Last of the Line [Ze Blitzkrieg]

[Lazy Kitsune]

You slide the depiction of Suguro towards yourself. She sits with her profile side facing, though her head is turned three quarters to be looking off to the horizon behind her. A fan is opened, tilted towards her face, while her kimono hangs loose, one nipple exposed, its floral patterns weaving into vines that grow around her and frame the card's boarder. Compared to the others that you glanced, this depiction was rather tame - though you are not given much chance to look over the others in more detail as Ayuri quickly gathers them up and begins to shuffle them.

"I quite like that choice, myself. Maybe we think alike. That might make this game easier... or harder, depending on how you look at it." she says before setting the deck off to the side of the table.

"I hope you don't mind if we go with a personal favourite of mine. A simple guessing game, with two truths and a lie. To make things interesting, these will be related to the prizes you are playing for. Each round you may decide how many cards are at stake, though you may set no more than four and no fewer than one. These cards will be selected at random. Should you successfully separate the truths and lie then the wagered cards shall be yours. If you fail, the house will claim the cards instead. Once you have completed a set, you may claim the indicated prize. Though finish the game with at least one more set lacking completion, and the related prize will be withheld. At least until you can earn it some other way. Once you have secured at least one prize, we may pause the game so you can go collect if you would like."

She gives you a moment to consider the rules as presented and ask any additional questions before she continues. "Each round I will announce which prize the two truths and a lie will be pertaining to, after which you will declare how many cards you wish to bet. Once that has been confirmed, I will then make my three statements and you make your deduction. To begin with... I will make statements about... Yoi-chan. Good luck, I'm rooting for you."

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

Whether it was the severity of the stakes at hand or simply how he was raised, Tomoki could not find particular joy in this game as it was laid out. Yet he had no choice but to partake, until an out presented itself to him. Of the three women presented, he was more confident in separating truth from deception in regards to Yoi-nee, something he was sure she would respond with mock hurt, were she to hear him say it. For however mischievous Yoi appeared, for however childish, they had always been exceptionally close as children. The distance between them grew as they got older and his responsibilities as heir started to take up more and more of his time, but they had once shared a womb. Their connection would serve to ease him in.

Of course, for however confident he was regarding Yoi-nee, the others were not so easy. Suguro, as mentioned before, was a stranger to him. He could make educated guesses in regards to her preferences, her history, but he could not confirm any of them. Haru-nee... as much as he loved her, it often felt as though she had closed her heart to him some time ago. He direly wished to say he knew her well, knew how she thought, how she lived. But it haunted him more than the specter of Ayuri to admit that he was not half as familiar with his eldest sister as he would've liked. As such, he would be a fool of a sorcerer if he was to accept a spirit's challenge without inquiring further.

"And what exactly does collecting these prizes entail? And, conversely, the consequences of them being withheld by the house? I am quite fond of them: it would not do to carelessly gamble such precious things away."

Once he was content with his answers, he would nod his understanding, however tersely, and gesture for the 'dealer' to begin her draw, indicating that he would like three cards to begin with.

[Lazy Kitsune]

"They will be prepared for you, for you to enjoy their company however it is you desire while within these walls. If they are withheld, they will be unharmed, but you will not be able to enjoy their company. Unless of course you reach some other arrangement. As I understand, new deals can always be struck and new games can always be played. But that will be between you and the house. I can only facilitate the game. And perhaps some further services upstairs afterwards, should you be interested." The apparition of Ayuri gives a smile at that last comment, showing particular interest in the prospect of you taking her upstairs once you were done here.

Its not much of an answer, but at least they claim they won't harm your sisters or Suguro. How much truth there is to that remains to be seen, but if the presence here wants these games to play out for as long as possible then its unlikely they'll renege on the motivation to keep you playing. Ayuri draws from the deck, setting three cards facedown in the middle of the table. It seems you wouldn't know who was at stake until after receiving your cards. Perhaps that's intended to keep you playing even if you happen to loose a few cards, just in case you can still secure two of your companions.

Ayuri clears her throat, but when she next speaks, its not her voice but Yoi's that comes out of her mouth.

"I know what my body does to Tomo-tan. I got so excited when I first noticed him checking me out. It made me feel like I was finally becoming a woman. When I started teasing him I did it because it was fun - it made me feel good and his reaction was funny... but I feel like I've gotten a little carried away. Sometimes I find myself wondering if one of these days I'll tease him too much... and he'll just... take me. And that hasn't made me want to stop."

"No one would play with me whenever Tomo-tan's not around, so I started teasing the servants to see if they would hang out with me some more. It seems I did too good a job on one of them. I pretended to be asleep when he snuck into my room. I knew why he was there... I enjoyed it as he took his peek, cupped a feel. I started going to bed without any underwear on, just in case he sneaks back into my room."

"Despite how much I flirt and tease, I'm still a virgin. It's not that I don't want to have fun, but I want my first time to be with someone special. And so far, the only man in my life that seems special enough is my brother. If a man isn't as special as he is, then he isn't worth being my first."

There's a pause before Ayuri speaks again, this time with her own voice. "So, two are true, one is a lie, can you tell which is which?"

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

A level of relief could be had in the reveal that, if nothing else, the lives and safety of the women mentioned were not at risk. It was one thing to foolhardily gamble with himself, but to allow others to fall victim on his behalf would not befit a sorcerer of the Kadenokōji line. Of course, it seemed the game of the spirit was not to entice him with the stick, but instead with the carrot—something which almost rattled him as much as the alternative, if only because it proved that it knew well enough his interest not just in the lovely Suguro, but in both of the women who shared his blood. That it was a vision of Ayuri-san indicating such things certainly did not help ease his conscience on the matter.

Still, the die, or cards as it were, had been cast, and Tomoki looked down at each of the tokens with vague interest. It stood to reason, keeping the identity of the cards secret until he answered, if only to add pressure to the game: he'd have no way of knowing what was at stake until after he answered. Not a problem so early in the game, of course, but still something to be aware of. The sound of Yoi's voice broke him from whatever strategization he had begun to put together, and he listened intently, albeit bashfully, as she began to recount a rather... unexpected, series of potential truths. It should have gone without saying, given the circumstances, that the spirit would continue to tease him with such things, knowing as it seemed to, the way he felt about Yoi-nee. When the final choice was spoken, he coughed, as if to clear his throat and steady his mind, considering.

The first... seemed quite the obvious truth. Yoi might have been something of a free spirit, perhaps even absentminded at times, but she was not stupid by any stretch of the imagination. She could even be downright devious at times, playing at Haru-nee's nerves and then scurrying to his side when she got the provoked response she wanted, knowing he would come to defend her against their older sister's wrath. It stood to reason such a mind would also knowingly tease him, drawing his eye with her womanly charms as they developed. That she might hope it would one day go beyond simple flustered looks certainly... stimulated him, on some level, but it wasn't so farfetched. Not when he entertained the occasional thought of things crossing certain lines, going beyond mere late-night snuggling and interrupted bath times.

That Yoi-nee might have indulged in such fantasies herself made him feel better about his shameful transgressions. The spirit might have been playing on such hopeful thinking, but he had seen enough of Yoi-nee's supple body over the years to believe it had merit.

The second was... a frustrating thing to imagine. Would the servants of their compound stoop so low? Would Yoi-nee be the type not to speak up? She had always been something of a spoiled girl, the type to come crying to his side over the slightest things. That didn't mean she couldn't have found herself titillated by such voyeurism, of course. Part of him—the same part that he tried so often to suppress whenever she got up to her antics—hoped it wasn't true. He knew it was wrong. Unfair, even. But he couldn't help but feel a certain protectiveness over Yoi when the thought of another man handling her came to his mind. No, a possessiveness, if he was being truthful.

Of course, he was not exactly unfamiliar with his sister's nocturnal habits. The many nights he awoke to her slipping into his futon, her scent in his nose, the feeling of her body clung to his own, he had never known her to go without undergarments. If she were so bold as to flash her assets at a perverse servant in the hopes of tempting him towards more, then surely she would not have held back in her attempts to coax him into the same acts.

And the final one... similarly, vexed him, despite himself. He weighed the likelihood of the truth against the hope of a lie. Yoi-nee was an objectively beautiful young woman, the sort who could easily turn heads wherever she went. The type who often did, for her amusement more than anything else. The isolation of their clan compound ruled out a certain amount of philandering, but there was plenty of time in the day to sneak away, to meet up with some mountain man and indulge in carnal delights outside the watchful eye of Haru-nee or their mother. It shouldn't come as a surprise that his little sister was no longer a virgin.

His consideration of it as a lie was of course colored by his most shameful of desires. Despite wishing it otherwise, despite knowing it was, on some level, forbidden, he could not help but desire the pantomimed words to be truthful. Not only was his sister untouched by other men—by men who would never know her as well as he did—but she held herself in reserve only because she found them all wanting in comparison to him. To hear such a thing was liable to boost any young man's self-esteem. Would the spirit be so cruel as to whisper something he so shamefully wanted to hear, knowing it was false, simply to bait him into making such a choice? The spirits had not struck him as especially malicious, that was true. Playful, lustful, wild, maybe even predatory, but not cruel.

Did they perhaps whisper such things not to trick him into being denied his hidden desires, but instead to encourage him to seek them out?

He swallowed, harder than he intended, though Tomoki spent a great deal of his effort in keeping the cool, calm facade of a young lord as he sat before Ayuri-san. The agonizing, the ruminating, so familiar to the young man who wanted nothing more than to live up to the legacy weighed upon him, might well have gone on for hours if he let himself sink into his worst impulses. So he refused to allow himself any more deliberation than necessary. He answered.

"The first and third are true. The second is a lie."

[Lazy Kitsune]

A moment of silence passes on the table, leaving you only with your own thoughts and the quiet background noise of the spiritual melody and the wordless murmuring oft the shadowy clientele on other tables. Ayuri's smile widens and she begins to applaud you. "Well done! Exactly right!" she says, applauding your triumph.

There still remained an uncertainty - that any of these truths were in fact true, or were just ploys presented to you to toy with you. But if the integrity of the game mattered at all to this spirit, then it would likely keep as close to the truth as it can - if possibly phrased however it likes to best get you worked up. Regardless, you are the winner of the round and Ayuri begins turning over the cards at the centre of the table and slides them towards you.

The first is another card of Suguro. A side profile, gazing up, this time completely naked though still adorned with the makeup of her profession. Her lips are moving to meet those of a similarly beautiful woman, one who is set in a reverse pose to Suguro's - upside down and trying to meet Suguro's kiss. This woman however is not entirely there, the card's background partially visible through her. Both women have the hands of multiple loves pulling on them and pleasuring them, Suguro's are all as real as she is, while the other woman is gripped by hands as faint as she.

The next two are both fittingly of Yoi. The first has her dressed in a style befitting a geisha, more ornate and beautiful than what she could ordinarily get her hands on at home, yet still very much befitting her. The teasing eroticism of her partially opened robes also doesn't seem out of place on her card at all, drawing the eye down to the shapeliness of her young yet full breasts - which may have even more growing to do if your mother and Harumi were anything to go by. A hanami dango she teases into her mouth, her lips playfully curling around the front ball of her treat as her eyes look out to meet the gaze of whoever looks upon the card. In the second she is completely nude, lying in a pool of water, her body illuminated by the pale spiritual flames she can summon that circle her. Ghostly hands emerge from beneath the waters and surround her, running their palms along her body groping at her tits, teasing her thigh, all while she relaxes with her eyes closed and a smile on her lips.

This leaves you with half the sets for Suguro and Yoi, yet no cards for Harumi. Ayuri gives you a moment to review your current winnings before she continues.

"Next I will reveal two truths and a lie about Suguro. Please, declare how many cards you would like to wager for this round."

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

A breath of relief and not the least fluster followed the announcement that Tomoki had been correct. He could not say how much of that was even about the reward and how much of it had been for the sake of being correct about Yoi. However, he supposed depending on how the draw ended up, he would soon enough find out the nature of what sort of decided erotic 'prizes' the brothel's residences had in mind for him. He couldn't imagine they would be anything less than salacious, though, given the art on each of the cards, drawing his eyes to the lovely, shapely bodies before him. The sight of Suguro's fully nude form might have proved too stimulating for him in any other form than illusionary ink upon a card, with how generous her curves were, though he could not shake the unease the sight of the silhouetted figure gave him. Given what she had so candidly shared with him, it did not take a great deal of genius to understand who might have appeared beside her on that face were circumstances different.

Yoi-nee's cards lacked that same sinister air, though he felt his cheeks flushing all the more at his unabashed desire to treasure them. The cards surely would have been tailored to draw the eye, to rouse the imagination of any man who stumbled into the Blossom's haunted halls, but still, he couldn't help but imagine the real Yoi affixing him with such a gaze. And... given their history... he could not help but wonder whether or not she'd be willing, no, even eager to do so, were he to misstep even once, let her know that he was even the slightest bit receptive to those sort of advances. The amount of guilt he felt was certainly in the knowledge that was such a thing to come about... well, he might not have the discipline to turn her away. Not in his current state, at least.

The phantoms of the gambling den were certain to take pleasure in his internal strife, however, and so he resolved to focus more on the game and less on the various women dancing through his mind. The next subject was Suguro-san. As before, she was the woman he was least confident in discerning truth from lie about. It might have been smart, therefore, to wager only one card and minimize his risk. But there were only so many choices the dealer could flick between, and she at no point guaranteed there would be an order to the names picked. If he were to try and take the least number of cards every time Suguro was mentioned, they might be there for quite some time, as she was impishly returned to circulation over and over to extend the game.

Even still, if he was to understand the rules properly, failing even one round and losing even one card could potentially rob him of an entire prize, even if he had won every other card belonging to that woman, to say nothing of whether or not the questions would grow more difficult to answer, even those regarding his sisters, as time went on. Perhaps it was better to simply urge the game towards a quick conclusion by taking multiple cards each time. Even if he were to lose, it did not appear as though anything untoward would happen to the others, and if the ghosts of the Blossom operated on the same assumptions as they did in the waking world, they would very likely extend a hand to him to keep him at the table. The house never profited from patrons leaving entirely dissatisfied.

"Four more cards, Ayuri-san."

[Lazy Kitsune]

Four more cards are delt out from the deck, facedown to keep their identities a secret. "Let's see if your luck holds up." Ayuri says, before clearing her throat. When she next speaks, it is Suguro's matronly tones that pass through her lips.

"I fear my waning age will hinder my success in my profession. I have already had to adapt so much to survive this new age. I fear what may happen to the girls under my care too should this come to pass. So I have dabbled in talents beyond just normal beauty routines, tricks I learned from Mura-san that can create perfumes to bewitch men with my presence, to draw the attention and hold it and make sure I leave a memorable impression. Whenever I meet a client that has the potential to be valuable in supporting me or my girls in hard times, I make sure they spend time enough in my presence to enjoy this fragrance. I made sure to put it on freshly before joining Kadenokōji Tomoki for tea."

"I am not proud of it, but I have developed an opportunistic and sometimes cutthroat streak in adapting to these changing times. It has earned me the respect of my neighbours and the prosperity of my teahouse. Within moments of meeting Kadenokōji Tomoki I identified a new opportunity. While I am no sorceress, I have always had a mild sensitivity to spiritual matters. An openness that tends to benefit geisha. If I can seduce the young sorcerer and lay with him, then perhaps through bearing his child I can elevate my own position and the positions of my girls so that we wouldn't need to worry about poverty again."

"My talents as a hostess and performer are beginning to diminish since catering to more carnal desires as well. While my skills as a geisha lessen, those of a whore grow stronger and I gain all the more attention for it. I find myself enjoying this change, longing for the moment I am fucked over the edge into becoming a simple whore. I feel I can never admit it, but I secretly desire to be reduced to such - it would be easier than having to manage everyone's problems all the time, and instead simply enjoy being a desired commodity to be toyed with and used."

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

Another three questions posed, though perhaps fitting her more mature persona, the words of 'Suguro' which came from the spirit's mouth were much less set on trying to charm or tantalize, and instead took on a more... somber sort of tone. He supposed that fit her quite well. Indeed, when he first met her, aside from being rather taken with such a traditional, well-put-together beauty amongst a sea of cheap, easy thrills and pay-as-you-go satisfaction, the longer they spent together, the more melancholy he seemed to feel easing off of her until it inevitably came to a head with the mention of Mura-san.

Of course, the first potential truth also indicated his enchantment with her was not, perhaps, entirely born of her own charm. He could recall the scent distinctly, if only because he had felt very much so in that moment that he would have liked nothing more than to bury his face into its source. The few droplets that must have kissed her collarbone had been almost irresistible, even disregarding how pent-up he had been from the journey down from the mountains. That it might have crossed the line between simple scent mixing into sorcery... had she no talent at all for the spiritual, he would have considered it a potential misdirection.

But Suguro's story of Mura seemed as sincere as any he had ever heard, and she had mentioned the matron of the Blossom Garden had some experience with the spiritual, not to mention she had heard, however faintly, the sound of the gambling hall, when the thoroughly mundane Harumi could near nary a note. A likely truth.

The second statement made him wish he had taken up his aunt when she playfully offered to gift him with make-up before leaving the compound, for surely people would begin to think less of him if his cheeks kept their rosy tint throughout his business. He had only just met Suguro-san, and lovely as she was, whatever her profession might have been, he did not think she was already planning to lay with him. Unfair, perhaps, given the ideas of her he had been entertaining all evening long, but thinking and doing were often very different things. Her goals might have indeed been cutthroat, and yet, he could not fault her for thinking that way: the Kadenokōji had also suffered at the hands of the new era. While mountain sorcerers and city geisha were, ostensibly, in much different businesses, both of their livelihoods depended on the old ways, and both of their livelihoods needed to adapt by any means necessary to continue existing. If that meant seducing a comely young man and bearing his child, in the hopes that child might better weather the changes yet to come, then any sufficiently pragmatic woman would be liable to take the plunge. And Suguro-san did strike him as an exceedingly pragmatic woman.

If only he could think of her as anything other than a mother, in the wake of that admission. He cleared his throat again to clear his mind.

The third... seemed plausible enough. At least on the surface. Keeping afloat in such turbulent waters was difficult. It was a harder path, keeping to tradition. The days where men would readily open their wallets for thrilling conversation, wonderful music, and the beauty of the dance were slowly waning, and it was easier, far easier, to simply spread one's legs and offer a commodity that was all but timeless by compare. Could one have been blamed for wishing life could be so easy? Giving up and simply floating on the current instead of fighting it. If Tomoki were inclined to be the cynical sort, he might have assumed that final, almost spiteful statement was a painful truth.

But Suguro-san did not strike him as that type of woman. If she were only interested in giving up her ways and becoming a common whore, passed about between men until she was nothing more than a hole to be roughly enjoyed, why would she have opened her doors to the girls from the Blossom Garden? Why would she take on the extra strain of more mouths to feed? Even if those girls were more inclined to prostitute themselves than her original batch of employees, it would have been easier to simply force the existing girls into more carnal affairs. No, if Tomoki was to believe the sincerity of Suguro's pleas, of her genuine affection and sorrow towards Mura and her girls, it only stood to reason that she would not so easily desire to abandon the fruits of her mentor's labor. The guilt would quickly devour whatever bliss she felt.

"The first and second are truth. The third is a lie."

There was an intensity in Tomoki's gaze as he spoke out as if defending the honor of a woman who could not defend herself in the face of such accusations. Of course, he could only wait with bated breath to see if his faith would be rewarded. Such was the risk in games of chance and deduction.

[Lazy Kitsune]

Your answer is met with more celebration from Ayuri, whose bosom bounces within the loose coverings of her kimono as she giddily shifts from side to side while applauding you. "Another correct answer. You must have a wonderful way with women to understand them so well. Or maybe you just see through me quite easily. Let's see what you have won with this round."

She reaches forward and begins to turn over each card before you, revealing your winnings before sliding them over to your side of the table. As if to make up from being absent from the first load of cards, you are awarded with three from Harumi's set. Her more modest card shows her, much like Yoi, dressed up in the alluring robes of a geisha. Her face is painted and long hair done up. She does not wear her glasses and seems to have traded her sword for a paper umbrella that she holds aloft and open, adding further colour to the card's background. Her shapely figure standing so elegantly makes her look even more matronly than she does already.

The second from her set shows her bound in a red ribbon and wearing nothing else. Her strong arms are held above her head, tied together at her wrists, while the ribbon wraps around the rest of her naked form in a snaking pattern. Perhaps more tasteful than Yoi's naked card, the ribbon covers the explicit details of her nipples, and the positioning of her thighs hides her pussy, though the colouring of her areola can still be made out, as well as the bush of dark hair that crowns her crotch. Her mouth is gagged, part of the ribbon bunched up within as she looks out of the card with almost a sense of judgement as if the cardholder is responsible for her current predicament.

The third has perhaps the complete opposite theme to it. Harumi sits upon a throne, a crown placed upon her head. Her robe is left open deliberately, leaving her pillow tits on full, proud display. Her bare feet stretch out to take up the card's foreground as she rests her legs upon two kneeling figures to use as footrests. They lack explicit detail, but from their hairstyles and general shape it doesn't seem too farfetched to perceive them as being yourself and Yoi.

The last card belongs to Yoi's set, giving you three cards from both your sisters. This one is a particular close up, her eyes not making it into the card but her smile certainly does, her cute tongue hanging out enticingly. The central focus is on a collar that has been clasped around her neck, bearing her name on it, with lead that runs down between her exposed tits and disappears off the end of the card as if held by the cardholder themselves. Her hands are raised, arms pushing together her breasts, as she holds her hands like a begging puppy waiting for a treat from her master.

You are one card away from completing both of your sets, however lack any one in particular completed.

"No prizes ready to claim yet? A shame. You are answering very well, but luck hasn't quite been on your side. Still, I'm sure you'll be able to make it work." Ayuri says, preparing for the next round.

"I'm sure you can guess who I will reveal two truths and a lie about next. Harumi. How many cards would you like to wager?"

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

Another sense of relief, perhaps not as poignant as with Yoi, yet still distinct enough to slacken his posture. Though he was sure the words, tinged with self-loathing, were not meant to stoke any kind of positivity from him, beyond the usual basal lust at least, he could not help but admire Suguro a little more. It was often thought that duplicity and manipulation were to be scorned as womanly means of conflict, by the more conventional of his countrymen. But given that he had been raised by such women, taught to hold them up as examples of cunning and talent, he found her dedication to making the best of the hand dealt to her something to be appreciated. She might not have had the same sorcerous skill of his forebearers, but were she born in a different era, were her talents for the mystical a little more potent, he could very easily see her amongst his honored ancestors.

And, perhaps in the current era, she might yet manage to join her bloodline with that of those historic sorceresses of the Kadenokōji. He would certainly be honored by the opportunity to sire a child with such a shrewd beauty.

But his thoughts could not linger entirely on Suguro. Especially with such a showing from the other women who occupied the deck. It was a mercy from the gods themselves that Haru-nee was a more refined sort of beauty than Yoi-nee. He wasn't entirely sure what he would do with himself if it had been her who so easily teased, showing off that ample, well-developed body of hers, the sort that made him throb with need even as he cast his gaze across her generous, welcoming body. The sight of her dressed so prettily as a geisha was almost as enticing as the sight of her proud strength rendered moot amidst salacious bindings. The thought of having such a proud, dignified woman at his mercy... he could almost feel the pre-cum bubbling about the wide head of his member. He had to pry his eyes away from the last card before he let his imagination wander too far into the realm of serving loyally at his sister's feet. If Haru-nee were ever to ask him to diligently tend to her with such an authoritative look, he would be no more successful in denying her than he would be pushing aside Yoi-nee's erotic advances.

Erotic advances forced themselves to the surface as he looked down at the sweet, servile state of his little sister in the next card. He straightened as if to dispel the almost painful erection that stood so proud at the promise. If everything spoken as truth was, in fact, truth, how much further could they be from such a thing? If he decided to assert himself as the master of their family, of their clan and demanded Yoi debase herself such for his enjoyment... how far would she be from refusing him? Not much farther than he would be from submitting to Harumi, in such a circumstance, he imagined. The two of them were cut from the same cloth, after all.

"Luck might have abandoned me, but my mind has not. I have confidence I will continue to answer correctly, not by chance, but by consideration. To afford them any less would be a disservice to their faith in me."

He really did sound like he was in a noh drama, didn't he? Perhaps he could take his sisters to one while they were in Kyoto. He was sure Harumi would get at least something out of such a cultured affair, and Yoi would doubtless enjoy the flowing costumes and pretty masks.

"Four cards, dealer."

[Lazy Kitsune]

The final four cards are pulled from the deck and laid out facedown before you. A formality at this point, as its only a matter of deducting what you have yet to receive to figure out what sat in the centre of the table. Given the nature of the artwork that had been on the other cards, perhaps that would be best to avoid distracting you at such a crucial moment. Goodness knows if these truths and a lie were at all like the previous sets you would have plenty of lustful thoughts trying to pull at your focus already.

"It seems we near the end of our game. A shame, I quite enjoy your company." Ayuri says, before letting a few breaths pass. When she speaks again, just as with the other girls, it is with Harumi's voice.

"When it became apparent my path was to... serve as a protector, rather than as a sorceress, I dedicated myself to diligence and integrity above all else. Such an outlook has put me... at odds... with other aspects of my nature. While the oni blood that runs through my veins may offer me no spiritual power, its physical presence is undeniable. I must often battle intense emotions... which include ravenous, inhuman lusts... like a beast entering heat. My few brief attempts to abate such lusts on my own have resulted in... a discomfortable surge of emotions. All attempts were abandoned before I... reached completion. I have never felt such release, and don't expect I ever shall. Instead I dedicated myself to keeping this side of myself under control. This has worked, though my pent up needs make themselves known in my sleep. My dreams are often carnal of a nature near indescribable. If intense enough, I must meditate upon awaking to calm myself. Sometimes I worry I will awake with such a deep need that I will take the first man who crosses my sight and use him to sate me, though such a time has not come to pass."

"I expect Tomoki to fail. Perhaps not right away, but in not too long either. I don't believe him to be ready to take on the family legacy. I predict I will need to rescue him from something that will leave him needing to return, and once we return I have no doubts that I will be blamed for his failure. That the history books will ultimately label me as the reason for our clan's decline, yet if we were to succeed it would be entirely because of Tomoki with maybe some credit shown to Yoi. While I am unfit to even be paired with a suitable match to continue the line despite carrying all the expectations of making sure no harm comes to Tomoki."

"I don't think Yoi belongs with the clan. Her heart is set elsewhere. Despite her childish nature, she would probably do quite well in the modern world that seems so intent on leaving us behind. If it were up to me, I would have sent her on her own way by now. She could probably be a successful actress, or marry a wealthy man that will pamper her for the rest of her years. She would do better away from the clan. And we would do better without her."

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

"That is untrue. We could always retire upstairs together, once our game has concluded. If that would please you."

Maybe it was the confidence that came with having done so well, or simply the knowledge that the being he spoke with was not necessarily Ayuri herself, that gave Tomoki's words such boldness. In this strange, dream-like world, divorced from the physical, Ikiryō could indulge in all manner of things. Whatever charming words he said to this Ayuri, were she truly a manifestation of Ayuri's soul away from her physical form, it would be a mere fleeting dream. Not that he would mind spending the night with the actual Ayuri. Though they had only spoken together briefly, she had been quite charming, and he found himself eager to seek an opportunity to perhaps grow closer with her, for however long his journey allowed him to remain in Shimabara.

There were other things to address in the moment. Harumi's voice snapped him to attention just as it might have if it were spoken from her own lips. And goodness, what words it chose to begin with. Harumi had always been the mature one in their family. Even after it became clear she could not carry on the family lineage as the next head, she was still left with the responsibilities of being the eldest daughter of the Kadenokōji family. Graceful, scrupulous, never a single step out of line. It seemed to him, young and naive as he was, that such things simply came naturally to her. She may have lacked the spiritual talent to lead their clan, but in terms of actual authority, and the ability to stand up to expectation, she seemed a far more suitable choice. Perhaps he should have been more aware that such discipline did not come easily. That she had become so very strict by her own force of will was equally as impressive, especially if the nature of her strong emotions, her desires, was the blood in their veins. He was not mighty like Harumi, but he was not half so delicate as he appeared. The blood of great, virile ogres was just as much his and it was hers, and he knew well just how difficult it was to try and contain such a... fecund disposition. The idea that his composed Haru-nee could be wracked by such insatiable desires both aroused and saddened him. If they were closer, would she have shared her struggles? Would she have let him... soothe... her needs? It was difficult to imagine, but perhaps he could use this knowledge, were it one of the truths spoken, to help ease the burdens she felt she needed face alone.

The second statement hurt, certainly, and yet he could not bring himself to doubt it off-hand. His relationship with Harumi was strained, that was true, and he perhaps did not fit within her definition as a prudent and promising candidate for the position she was denied. He was too soft, perhaps, too lenient and without the same lock-step discipline that she conducted herself with in all things. That he would fail certainly was not a foreign thought even among those of their dwindling clan who remained behind in the mountains: there had never been a male sorcerer in their hundreds of years of history, and certainly never a male heir. He was the first break in a tradition that stretched over thirty generations of sorceresses, the death rattle of a lineage reaching the end of its lifespan. It would come as more of a shock if he were to return triumphant, acclaim and wealth his own once more, favored by the aristocratic class and buoyed by the fealty of a thousand spirits great and small. It hurt that Harumi fell in line with that thinking, but he understood it all the same, were it the case. It would fall to him and him alone to prove them wrong. And if he were to fail, and be forced to return home in indignity, perhaps their mother would place the blame on her eldest child, who had been given leave to protect a future of the clan she herself was forbidden from. Such a weight was unfair for Harumi to bear, but it was an expected weight all the same.

The last statement stung in its own way, and yet, there was something to it that he did not fully believe. Harumi and Yoi were like water and oil, unable to mix well no matter how much one tried. They were so fundamentally different, it was hard to say they were even sisters, in the way one might easily connect Tomoki and Yoi by virtue of their similar looks, or Harumi and Tomoki by way of his deference towards her authority. But to think that Harumi would wish her gone? That the clan would be enriched by her absence? It was unthinkable. If Harumi was anything at all, she was a dutiful woman. She left the mountains as she was bid, even with her misgivings about their mission, about his readiness, about their chance of success. She continued to act as a stern, guiding hand, scolding Yoi whenever she strayed. Even if Harumi had somehow come to truly resent Yoi, and despise her, it was unthinkable to him that even such negativity would see her wish Yoi had left them, for no reason other than the Kadenokōji being made weaker for her absence. Just because Yoi-nee was not a prudent sorceress did not mean that her children could not succeed where she had failed, after all.

"The first and second are true. The third is a lie."

He was perhaps least confident in this assessment, but he would not allow himself to show it. Harumi would not approve of such unease in the face of a spiritual adversary, and he would not sully whatever expectation she might have had of him more than it already had been.

[Lazy Kitsune]

A long pause as the weight of your answer and its consequences hung in the air for a few uncertain moments. With the way the game had panned out, the final cards for all three sets sat in the middle of the table and it all came down to how well you had assessed your older sister and her views on you, Yoi and herself.

Though it doesn't take long before the apparition of Ayuri fails to contain her excitement. With a squeal of delight, she shakes her hands in the air before lunging across the table to briefly hug you and plant a warm, wet kiss on your cheek, her tits pressing against your chest and even being rubbed against your body for a few moments before she pulls back into her seating position.

"Congratulations! That makes you a winner. I believe that's three distinct prizes you get to claim." she says, turning over the final set of cards for you to look over and sliding them towards you.

Perhaps befitting one of her earlier truths, the first of Suguro's cards portrays her pregnant, her naked body showing her breasts swelling even further as she cradles her motherly figure. Milk trickles from her nipples, awaiting eager mouths to drink from her bounty. The ground beneath her flowers and blooms as if fed and watered by her teats. Her second card, and the final one of her set, depicts her laying back on a table. Food is arranged upon her naked body and a crowd gathers around her, eager to eat at the banquet she offers them. She holds a mask, depicting a beautiful but sleeping face over her own, while her real face is tilted slightly to the side, so only the card holder can see the sly smile she bears.

The final card of Harumi's set portrays her starkly different yet again. She is open robed with her chest exposed as she was in the card depicting her on a throne, but her skin was shaded blue like that of some ogre, and horns adorned her head. She held her ōdachi aloft above her head. Her feet stomped into the ground, causing it to rupture beneath her, the cracks glowing with heat from below. Her stance leaves her legs parted, this time allowing you to see the depiction of her pussy beneath her dark bush. Her smile, widened by tusked teeth, is a cocky grin, derisively mocking the cardholder with a knowing superiority.

Yoi's final card was unique for actually showing her in more clothing than the one depicting her as a geisha. She sits, cross-legged before a shrine, wearing a white kosode and a red hakama, the signature attire of a shrine maiden. Instead of upon Yoi herself, all obscenity in the image is found surrounding her, as several cocks owned by men standing just outside the card's border ejaculate - though not onto Yoi but instead into offering bowls placed either side of her. In one hand she holds aloft a tamagushi, while the other raises a finger to her lips as she winks towards the cardholder.

"Your prizes are yours to claim." Ayuri says, before leaning closer and speaking in a hushed tone. "Though if you want my personal advice, claim them later and enjoy the hospitality of the Garden some more first. The house is kinder to those it thinks it can still gain more from. Maybe take some time to enjoy some of our drinks or another game... or perhaps the company of a beautiful woman with a fondness for guessing games? I'm sure you must think this me playing my part, but I feel like we've connected over this game. And I certainly wouldn't mind offering my services to someone I actually find attractive for a change. Not that all my clients are bad, but you're among the few that stand out the most."

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

There was little time to exhale any kind of relief when the excitement reached its peak for the final time, for before he knew it the visage of Ayuri was upon Tomoki, squeezing her lovely form against him. He nearly enough squeaked in surprise, in part because of the feeling of such a warm and inviting body brushing along his arousal through the fine silk of his kimono. If the evening continued as such, he would certainly need his clothing laundered from more than just the dust of the road, though the garments of the Kadenokōji clan were often prone to being stained by all sorts of fluids. The young sorcerer enjoyed the warmth of the apparition for only a few moments before she withdrew, revealing his many prizes to him. Each scene certainly caught his imagination, whether it was the sight of Suguro offering her body as a banquet for those who wished to feast on one card and bearing all the dignity of a mother nearing the birth of her child—one which may have been his as well, given her motives—on the other. The wildness that lurked beneath Haru-nee's perfect exterior, or the mischievous sight of Yoi-nee teasing supplication from the lustful men of the world... it was difficult, to say the least, not to allow his mind to slink towards the less-than-savory.

Not that Ayuri helped. Or, rather, the specter of her. Part of him considered whether it was a trap or trick to try and keep him entranced all the further. Would it not have been better to break away now and try to return to the reality he knew awaited? The haunting had the potency to keep many wrapped within its web, enough to shutter the actual establishment. He needed to choose his steps carefully, lest he fall further and further into the silken hold of its spirits.

At the same time, however, it was often when the sorceresses of the Kadenokōji clan were 'trapped' by their quarries that they became most dangerous. How many mighty yōkai, each the slayer of a dozen foolhardy sorcerers, had celebrated their victory over yet another foolish mortal magician by ravaging the helpless maiden who had dared challenge them, only to end up utterly in her thrall, left victim to her whims just as the humans they had tormented had been? The magic of his family was not one of brute force but of subtlety. If wandering ever further into these halls, if indulging in the delights offered got him closer to the core of this disturbance, where he might manage to turn the tables... well, it would be worth it. If not for himself, then for Mura-san, who had sacrificed so much of her life in pursuit of a righteous dream, only to see it dashed and poisoned by the greed of the shortsighted.

"I think I would like that very much, Ayuri-san," Tomoki offered a bashful smile, which was not at all difficult given just how genuinely bashful the flirtatious young woman made him feel, "The temptation of your company has been... very difficult... to ignore. Perhaps you might do me the kindness of playing me a song?"

It was true that he had intended to ask such a thing of Ayuri once the haunting had resolved, but given the atmosphere within the Blossom Garden, he was quick to cast his gaze sideways, in the way that seductresses would often do while playing coy with the target of their charms, directing his statement away from the card dealer as if it would lessen the embarrassment.

"Or... maybe we could make a song all our own. My body has always been a rather easy instrument to... play, with gifted hands," His eyes shyly returned to meet her own for a moment, his cheeks still pink, "I had hoped to find out if yours is much the same..."

[Lazy Kitsune]

Your words bring a flush to Ayuri's cheeks and she leans back, raising a hand bashfully near her chin. "You're quite the charmer. Are you planning to steal me away from this place? To take me with you on your adventures so we may make music together on the roads? I'd be lying if I were to say the offer wouldn't tempt me." She smiles, both to you and to herself as she looks you over once more, before reaching across the table, casting her own bashfulness aside for a moment so she can address yours, cupping your chin to help keep your gaze focused on hers. Her eyes look deeply into your eyes, just as they did - or at least the real Ayuri's did - back when you first met her. "Let me show you then. And maybe afterwards, after you have had your fun with your prizes and leave here, you will still consider me someone worth returning to."

She leans in further and plants a kiss on your lips. Soft and gentle, yet with all the warmth as if this were the real Ayuri herself. She pulls back, her hands moving now to take hold of yours as she rises to her feet and guides you up with her. She smiles at you, taking a step back to guide you away from the table. "Come. Lets go somewhere for just each other. Leave the world and all its weariness down here for what moments we can steal for ourselves."

She turns, leaving one hand still with your own as she guides you out of the parlour room, slowly making her way towards the stairs and up them. Had you not seen this place when you first arrived, it would look and feel like the building was still very much in regular use, the walls taken care of, the floors clean - or clean enough barring the occasional spill of sake on the floor mats by the gambling tables. It was warm and sounded lively enough. The girls here certainly looked - and, judging by Ayuri so far, felt - real. The customers far less so, faint shadows that mingled near places real people would frequent in times past. Though that was only what was openly visible. Who knows if any all too living souls had been ensnared in this place. It could be a very pleasant trap, but one that may continue to enthral and distract them as it fed on whatever lustful vices they provided.

But you were no simple prey. You were trained for situations just like this - and a spirit that preyed upon lust also played right to your strengths. To add to that you gained no sense of malice from Ayuri herself. Although the suspicion had already been that a more malicious or dangerous entity was puppeteering what would have otherwise been rather benign apparitions.

Soon Ayuri leads you to one of the upstairs rooms, and once you are inside and shut away from the rest of the building her lips find yours once more. A deeper, warmer and wetter kiss that finds your tongue greeted by hers as she presses her body against yours. You feel her sighing contently into your mouth before she pulls back, letting her breath fall against your chin for a few moments as she lets herself get lost in your eyes once more.

"Sorry if that was forward of me. I know I'm supposed to let the client take the lead, but I've been waiting to do that since I saw you walk in." she says, before stepping backwards towards the bed that took up the better part of the room. The only other notable feature being a side table that held what seemed to be a complimentary bottle of sake.

She pulls her hands to her robe and tugs on them slightly, letting the inner valley of her cleavage show to you once more. Instead of revealing her tits to you in their entirety just as the real Ayuri did when she mistook you for a client, this time she pauses, running her lower lips against her teeth as she shifts her weight from side to side.

"Do you want me to undress for you. Or do you want to take my clothes off of my body yourself - strip me naked with your own hand?" she asks, before sitting back down against the bed, leaning back and propping her hands against the fabric beneath her as she looked at you expectantly. "What kind of lover are you?"

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

Tomoki could practically feel his pulse in his ears when Ayuri leaned over the table for him and murmured what he could only construe as sweet nothings. It was a dangerous fantasy, to be sure—the life of a sorcerer was not one to be easily handled—and yet however prudent it was to keep to himself, to keep his mission only within the family, the thought of waking in the mornings to sweet tunes played by such a lovely thing, and spending the nights laboring atop her to coax even sweeter sounds from her lips were compelling ones. Such a life might have well been beyond him, beyond both of them, given their circumstances. Perhaps there would be time to return to her, to know her as a man knew a woman for more than just one fleeting night. Such romantic thoughts had never been much his own, while focused on his training, back in the mountains. But surely duty and pleasure needn't be separate at all times. Shimabara would certainly need someone to tend to its spiritual well-being even after the wound that was the Blossom Garden's haunting was healed.

Soft lips against his own served to sweeten the temptation, and the young Kadenokōji could not help but gaze back with a simmering affection when Ayuri looked into the eyes she seemed so enamored with. For as dangerous as it could be, couldn't help but share her sentiment on some level, just as many of the Blossom Garden's patrons likely had, that abandoning the weariness of the world, if only for one evening, was quite the temptation. He followed that temptation as it led him by the hand, out of the parlor and up the stairs to the floor beyond. Another kiss followed, a hotter, more passionate kiss, and while he was not the most experienced in such matters, he eagerly returned the gesture, parting his lips and welcoming her tongue to wrestle against his own in a sweet, messy affair that ended only when she drew back from him to take him in.

"N... No need to apologize. That kiss was rather chaste compared to what I have been fantasizing about after meeting you."

He made no effort to conceal just how truthful that was, the dark, thoughtful eyes so appreciated by the beauty before him roaming down over her body as she stepped back and began to part her robes. He remembered what awaited beneath them, from the briefest showing she had given him earlier, and he found himself eager not only to see her body again but to feel it, to taste and touch it to his heart's content. A sentiment she seemed to more than share as she settled on the bed behind her.

"I must confess, I have not had the opportunity to make love to many beautiful women. Not enough to truly say. But... I have always been a quick learner. Let us both find out, firsthand. Let me... explore you."

His words were low and slow, laced with a certain passion that he could not quite contain. He stalked forward, towards the bed where Ayuri sat, and leaned forward just enough that his slim fingers could cup along the curve of her delicate chin. He used those same fingers to tilt her face up, just enough to look him in the eye for the briefest moment of surveyance, as if trying to commit the waiting, excited expression on her face. Then, with grace, he closed his eyes just as he leaned in to steal another kiss, a slow, long thing, followed by another few quicker ones. The fingers on her chin brushed sweetly below, along her jaw, and then down to her neck, his lips following after them by a few paces, brushing phantom-like against her pale flesh as he sampled the softness of her skin.

His fingers continued down and down until they met the hem of her parted kimono. Then, they were joined by the digits of his other hand, brushing swiftly downward until he could find the convenient knot of her sash, tied in the front to make things all the easier. He pulled at the silk with a practiced hand, separating the knot until the fabric grew slack in its absence, and he could unwrap it from her waist with the subtle, excited energy one might have saved for a present. And without the sash to hold her kimono together, his fingers pried apart the folds of her garment until the tips could brush lovingly along the stomach within.

By then, he had brushed his face down along her collarbone, stopping to kiss and suckle it until the fabric below pulled away. With every inch of her chest exposed, he kissed and nippled and nuzzled, moving lower down her and encouraging her to lean all the further back. His lips brushed along the space between her breasts, kissing just over her heart as he pulled her robes further and further apart until finally, the buds of her nipples could no longer hold the fabric back. He couldn't get the sight of them out of his mind before, so perky and bright, begging to be kissed and sucked and loved, and there they were, now before him. It took all his willpower not to make for them immediately, his shuddering breath tickling the space just over her breastbone, where he had been lavishing with attention just beforehand. He took care to leave a trail of goose pimples wherever he went, kissing just a little further down and to the right, so he could taste the underside of the wonderful, tear-shaped orb that was her breast. He could not stop himself from murmuring as he reached the darker flesh near her areola, whispering against it hotly.

"You are... beautiful," His murmuring was broken up by the wet sound of his kisses, as he pressed his lips to the peak of her nipple once, then twice, and three times, "So, mmhph, so incredibly...mmh... incredibly beautiful... "

It was largely by instinct that his hands kept moving while his mouth labored to fulfill the growing desires he felt, suckling away at her breast with all the lustful abandon of a man lost to his hunger. His fingers continued to explore her body beneath the kimono that remained, stroking over her ribs, her sides, down along her flanks, and around to rub and stroke at the small of her back, encouraging her closer to him. They found a border yet crossed as they dipped down lower to sneak beyond the edge of her undergarments, cupping first at the curve of her backside before the more dominant of the two began the trek around her wide, welcoming hips and then down along the lines of her mound, searching for the hot slickness they knew awaited them between those shapely legs of hers, eager to feel it coating every digit he had to dedicate toward her pleasure.

[Lazy Kitsune]

Ayuri's eyes good not peel away from your own as she breathed deeply, her body staying still before you with the sole exception of her chest rising and falling heavily with her growing anticipation. The build up earns you the sweet sounds of her moans immediately as you kiss her, feeling her relishing the sensation on her end as well. Then as your pace quickens these moans turn to gasps, stolen in moments of open air before your lips claim hers again, then growing louder once your lips move to taste her jaw and neck.

Her skin was smooth and warm beneath your roaming touch, her young body open to your exploration as your hands roam down to begin unravelling her kimono even further. Her gasps turn to moans, the first notes of that sweet music you've been promised, and as your lips find her collar she begins to slip back, relaxing her back full against the bed to leave you room to move atop her. Each inch that she lowers down relaxes her body further to your mercy, opening herself up more to you for your ravishing. As you made your way down to kiss between her breasts, she would find herself shifting her head, unable to settle between gazing upwards at nothing and enjoying the sensation of your mouth exploring her body, or lifting her head up so she can cast her gaze down on your progress and enjoy the sight of you admiring her body.

Her soft breasts shifted with her body relaxing against the bed and your mouth pressing against them. They had a firm bounce to them that let you push with your lips to kiss and taste each and every inch of her chest should you so choose. You tasted the sweat from under her breasts, thick with her sweet taste and natural aroma from how you've worked her up so far. Her nipples rise with pointed intensity under you treatment, even before you give them a personal taste. And once your lips do find them, you hear her voice catch and shudder, shifting her moans up a pitch for a few moments.

As flushed as she is already by your actions, your words bring a greater rosiness to the flush in not just her cheeks, but also upon her ears and breasts as well. Her body moves to allow your arms their exploration unhindered, raising her hips so you may better reach around to feel along her back while you other moves beneath towards the only fabric keeping the last of her body hidden from you. You feel the dampness already staining the cloth between her legs, her hips twitching as they feel your roaming hand reach their mark. Such neediness uncovered, she know shows it further through whimpering and bucks her hips towards your hand, inviting further inspection. Her undergarments are easy to slip an exploratory touch within and your digits are greeted with a readily dripping warmth that kisses you, seemingly smoothly shaven and eager for your attention.

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

Far from a stoic lover, Tomoki let out his own little murmur of delight as he felt the wetness all around his fingers, his words muffled by the teat clasped so sweetly between smooth lips. He coaxed at the peak with his tongue, swirling around it with his tongue and suckling hungrily all the while, every flick a means of savoring the delicate, feminine taste. And once he had sated himself on the one, he pulled off with a soft 'pop', sure to kiss away the chill that followed it leaving his mouth before nibbling his way back across her chest to the other breast to repeat the motion for its sister, never letting up his exploratory stimulation.

His mouth, of course, was not the only part of him used for such a case. Deft fingers traced the hot, sticky folds between Ayuri's legs, stroking them carefully as he became accustomed to her feel, although he was sure the whisper-light teasing only encouraged the bucking of her hips all the more. Wet with her arousal already, he allowed the very tips of his fingers to draw up the length of her slit until they reached the hardened little nub just above it, pressing purposefully against the hood of her clit. Then, with all the care of a lover, he started to stroke her, rubbing slow, wide circles, listening to the way she breathed and gasped, ever curious as to just how firm she wanted to be touched there, and just how he might alter the course of his hand to tease the desired notes from her throat. A throat which, pulling from her succulent breast, he began to work his way back up towards, muttering sweetly against her collarbone between kisses, casting his loving gaze up at her all the while.

"You are so wet for me," The eroticism in his voice, equal parts adoration and lust, seemed almost natural as he toyed with her body like how a musician might tune an instrument, "Does that mean you truly do like me? I hope so. I love it... love knowing how I make you feel."

[Lazy Kitsune]

Her breast pulls with the suckling of your mouth, her tit prodding up enough to be knocked about by the movements of your tongue as your moans vibrate around it. It stays firm when exposed to the open air, glistening with spit that marked the region most loved by your mouth. You soon find her other nipple just as effective at drawing sighs and moans from Ayuri, all the while your mouth learns how to make even deeper noises using the instrument found between her legs.

Her legs, dangling off the side of the bed, twitch and buck up as your fingers roll across her eager folds. A stickiness trailed after your fingers, leaving strands that showed the path of your motion only to be broken by you moving back over them. Finally, as you press against her clit, you hear a whole new noise. Her eyes widen as she lets out a girlish squeal of delight, her tongue sticking past her lips as her head falls back against the sheets beneath her. Perhaps to try and preserve some sense of decorum, she swallows back such primal sounds, but the attention you give her sensitive button soon have her moaning deeper and breathier, her whole body shuddering with the deep breaths she needs to take now. Her clit itself felt demure, almost too petit to be appropriately called a button and tucked away within her upper folds as if shying away from your attention, yet your fingers manage to coax their way to it easily enough and the wetness that marks your hand in reward shows just how receptive she is to the work you put in.

She tries to cast her gaze down towards you again as you begin to trail kisses up along her neck, but the attention you give her between her legs keeps her from doing much of anything other than moan and roll her head back against the sheets beneath her. She manages to muster up enough self control to nod before responding to you, her voice breathy and words broken up with whimpering gasps.

"Yes. ~Ah~" she moans out, swallowing down a deeper moan before it takes her speech away from her altogether. "I do like you. I... ~ooh~ I really want you... I can't stop wondering what it would be like if you were to fuck me... I want to find out... so badly. Please... please fuck me... I want you to fuck me." she professes, her voice held barely a pitch above a whisper yet laced with almost delicate moans of pleasure all the same.

[Ze Blitzkrieg]

"Oh? You do not want me to spoil you?"

Tomoki's coo was almost teasing as he listened to Ayuri's heated pleas, feeling her writhe and twitch and mewl under the efforts of his fingers. He might've been able to go on all day like this, stroking between her thighs smooth and methodically, building up the tension in her belly until it couldn't help but finally burst like a dam and send her arching and kicking against the sheets. Perhaps there would be time for such a thing if he were so bold to think—the Ayuri beyond the Blossom Garden was a working girl, yes, and doubtless she knew satisfaction with some of her customers if not all, but he could not help but wonder how many of those customers took the time to pleasure her purposefully, rather than allow it to stem from their own gratification.

Given his inability to refuse such a request, though, perhaps he was no better than they were. He stopped the slow rotation of his wrist all the same, and stealing a few more loving kisses along her jaw, withdrew his hand from between her thighs and pushed off the bed so he could stand just at its foot. His fingers glistening in the lamplight with her stickiness, he took a few moments to clean them off, bringing it up to his mouth so he could lick and suckle every strand of her juices off of them, enjoying the scent, the taste of his partner. He couldn't help but flush a little as he made a show of it, casting a sheepish gaze down at the waiting prostitute as he did. Once his digits were clean, though, there was no more delaying things. His thin fingers went about the same work they had engaged in not so long before, running down the hem of his kimono towards the obi around his hips, then following it until he could tug at the knot securing it below the small of his back. As the silk pulled away, his garment slackened, and threatened to pull loose, something he prevented by quickly crossing his arms over his chest to hold it up.

Truly, he must've looked something of a maiden at the moment, cheeks glowing a soft pink and a mixture of nervousness and desire flickering in his big, dark eyes. He allowed the kimono to descend from his shoulders in a controlled manner, slowly pulling it open and then dropping down to expose his neck, his narrow shoulders, and eventually the sheerness of his chest. Without those same shoulders, it threatened to drop further, bundling in his arms as he allowed Ayuri to look at more and more of his body. It was a delicate body, to be sure, every landmark decidedly svelte and lovely, from the curve of his collarbone down to the soft, unblemished canvas of his chest, devoid of all but two small, stiff peaks where his nipples were, each a brazen little elevation that almost dared one to reach out and toy with them. It was a strange matter of both shame and pride for Tomoki, his body. On one hand, he knew it to be quite desirable, nice and slim, and soft and sensitive as many men liked their wives and lovers to be. He was certain that, were his body to be viewed from the waist up, many such men would jump at the chance of sampling every inch of its silky, feminine skin, leaving behind bruises and bite marks to mark the almost perfect, porcelain-like surface with their lusts.

But, of course, Tomoki was not a woman. He was a man, despite his beauty, despite the suggestive curve of his hip or the fullness of his bottom, the way his legs seemed so long and slender, as if perfect to wrap around the waist of a proper lover and beckon him into work hard between them. He couldn't help but picture just how many such men, big and strong as they were, came to Shimabara for relief, and how many of those same men ended up in Ayuri's bed, pinning the delicious body before him down into the futon and rutting it with all their strength. He could not be sure whether such a slim, womanly body would please her eyes, after such a lifetime of experiences, and it made him feel most bashful as he continued to lower the kimono until it hung around his waist solely by the friction of his hakama.

And when he tucked his thumbs into the hakama below, and further down into his undergarments beneath them, the pressure he had felt for much of the night became readily apparent. He moaned gently as he pushed down and down and down, bringing attention to the thick outline just beneath his waist, forced there by his earlier shuffling. As the garments finally pushed passed the width of his hips and dropped, something else went up instead of down. With a meaty smack, the head of Tomoki's member kissed the space between his navel and his breast, before flopping back down and standing tall and proud and erect between his plump thighs. His flush darkened.

Most of his body was just as lovely as any courtesan in the district, he was sure, but none had something quite so... obscene to offer, in place of a pretty, pink slit. There was no petite pair of lips between Tomoki's legs, as there might have been with his twin sister, but instead a big, hulking, throbbing cock. Wide enough that his own delicate hands could hardly circle it whenever he needed manual relief, well over a shaku in length, and heavy enough that it seemed to struggle under its own weight, it was the sort of cock that looked more in place on the erotic depiction of a particularly virile oni, or perhaps a fertility spirit, than it did on such a pretty boy, the scale of the body it hung from only making it appear all the larger. Yet that was the great dichotomy of the Kadenokōji clan: many of the male relatives he had grown up with, he knew to possess similar implements from their times in the bathhouse, if perhaps not so developed as his own. It only stood to reason that a family so steeped in the blood of specters and demons might have garnered more than just beauty from the exchange. The Kadenokōji sorceresses of old certainly did not go without satisfaction when they returned home to wed their husbands.

Exposed to Ayuri's eyes, the member seemed to twitch and throb, drooling a milky strand of pre-cum from its hefty head, produced by the pair of apple-sized balls hanging just below it. The sorcerer tried to wrestle his nerve, giving her only a few moments to stare in whatever awe or disgust she felt before he reached down to grip it at its base, stroking it once or twice until the strand snapped and dropped to the tatami below with a messy plop.

"I hope you like what you see as much as I do, Ayuri-san... I have been fighting these... urges, since I first saw you undress for me. This is as much your responsibility as it is the Garden's."

Finding his stride, he stepped back towards the bed, allowing himself to kneel over the lovely prostitute who would be his partner after so long. He scaled her once more with care, pressing her onto her back against the softness of the mattress beneath them. One hand reached down to cup at her thigh, to raise it so he could settle himself between her legs and push aside her underwear to reveal the minimal folds of her pussy just beyond, while the other found its way beside her head, keeping him hovering above her, looking down with gentle adoration and not the least bit of hunger. The hand that had so deftly pulled her into position then found its way around the mid-section of his bitch-breaker, lining the bulbous head up with the lovely slit found there, he pressed it forward, shuddering at the feeling of her warm, her wetness, against his sensitive head. He pressed forward with a little more vigor, then a little more, pushing his weight more fully atop her as he felt her begin to spread. Then, with a final shove, and then a gasp, he felt her part enough for him to seize the opportunity and slide himself in right up to the base of his tip. And as he relished in that incredible feeling, he let the hand responsible for it reach up to join its companion, not pressing into the mattress on the other side of her head, but cupping the cheek of the woman who promised to bring him such pleasure, his thumb stroking it lovingly.

"I suppose this is where we find out what sort of lover I am..."

And with that, he rolled his hips forward for the first time, a long, deep, careful stroke to claim as much as Ayuri as he could in one go, pushing breath from lungs as he carved his shape into her. The second and third thrusts went just a little further, serving more to try and work up a rhythm, and by the fourth and fifth thrust, he was forced to brace himself with both arms over top of her as he began to pump his hips forward, rocking her into the bed over and over until he could hear the soft, wet squelching of their love-making, a quick, smooth rhythm prevailing as he watched his lover quake and jiggle beneath him with half-lidded eyes, musical moans leaving his hips as he lost himself in the warmth between her legs.