It's been almost exactly a year since the last one. Very clean.

This chapter picks up immediately after the last one. Enjoy if you can.

…

The midday sunlight streamed through the window, casting shadows as dark as the light was bright. A summer breeze wafted through the window, carrying with it the sounds of wet smacking lips and stifled moans. The air was hot enough to make Shinka feel gross and sweaty, though that only made her want to pull even closer to the warm body pressed against her.

She gasped as she parted from their kiss, breathing heavily. "If we're going to cont—ah!" Gasping, she felt Sanae's hands wander up and down her legs. "If we're going to continue, then we're going back home. I am not getting caught while we're at school."

If Sanae heard her, she showed no indication of it. Fingers continued tracing a line up Shinka's thighs, under her skirt. Lips began migrating down her neck, leaving a trail of kisses in their wake. Ragged breaths and gasped whispers reached her ears. It was clear that Sanae wasn't going to stop.

Frowning, Shinka poked Sanae's sides, causing the smaller girl to yelp and jump off.

"Hey!"

"You asked for it," Shinka grumbled, sitting up and unruffling her skirt. "Honestly? If I didn't want it as much as you do, we'd be having a lot more problems about your lack of self-control."

Sanae clutched her sides and looked to Shinka, once again wearing an indignant pout on her face. "You say that, yet you were the one who pounced on me the moment The Engaged Link was out of earshot."

Shinka crossed her arms and turned up her nose. "Consider it payback for giving Takanashi my measurements."

"Can you blame me? Master's costumes are of masterful quality."

With a huff, Sanae crawled back over to Shinka and plopped down onto her lap, leaning back aggressively into her chest. Shinka grumbled for a moment to poke Sanae in the cheek, before wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's shoulders. An ache down below was begging that they resume where they left off but Shinka kept her discomfort in check. Sanae was similarly holding back, though the way she fidgeted certainly wasn't helping either of their self-control.

"I haven't told you this," Sanae mumbled, before tilting her head back to look up at Shinka. "But you looked rather dashing back in our first year when you were wearing the Dark Flame Master's combat attire."

Shinka's smirk came it all too easily. "You're only saying that because you want me to cosplay again, aren't you?"

Sanae looked back down. "I'll admit, the many outfits you wore in your second year were appealing to me. As much as I mock the pride you harbor for your own appearance, it is not unfounded. You were… are… very pretty…"

Tender, loving pride filled Shinka's chest, swelling from the pit of her stomach until it overflowed from her lips. She purred lovingly. "So I am," she whispered, nuzzling into Sanae's hair. "For what it's worth, I wouldn't be against wearing some costumes for you."

"Then, mayhaps today we—"

As quickly as enthusiasm filled Sanae's voice, Shinka shut it down with a flat, uncompromising "No."

Sanae jabbed an elbow into Shinka's side. "Meanie…"

Shinka scowled at the sharp pain in her ribs. "Brat," she fired back, adjusting her arms into a choke hold.

Realizing what was about to happen, Sanae immediately threw her hands up to intercept Shinka's arms. They wrestled for control for several seconds until they both fell to the floor. Eventually, Shinka managed to pin Sanae face-down onto the tatami, with the smaller girl's arms locked behind her back.

"This is unjust punishment," Sanae growled.

"I respond to provocation with death," Shinka whispered in her ear with a sharp smile.

A fidget and a whimper. "It is supremely unfair for you to say something so cool with me pinned down like this…"

"I don't know. I kinda feel like it's better this way. Don't you think so, my mighty warhammer?" She punctuated the last word with a quick puff of breath. Results were immediate as a shiver travelled across Sanae's body. Shinka could physically feel the writhing underneath her.

"I swear upon the emotional coils of the universe, as soon as I get out of this arm lock, I will make sure you cannot walk for the next three days."

Shinka chuckled. "Is that supposed to be a threat? Because if it is, I'm not very intimidated."

"Have you ever heard of the phrase, 'kill them with kindness?' Well, we both know I have more stamina than you."

Shinka couldn't help but imagine what kind of debauchery they'd have to go through in one night for Sanae's threat to have merit. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was scared by it, or excited. On the one hand, she would suffer the inconvenience of not being able to walk. On the other hand, it would likely be a night to remember. Decisions, decisions…

"You're serious about this?" Shinka asked in a low voice.

"Absolutely!" Sanae exclaimed, thrashing uselessly under Shinka's weight. "You dare doubt my conviction?"

Shinka rolled her eyes. "I've dared to do worse." She nibbled Sanae's ear lobe, causing the smaller girl to seize up. "I'll gladly accept my punishment. But until then, I think I'll enjoy having you at my mercy a little more"

Sanae shivered again as Shinka moved to kiss the side of her neck. "I—mmm… I thought… you didn't want to risk getting caught at school…"

Shinka raised a brow. "Are you telling me to stop?" she asked flatly.

There was a short pause as neither girl spoke.

"I'll take that as a no," Shinka said as she planted another kiss on Sanae's neck.

"You truly are an unholy witch," Sanae whined. "Lower…"

Shinka chuckled and obliged, pressing her lips right at the edge of Sanae's shirt collar. Sanae let out a satisfying whimper.

"Come on you little hellion. Squirm."

…

Yuuta and Rikka made the trek back to the club room in awkward silence, their heads hanging low.

Nanase hadn't been kind to them. There was no trickery involved in getting them to talk, much to their surprise—as wily as their club advisor was, there wasn't much room to maneuver the conversation to her advantage. Instead, she used brute force. She presented them the empty career forms they had submitted and simply smiled at them. Her stare was expectant, unnerving, and —most of all—uncompromising. It was a stare that could break the will of even the most stalwart warrior. It was a force of nature, tearing down all defenses and demanding an answer.

Neither of them had answers to give…

"Maybe you can eke out a living with cosplay photoshoots?" Rikka suggested as they climbed the underused stairwell leading up to the club room.

Yuuta groaned. "Why me?"

"You have an ideal face and body for feminine clothing. Nibutani said 'crossplay' is incredibly lucrative, didn't she?"

This earned an eye roll. "And I suppose you'll be providing me with costumes?"

"Well… That's the idea…"

Yuuta reached the top step and turned back to face Rikka. Just a few steps below him, Rikka paused and looked up at him, smiling hopefully. The light of the window behind her cast her otherwise bright face in shadow.

"You can't be serious about this," Yuuta said flatly.

Rikka looked down. "I did the research. Costume design is a legitimate business. A bit niche, yes, but there's a demand for it…"

Yuuta pursed his lips and averted his eyes. "If you already had something in mind, why didn't you tell Miss Tsukumo about it…?"

"I didn't want…"

Rikka's voice trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling, earning a frown from Yuuta.

"You didn't want what?"

Receiving only more mumbling, his expression softened. He took a few steps down until he was level with her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Rikka, talk to me. Please. I'm begging you."

Rikka stomped her foot, making Yuuta flinch.

"I didn't say anything because I'll only do it if you're doing it with me!"

She finally looked up, her face tight with emotion. "Making the costume for Sophia was one of the most polarized ordeals I've ever experienced. When I finished it, I felt like King Leonidas, standing victorious at the battle of Thermopylae, having just slain thousands of Persian invaders with a mere three hundred at my command. The catharsis. The relief. It was overwhelming!"

She clenched her fist onto her chest, a smile of euphoric bliss on her face. But tension slowly creeped into her features. It didn't take long for a bitter grimace to take its place.

"But so was the anxiety over a deadline I didn't know if I could make. So was the loneliness of the many hours spent toiling away with only a needle and thread to keep me company. So was the feeling that, despite all the effort I put into it, what I was making was just a fraction of the quality it would have been if I had been making it for you."

She shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Costume design is not sustainable for me, Yuuta. Not without you. You're my muse. My inspiration. You… You make it worth the toll it takes on me…"

Rikka's voice trailed off once more, though the finality in her closing words made it clear that she had nothing more to say.

Yuuta remained silent as well, still processing what had just been said. He wasn't entirely sure how to reply. Nothing he could think of had the emotional gravitas to be a suitable follow up. Then again, maybe he didn't need to say anything.

Stepping forward, he pulled Rikka into a tight embrace. For a moment, she merely stood, limp in his arms. Then the moment passed, and she buried her face in his shoulder, reciprocating the hug.

"For what it's worth, this isn't an ultimatum," Rikka said, her voice muffled through his chest. "I'm sure we'll be able to find other options. But until we do—and even when we do—don't write off this one. Think about it, okay…?"

Yuuta tightened his embrace. "I will," he whispered.

Yuuta wasn't sure how long they stayed in each other's arms. Time had seemed to slow down, and the world around them had all but faded away. No longer were they in the underused stairwell —instead they were in a realm of light and shadow, where nothing existed but each other.

Eventually, though, reality pulled them out of their delusions and they separated. They looked at each other, heads held higher than before, smiles wider and brighter.

"Maybe Deko or Nibutani have suggestions," Rikka wondered as they resumed their journey to the club room.

"Oh, I'm almost certain they do," Yuuta muttered, already imagining how the scene would play out. He chuckled wryly. "Like, heaven forbid that Shinka Nibutani doesn't meddle in our affairs. That'd just be completely out of character."

Rikka giggled. "Let's be honest Yuuta, not even heaven would stop her."

"You may be right," he replied with a cheeky grin.

Sadly, they weren't able to ask for advice. As they approached the club room door, they could hear the sounds of increasingly alarming activity emerging from inside. It became clear to them as they stood before the closed door that they didn't want to open it.

"Our bags our still in there," Yuuta said, grabbing Rikka's shoulder before she could walk away.

She clicked her tongue in displeasure. "Fine then. I shall leave the task of—"

"Are you sure you want me to go in there and get them?" Yuuta cut in expectantly. "Because on top of it being mortifying for everyone involved, I'm also a guy."

It took a second for Rikka to parse his meaning, but when she did, she quickly looked down, her already-flushed face turning even redder. Yuuta could only smile apologetically in response—not that she was looking high enough to see his face.

She wordlessly tugged Yuuta's sleeve and pulled him further along the hall. Once he was acceptably far away from the door, Rikka slid it open and entered, unslinging her folding umbrella as she did so.

There was a metallic click and unfurling of fabric as Rikka stammered. "P-p-p-pay no attention to the warrior behind the shield!"

Yuuta sighed and closed his eyes, massaging his temples. She just needed to get in and get the bags. She could do it. Come on, Rikka.

Seconds later, he heard Rikka stammer again. "C-contin… Um… Feel free to continue what you were doing!"

Following that, the door closed and Rikka's footsteps hurried towards him. He opened his eyes, locking on to hers. It was clear from the look she gave him that she did not want to talk about it. All she wanted that moment was to put as much distance as she could between herself and the club room.

Yuuta made no comments or complaints. He merely took his bag off of Rikka's hands and followed her out of the school.

…

In much the same way that water would rapidly fill a deep-sea vessel that suffered a hull breach, a suffocating silence had fallen over the club room, threatening to drown both occupants in their own shame.

And what had caused said hull breach? A head-on collision with the very thing that Shinka had been worried about mere minutes prior.

"If it's any consolation, what Master saw was nothing she hadn't seen before."

Shinka, who had buried her face into her hands, looked up and scowled at Sanae. "So she's seen me three fingers deep inside you while you lewdly moan my name?"

To Sanae's credit, the twintailed blonde did not flinch at the question, though the way her jaw clenched was enough of a tell to know that they were equally mortified by the situation."She… has seen us in varying states of undress," Sanae continued carefully. "She has also seen us entangled in compromising positions. None of these happened in a sexual context, per se, but extrapolating from there is… not impossible…"

Shinka averted her eyes, not finding it in herself to argue. Not that she'd have much of an argument. They had always been physical with each other—though less so during their first few weeks as lovers. And on top of that, Rikka's exposure to Satone's—mildly put—people-watching hobby certainly helped support Sanae's claim. If Rikka didn't already suspect their level of intimacy, she certainly wouldn't have been surprised.

Of course, having no sound argument had never stopped her before. Honestly if she were in any other situation, she would've already started debating. The only reason she didn't was because she knew what it would lead to: the exact thing that had caused this awkward situation in the first place.

"The woes of a couple whose primary method of flirting is combative language," Shinka grumbled to herself.

She stood and shouldered her bag, turning toward Sanae. They locked eyes and Shinka tilted her head pointedly towards the door before exiting the room. She didn't look back as Sanae scrambled to put her underwear back on and pick up her own bag. It only took a few seconds for another set of footsteps to accompany Shinka's own.

Minutes later, when they were finally on the train, Sanae clutched Shinka's arm, stifling a groan of discomfort.

Keeping up her calm facade, Shinka leaned in to whisper. "What's wrong?"

Sanae fidgeted in her seat. "I'm going mad. Release me from my suffering…"

Shinka winced, noting the handful of people in the train car with them. "Hold it in. We're not far from your house. Remember, you still have to make good on your threat from earlier."

Sanae's vice-like grip on Shinka's arm had already been painful, but those words only made Sanae hold on even tighter. "You're not helping," she hissed.

"You plan to incapacitate me as soon we get home. Might as well take advantage of this momentary weakness while I still can." Shinka smirked. "Think of it like this: the misery of the now makes the satisfaction of the later that much greater."

Sanae glared at her. "I hate you so much right now."

"I know, love. The feeling's mutual."

After arriving at the station, it was just a short, if torturous, walk to Sanae's mansion. As soon as they were through the door, Sanae dragged Shinka by the arms to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind them.

…

Standing in front of Satone's front door, Yuuta gave Rikka's shoulder a steadying squeeze as she fidgeted next to him. "Relaaaaax," he whispered soothingly. "You have nothing to worry about. You spent two weeks on that thing. She'll probably love it."

Rikka pursed her lips, opting to look at her feet rather than up at Yuuta. When she spoke, her voice was small. "I appreciate your words of encouragement, but the Magical Devil Girl's costume is not what has me disturbed…"

Yuuta fought back a wince. "Still haven't recovered?"

Rikka shook her head. "I have not. And Sophia will notice my unbalanced state and ask me what's wrong. I've not the nerve to lie to her. She wouldn't believe me if I tried."

Yuuta nodded in understanding, though he doubted her claim that she didn't have the nerve. Considering how often she'd try to lie just to get out of doing chores or homework, she absolutely had the nerve—she just couldn't lie to save her life. Of course, Yuuta kept that observation to himself. No need to stress her out even more.

"You'll be fine," he said reassuringly, giving Rikka's shoulder another gentle squeeze before pressing the doorbell.

They heard the muffled sound of running before the door opened, revealing an excited Satone, wide-eyed and bright-smiled, radiating a manic energy that Yuuta hadn't seen since they were in middle school together. It was the same mirthful glee that Rikka or Sanae would exude during their increasingly infrequent sparring matches.

"I'm glad you're both finally back," Satone said in a strange cross between a scream and a whisper.

"Well, you're certainly chipper today," Yuuta remarked with a good-natured chuckle, slipping off his shoes as he entered Satone's apartment.

"I'm getting my own booth at Comiket!"

Yuuta raised an eyebrow, sharing a glance with Rikka. "Umm… Congratulations?"

Satone giggled, no doubt amused by the pair's obvious confusion. She ushered them to her room, giving them an abridged lesson on what Comiket was.

"If I understand this correctly," Rikka began as she sat on the floor. "It is a congregation of like-minded individuals wherein they trade goods pertaining to media they enjoy."

"An otaku convention, basically," Yuuta finished, sitting on the floor next to her.

"More or less," Satone replied with a shrug. She let herself fall to her bed. "I still need to print copies of my manga and doujins. On top of that, I need to get train tickets to Tokyo."

"Good luck, I guess?"

Satone chuckled, slowly propping herself up by her arms. "Silly Hero. The printing is mindless and expensive busy work, and train tickets aren't exactly hard to come by. Luck has no bearing."

"On the contrary, Sophia," Rikka chimed. "Printers are prime targets for the circuit ghosts that possess machines and cause them to malfunction."

"As the Magical Devil Girl, I have dominion over such lesser evil spirits. They shall not trouble me."

"And while the Japanese train system is incredibly reliable, it is not infallible. For example, there is nothing protecting the trains from a giant monster attack."

Satone puffed up her chest. "My power as a magical girl is such that I can defeat any number of them. Even the mighty Gojira would fall by my scepter."

Rikka frowned. "Fine, then. An ancient superweapon of unknown origin."

Satone took the two ends of her scarf and crossed them in front of her face. "My Devil Barrier has protection abilities that match your Schwartz Perfect Customized Gelzoniarsus!"

Yuuta suppressed a wince. He knew from experience that she had emphasized that last bit just to tease him. And after he'd succeeded in convincing Rikka and Sanae to stop calling him that too…

Rikka pouted. "What about a coordinated attack on the Japanese National Diet by agents of the Bureau?"

"If they were to attack, they'd do so in a way that would never be detected by the mundane world. And besides, they're already running most of the government anyway, so it's not like they'd need to attack in the first place."

Rikka made an irritated sound. "Look, the point is: any number of things may go wrong. No matter how powerful you may be, you shouldn't be turning down a blessing of fortune from a level eight magic user such as Yuuta."

Satone thought for a bit and shrugged. "Eh. Fair enough."

When it was clear that they wouldn't push the topic any further, Yuuta let out a tired sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Other than the unfortunately real risk of printer malfunction, this entire exchange sounded like the ramblings of delusional conspiracy theorists."

"I mean, to be fair to Rikka, she's not wrong. Just replace the kaiju and stuff with an earthquake or a bomb threat. Perhaps it becomes less flashy and cool, but it most definitely becomes more plausible."

Sure it does, Yuuta thought dryly. He met Satone's lopsided smile with a raised eyebrow. "You know, we could have avoided this entire tangent if you just accepted my words of encouragement as actual words of encouragement. But nooo. Instead, you took it as a statement that you specifically needed good luck."

"Yuuta's right," Rikka said scoldingly next to him. "You didn't need to take it like that."

This earned an eye roll and a flick to the forehead.

"Ow—!"

"You're just as at fault for derailing the conversation as Shichimiya is. Do you even remember what the conversation was originally about?" He received a blank stare in reply. "Well?" he said, crossing his arms expectantly.

"Huh," Satone huffed, cupping her chin in thought. "What were we talking about before that tangent…?"

Yuuta almost slapped his palm onto his own forehead but stopped himself before fully committing to the strike. Every time the three of them hung out, it was like this. He thought that he'd be used to it by now.

"The last point you brought up was printing your comics and taking a train to Tokyo."

Satone snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah. Need to work on that. Wouldn't be right if I got a spot and commissioned a costume but didn't do anything with either of them."

Yuuta nodded in agreement. "Speaking of that costume…" He looked around the room, noting how surprisingly free it was of stray fabric and thread. "Where is it, anyway? Is it in your closet or something?"

Satone's mirthful smile returned. "It has been put in the hands of someone who needs it."

In other words, she'd already shipped it off to Shinka. Yuuta could already feel his lips curling into a similar smile. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

"I know I sure did," Satone said, giving Rikka a sidelong glance. "By the way, how's it feel to have finally earned the money I paid you?"

There was a tension in Rikka's posture that Yuuta didn't even notice until she relaxed, melting onto the floor like butter on a hot pan. "I feel as harrowed as I feel relieved."

Yuuta chuckled, leaning over and stroking Rikka's hair. "She's been more stressed about this than I've ever seen. She had me keep your money in a lock box because she was so scared she wouldn't be able to finish it in time. She didn't want to have spent it just in case you wanted a refund."

Satone snorted. "Well, now you can buy whatever you'd like. Maybe you can finally get that hair ornament you were eyeing last time we were in town?"

Yuuta raised a brow. "What's this about a hair ornament?"

"Nothing to concern yourself over," Rikka said quickly. "A-anyway, yes. Now that my obligations are met, and the threat of refund has been eliminated, I am free to do as I wish."

This earned a giggle. "You worry too much, Eye of the Wicked Lord. And your lack of confidence is quite disturbing. You've weaved great magic into those garments. They will surely draw in the customers I want, come Comiket."

"Nibutani already agreed to this, right?" Yuuta asked with narrowed eyes. "Because if you're gonna force me to explain to her that you've decided she'd help you, we're gonna have a problem."

Satone didn't seem concerned, waving him off with a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it, Hero. She's already complicit in this scheme of mine. And it's not like she isn't used to being seen in costume."

Yuuta thought back to their time in second year where Shinka attended both the theatre club and the Far East Magic Napping Society. There were certainly rumors abound regarding Shinka and her costumes—all of them also involving Sanae, funnily enough. And she still wonders why no one was surprised that they started dating.

"Oh yeah! Hero, Rikka, do you wish to aid me as well?"

Yuuta fidgeted in his seat while Rikka sat up. They glanced at each other in confusion. "Aid you how?"

At that, Satone grinned widely, causing the pair's apprehension to rise. "You still have Hero's Dark Flame Master outfit, right?"

As soon as those words left Satone's lips, Rikka's eyes lit up brightly, while Yuuta's dimmed. He knew exactly what she had in store for them, and he wasn't entirely sure if he was willing.

Then again, he did promise Rikka that he'd keep an open mind about it. He wasn't about to break that promise—although he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to do exactly that…

Oh, these girls were lucky he was so soft of heart.

End of Chapter

Thank you to picardyThird for beta-reading this chapter.

Happy New year, eh?

That shortlist of plot points I talked about in the previous chapter has been further cut down by three.

Follow-up to Sanae's mixed feelings about the fact that they've been making like rabbits will likely be in a future chapter. For now, I hope you enjoyed their hopelessly aggressive affection.

The topic the career form from the previous chapter will likely pop up again. I tried to tie it in with other existing plot points, like Rikka very excitedly wanting to dress Yuuta up, Yuuta's mixed feelings about cosplay, and Satone commissioning Rikka to make the costume for Comiket. Speaking of which,

I'll give Satone's comiket plot an entire chapter. If you still remember the Tanabata chapter, this one might be similar to that one. Might even make it so that all scenes are written from the perspective of the chuunis. Decisions decisions.

Immediately next chapter is Touka arriving from Italy. Since I'll be tackling a topic regarding Rikka's guardians, I might as well add Yuuta's parents and Shinka's mom to the mix as well. I've been asked before "where are these kids' parents" and it sounds like it'd be interesting to address. Might as well.

In any case, I rambled long enough. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and may the rest of your holidays be just as, if not more, entertaining. Until the next chapter!