Slightly Tainted

Disclaimer: I don't own Hyouka. I also don't own the fic that I used my story as a base.

A/N: I was in the mood of reading some HoutarouXFuyumi fic. There was this one titled, "Never the Pure" by Sky Kurosaki - I tried basing my title on his. It was good, but then I wanted a slightly different ending or route to it, so I decided to just type this in (I asked permission from SkyKurosaki already, if you're wondering). This story only uses the idea of them having sex, because if you guys knew me, I don't write lemons – we have doujins for those. I'm not sure if you'd need to read his story to understand this, but read his work anyway so that you'd understand better. Not to mention it has the lemony action you might want.

Time flow in canon: Kamiyama Festival(when "Never the Pure" happened), then Counterfeit ￥10000 Case, then "Hinamatsuri". Enjoy!

It happened a week ago.

Irisu Fuyumi went to the Geography Prep Room, talked her way into getting Oreki Houtarou to manhandle her, got her much wanted sex, and left like nothing happened – which she actually wrote in a note.

And act like nothing happened he did. It was true that The Empress was beautiful, but with their history of manipulating and being manipulated, Houtarou had decided to not get too involved with her. What happened back then was because of pure carnal desire.

He continued living the way his life had always been – Satoshi, Mayaka, Eru, or someone or something would arouse Eru's curiosity, Eru would ask Houtarou for the answers, and he'd try to avoid having to give her answers which he'd fail in the end and just answer anyway.

Now, Satoshi had told him about this before, and he knew it to be true too - the pun included. He was "Strength" and he gets controlled by women, but the nature of how these women control him, the intent behind it, and their relationship with him changes his feelings about it.

His sister, Oreki Tomoe, may have controlled him through fear and bodily harm, but then he knew that it wasn't like she was doing it for her own good (though sometimes, maybe, for her own entertainment). She was also his sister so there's this familial bond between them – knowing that she wouldn't get him to do something terribly harming or dangerous.

There's Chitanda Eru who just got curious with almost anything and everything, but only wanted to get answers for her questions that were sprouted by pure and innocent curiosity. She's also the president of the club he was in, so if the request was reasonable enough, there wasn't really any reason to not do it. Plus what with him being the first she had asked for help in finding the truth about her uncle – someone who was willing to share her background to someone who she'd met just recently, without the assurance that he really would help her about her request; it was fine to lend her his strength. (Pun intended)

And lastly, there's Irisu Fuyumi. She manipulated him using sweet words, and actions that could be argued to be intimate. All for what? To be able to save face of not having to tell a classmate that what she wrote was terribly boring. (Yes, he figured it all out in the end.) To top it all off, he didn't really have any reason to answer to her but he did, and that infuriated him the most. Not at her or what she did, but at himself – for having been manipulated. If there was one thing he was grateful for, it was that she gave him the closure he needed at the matter – she didn't deny manipulating him, and said that whether he should take her words as lies or not were up to him. It gave him some sort of jump-start to reduce his manipulated elevated ego. Still didn't mean that he should like it.

Not at all.

Irisu Fuyumi was very conflicted.

A week ago, she had come to the Classics club room and had her way with the club's detective. Now, by no means was that what has her conflicted at the moment. Well, actually, it was part of the reason but it wasn't it. What they shared back then happened because she willed it to happen. She did what she did best and moments later, Houtarou was above and behind her – naked, sweaty, panting, and thrusting fast, deep and hard. And after the high that their activity resulted to, he had fallen asleep which caused her to be the one to dress him up, and clean the mess they made. Though she left with a note stating that what they did meant nothing at all, she still planted a kiss on his lips before leaving.

And despite telling him that what they had meant nothing at all, she had assumed that with his personality, he would still try to confront her about it. Yet it had already been a week, and not only had he still not talked to her about it, but she hasn't even seen him for more than from afar. This caused Kamiyama High's Empress to be in a rather sour mood.

Not to sound vain, but she knew that she was beautiful. She also wasn't deaf to what people talk about her, so she knew that should Kamiyama High have a "girl I'd like to date" list, she'd be found somewhere at the top. And this had her questioning herself, "Why hasn't he approached me yet?!"

She'd like to think that after having sex with her, he would be asking her for more, which actually was her plan. But only because she had become sexually frustrated, and it was more convenient to have a partner that already knew her – not having to increase the number of people that could actually know of her manipulative nature. It was purely a coincidence that the short list of requirements for a partner she had in mind lead only to Houtarou. And she wasn't disappointed by it. Despite the energy-saving philosophy, his body was toned for someone who doesn't exercise. He was also rather good-looking, though looked uninterested most of the time. But most of all, they were just so physically compatible – being held from behind or pinned right under.

Thinking about him made her legs squirm – remembering their passionate act. Sexual frustration added to anger, she decided to just go and meet him herself – pride set aside. It was better than just thinking about it.

Two floors up the building, her mind had started to clear and calm down, but only enough for her to remember the last time she walked these steps. While still steadily ambling the stairs, her imagination decided to go creative, and her thoughts turned to what they'd be doing minutes from now – she'd open the door to find him sitting with a pocketbook in hand like usual; he'd stare at her warily as she takes her time walking towards him - maybe even add a little sway to her hips; she'd tease him about staring at her, and he'd turn a cute blush on his face. She's down the hall of the fourth floor as a faint smile painted her face.

Arriving at the Geography Prep room, she reached out to open the door when she heard mumbling from inside. Figuring that it'd be bad if there was someone else inside or if Houtarou wasn't even in, she slid the door slightly to peek inside. The sight caught her by surprise.

Eru was leaning forward – extremely close to Houtarou, and even though it seemed as if he was leaning away from her, anyone would think that they're actually kissing. Not believing the two to be actually doing what she'd like to think they were not doing, she stayed a little longer to see – to clarify that what she saw was just a misunderstanding, or perhaps didn't happen at all. To her dismay, they stayed in the position for a few seconds, and when they seemed to pull apart, Eru seemed flushed and mumbled what she faintly heard to be an apology.

As if it was her body's reflex to what just happened, she automatically straightened and turned to leave. Her mind tuned out everything as she started walking away from what was causing her distress. She forced her thoughts to be flooded with some explanation on what she had just seen, but the more she thought about it, the more she drowned on the idea that Eru and Houtarou were indeed kissing, and that they might also have been together.

So that's why he never approached her after that day – he didn't have to. There was no point in going after someone only for physical pleasures when you already have someone who could give you that and more. It was only wishful thinking that Houtarou could possibly be interested in her.

No. That wasn't entirely true. Houtarou could've actually been interested in her; he might've even liked her. But she screwed up. She had to save face, and didn't really care about him then, so she didn't hold back and treated him like everybody else – a pawn for her wants and needs.

How she wished to be able to go back in time – in that tea house, and tell herself to just be honest with him. Maybe, if she did then, they wouldn't have such a strained relationship. But what's done was done, and she couldn't really take it all back, that's why she planned to mend whatever they were to something close to friendship. That's what that very intimate interaction was for.

A big mistake.

After the fact, she had time to actually think about what she did, and more importantly, how she came to doing it. What she did was no different to what she usually does. She came to him, did what she wanted in a way that made him want to do it too, and left without any sort of explanation. It all felt manipulative, scheming – wrong, so she waited for him to approach her like the first time.

Another mistake.

She had let time fly by. She disregarded the fact that while she was contemplating on why he hasn't approached her yet, someone else could've gotten his interest too, and that someone was interested in him in return.

How could've she forgotten his club's president? She was the main reason why she was even able to manipulate him in the first place. She was part of the plan; while she was good in asking people to do things for her, she doubted she could even work him up to take the case. After all, he was suspicious of her in the beginning, so she used the too-trusting girl's curiosity to get him to accept.

At least Eru wasn't in it for her actual personal gain. Eru was innocently curious – she could never pull off any type of intentional manipulation – her intentions were always out of pure curiosity. She's also always ready to give a helping hand to anyone that needs it. She's not only beautiful, smart, and noble but also approachable and friendly.

Eru was all that and probably more, but it really didn't matter. Fuyumi was confident that she doesn't fall behind, and was probably better for some people. But the thing was, unlike her, Eru spent most of her time with Houtarou seeing as they're part of the same club. She knew this, but didn't act on it. Added the fact that he had a rough "history" with her – it was her loss.

What was she expecting? She knew that he felt unpleasant about her. She knew that he and Eru were close. She knew all these, but instead of clearing things between them, and trying to catch up to what he and Eru were, she let her pride continue to hinder her from him.

It was all so pathetic.

"I'm so stupid."

It was once more the start of the week. The only ones in the club room were Houtarou, who was once again reading a pocketbook, and Satoshi, who was simply seated across Houtarou.

"Ah. By the way, I've heard that The Empress was not acting herself." Satoshi had blurted out, inserting the topic to whatever he was talking about before.

"That came out from nowhere." Houtarou thought, before lifting his gaze from what he was reading. "Acting?"

"Apparently, she spaces out often. I'm not really sure since I haven't really seen her."

"Hm... The Empress not acting like herself, huh?"

"What do you think, Houtarou?" Satoshi asked in his usual grin.

"I don't know. It's got nothing to do with me." Houtarou answered, also in his usual lazy tone.

After a while, Satoshi received a message from Mayaka – apologizing for not notifying them that she had invited Eru for ice cream, and that they wouldn't be coming to the club. Satoshi relayed the message to Houtarou, and shortly after, they were headed home.

Somewhere along the way, Satoshi went back because there apparently was an Executive Committee meeting. He bid him goodbye, and continued on himself – he didn't really want or have to wait for him. After changing his shoes, he spotted someone he didn't really want to meet at the moment.

"Ah. Hi."

Irisu Fuyumi, the school's Empress.

"Hello."

They were once again in Teahouse Hifumi, like in every private meeting they had – considering the ordered non-existence of one supposed very private activity. And like every one of those said meetings, it was her who started things off.

"You seem to be doing well." Fuyumi quipped after the server left them with their orders.

"Uh…huh." Houtarou reluctantly answered. "She doesn't seem to be acting any different from her usual."

The room was then filled with an uncomfortable silence. Houtarou lazily stared at Fuyumi - waiting for her to tell him why they were there. It wasn't like she was eating nor drinking to prevent her from speaking - she just had not moved from staring at table between them since the server left. Houtarou considered her to be thinking exactly what she wanted to say, so he let her be for a while but, then again, it wasn't like he was particularly enjoying the place - the last times don't really bring pleasant memories.

After having emptied his cup, and still no reaction from the other person in the room, Houtarou was starting to get irritated. His right leg started shaking, and he was contemplating on leaving. Another few seconds, and he couldn't help but break the silence.

"If you have nothing to say, then I'm leaving." He spat a little bit too harshly than what he'd wanted.

At least, it got her attention as she looked up to stare at him. But that was all she did, and Houtarou's patience was running out, so he moved to stand up and leave.

"Wait!"

Houtarou stopped walking, but didn't sit back down. He glared at her - an obvious statement that if she does not start speaking any moment now, he's leaving. The face he was showing made her flinch and close her eyes. She took a deep breath, sighed, and opened her eyes.

"A..re you and Eru seeing each other?" Fuyumi asked.

The Empress meekly asked.

The question and the way she asked it shocked and confused Houtarou enough that his glare had withered down to a lazy, if confused, stare. He sat back down before asking her to clarify.

Seeing Houtarou sit back down made Fuyumi calm down to ask back and look at his reaction. "Are you dating Eru?"

Houtarou's eyebrow scrunched - whether in continued confusion or added anger Fuyumi didn't know. "What's it to you?"

The room fell into silence once more.

Fuyumi had been completely taken aback by Houtarou's hostility that her mind was flooded with questions. Why couldn't she just be honest with him for once? Wasn't he worth it? Was she going to let another mistake ruin her chance with him? But, was there even a chance for them? He hasn't really answered her yet. What if he really was with Eru already? Was it too late?

On the other side of the table, Houtarou was quiet for the same reason. When Satoshi had told him that The Empress was rumored not acting like herself, he did not expect this. It was so far from the person who manipulated him into doing things for her, even farther from the person who told her to forget what happened between the two of them inside the Geography Prep room. It made him question if he should truly be acting so hostile towards her.

While it was true that she manipulated him before, wasn't it merely an elevated ego he received? It wasn't like he could actually be mad - he did manipulate other people to do things for him. And while it wasn't actually him who asked for her help in selling the copies of their anthology, she still did so.

After much deliberation, he supposed that it could all be water under the bridge. It was also more energy-consuming to dwell on it so much than not. Although, he's slightly curious as to why he's so worked up with what she did. Putting that thought aside, he answered her question - owing her that much for the tea.

"We're not."

The sudden statement had broken Fuyumi's musings, and had her not truly hearing not understand what he meant. "Huh?"

"Eru and I. We're not together."

The dullness in her eyes seemed to have vanished instantly after hearing the answer. Houtarou would've liked to assume why that was, considering the nature of the question, but he knew better than to do that. He may have forgiven her for what she did, but he wouldn't go down that path again.

Assuming that that was all that she wanted to ask, Houtarou moved to stand when he was stopped again.

"Wait. One last question…"

He simply stood and waited for her to continue speaking.

"Do you suppose we could have a truce?"

The question was confusing even for him so he merely looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

At the same time, Fuyumi was surprised with what she was asking. It was so unlike her to ask for something like this directly. If it were the usual her, she would've gone through this request much differently. But then, she wasn't her usual. And if anything, she was grateful that she wasn't at the moment - it was because of that that she was in this predicament in the first place.

"I mean, I wouldn't ask you to completely forgive me and forget what I did, but could you at least act neutrally towards me?

It seemed that silence was a recurring theme inside the tea house. Fuyumi had refused to move from staring at her untouched tea, and Houtarou had simply been standing in front of her.

A moment of tense silence, and Fuyumi heard Houtarou take a step towards the exit.

Fuyumi had instinctively bitten her lip in an attempt to prevent herself from saying anything more. She supposed that this was what she deserved. One couldn't hopefully be forgiven for manipulating a person, much less without so much a proper apology - treat tea at the same place where the admittance of said manipulation happened was not an apology.

Before she could spiral down that self-pitying thought, she heard a faint whisper - considering it was silent in their room, followed by the sound of the door sliding shut.

"That's fine with me."

Fuyumi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief - all tension leaving her body. And although not all, it felt as if some weight she had been bearing for the past week had been lifted. It brought happiness, and maybe hope, to her that Houtarou did not hate her.

"Thank goodness."

"Oreki, I had a job to do at the time, but today, I only had to be the Emperor. I wouldn't lie to you during a festival like this."

Fuyumi had been walking towards the exit when Houtarou stopped her.

"When else would you not lie?"

She had not expected the sudden question. In trying to see what he meant with it, she turned to face him, and was surprised to see something else on his face besides indifference or hostility. Then again, she also couldn't put her finger on what was there.

That was a lie.

She knew what it was. She had the name of that thing. It was what she hoped to see the day after their passionate bout. She might've seen it as it happened, but she assumed it to have appeared because of the nature of their activity. And it was appearing now. Dare she assume it to be what it might be? Could she?

Would she?

As if the proverbial angel appeared on her shoulder, her thoughts were counseled.

"A chance has been presented to you. Would you waste it in favor of pride?"

"I wouldn't lie to you now." She firmly answered, having fully taken the wavering step she took towards him amidst her thoughts. Her eyes were focused on his, imploring him to ask her what she so wanted to be asked.

This was the best she could do at the moment. All her life, she had been expected of great things because her family was well-known - having owned a hospital. It lead to her not knowing how to simply ask for help - thus turning to exploitative ways. But after having finally found someone who she did not want to simply twist around, she went on a direct approach. Heaven knew how that turned out, so she'd let him ask her.

"The note you left that day…" Her breath hitched, having been reminded of what she wrote before she continued to move closer to him - his voice turning into a whisper as she did so. "...was that a lie?"

"If you want it to be."

And before he could retort to not having been given a proper answer, she took the final step that made their bodies touch - her hand pulling him through his jacket, and her mouth whispering next to his ear.

"The sex was only half of it. The rest's for when we meet again."

Being a healthy male in his teens, Houtarou's mind had shut down after having been whispered dirtily. It had only regained function when the glass doors had closed after Fuyumi exited the building. He couldn't help but whisper out when he saw Fuyumi, who he had assumed to be unaffected, almost bumped onto the men who were cleaning up the props used.

"I wonder if tomorrow's too early.."

A/N: How was it? I'm sorry if they're OOC - I tried my best...I think.