You Will Lose What Is Most Important to You! Punishment and Redemption! Morbidity and Dependence!

Carrying a sense of humiliation and an indescribable, complex emotion, Kushida Kikyo followed Akiyama Shin back to his dormitory room.

The moment she pushed the door open and stepped inside, she instinctively scanned her surroundings, and her first impression was—clean.

This wasn't just a matter of it not being dirty.

Even though it was only the first day of school, many boys' rooms, even if not filthy, were inevitably a bit cluttered, carrying the slightly careless air typical of adolescent males.

But Akiyama Shin's room was completely different.

Items were arranged in perfect order.

The desktop was spotless.

Even the bed was so flat that there wasn't a single wrinkle.

The entire space exuded a minimalist, cold aesthetic.

What caught Kushida Kikyo's attention even more was this.

The air was permeated with an extremely faint, crisp, and pleasant scent; it didn't smell like any artificial air freshener or perfume, but rather like a natural fragrance emanating from Akiyama Shin himself.

Akiyama Shin might have been completely unaware of it, but to someone with a sensitive sense of smell, the scent was impossible to ignore.

The room is clean and odorless...

Either a crossdresser or gay...

A common internet joke flashed through Kushida Kikyo's mind, but she immediately dismissed both possibilities; Akiyama Shin's temperament didn't align with either.

She irritably attributed it to Akiyama Shin perhaps being a man who was extremely particular about personal hygiene, or even a bit narcissistic, secretly spraying perfume to maintain his image.

Although this was a complete misunderstanding of Akiyama Shin, who was simply acting out of habit and was entirely oblivious to his own scent.

Distraught, she plopped down onto Akiyama Shin's tidy bed and even lay back, then spoke with a sense of resignation, her voice laced with impatience and disgust.

"Hey... go take a shower..."

"After you're done, I'll rinse off quickly..."

"And then... then let's just get this over with..."

She was incredibly conflicted inside.

She cherished the hard-won new life she had built; it was both her armor and her Achilles' heel.

However, giving her first time to a man who held her secrets and whom she thoroughly detested made her feel deeply humiliated, even disgusted.

Japanese society was generally relatively open about such matters, with some even taking pride in them, but Kushida Kikyo was somewhat conservative in this regard, and it made her feel restless.

Akiyama Shin ignored her, not even sparing her a glance as he walked straight toward the bathroom, and before long, the sound of trickling water drifted out.

Kushida Kikyo buried her face deep into Akiyama Shin's pillow.

That crisp, pleasant scent became even more intense...

She cursed under her breath in frustration.

"What a disgusting man... does he even have to make his pillow smell this good? He lives more delicately than a woman..."

Refusing to believe it, she sniffed the sheets and the quilt, only to find the same clean, pleasant scent lingering there, leaving her feeling even more suspicious and unsettled.

What on earth does he use?

How is the scent so long-lasting and natural?

Soon, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

The door slid open, and Akiyama Shin walked out.

He was wearing only a pair of loose lounge shorts, his upper body bare, with undried water droplets sliding down his toned chest, outlining his clearly defined eight-pack abs and deep V-taper.

He walked toward the bed while casually drying his damp black hair with a towel.

Kushida Kikyo sat up at the sound.

Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to that powerful physique, and her breathing stalled for a split second.

But she immediately forced herself to put on an even more disgusted expression, spitting out insincerely.

"Disgusting man..."

Yet, internally, she was frantically ranting.

Why does such a perfect person exist in this world?!

His looks are impeccable!

His skin is good enough to make girls jealous!

And his body is...

But he just happens to have such a terrible personality!

And he's a poor loser, too!

Akiyama Shin turned a deaf ear to her gaze and comments, walking straight to the bedside and sitting down, very close to her.

Kushida Kikyo's heart began to beat faster for some inexplicable reason, and she forced herself to maintain a cold tone as she spoke.

"I haven't even washed up yet... you disgusting bastard..."

Akiyama Shin ignored her cursing, yet his next move completely caught Kushida Kikyo off guard.

He didn't engage in any of the intimate acts she had anticipated; instead, he suddenly reached out and, with an irresistible force, pinned her face-down onto the bed, making it impossible for her to see his expression.

"What are you doing?!"

Kushida Kikyo struggled in a panic, but it was all in vain.

Akiyama Shin's low, oppressive voice resonated from above her head.

"From now on, tell me a secret about a classmate from your middle school days who was hurt by your actions."

Kushida Kikyo's body stiffened instantly, and even her basic struggles began to slowly cease.

He... how did he know?!

Did he even guess this?!

Or did that bitch Horikita tell him?!

A massive wave of fear washed over her like ice water, leaving her body chilled; the act of revealing a secret itself wasn't the issue.

"If I... if I tell you, you won't expose me...?"

She confirmed with a trembling voice.

"If you don't speak or if you lie, your true colors will be all over the class group chat and the Campus Network by tomorrow. I've been recording the whole time."

Akiyama Shin's voice was devoid of any ripples, yet it carried absolute intimidation.

Kushida Kikyo closed her eyes in despair; ultimately, succumbing to the fear of being exposed, she spoke in a low voice.

"In my third year of middle school... there was a girl in my class named Saionji... she... she once... had an abortion..."

Akiyama Shin paused slightly upon hearing this.

While he could accept the openness of certain aspects of Japan, a middle school girl having an abortion still shocked his moral baseline, and he asked in a deep voice.

"Is it true?"

Kushida Kikyo buried her face in the bedsheets and muttered.

"How would I know if it's true or not? She was the one who told me while crying... saying she was terrified... and didn't know what to do..."

"So you posted her secret online just to relieve your own psychological pressure?"

Akiyama Shin's voice turned cold.

Kushida Kikyo shuddered violently.

He really... had deduced everything!

She nodded in self-abandonment.

"Yes."

The moment the words left her lips.

Smack!

A crisp sound, accompanied by a stinging pain, spread across her backside.

"Ah!"

Kushida Kikyo cried out in pain.

But she was filled even more with shock and humiliation.

"What are you doing?!"

Akiyama Shin's voice carried undisguised contempt.

"You really are pathetic."

"So what if I'm pathetic?!"

Kushida Kikyo retorted, fueled by shame and anger.

"Apologize to her."

Akiyama Shin commanded.

"Huh?!"

Kushida Kikyo couldn't believe her ears; she turned her head angrily to look into Akiyama Shin's calm, dark red eyes.

"That shameless woman who was messing around with shady men and got pregnant by someone else back in middle school—why should I apologize to her?!"

Although this statement was full of prejudice and resentment.

It also indirectly confirmed that, deep down, Kushida Kikyo still possessed a basic moral baseline and sense of right and wrong.

She believed that such behavior was wrong.

This also largely aligned with Akiyama Shin's previous assessment: she was a kind person who possessed a powerful capacity for empathy.

Yet, due to her own twisted nature and the pressure she faced, she could hardly be called a good person.

"Apologize, or I'll expose everything about you."

Akiyama Shin remained unmoved, repeating his threat.

"Apologize. This is your punishment."

Kushida Kikyo bit her lip, her heart in a state of violent turmoil.

In the end, the fear of exposure once again overwhelmed everything else, and she spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's, filled with extreme reluctance.

"I... I'm sorry..."

Smack!

Another slap landed, and it wasn't light.

"Too quiet. Speak clearly. What did you do to Saionji, and what were the consequences?"

Kushida Kikyo's body trembled, and tears of humiliation began to well up in her eyes.

She raised her voice slightly, her tone thick with sobs.

"I... I posted about the Saionji Moon-Falling Platform incident... on an anonymous forum... I'm sorry... it caused her... to be pointed at by many people... and in the end... she transferred schools..."

Smack!

"Keep going. The next one."

"You've hurt more than just one person, haven't you? One by one, tell me, and apologize for each. This is the punishment you deserve."

Akiyama Shin's voice was like that of a cold judge.

He knew that Kushida Kikyo's initial decision to leak those secrets was likely a breakdown brought on by immense psychological pressure.

But regardless, she had caused harm. Forcing her to admit her mistakes aloud and face the consequences of her actions was the first step toward breaking her psychological defenses, making her accept her own dark side, and potentially allowing her to be guided and used. It was a twisted, yet potentially effective, form of redemption.

Under Akiyama Shin's relentless discipline and interrogation, Kushida Kikyo's body and voice began to tremble slightly as she was forced to recall and repent for her past sins.

"There's also... Sato Mika..."

"I... I told everyone she was secretly shoplifting at the convenience store... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... it caused her... to be warned by the school... she was almost expelled... and she couldn't hold her head up in class anymore..."

Smack!

"And... and Kobayashi Kenta... I exposed the fact that his father went bankrupt... and that his family owed a lot of debt... I'm sorry... it caused his old friends to mock and alienate him..."

Smack!

"What a truly wicked woman you are."

Akiyama Shin's voice remained cold, but the force of his slaps had unconsciously lightened.

As each name was called out, accompanied by muffled apologies and descriptions of the impact she had caused, Kushida Kikyo shifted from her initial resistance and anger to being gradually overwhelmed by a sense of profound grievance, shame, and belated guilt.

She stopped struggling and simply lay limply on the bed, burying her face deep, apologizing softly over and over again, her shoulders twitching as she began to sob quietly.

Watching the girl beneath him begin to break down in tears, Akiyama Shin knew he had achieved his desired effect.

He loosened his control over her slightly, only occasionally giving her a light tap to remind her to continue.

Akiyama Shin's actions were based on his deep analysis of Kushida Kikyo's psychology.

At her core, she was a girl with an extremely strong sense of pride who craved recognition and affection.

When someone with such intense pride could not obtain top-tier praise in academics, sports, or other areas, she turned to social circles, utilizing her physical appearance and a fabricated personality to gain followers.

She used this to satisfy her fragile yet inflated ego.

However, after carrying too many secrets and negative emotions from others, she became overwhelmed and chose the worst possible way to vent: anonymous online leaks. When such behavior was discovered and threatened, she, having no other way out, would likely resort to even more extreme measures, such as exposing all secrets at once to drag everyone down with her, attempting to shift the focus of the fire.

The result was the total collapse of her social circle, and the immense destructive power—along with the subsequent blame and isolation—became an indelible shadow in her heart, exacerbating her twisted nature and internal friction.

To use her, one had to first break this cycle and force her to face her mistakes.

By accepting punishment as a proxy for admitting and alleviating her inner guilt, it became possible to guide her in a more controllable direction.

Thinking of this, Akiyama Shin leaned down, moved close to Kushida Kikyo's ear, and whispered in a low, magnetic voice that only the two of them could hear.

"You really are a wicked woman..."

He paused, his breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe.

"But as it happens, I am a wicked man, too."

"So..."

"You are going to lose everything you hold most dear..."

Kushida Kikyo turned her head slightly, her eyes teary as she looked at the handsome face inches away. Her long-suppressed emotions broke like a dam, and a sort of twisted dependency seemed to be taking root.

She sniffled, and with a heavy, nasal, and barely audible voice, she choked out:

"Please... punish me..."

Carrying the weight of her humiliation and an indescribable, complex emotion, Kushida Kikyo followed Akiyama Shin back to his dormitory.

The moment she pushed the door open and stepped inside, she instinctively scanned her surroundings, and her first impression was: clean.

This wasn't just a matter of it not being dirty.

Even though it was only the first day of school, many of the boys' dorm rooms, even if not filthy, were inevitably a bit cluttered, carrying that slightly careless scent typical of adolescent boys.

But Akiyama Shin's room was completely different.

Items were arranged in perfect order.

The desktop was spotless.

Even the bed was so smooth it didn't have a single wrinkle.

The entire space exuded a minimalist, cold aesthetic.

What caught Kushida Kikyo's attention even more was this.

The air was filled with a faint, crisp, and pleasant scent—it didn't smell like any artificial air freshener or perfume, but rather like a natural fragrance emanating from Akiyama Shin himself.

Akiyama Shin might have been completely unaware of it, but for someone with a sensitive sense of smell, this scent was impossible to ignore.

The room is clean and odorless...

Either a crossdresser or gay...

A common internet joke flashed through Kushida Kikyo's mind, but she immediately dismissed both possibilities; Akiyama Shin's temperament didn't align with either of those labels.

She irritably attributed it to the idea that Akiyama Shin might just be a man who is extremely particular about personal hygiene, perhaps even a bit narcissistic, secretly spraying perfume to maintain his image.

Although this was a complete misunderstanding of Akiyama Shin, who was simply acting out of habit and was entirely oblivious to his own scent.

Feeling flustered, she sat down abruptly on Akiyama Shin's tidy bed and even lay back, then spoke with a sense of reckless resignation, her voice laced with impatience and disgust.

"Hey... go take a shower..."

"After you're done, I'll just rinse off quickly..."

"And then... then let's just get it over with..."

She was incredibly conflicted inside.

She cherished this hard-won new life of hers; it was both her armor and her Achilles' heel.

However, giving her first time to a man who held her secret over her head and whom she thoroughly detested—this feeling made her feel deeply humiliated, even disgusted.

Japanese society was generally relatively open regarding such matters, with some even taking pride in them, but Kushida Kikyo was somewhat conservative in this regard, and it made her feel rather agitated.

Akiyama Shin ignored her, not even sparing her a glance as he walked straight toward the bathroom, and before long, the sound of trickling water drifted out.

Kushida Kikyo buried her face deep into Akiyama Shin's pillow.

That crisp, pleasant scent became even more intense...

She cursed under her breath in frustration.

"What a disgusting man... does he even have to make his pillow smell this good? Living more delicately than a woman..."

Refusing to believe it, she sniffed the sheets and the duvet again, only to find that same clean, pleasant scent lingering there as well, leaving her feeling even more suspicious and unsettled.

What on earth does he use?

How is the fragrance so long-lasting and natural?

Soon, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

The door slid open, and Akiyama Shin stepped out.

He was wearing only a pair of loose lounge shorts, his upper body bare, with undried water droplets sliding down his toned chest, outlining his clearly defined eight-pack abs and deep V-taper.

He walked toward the bed while casually drying his wet black hair with a towel.

Kushida Kikyo sat up at the sound.

Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to that powerful physique, and her breathing stalled for a split second.

But she immediately forced herself to put on an even more disgusted expression, spitting out insincerely.

"Disgusting man..."

Yet, inside, she was frantically complaining.

Why does such a perfect person exist in this world?!

His looks are impeccable!

His skin is good enough to make girls jealous!

And his body is...

But he just happens to have such a terrible personality!

And he's a broke loser to boot!

Akiyama Shin turned a deaf ear to her gaze and her comments, walking straight to the bedside and sitting down, very close to her.

Kushida Kikyo's heart began to race for some inexplicable reason, and she forced herself to maintain a cold tone as she spoke.

"I haven't even washed yet... you disgusting bastard..."

Akiyama Shin ignored her curses, yet his next move completely caught Kushida Kikyo off guard.

He didn't engage in any of the intimate acts she had anticipated; instead, he suddenly reached out and, with an irresistible force, pinned her face-down onto the bed, preventing her from seeing his expression.

"What are you doing?!"

Kushida Kikyo struggled in a panic, but it was all in vain.

Akiyama Shin's low, oppressive voice resonated from above her head.

"From now on, tell me the secret of a classmate from your middle school days who was hurt by your actions."

Kushida Kikyo's body stiffened instantly, and even her basic struggles began to slowly cease.

He... how does he know?!

Did he even guess this?!

Or did that bitch Horikita tell him?!

A massive wave of fear washed over her like ice water, leaving her shivering; the secret itself wasn't the issue.

"If I... if I tell you, will you not expose me...?"

She confirmed with a trembling voice.

"If you don't speak or if you lie, your true colors will be on the class group chat and the Campus Network by tomorrow. I've been recording the whole time."

Akiyama Shin's voice was devoid of emotion, yet carried absolute intimidation.

Kushida Kikyo closed her eyes in despair, and finally, yielding to the fear of exposure, she spoke in a low voice.

"In my third year of middle school... there was a girl in class named Saionji... she... she once... had an abortion..."

Akiyama Shin paused slightly upon hearing this.

While he could accept the openness of certain aspects of Japan, a middle school girl having an abortion still pushed the boundaries of his perception, and he asked in a deep voice.

"Is it true?"

Kushida Kikyo buried her face in the bedsheets and muttered.

"How would I know if it's true or not? She told me herself while crying... saying she was terrified... and didn't know what to do..."

"So you posted her secret online just to relieve your own psychological pressure?"

Akiyama Shin's voice turned cold.

Kushida Kikyo shuddered violently.

He really... deduced everything!

She nodded in self-abandonment.

"Yes."

As soon as the words left her lips.

Smack!

A crisp sound, accompanied by a stinging pain, spread across her backside.

"Ah!"

Kushida Kikyo cried out in pain.

But she was more shocked and humiliated than anything else.

"What are you doing?!"

Akiyama Shin's voice carried undisguised contempt.

"You really are pathetic."

"So what if I'm pathetic?!"

Kushida Kikyo retorted, filled with shame and anger.

"Apologize to her."

Akiyama Shin commanded.

"Huh?!"

Kushida Kikyo couldn't believe her ears; she turned her head in fury to look into Akiyama Shin's calm, dark red eyes.

"That shameless woman who was messing around with shady men in middle school and got pregnant with someone else's child—why should I apologize to her?!"

This statement, while filled with prejudice and resentment, also indirectly confirmed that Kushida Kikyo still possessed a basic moral compass and sense of right and wrong deep down.

She believed such behavior was wrong.

This also aligned with Akiyama Shin's previous assessment: she was a good person with a powerful capacity for empathy.

But due to her own distortions and pressures, she couldn't exactly be called a "good person" either.

"If you don't apologize, I'll expose everything about you."

Akiyama Shin remained unmoved, repeating his threat.

"Apologize. This is your punishment."

Kushida Kikyo bit her lip, struggling intensely within.

In the end, the fear of exposure overwhelmed everything else once more, and she spoke in a voice as thin as a mosquito's, filled with extreme reluctance.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

Smack!

Another slap landed, and it was not light.

"Too quiet. Speak clearly. What did you do to Saionji, and what were the consequences?"

Kushida Kikyo's body trembled, and tears of humiliation began to well up in her eyes.

She raised her voice slightly, her tone laced with sobs.

"I... I posted about the Saionji Moon-Falling Platform incident... on an anonymous forum... I'm sorry... it caused her... to be pointed at by many people... and in the end... she transferred schools..."

Smack!

"Keep going. The next one."

"You've hurt more than just one person, haven't you? Tell me one by one, apologize for each one. This is the punishment you deserve."

Akiyama Shin's voice was like that of a cold judge.

He knew that when Kushida Kikyo originally chose to leak those secrets, it was likely a breakdown brought on by immense psychological pressure.

But regardless, she had caused harm. Forcing her to admit her mistakes aloud and face the consequences of her actions was the first step to breaking her psychological defenses, making her accept her own dark side, and potentially allowing her to be guided and utilized. It was a twisted, yet potentially effective, form of redemption.

Under Akiyama Shin's relentless discipline and interrogation, Kushida Kikyo's body and voice began to tremble slightly as she was forced to recall and repent for her past sins.

"There's also... Sato Mika..."

"I... I told everyone that she had been stealing at the convenience store... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... it caused her... to be warned by the school... she was almost expelled... and she couldn't hold her head up in class anymore..."

Smack!

"And... and Kobayashi Kenta... I exposed the fact that his father went bankrupt... and that his family owed a lot of debt... I'm sorry... it caused him to be mocked and alienated by his former friends..."

Smack!

"What a truly wicked woman."

Akiyama Shin's voice remained cold, but the force of his slaps had unconsciously lightened.

As each name was called out, accompanied by mumbled apologies and descriptions of the impact she had caused, Kushida Kikyo shifted from her initial resistance and anger to being gradually submerged by a massive sense of grievance, shame, and a long-overdue feeling of guilt.

She stopped struggling, simply lying limply on the bed with her face buried deep, apologizing softly over and over again. Her shoulders twitched slightly as she began to sob quietly.

Watching the girl beneath him begin to break down in tears, Akiyama Shin knew he had achieved the desired effect.

He loosened his control over her slightly, only occasionally giving a light tap to remind her to continue.

Akiyama Shin did this based on his deep analysis of Kushida Kikyo's psychology.

At her core, she was a girl with an extremely strong sense of pride who craved recognition and affection.

When someone with such intense pride could not achieve top-tier praise in academics or sports, she turned to social circles, utilizing her physical appearance and a fake persona to gain a following.

She used this to satisfy her fragile yet inflated ego.

However, after carrying too many secrets and negative emotions from others, she became overwhelmed and chose the worst possible way to vent: anonymous online leaks. When that behavior was discovered and she was threatened, she, having no other way out, likely would have resorted to an even more extreme method—exposing all secrets at once to drag everyone down with her, attempting to shift the target of the fire.

The result was a total collapse of her interpersonal circle, and the immense destructive power and subsequent blame and isolation became an indelible shadow deep within her heart, exacerbating her distortion and internal friction.

To use her, one had to first break this cycle and force her to face her mistakes.

By accepting punishment as a way to indirectly admit and alleviate her inner guilt, it became possible to guide her in a more controllable direction.

Thinking of this, Akiyama Shin leaned down, moved close to Kushida Kikyo's ear, and whispered in a low, magnetic voice that only the two of them could hear.

"What a truly wicked woman..."

He paused, his breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe.

"But as it happens, I am also a wicked man."

"So..."

"You are going to completely lose the things most important to you..."

Kushida Kikyo turned her head slightly, her eyes tear-filled as she looked at the handsome face inches away. The long-suppressed emotions broke their dam at this moment, and a certain twisted sense of dependence seemed to be sprouting.

She sniffled, and with a thick, nasal, and barely audible voice, she sobbed.

"Please... punish me..."