<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Bloodedge]

Clearly Ai was one who could appreciate a meal in bed, as opposed to some table dining experience from time to time. Her 'shut-in vibes' were obvious to Yugi, but perhaps not to the common folk. He couldn't really say if it was obvious to them or not. Before he even bothered with a response, she was asking how he knew... and what else he knew about her. Yugi's answer dated back to their first encounter, which wasn't much of a meeting at all. "There aren't many remaining options when someone working as a 'bodyguard' is totally silent without giving off a single 'strong and silent' vibe. Besides, you were at an onsen, on duty, in your room and only mostly naked. Not enjoying the bath? Not out in the lobby, or anywhere that would put you in a better position to do your job? Total gyaru as well. You're active when needed, but otherwise lazing around on your phone or computer... not gaming... but sometimes messing with whatever gadgets you've got handy," he rambled prior to Tae's arrival, which managed to pull his attention away from Ai's neck for a moment. He still let his tongue lash out to lick up to her jaw before responding to the doctor, though. "Basics? Besides the fact that it worked to get you here, back home, and here again?"

Meanwhile, Igris was making an effort to be useful. The food on this planet was curious. Whatever an eggplant was, it seemed quite familiar to something the Shadow knew in life. Miko explained its nature and purpose well beyond its use as a food. Though it was a replacement she didn't need, he kept it on offer as if suggesting it still. Though Igris had his other hand reaching out for the mortar, it seemed Miko was content to deal with things herself. She did have instructions, however. As Igris stood there brooding over an indirect rejection of offered assistance, he was ordered to bring down carrots, onions and celery. Some visual cues had him reaching up to grab the proper items, which he'd promptly place on the island before awaiting further instruction.

[Apollymi]

Ai was definitely a person who could appreciate a bit of bed related food. What was more, she quite liked the intimacy of a moment like this and the closeness she was allowed to have with Yugi. She was inspecting his body and found that cursed seal on his neck and was allowing her finger tips to trace the mark as he spoke and kissed upon and licked her neck. She heard his assertions and even had something to say, he pegged the entirety of her personality in a few sentences and even found her habits apparently. "Sugei~ I don't know whether to be impressed or scared Kage-tan~" Ai claimed as a new voice interrupted them. She tilted her head back slightly and caught sight of the S-rank Doctor Takemi Tae. "Ooh? That Doctor..." Ai said as her neck was licked. Apparently, that pick up went well... she was glad for the young man in question. Still, Tae would be scoffing. "Way to steal the punchline... but I guess if I'm here it's not that complicated. Also rooms are empty. And you go back exactly to where you teleported away from. And upstairs is organized by gender, and a huge set of doors I passed somewhere in there which I assume is the master suite. Also there's a pervy assassin playing hide-and-seek~" Tae finished up her explanation without too much else. "But assuming you got all of that I need to talk to the little patient. have fun with your exotics collecting~ Also nice eyes~" she offered Ai. "Thanks~" Ai said finding that to be a rather agreeable young woman. Interestingly enough though, she was the second such individual to appear in that way, she also heard this one had done something with Kaguya she wondered if he had a type...

Meanwhile, Miko was working her way through the first course, toasting bread and making sure that she managed to get together the base for her sauce. After explaining the nature of an eggplant to Igris he continued to hold it out to her. "Sou ka, well... if you think it'll be a good addition... I'll work it in too♪~" Miko chirped. She noted the odd shift in Igris when she went about busying herself but since he was so apt to work she wondered if he wouldn't mind doing a lot of the tasks that would have gone to a sous chef. "You wanna help chop up the veggies? It'll make things go faster. I don't need the green tops on the carrots or the tops or bottoms of the celery. Also not the weird root part of the onion. But chop the rest into uniform sizes... small for me?~" Miko knew Igris was more intelligent than regular Shadows. She'd be seeing if his knife work extended to kitchen related things while she made her garlic butter and started to quietly gather the lower veggies for a small side salad. Which would be the first course she planned to deliver after getting the sauce started. Just the same she'd be handling the egg plant herself since it also needed a starting bit of cooking before anything else.

[Bloodedge]

It was quite the usual occurrence for someone dealing with Yugi to lose themselves between awestricken and disturbed. When Ai shared the opinion of so many before, he paid it no mind at all. It was much more imperative for Yugi to to busy his mouth against her neck, and his hands under her skirt. Well... that was at least the case until Tae entered the room. He thought everything she had to say was handled, but there was more information still. Upstairs, where one could easily assume the bedrooms were, was organized by gender. Yugi supposed the harems were fully separated. The Players' room was made more obvious by a much larger double-door, and... one of two Assassins, surely Amamiya Ren, had been encountered after her arrival. "Huh. I guess we each get a wing for our Bondmates then. That's good to know. Oh, and I haven't done it yet because they're busy, but the Shadows will be tilling a garden whenever they're done making tables and shit," he shared as Tae went looking for Miko. "She's in the kitchen," he informed. With that, his attention was returned to Ai ─ mostly what he assumed was the most sensitive part of her neck: the upper left side, not far from the ear. That, too, was an observation/assumption he remembered making when they first met. "More questions?"

Igris, much like all Shadow Soldiers, wished to be useful to the Shadow Monarchs. There was silent satisfaction radiating from the knight when Miko took the eggplant he suggested. That feeling persisted when another request was made of him. Crushing herbs and spices was something he could do easily, but Igris's bread and butter was cutting. Miko gave very specific instructions for what he should do with those vegetables. Igris could not speak, and he did not nod. No... he acted. A pair of daggers were pulled from his backside, where a belt would have been. The root-end of each vegetable was sliced and moved aside with machine-like precision. Igris's daggers moved like the wings of a hummingbird, turning sideways after julienning all parts. His next series of slices did not perform a brunoise, nor did they mince. What he offered instead was the uniformity of the former, but the ultra-fine nature of the latter... with a pair of combat daggers. Igris would have continued chopping them down into powder with those blades, if only his blades could manage even smaller pieces... but Miko did want them chopped. As such, the knight produced three piles of ultra-fine cubes, all perfectly squared and uniform in size. He stood back afterwards just to kneel.

[Apollymi]

Yugi didn't even respond to the idea of his way of thinking being both scary or worthy of admiration. Ai supposed he got that sort of thing all the time. He continued molesting Ai even as a new comer showed up. The punk doctor known as Takemi Tae came with news of the inner workings of the teleportation function available to certain 'committed' individuals. Moreover Ai got to see something that would likely increase her Intimacy by a whopping 5 percent, even though it didn't currently apply to her... 'care'. It wasn't just a purely sexual relationship running the Shadow Monarchs harems. She knew Miko to be a caring individual, but Yugi, also cared enough to have a garden made for the punk doctor to grow ingredients in. Whether it was just a passing thing or not, it was good. "Oh? A garden for me? I had set up a bit of a laboratory as part of my room so far, but that would be a great help, in keeping my research safe. I planned to move most of it over here for safety purposes..." Tae said grinning at the lad. "Oh, and Shadow Reaping's passive activated that thing lasts for 24 hours and activates when I enter the grounds. Just a flat 50 percent mana regen for a whole day. It's fucking stupid in addition to what else that skill does~" she offered with a cheeky grin. "If anyone else was using powerups as a reason to commit. They get so high when commitment takes place, even recklessly like I did~" Tae admitted with a bit of self-satisfaction. By the time Tae walked off to find Miko, more questions was the thing out of Yugi's mouth but instead of getting one immediately, Ai was taking her time to lean over and lay a little kiss on that cursed seal and another against his jaw. No matter he was doing much the same to her, dangerously close to her ear. "Aaah~ Ummm~ Are you two going to open a guild to? I figure you probably are, but if so I have to shut down scouting with more zest than I'm already under contract~ Also knowing actual goals would help a little... if you can tell me~" Ai mentioned. From what she'd so recently observed she could live here. Have her needs met... have romantic dates with her apparent boyfriend (with the full support of his wife essentially) and not just feel expendable. That was worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Miko was busy cooking and preping the base of the sauce while making an appetizer. And what did she get out of turning Igris the former Blood-Red Commander into a sous chef? To watch and hear him... he was doing perfect chopping with a pair of daggers. Her instructions followed to the letter. And when he was done, she saw perfectly uniform cubes in all the forms of vegetables. She reached over to inspect them as Igris kneeled before her. "Su-sugoi♫!~ Iggy, this is perfect. You're amazing♫!~" Miko praised, her eyes wide and sparkling. "You're my favorite♫!~" Miko said happily placing her hand on top of his shoulder appreciating his work. "You're going to make this so much easier." She said as she went back to work. She dumped those vegetables into the bottom of a stock pot with a bit of butter and salt to begin sweating them out to make the base of the sauce. "Alright. Up you go... I'm going need you to keep a gentle stir, just enough to keep these from sticking while I prep the salad," Miko claimed. All the while Tae was coming in and watching, "So in addition to being a sexually fluid monster, you're also a cute little housewife?" She asked of the girl she'd seen doing several different things every times he'd seen her. "Hai♪!~ Are you staying for dinner? I always make a ton!" Miko offered as easily as anything else. "I'll be in and out so I'll take it if you want to share. Besides that though I figured I'd give you a warning about your sneaky pervert assassin, he's a masochist so you're gonna have to dominate him a bit... you don't show a lot of that so I figured I'd give you a few pointers to get you through," Tae offered and Miko for her point in this was all ears. "Hai hai... talk to me... have a garlic bread I'm listening♪!~" she offered as she continued her work in the kitchen.

[Bloodedge]

Interestingly enough, Yugi ensuring Tae had a garden to work with resulted in an Intimacy boost... for Ai. He supposed it was all about how the Bondmates felt about their associated Player, at the end of the day, so it wasn't such an outlandish thing. Ai was almost at the 50% threshold already as well. This otome setup was easier than he could have thought initially. Moreover, the power acquired even by their Bondmates (especially Tae once she reached 75%) was absolutely ludicrous. They could all have access to such power eventually. "And that's only 75. At 100, I'm thinking world domination~" he joked. Moments later, Yugi's shoulder, neck and jaw were being accosted by Ai's lips similarly to what he'd been doing to her all this time. She also had more questions for the lad, but it was less about him as a person, and more about... the future. "I don't get along with people well enough to work for another guild. Besides, people are boring. As for goals... there's a list. You should've figured curing Eternal Slumber is on it by now, but also... tearing down Japan's government, and..." Yugi paused there. If a certain conversation was to be had, it was best done without a certain powerful pair of ears hearing it. Remembering something he had equipped, Yugi pressed his lips to Ai's firmly. He'd of course be aiming to let his tongue thrash about in her mouth for several moments thereafter, but the secondary purpose was to spread that 'lipstick' onto her mouth. He'd continue speaking words that could only be heard by Ai herself. "There; it's on you now too. Right now, if you decide you don't want someone to hear you... they can't hear you. The other part of the plan is saving the Iino family from my trashy dad, who tried to kill us the moment we unlocked the System. So... that's a thing too. Wiping out the Prime Minister."

Meanwhile, Igris was receiving great amounts of praise. He didn't outwardly react even to being called the 'favorite' Shadow, but that silent pride remained in place. Ah, but Miko wanted more from him. Igris rose, fully prepared to follow orders. Miko demanded a gentle stir of those minced vegetables, so he took up a spatula. Ah, but there was a brief interruption. When Tae arrived, Igris was on alert briefly. He seemed almost ready to wield that spoon as a weapon, even if he didn't move much... but what happened when he did move, was something nearing a bow or salute-like gesture ─ as if he acknowledged Tae as someone of supreme importance in addition to his masters. With that out of the way, he went about that stirring ─ oddly in such a way that not a single item within the pan had more contact with heat than the others.

[Apollymi]

Interactions between Bondmates, seemed to have an interesting effect on Intimacy. It would seem how Ai felt about Yugi was only able to increase as she saw him looking after other members of his harem. Knowing that her future wasn't just that of a sexual conquest after her impending 'early' retirement... was nice. What was more, Tae spoke in front of her about the increase in her own power caused by bonding with Yugi which was... rather sizable for someone who'd previously been an S-rank Healer at base. She figured any additions would simply keep someone from becoming a statistic. "Dr. Punkie, doesn't seem like the world dominating type~" Ai said with a chuckle. Still, they were getting more into a make-out and seemingly still having a discussion. She was right to assume that here was no plans for Yugi and Miko to join another guild. "Never would have guessed you don't get along with others, Kage-tan~ And yes, I realized that one..." Ai snickered against his skin. She also already knew that Miko had authority problems. That was no issue... she'd be forthright about not being interested in the 'job' offer waiting on her. That bit about the eternal slumber went without saying, considering his harem now contained the top researcher of the subject. Beyond that point, Ai soon found the lad's lips coming towards her, as he stopped speaking for a moment. She figured he was thinking of a way to state his next bit, but it seemed a make-out was instead in order. His lips pressed firmly against hers and his tongue slipped between her lips afterwards. She njoyed it, stroking against his tongue casually and her body making small motions against his still clothed self, simply because it felt natural to do so. By the time they parted her was speaking about lipstick spread to her to cover their private speech. As they were alone the only one he could have been hiding from was Miko. And what did he have to say? Saving the Iino family from the Prime Minister and toppling Japan's government. Given the nature of Shidou Makima she could see the end of that path but the quiet for the part that mentioned Miko's parents made her pause. "Fuck, Kaya-tan didn't tell her? The meltdown," Ai commented with an eye roll. Still, she could easily find herself aligning with these goals... all of them considering. "You two have had a rough couple of days, huh?~ I don't think I have any more direct questions after that... it's enough for me to know I'm definitely settling in with you guys~" she offered him afterwards and pecked his lips again. Well, a boundary once crossed was fine to continue crossing.

Meanwhile Miko would be none the wiser to the quiet conversation. Or rather... she was willing to not question it, as everyone was entitled to their privacy. Instead, she'd freely praise Igris for his work. Soon enough Tae's entrance would cause an interesting reaction. It seemed she was assessed and acknowledged before Igris went about the work that Miko had sat out for him. Tae on the other hand was giving out a freebie lesson on being a proper 'dom' to the inexperienced Miko. She was listening with her full attention. And Tae, was speaking for her ears only as well, lest the target be sneaking about... she pointed to her own lips so that Miko would know and they could have their private chat. And by the end of the conversation, Miko had a new outfit put together at Tae's behest, complete with a pair of heels fit for the occasion, and all the energy she had to offer. And Tae had eaten garlic bread and now had a small side salad she was munching from the other side of the island. "I will definitely come back for dinner. I'm just going to move my research materials here let me know when dinner is ready... and remember... be confident. You got it!~" she said ruffling the girl's hair. With that Miko offered a cheeky smile and packed the cart witht he first course. A piece of cheesy garlic bread for each of the date participants, A side salad and an assortment of dressings to choose from, as well and a bottle of red wine and two glasses for them to split with a decent vintage from the System shop. On the rolling cart which could be set up on the bed along with a pair of flickering candles Miko would be heading out. "Iggy, chop the tomatoes... I sat them beside you... and add them to that stuff you've been stirring.... I'll be back to add more seasonings in a minute!~" she claimed before heading towards that bed to present the first course.

[Bloodedge]

"Well... maybe if the world only had men in it," Yugi pontificated about the doctor and any potential world domination. The pair would move beyond that matter with ease, spending a few moments making out to create an opening of privacy. With it, Miko's parents were addressed. It seemed somewhat disturbing to Ai that Miko wasn't informed yet, but... Yugi hadn't shared that information either. "It's not the easiest thing to bring up. Besides, it's still possible to do something about the problem before she gets too wound-up about the possibilities of it. Maybe," he chattered. Ai had enough, it seemed. She'd be settling in with the Players, as opposed to whatever guild was scouting her. Actually... as her lips met his, Yugi realized what guild that may have been. She'd been in a recent interaction with Ishigami Daisuke and, by assumed proximity, Ashikaga Kimiko. "Wait..." he interjected, pulling away slightly. "... What guild exactly?"

All the while, Igris was allowing a Player and a Concubine their interaction. He continued stirring vegetables with extreme, impossible finesse. Everything in the pan released moisture, but none of it got so much as a single char mark. A conversation carried on for quite some time, a setup of equipment was made, and only then did Miko address Igris about chopping tomatoes. Such a thing was no difficult matter, of course. Igris kept that spatula moving with one hand while the other retrieved one of his daggers. As he didn't know what sort of 'chop' she meant this time, he performed some tests. One tomato was sliced as if it had been through an industrial mandolin. Another was chopped into cubes, another into strips, and one other into asymmetrical chunks. He left those tomatoes as a sample, ready to immediately follow whichever form Miko pointed out within seconds of her decision.

[Apollymi]

If there was a world of only men... Takemi Tae might easily become a 'world dominator', but her goal in life was to be helpful. Instead of thinking about it too much Ai just nodded. "Definitely abuses men," she confirmed by logic and look alone. Beyond that point, Ai was disturbed by the idea that one one had prepared Miko for the issue of her parents, Yugi himself was apparently hoping that they could handle the situation before it had to be fully explained. "I mean you can hope that, but you still might want to try and find the time. If someone else accidentally tells her, or she figures it out on her own... I don't want to see that meltdown," Ai said hands up. She also knew she wasn't absolved, but she didn't have much of the information, and only had a few inferences to make. And she wouldn't do that based on pure outlandishness. No matter... there was more to discuss than the only child of Iino Sousuke and Iino Risa. Strangely enough as she kissed him and let go of the previous topic, the lad found his own level of curiosity. She looked at him and seemed a bit sheepish... wondering how this would end up. "Technically speaking, I am quietly being scouted by Kaiba Corp. But because of that in actuality it is the Shinchō Guild who was making a direct offer..." Ai said thinking about it more, "Which is technically the strongest Guild in Japan right now, being run by Ashikaga Kimiko." she said with finality as there was quite a bit of information the lad may not have had given the time they spent not knowing things.

No matter, Miko was on her way out with dinner while Igris was left in charge of the start of her pasta sauce. Before Miko fully withdrew to feed the pair in bed, there was a collection of chops for Miko to look at. She'd point to the sets and name them so they could avoid any future confusion. "When I say chop, I mean this..." she said pointing to the cubed pieces. "Slice is this one..." she said pointing to the ones that looked like they'd been through a mandolin. "This one is strip... though that can have different meanings in other situations..." Miko murmured mostly for herself. "And I probably won't ask for this one... outside of making a stew or something," Miko said. "Chop for me♪~ And add them to the pot... I need to start making the sauce~" Miko chirped. As she headed off. Soon enough she was at the bedside with the first course on a cart. "We've prepared an appetizer of cheesy garlic bread and a simple side salad and a decent sweet red wine for your first course. Drop it back into inventory when you're done..." Miko offered a little curtsy in her maid uniform with smug satisfaction written all over her face.

[Bloodedge]

Ai continued to suggest that Miko be told about her parents before it was too late. Fair as that was, she was so far from absolved that it could almost be considered funny. "Sou. And yet, there are three people who aren't doing shit to spill the beans. The one with the most information could also be the one sharing it," he chastised lightly. He thought that Ai making such a suggestion made her a prime target to follow through, if she was that concerned about it. Yugi's concerns were elsewhere. He intended to delve into a bit more deviance first, but even that took a backseat to strong curiosity. Who was scouting Ai? According to her, Kaiba Corp was already looking her way. The guild in question, however, was the Shinchou Guild operated by one Ashikaga Kimiko.

By the time Miko arrived with that cart of salad and bread, Yugi was wearing the wicked grin of a man with a plan. He had more words to share with Ai, and this time... Miko would be able to hear them. "Did you exchange contact information? You should turn them down using the System phone. It'll be fun to see them fail to find out who you could possibly be connected to, to turn down that offer~" he suggested deviously. Speaking of deviance, Miko making herself visible came with a clear line of sight to a new getup. It was definitely a maid uniform straight out of a video game: barely functional for anything non-sexual. Of course, that made it officially a good outfit in Yugi's book. "Uhh, no? You're not just gonna come in here with salads and no special dressing, when you've obviously got the good homemade shit right here. The fuck? You're doing this on purpose!"

[Apollymi]

Ai was suggesting that Miko be told but also wasn't doing the telling for similar reasons. She'd thought about telling her earlier but it seemed like a dick move given what they'd been up to, "I couldn't tell her when I saw her... she was so happy," Ai admitted. She'd claim she was a bit more cowardly than she was trying to be... but that didn't change the fact that she knew they were all waiting on a ticking timebomb. Still, if there was a good time or place to tell Miko at least a little of the truth... she'd take advantage of it, if no one else did. Beyond the deviance, there was the matter of who was scouting Ai, which seemed to be a more important point. when she admitted who it was, she watched as the lad's face shifted, as if he was well and truly amused. "Something devious is afoot, it's written all over your face, Kage-tan~" Ai opted for normal conversation as Miko approached.

And when she did make it to them, she was wearing the skimpiest version of a maid uniform Ai had ever seen in real life. While she observed the other girl, causing Miko's face to flush intensely, Yugi went on about what to do concerning the Shincho Guild. Apparently she should turn down their offer from her System Phone, "Oh? Are you using me as bait too? Kicking the hornets' nest Kage-tan~ But of course, I did exchange information with her, she wanted to discuss things~" Ai playfully chided but she'd still do it, when she was ready to do so. Miko for her part in this was aggressed by Yugi, who first said no, and then claimed she couldn't bring no homemade dressing while it was right here. She grinned at him a hint of cheek in her tone. "Oh?♪~ I figured it was appropriate. I'm here to cook and clean up... after these ingrates who can't clean their own plates♪~" Miko sassed. Ai held up her hands in surrender, "Goddamn friendly fucking fire Mi-tan!~ I didn't even do anything yet!~" Ai claimed as she looked to Yugi. Their relationship was quite obviously fun... and ominously gamer style toxic. One upping a teammate in a cooperative game was underhanded. But for a girl who wouldn't lie or cheat the tactic was... earnest... Ai would say. "Did you want homemade salad dressing?♪~ I didn't know, I brought a bunch of flavors because I didn't know what you'd want♪~ And this is not specifically a meal for me. I can't just leave it all to the sous chef, you know♪" Miko jokingly claimed knowing full well she could technically give Igris a few more orders while she deviated.