CHAPTER 431: MONSTERS?

"Quitting time, my loves!"

Sei and Celeste looked up from their foldable tables with looks of disappointment.

"Maybe we should wait for a little bit longer, eh? We could come across someone who really needs our help."

Bianca stood up and stretched her stiff body underneath the gaze of the two older women. Attraction and palpable envy were clear as day across their faces.

"I think we administered aid to like eighty people today. Fifty of which I’m sure are going to be right back here tomorrow with new injuries."

Celeste and Sei couldn’t refute that. For some reason, they had come across a lot of tough types today. Several tried to rob them for their supplies.

But usually, all it took was a sun-sized ball of fire from Bianca to scare them into behaving.

The girls didn’t seem to take much offense to the attempted robberies. They helped administer aid to anyone who came to them, and anyone they brought as well.

With lots of fighting over territory, there were lots of injured people showing up. Not all superhumans heal the same after all.

Celeste and Sei shared a look between each other and seemingly made a decision.

"I think we’re going to stay out here for just another hour or two. Just to make sure we don’t miss anyone."

Bianca made a slightly pouty expression. "But... I promised I’d meet Jo after her appointment and I wanted to help Anna get to work on school arrangements for the gi-"

"You can still go do all of that, honey. We appreciate you, but we don’t need you to watch over us. We’ll be fine on our own."

Bianca’s lip twitched. It was as if her wife’s words had gone in one ear and out the other.

"I-I’ll still give Serana a call just in case-"

""Bianca!""

"I just want to make sure you’re both safe!"

Sei pursed her lips. "I’m not exactly helpless without you, Bianca. My powers are still working fine."

"I may not know what my powers are yet, but I’m pretty sure no one is going be able to knock me over the head and kidnap me with this new hard head of mine."

Bianca barely heard half of what Celeste said. All she could do was picture her wife getting struck in the head and thrown in the back of an ice cream truck.

She started to sit back down.

"...M-Maybe I’ll just stick around a little longer until you’re both ready to-"

"No." Sei replied firmly. "Please, go and be with Joanne, and go help Anna. Everything will be okay here."

Sei knew why Bianca was reluctant to leave them. Lately, it seemed like things were happening to them that they had never even considered possible.

They were all reeling from the loss of their child in one way or another. Bianca’s overprotective nature was just another manifestation of her grief that she didn’t know how to deal with.

"Come here." Sei beckoned.

Bianca awkwardly shuffled forward with an expression like a kicked puppy.

Sei cupped her wife’s face in her hands and tugged her cheeks like they were made of taffy.

"Nothing is going to happen to us, love. But if you don’t get out of my face right this second, you are going to have a very angry wife in your lap. And that WILL be dangerous."

"I like it when you’re in my lap though.."

"I can guarantee you that this time you won’t."

Bianca blinked innocently; completely unfazed.

Sei wanted to scream. "Why am I not intimidating?!"

"Probably because you’re sitting on a bakery."

Sei’s face turned beet red.

Smiling, Bianca leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I’ll leave you two alone, but I promise I’m coming back."

Before Sei could refuse, Bianca moved over to Celeste and delivered her a small kiss as well.

She backed away from them with a helpless smile on her face. Orange flames began to lick at the bottom of her sneakers.

"Try not to miss me too much."

Bianca rocketed into the sky and left the two of them behind.

The wives watched her leave with an amused yet helpless look.

"That girl... she’s certainly something isn’t she?"

Celeste nodded fondly. "All that and more it seems."

For a moment, the women shared another glance at each other without saying a word.

It was clear that they were both thinking of just how unusual a course their lives had taken.

But then again, they weren’t exactly complaining much either.

"We’re all going to be okay." Sei suddenly said.

Celeste stared at her curiously. "I wasn’t worried about that though..."

"I was." Sei finally admitted aloud. "This is the first thing that’s really shaken us all up since..."

Sei’s words slowly trailed off. It was still hard for her to talk about what life was like when Malachi suddenly went missing.

Mentally, it was one of the hardest times of her life. She didn’t think she’d ever be whole again.

She felt similarly in the days after the family lost their child. The only difference was now she hurt as a wife and a mother.

Sei looked up into the sky at the trail of black smoke Bianca had left in her wake. Her thumb gently glided over Celeste’s knuckles as she held her close.

"I don’t know why, but... I guess I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel today. And I’m relieved because of it."

Celeste smiled at her sweetly.

She squeezed her hand and brought it to her lips. "Nothing is going to tear this family apart. We’re all going to come out of this stronger than before."

"Gods, I hope so... I don’t want to go through anything like this ever again."

Celeste flinched for a moment but didn’t respond. Sei started to ask her what was the matter when they suddenly heard the loud roar of a vehicle.

A fleet of armored cars came barreling down the empty street.

The cars stopped abruptly in front of Sei and Celeste’s camp, and a large figure jumped out of the back.

By the time his boots hit the ground, Sei had straightened her posture and let go of Celeste’s hand.

"F-Father, you’re here..!"

Sei’s father wore his usual unassuming and calculating look as he looked around the street.

He nodded to the other cars and a fleet of men and women jumped out.

Without being told, they all began sweeping the streets and taking up vantage points.

Perhaps now was the first time it settled in for Sei just what kind of person her father had become.

He had always been a relatively important figure, but this was just on another level...

"...You never returned."

Kenji looked over Sei’s camp with a curious eye. The girls had all sorts of medical supplies just short of a surgical operating suite.

They even had medication for common sicknesses like fevers, and greater troubles like diabetes or heart problems.

"I suppose this must have taken up quite a bit of your time."

Sei swallowed and nodded. "I-It kind of takes up a lot of time, yes."

"Hm."

Kenji’s eyes settled on Celeste for the first time that day. The look she was giving him was nigh unreadable.

"It seems you are in better health than when I saw you last. It is welcome news."

Celeste smiled politely. "Thank you. Father in law. Though I must confess that I’m still getting used to everything.."

Sei thought she saw something in her father’s eyes at the way Celeste referred to him. But whatever it was quickly passed.

She wanted to ask him about it, but before she could she heard a shrill yell come from one of his men.

"I-Incoming! THE MONSTERS ARE BACK!!"

Everyone on the street immediately flew into a panic.

Bounding across the rooftops was a very large three tailed fox. It was easily twice as large as one of the cars they had arrived in.

"GET READ-"

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

Sei yelled desperately and a silver pulse left her body.

A wave of narcolepsy knocked out almost everyone on the street instantly.

Kenji’s men fell face first into the concrete. Only he and a few others seemed to be hanging on through sheer will.

Even though Sei wasn’t intentionally trying to put them to sleep, such a feat was still very impressive.

The fox leapt off of the street building in a majestic sight. The sun sparkled off it’s snow-white fur like a dream.

There was a flash of blue light and Sei felt two distinct weights land in her lap.

Before her eyes could even adjust to being flashbanged, she heard a pair of small, excitable voices.

"Mommy! Can we have pop tarts??" Shiro asked excitedly.

"We promise we’ve been good!" Camille nodded firmly.

Before Sei could even answer, she and the rest of her partners heard the sound of Nadine’s voice in their heads.

’If the girls come to you begging for toaster pastries, I already told them no. Just a heads up.’

"..." Words could not describe the levels of stress that Sei felt in that moment.