The return to the apartment was the most uncomfortable walk in history.
Aki and Denji had been dismissed with a vague "everything is under control," leaving Okarun, Momo, and a strangely serene Makima to enter the "fortified" studio.
The couch-wall was still standing, and the mattress was still wedged against the ceiling, but the atmosphere had shifted from "survival" to "unbearable domestic tension."
"Okarun-kun,"
Makima said, her voice missing its usual chilling edge and replaced by a soft, attentive hum.
"Since you have ordered me to love you, I have analyzed human courtship. I believe the first step is providing a comfortable domestic environment."
With a casual flick of her wrist—using the same power that once crushed heads—she sent the couch flying back into its proper place.
The mattress floated down and tucked itself neatly onto the bed frame.
"Hey! I worked hard on that fort!"
Momo yelled, her pink aura sparking.
"And don't Okarun-kun him! It's gross!"
"I am merely obeying the contract,"
Makima replied, turning to Okarun with a look of terrifyingly intense adoration.
"Okarun-kun, would you like me to prepare dinner? Or perhaps you would like to test the 'intimacy kit' I provided yesterday? I am told it is a traditional human bonding ritual."
Okarun turned so red he looked like he was about to catch fire.
"N-No! No rituals! Just... just the eggs! Or some toast!"
Momo marched between them, her face purple.
"Listen here, you Ring-Eyed Siren! Just because he's 'controlling' you doesn't mean you get to move in on my... on my partner! I'm the one who purifies him!"
"I understand,"
Makima said, tilting her head with a chillingly polite smile.
"There is room for both in his life, surely? I can provide the political and spiritual power he needs, while you provide the... emotional shouting."
"EMOTIONAL MY ASS?!"
The apartment became a psychic battlefield. Momo began levitating all the kitchen utensils, while Makima calmly used her 'Control' to make the appliances bow toward Okarun.
Okarun sat on the freshly made bed, his head in his hands.
He could feel the Golden Path on his palm hum with a new, strange frequency. The Control Devil's power was cold, but the "Love" contract was a weird, warm friction against it.
"Ayase-san, please stop levitating the blender,"
Okarun wheezed.
"Only if she stops looking at you like you're a piece of high-grade steak!"
Momo snapped.
Okarun looked at Makima. She was standing by the stove, her yellow-ringed eyes watching him with a focus that was 100% genuine because of the contract.
He realized his plan was working—she wasn't plotting to kill his friends anymore—but he had accidentally created a monster of a different kind.
"Okarun-kun,"
Makima said, holding up a frying pan.
"I have realized that to love you properly, I must understand your world. Tell me more about these... 'Golden Balls' you are searching for. I shall use the entire Tokyo Police Force to find them by morning."
Momo threw a pillow at Okarun's head.
"See?! Now she's helping! I hate this! I hate everything!"
2/10