All ghosts are naked. Clothes are a limitation of the physical body and once they leave said physical form they are all nude. Recently-deceased ghosts are the most bothered by it, but older ones who have been ghosts for centuries just don't care anymore.
tbh the only way Project Hail Mary makes sense to me logistically (they had to kidnap and jet a high school teacher to do a bunch of standard tests on astrophages instead of getting a nearest PHD student? they had an unlimited budget for the world-saving program but couldn't get a backup backup scientist? etc) is if for some reason Dr. Ryland is Stratt's problematic science blorbo, and she was like. if i AM to be saddled with the thankless and awful job of saving the world, and if i AM to be eventually scapegoated for it, by GOD my boy will be the one to do it. i want it.
A featureless room with a camera and a speaker in the corner. The red recording light blinking down at me.
Not far away, someone else stirred. Symboli Rudolf was slowly beginning to wake up.
"What the..." She sat up and rubbed her eyes, apparently just as confused as I was. She was wearing loose pants and a tank top that rode up just a little as she moved, giving me a glimpse at her WHY AM I FOCUSING ON THAT RIGHT NOW.
Suddenly, there was a crackle over the speaker, and a voice rang out. A very familiar voice.
"Ah, finally! It seems that both test subjects are awake! I was beginning to wonder if I ought to come in and check on you." Agnes Tachyon. The two of didn't talk much, but from what I knew about her, I guess this wasn't so surprising. "Symboli Rudolf-kun, Tokai Teio-kun, the experiment begins now."
When she said that, I sort of expected something to happen, but instead the speaker shut off, and that was that. Kaichou and I were left alone, with nothing but each other and the blinking red light on the camera to keep us company.
What could she want from us? She'd never paid either of us that much attention before. I knew she'd done some questionable things before, but always to Scarlet or Cafe or Pokke. ESPECIALLY Pokke. What was the point of locking us in a room? What was she hoping to achieve?!?
"Teio!" Kaichou's voice cut through my thoughts. "Breathe."
I realized I'd been hyperventilating, panicking as I tried to figure out what was going on. I took a deep, shuddering breath in.
"Good. Now breathe out." I did as she asked, breathing slowly, in and out. Slowly, I started to calm down. I was still stressed and scared and my leg was feeling pretty sore today, but at least I wasn't alone. Kaichou had me. It'd be alright. At some point she'd come over and sat down next to me on the floor, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close, gently running her fingers through my hair, past my ears. It felt... nice. "You're ok, Teio. It's ok. Just keep breathing for me. We'll figure this out."
Of course, that was easier said than done. How were we supposed to know what was being tested? I guess, given enough time, we could probably kick down the door, but we couldn't know that for sure. And even if we did manage it, how could we be sure Tachyon wouldn't just do something like this again in the future?
I was starting to panic again, but I cut those thoughts off and took another deep, steadying breath. That didn't matter right now. What mattered was the here and now. We could do this. Together.
As I began to truly calm down, I leaned into Kaichou's arms, letting her touch ground me. As I did, a hidden panel on the wall suddenly slid open, revealing a screen. The screen flashed for just a second, a bright green light.
Where the heck did Tachy get the budget for this?
I felt Kaichou jolt slightly with surprise, and on impulse, I reached behind me and patter her leg, trying to comfort her like she'd comforted me.
The screen flashed green again.
Did that mean...
Was that supposed to be a sign that we were doing something right? We were just comforting each other, and in this situation, why wouldn't we be? There's no way this was all Tachyon wanted, and yet...
"U-uhm, Tachyon-san, this seems... sorta elaborate." I wasn't really expecting her to answer, but I had to ask. "What kind of data are you even hoping for here?"
There was no response.
Kaichou and I stayed there, sitting together on the floor. She kept idly running her fingers through my hair, I stayed close to her, leaning back against her strong frame.
Eventually the screen stopped flashing green.
We sat in silence.
It flashed red.
"So what the heck do you want from us??" I tried, and failed, to keep the whine out of my voice. It just flashed red again. "Kaichou..."
I craned my neck up to look at her behind me, seeking comfort once again. In the corner of my eyes I saw the screen flash red again. It felt brighter, more piercing this time.
Rudolf tried to help me keep calm, and the two of us tried everything we could think of to make the screen turn green again, but it just flashed red, the color getting brighter, the screen flashing longer. The claustrophobia of the space was getting to us, and the complete lack of clarity on what we were supposed to do just kept getting more and more frustrating.
"Tachyon, that is enough! I've humored your little experiments for too long! Your concoctions were always odd, but largely harmless, this, however... this is a step too far!" Kaichou's voice was loud and angry and almost raspy. She sounded a lot more stressed about this than I realized. "Forced confinement like this is not only incredibly illegal, but clearly distressing to Teio! I will not allow you to treat my-! You... You can't treat her like this!"
The light stopped flashing red, but there was no green either.
"Kaichou... can you please stop yelling. It's not... it won't help." I twisted in her arms to face her, sitting awkwardly in her lap. Her eyes met mine with a level of concern and care I'd never seen before. "It's like you said, we'll figure this out."
Green.
"The light's flashed green three times, and it stopped flashing read when you said what you said... we just need to figure out what those things have in common."
Green.
"Four then... There was the time I leaned against you, again when I patted your leg, and twice just now when I-" I had a sudden realization. It was me. The light flashed green whenever I took an active role in comforting Kaichou. "Tachyon... can you flash the light green if I make a good guess about the... experiment or whatever this is?"
Green.
"You wanted me to comfort Kaichou, right?"
Green.
"But you haven't let us go, so there's gotta be more to it, right?"
Green again.
"Is there a reason you stopped with the red light when Kaichou said not to treat me like that?" Green. "And is there a reason you didn't flash green then?"
There was one more green flash.
"Kaichou... what were you about to call me?"
I'd been so distracted trying to puzzle out the solution, that I hadn't noticed that Kaichou wasn't looking at me anymore. She was staring directly at the floor, and she was blushing. There was a theory starting to build in my mind. I still had no clue why Tachyon would care about this, but it was the only idea I had.
"I think you need to tell me if we want to get out."
She mumbled something under her breath, my ears twitched, but I couldn't quite catch it.
"Kaichou..."
"Daughter..."
"E-eh?"
"I was going to call you... I was... you know, you've been hanging around me for a while now, and I've felt exceptionally proud to see you grow and succeed and overcome everything in your way. Apparently, part of me sees you like a daughter."
The light turned green and it stayed that way.
Hmph.
So that's how it was.
Part of me was happy. I wanted to be close to her, and I really did see her as my biggest role model, but even still, another part of me felt almost devastated. Part of me wanted something... not something more, but something different. Sitting here, like this, in her lap, her lips so close to mine.
I could even feel what was beneath those pajamas she was wearing.
I stood up, turning away from her, walking to the other side of the room. I wanted to reciprocate her feelings. I wanted to so bad, but how could I? Those other thoughts, those other feelings, they weren't the kind a daughter should have. If I was her daughter, if we saw our relationship that way, then we could never have anything else. To me, it was almost better to stew in unfulfilled yearning. At least then, the possibility would still be there.
"Teio..." The light had gone a deep red without me noticing. It could only mean one thing. Tachyon had figured out at least part of the feelings we'd been burying. She knew that Kaichou saw me as a daughter, and she knew that I admired her in a way that was deeper than just as her kouhai. She locked us in here to force us to be honest. For... some reason. "Teio, look at me."
Her voice was cracking. My rejection was hurting her. I didn't want that. I hated it more than anything in the world, but how was I supposed to turn around. How was I supposed to face her when what I wanted was impossible? When it would ruin everything? The relationship we had, her reputation, my dignity, it would all go up in smoke if I took what I wanted.
I wanted to be her daughter.
And I wanted...
I really wanted...
Goddesses I wanted her inside me so so so so bad.
I needed to get out of this room.
There was only one way out.
Why was there only one way out...
"Kaichou..." I turned to look at her. I can only imagine what kind of expression I had, what emotions had to be painted across my face. "I need you to promise you'll forget everything I'm about to say to you once we're out of here."
"Teio, that's- I'm certain that whatever you have to say, whatever feelings you're processing right now. It's not going to drive me away."
She was wrong and I knew it, but oh well.
"I think I see you the same way, like a mother..." She smiled. She probably thought that was all. It really, really wasn't. "But I also see you as someone I want to beat. Someone I want to topple. To overcome."
"I know, Teio, and that's fi-"
"Not just on the racecourse. I want... Kaichou, when I was sitting on your lap before, I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to pin you to the ground, and kiss you, and rip off that top, and, and then I wanted to start biting and kissing and licking and pulling your pants down and then... and then..."
I had lost myself in the fantasy, and as I spoke, I saw something happen. Kaichou was blushing again, her eyes were shining with some emotion I couldn't place, and looking down I could see.
Maybe it wasn't so hopeless after all.
The light turned green. The speaker crackled to life.
"Congratulations, my dear guinea pigs! This test was an exercise in honesty. I hope to see if relief from the feelings you've kept buried might improve your overall emotional state and improve your running in the future, the door is now unlocked, and you are free to go!"
Was someone saying something right now?
Maybe.
Kaichou's pants... did she wear any panties when she went to sleep? It didn't look like it. It'd be hard to tent her pajamas like that if she did, right?
I start walking back towards her, eyes laser focused on her crotch. Nothing else mattered. I couldn't think. Couldn't care. Kaichou was horny. She was horny for me. I did that. I made her feel that. With nothing but words.
"T-Teio..." She sounded kinda worried. Didn't know why. Tachyon was recording this, sure, but she wasn't the type to blackmail people without reason, right? Besides, even if Kaichou was older than me, even if she'd first met me when I was just a kid, it was fine now, right? We were both mature umas. "Teio, did you hear that? We can go."
Hmm...
Was that so?
Then why hadn't she left?
After she heard what I said, why hadn't she left? Why didn't she run away?
"Kaichou... M-Mommy..." Even with how stupid and horny I was feeling, that still felt like a lot to say. "If you don't want this, leave."
Her breath hitched. She stammered something, but I couldn't understand it.
"Mommy... if you don't want this, don't kneel."
I don't know where that came from. I don't know where I got that confidence, but it did something to her. Her legs crumpled beneath her, and she dropped to her knees.
I finished my slow walk over to her, put my hands on her shoulders, and pushed her back into a sitting position. Before I could second guess myself, I plopped down into her lap.
I could feel her beneath me, long and hard and perfect and everything I dreamed she would be. I gave an experimental little wiggle, and I could feel her twitch. She gasped sharply before she groaned out my name.
"Teio... this isn't... we shouldn't be doing this."
"Tell me to stop."
"Fffuck."
"Only if you want me to, Mommy."
I was drunk.
I mean, I'd never actually been drunk before, but this has to be what it was like. I felt powerful. Kaichou was so... pathetic beneath me. All it took was a little bit of teasing, and she was like putty. Could I have done this the whole time? I'd always wanted to. Was I the only thing holding myself back?
I leaned in and kissed her. It was sloppy and desperate, and for just a moment, it looked like she wasn't going to kiss back.
Then she grabbed me by the hair and pulled hard, her other hand slipping behind my back as she pressed our whole bodies together, as tight as she could. Her tongue forced its way past my lips. It was overwhelming. It was way way way way wayyyy too much. I'd kissed Mcqueen before, sure, but she'd been just as new to it as me. With Kaichou, with Mommy, she had years of experience and something way more pent up and desperate.
It was amazing.
I wanted to just let her take me.
I knew she wouldn't though.
At some point she'd get scared and back out. She was only brave enough to go this far because I'd been the one to start things. I had to keep going.
My hand slipped under her tank top, running up her abs before cupping her chest. I squeezed and pinched and twisted. There was no control, no finesse, I didn't have any idea what I was doing. I just needed to get her more riled up, more desperate, more forceful.
It worked.
Before I knew it, she'd pushed me off of her, tore off my panties, and had her beautiful perfect amazing cock lined up to my pussy, the tip leaking precum like a faucet. She was right there. She was RIGHT THERE. A flicker of doubt and fear flashed across her face.
"Mommy..." I sounded pathetic. Weak. Vulnerable. Needy. It was exactly what she needed. "Mommy please... please I need this."
Her fist clenched, her face got all scrunched up as she tried to work up the courage for what she was about to do.
"Tachyon!!" She shouted, she sounded feral. "You tell nobody about this, and I promise I'll keep quiet about the kidnapping, got it?!?"
There was no reply, but the recording light on the camera stopped blinking. Good enough, I guess. She looked back at me.
"You horny, manipulative little shit of a filly. My impulsive, stupid, talented daughter. Congrats. You win. Now take your fucking prize."
She wasn't slow or careful or gentle. She was pent up and angry and probably a little scared. She didn't have the energy to worry about me. One second there was nothing, and the next she'd pounded into me, stretching me as far as I could take.
It hurt. It really hurt, but at the same time, it was everything I'd been waiting for, from the moment I was accepted into Tracen. Every night, I'd dreamed of this. It hurt. I think I might've started crying. I was so so happy.
"I'm gonna start really moving now, Teio. I'm not gonna stop till I cum. You're gonna take it for me, right?"
Even with the pain and the tears, this was everything. I nodded.
"Y-yes Mommy."
"That's my good girl."
Slowly she pulled back, most of her length leaving my body, then she slammed into me again.
