The air was thick with anticipation. Everyone in the vicinity was quiet. Well, almost everyone.
A scream was heard; a heart-breaking scream, piercing a half-demon's sensitive ears and cutting through the moist evening air. Said half-demon fidgeted and shifted on his suddenly uncomfortable perch in the Tree of Ages. It was a sobering feeling, the half-demon realized, to know the person responsible for the agony of the girl was himself.
Then he heard another scream, then a grunt, then crying...
'Crying?' The half-demon wondered, 'Does that mean...?' His heart skipped a beat as he leapt from his perch and sped towards the priestess' hut.
Upon arriving he was met with a hug, as well as a slap on his back. He ignored his friend's congratulations and pushed past the misty-eyed demon slayer as he made his way to the straw mat that separated him from his loved ones. Tearing it from his path he was met with the most beautiful sight he had ever laid eyes on.
There lay his wife on a mat of soft heather, beaded with sweat, adorned with in a sky-blue kimono, holding a shifty bundle in her shaky arms. Her stormy eyes held such radiant tears of joy as could outshine the most precious of gems. Her smile held his name as he closed the distance between them.
Their embrace lasted only as long as the baby allowed. A coo pried them apart as all attention fell to the newborn.
He squirmed in his baby-blue blanket as amber eyes beheld him. His golden-brown eyes stayed concealed behind thin lashes as his father delicately ran his clawed finger across his plump cheek. He whimpered and begged for his mother's bosom, who happily obliged.
The father's eyes looked towards the face of his wife, a question on his mind. When she looked back to him, she answered the unasked question with a single, simple word.
"Nikorasu."