Interstellar Age

Another week passed, and during this time, Ayumi had given Erika some space. Meanwhile, Erich spent most of it in the arms of his two Oni lovers. Which only further filled Erika with rage towards the man.

Every day she had to watch her husband be intimate with two alien women, while he treated her like dog shit. As if she were something that disgusted him. This was having an increasingly negative effect on Erika's mood. To the point where irritability and general disagreeableness had become the norm.

For the first time in a long time, Erich and Erika had begun to speak again, but this was not a good thing. Instead, it was merely Erika taking every opportunity she could to argue with her husband about his actions, which dishonored her in more ways than he realized.

But Erich wouldn't have it. As far as he was concerned, Erika was not even his wife. She was a burden forced upon him by the state. Someone he was forced to look after, and never raise his hand against, despite her relentless onslaught of negativity.

Thus, he would usually respond to their arguments by fleeing to the beach and avoiding the woman for the rest of the day. It had gotten so bad that Ayumi knew she needed to intervene soon, or the married couple's rather vicious verbal disagreements would soon turn to physical violence.

Thus, against the advice of her great aunt, who seemed to be enjoying the drama. Ayumi sat down with Erich, and began to discuss with him about the issues he had with his wife. At first Erich thought that Ayumi wanted to speak with him about something that wasn't so tiresome, but when she finally spoke about the matter which was bothering her, he did not respond well.

"Erich... I'm worried about you, and your wife-"

Before Ayumi could even say another word, Erich raised his hand and tried to cut the woman off.

"Nope! I'm not having this discussion. That little cunt can go pound sand for all I care. I'm done with her. If she doesn't stop her bullshit, I'm packing her things and sending her back to live with her parents. I can't put up with this shit any longer!"

It was abundantly clear to Ayumi that her lover was in a furious state, and because of this, she quickly grabbed hold of his hands and looked at him with a concerned gaze in her amber eyes. The softness of the woman's touch helped Erich overcome his wrath and pay attention to her words.

"Erich.... I'm concerned about you! You are not being yourself lately. It is clear that your deteriorating relationship with your wife is causing severe problems to your mental health. And I can only sit here and watch as you become more violent by the day. Please, talk to me!"

Although Erich wanted nothing more than to forget about Erika and kick her to the curb, he could not stay mad when Ayumi was pleading with him, especially when she had such a concerned expression on her flawless face. Thus, he could only sigh and sit down as he began to discuss all the problems that he and Erika had as a married couple.

Erich vented his frustrations with the woman for nearly two hours, and the entire time Ayumi sat there and listened as she consoled her lover and his particularly aggrieved emotions. By the end of the tale, she had a better understanding of the situation, at the very least from Erich's perspective.

It took Ayumi several moments to collect her thoughts on the matter. From what Erich said, it sounded like he received continuous unprovoked harassment from Erika. That eventually cost him everything. All because he was born with a slightly different hair and eye color from what was considered normal.

After learning such a thing, Ayumi was convinced there was more to the truth than just what Erich had endured, and thus she decided that she would have to mediate the discussion between the man and his wife. Thus, the Oni Princess hugged her lover, and stroked the back of his hair, while assuring him that everything was alright, and that his anger was completely justified.

"Erich, what you went through was horrible. And I can only imagine how much you suffered because of Erika's actions. But, you have to let go of this anger inside of you. It is eating you up, and I can see the effect it has on you with my own eyes. I want the man who won my heart back! So, I think it's time we settle this once and for all.

You need to have an honest conversation with Erika, and I believe I can help with that. Won't you trust me? You know I want what is best for you, right?"

Erich sighed heavily and looked up upon the sunset which cast itself over the tropical world and the long strip of private beach which he personally owned. For the first time in a long time, he had someone by his side who genuinely cared about him. In fact, it had been years since he experienced such a thing.

After S'aleth's death, Erich did not know if he would ever feel such love and warmth come from another sentient being again in his life. But right now, he could tell that Ayumi was seriously concerned about him, and thus he decided to let go of the anger and hatred which he harbored towards his wife, and agree to Ayumi's request.

"Alright.... I will trust you. Let's go home and settle this once and for all."

Ayumi wore a pleasant smile as she stood up from her seat and hugged herself tightly to Erich's arm. She then walked by his side all the way back to the villa, where Erika was already waiting for the two of them. It appeared she was ready to pick another fight, but Erich's words had stopped the woman in her tracks.

"Erika, we need to talk... And I don't mean any of this petty fighting. We need to have a serious discussion about our relationship. Because if something doesn't change soon, then I will have no choice but to kick you out. So, you, me, and Ayumi are going to sit down, and hash this out. Or, you can pack up your things and leave right now. Those are your only two options."

Erika's face was flustered. She had a variety of emotions in this moment, but she did not know which one should be dominating her mind. However, after gazing upon the serious look in her husband's eyes, she unfurled her fists, and sat down at a nearby table, where she motioned for Erich and Ayumi to do the same. Once the three of them were properly seated and prepared for the conversation, Ayumi started it off.

"I know the two of you have been avoiding this conversation for some time. And from what Erich tells me, you two are barely on speaking terms, despite already being married for close to three years. So, I have already heard Erich's perspective on the matter, and why he is so angry with you.

And though I agree he has a right to be angry after everything you have done, I also believe that you have some things which you would like to vent as well. Isn't that right, Erika? So how about we start by having the two of you vent your grievances with one another in a healthy and restrained manner? Erika, you can go first."

This last statement caught both Erich and Erika by surprise. Both of them expected Ayumi to allow Erich to voice his reasons for hating his wife first, and just when the man was about to protest, Ayumi grabbed his hand and shook her head. An act which calmed him.

Erika did not even bother to think about her words before blurting them out. Whether this was due to intoxication, or simply that she could no longer contain her thoughts any longer, she viciously lashed out at Erich with a surprising admission.

"You bastard! I loved you! For years I watched your rise to glory, and admired you as a hero, even before anyone else knew your name! You were my first and only love! Sure, I made a mistake when I was a young girl, and I have regretted it every day since!

But you! You scoundrel! You fiend! You degenerate! We are supposed to maintain our purity for marriage. But you tainted your body by sleeping with an alien woman! I may have been troubled by this matter when we first got married, but I was ready to move past it and give myself to you. But you didn't even give me a chance! You treated me like I was the dirt beneath your feet, like I was not even worthy of your attention!

And then you go out of your way to cheat on me the first opportunity you get! Without ever trying to resolve our issues. Not only that, but you bring your whores back home with you, so you can flaunt your infidelity in my face. How am I supposed to bear such dishonor? I hate you! I hate you so much, I can't help it!"

Erich was perhaps the only one who was surprised to hear that Erika loved him at any point in his life. As far as he could remember, she had only treated him like shit, and then when they finally got married, she did not even bother speaking to him other than during the ceremony. This was something he could not understand and was quick to give voice to.

"You loved me? When? When exactly did you ever show any love to me? I didn't even know you, but you went out of your way to ruin my relationship with my mother, who was the only person who was ever there for me. And you never once apologized for it!"

Erika had long since broken out into tears, which she wiped from her electric blue eyes, as she apologized for the first time in her life. Albeit, with a bit of hysteria in her voice.

"I'm sorry, alright! How many times must I apologize for something that happened nearly a decade ago?"

The moment Erich heard this, he wanted to slap the woman across the face for being so fucking stupid. But all he could do was voice his frustration with a heightened tone in his voice.

"Once would be nice!"

Erika continued to sob and apologize profusely. All she could say was the words "I am sorry" over and over again. Yet the wrath Erich had in his heart towards the woman was only barely sedated by these words. As far as he was concerned, this was too little, too late. However, Ayumi understood that these two needed to properly vent their frustrations with one another, if they were ever to move past it. Thus, this discussion had only truly just begun.