[Y/N's POV]
"......."
"........"
"........."
In here, I'm supposed to play the role of their "ideal," like some shared fantasy...
Ikusaba chan's fantasy... It's kind of hard to tell what exactly is going to be waiting for me.
"...were you here early?"
"Huh?"
"I might've taken a longer time getting ready than usual. My sister didn't want me to go without putting on any make-up."
Wot...?
Ikusaba chan wearing make-up is already weird, but what's even weirder is... Enoshima did it for her...?
Not exactly what I had in mind, but I can see why this is her ideal. But I wonder what part I have here?
Let's see...
"No, I just got here too, but why do you even need to wear make-up?"
Ikusaba chan brushed a portion of her hair behind her ear before clearing her throat.
"I don't know myself. Junko chan just wanted to experiment on someone, I guess. Does it look bad?"
That reaction... are we close friends here...? Maybe even a couple? It's kind of hard to tell with someone of this level of social ineptness.
Guess I'll just have to play it safe, can't risk waking her up.
"Well, it suits you. But I think not wearing any is better. That's just me, though."
Her eyes visibly lit up at this and she was able to give a small smile.
Honestly, despite having a kill count that's higher than a drug addict who was forced to smoke everything since the expiration date is tomorrow, she possesses this very human side to her.
Well, even evil-intent is part of being a human.
"Th-Thanks..."
Now, time for the hardest part.
"I gotta ask, why are we here again? It's not like we have to check into a hotel so soon after just meeting up."
That's when Ikusaba started to play with her hands, she was visibly nervous; certainly unfitting of the Ultimate Soldier.
"S-Since you just came back, and I also came back from being drafted... I thought it'd be fun if we spent some time together for a few weeks before returning... And I-I'm sure you're tired too, so I already booked a hotel days before we met up..."
I see... We're both people with jobs that require us to be away for an enormous amount of time. Not surprising with Ikusaba chan being a soldier, but I wonder what my job here is...?
It's useless to dwell on it, I don't plan on staying within this dream for long.
With all that information, I took the first move and held Ikusaba's hand before moving to the bed and having her sit on it before I also sat.
"Couldn't you have made me do all this instead?"
I asked her whilst keeping a tight hold on her hand.
"D-Did you want to? I'm sorry..."
The expression on her face was saddened.
"No. I only want you to also take a break too, just as much as you want me to. Next time, let's plan things together, okay?"
Ikusaba blushed before nodding quickly.
"Great. Now, what do you want to do today? We have a lot of time together."
She placed a hand on top of mine, but hesitated to say anything.
It's clear she wanted something, but didn't want to be selfish.
Such a unique character...
In the face of irrelevant people, she can be dangerously cold, cruel, selfish, and uncaring...
But when it comes to those she genuinely cares for, she puts them first and foremost before her own.
Really unique indeed.
"It's just us two here, you don't have to hold back..."
I reassured her by tightening my hold on her hand.
The blush on her face seemed to brighten as she tried to state whatever she wanted.
"I-I just want us... to stay together like this... After such a long time of being away, I..."
She closed her eyes as that already bright blush on her face grew brighter.
She looks like a strawberry with that red face and freckles lol.
"...I missed you a lot!"
The way she spoke is as if she's confessing to a crush, quite adorable. It makes me wonder how we both got into a relationship in the first place.
I lifted my free hand and gently caressed her face with my thumb before resting on her cheek, almost cupping it.
"What a coincidence... I missed you a lot too."
I said with a smile, almost genuine. I know how much a smile affects Ikusaba, and if I'm playing the role of her beloved here, then I'm sure they'd smile even brighter to her.
As a way of responding, she held the hand that held her cheek with both of her hands as she nuzzled into it, letting herself bask in it's providing love.
Reminds me of a puppy now.
So much so that I accidentally reached to pet her head, which interrupted her nuzzling.
She blushed brightly again upon realization as to what she was doing prior to me petting her.
I couldn't help but chuckle at this.
"Yoshi~ Yoshi~ You can have all the nuzzling you want until you decide you've had enough."
"A-Ah n-no... It's okay..."
I didn't listen at her attempts at denying my offer due to embarrassment, instead I reached under her chin and began to give her scritches underneath.
She accidentally purred and closed her eyes, wanting me to stop due to the already increasing embarrassment, but at the same time it seemed like she didn't want it to.
The pampering was something unknown to a soldier like her, I bet, so she probably didn't realize how touch-starved she was until we did this.
"Hai, Hai... Thank you for all your hard work!"
"Mm... Ngh..."
Eventually, she'd end up on my lap as I relentlessly pampered her. But when I stopped, she simply kept lying on my lap.
The multiple pets reduced down to simple rubbing of her head accompanied by my fingers combing her hair.
"Hey..."
She suddenly spoke, breaking the silence of the room.
"What is it?"
I could see Ikusaba bite her lip, as if attempting to stop herself from doing something.
She was also blushing the entire time.
I almost forgot she's the Ultimate Soldier for a moment too.
"Are you hesitating again? Didn't I tell you that we can do everything you want...?"
She nodded her head before sitting up.
"I-I know... But I wasn't being entirely honest earlier..."
"Oh...?"
"I-It's true that... I wanted to just spend time together, but I... also want to d-do things too..."
"And what does my love want to do?"
I asked, but there was this feeling inside my gut that I'm... in trouble...?
I wonder why...
That's when Ikusaba suddenly pushed my chest, and I was sent lying flat on the bed, then both of my arms got raised above my head.
What surprised me the most... was that I couldn't fight back... I somehow lacked the strength to do so when normally I'd be able to throw someone off...
Her ideal is someone weaker than her...? Or did she want her ideal to be weaker than her?
I can't tell, but that's the least of my problems as I came face-to-face with the Ultimate Soldier who was steadily breathing.
"I see... I guess being away for so long has made you so pent-up, huh...?"
So far, I've been playing the understanding boyfriend, so I need to consistently do so even if I'm in such a situation.
But yeah, this is kinda freaking me out a little. I'm incredibly weak here...
"Is it okay...?"
She asked in a soft and breathy voice, and judging by how tightly she's holding on to my arms, I wouldn't be able to slip out of here, so I needed to ready myself.
With a deep breath I steeled my heart and nodded my head.
"Close your eyes, Y/N..."
"Sure-- Wait, what did you just call me!?"
"...here I come, darling..."
"O-Oy, wait--!"
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(3/3) Done!
Bet y'all didn't expect this!
Anyway, this is to establish the connection between Y/N and Mukuro for the Despair Arc book!
Also, sorry for being inactive, Midterms and preliminaries are kicking my butt. There are even activities among those tests, so I'm kinda being beat down.
Anyway, I'mma mark this book as "done"!! But I'll also post the announcement for the prequel-sequel here!!
-Mod Ibuki