Chapter 2

(Kaoru)

A scream echoed through the house. This was not uncommon, but I recognized the voice of Shinta, and I knew very well that he was alone. I immediately leapt to my feet, running towards the bathroom, where I heard his cry.

I spotted him kneeling on the floor, his back and shoulders heaving with sobs. I knelt beside him, pulling him close to me. "Oh Shinta, what's wrong? Please, talk to me."

He cried into my shoulder, and I was confused, but I just held him while he cried. It wasn't long, however, before his cries tapered down to occasional hiccups and sniffles. I ran my fingers comfortingly through his hair. "Shinta, please, tell me what's wrong?"

He sniffled again, and then stood shakily. "Come with me please Kaoru."

I followed him silently back into his room. He knelt beside his futon, pulling his blanket up around his shoulders and huddling in its security. "I…I'm a demon Kaoru."

Me first reaction was fear, and I had to restrain myself from flinching. After a moment the feeling faded into curiosity. "A demon?"

He nodded. "Only a half demon though. That's why my hair is this color. My father was a wolf youkai, my mother a human." He closed his eyes, and when they opened they were a deep piercing gold. He opened his mouth, and I saw glistening fangs.

I cocked my head. "You really are aren't you? That's why your fingernails have always been longer and sharper than normal."

He nodded reluctantly. "Hai…"

"But…why did you scream?" I asked softly.

He hesitated, and another tear tricked down his cheek. "I…Oh Kami…" A sob tore from his throat. "I'm pregnant Kaoru."

My mouth fell open. "Nani?"

He buried his face in his hands, though his voice was clear through his fingers. "Do you remember when I was sick for those two weeks last year?"

I nodded. "Hai."

"I was beaten, and it caused me to miscarry the child I was carrying at the time. I didn't even know. That's how I found out. Because of my demon heritage I can conceive," he sobbed.

I held him again. "Oh Shinta…."

"What am I going to do Kaoru? I won't be able to explain this!" he cried frantically, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I knew inwardly that he was right; there was no way anyone would believe a pregnant male. But I could just leave him!

"Kaoru…" he whispered. "I think its Enishi's…"

I gasped. "Oh no…"

He began to sob again, and I rocked him gently, murmuring nonsense words to him. I held him quietly until his cries softened and he slept.

It was then that Sakura came in. She saw Shinta, dried tears on his cheeks and sleeping in my arms. She frowned and came forward. "Kaoru, what happened here?"

I sighed. "Shinta is a half-demon Sakura."

She gasped and recoiled. "A what?"

I looked at her with hard eyes. "A demon. A hanyou. Please Sakura, do not fear him. He only wishes for our friendship in this hard time."

She cocked her head. "Hard time?" She knelt beside me. "Explain please."

"He told me everything. He's pregnant, and what's worse, he thinks it's Enishi's." I said quietly, petting Shinta's hair gently.

"Pregnant?" Sakura squeaked, her unmoving demeanor wavered by this information. "How? Is he sure that's possible?"

"When he was sick those two weeks last year? He'd miscarried a child because he was beaten." I whispered.

Sakura looked down. "Oh Kami-sama Kaoru, we've got to get him out of here."

"I know. Before it becomes too obvious. We've only got about two and a half months. We need to hurry." I replied.

"But how?" Sakura muttered, thinking outloud.

"There was a man…" I started. "Shinta talked about him once. He kept saying that he was very kind and gentle. I think Shinta likes him. Maybe he could help."

Sakura nodded. "We just have to find him, and see if he will agree."

I sent a prayer to the gods. 'Oh Kami-sama, please let him agree. For Shinta's sake.'

(3 months later(Yes, I know I'm jumping. But I wanna get to the good stuff!))

We still had not seen the man that Shinta knew, he had just disappeared. Enishi had returned only once more for Shinta about a month earlier, but thankfully had not been as violent with him.

Now all the women knew of Shinta's condition, and all of us helped care for him. When he finished his food and was still hungry, many of us gave up our own. He didn't like taking our food, but we knew that the baby needed to remain healthy, and the current amount of food that Shinta was eating was not enough.

Shinta had begun to gain weight, and now he had a tiny bulge for a stomach. It was small enough that his kimono concealed it easily, but it wouldn't last much longer. We were growing desperate.

Sakura and I looked for the mysterious man every day, but still we had no luck. I ran into Shinta later that day, and he almost instantly burst into tears when he saw me.

"Kaoru, nothing's working! We still haven't found him and my kimono's getting tighter!" he sobbed, latching onto me and crying into my shoulder.

I patted hi back soothingly, petting his hair. "It's alright Shinta, we'll find him. Have you taken the padding out of your kimono yet?"

"A little bit of it, but not all," he replied with a sniffle, drying his eyes with a sleeve.

I smiled. "See? We've got some time yet." I tugged him along behind me, bringing him to the bathhouse. "You know what you need? A good relaxing soak."

He followed me reluctantly, quietly. "Okay Kaoru."

I led him into the room where Sakura, Kasumi, Koneko, and Bara were soaking in the warm water. I knew well that right now Shinta just needed to be pampered, and I would give him that.

I led him to a stool. "Sit." He obeyed quietly, watching me sullenly. I carefully undid the bun that all the women wore, allowing his thick crimson hair to tumble down his shoulders. Then I removed the pins pulling his bangs back, letting them frame his face.

With a soft wet cloth I cleaned the tear-streaked white makeup from his cheeks, following with the cherry red lip and eye color.

"There. Now why don't we get in the furo?" I said gently, untying my obi and moving towards the water. He removed his kimono without a sound, following me into the warm water. His swollen belly attracted my attention without meaning too, even though it was fairly small. He was only 3 and half months along after all.

He let out a sigh of relief as the hot water enclosed his body, leaning against the side.

"Better?" I asked.

He nodded. "Arigatou Kaoru. I think I needed that." He smiled at me. "You are a true friend."

I blushed slightly. "So are you Shinta."

The door suddenly burst open, and Karei came running in. "Kaoru! Where's…" She spotted Shinta and smiled. "Shinta! He's here! I got him to hire you, but he just agreed to talk with you!"

Shinta gasped. "Oh Kami!" He leapt from the water, pulling his kimono on after drying himself. I pulled on a yukata and hastily put his hair back up while he applied his makeup.

"Alright, go Shinta!" I said, giving him a gentle push. "Good luck!"

He stopped on his way out to hug Karei. "Arigatou Karei!" And with that he was gone.

'Onegai, let this work…' I thought anxiously.

Alright, I'm not entirely sure if you will like this, but I did my best. Reviewer responses...

ASTID - Nice to have your review! Um...Yes? I'm not sure what you're asking...

Ylee - Thanks for the critisim, I really appriciate it when people give me their opinions without yelling it at me in a rude way. It was helpful, and I tried to apply it to this chapter. I'm not sure how well I did though...I plan to see the movie "Memoirs of Geisha" when it comes out, and thanks for telling me that. I'm just gonna leave it, I don't much use the word in any other chapters. I agree with you, slut Shinta is a nice thought!