

Birthday Suit Disguise: Go without clothes, but with the illusion of clothes! Snap a picture of yourself in an outfit, and you will appear that way to everyone except yourself. (10,000 points. 3/3 charges).]

"Saya, if I purchase the Birthday Suit Disguise and use it during the play, will it still count towards the bounty?" I asked.

[Why, yes it will! Because you will technically be naked. Good catch, Marika! Also, you can keep your shoes on. It's hot outside, and we wouldn't want you hurting your feet before the play!] Saya winked.

Double-up might just catapult me to completing the event if I just fulfilled the six-man gangbang bounty worth 150,000 points. That would double to 300,000. Six men… I chewed on my finger. After Miyamori, Eisuke, and Haruo, who would I do it with and keep quiet, too?

For now, I purchased both, reducing my non-event points to 350,000.

"If I want this to work, I need to take a picture of myself in the outfit I want others to see." I extended my arm as far as possible to get myself in the photo frame.

Snap!

Now, I should be naked. I stripped down in my bedroom, leaving the yukata and undershirt tucked away in a cabinet. All I had left were my shoes. I walked to the front door, chest pumping and skin beading with even more sweat. This was supposed to be used for tonight, but how could I resist a chance to stroll around naked now? Screw it.

I threw open the door and felt first the humid air caressing my bare skin. Worse, my pussy was leaking. Juices streaked down my trembling inner thighs. Passersby shot me a cursory look, bowed lightly in acknowledgement, and continued on their way. It was working. 

"Marika, good morning!" Jiro waved to me as I stepped out of the house. It looked like he was just passing by rather than coming to see me. If he had seen me bare naked, there would have been a much more different reaction from him.

"Good morning." I offered a bow, but without any clothes wrapped around me, my breasts swung forward a little.

"I was just heading to Himawari Shrine. Would you like to come with me? Or… maybe I can come in?" He licked his lips.

"I…"

Hold on. Jiro had lived here for ages. Wouldn't he recognize some of the places in the riddle bounty?

"I know something more fun!" I exclaimed.

"Oh?" Jiro arched a brow, intrigued.

"Someone challenged me with a few riddles, and I was wondering if you can help me out."

"Hah! You're in luck, Marika. I happen to be very good at riddles. Used to spend a lot of time solving the ones behind newspapers until we stopped getting them. Hit me with one!" he insisted.

I recalled the four riddles.

"I stand vigil over tribute to the gods," I recited from memory.

"Himawari Shrine. Tribute is donations. It's probably referring to the bell above the donation box. Come on, that was easy. You've got to have harder ones than that," Jiro said, feeling full of himself.

The shrine. Of course. We could head to the shrine together last. For the next one…

"How about, I'm bathed in starlight yet cannot reach the stars?" I asked.

"That's a toughy. If I had to guess, it's something over at the park. You know, where we set up the telescopes to stargaze," Jiro explained.

"Let's go check!" I suggested.

We walked there together, unbeknownst to him or anyone else that I was naked. I rested a hand over my chest and pulled away to it wet with sweat. If someone brushed against me, would they know? I hadn't considered that risk, and it was too late to go back. Not that it mattered. If I had the choice, I probably wouldn't take it. I wanted so badly to touch myself.

I brushed downward over my nipple with the same hand. Doing so electrified my senses. The shocks traveled all the way down to my crotch. Against my better judgment, I pinched the stiff puffy nub.

"Nnh!" I couldn't contain my voice and moaned.

"Is something wrong?" Jiro glanced back as we ascended the steps to the star-gazing park. "You're panting pretty hard there. Never thought I'd be the one who needs to slow down for ya."

"I'm alright. I'll take it easy once we're up top," I said, steadying my breath.

We made it to the rising. It was expectedly deserted. After all, there were no stars to see this early in the day while the sun was still up. The telescopes had been covered up to keep from being dusty. A few men were up here having a quiet smoke. I cursed under my breath. If no one was here, Jiro and I could have had sex.

I distracted myself by looking for the talisman. My absentminded wandering led me to the pavilion, where a bespectacled man I didn't recognize fiddled around on his phone. He spared a brief glance at me before returning to the cell. A small fabric-made pouch with a star hung listlessly from it.

"Excuse me, where did you get that charm from?" I asked.

"Oh, this?" The man lifted his phone to give me a better look. "It was just hanging on a hook nailed to the post. Thought it looked neat, so I took it. Maybe some good luck will come my way tonight."

"Do you think I can have it?"

The man looked me up and down even though I should be clothed in his eyes. He swallowed hard.

"What if I do something for you?" I suggested flirtatiously.

We turned to a large infographic signboard at the same time. It detailed the history of Togetsumura since the town's founding. Jiro and the other men weren't looking this way. I beckoned the man to follow me to behind the signboard, careful not to make too much noise.

"Please, stick it in me," I pleaded, bracing my hands against the back of the board and sticking my butt out.

"Maybe this charm is lucky! Hehe…" He tried to lift my yukata, only to grab my outer thighs. "What the? Y-Your clothes just disappeared…? This heat must be getting to me."

I reached into the man's pants and pulled his dick out. He wiggled his underwear and pants the rest of the way down. I guided his throbbing member into me. It slid right in, all the way down to the base.

"Finally… Ahhh…" I sighed in delight.

"Ho, ho! Your cunt is so wet, it could quench a desert." This stranger wasted no time thrusting into me.

"Squeeze my breasts! Squeeze them!" I moaned.

Two rough hands found purchase on my chest. He handled them like they were dough, deforming each in his fingers. It hurt and felt good simultaneously. His hips picked up speed, slamming faster into me. I couldn't believe I was having sex out in the open, with the sun shining down on my bare skin and people nearby.

"I'm cumming!" I cried.

"Fuck! Me, too!" He pushed deep into me and pinched my nipples harder.

Cum hotter than the weather blasted inside my pussy. We stayed connected there, catching our breaths. Something crunched on the gravel to our left. The two of us looked up to find Jiro and the other pair of men staring in.

"M-Marika?" Jiro gasped.

"I hope this isn't a private party, because I want in!" The braver of the two didn't wait for permission. Jiro shouted for him to stop, but he didn't listen. He slipped his pants down, then grabbed my head and forced me down on his cock. I opened wide to take him in. It tasted of sweat. My nose was filled with the scent of his masculine musk.

The other man licked his lips. He joined in, pushing the stranger with the charm aside. Soon, another cock plunged into my pussy which had been creampied only moments ago. My eyes watered from being treated so roughly. The one holding my head face-fucked me for his own pleasure. Every thrust hit the back of my throat.

"Mmm! Mmmphh… shllrrp… mmmh!"

"Damn, where is this bitch from? Togetsu? Shiraishi, you guys had a slut this in town all this time?" He laughed.

Jiro watched in disbelief while I was sandwiched between them. Both men ejaculated into me, one down my throat and the other adding to my womb. They swapped positions. The man who was just in my pussy gave me a taste of myself. The first man joined again, giving my hand something to do. I gladly jerked him off until he came all over my palm.

"Wait, she's married! There's a ring on her finger!" The man I gave a handjob to grabbed my wrist and pointed to my wedding ring covered in cum.

"No way!"

"I feel bad for her husband. Or maybe we should thank him? Haha!"

They finished after going through a full rotation on me. I sucked three dicks, took three in my pussy, and gave three handjobs. The trio fixed their pants and left in laughter, pulling out another cigarette to smoke.

"God, Marika… Are you okay?" Jiro tended to me after they disappeared.

"Yeah." I gulped the last load down.

"Oh, and here's the charm you wanted." One of the men returned and tossed me the talisman.

"I… I'm sorry I couldn't help. At my age, I can barely even give a stern talking to. Those bastards. I oughta… I'll find out their names and their villages." The old man shook his fist in their direction..

Jiro fetched a small water bottle from his bag. With it, I was able to wash off the spunk from my hands. My crotch, however, would be leaking for a bit.

I checked my phone to confirm how many points I earned. New notifications filled up my lockscreen first.

[+20,000 points (+20,000 from Double-up). Cannot earn points from having sex with Nakano again.]

[+20,000 points. Cannot earn points from having sex with Sai again.]

[+20,000 points. Cannot earn points from having sex with Tanimura again.]

The Double-up went to waste, and I couldn't purchase it again. However, an additional 80,000 points was nothing to scoff at. That put my event points to 200,000. Half-way to the finish line.

"The next riddle," I said.

"What? I should get you back to your house!" Jiro urged.

"I dangle over what once sustained a village. Now I am parched and cannot quench my own thirst," I recited the next.

"If you insist." He sighed. "That sounds like the well."

We descended from the park with my pussy leaving behind a trail of cum for a short while. Fortunately, it stopped by the time we reached the town proper. Jiro turned out to be right again. I found the charm in the bucket after pulling it up from our dried up well.

"What are they? I don't remember planning anything like a scavenger hunt." Jiro scratched his head.

"I have one more. It's the last: Here I grieve the absence of the life I'd given," I said.

"This one's got me stumped. I can't think of anything in town that would fit that description," he explained.

Three out of four. I could fetch the charm at the temple later. For the time being, we headed back to my house. I needed to clean myself for the third time today, and it wasn't even the afternoon yet.

Jiro made himself at home in the living room, taking a rest after I made him walk all over town. That was a week's worth of exercise at his age.

While I let the lukewarm waters run down my body under the shower, I replayed the fourth and last riddle in my mind. Here I grieve the absence of the life I'd given. Where could that be?

"The life… I'd given?" I mumbled to myself.

Could it be?

I quickly dried myself and emerged from the bathroom. Jiro jumped from the couch as soon as he saw me.

"Where are ya running off to now?" Jiro asked.

"My old home. Here I grieve the absence of the life I'd given. Keita is the life I gave. 'Here' should be his bedroom," I explained.

Birthday Suit Disguise was still active. I had no worry about being seen naked. We both hurried to my old house. It also had a basket of fruits outside the door. Spiderwebs had overtaken the nooks and crannies without me here to tidy up. Weeds gradually reclaimed both the back and front yard.

I pushed open the door, and a wave of dusty stale air burped outwards. How long had I been gone? When was the last time I stepped foot here? It terrified me how quickly Tetsu and I moved on from this house, leaving behind all the memories we made here. The home that our grandparents and their parents had passed down to me, now joining the many other decrepit and abandoned residences in togetsu.

Jiro and I shuffled down the hallway up to Keita's bedroom. I twisted the knob, and the door gave way to an empty room lit up only by filtered light coming through the curtains. There was nothing here except cobwebs at each corner. At least, I thought there was nothing here. Another talisman hung by the curtains like a lone star against a blanket of day.

Finally. Once I grabbed the last talisman at the temple, that would earn me 50,000 points. If only I hadn't wasted Double-up. Tears ran down my cheeks as I stood in my son's bedroom where he had grown up. After Keita left for Nagoya, that was when things began to spiral out of control for me with the NTL app.

"Okay, let's— ahh!" I stumbled forward when Jiro grabbed me from behind, pressing his hips against my butt and wrapping his thin arms around my waist. "Jiro, what are you doing?"

"It must be difficult coming back here. Your son is gone. Tetsu is always gone to work. That's why I'll give you something only a man can give!" Jiro rubbed his cock in the crevice of my ass.

"I-I don't know what you're saying! We shouldn't… not in my son's bedroom!"

"You won't have to fuck another man ever again. Just me. I won't let you! Those men at the park, they don't deserve you. I'll give you a baby and make you mine!" He pushed his dick into me, and I immediately lost the will to resist.

Jiro's gangly fingers clutched my hips possessively as he pistoned into me with newfound vigor. I bucked back with the same enthusiasm. Our bodies clapped together loudly in the empty room, echoing down the hall and back.

"You're the most beautiful and kindest woman I've ever known! I haven't loved anyone as much as my late wife until you came along, Marika! Like an angel on earth. I love you!" Jiro exclaimed.

"We're only pretending to be husband and wife… If you say those things to me while we're having sex… I'll… I'll believe it!" I cried in ecstasy.

"Be mine from now on! Forget about Tetsu. Live with me for the rest of my short life. I'll make you the happiest woman in the world. Give you as many children as my shriveled balls can muster!" He turned my head, sealing his vows with a deep kiss.

Our lashing tongues spoke more than words could possibly convey. My heart soared high, just like when Satoshi had confessed his love for me. How could I lie to myself now? Having sex with Jiro Shiraishi wouldn't give me any points. This was for pure pleasure. For pure selfishness. It wasn't enough just to have Tetsu. I couldn't be satisfied with my husband alone.

The truth of it all came in brief bouts of lucidity. Every time Jiro slammed his throbbing cock into me, I saw it. The NTL app didn't change me. It revealed who I really was deep inside.

"Jiro, I want to face each other while you fuck me~" I cooed.

"Anything for my woman!" Jiro let me spin around, and we continued our depraved union chest to chest. With our arms all over the other, I knew only pleasure pulsing at every inch of my body. I grinded against him like a bitch in heat. An animal in the height of mating season. He shoved his tongue down my throat, and I eagerly suckled in return.

"Fill me up! Give me lots of babies! Even when you're gone, I'll have them to remember you by! Ahh… Mmmh… Your dick feels so incredible, I'm losing my mind! I don't need anything else right now but you and your dick!" I moaned at the top of my lungs.

"Take it… Take it all and carry our baby!" He held me tightly and came straight into my womb.

The sensation of Jiro's cum pouring inside brought me to a trembling climax. We stood there glued together, exchanging deep kisses, and feeling each other up. When he let me go, I dropped to my knees to perform fellatio on him. He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled.

"There you go, my love. Make it hard again, so we can keep going…" Jiro pressed his cock all over my face as if to claim me.

After sucking the old man back to an erection, I got down on all fours for him. Hours passed of us having sex in that empty room. I lost track of how many times he blew his load into me. All I knew was that he painted my pussy white and filled my womb to its limit. 

How many different positions did we get through? I rode Jiro cowgirl. He fucked me in the missionary position, so that we could kiss and stare into each other's eyes while having sex. I came so much, and I still wanted more. At the end, we laid there on the ground, with him on top of me. He fondled my breasts and sucked on my nipples.

"You are the best thing… that's ever happened to me… I love you, Marika… my sweet angel," Jiro murmured.

"I love you, too." I smiled, wiping the sweat from my brows. "We should get cleaned up before leaving. Hopefully, the water is still running in this house. Maybe we should go into the bath together, and… Jiro?"

The old man didn't respond.

"Jiro!" I tried shaking him, but he wouldn't stir.

Panicking, I got up and put Jiro down on his back. When I rested my ear to his chest, there were no signs of life. Just stillness.

"No! Don't go! Don't leave me! Didn't you promise to make me yours? I… I need to find help!" I raced outside and flagged down the first person I saw, a burly man who was on his way to the temple.

"Ugh. What's that smell?" He pinched his nose shut and brushed me off.

I went to other groups of people, but they all shooed me off. None of them were willing to spare me the time or day.

"I can fix this," I muttered to myself and pulled out my phone.

[Hello, hello! You're looking very disheveled, Marika. Did you recently have a good time?] Saya asked snidely.

"Buy a reload!" I implored.

"Can do! Which save point would you like to return to?" She drew closer to the screen.

I had a choice? My last save point was just after preventing Akemi's accident. If I went back further, maybe I could patch things up with her and alter what transpired.

"Take me back to… the save point last night," I said.

[Right away!] Saya beamed.

The world shifted again. I hadn't gotten used to it. Nausea punched me in the stomach, and when I looked up, I was standing in front of Miyamori's bedroom. This was only moments before I had sex with them all. The corners of my lips stretched into a depraved smile.

"It wouldn't hurt to let myself go and enjoy this a little more," I whispered.