Nanashi was exhausted, but so grateful Lord Mukuro took them in. Not only that, but also that she still wanted Hiei as her heir. Potential or 'a chance' or not, if anyone was going to get it after Lord Mukuro passed, it would be him.
Asa put Nanashi on bed rest in Hiei's and now her rooms. They were large and spacious, as befitting a lord's heir. He had to get it, he absolutely had to. She was not without company at least. Lord Mukuro's healer, Daiki, a fellow demon, was checking on her in tandem with Asa. He had a curious amount of questions about her, saying he had never met a human nor an angel before and was rather curious of her physiology.
Hiei stayed with her as often as he could as well, when he was not off doing things for Lord Mukuro. When they were completely alone, he told her things about Lord Mukuro in whispers and mental communications. Lord Mukuro was old, over 500 years old. Older than any other demon had ever been. Born into slavery in the time of the current King Hayate's grandfather. She had been mate claimed by the man, at least that's what her memories told her, who claimed to be her father. That was before mate claiming was outlawed. When Lord Mukuro had enough of his yearly rape and torture, she happened upon a vat of acid, disfiguring herself and destroying all her mate claim bite marks. She was deemed to hideous by her father/mate and was thrown out of his palace.
From there she rose up from the rank of a slave to taking over a lordship and territory from its former lady whose children had all died. The old woman was so senile, that it was easy to trick her into giving the territory up. Her guard, not so much, yet they were easy to take over and kill off.
As the years passed though, Lord Mukuro had noticed she was getting old herself. Because of that, she sought out a black crone to give her a life span transference from hapless victims she caught so she could live longer. Her goal had been to live forever like this, still life span after life span, until one day, a few months prior, the plan backfired. The usual black crone she hired had been killed off, so she sought one out from the Gandaran Forest. The same black crone that Hiei had been given to. That black crone double crossed Lord Mukuro, taking all the years that remained in her instead of giving her more from the victim she had procured. When Lord Mukuro realized what had gone awry, she killed the black crone and the victim in vengeance.
Yet now Lord Mukuro was stuck with months left to her. She had to face her mortality for the first time in decades, prompting her to seek out an heir. Which lead to the two who had died trying, and now Hiei was to be her heir, if she chose him. Nanashi wished the woman would hurry up and make it officially that he was the heir.
Kurama and Yasha had left to go back to the capital, but they had also visited her during the few days they rested up and recuperated from their tiresome journey. Those were not all her visitors though. Lord Mukuro also visited, watching her and asking her questions. Nanashi felt intimidated by her, even as she tried not to show it too much, challenging herself to stay respectful like Haruto had taught her to be when she worked for him.
Hiei kept telling her not to worry about Lord Mukuro and her questions, even though some of them made her feel uncomfortable. At least Nanashi was safe in the castle, under Lord Mukuro's protection and with Hiei. It was not safe for her to do much beyond cuddling, but it was a vast improvement over the near seven months of separation.
Asa also pointed out Nanashi was recovering her strength better and was resting up well for her delivery of the twins. Her blood pressure was lessened and her heart pounded less and less. She was able handle the internal burning and freezing better than she had when she was traveling on the road.
It was such a good thing to, considering two weeks after they had arrived at the castle, she went into labor, shortly after breakfast. She had been with Asa in Lord Mukuro's library, browsing for more books to read while she rested. She felt a sharp, ripping twinge in her lower abdomen, making her drop the book the holding to wrap her hands around her stomach. She also suddenly felt embarrassingly wet.
Asa was next to her in an instant, telling her, "breathe. Breathe through it. It'll pass."
Nanashi stood next to her, trying to focus on calming her breathing. It was painful, but not as painful as the burning and freezing had been. This was manageable, even though it had caught her by surprise. She knew more pain was to come, but she felt a surge of confidence that she could ride through it.
Asa got her up to the room Daiki had prepared for her to give birth to. It did not take long for Daiki and Hiei to get to them as well. It seemed like the fear of the pain was more intense than the actual pain itself. Asa often had her get up and walk around the room, which Nanashi was more than willing to do as it helped her with her excess, tense energy.
The first four hours were manageable to her. Lord Mukuro kept her distance, which Nanashi preferred. Only Kirin came once to check in Lord Mukuro's stead to see that Nanashi was indeed about to give birth.
After the four hour mark however, the pain dialed it up for her. She started shouting and crying at the pain. It was now worse than the burning and freezing. At least the twins were not changing the temperature on her in the midst of this. The pain was more intense and wore on her. Nanashi refused to leave the bed and walk, even though Asa tried to convince her otherwise. Each contraction that went through her was more painful than the last. Each time, Hiei asked about it, Daiki would explain that it was normal and everything was proceeding as expected.
When six hours of labor had passed since her labor had started, Nanashi was ready to give birth. Asa stood on one side of her, while Hiei stood on the other. Daiki stood in front of her, checking her over.
Daiki informed her, "both babies are facing downward. The right one is going to come first."
'Fire,' Nanashi thought to herself.
Daiki kept talking, "get ready to push." Nanashi took a few deep breaths, tightening her grip on Hiei and Asa's hands. "Alright, Nanashi, push," he instructed. Nanashi bared down and pushed.
"Breathe, sweetness," Asa advised. Nanashi gulped down deep breaths.
"Push, " Daiki instructed her.
Nanashi focused all her energy on just pushing, using the newest contraction to her advantage, Three pushes had Fire born, wailing loudly. Daiki had her in hand, wrapping her up, and cut her cord with ease. He had her up to Nanashi for her to cradle within a matter of second of being born.
Nanashi held her close, not really sure she could believe this warm infant girl in her arms was her child. The flare of love flitted up inside of her. She noticed as well that the girl had a tiny, semi see through red coil around her neck. An elemental serpent.
"Hikari," Hiei said a loud, naming the name they had decided on together.
Once Nanashi had bonded with Hikari, she reluctantly passed her off to Asa to check her over and clean her up. Nanashi watched her as best she could from her roost on the birthing bed.
"Nanashi," Daiki said, catching her attention. "Time for the second one."
'Ice,' Nanashi thought to herself. She nodded, not trusting her voice.
They repeated the process, but the second child came out with only two small pushes that were not as difficult. Daiki had him in hand, cord cut, and over to arms with more ease than the girl.
"Izo," Nanashi whispered the name of the boy they had decided upon.
He was cold to the touch, but manageable. She felt a flare up of love for him that was just as strong as her love for his sister. She felt a swell of pride when she saw he had his own, semi blue coil around his neck. Both of them had elemental serpents. Their angelic traits were out in the forefront.
When it was time for him to be checked by Asa, Nanashi passed him off groggily. She could trust Asa with them, she knew it. Daiki joined Asa, checking the twins over. Asa had picked up Izo, checking him over, seeing if he was breathing properly. She felt doubt flushing through her though when she heard Hikari start crying loudly.
"Are they okay?" Nanashi called over to Asa.
Asa turned back to her. "Yes, perfectly fine," she said over the cries. Asa laid Izo back down next to Hikari, who stopped crying after that. Asa gave a small laugh. "I don't think she much liked having her brother too far away from her."
Daiki stepped away from the twins and Asa and over to Nanashi, finishing up with her. She felt such an interesting wave of release when he healed her up as well. Once done, Nanashi felt a wave of exhaustion roll over her. "Textbook perfect," he complemented to her. "You can take a rest now. We'll look after them while you do."
Nanashi felt the exhaustion and relief wash over her. She began crying, unsure why. She turned towards Hiei, clinging to him in a sudden urge to be near him. She sobbed against his chest. He brought his arms around her tightly, one on the back of her head and one on her back.
"Mine," he whispered down to her.
Daiki touched her lower leg, making her jump, pulling away from Hiei. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you in pain, or just tired?"
Nanashi felt a little of both, but answered, "tired."
Daiki straightened up, smiling over at her confidently. "Textbook perfect," he told her. "Just as I expected." Daiki stepped away from her and over to where they had a blanket laid aside for her.
He threw it over her, starting to cover her up with it. Hiei shooed him out of the way, taking over covering her up. Once he did so, she took his hand, holding it. He looked over at her, smirking and looking quite pleased. She raised her groggy head up to his, kissing him chastely. She then laid her head back down on the bed, allowing herself to doze off, trusting in those around her.