"… Mommy, are you sure she'll like me?" Mika Takanashi asks shyly, desperately clinging to her mother's hand like it's her only lifeline.

Mommy smiles down at Mika, that kind and pretty smile that makes Mika's heart thump in her chest and her face flush. Uwah~!

Mika's mommy really is the prettiest mommy in the whole world when she smiles like that!

"Oh, I'm sure Kaina will love you. You're as cute as a button, don't you worry about a thing~!" Alice coos, reaching down to pat Mika on the head. But even that brief contact doesn't assuage Mika's worries.

"… But what if – What if she doesn't like me?" Mika wails anxiously. "She's never even met me before…"

"Hmm…" Alice scoops Mika into her arms, and Mika pointedly buries her face within her mommy's very soft, very nice-smelling chest. So soft, so warm…!

… It's almost enough to make the butterflies in Mika's stomach stop fluttering. Almost.

"Kaina and I made you together. You know this, right darling?" Alice whispers, her voice soothing, like she's trying to calm down a scared animal. Mika's not scared though! Mika's a big girl now! Big girls don't get scared!

"… Yeah," Mika admits mullishly into her mommy's chest. "You and mother Kaina made me out of some other girl."

"So that means that Kaina's already met you, you just weren't awake the first time around," Alice explains calmly. "So you have nothing to worry about, okay?"

"… Okay, mommy," Mika mumbles, burying herself deeper into her mother's cleavage, letting her mother carry her to meet Kaina Shikinami. Infinity Princess. The coolest Magical Girl in Terminus City – Well, second-coolest. Mika's mommy is definitely the coolest Magical Girl and when Mika grows up she hopes she can be like her mommy, ordering around the maids and scaring bad guys and posing dramatically when she doesn't think anyone's looking.

Wait, that's not the point. The point is that Infinity Princess is cool. Mika knows this, Mika's watched some of those old videos mommy Alice left out where Infinity Princess punched a kaiju into orbit! So strong, so cool even if she's only the second coolest,and she's as pretty as mommy is...

… So intimidating.

Uwah.

"Lupe, has the feast been prepared?" Mika hears her mommy ask.

"Mistress, you prepared the feast yourself-"

"Has it been plated?" Alice asks with just a hint of sharpness in her tone.

"It has. Shall I let-"

"Yes, yes, let my love in already, it's high time Mika got to meet her other mommy. Goodness gracious, Lupe," Alice huffs, adjusting her hold on Mika, shifting her to the side.

Mika squirms, not entirely sure where to look. At auntie Lupe? At the door where – Where her other mommy is about to come in? Maybe it'd be better to stare at mommy's face again, mommy has one of those faces that Mika really wants to mimic, especially when she does that thing with her eyebrows-

The door opens, and Mika sucks in a breath, quickly looking towards the entrance to Alice's penthouse suite. Oh fiddlesticks, what if mother Kaina doesn't think Mika was paying attention?!

Wait, that's…

"Uwah, pretty," Mika breathes out as she takes in the sight of her other mother for the first time. Kaina Shikinami – Infinity Princess – Really is as cool-looking as she is in the vids and the news articles. Her face is flawless, her golden hair's so lustrous, and her eyes…!

So intense! It's kind of scary, but in a good way?

And her outfit is amazing too! She's in full Magical Girl regalia. Her crystal sword's sheathed by her side, and her white armor gleams underneath the dim lights of the penthouse. She's the quintessential knight in shining armor, the very vision of a paladin that smites evil.

So pretty and cool. No wonder mommy fell in love with her.

… Oh no, she's staring right at Mika now!

"Kaina~!" Mika's mommy cheers. "Welcome home!"

"Ah," Kaina nods. "I'm home. I'm sorry I took so long. There was another riot on Main Street that had to be put down. But, who are you…?"

"You don't recognize her? Kaina, this is our daughter, Mika! Say hi, Mika!"

"H – Hi!" Mika waves shyly, then ducks her head in order to avoid Kaina's gaze. "It's – It's nice to meet you, mother…"

A brief moment of silence passes, and Mika swallows nervously. Did – Did she get that right…?

-

Kaina, this is our daughter, Mika!

Our daughter, Mika!

Ours. Our daughter, daughter. Daughter, daughter, daughter, Alice's child-

Kaina breathes out sharply, then sucks in a bracing breath as those words, those impossible words continue to swirl around in her mind.

It's strange. Even though Kaina made this girl with Alice, even though Kaina helped sculpt her from the ground up, somehow…

Somehow, Kaina wasn't expecting to meet her daughter. Probably because deep down, Kaina wasn't ever expecting to be allowed to have a daughter.

There was just no time for that before – Before Kaina met Alice.

There was no time to think about family, or a future. No time at all to think beyond creating the idyllic paradise Mitsuko dreamed of so very long ago. A world with no monsters where everybody could be happy and nobody would cry was something that seemed... Incompatible with some of the other things Kaina used to desire.

Did Kaina ever have dreams, or aspirations before Mitsuko went to heaven? Kaina can't remember, not anymore. Not after a lifetime of fighting, and violence, and endless days spent trying to make the world a better place one slain monster at a time. There was no place for Kaina Shikinami in the creation Mitsuko's idealized world – There was no space for Kaina when Infinity Princess was needed to create the perfect utopia.

Which meant that was certainly no space for Kaina to have friends, let alone a family of her own again.

And yet, here Kaina's daughter is, standing in front of her. Mika Takanashi – Is that her name? Is she using Alice's last name? Kaina almost wants to ask, but the words hang awkwardly in her mouth, weighing down her clumsy tongue. It's always like this, Kaina's always like this when she needs to say something important. But – But…!

Kaina, this is our daughter, Mika!

Those words, why are those words echoing through Kaina's head like this?

"Our daughter…?" Kaina winds up repeating instead of asking the question she wants to ask. "I don't-"

"Well, we made her together. You remember, don't you Kaina? I know it's been a week but-"

"No, no I – I remember," Kaina replies slowly, her head spinning as she looks down at the tiny human she helped create. Watches as Mika peers up shyly through her pink bangs – Pink hair the same shade as Alice's! And her eyes…! Those eyes are exactly the same as the ones Kaina stares at in the mirror. That's right, Alice talked Kaina into giving their daughter her eyes didn't she?

She's so small.

So fragile, so tiny.

And all the more precious because of that, so very precious and adorable Kaina can't resist the urge to reach out involuntarily. It's a purely instinctual movement, made because Kaina just can't stop herself from touching Mika. Kaina's palm lands on top of Mika's head, and Kaina marvels at how soft Mika's hair is, at how nice the disparate strands feel between her fingers. So silky-smooth, as nice as Alice's hair is…!

And in that moment something clicks within Kaina's mind. Something lightens within her chest, something swells up within her heart. Ah, this feeling. It's the same sensation Kaina felt when she kissed Alice for the first time, that familiar tickle-pop sensation that makes Kaina's skin tingle.

This is too much. It's too much. But...

"Oh," Kaina breathes out, looking up to stare at Alice. "Alice, we - We have a daughter."

"… Yes we do!" Alice says at length. "Kaina, are you-"

"I'm fine…"

Yes. Everything is fine.

Everything is perfect, everything makes sense now.

And with those words, Kaina swoops in, wrapping her arms around her daughter, nuzzling her face into the crook of her daughter's neck. She's small, and warm – Just like Alice's hands feel. Hugging her feels like – It's like Kaina's wrapped herself in a blanket of bright sunshine. The feeling of Mika's soft cheek against Kaina's face smells like the comforting smell of marshmallows in hot chocolate. There's that familiar synesthesia again, the tingling crackle-pop that makes all the colors in the world that much louder...

Is this what happiness tastes like? What it smells like?

It's nice...

Kaina doesn't know how long she stays like that, arms wrapped around her daughter. But she knows, she knows deep in her heart that no matter how long it was it didn't last nearly long enough.

"M – Mother?!" Mika squeaks, snapping Kaina out of her brief reverie.

"Yes, I'm your mother," Kaina says, and oh how her heart thrums upon whispering those words into her daughter's ear. I'm your mother, you're my daughter, I am yours and you are mine, mine, mine…

-

Well, those two are certainly getting along!

You're Alice Takanashi! Void Heart. Dark Magical Girl extraordinaire, giver of life, and dang proud of the cute little girl you've managed to craft from what used to be a psychotic tortured cyborg. Hmm-hmm! You do some good work if you do say so yourself. Mika's as cute as can be, the smallest, most adorable little angel this sinful earth's ever seen.

What? You're a parent now! You're obliged to brag about your kid, especially since you literally made this one! With your hands, and not even your womb!

Whatever, who cares what other people think when Kaina thinks Mika's cute!

In fact, Kaina hasn't stopped hugging Mika one bit since she met your science-daughter in the flesh again. Even now, Mika's perched precariously in Kaina's lap, getting the daylights hugged out of her. This is kind of a funny place to be, considering your kid's penchant for hugging other people until they explode.

Not literally, of course. Your darling angel knows how to control her strength now for the most part. She's only destroyed one of her dolls this week! Granted you're still going to have to keep an eye on her when she's with the maids, it wouldn't do to have one of your pets meet an untimely end. Murder is only ever appropriate for the filthy worthless meatsacks after all, pets are an entirely different matter altogether.

But still, it's kind of funny. And very cute. Ah, so cute~!

"Mika, darling, are you enjoying the food?"

"Yes!" Mika beams from her impromptu throne before going back to stuffing her face with one of the thick, juicy burgers you had specially prepared for her. Handmade, from you, with love – And the most expensive ingredients you could get your hands on, of course. That's a slab of real ground beef, dripping with grease, wedged between thick cuts of savory chedder cheese, lettuce, and tomato – All sandwiched between two fluffy, freshly-baked brioche buns of course.

"Mother, can I have a fry?" Mika asks.

"Mmh," Kaina murmurs, setting down the burger she was offering Mika, and picking up the platter of sweet potato fries instead. Your love's fingers reach down and she begins hand-feeding your daughter again with almost practiced ease. "Sure."

"And what about you, Kaina? Are you enjoying the food as well?" You probe.

"… I haven't eaten any yet but it looks delicious. I don't understand why you prepared special portions for me, though," Kaina blinks, as she eyes the untouched plate of food she'd set aside in favor of feeding Mika.

"Well that's because I, ahem, spiced up your plate," you say.

Kaina frowns. "Alice, you know I'm not good with spice…"

"Oh it's notspicy, I just added a bit of love and care! And maybe some of my essence," you giggle nervously upon seeing Kaina's nonplussed reaction. "You know, if you're okay having little bits of me inside of you-"

"You infused the food with your corrupted mana?" Kaina raises an eyebrow questioningly and you pause.

Okay, when she puts it like that it sounds like you're doing something nefarious. But you're not! You're really not for once in your life! Would a truly awful person tell their love interest that they were spiking their food? Of course not! And so what if you've roofied other people like this before. You weren't in love with them, they don't count!

"I infusedyour food with my corrupted mana. And I'm telling you about it now?" You offer. "I mean if you don't want that plate then I can totally get you another-"

-

Corruption +1

Kaina's Corruption - 101/200 (Stage Three)

-

"No, I want you in me." Kaina cuts you off, then forks up some salad from her plate and stuffs it in her mouth.

Kaina wants you in her?

Eh? Eh…? Did she just – Kyah~! How lewd!

Kaina pauses upon seeing your, ahem, overly excited reaction to her statement. Her jaw stops mid-chew as she furrows her brow and parses exactly what she just said. "… That came out wrong, didn't it?"

Hee.

"Mmhmm~!" You giggle as pink points of color begin to blotch Kaina's cheeks. Ah, poor Kaina, so easy to fluster.

"What came out wrong, mommy?" Mika asks, and you reach over to pat your darling angel on the head.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about Mika. Just grown-up talk!"