"Kogamo, please wait a minute." Before I got back to my room, I was stopped in the upstairs hallway. I turned around and bowed lightly.
"Asami-chan, what can I do for you?" I knew she didn't really like me, but I tried to be friendly with her regardless, hoping that she would someday warm up to me.
"Nothing much, it's just that I have something to give you." She approached in a way that I couldn't see what was in her hand and placed her hand on my shoulder suddenly. It was enough to make me gasp lightly, and she took that chance to shove something into my mouth with her other hand. She roughly pushed the clear rubber deep into my mouth while keeping me from backing away with her other hand. My eyes widened as I realized that I had no real way to resist her sudden actions due to the armbinder I was locked into. Her hand behind my head held tightly and pressed me closer to her other hand, and in just a few seconds it started to rub up against the back of my throat.
She changed her hand position to above and below my head, and with a quick motion she forced me to clamp down on the rubber gag. With a hmph, she backed away a few steps and crossed her arms. I tried to open my mouth, but as I expected, my jaw was totally locked shut. Even after shaking my head a bit, I couldn't get any movement at all out of it. The sensation was a bit overwhelming, and Asami suddenly looked much scarier in my eyes.
"I have to say, that look suits you much better, Kogamo. Just what you need to shut your damn mouth. Ever since you showed up here, everything has gone to shit. I don't know what dirt you have to force Matsuko to treat you nicely, but it doesn't mean shit to me. You will never be one of us, so stop trying to act all buddy buddy and go back to whatever shithole town you came from. Do you think you can become a member of the upper class just because someone important takes you in as a plaything? Know your place."
She turned around to leave, but then stopped and came back to me. "Don't let me see you wasting Matsuko's time with your stupid little games, or else I'll fill that commoner mouth of yours to the brim and make sure you don't bother her anymore." She slapped me hard across the cheek, leaving a burning pain behind and nearly knocking me over. "Every. Single. Time." She slapped my other cheek, which sent me crashing to the ground, and walked away in a huff.
I just laid there on the ground for several minutes, head spinning. My cheeks were on fire, my jaw was protesting, Asami's words were swirling around inside my head, and I couldn't process it at all. Somehow, I staggered to my feet and got to my room which was only a few feet away from where I was laying. After closing the door, I fell onto my bed and curled up. Once the tears started, I couldn't stop them and I just laid there and sobbed until there were no more tears. At some point I felt so exhausted I just fell asleep and I have no idea how long I slept.
* * *
It was evening when I woke up, but I still felt like shit. Now, more emotionally and mentally than physically. I had somehow gotten used to the "invisible muzzle" that Asami had put in my mouth, but that didn't make me feel better about it. I decided to try and take my mind off of what she said by studying for a while, so I sat down at the desk and opened one of my textbooks. It actually took my mind off of things to stare at some math problems, and soon I had regained my peace of mind. A knock on the door interrupted my train of thought, and I immediately replied to the knock. "Mmmmm!" I had momentarily forgotten about the gag, and just made a noise instead. I wasn't sure if I was heard or not, but I heard a voice from outside. "Ko-chan, I'm coming in."
Matsuko came in and closed the door, then walked over to see what I was up to. "Ko-chan, no one's seen you all day, what have you been up to in here?" "Mmmm-mm~" I made another noise, which made Matsuko just ask me to speak up, but after the third, louder, noise she leaned down close and looked me in the eye. "What is wrong with you? Something you need to tell me?" I struggled with my jaw a little and she finally seemed to understand and put a finger into my mouth.
"Ah, you found a new toy I see. Where did you get this?" "Mmmm~Mmmm~" "Hmm, I see. As fun as it is to watch you try and talk with that in your mouth, it's going to be faster if I let you out." She reached into my mouth, and with a special motion the suction released and my mouth popped open. Matsuko then pulled the whole gag out of my mouth and set it on a napkin nearby.
I coughed a bit after it was removed, but in a few seconds I was back to normal. "..Thanks, I couldn't get it out at all on my own."
"Of course, that's the point. If you could spit it out easily, it wouldn't serve any purpose as a gag." Matsuko poked my nose as she admonished me. "Where did you get it, though? Don't tell me you put it in yourself?"
I wasn't sure what to say. If what Asami said was true, I didn't really want to cause more trouble for Matsuko, so I decided to cover up the truth for now. "Ah.. Asami gave it to me. She said that she thought it would help my training, so I thought I would give it a shot. She was right, I got used to it pretty quickly and barely even noticed I was wearing it until you knocked on my door." I felt guilty for lying to Matsuko, but I didn't want to cause problems.
Matsuko seemed a little suspicious, but then nodded her head. "If you're okay with it, then I guess it's fine. But keep an eye out, if she does anything to you, let me know right away. I won't let anyone bully you, Ko-chan." She gave me a little hug and then stepped away. "Oh, do you want it back in? I can help if you need."
"I'll... be okay for now. It's been in for a while and I could use a break." I smiled awkwardly and then turned back to my book.
"Alright. Come find me if you need anything. I'll go clean this off for you." She picked up the gag and left the room, keeping me from seeing the white flames that had ignited in her eyes.
Thankfully, Matsuko didn't figure out the truth. I sighed deeply that she didn't get mad at me and went back to studying.
* * *
The next morning, Asami was waiting for me outside my room. She pushed me against the wall the second I came out. "So, even after what I said before you still went to her to get help with my present, huh? Well, jokes on you, because I've got another one. In fact, I've got a whole box of these in my room and each one is destined for your mouth. Now open up."
I tried to ask her not to, but in just a short time, I had another invisible muzzle stuck in my mouth. "Better get used to this feeling, Kogamo, because you're going to be chewing on one of these every day from here on out. Mark my words." She didn't knock me to the floor this time, but my cheeks were still burning with pain and I was fighting back tears as my jaw started to complain again. I staggered back into my room to recollect myself and try to figure out what I should do.
* * *
The week continued to spiral around in a haze of humiliation, misery, and self-doubt. Every morning I would be targeted the minute I left my room, and, bound as I was, completely unable to resist having a muzzle shoved into my mouth. After I recollected myself, I would study to get my mind off of things, and then when I got hungry, I would try and find someone to help me get the gag off.
"...Thanks, Hinari. I couldn't get it out myself." I smiled and thanked her.
"It's designed like that. You can't take it out yourself." Hinari said matter-of-factly.
"But.. all of you seem to know how to take them out with ease. Can you tell me the secret? Even when I had my hands free I couldn't do anything to it inside my mouth."
"I don't think so, Ko-chan. If you also knew then there would be no point to having them at all, since they wouldn't work on anyone. Why should I spoil the fun?" Hinari laughed and denied my hopes.
"Wait, but that's--" "That's not fair? Of course it's not fair. We have to keep some special toys for our cute little Ko-chan. Matsuko also seems to enjoy watching you struggle with the invisible muzzle quite a bit, and you wouldn't want to take that away from her, would you?"
My spirits dampened when her name was mentioned. "Matsuko..."
"Wait, is something wrong between you two? You can talk to me, even if it's Matsuko, I'll stand up for you." Hinari suddenly seemed worried and stood up.
"Ah, no, it's nothing to worry about. Thank you Hinari-chan." I left to get something to eat and returned to my room.
That night, Matsuko visited me before bedtime. "Ko-chan, I know your training has been going well, but I have to leave for a short trip tomorrow morning early. Since I won't be around, I don't want you to wear your armbinder until I get back. I hope that's okay?"
I thought for a few seconds and nodded, "That's fine. It's been almost a week and I could use a break now and then anyhow." I got up from the chair and came over to Matsuko, who patted my head. "Turn around, my little fairy, I'll get you out."
It didn't take long until I could stretch for real again. That night I slept surprisingly well, unfettered for the first time in a while. That said, I did feel a little empty without the gear I had gotten used to.