PHOOM! PHOOM! PHWEEEEE!

Pyro Blossoms lit up the sky over the Halidom as the New Year's festivities continued on. Its brilliant glows illuminated the many dwellers and denizens that called the castle and its grounds home. Yet there were many more around them than just the motley crew that rallied behind the seventh scion. Delegates from Hinomoto themselves that were there. Not only to celebrate the New Year, but also the recently concluded Fortune Fighter's tournament as well.

And few celebrated more than the tournament's champion - Luca.

"Whoo! I won again!"

Luca threw his arms up and cheered as the shuttlecock dropped off his sister's paddle. Sarisse huffed in indignation as her ears drooped down. "Yeah yeah, okay then Luca - gimme the mark," she grumbled and waited for the worst.

Eeeerk. erk.

The sister blinked and glanced down as the brush was taken away. A quick glance at her reflection in a nearby bell showed a simple circle and hash on her cheek. "Really, just that?" she asked.

"Sis, you don't need any protection from mosquitoes...mostly because they recognize you as one of their own," he smirked.

Sarisse rolled her eyes but couldn't stop her own lips as they curled up. Instead, she crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Ha Ha, very funny. Wanna practice archery again?" she offered with a slight edge in her smile.

Luca suppressed a shudder and quickly backed away. "Nah I'm good - gonna take a break now," he admitted.

Sarisse scoffed and goaded him on with a smug grin of her own. "Oooh, did someone get a bad fortune this year? Not afraid of a few little arrows, are you?"

Her brother rolled his eyes as he slowly stepped away. His eye shifted to the left as a smirk curled back on his lips. "Hey, my fortune's gonna change sis...right abouuuut-"

"TACKLE ATTAAAACK!"

Sarisse blinked as a familiar cry filled her ear right before she went flying.

"UWHAA?!"

Luca

chuckled at the squirming pile of limbs atop his sister as he slowly slinked away. He heard Sylas's irate grumblings coming around the corner as he stepped into the alley with that ever-present grin. "-Now. See ya!"

With that, he was gone and quickly into the next row of stalls. He left his sister and old friends behind as Laranoa concocted some new scheme, no doubt to recruit the siblings or even the prince into being her lackeys. As nice as it was to spend time with them all, he really was feeling pretty winded and wanted to catch his breath.

And get some food.

So the cheerful sylvan passed many a lantern and many more familiar faces. Comrades in arms, friends from long ago, and even a few young children that just waved his way. Especially after his triumphant performance against Lord Seimei. All the bustle and lights left him in quite the spirited mood as he stepped into the main hall of the castle.

Inside was the usual trappings of a Hinomoto New Year, hauled out again for just such a special affair. Plate after plate of mouth-watering Hinomoto delicacies was still laid out and ready to be taken. He especially admired the massive plate full of Hogo-style fried chicken, with a little Nanakusa flair courtesy of Mitsuba herself.

"Ah, admiring the feast as well, lad?"

Luca blinked and turned to notice the rather large, rather extravagant-looking red and gold dragon. "Hey, you're Kago...Er, Kaga...Kentu-...yeah who are you?" he asked.

The dragon took humor in the sylvan's ignorance as a mighty guffaw threatened to send Luca flying. "Oh ho ho! I like the cut of your jib, lad! Enjoy the chicken fresh from Hogo itself!"

With that, the dragon was gone. Luca shook his head and turned back to the platter in front of him. "Nice guy. Anyway, time to try this stuff out!"


"Aaah, that's the stuff~"

Luca leaned back with a full belly and a loopy grin on his lips. The picked-clean plate was set aside and laden with many bones from the chicken he'd relished. "Wow, that dragon wasn't kidding," he chuckled to himself.

"Kagutsuchi? "

The sylvan blinked at the dragon's name and turned to the source. His smile brightened at the red kimono-clad paladyn herself. "Hey, Elly! Enjoying the festival?"

She set the basket around her arm down on the table and nodded. "I am, yes. I trust you are as well?"

"Heh, yeah. Man I can't believe just how...great all this is, you know?" he gestured around the foyer and the brilliant pyro blossom display overhead. The wide columns of the Halidom afforded a perfect view outside as a rainbow of colors painted the starry skies. Luca leaned back in his chair as he admired the many shapes and even the shadows of dragons that flittered and fluttered through the fiery skies. "Haaah...No weirdos with hellgate plans, no fiends pillaging our food, no Empire baying at our door...feels pretty good," he admitted.

"Indeed," Elisanne agreed as she gestured to the seat beside him. "May I?"

He nodded and shifted over to give her room. She sat down and watched the pyro blossoms alongside him. Dozens of Su Fang's masterpieces graced their eyes before she turned to the basket and started to shuffle within. Luca looked away and watched her with curiosity piqued. "Whatcha got?"

Elisanne pulled a small, well-crafted bottle out of the basket alongside some flat saucers. "Some sake from Ieyasu. He gifted it to Euden and insisted we all take a bottle ourselves," she explained.

Luca's ear twitched as he watched her pour the rice wine in two saucers before she carefully lifted one. "I merely needed someone to enjoy it with. Shall we?"

"Sure!"

He shifted to face her properly before he accepted the saucer. The paladyn took her own and lifted it as well. They shared a quick toast before they sipped it. Elly took it well, having already sampled some with the Boar clan's head. Luca blinked as the strange, but hardly unwelcome flavor poured down his throat. "Oh wow, that stuff is good," he admitted before he sipped it down again.

"Slow yourself - it's strong," Elisanne warned him. He complied and reduced his pace as they enjoyed it side by side. The sylvan's eyes stayed locked on the pyro blossoms outside, while Elly herself was content to watch the people around them.

"Aaaah~"

Luca set his saucer down as the cool drink settled in his stomach. The clash of fresh Hogo chicken and sake lingered on his tongue as he smacked his lips in satisfaction. Elly motioned to pour more, but he shook his head "I'm good, thanks Elly," he smiled.

Elisanne nodded as she poured her next cup. "You know, Hinomoto custom is to never pour your own drink," she mentioned even as she filled her saucer up.

"Really?" he blinked.

The paladyn nodded as she brought her saucer back up. "Yes, but I think a little blend of Hinomoto and Alberia doesn't hurt, yes?" she smiled.

"No complaints here. That's what the Halidom's all about, right?" Luca smiled.

"Indeed, and it's all thanks to His Highness," she returned his grin with one of her own. Her eyes lingered on him before she looked away as her doubts crawled in. but as quick as they came they were gone as she downed more of Ieyasu's gift.

The two remained in comfortable silence, broken only by the subdued sips of Elisanne. It was a rare moment of peace between them, but one that both of them quite enjoyed. Her sips stayed small but consistent as she mulled how best to reveal the true purpose of her approach to him. Eventually, she set the empty saucer back on the table and collected herself with one big sigh.

"Luca...I never did thank you for...well, for everything"

Luca blinked and turned back to her. His head cocked at her words before he shook them away with his normal, big grin. "Hey it's no biggie Elly - you've saved my neck more than...well, a lot," he sheepishly admitted.

Elisanne shook her head but added a smile of her own. "That's not what I mean. I'm talking about, well this-".

She gestured forward into the festival. More specifically at a pile of eager young orphans that danced around a samurai-garbed Berserker and a bemused Lucretia. Realization struck the sylvan as he watched them play and revel in their own ways. "It's gonna be a hard year, but at least there's hope," she explained.

"Oh yeah - and we'll have plenty of work cut out for us," Luca admitted. He turned to the paladyn and looked her in her rather lustrous violet eyes 'Wait, have I ever noticed that...Nah, that's weird,' he shook it off and focused on his query. "Speaking of, how did that contest go?"

"As I said, I ah, destroyed them...lovingly, of course," she chuckled. Her hand reached up and tucked an errant hair back behind her ear as she offered him a radiant smile. Quick as it came it seemed to pass as she looked away with doubt on her face. "Luca…do you remember last summer?"

"Not much, Wish I didn't," he shuddered.

Elisanne blinked in confusion before anger crossed her brow. "Of all the...Wait no - not last summer. The one before. With Barbary?" she quickly corrected herself.

Luca cocked his head as he looked past a certain doomsday getaway and back to a rather adventurous splash of time. "Ooh, the pirate? When we went to Lewis island with the treasure and I got lost and then we had the bar..ba..."

"...Ooooh"

Elisanne nodded with pink now on her cheeks. She shifted her chair slightly closer to his as she tucked her flower back in her hair. "Yes, ooh."

The sylvan gawked at the paladyn as the long flashes came back to him. Visions of a bygone time that flickered before his eyes once more. The fire pit, the moon overhead on the beach, the absolutely gut-stuffing bounty of food...and the bodies.

The writhing moans and mewls as nubile forms rolled and ground together. Bodies he knew quite well. "That was...with everyone, yeah," he rubbed the back of his head and looked away.

Indeed it was," she admitted with a chuckle. Elisanne's fingers drummed the table as the rhythmic boom of pyro blossoms rattled in her ears. The sake warmed her body even more than the blood that pumped right to her cheeks. She bit her lip and stole glances at the sylvan - a comrade in arms and a trusted friend. "You know, It'd be nice to thank you for all this - just the two of us?"

Luca's head snapped to her with eyes as wide as the sake saucers. Elly suppressed a gulp and resisted the urge to back away, not after she'd aired her offer. "Think of it as...a gift and a thanks. No other strings?"

Luca squirmed a bit as he mulled. "Uh...sure."

The simple, somewhat awkward admission was all the incentive they needed. Elisanne calmly packed up the sake and saucers with a tint on her cheeks. Luca helped her until her basket was filled up and back in her hands. "Where shall we go?" she asked

"My room's kinda a mess," the sylvan reluctantly admitted with a chuckle. The paladyn rolled her eyes but wasn't going to admonish him as a certain housekeeper would. "Your room okay?" he inquired.

She mulled a moment before she nodded with a smile. "I suppose so. Shall we then?"

They departed the festivities and returned to the halls proper. The bustle outside still buzzed into the windows as pyro blossom after pyro blossom lit up the sky. Neither one sped up or stumbled as their admittedly languished pace led them to her chambers. No displays of affection or indecency as their hands stayed at their sides. To an outsider's eye, it would actually look like a simple walk between friends.

They'd be right.

There wasn't a thing between them - just begrudged-yet-genuine support between comrades. They were allies, friends, and both were more than comfortable with that boundary. But more than that, they had needs. Needs that should be filtered and handled in times of respite rather than let them boil over and risk lives during battle. And that is ultimately what they did, without the burden of emotion or doubts to get in the way.

It was just sex, nothing more.

Elisanne procured her room key and easily unlatched the door. She walked in without a single care before the sylvan's eyes. He spared one glance up and down the hall before he walked in behind her as she lit a single candle on the table. "So...any boundaries?" He asked as the door swung shut.

"Nay - whatever you'd like, Luca," she assured him. The paladyn set the basket aside and gently removed the broach on her kimono's obi. As she reached for the obi itself though her hand was stopped by Luca's palm.

She looked up at him with a confused expression. "I kinda like it on, for now. You good with that?" he admitted then asked.

Elisanne blinked before she slowly nodded. "I suppose that's fair. Cleo's going to throw a fit at us though come laundry."

"Eh, I'll just toss it in the water and say it was a prank gone wrong," he shrugged. His ingenuity earned him a fairly firm poke on his chest and a stern warning from the less-than-bemused paladyn.

"Don't you dare," she growled before she grabbed his collar and pulled him in. right onto her lips.

"Mmph!"

Luca choked back a gasp as Elly's soft, ripe lips brushed over his. His arms dropped down as she pulled them close together. Her other arm wrapped over his shoulder as she slowly walked back towards her bed with the sylvan in tow. Loud smacks and subdued grunts filled the immaculate chamber as they reached the paladyn's equally well-kept bed. Luca's hands reached for her hips and was ready to guide them down onto the sheets.

But Elisanne had other ideas in mind.

Phwosh

Pomf!

"Mwaoh?!"

Luca grunted into Elly's mouth as his back hit the mattress while his legs dangled off the side. He felt the full weight of the paladyn on him as she deepened their kiss and even dared to slip her tongue between his lips when he was distracted. His hands shifted back from her hips and all the way around as he hugged her back. Their crotches rubbed together through their wrinkled attire as the realization of their actions finally impacted their young, eager bodies.

Elisanne felt him push back finally and slowed her advances. Her hands shifted off him and lightly squeezed her sheets as their tongues lazily swirled together. She rubbed her covered breasts over his chest as she rolled and undulated atop him. The sylvan beneath her shifted his hand down and cupped her rear and earned a mewl of approval.

Their lungs screamed for air as they pulled back with a throaty grunt. Spit landed on his cheek from her mouth as they locked eyes to eyes. The muted rumbles of pyro blossoms rattled the room as brilliant lights flashed in the windows.

The paladyn shifted down onto her knees as Luca shrugged off his vest. Her deft hands reached for the ties of his obi before she managed to tug down his pants as well. The sight of Hinomoto smallclothes took her for a loop which was quite clear to the sylvan. "Eh heh heh - figured I'd give it a shot," he shrugged.

Elisanne hummed as she reached for the folds of his fundoshi and pulled them loose. The cloth fell around as Luca's cock sprang free. Elly's head jerked back just in time to avoid being struck in the face. "Ngh!"

The paladyn flashed a glare up at the sylvan before she grabbed his shaft. Luca's nervous chuckles sunk into low groans as Elly's soft hands squeezed and kneaded his dick. She shifted forward on her knees to give her more room to work with.

Luca's cock was admittedly impressive. Not terribly thick but long enough for him to stick out of her two palms at least. If she were a lesser woman it may be enough to make her openly drool at the sight of it, but Elisanne was better than that.

She merely kept her drool in her mouth.

The sylvan's ear twitched as the paladyn pushed her lips over his tip. Her warm, wet mouth enveloped his dick as she bobbed her head down. She let go of his shaft and gently grabbed his thighs to keep them pried apart as she worked.

Elisanne paused long enough to tuck a hair behind her ear before she resumed. Her gulps were methodical and well-honed as she took more and more of his shaft in her mouth. The tip brushed against her throat's entrance before she slowly pulled back. She rubbed her fingers against his knees as his grunts spurred her on.

Luca lightly grabbed her head as she bobbed between his legs. She glanced up between his fingers before her focus returned to the cock in her mouth. Her nails lightly dug in before she pulled up until the tip was all that remained. The shine of slick spit on the top of his shaft almost glowed in the pyro blossom's light.

Then she dipped down and took him back in her lips. When his slit nudged the back of her mouth she merely pushed further. A loud gulp echoed in his ear as he felt the tight, wet grip of Elisanne's throat. "W-wow Ell-leeeeee?!"

Her ear twitched as he gasped and bayed due to her finely honed fellatio. A smile curled around her occupied lips as she sucked him deep down in her throat. The shaft throbbed and writhed in the grasp of her gullet. "G-Geez!"

Elisanne paused and glanced up at the sylvan with an expression that could only be described as lascivious. Her lips sucked down as her cheeks caved in until she kissed his crotch. The slightest lick of pink peered from the left, then the right as her tongue lapped around him as best she could. He couldn't help but grab the edge of the sheets with his free hand as grunts and groans passed his clenched teeth.

The paladyn pulled back until the tip was left in her throat before she pumped back down. She kept her pace even and thorough as each stroke sent her drool all over the shaft. His knuckles went white in her hair as he gripped her head tight. So tight that she eventually winced and quickly tapped his wrist in a silent message.

Luca felt her jabs and relaxed his grasp on her head. He flashed an apologetic smile to her. She blinked and hummed in response. "D-Damnit!"

'Your not the only one who can pull pranks,' she mused to herself before she resumed her head bobs. The sylvan's hands stayed on his sides and into the sheets as he let her work her refined polishing skills on his personal blade.

Elisanne got a little idea in her head of how to keep the pace going and executed it while the sylvan's eyes stayed closed. Her mouth stayed affixed around his cock as her fingers fumbled down and tugged at her obi. She rolled her shoulders over and over again. Just enough to pull the top loose and expose the top of her bosom. With the first part ready she got his attention the best way she could.

By grabbing him by the balls and squeezing.

"EEEP!"

Luca gasped and snapped down to the paladyn between his legs. Now that she had her attention she made the rest of her play. "W-What was that about El-l-lly?"

"Mmmwah~"

Elisanne pulled up and sucked her lips against the tip. She pushed up on her knees as the now-loose kimono draped off her body. It still stayed around her waist while the top slid down and exposed peeks of her well-kept body. Luca gawked as the rich red rolled down and more and more milky, creamy skin was exposed. As it slid down her shoulders he got the first good look at the paladyn's perky, full breasts.

"Elly?" he blinked owlishly.

The paladyn rubbed her breasts against his shaft until he was trapped in her bosom. The long, slim cock jutted out from her tits as she suckled and smooched the tip. Once he was well and truly pinned in her bosom did she finally pulled off his dick with a lewd, wet pop. "I told you - this is for you," she reminded him before she swirled her tongue over his slit.

Luca's hips jerked up and sent his cock through her tit-trap. Elly busied herself as she lavished his tip with her lips. Her tongue lapped around the edges as she loudly suckled him. She let the drool finally leak from her mouth and down his shaft to help lube his thrusts in her breasts. He sped up as the need for release threatened to boil over.

Elisanne slowly pulled off, much to the sylvan's protest. But the paladyn merely looked up at him and killed any grief he had with her. No words were needed to describe her intents to him. She didn't actually want him to cum down her throat or on her breasts - she really wanted to have sex.

Now.

Elly pulled herself to her feet as her topless breasts bounced before him. Luca slid back, eyes still locked on her as she shifted onto the bed and straddled him. She planted her hands on his shoulders while she shifted into position. Her hips shifted down as his cock disappeared into her kimono folds until he felt something. Something wet. "Wait, don't you...ah?" he tried to ask.

Elisanne huffed and pushed her hands into his chest. "I do not, due to a certain 'smog bomb' that went off in the courtyard...during laundry day?" she reminded him.

The sylvan rubbed the back of his head and looked down with a nervous grin. "Eh heh heh...sorry Elly," he mumbled.

"Indeed," she simply said. Still, despite her cool tone, she persisted in her actions as her slit rubbed over his cock until she'd lined herself up on his tip. Luca reached up and held her hips to aid her in the process. Their cooperation eventually bore fruit as she welcomed him into her folds.

"O-Ooooh~"

Elisanne shuddered in bliss as the long, slim cock pushed her velvet walls aside. Her most holy of temples accepted the wood son's arrow. His hands squeezed her hips as he fought the urge to cum directly to her womb from the mere act of penetration alone. "O-Oooh wow Elly," Luca groaned.

The paladyn panted in agreement as she rubbed her hips to take more and more of his shaft down. She shifted her grip from his chest and grabbed onto his arms for support instead. Her groans and gasps somehow peeked over the rumbles of pyro blossoms from outside.

"Hah...hah...ha-aaah~"

Soft, breathy sighs filled his ears as he drank in the sight before him. Elisanne's topless beauty seared into his mind and took root in his memories. The way her breasts bounced and shook with every thrust, the smooth roll of her bare shoulders as she shuddered and spasmed atop him. He saw the sweat that dripped from her perfect skin, and especially the wads of spit that still clung to the inner parts of her cleavage. The sights before him made it hard not to erupt right in her on the spot.

But Luca persisted through her tantalizing body and the sounds of Elly's bliss. His fingers dug into her sides and even found the cord that still kept her kimono open under the folds. The rest of her kimono's top covered his hands as their private festivities passed by unseen.

Elisanne shuddered as the cock in her pussy sent delightful tingles up her spine. Her hands squeezed against Luca's wrists as he helped her bounce atop him. The motion of her hips and his hands made the tie at her back unravel and eventually collapse completely.

The cord came undone as the rest of her kimono spilled open to show the first glimpse of her flushed, sweaty body. Luca's hands stayed on her hips as the rest of her attire unfolded around him. She switched her thrusts for long, sensuous rolls against his pelvis as his cock throbbed in her tight, wet snatch. "O-Ooooh L-L-Luca," Elisanne chattered as the cold licked over her.

It was brisk, true, but hardly anything she'd call uncomfortable. At least not compared to the chill outside. Besides, the heat that had flooded over her kept her nice and warm as euphoric bliss threatened to overwhelm her with every thrust or roll. The flush on her cheeks glowed just as bright as the pyro blossoms that still bloomed outside and illuminated her mostly-dark chamber.

Elisanne was attractive, he could say that much. Hell, even he could see what had men and women alike lusting for her just as much as she pined for a certain prince. Even with that though, he didn't really feel any sense of guilt or anything for letting himself go with her. After all, she was using him as well.

No strings attached, just like she said.

After some time and countless attempts to fight back his orgasm, she decided they needed a change. The paladyn stopped even as he kept trying to thrust up. Elly shifted her knees up until she could free her left leg. Luca's gaze shifted to her toes as they curled mere inches from his head. "Let me show you something," she declared.

"Show you wha-haaaaa?!"

Elisanne pulled her leg upright over her head and kept it there with her hand. Luca gawked at the impressive display of dexterity as she rolled and writhed atop him while her already-tight pussy clamped down. His attempts to thrust were almost impossible now as her iron-grip walls nearly snapped his cock right off. "E-ELLLLY!"

She smiled as she raised and lowered her hips atop him. The pace had slowed to a crawl, but the sheer pressure that locked around him wouldn't let either one speed up anymore. A shudder of pleasure wracked over her body as her kimono spilled out around them. Ther warm reds, golds, and pinks practically glowed in the darkness around them and shimmered with every passing moment. Every moment that traced them longer and longer into the new year that awaited them.

The Pyro Blossoms outside increased in ferocity and bombasity as the climax drew near. The hour outside rose as the denizens outside chanted down the delayed but not disbanded ritual of the new year. The hour passed just as they reached their orgasms.

They crossed that boundary together.

"D-Damnit, Elly!"

"LLUCAAAA!"

Elly shook and spasmed as her leg dropped. Her eyes rolled back as thick ropes of sylvan seed filled her holy chamber. It sloshed around as the remnants drizzled down and out of her plugged pussy onto his lap. Her hips shuddered as she milked every last drop from his balls.

PWHOOM!

The two landed on her bed as their energy left them. The long day's activity and the prior tournament weighed down on them as they let the rhythmic booms and crackles of the pyro blossoms lull them to stupor. Luca's hand flopped over his head while his other arm lazily landed against her back. Elly limply pulled the top back up her back to properly cover herself, and him by proxy.

Boom! Ba-ba Boooom!

The two laid there with her atop him as her undone kimono draped over them like a blanket. Human and sylvan pants filled the darkroom as the last of the pyro blossoms cracked through the sky and showered the joyous Halidom in the fresh lights of a newly born year.

"Uuuuwah...Happy New Year, Elly," Luca yawned before he fell back. The paladyn shared his lethargy as she laid her head on his chest. Her hand traced up and scratched the sylvan's ear.

"Heh, Happy New Year, Luca," she chuckled.