In this day and age, LEGO bricks are relatively rare. All of the Lego factories got blown up in the chaos and horror of the Resource Wars. Recycling efforts wound up consuming a lot of the remaining stock – With a sudden lack of readily-accessible oil due to the fact that most of the oceans became carpeted with autonomous mines and most of the world's oil deposits had been depleted, it became more efficient to recycle existing plastics and polymers for commercial use.
So many children's toys were consigned to the scrapyards. Those were truly some dark times. Collectors wound up hoarding the Lego bricks that remained from those dark times – There's an entire museum in California owned by an eccentric trillionaire that's dedicated to preserving this antiquated line of plastic construction toys.
"Mommy! Mommy! Come look at my castle!"
"Ooh~!" You cheer, clapping your hands together gleefully as you eye the small plastic brick structure Mika's just spent the last few hours laboring over. "That's pretty nice, darling. Good job!"
It's not a proper castle per se. More like a small tower in terms of its size. It's still very cute though, especially with the way Mika's posed those little knight minifigurs all around her fortress. Very small, very cute, andvery expensive.
Not that expensiveness particularly matters to you. Cost is relative when you have catgirl maids on standby and plenty of acceptable targets to steal from. Stealing toys from the garbage people is hardly a crime too! That loser was a human trafficker or something anyways, he was working with those Jade Tigers.
So, honestly, who really cares how annoying or inconvenient it was to get proper toys for Mika? Anything to put a smile on your angel's face~! Ah, your daughter's so lovable it makes your heart go doki-doki…
"Think I'm just about done too," Kaina murmurs off to the side, and you take a moment to regard your love and the castle she's put together from her own assortment of bricks.
And, yep, your love's overdone things again. You could fit a hundred of Mika's small castles into Kaina's gargantuan 200,000-brick-large monstrosity that's sprawling across half of the table. The keep's soaring towers, built into an artificial cliffside, loom menacingly over the play space. Legions of knights and squires guard the battlements of the fortress Kaina's constructed. Every inch of this gargantuan fortress has been detailed, from the foliage to the gargoyles on the walls to the little flags that have been perched at the very top of each tower.
Kaina's even started to construct and place Lego siege weaponry to guard her keep. Giant ballistas and catapults, cranked out by the dozens. Her hands are a constant blur of activity as she ruthlessly scoops bricks up, assembles them into functioning creations, and deposits them in a neat pile to be placed later. Your love's leveraging her superhuman dexterity to slot together lego bricks with factory-like precision.
It's kind of awesome to see.
Especially since she's making Lego dragons. Yep, that's definitely a dragon she's working on now.
Gosh, Kaina really got into the spirit of things today, huh?
"Uwah…" Mika whispers. "… Mother's really good at building castles. So big!"
"…" Kaina blushes as her hands freeze, then she goes to shyly duck her face behind the giant fortress she built to avoid eye contact. "It's too much, isn't it?"
Ah, so that's where Mika gets some of her shyness from. Huh, that makes a lot of sense!
"No, this is juuuuust fine. A bigger castle just means that we can conduct an even larger siege!" You say as you empty out another bucket of minifigs so you can start assembling your own make-believe army. "Mika, get the knights ready. Rally the troops!"
"Um – Um, okay!" Mika giggles, her tiny hands clutching a few of her favorite minifigures as she poses them in appropriate positions on her tower. "The knights of Mikatown call for reinforcements! Mommy, what troops do you think we should get?"
"Oh, I don't know, a few archers, maybe some trolls. Those gates look pretty strong! But we won't give up, Kaina!" You pose dramatically, pointing a finger at your love even as you cock your hips and pump your fist in the air.
"Y – Yeah!" Mika stammers as she stands up suddenly and mimics your pose clumsily. Aaaaah~! That's just so cute, it's so cute… "Fight us, mother!"
"Alright then. Come at me seriously," Kaina nods, the epitome of seriousness.
-
Hours of playtime later, Kaina finds herself reading a very familiar bedtime story to her new daughter.
"And so the Red Sun Maiden fired her flaming blasts at the ogre," Kaina says. "But the terrible ogre was immune to fire, so she had to retreat. The Blue Sun Maiden used her ice powers to try to freeze the monster solid, but its strength was so great it easily broke through her ice."
"Then what happened?" Mika asks sleepily.
Kaina blinks, coaxing the next paragraphs of this story out of her mind. What did Kaina's mother say again, how did this story go when she told it to Kaina so very long ago…?
Ah, that's right.
"The Ogre roared, raising its fist at the Blue Sun Maiden, causing the Red Sun Maiden to panic," Kaina says. "Because her darling was about to be crushed-"
Mika lets out a surprised gasp. "They were in love? But they were arguing with each other this whole time! Ever since the queen told them they needed to defeat the Ogre together!"
"Some tsuns express their emotions differently, darling," Alice interjects from her position on the other side of Mika. "There are some people who love each other but can't express their feelings properly because they think it's embarrassing. Didn't the Red Sun Maiden think the Blue Sun Maiden was pretty?"
"Oh, that's right, she did!" Mika nods enthusiastically. "So they really were in love with each other the whole time? But neither of them knew?"
"Aah," Kaina agrees. "They really were. And because of that, the Red Sun Maiden's magic began to swell. Her flames burned hotter and more brightly as her passions flared. Now she was fighting for something beyond her silly pride – She was fighting for her love. Which is why, when she attacked the Ogre again, her flames managed to knock the beast onto its back. The Red Sun Maiden used that distraction to run to the Blue Sun Maiden and help her up, before loudly announced that she wouldn't let this monster hurt the girl she likes."
"And then what happened?" Mika asks, her small fists going up to her face so she can try to rub the sleepiness from her bleary eyes.
"The Blue Sun Maiden was stunned by the Red Sun Maiden's confession, and something in her icy heart thawed upon hearing it. And because of that, her magic grew more powerful as well; so when the Ogre got up and tried to smash the Red Sun Maiden, the Blue Sun Maiden created a wall of ice to protect her love that was so thick, the Ogre's fist bounced off its slippery surface," Kaina explains.
"Ooh~!" Mika and Alice let out excited gasps in sync.
"The Red Sun Maiden and the Blue Sun Maiden used the distraction to join hands and combine their mystic powers. They thrust their palms forward and unleashed a beam of the purest, mightiest, most potent magic in the entire world to blast through the wall and pierce the Ogre's heart. And that was how the Sun Maidens slew the Ogre."
"… And then what happened, mother?" Mika asks again.
"The Sun Maidens gathered the remains of the Ogre and returned home to present the Ogre's body to their goddess. The goddess blessed their return, and when the Sun Maidens decided to get married, she blessed their union. The Two Suns would live happily ever after, side by side, united at last."
"A happy ending?" Alice asks.
"Yes. It was a very happy ending," Kaina nods. "At least, that's what my mother used to say when she told this story to me."
"I liked that story, mommy…" Mika lets out an enormous yawn. "… Really sleepy now, though… Zzz…"
Kaina watches quietly as her daughter closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep. She reaches out, running her fingers across Mika's face, eyes hungrily taking in the sight of Mika's tiny frame. A part of Kaina almost longs to wake Mika again, to see her green eyes glistening with life, to hear her enthusiastic chatter and to see her happy smile.
What is Mika thinking, as she dreams? As her chest rises and falls with every soft breath she takes? Is she having good dreams? Kaina hopes Mika is having good dreams. Dreams that aren't tainted with blood and death and loss, like Kaina's dreams are.
"I guess you really like Mika, huh?" Alice says quietly, her voice hushed so she doesn't inadvertently wake Mika. "I'm glad. The two of you looked like you really got along today…"
"… I love her, Alice. I know I do. I…" Kaina pauses, hesitant. "Is that normal?"
"Hmm? Is what normal?"
"I – I've only known Mika for a day, but every time I look at her I… I…" Kaina pauses. What are the right words to use here…? "Every time she was happy today, it made me happy. When she cried, I wanted to wipe away her tears. And when she's scared, or frightened, or if she's having a nightmare-"
"You want to protect her, even in her dreams?" Alice asks, a knowing smile creasing her lips.
"Yes…" Kaina breathes. "Yes. That's right. If she's having a nightmare, then I – I want to be there in order to slay her nightmares. Is that – Is that unusual?"
"No. Not at all. It's perfectly normal, when you're the parent to a cute child like Mika," Alice reaches out, fondling teasing a lock of Mika's hair in a gesture of loving affection. "It would be stranger if you didn't feel that way, Kaina."
"But it's so quick. It was so… So fast. I knew she existed before, but I…" But somehow, Kaina didn't think about the fact that she had a daughter until she laid eyes on Mika again and saw how lively her daughter was with her own eyes. There was too much to focus on, far too much. The riots might have died down and the worst of the supernatural horrors might have been purged, but Terminus City is a city that never rests.
But somehow, that doesn't feel like a good enough excuse anymore. Somehow the excuse that 'I was too busy to think about my daughter' feels hollow and empty, makes Kaina feel guilty and unclean. A small blight on this moment of tranquility Kaina's found which is made all the more crueller because Kaina knows that even if she wants to freeze time and live in this moment forever, peace can't possibly last. Not when the world's in as dire a state as it is. And not when Kaina – Infinity Princess – is needed elsewhere.
Not when Kaina needs to leave Alice and Mika again, and soon.
Is it alright to love someone this much even though you know you'll have to leave them?
"It's normal to fall in love this fast, Kaina. It's normal to love your children. To care for them. To want what's best for them," Alice lays a comforting hand on Kaina's shoulder, and something in Kaina's chest relaxes. A worried knot of tension uncoils from between the blades of her shoulders. Ah, Alice's hand is so soft and warm, so very soothing. And her scent is…
Is...
Kaina sniffs as a metallic tang wafts through her nostrils, settling near her tongue. No, it's not just metal – There's the essence of iron in this scent, but it's sweeter. Lighter, almost like it's been mixed with honey and butter. It's an unfamiliar delicious scent, a mouthwatering smell centered around Alice…
Somehow, Alice smells even more delicious than usual. Kaina didn't even think that was possible. Alice smells so delicious already, but Alice must've made the impossible possible. Whatever this scent is, it's certainly effective. Even now, Kaina has to resist the urge to mar Alice's pale skin with hickeys, to rip open Alice's shirt and suckle on her plump tits, to hug Alice to her side and never let her go...
"Alice? Why do you smell different?" Kaina asks, her nostrils flaring as she sniffs again. Come to think of it, Alice also looks a little different tonight too. Somehow her skin and hair are more lustrous, her eyes more luminescent…
"Hey, hey! You noticed!" Alice asks, obvious pleasure filling her voice. "Hmm. Kaina, do you remember that conversation we had a while ago? About girls having babies with other girls? And how I was working on special medicine that would let girls have babies with other girls?"
Kaina blinks, jerking upright as Alice leans in to whisper directly into Kaina's ear.
"Well, I'm on that medication right now. And I'm ovulating," Alice's voice quickly becomes husky and seductive, and Kaina feels herself swallow down a nervous lump as Alice's sexy voice fills her eardrums. A cold shiver rips down Kaina's spine as Alice's arousing whispers fill her ears, making Kaina's head go soft and mushy. "Hey, Kaina, did you know I can control when I get my cycles? Biomancy's so wonderfully convenient, isn't it my love~? So I'm ovulating, and you can get me pregnant tonight. Which means, well, you know… We could give Mika a sibling now that she's asleep. All night, if that's what you want."
Kaina feels twin spots of heat blossom on her cheeks. An unconscious, pleasure-filled shiver wracks her shoulders as she contemplates exactly what Alice just said. Babies. Alice's babies. Giving Alice a baby, making a baby with Alice. Putting a baby into Alice's womb that would turn into another daughter to love and cherish, just like Mika. More miniature versions of Alice with pink hair and sparkling eyes, except this time Alice's belly would grow round and soft and it'd probably be nice to nuzzle against, there'd be physical changes to Alice's body-
"Yes, that is exactly what I want," Kaina blurts out, forcing herself to resist the urge to squeeze Alice against her chest because the sudden movement would disturb Mika, and Alice lets out a squeal of excitement in response before sheepishly muffling herself.
"Kyah~! How exciting! But we shouldn't do the deed here, Mika's sleeping here!" Alice whispers frantically.
"… Right," Kaina nods sheepishly. It wouldn't do to disturb Mika's rest.
But there's something else, too. Something that Kaina needs to bring up, a topic that's thoroughly dampened Kaina's mood now that she's remembered it. Yes, as much as Kaina wants this, wants to make a baby with Alice...
She shouldn't right now. She can't. Not when the MGA have asked for Infinity Princess to be the vanguard for a campaign against Ul'tharion the Unclean. There's no room right now for another child, not when Kaina needs to be Infinity Princess instead of Kaina Shikinamii; when she needs to be a Magical Girl instead of a girlfriend or a mother.
It's a pity. It's a shame that this wonderful moment of tranquility can't extend into eternity. If only Kaina could spend the rest of her life like this, living a happy life with her new family. If only Kaina didn't have to leave, if only, if only…
"We can't make a baby tonight," Kaina realizes, shoulders drooping as crushing disappointment overtakes her mood. "Not now. It's a bad time. It's - Alice, I have to tell you something," Kaina wets her lips briefly as she attempts to express herself again. "I… The MGA…"
"You're being sent away, aren't you?" Alice asks, and Kaina feels herself sag with relief. Of course, Alice would know. Of course, Alice would understand what Kaina was trying to say. Alice always understands, that's what makes Alice so special.
"… Yes. I…. There's…" Kaina stutters, trying to find the right words to use.
"Which threat from the Black List are you going after? Amar? Culexis? One of the girls from New Vegas?" Alice asks.
"… Ul'tharion the Unclean," Kaina admits.
Alice pauses, her eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise. "That creep's still around? I thought the MGA kicked his butt five years ago. Last I heard Nihil Eschaton personally dropped fifty atom bombs into his hidey-hole."
"Apparently he's back. At least that's what Max says. The MGA wants me to join their campaign into the Great Beyond. They need a strong vanguard to fight off the hordes of eldritch-spawn there. And I…"
"You're invulnerable, you're hooked up to a practically limitless amount of mana, and you can fight day and night for weeks on end without rest," Alice summarizes. "Which makes you the perfect vanguard for any expedition."
"Yes," Kaina closes her eyes wearily.
"How long is the campaign expected to be?"
"… A month," Kaina replies. "They think it'll take a month. Three to four weeks at best. At worst…"
"You could be gone for longer. Much longer."
"Yes," Kaina whispers and something in her heart pangs at that admission. A few months ago, Kaina would have been fine with that knowledge. Evil must be fought. That's something Mitsuko drilled into Kaina.
And it's something Kaina still believes in. There is a world that could exist where everybody is happy and nobody cries. Alice and Mika should exist in that world, and they should be happy. Safe. They can't be happy and safe if eldritch monster from beyond the stars end the world as Kaina knows it. Kaina has the strength to fight off any monsters that threaten that happiness. This makes Kaina the best candidate to leave. It's the same logic Kaina's been using all her life as Infinity Princess.
"But I don't want to go," Kaina thinks to herself. It's a surprising thought to have, but it's the truth. But there's a growing part of Kaina that just… Doesn't want to go. Doesn't want to ever leave Alice or Mika, not when Kaina's only just found them. Not when they could slip through Kaina's fingers just like Mitsuko's did, when she - When she died.
But objectively, Kaina needs to go on this campaign. Infinity Princess is needed to save the world. But in doing so…
"But I don't want to spend time away from you," Kaina murmurs. "And – And I don't want to spend time away from Mika. Not when we've only just found each other. But… But…!"
-
+20 corruption.
Kaina's corruption: 121/200 (Stage 3)