Chapter 15: Kana

Rumia had taken Kana and Reisen back to Pandaemonium, rather than their own home, or Eirin's office. The former, so as not to give away the (not so) secret location within Makai where they made their home; the latter, to avoid the prying eyes of Kaguya, Tewi, and the other youkai rabbits. Kana remained in labor well into the night, in what was a surprisingly uneventful delivery. That was, up until the very end.

Kana held her firstborn child in her arms, a baby girl that she decided to name Adele, who'd been born just minutes before midnight. "They're just precious, aren't they Rumia?" Kana said, mostly in a haze. She didn't even raise her gaze from the child in her arms to look at the darkness youkai. Rumia remained silent, with her expression unchanged. Even Kana, on most days, had a hard time seeing through Rumia's usually cold demeanor.

"Even I was surprised to find out that she was pregnant with twins," Eirin said, when it became clear Rumia had no intention of speaking up. She still held the second child, who Kana had given birth to only moments earlier.

"I'm just glad the whole thing's done with..." Reisen sighed. "I can finally go back home after this, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Eirin answered. She held the bundled infant out to Rumia, with a genuinely pleased look on her face. "Do you want to hold her?"

Rumia looked down at the newborn baby, who had quickly drifted into a dozing state after being born. "Fine," she finally answered. Eirin held her arms toward Rumia, and she lifted the child from the doctor's hands. The action of handing her over must have woken the still unnamed infant, and she opened her eyes slowly, allowing her to see her mother for the very first time. Rumia felt a largely unfamiliar and tense feeling in her chest as she looked into the child's eyes; they were bright red, just like Rumia's. The darkness youkai couldn't help but smile down at her. The action seemed to comfort the child, and she quickly dozed back into her state of half-sleep.

Shinki and Rumi both tentatively stepped toward Rumia, and took their first looks at the younger of the two twins. Shinki adopted a delighted expression upon seeing the look of contentment in the baby's face. "She must really like you already," she said. "She looks just like you, too."

"What are you going to name her?" Rumi asked.

"I don't know." Rumia barely acknowledged her other self with even a glance. "Let Kana do it. She's better with names."

"Oh, hush Rumia.~" Kana said, looking up from Adele for the first time since she'd allowed Eirin to hold their second child. "I got to name Adele. It's only fair that you get to name our other daughter, isn't it?" Kana turned her attention back toward her elder daughter, and playfully prodded her finger at the young girl. "Isn't that right, little Adele? Mommy's just bein' lazy, isn't she?" Adele giggled happily, and grabbed hold and nibbled at Kana's outstretched finger.

"Fine, I'll do it," Rumia snapped back at Kana, who merely stuck her tongue out at the youkai. For as unstable as Kana most certainly was, she was still observant enough to notice the attachment that had already formed between Rumia and their younger daughter. Making Rumia choose the name was the only logical choice.

"I could help you pick a name, if you'd like," Shinki proposed. She stepped in front of Rumia, and looked down at her still unnamed child. "I named all of my children, you know. I'm rather good with names.~"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll come up with one myself." Rumia glared at the Makai goddess, but there was little contempt to be found in her expression. It was plain as day that Rumia's thoughts were elsewhere, but none could possibly say just what was going through her mind.

Only Eirin, who among them was the only one with any knowledge of Rumia's parentage (even Rumi had no actual memories of a time before the seal was placed on them), could have made an educated guess on how Rumia was handling the situation. "Just give her some time to think about it," Eirin told Shinki. "Do you really think Rumia is the type to ask for advice, anyway?"

"Oh, she's just stubborn.~" Kana gave a simple, dismissive wave of her hand. "Half the time, even if I'm the one who gives her an idea, she'll just play it off as if she thought of it first, but just didn't say anything.~"

"Well, hopefully having some children of your own will put a stop to some of your other childish antics." Yumeko, who had been standing mostly to the back of the throne room, finally spoke up as she approached the others. Shinki gave the woman a concerned glance, but relented when she seemed satisfied that Yumeko wasn't about to try sparking a major argument. "At the very least, it doesn't seem like this whole thing is just another joke to you, too. So, I'm hoping you'll be taking it seriously."

"Well of course I'm taking it seriously. Silly Yumeko.~" Kana let out a short laugh, as she resumed cradling Adele in her arms. "What kind of mother would I be if I didn't? Silly, silly Yumeko.~" The demon maid merely rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm happy for both of you!" Rumi said. "I know we might not be on the best of terms..." Rumi glanced specifically at her other self when she said this. "... but I knew you had at least some attachment to Kana, even if you wouldn't want to admit it, Rumia. So I'm glad you both have the chance to have a family together."

"I couldn't have said it any better myself," Shinki said, as she stepped up behind Rumi, and wrapped her arms around the youkai's waist in a loving embrace. "I'm sure that despite what anyone might say, you'll both be fine parents."

"I decided," Rumia finally said, after having gone silent for quite some time. By the look on her face after she spoke, it didn't seem as though she'd even been listening to a word the others had said during the entire few minutes she'd been thinking. "I picked a name, I mean."

"Oh? Did you?" Kana tilted her head, and gave Rumia a puzzled look. "What'd you come up with?"

"Lydia," Rumia answered. The previously unnamed girl in Rumia's arms woke from her sleepy state once again, and stared up at her mother. The fleeting image of what could've been a smile passed her lips. "Her name is Lydia."