Maki opened her eyes groggily, the back of her head still throbbing faintly.
She was about to raise a hand to rub her head when she suddenly discovered that both her hands were tied to a chair. She jolted fully awake.
"Awake?" A familiar voice came from in front of her.
Maki jerked her head up. "T-Teacher Pakura?!"
Her voice trembled. "You traitor! How dare you show your face in front of me!"
Pakura's eyes immediately reddened. "Maki, let me explain!"
"I won't listen!" Maki shouted, stiffening her neck.
"Everyone in the village says you defected to Konoha, and you're still trying to deny it?!"
"Bullshit!" Pakura stamped her foot in agitation. "That bastard Rasa sold me out to Kirigakure! If it weren't for Yūto..."
Yūto, who had been watching from the side, picked his ear. "Tch. Why waste words on a kid?"
He walked straight over and pinned down Maki as she tried to struggle. "A beating will sort out that disobedience."
Before Pakura could react, Yūto deftly flipped Maki over, raised his hand, and brought it down with a sharp smack.
"Ah!" Maki screamed. "Pervert! What are you doing!"
Yūto sneered. "That's right. I'm a pervert."
As he spoke, he delivered several more blows, the smacks ringing especially sharply inside the tent.
"Ugh, stop..." At first, Maki twisted around and cursed, but after a dozen or so blows, she wilted.
Her little face flushed bright red, and tears welled in her eyes. "It hurts."
Only then did Yūto stop. "Can you listen properly now?"
Maki nodded through her sobs. The pain burned so fiercely that even the fabric rubbing against her hurt.
Pakura gave Yūto a distressed glare, then hurriedly crouched down to explain:
"Rasa and Baki set a trap and tricked me into going to Kirigakure. It