A Father's Embrace
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Uncle
The silence was extremely uncomfortable, but at the same time, Maiki hadn't a clue what to do to break the tension. So she sat there, at the low table, using her chopsticks to pick at her bowl of rice. Occasionally, she would glance out the corner of her eye, catching a glimpse of her hostess Soten. The lady yokai hadn't said a word to her ever since she invited her to lunch. The 'invitation' was more or less an order, as Maiki recalled.
Maiki sat in the library, thumbing through some old books containing various paintings and other artworks. The door slid open, drawing her attention away from the picture she had been gazing at. It was Soten.
"Lunch is ready," the yokai replied. "I suggest you eat now since I don't cater to my guests' every whims."
Ever since they had sat down to eat, it had been silent. In the end, Maiki supposed that she'd rather have silence over conversation. After all, she didn't desire to repeat the topic of conversation from earlier that morning. 'Heh! As if I'd be interested in Kazuki-kun like that!' she snorted.
It was when Soten's chopsticks suddenly clattered on the surface of the table that Maiki was pulled from her thoughts. Fearing that the yokai had suddenly become angry for some unknown reason, she cautioned a peak at the older woman. Instead of the angry or impatient expression Maiki was expecting, she saw that Soten's face was almost blank. Her eyes were closed with a slight furrowing of her eyebrows. Her face seemed extremely pale. The teenager noticed the deep, slow breaths the yokai was taking.
Soten suddenly drew in a sharp breath, air hissing through her clenched teeth as her face contorted into one of pain. Her arms clasped to her swollen abdomen. Maiki's eyes widened in shock. 'Please tell me she's not...' Her thoughts were interrupted when Soten sucked in another quick breath. 'Oh, dear lord! She is! She's going into labor!'
Maiki leapt to her feet, grabbing the cushions from around the table and arranging them on the floor behind the yokai as a makeshift bed for her. 'I can't believe this is happening! What am I going to do? She needs help but... I'm not experienced with this sort of thing!' She gently took hold of Soten by the shoulders and carefully eased her down onto her back. Soten was in so much pain from the sudden contraction that she didn't protest the assistance of a 'mere mortal.'
Maiki took note that Soten's water hadn't broke yet, and heaved a sigh of relief. 'Good, there's still time... Now what to do...' From her kneeling position next to Soten, Maiki looked around frantically, trying to figure out how she could assist or comfort the yokai. 'I know! Hot water and a cloth!'
"Soten-sama, where's the kitchen?"
The older woman cracked open her eyes, heavy breaths hissed through her teeth. "The door... near the far end of the table..."
Maiki nodded, jumping to her feet. She sprinted around the table and nearly tore through the paper door into the kitchen. Her eyes searched the dimly lit room that was cluttered with large pots and cooking utensils. The fire pit in the center of the room held some warm coals and a pot of water was still sitting over it. 'Bingo!' the girl cried in her head. Scanning the room once more, she found a pile of neatly folded cloths. 'Perfect!'
The teenager scooped up a handful of the cloths and brought them back out to the dining hall, dumping them on the table. She returned to the kitchen, grabbed the nearest bucket she could find and dunked it into the heated water, filling the container about halfway. She returned to the dining area.
As Maiki set the bucket down next to Soten, she was relieved to find that the woman's pain had subsided. For the time being, that is. The yokai's breathing had calmed substantially, and it seemed she was trying to regain her strength for the next contraction. Maiki took a cloth from the pile and dabbed away the perspiration from Soten's face. She then dipped the entire cloth in the water and wrung it out.
"Can you un-tuck your haori from your hakama?" she asked, kneeling once more next to the older woman.
Soten glanced at the teenager questioningly, but nodded. Pulling her clothing away to reveal her round belly, Maiki placed the hot cloth on the yokai's flesh.
"That should help with the pain... relax the muscles..."
Soten nodded in understanding, but was silent otherwise. Maiki looked away, not saying anything else either, trying to figure out what else she could do for the yokai.
"Oh!" the shibunyo-turned-human girl exclaimed, her eyes returning to meet Soten's. "Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"
The yokai shook her head. "No, I'm fine."
Maiki's sudden helpful demeanor deflated, once again uncertain what to do for her host. She averted her gaze once more, until a clammy hand weakly wrapped around her wrist. She looked over to Soten.
"Thank you, for helping me. Not many humans would be so kind to a yokai."
"It's no trouble, really..." Maiki humbly stated. 'Though I still have no idea what I'm doing...'
"No, please allow me to thank you. Your kindness it truly appreciated. You have a very caring heart."
The teenager's cheeks flared red with embarrassment as she once again averted her eyes. "Thanks," she muttered. "But really... I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. I guess I take after my mama like that... helping others when they're in need." She returned her gaze towards Soten, offering her a reassuring smile.
The yokai returned the gesture, before her eyes took a troubled look. "May I ask a tremendous favor from you?"
Maiki stared into her host's hopeful eyes, and found there was no way she could refuse, whatever the request may be. She nodded. "Sure."
"I know this is asking a lot of me, but I've no one else to ask... My midwife, Yasa, lives not far from here, a little under a mile away... At the bottom of this mountain, outside Reimai Valley, to the west, lies a road. Take it heading south until you see a single tree on the mountainside that is split down the middle. Her home is just below that tree, in the side of the mountain. Please go to her and tell her that I am in need of her."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay here all alone?"
"I'll be fine. I won't be birthing my baby for some hours yet. You should be able to get Yasa and bring her back long before then."
"Okay," Maiki agreed hesitantly.
Before rising to leave, she took the cloth from Soten's belly, soaking and wringing it out, and reapplying it to her stomach. Though the yokai had said that she wasn't thirsty, Maiki retrieved a jug of cool water from the kitchen and a saucer, and placed those next to her, just in case. The teenager left the dining area, went to her room and gathered up her bag and Tetsusaiga. She checked in on Soten once more before she left, paranoid about leaving the laboring woman alone. She found that the yokai had dozed off during her absence. Assured that her host would be fine for now, Maiki left the castle, rushed across the courtyard, slipped through the gates, and headed down the mountain away from Reimai Valley.
Sango, Miroku, and Kagome had been traveling through the dimly lit tunnel for roughly a half an hour, and they had yet to see any sign of the exit. Though Shippo had stated that the journey would take at least an hour, Kagome found herself growing increasingly paranoid the longer they spent inside the cave. And the bizarre incident she sensed earlier didn't help to alleviate her worry.
About ten minutes after they had entered the cave, Kagome believed she had sensed a surge in yoki. It was difficult to tell, considering that the entire inside of the cave radiated yoki from Shippo's fox-fire, the blue flames which were currently illuminating the tunnel. And strangely, she thought she had sensed what felt like a Shikon shard. But the sensation faded just as quickly as it had appeared. She shrugged it off as a figment of her imagination.
But still... it got her thinking... Was it really a Shikon shard, the large piece that was missing? If that were indeed true, then who had it? Why did they have it? More importantly, how did he or she get it? Kagome tried for the life of her to remember how she had lost the jewel, but her mind was a haze when she tried to bring up that memory. Something seemed to be clogging her head.
She distinctly remembered having all the shards of the jewel, though they had yet to be put back together. She and Inuyasha had made the decision to wait on that until they had figured out how to purify the Tama. Inuyasha... For some reason, whenever she thought of him, a terrible bout of anxiety would wrench her heart and stomach, tying them into knots. It was unexplainable, why she had this overwhelming fear of the hanyo. She almost felt sick just by thinking of him, wondering if she'd run into him.
"Hoshi-sama..." Sango's scolding voice cut through Kagome's thoughts. "Don't do that in front of Kagome-chan. It's improper!"
The miko looked up at the couple who were about five paces in front of her. Her eyes had fallen on their backsides quick enough to catch Miroku pull his hand away from Sango's rear to nervously place it on the back of his head.
"But Sango, my dear," the monk answered in a quiet voice, hoping to be too quiet for the miko to hear. "Kagome-sama cannot see my gestures of affection in this dim lighting. And if she could, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
The exterminator looked to her right to see the monk's dopey-grinning face. "Oh? Well, if it's that dark in here, then perhaps we could just strip naked and fornicate right here in front of Kagome-chan! Oh, wait! I have a better idea! How about we ask Kagome-chan to join us?"
Miroku's face morphed into an overexcited and hopeful expression at her words. "Really? You think she would?" Apparently, he had failed to register Sango's overly sarcastic tone.
Sango gritted her teeth in frustration. Balling up her fist, she knocked the monk on the back of his head, leaving a large lump to form. Without a word, she stormed away, continuing down the dim tunnel, leaving the monk behind. Miroku rubbed the tender spot, a pout forming on his face.
"How cruel..."
A grin tugged at the corner of Kagome's mouth. "Oh, Miroku-sama. When will you learn to be more subtle?" she asked rhetorically before passing by the monk to follow Sango.
Miroku watched the younger of the two women as she walked away from him, dashed thoughts of a threesome still lingering in his mind. He sighed in defeat. "How exceptionally cruel..."
Maiki rushed down the rugged mountainside as quickly as she could without tripping over the rocky surface. She knew the bottom wasn't too far away, for she could already see the road below through the thick trees. Once she reached the path, she could break out into a full run and reach the midwife Yasa quickly.
Unfortunately for her, during her noisy journey to the bottom of the hill, she had stirred up a stalker. Unaware of the lizard yokai following her, she continued onward, completely oblivious to its presence. Without her shibunyo hearing, she couldn't hear it crawling and slithering behind her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack.
With a sigh of relief, the teenager finally reached the bottom. She took a moment to catch her breath. She slung her backpack off, reaching in for a bottle of water. It wasn't hard to find one, since she had left most of her things back in her room. All that had remained inside were a few water bottles, a box of matches, and a shirt. The lighter load was much easier on her, especially since she had lost her shibunyo strength with her recent transformation.
Twisting the cap off her water bottle, she brought the container to her lips and allowed the cool liquid to flow into her parched mouth. She closed her eyes as she tilted her head back, protecting the sensitive orbs from the rays of the sun overhead. With her thirst quenched, she brought her head forward again, opening her eyes to replace the cap on the bottle. Instead, she was met with the brief image of a tall, lizard-like being glaring down at her just before its fist connected with her left temple.
Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and everything fell into darkness.
"Sesshomaru-sama, how much longer are we going to follow your heathen-brother's scent? We've been following for days and we have yet to find him!" the little toad known as Jaken whined in his annoying, high-pitched voice.
The taiyokai ignored his ward's antics. Had he cared enough to answer the midget, he'd inform him that they had strayed from Inuyasha's scent trail when they had come across the mountains surrounding Reimai Valley. Truth be told, Sesshomaru had lost the trail several hours ago. The frequent sudden rainstorms had washed away the hanyo's scent.
Currently, the two yokai were heading north along the base of the western mountain range. Instead of attempting to search all over the forests and mountains for Inuyasha's trail, Sesshomaru opted for an easier route. He would visit the area's ruling yokai and ask him if he had seen or heard of the miscreant hanyo. Though it had been ages since he had last visited the thunder yokai of Reimai Valley, he remembered exactly where their tribe's leader dwelled. It had always been the same castle throughout the centuries.
As Sesshomaru and Jaken followed the road heading northbound, the yokai lord sensed the presence of a yokai up ahead. Not the one he was searching for, for this yokai was far too weak to be the reigning yokai. Snuffing slightly in the air, he distinctly caught the scent of moist soil and scales. A lizard yokai. And along with it, came the scent of a human, a young woman. She was still alive, but probably not for long, since lizard yokai of this region were very fond of feeding upon human women and children.
Because Sesshomaru was not one to meddle in others' affairs, he was content to allow the yokai to do what it wished with its prey. If a human was too weak or foolish to save itself from a yokai's attack, then she deserved the fate handed to her. Sesshomaru would have gladly passed by the yokai with not even a glance in its direction. But the lizard was too greedy and stupid to keep its mouth shut when it noticed Sesshomaru's presence.
"This one's mine! Leave here or else!"
The Lord of the West paused and casually turned to face the offensive creature. "Or else, what?"
The lizard caught the menacing flare of Sesshomaru's yoki, and realized the terrible mistake he had made. His bold countenance had faltered, withering like a dying flower. The inu-lord's yoki was at least a hundred fold stronger than his own. How could he be so stupid as to open his mouth before assessing the situation?
"Please forgive me," he pleaded, lowering his eyes, bowing to the lord. "I have made a grievous error and I humbly ask for your forgiveness."
Jaken spoke up before his master could. "Forgiveness? You offend the great Sesshomaru-sama and dare to ask for his forgiveness!" The cocky toad marched up to the bowing lizard, boldly scolding him.
Seeing Jaken's little toad feet enter his field of vision, a grin broke across the lizard's face. It seemed the fates were turning in his favor. He quickly snatched the kappa, holding his claws to the toad's throat. He glared defiantly at the taiyokai.
"Leave this place at once, or your servant dies."
Sesshomaru lazily blinked at the lizard. "What makes you think I care for his safety?"
Tears pooled from Jaken's eyes. "B-b-b-but Sesshomaru-sama! Have I not devoted myself to you for centuries now? Does my loyalty mean nothing to you?"
The lizard was dumbfounded by Sesshomaru's words, uncertain if it were the truth or a bluff. However, he hid his unease, tightening his hold on the bawling toad. "You've got three seconds to leave before I start skinning your pathetic servant alive."
Only one second was plenty enough time for Sesshomaru. He drew his right hand up in front of his chest, claws glowing with yoki. Flicking his wrist ever so casually, he unleashed his poison whip, tearing the lizard's head clean off his shoulders, and missing Jaken's head by a mere fraction of an inch. The lizard's head fell to the ground and rolled for a moment, just before it and its body disintegrated into dust and scattered away in the breeze.
Jaken, now released from the yokai's grasp, fell to his bottom. A shocked look was plastered on his face, due to the near proximity of Sesshomaru's whip only a moment ago. But said shock was quickly replaced with extreme gratitude when he realized that his lord had saved him after all.
"Oh, thank you, Sesshomaru-sama! I knew you wouldn't allow me to fall victim to such a weak yokai!"
"Jaken," the lord interrupted the toad's enthusiasm. He hadn't been paying much attention to him anyway. Instead, his mind was focused on the girl, or rather, what the girl was carrying; Tetsusaiga. Glancing at the girl's face, he noticed a strong resemblance to the miko who had been so foolish as to mate herself to his worthless half-breed brother. He knew who this girl must be, but he needed to confirm it.
"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?" the toad inquired timidly.
"I want you to wake that girl."
Jaken looked up at the taiyokai questioningly. "But what for, Sesshomaru-sama? She is but a weak human! What good is it to wake her? She would only delay us!"
A sharp glare from the yokai was enough to get Jaken moving.
"Oh, of course! Right away Sesshomaru-sama! Please forgive me!" The kappa paced over to the girl's side and poked her in the side with the bottom of the Staff of Heads. "Wake up, foolish girl! Show Sesshomaru-sama your gratitude for saving your worthless hide!"
Maiki's eyes fluttered open at the disturbance. The first thing she saw was the deep blue sky and puffy white clouds filtering through the lush green branches of trees. Disorientated, she blinked and attempted to sit up. It was then that a surge of pain throbbed from her left temple. She winced, rubbing the tender spot which was sure to leave a bruise. If her injury were not painful enough, the shrill of an annoying voice sliced through her head.
"Ungrateful human! Show my lord your appreciation!"
She turned her head slightly to the right, towards the source of the shrill voice and cracked open an eye. She found herself looking down upon a toad-like creature. She opened her other eye, scrutinizing the yokai.
"Well, you're a hideous looking thing, aren't you?"
Jaken sputtered indignantly. "How dare you! Why, if my lord didn't wish to speak with you, then I wouldn't hesitate burning you to a crisp with my Nintojo!"
Maiki ground her teeth. 'Damn, he's annoying!' While the toad was prattling on, she grabbed the nearest rock she could find.
"Stuff it, will ya?" she retorted as she crammed the fist-sized stone into the kappa's mouth mid-sentence.
The toad stumbled backwards, his incoherent words muffled by the overbearing rock in his mouth. He dropped the Staff of Heads, using both hands to claw at the stone. With Jaken's annoying voice subdued for the moment, Maiki was finally able to turn her attention towards the taiyokai standing five feet from her. As her eyes fell upon him, her breath almost caught in her throat. She ran her eyes up and down his form and the only thing she could think was that he looked perfect. Too perfect, in fact. And very arrogant as well.
Aside from Jaken's frantic mumbles, there was silence. For several moments, Maiki and Sesshomaru held a silent showdown where they just simply studied each other. But finally, the Lord of the West spoke.
"You are Maiki, are you not?" Though he was asking her a question, it came out more like a statement.
The teenage girl rose to her feet, dusted herself off, crossed her arms and cocked a suspicious eyebrow. "Who wants to know?"
"You carry Tetsusaiga."
Maiki briefly glanced down to her left hip where the sheathed Fang rested at her side. "Yeah. So? What of it?"
"You are human."
She sighed in annoyance. "Duh! Anymore obvious observations you'd like to share with me?"
The taiyokai narrowed his eyes with impatience. "You would be wise not to take that tone of voice with me again. This Sesshomaru does not tolerate disrespect, especially from the whelp of my worthless hanyo brother."
Maiki's pondered the revelation of his identity. 'Sesshomaru... why does that sound familiar...' "Oh! You were Rin-sama's guardian, weren't you?"
It was at that moment that Jaken managed to remove the rock from his mouth. "Sesshomaru-sama was never guardian to that insolent child! Rin merely tagged along behind my lord like a helpless, stray dog!"
"Jaken." The Lord of the West gave the kappa a stern glance.
"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Sesshomaru-sama!" he pleaded, bowing low to the ground. Maiki rolled her eyes at the groveling toad.
Sesshomaru returned his attention to the teenager. "Yes. Rin was one of my wards during her childhood until she required training."
Maiki nodded, having recalled the part about Rin within the tale Sango and Miroku had shared with her mother several days ago. But then her mind finally registered another bit of information, realizing what Sesshomaru had referred to her as.
"Wait... '...worthless hanyo brother...' You're my uncle?"
Sesshomaru was quiet for a moment. "Yes." He disliked the visible reminder that his noble yokai blood had been 'tainted' with that of not one, but now two human women. He quickly steered the topic of conversation away from his relation to the girl. "Tell me, pup. Have you or any of your companions encountered Inuyasha over the course of the past few days?"
Maiki seemed to be taken aback by the question. A confused expression crossed her features. "No, I haven't seen him at all. Kazuki-kun probably hasn't either. But as far as mama, Miroku-sama and Sango-san go... I'm not so sure. Kazuki-kun and I were separated from them yesterday afternoon. So your guess is as good as mine... Why? Is something wrong? Is he looking for us?"
The taiyokai didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned and began to walk away. "Come, Jaken. Our business here is finished."
"Yes, milord."
"Hey! Wait just a minute!" Maiki shouted, stomping her foot unyieldingly. "If there's something going on, then you better tell me what it is."
Sesshomaru suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned enough to glance over his shoulder. But his next few words were not what Maiki had hoped for.
"Are you able to wield the Tetsusaiga?"
Maiki looked at him skeptically. "What kind of question is that? Of course I can hold it."
The inu-yokai narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "I did not ask if you could hold it. I asked if you can wield it. Can you make it transform?"
The teenager withdrew a bit, feeling a bit foolish for misunderstanding his inquiry. "Transform? Uh... no. I don't know how to do that... Why?"
Sesshomaru turned the rest of the way around to face Maiki once more. "Then I shall offer you this piece of advise: If you should encounter my miserable half-breed brother, your worthless father, then I suggest that you run."
"Run? Why?"
The yokai lord took a deeper breath than normal, as close as he would get to releasing a frustrated sigh. "My brother... is not himself."
'Not himself?' she pondered, but her mind didn't linger on it for very long. "Oh, crap!" she blurted out with a panicked expression. "I have to go! I've been wasting too much time!" She scooped up her bag and slung it on her back.
"Just where do you think you're going?" Jaken demanded. "You are to stay until Sesshomaru-sama has dismissed you!"
"I can't! I have to hurry and find Yasa-san! Soten-sama needs her! She's going into labor!"
Sesshomaru's face remained blank at her outburst while Jaken looked confused. "What is the problem?" inquired the toad. "Who does this Soten think she is? Is she too lazy to do anything for herself that she has to send a messenger to fetch her servants at the mere thought of working?"
"No!" refuted the girl as she stamped her foot. "Labor, baka! She's having a baby! And she needs her midwife Yasa-san! I have to get her quickly! It was nice meeting you, Uncle Sesshy-chan, but I have to go! Hasta luego!"
Without waiting for another word from the two yokai, Maiki ran off heading south, leaving the inu lord and kappa speechless. Her sudden departure was... odd, to say the least. They watched her form shrink, as the distance between they and she increased with every passing moment. After she disappeared around a bend, the Lord of the West turned away and began heading north.
"Come, Jaken."
The toad hadn't noticed when his lord had begun to walk away until his name had been called. He stumbled after the inu-yokai. But instead of turning up the mountain, heading towards Soten's estate, Sesshomaru continued to follow the road north. With the thunder yokai in the throes of childbirth, it would be of no use to pay her a visit. He would be unable to pry any information from her at this point. And depending on how long she had been in the birthing process, she probably wouldn't have been able to leave her estate, making the likelihood of running into Inuyasha next to zero.
For now, the Lord of the West opted to continue journeying around the mountains of Reimai Valley, hoping that he may come across his brother's scent trail once again.
Yasa - gentle
kappa - a short, humanoid yokai that resembles a toad or a frog
Nintojo - Staff of Heads
Hasta luego - basically means "see you later" in Spanish.
A/N: I didn't really take the time to do a final proof-read before posting this, so I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes.
Although I've said these things a couple of times now, I'm still receiving comments about two things. Though I don't take offense to these two things, I think you can tell I'm getting a bit weary of repeating myself. So this is just a reminder for those who have forgotten, or perhaps never bothered to read my earlier author's notes explaining these things.
First, the "yokai vs. youkai" spelling. It doesn't matter how these words are spelled. It's a matter of opinion. I've chosen to use the spelling that is more frequently used by official sources such as manga and anime subtitles. I've noticed that "youkai" is used mostly by fanfic authors. I don't correct other authors' spellings of Romanized Japanese words, I will not tell them one way is right and the other is wrong, so please don't "correct" me for my choice of spelling.
Second, is about Inuyasha's whereabouts and the mystery of his and Kagome's past. Most people have been giving me good feedback about this, telling me that they can't wait to find out and etc, but they have been patiently waiting nonetheless. But occasionally, I am told I should just hurry up and write it. To this I say, I will write the story as I see fit, since I am the authoress. Certain events and plot devices need to develop in order for the climax of the story to occur. Kagome's and Inuyasha's past will be revealed, but it's a big part of the climax to the story, so obviously I'm not gonna go blurt it out before it's meant to be revealed.
Also, I don't know if it's confusing or not, but the following is just to clear up everyone's location at this point:
Kagome, Miroku and Sango are traveling through the south-eastern mountains around Reimai Valley. Shippo, Kazuki and Koryu are flying over the same mountain range.
Soten's home is near the top of a mountain to the northwest of the valley.
Maiki is outside the western mountains heading south, where she encountered Sesshomaru and Jaken as they were heading north along the same road. Yasa lives along this road, at the base of a mountain outside the valley, south of Yasa's home.
Inuyasha is planning on entering Reimai Valley via the flooded river which is at the southern end of Reimai Valley.