--Thursday, September 3rd, 2172
After many tears had fallen, the group finally calmed down enough to decide to go to the hot springs to take a bath all together. At the hot springs, Kai sat near the edge with Tomoko in his lap, while the other beauties sat surrounding them with complex expressions.
Amid an awkward silence, time passed as each one lost themselves in their own thoughts. But after a few seconds, Kai finally noticed how Tomoko's expression shifted through a complex amalgam of feelings ranging from fear to guilt, which led him to clear his throat and speak.
"Although this is an unexpected event, it was a possible outcome, so it must be faced with courage."
Kai paused briefly to look at the faces of the 8 beauties who were staring at him with different levels of insecurity and traces of disbelief, then continued speaking with a firmer voice.
"Since I understand that each of you has your own ideas about this, I think it's important to think very carefully about the future of the relationship, because I'll be very clear. I am going to be a father, and as such, I will make sure to care for and protect my woman and my child against everything; that is a fact."
Upon hearing Kai, Tomoko, who had been shifting uneasily in her beloved's lap, turned to look at him with her tear-filled eyes wide open. But moments later, her composure broke, and Tomoko embraced Kai with all her might while cascades of tears fell from her eyes, and she murmured, full of relief and love.
"I love you… I love you so much, Kai…"
At the same time, Keiko gently nudged Momo with her elbow. Momo was looking at Kai with a lost gaze while slowly rubbing the ring on her finger, visibly on the verge of bursting into tears. Confused and emotionally devastated, Momo turned to look at her mother, who made subtle gestures for her to go to Kai's side quickly.
Seeing Keiko, Momo's confusion deepened for a moment before her eyes began to clear. Finally, after a few seconds, Momo seemed to fully understand what her mother was trying to convey, and hiding all her fragility behind a mask of strength, she took her place beside Kai and took him by the hand. Firmly holding Kai's hand, Momo looked at Tomoko and remarked with a warm smile.
"Congratulations, Tomoko."
"Thank you…"
Tomoko let go of Kai and then embraced Momo, thanking her with a tearful voice. Moved by Tomoko's tears, Momo hugged her back as her own tears began to fall again. In that moment, Shino and Ryuko looked at each other, and beautiful smiles formed on their tear-stained faces, and soon they moved closer to embrace Tomoko.
"Congratulations, Tomoko… I'm so happy for you… Count on us for anything…" Shino murmured with a soft, affectionate voice as she embraced Tomoko from behind. Ryuko soon added with a tearful voice, likewise embracing Tomoko.
"That baby will be our child too…"
"Yes… This baby will belong to the three of us…" Tomoko murmured while touching her flat stomach with both hands. In that moment, Nemuri's soft and slightly hoarse voice resounded from behind.
"Only the three of you? Do you intend to leave me out?"
"You can't leave us out… I'll be a great mom too…" Nejire soon added with a melancholic pout as she slowly approached.
At that moment, Yumiko let out a long, heavy sigh, then slowly approached while remarking in a soft voice.
"Yeah, don't leave us out."
"… You can count on me too, Tomoko."
Keiko remarked in a soft voice as she looked at Tomoko, who showed a beautiful smile on her lovely face, down which cascades of tears were streaming, and spoke with a hoarse voice.
"Thank you, girls… Thank you so, so much… I love you all…"
With conflicting emotions in their hearts, the girls drew close to embrace Tomoko and Kai all together, then remained silent, sharing their warmth. For his part, Kai gave a tender kiss on the head to each of the beauties around him, equally lost in his thoughts.
But just as he gave the last kiss to Shino, she cleared her throat, then looked at him with a question shining in her beautiful eyes, reddened from so much crying. With a calm and confident smile, Kai caressed Shino's cheek and asked.
"What is it?"
"Kai… It's just that I was wondering… Is Tomoko the only one who's pregnant…? Is it possible that someone else is too…?"
Upon hearing the question, Kai stiffened for a few moments, but seeing that all the girls' heads lifted to look at him like adorable meerkats, he quickly reacted. As his hands began to release a subtle bluish glow, he remarked seriously.
"In principle, no one else should be, but I think it's important to confirm it."
"Let me help you with that, master." At that moment, a beautiful fairy materialized above Kai and spoke in a serious and determined tone.
The girls swallowed hard at the sight of Kai and Sage, and as a strange emotion flooded them, they all sat still to wait their turn to be examined. As Kai and Sage placed one hand on each of them, the girls' eyes filled with anticipation and nervousness, while at the same time they watched Tomoko smile as she touched her flat stomach.
…
"No one else is pregnant."
After a while, Kai announced while secretly letting out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the girls let out silent sighs, releasing their nerves, but some of those sighs contained subtle traces of disappointment.
"Well, since no one else is pregnant, we have to focus on what matters." Keiko, with an almost undetectable hint of bitterness in her tone, remarked as she looked at Tomoko and then at Shino and Ryuko. Then she added seriously.
"What are you going to do about your work as pro heroes? Tomoko will obviously have to retire for a while."
"That's true… we have to talk to Chatora to see what we do…"
Shino remarked in a thoughtful tone as she looked at Tomoko and Ryuko. Ryuko nodded worriedly, but at that moment, Tomoko spoke with a smile, still holding her stomach.
"We don't have to stop! Even if I can't move like before, I can still help from home as an office lady!"
"That could work." Ryuko murmured thoughtfully as she looked at Shino, who nodded equally thoughtfully. In that moment, Nejire spoke with a soft smile on her face.
"We also have to think about names for the baby."
"It's still too early for that, sweetheart; we still have plenty of time to think about that and a whole bunch of other things…"
Yumiko embraced Nejire from behind and spoke in a heavy, meaningful voice as she looked at Kai, who seemed to lose himself in his thoughts every few seconds. Momo squeezed Kai's hand and gently caressed her engagement ring as she murmured in a heavy voice.
"Yes… There are many things to think about…"
Momo's murmur gave way to a heavy silence among the girls, who, along with Kai, lost themselves in their own conflicting thoughts, trying to fight back emotions they didn't want to let out. For her part, Tomoko, with a smile on her tearful face, leaned back against her beloved's chest, and he placed a hand on her flat stomach.
Feeling her beloved's large, strong hand on her stomach that now harbored life, Tomoko closed her eyes and placed her hands over his as tears of happiness fell down her cheeks. Meanwhile, the other girls looked at the placid and happy Tomoko with complex expressions, feeling an amalgam of happiness, confusion, fear, and bitter envy that threatened to consume them.
"Let's bathe and go to sleep together… We need to rest; we're exhausted." Nemuri murmured in a hoarse voice, to which the other girls nodded, and Kai replied in a soft, calm voice.
"Let's sleep in the main room."
The girls nodded and began to bathe with reflective expressions while their gazes inevitably drifted unconsciously to how Kai carefully and tenderly washed the smiling Tomoko. After the bath, the girls put on the most "modest" pajamas they had and then walked together to the mansion.
…
In the enormous bed of the main room, Kai, wearing simple shorts, lay down in the center with Momo to his right, while to his left, a spot normally occupied by Nemuri was left for Tomoko. But the turquoise-green-haired beauty, with a cheerful smile, chose to lie on her beloved's chest and pulled Nemuri to take her usual place and Ryuko to lie beside her as always.
Soon, Shino lay down silently behind Nemuri, Keiko lay down behind Momo, and Yumiko and Nejire lay down at the sides of Kai's legs, using them as pillows—a spot they had grown very fond of lately. In that moment, Kai murmured in a soft, tired voice, on the verge of falling into the unconsciousness of sleep.
"Until tomorrow, I love you all…"
"""Until tomorrow, Kai/darling/love/sweetheart…""" The girls replied in unison with soft, affectionate voices.
After a few minutes, Kai's breathing finally steadied, and although they couldn't see her, all the girls knew that right now Sage should already be above Kai's head. With Kai asleep, the room filled with a heavy, almost oppressive silence, in which each and every one of them battled against themselves in an internal struggle over whether or not to say certain things.
"You don't have to hold back, girls…"
Suddenly, the silence was broken by Tomoko's soft voice, somewhat hoarse from so much crying. With her eyes closed on her beloved's firm, warm chest, Tomoko continued speaking with a calm smile.
"I know what you feel… Because I would feel the same in your position… I know how fortunate I am, but that doesn't mean I want anything to change… I'm happy the way we are; I don't want to take anyone's place, nor do I want any special treatment… I just want to be happy, and I want you all to be happy too… Besides, now we know that Kai's contraceptive method isn't infallible… This happiness doesn't have to be mine alone…"
Upon hearing Tomoko, the girls' eyes widened for a few moments, and soon, each and every one of them ended up looking at Kai's sleeping, peaceful face with a dangerous light shining in their eyes.
…
…
…
"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED!!!"
In the world of dreams, Kai's colossal strength was unleashed without restraint against the perfect imitation of his workshop, sending everything flying to pieces as he screamed in fury. Displaying an absurd speed, Kai began to strike and destroy everything in his path while shouting, full of rage.
"What the hell went wrong, Sage?!! What the hell happened?!!!!"
As small tornadoes caused by the shockwaves of Kai's blows sent everything flying to pieces, the beautiful fairy stayed hovering in the center of the room and replied in a heavy, guilty voice.
"… I don't know, master… All the calculations and all the tests show a nearly infallible effectiveness, and nothing failed… I personally used Mystical Palm on Tomoko and the others to apply the contraceptive methods. Furthermore, she herself was taking pills prescribed by her doctor to regularize her period, the same as Ryuko and Shino.
"Your sperm production is also practically 0, master; there has been no change this entire time. This result is statistically impossible; it shouldn't have happened… I can't understand why it happened… I even checked Tomoko hundreds of times, but it's a fact… A miracle occurred, master…"
"FFUCKK!!!!"
Upon hearing Sage, Kai shouted furiously and struck a wall with all his might, reducing it practically to dust and causing the workshop, on the brink of collapse, to finally fall. But as the sound of falling debris echoed through the place and a thick cloud of dust rose, Kai's lost and bewildered voice resounded like thunder in Sage's ears.
"This was part of the plan, Sage… What are we going to do…?"
***
You can support me on p*tr*on.com/lordanl and get up to 25 advanced chapters.