Oftentimes I wondered how different things would have been if I didn't become a succubus. My status as queen among the succubi, having immense magical powers, and the ability to essentially mind control people has left me without facing consequences for the longest time. Now, faced with the very real possibility of bringing irreversible harm to the world, and involving more than just myself and with zero idea how to fix it, all I could do was despair.

"When you say yokai, do you mean… all yokai?" I stammered.

"You heard correctly. We kami once worked together to seal them in Takamagahara, but Tamamo no Mae seeks to undo our efforts. Until recently, only a slippery few have managed to pass through the barrier. But once it is destroyed, nothing shall hold yokai back, from the most gentle to the most unfathomably malignant, may very well roam your world and wreak havoc upon it."

Forget facing my parents. If Tamamo and Shuten had their way, there wouldn't be a Tsukiji left.

Amaterasu's talisman had given me a semblance of hope. But as I held it now, the strip of parchment seemed to bear the weight of the world.

Then, like a light in the dark, Mio jumped to my side. She put an arm around my shoulders and pressed our cheeks together. I felt the warmth and tension of her cheek muscles tightening into a smile.

"Hey, we're not giving up that easily!" Mio said, her voice snapping me from my despair.

"You're right. We're going to stop them." I nodded, then turned to Amaterasu. "Are you able to send us back home like you did before?"

"You dare ask another favor from me after I have bequeathed one already?" Amaterasu raised a brow at my audacity, drawing from me and Mio a hard gulp.

"You can at least be a little nicer to my wife. One day, she will bear my children. Your grandchildren!" Uta said, tugging on her sleeve.

The supreme kami of the sun heaved a sigh that filled with so much heat it baked me alive.

Blood rushed to my head. I put a hand to my face out of embarrassment, because there might very well be a day where I have Uta's babies. In Shinto folklore, unions between kami and humans were plentiful, but we would be the first kami and succubus pair. Who knew what a divine matrimony meant for me in the future.

Not to mention… Amaterasu being my mother-in-law.

When I glanced up, Amaterasu scribbled into another talisman and cast it to mine and Mio's feet.

"Try not to charm Kon anymore. Inari, the kami of all kitsune, can be rather vengeful when it comes to his children being toyed with," Amaterasu warned.

As a burning circle drew around us to send us back, Uta, who was holding Amaterasu's hand, waved to me with his free one.

"After we deal with Tamamo and Shuten, I'll come back and take responsibility for what I did," I promised Amaterasu.

"See ya around, kid!" Mio waved back. "Have fun with those sexy shrine maidens from now on!"

Just as the fire consumed us, Amaterasu turned to Uta and asked, "What does she mean by… sexy shrine maidens?"

The portal threw us out of Takamagahara and back into Tsukiji. High above the city to be exact, far enough from any prying eyes. Not that it mattered anymore now that people knew succubus were living in Japan. The storm was gone and clouds were dissipating, sunlight enveloped the city, and a cool breeze pulled gently against my hair.

First, we needed to get an idea of what was going on.

I landed on the rooftop of a building, then stretched my aura wide and thin to encompass as much of the city in the immediate area as possible. Within seconds, a succubus with long blue-dyed hair and a nose piercing presented herself to us. She knelt down on one knee and bowed her head.

"I sensed your aura and came as fast as I was able, Queen Saeko. What is your order?" Her voice, huskier than I expected, tickled my ears and made me realize there were many succubi I hadn't personally met yet.

"Update me on what's been going on with Tamamo and Shuten while we were away," I said.

"Selene, Yumi, and Hana expanded the search with their own groups to the neighboring cities as far west as Tatsuno, and as far east as Osaka. Before you came back, the only one who hasn't checked in this morning is Hana over in Kobe," the blue-haired succubus explained.

"Hana likes to screw around, but when it comes to being serious, she doesn't let things slide. I'm almost sure something's going on over there," Mio added.

The real question was whether or not we could take them this time. We almost defeated them with reinforcement, but there was no telling how much stronger Tamamo had become by the continued misfortune of just simply existing. Either way, I couldn't back down anymore. The queen within me wanted vengeance for the peaceful life that was upended.

Summoning the Blade to my hands, the lesser succubus before me gasped and kept her eyes glued to the ground as though believing she wasn't worthy to see it. I knelt down and lifted her face by the chin.

"Tell Selene and Yumi: Mio and I are headed to Kobe, so be prepared in case we need them."

"At once!" The succubus leapt off the building to do just that.

"Looks like we get a head start to fuck some shit up." Mio pounded her fists together.

We made our way to Kobe Port, following the coastline on the way there. It shouldn't take us very long, but the others might be late to the party. Mio appeared distracted by something a little inland.

"Oh, shit. You got a surprise waiting for you on your left." Mio was staring at the side of a building, in which a giant electronic billboard was playing the video of me and Tamamo as Beatrice in succubus form.

People gathered at the foot of the building and across the streets, watching with vested interest. If I needed any more proof that the secret of succubus living in the city was out, there it was. The fallout for my mistakes were dire.

After casting invisibility on ourselves, we landed on the sidewalk of a busy intersection. Cars zipped by on the roads, kicking up dust and a single discarded coffee can. Pedestrians squeezed by each other as soon as the crosswalk light lit up.

Those that milled about to watch the billboards also had newspapers in hand that reported about succubus. One salaryman walked out of a convenience store and scooted off to the side so as to not block the entrance, then whipped out the newspaper he had purchased. On the front page was a very clear shot of me and Tamamo.

"Chin up. At least they got your good side. No use mulling over dried cum caked on your hair. Wash it out and roll with the next dick, know what I mean?" She grinned.

"Mio, we need to sit down and have a talk about your metaphors. But I get you're trying to cheer me up, so thanks for that." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

We continued our flight to Kobe Port and noticed that there were fewer people about than the other cities we passed over. The boardwalk in particular, the long walkway stretch along the coast that provided a magnificent view of the blue sea, sandwiched by rows of variety stores and restaurants, were mostly empty during what should have been high traffic hours in the afternoon.

There were, however, unconscious succubus scattered about. Some bruised up, and others laid out flat on the ground.

"Tch. They really roughed 'em up." Mio growled.

We flew down, and I scooped up a succubus who looked like she had taken a sucker punch to the chin. She was alive, just knocked out.

"I'm not sensing Tamamo anywhere. Do you?" I asked Mio.

"Come to think of it… Nope. You think they left?" she asked in return.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought I saw some familiar faces. Finally come around to see how good of a lover I can be?"

A shiver ran up our spines, and definitely not the pleasurable kind. We spun around to see a torii gate rising from the ground and Shuten stepping out of it. He dragged a succubus out with him by a leash, a butt-naked, pink-haired trickster that was bound by her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was stuffed by a gag ball, and one of her own magic vibrators was attached by a waist harness and pumping into her.

"Mmmrrpphh! Mmppphh!" 

Mio erupted into laughter. "Kahahahaha! I had a feeling you went and got yourself captured, but this is too good!"

Hana couldn't so much as glare at Mio, trapped in a mixture of humiliation and pleasure.

"We're not here to accept anything from you," I shouted to Shuten. "Where's Tamamo hiding?"

"Our paths diverged, and she is after a greater prize now. All I want to do is enjoy the fun I was never granted the pleasure of— women. What do you say? If you become my consorts, I can keep you safe from Tamamo," Shuten offered, licking his lips.

Mio and I shuddered with disgust. When I locked eyes with Hana, she nodded in my direction, unbeknownst to Shuten. 

"Sorry, but we want you out of our boyfriend's body. This threesome relationship doesn't have room for you— Hana, now!" I pointed my Blade at the demon, conjuring black chains to bind him.

"OOUUUUAAAHHH!" Hana broke free from the restraints and ripped out her ball gag, taking Shuten by surprise. "I'm not a pet! I don't bark!"

"Hold him still for me!" I shouted.

Mio dove forward, joining Hana in latching onto Shuten's arms and throwing themselves to the ground to pin him down with my chains. I seized the chance they gave me and pressed the paper talisman to the demon's forehead, right between the horns. The demon bore his fangs at me and snarled, then suddenly became complacent, demeanor more calm, and body slackening.

"What was that supposed to do? Did we do it?" Hana asked.

"Sae… ko?" Kana mumbled my name, and hearing my name in his voice brought me to tears.

"Kana! Are you back? Did the exorcism work?" I grabbed his shoulders as Mio and Hana let go.

However, almost immediately, he began to struggle and shoved me away. Kana rolled onto his elbows and knees, clutching his head.

"Get… out of my head!" Kana and Shuten's voices growled in unison.

"Come on, Cum Hydrant! Fight it! There's a threesome waiting for you at the end of this, and we don't got room for that demon in your head!" Mio cheered him on.

The struggle between them didn't look like it was going in Kana's favor. At this rate, we might lose him forever. There had to be something I could do.

But what?

"Saeko… Mio… You guys have to… hit me with everything you got," Kana said.

"What? There's no way I can do that!" I cried.

"It's the only way!" he shouted, half in his and half in Shuten's voice. "I've been watching from the back of this pervert's mind. I know you two have been holding back for my sake, but more than anything… I'd rather you two survive than let me live with this bastard in my body!"

Shuten took over again momentarily and furrowed his brows together. "Shut up, you idiot! If they kill us both, only you will die permanently. My soul will travel back to Takamagahara, and it doesn't matter if in ten, a hundred, or a thousand years, I'll find my way back to this world one way or another to rape your precious girls!"

"If that's what it takes to get your creepy ass off Saeko and Mio's backs, fine by me!"

The longer we wait, the more we risk Shuten taking over again. What do I do? Could I kill my best friend? Did I have it in me to kill Kana?

Mio looked me dead in the eyes. "You can't seriously be thinking about it?"

I picked up Kana and threw one arm over my shoulder, then flew out to sea as fast as I could with Mio and Hana chasing me down.

"Hey, stop!" Mio cried even more desperately. She managed to get ahead of me, and I was faced with a tear-stained face. "You can't! He's mine, too. I'm not going to let you kill him!"

My strength and will to do it suddenly vanished. What was I thinking just then?

"You're… right… I-I can't do it… It's all because of me that Kana's like this. It's not fair to him!" I cried as hot tears streamed down my face.

For whatever reason, Kana bursted into laughter. I thought Shuten had regained control for a second, but there was no mistaking the cute and hearty laugh of my childhood friend.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just that… I told you before: I always knew you would be the death of me!" Kana laughed so hard, he hunched over. "And Mio, I'm glad you feel that way about me. I used to always be jealous of you for winning over Saeko's heart first, but I never expected to end up caring about you two as much as I do now."

Mio choked up and embraced me from behind, burying her face into my back between the shoulder blades. I felt her tears like they were burning a trail down my soul to test my resolve. She couldn't face him. She refused to witness it. I didn't want to either, but he was my best friend, my childhood friend, and my first love. Back when I was still a boy and even now, I owed him a lot.

When I gazed at Kana, he nodded at me to do it.

"Saeko, Mio… My only regret is that I couldn't keep showing you guys how much you mean to me. I love you both, so please, find happiness after me, okay?" Kana flashed his goofy, boyish smile that always reassured me when I was down.

"I love you, too," Mio and I whispered together, letting loose the cataclysmic blast.

Kana faced it unflinchingly, and the ghostly form of Shuten let loose a shrieking howl. They took the blast head on that consumed them whole.

The Blade of the First Temptress vanished from my hand, and the spell fizzled to a stop. A charred and unmoving Kana began to plummet to the ocean, but Hana swooped down to catch him. 

"Kana's still alive!" Hana exclaimed, returning to us with a severely injured Kana, who was still very much a demon in appearance.

Mio glanced up and gasped.

"I thought you—"

"I couldn't do it… I can't kill Kana…" I said, drawing a sharp, painful breath.

The blast didn't vaporize Kana because I held back. If I was made to choose the world or Kana, I would have allowed the world to die a thousand times over before even considering the other option.

As I clenched my shaking hands, a new resolve on how to save him came to mind.

I unburdened Hana by taking Kana instead. I felt the fragileness of his hybrid oni and human form.

"Mio, I think there's another way to save him," I said.

"How?!" Mio asked.

"We're succubi. If Shuten is controlling Kana from the inside, we might be able to drive the demon out from within. What do you think?" I asked as the pieces clicked into place in her mind.

"Well fuck me in the ass with your tail again, you're right! I say it's worth a shot. It'll be a dry place in my pussy if we off Kana before trying that," she said.

"Hana, what do you think?" I turned to her since she was supposedly one of the eldest succubi, but her reaction was less than hopeful.

"For now, let's get him somewhere safe as fast as we can." Hana's demeanor hardened.

As we flew Kana back to my house, I was left wondering why Hana didn't share the same hopefulness that we did. In the meantime, she made a call to Selene and Yumi to have them meet up with us at home. Hatsumi was there to welcome us back. She didn't expect to see who we brought though.

"Oh, my goodness. Is that Kana? Isn't he being controlled by a demon?" Hatsumi asked.

"He is." I nodded. "But I may have figured out a way to save him."

"I-I'll fetch some towels." My sister ran for the bathroom.

Mio and I carried Kana up to my room and placed him onto the bed. I didn't even care that he was getting the sheets and pillow dirty. The wait for the others felt like an eternity. I kept throwing glances at the clock, incessantly tapping my foot, afraid that Kana might wake up as Shuten again, and we wouldn't get another chance like this again.

When the front door opened downstairs, I jumped to my feet. My two other succubus confidantes entered the room and tensed up in battle-mode upon seeing Kana's body.

"We heard from Hana that you want to delve into your friend's mind?" Selene asked.

"I would have expected such recklessness from Mio, but Saeko…" Yumi frowned with maternal worry. "Do you understand the dangers of delving into the mind of someone that doesn't want you there? It is precisely why our targets are charmed or under the effects of our auras. However, with the creature you call Shuten having taken over Kana, there is a good chance he will resist you both."

"W-What does it mean to be resisted that's so dangerous?" I hesitantly asked.

Hana continued in Yumi's place. "Because if they resist you, there's a damn good chance you can be trapped in their mind forever. It's why when Mio first came to your dreams when you were still a boy, she got pissy about being rejected. We succubus gotta pull out as soon as we sense any sort of resistance."

Mio turned away, appearing ashamed as I looked at her. 

"You didn't think to tell me this?" I asked.

"I… I know it's dangerous," she began. "But I don't want to lose you or Kana. If there's even the slightest chance of saving, I want to take it."

"Knowing this, do you still wish to take that risk?" Yumi asked me.

I never succeeded at anything being scared and meek. No one gained anything from avoiding risks. Seeing Kana in such a poor state and how Mio was already prepared for the risk, I had only one answer to give.

Breathing conviction into my answer, I said, "Let's do it."