Things that night were so quiet and uncomfortable. Nanashi felt uneasy about having Hiei back in the castle suddenly. Dinner was near quiet between the two of them while Hikari was mooning over having Hiei back in the castle. She was kind of oblivious to his annoyance with Nanashi. Izo was not however. He was watching between the two of them carefully, observing their behavior astutely. It made Nanashi uncomfortable with how hyper aware he was about everything around him. Kurama said it was a natural thing for a demon, especially being that Hiei was the same way as a child.

After dinner, the evening was uncomfortably quiet as well. Nanashi tried to read in the library, but she could not focus on the words or the plot of the book she was trying to read. Hiei was away with Hikari, going for a second round of easy training with him. Izo was in the library with her as well, but studying instead of reading. He school was not in session, but he still wanted to learn on his own time.

When evening fell into nightfall, Nanashi went upstairs to her bedroom, unsure if Hiei would be there as well. She hoped he would not be sleeping outside in one of the trees like the last time they got in a fight over something less serious than this.

With aching slowness, Nanashi undressed and took a short, but hot shower alone. Afterwards, she shrugged her pajamas on, feeling like that took way too much energy to do than it should. This pregnancy, while easier than with the twins, still left her body exhausted. She was almost looking forward to having Kaze as it meant she would no longer carry his heaviness around. But on the other hand, giving birth was not something she was looking forward to going through again. As if he knew she was thinking about him, he gave her a few hardy kicks before settling down.

She heaved herself into bed, lolling herself to sleep on her side, keeping her senses open in case Hiei ended up coming to the room later tonight.

She jumped awake when she sensed he came into the room late in the night. She sat up, looking over at him sleepily as he came through their bedroom door. He watched her carefully as he came in, as if unsure of himself. She needed to be cautious now as he was on edge and mad with her. She laid herself back down on the bed, but turned to face the middle of the bed.

He climbed gingerly into the bed next to her, like a dog who could be spooked away at an inopportune moment. He was dressed in a simple pair of black sleeping pants. She felt Kaze give a hardly couple of kicks in her stomach. She flinched a little in surprise.

"What's wrong?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head softly, hand coming to rest on her stomach. "Kicking," she murmured. "Strong for one being human blooded."

He stared down at her and her hand on her stomach, unblinkingly. He clicked his teeth. "Let me look through you mind," he requested. "From the moment I left to the moment I came back."

The idea made her recoil internally, but she nodded in consent anyway. He would see all her arguments and insistence to keep her secret from him. Hopefully he would see the loving, noble reason behind it. She closed her eyes, willing her to relax and be open to his prying mind.

He rooted around gently as possible, but as thoroughly and swiftly. She saw the different events flash through her mind as he looked them over. He lingered on her last argument with Asa and Izo over telling Hiei to come home for the birth. They railed against her as a team and convinced her to summon him back.

When he pulled out of her mind, she opened her eyes back up, but did not raise her head up to look at him. She saw him at the edge of her sight put his headband back on. He moved fast out of the corner of her eye, almost frightening her. His hand came to rest firmly under her chin, jerking her head up. She gasped, but he cut off the sound when he crashed his mouth onto hers.

He kissed hard, commanding, and almost angrily. He pulled his mouth off of hers just as suddenly as he had kissed her. "Never keep such as secret like this from me again," he growled. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

His mouth claimed hers once more as he let her chin go. He pressed her shoulder down onto the bed. He had a thought to climb on top of her, but not with her stomach so large and vulnerable. He leaned against her upper body, hand coming to pet her breasts through her sleep shirt.

He spoke against her lips, between kisses. "I want you," he confessed.

"Even after...?" she started, voice petering out.

He tensed up, hand sliding to the middle of her stomach. "I don't like that you kept this secret, but from your mind, I can tell it was not out malicious intent." She brought her up to his neck mate bite, stroking it gently. "Over eight months is quite a long time," he added in, voice almost purring. "Can I touch you?" he asked on bated breath.

Nanashi debated internally what would be the right course of action. She would have Kaze sometime within the next few days and after that, anything physical would be on hold for at least six weeks. And Hiei had been gone quite awhile. And had surprisingly been so accepting and understanding why she kept the pregnancy secret from him. Why she wanted him to focus on his training so that he would survive the demon king tournament and her second prophecy.

"Gently," she finally said, nodding in consent. Even then, a wave of sleepiness rolled over her. She yawned, giving him just the slightest hint that she was tired. Hopefully this could be a situation where she could rest and let him do most of the work.

He kissed her more intently then. Next, he pulled her up carefully to a sitting position, hands coming to the hem of her shirt. He pushed her back down to lay down on her back. After that, he tugged down her sleeping pants and panties together, exposing her to him. It had been so long and this so abrupt, that she felt nervous, scared he might find her large and softer body unattractive.

Physically, he let her know that was not the case. He leaned down over by her side, mouth claiming her neck now, while his hand stroked her center with almost a sense of hurry. She could feel him trembling in his own right as his deft fingers teased along the top of her mound. His mouth kissed down to her nearest breast, taking its center into his mouth with a sharp, insistent tug. She gasped at his rushed, half planned touch. His teeth biting her, hurting so good.

She felt so close so suddenly that she could barely breathe. He stopped abruptly. She looked up at him, keeping her face neutral, but wanting to know what he was planning. So rushed. She could already see he was hard for her. He must have wanted her just as badly as she had wanted him while he was away.

He laid himself down on the bed, tugging off his pants in his haste. He rolled back over to her, but she raised her hand up into the air, staying him. She felt his eyes on her as she hefted herself up onto her hands and knees. She pulled her pillow underneath her so her stomach had something soft to rest on. Then she pulled his pillow under her head, resting it there. She turned her head over to him, nodding.

He came up behind her, slipping his cock inside of her. She gasped, feeling pleasure rebuilding inside of her with each controlled thrust he made. He had not let her come on her back. He must have been saving that moment for when he could feel it.

While he was being careful with his thrusting, he reached his hand around to her clit, teasing it deftly. She moaned out loud as his touch. She came quickly on his cock, hearing him heave an enjoyable sigh at the feel of it. He came inside of her right afterwards.

When he slid out of her, she laid down on her side as quick as she could. Even that just wore her out. She felt herself doze off, feeling herself jump awake as he threw the blanket over her. She tried to say thank you, but the sleepiness in her voice let out just a few grateful moans.