No Matter What

"Son of a bitch." 

Ryu looked at his arm a long while later in outright shock and horror. Maybe he shouldn't be shocked, but it was hard not to be when your entire arm was nothing but a pile of mush right now. 

He didn't have a single other bone left in it. And if he hadn't been quick, he had a feeling that every bone in his body would have been shattered. 

"Serves you right," Hope muttered, feeling speechless. 

It could be said that the entire world came to a stop after Ryu and Ailsa's conversation ended. That was because this idiot actually went and pinched the holy Goddess Tatsuya's ass before everyone. 

"Worth it," Ryu said shamelessly. 

Ailsa hadn't done it on purpose; she was just caught off guard, much the same as everyone else. That was the last thing she expected Ryu to do, and she had been so distracted by his words that she didn't even realize that his hand had reached around her waist to her back like that.