The selection was only a few days away. It wasn't the only thing that Val was thinking about, but it occupied a significant portion of her idle thoughts. Suffice it to say, she was excited to be getting her BSI modified. Miguel was actually the first to be scheduled for surgery to receive a BSI, but decided against going the automated process that was typical for Voracity residents, so his surgery was still a week away. It was to be done by a small group of Human Purists and trusted allies who all needed to be gathered, and equipment moved into the Atrium. Since Val's BSI wasn't going to require an invasive surgery, she was able to get an appointment much sooner. Luci was still hesitant about getting connected hers connected, so Val bravely volunteered to be the guinea pig.

Since Rosa had disappeared a few days prior, everyone was concerned about Miguel. He was no longer allowed to spend a moment alone, save for trips to the bathroom. Luci became a sentinel that stood outside his door, gripping her rifle with a stare more intimidating than any other on the planet. Val also chipped in, being his company the entire time. She did her best to keep him distracted and make sure his mind was occupied. Though her methods may have been objectionable to many, they were nonetheless effective, and Miguel was eager to participate. Val did have boundaries, however, and she looked forward to when those boundaries could be crossed by diving into the digital debauchery that was the Voracity Net.

Finally, the time had arrived. After taking a thorough shower, focusing as much as she could on making sure her interface ports and casing were as clean as possible, Val donned a dress with a plunging back that Dinara had given her to allow them unobstructed access to her interface. Since Val's ports didn't go any lower than the base of her skull, she was convinced that the dress was more for ogling purposes than anything. She didn't mind. She would have done it nude in a heartbeat.

When she arrived at the tech lab, she was delighted to see J standing among the rest of the group that would be working on her. Val couldn't help but greet J with a warm hug. J wasn't quite expecting it, but didn't try and fight it.

"J! I'm so glad you could make it!" Val said as she hugged the girl.

"Uh... yeah..." J, being a head shorter, was pressed against Val's chest. "Of course I made it, even if it did require being black-bagged all the way down here." J was finally let go, but the warmth from Val's soft chest lingered in her cheek. "For a chance to look at the first tech from the Milky Way in 50 years? I would literally kill for that."

"You, and a lot of other people, and maybe Oracle too," Dinara said, "which is why I trust that you haven't said a word about this to anyone, yes?"

"Of course not! Are you kidding? Do I look like a rookie to you?"

Dinara said nothing as she stared at the girl, not even a third of her age. Val went to each of the other four specialists that were going to be joining them and introduced herself with a polite handshake. They were already dressed in their cleanroom gear, including display masks that obscured their real faces. They were brief in their interaction with Val, though she could tell they carried as much excitement as concern. They had opted to keep their identities a secret, realizing the gravity of the situation, and choosing to get involved as little as humanly possible.

Shortly after Val's arrival, Dinara was gathering everyone to start moving toward the clean room when Kit rushed through the entrance and met up with the group with panted breaths.

"Really?" Dinara said. "C'mon, Kit, seven's a crowd."

"Hell yeah, I'm not missing this!" Kit said excitedly. "Just point me toward some of those slick pj's and I'll be ready in no time."

"There won't be any room for you to get a good look. You could see better from the gallery."

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't hear you guys talking about all the technical shit."

"Are you pretty versed in the lingo?" J asked. "I'm pretty sure tech reviews wasn't ever your thing."

"Nonsense. I don't need to know the lingo, but viewers will eviscerate me if I miss out on those details."

"None of your readership will really care about this stuff either. Wouldn't all the jargon just weigh an article down?"

"What article?" Kit said with a laugh. "Fuck that, this is for an award-winning docu-series, and I've gotta have some shots and audio for that."

"Unless you've got something to contribute to the modification process, you can watch from the outside."

"What about me?" J spoke up. "I could record it and give it to him."

"I uh... I don't know..." Din looked at J with reasonable skepticism. "I've asked you to keep your BSI off completely while you're here, I can only hope that you are doing that."

"C'mon, Dinara," Kit said, "I've known J for a few years now. Her in-group might be a little fucky, but I've never known J to be dishonest or untrustworthy. I'll vouch for her, if it makes you feel any better." Kit gave J a friendly wink, making her smile and blush. Din made some strained indecisive noises before Kit continued, "besides, you know about people her age. Telling them not to do something is a great way of getting them to do it anyway, just without telling you." As Kit spoke, J's expression of warmth instantly turned to that of horror.

"Kit! No!" She shouted. "Din, no, I promise I won't record anything if you don't want me to." J was nearly begging to be forgiven for something she hadn't even considered doing. She knew this was an extremely delicate situation. Din could see the honesty and determination in the girl's face.

"Fine," Din said toward J, "You can record your view, but make sure your wireless communications are completely off, you hear me?"

The girl's face lit up again. She wanted to hug Dinara, but opted to remain as professional as she could with an affirmative nod.

"I still want to be in the room," Kit said. Both Din and J looked at him, Din with disbelief, and J with fury.

"Fine, Kit," Din said, rolling her eyes, "but you're staying in the corner, out of the way."

"And you're not going to say one fucking word," J took over with a much more threatening tone. "If I hear one god damned sound come out of your stupid mouth, I'm going to fry every last synapse until all your grey matter is as black as coal." J's threat was punctuated with a pointed finger in Kit's face.

"Jesus Christ, J!" Kit said, cowering in genuine fear. The rest of the group looked at each other, concerned about whether she was actually capable of doing such a thing. Kit continued, "Yeah, you won't hear a peep from me!"

With that settled, Kit went off to get dressed and the group guided Val into the clean room. It looked much like a mechanic's garage, but all of the tools were very clean and neatly organized on waist-high instrument stands. Several of the stands circled around what was not quite an operating table.

"Sorry about the table," Din said, "I was trying to get a proper surgery table in here, but I'm afraid you're going to have to settle for a massage table."

"You should have bought me a drink first!" Val laughed.

"Surely, you jest, but..." Dinara walked over to a refrigerated cabinet in the corner and retrieved a bottle of clear alcohol and a shot glass. "I've got a little sedative here to help you relax."

"Yes, please! That would be wonderful!" Val said with a wide smile. Din poured her a shot and handed it to her.

"I'd have a drink with you, but, you know."

"Thank you," Val said, taking the glass. "To a successful upgrade!"

"Cheers!" Din clinked the side of the bottle to the shot glass and Val drank.

The Voracian vodka burned her throat, making her cough. It wasn't the first time Val had alcohol, but close to it. She'd had just enough previously to be able to tell the difference in taste versus the popular brands back in the Milky Way, with the Voracian variety having a much sweeter taste. After a moment of wishing she had a chaser, she held out the glass to get another shot. Dinara happily obliged. Just as she was filling the glass, Kit walked into the room.

"Oh! Can I have some?" He said from behind his mask.

"It's for the patient only, sorry Kit," Din said, "We'll have a drink after if everything goes well."

Kit let out a disgruntled groan before finding the most comfortable corner and crossing his arms like an upset child. After Val took her second shot, she climbed onto the massage table, placing her face in the hole and flipping her hair to the side, clearing the way for access to her BSI. The mechanics all stepped to their places around Val and took some time to look over the tools in their vicinity. After a couple of minutes, Din spoke.

"Alright, everyone ready?" She said. The group nodded. "J, you recording?" Din said, and J nodded. "Okay, here we go."

Val felt a gloved hand at the base of her skull, and another on the base of her neck, on either side of her interface.

"At first glance, it looks like most of our tools are the same that they still use back in the Milky Way. That's good. Let's get the plate off and take a look inside."

As Din, J, and their associates opened up Val's BSI input hub, Val laid motionless on the table and let them tinker around with her hardware, only millimeters from her spinal column. Val wasn't concerned, but rather excited to be receiving this much attention.

The procedure itself didn't require too much modification. All they really needed to do was change out her wireless transmitter to work with the local network and install a new physical input, but they needed to identify the circuitry first. They were overjoyed to see everything neatly labeled and with only minor difference to Voracian standards. They took more time than they needed, mostly to take an in-depth look at how different the tech was in the Milky Way after a half-century of separation.

By the time they were finished, Val had fallen asleep. Din roused her to consciousness with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder and calling out her name.

"Alright, Val, we're done," Din said.

Without another word, Val immediately turned on her BSI and attempted a connection to the Atrium's intranet, to which she was met with an error. Din continued.

"All we need to do now is update your firmware." She held out a small data stick and Val took it, then tried to insert it into her hub, but quickly found difficulty trying to slot it in.

She remembered how difficult it was to learn to slot things into the back of her neck when she first received her implant. Val grunted in frustration. Din laughed at her impatience, then grabbed her hand, and guided her fingers over the new slot where Val was able to manipulate the stick inside.

"I had J partition that stick to work with a few different pre-Voracian filing systems. Hopefully, one of them works. Just run whatever program your BSI identifies, and it should start the update."

"Thanks, Din," Val said, already having started the update before she finished speaking. She then turned to J, standing silently nearby, but watching intently. "You too, J!" Val said, then pulled J in for a hug. Again, the girl was surprised but didn't object. As soon as the update was complete, Val's Interface rebooted, and she was instantly able to find the Atrium's intranet. Simply connecting to the network was a shot of dopamine straight to Val's brain. She immediately began browsing the web, searching and downloading content she had found previously.

"Aaaaand she's gone!" Kit said, looking at her suddenly motionless body. "I guess it worked!"

"It appears so!" J said with a laugh. She started walking around Val, observing how still and disconnected she was. "Amazing."

"Hmm... I guess she really missed it," Din said.

"They only landed about a week ago... right?" Kit asked.

"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to spend a day without it," J said. Kit responded with shrugged shoulders.

"It's really that addictive?" Dinara said. Nobody answered her. "Well, shit, every time I start regretting not getting one, I find another reason to be glad I didn't."

"Do you think she wants a chair or something?" Kit asked. J went to poke her arm to see just how disconnected she was when Val grabbed her hand.

"Let's go to the surface!" She said with a wide smile. "Could you help me set up an identity?"

"Uhh..." J looked at Din.

"Slow your roll there, princess," Din said. "I don't think it's such a good idea jumping in headfirst."

"Who's jumping in headfirst?" Val said. "We've been discussing this for a few days, and I thought we already decided it was safer to get connected than not."

"I suppose that's true."

"Is there anything else I should know? Do I need to study for the self-awareness test?"

Dinara and J laughed. The self-awareness test that is administered before a BSI implant is notoriously easy for the vast majority of children by the age of five. Saying someone needed to practice for the test was a common school-yard insult that, while being insensitive toward the developmentally delayed and neurodivergent, was more directed toward the absurdity of studying for a largely reactionary test.

"No, no," Din said, "it's not that kind of test, and you would have done that before opting into surgery for the implant. I just want to go over your identity, it's ready to be uploaded as soon as you connect to Voracity's network for the first time. That file's on the stick too, if you haven't seen it. Move that over onto your local memory if you haven't already."

"Okay, my name's Valeria Morales, which is true, I'm twentyyyy.... uhh... eight? Which I think is true too... and I was born and raised in Oasis, just came over for rumspringa and decided to stay."

"Okay, that's all good. Now, this one isn't a part of your profile, you can add it if you like, but this question is for other people who ask: What's with the weird BSI hub?"

"It's an experimental design, and I signed an NDA so I can't really talk about it beyond that."

"Sounds good!" Din said. "I still think you should sleep on it, but, you know, free will and all that."

"I want to insist on the grounds of making sure I'm secure and being tracked, but if I'm being honest, I mostly want to see what the rest of Voracity has to offer, digitally and otherwise."

"That's understandable, though I do think that we have a pretty good section of stuff from Voracity on our network down here. We're not prudes, we like to get freaky too."

"Yeah, I know. I appreciate you trying to keep me safe, but I've been so stressed since before we landed here, I need a release that I don't think can be provided down here, unfortunately. J, would you be willing to show me around the city?"

"Uh..." J's face turned beet red. "Y-yeah... sure!"

"At least let me set up and test tracking your BSI, it shouldn't take long." Din said.

Val, despite her childlike impatience, waited as Din set up the tracking program on her mobile device, then guided Val back through the Atrium into her office, followed by J, Kit, and the other mechanics, who were hot on Val's heels like puppies, just waiting to see what their otherworldly visitor would do next.

When they arrived at Dinara's office, they greeted the statue-like sentry that was Luci before walking into the room. Miguel jumped up from his napping position on the couch, a momentary look of fear filling his face until he recognized the group.

"Oh, hey," he said, "how'd it go?"

"Pretty good! I've got a connection, and I'm about to head to the surface to set up my profile and give it a spin!" Val said. She looked at the boy and gave him a wide grin. "You wanna come with me?"

Miguel's face lit up at the prospect of going above ground again after being stuck below for the past few days, but before he could speak, both Dinara and Luci stepped between Val and the boy. Kit joined in with the cacophony of dissenting voices.

"That seems like a dumb idea." Kit said.

"What? no!" Luci said. "Are you fucking kidding?"

"Alright, Val," Din said, "now, I really think we should hold off on that. I've got an implant procedure in the works with some trusted surgeons and custom tech set up for him in a few days. Let's wait until then, shall we?"

"I think he's perfectly capable of speaking for himself," Val said. Din and Luci were speechless. They could do nothing but turn to look at Miguel who was suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

"Um... I, uh... thank you, Val, but I think I'm going to hang out down here for a bit longer."

"Okay," Val said, reaching out and ruffling Miguel's hair. "Suit yourself! Are we all done here, Din?"

Din and Luci looked at each other, then Din looked at her tablet.

"Uh, y-yeah, looks like tracking is working just fine," she said. "It's even more accurate when you're above ground so... you're free to go, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders. "If you get taken by drones or whatever, we should be able to see where they take you."

"Great!" Val said with a smile. "Alright, J, let's go!"

Luci and Din were dismayed at Val's wonton disregard for their worries, but short of imprisoning her in the Atrium, there was nothing they could do to stop her. Kit wasn't as worried about Val as much as he was about J, but he said nothing. Val stepped out of Din's door with a wide smile on her face with J following close behind, giving a polite wave to the rest.

When they were crossing the Atrium floor, J had to stop at a few food kiosks before leaving. The anticipation made waiting for J a personal torment for Val, and the path out of the Atrium and back to the surface seemed much longer than previous. Val watched her network connection like a hawk. It switched over to the Voracity network as they stepped out of the stairway onto the ground floor, and Val stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it?" J asked through a mouthful of meat. Looking into Val's eyes, she could see that she had immediately been lost in the internet. J grabbed her hand and guided her like a toddler out of the flow of traffic, then took her time finishing her turkey drumstick, giving Val a chance to take her first baby steps into the chaos that was Voracity's internet. Setting up her profile was quick and easy after the discussions and preparation she was subjected to. The very next thing she did was make sure she was registered for the Beneficiary program.

It wasn't hard to find everything that Val was looking for. Many of the darkest and most depraved virtual experiences that were illegal in most of the Milky Way were being openly advertised on the most popular sites on Voracity's network. Val downloaded as many experiences, models, and overlays as she could find, completely shutting herself out of the real world. After J had finished her turkey, she continued standing by Val's statuesque presence for a few more minutes, but boredom met her very quickly.

"C'mon Val," J said, tugging at her arm, "I thought you wanted me to show you around the city."

"Oh... yeah," Val said, "I'm just looking at some stuff..."

"I can join you, show you around some of my fav sites, maybe hop in some VR with you." J blushed and lowered her voice. "If that's something you're interested in."

Val snapped out of her trance after hearing J's words, looking at the girl and giving her a smile.

"Sure! That sounds amazing!"

The two of them left the central dome tower where Val ordered an automated cab, then left the dome and when to a clothing store where she could finally find some outfits that suited her style. Ever since she left Harmonix, she had felt dirty and uncomfortable, and like she wasn't in her own skin, in more ways than one. The shop they chose was one that J often went to in the inner ring in the bustling commercial district just outside the central dome.

The shop that J had chosen was one that had a large selection of items that lent well to the Gothic style that she was into. Val suddenly felt like she was back home as she began browsing every clothing rack in the feminine sections and piling as many outfits as she could carry into her arms before going to the changing rooms. J felt awkward waiting for her at first. She had never been the type to go shopping like this. Neither her nor her friend groups were the kind to put on a fashion show, but as she watched the young woman emerge from the dressing room clad in an incredibly sexy black crop-top and skirt combo, she suddenly found that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Val felt very much the same way being the center of attention. Back home, she was much more restricted in what she could do and where to go. She had tried to put on fashion shows before, but her audience typically consisted of servants or bodyguards, both of which had an obligation to say anything to make Val happy while still remaining professional or risk gaining the ire of her father.

She selected outfits that allowed much more of her skin to be in the open air, making her feel like she could breathe again. It made her heart flutter seeing the genuine blushing smile on J's face when she would step out. The show went on for a few hours and the pile of chosen clothes climbed to the point that J had to retrieve a cart, and when it was filled to the brim, Val decided to call it. As they were leaving with the cart following close behind, they stepped out onto the street and Val came to a stop.

"Where to next?" J asked.

"I don't know... Where am I supposed to take all of this stuff?"

"Well, I'm sure we can find an apartment for you nearby."

"How nice will it be?"

"Decent, I guess. We can find some higher end ones, but it can take a while to get into one of those. Though, if you set up your AR/VR right, I don't really see the reason to have one of 'em."

"I suppose that's true," Val said. "Well, what about your place?"

"Eh, my place is pretty small, and I spend most of my time there in a VR environment anyway."

"I meant, can we go to your place?"

"I... uhh..." J began blushing again and shrinking into her chest. "I don't know... I don't really take people there. It's kind of a secret place, off-the-grid type, you know?"

"Well, you guys installed a physical off-switch between the antennae and my interface, right? I can go off-grid, if that's what you're worried about." Val smiled. She could see that J was still unsure, so she reached back to grab a bandeau from the pile in her cart and held it up. I can go in blindfolded too, if you really want to do the cloak-and-dagger thing."

J walked in silence as she considered Val's request. She felt like she had known Val for much longer than a few days, but even people she had known for years had never been to her place. She never considered it, nor had anyone ever asked. There were many reasons why she didn't want to go back to her apartment, from the lack of furniture and decoration to the mess of wires, trash, and clothing strewn everywhere. J didn't think about her original reason; that her hobbies mostly consisted of illegal hacking of Oracle's systems and of public figures' private information. As she looked at Val's seductive smile, her concerns for personal safety became non-existent.

"I suppose it doesn't have to be your place," Val said, "I just want to spend some time with you, and thought that maybe you prefer to spend that time away from prying eyes." Val drifted closer to J, lightly brushing her chest against the girl's shoulder. "Unless, being watched is your kind of thing. In that case, maybe we can go to a club or something and put on a show."

The fingers tracing up and down the inside of J's arm only helped to cloud her thoughts further. Her primary concern became finding a place where they could be off their feet. Her place may not have been much to look at, but at least she owned a comfortable bed, and she had just put on a clean set of sheets, too.

"Alright... I guess we can go to my place, but..." J swiped the bandeau out of Val's hand. "You are going blindfolded."

Val smiled and bit her lip.

The journey to J's apartment started with a cab ride to a lower quality housing district near the edge of the city where few of the apartments were occupied. J tied the bandeau firmly over Val's eyes, then disabled her wireless communication and guided her by the hand down a few streets and alleys and into one of the buildings. Val could feel J's heart pounding through her fingers as they stepped into an elevator. She couldn't tell whether it traveled up or down, or how far, but as they stepped out and onto J's floor, she could feel J's hand trembling. The door to her apartment unlocked with a biometric scan, and after closing the door behind them, J removed Val's blindfold.

They were in the apartment for only a few seconds, just long enough for Val to take a quick look around the room and throw her pile of clothes on the floor, before she turned toward J and approached her with purpose. J stepped back and pressed herself against the door as Val continued her approach, until she was only centimeters from the girl's face.

"Nice place you have here," Val said, looking directly into J's eyes.

"Uhh... thanks... It's not much to look at, but-"

J was cut off by a sudden, deep kiss, and was locked in place by Val's arms around her body, not that she would be able to move anyway. It wasn't J's first time, but she felt like it was. She wasn't sure if it was simply because she had never had anyone in her own apartment before, or whether it was due to the woman being from a universe away. She could taste the difference in her genetic makeup, like sweetness with a tangy kick. When they pulled apart, J inhaled with a stutter and Val laughed.

"Am I being too forward?" Val asked.

"What?" J was confused at her suggestion. "N-no, not at all! I've seen greetings that were dirtier than that."

"Oh, really?" Val said with a raised eyebrow.

As if it were a dare, J reached forward to grab Val's hips and moved in for another kiss, but as soon as her hands touched Val's body, the woman grabbed both of her hands and slammed them against the door above J's head, pinning them with one arm. She then waived a finger in front of J's face.

"Nu-uh," Val said with a grin, "no touching until I say so, understood?"

J replied with a nervous nod, and Val gave her another kiss. This was certainly something new for J. The pressure on her wrists was painful, but the intense rush of chills throughout her body overpowered it. They kissed until J was nearly out of breath when Val pulled away again, like she knew exactly when to do so.

"Well, are you going to show me to the bed?" Val asked.

With her hands still pinned, J simply pointed to the opposite corner of her modest studio apartment. A non-descript bed on a low metal frame sat in the dim blue glow of terminal displays. When Val let go of J, the girl rubbed her wrists and timidly followed the woman to the bed. Val pulled the covers down and motioned for J to sit, and she did so, but then Val pushed her down and climbed on top of her with another kiss, again pinning her, albeit much more comfortably this time.

The kiss drifted from J's lips to around her jaw, and up and down her neck. When Val made it to J's ear, and her teeth gripped her earlobe, the girl shook her head and fought against Val's weight.

"Ow! Ah, no biting, please!" J said. Val pulled back and grinned at her, then stood back and started undressing, giving J a show as she did. The pain from the bite disappeared completely by the time Val had nothing left to strip off. J started rising to remove her own clothes, but Val pushed her back onto the bed.

"You wait there," Val said, "get comfortable, I'll be right back."

She walked back to the pile of clothes by the door and picked up the bandeau they had used as a blindfold and brought it back to the bed where J was waiting patiently. She climbed on top of J, then took her hands and fed them in between the bars of the metal headboard, tying them together on the other side. As the fabric tightened against her wrists, The tinge of fear she felt from the binding wasn't quite as overpowered by her anticipation.

"You know... that bandeau is never going to fit right after this," J said with a nervous laugh.

"That's alright, I didn't intend to wear it much anyway."

Once the knot was painfully tight and solid, Val gave the girl another kiss which moved it's way down her front side, and over her clothes. Val pulled up her shirt to reveal her bare navel. As Val kissed and licked around it, she removed the girl's baggy pants and underwear. J instinctively tried to cover herself and immediately found the bindings to be something she didn't care for, but she remained silent, unable to do anything but blush. With J's legs free and bare, Val continued her thorough tongue-inspection of the girl's body. J couldn't help but squeeze her legs together, making it difficult for Val to get where she wanted to go.

Again, Val rose to her feet and walked over to a tangle of cables running from J's computer to her displays and other peripherals. Val grabbed one of the cables at random and began pulling.

"Whoa! Hold on, Val," J said. "Those monitors are displaying some important data streams, I've got some extra's in-"

Val ripped the cable from the monitor, nearly pulling off of it's wall attachment, then did the same to the other side.

"Fffuuuck, Val, c'mon!" J could do nothing while tied to the headboard as Val tore another cable from the bundle. The grinding snap of the cable coming free from a display was a painful sound to J, who didn't find the event to be nearly as entertaining as Val. "You're replacing whatever you broke just now, by the way."

Val said nothing. She only smiled and kept eye contact with J as she returned to the corner of the bed. One foot at a time, she tied J's feet to the corner posts, forcing her legs open. The cables dug into her skin when Val tightened them.

"Ow! Hey! Could you loosen those just a little bit?" J asked.

The request went completely unanswered. It was at this point that J's absolute vulnerability was starting to sink in. Once J was secured, Val took an unobstructed taste of her quarry's raw flesh, eliciting an intense reaction from the girl. Val's hands ran all across J's body, but became frustrated with her oversized shirt. Val rose to her feet and moved into the kitchen where she began searching through drawers.

"W-what are you looking for?" J asked, already exhausted.

Val was silent. Her lack of communication since J had started being tied up was concerning, and the concern quickly turned to panic when she saw Val return with a four-inch pairing knife. J pulled against her restraints, causing the whole bed to shake, but it only served to tighten the bindings.

"Wait... I don't want to do this anymore..." J said with trembling fear in her voice. "C-could you, uh, untie me, please?"

Val crawled onto the bed between J's legs. The tip of the knife traced a line up the inside of her thighs and between her legs, then up over her pelvis and stomach. The sharpness made J wince. She couldn't tell if it was drawing blood, but it certainly stung. She felt the edge of the knife catch on the bottom of her shirt, and Val continued pushing forward.

"Wait, this is one of my favorite shirts! Just untie me and I can-"

The blade began splitting the shirt and quickly tore it's way up the center of her chest before getting caught on the collar, where Val forcefully slashed, splitting J's shirt in two, and only missing her neck and jaw by a few centimeters. The excitement that she had felt at first was completely gone, replaced entirely by fear as Val sat on her torso and cut through the arm holes to free the fabric completely and toss it to the side.

Val crawled back to observe J's nude form in it's entirety, then moved to lay on top of her, pressing a kiss to her lips. J was much less enthusiastic this time in large part due to the knife that was still being in Val's grip. As Val moved down from J's lips, she ran the knife edge across the side of the girl's face, down her jaw and across her throat, over her collar bone, and down between her breasts. The knife came to a stop just below J's sternum, in the soft spot between her ribs. J was trembling as she tried not to breathe.

"P-please..." J whimpered with tears flooding her eyes. "Please, don't hurt me!" She pleaded.

They were exactly the words that Val wanted to hear. A smile grew across her face, the widest, most ecstatic smile J had ever seen on the woman, just as she pressed the knife into her skin. The girl screamed, and it was music to Val's ears.