Makoto looked at his sisters with a fond smile. "Why are you two siding with her? Nope, I'm not gonna take any of that bullshit. Come on, we're going home." He growled.
Ayane crossed her arms, a predatory grin spreading across her face. "I think," she purred, "he's going to have to be my real boyfriend now. To make it up to me."
Makoto shook his head with a fond smile. "That's totally bullshit." He looked back at Ayane, eyes sparkling wickedly. "If you want to join my harem, you'll need to ask me nicely first." He snorted.
"And then you'll have to ask the main wife," he pointed to Yuna, "and the second wife." He pointed to Mika. "Not this responsibility bullshit."
Ayane stared. Yuna stared. Mika stared. Like he had just dropped a nuclear bomb in the middle of a knife fight.
But Ayane did something unexpected. She burst out laughing. Not a polite giggle, but full-on wheezing with tears streaming down her face. "Oh my god," she choked out, clutching her stomach. "You actually said it out loud."
Yuna wasn't laughing. She stared at him with a storm of emotions crossing her face. There was possessive fury, smug triumph, and then... something that looked like pride. "He's right," she said dangerously. "There's a hierarchy. And I'm at the top."
Mika smiled knowingly. "For now," she said softly. She turned to Ayane with mischievous eyes. "So, are you going to ask nicely, Ayane?"
Ayane wiped tears from her eyes, her laughter subsiding into helpless giggles. She looked at him with new respect. "Fine. You win."
She took a deep breath. "Makoto-kun," she said, too loud and formal. "Will you... will you please let me be your third wife?" She gave a small bow.
Makoto grinned smugly. He was obviously fishing for compliments. "Ahem, but why would you want me anyway? You should be able to find a single man who's more handsome or richer than me, instead of this mess."
Yuna rolled her eyes so hard he could practically hear them. "Oh, here we go again," she muttered, crossing her arms.
Mika giggled softly. "He's fishing," she whispered to Ayane. "You can just play along. He likes it."
But Ayane shook her head with a genuine, exasperated smile. "Don't be an idiot," she said without heat. "Do you think I haven't tried? I've been on dates with handsome guys. I've been on dates with rich guys."
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to an intimate murmur. "But the handsome guys are boring. And the rich guys are assholes." She looked at him with surprisingly sincere eyes. "And none of them," she whispered, "can build a Master Grade Zaku in under an hour while I'm wearing a Yor Forger costume."
She took another step, her hands finding his chest. "And none of them look at me like you do." Her fingers curled into his shirt in a silent plea. "So yeah. I want you! You big, fat, clueless, perverted idiot."
Makoto pulled her in with a fond smile and pecked her lips gently. "Hmm, I can consider your application." His eyes sparkled with mischief. "But say that again, totally honest this time. What do you think about me, Ayane?"
Ayane's cheeks flushed deep red. But she didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned into the kiss with a small sigh. When he pulled back, her eyes sparkled with matching wickedness. "Do you want me to say it again?" she purred. "You really are a masochist, aren't you?"
She took a deep breath. "Fine. You're a fat, disgusting, perverted, incestuous, completely clueless idiot," she said. "And you have terrible taste in anime, you spend way too much money on gacha games and your stepsister, and you're probably going to die of a heart attack before you're forty."
She leaned in, her breath warm against his cheek. "And," she whispered brokenly, "you're the kindest, funniest, most wonderful person I've ever met."
She looked at him with mock innocence. "And if you don't let me into your stupid, ridiculous harem," she growled, "I'm going to tell your stepsister about the time you cried during Lelouch's death in the last episode of Code Geass."
Yuna's head snapped up. "He WHAT?!"
Makoto leaned in with a fond smile, trying to silence Ayane with a messy, desperate, possessive kiss. "I wasn't crying. It was just... tears from yawning. And don't you dare spoil such a masterpiece for my stepsister."
Ayane melted into the kiss, sighing softly in triumph. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. When Makoto finally pulled away, she was breathless, face flushed, lips swollen.
His eyes sparkled with mischief as he looked at her. "So... you're in, okay?"
"...Okay," she whispered, her voice raw. "I'm in."
"HEY!" Yuna's voice erupted in possessive fury. "You're not allowed to just accept new members without a formal vote! There's a process! There are bylaws! I'm the main wife! I have veto power!"
Mika smiled sweetly, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Actually, Yuna-chan," she said softly, "I think you'll find that in most harem structures, the main wife's power is largely ceremonial. The real power lies with the second wife, who controls the day-to-day operations."
Yuna looked from Mika's serene face to Ayane's smug one, then to Makoto. She looked ready to have a full system crash. "This is a nightmare," she muttered dangerously. "A completely unmanageable nightmare."
Makoto winked playfully and scratched his head with a fond smile. "So, do you two mind if I give Ayane her... welcoming ritual, then?" His eyes sparkled wickedly as he looked at them. "She might be shy when people are watching, so..."
"A welcoming ritual?" Ayane purred, a slow grin spreading across her face. "Is that what we're calling it now? I like it. Sounds... official."
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing against him with newfound confidence and possessiveness. "And he's right," she added sweetly, looking directly at Yuna. "I am a little shy. I'd prefer some privacy for my... first time."
Yuna looked like she'd been slapped. Her jaw dropped, eyes wide with horror mixed with betrayal. "Privacy?!" she shrieked incredulously. "You think you get privacy?! There are no secrets in this fucking harem! We share everything! Including the STD test results!"
Mika, ever the voice of strategic calm, placed a gentle hand on Yuna's trembling arm. "She's right, Yuna-chan," she said soothingly. "Transparency is key to a healthy polyamorous relationship."
She turned to Makoto with an expression of sweet concern, though her eyes sparkled wickedly. "But Ayane-chan also has a point. Her first time should be special and intimate. We wouldn't want her to feel pressured."
A slow, beautiful smile spread across her face. "So, how about a compromise?" she suggested sweetly. "You can have your... private ritual." She glanced at Ayane. "But..." She looked at Yuna with a silent challenge. "We get to watch from the closet."
Makoto giggled affectionately. "Well, can you pretend they don't exist in the closet while we do it, then, Ayane? Or we might have to wait and find another chance."
Ayane stared at him for a long moment. A slow, wicked grin spread across her face. "Pretend they don't exist?" she purred dangerously. "Oh, honey. No. That's not how this is going to work at all."
She stepped back, hands on her hips. She looked from Yuna's furious, sputtering face to Mika's amused one. "I'm not going to pretend they don't exist," she announced loudly and cheerfully. "I'm going to perform for them."
She turned back to him, eyes sparkling wickedly. "I'm going to fuck you so good," she purred sweetly and dangerously, "that the 'main wife' is going to be taking notes, and the 'second wife' is going to have to go change her panties."
She winked slowly and deliberately. "You can consider this," she whispered triumphantly, "my formal declaration of war."
Mika sighed with put-upon resignation. "Well," she said to no one in particular as she calmly pulled Yuna's hand and walked to the closet.
"I suppose we'll be getting good seats." She closed the closet door behind them.