Coming home.

The next day, they took turns using the shower, got dressed and left the hotel by 11:00 am. They walked in a comfortable silence to the harbor and took the boat back to Noroi Island. With so few people on the boat, it seemed to Leo like a good place to finally talk about last night.

“I asked you how you felt and you said you were doing fine,” Leo started, “But how about mentally? Are you…?”

“I’m doing great,” Kaede nodded, her face adorned with a calm and satisfied smile. “I feel like my mind has cleared. I was overthinking something that was a little simpler than I thought. Just a little, though.” She looked down at the water and so did Leo. They watched the small waves created by the boat as they spoke. “What happens after this?”

“We keep doing it every other day, if you’d like. I certainly would.”

Kaede nodded. “I want to, but what I meant was… What happens between us? What… What are we now?”

Leo suppressed a loud groan but still hung his head. “Ideally, I’d just ask you out, ask you to be my girlfriend, just like Reiko.” Kaede’s eyes widened and she quickly turned her head away to hide her blush. “But I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

“Right… The others just started to get along,” Kaede nodded.

“I’m sure there won’t be any issues from us being… um… sex friends,” Leo sighed, “but if we labeled it something else, it might cause some friction.”

Kaede bit her lip, then took a deep breath before she spoke again. “Just… tell me one thing. If… If there was no one else, if Lucia-san and the others weren’t here, if there was no curse, if we were just two normal people only recently meeting each other… would you still ask me to be your girlfriend?”

“Probably,” Leo answered easily. “More than probable, actually.”

Kaede allowed herself a smile for a while before she asked another question. “Would you ask Seina-san to be your girlfriend in those same conditions?”

“…”

“Please, Leo.”

“…I would.”

“Lucia-san?”

“Yes.”

“Your coach, Victoria-san?”

“Her too.”

“Valerie?”

“I think so, but I’m still unsure.”

“I won’t ask about Reiko because that’s obvious,” Kaede chuckled. “So you really do like us all?”

Leo nodded. “Changed your opinion of me?”

“I’d think less of you if you were doing it with everyone without having any sort of feelings for us, actually.”

“Sounds fair. Though plenty of people have sex without having feelings for each other.”

“I bet. But it doesn’t mean I have to like the idea.”

“True.” Leo chuckled. The island came closer and closer into view, but there was one more thing Leo wanted to discuss with Kaede in the relative privacy of the boat. “Kaede… about last night…”

She flinched and moved her long hair to cover her ear, fearing Leo would catch on how they were heating up. He caught it. “Y-Yes?”

“Last night, I said something in the heat of the moment. I… I was too excited, too into it and asked you something. Do you remember what it was?”

She couldn’t look at him directly, but even as she kept her gaze on the water, she nodded. “Y-You said we shouldn’t make rash decisions on stuff like that.”

Good. “The thing is… I know I said I asked in the heat of the moment but… I still think I meant some of it. You answered seriously too, but now that we’re both thinking straight, what do you think?”

Leo heard her swallow. “…The idea still excites me. I have a pretty good memory, you know?” she said, trying to casually laugh through her nerves before she gave up. “I remember everything you said, and even how you said it. Now that I’m calmer, I realize that my answer was hasty and… lust-driven, but I also… meant… it.”

Leo cursed in his head. He cursed that she still said yes in this situation. He cursed that he was happy with her answer. He needed to make things clear for her.

“Kaede, I’m worried,” he started. “I can understand a fair bit of your emotions, remember? I realize just how much you enjoyed what we did last night. I enjoyed it just as much. What I’m worried about is you developing an… unhealthy addiction it.”

“Nymphomania?”

“Exactly,” Leo sighed. “I…”

“Sorry, I’m gonna have to stop you,” Kaede said, turning her whole body to him. “I know I may not act like it all the time, but I also have a Gift, remember? I’m far more aware of my own cognition and psychology than anyone else. I…” she bit her lip. “I have my issues, yes, but I’m fully aware of them. In fact, being aware of them only makes them worse. I overthink things, I realize how little logic there is behind my fears while also intellectually understanding that fear follows little logic. But understanding alone isn’t enough to fix yourself.”

Leo understood that. It would be like telling a clinically depressed person to “just cheer up”. Even if they know they’re depressed, it’s not something that can be effortlessly fixed.

“What I’m trying to say is that I’m not clueless. I know perfectly well what’s happening with me. And though…” her face started heating up, but she coughed to clear her throat and continued despite it. “…Though one could playfully call me a Nymphomaniac, I’m 100% sure this isn’t at the level of a harmful clinical condition. A-And besides, a one-time occurrence doesn’t provide enough empirical evidence to support your thesis, so there!”

Leo was lightly taken aback. Up until this point, Kaede had been mostly keeping to herself, enjoying media her family kept from her, tripping over her words and generally trying to live a normal life. Now, Leo felt like he had taken a small glimpse into what Kaede had to be on a daily basis before coming to Noroi Island. She was precise and academic with her words despite the embarrassment of speaking about herself like that. Her confidence and eloquence proved she spoke from knowledge acquired through study. To put it simply, she was putting forward a far more convincing argument than he was.

Nevertheless…

Leo gave her a light poke on the forehead. “Not gonna stop me from worrying. Say all the smart things you want, you still said yes to becoming my sex doll.”

Kaede’s face went fully red, so she hid her face in her hands. “Y-You didn’t have to say it out loud!”

Leo smiled and pulled Kaede close to him. He got an arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead. “We’ll start small, okay? We’ll test our limits and see what we’re comfortable with. If we think we’re going too far, we reel it back. How does that sound?”

Kaede nodded against his shoulder. “I like it.”

“Good. And since I now have your consent, I’m gonna kiss you until we get to the harbor.”

He didn’t wait for her to answer and captured her lips. She let out a cute little yelp before she got her arms around him and let him taste her mouth as he pleased. They didn’t part until they arrived at the island.

They got off the boat, hands locked and ready to head back home. Only a familiar voice startled them.

“Pre-marital handholding? How DARE you!?”

Kaede quickly let go of Leo’s hand in a panic, for in front of them was Reiko. She stood there with her arms crossed and with a deeply mischievous grin. Then, the façade she was trying to maintain fell off and she squealed and ran up to Kaede to give her a tight hug as she laughed.

“Haha! I kept thinking of what to say while I waited, but now I have no idea!” Reiko said.

“…So you really aren’t mad?” Kaede asked, relief washing over her face as she hugged Reiko back.

“How could I ever be mad? You’re satisfied with what you did, aren’t you?”

“…” Kaede’s eyes turned to Leo, and he just let out a soft sigh and smiled as his shoulders relaxed. “I am. I… I had a lot of fun.”

“And judging by what little I saw, your fun won’t be stopping soon, right?” Reiko asked, her tone as mischievous as her smile had been.

“…That’s what I’m hoping for,” Kaede admitted with her own little laugh. “You’ll be joining us, right?”

“Every once in a while, yes, if you’re okay with it. I think you should have your time alone with him, and I still like my own time with him too.”

“I said some embarrassing things, you know?”

“Let’s go back to my place so you can tell me everything!”

“Um… Hello? I’m still here, Reiko.”

“You had your time with her. Now it’s my turn.” Reiko said, sticking her tongue out to Leo.

Leo just couldn’t bring himself to argue. They both looked too excited to have their talk. “Alright, but then I’m not counting you for lunch.”

“What? Hey, wait!” Kaede protested.

“Have fun, girls!” he said, waving back as he casually walked away.

“Leooo! Save me a plate!”

“Nope!”

A small payback for getting dumped before even getting back to the house. Reiko was already going to invite her to eat at her house, anyway. Just like he and Kaede had talked things out about how their relationship would go on from here, those two also needed to establish boundaries. Once they were in agreement, he’d talk to them and see how much he agreed or disagreed with.

Leo nodded to himself, satisfied. It sounded right up his alley.

“I’m home,” he called out when he entered the house.

“Welcome back,” Mrs. Wisler greeted. “What about Kaede-chan?”

“Reiko stole her from me as soon as we landed.”

“Is that so?” the old lady chuckled. “Those two get along well, don’t they?”

Leo nodded. “And I’m happy they do. I’ll start on lunch right away.”

“Thank you very much.” Mrs. Wisler bowed and returned to her bedroom.

Leo went to the kitchen and settled in easily. It was a comforting feeling. No matter how ecstatic or stressed he was, the kitchen always managed to calm him down, give his feelings something like a reset. Cooking was relaxing. The heat of the fires, the plethora of smells. It was nice.

“LEO!”

And there went his peace.

“I heard you coming back! I was afraid you wouldn’t make it for lunch,” Angela said, going over to the counter.

“Hello, Angela. Good to see you as energetic as always.”

“Yeah, hello. How was the date?”

“Interesting.”

“Just that?”

“I don’t know how much you want me to tell you.”

“I’m asking, aren’t I? Stop thinking I’ll get jealous over every little thing.”

“Oh yeah?” Leo asked while he started gathering his ingredients. “What if I told you sex with Kaede was leagues better than I thought it would be?”

Angela flinched. “R-Really?”

“Yep. Turns out she’s a wild one.”

She pouted. “How so?”

“Mmm. How to say it without getting explicit? She was very… eager.”

“I’m eager.”

“See? You’re getting jealous.”

“I’m not! It’s just been a couple of days since we last did it.”

Leo nodded. “I don’t have more plans for today.”

“Then can we?”

Leo sighed and set his knife down on the counter. He walked up to Angela, held her close and pecked her lips, taking the blonde by surprise. “Reiko took me to a ramen place the other day. Let’s go there this evening.”

“I’m asking you for sex and you offer me a date?”

“You’d rather not?”

“I didn’t say that,” Angela said, grinning and hugging Leo back. “I just really like it when you give me more than I ask for.”

As the two had their short moment, Leo caught the door to the dining room sliding open and saw Valerie there. When the Spanish redhead saw them embracing, though, she shut the door again and walked away with a face red from embarrassment.

Author's Note: For those who didn't read my announcement in my Spirit of Lust story, my schedule will be a little all over the place the rest of this week and the next. Couple of people in my family caught covid, so I haven't been able to sit down and write. I'm doing fine, thankfully.

I wish you all the best. Stay healthy.

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