Steam

by The 483

A new Student arrives at the Academy, and Mizore garners an instant dislike of this smooth stranger. As their interactions continue, Mizore is exposed to more and more that she is not accustomed too, and her world broadens. Lots of Original characters, more focused on the Monster World then Strictly Character growth, mainly through Mizore's P.O.V. Teen for mild violence/swearing.

10. And then some more

+Rosario + Vampire: Steam

By: The 483

Disclaimer: I do not own the right to the Rosario + Vampire franchise.

Alright, gonna try a little something different this time, and break the first half of it into sections by time, going into what certain characters are doing at these times. IF all goes well, this should be the final real chapter (just like originally, the third was supposed to be.) wit just another afterword after this.

Chapter 10: And then even more.

(...)

December 30th

(…)

7:30 A.M.: Mizore

Mizore awoke gradually with a very nice, homey warmth pressed up against her. She took stock of the situation before she opened her eyes. She had gone with Dominic as he had come in from the yard, and then, after a quick mental conference of her motives and hormones (victory rational, 3-2) she invited herself to join him, and curled up in the hollow she elbowed him in to allowing her. Eris's lessons on proper behavior for a lady paid off. She then watched T.V. while being cuddled (unconsciously. Dominic was asleep, bordering on coma) until she had fallen asleep herself, feeling, if not that all was well, satisfied. She had apparently turned in her sleep, and was now, Egg help her… she was nuzzling into his chest. She decided, as she let herself slip back into sleep, that if Kurumu came in today and tried to rattle her, she'd tell her to go eat a dick. She smiled, and went back to sleep.

(…)

7:30 A.M.: Yukari

The world was slightly blurry as Yukari, with a fiendish taste in her mouth, and the realization that she was drooling, came into a state closely resembling wakefulness. Jenny had come into the bath with them last night, and had shared a little wine amongst the girls. Yukari had not had much, a few ounces at most, but she discovered that she had very little tolerance for it, and she was a very giggly girl when buzzed. All in all, she enjoyed a pleasant night in a pleasant buzz with pleasant company, sitting on the lap of a curvy woman in an amazing faux natural spring. She shifted, her head trying to decide if it was going to ache, or just provide a mild ick, and she realized the wet she was laying in covered far too much area to be simply drool. She sat up with a mortified shock, and a pang of pain shot through her head.

Oh, no. Please tell me I didn't wet the bed! No, no, no! She thought furiously, already almost in tears at the thought. Her bed clothes were totally soaked. She had really cut loose. She looked around, and her fear became even more distraught. She had been sprawled out on… not her bed… this wasn't her room. At her feet, Celestina was laying on her back, in human form, one arm over her bare stomach, her shirt balled up around her chest, snoring gently. Yukari was laying diagonal across the bed on her own back, and near where her head had been, Kurumu was asleep, head buried in a pillow she had clenched in both arms, face down. She assumed Aurora would have been there too, she hadn't left Yukari's side since she had arrived, but she was nowhere to be found, which gave her a small measure of comfort.

She didn't have a crush on her… but things were certainly headed in that direction. She was pretty, bulgy, tall, funny, liked Yukari, and most importantly, was intelligent. Moka had been her first love, for sure, but Yukari had seen her test scores long before she had had the opportunity to fall in love with her figure. Aurora was not as smart as Yukari, but she was still able to follow the more technical things Yukari said, and was a delightful conversationalist. And VERY nice on the eyes, with her long, clean limbs and fairly dark and even tanned skin.

It all added up to Yukari not wanting her to have seen that she had piddled in the bed like a toddler. Egg, it was everywhere. She was surprised Kurumu and Celestina had slept through it, as she could see the water marks under both of them as she sniffled, trying her hardest not to cry. Damn it all to…

"~~h~…ey *yawn* …hey… what wrong, Yu…kari?" Aurora's voice asked blearily with a pair of pauses for long yawns. Frozen stiff with shame, she turned her head like it was a ratchet, and faced… a face shaped globe of water lifting from where her right shoulder had lain.

"W-w-w-what?" She stuttered, completely confused with what she was seeing. The clear water face took a look around, then nodded as if it understood.

"Oh! Sorry, dear, I guess I shifted in my sleep." The water from all over the bed began to retract to pool under where Yukari's head and shoulders had lain, in the vague shape of a person. It even leeched itself from her hair and clothes, until all but the water itself was dry. Then, like mud stirred from the bottom of a pond, brown color stirred from within the core of the clear water, until, after a few seconds, Aurora lay where she had slept, naked and looking apologetic. "So sorry, Yukari, I must have drank a bit more than I thought. I don't usually lose my human form when I sleep." She suddenly looked curious, and spoke to herself. "I wonder if this is what the humans mean when they say "wet dream?"" She thought about it for a second, then shook the thought away. With a relieved sigh, Yukari fell back, her head pillowed on Aurora's stomach like it had been when they had talking before they fell asleep the night before.

"Thank the Egg. I thought I'd had an accident." She breathed, with eyes closed, and started when she felt a touch at her shoulder. She looked up to see, well, a large breast for one, but more importantly, Aurora looking down, looking like she was about to cry herself.

"Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to worry you!" Confronted with this, she decided to take the high road.

"It's okay. Either way, this was nicer then waking up alone and sad, like I have for the last couple days. Anyway… if you don't mind me asking… what are you?" Just like the doctor… she thought wryly as she stated the rude question. To her surprise, the girl looked proud.

"I am an Undine." She sounded as proud as she looked. "A second generation Undine." The emphasis told Yukari this was something important.

"Oh? And that is a good thing? I am afraid I am not familiar with the importance of this." She tried to leverage the rude with admittance of ignorance. Aurora thought it was adorable, and placed a hand on her head and stroked her head.

"Well, And Undine is a Pure Elemental of Water, just like Jenny, who is an Efreeta, which is a Pure Elemental of Fire. Normally, one of our ilk is only born when a certain kind of elemental event happens somewhere on the planet. Like… Jenny was born when a volcano erupted, and my parents were born when landslides and tectonic plate shifts caused massive waves. So, mostly, Pure Elementals are really rare. But both my Mom and Dad are Undine, so I am born a second generation Undine. There are only like, 8 second generation Pure Elementals know in the world.

"Wow!" Yukari said, marveling not just at the girl, but of the number of amazing Monsters attached in some manner to the Farnsworth house. "That's amazing!" Aurora grinned.

"Thanks. So, how you feeling? If you're okay, and will let me up, we can go see what Jenny has fixed for breakfast."

(…)

8:00 A.M.: Eris

Eris bounced out of the shower, not bothering with a towel. With a snap of her left fingers, she created a shimmering wall of heat around her in one bounce, a second snap drove the hot air in a spiral around her thin body, and continued spinning around her hair until it was dry and fluffed better than if she'd spent an hour with a hairdryer. There were certainly advantages to being born an Elemental Magic Elf, that's for sure. Since it was just her and her dad, and he was already at work, she didn't bother to dress. She never wore clothes when at home, except as a concession to her father, on the rare occasions when their schedules happened to place them together and awake.

He had been so much happier here then back in England. When her mother had left, when Eris was just a pup, as her father said, what she reasoned as about 3 years old, he had moped around 4 or five months, sad, but not devastated. Her Mother was of a European tribe known for their nomadic tendencies, and her Mother had made it clear before Eris had been conceived, that while she loved her father and would love the baby they made, she could no more fight her need to travel and migrate then the Salmon or Whales or birds. It was how she was wired. 4 years. Long enough for Eris to get to have at least a few blurred memories of her black skinned, white haired, compassionate eyed mother before she moved on. It was the longest her mother had ever lived in one place in her 600 year life. It made Eris extremely flattered to know her mother had fought her nature so hard to give Eris a handful of happy remembrances of her.

After that, her dad had needed a change, and moved them to Japan, and now worked 16 hour shifts at a local hospital as the best scrub nurse in the region. He was always working over if he was needed. Half the time, he would just sleep at the hospital, and occasionally wouldn't be home for as much as 2 weeks at all.

Her dad was only around 200, and had, before they moved to Japan, lived on the British Isle his whole life. He had been mainly a farmer, then an industrial worker, until World War One, when, during the bombings that plagued the island nation over the conflict, he had volunteered as a makeshift nurse, aiding the injured in whatever ways he could. This was mostly administering painkillers until the patient died. After that conflict, and seeing that the shafting the Germany was taking with the Treaty of Versailles, he saw another conflict as inevitable. So, he studied medicine, and when the World War Two rolled around, he was able to do more. And now, he worked in a modern hospital in a new land. He actually enjoyed the long hours and hard work, and aiding people was a nice perk. His background in manual labor lead to not being adverse to good, hard work.

Eris bounced to the kitchen, dug out something microwavable, and simply bubbled as she waited. She was ecstatic, because today, finally today, Leofric was going to be returning.

They had been dating since they were 12. He was the first friend Eris had managed to make, when, at 8, she had moved into the Laguna. He was giant sized back then, too, and he had only kept getting bigger, until his present dimensions of 6' 5" and 270 pounds in his human form. He was like her complete opposite, calm and mountainous as compared to her own spindly and boisterous spirit. They were, it seemed, made for each other. They had never even had a serious fight, and the one time she had been feeling her oats and actually tried to pick a fight, he simply let her storm for a few minutes. After a few minutes, when there was no indication she would calm by herself, he picked her bodily up, still squawking at this in impotent protest. He then sat, put her over his knee, gripped both her clawing hands by the wrist in one of his own hands, and gave her a quartet of quick, firm slaps to her rear. He then replaced her on her feet, where she stood, face red, and eyes downcast, timidly quiet. When this had happened, they had been relating intimately for more than a year. The feeling she had glowing in her stomach was not quite the same as when she achieved climax… but was very similar. She wanted to experiment, but did not want to irritate him by trying to make him mad enough to do it again. But maybe, just maybe, she would ask him again someday when he was feeling very mellow. She feared he'd think she was weird.

He was supposed to be back in about half an hour, by last estimate, (he had texted her when the plane landed) and she was going to meet him. She was hoping to get a bit of alone time, because as soon as Dominic got his act together, Leofric would be busy prepping for the party tomorrow, and she would be as well. The all day, all night beach party/festival was an annual event that almost all in the community participated in, and even people's family that lived outside often came to visit. It was the biggest community event of the year, giving the last year a good send off, and a bang to the start of the new one.

So, this would be her only chance for at least 2 days to have him all to herself, and she planned to monopolize it accordingly. Sure, he was not necessary for her, but he made her happy, so she did what she could to make it mutual. Maybe she was trying to not become her mother, but she did not plan to let him go for a long time. With a smile, she grabbed her food, and moved back into the depths of the house to get ready.

(…)

9:00 A.M.: Mizore

Mizore pushed back from the table, sleepy again now that she was full, breakfast having reached the coffee and burping stage. The thought spurred her, so she rose, fetching the coffee pot and topping off herself, Jenny, Gerald, and Allison's cups, as she was one of the two people in the house allowed to use the kitchen's facilities, something she felt no small amount of pride about, now that she understood the significance. As far as she knew, Kurumu and Celestina, who had apparently gotten a wee bit drunk last night, were still asleep. Aurora and Yukari had gone with Dominic and Capris, who were surveying the things they would start bringing down to the lake for the all day long beach party the following day.

"Thanks." Allison said with a slight tilt of the head. She blew once, and downed the drink, her ears twitching while she drank. "But, Clifford is making calls to some houses today, and I must accompany him. Thank you for breakfast." She rose and left after depositing her cup and saucer in the sink.

"My my." Jennifer said, a small smile spreading over the rim of her own cup. "Clifford already? I begin to suspect that you did not select this one solely for her credentials, dear." Gerald gave his wife a wry smile.

"Of course not. Leaving things to chance is a sloppy way to run things. Call it… an experiment. You know the good Doctor is so focused on his job that he often fails to realize that there is more to it the just pure research. I need certain things of him, and he needs perspective. So, I am throwing that pretty little kitty at him, to see if he is human, after all, or a machine, like I suspect."

"Could he really be a machine? He seemed real enough to me… what?" When she had started asking it, Mizore had felt it was a perfectly reasonable question. Gerald gave her a strange look as she spoke. As per usual, Jennifer stepped in when something was not understood.

"What he means, Mizore, is that he is checking to make sure that Clifford has a proper hormonal balance. In short, he is dangling that choice little piece of fish in front him, and if he fails to make a snatch at it, he will be sub-normal."

"…but I thought she was a Cat-Woman…what?" Now Jennifer was giving her the exasperated look. This time, making the jest on purpose, Mizore smiled at her.

"Say, Mizore… you seem happier today then the past couple of days. Am I wrong?" It was a leap for Gerald, who was guessing more on the fact that she was speaking without being spoken to, rather than appearance. Her face was as impassive as usual, and he had yet to spend enough time to become fluent in the subtle shifts in her deadpan to really see her emotions."

"Yes, a little. Last night… well… Dominic finally asked me to date him." Jennifer smiled.

"He is slow, I know, but eventually gets the point."

"How do you manage that?" Gerald asked, examining her as if she had not yet spoken.

"Manage what?" The surprise reached Gerald only in her voice. He could not see her face change at all.

"Your face. I heard a bit of curiosity in your voice, but it did not register on your face. Is it some kind of voluntary muscle control, or were you injured?" She chose not to be offended, because she knew by now that when Gerald was blunt or genially offensive, it was a form of affection. He was coldly indifferent to outsiders, like when she had first met him.

"Nothing to it. It's just me." And she gave a small smile, causing just the corners of her mouth to twitch.

"Very interesting…" He said slowly, his mental wheels turning as he rubbed a stubble covered chin. "Have you thought about what you're going to do when you graduate?"

"N-no…" Shock. The question was totally out of left field.

"Well, have you ever considered a job in the field of Monster/Human Relations?" She was long in answering.

"No, not really. I am… not very good at interacting with people." She answered calmly, covering her nerves by taking a sip of coffee.

"Well, there are lots of jobs available, not just interacting with humans. Sometimes, we deal with humans. Sometimes, we have to deal with Monsters. Sometimes, we work with both, and others, we have to deal with … incidences. But, that dead pan you have going… do you know what one of the most intimidating things in the world is?"

"N-no… what?" She said, interested, but a mite scared. The rumble in his voice at the word "incidences" worried her.

"One of the most intimidating things is a person who shows absolutely no hint of what they are thinking. Would you try something for me? Alright, please tell my wife, as calmly and unhurriedly as you can, that if she does not desist antagonizing the locals, that her and her entire tribe shall be liquidated. And address her formally, please. Go ahead." Mizore did not know what she was expected to accomplish, but she tried. She wanted to please her hosts, as they had given her such an overly enjoyable time over the break.

"Mrs. Farnsworth." She left a short pause as she turned and face the flame woman. "If you do not cease in your antagonism of the locals, I am afraid that we will have no choice but to liquidate you and your tribe. Are we clear?" She had seen, while lying in Dominic's arms and watching the picture box, the last half hour of a crime drama. She tried to match the word structure the hardboiled detective had used in the interrogation. Gerald looked at his wife, an interested look on his pate.

"Well, Hun, what do you think." Jennifer was looking at Mizore oddly.

"Not a flicker of emotion, not even dislike. Makes me think of dumping the trash. Just doing something that needs to be done…" She paused, looked displeased for the first time Mizore had ever seen on the woman. "I knew it was pretend, but it still sent a shiver down my spine." Gerald's old coot face split into a devilish grin.

"Yes, Gathered as much. Think about it, Mizore. I can get you some pamphlets and such. But if you ever want a Job in my office, you let me know. I can use you."

(…)

10:15 A.M.: Moka

Moka had left the bus, and made her way up the short hill through the ankle deep snow and into the tunnel without any fuss. As she walked, it gradually became warmer, until if felt like an early summer day, and she removed her heavy coat and carried it. It was a short tunnel, much shorter than the one to Yokai, but just as featureless. She emerged to find herself at the top rim of a large sloping crater with a black lake in the center. Houses were seemingly spattered at random on large terraces lining the crater, except the bottom, which had several meters of white sandy beach bordered by a thick concrete berm. The far side of the place was far enough to appear slightly hazy, and the reddish rock of the mountain that it was carved out of sloped upward until a simulation for the sky outside covered the apex, like she was looking out of a volcano from the inside. The effect was impressive, but not as much so as the life within.

Yokai was the place where she had seen the most diversity in her experience within the monster world. This was like that, but cubed. Just within her limited cone of vision, she could see and identify 14 different monsters, and there were 5 she had never seen before. It seemed as if the entire town was a bustle of activity, all spectacularly uncoordinated. Compared to her father's castle, which just had the people united under his leadership, and the school, she had never seen a real city of the monster world. And if it was at all like the school, where she was beset by a combatant at least once a week…

Moka suddenly became aware of just how vulnerable she was without Tsukune to break the seal on her power.

"Hello, there. You seem… lost." She stiffened as a deep female voice called to her from behind. It didn't sound hostile… but that often didn't mean anything. She turned slowly, her shoulders hunched in anticipation of the worst, but her eyes widened and her breath hitched in her chest as she saw who spoke. She was facing the most shockingly beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was literally stunning, and Moka momentarily forgot to breathe. Moka was modest, but knew she was beautiful; this woman was on a whole other level.

She was a full head taller than Moka, and thin to the point of being skeletal, except instead of looking sickly, she looked elegant. She had shiny black hair, partially let down in a bang that hung to her chin, obscuring one eye, the rest bound in a knot riding high on the back of her head. Her skin was as pale and pure uniform white as the full moon shining on fresh snowfall, and seemed almost lustrous in it smoothness. She was wearing a black sports bra with white trim that was barely tented, with matching black running shorts with white trim. Black sneakers with white trim… her outfit's pieces all matched. She even had a black sweat band on her narrow wrist with… you guessed it, white trim. The only color in her entire being, was the glistening ruby of her lips, and matching eyes, which glittered with intelligence and kindness.

She was sweating lightly, obviously out jogging. She tilted her head to the side, concern written across her face as Moka started openly, almost rudely at the woman.

"Are you okay, Miss?" With a start, Moka remembered herself, and her face went red with embarrassment.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She cried, averting her eyes. The other woman gave a friendly chuckle.

"It's okay. I am sorry I startled you." She replied. Her voice was surprisingly deep, but completely feminine, and had a very pleasant undercurrent to it. "I just saw your travel bag, and you had that "country girl in the big city" look on your face, and I thought you might be a little lost." Moka managed to meet the others eyes briefly. She seemed to really be friendly.

"Well… actually, this is my first time here… and I don't really understand the directions I was given. I thought maybe I would understand when I arrived, but…" The woman smiled again, and brushed the sweat from her forehead with her sweatband.

"..Now that you're here, it makes just as much sense as before." She finished the thought. Moka managed a timid smile. "Well, Miss, I am only here sporadically, but I know the lay of the land fairly well. Why don't you tell me what you're looking for, and if I know it, I'll point it out, and if I don't, I'll find you someone who does." Moka looked aghast.

"Oh, no! I wouldn't want to be any trouble, Ma'am." The Woman waved it off casually.

"It's no trouble. I didn't have any destination in mind anyway. Was just jogging a bit to help work off the baby weight." Despite herself, Moka felt her jaw drop in astonishment. Surprisingly, the woman took it as a complement, patting her stomach with an aristocratic hand. "Heh, it may not show too much, but I can feel it."

"No offence, Ma'am…" The other cut her off, smiling.

"Please, call me Abby."

"Alright. Pleased to meet you, Abby. My name is Moka." She answered solemnly, with a deep polite bow.

"Charmed." Abby answered, with a sweep of the hand and light bow that nevertheless managed to convey her full pleasure.

"No offense, Abby, but with your amazing figure, I cannot imagine that you have any baby weight." She gave Moka a radiant smile.

"Aww, that's sweet of you. Thank you, Moka. I work hard at it. Heh, it isn't a lot, true, but then, we egg layers don't really swell too much when we only pass one per cycle. So, what are you visiting our humble town for?"

"I was invited for a New Year's party. You wouldn't happen to know a Dominic Farnsworth, would you?" The beautiful woman made a face that clear said that she did. She sighed.

"Moka, around here, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't know the Farnsworths." She cocked a brow. "He up to something fishy with you?" Moka raised a hand defensively.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. He's just an acquaintance from school." She still looked suspicious.

"Hmm… if he's not, then why'd he invite you? You sure it's not blackmail or something? I'd be happy to show him the error if his ways for you."

"Actually, my friend Kurumu invited me. I thought it was a little strange." Abby nodded.

"Yes, it's always a little strange there. But that's not too far off the norm. Come on. It's down on one of the lower circles. I'll walk you, and may clock him one, anyway." She was smiling as she said it, but Moka got the impression that she was not joking. "You see," she said, as she led Moka across the street and between a convenience store/gas station and a thrift shop, "this place is organized in 9 descending shelves called "circles." I think it's Mr. Farnsworth's idea of a joke. When he had the place commissioned, he had the constructors build it like this, and named each layer after one of the circles of hell in the Divine Comedy. See?" They had walked down a flight of concrete stairs to the next level down, and Abby pointed to a street sign that read "8-45 to 8-80, Fraud Circle. "Each one is named for a circle of Inferno." Moka had a sudden realization.

"Oh! Well, now the directions make sense. Kurumu said I wanted 2-4, Lust Circle." Abby nodded understanding.

"Yes. Unless you know the layout, it can be a strange direction."

"So, then, it's like saying, level two, house #4, and then Lust is like the street name, yes?"

"Exactly. Very nice, Moka. A lot of the tourists…*ahem* I mean, visitors we get here have to have the whole thing explained before they can understand. Yes, The Farnsworth Estate is down on the last level before the beach starts, in what we here on the upper circles refer to as the rich area." As they came to the next set of steps, Moka could see down into the whole of the quarry through a break in the trees and buildings. Looking down, see could see that the houses on the last shelf before the sandy bottom layer were indeed impressive structures. Mansions. Abby read her pause correctly.

"Yeah… it's pretty impressive, isn't it?" She looked off in the distance. "I've been all over, and there aren't any other enclaves like this that I've seen. At most, there are loose associations of near type Monsters. But here, there are at least 1200 people of more than 100 different species, from all parts of the world, as well as a handful of humans. It's pretty amazing, even to those of us who live here."

"I can understand that." Moka said pensively as they made their way down. "Even where I live, it's only members of the clan, maybe 40 of them. Yokai was the only place I have ever seen more than 10 or so monster species in the same place." They passed onto the 4th circle, and paused to let a heavily loaded pair walk past, loaded with a cooler large enough to fit a large person comfortably stretched out inside. Sitting atop the cooler, her legs kicking happily in the air, was a young girl. She and Abby we about to continue down the next set of stairs, when a voice rent the air.

"Oh! Moka, hi!" She turned back, and saw with a mild shock that the young girl had been Yukari. It took her a second to realize that she hadn't noticed the first time, because she was so used to seeing here in the clothes she wore at the academy, she didn't recognize her in the plain red tank top and floral print skirt. At second glace, as Yukari hopped down and walked toward her, she noticed the bearers were Dominic and Leofric. Yukari walked straight up, and to Moka's extreme surprise, hugged her around the waist. "I am so glad you could make it!"

"Y-Yukari!" Moka exclaimed, unsure of what was happening. She had been anticipating that there would be at least some hard feelings. This reaction was… unsettling. The girl stepped back, flattened her skirt with two slaps, and smiled up at the much taller girl, before her face shifted to concern.

"What's the matter, Moka?"

"Nothing!" She covered, a little too enthusiastically, then looked sheepish. "I just thought you wouldn't be happy to see me." Yukari looked confused, then thoughtful, the popped with surprise.

"Oh!" Her face clouded for a second, then she smiled again, and gave an embarrassed giggle. "Well, yes. I was upset for the first couple of days, but then Kurumu had me come here, and I guess I just forgot to be depressed after a while. It's been busy." The two boys had moved over now, and said hello to Moka. Then Dominic looked over the other woman, who had been silent until then.

"Ara? Why are you here? I thought you were out of the country?" He asked, almost sharply.

"Ah, pity I need not inform you of my plans." She replied, almost frostily. He cocked a brow at her.

"Oh? I am sorry, I didn't mean to sound snippy, I was just surprised, and pleased, to see you were back in town. I was a tad disappointed you weren't, as I had some friends I wanted to introduce you to, and Mother was just asking about you." Abby's frosty look melted instantly, and she smiled warmly.

"Ah, not to worry, I am not myself, as of late, anyway. So, who are you spreading lies about me to, now?"

"Ah, you know, same old. Anyone that will listen. How'd you get hooked up with this one?" He nodded toward Moka.

"It seems that Kurumu took for granted that she is used to the towns layout." There was a general noise of dawning comprehension from the group.

"Not surprised, there. Anyway, were taking this down to load for tomorrow. Will you be joining us on our plot?"

"Perhaps."

"Cool, cool. So, I assume you were escorting Moka to the house? Well, want us to take her off your hands, or would you care to join us?" Abby looked to Moka, who looked almost as lost as she had when they had first met.

"I think I should join you. I would like to say hello to Jennifer, and I am not busy." Yukari looked pleased with this development, and moved back, waiting while the cooler was lowered to where she again climb upon it, like royalty upon a palanquin.

"Come on!" She motioned for the other girls to join her by patting the top of the cooler to either side of her.

"Oh, no, we will walk." Moka said, looking unduly embarrassed. Yukari gave a sly smile.

"Oh, no, I insist. You see, this morning, Eris found out how Dominic had been behaving over the past few days. So, he is being punished. Hop on you two." Moka still looked dubious.

"What about Leo?"

"He likes to help!" She added, as if that was all the explanation there was. Moka wanted to argue, but at the same time, she was dressed for winter in the summer heat, and was not anxious to exercise any more than necessary. "Besides, if you don't, Eris will be upset at me." She added, and that tipped the balance in her favor. The girls approached and the boys lowered their burden so that they could climb aboard, as Yukari pushed herself over. Once they were in the air again, the cooler was tilted slightly.

"Yukari, could you swap spots with Moka?" Yukari looked at Leo suspiciously, until she remembered that Leo wouldn't do anything suggestive, and climbed over Moka, taking the middle seat. The weight more evenly distributed now, the load flattened out, and they proceeded down the softly curving road.

"Why aren't we going down the stairs? Are you two little boys not strong enough to manage it?" Abby cooed, a playful barb in her voice.

"Nope." Leo answered absently. "Cooler's too long to carry it levelly."

(…)

10:45 A.M.: Mizore

Mizore had been working in the kitchen ever since Gerald had retired to his study for an urgent business call, and being the only one allowed to help, was assisting Jenny in making a lot of food. Eris had arrived with Persephone around 10, and had been sent off to the beach with Kurumu, Celestina and Aurora to secure the desired acreage and prep it for the arrival of the things that would be sent down in the afternoon. Mizore would play an important role, as her ability to freeze any and everything would allow them to move the majority of the stuff tonight, so they would need to, hopefully, only make one trip the following morning.

McIntyre and Allison were at the long table, papers, folders, and folder boxes spread along the entire length. He was going over data, getting her up to speed with what he had collected, and she was listening intently, and organizing the papers as he went through them. They had attempted to go out and get fresh data, but the town was too busy to get much done, and so they had returned. Mizore noticed their mugs of coffee were cold, wiped her hands, and refilled them.

"Thank you, Mizore." The Cat-Woman said with a light smile. The Doctor didn't even noticed she had come over, and wouldn't unless he bumped into her. She had been thanking her for both of them, because the man would not. He had the social skills and etiquette of a brain dead monkey. He was interested in the science, and hardly noticed anything outside it. Mizore had reasoned that Allison had not only been hired on as his assistant, but as his personal manager too. Or, more correctly, Gerald was pimping her out for that purpose.

"What are you guys working on, now?" Mizore said, stepping clear of the man wandering around the table, muttering to himself, and digging out random papers before handing them to Allison. She was used to them, now. As long as the Doctor was not actively engaging Allison, they could converse as if he wasn't there, and he would not even notice unless his own personal service was impeded.

"Just sorting through his notes and papers, organizing so that I may type them up, consolidate, and store them. There is literally no sense of organization to the data he's collected thus far, so were doing a rough sort now. It was all gather, with no condensation, so there may be many, many doubles, and even just little bits scribbled on unrelated documents."

"Oh… okay." Mizore said, returning the coffee pot, and then glancing down at some of the papers. She picked one up, and there was just a single scrawled datum on it. "Cherubim (Mixed Angel. Cross between Seraphim (High Angel) and Nephilim (Fallen Angel) that bears physical configurations of both parent species, in symmetrical or A-symmetrical patterns." She read off, absently. It didn't seem very… scientific… to her.

"Oh, pass that over. I have an Angel pile." She did, having to walk down to the far end of the table, where another page caught her eye. She dug it out, and read. It was a family tree cross section. One box was labeled "Yeshua Taliaferro (Seraphim)," a dotted line connecting it to another box "Magdalena Taliaferro (Seraphim)." Below, joined to each by a solid line, was "Celestina Taliaferro (Seraphim)," but another line lifted from the top of the father box, and fell between the two and into the daughter and into the top of the mother.

"What's this mean?" Mizore handed Allison the paper, and looked at it quickly.

"Oh, Clifford was discussing this earlier, so I know. You see, Seraphim, or High Angels, are one of the stronger species of Monster the Doctor has studied. They also like to keep their bloodlines pure, as the mixes weaken the overall child. Even if crossing with the other major Angel branch, the Nephilim, which are just like black colored Seraphim, the product is distinctively different enough to be classed as a separate species, the Cherubim. The same is with Dominic, being a Lesser Devil, even though his Mother and Father are the most powerful breeds of their race, Major Devil, and Pure Elemental Spirit. Anyway, Yeshua, like his brother, did not marry until recently. Well, for them, say, within the last 200 years. But, unlike his brother, Yeshua was not reticent about spreading the "wings" of other Seraphim over the course of his long life, as well as some other various species." Allison made the air quotes to make sure her euphemism was clear.

"So, seeing he's been around for … oh, let's say 5000 years to make it even, with 50 years counting as a full generation. That's 100 generations. As such, at a rough guess, if he had… say, 1 child every 4th generation by Seraphim, that would be 25 direct decendants. If that is the case, and with the stories Gerald tells, that is a conservative estimate, it is not unlikely that at least ¼ of the Seraphim, and many of the Cherubim, can claim to directly descend from Yesuha in diminishing percentages of consanguinity. Anyway, as far as we know, Magdalena is a 19th generation descendant, and that makes Celestina a first, and 20th. So she is both a daughter, and granddaughter to Yeshua." Mizore was quiet while she tried to fit this into her head.

"Isn't that… bad?"

"Not at all." Allison said, guessing at her dis-ease. "We monsters, because of our genetic structure, or so the Doctor assumes, are not as susceptible to the harms of interbreeding as humans and the like And, being that far back at her first point of concurrence, … and theorizing one or two re crossings… Maggie likely wouldn't have more then say… 12% derived for Yeshua, a degree even humans would not effectly have to worry about producing a cull.. You are a Yuki-onna, correct?" Mizore nodded. "Are there a lot in your clan?"

"About 30." Mizore calculated quickly.

"All pure? Because, I do not think your people retain their purity in mixing, like Succubi do."

"…Yes, I believe so."

"How many men?" Mizore was silent. It was only her father. Allison nodded at the look on her face. "Yes. The Yuki-onna, tending toward female, in clans where they wish to keep the bloodlines pure, will often all mate with a male, to continue the lines. A "A Smurf-ian setup… I believe…no… wait, that is one female servicing a population of males. Darn…hmmm… most analogies I know run low female, high male ratios… maybe Lions? You know lions? Okay, Lions will often be a patriarchy where one male spreads his seed among many females.

"I cannot be certain from what little data we have, but I would be greatly surprised to find a large diversity in the gene pool of your clan." Mizore, who thought she was impassive, still didn't like being talked about in the scientific detachment of the pair. Allison noticed the slight change to her face. "Oh, my, I am sorry! But, it's not just the Yuki-Onna. Almost all species that tend to produce mostly members of one sex but want to keep the bloodlines pure engage in some kind of controlled breeding with the scarcer sex, either through harem like breeding's centered in groups of one primary with 2-5 secondary's, or membership trading between friendly pure blood clans in ritual or diplomatic protocol. It's true in some Vampire, Gargoyle, Minotaur, and Arachne clans." She answered, not understanding what had made Mizore uncomfortable. She managed to force a smile, anyway.

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean offence. I am just not used to being seen as... a specimen." Mizore gave another smile, and returned to her work. A few minutes later, the front door opened, and in walked Yukari. Then… Moka. Mizore felt a lump in her chest, but managed a weak smile, which Moka returned shyly. Then, unexpectedly, a third woman walked in. Mizore felt a pang of annoyance, as she recognized the woman from Dominic's wall. It wasn't jealousy… it was just that the woman was pretty to the point of being offensive, and it was so obvious she was not making an effort at it, in her workout clothes and sweaty condition. Dominic and Leofric followed the girls, and placed the cooler, full of stuff purchased at the store, down in the kitchen.

"Arabella!" Jennifer cooed as she spotted the girl, and ran over to hug the woman, who was taller than her. Yukari, like a smart puppy, perked up, and looked at the girl. She had unabashedly pointed out on the trip down just how pretty she thought the woman was, to her face. But she had not heard her name as anything but Abby to this point.

"Arabella? As in, Arabella Chevalier?" Yukari asked.

"Yes." The woman answered, with a shy smile. Yukari swore emphatically as it clicked home, and turned to Dominic.

"Shit! No wonder. If I looked like that, I wouldn't care if my boobs were small either!" Dominic sighed.

"Wonderful. Thank you for just shouting that in front of everyone, Yukari." Not to be embarrassed, Yukari gave her happiest smile, and played it straight.

"You're welcome!" She then turned back to Arabella. "I am sorry if I seemed rude." She gave a bow. The woman giggled.

"It's alright, Yukari. I am certain you will fill out into a beautiful woman yourself. You are still young, so there is naught to worry about. And in the meantime, you are positively adorable."

"It's so great to see you back, Arabelle. I thought you were out of the country still?" For the moment, Dominic was okay with being ignored, and Mizore decided she could quiz him about it later.

"I was, but we don't have another tour starting until February, and I decided to come home for a little… maternity leave." She edged in like it was a subject she did not want to go into details. Mizore and Yukari both turned sharply and gaped openly at the trim, almost skeletal woman. Jenny, however, squealed with delight.

"Oh! Really! How grand, dear! With anyone I know?"

"Remember Antonio Sancheli?"

"The delightful little Roc that you were dating a few years back?" Arabelle smiled and nodded. "Oh, how wonderful, dear. Congratulations." Then the slightest hint of a dark look flashed in Jenny's eyes, the first all save Dominic and Leofric had ever seen of irritation from Jennifer. "But why didn't you tell me sooner, dear?" Arabella looked sheepish, and a wee bit concerned.

"Well, you know, with our species… it is not very likely the first egg will hatch. With my own mother… I wasn't born until her 5th egg. The rest never even stirred." She looked a little ashamed. "I was going to let you know… I just… am not putting a lot of hope into this one, as the chances it will be a live baby are very slim, and I don't want to be devastated when it doesn't hatch." She sounded close to tears, and all assembled felt the weight of her grief. Except, of course, for McIntyre, who had looked sharply at the word egg, the first external word he had heard since breakfast.

"Aww, sweetie…" Jennifer said, instantly understanding and giving her a motherly hug. "I understand. You just come and see me either way. Will you be coming to see us down at the beach tomorrow?"

"I might. If I just sit around house, I get anxious."

"Hey! What are you-urk?!" The Doctor, unwatched by all but Allison had charged the unknown, completely oblivious to the mood in the room, saw only a new source of data. Allison had grabbed him by the back collar of his soiled coat, and yanked, silencing him and pushing him back. She shoved him behind her, and moved herself forward, already apologizing.

"I am very sorry, Ma'am!" She said with a stiff bow. "What he meant to ask, was, that if you did not mind, could we bother to ask what species of Monster you are?" Allison was good, and was already interceding on the Doctor's behalf. Arabella looked confused, but a glance at Jennifer told her this was nothing fretful.

"I am an Arachne." She asked, curious as to the point of this. The Doctor had a fit of spasmodic movement, as if he was trying to free himself, but Dominic had moved over and reinforced Allison's restraint.

"Oh, that is just marvelous!" She said, with a diplomatic smile. "It may seem strange to ask this, but we are scientists, gathering data on Monster speciation, genealogy, and biology. Would it be possible to trouble you for an examination and or blood samples, to aid our research?" She was quiet for a minute.

"Jenny, this is on the level?" She inquired.

"Yes, dear. Doctor McIntyre and Allison here are hired by Gerald personally to conduct this research. Doctor McIntyre already has a number of years in the practice, and has collected samples from many other residents in town already."

"Very well, it is probably best if we go into the yard for it. Indoors tend to be a little… cramped, when I am in Monster form." The Doctor, excited at yet another new type, after having gotten Mizore's exam and blood, and after contacting and having Allison request Yukari's parents' permission, the same, shot to the door, and bounded in to the yard like a child on Christmas morning. Arabella turned to go in the opposite direction.

"Ma'am, where are you going?" Allison asked, her ears twitching in curiosity. Arabella looked sheepish.

"I am afraid my shorts would not survive the transition. I will remove them privately, and then join you." And she moved into the house proper, as if she was familiar with the place. Allison turned and moved into the back yard, closing the sliding glass behind her. She would have to sooth the petulant Doctor while they waited. Mizore had turned to Dominic, face impassive, but clearly questioning. He moved immediately to limit the damage.

"Yukari was quizzing me when I went to pick her up, feeling… inadequate. So, I was telling her about some of the women I have seen that are attractive."

"No…." Yukari said, a mischievous smile on her pixie face, "You were telling me how at one point, you've had a crush on Kurumu, Celestina, and Arabella." Dominic let out a soul weary sigh. He was too tired of being in over his head to even fight it anymore.

"Hooray…" he said in a defeated voice, "just kill me now."

"It's okay." Mizore said, drawing all the eyes in the room. "Because now he's got a crush on me." And she treated them all to one of her rare, unguarded smiles. Then, all eyes clicked over as Arabella again entered the kitchen.

She now stood, at the top of her head, at least three meters tall, her body to the waist unchanged. But just below her navel, her skin shifted in a soft gradient form soft white flesh to shiny black leather. This continued in a smooth curve where her pubis had been, turning under her and swelling into the large abdomen of a spider. She had 8 long, elegant jointed legs, the hard, chitin tips clacking as she walked across the floor, her new lower belly sitting a meter off the ground. Again, the only color other than black and white was the glowing red of her lips, mouth, and now an hourglass shaped marking on the underside of her abdomen.

She moved quickly, as if she were embarrassed by her looks, as all that had not seen it before were spellbound. She was still as stunning as before, but in a new, and odd way. As the door closed again, and she was gone, Jennifer turned to Moka, who had been forgotten until then, and smiled her warmest hostess smile.

"Hehehe, always so lively here, when the kids are home. Welcome, dear, to our home."

End 10

Okay… I was… incorrect. So, hopefully, I can end the main story next time, otherwise, I'd have to make a chapter 40+ pages, which I do not wish to do. Too much in one sitting.