Risky Business

A few weeks had passed since Shoukaku slept over at my place and things had progressed at a slightly faster pace than I'd normally like to set, but well, there was just something about her, she challenged me. However, a loud thumping sound as things hit my desk drew my attention from the computer screen to see my secretary push up her pink-rimmed glasses as she pointed down at the paper and said, "You need to see this, Shikikan."

Turning my attention to the hard printout of a newspaper I felt my insides drop as I say, "No…"

"Yes." She says and folds her arms across her chest as she says in a low tone, "Please tell me you and Shoukaku have been careful."

My jaw dropped open and I try to say something, my mouth moving up and down a few times before I finally managed to find words, "H…how…. How did you know?"

"Really, Shikikan, do you think I wouldn't put two and two together? You're exhausted most days, and I know that Shoukaku has been sneaking in and out of the dorms late at night." She states.

I gulp and ask, "How long have you known?"

"Since you fell into the open-air bath." She says with a look.

"That was almost two months ago!" I shout.

"I know, and I've been playing dumb to it, but with this news, the news of the first kansen getting pregnant, I can't keep my mouth shut right now." She says, pointing down at the paper as she asks, "Please tell me you two have been careful?"

I rub the back of my neck as I think about it and then hang my head, Kako, picks up the paper and slaps me on the top of my head as she says, "How can you be so reckless?"

Rubbing the top of my head as I say, "How the hell was I supposed to know that it could happen? As far as I knew you girls didn't have cycles!"

Her face goes bright red and she slaps the top of my head again as she says, "Because that is a private matter!"

"Then why didn't Shoukaku say anything to me about it?" I ask and rub my head again before asking, "I thought you more mature girls got a sex ed class or three?"

The slap comes again, Kako was even redder in the face as she says, "We do, just so that we understand what our bodies are doing and… things! But Pregnancy is never covered!"

"Well, why not? I mean if you get the class, even if it's just for dealing with men, then why not that?" I protest as I avoid a fourth strike.

"I don't know! I didn't design the class, maybe they didn't think it was possible?" she says while starting to calm down.

I tilt my head to the side and ask, "So if you've known for this long, why haven't you reported me and Shoukaku?"

She blinks a couple of times then looks off to the side as she says, "While you've been exhausted, you've also seemed happier, Shikikan. Not to mention, Shoukaku's combat performance has been getting better each time she heads out. So, I didn't see a downside to not reporting you, and if I did, I saw only downsides."

Taking the paper away from Kako, I start to read the article, looking for any clues on who this knocked-up kansen is, when I don't find anything I tilt my head to the side and muse, "I wonder where this kansen is located?"

"No idea, but I hope it's not Shoukaku." Kako says while folding her arms again.

"I think she'd tell me if she was, and she's been the only one I've been with on base." I say while turning my chair to look out over the port.

"Than the gods for small mercies then." She sighs, "But you should talk to Shoukaku."

I hang my head and sigh, "Yeah, can you clear my schedule for the rest of the day?"

"Go, I've got this covered, and then tell me what you learn so I can either stop worrying or do what needs to be done." Kako says sternly.

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Following the sound of a flute playing, I find myself in that garden of cherry trees, sitting on a rock, playing a wooden flute I see Shoukaku. She looks so pretty sitting there on the rock that was sticking out of the pond, cherry blossoms falling and floating around her. When she finishes her tune, I call out, "Hey, can I talk to you about something? And I really mean talk."

Shoukaku almost fell into the pond with a squeak of surprise, then she takes a moment to center herself before asking, "A-ah...yes, of course, Shikikan." as Shoukaku stands up straight, the cherry blossom petals from her uniform flow towards her feet, making it almost look like snow while her head tilted to the side and she asked, "What would you like to talk about?"

I rub the back of my head, trying to figure out how to ask this, carefully, "Are you feeling okay? Everything normal?"

"Hm? Is there something wrong with me?" she tilts her head once more showing me that she is curious about what I'm dancing around as she adds, "What do you mean by everything normal?"

Rubbing my hands together, I gesture towards her lower torso and ask, "Everything in there, is it working like normal, still?"

Shoukaku's face turns slightly red, before covering her mouth and stuttering, "W-why do you ask...?" Her blush turns a little more intense.

"I uh…" I keep trying to dance around it before sighing, "Is everything flowing like normal?"

Shoukaku's eyes go wide and her face turns a bright red and she stutters, "W-why do you want to kn-know…" She covers her with her kimono sleeve and continues, "Y-you are making me feel very embarrassed!"

"Well, it's not by choice! But some information came to my attention today, and I just want to make sure!" I all but shout, my voice cracking in embarrassment.

She keeps her face covered but stutters, "Well, if you must know...yes, everything is...f-fine and...flowing like usual..."

I let out a sigh of relief as I say, "Good, good. That's a relief."

"Why is it a relief?" Shoukaku asks me in a mixture of confusion and embarrassment, pausing to tilt her head and getting out of the pond, "What...what made you ask such a question?"

I rub the back of my neck again and sigh while trying to avoid looking into her blue eyes, "I guess you haven't seen the news, then?"

"The news?"Shoukaku repeats her face full of concern as she continues "What could have happened? Did something...bad happen?"

"That… that depends on a matter of perspective." I say in a cagy tone of voice.

I can see her concern increases, as her brow furrows while asking, "What do you mean? What perspective?"

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath before I just say it, "News broke that a kansen got pregnant. So naturally, considering how less than careful we have been with one another, I wanted to know…" I pause and fidget with my hands before gesturing to her, "to know if you'd been keeping something from me."

Shoukaku's blush returns in full force this time, she looks away from me, biting her lips as her hands go to her belly. After a moment she stutters, before finally letting out a few words, "I-I haven't kept anything from you! I promise! S-so there is no...no baby...there is nothing to worry about..." She finally stops stuttering and looks straight in the eyes "D-do you feel relieved now?"

I nod and reach out to touch her hips as I say, "Yeah, but I think we should be more careful from now on, right?"

"Y-yes of course!" she nods in agreement, her blush still bright. Her shoulders relax and she gives me a shy smile before tilting her head to the side and asking, "Who was the kansen who got pregnant? Just...curious..."

I shrug as I say, "Don't know, her name wasn't in the document, neither was the base she is attached to. But you can understand my worry, right? I mean I had no idea that it was possible, hell I had no idea you girls had… cycles like that, but I knew regular blood work was done on you girls though."

"O-oh," she says, her eyebrows rising slightly when mentioned blood work, "Well...I guess I can understand why you would be worried, especially after hearing about the news." Her voice is soft and understanding as she spoke, "But I can assure you, there is no baby, so no need to worry about that." to make her point, Shoukaku places her hand right on this lower torso, right where I had asked her about before and she giggles with a smile, "No baby."

Taking a hand off of her hips, I stroke her cheek and smile, "Good."

She nuzzles against my hand making a content sound before her blue eyes open and move from my eyes and down to something on my face before back up to my eyes.

I know what she wants, but this has been such a serious talk…

Leaning in, just about brushing her lips with mine, I then pull back and tease, "Maybe later."

Shoukaku blinks at me a couple of times, a pout on her lips, just as I let go of her and turn to head back to the office, she grabs hold of me, spinning me around, her hands going to either side of my face, tilting it slightly as she kisses me, but this kiss was different from other ones we've had, there was something to this one. When it broke, she patted my chest and teased, "Not later, now."

I blink a couple of times, processing this kiss, it was far, far more intense than anything that had come before and I ask, "Shoukaku?"

The response I got was another kiss, just as passionate, with one key difference, she lifted her left leg and placed it on my hip, pulling me down as she fell backward with a giggle.

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When I got back to the office, Kako looked up at the clock and tilted her head to the side as she said, "That took longer than I would've thought, what was her answer?"

"She's not pregnant." I say as I walk past her to my office.

After a moment, I guess she worked out time then said, "Shikikan!" I had just sat down at my desk as she burst into my office, her face bright red, I could read the question on her mind and I sigh, "Yes we were careful this time."

Her face went bright pink almost the same shade as the frames of her glasses as she stopped cold in her tracks, blinked, and stated, "Well, good then."

As she closes my office door, I lean back in my chair and spin from side to side as I think about how this day went and I cannot help but feel, I had gotten lucky, in more ways than one today. Still, knowing this information now, I wonder what a kid with Shoukaku would be like, how much would they take after their mother, and how much would they take after me?

Turning back to my computer, I access the wider base network and post to the commander message board, asking about the news, wondering who the lucky father is.

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A/N: A bit of a more serious chapter, and a shorter one, but they all can't be just comedy.