pishirogane | prismatica

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[She wasn't one to bullshit. He believed her. He just needed to believe in himself a little more. Going from zero to five at their age was gonna be pretty tough, but it seemed a lot of lives were going to change now.

Kanji sighed to gather himself.]

...Thanks, Naoto. I... heh.

[He fiddled with the ring on his finger.]

I guess we've done a lot of growin' up, both back home and here. This egg stuff just says, 'Hey, how 'bout you do a little more?'

... It has been a lot of growing, hasn't it? But, this does still seem a little fast.

[He's worried about being a good dad, but she's concerned about being a good mother. If they were home, she might have a better idea on what to do, but right now, on this planet and with its different culture, what age does one begin teaching their children about everything?]

Still, we've gotten through more grueling situations, haven't we?

Yeah, I'd say we have. Kickin' a goddess' ass and savin' a whole town ain't too shabby.

[He chuckled, which helped ease the weight of his worries upon his heart if but a little. He hoped he'd be a good dad, and he knew Naoto worried the opposite. He knew that, when it all came down to it, he wasn't the one to carry the eggs. He just had to be a fighter for her.]

But we also learned that if the goin' gets tough we can reach out, too. Dr. Natalus, the Prismals... we can still learn a whole lot from 'em!

A... what's it called? A support network. Thinkin' about that just... really, really helps.

That's right. We have our friends here and personnel willing to help us should we need it.

[So they weren't alone attempting to raise these eggs when it came down to it. They had some room for error on their part. Even if she hoped they wouldn't have to bother anyone too much.]

[Shifting a little more, the final egg was beginning to settle itself in place, but it wasn't ready just yet. Naoto would take the opportunity to help herself to a little more water then.]

Hell of a way to learn this part of life, huh? On a totally different planet with animal people, and your man's part dragon-monster.

[He made a showy shrug and laughed.]

I mean, I gotta admit I ain't a bad-lookin' dragon-monster, so there's that. Flying's nice, but it's always real tempting to howl at the moon.

[They had some time, so why not take it easy?]

And you're drawn to water and eat more veggies. I figured with you bein' part bunny you'd wanna like... make cute mochi or somethin'.

Mmm, you are someone to look at during the Sanguis moon. Remember, I don't mind if you howl at the moon; just make sure it's at a decent hour.

[He would not like waking her to a howl... not at all.]

Moc- ah, no. That hasn't happened. Honestly, the instincts I feel seem to change monthly except for the one.

Hah... of course. It's nicest at midnight anyway, highest point in the sky, and we're night owls anyway.

[He canted his head thoughtfully. It did seem to change time after time. Other than the souped-up libido, anyway. But he rubbed his chin, too. Maybe...]

Man, now I wanna make cute mochi... but anyway, you know I'm always up for anything that helps scratch the Iris itch. I mean... more than just that part. I've read up on wolves and local dragon lore and learned a whole bunch of things. Maybe we look into... let's see, rabbits, squid n' octopus...

[He wiggled his fingers like wings.]

Bats? For those cute little wings.

We are, but not every Prismal is. If we go to the Garden, you should be fine...

[At least there, they shouldn't be sleeping so letting Kanji howl there would be no problem; well, in theory. Someone might still make a noise complaint unless it was the Sagnuis moon.]

Hmm, well, the lore on mollusk isn't going to be favorable considering a certain Queen, but jellyfish, deer, rabbits, and bats... Looking at that up might help.

I'll see about doin' that. Deer research, too! I'm surprised ya never felt like dukin' it out with someone, autumn-style.

I get horns when I change. Maybe we could have a little fight.

[He grinned.]

Blow some steam n' all.

Hm... I suppose that, despite having antlers, I took on more doe traits than stag. Or, perhaps I never felt the need to challenge someone.

We could, but I doubt antlers stack up to horns.

[No pun intended. However, thinking about this for a while, she had to stop when the final egg felt closer to its needed position.]

It's time.

I s'pose not. Spars are nice but I dunno if it'd feel right fighting my girlfriend...

[Maybe to work out together, hit a punching bag? Who knows. But he felt strange all of a sudden. She spoke that it was time, and the gears clicked into place.]

Oof- yeah, I think so. A'right... let's rock. Blanket's ready.

[How quickly he snapped to game mode!]

... We could give it a try.

[Or just working out together. Work off some of the baby fat she put on carrying the eggs at least.]

Thank you.

[She could leave catching the egg to him. Trying to get a sense of it as she could finally begin to push it out, it felt bigger than the first, third, and fourth eggs, but not the same size as the second. It would take a little more effort to get it out, but out it would come soon enough, leaving Naoto sighing in relief.]

We'll figure somethin' out!

[But once the task was on, he fell silent and breathed, uttered encouragement. This last one was also a big one, huh? Holy cow... but he felt like he could take a big breath again once the weight of the egg fell into his palm. He quickly wrapped up that final shell.]

Holy crap! That's it... that's it, you did it!

[He scooted to her and gathered her up to hold her. All he could do was keep an eye on her and offer what aid he could, but she's had a hell of a week, hadn't she?]

Right...

[She was thankful for his encouragement. Honestly, having him here - while embarrassing again - was helpful. If not for catching the eggs, cheering her on and giving her strength.]

I-It appears I have...

[Breathing out again, she leaned into his hold. She could use that nap very soon, but maybe after a little tidying up.]

I toldja, you're amazing.

[He kissed her temple and was so relieved. Looking at the bundles now, he could hardly believe she was carrying all of those. If they functioned like the dragon eggs, he was thanking his lucky fuckin' stars that he'd become the blessing that he was with abundant chroma. He'd need to pull a whole hell of a lot of his weight.

He stooped and kissed her, a moment's relief and affection. She was no doubt sore, tired, both feelings tugging at the edge of his awareness. He fondly tucked her hair behind her ears.]

Hey... got enough in the reserves for me to get a bath goin' for ya? Get all those muscles relaxed...?

There's a big ol' back rub in it for ya.

Mmm, you did.

[She hoped they weren't wholly like dragon eggs. Again, the amount of Chroma that would be required to hatch all of them may make them call for back-up. Still, looking over the bundled clutch now, she tilted her head. They had an interesting color to their shells.]

... For a bath and back rub? I think I can draw from my reserves.

Okay. I'll get that goin'.

[Despite his reluctance, he couldn't use the power of his mind to make the bathtub go, so he needed to pull away and take care of it.]

I'm gonna call around a bit too, see how people are doin'. If the hospitals got busy, I hope everybody else had safe deliveries too.

[Too bad, but telekinesis might be too much if either of them did possess it. So, back on the bed she would settle while he pulled away.]

Alright. I might shut my eyes for a moment, but wake me up when you're finished.

'Course.

[He smiled her way, then left to take care of things. The white noise of rushing water sounded from down the hall, soon followed by the rumble of his voice. Kanji was working to keep his voice down in case she was having a cat nap, conducting the phone calls to check on the others. How were Souji and Yosuke doing? Was Rise well? How were Ren and the Crime Pack...?]

[Was this what it felt like to finally feel content? It seemed as though both her Ostella and Iris halves calmed in the mere presence of the five eggs while they waited for them, incubating them every day and supplying them with ample Chroma, trying to ensure their growth and healthy hatching when that time came.]

[When would that be? It was a wonder... until that morning.]

[A small shake from one became a wiggle from two more and a hop from the fourth while the fifth just rolled. Naoto watched them with wide eyes, unaware that she was holding her breath. She understood the accelerated pregnancy, but they were ready to hatch so soon??]

[He finally understood what it was like when all those new families in Inaba seemed to basically sparkle, caring and just living with the kids and spouses. Learning the others all had eggs to tend to loaned to an interesting dynamic, learning who rose to the occasion (Souji) and who freaked out (Yosuke).

Yet the question remained on what would emerge from the shells. Were they dragons? Were they human? Were they human with animal traits, looking more like the prismals? They wouldn't know and everyone had their theories.

But that morning, Kanji sat in fascination, his cup of tea set on the table to keep him from dropping it in shock. Instead he had a book in hand, paging through a tome on child-rearing for first-timers among the Lyestellans.]

O-okay... so according to this, they'll hatch on their own and won't need help. Touchin' the shells to offer chroma can help keep the baby strong through what's an "exhausting process". They'll be sleepy after but it's normal.

[He set the book aside and went to take turns laying hands on the wiggling, hopping, rolling shells for moments at a time.]

Damn, I hope the onesies are the right sizes...! Hell, the right shape!

[Was it any surprised that their Senpai took this all in stride? Yosuke cracking (no pun again intended) at the pressure was not too surprising either. Still, the fact all of them seemed to have eggs...]

[If there was a pool going, Naoto would guess they would emerge more dragon due to the influence that resulted in their conception. Of course, it didn't matter what they looked like; they were about to be parent.]

Hm, so like the dragon eggs before more or less. I'm sure we can do that...

[But, if they truly began to struggle, she didn't know. Personally, she felt she might need to help, but she would try to contain herself. If they should hatch without their assistance, they had to let them.]

Even if they're not, I'm sure you'll be able to fix them.

I've done more drastic alteration work, that's for sure.

[So jumpy... c'mere, you. He will hold the roly-poly one still to keep what's inside from hurting themselves.]

I dunno if eggs should be this active! Is it because of us? The chroma? Or are we gonna have a bunch of sporty kids?

[Crap, get back here! Hoppy egg gets caught in a palm.]

We'll just hope it's not that drastic.

[The rolling egg rolls a little more. Nooo, don't stop it.]

I don't know, but all of those are quite possible.

[If they're this energetic outside of their shells, Kanji might have to help them burn off that excess energy. She placed a hand on the shaking egg before it fell over itself. In the last hopping egg, a crack was beginning to form at the side.]

[Ooooi oi, Dad says be careful. You're gonna be a little troublemaker, aren't you? Oh god, was this what Ma meant when she warned him to 'wait until he has sons and daughters of his own'?]

You guys can be whatever you wanna be! But first you all gotta come out, y'hear me?

[Hopper was cracking! Holy shit, this is it!]