Over the course of the day, the video I recorded racked up more views and likes. If I made more, wouldn't this serve as passive income for the rest of my life? I'd be no different than an adult video actress then, solo or not. In the end, no matter how guilty I felt, I couldn't put the NTL app down. My love for Tetsu, however, remained as strong as iron. Thinking about him still gave me butterflies. I knew no other future without him.
Yet I also knew a reckoning was coming. That one day, I was going to be confronted by my actions. I looked out the window and saw myself sitting in a speeding train on an inevitable crash course. At the same time, the wheels were still set firmly on the tracks. The brakes and controls were right in front of me, but I couldn't pull the lever to stop it.
Did I doom myself the moment I stepped into the train? Or was it when I realized the adrenaline fueled me more than anything?
I awoke to another morning, lying beside my sleeping husband. His hands had old and new cuts, some wrapped in bandaids, all sustained from constant labor. I linked our fingers together and didn't want to let go.
"Marika?" Tetsu stirred, his eyes not yet fully opened.
"Sorry! Did I wake you?" I asked apologetically.
"Oh, no." He stretched both arms above his head and yawned. "It's fine if I'm up early anyway."
"You get a few more minutes in. I'll go get breakfast started," I said.
Before I could leave the bed, Tetsu grabbed my hand.
"I was thinking we go out to eat instead." Tetsu looked me dead in my surprised eyes.
"What? You have work soon. You mean later, right?" I cocked my head.
"Surprise! I took today off! Just for today though. The guys won't miss me. I thought I'd spend some time with my wife," he explained.
"You…" I jumped back into bed, and we rolled around from side to side.
It came to an end when we rolled off and fell to the floor. Tetsu groaned in pain from me kneeing his groin.
"Aww, it hurts… We're not young anymore," Tetsu whimpered.
"You're fine." I helped him up and smiled. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"I was thinking we could drive into Kumamoto city!"
"With what car? And you haven't driven in years."
"My license is still good for another two. I'm sure Sis will lend us her car if I ask nicely," he said.
Sis would mean Akemi. Both of us and some of the other younger kids called her that back then. I grew out of it. For Tetsu, it seemed to have stuck. I didn't blame him. She always looked out for us. She was looking out for me, too, trying to save me from the NTL app.
I freshened up while Tetsu called Akemi. A date, huh? How many years had it been since we went on one? We stopped after Keita was born. It was no surprise that Tetsu took a day off for the first time after our son left. As I washed my face in the bathroom, someone knocked on the front door. Who could it possibly be at this time?
"I'll get it!" Tetsu shouted from the hallway.
I thought nothing of it while washing my face until the door opened, and a familiar voice stabbed me in the chest.
"Oh, uh… Good morning, Tetsu!" Principal Iwata greeted.
"Hey, Principal! Thanks again for what you did for Keita. Marika and I can't repay you enough. It's kind of early though. What brought you over first thing in the morning?" Tetsu asked.
"Nothing." He cleared his throat. "I just wanted to let you know, Keita looked to be settling well before I left Nagoya."
After drying my face with a towel, I poked my head out the bathroom and down the hall. Principal Iwata saw me, flashed a dirty smile, and waved. Tetsu turned around, too.
"Look who came to visit!" Tetsu thumbed over his shoulder.
"Good morning." I bowed slightly on my way down.
What was the principal doing here? No, I remembered. He had Keita innocently inform me of his eventual return to see me. If Tetsu had gone to work, I dreaded what he would want with me visiting so early in the morning.
"You two look busy. Am I interrupting anything?" Principal Iwata asked, hands clasped together.
"Yeah, we were about to leave for Kumamoto city. I'm taking a day off. Can't leave my beautiful wife alone all the time. A husband's gotta do his part to satisfy her!" Tetsu nudged the principal with his elbow.
"Tetsu!" I glared.
"Well, I think that's sweet. Don't let me keep you then. I've already said my peace. You said you were going to Kumamoto city? I very much hope you enjoy your day off with your wife." He bowed and turned around to leave.
Something about his tone didn't sit right with me. Why did he say his last sentence the way he did?
"Sis said yes, but just to make sure I don't damage her 'baby'. We'll head over to her place when you're ready," Tetsu said.
"I'm ready." I smiled.
We strolled over to Akemi's house. Her place was well-kept. She must have pulled weeds lately. The yard was a lot more tidy than usual. Since she lived alone with only her mother, there wasn't a man around to help take care of the place. I knew that Maruyama often offered to lend a hand, but she declined every time out of politeness.
Tetsu knocked on the door, and someone answered from inside.
"I'll be there in a sec!" Akemi shouted from within.
However, the door opened anyway to an older woman sharing some of Akemi's likeness. Thick square glasses rested on her nose. Both hands gripped an old walker with wheels at the front.
"Hello, you two!" The elder Fukuhara bowed.
"Good morning, Mrs. Fukuhara. Is Akemi here?" I asked, feeling like old times when we used to come over to play.
"Mom, I told you I got the door." Akemi came around the corner, sighing.
"I didn't want to keep your friends waiting. Come in!" she insisted.
"We were just coming to borrow the car," Tetsu explained, much to the dismay of Akemi's mother.
Akemi tossed us the key. Tetsu caught it between his hand and chest.
"Car's under a pavilion around the back. There better not be one more scratch or dent than there already is, or it's your ear I'm pulling off." Akemi wagged a finger.
"I got it. I got it. We'll bring you something back from Kumamoto city as thanks. Nice seeing you again, Mrs. Fukuhara." Tetsu bowed, and I followed suit.
"Come by for dinner sometime! We hardly have visitors, and I'm tired of Akemi being the only one at the dinner table." The elderly woman waved.
"Okay… That's enough outta you, Mom." She guided her mom back inside.
We circled around the house and found Akemi's 1999 Kia Rio under the shade of a wooden pavilion. Every window was tarnished from dirt abrasions. Scratches and dents had long become part of the faded blue paint job. One of the windshield wipers was missing, too. However, her car was still in working condition after all these years.
As soon as we entered the old car, Tetsu caressed the wheel as if it was his own vehicle. I rolled my eyes at him. He stuck the key in, and the engine roared to life. We lurched forward, only for him to slam on the brakes.
"Tetsu…" I sighed.
"Oops! It's been a while." Tetsu laughed it off.
It only took a minute for my husband to remember how to drive a car, and we were cruising out of Togetsumura in no time. I rolled down the window to feel the warm breeze. Tetsu twisted the dials for a radio station to listen to, then the car started veering off the road.
"Eyes on the road!" I yelled.
"Crap!" Tetsu righted himself before we drove into the forest.
"I'll find some music." I did it more so that my husband wouldn't get distracted.
Eventually, I landed on some pop music that wasn't really either of our flavors, but it served as a nice ambience. Tetsu started bobbing his head to the beat of a preppy song. I thought he just looked silly. A few minutes later, I started doing the same. I felt lighter already being by his side.
An hour and a half later, wide asphalt roads and large buildings replaced forests and mountains. Homes were built much closer to each other, like mere steps away. Automobiles readily became congested on the streets, leaving us bumper to bumper often. I'd been to Kumamoto city a few times in the past, and it was always baffling that there were cities significantly more vast like where Keita lived now. We drove past a ten-story hotel I couldn't fathom existing somewhere in Togetsu, and that wasn't even the biggest one.
Tetsu pulled into a concrete parking structure. He came to a stop sandwiched between two other cars among rows upon rows of them. It was so overwhelming, I felt faint stepping out of the car. We walked out, and I couldn't even spot the mountain from which we descended from with all the buildings in the way.
"Just think, Keita probably sees a similar sight we're looking at right now. Feels like cities are getting bigger and bigger every year. Hey, you okay?" Tetsu asked, noticing my discomfort.
"I'm fine. I'm just not used to there being hardly any trees around. It smells… weird," I said.
"I know exactly how that feels. Let me know if you start feeling off. We can take a break anytime. Oh, look! There's an Italian restaurant over there… I'm not even going to bother trying to pronounce the same. Want to eat there?" he suggested.
"Italian food sounds amazing!"
We joined a group of people waiting on the corner of the block, packed shoulder to shoulder. Everyone's eyes were either on their phones or staring at the pedestrian light across the street to turn. Claustrophia set in. Even though Tetsu held my hand, the world seemed to close in around me.
Then it finally hit me. There were men everywhere. If the NTL app started a game here, my life would be over. Were they staring at me? No matter where I looked, it seemed like lecherous eyes burned into my body. I should have worn more conservatively. Was my skirt long enough? Did my cleavage show too much?
Whimsical music snapped me out of it. Tetsu pulled me along, but I couldn't stop thinking about checking my phone. Something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. A familiar person. But they disappeared into the crowds before I could make out who. Before I knew it, we were seated in a chic Italian restaurant. A menu was in my hand rather than my husband's.
"Hmmm. I'm feeling a salmon risotto. What about you?" Tetsu asked, face buried in the menu.
"Anything is fine." I cleared my throat. "I'll have what you have."
"Aw, come on. If we get different things, we can share," he said.
"In that case… How about this shrimp fet… fettu…"
"That would be a fettuccine, ma'am." A handsome Italian waiter with chiseled features smiled.
I averted eye-contact out of fear of the NTL app beginning a game.
"Perfect. I'll have a salmon risotto and my wife here will have the shrimp fettuccine!" Tetsu handed our menus back.
I breathed a sigh of relief when the waiter left, but knew that he had to come back eventually with our food. Tetsu leaned in with a snide look on his face.
"Are you checking out other men?" Tetsu feigned offense.
"Of course not. That's not a funny joke." I pouted.
"I just wanted to lighten the mood. You've been tense all morning. I'm worried about you. Today was supposed to be a good day for us. It's about Keita, isn't it?" he asked, not realizing he had thrown me an off-ramp. "Ahh, I knew it. Our baby's flown from the nest, and you still haven't gotten over it. But I mean, look! Keita regularly sends you pictures, right? He's doing fine. Made a lot of new friends. Got some guardian angels like Principal Iwata looking over him, too."
Instead of the waiter, a young Japanese waitress came by to deliver our food. It smelled heavenly. I immediately fell at ease from the scent alone. Savory, cheesy, and a hint of the sea from the shrimps. My mouth watered just thinking about the first bite.
"You're right. Keita will be just fine. I want to enjoy today with you, too. Starting with trying your plate first." I pulled his dish over to my side and chomped down on a mouthful of risotto.
"Okay, two can play at this game." Tetsu did the same to my fettuccine.
We enjoyed an incredible Italian lunch that I was going to remember for years to come. Tetsu liked the food so much, he ordered more off the menu. Toiling in the fields certainly made a man hungry. I, on the other hand, was full and declined seconds. When I lifted my gaze, the same feeling that I'd seen someone I knew pinched the back of my mind again. They had just walked past the front of the restaurant. It… must be my imagination.
"I'm going to go use the restroom," I said.
"What happened? Stomach didn't agree with the food?" Tetsu asked.
"No more disagreeable than your stomach if you keep eating." I stuck my tongue out at him and continued walking.
The restaurant had two unisex restrooms. It was as aesthetic-pleasing as the restaurant floor, spotless and fragrant. I locked the door and pulled my phone out. Sure enough, no game. But that wasn't what I was worried about. I navigated to the Partner System and selected Principal Iwata's icon, confirming my suspicions. His blinking dot was just outside the Italian restaurant. Furious, I called him right away.
"Hello, Marika!" Principal Iwata answered.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.
"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about."
"I know you've been following us!" I accused him.
A few tense moments went by in silence, likely from Principal Iwata trying to discern if I was bluffing or not. The NTL app didn't lie. I'd found Satoshi before.
"Well, alright. I held my end of the deal by getting Keita into a school in Nagoya. Set him up for success. I want you, Marika. I want you until I'm satisfied. You're in the restroom right now, aren't you? I can tell by the acoustics. You wouldn't call me in front of your husband. I don't want to ruin the good thing between you two, but I'm not a selfless man, Marika. Send me a topless picture right now, or…" Principal Iwata paused, and my phone rang with a notification from having received a message from him. I opened it to reveal a hidden video recording of me performing fellatio on him at his house. "Or I come in and show Tetsu this."
"You… fine." I growled.
I hung up, took off my shirt, and snapped a quick picture of my topless self with a scowl. When I sent the photo to him, he added a heart emoji to it almost immediately.
The principal called me and said, "Beautiful. I just can't get enough of you. The two of you still have the rest of your date, don't you? I look forward to seeing updates every now and then."
That made my skin crawl, but I had no other choice than to obey. For now. If I could somehow get my hands on his phone and destroy the evidence… I returned to the restaurant floor, rejoining Tetsu at the table, where he was already gorging on a plate of pasta.
"You took your time in there. Had to let a big one out, huh? Is everything fine?" Tetsu asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine," I assured him.