On the walk home later that day, Osamu remained in contemplative silence. Confronting the grave of Kiyomi Mihara, he began to see a chilling pattern in the lives of his ex-girlfriends. Yoko lost something. Aika lost something as well. He couldn’t help but wonder what Isabella or Izanami lost, if anything.

Osamu was no stranger to loss. His entire life had been defined by it up until the day he disappeared from Kyoto. His gaze slithered over to Izanami, the light breeze fanning out her raven hair. Izanami’s very presence, combined with her calm, sometimes aloof demeanor always served as a sweet anodyne.

She seemed to always have the right words to say, the right answers to give during troublesome situations. Though, in this instance, that beautiful, pale goddess of death seemed to be withholding some of those answers. Her refusal to answer how she met Yoko or any of the others just made everything that much more difficult for Osamu to understand.

The three finally made it back to the house, not even taking three steps on the front yard before they heard the wild commotion going on inside. It had just occurred to Osamu and Izanami that they brought Aika back with them the other night. The audible chaos from the house was a pretty good indicator that Yoko, in fact, did not like her new guest very much.

“That doesn't sound good!” Izanami cried.

The three of them ran into the kitchen, where their fears were confirmed. Aika stood atop the kitchen counter with her body and hair wrapped in towels, having just come out of the shower. She wielded her electric guitar as Yoko pointed her katana at her.

“Give it up, Yoko! I was just taking a freakin' shower!” Aika hissed.

“You used up all of my shampoo and left the tub full of dirty water!” Yoko retaliated.

“I was going to pull the drain plug before you walked in and went ham on me!”

“That’s besides the point, you street-wandering bum! What are you even doing in my…”

Yoko turned her head and noticed Osamu and the others had come home, watching the episode with puzzled expressions.

“Oh hey guys, welcome home!” Yoko cheered with a polite smile. “Don't worry about me, I just found a rat in our bath tub. I'll make sure to kill it and throw it away.”

A killer lemon suddenly slammed into Yoko’s head, knocking her down to the ground. Who knew Aika could even turn fruit into weapons?

Yoko swung at Aika's feet with her blade, but missed as Aika jumped to dodge the swing. With her feet still wet from the shower, however, Aika’s slipped off of the counter when she landed, and she came crashing down on the ground on her back. Yoko threw her sword to the side and ran on top of the kitchen counter. She grabbed some apples from the fruit basket and jumped down on top of Aika as she groaned in immobilizing pain.

Yoko began shoving the apples into Aika's mouth, gagging her as she tried to speak. “You want to just waltz in and make yourself at home?! Fine! Eat these! You like that? Huh? Do you like my apples?!”

(This is...kinda hot...no Osamu! Don't think like that!)

Aika could only groan in response, her mouth filled with fruit. “Hmmm! Hmmm!”

(Look at that...the perfectly sweet juices from the fresh and succulent apples flowing off the side of Aika's mouth and moistening her soft, perfectly shaped lips...this...this is glory. This is beauty achieved in a form beyond art! This is divinity occurring on our kitchen floor! Thousands of years of human evolution of kinks and fetishes have culminated in this one moment, like the release of infinite magnitudes of energy after the Big Bang! Is this love?!)

“S-stop this right now!” Osamu commanded, not really wanting it to stop.

Aika and Yoko immediately ceased their fighting, the latter taking the extra step and properly bowing to Osamu. “My love, I'm sorry to be so violent and unladylike in your presence. If you wish, I will gladly perform seppuku to maintain the honor of our household.”

Of course, Osamu rejected Yoko’s kind, but irrational offer. “Don’t bow like that in your own house and don't kill yourself!”

Osamu released a long, stress-relieving sigh and helped Aika up. Both her and Yoko stood before Osamu like children who were caught doing something they knew was wrong.

Isabella shook her head at it all. “Good grief. I'll clean up the mess.”

“What do you have to say for yourselves? You wasted six apples and made a mess in the kitchen when Isabella works hard to keep it nice and tidy!” Osamu lectured.

“Sorry…” Aika mumbled, followed by Yoko.

“I didn't do it…"

“This wasn’t good enough for Osamu. “I don't believe either of you. As punishment…you two are going to finish those apples! Izanami, grab the apples. You two, come upstairs with me.”

The next thing they knew, the two troublemakers were escorted to Yoko’s room and sat in chairs with their hands tied behind them. Izanami set the basket of apples down next to Osamu, who stood in front of them with his arms crossed.

“Here you go. Will that be all?” asked Izanami.

Osamu nodded. “I’ve got it from here, thanks.”

“All right. I'll go help Isabella clean up. You two behave yourselves!” Izanami said before departing, wagging her finger at the two girls.

(All alone. Finally.)

Osamu cleared his throat as he paced in front of the bound up girls. “Now then, since you two have no appreciation for the food in this house, I'm going to force you to recognize just how much it's worth! Yoko, there's nothing worse than someone who can provide for themselves and still wastes the things they have to live on! Aika, you should've asked if you could take a shower in someone's home!”

“Osa, for god's sake, I'm sorry! Let me go already!” Aika bemoaned, squirming in her chair.

“Be quiet! I’m not letting you go until you learn your lesson!”

Yoko blushed as Osamu asserted himself. “Wow, you're amazing, Osamu! Tell me to be quiet too!”

“You shut up too, Yoko!” Osamu shouted.

The swooning Yoko kicked her feet around in blissful excitement. “I’m in love!”

Osamu picked up two apples, one green, one red. Yoko and Aika looked very confused, almost terrified for what was going to happen next.

“Aika, you'll be eating the green apple. Yoko, you'll eat the red apple. Neither of you can leave until both apples are finished! Don't waste a single drop of the juice either!”

“I don’t understand. You’re going to feed us the apples?!” Yoko recoiled.

“Yes. I don't trust you two to eat them by yourselves.” Osamu replied.

Aika accepted, thinking of plenty of worse fates. “F-fine…let’s just get it over with.”

“I guess it's okay…” Yoko conceded.

Osamu held the apples to their mouths as they both took the first, crunchy, juicy bite of their fruits.

“Big bites. Don't be shy.” he smugly encouraged.

Yoko and Aika kept taking bites from the apples as Osamu rotated them so they could eat around the core. With every bite, they were learning their lesson.

Osamu picked up two more apples and held them up. “Good job. You’ve advanced to the next round. I’d call you winners, but…well, you wouldn’t be in this position if you actually were.”

“Dear, I'm already getting full!” Yoko complained. “I think we've learned our lesson!”

“Be quiet! Eat.” Osamu commanded.

Yoko reluctantly began eating the next apple, as did Aika. On Aika's side, juice from the succulent apple began to trickle down Osamu's hand. Without much thought, Aika licked Osamu's hand from the knuckle of his middle finger up to his fingernail, successfully saving the drop of apple juice before it could fall to the ground. Yoko finished her apple a little sooner than Aika, leaving just two apples left.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

(This...this is glorious! Pristine, high quality apples being eaten by two beautiful women! The human race survived countless wars, climbed the food chain, survived severe winters, and bent nature to our will so that amazing things like this can happen! Yes...I feel it! I feel the light shining on me in all of its eternal glory! Our ancestors would be proud at the evolution of such degeneracy!)

Careful not to let his inner, perverse schadenfreude seep into his expression, Osamu corrected his posture and maintained a straight face. “Ahem. How are you both feeling?”

“So…full…" Yoko whimpered in pain.

“Just one more, Yoko. We can do it!” Aika cheered, her blood running hot now that the end was in sight.

Osamu held up the last two apples. “All right. Last round.”

Although they crunched away on those last two apples with the speed of molasses, the two girls were able to finish their punishment.

(This is pure bliss! If only more people knew of the delicate bliss that is making girls eat apples out of your hands!)

As Osamu rocked his head with his eyes closed, lost in momentary bliss, Yoko's voice softly rang out to Aika. “ Aika, there’s still apple juice…"

Aika turned her head towards Yoko as she felt the last few drops of apple juice tickle the delicate skin of her rosy lips.

“W-we have to get all of the apple juice!” Yoko asserted. “Osamu said so! It's already dripping to your chin!”

“I guess you're right…” Aika muttered.

The thought didn’t occur to Aika, but it did occur to Osamu that Yoko might’ve just used the punishment as an excuse to trap Aika into a kiss. Knowing that Yoko’s kiss, somehow, revealed a flurry of details about a person all at once, it would be the perfect retaliation against Aika.

All of her embarrassing experiences, her habits, her fanatically guarded secrets, would all be plundered and revealed by one, good kiss of the lips. Both of their faces were as red as the apples as Yoko kissed Aika's chin and traced the stream of apple juice back up to her mouth.

She then kissed Aika directly, absorbing the remaining apple juice off of her lips. Just from watching Yoko's tongue softly brush below Aika's bottom lip, and then softly press her lips against Aika's, Osamu collapsed onto the floor with a smile on his face. This, however, alarmed the two girls.

“Osamu? Osamu!” Yoko repeated in shock.

“What happened?!” Aika panicked.

(This...this is a good way to die. Izanami, take my soul, for I have lived a full and great life. Goodbye...beautiful world...)

Osamu let the sights and sounds of his surroundings fade away into a comfortable embrace of darkness. Yet again, he fainted, the second time since he returned to Kyoto. This time wasn’t like the other day, when he was pounced upon by his ravenous exes all at once. He had chalked that instance up to the girls stressing him out beyond measure. It’s not everyday you get your house bombed out, after all.

But this time, his fainting summoned a storm of anxiety he hadn’t felt since the weeks prior to his return. That comfortable embrace of darkness instantly turned cold and oppressive, like he was trapped in solitary confinement. All he could do was think to himself, his thoughts echoing back to him in the dark.

(Again? It couldn’t be my meds. I stopped taking them, but I still faint?)

The voice of Yoko rang into his right ear, as did a very loud, constant hum that slightly overpowered her voice. Whatever he was laying on felt hard, metallic, and was occasionally jolting him from side to side.

After a few seconds, Yoko’s panicked voice came into total clarity. “Osamu! Wake up!”

A sudden splash of cold water immediately woke him up. Shocked awake, Osamu saw that he was laying inside of a cargo plane along with Yoko and Aika, all three of them tied up like hostages. Isabella stood with the intent to murder in her emerald-green eyes, along with a team of four paratroopers armed with hand guns, their faces hidden behind oxygen masks.

“Make him spill it.” Isabella ordered to one of her men.

“Right away, ma’am."

“Izzy!” Osamu yelled, struggling to break free of his ropes. “What the hell is this?!

“Open the rear loading ramp!” Izzy continued.

“Loading ramp opening!” The paratrooper chimed back.

With a perfectly terrifying view opening up to them, Osamu and the girls saw they were flying far above the sparkling, sunlit ocean. They probably would’ve thought it was a wonderful sight to behold, were they not being held hostage by an impulsive blonde with far too much money and power on her hands.

“This is all your fault, Osamu! You killed us!” Aika shouted, battling to be heard over the air rushing through the loading bay.

“What the hell even happened?!” Osamu asked.

“Isabella caught us when you passed out and thought you were just using us to fulfill some kind of wild fetish involving apples!” Yoko explained.

(Damn it...)

“Next thing we know, she makes one freakin' phone call and a mercenary team storms our house and takes us away!” Aika interjected. “Then we were loaded onto this plane! Damn it, Osamu, you’re such an idiot!”

Isabella released a sinister chuckle. “I had to have Daddy clear my debts and give me more money to afford this. You better give me honest answers or learn how to swim with your hands tied!”

One of the paratroopers knelt down to Osamu and held his service pistol to his head. “Did you or did you not use these girls for your fetish?! Answer the question!”

“No! I didn't do anything like that!” Osamu lied as he stared down the barrel of the gun.

“Don't lie to me, you pathetic sack of crap! Do you want to die?!” screamed the paratrooper.

“I don't want to die!” Osamu cried.

“ Then did you or did you not use them for a fetish?!”

“I did! I'm sorry! It just looked so hot!” Osamu admitted.

The paratrooper holstered his pistol, slapping Osamu around with one hand while clenching his collar with the other.

“Stop it, please!” Osamu begged.

“This is insane, Isabella!” Yoko growled.

Isabella was nowhere near satisfied. “It’s still not enough! Initiate Protocol 48!”

“Protocol 48?!” repeated Osamu in abject horror.

Two of the paratroopers each took out one item. A carton of orange juice, and a tube of fresh mint toothpaste.

“Do it. Show no mercy.” Izzy ordered.

“Roger!”

First up was Yoko. The paratroopers propped her up and forced her mouth open. They gave her a sip of orange juice and then forced toothpaste into her mouth. The combination was a nightmare on the taste buds. She immediately spit out the dreadful concoction, her eyes squinting in revulsion.

“Ah! That's disgusting! Why would you ever do this?! I'd never even do this to Aika!” Yoko cried.

Then, they did the same thing to Aika, who squirmed and tried to spit out the awful combination.

“Isabella, stop!” pleaded Aika

Isabella stood high and mighty above the severely punished duo of girls. “If I ever see you two getting it on with Osamu in any kind of way, believe me, the next time a Spec Ops team barges through your door, it'll be to put bullets in your wombs so you can never bear him children!”

“Okay, okay! Just get us out of here!” Yoko demanded.

One of the paratrooper’s wrist watches went off, signaling their return to the mainland. “Wrap it up, Chief! The drop zone is coming up!”

Osamu peered out from the open loading bay, seeing that they were approaching the neighborhood.

“Chutes! Get em on!” Advised the paratrooper.

Everyone had their hands freed as the paratroopers got their chutes on. The men attached themselves to Yoko, Aika, Osamu, and Isabella.

“What the hell is going on?!” Yoko asked, to no reply.

“Approaching drop zone, lowering altitude! Check your gear!” The pilot instructed over the comms.

The paratroopers all checked each others gear and masks, making sure there was no room for error. They all lined up and readied themselves for the drop.

“Chutes are good, masks are good! No tears, rips or tangles!” A paratrooper replied.

“Copy! We're closing in!” warned the pilot. “Green light in five, four, three, two…"

The loading bay lit up with green lights, the signal for the troopers to jump.

“Go! Go! Go!” Izzy cheered.

While Osamu, Aika, and Yoko screamed on their way out, Isabella was the one who couldn't stop laughing as they descended and began their fall back to the ground. The neighborhood appeared tiny at first, but got bigger as they fell closer and closer to it.

Air ripped past Osamu’s ears and violently shook his entire body. It was a terrifying rush, as if the world’s most powerful fan was oscillating right in front of him. Still, a tiny little part of him couldn’t deny that he found the experience thrilling.

The chutes were opened, and everyone made their slow and soft descent onto the front yard of Yoko’s house. Isabella was stuck between laughing and catching her breath. Osamu was able to calm down, Yoko was still screaming, and Aika was practically dead by the time they landed.

The backpacks were removed and the four of them were detached from the paratroopers. The men then took up defensive positions and confirmed that the perimeter was cleared. They didn’t expect any threat, of course, but it was part of their routine.

Isabella took of her oxygen mask and let out a loud, excited yelp. “Good work, boys! Pack up and go home!”

The paratroopers packed their guns into their bags and took off their uniforms and gear. They were wearing normal clothes beneath all of it, allowing them to pack away their stuff and disperse about the neighborhood without drawing any attention. Yoko and Aika looked as if they had gotten back from a vicious tour in Vietnam, perhaps even Verdun.

Isabella crossed her arms. “So? What did we learn here today?”

“N-n-never trust Osamu with apples!” Yoko shivered.

“More like we should never trust Isabella with a phone and loads of money!” Osamu deflected, knowing full well he was the one that started all of this.

“Wait...what about Aika?” Yoko asked as she looked around for her.

Isabella pointed over to an unconscious Aika, who fainted in mid air. “I think she's gonna need some rest. I'll get her up.”

Izanami opened the front door to check on all the racket outside, dressed in casual clothes and a cooking apron. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and bangs parted to the side of her pale face.

“It's about time you guys got home! I was worried you'd be late for dinner!”

“We got back in under two hours, so don't nag! We did pretty good!” Isabella opined.

“Are you congratulating yourself for kidnapping three people and forcing them on a plane to torture them?” Osamu asked rhetorically.

“Yep! I sure am! You guys better get inside! Dinner smells good from here!”

Isabella and Izanami helped Aika up and walked her inside the house. As Osamu got onto his feet, he wobbled a bit, prompting Yoko to grab onto him to keep him balanced.

“Ah, thanks Yoko. I’m sorry Izzy put us through that.”

“Osamu...when I kissed her…” Yoko shuddered.

“Hmm? What is it?”

Yoko hesitated, as if making a decision. “…I think it would be better if we kept her close. She can stay here.”

(What? This is so unlike her...)

“What caused this change of heart? You were ready to kill her earlier.” Osamu asked.

“Osa, if she leaves and continues to wander, we may never see her again.”

Osamu's eyes lit up in a fearful sense of curiosity. The two stood up together, each helping the other stay straight as they walked.

“What do you mean by that? Like, she'd run off from town or something?” Osamu asked, digging for a more concrete answer.

Yoko shook her head. “It doesn't matter why. She's welcome. Just tell her that.”

(Thinking back, I wish I had taken Yoko's words much more seriously. Through that ridiculous game of ours, Yoko ended up kissing Aika. Yoko’s kiss allows her to see a large amount of information about someone. It’s just a gift she was born with, somehow. I should've considered what Yoko might've learned from kissing Aika. But I didn’t. The events that would occur in the following days would prove just how little I had learned since I left Kyoto. After all those years, I still didn’t have the courage to save a life. I didn’t have the wit to pick up on the painfully obvious. And so…I enabled the past to repeat itself.)

End of Day 3 and 1/2