Here's part 6! ^^ Hope you enjoy it!
Anna: She's just smart and like any other child, asks when she wants to know and is straightforward. ^^ Thanks for the IC Shori. I'm just writing the things I hate about him – which is everything he says and does. Shoriless chapter, Conrad, Yuuri, Cheri-sama, Gwendal, Yozak, Yohanna, appearences of Murata. Hope you'll like it!
Interesting facts
2 months in and Conrad was scowling. Currently he was standing in front of a mirror, dressed in only pants, staring at his reflection with a look which could compete with Gwendals in darkness. His eyes were fixed onto his flat stomach. It was still flatt and it would remain flat for another 3 months. So why was he scowling? He raised a hand and poked his muscles. They were still present, but...they weren't hard as steel! They were soft...well not exactly soft, but softening considereably. Next month they would be soft and in the 4th month they would dissappear and he would start showing in the 5th month. Gisella didn't even need to tell him that – he knew it all from Yozak.
Conrad sighed. He really should be thankfull that his pregnancy was as it was, since it could be much much worse. But he still would miss his muscles.
„Conrad!" he quickly pulled his shirt over and headed to the source of the shout.
„Mother. How was your trip?" He greeted the ecstasic woman. She had been even more clingy than usual.
„Oh, I just couldn't stop thinking about you! How are you two?"
Two...He still needed to get used to that phrase. „I-We're fine." He smiled. „Who wouldn't be with such caring husband-father and so many friends? And prtective family." He added and Cheri-sama smiled knowingly.
„Gwendal has been always prtective about you. Even if he couldn't express it as good."
„I know that." He was still smiling and Cheri put a hand on her sons shoulder. And then a tornado came.
„GRAAAANNYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and suddenly something was on Cheri-samas back, embracing her in a death grip. That something was small, loud and full of energy. And from behind the former maous neck you could see fiery orange hair piping out.
Cheri-samas smile softened before it broke out into a sunshine and stars smile. „Baby!" she turned the little, loud, energetic thing around and hugged her grandchild tightly.
„Sorry 'bout that." A voice behind them said and they saw a man with equaly orange hair approaching. „She's just too highspirited today." He came to stand next to them and greeted Cheri-sama. „Welcome back, Cheri-sama."
„Yozak..." the woman whined. „I told you to call me mother...I've been telling you that for over ten years..."
He smiled. „Sorry. These things take time." Then he turned to Conrad. „Have you seen Gwendal around?"
Conrad shook his head. „No. He's probably in his, or Yuuris office, signing something. As you are certainly informed, I was banished from that too, so I have nothing to do all day." The swordsman smiled, but it looked ungenuine and angry. Yozak was sure, Conrad would so love to strangle his husbands throat... He shook his head slightly with a smile on his face. Then he rememebred something. „Ah, before I forgett it, Gisella wanted to see you." Conrad nodded. „I'll pay her a visit, since I have some spare time in my so overloaded calendar." Again, there was niceness in his words, but Yozak felt that dripping irony behind it. „You know bochan dies it only for your best."
„I know." This time the smile was genuine and Conrad turned to head towards the infirmary. He knocked on the door 3 times and entered. Gisella looke dup from what she wad oing and greeted him with a smile. „Conrad."
There was a time she used to call him Your Majesty Queen, but after a few months he got fed up with it and told her politely, albeit stern, that she has to stop it immediately. It didn't surprise him that she asked if it was a direct order. „Please, sit down." Conrad did and she approached him. „I just wanted to make an examination and talk with you."
„About?"
„The pregnancy. Have you read the marked passages in the books I gave you?"
„Of course."
„Have you showed them His Majesty?"
„Yes."
„Has he actually read them?"
Conrad chose not to answer. Gisella sighed. „He should. He's the father after all. He needs to know what to do and more importantly, what not."
„He has much work and many duties. I'm glad he spares for me the time he does."
Gisella sighed. „How much time does he spend with you?"
„Breakfest...Dinner...and a few minutes in between work." Needless to say, Conrad didn't like her frown. „I'm fine Gisella. Mother is with me a lot now and Yozak too, given he doesn't work."
„That's not the point and you know it."
„I do. But it still won't change a thing. And he has banned me from my Queen duties. At first he let me stay in the office with him, but as I took a few papers and started signbing them, he throwed me out. It's my fault too."
„Still not my point."
„I know. I'm just saying that your point won't change anything because of what I'm saying."
Gisella huffed. „Why do you have to always be ight?"
„Because I'm the Queen."
„That was so out of character..."
Conrad chuckled. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Gisella called them in. A black furr stuck his head inside. „You called for me Gisella? Ah, Conrad! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?!"
„No, Yuuri. Just my weekly routine."
„Oh, I see, wait, weekly? I thought pregnant wom-I mean persons, need to go to a check-up only once a month."
Conrad heard Gisella surpress a snort. „Male pregnancy doesn't work like that, Your Majesty. You should know that since you surely read the books I gave to you two."
Yuuri scratched the back of his head. „As for that..."
„Don't waste your breath. Conrad already informed me about your busy schedule."
„Gisella." Conrad said in a lecturing tone, while Yuuri looked crestfallen.
„I know, I'm sorry..."
„Don't be. Actually that's why I called for you. I'll give you personally a lecture about it."
Yuuri looked puzzled and Gisella sighed once again. „Since you don't have the time to educate yourself, I'm going to do it. Sit."
And Yuuri sat down next to Conrad with a curious look on his face. Once seated, Gisella started. „A pregnancy of any sort depends on the maryoku and fitness of the body, or if you want to see it generally: Race and gender. Male, female; human, mazoku, halfbreed. While the body of the women is made for a pregnancy, there is a difference in the maryoku, or more specifically, ther mazoku blood. The ones who have mazoku blood age slower and through the mother, the baby has mazoku blood too. Given it is a halfbreed or a fullblood. But when the mother is a halmazoku, the human blood fastens the process of pregnancy. A halfmazoku women bears the child for a total of 24 months. A fullblood mazoku women 30 months."
„You've got to be kidding me!"
Gisella shook her head. „With the men it's more complicated. The male body isn't suit for pregnancy, but the ones who inherited mazoku blood, inherited with it organs of a mazoku constitution. The mazoku blood makes the growth of them possible. But the men who inherited human blood too posess these organs in their degenerated form. The human blood ‚polluted' them, so to say.. And so, due to the underdevelopment of the organs, or in this case, the ‚maternal womb', and the unsuitness of the male body, the pregnancy of halfbreeds is very risky. Riskier than the fullbloods. Even if their body is unfit for pregnancy, the blood of male full-mazoku isn't ‚polluted' by human and they can use their maryoku, which strenghtens their body. Since halfmazoku don't posses maryoku, there isn't much they can do."
„Wait, but you said they have"
„Blood. Mazoku blood. Not maryoku. There's a major difference between that. It's the blood which enables you to get pregnant in the first place. The maryoku only raises the chances and supports the pregnancy. So when two halfbreeds want to have a child, they have to try a lot harder than fullbloods. The fullbloods only conveniently release their maryoku and make it happen, while the halfmazoku have only the inherited blood which supports the chances of getting pregnant. It's near to impossible for a halfmazoku pair to be parents."
„Oh. I see. Please continue."
„And then there's the problem of bringing the pregnancy to the end. A succesfull impregnation, doesn't mean a successfull birth. In each male pregnancy there is a higher possibility of misscarriage than in a female pregnancy. It completely depends on the father, or more specificaly, on the amount of his maryoku. It gives support to the maryoku of the mother and his body. That's why the majority of those halfbreed pairs who are expecting have a miscarriage. And they can never have a child again. But there are also successes and then the maternal womb is fully developed, so the chances are slightle better than the first time. But that's not out concern now. Even if you both are halfmazoku, His Majesty has a formidable maryoku, so there shouldn't be a problem."
Yuuri nodded. „I understand. Kinda." He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head again. „Is there something else I need to know?"
„The birth."
Yuuri froze in his movement and paled considerably. If it was any other subject, Conrad would be even amused.
„During the labor, a...'passage' for the baby is created. Something like a vagina. It's normally there too, but tight and grown together. Kinda like a scar, which reopens."
Yuuri was now a greenish color and Conrad fought a blush, while his smile became pained. Gisella looked normal. „When labor comes, the ‚scar senses the passage is needed' and so it reopens and allows the child to come out the natural way."
Yuuri ran out of the room, holding hhis hand to his mouth. Conrad and Gisella were staring at the door with dumbfounded looks on their faces for almost 5 minutes, untill Conrad let out a small chuckle and Gisella sighed for the upteenth time, shaking her head.
A few minutes later Conrad left the infirmary too and still with a highly amused look on his face headed to the gardens, where he sure would found his mother, Yozak and Yohanna. He was right. Mother sat at the table, a cup of tea in front of her and another next to it, while Yohanna chased Yozak around in a game of tag. Both of them were laughing and Cheri-sama was smiling in content. He approached her and sat next to her. „Mother."
„Conrad!" she moved the other cup of tea in front of him. „This is yours."
„Thank you." He smiled and took a sip.
„What did Gisella say?"
Conrads smile widened and Cheri-sama looked even more curious.
„Oh, just the same. Only, she caled Yuuri in to give him proper education since he was too busy to read the books she gave us."
Before Cheri-sama could react. there was a loud bang and both of them turned sharply to the direction it came from, only to see Yozak sprawled on the floor, Yohanna strangling him. „Gotcha!"
But Yozak rinned for another reason. „Gisella did what?!" he burst out laughing. „What did bochan say?!"
„Depends what you are thinking about. As he heard how long this business takes, it was something like ‚You've got to be kidding me!' and as Gisella explained everything, it was something along the lines ‚I understand'. The interesting part started when he heard about the...possibilities of the birth."
„He fainted?"
„Ran out of the room with a hand on his mouth, actually." Conrad said calmly with that special smile on his face, taking a sip from his tea, while Yozak laughed himself death.
„He didn't!"
„Oh, but he did."
That set Yozak off for another fit of hystericall laughter. Yohanna looked confused at first, but soon she started laughing like her mother. Yozaks laughter was contagious after all, and soon Conrad and Cheri-sama were snickering too. Yuuri, in his office, sneezed.
There weren't any more special occurences for the rest of the day, everything stayed peacefull. Conrad didn't see Yuuri for the rest of the day and so the young king had the chance to calm down from the shock and process the informations he got. It was only at dinner that everybody gathered together, since each one had their own respective duties and didn't really have time to relax and chat with others. Even their breakfest and lunch was individual when they could spare a few minutes brake. But they never ceased to miss dinner. Dinner was a time for them where everybody of their already large family came together to eat and talk and to spend at least an hour quality time together. This tradition has started somewhere around Gwendals marriage and established sometime during Yozaks pregnancy, around the time of the royal wedding. His Majesty looked startingly fine and wasn't screaming bloody murder either, so Conrad assumed he was fine for time being. But Yozak was wicked as always.
„You know, children are really nice. Take a look at Yohanna. She's just a shunshine. And so curious. She always was. I'll never forgett how she hurried out of me. I mean, the birth took only 15 minutes."
Yuuri choked. Conrad considered silencing Yozak, but he dismissed the idea. For now, he was amusing himself too much for that. And Murata obviously too.
„That was sure one of the shortest births I've ever heard of. However, there's one I recall, which lasted 5 seconds. Really, I never saw such an urgency. It was really quick. I still see the image in front of me, like a flower"
„Murata!"
„But Shibuya, I heard you've been educated in this matter."
„Oh he was, Your Higness. And hearing how he hurried, he liked it very much."
„I hear Gisella-san is a very good teacher."
„And how! I'll never forgett the day she told Gwendal"
„Yozak!"
„But sweetheart, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Since then things have been even more"
„Yozak!!!"
„You're a spoilsport. No fun with you, really. Well...sometimes, yes, but"
„YOZAK!"
„Roger that!"
„I count on it that Shibuya won't get this bossy after the delivery. Most of the people aren't as uptight after that."
„Conrad as sure as hell won't be. The tighteness lessens considerably."
„A pity it will be restored."
„True. But I heard things go smoother after that."
„Yozak."
„Yes Conrad?"
„I think this was just enough."
„Do you? Maybe you're right. But I'll still eat a piece of the cake. Your Highness, will you be so kind?" And Murata passed him said cake.
Conrad only shook his head and looked at Yuuri, who was still ghostly pale, but not as shaken up as the conversation started. He was actually smiling.
„You know...even if our family is crazy, I like it when we gather like this. And now it will become even bigger, even if it's only by one."
„Two." Everybody turned to Yozak as he said this, surprised looks on their faces. Everybody but Yuuri.
„One. Conrad isn't expecting twins. Or are you?!"
„It's too early to tell that Yuuri." Conrad smiled at his husband
„But our family still grows by two members." Yozak insisted,
„How can you kno" and realisation dawned o the young king. „Wait...you...you're...you aren't, are you?!"
„I found out today."
„My compassions." Conrad said with a smile. He remembered the day he found out about his condition all-too-well. It involved a bucket and a lunch eager to get out right the way it went in.
„Thanks." Yozak gave him a pained smile.
„Those 3 years passed quickly." Conrad pried.
„Time sure flies." Yozak nodded with a smile which said ‚blame Gwendal on that'.
„Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-but why aren't you fainting and running to the nearest restroom and dieing around like Kleopatra?" Yuuri exclaimed, earning himself a blank look from Yozak.
„Even if I don't know who Cleopatra is, I'll have to go and thank Shinou for blessing me with an easy pregnancy this time."
„You're pregnant?" and as if on cue everybody turned to Gwendal, who had a face of utter surprise. „But how's that possible?!"
„Eeeh?" Yuuri exclaimed. „Don't tell me that...again?!"
„Oh, we did it in the bed this time, don't worry, bochan!" Yozak winked. „But it looks like Mazoku in heat can't restrain their maryoku as effectively as"
„EEEEH?! In heat?!"
„Don't tell me you don't know that either..." Yozak sighed. „Every year there comes a time for a mazoku when he'll get into heat. Nobody can foresee it, since for each mazoku it's individual. It lasts a week and they say that" Yozak glanced at Yohanna „the fun things two people romantically in love do, are even funnier. But unfortunately every year as it happened I was on some mission, so I didn't get the chance to test it. Yes Yohanna?" Yozak turned to his daughter sitting in Cheri-samas lap, regarding him with that grim look of hers. As she was asked, her face changed into a startled one, as always, and she tilted her head to the side.
„You did funnier fun things and now you're pregnant meaning that a baby will popp out of you?" Yohanna summed up her knowledge according to hoiw her mommy educated her and said mommy smiled, while her daddy's eyebrow twitched.
„Yes, just like that."
„So I'm going to be big sister?"
„That too."
And in that instant she was sitting in his lap, hugging him tightly, but still being carefull not to hurt the baby. Suddenly she realized something which made her flinch and look at her mommy with a scared look. „But today as we played tag you fell onto your tummy and I glomped you...Do you think I hurt little brother?"
Yozak smiled and ruffled her hair. „I've known by then, I was carefull. No damage done."
Yohanna squealed and hugged her mother again. Yozak put his arms around her. „By the way, how do you know it's going to be a brother?" Yozak smiled amusedly.
„Because I want it to be a little brother!"
Yozak laughed slightly at that childish answer. It was so cute...he ruffled her hair again. „If you say so..."
„It looks like things will be very interesting from now on." The Great Sage said and Conrad couldn't but agree.
„I'm going to be granny again..." Cheri-sama squealed. „I wonder if it'll have Yuuris eyes and hair...But it still could be handsom as Conrad!"
„Mother." Conrad tried to politely silence her, but it was no use. The former queen was ecstasic. „And it could look like Gwendal, since we already have one mini Yozak. Oooh, but a boy looking like Yohanna would be so cuuuute...Would it be so handsomly feminine too?"
„Just ask Conrad how I looked as I was Yohannas age." Yozak said and Cheri-sama squealed.
„Mother, isn't it a bit too early to guess the appearence?" Conrad asked and his mother pouted.
„Mouuu...Why do you always spoil the fun?"
Yozak barked a laugh and silenced himself quickly with stuffing a piece of meat into his mouth. Conrad smiled apologetically. „I apologize."
Yuuri sighed and shook his head, smiling in spite of himself. His whole family was a bunch of nutcases. But if he was honest with himself, he really wouldn't have it any other way.
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So, this part is done too. How did you like it?
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I decided I'll post this after this chapter in order to enlighten you about the pregnancy, so you don't have to read the passage again.
• Durations of pregnancy:
Human men: Can't get pregnant because they don't have any „bearing organ"
Human women: 9 months = 3 trimesters
Halfmazoku men: 15 months = 5 trimesters
Halmazoku women: 24 months = 8 trimesters – because their „bearing organs" are of a woman, which is the same in every race and are either way suited for pregnancy
Mazoku men = 27 months = 9 trimesters – because their „bearing organ" isn't underdeveloped, but on contrary: fully developed and their pregnancy can last longer
Mazoku women = 30 months = 10 trimesters
• Success rate of a male pregnancy:
(Listed: mother + father)
Halfmazoku +halfmazoku: chances of succes getting pregnant (not bearing the child untill the end) =chances of not,- 50% success rate; - rate of misscarriage: high,- 95% – the male body isn't suited for pregnancy and the „bearing organ" is underdeveloped and the partner doesn't have maryoku. But they blood is mixed mazoku and human and so it raises the chances (of getting pregnant) to 1:1. But it's still as it is, so the actuall chances of delivering the baby are miserably small.
Halfmazoku + full mazoku: chances of succes slightly higher,- 65%; - rate of misscarriage: 1:1,- 45% - while the first partner doesn't have maryoku, the later has and can raise the chances. But the organ of the mother is still underdeveloped and the body unfit.
Full mazoku + full mazoku: chances of success are high,- 90%; - rate of misscarriage: low;- 10% - both have maryoku, but the body is still unfit to bear children
Full mazoku + half mazoku/human: chances are high enough,- 75%; - rate of misscarriage: less,- 60% - the mother has maryoku and can support the pregnancy fully with it, while neither human, nor halfbreed can use magic, so it doesn't really matter which one race is the father.
Also, due to the informations I could collect from the anime, and by using logic, and by making it fit with my fanfic, I made up a plate of true ages and actual maturity of mazoku. It applies to halfmazoku as well, exactly because of using simple logic and a portion of stubborness. Before I forgett it: It doesn't apply on Yuuri, because Yuuri is special. He'll age in unison with Wolfram, because it's fanfiction and because I can. Duh.
True age: actuall maturity
2: 1
4: 2
8: 6
10: 7
20: 12
50: 15
70: 16
90: 17
115: 19
130: 21
175: 25
210: early 30ies
250: late 30ies
285: mid-life (crisis)
350: early senescence
450: late senescence – death
500: something like our 100 (and more – my greatgranny died at the age of 104) years old „action-seniors"
P.S.: Overlooking this plate, I don't want to know how old Cheri-sama is.
P.S.2: Note, that the difference between ages varries. That's because not all of them are the „starting point" of a „stage of maturity". Some of them are, some of them are not. It's just that around that age they should look like that. You don't look alse from a day to another as you turn f.e. 16. You develope. I'll use Wolfram as an example – he's 84 in the anime. But 20 years ago he looked like 16 too. So it made me think and by listening to his „I'm 84!" it sounded like „I'm almost 17 (or 90 int that matter)/'older by a year'!" One example of the logic I was using as I though about the „age-maturity plate". Another example: Conrad. I heard he was around 90 at the academy and he looked like 17-18, at least to me.
I'll be using this „system" in my ffics since now, given it's needed – if it's a ffic universe/arc, or a m-preg ffic, or an epic ffic. Since the Attention Universe (more concretely „Fatefull encounters") is written before I thought about this, it doesn't apply on it.
P.S.3: Gwendal is younger than he actually looks. If I'm counting right, he should be around 230.
That should be all for now. ^^
R&R, Aki