Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rosario Vampire. I am merely twisting the creator's vision into my own dream. If the supernatural, sexuality, or violence is offensive to you, than you should not read this.

Chapter 254

It was just past mid December when it happened. Like such things always seemed to do, it happened late at night. The first contraction had brought Mizore awake with a sharp cry that was from both pain and surprise. So far along in her pregnancy, she had not been alone. Her mother and a midwife had been keeping a watch over her, along with a half dozen other women. Mizore's cry was heard clearly by women who knew what it meant.

Things seemed to happen all at once, but also seemed to drag out endlessly. Women surrounded Mizore in her bed. The window shutters and doors were opened to allow the winter winds to bring their comforting cold into the house. The midwife examined Mizore and directed the other women on what to do. Each contraction made Mizore cry out. Her each cry seemed to excite the women around her. Each painful spasm made the life within her flare briefly.

The contractions were tiring. Each one pulled energy from her entire body. Between contractions Mizore tried to relax and breath and she heard the women around her talking about every one of the tiniest details. The women argued about how good it was, or was not, if the delivery went quickly or was long and slow. At times it was almost like she was simply the topic for speculation. At other moments she felt nearly smothered in attention. Early on, between contractions and excited examinations, it had been all that Mizore could manage to summon Shiro and send her off with a message. In truth, she had only tried because both her mother and the midwife had insisted.

Each contraction tested Mizore's body. The pain made her muscles burn. If it wasn't for the freezing air blowing through the room, she was sure she would have passed out. As it was she appeared as white as porcelain, as the sweat of her labors froze, dusting her with a layer of fine ice crystals. She had been ready to have her baby delivered after just a few contractions, but the midwife warned her that she still had a long way to go.

XxxX

Shiro was infected with Mizore's urgency. She found her way to Tsuskune, careless of who saw her. The large feline caused more than a few to panic as it raced across the campus. Many people never saw the creature, but enough people had seen 'something.' What that something was depended upon the witness. When she pushed her way into the classroom, Tsukune was already gathering his things.

Tsukune had felt the disturbance in the atmosphere caused by Shiro. Not just the creature's own energy, but also the spikes of emotions thrown off by those that had seen her. Tsukune had not known at first what had been moving towards him, and had been getting ready to ether confront a problem, or to draw one away to protect the university campus and students. Of course he recognized Shiro on sight, and that just made him move with increased urgency.

Tsukune quickly left the classroom, drawing Mizore's familiar out into the empty hall. It was only a moment's work to find the scribbled note that Shiro carried. When Inari joined him he passed the note to her.

"Tell the others," Tsukune said. He also handed her his bag. "I'll be in contact."

With his hand on Shiro, Tsukune hurried to the nearest stairwell. He drew up his energy and projected it around himself and Mizore's familiar. Weaving a suggestion around them both, he made a shroud to hid them from the sight of the human students.

Inari watched her captain hurry off. A part of her wondered if this would be her chance to get her last few favor points. Once he was gone, she looked at the note.

"The baby is coming," The words were scrawled on the paper.

"Damn it," Inari cursed under her breath.

XxxXxxxX

Hiru burst out of the tunnel, landing on four clawed feet with Tsukune on her back. A winter storm gripped the region, reducing them to a dark shadow moving between deep snowbanks. Visibility was zero, but it wasn't important. Hiru knew the way, and Tsukune had a sense for where Mizore was. Once they reached the town the force of the storm was reduced from a blizzard to a gentle snow fall with gusting breezes. Tsukune and Hiru didn't slow at all as they hurried to their destination.

Once he reached Mizore's house, Tsukune vaulted from Hiru's back. He cleared the fence and landed on the path to the front door. It was only the good manners that his parents had instilled him with that made Tsukune pause at the door to remove his shoes. He was looking for Mizore when he heard her cry out.

XxxxX

Mizore was seeing spots as she cried out. Her contractions were coming almost every minute now, and the midwife was telling her to push. With each contraction she gave her best effort and tried to endure the pain. After each contraction she felt weak and limp as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she still heard the startled cries of the women around her bed.

Mizore tried to raise her head. The women around her were suddenly yelling and she wanted to know what was wrong. Mizore felt a moment of fear, wondering if something had gone wrong with the delivery. Suddenly a firm hand took hold of hers.

A rush of pure Warmth flowed into Mizore. She knew instantly that Tsukune was with her. Weakly, she turned her head to see him, still in the act of kneeling beside her bed. He was holding her hand and smiling at her.

Mizore felt her heart leap with joy. Tsukune had come to her. He was going to be there to welcome their baby into the world. She gave him a smile that was filled with her love for him.

Before she could say anything, another contraction struck.

"Push!" The midwife instructed.

Mizore squeezed Tsukune's had with bone-breaking force as she bore down with a cry.

"I am glad that you came," Tsurara hissed in Tsukune's ear. "But you should not be here."

"I shouldn't be anywhere else," Tsukuyne declared as he gave Mizore's mother a stubborn look.

"I want him here," Mizore said in a horse voice. "I want hi-Iiimmm..."

"Pu-u-sh!" The midwife called out.

Xx

There were no more arguments after that. Tsukune kept Mizore company, holding her hand thought it all. He shared his Warmth with her, which eased her pains and helped her keep her strength up.

The delivery took hours. The midwife and Tsurara watched over Mizore though it all. Tsukune remained with her until it was over. The other women in the house came and went, carrying news of how the delivery was going, and of Tsukune's presence at the bedside. Most of the men in the village were there because of arranged marriages, and seldom were they as close to their wives as Tsukune was to Mizore. That Tsukune had rushed to her bedside to be there for the birth of their child was just more fuel for the romantic gossip about the couple.

When it was finally over, Mizore had delivered a baby girl. Nobody was surprised that it was a girl, because that was what was most common by far among her people. While looking excited and frightened at the same time, when given the chance, Tsukune held his new daughter.

"It is nice to meet you," Tsukune said as he held the baby carefully. "My daughter of Winter."

"It is a good omen that she was born in the winter," Tsurara said.

"Tsukune," Mizore spoke in a tired voice even as she reached out for the baby. "I want to name her Fumusume. Our Winter Daughter."

"Fumusume," Tsukune said with a smile and a nod as he passed the baby carefully to Mizore. "I like it."

XxxxxX

After the delivery, Tsurara and the other women successfully chased Tsukune off for a while. The birthing process was not a pretty one. They wanted to give Mizore a chance to get cleaned up, and to clean up the bed as well. Tsukune spent the time by taking Hiru and going in search of a phone signal. His first call was to Moka, to let him know where he was, and that he would be a while before coming home. After making his phone calls, he returned to Mizore's side.

Tsukune was excited and frightened at the same time. He was excited to be a father, but now that his daughter had been born, all the doubts and fears he had tried to keep from his mind were returning in a rush. He wondered how his relationships would change. He questioned if he would be a good enough father to Fumusume. Tsukune worried about how his parents would feel, and what they would think of Mizore and himself. There was even the nagging little worry that his parents would in some subtle way reject their first grandchild, while showing smiles to him and Mizore.

The fear and excitement came and went in waves as he returned to Mizore's side. He thought of the chances he would get to play with his daughter. He worried that he might hurt her because babies were so small, and he had become something dark and powerful. Tsukune smiled as he imagined Mizore dressing their daughter up and presenting little Fumusume to Kurumu and Moka. A could hand clenched around his heart imagining the hurt looks the others would give him because he had accepted Mizore's baby, as if it meant that he loved them less. Tsukune tried to contain his feelings. He knew that Mizore would be looking to him for support, and he loved her too much to want to let her down.

XxxxxX

The birth of Shirayuki A` Fumusume was the cause of a celebration in the village. Every child born in the village was a welcomed blessing. The day after the delivery, mother and baby were carried on an ornate litter by ten young women to the village temple. Tsukune, dressed in a dark kimono, walked along beside the litter. At the temple the few married couples in the village had gathered out of tradition, to offer their support and good wishes to the young mother.

Tsukune noticed that only three of the men were truly close to their wives. The rest were simply standing beside the women they were married to. It was a sad thought, that the village was so dependent on loveless marriages. Tsukune remembered Mizore's determination, even desperation, that he would love her. He reached up and rested his hand on the side of her litter.

"I love you," Tsukune said gently as he willed a trickle of his own energy to flow out to her.

Within the litter, Tsukune could feel the two bright flames of life that were his winter wife and daughter. As nervous as he felt, Tsukune accepted it as a part of the price for the joy he felt. He smiled warmly, happy to know that he had a family that was filled with love.

XxxxxxX

The celebrating continued for days. After the presenting at the temple, it was back to Mizore's house where Tsurara and the neighbors had prepared a feast. Mizore and Fumusume were enthroned, with Tsukune beside them, while a procession of visitors came to offer their congratulations. Village children were introduced to the newest member of their group before being allowed to go play in the garden. The second day Mizore was visited by snow maidens of age to marry, hoping to share her blessings to have child of their own. The maidens cleaned the house and played maidservant to mother and baby. Tsukune was left out of whatever traditions that were observed in the bath, but he had no arguments about it.

While Mizore was being pampered and pestered on the third day by young brides still hoping for their first child, Tsukune was called out by husbands of the village. It turned out that there were more men in the village than he had thought. Only about a fifth of the men had actually been born in the village. It seemed that a part of the reason for the low birth rate owed itself to the fact that Snow Fairies were almost always women, and the few boys born to them were often vulnerable against the cold that the women found comfortable. This weakness often left them with health problems.

One of the grandfathers of the village told Tsukune that it was a good thing that he had not moved into the village. The grandfather explained that if he and Mizore had any sons, they would do best if they were raised someplace warm, where they would have a chance to grow up healthy and strong before returning to the village to take wives of their own.

Xx

XxxXxxxX

It had taken some doing, and caused some arguments, but Tsukune took Mizore and their daughter to visit his family. Mizore's people wanted to follow the very old tradition of keeping the new mother in bed for weeks, and the baby in the village for years. Tsukune had gotten around both ideas by simply asking Mizore if she was willing to go with him, and then he essentially kidnapped them both.

Fumusume was welcomed into the world, and into the lives of her father's family. Moka, Kurumu, and Ruby were all eager to shower the little baby with affection. When Tsukune and Mizore took their daughter to visit his parents for the first time, Kasumi didn't even finish a single mock protest about being too young to be a grandmother before gushing excitedly over Fumusume.

Fumusme was the star of the holidays at the Aono house. Mizore was almost overwhelmed by the attention she and her baby were receiving. Among her own people, she knew that having a baby was important and something to celebrate, but she was unprepared for they way it cemented her relationship with Tsukune's parents.

XxxxX

Kurumu was happy for her friend, even if she was jealous of the other woman. Fumusume gave Moka a sense of relief. With all that had happened, there had always been the risk that Tsukune would not be able to father any children. Fumusume was born healthy and whole. Moka and Kurumu were both glad that, when the time came, Tsukune should be able to give them children as well.

Ruby was excited as the others. She kept dropping hints that she was ready to have Tsukune's baby as well. She even argued that it was her duty to give Tsukune a baby, who would help his other children, so that after her own baby was born, she could serve as wet-nurse when he had more children in the future.

Tsukune realized that even if he didn't see Mizore very often, having a baby with her changed things. Suddenly all the things he had wanted to do to make himself worthy of Moka and able to provide for his family, now had another layer to them. Tsukune now wanted to build up his futire company so that he was have a legacy to leave for his children. During his next shift with Inari, Tsukune expressed his thoughts to her.

Xx

"I am sure you will do everything you can," Inari said, trying to sound at ease. The truth was, that for the three weeks since his daughter was born, Tsukune's conversations kept drifting back to Fumusume. A part of her was jealous that there was somebody else she now had to share her captain with. Of course she was also feeling upset that she saw how happy Tsukune was, and knew that she could never give him that same kind of happiness no mater how much she loved him. Unfortunately, she was not as successful at hiding her feelings from Tsukune as she wished.

Tsukune could tell that something was bothering Inari. He suspected that she was feeling jealous, because she had been acting differently since Fumusume had been born. He had given it some thought, and decided to leave it alone. If she wasn't ready to talk about it, he did not need to pressure her.

Tsukune realized that if he did bring up the subject, there was a good chance that Inari would try to turn the conversation towards wanting to be his lover. Because of the time he had spent with Mizore when she had gone into labor, Tsukune had missed some classes and had needed to shifts on duty covered. Inari had been quick to help him, but at a cost. She had hoarded a total of forty six favor points so far, and Tsukune knew that he did not need to hand her any more reasons to be thinking of how she wanted to spend them.

XxxxxXxxxxX

January arrived under a blanket of snow. All across Japan people were seriously questioning the reality of Global Warming. Tsukune and Hiru traveled with little trouble, even when they didn't use jumps to shorten their trips. Of course where Tsukune went, when she could, Inari followed. They were on their way home after a shift together, trusting their familiars more than Tsukune's minivan on the winter roads, when the weather cause them to have a scary moment.

The bridge wasn't especially old. In fact there was nothing really remarkable about the bridge at all, except it's unfortunate location. Following the terrain, the road had been forced to deal with a sharp draw where it curved around a steep hill. There was just enough of a stream, which was more like a river during the spring, running down the draw that made a bridge necessary, instead of laying down culverts and filling the draw with rocks.

The traffic wasn't bad that morning. Tsukune and Inari were sharing the road with just a few cars and a charter bus. The bus was plodding along, while the cars followed in its slick and slushy wake. Unfortunately, one driver was impatient. He thought he saw an opportunity to pass the people ahead of him and took it. But the road had a bend to it. The driver did not see the on-coming traffic until he was in the wrong lane. He jammed on his breaks and tried to swerve back into his own lane. Coming from the other direction, a small work truck with an open bed, had not expected to see another car coming head on. The driver of the truck tried to steer around the other car while breaking hard.

The truck driver was helping her friend move. She had borrowed the truck from her uncle. In the cab with her were two friends that were along for extra hands. In the bed were boxes, a desk, and a chair, and the friend that was moving bundled up against the cold because the cab wasn't big enough for everybody.

Tsukune and Inari saw the whole thing happen. The car and the truck almost avoided each other. The impact was enough to throw both vehicles out of control. The car his a second one, spinning them both about. The truck was spun about and slammed into the side rail of the bridge with a lurch. Tsukune and Inari were going to be forced to go around the truck, except that the direction of it's spin only gave them one direction to go, and that was over the same railing that the truck had slammed into.

When the truck hit the railing, the passenger was launched from the bed. The truck continued to spin. Tsukune lean Hiru over, heading towards the rail. Inari followed his lead.

"Jump!" Tsukune shouted.

Hiru and Furyu jumped. The jumped over the rail, transforming from motorcycles into winged beasts of dark scales and claws. At the same time, Tsukune leaped from Hiru's back. The hillside was steep, but the drop would not be very long. Tsukune had launched himself at the thrown passenger, grabbing them in a mid air tackle before summoning his wings. He didn't think he could fly with the weight of another person, very well, but he could try to glide them into a landing that would protect them from harm.

Tsukune successfully slowed their fall. He leveled out into a glide as the hillside continued to fall away beneath him. Then a dark shape moved into place under them. Hiru was flying into the perfect place to receive Tsukune and his burden. It was then that the person Tsukune was holding onto seemed to come out of their shock.

"Holy Shit!" The person shouted and started to flail their arms.

"Stop it!" Tsukune barked.

The person tried to turn to see who had spoken, but it was then that they impacted with Hiru. Tsukune did his best to hold on to his squirming payload as Hiru carried them quickly down to safety. The descent was rapid but controlled. There was a moment of excitement as they passed through tree branches, but then the trip was over.

Hiru landed hard among the trees of the hillside. Tsukune let go of his struggling bundle, and the person promptly fell from Hiru's back and tumbled down the hill side. Tsukune watched them go.

"Tsukune," Inari called out as Furyu crunched to a landing beside him. "What..." She saw where the person her captain had rescued finally came to rest in a knot of bushes.

"Let's go," Tsukune instructed. "We'll climb up the hill a little. Hiru, Furyu, drag your feet." He dismounted as he spoke and started stomping his feet.

"What are you doing?" Inari asked.

"Our familiars have big feet," Tsukune pointed out. "We need to do something about their tracks. If the ground is messed up enough, it will look like a boulder or something rolled down the hill, at least enough to leave some doubts."

"I get it," Inari said. She dismounted and sent Furyu up the hill a little bit after Hiru.

The pair of creatures dragging their feet and tails left a scar in the vegetation, but no clear tracks. Inari and Tsukune did a hurried job of obscuring things even more, using broken branches and stomping their own tracks into the dirt. As an added bonus, the familiars reached a trail, that could have been from wild game or hikers. They waited there until their riders were done.

"Is it alright to leave them?" Inari asked, gesturing back to where the person from the truck was struggling up from where they had tumbled.

"They're alive," Tsukune said. "That's enough. Let them figure out how without evidence." He mounted Hiru, now in motorcycle form.

He concentrated his energy for a moment as he had learned to do. It was a skill he was not used to performing, but he had some confidence in pulling off. He carefully banished his wings and restored his clothing they way Kurumu had taught him.

"Ride ahead slowly," Tsukune instructed when he was done mending his jacket.

"Alright," Inari complied with a nod.

Tsukune followed her along carefully. Most of the time he rode in her tracks. Mostly it looked like somebody had ridden down the trail on a motorcycle, then flipped around and rode back the way they had come.

XxxX

When a newspaper investigated the story of the man that had been thrown from the truck but somehow survived, there was only a small blurb that mentioned flying creatures. The trail wasn't mentioned at all. The scar left in the vegetation was attributed to the man's incredibly lucky landing. A search for a motorcycle rider that may have been forced off the road turned up empty. The news story became something to be mentioned around as a safety lesson about riding in trucks, and one of those 'feel good' wonder and mystery stories. The man's own mention of flying creatures brought a short rise in interest of dragons and angles, which was satisfied by rebroadcasting of movies and television shows featuring those creatures.

It was a few weeks after the incident that Tsukune was able to share the story with Mizore during a visit with her. He had even brought along an article that Kurumu had written and sold to a newspaper inspired by the event. The title had been 'Cooking For Dragons and Dragon Riders.' It was humorously written, but also included some real recipes. The best was one using skewers to cook and serve spicy seasoned beef and vegetables. For the rider, the article emphasized a balanced diet to help support endurance and overall health. For the dragon it suggested using a small tree as the skewer and serving a whole side of beef.

Mizore found the piece amusing. She even used it in planing supper for Tsukune. She served him beef skewers on rice for dinner, seasoning it to be warming from within.

After eating, Tsukune stole a march on Mizore. While his winter wife was seeing to their daughter, he slipped into the kitchen and did the dishes. Mizore caught him in the act while he was half way done with drying the plates.

"Tsukune..." Mizore frowned. She liked doing things for him, and liked to do things herself when she could. Enough of her neighbors wanted to pamper her because she was a new mother. It had been more than a month since the delivery of her first baby, but some people still seemed to think she should still be recovering.

"Mizore," Tsukune said with an unashamed smile. "There is nothing wrong with me doing a little here and there to help out."

"But there is no need for you to bother yourself," Mizore argued.

"I was free to do the dishes," Tsukune pointed out. "And you were busy taking care of our baby."

"Yes," Mizore said. "Our baby." She smiled at him. Her expression turned calculating. "Tsukune, can I ask you something?" She stared to pull at her yukata.

"What is it?" Tsukune asked, wary of her intentions.

"Well after having a baby," She acted shyly as she opened the front of her yukata. "My breasts are different than before." She opened her robe more. "And I'm not as thin as I used to be." She pinched as her soft abdomen.

"Mizore..." Tsukune sighed.

"But Tsukune," She pouted. "I'm worried."

"Worried about what?" Tsukune questioned setting the last of the dishes aside.

"I am worried that you won't find me attractive any more," Mizore said with a small sniff.

"You are still beautiful to me," Tsukune said confidently.

"You promise?" Mizore asked.

"Yes," Tsukune nodded.

"Do you think I am still sexy?" Mizore batted her lashes and wiggled her hips.

"Very sexy," Tsukune said, starting to feel warm under the collar.

"I don't believe you," Mizore said with a small frown as she moved in on him. "I think you are just trying to me me feel better."

"I mean every word," Tsukune said, putting his arms around her as she reached out to hug him.

"If you mean it," Mizore said as she moved in for a kiss. "Then I want you to prove it."

The kiss they shared in the kitchen was just a beginning. By the time Fumusume woke up, crying for attention, Tsukune and Mizore had shared their passion for each other. After seeing to the baby's needs, Mizore returned to bed to share Tsukune's Warmth, and to take her pleasure from his touch all over again.