Ryan and Rika walked through the house towards the living room, balancing a tray laden with cookies, snacks, and drinks. The sweet aroma of the freshly prepared treats hung in the air, mingling with the gentle breeze coming in through the slightly open window.
"See, I would never have imagined you knew how to cook, Ryan!" Rika remarked, placing the tray on the small table in front of the sofa, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Ryan gave a slight smile as he sat down on the sofa. "It's something you learn when you live alone." His tone was carefree, but for a brief moment, his mind pulled him back to the past. He remembered a complicated woman who, occasionally, insisted on cooking for him in his past life. Her culinary skills were a disaster, and to prevent his kitchen from being set on fire, Ryan ended up learning to prepare a few dishes himself. Desserts, mainly.
"Hmm, they look delicious!" Hanyuu commented in her naturally cute voice, a graceful little smile appearing on her lips as she observed the cookies with curious eyes.
Ryan leaned forward slightly, looking at her with an intrigued expression. "Hey, clear something up for me... You're not tangible, right? So, how do you eat?"
Rika crossed her arms behind her back and answered with a lively tone, full of softness. "Our senses are shared, even in that! So, when I eat something, Hanyuu also tastes it."
Hanyuu made an adorable pout, her voice taking on an almost whiny tone as she murmured, "It's like Rika said... Only, sometimes, she takes advantage of our connection to do some mischief... Auauau~"
The comment was completely innocent, but Ryan took it the wrong way. He raised an eyebrow and gave a smug smile. "Ah, I get Rika... You've got a hundred years of pent-up frustration, huh? I won't judge you for, um... relieving yourself."
Rika burst into laughter at the twisted interpretation, while Hanyuu turned completely red, letting out small, nervous yelps. "A-Auauauuuu~! R-Ryan! Rika-Chan wouldn't do that kind of thing!" She waved her little arms frantically, looking like a frightened puppy. "I-I meant that she drinks a lot of alcohol and spicy food sometimes and... and I don't do well with drinks like that!"
She seemed so desperate to clarify that her little face was already an adorable shade of red. Rika, still laughing, settled down next to Ryan. "Yuno is so mean sometimes... She doesn't buy my drinks."
Ryan chuckled, leaning back. "Seeing you with that appearance saying that... It's simply the peak of comedy."
Rika sighed theatrically, placing a hand on her face. "You always forget that, in practice, Hanyuu and I are older than you."
Ryan smiled slyly and, without warning, pulled her into a hug, leaving a soft kiss on her neck. "No, I'll never see you like that. To me, you're the sweet Rika, the one a few months younger than me who sits next to me at school."
While Rika caressed his hair with a delicate touch, Ryan glanced sideways at Hanyuu. As expected, she was red to the roots of her hair, trying in vain to hide behind her long strands. Each failed attempt to conceal her embarrassment only made her look even cuter.
Ryan smiled amusedly before changing the subject. "Well, how about we play a bit? This Dark Souls isn't going to beat itself."
Rika immediately raised her arm excitedly. "Let's goooo!"
Without wasting any time, Ryan picked up the console controller and handed it to her, settling back down beside her. "Well, you're still pretty early in the journey... Let's see how far you get today."
Rika looked at him with a mischievous expression, her voice full of forced innocence. "Hmm... Okay, but I don't think I'll be able to play properly like this..."
Ryan raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "What do you mean?"
Rika bit her lip slightly, her eyes sparkling with a touch of malice. "It's just that, well... Last time, I was sitting on your lap while I was playing. Now I'm not... That might affect my gaming ability..."
Ryan let out a smug chuckle. "Ahhh, I see... You've been pretty cheeky lately, huh, Rika-chan? Sometimes, I even remember the innocent little girl who acted all sweet and, out of nowhere, those red eyes and that dark voice would appear... I even miss it a little."
Rika closed her eyes slowly, a dark smile forming on her lips. Her tone of voice lowered slightly, and her shoulders gained an almost oppressive presence. When she opened her eyes again, a red glow tinged them. "Ahh... So you like it when the woman is darker? What a naughty kitty you are..."
Ryan pulled Rika by the waist, fitting her onto his lap without hesitation.
"That's my Mini Miku!" He laughed, hugging her without resistance.
Hanyuu cleared her throat softly, her voice hesitant as she looked at Ryan with bright eyes, as if afraid of interrupting something.
"I... I'm still here..."
She shrugged, visibly embarrassed by the closeness between Ryan and Rika, but not exactly out of jealousy. It was something more... physical. The shared connection with Rika made her also feel the warmth of his skin, and that only made her even more nervous.
Ryan tilted his head to the side, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
"Why are you standing there like a scared ghost? Come, sit here."
Hanyuu blinked a few times, hesitant, but ended up moving slowly towards the sofa. When she sat down, she kept a safe distance, her hands clasped in her lap as she nervously fidgeted with her shoulders.
Meanwhile, Rika was playing, exploring the map and complaining about the difficulty. Ryan, of course, didn't miss the opportunity to be a little cruel—he didn't even mention that the path through the graveyard of skeletons in DS1 wasn't the right route for beginners. But, deep down, he wasn't exactly focused on the game.
His fingers moved lazily through Rika's hair, sliding between the smooth, fragrant strands. The softness was practically therapeutic, and he could spend the rest of the night there without complaint. But, even entertained, he didn't take his eyes off Hanyuu.
She noticed the insistent gaze, and her spiritual ears almost seemed to wilt under the intense attention.
"Auau~ W-why are you looking at me like that...?" Her voice trembled, and a cute pout formed on her lips.
Ryan smiled slightly, his expression calm, as if his answer was something as natural as breathing.
"You know... I'm getting a huge urge to touch your horns."
Hanyuu jumped a little on the couch, as if she had been shocked, and covered her face with her hands, completely red.
"Auau~! Y-you can't!"
Rika, who until then had been focused on the game, stopped and turned her head, intrigued by the direction of the conversation.
"Hmm… Now that you mention it, I'm curious too."
Hanyuu shook her head frantically.
"T-they're very sensitive! Y-you can't!" She made a convincing pout, trying to find an excuse. "A-and besides, I'm not even tangible!"
Ryan sighed, disbelieving.
"Oh, but I can solve that easily. If I use just a tiny bit of divine energy on my hand, I can touch you without breaking my promise with Yuno and Arona."
Hanyuu stiffened in place, clearly realizing that her perfect excuse had just been dismantled.
"Come on, Hanyuu, Ryan will be gentle." Rika moved closer to Ryan, her voice full of amusement.
"Look, the first part of that sentence sounded suspicious," Ryan murmured in a low tone.
Hanyuu, who already seemed about to spontaneously combust, let out an indecipherable noise before lowering her head, her voice coming out weak and broken.
"A-Auauauau~ If… if…"
The blush on her face intensified, her eyes hiding under her long hair.
"I-if Rika is also curious…"
Hanyuu took a deep breath, trying to regain a minimum of composure.
"B-be gentle… p-please…"
Ryan raised an eyebrow, his mind briefly pausing.
"Hanyuu… You can't say that kind of thing with that intonation…"
He sighed, clearing his throat to regain his composure. He created a thin layer of divine energy on his hand, barely perceptible, but enough to break the ethereal barrier that prevented physical contact with Hanyuu.
Approaching slowly, Ryan watched as the little goddess's chest rose and fell rapidly, her breathing uneven with nervousness. She looked like a cornered cub, hiding her little face between her fingers.
Then, he touched the horns.
The instant his fingers touched the soft and curiously solid surface, Hanyuu let out a muffled squeak, like a frightened puppy.
Rika, who until then had been watching everything with interest, lightly squeezed Ryan's thigh with her fingers.
Ryan blinked, surprised by the sensation.
"Hmm… strange… it's very different from what I expected…"
His gaze deepened, analyzing the texture and the small nuances to the touch.
"It's solid, but it has no temperature… It's not like a goat's horn, the feeling is completely different…" He frowned. "And your body is shaking so much… it's like a cat having its whiskers stroked…"
Rika, still on Ryan's lap, bit her lips, her voice trembling.
"R-Ryan…"
He looked at her, curious.
"Hmm?"
She blinked a few times, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Y-you've been… like this for over a minute…"
Ryan raised his eyebrows, blinking a few times before realizing what she meant.
"Ah... I was reflecting on the sensation."
When he looked at Hanyuu again, he found the little goddess completely melted. Her face was as red as a ripe apple, her eyes half-focused, and her breathing unsteady.
Her voice came out in a weak, shaky whisper.
"I-Is that... enough...?"
Ryan chuckled softly, leaning back on the sofa with a smile.
"Yes... I'm satisfied."
Silence hung in the room for a few moments, only the sound of the game and the soft breathing of the three presences filling the space. Ryan, still with his hand half-open, seemed to analyze the peculiar sensation he felt when touching Hanyuu's horns. His eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head slightly, thoughtfully. Then, he turned to Rika with a curious look.
"So, did you feel it too?" His voice carried an intrigued, almost clinical tone, as if he were testing a hypothesis.
Rika blinked a few times, bringing her fingers to her own head, as if trying to decipher the sensation. Her gaze was distant, but there was a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Well... it was a strange sensation... but, it wasn't bad..." She murmured, her fingers absentmindedly playing with a strand of her blue hair.
Beside her, Hanyuu let out small, timid grunts, the perfect image of a frightened puppy. Her body was rigid, her small hands clasped against her chest as if trying to contain the avalanche of emotions that overwhelmed her.
"Auau~ I-I told you... They're very sensitive..." Her voice came out weak, trembling like a leaf in the wind, as she was still trying to recover from the touch.
Rika ran her fingers through her hair one more time before tilting her head to the side. "They really are..." She admitted, still processing the experience. Her gaze slid to Ryan, then to Hanyuu, and a small smile played on the corners of her lips. "But... it's not like I didn't enjoy it..."
Hanyuu's eyes widened, a surprised gleam flashing in her purple irises. Rika's revelation caught her completely off guard, and before she knew it, she was already hiding behind the sleeves of her dress, her horns swaying slightly as she buried her face in her arms.
Ryan watched everything in silence, his sharp eyes catching every nuance. He then took a deep breath, as if he had come to a decision. Without warning, he moved with the naturalness of someone who already knew exactly what he wanted.
With a swift gesture, he held Rika by the waist. She let out a small gasp of surprise, but did not resist—on the contrary, she just raised her eyes to him, curious. Her lips parted slightly, but before she could ask anything, Ryan easily lifted her and sat her on his right leg. She blinked a few times, her eyes showing of slight confusion before relaxing completely.
But before anyone could process this first move, came the second.
"AUAUUUUUU~!"
Hanyuu's high-pitched squeal echoed through the room the instant Ryan pulled her too. Her small hands tried to grasp at the air uselessly as her legs dangled awkwardly. Her mind momentarily collapsed, and her face was already about to catch fire from how red it was.
"Auauauauau~!" The sound that escaped her was pure embarrassed despair, her ability to form sentences evaporating like dew under the morning sun.
Ryan simply smiled contentedly, carefully settling her on his left leg before wrapping his arms around both of them, comfortably encircling their waists.
"Okay, now it's complete." His voice sounded natural, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Rika, now relaxed against him, let out a clear laugh before murmuring an excited "Nipaah~!". Her body instinctively adjusted to his, comfortable in the position.
Hanyuu, on the other hand, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The warmth of Ryan's body, the proximity of their faces, and the firmness of his embrace... it all felt like an overload for her sensitive mind. She felt her heart pounding against her chest in a painfully audible way.
"Auau~ Yo-you don't need to put me on your lap!" Her voice was thin, trembling, almost pleading, but without any real strength to protest.
Ryan tilted his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips as his sharp gaze fixed on her. "Of course I do."
Hanyuu felt her brain completely melt. There was no response to that. She pressed her lips together and lowered her head, her small hands clutching tightly at the hem of her dress as if that could prevent her from collapsing in pure embarrassment.
"Th-th-thank you... then..." She whispered, her voice almost lost in the air.
Rika turned her face to her, her eyes shining with amusement. "Thank you?"
The simple question seemed to hit Hanyuu like a well-aimed arrow. Her body shrank even further, and then—
"Auuuuu!~"
She hid her face in her hands, completely surrendering to shame.
The hours passed slowly, but the scene remained comfortable. Ryan remained with the two of them on his lap, his hand gliding through their hair in a rhythmic, almost hypnotic manner. Hanyuu, who was initially stiff as a statue, gradually began to yield. Little by little, like a shy puppy that finally accepts a caress, her resistance disappeared, and soon her head rested softly against Ryan's chest, completely surrendered to the head pats.
Rika, on the other hand, continued playing, completely focused as she progressed through the brutal journey of Dark Souls. And then, at the peak of a moment of tension, she achieved the unthinkable.
"I did it! I killed the Taurus Demon!"
Ryan's eyes widened, a gleam of pride crossing his gaze before he let out an excited shout. "Yes! Good job, Rika!" He instinctively raised one arm to celebrate, which caused the two on his lap to sway slightly.
And then, as if a light bulb had gone off in his mind, he remembered something.
"Rika! Now that I remember, I bought something for you this afternoon..."
Rika, who was still euphoric from her victory, blinked a few times before turning to him, the excitement growing again. "Something for me!?" A bright smile appeared on her face, almost radiating an angelic glow.
Ryan stood up, carefully placing the two of them on the sofa before walking to the bedroom. "Yes... Well, I'll probably end up liking it more than you, but it's still a gift from me to you."
Rika tilted her head slightly, her long hair following the movement. Her gaze was full of expectation.
"I will definitely love it! Because it's a gift from you!"
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