InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Motherhood: A spring ferility festival spin-off ❯ the birth ( Chapter 2 )

Motherhood: part 2

Authors' note: I am a male writer. So . . . I am going to cheat and NOT do into massive detail about women's feelings during childbirth. I will be trying to describe the differences between modern and feudal childbirths, so, if I miss anything, the feelings are the same. And if I get the sequence of events during childbirth wrong, please forgive me. I am only a stupid, idiotic man . . .

Some of the events described are NOT recommended. OK. They are what was done in the past, do not follow them.

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Emi grabs Kagome arm. "Lady Kagome." She hisses.

"What?" Kagome blinks.

"The contractions are beginning." Emi declares.

"What should I do?" Kagome whispers in a panic.

Emi smiles, "You really do not know, do you?"

Kagome, rather violently, shakes her head.

"I'll be fine. Wake up my mother, if you could, please?"

Akemi leans up, "I'm awake, Emi. It's time?"

"I just had my first contraction, mother."

Akemi looks outside. "I'd say that we still have an hour before sunrise, Emi. Plenty of time. Kagome, could you please assist her to stand. I always found it better if I was pacing around during this time."

Kagome, with grunts from her and Emi, helps Emi stands up.

Everyone else in the family wakes up during this, and they whisper among themselves.

"Shh. Everyone." Akemi declares. "Everything is fine. Emi is just starting a bit sooner than we had thought. Once daylight arrives, Yuko and I will start preparing the birth room. Husband, you'll have to look after the boys today."

Minoru nods. "I'll keep them busy and out of the way." He says in his gravely voice.

Shiro asks, "and now, mom?"

"Now we wait until sunrise. Kagome and Yuko can help Emi walk around until then."

Yuko goes over and walks with Emi and Kagome.

The three young women whisper and talk among themselves. Emi, tries as best she can, to explain to her younger sister and Kagome what she is feeling, but sometimes . . . the only answer is `I can't explain it, you've got to feel it to understand it . . . '

Time passes and the sun rise . . .

As soon as the sun rises, Akemi and Yuko leave the house. "Just stay here with Emi, Miko Kagome. Once we get the house ready, Yuko will come and summon you." Akemi orders, as she leaves the room.

The men and boys leave the house on errands of their own. Ran, remains in the house, sitting down, and watching the two young women.

"Kagome." Emi says,

"Yes?"

"Could you pull out that chest, and get the white kimono and the gray kimono in it?" Emi points to a low chest against the wall.

"Ok. Anything special about these?" Kagome asks as she opens the chest and removes the clothes.

"I'll wear the grey kimono over the white one, on my way to the house. Once I get inside, I'll take the grey kimono off."

"Hiding the white kimono from the village." Kagome remarks.

Emi nods, "Yes, I've got to hide this." She pats her stomach. "Until after the childbirth."

After Emi is dressed, they wait pacing with Emi grimacing on occasion from the contractions.

Yuko returns soon after she leaves. "Everything is ready."

Yuko leads Emi and Kagome to the small building.

All the doorways and windows are now covered in white paper curtains.

As they enter the building, the floor is like new, with clean white tatami pads, lined with white paper. There are a couple of wooden tubs, which will be keep filled with hot water. Yuko will be taking one out and refilling it with new water several times before her sister gives birth. A stack of white paper and a couple of white towels are next to the tubs. Other miscellaneous items and bowls line one wall.

The room is lined with white paper. Inside are Akemi, Keade and a couple of older women from the village. The room is big enough that they can all fit in and still move about comfortably.

Keade is dressed in her formal Miko clothes. She has a set of traditional miko clothes draped over her arm. "Here, Miko Kagome. Change into these, please?" She brushes aside some hanging white paper, showing another, smaller, room.

Kagome nods, goes into the room and changes.

She returns to the room, wearing the new clothes.

"Kagome." Keade says as she hands her a piece of paper. "You'll have to recite this prayer, as you rub this rosary." She hands Kagome a rosary, it is similar to the one the Miroku has. "Half of the prayer is to protect the child and mother from evil demons and spirits. The other half is to attract good spirits to protect the child and mother."

Kagome nods.

"If you could, please, just squat over here, as you recite the prayer." Keade points to place in a wall and away from Emi and the other women in the room.

"Is this all, Miko Keade?" Kagome asks.

"For now, Miko Kagome. Once the labor progresses more, I'll stop you and show you things on occasion."

Kagome nods, takes both items and, after reading through the prayer once, starts to slowly and quietly recite it.

Soon after starting, she hears sounds of similar prays outside the hut. She pauses, "Miroku?" she asks Keade.

"Yes, he is outside, also praying and protecting the hut from evil spirits and attracting good spirits."

*************************************

Outside the hut . . .

Miroku is seated on the porch of the house. On his lap is a small table. It is covered in by white paper, hanging from the edges of the table is seven white strips of paper. Written on them are various mystical symbols to protect and help the childbirth.

Standing near him, is Emi's finance. An older man in his late thirties named Katsu. He is wearing a loosely tied white kimono, beneath it, his normal clothes are visible. In his hands is a bow. He is plucking the bowstring, in time with Miroku's chanting.

In one of the trees, near the edge of the village, Inu-yasha grumbles.

`Idiots.' Inu-yasha thinks. `That shit is supposed to drive off demons, but it doesn't work. Well, Miroku is, but that is due to his power, but the idiot with the bow is useless. And that damned high pitch of that bowstring is driving me nuts. So, I'm going to stop him'

Inu-yasha jumps off the tree and saunters up to the birthing building.

A lot of heads pop out of the nearby houses, and more heads turn in the fields, watching him.

He smiles, `I'll show these peasants that plucking a bow string isn't going to drive me off.'

As he walks up to the house, Katsu shifts positions and points the bow toward Inu-yasha, trying to drive him off.

Miroku begins to speed up his chanting. `I'd like to stop now, and give him a piece of my mind, but if I stop this chant midway through, evil spirits might get inside.' He thinks.

Sango, her giant boomerang on her back, quickly runs up behind Inu-yasha, grabs him in a headlock and with one hand, violently and painfully, twisting his ear, drags him away.

`Sango.' Miroku smiles, `now, I don't have to yell at him, she'll do it.' He thinks.

"Let go! You bitch!" Inu-yasha yells, from under her arm. "I don't want to hurt girls, but if you don't let go, I hurt you!" he is trying to escape, but every time he comes close, Sango twists his ear again, causing another yelp of pain.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Sango hisses at him, as she drags him out of the village and into the woods.

She keeps one hand on his ear, still twisting it. Her other hand grabs his shirt. She lifts him up and throws him into a tree. As he bounces off the tree, Sango charges him, with her boomerang in front. She slams him back into the tree, trapping him against it with her weapon.

Inu-yasha lifts his head, his mouth opens, `I'm going to give her a piece of my mind . . . ' he thinks. But, no sound emerges from his mouth. He shuts his mouth with a snap.

Sango is glaring at him. The razor sharp edge of her boomerang is against his neck. Blood trickles down Inu-yasha's chest. One move and Sango will take his head off.

`The only times I've seen her this mad . . . is when her brother is involved.' Inu-yasha thinks as he swallows.

"Inu-yasha!" Sango growls in a low, but a very ugly, tone. "You just had to do that, didn't you! Kagome has a life that is separate from you and you hate that, don't you?"

"Sango!" Inu-yasha squeaks out. "You're wrong! Let me go, bitch!"

"No!" Sango barks at him, shoving him further into the tree. The tree cracks from the force being applied against it. "Listen to me you stupid man. There is a woman in that hut, and she's going through the best or the worse day of her life and you were going to interrupt that, for absolutely no good reason."

"That damned bowstring was irritating my ears."

"Then go into the forest, you idiot! Whenever there is birth or a death in the village, I always send Shippo and Kirara into the woods. The villagers know that they are demons and having a demon in the village during those times is hard on them. They get afraid! And I'm not going to make them more afraid, Inu-yasha!" she growls out.

After a deep breath, she continues, "By walking up to that man, you have caused problems, Inu-yasha. IF you could walk up, what about other demons? He might think that his newborn child was possessed. Or someone in the village will think that. And what about other children?"

She snarls, unshed tears in her eyes. "So, because of your stupidity, that child will probably be killed, all it has to do is fart the wrong way once. Because either the father or the village will believe that a demon has possessed the child."

The blood trickling down Inu-yasha chest grows thicker. He swallows.

"You, Inu-yasha, are going to go back with me, and you are going to put on an act, in front of the village, pretending that the bowstring is hurting you and it will drive you off." She orders. "Maybe, just maybe, that child will be able to grow up, normally."

She releases him, and backs up a couple of steps. "Listen to me, Inu-yasha! You might think that battles and fights are wonderful things, but you know nothing." She berates him. "If you get lucky and win a battle, you get to come home and live."

Sango waves her hand in the direction of the hut, "In that hut, a woman is in a battle! Sometimes she fails and dies, but. But, Inu-yasha, when she wins, she brings home a new life."

She stares at him. "And nothing we warriors do is as great as that." She waves her boomerang in his face. "I've destroyed more life than I care to think about, Inu-yasha. Destroying is easy. Creating, giving birth, that is hard. That woman in that hut is better than you, she is better than I."

Her eyes, diamond hard in her anger bores into his, "and if you disagree with me, I'll . . . " A horrible smile appears on her lips, "I'll remove your nuts." Her boomerang swings in that direction.

Inu-yasha pales, his hands automatically cover himself.

"Sango." He starts to say.

"Forget it, Inu-yasha." She interrupts, "Just go to the god tree and sulk. That what's you're good at, anyway. You couldn't act to save your life, and I'm not going to trust you to save that child's life." She looks around, "I'll find Kirara or Shippo, even Myouga will do. And we'll save that child's life."

She spins around, ignoring Inu-yasha as she yells, "Kirara! Shippo! Come here, I need you!"

Inu-yasha rubs his neck, feeling his neck heal. He swallows. `She really wants to have a child . . . ' he thinks. `What do I do?'

***********************************

"Sango?" Shippo calls as he appears next to her. "Why are you yelling?"

"Inu-yasha screwed up. He approached the birthing hut, right in view of everyone." Sango growls out. Her anger is still very obvious.

"Idiot." Shippo whispers. "Doesn't he understand, that the villagers just barely accept us at the best of times and during births and deaths we have to watch our step. There are so many ways for demons to interfere during those times and the villagers are so superstitious."

"You know he hated it last night when Keade told him what was going to happen. Kagome was doing something without him." Sango says.

"And he hates that."

Sango nods. "We're going to have to fix it, Shippo. You're going to have to change into Inu-yasha. Walk up to the father and then, as he plucks his bowstring, you're going to act like it's hurting you."

Shippo purses his lips and nods. "I thought I saw some red berries, over there." He waves off to his right. "I can use them and fake some blood."

"Good."

Shippo looks up at Sango, "I can't get to close to hut, though."

"Miroku." Sango grins.

Shippo shakes his head, no. "Not him. It's the baby. I can feel its soul and I can feel how easy it is for me to possess him. I am a kitsune, remember, and possessing humans is something we do. A young human soul is just soo loosely attached to the body, evens a young Kitsune like me can possess a baby."

"And Miroku, Kagome and Keade?"

"I know them and they know me. That friendship means I can avoid their spells." Shippo's mouth twitches, "If the village midwife, and say, the girl's mother was reciting that protection mantra, I couldn't do it."

"But, since it's our friends." Sango begins. Shippo nods.

"I can possess the baby, but any other demon that tries to possess that child would be destroyed."

Sango sighs, "Ok. Get as close as you can, but be careful."

Shippo nods. "Ok. I'll do it. Let me find those berries and I'll be there."

Sango nods. "Thank you, Shippo." She bows to him. "With a little luck, we'll save that child's life."

Shippo nods and he scampers off looking for those berries.

**********************************************

Yuko enters the hut, carrying a tray with some snacks and water. She is pale.

"What happened outside, Yuko?" Keade asks.

Yuko, glances at Kagome, then answers, "inu-yasha approached the hut, but the demon exterminator dragged him off, Miko Keade."

Keade purses her lips, `idiot. Saving this child's life, will be a challenge.' She thinks. She nods at Yuko, "thank you, child."

Emi swallows and pales, "Miko Keade?"

"It'll be all right, Emi. I thought that something like that would happen. The mantra that Miko Kagome is reciting will protect your child, even against inu-yasha."

Emi smiles, and sighs in relief. The other women in the room do the same.

Kagome, barely, doesn't miss a word, but her eyebrows raise a question to Keade.

Keade mouths back, "later." To her.

Kagome nods.

Emi grimaces through another contraction.

Akemi asks, "Do you need this?" She holds up a short hardwood stick. Bite marks are visible on it.

Emi shakes her head, "not yet, mother. I can stand it."

Keade, seeing puzzlement in Kagome's eyes, mentions, "yes, Emi, please tell us when you need to bite down on it. IF you scream or cry out during labor that is bad luck. And, it causes concern with the father and the family outside the hut, they'll think that something bad is happening inside."

Emi, also glancing at Kagome, puts a wan smile on her face, "and, if I scream, I'll be embarrassed and lose face. No, other woman has screamed."

"Oh." Kagome mumbles. She nods her head in thanks.

"Kagome." Keade asks, "come here. Emi, please squat and spread your legs."

Emi squats, opening her kimono.

Keade, with Kagome squeezed in next to her, begins a low voice, but detailed, description of what normally happens, using Emi's body as a guide.

After a few minutes, Keade, looks up at Emi and smiles, "you're doing fine, child. Just like I told you." She pauses, glancing at the two older women in the room. "It's time for her to stay in this position."

Kagome asks, "Stay in this position?"

Keade replies, quickly and as if she was stating something very obvious, "Oh, yes, Emi, like all women, will give birth while she is squatting. It helps the child come out. Her two aunts will support her."

Keade smiles, "I've heard of special chairs being built to help support a mother as she squats, but I've never seen one."

Kagome whispers, "oh . . . "

They nod and move next to Emi. They grab her by the shoulders and support her.

Emi smiles, "Thank you, aunts of mine. I'm grateful for your support."

"Dear, we are here for you." One of them replies.

"Everyone is here to help you." The other says.

Emi smiles.

Keade motions for Kagome to stand up. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes, child." They both go into the small door behind the white paper.

"Well, my dear, any questions or comments?" Keade asks.

Kagome swallows, blushes, and begins to ask questions on the explanation that Keade just gave her.

After a few minutes . . .

"Do you understand everything now?" Keade asks.

Kagome nods. "It seems so simple, though, lady Keade."

"A mother's body knows what to do. A midwife, her mother, and all the rest of us, are just there to help her. She needs to know that people are there for her and will help her."

Kagome nods, and whispers, "and if something goes wrong?"

Keade sighs, and whispers back, "then, I will probably lose the baby and the mother. There is so much blood and the bleeding takes place inside the mother, where I cannot sew up it, like I can a sword blow."

Kagome grimaces, "healing spell?"

Keade shakes her head, "those spells work best on people with magic, Kagome." She pauses, thinking, "there is magic inside the body to the help the spell. But for most of the villagers, they have so little magic in them, you or I have to supply even more power to the spell."

"So, casting a healing spell on them, is harder."

"And less likely to work in the first place." Keade interrupts. "It's like a soft clay pot, while it's soft, you can change it. Those are people with magic. But, once the clay has hardened, it becomes harder to change the pot. Those are people without magic."

Kagome nods in understanding.

Keade reaches out and grabs Kagome shoulder in a reassuring gesture, "Don't worry about this one, Kagome. Emi is young and strong. And her hips are bigger than her mothers. It'll be an easy birth."

Keade grimaces, "Now, her little sister, on the other hand, has very small hips for her age." Keade sighs. "Unless she starts growing, soon, I'm probably going to have to tell her, that she'll never have any children."

Kagome grimaces. "That's will not be a pleasant conversation."

"No. But, there is still time, so don't mention that to her."

"I won't." Kagome replies. She pauses, "AH, Miko Keade. Could you explain what happened with Inu-yasha and why you are upset?"

Keade sighs, and explains the problem about demons even approaching the birthing hut.

`Stupid, idiotic inu-yasha.' Kagome thinks, `when I find him . . . I'm going to keep sitting him until he begs me to stop!' she angrily thinks.

As Keade is finishing her explanation, Akemi sticks her head into the small room.

"Her water just broke, Miko Keade."

Keade and Kagome stop talking and re-enter the birthing room.

************************************

Outside the hut . . .

Sango slowly makes her way to the birthing hut.

Whispers follow her. Fingers point to the line of red blood on the edge of her boomerang.

She walks up to Miroku and the Katsu, the father of the child. She whispers, "Everything will be fine." She pats her boomerang. "Inu-yasha and I had a conversation."

Miroku smiles. "So I see." His eyes follow the edge of the boomerang.

Sango turns to Katsu, she whispers, "In a few minutes, Inu-yasha will approach the hut again, use the bow to stop him."

HE whispers back, "But it didn't stop him the first time."

"IT will this time. The Miko Kagome had given him a special amulet. I removed it. Your child is safe and will grow up normally, sir."

"You're sure?" Katsu asks as he eyes go from Sango to Miroku, looking for support.

Miroku, in a very confident voice, "Of course we are sure, sir. Everything will be fine. I knew about that amulet and I was going to remove it, myself, but the demon exterminator here." He pats Sango on her ass. "Did it first."

Sango spins and growls at him. "Now is not the time for that. You perverted Monk." She raises her boomerang to hit him, but looks at the hut. "And this is not the place to hit you." She hisses.

Miroku using his eyes and subtle head movements, gets her to pay attention to Katsu.

He has moved away from them and is whispering to his sons and the rest of the extended family.

Miroku whispers to Sango, "once I started groping you, he knew that everything is back to normal. By groping you, I helped him overcome any remaining doubts about your story."

Sango glances at Katsu, glances at Miroku. "Men." She growls as she backs away from the hut and Miroku. "Later, pervert." She growls at him.

Miroku smiles, "Lady Sango, I will gladly make time to be alone with you later." He says in a normal tone, so everyone can hear him.

Sango purples. "You perverted Monk. I didn't mean that." She bristles in anger and stalks off. "That earned you something extra!" She threatens as she leaves.

"I always look forward to your `something extra'" Miroku replies, smiling at Katsu, who is returning to the hut.

Katsu looks at Miroku and the rapidly retreating Sango. He whispers, "she must be a wildcat between the pillows."

"Yes, she is." Miroku replies, with a smile he stole off a statue of Buddha, on his lips.

A couple of minutes pass . . .

Inu-yasha becomes visible from the birthing hut as he slowly walks toward it.

Heads appear in windows watching him and the hut.

Katsu licks his lips, and glances at Miroku.

Miroku, who is at a stopping point in the mantra, smiles back and he whispers. "Point it and pluck the string."

Katsu takes a deep breath, points the bow at Inu-yasha and pulls back the string, plucking the bow.

Inu-yasha staggers in the street. He slaps a hand to his side and red blood appears.

Whispers buzz through the village.

Katsu, now with a smile on his lips, plucks the bow again.

Inu-yasha staggers again, slapping a hand on his stomach and when he removes it, red blood appears.

Katsu takes a step away from the hut, as he pulls the string back again.

Miroku hisses, "Stay at the hut."

He nods. Steps back to the hut, and releases the bowstring.

Inu-yasha slaps his chest, blood spurting.

He falls to the ground and begins to crawl away from the birthing hut.

As he vanishes into the woods, soft clapping is heard from the huts in the village.

Katsu, straightens up, smiles and bows to the village.

"Don't get to cocky, Katsu." Miroku whispers, "knowing Inu-yasha, I'd say in a couple of days, you'll go into the woods on an errand and you will have an `accident'. You know what I mean?"

Katsu sighs, "yes. But its worth it."

Miroku nods.

Yuko releases the piece of white paper that she moved aside, so that she could see outside. She smiles and tells everyone in the group what happened outside.

`Hmmm . . . I wonder what he'll have to say for himself?' Kagome thinks after she hears Yuko.

******************************************

Sango smiles as she sees the bleeding Inu-yasha crawl into the woods. "I knew that Shippo could do it." She whispers.

"That isn't me." Shippo says as he appears next to her. A huge bump is on his head. "He ambushed me and knocked me out."

Sango glances at Shippo and then at Inu-yasha as he vanishes in the woods. "I didn't know he was that good an actor? And the red blood, how did he do that?"

"I can smell it, Sango. That is his blood you're seeing."

"You mean when he was slapping himself. He was using his claws to cut himself?"

Shippo nods. "Yes."

Sango whispers, "I think I owe him an apology."

****************************************

later . . .

Back inside the birthing hut . . .

Emi has stripped off her kimono. She is covered in sweat. She didn't want her sweat to darken the white kimono. She is still squatting and her two aunts are still supporting her. Her mother is standing behind her, in her hands is a towel. She is wiping off the sweat as she whispers, "you can do it." In her ears. Yuko is standing off to one side, wet towels in her hands, just in case. She is also, in a stage whisper, saying supportive things to her sister.

Emi is grimacing. In her mouth is the hardwood stick, blood trickles down one side of his mouth, from where she accidently bit her tongue earlier.

Beneath her is a stack of white paper and towels. Next to one leg a basin with hot water. Next to the other is a small crib, prepared for the child.

Keade is bent down between Emi's legs, her hands at Emi's groin as she feels inside her.

Kagome, is standing over Keade, looking on.

"He has hair on his head, Emi." Keade remarks.

"Push." She hisses at Emi.

Emi grunts . . .

Kagome draws in a breath. She can see the top of the baby's head appear.

"Once more." Keade hisses. One hand rotates the baby, helping it. The other hand has a blood-streaked towel, cleaning her so Keade can see.

Emi grunts . . .

The shoulders of the baby appear and the rest of the child slides out of the mother quickly and smoothly into Keade's waiting hands.

Emi sighs in exhaustion, the hardwood stick slipping out of her mouth, and falling into her lap, as she relaxes.

Keade picks up a new, fresh bamboo knife and cuts the umbilical cord.

The baby begins to cry, in a high pitch squeal.

`So small.' Kagome thinks as she looks at him. `His skin changed color when he first appeared. Plus . . . his genitals . . . they are bulging out.' She blushes.

The noises of Katsu, Miroku and the rest of the family talking outside can are heard in the hut.

"Akemi." Keade asks, "Do you wish to do the honor?"

"Of course, Miko Keade." Akemi

Akemi quickly moves around, Kagome moves aside in a ballet movement that is perfect, even if they've never practiced it. Kagome moves behind Emi and grips her shoulder in a supporting gesture.

Akemi takes some of the white paper and cleans off the new baby boy as he squeals.

She hands her grandson to her daughter. "He's perfect, my dear. Ten fingers, ten toes, and hung like a horse."

Emi smiles as she softly cradles her son in her arms. To stop his cries she places her pinky in his mouth for him to suckle. She grimaces.

"Sorry, child. You're not finished yet." Keade says. "The afterbirth comes next. So, as much as you want to move around, don't." A pause. "Kagome, come back over her, so you can see. This is important. And grab that bowl." She points to a bowl next to the wall.

Kagome moves back behind Keade, hands her the bowl and watches.

The next few minutes aren't pretty, but Emi slowly expels the placenta and the rest of the afterbirth.

Keade places it in the bowl, and she also places the bamboo knife in the bowl. She glances at Kagome. She reaches up to her with the bowl. "Place this in the other room, please, miko Kagome. Once we clean up here we'll take all the soiled paper and towels and this with us. We'll then burn them all in a sacred fire, purify it and removing any possibility of a demon attacking the mother or child through it."

Kagome nods, accepts the bowl. She takes the bowl and comes back in seconds.

"Emi." Keade orders. "You can relax now and lay down." She points to clean area of the room, where there is a pile of pillows. Emi gratefully waddles over and lays down, her back supported by the pillows, her son still cradled in her arms. Her pinky is still in his mouth.

"Yuko." Keade orders. She points to a strip of white paper, with mystical symbols written on it, also attached to the paper is a willow sprig for more mystical power. "Place that on the outside of the door, please. It will tell the village that it is taboo to enter and the sprig will protect the house against bad luck."

Yuko smiles, opens the door for a second and returns quickly.

"Now we clean up the room."

Kagome looks around, she frowns, "Emi?"

"Yes, Miko Kagome?"

"Aren't you going to feed him?" Kagome noticed that Emi's pinky is still in the baby's mouth and that she has not brought him to her breasts.

"No." Emi says sharply. She looks around.

Keade clears her throat. "Miko Kagome, I know that where you come from, they handle childbirth differently, but here it is considered wrong to feed a baby the first two days it is out of the womb."

Kagome looks at Keade, Emi, Akemi and the rest of the women in the room. They are all nodding agreeing with Keade.

Kagome licks her lips. "Miko Keade, may I speak with you in private?" She points to the other room.

Keade nods. They both enter the room.

"You have a problem with that, child?" Keade asks.

Kagome purses her lips, takes a deep breath and bluntly says, "Yes, I do."

Keade nods. "Miko Kagome, you do know that this village requires everyone in it to be productive. Children, soon after they start walking, learn how to weed. Older villagers, if they can't work in the fields anymore, will do work around the houses."

Kagome nods. "Yes, I know that, but, I don't see how letting that baby starve . . . " her voice rises as she speaks.

"I'm not finished, Miko Kagome." Keade interrupts. Kagome stops speaking, but anger flares in her eyes. "We cannot support a weak child. By not feeding the child, only the strong lives."

Kagome grits her teeth in anger. "You don't mean that, Keade." She spits out.

Keade nods. "I do not like it any more than you do, Miko Kagome, but."

"But, nothing, Keade." Kagome glares at her. "I liked this, up until now. Now . . . "

Keade reaches out with one hand and covers Kagome's mouth. She bends over as whispers into Kagome's ear. "My dear, if I left you alone with your newborn baby, would you feed it?"

Kagome nods vigorously, since Keade's hand is preventing her from speaking.

Keade nods. "In a few minutes, we will be leaving the hut, everyone but Emi and the child. They will stay in here for three days. And while I, Akemi and Yuko will be going in and out of the hut on a regular basis. Emi will need food, water, and we will need to change the chamber pot every so often. Emi will be left alone with her child."

Keade releases Kagome's mouth. Kagome whispers, "you mean?"

"Officially, Emi will be stopping her son from crying by using her pinky. But, unofficially, I'm not going to ask her what she did when I was away."

Kagome sighs. "Thank you. So?"

Keade smiles, "So, the longer you argue with me, the longer it'll be before Emi feeds her son." Keade whispers.

Kagome nods. They reenter the main room.

Nobody has moved while they were gone.

Kagome bows to Emi. "I am sorry, if I offended you or anyone in this room, Emi. Please forgive my ignorance. I come from a different place."

Emi nods back to Kagome. "Your apology is accepted. You are trying to help."

Akemi looks around, "Let's finishing cleaning up. It has to be noon already and I'm sure Emi would like me to bring her back something to eat?" She smiles.

Emi smiles, "yes, mother, I would. If you could, my favorite, please?"

"Of course, dear." Akemi smiles.

After a few minutes they all leave the hut.

Akemi tells Katsu, Emi's fiancee, and the rest of the family about the successful birth. But, only the family is told, none of the neighbors.

Kagome, carrying the bowl with the afterbirth and Keade, carrying an armful of dirty paper and towels walk toward the Shinto shrine where the sacred flame burns.

"What will happen next?" Kagome asks.

"After three days." Keade answers, "the child will be given its first bath and they'll name it. There is a short ceremony, which I'll be needed for, and he'll be allowed to suckle on his mother's breast, officially. And the neighbors will finally, officially, be told of the birth. "

"Good." Kagome giggles a bit at the thought that the neighbors don't know exactly what has happened.

"He'll be given his first clothes then, as well. Since he has a good sized head of hair on him, already, I'll probably also take a clipping and burying it next to the shrine. This is so that the god of the shrine will get to know the new person in the village."

"Ah." Kagome nods. "I've wondered on occasion why that area looks freshly dug."

"When you don't know something, you need to ask more questions, my dear."

"Maybe." Kagome replies, "next?"

"After about a month, the family will take the child to the shrine. I'll then perform another small ceremony introducing the baby to the god of the shrine. This is when the child officially becomes part of the village." Keade smiles. "Now, I'm not going to officially add the child to the tax roll until it's second birthday."

She pauses, then continues, "once other person can handle the child, life becomes easier for Emi. Because, that, is when the first time someone besides her can carry and feed the child."

Kagome whistles. "You mean the first month, Emi's the only person to handle the baby?"

Keade nods. "Oh, in the privacy of the hut, I'm sure that Akemi or Yuko will help out, but in public, Emi is the only one to handle the child."

"And this takes about a month?"

"The actual number of days varies a bit. The family will want to visit the shrine on a day, that the horoscope says is lucky."

"Anything after that?"

"On the care of newborns?"

"Yes."

"About one hundred and twenty days after birth, the child will be given its first solid food. But, as Akemi said last night, it'll be years before the child finally stops feeding off its mother's breast. Most women in the village have a new child and it is feeding that child which stops the first child from feeding."

"And the mother is always carrying the child, right?" Kagome remarks, "I've seen that in the fields, a lot."

Keade nods. "Yes. The mother is supposed to carry the child at all times. However, most families do tend to share that responsibility. I'm sure that Yuko will volunteer to look after the child often, and Katsu has a couple of younger sisters, they'll probably spoil the child as well."

Keade grins, "I suppose most children are never more than an arm's length away from their mother, or the woman looking after them, until they are old enough to run and play with other children. And even when they start playing, they are always within eyesight or hearing range of their parents or family."

"The father?"

"Most will help." Keade quickly replies. "Perhaps not in public, but in the privacy of the home, they'll help."

"Hmmm . . . I know that Emi was waiting for the child to be born before her and Katsu get married. You have any idea when that will be?" Kagome asks.

"Hmmm. I believe their plan was to wait and see if the child survives a year out of the womb, and if he's still alive and healthy after a year, they'll marry then."

Kagome nods. "Anything else?"

Keade pauses, "Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Today is that child's first birthday."

Kagome nods. "Yes, we don't follow that custom in the future, but I've read enough books to know it." She smiles, "the ages in a lot of the history books can vary. Some scholars remember that, some don't."

Kagome frowns, "Miko Keade, from reading those books, they also say that many children died young and many women died during childbirth."

Keade nods. "Yes, Emi's birth was an easy one, Kagome."

"How often does that happen?"

Keade smiles, "oh, most births are like that. Four out of five, at least, are easy, perhaps not that easy, but both mother and children live." Keade sighs, "But when something goes wrong."

"You lose people." Kagome finishes for her.

Keade nods. "If you listen to most of the men, especially warriors, you get the impression that combat is risky."

Kagome nods, faintly smiling as she remembers some of the stories, Inu-yasha has bragged about.

"A woman might enter that hut ten times in her life." Keade remarks.

"You just said four out of five where easy, so she will have two hard births?" Kagome asks.

Keade shakes her head. "I didn't finish, Kagome. Surviving the first one is the challenge, once a woman does that, it becomes, oh, not easy, but easier. Most of the difficult births are the first ones."

"And you lose more women during the first one." Kagome finishes.

Keade nods. "But, still, getting back to what, I was saying about combat. Women, more so than most men, have to defy death. Most women will have children, but only a few men actually become warriors. Most men are farmers and such."

"Hmmm. So, the next time Inu-yasha starts to brag about his courage in combat . . . I can mention that women have to face something similar."

Keade nods. She sighs, "Not that I'd expect Inu-yasha to agree that childbirth is similar to combat."

Kagome nods. "Yes, I can't see him admitting that."

They enter the shrine and dispose of the afterbirth and the rest of the trash.

****************************************

That night . . . In Kagome's bedroom on her side of the well . . .

Kagome enters the room from the bath. She is wearing her nightgown. She goes to the desk and pulls out a scroll that Keade gave her this afternoon. She taps the scroll with one hand, as she thinks. `Village life . . . I know the Keade is showing me the good side of life in the village. She does want me to stay and become her heir.'

She sighs, `life in the village is simple and one thing that I've always noticed is that everyone helps each other. Even raising the kids is a community effort, just about any adult is the uncle or aunt of the children and if they see something, they'll fix it, not ignore it, like you see here. It is everyone business to make sure that the village works smoothly. But.'

She looks around her room. `That community, though, comes with a price. Privacy like this is unknown in the village. The only person in the village that sleeps alone is Keade. How much do I value my privacy?'

She shakes her head. `I don't have to decide that, now. But . . . sooner or later, I'm going to have to make that choice.'

Kagome opens and begins to read the scroll.

A few minutes later . . .

She reads. `Hmm . . . Yes, I can tell Keade, that I think I've got this spell down.' She thinks. The scroll is a midwife spell that Keade gave her to read and learn. The spell helps women that are having trouble producing milk for their children.

She opens her nightgown up, revealing her breasts. She teases one of her nipples. `Do I test it on myself? I have wondered what it would be like to have a baby suck on my breasts. I'm sure one of the village women wouldn't mind if I feed a baby.'

She smiles, "I think I will do it. But, not tonight." She yawns. "I'm tried, and if I cast this now, I might mess it up, so I can do in the morning." She says to herself.

A few minutes later, the lights are off and Kagome is in bed, relaxing, trying to go to sleep.

Kagome's eyes open wide. She stares at the shadowy ceiling above her. `Shippo . . . what did his mother do? When I hold him after his has a nightmare . . . His mouth occasionally does go to my breasts . . . I normally shift him away, of course . . . If I'm his mother, even if it's by adoption . . . , should I open my nightgown and let him suckle on me?'

One of her hands slowly goes to her breasts. The hand cups the breast, feeling it. `And those nights when he twists and turns, as he has a hard time going to sleep . . . should I help him like Emi helped her little brother?'

end part 2

_______________________________________________

Authors' notes: about a part 3 to this storyline: sigh. Yes, there are some scenes that can be written. Kag/inu about bullies/role-models. Sango/inu as she apologies. (Sango/kag as she asks about Sango's family, I want to do as a separate story.)

But, before I do those scenes, I would like to know how, you the readers, feel about Kagome and Shippo. Should she continue to treat him as she has been? OR. Should she treat him more in line with how the village treats children?

Whither or not I do a part 3 . . . which right now, I don't know.

I'm going to start working on A shards in Kyoto ch 13 after this. I'll decide if I should do part 3 of this, or work on the Kag/Sango story, or work on Kagome where are you.

the birth sequence is from "Daily life in Japan at the time of the Samurai 1185-1603" by Louis Frederic

Some of the scenes above are based on my reading of the book: Pink Samurai by Nicholas Bornoff

Some of the scenes above are based on my reading of the article: The Universality of Incest by Lloyd DeMause

remove the spaces to use the link if you wish to read the article.

psychohistory. com / htm / 06a1_incest. html

thank you for reading

jeff shelton