Chapter VI: In the Autumn, On the Beach
The morning after they arrived at the city, both Shiki and Akiha had a pointed desire to sleep in, but given the circumstances, they dared not linger too long, even if the latter's habits had allowed her to sleep more. That necessity was deeply annoying on some level.... “We should just send them away while we stay,” Shiki suggested, yawning and looking balefully at the window, outside of which the sun hadn't even risen yet.
Akiha sighed, sitting beside him under the light blue coverlet of the king-sized bed. “Nii-san, you know we can't do that. None of us can cook.” Despite herself, she sounded a little wistful.
“Well, we could try to learn how to ourselves, couldn't we?”
“...Nii-san, I told you to stop thinking like a commoner,” she replied, with a look of not-entirely-convincing scorn.
“Hey, that won't work this time. Nobles are supposed to be well-rounded, right? Besides, it's a useful skill if we got stranded somewhere.”
Akiha huffed and pouted at this, looking away. “You already have two maids now, and you're trying to maker your sister into one too? Hmph, I won't allow that to happen, Nii-san!”
Some part of him decided, hearing this, that she was objecting just a bit too avidly, and a brow lifted. “I never said anything about maids, Akiha... But you would probably look pretty cute in a maid uniform.”
“Nii-san, stop this at once!” As he leaned toward her, though, Shiki realized there was more than a hint of a blush on her cheeks as she objected this way, still looking away with a pout.
“That's an unfair request. You're too cute when you're blushing for me to stop,” he responded, smirking a little and then letting his arms wrap around her as he sought to push her down on the bed, incredibly aware that she only wore a lovely white shift of a nightgown.
“Nii-san, we can't...” His weight pressing down atop her had turned her voice from embarrassed denial to a slightly breathy whisper as she looked up at him.
Shiki sighed, though, looking down at her; for a moment, his body had started to react more strongly as well, feeling her heat so near, and her lithe strength so supply pinned beneath him. But, with that breath, the tension that had started to build there drained as he acknowledged the situation, and for once, it was a tension he would've much rather kept. “...yeah, I guess you're right,” he conceded with reluctance.
Akiha echoed his sigh, closing her eyes as her hand lifted to to caress his cheek where he still straddled her body, and then, quite suddenly, she was leaning up to capture his lips in a brief but intense kiss that he happily returned....
When it broke, though, the red-haired girl licked her lips a little, feeling her breathing already faster than it should've been. Yes, they both dearly wanted this.... “...we're going to go out and get you a bathing suit after breakfast, Nii-san.”
Given the low, breathy, seductive way she spoke, it took a moment for him to register that she had said something so mundane. “Ah... A bathing suit?” Yes, he was definitely confused.
Acting as though she hadn't heard his question, though, the girl continued to speak, her lips only inches from his so that her heated breathing teased against his skin. “And then we're going to take advantage of the fact that we're nobles, not commoners, and so we have a private beach with our villa, Nii-san. A private beach entirely to ourselves. So you better not lose your nerve before then, because your cute little sister expects you to make her pulse race like you did just now.”
Unable to resist the way her body arched against his just a little when she said this, Akiha swallowed and closed her eyes, then closed the distance between their lips again, for a slower and far more sensuous kiss that didn't give Shiki a chance to respond at all.
When it ended, though her face glowed with a soft blush and he was entirely aware of the way her modest but entirely beautiful chest rose and fell with each heavy breath, Akiha slipped out of bed. Not making any effort to fix her tussled hair or even cover herself more for the off-chance that she met someone, she was out the door before Shiki could find anything to say, and he knew that it was probably for the best. Each second she'd remained in his presence increased the risk that they would throw propriety to the wind and make good on their mutual desire.
-----
Breakfast proved Kohaku’s mastery of cooking, for although the chef working at the villa was surely quite fine by most standards, his cooking still couldn’t match up to that of the amber-eyed maid. Still, it wasn’t bad by any means, and the two ate quickly, unable to look at each other directly. Considering their plans, Akiha had already given Hisui the day off, which was obviously something the maid was unused to, but in this case she hadn’t objected to it.
After that, the two of them had dressed. Given the sea’s proximity, the air markedly warmer here, and so both of the pair had dressed lighter than they had in their home city, or on the trip. Shiki’s outfit was lighter in both senses of the word, actually, being comprised of light colors and thinner fabrics. Again the jacket he wore was blue, but this time a sky-like shade, and over a white shirt with tan pants.
For her part, Akiha had chosen a white sundress, for the sun had risen brightly when it had. Compared to the more formal clothing she’d worn previously, the sense of lightness took on a third dimension with the pretty frills falling against her equally pale skin, in that it gave her beauty a certain lighthearted look. She was definitely beautiful in the somewhat short (by human standards, at least) dress, which only went down to her knees and ended strapplessly above her breasts at the top, leaving her arms wholly bare, but something about it clashed just a little with the vibrant intensity of her vermilion hair.
Shiki felt no desire to point this out, however, given that she was still elegant and gorgeous in it. Again she had donned gloves, this time of white with lace cuffs attached to them to wrap attractively around her wrists, and as they prepared to head out, she withdrew an attractive white sun hat, adorned with a red paper rose on one side. On the whole, he found that the outfit fit her lithe, pale body well, and her easy grace--even her eyes, so that only the color of her hair clashed.
Dressed this way, they set out. The villa they occupied was small compared to the Tohno mansion, but still larger than most houses, and definitely more luxurious. Indeed, it seemed designed to be particularly the latter, which succeeded in making it look more ostentatious after the much more self-confident elegance of the Tohno mansion itself, but still, the place would be acceptable. It had very little lawn to speak of though, in exchange for the private beach behind it, and so they had soon passed the quaint white privacy fence.
When they had passed it though, and stepped out onto the neat, paved streets of the city, blending into the crowds of people and pokegirls there, a curious sense of freedom overtook Shiki. In this mass of people, none of whom knew them, they were... safe for just a little while. He could--and did--slip his arm through Akiha’s and walk with her as though they were just... young, carefree lovers, not siblings or pokegirl and owner. The knowledge seemed to liberate a part of his soul that had felt chained down since they had started this charade the day they had left the mansion--or even the day he’d come back for such a dire reason.
Indeed, the fact that it did feel that way to be free of the obligations made him wonder again what their relationship really was, at heart. At this point, he didn’t think their affection could be considered just that of siblings, regardless of the physicality of it and what that meant or didn’t mean. He still had a lot of things to work out for himself about the nature of their relationship, but the feeling was... nice.
“Nii-san, stop spacing out,” Akiha complained, shaking his arm and breaking him out of his reverie as she continued, “If you're not going to pay attention to the sights, at least pay attention to where we're going.”
“Ah... Sorry,” he replied, blinking as he looked around. They'd definitely moved a ways along the street; enough so, in fact, that he didn't immediately recognize the surroundings. Their villa sat upon the edge of the city itself, so that the blocked off private beach was a continuation of the public ones on the town seafront, but in however long he'd been lost in thought, the two of them had reached the bustling commercial district.
Unsurprisingly, they'd stopped in front of one of the many high class boutiques. Though the villa and many of the luxurious outlying districts were in Japanese-style, this part of the city was the same high-rise, glass-front style that one generally found wherever cities were in the world. He supposed he would have to get used to shopping at such places....
So, with that, Shiki followed Akiha into the place. The interior stretched our fairly far, and stairs indicated that at least one level above was much the same. Unlike the similar store he'd been to several days before, though, this one was primarily for clothing.
“Nii-san, go have the clerk measure you,” Akiha instructed, allowing herself a little smile that elicited both fright and a sort of curious anticipation from her brother.
But, he nodded and set off to do that, feeling a little uncomfortable but at the same time... he'd done this once already. It wouldn't be too bad.... And so he allowed them to measure his waist and then suggest several attractive swimsuits. On some level, it amused Shiki that there was obviously only so much one could upscale such a basic thing. Still, the designs struck the eye well....
Knowing he couldn't decide without Akiha's opinion, given that this was her initiative, though, he stalled by looking at quite the wide range.... After perhaps ten minutes, though, a familiar voice startled him; “Nii-san?”
Turning, Shiki started to reply only for his breath to catch in his throat, heart skipping a beat. His lips remained parted from the way they'd frozen in the middle of speaking. The girl before him was definitely Akiha....
That was to say, she definitely had the pale skin, beautiful face, well-proportioned figure and lithe strength of his sister. And she was definitely wearing the same sundress and hat, and the same gloves. But that outfit which had seemed to clash just a little before, now fit perfectly, because her long, silky locks had somehow turned back to black.
Several seconds passed as he stared at the change, too taken aback by it, too uncertain what it meant, to speak. “...geez, Nii-san. I'm glad you like it, but you don't have to stare like that in public...” The way her cheeks lit with a slight blush suggested that was what she honestly thought he was doing.
“Ah... No... I mean, yes! You're beautiful this way, but... how?” Her words had jolted him to that first instinctive response, which was quickly taken back because he very much did like the change--though if asked, Shiki would've been hard pressed to say which color was better overall--and then his confusion just took over.
“Huh? Oh, I thought you'd realize, but I guess you really are ignorant of fashion, too. It's just an illusion.” One hand lifted to touch a pendant which now laid against her collarbone, a bit lower than the tight mana crystal. “They're all the rage with noblewomen who want to change their hair color without any hassle.”
“...oh.” Some part of him couldn't help but feel disappointed that she hadn't found some miraculous way to change back even partially, but the truth of it made more sense anyway. “Well, it looks great on you, Akiha.”
She seemed to enjoy the praise, and after that, the two of them spent the better part of an hour trying on swimsuits for each other's appraisal. Needless to say, that did nothing to ease the desire on the part of either sibling.
-----
Given all of that, the two of them had little desire to shop for anything else afterward, and Shiki in particular felt unable to really think about much but the girl whose hand he held. While the memories of the night they'd made love were somewhat hazed over by the pleasure that had accompanied that and the suddenness with which it had happened, the visions of Akiha dressed in so many styles of swimming suit, all of them attractive, remained in his mind with perfect clarity.
And then, beyond that, there was her presence next to him, her warm hand in his. The sun shined down upon both of them, highlighting again and again just how good her pale complexion and hair--even if it was only colored by an illusion--looked against the white of her dress. And beyond that, she had such a striking sense of poise and confidence....
Somehow, he managed to keep up a conversation despite the way just the sight of her, though admittedly framed by her promise from before and the feeling of her supple body beneath his then, intoxicated him. Both walked quickly, though, anxious to get back.
But one thing he did notice despite his preoccupation was the fact that... with her hair changed back, Akiha was much more... at ease at his side. No longer were they the same siblings who had entered the city--it wasn't so much that that was a physical fact, since she was recognizable still if one knew her, but more an emotional one.
Even though they were not siblings in the eyes of most passersby either way, it felt more like the case now. Like they were just two young lovers, vacationing amidst the vibrant crowds of people and pokegirls that filled the sidewalks and even the streets. Really, that was an exquisitely pleasant feeling. But regardless of it, they parted at the door, agreeing to meet on the private beach in fifteen minutes.
Some part of Shiki was disappointed to have to wait even that long, but he hadn't objected. Something about the smirk on his sister's face as she's preempted that silent objection had sent chills down his spine, but no longer were those chills of fear. No, in a soft, almost breathy voice, she'd whispered, “Don't worry, Nii-san.... You won't have to wait much longer, but it would... be boring if you got to watch me change too. Go get dressed and wait on the beach.”
And so, he did. Ironically, even after all their deliberating over what to get him, his initial observation that there was only so much one could do to change a male swimsuit. So, like most others of its kind, it was effectively a pair of shorts. It was blue, and made of a strong, smooth fabric that he couldn't identify--Akiha had been the one to find it in the end, and admittedly it was rather comfortable, just tight enough with an elastic waist to stay on.
Since it was still morning, the sun's light still had a certain delicateness to it, Not yet was it the hot midday sun that would follow, though the golden orb was ascending in its path through the sky still, and the light that it bathed the golden sand of the beach in likewise had a certain purity to it.
The beach itself was perhaps as wide as the mansion, with a high, likely concrete, barrier erected between it and the public beach. If his memory served correctly, the two were actually separated by a buffer zone to prevent sound from carrying either way too easily. Looking at the dividers, though--mainly the city-side one, although the one toward the next villa's beach was fine in its own right--he never would've realized them to be what they were, had he not known.
That was to say, both of them, and they weren't exactly short, extending a meter or two beyond the beach itself and into the sea to keep swimmers from having an easy oblique view into the privacy, were decorated with brilliant mosaic artwork. The more impressive of the two depicted a battle between several Mermaid-type pokegirls, their sleek bodies in vivid color and detail, and an Octopussy, its tentacles beating the stylized water up into a frenzy as it tried to grab at the swift, elusive shapes. In the bright morning sun, which came in from over the sea, he could almost imagine it moving....
However, his attention to this mosaic was not at all so great that the sound of the door behind him was noticed with anything less than an anxious anticipation. Swallowing, he turned around, feeling a touch of self-consciousness about the way the long, reddish scar which dominated his chest showed in the swimsuit, or the fact that he was--by necessity, though his bangs somewhat hid it--still wearing his glasses.
These thoughts did not last long, though, for his attention was entirely captured by the sight of Akiha. He'd known what to expect before, given that they had chosen her swimsuit together as well, but there was an entirely different feeling now, to see her in it here, on the beach with the sun upon her and no one else around at all.
The one-piece style they had ultimately chosen suited her elegance much better than a bikini, really, and white was very much her color for clothing when her hair was black. And indeed, it was a smooth, almost seamless white fabric that comprised the garment, tight enough that it clung to her skin but loose enough that it didn't constrict her movements.
Naturally, it left her white legs bare, which reflected the sun's light much as her equally-bared arms did, and started out embracing the treasure between those pale thighs, then moved upward, leaving much of her hips and firm rear bare as well, only truly beginning where it stretched out over the firm and lithe yet still smooth expanse of her stomach. Reaching her small, shapely breasts, it gripped them attractively, more from the sides than over the center so that it emphasized them rather than detracting.
Here it ended, with a low neckline that made the two sides narrow into thin straps just below her shoulders, so that the latter were exposed as well, and much of the top of her back was left bare as well, while around it strands of obsidian hair fell, making a perfect contrast in color whilst its silky texture mingled perfectly with that of the fabric.
Holding that hair in place, he could see the sides of a white hairband, but much of that was lost under the second sunhat she had donned. This one was much simpler than the other, simply white without much adornment except the string which wrapped down around her chin, holding it on as the sea breeze attractively brushed over her hair, making it shift around as though it was dancing....
With the way he was staring, though, Akiha's pale cheeks reddened again, as blood tinted them pink. That blush only added to her attractiveness, though, and didn't help the problem. “...geez, Nii-san,” she whispered, her breath catching a little, “You don't have to stare so hard....”
“You say that like I can help it,” he returned, in a quiet voice, as the two of them took steps toward each other, the fine golden sand shifting at the touch of their bare beet.
“Flatterer,” she accused, not really meaning it as they reached each other, separated by only a few steps. Instinctively, Shiki's arms lifted to encircle his sister's waist as she pressed up against him, the heat of her body against him easily more than that of the beach air.
Indeed, he felt a little like his mind was going to melt as she rubbed against him, and he leaned down, very much wanting to kiss her. However, though she made as though to kiss him, their lips only grazed each other, their heated breath mingling, for a moment. Then, instead she lifted her head, body rubbing even more against him as she stood on tiptoe to reach his ear.
Sensing his confusion, the girl lightly nibbling his earlobe, but then whispered, “You haven't caught me yet, Nii-san.”
With that, she smirked, her arms pushing him back just long enough for her to slip out of his arms downward, dropping to her knees. Not at all accidentally, her fingers--now uncovered by any gloves--brushed along the crotch of his swimsuit, but then she was rolling to the side in the sand and quickly standing again.
For a moment, what had happened left his mind blank--and she had counted on that surprise to get away--but it didn't last long. No, in the absence of the ability to really think rationally, the heat that her proximity, her kiss, her teasing, had left in his mind took over. As if all that hadn't been enough, there was the sight of her smirking even as she lifted herself from the sand, her body on display and her rear pointed toward him attractively as golden sand cascaded down from where it'd stuck to her skin or swimsuit. That heat demanded now that he do what she had accused him of not doing, and so the chase was on.
First she took off straight down the length of the beach, not running nearly as fast as she could've--and making that clear by looking back over her shoulder at him with a challenging smirk as he started to follow, a look of determination upon his face as his pulse raced.
Really, the chase was almost the perfect inversion of the childhood memories he'd had. Those memories were always of her trying to keep up with him, uncertain and behind him as they played in the mansion, or in the yards, but always in the shadow of something, with perfect innocence. Now it was he who chased after her, with the sun shining down upon them, and this time, on the beach, their play was anything but innocent.
Reaching the edge of the water with a lead, Akiha paused a moment, leaning down to scoop up a handful of yet-cool water and splashing it at the black-haired boy who chased her. Doing this nearly allowed her to be caught as she straightened, but a deft sidestep ensured that Shiki's hands did little more than grope at her breasts as he couldn't stop quite fast enough not to avoid running a meter or so into the sea.
“Akiha!” he complained, once he had caught himself, his legs and the bottom of his swimming trunks submerged, though the complaint was good-natured and the cool water felt good again his skin after dashing across the beach.
“Come on, Nii-san, I'm not that easy to cat--ah!” Her taunt was cut off halfway as Shiki took revenge, splashing two handfuls of water over her chest, which quickly made the shimmering white fabric of her swimsuit slick. He could easily see her nipples beginning to harden from the coolness of the water, made entirely obvious by the swimsuit's tightness, as he dashed at her again.
Playfully glaring at her brother, she dodged away again, stepping back into the edge of the gentle surf and taking off along the length of the beach this time. Since she still wasn't using her full speed, her lead remained considerably diminished as Shiki pursued her, their feet kicking up more water onto each other, so that both their bodies were mostly wet by the time they reached the end.
By some miracle--or more likely by her powers--Akiha's hair was the only part of her that seemed to have escaped being splashed as they ran through the surf; whatever the reason, the slickness of her body contrasted beautifully with the way her hair still flowed out behind her, almost ethereal in the way it moved as a combination of the wind and her motion.
Reaching the corner of the beach, though, she turned sharply, the motion pulling the already loosened sun hat from her head and sending it fluttering away in the wind. That was given no real thought, though; Shiki, seeing what she was doing, had turned a bit earlier and gained on her.
For his part, though he was already breathing hard, the rush of burning blood through his body pushed him onward, his heart beating fast as he pursued her. In the time he'd chased her and nearly caught her, he'd felt his body reacting to the sight of hers and the thought of catching her, of pouncing upon her and pinning her down in the sand and ravishing the teasing, tauntingly attractive creature that was Akiha.
Seeing her start to turn again, and arc back toward the surf, he smirked and turned tighter again, so that their heated, panting bodies collided, though not too hard since they had hit at such an oblique angle. Shiki gasped while Akiha gave a delightfully girlish cry as her brother tackled her that way, bringing her down into the sand.
Her hair splayed out beneath them there like some kind of curtain, and Shiki had definitely caught her this time. Managing to catch himself on one hand, he avoided entirely coming down atop her, but that arm had slipped beneath her back a moment later, whilst the other went around her entirely. Caught as she had been, her long legs had spread slightly in the fall, and so his own legs were straddling one of hers, his hips pressing down against hers and their stomachs partially touching.
Both of their chests were heaving, of course, and Akiha's face was slightly flush. He might've thought it was with embarrassment over being caught except for the way her aqua eyes had glazed as she looked up at him.... She didn't have to tell him again what she wanted; despite their shortness of breath, as soon as he could manage it, Shiki was leaning down and kissing the girl who was so entirely pinned beneath him as deeply as he could manage.
The kiss shouldn't have lasted long, in their condition, but Shiki couldn't help but respond to the burning passion he felt from his sister, and when it finally did end, it was only because he'd worried one of them was going to pass out; neither could speak at all, in the aftermath, but he allowed his body to rest more fully against her.
Supporting himself just enough with one arm not to make it even harder for Akiha to breathe, he found that this left their chests almost but not quite flush so that he could feel her breasts pressing against him every time her chest rose. The heat of her body blended with the water that still soaked the fabric of the swimsuit, and he could feel the slight pressure of her nipples there, the contact stimulating both of them slightly each time. One of her own hands rested against his chest, while the other encircled his back.
Below, though, his hips had shifted up, and he realized--though for once without any accompanying flush, given everything--that his growing arousal now pressed against the apex of his sister's body, through their respective swimsuits. She realized this too, for with a hint of a smirk through her quickened breathing, she rolled her hips upward against him, eliciting a moan from the boy as his own hips responded, pressing back down against hers. If his breathing hadn't already been so labored, it would've picked up further, but as it was he swallowed hard.
Giving the two of them several seconds to recover just a little, though, he found the hand that wasn't partially supporting his upper body moving to grasp one of her breasts in it, through the thin, slick swimsuit. The material made it hard to squeeze the pliant orb properly, but instead made his hand slide around somewhat, a sensation that was far from unpleasant in its own right, and he heard her moan, arching upward somewhat so that their chests were more fully flush, then rubbing herself against him so that, as his hand kneaded and squeezed her breast itself, her nipples were rubbing against his chest.
Shiki's eyes closed as he pressed into the rubbing, matching it somewhat. He was aware of his hand's attentions growing firmer, probably to the point of roughness, but from the soft moan that managed to permeate Akiha's rough breathing, she wasn't exactly objecting. Indeed, her hand tightened around his back, pulling him down more fully against her.
Beneath him, her lithe form felt as though it was growing hotter. With the smooth slickness of that form, it felt as though he was rubbing against a liquid fire, but one that could not burn him, only entice him further. He moaned again, aware that his arousal was entirely hard as it rubbed against her where their hips met, and though his eyes closed, that the hot warmth there was more than just the normal heat of her skin. His breath hitched as he arched down against her, both of them moaning intermittently now.
After a moment, though, he was no longer satisfied with just allowing her nipple to rub against his chest, and his hand shifted from squeezing the modest shape of her breast to instead interposing his fingers between their heated bodies and capturing that rock-hard tip of her breast between two of them. Or, that had been the intent.
With the slickness, though, as he tried to firmly grip and twist the rosebud, his grip constantly shifted; opening his eyes, Shiki could see Akiha had thrown her head back now, eyes closed as she arched further. His fingers continued to try to capture her nipple, but the fabric kept them slipping and twisting which was obviously creating a rather pleasurable effect as it made the smooth fabric swirl around her nipple.
Seeing her face contorted in such an expression of pleasure made his hips grind against hers more passionately, his body feeling more and more like it was going to melt at the way that contact teased him--teased both of them. Groaning, he pinched her nipple harder, finally fully catching it between his fingers for a few seconds and drawing a weak cry from Akiha as she writhed beneath him.
With both of their breathing so hard, he still couldn't speak, and neither could she, but as their eyes met for a moment, the need burning in hers matched that in his own. Groaning as she rubbed up against him, Akiha weakly managed to pull her hand from his chest, reaching down to push away the blue shorts he wore just enough that his pulsing, glistening length sprung free.
The desire in her glazed eyes grew as she gazed at the sight for a moment, at the way it rubbed needingly against the thin barrier of her swimsuit since neither of their hips had consented to stop moving. Indeed, hers arched up harder as her wetness slipped past the swimsuit, quickly coating his arousal as he pressed the hard shaft against her.... But then, groaning again, she managed to reach over and pull aside that meager barrier as well.
For several seconds, neither of them had the presence of mind to guide his length to enter her properly, and their hips continued to move, causing the bare head of his manhood to rub back and forth along the sopping folds of her slit. Her lower lips pulsed with desire as her hips thrust upward, trying without any success to capture the heated shift that was equally-desperately seeking entrance.
Finally, her mind cleared again, just enough to reach up and take hold of her brother's arousal, and he gasped harder than he had thought he could while panting so hard. With the heat he had just been against, even her warm hand felt icy, but that only lasted a second before the burning heat of her tunnel was engulfing the tip of his length. All thought left his mind in that moment except the will to thrust deeply into her, and his body eagerly complied with that as he cried out.
Equally, Akiha let out a soft cry of her own, hips lifting with no less desire to meet his, and their bodies, for a split-second, were entirely flush. That only lasted a moment, though.... His hand fell from her breast now to help support him as his hips pulled back, and hers as well, until just the sensitive, burning head of his arousal remained within her, and then they were pressing together again, and again, quickly building a swift, burning rhythm that resonated with the need in their eyes as those eyes met....
Given the heat of that passion, and their relative inexperience, neither of the pair lasted long, but unlike the first time they'd made love, some part of Shiki's mind remained lucid enough to hold out longer, and with how aroused Akiha was--and some help from her own fingers against her clit as they made love there in the golden sand--they managed to end together this time, and then both collapsed. Shiki managed to push himself to the side a little, so she could breathe, but that was all he could manage before they both went limp, panting still and unconsciously pressing together as much as they could, his body still half atop hers and their hips still entirely entwined.
-----
Given their desires, it was unsurprising that the two of them hadn't really taken the time to read the safety precautions left for them as part of their rent agreement. Even not having read it, falling asleep upon the beach with the scent of arousal in the air and no guards present was an exceedingly poor idea, but neither of them had given that much thought, distracted as they had been.
When Shiki awoke, though, something felt wrong immediately. His field of vision was dark, for one thing, though slightly golden, and the front of his body felt entirely too rough. For that matter, there was nothing soft beneath him, and there definitely should've been. His body felt worn and a little sore, but that was to be expected....
Trying to take a breath through his mouth and tasting sand, though, he realized the problem. Yes, laying face-down in the sand was very much a problem.... Not long after this realization struck him, he realized what it was that had awakened him in the first place when a cry cut through his musings.
Unlike the cries that he'd heard before, it was very much not a cry of pleasure, but more one of distress, though the voice was the same. Groaning, he forced his resisting body to stand, pushing up off the sand. He was still upon the beach, at the least, and his blue eyes quickly turned toward the shoreline, searching for Akiha....
She was there, right on the edge of the sea, but there was no relief to be had with the sight that greeted his eyes. Standing in the shallows was a translucent form, taller than either he or his sister. It was, unsurprisingly, a pokegirl form, a 'girl without any hair, her body tinted a blue that almost blended into the sea behind her as the noon sun shined down. But all of this was secondary; what struck him most was the eight or so darker-colored tentacles, each of them at least as long as she was tall, which extended from between her shoulder blades.
These tentacles were quite obviously Akiha's source of distress. It seemed that she'd been dragged to the water's edge while sleeping, and now she was locked in deadly combat with the tentacled pokegirl--obviously a Titacruel. Two tentacles had managed to reach her already, one wrapping around her waist whilst the other had one of her wrists captured. Both of these were wrapped in burning coils of red hair, but being partially submerged, they didn't seem to be smoldering and burning the way they were supposed to.
Of the other six, one of them had obviously been caught outside of the water, because it had been reduced to a burnt, shriveled husk that floated limply on the surface of the water. Three of the others locked in a battle with more vermilion hair just at the surface; they were trying to reach Akiha's body, but though they couldn't be burnt, they were at the very least held back. The effort had obviously overpowered the illusion, for all of her hair was that shade, and indeed it seemed as though it was burning, roiling and tossing about as she struggled with the tentacles, locked in a mortal battle.
Even Shiki knew that losing meant not just violation by those tentacles, but probably a miserable watery grave as well, and his blood froze as he looked on, staring in horror. As he looked on, though, one of the two remaining tentacles shot out of the water from an angle, managing to evade Akiha's notice until it was at her free wrist. Gasping, she tried to swipe at it with her claws, but the action was futile and her face became a mask of terror as this wrist was captured like the first.
Redoubling her efforts to burn the creature, she wrapped this new tentacle in glowing strands of hair as well, but it still wouldn't burn. The water around it started to react as well. For a moment it almost seemed like a sheet of ice was forming around the tentacles, but that made no sense and had to be an optical illusion....
Whether or not that ice was real, though, the ice in his blood shattered now as he felt a deeply seated desire burn forth, overcoming it. He had to protect Akiha.... His hand had already subconsciously found its way to his pocket where, without realizing it, he'd put the knife earlier, and which he'd apparently pulled back up over his waist at some point. Feeling the cold metal in his hand finished breaking the spell which had seemed to last for an eternity, though in reality it was only a few seconds.
Unfolding that knife to its full length, he tore off his glasses, knowing they wouldn't break when they fell to the sand. “Akiha!”
Calling out had been a mistake, though; her head turned as she heard him, and she lost her concentration. The last tentacle took advantage of this, plunging forward to deliver a paralyzing sting to her stomach that caused her to truly scream, much of her body convulsing. In that pain, she lost her grip on the tentacles that she'd been restraining and now all of these surged forward, none of them stinging her but all of them wrapping around her.
Shiki's heart felt like it was going to stop as the Titacruel wrapped Akiha's body up this way, and it started to pull her out to sea.... But having broken into a flat-out sprint, he managed to reach it then. The feral hadn't bothered to notice him yet; what could a weak human do?
Given that, she cried out in pain as the knife was suddenly severing one of her tentacles, and then a second, the lines cut easily and cleanly. Shiki's mind saw only red hatred for this creature, broken only by the black lines of death which crisscrossed its body. However, before he could attack again, it was reacting; throwing Akiha to the side--thankfully in the shallow water, and face up, but the sight of her body thrown aside like a beautiful but broken doll redoubled that anger entirely--it shifted its focus, pulling back toward the sea as the remaining five tentacles shot at him instead.
Even with his anger, and instincts that felt more than human right now, he had no way at all to deflect the converted blows. One tentacle was met straight on and sliced through, but the other four moved beyond his reach. Almost immediately, he felt his left arm grabbed, and cried out as excruciating pain lanced through his body, then went silent, taking all the feeling from his arm with it. But he forced himself to keep his eyes open and press forward, managing to cut through another tentacle before it reached his body.
Another one, though, managed to wrap around his right leg as he charged at the creature, and with another explosion of fireworks in his forehead, that limb went out as well, causing him to keel over forward. The final tentacle, this one with no apparent sting to it, wrapped around his chest, and the feral continued its backward swimming.
Whereas a moment before, Shiki had been pushing forward, now every instinct in his body told him he had to get away, that he was being pulled out to sea, but with only one arm and one leg still responding to that command, there was no way to realize that. He gasped, feeling the tentacle around his chest constricting and trying to squeeze the air from his lungs, though at least he hadn't yet been pulled underwater.
Kill. With his mind in the state it was, that word was all that he could really think of, once his attempts to pull away proved futile. Kill or you're going to die here. Kill kill kill kill kill kill. Kill or Akiha will be alone, a broken doll abandoned on the beach.
Gripping the knife tighter as spots started to appear in his vision, he managed to cut the tentacle that had wrapped around his chest, and the Titacruel shrieked in pain. By now, the water was deep enough that she was starting to submerge, pulling him down with the two remaining tentacles that he couldn't easily reach.
Kill. The command repeated itself, and with the water rising up around his neck, he could no longer give it any thought. Instead, using all his energy to push forward, he shoved the knife in his hand into the black 'point' that gleamed like a pearl between the feral's breasts. Again, she shrieked, but this time it barely lasted a second.
Then, the grip upon his paralyzed limbs was relieved, and before his eyes her body started to dissolve into just more water in the sea. But... the victory seemed to have come too late. He struggled with the two limbs that would respond, shoving the knife back into his pocket, but with only two, his body felt far too heavy, and the shore was so far away.
No matter how hard he struggled, the water seemed only to steadily rise as he struggled desperately, closing his eyes. He couldn't just... die like this. It wasn't right. This wasn't right. He had to live, to protect Akiha.... But despite that, the water rose, covering his mouth, then his nose and he knew his strength had given out. Unable to even struggle any longer, he was sinking beneath the sea.