Act 2, Chapter 15: Edge Of The Earth

The clock struck 8 PM; the cozy, dimly lit apartment enveloped Sora Yamamoto and Mika Sato, who found themselves intertwined on the shared bed. The breeze of AC was chilling the room. The soft furred blanket was gently brushing over their bared bodies, simultaneously warming them.

Sora was staying in Mika's apartment; they often had sex every Friday afternoon after school. Mika clawed on Sora's shoulder, a sign of possessiveness. Despite his vulnerability, Sora's grip on Mika's back was also firm.

Their lips met in a tender dance, sending a surge of electrifying sparks. His chest was pressing against her; their nipples hardened on each rub. Their hips were thrusting together in rhythmic pleasures; his manhood was throbbing relentlessly. Some strands of her long wavy pink hair caressed Sora’s taut frame, tickling him in ecstasy.

Then, a warmth floods them both—a hot, slick release soaking through their crotches. It's relentless, marking them in a shared surrender. They were beyond caring, lost in a haze of warmth. Sora's soft moans mingled with Mika's ecstatic squeals.

"Cum... for... me..." Her moan, laced with bliss, elevated both to new heights like silken fur brushing their naked skin.

A tidal wave of pleasure crashed over both, binding their senses in a shared torrent beyond imagination. Warm fluids erupted for the second time in an endless cascade, shivering them in ecstasy. Sora’s groan slightly loudens, and so does Mika’s squeal of ecstasy.

They called each other names. Bound by a web of ecstasy, escaping the euphoria was inconceivable.

They gasped in unison, lying side-by-side after a forbidden bliss that left them breathless and connected. They glanced at each other, smiled, and softly laughed. Lastly, they sealed it with a lingering kiss.

Breathless, Sora felt a piercing pain in his manhood. "Ugh~. You're being too rough~. Mika-chan~."

Mika chuckled, glancing at his used condom. "Oh~. Man up, Sora-kun." She twitched his nipple and seductively smiled. "You’re cumming too fast~~~."

He picked up his vape beside the condom wrappers and sipped the smoke before releasing it. But something was nagging in his mind.

"There’s something that we never told to the other." His tone’s low and grave.

Mika furrowed one of her eyebrows, confused. "About what?"

Sora sighed. "Ren-Chan’s laryngeal cancer."

It silenced Mika. "Oh…" Her post-orgasm slowly dissipated into a concern. "What’s wrong with that?"

"You know… at that time…" The memory has taken him back to the 1st day of Sakuragawa’s high school entrance. "You ever said to Hiroki that she’s shy and prefers to text, right?" He glanced at Mika.

"Y-yeah?" She was curious, yet concerned.

Sora sighed and sipped the vape smoke before exhaling it. "That was a lie…"

"I know…" Mika nodded, her face slowly darkened. "But we don’t wanna scare our juniors with that."

Sora set aside his vape. "But…" His heart suddenly sank. "It doesn't matter how hard we hide it; someone might find it out."

"Why is that?" Mika was curious but worried.

Sora stood up from the bed, dressing up. "That might cause a bigger uproar."

Mika clenched the blanket, covering her bare chest. "What do you mean with an uproar?" She glanced at Sora. "You know that the rumor’s already spread, right?"

They knew it. A secret has a knack for revealing itself, no matter how hard they hide it.

"Yes…" Sora nodded, feeling it was useless. "But… this was just the beginning…"

Mika leaned in closer with increasing curiosity; the soft furred blanket caressed her bare skin. All the while Sora sat on her desk, typing on her laptop, she recalled the moment she met Ren Takahashi for the first time. Back when they were still in the first years.

"The first time I saw her. She was just your typical socially anxious girl." His tone was low and grave. "Always avoiding any contacts. And always keeps everything about her secret."

He remembered it. Ren’s signature dark and gloomy face. Rarely smiled and rarely talked.

"But that changed when I overheard someone play a piano piece with such precision in a music room." The classical piano pieces at that time were ringing in his ears. "And it turns out that person was her."

He remembered when he barged into the music room and caught her playing a piano. And it suddenly went awkward; both are freezing in their place.

He lightly chuckled. "I approach her with a compliment. But she turned away in no time."

Mika couldn’t help but chuckle at Sora’s elaboration.

"I wasn’t meant for something. Just… I like people with hidden talents that they have no chance to express in public." His clarification was melancholic. And he knew something was up. "And I don’t want her talents to get wasted for some shits."

He recalled when he chatted with her for the first time. It’s when he found her sitting on the vacant stairway during the lunch break, feasting on her bento at a slow speed, and her face was gloomy. And worse, she winced every time she swallowed her food.

"Maybe I’m being too pushy. But… I just want to know the answer." Sora’s gaze darkened.

He could picture it. His awkward laugh when sharing his passion with Ren, and the first time Ren lightly laughed.

He continued. "At that time, she refuses to answer my question about why I can't hear her."

The weight of Ren's revelation about her laryngeal cancer lingered heavily in his mind, etching a lasting imprint on his thoughts.

"Once we slowly got closer and closer, that’s when she spilled out the beans." He stopped typing; his gaze darkened. "It surprised me like hell. I was speechless and almost broke a tear."

Mika looked down; her bubbly enthusiasm was fading away.

"'But have you ever consulted a doctor for that?' That’s what I constantly ask her." He continued.

"Even so, she refuses to answer again." He finished, his glare melancholic.

Mika moved herself to sit on the side bed near her desk. Covering her naked body with the soft furred blanket.

"Maybe… She's been consulted many times, but they haven’t found a cure for her throat cancer yet." Melancholy seeped into her being, casting a shadow over her once-bright demeanor.

"The worst thing was every time she pushed herself. She often rushed to the bathroom and puked the hell outta there."

"But even if it’s not our fault, she's often pushing herself to the edge." She finished.

"Now that’s the problem." Sora pointed.

Mika remembered months ago when Ren rushed to the bathroom after the bombastic school club introduction performance as a Procorat keyboardist at the gym hall. I feel like… I shouldn’t belong here… Ren’s chilling whisper from months ago is still haunting her mind. It feels like a distant memory.

She glanced at Sora. "Not being mean, but… I don’t want to see a frail girl like her suddenly broken into pieces."

"I’ve heard from her parents; recently, she was undergoing daily medical check-ups to make sure her laryngeal cancer wasn't relapsing like previously." She finished.

Sora's body tensed, his eyes widening slightly. "Wait, did it get worse?"

"Unfortunately… yes…" Mika sighed, worry creeping in. "In fact, she will receive another chemotherapy during the summer break."

"But that’s…" Sora’s anxiety is creeping in.

"We know…" Mika nodded, helpless. "If things go south, we’ll find another temporary replacement."

But finding a temporary replacement for Procorat’s keyboardist was far from easy.

"But wouldn’t that be a problem for her?" Sora furrowed his eyebrow with worry.

"I don’t know…" She shrugged. "But… she’s more devoted to Procorat than us. She treated it like a lifeline."

"You know that most people are in a band for fun, right? She’s the exception." She finished.

Sora nodded. Yeah… it’s true. He knew this is what Ren was fighting for. Her social anxiety and her relapsing laryngeal cancer.

He closed the laptop, putting it in his school bag. "Anyway, it’s already late at night. I must—"

"Please, stay with me for just one night." Mika was grasping Sora’s right arm, seductively whimpering.

Sora groaned. "I don’t wanna make Ruka-chan mad for coming up late."

He tried to escape from her grasp, but she yanked it even more.

"Just say you’re staying in your friend’s house for an overtime job." She whimpered whilst seductively chuckling.

"Nah, it’s not gonna—"

But Mika suddenly yanked his right arm to put him back into her bed, grasping him with a gorilla grip that would shackle him for eternity. It doesn't matter how hard he denies it; her seduction is always crossing the line.

"Nope~! I’m not satisfied yet~!"

Sora was helpless again, but he was digging it nonetheless. This wasn’t their first time because they have been doing it for a year without getting caught at all.

But one question remained in Sora’s mind. What would Ren-Chan do with that?