GREMORY MANSION – GASPER'S ROOM
"What are you doing here, Akeno?" Rias kept her tone firm as she stepped forward, her body already aligned directly in front of the other.
Akeno didn't respond immediately, she simply approached until she completely reduced the distance, making the light fabric of her yukata brush against Rias's robe. The contact was direct, without retreat, and neither of them gave ground.
"Ara ara, I came to visit Gasper-kun." Akeno tilted her head slightly, keeping her gaze fixed on her. "Why does my presence bother you?"
"It does." Rias didn't look away, holding her position. "And you know exactly why."
Akeno let out a light smile, without stepping back, maintaining the physical contact as if it were a natural part of the conversation, while evaluating Rias's response without hurry.
"So you finally decided to stop pretending." Akeno kept her tone light. "I thought you would keep just watching."
Rias didn't respond immediately, but her gaze hardened clearly, without any hesitation, making it evident that this had already gone beyond simple provocation.
"I don't watch what's mine being contested." Rias kept her voice low, but direct. "I resolve it."
Akeno laughed softly, without moving, sustaining the closeness as if she were comfortable within that tension.
"Yours?" She kept the smile. "You talk as if he has already fully chosen."
"He chose enough." Rias didn't back down. "And he'll choose even more."
Akeno narrowed her eyes slightly, not out of doubt, but out of interest, like someone who recognizes a real change in the other's posture.
"And you think you can guarantee that just with presence?" Akeno kept the provocative tone. "Or are you going to try something more direct?"
Rias didn't look away.
"I don't need to try." She kept her posture firm. "I just need to be one step ahead."
The silence that followed wasn't empty, it was filled with direct reading between the two, with neither willing to give in or step back at that moment.
"And what exactly puts you ahead?" Akeno kept her gaze fixed. "Because as far as I know… you just got there first."
Rias didn't respond immediately.
She stepped forward half a step, reducing the space even more, maintaining control of her presence before speaking again.
"In two days his ceremony will happen." Rias kept her tone steady. "He'll be officially recognized as a High-Class Devil."
Akeno didn't respond.
"The entire Underworld will recognize it." Rias held her gaze. "And I'll be by his side when it happens."
Akeno remained silent for a moment, not out of hesitation, but because the information shifted the axis of the conversation directly, changing the weight of what was being contested there.
"So that's it." Akeno crossed her arms lightly. "You want to establish yourself through what comes next."
"I'm already established." Rias replied without changing her tone. "This just makes it visible."
Akeno didn't respond immediately.
The lack of response wasn't retreat, but it was enough to break the rhythm she had been imposing until then.
The control of the conversation changed hands.
Gasper remained standing, watching the two, his gaze fixed as he absorbed every exchange of provocation and every attempt at dominance between them. A faint smile appeared effortlessly, not out of surprise, but confirmation, because this had already been anticipated within his own reading from the start.
The shadows reacted to his command instantly, advancing across the floor and climbing up their bodies without leaving room for response.
"Wait—" Rias tried to move forward, but her body froze mid-motion, the force being restrained before she could even complete the step.
The shadows tightened.
Akeno leaned slightly forward, trying to test the limit of the restraint, but realized instantly that there was no room to escape.
"How bold…" Akeno kept her smile, but her gaze sharpened. "You decided to take control like this?"
The binding completed, restraining arms, legs, and waist with absolute precision, nullifying any real possibility of physical reaction.
"You're overdoing it…" Rias forced her body against the restraint, trying to break the pressure, but the response was immediate, with the shadows adjusting and lifting her off the ground effortlessly.
Akeno was pulled up in the same movement.
The space beneath their feet disappeared.
"So this is how it is…" Akeno let out a soft sigh, her body now completely suspended. "Without even a warning."
Rias turned her face toward Gasper, irritation evident as she tried to regain any kind of control over the situation.
"You think this solves anything?" She tensed her arms, but couldn't move a centimeter.
The shadows stabilized in the air, keeping both restrained and suspended, without wavering, as if that were now the natural state of the scene.
The surprise was inevitable.
"Good news… and good news deserves a proper celebration."
Gasper's voice came out steady, without raising his tone, as if he were simply adjusting the direction of a scene he had already taken control of.
"But who are you going to celebrate with?"
Rias responded immediately, the discomfort clear in the direct way she questioned, without trying to hide her irritation at the interruption and the way control had been taken from her.
"With both of you."
Gasper's smile didn't change as he answered, keeping his gaze fixed on both at the same time, without prioritizing either.
Rias didn't like it.
Her dissatisfaction was evident without needing explanation, because the answer did not match what she wanted to establish there.
Akeno laughed softly, the light sound contrasting with the previous tension, as if the sudden shift in control had worked in her favor at that moment.
"Ara ara…"
For Akeno, that change in pace was advantageous. She had lost ground in the direct clash against Rias, but with Gasper taking control, the scenario stopped being an uneven confrontation and became something more favorable for her, where she could still act without being at a disadvantage.
Gasper glanced away for a second, analyzing Akeno's clothing directly before speaking again, now with a more specific focus.
"That yukata suits you." He kept his tone simple, direct, without changing posture. "But I'm going to have to ruin it."
Akeno didn't show any resistance to the idea, she simply kept her smile as she accepted the statement as something natural within what was happening.
"What a shame…" She tilted her head slightly. "But I have other clothes you can tear."
Rias didn't let it pass.
"You're flirting in front of me."
The irritation came directly, unfiltered, as she kept her gaze fixed on Akeno, clearly bothered by how naturally the other responded.
"Because you're being jealous." Akeno replied without hesitation, sustaining the gaze with light provocation. "And that doesn't suit you."
"I'm his girlfriend." Rias didn't back down. "So I have every right to be."
Akeno didn't respond immediately, but the smile didn't disappear, as if she were more interested in the reaction than the statement itself.
Gasper didn't let the argument drag on.
"Then I'll do the same to your robe." He said without changing tone, bringing the focus back to himself. "That way it's fair."
Rias didn't respond right away.
A faint blush appeared clearly on her face, but it wasn't followed by retreat, only a brief pause before making her own decision within that new context.
"…Alright."
The response came lower, but firm enough to leave no room for doubt, even with the evident physical reaction.
Gasper kept his gaze on both, adjusting his perception as he prepared his next move, without haste and without losing full reading of what was happening.
'I just hope no one interrupts now.'
Akeno was the first to break the silence, her smile returning with light provocation as she looked directly at Rias.
"You turned red too fast…" She tilted her head slightly, keeping her tone soft. "I didn't expect that from you."
Rias clenched her teeth, her face already redder than her own hair, while keeping her gaze fixed on her without accepting the provocation.
"Be quiet." She tried to pull her arm against the shadows, but couldn't move anything. "You're not in a position to talk."
Akeno didn't back down.
"On the contrary…" She held the gaze, her smile widening. "I'm exactly where I wanted to be."
Gasper didn't interrupt immediately.
The shadows responded to his command right after, tightening around Akeno's body with more force, the control intensifying clearly, like a direct punishment for the provocation.
The reaction was immediate.
Akeno let out an uneven breath, her face reddening as her body reacted to the increased pressure, but the smile didn't disappear.
"So that's it…" She closed her eyes for a second, absorbing the sensation before opening them again. "You really know how to handle me."
Gasper narrowed his eyes slightly, his reading shifting instantly.
'That was supposed to be punishment…'
Rias noticed.
Her gaze changed immediately, irritation growing as she interpreted it directly.
"You're favoring her."
The accusation came unfiltered, loaded with discomfort, as she tried to pull her own body against the restraint once more, without success.
"I'm not." Gasper replied in the same steady tone. "She just reacted differently than expected."
Rias didn't accept it.
Her face turned even redder, but this time it wasn't just from the situation.
It was irritation.
"Tighten mine too."
Gasper rolled his eyes, the response coming automatically, because that wasn't something he expected to hear at that moment.
He didn't argue.
The shadows reacted again.
The pressure increased around Rias's body, wrapping tighter and elevating the restraint further, replicating the same level applied to Akeno, without difference.
The reaction came.
Rias held her breath for a second, her body tensing before relaxing involuntarily, her face maintaining the red tone as she absorbed the sensation without retreating.
She said nothing.
But she didn't reject it.
Gasper watched both for a moment, the silence filled only by their reaction to the very decision they had made within the situation.
"Great…" He let out a slow breath. "Two masochists."
The control of the scene remained with him.
And this time, neither of them tried to take it back.
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