Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me
Chapter Nine: Uncle Sess
Day Fifteen –
I know I said that I was finally getting the hang of this being a mother thing. That was until I went to class and saw how good of parents some of the others were. Their babies were wearing name brand clothes while mine looked like it was practically made out of animal skins.
I carry my baby around in a baby pack while other students, like Hojo, actually have prams. A PRAM! Who has a pram? Where does anyone even FIND a pram anyhow?
Please tell me we aren't being graded on the toys and stuff that we buy for the babies. Mikomi's toys are pretty much handmade by friends and family, we haven't bought her any at all! Seeing all the things that everyone else seems to be buying for their babies is starting to make me feel a bit inadequate.
If we buy stuff will we be reimbursed for it when the project is over or do we just take it back and get a refund? Or maybe we should just hang on to it since we will all have baby fever by the time this is over.
Well, it's been a little over two weeks since Mikomi came into our lives. And it's been an eventful two weeks, believe me.
This morning Mikomi got to meet yet another member of her new extended family, her uncle Sess.
A shadow fell over Kagome. She looked up to find a silver haired, golden eyed demon staring down at her and glaring. Usually the sight of her hanyou's half brother would terrify the miko, but at the moment all he did was send her into a fit of giggles.
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Kagome emerged from the well depressed. Even the daunting amount of homework she had from missing so many days didn't seem to phase her. Seeing Hojo push around his baby in the cute frilly little pram made her feel like the world's worst mother with her Inu-altered baby pack. Sure the pack was great for hauling a baby around Feudal Japan and still be able to shoot an arrow should the need arise, but the… uniqueness of the design had caused her to be the butt of many jokes that day.
The dog demon hadn't understood her depression when she returned from school, not that he was waiting for her anxiously or anything mind you. It was by sheer chance that he was sitting on the tree in front of her house and only happened to be looking in her direction. Yup, total coincidence.
Anyhow, after some badgering she finally told him about the teasing. Naturally this infuriated the dog demon. And not because those stupid kids made fun of his… uh… shard detector either. It was purely because they were saying negative things about his craftsmanship with the pack. Nope, her tears didn't affect him one teeny tiny itsy bitsy bit. Nope. Oh ok, so he was off to protect Kagome from the evils of schoolmates by hacking a few of them up. That was no reason to sit him was it?
It didn't take much coaxing to get the girl back through the well armed with a backpack full of ramen and pocky.
Waiting by the well was Shippo. Happily he launched himself into Kagome's arms. Smelling an argument in the air he took Mikomi and made a few quick comments guaranteed to set Inuyasha off on a rampage. He knew it was wrong, but it was funny. He couldn't help it. Old habits die hard.
Shippo watched as Kagome said S-I-T and Inuyasha plummeted to the ground. As always, this amused the kit. He told his electronic little sister how much of an idiot he thought the half demon was.
In mid tirade Inuyasha stopped yelling and started sniffing the air. He growled loudly as the spell wore off and pulled out his sword, pushing Kagome behind him. Shippo squeaked and hid behind Kagome, protecting Mikomi.
Before Kagome had time to question him, she saw a silver haired demon step out of the trees, followed closely by a little girl and a green frog looking demon.
"What do you want, Sesshomaru?" growled Inuyasha.
The older demon looked at the group with cold eyes. "There are stories that you have sired a pup. I have come to erase that mistake. Rin, close your eyes." Obediently the girl covered her eyes with her hands.
Green vapors began forming around the dog demon's hand. He looked into his half-brother's eyes, not responding to the threats or the growling. His lip quirked slightly before he moved his eyes to the female companion hiding the fox kit and child while searching for her bow.
When Sesshomaru's eyes moved to Kagome, Inuyasha's heart stopped beating. His eyes widened in fear before narrowing in fury.
"YOU FIGHT ME!"
But the call came too late as Sesshomaru disappeared and appeared behind Kagome. His hand wrapped around her throat.
"You should learn to protect your pack better, little brother." He began to squeeze.
He expected tears from the girl and an animalistic brainless assault from his brother. He wasn't expecting the girl to glow pink. And he certainly wasn't expecting his own skin to burn where he touched her. Suddenly the pink glow expanded, throwing him away from her. When he looked up he saw Inuyasha standing in front of them with his sword raised and a smirk on his face.
"Wow, Kagome," he heard the kit whisper. "That was cool!"
This time Sesshomaru drew his sword and waited for his brother's attack. He was surprised once more when it didn't come. Inuyasha was waiting. Calculating. He was thinking before acting. It was strange seeing him act rationally.
But there was something wrong. Inhaling, Sesshomaru identified the scents in the air. Rin, Jaken, his brother, the girl, and the fox kit.
"Your pup is dead." Sesshomaru didn't mean to growl as he said it, though it sounded more like an accusation than a statement.
Inuyasha quickly glanced back at his companions, relieved to see they were all alive and well. His scowl fell, and he gave his half-brother a quizzical look.
"What?"
Sesshomaru sheathed his sword. "Even a nose as pathetic as yours should be able to tell that the pup has no scent. It does not breathe. It is not alive."
The tip of Inuyasha's sword dropped a little bit, though his stance remained on alert. He was sporting his trademark smirk.
"It ain't dead 'cuz it was never alive."
Sesshomaru looked on with a passive face as the girl and the kit began laughing. Not one to enjoy being laughed at, and worse, feeling ignorant, Sesshomaru demanded to see the child. Though Inuyasha said no (in very colorful terms) the girl he was with walked towards him with the bundle.
She stood in front of him, studying him. He wondered if one of her powers was reading minds. It would not have surprised him. The girl was stronger than either of them knew, though he did not know why her eyes looked so red or why there were dark circles under them, as if she had not slept well in a very long time. Her stance, though bold, spoke volumes. She was suffering from exhaustion. It was surprising that she was still standing. Did his brother not know how to even care for one simple girl?
"Don't trust him, Kagome." Inuyasha stayed between the girl and his half brother, growling the entire time. His fists were clenching and unclenching to keep from attacking, claws ready. "I'll tear him to pieces if he tries anything."
Kagome rolled her eyes and opened the blanket to reveal Mikomi. She pressed her lips together tightly to keep from smiling at the curiosity that the feared demon lord was trying so hard not to show.
"It is dead," he said with a look of disgust on his face as he pulled away.
Shaking her head, Kagome said, "No, it's not dead. It's just a doll. A very… complex doll. It was never alive to begin with." She held it out a little. "Touch it. But be careful with it, it breaks very easily."
Sesshomaru did not move to take Kagome up on her offer to touch the doll. Instead he called, "Jaken". The green demon appeared at his master's side.
"Yes, my lord Sesshomaru!"
"Touch it."
The trembling demon touched one green digit to the doll's forehead warily. At first he jerked back at the strange feeling of the plastic skin. Then, curious, he touched it again. He tried to explain what it felt like, but couldn't come up with the right words. In the end, Sesshomaru felt the doll for himself.
"It is not real. How is this possible?" He glanced over to his young charge who was practically dancing with curiosity, yet still had her eyes covered just as she had been instructed to. "Come here, Rin."
With a squeal of excitement the young girl practically flew over. She clapped her hands merrily in front of her and was all but bouncing for a chance to see the doll. Eagerly she held out her hands. Just as Sesshomaru was about to hand the doll over to the girl to see, Mikomi began to wail.
Inuyasha barely had time to deflect the swing of Sesshomaru's sword.
"Don't hurt her!"
Kagome managed to dive for the baby and caught it before it hit the ground. For a second there she saw her grades flying out the window. As it was she was probably flirting with a C- with all the rough handling it was getting.
"It is a demon!" He stood between Rin and the wailing demon.
"No, you idiot! Kagome already told you it is a doll."
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed a fraction. "A doll does not cry like a child."
"She already explained about that. You really are an idiot!"
Sesshomaru watched from the corner of his eye as Kagome sat beside Rin as he fought with his brother. She let the girl hold the doll and showed her which buttons to press to make it stop crying, and for how long the button had to be held down to get it to work properly. Although the little girl did not understand the explanations, it was obvious that she enjoyed playing with the doll anyhow. The fox kit appeared on the miko's shoulder to add in his suggestions on how to hold it.
Once again Sesshomaru sheathed his sword, irritating Inuyasha.
"Fight or don't fight! STOP CHANGING YOUR MIND!"
Slowly the dog demon walked towards Kagome. In a blur of red, Inuyasha placed himself in front of her.
"How is it that such a thing exists? Explain."
Kagome launched into an explanation of computer chips and plastic molds. After a few minutes of blank looks she sighed and said, "Magic."
Sesshomaru turned to walk away. The giggles of his young charge stopped him. Silently he watched as his brother's mate patiently played with Rin. It took him a moment to realize that the miko was watching him as well. But she wasn't afraid, once again she was trying to read his mind. He watched as her eyes suddenly widened and she gasped. Then she smiled. Not just any smile, but a bright sunny grin. She glanced towards Inuyasha and back to Sesshomaru. He did not like that she looked like she knew something that she should not.
"Why do you possess such a doll?" Once again the miko smiled brightly at him.
"The doll is to help teach us about being parents. It's designed to record if we respond when it cries, if we feed it, change it, and keep it safe. If we neglect the doll or let her get hurt we fail."
"It trains you to be a parent?"
"Well… sort of. We also have to do a lot of reading and writing with the project. We're supposed to learn about all the stuff that goes along with being a parent that you usually don't think about. Like clothing the child, living expenses, food, doctors, toys, traveling with a child, how much time you have to give up for it, and about a zillion other things."
Sesshomaru looked at her coolly. "I do not believe that a doll can teach so many things."
Smiling, Kagome agreed. "It's not just the doll that does the teaching. My teacher gave us a list of things we have to do and we have to do some research on our own. We also keep a journal where we record all the things we learned that day about being a parent." She reached into her bag to show him her journal full of writing. "Though really I think this whole assignment is to show us just how difficult it is to have a baby. You know, let us know things we'd have to sacrifice to have one."
"Like sleep," mumbled Inuyasha.
"Why do you possess such a doll?" Sesshomaru asked again, this time he looked at his brother as he posed his question.
"IT'S KAGOME'S!"
The miko snickered.
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Before long the sun was setting.
"Come Jaken. Rin." Immediately the two jumped to their feet and were at his side, following him back into the woods.
Kagome sat on the grass with her back resting against her backpack. Inuyasha and Shippo were taking turns insulting how the other held Mikomi. Kagome just hoped they didn't end up tearing the very expensive doll apart.
Drawing her knees up, Kagome thought about the afternoon. Sesshomaru had stayed much longer than she ever dreamed that he would. Especially considering after the second fight was over no one drew a sword again.
"I think he was testing you," said Kagome as she began gathering her stuff to put back in the pack.
"Testing me?"
"He never attacked the baby directly. Maybe he was testing your strength at protecting your pup… you know… since he thought it was yours…" she knew she was blushing, but turned to focus on packing to hide it.
"Feh, why would he care?" He grabbed her pack and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's get to the village. We wasted too much time already."
Maybe he cares. Maybe he wanted to see his family. After all, had Mikomi been real… Sesshomaru would have been an uncle. Kagome giggled at the thought as she followed her companions back to Kaede's.
No doubt about it, even though he tried to hide it, the demon had been very curious about the doll and the journal. He had scowled at her notebook, unable to read the words she had written. She decided to chalk it up to a difference that 500 years makes to the written word, not a commentary on her penmanship.
Or maybe he was so interested because of the little girl who followed him...
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Though I like to think that even estranged relatives can come back together one day, I know that it isn't always possible. Old wounds may not heal overnight, but I hope that eventually they might heal. It's just hard to be the person to make the first step in forgiveness or understanding. It becomes a habit to hate and hold grudges.
I know that sometimes it may seem like you hate your family, and maybe you do. But maybe sometimes you end up doing things in a weird way for what you think is for someone's good.
For example, maybe you are really tough on your little brother because you think it will help him to grow up stronger. You fight them to teach them the skills you think they need to defend themselves. Maybe that's the only thing you have to give him since you don't know how to give love or when you think that showing it is a weakness. I didn't say it wasn't a messed up way, but it is a possibility.
What does this have to do with the assignment? More observations on how one small baby can affect a bunch of people, people you might not have in your wildest dreams thought that it would affect. It's kind of like when you throw a stone in a pond and you see the ripples get larger and larger. You've got to love analogies, don't you?
Having a baby around makes you start thinking about family, either the one you were born into, the one you have, or the one you hope to one day have.
I've also noticed that it takes five people to keep up with just this one baby to keep our sanity. How is it even possible for people to have more than one child? When do people sleep? How do they manage to not go completely insane from sleep deprivation? When do you get the time to take one lousy bubble bath for crying out loud?
I suddenly have uncontrollable desire to hug my mother and apologize.
By the way, I did some surfing on the net the other day about other students with similar projects. How come they only had to have their babies for one lousy weekend and we are being tortured for an entire month? Do you just hate us? Is this in retaliation about that dissected frog incident? If so, it's not fair to punish us all for what a couple kids did. I was out sick that day and wasn't even there!
Kagome Higurashi