Heart jumping in his throat, Honda grabbed the edge of the table. Around him, nothing changed though. The earth didn't shake, the skies didn't open. The delicious tastes still made his pallet sing but a bout of nausea and bile ruined it.

I've got to spit them out. Maybe it's not too late!

Rushing to the sink, Honda brought two fingers to his mouth just as the image of Isao's sweet face, eyes serious but warm, floated in front of him. His son had been certain of the candy shop owner's benevolence. If Honda could trust her with checking upon his children, he had to believe Ryo wouldn't poison him.

Whatever tricks the ancient creature could play, he had to trust his son; those delicious sweets wouldn't kill him or turn him into a toad or raccoon. He couldn't remember what Ryo had explained about those treats, though.

Inhaling deeply through his nose, Honda closed his eyes and engaged in breathing exercises to wash away his anxiety and slow down his racing heart.

"Look at you, as white as a sheet and shaking from head to toes," a velvety voice purred in his back. "Poor you. Is it really so hard to cook?"

Honda cursed and swirled on the ball of his feet, his right fist striking forward at head level with all of his body weight behind before he could truly see who was talking. A warm and large hand easily caught his and twisted it backward, with intent and purpose.

Growling, Honda dismissed the shot of acute pain radiating from his wrist and applied a counter joint lock that should have brought the intruder on their knees.

Should have because right then, popping out from nowhere, ropes swirled around Honda, wrapped themselves around his chest, thighs and forearms, before pushing him against the fridge.

He looked down at himself and gasped in shock.

Not ropes—green, pulsating tentacles.

"Shh, calm down now. No need to get all worked up."

Body as tense as a bow string, Honda glanced up to confront his attacker, anger, fear and determination making his blood boil. His words caught in his throat at the handsome face grinning back at him.

"Y— you?" he rasped. "How?"

"Come on, do you have to ask?" the tall man replied with a head shake, an eyebrow shooting upward.

Eyes roaming over the broad frame, from the bald and square-jawed face, to wide hips, and bulging biceps crossed over a large chest, Honda gulped down hard and bit down his lip. Then he realized that the tentacles holding him prisoner came from somewhere behind the man's back.

"The sweets?" Honda wondered aloud, alarmed, annoyed and at a loss. Somewhere deep inside, something else stirred. He suppressed the thought with great difficulty. "But why? Why you, why this?" Honda pointed at the tentacles with his free fingers.

The man shrugged, and in a flash, Honda remembered how he had done this in the depth of a dark and enchanted forest, far from here, hundreds of years ago, after saving him and Ana from ghost warriors turned into gigantic crabs.

"You are not him," Honda spat. "He died centuries ago. You are... another shapeshifter, an illusion."

The creature who looked like the mountain warrior Ren threw his head back and laughed. "Of course he is dead. And yes, in a way, I am an illusion. But I am much more than this, Honda dono." The creature's grin grew larger, turning wicked and teasing. "I am your illusion. Your fantasy. Your wish. All of this is." He pointed at himself and at the tentacles that squeezed Honda.

"I..." Heat flushed Honda's cheeks and briefly closed his eyes. "I didn't wish for this. I just ate... ate those two sweets without thinking."

Ren nodded, thoughtful. "Right. And you shouldn't have eaten them together, because here I am. You see, I am here to make you live your untold fantasies, what you crave, what you can't confess, what you can't do with anyone else," he said, voice burning velvet.

He stepped forward and placed his hands on each side of Honda's head, body pressing forward yet stopping short from actually touching Honda. Honda exhaled, and to his horror, it sounded like a whimper. He cursed his body for reacting so strongly.

"But now... I'm also supposed to help you in your time of need." Ren shrugged. "And not just this need," he added, cupping Honda's straining erection roughly.

"What?" Honda croaked, finding it extremely hard to think about anything else than the warmth of Ren's hand rubbing him.

"Cooking, silly," Ren breathed in Honda's ear. "You've got a dinner to fix, right? A bet to win, spouses to dazzle... with me, it's a done deal."

"What?" Honda stammered, when firm and wet lips ran along his throat.

"I'll teach you," Ren rasped. "With each orgasm I'll rip from you, you'll gain new insights, new knowledge, new skills." He chuckled. "Usually, you're not supposed to eat those all at once. You took a large double dose. It means I'll be with you for a couple of days, until they are back home." Ren squeezed Honda's hard-on harshly, painfully, just like Honda loved it.

Honda groaned and came hard. "No... no, that... that's not a good idea... the children..."

"Oh they won't see me, don't worry. Nobody will. I'll just hang around when they are here. But thank goodness for daycare, right?" Ren's teeth sank in Honda's nape.

Electricity shot along Honda's spine, and liquid fire filled his veins. Forgetting the ropes, he tried to reach out to grab the man's biceps, but the tentacles slammed him against the fridge.

"Tsk tsk, Honda dono," Ren said. "I call the shots. Remember, I know what you want from me. Besides, this knowledge dump comes at a price. You are about to sweat, handsome. And beg. And moan. Maybe hurt a little bit, too."

A tentacle moved between Honda's legs, slipped under his belt and moved along his ass.

"Wait, but what if I... don't want to?" Honda choked, nearly overwhelmed by anxiety and terrible memories.

The tentacles loosened around him, and Ren's face softened; a warm palm cupped Honda's jaw.

"As soon as you think about it, I'll stop. No need to even say the word. I am your fantasy."

Honda groaned and leaned into the embrace. Then a thought flashed across his feverish brain, fogged by boiling need and desire.

"First, I... I need to tell them..." Honda panted, waves of pure desire blurring his sight. "We... we have a rule... we... we disclose everything..."

"Tell them what?" Ren's laughter made Honda's gut twist and his legs shake. "That you have a new toy? I'm no real lover, handsome. Nothing else than an extra immersive virtual experience. You wouldn't call them if you planned to watch PornHub with a 3D headset coupled to a dildo, would you?"

Licking his lips, Honda blinked, unsure of what to make of an otherworldly creature who knew that this kind of thing existed.

As if reading his mind, Ren grinned while pressing his large hands on Honda's chest. "We know so much more than what you think, candy boy. We live in this world just like you do."

"I thought... you were only an illusion," Honda rasped, trying to make his brain cells work.

"I am many things, and you should stop caring about that... You have exactly..." Ren glanced at the clock on the oven. "Eighty-four minutes to learn how to cook the perfect okonomiyaki for these amazing kids of yours. And the more you need to cram in that thick skull of yours, the more... effort you've got to pour into it. On your knees."

And with those words, he pushed down on Honda's shoulders.