Fortunately, Makoto managed to stay in one piece until the meal was finished. He sighed as he brought the dirty dishes to the sink for cleaning. "I'll go clean up. You can all stay here. But don't fight or bite each other."
"I don't bite!" Yuna shrieked indignantly. "Unless someone dares to provoke me! Or unless I'm really, really mad!"
"Which is most of the time," Ayane added under her breath lazily. Yuna shot her a look that could curdle milk.
The moment he was out of the room, the fragile post-dinner truce evaporated. The air in the dining room crackled with new tension. It wasn't hostile, not exactly. It just felt like three predators, full and content, were sizing each other up.
"So," Ayane said, breaking the silence. She leaned back in her chair casually and traced the black ink of his name on her collarbone with one perfectly manicured finger. "The main wife, the second wife, and the new applicant."
She looked from Yuna's feral glare to Mika's serene smile. "This is going to be interesting."
Mika took a calm sip of her water. "I think you'll fit in just fine, Ayane-chan," she said softly. "You're just as broken as the rest of us."
Yuna grunted in reluctant agreement, thanks to the temporary alliance they had just made earlier. "Just stay out of my way," she muttered dangerously. "And don't you dare touch his pillow or boxer. They're mine."
"His pillow? She really is marking her territory like a cat," Ayane thought with amusement.
"Well, I guess we don't have to fight each other now, girls. It's our playtime, and Makoto still owes us from last time..." Mika winked at Yuna as she reached for her bag.
===
Makoto hummed to himself after finishing the dishes. On his way back to the living room, he was expecting dessert.
Instead, his heart almost stopped when he saw what Yuna and Mika were holding. Something that looked suspiciously like a collar.
"Ahem... are those our cosplay props?" he asked, his voice a little too loud in the quiet room. "Are we back to working on the cosplays so soon? I don't remember Nezuko wearing anything like that."
Yuna looked up with pure evil in her eyes. She was holding the black leather collar he had bought at the adult store. The little silver bell jingled menacingly as she dangled it from her finger.
"Props?" she purred dangerously. "Oh, this isn't a prop, big bro."
Mika was holding one of the leashes, the pink one. She methodically coiled and uncoiled it in her hands, the soft snap of leather the only sound in the room. "We were just checking the craftsmanship," Mika said softly. "It's very sturdy."
Ayane leaned against the couch with her arms crossed and a predatory grin on her face. "It's time for our dessert," Ayane said. "And you, my dear harem king..." She pointed at him. "...turn out you will be the main course."
"Oh no," he thought. "They're actually serious about this."
Makoto scratched his head nervously. "Ahem... Can we wait for another day !?" His eyes sparkled with false bravado. "I mean, I need to revise for some upcoming programming exams."
"Exams?" Yuna's laugh was sharp and dismissive. "You haven't studied for an exam since high school. Don't lie to me!"
Makoto stayed silent as he slowly walked backwards with a nervous grin. "I just remembered!! Wh...what are you planning to do after I've put it on anyway?"
Yuna stood, the collar swinging gently from her hand. The silver bell jingled, promising beautiful, terrible things. "What are we planning to do?" she repeated, her smile turning impossibly sweet.
"We're going to put it on you," Mika said in a calm, chilling monotone. She took a step forward, holding the pink leash loosely.
"And then we're going to take you for a walk," Ayane finished with a wicked glint in her eyes. "Around the living room, of course. We wouldn't want to be indecent."
They began advancing on him, slowly and deliberately. Three predators united in a single, terrifying purpose. Yuna, the furious, possessive queen. Mika, the serene, manipulative princess. And Ayane, the confident, predatory usurper.
Makoto was outnumbered and outmaneuvered. He was completely fucked.
He looked left and right, realizing they had already surrounded him. "Umm... don't you think that's a little hardcore for our first time trying?"
"Hardcore?" Ayane laughed in a low purr that did nothing to calm his nerves. "Baby, this is just the tutorial level."
She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. The gesture felt less like comfort and more like a claim. "We're just setting the ground rules."
"It's fair," Mika said reasonably, which was completely at odds with the pink leather leash she was holding. "There are three of us now. We need to maintain some order."
She took another step, the circle tightening. "And I think a well-trained pet is a happy pet."
Yuna scoffed, the silver bell jingling with her movement. "Stop whining," she snarled. "You love this. You love being a pathetic pig who gets bossed around by cute girls." She held up the collar, the black leather gleaming under the lights. "Now, are you going to put this on yourself, or do we have to do it for you, big bro?"
"She knows me too well," Makoto thought as his body betrayed him.
"Umm... you're not wrong, Yuna." His cock, a traitor to his self-preservation, started hardening just from imagining it. "But if you want me to put that on... you'll need to let me decide what game we're going to play afterwards. Is that a deal?"
The three girls looked at each other. A silent conversation passed between them in a fraction of a second. Yuna's possessive glare met Mika's calculating gaze, which then met Ayane's amused look.
There was a flicker of understanding. A shared recognition of a new variable in their equation.
"Good. They're actually considering it," he thought with both relief and concern.
Ayane broke the silence first. "A game?" she purred, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "I like the sound of that. What did you have in mind, harem king?"
"It would depend on the game," Mika said curiously. She was still holding the leash, her fingers tracing the stitched leather. "But I'm willing to be flexible."
Yuna stared at him with narrowed eyes. She was weighing the options, the risks, and the rewards. The thrill of putting the collar on him versus the potential horror of whatever game he would choose.
"Fine," she snarled. "It's a deal."
She threw the collar at him. It landed in his hands with a soft thud. "But if your game is boring," she added sweetly and dangerously, "your walk is going to be very, very long."