Riko thinks her first was mistake was talking to Yoshiko at all.
Of course, they were in Aqours together, so it was only sensible that she speak with her eventually. However, approaching Yoshiko, speaking to her on her own volition, was the dumbest thing she could have ever done, in hindsight. The second Riko saw her, she could sense that she was trouble, that being around her would cause terrible, terrible things to happen, and yet, she approached her. Usually, Riko didn't indulge in such reckless feelings, but Yoshiko was captivating.
Perhaps, being that captivating should have told Riko what she was getting into from the very start.
But, no, she went up to Yohane anyway. During lunch break, she saw Yoshiko lingering in the corner, not eating at all...just watching. It would be disturbing to anybody else, for sure, but Riko had grown used to Yoshiko's peculiarities. She liked to be off on her own. Riko didn't mind, but she decided to approach anyway, carrying a green tea cake. Yoshiko looked up when she approached, and smirked, but said nothing else. "G-good afternoon, Yoshiko-chan," Riko said, her voice shaking just a tad. For some reason, Yohane scared her, even when she knew that Yoshiko was nothing but a scared little girl underneath.
"Lily," Yohane greeted, nodding. "One of my favorite little demons has approached me during her lunch hour? Don't humans need such earthly substances to survive?"
"'Favorite'? Why, we hardly speak," Riko pointed out. She decided not to complain about the fact that Yohane was using that stupid name for her again...
"We don't have to."
Yohane's reply was simple, and Riko didn't want to make any waves, so she just nodded slowly as if the answer had came to her, as if Yoshiko wasn't being endlessly creepy. "Yes, of course...well, I was just coming to check on you. Don't you think it's a little weird to hang out in the corner by yourself, though?"
"'Weird' is an interesting word to use. Explain it to me...your use of that word, explain it," Yohane said. Riko didn't particularly like her tone, and she felt that she had to go, quickly.
However, when she tried to slowly back away, mumbling an excuse under her breath, Yoshiko caught her hand, pouting. "I just meant, that, um, you're not as normal as others."
"No. Of course I'm not! You foolish girl. I've told you time and time again that I'm a fallen angel, evicted from the heavens on account of my ethereal beauty," Yohane bellowed. "What on this scorched Earth made you think I was normal in the first place?"
Riko was just trying to help in the first place, but it seemed like she had really screwed herself over. "Well, you should be...come on, Yoshiko-chan, knock it off for just a second. You know you're just a regular human, and maybe acting like this all of the time might draw the wrong attention-"
Yoshiko released Riko's hand, scowling. "Ridiculous...first the gods insult me by banishing me from those cursed heavens, and now I'm being ridiculed by a mortal?! And one that's plain as cake! I've always regarded you as my most obedient little demon, but this kind of disrespect requires punishment!"
"Punishment?! I didn't do anything wrong! I was trying to help! D-don't you dare lay a hand on me," Riko sputtered. Why did she feel afraid...? After all, Yoshiko couldn't really do anything to her without getting in trouble.
Yohane scoffed, turning away. "I don't have to! Soon enough, you'll feel the repercussions of my wrath...now, begone."
"Gladly," Riko snapped.
A little flustered and, admittedly, very frightened, Riko stumbled away, not daring to look back.
The situation quickly escaped Riko's thoughts after about an hour, and by the time she had gotten home, she had pretty much forgotten about it. After all, her mind had been on other things. A little while before classes ended, Riko felt herself pop a boner in chemistry, and she had been suffering ever since. It was rather often that she got interested in that kind of thing, but getting horny during school was really a curse.
The moment she got home, she was relieved to realize that her parents weren't there, so privacy wasn't an issue. Just in case, though, she closed and locked her bedroom door before pulling out her laptop and wriggling out of her clothes, beginning to stroke her shaft furiously. She usually felt a bit ashamed to watch porn so openly, but drastic times called for drastic measures.
However, her "drastic measures" weren't as effective as usual.
It seemed like she had been jacking off forever, and yet, she was lingering on the edge of orgasm. She tried to use some lotion, tried to search up different types of porn, and even shut her laptop and just sat back trying to think of people that turned her on. But none of it worked. Eventually, she just gave up, taking a cold shower in the hopes of making her boner disappear. She got started on her homework, but she was still left frustrated, and, overall, confused.
Maybe it's just a bad day, she thought. Of course, there was nothing else to think...nothing else that happened that day could have made her think any different.
"Did you have a good evening yesterday?"
"No, actually."
Riko thought that Yohane's question was weird, especially considering what had happened the day before, but it wasn't like she could just ignore her. For some reason, Yoshiko had decided to come harass Riko while she tried to play piano during lunch, and Riko didn't have the guts to tell her to go away.
In reality, Riko didn't want anybody around. Ever since her interesting masturbation session the night before, she had been on edge. If she wasn't irritable, she was unbearably horny. She hated to admit it, but she had been snapping at everyone all day, frustrated.
"Really? So, have you learned your lesson, then?"
Riko turned to Yoshiko so fast that she almost gave herself whiplash. "I'll have you know that yesterday was bad for o-other reasons, okay? Not because of you!"
"So you think, dear Lily," Yohane purred lazily.
"Don't call me that...and trust me, it had nothing to do with you or your weird fallen angel stuff." Riko was beginning to sweat a little. Did she even believe what she was saying? Agh, what am I thinking? Of course she's bluffing. How could she even-
"Someone who speaks to the great Yohane in that way sounds like someone who never wants to orgasm again. Well, in my opinion, anyway..."
Somehow, Riko felt like she knew it was coming all along, but her fingers still tensed up above the ivory piano keys. But it was impossible, she kept trying to tell herself that... "You're bluffing," Riko said bluntly. That was the only explanation, right?
Yoshiko made a buzzing noise, then snickered. "Nope! I've placed a hex on you to punish you for your misdeeds! Of course, if you want to apologize, I could always-"
"'Hex'? What, like magic? You're seriously talking out of your ass." Riko felt like she was being a little bit hypocritical by saying that. After all, somehow, Yoshiko knew about Riko's dilemma, and it had only started happening after Yoshiko promised to "punish" Riko...
Even if Riko had been second-guessing herself, it was far too late to concede. Yoshiko did a small flourish with her cape, then launched into speech once more. "Fine! If you don't believe me, then you'll remain unable to come until you admit your wrongdoings and worship the great Yohane properly! As a result...I'm the only one who can bring you to climax, which, of course, will never happen if you don't realize who's in power here. Now I'll go, and leave you to reflect upon your actions!"
"Wait, I-I'm not finished with you!"
However, before Riko had even finished speaking, Yohane was gone.
Yohane stayed true to her word.
When Riko got home, she tried again, ignorantly deciding to take Yohane as a joke. Sadly, she wasn't able to orgasm, even after endless scrolling through porn videos and thinking up the most depraved fantasies possible.
Then, she had a strike of genius: if Yoshiko was the only person able to bring her to climax, what if she simply thought of her while she masturbated? The idea wasn't entirely repulsive to Riko; in fact, she wasn't at all hesitant, and she began to stroke herself again while shutting her eyes and thinking of Yoshiko. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Yoshiko wasn't too bad-looking, she realized. Even still, it didn't work, and Riko was left even more irritated than she was the day before.
As reluctant as she was, she took a deep breath and grabbed her phone, scrolling through her contacts to Yoshiko's name. It only rang twice before a smug voice came through the speaker. "So, little demon? Have you realized your mistakes?"
"I said something stupid, okay? Let it go," Riko said. Her voice had the hint of a growl, but it was still pleading.
Despite that, Yoshiko wasn't at all compliant. "I won't take demands from the likes of you!"
"I'm sorry! I-I'm seriously at my limit here."
Yoshiko went silent.
"I mean, I...I'm sorry, Y-Yohane-sama. I'm sorry for disrespecting you."
Silence.
"What else do you want me to say?"
"...Tomorrow. Come over my house tomorrow after school, and I'll see what kind of mood I'm in. You've really done it now, though, disrespecting a fallen angel like that..."
"You can come over here," Riko blurted out, instantly. Her hand was still wrapped around her shaft, as if she had some semblance of hope that she would get off that night... "My parents aren't home, and I-"
Yoshiko cut her off with a hissed, "I know I can come over there! The great Yohane can go anywhere she damn well pleases! I want you to wait until tomorrow for a reason!"
"B-but you can remove the curse from your house, right? I don't have to be there." Riko knew she was toeing the line, and it pained her pride in so many ways to suck up to Yoshiko, but she felt like she was going to die! "You can just-"
"Fine. Perhaps...perhaps I'll be so merciful as to take the curse off this evening." Yoshiko took a beat, then hummed, as if she were rather amused. "You know...you should probably keep touching yourself all night, just to be sure. It'd be a shame if you missed your opportunity."
Well, she was right. Yoshiko was rather flighty in her decisions, and Riko wouldn't be surprised if she did just suddenly decide to remove the curse. Why would Riko risk it? She could last just a little while longer without release, if it meant staying on top of things... "O-okay. I'll keep doing it."
"Good girl. Tomorrow it is."
Riko tried to weakly say a goodbye, but Yohane hung up abruptly. Riko fell back to her pillows, screwing her eyes shut and squeezing her pulsing shaft.
Just to be sure, right?
In the end, Riko still wasn't allowed to climax. It was nearly midnight when she realized that she was being toyed with; she took a cold shower and then tossed and turned her way to a fitful sleep. The next morning, she awoke to a tent in her sheets, but she didn't even bother trying to make it go away. Instead, she just put on the loosest skirt she could find and went on her way.
Yoshiko was absent at lunch, but when Riko knocked on her door after school, she was relieved to see the door swinging open immediately. "Good evening, little demon," Yoshiko greeted.
"G-good evening..."
"Good evening, what?"
"Good evening, Yohane-s-sama."
The words almost hurt to say, but Riko had to admit that she felt some form of satisfaction when Yoshiko chuckled and waved her in. "How was last night?"
Riko clenched her teeth. She knew that showing any kind of anger or bitterness towards Yoshiko would get her in quite the pickle, so she just said, "Good."
"Sure it was..." Yohane rolled her eyes, taking Riko's hand. Riko squeezed it just a little, her heart racing. Yoshiko led her down a hallway, and they soon came to a room lit by candles. The oddly gothic decor and faux spiderwebs stuck in the corners told Riko that she was in Yohane's room. Before she could truly look around the room, Yoshiko was shoving her to the bed, straddling her. Riko's hands flew up to Yoshiko's hips, but Yoshiko caught her hands and snarled, "Did I say you could touch me?"
Shocked by the sudden retaliation, Riko let her hands fall to the bed, apologizing breathlessly. "I-I just assumed that-"
"I don't think you understand what's going on here," Yoshiko said. She grabbed Riko's wrists again, pinning them above her. "This isn't some minor punishment. I don't plan on ever taking this hex off."
"I-I'm sorry?!" Riko had really thought the ordeal would be rather hit-and-run, as if one orgasm would free her from the confines of Yoshiko's magic. "You can't do that!"
"I can. And I will. In fact, I might not even let you come tonight. Doing so would be rather generous, in my opinion!"
As if to prove her declaration even further, Yoshiko pushed downwards, grinding into Riko's erection. Riko cried out weakly, her hips reflexively pushing upwards into Yoshiko. Riko wasn't sure if that was enough to make her come, but it sure felt like it. "No, p-please let me come tonight," Riko said, trembling beneath Yoshiko. "I...I need it. I really need it, or I'll-"
"Oh, you'll survive another day. I'd love to push your limits a little, Lily. After all, my favorite little demon should only be held to the highest of standards!" Riko's cock twitched a little in her skirt; she hated to admit how much being Yohane's "favorite little demon" pleased her. Yohane slid off of her, taking off her skirt and fondling her cock through her panties. "Are you that on edge, or are you just happy to see me?"
Riko didn't reply, watching anxiously as Yoshiko took off her underwear as well. However, she quickly abandoned her shaft, moving upwards to unbutton her shirt and take off her bra. Once she was finished, she leaned down, brushing her lips against Riko's. Riko wanted to kiss her, she realized, but when Yohane pulled away, she didn't argue.
"Yohane-sama," Riko said, wondering if she was speaking out of turn. Yohane was going way too slow. She felt like she would explode if she didn't get something. "Well, um...I was w-wondering...do you think you could use your mouth...? Please?"
"Seriously?! You have the nerve to make a request, after disrespecting me whenever it fits you?! How smug," Yoshiko hissed. Riko gulped. "Besides, it's not like I'd let you come first, anyway. I hope you know how to make a girl scream, Lily, because your fate at the end of the night depends on how well you entertain me."
Really? That was it? Why, Riko could do that! How hard could it be? "O-okay! What would you like me to do?"
Yoshiko didn't reply, simply undressing herself. Riko felt her heart jump as she caught glimpses of Yoshiko's naked body. Finally, Yohane had completely unclothed, and Riko could see her perky breasts, her gorgeous hips, and the full expanse of her milky skin. Riko wasn't sure if it was authentic desire or just her urge to orgasm, but she wanted to kiss Yohane all over...
However, Yohane seemed to have something specific in mind. She straddled Riko again, except that time, over her face. Riko licked her lips instinctively when she saw Yoshiko's wetness above her. "You know what to do, right?"
"Y-yes..."
Yoshiko smirked and lowered herself, and Riko didn't hesitate, raising her hands to Yoshiko's hips and swiping her tongue furiously across Yoshiko's entrance. "I said don't touch me! You're not worthy of that yet," Yohane snapped, and Riko obliged, letting her hands fall back to the bed. At that point, she didn't mind; she was far too engaged in licking up every drop of Yohane's juices, almost ravenous in her actions. Riko could hear her breathing getting heavier, but she otherwise didn't react.
Riko didn't even care about coming anymore; Yoshiko's scent, her taste, the very sound of her breathing was intoxicating. Riko became even more enthralled when Yoshiko began to rock her hips back and forth slowly, effectively using Riko's tongue as her personal plaything. Riko kept moving, though, alternating between quick, firm flicks across Yoshiko's clit and long, sloppy sweeping movements across her entrance.
Deciding to up the ante, Riko wriggled her tongue inside of Yoshiko's passage, delighted by the squeal that she received. She could've sworn she heard a "not bad", but she was so focused on her task that she didn't even really know.
Surprisingly, Yoshiko climbed off, and Riko's tongue was left in the air, desperately looking for something to taste. For a second, Riko wondered if Yoshiko was going to finally give her some release, but Yoshiko just laid down on the bed and panted, "Go on. And use your fingers."
Riko dove forward with haste, willing to do anything to please Yoshiko. She wondered if Yohane had placed some other type of hex on her that made her so utterly needy, but Riko was quickly coming to realize that she didn't care about getting off; she wanted Yoshiko.
At first, Riko was still tonguing Yoshiko's hole, but she eventually pulled away and brought two fingers into play. Yohane's wet, warm walls squeezed Riko's fingers as she pushed them in, and it almost made Riko want to moan. Part of Riko wanted to go straight for Yoshiko's sweet spot, but she still wanted to indulge a little bit longer.
Her mouth went towards Yoshiko's pink, protruding clit and started to lash at it with her tongue, making Yoshiko buck her hips hard. Soon, though, Yohane just brought her hand down and shoved Riko's head deeper into her, a silent sign for more. Riko slid in a third finger just as she began to suck on Yohane's clit, and the reaction was spectacular; Yohane shrieked, "Lily, yes, that's wonderful!"
The sound of Yoshiko's ecstatic praise only fueled Riko more, and soon, she was curling her fingers and hitting Yoshiko's g-spot over and over again without remorse, sucking and licking her clit. Yoshiko began to sing all kinds of praises, even begging Riko for more at some points. Finally, her hips began to buck erratically, her nails digging into Riko's scalp. She tightened even more around Riko's digits as she climaxed. Riko felt warm spurts of Yoshiko's quim on her face, and she moaned softly at the taste of her.
Riko kept going at the same pace, until Yoshiko gently pushed her head away. Riko moved upwards and claimed the kiss she had been deprived of before; Yoshiko didn't debate, either. When they pulled away, Riko looked at Yoshiko with affection, but soon, her gaze gave way to questioning lust. "Tomorrow," Yohane panted. "Tomorrow...I'll let you come."
Before, Riko may have complained, but for some reason, she was quite satisfied with Yoshiko's decision. She nodded and stole another kiss before Yoshiko pushed her away once more. "Thank you, Yohane-sama," Riko said, a bit sheepishly. The weight of her actions and the situation it created suddenly dawned on her, but she was too entranced with Yoshiko to even care. Part of her knew that the feeling she was experiencing was far from natural, and that Yoshiko's magic had a lot more strings attached then she first thought, but the other part was utterly happy as she began her dizzy walk home.
Yoshiko watched Riko during lunch, but when Riko invited her to sit with her, Chika and You, Yoshiko politely declined in her typical fallen angel fashion. For some reason, Riko felt upset, almost bitter that Yoshiko had rejected her invitation. She chalked it up to lust and brushed it off, but something was niggling at her...
Riko was hard all day, but seeing Yohane watching her like a bird watching its prey only intensified the feelings of arousal. By the time she got to Yoshiko's apartment after school, she was quite sure she was going to die if she didn't get some relief soon.
Thankfully, Yoshiko seemed to be in a good mood. "Lily," she greeted curtly.
"Good evening, Yohane-sama," Riko said, a bit too chipper.
Yoshiko waved her in, and Riko followed her back to her room. Once again, it was candlelit. Somehow, the creepy, slightly-dangerous atmosphere of the room only made the throbbing in her underwear worse. "Well, go ahead and get undressed," Yohane said lazily. She sat in a swivel chair by her desk, turning it towards the bed. "Sit on the edge of the bed when you're done."
"A-alright."
Riko started to do away with her buttons, but Yoshiko held up a hand. "Little demon, do you take me as a joke? I asked you to undress yourself for a reason. The least you could do is put a little more effort into it."
Oh. She was asking for a striptease.
Riko nodded and slowed down on the buttons. For a second, she felt a flash of hesitation, wondering why she was so quick to submit to Yohane; however, when her shirt hit the floor, she felt like she was shedding the last of her worries. Yoshiko's eyes on her were slightly worrying, but she felt her gut twist in excitement when she took off her skirt and Yoshiko eyed her bulge. After a slow, easy striptease (and a couple of hip shimmies here and there), Riko finally finished undressing and sat on the edge of the bed like she was asked.
"Good job," Yoshiko said, smirking. "Stroke yourself for me."
Riko slowly began to pump her hand up and down her stiff cock, averting her eyes shyly. Yohane hummed in amusement, and Riko went faster, nervously flicking her eyes upwards. Yoshiko began to undress as well, spreading her legs. When Riko's eyes landed on her cute, pink slit, she felt a jolt of excitement rush through her body and boil her blood. "I wanna be inside," Riko whined.
For a second, Riko wondered if she had gone out of line, but Yoshiko simply replied, "I suppose you've earned it. You stepped in line rather quickly, little demon...that's why you're my favorite!"
Riko was about to thank her, but she stopped in her tracks when Yoshiko got out of her chair and sauntered over, pushing Riko onto her back. "W-wait, don't you...don't you need to put something on?"
"I'm on the pill, Lily. And I'm clean. Are you clean?"
"Yes, I-I've never done something like this before," Riko admitted. In fact, she was rather surprised that Yoshiko had reacted so well to her giving oral...
"Then there's nothing to worry about. Lay back, and let me help you."
Riko relaxed into the black sheets of Yoshiko's bed, shutting her eyes. However, they shot right back open when she felt the tip of her cock penetrating Yoshiko. She looked up and saw that Yoshiko was biting her lip, her gorgeous face illuminated by the candlelight. She was lowering herself slowly, so slowly, and Riko didn't know if she could take anymoreー
"A-ah, Yohane-sama, I-I'm coming!" Riko pulled Yoshiko down, hugging their bodies together and thrusting all of the way inside as she climaxed. She weakly humped against Yoshiko's body, panting heavily. "Ugh, I'm sorry," she wheezed into Yoshiko's skin, still shooting semen out of her tip. "I don't know what came over me, I just-"
"It's to be expected...after all, I've been toying with you for a while now," Yoshiko purred. Thankfully, she didn't seem angry. In fact, she began to roll her hips a little, causing Riko to whimper. "It seems like you're still ready for more, little demon."
"Yes...more..."
Yoshiko sat back again and started to bounce up and down on Riko's shaft, taking her all the way in each time she went down and pulling out to the very tip each time she moved upwards. Yoshiko's face was lustful and distracted, but her movements were precise. She leaned down and claimed Riko's mouth with a kiss, and Riko moaned into her, thrusting upward as much as she could. However, Yohane pulled back and reached down between them, guiding Riko. "Move like this," she whispered, helping Riko match her pace. Soon, they were moving together, producing a wet cacophony of heated sex noises.
Yohane herself seemed to be on edge; Riko looked on with pleasure as Yoshiko reached between them once more and found her clit, pinching and rubbing as she moved Riko's member in and out of her. So far she had been silent, but she began to whimper, moving faster. Her movements became erratic, bordering on desperate as she tried to reach her climax. "Y-Yohane-sama, are you-"
"Harder. Do it harder," Yoshiko said, a cross between a snap and a moan. Riko didn't hesitate, gripping Yoshiko's hips and fucking her hard. For once, Yoshiko didn't complain about her touch; she just cried out and circled her clit even faster. Suddenly, she lurched forward, and Riko felt her tightening almost impossibly hard around her shaft. "Right there, right there," Yohane encouraged. "Harder, right there!"
Only a couple more thrusts had Yoshiko coming undone, wildly riding Riko's shaft and moaning "Lily" over and over again. Yoshiko's climax set Riko off again, and she dug her fingers into the soft, creamy flesh of Yoshiko's hips as she shot off another hot load. Riko had never felt so desperate before, as if nothing would ever be enough. She felt like she would never be satisfied, but something inside of her told her she had to keep fucking Yoshiko no matter what.
Before she could recover, Yoshiko was rolling them over, wildly looking into Riko's amber eyes. "Fuck me," she whispered hoarsely. Riko couldn't find it in her to argue.
Riko pushed Yoshiko's legs back, her legs near her forehead as she began to fuck Yohane without remorse, her body already coated with sweat. Yoshiko was making the most wonderful noises, only fueling Riko's arousal more. In part, she felt detached from Yoshiko, as if she was nothing but something for Riko to fuck. However, some other feeling, something deeper, made her feel as if she would never be able to leave Yohane alone. "Y-Yocchan, I love you," she blurted out. Even as she said it, she knew her feelings weren't as authentic as the phrasing implied, but those were the only words that could express the overwhelming emotion she felt.
"My little demon...has made a nickname for me?" Yoshiko smiled tiredly as Riko kept pounding away at her.
The name had slipped out before Riko could even think, but she liked it. She felt like saying it somehow made Yoshiko all hers. That was what she wanted, after all. Leaning over, she moaned it in Yoshiko's name over and over again: "Yocchan, Yocchan, Yocchan, you feel so good..."
Riko thought she would simply melt away inside of Yoshiko's walls. Yohane was clenching her tight like she never wanted to let go, but at the same time, she was so soft. Wet, warm, sticky, tight...so many words Riko could use to describe Yoshiko's pussy, but they all fell away from her as she thrusted over and over again.
Yoshiko pulled her down, biting on her neck, licking and sucking and marking Riko as hers. Riko weakly moaned her approval, trying to move deeper still into Yoshiko's wetness. Her balls were tightening beneath her as a sign of her coming orgasm, but she tried her damndest to hold out, wanting to come with Yoshiko. She felt Yoshiko's warm breath against her ears as she whispered, "You don't want me to take the hex off, do you? You want to belong to the great Yohane...forever?"
"Yes," Riko said, without thinking...but she didn't need to think. Yohane would always take care of her, no matter what. "I want to belong to you forever. Never take the hex off, Yocchan!"
Yohane laughed breathlessly as Riko's thrusts sped up. "I could do it right now, you know. I could release you. All you have to do is ask."
"No, don't, please! I-I'm yours," Riko gasped. "Oh, fuck, I'm yours, I-I-"
Riko inhaled sharply, but just as she felt her climax approaching, Yoshiko flipped them over again and began to ride her cock at a rapid-fire pace, trying to bring them both to their peak. She was successful; together, they cried out, moving their hips as fast as they could in tandem. Riko felt almost weak beneath Yoshiko, only able to watch as Yohane took what she wanted. It was oh-so perfect. Riko loved the position she was in and she didn't know if she wanted to leave.
When Yohane's hips slowed and she stilled, Riko pulled Yoshiko down, holding her to her chest. Yoshiko hummed happily, then said, "So...you understand the weight of your decisions, right? I'm never going to let you go, now."
"Don't...please don't let me go," Riko whimpered. "I love you, Yocchan..."
"Ahaha...I'm sure you do. Go on to sleep, little demon. We'll have some more fun when you wake up."
Riko smiled softly, and as her eyes slipped shut, the last thing she saw was Yohane's smirking face.