Reunion
Commission for Zyfire
18+

Saikaku was not really surprised by Naomi’s reaction to seeing him again. Especially given the current circumstances.
About half a second ago, a bandit was just about to bury his spear-point in her chest, before it was deflected away by Saikaku’s shimmering sword and its owner was sent reeling back
Nikki was on her knees, looking up at Saikaku. A few bangs of the panther’s hair, previously tied behind her head, were draped sloppily in front of her face. Her golden eyes flickered with confusion, a brief moment of relief. Then she scowled.

“I had them!” she said.
“Good to see you again too,” Saikaku said with a smile. 

A yell from behind him returned his attention, and he watched that tiger bandit rush towards him for a second strike.  The demi-god spun his blade and stabbed it directly against the point of the spear. It peeled around the sword like a banana. 
The brigand who was attacking her could not have looked more flummoxed - not least because the spear’s handle was solid steel, and it had been shorn like it was made of cheap wood. The tiger flinched and shuffled awkwardly backwards, not taking his eyes off the lithe, white-furred lion. Saikaku didn’t even bother pointing his sword at him - the tiger and his half-dozen buddies seemed to get the point. Even though the demi-god and his re-discovered companion were surrounded, they had an aura of power and competence that wordlessly advised against messing with them.
A sharp whistle from behind the group of thieves made them stiffen, then turn and sprint away. Saikaku peered at them as they ran, unable to see who exactly made the call.
Naomi was clambering to her feet now - unhurt, but certainly humiliated. 
“I was this close to disarming him,” Naomi said. 
“I know,” Saikaku said, offering a paw. “But I wanted to save you some trouble.”
Naomi resisted the urge to bat the paw away, but couldn’t quite get off her knees just yet. She tried, but her legs were wobbling, and her gaze was a little unsteady.
“Give me just a second…” she said, with the barest hint of a slur to her voice.
Saikaku looked her in the eye - one pupil was a little larger than the other. He frowned with concern.
“You’re concussed. Let me help with that.”
“Shit, am I? Thanks.” Naomi didn’t resist as he placed his hands on either side of her head. It took no time at all for a warm sunlight-like comfort to relieve the swelling, dizzying pain inside her skull. She closed her eyes and sighed. It wasn’t even the first time she’d felt this relief. 
“So, what was their problem?” Saikaku asked, his fingers gently kneading her temples and pushing more of his magic into her head. “Just run-of-the-mill bandits?”
“Run-of-the-mill bandits with a boss,” she said. “Did you see their clothing?”
“I was more concerned with helping you out!”
“Fair enough.” Naomi stood, fishing into a pocket in her trousers and pulling out a small strip of cloth.The pale green linen was emblazoned with what appeared to be a ring with a long, spiralling tail attached to it, like it was at the centre of a whirlpool. It was rather pleasing to the eye.

Linen was hard to come by around here, let alone green dye. This was expensive. 
“Each one of them has at least one of these on their clothes. Pretty typical for bandits around here, it’s how they show who they run with.”
“But I bet it’s usually rags rather than fancy handkerchiefs.”
“Exactly.”
“So you think they’ve got a benefactor of some kind?” Saikaku asked.
“I don’t think it,” Naomi said with a confident smirk. “I know it. I’ve been seeing how I can flush them out. And I think we’ll be doing that pretty soon. Especially after that display of yours.”
“Well then, looks like we’re going to be travel partners again!” Saikaku smiled, and opened his arms wide. Naomi laughed and rolled her eyes, but immediately moved in for the sort of strong, caring hug that childhood friends tended to share.
“Where’s a good tavern?” Saikaku asked as he squeezed her around the chest. “I’ll get you a drink, and you can fill me in properly.”
“Great idea,” Naomi said. “I’m broke.”
“Some things never change, huh?”

*

“So you’re the Ebony Spear?” Saikaku said. There wasn’t much surprise evident on his face.
“It’s not the name I’d have picked, but hey. I’ll take it,” Naomi said with a shrug. “Though usually they expect it to be a man. And I’ve gotten a few comments about it from… a particular type of guy. So I just tell them I’ll cut off their ‘spear’ if they try me.”
“Hah!” Saikaku shook his head. “I can’t imagine you doing that.”
“True,.” she said, “I’m a goddess of combat, not a goddess of mutilation. 
She took another gulp of the watery, yet somehow strongly sour mead. “Plah. Nasty stuff.”
“And inexpensive. I’m only a little less broke than you.”
“Heh.You’d think gods like us wouldn’t have to worry about money. The joys of walking among mortals.”
Naomi drank the rest of her mead and slammed the flagon down on the table, stifling a belch. “So what’s been going on with you, though?”
“Oh, mostly the same as you. I don’t have a nickname as far as I know. I met some… interesting people on the road here and there. I guess my natural aura just kinda draws a weird crowd into my life.”
“Oooh, you’re blushing!” Naomi grinned. “Go on, spill it. Who broke your heart?”
“It’s not quite like that…” Saikaku shrank from the question, suddenly very interested in the floor around his right foot. 
“Yeah it is. Go on. Tell me about ‘em.”
“Just a snake. A warlock with a harem of servants. And, I was part of his harem for a little bit.”
Naomi blushed. 
“W-whoa, okay… didn’t expect that from you.”
“It became a bit more than that, too, once I escaped. An on-again, off-again sort of thing.”
“And are you on, or off now?”
“Definitely off.” Saikaku’s voice was firm. “And it’s gonna stay that way.”
“Hmm. Well, if I ever meet him, I’ll make sure to give him a good whipping for you.”
Saikaku laughed, his hurt receding to the back of his mind again. 
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, but thank you.”
“Anyway!” Naomi stood up and downed the last of her mug of mead. “I’ll get us some grog. At least that stuff’s supposed to burn, unlike this crap.” she plonked the flagon back on the table and made her way towards the bar, leaving Saikaku alone for a moment.

Saikaku sat back and sighed, scanning the room idly. The tavern was a hum of activity; the usual crowd of locals mingled their voices into a wall of sound. It was a good way to be alone in a crowd, and alone with your thoughts. The lion watched his friend lean against the bar of the tavern. She was positively glowing. He was delighted for her. It seemed like they would be settling back into their old partnership and dynamic before too long.
It’d make it far easier to avoid getting seduced or corrupted again. Naomi had a mind like a steel trap, and a way of seeing through things. She was someone he could rely on to keep him on the straight and narrow.

“Excuse me.” 
A voice drew Saikaku’s eyes away from the bar. He looked up to see a lime green raccoon approaching him, some concern in his yellow eyes. His hair was long, dark and tousled, and his shirt was a little open. He had the slight look of a scoundrel about him. Saikaku remained still, but on his guard. 
“You look a bit melancholy, friend.” the raccoon said. 
“I’m fine, thank you-”
“Coin for your thoughts?”
The raccoon stretched out his paw, and in the centre of it laid a little copper coin, well polished and clean. His middle finger scooped it up and twirled it between his fingers, back and forth, the fingers waving in a beckoning motion. 
Saikaku stared.

The clatter of mugs on the table made him jolt upright with a yelp.
“You okay?” Naomi laughed. “Something caught your attention?”
“Uhm…” Saikaku looked towards where that coin, and that hand, and that raccoon were. Or had been. There was no one there. “I, uh… guess not?”
“I think you might have had enough already,” Naomi said. “You always were a lightweight, weren’t you?”
“Yeah… I guess.” It was true. Saikaku’s head was swimming, and he did feel a tinge of giddiness that he normally felt after a drink or two.
Had he imagined that?
Yes, he had.
Imagined what?
There was nothing to imagine.
He forgot about the coin entirely.

“Hellooooo?” 

Naomi snapped her fingers in front of the dazed lion’s face. He started and shifted with a groan. “Sorry, sorry, I’m here, I’m here…” He nodded. He kept his eyes closed, and didn’t look Naomi in the eye. He felt like he shouldn’t do that. 
Don’t let her look at your eyes until the spirals fade.
What spirals?
Who said that?
The thoughts popped like bubbles, along with the memory of the voice. 
“What were we talking about?” Saikaku asked, looking Naomi in the eye again.
“...Nothing, I just got back.” 

*

Naomi peered closely at Saikaku. He looked a bit unsteady. His eyes had a weird, sort of distant, dewy quality to them. It was a look she’d seen before. When they were kids and his eyes were drawn to one of the neighbour girls, he would go into a love-struck fugue whenever he thought of her. It was even worse in their teenage years, where he had that look at basically everyone and everyone, even more hormonally crazy than most. 
He had that look again now. Along with a slight twisting gleam in his pupils that she caught the barest wisp of before they vanished.
“Hmm.” She set her grog aside. She knew she was a little bit tipsy herself. Just enough to keep her faculties, and have that little bit of extra directness and courage. She was going to help Saikaku out of his rut. It was the best possible way to pay him back for saving her some embarrassment that day. 
“Come on,” she said, reaching across the small table to squeeze his shoulder.”You’re clearly not over this snake guy. You’d better start spilling everything about them.”
“Huh…?” Saikaku looked at her, confused and almost… annoyed?
“Listen, if we get to the end of the night without you crying your eyes out, I’ll have failed in my sacred duties as your best friend. C’mon.”
“No, really, I’m fine. I’m fine.”

He was very emphatic that time. No hint of that far-off look now. Naomi scrutinised Saikaku’s face. It didn’t look like he was hiding anything. In fact, he seemed a little offended and annoyed at the suggestion. Probably was best to drop it.
“Let’s keep drinking!” Naomi said. “Forget I said anything!”

* 

That wasn’t the only thing Naomi would urge Saikaku to forget about that night. He didn’t do a very good job pacing himself. It was nice to see that some things didn’t change.
By midnight, he was speaking far too loudly, his head lolling from side to side. He was blacked-out, she was positive. She guided him up to her little room and tucked him in to her bed. but not before force feeding him some water like he was a baby. 
“I’m gonna lord this over you in the morning, you know that, right?” she said with a laugh.
“Hnhyeahm.” Saikaku didn’t even hear her. She knew it.
Truth be told, the grog was a bit too sweet for her taste buds, and she could tell the sweetener was going to keep her up for the night. Her head was swimming and burning. So there wasn’t much else to do aside from getting some fresh water and going for a walk in the cool night air. She’d get less sleep, but would be far better rested overall. Going to bed sober was a rule of hers. Even if she was going to probably sleep on the floor tonight.

It was after midnight, and wonderfully quiet as a result. It was a good place for Naomi to wander while idly fiddling with her metal drinking cup, and reflect on where she was. It was nice seeing Saikaku once again, for sure, but did she want to settle back into their old dynamic? They hadn’t parted on the worst of terms… but not on the best, either. What had they even argued over in the end? It was something petty and mundane, just one of many mundane problems that built up over time into a tumour of resentment and frustration. The parting had been amicable at least; they hugged, told each other to stay safe, and promised to keep in touch.
Naomi hadn’t done a great job of that. 
The distance and time apart had done them good, though. 
Maybe they’d grown enough that they wouldn’t slip back into old routines. 
She leaned over the rim of the town well, slowly and lazily pulling the bucket up towards her as the surface shimmered like glass in the moonlight.
Once it was close enough to the surface, she dipped her cup inside and took a long drink.
“Could you hold that for me?”
“Mm.” Naomi didn’t look, but kept the rope taut as someone slipped in next to her and took some water from the pail. 
“You’re very brave, drinking well water in a populated town.”
“Mhm.” Naomi wiped her forearm. “I’ve got a strong stomach. Plus the well’s got an enchantment on it that keeps it clean.”
“Oh, so you’re a local?”
“No, passing through,” She said, before turning to look at the figure next to her. 
The emerald-furred raccoon gave her a friendly smile. The smile was little too friendly. That, plus the fact that he was wearing a very open white shirt (like he fancied himself as some sort of romantic hero), raised alarm bells. Her sense of danger pricked the back of her neck. 
“Passing through late at night, like myself I suppose?” 
Naomi stepped back to reclaim her personal space, and pulled the bucket out of the well to scoop up another mugful. 
“I think I’ve seen you here before,” she said, taking another long drink. It was doing much to wash the cloying burning sweetness from her mouth. “Were you at the tavern tonight?”
“Well, who wasn’t?” The raccoon’s smile didn’t fade or falter. “I’m Ugo, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“I couldn’t help but notice you seemed a little bit distant. Something on your mind?
“Coin for your thoughts?”

How did one little coin catch so much moonlight? Each time it swung as low as it could go in its pendulum sway, it flickered brightly, dazzling the panther for a fraction of a second. It happened with a rapid but even pace, too, as the coin neared her eyes and raised slightly. Her gaze, flitting to and fro with the coin, was pulled up with it, and the tiredness was starting to hit her all of a sudden. Her jaw was hanging open, and she could feel a yawn building in her throat.
“You should yawn,” the raccoon suggested helpfully, and she did so. Her eyes closed as she did so, and she lost sight of the pendant, and its sway… she swore she could see it spiralling too, like there were little swirling veins of light whirling out from its centre…

Like the symbol on that bolt of cloth.

It took one blink for her to catch what was going on, and one blink more for her to plant her weight on her right leg and spin with her left. 
Her heel connected with the coin and the hand holding it. Not the target she wanted to hit, but close enough. Ugo was stumbling back when she opened her eyes. No longer smiling. He looked confused and terrified, probably as dazzled as she had been a moment ago.

“Ugo of the Emerald Gleam, right?” Naomi cracked her neck and took her time closing the gap between them. “You’re the guy I’m after. Thought you could just walk up to me and turn me into another lackey?”
“H-how could you resist that..?”
“Mind like a steel trap,” Naomi said. “I’m not someone you can dazzle with a little parlour trick like that. You’re out of your depth. And out of luck.”
Ugo turned and ran. There wasn’t much else Naomi had to throw aside from her mug. But it did the trick - a direct hit to the back of the head sent him sprawling face first into the dirt, giving her ample time to pick him up like an unruly child and take him to the gaol. 
“You’d think a leader of a feared group of bandits would be a lot more careful,” she mused, dragging him along. On their way, she passed by that coin, and yanked it off the ground before Ugo could get his hands on it.
“You’ll get dealt with in the morning… plenty of time for you to think about your life, and your choices.”

The lock-up was not too far away. The night guard, an older, bored looking vixen, gave Naomi an upward nod as the cat approached.
“One more for the drunk tank?” she asked.
“No, I think this one needs his own cell. He’s sober. And a bit more dangerous. He’s a very tricky one.”
“Hmh?” The vixen looked past Naomi, at her captive. Naomi tugged him up to his feet. 
“The nice lady’s gonna put you in jail, now. March.”
Something strange came over the fox’s face. Her eyes widened, and her jaw slackened. She stared at him like she knew him from somewhere, like she was recognising an old friend.
“Oh, you two know each other?” Naomi asked Ugo.
“Yes… yes indeed, we do.” there was that smile again. 
Before she could inquire or ask further, she heard the approach of the vixen. She lost her grip of Ugo as she dove out of the way of a club strike, rolling and righting herself.
The gaoler was looking down at her, her face blank, her eyes glassy.
“Thank you, darling.” Ugo crept up behind the vixen and gave her breasts a grope. She did not resist, in fact, she smiled and murmured. “Be a dear and keep her company. I’ll be right back.”
“Yes, Master,” the vixen intoned, before lunging again. 

Naomi was a far better fighter than this clumsy, untrained guard. But she didn’t want to hurt her. She wasn’t herself. 
Her body went into autopilot, evading the blows smoothly and effortlessly. Her mind sorted and sifted through the clues she’d gleaned through the last few days. She had dealt with a few enslaved types in this town before, not just the band of bandits. It was only now that she got a proper glimpse of the guy, but… had he been around before? 
She swore she might have seen him somewhere earlier in the evening…
Or had she? It was hard to keep track…

She’d had enough of this for now. The fox was getting frustrated, and went for a viciously violent swing that threw her off balance. It was easy to sidestep and let her momentum carry her into a wall with a thick thud. She went still and limp. Just unconscious, thankfully. A quick glance around, followed by a sweep for footprints, showed her there was no sign of Ugo. He’d run off, to who knows where. 
It was going to be even tougher to find him now, now that he knew his tricks weren’t going to work so well on her.
“So close,” she said with a sigh, lifting up the gaoler to bring her back inside and rouse her. 
She was going to be in for a bit of a night.
Hopefully Saikaku was sleeping soundly.

*

He was, in a sense. But not in the sense she was hoping.

“Thank you for letting me back in, friend.”
“Yes, Master…”
Ugo’s coin swung to and fro, just above Saikaku’s eyes. He was sitting upright in bed as the hypnotist leaned over him and kept him fascinated.  The lion demi-god’s were glassy, with little spirals of green having replaced his pupils. His lips were just the barest bit upturned, the most of a smile he could muster. His head started to dip, but the raccoon’s fingers slipped under the lion’s chin to keep him held up.
“I’ve got you, friend, just keep staring, let the coin take your thoughts away. The coin for your thoughts stores them away, leaving you blank and empty headed so my voice and my commands can take their place. The string holds the coin, it cannot do anything else but swing. My words hold your mind, you cannot do anything but obey.”
“Yes, Master,” Saikaku said. 
“Your friend. That pantheress. I like her, she’s a very beautiful woman. And I would very much like to get to know her better. You want to help me.”
“Yes, Master. I want to help you…. But…” resistance flickered along his face. “Why, Master?”
“You want to help me because you know her well, and you know she’d be a perfect pet for me. You want her to feel good and relaxed, the way you are right now, because you can see how good it feels. She deserves to feel just as good, and she’ll feel that good all the time when she’s mine. Does that answer your question?”

To avoid any hesitation, the raccoon snapped his fingers sharply.
“Say Yes,” Ugo ordered.
“Yes, Master,” Saikaku replied.
“Good. Pleasure, Puppet.”
Saikaku groaned and shifted in bed, tenting the sheets with his erection.
“Now, she should be back soon,” Ugo continued. “As soon as she steps through that door, you’ll restrain her for me until I tell you to release her. Understood? Say Yes, Puppet.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. Now get ready. I’ll be in the other room. I’ll be listening.”
“Yes, Master.”

The coin was snatched from Saikaku’s sight, and he slowly slipped from bed, deep in an obedient dream. He stood upright, and stared at the door. Ugo slipped out through the door and closed it over, taking his candle with him and leaving the room subsumed in blackness. Saikaku remained perfectly still, blank and silent like a puppet should be.
He stood and waited. He only blinked when it was necessary to do so, no more than that.
He did not note any passage of time. He simply waited. 

*

Getting anything out of that old fox was like pulling teeth. Naomi didn’t begrudge her for it - the gaoler’s memory was basically a blank slate. She didn’t remember Ugo, or the coin, or anything before she locked eyes with Ugo again. The blank spots in her memory frustrated her as much as they did Naomi. She had some very choice words about what she was going to do when she got her hands on “that snivelling little shitstain”. 
Not the words Naomi would have used, but hey.
Once she was sure the woman was alright, though, the pantheress found that her exhaustion was hitting her hard. It was time for her to sleep; hopefully it would be a nice, deep one.
She went back into the inn, through the dark corridors, and felt her way to her room. Just out of courtesy, she very gently laid her paw on the handle and turned it slowly. She wanted to make sure it creaked as little as possible, after all; even if Saikaku was likely to be out like a light.

As the door cracked ajar, she peered through it. She could see the bed from that angle, and could also see it was empty. 
“Did you slip out?” Naomi asked, more to herself than anything. “Oh boy… gonna have to go looking for you.”

She reared upright and pushed the door open, finding herself staring right into Saikaku’s blank face.
Before she could shout, one hand was on her wrist, a foot was behind her heel, and she was tripped and spun around until her back was pushed against the lion’s chest. Saikaku’s other hand went under her armpit, pushing her other arm above her head.
“What’re you doing?!” Naomi hissed sharply but quietly - she wasn’t going to wake up the whole place and get kicked out. “Is this some kind of prank?!”
Saikaku said nothing. He squeezed tighter. Her flesh was tingling with a familiar oozing warmth. Was he… using his god-hood on her? That supernatural aphrodisiac magic of his, that came from being the son of a love goddess…
He’d never used that on her before. 
She never thought he would have wanted to, or dared, and yet…
The heat began to fill her. Her nethers began to ache. Her mouth, her slit, both felt like they desperately needed to be filled. She was overtaken with a desire to rut…

Something was wrong. She knew that, now.
She knew if she struggled too hard she might break a limb or two. Saikaku’s limbs, not hers. She tried to re-balance herself, but Saikaku’s foot kept getting in her way, keeping her off balance and forcing her weight into his.
“Saikaku. STOP.” She tried to look up at him. 
He was looking straight ahead, his face blank and ghostly, his movements automatic and blank.
She could hear footsteps approaching, see the light of a candle.
And the coin catching that light and refracting it towards her eyes.

It was… prettier than she remembered…
“Hello there again,” Ugo said. “I don’t think we got properly acquainted, did we?”
Naomi kept writhing even as Saikaku pulled her away from the door, allowing the raccoon to enter. He took his time striding in, letting the dangling coin do most of the work. Naomi couldn’t look away, couldn’t bat it away, not when her limbs were entangled in the lion’s expert hold. Her eyes instinctively followed, the eyes of a warrior waiting to evade a strike. But the strike would not come, and she knew it, but the glittering pendant swung in front of the flickering tongue of candle-flame, and it made Ugo’s face look so warm…
Her mind was beginning to slip. She’d never been charmed before. She’d been told how disturbingly pleasant it could feel. 
It felt even nicer than those warnings. 
It was hard to struggle. Very hard…
“It is hard to struggle. Very hard.” Ugo murmured to her. Had he read her mind…?
“You should let yourself relax. You’re trying to do too many things at once, my dear. Just look at my pendant, and look at the flame, and listen to me. Forget everything else. Drop everything else. They don’t matter right now. Just look deeper. Sink further.”
The coin dangled just above her head, inches from her eyes. Her eyelids couldn’t stop fluttering. She didn’t want to blink any more than was necessary, not when that glittering little disc shimmered and sparkled with the gold candle-light. 
A green tint joined the gold, and it seemed to grow magnitudes more beautiful.
“The string holds the coin, and the coin holds your mind. If the string goes slack, the coin would drop, wouldn’t it? And if the coin drops, you too will drop, puppet. What keeps you up?”
Naomi stared quietly, confusedly.
“What keeps you up?” he prompted again.
“The coin..?” Naomi asked softly. 
“Good, puppet. And what keeps the coin up?”
“The string…”
“And what keeps the string up?”
“The…”
“Master.”
“Master.
“Who keeps the string up?”
“Master.”
“Who controls the string?”
“Master.”
“Who controls you?”
“Master.”

Repeating that title over and over made it sink deeper into her mind, settling with the mental image of the raccoon and questing deeper into the centre of her brain, the darker places where the subconscious lived. 
Saikaku had slipped away from her, and she stood on her own. The fingers that pinched the pendulum’s string were the only thing keeping her upright as well. If it dropped from sight, she would - 
“Drop.”
The coin clattered to the floor, and Naomi fell forward, right into Ugo’s waiting arms. 
His hands immediately moved to her rump and gave it a squeeze.
“Just as I thought…” he growled. “The perfect texture.”
Naomi moaned, her chin on the raccoon’s shoulder, limp and dazed as he guided her over to her bed. Saikaku stood impassively by. 
“Watch the door, puppet,” Ugo said with an almost dismissive tone. “As for you… you’ve been a thorn in my side for long enough. Antagonising my puppets, trying to ruin this good thing I’ve got going.”
His hands roved along her body, up under her clothing to rub her fur and flesh. 
“Come on, darling, gimme something back.” Ugo hissed into her ear. She was impassive, dazed, still swimming in the trance. But something was holding her back, even now. 
He didn’t want to take any chances.

“Come away from the door puppet,” he said, snapping his fingers. Saikaku marched to him. 
“How may I assist you, Master?” Saikaku asked. 
“Warm her up for me.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Sai…ka…ku?” Naomi murmured, her eyes momentarily regaining some lustre, before his hands rested on either side of her temples. They glowed and flashed gold, and Naomi cried out, her body arching upwards as Ugo’s hand slipped down between her legs.
“There we go.” Ugo said. “Nice and wet. Now we’re getting somewhere…”
“Hhhahh…” Naomi’s eyes went glassy again, and she rubbed her face into Saikaku’s palms, a purring growl leaving her throat and filling the room.
“Okay, good, we’re getting somewhere. Now. Answer me truthfully, puppet. I’m cutting one string, letting you speak your mind.”
“Yes…?” Naomi gasped, her voice high and soft and breathy.
“Do you want me to fuck you?” he asked, his lips close to hers. “We’re not going any further unless you want it. Unless you want me to claim you.”
“Nh… n…”
“Answer me.”
“No…”
“Good.” Ugo nodded and pulled back. He was a lot of things. Unscrupulous, venal, focused on his gratification… but not to that extent. “In that case… is it alright if I keep my hand down here?”
“Yes…” Naomi murmured, her engorged lips pushing against his fingers. 
“I’m happy enough doing that, puppet.” Ugo slipped one finger, then another inside. He’d convince her to let him fuck her eventually. But he knew better than to push too hard, at least in the sense of pressuring her.
Pushing his fingers into her, on the other hand…

His palm rubbed her clit, and he slipped another finger into the warm, tight walls, taking his time with a firm, tickling massage. Naomi’s moans told him everything; she was loving this. Not surprising. He was good with his hands, whether it was handling a hypnotic pendant or fondling a puppet. The glow of Saikaku’s magic helped her relax and let her new puppeteer explore. Ugo leaned in close, murmuring into her ear. Further conditioning that passed straight into her subconscious. 
“Once I find your button,” Ugo cooed as he worked her slit like a thief trying to pick a lock, “You’ll drop even deeper still. You’ll fall even further. The pleasure will break you. And you’ll be ready to do whatever I say, just for the sake of experiencing this pleasure all over again…”

Naomi suddenly cried out, the gasp only making it out halfway before she choked on her breath, her moans and cries getting embarrassingly loud.
Exactly as he said she would, she dropped ever deeper. The strings were limp, but they would be tautened again soon. And she would love every moment of it.
Then Ugo asked her another question.
“Would you like your friend to fuck you?”

The question was directed to Naomi. But they both answered.

*

Wearing a tight outfit and hiding her face was not something Naomi was particularly keen on. The clothing was uncomfortably hot, especially in the summer air. She could tell, glancing at Saikaku, that it chafed on him too. He hadn’t put his headgear on for one thing.
“Hard breathing in these things, isn’t it?” Naomi said.
“Yeah… but this’ll be quick. In, and out, and then we can let Master handle the rest.”
“Yeah…” Naomi covered her mouth with a green bolt of cloth. The spiral brand was directly over her mouth; they had to make sure they were showing their colours, after all. The only part of their faces that was visible were their eyes, gleaming a soft green in the evening light. 
The pair looked through the ornate glass window, down into the crowd of slow, well dressed dancers. The nobles were blissfully unaware, and the guards were bored and sloppy.  
Naomi cracked her knuckles.
“I’ll go for the guards, and you can do your love-god thing with the hostess.”
“Works for me.” Saikaku pulled his hood up. “Let’s do this.”
“Wait a second.” Naomi pulled down the bandana covering her mouth.
“Hm?” 
Naomi leaned in, yanked off Saikaku’s mouth-covering, and kissed him with a ferocious hunger. He didn’t do anything to stop her, his lips gleaming and pouring his magic into her. She groped his crotch, giving it a rub and a pump, making him groan and quiver when they broke the kiss.
“We’ll continue that later. For the Puppet Master?” Naomi said, wiping her forearm and covering herself with the mask again.
“For the Puppet Master.” Saikaku was going to make this as efficient as possible. The sooner they got this out of the way, the more time they’d have to sneak off and screw.

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