The Suzuki Method

Tatsuko lay there with unfocused eyes. Fumiko's gaze was sharp and playful. "Well, Suko?" she asked.

"Well what?" Tatsuko replied dully.

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

Tatsuko gave a wry smile. "Thank you, Fumiko."

"You're welcome, Suko. Remember that this is what you get when you're a good girl."

Tatsuko snorted. "Yes, ma'am." She wriggled towards Fumiko and gave her a long kiss on the lips.

**EPILOGUE**

Dr. Tanaka coughed politely, and the girls looked up at him.

"Although I hate to interrupt your bonding, the school day is not yet over. The two of you are excused for the remainder of the day, but I have more business to attend to, and Minami will be returning to class. I recommend you continue your exploration of this new interpersonal dynamic at home."

Fumiko smiled widely. "I think we'll be continuing for some time, Doctor."

Dr. Tanaka nodded curtly. "It would also be a good idea to reinforce the dynamic regularly."

Fumiko continued to smile, reaching out to stroke Tatsuko's face.

"All of you, please dress and assemble. That includes you, Minami," he called.

Fumiko rose quickly and pulled her panties back on as Tatsuko slowly sat up. She knelt down to take off the clamps, comforting Tatsuko as she winced and whined. She unbuckled the collar and slid it from her neck, returning it to the drawer with the leash still clipped. With her thumbs she tried to clean the mascara from Tatsuko's cheeks, but found she was mostly just smearing it further.

Tatsuko removed the tail from herself with an expression of concentration. Dr. Tanaka received it into a tissue, then wrapped it in several more before setting it in the desk. He likewise collected the discarded gag with a tissue.

Minami wiped her fingers on the inside of her skirt before pulling up her panties and untucking her skirt in the rear. She collected her shoes and socks and arrived at the front of the desk first. Fumiko and Tatsuko came next, with Fumiko leading Tatsuko by the hand. Ms. Sato rose to stand behind them.

Dr. Tanaka addressed them one last time: "I trust that none of you will soon forget your experiences here today. The purpose of this instruction is not simple utility, to keep order in the school, but to teach you an important life skill, the ability to understand the effects your actions have on others. You are all of you mature enough to learn this lesson. Do not disappoint me by returning to this office with Miss Sato again."

"Yes, Doctor Tanaka," they said in unison.

"You are dismissed."

Ms. Sato marched to the door and opened it, standing to one side as the girls filed out. To Minami she said "It is third period." Minami nodded and scampered away.

Ms. Sato closed the door and walked to stand before Dr. Tanaka's desk. He leaned back in his chair, his hands folded across his belly. He could tell she had something to ask.

"Yes, Miss Sato?"

"Doctor, why did you show the footage from the hallway? I know we have cameras in the locker room. It would have been much more informative."

Dr. Tanaka smiled. "You are as observant as always, Miss Sato. Pull up a seat." He indicated the space beside his chair.

While Ms. Sato moved a chair from the wall, he set out his laptop again and opened it. With a few clicks, he brought up a new video: The girls' locker room, again in black and white with a haltingly slow frame rate. Sato settled into her chair and watched with naked curiosity.

Tatsuko entered and set down her bag. She took a can of paint from it and began to decorate a wall of lockers, her epithet of choice not quite legible from this angle.

Fumiko entered a minute later. She took the can from Tatsuko and began to add a few touches of her own. For just a few frames the two girls could be seen laughing. Then suddenly, Fumiko's back was against the lockers, with Tatsuko pressed against her. She held Fumiko's arms up against the lockers by her wrists as the two of them shared a long kiss.

In a single frame, the two girls' heads snapped towards the doorway. In the next, Tatsuko had sprung back from Fumiko. Fumiko, ever the quick thinker, could be seen pointing her finger accusingly at Tatsuko and shouting. Tatsuko grabbed the paint can in Fumiko's hand and they began to struggle over it. Minami entered the field of view and Tatsuko bore down on her.

Dr. Tanaka closed the laptop. "The remainder continues as was described," he said simply.

Ms. Sato sat for a long moment, lost in thought. "Is something troubling you, Miss Sato? Surely this cannot have been unexpected?"

"No, Doctor, half the school knows about Fumiko and Tatsuko, and the other half suspects. It's Minami that I'm thinking about. It's difficult to know how much she saw, but she must have known something. Even after all this, she clearly hasn't learned her lesson about honesty."

"Some things are more important than honesty," Dr. Tanaka replied. "Minami would not betray her classmates, even under duress. She may seem frail, and she scares easily, but there's more spine in her than it may seem at first."

Ms. Sato nodded slowly. She could be too focused on the rules sometimes. Dr. Tanaka was right, loyalty was an important quality, even a virtue.

"Is there anything else, Miss Sato?"

Ms. Sato glanced over at the conspicuous bulge in Dr. Tanaka's trousers. "As you said, Dr. Tanaka, there is much more work to be done today. But you might find it difficult to concentrate after such a... stimulating morning. Allow me to assist you."

"Of course, Miss Sato, you know I rely on you in all things."

Ms. Sato rose and pushed her chair back. "You know, you really are an old pervert, Dr. Tanaka," she said with a sardonic squint of her eyes.

"Tsk, such language, Miss Sato!" Dr. Tanaka chided coyly. "Come here, I have something to stop your mouth."

Smirking, Ms. Sato sank slowly out of sight behind Dr. Tanaka's broad walnut desk.