Chapter 90
Natsumi and Aya had already gotten up, showered, and were sitting in the living room enjoying a game of checkers. They both liked this board game, which didn't require much intelligence but helped pass the time.
- Good morning, girls. - Kenshin greeted them, and kissed them both on their cheeks.
- I hope she'll be limping for a few days. - Natsumi said with a sly smile, glancing at Kasumi standing a few metres away.
- Pfft, he'd rather be limping than me! - Kasumi replied defeatedly with her chin up.
Kenshin looked at her in surprise, and couldn't contain his laughter. Aya and Natsumi laughed as well.
- All right, you go to the table and I'll go feed the children. - Kenshin said with a smile, feeling like a mum-feeder. He was the only one who could use the system menu, and set the table.
He went downstairs and set the table for his sons, choosing a dish rich in protein, adding plates of cottage cheese, and milk. After giving them a few instructions, he went back upstairs, and found the three girls at a small table. They were chatting sweetly, and it seemed Kasumi was almost becoming her own to Aya and Natsumi.
He sat down at the table and thought for a few seconds about what to feed his beautiful wives. When he couldn't think of anything better, he chose semolina and sweet yoghurt with strawberries. He thought that the girls didn't need too many calories for breakfast, so he decided to limit himself to that.
- Whoa! What is that? Thick milk? - Kasumi asked with interest, picking at the semolina with her spoon.
- Mmm, delicious! - Aya chirped, and pounced on the porridge with more vigour.
- It's delicious too... Strawberry flavoured sweet milk, how interesting... - Said Natsumi as she took a sip of the yoghurt.
Kenshin couldn't contain his smile at the sight of the three satisfied cats licking their plates. They enjoyed it so much that they asked for more, but Kenshin refused, giving them a variety of fruits for dessert, from strawberries and peaches to cherries and watermelon slices. It was more than enough to distract the three disgruntled beauties. Many of the fruits they had seen for the first time, and some were so rare that they came to Konoha as a delicacy, and were not on every Jonin's table.
After breakfast, Kenshin decided to relax a little before going to the gym. He invited all the girls into the living room to show them another board game. He planned to eventually show them board games from the D&D universe, but he decided to limit himself to a very basic dice rolling game to start with.
- Hmm, how unusual... So the number of circles on the cube equals the number of squares the little man can pass through? And each cell additionally has its own effects, from slowing down, to speeding up, or even throwing the little man backwards or forwards? My God, that's genius! How could our Nara clan not have thought of such a game... - Kasumi lamented, having received a monthly dose of pleasure from learning something new and interesting.
- Ummm, umm, Kenshin... I'm a little confused as to why Natsumi's cube has one dot on it, but her little man made six moves? I think she's cheating! - Aya said, glaring at her friend unhappily.
Kenshin only smiled cheerfully, and explained affectionately: - Look. Her character was standing right here, then the number one came up on the die, and he took a step. But this square sends the little man five squares forward. You see her marking here? It says what this pattern means. - Kenshin said, and stroked the girl's head.
- Ah! What a tricky game..." Aya mumbled in surprise. For a village girl, games of this sort were unthinkable, and it was hard for her to grasp on the fly. But Kenshin didn't press her, and he was ready to explain every detail with the utmost tenderness.
- Well, that's just it! You're accusing me of cheating... How could you think that about me, we're friends! - Natsumi said with feigned offence, puffing up her cheeks.
- Oh, I'm sorry Natsumi, I didn't mean to-" Aya chirped, and hugged her best friend, causing her to smile.
- Pfft, stop coddling and let's play! - Said Kasumi, unhappy with the delay in such an insanely interesting game.
For the next few minutes, Aya was lagging behind, with her luck running out and her die rolls giving her only a few moves, while Kasumi was rushing to the finish line, constantly getting a lot of moves. But towards the end of the game, everything changed. Suddenly, a die roll gave Aya six moves, and the character stood on a square that gave her another six moves.
Kasumi glanced unhappily at Aya, jealous that her hand of luck had missed a bit and hit the wrong girl. On another throw, Kasumi suddenly got only one move, and unhappily took a step forward and was thrown back six. Aya meanwhile got three steps forward, and another five from the lucky cage.
- Aah! Kenshin, there's something wrong! Your game is broken! - Kasumi exclaimed, seeing how Aya's character was closer to the finish line than her character.
- Ha ha ha ha, know how to admit defeat, mouse! - Said Natsumi, happy for her affectionate friend.
- What kind of mouse am I?! I'm a full-fledged cat! Kenshin, look, I think this game is broken..." Kasumi whimpered again. She felt like she was about to lose, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing to someone who didn't even fully understand the rules of the game.
- It's okay, honey. This game isn't about skill, it's about luck. So there's nothing strange about either of us winning or losing, and there's no need to accuse each other of cheating. - Kenshin said, and stroked both girls' heads.
- Okay... I'm sorry, Aya... - Kasumi whispered shamefully.
- It's okay. - Aya smiled sweetly, and everyone went back to playing.
Aya had six moves to win, and Kasumi had eight moves to win. Rolling the die, Kasumi held her breath, and seeing the number five, was a little excited, and then turned her gaze to Aya, who carelessly rolled the die, and got the number six, winning instantly.
- Ah! God, who was the idiot who invented this stupid game?! Good thing our Nara clan wasn't born with such stupid people! - Kasumi snorted, very unhappy with her defeat.