"Hey!"
Cloud looked at the stunned Mai Shiranui, winked at her, lowered his voice, and spoke in an extremely suggestive tone: "Hey beautiful, alone tonight? The moon's so lovely—care to chat about life and ideals?"
"You... you big pervert! What are you doing here?!"
Mai's cheeks flushed crimson instantly. She hurried to her feet, instinctively tightening her slightly loose yukata, her heart pounding so hard it threatened to leap from her throat.
"Shh—" Cloud pressed a finger to his lips, then slipped inside like a cunning fox, quietly closing the door behind him.
"Keep it down. If you wake those little jealousy jars next door, I'm... dead meat tonight."
The "little jealousy jars" he referred to were naturally Yuri Sakazaki and Aoi Kusanagi.
This villa's soundproofing wasn't exactly stellar.
"Who... who cares if you die!" Mai's voice was fierce, but she'd unconsciously lowered it considerably.
She looked at this man in pajamas with his "guilty" expression, feeling a mix of embarrassment, annoyance, and... inexplicable anticipation.
"What... what exactly do you want?" She stepped back, watching him warily.
"Me?" Cloud advanced step by step, wearing that aggressive smirk Mai found utterly impossible to resist. "I'm here to check on you, of course."
"Look at you—it's so late and you're not sleeping, sitting here alone thinking about a man. As a responsible landlord, I have a duty to provide some... moral education."
He'd backed Mai into a corner of the room. Nowhere left to retreat.
"You... you're talking nonsense! Who's thinking about men!" Mai's pretty face was red as a ripe apple. Her bright apricot eyes had grown misty from shyness and nervousness—a sight that made Cloud's throat go dry.
"Oh? You weren't?" Cloud reached out, gently lifting her smooth chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Those deep eyes were like twin spinning stars, threatening to swallow her soul.
"Then tell me!" His voice dropped low and magnetic, like a lover's whisper.
"That fan in your hand—wasn't it just saying 'Cloud, you big idiot, why haven't you come to see me yet?'"
"I... I wasn't!" Mai, completely flustered by his brazen teasing, could only weakly protest.
"Really?"
Cloud's face drew closer.
He could clearly smell her scent—the intoxicating fragrance unique to a girl fresh from bathing, mingled with hints of cherry blossoms.
"Then why is your heart beating so fast?"
"Why is your face so red?"
"Why are your eyes..."
His voice grew softer, gentler.
Finally, all words dissolved into a light, tender kiss—tentative in its exploration.
"Mmph..."
Mai's body went rigid! Her watery eyes flew wide open!
Her mind went completely blank, crashing in that moment.
She wanted to push him away.
She wanted to slap him.
She wanted to burn him to ash with her Dragon Flame Dance.
But...
When that familiar masculine scent—the one that made her feel utterly safe—enveloped her completely...
When those gentle yet commanding hands softly embraced her slender waist...
All her resistance, all her reserve, crumbled in an instant.
She slowly closed her eyes.
And clumsily, shyly, responded to this kiss—the one she'd waited so long for.
The moon quietly hid behind the clouds.
...
The tentative kiss deepened, growing bolder as Mai's hands found their way to Cloud's chest—no longer pushing away, but clutching the fabric of his shirt as if anchoring herself against the tide of sensation washing over her.
Cloud's fingers traced along the nape of her neck, threading through silken strands of chestnut hair. When they finally broke apart, both breathing harder than after any sparring match, Mai's eyes were half-lidded, glazed with a vulnerability she'd never shown anyone.
"Dummy," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You kept me waiting so long..."
"Then let me make it up to you."
He kissed her again—deeper this time, more demanding. His hands found the sash of her yukata, tugging it loose with surprising gentleness. The silk parted, revealing moonlit skin that seemed to glow in the darkness.
Mai gasped against his lips, a flush spreading from her cheeks down her throat. The legendary kunoichi who'd faced down countless enemies suddenly felt more exposed than ever before—not from the cool night air on her bare shoulders, but from the way Cloud looked at her. Like she was precious. Like she was everything.
"Beautiful," he murmured, and the simple word made her heart clench.
"Don't stare so much, idiot..." She tried to sound annoyed, but her voice came out breathless, needy.
Cloud guided her backward toward the futon, laying her down with a reverence that made her eyes sting. He shed his own shirt, and Mai's breath caught at the sight of him—all lean muscle and battle-earned scars, each one a story of survival.
Her fingers traced a particularly jagged line across his ribs. "This one..."
"Geese." He caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "But that's over now. Tonight, there's only us."
When their bodies finally came together, Mai arched against him with a soft cry she couldn't suppress. Cloud stilled, giving her time to adjust, pressing gentle kisses to her temple, her cheek, the corner of her mouth.
"Okay?" he asked, voice strained with restraint.
"Mm..." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "Don't stop. Please..."
They found their rhythm together—sometimes gentle and exploratory, other times fierce with the passion of two warriors who'd fought side by side and finally surrendered to each other. Mai discovered that the playful confidence Cloud showed the world became something different here, something tender and wholly focused on her pleasure.
"Cloud—!" His name spilled from her lips like a prayer as waves of sensation built within her, each crest higher than the last.
"I've got you," he promised against her throat, his own control fraying at the edges. "Let go, Mai. I've got you."
When she shattered, it was with his name on her lips and his arms around her. He followed moments later, burying his face in her hair, breathing her name like a sacred thing.
They lay tangled together afterward, heartbeats gradually slowing, skin cooling in the night air. Mai traced lazy patterns on his chest while Cloud ran his fingers through her hair, occasionally pressing kisses to the crown of her head.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Mm?"
"If you tell anyone about tonight... the sounds I made..." Her voice carried a hint of her usual tsundere fire. "I'll burn you to ashes. For real this time."
Cloud laughed—a warm, genuine sound that rumbled through his chest. "Your secret's safe with me, Shiranui-sensei. Though I have to say, your practical demonstrations were very... educational."
She smacked his chest, but there was no force behind it. "Pervert."
"Your pervert, though."
Mai hid her smile against his shoulder. "...Yeah. Mine."
...
After what seemed like an eternity, when the moon emerged from behind the clouds once more, bathing the room in its cool radiance...
All had returned to calm.
Mai curled like a lazy cat in Cloud's solid embrace.
Her pretty face still bore traces of an alluring flush. Those bright apricot eyes now shimmered with the satisfied, languid contentment of one who had tasted bliss.
With a delicate jade finger, she traced lazy circles on Cloud's firm chest.
"Hey, dummy." Her voice was husky with a hint of seductive roughness.
"Mm?" Cloud responded lazily, feeling like he'd just completed an exhilarating "boss battle."
"Am I... pretty?"
"Pretty."
"What's pretty about me?"
"Everything."
"Hmph, so dismissive." Mai huffed softly, but the smile at her lips was impossible to hide.
She fell silent for a moment, then, as if summoning all her courage, asked quietly: "Will you... be good to me from now on?"
At this, Cloud pulled her soft body closer.
He made no grand declarations. No sweet nothings.
He simply lowered his head and pressed an infinitely tender, infinitely precious kiss to her smooth forehead.
"I will... protect you with everything I have."
This promise touched the maiden's heart more than any flowery words ever could.
Mai's eyes glistened slightly. She buried her face deep in Cloud's chest, as if trying to meld completely into his being.
...
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on achieving the great harmony of life with Core Bond Character "Mai Shiranui"!]
[Mai Shiranui's Bond Level promoted to: Bound by Life and Death!]
[Congratulations, Host! Special Reward obtained: Comprehension of "Shiranui-Style Ultimate Secret Art: Phoenix Rebirth" x1!]
[System Dual Cultivation function activated—Host's four-dimensional attributes each +10!]
Hot damn! One session of dual cultivation, and the rewards were absolutely luxurious. Spirit stats were notoriously difficult to raise, and spirit potions were rare drops.
...
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