Natsumi and Aya were already up, had taken showers, and were sitting in the living room, enjoying a game of checkers. Both of them liked this board game that didn't require much intellect but helped pass the time.
"Good morning, girls. – Kenshin greeted them, kissing both on their politely offered cheeks."
"I hope she's limping for the next few days? – Natsumi said with a sly smile, glancing at Kasumi standing a few meters away."
"Pff, more like he'll be the one limping, not me! – Kasumi replied triumphantly, lifting her chin."
Kenshin looked at her in surprise and couldn't hold back his laughter. Aya and Natsumi burst out laughing right after.
"Alright, go to the table, and I'll go feed the kids. – Kenshin said with a smile, feeling like a nursing mother. He was the only one who could use the system menu and set the table."
He went downstairs, 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 pleasantly, and Kasumi seemed almost like one of their own to Aya and Natsumi already.
He sat down at the table and spent a few seconds thinking about what to feed his beautiful wives. Not coming up with anything better, he chose semolina porridge and sweet strawberry yogurt. He figured the girls didn't need too many calories for breakfast, so he decided to stick with that.
"Wow! What's this? Thick milk? – Kasumi asked curiously, poking at the semolina porridge with her spoon."
"Mmm, delicious! – Aya chirped, diving into the porridge with renewed vigor."
"This is tasty too... Sweet milk with strawberry flavor, how interesting... – Natsumi said, taking a sip of the yogurt."
Kenshin couldn't hold back a smile at the sight of the three contented cats licking their plates clean. They liked it so much they asked for seconds, but Kenshin refused, giving them a bunch of fruits for dessert instead—from strawberries and peaches to cherries and watermelon chunks. That was more than enough to distract the three unhappy beauties. Many of the fruits they were seeing for the first time, and some were so rare they only made it to Konoha as delicacies, not on every jonin's table.
After breakfast, Kenshin decided to relax a bit before heading to the gym. He invited all the girls to the living room to show them another board game. In time, he planned to introduce them to D&D universe board games, but for now, he stuck to simple dice-rolling ones.
"Hm, how unusual... So the number of dots on the die equals the number of squares this little guy can move? And each square has additional effects, from slowing down to speeding up, or even sending the piece back or forward? God, that's genius! How did our Nara Clan never think of making a game like this... – Kasumi lamented, having gotten a month's worth of pleasure from discovering something new and interesting."
"Um, uh, Kenshin... I don't quite get why Natsumi rolled a one on the die, but her piece moved six spaces? I think she's cheating! – Aya declared, eyeing her friend unhappily."
Kenshin just smiled cheerfully and explained gently: - Look. Her piece was here, then she rolled a one, and it moved one step. But this square sends the piece five spaces forward. See its symbol? It says what this picture means. – Kenshin said, stroking the girl's head.
"Ah! What a sneaky game... – Aya murmured in surprise. For a village girl, games like this were unimaginable, and it was hard for her to grasp them on the fly. But Kenshin didn't push, ready to explain every detail with extra tenderness."
"There, see! And here you are accusing me of cheating... How could you think that of me, we're friends! – Natsumi said with feigned offense, puffing out her cheeks."
"Oh, sorry, Natsumi, I didn't mean to... – Aya chirped, hugging her best friend and making her smile."
"Pff, stop being all mushy and let's play! – Kasumi said, annoyed at the delay in such an insanely fun game."
For the next few minutes, Aya lagged hopelessly; she kept getting bad luck, with dice rolls giving just a few moves, while Kasumi raced toward the finish, constantly getting lots of moves. But by the end of the game, everything changed. Suddenly, on Aya's roll, she got six moves, and her piece landed on a space giving six more.
Kasumi glanced at Aya enviously, resenting that Lady Luck had missed her a bit and hit the wrong girl. On her next roll, Kasumi got just one move, stepped forward grudgingly, and got sent back six spaces. Meanwhile, Aya got three forward, plus five from a lucky space.
"Aaaa! Kenshin, something's wrong here! Your game is broken! – Kasumi exclaimed, seeing Aya's piece closer to the finish than hers."
"Ha-ha-ha, learn to accept defeat, mousey! – Natsumi said, happy for her sweet friend."
"What do you mean 'mousey'?! I'm a full-fledged cat now! Kenshin, look, I think this game really broke... – Kasumi whined again. She sensed she was about to lose, and the thought of losing to someone who hadn't fully grasped the rules was unbearable."
"It's fine, sweetie. This game is about luck, not skill. So there's nothing strange about any of us winning or losing, and no need to accuse each other of cheating. – Kenshin said, stroking both girls' heads."
"Okay... Sorry, Aya... – Kasumi whispered shamefacedly."
"It's okay. – Aya smiled sweetly, and they all got back to the game."
Aya needed six moves to win, Kasumi eight. Kasumi rolled, held her breath, saw a five and perked up a bit, then looked at Aya, who casually rolled a six and won instantly.
"Ah! God, who was that idiot who came up with this stupid game?! Good thing no one that dumb was ever born in our Nara Clan! – Kasumi snorted, very unhappy with her loss."