Intrigue
"Can't you stay...?" asked Masane, looking as pitiable and seductive as possible as Vahn prepared to leave her room. Vahn would be lying if he said the sight of her lying on her back with her arms raised, legs spread, and feet tucked up wasn't enticing, but he managed to appear cool and calm as he answered, "I could, but there are others awaiting my care and attention. I'll prepare an herbal bath for you before I go."
"I don't wanna..." muttered Masane, compelling Vahn to peer back at her from over his right shoulder as she rolled onto her side and made a show of puffing her cheeks and pouting.
Leaving Masane to her antics, Vahn migrated to her bathroom, a relatively small facility with a single sink, a toilet, and a combined shower and tub. A white door on the opposite side led to Rihoko's room, but Vahn didn't have to worry about her abruptly appearing as she was having a sleepover with Lupheria, Lastia, and a few others.
Instead of filling the bath using the faucet, Vahn took a knee and placed his left hand in the tub, its porcelain base cool to the touch as the color of his hair shifted from dark brown to glossy black. His eyes likewise shifted from aquamarine to violet as he emulated the unique energy signature of the Sitri Clan, granting him the ability to produce and manipulate water at will.
Factoring that Masane's body temperature was much higher than normal, particularly at that moment, Vahn unleashed a steady flow of water from his palm, controlling it to be around 45°C. Halfway through, he shifted to using the power of the Oil Oil Fruit, producing lavender, orange, tea tree, peppermint, and eucalyptus oils from his fingertips before pulling out an ornate, tear-shaped porcelain bottle and pouring a viscous pink liquid into the glossy, fragrant water.
'This ought to do it...' thought Vahn, emulating the power of Whitebeard's Tremor Tremor Fruit to make his hand and the water tremble, causing pale pink bubbles to form on its surface and nearly spill over. The liquid he had poured in was an extract made using the Bubble Bubble Fruit, so not only was it exceptionally sudsy, it could dissolve even grease.
Satisfied with his preparations, Vahn took a moment to dry his hands with a towel before returning to Masane's room. She was initially sitting up, but when she saw him return, she hastily returned to sulking with her cheeks puffed even larger than before.
"Bath time," said Vahn, approaching the side of Masane's bed and pulling the blankets to pull her closer. Then, before she could protest, he picked her up like a Princess and met her wide-eyed, ruddy-cheeked gaze with a relaxed smile. Several silvery blades erupted from her spine, stabbing into his right forearm, but he didn't bat an eye as he ferried her to the bath and carefully placed her inside—one of a handful of reasons he had her don a bikini before the massage.
Contrasting Masane's expectations, Vahn didn't immediately leave after placing her in the bath. Instead, he stayed, carefully manipulating the cloudy and warm water to climb up and cleanse her body while using his left hand and the power of the Tremor Tremor Fruit to make the entire bath vibrate. At the same time, he engaged her in idle conversation, his voice deep and soothing as he asked about her work, how things were going with Rihoko, and any other subjects he believed might interest her until she could barely keep her eyes open due to how relaxed she felt...
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After changing Masane into a pair of comfy pajamas and tucking her into a clean bed, courtesy of Grayfia, Vahn returned to his room to find it was occupied by nearly the entire group from Fairy Tail playing cards using a special deck prepared by Cana. The cards had effects such as stripping a piece of clothing from a target or entangling them with slimy tentacles for a turn, so things were already pretty chaotic even before his arrival. With him present, they became even more so, as many of the cards could only be played with one or more males in attendance, placing him on the back foot as the only one—not that he minded. In fact, he thoroughly relished every moment...
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'I wonder if I should visit Yu-Gi-Oh or another card-themed world...' Vahn pondered to himself, lying wide awake in his bed with Lisanna to his right, Levy to his left, Carla curled on top of him, and twelve other girls cuddling together atop his bed. Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, Pokémon, and One Piece were some of the earliest anime he had been introduced to through something called 4Kids TV, but he lost interest in the first three after their plots were recycled between seasons.
Now that he had the power to play Duel Monsters, acquire a Digimon, or become a Pokémon Master, Vahn allowed his thoughts and imagination to wander. Participating in the Battle City Tournament, ruining Marik's plans, and freeing both him and Bakura from their evil influences wouldn't take a lot of effort on his part. As for the other two, he could raise a Digimon to ensure the Digital World wasn't constantly in peril, while Pokémon could serve as a nice place to vacation or allow his children to roam free from a relatively early age.
Imagining his future sons and daughters aiming to become Champions or Pokémon Masters, Vahn couldn't help but smile. Many anime and manga had rather dark worlds, and while that applied to the Pokémon manga, the anime was wholesome. More importantly, he didn't want his kids spending their childhoods within the confines of his palace. He wanted them to live free and independent lives, not bound by expectations, so as much as he trusted Venelana, Grayfia, and Misla, he felt it might be better to let them live and grow detached from the Pavilion...
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With the night passing and the training room's artificial sun once again illuminating its biomes, Vahn found himself helping several girls with their morning routines using his Flower-Flower Fruit clones while his main body stood near the entrance to see them off.
"I can hardly wait to show you how much I've grown..." remarked Erza, flipping the script by being the one to fondle Vahn's butt as she leaned into him with her breasts deforming against his chest.
"I'm looking forward to it..." affirmed Vahn, his voice low as he turned his head to the side and leaned in for a parting kiss. It wasn't very long, but Erza just about sucked his tongue out of his mouth when their lips briefly formed a seal.
"See you soon, Dan-na-sa-ma~" hummed Erza, separating from Vahn's lips and licking her own with a notably seductive look on her face. Then, alongside Xenovia and Korra, she promptly departed with bold, confident steps.
'Becoming a Devil has really drawn out her sex appeal...' noted Vahn, his gaze briefly descending to admire Erza's backside before turning to the next set of girls preparing to depart, Princess Hisui and her body double, Rebecca.
"Thank you, once again, for another entertaining and gratifying evening," stated Hisui, extending her ungloved right hand with her knuckles facing Vahn. It was an action guided mostly by muscle memory, but before she could think to retract it, Vahn smiled, grabbed the tips of her fingers with his right hand, and said, "I look forward to the next..." before lowering his head to kiss the rune-engraved Lacrima ring symbolizing Hisui's status as Crown Princess of the Fiore Kingdom.
"If it is Vahn-sama's request...I will come without fail..." stated Hisui, her cheeks flushing slightly and her hand trembling as she didn't expect Vahn to humble himself to cover her mistake. When he subsequently pulled her against him by her butt, her blush spread into her ears as she did her best to match the dexterity of his tongue.
Separating from Hisui's lips after her breathing began to become labored, Vahn shifted his gaze to the faintly blushed Rebecca and gestured for her to come closer. Once she did, he held both girls by their springy bottoms and spent the better part of four minutes alternating between them until the next group ready to depart made their way over...
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After seeing everyone off, with Lisanna, Mira, and Jane being the last to leave, Vahn made his way over to his bed and plopped down heavily with his arms splayed.
'I should have used Shadow Clones...' thought Vahn, referring to a Jutsu from the world of Naruto that allowed the user to create identical clones of themselves that would burst into smoke when struck but were capable of acting independently and sending their memories back to the original when destroyed. The main reason he didn't use them was because, if he was caring for his women, he wanted to be the one doing it, not a version of himself.
"Is there something on your mind?" asked Grayfia, appearing from a pale golden Magic Circle near Vahn's feet before crawling atop and straddling him.
"This matter with monsters gaining sentience has got me thinking about the future more than usual..." revealed Vahn, keeping his eyes closed but guiding his hands to caress Grayfia's outter thighs and butt beneath her skirt.
"Have you reached any conclusions...?" asked Grayfia, opening the front of Vahn's silky yukata to massage his chest. She would have liked to lean forward and bury her face into his neck, but the last time she used a belly band that placed her pregnant belly in a subspace, Vahn became notably on edge.
"I understand it's more than a little careless, but I've decided to go with Lilith's suggestion and allow the training room to develop independently once these five years have passed," revealed Vahn, parting his eyelids to meet Grayfia's gaze as he added, "As a precaution, we'll be transplanting it onto a developing world within an isolated planetar system. From there, it will largely be on its own until it either destroys itself or reaches a level where one or more of its inhabitants are qualified to enter the Tower..."
"I see..." muttered Grayfia, her eyes narrowing slightly as she wondered how many other worlds had come into being by pure happenstance, only for their creators to leave them to their own devices. She didn't feel that Vahn was being negligent, but it was a thought-provoking sentiment that put into perspective how supreme his power was—that it could create life entirely by accident.
'It will fall upon us to ensure he doesn't create his own Lucifer...' thought Grayfia, picturing Vahn creating forms of life he refused to eradicate even after they turned against him. That capacity for compassion was precisely what led the God of the Bible to his demise, and while Vahn's power might be absolute in the present, infinite possibilities left open the possibility of him being crossed and defeated. And more probably than not, the person or persons who cut him down or stabbed their weapons through his heart would be his most beloved creations...
With such thoughts in mind, Grayfia offered a silent prayer to the cosmos that her daughter wouldn't be the one to betray Vahn. She didn't believe it was likely, but children had a way of belying or even directly contradicting their parents' expectations for them. Millicas had apologized to her for his rebelliousness, but he still harbored the desire to develop an organization independent of the Dragon's Pavilion. And with Vahn believing in freedom of choice above just about everything, it was only a matter of time before someone he supported or gifted independence believed they could do his job better...
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