❖ 5 ❖

After what felt like an eternity of introductions, Iori collapsed onto her bed in one of the manor’s many guest rooms with a satisfied, if tired smile.

“Been a while since so many people thought of me so warmly,” she chuckled. “If Rina and Haqua had never met, I’d still be…”

Iori shuddered at the thought. She hoped that one day her past wouldn’t feel quite so raw. 

No, c’mon, don’t get down on yourself. You’re here to relax. We’ll all have a lovely time, and by the end of it all, I’ll do what Haqua suggested.

Iori pulled out her phone, and noted, with a smile, that she wasn’t getting any service here. For the weeks she’d be in Hell, nobody from back home could touch her. She was free, entirely removed from the pressures of her family.

I’ll let this mark the start, then. I’ll take everything back, and start living for me.

“Iori! We’re gonna have tea!” Mio called, knocking on her door. “Gonna join us?”

“Oh, sure, I’ll be right there!”

Iori picked herself up and headed out of the room with a spring in her step.

"Feeling alright, Iori?" Mio asked. "Rina and I have both felt really energetic since we got here, so I couldn't help but worry that it might be hard on humans."

"Maybe a little sleepy? I think that's just because of all the excitement, though."

"Ehehe, everyone's been so nice, right? I wanna make friends with everyone!"

"I'm sure you'll knock it out of the park, Mio," Iori smiled warmly at her. "No way the girls here won't love you."

"They'll love you too, Iocchi!" The loud, giddy voice of Yuuki, the gyaru yuki-onna, filled the halls as she leapt out of one of the manor's many, many rooms, joining the pair on their walk. "I already do, and I'm crazy hard to please, y'know?"

Iori couldn't help but chuckle. She'd only briefly spoken with her, but if anything, Yuuki seemed extremely easy to please. She was the kind of giddy, upbeat girl who could make friends with anyone in no time at all. Even Iori was immediately drawn to her, and she was absolutely the kind of girl that she'd have looked down on with scorn in the past.

"Well thank you. It's good to have your seal of approval."

"Mhmm! You got it!" Yuuki playfully saluted, as she led them to a nearby room and pushed open the door. "I can tell, we're gonna be besties in no time!"

Following Yuuki inside, Mio and Iori entered a deceptively large dining room, with gentle, warm sunlight streaming in through the glass ceiling, shining down upon the many attendants of Adri's tea party, including Wakaba, Inumi, Haqua, the ghost from earlier, and of course Rina, who'd since been dressed in something remarkably frilly, undoubtedly an outfit of Adri's choosing.

"Y-yo, you two…" Rina bashfully greeted, pointing to a pair of empty spots across from her.

"Ohhh, you're a cute little gothy now, Rina! I love it!" Mio squealed, whipping out her phone and snapping a photo of her.

"Adorable, is it not?" Haqua asked, petting her deeply embarrassed partner as Mio, Iori, and Yuuki took their seats. "Adri truly is my sister! Just a few short moments with her and she already has Rina at her beck and call. She makes me proud each and every day."

"I wouldn't quite phrase it like that," Adri smiled, taking a sip of tea happily. "Rina is just a particularly loyal puppy. We make each other very happy."

"Ehehe, so you decided to play dress up with her?" Mio asked with a giggle. "Rina must've argued a bunch before agreeing, huh? She's soooo cute when she gives up and crumbles~!"

"LMAO! I'm gonna have to try that! Doggie, let's have some fun later, 'k?" Yuuki winked, and blew her a kiss.

"I-I didn't argue," Rina started. "Adri promised more pets if I dressed up, so…"

"So she really does have you dancin' on her palm, ahahaha!" Wakaba cackled, as she filled half of her own tea with sake. "I'mma have to get in on this too! Gonna dress you up like a little oni! Don't have to worry about how well things fit, either. Haku was saying your body changes real easy. Barely even have to ask and you'll bend over backwards to make folks happy."

"Ohhh, really?! Maybe I could make you a hellhound, little pup! Then you could bark even louder!" Inumi grinned, reaching out and scratching Rina's ears.

"Have all the fun you want with her, dears," Haqua addressed the room. "Rina will have a wonderful time no matter what."

Rina let out an adorable, flustered little bark, clearly excited by all the eyes now on her.

"Ah, you must be the new arrivals," a pleasant voice sounded out, and a perfectly ordinary, if extremely pretty human girl who looked to be around twenty walked into the room and took a seat by Iori’s side. She was the quintessential college girl, really. Stylishly dressed, with a warm, friendly smile and a great figure.

“Yo, Shii!” Wakaba cheerily greeted her.

“Yo, Wakaba!” she happily waved back, before turning her attention to Rina’s group. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, my name's Shizuku Hasegawa. Gotta be honest, I wasn't expecting to see another human here anytime soon, and I hear all of you live in Tokyo, too! We might be neighbors!"

“Oh my! Adri’s spoken of you, but I’m surprised it’s taken us so long to meet,” Haqua smiled pleasantly at her. “In fact, I do believe you’re the only one of her wives I’ve never had the pleasure of talking with. You’re quite elusive, I’ll have you know.”

“Ahaha, my bad,” she chuckled. “I’m still in college, so I live in Tokyo and only come down here in my free time. Guess things just never lined up for us. Still, I’m glad I get to meet you now, Haqua! Adri talks about you all the time, you know that?”

“It’s true,” Adri calmly nodded, sipping her tea.

“Ooh, though she’s also started speaking about, ummm…” Shizuku scanned around the room, her eyes lighting up once she saw Rina. “Ah! You’ve gotta be the puppy!”

“You can just tell right away, huh…?” Rina asked, unsure whether or not that was a compliment.

“I heard some barks outside while everyone was saying hi, and I guess nobody fits the yappy, soooorta pathetic ones I heard better than you do!”

“W-wan wan!” Rina barked, the fight in her fading as her mutt instincts kicked in.

“Ohhh, she’s easy…” Shizuku thoughtfully scratched her chin, while everyone around the room nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry, I can’t say I’ve heard of the two of you, though…” she pouted, looking at Iori and Mio.

“Ehehe, when Adri wrote to us, I was still human. But I’m Mio Ikeda!”

“Oh right! The one the puppy was down bad for!”

“Hey! Don’t say it like that!” Rina protested.

“It was true though, Rina! You were sooooo cute! So ready to become my lovely little moo cow,” Mio giggled, licking her lips thirstily. “Y’know, I could go for some more milk right now, sen~pai~!”

“L-look, maybe later…” Rina grumbled, clenching her thighs together in a dismal attempt to hide how excited the idea made her.

“And you…” Shizuku scratched her chin again as she looked at Iori, who smiled back at her somewhat awkwardly. “Ah, yeah, I do know you!”

“You do?” Iori furrowed her brow, as Shizuku whipped out something smartphone adjacent and tapped away at it.

“You’re Iron Fist Iori Kizaki, right?!” Shizuku beamed, eagerly showing Iori an article on her phone, with a photo of her back when her hair was still long and black front and center, the mere sight making Rina and Mio shudder.

“Oh my god…” Iori groaned, burying her face in her hands. “That reputation’s reached Hell, huh? Why’d I ever take that interview…?”

“Wo~w, Iocchi, you look uhh…it’s a girlboss look, I’ll say that!” Yuuki stared at the photo, scrambling for a nice way to phrase things.

“You can just say I look like an asshole…” Iori slumped back, as her cheeks turned red enough to match Rina.

“I’ll be nicer and say that you’re killing it these days, bestie!” she giggled, reaching to pat her on the shoulder, before remembering how badly that’d go and pulling away from her.

“Ahaha, maybe not the best piece to bring up, huh?” Shizuku scratched her cheek, before tapping away on her phone and bringing up another article about Iori, one that better represented her current look. “Ooh, but this is why I’m excited to meet you! I read this article about how you’re changing your company’s culture to be more employee-minded! Man, I was so impressed! It was so down to earth and sincere, I couldn’t believe I was reading things like that about a CEO! I applied for an internship at your company just the other day! Uhh, ma’am!”

“Is that so?” Iori chuckled, heartened by the shift in conversation. “I’m sure you’ll land it, we actually just raised the pay rate for interns, too. But…don’t call me ma’am or anything, please. I’d prefer to be your friend, first and foremost, Shizuku.”

“Ahaha, you got it, Iori~!”

“Mind if I ask you something, Shizuku?” Mio smiled at her.

“Go right ahead!”

“How did you and Adri meet? Is it hard being in a relationship with a succubus while you’re still human? That means sex is mostly off the table, right?”

“Oh! Asking as a former human, huh?” Shizuku grinned.

“Mhmm! I felt sooooo sleepy after my first time with Rina! Humans have it rough!”

“Shizuku and I do what we can for each other,” Adri smiled warmly. “Intimacy is undeniably limited, but we’re more than satisfied with our roles in one another’s lives. Shizuku is dearly beloved to me, and she brightens my life just by being here.”

“Mhmm! Besides, it's not like we never have sex,” Shizuku smiled, her cheeks flushing a soft pink. “Y'know, Adri and I first met when she accidentally pulled me down into Hell, ahaha…”

“The total opposite of Rina, huh?” Iori asked.

“In just about every way imaginable,” Haqua smirked, as she petted Rina’s head lovingly, while the useless succubus grumbled and leaned into her palm.

“I’d intended to open up a gate in a bid to sample some of earth’s confections, but it seemed I’d opened it right below Shizuku’s feet. She was so panicked when we first met, she thought I was trying to steal her soul at first, then she began wondering if she was some sort of chosen hero, called to fight the Demon King. I had to make it abundantly clear that neither murder nor insurrection were on my mind, only sugar.”

“And I happened to have a chocolate bar in my pocket!” Shizuku chuckled. “She looked soooo adorable when she ate it, like a little hamster.”

“Ehehe, Addy’s the cutest when it comes to sweets!” Inumi barked happily.

“That was all it took to clear the air between us. She made it clear it was a mistake and offered to send me back right then and there, but I asked if she wouldn’t mind letting me spend the rest of the day with her. Not every day you get the chance to tour Hell, y’know? So Adri took me out on the loveliest little date! You’ve gotta spend some time in the city while you’re here, it’s so exciting! Especially if you’ve got a cutie by your side!” Shizuku smiled.

“I’m keen to,” Iori smiled. “The view from up here is beautiful. I’d have never expected any part of, well, Hell to look so gorgeous. Sorry if that’s rude, you just never hear much good about the place where we’re from,” she chuckled.

“Humans are dreadfully superstitious, to my knowledge. The fact that you came here willingly demonstrates that you’re a far more open-minded soul than most,” Adri smiled pleasantly. “That’s part of what drew me to Shizuku, in truth.”

“That and the sweets,” Shizuku giggled. “She asked me if she could pull me down again the next day, and asked me so bashfully for more desserts, ahaha. So that kinda became our routine for a while. She’d pull me down after class every day, I’d share sweets with her, and she’d show me more and more of her life, little by little. Soon, pretty much all my free time was spent with Adri and the girls here! She also started giving me money for sweets, y’know? One time, she gave me so much that I bought out an entire bakery’s stock, just for her!” Shizuku cackled.

“Oh? Adri, dear?”

“...Yes, dearest sister?” Adri shyly replied, looking away from Haqua.

“I do believe your note made it sound as if you’d tried nothing from Earth, no? You seemed so eager to sample anything we might bring for the very first time!”

Adri fell silent for a moment, before shyly mumbling. “...Cream puffs. Did you bring some, dearest sister?”

“Adri!” Shizuku cried, unable to hold back her laughter.

“We most certainly did~!” Haqua answered. “I had a feeling they’d be your favorites.”

“As expected, you understand me so very well, dearest sister.”

“Well, I suppose I can handle a little white lie if it means I get to see you looking like a ‘hamster’, as Shizuku says,” Haqua chuckled to herself. 

“Mm! And every time we talked, we learned more and more about each other, and I got to see how sensitive and kind she was. I thought succubi would be very intense, but Adri’s the sweetest! I’ve given some thought to becoming one myself, but…I guess I wanna wait til it feels right, and Adri’s been very understanding of that. Besides, it sounds like it’d make the rest of college pretty tough on me, ahaha…”

“You’d crush it anyway, Shizucchi~!” Yuuki flashed her a peace sign, grinning happily. “She’s a genius, y’know?”

“Ahaha, I dunno about that…” Shizuku giggled. “But if any of the girls here decide to stay on earth, I wanna be able to provide for them, so that means earning a lot of money And that means I need a good job, so please hire me, Boss!” Shizuku cried, grinning at Iori.

“Can’t say I don’t admire the bluntness, but again-”

“I’m teasing, I’m teasing,” Shizuku smiled. “Money’s not really a big deal to me. I’ll be happy no matter where I live after college. Still, it's good to have more friends back home!”

“You got it,” Rina grinned. “We’re all…in-laws? I dunno, we’re some kind of family, so lean on us if you need to! Our door is always open to you.”

“Mhmm. Rare as it is, my pet speaks for all of us here. We’d be happy to have any of you over anytime. I’ve missed so many of you so terribly,” Haqua spoke with a smile. “Still, I can’t say I’m particularly surprised to hear that Adri’s stomach was the catalyst for your love, Shizuku.”

“Ehehe, it was like that for me, too!” Inumi grinned. “Except Addy was the one feeding me!”

“Indeed. Inumi is the one who constructed this manor, you know?” Adri reached over and lightly scratched Inumi’s ear.

“Huh, that so?” Rina asked.

“Nuh-uh, not just me! My sisters and I run Hammer and Tail Construction together, and Addy hired us to build her home! Most people are pretty hands-off and leave as much to us as they can, but Addy helped us every step of the way!”

“I never forced their hands on any matter, though. Inumi and her sisters are the experts, all I did was facilitate their work going as smoothly as possible,” Adri explained.

“Ehehe, Addy was so nice! She did so much work she should’ve been on my payroll! And the best part was that she cooked for us on break, and at the end of each work day! Ohhhh, the things she can do with cockatrice meat… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it, ehehehe…” Inumi hungrily giggled, wiping some drool from the corner of her mouth. “We all became best friends with her in no time! No job’s ever gone as well as that one, so this house is our pride and joy!”

“But poor Inumi broke up with her boyfriend partway through construction. She seemed so gloomy for a while after that, so I resolved to do everything in my power to return her smile to her. I redoubled my efforts in the kitchen, prepared the finest meals in my repertoire, and sat with her each and every day, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. I felt the food and the company might help her take her mind off of things.”

“And she was right! When I told her what had happened, I cried so much, but Addy held me tight and made everything feel better, and soon, the two of us couldn’t keep away from each other, even outside of work! And y’know what? As soon as the house was finished, the two of us both proposed to each other! We both got so embarrassed, but we knew it was true love right then and there!”

“Ohhh, that’s adorable! I’ve gotta write that down! And Shizuku’s story, too! That was a cute one!" Mio grinned, pulling out a notepad and hurriedly taking notes. “I’ve been looking for inspiration for my next book, so this is perfect!”

“Oh? Well there’s plenty of material here, darling,” Haqua smiled. “After all, your courtship also involved food, did it not, Wakaba?”

“Little bit! But I think we'd both thank booze for our love, ahahahaha!” Wakaba cackled, throwing back her head and taking a swig of sake from the gourd she always kept at her hip, a few stray drops spilling out onto her massive breasts, trickling down and filling the air with a pleasant scent. “Let’s run a little test here, huh? Pup, want a sip?” she grinned, holding it out for Rina, who'd been very, very eagerly staring at Wakaba's chest.

“Oh, uhh, sure!” Rina grinned, taking it eagerly. “Probably way better than the stuff Iori and I had the other night, ahaha.”

“Oh? You a drinker too, Iori?” Why don’tcha have some too? It’s safe, I promise!”

“I’ll regret this, won’t I?” Iori asked with a smile. “But sure, could you pour me some too, Rina?”

Rina poured the two of them a tiny glass each, then handed the gourd back to Wakaba, who, much like the rest of the group, looked on expectantly.

“Cheers!” Rina grinned, and she and Iori downed their glasses together.

It hit them both instantly.

“Ohhhhhh my god, that’s shtrong…” Rina dropped into Inumi’s lap, already slurring.

“That’s…wow, I-I’m already tipsy, ahaha… So much for going toe-to-toe with an oni, I couldn't have more than a few sips of that…” Iori chuckled, though she held herself together far better than Rina could have ever hoped to. 

“Oh? You were hopin’ to?”

“A girl can dream, right?” Iori weakly smirked.

“Attagirl, you’ve got spirit, I like that!” Wakaba cackled.

“I-I can’t say I like the taste much, though… No offense intended,” she sighed, quickly washing the taste down with tea.

“None taken! Yer doing way better than I thought! Pup’s… about where I expected though,” Wakaba laughed, watching as Inumi happily petted the drunk, giggly succubus’s head.

“Ahaha, hang in there Rinarin! You too, Iocchi!” Yuuki cheered for both of them, snapping a photo on her phone of Inumi happily petting Rina’s ears.

“This gourd’s built just fer oni, y’know?” Wakaba grinned, taking another swig and letting out a deeply satisfied sigh. “Strong enough to get girls twice my size drunk, an’ no matter how much I drink, it never runs out! Paradise if you like cuttin’ loose as much as I do! But y’know, it gets lonely when you don’t have a drinkin’ buddy. It was fine back home, but when I moved to the big city, I was completely alone! Not a great time!”

“Ohhh, I think I get where this is going,” Mio grinned, looking at Adri excitedly.

“Indeed, you likely do. I chose to visit a bar on the waterfront, and found poor Wakaba drinking alone in the corner with the most doleful expression on her face. Seeing someone like her without company was terribly sad, so I sat down at her table and ordered tea for the both of us. Wakaba, sweetheart, would you care to repeat what you said to me after that?"

"'The hell do ya think yer doin, ya damn priss?! You makin' fun of me, huh?! Tryin' ta start something?!' is more or less what I said," Wakaba shouted, anger welling up within her and staining her words with rage, before her smile and jovial spirit returned without so much as a hitch. "Man! I was fulla shit back then, huh? I deserved to get slugged real damn hard, but Adri just looked at me an' smiled! Sipped her tea nice an' ladylike, then tells me that it looked like I could use a friend, an' that was just her drink of choice."

"Saw right through you, huh?" Iori asked.

"Sure did! But my pride'd been damaged somethin' fierce! So I figured I'd have some fun with her an' filled her teacup with so much from this here gourd that it'd knock someone five times her size on their ass!"

"But Adri's constitution is remarkable, is it not?" Haqua chuckled.

"Her constitution ain't got nothin' ta do with it! Adri drank it all with a smile, then held out her cup and asked for seconds without even settin' it back down! In that moment, I saw her soul shinin' real damn bright, filled with strength!"

"All from a drink?" Mio asked.

"Wacchan's a musclehead~!" Yuuki teased.

"Ahahaha, call me what you want, I'm just great at seein' what folks're made of."

"Wait, so wazzat say about me, huh?!" Rina asked belligerently, pointing an accusing finger at Wakaba.

"Ehehe, silly puppy!" Inumi giggled, bringing her back down to her lap and happily petting the brand on her belly.

"Wan wahhn~!" She lustily barked, holding her arms up like paws, while Iori looked on with a needy look in her eyes, wishing that she could trade places with Inumi and hold Rina close.

"I…do I need to answer her?" Wakaba frowned. "Seems real clear what Rina is, yeah?"

"A bitch, yes," Haqua nodded, earning giggles from Mio and Shizuku. "But please continue, Wakaba."

"Right, yeah! So I stood up straight, looked Adri dead in the eyes and-"

"Threw a punch at me with all of her strength," Adri calmly finished her sentence, sipping her tea without a care in the world.

"Wait, you did what?!" Mio asked, gasping.

"Threw a haymaker! Damn good one, too!" Wakaba grinned, drinking yet more sake. "An' Adri here just twirls around it without breakin' a sweat, drinkin' her tea all the while! So I threw another, an' she dodges that one too, then the next, an' the next, an' the one after that and-"

"I believe they get the picture dear," Adri smiled. "Your blows were indeed mighty. Had one connected, I'd surely have perished. I fell in love with you after the very first one, in truth."

“Ohhh! How lovely!!!” Mio squealed, eagerly jotting down more notes.

"Demons are…intense." Iori mumbled.

"Mm, but it's romantic, right? A relationship born without any pretense!" Shizuku smiled. "It's hard to get more honest than our Wakaba."

"Ahaha, I suppose so." Iori smiled back.

"Ahahahaha! Think the first punch mighta been when I felt it, too! But my pride was really takin' a beating! So I threw out one last move! Ordered up a mountain of the spiciest meat on the menu, the kind that could cook someone from the inside, and waited to see if you'd stomach even a bite!"

"And it was delicious. A perfect accompaniment to the drink, and to my new drinking partner."

"I wanted to yell at her, y'know! I tried, too! But when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a laugh."

"Loud, sincere, and warm. A perfect encapsulation of Wakaba," Adri smiled.

"All my loneliness just flew outta the window at that. I had a drinkin' buddy, one who'd match me beat fer beat, no matter what I threw at her. Man, we fucked like tigers that night! I couldn't get her outta my head after that, and as it turns out, the feelin' was mutual, so here we are!" she beamed. "Now either of you want another drink?" she held out the gourd for Iori and Rina again.

"I-I'm good," Iori shook her head, "It's a lovely story though. You two really are made for each other."

"We're made for a lotta people, I found out." Wakaba grinned, wrapping an arm around Yuuki and happily kissing her. "What about you, pup? Up for more?"

"Uh-huhhhh…" Rina groaned, holding up a cup with a shaky hand and downing it as soon as it was filled. "It's way too friggin' shtrong! But ohhh, tha's a real good feelin', helluva burn..."

"Oooh, watch out! Drink any more and you might turn into an oni! You've already picked up Wacchan's accent!" Yuuki teased.

"Th-that ain't true!" Both Rina and Wakaba protested, before downing their frustration in another drink and letting out a deeply satisfied sigh.

"My, they're quite a pair, ahaha…" Adri chuckled. “They’re both so simply sincere.”

“With all the fun they had outside, I’m not surprised they’re such a good fit for each other, ehehe!” Mio happily giggled, noting both Rina and Wakaba wearing a lusty grin at the memory.

“Guess I’m up next then, huh?” Yuuki asked, whipping out her phone and showing a picture of very familiar looking high school girls standing next to each other.

“Ah, but of course you’d hang onto that,” Haqua chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve known embarrassment for quite some time, but I’d be lying if I said my cheeks aren’t burning a little at the sight, Yuuki.”

“Oh gosh! Haqua, that’s you!” Mio pointed at the messy haired, bespectacled, sweetly smiling girl in the center of the frame. “You look so different!”

“What a cute little dork! You’re so adorable, Haqua! C’mere! You can rely on big sis for anything you waaHHN~!” Rina drunkenly cackled, earning a sharp glare and a snap of the fingers from Haqua, leading to both a mini vibrator and a tail-shaped buttplug filling her up from the inside. “B-but- nn~! We’re-oh fuck, we’re in front of people, HaquahhH~!” she tried to protest, only for her shouts to get louder and louder as Haqua dialed up the intensity.

“Oh gosh, puppy!” Inumi cried, only to look at the blissful smile on Rina’s face. “She’s having a blast though, ehehe…”

“It’s her favorite!” Mio grinned.

“Mm, yeah, Adri said to expect this sort of thing,” Shizuku nodded, completely unfazed by it all.

“Ahaha, hang in there, pup! I’ll give ya some sake if you don’t pass out!” Wakaba cackled.

“Apologies for my pet’s unsightly appearance,” Haqua smiled pleasantly. “Just ignore her, her barks will settle in time. Still, if she’s too much for anyone here, I can happily escort her to Adri’s dungeon. Adri, dear, if she stains your carpets, do let me know.”

“Ah, they’re resistant to such things, there’s no need to worry,” Adri smiled pleasantly.

“Ehehe, Iocchi, I can see how into this you are…” Yuuki whispered in Iori’s ear, her icy breath gently tickling her cheek.

“I-I’m not, it’s just-” she whispered back, grateful that nobody seemed to see her.

“No need to make excuses, Rinarin’s got a cute little bod,” Yuuki grinned. “Just try to calm down before anyone else sees if you’re tryna keep this under wraps, ‘k?”

Iori nodded, grateful for the assist, as Yuuki got back to her story to take the heat off of her.

“Hakucchi ran our school’s magic research club back then, and she got crazy focused on her studies! College was when she really came into her own, but she’s always been gorgeous, IMO~!” Yuuki winked. "Riri might've looked as cute as ever, but she was also pretty shy back then, y'know? The meekest council prez you'd ever meet! She'd cling to me and Hakucchi soooo tight whenever she got nervous, it was adorbs!"

"Yuuki and my dearest sister provided me ample support in my youth. I never would have been able to stomach a student council position without them. I credit them for much of the confidence I have today," Adri sipped her tea, watching Rina writhe on the floor in pleasure out of the corner of her eye.

"It's crazy, 'cuz like, I def wasn't all that confident myself back then either! I've always been a gyaru-"

"And you've always been tremendously forward. You had a reputation for kissing every girl you found cute the moment you laid eyes on them."

"It was all just practice, y'know, prac~tice~!" Yuuki giggled, looking deeply self-satisfied. "'Cuz I had my eye on one cutie in particular, but I had no idea how to approach her! I was soooo into Riri, but I couldn't get my feelings out no matter what I tried! Super embarrassing, yeah? Still, not gonna pretend those days weren't super fun!" Yuuki giggled.

"Oh-hohhh! A high school rebel who'll play with everyone's feelings in a bid to better understand her own! This is good stuff! Keep going!" Mio beamed, jotting down notes so quickly that it was nothing short of miraculous that her hands didn't catch fire, while her wings eagerly flapped as fast as a hummingbird's behind her.

“Yuuki’s affections were always extremely obvious, though. She’d feed Adri half of her lunch every day, and spend almost all of her free time with her. Anyone could see how strong her love truly was.”

“Except, sadly, for me,” Adri chuckled. “Young and inexperienced as I was, I truly believed that Yuuki was just like that with everyone. She’s always been tremendously forward, so I thought she was just a deeply affectionate soul. Which, I suppose, isn’t untrue.”

“But the longer I spent by Riri’s side without being able to tell her, the more frustrated I got! It was killing me. Graduation was just a couple months away and I still hadn’t said anything! It’s crazy, I’d never locked up like that around anything, but I saw Riri’s smile and just got sooo anxious, like saying I loved her would make everything fall apart. By the time our graduation trip rolled around, I was done. I had to say something then and there or regret it forever. So I did what anyone would do, waited until Riri and I were alone in a room together, and, well…”

“Well?” Mio asked.

“Froze the room solid~!” Yuuki grinned, making a pair of peace signs with her hands. “Gave us a space where nobody’d interrupt us!”

“It was quite a shock, I was worried something was terribly wrong. I was so dreadfully clueless, it’s embarrassing to think back on,” Adri added, her cheeks flushing as more and more of the story was recounted.

“Aaaand it took me three hours in there to get the words out! I played the whole thing off as my magic going haywire, tried to pass the time with card games, then sulked in a corner when I realized I still wasn’t going to be able to say what I needed to. I felt about as pathetic as Rinarin looks right now,” Yuuki giggled. “And eventually, when the ice I’d built around us started to crack, I realized I had to say something. So I asked Adri to marry me. I was so worked up that my head skipped right past even dating her!”

“It all clicked then, the way she’d always been around me suddenly made so much more sense. I’d loved her all that time, and had convinced myself that she couldn’t possibly feel the same way, but there she was, asking to bind herself to me. I said yes without the slightest bit of hesitation.”

“She even caught me off guard! I got so flustered that all the ice around us shattered in an instant.”

“I entered the room not a moment later, and saw the two of them holding each other tight, laughing about their own foolishness. They treated the rest of their trip like their honeymoon, it was quite something to witness,” Haqua laughed. “Yuuki became Adri’s very first wife. I was so very proud of them both.”

“Ehehe, you’re the best, Hakucchi. But yeah, now I never hold anything back! Whenever I’ve got feelings about anything, I blurt ‘em right out! It’s worked out pretty well so far!” Yuuki giggled.

“Ohhhh, so many cute love stories! Ehehe, thank you all! You’ve been a big help!” Mio grinned, closing her notebook with a satisfied smile. “What’d you think, Iori?”

Iori stared down at her drink, a pensive look on her face.

“Iori…?” Mio asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“Hm? O-oh, they were lovely,” Iori smiled, shaking herself out of her own thoughts. “I’m sure that if you use any of them in a novel, you’ll write something beautiful, Mio.”

“Ehehe, thanks! I’m gonna do my best!”

Yuuki watched Iori closely, knowing exactly what was running through her head. After all, she’d dealt with the exact same worries for years.

Don’t worry about a thing, Iocchi! Gettin’ the words out must’ve been hard til now, huh? Well it’s all gonna get taken care of!

After all, Yuuki grinned, you’re spending this vaycay with me, and there’s no way I’m letting it pass you by without a confession! I’m hooking you up with Rinarin for sure~!