This chapter is reserved almost entirely for displays of lewd affection… unless…
A 'reservation for the evening' evidently seemed to mean that they had personal access to a private onsen for the night.
Admittedly, she felt somewhat guilty for having one of her students pay on her behalf for something that surely must have been quite costly, even if it was laughable to wonder if Yuuji had spent above his means in an attempt to impress her.
This simply meant that Kalawarner was left feeling deeply touched by the knowledge that their romantic overnight getaway was merely a result of Yuuji acting as he felt appropriate.
This left the Fallen Angel wishing to be deeply and intimately touched in a more literal sense when she watched Yuuji be truly distracted for the first time that evening.
… Idly, she had to wonder what that said about her, that seeing such an expression on the face of the man who had claimed her as his own left her almost unbearably aroused.
But mostly, she was incredibly, incredibly interested to know what the cause of it was, and what she needed to do to make an expression like that aim her way.
It had only been for the briefest of moments, but seared into her mind's eye and urging her blood to run hot was the smile Yuuji had worn.
It was a smile that could only belong to a beast, breathing deep at the scent of blood on the wind.
The staff were careful not to be overheard, but it was human senses they were attempting to foil, and so he and Kalawarner could hear every word.
Curiously, the staff seemed relieved to see both of them, though they hid it well, likely in an attempt to avoid destressing their guests.
Out of the three couples who had taken the nature walk since the afternoon, they were the only ones to have been seen by staff since.
Unless both couples had taken an hour-long detour so that they could go and get lost in the mountains, there wasn't anywhere that it made sense for them to be, and the staff were panicking.
Yuuji and Kalawarner shared a look.
It could have been an 'ordinary emergency', but…
"Yeah." Yuuji said.
Kalawarner blinked twice in rapid succession, her features softening into a rueful smile as the short remark confirmed that yes, Yuuji had accurately read where her thoughts were going.
"Thank you, Yuuji." It was a shame to put their date on hold, but there were some things a person should not turn a blind eye to.
But while Yuuji would have agreed with that sentiment, she was unaware that his reasons for doing so were very different from hers.
Even while searching with all their might, humans were very talented at missing information with no possible explanation.
Like the footprint Yuuji and Kalawarner found leading up into the mountains, within minutes of searching.
Because though the print might have looked like it belonged to a man walking barefoot, said footprint was the size of a small child.
"Oh my, perhaps it was for the best that we got involved," Kalawarner said as she leaned over his shoulder. "It's hard to imagine that the onsen staff are equipped to deal with an Oni problem."
"Maybe if it involved little guys like Akeno's Familiars," Yuuji shrugged.
"These are a little big to be Chippo-Oni, I'd agree." Kalawarner said with a brief laugh.
Chippo-Oni were 'travel-sized Oni', generally incapable of speech and usually less than a foot in height, popular as Familiars among the Japanese supernatural community. They came into being spontaneously in ki-rich areas, such as where many Yokai lived over long periods. Left to their own devices the slow accumulation of energy would take a century, but it could be much faster under a powerful master. Once their inner energy reached the threshold, a Chippo-Oni would grow fifteen or twenty times larger overnight, swelling in size and power to be reborn as a true Oni.
A powerful and loyal guardian for life, if raised under a caring master. And if not…
"Though perhaps newly-reborn Oni may be the culprits," Kalawarner suggested after a moment. "It's said that wildborn Oni have a period where both they're savage and ravenously hungry, as they adjust to their sudden increase in size and appetite."
"Ravenous, huh?"
"Indeed, so there is little time to waste," Kalawarner said, lifting one leg at a time to tighten the ankle-straps of her high-heels. "Fortunately, I doubt following their trail will take much effort on our parts."
With a nod of his own, Yuuji followed behind as Kalawarner broke into a dead run, silent and smooth despite her choice of footwear.
For some reason, her boredom had just gotten boredom-ier.
Probably because even if it was kinda late, she was still awake because she'd taken a nap at lunch time, and also because Yuuto was out doing Devil-work so he wasn't with her.
Yuuto's job had sounded boring, so she was pretty sure someone else was just doing something fun without her.
Rolling off the couch with lazy grace, Musashi rose to her feet, deciding that she may as well swing her swords if she was bored.
Scooping her weapons up, Musashi went to hang them from her belt, only to blink big eyes several times as a motion that she (had proven she) could do in her sleep failed.
Mostly because wearing a belt with cotton short-shorts would be silly.
She'd forgotten she was wearing those, because they were a new thing for her- she'd gotten advice from Raynare about clothing that showed off her legs more for… reasons.
Reasons that weren't here when she was bored, because that reason was a dummy.
A responsible dummy.
… A handsome responsible dummy, that she was already missing a lot even though it had been two hours and six minutes since she'd seen him last.
For a former drifter like her, missing someone was still a strange feeling.
As the sliding doors of the basement practice room (one of them anyways) slid open, Musashi had to wonder when she'd gone down two floors of the dorm.
Fortunately, the practice room contained a distraction who was busy working up a sweat.
"Heya Xen-chan, mind some company?"
"... Where did they even get a pot that big?"
As Kalawarner had suspected, the Oni were easy to find.
There were six of them- hulking brutes with angry red skin and gleaming white fangs and tusks seemingly too big for their mouths to contain. Fat but solid with wild manes of pure white hair, the way they were built made Yuuji imagine feral sumo wrestlers.
The missing people were most likely alive, but had seen better days- dangling motionlessly on a rope above a crude iron pot, bubbling with boiling liquid and half again the height of a man.
The Oni were gathered around the cooking fire, sitting or sprawled across the ground in great heaps.
And, perhaps the reason that dinner had neither been cooked or served was the source of their 'evening entertainment', that had so easily led Yuuji and Kalawarner to them.
It somehow looked very proper, for her to be sitting there, legs folded beneath her.
Even though the woman was seated atop the knotted rope that kept the hanging guests suspended above the fire.
Her pitch-black hair was so dark it blended into the night air, her skin as pale as the moon. A dark purple yukata decorated with red spider lilies hung loosely off her slim shoulders, exposing her plump bosom and kept nominally shut by the bone-white obi wrapped around her waist.
Resting in her lap was the bottom of the shamisen- a long-necked, stringed instrument similar to a guitar or lute, a traditional instrument used in Japan for centuries.
Kalawarner was certain Yuuji had noticed as well- whether the crackling of the fire, the snores of the slumbering Oni, or the many sounds of the forest, none of it could be heard.
There was only the music that the woman played as her slender fingers danced slowly across the strings- a tune intimate yet decadent, like lovers entangled beneath the sheets.
Narrow eyes the color of spilled wine cracked open, and sought them out without falter despite how well-hidden they were. An expectant gaze and a smirk on thin lips, as if she had grown bored waiting for them.
As if lured by the music, the two shared a brief glance, and stepped into the firelight.
With all sounds muffled but the teasing melody of the shamisen, and that same music keeping both Oni and human in a deep stupor, bringing the guests to safety became a trivial task.
It helped that Yuuji could make a pot lid out of thin air- it gave him somewhere to stand as he cut the guests free, carefully tossing them down to Kalawarner one by one.
When the last guest was free, the musician rose to her feet, a strap that hadn't been there a moment ago keeping her instrument secure as the music continued unabated.
With measured steps, she walked her way down from the wooden beam as if the empty air were a staircase just for her.
Yuuji would admit, it was pretty impressive to do all that while keeping to the beat- even her steps were in rhythm.
It was equally impressive when she made her way to the still-bound guests (easier to transport if they were going to be deadweight), and began to slowly circle them, still plucking away on the strings.
It was less impressive when she made a full circle around the tied group, and flashed their rescuers a wink.
Because the moment she did, both she and the humans vanished, leaving behind nothing but a glowing circle of off-white sandal prints, and a few notes of music that lingered mischievously on the night air.
When the last notes faded, the sounds of the fire and the night resumed, and the Oni that surrounded them on every side began to stir almost immediately.
"Well, it would be a problem to leave them be, anyways."
Kalawarner's response was to walk over to the massive iron pot, and overturn it with a single shove of a four inch heel.
For the Oni, a peaceful awakening turned painful, and all hell broke loose.
For such a quiet night, she was feeling rather restless.
Maybe it was because Yuuji wasn't home, but she pulled the plug on that thought immediately- while it was true that she could happily spend every night with him, Akeno didn't want to become the kind of needy woman who was useless without her man around.
Mostly because Yuuji was enough of a worrywart as it was, so she was doing her part not to add justification.
Raynare had done her part to distract the other worrywart by falling asleep on Rias during the movie, exploiting the King's natural weakness to sleep-cuddlers.
Though, given that when she'd gone to put a blanket over the two, the 'sleeping' Fallen Angel had mouthed "have fun" at her, Akeno was fairly certain Raynare had seen an opportunity and taken advantage.
It was also a good reminder that Raynare was the best wingwoman she knew, bar none.
No, she was probably feeling restless because more than a few of her fantasies were about to become reality.
Akeno would have blushed like a maiden and giggled like a madwoman had she known the subject of her fantasies was having similar thoughts about her.
One of the Oni had been badly burnt by the flood of stew, but the other in the line of fire escaped with a scalded knee, more angry than hurt.
The empowered shotgun slug Yuuji fired in its face was also 'ignored' in the sense that a corpse usually lacks the faculties to pay attention to most things.
Occupied herself, Kalawarner missed the chance to witness Yuuji's pensive frown, the closest expression he ever made to a pout.
Rather than wasting time hauling its massive body from the ground, one of the Oni fell forward onto hands and knees, sweeping out one meaty hand to snatch up the cheeky morsel.
Snapping her leg straight up into the air, flashing her companion who unfortunately had his back turned, Kalawarner kicked the Oni in the wrist, knocking its arm high.
As if she were a scurrying ant, the Oni brought that same arm straight down to squash her into the dirt.
This time, it met not a raised leg, but the long point of a golden spear.
The Oni howled in pain as its own strength neatly skewered its palm, and then stopped howling entirely when Kalawarner turned and thrust her next spear into its open mouth.
With a dainty hop, Kalawarner made way for the toppling corpse.
Yuuji had more or less brought a gun to a knife fight, which was what a professional would call 'tactics'.
… But.
But, a strange thought had taken firm hold of Yuuji's mind, clear as it ever was in the chaos of the fight.
Shoot them, blow them up… hell, given that the Oni had no air capabilities as far as he knew, he or Kala could turn the fight into a cakewalk, but…
Wouldn't it be a little boring if he did?
When Yuuji decided something, Yuuji would immediately act upon it with his usual lack of hesitancy. Such as, after deciding to forgo firearms, letting the gun in his hand disperse despite being in the sights of a monster that could probably strangle an elephant with its bare hands.
But, it should be said that Yuuji acting out of character could only go so far.
Thus, within the framework of his self-imposed restrictions, Yuuji would do as Yuuji always did, and…
Fight like a total bastard.
A battered iron pickaxe planted itself firmly between two big red toes, and a voice that should have sounded like boulders rubbing together rose in pitch, as high as it could possibly go.
Leaping over the sweep of a tree-trunk club, Kalawarner curled herself up and planted both feet against her attacker's collarbone, using them as a springboard to launch herself straight up into the air. Flaring her wings to halt her ascent, Kalawarner allowed herself a smirk down at the big brute staring up at her in a daze.
It clearly didn't understand how it had ended up on its back, though she supposed she too would be surprised to be kicked over by a creature with a waist thinner than her wrist.
But her current dance partner had chosen a poor time to hesitate, because the lights in the sky around her were not stars.
Skewering light fell and another performer left the stage, and, withdrawing her wings, Kalawarner allowed herself to freefall, zeroing in on the Oni waiting for her descent.
It was about to be- no, now it was rather distracted by the hefty curved sword acquainting itself with its Achilles Tendon.
Her landing point put her in a convenient position as it stumbled onto all fours, and Kalawarner wasted no time in taking two firm fistfuls of wiry white hair.
Yanking the Oni's head down, she brought her own knee up, driving it firmly into the bridge of its nose.
If one had looked closely, they may have seen the air ripple from the impact.
And ripple a little more from the impact that followed.
It would have made for quite the macabre and surreal image- a woman with the looks of a foreign supermodel doing her level best to beat in the face of an Oni that must have easily outweighed her by ten times.
And succeeding at that.
Alas, it was not meant to be- with a roar, a meat cleaver the length of a person's height was brought arcing down at the top of Kalawarner's head from above.
… Only to embed itself firmly in the skull of the Oni she'd been brutalizing as she pulled hard, hauling it in line with the blade's trajectory.
The Oni with the cleaver stared dumbfounded at its handiwork for only a moment, but that moment was all it took for several lengths of barbed wire to gently loop around its neck from behind.
Then the line pulled tight and the sharp points and hard metal bit, leaving the Oni with other things on its mind.
Like being ridden around like a strange bull by the dark-eyed Pawn garrotting it with his usual blank expression.
Kalawarner was forced to do a double-take when some of that turned out not to be the case.
Smiling.
Yuuji was smiling.
That vision dominated her mind's eye, even a second or two after the soup-burned Oni made its late entry to the battle known by booting her across the clearing.
A faint ripping sound could be heard over the dull crack of her back hitting the tree, the momentum played out enough for her to bounce off the thick trunk instead of through it.
Crumpling up into a ball, Kalawarner bit back a whine, clutching at her now exposed chest in agony.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck-!" Words she tried never to use in front of her students spilled out endlessly from her lips.
The Oni's foot was bigger than her torso, so it wasn't strange that it would impact her entire torso at once.
Or at least, that's what would have happened, if her breasts hadn't gotten in the way first!
Whoever said big boobs were less sensitive had clearly never been kicked in the tits by an Oni!
Kalawarner was in a good deal of pain, but Kalawarner was an exceptionally sturdy Fallen Angel, and thus, it was just pain.
… Kalawarner was also a Fallen Angel with the Sin of Wrath.
Yuuji halted his preparations to intercept as the sound of an enraged feminine scream was followed by a sonic boom. And then, a charging Oni was tumbling end over end as a black-winged shape rugby-tackled it to the ground.
It crashed thunderously onto its back after several dozen feet, the angle causing his view of its head to be blocked, even in spite of the comparatively slender nature of the obstruction.
Almost immediately, incoherent shouts and furious screams mixed with terrified grunts and bellows could be heard, each underscored by dull and thunderous impacts as the Oni's stocky limbs jerked wildly.
Yuuji caught a brief glimpse of slim arms lifted high, fists knitted together.
It sounded like a mallet being taken to a melon, and it caused all four of those massive red limbs to spasm once, violently, and then flop twitching back to the ground.
Clothes torn well past the point of decency and splattered with blood not her own, Kalawarner rose slowly from the twitching corpse, head tilted back so that the moonlight illuminated the ecstatic smile on her beautiful face.
Languidly, she turned her gaze this way and that, golden eyes smoldering gently.
Those eyes widened with glee and her bloody smile widened as she caught sight of the last thing standing in the clearing.
… Which was him.
Bones popped as Kalawarner flexed her dainty hands like talons, hopping from her perch to advance in his direction.
But as bare feet splashed noisily down into a dark crimson pool, those golden eyes flickered.
An expression of rapturous hunger was replaced by confusion, and then awareness, followed at last by something much more fragile.
Her bloody hands rose, eyes widening and body trembling as she took in the sight of them.
Her gaze snapped up to his, and her mouth opened with no words.
"... Ah, Y-Yuuji, I m-may have gotten a bit carried away?" She managed eventually.
"Good thing we were planning to have a bath after this."
Kalawarner flinched as he approached, thrusting her blood-drenched hands behind her body in a belated and awkward attempt to hide them.
"I-Indeed! Ah… y-yes, I suppose that is… good."
With the way her bangs stuck to her face, only one eye was exposed, an eye that had awkwardly averted itself from him.
She flinched again as Yuuji draped his shirt over her shoulders, but nonetheless clung tightly to the staining fabric as she hugged it to herself.
"Forgive me, Yuuji. I did not intend…" she murmured without looking at him. "That is… please… there is no need to be afraid-"
After a beat of silence, out of the corner of her eye she caught Yuuji staring flatly at her, expressionless save a raised eyebrow.
Somehow, the hot blush that grew across Kalawarner's face seemed to make the blood splattered across it grow even more vivid in the moonlight.
"S-Shut up!" Kalawarner stammered, fully aware that she had spoken without taking account of who exactly she was speaking with. "I know how foolish that sounds, but I-! … That is…"
Kalawarner averted her gaze once more, shoulders slumping.
"That is… not a side of myself I ever wished to show to one of my students." She softly confessed.
Even if it was foolish given the present company, it was a line she had firmly drawn, yet waltzed right over in a moment of carelessness.
Unfortunately, she…
… Had let Yuuji out of her sight.
An uncharacteristic squeak escaped her lips as a strong, warm pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, crossing at the wrists.
The next sound she uttered was a good deal more suggestive in nature- thoroughly distracted by her own regret, Kalawarner had wholly forgotten that she had burst out of her top.
But Yuuji hadn't, and that was precisely why his hands had taken it upon themselves to none too gently do the work of a bra. For Kalawarner, a rush of shame accompanied the pleasure- his hands were just as 'stained' as hers, a slippery sensation that should have felt gruesome yet was anything but.
"Y-Yuuji~!?"
"I can kind of guess why you'd want to hide something like this from your students, especially the squeamish ones." Yuuji began in that toneless way of his. "But," a squeeze for emphasis drew a heady gasp. "I'm not here as your student, Kalawarner. I'm here as your man, and you're here as my woman."
Kalawarner moaned, gravity forcing Yuuji's fingers to sink more firmly into her cleavage as the words sunk in and her knees quivered.
… Using possessive language at a time like this was so (wonderfully) unfair of him.
As if chiding her for letting her thoughts wander, there was a brief but deliberate nip at her ear.
"So, did you enjoy yourself?"
Her breath hitched.
A denial was bitten back as something within her rebelled at cheapening what they had with a poor lie.
Yuuji held her close, hands still cupping her bosom but not doing anything else, and so Kalawarner took a deep, slow breath.
"... Yes. Yes, I did."
"That so?"
The noncommittal answer brought a little sliver of fear, a little irrational worry, that…
"Good. Wouldn't be much of a date if I was the only one having fun."
… How cruel.
If he spoke like that, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back.
And Kalawarner always held herself back.
While the warm body he was casually groping fidgeted and warmed further, Yuuji idly thought back to a conversation he'd had, not all that long ago.
"... Can you do it?"
"I will, yeah."
"Sorry Yuuji… I… no, even if it was necessary, I just can't. I can't… corner someone I love, not ever again."
"But I can, so leave it to me."
"... Maybe it's not fair how spoiled we are by your forceful side, but thank you Yuuji. Really."
The way Raynare bit her lip before saying that still made Yuuji wonder if they had still been talking about Kalawarner at that point.
Speaking of Kalawarner, though…
"How is it that your hands move so well even when you don't pay attention?" Woman's intuition made Kalawarner suspect that his thoughts had drifted towards a woman that wasn't her, but Kalawarner was a Fallen Angel.
A little neglect at a time like that would just turn her on.
Even more than she already was.
"Let's get the blood washed off before we go back. That's not the kind of mess I want to make in the bath."
… Much more than she already was.
They'd taken some time to clean off, and fool around, in a nearby creek.
With them no longer looking like potential evidence for a mass murder case, and with Kalawarner even more worked up from Yuuji's teasing, they snuck back to the inn as quickly as they could manage.
That is, they ported directly into their room.
When they did so, the woman placed a pair of sakazuki cups (the flat cups used for sake) on the table in front of them, and filled them smoothly with the clay jug she had placed upon the table.
"Welcome back, honored guests," she said with a smirk you could hear. "Would you care for a drink?"
Despite the playful arrogance, the first thing the woman did after the drinks were poured, and the sake sampled, was bow and thank them for their actions.
"This one's ability to safeguard our guests is… limited, though our less 'mundane' staff may have been able to mount a rescue, it would have required a good deal of luck to do so without casualties." The woman explained, lighting a thin pipe that she'd withdrawn from her cleavage. "And so I thank you once more, truly, on behalf of us all."
"How much of our involvement was planned?"
"None." The woman gave a light shrug as a puff of breath filled the air with pleasant smoke. "I merely glimpsed an opportunity when our most bloody-minded guests sought involvement."
She seemed rather amused as they took note of the scent in the air- the scent of sulfur suited onsens as surely as it did Devils.
Kalawarner grimaced a little, but Yuuji's hand in hers did much to soften the jab.
"I imagine you have questions." The woman continued on quite casually, after a sip from her own cup. "Allow me to begin reducing that number- the missing guests are safely slumbering within their rooms, neither themselves nor the staff any the wiser in regards to their near dip in the stew pot."
"And the clean-up?" There had been a reason they hadn't dealt with it.
"The soil is well-nurtured," she said, with a dismissive wave of hand.
"Ah, but it would be ungracious to allow your deeds to go unrewarded, so take these." The woman's hand dipped into her sleeve, and out came a neatly rolled scroll, wax sealed with the Dogo Hot Springs emblem.
At her wordless prompting, Kalawarner unrolled the scroll and read it aloud.
"Oh my, this is quite the show of gratitude- 'With the utmost gratitude, the current lodgings of the Devil Kazami Yuuji, and the Fallen Angel Kalawarner, remain reserved in their name, for the use of themselves and desired guests, until the day the springs themselves run dry'."
"A lifetime reservation, more or less," Yuuji noted. He could understand payment for services rendered, but it's not like they'd been entirely altruistic about their motivations.
It just showed that past the whimsical smile, the woman took the safety of what he suspected were 'her' guests seriously.
"Simply give one of your names when planning future visits," the woman said, taking another puff from her pipe, "The staff will know what to do, even if they don't."
That smirk of hers was still firmly in place as she refilled their cups.
"But, I shan't keep you much longer," she said, her smile widening a bit as they took note of how the smoke was not so much filling the room but framing its corners. "The night is still young, and I've a feeling the dawn is farther away than one might think."
That was probably a hint as to why his watch hadn't changed time in the last ten minutes.
"You know, you know our names, but we don't know yours." Yuuji idly remarked.
"Oh my, where are my manners?" The woman covered her mouth with one dainty hand, even as the light in her eyes danced playfully. "This one goes by many names, but I suppose if you must call me something, you may take your pick of Ehime, or Nurarihyon."
Well, that explained the 'attendants' waiting at the doors, didn't it?
"Ah, and… 'suitable preparations' have been made, so feel free to indulge in one another without minding your surroundings in the least."
The doors opened and closed for her of their own accord, leaving the two by themselves.
"... Finally," Kalawarner gave an uncharacteristically loud sigh. Leaning back on one hand, she tugged at the hem of a yukata that needed very little tugging to stray past the point of indecent.
With a smooth motion, she swung one leg over his, straddling Yuuji and placing her hands on his shoulders.
When she leaned her head forward, her bangs fell forward like a curtain, concealing both their faces to a degree.
"As she said, the night is young," Kalawarner's low voice was rich and warm, dripping with desire yet somehow maintaining a certain sense of decorum. "And while I'm very interested in enjoying the onsen, I'm much, much more interested in the company I'll be sharing it with."
With a smile one would only see if you knew what to look for, Yuuji answered with hands instead of words. Golden eyes widened then grew heavy-lidded as those hands smoothly slid up her bare legs, and under the hem of her yukata.
Kalawarner's hands moved from his shoulders to his cheeks, and their lips slowly met.
There was a special kind of joy in taking a bath with someone you planned to have sex with afterwards.
Not that she intended to rush- like all works of art, Grayfia's body was meant to be admired.
Combined with the feeling of solidarity with her man, who was probably making a mess of Kalawarner in or near an onsen right about now, Akeno being wet had more to do with just water.
Oops~ was thinking about a man while she was with a woman a faux pas?
"Perhaps it's for the best that we're in an intimate setting, because that smile of yours is inappropriate for anything else."
"Ufufu~ and whose fault do you think it is, that I'm smiling like this?" Akeno purred teasingly, rising on her knees and wrapping her arms around a taut waist, pressing in close.
"Mine, with any luck."
"Mhm, and I think I'll have you take thorough responsibility, Grayfia~"
Grayfia twisted in her seat, and Akeno, happily guessing at her intent, loosened her arms just enough, as the naked maid reached back to cup her head with one hand.
It wasn't a particularly deep, nor long kiss, but it made intentions clear and anticipation grow.
The two beauties made their way to the bath without fully disentangling, both readily accepting that their shared patience wouldn't carry them all the way back out of those waters.
There was a special kind of joy in taking a bath with someone you planned to have sex with afterwards.
Washing Yuuji's back was a joy in and of itself, on that note- not an inch of unneeded bulk, yet every bit as sturdy as the iron he could summon at will. It was like a physical representation of the stability, the reassurance, that his presence represented in her life.
It was also fun to touch because he was hot.
No matter how she might wax poetic, it wouldn't do to forget the simple things.
It was made easy by how Yuuji had washed her back first- he'd been keeping her at a low simmer ever since the fight.
… No, no, that was wrong.
Before, after, and during the fight.
At this rate, she was going to embarrass herself the moment he was inside of her, but a little shame wouldn't prevent her from making sure their night remained a memorable one.
Making sure her hair was kept in its high, loose bun as she rose, Kalawarner left her towel behind, boldly sauntering naked across the short distance from the shower to the pool.
As if competing to best display her nude form, the pale light of the moon and the warm glow of the lanterns danced across her skin, highlighting both the lushness of her curves and the subtle tone of her muscles.
Entering the water up to her calves as she stopped on the submerged staircase, Kalawarner cocked one hip and twisted back to look over her shoulder.
"Do you plan on entering the bath, or are you just going to sit and admire the view?" She smirked.
"It's a real dilemma, so I'll compromise and do a bit of both." Yuuji decided.
Her smile softening, Kalawarner turned his way a bit more, and offered her hand.
She found it just a little amusing that, in the present circumstances, Yuuji's hand, taking hold of hers, still gave a little thrill.
She found it just a little amusing that, in the present circumstances, Grayfia's hand, taking hold of hers, still gave a little thrill.
Giggling softly, Akeno gave a gentle tug, guiding Grayfia to her feet to join her at standing in the center of the bath.
Wrapping her other arm around Grayfia's waist and pulling her close, Akeno took a moment to appreciate the intimate contact as Grayfia did the same, leaving the two in a pose not unlike that of a slow dance.
Hmm… naked slow dancing? That sounded hot, she'd have to put that on the to-do-list for later.
As the mind made notes, the body moved, both in harmonious pursuit of lewd things.
Akeno's favorite posture for kissing a girl was breast to breast, preferably with no clothing in the way. She just loved how the need for closeness would force their tits to smoosh together as their tongues tangled- the way she could feel the tips of their breasts hardening, poking into soft skin as arousal grew.
It was almost as much fun as feeling Yuuji get hard while they made out, that hot and hard lust burning against her lower stomach as they kissed.
Grayfia pushed against her slightly, arms wrapping around her upper body as Akeno was forced into a slight lean by the taller woman. Indulging in the little back and forth, Akeno switched her grip from waist to butt, feeling a rush of excitement at the sweet, muffled moan that prompted.
Slowly spinning them about, Akeno broke the kiss and slid them across the smooth tile with a whisper of power, showcasing her power and control when the same current swept them up and out of the pool.
Capitalizing on Grayfia's impressed moment of surprise, Akeno carefully backed her up a few paces until the maid's back touched the wall.
Gently taking Grayfia by the wrists, Akeno pinned them to the wall on either side of her head, pulling away just enough that only their breasts were still in contact.
That those ruby red eyes she'd admired for so long were just a little wide made Akeno's sultry smirk grow- more so that the expression of surprise she was bearing witness to suggested that said surprise was both pleasant and welcome.
Squirming slightly and prompting shivers as their glistening breasts rubbed, Grayfia offered a coy smile, tempting her in.
Little tempting was required.
Things started innocuous enough, two naked bodies comfortably entangled within the soothing warmth of the onsen.
Pleasant though the silence was, Yuuji didn't imagine it would last long- Kalawarner had something she needed to say, even if he was certain it would only be their bodies talking in short order.
"I never would have imagined how… freeing it would be, to truly cut loose." A soft contralto voice mused aloud. "I was… unaware of how much I needed it."
Yuuji held his silence, just as he held her. Speaking up might lead to her saying less, he felt.
"But I also believe you knew, didn't you?" Kalawarner continued without looking his way. "That the last time I 'cut loose' in the presence of my students was both the first, and last, time I did so as an Angel."
"... Yeah. From the first time I really got a 'good' look at you." Yuuji said. "I knew we were the same."
"The same? The same…" Kalawarner slowly repeated the phrase, as if sampling the taste of the words in her mouth. "The same, you say… ufufu~"
Quite suddenly, Kalawarner was straddling him, the sound of water overflowing strangely distant, as if driven away by the intensity of her gaze.
"You've done a terrible, wonderful thing to me, Yuuji." Kalawarner asserted in a low, almost feverish tone. "I … you… ah, damn it all~"
She moved like even their present surroundings were not private enough, molding herself against him with almost painful insistence as her dark whispers burned hot through his hearing.
"When I am with you, I start to believe that my Fall from Heaven was a blessing."
"Well, let's see if we can make it feel like one too."
Kalawarner's response was sweet but incoherent, because Yuuji's fingers were sinking into the curves of her butt, and he was not being gentle.
Despite being on top, Kalawarner would have laughed at anyone who suggested she might have had control.
"You exposed a different side of yourself tonight," Yuuji mentioned conversationally as he played with ass. "Saves me time having to drag it out of you."
… Not for the first time, Kalawarner admitted to herself that it wasn't just the water making her wet, and that she was 'closer' than she thought.
And so she wasn't ready at all when he cupped her ass, lifted her, and brought her back down all in one smooth motion.
A low cry of shock melted into a blissful sigh as he filled her, smoothly forcing his full length inside her without even the slightest twitch to his expression.
Open-mouthed, Kalawarner stared up at the murky black sky without truly seeing it, only to snap back to awareness as Yuuji continued on as if nothing had happened.
"I could tell you weren't really satisfied with earlier, but if we're going to leave bruises either way we might as well have sex while we're doing it."
"Y-you make it seem… such a simple thing." All her careful control had nearly come undone that night.
Kalawarner was fully aware that her willingness to submit herself to the man before her had started with a fear of being her own master.
She was not someone who should be trusted.
A teacher with the blood of her own students staining her hands.
And had she not reined herself in, that night, she nearly could have-
"It wouldn't have changed anything."
"... Pardon-!?" Without any warning, Yuuji thrust up into her.
"Whether we started then or now, I wasn't going to show you any mercy." Yuuji clarified, thrusting again by way of punctuation.
"It's all the same- it'll just sting less if I prove it with a fuck instead of a fight."
"P-prove~ ah!? W-what~?"
Yuuji stopped moving, and looked her square in the eye.
"That you can trust me with the Kalawarner you still fear." Yuuji stated.
Her breath caught in her throat, and slowly, but surely, her face began to flush far beyond what the heat of the onsen would allow.
Several attempts at words failed her.
Most people would have given her a chance to gather her wits, as it was obvious to anyone who looked that Yuuji's simple words had affected her deeply.
"Or rather, you don't have a choice, so give up."
Yuuji was not most people.
"W-wait-!"
"No."
"Ah~!? Y-yess~~!"
Fingers linked, Akeno kept her arms pinned to the wall, drawing a gasp from Grayfia's wet lips as the younger Queen took a break from ravaging her mouth in order to nip at her neck.
Could she have escaped if she wished?
Yes.
Did she wish to?
No.
Was it largely due to how arousing it was being dominated by a younger woman?
Yes, yes it was.
Akeno's hands untangled from hers with suddenty, but only to attack softer targets- one hand began to tug ever so gently against Grayfia's nipple as Akeno slowly closed her lips around the other, sucking on it and prodding it lightly with her tongue.
Then Akeno switched breasts and did the same to the other, a brief giggle tickling soft wet skin as Grayfia's breast jiggled against her mouth.
Smiling violet eyes glanced up to catch the amorous gleam of crimson, and, squishing Grayfia's tits together, Akeno took full advantage of how large they were.
A little cry of arousal escaped her open lips as Akeno began to suck strongly on both her nipples at once, Grayfia's back arching as if to present her breasts more insistently.
Even as her tongue twirled and teased, Akeno kept eye contact the entire time, occasionally giving a little squeeze with her hands, just to enjoy watching Grayfia squirm.
Truthfully, she was just as turned on as Grayfia seemed to be- Akeno had learned with Rias that making a woman she admired and respected come undone was one of many on the list of Akeno's kinks.
Tugging lightly with her mouth, Akeno broke the 'kiss', chuckling softly as Grayfia's breasts took a few seconds to jiggle back to stillness. Licking her lips, she slowly straightened up to her full height-
And had her cheeks cupped and her lips taken the moment she did. Eyes widening, Akeno's arms once more settled around Grayfia's trim waist, all too happy to surrender the initiative as Grayfia's tongue intruded past her lips.
Feeling a tingle on her skin, Akeno noted out of the corner of her eye that they had quite suddenly found themselves in a dimly lit bedroom instead of a pool, and that her skin was most certainly dryer than it had been moments prior.
If she had known, she would have laughed at how the bathroom they'd just left now had the door locked with a 'closed for cleaning' sign, but Akeno was much more invested in what Grayfia planned to do after pushing her down onto the bed.
It was Grayfia's turn to lick her lips, taking a moment to appreciate the view before she made to climb atop both the bed, and Akeno.
Big breasts shook audibly as Kalawarner came with a back-arching scream, shuddering wildly upon the ever-wettening towel.
Just like when she'd hit her second… third (?) peak, Yuuji didn't slow down at all.
This was not them 'making love'.
This was not a mutual attempt to pleasure one another (she didn't have that level of composure).
This was Kalawarner being fucked, and loving every second of it.
Some vague, half-addled thought process whispered that a point was being made, but following that train of thought felt like trying to scoop up water with a half-torn net.
That the blissful heat inside her was so very deep made her think that Yuuji must have finished inside her at least once, but if he had, no indication had been given.
His pacing had not slowed, and his expression had not changed, even once.
Almost totally blank, almost totally apathetic… with an almost imperceptible hint of a smirk.
With merciless pleasure smashing her composure to pieces again and again, Kalawarner was several seconds slow to notice Yuuji leaning over her, even when she could feel his breath upon her lips.
"You don't need to hold back, Kala," Yuuji calmly said. "Go ahead and cum."
Of course he had to know how ridiculous that line was, given present circumstances.
Of course he had to know how unreasonable that line was, given present circumstances.
Her body didn't care in the least, and obeyed his instructions with a squirting orgasm that utterly robbed her of any ability to see straight.
And yet somehow, through it all, one feeling remained ever strong, from start to finish.
Even as ecstasy overwhelmed her conscious mind and left her passed out in a trembling heap of bliss, some deep part of Kalawarner remained totally at peace.
Grayfia was gentle.
She slowly and sexily crawled on top of the bed and straddled Akeno, settling her full weight on top of her so that their breasts hugged in all kinds of lewd ways.
A soft smile, accompanied by several unhurried and tender kisses.
On the third kiss, their tongues met and briefly tangled, leaving them connected by saliva briefly as Grayfia playfully withdrew.
The fourth kiss was the deepest, and the longest yet.
Devils could naturally make out for a lot longer than humans could without running out of breath, and kissing Grayfia naturally felt exquisite, and so it took Akeno several minutes to realize that her control of said kiss was totally nonexistent.
She hadn't given any indication of having figured that out, as far as she could tell, but the moment Akeno made that realization, she found herself being dominated for real.
Violet eyes snapped open wide and then quickly grew lidded as Grayfia's tongue seemed to caress every inch of her mouth at the same time, legs jerking and toes curling as that wonderful body undulated against hers in ways Akeno had never realized a woman could move.
… She was going to be very embarrassed if she came before her pussy had been touched, but it would also be so, so worth it.
When the kiss ended, she could still taste Grayfia on her lips, and her head was more than a little mushy, but some phrases were impossible to miss.
Like phrases such as "I do believe it's my turn to kiss… elsewhere."
Grayfia's movements were liquid smooth, and the next thing Akeno knew, her thighs were firmly but gently pried open, and her eyes had just enough time to register a naughty smirk on red lips before a silver-haired head was dipping between her legs.
A long, shuddering moan played accompaniment to the hot tongue dragging its way sedately up her slit.
She was at Grayfia's mercy within moments of when she began to eat her out, and it was so, so worth it.
For someone who'd quite literally been fucked unconcious, the best way Yuuji could describe Kalawarner's expression was 'beatific'.
Maybe it took a Fallen Angel to make a scene like that appear holy.
Golden eyes fluttered open, and Yuuji didn't resist the sudden burst of motion that left him beneath a wild-eyed and thoroughly horny Fallen Angel, that river of blue hair tickling the side of his face.
"More… please?" Kalawarner had needed to take a long, deep breath to calm herself, and even then she couldn't quite mask her need.
She also didn't move a muscle until he did- reaching up to link his fingers at the back of her head, Yuuji slowly pulled her down for a kiss. As he did that, Kalawarner reached between her legs to guide him back inside her.
Slowly, with as little distance left between them as possible, two bodies moved as one.
Between kisses, Yuuji asked a question he felt he should ask, even if he already knew the answer.
"Feel better?"
"I imagine I'm one of the few women who can answer with a resounding 'yes' after such treatment."
"You're welcome."
That radiant smile of hers made a brief return, before she drew in for another kiss.
Thanking him with actions rather than words seemed as if it would be infinitely more pleasurable for both of them.
Akeno bit her lips and closed her eyes as she felt the end approaching like a tidal wave.
She couldn't help it- even if the oral hadn't been fantastic on its own, the fact that Grayfia was the one eating her out was almost enough to push her over the edge on its own.
She'd decided that she must have been doing something right, if she could have sex with both her childhood crushes, and well as the first man she ever fell in love with.
… Wait, couldn't all four of them…?
Akeno had, somehow, managed to successfully distract herself from the way that everything but that tiny corner in the back of her mind was a quivery mush.
Or so Grayfia had allowed her to think.
Akeno's eyes opened briefly with a quick series of blinks as she realized that her hips were being held rather firmly, enough so that she wouldn't be able to move them all without considerable effort.
Grayfia gave her just enough time to wonder before answering with actions rather than words.
Delicately and with extreme care, the elder Queen pinched Akeno's clit between her teeth.
The effect was both obscene and immediate- Akeno came with a trembling, wide-eyed scream, thighs clamping onto either side of Grayfia's head, the rest of her body shuddering even more wildly as if to make up for how her hips were held firm.
Grayfia, for her part, was struggling not to cough- having been too focused on holding Akeno steadily to ensure she wasn't hurt by shaking too early, she had been unprepared for a full facial of feminine honey.
With the utmost seriousness, Grayfia made note that she rather liked Akeno's taste, and also that Akeno was a squirter.
"Ufufu~" Akeno didn't make note of anything, because Akeno was still coming down from her high.
It said something about their stamina that what passed for a break was slow and tender sex.
Then they'd gone back to the room, and-
SMACK!
Kalawarner bit her lip, eyes rolling back in her socket as Yuuji spanked her, fully appreciating the rippling sensation his handprint made.
Standing but more or less bent over double, Kalawarner clung to the wall for support as she was plowed from behind, too out of it to realize that she too was leaving 'hand' or rather 'finger' prints in the wood.
Yuuji spanked her again, and she came with a breathless cry, long legs nearly giving out on her as he pumped her full of his seed.
Kalawarner had believed that she had surrendered herself to Yuuji in the past, and that was certainly true.
Kalawarner, it turned out, had no idea how much 'surrender' she was really capable of.
But Yuuji knew.
Pulling out, Yuuji firmly hooked one of her thighs, lifting her leg from the ground and forcing her to awkwardly balance. That she managed to remain upright when he used the motion to rotate her body until she could face him was impressive in and of itself.
Her bare back pressed into the wall as Yuuji forced her into a standing split.
The pleasure-soaked haze cleared just enough for awareness of what to come, and Kalawarner's eyes widened.
Yuuji smirked, and pushed his hips forward.
Grayfia had long been aware that Akeno was good with her hands, but feeling those nimble fingers inside of her was an entirely different experience.
One that led to her struggling not to embarrass herself by finishing the moment her G-spot was given a few gentle strokes. That she had been the first to lead her partner to orgasm was a point of satisfaction, an achievement shrinking rapidly in worth as, not for the first time, Grayfia found herself being played like an instrument.
Akeno was very, very good at finding weak points, and was having all too much fun teasing them when she did.
… With an audible 'pop' Akeno's lips left the tips of her breasts aching in need, the fingers inside of her slowly sliding back and forth seeming to ease her ever closer to a cliff Grayfia was all too eager to topple from.
Their eyes met, and the curve of those often smiling lips softened. Akeno shifted, leaning in until their faces were inches apart, every gentle breath warming Grayfia's lips.
Grayfia wasn't ashamed at all by how even that was enough to make her squirm.
"Ufufu~ having all of Grayfia's cute expressions to myself is even more exciting than I ever dreamed it could be." Akeno crooned gently. "So please, won't you show me more~?"
Oh, talking like that when she was this close simply wasn't fair~~!?
-The kiss was every bit as passionate as the renewed thrusting of her fingers was aggressive.
Giving in to the pleasure, Grayfia let herself go.
She might have not gotten laid, but she'd definitely gotten lucky.
Naked cuddling was Raynare's favorite kind of cuddling, after all.
And a bit of playfulness on her part had revealed that no, she wasn't the only one feeling the yuri vibe, and no, she also wasn't the only one appreciating said yuri vibe.
Testing the waters in a fun and careful way had been rewarding, too- when she asked for a good night kiss, Rias showed her bold (and sexy) side just a little by deciding to go for the lips.
No makeout session followed, and she didn't push for one, but Rias had been tempted and they both knew it.
After all, Raynare wasn't in a rush, even though she would be so on board with Rias developing the sudden urge to push her down and have her way with her.
But for now, she would enjoy being the little spoon, and look forward to seeing how proud of a limp Kala came home with in the morning.
"Do you use things like that very often?" Grayfia asked out of curiosity.
"Hm, not very often," Akeno admitted as she tightened the buckles. "Once each with Ray and Kala, but more with Rias because we experimented to see if we enjoyed it together."
"Oh? Now I'm even more curious." It wasn't a topic a Devil would shy from exploring.
"Rias mostly likes it because she's so receptive to what I like, so I tend not to suggest it too often," Akeno said. "Overall, it seems that I enjoy both 'giving' and 'taking' more than she does. As for the other two, they enjoy both ways, so Kala offered herself and taught me I might have a teacher kink, and when Ray-chan took the lead, I couldn't feel my hips the morning after and it was just great."
"That last one is the most surprising of all," Grayfia raised an eyebrow. "Raynare doesn't seem like the type."
"Ray-chan is the most like Yuuji in the sense that she gets off on reactions, so if you want it hard, she goes hard." Akeno said with a pleasurable shiver at the memory.
"I'll file that aside for future reference," Grayfia smiled. "Now, on the topic of 'going hard', do you wish to 'give' or 'take'?"
Akeno tapped a finger to her lips, head tilted to one side as she considered.
"... I'll start. To be honest, if I'm going to get plowed by you I kind of want to make an occasion of it."
Perhaps it was a strange time to feel proud, but Grayfia appreciated that Akeno was able to take charge. Managing the harem was Akeno's duty after all, and…
Come to think of it, when had she begun to accept herself as part of the harem?
Something to ponder for another time, Grayfia chided herself, there was something else she should be doing at the moment, such as bending over.
Akeno had finished lubing up the strapon she'd gotten for her birthday present, and, if she hadn't been eager to use it before, the sight of Grayfia on all fours and giving her ass a little shake in her direction would have been more than enough to change that.
Akeno was gentle, or perhaps just cautious, at the start. She didn't use 'toys' very often, so she wasn't as confident as she would have liked, and disappointing Grayfia was still very much a real concern of hers.
Grayfia put that to rest with a single word, one that she may or may not have meant to speak out loud.
"Harder~"
That one word nearly frayed Akeno's reason past the point of all repair, and it was with visible effort that she reined herself in.
The look Grayfia shot over her shoulder was something like a pout, but that would be silly because Grayfia wasn't the type to pout.
… No, she was definitely pouting, and stubbornly trying to keep that expression in place even as Akeno teased her with a slow rocking of her hips.
… Adorable.
Akeno was reminded of why she and Yuuji had such similar tastes as the desire to well and truly make a mess of Grayfia gripped her.
And, she'd always wanted to do it at least once, and it was right there, sooo…
SMACK!
"Kyaa~!?" Grayfia's cute little scream was accompanied by her lovely features turning even more red than her shocked crimson eyes.
H-h-had Akeno just…?
"Ufufu~"
Grayfia matched her sultry laugh with a nervous giggle, the two women remaining still otherwise.
Without changing her expression, Akeno spanked her again.
Biting her lip with a throaty hum, Grayfia's chin hit the bed as her arms gave out on her. With trembling hips held firmly by the blissfully smiling Akeno, Grayfia's ass was left up in the air as if presenting itself to the younger Queen.
With another giggle, Akeno took full advantage, breasts bouncing with the same level of enthusiasm being devoted to pounding Grayfia's pussy from behind.
… Had she more presence of mind, Grayfia would have appreciated the excuse of their current position allowing her little way to reciprocate, since she lacked the composure to try.
Every time Akeno thrust into her, it would cause her breasts to rub strongly against the soft bed sheet, sending sweet shivers through her as her stiff nipples dug into the mattress. With uncanny awareness, the moment Grayfia managed to somewhat adapt to the rhythm and regain some meager scrap of composure, Akeno would end it in an instant with another firm smack against her heart-shaped rear.
The perfect amount of force to make any pain sweeten the pleasure, demonstrating in splendid fashion that Akeno could back up her sexy sadism. Grayfia had been looking forward to the night quite a bit, and her expectations had fallen woefully short of reality.
Without warning, Akeno leaned over on top of her, the heavy weight of her bust presenting to Grayfia the strange and erotic illusion that she had been completetly pinned down by Akeno's breasts alone.
That sweet illusion continued even as Akeno's hands closed over the back of hers, knitting their fingers together. For Akeno, the position was strange for a different reason- she had been in this position before, except that it was her being fucked, and not by a woman either.
Akeno decided that this position was good whether giving or taking- her breasts rubbing against smooth, slick skin felt pretty good, and she could feel every quiver and shudder of Grayfia's body beneath her.
Quivers and shudders that were becoming both stronger and more frequent, which was almost as hot as how this was the first time she'd seen Grayfia drool, and it was definitely her fault.
Leaning down a little more, Akeno took advantage of the sideways turn of Grayfia's head to begin toying with her ear- slowing down the movement of her hips as she nipped and licked, delighting in the little moans and gasps made in response.
"You know, Grayfia~" Akeno cooed against her shivering ear, stopping thrusting entirely with the strapon fully hilted inside Grayfia. "I've always looked up to you, and I'm sure I always will. But," she said, making Grayfia gasp as she shoved her hips forward, "having you squirming beneath me is pretty fun too~"
As she spoke, Akeno would slowly pull her hips back and then strongly thrust, giving physical emphasis to her lewd confession.
… And Grayfia's already flushed cheeks had reddened further with every word.
Planting a sloppy kiss on Grayfia's warm cheek, Akeno rose up off of her, pulling Grayfia back up onto all fours, and settling herself back into a comfortable kneel with a firm hold of the maid's wide and sexy hips.
For a moment or two, Akeno remained relatively still, lips parted slightly and breasts heaving subtly with each breath.
She remained that way until Grayfia twisted her head to look over her shoulder at her.
Grayfia's expression paled even as Akeno's dazzling smile made her cunt quiver in anticipation
Giving a wink and a giggle, Akeno began to fuck her once again at a merciless pace, leaving Grayfia to gasp open-mouthed, limbs shaking as she was rapidly and delightfully overwhelmed.
She wasn't able to see it as a hand slowly rose into the air, but Grayfia most certainly felt that the hard spank that sent her screaming into orgasm, eyes rolling back in their sockets as her honey drenched the dildo and even the harness it was attached to.
Holding her firm, Akeno rocked her hips gently, a little trick she'd learned from Yuuji to help extend an orgasm.
Her fond and proud expression gave way to one of innocent surprise as Grayfia soundlessly slumped, expression lewdly slack and hips twitching as her folds trembled against the thick toy still inside her.
"... Ara?"
… Those 'preparations' nearly hadn't been up to the task, but they'd held out longer than the desires of Yuuji or Kalawarner had, if only just.
… The 'staff' probably hadn't anticipated how much a good fight would get the blood pumping.
The two lay sleeping on the futon, the blankets and their clothes kicked off… somewhere, and their skin still flushed from their second bath, which had nearly turned a different kind of steamy.
Which would have led to the need for a third bath, though neither really minded.
A soft and content smile upon her lips, Kalawarner laid with her head slowly rising and falling in time with Yuuji's breath, lulled to sleep by his strong and steady heartbeat, pulled flush against his body by the arm wrapped around her waist.
One would think it a tender scene, and it was- an intimate silence that few would have the heart to disturb.
And had anyone witnessed those eyes open, they would have wondered if it had all been a lie.
A soundless and frigid sigh drifted through still air as murky dark eyes opened slowly.
Kalawarner grew to trust me a lot more quickly than I expected.
Well, not as quickly as Raynare did, but they both had their reasons, I suppose.
Just like Kalawarner had a lot more reason to hold a part of herself back.
With Raynare, it was straightforward enough- her Love had led a man to ruin, and so she needed the chance to Love a man she couldn't ruin.
I don't think I was quite what she expected and she knows that, but at least I could be what she needed.
With Kalawarner it took… a bit more work.
Their needs were similar even if the nuance was different.
I don't think she knew it, but Kalawarner needed to be overpowered.
So afraid to break anyone she held close, that the only thing that could give her peace was to be held close by someone that could break her first.
Because the sound of Kalawarner's 'weakness' is the breaking of a chain, the swinging open of a cage door.
So she needs someone who can weather her Wrath without fear.
So… as much as I hate to say it, she really did need someone like me.
…
… Y'know, since becoming a Devil, I've said that line so often I've gotten sick of it.
Heh, well, I always knew I was no good as a human.
In a way, they are my chains.
And I've always needed those.
It was such a rare thing, that those that loved him would have wept at having missed their chance to see it.
A smile that reached his eyes, for the brief moment before they once again shut.
She was happy that Akeno (among others) had had a wonderful night.
She would have had to have been blind not to notice that Akeno had had a wonderful night, because her Queen and best friend had spent the whole day practically glowing, and giggling sexily every time her attention wandered.
Rias tried not to squirm in her seat- it might have been normal for the two to share 'details', but establishing that practice had once again proven to be a mistake she didn't regret.
Though it was a near thing, a knock at the door proved a welcome distraction, though, as usual, the knock was just a formality as Azazel walked in without waiting for a reply.
Rias quirked an eyebrow and Akeno tensed ever so slightly as Azazel snapped his fingers, and an additional layer of magic blanketed the room.
"I assume you have an explanation for that?" Rias asked calmly.
"We're all going to wish I didn't." Azazel replied with no inflection. "Your next match-up has been announced."
"... Then why the long face? There isn't anyone I'm concerned about facing-"
"Announced, and then canceled. You're the first to be officially informed." With a flick of his wrist, Azazel tossed something through the air towards her desk.
Intercepting it as was only proper, Akeno glanced at the object in her hand, which was a printed photograph. Her brow knit in confusion, before she handed it over to her King.
It was an image of a wall from what must have been from a very well-to-do family, given how expensive the designer who painted it was.
Whoever had smeared writing across it in a worrisome red clearly had no eye for decor, even if it seemed they had a taste for being pointlessly vague.
'How fares the house of cards, Nii-san~?'
"I'll admit, that unpleasant phrase has no meaning. Do we have any clues as to the writer?"
"The 'paint' came from someone you're familiar with." Azazel hedged, giving a grimace that had Rias and Akeno sharing a worried look.
"The blood donor was meant to be your next opponent- Seekvaira Agares." Azazel said, expressionless once more as the two girls paled. "They've been missing for days, the family just tried to resolve things on their own, first."
Rias nearly knocked her chair over as she stood up.
"Missing, what do you mean, missing!?" She near-shouted. "They stay at the Agares Estate on the weekends!"
Seekvaira was the most cautious and careful of all of them, even compared to Sona!
… Embarrassing though the outburst was, sympathy from the leader of the Grigori was not what Rias expected in return.
"You're really going to want to sit down for this," Azazel said softly.
With a start, Rias realized he was speaking to both of them.
"We've checked and double-checked, both with magical and mundane means, both with my people and yours." Azazel said slowly. "It's not a perfect match and we know he has an alibi, but…"
A tired, frustrated sigh.
"The closest match we have for the culprit, based on the frankly excessive number of traces left behind… is Yuuji."
Yeah, Yuuji's cheerful lookalike hasn't been forgotten.
Neither has Seekvaira, though that's not doing her any favors haha.
This chapter was mostly sex, but there were some important events happening beneath the surface, and we're once more moving away from peaceful days.
Though, how many of those days are really left remains to be seen.
Alternating pairs like that for the sex scenes was a bit of an experiment, so be sure to let me know how it read out for you guys.
As for our only fight scene, it was heavily inspired by the most recent Hellboy movie, where Big Red threw down with a trio of giants.
Just with a bit more fanservice, since you know… Kalawarner.
Chippo-Oni is just a distinction I came up with to distinguish the cute little Familiar Oni from the more traditional hulks. I just took the word 'chippoke', which is quite literally 'tiny' in Japanese.