Charles Patricius

[Apollymi]

It took quite a bit, and while she didn't get a full reaction, Sakura received just enough to know that she was on the right track for doing the thing she wished to do. In truth, it was a wonder humanity survived in the first place when a goddess was having problems getting laid. 'I'm definitely going to have to ask someone about this later.' she thought. Ah, but in the here and now her eyes were alight as she watched Reiji's eyes widen and then him push his glasses up on to his nose. It was such a distinct and nervous gesture it tickled Sakura's sadist button and the smile which spread across her face was a little bit demonic in nature because of it. Though it still had its own kind of alluring qualities. "Oh no, I'm sure I showed it to exactly the right person, Reiji-san..." she said seemingly pleased by this moment. It was actually interesting to consider that Reiji seemed to have been set off by such a simple gesture. She assumed he wouldn't be too receptive if she went too far in his place of business. Perhaps in this case it would be easier to talk him the rest of the way out of work. "Reiji-san, the work day is over. And I'm just a girl... We could get out of here and you could watch me strip out of these clothes. Then I could show you exactly what I do with a look like that~" she offered freely. Of course, his answer to that might require her to reset again, but at least she had some kind of understanding. Tempting was difficult to try on purpose without a life or death situation. But she was sure this sort of thing would have worked on most people already.

[Bloodedge]

According to Sakura, he was the right person to pull that maneuver on. The grin on her face was simultaneously disturbing and alluring. How she managed to pull something like that off was a mystery to the greater universe. It was not, however, a mystery Akaba Reiji intended to solve. Worse still, Sakura kept making passes at him after an expressed disinterest in her plan. The work day was over. She was a girl, and the sun had set. It would have been Reiji's intention to drive her home at this hour anyway, but her suggestion was... bad? Yes, it was certainly bad. Nothing should be that appealing so randomly. "Ahem," Reiji interjected while adjusting his glasses once more. Annoyingly, the imagery from what she spoke of was flooding his mind. "While that is... certainly an appealing offer, Tohsaka-chan, I still think you should take your... wiles elsewhere. I am willing to escort you home, but I must still decline your offer. Hopefully my answer isn't upsetting to you. Again, it's nothing against you or how desirable you are. I've already made my decision, and it would go against my integrity to turn back."

[Apollymi]

Sakura received one more rejection. Now she simply had to have sex with the man because it was so much work to get him to agree to it. Being denied in anyway gave her an odd desire to accomplish the goal, even if it had been a simple matter of sating her curiosity initially. Integrity, was the word used by Reiji to describe why he was turning her down. It literally shouldn't be so difficult to get a single man to have sex with her. She would have respected the bonds of marriage or even one of those human 'dating' relationships for the most part. But this was now something she needed to capture directly and experience because she needed to know what he was hiding. "Sou ka. I don't take offense to that sort of thing... it really is interesting. I've never been on this side before. Arigatou gouzaimasu, Reiji-san~" she claimed. There was still a smile on her face before snapped. Time would loop once more.

This time she decided a slightly different order of things. She knew now that the man could be disrupted and that her words and actions could be used to garner the kind of reaction she wanted. What she knew for a fact was, she simply had to get him to agree before he would have made up his mind to say no. As such, her last rewind point right after their transaction was finished in that twenty seconds of silence, could be used as a pivotal point to make or break this particular instance. So, how would she be doing it? First and foremost that foreboding smile was present on her face at the start, as if she had nothing but salacious intentions from the start. "Reiji-san with the work day over, and I'm just a girl who's interested in something very specific. I wonder if you might want to take me home, watch me strip out of these clothes and let me show you something like this~" she said offering the man a wink and her gesture of sexual pleasure. That opening in her mouth with her tongue sticking out. "It'll be great for both of us~" she added wondering if she'd need another reset but feeling like this was more organic for potentially seducing this older man without compromising any of his values and allowing him to keep his integrity while making a singular 'bad' decision. She needed a man with this much will power to show her what he actually did with it.

[Bloodedge]

Much to Reiji's satisfaction and furthered sanity, Sakura took his rejection of her advances without issue. She was not offended ─ it was simply new for her to be the one rejected, instead of the rejecter. That made total sense. Alluring as she was, surely she'd rejected dozens, if not hundreds of young men seeking some form of intimacy with her. Scarcely would any one of her peers say no to someone like her, though. "Good. I'm glad we were able to..." There was nothing more to that clause. Why? Well...

Snap. One more snap, one more reset. Reiji was yet again awaiting the topic Sakura hesitated to broach. She started by mentioning the work day was over. Ah yes, he should be doing the responsible thing and offering her a ride home for safety's sake. Sakura's remaining words spoke to that same effect, until... it became about watching her strip and show her the capabilities implied by a very lewd oral gesture. The widening of Reiji's eyes was far more intense this time around, covered only by the gleam of his glasses. She was being so direct, so lascivious. What was he supposed to say? "Well... that was certainly blunt. I was just thinking to offer you a ride home. I'm not quite sure what to say when you add the rest. I should say, though, it's very improper," he stated. Even so, that tingle he felt in a previous timeline had returned with a vengeance.

[Apollymi]

Reiji might have thought that Sakura would let go of her desire, but she was far from a person who would do something like that. No, she was simply going to keep making the world bend until her desires were met, such was her own way of doing things. She'd discovered through these conversations that the 'integrity' filled humans were less likely to give into logical desires. They needed to be broken a little, but that was also fine, considering she was a demon in actuality. According to the Reiji of the reset, he wasn't sure what to say. He'd been prepared to offer her a ride home but with her added information he wasn't sure what to make of it. He did still claim it was improper. "Instead of just offering me a ride home, you could offer to let me ride you... we'd both enjoy it~" she flirted shamelessly. It was her decision to fill Reiji's head with as many pornographic images as possible to avoid him making a decision for propriety. She wanted the fun decision and she didn't think he was too old or too tense to offer it. In truth she'd not had to try too hard for something in a while, surely she could find out what this older man had to show her. And though they only had card games and sex in common surely that was enough to start an interesting friendship.

[Bloodedge]

Reiji had never been on the receiving end of such a tantalizing offer while working. Well, he did work in a card shop that had only seen a handful of female visitors since opening. He also couldn't really say such an offer ever existed before ─ not at this level of intriguing. Specimens like Sakura weren't exactly living in Osaka, or... most places, for that matter. She even took things to a level most girls wouldn't, talking about offering her a ride... on him. One could almost say she was beating Reiji over the head with the idea of intercourse. "You have an interesting way about you. That's admittedly a difficult offer to turn down ─ very difficult. It's taking all I have to keep composed," he admitted. Even with that difficulty present, he reached for a large bag and began carefully placing Sakura's cases into it. "I'm sure that would be enjoyable, but it goes against my better judgment to accept that sort of offer. I'll still escort you home. Would you like these single cards placed in your box now, or should I protect and bag them with the cases?" he asked, seemingly content to carry on with business in spite of the veritable porn being pushed into his mind.

[Apollymi]

Sakura thought she was finally making progress, but alas... it seemed that integrity was winning out over her again. It really was confounding at this point for someone to still be resisting her offering herself. Granted, she wasn't the type to generally force the matter, but it was still really baffling as he would accept under some circumstance, this she could feel. So far, she'd tried being subtle, lightly flirting and the like. Those methods had not been taken seriously, because for some reason this world didn't acknowledge sexually mature bodies as being able to make their own decisions. Then, after getting past that hurdle, she got to the point where her more direct moments were being ignored for the sake of a consumerist relationship, when said things weren't at all related as far as she was concerned. Finally, she thought she'd made it, thought that she was all but guaranteed, but no. Still even with her most tempting offer yet on the table the will power of this adult man before her hadn't broken. Fine. A small smirk came to Sakura's face, "Suit yourself, Reiji-san~" she said that like she was giving up. "Let's see if you remember, though it might be asking a bit much. Two bagged and I'll take one for my box~" she claimed with a smile. And then... she snapped.

Once again, she was in the time loop. Twenty seconds of silence while he offered to take her completely seriously with what she said. So what would she be saying? She'd tried the direct way, but perhaps vulgarity was the true way to break down integrity. Humans and their love of the forbidden even if they didn't recognize it. "Reiji-san, since it's the end of the day and all. I'm just a girl who'd love for you to bend me over this counter and fuck me raw. But I wouldn't want to leave you in a bad spot so... how about you take me home with you, watch me strip out of all these clothes. I'll suck your dick 'til you cum down my throat and when it's all over... I'll ride that same dick 'til you pass out. It'll be great!~" she chimed. Still, she made that little gesture as if she fully intended to give him a preview. Her disconcerting and alluring smile shifted as she raised that little 'o' ring of fingers over her mouth and slipped her tongue through it, making sure she shifted it around a bit for good measure. She'd been so direct it would have been considered painful for most, but she could and would say all of that with a straight face for the right reaction. And now it was time to see if Reiji had one.

[Bloodedge]

And, yet again, they were back within that same twenty seconds. To break the silence, Sakura made the most vulgar offer he'd ever heard spoken directly. The mental imagery that came as a result of her words was quite strong. He could just about see the girl bent over the shop's counter as he plunged into her without protection. In fact, Reiji was feeling the physical response to such an idea, though he couldn't let that be known while maintaining propriety. Still, her list of offers was... tantalizing at worst, and nigh irresistible at best. For whatever reason, he had a feeling she would say something sexual ─ he just didn't expect such a blatant offer of raw sex, blowjobs and stripteases. "... Yare yare," was all Reiji said after several moments of silence. Once more, he adjusted his glasses. Once more, he adjusted his glasses. Once more, he grabbed a bag for Sakura's purchase. Ah... but something was strange. Once he bagged the boxes, his hand was already moving to place two of the single cards in. "I'll pretend this discussion never took place. Oh... my mistake. How do you want to deal with the singles?" he asked, seeming strangely a bit upset. Sakura had asked to be taken seriously, but now she was just being ridiculous.

[Apollymi]

Sakura was having an interesting time, she couldn't even remember how many times she'd lived the last twenty seconds of her life, but she knew it'd happened enough that she simply couldn't understand the resistance. This time there was a different sort of development. Reiji claimed he'd pretend their conversation never happened, seeming to be a bit upset in some way. "Sou ka, this does happen from time to time. Obviously, too much but I still don't understand that emotion," she seemed to be mostly talking to herself about the potentials. It really shouldn't be this hard to gain favor with a single male individual. She felt it a personal challenge to her very existence for someone to be resisting her so much. Human integrity was misguided in cases such as this she realized, but also their understanding of sex in general was problematic. How this species managed to survive when it was so difficult to get a worthwhile partner was honestly baffling to the young goddess. What was more, it seemed that Reiji also didn't remember enough of their previous conversation. "And a certain lack of memory in the direct sense but some familiarity. He might be a bit too clever I won't be able to keep doing this, he might actually remember one of these eventually," she gave that consideration. And took a deep and wary breath, she seemed almost tired, but it wasn't physical or even magical strain. It was mental. And then the sound would be heard again, just a gentle, snap.

Twenty seconds once more and Sakura was waiting in the quiet of that space of time. Overly vulgar was a no go. Perhaps it was a thing for the older generation. He wouldn't take kindly to the most direct way she would fix problems. He was attracted to her, that much was clear but his integrity wouldn't allow him to compromise their working relationship. All she wanted was some non-committal sex and to test out the various methods of seduction she'd learned so far. Still, she was running through the various ways she could potentially gain the thing she wanted in this case. Perhaps honesty, it couldn't hurt, even if she avoided revealing too many magical world aspects to this man perhaps there was a different method to get to the same result. She'd tried disrupting him, tried a straight forward offer, she'd seduced him in more ways than she thought necessary for a single instance of sexual contact. "I'm trying to get closer to someone and the people most like him are being the most difficult, it's frustrating. I've never been frustrated before... And yes, everyone is different, I am not obtuse but in a controlled environment it shouldn't be so hard to get my desired results." that lilttle thought slipped out of her mouth. She'd end up resetting this piece of time just because she was already wasting so much time in it, she might as well get all of hr thoughts out and start again afterwards.

[Bloodedge]

An additional reset would produce some strange results. This time, the end of that silence was met by Reiji leaning against the counter as he listened to Sakura's apparent troubles. This was something he could properly lend an ear to, if nothing else. She was having boy trouble from the sound of things. Reiji could never commiserate with the perspective, but dealing with relationships in general was always hard to navigate. "Sou ka..." the man said initially. It was always difficult getting closer to someone; this, he understood. Before another reset occurred, Sakura would be receiving quite the speech, as this Reiji believed this to be the topic she came to speak about. "If you'll indulge me for a moment, I'll tell you a story. I was interested in a girl when I was your age. The problem was that our families were in two very different classes, so she wouldn't give me the time of day initially. I tried and tried to get her attention. There was no gift I could buy someone better off than myself, so that failed. We had no common experiences, so there was no topic to broach without ruining my chances. To keep the story short, it was something unexpected that did the trick in the end. In turns out she didn't care about status the way her family did. As we were both entering the train one day, I, without even realizing who it was, offered a hand to help someone get in. When I saw it was her, she was already looking at me to thank me... and I guess she saw how I looked at her. We were basically pressed together for the rest of the train ride, and things spiraled from there. I won't divulge other details, but... some may believe it's the physical things that can give you an edge when it's needed. It may be a little inappropriate to suggest, but maybe something similar can help your case? As I said, take my advice with a grain of salt."

[Apollymi]

Sakura's frustrations vented aloud led to something very interesting, in this particular dialogue. A story came from Reiji about a shared perspective issue, and she learned from him a tale of his youth. How interesting that connection must have been. His tale was one of love and affection abandoned or left unspoken for the sake of fear initially. For his to work out, happenstance and a bit of physicality led to him and the girl he liked becoming closer. He claimed something like this might work for her apparent boy problems but that his advice should be taken with a grain of salt. She heard his words without interruption processing them. By her own approximation some things couldn't be rushed, they simply had to happen and usually mental hang-ups created in people's minds had to be cleared physically. She could work with those aspects, in truth now that she was thinking about it properly hers and Kazuhiko's relationship was initially physical and became something else.

"I don't think that advice needs a grain of salt. The whole of that tale was very insightful and your perspective is clear and unfettered by even your own experience. A tale like that could easily be a parable for letting things happen in their own time. Letting opportunity come to you or even looking at something from the perspective of another and realizing and you don't truly understand their motives until you take time to separate them from what you think about them. In truth these are all things I hadn't really considered and you're the one who gave me that perspective. Regardless of anything else, I really do appreciate it, Reiji-san. Arigatou gouzaimasu!~" she said offering a single moment of contact, just a brief touch of her hand against the side of his face. She wanted his attention as directly as she could get him and she was almost excitedly waiting for eye contact. The smile on her face would be near blinding as she realized that she'd definitely chosen this man properly as part of her experiment, even if she hadn't truly figured out how to get what she wanted from him, she was left to look at with with dazzling curiosity dancing in her eyes. Still, she'd have to reset this one as well... 'It's a shame, I kind of like this one. Maybe when its all over. I'll set it back to this one and just let him take me home. He deserves that kindness.' she thought absently, as she went to remove that hand she was about to snap again and recreate a moment right before she started spilling her frustrations about her life in this man's ear.

[Bloodedge]

This cycle was a bit different to the others, which had been direct attempts at seducing Reiji via various means. This was simply... a chat, and an older person giving advice to their junior. Sakura processed his story and lesson well, albeit with some caveats. She took it all as having to let things occur in their own time, but that wasn't quite the message he intended to deliver. Either way, Sakura thanked Reiji, and he nodded. "Daijoubu. But..." He started to make his point a bit clearer, but then there was a hand upon his cheek. So gentle was the touch of Sakura, and the smile she showed would bring light to the darkest day. Reiji faltered briefly. Ah, but he was able to recover himself when that hand parted with his skin. After all, it wasn't like he was the person Sakura spoke of; they'd hardly interacted up to this point. Even if they had, he was much older, and she was surrounded by young lads anyway. There was no cause for concern. Prior to any snapping this time, Reiji managed to produce another clause. "I did mean to imply that... well, letting things happen naturally is fine. What I didn't say, was that my experience didn't work. The method that worked for me had already worked for someone else a few days before. It turns out I was more a spur of the moment decision who wouldn't get a second chance. Letting things happen naturally can work... but it can just as easily lead to a lost opportunity. I can't advise you on which choice is the right one; you'll have to figure that out for yourself. Sumimasen."

[Apollymi]

Sakura heard the story given by Reiji and after a single moment of contact she was prepared to snap and reset this cycle. But it would seem that Reiji's love story hadn't worked out. He claimed that in waiting he came up a bit late and he'd missed out. He gave the final advice that he couldn't tell her what to do but that both sides of that sort of decision had some specific potential outcomes. "That is still useful, though I wonder if it was worth it?" she said almost cryptically. Perhaps she'd trace that thread. She could see it and find out about the person on the other end at some point? Sakura did have a potential huge amount of free time to work with. But for now, a gentle snap would sit her back to that silent twenty seconds.

What rotation was this, six or seven? Sakura wasn't truly keeping track. By her own understanding, she needed to be direct enough to let him know she wasn't joking or being immature, but not so direct as to be vulgar. She needed to entice him to allow her antics while helping him maintain what he thought of as his sense of propriety. Humans were such complicated creatures, so strong but also so fragile. Sakura was beginning to understand why they were truly interesting, but also found them a bit frustrating. No one had anything resembling logic and those who did, used it for things that didn't make sense. "Reiji-san, I'm trying not to let an opportunity slip by me... it's a bit complicated and it involves you," she started a wide smile crossing her face. "I realize what I am asking may broach a boundary or two, but... I think crossing boundaries in some cases is how I best understand things. It doesn't have to change anything for us normally, I'm just a girl looking to do a thing I feel a deep desire for. So, I'd really like you to take a chance, and spend some time with me tonight, and let me show you something fun while I figure things out. You're a person worth trusting myself with, besides you're the kind of man I enjoy... so let me?" she asked reaching out to him. She was a fully seductive existence. Maybe this one wouldn't work either but as she looked at him she smiled excitedly, it was such an enticing prospect she felt the desire to see it through. She wouldn't know if she didn't try, and the idea of having to try to slip in to his mind in various different ways was quite exciting. She knew simply by how hard she had to work that the satisfaction of the conquest alone would be just as relieving fixing her 'H' related problem.

[Bloodedge]

Just as before, a snap sent them back to that twenty seconds of silence and number crunching. Reiji prepared to hear Sakura out as he had in previous versions of events, and this time, Sakura began her speech in a rather heartfelt manner. She was chasing an opportunity. Fine; that was respectable. The opportunity she spoke of involved him somehow. That made sense of her earlier preface. What she wanted would be in breach of some boundaries. Interesting. There was an earnestness to Sakura's speech, and Reiji could respect that, if nothing else. Implications hidden within those words, however, were... interesting. As he'd done many times before, Reiji adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Sou ka. This sounds like something that troubles you deeply ─ maybe more deeply than it should. Regardless, maybe I'm inferring a few more things than I should. This suggestion of yours sounds very... intimate in nature. I'd like to think I'm misinterpreting things, but I doubt it," he stated.

Assuming he was correct in his assumptions, Reiji sighed. The way Sakura presented this issue of hers was genuine enough to garner attention, but would this version work? Time would tell. Whatever the case, Reiji had a question for Sakura this time. "I said I would try to take you seriously, but how am I meant to do that? You're suggesting something very improper, so I would hope you have something more to work with than a random invitation for a man to spend the night with a teenage girl he's known vaguely for two days."

[Apollymi]

It seemed a more earnest and honest approach was working a bit better with a man like Reiji. She supposed given his likeness to the original version of Kazuhiko she encountered this made a great deal of sense. Her logical appeals could potentially work, but she'd have to lead him into making this decision in a way that didn't compromise his existing integrity. It was a difficult thing to navigate, but Reiji was also clever enough to piece together her less than obvious conversation pieces. "It is a bit troubling but I am working on it. Everyone else is trying their best, I can't help but do the same," Sakura admitted. In truth, Kazuhiko was already doing the most difficult thing by getting their other wife back. All she had to do, was figure out how to become better at communicating her feelings... she felt like that should be the easier task, but it was quite problematic for her.

Still there were arguments to be given, and Reiji had a question. According to him he wondered what Sakura was actually doing, offering something so improper. "It's not a random invitation. Though I can see why it might seem that way to you. What I should say is I am experimenting with how best to express myself. My circumstances in that case are a bit complicated but I have met a lot of people recently and you are one of a very small list to manage to receive a natural emotional response from me. A combination of things leads to that outcome but one of the easiest is in an intimate setting," she mentioned borrowing his words. "Combining the two would be most efficient... and what I am trying to do I can't really do on my own. So I want your help," she explained of herself. The exact nature of her circumstances not withstanding, having sex with a man who could naturally make her have an emotional response, was a better option than all others. Besides that she was sure it would be helpful to both of them.