Chapter 198: Marin's First "Experience"; The Welcome to Itomori Town
Marin Kitagawa peeled off the heavy black dress, hanging it carefully on a hanger. She stepped into the shower, letting the warm water wash away the sweat and grime of the morning.
As the steam filled the room, Marin leaned against the tile, her mind a chaotic battlefield.
On one side, her hardcore dedication to "100% Character Restoration" was screaming at her to ask Yoru for help. To look like Shizuku-tan, she needed those tally marks on her inner thigh.
On the other side, her common sense—and her heart—were hammering with pure, unadulterated shame. This was way over the line for a "normal" high school friendship.
And then there was the biggest problem: Saki.
If Saki Kawasaki found out that she and Yoru had come to a Love Hotel together—and that Yoru had used a marker to draw on her bare skin... Saki would definitely get the wrong idea. There was no way to explain this that didn't sound like a plot from a "spicy" anime.
After agonizing for ten minutes, Marin decided to at least float the idea to Yoru. Maybe he'd think it was too weird and say no. That would solve the problem, right?
She put on the spare clothes she'd brought—a loose oversized T-shirt and a pair of denim short-shorts. Leaving her wig and accessories on the counter, she stepped out of the bathroom with bare feet, feeling incredibly vulnerable.
Seeing Yoru sitting there, looking bored, her heart did a somersault.
"Um... Yoru-kun? Aren't you going to shower?"
"I don't sweat," Yoru replied casually. "No need."
"Oh... right. Of course." Marin laughed nervously, searching for words. "I guess you're just... one of those people with a cool body temperature?"
She remembered sitting next to him on the train and at the event. Even in the sweltering Tokyo heat, Yoru felt like a walking air conditioner. Just being near him felt like a cool autumn breeze.
If I were to touch him... or even hug him... it would probably feel as refreshing as a bamboo mat on a hot night...
Marin's face suddenly turned a shade of red that shouldn't be humanly possible.
What the hell am I fantasizing about?! Naked hugging?! Get it together, Marin!
"Kitagawa-san, your face is glowing," Yoru noted.
Marin started fanning herself frantically. "It's... it's just the heat! I might have a touch of heatstroke!"
In that moment, Marin truly felt the terrifying power of the "Demon King of Sobu High." This guy was a natural-born Incu-bus! No wonder Saki and her little sister were always talking about him.
The man is dangerous. Truly terrifying.
"Actually... Yoru-kun," Marin took a deep breath, sitting on the edge of the heart-shaped bed. She nervously twirled her blonde hair. "Can you... do me a huge favor?"
"What is it?"
Marin lowered her head, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Could you... use a black marker... to draw some tally marks on my thigh?"
Yoru's brow furrowed. He suddenly looked incredibly noble and offended. "Kitagawa-san, what kind of man do you take me for? Some legendary gigolo? A 'Rental Boyfriend' god from Hokkaido? That request is... highly inappropriate."
Marin felt like shrinking into a ball. He was right. It was too much. Yoru had already been so kind to accompany her to this event, and now she was asking for something so lewd.
"However..."
Yoru's serious expression vanished, replaced by that familiar, "Abstract" smirk. He took off his black mask. "Since it's a request from you, Kitagawa-san, I suppose I can make an exception. After all, you're one of my few 'real' friends."
"Eh?" Marin blinked. "Few? But the whole club... aren't we all friends?"
"Most of them aren't 'friends' in the traditional sense," Yoru said cryptically. "My friend group is actually quite small."
Before Marin could process that, Yoru stepped out of the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a black permanent marker.
"Alright. Let's get to work."
Marin felt a level of tension she had never experienced in her life. She was just thankful she had chosen to wear short-shorts. If she'd been in jeans, she would have had to... well, take them off.
"Lie down."
His tone was firm. Marin, her heart pounding in her ears, gingerly laid back on the heart-shaped bed. She squeezed her eyes shut, covering her face with both hands. To make it easier for him, she instinctively parted her legs slightly.
The scene looked... highly questionable.
"Ah... mmm..."
The cold tip of the marker touched the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, near the "danger zone." Marin's entire body went limp. A soft, involuntary whimper escaped her lips.
It wasn't just her body reacting. She felt a strange, tingling sensation she'd only heard about from her "experienced" friends.
Stay calm! Stay calm! she screamed internally. Don't do anything to betray Saki!
But the flush on her skin was a primal reaction, beyond her control.
Yoru was being maddeningly slow. He drew each stroke of the "正" character with the steady hand of a master artist, his touch light but deliberate. He chuckled softly. "Remember, Kitagawa-san... I'm going to expect you to pay me back for this later. With interest."
Marin, her hands still covering her face, didn't dare look at what was happening between her legs. She was terrified of meeting his eyes. "I... I know! Next time you need a special makeup effect... I'll... I'll help you too!"
Poor, innocent Marin. She thought "paying him back" meant helping him with his next cosplay.
As the shame washed over her, Marin suddenly had a realization. This is it.
To truly understand a character, you have to experience what they experienced. The shame of being marked, the fear of being discovered, the weird, fluttering excitement in the pit of your stomach... the humiliation of the tally marks...
I get it now. Shizuku-tan... this is exactly how you felt!
Marin felt a weird sense of relief. She was glad she'd forgotten to draw them herself. If she had done it, it wouldn't have been "authentic." A real cosplayer experiences the character's soul!
Suddenly, Yoru's voice broke her trance. "Done with the legs."
"Th-thank you..."
Marin started to sit up, but Yoru suddenly gripped her waist and flipped her over onto her stomach.
"I said the legs were done. There are other places."
"Other places?! You don't mean—!"
Marin remembered. Shizuku-tan's official art only showed the thighs. But if you unlocked the "Secret True Ending" CG...
She didn't just have tally marks on her legs. She had them on her...
Good news: Yoru really was a "Grandmaster of H-Games" to know about that hidden CG.
Bad news: Marin was now officially becoming a "100% Restoration" of a degenerate game character.
"Yoru, wait... no... mmm!"
Before she could protest, her shorts were tugged up just enough. She was face-down in the pillow, her teeth clenched, her breathing heavy. Her eyes began to lose focus.
"I... I can't... I'm going to...!"
Five minutes later, Marin was sprawled on the bed, her limbs like overcooked noodles.
"And... scene. Masterpiece," Yoru said, admiring the black marks on her pale skin with the clinical eye of a painter. "Truly my peak work as an artist."
Marin just stared into space, her mind a blank. She had reached a "peak" of her own—though it was strictly physical.
The afternoon session went exactly like the morning—photos, posing, and fans. But Marin was "soul-less" the entire time. She kept stealing glances at Yoru, and every time he looked back, she jumped like a startled cat.
Experience: 10/10.
Mental Trauma: 11/10.
On the train ride back, she kept her mouth shut, unable to look Yoru in the eye while he acted like absolutely nothing had happened.
Back at the hotel, Marin had just changed into her normal clothes when she heard a knock. She opened it to find the one person she was most afraid to see.
"Hey, Marin! How was it? Did my outfit get a standing ovation?"
Saki Kawasaki stood there with a bright smile. Looking at her best friend, Marin felt a crushing wave of guilt. She thought about the heart-shaped bed. She thought about the marker.
"Saki... I... I..."
"What's with the weird face?" Saki laughed. "We're besties, you can tell me anything."
Besties... The word felt like a dagger. Marin had "stolen a snack" from her friend's plate. She was sure Yoru knew she had... reacted... while he was drawing.
Does he know? He definitely knows.
And how can I face Saki after doing something so 'intimate' with her crush?
Ultimately, Marin lacked the courage to confess. She forced a stiff smile. "The event was great! Everyone loved your work, Saki-chan!"
"Really? That's awesome!" Saki didn't notice a thing. She just thought Marin was exhausted from standing in the sun. "You look beat. Want to grab dinner with the girls?"
"I... I think I'll just crash here for tonight."
"Sure. What do you want? I'll bring you back some takeout."
Once Saki left and the door clicked shut, Marin collapsed onto the floor. Her mind kept looping back to the hotel room.
"What have I done...?"
Three Days Later: The Shinkansen.
Yoru sat by the window, the summer sun reflecting off his calm, handsome face. He looked like a model in a high-end magazine.
Hina Amano (The Sunshine Girl) sat beside him, secretly admiring the view. I never noticed before... but when Yoru-kun isn't being 'Abstract' and weird, he's actually incredibly handsome.
"So..." Hina whispered after a long silence. "Are you sure it's okay that we didn't bring Yui and the others?"
"It's fine," Yoru replied, watching the landscape blur past. "We've been away from Kyoto too long, and exorcism requests are piling up. For this mission, just the two of us is enough."
"We're going to... Itomori Town?"
"Yes."
Yoru had originally planned to go alone, but he decided to bring Hina. As a pro-exorcist, Yoru knew that to contact a God, you needed a "Medium."
The Miyamizu family had their Kuchikamizake (Sake). The Tokyo shrine had its wind chimes. But searching for a specific artifact was a waste of time.
Hina Amano, the girl chosen as a "Living Sacrifice" who could pray to change the weather, was the ultimate Medium.
Hina looked down at her wrist. It was starting to become translucent, flickering with rainbow colors. She could feel it—something in the sky was calling her. She knew that to fix the weather in Japan, she would eventually have to vanish.
She hadn't told anyone. Not even her brother. She planned to sacrifice herself in silence. But she wasn't stupid—she suspected Yoru already knew.
Suddenly, the air in the train car rippled. Shimmering Red Silk Threads manifested out of nowhere, swirling in front of Yoru's face.
Before Hina could scream, the threads wove themselves into floating characters. The message was written in a tone so submissive, so desperate to please, that Hina almost laughed:
"MY LORD, YOU'VE FINALLY ARRIVED. WELCOME TO MY DOMAIN."