Mother
"You told us the baby was dead, segare-san." Jiji-san whispered again. Kana pulled away from his father quickly, and covered his face with his hands. "Kana-san, the baby is dead, no? Tell us the baby is dead, like you told us before."
"I lied!" He snapped impatiently, while pulling away. They weren't going to go easy on him for this, not while Jiji-san was here.
"Segare-san, you can't lie about things like that. The whole village believed you. If your wife survives, she wont want to give birth to a stillborn, but especially not a monster." He said calmly.
"She told me to lie! I didn't want the baby to live either."
"Then it isn't too late, the girl still has a few weeks before the baby's birth." Jiji-san interrupted.
"She convinced me." Kana muttered.
"Your wife? Convinced you to what?"
"She made me believe. You can't kill that baby, Tou-san!" Kana yelled at his father. He turned around to face him.
"Segare-san, what are you talking about? We wont tell her that it was your decision. She doesn't have to know. After the baby is dead, we will bring her to light and then we can-
"You can't kill my baby! I wont let you!" Kana screamed. Now, nobody in the village was taller than Kumi's Jiji-san, not even the other Zuka. His skills as a warrior went above any of those in his time. He was praised for his good height and remarkable skill since childhood, and that made him proud. His pride made him stand even taller still, so whenever Kana turned to him he felt belittled; he even felt it to the point of submission on many of his unwanted decisions. Not this decision. Kana had ripped out of his modest and meek appearance and stood tall screaming into the old man's face.
"Kana, I'm warning you-
Kana lost all sense of submissiveness and snatched Jiji-san's collar without warning, dragging Jiji-san down to his own level and he glared fiercely into the old man's eyes. "No! I'm warning you! If you touch Inari I will kill-
In that very moment, Jiji-san's powerful arm shot out and whipped across his segare-san's face knocking him off of Jiji-san, then sent a powerful kick through his stomach to thrust him backwards and into the air, out of the house, where he landed on the hard ice outside. Kana's hands jolted to his stomach, and he wrapped his arms around it while he turned onto his side, gasping desperately for breath.
Jiji-san walked over to Inari and bent down next to her, feeling her belly gently. "Her body is larger since then, so it's true."
"Please! Reikoku, don't harm anyone! We'll inform Shimokage-sama." Ōbaa-san pleaded with her husband while he examined the young woman closely. The doctor stood and rushed outside to Kana, who was still gasping frantically for a breath of air.
"I will take care of this on my own, Kanojo-chan. It's about time this village saw its share of self-sufficiency." Jiji-san blurted.
"Don't call me Kanojo while our son is bearing a strike from his Ōtou-san…" She accused softly. "Take the man and his girl to the Shimokage, or you will have to beat me too." After her voice took on a more self-assured tone, he looked up at her. When he saw that her eyes were unchanging, Jiji slid his hands under the woman and lifted her up, his eyes never leaving his wife's, as though waiting for an insecurity in her eyes to alert him to strike and defend his cause. Ōbaa-san wouldn't give it to him; instead she turned and went outside to aid her son as he struggled to stand.
Once a shoulder was under his arm, Kana stood tall and jerked his head towards Jiji. "We're going to the Shimokage, Kana-chan." Ōbaa-san mumbled.
"Give me my wife." Was all Kana offered in response, and his mother looked up at Jiji expectantly.
"He'll run, Konki-chan. You know he'll do it." Jiji persuaded, and Ōbaa-san looked down in agreement. Kana glowered at Jiji, but he looked indifferent. "You will stay, but only while I hold her."
The doctor tried to remain out of the way, he was an old family friend, but he could feel the building tension and didn't want to test their acceptance.
There was a long silence as the five of them passed through the streets of Shimogakure, and it felt as though people were watching them. Kana glared at every house that fell behind them as they walked, glared at every young man and old lady whose eyes followed them on their gloomy journey. All of these people, every last one of them had wanted for the baby's death, had waited and prayed for the decree that was soon enforced. It was the decree that sentenced his blind wife's blameless child to death, even before he could feel his mother's deliberate touch, before he saw her tender smile, or heard his father's praise. They wanted the boy to die before he even understood that he was loved.
"This is exactly what the Bone village wanted; a stubborn and tenacious father to deliver the monster from justice." Jiji sneered.
"No one knows why the beast was contained in it. Perhaps to destroy the village after it's mother birthed it in secrecy, as we all assume, or perhaps they wanted to use it to start riots on its execution even before its birth. Either way, that's exactly what you're giving them." Ōbaa-san suggested.
"That monster should die. That's an easy way to settle it."
"My baby is not a monster!" Kana yelled at his father. Ōbaa took her gaze off of the two and let it drift from stone to stone on the street. Kana jerked his head in her direction, "Nor is he an it!"
"You shouldn't have gotten attached to it… segare-san." Ōbaa spoke softly.
The rest of the walk was left in silence, and soon they approached the town square where the office building of the Shimokage stood in sight. At the foot of the building, the Shimokage was standing patiently, with a look of worry painted across his tired face. He took a step forward and raised his arms out to hold the sickly lady in place of Jiji. Jiji-san met his request and laid the girl on his arms. Now finding himself free to do so, Jiji bowed towards the Shimokage and opened his mouth to speak,
"The baby." Jiji offered.
"I thought as much." Shimokage-sama said, turning around. With an anxious grimace, Kana shoved out of Ōbaa-san's supportive grasp and stepped towards the keeper of his pregnant bride.
"Where are you taking her to?!" Kana voiced. Shimokage-sama turned to face the defensive husband and father, and nodded comfortingly.
"Inside, to rest." He said slowly.
"She hasn't awoken since my son gave her the herbs…" Kana recalled aloud.
"Ah… the herbs. Yes, it seems she is in a very deep sleep indeed." Shimokage examined Inari before turning to walk into the building.
"Is there anything you can do?" Kana said as he followed him in.
"Let me see." The Shimokage responded. The six of them walked slowly through the halls, each with their own choir of thoughts entertaining words that they chose not to mouth.
"The herbs weren't deadly. They were just the wrong kind. Kumi-chan was told to give her twenty batches of Futaba no Ubuge, but instead he gave her a plant that was to be used in six batches. The amount had the potential to kill her, but now I'm not sure what they'll do. At any rate, it can't be good for the baby, if we want it, and she can't give birth while she's asleep." The doctor explained to him.
"Thank you, you may go now if you wish." Said the Shimokage. The doctor looked almost grateful for the excuse to leave them as he walked quickly towards the door. "Don't tell anyone about the baby, if I find that you did then there will be consequences." Shimokage-sama added. The doctor gave them one last glance and a nod before closing the door behind himself, "So, your son, I overheard from some eavesdroppers that he ran."
"He will return. I know, because we're alike. I will look for him later, if he cannot find the way. I'm more concerned about the unborn one." He said
"The birth wont be a problem if you execute the monster now." Jiji explained.
"Thank you for your advice Reikoku-san." Shimokage responded softly. In that moment Kana's gaze shifted to Shimokage's eyes and he glowered deeply.
"You aren't going to listen to him are you?!" He shouted fiercely at Shimokage-sama.
"No." Was all the response the elder gave him.
"Then what is your decision, if you don't mind me asking, Shimokage-sama?" Jiji muttered impatiently.
"It's not my decision."
"You aren't seriously going to offer this choice to Kana-chan are you?" Jiji almost snapped.
"I've decided to drop my position," The second old man replied, "I have chosen another leader for Shimogakure." All three of the others almost halted in their steps and watched as the man continued to walk unresponsively down the hall. Kana consulted with the ground; this could be good news or very bad news. If there were a new leader to be chosen, then the decision would have to wait until after the exchange, and by then his boy might already be born. Yet again, if the new Shimokage wasn't as merciful as the current, then his baby might still be in danger. Either way it meant more time, which was good news alone.
"How can you end your term now?" Jiji retorted.
"The village has been falling into many new and difficult times of late, and I'm just not as young as I used to be. I'm too old to understand the new ways of the world, and the power of human sacrifice is something that is a part of the new world."
"What is the power of human sacrifice?" Kana-san inquired patiently. His interest in the conversation was perking as fast as Jiji's was declining. Of course, Jiji would probably hold his reputation of keeping his nails in the Cliffside until they fell off, so his declining authority in the decision would be a trouble Kana-san hoped the former Shimokage could deal with.
"It is a part of the process in sealing a beast to a human that is necessary for complete finalization." The former answered.
"Someone had to be sacrificed for the monster to be in my son?" Kana looked confused at the thought, "All of the bodies of dead Shimogakure villagers have been recovered, that means they must have used one of their own people, why would they sacrifice someone from their own side?"
"They haven't." Former Shimokage stated.
"Then the sealing hasn't been finalized? Then there's a chance for my son to have a normal life!" Kana said almost excitedly.
"The seal will be completed." The former said.
"But they didn't sacrifice. That means the seal is unstable, that means the beast can be removed." Kana tried to explain, but the former only shook his head.
"You don't know what that means do you?" The former recognized, "If the beast is not either killed or kept inside the boy, it will be released into our dimension, and Shimogakure will taste its rage."
"Then let be released in the wild, where it wont come to Shimogakure."
"We can't do that. That would set the other people in the world up for danger and harm, possibly arousing attention towards us. Attention means war or fierce negotiation at the cost of Shimogakure, which is nothing that I or the new Shimokage can deal with." The old man replied.
"Then we'll release it in secret!" Kana tried.
"Either way, the boy will die. The release of a tailed beast has been seen before, and it always ends with death, in both deliberate extraction and incomplete seals." The former's words hit Kana across the heart and his expression showed it. The old man noticed and watched him knowingly, "The seal will be completed," he repeated.
"You said that before. What do you mean when you say that? You couldn't possibly want to sacrifice someone in this village. I would offer myself!" Kana tried again, but the old man only laughed a bit before responding,
"Kana-san, you have a sick wife and a young son, possibly two; they cannot live alone, they need you." He said.
"Then what are you saying, if I can't offer myself, then who would?" Kana questioned.
"A young lady you once knew." The former said while he gazed off.
"I know and have known many young ladies, what kindhearted woman do you speak of Jiji-sama?" Kana inquired. Yet the old man remained silent on their walk, and only the sound of their echoing footsteps could be heard midst the quiet. Kana concentrated hard, but none of the women he knew, or had ever known would give their life for a child they didn't know, who might even risk their villager's lives. When Kana gave up thinking he noticed that Jiji-san was no longer there, he didn't even remember the man being there when he learned about the sacrifice. Suddenly Ōbaa-san gasped,
"Kana-chan, your wife! Inari!" She whispered loudly into Kana's ear.
"What about her?" Kana asked silently.
"Correct, Inari is the young lady I speak of." Said the former.
"But lord Shimokage, she doesn't even know what you've been deciding! You can't just do that to her, I don't even know if she'd want it! I don't know if I'd want it!" Kana desperately explained.
"She came up with the idea herself." He replied calmly, "I had visited her hospital room on the behalf of the new Shimokage, who had decided that it would be best for her to know about the problem with the seal. It had always been a part of the Bone village's, Honegakure's, plan to leave the baby with an incomplete seal, so that upon birth the beast would be released into the village and destroy everything in sight. Shimokage chose to tell Inari, but no one had suspected that she would offer herself. We tried to explain to her the consequences, in order to test if she was being truthful with herself about how much the child was worth to her. You should know Inari better than any of us, when she made up her mind there was nothing any of us could say to change it." He paused for a moment and looked over to Ōbaa-san, "I think its become personal enough." Ōbaa nodded and turned to leave, "If you would, please keep the baby's survival a secret with your husband."
"But Inari told me that she tricked you into thinking our baby was dead, she convinced me to keep it a secret with her." Kana explained.
"Ah… Inari is a smart girl isn't she? When the decision was made, we all knew it would be difficult to convince you to let your wife pass. Yet again, for all we knew the baby could have been due in just a month, so we had little time to think. We already knew that the village could never know about the child's survival. Like last time, it was also Inari who came up with the idea of telling you we thought the child was dead. She knew you would grow to love the baby again if you could keep it a secret with her. She knew you would talk to her about it, and she planned out deep conversations to have with you to fertilize your love for the child. We left her to it, and here we are now. All that's left is to give your own side of the story. Will you let her make the sacrifice? Will you allow the trade?" He asked quietly.
"This is how she honestly feels about it?" Kana asked, as he surveyed his young wife, still in the gentle care of his elder.
"I tell you the truth. She wants nothing less than for her husband and his two sons to live on in her stead." He replied.
"And the village? Is Shimogakure going to accept this?" Kana questioned tentatively.
"Shimokage-sama approved the idea and wishes to make it his first act as leader of the village." Said the former.
"Inari has always been difficult to please. She isn't impressed with flowers or jewelry. She's always been secure about her appearance ever since she was a child." Kana paused and chuckled lowly, "I could call her 'beautiful snow angel', and she would reply 'I know'. First tone always obnoxiously higher than the second. I could tell her how loved she is and she'd say 'I know'. She does know, she always has known, she's beautiful and strong and loved, the only thing I've ever been able to impress her with is when we had our first son, Kumi. She always loved being pregnant, even with our still daughter when we cried and cried she wanted to try again. She said that if we did, that our baby girl would be alive inside the next child. I believe her. This is all I can give her, I want her to have her child." Kana and the former both smiled in unison, "Please be careful with them when you make the sacrifice."
"I have always wanted to keep my village as protected as possible, your child is no lesser part of this village than my own children." He said with a growing grin, "I know it will be difficult for you. The new Shimokage will be announced after the child's birth, he and I will both know well about him, so will the elders, none of the children or adults of the village will know of your child's seal. We will keep your wife until the birth."
"My wife died from her pregnancy illness with the dead baby inside of her, and I took her to the Shimokage so he could plan a funeral for her."
"The council feels for your loss and will present you will present you with an orphaned child from the war." The former added.
"That will do. My son shouldn't know about the baby, and he'll be relieved somewhat to know it wasn't his fault that his mother died." Kana said softly.
"Keep yourselves busy with the child, let the baby take both of your minds off of her death." The former responded. Kana nodded and turned his head away from the elder. Then he quickly returned it and his eyes were filled with worry,
"What about the birth! She can't give birth like this, you have to use surgery Jiji-sama, and you must!" Kana cried. The elder looked concerned, he rounded one last corner and opened a door on the right wall, it led to a room with a cot that he unfolded and laid Inari gently upon. Then he faced Kana and shook his head.
"We cannot use surgery, the sacrifice of the mother of the child must be made during the natural birth, or it cannot be made at all." He said
"But the herbs, she can't do it when she's asleep!" Kana panicked.
"Doesn't your wife sleepwalk?" the elder asked.
"Yes. I don't understand. What are you trying to get at?" Kana questioned.
"Your Ōtou-san is a very talented Genjutsu user. If he could be convinced to practice it on Inari, then she may be able to give birth in a dream, and act it in life." He explained; he seemed as though he was making it up as he went along.
"That's crazy!" Kana yelled.
"There is nothing left that we can do, Kana-san, this is all we have as an option." He tried to explain.
"Then do it, please…" He whispered, "That child is all she has left, nothing can go wrong."
"Please go and find your son, it is late and if he goes unconscious he will be covered by tonight's storm. I will ensure your family's safety, please trust me as your Shimokage as you have before." He said gently. Kana looked at his young wife, asleep on the cot with no knowledge of their conversation. He hoped that she would know that everything was going to be alright, he hoped that he was going to be there in the dream, standing beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder and a soft voice telling her that her baby was going to be all right, he was going to take care of him no matter what.