Verguenza



All right, Minna-san, this is the first draft of my fic. All grammar and spelling errs are mine and mine alone, you can't take them from me! Any-who, my Muse decided that today was the day to put Valgaav and Filia through some MAJOR angst. Who the hell am I to argue? Besides, she threatened me with a flaming, rabid Plot Squirrel (them suckers are trickier than your Plot Bunny by far), so I had no choice. I actually don't like the Valgaav and Filia coupling, I prefer Gaav with Valgaav and Xellos with Filia, but my Muse insisted that I write this fic. Now, be forewarned this is a really dark lemon fic that I would call a little on the violent side. I got my idea for this from a Japanese Doujinshi called "Abandoning Pride." BTW, Slayers isn't mine nor are its characters mine, although I wish it were otherwise...Any-who, on to the fic!

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Dark Lemon Trilogy
Part One:
Vergüenza

"Valgaav, please! I must know...the truth."

His face whipped towards hers; his eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring, and teeth bared, he snarled at her,

"Go home, little female."

She flinched back slightly, but continued to look into his eyes for the answer she sought. He stared into her eyes as well and he could not help but soften then. In that instant she saw into his soul and knew the truth.

Filia let out a long wail and threaded her fingers through her hair viscously. The sound pierced through him, keeping him from looking away from her form as she slowly crumpled to her knees.

She mourned for her Kind's sins and, just maybe, she mourned for his Kind as well. He moved towards her until he loomed over her. She was still gripping her hair hard and her face was streaked with tears. More tears pooled in her eyes as she looked up at him. Her parted lips showed her fangs as she made soft mewling sounds in the back of her throat.

"Now, you know," he said softly, turning from her. He began to move away.

"No!" Filia moaned, long and low. He did not pause, but looked back on her anyway and then turned his eyes away from her again. Filia picked herself up and stumbled after him.

"Wait! Please!" Filia slipped her arms around his waist with conviction and held onto him carefully. He stopped and stood there, his features remaining impassive. Filia tugged against him, urging him to turn around and face her. He slowly turned to face her and pushed her down to the ground by her shoulder.

"Leave. Me. Be." Before he could move out of her reach again, she grabbed his arm and held on tightly.

"Please," Filia whispered, "do not bring the Dark Lord, Dark Star, into this world. If you wish revenge, I beg of you - take it on me. My Kind has committed a grievous sin against yours, and it is only right that you should hate my Kind. Please, leave this world in peace. I offer myself up to you. Rend me to pieces if you like, but please, let this world be. Please...." Filia sobbed softly as she hung her head. Valgaav's face twisted and hardened into a sneer. He laughed at her in an almost maniacal manner as he threw his head back. Filia blinked her eyes wide as she looked up at him.

"Why do you laugh at me?" Filia wrinkled her brows in confusion. His laughter died down, and he continued to sneer as he looked at her. He laughed low and softly at her.

"So the little female offers herself up to me as if the price of her life is enough to counterbalance the genocide of my Kind. How amusing."

Filia gripped his arm tighter in panic as she shook her head in denial.

"I know that my life is not nearly enough to pay for the sins of my Kind, but...it is the only thing I have to offer." She looked up at him in earnest now as she tried to convince him to leave their world in peace. For all she knew, though, her offering was most likely given in vain. There was a high probability that he would refuse her and tell her to go home once again.

That was something Filia could never understand. What home would she have to go to if the world was going to be destroyed? Where was the point in that? Filia could only wonder.

Valgaav crouched down in front of her kneeling form until he was eye to eye with her. With his one hand still on her shoulder, the other moved to her cheek where his finger tips flutter against her skin. His sneer softened to a slight upturn of his lips and he said to her,

"What if I want you to live, +Shrine Maiden+? What if I wanted to take something else from you, instead of your life? Did you know that after your Kind slaughtered mine that I was not even given the chance to weep for them?" Filia began to move away from him and mewled as more tears fell from her eyes. Valgaav grabbed her bang and held her in place.

"I think that even if I broke you," he whispered in low menacing voice, "you would still be able to mourn that loss of yourself. So you see, anything that you have to offer me is nothing that I want."

"Valgaav, please," she whispered back. "Anything you want, you can have it! Take it! Anything!" Her voice broke as she pleaded once again with him.

Valgaav twirled his finger through the bang that he held and cocked his head to the side.

He barred his teeth at her again in the semblance of a smile and said quite calmly to her,

"Anything? Anything at all? Can you really give me that? Can you give life back to my dead Kind? No? If not that, can you give life back to my Lord Gaav? Can you? Frankly, I would like both. Can you do that for me, +Shrine Maiden+?" Filia sobbed,

"I cannot do that! You know I cannot do that!" He violently jerked her head by her bang. He pulled until her face was less than an inch from his own and he growled,

"Oh, but you said I could have anything I wanted."

Filia sobbed and quaked. She tried to calm herself as she said,

"You can have anything that is with in my power to give you."

"And what if I want you?" Filia's face went pallid, and she closed her eyes.

"As you wish," she said with resignation. Valgaav released her bang and thrust her to the ground before him. Filia was too shocked by the abrupt action to cry out. His maniacal laughter returned as he straightened himself. Filia picked herself off the ground and rose to face him. With her glove she wiped the dirt and tears from her face. Her face now held a strength that had not been there before.

"Do not laugh at me. I can do that." He gave pause to his actions and stared at her. Then, putting his arms akimbo, Valgaav laughed lowly at her.

"What would a Shrine Maiden know of such things?" Filia opened her mouth as if to say something and then paused. Valgaav began to laugh at her again. Filia glared at him and balled her fists.

"I know things, maybe not everything, but I know things!" Valgaav reached out and gripped Filia by her shoulders to his chest. He bent his head down and whispered into her ear,

"Some Shrine Maiden you are."

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End of Chapter 1

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Vergüenza

They were in Valgaav's stronghold now and the walls around them glistened oddly as if they were coated with black mother of pearl. Valgaav sat in the throne on the dais that was once Lord Gaav's. His legs splayed out before him as he rested his head on one of his hands. The other hand lay casually against the other massive armrest. Before him stood Filia, her clothing was still rumpled and dirty from being pushed into the dirt and she stood erect and proud in spite of that, with her eyes dry and her face clean.

"Tell me, do you know what to do now, +Shrine Maiden+?" Filia did not like the way he had been calling her "+Shrine Maiden+." He mocked her title.

"I disrobe," Filia said cautiously. Valgaav chuckled at her,

"Then do so." She kept her eyes unfocused and did not dare look at him. She looked off to the side of him at a particularly interesting spot on the wall.

Filia slipped off her headdress and let it fall from her fingers onto the floor. It clattered to the ground and sounded strangely loud in the audible silence. Her long, pointed ears were now bared as well as her entire head of golden hair. Her twin bangs were the only things left to frame her face. She stepped out of her soft boots next and untied her cloak. It slipped from her shoulders and pooled around her in a puddle of white.

Valgaav could not tear his eyes away from her as she moved through the motions mechanically.

Filia began to untie the belt at her waist and let that drop to the floor as well. She took her shirt then and lifted it over her head. It slipped unnoticed from her fingers to the floor as she moved to slide off her skirt. It pooled around her in a puddle of pink.

Valgaav immediately noticed the rather large mace strapped to her thigh with a garter.

As she stepped out of the clothing around her feet he said to her,

"I might be part demon, but I draw the line at masochism. I believe we will be leaving the mace out of foreplay." Filia looked down blankly at her mace.

"Oh, yes, of course," she murmured as she detached her mace and dropped it to the floor. For some odd reason, it did not report as her headdress had. Filia bent down and slipped off her socks and then her garter. Valgaav observed that the only clothing that remained on her was her chemise and gloves. Behind her, he also saw her tail swishing about slightly in a nervous action. If the +Shrine Maiden+ would come to him displaying her tail, then he would respond in equal measure.

He hissed with pain, and his one hand gripped the armrest of the throne as he unleashed his enormous dark wings as his top ripped slightly. His wings were covered in scales that looked oddly feather-like. He released his white-knuckled grip on the throne as he let his wings relax.

Filia looked up at him fearfully; she had seen his wings before, but never at so close a distance. They were huge, much larger than her own golden wings by far. They frightened her even more than the curved, spiral horn on his forehead.

"Why have you stopped +Shrine Maiden+? Please, continue," Valgaav stated with an edge to his voice. Filia's eyes snapped back to his, then darted away again. She slipped her chemise over her head and at last took off her gloves with shaking hands. She glanced around her and swished her tail in agitation. She did not know what to do with her hands so she crossed them over her middle and clutched her sides. She would not hide herself from him; she would be stronger then that. She kept her eyes downcast; waiting for something to happen or for some sharply spoken words to break the silence.

Valgaav let his eyes travel in appraisal of her form perhaps thrice before he noticed something not to his liking. He raised his head from his hand and bent forward slightly.

"Come here, *Shrine Maiden*," he commanded, slurring her title and making it sound dirty, like whore.

Filia padded slowly towards him and stepped up on the dais. When she stood before him, his arm shot out and he clawed his fingers through the hair on the top of her head. She stumbled and cried out in pain, falling to her knees before him. With his other hand he reached for her tail and gripped it hard; she thought he was breaking her bones.

Filia let out a long screech as tears spilled out of her tightly closed eyes. Once again her fangs shown as Valgaav's hand moved to cruelly cup the back of her head and force her face upwards.

"What is this?" Valgaav said with a maliciousness that made Filia sink her fangs into her lower lip and open her eyes. He held her tail between the two of them in his tight grasp.

"My tail," Filia choked out before sobbing. Valgaav's face twisted and he bared his teeth at her once more.

"I am not ignorant," he yelled, "I know what a tail is! I was talking about this!" He ripped his hand from her hair, pulling some stands of gold out, as he gripped the pink ribbon tied at the end of her tail. He ripped it from her tail and Filia watched in horror as the mangled pink ribbon floated to the ground. She panted as her eyes filled with tears and spilled out over her cheeks.

That had been horrible. More horrible than she could have possibly imagined and she honestly did not know why. That had been far too personal and struck to the very core of her soul. She wanted to wail at the injustice of that action, but found that she could only scream in mute horror at the sight of her ribbon lying tattered on the dais.

Valgaav gently cupped her chin with his fingertips and slowly turned her face towards his. Filia starred into his eyes on the verge of breaking down and weeping openly in front of him. But no, she must be stronger than that.

He smiled slightly at her, his features soft even though his eyes remained hard.

"Now, you are disrobed."

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End of Chapter 2

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Vergüenza

Filia jerked her face from his hand, she felt her chest tighten and found that she could not breathe. She shuddered once, twice, and then stilled.

Valgaav leaned back into the throne and steepled his fingers before his lips. Valgaav thought for a moment.

He sighed as he lowered his arms back down to place them against the armrests of the throne. The action caused Filia to start.

"Are you just going to kneel there?" Valgaav finally asked. Filia answered softly on a hick-up,

"No." Valgaav chuckled,

"Then what are you going to do?" Filia tilted her head up at him and looked at him from the corner of her eye,

"Are you going to take your clothes off?" Valgaav's lips twisted at that and he threw his head back laughing hysterically. Filia gazed at him in slight shock and befuddlement as she noticed tears spilling down his cheeks. After a long moment, he managed to control himself and wiped his tears away with the heels of his hands.

He looked at Filia again and almost giggled. She had been watching him the whole time. He smiled ruefully at her,

"I have never been asked to take my clothes off by a Shrine Maiden before." He tried to contain his chuckle as he gave her a genuine smile. She merely blinked at him blankly. This seemed to anger Valgaav and he hardened once again. His eyes bored into hers,

"Would you like to take my clothes off, +Shrine Maiden+?"

Filia's eyes practically popped open at that. She opened her mouth as if to utter a sound, but none came. She clamped her jaw shut and averted her eyes to a spot on the dais to the right of her thigh.

"Well?" Valgaav prompted. Filia's face twitched in annoyance,

"Are you so lazy that you cannot do it yourself?" Valgaav smiled at her.

"So, the Golden Ryuzoku Shrine Maiden has claws after all! Very well, I shall disrobe +for you+," Valgaav said.

Valgaav tore his top from his chest and tossed it to the floor with Filia's clothes. The sound of the rending fabric made Filia look at him. She saw scars that slashed across his chest.

Valgaav stood up from the throne abruptly, causing Filia to start back and scoot away from him. He kicked his shoes off and Filia watched each shoe fly. Her gaze eventually came back to rest on him. Valgaav released the drawstring on his pants and had his hands on the waistband as he noticed Filia staring at him. Valgaav smirked and wiggled his hips saying,

"Like that, do you?" Filia blushed red and turned her face away with a hand hovering close to her eyes. Valgaav let his pants drop and stepped out of them after unwrapping the bindings around his ankles. He put his hand out to Filia and flapped his wings once to draw her attention.

Filia felt the air rush past her and heard the sound his enormous wings created. Filia turned to face him as her abused ribbon fluttered by, unnoticed. She looked at his outstretched hand and then looked him up and down. She noticed that there were scars that covered various parts of his body that matched the ones on his face from cheek to jaw line. Finally, her eyes settled on the thatch of aqua green between his thighs. Filia wrinkled her face in confusion and asked,

"Is that what it is supposed to look like?" Valgaav dropped his hand saying,

"In its unaroused state, yes." Filia's eyes grew wide as she ruminated over his statement. She stuttered,

"But, but - I took off my clothes! You took off yours!" Valgaav twisted his lips once more.

"It is a bit more complicated then that, Shrine Maiden. You see, you have done nothing to arouse me yet." Filia gaped at that comment and looked rather insulted. Valgaav offered her his hand once more and said softly,

"Come with me." Filia begrudgingly stretched out her hand towards his and placed it in his open palm. Valgaav's fingers closed around hers and squeezed slightly before he brought her up from her rump. Filia stumbled slightly as she placed herself on her feet. She found it unusual that his hand was warm and his grip was gentle.

Filia began to grow frightened again as Valgaav pulled her forward towards him. Valgaav slipped his other arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. Filia blushed red and gripped his hand that she held hard. Her toes just barely touched the floor and still she only came up to his shoulder. He bent his head down and nuzzled her hair and neck as Filia gasped and flinched away from him at the unfamiliar contact.

Everything went dark unexpectedly as Valgaav wrapped his wings around them both, enclosing Filia in the darkness with him. She heard Valgaav whisper in her ear,

"I like your hair."

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End of Chapter 3

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Vergüenza

Valgaav swept his wings open and back and they revealed a softly lit room that seemed to have no walls.

Filia blinked at the sudden light and was startled as Valgaav plopped back against the bed pulling her atop him. She made a sound and buried her flushed face against his chest. Filia felt his chest rumble as he chuckled at her. He began to thread his fingers through her hair.

"What are you going to do now Shrine Maiden?" Wordlessly, Filia turned her head so that her cheek lay against his chest and began to slide one hand down his body. She counted the candelabras around them, keeping her mind elsewhere. Filia was stroking his hip when Valgaav rolled them over so that their positions were reversed. Filia gasped as she sank back into the bed-like cushions, for she had realized that it was not an actual bed they were on. Valgaav's face was close to hers as he said,

"You are going to have to do more than that, +Shrine Maiden+." He pushed himself off her and sat crossed-leg with his back to her a few feet away. His wings he kept arched and high as he folded his arms across his chest.

Filia closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She opened them again and peered up at the seemingly never-ending darkness above. This was a very strange place. Filia pushed herself up and leaned on her arms stretched out behind her.

"What is this place?" Filia asked as she began to crawl on her hands and knees towards his back. He moved his great wings and turned slightly to look at her. His orange, slit-pupil eyes gazed from their corners as he said ruefully,

"Welcome to the Astral Plain."

"The Astral Plain," Filia whispered to herself aloud. She had been told of this realm, but had never before entered into it.

The Astral Plain itself was a parallel of the Terrestrial Plain. Beings of higher power, such as Mazoku, Shinzoku, and Ryuzoku truly existed in this plain. It made sense to Filia now; there was no ceiling, nor were there walls. The darkness beyond the candelabras was indeed infinite, but such was the nature of a sub-spatial pocket of the Astral Plain.

Filia crawled around to face Valgaav. His eyes followed her wearily as he rose up on his knees. Filia knelt before him and he finally relaxed his wings. There was a moment's pause as Filia stiffened her resolve. She inhaled deeply as she clenched her hands into fists. She inched closer to him as his nostrils flared and his chest puffed up. When her knees touched his, his wings flinched and his eyes flashed. Filia released one of her fists and rested that hand on his thigh.

Valgaav nearly glared at her hand on his thigh with narrowed eyes. He watched as her hand moved to his member and hissed as her fingers ghosted against him. Filia started, then continued to administer her gentle touches.

Valgaav felt like fidgeting. There was nothing wrong with her touch, but it was merely too gentle. Is this what it was like with a female; all gentleness? This he was not used to; all he knew was hard, fast, and nearly downright savage. This gentle, teasing touch of hers left him aching for more.

His hand shot out and captured her other wrist. Filia cried out and tried to pull away from him. He jerked her forward and that stopped her struggles. She looked up at him with wide, fear-filled eyes as he said to her,

"Use both hands." For a moment he continued to hold her wrist, meeting her gaze. Finally, he dropped her hand and looked away from her. Filia once again reached her hand towards him and began to touch him again. She made sure to use both hands this time.

Valgaav decided to close his eyes and just feel the touch. Unbidden, a memory of Gaav unfolded in his mind. He remembered how Gaav had touched him and felt the first stirrings of desire in his loins. He let the memory play further as he felt her hands move against his stiffening member.

Filia thought she must be doing this right, else he would not be quivering and gasping at her touch.

Valgaav's brow was beaded with sweat. By now he had his hands fisted in the sheets of the bed-like object. The memory of Gaav furthered in detail and he began to pant heavily. Valgaav began to shudder in earnest as he lost control.

Filia recoiled as Valgaav climaxed, his seed spurting in warm splashes across her chest and belly. She scooted away from him as he bent down trembling and groaning. His great wing arched into the air as Filia panted hard and her eyes flashed with fright at the whole situation.

In spite of her fright, Filia began to feel deep, primitive urges. She knew what they were in the back of her mind. It was the smell of his seed that triggered a reaction in her body; it was also uncontrollable. She could already begin to feel the flush that slowly settled over her skin and the need for more air that consumed her.

She keened as Valgaav recovered and lifted himself by his arms. He brought his head with a piercing gaze to meet her eyes. As his gaze traveled downward, however, they appeared to become dazed. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils and rolled his eyes back. He could smell her as well.

He crawled toward her on hands and knees as Filia leaned back and clenched her hands haphazardly in front of her. Her teeth bared in fright and her eyes wide, Valgaav reached out with one hand to touch Filia.

He shuddered, dropping his head, and drew his hand away from her. He had to, above all else, keep control. He did not want to hurt her; that was not the purpose of this encounter. He raised himself up on his haunches and slid an arm about her waist. He pulled her towards him and placed his other hand on Filia's collarbone. Valgaav knelt down again and placed Filia on his lap with her thighs spread apart. He held her in place with his one hand at her lower back as the other slid across her chest. He gathered up his warm seed with his fingertips and brought them down between her thighs. He parted her and spread his seed between her folds to moisten her. Filia made a sound deep in her throat as her fingers dug welts into her palms with her nails.

Valgaav gathered more of his seed and returned his fingers to their ministrations beneath the golden curls at the juncture of Filia's thighs. As he touched her, Filia tensed up and she jerked her head to keep from uttering any sound. Each time she flinched her hair would brush against the back of his hand that he held against her spine. This reminded Valgaav of Gaav's hair.

That had been Gaav's one vanity; his thick, red hair. He kept his hair long, well past his knees, in fact. He had always kept it as neat as his bushy mane would allow, holding it back with a clasp. Valgaav had always loved Gaav's hair...

Without any conscious though, Valgaav's hand had slipped up her back to toy with strands of her golden hair. His hand traveled up further to run his fingers through the hair at her nape. Though she tried to suppress the noise, a strangled sound escaped her lips. A reflexive action of hers was to uncurl her hands and grasp at his chest. Her nails left welts there as well.

Valgaav's fingers continued to stroke her moistened flesh, as he became aroused once again. Filia closed her eyes tightly as she panted heavily. He pushed his sweaty forehead against hers and discovered that hers was sweaty as well. Filia tried to turn her head away from him, brushing her bangs against his face. Valgaav caught their scent and nuzzled her forehead with his.

He gathered more of his seed on his fingertips and returned his hand between her thighs. This time, however, after a few stokes he snaked two fingers inside her.

Filia threw her head back and screeched as her entire body arched at the unfamiliar contact. She reflexively dug her nails into the skin on his chest, drawing blood, as her tail thrashed about behind her.

Valgaav moved rhythmically as he moistened her inside, stretching her as well. Valgaav remembered his first time, how painful it had been. Even afterward, it was still painful in the beginning, but then it always gave way to pleasure. Cruelty was not the objective of this encounter, Valgaav reminded himself. He could not lose control.

Filia keened softly, uncontrollably as he continued to stroke her intimately. Valgaav's member twitched in response to her wailing. Filia continued to keep her eyes tightly closed, as Valgaav became more amorous in his touches.

Filia's hair flowed everywhere now, tickling his arms, chest, face, neck...

Valgaav nuzzled Filia under her neck, making sure to be careful with his horn, smelling her scent and feeling her hair against his face. He could feel her pulse beating rapidly and nearly taste the salt from her sweat against his lips. Valgaav could feel her clenching his fingers. He knew she was ready now, as ready as she would ever be.

Valgaav pushed her back and Filia's clawed hands were torn from his chest. As Filia's back came in contact with the cool sheets she arched up hissing between clenched teeth. Valgaav flipped her over and Filia tried to brace herself up on her hands and knees. He moved her tail out of his way. Valgaav rose on his knees and held her hips as Filia tore at the sheets with her clawed hands.

Filia was slightly out of touch with reality as the massive amounts of hormones pumped through her speeding blood stream. As Valgaav thrust into her, however, reality came roaring back.

Valgaav tried to keep an iron grip on her hips as she screamed and fought him. He loomed over her and gripped her shoulders instead, pulling her back against his chest. He could tell that she was crying. Tears leaked out from her tightly closed lids and clung delicately to her lashes. Filia ripped at the sheets with her nails, tearing them.

Valgaav could not blame her for her actions. He vividly remembered his first time; the blood, the pain, the screaming, and the lack of control. I was terrifying for anyone. Valgaav did not doubt that when he was done, her blood would be smattered on both their thighs.

Valgaav had managed this far to keep control of the situation, but had no real hope of keeping it up for long. Already she was making him lose it. Being that she was a maiden made her tight and her struggling did not help that.

He bent his head forward and nuzzled the mass of golden hair at the nape of Filia's neck. He breathed in the scent and relished the feel of it against his face. Before he knew it, Filia had quieted herself and tried to breathe deeply. She opened her eyes blearily and fixated them on the endless darkness that surrounded the room that was not a room. Filia hoped it would all be over soon.

Valgaav began to move, slowly at first, as he moved her hair over her shoulder. He put his lips against her neck. Filia could feel his breath against her flesh and her whole body twitched because of it. She was trying to ignore his penetration.

Valgaav inhaled her scent deeply, growing a little dizzy. He dragged his lips across her neck to her long, pointed ear. He moved one hand back to her hip and gripped her hard.

Filia gasped in shock as she felt his breath brush her sensitive ear and her own hips move in accordance with his. He growled and nipped at her ear. Filia arched her back in response and her hips thrust back against him without his urgings.

Valgaav shouted and his grip on Filia tightened to the point of bruising her. The last of his resolve fell away and he began to move against her wildly, uncontrollably. Filia moaned and keened all at once and she thrashed haphazardly. Her clawed hands ripped at the sheets, her whole body shuttered and quivered, twitched and jerked, and her tail slammed repeatedly against the bed-like object and Valgaav.

When her thrashing became too much, Valgaav sunk his teeth into the flesh between her neck and shoulder in an attempted to hold her steady.

Filia shrieked, arching and becoming rigid. He had hit the stop that all female ryuzoku posses. A bundle of nerves used in courtship and mating rituals. The stimulation from previous activities had made this area extremely sensitive to Filia.

She climaxed, her muscles convulsively clenching against Valgaav's member. Valgaav forwent the urge to scream and sunk his teeth into her flesh harder instead.

The next thing Filia knew was that her body was face down in the lashed sheets and Valgaav's weight rested atop her. She was also very sleepy. She thought about what had just happened, about what lead up to the events of what had just happened. Her lips trembled and her throat ached as she felt tears rise up from within her. Filia sobbed softly, her body wracking slightly.

Tiredly, Valgaav rolled over with Filia and lay on his back. He kept Filia at his side and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her temple lightly, catching a few salty tears on his lips.

"Do not cry, Shrine Maiden," he told her softly. As she continued to sob softly, he drifted off into sleep. He did not catch what she said next, as Filia cried herself to sleep,

"N-not a-a...Sh-rine...Ma-mai-den...any-more..."

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End of Chapter 4
End of Part One

Alight, Minna-san, I had originally planned for this story to end here. Well, to make a long story short (oxymoron?) this story has now become part of a trilogy. Because Suten Net can't write anything short, God forbid! Give me extensive feedback please, and this story will take off again. Any questions you have? Things that you don't understand, or don't make sense? E-mail me! I'm happy to answer any questions. Domo arigato, Minna-san, Adios!

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By: Suten Net