"I'm sorry it had to come to this, my queen."

"It's alright, Pollen, we knew the Guardian would come looking eventually. And it's safer this way, though I and our little honeybee will miss you. Master Fu is being very kind, promising to let you meet the baby when she's old enough to keep a secret. And our time together has made me more than capable of defending myself, Miraculous or no. I would rather have all our happy memories to look back on while we're apart then risk Iemitsu or his ilk getting their hands on you, or trying to track down the others."

The bee kwami sighed heavily, ignoring Master Fu (who was gazing intently at some of the flowers in the garden and politely ignoring her goodbyes to Nana, her sweet Hanabachi). Nana was right, of course, the hive she'd married into wasn't safe for the Miraculous, magic affinities aside. If only she'd managed to figure out Iemitsu's involvment with the mafia sooner, before things go serious... But it did give her queen their little honeybee. With a small sniffle, Pollen swooped down to press a gentle kiss and blessing to the swollen surface of Nana's stomach, her magic weaving protections and even farther blessings for the child within.

"May your Hive be sweet and productive, my precious honeybee," she murmured, before fluttering up to nuzzle Nana's cheek, ignoring the wetness of her queen's tears. She'd been with Nana a long time, having been lost and somehow found by the Japanese teen and become a dear friend. But Nana was grown now, knew how to wield natural magic and how to protect her Hive, which was all Pollen could ask for. "Take care, my queen."

"You too, my dear." With watery eyes, Nana turned to Fu, the old man offering a sympathetic smile before pressing a small beaded bracelet into the pregnant woman's hands. It held a number of protective enchantments, and several that would prevent Nana's limited knowledge of the Miraculous from being taken from her. One bead was the one that would alert Fu when broken, telling him that their little honeybee was ready to meet Pollen, even if only once.

Well. As far as Fu, knew, anyways. Pollen's magic was beautifully resonant with Nana's own natural abilities, and their little honeybee was special. Pollen's magic had played a not insignificant part of her conception, and Pollen would never truly give up contact with her little princess. Perhaps meeting in their baby's dreams wouldn't be enough, but it was something that Pollen refused to give up.

Never before had a kwami had such an active role in the conception of a human-side effects their wielders developed that were passed down were different. Her little honeybee was special, would be powerful and needing guidance that Pollen would be able to give even while she stayed within the Miraculous Box.

"Thank you, Master Fu. Stay safe," Nana was telling the old man, who patted her hands.

"Of course, you as well. Were things not so dire, I would have been happy to offer more contact, but as it stands..."

"No, no, it's alright. With the Butterfly and Peacock still unnacounted for... this is for the best." That said, Nana steeled herself and gently pulled the white-gold comb from her bun, and with one last kiss to Pollen's head, placed it into the waiting wooden box. Pollen sighed as she was drawn back in to the now inactive Miraculous, but took comfort in her magical bond to her princess. It didn't include Nana, unfortunately, but it would have to be enough.

XxXxX

Sawada Tsunade knew she was different than the rest of her peers. Even without Kaa-chan and Mama telling her so, or the magic lessons, it was pretty obvious. None of the other kids buzzed like she did when they were upset, and they couldn't understand the bees, and not a single one (bar one upperclassman who was more mammal than bee) understood the important of the Hive. It was okay, she knew that, but it did irk her a little to constantly have to remind the workers and the warriors to stay on task. Hibari-kun was a blessing, really, the warrior knowing where he was needed and always doing a stellar job of it with his fellow workers, swarming beautifully as he expanded Namimori's Hive. Kaa-chan had certainly waxed poetic about the older boy's work ethic on the nights Tsuna brought it up.

If only Mama could agree that Iemitsu was pretty much the exact opposite of what their Hive needed. If the idiot had been a Scout, then maybe that was alright, but he insisted on being a Warrior and then never did his job! He was always gone, never arranged protection or actually protected them, didn't fight their enemies-led them to the front door instead-and was a lazy, ugly jerk and Tsuna hated him. He brought Discord into her Hive and she refused to hang around the few times he visited. Only six she may be, but Kaa-chan made sure that she knew she was a Queen in the making, so Tsuna knew what she was talking about!

Which was why she had kissed Mama's cheek goodbye that afternoon when she set off for their airport to go get Iemitsu, left a note on the table, and went to go track down Hibari-kun. Better to hang around a proper Warrior than put herself a risk around the fake. She liked Hibari-kun, anyways, he was helping her learn how to use her stingers properly. She could form them on her fingernails, but still needed practice for using them in spars. Humming to herself, giggling when one of the nearby worker bees zoomed over to greet her on his way back to his Hive, Tsuna skipped her way over to Hibar-kun's home. His mother had told her she was welcome at any time, and she planned on taking up that offer this week to both get help training and stay away from Iemitsu while he visited.