Everyone was exhausted today... there weren't many people left on the deck.
Saeko entered the captain's quarters first.
Haruno crouched quietly by the door, waiting for the signal.
The door was left ajar.
Bright light shone through the crack, illuminating Haruno's lightly made-up face.
"Is it okay, Saeko? I remember you were injured, weren't you?" Makoto's voice came from within, accompanied by the sound of rustling.
"It's... it's okay... I, I can't control my feelings anymore... C-Commander, p-please, please love me hard... please... please... aaaah!"
"Shh… keep your voice down. You don't want your precious first time to be interrupted by others, do you?"
Makoto put his finger to Saeko's lips.
Saeko quickly covered her mouth but began to move on her own.
Although she didn't mind how many women Makoto had, when it came to her own first time, she naturally wanted to enjoy a private moment with her man.
Saeko's stamina for her first time was, of course, limited.
But if you were to rank the performance of all of Makoto's female companions on their first time, Saeko could even go fifty-fifty with Reze… both wanted to take the lead even on their first try.
However, Reze's came from years of hellish training that built up her physical fitness.
Saeko's came purely from being a crazed fangirl.
If you can't satisfy your man, how can you call yourself a qualified wife?
But intentions aside, strength was another matter.
After more than half an hour of hard struggle, she still passed out.
In her final moments before losing consciousness, Saeko gestured towards the door.
"...It's your turn now."
When Saeko's signal slipped through the crack in the door, Haruno had already been crouching there for nearly forty minutes.
Her legs were a bit numb, but she didn't dare stand up, afraid of making noise.
When she noticed Saeko's look, Haruno's heart suddenly started racing.
She knew it was her turn.
She took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open.
The light in the captain's quarters was much brighter than in the corridor. Haruno instinctively squinted.
Saeko was already asleep, lying on her side on the sofa nearby, Makoto having placed her there. Her cheeks still held a trace of flush.
He had just covered her with a light blanket and then sat back in his office chair, his shirt collar open. He didn't look satisfied.
Haruno didn't hesitate. She walked straight in.
"What are you doing here?" Makoto's gaze held a lazy scrutiny.
Even with his casual tone, it still made Haruno feel a chilling nonchalance run down her spine.
Haruno didn't speak.
She lowered her eyelids, and her fingers went to the first button of her collar.
One button. Two. Three.
Her outer coat slid off, followed by her inner layer.
She wasn't fast, but she didn't pause either, as if completing something long rehearsed.
When her blouse came off, the light from the corridor just caught the line of her collarbone.
"I asked you a question." Makoto's voice was still unhurried, but carried a hint of impatience.
Haruno finally stopped. She looked up, meeting his eyes.
Her lips trembled slightly, but her voice was steady: "Saeko-san couldn't hold out anymore... I'm here to take over for her."
"Take over?" Makoto scoffed, shaking his head. "When did I say I wanted it?"
Haruno froze.
She stood in the middle of the room, wearing only a thin camisole on top, her arms unconsciously wrapping around her waist.
"I..." She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
She had considered many possibilities.
That Makoto might push her onto the desk, might make her kneel, might be as rough as with a whore, might make her, a virgin, perform some difficult maneuvers.
She was prepared. She had even rehearsed her reactions over and over these past few days.
But she had never considered that he would say, "No thanks."
"Wh... why?" Haruno's voice finally cracked.
She took a step forward, then another, until she was standing right in front of Makoto.
She crouched down, making her line of sight lower than his, and looked up at him.
"I... I thought I had earned your approval..."
Makoto looked down at her, his eyes utterly devoid of emotion.
"Haruno, do you know what kind of image you have in my eyes?"
"The same as Hayama Hayato had in yours."
He reached out, not to touch her, but to pick up the teacup on the table and take a sip.
Haruno's pupils contracted slightly.
Makoto put down the teacup: "Indeed, I found your circus act, tricking Hayama last time, quite amusing."
"But it's just that. To me, your act is like a dog shaking hands. It does make me like you a little bit, but just because you find a hand-shaking dog fun, doesn't mean you want to sleep with it, right?"
He looked at her, half-smiling.
"Isn't that the same mindset you have when you usually play with those high school kids?"
Haruno bit her lip, her whole body trembling.
Not from fear, but because… he was right about everything.
That was exactly what she thought.
Growing up, Hayato tried every possible way to simp for her, and Haruno did occasionally show him kindness.
But that was absolutely not love or romantic attraction.
She simply thought this little dog's performance was pretty good, so she smiled at him.
Giving him a bone was the limit. How could she ever think of having that kind of relationship with him?
But Haruno never expected the same thing to happen to her.
"Everything... you said is right." Haruno took a deep breath, her voice a little hoarse. "But so what? I don't want anything from you. And you need—"
"Need you to help me relieve myself?" Makoto finished her sentence.
Haruno's face turned bright red.
"You're quite interesting." Makoto stood up, walked past her, and went to the window. "Hayama Hayato was your simp for over ten years. When he died, he didn't even have a proper urn. You used a milk powder can for his ashes and almost threw it away."
Haruno's body froze.
"Now you're simping for me. I tell you I'm not interested, and you're still so persistent." Makoto stretched his neck.
"Don't worry. I'm just not interested in sleeping with you sisters. I'm not going to kill you. You don't have to simp for me like this."
In the end, Makoto simply wasn't interested in this pair of comprehensive anime workhorse sisters… it wasn't dislike, disgust, or hatred.
But the words 'not interested' hurt Haruno more than any venomous curse.
Just like Yukino, who had been ignored by Makoto several times before.
She would rather Makoto mock her than be ignored.
Haruno sat on the floor, suddenly feeling like something was stuck in her throat.
She thought of Hayato.
That man who had followed her since childhood, that boy who would always smile and call 'Haruno-san, Haruno-san', that man who ate the Devil Fruit when she told him to, who made a fool of himself in public when she wanted.
She thought he was pathetic back then.
Just a simp.
And now?
Now she was kneeling here, disheveled, begging a man to 'have' her.
A man who wouldn't even look at her.
Haruno suddenly understood something.
She finally understood Hayato.
Understood why he kept coming back, even knowing it was impossible, knowing he would be humiliated.
Because of unwillingness.
Because giving up without trying was even harder than being rejected.
"Please." Haruno heard her own voice, dry and hoarse, carrying a humility that even she found strange.
"...Have me... I just... just want to..."
She couldn't finish.
Because she didn't know what she wanted either.
Makoto looked at her.
That look was exactly the same as the one she had given Hayato back then.
He walked to the desk, picked up the Den Den Mushi, and dialed a number.
Haruno's heart sank.
"...Hello?" A woman's voice came from the other end, tinged with fatigue.
"Ayano," Makoto's voice suddenly became a bit gentler. "Come to the captain's quarters."
"...Now?"
"Yeah, something's come up."
The call ended.
Haruno knelt in place, her whole body cold.
Of course, she recognized that voice.
It was her mother.
…
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Mrs. Yukinoshita entered, wearing a nightgown she had just bought in this world, her hair casually loose, a hint of confusion on her face.
Then she saw the scene in the room—
Saeko asleep on the sofa, covered with a light blanket.
Makoto leaning against the desk, his shirt collar open, his expression calm.
And her eldest daughter, Haruno, kneeling on the carpet in only her underwear, her eyes red, tear tracks staining her face.
"What's going on here?" Mrs. Yukinoshita's voice was very calm, but Haruno could hear the suppressed anger within.
Makoto tilted his chin: "Take your daughter back."
Just that simple sentence. No tattling, no sarcasm, not even an extra explanation.
Mrs. Yukinoshita looked at Makoto, then at her daughter. Her expression changed several times.
Then she walked over.
Smack.
A slap landed on Haruno's face.
The crisp sound echoed in the captain's quarters, even making the sleeping Saeko frown.
"Go back." Mrs. Yukinoshita's voice was icy. "Don't make a scene."
Haruno covered her face, her lips trembling, tears finally rolling down uncontrollably.
She opened her mouth to say something, but meeting her mother's cold eyes, swallowed all her words.
Makoto propped his head on his hand, raising an eyebrow.
Haruno bit her lip, picked up her clothes from the floor, and staggered to her feet.
She didn't leave immediately. She stood there, like a cat abandoned by its owner, still holding onto an unrealistic hope.
But Makoto didn't look at her again.
Then, a scene that completely shattered Haruno occurred.
Mrs. Yukinoshita knelt down.
Right in front of Makoto, just like Saeko had, but her posture was more composed, more natural.
"Makoto-kun," Her voice softened. "You've had a long day too. Let me take care of it for you."
Haruno's eyes widened.
She knew about her mother's relationship with Makoto, but she never expected that, even in this situation, her mother would be so eager to please this man.
"No need." Makoto shook his head. "You've done a lot today. Don't push yourself. Go back and rest."
He meant it.
Although the MILFs hadn't gone to battle, during the fierce fight, they had been responsible for logistics like bandaging, cooking, and buying supplies. They were also exhausted.
But Mrs. Yukinoshita didn't get up.
"It's okay." Her voice was very soft.
Then she reached out and began to undo Makoto's belt.
Haruno stood frozen, her legs feeling like lead.
Mrs. Yukinoshita suddenly turned her head and glared fiercely at her.
That look said two words loud and clear—
Get lost.
Haruno finally moved.
Clutching her clothes, like a stray dog kicked out of its home, she stumbled out of the captain's quarters.
The door closed behind her.
The corridor was very quiet.
Haruno slowly slid down the wall, burying her face in her knees.
She suddenly thought of Hayato.
That man she could summon and dismiss at will, who had died saving her, whose ashes she almost threw away.
Back then, Yu, the Teddy Devil, and others had all laughed at Hayato for being a simp.
And now?
She knelt before Makoto, and he wouldn't even look at her.
Her mother knelt before Makoto, and found her in the way.
It was just as the saying goes—
Your goddess, my simp.