33 – End of Aphelion’s first day.

“What do you mean with 'this again'?” Pokora asked, looking at the drunk Oni.

“Come on, Yolin,” I sighed, ignoring the Elf and shaking my head. “You're 201 years old. Control yourself.”

“Hahaha...” the drunk woman chuckled, approaching me. “You always try to get away, Natasha.”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose with my right hand. It always went this way with Yolin. I felt the effect of the alcohol and took a deep, calming breath.

“No, it always ends the same,” I stubbornly refused. “You gasping for air with a satisfied smile. What about me?”

The Oni took a few steps and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Come ooooonn!” she begged with a pout. Her breath smelled of whiskey and I looked away, a little embarrassed, “I know you like it, Natasha. I know you need it as much as I do.”

“Wow...” Pokora breathed out.

“It'll be quick, I promise,” Yolin continued. “You always have a big silvery smile on your face when we do it, don't act like you don't enjoy it.”

Her black tongue lashed out and attacked my right ear, making me almost accept her offer.

“You're drunk,” I protested, knowing the woman didn't take a no for an answer. Still, I tried to reason with her, “You're rougher when you're drunk. I like it when you're gentle with me.”

“Buuuuut!” she insisted, pressing her body against me. “I like it when you're rough with me. Please, Natasha.”

“Ask Alyssa to heal you,” I tried refusing again, bringing up the Luzo to see if the healer could convince the tank otherwise. “Then we can do it as much as you want.”

“She went to sleep already, you know how much she dislikes having her sleep interrupted,” Yolin revealed the unfair tactic of waiting until Alyssa went to sleep to approach me.

What a crafty woman, I thought, looking into the Oni's blue eyes.

She showed me a playful grin and gave me a soft kiss that lasted a good ten seconds.

“Come on,” she seductively whispered into my mouth, rubbing her sensuous red lips against mine as she looked into the depth of my eyes. “How long has it been since we've done it?”

“Holy shit,” I heard Pokora say with a tiny voice.

She's right, I thought. We haven't done it in three days. I do want to do it with Yolin.

“...” I didn't say a word as I felt the alcohol pushing me into accepting. I also needed to release some steam after the day's events. Her offer became more tempting.

The dunk Oni gave me soft kisses, and I returned them as we locked eyes. We were both drunk, she more than me, but it was enough to thin my reason and actually consider going at it this late and in this state.

Her tongue sneaked past my lips and I gladly reciprocated. Her taste mixed with the alcohol brought a foggy satisfaction to my mind. Her tongue tickled my palate, and I copied her technique. With locked lips, we shared a mind-melting kiss.

I liked pampering the Oni, giving in to her demands and making her happy.

I separated and gave her a shy smile.

“Okay, Yolin,” I caved in after that amazing kiss. “Let's do it.”

Her smile widened and her eyes squinted in victory. I felt my face burn at being so easily swayed. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was my loving nature. Whichever it was, I wanted to make her happy.

I turned to Pokora and noticed a deep blush on her face. Her eyes were sheepishly aimed at us.

“Want to join us?” I asked the Elf.

“Wha?!” she blurted out, eyes going wide. “Natasha, we just met. I... can't just...”

“Come on,” It was my turn to insist. “It'll help us get to know each other better. You agreed to join us, after all.”

“Certainly,” she said, quickly blinking and looking everywhere as her blush spread down her neck. “But... I... haven't done... it before. This is too fast!”

“But everyone does it,” Yolin argued. “We'll be a little rough, but you have nothing to worry about. Alyssa can heal you in the morning if you feel any pain.”

“True,” I agreed with a nod. “Come on, Pokora. Let's have some fun, the three of us.”

The Elf took a deep breath, her blush going up her long, white ears. Her face was completely red and her eyes glistened.

“I can't... not this suddenly... there needs to be a connection,” she refused.

“Ah, right. The Bond,” I said, realizing her words. “We can Bond later. I'll be gentle.”

Pokora hugged her body, slightly shrinking.

“It's not a matter of being gentle, Natasha,” she whispered. “I just can't... I'm not...”

“Alright,” Yolin said with an understanding nod. “Do you want to watch?”

“Watch?!” the Elf covered her mouth. “I... no... thanks. I don't have those tendencies.”

“We usually have an audience when we do it,” I replied, not understanding the Elf's issue. “Since we do it outside.”

“Outside?!” she blurted out and her eyes widened again. “Natasha, you're bolder than I thought...”

Yolin shrugged, turning to me. “We can have a one on one fight just the two of us, then.”

“Yeah. It's alright, Pokora,” I said with a smile. “No pressure.”

The Elf went quiet for several seconds, her blush intensifying to the point all her visible skin was a strong pink hue. She let out a long sigh while rubbing her eyes.

“Yeah, sure,” Pokora muttered. “I could use a fight.”

“Huh?” I tilted my head in confusion. “But you...”

“I said it's alright,” the Elf cut me off. “I'll lock the apartment and we can go. Wait for me outside.”

“Alright!” Yolin and I cheered.

I was slightly drunk, so I didn't see the misunderstanding right away.

We made sure to lock the doors and window, and left. Lapia was up and reading a thick book, so she could call us if anything happened.

On the shore of the lake, I was standing in front of Yolin. Pokora was a few meters away, rubbing the sides of her head. She had explained her weird outburst of embarrassment, and we laughed after clearing it up.

Yolin wore the same tight shirt and shorts, and I the sport set with my hair in a tight braid. Standing at about three meters from each other, we had a staring contest.

I held a long wooden stick, something I bought to spar with the Oni since I suck at hand to hand combat. A weapon is a force multiplier, after all.

The two visble moons bathed us in light, the town's poles not bright enough to taint the sky with light pollution. They aimed down at the streets, after all.

Yolin's skin turned darker, and her tattoos brightened up. The wide mandala showed up, floating behind her. Her Asura Projection activated, arms materializing around her. Some twenty blue spheres floated around her, and she did the clap/pose to activate her more complex tanking skills.

I pushed E'er into Prevention, keeping the arrest addition from working along with the skill reaching her, something the Oni taught me how to do.

Then, we all moved.

Yolin rushed to me, her many arms going wider than they should due to her intoxication. I waited, my stance a little shaky due to the alcohol.

The fists closed in, and I stabbed them all in a second. They burst in light, and I took a step forward. Yolin approached me and I hit her shoulder with a quick swipe from overhead. She fell to her knees due to the force, and I took another step forward.

“That's one death!” I declared, sneaking the stick under her body.

With a bit of force, I flung her body up into the air and stabbed at her stomach in an attempt at juggling her body. I didn't use enough force to break bones or rupture skin, but it was enough to push her body up.

“Those are ten deaths!” I declared again after the tenth thrust.

She fell down and immediately jumped towards me. I hit her right knee with the tip of the stick, making her lose balance. Then, I kicked her chest while taking a step forward. That sent her flying a few meters back.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” she laughed in the air.

I chased her, and stored the weapon as I grabbed her body from behind. Hugging her waist, I did a German Suplex. The impact of the move made a decent crater on the sand.

She squirmed and grabbed my fingers, trying to bend them back to have me release her. My fingers were stronger than her entire arm, so she had no luck there. She decided to headbutt me instead, hitting my nose with the back of her head.

My face numbed a little, and she clasped her head in pain.

“Shit!” she groaned.

I let her go and swiped my right hand, reflecting an arrow directed at my left eye.

Pokora was standing a good two hundred meters from us, a large bow in her hands. She waved at me, and knocked another arrow. Yolin took the opportunity to free herself, grabbing my legs and flinging me to the side. I spun a few times in the air, tightening my stomach to avoid throwing up. I landed and jumped to the side, dodging another arrow.

The game was pretty simple. Yolin would gain time for Pokora to hit me with a single arrow. If she did, they won.

I dodged a barrage of arrows, running to the side as the Elf shot them in quick succession like a machine-gun. I summoned the stick out and deflected them as I pushed E'er into Charge and ran at her at the speed of sound, kicking up sand on the way.

I heard the loud boom, something Lapia explained to me in simple terms: 'You are aware of anything your skills do, including sound'. She said that was handled by the unconscious' spatial intelligence or something.

I really should have paid more attention in school instead of doodling on my sketchbook all day.

In less than a second, I reached Pokora. Her eyes widened to the limit and ducked a swing of my stick. I was impressed. I wasn't fighting to kill, so I didn't go all out. It was a friendly fight, after all. Still, for her to dodge a swing meant her dexterity was quite high. At least higher than Yolin's. Unless the tank liked getting hit, something that wouldn't be that much of a surprise since she verbally admitted liking rough fights and sex.

The Elf rolled to the side, and withdrew a long knife from her storage item, an ankle ring. She swung at me and I grabbed her arm, then flung her up into the air after a quick spin. A good fifty meters.

I made a mistake. I gave an Archer the higher position.

Clicking my tongue, I dodged the barrage or arrows that came my way from above, deflecting the ones that came too close with my stick.

My winning condition was to last five minutes. The odds were against me, and that made it fun.

As I avoided the arrows, I noticed Yolin running towards me. She ran pretty fast, but not speed-of-sound fast. When she reached me, I took a step to the side to dodge a punch. She grabbed my braid and pulled with all her strength to destabilize me.

That was a really bad move. In her drunk stupor, she didn't give it a second thought and believed it a good idea. My hair is indestructible, and my neck muscles are really fucking strong. I fought the pull and saw in absolute terror as my hair sliced her palm open and her fingers flew away as the strands dug into her skin, muscles and bones. Blood flowed everywhere, and my heart stopped beating for a second.

I immediately sobered up.

“Ah,” she uttered, looking at her finger-less right hand. “This sucks.”

“Holy shit!” Pokora screamed as she landed.

“YOLIN?! HOLY SHIT!!” I shouted in Russian, grabbing her hand and applying pressure as red blood spurted out. “Shit! Fuck! Yolin! What do we do?!”

She looked at me in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she asked back, absolutely calm. “I just have to drink an Elixir.”

I froze in place. Then relaxed and a few tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Yolin, I'm sorry,” I sobbed as I produced the best healing potion I had. “I'm sorry...”

“Aw, come on,” the Oni shrugged, a complicated smile on her face. “It was my fault for pulling your hair without thinking.”

I handed her the bottle and hugged her.

“I'm not used to people losing fingers and then just shrugging it off!” I argued, wiping my tears. “I'm not fine with you, my girlfriend, losing fucking fingers. I don't care if I behead other people, because I don't care about them. But I care about you, Yolin.”

Yolin, the ever so carefree, laughed.

“It's okay,” she insisted, using her good hand to caress my face and separate us. “Even the nerves were cleanly cut. I don't feel any pain.”

“Bluergh!” Pokora next to us threw up.

Yolin drank the potion and I watched as her bones reformed, then tendons, then blood-vessels, then muscle, then red skin, and finally her black fingernails.

“See?” she asked with a smile, showing me her hand and her flexing fingers. “All good!”

“Yeah,” I chuckled, the panic slowly leaving. “Now I look like an idiot.”

“It's okay,” she whispered, caressing my face. “I appreciate you worrying about me.”

I sighed, looking at my bloodied hands. The sand was similarly tainted with blood, and her fingers were all over the place. Yolin's shirt was covered in blood, and her arm was in the same conditions.

Pokora was bending forward, cleaning her mouth and wiping snot after throwing up.

“How about a swim to clean up?” I asked after calming down. “Then we go back and sleep. I'm going to snuggle you all night, Yolin.”

Yolin nodded.

“Sounds good,” she replied with a big smile.

“That was something,” Pokora whispered, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

Yolin picked up her fingers, and threw them deep into the lake as we took a swim to wash the blood off. Then, we made our way back and turned for the night. A lot took place, and I needed some rest. Even if that meant dreaming of Hell.