A/N: Chapter 21 here we go! Disclaimer! Jaken-sama!
Jaken: Aki does not own Inuyasha, Naruto, Star Wars, or Memoirs of a Geisha. She only owns this story, the plot, and all her characters. Everything else belongs to their rightful owners.
Chapter Twenty-One: Sujou
"N-Nani!" Kagome exclaimed. "Now?"
"Hai, now." Mei Lhi replied.
"Oh no…" The miko moaned.
Mei Lhi sighed. "We're going to have to get into the nearest room we can find and block it off to everyone." She said to no one in particular.
'I really wish I didn't have to be the one to do this…I hardly know anything about midwifery.'
"Mei-oba-san! I'm back!" Tsurugi yelled from the other side of the hall as he sprinted, Reika, Toji, and the girls in tow.
"What's wrong with Kagome-oba-san?" Tsukimisou asked.
"Kagome-chan is going to have her pup now, Tsuki-chan." Mei Lhi replied.
The hanyou now turned to Reika and Toji. "I'm going to need your help. We have to find a spare room for her."
Reika nodded, and Toji moved to help the miko to her feet. Rin insisted on finding a room, and in a matter of seconds, a suitable place was found, and Kagome was put inside, once the room had been haphazardly prepared.
"Toji-san, please get Inuyasha. I don't care if he's discussing how he'd like to die tomorrow, just get him here!" The hanyou said in a firm voice.
"Hai! I'll be back as soon as I can." The boy replied.
Toji grasped Reika's hand for a moment, before he disappeared, a white feather in his wake.
-
"Oi, Miroku!" Inuyasha called.
The monk turned, quite surprised. "Inuyasha? What brings you here, old friend?" he asked.
"Keh. Business." The hanyou replied.
"Business? That's a first for you."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up…"
"So you were saying?"
"You remember when the West was going to be divided, right?"
"Um…hai! What about it?"
"I've decided that this village will be in my half. So I'll be your lord now."
"I guess I'll tell Sango to prepare for the worst…"
"Oi! I know what I'm doing! And you better trust me or else I'll make a lecher tax just for you!"
The monk sighed, shaking his head briefly, at last breaking into a smile. "Alright, Inuyasha. I'll trust you. I have, after all, always trusted you before, and out of all those times we had a few minor mishaps…"
"Have you been keeping count, Monk?"
"I think it's roughly twelve times that one of us has been near death, kidnapped, or trapped."
"Oh it's got to be more than that!" Hana said with a grin.
Inuyasha growled, Hana shook her head and sighed, walking off to where Sango sat nearby.
"Kaede-sama has invited us to join her for tea." Kyo called out, stepping out of the elderly miko's hut.
"Kyo-san, why are you here?" Sango asked politely.
"Just here to make sure Inuyasha behaves himself." The Kaze Ryuu said with a grin.
"Oi! I'm older than you are! Don't treat me like a child!" The hanyou snapped.
Yet another argument was on the verge of starting; only it never got the chance. Sesshoumaru politely interrupted them.
"I expect you to behave and act the age you so say that you are. I would not wish the daimyo of this village to find you incapable simply because you decided to partake in yet another one of your childish quarrels." The taiyoukai said.
Inuyasha stopped in mid-action, shoving his fisted hands into his haori, turning off to the side to sulk.
-
"Kagome-chan, I need you to relax." Mei Lhi instructed.
'Oh Kami-sama I have NO idea what I'm doing!'
"Itai!" The miko cried out.
"Hai, I know it hurts, but Kagome-chan, you'll have to be strong for this."
The miko let out a low moan of pain and nodded slowly. The stress seemed to have shown on the Inuyoukai girl's face, for Reika looked up and sighed, calmly placing a hand on the hanyou's shoulder to get her attention.
"Mei-chan…rest. You're going to overexert yourself. Please, allow me to help." The girl said, sending the hanyou girl a knowing look.
Graciously Mei Lhi nodded and went off to the side, allowing the child of anti-life to begin her work.
The hanyou watched in amazement as her friend watched Kagome, noticing she started counting after each of Kagome's cries of pain.
"I can't do it anymore! Make it stop!" The miko yelled.
"Kagome get a hold of yourself! You can do this! So pull yourself together!" Reika exclaimed fiercely in response.
"I give up…it hurts too much…"
"You give up? You're just going to quit? Kagome! You've suffered much more than this pain! And how dare you give up! This is Inuyasha's child! This is the child that your heart and soul has been crying out to bring into the world ever since you fell in love! You're going to throw that all away just because you can't take the pain? Hana-sama told you that it would be painful! It was your fault for underestimating how much it would hurt. And you say that you give up? Kagome, if you keep trying and stay with it the whole way, it will be over soon and the pain will go away. Can you imagine how much more pain you will have if you just give up? You will have to know that you decided to let your child die just because it caused you so much pain. Are you truly willing to do that to this child? This child which you've grown to love as it grew within you, this child which you've dreamed of having for so long…Is it really worth it to throw it all away?"
Reika's words seemed to fill Kagome with a newfound strength.
"I…will bring this baby into the world!" The miko shouted, sounding confident.
Reika smiled and nodded, and resumed counting once more.
"One, two, three, four, five…"
Mei Lhi couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that it had been Reika and not herself to give Kagome the comfort she needed to continue on, but at the same time she was in awe of Reika's compassion. She had never known the girl to be this way.
"…forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three-"
Kagome cried out again.
"Forty-three, Kagome. Get ready…" Reika said.
The hanyou girl was incredibly oblivious as to what was going on. Those numbers actually meant something? Kagome seemed to understand, and nodded. Reika moved to examine the miko, checking out things, before nodding at Kagome.
The miko gulped and took a deep breath.
"On three, Kagome. Are you ready?"
Kagome nodded.
"Alright…one, two, three!"
Kagome's face contorted in pain as she pushed, praying that gravity would favor her.
"Breathe! Relax. Again! One, two, three!"
Again, the miko pushed, biting her lip as the pain threatened to overwhelm her.
'Inuyasha…'
-
Toji sighed in aggravation. It was times like these that he hated being the spirit of life. It was nearly impossible to find anyone if you weren't an elemental spirit dragon. It was always easier for elementals to find anyone. He sighed again, stretching his wings, taking to the sky again.
At least he knew he was close. He could at least sense that Inuyasha's life energy was nearby.
He had to find the hanyou, and soon.
-
"Keep going Kagome! It's almost over! There! I can see the head!" Reika said encouragingly.
"You're doing great, Kagome-chan!" Mei Lhi added, helping cheer her friend on.
Just as Reika was about to reach to touch the child, she froze, a look of sheer terror on her face. The child of the anti-life stared at her hands, waves of terror washing over her as a memory from the past came to haunt her once more.
'It's happening again! No…it can't!'
"I-I'm sorry. I can't. Mei-chan, please…you have to do it." The girl said, her voice barely above a whisper.
'I cannot touch this child…'
"Nani? Me? But-but-but I-I don't know how to deliver a pup!" The hanyou exclaimed in alarm.
'If I do…the nightmares will never end…it will be how it was before…'
"It's okay, I will teach you how…"
'The blood is still on my hands…it won't go away…'
Mei Lhi gulped, nervously nodding and approaching her friend once more.
"When the head is out, support the neck, and have her keep pushing until the shoulders clear, alright?" Reika instructed, her voice still sounding slightly horror-stricken.
The hanyou nodded slowly. "Anno…Kagome-chan, you need to push some more," she began.
Kagome took a moment to breathe before pushing once again.
Slowly the head made its way out, inch by painful inch before at last it was free, and Mei Lhi held the child's head in her hands, supporting the neck as she was instructed.
"The head is out! What now, Reika-chan?"
"Good. Now, when the shoulders start to come out, they might get stuck. Just try and get one out, and don't be afraid to move the baby to do it. Get one shoulder free and you'll be able to get the other free too."
"We're almost there Kagome-chan. Hang in there! Your pup is almost here! Now you need to push a little longer, but it'll be over soon, I promise!"
The miko nodded, pushing harder.
"Give it your all, Kagome-chan! Give it everything you've got!"
"Ahhh…h-hai!"
-
"Sesshoumaru-sama, it is an honor to meet you. What is so important that you must discuss with me?" The young daimyo asked.
"I will no longer be in charge of this village. I will instead be passing the responsibility on to my little brother, Inuyasha." The taiyoukai replied.
The daimyo looked surprised. "Inuyasha? The legendary hanyou that aided in the defeat of Naraku three years ago?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I am simply informing you of this change of power, I feel it is valuable information you should have."
"Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama, I will graciously accept this power transfer, and I do hereby accept Inuyasha-sama as my liege lord."
"There, now was that so horrid, dear brother?" The taiyoukai asked with a smirk.
"Keh. Shut up. It's your fault I'm here. You dragged me, you bastard." Inuyasha growled.
"On second thought, Sesshoumaru-sama, I'm not so sure if Inuyasha-sama is capable." The daimyo said.
"You see, this is exactly what I told you what would happen…" Sesshoumaru commented, his smirk growing.
Inuyasha glared at Sesshoumaru.
"Oi! Don't underestimate me! I am capable!" The hanyou snapped at the daimyo.
The daimyo looked rather spooked, going into a low bow. "Forgive me Inuyasha-sama; I should not have doubted your skill."
"Get up! It's not your fault. It's my bastard brother's fault. If it hadn't been for him we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Arigatou Inuyasha-sama! I am most grateful to you, and let me say that I'm quite proud of your triumph over that terrifying Naraku!" The daimyo gushed.
Slowly Inuyasha felt himself starting to back away. This guy was giving him the creeps. He also noticed with a bit of amusement that Sesshoumaru and Kyo were backing away as well.
"Inuyasha!" A voice said from behind the hanyou.
"Toji-sama…" Kyo whispered.
"Inuyasha, you have to come with me, and quickly."
"What's going on?"
"It's a matter involving Kagome, now come on; I've already wasted quite a lot of time trying to find you. It's been hours since I left them."
Sesshoumaru sighed. "I suppose I shall sort out everything into your favor, dear brother." He said.
Inuyasha nodded, vanishing with the boy.
-
"The shoulders are out! What now? The pup's not breathing!" Mei Lhi yelled, sounding fearful.
"First, gently pull the child out of the birth canal, cut the cord, and then you need to get the baby to cry so the nose and throat can be cleared, that way it will be able to breathe." Reika replied as calmly as if she were explaining why the sky was blue.
The girl pulled out the child and cut the cord, the naked newborn in her hands. Suddenly without warning the child began to howl, and it was then that the door slid open, revealing a stunned Inuyasha.
"Kagome-chan, you have a son!" Mei Lhi announced happily, ignoring the wailing in her ears. "What do you want to call him, Kagome-chan?"
"Aijii…" (A/N: I give name credit to Nanda-onee-san! I'm only borrowing the name from her fic, not the character himself. XD)
It was then that everyone noticed Inuyasha was in the room. Kagome smiled.
"Inuyasha, would you like to meet someone?" The miko asked.
The hanyou was shocked beyond words; he nodded, approaching his mate who handed him his son. Mei Lhi grinned at the sight of her nephew, politely excusing herself from the room. Toji poked his head in the open doorway, finding a smile upon his face. Reika looked up and walked towards him, softly shutting the door behind the new parents.
-
"I thought you'd gotten hurt…" Inuyasha admitted after a few moments silence.
Kagome smiled, shaking her head.
"When Toji came I thought that it was because something terrible happened and I wasn't there to protect you…but instead, I found myself here looking at the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. I got to see the birth of our pup…"
Aijii cooed happily in his father's arms. He looked up at his father with big golden eyes, which surprised Inuyasha quite a bit, to say the least.
"Kagome! Look! He opened his eyes!" The hanyou said suddenly.
The miko looked at the newborn and gasped slightly, before a broad grin worked its way onto her face. "He has eyes just like his father." She said finally, her smile still in place.
Inuyasha studied the face of his son, letting one of his fingers lightly pet the small tuft of jet black hair that bore a single silver streak. Then he noticed the ears. They appeared to be human ears at first glance, but upon further examination, one could see that they were pointed at the top, definitely indicating youkai blood. (A/N: Think LOTR elf ears)
As the golden orbs identical to his own stared at him, Inuyasha couldn't help but smile.
(A/N: Aww!)
-
The next day Tsukimisou was so energetic one would have thought someone had slipped her a whole bag full of sugar.
"I wanna see Aijii-chan!" She repeatedly exclaimed.
"Now Tsuki-chan, your oba-san is still very tired, so it'll be a while before she decides to show Aijii-chan off." Mei Lhi said to the young girl.
"But I wanna see Aijii-chan and I wanna see him now!"
And thus Mei Lhi, Kyo, Toji, Sesshoumaru, Hana, Rin, Tsurugi, and Jaken all sweat dropped.
Reika smiled. "Ne, Tsuki-chan, how about I give you a set of fans? I'll teach you a short dance if you want! I'll even show you how a geisha pours tea!" The girl said.
"Really Reika-sama? Sugoi! Can I learn how Hahaue?"
Hana nodded instantly, and all breathed a sigh of relief and gratitude that Reika had decided to take care of the hyperactive child.
"Now stay here for a second Tsuki-chan, I'm going to get you a set of fans. Be good, ne?"
Tsukimisou nodded, taking a seat, bouncing up and down excitedly. The others watched in amusement. Reika was back in a matter of moments, the Inu child sprang to her feet, jumping like a June bug.
"Let's find and empty room and we can do a play for everyone when we finish learning the dance!" Reika said with a grin.
Tsukimisou nodded and let herself get led away with her geisha idol.
-
Reika flicked open a spare set of fans she had brought, and demonstrated the dance she wanted the Inu child to learn.
"This is the first motion," she explained, holding up the fan so that it looked as if she were hiding her face with it. "The second," she extended her arm outwards. "The third," she raised her arm in a sweeping motion. "The next part, you just trade off the second and third motions on each arm three times, and the fourth motion you spin, like this…"
Reika executed a graceful spin (A/N: A very Jyuuken-like spin) and named off the last two motions of the dance. The fifth motion being repeated sweeping motions, while the sixth was the finishing pose.
Tsukimisou watched in awe, and when her very first set of geisha fans were handed to her, she shakily stood, and started to copy the dance, while Reika watched and helped her.
"That's good, but keep your arm curved. Don't bend the elbow so much. You'll make it look very square that way."
"Hai, Reika-sama!"
In a short amount of time, Tsukimisou perfected the dance.
"Congratulations Tsuki-chan! You've learned your first geisha dance!" Reika said happily.
The Inu child was ecstatic. Reika poured the tea that afternoon when a servant brought it in, showing the Inuyoukai girl how to do it, and explaining special techniques to the child, who began absorbing it all like a sponge.
-
At last when night fell, Reika called everyone into the grand dining hall.
"Tonight for your entertainment, we have a special play starring the very special Tsuki-chan! So please enjoy your meal while watching her performance." The girl announced, wearing one of her geisha kimonos, deciding to not wear her makeup.
Tsukimisou entered the room and stepped onto the special stage that had been set up just for her. The child was wearing a very pretty kimono and she looked like a chibi geisha. Reika took a seat on a cushion that was set up on the side of the stage, and then pulled a stringed instrument into her lap, beginning to play.
"This is the tale of Inu-hime," Reika began.
Tsukimisou pointed at herself indicating that she was Inu-hime.
"Inu-hime had come from a far distant land, hoping to find the special Orb of Destiny. Inu-hime was lost. She didn't know what fate held in store for her, but the Orb knew. So, curious as to what she was going to become when she grew up, Inu-hime immediately began to search for the Orb."
Tsukimisou imitated motions of looking for something.
"But then one day…"
The music became a bit more dramatic.
"When she was in the woods a terrible howling wind began, and she knew that she was close to the Orb of Destiny…"
Tsukimisou began her dance, whipping out her fans just as Reika had taught her. She moved as if she were fighting against the forces of nature.
"So using her enchanted fans, she battled the wind and tamed it. The wind became a gentle breeze and guided her to the Orb…"
Tsukimisou slowed, concluding the dance with the final motion.
"And so she touched the Orb and found what she had been searching for. At last she knew her purpose. And with this in mind, she set off to become exactly what she was meant to be. The end."
Reika stood and told the Inu child to bow, and she did. An excited cheer met their ears, and the pair bowed once again before at last taking a seat at the table, helping themselves to a wonderful meal.
-
Later that night Kagome and Inuyasha decided the time was right to present their son to the world.
Everyone loved him. And Aijii in turn, seemed to love everyone else just as much. Tsukimisou and Rin were the most eager of all to meet their new nephew. Tsurugi was excited, except he was no where near the level of giddiness that his sisters had. Hana and pretty much everyone for that matter, could not help but smile at the child's presence. Everyone had to admit that that pup was cute as a button.
"The girls will be all over him when he gets older. You're going to have to beat them off with a stick, Nii-chan." Mei Lhi commented with a grin, looking down at her nephew's face, lightly tickling the infant's cheek.
Inuyasha smirked. "I guess he gets his good looks from me, ne?" he said, still smirking.
Kagome lightly hit him on the head, giggling, which caused the hanyou to scowl.
"Keh. Fine, there's some of you in him too…" he muttered, his face an expression of feigned annoyance. His façade didn't last. Unable to help himself, a grin worked its way onto his face.
The miko nodded in approval and grinned, which caused everyone to smile as well, a few laughs rang out, the sound filling the room with warmth and a sense of unity. Family.
A/N: Sorry for the rather cheesy stopping point, but I needed to cut it off somewhere, and I'm currently running on less than 5 hours of sleep, so my brain is unable to produce anything worthy to write. For that I apologize. Anyways, Ch. 22 may or may not be up as quick as they've been coming out recently. It's my second semester of my sophomore year, so I've got to work my ass off and keep my grades up so I can pass the year. (Not that I'm doing bad in my classes or anything) But anyways…ja ne until next time and thanks for reading!
PS: The chapter title, "Sujou" is "Birth" in Japanese.
