A Sultry Succubus Slips In

Tonight’s my twenty-eighth night on the till.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling...

“Welcome, irassha-...”  

I stop mid-greeting, gulping hard as my muscles tense up in shock.

A woman walks in wearing nothing but a light pink negligee, two rugged-looking, backward curving horns sprouting from her head. Her ample breasts sway with each step, barely contained by the thin fabric.

Seriously, her outfit is so sheer that I can see every dip and curve of her body. I don’t know where I ought to be looking.

“Phwaaah...”

She stretches out as she yawns deeply, which only makes those massive melons jiggle hypnotically. I can feel my head spinning, like I’m getting drunk off the pendulous motion. Honestly, it’s making me a little sick to my stomach.

She’s so explosively voluptuous that her presence alone is enough to command attention. It’s as if she’s emitting a sweetly seductive aura. No, wait. Maybe it’s pheromones? That’s a thing, right? Well, whatever she’s exuding, it’s only getting closer.

“...Does my figure make you nervous? How precious.”

She tucks her short blue hair behind her ears in a gesture that just oozes sensuality. I can feel my heart pounding as my gaze is inexorably drawn to the mole near her luscious lips - and I wrench my eyes as far over to the right as physically possible.

“Mm, stare as much as you’d like. I don’t mind...”

She reaches up to hook a finger around the top of her negligee, deliberately pulling the already dangerously low neckline even further down. In my efforts to look anywhere but there, I turn my head to look out through the automatic doors... Where I spy the kuchisake-onna — my girlfriend — trembling from head to toe as she stares straight at me.

Huh. Yep. She saw that. Ayame definitely didn’t miss any of that. Ooooh boy. Th-That’s an awfully frightening glare. Dare I say, utterly terrifying. ...Wait, what did I do wrong?!

“A-Ayame, I swear, it’s not what it looks like!”

“...Haru, who is this woman?”

She can sound as threatening as she likes — I still won’t know who this woman is!

“How am I supposed to know? This is the first time I’ve ever seen her!”

I shake my head in vehement denial, to the point where I think it might fly right off.

“Hm? Don’t tell me. Is that your girlfriend?”

I’ve refused any association with this other woman so violently that I’ve gone and made myself dizzy. The sultry seductress tilts her head, placing a finger beside her mouth in a questioning gesture.

“That’s right.”

Ayame dips her head in bashful acknowledgement, her face turning bright red as she does. She’s so adorable that I’ve already forgotten the earlier horrific death glare.

Today she’s wearing a red cardigan over a white dress.

“So, that’s it. That explains a lot, actually. I was wondering why my pheromones didn’t seem to be having much of an effect on him.”

The strange customer glances over at Ayame, her lips quirking up into a smug grin. Then, suddenly...

“How about this?”

She latches onto my arm.

“Oh my god!!”

...I think my heart might explode from the unexpected pressure of those two bombs strapped to her chest.

“...Unless you have a death wish, let him go.” 

Ayame’s tone is so icy, it’s only a few degrees shy of absolute zero. She calmly whips out her sickle, raising it in warning.

“Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing.”

Chuckling softly, the other woman only clutches my arm even more tightly.

Damn, she smells amazing. And she’s so soft. I can just feel all my worries melting away, as my mind goes blank. If it wasn’t for the woman holding me up, I think I would have sunk to my knees by now. Did I shake something loose back there? 

Dazed, I glance up at this strange customer with an unfocused gaze.

“M-hm, that’s more like it. That’s the look I was going for. Just being near me should have put that hopeless expression on your face. And yet...I had to get right up against you in order for my charms to work. Normally, I wouldn’t even embrace someone like this, but I was so...frustrated.”

“Did you say...‘charms’?”

I mumble through my haze, sweat pouring down my face as I struggle to keep my head up. The other woman leans in, whispering softly near my ear and I start to tremble.

“That’s right. I’m a succubus. Couldn’t you tell? And what I love more than anything... Is finding loving couples and tearing their relationship to pieces. That look of pure rage that I get from the partner they’ve betrayed, it’s... Ooh, it’s simply wonderful.”

She pulls back, grabbing Ayame by her scythe wielding arm as she advances, while still keeping a tight hold of me with her free hand.

Despite being at a disadvantage, she somehow manages to hold back Ayame’s attack. 

“Oh, that’s...perfect. That’s the most exquisite expression I’ve ever seen. I’ve got shivers. Ah, buuut... If I take things up another notch, what kind of look would you give me? Haaah... I can’t wait... I’ve just got to know...”

“How is she...this strong...?”

I watch, helplessly, as Ayame’s face contorts in pain. I have to help her, but I...can’t move.

“Practice makes perfect, darling. After countless attempts on my life from discarded girlfriends, my self-defense skills naturally grew by leaps and bounds. You know what those jealous witches call me behind my back? ...‘The Femme Fatale from Hell!’ Ha!”

“Yeeek!”

The succubus shoves Ayame away from her. She falls down onto the floor, her sickle skittering just out of her reach.

“...A-Ayame...”

“What, you’re still lucid? ...I suppose my charms weren’t strong enough. ...Go on, give in and let someone with so much more to offer...take care of you.”

For an instant, the succubus almost sounds flustered. Then, she wraps both of her hands around mine. She squeezes them tightly, and I can feel myself fading out of consciousness once again.

“I’ll make you forget all about her.”

That whispered promise leaves me breathless, as my heart starts to pound painfully fast. Clutching my chest, I gasp and wheeze, barely able to breathe.

“What did you do to him?! He’s in pain!”

“My pheromones are so strong, that simply walking past a man is enough to bring him to heel. If I were to touch one, well... Then it becomes absolutely suffocating. It spreads through their body like a poison, until all they want — all they can focus on — is ME.”

“P-Poison...?! Please, stop...! You’re hurting him...!”

Through my blurred vision, I watch as thick tears start to course down Ayame’s face in a continuous stream.

“He... He was the only one to tell me that I was beautiful...and mean it. Haru...means the world to me... Please... I’ll do whatever you ask... As long as you let him go...”

“You’re giving up so easily? Hmph. You had so much fight in you before.”

The succubus snickers in amusement.

“Haru’s suffering! He won’t stop sweating, and he’s barely breathing! If forgetting me is what it takes to free him, then... So be it!”

Ayame tearfully pleads with the succubus between sobs.

“I know you...don’t really mean that...”

Spurred by a sudden burst of motivation, I manage to squeeze out a few strangled phrases.

“...Sorry?”

“You’d never...want me to forget about you... Do you remember, back when...you’d thought that Chronoa...kissed me? You said...that the thought of losing me...was too much for you to bear. Even now, you’re crying... for my sake. So how could you...say something like that...? If I forgot about you... You’d be the one in the most pain.”

“Haru, I... You’re right. I’d hate it. How could I not? But, right now, you...”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You’ve always been so kind and thoughtful. And brave. ...And I love that about you.”

“But...how? How are you possibly blocking my hypnosis?! It couldn’t be that you’ve built up a resistance, have you?! No, I don’t believe this... Has my power started to wane...?”

“...Resistance...?”

Come to think of it... This HAS happened before, hasn’t it?

Right, the vampire. When she came to the store, she put me in a trance before I even knew what was happening. Ayame was there to protect me then, too.

“Leave us alone. I won’t let you make Ayame cry.”

I summon enough just enough strength to move my arm, and the succubus releases me, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“Haru...!”

I wobble, and Ayame rushes up to catch me in her arms, pushing past the dumbfounded seductress. I look up at her, smiling in relief.

“...I swear, you’re always saving me from something.”

“It’s no trouble. It’s my pleasure to...no, that’s not right. It goes without saying that I’d want to save my beloved from the clutches of wicked women.”

Ayame smiles, and it’s like...watching the clouds fade into clear skies after the rain. She really is...absolutely breathtaking.

I can see the succubus standing behind Ayame, looking at us with abject bewilderment.

“I’ve...never felt like this before.”

She suddenly slides up closer, to plant a kiss on Ayame’s forehead.

“What th-...?! What do you think you’re doing, you pervert?!”

“Don’t you touch her!”

Confused, Ayame reaches up to wipe her forehead, but the succubus only shrugs.

“Oh, hush. I’m simply staking my claim. I’m the Femme Fatale from Hell! If I can’t have HIM, then I’ll steal YOUR heart.”

“Don’t you dare come anywhere near us!”

“I’ll do whatever I want. No one’s ever forced me to go all out before. I’ve never seen anyone so...self-sacrificing, either. You were completely prepared to give him up. ...I can’t ignore that.”

The succubus reaches out to stroke Ayame’s cheek, grinning as she gazes into her eyes, enthralled by her opponent.

“That burning, passionate love... Just picturing it directed at me... Oooh... It gives me chills. That’s never happened to me before. ...I’ve stolen thousands of hearts. Mark my words, Ayame — you’ll soon be mine.”

With that, the succubus turns her back to us, and walks right out the door. Once we’re absolutely sure that she’s gone, we both sink down to the floor, sapped of whatever strength we’d had left.  

“...Uuugh... I’m exhausted.”

“Oh, but... Being able to support you like this makes me happy.”

“I’m not too heavy for you?”

“Not in the least. This is nice.”

Well, since it makes Ayame happy... I let myself sink a little deeper into her arms.