BLACK CHERRY / The Game (Chapter 11)
Title: The Game (Chapter 11)
Fandom: BLACK CHERRY
Characters: Ryo x はるき
Genre: Romance, erotica
Table: One
Prompt: 069. Come
Word Count: 1693
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The rules of The Game were very simple.
Author's Notes: Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
The Game
Chapter Eleven
(069. Come)
Light snow had fallen over the campus parking lot come evening. Ryou’s foggy breath and cigarette smoke mixed in the air as he discerned the hooded figure approaching him from a distance. He tossed his cigarette aside and walked towards the man, slipping his hands inside his pockets.
Kei stopped before him in the middle of the parking lot, removing his hood and shaking the snow off his shoulder.
“Well? This must be some pretty important news for you to bring me out here in the fucking cold.”
“It is. Haruki knows about the camera in the library. Somebody tipped her off about it.”
Kei blinked, saying nothing for several seconds as his eyes searched his. “And? This is the part where you tell me who that somebody is.”
“I don’t know who he is,” Ryou drawled. “All I know is the location of the library camera has been leaked. Haruki was in your class seeking answers because of your book, and whoever pointed her there knows about the connection.”
Kei thoughtfully rubbed his chin, staring at his boots. “So much for congratulating you on winning this year’s game then.”
“There’s bigger matters to take care of now.” Ryou narrowed his eyes. “We need to find out who the hell got into our system.”
“I’ll check in with Shin tomorrow and see if he caught anything.” Kei slipped his hood back on. “He would’ve notified us by now if he had though.”
“Unless he has something to do with it.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Kei said, turning on his back to leave.
Haruki stood on the steps of Paxton Hall, shivering as the evening snow gently fell upon her. Her eyes warily scanned her dark surroundings, but there was nothing but the empty, snow-covered campus before her. She took out her phone from her coat; the screen bright on her face.
Clue #3. Paxton Hall. 11 pm. Come alone.
She knew better than to follow that last instruction, but who else could she confide in? Ryou’s calm reception of the news had been quite unnerving, and his last words…
You’re the only one now.
An affirmation of that girl’s words. How could she know so much and not ring a bell in Ryou’s memory?
Haruki released a sigh of frustration and watched her breath cloud before her. Ten minutes had passed and she was freezing. She would’ve gone inside but the buildings had long closed. What was that girl thinking? What was the point of meeting up here?
She faced the huge, locked doors. Five more minutes, then she would leave.
“Hello again, Haruki.”
She whipped around. The unnamed girl with long, black hair stood before her like an apparition, covered head to toe in black.
“Sorry I’m late. I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, fishing out a key from her pocket and unlocking the door.
“You have access to school property?” Haruki asked in disbelief. “How is that possible?”
The girl shrugged and stepped inside. “I may have friends in high places.”
Haruki uneasily followed after her, reluctant to be trespassing. The girl’s heeled boots echoed down the marble floors of the dark, deserted hallway.
“Who are you, really?” Haruki asked. “What do you want from me?”
“I just want to show you something.” The girl tilted her head towards her, her smile barely visible in the darkness. “This will be the last time, I promise.”
Haruki followed her up the stairs. “Do you own the camera?”
“I’m not that interested in other people’s affairs.” The girl laughed. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
They stopped in front of the comp lab. The girl procured a card from her jacket, swiping it on the handle and activating entry. Openmouthed, Haruki watched as the girl booted up a computer and plugged in a flash drive.
“Have you mentioned anything to Prof. Hirose yet?”
Haruki’s fist clenched at the reminder. “Yes, and he doesn’t seem to know anything.”
The girl’s next laugh was hollow and mirthless. “Is that so?”
The computer screen reflected on the girl’s face, casting sharp, sinister shadows over her features. “What would you say if I told you he was lying?”
Haruki’s hands went cold. Her mind drew a blank at the question, even as her heart began to hammer faster inside her.
The girl took out a phone from her pocket and brought it to her ear.
“It’s me. I’m in,” she said, her eyes set on Haruki. “Do it.”
Haruki looked at the blank desktop screen in confusion.
“What I’m about to show you has been in practice for the last five years,” the girl said. “You may want to hold on to something.”
Haruki’s creased eyebrows cleared in amazement as folders arbitrarily popped up on the screen. Numerous windows loaded simultaneously, running codes too fast for her to read. Whatever had been plugged in clearly had some sort of programming, and whoever was on the other line had to be controlling it.
A video of a classroom, uninhabited with all the lights on, loaded before her. For several seconds there was nothing, until footsteps and giggling could be heard. The door opened, and a man she recognized as a professor from the Biology department entered with a girl. They began making out on the desk.
Another window loaded. Another professor, undoing a girl’s shirt in the empty teacher’s lounge. The school gym, by the bleachers. The auditorium, by the stage. Videos of professors from different departments making out with girls all cropped up before her.
Something cold and heavy began to form in her insides. She clamped it down hard, ignoring the growing terror, even as every video that loaded brought her one step closer to a horrifying realization.
Shelves of books. Prof. Mikura entered the frame with a student. He shoved the girl to the shelves, quickly lifting her skirt and shushing her moans with a kiss.
From the corner of Haruki’s eye, the long-haired girl averted her gaze back to her. “Any of these places look familiar to you?”
Haruki swallowed, and it felt like a heavy rock down her dry throat. Her eyes seemed glued to the screen, even as her mind began to scream at her to look away.
Ryou. He lay on a bed in the school clinic, undoing his cuffs. He was looking out the window with a somber gaze when she saw none else but herself enter the frame.
“I got your message. Are you alright?”
Haruki stopped breathing.
“Stop,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “I don’t need to see this.”
“Oh, I think you do.”
Several other windows appeared, all showing intimate moments of her and Ryou in various parts of the campus, all from same angles as the other professors had been with other students. The monster she tried so hard to push down inside her clawed up with newfound force, smothering her chest and choking her throat.
“Enough!” she cried, yanking the USB off the port and throwing it to the floor. She stepped on it hard until its pieces were reduced to smithereens.
Haruki gasped hard, but no oxygen seemed to be entering her lungs. Her ears rang with the silence along with the furious throbbing in her temples. She wanted to scream and thrash everything in sight, but the rage was fast leaving her, draining her, until she was nothing more than a clammy, shaking mess.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice reduced to a hoarse whisper.
“Nothing. I just wanted to show you the truth,” the girl said, almost a little too nonchalantly. “They call it Teacher’s Pet. They pick one student every semester, and whoever clears the most areas first wins. Congratulations, by the way. Prof. Hirose won this term thanks to you. He got five thousand dollars from it.”
Haruki’s last moment with Ryou flashed before her eyes. He’d caressed her face and kissed her long and deep. You’re the only one now, he’d said.
Haruki headed for the door focusing on one step at a time, as far as her numb limbs could take her. The journey to exit Paxton Hall felt like a thousand miles, and even the below freezing temperature outside could not distract her-even for one blissful second-from this newfound nightmare.
She stood in the cold until snow flecked her cheeks and cracked her lips. When the tears finally came they ran searingly hot down her face, spurning her to take the next step, then the next, until she was well and far away from everything behind her.
“Our cameras have caught nothing,” Shin Yoshino of the Computer Sciences department said, crossing his arms over his head as he pushed away from his laptop. Kei headed for the window of Ryou’s office as Ryou remained standing next to Shin, scrutinizing the reviewed footages with narrowed eyes.
“You’re overthinking it, Ryou,” Kei said by the windowsill, where the snow continued to fall outside that night. “So what if Haruki’s become suspicious? She doesn’t have any proof.”
“The girl she spoke to might,” Ryou muttered. “If the girl knows about the camera locations, she may have access to the footages too.”
“My firewalls are impregnable,” Shin said, sounding miffed. “Trust me, I would know if there’s been a security breach on a system I designed myself.”
“Give it a break. Besides, the game’s already over for the semester.” Kei shrugged. “Everyone’s gone home for the holidays. Let’s just enjoy our Christmas break and worry about this afterwards.”
“I agree.” Shin promptly closed his laptop and stood up. “I should already be on the train home. You guys owe me a present.”
“You owe me one too,” Kei said, grabbing his coat from a nearby chair. “I’m calling it a night. You look like you need some sleep yourself.”
Ryou massaged his throbbing forehead and assented with a nod. “Alright.”
Shortly after Kei closed the door, the phone in Ryou’s pocket vibrated. A message from an unregistered number.
You know who I am, Mr. H. Come see me again at Paxton Hall now. I’m waiting.
Ryou grabbed his coat and sped out of his office.
to be continued
Fandom: BLACK CHERRY
Characters: Ryo x はるき
Genre: Romance, erotica
Table: One
Prompt: 069. Come
Word Count: 1693
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The rules of The Game were very simple.
Author's Notes: Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
The Game
Chapter Eleven
(069. Come)
Light snow had fallen over the campus parking lot come evening. Ryou’s foggy breath and cigarette smoke mixed in the air as he discerned the hooded figure approaching him from a distance. He tossed his cigarette aside and walked towards the man, slipping his hands inside his pockets.
Kei stopped before him in the middle of the parking lot, removing his hood and shaking the snow off his shoulder.
“Well? This must be some pretty important news for you to bring me out here in the fucking cold.”
“It is. Haruki knows about the camera in the library. Somebody tipped her off about it.”
Kei blinked, saying nothing for several seconds as his eyes searched his. “And? This is the part where you tell me who that somebody is.”
“I don’t know who he is,” Ryou drawled. “All I know is the location of the library camera has been leaked. Haruki was in your class seeking answers because of your book, and whoever pointed her there knows about the connection.”
Kei thoughtfully rubbed his chin, staring at his boots. “So much for congratulating you on winning this year’s game then.”
“There’s bigger matters to take care of now.” Ryou narrowed his eyes. “We need to find out who the hell got into our system.”
“I’ll check in with Shin tomorrow and see if he caught anything.” Kei slipped his hood back on. “He would’ve notified us by now if he had though.”
“Unless he has something to do with it.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Kei said, turning on his back to leave.
Haruki stood on the steps of Paxton Hall, shivering as the evening snow gently fell upon her. Her eyes warily scanned her dark surroundings, but there was nothing but the empty, snow-covered campus before her. She took out her phone from her coat; the screen bright on her face.
Clue #3. Paxton Hall. 11 pm. Come alone.
She knew better than to follow that last instruction, but who else could she confide in? Ryou’s calm reception of the news had been quite unnerving, and his last words…
You’re the only one now.
An affirmation of that girl’s words. How could she know so much and not ring a bell in Ryou’s memory?
Haruki released a sigh of frustration and watched her breath cloud before her. Ten minutes had passed and she was freezing. She would’ve gone inside but the buildings had long closed. What was that girl thinking? What was the point of meeting up here?
She faced the huge, locked doors. Five more minutes, then she would leave.
“Hello again, Haruki.”
She whipped around. The unnamed girl with long, black hair stood before her like an apparition, covered head to toe in black.
“Sorry I’m late. I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, fishing out a key from her pocket and unlocking the door.
“You have access to school property?” Haruki asked in disbelief. “How is that possible?”
The girl shrugged and stepped inside. “I may have friends in high places.”
Haruki uneasily followed after her, reluctant to be trespassing. The girl’s heeled boots echoed down the marble floors of the dark, deserted hallway.
“Who are you, really?” Haruki asked. “What do you want from me?”
“I just want to show you something.” The girl tilted her head towards her, her smile barely visible in the darkness. “This will be the last time, I promise.”
Haruki followed her up the stairs. “Do you own the camera?”
“I’m not that interested in other people’s affairs.” The girl laughed. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
They stopped in front of the comp lab. The girl procured a card from her jacket, swiping it on the handle and activating entry. Openmouthed, Haruki watched as the girl booted up a computer and plugged in a flash drive.
“Have you mentioned anything to Prof. Hirose yet?”
Haruki’s fist clenched at the reminder. “Yes, and he doesn’t seem to know anything.”
The girl’s next laugh was hollow and mirthless. “Is that so?”
The computer screen reflected on the girl’s face, casting sharp, sinister shadows over her features. “What would you say if I told you he was lying?”
Haruki’s hands went cold. Her mind drew a blank at the question, even as her heart began to hammer faster inside her.
The girl took out a phone from her pocket and brought it to her ear.
“It’s me. I’m in,” she said, her eyes set on Haruki. “Do it.”
Haruki looked at the blank desktop screen in confusion.
“What I’m about to show you has been in practice for the last five years,” the girl said. “You may want to hold on to something.”
Haruki’s creased eyebrows cleared in amazement as folders arbitrarily popped up on the screen. Numerous windows loaded simultaneously, running codes too fast for her to read. Whatever had been plugged in clearly had some sort of programming, and whoever was on the other line had to be controlling it.
A video of a classroom, uninhabited with all the lights on, loaded before her. For several seconds there was nothing, until footsteps and giggling could be heard. The door opened, and a man she recognized as a professor from the Biology department entered with a girl. They began making out on the desk.
Another window loaded. Another professor, undoing a girl’s shirt in the empty teacher’s lounge. The school gym, by the bleachers. The auditorium, by the stage. Videos of professors from different departments making out with girls all cropped up before her.
Something cold and heavy began to form in her insides. She clamped it down hard, ignoring the growing terror, even as every video that loaded brought her one step closer to a horrifying realization.
Shelves of books. Prof. Mikura entered the frame with a student. He shoved the girl to the shelves, quickly lifting her skirt and shushing her moans with a kiss.
From the corner of Haruki’s eye, the long-haired girl averted her gaze back to her. “Any of these places look familiar to you?”
Haruki swallowed, and it felt like a heavy rock down her dry throat. Her eyes seemed glued to the screen, even as her mind began to scream at her to look away.
Ryou. He lay on a bed in the school clinic, undoing his cuffs. He was looking out the window with a somber gaze when she saw none else but herself enter the frame.
“I got your message. Are you alright?”
Haruki stopped breathing.
“Stop,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “I don’t need to see this.”
“Oh, I think you do.”
Several other windows appeared, all showing intimate moments of her and Ryou in various parts of the campus, all from same angles as the other professors had been with other students. The monster she tried so hard to push down inside her clawed up with newfound force, smothering her chest and choking her throat.
“Enough!” she cried, yanking the USB off the port and throwing it to the floor. She stepped on it hard until its pieces were reduced to smithereens.
Haruki gasped hard, but no oxygen seemed to be entering her lungs. Her ears rang with the silence along with the furious throbbing in her temples. She wanted to scream and thrash everything in sight, but the rage was fast leaving her, draining her, until she was nothing more than a clammy, shaking mess.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice reduced to a hoarse whisper.
“Nothing. I just wanted to show you the truth,” the girl said, almost a little too nonchalantly. “They call it Teacher’s Pet. They pick one student every semester, and whoever clears the most areas first wins. Congratulations, by the way. Prof. Hirose won this term thanks to you. He got five thousand dollars from it.”
Haruki’s last moment with Ryou flashed before her eyes. He’d caressed her face and kissed her long and deep. You’re the only one now, he’d said.
Haruki headed for the door focusing on one step at a time, as far as her numb limbs could take her. The journey to exit Paxton Hall felt like a thousand miles, and even the below freezing temperature outside could not distract her-even for one blissful second-from this newfound nightmare.
She stood in the cold until snow flecked her cheeks and cracked her lips. When the tears finally came they ran searingly hot down her face, spurning her to take the next step, then the next, until she was well and far away from everything behind her.
“Our cameras have caught nothing,” Shin Yoshino of the Computer Sciences department said, crossing his arms over his head as he pushed away from his laptop. Kei headed for the window of Ryou’s office as Ryou remained standing next to Shin, scrutinizing the reviewed footages with narrowed eyes.
“You’re overthinking it, Ryou,” Kei said by the windowsill, where the snow continued to fall outside that night. “So what if Haruki’s become suspicious? She doesn’t have any proof.”
“The girl she spoke to might,” Ryou muttered. “If the girl knows about the camera locations, she may have access to the footages too.”
“My firewalls are impregnable,” Shin said, sounding miffed. “Trust me, I would know if there’s been a security breach on a system I designed myself.”
“Give it a break. Besides, the game’s already over for the semester.” Kei shrugged. “Everyone’s gone home for the holidays. Let’s just enjoy our Christmas break and worry about this afterwards.”
“I agree.” Shin promptly closed his laptop and stood up. “I should already be on the train home. You guys owe me a present.”
“You owe me one too,” Kei said, grabbing his coat from a nearby chair. “I’m calling it a night. You look like you need some sleep yourself.”
Ryou massaged his throbbing forehead and assented with a nod. “Alright.”
Shortly after Kei closed the door, the phone in Ryou’s pocket vibrated. A message from an unregistered number.
You know who I am, Mr. H. Come see me again at Paxton Hall now. I’m waiting.
Ryou grabbed his coat and sped out of his office.
to be continued