For the better part of the morning, Kiyoni stuck around with Shuuichi. With enough courage, they braved the weather returning to his greenhouse. She figured a morning wake n' bake was needed to ease any residual emotions. As soon as Kiyoni laid eyes on the couch, she collapsed, wishing she had rested there the night before.
"Ra's grace, I wouldn't fly even if I wanted to. It's terrible out there."
"Told you so."
"Alright, you were right."
"Are you…are you sure you're alright? I wasn't lying about what I said earlier."
Kiyoni was feeling emotionally vulnerable at that moment, emphasis on emotional. The sentiment behind Shuuichi's words and actions were all abundant to give him everything Kiyoni had both physically and emotionally.
For now, all she could do was reply with , "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For…allowing me to come clean. Since that night, I…" she exhaled, "Ugh, it's like I just lost ten kilograms of emotional damage."
"You're very welcome. Allow me to thank you as well."
"What did I do?"
"For...saving me and...opening up to me. I feel like I'm seeing you, getting to know the real you. And I like what I'm getting. I know it wasn't easy for you. It wouldn't be for anyone in your shoes. All of that took a lot of courage and trust and personal strength and I'm...so proud of you for doing that. I'm honored to have earned your trust in that regard."
Kiyoni smiled warmly, "Shuuichi...you have no idea. I've never done that, been like that with anyone since...since that night. If ever. You're right. I didn't know I was strong enough to come out to you like that. I'm actually scared now."
"Why?"
"Because…" Kiyoni admitted as she sat up on the couch, "I don't know where to go from here. I don't know what to do. What should my next move be?"
"Kiyoni…" he suggested as he sat down next to her, "I think the next move is to...explore yourself. You've overcome the hardest part which was your past. Now it's time to focus on what makes you happy. What keeps you going. Find out what your driving force is and run with it. Like myself and this garden and my connection to God."
"Speaking of finding happiness and connections...does that mean...you?"
"Excuse me?"
"You," Kiyoni stated with confidence, "I think it's safe to say that...you've...inspired me a lot lately. I've seen the good you've done for yourself and this church. I see how these gardens make you happy. You've…appreciated and acknowledged my dreams better than anyone I know and just as much as my brother. I mean...I don't wanna be old and wrinkled working in a place like Aphrodisia. That's for damn sure."
"Why...thank you. You make a good point but...I don't think I've ever heard of an aging succubus."
Kiyoni bobbed her head, "That…may be a good point as well. Aiko may be right too. Being a succubus may not work for me much longer. I hope she sneezes her tits off from me talking about her. It would match her flat ass."
"Wait, wait. Kiyoni...is there another way?"
"Another way to what?"
"Another way for you to live…as you are."
"Actually…it's possible. From my point of view, it is."
"How?"
"It started with you. Remember the first time I gave you a massage?"
"On the back of my neck? Yes. Heavenly in my opinion."
"And the time I played with your ears?"
Shuuichi hummed an enticing growl thinking about that much to Kiyoni's amusement.
"Yeah. The reaction you had the first time was the exact same thing for the second. As of last night, I proved it to be true. The reason why I feel the way I do is because of your energy and you had a lot. So much so that I took some just to balance you out overall. The…high or whatever I feel from that is the same as feeding. The energy from you is… Wait, I'm sounding like I'm some sort of toxic energy vampire. I'm not an energy vampire. I swear I'm not. At least I don't think so."
Shuuichi simply grinned, feeling that Kiyoni was a lot more mature than she gave herself credit for, "Kiyoni?"
"Yeah?"
Shuuichi reached out and grabbed Kiyoni's hand with a gentle squeeze, "...We'll figure it out."
"Figure out what? Us?"
"Yes. Just give it some time."
Kiyoni squeezed back, "...Right. We'll…figure it out sometime."
Eventually, the two had to split up due to Shuuichi's improved condition and Kiyoni's internal determination. It was a surprise to both of them for Shuuichi to be feeling so well in such a short time. Kudos to Kurama and his selfless involvement and Kiyoni's blessed hands. While Shuuichi advised Kiyoni not to be vengeful from today on out, Kiyoni decided to forgo all that while out looking for Aiko.
Bullshit, Shuuichi. I care about you way too much to not let Aiko get away with what she did to you. You don't know her like I know her. Hell...I don't know her like I thought I knew her.
Time to make a phone call. While standing in front of the transit map at Gokokuji station, Kiyoni reached out to Aiko.
"Pick up, bitch. Pick up."
Aiko was at the Aoyama condo of one of her sugar daddies and was in the middle of giving him a spanking with a paddle when her phone rang. The sugar daddy was tied to the headboard and outer corners of his bed and on his stomach with a gag in his mouth, completely naked with a red bottom in his luxury hotel-style bedroom. The man was on the gordy side of things and felt like he was on the top of the world having a top-notch hottie like Aiko at his beck and call.
"Okay, Butajiri," she hinted with a table tennis paddle in hand, "I'm gonna ask you this one last time. Where...are the hiruseki stones you promised me?"
Butajiri moaned and hummed through his gag, unable to effectively speak on his behalf.
"Where are they," Aiko shouted before giving Butajiri another spanking, "Tell me! Tell me where they are! Tell me you like this, you piece of shit!"
"Mmmm! Mmmm-hmm-hmm-hmmm!"
Aiko's phone rang again. Whoever is on the other end is not going to be happy.
"Keep that ass where it is," Aiko answered the phone in a sweet tone, "Moshi Moshi. You've reached Aiko."
"Where are you," Kiyoni interrogated without a second thought, "What the hell were you doing?"
"Ugh. You again."
"You damn right, it's me!"
"What do you want now? Are you calling to lecture me again?"
"How in the-? How on Geb's earth are you so nonchalant about this? You know what the fuck you did and you want to sit there and act like it was nothing? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Let's not go there. Again, you're a fucking succubus, Kiyoni. What the fuck is wrong with you? You're giving our kind a bad name and have wasted the entity's time in creating you. I was doing you a favor, getting him warmed up for you. You're welcome."
"I'm doing just fine in that damn department, thank you. I didn't need nor asked for your help. Now, where the fuck are you?"
"Ugh. I'm in Aoyama. Minami-Aoyama to be specific. I'm sure you can figure things out from there," Aiko ended the call.
"Minami-Aoyama," Kiyoni peeked at the map, "Not that far. Just take the Yurakucho line to the Hanzomon line and walk from there. Got it."
Left alone in his greenhouse and under the influence of that wake-n-bake, Shuuichi decided to have a little dream of his own with a quick nap. In this dream, he found himself entering a grand, Eurocentric, gothic, palatial structure. Windows, standing fifty feet tall, provided crystal-clear views of the outside where images of actively volcanic mountains were shown in high definition along with falling meteors, mingling blood-red and pitch black clouds, and flashes of lightning and accompanying thunder. Terrifying demons were having a torture party out on the barren, rocky terrain, teasing and forcibly stabbing and assaulting deceased corpses and souls while still in their coffins or hung on crosses.
The seemingly endless entrance corridor was filled with more gothic images and statues of heart-clutching demons and horrified fallen angels including those who followed Satan when he was exiled from Heaven. The path was decorated like a Hollywood movie premiere complete with a red carpet but outlined by hundreds of human skulls most likely borrowed from the corpses of those spending eternity in damnation. The entire space had the look and feel of a Catholic church for the Satanic arts. It didn't take Shuuichi long to figure out where he was. He was in the capital of chaos, the palace of pandemonium, the sanctuary of Satan, the land of Lucifer, Hell.
As he walked down the corridor, he could see images of his life on earth shown on those tall windows including the day he was born, the day he and Kurama first became one, his childhood, and the time he damned his soul to the land of fire and brimstone. He appeared to the palace looking casket sharp, figuratively. He wasn't wearing the traditional white robe and crown combination. No. An ebony black funeral suit accessorized by a satin, garnet red vest and tie, white dress shirt, a fresh, red rose on the jacket, a thin, white and gold belt with matching gold wallet chain, and ebony black dress shoes were his afterlife attire. His Ruby red hair was shifted back to his natural strawberry with cloudy-white tips on his newly-developed tail, hair, and ears. A sign of the continuing merge of Shuuichi and Kurama. Two tears flowed from Shuuichi's eyes in memory of the life he had on earth. Because of it, the cursed necklace he wore that was given to him by Shinobu was ripped from his neck and tossed aside. There was no use for it anyway considering where he was. One would think that a sentence to eternal damnation would be devastating. However, judging by Shuuichi's stride, he accepted his fate. He knew what he was doing and the consequences of his actions. There was no need to argue or contest anything. He will live out the rest of days in Satan's kingdom and only Shuuichi, himself, was to blame.
At the end of the hallway stood two giant doors larger than the palace windows, painted in blood and decorated in human and animal skulls. Shuuichi assumed this was where he would say his greetings to his eternal master and king but the sounds of music and lewd moaning coming from the other side threw him off.
What could that be?
Opening and stepping through the doors led to more confusion for the room looked like a congregational sanctuary for Satanic and demonic praise and worship. There was a stained-glass window with an inverted cross on it with the horizons of Hell as its backdrop. Two illuminated fireplaces, one on the left and one on the right, and a crowd of attendees all naked and engaged in sexual intercourse in many different ways. The collective orgy stopped when Shuuichi showed up only to resume their carnal play once he kept moving. At the helm stood two men. One of them was an incubus dressed in an all black suit with horns, wings, a tail, red eyes, scaly, purple skin, and short, sausage link-like dreadlocks with a faded hairstyle. One look at Shuuichi and the incubus nodded in approval and acknowledgement.
"Hello," Shuuichi asked as he stepped forward to meet the man, "Who are you?"
"Your best man," the incubus replied.
"My...my best man?"
"Yep. Consider yourself lucky. I knew she'd choose you."
"She? What's all this about?"
"It's your big day," answered the second man who approached from the top of the staircase where his throne was positioned.
Charismatic in stature, the man was dressed to the Hellish nines. A dark, navy-blue suit accompanied by a crimson-red, Dracula-like cape jacket accessorized by black spikes on the shoulders. Alabaster skin, sky blue eyes, and sun-kissed blonde hair completed the look.
"Shuuichi..." the incubus introduced, "meet your lord and master. The King of darkness and ruler of Hell, Lord Lucifer Morningstar."
"Pleased to meet you," Lucifer greeted, "Welcome to my home."
Shuuichi was confused, "Wait. You're Lord Lucifer? I-I...I thought-"
"You'd see me with red skin, giant horns, fangs, a tail, and a pitchfork in my hand with nothing but eternal torment on my mind? I'm still for eternal torment but, as you can see, I can look just as human as anyone else. You forget, I was considered to be Heaven's most beautiful angel at one point."
"I can see that, yes. It's just...so surreal to meet you."
"I'm sure. And this young man is Tai Ikeda. One of my many incubi."
"Incubi? Tai? Wait, you're-!"
A church-like bell rings signifying the time.
"What's happening now," Shuuichi looked around.
Tai directed, "You might want to stand here and out of the way."
"That's fine but what's going on?"
Lucifer commanded, "Send in the bride!"
Shuuichi's spiritual heart skipped a beat, "Bride?"
Two succubi stepped towards the throne from the back area accompanied by Lilith, Lucifer's concubine and queen consort of Hell. All three women wore black mermaid gowns, wore matching veils, and carried darkly-colored flowers as if they were bridesmaids. The bride brought up the rear wearing a sable black and scarlet laced, strapless and sleeveless, victorian-style wedding gown along with a ten-foot train and two-layer bridal veil, and a bouquet of starlette and calla lilies. She was also in her succubus form and her wings accented the bridal look perfectly. Turns out, not only was Shuuichi dressed for his earthly funeral but was also dressed for his afterlife wedding. A wedding in Hell.
The bride stepped in front of her groom and stood tall, happy to experience this moment. Shuuichi admired his surprise bride and was just as excited as evident by his wagging tail.
"Brothers and sisters…" Lucifer stated, "let us rejoice and be glad for this day. To witness the union of this fox and this succubus in unholy-blessed matrimony."
As Lucifer went on, all Shuuichi thought about was the woman standing in front of him. Growing up, he was taught that an eternity in Hell would be nothing but torture and pain and despair with no chance of escape whatsoever even during Armageddon and the great rapture. It was burned in his brain that Hell would provide nothing but suffering and punishment for those who committed sins without repentance. Walking down Lucifer's corridor gave Shuuichi time to come to terms with those beliefs, thinking that he would have no choice but live with them until his soul would ultimately die or fade out of existence. The second he was granted permission to lift the bridal veil to see the woman he was going to spend eternity with washed all those thoughts away. Upon looking into the blood red, seductive eyes of his beloved bride, Kiyoni, the idea of spending forever in Hell didn't seem so bad. A choker and a matching pair of bracelets displayed dazzling blood-red rubies across the neck and wrists of the bride. Those jewels were symbolic of an already-traumatized Kiyoni having enough of the world, committing suicide just to be with her sinful lover. It didn't matter though. In Shuuichi's mind, Kiyoni was worth death and eternal damnation.
"Kiyoni," he whispered with her face cupped in his hands.
"Thus by my lips, by thine, my sin is purged," Kiyoni whispered back.
With brightened eyes, Shuuichi responded, "Sin from my lips? Oh, trespass, sweetly urged. Give me my sin again."
When the two sealed their unholy love with a kiss, everyone celebrated their union with cheers of glee and orgasmic moaning. Tai stepped over happy as hell for his sister and new irreligious brother-in-law, embracing them both like they were one, big, happy family.
The dream fasts forward to the couple consummating the marriage in one of Lucifer's many bedrooms dedicated to lust. Within the sensual glow of a fireplace and red and black candles positioned on victorian-style candle stands and plates, Shuuichi and Kiyoni made passionate love to each other as if they hadn't done so in quite some time. On a rounded, California king-size bed, Kiyoni's darkened, stiletto-shaped nails dug into the black, satin sheets and blankets as Shuuichi gave it to her from behind.
Shuuichi was having the time of his afterlife. He didn't know that Kiyoni would be so welcoming of him or that she wanted him so much. He also didn't think he would be in the position that he's in. He felt so powerful, so dominant. The handle that he had on Kiyoni's hips and the way her ass jiggled as he gave it his all with every thrust brought out the beast in him. He grabbed the back of Kiyoni's hair and went harder and deeper much to her delight and direction. Kiyoni's lusty cries could be heard throughout the halls of the palace for any listening ear. Her orgasmic tone switched multiple octaves as she neared the carnal finish line while reaching a hand behind Shuuichi's head and neck. Shuuichi, in return, brought out his more animalistic side, grunting, growling, and sinking his teeth into Kiyoni's sweat-covered flesh as he pounded her inner walls. Kiyoni was his life mate, one that will stay that way for all eternity and all of Hell will know of it.
In the final moments, both the bride and groom climax simultaneously with their explosive wailing entertaining those within hearing range. As Shuuichi filled Kiyoni's center with his seed, Kiyoni fed off of his energy in true succubus fashion. If a demon child were to come from this, neither would care considering how they felt at the moment. Separated, they each collapsed on the bed with Shuuichi lying next to Kiyoni on his back and Kiyoni resting on her stomach. Going to Hell was worth it taking into account what got them there and the rewards that came from it.
"Shuuichi…" Kiyoni mumbled.
"Yes…?"
"They're coming."
"What? What's coming?"
Children. Children could be heard from outside as people embraced the day. Sleep was impossible at that point.
"That was an interesting dream," Kurama commented.
"You saw that?"
"Indeed. A wedding in your idea of Hell."
"I didn't think to do something like that."
"Like what? Go to Hell?"
"No. Get married. And to Kiyoni of all people. I don't think we know each other well enough to go that far. Then there's her dilemma."
"Right. A succubus dies if she's in love."
"Right. I couldn't do that to her. Not with all the dreams she has. I want her to live, of course, but…"
"You'd feel better if she was with you?"
"I can't believe I'm asking this but...wouldn't you?"
"Honestly, yes. You and I are in the process of merging and I think Kiyoni is someone we can trust to help us through it. She can be...a mediator of sorts. There's the outside and then there's the inside, the personal."
"The personal?"
"Think about it. Our physical changes are one thing. No one really cares about that. What I mean by personal is...well, last night is an example. In fact, any time with Kiyoni is an example."
"Ah, I see what you mean. She is an interesting companion."
"You want her, don't you?"
"Of course, I do. You've seen my dream. Is it safe to assume that you want her as well?"
"Yes but only if she trusts me. Which will take a while."
"What if...what if we merge by then?"
"Then we'll both be of sound mind and body because we'll be one by then. Which means no more conversations like the one we're having now. If anything, I would want you to go through with it before I step in, in any way."
"That's extremely considerate of you considering your recent behavior. I find it strange hearing from that you. Turning over a new leaf, are we?"
"Don't…don't go there. She trusts you, Shuuichi. Don't you trust her? Do you trust yourself? You'll need to if you're going to pound her like you did in your dream."
"Don't…please don't talk like that."
Shuuichi thought about Kurama's question as he did a little cleaning. Has Kiyoni earned enough of Shuuichi's trust to share his body with her? Does he trust himself to be with someone like Kiyoni? How would things go? What would happen afterwards? Would they eventually fall in love leaving Kiyoni to die? Would they officially be a couple? How would a relationship fit into their respective worlds? What would Shuuichi's relationship with a succubus mean for his relationship with God? Walking through the blessed campus, Shuuichi never thought that sex, especially first-time sex would bring about so many questions. Maybe he should pray and ask God about it. Going to Shinobu would only bring about different, unrelated, and unsatisfactory answers.