Baby's First
-x-
-By:FallenFan77
Author's Note
Hi minna-san, I'm sorry for the unexpected long wait. I wrote another chapter, but I just didn't know how to end it, but then this idea hit me and I just had to write it. I hope you like it and I'm sorry once again for this long update.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I do own Makoto, Kisara, Naoko, Jirou and Izayoi.
"What do you say?" Kagome questioned, arching a brow at her son as she had her arms crossed across her chest. The miko tapped her foot lightly on the ground and with every slight tap her son's dog ears would lower a fraction.
Her six year old son was in big trouble this time and he should have known better. The young mother inhaled to calm herself down and it wasn't going to get any better if her son did not respond. "Makoto, I will not repeat myself," Kagome said sternly, her eyes staring down at her oldest son.
The said young half demon gulped at the seriousness in her voice and his eyes glued to his mother's rice-straw sandals. "I'm sorry mother, I didn't mean to," his ears were now against his scalp and Makoto glanced up to see his mother's eyes soften.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Kagome kneeled down to look at her son in the eyes, and her blue orbs met his,"Makoto, you know better than to use your powers in the house, especially when your siblings are inside."
Several minutes before, Kagome had seen him casting a barrier, but instead or protecting a person–or rather the item he was focusing on–the barrier had done the exact opposite. The item her son broke was one of the toys he had left on the far corner near the twins room.
Kagome placed the palm of her hand on his cheek, pausing to look at him. She sighed again at the crestfallen look that was upon her son's features, her heart clenching at his lineament that had shrunken down. His eyes gazing downward as he looked guilty and his eyebrows drooped.
Kagome then opened her mouth to speak again,"At least your brother and sisters were not hurt, your father will be angry with you if he were here at the moment." Kagome finished, standing back up to look over at the entrance of their hut to see Kisara standing at the door flap.
Kagome sensed her daughter's fear and by the way she stood. Noticing that the attention was on her, Kisara sucked in air before she spoke up, slightly afraid if her fear was correct. The second youngest didn't want that fear to be true at all.
"Mama, something is wrong with Izayoi," Kisara blurted out, her cheeks flushed as if she ran a mile long. Her eyes wide and alert as if she were expecting a demon to arrive any second. Although she wished her father arrived. Even if they were stacked with food, her younger siblings needed supplies that the village didn't have an abundance of.
Letting the words to first settle in and nearly cause her to trip over herself, Kagome rushed to her daughter's side. Makoto hurried after his mother and sister, walking an arms length behind the two, his eyes scanning the clearing where his home resided.
Nodding to himself that he didn't smell or sense a demon anywhere near the home, he entered the hut.
Makoto walked in to see that they had rushed to the twins room. Soon the color from his face drained when he heard his mother say that his sister was warm, unusually warm, and that wasn't a good thing. It certainly wasn't since they were half-demons, although he noticed his father never got sick, there was a time Kisara had during the cold weather.
"Onii-chan, go get Kaede-hiiobaachan," Kisara said, running to get a jar of water from the river near by. With her hanyō speed, she'd be back in two minutes to help her mother. "Mama, I will be back!" She shouted in desperation, running with all that her little legs can take her.
"Makoto, do as your sister says please," Kagome placed her hand gingerly on Izayoi's forehead, then doing the same action on her chest before rushing to get a lighter kosode than she was dressed in. Kagome glanced in the separate bassinet where Jirou was laying in.
-x-
The elder miko sat beside the edge of the last row of herbs, her eyes trained to the flowering plant, but would travel to the hanyō settled next to her.
"Naoko, child, ye can go out and rest, ye have helped much. Go have free time for ye self and I will take care of the reminder of these herbs," Kaede said. She smiled at the half demon girl who brushed her hands off together.
Naoko pursed her lips to decline as such, only wanting to help out and do whatever the elder miko needed. She felt that she had a duty to help her, because she had tried to do so much when her mother and herself arrived at the village. "But Kaede-sama I-"
Kaede raised a hand, her lips curved into another grin,"Nay, ye must rest. Ye did not have much sleep in the last few days. Child is something the matter?" The elder miko raised her eyebrow in questioning.
Naoko shook her head once, but then her gray eyes stared at the herb she held in her hand,"I'm not sure Kaede-sama…I have a feeling, something-" The girl hastily stopped speaking when she in the distance to find a figure racing towards them.
"Kaede-baba!" They heard seconds after.
The elder miko frowned a little at what she was called, but she was well aware of the certain dread in the boy's voice. "Makoto, why are ye in such desperation?" She had asked once the hanyō child settled in front of her, heaving breaths of air to settle himself.
"Izayoi! She's really warm!" He shouted and he knew that he had her attention. With the very few words that left his mouth, Kaede slowly rose from her seated position, dusting off the dirt on her nagabakama. Standing in front of him, the elder miko grimly looked at the worried boy,"I will accompany ye to see ye's sister. Do you have water at the home, a jar full?"
"Yes, Kaede-hiiobaachan, Kisara went to get it, our mother told her to do so." Makoto muttered, reminding himself to use formalities. His mother would be furious if he were to say baba for a second time.
Kaede nodded to his words and gazed over at Naoko,"I'm sure ye knows which medicinal plants we need if it is the state of high heat." Naoko stood frigid and shook herself out of the state of inattentiveness when she noticed Kaede speaking to her.
"Yes, Kaede-sama," Naoko told the elder miko, nodding before wandering off to another row of herbs and searching for the ones the elder village healer needed.
"Now Makoto, while Naoko is looking for the herbs we must go, we cannot delay ourselves on such a matter as this. I will go ready my horse," Kaede began to walk towards the path where the young half demon child came from, but ambled slowly to where the horse was at, tied to the wooden fence by a rope that was safely secured to the head-collar. Makoto looked at the elder miko, his brows knitting at how gradual she was moving.
Makoto let out a little soft whimper at how afraid he was if his sister were really sick. What made him a little more worried was the fact that his father was only an hour or two from the village, gathering more items for the family. "Chichiue, come soon, please."
"Kaede-sama, I have the herbs!" Naoko announced, holding them in her hands but not gripping on them. She had them placed on the palm of her left hand, her right cupping it over, afraid that the wind would blow it away.
The elder miko nodded in satisfaction, inspecting if the medicinal plants were the ones she needed,"Good child, ye will stay here and gather more in case young Jirou is in the same condition. Come back when the sun dips down and seems as if it touches the tip of the mountain, Izayoi will need more at that time." Kaede turned to Makoto, placing the herbs in his care.
Naoko bobbed her head, watching Kaede mount the horse and Makoto standing two feet away. Kaede slightly moved the reins upwards then down and the both of them moved in the direction of the hut.
-x-
Kagome glanced in her youngest daughter's direction, she knew that her daughter had a fever. If it wasn't only that, she could have an infection or an illness. The miko's brows knitted in worry, her hands clasped together and wished that Kaede arrived soon.
Before today, none of her oldest children had any fevers during infancy, and now her youngest was experiencing it. "Mama, I'm scared, Izayoi is getting warmer," Kisara simpered and clutched at her mother's hakama.
Kisara gazed up at her mother's troubled countenance. The young hanyō knew that if she were to say anything else she would only cause her mother's distress to rise. Kagome bit the bottom of her lip, she had been trained to know how to take care of an illness, however; it was different for an infant than a child.
"Hahaue!" Kagome perked up at the shout of her son calling for her. Hastily, Kagome moved over to the entrance of her hut and noticed Kaede dismounting the horse and trek towards her.
"Kaede-obaachan," Kagome said, her eyes watered at the fact that she didn't know what exactly to do in a moment of panic. She knew from what she learned from her own mother years ago when Souta was a baby, her mother constantly told her that newborns didn't handle infections well. They were vulnerable because of their young immune systems.
"Kagome, where is ye little one, how heated is she?" Kaede questioned, her hands clasped behind her back and entered the hut after Kagome rose the door flap. Kaede noticed that there was a cauldron of water placed and knew that the young miko was doing what she had taught her.
"Not as much as Shako-chan had when he was a newborn, her temperature is less than his was," Kagome answered, her eyes focused on the slightly warm water, not wanting it to boil so much over the fire. Kisara bit her lip and moved toward it, giving her mother a knowing look. Kagome smiled at her daughter and led Kaede to the twins bedroom.
Upon entering Kaede noticed that Izayoi had on a light kosode, Kaede gestured her head towards her,"Good, good, I see that ye are doing well for this situation. I know ye haven't learned much of infants as being that not so many were born these last few years."
"I know. I also noticed that with Kisara and Makoto, they grow faster during infancy," Kagome gazed at her twins and her eyes laid on Izayoi who's half lidded eyes stared at her, her cheeks flushed with heat.
"Has the young one have loose bowels?" Kaede questioned placing the back of her hand on Izayoi's forehead, confirming that the heat that radiated off the infant was low-grade.
"No Kaede-obaachan, she hasn't," Kagome whispered, watching over the elder miko's shoulder to see her daughter's face squirm and ready to let out an ear piercing wail.
"She didn't want any nursing done, I've tried, but it wasn't quite vigorously as usual. Kaede-obaachan, what can we do?" Kagome began to panic, holding her hand to her chest, and began to pace around the room.
"Panicking will not help child," Kaede said softly to reassure her that all will be okay,"First ye must give her a bath. For a hanyō infant, they seek more comfort and safety if their mother were the one to give them a wash with the water. She will not respond to me if I were to do such. I may not know much for hanyō infants, but as for the nursing, she may have been even more troubled if you did than let her feel better."
Kagome nodded and began to breathe in and out slowly, picking up Izayoi slowly and holding her in her arms, walking out of the room to the lukewarm water that was in a basket that she poured from the cauldron.
"Kisara, can you pass me the cloth please," Kagome said, looking over to see her children sitting down on the floor, both staring back in worry. Kisara had the cloth that her mother usually used for her siblings. Getting up quickly, Kisara hurried to her mother's side to pass the cloth she asked for.
"Thank you," Kagome told her, giving her a kiss on the top of her crown and watched her daughter return to the seated place next to her brother.
Makoto rose from his spot and walked out of the hut as the wind shifted and a familiar scent came to his nose. Eagerly and content that his father returned, Makoto ran in the direction where his scent came from.
"Chichiue!" Makoto shouted frantically seeing the silhouette of his father over the small hill as the sun began to dip down. The first thing Inuyasha noticed was his son racing to him, and he smiled to see his boy to greet him.
Kneeling to pick him up only to be tugged by his kariginu, Inuyasha frowned when he sensed the uneasiness and concerned look on his son's face. "What's wrong pup, there hasn't been a demon attack while I was gone, was there?"
Makoto shook his head, pulling his father's billowing sleeve, his face scrunched up to take him to see his sibling,"It's Izayoi, chichiue, she isn't okay."
Inuyasha picked him up, leaving the basket of items needed for the infants and his children, and rushed over to his home. When he entered he noticed Kaede speaking to his wife.
"Inuyasha, ye have returned," Kaede said, seeing the hanyō arrive. She had also noticed his golden-amber eyes searching frantically for something, rather, someone in particular.
The older hanyō gazed at his wife who had a small smile on her face, knowing that their son told him what was occurring. "Kaede-obaachan gave her a medicinal herb for her temperature to lower, she was nursed and now Izayoi is sleeping," Kagome informed him, placing her hand in his.
His calloused hand nearly engulfed her petite one, and with a swift tug, Inuyasha pulled her to him. "Is she okay? I'm sorry I wasn't here, if I only sensed that she was-"
Kagome placed her other hand on his cheek, shaking her head a little,"Don't blame yourself. You didn't know she was sick, so how were you supposed to know." Inuyasha sighed and looked at the elder miko.
"Kaede-baba, thank you for all your help," Inuyasha said, looking at the small bundle that was now resting in the bassinet that was placed nearby. Kaede gave him a small nod, and smiled for knowing that he was grateful for her help after all these years. "Ye are welcome Inuyasha," she told him.
-x-
"How is Izayoi-chan?" Naoko questioned, sitting next to Kisara and Makoto, watching the adults walk around the hut. Kisara played with her thumbs and looked at her father who momentarily held her baby sister before placing her in the wooden bassinet Sango gave her.
Kisara frowned a little and wondered why her sibling suddenly because too warm,"Kaede-hiiobaachan said that the warmth she felt on Izayoi went down."
Naoko nodded and fingered the last medicinal plant that was in her hand, holding it delicately to not crush it,"I think she will be okay now, your Okaa-san and Otou-san are helping too."
Makoto smiled a little as he observed his family and walked to check on his younger brother, he didn't want the same thing to happen to Jirou either.
"Is she all right?" Kagome asked, standing next to Inuyasha, gazing at their daughter and watched her small face relax as she slept. Inuyasha nodded,"She sounds healthy." Kagome nodded in agreement and leaned her head against her husband's shoulder.
Kaede walked up to the couple and stopped short behind them. "Kagome, child, when was the last full moon?" Kaede inquired, her eyes trained on the setting sun then trailed downwards to the bassinet where Izayoi laid in. The infant's breaths were slow and steady, and Kaede knew that she was fast asleep.
Kagome blinked various times at the question,"Um…a fortnight, I believe." Kagome tilted her head in confusion and continued," But Kaede-obaachan, what does that have to do with the fever…" She trailed off to think of what the elder miko meant to say.
A knowing smile on her face, Kaede closed her eyes before speaking to her,"If I remember correctly, Nishiyo-sama has mentioned that your infants were conceived on the day of a growing moon, and also birthed, am I correct?"
Kagome nodded, It was the waxing crescent, or as Kaede-obaachan says, growing moon, where Jirou and Izayoi were born, but tonight…
The miko gasped in realization, she suddenly knew what Kaede was trying to inform her. "It is the waning moon," Kagome whispered, her eyes widened in realization. "Tonight is their human night! That is why Izayoi was suddenly ill with a fever."
Kaede nodded grimly,"Yes it would seem so. It is the fading moon that they turn human. Their yōki and reiki is less unlike Makoto and Kisara."
Inuyasha exchanged a glance with Kagome and gazed at the sleeping infant. "At least the worst is over for now."
Author's Note
I hope you liked the chapter minna as you can see the 'Waxing' moon is "growing" 'Waning' moon is "fading" So the human night for the twins falls on the 'waning' since their demonic and spiritual powers decrease.
Thank you:
Princess Inume
InuHanyo Jamie
wild949
Elfen Children
Natsu Dragoneel
I'm sorry once again for the long wait, I will try to update as soon as I can, but I have a really busy summer this year. I also have many things to do so my writing time is somewhat limited. Well, until then! Let me know if you liked the chapter.