Inuyasha impatiently paced next to the door of the cottage. He could not think of anything except Kikyo in the cottage without him by her side. He should be there! Comforting her! But instead, the midwife had ordered him out here. He muttered softly under his breath. He could not just sit here anymore. Angrily, he grabbed the buckets of water and hurriedly stalked to the stream for more water. The midwife had used all of the water he had previously brought up.
Fussily, Inuyasha scooped up water and retraced his steps up to the cottage. He walked up to the door and gingerly set the buckets down. "Hey midwife! I have more water for you out here." He stalked away from the door, and then resumed pacing. He couldn't bear much more of this waiting. Because he was not occupied with something to work on, his mind buzzed with questions. Was Kikyo all right? Did she need help? Was the baby being delivered safely? Why couldn't he be in there?
Suddenly, he heard the most unexpected sound. A piercing wail resonated from the cottage. Inuyasha charged the door and the force of his pace slammed the door open and carried him right through the opening into the cottage. "KIKYO! Kikyo, are you all right?" He kneeled, astonished, beside her. In her arms was a bundle hardly bigger than a piece of firewood. Kikyo, looking exhausted, smiled up at Inuyasha.
Inuyasha stared, speechless as the bundle stirred and once again let forth that piercing wail.
"Inuyasha, this is our firstborn child. I wanted to wait so we could name him together."
Inuyasha crawled next to Kikyo and sat down beside her. He reached a hand up, and very gently touched the face of this most precious bundle. The child let out a small sound, almost a sigh, as if it knew the touch of its father from the first moment of birth. Inuyasha jerked back, afraid he had hurt the child, and then smiled when he realized he had not. "Him?"
"Yes. This little one is a boy. A fine, healthy boy to raise and cherish for the rest of our lives. What should we name him?"
Inuyasha considered this for a moment. "I am not so good with names." Kikyo chuckled softly.
"Inuyasha, I have a name for him. What do you think of Takana?"
"Takana sounds like a perfect name for him." Inuyasha kissed Kikyo softly on the forehead. She smiled softly.
"I am glad that you approve."
A tear slid down Inuyasha's face. "He…he is so small. My own son." Kikyo lifted the boy off of her lap and carefully gave him to Inuyasha. Inuyasha cradled him as if he were made of the finest glass. He carefully moved the blanket to see his son's face fully. "He is so beautiful. Takana. My son. I promise to protect you until the end of my days."
Kikyo smiled again. Inuyasha started to say something else, but was interrupted by another wail from Takana. "Sounds like he's hungry." Inuyasha handed Takana back to Kikyo, careful to support his head and not drop him.
After Takana was satisfied, the midwife tidied up and, after a few quiet words with Kikyo, departed for her own cottage, dirty and tired. Inuyasha rekindled the fire and pulled out there sleeping mat. He also pulled the baby's cradle right next to their mat.
"Kikyo, I don't know if you need this or not tonight, but I'll put it here just in case."
"That's just fine, Inuyasha." Kikyo sounded exhausted. She attempted to stand with the baby in her arms, but seemed unable to summon the energy for it. Before she could protest, Inuyasha scooped her up, baby and all, and carried her over to bed. He gently laid her down again, and then crawled into bed next to her. He pulled her close, just under his chin.
"Sleep well, Kikyo. And Takana. My loved ones."
"Sleep well, Inuyasha."
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Thanks again everyone for being so patient. You guys amaze me. Formulating the next chapter already. But I won't promise when it will come out, because I'm bad at meeting deadlines!