Chapter 40: Morning

Kushina stood frozen in the half-open doorway, arms still full of blankets.

Her son was on top of a girl, clearly still inside her, both of them flushed and breathing hard. The soft, wet sounds of what they had been doing still hung in the air. For several long seconds Kushina simply stared. She had never walked in on anything like this before. Her mind scrambled for the right reaction—yell, slam the door, drag the girl out by the hair, pretend she had seen nothing—and came up empty.

In the end she chose the last option.

She carefully pulled the door shut again without making a sound, turned around, and walked back down the hall to the master bedroom. Minato was already under the covers, reading by the soft light of a bedside lamp. He looked up when she entered.

"What happened, dear? You were gone a while."

Kushina set the blankets down on a chair, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers up to her chin.

"Nothing," she said.

Minato studied her face for a moment, then simply nodded and turned off the light. They both fell asleep without another word.

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Inside the room with the "Do Not Enter" sign, Kael and Ino did not stop at one round.

They fucked through most of the night—slow and deep when they needed to catch their breath, harder and hungrier when the urgency returned. By the time exhaustion finally won, Ino was lying naked beside him, one leg still draped over his, blonde hair messy across the pillow. Kael stayed awake a little longer, listening to her even breathing, then drifted off as well.

Morning light was already filtering through the curtains when a firm knock sounded on the door.

Kael’s eyes snapped open. Ino stirred beside him, blinking sleepily. The moment both of them fully registered where they were—and whose house they were in—panic hit at the same time.

"Shit," Kael whispered.

Ino’s eyes went wide. She sat up, completely naked, and looked around for her clothes like a criminal searching for an escape route.

Another knock.

"Hide," Kael hissed. "Under the bed. Now."

Ino slid off the mattress and scrambled underneath without argument, pulling the edge of the blanket down to cover any visible skin. Kael yanked on a pair of pants, ran a hand through his hair, and opened the door just enough to look out.

Minato stood there in casual clothes, smiling the same easy smile from the night before.

"Good morning. What took you so long to get up?"

Kael stepped back to let him in, trying to look normal. "Nothing. Just... changing."

Minato walked in like he owned the place—which, technically, he did—and stopped near the foot of the bed. Kael’s heart hammered. Ino was less than a meter away, holding her breath under the frame. Every small shift of Minato’s weight on the floorboards felt deafening.

"You look more tired than usual," Minato said, glancing around the room without suspicion. "Mission really took it out of you, huh?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

They stood there talking for another minute—simple things, how the weather looked, whether Kael wanted eggs or just rice for breakfast. Minato remained completely unaware that a naked kunoichi was lying under the bed controlling every breath. Kael answered on autopilot, keeping his body between Minato and the bed as much as possible.

Finally Minato patted his shoulder. "All right. Come down when you’re ready. Breakfast is almost done."

He left and closed the door behind him.

Kael waited three full seconds, then dropped to his knees and looked under the bed.

Ino stared back at him with wide eyes and a face that was equal parts terrified and ready to laugh.

He reached in, hooked his arms under her, and pulled her out in a clumsy baby-carry. She was still completely naked. Kael set her on her feet and helped her gather her clothes as fast as humanly possible. Ino dressed in record time, hair still messy, cheeks still pink. When she was decent she stepped in close, kissed him once—quick and warm—and then slipped out the window the same way she had come in.

Kael closed the window, locked it, and let out a long, shaky breath.

Not caught. Not caught. Not caught.

He waited another minute to make sure the hallway was clear, then went downstairs.

Minato was already at the table. Kushina moved around the kitchen with her usual energy, but Kael noticed something different almost immediately. She did not reach out to pinch his cheeks. She did not threaten him with another head punch. She simply set a plate in front of him and told him to eat before it got cold. The absence of her usual physical scolding felt almost stranger than the scolding itself.

Kael did not question it. He ate, answered a few more easy questions from Minato about the mission, and kept the conversation light. When the meal was finished he stood up.

"I’m going to head back to the apartment," he said. "Need to drop off some things and... handle a few personal matters."

Minato nodded. Kushina only watched him.

Kael left the house with a final short goodbye. As he walked down the path toward the street, Kushina stood at the doorway and watched his back. The red-haired woman who had once carried him as a baby and chased him around the house with a sandal now simply folded her arms and let out a quiet breath.

He’s fully grown up now,I shouldn’t interfere in his affairs anymore.

A small, reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

And... I think my daughter-in-law is also pretty cute.

She closed the door and went back inside.

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