Nagi kissed him. It was slow and painfully desperate in a way, a claim on something she felt she was about to lose. In the moment, he could only give in and enjoy the feeling of her lips on his, but that burning sense of connection lasted only until her lips left his in a breathless separation.
Then the reality of the situation hit him: her feelings, his own feelings, and the strange, awkward nature of his connection with Bianchi.
This was not a fight, or even an enemy he could give his life to face, so he had no idea how to handle it.
Nagi's eyes locked with his, her gaze swirling with confusion, longing, and embarrassment.
Before he could mutter a word, Nagi seemed to realize what she had done. She flushed brightly and bolted out of the room.
Tsuna instinctively raised a hand, his arm lifting to stop her, his fingers inches from her fleeing shoulder, before he let it fall. Hesitation bloomed across his face once more.
He wanted to say a thousand things, but every word felt like dead weight on his tongue.
It was easier to just let the moment pass for now. At least that way, he would have time to think of a solution…
"The solution is easy, master of mine." Luci's playful voice rang inside his mind.
He flinched, a flush appearing on his face as he remembered that the bond between them went both ways.
Luci had access to his thoughts and feelings at a near constant rate. Not exactly an encouraging thought for a teenage boy.
"Oh, relax. I have seen the vilest of human souls. The horny little thoughts swimming in your head are mildly amusing at best, not some fatal secret you should worry about, master."
Tsuna flushed even more and muttered under his breath. That did not help at all, though he never should expect the devil herself to be helpful.
"I'm feeling rather offended, master. I can be helpful. Was I not just offering a solution to your current issue?"
Tsuna scoffed. The playful tone in her voice told him enough. Her solution was going to involve messing with him at best and being utterly useless at worst.
"Can't it be both, master? Can't I tease you and be helpful at the same time?"
Tsuna paused for a moment and bit his lip as he headed toward his room. Any sort of advice was better than his current messy thoughts, at least. Even a joke would ease some of the tension in his mind.
"Perfect. Now the solution is clear, master. You just have to go for the harem route. That way, the messy feelings you are dealing with right now can be handled."
Luci's voice rang cheerfully in his mind, and Tsuna nearly fell on his face as his foot missed a step on the stairs from the sheer nonsense being thrown at him.
Why did he ever have expectations for her advice?
"Hey, my solution is perfectly viable. In fact, I would say it is the only route for you, master."
Tsuna scowled and nearly slammed his door in annoyance. Only the thought of Nagi hearing it and misunderstanding held him back.
He was getting frustrated with her nonsensical teasing. He was in a complicated mess, and here she was, prodding him.
"It's not nonsense, master. I fear you don't understand the beast you have become."
Luci's voice lost its playful edge, turning completely serious.
Tsuna paused, his frustration melting as he felt the sincerity in her words. Confusion and worry filled his mind as he waited for her to explain.
"The blood running through your veins is such a sinful thing. It pushes you, molds you into the very peak of what a man can be, but it is also a slumbering beast. A normal woman would be ruined by your beastly mating. Only the strong could even begin to keep up, and judging from poor Nagi and Bianchi's physiques, they would be lucky to survive if they teamed up."
Tsuna flushed even deeper. He wanted to dismiss it as more nonsense, more teasing from the devil, but he could feel she was telling the truth. That she meant every word.
He could also feel echoes of what she described. The moment Bianchi kissed him, a burning lust had risen within him, growing hotter with every passing second. It had been so overwhelming that he lost himself, acting purely on instinct.
Their kiss had been intimate, but he knew it was far from the real thing, even if she had touched him down there. He shuddered at the thought of how intense those feelings would become if things went further.
"You are only seeing the emotional side, master. You are not seeing what would follow. They may have been enhanced by those Flames of theirs, but they are far from capable of handling something like you. Only beings like me could manage you right now, and with the Gacha on your side, even that may not remain true for long."
Tsuna frowned deeply, not wanting her to be right, yet unable to deny her logic.
"Why are you pouting, master? Is it not every boy's dream to have a harem? It is within your reach, yet here you are sulking like a kitten denied milk."
He scowled at the empty air and dropped onto his bed with gritted teeth.
Romance had never been something he considered before. He could barely even love himself, so how could someone love him? At most, he felt a distant longing, but love itself had always seemed like something mythical.
Something precious and far away. It felt wrong to treat it so lightly.
He heard her scoff in his mind.
"You are placing too much weight on it, master. Even for ordinary humans, love is not this perfect ideal."
Tsuna lowered his head and muttered softly.
Her words felt both wrong and right. Rational, perhaps, but still deeply uncomfortable.
"That is because of the stories you humans tell. Those stories are meant to entertain. The characters are written as ideals because showing the flawed nature of humanity would revolt most people. The story would never sell, humans hate seeing their ugly sides after all."
Tsuna remained silent. Perhaps he should not be listening to the advice of a devil in matters like this, yet every word she spoke carried a strange sense of truth.
He flopped backward onto his bed and let out a long groan.
He was tired of thinking about it. He just wanted to forget, even if only for a moment.
He pulled out his latest golden ticket and stared at it briefly before tearing it open and waiting for the result.
[Orb of Tempestuous Fire]
|Rare Item|
An orb containing raw, ancient magical power that enhances fire-based abilities and magic for whoever holds it.
[]
The orb appeared and dropped onto his stomach as he lay there.
It was the size of a bowling ball and looked like a living sphere of flame, yet it felt cold to the touch. He idly rolled it in his hands, a faint spark of amusement flickering within him. All of his abilities came from his Flames, and now he had obtained something that amplified them.
If he could understand the item through research, he might be able to create something far easier to use to enhance his abilities.
He let his thoughts drift toward research, doing his best to ignore the elephant in the room.