Chapter 316 - As One

Silver and blue pairs of eyes stared at the arrow that reached its mark. No words were needed to be said after that. They both knew that from that moment on, as long as they're together they could overcome anything.

Ara smiled as an overwhelming sense of freedom filled her senses. Seeing the arrow that represented their plethora of bad feelings and shortcomings find its way where it should go, gave her a sense of assurance. She wrapped her arms around his waist again as she leaned her head against his back.

Ryuu had loosened up a lot too. The rigidity of his body was no longer there. Also, the anarchic atmosphere around him was gone, replaced by something akin to tranquility. It was as if he too had been set free.

"Please don't leave me again…"

Homura Ryuu's soft baritone echoed in the dojo and in her heart. Ara clung onto him tighter, but he had already pried her arms open so he'd be able to turn around and face her once more.

"Stay with me," he continued in a whisper.

His handsome face that bore such miserable expression previously now looked so gentle. His blue eyes that were hard like ice were now warm like the summer sky. Ara had never seen him so handsome as he did now. When she first met him in this lifetime, he looked like a brooding prince. But now…

Now, he looked like a man who had eyes only for her. Her king, her man, her lover.

"I will," she answered softly, truthfully.

There was nowhere else in this world she wanted to be in right at this moment except by his side. Now that their chance to really be together in all of eternity was here, Ara had decided she would do anything to achieve it just as she promised him before her soul was broken. They had a bigger chance they could make things work this time around.

"I will stay with you forever," she promised breathily as she grinned up at him, and he finally smiled so openly, the curve of his lips making him appear even youthful, and Ara's heart lurched.

"That's illegal," she suddenly said, the heavy atmosphere from early now completely gone, replaced by a lightheartedness they hadn't felt for a while since recovering their memories.

"Which one?"

"That smile," Ara accused as she pulled his cheek.

Ryuu scowled jokingly. "Do you know what's illegal?" he countered.  

"What?"

"Shoes in my dojo," he answered as he lifted her up so suddenly off the ground and placed her over his shoulder like a bag of rice making her squeal.

Indeed it was forbidden to step into the gym with shoes on, but Ara was transported there via Stribog's portal, so she didn't have time to remove them.

"Hey, it's not my fault. I didn't know I'd come here from the portal," Ara reasoned but her husband didn't listen.

Ryuu had already marched outside the dojo carrying his laughing and complaining wife. "Ignorance is not an excuse," he said as soon as they stepped into the corridor leading towards their temporary residence.

Ryuu shifted Ara then to his arms and carried her bridal style towards their room. Ara had destroyed the entire area where their rooms were when she fought with Ryuu. So now, they temporarily moved the master's bedroom to the other wing while repairs were ongoing.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To heaven," Ryuu answered bluntly, making Ara, who had Alencica's memories blush so hard.

"Kresnik, did recovering your memories turn you into a fiend again?" The Homura Ryuu she knew could never even say something lewd – or maybe not, she thought, remembering the blue bra comment he did a while back.

But he's Kresnik now, not the innocent Koutaishidenka of the Homura House. It's an altogether different matter.

"Only to you, my wife," he promised, but then faltered in his step upon remembering Samara, Vladimir's wife, and he froze. He bowed his head in shame.

Ara who had realized the sudden shifting of his mood smiled at him softly. She reached out and cupped his cheeks so he'd look at her.

"Take me to our room," she said softly. When Ryuu hesitated, she shifted in his arms so she could wrap her own around his neck and hug him. "I want you to hold me," she continued, and he smiled at her gratefully.

He took her in the room and closed the screen door behind them with his foot. He then gently placed Ara on the bed and sat opposite her. They remained that way for a while before Ryuu reached out to hold her hand, the hand which bore her wedding ring.

"My love…" he called softly, and Ara sighed, seeing the hesitation in him again.

She felt sorry that he was so insecure because of what he did when he was Vladimir, but she really didn't want him to feel guilty about it anymore.

"It's alright. You didn't do anything wrong. You remembered and followed me. It's enough," she murmured, comforting him as she pulled him close to her, and met his lips with hers.

Feeling as he did, Ryuu was diffident that Ara had to be the one to compel him to return her kisses. She placed feathery brushes on his lips, his chin, his nose; she made sure to kiss all her favorite parts of his face, which was everything.

She was clumsy of course. It had been a long, long time since they'd last been intimate, and not yet in this lifetime. However, that would soon change.

Understanding that she really didn't mind, Ryuu overcame his insecurities and pulled her towards his chest, embracing her tightly against him for a while as if thanking her. He then shifted so he could take over, and returned the feathery light kisses all over her face, tickling her with the subtle overgrowth of a beard as he had been so miserable he hadn't shaved for the day.

He then returned to capture her upturned lips, nibbling on the lower part before invading the sweet caverns of her mouth with his tongue, deepening the kiss. His hands then started exploring, each caress leaving a trail of fire on her body that was beginning to flush with desire.

Not to be defeated, Ara did the same. She returned each and every touch, tugging at his clothes, removing them as he removed hers one by one. Soon, they were left with nothing else and were skin to skin. Their hands and lips explored each other's bodies, kissing and touching every part they could. Their eyes both drank the sight of them, admiring each other's nakedness as if they were works of art.

Then, he touched her there.

His fingers trailed fire up her leg, to her thigh, then to the forbidden triangle. They circled and teased the sensitive nub there until it was taut and filled with moist before they plunged deep within her, eliciting a gasp. He then pulled it out only to plunge back in again, making her shudder. The peaks on her chest were taut as his other hand caressed them. He did this over and over until she literally melted around him.

Soft cries escaped her lips, the white-hot pleasure making her weak as his lips descended, joining his fingers in their sweet torture. Her hands grabbed onto his hair as if holding on to dear life as the flames of sensuality spread all over her body.

Not taking it any longer, and wanting so much more, she begged, calling his name. "Kresnik…"

She didn't need to say anything else. Ryuu lifted his head and shifted so he could kiss her again. At the same time that his tongue invaded the sweet caverns of her mouth once more, he placed himself in between her open thighs. His hand then guided his rod and entered her, slowly as he could feel the tight resistance. However, she was too impatient that she suddenly lifted her hips to sheath him deeper within her.

"Ah!" She yelped in pain at being torn apart and her body tensed.

Ryuu also stopped. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

It was pure torture to him to remain still when he was already so deep within her, but he was willing to pull out if she couldn't take it.

"I'm alright. Please, don't stop," she begged. The pain had ebbed away, and she was slowly getting familiar with the shape of him.  

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Instead of answering him, she pulled him towards her and kissed him, a sign that it was okay. With a soft smile and eyes that were glazed with his desire, he showered her with kisses as he moved his body. The undulating motions of his hips as he thrust in and out of her were slow at the beginning. But they gradually increased in speed and rhythm as the two of them got lost in their journey to the peak.

The place was filled with grunts, pants, and sighs as the two of them remained locked in their lovemaking. They clung together, whispered words of love to each other. In this room where their hearts and bodies were one, a new chapter of their story had begun.