Ashiya Douman, Alter Ego and Genuinely Reformed Villain (Honest), sat on the floor in one of Chaldea's lounges, playing card games with children. As he manipulated his hand of cards, he said, "Oh, I heard such a good one the other day. What do you call a fairy who never takes a bath?"

Six pairs of eyes turned to him, although he noticed young Jeanne Lily keeping her gaze on his hands rather than his face. He smiled at them and said, "Stinkerbell!"

Abby groaned while Nursery Rhyme smiled. Jack's brow furrowed for a moment before she laughed, shrill and delighted, so hard that she fell over kicking her feet. Everybody looked at her and Jeanne Lily scrambled to her side to calm her down. It would have been easy to cheat then. But Nursery Rhyme had already chastised him once for that and he was here to learn.

Besides, he almost enjoyed interacting with the children. Most people at Chaldea avoided him and the ones who didn't were worse. But the playgroup saw him as nothing more than an interactive climbing toy and he was pleased to oblige them.

Douman's eyes narrowed as a seventh child-shaped Servant joined the playgroup. Andersen, who was only a child on the outside, met his eyes with cool disdain as he announced in his deep, resonant voice, "It's story time, kids. Time to pay attention to Scheherazade instead of this wastrel."

Smiling ever so cheerfully, Douman stacked his cards and put them in the center before standing up and cupping a hand to his ear. "Oh yes. Don't mind me, children. I can hear my chores calling me."

Ignoring Jack and Abby as they begged him to stay, he cast a burning glance at the lovely Scheherazade, standing a few yards away with her eyes down, before he patted the children's heads and turned away.

He'd stayed a few times for Storytime with Scheherazade, appreciating the storyteller's charm and beauty. While she wasn't what he'd come to Chaldea for, she was certainly to his momentary tastes. Everything about her shouted that she was meant for his pleasures. But she wouldn't even look at him when he approached her, and only answered in the most minimal of ways. And after a few sessions, that awful acid-tongued man-child Andersen had started accompanying her to sessions. He was the strangest bodyguard Douman had ever encountered, but while Douman still played his little game, he was a highly effective one.

He strolled down the corridor, keeping a casual eye out for his watchers. If Fuuma and Danzo weren't ninjas, he doubted they'd bother hiding their surveillance from him. But their professional pride was at stake, so they did, unlike the others. Much better than Merlin, who had walked into his room uninvited one night and joked with him, while judging him with eyes that were far too much like Seimei's. When Merlin had waved and left, as if Douman had bored him, he'd wrecked his room in a fit of rage.

And then he'd cleaned it all up again. Because appearances mattered; because that wasn't who he was trying to be here. Chaldea was just a stepping stone to his greater goal, of course. There could undoubtedly be no better place on a bleached Earth to learn about love. Hah! Love! It was so simple children could do it. No matter what anybody said, he was an expert in love. He just had to convince the world of that. No matter how frustrated he became in the process—

Jeanne Lily pattered up beside him. "You forgot this, Mister Joker." She tucked a little bag of cookies into his hand, and he recalled Abby delivering the bags to everybody in the playgroup earlier that day.

As he closed his fingers around it, Jeanne gave him a smile and ran back to the playgroup. A curious child, to both watch him so suspiciously at cards yet make sure he didn't lose out on a treat.

Douman looked down at the bag, and recalled that 'sharing' was part of love, according to the littlest Jeanne. It didn't make much sense to him, but if that's what the world expected, he absolutely could act it out. With that in mind, he headed to the cafeteria, the bells in his hair chiming gently as he smiled and fluttered at the Servants he passed. If his empty hand flexed open and closed, his talons flashing in the light, well, that was simply months of frustration speaking. After all, he was but a beautiful beast.

At the cafeteria entrance, he paused as a particular voice set his bells chiming. There she sat: his Master, drinking tea and laughing with some other Servants. The source, the architect of all his frustrations. An obstacle to overcome, oh yes, but since he'd been summoned, so much more.

He'd warned her the first day he'd been summoned not to touch him. It'd been a game, partially. He knew exactly how to lure in pretty butterflies. But he'd also known, even then, if she touched him, his game would end that much faster, because he needed to control her, shatter her, dominate her and every time she touched him, he remembered that. It made it harder to act the part of the innocent around others.

"Douman!" she called, noticing him and waving. Automatically, he gave her the same smile he gave all the Servants and moved to the table she'd commandeered. Other Servants sat around her, but he didn't notice them as he pushed his way in-between two.

"Cookies. Made by Abigail," he clarified. "I wanted to share."

"Oh, how kind," said Ritsuka, giving him a warm smile that he returned as he handed her the bag. Her fingers brushed his, and a cursed fire ran through him.

He never lost sight of his true goal, but somehow controlling Ritsuka seemed more and more important to achieving it. Perhaps it was just that he was technically her Servant now. He didn't know. He cared less and less. Each time she brushed her hand over his, caught his shoulder, brushed against him in a crowd, he smiled at her, kissed her hand if he could, gave her a look that made her cheeks turn pink and her breath catch. Her reaction aroused him far more than Scheherazade's studied shyness. If he wasn't pretending to be good, he would certainly have seduced his Master long ago.

Today his other hand, hidden below the table, once again flexed, his nails tapping against his palm. It had been too long since he'd indulged himself. But for such a dream as his, he could be strong. He could manipulate gods. He could do this.

Ritsuka took one of the little curled cookies and bit into it delicately, her tongue sweeping across her lips to gather in crumbs. "Oh! These are so good!"

Another bite and her tongue curled around the cookie as it crumbled beneath her teeth. Then she reached out and patted his hand. "Thank you for sharing—"

He caught her small hand in his, tension rippling through him. His entire body burned as all his frustration and lust rose up in him.

Her lips parted as she stared at him, her eyes widening. Something in him snapped.

A heat ran through Ritsuka as Ashiya Douman, very much an unreformed villain, caught her hand in his. It was a dangerous game of hers, touching him when she could justify it. Each brush of his mouth across her hand thrilled her, while his seductive smile showed up in her dreams. But multiple people she trusted and respected had advised her to not let him manipulate her. She could see herself he wanted to do that, wanted to hurt and twist her.

Somehow, knowing that did nothing to decrease his raw sex appeal. So she kept playing with fire, even though she knew it was reckless. People who played with fire eventually got consumed.

Today, though, his reaction was new. His whole body tensed, his posture changing until he seemed not so much a man as a hungry monster. A monster's smile flared across his face—and then settled into his familiar seductive expression. But he didn't kiss her hand this time. Instead he released her and stood up.

Confused, a little breathless, Ritsuka said, "Won't you have some too? They're your cookies."

"No, my Master," he said. "I have a different sweet in mind, mmm. Do share with the others."

With that, he strode out of the cafeteria, still moving more like a tiger than a jester.

At the end of the table, Moriarty reached for the bag. "Ahh, Miss Abigail's cookies. You know, you don't have to worry about our erstwhile Caster of Limbo, Master."

Ritsuka's gaze darted to him. She knew Moriarty had been performing his own evaluation of Douman. "You don't think he's trustworthy, do you?"

"Oh, I trust him to behave exactly like what he is. But as my rival would say, I'm on the case. Trust me to know how to manage an ambitious brute like that, eh?" He snapped a cookie between his teeth and gave Ritsuka a thumbs up.

"Yes…" said Ritsuka slowly. Then she stood up. "Everybody, enjoy the tea and cookies! I have something to take care of." Ignoring the startled and somewhat worried murmurs around her, she hurried out of the cafeteria. As soon as she was gone, the entire group began to buzz. Moriarty alone smiled as he sat back with the whole bag of cookies.

Meanwhile, Ritsuka emerged into the hall, looking up and down to see if she could spot Douman. A little to her surprise, he hadn't gone anywhere at all. Instead, he stood in a meditation pose beside the cafeteria door, smiling as she startled.

Suddenly realizing that she'd had no actual plan for catching him, she took a step back before recapturing her usual nerve. "Waiting for something, Douman?"

"Me? Oh yes." His eyes, as black as obsidian, seemed to see right through her.

Rattled, she realized that he'd been playing his overacted jester role so long that she'd almost forgotten what he was still capable of. All her precautions, all her reminders to herself, they'd been the voice of responsibility talking. Now she remembered… and the memory didn't do a thing to liberate her from the power of his presence.

He didn't offer more about his plans, only smiled at her like a shark. She suddenly felt too shy and nervous to pry. "Oh. Well. Bye!"

She turned and walked rapidly away, her heart pounding. His bells jingled as he followed her all the way to the elevator that would take her up to the residential floor with her room. As soon as she stepped within the empty car, he followed her in. His sheer size dwarfed the space

"Mmm, Master. I sense this elevator is crowded with spirits today. I will have to stand quite close to you."

"Sure," she said breathlessly as he moved so near her she could feel his body heat. "Makes sense." She kept her gaze fixed on the elevator panel, achingly aware of him looming behind her.

When the elevator started moving, and his talons brushed under her skirt, a jolt went through her. Warmth followed as his fingertips and nails traced her butt. When he followed the curve down between her thighs, she couldn't help blurting, "Um!"

"Mmm, Master?" he whispered in her ear as his fingers traced the crotch of her panties.

Then the elevator stopped and his hand withdrew. As the doors opened, she looked over her shoulder and saw he'd resumed the same meditative position he'd had before.

Narrowing her eyes, Ritsuka said, "More waiting, Douman?"

He raised his gaze from the floor to her eyes, before dropping it down to look at her chest. "Mmm? Did you ask me something? I've been quite distracted with these troubled spirits."

A petty irritation swept through her. Without examining why, she said, "Troubled spirits. Uh-huh. You have fun then."

That monster's smile flashed onto his face again. "Oh, can I?" He stepped forward, blocking the doors from closing with one foot as he caught her around the waist. Before she could recover from the shock of his action, he'd opened both her vest and underlying blouse halfway to her navel and reached inside to pull her breasts forward. When he finished and released her, she was still decent by the lights of the Throne of Heroes, but she was revealing more cleavage than she'd ever done outside of a bikini.

Somehow it was different when it was for Douman rather than a whole beach. That probably had something to do with how he'd arranged her breasts for her. His movements had been fast, almost professional, but his gaze made it very clear his intentions were no such thing.

Ignoring the throbbing in her core, she said sternly, "You are still lying to me, Ashiya Douman. We discussed this."

His obsidian eyes brightened. "Am I? I'm sorry, Master, have I been inappropriately subtle?" He deliberately stroked his crotch through his mantle. "Mmm, but the spirits tell me I ought not simply take you here in this elevator. So instead I wait for you to leave."

Ritsuka closed her eyes and thought of her Command Seals, of all the warnings she'd listened to, of Douman's powerful effect on her. She thought, too, of just how dangerous this man was.

"Master, have you fallen asleep? That excites me far too much." He reached into her top again, sliding his fingers over her nipple.

Ritsuka opened her eyes and smacked him hard in the chest. He instantly withdrew his hand, even though striking him felt like hitting oak. But he wore a famished grin she found concerning. She recognized it from battles, right before he killed… quite a lot of enemies, really.

The whole situation was… strange. She needed to think, dammit.

"Did I overstep, Master? My apologies." His eyes bored into her, hungry and menacing.

She knew once, as recently as yesterday, he would have said those words with an ingratiating fake sincerity. He would have let her lead to get into her bed, laughing, entertaining her. But now she felt like she was juggling fire, and it was incredibly hot, in more ways than one.

He added, his fingers flexing. "Please, go about your business. Would you like me to fix your top?"

Ritsuka fixed it partially herself, searching his face as he watched her hands. If only she knew what had changed. If only she knew what she wanted to do about it. She knew she didn't want to banish him; she knew she wasn't going to stop fantasizing about him. The least dangerous path between those two desires eluded her, in a large part because he'd just licked his lips.

Then he gave her a happy, sexy smile. "Although… you are my precious Master. If you insist, I will happily ignore the will of the spirits and enjoy myself right here."

Shrugging, Ritsuka stepped out of the elevator door he'd been holding open, walking backward until she bumped into the opposite wall. Then she watched as he too stepped out and turned back to put a seal over the closed elevator doors. The characters flared as the call light for the elevator went out.

"Just so nobody else comes looking for you," he explained over his shoulder.

The magic brought advice from Merlin to the surface..

"If you do decide to sleep with him, he may not let it be consensual. He wants to be the Master, Ritsuka." The Grand Caster patted her shoulder. "The good news is, he'll probably be good at it."

Well. Turnabout was fair play. If he was going to lie so transparently, she could too. Without another word, she walked down the hall to her room, listening to the bells in his hair following her. As she entered her room, she made an extremely token effort to close the door before he could enter. He slipped in anyhow, lithe despite his size, and she backed across to the other side of the room as he put a similar seal on her own door.

"Hey!" she said indignantly and with butterflies in her stomach. "Which one of us is the Master here?"

Douman turned to look at her, his eyebrows up. "Ohhh, your Command Seals. Yes, I love the way they burn my mouth. The way they bind me is a delicious restraint." He gave her another smoldering look. "Do you think they could stop me from enjoying myself? I don't. Though they might add, mmm, spice." He began to remove his mantle, which she'd never seen him do before.

Fascinated, she asked, "Why are you stripping?" Then, with a flare of her usual fire, she added, "The spirits again? Do they disapprove?"

As if explaining to a small child, he said, "Don't be silly. The spirits love my clothes. But I find them inconvenient when I'm about to hold a woman down and fuck her raw."

She could hear her own heart pounding in her ears and everything seemed too bright. He'd actually said it, in no uncertain language. He probably wasn't going to laugh it off as a joke, either.

A simple, potentially helpful question bubbled through the fog in a mind given increasingly over to cataloging each muscle revealed by his unwinding garment. She cleared a dry throat and said, "What happened, Douman? Why the sudden change in attitude?"

He paused, tilting his head at her, still with that illegal smile. "Did something happen? I don't think so. But I am studying love, you know. And isn't sex the physical expression of that? I've always believed so."

More sharply than she intended, Ritsuka said, "Are you saying you love me?"

He reacted in such shock he dropped the bundle of cloth he'd half removed. "Master! You know I do."

"You gave me a charm filled with curses for Valentine's Day."

For an instant, his smile brightened, became something pleased rather than hungry. "Indeed I did, and I'm so tickled you remember it."

She watched him as he bent and picked up his dropped mantle, refolded it and set it down neatly. As he went to untie his trousers, she spoke, exasperated. "And how will this 'love' be different?"

"It shall not," he said triumphantly. "Just as before, you will be overwhelmed with my love, and cry out for me to end your torment." And then he stepped out of his trousers and folded them neatly as well.

In the small part of her mind where reason and responsibility still lingered, she realized how ludicrous her current situation was. She was on the verge of arguing about the nature of love with a naked, aroused man who understood the concept the same way a monkey understood the word 'banana'."

But the rest of her stared at his cock. It looked huge, even on him. Feeling that 'would he…?' had been adequately answered, her mind moved onto wondering, 'could he…?' It sounded exhilarating.

Reason put forward a speculation on whether he'd get off just as hard if her other Servants came to drag him away. Her frankly deviant side, in full control of her body now, inhaled sharply at the delicious thought.

Responsibility fought for a last gasp. "You do know that no matter how you make me feel, you're never going to control Chaldea, right? If that's your goal, you'd be better off seducing da Vinci or Goredolf or something. Even Sherlock—"

Suddenly Douman stood right before her, violently ripping open her top, his nails slicing through her bra. His voice almost a hiss, he said, "I don't care about controlling Chaldea. Just you."

He shoved her back on the bed, flipping up her skirt, slicing his talons over the crotch of her panties. She squirmed in nearly mindless excitement as he pressed that big cock against her hole and slowly began to penetrate her.

Even only partway in, she could feel that his size had been no optical illusion. And as he pushed himself in deeper, she panted, licking her lips over and over again.

Pain twinged through her. He paused, looking down at where he his flesh stretched hers. Smiling, he moved his gaze up her body, taking in her crumpled skirt and her open shirt before he met her eyes. "I hope you didn't think you could talk me out of this, Master. Me! Ahahahaha!"

Ritsuka found a word somewhere in between feeling every centimeter of him inside her. "No…"

He drew his fingernails over one of her breasts, gently enough to tickle, before withdrawing his cock and thrusting again, in a single hard move. The shock of the motion jarred more words loose. "No… you never give up, do you?"

"Never," he said smugly. "This was predetermined from the moment you summoned me, Master."

He stared down her in fierce satisfaction making a few more of his mighty thrusts. Then his eyes slowly widened into shark eyes as he developed a rhythm, and his nails indented into the skin of her hip where he held her. Ritsuka began to lose track of anything other than the way he made her body feel. His talons, his cock, his unique smell and his sex-drenched presence all filled the whole room, while lines of pleasure stretched through her whole body.

Abruptly he withdrew entirely, leaving behind an emptiness that felt nearly painful. She whined and refocused her eyes in time to catch his smirk. Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the floor before her bed. "Taste yourself upon me."

Dazed, Ritsuka up at Douman. He still wore a smile, but it had so much more teeth to it now. And his eyebrows were so angry, as if he'd found an unexpected challenge he thought he could beat.

Couldn't have been her. Something brushed her face and she leaned forward on her hands to seek it with her mouth.

"Tsk," he said and caught her arms. Too confused to resist, she let him hold her hands high above her head. "Now taste yourself on me."

Ritsuka scowled and twisted her body, her breasts bouncing and her thoughts clearing a bit. She was very angry with him, because the way he'd withdrawn had been tantamount to clipping the red wire on a bomb. But she couldn't free her hands, and besides, his cock was right there, tempting her. And she had a very reasonable curiosity about where this would go next. There was clearly only one way to find out.

She traced her tongue along the underside of his cock. His hands tightened on here wrists, and her nipples hardened too. Then she took the tip inside her mouth, and next a bit more. She played a while, exploring with her tongue and lips, suction and saliva. But she was naturally awkward with her hands above her head, and he eventually pulled away, saying, "Mmm, clumsy."

Dragging her up by her hands, he pushed her onto the bed again and knelt with one knee pressed against her core. She squirmed against it and then froze as he began to draw his fingernails over her outflung palms and up her inner arms, varying the pressure on each side. A thin line of red opened behind one of his nails. Breathing shallowly, she paid close attention as he scratched her all over her body, leaving behind tingling and sometimes red lines that connected straight to her groin. When his nails delicately pinched at her nipples, she writhed mindlessly against his leg.

And then his knee left her and he straightened, pulling his hands away. She opened her eyes, thinking foreign curses very hard as she got stranded on the painful precipice of orgasm. Douman stared down at her, his brow furrowed as he licked his nails. Then, running his nails absently over his swollen cock, frowning, he said, "Tell me you love me."

Stranded as she was, Ritsuka scowled up at him. "Do I?"

He pouted. "You love all of them. The brats, the demons, the criminals. Why not me?"

As the blood returned to her brain, Ritsuka reflected that she couldn't even claim the others hadn't tried to murder her, because certainly all of the criminals had. So many of her Servants tried to kill her before getting summoned. After, though… not usually.

Had he?

She could just say the words. She was already pretending a little, giving him the sense of control he wanted while getting what she craved. She could pretend at the words too. But somehow that felt like actually lying to him.

"I don't know how I feel about you yet," except that you deserve the same chance everybody gets. But she didn't say that last part, because she knew just how much he'd dislike it.

He ran the pads of his fingers along her deeper scratches, two by two, and his touch stung and soothed at the same time. When he met her gaze again, his small smile was downright sweet even though his eyes were still hard.

"This makes no sense," he whispered. "None of them love you as much as I do." Then he straightened again. "Nnnn. But I do not give up, no matter the cost to me."

Grasping her hips, he jerked her legs open and thrust into her again. Unbelievably, he felt even bigger this time. It definitely stung, and she could feel him millimeter by millimeter now.

As if an afterthought, Douman added, "I do change my strategies, though."

He reached down to use his nails and thumb on her breast. She gasped and jerked, and he began to pound into her, long, deep strokes, controlled and hard. With his hand helping, a tide of blinding pleasure cascaded over her.

He kept going, shifting her body and sliding his hands up to the sides of her throat. The unrelenting friction in her core wound up again, making her breaths short and panting. As she started whining, he pressed his broad hands on the sides of her throat. His fingers wrapped around her head, the nails combing through her hair, while his thumbs rested on her cheeks and mouth. Then his rhythm slowed and she cracked her eyes open. But he was only watching her, intently, nothing nearly as exciting as what the rest of his body was doing to her.

Vision was too much trouble. When she closed her eyes, she could feel the unrelenting pleasure intensifying. Barely aware of herself, she groaned. And when he subsequently paused, she almost launched herself off the bed straight at his throat.

"No, no," he protested. "I'm not stopping now. You see? I wanted to, mmm, but that isn't love, is it? I see. Yes, yes, I see. With love, torment is only a sometimes food."

Another groan burst from her mouth as she clenched in ecstasy, arcing her spine.

"Not done yet, either," he murmured, even as he withdrew, his eyes glittering, his fangs bright.

And why would he be, Ritsuka thought blearily. Whatever his plan was, it was clearly working.

He yanked her up to her knees on the bed and turned her around, pulling off the remnants of her top in the process. Then he pulled her back against his hard, hot chest. One strong arm caught her around her hips as he yet again shoved himself within her, this time from a new angle. As he moved, he wrapped his other arm around her too, so that his warmth surrounded her. It felt nearly as perfect as she could imagine.

"This… this is good," she mumbled.

"Mmm?" As he thrust slowly and smoothly, he stroked the outside of her core, applying indirect pressure on the sensitive parts. He enclosed one of her breasts in his other hand before he began to tease it.

Once again, that whiteout pleasure swept over her. As she cried out, he bit her at the join of her neck and shoulder. His teeth broke her skin and the pain underscored the pleasure. She felt his growl through his chest as he released her and then bit her a second time, and a third time, and, god, who cared about counting at a time like this? His hips jerked as he slammed into her and the pain, the pressure and the pleasure all melded into a transcendent orchestra of sensation.

Then he lowered her facedown onto the bed. His weight followed her down until he covered her completely, and he drove into her like a piston, utterly lost in pursuit of his own pleasure. When he stiffened like a rock within her and muttered a profane oath, his nails talons once again digging into her hips, a slippery warmth filled her and a final orgasm consumed her.

When she finally came back to herself, Douman had moved himself beside her and pulled her back against his chest again. They stayed like that for a time, and Ritsuka knew he was recovering from a shattering experience just like her.

Eventually, he shifted his weight and began to gently lick the bite and scratch wounds he'd given her. After only a few, he said, "Hmph. I wanted to walk away proudly after bringing you to pieces. But once again your wiles have defeated me."

He licked her ear and whispered, "I'll still drag you down to hell, Master. I never give up. But because I love you, there you can be my Queen."

Ritsuka twisted in his arms to look at him solemnly. Then she extracted one of her arms from between them and ran her fingers through his hair. "You're doing well."

He pouted again. "No, no no, I'm not. Tell me you love me instead."

She scratched his scalp lightly. "I get reports from Nursery Rhyme, you know. You're kind to the kids."

He lowered his mouth to the bite highest on her shoulder fora moment before grumbling, "Oh, well, that. It costs me nothing to indulge baby monsters."

Once again she drew her fingers through his hair as she decided. "I could love you. But you'll have to keep working at it."

"Of course you will." He got back to work licking her wounds. Then, at the end, he kissed her mouth, very delicately and not at all chastely. As he did, something small and bright unfurled wings in Ritsuka's soul, and she relaxed utterly into his arms.

Author's Note:
It's more than 18 months until this guy gets localized and despite my personal rules, I couldn't wait. Apologies for what I'm sure are excessive liberties with the character.

Alternate proposed titles for this included, "Love is a Banana"; "Obsessed with Master and I can't spit it out! Is it love Dou-chan?!"; "Beautiful Beast X4! AshiyaDouman's Master Class Elevator Seduction!" and ""Help! My Servant Pouts Like A Goldfish And Makes Me Hot Under The Collar!" All thanks to TungstenCat and Pallan Minerva for their encouragement and suggestions along the way.

If you enjoyed this and want to join my low-key Discord, the invite code is qey3vdW.

There is a chance of a sequel story. Let me know what you think!