The rest of the morning passed by uneventfully. Noon had come, and Togetsumura was at last seeing life as the elderly left their homes for a walk around the village. Many of them I'd seen and tended to earlier, same as Mr. Shiraishi.
Seated under the awning of the local candy store, I sipped quietly on a bottle of cream soda. The tart elavor and fizziness of the orange pop soothed the May heat that was getting to me. Luckily, or perhaps by design, the NTL app didn't make me play when I visited the others today. I pulled out my phone, thumb hovering over the icon, when a sudden deluge poured over Togetsumura.
The pitter pattering rain danced as droplets hit the ground. An older couple that was passing by pulled out an umbrella. They noticed me and bowed. Smiling. I bowed back out of instinct. Once they had gone, I kicked my feet out from under the awning, letting the lukewarm rain drench my legs up to the shins. But just as quickly as the rain started, it ceased and left behind a drenched ground.
In a moment of distraction, my phone nearly slipped from my hand. I quickly closed my fingers around it, only to accidentally select the app. The merry digital avatar of an angel named Saya flitted in and out of the screen as she danced.
[Hey, hey, hey! You completed a round and earned 500 points! Congratulations! Yay! Since that was your first, I also added a First Time Clear Bonus of 2,000 points.]
"Points?" I repeated, then noticed a number at the top of the app read [2,500/5,000,000].
[That's right! The more you play, the more points you can earn. Would you like to learn about what you can do with points, Marika?]
It still made me uneasy that I could have a conversation with something like Saya. My boredom, however, spurred me on to continue.
"Sure, I guess?" I replied, attempting to feign disinterest.
[There are a few things you can do with your points. Most players shop for items!]
Saya's wings fluttered as she flew up to and pointed to a shopping cart icon. Before I had a chance to press it, she got there first. A new menu appeared, revealing three tabs [Sex Toys], [Contraception], and [Special Effects].
I couldn't believe my eyes. I sat there, frozen. My face heated up, and I looked up and down the road to check if anyone was staring this way. Sex toys? Contraception? What sort of app offered these things?
"I-I don't want to look anymore. Saya, I want you to help me uninstall the app instead," I whispered hastily.
[Hmm. No can do, Marika! The app is here to stay. Besides, are you sure you want to delete the app? What if I told you that you can cash out the points, too?]
Deep down, I hated how much I didn't decline to hear more. I should have closed the phone, returned it to Maruyama, and moved on. At the same time…
I fished into my pocket and pulled out some coins and a crumpled 1,000 Yen banknote with an oil stain. All I made today, from helping the elderly to Togetsu and sweeping the temple grounds all morning was a measly grand total of 1,755 Yen. How could I blame them? They didn't work anymore and some couldn't even if they wanted to.
In this dreary and aging town, what hope did I have to make money any other way?
"How… How much?" I asked.
Saya beamed. Her halo seemed to glow brighter. She navigated back to the home screen of the app and selected an icon at the top. It looked like a stack of bills. My total number of points appeared. 2,500.
[Cash out]
[Return]
The angelic avatar sat on top of the [Cash Out] button.
[By cashing out, you gain twice your points in Yen!]
"Twice?! That's 5,000 Yen? All because I massaged Mr. Shiraishi a little bit?" I gasped.
Saya wagged a finger.
[You obtained 500 points from massaging that old man, remember? The 2,000 points was just a first time clear bonus. There are other bonuses, streaks, and different ways to earn extra, but the primary way of getting points is by playing the game! Well? Do you still want to delete the app?]
Her lips creased into a playful smile. Like she already knew my answer.
"I'll keep it. For now," I said, then selected [Cash Out].
A small menu appeared, superimposing itself on top of Saya.
[When you Cash Out, the money is immediately sent to your bank account. If a bank account does not exist, money is sent to your address within one business day in a nondescript envelope. Once the points are cashed out, the action cannot be reversed and points will be unavailable. Please, select Cash Out again to confirm.]
I selected it again, and the menu vanished just as Saya peeked over it. She fell an inch or two down the screen before her wings spread out, letting her fall gingerly to the ground. Another, much smaller menu appeared and thanked me for playing the game.
"Just like that, and I have the money?" I asked.
[Just like that!] Saya nodded. [Why don't you go check your bank account to confirm?]
Curiosity nipped at the back of my neck.
I returned to the candy store. Mrs. Shouno, the shop's owner, wasn't around at the front counter. A chair sat empty where she was normally seated. She must have gone into the back, where her house was situated.
Fortunately, I didn't need Mrs. Shouno to check my bank account. Nestled at the corner of the store, behind a wire shelf aisle of rice crackers from across Japan, was an ATM machine. It was possibly the most technological thing in Togetsumura, and even then the machine was very old. The bank that serviced the hefty thing only came out once a month, since the people here hardly ever deposited or withdrew from it.
I slipped my card into the card reader, typed in my pin, and pulled up my balance. What should have only been the minimum balance we deposited to open an account, because Tetsu and I scarcely made enough to even save, was instead showing an extra 5,000 Yen. It was real. I really did make that money through points from the NTL app.
"Marika, you're back? Did you want to buy something else?" Mrs. Shouno emerged from the back door and seated herself back down on the counter chair.
"Yes… Yes, I think I will." I smiled, withdrawing the 5,000 Yen in cash.
The candy shop owner enjoyed my patronage more than I did. I came out carrying a paper bag stuffed with candy, fizzy beverages, and fruits. Including a popsicle for myself to stave off the heat. My husband and son might get suspicious, but I'll just tell them these were gifts from Togetsumura residents in exchange for my help today.
I couldn't wait to share these with them, too. What a liberating feeling this was, to be able to spend at my leisure and not worry. Maybe the NTL app wasn't so bad after all. Some of the choices in their 'rounds' were a little risqué, but as long as I choose the not so bad ones, it should be fine. This was much easier money than working as a glorified caretaker.
Last stop at the school, then to start preparing dinner before Tetsu comes home. I returned to the house first to drop off the snacks I'd bought. An older neighbor passing by on his tractor gladly gave me a ride there.
Himawari, my old school building came into view in all its disrepair glory. It boasted two floors and ten classrooms, though eight of them were no longer in use. Weeds and vegetation overran the front, inhabited rabbits that thrived in spite of the village. Visible splinters stuck out from the building's worn wooden walls and faded red paint were a few seasons away from vanishing completely.
I thanked my neighbor and hopped off, making my way up the paved footpath which able-bodied villagers kept clear of shrubs for the students' sake. Laughter carried from an open window of a room on the first floor reached my ears, followed by the scolding of Ms. Amayoshi, the middle-aged teacher who instructed grade school students. Satoshi and my son Keita were taught by another teacher, Mr. Uehara, who instructed at the junior high and high school level.
Part of me wanted to check in on them. They were probably in the middle of a lesson. Memories of Mr. Uehara telling me off for misbehaving made me think twice.
The creaky floorboards greeted me on the way in. Every floorboard creaked. There were holes in the ceiling, and certain sections of the floor had met with recent fixes by means of replacing the planks. But it was all shoddy work. As soon as the youngest student of Togetsumura graduated or moved, the school would close down for good.
My heart ached from the very idea, but without teachers or students, the school had no reason to continue running. Ms. Amayoshi and Mr. Uehara probably wanted to pursue teaching elsewhere, too.
"Marika? What brings you back to school?" A voice as creaky as the school floorboards snapped me from my reverie.
Kazuo Miyamori stared down at me from atop the ladder. He had a bulb in his hand and appeared to be changing a light fixture on the ceiling. Unlike the bald Jiro Shiraishi, a carpet of white hair dressed his head. I remembered the narrow-eyed Mr. Miyamori fondly as a child, the man who always handed me and the other children candy when he was around.
"Hello, Mr. Miyamori." I bowed as I always had. "I'm just here to meet with the principal about something. Still repairing the school, I see."
"Hah. Repairing what I can. The whole place is coming down one day, and I don't have enough years in me to keep that from happening. Don't let me keep you!" Mr. Miyamori smiled.
I continued down the hall until I reached Principal Minoru Iwata's office. One knock on the door, and he immediately answered from within.
"Come on in, Marika!" Principal Iwata sounded terse as usual.
When I entered, a stern-in-appearance-only man in his early 60s pretended to busy himself over student schoolwork. I knew better, because Mr. Uehara had secretly told me once. It was the teachers who graded school work, never the principal.
Principal Iwata used to be a gym teacher in another city before Togetsu, so I was old. He had only been around for maybe twenty years. The principal I once knew, however, was much fitter than the man before me now. Having moved from Morioka, he indulged a lazy life in the countryside led to a beer belly stretching taut his dark brown sweater vest. His receding hairline seemed to lose a few centimeters every year. Weary bespectacled eyes which had long stopped yearning for more lifted to meet mine.
"Two decades, and I still can't get used to the humidity of Kumamoto. You southern country folk are made of something else." Principal Iwata plucked a tissue to wipe his forehead and chin.
"Oh, I don't think we're anything special. The humidity is a small price to pay for peace and quiet," I said.
"Seems Keita doesn't share the same sentiments. Did you know all of his preferred schools to transfer to are in big cities? Goodness, Tokyo is among them!" he exclaimed.
I did know. Keita hadn't exactly been quiet about his desire to transfer to a denser city for school. His eyes always lit up with life whenever it's brought up.
"That's what he wants. I was initially opposed to it, but I'm going to support him with all my heart now." I smiled.
"All well and good, Marika. Only, there's one problem. Keita just doesn't have the grades," Principal Iwata explained.
A lump lodged in my throat.
He continued, "Transfers can be very competitive. Keita isn't the only student looking to move, and many of these schools can't just accept everyone that applies."
I knew Keita was as mediocre in academics as mediocre came by. Tetsu and I never pressured him to be exceptional in school, because straight As never led us anywhere. As long as he completed high school in Togetsu, we would have been more than okay with it.
However, the powers that be didn't feel the same way.
"Is it too late for Keita to work up his grades? There must be something he can do. As the principal… can you do anything?" I asked, knowing full well what I was trying to say.
"Marika, surely you aren't asking a school official to alter your son's grades?" Principal Iwata arched one brow.
"No! I…" A lump lodged in my throat.
The principal rose and came around to the front of his desk so that I was facing him. Rather, I was eye-level to his waist as he leaned against it, arms folded and eyes trained on me like a mountain lion.
"Because I can," Iwata added, much to my astonishment. "You carved out your life here in Togetsumura. It's where you were born and likely will pass. Not Keita though. He can still build his life elsewhere with a better education." The principal walked behind me and rested his large hands on my shoulders. "How much are you willing to go for your son?"
"Willing to… what?" Glancing up at my former principal I caught a lecherous glint in his gaze.
My whole body tensed up. Suddenly, his hands felt much bigger. He seemed a lot taller than usual from where I was sitting. The air conditionless-room, more humid than a second ago. A tingling sensation rippled through every inch of me.
Did Principal Iwata always see me that way when I was a student? I shook the thought from my mind. I should be disgusted. I should storm out. Yet the thought of Keita growing up and wasting away in this dying town chewed at me. Not just that… for some reason, the reassuring touch of the principal's hands soothed me. Still frozen, his hands slowly kneaded my shoulders.
Then my phone buzzed.
I shot out of my seat and said, "I should take this!"
"Of course. Please." Principal Iwata cleared his throat and returned behind the desk.
The atmosphere was awkward, so I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. No call had reached my phone. Instead, it was the app's notification sound that had spurred me out of the room.
[Give Principal Iwata a handjob.] +5,000pts
[Give Principal Iwata a blowjob.] +10,000pts
[Have sex with Principal Iwata.] +30,000pts
[Random Choice for x2 points], [Reroll Choices -500pts], [Upgrade a Choice]
"What?!" I gasped.
[Perfect time to earn a lot of points, Marika! Personally, I think you should pick this one.]
Saya flew into view and pointed at the option to have sex with the principal.
"Marika? Is something the matter?" Principal Iwata asked from the other side.
"N-Nothing. I'm just talking to my husband. I'll be right with you after my phone call," Marika called back.
The man's footfalls retreated back into the room.
[Come on~ Imagine how much you can cash out!]
"Absolutely not. Never. I'm not going to cheat on Tetsu for any reason." I closed my phone and sighed.
How could I let myself waver? But if Keita's grades continued to falter…
I entered the room, and Principal Iwata was standing behind his desk as if he had been waiting for me. A distinct bulge pressed against his pants, and I quickly averted my eyes.
"Thank you for agreeing to see me today, Principal Iwata. I better get going… Tetsu will be home soon, and he's always starved like a pig after work." I hurried out just as the principal stumbled against the desk calling to me.
Back in the comforts of my own home, I busied myself with chores to avoid thinking about the NTL app. The place was spotless by the time I was done. There wasn't anything left to do so I started rearranging furniture and ornaments in the living room.
Exhaustion from moving all morning wore me down. I slumped into the sofa with nothing but the extra snacks from the candy shop to distract me. Even then, it reminded me of the app. After all, I was only able to afford them thanks to those points.
My eyes flicked to the front door when the knob started jiggling.
"I'm home…" Keita announced dejectedly on the way in.
"Keita, what's wrong?" I rose to meet him.
"Mr. Uehara and Principal Iwata pulled me aside after school. They said… my grades aren't going to cut it if I want to transfer. There's also a test at the end of the month I need to ace. Maybe I should give up after all." He slinked towards his room.
My heart sank seeing Keita like that. Not even the snacks I'd bought wouldn't be enough to cheer him up. This wasn't just his failure. It was mine, too.
"Keita, wait!" I exclaimed, causing him to pause in front of his bedroom door. "Come back. I have something for you."
Keita followed me back into the living room, where I showed him the smartphone I'd purchased from Maruyama. His eyes widened. His frown flipped into that usual youthful smile so full of life.
"You got me a smartphone?!" Keita held it like a piece of priceless treasure.
"Your dad saved up for it. The phone's for you, so we can stay in touch even if we're prefectures apart," I explained and showed him my own.
"But with my grades…"
"That just means you're going to have to try harder, won't you?" I grinned, hands perched on my hips.
So full of emotion, Keita threw his arms around me. We weren't a touchy-feely family. I couldn't even remember the last time I hugged my son. This was a testament to just how much it meant to him.
"I'll try harder. I swear! No more reading manga late into the night. I'll study my ass off to get into a better school!" Keita promised.
"I'm going to hold you to that. Now, what are you going to do as soon as you get to your room?" I asked.
"Homework! Actually, can Satoshi sleep over today? He can tutor me for the test. We won't just read manga all day. Really!" he pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
"Alright. Only if his parents are okay with it, too. I'll make your favorite chicken curry with coconut cream." I smiled.
Keita cheered. He dropped his backpack and ran right back outside to his friend's house. In the meantime, I prepared a curry dinner for four. Satoshi and Keita arrived with their bookbags a little more stuffed than expected. They probably couldn't help but bring some of those comics with them. But as long as they made sure to do their due diligence in studying, it should be fine.
The sun was beginning to set, and Tetsu should be home any minute now. But as five turned to six, dinner started getting cold.
"Mom, can we eat yet? Dad's probably going to be late coming home again," Keita said, his stomach rumbling in protest.
"Looks like it." I heaved a sigh. "You boys go ahead and eat. I'll bring out an extra futon for Satoshi in your room, Keita."
"Thank you for the food, Mrs. Kashiwagi." Satoshi smiled.
I grabbed a fresh futon and towel from the closet in the hallway, then set them out neatly in Keita's bedroom. Not feeling hungry yet, I entered my room to sit down at the foot of the bed.
Tetsu likely won't be home until past midnight. This happened regularly. Since he traveled with others to farms around Kumamoto in a single truck, they had no choice but to rely on it as their sole mode of transportation. If the truck broke down, there was little helping it.
I pulled out my phone, wondering if Tetsu should have one, too. We would be able to contact each other more easily should something like this happen. On the other hand, that was an extra cost to our finances.
[Tut-tut-tut, Marika!] Saya walked into frame on the phone's home screen. [You can't miss an NTL round. Otherwise, something bad might happen.]
Even though I'd recently acquired this phone, Saya was quickly shaping up to be my only companion in this dying village. If Keita left, I'd be home alone a lot more often. I must be losing it talking to a digital avatar.
"Like what? My husband being late?" I replied jokingly.
Saya didn't answer. She flashed a mischievous grin and disappeared into the app. A sinking sensation pressed down in the pit of my stomach. Technology might have grown more advanced, but a mobile app couldn't possibly make 'something bad' happen…
Could it?
With no sense in waiting for Tetsu to come home, I returned to Satoshi and Keita to eat dinner with them. Night fell with no sign of my husband returning. Taking a long hot bath, which usually washed away my worries, didn't so much as abate what Saya had said.
As I laid in bed alone in the dead of night, chirping crickets keeping me awake, I thought back to Principal Iwata. He could ensure Keita gets a transfer. We were a little town. Who would question it?
But what he wanted in return…
Before I knew it, one hand gently stroked my lower abdomen. I gradually descended until I felt a wetness on my underwear. If only Tetsu was home. But he wasn't. Base urges lured my hand to my crotch and the other to my breasts.
I was so wet. My fingers were already soaked. I drew a sharp breath from slipping it into my slit. Wandering thoughts reminded me of the sensation of Principal Iwata's hands, the image of Mr. Shiraishi's erection, and the way Satoshi often looked at me.
"Nnh." I swallowed a moan and squeezed my own breasts.
Close. So close… I fingered myself more intensely. The sheets slipped from bed. My back arched, and a powerful climax made me quiver to the bones. When I took my hand off, my juices formed strings between the index and middle finger. I got up intending to head to the bathroom, only to realize the room to my door was slightly ajar. Just the thinnest of cracks.
I must have forgotten to close it completely. Poking my head into the hall, I glanced up and down. Pitch darkness. That could have been bad. Satoshi was in the house. They must be asleep though, considering how quiet it was.
Relieved, I washed my hands in the bathroom and returned to bed. My phone was blinking. The NTL app was up. My points showed [2,000/5,000,000].
Weird. I didn't play a game though. In fact, I ignored the last one.
"Saya, where did an extra 2,000 points come from?" I asked.
[What do you mean? You just gained that for masturbating in front of Satoshi!]
The blood in my veins went cold.
"W-What? No, I didn't!" I gasped.
My opened door… Could that have been Satoshi?
[A round came up earlier while you were pleasuring yourself. You don't always have to choose an option. Just doing it will reward you during an active round!]
How was I going to face Satoshi in the morning? This was so embarrassing. I pressed my hands to my cheeks, and they were blazing hot.
[Don't fret, Marika! This is a good thing. You can cash out, too, remember? Oh, this is also the perfect opportunity to introduce you to one of NTL app's new mechanics: Partners! Continue completing rounds with the same person for hot streaks and multipliers, rewarding bonus points. You must add them as a partner. At the moment, you can only add Mr. Shiraishi and Satoshi. Would you like me to do that for you?]
"I don't want them added! I'm not going to continue playing this game," I explained.
[Oh-ho? But Marika, you've played twice already. You thought about playing at the school, too. For your son Keita's sake, right?]
I shut down my phone and set it on the nightstand. This game was vulgar. For the sake of my family, I shouldn't play it anymore. But the way Saya explained it, I could end up playing without even realizing. And there might be consequences associated with not playing.
Against my better judgement, I turned my phone back on and selected the NTL app. Saya was there, with a smug smile that made me think she was more than just an A.I. assistant or digital avatar. However, all I could think of right now was that more points meant more money. We would be better off financially. I just needed to pick the tamer options from now on.
"I'd like to add Mr. Shiraishi and Satoshi as Partners," I said.
[That's more like it!] Saya cheered.