Yumemi sighed happily. With a smile, she sat on one of the stone benches in the castle's garden. She really enjoyed spending her time in the Heavens admiring the many different plants. The flowers, the tress, even the grasses, they were all so very different from the ones back on Earth, though there were some that were very similar. However, Yumemi's train of thought was quite efficiently de-railed when a certain blue general burst through the shrubs on the far side of the courtyard.

Yumemi blinked. Rui's appearance wasn't as well-kept as usual. His cloak had been put on sideways, his shirt looked to be inside out, and he wasn't wearing his shoes. Not to mention the fact that there were twigs and a leaf or two in his hair. Rui looked around wildly for a moment, before his eyes settled on Yumemi.

"I was never here" he stated firmly, before he raced towards her and dived into the rather large bush settled solidly behind her. Confused beyond belief, Yumemi turned slightly, and was about to ask for a bit of clarification when the sound of the nearby doors slamming caused her to jump in surprise. Turning in the direction of the door, Yumemi half expected to see a furious Munto charging around the corner. What arrived in the courtyard seconds later was infinitely worse. A furious Munto Yumemi knew how to handle; a positively livid Ichiko was another matter entirely.

Yumemi couldn't help her gulp as Ichiko's eyed landed on her, and she stormed over.

"Have you seen that cotton candy head?" She demanded.

"C-cotton candy head?" Yumemi questioned, slightly frightened by the look on Ichiko's face. She could safely say she'd never seen her friend so angry.

"Yes, cotton candy head, you know, Cloud Hair?"

Yumemi blinked before it clicked, there was only one person Ichiko called that, "Could you mean Rui?"

"Yes, that idiot" was the clipped reply.

"Well, he hurried past here not a moment ago, but I'm not too sure where he went after he left." Inwardly, Yumemi wondered why Rui had chosen to hide behind her and not pretend to be in a meeting with Munto. Then again, Munto had been avoiding Rui (and Ichiko) lately. Yumemi now wished she had pressed Munto for details. She was startled out of her thoughts when Ichiko sighed and seemed to deflate before sitting down heavily beside her.

Mustering up her courage, Yumemi quietly inquired "What's the matter Ichiko?"

Ichiko simply sighed again as she looked up at the sky, the color reminding her of the man, no, the Heavenly Being she was so frustrated with. Yumemi remained silent. After a short while, Yumemi trying desperately to pluck up her courage to ask again, Ichiko spoke "How did you do it, Yumemi?"

Feeling confusion once again creep up on her, Yumemi started to ask Ichiko what she meant, when the girl spoke again.

"I know he probably doesn't want to hear it, but it is important for him to know. Whenever I try to tell him, or at least start a conversation about it, he always shuts me down. At this point, I've run out of ideas so this morning I just started to talk about it and he literally ran away, so I chased after him, determined to make him listen. I just can't understand why he refuses to. Now I'm willing to simply bring my laptop up the next time I visit and leave a page open for him to find so that he reads about it and learns for himself. But I don't want to do that because the internet can be so outrageous sometimes and I want him to have accurate information on this. So I wanted to know, how did you do it Yumemi?"

"Uh, how did I do what, exactly?" Yumemi was more than a little worried at this point, for she had never seen Ichiko look so absolutely defeated.

Ichiko blinked at her, before rolling her eyes and answering, "explain human reproduction, we are two different species."

Yumemi stared at her friend, completely and utterly blown away. Of all the different things she thought Ichiko was trying to explain to Munto's most loyal general, reproduction hadn't crossed her mind. She had just learned that Ichiko and Rui were pursuing a relationship, she had learned about it on Ichiko's last visit. To think that they were so serious after such a short amount of time! Yumemi could feel her face heat up at her next thought. How exactly did the Heavenly Beings view love making? Was it just for the pleasure? Or was it a way they expressed their love? She knew it wasn't for their reproduction. She wasn't too sure about the details, but she did know that the Heavenly Beings made children out of Akuto. Did they just substitute Akuto for the egg and, and s-s-oh she couldn't even think it! How could she have this kind of conversation with Munto!?

Ichiko watched with increasing interest as Yumemi's face went from normal to darker and darker red. She raised an eyebrow at her friends' response to her question. She had known Yumemi to be innocent, but this was being a little ridiculous. Surely talking about this with her would be less embarrassing than talking about it to Munto himself. Ichiko's eyes widened as a thought suddenly struck her. Had Yumemi and Munto NOT had this talk yet? The thought had never even occurred to her, but then, now that she thought about it, Munto was royalty. Wasn't it some rule of royalty to adhere to abstinence till marriage?

A tentative "hey" brought Yumemi out of her wildly running thoughts. She looked up into Ichiko's understanding eyes.

"Sorry for bringing it up like that. It hadn't occurred to me that you two haven't had that talk yet. I didn't mean to embarrass you so badly." Ichiko smiled at her friend, hoping her words got through to her.

Yumemi gave her a slight smile, face still red as a tomato. "But," Ichiko continued, "You are going to have to talk with him about this, before anything serious happens."

"Why it that!? Why can't you just talk about that kind of thing when you're actually ready to have kids!?" Both girls looked up in surprise at Rui, who popped up out of the bush, quite indignantly.

"Why can't you women just leave the topic alone!? You humans are so weird! Talking about such things so early in a relationship! What need is there to have that conversation? Why can't it just wait till both are ready to discuss it!?" Rui panted, slightly red in the face, however his air was that of someone who had just won a prize; apparently he had wanted to get that off his chest for quite a while.

Ichiko looked at him blankly for a moment while Yumemi was trying to process everything he had said, before she regained her earlier fire.

"You think we're not ready to have that conversation!?" Practically vibrating as she stood. Even though Rui was almost a head and a half taller than her, Ichiko towered over the startled man before yelling in his face. "Did even occur to you for a moment that in order to have a decent relationship with another species both parties should know what the other has to do in order to reproduce!?"

Rui gaped at her for a second before he got his second wind and straightened to meet her head-on. "Such a conversation should occur when both parties want to have a child! When both parties are ready to have a child!"

"You think I've been trying to have this conversation with you because I want a child; because I'm ready for a child!?" Her expression was aghast.

"Why else would you bring it up left and right!?"

"Maybe because I'm tired of always having to wear a condom!"

"What in all the Heavens is a condom?"

Yumemi felt her face flame. This was not how she envisioned her morning to go.

"It keeps me from getting pregnant you nit-wit!"

"Preg-what?" Rui really hated it when she threw new words at him.

"Preg-nant!"

"Preg-n-ant?"

"Pregnant!"

"Pregnant?"

"There you go!" heavy sarcasm coated her words.

"Well I apologize for not knowing all your Earth terms!"

"Then start learning!"

"I AM! What does pregnant mean?"

"With child!" Yumemi swore this was, by far, the strangest conversation she's heard the two have.

"That makes no sense what so ever!"

"ARGH!" throwing her hands in the air, Ichiko spun around and yanked on her hair before turning back around and glaring at the general.

"Why do Heavenly Beings have sex?" She demanded. Yumemi gasped and hid her face in her hands.

"Same reason humans do! To pleasure their loved one!" he stated firmly

"That's just an effect of having sex! Not all sex is pleasurable!"

"Enlighten me then!"

"To make babies!"

Rui stared at Ichiko for almost a full minute. "That's impossible."

Ichiko rolled her eyes. "Who is human here?"

"You" was the automatic reply.

"Then shouldn't I know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes, but, that doesn't make sense!" he protested weakly.

She sighed. "When a guy, ejaculates—"

"E-what?"

"Ejaculates, you know, releases?"

"Ah, continue"

Yumemi could safely say she had never been more embarrassed. How could they talk about this so casually and without fear of being overheard? They had been yelling about it not moments before! A better question popped up: How was she supposed to have this conversation with Munto? How would she even bring it up? Couldn't she just take birth control and be done with it?

"Part of the child is already constructed inside you!?"

"Yes!"

"But how do you know that I can get you pregnant? Do you know if Heavenly Beings even have, sperm?" Rui made a face as he said the word. It had to be the strangest word the humans' had.

"Yes! I kept a sample of your liquid and used a microscope! Sure the number was a lot less, but still enough for it to be possible!"

Rui blinked at her, "that's actually kind of amazing; the fact that a Heavenly Being could create a child with a human so easily! It's even easier than creating a child from Akuto!"

"Easy!? You think the process is easy!?" Ichiko could not believe how ridiculous he was being!

"You just said all that needed to be done is to have sex in such a way that the sperm gets to the egg. That's much easier than creating a child from Akuto." Rui stated firmly, finally starting to understand why Ichiko had been pushing the issue.

"That's just the start of the process!" She glared at him for being so, so frustrating!

"Really? There's more to it?" Yumemi thought his child-like curiosity was a bit out-of-place with the topic of the conversation.

"Yes! When the sperm finds the egg, it fertilizes the egg so that it can grow!"

Rui tilted his head slightly with a small frown. "Grow? Where does it grow?"

"Inside the woman's body; in the womb to be more specific!"

"Inside!?" he looked appalled. "I-it doesn't just come back out in a little sphere and form in front of the parents? Popping out after a while?"

"No! It grows and develops inside the woman's body. For NINE months!"

"N-n-nine months?" Rui practically squeaked, his face pale.

"Yes, nine months." She reiterated. "During that time, the woman's stomach swells as the child grows. She has to be very careful to not injure herself or ingest any toxins or else the child could die in the womb."

Rui's eyes could not have gotten any wider. He was staring at Ichiko, remembering every time he overheard about her many fights; imagining her with a swelled stomach, and trying to fight like that (he had gotten into physical fights with her before they were together, she was a very good fighter); all the dangerous situations he'd seen her in, on Earth and in the Heavens. He felt the color drain from his face at the images swirling in his head. He decided then and there that if Ichiko ever got pregnant, he would keep her with him. That way he could protect her from any and all sorts of danger.

"When that happens, it's called a still-birth" Ichiko continued, unaware of Rui's strayed thoughts.

Rui looked at her tentatively, almost afraid to ask his question. "What do you mean, 'birth'?"

"That's how a woman brings the child into the world to live on its own. By giving birth." Ichiko looked Rui in the eye to be sure that she had his full attention. She was satisfied when he returned her stare unwaveringly. "Giving birth expels the child out into the world so that it can begin its life. You're probably wondering how; the child comes out the very same way the whole process starts at. A woman's hips break to widen the birthing passage enough for the baby to pass through without getting hurt."

Rui looked paler than earlier, in fact he was paler than either girl had ever seen him. All he did was stare at Ichiko, almost in shock, his mouth partially open. Ichiko frowned, wondering what had dis-jointed him so badly. After a moment, she realized what had rattled him.

Smiling softly, Ichiko rubbed his arm. "It's okay, the hips only crack and spread to make way for the child's head; after the birth, the hips heal and it really doesn't affect the woman afterward. I hate to say it, but women's bodies are made to give birth and not be crippled by it. We're just fine after a while of rest and are up and about in a day or two."

Rui gave her a small and tight smile. "It just sounds so difficult and painful. Is there no other way?"

"Well yes, there is." Rui perked up a bit at this new information. "But it's only used when there is a complication." Ichiko sighed, and Rui frowned, could this other way be more dangerous?

"If, for some reason, giving birth the other way won't work; a medical specialist can make an incision across a woman's abdomen, reach in, and pull the baby up and out of the womb. That's called a C-section." Ichiko looked up at Rui's face and nearly fell over from shock. Rui looked completely and utterly horrified.

Ichiko quickly tried to remedy the situation, "that's only a last resort and they close the wound before anything bad can happen!" Rui seemed to shake away his horror, though he was still paler than normal and he had slightly pained expression. "I see why you kept trying to tell me about this. It is very important to know, and I apologize for trying to avoid this conversation."

Ichiko smiled, "That's okay, you were understandably uncomfortable with the topic." Yumemi blinked at how formal their apologies were. It was kinda strange for her; Ichiko had always been so informal.

Rui sighed, "So, how are we going to do this?"

"That's the easy part."

He blinked, "Really?"

"Yeah, you just have to wear a condom until I get my pills." And Yumemi's face went back to being redder than a tomato.

Rui raised a blue eyebrow, "What pill?"

Ichiko grinned, "A birth control pill. It severely minimizes the chances of a pregnancy. I've already seen my doctor about it and I should be getting them next week, after that, I need to take one pill a day for about a month. Then it'll be safe to have sex without a condom."

Rui frowned. A little over a month of sex with this strange 'condom' item; he didn't particularly like the idea, but he dislike the idea of Ichiko having to go through the problems and pain creating a child would bring. He could deal with sex using a 'condom'. "No problem."

Ichiko smiled at him, relieved that he will cooperate with her regarding this. Yumemi did an internal happy dance, this means they've made up and will leave her to enjoy the peace of the garden without any more embarrassing conversations.

"But we do have a little problem" Rui stated with a sly smirk. Ichiko blinked at him. Yumemi groaned, but it was as if they had forgotten she was there!

"I'm not entirely sure how a condom works." Rui felt his smirk widen. "I think you should teach me."

Ichiko shivered in delight at his deep, husky voice. She loved it when he used his sexy voice! "I think that's an excellent idea" She responded, her own voice breathless.

Rui grinned predatorily before teleporting them to his room; where he promptly began to kiss Ichiko senseless.

Yumemi was left; face looking like it would explode. She did NOT need to hear them have an argument about reproduction. And she most DEFINITELY did NOT need to know just how far they took their relationship! That was way TOO MUCH information!

Unknown to any of the three, Munto shivered as he left the garden. He had been searching for Yumemi and had stumbled upon the couple he had been trying to avoid. Right in the middle of their argument too! However, Munto was not like Rui; unlike his general, he made it a mission of his to learn everything he needed to know about human women when he decided to pursue Yumemi. It was not his fault his general hadn't done his research. Munto froze as he realized that the way he was headed took him past Rui's room. He promptly turned around and headed back to the garden. Looks like he would visit Yumemi now; he only hoped that she would recover from her embarrassment before he got there.

Yay! I finally finished! :D And I wanted to thank everyone who Reviewed, Followed, and Favorited my stories! Thank You so MUCH! I love you all! 3 And I apologize for not responding to anyone's reviews! I will do so from now on! I promise!