Mariko and Rie both walked in, carrying trays of dinner.
"I hope we're not intruding?" Rie asked.
"Not at all," I said, momentarily having trouble summoning the words.
Mariko said something quietly to Rie in Japanese. Rie listened and then translated.
"Mariko says she's sorry she never had a chance to give you that lesson with the espresso machine."
Then, speaking for both of them, she continued. "We understand that you leave here in the morning."
"It's true, unfortunately," I said, in a sort of verbal stumbling process.
"The time at the Choto Temple for both of us is up today," Rie interjected, gesturing toward herself and Mariko. "Maybe we'll all be on the same train tomorrow."
It was barely possible to think about food with both of these very beautiful women freely giving me their undivided attention. Especially when I considered what they had both been through til now - if this was the last day of their service.
I did manage to sit down and take a bite of a rice ball, however. And these two models of Japanese femininity very elegantly did the same.
"What are you two doing when you leave here?" I asked them both.
Rie said something to Mariko in Japanese, who said something in reply.
"Mariko is heading back to her flat in Tokyo."
Then Rie spoke for herself. "I'm going to stay here."
I knew that some women opted to do just that. But hearing someone say it in person was shocking.
It's just hard to imagine giving up control of a vital part of your body for two or three days. Let alone a total of six weeks or so. Definitely takes all kinds.
"May I ask you a somewhat invasive personal question?" I ventured, as boldly as I could.
Rie translated. They looked at each other briefly before both nodding in the affirmative.
"Has either one of you had an orgasm since you got here weeks ago?"
"No," they both replied.
I noticed that Rie seemed completely unfazed by the question, whereas Mariko looked a bit sheepish after answering Rie's translated question. I nonetheless pursued my line of inquiry.
"Mariko, are you looking forward to having an orgasm?"
Rie translated Mariko's quiet reply.
"She says she is."
"And Rie," I said, looking toward her spotless, painted face, "you're just going back into the Temple, and continuing to abstain from orgasms?"
"Well, Danu-san," Rie said thoughtfully, clasping her hands together in a way that reminded me somehow of a librarian explaining something to a kid, "it's not necessarily quite so simple."
Mariko smiled sheepishly as Rie continued.
"I don't know how much you know about the Choto Temple. Are you familiar with the Device?"
"Yes," I replied. "I haven't actually seen one, though."
Rie stood up and walked a step closer to where I was seated at the table. She stood beside me, legs about a foot apart. With one hand she lifted up her dress. With the other hand, she then pulled down her panties. Thus revealing a compact little cup-shaped thing that was very snugly up against her body, entirely covering her clitoris.
With her shaved hair it was easy to see the two piercings on either side of her clit that the thing attached to.
As I was closely inspecting her genital area, I noticed that Mariko had her hand covering her mouth. Rie suddenly revealing her Device to me like that may have taken Mariko by surprise. Particularly if she hadn't followed the brief English conversation that preceded this move.
Standing there, holding her dress and panties open, Rie spoke calmly, looking straight into my eyes.
"This is what they look like," she said. "You may touch it if you like, Danu-san."
I did. The material was hard, but had a little bit of give to it. Kind of like the material around the climbing structures in some of the more modern children's playgrounds. I brushed up against her flesh around it. It seemed very warm and inviting. But I pulled my hand back.
Rie let her panties close. She let go of her dress, which fell back down around her thighs. Then she sat back down in her seat across from me.
"So," Rie went on, "at the end of a cycle, we're supposed to be on our own for three days.
"Even if we're planning on returning to the Temple, we have control over our Devices during those three days. So whether we come or not is up to us.
"Which makes the whole thing far more challenging. Even for a very dedicated Choto girl." She paused. "Like me," she added.
The way she looked at me when she said those last two words sent chills up and down my spine, and all the way into my fingers.
"Well are you planning on coming during those three days?" I asked.
She looked down momentarily, then looked up, before once again meeting my eyes.
"No," she said.
Then, as if she doubted her own words a little, and perhaps felt a need to emphasize her commitment, she added, "I'm not.
"However," she said, "that question aside, we thought we'd let you have control over such decisions for this evening. Perhaps it would be useful for your research."
She was playing with me, on some level, it felt like. Are there men in the world who would not feel impossibly compelled to accept such an offer? I couldn't imagine.
But I played along with the theme. It was a fun one.
"For research purposes, yes," I said, trying to adopt a stereotypically professional tone.
I realized this was a situation where I had absolutely no idea what to do, but where I had to think of something. Which made thinking of anything even harder.
"OK, I'll be the director, then," I said with all the confidence I could muster.
At that, Rie handed me a small, circular black object, about the size of a nickel.
Seeing Rie do that, Mariko reached into her bag and withdrew an identical little black thing, and handed it to me as well.
"What are these?" I asked.
As I did, I looked closely at them, and noticed each had a name engraved in it - Rie and Mariko.
"They're buttons," Mariko explained quietly. "Right now each one is set to release our Devices if you press it three times."
What did I want to do, now that I was confronted with this unexpectedly delightful situation?
I had no fucking idea. I tried to remember fantasies I had, back when I had a more active mind for that sort of thing, and I was drawing a blank.
Contrast, I thought. The one word came to mind. Treat them differently. Different tasks.
They looked very different anyway. Mariko with her flowing elegance and generous breasts. Rie with her petite, highly managed Lolita getup. And apparently extreme Choto girl discipline.
"Well, if I'm directing," I said, "then I think you should both remove some clothing and lay down side by side on the futon."