2 weeks pass. Dakota gets up even earlier than he has been. He has a friend he wants to catch up to, and someone he wants to improve himself for, just as much as himself.
Everything has been great so far, but he still has his worries.
Dakota: "It's been months since we've seen Chifuyu."
Erika: "I know. I want to see him soon."
Dakota and Erika stayed in class reminiscing while everyone else had already left the room.
Dakota: "This still all feels surreal. Our lives actually changed. Chifuyu more than ours."
Erika: "I hope he's doing fine. Knowing Chifuyu though, I'm sure he's great."
Dakota: "Yeah, there might not be anyone besides Chifuyu who could turn into a vampire and keep being as strong as he always is."
Erika: "There's nobody like him."
?: "Excuse me?"
Someone just spoke, but to Dakota and Erika it sounded like glass just shattered. Their faces drop and it feels like their hearts just sunk to the bottom of their stomach. They slowly turn their heads to see a student still in the class with them.
Dakota: "E-Erika… I could've sworn it was just us in here..."
Erika: "D-Dakota… I thought so too…"
?: "I came back because I forgot something."
Dakota: "Without making any noise?! Plus, we would've heard the door opening too!"
?: "Let's backtrack to what you just said. Someone you know turned into a vampire?"
Dakota turns his head to the side and throws his arms up in a shrug: "What in tarnation are you talking about?"
?: "Don't play dumb. You said his name was Chifuyu. I have some connections. So I could either find out myself and spread a rumor around the school or you can just tell me."
The girl who overheard them is giving an empty threat. She does indeed have connections, but she isn't petty enough to spread rumors or tell anyone else an obvious secret.
Erika: "Dakota…" she shakes her accomplice's shoulders with a face saying what should we do.
Dakota: "I'll tell you. But please don't tell anyone. I'll do whatever you want. So please."
?: "Whatever I want?"
Dakota: "Yes!" As those words left his mouth, he realized he had just signed a death contract.
?: "Very well. I agree to your terms. Now let's hear all the juicy details."
Dakota puts his hands over his face: 'I might've just made the worst mistake of my life.'
***
?: "Wow, that's quite the story."
Dakota: "You were so curious but you don't even look that surprised."
?: "Maybe you're just a bad storyteller."
Dakota bawls his fist where she can't see it: 'I hate this chick.'
?: "Well then. I'll keep your secret. The girl is fine, but you sir will be my dog until I have no more use for you."
Dakota takes a deep breath and just looks down smiling. He's accepted his fate.
?: "You will address me as ma'am. Now, give me your contact information. You must respond to my texts at a moment's notice. Fail to do that, and you know what happens, right?"
Dakota: "Yes…"
?: "Hm?"
Dakota: "…Ma'am."
?: "Very good."
Dakota: "What should I save your name as, ma'am?"
?: "Master. And I will save yours as dog."
Erika: "I think I'll head out… Bye Dakota." She waves apologetically.
A tear runs down Dakota's face: 'I've been abandoned.'
?: "For your first order, you must massage my shoulders. Do you have experience massaging?"
Dakota: "No, ma'am."
?: "Hmph. Try your hardest so I don't feel any displeasure."
Dakota: "Yes, ma'am." He uses every fiber of his being not to bite his tongue off.
As commanded, he gives the girl a massage. As each second passes, he feels his pride and dignity being cut away.
Dakota: "If you don't mind, ma'am. May I ask your name?"
?: "Hm. Since you asked so nicely. Sure my sweet little dog. My name is Shinatsu."
Dakota: "That's a wonderful name, ma'am. What about your last name?"
Shinatsu: "I'm not too fond of it."
Dakota: "Oh please. I'm sure it's just as nice as your given name."
Shinatsu: "Not by a long shot. But it's Boreas. Are you satisfied now?"
Dakota: "Yes, ma'am!" 'Shinatsu Boreas, huh? Your name's going right in my death note.'
Shinatsu: "My feet are feeling a bit sore."
Dakota: 'She wouldn't...'
Shinatsu: "On your knees, dog."
Reluctantly, Dakota gets down on one knee, his eyes blacked out with feelings unconveyable to man. Shinatsu slips his shoes off and points her feet towards Dakota.
Shinatsu: "Massage them."
***
Dakota's Pov
If someone ever asked me what the worst possible day in my life was, I'd probably say yesterday. And if someone asked me what the second worst day was, I'd probably say today. Because if there's one thing I've learned in the last 24 hours, it's that when you get blackmailed by a sadistic girl who knows a secret nobody is supposed to know, every day is automatically the worst day of your life.
I have 4 classes with the devil. I signed my soul away in our last period. Now we have History and Practical Lessons left. To make matters worse, Austin, Esmarie, and REMI are also in this class. I'm not even sitting next to Erika anymore, I've been forced to sit next to Lady Satan. If she makes me do anything so embarrassing that I can't show my face around here anymore, I might have to kill her. Then kill myself. Make it look like a double suicide of lovers who the world didn't want to see together, so they tragically took their lives.
Anyway, 4th period went by and she surprisingly didn't make any demands. She looked pretty focused, guess she takes her studies seriously. As soon as the bell rang though, she ordered me to get black coffee immediately. And if it wasn't hot, I'd have to run around school in my boxers professing my love to the girl I liked. That was absolutely not happening. I sprinted to get it and returned breathless.
Next was mathematics.
Shinatsu moved right beside me, close enough for her whisper to haunt my every calculation.
Shinatsu: "Dakota, answer number seven for me."
Dakota: "I can't, ma'am. The teacher's watching."
Shinatsu: "Do it anyway. That's an order."
Dakota: "This is academic terrorism."
Shinatsu: "Then you'd better commit it elegantly."
I sighed, scribbled down the answer, and discreetly slid my notebook back toward her.
Shinatsu smiled faintly, jotting it down, even though she definitely knew the answer: "Good boy," she whispered.
Dakota: "Please don't say that, ma'am."
Shinatsu: "Would you prefer pet?"
Dakota: "I'd prefer freedom."
Lastly, were practicals. Of course, we paired up.
Shinatsu: "You hold yourself so different when you have a sword in hand. When you don't, you're as stiff as a wooden plank. We're going to train."
Dakota: "Training for what? Servitude?"
Shinatsu: "Everyday posture, I refuse to be seen with someone who slouches like a wilted tree."
She moved gracefully, every swing precise, hair glinting in the sunset. I couldn't help but compliment her in my head. As for me, I was literally doing reps of standing up straight as everyone practiced sparring. Emelio Sensei didn't even care, he just laughed and went on to observe the others.
Shinatsu: "Back straighter," she said, adjusting my shoulders.
I nearly jumped at the sudden contact.
Dakota: "Y-you don't have to…"
Shinatsu: "Do you want to embarrass me in public?"
Dakota: "…No, Ma'am."
The whole class looked at us with bewildered faces.
Shinatsu's satisfied smile was annoyingly smug: "Good. You're improving."
I wasn't sure if she meant my posture or my obedience.
The weekend arrived. I thought maybe, maybe I'd get some rest.
I was wrong.
My phone buzzed.
Shinatsu: I'm outside the dorms. I require an escort.
Dakota: I'm about to brush my teeth, ma'am.
Shinatsu: Do it as you escort me.
Dakota: This is harassment.
Shinatsu: This is an order.
I wasn't going to skip brushing my teeth so I had to do it in less than a minute and quickly run down. Most of the day passed, I was trailing behind her through the shopping district, holding several bags of clothes she didn't want to carry.
Dakota: "Did you have to make me do this, ma'am?" I asked, barely managing to keep up.
Shinatsu: "It's lonely shopping alone."
That answer threw me off. For a second, I thought I heard sincerity in her voice. Then she turned, smirking.
Shinatsu: "But yes. You were necessary for this, you're useful for holding things."
Never mind.
Shinatsu: "Smile. You're making people think I kidnapped you."
Dakota: "You did."
Monday.
Back to hell.
First period, literature class. She passed me a note.
"You will read the next line of the text aloud dramatically."
I glanced at the teacher. "No way."
She pointed at her phone, open to a picture she took as I was massaging her feet. Even more blackmail material.
I clenched my jaw and stood.
Dakota: "Ahem. 'And thus, the noble Hunter set his heart ablaze with passion like the rising sun!'"
The class was dead silent.
The teacher blinked: "…Thank you, Dakota. Please… sit down."
From behind me, I heard Remi's soft laughter.
I wanted to melt into my desk.
This cannot go on any longer, it's time for a counterattack.