Though all of his minds briefly blanked at Kushina's closed-eyed, loudly shouted admission, Vahn's expression remained a fracturing mask of calm as he stated, "It makes me happy that you feel that way, Kushina, but just us sitting here is crossing more than a few lines."
"Would it change your mind if you knew I had Minato's blessing...?" asked Kushina, peering up at Vahn with her violet eyes shimmering with severity and expectation.
"That gives me many more questions..." noted Vahn, his brows furrowing with conflict. He didn't think Kushina was lying to him, but he found it very difficult to believe Minato had permitted her to have an affair.
"Well, it's the truth..." asserted Kushina, gazing forward and exhaling a melancholy-tinged sigh from her nose before revealing, "His position as Taiyo will only become increasingly demanding with time, and there have already been multiple Daimyo who have approached to pressure him into accepting wives from their respective clans. He doesn't want me and our child to become entangled in all of that, and since I never had the option to play the field, he believes we will be safer and freer under the umbrella of the Dragon's Pavilion...specifically under your protection..."
"That sounds like Minato..." muttered Vahn, the image of Minato's smiling face appearing in his mind before being replaced by the cold, calculating gaze of a man embroiled in politics. Kushina and their child would almost certainly be targets for those who wanted to elevate their status or force him into a compromising position, so distancing them from him before his ever-increasing enemies knew of their existence was both pragmatic and a tragic expression of Minato's love.
"Now I'm all depressed..." sighed Kushina, causing Vahn to tense as she rather abruptly rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes closed as she faintly muttered, "But I've also had a lot of time to think about what I want to do and what's best for my child. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. From just about the moment I was born, I've always been bound and forced to obey others. If Minato hadn't taken an interest in me, odds are I would have fallen into the hands of Danzo or been forced to bear children as weapons for the village or to empower the other Clans with Uzumaki genes..."
Not sure how to respond to Kushina's utterances, Vahn remained silent, his hand shifting from her thigh to the hot spring's warm water before he placed it on her pregnant belly, gently caressing it.
"Besides..." muttered Kushina, bringing her left hand across her body and tentatively grasping Vahn's cock as she revealed, "We've seen our anime. If Minato and Kakashi hadn't been invited to become Ascendees, he and I would have died protecting our child...our Naruto. We might have changed our fates ourselves, but you granted us the opportunity and supported us every step of the way..."
"It just doesn't feel right that Minato's reward for trying to make his world a better place is relinquishing the woman he loves and the product of that love..." sighed Vahn, his expression melancholic as he focused his gaze on Kushina's hand, carefully caressing his cock.
"He will forfeit his title of Taiyo eventually..." muttered Kushina, her words tinged with a faint but growing undertone of heat as she contended, "And as Ascendees, we can live a hundred lifetimes. Once he's done everything he wants to do in our world, there's nothing to stop us from assuming new identities and rekindling our marriage. Ten thousand years is an awful long time..."
"It really is..." affirmed Vahn, his gaze lingering on Kushina's hand as he moved his left from the floor behind her to her waist and the soft mound that was her left ass cheek. Since Minato and Kushina had put a hold on their marriage, a detail that was confirmed by Sis, he technically wouldn't be making the man a cuckold by pursuing a relationship with the maroon-haired Kunoichi. And since he was on the record multiple times giving his own lovers permission to pursue other options, Vahn concluded there was nothing wrong with Kushina doing the same.
"Don't let me slip..." muttered Kushina, causing Vahn to briefly feel uneasy as she leaned forward and awkwardly moved to position herself in front of him. He immediately supported her by her waist, and as a result, he soon found his cock being sandwiched between her warm, round, and absurdly soft ass cheeks as she stared back at him with her hands on his thighs for support, grinding against him.
"Well, how is it? Is it everything you thought it would be, or do I need to try harder~?" asked Kushina, doing her best to appear and sound sultry even though it was her first time doing something so shameless. Luckily, she spent every day surrounded by experienced women who knew Vahn's preferences in and out, so she had a fairly decent idea of what made him tick.
Seeing Kushina punctuate her playful query by equipping a pair of fishnet stockings and a black lace, v-string thong, Vahn's brows involuntarily shot up. He was tempted to point out the insensibility of wearing clothes in the bath, but since it wasn't difficult to infer she was doing her best to appeal to him, in particular, he responded to her efforts by producing an extra set of hands to support her waist while he cupped and carefully kneaded her milk-heavy breasts.
"Should I interpret this to mean you don't mind me joining your harem...?" asked Kushina, her face flushed and body increasingly sweaty from a mix of arousal and exertion. Pregnancy had given her minus modifiers on all of her physical parameters, so while she could continue propping herself for hours if need be, her body felt heavy, and she had difficulties regulating her breathing.
"I feel sorry for Minato, but I will do my utmost to make you happy and keep both you and your child safe..." responded Vahn, planting a kiss on Kushina's right shoulder. Her hair cascaded like a maroon waterfall from her head, forming a silky, fragrant-smelling barrier between them, but he knew his way around women with inordinately long locks.
"Then, for my sake, please don't mention him when we're together like this..." said Kushina, shifting her hands from Vahn's thighs to his knees before leaning forward and raising her butt. Due to the angle, Vahn was unable to see anything directly, but he immediately recognized the warm, wet, and soft sensation against his cock as Kushina rubbing her pulsating pussy against him.
'She must be seriously pent up...' Vahn concluded, supporting Kushina's pillowy bottom with his second set of hands while using his main set to fasten her hair into a ponytail. Then, though he felt she was jumping the gun a bit, he adjusted the size of his cock to be more accommodating as Kushina moved aside her panties and lowered herself onto him with a hot, shuddering sigh.
Feeling a sense of incongruency amid the throbbing pleasure permeating her pussy and radiating up through her abdomen, Kushina peered back at Vahn with a narrow-eyed smile, remarking, "Well, aren't you considerate..." in a soft, passion-tinged tone. She was well aware of her limitations, so it wasn't difficult to ascertain that Vahn had modified the size of his cock for her comfort or to avoid inadvertantly inducing her labor.
"I try to be..." affirmed Vahn, planting another kiss on Kushina's shoulder while gently kneading her slightly leaky nipples and supporting her belly with his second set of hands.
"Hey..." muttered Kushina, prompting Vahn to raise his gaze and meet hers as she softly appended, "My lips are on my face, not my shoulder..." with a prominent blush tinting her cheeks.
"Indeed, they are..." hummed Vahn, his expression a deep smolder as he cupped the left side of Kushina's fever-tinted face and guided her to turn further toward him, granting access to her parted lips. The position was a little awkward, but since he was more than twenty centimeters taller than her, even in his base form, Vahn had no trouble leaning around to kiss and make out with her for several minutes as his dexterous hands and fingers brought her to a controlled climax, the first of many she would experience before they relocated to her room and he spent just under two and a half hours making unhurried but purposeful love to her in positions that didn't strain her back or belly...
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"I feel I owe you an apology..." said Vahn, seated between Venelana and Misla atop the sofa in his room, handing the former a cup of tea passed to him by Grayfia.
"Is this regarding Kushina-san?" asked Venelana, sporting a narrow-eyed, clearly amused smile.
"Did you know...?" asked Vahn.
"Kushina-san has been seeking advice from us for some time," revealed Venelana, closing her eyes and taking a sip of her tea before adopting a mischievous smile and asking, "So, how was she? You're with her even as we speak, are you not?"
"I am," affirmed Vahn, exhaling faintly from his nose as he reasoned, "If she had awoken this morning and I wasn't there, it might have made her sad or caused her to regret what we did."
"Well done," affirmed Venelana, nodding approvingly before contending, "Aftercare is arguably even more important than the lead up to having sex with a new woman. Passion and physical attraction can open the door and get you inside, but to cement your position in a woman's heart and ensure their loyalty, sincerity, security, and sensuality are key."
"But you must not forget compassion, empathy, and patience," appended Misla. "Kushina-san is likely very confused right now. Vahn-sama tends to be very thorough, so it's common for those you've just had sex with to slip into a state of introspection once things have settled down."
"It's true," confirmed Venelana, exhaling faintly from her nose and gazing down at the contents of her teacup with a nostalgia-tinged smile as she revealed, "I still remember the inner turmoil and indecision I experienced when you were earnestly trying to make me yours. I relished every single moment of it, but it was undeniably overwhelming. And since Kushina-san is only twenty-four years old, her mental fortitude won't be as resilient as mine or Grayfia's."
"Right...I'll be careful..." affirmed Vahn. At the same time, the version of himself that was serving as Kushina's big spoon kissed her left shoulder while gently caressing her pregnant belly. He hadn't planned to do to her what he had done to Grayfia and Venelana, but he would be more careful after being warned.
"Not too careful, mind you," supplanted Venelana, contending, "Even if we can maintain our appearance, we're only ever young once. Don't be afraid to be handsy and lovey-dovey, even if Kushina-san chastises you for it or acts embarrassed. When she's alone and reflecting on your relationship, it will be moments like those that come to mind."
"I understand..." responded Vahn, nodding slowly and listening attentively as Venelana, Misla, and even Grayfia continued offering him advice for the remainder of their morning debrief. They understood the hearts of women much better than he did, so while he generally defaulted to his instincts in the heat of the moment, he appreciated their counsel greatly...
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"Mmnnn...?"
Rousing from the most comfortable sleep she had experienced in a long time, Kushina's thoughts produced static for several seconds as her mind processed her situation. There was a hand gently caressing her abdomen, and though she was being spooned, she didn't feel overheated or like her back was caked with sweat. And everything from the skin to the muscles of the person cradling her was soft and comforting, like a familiar blanket she had kept since childhood.
'Right...I seduced Vahn and the two of us had sex...' recalled Kushina, her cheeks flushing as her memories from the previous night resurfaced as a series of flashes tied to extreme pleasure and comfort. She had heard the rumors of his exceptional skill in the bedroom, but experiencing it left her wondering if she and Minato had been doing it wrong...
'Stop thinking about such things...' Kushina told herself, moving her left hand from the pillow she was hugging to Vahn's hand, placing her fingers in the gaps between his.
"Good morning..." whispered Vahn, his deep, reverberating voice sending a pleasant shiver through Kushina's body, causing her nipples to perk up, and her pussy to clench as he nestled closer and began kissing her nape and shoulder with gentle, lingering pecks.
"Did you stay with me this entire time?" asked Kushina, swallowing hard as a prominent heat spread through her body, accompanied by a feeling of moisture between her thighs.
"To me, a night isn't over until both me and my partners are prepared for the day to come..." stated Vahn, noticing Kushina's growing arousal. Thus, while it wasn't what he originally had planned, he slowly brought his lips to her ear, sending another shiver through her body as he stated, "That's enough rest...let's continue..." in a deep, smoldering tone...
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