Chapter 10: Growth
IF stood with a defeated expression on her face. Her eyes shifted left and right due to the person in front of her pacing back and forth.
The one pacing with masked urgency was Noire who maintained a stern face.
IF couldn't deduce more from the expression of Noire's face, only that she looked deep in thought, and was visibly disappointed.
Aside from those two, Neptune was sitting on a chair with Euri gently being rocked on her lap.
Histoire was there, with her eyes going over Euri. She was checking for possible injuries that the pink-haired girl had sustained, but she found none to announce. "Noire… Neptune… Euri is fine. I couldn't detect any scratch or bruise on her."
Neptune joyfully squealed with a closed mouth while she hugged her daughter tightly.
Noire stopped pacing and broke an alleviated smile. "Thank you, Histoire. Jeez, I don't even want to imagine those over-sized dogs even touching a single strand of hair on my baby's head." She crouched down at eye level to her daughter that looked unshaken by the events.
"Noire, let's throw all those negative thoughts right out of here, and be grateful that IF was there to beat them back," said Neptune.
"Are you serious? She wouldn't even be in that danger if IF hadn't taken her out of the city's limits!" Noire's brash nature had vomited out of her mouth without check. As soon as she said it, she did feel ashamed of herself.
Neptune gasped. "Nowa!"
"Wait, hold it, Nep. She has a point." IF picked herself off the chair and looked at Noire, ready to accept her actions. "It was all my fault that she was put in that dangerous situation. It was all for those silly apples, and I should have taken care of Euri first as my priority."
"Well… you seem sorry, and Euri doesn't look that shaken up." They all looked at the CPU baby, who oozed with radiating joyful energy. "Besides, you're not all to blame. Those Fenrir shouldn't have been that close to the city to begin with, which is still confusing to me," admitted Noire.
"Yeah, about that… I'm positive that they weren't there looking for apples or water. When they approached us, they were clearly eyeing Euri like some exotic treat."
"Ahh! Could they have smelled the pudding my baby had eaten that morning? Curse you, Ram! She peaked too soon!" Cried Neptune dramatically. At the mention of pudding, Euri opened her mouth with a salivating smile to go with it.
"Neptune, you can't be serious!?" Shouted Noire.
"Huh, so they were actively drawn to you by the scent of Euri?" Asked Histoire who floated close to IF and allowed Noire and Neptune to naturally run their conversation's course.
"Yeah, who would have known that they were into CPU babies as a snack? Just goes to show how messed up monsters can be," said IF.
"Even if it could have been pudding that excited them, my daughter is off-limits to any form of being eaten!" Stated Neptune.
"I agree with Neptune. We should count ourselves lucky that IF was still able to fend off the beasts, regardless of the unfortunate location and time they found themselves in," said Histoire.
"Very well. You did amazing IF in protecting Euri- that's all I'm going to say," said Noire with her arms folded.
"Oh, Nowa. Please don't hold a bad mood over this. Euri is safe and sound. If you ask me, this is a learning experience that's worth finding out now rather than later. It could have been us if we finally decided on going on that family picnic outside the nation's limits."
"That's different, Neptune. We can fly and no beast is going to get passed my blade," proclaimed Noire with hype encouragement for herself.
"Oh, boy… there she goes," silently muttered Neptune with a half-smile.
"Neptune sounds reasonable. This is probably a topic to bring up with Croire if certain monsters have an instinct to eat CPU babies," said Histoire.
"It's probably simpler than that. If there are monsters that eat meat, then only the most sinister and desperate of monsters will go for defenseless babies," replied Noire.
IF quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Defenseless? Now, I think that last Fenrir thought differently when Euri dealt with it."
"What do you mean?" Asked Noire.
"Uh… at the risk of adding more drama and stress to the story, I kind of left out a crucial part from earlier. The last Fenrir checkmated me, and Euri was the one that pulled me out of that jam."
"Oh! She did!?" Replied both parents.
"She did. I told you both earlier that one of the Fenrir scratched me from behind but only ripped through my coat and shirt. This… might sound weird and a horrible bomb drop, but it did manage to cut through my skin pretty good. If there is one topic to talk to that rude fairy, it would have to be the fact that Euri glowed intensely and blasted the last beast off its feet. When that happened, she healed my wound on my back with share energy."
Noire, Neptune, and Histoire looked at Euri with astonishment.
"I always wondered how it felt like to be affected by share energy, and it was truly something to remember. In that glow, it felt warm and friendly and felt like I was being accepted by so many. S-sorry for keeping my injury out of the story. There was already a lot of panic going on when you all saw me looking like a slasher victim, and when I said that Euri had been exposed to those monsters," she said nervously.
"IF… I'm… I'm glad that you're okay," said Noire. Aside from all the shock and terror they had heard from IF, the black-haired CPU knew that she would hate herself all the way to the night if she didn't acknowledge how thankful she was that she protected her daughter with an injury added.
"Wow, Iffy. That's a spot-on description. And please don't beat yourself over this anymore," said the purple-haired girl.
The brown-haired girl felt lighter, now that she had laid the whole truth out and was forgiven.
"Then it's settled. Might as well invite Croire and the others tonight for dinner to go over the shocking events of today," said Histoire.
"But we are going to have to buy dessert if we want that foodie fairy to come along," explained Noire.
"Did someone say dessert?" IF explained to them that the apples were intended to be used to bake Neptune a pie. After getting ahold of her wife, Compa, at home, she explained to her that the pie would be prepped in Neptune and Noire's housing unit and told her to get over here when she could. She also added to her wife to bring her a pair of fresh clothes that left the nurse confused.
Compa arrived at the Basilicom housing unit half an hour later with the rest of the ingredients in hand and a fresh set of clothes for IF.
"Iffy! This was a great idea to make the pie over here," cheerfully and blissfully blurted out Compa when she got there. She was still unaware of the events that unfolded. However, it wasn't for long when she got a good look at her wife's damaged outfit from behind. "Iffy! What happened?"
This conversation was one that IF dreaded because, no matter how she spun it, her wife would feel the emotional hurt and gravity that her wife had gone through severe danger. It took a few minutes of calming and reassuring words to her wife until Compa felt relaxed. Even without the issue of being wounded with blood everywhere, Compa's worried tones were not diminished.
Luckily for IF, Noire helped by grabbing the attention of Compa, and over time, channeled her worried state into baking when she offered to help Compa make the pie. The much-needed distraction further helped Compa to put the bad news behind her.
IF and Neptune were charged with setting up the table and grabbing some last-minute things from the store.
With everyone having a task to keep them busy, they felt normality come back after the dramatic events that unfolded today.
An hour went by, and It was now time for dinner. Noire and Compa were still in the kitchen getting the food ready, and Croire and the others had not made it yet.
Neptune, during this time, had bathed Euri and changed her into pink bunny-patterned pajamas.
"She looks absolutely adorable, Nep," said IF.
Neptune secured her daughter in the highchair. "That's a given, Iffy. She's a Nep after all and being cute is in our genes."
"Pfft, I don't know about that. She's cuter than you, that's for sure," laughed IF.
"Oof, that was a critical right there, Iffy. So, mean."
They both halted their banter when the space above them opened. A small fairy with a purple dress descended onto them. "I have arrived, with an empty stomach."
"Croire! Where's big me and her Noire?" Demanded Neptune.
"Not coming. Noire- unsurprisingly, didn't want to get close to the pink elephant in the room," said the dark-skinned blond.
"Pink elephant?" Asked IF.
The one to connect the dots was Neptune who folded her arms. "She doesn't want to come because of Euri, right?"
"Bingo, I knew you had some brains in that hair of yours. Can't blame her. She doesn't want to tarnish the first impression of her daughter with someone that is technically her daughter- but not really. And my Neptune, being the great wife that she is, stayed by her side and ordered out."
"Hmm, makes sense," calmly said IF.
"Well, I don't see it that way, not one bit. She should be more accepting of this, and I'm sure they are both dying to meet Euri. Say, have they come up with a name?" Replied Neptune.
Croire inched closer to the hoodie-wearing CPU. Her face was stern and clear. "They are dying to meet their baby girl, who I will not say her name as Noire will probably slingshot me out of the Basilicom." While she half-followed the request of Ultra Noire, she ultimately went with the request because her Neptune had also wanted the same thing of secrecy for the name.
Neptune folded from the directness of the fairy and crossed her arms with a pout.
"While I can understand that they are avoiding coming here, won't this drag on unhealthily? Like, are they going to stop coming altogether? Because Euri's not going anywhere," said IF.
Croire sighed tiredly, unable to find the answer for that one. "That's up to them, and I can't say if it's going to be a continuous thing."
A sting of hurt crept into the heart of the purple-haired girl. They were all family in one way or another, and she didn't want anything to fracture it.
Compa and Noire entered the room with bowls of food with them.
"I hope you all have an empty stomach for some apple pie?" Declared the sunny nurse.
"While the pie might be good, rule one of dinner is to eat your serving of food before dessert, so eat up. We made rice, mashed potatoes, chicken, and green beans," said the black-haired girl.
Croire pushed past IF and Neptune, taking the first seat at the table with her book hovering slightly above the table. "Hurry up with the food, missy," ordered Croire.
Noire pouted while holding a bowl of mashed potatoes. "Your table manners never change, do they?"
"Hey, you're the one that invited me here, and I'm sure I'm only here for my CPU knowledge rather than my table manners."
Noire shifted gears and smiled at the rude fairy. This response was a jarring turn for the fairy. "Can't hide it, I guess. Then you are obligated to answer our questions, or you won't be getting any dessert."
Croire reluctantly agreed. "Some things never change," she groaned.
Some time went by, and everyone had their fill. Euri had happily obliterated two small baby bowls of combined mashed potatoes and rice and a small plate of shredded chicken.
On a grander scale, Croire and Neptune looked like they were in an eating contest as they both finished off bowl after bowl of food.
"Hmm, I wonder where Nep puts all that food away?" Asked IF out loud and unintentionally.
Compa giggled at the question. "The same place those two probably put it in," she said while pointing to Euri and Croire.
Noire politely laughed and closed one eye. "My daughter's a growing girl, of course, I can't say the same thing for those two. The only thing Neptune's growing is her waist." She cheekily gazed at the pending response from her wife as she casually put her lips to her glass.
Croire bellowed loudly. "Not me, though. I'm not capable of gaining weight at all," boasted the fairy.
Neptune then pouted at her wife's comment. "Can you blame this Nep? The combined culinary skills of Noire and Compa is a devastating force. If I ate like this for the next month, oh- I don't even want to imagine the weight gain. It would still be a great month, though."
"Don't come down too hard on Nepnep, Noire. I only wish Iffy had a bigger appetite than she already has," she said that with a masked harshness, making IF sit straight.
"H-honey, I appreciate the meals you make when I get home every night, but I can't overeat all your scrumptious food or else I'll get sluggish in my fieldwork," said IF.
"I'll forgive you, Iffy. Only if you eat two slices of apple pie," said Compa.
If IF didn't know any better, she would think her wife had just manipulated her into eating more. "Y-yes, honey."
Noire did the honors of slicing off the pie into sections for everyone. She handed her wife, IF, and Croire, two pieces each. "Eat up, you three. Compa and I made sure to make a second one just in case," said Noire. She shared her slice with her daughter, who only ate from the filling.
Everyone's faces turned brighter upon the initial bite of the warm and delicious apple pie.
"Son of-"
Noire angrily cleared her throat toward Croire who had been a mere second away from using profanity in front of her daughter.
"What? This is good, and she won't remember this… technically," she said the last part mutedly.
"Babies absorb loads of information during this period, and I rather air on the safe side. The last thing I want is for my daughter to become a delinquent."
The fairy rolled her eyes with a quick smirk. "Oh, so true. That White Heart curses like a sailor, and look how she turned out," remarked Croire. Her statement felt both sarcastic and that of a complement rolled into one.
Up in the North, a certain self-proclaimed CPU writer had sneezed loudly. "Dammit! Who's talking about me?!" Yelled the brown-haired girl at an empty office room. Her computer screen barely had the title name to her next story.
Back to Nepstation, during dinner.
Croire had finished her first slice. She didn't say it, but she was content with the food and the quality of it made it worth the info dump they used her for. "Alright, let's not beat around the bush any longer. Come at me with your questions, so that I can enjoy the next slice in greater peace."
"Hmph, I can at least admire you for wanting to get to the point," said Noire. "I only have one question. Euri and IF went apple picking earlier today and a bunch of Fenrir attacked them. Thankfully, no one got hurt long-term wise, but IF said that Euri glowed with a bright light that protected and healed her while blasting away the Fenrir."
Croire looked visibly taken aback for about two seconds. A hesitant look then appeared on her face. "How can I put this? First, that's normal-ish, and what you saw was Euri using a basic survival instinct to preserve her life. She really shouldn't have resorted to that, but it's a harsh world out there for the unfortunate. Second, you might want to get her some new clothes, like… soon."
"Huh? W-what does that mean?" Demanded Noire.
"It means that she's growing up and sooner than planned because of her stunt. That blast she put out was a concentrated burst of share energy she's been storing for her cellular growth. When she was forced to use it, she set her bodily energy into motion that no longer stayed motionless. If she was able to use her share energy for that survival trick, then her body is ready for her growth spurt regardless."
As if on cue, a bright pink light shined from Euri's highchair.
"W-what's going on!?" Cried Compa.
"That's the light from before!" Cried IF.
"My baby!" Cried Noire.
"Whoa! She's shining like Blanc's pocket monstrosities over there!" Said Neptune as she panically jumped out of her chair.
"Oh, good. Better to get it out of the way now. I like this baby," calmly replied the blond tome fairy.
Both Noire and Neptune bolted to the light source and picked up the shining outline that was their daughter. The light subsided, making Noire and Neptune widened their eyes.
What stood in their combined hands, was a toddler slightly over a year old, with maybe a few months added. This toddler, was practically spilling out of her stretched pajamas, had short pink hair that ended around her neck, and her face had more defining features aside from a pudgy face. In fact, her face looked slimmer, and her red eyes looked fuller.
"E-Euri?" Replied Neptune.
The toddler scanned the room with an unparalleled level of curiosity in her eyes. In some sense, all her surroundings looked familiar, only this time, she was able to perceive it with more awareness. Her adorable red eyes locked back toward the two faces in front of her. Her curiosity replaced itself with a beaming smile, her hand then stretched out to Neptune. "Ma- mama!"
Neptune's eyes turned to stars with her mouth hung open. "S-she said mama, her first words?!"
"This is unreal." Muttered Noire.
The toddler Euri happily locked gazes with Noire and giggled happily. "Pa- papa!"
Noire hysterically cried out with her hands to her face. The defeated face of Noire was hardly enough to represent how destroyed she internally felt as she dropped to her knees.
"Yep, that's correct little Euri," laughed Croire.
"Explain!" Roared Noire with her eyes focused on the fairy.
"Well, she's undergoing her phases due to her cellular growth that's a direct result of her stored Share energy. A CPU baby goes through the normal cycle of growth that all babies go through up until they have enough stored share energy to reach their current threshold. When they do, their bodies tell them that it's ready to take in more share energy and advance to the next threshold. For that to happen, the growth explodes rapidly from the share energy that results in cellular growth. Some CPU babies grow at their own pace with some taking a full year or a month for those who are true prodigies. Your baby- I blame Neptune for this- took her sweet time to gather her share energy. But then, again, no parent wants their kid to grow up fast. Make the most of these wonderful times before you have a moody pre-teen asking for her space and complaining all the time."
The bombshell that was dropped on the CPU parents left them spiraling for a grip on reality. A ping of fright vibrated through them as they wondered how fast their daughter would grow up. All they knew, was that their daughter's share energy was in motion and gathering unknown amounts of it.
One of the things that I feel like I struggle with is explaining things. I understand that there's a balance where information doesn't need to be overblown. Less is more as they say, and leaving mystery and interpretation is never a bad thing. I am excited to reach this state of the story and if you all have questions, please ask. Also, hope everyone is doing alright during these hard times. See you all in the next one!