Ashikaga Mansion

[Bloodedge]

"Uh-huh," Yugi replied, immediately flattening his facial expression as a show of mockery. She knew without a doubt what he was talking about, regardless of her refusal to admit it. The next few hours, the next few days, even the next several years were liable to be full of flirting, deviance and sass. It was only right to respond as such with Kimiko deciding to be an eternal tease.

Ah, but she wasn't alone. Yugi had asked a somewhat loaded question, whether intentional or otherwise. The realization of an additional meaning struck him only after Kimiko spoke. "Oh... well, I guess both, since they're both your fault," he insisted. It was she who put that thing on him, and she who caused his additional stiffness problem only to worsen it with that little display at the sink. As a 'fix' for both, an unnecessary technology was revealed to produce a chute... to an incinerator... in a spa. Not far from it was a wash basin, and he supposed with both things readily available, it was in his best interest to walk over. Upon reaching the incinerator, Yugi tugged away at the condom until it finally slipped off. Upon tossing it, he moved to the basin and began the very strange process of washing an erection. Interestingly enough, the process of doing so was almost... slow masturbation with a wet cloth─

[Apollymi]

He wasn't buying it? Ah... that made sense. Yugi had already proven himself to be one of the few who completely understood the nature of one like Ashikaga Kimiko. He could easy see through her feigned innocence all the way to that deviant core of hers. Whatever the case she'd continue on with her act of innocence if only because it was now very amusing. "What? What are you making that face for?" she asked playing at aghast while barely holding back the laughter behind her raised hand.

Ah what was more, both situations currently on Yugi's plate were apparently Kimiko's fault. That mock shocked face of hers became more exaggerated! "Me? I obviously can't be held responsible~" she said in a manner most teasing. Still, she'd be left to watch him go about his cleaning up with eyes locked in place. Where? On Yugi of course. She couldn't really help herself, watching him get all cleaned up was rather interesting, but it didn't need to be that he was doing. She probably could have watched him do just about anything and found it at least a little entertaining. Still, she couldn't keep herself from talking at least a bit so as she leaned against the door frame she watched unabashedly and commented. "Having fun, Yugi?" she asked with a small smirk appearing on her face.

[Bloodedge]

He wasn't going to explain his expression. There was no need; they both knew the truth of this moment, and they both knew what would eventually come of it. "Wouldn't you like to know?" is how he decided to answer in the end. She kept diverting, so why shouldn't he? So long as she didn't confess, he wouldn't comply. Such would be the spiteful nature he maintained for ages to come, whether he was the only one being such a way or not.

Worse yet, Kimiko went on to shirk responsibility for his current... issues. How she thought anyone would ever believe that, well... that mystery could probably become one of the world's wonders twice over. "You can and will! Either take responsibility, or have it forced on you when you least expect it!" he announced. Carrying on, Yugi scrubbed his shaft until his actions were brought to a very abrupt halt. Ah, there was yet another thing Kimiko could be blamed for─ stopping his movements. Was he having fun? Far from it, actually. "Definitely not. Even if I wanted to 'have fun' with this, it's been way too many years for me to actually enjoy my own hand. This is just the easy way to clean it while it's like this. Having fun staring?" With that final question, Yugi finished cleaning himself off and stepped away from the wash basin. At long last, he could fasten his trousers again! It would have been quite awkward to walk out into the hall and be seen by someone... though it didn't seem there were any others on this level of the mansion presently, based on earlier observation. "Anyway, finally ready to move now~"

[Apollymi]

Oh? Snark. She liked that... well thinking about it actively she couldn't think of a single thing about Yugi she did not like. What was more, it was pleasant to have someone not simply back away from her at every point of tension. If she teased him, he teased back. She questioned him and he gave a bit of spite. "Would I? I thought I just asked questions aloud to send them off into the universe~" yes, diversions and teasing were about all Kimiko did when it came to Yugi. But she was also aware that both of them knew how things would go the longer they spoke to each other. Eventually, they'd cave together into some magnificent romp. Ah, but they had to be somewhat normal, and in Kimiko's own face, it was much easier if she didn't have to lie to her father about what they were up to all night over dinner.

Yes, they could move along quite nicely though that wouldn't stop her from staring nor teasing just the same. "Oh? Is that how that works now?" she questioned as if challenging the lad. She knew full well he could and would at any time put the responsibility for his erections in her lap. As long as she was present she was almost certain it was her own fault, but that did not really matter to her long term, she was instead content to place blame on some imaginary thing for the lad's current disposition. Moving on from this point, her most recent quip was turned against her in a moment. The claim that the lad could no longer find his own hand fun was a rather interesting one. Perhaps she'd make it a point to help him out with that situation from time to time. Regardless, he asked if she was having fun watching him and there was only one way to respond. "Of course... I wouldn't still be standing here if it wasn't fun~" she mused with the utmost glee. Ah, but it didn't matter he was ready for the most now and Kimiko was also ready so she gave a bit of a bow before heading out of the door. "Hai hai, on to adventures in gaming. Making new characters and a new campaign? Probably should choose a new campaign," she muttered knowing neither of them enjoyed repeating the same things over and over again.

[Bloodedge]

What an interesting retort Kimiko had for the young man. Alas, something like that was only guaranteed to keep the strangeness of their conversation rolling for a bit longer. "Maybe you do! Maybe this was just the perfect time to change your devious ways!" he exclaimed, raising his finger as if the great case had been cracked.

Yugi was on his way, ready to follow closely behind Kimiko en route to her room. There were more thoughts to be shared in both directions during the preparation for this trip, including the clause of how certain dynamics worked between them. "It is! I'm an expert in forcing responsibility onto others, you know? You'll have to flip all kinds of tricks for not taking responsibility on your own," he insisted. That elevated finger of his began to wag, but he was obviously content to move on. An epic gaming experience was just on the horizon; all they had to do was walk toward it. Yugi's excitement was building once again. A new campaign was precisely the kind of experience they deserved, and there was something else thrilling to note. "New campaign! Oh! They should have the Teyvat Chapter out by now, right? The new patch was only a day or two away when I last played. We could always jump right into that."

[Apollymi]

"Change my devious ways?" Kimiko questioned those words specifically. She was almost taunting him at this point while giving what seemed to be serious consideration to those words. "Maybe if you were interested, I'd give it some thought..." she mentioned seeming to have her smile widen just a bit. Kimiko wasn't truly interested in changing her devious ways, she was more interested in using those deviations to tease, taunt and flirt with Yugi. such was the best sort of fun she could have presently and she wouldn't give it up for anything.

Still an elevated finger was pointed at the lass while Yugi all but threatened to make her take responsibility for her actions. He even went so far as to claim in not so many words the punishment would be worse for her because she refused the responsibility of her own accord. She couldn't help but be tickled just a little. "It's not like I don't like a little punishment~ Feel free to try," she vocalized. She'd willingly end her sentence on that topic there as they'd already started moving on to actual game play and a different sort of fun. Yugi spoke immediately of a new patch which was releasing a couple of days after they ended up in the other world. A bit of thought came to Kimiko as she remembered that particular update. "Yes, Teyvat Chapter. Insider information says starting that one requires a sacrifice... I wonder how steep it will be~" she questioned. Her own mother had mentioned the cost of starting such a chapter and how a lot of people wouldn't be fond of playing it because of the cost. Whatever the case, Kimiko was always down to try something new. "Regardless I am definitely up for jumping right in. Wanna coordinate characters properly this time? Make it a nice team effort?~" she questioned seeming to grow more into the direction of play instead of debauchery.

[Bloodedge]

"Eh?" If he was interested, she'd give it some thought? Both of them knew Yugi had no actual interest in her changed demeanor. If there was a change, he'd be quite concerned, actually. Kimiko's strange, devious mannerisms were perhaps one of her top three features─ maybe even the very top of the list. He didn't seem very keen on determining what stood above other features, but that one was undoubtedly quite high on the list. "Good thing I'm not interested at all then, huh? You can live thought-free forever~" he declared.

As they prepared for the return trip, Kimiko spoke of punishment and her... odd enjoyment of it. How interesting. Well, it wasn't as if said punishment involved literal abuse of any sort. He could, and would, be making an effort to produce something. "Oh I'll try. Or... I won't try at all. Neglect play is supposedly effective on a lot of people," he mused, a thoughtful hand upon his chin. There were many potential things that could be considered punishment, from outright neglect/denial to overstimulation. Ah, but which would he choose in the end, if either? Yugi would be mulling over that for quite some time. More importantly, however, there was the discussion of their upcoming gaming session. Kimiko had some information from within, but upon hearing of it, Yugi snickered. "I'm guessing that insider of yours didn't tell you about the release of a trailer three days ago," he stated. It didn't seem like she'd witnessed the actual pre-release trailer of the game's chapter called Teyvat, but that didn't matter much at all. Moving on, what would become of their character creation? Kimiko posed a query, and excitedly, Yugi came to a very quick conclusion. "Fuck yeah I do! We could start off with a proper power couple, or even..." he paused, having numerous thoughts cross his mind. One particular idea was more powerful than the others, but perhaps that one was best presented only if some other things happened to work out along the way. "There are a lot of teams to go with, really. There's one thing I'm wondering about... but I feel like that one can't be forced. We'll see~"

[Apollymi]

Success. Yugi did not seem at all interested in having Kimiko change her ways. In fact, in a strangely rare instance he spoke very obviously. She could live a thought free forever. He was completely uninterested in changes to her behavior. A wide smile spread across Kimiko's face in this moment and she gently blushed. Though the conversation had taken place in a mostly joking background, she couldn't help but feel sheepishly pleased that Yugi did not wish for her to change. "Hai!~" she chimed seemingly amused.

Beyond this point there was the talk of future punishment or not at all. The going thought being that there could even be neglect added into the mix in which case no effort would be put forth whatsoever. Kimiko in a moment like this, managed more shock almost naturally. Almost. "What? You can't possibly intend to leave me hanging and not knowing... that's almost cruel~" she noted. Ah, but it was also fine. She knew that they wouldn't leave each other alone for very long. Both of them contained a certain base level of maintenance. Moving on there was the missing information from her insider which Kimiko gave a bit of thought to, did she know about the trailer from three days ago... no but there was a reason for that. "Well, I had that information a long time before that... and I did tell her to stop talking immediately after that." she gave it a bit more thought and decided to clarify. "I go radio silent while gaming on purpose. I don't like story spoilers. Especially not the sort that will make me change my methodology. I'd rather go through the first time and ruin it, than have the nuances spoiled. And yes... I played the whole game again when I messed up my Until Dawn play through!" She clarified one of her less good gaming experiences, knowing it could be obvious all the ways one could ruin their playthroughs.

Beyond that point there was the matter of their actual combined play. A power couple or some other unmentioned combination? Well there were several potentials on offer. "Though I don't like game spoilers, I'll let you brief me on the trailer. If it had some key information we can probably use it to play the numbers of the character creators and get a perfect combo, or even something better..." she claimed. They both seemed to be dancing around a topic and maybe they'd jump into the circle when the time was right. While they talked this over they'd make their way back to Kimiko's room and maybe come to some sort of consensus.

[Bloodedge]

Yugi's intentions were not so simple as leaving anyone hanging indefinitely. Well... that was the intention, but not completely. "I wouldn't, but I would. It'd be more like... almost leaving you hanging, but almost doing nothing of the sort. Yeah, that's about how I'd put it," he explained. With that, the lad felt there was a need for more specification. What he said didn't make enough sense, did it? "You know how sometimes, social anxiety takes over your life, and you start teetering right around the point you're trying to make─ never not addressing it, but never saying it outright? Yeah, something like that."

It seemed Kimiko had been missing the more detailed part of the Teyvat update because she refrained from story-based spoilers. That was fair, but there was little story-based information to be gained in this case. "I get that. There wasn't much story stuff at all this time, though. The whole trailer mostly showed the features, and the whole ritual sacrifice process. It looked more like a weird new form of Duel Monsters. Pretty cool stuff," he rambled. As for a playthrough of Until Dawn, he could only present one inquiry. "It was the relationship goal, wasn't it?"

Kimiko was against spoilers, but not against useful information. With her expressed desire to know anything of merit that would produce incredible results for them, Yugi chortled. There was something he considered doing─ something he doubted someone like Kimiko would be against at all. "Well, I compared it to a ritual for a reason. When I saw it happen in the trailer, it didn't look like any normal kind of sacrifice to get a result. It looked like... a ritual. It looked like alchemy. That is to say, I have reason to believe output quality is coded on a multiplier of input quality. Just as an example, I think if we decided to sacrifice the Dragonoids... we'd probably get Dragon Gods or something like that out of it in the end. So, what if we each chose to tribute something with limitless potential─ something neither of us actually decided to have, but each has with the ability to become anything it wants?"

[Apollymi]

Yugi went on to explain himself. Claiming he did not intend to leave her hanging completely. No, that would have been far too easy. He intended to induce anxiety by making it seem like he would leave her hanging. "Savage. Seriously, somehow... that might actually be worse," she mused. Still she did not seem too concerned about it one way or another. She was too easily amused by Yugi's antics to even speak against them in a moment like this. A bit of mental torture wouldn't ruin her by any means, and she'd already been found to enjoy it a bit when the lad was the one doing the inflicting. No, she'd simply carry on an invoke whatever wrath she could handle and take it unto herself with glee.

Moving on, it would seem that there weren't large story spoilers within the trailer for the Teyvat chapter. Instead, it came with some added information... though he did not judge her for not wanting spoilers. He described summoning in Teyvat like it was ritual sacrifice. That was interesting as a thought. Along with that was the acknowledgement of the thing she'd mentioned about her playthrough of a horror game known as Until Dawn. "Yes, definitely relationship goals... I did not spend six hours getting that couple together to have one of them die over my stupid lack of foresight. Never!" there was such conviction there. She was so serious about those people's lives that she'd replayed an entire game to get the outcome she wanted. Zero Deaths. Irrespective of that she decided to actually comment on the Ritual Sacrifice and its comparison to Duel Monsters. "Ah, if it is anything like Duel Monsters then the sacrifices could be important... I did a lot of play with that in tags and several of my favorite monsters needed specific materials to be created~" she mused wondering just how far such that comparison went.

Luckily enough, she wouldn't be waiting very long for an answer. Yugi decided to give the rest of the information he had. It wasn't simply in there but instead what he'd gleaned from it which made it that much more impressive as a line of thought. Given his comparison it was also an easy train of thought to follow. If they sacrificed something like the Dragonoids they could end up with Dragon Gods. Too bad both of them wouldn't ever actually think of doing that... the Dragonoids were exactly the type of thing they'd been going for individually. One did not give up on their initial goals to do something ridiculous. But he'd also stated they'd rolled some other characters of equal value that they didn't necessarily choose. That was at least the implication. To make sure she was following properly she voiced her opinion. "Well as far as characters with limitless potential go that we both have, the idea would be to sac, the Rulers right? They both had their own kind of limitlessness and then we see what kind of super power our Teyvat characters end up with?" she surmised giving it some extra thought. "I'd definitely give up my ruler before my dragonoid... I like Tatsuki a lot but Daiyu was a bit weird. I could easily give that one up to try something new... and it would leave us the Dragonoids for the just in case issues that could arise ... Yeah, that'd actually be a pretty good plan. Besides, we'd definitely get something unique trading something so hard to come by~" Yes, she was fully aboard the plane of this idea. There would be no stopping her and nothing stopping her instant curiosity. What would these characters be like? What would they be capable of... she was suddenly excited for something that did not directly tickle her insides sexually. Nice!

[Bloodedge]

"Of course it's worse!" Yugi proclaimed without an ounce of doubt. "That's the point, after all. How else am I supposed to make it impactful?" At this point, Yugi wasn't even sure what the purpose was anymore. He was talking, having a thousand ideas pass through his mind, and had no idea why that had to be the case. There was never a shortage of distraction, as he could tell.

Another thing Yugi could tell was the reason behind Kimiko's restart of a certain video game. If ever there was a reason to rage-quit that particular title for one specific outcome, it was a relationship between two characters being interrupted by a very annoying, non-sensical death of one involved person. He'd have done the same thing himself, had the situation not worked as intended in his gaming experience. "Understandable. I get it; sometimes you just have to throw the whole playthrough away. I had an oversight that led to me doing something similar in Assassin's Creed," he admitted.

Not only were they both onboard with the thought of ritual sacrifice being the means of exchange in this new update; Kimiko jumped right onboard with the idea of sacrificing their accidental Ruler-Class Avatars to the cause. True, neither of them would have any interest in being rid of their Dragonoids, and neither of them seemed particularly attached to their own Rulers. Besides, if Yugi was right in another assumption... "It probably won't matter anyway. The way those Dragonoids speak when they're out, they make it seem like we have latent Dragon abilities regardless of our Avatar. Dragon Gods might not be out of reach, and if they're not... we'll definitely get them as well one day. For now, how about we do something extra and break the game? I've got an idea~"

[Apollymi]

Mock surprise crossed the face of Ashikaga Kimiko. This man really had the nerve to want his punishments to be impactful. "But if it's too impactful I may actually be good. Imagine the day~" she teased. Of course, there would be nothing to stop her from teasing. There would be nothing to keep her from becoming a point of exhilarating distraction to him. She knew this was to be the best and most fun she could have in any world. And she'd do so whenever she could with no shame.

Of course, another point that did not have any shame was the knowledge of a gameplay failure. Everyone has a playthrough that doesn't go well on the first try. Yugi commiserated with a trial of a specific title, Assassin's Creed. An unseen consequence had him throw out a playthrough did it? "It was Odyssey wasn't it? You wanted the family crew on your ship, didn't you?" she asked knowing that a strange point in that playthrough required a specific set of decisions that started all the way back at the beginning of the game. It was always quite annoying to have something go off course for a preferred ending.

Beyond that shared point there was another. According to Yugi it was likely they could still attain Dragon God status at some point, given the way their Dragonoid Avatars discussed their own existences. "Yeah, the Dragons are pretty big about always being dragons. Tatsuki doesn't even like me mentioning not being a dragon when I am not physically in the form... she gives me headaches," she said seeming to go off on a minor tangent. Oh but there was an idea on the proverbial table, one which was 'game breaking'. A wicked smile spread across Kimiko's face, "I like game breaking. And I also feel like if the Dragons can reach pinnacle form they will. They don't seem to be holding back much at all~" she mused happily.

[Bloodedge]

Too much impact, and Ashikaga Kimiko would be... good? He'd be damned. There wasn't a bone in that girl's body that knew good behavior. If nothing else, she always seemed keen to have an additional 'bone' within her as a result of naughty performance. That wasn't so bad, though. After all, Yugi had every desire to provide that additional bone, and that was only more the case as Kimiko's deviance shined so brightly. "Hmm. Nope! Can't picture a thing," he said after pretending to think for a few moments. "207 bones in your body, not one with any plans of being good~"

Moving on to their discussion of terrible gaming mistakes and corrections, Kimiko knew exactly the title Yugi had been referencing. Not only that, but she knew the thing that had been ruined as well. Yugi sighed. "All I wanted was an immersive crew in the endgame, and suddenly, my sister decides it's a good idea to kill my mom over one sentence I said all the way back in chapter two. Who does that?! I found out every other choice I made was right, but they all had to be right because fuck me if characters can't weigh the pros and cons of their own life experiences to make a decision!"

Yugi's rant was over as quickly as it started, but the fury remained. The fury would always, always remain. Alas, the pair agreed to one thing: their Dragonoid selves were very adamant about their own existences, even to the point of affecting them when they acted unfavorably. "Same! Fucking Akashi gives me heartburn," he added. Continuing along toward the upcoming gaming experience, Yugi thought to share his intentions with another who enjoyed game-breaking decisions. "We shouldn't hold back anything either. But, what's better than holding back, you ask? Doing more than possible, which is easy to do now that we understand the world as more than game stuff! If this actually works like an alchemical ritual, what if we linked our accounts and used each other's Avatar as part of the process for sacrifice? We could pull two new characters out of a melding pot of O.P. It'll be the hot pot of character creation!"

[Apollymi]

It seemed her teasing about impacts was taken in an entirely new direction. According to Yugi with 207 bones in her body none of them had plans to be good. She gave that statement a bit of thought, there were 206 bones in the body of a human adult. So he must have been talking about his own shared bone also having a lack of good intentions. "I mean that one is not always there... it has a kind of transient effect. So it could plan to be good... it mostly just depends on the definition of good in this case~" that was how Kimiko chose to quip back. Yes, they could flirt like this talk about other things and even maybe actually get some game play done eventually.

Of course, beyond that thought, there was the real sentiment of gameplay loops having unforeseen consequences. He claimed a single sentence had changed his ability to achieve a goal of having an immersive crew in the aforementioned Assassin's Creed title. A smile came to the girl's face as she understood that information. "Yes, I know. It's really a problem with that type of game design. Branching choices always lead to problems when you can't tell where all the branches end up," she said thoughtfully. "Actually, Assassin's Creed did not get enough credit, at least the dialogue choices were clear... it could have been much worse," she said thinking of a particularly interesting line of games. Where a decision could be made to say or do an action and it went well beyond the scope of the singular line of text. That was quite a run full of mishaps when that was a game of choice.

She figured he had similar problems to the ones she had in games and they also shared similar problems in their other world dragon selves. Apparently both Tatsuki and Akashi were prone to giving negative status types to their bodies when they did not do something they wanted. "Seriously? That sucks... I thought the whole Swimmer's Ear Vertigo Headache thing was pretty annoying..." she said of the issues caused by the Dragonoid Tatsuki. She couldn't imagine the chest burning sensation of heartburn. The Dragonoids caused problems but they were also worth keeping. Speaking of things worth keeping. Their combined genius for game-breaking was to be actualized. According to Yugi, understanding this game as more than just game meant they could likely link their accounts and contribute to each others sacrifice to make some very powerful new Avatars for a playthrough in Teyvat. "Still not really sure what a hot pot is... but it sounds like we are about to combine the OP of two of the most OP Avatars and use it to make two Uber OP characters. And that... sounds fun. I'm game!" she said. Having reached her room she opened the door and began that casual walk back towards the bed. It was time to see about breaking some game mechanics.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm." For a few moments, Yugi seemed to be in a legitimate state of thought over the girl's bone-related argument. Bone number 207 was no part of Kimiko's physiology. If Yugi had any say in the matter, however, it would be a bit closer to permanence than it was presently. "Transient effect sounds ridiculous. I'll take it, though I have no idea what you plan on quantifying as good~"he teased.

They were not quite done complaining about decision-based design flaws in video games. Another title came to light, even if indirectly. One particular series had an answer that was very clear, though the character himself refused all cooperation with the player. "With that in mind, I'll give Assassin's Creed all the credit it wants. Nobody in that ever turned a should-be calm sentence into a whole fit of fuck you," he explained, finding some solace in their previously discussed game over the one being broached currently. Nothing could have been worse than that experience.

With their decisions ahead of them, Kimiko led Yugi back into her bedroom. He took special note of the desolate hall en route to the room this time, wondering if all had simply been sent away. No, that couldn't be right; perhaps it was simply normal for them all to vacate this part of the property during such late hours. "Honestly, I'd rather take the headache than that heartburn. It feels like shit most times," he stated, wishing a Dragonoid Avatar of his own would not have such a drawback. Alas, even with the negative, there were far too many positives to count. Wait... what did the lass say? She didn't know what hot pot was, eh? As his rear met the mattress, Yugi snickered. "Hot pot is... maybe delicious. Or, maybe it's terrible? It depends. Imagine picking a food you like, and throwing it into a soup while others who show up do the same with their chosen foods. There's a fun little guessing game you can play with it as well. Basically, yeah; fire it up and let's see how good we can make Avatar Soup... and I'll ignore the fact that you don't know the first thing about eating real food~"