BADBADGETSWORSE - 1. BADBADGETSWORSE

You can't believe it has come to this! How could one kiss bring so much disaster? Kisses are supposed to awaken royalty, not prove deadly! But if you don't do something, you'll be dead before the week is out. There's no time to dawdle – forget the week, by the time today is over you plan on nipping this in the bud. If only nipping a bud was a simple matter of gardening shears and not the imposing task before you. But, imposing or not, you have to do it. For Kaede, for justice, for the the future of the Nakazato-gumi and its only son, but most importantly, you have to do it for love.

BADBADGETSWORSE

Brinkocom interactive fiction – a yakuza romance fantasy horror thriller comedy revenge story

Copyright (c) 2034, 2035, 2036, 2052 Brinkocom, Inc. All rights reserved and polite, but not necessarily both at the same time.

Release 77 / Serial number 880065

GATE OF MANSION

You are standing outside the gate of an enormous seaside mansion. It totters on the edge of a cliff, like a huge lady contemplating the plunge to the dark, briny water below. Rain pelters your coat as you sniff and look around. Nobody seems to have seen you.

>look at mansion

Ah, the mansion of the dread Imaishi-gumi, and home to the terror of the teenage world, The Seven Sisters of Doom. The mansion used to be a stately place, a dignified monument on the edge of the windswept ocean, but that was more than a hundred years ago. Now it is an unlikely monstrosity threatening to collapse under its own weight. Years of both Western and Japanese-style additions to the house have made it look like a long, white-walled lizard with the original mansion as its head. Tonight you can see the lizard's many eyes alight and waiting in the darkness, each window a hint to the bustling activity of the crime world nestled inside the cold-blooded walls.

This is the home of not only Aomori's second-most-revered crime syndicate, the Imaishi-gumi, but those human-born natural disasters every would-be man or woman with a teenage heart fears. The Seven Sisters came about after the head tried desperately to have a son for a whole decade with no luck. According to myth, The God of Poverty took a wretched sort of pity on the crime boss and endowed his wife with pregnancy – fraternal septuplet girls. Rumor has it, Goro Imaishi still nurses a swift glass of southern sweet potato shochu every night for his ill luck.

It is these girls who are threatening to tell the whole world what they saw you doing with Kaede in the broken bathroom at school today! But if that gets out, you're done for! The Nakazato-gumi may be infinitely more humane than their dread rivals, but they won't tolerate an heir who will not bear any blood-related successors. You know that as much as your father loves you, there are the rules of the crime world and under such rules, your mother and your life aren't too much of a price to pay for a little homicide-and-do-over.

>look at self

Who's the charming asshole who is the only son of the Nakazato-gumi's head? Why, you, Yuki Nakazato are the charming asshole and only son of the Nakazato-gumi's head! Smile for the camera!

>look at gate

It bears the family emblem of the Imaishi group, which you've always thought looked like fireflies trying to eat a frog, but that's neither here, nor there. The gate is firmly closed to guard against unwanted intruders. Around the gate, a large and thick wall of huge stones encompasses all the land surrounding the mansion, right to the very end of the cliffs. There is an intercom housed underneath a small black installation on the left side of the gate.

>look at intercom

It has number buttons for a code and a smooth red glass panel to read finger prints below. To the right of these is a large blue button. On this button, there is a white icon of a faceless fellow with three lines spreading outward from their mouth. Below the button are the tell-tale holes of a speaker.

>push in code

Which code would you like to push in?

>Yuki Nakazato's code

You'll have to specify which numbers to push.

>inventory

You are carrying:

your wallet

some gum

a small piece of paper

a locket

a cell phone

an umbrella

>look at small piece of paper

To protect yourself from the ceaseless rain, you crouch underneath the tiny roof of the area where the intercom is housed and uncrumple the small piece of paper, a note you prepared before coming here.

>read note

It says: “Nanpa ni shinitakunai”

>input code on intercom

You input the numbers, 7 (nan), 8 (pa), 2 (ni), 4 (shi), 2 (ni), 9 (taku) and 7 (nai).

>push blue button

Shortly after your finger depresses the blue button, a voice emanates from the intercom.

“Yuki Nakazato, it has been a while. To what may we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

You answer, “I need to talk to Rie about something that happened at school today.”

“Very well. A guard will be sent out to search you presently. I assume that I can trust you don't have any of those nasty totems or charms on your person?”

“Of course not.”

“Very good, sir. I will alert Rie of your presence. Please wait while you are attended to.”

>wait

You wait.

>wait

You wait some more.

>use cell phone

You need to be more specific.

>look at pictures on cell phone

You open up your picture album. What picture do you want to look at?

>look at Kaede's picture

You see a picture of a smiling boy with dyed brown hair hanging over his eyelashes shyly, as he sucks noodles in his mouth and gives a thumbs up. Kaede has been your best friend ever since the day he beat you up for stealing his pencil in the 2nd grade.

You can hardly believe the direction your like has taken during the past 24 hours. It had been a month since Yusuke – a man you remembered as a prodigious donor to your ice cream allowance over your childhood, somebody who used to read you bedtime stories when your mom and dad were too busy – had met a tragic end at the barrel of a gun. You thought you were taking it well when the sight of a young boy licking an ice cream as he skipped to school brought a sudden rush of pain. You had been in the bathroom with the broken toilets where nobody ever goes trying to calm yourself down, when Kaede walked in.

Only Kaede would ever be able to figure out where you were, why you had went there and how you were feeling. And only Kaede knew how to make you feel better. That was the kind of friendship the two of you had. But never in all that time had you imagined it blossoming into that wonderful kiss.

Unfortunately, Rie, Fumika and Misato, three of the Seven Sisters, found it advantageous at that very moment to walk into the broken bathroom, probably to plan one of their nasty scandal-creating school crimes. And while the girls couldn't physically do anything to you, nor you to they, because of the rules of the truce agreed upon by both crime families, that didn't stop those three witches from promising that by the end of the week the entire school would know about you and Kaede.

And you simply can't let that happen.

>sigh

You heave a big sigh.

>wait

You wait, wondering why it's taking so long. When you feel the blow to the back of your head, you have your answer. You see your umbrella go flying forward. You drop down to the rain-soaked pavement. You are engulfed in a black cloud of incoherence.

...

The first thing you notice is that it feels chilly in here. Can someone turn on the heat? The second thing you notice is that a familiar voice is talking to you.

“Yuki...Yuki...that's a good boy. Open your eyes.”

You do as the voice says. Rie Imaishi, leader of the Seven Sisters, is wearing black lingerie and staring into your eyes. Matching neck and arm leather bands –horrifying spikes protruding out of them – accompany what little clothes she has on, as she circles your left nipple with her right finger.

Wait, where did your shirt go? For that matter, where are your pants? Good gravy, you're lying on your back in a bed, only wearing your limited edition black Snoopy briefs! This day can't get any worse!

>get up

You try to do just that, but find both your hands and your feet are bound to the bed by a set of four tightly-knotted ropes.

“You're so cute when you struggle, Yuki. Like a salmon swimming up stream.”

Rie tickles your ribs and gets off the bed.

>watch Rie

You keep your eyes on the little vixen as she hops around the room rummaging through drawers for something. Even though you know the young woman before you is Satan in the form of a high school student, you muse that perhaps you are bisexual.

“Ah, just what I was looking for!” She holds up what looks like a long nightstick with five metal prongs, a large pizza-cutter-like appendage and something that looks like the toothbrush from hell. “This is the first toy I'll be using tonight. Let's see, what else should we use?”

Your boner instantly deflates as you realize what is about to happen.

RIE'S KINKY UNDERGROUND TORTURE CHAMBER

The walls are natural rock, but the floor is smooth marble. You are looking at the room from the vantage point of an impressively large bed set in the middle of it. There are all sorts of bizarre and absolutely terrifying devices in this room, as well as a large desk in the corner that looks like it could be used to work wood or metal. That desk doesn't smell right. A large steel, bolted door can be seen on the south wall of the room.

Rie is rummaging through the many drawers of the desk in the corner.

>talk to Rie

“Listen, Rie, you know how I swing. That's the problem, isn't it? There's no point in doing this. You're not going to get any pleasure out of it.”

“How do you know?” Rie says as she holds up what looks like a magnifying glass crossed with a drill and it starts to spin, while the speakers at the bottom play out Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff." “Until you've tasted the pleasures I can give, I wouldn't be so sure.” She licks her lips. You do too, but for an entirely different reason.

“If I wanted a piece of your ass, I'd blow it up and eat it as sashimi,” you reply.

She laughs. “That's not a bad idea.” You curse yourself for giving her any bright ideas. She climbs onto the bed again and massages you in a place that is definitely not welcome.

>move away

You try, but you are bound so tightly all you can manage is to wiggle a bit.

>talk to Rie

“You'll never get me off, you know.”

“I wouldn't be so sure. No matter how much you think of your dead grandmother, there are...ways.”

“It's not that hard. All I have to do is picture screwing a monster and as I have one right in front of me, it's cake, really.”

She slaps you. Her nails sting.

“Before this night is done, you're going to awaken to the infinite pleasures pain can give, my love. And if you don't cooperate, you know exactly what will happen to you and your boytoy.”

You see a shadow dart from one of the strange devices to another, approaching the bed.

>look at devices

As Rie goes back to rummaging through her sick love toy collection, you examine the device the shadow ran behind. It is something of a stand-up coffin with a human-shaped indentation where the would-be victim is apparently locked into. You can see the restraints on the side. Buttons on the side are marked: spin cycle, Bronco rodeo, take flight, shipwreck and Mechagodzilla, respectively. You only have a brief second to wonder what on earth those buttons do when you see a familiar head pop from behind the device and signal you.

>look at Rie

Rie is humming Darth Vader's theme as she fumbles with a device that looks like a cat with four penises for legs.

>distract Rie

“Hey Rie! Why don't you give that one a try?”

She turns around and marches toward you, swinging the toy around like a shopping bag. She stops near the bed, puts her free hand on her hip and raises a seductive eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, you know I like dick and yours is too small to satisfy me!”

Rie's eyes flash. In an instant, she has climbed onto the bed, clutched your jaw and chin with her right hand, while she rakes her nails down your chest with her left hand.

“Say that again, you insolent cum lover and you'll regret you were ever born in the same country as me!”

“I'd say what I want to say, but the truth is I just don't wanna fuck you, sorry.”

She slaps you again, as her eyes take on a malevolent sheen. “You'll be so straight by the time I'm done with you, you won't even be able to think about your own dick, let alone Kaede's!”

You see Kaede begin to sneak up on the bed with an enormous octopus-shaped contraption.

>kiss Rie

You launch forward and plant a big one on Rie's lips. Rie's eyes widen for a moment before she starts to get into the kiss. You wince as she begins to bite your tongue, but endure. You can feel Kaede's weight as he creeps onto the bed behind the two of you.

>kiss harder

You throw your all into the kiss in hopes of distracting Rie, but she pulls back and her mouth forms into a rictus of carnal pleasure. “It's so nice when the victims realize they have no choice but to submit early on. You're mine, Yuki, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.”

You tilt your head in amusement as you watch Kaede slowly raise the octopus thingy in the air and backward for a good whack.

As he brings it down on the vixen's noggin, Rie's eyes bulge for a second before they roll into her head and she falls backward like an inflated sex doll with the air let out.

Kaede jumps backward and drops the strange toy to the ground. He looks like he's about to vomit.

>talk to Kaede

Tears almost form in your eyes. “Kae-kun! You made it! You have no idea how happy I am!”

He looks up at you and grins. “I think I have a bit of an idea, unfortunately.” He cups his face in his hands and shakes his head. “This shouldn't be the way 15-year-olds should act, Yuki.”

Good old Kaede. “Don't worry, it's highly unlikely you killed her, but if we don't find a way to incapacitate her before she wakes up, I can't even imagine the bad things that will happen.” Kaede nods as he climbs onto the bed.

>tell Kaede to set you free

You do so and Kaede brandishes a Swiss Army Knife from his back pocket and sets to freeing you from the ropes tied around your limbs.

>ask Kaede about location

“We seem to be in some much older part of the mansion, probably existed in the 1800s to store contraband from pirates or something, though it looks like it's been renovated.” After your left leg is free, he gets to starting on your right. “Erika took me here on her water bike. She can't enter, because you know, yakuza truce and all that. But she told me this is the best place to sneak in.” You start stretching both your freed legs as Kaede moves to your left hand. “Only problem is that I forgot her directions and got lost. This place is humongous!” You are rubbing the red area where the ropes were tied on your left hand when Kaede starts telling about his adventures in finding you. “But when I saw those goons drag you in here, I was kind of glad I got lost, even though it was really scary.”

“I bet,” you smile at Kaede as the last fibers of the rope on your right hand give way.

>hug Kaede

You allow yourself a brief moment away from the all-encompassing terror you've felt all day and embrace your newly-anointed boyfriend in your arms. He does that thing he always does when you hug him and purrs like a kitten. “I'm so glad you're okay. I was worried about you.”

Kaede laughs, “After all the adventures we've been on? Please!”

>look at Rie

The lingerie vixen lies prone at the foot of the bed. You remind yourself that you need to hurry.

>ask Kaede about clothes

“I saw her put them in here,” Kaede says as he jumps from the bed and bounds toward the lowest drawer in the enormous work desk. You follow him and find your clothes and Rie's clothes inside.

>take clothes

You take your clothes from the drawer.

>put on clothes

You get dressed. The room feels a little warmer now and you rub your arms to shake off the remaining cold.

>inventory

You are not carrying anything.

>ask Kaede about belongings

He shakes his head. “When they were carrying you in here, I noticed I couldn't see your limited edition Snoopy cell phone strap dangling from your pants pocket, so I thought they must have already stripped you of your possessions.” You click your tongue.

“Well, it must be somewhere else in this place, we'll have to find them.” Kaede nods.

>look in drawers

You find all manner of unpleasant toys, drills, prongs, suction cups, liquids and implements in the desk drawers. The only normal things you find are rope and Rie's clothes.

>take Rie's clothes

You pick up Rie's clothes, which contain: a blouse, a skirt and a vest.

>drop vest and skirt

You drop the vest and skirt to the floor. “What are you doing?” Kaede asks.

> ask Kaede for knife

Kaede hands you his knife. “You'll see. For now, go pick up Rie and put her in that human-shaped crevice of the thing you were hiding behind.”

Kaede gives a hearty salute of “Roger!” before going off to do just that.

>use knife to cut sleeves of blouse

You use the tiny knife to cut the fabric from the armpit area down the sleeves into two distinct white strips.

>inventory

You are holding:

Rie's torn blouse

two strips of white cloth

>drop Rie's torn blouse

You do so and it joins her vest and skirt on the floor.

>look at Rie

Still unconscious, Rie is slumped inside the strange machine. Kaede has bound her arms and legs into the metal restraints so she doesn't fall out. “Do you think she'll be able to get out of these?”

“I doubt it,” Kaede replies. “They seem pretty strong.” You nod and give him a thumbs up.

>stuff white cloth into Rie's mouth

You take one of the torn sleeves of Rie's blouse, ball it up furiously and ram it into her mouth.

>tie white cloth around Rie's head

You fasten the other sleeve around the back of Rie's neck and in front of her mouth so she can't spit out the gag. You hear Kaede's praise in your ear beside you. “Ooh, very smart. I would kiss you, but I think your tongue must still be sore from what that wretched girl did to you.” You smile appreciatively – come to think of it, your tongue does still smart.

>ask about kuchi-fuuji

Kaede excitedly takes a brown paper envelope from his pocket and pours out seven long strips of rice paper with flowing black ink words written upon them. “You were right! These things are cool! They lit up in pretty colors whenever Erika was finished writing on one of them.” You laugh.

“Do you know which one is to be used on Rie?”

“No, I was never very good at reading this kind of old calligraphy. I can't figure out much behind the first three or so characters of each.”

“Hand them to me then.” He does so. You sort through the pack of carefully prepared magic talismans. “It's this one. See, here's her name.” You point and Kaede leans in to look. “And this is the spell for binding their mouths shut.” You point to a lower part of the talisman and Kaede's eyes follow your finger. “And this specifies what they can't talk about: specifically homosexuality, me and you.” You direct his attention to the next line and then follow it down. “And this is the time period, forever. The last part just kinds of seals the deal.” Kaede nods and purrs his cute little hum of approval.

>use Rie's talisman on Rie

You separate Rie's talisman and put the others back into the brown envelope, which you then stuff into your pocket. “Now watch this.” You brace yourself in front of Rie's bound form and start invoking the magic words written on the talisman as you hold it out in front of you. The talisman floats into the air, up to Rie's mouth and disappears in a flash of blue flame.

“And that's that. Now she can't tell anyone about our secret.”

“Cool, it's just lucky I fell in love with a member of a crime family who knows how to use ancient arcane arts.”

“It is, isn't it? Now let's get out of here. I don't want to see the look on her ugly face when she wakes up.”

>open door

You and Kaede work together to wrench open the enormous steel door on the southern wall.

>south

ROCKY CORRIDOR

You are standing in a low, cramped hallway borne from natural rock. To the east, the corridor ends in a jagged series of black stones. To the north lies an open steel door. To the west, the corridor continues. Kaede is standing beside you. He taps you on the shoulder.

>talk to Kaede

“When I was following you I noticed Kanon was in a room close by, eating of course. It looked like a kitchen. Should we get her next?”

“Sounds good to me. She should be easy.” Both of you take in a secret grin. “Do you remember what I said about the rules?”

“Yep, you can't physically harm them and neither can they harm you, or else the truce between family minors will be broken and all hell will break loose in the crime world again. But since I'm not in a yakuza family – yet–” you smile at that “– I can do whatever I like to them. But I can't let them see me, as that would be fair game to start a vendetta on me and my relatives. So you distract them while I incapacitate them.”

You hold up the envelope of paper talismans. “And then we use these so they can't tell anyone about us. As long as no one else catches on, we'll be free to be as gay as we please!”

Kaede frowns. “Yuki, what happened, by the way? I thought they weren't supposed to hurt you.” He looks worriedly at your head. You run your hands through your hair and for the first time, you notice a lump on the back of your head.

You shrug. “Probably Rie's doing. You know how she's got that stupid butler tied around her little finger.”

“But they aren't supposed to be able to hurt you!” Kaede says furiously.

You shrug again. “Eh, that's the Imaishi-gumi for you. Scum bags as far as the eye can see.”

Kaede pouts. “You aren't going to tell anyone they did this to you?”

You shake your head. “Of course not. For one, it would bring up questions as to why we came here in the first place. And I have no desire to do anything that would bring us back to those ugly days before the truce.” You reflect on how one of the reasons you are an only child is because your parents were too frightened to have any other children when your father was the only survivor left from among nine brothers and sisters as a young boy. The truce had come about when you were only five and by that time, you'd been kidnapped over a dozen times.

You shake yourself out of your reverie. “In any case, it can't be helped. Lead on to the kitchens.”

Kaede shrugs and disappears down the corridor.

>west

ROCKY HALLWAY

You follow Kaede to a place where the hallway splits into a northern and southern path. Flickering fluorescent lights illuminate the ebony stones of the hallway. He walks up the northern path.

>north

HALLWAY OUTSIDE KITCHENS

You are standing in the hallway outside the kitchens in the old pirate dungeon beneath the Imaishi manor. Large red double doors are open on the western side of the hallway. You can hear the sound of a group of pigs eating within. Kaede is standing beside the double doors with his back against the wall.

>look inside doors

Tip-toeing carefully, you peer inside the red doors.

Inside a cavernous, well-lit room you see an extremely long black dinner table covered with all sorts of gourmet delights. There is Peking Duck and German chocolate cake, platters of fried octopus balls, fried shrimp, fried chicken – even fried popsicle sticks! Bowls of potato chips, ramen, pasta, chicken and pork salad fight for a place among the cluttered table. Cookies and cakes, sushi and sashimi, crackers and dried squid are piled so high onto silver plates that they nearly reach the top of the ornate candelabra placed between them. On one side of the table an entire roast boar lies looking up at the ceiling next to his partner, a roast deer with its antlers stuck into the gleaming, oily venison as if it were some cruel gloating victory. Shattered ceramic remnants of bowls and plates litter the floor along with bones, grease and crumbs of already-eaten food.

The only occupant in the room is a young lady the size of a baby whale sitting at the far end. Currently, she is uploading a tray of eel into her large mouth while her beach-ball-sized cheeks vibrate and quiver. This would be Kanon, one of the dastardly Seven Sisters.

>ask Kaede about chloroform

Kaede shakes his head. “I don't have it!”

“Kaede, I thought I told you –”

“You did! And I got some from Erika and brought it. But my satchel was making noise no matter what I did, so I had to abandon it in this locker room that's pretty far away from here. We can get it later. Besides, I highly doubt we could either of us hold down Kanon long enough to get it to work.”

“Okay, good point.”

>think

Your mind instantly jumps to the scene in the kitchens and you remember the candelabra.

>show Kaede the candelabra

You lean in again and indicate the candelabra on the table to Kaede. He looks at you in confusion.

>show Kaede chair

You point to a chair at the far end of the table and then point to yourself. Kaede nods slowly, encouraging you to go on.

>show Kaede the candelabra

You again point out the candelabra again. This time, Kaede nods enthusiastically and gives you a thumbs up.

>west

KITCHENS

The aforementioned feast lays before you on a spectacularly long and strong-looking black table. Despite the many candelabra that light the table, it is the overhead lights that make the room very bright. You can see chairs set at intervals down the table, but one absolutely huge throne-like chair is at the end. That's where Kanon is sitting, currently inhaling a bowl of ramen. Another, smaller door near Kanon's chair sits at the north end of the chamber.

Kanon spots you instantly. Her massive juddering jowls clamber as she starts to laugh, but she never stops eating, as slabs of pork are vacuumed into her cavernous mouth. “Either Rie's got a cold, or she wants to feed you before your night of pleasure.” She immediately drops the ramen bowl on the floor and it shatters as she grabs a chicken leg and tears into it. Chewing, she adds, “Too bad though. There's not enough food here left for you.”

>eat a cookie

You walk over to the tray of cookies and pop one in your mouth. “Oh, seeing as how you could feed an entire city of orphanages in here, I wouldn't say that,” you quip.

As a waterfall of spaghetti noodles disappear up the amazing oral sucking apparatus known as Kanon's mouth, her eyes alight with a malevolent fire. “Do that again Yuki and it's the last thing you'll do. Those are mine! All mine!”

>eat a cookie

You pop another one in your mouth and smile devilishly. “Lovely, I love lemon cookies. Don't you?”

And that's all it takes. Towers of Jell-O, mounds of ice cream and innumerous skewers of shish-kebab go flying as the monstrous mound of fat known as Kanon roars to life and straddles the table, crawling toward you. You muse that she resembles that huge red blob monster from a horror movie you once saw; that thing managed to start eating an entire movie theater by the end and you figure that Kanon isn't that far off from that scale.

As she comes to where you are standing, she rears up on her legs, which are the size of a pile of truck tires and picks you up like you're one of her childhood dolls. As you come face to face with the grease-and-spit-covered snout of your attacker she pulls back her head and roars, “MINE!”

>eat a cookie

You reach for another one, but before you can get it, Kanon's hand slaps yours away. Before you can do anything else, you hear an ear-shattering, “MINE!” before you she raises you up and launches you down the table. Your body ricochets straight through a six-layer cake, off the poor roast deer and slides through several bowls of chicken noodle soup before it comes to a stop before platters of popcorn shrimp and butter peanuts.

>eat some popcorn shrimp

You get up unsteadily to your feet and smile again, throwing a few pieces of popcorn shrimp into your mouth. Kanon roars again and comes bounding toward you. The whole table, food and all, trembles as her feet smash roast steaks and rice beef bowls into a pulp. She picks you up again and starts to strangle you. Shes pushes you down to the table as she straddles you.

Kanon smiles and opens her mouth, some unchewed strands of spaghetti slosh out onto your face. “The only thing you're ever going to eat is dick. And that you're going to eat in hell.”

As you see the disembodied candelabra rear back behind her head, you simply smile at Kanon. “No thanks, good night.” Kanon only has time to frown for a second before Kaede gives her head a series of strong thwacks with the candlestick.

You hurriedly back yourself up as Kanon falls off the table. A thunderous crack reverberates throughout the room. Kanon's unconscious form lies on the floor.

>clean yourself

You grab a table cloth and wipe the food, spittle and grease off you the best you can. “I think once would have done it, you know.”

"I couldn't help it, she was strangling you," Kaede replies. "Besides, I have a feeling she's like a cockroach. If you don't get it many times, it rises up to disgust you again."

“Eh, I would have been fine. She used to sit on me in the first grade and I survived that.”

“Yeah, but back then she was just like a barracuda. Now she's like a first-class battleship.”

He shudders at the huge girl beneath your feet.

>use Kanon's kuchi-fuuji

You take out the talisman from the envelope and immediately begin to chant the incantation. As before, the paper moves to Kanon's mouth and disappears in a blue flash.

You high-five Kaede. “Two down, five to go!”

>talk to Kaede

You consult with Kaede about what to do with Kanon. “Well, I bet that door –” he points to the one you saw at the north wall “– leads to the kitchens. We could always stuff her in the oven!”

You give him a look. “That's horrible! We can't do that.”

He sighs. “I know, I know.”

You grin. “But I know how you feel.” You look at the long black table. “Do you think she'll fit underneath this table?”

“No way!”

You nod and start to push the immobile blob of fat towards the table, “Great! Give me some help here?”

Kaede reluctantly starts helping you. “But she won't fit!”

As you exert yourself against the slimy hills and valleys of fat, you say, “Exactly!”

Kaede's mouth recedes into a little “O” of understanding and he puts his back into helping you roll the baby whale underneath the table. It takes a good five minutes, but most of her rolls of fat are pinned tightly between the table and the floor when you are done.

“I feel like I need to take a shower.”

“I know exactly how you feel.” You feel like this time, the worst is definitely over. How could it get any worse?

>east

HALL OUTSIDE KITCHENS

You are once again standing outside the hall which leads to the kitchens. The red double door still lies open to your west and the pathway continues south.

>close doors

You do so. No sense in letting anyone find Kanon until later. You reckon her screams for help won't reverberate as much with the door closed.

>talk to Kaede

You turn to him, “Now what?”

Kaede puts a finger on his lips. “Well, I reckon we should find that room where I stored my bag. I didn't think about it before, but that's probably where they eventually brought your stuff. And if all the Seven Sisters are going to be as violent as Kanon and Rie, we're really going to need that chloroform.”

You smile and nod. “Sounds good to me, lead the way.”

>go to locker rooms

Led by Kaede, the two of you make your way back to the place where he thought the locker rooms were. After some close calls with suit-clad yakuza patrolling the corridors and some wrong turns you find it.

LOCKER ROOM

These locker rooms aren't so different from the ones you have at school, except the lockers are bigger and there are way more of them. Some white benches line the ceramic-tiled floor and a mini-kitchenette stands at one end.

>search lockers

It would have taken more time to search the many lockers if so many of them weren't already locked and occupied. Most of them contain black business suits with accompanying shades and shoes. Some of them contain more curious things, like someone's forgotten collection of equestrian magazines or a remnant of Rie's lingerie, which you suppose is a keepsake of one of her victims. In one locker, you do find your possessions and Kaede takes back his shoulder bag.

>inventory

You are carrying:

your wallet

some gum

a small piece of paper

a locket

a cell phone

“Those bastards didn't pick up my umbrella!”

“Isn't it one of those clear ones from the convenience store?”

You give Kaede a pouty look. “It's the principle of the thing.”

Kaede rolls his eyes. “Gangsters. They can hit you and rough you up, but noooo, don't take my cheap 500 yen umbrella!”

You nod seriously. “Damn skippy!”

>exit locker room

OUTSIDE LOCKER ROOM

You are standing in a corridor that spreads in all directions. This part of the compound seems newer than the other places you've been. It is fashioned with smoothly paved white walls and a linoleum floor. You might almost think you were in the basement of a business building and not the sprawling underground complex of a yakuza syndicate's home.

>check time on cell phone

The time reads 7:34.

“Damn! We're going to have to hurry up. Erika's got something going on at Mizawa tonight near 10. She can't wait forever.” Kaede nods and wipes his forehead.

>east

HALLWAYS

This part of the hallway contains three doors marked with the words, “Hospital,” “Showers” and “Lounge.” You can hear female voices emanating from the lounge door. The corridor continues to the east and west.

>open lounge door and peak in

You can see Misato and Asuka sitting near a long, low coffee table. Both of them have their backs turned away from you. Asuka is kneeling on the floor and has an array of pictures in front of her. She is talking on her cell phone. Misato is on the other side and facing a small cubicle with a laptop computer on it. She seems to be surfing some internet shopping site.

>listen

You can hear Asuka talking on the phone as she gestures to one of the pictures on the table. “Yeah, I saw that bitch wearing it today after gym class. How dare she get her hands on that beautiful scarf before I can. Does she have no shame? Mm-hmm, yeah, that should be fine. Just make sure you make it look like you're a regular crook. And maybe rough her up a bit when you take it, teach her a lesson you know. You can't simply wear things that I want and then refuse to give them to me. I mean, it's just ridiculous. Mm-hmm. Alright then. Drop it off at the manor. I plan on wearing that scarf at school. Yes, okay, bye bye.”

Misato's voice speaks up next, “Hey, Asuka, how do you think this sweater would look on me?” Asuka stands up as Misato moves to the left so she can see the laptop screen.

“Cute, I want one too.”

Misato chuckles. “Of course you do, honey. I think I want all the colors. Might as well buy the entire collection.”

Asuka picks up another picture and snorts; she starts clicking furious on her cell phone. “You'll never have time to wear them all.”

Misato's laugh would actually be pretty if it weren't so guttural and throaty. “And that matters how?”

“Well, if you're going to buy everything, I want one of each too.”

“Of course you do, honey.”

Asuka starts talking into the cell phone again. “Yes, hello? Hi, Riki. Are you doing anything tonight? No? Excellent! You can help me with something. You know that guy I wanted last semester, but who wouldn't date me? Yeah, Yuta, that's right. Well, he's got a girlfriend now. Name's Rina.” She crumples the photograph in her hand. “Yeah, I don't see why he should have a girlfriend when he could date me. It isn't fair. I heard she's studying at that Italian place in the shopping arcade tonight.” She starts twirling her hair and smiling. “Yeah, exactly, just rough up her femininity a bit. To the point where she won't be able to stand being around a guy and force him away, but not quite rape, we don't want the police to get suspicious.” Beside you, Kaede stomps his foot furiously, but you quiet him with your finger and signal to take the handkerchiefs and chloroform.

Misato is talking again. “Ow! My finger hurts. I hate this, why do I have to click on every single item I want one by one? I wish daddy would just buy the store for me. That way, I wouldn't have to bother.”

Asuka sighs. “You and me, both. I don't understand why he won't, he has the money.”

Misato tugs on her hair. “It's those damned Nakazato-gumi freaks. If it weren't for morally constipated brain farts like Yuki and his sort, we'd have everything we want.”

Asuka sighs, as she pushes the number pad on her cell phone and stares at another photograph. “Relax. Rie's taking care of it. By the time she's done, the whole of Aomori will be whispering about the gay yakuza heir and his lover and by next week, we'll have no problem convincing daddy to buy every shop in this town.”

Misato giggles and stretches her arms out. “Ooh, I can't wait to walk into every store and just take what I want.”

Asuka chatters away to her cell phone. “Yeah, exactly, Kazu, you understand. That girl gets a brand new BMW for her birthday before I can learn how to drive? On what planet does she think that can be allowed? Mm-hmm. Get the broad drunk and DUI that thing into the impound, broken and battered beyond recognition, well the car, but if the same thing happens to the girl, it's no skin off our backs, is it?” Asuka starts laughing like a sick hippopotamus.

Kaede nods and hands you a chloroform soaked handkerchief.

>enter the lounge

LOUNGE

The lounge consists of a set of round tables with accompanying chairs, a large TV in one corner with comfortable arm chairs surrounding it, a pool table, and an area with several long coffee tables and cubicles, each with their own wireless-internet-connected laptop. Asuka and Misato are sitting the near end of the computer area talking excitedly.

>use chloroform to choke a bitch

You nod at Kaede to get Asuka, while you tip-toe toward Misato. As Kaede's hand encloses around Asuka and smuggles the chloroform into her nose and mouth, Misato turns around. But you are ready for her and quickly force the nasty-smelling handkerchief to her face. Before long both struggling girls are snoozing, Misato slumped in her chair and Asuka's cell phone lying near her outstretched hand.

>use Misato's kuchi-fuuji and use Asuka's kuchi-fuuji

You quickly incant both charms and in a manner of seconds both girls are enchanted with a spell to never speak a word of the love between you and Kaede.

Kaede speaks up. “How are we going to keep them from snitching before we get out of here and get the others?”

You run a hand through your hair quickly. “Umm, stuff them in the lockers?”

Kaede shakes his head. “Not enough time before they wake up.”

You pat your pants, feeling your possessions. “Damn, if only we'd brought that rope from Rie's room.” Kaede has an odd look on his face. He's looking at your pockets. “What?”

Kaede points to your cell phone straps. “Isn't that one where Snoopy is being all Red Baron on his dog house a one-of-a-kind collectible that has never been reproduced?”

“Yes, I won it five years for coming in first in a Snoopy fan fiction contest. What of it?”

Kaede returns an evil grin. “I bet Misato wants it. And what Misato wants–”

“–Asuka will want too!”

Kaede claps his hand. “We won't have to do anything. There's only one. They can't both have it! They'll argue all night. Be way too upset to remember getting knocked out. They may even kill each other over it!”

You pick up your cell phone and look at it ruefully. “But then I won't have it.”

Kaede stamps his foot. “You have a better idea? There's no time. It's either our lives or limited edition Red Baron cell phone strap Snoopy!”

>give limited edition one-of-a-kind Red Baron cell phone strap Snoopy to Kaede the evil bastard who would deprive you of your Snoopy collection

Tears start to form in your eyes as Kaede places the Snoopy collectible in Misato's unconscious hand and positions it right in front of Asuka so she can see it when she wakes up.

A solitary tear rolls down your face as Kaede pulls you out of the room. “Come on! They're waking up.”

“Bye Snoopy, I'll miss you,” you whine as you're pulled out the door, thinking that it can't get any worse than this.

HALLWAYS

This is the hallway with doors that lead to a lounge, showers and a hospital room.

>west

OUTSIDE LOCKER ROOM

You are in a hallway that spreads in all directions.

>west

OUTSIDE OF GYM

The hallways ends with a large set of wooden double doors to the west. The doors are marked with the word, “GYM.”

>open door and peak inside

Inside you find a well-lit room furnished with an expensive-looking desk, a couple of chairs and an absolutely mammoth glass trophy case that towers almost to the top of the ceiling. It is filled with jeweled monuments of victory. A girl wearing a jersey and sweats is staring at the trophy case.

>talk to Kaede

You turn to Kaede, “Kirie is inside. She's staring at a trophy case. I'll get her attention and when her back is turned to you, strike with the chloroform.” Kaede smiles and nods.

>west

TROPHY ROOM

The trophy room is much the same way as you found it when you peaked inside. Now that you've stepped inside you've noticed that Kirie is holding one of her trophies and caressing it with her hand.

She looks up as you enter and smiles. “Hi Yuki. I thought Rie was giving you one of her, err, treatments?”

You shrug. “She told me to get on my clothes and go. I'm not sure why.”

Kirie puts her free hand to her mouth and smiles. “Oh dear, I'm sure that means she's playing cat and mouse with you. Won't be long before she gets you with her cat-o-nine-tails and drags you back to her lair. I'd offer to hide you in the gym, but Fumika's in there and well, she's not in a good mood, as usual.” From the gym, you hear the faint sounds of someone screaming and something getting whacked. Kirie tilts her head and scrunches up her mouth in a gesture that says, “Oh that Fumika.”

>talk to Kirie

“Oh really,” you say. “Well, unless you feel like telling me how to get out of here, I guess I'll chill in her.”

Kirie shrugs. “Fine with me, either way. I hardly think there's much to gloat about if you run away, but if you want to, go south. The exit's near where Sachiko is relaxing in the waiting room – she didn't want to walk any farther than that. But I should warn you, it leads to the sea and unless you're as good a swimmer as I am, you'll be fish food before you get to the beach.” She cocks her head to the side and gives a laugh. “All the boats have already headed back to the mainland.”

You wonder briefly where Erika is hidden and waiting. “I think I'll stay here, just the same.”

Kirie smiles and puts her trophy back in the case. “Fine with me.”

>talk to Kirie about her trophies

Kirie's eyes light up when you ask about her trophies. She launches into long-winded descriptions of how she won each one of them. None of her teammates appear in any of her stories except as a reference to how awesome she is. Her unending boasting is getting on your nerves when you notice she is always parallel to the door as she talks and could see Kaede sneak up in her peripheral vision.

>walk around Kirie

You walk to the other side of Kirie and her eyes follow you as she continues to yak on about her brilliant play in a tennis tournament where she managed to smack the other player in the mouth.

>look at trophies

As Kirie talks about how nobody can run as fast as she can, you notice one small ribbon that seems out of place with all the rest of the gaudy trophies.

>ask Kirie about ribbon

You interrupt her revelry about how nobody else in soccer could possibly compare to her footwork. “What's this ribbon? Can I see it?”

Kirie's mouth snaps shut and she gives you an arch eyebrow. “Oh that thing, it's only...only...well,” she sighs, “see for yourself what it is.” She unlocks the shelf from a ring of keys at her hip, pulls the glass door open and hands the ribbon to you.

She's finally got her back at the door staring at the ribbon like it was a cockroach she wanted to smash. You look up at her. “Second place.”

She closes her eyes and mutters through clenched teeth, “Don't remind me.” You see Kaede peak in from the door.

>ask Kirie about second place

You turn to Kirie and show her the ribbon again. “I thought you were always first.”

She pushes you backward with a loud grunt. “I AM always first! And don't you forget it! I didn't mess up, of course. I never would. It was that lackey.” Kaede is approaching quietly with the chloroform in his hands.

>ask Kirie about lackey

Desperately trying to keep Kirie's attention on you before she turns around, you say, “What lackey?”

Kirie's nostrils flare and she throws up her hands, making Kaede jump backward in surprise. “The guy who failed to get Yuna. I know I specifically told him that a little accident would go a long way. But that incompetent loser couldn't even get that done! I was so glad when his head rolled.” She stomps her foot.

>ask Kirie about Yuna

You gingerly approach the subject, “Umm, who's Yuna?”

Kirie backs you down like a bull charging, which makes Kaede stumble forward and grasp thin air where Kirie's face should have been. “Oh that whore was practicing every day for the Prefectural Gymnastics Championships. I said a little sprained ankle would go a long way, but nooooo! I was so glad when his head flew. Nobody should ever be that incompetent. What a loser. Does he have no pride in his work?” Kaede is frantically trying to get a hold on Kirie from behind but her wild gesticulations are preventing him.

>ask Kirie about pride

You desperately mumble, “What does pride have to do with it?”

Kirie throws her hands around again. “Everything!” This isn't helping. “But you wouldn't understand anything about pride, would you? Otherwise, why would you be gay? There's no pride in that.” She continues to back you toward the corner while Kaede continues to tip-toe behind her.

>remind Kirie about gay pride parades

You swallow and say, “Well, aren't you forgetting our parades?”

Kirie stops for a moment in stunned silence. Then she smiles and says, “I guess you've got a point there.” It's just enough time for Kaede to close in with the chloroform. Kirie begins to buck around wildly and kick Kaede. You hold her hands back, while Kaede holds on to her for dear life, swaying back and forth like he's trying to tame the rodeo bull. After a few seconds of this, the prostrate form of Kirie lies on the floor.

You stand up and quip, “I guess I've scored more than one point, eh Kirie?”

> use Kirie's kuchi-fuuji

Like with the other four girls, you quickly perform the incantation and in no time at all, another of the dread Seven Sisters is eternally bound so that she can't spill your secret.

>take Kyrie's keys

You pick up the keys to the trophy case from Kirie's hand.

>give keys to Kaede

Kaede is still panting atop Kirie's slumping body. You give him the keys. “Throw out some trophies and lock her in the trophy case. It's all glass. There's no way she'll be able to break out without killing herself before someone finds her.”

Kaede brings his hand to his face, still panting. “Yes, sir.” He gets up. “What are you going to do?” You nod toward the gym door and smile weakly. You can still hear Fumika's shrieking voice on the other side. Kaede face goes white. “May God have mercy on your soul.”

>west

GYM

Man, this gym is the works! Any and every kind of weight machine, exercise or workout material is collected here. It spans the room and encircles a massive swimming pool and boxing ring in the middle. Mirrors adorn the walls and countless bronze statues of toned men and women dot the hard wooden floors. Fumika is in the boxing ring, punching a boxing bag and screaming expletives.

>approach boxing ring

As you walk toward the boxing ring, you can hear Fumika shout and rage, as she furiously lays into the poor punching bag. “Yuki, you fucking homo!” You flinch. “I told Rie that we should just dump his sorry dumb ass into the ocean and be done with it! I know he's got something up his sleeves. I just know it! That flaming prick thinks he's the prince of the noble yakuza! What does he take us all for, fools? Of all the audacity and meal-mouthed, cowardly little aiieieieiee –” she unleashes a primal scream from the tips of her toes to the hairs on her head and lays into the punching bag with all her might, biting, climbing, thrashing in a murderous rage.

She doesn't seem to have noticed you.

>talk to Fumika

You know you're going to regret this, but you don't see any other way. “You rang, my sweet-tempered little princess?”

It takes a minute for Fumika to stop ravaging the victimized punching bag and look at you, but when she does...

>run

You turn heel and run toward the door.

Fumika lets loose another scream that sounds like the ululation of a thousand amazon princesses and gives charge. “YUUUUKI NAKAZATO!”

Before you can escape out the doors, you feel a sharp and heavy round object hit your left leg and you go sprawling to the floor.

>look behind you

You're not sure if the thing behind is still a high school girl or has transformed into some murderous horror movie cliché from your dreams, but it's almost got you.

>stand up and run, run if you treasure hopes, dreams, cookies, teddy bears, slumber parties and all other good things, for god sake, man, get off your ass and run

Point taken. You do so. You limp as fast as you can, while behind you, Fumika rages like a god awoken from the pits of hell. You run until you hit the edge of the swimming pool.

>dive into pool

Holding your breath and steadying yourself for a tenth of a second, you jump into the pool.

The screaming, ranting and raving is gone.

Bliss. Pure bliss. Nothing but the sound of the water around you.

Suddenly a barbell hits the water right beside you. A second later an entire exercise bike plunges into the water right in front of you.

>get out of the pool

Treading water like a million sharks are after you, you hurriedly swim to the other side of the pool as weights, benches and medicine balls plunge into the water around you. Feeling like a strangled cat, you slowly pull yourself out of the pool on the other side. Good job, smartiepants, now you're on the other side of the room, farthest from the door.

>run run run run run run

Because that's worked for you so well before. Nevertheless, there isn't much else you can do, so run it is.

“When I get my hands on, you, you maggot-infested, cockroach-stuffed, disease-riddled, puss-festering fecal skin boil – ” Fumika's voice thunders across the gym as a series of weights crash into the mirrors you are running near and glass shards explode in all directions “ – I will bind you to a table and slowly, inexorably rip out every single one of your non-essential organs and then feed them to you, always making sure to keep you alive – ” the crazy loon has managed to rip off one of the bronze statues of a flexing woman and is swinging it around like it's a tennis racket “ – so that you can feel it when I pick out your eyeballs one flick at a time with toothpicks and stick them up your nose until you can hardly breathe – ” there's the door! The door, oh dear god in heaven, hallowed by thy name, let me get to the door, you think as you plummet toward it “ – and then I'll rip off your balls and feed you to them until you gag and die from suffocation! Then I will work long and hard to invent an anti-matter ray that can reflect across the present, past and future, and I will erase every last particle and atom that made you, so that you never existed in at any time ever and nobody will ever even acknowledge possibility of you ever happening, thereby destroying every last fiber of your eternal soul!” The bronze statue comes careening in front of you. Its face, which once looked something shapely like the Mother Mary now resembles a rhinoceros trying to look like the Elephant Man with the worst plastic surgeon on the planet. This face stares you down and blocks the door while the pits of madness and despair lay behind you.

>well shit

Indeed. Tears stream down your face as you contemplate your fate. You can hear Fumika launching her last charge, fangs at the ready and hands out, jumping at you, when the door bursts open from the outside and Kaede comes in swinging one of Kirie's bigger trophies like a prize batter at the mound.

>duck

You do. Fumika's snarling, snapping, rabid face comes straight into contact with Kirie's trophy, Kaede's legs mounting upon the poor bronze rhinoceros statue lady and putting every ounce of strength he can into the swing.

And it is a home run. You look behind you at the instantly knocked out Fumika. The crowd, consisting entirely of you, goes wild. You cup your balls and rub your eyes and assure both vital body parts that you will never take them for granted again. Kaede gives you a strange look. “Are you okay?”

You slowly start breathing again. “You know when you're playing an RPG on PlayStation or something and you're on the last boss and you win with, like, one hit point left? I feel like that's what just happened here.”

Kaede chuckles and brings you to your feet.

>use Fumika's kuchi-fuuji

Not wanting to stay near her body for a second later than you have to, and feeling like you need an exorcist beside you to do it, you quickly enchant Fumika and seal her lips eternally. The charm is sopping wet, but it still works. Nothing she can say will hurt your relationship now.

>east

You quickly retreat from the scene and into the trophy room before Fumika can wake up and rip your balls off for charming her.

TROPHY ROOM

The room is much as you left it, except now one of the Seven Sisters is pleading furiously to let her out of the trophy case, tears trickling down her face in vast streams. You'd almost feel sorry for her, until you remember that the girl responsible for maiming and killing potential rivals is the one you consider the least evil of the Seven Sisters.

>east

OUTSIDE OF THE GYM

You are standing outside of the door to the gym with Kaede.

>you talk to Kaede

He takes a long breath. “Now what?”

You think for a moment. “Kirie said that Sachiko was down near the exit, so basically all we have to do is escape.”

Kaede snickers at the implied meaning. “Good, I don't think I can handle any more of the meaner sisters.”

You think you hear voices coming down from the west side, something like, “It's my Snoopy! Give it back, you whore!”

You nod, “You and me both, Kae. Let's get out of here. Lead the way.”

>go to exit

You follow Kaede as he leads you down the corridors to the dock area and proceeds to the exit. You marvel that you didn't run into a single yakuza henchman yet.

DOCKS

Though there is a concrete floor that leads to the man-made docks, much of this area is covered with black natural rock. The night air feels cool on your face as you step out into an area that includes a door leading to a staff room in the north wall.

>talk to Kaede

You breathe in the sweet, dark sea breeze. “Sachiko must be behind that door.”

Kaede sighs. “But she's never alone, is she?”

You shake your head. “No, she isn't.” Both of you stare down at the floor, trying to think of a way to get Sachiko alone and end this thing.

Kaede rubs his neck. “Fire alarm?”

You raise your eyebrow. “Do you really think they have a fire alarm in this place?”

Kaede kicks the cement. “You're right. Beside, despite the fact that she's perfectly capable of what any normal 15-year-old girl can do, Sachiko would just command her goonies to carry her to safety.”

You smile. “Can you imagine that? Expensively-suited yakuza carrying the little princess through the corridors while the fire alarm goes off.”

Suddenly, Kaede face brightens. “Wait, that's it? Suits!”

You scrunch up your nose. “Suits?”

Kaede hits you on the shoulder. You flinch, a remnant of the trauma from facing Fumika. “Yeah, remember the locker room! They not only have spare suits in plenty but –”

“ – sunglasses! Sachiko won't be able to tell who you really are! Brilliant! You go back to the locker room and get dressed up and I'll keep an eye on what's going on inside the staff room!”

Kaede salutes another “Roger!” and runs off toward the locker room.

You are now alone at the docks.

>open staff room door and peak inside

Inside the staff room, Sachiko is lying on the couch, while a group of eight yakuza tend to her every need. One is sitting next to the TV in the corner. “Change the channel, I'm bored of this show.”

“Yes, Sachiko!”

Another is fanning her with a long feather. “More leisurely, more relaxed, like a Hawaiian breeze.”

“Yes, Sachiko!”

Still another is playing a game on Sachiko's cell phone. “Are you done with level 14 yet?”

“Not yet, Sachiko.”

“Well, hurry up, I don't have all day for you to win the game for me.”

“Yes, Sachiko.”

Three others are near Sachiko's face. One tips a glass of lemonade into her mouth and the other opens her mouth, and a third tilts her head back, so the juice goes inside. “Be careful! I almost had to swallow by myself!”

The three answer in unison, “Yes, Sachiko.”

One yakuza looks up from the small table in the corner. “Sachiko, I don't understand this math problem, what happens when you need to –”

Sachiko fumes. “Well? Where are you? Hello?” The yakuza at her left awakes as if from a daze, and tilts her head so she can look at the yakuza doing her homework. “I almost had to move my head. Pay attention! And you – making me answer questions! How dare you!”

“Yes, Sachiko.” It echoes around the room.

You feel a tap on your shoulder. You look behind to see Kaede wearing shades and looking every bit the yakuza, he even changed his hair style to complete the disguise. “That was quick,” you whisper. “The little princess is irritable, so she probably won't do anything unless it has to do with daddy or one of her sisters.”

Kaede straightens himself. “Right, well, here goes,” he says and opens the door to walk inside. “Sachiko, Rie would like you to come to her immediately.”

Sachiko waits for a second, utterly unmoving. The dull-witted yakuza to her left flinches and moves her head to look at Kaede. “Finally,” Sachiko reprimands. “Well, why can't she come here?”

Kaede scratches his head. “Something about teaching Yuki the value of carrying out the every command of a girl without question in her special room. She says no one can do that better than you.”

Sachiko considers. “Smile,” she commands. The mouth yakuza pulls her mouth into a smiling countenance. “Well, she does have a point.” An awkward silent moment falls over the room. “Well,” she says. “Aren't you going to take me there?”

Kaede shakes himself. “Yes, Sachiko.” As he bends over to pick up the little princess, you back out the door and get ready.

>dip chloroform into handkerchief

The chloroform soaks into the white fabric of the handkerchief.

The door opens and Kaede walks out with Sachiko in his arms.

>use chloroform handkerchief on Sachiko

As soon as the door closes, you run up to her and press the cloth against her face. She is mildly surprised, but doesn't even resist, probably not considering it worth the effort. She's out before you can say Jiminy Cricket is a scam artist and you shouldn't believe his words.

>use Sachiko's kuchi-fuuji

You take the last paper talisman out of the envelope. As Kaede sets Sachiko's limp form onto the ground, you seal the mouth of the last of the Seven Sisters.

You've done it! None of the Seven Sisters can tell what they saw in the broken bathroom this morning! You secret is safe with Kaede and the two of you can live, if not happily, at least ever after. That is, if you escape from this accursed manor.

>talk to Kaede

“Do you think we need to hide her until she wakes up?”

Kaede shakes his head. “Nah, we're really close to where Erika is.”

You nod. “And once we're out of this manor, they got nothing on us. Lead the way.”

Kaede begins to walk around to an area where natural rock juts out from the pier.

>follow Kaede

You follow Kaede out onto the rocks, being careful not to lose your balance in the slippery rain. He turns around and asks, “Don't you think with all the mess we caused, the sisters will tell on you?”

You chuckle and step onto a particularly large boulder, waves crashing around you. “No way. If they did, it would come out that they hit me and tried to, um, do unspeakable sexual acts on me. Then all hell would break loose and they'd most likely all die along with me.”

His hand steadying himself on the cliff wall, Kaede laughs. “Remind me why I want to be your boyfriend again?”

You suddenly remember something.

>give Kaede locket

You hand it to Kaede, while you two balance on a comparatively bigger outcropping of rock. The dark waves sigh and moan into the night around you. “What's this?” Kaede asks.

You remember that in the dark, Kaede probably can't see what you handed him.

>shine cell phone on locket

You take out your cell phone and use the screen to illuminate the locket. Kaede opens it and immediately his face also opens into an enormous grin. The picture in the locket shows two little boys hugging each other, cheeks smothered with green and black frosting from birthday cake and smiling toward the camera. Both of them have their mouths open, showing the chewed-up cake.

This is from Kaede's 9th birthday. You weren't there for most of the day and he was incredibly pissed at you because of that. But unknown to Kaede, you had gone to Tokyo with one of your father's personal assistants to pick out a cake for him. You had remembered that for practically a month before his 8th birthday Kaede had gone on and on about the cake his mother would get him for his birthday, but when it came around, no such cake was available. Kaede had put on a brave face and pretended like he loved the cake his mom did prepare, but you knew better. You had been with Kaede every day at lunch since you met him and knew what a notorious sweet tooth he was. (At this current moment, he probably had all sorts of goodies from Kanon's dinner table stuffed in his jeans pockets.) Kaede lived for sweets. Sugar-filled food was his raison d'etre. That's why you went all the way to Tokyo on a plane and returned in the same weekend to get the fresh cake he had always wanted for his birthday.

Kaede hugs you and gives you a kiss. “Now you know the reason,” you say.

“Yep, who else is going to buy me my cake?” Kaede clutches onto the locket as the two of you make your way to where Erika is waiting with two ski boats to whisk you off into the uncertain darkness of the night that awaits.