Disclaimer: I don't own any IPs that might appear in the story
Tour of the World
A Council of Thirteen universe story
One shot
Beta:
"We're going to see the world, Yuki! I'm so excited!" Yori declared to her sire and wife, Kuran Yuki, as she finished slipping on her nightgown in their cabin aboard the luxury Trans–Siberian Express from Vladivostok, Russia after her first day of the first leg of their honeymoon.
"I did promise you a world tour for a honeymoon, didn't I?" Yuki said with a laugh as she finished buttoning up her own nightgown.
"I know you did." Yori said with a smile. "I'm just saying it's so exciting that we're actually doing it! Don't you find it exciting too?"
"Of course," Yuki agreed, pulling Yori into a loose hug and kissing her on the forehead. "But I'm always excited when I'm with you."
Yori laughed at that. "You always say that."
"Because it's true." Yuki said firmly.
"Of course it is," Yori agreed. She knew full well her wife's feelings for her. Their marriage bond didn't lie. "But you don't have to repeat it all the time."
Yuki shrugged.
"I like to."
"But it's so over the top." Yori said with an amused shake of her head. "You don't see most couples making such dramatic declarations of love all the time. Especially in public."
"That's true." Yuki conceded. "I'll tone it down. I know it embarrasses you."
"Thank you, Yuki."
"If you want to thank me, Yori, what about finally agreeing to start trying for a baby? We are married now."
Why am I not surprised she'd ask that? Yori thought with amusement. I have mostly run out of excuses to put it off…
"I'll think about it." Yori said coyly as she pulled back the sheets on the king size bed that dominated the cabin.
"You know Bella and Jane just had their baby, right?" Yuki pressed with puppy dog eyes. "Don't you think it's high time we started trying for one too?"
"It isn't a competition, Yuki. We're in no rush." Yori reminded her. "But~"
"But what?" Yuki asked hopefully.
"But if you really want to, then-" Yori said, trailing off on purpose and enjoying the eager anticipation that radiated off her wife. "Then I am not opposed to it."
Hearing her agreement to her fondest wish at last, Yuki let out a happy squeal even as she blurred around the bed, picked Yori up and tossed her onto the bed.
"Then let's start trying now!" Yuki shouted happily as she leapt onto the bed, pinning Yori to the mattress.
Yori rolled her eyes at just how incredibly eager Yuki was about it.
"I'm honestly surprised I managed to make you wait as long as I have, but now that I have given my agreement-"
Yuki didn't need any more permission, she cut off the rest of Yori's sentence with a passionate kiss. The first of many that night as Yuki made good on her promise to start trying for a baby right away.
A month into their honeymoon, the couple were visiting the city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia.
"I have to admit that I'm honestly a little disappointed that it's not as similar in appearance to King's Landing from Game of Thrones as I'd hoped."
It was such a letdown. Yuki thought with a mental whine that she hoped Yori had not heard. The bond they'd created through the pacts they'd made at their wedding were still new and Yuki hadn't got the hang of it yet. Though since Yori didn't tease her for her childish reaction, she was probably safe.
"Did you expect anything different, Yuki?" Yori asked with a roll of her eyes as they walked back to their hotel from a self-guided tour of the city. "Dubrovnik is not King's Landing. It's a modern city in its own right, of course it'll be different. Just be happy that many of the iconic views were the same and we had good shots posing in front of them."
"I guess," Yuki said with a disappointed sigh.
"Oh, don't be upset, Yuki." Yori cajoled. "Why don't I make up for things when we get back to the hotel?"
"And what exactly do you have in mind, Yori-chan~?" Yuki asked eagerly, her mind already running wild with what bedroom fun her wife was proposing.
"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could try that toy we picked up in Moscow." Yori said, a pretty blush gracing her face at the mere suggestion of using the buttplug that Yuki had picked up as a joke in the Russian capital.
"That sounds like a wonderful ide-"
Yuki cut off her enthusiastic agreement when suddenly an anti-mundane ward snapped into place around them and the couple tensed in response, ready for anything. Caution that seemed to be validated by the ominous atmosphere created by the ward as it caused the shadows created by the evening sun to lengthen unnaturally even as it muted the light cast by the sun, creating an unnaturally early twilight. All whilst it emptied the streets and surrounding buildings of mundanes.
Out of these departing crowds stepped those whom Yuki could only assume were the creators of the ward: a coven of local vampires. At their head, and presumably their leader, was a Pijavica with a body of a typical man but which Yuki's senses told her was actually a mass of blood and bones wearing that shape and a pack of child-like Kozlaks who randomly transformed into crows, bats and rats as they made their way closer.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Yuki greeted the other vampires cordially. "To what do we-"
"You are trespassing, Kuranians!" The Pijavica hissed even as his Kozlaks subordinates encircled Yori and Yuki, some even taking positions on nearby rooftops thanks to their shapeshifting. "We drove your kind out of Europe for a reason! Leave now and never return! Or we will gladly do so again and this time we will make sure to do so in a way that will finally teach your kind that you are not welcome here!"
"You do realise that I am the Second Lord of the Council of Thirteen, correct?" Yuki said, barely managing to keep her tone civil despite her simmering anger at the racist hate being directed at Yori and her. "And that my authority extends to Europe as well?"
"We do not care!" The Pijavica roared. "Attack!"
"Rain of Blades." Yori cast in the same instance as the various Kozlaks leapt at them with their hands transformed into vicious looking claws, impaling the child-like vampires on the dozens of magical swords conjured by her spell and killing them all in a single move.
With his supernatural senses, the Pijavica must have noticed the annihilation of his coven but that did not deter him as he transformed into a blob of blood with the occasional bone sticking out of his mass and launched himself at Yuki.
"Disintegration Barrier." Yuki cast sadly, creating a zone of her magic in front of her that disintegrated the Pijavica in its entirety.
With the death of its caster, whoever it had been, the anti-mundane ward faded, returning the area to what it had been before its casting.
"That was so sad." Yuki said, holding back tears. "Why? Why did they do that!?"
"I don't know Yuki." Yori said as she pulled Yuki into a hug even as she dismissed her conjured swords. "I know our kind are hated by the other vampires native to Europe, but even then…"
That such hatred would have driven anyone to suicidally attack them like this was something neither of them could understand. They simply could not comprehend such deep hatred. It was beyond them.
"I don't want to be here anymore." Yuki confessed.
"Alright." Yori agreed. "Let's go back to our hotel, get our things and leave."
"Thank you, Yori."
Yori didn't reply, simply gave Yuki a comforting squeeze before adjusting their positions so she could hold onto her shoulders as she guided her the rest of the way to their hotel. All the whilst offering Yuki her much appreciated, supportive presence.
Another month later found the now much happier couple walking through the historic and scenic Ardennes Forest en route to a meeting with Omer and Geraldine.
"Yuki, are you sure that Omer-sama and Geraldine-sama are okay with this?" Yori asked her wife worriedly as they approached the lich couple's campsite. "I mean didn't they try to dissuade us from meeting up?"
"It's fine Yori." Yuki reassured her. "They only did that because they are in the middle of dealing with a rogue cult of necromancers operating here in the Ardennes Forest, attempting to raise an army of undead WW2 soldiers. They didn't want us to trouble us with helping out but I don't mind, do you?"
"No, but if they don't want our help-"
"It's less that we don't want your help, young ladies." Geraldine-sama corrected as the Kuranian couple stepped into the spartan camp that she and her husband had set up and she exited the lone tent. "And more that you two are on your honeymoon. You should not be troubling yourselves with Council business whilst doing so."
"Especially not after what happened in Dubrovnik." Omer-sama added as he exited their tent after his wife. "Welcome to the Ardennes, Princess Yuki, Lady Sayori."
"It's a pleasure to be here, Omer." Yuki said offering him her hand which he accepted with a firm handshake. "And just call us Yuki and Yori. There is no need for formalities between us."
"If you insist." Omer agreed as he snapped his fingers and a fire started in the simple fire pit in front of the tent. "You both know my wife Geraldine, of course?"
"We're charmed to meet you again, Geraldine-sama." Yori greeted the French noblewoman with a curtsy.
"What did your wife just say about formalities, Yori?" Geraldine-sama reminded her as behind her a band of fairies were setting up a second tent, presumably for Yuki and Yori.
"Sorry, Geraldine." Yori corrected herself, earning her a smile from the female lich who proceeded to guide her to the fire where it seemed that Omer-sama and Yuki had created some benches out of a pair of logs and were already working on some dinner.
"It's a quail we hunted earlier in the day." Omer-sama said, gesturing to the bird cooking over the fire. "We knew you two would come even though we told you not to and Geraldine insisted we prepare something for you."
"That's very thoughtful of you," Yuki said, offering the liches a grateful smile.
"You're taking time out of your honeymoon to assist us in our mission, preparing your meals and a tent is the least we could do." Geraldine-sama replied with a smile of her own as a group of her fairy familiars not working on Yuki and Yori's tent carried over a pot and what looked like a tray of prepared ingredients from inside their tent. "Omer, is there space for the stew?"
"Let me make another fire for it." Her husband responded as he summoned a pair of ghosts of what looked like medieval woodsmen who proceeded to do that, his wife's fairies holding the pot and tray patiently waiting for them to finish.
"You two are earlier than we'd expected." The Eighth Lord said as his familiars worked. "We'd thought you'd arrive in the evening and we'd have your dinner ready by the time you arrived."
"Apologies for that." Yuki said with a bow. "Our drive up to the Forest was a lot quicker than expected."
It was an excuse and everyone there knew it. The reason they'd been early was because the moment they'd arrived in Brussels and heard that the lich couple would not be able to meet them as planned because they'd gone to the Ardennes to deal with the rogue necromancers, Yuki and Yori had abandoned their plans to explore the city before the meet up and rushed over to help.
"You two really shouldn't be here." Omer-sama said with a sigh as his ghosts finished their task and disappeared, leaving Geraldine-sama's fairies to finish setting up the stew.
"We want to be here. Don't we, Yori?"
"Yes," Yori agreed. "We would like to help."
"Fine," Omer-sama said with an annoyed huff. "If you insist then I can't stop you. So let me clue you in, as you youngsters say, on what's going on."
Geraldine-sama was giggling at her husband's attempt to sound contemporary and that earned her an annoyed look from him, but otherwise no one commented and he continued as if there had been no interruption.
"The rogues we're hunting become active at night-"
Rematerializing behind her target after a precise Shadow Step, Yuki plunged Artemis' blade into the head of the necromancer before he'd so much as noticed his presence and with a single pull of her weapon, she bisected him from head to groin.
That's one more down. Yuki sent Yori over their marriage bond, even as she spun on the spot and unleashed an Aether Blade from her Mystic Code that thanks to her spinning sent a wave of aether-element magic that dispelled the ghostly World War One and Two servicemen that the necromancer she'd just killed had been using as guards and only now were belatedly responding to her arrival. That makes eight. You?
Just done with mine. Yori replied. That means it's just the leader and his second in command left.
Yeah. Yuki agreed as she used Shadow Step to avoid the shell of a ghostly big gun, she wasn't a military enthusiast so she couldn't exactly determine it's type, that the necromancers had trained on her previous position.
They must seriously be powerful if they can maintain so many ghosts even with the rest of their cabal dead. Yuki admitted, impressed despite herself, as she rematerialized next to Yori behind Omer and Geraldine.
Tell me about it. Yori sent in awed agreement as they both surveyed the battle being fought between the hundreds of World War ghosts, complete with the occasional tank and artillery piece, and the Eight Lord's medieval ghosts and his wife's fairies who were backing up their spectral allies with their esoteric magics.
It was a surprising fair fight all told. The necromancer's army might have something of a technological advantage but with most of their cabal dead, the numbers of ghosts they could command had dropped dramatically giving Omer's forces a clear numerical advantage. Beyond that, the Eight Lord had imbued his familiars with a host of magical buffs such as magical armor of frost that protected them from their opponent's bullets that allowed them to close the qualitative advantage. Add the debuffs and magical attacks that Geraldine's fairies used to support his ghosts, they even had the slight advantage.
"Omer, should we go deal with the remaining necromancers?" Yuki asked her fellow Lord who was standing fully arrayed in his armor and resting his hands on the pommel of his sword that he'd stabbed into the ground in front of him.
The original plan was for Yuki and Yori to assassinate all but two of the necromancers with the skills they'd learned from Sensei, leaving the rogues' leaders to Omer to deal with as was his right as the Lord initially tasked with dealing with them. But…
"No, stick to the plan." Omer declared without looking away from the battle in front of them even as a shell from the enemy's artillery exploded harmlessly against the barrier above them that Geraldine maintained. "You two have done more than enough."
"Alright," Yuki said hesitantly, exchanging a look of shared exasperation with Yori. "But then what should Yori and I do now?"
"Why don't you two ladies join me for some tea?" Geraldine offered as she turned away from the battle to face them and as a group of her fairies flew over carrying a tea service, a wrought iron table and matching chairs. "I find watching a battle serves as quite a good backdrop to a tea party."
"Uh…"
"Relax, dear." Geraldine assured her with a smile. "Let Omer handle the rest."
"Victory is ours!" Omer shouted suddenly and pulled his sword from the ground and teleported away.
Looking in the direction of the battle, Yuki saw that his ghosts had managed to break through the enemies' lines and were pouring through the gap with Omer at their head as they made a beeline towards the two remaining rogue necromancers' position amidst their artillery.
I guess he does have things under control.
Maybe. Yori sent, letting Yuki know that she'd unintentionally sent her last thought over their bond. But does that mean we should be having a tea party whilst he's still fighting. That doesn't seem right, Yuki!
It doesn't. Yuki agreed. But look at Geraldine! Does it look like she'll take 'no' for an answer?
The firm look that said lich woman was shooting the both of them said otherwise.
No…
Exactly. So just play along. Yuki advised. Remember we're their guests.
Fine~! Yori sent back along with a burst of uncharacteristic annoyance.
"If you insist, Geraldine." Yuki said with a sigh.
"Wonderful!" The Frenchwoman said with a pleased grin even as she led the uneasy Yori and Yuki towards the table and chairs that her familiars had set up.
The next stop of their honeymoon after visiting Omer and Geraldine had Yori and Yuki stopping in London to be hosted by Eriol and Kaho in Hiiragizawa Manor.
"Yori certainly seems charmed by Yūko-chan, isn't she?" Eriol observed to Yuki as the two Lords shared some tea at a picnic table on the balcony that abreasted the manor's back garden and looked on as their spouses played with Eriol's aforementioned toddler daughter.
They'd been at it for almost an hour and Yūko-chan was starting to slow down, presumably having tired herself out. But that just made her extra adorable and Yuki found it difficult to resist the urge to join them.
"She is." Yuki agreed as she turned away from the sight of Yori cooing over the adorable three-year-old so as not to succumb to temptation. It wouldn't be polite to not give her attention to her host after all. "Speaking of babies though, it almost seems like most of us Lords are determined to have children now that the war with the Sapphic Circle is a thing of the past."
"Does that surprise you, Yuki?" Eriol asked with a teasing grin. "Post-war baby booms are a common phenomenon, aren't they? Why would we be any different just because we are Lords of the Thirteen?"
"True, I suppose." Yuki agreed. "And I am as guilty of it as everyone else is."
"Oh? I take it that you and Yori are actively trying for a baby now?"
"Yes. Now that we're married, I've finally convinced Yori that it is time to do so."
"It is about time." Eriol told her with a chuckle. "I know you've wanted a child of your own for some time now."
"I've not made a secret of it." Yuki replied with a shrug.
"Much to poor Yori's embarrassment." Eriol said, his chuckle devolving into a full blown laugh.
Rolling her eyes at her fellow Lord, Yuki hurried to change the topic.
"So how's Clow taken to having a little sister? Especially one so much younger than he is?"
"He is thrilled." Eriol informed her, still radiating amusement. Though whether that was directed at her for her rather obvious change of topic or his son, Yuki could not tell. "He is particularly enamoured with the idea of having the chance to spoil her."
"I'm sure he was," Yumi said with a giggle. She knew full well where Clow was coming from. She loved spoiling Alyssa, the youngest of her foster sisters, whenever she had the chance. "So he's doing well at university?"
"As far as he tells it, yes. And thankfully, his grades have not suffered for it."
"Oh, let him have his fun." Yuki told the older Lord. "He's in the prime of his youth and should be allowed to enjoy it."
"I agree. Within limits, of course."
"Of course," Yuki said with a nod.
"Eriol," Kaho called out to her husband as she walked over with their tired daughter cradled in her arms and Yori trailing behind them. "Yūko-chan is a little tired."
The little brunette stirred slightly at the mention of her name but was too sleepy to do more than that and quickly snuggled back into her mother's hold.
"I'll go put her down for a nap." Kaho said, shooting the little girl a loving smile. "Entertain Yuki and Yori, will you?"
"Leave it to me, Kaho." Eriol assured his wife before addressing his daughter. "Sleep well, sweetheart."
"Sleep well, Yūko-chan." Yuki and Yori chorused with unexpected unity.
"Gudnight." Yūko-chan mumbled out sleepily in reply and offered them a tired wave as her mother carried her into the house and her room.
They watched as mother and daughter disappeared up one of the stairs before looking away.
"Yori, have a seat." Eriol said, gesturing to Yuki's still standing spouse.
Blushing slightly, Yori obliged by taking the seat to Yuki's left.
"I was just about to ask Yuki, but your take on it would of course also be greatly appreciated, Yori. How has your honeymoon been so far?" Eriol asked as he poured Yori a cup of tea.
"Eventful," Yuki said with a tired sigh. "You've heard what we ran into in Croatia?"
"Yes, I read the reports." Eriol nodded with a frown. "It is unfortunate what happened in Dubrovnik, but if it is any consolation Helena has taken steps to ensure there won't be a repeat of that going forward. For you or for other Kuranians that might be visiting Europe."
"That's a relief." Yori said with a relieved sigh. "The consequences of such an incident-"
"War," Yuki said with a grimace. "It would've led to war. If not for the fact that we so thoroughly dealt with our attackers and I used my status as a Lord to smooth things over, there would already be a state of war between us Kuranians and the Croatian vampires. If another incident occurred, we might not be able to stop it from escalating."
"Indeed." Eriol nodded. "Which is why it is fortunate that this issue surfaced before such an incident took place and we can intervene to prevent it."
They all took a moment to mull over just how truly fortuitous that was.
"On another note, I am curious that you two didn't mark your visit with Omer and Geraldine as worth noting. Surely, it was just as eventful, as you put it, if not more so than what happened in Croatia."
"Not really," Yori answered with a shrug. "Dubrovnik was an unpleasant surprise. In contrast, we went into the Ardennes fully aware of the situation and intent on helping Omer-sama and Geraldine-sama."
"I see." Eriol said with a frown. "Helping to deal with rogue necromancers is not what most people would expect to do on their honeymoons."
"We're not most people." Yuki countered with a shrug. "Besides, it wasn't much of an effort at all."
"Be that as it may, I really do hope that you try to avoid getting into such situations on the rest of your trip." Eriol said earnestly. "Who knows when you'll get the chance for a holiday again in the future?"
Eriol's hopes for the rest of Yuki and Yori's honeymoon being uneventful were dashed a month later as after a blissfully peaceful Mediterreanean cruise, the couple teleported to a safari lodge located in the Virunga National Park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to meet with Dante and Rose Iris and found themselves rematerializing in the middle of a battle.
"Yuki, get down!" Yori shouted as she pushed her wife to the ground, narrowly avoiding a fireball that streaked overhead through the place where they'd been standing just seconds before.
And this is why I didn't want to come to the Congo. Yori heard Yuki gripe to herself over their bond and she couldn't agree more.
As picturesque as the landscapes were and how charming the chance to meet the park's world famous mountain gorillas might be, neither of those things appealed to either of them. Particularly when the area was notorious for violent insurgent activity.
"Yuki, Yori!? What are you two doing here? You shouldn't be here for another week!" Rose Iris shouted from a little distance ahead of them behind the same low stone wall all three of them were using as cover whilst her summon, Elegant Wrath, was raining bolts of light and dark energy down at the attackers shooting at them with a combination of spells and mundane bullets.
"We decided to surprise you two." Yuki offered back even as Yori used a Rain of Blades to send a salvo of freshly conjured magical blades to skewer their attackers. "It seems we might have had some bad timing."
"That's quite the understatement." Iris shot back with a snort. "How did you get through our wards- Oh! Damnit! The bastards took them down again!"
"Why would they do that?" Yori asked, curiously.
"Disintegration Bullet." Yuki cast, sending a barrage of bullets of her destructive magic at the enemy. "It's so they can bring in their mundane allies I imagine."
"Yeah, our wards are the full suite and that includes mundane redirection. If we kept them up, their mundane allies would disperse under their influence." Rose added as she poked Ebony and Ivory over the top of the wall they were using as cover to fire a Ebon Blaster and a Brilliance Lance from her respective Mystic Codes.
Rose tracked the twin beams of darkness and light across the enemy ranks, destroying any cohesion they might have and putting them to flight.
"Giga Cannon!" They all heard Dante shout from down the hill behind the routing enemies as he shot a spiraling beam of raw magical power that cut off their escape.
"But their casters can't seem to target just that bit of the wards," Iris continued as Elegant Wrath raised a combination of Umbral Barriers and Light Screens to trap the enemy.
"Which explains how we managed to teleport in." Yuki concluded with a nod as they all stood up from behind the cover of the wall they'd been squatting behind until now.
"So what now?" Yori asked, gesturing at the cage of light and dark barriers that Rose Iris had created.
"Either of you know an area of effect sleep spell?" Rose asked sheepishly.
"No, so-"
"Mass Sleep." Yuki cast, surprising Yori. She hadn't realised Yuki had learned such a spell.
I guess there are things about her that I don't know even after all these years. Yori thought with a surprising amount of happiness, eager to take the time to learn everything that there was to know about her wife.
"It probably wouldn't keep the guerillas down for long. My spell isn't that strong, some of their casters probably resisted it and will be countering its effects on their fellows. We should finish securing the already defeated force." Yuki said, gesturing to the cage containing the guerillas. "Honestly, Rose Iris, you should really pick up some kind of an area of effect disabling spell. How are you going to manage crowd control if you don't?"
"Right. I'm sure Dante will handle securing them." Rose Iris said, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Also, I'll make it a point to pick up a spell like you suggest at the earliest opportunity."
"Please do." Yuki said, irritably. "In the meantime, mind explaining what the hell was this about?"
"We'd recovered the artifact, a crystallised dragon skull, that the guerillas' shamans were hoping to use to bind the spirit of the dragon it contained." Dante explained an hour later as they sat in the lodge's dining room and enjoyed some tea whilst the local authorities and some mages that had been called in from Sanctuary dealt with the guerillas who had attacked them earlier.
"We were in the process of cleaning up the remnants of the guerilla group involved." Rose added, before Iris continued for her. "It's why we asked you two to come in a week."
"We expected to be done with the mop up by then." Dante said with a sigh.
"Sorry about that," Yuki said sheepishly. "We didn't know you two were on a mission."
"You told us that you were on a holiday." Yori pointed out.
"We originally were." Rose confessed. "I wanted to see the mountain gorillas."
"But then we heard about the guerillas getting their hands on the skull and, well, we couldn't exactly just do nothing about it." Dante told them with a shrug.
Yuki and Yori exchanged a look. That pretty much sounded exactly like something they'd have done too.
"Okay, I can understand the sentiment." Yuki conceded. "But next time, let us know when there might be a possibility of hostilities when we pop in for a visit, okay?"
"Definitely." Rose Iris assured them whilst Dante nodded.
"Okay, so with that out of the way." Yuki said leadingly. "Let's swap stories about our holidays so far! Ours has been remarkably eventful, as Eriol described it the other day, so far. Yours?"
Much to Yuki's relief, the next stop for their honeymoon was a relaxing one. Something she and Yori were determined to enjoy, alongside the wonderful Carribean weather, as they lay nude on a pair of deck chairs on the beach of the private island that Helena had loaned them for the occasion and worked on full body tans.
"I see you two are truly enjoying yourselves," the aforementioned Nosferatu noted with amusement as she teleported a short distance away and walked across the beach towards them.
"We are," Yuki replied, without so much as batting an eyelid at her fellow Lord's arrival despite their nudity. Helena was a trusted friend after all. They had nothing to hide from her.
"Thank you for loaning us the island, Helena-sama." Yori added politely.
"Think nothing of it," Helena said as she conjured a deck chair out of her shadows and reclined into it. "I'm glad someone gets to enjoy it. The island was gifted to me by a group of Haitian voodoo priests some time ago but I never found the time to enjoy it."
Yuki shot the Fifth Lord a knowing look.
"Is it that you never found the time or was it that you just did not like the idea of spending time on a private island all alone?"
To her credit, the Nosferatu did not shrink away from the pointed question.
"Probably a little of both," Helena answered with a shrug.
"You should bring your staff and retainers here on holiday." Yori suggested. "It would be a nice reward to them and that way you wouldn't have to be here alone."
"Hmm… Whilst Agaptus probably won't appreciate it, I'm sure most members of my Praetorians would. And I am sure that many of my other retainers would as well. Something to consider at least." Helena said noncommittally. "But let's talk about something else."
Yuki exchanged an exasperated look with Yori, but neither of them wanted to push their friend too hard. Yes, they wanted her to learn to relax a little. She was always obsessed with her duty and never seemed to take time for herself. Something that was a constant source of worry among her friends. However, they knew that pushing her too hard would just make her defensive and torpedo any progress they might've made. Not that they seemed to have made any. So they decided to allow the abrupt change in topic.
"Sure, anything you have in mind?"
"I do," Helena said, sounding almost playfully. "I am awfully curious about where you two intend to head next."
"Oh, nowhere special." Yori informed her. "We were planning to visit Bella and Jane."
"Actually," Helena said hesitantly. "That might be a little problematic."
"I think Helena was underselling it, calling visiting Bella and Jane problematic." Yuki griped to Yori as they teleported into the latest patch of Amazon rainforest as they searched the vast forest for their friends. Something that had finally come to an end if the large Wizarding tent and the familiar magic of the wards that belonged to Bella around the campsite was any indication.
"To be fair, Yuki." Yori said, playing devil's advocate as her wife flared her magic at the edge of the wards to signal their presence to their friends. "We did not tell them beforehand that we planned to pay them a visit. It isn't their fault that they decided to go specimen hunting."
"They have a newborn daughter to take care of!" Yuki countered with a huff. "Why in the world would they go specimen hunting at a time like this!?"
The wards around the campsite lifted slightly and the Kuran couple teleported the remaining distance and rematerialised immediately outside the tent at its centre.
Well, at the very least, they're using a Wizarding tent so despite being in the middle of the hostile rainforest, they are living in relative comfort? Yori offered in defense of their friends.
Considering the unsanitary environment outside their tent thanks to the only recently receding annual floods leaving behind all kinds of trash, including plastic bags, dead animals, and all manner of stomach churning stuff that would go unnamed, it was a genuine relief. It looked so bad that Yori almost felt like vomiting.
Though the feeling passed so quickly that Yori blinked in confusion. It must've been my imagination.
"Yuki, Yori, what are you doing here?" Bella asked as she and Jane exited their tent.
"I think I should be the one to ask you that, Bella!" Yuki said, crossing her arms and glaring at her fellow Lord and her wife. "What are you thinking!? Taking your newborn out here into the Amazon!?"
"Well, Renée isn't really a baby anymore." Jane said in an uncharacteristically half-hearted defense of her mate.
Yori and Yuki exchanged a confused look. How could she not be? Wasn't she only three months old?
"It's not easy to explain." Bella said with a sigh. "So you can see for yourself. The children are almost back."
Moments later, a little ten-year old barreled through the rainforest playfully being chased by Bella's chimeric children and ran right into her arms.
"Mama! We had so much fun! There are all kinds of cool things to see in the forest!" The little girl with curly pale brown hair styled as inglets that fell past her waist, chocolate brown eyes like Bella's and angelically beautiful facial features reminiscent of Jane rattled off as she hugged Ninth Lord's waist. "Kagutsuchi and I found this-"
"Renée," Jane hissed at the girl with a stern look. "You can tell us later. We have company."
"Introduce yourself, sweetie." Bella encouraged, gently turning the girl around so she was facing Yuki and Yori.
"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't see you two!" The little girl said as she offered the Kurans a curtsy. "Welcome! My name is Renée Sulpicia Swan and I am three months old!"
Yuki and Yori could only look to Bella and Jane in confusion.
Later that night, after dinner and the children were all put to bed, the adults sat around the dining room inside the Wizarding tent to chat over some drinks. A conversation that Yuki hoped would provide her with answers to Renée's unnatural maturity.
"I know what you're thinking, Yuki, Yori." Bella said, cutting off the Kuran couple before they could even begin with their biting questions. "But there is a good reason why we're here in the Amazon."
"And what is that exactly?" Yuki demanded.
Bella was unruffled by Yuki's harshness though and calmly replied. "We are here to locate other Volterran-human hybrids like Renée which are rumored to exist here in the Amazon. Apparently there is a vampire scientist named Joham who is working on creating a super-race of human/vampire hybrids by raping local women. We want to kill him to dash his insane plans and steal his research so we can better understand Renée's physiology."
"You're the world's greatest Biomancer, Bella. Why would you need the research of others to understand your daughter's physiology?"
"Comparing findings for one." Bella said with a shrug. "More importantly, if the rumors are to be believed, this Joham character has sired four adult hybrid children. That means he has had the chance to study a hybrid's entire development and thus will have insight into Renée's future growth that I haven't had the chance to document yet."
"And might know things to look out for," Jane added. "Like potential developmental problems and what not."
"That makes sense I suppose." Yuki conceded with a nod.
She still wasn't happy with Bella taking the risky move of bringing her whole family down to the Amazon like this, but the Ninth Lord had a point.
It is a little reckless. Yori agreed via their marriage bond. But it's their choice to make and Bella can take care of herself and her family. We shouldn't judge them too harshly.
Fine~! Yuki allowed. Still not fully convinced but willing to let the matter go for now.
Yori replied with a burst of amusement at her stubbornness. I am not being stubborn. I'm just worried for Renée's safety!
So you're being a worrywart? Yori teased back, before cutting their mental conversation short to address their hostesses.
"Bella, Jane, do you need help searching for this Joham?"
"That won't be necessary." Bella insisted. "We'll find him on our own. There's no need for you two to interrupt your honeymoon for this."
"I agree with Bella," Jane added. "If we do need help, we will approach the Volturi since dealing with Joham falls under their jurisdiction as well."
"I suppose," Yuki agreed reluctantly as Yori nodded as well.
"Let's not dwell on such serious topics." Bella said with an encouraging smell. "Yuki, Yori, tell us how your honeymoon has been so far?"
"Yuki! Yori! You two have to have some girl time with us before you go, alright?" Alyssa asked Yuki and Yori as everyone walked out of the dining room after a family dinner they had with Sensei, Legion and the rest of the Tredecim family in Sanctuary's Governor's Palace.
"We promise, Alyssa." Yuki said with a smile.
"But run along for now," Yori urged. "We have business to discuss with Sensei, Felicia-sama and Shirayuki-sama and Legion."
"You two are workaholics." Fleda said with a roll of her eyes as she tried to push her youngest sister along the corridor back towards their rooms but the blonde was actively resisting her. "Talking business on your honeymoon, seriously?"
"Well, they've always been like that." Chihiro said with a demure chuckle.
"Just run along already, girls." Felicia-sama said, crossing her arms and glaring at her girls. "You can spend private time with your sisters later. Give the rest of us some time for it too."
"Oh, okay~!" Alyssa said with a pout as she finally conceded and began walking away, her elder sisters following after her.
"Come on, let's go to my study." Sensei said with an amused shake of her head at Alyssa's antics. "We'll have some privacy there."
"I will go make sure that you are given the privacy you deserve." Legion said via his android avatar.
"Don't you have to tell us anything?" Yuki asked, blinking in confusion.
"Only that I will do my best to ensure that there will be no further incidents such as what happened in Croatia, Belgium and Congo for the rest of your honeymoon. My apologies for failing to be able to prevent those." Legion said, offering the Kuran couple an apologetic bow.
"No need for apologies, Legion. I'm sure you tried your best." Yuki assured him.
"But," Yori cut in, causing Yuki to look at her in surprise. "We are grateful for your efforts to prevent any further disruptions."
"You have my assurance that the rest of your honeymoon will be incident free." Legion said, repeating his promise before turning to walk after the Tredecim sisters presumably to make sure they wouldn't interrupt the Kuran couple's discussion with their foster mothers.
"Come now, Yuki, Yori," Shirayuki said, gently pushing Yuki towards Sensei's study. "Let's not just stand here in the corridor outside the dining room, alright?"
"So I hear you two are actively trying for a baby now?" Sensei said with a smile as she poured some wine for all five of them as the Kuran couple and their three foster mothers sat in her study.
"Yes, I finally let Yuki convince me." Yori said, offering her wife a teasing smile as she did.
"I am glad that you have at last." Felicia-sama said, offering the Kurans a grin. "You two will be wonderful mothers."
"Agreed." Shirayuki-sama added. "You two were always good with children."
"Yes, you have." Sensei agreed as she took a seat, having finished serving everyone's wine. "You two have plenty of experience from looking after your sisters, after all."
"I don't think that fully applies." Yuki said with a laugh.
"No, but it helps." Shirayuki-sama assured them.
"And in the meantime, you can probably work on padding out your experience." Felicia-sama suggested. "It'll help. Maybe volunteer at a daycare?"
"I don't think that's really necessary." Sensei said with a laugh. "Though once you do get confirmation of a pregnancy, you two should sign up for some parenting classes."
"We will," Yori agreed as Yuki nodded.
"Well, hopefully that'll be soon." Felicia-sama said as she raised her wineglass. "Here's to good news from you two soon."
They all clinked their glasses against Felicia-sama's in a toast.
"To good news." They all chorused before they all sipped from their glasses.
Though as they did, Sensei was shooting Yori a knowing look which confused her.
"It's nothing." Sensei said evasively. "Why don't you tell us your plans for the rest of your honeymoon, Yori, Yuki? Anything special?"
"Not really-"
"You two do realise you didn't need to pay me a visit whilst on your honeymoon, correst?" The Twelfth Lord informed the Kurans seated across from him as they sat at the top of his tower and enjoyed some rare Volcanica African Kenya Coffee that the vampiric couples had brought along.
"We have been visiting all my fellow Lords along the way and we were in Sanctuary." Yuki told him with a shrug. "It would've been rude to not pay you a visit."
"Ah! So I'm just an afterthought?" The Twelfth Lord teased.
"No, that's not true." Yori said urgently even as her wife rolled her eyes.
"Relax, Yori, Twelfth is just teasing." Yuki said, putting an arm around her wife's shoulders. "Though he does it rarely. You're in a good mood today, Twelfth. What brought this on?"
"There is no major crisis in the world and my colleague and her spouse are taking time out of their honeymoon to visit me, why wouldn't I be in a good mood?"
"You are easy to please." Yuki said with a laugh.
"When you've lived as long as I have, you learn to find happiness in the smallest, simplest things."
"Something that we will try our best to learn as well." Yori offered diplomatically, looking warily between both Lords of Thirteen. "I am sure that there is much for us to learn. About many things."
It seemed that between the two of them, Yori was the diplomat. Considering the tendencies of Dom's apprentices for recklessness, something they must have learned from their mentor's example, it was good that one of them at least was.
"Indeed." The Twelfth Lord said with a nod. "There is always something new to learn. Always."
"Anything you think in particular we should focus on?" Yuki asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Shouldn't you be asking Legion that? He's the Diviner Lord, isn't he?" The Twelfth Lord asked with a chuckle.
"I'm not asking based on a divination of the future but rather on what your millenia of experience suggests."
"Hmm…" The Twelfth Lord said, rubbing his chin as he thought on the issue. "Well, if you ask me, then I believe you two should start some family planning. Trying for a baby, as I've heard from the other Lords you are, is one thing. But planning out how many children you intend to have in the long term is a good idea as well. Thinking ahead always is."
Both of the young vampires blushed at that and surprisingly it was the usually more shy Yori who found her voice first.
I suppose she has more backbone, as the youngsters say, than I have previously given her credit to.
"We'll take that under consideration."
The Twelfth Lord nodded. "If you need help with it, I recommend speaking with your foster mothers."
"Not yourself?" Yuki said, shooting him a confused look.
"I have no personal experience in such matters. Family planning was not even conceived when I had children." The Twelfth Lord admitted freely. "Besides, I am certain you would be more comfortable speaking to your mothers about such matters than a man like me."
"Thank you for the consideration." Yori said, offering him a grateful smile.
"Don't mention it." The Twelfth Lord said, waving away the thanks. "Now, mind telling me how you got such good beans? This coffee is delicious."
"Oh, we bought them in Nairobi. Rose Iris and Dante recommended it." Yuki began happily as they began sharing about their honeymoon so far with him, much to his delight.
As the last leg of their world tour, Yuki and Yori were visiting Tokyo where they were feted as guests of honor at a party held by Sakura-sama and Tomoyo-sama and attended by Yumi and the rest of the leading Japanese magic users.
"And please give a round of applause for our guests of honour, Kuran Yuki, the Third Lord of the Thirteen, and her wife Kuran Sayori!" Sakura-sama said, addressing the gathered luminaries of the Japanese magical community in the ballroom of the InterContinental - ANA Tokyo where the party was being hosted.
The introduction was met with an enthusiastic round of applause, causing both Yuki and Yori to blush.
"Yuki-chan, Yori-chan," Tomoyo-sama whispered to them as she leaned over from where she was standing next to them. "We'll handle the formal side of things, the two of you can just enjoy yourselves."
"Are you sure?" Yuki asked, looking at the Seventh Lord with a frown.
"Definitely." Tomoyo-sama confirmed. "Go have fun. Leave everything else to Sakura and I."
Yuki was ready to argue. It seemed highly unfair to leave things to the First and Seventh Lords to handle things when she and Yori were the guests of honour.
Yori however didn't feel the same way.
"Thank you, Tomoyo-sama." Her wife said gratefully instead, before she pulled Yuki away even as Sakura-sama and Tomoyo-sama were swarmed by guests who undoubtedly wanted to curry favour with the hostesses. It wasn't everyday one had the chance to meet with the leaders of the Japanese magical community and Lords of the Council of Thirteen after all
Despite Sakura-sama and Tomoyo-sama's efforts though, some of the guests still moved towards Yuki and Yori as well but thankfully Yumi and her girlfriend, Tōko Matsudaira-san, arrived first.
"I'm sorry, everyone." Yumi said, offering the approaching guests an apologetic smile. "But I'll be taking Yuki and Yori with me. I've not seen them in a while and would like the chance to catch up with them. I hope you all can understand."
The guests didn't quite look satisfied by what Yumi had to say, but none of them had the gumption to gainsay the request of the Third Lord.
"Thank you," Yumi said, still smiling at the guests as she and Matsudaira-san guided Yuki and Yori to a quiet corner of the ballroom. One shrouded in wards to give some privacy and warn away anyone who might have sought to disturb those who chose to retreat to it.
"Yumi, did you cast these wards?" Yuki asked as they settled around the round bar table that was at the center of the warded area, already laden with carafes and bottles of various drinks and a tray of varied snacks, and she surveyed the wards.
They were well crafted but weak, too weak to have been cast by Yumi. Even if wards wasn't her forte, she was still a Lord of the Thirteen, surely they couldn't be this weak.
"Oh, no! Tōko-chan did." Yumi revealed, confirming Yuki's suspicions. "Isn't she skilled?"
"You flatter me, Onee-sama." Matsudaira-san said with a blush, before offering Yuki and Yori a little embarrassed smile. "I've just started learning. If I'm any good, it's all thanks to Onee-sama's tutelage."
"You are too humble, Matsudaira-san." Yori told her honestly. "If you truly have only just started learning, then this is truly impressive. It is very good work."
"You'll need to work on the strength of your wards, Matsudaira-san, but otherwise they are truly well done." Yuki added.
"Told you, Tōko-chan." Yumi said, putting an arm over her girlfriend's shoulders and giving them a proud squeeze.
"Thank you for the praise, Onee-sama, Yuki-sama, Yori-sama." Matsudaira-san blushing harder and she ducked her head slightly to hide her face.
"We're just being honest." Yuki assured the novice mage. "By the way, have you discovered your affinity, Matsudaira-san?"
"No, not yet." Matsudaira-san confessed with a shake of her head. "Though according to Onee-sama, I have a mild talent with elemental magic."
"Considering your mentor is the Lord of the Elementalists, I am not surprised." Yuki said with a chuckle, earning an embarrassed blush from the aforementioned fellow Lord of the Thirteen.
"It's a little too early to determine Tōko-chan's affinity, Yuki." Yumi countered. "She's just started learning. But I do have an hunch about what it might be."
"Oh?" Yori asked, curiously. "What is it?"
"Tōko-chan has shown a special affinity with water and wind spells and some of my kitsune and tanuki friends seem to think she might have an affinity with illusions."
"Illusions?" Yuki said with a thoughtful hum. "Have you approached Tomoyo-sama with your suspicions?"
"No, not yet." Matsudaira-san said with a shake of her head. "I want to at least master the basics first."
"It seems prudent." Yumi agreed with a nod. "In the meantime, we'll work on confirming our suspicions. Many of my yōkai friends are illusionists too, we'll consult with them first before approaching Tomoyo-sama. She is busy enough already."
"That's true," Yuki agreed. As one of the leaders of the Japanese magical community, the Seventh Lord and the president of the Daidouji Toys Company, Tomoyo-sama was truly busy. Perhaps even more so than any other of the Thirteen.
Just then the music that had been playing in the background since the very start of the party suddenly rose in volume.
"Oh, the dancing is starting." Yori said enthusiastically. "Yuki, shall we?"
"Of course," Yuki said with a smile, before turning to Yumi and Matsudaira-san. "If you'll excuse us?"
"Sure," Yumi said with a shrug. "I think Tōko-chan and I will join you two on the dance floor too. Tōko-chan?"
"Lead the way, Onee-sama."
After sharing a few wonderful dances with Yuki that Yori thoroughly enjoyed, they were enjoying yet another when Yori was suddenly overcome by a bout of queasiness after Yuki spun her as the dance steps demanded. One minute she was giggling at her wife as she twirled her, the skirt of her ballgown swirling around her legs, and the next she was pulling away and clutching her stomach with one hand whilst the other covered her mouth as she fought the urge to throw up.
"Yori!" Yuki gasped as she rushed to her side and patted her back comfortingly. "Are you okay?"
"I think I need to sit down." Yori confessed, allowing Yuki to guide her off the dance floor and towards their little warded corner of the ballroom.
"What happened?" Yuki asked worriedly as she used her magic to conjure a bar stool to allow Yori to take a seat. "Here have some water."
"Thank you." Yori said gratefully as she took the cup of water and sipped on it gingerly. She was as leery about the water triggering her increased need for her to pee lately as she was the sudden queasiness. "And don't worry, I just need to take a break. You probably just spun me around too much."
Yumi frowned at that excuse and Yori understood why. She'd undergone worse in her training and in actual combat. A few spins shouldn't have made her queasy!
"And I probably ate something that didn't agree with me yesterday too."
"Then this should help." Sakura-sama said as she came over and offered Yori a cup of tea. "It's chamomile. It should help with your nausea."
Setting aside the cup of water, Yori accepted the offered tea gratefully.
"Tomoyo-sama, if you two are here then who is entertaining the guests?"
"Yumi-chan and Tōko-chan are handling it for now," Tomoyo-sama said, gesturing at the young couple who were going around the ballroom and mingling with the guests.
"Are you feeling better, Yori-chan?" Tomoyo-sama asked as Yori finished her tea.
"I'm fine." Yori reassured the Seventh Lord honestly, for she was suddenly fine. The nausea had passed. She didn't know if it was due to the chamomile tea or not but her uneasy stomach had calmed as quickly as it'd started up.
"In fact," she said as she stood. "Yuki, I would like to dance a little more."
"Are you sure, Yori?" Her wife asked worriedly.
"Yes," Yori insisted.
Still worried, Yuki, the worrywart, shot Sakura-sama and Tomoyo-sama a questioning look who replied with an encouraging look.
"Go entertain your wife, Yuki-chan." Sakura-sama urged.
Yori piled on the pressure by nudging her shoulder with her own, causing Yuki to sigh and concede.
"Alright, let's dance." Yuki said with a tentative smile as she led them back to the dance floor.
After a year of traveling around the world, Yuki and Yori finally returned home to Sapporo to their newly finished manor outside the city.
"Welcome home, Yuki-sama, Sayori-sama." The various gathered Level C Kuranians that served as their staff said in greeting as they offered them bows and curtsies.
I'm honestly still not used to being called "-sama" by anyone. Yori thought as she took the respect offered her in stride.
You'll get used to it. Yuki reassured her as she distractedly surveyed their lobby for her brother.
"We are happy to be home," Yori said, returning the greeting from their servants.
"That's strange." Yuki said when she noticed that there was no sign of Kaname-niisan. "Where's Nii-san?"
"Kaname-sama asks me to inform you, Yuki-sama, that he would like you to visit him tomorrow night." The head maid informed her.
"I understand." Yuki said with a nod. "Have a message delivered to him that we'll be there and offer him apologies for not heading to see him directly."
"Kaname-sama had expected you might say that," the maid replied. "He asked us to let you know that he understands that you and Sayori-sama returned late and that you would like a chance to rest before visiting him, so there is no need for apologies."
Kaname-sama certainly knows you well, Yuki, if he could anticipate that you'd apologise over not being able to see him right away. Yori sent over their marriage bond.
He always has. Yuki reminded her.
"One last thing," The head maid said as Yuki and Yori began to head towards their bedroom. "Sayori-sama, a package from Dom-sama arrived for you today."
"For me? From Sensei?" Yori asked rhetorically, blinking in confusion. "What could it be?"
"I am uncertain, Sayori-sama." The maid said with an apologetic bow. "We have left it in your bedroom for your perusal."
"We'll see what it is shortly." Yuki assured the maid. "The rest of you can go back to your work as well."
"As you command, Yuki-sama." The servants said, bowing and curtsying as they returned to their duties.
As they did so, Yuki and Yori headed to their bedroom where, like the maid had said, they found a package waiting for them on their vanity. Curious, Yuki picked up the package.
"Intriguing," Yuki said to Yori as she read the note attached to the outside of the wrapped parcel. "Sensei wants you to open it alone and not to let me know what it's about until you've used what's inside."
"Why would Sensei do that?" Yori asked, blinking in confusion.
Yuki just shrugged.
"Well, I'm sure that she wouldn't do anything to harm me." Yori said with a confused frown as she took the package from Yuki. "I guess I'll just have to humor her."
"I needed a shower anyway," Yori continued as she turned towards their ensuite bathroom. "I'll open the package there."
"Okay," Yuki said with a nod. "I'll start unpacking our luggage in the meantime then."
Yori nodded absently as she closed the bathroom behind her and curiously opened the package, only to be shocked by what was contained within: a pregnancy test kit.
Why would Sensei send me something like this? Yori thought to herself, making sure not to share anything with her wife over their bond as she tried to make sense of things. I've been nauseous and needed to pee a lot more since we visited Bella in the Amazon but surely I can't be pregnant, I've had no other symptoms.
Then again what were the signs of a Kuranian pregnancy?
I know we don't have periods…
Despite having made the decision to start trying for a baby, Yori had never actually researched what getting pregnant might mean for her or Yuki. Having been more concerned with the honeymoon they were on at the time than actually researching something that she was sure wouldn't be an issue for a long time.
But we lactate. Yori recalled, thinking back on her all but forgotten studies of her kind's anatomy back during her apprenticeship. Our newborns drink milk, admittedly of a different, more bloody constitution than that of humans', but still milk from the breast nonetheless! So if I am pregnant, shouldn't my breasts start swelling and becoming tender as my body prepares to produce milk?
Thinking along that line, she gave her breasts a squeeze.
They do feel a little more tender than usual.
But was that just her imagination because that was what she was expecting? Or was it a real sign of pregnancy? And if it was, why hadn't she noticed it before? Or had the growing tenderness been so gradual that she just didn't notice?
I just don't know… Yori concluded. But if Sensei thinks it's a possibility...
Sensei was super perceptive, only Legion was more so, and she had been pregnant with Fleda and then looked after Felicia-sama and Shirayuki-sama when they'd been pregnant with Chihiro and Alyssa gave her more than enough experience to see the signs. Plus she probably was knowledgeable in the signs of a Kuranian pregnancy. So if she thought she was pregnant...
Trying to puzzle this out will do me no good. Yori concluded with a shake of her head. There is only one to be sure if Sensei's guess is correct.
With her decision made, she began unwrapping the packaging of the test kit.
"Oh, that was quick." Yuki said as she laid out the tea set of chamomile tea that she'd personally prepared for Yori to help deal with the stomach problems that she'd been suffering from lately. "I thought you were going to have a shower?"
"I changed my mind." Yori said as she walked towards her, hiding something behind her back. "Yuki, there is something that I need to tell you."
"Does it have something to do with Sensei's package?" Yuki asked curiously as she poured a cup of tea before picking it up to carry over to her wife.
"Yes," Yori confirmed with a nod. "But please put down the cup first then I'll tell you."
Yuki frowned at the odd request but did as she was asked and put the cup on the dresser.
Now empty handed, Yuki turned to Yori with a confused look. "What is it?"
In answer, Yori pulled whatever she was holding behind her back and waved it in front of her, revealing a pregnancy test kit.
"It's positive," her wife informed her with a smile.
Yuki stood there stunned for a long moment. When she finally regained her wits, joy overwhelmed her and she blurred towards Yori, picking her up and spinning her around.
"We're going to be parents!"
"Yes, we are." Yori agreed, giggling happily.
Done!
Hope you guys liked this little world tour and check in with all the various Lords of the Thirteen. I'm sure it got a little repetitive at times. Sorry about that but certain topics realistically would be repeatedly brought up and also I ran out of inspiration. I tried my best to minimize it, but I'm not sure I've managed to accomplish the task. Either way, I hope that it was still a fun read nonetheless.
As for why Kuranians don't have periods… Well, they can live for millennia and their women are seemingly fertile throughout the entirety of their long lives. If they had periods like humans, then they would enter menopause in just a few decades and leave them infertile afterwards. Sure, they could regenerate their eggs and have periods like humans but I think slightly more difference between the two races makes more sense. Hope nobody minds.
Well, till next time ja mata ne!