"Little ferret, where on Earl are you?" Natsuki Kruger, twenty-nine year old, Column, headmistress of the most powerful military base on the planet, had effectively managed to lose track of her two year old.
Fortunately (but also rather unfortunately) her wife had a mission abroad and as such wasn't around to randomly appear whenever something like this happened and make fun of her for a week, which afforded her some time to search for their daughter.
Natsuki cursed out the two Pearls who had been called to her office for some punishment and left without closing the door completely. Saeko could not have any chances to flee out of her parents careful watch or else she was a complete escape artist and Garderobe was just too big a place for a toddler to potter around.
Though she had to admit her little girl would make one hell of a strategist one day. Saeko had timed her escape just as she had a lengthy phone call with President Armitage over a vacation get together, which she was looking very much forward to, and was most likely halfway to the courtyard by now.
With all the girls in their various classes, nobody would notice the little blue haired noodlecat running around, ducking into bushes and finding all sorts of trouble.
She had to find a way to get past Miss Maria without getting lectured on the various subjects the elder Otome loved lecturing her on and her not figuring out she had lost her daughter yet again.
Her only comfort was that not even Shizuru seemed to be able to stop Saeko from escaping her careful watch.
Their girl was curious and mischievous, all Shizuru's genes she was sure, which had them running like crazy people and not being the picture perfect dignified Otome they were.
Well, Shizuru was, Natsuki was lectured often enough on her lack of grace. Even more so in recent years, with the end of the conflicts with Artai and the whole Yuna business where she had realized the frailty of both her position and their powers.
The world saw a sudden shift in her bearing, trading in her fashionable attire for something more practical akin to the way military uniforms were in Aries. It had the unfortunate effect of getting Miss Maria frown often at the heavy army boots and robust pants Natsuki clomped around with on most days.
She never knew what might hit them or when she might find herself stuck in a harsh place with no powers to back them up and for that her attractive blue heels and half shirts were utterly inappropriate and had been the first things to go.
The Principal strived to be serious and diplomatic but also prepared to face anything that came their way. Her beloved canon was a good weapon but now a sturdy and powerful pair of handguns were never too far away from her person, usually concealed inside her coat.
Yet her flawless reasoning had failed to convince the elderly Otome, who accused her of being paranoid and losing sight of what Otome stood for with her wardog outfit. Grace and beauty were the defining characteristics of the Otome for sure but Natsuki would hear all the lectures in the world if that meant feeling safe and resourceful -even if she did recognize it was a touch of paranoia that drove her.
Shizuru, like many of their fellow Otome, didn't fully understand her new outlook but she respected her wife's choices at least. Their friends were still quite distrustful of her new politics except, quite ironically, the fourth column.
Nao was a survivor through and through and she, better than anyone, understood the need to be resourceful rather than keeping up with old fashioned standards.
Now though, her sturdy boots were not working in her favour. Stealth was Sarah's domain, not hers. She actually had all the subtlety of her gigantic canon so sneaking past the old lady shaped radar was going to be a chore.
Natsuki had no reason to be out of her office at that hour and despite popular opinion, Miss Maria still bossed all of them like Shinso's right arm and would probably continue to do so for the next 200 years.
Deciding that stealth was not her approach, she settled for what she was good at: bluffing her way out of it like a pro. After all she did it every day.
Stopping to try and muffle her footsteps, not that she was managing it in the first place, she stood up straight and walked with confidence down the hallway to the outside of the building.
Luck was on her side and during her trip, Miss Maria was nowhere to be seen.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Natsuki checked if the coast was clear and tried to put herself in her daughter's shoes. What could a precocious little ferret want to do now that she was free?
The forest was tempting but after a run in with one of her majesty's less than friendly cats last week, Saeko would most certainly steer clear of it for a while. The courtyard and the hormonal adolescents that dwelled there and loved to dote on her was probably the route she had taken if she was after some time in the spotlight.
Though...the gardens were full of nice flowers and birds, with the added bonus that she'd delay her capture the longest.
Going down the sunny path towards the gazebo, Natsuki hoped she'd find her unruly noodlecat before Miss Maria or any of the other Columns found her or else she'd hear no end to it.
A student finding her, something that happened at times, was easy to buy their silence with a well placed bribe, now the seniour staff didn't fall for such tricks.
"Headmistress, perhaps you are looking for this little thing?"
Natsuki turned around at the sound of Nina Wang's voice. She was holding the squirming toddler who looked rather displeased at having been caught so soon and still valiantly struggled, her bright blue eyes filled with determination.
She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the young Meister fully. "Yes, thank you. When you want to have kids, do find a partner that doesn't contribute mostly 'Mischievous cuteness' and 'Restlessness' to the gene pool."
Nina laughed and cuddled the cute little girl closer. "I'll take that under consideration, Headmistress. I hope I'm not too early for our meeting?"
"Oh, you're a bit." She said, looking at her wristwatch. "But seeing as you found me the noodlecat, I'll repay you with getting this done quickly."
Nina bowed slightly and followed her back to her office. She was there on behalf of her master, Queen Mashiro, as a representative for Windbloom as well as her Otome. Arika was too disorganized to follow through with a budget meeting for the Council, no matter how much she had matured in the past years.
"You know, holding her like that she looks like she could be your baby sister, Meister Wang." Nina looked down and grinned. The blue hair was indeed almost the right shade, even if the eyes weren't so similar.
"Or maybe, your own kid." Natsuki teased, causing the other woman to blush and sputter slightly.
"Ah no, very much too soon, headmistress…You should be quoting that at Arika and the queen." Nina mumbled and handed the still wiggling child back to her mother.
Natsuki laughed at the younger woman and settled her daughter against her chest. "You never know where life might lead you, Nina. Come on, it's tea time and what better way to talk budget than over cookies?"
Counting her lucky stars in having found Saeko without alerting anyone but the very reserved and very loyal Nina, she was going to break out her best tea set just for one of her favorite students.
Making a mental note to have the two misbehaving Pearls get more homework in the coming semestre, she led them back to her office.
"Though one of these days, Windbloom gets a Meister as the consort."
"Is your bubuzuke wife meeting us there or will she make it on time for the transport?" Haruka said, effortlessly hefting their luggage onto the transport like it weighed nothing at all, much to the delight of her two daughters.
Haruka's children they might be, impossibly blonde and violet eyed, but much to the relief of the various people around them they were paragons of calm and quiet. Even now as they tried their first steps they were unusually well behaved.
Yukino suspected, and Haruka smugly declared, that they were just waiting for the right age to explode into all their Armitage inheritance. Her parents-in-law did usually warn her that all their children, three boisterous girls, did start out pretty tame and progressively grew to be their normal selves. With the end score of a general, a heavyweight champion boxer and a record setting hammer tosser, everyone was just looking out for the inevitable explosion.
"Most likely meet us there…" She sighed, the stress of the trip and her missing wife starting to get to her. "That matter we have been talking lately is looking more severe than ever."
Natsuki looked around for any trace of Shizuru but knew the chances of her returning in time to board the transport were rather slim.
Archmeister Shizuru normally did not delay in her missions, she was one of the most efficient Otome on Earl. Not only was she efficient, but she made it look effortless and deserved the Third Column, the Bewitching Smile Amethyst like no other. Yet her investigation in Lutesia Remus had held her back so much that the last she heard of her, Shizuru had said they'd meet in the nice resort in Florence they were staying at but would try her best to make it sooner.
The Second Column had to admit she, like her baby ferret, missed her wife immensely and wanted nothing more than for her safe return so they could have the break they so much deserved.
Not even after Saeko was born had they managed some peace. Natsuki was afforded a whole week to recover, though half a day later she was reviewing paperwork while nursing, but Shizuru had been out and about three days later to investigate rumblings of possible anti-Otome weapons that were spotted in Annam.
Retirement was still far away, there was still a lot of work left in them and too much that Natsuki felt needed change and they had to be the ones to push for it.
Saeko stayed with Natsuki during the day on most days and in case some sort of field assignment popped up it usually fell to Miss Maria to watch over the restless ferret and she was more than happy to do it. The students quickly discovered that the legendary Otome going about her duties with a baby strapped to her chest did not make her any less scary.
Setting the exhausted toddler down on her bed in the luxurious cabin they were travelling in, Natsuki sat down with Yukino while Haruka entertained her two lumps of non trouble.
"How are Saeko's nanomachine levels?" Yukino asked, sipping tea from a small, ornate cup. "Haruka mentioned you were worried."
Natsuki nodded. "On the rise, slowly but on the rise." The lost technology that had given them their children also introduced unknown genetic variables, one of which was the apparently self replicating nanomachines that seemed to be increasing as Saeko grew. Though Yohko told them that without a GEM to channel them they would most likely not manifest, they were still quite worried.
"Perhaps you'll have another Arika on your hands. Will there be a GEM strong enough to contain her?" Aya and Mika also had trace amounts of the same nanomachines but given Yukino was not an Otome, theirs were mostly stable. Or at least as far as they knew.
The headmistress looked pensive and shrugged. "Who knows, really? Rena Sayers was powerful beyond what we knew and Elliot Chandler was no slouch in that department either but the technology and methods that they used were, unfortunately, known only to them."
It had been the discovery of Arika's other parent, the former number one Column, that catalysed their search for a means for two Otome to have children and continue to be Otome. To this day, they still don't know exactly how Elliot and Rena had managed to somehow conceive Arika but thanks to the very inspired efforts of Yohko and Irina who had poured over the little scraps they had, Saeko had been the first of what the public had dubbed the Otome princesses.
Some more of their colleagues and friends had followed after their success, even if all the attention Natsuki had to put up with during her pregnancy had driven her up the walls but the traces of nanomachines found in the babies had put a grinding halt to the popularity of the method, even if no counts were as high as Saeko.
"We've been thinking of having another child but Shizuru and I are not sure of what's going to happen with our princess. Maybe if one of us retired there would not be this problem but we are still needed."
Haruka had finally sat the girls to sleep and joined them at the table, constantly keeping an eye on their playpen. "Bah! You're thinking too much! What's the worst that can happen? It's not like our nanomachines are harmful." She enthused, resisting the urge to punch the table during her speech as she often did. "Kid's just stronger is all, gonna be lifting furniture soon but you can pop out another sprog that worst they'll do is help your little princess run your bubuzuke ragged."
Natsuki snorted, unable to contain her mirth at her old Onee-sama, and Yukino giggled, sitting closer into her wife's embrace. There was a chance the boisterous brigadier general was right but at the moment they were still waiting on further research from the team back at Garderobe before they tried for another noodlecat.
Their conversation turned to lighter topics and the hours began to bleed away among the cheerful chatting until Windbloom turned to Annam and then Florence. As Natsuki had predicted, but secretly hoped she had been wrong, her wife hadn't managed to return from her mission.
The day had been long, though ultimately enjoyable, and the small group had decided to retire for an early night.
After many reassurances to Saeko that yes, mommy would return soon and they'd take her to the zoo like they promised, Natsuki fetched the crystal decanter.
Pouring herself a small measure of cognac, she sat down on the polished wood desk near the large window that overlooked the ocean. Her daughter had fallen asleep but in the dark flat, sleep still eluded her.
Her late night relaxation was abruptly shattered when the lock on the door softly sounded on the quiet room.
Quickly grabbing one of the handguns she kept inside her jacket, she pointed it at the door and waited for whoever was foolish enough to try and barge in on them.
"Stop right there!" She barked, ready to materialize her Robe. "I sa-"
The figure cloaked in shadows laughed, a low and melodic sound she'd recognize anywhere, and approached her. "Ara, ara, dearest Natsuki, I expected a warmer welcome." Shizuru smiled softly, carefully relieving her wife of her gun. "Isn't it Nao that says and I quote 'The mutt has a homing device attuned to her owner'? I was under the impression that was true." She teased, getting pulled onto a warm lap.
Natsuki rolled her eyes at the sass she missed so much and kissed her unhurriedly. "It is true but I was distracted, not to mention tired. My homing device didn't beep as it should."
They both laughed, happy they were reunited and ready to start their long awaited vacations with Yukino and Haruka.
Saeko, hearing sharp and intimacy radar even sharper, woke up and loudly demanded her mommy read her a bedtime story too.
Two hours later, the couple had collapsed in bed, too exhausted to do much else but put on sleeping clothes and blink out for the night.
They would discuss and debrief properly in the morning but for now they weren't Headmistress Kruger and Archmeister Viola, Columns of Garderobe, they were just Natsuki and Shizuru, doting parents and happy spouses.