The Healing Claw
By: Mary Guillen
Disclaimers: I do not in any way whatsoever own Inuyasha or it's characters, The only character I own is Todoku, Alanna, Michodou, Kurope, Inga, and any others
that aren't in the original series/manga of Inuyasha.
Chapter One: For Every One Born, One Dies...
Life: You learn to love it, live it, or hate it.
Me personally?...I really haven't decided.
My life is great, then find, then horrible all at once.
I may be able to heal the wounds of others, but I can't heal my own.
All I know is,
A half-demon cannot go through life without the onslaughts of reality
forever bearing down on us...
-Todoku
It was night. The forest was dark, but covered with the glitter of the fireflies along with the sweet tune of crickets. Nearby was a sleeping little village. All the houses were dark except for one that was lit. Inside was a cat demon named Michodou, who was able to live in the village thanks to his human wife, Kurope. Michodou was the lord of the 3000 acre forest that his father left him after he passed on. He had yet to think of a name for it, but he love the forest because of the lust hunting grounds, a deep canyon, mountainous hills, and a river of the best drinking water. He would occasionally spend a night in the forest with his wife under a blanket of starts and a pillow of beautiful wildflowers that littered the plains as love filled the night sky.
He sat down next to Kurope who seemed to be sweating and panting heavily. She was about to give birth to Michodou's first child. His heir to the Unnamed Forest. Alanna, Michodou's fox demon servant came through the door with a basket in her paws.
"The cradle is ready Michodou-sama."
"Thank You, Alanna. Just think, in a few moments, my wife and I will have a beautiful baby in our arms." said Michodou happily.
"Yes and this village is the perfect place for this little half-demon to grow up."
"You're right, and as soon as the little one gets a little older, I'm going to teach him to fight and fend for himself," Michodou said.
"Him? What if it's a girl, Michodou? What will she be learning then?" Kurope asked. Michodou gave a questioned look at his wife.
"Well, she can be like you, learning how to cook and clean and do crafts like you can. And you make the most wonderful crafts. But don't you think that even if it is a girl, that she should learn to fend for her survival as well?" he said. His wife gave an annoyed sigh.
"Now you know I oppose fighting and I will not have my daughter (if it is a girl) learn to do violence and kill things. She's going to be the little angel from heaven and oppose fighting as well." Kurope said sternly. Kurope was a peace-giver; she didn't like the fact of fighting or even that Michodou's entire family was warriors at one point of their life. But she had felt love for him anyway and had to learn to accept that along with him being a demon and that people were very cautious of him.
"Ok, whatever you say my dear wife." Michodou gave a sigh in despair, knowing he might not teach the little one what he knows.
"It'll be ok Michodou-sama, I'm sure the baby will love you a lot anyway. I don't think you should have anything to worry about. All there is to worry about is the baby being born at this moment." Alanna said with encouragement.
"Hey, even if it is a girl, you can still sneak out and teach her a few things without Kurope-sama knowing!" Alanna whispered.
"I heard that! And if my daughter learns to fight, I'm going to rip your big white ears off your white hair!" said Kurope (obviously in a lot of labor!).
"Hehehe......of course not, dear!" Michodou said while holding down big cat ears on the top of his head.
"Alanna, I need more cloths. Bring some to me, hurry!!" yelled the midwife.
"Coming right up, Inga!"
"Ok, Kurope-sama, I need you to relax your back and start giving a push!" said Inga doing her best to make Kurope feel a little comfortable. Inga is a Fallow deer demon who looks (and dresses) like a regular villager with little demon ears on the side of her head. Michodou had saved Inga when she was attacked by a bear and couldn't walk. She is now a dear part of the family. Her greatest strength is graceful speed and stealth. Inga is now paying back a big favor by being Kurope's midwife.
"Here are the drying cloths, Inga." said Alanna coming back from the backroom.
"Thank you, Alanna. Ok Kurope-sama, are you ready?" she said as Kurope gave a nod.
"Ok, push.....push as hard as you can take it!"
"Owowowowow!!!!" yelled Michodou.
"What's wrong Michodou-sama?" Alanna asked.
"Kurope is breaking the bones in my hand!" he said. Alanna looked at where Kurope was holding Michodou's hand. Kurope was squeezing his hand in order to surpass the pain (think stress reliever). Kurope blushed.
"Oh I'm so so sorry Michodou...I guess I don't know my own strength!"
"Yeah neither do I! (Referring to Kurope's strength)"
"Umm...Why don't you hold on to this small cushion, that way you won't have to break Michodou-sama's hand!" Alanna suggested and Kurope continued to blush.
"Ok, now let's see if we can get this baby out, alright Kurope?" Inga said.
"Ok..."
"Wow, just think, in just a few moments, Michodou-sama and Kurope- sama are going to be parents! And out of all my years of serving under Lord Michodou...I've never seen him so happy!" Alanna thought to herself. She had served under Lord Michodou ever since his father, Lord Torengama, had passed away. Alanna served under Lord Torengama as well. (Man, she must be old! She looks young, anyway!)Alanna was a small Silver Fox demon, she stands about 1 foot tall(she's about the same size as Shippou). She has tall(somewhat a little worn) fox ears and a full, long fox tail. She has a humanoid upper body, and a fox lower body(think Shippou!).
"Ok, push Kurope-sama!!! Push!!" Inga said and Kurope began to push harder. It wasn't long before Kurope let out a HUGE scream that could've awaken the whole village.
"Here it is, a little more.....and....it's a girl!" she said as she caught the baby. Everyone cheered and rejoiced quietly as they heard the baby's first cry of life. Inga cleaned her away before she handed the baby to Kurope who was more than happy to take her. Inga cleaned Kurope and put a small blanket around Kurope's waist. Everyone gathered to see the new baby.
"Oh Michodou, what should we call her?" Kurope asked. Michodou looked at his new daughter and a thought automatically traced his mind.
"How about.....Todoku?.....It was my grandmother's name and I think it will suit her well."
"Todoku?......Ok, Todoku it is then. It sounds pretty." Kurope said looking at the little half-demon baby. She was tiny and cute; she had black hair like her mother, two little white-tipped black cat ears on top of her head and a long, bushy white-tipped black cat tail like her father's. Todoku had the same coloring on her ears and tail that Michodou had, only Michodou's tail and ears were white and black-tipped. He had short white hair and almost snow white skin and wore a white battle kimono with designs of black on it. His eyes were baby blue and had a slash mark(which was a small cat paw with lines coming out of each digit; like the cat's paw print was scratching his forehead). Todoku also bared some traits of her mother, her dark wavy hair and her eyes. And bore the same family mark on her forehead that her father did.
"Oh she's beautiful!" mumbled Kurope. Everyone she loved was gathered around her. The fact that they were demons didn't care anymore. "Would you like to hold your daughter, Michodou?"
"Yes, please." Michodou said as he took his first born into his arms. "She's really beautiful, Kurope, she looks and reminds me of you."
Kurope nodded and smiled.
All of a sudden without doing or saying anything, Kurope had collapsed on her bed. This startled everyone and Inga went up and touched her forehead.
"Oh gods, she's burning up! Alanna soak some of these cloths will you, and hurry!!" Inga said in a rush.
"Right away!!" Alanna replied. Inga had asked the violently surprised Michodou to stay back for fear of this very strange illness getting to the baby. Little did everyone know, that Kurope......was dying.
"Here you go, Inga!" Alanna had come back as quickly as she could.
"Oh gods,...how could this happen? Not now,...oh please not now!" Inga said going almost hysterical. Michodou was very hysterical at this point because his wife wasn't moving and was sweating very heavily. But he couldn't get close with the baby in his arms.
"Oh gods what is wrong with her?" Michodou said helplessly pacing back and forth.
"I don't know, but I'm going to get the medicine man!" and with that Inga rushed out the door as quickly as she could. As late as it was, this emergency couldn't wait. She pounded on the doctor's door so hard she nearly woke up the entire village.
"Oh what is it you crazy woman?" said the doctor as he came to the door.
"Please doctor you've got to help us...My mistress has suddenly fallen ill and we have no idea why. She is unconscious now and we need your help!" Inga managed to get out as she was out of breath.
"Alright, alright I'm coming!" said the middle aged man and he set forth to the village house were the emergency was.
"Ok, what seems to be ailing you?" the medicine man said when he walked in.
"My wife, she's very sick, and I have no clue what's wrong with her." Michodou said in a rush. He was very worried about the love of his life.
"This woman, she just gave birth am I right?" he asked. Everyone nodded in reply. He examined her very carefully. Kurope was very pale and had a very high fever.
"Looks like signs of excess exhaustion...a woman should never be this exhausted after giving birth." he said in a deep voice
"Is there anything you can do to cure her?" Michodou said frantically.
"I can give her some herbs to relieve any pain a little...but unfortunately...that's all I can do for her at this moment. There's not much I can do for something like this. It's a very rare disease and there's no vaccine for it."
"So you mean there's no hope of her surviving?" Inga said about to cry. Alanna was sitting by Kurope's side putting the cloth of cool water on her forehead.
"I'm afraid to say this...I'm sorry Michodou...but there's nothing I can do." the medicine man said with his face in a rather depressing expression. Michodou couldn't believe what he just heard. He began to envision the flashbacks of him and his wife during their lifetime. Michodou looked at his unconscious wife, and then looked at baby Todoku. He began to cry; tears began to stream down his face as he pictured his daughter without her mother. The medicine man sighed and said to himself "Here's another one that's about to pass on after giving birth. Will this end?" In that era, it was very rare for a woman to die after giving birth ...but it wasn't unheard of.
"Why does this have to happen? Kurope can't just leave her baby behind...she just can't do this. This isn't happening...is it?" Michodou questioned himself several times wondering why this had to happen...at this point there was just no hope. Michodou knew and felt in his heart that Kurope will die and there was nothing to do about it.
"Sadly, your wife has only a few more hours left to live my Lord. I'm very sorry you have to suffer through this, but there's just nothing I can do." the medicine man said with a painful look in his eye. Even the medicine man also hated to envision the newborn without its mother. It's very difficult for a newly born baby to survive without its mother and its sole source of food.
"Michodou-sama, what are we going to do?" Alanna asked with tears in her eyes searching for the last bit of hope.
"There's nothing we can do...but wait. I'm sorry Alanna...but I'm afraid..."Michodou couldn't bare to finish the rest without having to cry. "Alanna I'm afraid Kurope will no longer be with us." he said as quickly as he could so he could to get it over with. Alanna looked at him; tears were pooling in her eyes as her gaze moved from his to the floor. Michodou was still holding baby Todoku; she had her mother's eyes and nose that reminded Michodou of his wife so much. He looked down at her and just watched with tears in his eyes at her sleep soundly in his arms. It was going to be hard raising the newborn by himself, and hoped that maybe Alanna or Inga would know a lot about babies. For Todoku needs a lot of feminine touch to help her along the way. Michodou called Inga to him to hold the baby while he went and sat next to his wife. Inga took the baby after she had wiped her face of tears.
Kurope seemed to be coming to as Michodou sat by her. He held her hand tightly and tried not to let her see him cry. Kurope opened her eyes very drearily; she began to have a little trouble breathing. Her heartbeat was faint and her temperature was very high. It seemed she was going to faint again soon.
"How are you feeling?" Michodou asked wondering if his wife could even answer him.
"I...feel.........very.......tired." she managed to say. Michodou began to shed tears again, he just couldn't stand the fact that he will lose his wife. But he knew better than to let her see him cry then let her wonder why he is. If that were to happen, he wouldn't know what to say to her. Alanna and Inga stood a few feet back watching them from a distance. They tried not to cry as well. This pain was unbearable...how could a night of joy, be turned to a night of horrible tragedy? Michodou had a feeling that his wife already knew what was about to happen.
"Michodou-sama...my dear husband...If anything happens to me.....take the baby and care for her."
"Kurope..."he managed to get out. He held her hand tightly to his heart.
"Don't worry Michodou, I'll be fine." and with that she slipped back into unconsciousness and was faintly breathing. The medicine man turned and left. He couldn't bear seeing a family fall apart like this, especially when there was absolutely nothing he could do. The baby started to cry and whimper. She was hungry, but she had no breast to feed upon since her mother was very ill. Michodou took the baby back into his arms and cradled her. He gave Inga a bag of gold coins and told her to go buy a milk cow from one of the cattle owners in the village. This was the only way the baby would be able to eat. Inga broke out of her sad daze and went to go do what was told.
"Only a few more hours to live, huh? Oh Kurope, why did this have to happen to you...and the baby?" Michodou thought; he was beginning to cry again. He was doing his best to try to keep the baby calm while Inga went to go get the only food Todoku was able to eat. When Inga came back, Michodou asked that she milk the cow and bring it to him. Inga did as told and tried to hurry so Baby Todoku would stop crying. Michodou put Baby Todoku in her newly made cradle then rummaged through the backroom to find a small cup with a small spout at the top of it. The opening at the end of the spout was small enough to fit in Baby Todoku's mouth. He then ripped some paper off of some unused scrolls and tied the little pieces of paper on the top of the spout and poked a small hole in it to control the flow. Inga came in with the pail of milk Michodou asked her to get for him. He dipped his newly invented cup into the warm milk to fill it up. He took Todoku out of her basket and held her in his arms. He put the paper covered spout up to her mouth so she can feed...His invention worked!! The baby stopped crying and continued to enjoy her meal.
"Wow, how did you do that Michodou-sama?" Alanna asked quite impressed.
"Something in the back of my head just sparked this idea, I don't know why." Michodou replied.
He looked back over at his wife, she was having difficulty breathing. Even though he made something totally new and was proud of it, he still couldn't find it in his heart to rejoice or even smile. He shouldn't have needed to make something like this. Baby Todoku should be feeding on her mother's milk, not cow's milk. Michodou felt something terrible about to happen, but in his heart he already knew what it was.
"Inga, come over here and hold Todoku," he lowered his head. "I have to say goodbye to my wife..."
And with that, Inga took the baby again. She began to cry as she saw Michodou walking over to the futon were his wife lay. He picked her head up off the pillow and held her in his arms. Kurope was panting very heavily, but there was nothing he could do.
"Kurope, my darling, I will grant your wish and take Todoku and care for her. I love you my sweet, beautiful wife, and I will never forget you." Kurope's heart began to slow down as well as her panting. Michodou just sat there, waiting for it to come. There was nothing else he could do but see his wife part form this world. Kurope's heartbeat grew softer....and softer....and softer. And then,........all of a sudden, Kurope had died, she was gone. He felt her spirit lift up and leave. Michodou wanted to scream after his wife to return, but it would be of no use at all. He kissed her, then lay her lifeless body back down on the futon and stood up.
"Come on, we're leaving. Get all your belongings and pack them into the wheeled cart out back." he said plain as day.
Alanna and Inga looked at him dumbfounded for a moment, but then made great haste to pack away everything they owned into the cart; still not knowing why they're doing this. Michodou told Inga to care for the baby as he got his own things packed up into the large crate.
Everything was packed in the large man-powered crate. It was overflowing with personal possessions, Starcat Family memories and trinkets.
"Are we all ready to go?" Michodou asked Alanna and Inga.
"Why are we leaving this place, Michodou-sama?" Alanna asked. She was about to get her answer. Michodou lit a torch that he had in his hand. Alanna and Inga looked very confused, "What is he about to do?" Alanna asked herself.
At that moment Michodou put his hands together and said a brief prayer, then hurled the torch to the once comfortable home that he and Kurope had shared for years. The house was completely engulfed in flames in a matter of 5 minutes. All Alanna and Inga could do was sit back and watch their home go up in smoke. Both of them now understood what he was doing...he was giving a cremation to Kurope and have the house die along with her. They all began to pray together:
"May Kurope find her way to the heavens above,
And not be lost in a forest of decay.
Take the house with her to live,
God bless our house and our Beloved. (I know it says God here instead of Buddha, but you will find out how this comes to be in Chapter Thirteen: The Miko who didn't worship Buddha)
And let us meet once again in the heavens,
To share our life and our dreams."
Todoku began to cry as they all said this. It was almost like she knew what was going on. Michodou quickly went over to the small basket carrying the tiny Baby Todoku. He lifted his newborn daughter into his arms and cradled her. She was so small and fragile...it felt like if you squeezed her just a tiny bit she would break into pieces. Then, for the first time, she opened her eyes and looked up at her father. Michodou was shocked at first and then he smiled down at her and she smiled back! (Kawaii!!!).
"If only her mother could see this," Michodou said, tears strolled their way down his face. Alanna jumped up on Michodou's shoulder to see the baby coo at her father. He kissed the tiny baby on the forehead and continued to walk deep into the Todoku Forest, pulling on the cow's halter to get him to pull the overstuffed crate. It being on wheels made it easier for the cow to pull. Everyone was happy the baby was ok as she fell asleep in her daddy's arms.
After walking about four miles deep into the forest, they came into a clearing where Michodou's hunter's camp was set up. The camp had a large tent made from the hides of bore and bears. It had a place for a campfire with rocks surrounding the place for building a fire and large decaying logs set around the camp fireplace to sit on while cooking a meal or just to sit around. There was a large wood-workers desk filled with newly made and unfinished weapons and ammunition. There was also a large pole hanging horizontally on two staffs of which to hang hunted animals for gutting and skinning and a medicine desk which was filled with plants to heal and several vials and jars of potions. The potions were separated by having the vials and jars filled with poison on the top shelves and the vials and jars filled with healing remedies on the two bottom shelves. The vials and jars filled with poison were used for the ammunition Michodou used to hunt (even though he really didn't need weapons with his powers, but he did this just for the fun of hunting) had skull and cross-bones on them to be identified as poison so he didn't mistake them for vials or jars of medicine which had a red cross printed on them and a short description of what the substance does underneath the hand-drawn symbols. And of course the vials filled with Medicine were used as such. There was a gigantic book sitting on the medicine desk. It was most likely filled with mixtures and recipes for making poisons or remedies for demons and/or humans. And sitting next to the medicine desk was an entire bookshelf filled with even more books on potions, chemicals, remedies for demons and humans, weapons, animals, plants, etc. Every plant in the Todoku Forest had a special healing or poisonous property in them; even the sap and leaves of trees that inhabit the forest had special remedies.
That's what was so unique about this forest, the forest that was wanted by so many Japanese conquerors and demons alike. Everyone wanted the forest that had both great healing and killing power that Michodou owned. But no matter how hard they tried, nothing could get their claims on owning the land that the Starcat Family had owned for over 900 years.
The Crystaline waterfall was about a few yards away from the camp. It had a hot spring on one of the river banks, and a vacant cave behind the waterfall, there was also an opening on the side of the waterfall's hill that lead to an underground cavern that was underneath the hot spring. The river was born off the icy tops of Mount Crystaline. The river barely misses the edge of a deep vast canyon that has a large pond at the bottom. The pond is channeled off by the Kiriki River, the river that the villagers (from the village where Todoku was born) depend on. The channel stretches for about 4 miles before hitting the Kiriki River. 3000 acres of the land west of the Kiriki River was the vast and mysterious Todoku Forest...the land that the Starcat family fought for over 900 years to protect, but had remained unnamed until the first half-demon was born into the Starcat family......Young Todoku.
"Wow...What is this place Michodou-sama?" Inga asked with much curiosity. She had never been in this part of the forest before.
"This is our new home. I know it's very far from the village, but it's our last resort." Michodou replied.
"So your hunter's camp is our new home?" asked Alanna.
"Yes, I know it isn't much, but it's the best I can do. Besides, the resources here are wonderful. The Crystaline is just a few yards away so you don't have to travel very far for water, and there's plenty to eat around here, you never run out of food. And the trees branches and leaves cover over the camp so we won't get burned by the summer sun, and there high enough to keep out of the fires reach. And we can build a fire here so we can keep warm in the winter as well as use it for cooking. And if you look over there, you'll find my reference books and medicines in case of an emergency." Inga ooed and ahhed as Michodou explained everything to her. Alanna had lived here once before, this is where the young Michodou had grown up with his father, it was only right that Michodou would've liked Todoku to grow up here as well.
The sun was coming up over the horizon. The morning birds sang as the villagers prepared to greet the morning sun. People began to come out of their peasant huts to begin the day's work.
A large group of villagers were crowded around a charred area where Lord Michodou's mansion once stood. The medicine man quickly joined them to see the matter; this was no surprise to him. Surely he knew Kurope had passed on, and Michodou moved along shortly afterwards.
Michodou sat on the high branches of a tree watching the sun come up. He was still overwhelmed by the night's events. He'd been up there for about 4 hours watching the sun come up with tears in his eyes. This would be his first day without Kurope at his side since being engaged to her. He was unsure how he was going to take on the day.
He then heard a slight bickering coming from behind him. Baby Todoku was strapped to his back like a mother would carry her baby. She began to whimper and cry; she was ready to be changed and fed. Michodou came out of his sad daze and leaped silently out of the tall tree taking special care not to be so rough when coming down. He sped back to the camp which was about half a mile away. He cursed himself for not bringing Todoku's baby supplies along with him. It only took about 5 minutes to get back to the camp, but Baby Todoku was impatient and was very fussy and crying hysterically when they had gotten there.
"Alright, alright, we're home now. I'll go change you and feed you right away. There, there my little kitten, everything is going to be alright." Michodou hurried inside the tent and brought out her baby supplies. He came out and laid her on the medicine desk with some blankets underneath her for comfort. He undid her soiled cloth diaper and grabbed a fresh cloth diaper and folded it around her. Unfortunately that wasn't enough. Baby Todoku was still crying hysterically. She needed to be fed, and the cow hadn't been milked yet. He rushed and got the pail from the other side of the tent, then rushed back to milk the cow. He tried his best to hurry before Todoku's wailing woke Alana and Inga from their sound slumber.
The cow mooed in pain as Michodou grabbed her utter too hard.
"Sorry about that girl, ok, I'll go slower." Michodou said.
Alana woke up from her futon rubbing her eyes and wondering why she only got a 3 hour sleep. She got her answer with the baby's crying.
"Michodou-sama? Why are you letting the baby cry for so long?"
"I'm sorry she woke you Alanna, but I'm trying to get her some milk. Do you think you could tend to her for a while so I can get her some fresh milk?" Michodou asked from his position. Alana yawned and stretched.
"Yeah...sure...whatever." Alanna said drearily
"Thanks a lot Alanna, I owe you one." and with that Michodou returned to milking the cow and Alanna went to tend to the very finicky baby. Alanna tried to carry the baby, but was only able to lift her half-way up off the ground because of her size.
"There, there, Little Baby Todoku, Father's almost done. It's ok, everything's gonna be ok." Alanna said to try the comfort the pernickety baby, but Baby Todoku refused to comply and kept crying which was piercing Alanna's eardrums!
Michodou quickly grabbed his newly invented cup and dunked it into the fresh milk and filled it up. Then rushed back to tend to his wailing baby girl.
"Alright, alright, Father's here. Father's here my baby kitten." Michodou said as he held Todoku up to feed her. Almost instantly Todoku stopped crying and continued to enjoy her meal. Michodou let out a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "Maybe taking care of a newborn isn't so hard. Even though I may need to do this for a long time, it's really worth it."
Well he is right that all that work is worth it, but Michodou will soon find out that taking care of a newborn isn't all that easy...
End of Chapter I
By: Mary Guillen
Disclaimers: I do not in any way whatsoever own Inuyasha or it's characters, The only character I own is Todoku, Alanna, Michodou, Kurope, Inga, and any others
that aren't in the original series/manga of Inuyasha.
Chapter One: For Every One Born, One Dies...
Life: You learn to love it, live it, or hate it.
Me personally?...I really haven't decided.
My life is great, then find, then horrible all at once.
I may be able to heal the wounds of others, but I can't heal my own.
All I know is,
A half-demon cannot go through life without the onslaughts of reality
forever bearing down on us...
-Todoku
It was night. The forest was dark, but covered with the glitter of the fireflies along with the sweet tune of crickets. Nearby was a sleeping little village. All the houses were dark except for one that was lit. Inside was a cat demon named Michodou, who was able to live in the village thanks to his human wife, Kurope. Michodou was the lord of the 3000 acre forest that his father left him after he passed on. He had yet to think of a name for it, but he love the forest because of the lust hunting grounds, a deep canyon, mountainous hills, and a river of the best drinking water. He would occasionally spend a night in the forest with his wife under a blanket of starts and a pillow of beautiful wildflowers that littered the plains as love filled the night sky.
He sat down next to Kurope who seemed to be sweating and panting heavily. She was about to give birth to Michodou's first child. His heir to the Unnamed Forest. Alanna, Michodou's fox demon servant came through the door with a basket in her paws.
"The cradle is ready Michodou-sama."
"Thank You, Alanna. Just think, in a few moments, my wife and I will have a beautiful baby in our arms." said Michodou happily.
"Yes and this village is the perfect place for this little half-demon to grow up."
"You're right, and as soon as the little one gets a little older, I'm going to teach him to fight and fend for himself," Michodou said.
"Him? What if it's a girl, Michodou? What will she be learning then?" Kurope asked. Michodou gave a questioned look at his wife.
"Well, she can be like you, learning how to cook and clean and do crafts like you can. And you make the most wonderful crafts. But don't you think that even if it is a girl, that she should learn to fend for her survival as well?" he said. His wife gave an annoyed sigh.
"Now you know I oppose fighting and I will not have my daughter (if it is a girl) learn to do violence and kill things. She's going to be the little angel from heaven and oppose fighting as well." Kurope said sternly. Kurope was a peace-giver; she didn't like the fact of fighting or even that Michodou's entire family was warriors at one point of their life. But she had felt love for him anyway and had to learn to accept that along with him being a demon and that people were very cautious of him.
"Ok, whatever you say my dear wife." Michodou gave a sigh in despair, knowing he might not teach the little one what he knows.
"It'll be ok Michodou-sama, I'm sure the baby will love you a lot anyway. I don't think you should have anything to worry about. All there is to worry about is the baby being born at this moment." Alanna said with encouragement.
"Hey, even if it is a girl, you can still sneak out and teach her a few things without Kurope-sama knowing!" Alanna whispered.
"I heard that! And if my daughter learns to fight, I'm going to rip your big white ears off your white hair!" said Kurope (obviously in a lot of labor!).
"Hehehe......of course not, dear!" Michodou said while holding down big cat ears on the top of his head.
"Alanna, I need more cloths. Bring some to me, hurry!!" yelled the midwife.
"Coming right up, Inga!"
"Ok, Kurope-sama, I need you to relax your back and start giving a push!" said Inga doing her best to make Kurope feel a little comfortable. Inga is a Fallow deer demon who looks (and dresses) like a regular villager with little demon ears on the side of her head. Michodou had saved Inga when she was attacked by a bear and couldn't walk. She is now a dear part of the family. Her greatest strength is graceful speed and stealth. Inga is now paying back a big favor by being Kurope's midwife.
"Here are the drying cloths, Inga." said Alanna coming back from the backroom.
"Thank you, Alanna. Ok Kurope-sama, are you ready?" she said as Kurope gave a nod.
"Ok, push.....push as hard as you can take it!"
"Owowowowow!!!!" yelled Michodou.
"What's wrong Michodou-sama?" Alanna asked.
"Kurope is breaking the bones in my hand!" he said. Alanna looked at where Kurope was holding Michodou's hand. Kurope was squeezing his hand in order to surpass the pain (think stress reliever). Kurope blushed.
"Oh I'm so so sorry Michodou...I guess I don't know my own strength!"
"Yeah neither do I! (Referring to Kurope's strength)"
"Umm...Why don't you hold on to this small cushion, that way you won't have to break Michodou-sama's hand!" Alanna suggested and Kurope continued to blush.
"Ok, now let's see if we can get this baby out, alright Kurope?" Inga said.
"Ok..."
"Wow, just think, in just a few moments, Michodou-sama and Kurope- sama are going to be parents! And out of all my years of serving under Lord Michodou...I've never seen him so happy!" Alanna thought to herself. She had served under Lord Michodou ever since his father, Lord Torengama, had passed away. Alanna served under Lord Torengama as well. (Man, she must be old! She looks young, anyway!)Alanna was a small Silver Fox demon, she stands about 1 foot tall(she's about the same size as Shippou). She has tall(somewhat a little worn) fox ears and a full, long fox tail. She has a humanoid upper body, and a fox lower body(think Shippou!).
"Ok, push Kurope-sama!!! Push!!" Inga said and Kurope began to push harder. It wasn't long before Kurope let out a HUGE scream that could've awaken the whole village.
"Here it is, a little more.....and....it's a girl!" she said as she caught the baby. Everyone cheered and rejoiced quietly as they heard the baby's first cry of life. Inga cleaned her away before she handed the baby to Kurope who was more than happy to take her. Inga cleaned Kurope and put a small blanket around Kurope's waist. Everyone gathered to see the new baby.
"Oh Michodou, what should we call her?" Kurope asked. Michodou looked at his new daughter and a thought automatically traced his mind.
"How about.....Todoku?.....It was my grandmother's name and I think it will suit her well."
"Todoku?......Ok, Todoku it is then. It sounds pretty." Kurope said looking at the little half-demon baby. She was tiny and cute; she had black hair like her mother, two little white-tipped black cat ears on top of her head and a long, bushy white-tipped black cat tail like her father's. Todoku had the same coloring on her ears and tail that Michodou had, only Michodou's tail and ears were white and black-tipped. He had short white hair and almost snow white skin and wore a white battle kimono with designs of black on it. His eyes were baby blue and had a slash mark(which was a small cat paw with lines coming out of each digit; like the cat's paw print was scratching his forehead). Todoku also bared some traits of her mother, her dark wavy hair and her eyes. And bore the same family mark on her forehead that her father did.
"Oh she's beautiful!" mumbled Kurope. Everyone she loved was gathered around her. The fact that they were demons didn't care anymore. "Would you like to hold your daughter, Michodou?"
"Yes, please." Michodou said as he took his first born into his arms. "She's really beautiful, Kurope, she looks and reminds me of you."
Kurope nodded and smiled.
All of a sudden without doing or saying anything, Kurope had collapsed on her bed. This startled everyone and Inga went up and touched her forehead.
"Oh gods, she's burning up! Alanna soak some of these cloths will you, and hurry!!" Inga said in a rush.
"Right away!!" Alanna replied. Inga had asked the violently surprised Michodou to stay back for fear of this very strange illness getting to the baby. Little did everyone know, that Kurope......was dying.
"Here you go, Inga!" Alanna had come back as quickly as she could.
"Oh gods,...how could this happen? Not now,...oh please not now!" Inga said going almost hysterical. Michodou was very hysterical at this point because his wife wasn't moving and was sweating very heavily. But he couldn't get close with the baby in his arms.
"Oh gods what is wrong with her?" Michodou said helplessly pacing back and forth.
"I don't know, but I'm going to get the medicine man!" and with that Inga rushed out the door as quickly as she could. As late as it was, this emergency couldn't wait. She pounded on the doctor's door so hard she nearly woke up the entire village.
"Oh what is it you crazy woman?" said the doctor as he came to the door.
"Please doctor you've got to help us...My mistress has suddenly fallen ill and we have no idea why. She is unconscious now and we need your help!" Inga managed to get out as she was out of breath.
"Alright, alright I'm coming!" said the middle aged man and he set forth to the village house were the emergency was.
"Ok, what seems to be ailing you?" the medicine man said when he walked in.
"My wife, she's very sick, and I have no clue what's wrong with her." Michodou said in a rush. He was very worried about the love of his life.
"This woman, she just gave birth am I right?" he asked. Everyone nodded in reply. He examined her very carefully. Kurope was very pale and had a very high fever.
"Looks like signs of excess exhaustion...a woman should never be this exhausted after giving birth." he said in a deep voice
"Is there anything you can do to cure her?" Michodou said frantically.
"I can give her some herbs to relieve any pain a little...but unfortunately...that's all I can do for her at this moment. There's not much I can do for something like this. It's a very rare disease and there's no vaccine for it."
"So you mean there's no hope of her surviving?" Inga said about to cry. Alanna was sitting by Kurope's side putting the cloth of cool water on her forehead.
"I'm afraid to say this...I'm sorry Michodou...but there's nothing I can do." the medicine man said with his face in a rather depressing expression. Michodou couldn't believe what he just heard. He began to envision the flashbacks of him and his wife during their lifetime. Michodou looked at his unconscious wife, and then looked at baby Todoku. He began to cry; tears began to stream down his face as he pictured his daughter without her mother. The medicine man sighed and said to himself "Here's another one that's about to pass on after giving birth. Will this end?" In that era, it was very rare for a woman to die after giving birth ...but it wasn't unheard of.
"Why does this have to happen? Kurope can't just leave her baby behind...she just can't do this. This isn't happening...is it?" Michodou questioned himself several times wondering why this had to happen...at this point there was just no hope. Michodou knew and felt in his heart that Kurope will die and there was nothing to do about it.
"Sadly, your wife has only a few more hours left to live my Lord. I'm very sorry you have to suffer through this, but there's just nothing I can do." the medicine man said with a painful look in his eye. Even the medicine man also hated to envision the newborn without its mother. It's very difficult for a newly born baby to survive without its mother and its sole source of food.
"Michodou-sama, what are we going to do?" Alanna asked with tears in her eyes searching for the last bit of hope.
"There's nothing we can do...but wait. I'm sorry Alanna...but I'm afraid..."Michodou couldn't bare to finish the rest without having to cry. "Alanna I'm afraid Kurope will no longer be with us." he said as quickly as he could so he could to get it over with. Alanna looked at him; tears were pooling in her eyes as her gaze moved from his to the floor. Michodou was still holding baby Todoku; she had her mother's eyes and nose that reminded Michodou of his wife so much. He looked down at her and just watched with tears in his eyes at her sleep soundly in his arms. It was going to be hard raising the newborn by himself, and hoped that maybe Alanna or Inga would know a lot about babies. For Todoku needs a lot of feminine touch to help her along the way. Michodou called Inga to him to hold the baby while he went and sat next to his wife. Inga took the baby after she had wiped her face of tears.
Kurope seemed to be coming to as Michodou sat by her. He held her hand tightly and tried not to let her see him cry. Kurope opened her eyes very drearily; she began to have a little trouble breathing. Her heartbeat was faint and her temperature was very high. It seemed she was going to faint again soon.
"How are you feeling?" Michodou asked wondering if his wife could even answer him.
"I...feel.........very.......tired." she managed to say. Michodou began to shed tears again, he just couldn't stand the fact that he will lose his wife. But he knew better than to let her see him cry then let her wonder why he is. If that were to happen, he wouldn't know what to say to her. Alanna and Inga stood a few feet back watching them from a distance. They tried not to cry as well. This pain was unbearable...how could a night of joy, be turned to a night of horrible tragedy? Michodou had a feeling that his wife already knew what was about to happen.
"Michodou-sama...my dear husband...If anything happens to me.....take the baby and care for her."
"Kurope..."he managed to get out. He held her hand tightly to his heart.
"Don't worry Michodou, I'll be fine." and with that she slipped back into unconsciousness and was faintly breathing. The medicine man turned and left. He couldn't bear seeing a family fall apart like this, especially when there was absolutely nothing he could do. The baby started to cry and whimper. She was hungry, but she had no breast to feed upon since her mother was very ill. Michodou took the baby back into his arms and cradled her. He gave Inga a bag of gold coins and told her to go buy a milk cow from one of the cattle owners in the village. This was the only way the baby would be able to eat. Inga broke out of her sad daze and went to go do what was told.
"Only a few more hours to live, huh? Oh Kurope, why did this have to happen to you...and the baby?" Michodou thought; he was beginning to cry again. He was doing his best to try to keep the baby calm while Inga went to go get the only food Todoku was able to eat. When Inga came back, Michodou asked that she milk the cow and bring it to him. Inga did as told and tried to hurry so Baby Todoku would stop crying. Michodou put Baby Todoku in her newly made cradle then rummaged through the backroom to find a small cup with a small spout at the top of it. The opening at the end of the spout was small enough to fit in Baby Todoku's mouth. He then ripped some paper off of some unused scrolls and tied the little pieces of paper on the top of the spout and poked a small hole in it to control the flow. Inga came in with the pail of milk Michodou asked her to get for him. He dipped his newly invented cup into the warm milk to fill it up. He took Todoku out of her basket and held her in his arms. He put the paper covered spout up to her mouth so she can feed...His invention worked!! The baby stopped crying and continued to enjoy her meal.
"Wow, how did you do that Michodou-sama?" Alanna asked quite impressed.
"Something in the back of my head just sparked this idea, I don't know why." Michodou replied.
He looked back over at his wife, she was having difficulty breathing. Even though he made something totally new and was proud of it, he still couldn't find it in his heart to rejoice or even smile. He shouldn't have needed to make something like this. Baby Todoku should be feeding on her mother's milk, not cow's milk. Michodou felt something terrible about to happen, but in his heart he already knew what it was.
"Inga, come over here and hold Todoku," he lowered his head. "I have to say goodbye to my wife..."
And with that, Inga took the baby again. She began to cry as she saw Michodou walking over to the futon were his wife lay. He picked her head up off the pillow and held her in his arms. Kurope was panting very heavily, but there was nothing he could do.
"Kurope, my darling, I will grant your wish and take Todoku and care for her. I love you my sweet, beautiful wife, and I will never forget you." Kurope's heart began to slow down as well as her panting. Michodou just sat there, waiting for it to come. There was nothing else he could do but see his wife part form this world. Kurope's heartbeat grew softer....and softer....and softer. And then,........all of a sudden, Kurope had died, she was gone. He felt her spirit lift up and leave. Michodou wanted to scream after his wife to return, but it would be of no use at all. He kissed her, then lay her lifeless body back down on the futon and stood up.
"Come on, we're leaving. Get all your belongings and pack them into the wheeled cart out back." he said plain as day.
Alanna and Inga looked at him dumbfounded for a moment, but then made great haste to pack away everything they owned into the cart; still not knowing why they're doing this. Michodou told Inga to care for the baby as he got his own things packed up into the large crate.
Everything was packed in the large man-powered crate. It was overflowing with personal possessions, Starcat Family memories and trinkets.
"Are we all ready to go?" Michodou asked Alanna and Inga.
"Why are we leaving this place, Michodou-sama?" Alanna asked. She was about to get her answer. Michodou lit a torch that he had in his hand. Alanna and Inga looked very confused, "What is he about to do?" Alanna asked herself.
At that moment Michodou put his hands together and said a brief prayer, then hurled the torch to the once comfortable home that he and Kurope had shared for years. The house was completely engulfed in flames in a matter of 5 minutes. All Alanna and Inga could do was sit back and watch their home go up in smoke. Both of them now understood what he was doing...he was giving a cremation to Kurope and have the house die along with her. They all began to pray together:
"May Kurope find her way to the heavens above,
And not be lost in a forest of decay.
Take the house with her to live,
God bless our house and our Beloved. (I know it says God here instead of Buddha, but you will find out how this comes to be in Chapter Thirteen: The Miko who didn't worship Buddha)
And let us meet once again in the heavens,
To share our life and our dreams."
Todoku began to cry as they all said this. It was almost like she knew what was going on. Michodou quickly went over to the small basket carrying the tiny Baby Todoku. He lifted his newborn daughter into his arms and cradled her. She was so small and fragile...it felt like if you squeezed her just a tiny bit she would break into pieces. Then, for the first time, she opened her eyes and looked up at her father. Michodou was shocked at first and then he smiled down at her and she smiled back! (Kawaii!!!).
"If only her mother could see this," Michodou said, tears strolled their way down his face. Alanna jumped up on Michodou's shoulder to see the baby coo at her father. He kissed the tiny baby on the forehead and continued to walk deep into the Todoku Forest, pulling on the cow's halter to get him to pull the overstuffed crate. It being on wheels made it easier for the cow to pull. Everyone was happy the baby was ok as she fell asleep in her daddy's arms.
After walking about four miles deep into the forest, they came into a clearing where Michodou's hunter's camp was set up. The camp had a large tent made from the hides of bore and bears. It had a place for a campfire with rocks surrounding the place for building a fire and large decaying logs set around the camp fireplace to sit on while cooking a meal or just to sit around. There was a large wood-workers desk filled with newly made and unfinished weapons and ammunition. There was also a large pole hanging horizontally on two staffs of which to hang hunted animals for gutting and skinning and a medicine desk which was filled with plants to heal and several vials and jars of potions. The potions were separated by having the vials and jars filled with poison on the top shelves and the vials and jars filled with healing remedies on the two bottom shelves. The vials and jars filled with poison were used for the ammunition Michodou used to hunt (even though he really didn't need weapons with his powers, but he did this just for the fun of hunting) had skull and cross-bones on them to be identified as poison so he didn't mistake them for vials or jars of medicine which had a red cross printed on them and a short description of what the substance does underneath the hand-drawn symbols. And of course the vials filled with Medicine were used as such. There was a gigantic book sitting on the medicine desk. It was most likely filled with mixtures and recipes for making poisons or remedies for demons and/or humans. And sitting next to the medicine desk was an entire bookshelf filled with even more books on potions, chemicals, remedies for demons and humans, weapons, animals, plants, etc. Every plant in the Todoku Forest had a special healing or poisonous property in them; even the sap and leaves of trees that inhabit the forest had special remedies.
That's what was so unique about this forest, the forest that was wanted by so many Japanese conquerors and demons alike. Everyone wanted the forest that had both great healing and killing power that Michodou owned. But no matter how hard they tried, nothing could get their claims on owning the land that the Starcat Family had owned for over 900 years.
The Crystaline waterfall was about a few yards away from the camp. It had a hot spring on one of the river banks, and a vacant cave behind the waterfall, there was also an opening on the side of the waterfall's hill that lead to an underground cavern that was underneath the hot spring. The river was born off the icy tops of Mount Crystaline. The river barely misses the edge of a deep vast canyon that has a large pond at the bottom. The pond is channeled off by the Kiriki River, the river that the villagers (from the village where Todoku was born) depend on. The channel stretches for about 4 miles before hitting the Kiriki River. 3000 acres of the land west of the Kiriki River was the vast and mysterious Todoku Forest...the land that the Starcat family fought for over 900 years to protect, but had remained unnamed until the first half-demon was born into the Starcat family......Young Todoku.
"Wow...What is this place Michodou-sama?" Inga asked with much curiosity. She had never been in this part of the forest before.
"This is our new home. I know it's very far from the village, but it's our last resort." Michodou replied.
"So your hunter's camp is our new home?" asked Alanna.
"Yes, I know it isn't much, but it's the best I can do. Besides, the resources here are wonderful. The Crystaline is just a few yards away so you don't have to travel very far for water, and there's plenty to eat around here, you never run out of food. And the trees branches and leaves cover over the camp so we won't get burned by the summer sun, and there high enough to keep out of the fires reach. And we can build a fire here so we can keep warm in the winter as well as use it for cooking. And if you look over there, you'll find my reference books and medicines in case of an emergency." Inga ooed and ahhed as Michodou explained everything to her. Alanna had lived here once before, this is where the young Michodou had grown up with his father, it was only right that Michodou would've liked Todoku to grow up here as well.
The sun was coming up over the horizon. The morning birds sang as the villagers prepared to greet the morning sun. People began to come out of their peasant huts to begin the day's work.
A large group of villagers were crowded around a charred area where Lord Michodou's mansion once stood. The medicine man quickly joined them to see the matter; this was no surprise to him. Surely he knew Kurope had passed on, and Michodou moved along shortly afterwards.
Michodou sat on the high branches of a tree watching the sun come up. He was still overwhelmed by the night's events. He'd been up there for about 4 hours watching the sun come up with tears in his eyes. This would be his first day without Kurope at his side since being engaged to her. He was unsure how he was going to take on the day.
He then heard a slight bickering coming from behind him. Baby Todoku was strapped to his back like a mother would carry her baby. She began to whimper and cry; she was ready to be changed and fed. Michodou came out of his sad daze and leaped silently out of the tall tree taking special care not to be so rough when coming down. He sped back to the camp which was about half a mile away. He cursed himself for not bringing Todoku's baby supplies along with him. It only took about 5 minutes to get back to the camp, but Baby Todoku was impatient and was very fussy and crying hysterically when they had gotten there.
"Alright, alright, we're home now. I'll go change you and feed you right away. There, there my little kitten, everything is going to be alright." Michodou hurried inside the tent and brought out her baby supplies. He came out and laid her on the medicine desk with some blankets underneath her for comfort. He undid her soiled cloth diaper and grabbed a fresh cloth diaper and folded it around her. Unfortunately that wasn't enough. Baby Todoku was still crying hysterically. She needed to be fed, and the cow hadn't been milked yet. He rushed and got the pail from the other side of the tent, then rushed back to milk the cow. He tried his best to hurry before Todoku's wailing woke Alana and Inga from their sound slumber.
The cow mooed in pain as Michodou grabbed her utter too hard.
"Sorry about that girl, ok, I'll go slower." Michodou said.
Alana woke up from her futon rubbing her eyes and wondering why she only got a 3 hour sleep. She got her answer with the baby's crying.
"Michodou-sama? Why are you letting the baby cry for so long?"
"I'm sorry she woke you Alanna, but I'm trying to get her some milk. Do you think you could tend to her for a while so I can get her some fresh milk?" Michodou asked from his position. Alana yawned and stretched.
"Yeah...sure...whatever." Alanna said drearily
"Thanks a lot Alanna, I owe you one." and with that Michodou returned to milking the cow and Alanna went to tend to the very finicky baby. Alanna tried to carry the baby, but was only able to lift her half-way up off the ground because of her size.
"There, there, Little Baby Todoku, Father's almost done. It's ok, everything's gonna be ok." Alanna said to try the comfort the pernickety baby, but Baby Todoku refused to comply and kept crying which was piercing Alanna's eardrums!
Michodou quickly grabbed his newly invented cup and dunked it into the fresh milk and filled it up. Then rushed back to tend to his wailing baby girl.
"Alright, alright, Father's here. Father's here my baby kitten." Michodou said as he held Todoku up to feed her. Almost instantly Todoku stopped crying and continued to enjoy her meal. Michodou let out a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "Maybe taking care of a newborn isn't so hard. Even though I may need to do this for a long time, it's really worth it."
Well he is right that all that work is worth it, but Michodou will soon find out that taking care of a newborn isn't all that easy...
End of Chapter I