Nanashi slept on hard after giving birth to the twins. Giving birth seemed to be the most exhausting part, but not the most painful part. She woke up with a start in the middle of the night. It was dark in the room, making her unsure what time it was. She sat up, blinking in the darkness, trying to figure out what had unsettled her enough to wake her up. She noticed two mismatched eyes watching her from the middle of the room. She gasped, summoning up her wind dragon around her neck cautiously. She did not want to run any risk with being in Lord Mukuro's castle, not yet getting to know the other demons under her roof.
"Cautious," Lord Mukuro's voice echoed in the room.
Nanashi felt her guard drop, but only slightly. She heard the sound of footsteps coming closer to her. Nanashi watched the best she could in the lack of light, staring hard at where Lord Mukuro might be in the room. She could hear her breathing close by now.
"Is there anything you need, my lord?" she asked tiredly. She felt the desire to nod off, but needed to be awake and respectful now. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She felt the wind dragon stir on her neck. She felt the desire to get up and turn on the light.
"You look exhausted," Lord Mukuro commented to her.
'No kidding,' the wind dragon commented sarcastically. Nanashi ignored it.
"Yes, my lord," Nanashi answered a loud.
'Tell her to go away and stop creeping up on you so you can sleep,' the wind dragon suggested.
Nanashi kept her mouth closed, not willing to repeat that comment verbatim. "It does realize I can hear its comments?" Lord Mukuro questioned.
Nanashi bit her lip, feeling confused as to what she should do or say now. 'Go away for now, please,' she told the wind dragon.
It hissed loudly, making her ears ring almost. She wished it had not done that. "My apologies, my lord," she spoke.
"Protective," Lord Mukuro commented. "You've had that creature grafted to your soul for a while now. Had you not be angel blooded, you would have certainly perished."
Nanashi thought back to when the wind dragon was grafted to her soul. The shock of what happened overshadowed the pain she remembered going through. The pain was worth it though to get the wind dragon. Just like the pain was worth it to have the twins.
"Which ordeal was more painful?" Lord Mukuro asked. Nanashi could hear her shuffling her feet.
"Both..." she mused. "The twins... it took longer." She longed for sleep, but did not dare close her eyes.
"Months of burning and freezing while your husband was here fighting for his life to prove himself, must have been difficult," Lord Mukuro mused in an uneasy tone. "Yet you endured it and survived it. Someone weaker would have died."
"Yes, my lord," she replied softly.
"Stop that right now," Lord Mukuro snapped suddenly very loudly at her. Nanashi gasped, not expecting to be spoken to like that. "Your husband refuses to be respectful unless he deems it has been earned first. You sit there trying to overly dull it out to balance him out. You're still worried about him possibly being named my heir. You think you may be able to sway me to him if you cow-tow like a sycophant. All the while, still jealous I chose him over you."
Nanashi felt desperate now to have a light in the room, but felt to apprehensive to try to rise up in light of the pain she still felt in her abdomen and the harsh truth Lord Mukuro just told her out loud.
"Better him than me, my-" she bite her tongue, trying to keep herself from addressing Lord Mukuro directly. "Better him than me."
"Do you think I would have chosen you if you weren't pregnant?" Lord Mukuro asked in a bemused voice. Nanashi felt herself unnerved.
"You made the choice and I will respect that," Nanashi stated, trying to stay respectful still.
"Answer the question," Lord Mukuro ordered.
Nanashi thought about it. She thought about how Kurama and Yasha were not chosen because they were too close to the king and queen. She was not chosen because of her pregnancy. Hiei was stronger than she was though, there was no denying that. He was demon blooded. He was an undefeated pit fighter. "No," she voiced her realization. "You made the wisest choice."
She heard Lord Mukuro almost growl at her. "You're loyal to him, loving him."
"Yes," she answered, wondering at the shift of conversation.
"Yet secrets are being kept," Lord Mukuro commented in an amused voice.
Nanashi bit her lip, thinking about Jin and about writing his name down. She kept that a secret, unwilling to reveal it anyone beyond the king and queen, especially not Hiei. "I chose him," Nanashi stated it as clear as she could while her throat felt constricted.
"Likely you think you made the right choice, even as you sit and wondering a little if I made the correct choice," Lord Mukuro said. "He is weak in his own way, just as you are weak in your own. At least the two of you balance each other out... Which of your two children was born first?"
"Hikari," Nanashi answered. Thinking about her, and about Izo made her desire to see them.
"The girl? The fiery one?" Lord Mukuro asked for clarification.
"Yes, my lord," Nanashi slipped out.
Nanashi then heard the sound of footsteps clacking through the room. Last, was the sound of the door opening and shutting with a quiet click. She breathed a drowsy sigh of relief.