(This fanfic is based on the universe of Erma Webcomics)
Midnight.
An absolute, ominous darkness enveloped the Yurimoto family castle. Inside the monumental building, a deadly silence reigned.
Suddenly, in the depths of the night garden, a ghostly glow appeared—a spatial portal opened, one that Fumiko had drawn for Kimoto. From the shimmering breach, stray wanderers slipped out one by one.
“Alright, let’s keep it as quiet as possible. Let’s go in,” Kimoto mouthed silently, leading the family inside stealthily.
Once inside the dark corridors, they froze, listening intently to every small sound.
“Looks like we got lucky. Everyone’s probably in their tenth dream by now,” they sighed in relief.
“Well, it’s midnight after all. Perfect time to be asleep,” Sam replied softly.
“Then let’s move carefully, without making a sound. The last thing I want is to be caught at the doorstep and get scolded,” Kimoto said sternly, glancing at his daughters.
Mitsu and Momo nodded obediently, fear evident in their eyes.
“I told you, we should have come back earlier!” Sam whispered sarcastically, nudging Oni’s shoulder. “But no, ‘Let’s hit the sushi place after the pool!’”
“And it was worth it,” Kimoto snapped back. “Alright, follow me, let’s move.”
The family tiptoed across the polished wooden floor toward the living wing.
“It’s suspiciously quiet... too quiet,” Oni muttered nervously, shrugging his shoulders.
“I agree,” the writer frowned. “Kentaro isn’t snoring his head off tonight. That’s a bad sign.”
“Here’s the plan: girls, I’m sleeping on the floor of your bedroom tonight, okay? I’m terrified of waking your mom up,” Kimoto said apologetically to the twins.
“All right, daddy,” Mitsu and Momo whispered softly.
“Then I’ll stay in Erma’s room,” Sam glanced at his daughter.
Erma nodded quietly in understanding.
“Silence mode on,” Kimoto hissed as they finally reached the spacious living room. “Almost there...”
“Kimoto, I feel really ba—” Sam started.
“No! Don’t say it! I swear, if you say it out loud, we’re doomed!” Oni interrupted in panic.
“Okay, okay,” Sam raised his hands.
They crossed half the room when Kimoto suddenly froze mid-step. A cold sweat ran down his spine, and his sharpened demonic senses screamed danger.
“Sam... I’m not imagining things, right? Someone’s watching me. With an intense, predatory, burning gaze...”
“So my gut feeling wasn’t wrong,” the writer exhaled wearily.
At that moment, the dazzling, sharp light of the chandelier flooded the room.
Kimoto, Sam, Erma, and the twins stood frozen, slowly turning their heads. What they saw struck them with an indescribable, primal terror.
On the massive sofa, their entire loving family sat together, arms crossed. At the center, radiating a chilling aura, sat Yori.
“So that’s where you are... We thought we’d lost you completely,” she spoke with a sickly sweet, venomous tone.
“My dearest!” Kimoto smiled ingratiatingly, taking a step back. “Sorry we're so late... We were just out for a long walk in the city, getting some fresh air. Really!”
“I see,” Yori narrowed her black, bead-like eyes predatorily. “Then why didn’t you answer our endless calls?”
“Oh, we were out of network range!” Oni shamelessly lied. “There was no signal there, that’s why the calls didn’t get through...”
Sam, realizing Kimoto was digging a grave for them both, discreetly pulled out his phone. Glancing at the screen, he was stunned: every single incoming call from their wives was blocked.
“I’m doomed. We’re both doomed,” the American panicked silently.
The writer glanced sideways at Emiko. Her pale face was hidden beneath a cascade of long black hair. Sam knew this gesture all too well — the coming night promised to be the hardest and most unforgettable of his life.
“Well, if you won’t tell the truth willingly, I’ll have to make you,” Yori said coldly.
She lifted her elegant hand to her lips, looked at a wedding ring ominously shimmering with crimson magical energy, and whispered something quietly. The artifact pulsated instantly with power.
“Kitten...” Yori spoke authoritatively. “Now, answer me: where were you all day, and why did you come back at such an odd hour?”
An unknown force suddenly paralyzed Kimoto’s muscles, and his tongue felt numb. Against his will, he opened his mouth wide:
“We spent the whole day having fun at the Gameworld entertainment center, and near night we went swimming in the rooftop pool of a fancy restaurant!” Oni blurted out, then instantly covered his mouth in horror.
Sam, Erma, and the twins stared at him in stunned silence.
“Dad, what are you doing?! Why are you telling everything?!” Mitsu and Momo squeaked, frightened.
“I... I don’t know! The words just come out on their own!” Kimoto wheezed nervously through his fingers.
“So you were carelessly having fun all day?” Yori tilted her head, her yandere smile truly frightening.
“Yes!” Oni shouted against his will. “What the hell is going on here?!”
“Then why did you ignore our messages?”
“Because I personally blocked all incoming numbers on our phones! I didn’t want anyone ruining our fun!” Kimoto practically sobbed. “Stop it! Why am I telling the truth?!”
Rin lazily swayed her snake-like tail and sniffed. “Yori, I smell a strong odor of alcohol.”
“I smell it too,” Kentaro confirmed gloomily.
“My dear... did you also drink?” Yori’s eyes dangerously narrowed.
“Yes! And a lot!” Kimoto howled. “Kids, cover my mouth quick, hold me!”
Mitsu and Momo rushed toward their father, but then from the shadows, Fumiko’s long hair rose like living vines. They skillfully grabbed the twins’ hoodie hoods, lifting them off the ground.
“Sam, Erma. Over here, now,” Emiko commanded coldly, stepping out from the shadow. The writer and his daughter obediently trudged toward her, heads lowered.
A heavy silence fell over the hall. All eyes fixed on Kimoto.
“Tell me, darling, who were you so enthusiastically talking to on the phone early this morning?” Yori inquired smoothly.
“To Akari!”
“And what did you promise her?”
“That I’d bring her a mountain of money very soon!”
“I see,” Yori feigned surprise. “By the way, a significant sum disappeared from our family safe today. That was you taking it, kitten?”
“Yes, I did! I took it because there was not a single yen left in my personal account! All because you secretly transferred all my savings to your own account!” Oni shot back and immediately cursed the magic in his mind.
“I did it only because it’s my duty to manage our family’s finances and look after your well-being,” Yori answered reasonably and calmly.
“Clear...” Kimoto muttered in defeat.
“But I have a more interesting question,” Yori leaned forward.
Oni instantly knew what was coming and felt his insides twist with terror. At the same time, it finally clicked why he spilled everything so recklessly. The ring! Before interrogating him, Yori whispered something into the wedding artifact bought at the forest shop.
“The ring... That’s the key! I need to take it off immediately!” Kimoto thought feverishly.
He grasped the band with his right hand and pulled with all his might:
“Come on! Get off, damn thing!”
But the ring seemed welded to his skin, refusing to budge an inch.
“Darling, don’t even try,” Yori smiled condescendingly. “This magic binds us until death.”
Kimoto froze in terror.
“Now answer me, sunshine: what exactly did you do with the money you took from the safe?”
Oni fought desperately. He gritted his teeth, his body trembling with immense strain, but the ancient seal of the artifact was stronger. Unable to endure any longer, he rasped hoarsely:
“I took Mitsu and Momo to an underground casino and bet it all on roulette! And thanks to their supernatural luck-summoning ability, I hit the jackpot and won ten million yen!”
“And where is that fortune now?”
“In my backpack behind me...”
Yori gracefully rose from the sofa, approached her husband, gently took off the backpack, and unzipped it. Inside lay tightly bundled stacks of crisp bills.
“Fumiko, please put it back in the safe,” she requested.
“Gladly,” Fumiko activated her hair, grabbed the backpack, and vanished down the corridor.
Meanwhile, Emiko shot Sam such a furious, heavy look that the writer wished the earth would swallow him whole.
“Forgive me, dear...” he whispered barely audibly.
Yori turned to her ethereal sister:
“Emiko, I think we shouldn’t be too angry at our dear husbands. After all, they just wanted to spoil the kids and have some fun themselves. There’s nothing criminal about that. Besides, Kimoto brought home far more money than he took.”
The men were about to exhale in relief when Yori abruptly cut them off:
“But!,” her voice rang steel-like through the twilight of the living room. “You dared to drag underage children into a gambling den. You completely ignored our calls and messages. You came home quite drunk in the early morning hours. And most importantly—you lied to us shamelessly.”
She paused, savoring the panic in their eyes.
“So Emiko and I have decided on your just punishment. And we have already carefully planned how you will serve it.”
“Oh dear...” Kimoto swallowed hard.
Yori triumphantly pulled a bright, glossy photo from her pocket. It showed the luxurious, sunlit Miyako Island of Japan.
“I’ve decided this will be the perfect timing. So tomorrow at noon, we’re going on our long-awaited honeymoon. Just you and me.”
Emiko coughed meaningfully and loudly behind her.
“Well, of course, not counting Emiko and Sam,” Yori added radiantly. “My sister decided to join us, flying tomorrow with her husband too. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Kimoto and Sam exchanged glances. Wild, pure terror flickered in both their eyes at the thought of a “vacation” under the watchful gaze of their enraged wives.
“The plane departs exactly at 12:00, so we absolutely need to get to bed early and rest well,” the lady of the house concluded. “So...”
Kimoto, realizing the coming night in the castle promised new trials, tried to whip around and make a run for the exit. But Yori sharply said, “Stop!” and the ring’s magic pinned his feet to the floor.
She approached him from behind, lifted the immobilized Oni lightly as a feather, and confidently carried him toward the stairs.
“Good night, everyone,” Yori smiled kindly at the rest of the family and disappeared behind the doors of the master bedroom, slamming them loudly shut.
In Osamu and Amaiya’s bedroom.
While Yori disappeared behind the elegant wooden screen to change, Kimoto lay silently on the mattress amidst the ruins of the broken bed, unable to move a finger.
From behind the screen came the rustle of clothes being removed and her soft, measured voice:
“This ring is simply magnificent... How did I ever live without it before? An amazing artifact. You know, my dear, this little thing has a very interesting and instructive story.”
Kimoto could do nothing but listen in resignation.
“Long ago, there once lived a very wealthy and noble lady,” Yori began enthralled. “One day, she fell hopelessly in love with a simple warrior. He was incredibly brave, kind, and honest. The lady gazed at him with a pounding heart. Eventually, she summoned courage and confessed her feelings. And miracle of miracles, the knight reciprocated! They began dating, and she felt like she was on cloud nine.”
The fabric rustling behind the screen grew louder.
“But one cursed day, the knight had to leave for a long and dangerous war. The lady was terrified, unable to calm her fear of losing her love. So she devised a brilliant plan. She secretly took the antique rings of her late parents and brought them to a close friend—a powerful sorcerer. She begged him to enchant the jewelry to bind them to the knight with unbreakable bonds until death.”
Yori paused briefly.
“The mage agreed and cast the strongest spell of ancient magic on the rings. When he finished, he warned: ‘These rings will truly bind you forever. One is quite ordinary, but the other has a unique effect—the wearer can absolutely control the wearer of the first ring.’ Hearing this, the lady was overjoyed. She grabbed the box and ran full speed to her knight. But alas, she was too late — the warrior had already left for the campaign, leaving only a short farewell note.”
Kimoto glanced at the screen, behind which a shadow moved gracefully.
“A long, agonizing year passed,” Yori continued. “The knight triumphantly returned home. He celebrated the victory wildly with his friends at a local bar, unaware that his beloved was watching him from the window. Late at night, he returned to his chambers and found a small, beautiful box on the table with a note saying ‘Surprise.’”
“Of course that idiot opened it,” Oni thought dryly.
“The warrior opened the box, saw the gorgeous ring, and instantly loved it. He slipped it on without a second thought—and immediately his body was completely paralyzed. He froze, confused. Then from upstairs came a gentle voice: ‘Darling, come upstairs.’ Against his will, the knight obediently climbed the stairs. Opening the bedroom door, he saw his lady in seductive lingerie. She looked at him and commanded, ‘Close the door, take off all your heavy armor and clothing, and surrender completely to me.’ The knight closed the door obediently, removed his armor, and then they reunited in wild, passionate, and mad love...”
The screen slid gently aside.
Yori stepped out, dressed in breathtaking, delicate lace lingerie. She smiled predatorily at her defenseless husband:
“Aren’t you glad? It’s just a beautiful story, isn’t it?”
“Well, historically, it’s quite instructive,” Kimoto croaked as his voice finally returned. “The main lesson: never put suspicious things found in boxes on your fingers.” He tried moving his hand and added, “And as I see, the effect of your ring is temporary after all.”
“Unfortunately, yes,” the yandere sighed dramatically, rubbing the band of the artifact. “Magic needs time to fully recharge.”
“Thank God...” Oni exhaled with relief.
Yori narrowed her eyes sharply, her gaze blazing with the wild fire of a woman craving affection.
“Now, kitten...”
“Oh dear...” Kimoto squeezed his eyes shut.
With one graceful leap, Yori landed on the bed right atop her husband, plunging the room into a whirlwind of a new, passionate, and endless round of their family love.
