Tsumi to Kai 38

Zen is having a dream where Hojo sits on her throne and demands that Zen stick his butt out even more for her. He asks her what she intends to do, and with an evil smile she says she is going to put her finger in all the way to the knuckle. He complains, but she says he has no right to refuse, because he's nothing more than just a fun toy.

He wakes up in distress, upset at the idea that that Hojo has no feelings of concern or fondness for him. He believes it is because of what Aoi had told him days earlier, when she said that Hojo told her he's nothing more than a diversion she loves to torture. He is still distressed having been digitally penetrated without his consent or preparation some days earlier by Hojo.

At school. the politician's son from the Student Council (Kousuke) tells Hojo he saw her go into the bathroom alone and decided to wait for her outside. Disinterested, she turns and walks away without saying a word while he yells for her to hold up a bit. Seeing her cold demeanor, he decides that she's actually quite vulnerable, and he goes behind her and grabs her hair. Pulling it up to his face, he compliments her aroma. In response to this, Hojo strikes him on his face, telling him to not touch her because he makes her sick. She threatens legal action should he ever violate her again. However, seeing her get so angry at him gets him excited, because he loves to see a beautiful face so twisted. As she walks away, he longs for her to show him more.

Later, Kousuke summons Risa. If you recall, Risa is his loyal servant whom he manipulates into doing his bidding because she is obsessed with him romantically. She apparently has kept him waiting for a while, before she eagerly calls out to him in an overly familiar way. Concerned, she asks him about the wound on his face. He changes the subject quickly, demanding she show him the pictures she had taken. She shows him several pictures of Zen, being characteristically uninteresting. She comments that he never speaks to classmates or does anything particular.  She says that he spends his free period by himself, and doesn't appear to have any friends.  Kousuke snidely remarks that he's very similar to Risa, in that respect, which seems to wound her. Regardless, he tells her that she no longer has to snoop on him anymore. Instead, he gives her a new target... Ayame Hojo! He commands her to find out what her weaknesses are. He then abruptly walks away. Risa, however, asks why she didn't get a 'reward' for helping him. He says that her pictures were so useless that she doesn't deserve a reward. Once again, she's wounded, but complies anyway.

She stalks Hojo around school. She notices Zen walk up and meekly approach Hojo.  The next scene, Hojo is standing behind Zen who is sitting on a toilet. He claims he just wanted to have a normal conversation with her, and asks why she can't just talk to him outside. She says that normal conversation would bore them. She commands him to fold his arms behind his back, and he politely complies. However, he is apparently troubled that she would consider normal conversation with him outside of shibari to be boring. He nervously tries to ask her what she had for breakfast that morning. She curtly answers that she didn't eat anything.  After that pathetic attempt at a normal conversation, Zen realizes that outside of her love for bondage, he knows nothing about her. But, he is consumed with anxiety about what she might think about him. He wants to get to know her better to find the answer.

He nervously asks her if for just one day she could let him be free from her ropes and go out with him on an off-day, telling her it's okay if she says no.  However, she agrees. However, she wants to continue having her fun for today, as she moves in to do whatever she had planned.

Outside, Risa is still stalking her. She wonders what the heck is taking her so long in the bathroom, as 40 minutes had passed since she went in. Just then, she sees Zen and Hojo walk out, talking about their date.  It seems waiting has paid off for Risa, as she has discovered something rather interesting.

End of Chapter