No Easy Solutions

The room was heavy with tension, but the atmosphere had completely shifted—serious, yet undeniably awkward.

Tomo's voice cut through the silence, sharp and desperate. "So does it mean my mother will die?!" Her fists clenched, her body trembling. If not for Misuzu holding her back, she would have lunged at the man without hesitation.

My eyes flicked to her mother.

FUCK

She was barely holding herself together. Her thighs were pressed tight, hands twitching at her sides, teeth sinking into her lip as if that could stop the heat rising inside her. But my eagle eyes didn't miss it. The wet spot darkening her pajama bottoms, her body screaming for relief.

She was losing to her own urges, fighting not to shove her hand between her legs right then and there.

A life-threatening situation, a panicking daughter, and a mother struggling not to finger herself in the middle of it.

What the fuck was happening here?

Misuzu's voice was unsteady, still shaken from the slap earlier, but she forced herself to focus on calming her friend. "Calm down! He hasn't said that!"

He actually did. Though I don't say it out loud.

That spray was definitely not normal.

According to them, they found it in some abandoned mansion, untouched for years. They were the first to experience it firsthand. His partner had used it, and he himself had felt just how hot the girls got around his partner because of it. The bastard couldn't control himself, spraying more than once, thinking it was just some weird perfume.

After getting over the effects, they put two and two together.

It was the spray.

Then they got curious. They went full scientist mode, testing, confirming. They needed to know exactly what it did. So they tried it on others.

And that's when they discovered the real danger.

If someone didn't relieve themselves after being sprayed…

They died.

The implication was obvious. Anyone could see what they were using it for. Targeting others, mostly women. Use the spray. Make videos. Blackmail. Rinse and repeat.

And they were smart. Smart enough not to sell it, not to leak any information about it.

But today's action was the result of their overconfidence.

They knew what would happen to them if the top ones found out. Maybe the content would be taken. Maybe they wouldn't even be alive today.

I need to check that mansion. Something like this isn't common. But that's for later. Right now, I need to focus on the present.

"Let's call the cops," Misuzu said, her words making Tomo's eyes light up. She straightened, grabbing onto the idea like a lifeline. "Yes! Let's call them! Why didn't I think of that?!"

I cut in immediately. "That would be like swinging an axe at your own leg," stopping them before they could reach for the telephone.

"Why?!" Tomo snapped, her voice laced with anger. Her mother was in pain, well, heat, but still suffering, and now someone was telling her not to call for help?

Her fists clenched. Her body shook. "My mother is like this, and you're saying we shouldn't call the cops?! Are you out of your damn mind?!"

Misuzu flinched at the outburst, but she didn't stop her. Tomo had every right to be furious.

"You really think calling the cops is a good idea?" I said, keeping my voice even. "You think they'll take one look at your mum like this, hear about some weird spray that makes people—" I gestured toward Akemi, whose legs were still clenched tight, face flushed, breath shaky. "—and just go, 'Yeah, totally normal, we'll handle it'?"

Both girls followed my gaze, their expressions shifting.

"Best case? They take her to a hospital, pump her full of random drugs, and nothing works. She gets worse." I let that sink in before adding, "Worst case?"

They were both staring at me now.

"The wrong people hear about this. People who don't care about your mum or any of us. Just the spray." I sighed. "And who's to say the ones who show up are even the kind of cops who actually do their jobs? What if they just see an opportunity to cash in?"

Tomo opened her mouth to argue but hesitated. She wasn't stupid. She knew how the world worked.

"Right now," I said, keeping my voice low, "we need a solution, not a death sentence."

Laughter.

A slow, mocking chuckle.

We all turned toward the bastard still conscious. He was sitting there, tied up in chains with his partner, my handiwork. Found them lying around when these idiots thought they were main villains or something.

Misuzu's voice was sharp. "The hell's so funny?"

"Hah… haha… just—" He let out another chuckle, shaking his head. "Kid actually gets it. Knows how the real world works."

Then he looked straight at me, grinning like we were old friends.

"How about you untie me?" he said. "We could make a good team."

"You don't feel pain anymore?" I asked, tilting my head, silencing him right after he clicked his tongue. "Tch."

I'd been giving him some… proper service in exchange for information.

Guess that meant he'd had enough.

Still, since I didn't want to get interrupted again, I stepped forward and gave him a sharp chop to the neck.

Out like a light.

Now he could get some sleep, right alongside his partner

I turned to see Tomo, her eyes already brimming with tears.

Sighing, I asked, "Decide."

That got both her and Misuzu looking at me like I'd lost it.

"Should we leave her like that, or..."

All three of us turned our eyes to Akemi.

I exhaled. "Do you want me to fuck your mom?"

"...."x2

*******************

Suggestions