Hello readers! I know this is the fastest that I have updated but seeing the slow increase in stats and the number of reviews, I was thinking that I had lost most of my readers due to the slow update. So now that I have updated quickly, could I please see more reviews? :D The reviews really help me to think of better plot ideas somehow and they motivate me to update faster.

Thanks to those who have been consistenly reviewing and those who review once in a while! I did this in 3 hours, so really sorry if there is grammar mistakes and all.

Enjoy!


Chapter 29

By the next morning, Mikan awoke to the warm rays of the sun that was streaming in through her window. She brought her hand to her eyes to rub them only to see a tube sticking out of the back of her hand. Opening her eyes wider she realised that she was not in her room. Immediately she tried to sit up but she was hit by an immediate pain in between her legs.

"Crap, what have I been doing?"

Turning her head towards the windows on her right, she saw a small plastic cradle with a soft pink blanket in it. Then it all hit her.

"Where is my baby?"

Mikan struggled to get up, trying very hard to ignore the surging pain whenever she moved. She threw her legs over her bed and started to walk, only to be stopped by the sharp pain in her hand. Her maternal instincts took over any reasoning that she had in her brain, and right now it was screaming one thing, she had to find her child.

The thoughts of Luna taking her child away hunted her. The thoughts of Kuonji coming into the night and taking away her new born child did not help at all either.

"What if they killed Keiko? What if they're going to use it as ransom? I'll kill those people who hurt even a strand on my child's head. I swear I'll kill them."

Yanking out the IV drip in her left hand, she could not care less if she was bleeding or that it hurt, she pushed herself to get out of this room. Mikan stood on her two legs and looked around the room to get her bearings right. She was about to take her first step when she fell to the ground as it could not take her body weight. Frustrated at her body for not following her commands, she forced herself to move even if her legs went to sleep. She held onto the nearest object, which was the IV drip stand, and tried to pull herself up, however as soon as Mikan thought she was standing, she saw her world tilt sideways.

The stand crashed to the floor, emitting a loud clang which she thought could be heard for miles. Tears were streaming down Mikan's face. She felt hopeless and severely desperate. The only thing which mattered more than her life was gone. To make matters worst, there was no sign of Natsume, the only person who could feel better now.

"My baby… my darling Keiko…" Mikan lamented in her head.

Thankfully the loud sound brought in the person that she wanted to see the most. Standing at the door way was Hotaru and in her arms, she was cradling a small baby.

"Ugly, what are you doing on the floor crying your eyeballs out?" Her best friend stared at her, not caring that a person like her should be lying in bed and not on the floor.

"You're carrying Keiko right? She's the baby in your arms right?" Mikan asked desperately.

"Can I say no? Because right now, you look like crap and you're behaving like a madwoman." Her answer was responded by a very pale and frightened Mikan. "All right all right I was joking, can't you take a joke. Seriously. I took Keiko out to bathe her cause the nurses apparently didn't do a good job last night. Here let's get you up on that bed. RUUUUKKKKAAAAA! GET IN HERE!"

The blonde prince immediately entered into the room carrying a large pile of what looked like clothes, food, toys and books. Mikan could not even see Ruka's face behind the pile that he was carrying.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and drawled on, not caring that Ruka could not see where he was. "You took too long Ruka. What happened if I was the one sitting on the floor and needed assistance? Would you let your ailing wife sit on the floor?"

"Of course not. I just need… to put these… somewhere. Then I COULD BE FASTER." Ruka replied sarcastically. Walking until his leg hit something solid, Ruka dropped the whole pile onto the wooden table in the room. Dusting his hands, Ruka looked at Mikan who was sitting on the floor and the image that he saw last night while barging into the room resurfaced. Blushing deep red, he was about to run out of the room in haste when Hotaru brought him back to his senses.

"If you're going to stand there and emit heat, could you do it while we're alone, together? Now help Mikan up before I do something that is not very child friendly in front of my godchild."

Rushing over, Ruka pulled Mikan up and slowly helped her into her bed. After ensuring that she was comfortable by fluffing her pillows and pulling the blanket over her legs, he went out and brought back a nurse and a cold towel. Ruka wiped her bleeding hand while the nurse changed the IV needle before sticking it back into Mikan hand.

"Good morning Sumi-hime. Try not to move around, your doctor will be here shortly to do a brief checkup. In the meantime, do you want me to send in your breakfast?" The nurse asked.

"Yes please do. Also, where is Natsume-sama?"

"Begging your pardon, I forgot that he asked me to rely a message. Koizumi-hime went into labour early in the morning and he was called to be there with her. Currently, she is still in labour which is very different from you Sumi-hime."

"How long has she been in labour?" Curious to know what her rival was feeling.

"She has been in labour for 6 hours ma'am. It's currently 9 in the morning."

Feeling a bit sorry for Luna, Mikan dismissed the maid and munched on her breakfast that was brought in. Hotaru and Ruka meanwhile, were happily playing with their 1 month old godchild. Even thought Mikan did not officially declare them as Keiko's godparents, they took it upon themselves to take on the title and watch out for the little tod. Looking cheerfully at the couple, she saw that Hotaru's cold and harsh edges were immediately soften whenever she was in the presence of Ruka and now, even more so when she held Keiko in her arms. Ruka too radiated with pride as his partner held the baby in her arms, so much so that Mikan thought that they would make better parents than Natsume and herself.

However looking at them brought a little twinge of envy in her heart. She knew that Hotaru and Ruka were always together and nothing could separate the duo. Unlike herself, she knew that Hotaru did not have an alter ego in which she had to keep up with. She knew that Shadowfox was needed for the people and no matter what; her duty in that profession was number one even though she had to govern a kingdom by herself and that it had its fair share of danger. Unlike Hotaru, Mikan knew that she could be dead at any given time and day. Even though her best friends knew of her other job, she felt like that they could never truly understand; no one could unless they were in the exact position as she was. Also because of the nature of her being Shadowfox, she knew that by loving Natsume, she was putting him in danger as well. This test only proved to her that Natsume would be safer without her; he would not have to worry so much about her, would not have to suffer so many heartaches because of her… he could have a normal life.

But deep down inside, she knew she could never have a normal life unless she shared it with Natsume.

"Sighs… I'm horrible." This thought passed her mind many times. She hated that she was being selfish, that she wanted, needed Natsume's love for her. She scolded herself for being reckless on missions because there would always be one person waiting for her no matter what. She never wanted him to worry for her, never wanted him to suffer especially in those 6 years that she was supposedly dead. Now that she had him with her, letting go of him was not going to be easy because now, Keiko bonded the two of them together.

"But so does Luna's baby." Her conscious refused to keep quiet for the day. Finishing her breakfast, she pushed the roll-able table away and opened her arms, indicating to Ruka and Hotaru that she wanted to embrace her child.

Hotaru delicately laid the child in her arms and the first smell that hit here was the smell of strawberries, her favourite scent.

"I knew that you like the smell of strawberries, so I did use a strawberry scented shampoo on her." The doctor and Nonoko decided to enter the room at this precise moment. Feeling a bit awkward, Hotaru quickly rambled on, "Ruka and I will be outside if you need anything." Dragging Ruka by the arm, the couple left the room, leaving Mikan to the demise of her doctor and Nonoko.

Just as the baby was warming up to Mikan's body heat, the doctor asked for Mikan's baby so that she could do a more specific checkup on her. Nonoko then took this chance to explain the events from now onw.

"As you delivered one day in advance, it wasn't done on purpose I reassure you, it was a… minor event that slipped my calculations." The blue haired girl started to finger the button on her lab coat in embarrassment, then pulling herself together she continued. "So… the baby would remain an infant for one extra day. Together with the baby Luna had just delivered, both your babies would transform to a 3 year old child tomorrow night at midnight. As the baby is currently in the infant stage, you would need to feed it regularly, roughly every 3 hours. Also the baby is at a stage where it cries a lot. Most of the time, the crying would mean that it needs feeding, but the other half is to change its diapers." Nonoko looked around the room and spotted the large pile which Ruka had brought along.

"I see your friends had anticipated the baby. Well, you would also need to bathe your baby once everyday. The water needs to be lukewarm so it doesn't get a chill. If you need any childcare needs that aren't already in your room, you can send your maid to the nursery a few rooms away, to bring them for you. It's stocked with diapers, milk bottles, cotton clothes, baby wipes… anything you can think of that's related to a baby. In your room, we have already put in a baby cot and a few baby clothes. Also, we have given a new set of maternity wear to your maid. Once again, on the stroke of midnight, your baby would glow and transform into a 3 year old child. Your body would also change at this time. It would stop lactating, and your baby swell would be reduced."

The doctor gave Keiko back to Mikan and told her that the baby was healthy and that she had an allergy to peanuts. Other than that, the baby was in perfect condition. Both the doctor and Nonoko wished her luck and left her alone with Keiko. After being passed around, Keiko was now very awake and her crimson eyes were staring at her mother. She also managed to wriggle out of the purple cloth which Hotaru had wrapped her in and was now trying to pull on Mikan's loose strands of hair.

"Keiko… Keiko…" Mikan called out to her child in a sing song way. This caused the baby to lower her hands and giggle at her mother. Giving Keiko a long kiss on the cheek, Mikan hugged Keiko tight, afraid that she would be taken away from her. The baby sensed her mother's uneasiness and placed her free palm on Mikan's face, as if trying to hug her mother and tell her "I'll be all right."


Right now, no one should go near the fire prince, no one should talk to him, no one should greet him and absolutely no one is to tell him about another mission. Natsume was feeling dead tired. Firstly, he overworked his horse last night, forcing it to ride back over 200km just to try and be with Mikan when she was delivering the baby. Secondly, when he finally fell asleep holding the woman he loved and the child that was given life by her, he was gently woken up by Subaru who told him that Luna had gone into labour. Having only had 2 hours of decent sleep, he stood by Luna like a gentleman, holding her hand and coaxing her to push as hard as she could. Thirdly, he did not expect Luna's delivery to take 6 over hours. It was ridiculous for any woman, but he was not a woman, so it was unfair of him to pass any form of judgement.

Flexing his already crushed hand, he thought he felt the tips of his fingers when he saw Ruka and Hotaru outside Mikan's medical room. Happy that he was to see his friends, he wanted to see Mikan even more, but when he saw the way Hotaru and Ruka were pacing around, he knew he was in for more things to ruin his day.

"Can I…" Natsume started by trying to ask if he could see Mikan.

"No." The ice queen shot immediately. "We have instructions to get permy and Koko and see your mother."

Natsume pretended that he did not hear her and tried to weasel his way into Mikan's room but he was faced with the Hotaru's Baka gun 5.0 (She has upgraded it) and staring down the barrel of it.

"Move any closer to the door and this baby of mine will shoot out rubber balls. 10 per second in fact. And with my testing, the gun has not missed ONE shot. Let's just get this meeting over and done with, then you can spend time with Mikan."

Letting a frustrated groan, Natsume turned around and quickly made his way to his mother's study, but was stop deep in his tracks when a familiar mind reader invaded his thoughts.

"I didn't know you had thoughts of incinerating the ice queen." Natsume could practically feel the mind reader laughing his pants off.

"How about I change the target to you? Get your butt down to my mother's study now. Bring Sumire with you as well, apparently we were called for by my mother."

"No can do. I have no idea where your mother's study is and Sumire and I are a little… busy."

Natsume started walking again, but this time he had a really annoyed look on his face. Ruka and Hotaru who were following behind, in case he decided to return to Mikan's room, saw him stop then give a few annoyed eye rolls and started walking again. From experience, they knew that Koko was talking to Natsume.

"Busy doing what?" Natsume sent a mental picture of his mother's study and the route that he was taking there.

Koko deciding to be cheeky, decided to send a few mental pictures of what Sumire and him were doing. This caused Natsume to stop once again and blush a dark shade of red.

"We're doing what healthy teenagers do. Had your share yet?"

"No and we're not intending to go ANYWHERE NEAR THERE till we're officially married."

"Shame for you. Sumire and I had the time of our lives. WHOOPSY! Sumire just entered the room. All right I'll meet you in 5 mintues."

Now Natsume was staring straight ahead of him with his mouth open wide. He could not believe that Koko had just ran him over not once but twice within the same conversation. Ruffling his already messy hair, Natsume quicken his steps so that he could reach his mother's study within the shortest possible time.


Seeing that the intended people had reached her study, Kaoru made sure everyone was seated and ready before starting to speak.

"As you all know, I've sent Ruka, Shiki and my son out for a mission a few days ago. I'm not sure if anyone has told you, but this man is very famous. His name is Yukihira Kazumi." The moment Kaoru said this, the young man in his early twenties stepped out of the shadows and pulled up a chair to sit next to Natsume.

Those that have not seen him stared at him in curiosity while those who had gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Some of you may already know this man's alice and to inform you all first, he and another younger girl will be the final judges in this test."

The room started to buzz with commotion but Kaoru raised her hand, signalling them to remain silent. "The next test would be in 4 days' time. As you all are wondering who this other girl is, well, she is to be the next goal in the upcoming test. Also, they would need to retrieve an item, with their children. That is all that I'm revealing to you today."

Looking around to see that the group understood what she had said, she left the rest to Kazumi.

"As you know, the threat of Kuonji is nearing us everyday, especially since the winner of this competition would be announced in the next week. I'm very sure that Kuonji is sitting restlessly in his little corner, hoping that Mikan would come out of the palace. The time that the next test starts till the time that a winner is announced, that is when Kuonji will strike."

"Security around Luna and Mikan would need to be extremely tight." He saw faces of shock and disgust and did not need the mind reader's alice to know what they were thinking about. "Yes, I didn't make a mistake. Luna needs our protection as well. If we keep her under our protection, she would not be able to make contact with Kuonji or her servant Persona."

"Correction, adopted son." Natsume spoke up.

"And how, if I may be so bold as to ask, do you know this?" Kazumi questioned.

"Mikan has been telling me bits of Luna's past. But I'm with your plan. I've seen Luna waver in her determination to hurt Mikan and bring about her revenge. I think she merely needed an outlet for all her pent up anger. With the child that she just delivered, I'm sure she would be able to get in touch with her more… humane ways. Let's just say that we can bring down Kuonji if we turn his subordinates against him."

The group nodded in agreement and at once, they started assigning themselves as guards to the two finalists.


3 year old Keiko was standing awkwardly at her mother's feet and held on tightly to Mikan's finger for support. 3 year old Tetsuya hid behind his mother's long skirt and peeked out every once a while to look at Keiko. The two children had never met each other before, and this was technically their first meeting.

Mikan stood in the grand hall looking at Luna and Luna stood her ground staring back at Mikan with the same intensity. The queen had instructed them the day before that their respective child had to spend time with each other, every waking hour of the day. Last night at midnight, both their babies glowed a warm yellow and were enveloped in light before transforming to a 3 year old that was sound asleep. Mikan and Luna also felt the physical changes in their bodies and the next morning, they each had a package at their door. Inside each package, were the clothes for their respective children and for themselves.

Tetsuya realised that hiding behind his mother was not a thing a boy his age should do, so sucking in all the air his little lungs could hold, he puffed out his chest and walked out from behind his mother. Dressed in a casual bright orange shirt and clean white shorts, he had Luna's strawberry coloured hair but Natsume's piercing red eyes. Unlike Keiko who inherited Mikan's smile, Tetsuya had Natsume's boyish looks.

Keiko was struck petrified when she saw Tetsuya making his way towards her. Seeing how Luna had relaxed her gaze, Mikan used her other hand to nudge Keiko forward. Keiko stumbled at first, turning around to give her mother an evil glare, but Mikan merely stuck out her tongue at her daughter and ignored her. Watching from the corner of her eye, she saw Keiko greet Tetsuya shyly, keeping her hands behind her back and swaying from left to right. Tetsuya let go of all the air he was keeping in and stuck out a hand, a child's act of offering friendship. Looking at the hand suspiciously, Keiko grabbed Tetsuya's index finger and shook it. After shaking it, she quickly ran back and hid behind Mikan.

"Tea in the gardens later?" Mikan asked Luna politely.

"Sure. I'll see you at 4pm."

Taking Tetsuya's hand, Luna walked back to her room with her child. Tetsuya, however did not want to leave and kept giving Keiko occasional looks.

"Okaasan… who's that?" Keiko asked Mikan, looking up at her mother with her large crimson eyes. Apprently, throughout the morning, Mikan realised that her daughter had inherited her scattered brain and apparent slowness.

Letting out a loud sigh, Mikan picked Keiko from the ground and carried her while answering her question. "That is Tetsuya. He is your half brother."

"Who's the older one?"

"Technically you."

"Why is he my half brother?"

"Because you father has 2 wives. I am one of them, while the other lady, Tetsuya's okaasan is the other."

"Why did he have two?"

"Good question, I guess he could not choose between the both of us."

Keiko had entered the age where questions were ceaseless. However, Mikan was very patient and answered them as much as she could, without revealing that she was not a real child at all. While walking back to her own room, Mikan decided to detour to the library to pick up a few books to read to Keiko at night.

Upon entering the library, she saw Ruka and Hotaru together reading a rather large book at the central glass table. Keiko recognised the two of them as they often went to Mikan's room to spend time with the child.

"Hotaru nee-chan! Usagi onii- chan!"

"Keiko, don't call Ruka nii-chan Usagi-chan. That's the name of his rabbit not him." Mikan chided her child but was faced with an ignorant Keiko as she ran up to both her best friends.

Calling out consistently to them, Keiko ran unsteadily towards her favourite godparents. Luckily for her, she was shorter than the glass table and ran under it before she smacked into Ruka's leg.

"Hey there little one." Ruka smiled and pulled her up so that she could sit on his lap.

"Where's Usagi-chan?"

"Usagi is taking a sunbath. Shall I bring her later?"

"Yes please!" Young Keiko bounced excitedly in Ruka's lap.

"Hotaru nee-san, what are you and Usagi onii-chan looking at?" Keiko turned her attention to Hotaru.

"We're looking at dragons Keiko. Look at this one, can you tell me what colour it is?" Hotaru smiled while pointing to the large diagram on the book.

Mikan took this time to sneak away from her child and walk to the children's section. The library in the palace was well-known throughout all the other kingdoms as it had the most extensive collection of data and scrolls. She never knew there was a children's section till Koko told her about it one day. Walking to the section she wanted, she browsed slowly at the books before someone covered her eyes.

"I've slacked off in my training. How could I not have sensed someone behind me?"

Pushing her elbows below her attackers arms, she grabbed on to the hands covering her eyes, shifted her weight back and used all the force she could to throw her attacker on the ground. Her attacker landed with a loud thud and a loud groan emitted from her attacker. Mikan's eyes quickly adjusted to the bright sunlight and she saw Natsume lying on the ground in front of her. Looking back for her attacker, she realised that she had just threw Natsume over her head.

"Gosh, I didn't know you had the strength to do that." Natsume continued groaning on the floor and rubbed the sore part of his body.

"It's called physics. I didn't need much strength to do anything." Mikan chuckled while trying to helping Natsume up. However Natsume pulled her down and captured her lips in an unexpected kiss.

"I've been dying to do this for the past few days…"

Mikan did not push him away but relished the opportunity that presented itself. Tightening her hold on Natsume, she pushed her body closer to him. Natsume took this signal and flipped them over such that he was now on top of her. Deepening the kiss, hands began to roam and before Natsume came to his senses, he found one hand under Mikan's neck while the other was under her yellow dress.

Natsume took his hands away from Mikan's body and sat up. "We should stop. Keiko would be looking for you soon."

Mikan looked at her lover from the ground and realised that he had slight eye bags. "Have you been sleeping well?" She asked in concern, reaching out to push a strand of hair that was blocking his eyes.

Natsume grabbed her hand and gave her one final forceful kiss, "No, but I will be now. Let's go get a storybook to read to Keiko later."

Finally browsing through all the books, Mikan and Natsume picked out one each. Mikan picked out Cinderella while Natsume picked out Puss in Boots. Returning dignified at their search, Keiko saw her father walking with her mother hand in hand an leaped off Ruka's lap.

"Otou-san!" The 3 year old excitedly exclaimed.

Although Keiko's walking was more stable, she tend to be very unstable when running. Natsume quickly placed the book he was carrying on the table and caught his daughter before she could kiss the marble floors of the library. Giggling as though her father was playing with her (even though he was letting out many sighs of relief), Keiko gave her father a quick peck on the cheeks and hugged him.

"Otou-san, can we go see Usugi-chan now? Usagi onii-chan said she'll be in the gardens."

Natsume nodded and placed his daughter down on the floor so that she could walk by her own. Mikan decided to be a little cheeky. She started to grab on to Natsume and made sure that Keiko saw her holding her father's hand. Keiko felt a little indignant that her parents were together, especially since her mother was getting all her father's attention, so she decided to be cheeky as well.

"Otou-san, do you love me or Okaa-san more?" Keiko asked innocently.

"That's a hard question…." Natsume hated these kind of questions.

"Of course Okaa-san," Mikan rebutted, "look, he's holding Okaa-san's hand."

Keiko ran up to her father once again and possessively held on to his free hand, sticking out her tongue to her mother she remarked, "Keiko is also holding on to Otou-san's hand and Otou-san is holding on to Keiko's hand."

Not knowing what to do, Natsume let his lover and his child fight it out while he escorted them to the gardens. However within 10 steps to the garden, both Mikan and Keiko shouted at the same time, "NATSUME/ OTOU-SAN! Who do you love more?"

Looking to his right at his daughter, then to his left to his lover, he wriggled out of their grasped and answered simply, "I love myself the most." Then he walked away. Both mother and child felt hurt at his answer and they ran to each other to give an apologetic hug. However upon seeing this from the corners of his eyes, Natsume walked back and hugged the both of them.

"I love both of you more than I love myself."

Ruka and Hotaru smiled at the sight as they watched from a few paces behind.

"Do you think we'll ever get to be like them?" Ruka looked into Hotaru's purple orbs.

"We will. When the chaos is over and when Mikan is back on her throne." Hotaru replied, linking her hands with Ruka's while carrying the storybooks Mikan and Natsume had picked out.

"How long do you think that'll take?" Ruka began rubbing circles on the back of Hotaru's hand.

"However long it takes, I'll always wait for you. However long it takes, we will have a family." Leaning onto her partner's shoulder, Hotaru did not dare mention the weird feeling she was feeling within her.

Hotaru only had this feelings when her experiments and products were about to fail, the feeling would surface every once in a while, but rarely as she was a genius in her field. This was not a good sign as the nagging did not disappear even after the happy trio had entered into the gardens to look for Ruka's pet rabbit.


Done with another chapter! I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter and had a little insight to the jealousy between mother and daughter. I'm predicting that this story would end in another 6 chapters, hopefully.

I hope that I've been clear in describing the children. Sorry for the mess up in time, eg, number of days before the baby disappears altogether, for those who are very particular on times. For those who need clarification, Tetsuya is a boy and is Luna's child.

Feeling a little tired now as I tried to write this within 3 hours.

Now for the replies:

sapphireangel09: Thanks for the compliment! Hope this chapter made you go 'awww' as well! :)

Blueberryxn: It's all right if you reviewed slower, a review is better than none!

Enigmasonatarocks568: HAHA! I'm not sure if i depicted the delivery scene accurately or not, as I have not had anyone close to me get pregnant. I didn't describe Luna's delivery as it would roughly be the same thing as Mikan's. Hope you liked the portrayal of Luna, Tetsuya, Mikan and Keiko!

Lessthenthreeanime: Awwwww! I didn't know that my fanfic could make you cry. :) Thank you so much!

akjupiter: hey! Long time since you reviewed! :) I take a long time cause currently I'm busy with my job. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!