InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ His Little Girl ❯ A mother's touch ( Chapter 23 )

 

 

It was four days after Shippou had made it through the well that he was found by Souta who had been chasing Buyo through the Shrine grounds and into the old well house. The young kit hadn't woken once in the four days that he'd been laying in the well, his body to weak and too lacking in any form of nourishment to allow him to waken.

 

Souta's eyes grew wide as he peered over the side of the well in an attempt to grab the old obese feline before he made it down the ladder into the well. Kagome's young brother carefully walked down the ladder, hoping not to activate the time slip, not even certain that he could, but afraid he would lose Shippou if he did. Stepping onto the dry dirt bottom, he carefully made his way over to the kitsune youkai he considered somewhere between a brother and a nephew and lifted the barely breathing kitsune into his arms.

 

He could tell that whatever was wrong was gravely wrong and that time was of the essence. Climbing the ladder as fast as he dared, Souta made his way out and over the well and onto the hard wooden floor of the well house. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he called for his mother frantically.

 

“Souta! What is it? What's wrong?” Mama Higurashi asked frightened as she came out of the house to the sound of her son's frantic cries.

 

“Mamma! It's Shippou, something's wrong! I was chasing Buyo,” he handed the kit over to his mother as he ran up to her and nearly into her. “And he went into the well house and Shippou was at the bottom of the well. Mamma you gotta fix him.”

 

“Don't worry dear, everything will be ok. Go on in and let your grandfather know that I'll need him to call out for dinner tonight, you can even get pizza if you want to sweetie.”

 

“Ok mom,” Souta stroked Shippou's tangled mane, it had fallen out of its usual ponytail sometime during his journey. He still hadn't moved from his mother's side and Mamma looked at him, and gathered him close with one arm into a tight hug at her side.

 

“He'll be ok honey, now go tell your grandfather.” Souta nodded and left. “Oh Shippou dear, what happened?” the woman asked worriedly as she looked down upon the sleeping kit. “Good thing I never got rid of the kids' baby things,” she said absently as she moved to an old box in the kitchen that held baby bottles and flatware.

 

Opening the box she pulled out a small four ounce bottle with a bag of nipples. Kissing Shippou's forehead, she laid him down on a soft kitchen towel on the counter as she filled the small plastic bottle with milk and warmed it in a pot of water on the stove. Testing the temperature of the milk on her wrist, she found it to be just warm enough and dried off the outside of the bottle.

 

Lifting Shippou into her arms once again, she went into her bedroom and sat upon her bed. Leaning back against the headboard, she tilted Shippou into a slightly sitting position in the nook of her arm, and held the bottle to his mouth. Pinching the nipple she left a few drops fall onto his parched lips, and watched carefully as a few moments later, a small pink tongue licked the milk from his lips. The tongue came out again, searching for more, and she eased the nipple into his mouth.

 

“Shh shh shh,” she whispered to the kit, “not so fast. That's it little one, drink slowly,” she cooed and kissed Shippou's brow as he fed slowly, his eyes still closed, and still nearly asleep.

 

After about ten minutes, she set the empty bottle on her night table and laid the kitchen towel she had brought in with her over her shoulder. Lifting Shippou against her shoulder, she patted his bottom and back gently as she burped him like a baby. Once she heard the soft burp from him she smiled softly and laid him don on the bed.

 

“I'll be right back sweetie,” she whispered to the sleeping kit and left the room. Entering the bathroom, she drew a warm bath and added a bit of soothing salts to the water. Entering her bedroom and closing the door, she stripped and donned her summer blue terry cloth bathrobe and undressed Shippou. Wrapping him inside her robe, she made her way to the bathroom once again and shut the door.

 

Letting the robe fall from her body, she slipped into the tub and held onto the kit, keeping him close to her chest as she gently soaked his fur and washed the dirt and grime from his small worn body. Holding his soap lathered body carefully in the water, she gently massaged the soap from his fur and skin and hair and then carefully stepped out the bath, pulling the drain plug as she went. With her movements slow and gentle, Mamma Higurashi dried them both off with a towel and wrapped herself and the kit up in her bathrobe and headed back to her room.

 

After a few moments, a knock sounded on her bedroom door and she called out a soft `enter' to whoever was on the other side. Souta poked his head inside the door and saw his mother sitting on her bed in her bathrobe, holding the sleeping kit to her breast.

 

Stepping in quietly, the young boy made his way over to the bed, and looked up at his mother and the kit.

 

“Is Shippou gonna be ok?” he asked worriedly.

 

“Yes Souta, he'll be alright,” his mother assured him.

 

“I wanted to let you know that the pizza's here. Do you want me to bring you some?”

 

“No, I'll be alright. I'll eat in the morning ok sweetie.”

 

“Ok mamma. Are you gonna be in here all night with him?” his mother nodded, “Ok. Good night then mamma.”

 

“Goodnight Souta.”

 

The woman smiled at the closed door for a moment before turning her attention back to the child in her arms. She smiled softly at Shippou as the sleeping kit rooted around for a breast, and although she knew he would gain no nourishment from the action, she also knew that he needed the comfort of a mother's breast and opened her robe. Bringing the sleeping kitsune's mouth to her nipple, she let him suckle as he slept, smiling wistfully as she remembered all the times she breastfed her children and how she sometimes missed those days.

 

Her children, though nearly grown, still looked to her for advice and comfort. But she sometimes longed for the days when she could kiss their aches and pains away, and hold them in her arms and make them believe that nothing could ever harm them. Oh how she longed for the days of fairytales and monsters under the bed. She fell asleep still thinking on old memories of a toddling Kagome, barely able to walk without falling down, Shippou still suckling her breast.