InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed ❯ Food and Games ( Chapter 30 )

Chapter Thirty - Food and Games

 

Takana's brow furrowed in highly concentrating consternation. She was truly terrible at this game and apparently her opponent didn't believe in going easy on a beginner. She looked at the pieces in play once more and then back at her own tiles that sat facing her, away from the prying eyes of her short term enemy. She looked back to the board. She had to have a play...she had half of the tiles from the `bone yard', unpicked tiles still hidden in a little pouch while Yuti sat there with only three measly tiles. It was so damn frustrating. Not a damn one of them played. Exasperated, she reached for the pouch again to draw what would undoubtedly be yet another useless tile.

 

Yuti, on the other hand, sat back calmly on her side of the playing board with an air of outright superiority. It was a bad combination, the two of them playing against one another, the youkai noted. She had soundly beaten the human at the last three games. The problem wasn't that Takana was a poor player, it was that Yuti never, never, won this game against anyone and at the moment, she was so elated over that fact that she just couldn't find it in her heart to give the new player and inch of breathing room. Yuti glanced down at her own pieces and looked at the numerous places on the game board that the tiles all played. She couldn't help but smile to herself.

 

“Argg! This can't be.” Takana complained as she set down her newest tile with her army of other duds and put her hand back in the pouch. “How can I have so many pieces and not have a single one that plays?” It was a rhetorical question but Yuti decided to answer anyway.

 

“Just poor luck. I'm sure things will turn around.” Her comment immediately drew a very perturbed glance from the human player.

 

It caused Takana to mumble unintelligibly under her breath. “Poor luck....show you...stupid game.”

 

“What was that?” Yuti asked, not being able to keep the amusement out of her voice. Takana's head snapped up to meet her gaze, obviously startled that she'd said any of that aloud.

 

“Oh...oh it was nothing really.” She said and then turned her attention back to the tiles in front of her. She had to think a way out of this. She couldn't just quit. That was way worse that losing this badly but still...she needed to stop this game if she was going to keep herself from swiping all of her copious amounts of tiles to the floor in an angry little tantrum. She kept her hands firmly clenched together in her lap to keep just such a scenario from playing out. She sighed and finally raised her hand to pick up yet another tile from the bone yard. Her hand was stopped mid way when a tiny voice broke her out of her defeating thoughts.

 

“I hope you two are hungry.” Takana immediately spun around in her seat with a huge smile on her face to see Sura coming in with a large tray of food. She'd been saved and by the smell of the food, it had to be the most delicious way of being saved.

 

“I'm saved...I mean I'm starved!” She said just a little too excitedly. She quickly calmed herself and she turned back to Yuti. “Unfortunately, we'll have to finish this another time.” She said as solemnly as she could muster, finding it difficult.

 

“Yes, that's very unfortunate.” The general said with a little smile. Though she wanted to finish the game, she knew exactly how Takana felt right now having felt the same herself a hundred times before playing against her mate. She began picking up the tiles and placing them in the pouch in order to clear the table for lunch. However, no matter how much she sympathized with the little human, she was already planning on playing their next game on a table that didn't also get eaten off of. She would not let this happen a second time.

 

“And just what delicacies have you brought, Sura?” Takana asked as the diminutive inu set the edge of the tray on the table. She waited for the rest of the tiles to be placed away before sliding it in front of the little human who's belly was beginning to show just a little more with each passing day.

 

Yuti watched the two prattle on about the food. It had become a much more interesting topic for the human as her pregnancy progressed much to the cook's pleasure. Sura had been personally bringing Takana most of her meals for the past month or so. Yuti had begun to protest the unusual practice the first time it happened until she saw how happy Takana had been to see the cook again. Their friendly banter had quickly caused Yuti to bite her tongue. Her charge was still not allowed to have many visitors as it was, let alone any friendships outside of her. She just didn't see the harm in her developing one with the cook. They seemed to enjoy one another's company so what was the harm?

 

“Are you hungry Yuti?” Takana asked when she'd returned from placing the sack of tiles on a shelf across the room. They all knew that she would not but it was just in Takana's nature to always make sure everyone around her was taken care of. It was a funny sentiment since the general was here to take care of her and not the other way around.

 

“No thank you, I'll be fine.” She answered politely as Takana turned back to the feast that even an army of pregnant women could not consume. She began her daily ritual of asking the contents of each of the foods that she hadn't had before. At first, Yuti thought she had just been making idle conversation with the cook but had later learned that she had a much better reason her for her commentary than that. Yuti had learned that Takana's preoccupation with food lately did not just stem from the fact that she always seemed to be a bit hungry but more importantly from her desire to eat foods that she knew would be good for her and her unborn child.

 

She'd discovered this when Takana didn't eat any dishes that were prepared with certain foods and even prepared in certain ways. Sura was never offended but would stop bringing those foods for her to sample. When she'd asked her charge about the unusual behavior, Takana had been very eager to share with her some of her knowledge about the health of human women who were expecting. Different foods could have a variety of effects on both the mother and child as well as the pregnancy itself. The range of effects was everything from premature labor to difficulty during it as well a variety of birth defects from blindness to crippled legs and arms.

 

The information had surprised her and even frightened her to a point. She'd wondered if the same types of problems could occur with youkai pregnancies. Though she wasn't planning on having one anytime soon, she would one day in the future. It had actually prompted her to seek out and question a youkai healer skilled in such matters. To her dismay, it seemed that there were just as many precautions to be taken during youkai pregnancies as there were with humans though they differed at times, there were many maladies Takana had mentioned that were the same for both races. Her respect for Takana grew a great deal that day. Especially given that fact that the healer she'd sought out had been nearly four hundred years old while she guessed Takana had no more that two decades under her belt. Her amount of knowledge was immense for one so young.

 

The fact that Yuti now believed Takana to have been some sort of healer in her life before coming here only raised a great number more questions in her mind. Who was this woman? The first thing she'd told Yuti was that she was Sesshoumaru's whore which implied certain activities. But in the whole time she'd been here, nearly four months now, they had not once engaged in such activities. And even if she had been Sesshoumaru's lover before coming here, why had she also been doing such with at least one human as well. After all, she was pregnant not by their lord but by a human male. But that too was still something that bothered her after all this time. The first night she'd met Takana, she had smelled of a human male and though it made absolutely no sense then and even less now, the scent that had still clung to her had been vaguely familiar to the female general. But she knew no humans. She had never spent enough time around any one of them to have learned their scents but still the feeling persisted. It could have been the lateness of the hour and the oddity of the situation playing tricks on her but Yuti would swear, even now, that the scent she'd smelled had been a familiar one but one she could neither place nor fathom why she knew it.

 

The only person she'd brought any of these questions to was her mate and he was just as at a loss as she was to answer any of them. He had not gotten close enough to the sleeping human that first night to confirm what Yuti had smelled but he trusted her enough to know she wouldn't just make something like that up. Though they tried not to draw conclusions about any of the mysteries that both their lord and his strange companion comprised, they just couldn't help it. The only one of many that they had voiced to one another that had any basis for possibly being true was this:

 

Sesshoumaru never actually took the female himself but had for some unknown reason developed a deep feeling of attachment to her, most likely an after effect of Rin's presence all those years ago. It seemed it was a feeling she shared since after the first tense month between them, her obvious affections for him seemed to reappear. When she'd become pregnant by a human male, perhaps through force since she never mentioned a mate of her own or ever lamented the loss of some unnamed love, Sesshoumaru had decided that he no longer wished her to live in the same way she had before. Therefore he brought her here, apparently against her will.

 

Both Yuti and Tomo knew this couldn't actually be it, it left too many ridiculous what if's and how's but it was the best they'd been able to come with considering the lack of information that they both had. Such as Sesshoumaru telling Tomo that he had been unable to come back until he did and that it would have been disastrous to do so. What possibly could have caused those conditions? He was the lord of the western lands and stronger than any other single youkai in all the four lands at least of the ones they knew of. It was all too strange but the two of them, along with the rest of the occupants of the western lands who had all come up with even more bizarre stories to explain what had happened, had all resigned themselves to the fact that they may never know. In reality, very few really cared, it wasn't their business to know and all it really served for was a way to pass the time in the cold, boring months of winter. Finally, Yuti returned her attention to the two sitting before her.

 

“When do you think you'll have it?” Sura asked for perhaps the tenth time since she'd first begun bringing Takana her meals. Why she asked that same question all that time, Yuti had no idea. Maybe the talkative little inu just couldn't stop her mouth from moving and was forced to say the same things over and over again when nothing new came to mind for fear that her little head would explode. Well, probably not but Yuti was used to finding ridiculous explanations to the unexplainable lately.

 

Takana began to answer the question yet again, not in the least perturbed about the repeat when her words were cut short by a rather curt, “Leave us.”

 

Sesshoumaru had entered his personal quarters to find three chattering females which he was truly in no mood to deal with. Well, two chattering females and on quiet general, he corrected himself.

 

Yuti was the first to stand, upset with herself that she had not noticed his entrance. This position of babysitter, though she didn't lament it, was making her soft. Sura jumped up almost in a fright, her already naturally large eyes nearly popping out of her head. Takana remained seated, a quiet smile settling on her lips.

 

Yuti bowed as did Sura. The general approached her lord while the cook furiously gathered up all of the dishes and utensils. Her human had finished eating long ago.

 

Sesshoumaru glance over Yuti's shoulder at the cook. “Why is she in here?” He asked quietly but none too happily.

 

Yuti glanced back for a moment before choosing her words carefully. “Mistress Takana seems to have an affection for her. I didn't see the harm.”

 

“That is not a decision for you to make general.”

 

“Yes, my lord, I agree but she has so few...friends in this place and a general does not always make a good one. Her visits make her happy my lord.”

 

“Hn.” Was his only reply as he watched the cook continue to scramble to clean up. He was silent for some time before finally speaking again. “She may continue to visit but Yuti...” He spoke as she bowed, waiting for her gaze to return to his. “You will come to me first next time.” It was an order and one that she was not to go against.

 

“Yes my lord.” She took that as her cue to leave. Once she reached to door, she saw that Sura was not far behind so she left.

 

Sura bowed as she passed the imposing lord. He frightened her as he did most of his subjects. He coolly watched her pass before moving to the little human that still sat quietly at the table as she had been when he first arrived. When he reached her she spoke quietly.

 

“You frightened my friends.” The same small smile still sitting on her lips.

 

“They both need to be more attentive to their surroundings.” He said in only a half stern tone as he leaned over to touch her softly rounding belly. Both their heads turned when they heard an empty bowl fall to the floor to see Sura struggling but successfully opening the door and backing out, pulling the bowl along with her by her foot as the door closed.

 

“You really scared her.”

 

“Hn.” He replied as he returned his attention back to his little human. His day had not been going well so far and though he had entered his rooms in a rather foul mood, it had melted once faced with her presence. “How are you feeling today?”

 

“Better.” She answered honestly. For many of the past mornings, she had not been able to hold her morning meal down for very long with the feeling continuing on until well past the afternoon. She had assured him that it was not an uncommon occurrence and that everything was fine. Begrudgingly, he took her word for it, though she knew it still worried him.

 

He was relieved to hear it. He preferred her not to be throwing up her food each day. He just didn't see how such a thing could be considered normal and not be a sign for concern but he kept such feelings to himself unless the situation had deteriorated. Then he would have called in human healers. He was glad he had never acted on the impulse before since he didn't think she would be very happy with him if he did. It would be as good as telling her that he didn't trust her knowledge and ability, which would have been ironic considering she'd saved his life using that very skill he had been questioning.

 

He pulled himself away from those thoughts as she placed her hand over his which still sat warmly on her abdomen. “It's just going to keep getting bigger and bigger.” She said for no reason in particular. It just felt like a good time to say something.

 

“As it should.” He replied. Her statements rarely required an actual reply but he found himself speaking when it wasn't truly needed. At least he did so when he was with her in the same manner she did with him. It didn't matter that it didn't accomplish any goal or answer any question. It was just a pleasant thing. It was hard for him to do but he found it became just a little easier with each bit of practice. “Would you like to join me for a walk?” And as such he kept talking.

 

She shook her head with her `yes' that was leaning lightly against his arm and lingered there a moment before rising to head off to their walk.

 

 

 

AN: I bet you all though I died eh? Well, I could go ahead and tell you all why it's been so long but then I thought, nah. Let's just say that I never forgot about you guys or this story and now I'm back. Sorry for the long wait and I hope this chapter will get you back in the mood for my little story. I do plan on finishing it this time...plan of course being the word to pay attention to in that statement. What can I say? Tata.