[NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Kokaine on 28-02-2023, 02:18:34</h2>
		<dl id="posts">
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>[NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>28-02-2023, 02:18:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<hr><hr><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 40pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>NEON HEARTS</strong></span></span></em></div><hr><hr><br><div align="center"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 18pt;" class="bbc_size"><em><strong><span class="bbc_u">ANTHOLOGY VOL.1:</span><br>WE ALL HAVE STORIES TO TELL</strong></em></span></span></div><br><br><div align="center"><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div></td><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/ourAVOz.jpg)</div></td><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div></td><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Xerena "Xero" West</span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Kiyoshi Kita</span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Evelyn "Evie" Grant-Sterling</span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Naomi Uehara</span></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Hearts</strong></span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Spades</strong></span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Clubs</strong></span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Diamonds</strong></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br><br><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><em>This thread is for any scenes that fall outside the present story's main timeline and is not sexual in nature. <br>Side runs, dates, down time, past encounters, messaging convos, etc. <br>Anything beyond pg-13 should move to the private thread</em></span></span></div><br><br><br><div class="codeheader">Code: <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);" class="codeoperation">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[floatleft][img height=200 padding=5]*insert pic url here*[/img][/floatleft]<br>[b]Name:[/b] [i]***Character Name***[/i]<br>[b]Date | Location:[/b] [i]***When and Where are you (be as specific as you like)***[/i]<br>[b]Wearing | Carrying:[/b] [i]***Approximate times like mid-morning, evening, etc are fine***[/i]<br>[b]Tagging:[/b] [i]***Who are you interacting with? May also mark the scene as open for others to join or closed.***[/i]<br>[b]Warning:[/b] [i]***Give a heads up to your fellow writers just in case there are things they might wish to avoid reading***[/i][hr]</code></pre><br><br><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><em><strong><span class="bbc_u">Game Links</span></strong></em></span></span><br>Interest Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=348443.msg16385884#msg16385884)<br>OOC (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349104.0)<br>Main Story Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349280.0)<br>Private Thread (http://)</div>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>02-03-2023, 20:09:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr><br>Young mother Mai Ishikawa’s life is sheltered in the upper branches of Japanese society, in the relative Elysium of an idyllic, nature-oriented compound that acts as home, dojo, and fortress for the Ishikawa family. Her days are long, with expectation she care for her daughter, serve tea to Hitoshi’s guests, and appear as a presentably demure Yakuza wife.<br><br>But her daughter is older, having just turned three. More and more, she must visit the city, and the loyalties of Yakuza are complex and fraught, and to send such a beautiful creature and his only daughter into the city without protection is unthinkable for Hitoshi. Nor can he rely fully on Yakuza who could owe cross-loyalties to so many of Hitoshi’s rivals.<br><br>Classically, this is a job outsourced to either close family, of whom Hitoshi has none, or to contractors. American military are often useful, they’re abundant on nearby military bases, have experience working privately in Japan, and have a reputation for not betraying their charges—a reputation their officers insist they maintain, since a percentage of their pay gets kicked up the command structure.<br><br>Today is a beautiful day in the garden and Hitoshi sits with a stranger when Mai brings tea. Just as she’d heard through the servants, Hitoshi’s chosen an American bodyguard, likely a woman known for carousing with men to assure Mai’s not a temptation. Whoever this is, the only thing Mai can assume about her is she’s a woman who’s slept with several men since arriving in Japan.<br><br>The American is red-haired, dressed in the simple military leggings and sleeveless top of a soldier, a pair of glinting dog-tags falling to the top of her shapely chest. She’s taller than Hitoshi even sitting down, legs folded, and one arm is—while skin-colored—plainly synthetic, with armor plating over the shoulder, bicep, and forearm. Her mechanical hand holds the tea-cup as though she were left-handed; or perhaps she’s merely demonstrating she can use the hand for delicate work. Not everyone can.<br><br>There’s something familiar in her fierce eyes, very familiar. “Come, Mai. Sit. I believe I’ve secured you a bodyguard.”<br><br>The realization will come on stronger and stronger. It’s been four years but this is Evelyn Grant-Sterling—a shock. Eve had always been tall, but now she’s built too; powerful shoulders, her natural arm showing the subtle contouring of a fighter, her frame trim and strong. It would be like meeting the president drinking cheap beer in a pub, like seeing one of the popes on the crapper. Eve Grant-Sterling, beautiful heiress, piano prodigy, in military fatigues looking like a veteran of the American Resource Wars.<br><br>What happened since last they met to bring on this change? Whatever the case, Hitoshi seems ignorant of who this really is. “What is it you are called?” Hitoshi says in English.<br><br>“Evie,” she says. “Evie Connors.” She glances up at Mai, maintaining a straight face, but there’s an intensity in her stare and for an instant, Mai will remember the game they played as young girls in Evie’s mansion.<br><br>Hide and seek. Evie knew everywhere to hide and never lost. She was a bloodhound when it came to tracking Mai down across the estate. Everytime she’d find Mai right away, peak in a cabinet, behind a potted plant, and whisper, “Found you! I win again.”<br><br>She doesn’t say it out loud, but she has the same look in her eyes. <em>Found you. I win again.</em><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>04-03-2023, 11:24:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Mai was a kept shima enaga or bird in a loveless marriage—a trophy to exhibit during formal and informal occasions. It was worse in the beginning. The whole situation was not what she wanted. But a mixture of duty and threats kept her in the glided cage. The only joy in her life is her daughter Naomi who only served to seal her fate. But it was a fate she would accept. They even helped her endure the services she had to perform as a wife. She could still feel the bruises he left on her the previous night, but never the face. She was after all his showpiece. She would never fight back, how could she?<br><br>Mai was told by her husband that he had changed her bodyguard again. She knew that they doubled up as spies and they were hired more to secure her husband's property than "protect" her. The last bodyguard disappeared because he became too "attached" to her, this was no surprise as her husband was, to put it bluntly, possessive. She brought the tea to the garden as "requested" by her husband. Naomi was thankfully on her afternoon nap.<br><br>Mai walked gracefully in her kimono, her steps silent on the wooden planks that form a bridge to the garden sanctuary. She spotted her husband with the American woman. The American had her back toward her. The American held herself like someone from the military. Without looking at their guests, she knelt between them and placed the tea and sweets on the table in front of them. <br><br><strong>"A new bodyguard go-shujin-sama (Husband/Master)?"</strong><br><br>Mai at this point turned to get a better look at the woman when she nearly betrayed her recognition with a cry. She deceptively bowed her head to hide the fact from her husband. No...no..it cannot be.. Her friend, her confidant, and her one true love.&nbsp; How is it there she is here? How could Evie be so stupid, so reckless? If her husband finds out, he will kill her, no he would do much worse. She knew what he was capable of. Why did she come? She agreed to return to Japan in exchange for any repercussions that would fall on her love. But now she was here!<br><br>Mai put on her "mask", schooled her thoughts, and looked up at Evie.<strong> "Pleased to meet you Evie. I look forward to your service. Have arrangements been made go-shujin-sama?"</strong> It took all of her willpower to hug her friend. To cry in her arms and scream at her for her stupidity of coming here of all places." But all she could do was hide behind her "mask". The memories return like a tsunami. The time they spent together, the games they played, the dreams they shared, the tender fumbles as they explored one another. Why Evie.......<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>05-03-2023, 19:15:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr><br>“She is permitted in the city for tasks related to my daughter only,” Hitoshi answers calmly, both he and Evie holding their tea. Business won’t be settled until they both drink, in the tradition of Hitoshi’s household. “No shopping, no coarse entertainments. Only to culture my daughter. Parks, museums and the like. In that time, she’s not to hold conversation with any of my men, nor any other individuals employed in my line of work.”<br><br>“Of course,” Evie answers smoothly. Somehow she keeps her gaze on Hitoshi and not the woman who makes her heart thud against her rib cage, calming her nerves by inhaling the steam from her tea.<br><br>Hitoshi seems to be drawing a circle around his daughter, perhaps because Naomi’s highly-attuned mind had begun to glean the nature of Hitoshi’s business last week when she told one of his men to “careful, Sato-san, father says wolves are outside the gate.” She’d pointed to an ornamental sword for Sato to take with him. Since then, none but Mai had been permitted to speak with Naomi, and at night when Hitoshi would perform his singular fatherly duty of reading a story, it was only from printed children’s books, never a loose allegory of his day as before.<br><br>“And am I permitted to operate with discretion, if there are disagreements with the local members of your organization?” Evie’s brow raises, making it clear she’s referring to a fight with rival Yakuza.<br><br>“Protect what is most important to me, and all will be forgiven.”<br><br>“Ten percent of my fee goes to my commanding officer, forty-five percent into escrow for the completion of the job, per your terms. The other forty-five I take in local currency, chits only, no electronic transfers.” She pauses, and adds, “I didn’t know about the daughter when I took the interview.”<br><br>She’s speaking to Hitoshi but might as well have said it to Mai.<br><br>“If it comes down to a question of which to protect,” Hitoshi said, “my daughter is the priority.”<br><br>Evie feels something cold and serpentine squeeze her heart tighter. She could throw the hot tea into his eyes and break his skull over the table; word was, Hitoshi was a master swordsman, and his sword lay across his lap now. Evie felt she could kill him before the sword cleared its scabbard, but then, getting away with Mai when Yakuza ran the city was another question.<br><br>“I understand.” Evie sips her tea, and so does Hitoshi.<br><br>“Arrangements are made,” Hitoshi says, again never looking at Mai. “Show Ms. Connors to my daughter and introduce them.” In Japanese, he says, “Do not corrupt this one, or she will suffer the same fate as the last.”<br><br>The man who’d gotten too attached, who’d let Mai shop for sweets with her daughter and bought her a caramel—Hitoshi had he and his wife’s hands lopped off.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>09-03-2023, 07:55:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Mai bowed deeply,<strong> “Yes, go-shujin-sama”</strong>. There was fear in her eyes. Not for herself but for her daughter. Her husband was a sociopath. There was no reasoning with him. Everyone feared him.&nbsp; Personally, she did not care about her safety or her life, but she had Naomi now. Previously, it was Evie that kept her from running. The threat to her first love, but now, Evie was right in front of her. Not safe. She wanted to take Evie in her arms and kick her out of the hell she was stuck in. Memories of the mutilation of the last bodyguard and family were plain cruel and unjustified. At least Naomi was not forced to watch it happen, unlike herself. <br><br>Mai placed Evie’s teacup on the serving tray but refilled her husband’s teacup and left the “tea snacks” on the table just in case. If he wanted it removed, he will tell her. She then stood up gracefully, even in the restrictiveness of her kimono. <strong>“If you would follow me, Evie. I will introduce you to my daughter Naomi. She is but three now. Please.”</strong> She gestured as waited patiently for Evie to stand, giving another bow to her husband she turned and walked back towards the main building.<br><br><strong>“As you can see Evie, I can call you Evie, yes? Or would you prefer Miss Conners?”</strong> Mai continued as she was doing a tour of the house. Still wearing her mask, her emotions were hidden from her love other than the minute tell signs that were enough to tell her love to “watch”.&nbsp; “As you can see, the house is complete with full security measures, both overt and covert. The security measures are both modern and traditional. As they moved out of sight of her husband, she would stop and pause at points. Evie would notice that she would do so at blind spots in the security and subtly turn to Evie and move her eyes to the various security measures. All the time, she would explain the running of the household and the various rooms. She gave Evie a full tour of the house. <strong>“Of course, at night, there will be scheduled security rounds conducted by the guards. I will give you a full schedule together with Naomi’s. </strong><br><br>Stopping outside the nursery, Mai slid open the door. A three-year-old girl was sitting on the floor coloring. Evie upon having a closer look at the coloring noticed that the colors in each “section” did not stray and everything was kept neat. The girl looked up and spotted the two and stood up and ran up to Mai and hid behind her leg.<br><br>Mai then knelt and looked up at Evie, <strong>“Evie, meet my daughter Naomi. The love of my life” </strong>As she did so, her eyes glanced quietly at the room's camera. Then in Japanese to her daughter, <strong>“Naomi-chan, say hello to our new employee. She will be looking after us from today. You may call her Evie, as it is the American way.”</strong> The girl looked up at Evie, thankfully she looked nothing like her father, in fact, she seemed to take to Mai. The same cheekbones, the nose, the softer face, and the piercing intelligent eyes. Then in English Naomi said, <strong>“Hello Ebie, pleased to meet you.”</strong> And bowed. Despite the stumble of the V, the English are without accent and quite surprising for a three-year-old. Naomi then turned back to Mai and in Japanese, <strong>“Is she nice?”</strong><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>09-03-2023, 21:45:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, The Nursery</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai and Naomi Ishikawa</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr>Before Evie can stand, Hitoshi centers her with a stare and says, “Take care to execute your duties with more fidelity than the last individual in your position.” He reaches for a sweet, biting off a corner while searching Evie for a response.<br><br>She provides a confident smile, the most quintessentially American response that exists. “Naturally.”<br><br>Soon, she’s getting the tour, and Evie’s on her best behavior. They used to both do this, acting like perfect high society ladies who were only airily friends in the most dignified of ways; maintain respectable distance, address one another properly, barely glance at the other. Then the second Evie would get Mai pinned down in a coat closet or the back of an emptied limousine, she’d pin her and show her how she really felt with her feverish mouth and possessive hands.<br><br>Evie hasn’t lost a step, a perfect gentlewoman, or in this case, bodyguard. She absorbs the details of the grounds security while imagining taking hold of Mai in one of those blindspots.<br><br>It has to wait. First, the child. Evie’s afraid. <em>I’m going to hate her. I hate pretty much all little kids.</em> She has a hard time adjusting to the fact Mai’s had a child since they were last together. And Naomi is three, which means her husband wasted no time taking Mai to bed, the implication of which makes Evie want to kill Hitoshi more.<br><br>They step into the nursery, and there she is. Evie had expected to see nothing but a reminder of what Hitoshi did to the love of her life. For her to have his nose, his thin lips, or his dead eyes. But it’s more like someone had taken Mai and made a littler version of her, and even in the subtle ways she’s unalike, there’s little of her father there.<br><br>Naomi tucks behind Mai’s leg, peering out. Evie lowers herself to one knee, knowing the strangeness of her synthetic arm is always fascinating for children, who don’t know better than to not stare. She extends her hand—there’s some flesh on the pads of her fingers, the palm of her hand, though the joints are visibly mechanical and showing. They’d saved not just the skin but major nerves, giving her a natural sense of touch in the synthetic hand, at least the palm side and fingertips anyway. <br><br>Hearing the question, knowing Japanese though rarely speaking it, Evie smiles. “Ebie’s very nice to good little girls, but she’s never safe,” she tells Naomi in English. “That’s why she’s so good at her job.”<br><br>Glancing up at Mai, she feels her heart thudding harder. She’s not sure how she feels about the kid, about what she represents, but Mai loves her. Maybe that could be enough. “Ebie’s gonna take care of you and your mum from now on.”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>10-03-2023, 02:59:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Naomi looked at Evie curiously, especially her cybernetic arm. Hesitant at first she continued, <strong>"That good. Mom need caring. Did it hurt?"</strong> Mai covered her mouth with her hand as her pupils widened at her daughter's statement. The show of emotion from herself in front of Evie. It was but for a moment. She also kept her back to the hidden camera in the nursery. Years of being watched, her various peeks into the security room, and of course, her being a no stranger to technology gave her an intimate knowledge of the security system. <strong>"I am sure it did hurt Naomi. But it is not nice to make a comment such as that."</strong> She spoke to her daughter like she would an adult. Naomi looked at Evie and bowed, <strong>"Sorry Ebie"</strong> Evie could sense that she was still curious and wanted to know more.<br><br><strong>"Naomi, Chisato will come to look after you for a bit. I need to speak to Evie."</strong> Mai turned and looked at the camera.<strong> "Sato, please call Chisato, I need to speak to the new bodyguard about tomorrow's activities. We will be going to the Tokyo cultural center." </strong> She then gave her daughter a hug and Evie could see how much her daughter meant to her. Before she let her daughter go, she glanced her Evie, and for the first time her eyes softened for her love, but that was doubt and concern in her eyes. Then, just as quickly her mask returned. "<strong>Naomi, we will go to see the kimono exhibition you so enjoy tomorrow and the park."</strong> It did not take long for a woman in her 30s to walk in.<br><br><strong>"Chisato, this is Evie, the new bodyguard for Naomi. Look after Naomi for a bit. I have to discuss security arrangements with the new bodyguard."</strong> Mai's voice sounded measured and formal with Chisato, which spoke volumes to Evie. Chisato was someone that Mai did not trust and more than likely someone who reported to her husband. Giving Naomi another hug she stood up and continued. <strong>"Evie, if you would follow me. I will show you your room and we shall continue to talk while I draw a bath. There is much for you to know for you to do your job adequately"</strong> With that she left the nursery, expecting Evie to follow.<br><br>Mai continued down the corridor and gestured to an open door but at the same time subtly glanced at the camera looking down the corridor. "<strong>This is Naomi's bedroom."</strong>She then continued down the corridor and opened another. <strong>"This is yours. There is an ensuite attached. You will be stationed here in this wing, unlike the rest of the employees They are in the west wing, and we are in the east. You will have your meals with us. Most of the time you will be with us here in this wing. My room is down at the end. At times you would be required to work with Chisato who is the secondary carer for Naomi. This is especially the case when I have duties with my husband."</strong> As she showed Evie her room, she subtly glanced at a picture on the wall. <br><br><strong>"Come, we will continue this while I draw my bath. We shall continue the conversation."</strong> Mai opened the door at the end of the corridor and as usual, did not wait for Evie to follow. Her room was simple and minimalistic unlike most of the trappings of the big traditional-style house. There was a futon, a desk with a computer and 3 screens, a bedside table, and a decorative alcove with a matching Katana and Wakizashi. The house was built like a big square with a huge open-air courtyard in the middle. The east end was where they are, the west end was where the household staff is housed, and of course the security hub. The North end was where Hitoshi sleeps and holds "court: and the South end, was the entrance and "public" area. <br><br>This time Mai waited for Evie to walk in and made it a point to subtly glance at a beautifully framed ink painting of Mt Fuji as she headed over to a set of double doors and opened them. It was a huge walk-in wardrobe with both modern and traditional clothing. A dressing table is at the far end which also has an open double door that leads into a large ensuite.&nbsp; As Evie walked in, she slide the double doors shut and locked them. She turned and rested her back against the door. She raised a finger to her lips and closed her eyes. Internally, she rang that bit of code into the backdoor of the security system, to check if there were any new "additions". Then as she opened her eyes, she looked at Evie. With her mask off, Evie could see a myriad of emotions in her face and body. Fear, doubt, sadness, worry, love, and anxiety.<br><br>Mai shook and clasped her hands as she pressed herself against the door and in a soft voice <strong>"BAKA! Whare you are doing here? You are supposed to be safe in America. Now you are here in grave danger for what? Leave now! Say you changed your mind...Go...I cannot lose...Go!!"</strong> Tears were forming in her eyes as she said those words. She did not know what to think or say. So many years had passed. At first, part of her wanted Evie to rescue her all those years before, but but...now, after all these years.....so much has changed. She was damaged goods, but at least she had one love in her life...well...maybe two....but....she forced herself to put the mask back on.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>10-03-2023, 17:57:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, The Nursery</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><br><strong>Warnings:</strong> <em>Mentions of domestic abuse; scenes from war.</em><hr><br>The little girl apologizes for asking Evie if it hurt.<br><br><em>Beside her, Kellers is laughing, the smoking bodies of the Holdouts littering the bunker they’d just taken against all odds. “Didn’t think we’d do it either, did you? Holy shit, holy shit,” Kellers laughs. Evie feels it too, the rising elation—the bunker’s cleared. A stupid order, they should have blown it open with a tank, but their CO was angling for a promotion, he thought there’d be intel inside the tank might destroy.<br><br>Next thing she knows there’s a flash of light. Someone would tell her later, the CO didn’t relay his order up the chain and their tank blew open the bunker anyway. Friendly fire. Evie’s next memory is lying in the wreckage, hours later, after the Holdouts pushed back their forces; Keller’s a memory, so are her legs and most of her arm. She didn’t feel it, the moment the shell hit the bunker.<br><br>But she felt the rain starting to beat down on her; felt the pain blossom over the next few hours. She had no idea if the Army would be back, and when.</em><br><br>“It’s okay, you can always ask questions,” Evie says. “It hurt, but I’ve had worse.” She glances at Mai with some meaning.<br><br>Evie absorbs what Mai is intimating, allowing a parting pat to the top of Naomi’s head with the mechanical hand. The familiar gesture earns a look of disdain from Chisato, and soon they’re wending through the east wing, first into Mai’s room—smaller, more austere than their homes had been in New Vegas. Beyond that, her wardrobe. Mai seals it, back to the door, and then the real Mai comes out.<br><br><strong>"BAKA! What are you doing here? You are supposed to be safe in America. Now you are here in grave danger for what? Leave now! Say you changed your mind...Go...I cannot lose...Go!!"</strong><br><br>Evie has the temerity to grin at her. Mai’s much shorter—Evie's parents gene-modded her, which is how she got so tall that when she comes close, hands on Mai’s hips, her body pressed into hers, Mai’s over a head shorter. With the warm skin still on the pads of her synthetic hand’s fingers, she strokes Mai’s cheek. “Shut up and kiss me, Mai.”<br><br>She wraps her hand around Mai’s head and seizes her mouth, claims it. It’s all she’s wanted for almost four years, it’s what all this has come to. She’s not sure she was thinking about running off to Japan to be a bodyguard when she joined the military, but she always knew Mai would be with dangerous men, that the only way to get her was to become even more dangerous.<br><br>Now she is, and she reaches down, lifting Mai up, hands beneath her thighs, pinning her back to the doorframe.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>14-03-2023, 02:52:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Mai looked up at Evie. she had grown taller since they had last seen each other. That very night over 3 years ago. She remembered it like it was yesterday. They had gone out on a date and were intensely physical. It was not their first time, she had lost her virginity to Evie. Her parents would have disapproved, Evie was a westerner who did not share their cultural values, and worse she was not male. Their relationship was forbidden. But she did not care, she loved Evie with all her heart. When she returned home that night, her parents were waiting for her. They were livid and forbade her to see Evie anymore. What she had dreaded had come through, they had found out and they were not happy. She had threatened to leave home, to live her life as she saw fit. She was punished for that by her father, to the extent that she nearly died. They had told her that the only reason why she lived was that she had been promised to the son of an ally. Besides she could always be rebuilt. She had threatened to kill herself but her father was Oyoban and promised to do worse to Evie. She had no choice, no phone, no means of outside contact. She had no choice. She flew out to Japan the next day.<br><br><strong>“Shut up and kiss me, Mai.”</strong><br><br>Evie devoured Mai then. She fought her at first. She tried to push her love away. Yes, she was her love, no still her love. But the danger Evie would be in. She tried to slap her away, but still, Evie did not let go. She felt the strong yet feminine touch of Evie, she had missed it so much and she soon gave in to it. She let Evie take her. She felt the rest of her mask shatter as she returned Evie's kiss. She thirsted for it, for Evie's love. She missed everything about her love, her taste, her scent, her touch, everything. "Evie.....take me like you always do?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>14-03-2023, 20:41:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, Mai's Locked Dressing Room</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr><br>Mai melts against her, body going from tensed to hungry, and Evie’s kiss breaks away, seeking out the spot beneath her ear, the one Evie knows she likes. Kisses, little licks to the skin there always make her body start to react—and better when she works her way down, brushing her nose against the woman’s throat. Their whispers are right into one another’s ears.<br><br><em>"Evie… take me like you always do?”</em><br><br>“I’m going to take you every way there is,” she promises. Pinning Mai with her hips, she rips her kimono open at the chest, exposing her neck, throat, the tops of her breasts, and then hefts her just a bit higher, running her nose down to the place where neck and shoulder joins, and starts to kiss and tease the skin along that gorgeous curve. She holds Mai up, back to the wall, controlling her elevation, hands working around to flatten on the curve of her bottom, savoring how much lighter she is now. They’d done this a few times, but Evie’s much stronger than when they were sixteen.<br><br>So strong, she has no problem lifting her higher, raising her body up, sliding her up the wall so that her mouth can trail from throat to collar bone. At each new elevation, her body pushes in, between Mai’s thighs, keeping her pinned, but also providing a leanly muscled torso for Mai to wrap her legs around.<br><br>“How do you want it?” There were only a few feverish memories to pull from, having been physical only for a few months before they were caught, though they’d been in love for much longer. “Like the time at the theater? Maybe the time in the limo?” In the theater, she'd gone down on Mai in a balcony, hidden from view, while their chaperone slept; in the limo, she'd been more commanding, Evie's first experience with domination.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>16-03-2023, 03:45:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Mai lets out a sigh as Evie pulls away, she had not been touched and loved like this since, since Evie was last in her life. She whimpered as Evie started the kiss her there, that spot. She felt herself melt even further into bliss. Tears continue to form in her eyes, but this time from joy as she felt hope once more. <br><br>Mai let out a gasp as Evie ripped apart the top of her kimono, the tightness of it and Evie's hips keeping her pinned, her neck, her shoulders, and the top of her breasts exposed. Her back arched back, she looked at Evie with desire and love in her eyes. Evie remembered that Mai used to be more tanned. but not anymore. Perhaps it was a lack of sunlight. <br><br>Compared to the past, Mai looked more like a porcelain doll, especially compared to Evie. But although fragile and slight, there was an edge to her that reminded Evie of the Mai of the past. She surprised herself as she almost let out a giggle, the softness that Evie remembered. She kissed Evie then on her lips again, the softness of her lips against Evie. She wrapped her legs around her love, tight, not wanting to let go. At least as much as she could within the confines of her kimono. It was as if she felt that if she did, Evie would once more disappear from her life. <br><br>Mai blushed as she heard Evie. Memories she had buried so deep within her resurfaced. She remembered their bouts of passion. She remembered the tenderness of Evie's love. How she will tease her and make her orgasm until she begged Evie to stop. She missed the times when they would do it in public where the thrill of it all drove everything up another level. Most of all when Evie took control and dominated her. For her, it demonstrated an absolute level of trust, love, and devotion. She needed it, needed Evie to take control and take back what was lost. She wanted Evie to take control of her once more. To wrestle her away from the possessive thoughts her husband left in her. She needed to be owned once more by her love. She felt confused as she hated that.<br><br>But perhaps now was not really the time. Not yet.&nbsp; Mai whispered into Evie's ears. <strong>"Make me cum for you like in the theater. Please. Show me that you are really here with me. Tell me that you would not leave. That you are real. Evie, I missed you so much"</strong> With that, she gently nibbled Evei'e ears and gently suckled. She would have wrapped har arms around her love if she was not pinned.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>16-03-2023, 04:54:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, Mai's Locked Dressing Room</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr><br><em>"Make me cum for you like in the theater. Please. Show me that you are really here with me. Tell me that you would not leave. That you are real. Evie, I missed you so much."</em><br><br>Mai’s held higher, just above Evie’s waist, legs tightened around her torso, mouth seeking her ear. Evie’s eyes shut, her whole body tightening, feeling a glorious ripple of pleasure zing from her hardened nipples, down her spine. Mai remembered how wild she could get when her ears are played with. They’d been making out for a long time, and Mai simply knew how to torture her.<br><br>“I’m here, baby. I’m realer than real, and no one’ll ever take you away from me ever fucking again.” Lifting her mechanical hand, pressing the skin on the pads of her fingertips to Mai’s jaw, stroking it as though to confirm it’s real, she seizes her mouth again, tasting her.<br><br>The moment is pure perfection; she hates the way that bastard has changed her body, paled her skin, kept her cloistered, and she wants only to spread Mai out on the biggest bed imaginable and feast on every inch of her until she’s a writhing, panting mess, like the first time they’d gone all the way after their makeout session had transformed into a wordless eruption passion.<br><br>They’ve never had a space to themselves, not really. Everything has been semi-public, everything a risk. This might be the first time they have an actual locked door, besides the limousine. Evie’s pretty sure in here, she can make Mai scream.<br><br>She sets her down long enough to unwrap the belt, roll the kimono more lovingly off her shoulders, unwrapping her body with deliberate slowness, kissing each new inch of skin. When the kimono is passed her shoulders, she lifts Mai to sit on the dresser, pausing to reach down and strip off her own tight T-shirt clinging to her frame, revealing her rangy body and how it’s changed, less stringbean and lightly contoured up her abdomen, ribs cresting gently. The sports bra comes off with her shirt, shiny dogtags falling between her firm breasts. The arm is symmetrical and contoured beautifully to match the other, and there’s power in her long arms too. The scars from the explosion are scant, having been patched when they’d replaced most of her arm and her as-yet unseen legs beneath those cargo pants.<br><br>Approaching, she lifts one of Mai’s hands, pressing the palm to her warm tit, which is more than a handful. “You’re the only one who knows how to touch them.” Her hand, meanwhile, slides down, stroking lightly between Mai’s thighs to tease her. “Seem to recall, at the theater, doing this for the first act. By the time I got on my knees, I think you were off almost instantly, and then it was just a matter of how many more times I could make it happen before intermission…” She leans in, nose brushing against Mai’s. “No idea how you kept your mouth shut through all that.”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>16-03-2023, 09:12:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Mai smiled as she felt the emotions of her love stir. She was always good at reading her love and all the years apart did not dampen that ability. She continued to gently nibble and pull. Not to hurt but to tease. Her breath warmed the ears of her love. <br><br><strong>“I’m here, baby. I’m realer than real, and no one’ll ever take you away from me ever fucking again.”</strong><br><br>Mai paused the assault on Evie's ears. She leaned back and looked at Evie, then blinked her eyes as she grasped Evie even tighter and whispered, <strong>"Promise?"</strong> As Evie held her in a kiss, she returned it fiercely and passionately. There was a slight hesitancy as if she was trying to remember how it was to kiss something she loved. But the feelings were real. They were all so real as she held on to Evie. She let Evie undo her obi, the kimono parting down the middle accenting her cleavage. Normally there would be a silk inner garment, but this time she was in such a hurry to answer her husband's summons that she did not have time. Besides the kimono was heavy enough. The only thing she had on was a pair of white panties. <br><br>Mai was never really well endowed. But her breasts were still firm and pert. Just the right handful. She let Evie undress her. She shuddered in pleasure as she felt the touch of her love. She wanted to know what had happened to her Evie. She was not like this before, but all in good time and only when her love was ready to reveal all. Frankly, she did not care how her love looked. Only that she was back. <br><br>Mai was smaller and softer than her love. Where Evie was rangy, she was softer, much like the geisha. Even undressed, she had the bearing and elegance of what a traditional Japanese maiden should look like. Despite having a child, she kept fit. Very different from the dalliances that her husband keeps. As she sat on the dresser in her panties, she looked at her love undressing. She wanted nothing more than to touch and hold Evie. However, her tight hand lingered over a few bruises on her left thigh. She bit her bottom lip, embarrassed at the state she was in. As she forced those thoughts away, she smiled as she noticed her lover's nipples were just as hard as hers. Hers was shaped like little blueberries, and they ached to be touched. <br><br>Mai smiled as felt Evie's breasts. She gently explored them. She had always loved the shape of them, how her nipples will react to her touch. She moved to the edge of the dresser and gently ran the backs of her fingers against the sides of Evie's breast. It was a feathered touch as she moved down to its underside as turned her fingers so that her fingertips rested just there. Where Evie always loved. She then moved her fingers higher, just enough to graze the nipple. She was happy that she could still excite her love.<br><br><strong>"Someone has been working out."</strong> She leaned forward and gently kissed the nipple she caressed. It was featherlight and her breath warmed Evie. She gently pushed her tongue out as she twirled it around Evie's hardened nipple. Then leaning back, she looked into Evie's eyes and teasingly dipped her fingers into her mouth and reached forwards to grasp her love's nipple and gently pinched it. Her thumb gently teased the held nipple.<br><br>Mai blushed as she heard Evie remind her of what had happened. <strong>"If I recalled, it was our first. I had ached and longed for you. But you made me wait. You made me promise not to wear any underwear that night. We so nearly got caught so many times....fiend...." </strong> She felt herself shiver as she felt the closeness of her love. Part of her wondered if she was going to wake up. <strong>"So are you going to make me wait again? Or just take me? It has been so long Evie. I had lost all hope to see you again."</strong><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>18-03-2023, 23:22:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, Mai's Locked Dressing Room</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Casual clothes, hidden knife</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr><br><em>"Someone has been working out."</em><br><br>Evie’s not the blushing sort, but that comment and the approval in Mai’s eyes makes her blush. When Mai looks at her half disrobed, when she reaches to touch Evie, she feels beautiful. Always tall, always intimidating and challenging the boys—high school boys, who don’t know how to handle that—Evie rarely felt attractive. Mai was the first one to touch her like something to be cherished, and that’s how she treats Evie’s breasts, with the lightest of touches, her warm mouth enveloping a hard nipple, her wet fingers teasing the other. Through her tender play of tongue and fingertips on peaked flesh, Mai pulls a low moan from Evie’s throat, her eyes turning to slats, rocking faintly into her lover, fingers stroking her hair, pulling the clasps and pins away to free it so she can wrap her hands through the silky locks. “Just like that, Mai—oh god, there, yes,” her voice a little higher, and lighter. “Please don’t stop.” Evie’s voice will sometimes pitch higher when pleasure is jolting through her body, the tomboy turning girlish if you touch her just right.<br><br>If they spent a little while at it, Evie would get off just from Mai playing with her breasts—it happened with them once before, and right now Evie’s so thirsty she doesn’t even think it would take as long.<br><br>But she’s thirsty for Mai even more than she is for getting off.<br><br><em>"If I recalled, it was our first. I had ached and longed for you. But you made me wait. You made me promise not to wear any underwear that night. We so nearly got caught so many times....fiend.... So are you going to make me wait again? Or just take me? It has been so long Evie. I had lost all hope to see you again."</em><br><br>“Your wait is over, little one.” Her fingers return to Mai’s white panties, teasing her through thin fabric as she claims the other woman’s mouth, kissing her, savoring her. Breaking off the kiss, she says close to her ear: “But I still hate it when you’ve got underwear on.” <br><br>Her thumbs hook into the underwear and she rolls them down to her knees, dropping to her own, dresser low enough to put her right between Mai’s thighs. She wraps her hands warmly around Mai’s thighs, the mechanical one as soft as the other because her palm and pads to her fingers are still her original skin. Noticing the bruises, her eyes glance up at Mai, acknowledging her pain by placing the tenderest kisses she can around the bruises, and then higher than them. She’s careful not to touch her there, careful not to trigger the slightest pain. No, tonight is about pleasure.<br><br>Evie drags her lover to the very edge of the dresser top and slides her tongue through her soft folds, eyes shut—<em>There it is,</em> she thinks. This position, between Mai’s thighs, eating her out, tasting her, bringing her to ecstasy. It’s all she’s dreamed about for three long years, all she’s ever wanted. She laps gently at Mai, refamiliarizing herself with every inch of her pussy, remembering it with her mouth and tongue, leaving nothing untouched.<br><br>But soon, her lips suck tenderly on Mai’s clit, and her tongue starts a quick circle around the bud, combining her gentle licks with the circle, gradually giving her clit more and more of her attention as it wakes up.<br><br>Evie’s usually a top, but only for the joy of seeing pleasure spread inexorably through her partner’s body, and what she’s missed more than anything is hearing Mai lose control as she torments her. Mai’s such a stoic, but Evie’s always wanted to make her scream. She felt like she’d gotten close once or twice; maybe this is her lucky night.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>20-03-2023, 03:20:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>Mention of domestic abuse</em><hr><br>Mai blushed a little as Evie looked up with acknowledgment of her treatment. She could not deny her husband. He had too much of a hold over her, especially with Naomi. At least he now has his other distractions to keep him company. She looked down at Evie and watched her pull down her panties. Her sex was bare, the slight puff of her mound already damp from the desire for her love. <br><br>There were physical changes to Evie. She looked more muscular and had obvious cybernetic changes. She noticed those changes immediately.&nbsp; But she did not care, other than the hurt her love would have suffered. She smiled softly at Evie as she caressed her. It was as if nothing had changed. She still felt the love. It was still there. Her strong and beautiful Evie. “My beautiful Evie, always there to find and catch me”.<br><br>Mai took a sharp breath then as she felt the feather-like kisses as her love gently explored her. Evie still knew what to do. Her butt was on the dresser's edge, she leaned back against the mirror on the dresser as she spread her legs a little more to give access to Evie. Besides the normal lack of a tan that Evie remembered, nothing else had physically changed. <br><br>Mai rewarded Evie with a whimper as she pushed her sex closer as she felt Evie’s exploring tongue. She had missed it so much, that love and tenderness. She knew Evie could take charge and dominate her. Make her beg for release or to stop them from orgasming too much. But there was also this tender side of her love. She raised her right hand to her lips and bit her index finger to stop herself from crying out. At least the room was soundproof, and she had run her sub-routines to hide from prying eyes and ears. She knew that Evie would love to hear her scream. It was a bit of a challenge between the two of them. It was after all not very ladylike. She could generally win but her ache for her love, the memories, and the sensations she missed so much prove too much for her.<br><br>Mai gripped the edge of the dresser as she bit her finger even harder as she tried to stop another whimper and moan. Her clitoris stiffed, a stiff bundle of nerves that Evie’s tongue was exciting. She rocked back even more against the mirror and felt her legs move to wrap themselves around Evie unconsciously not wanting to let her love go. Evie drove her crazy. “I miss you so much my beautiful Evie, I had thought I’d lost you….” She felt her muscles tighten, but it was a pleasurable feeling. She knew what was happening and what would soon happen. She tapped the dresser with her left hand as she tried to pull back. But it was as if her love had somehow kept her from moving.<br><br>Mai eyes widened as she pushed back against the mirror. She clamped her mouth then with her right hand as she felt herself shudder. The muffles of a scream escaped her fingers as she felt herself orgasm. It was something she had so missed and held on to her dear life as she tightened her hold on Evie. It did not last long but it felt like it went on forever. Evie knew just what to do and it did not take long for her to turn Mai into putty.<br><br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>21-03-2023, 17:54:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon&nbsp; | Japan, Ishikawa Estate, Mai's Bath</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Undressed</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa</em><br><strong>Notes:</strong> <em>Takes place 19 years ago and includes backstory going back farther</em><hr><br>Evie had been prepared to make this last a while, to bring Mai to the edge, hold her there, let her down—over and over. She’d dreamed of it, but in that feverish moment, watching her body arch, hearing her sweet voice, tasting her again, she can’t stop herself. Her tongue focuses on Mai’s stiffened clit, sliding her fingers into Mai’s warm depths, hooking them upward, finding the spot on the forward part of her inner walls that drive her wild. Mouth and hand work in tandem, drawing the orgasm out of her favorite person, pulling that delicious, choked off cry from Mai’s throat.<br><br>As Mai’s body turns molten and melts for her, so does Evie’s heart.<br><br>She stands, lifting the woman in her arms, feeling how she’s gone slack against her, carrying her beyond the dressing room to the bath. She kneels in the tub, placing Mai, stripping any stitch of clothing that remains on her lover and running warm water. As it fills around her, Evie finishes disrobing—like most cybernetics, the legs won’t be affected by water, but the seams around her mid-thighs and the mechanical jointing are visible. So much of her is mechanical now. She sinks into the bath behind Mai, legs wrapped around her from behind, Evie’s body positioned as though to encapsulate her, taking her time, washing Mai’s body—her hair. Evie misses that.<br><br>They cannot stay too long. Evie’s careful not to wet her own hair, she wants it dry when she leaves the bath later. Knowing their time is growing short tonight, she catches Mai up on what brought her here—the war, the injury, petitioning for the Japan assignment knowing it would put her close to powerful clientele interested in American bodyguards. She’d mucked around in some bars, built a reputation as a dangerous woman who preferred the company of men, which had been enough to get her name floated up the chain to Hitoshi.<br><br>“It’ll take some time,” she whispers. “To figure out how to get you and Naomi out of here.” Naomi would make it complicated, but Evie grins—<em>Of course the kid is coming too. At least she looks like Mai.</em> “But I have a few friends, believe it or not, and we can do this, if you’ll let me.”<br><br>She feels invincible in that moment, unstoppable. She’s gone from useless rich girl to mercenary, fought every step of the way, and now her prize is between her thighs, her fingers scrubbing Mai’s rich, dark mane. She can smell Mai, making her real again, and Evie is too young, too foolish to see coming the dark bend in the road.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Side Stories Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>22-03-2023, 09:04:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://storage.googleapis.com/pod_public/750/147860.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Mai Ishikawa (Naomi's mother)</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Sunny Afternoon | Japan, Ishihawa Estate, The Garden</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Light Kimono predominantly red sakura with white background and matching obi</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Evie Connors</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong><hr><br>Mai whimpered softly in Evie's ears as she was lifted effortlessly by her love. She continued to shudder as she was carried. Tears start to form in her eyes again as she held on to Evie. But this time they were tears of joy. She looked up at Evie as she removed her clothing.<strong> "I missed you so much, Evie. So much that it ached. I hope you understand, I had to leave you. They threatened to hurt you. I couldn't let them. Will you forgive me?"</strong> It was about this time that she noticed Evie's legs. It shocked her and her heart broke. Her love had gone through so much and she did not know. But she put it aside. Her love was back. They would make it work. They would have too.<br><br>Mai leaned against Evie, her back resting on Evie's breasts. She smiled as she could still feel the stiffened nipples. She rested her hands on Evie's thighs. She was not sure if her love could feel her touch on the cybernetic limbs. She wanted to show her love that she did not care and that her love was still beautiful and the one for her. She leaned back and kissed Evie hungrily.<strong> "And you stopped...stopped far earlier my love. I thought you could go longer..." </strong>she teased. She looked into Evie's eyes and continued as she thought back on the memory of doing simple activities like plaiding Evie's hair and doing her nails, <strong>"I can't plaid your hair anymore."</strong> <br><br>Mai then listened to her love. She felt her heart break again as she held back her tears. Her love had sacrificed so much. But she did not feel sorry for her love. She was proud. Proud and full of gratitude for what Evie had done. She continued to listen quietly without interrupting other than caressing her love. She wanted to make sure that Evie knew her thoughts. <strong>"I love you, Evie, I still do. I think about you all the time. How can I say no? But you have to understand. I love Naomi too. I will not endanger her or leave her with that Monster."</strong> She closed her eyes as she thought about the consequences of what would happen if they were found out. How they would hide. They would be on the run for the rest of their lives. She knew that her husband will do everything it takes and his network was powerful and far-reaching. <br><br><strong>"I will agree if you promise me two things. One, we choose the path of the least risk. I understand that there will be risks involved. My husband is capable of anything and he is ruthless as he is far-reaching. We will be on the run forever. But we take every precaution. We need to be patient. And two, the most important condition, and I want your word of honor and on our love. If anything happens. Your first priority is Naomi. You save her. You take her from that Monster. If there is a threat to either me or Naomi, you save her all the time. No ifs no buts. Can you promise me this? If you cannot, I must say no"</strong>
			</dd>
		</dl>
		<div id="footer" class="smalltext">
			
			<span class="smalltext" style="display: inline; visibility: visible; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?action=credits" title="Simple Machines Forum" target="_blank" class="new_win">SMF 2.0.19</a> |
 <a href="https://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/license.php" title="License" target="_blank" class="new_win">SMF © 2021</a>, <a href="https://www.simplemachines.org" title="Simple Machines" target="_blank" class="new_win">Simple Machines</a>
			</span>
		</div>