It was a fine spring day in Feudal Japan. The sky was blue, the birds were singing, and somewhere a lord was looking to start his latest military campaign. A good day, indeed.

In a tiny village near what would one day be Tokyo, an elderly woman began tidying her tiny cabin. It was a chore that took extra time these days, especially after the brood of youngsters that had been all but living with her for several years came by for a visit. They had cleaned up after themselves, of course, but they were only visitors. They didn't know how dust and dirt stuck between two particular floorboards, or exactly how her tatami mats were supposed to be laid. Those things were her responsibility, and she took pride in her work.

"Kaede?"

Hearing her name, the old woman turned around. Standing in the doorway, puppy ears drooping, stood a dejected-looking hanyo. The sight was neither as alarming nor as unwelcome as it would have been for most of her life; since saving the village - and likely most of Japan - from the notorious Naraku, he had become a hero amongst both the humans and the yokai, and had achieved a measure of peace. Well, most days anyways. She waved the poor lad in, wondering what mess he'd gotten himself into this time.

"Well, Inuyasha? What brings you to bother an old woman on such a fine day?"

The boy just stood there a moment, staring into her empty fireplace with such sad eyes that she was astonished she - or anyone else, for that matter - had ever thought him a violent murderer. Well, there had been mitigating circumstances on that occasion, certainly.

"Kaede..."

"That is still this old woman's name."

He scowled a little, and she chucked under her breath at the familiar expression. "I...Kagome sent me over. To help, with the cleaning."

That wasn't what she'd been expecting. Kaede leaned on her broom handle. "And just why did she do this? Surely the two of you have better things to do on a fine spring day. Did not Kagome say just last night that she wished to start her garden?"

The scowl deepened. "She did...she is. She just got mad at me for trying to help. It's not good for her to be bending over so much with the baby and all, right?"

"And just how were you trying to help?"

"Just carrying the stuff for her...and making the little rows the way she likes...and, well, anything that she would've had to bend over for."

Kaede sighed, gently rubbing that one spot on her forehead that always ached when she was stressed. "Inuyasha, I commend you for trying to take care of your wife. However, the child is not yet two full moons developed. You have seen from the books Kagome brought with her through the well that the young one is so small that it is in little danger of being injured, no matter what his mother does." Those books were, quite possibly, one of the most amazing things Kaede had ever seen in her long life - more impressive, even, than the noodles that cooked instantly. The books had originally been intended as a gift to her, but she had insisted that the young couple keep them. It would surely cause problems if items from the future were found among her posessions, no matter how useful they may be.

"But...I just wanted to help her." The puppy ears were drooping even lower.

"Again, Inuyasha, that is a noble sentiment, and one that I believe is probably necessary for Kagome's health and well-being. Kagome is an independent young woman, more so than most men of our day. She needs your experience and skills to ensure that she does not come to harm in a situation she cannot handle. You both need to work out a balance: you must protect and guide her, and she must accept your protection and guidance while providing support and caring for you and others. One duty is not more important than the other, and merely because you are the guiding force of your marriage does not belittle Kagome. However, you must step up and do the guiding. When she argues with you, you must argue back. Do not worry about upsetting her so much, and do not run off every time she tells you to. You are partners in this, and you must work together. Both you and she are new to this."

Inuyasha thought for a moment. "But...but what if she gets mad and leaves? People in her time leave each other all the time, just because they're mad at each other."

"That is a risk you both must take, then. You must trust that your love is strong enough to endure through the good times and the bad. If you only married each other to share your happiness, and break apart when difficulties arise, where is the good in that? No, a marriage is made to endure everything. With time, you will both learn to lean on each other, to draw on the other's strengths and provide support for the other's weaknesses. Your spouse is not a burden under which you must bend, Inuyasha; she is the one who walks beside you on life's road and helps you carry your burdens, as you must help to carry hers.

"And now, her burdens involve her worries for the little child she now carries. This is a difficult time for her, and her body is changing in ways it never has before. On some days she may become far more irritable than usual; it is her way of coping with the fears she faces. You must endure and support her in this, and she must learn to lean on you and allow you to carry her burdens when she cannot. Do you understand?"

The boy thought for a moment, then nodded. Kaede turned back to her sweeping, and after a moment she heard the door screen rattle as he passed through. She hummed contentedly to herself. As much as she appreciated the offer of help, the boy had more important things to be doing. Besides, though she would never tell him, he always left tiny scrapes along her floorboards when he scrubbed that irked her to no end. No, she would do the cleaning; he could mend his relationship with his tempestuous young wife. All in a day's work.

Uxorious: excessively fond of or submissive to a wife.