In her good mood, Kaoru merely glanced at Akuto, who was holding Fuyuhime almost like a doll, then began her report without delay.
"Akuto-kun, while you won over Japan's hidden world through the power you displayed in Italy alone, that hidden world is far from united. For example, the Kuhouzuka family, one of the Four Great Houses, has been outwardly obedient while secretly maintaining close ties with the hardliners who still revere Susanoo-no-Mikoto."
At that point, Kaoru paused and observed Akuto's reaction. Only after seeing no change in his expression did she continue.
"However, up to now, both the Kuhouzuka family and Susanoo have remained at the stage of expressing dissatisfaction and making private connections. They have not yet committed any substantial act of rebellion. But based on the traces gathered by our Hime-Miko, as well as the unusual degree of concern they have shown toward Seitenkyuu, I believe..."
"They are most likely setting their sights on the seal at Seitenkyuu."
Since she had already decided to stand on Akuto's side, Kaoru naturally laid out every one of her deductions without reservation.
"Oh? The seal at Seitenkyuu?"
Akuto raised a brow. It was, he had to admit, more or less what he had expected.
After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Seitenkyuu was the only place in Japan that still held a force potentially capable of threatening him.
"That's right. Seitenkyuu."
Kaoru nodded.
"According to the latest Authority-related intelligence from Princess Alice, the first god you slew should have been Athena. The goddess Athena possesses a powerful dragon-serpent aspect. Their plan is likely to use the dragon-serpent power released when you invoke your Authority to awaken the one sealed deep within Seitenkyuu... the Heretic God Sun Wukong."
"For centuries, Heretic God Sun Wukong has revived on this land of Japan time and time again for the sole purpose of subduing dragon-serpents. Once awakened, if he senses your presence, Akuto-kun, he will absolutely come after you at once."
In front of Akuto, Kaoru revealed every piece of information she knew.
After speaking, she let out a heavy breath and added in a grave tone,
"For now, all of this remains deduction. I still don't have hard proof. But the Kuhouzuka family has deep ties to Seitenkyuu and knows secrets outsiders could never learn. Their relationship with the sealed monkey deity and with Susanoo's faction is far too close to ignore."
"Akuto-kun, you must be extremely careful. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is no easy opponent. If he truly appears, then even you might..."
At that point, Kaoru looked at Akuto with visible concern.
"Thank you for the warning, Kaoru. This information is valuable. To reward your loyalty, how about I give you something in return?"
As he spoke, Akuto walked toward her.
Seeing him approach, Kaoru instinctively straightened her back, maintaining her composure.
"There's no need to thank me. It's simply my duty."
She had not even finished speaking when her words abruptly cut off.
Akuto's figure suddenly blurred before her eyes. It was not the afterimage of great speed. It was more as though he had simply been erased from sight.
The Divine Incarnation, Vāmana, had been activated.
In the next instant, Akuto appeared directly in front of her, so close that she could feel his breath.
One arm wrapped around Kaoru's slender yet powerful waist, while his other hand settled firmly at the back of her head. Under her startled gaze, he lowered his head without hesitation and captured her slightly parted lips.
"Mmph?!"
Kaoru's pupils widened at once, and her mind went blank.
She had imagined many possible reactions from Akuto, but this... this direct, forceful "reward" had not been among them.
Held fast in Akuto's arms, the first expression of true fluster crossed Kaoru's sharp, elegant face, and her body stiffened instantly.
Yet that stiffness lasted less than a second.
After the first shock passed, a competitive spark overwhelmed her shyness in an instant. Hadn't Akuto said this was her reward?
If it was a reward, then she had no intention of being polite about it.
She had already been annoyed for quite some time by the way he had deliberately been intimate with another girl right in front of her. This was the perfect chance to make her own feelings known.
So Kaoru did not shrink back. Instead, she suddenly lifted both arms and wrapped them around Akuto's neck, returning the kiss in a clumsy but passionate way.
Kaoru's response carried a reckless decisiveness, as though she meant to pour all of her earlier concern and her present racing emotions into it at once.
Nearby, Fuyuhime stared in utter astonishment. Her face turned red all over again as she covered her mouth with both hands, yet she could not look away from the heated scene in front of her.
At length, their lips parted. Kaoru was breathing slightly harder now, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright with both challenge and lingering emotion. Her suit had grown a little disordered during the exchange, and the slender black tie at her collar had slipped askew, making her look even more enticing.
"Kaoru, I think this sort of thanks is still not quite enough. What do you think?"
"I... I think so too."
Kaoru swallowed hard. The power of Akuto's charm was overwhelming enough that she agreed to his invitation almost immediately.
And so Akuto took Fuyuhime by one hand and wrapped his other arm around Kaoru's waist, guiding the two girls toward his bedroom.
Kaoru's body stiffened slightly, but she did not struggle free. She only took a deep breath, closed her eyes as though accepting the inevitable, and let her long lashes tremble softly. Fuyuhime was so nervous she nearly forgot how to walk at all, her palm damp with sweat where Akuto held her hand.
Once the bedroom door closed softly behind them, Akuto had the two girls sit side by side on the soft tatami.
He looked first to Fuyuhime.
The girl sat with her legs tightly together, the pair of pure white short socks on her tiny feet looking almost painfully innocent in the dim light. Akuto knelt before her on one knee, reached out, and gently took hold of her slender ankle. Fuyuhime trembled all over and instinctively tried to draw back, only for Akuto to keep her firmly in place.
His fingers, roughened slightly by calluses, brushed over her ankle through the thin layer of cotton, feeling both the delicate softness and the faint tremble beneath.
His gaze traveled upward, passing over her slim legs tensed by nervousness before coming to rest on her little face, flushed by both shyness and fear.
He took hold of one white-socked foot, not roughly, but not gently either. The instant her foot was grasped, Fuyuhime's toes curled even tighter, and a muffled sound caught in her throat.
"Don't move, Fuyuhime."
Akuto's voice was low, carrying the air of comfort, though it sounded far more like a command.
He repeated the motion with her other foot, then lowered his head and pressed a light kiss upon the elegant arch through the soft fabric.
When he looked up again, Fuyuhime's eyes were already misted over, and her kimono had loosened slightly, revealing a glimpse of the girl's pale skin beneath.
Akuto's gaze moved over her like something tangible, full of open possession and appreciation.
After taking in her shy, trembling state, he leaned down and stole her first kiss with practiced ease.
Watching the exchange between Akuto and Fuyuhime, Kaoru drew in a slow breath and began undoing the buttons of her jacket of her own accord. The dark gray outer layer slid away, revealing the white silk blouse beneath. The blouse was tucked neatly into her trousers, outlining her slender waist and the graceful shape of her figure. She loosened the thin black tie at her collar, then moved to the buttons of her blouse.
One by one, they came undone.
Yet just as Kaoru prepared to go further, a hand caught her wrist.
Frowning slightly, she looked up at Akuto in confusion, not understanding why he had stopped her.
"Kaoru, can you leave the suit on?"
"Whether it's the suit or the robes you wore as a Hime-Miko before, clothing like that is part of a girl's charm too, isn't it?"
By then, Kaoru's sharply tailored clothes had shifted enough to reveal more clearly the thin black hosiery that hugged her legs beneath. The fabric's perfect fit only made her legs more alluring, the dark translucence over pale skin catching the light with a subtle sheen, her ankles as refined as a work of art.
For the sake of indulging Akuto's tastes, Kaoru forced herself, through a level of embarrassment she had never known before, to compose herself again.
Because of the movement from loosening the bindings beneath her blouse, Akuto's attention had already shifted fully to her. He released Fuyuhime, now soft and dazed in his embrace, and walked over to Kaoru instead.
Biting her lower lip, Kaoru fought to maintain her stance, though the faint trembling in her legs betrayed how unsteady she truly felt inside.
Akuto lifted his head and looked at her flushed cheeks, the corner of his mouth curving in a teasing smile. Drawing close to the face that was usually so sharp and heroic, but now full of unmistakable embarrassment, he smoothly swept her up into his arms.
"Ah..."
Kaoru let out a soft cry and instinctively looped her arms around Akuto's neck.
The room grew quiet after that.
Two girls of utterly different styles yet equal beauty lay side by side in the warm stillness, one pure and timid as a snow lotus, the other proud and alluring as a rose. Both now wore the same expression of unease and shy anticipation.
Akuto's gaze lingered over them.
In the end, he chose Kaoru first.
Still caught in a lingering kiss from him, Kaoru slowly settled closer, her feet hidden beneath dark sheer fabric curling up at once.
The rest of the night passed behind the closed door, with the details left to soft shadows, quickened breaths, and feelings too private to name aloud.
(End of Chapter)
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