The Fallen Vampire

"And... there. All done, my little darling." Inadu stepped back.

Standing at her feet was the very small Yukiko, who was finally dressed in a simple long-sleeve tunic with small shorts underneath.

A pair of basic sandals had been crafted onto her feet; made from softer scraps of leather so that they would gently protect her soles until the group could get back to a city and find her some more fitting replacements.

"But are you sure you don't want me to take up the sleeves a little more, my little blossom?" Inadu asked in concern.

"No, mama! Likes this!" Yukiko held up her shirt sleeves that were clearly too long for her arms.

"I.. well, if you're sure you won't have any complaints." Ina smiled.

"Never!" Yukiko beamed.

"Are we ready now?"

The door was suddenly opened and Taira poked his head inside of the bedroom.

"Papa, look at mee!"

Yukiko suddenly came running up to him while wearing her new outfit; irrefutably pleased with herself.

Taira's face beamed with pride as he took her into his arms.

"You look magnificent, my dear. Ten thousand cherry blossoms could not compare to you."

"Hehe!"

Inadu smiled beautifully at the sight of her husband in a way that she hadn't ever seen him. Experience tales at empire

Last night, Yukiko got tired after the family's impromptu game of chase and fell asleep right in his arms.

Finally, the adults realized that they had been running around for nearly two hours. They must've run across every part of the island by then though.

Vermeil and Enyo recalled that children were in dire need of structure and routine when they were Yukiko's age. Demi-humans even more so.

So, they had to have their first official night as parents.

They woke their daughter, fed her something healthy and delicious, got her into a bath, and then tucked her in for bed somewhere past midnight.

…Did they make a mistake with her bedtime? Yes. But they could get her on a better schedule from now on.

Taira was by far the most doting. He and Yukiko seemed almost joined at the hip.

He made jokes that he'd never made before, used his powers to make cute little illusions of dancing animals, and so much more that Ina could barely remember it all.

He had been transformed.

Something inside of Taira's very spirit had healed when Yukiko got her new form.

He was still the same man, but now he almost seemed… free. Unburdened by his past and the world.

It was as if he now had the outlook that if everything he had been through had led him to this moment, then he wouldn't change a thing.

Ina didn't know if he would have said that before.

But the one thing she could say for sure was that she had fallen in love with him all over again.

"I suppose everyone left us behind today, little blossom. I wonder why they didn't feel like waiting for us..?" Taira glanced at Ina.

The spider demon rolled her eyes and smiled. "You both slept until lunch. Running around late last night seems to have caught up with you before you knew it."

"Wunch?" Yukiko's eyes sparkled.

Taira felt her little stomach rumble against his chest and he laughed again as he led them outside.

"Well, let's see if we can find you something then. Anything you're in the mood for, blossom?"

Yukiko seemed to think about it hard until smoke nearly came out of her ears.

But all the extra brain power she expended was apparently well worth it.

"Donuts and apple jelly!"

"Alright, then let's head to the kitchen and see if we can make-"

"I think we'll be holding off on that for today."

Taira and Yukiko both stared at Inadu with crestfallen looks. ""Shénme??"" (Whattt?)

"Don't 'shénme' me, you two. That's far too much sugar for you to consume after you've just woken up. You'll get jittery and upset your stomach."

"Jittery?" Yukiko tilted her head.

"It means you'll have too much energy that you won't know what to do with. You won't be able to sit down or keep still."

Yukiko had the mind of a five year old. Lots of energy didn't sound all that threatening to her. It just meant she could spend more time playing.

Inadu recognized this and quickly switched around her strategy.

"But of course… the real thing you should be worried about is upsetting your stomach." Inadu said in a somber voice.

"Stomach..? Why..?" Yukiko's ears drooped.

"Because you have a demi-human body now, babydoll. If you don't be careful with how you eat, then you can put your stomach in a looot of pain."

"Weally..?"

"Really." Ina nodded seriously. "You should ask your white hair mommy about the time she tried to eat cookie butter waffles and fried chicken in her old world."

Taira still remembered the time Vermeil first told him that story. According to her she did more damage to her stomach than a plastic surgeon.

*Gasp* "Don't want!" Yukiko covered her stomach.

"Well we don't want that for you either, darling. That's why I made some chicken congee for you. It'll be delicious and you won't upset your stomach."

At that moment, Keran came up the stairs carrying a wooden tray.

Sitting on it were two ceramic bowls with a steaming white porridge inside.

"Oh? You're both up already. Everyone is going to be so jealous that they missed you."

Keran kissed her daughter on both her cheeks, but only kissed Taira and Ina on one of theirs.

Normally they would have protested this disparity in treatment, but for right now Ina had bigger fish to fry.

"Sweetheart… What is that?" Ina asked with a smile that wasn't a smile.

Keran looked down at the few circular pastries sitting next to the bowls of congee.

Her eyes briefly flickered golden and a shimmering mirage seemed to cover up the evidence.

"…I don't know what you're talking about, darling." Keran smiled innocently.

"We talked about this! We can't just let her eat sugar at every meal!"

"But she looks so cute when she has it! Her little cheeks get all big and she does her adorable little happy dance!"

Ina looked like she had just been shot through the heart.

She also wanted to see her daughter's happy dance and see her tail swoosh happily as she ate!

WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE THAT?!

But Ina also wanted to be responsible and take care of the only daughter that they had!

"Keran, we need…"

Ina's words trailed off as Taira broke off a piece of a donut and fed it to their daughter right in front of them.

As they expected, Yukiko's reaction was almost indescribably adorable.

"There's no harm in letting her have a little bit like this… Besides, I'm almost certain she will have a fairly fast metabolism to keep up with her."

Yukiko didn't understand the second half of what her father just said, but she nodded her head along anyway in the hope that she would further help his point.

"Well… I suppose it'll be fine." Ina finally caved.

"Hooray!" Yukiko raised both fists in the air.

With a sight like this, Inadu was finding it much easier to believe she'd made the right decision.

Yukiko looted another small piece and held it in front of her father's mouth. "Papa want some too?" She offered Taira.

"No thanks, blossom. Your mothers have a… special dish to make my appetite go away."

Keran and Ina went from doting mothers to blushing brides in under a second.

It was clear that they were both caught off guard by his flirtation and needed a minute to compose themselves.

Keran was facing a particularly large difficulty in keeping her eyes from dipping below her husband's waistline.

It had been a couple of days for them now, and she was still a fox spirit like her husband. They had the exact same needs.

"W-We… I.. umm.." Keran began.

"T-Time for breakfast." Ina finished.

"Yes, that's right, breakfast." Keran nodded.

Taira smiled mischievously and was already planning how he could mess with them once they sat down at a table.

Along the way, the duo passed Shakti in the hall who kind of just stopped and stared at them.

It was clear that she had also just woken up. And that last night was still very fresh on her mind.

Since Keran and Taira were both 'starving' in a sense, they weren't discreet about how they raked their eyes over every inch of her body; making her shiver.

In the end, she just turned around and went right back into her quarters. She didn't have the mental fortitude to get out of bed and be dignified today.

For now, she was just going to pinch herself until she was sure she wasn't drinking, and then masterbate until the pads of her fingers resembled prunes.

Just as nature intended.

All things considered, Taira was having a pretty good morning.

Which was why it was so upsetting to him when an hour later, he was placing a blood curse on one of the other guests of the retreat.