InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Gods' Opinion ❯ It's in the Male ( Chapter 1 )

The Gods' Opinion

 

Disclaimer: Almost all characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko.

 

Warning: This is a mature story and I mean that in more than this story only containing sexual situations and bad language. It contains adult themes.

 

Summary: Kagome is trying hard to have a baby. But when things don't work out, she visits the best fertility doctor in the world. She finds her feelings and beliefs challenged as she struggles to hold onto her dreams.

 

xxx-xxxxx-xxx

 

Chapter One It's in the Male

 

 

A soft tap on the thick oak door was the doctor's only warning that someone was opening it without his acknowledgment. The doctor looked up from his messy desk to see a familiar female face pop her head into his disorganized, but neatly decorated office.

 

Quickly straightening the files and folders on his desk, he glanced back up at her, waiting to hear her reason for being at the door instead of at her desk. She could've called. The phone was . . . where was the phone? He started to look for it, lifting the stacks of files up, but since she was standing right there, finding the phone this very instant no longer mattered.

 

“Saori, what is it?”

 

“Your 11:30 is waiting,” Saori, the doctor's secretary said as she brushed her medium length chocolate locks behind her ear, flashing off her pricey pink earrings, another gift from her current boyfriend. In her other hand, she held up the patient's file for the doctor to see.

 

He waved her in, watching as her thin, well dressed form walked towards him. Her kitten heels purred against the thick ash grey carpet of the office, but the rest of her was silent. Saori set the file down on her supervisor's still messy desk.

 

“You have a luncheon with the board of directors at 12:30, so you need to wrap this appointment up by 12:15. And then you have a consultation with the psychologist at two,” she quickly reminded him of his day, which she had done when he had walked into the office this morning, and no doubt, she would have to remind him of his meeting with the psychologist again after he returned from the luncheon.

 

The doctor picked up the mountainous stack of files and set them off to the side, clearing his desk for the one file he needed for the appointment. Looking up at his secretary he sighed. He had been in the office for several hours already and felt as if he hadn't accomplished a thing. Wasn't that how he felt everyday? Like some kind of illusion, no matter how hard or long he worked, the pile would never, ever disappear.

 

“Bring them in.”

 

Saori bowed her head and left, leaving the door open for her return with his scheduled appointment. The door then opened wider as Saori showed the patient into the doctor's office, bowing as he walked past her.

 

The doctor stood as his patient entered. Waving a limp hand at Saori, she closed the door giving the two of them the privacy they needed as well as the privacy dictated by law.

 

Both men reached out their hands, taking a firm grip for a shake, followed by a polite bow. During this time, they took the opportunity to examine the other; their appearance and clothing. Males . . .

 

The doctor wore the standard white lab coat over his business-like attire; pressed black slacks with a crisp white dress shirt, but no tie. The patient was dressed casually in a tight-knit white V-neck sweater and navy blue dress slacks.

 

“Have a seat,” the doctor motioned to one of the two chairs that sat in front of his large desk. The patient nodded and found the soft black-brown micro fiber armchairs. He immediately relaxed into the cushions as the foam molded to his form.

 

The patient examined the doctor's office, surveying the walls filled with thick books. The part of the walls he could see were wood, stained a dark color to complement the large window behind the doctor. His eyes caught the part of the doctor's office that contained the various diplomas and certificates bestowed upon the man. The patient was impressed with the schooling and training this doctor had.

 

The office was littered with other little things, like a couple of plants and artwork that looked like globs of paint. The patient wasn't into that kind of art. He preferred things that he could recognize, like a scene with people, or fruit. Overall though, the office had a very natural feel to it, like he was sitting in an outdoor office.

 

Sitting down in his plush wheeled leather chair, the doctor opened the patient's file and clicked his fancy, black lacquered pen on, ready for the laborious note-taking that was about to commence. It was a crucial part of his job. And the lawyers demanded it as well as the psychologist. So he complied with their requests.

 

“So,” the doctor started, leaning back into his chair, laying the file on his leg that he crossed over his left knee so he could be more comfortable when he took notes, “tell me why you're here.”

 

The patient nodded as he readjusted himself in the chair to tell his story. “Well,” he started as he readjusted again, finding that comfortable spot he had just moved out of, “for the past year and a half, my partner and I have, uh, been trying to have a child.”

 

The doctor cocked a very confused eyebrow up as far as his skin would let it. Partner? Who refers to their wives in that manner? Old lady, ball and chain, mate, those were terms he was used to hearing among the normal ones like dear, my lovely wife or just by starting her name. But partner? Did his patient mean something different?

 

“Sorry, partner?” the doctor had to ask as he chuckled softly, thinking about how he was going to say what he would have to. “It's . . . impossible for you and your partner to conceive. Biologically . . . it takes a male AND a female.”

 

The patient's eyes slowly grew in size when he realized what the doctor was insinuating. He wildly waved his hands in the air, laughing nervously, but cussing inwardly at the doctor for even considering that he . . .

 

“Oh no no . . . that . . . that's . . . impossible. . . my partner, she . . . it's just . . . . well . . . we're not married yet.” He cleared his throat several times as he stumbled through the words to get his point across; the point being that he was not gay. He'd never consider it, not even once. Men were men, but he was attracted to women and one woman in particular.

 

Not married? That was interesting. The doctor wrote that down in his notes, and then scribbled out the part where he had GAY written. No one was perfect. But he still had his doubts. With those looks combined with the way he was dressed, it was an easy mistake to make. He had homosexual couples in here when looking for artificial insemination, or wanting to donate their manly fluids for a good cause. Who was to say that this man wasn't one of those?

 

“Is she your girlfriend? Fiancée?” the doctor had to ask, again. His patient would be the first non-married hetero male to sit in that chair. This would be an interesting case. Not that he would admit to describing his cases as either interesting or not, but it was definitely different. It would be a hard case to forget.

 

“Girlfriend is such an . . . open term. And fiancée, well . . . It's like this. Her grandfather was a priest who blessed our union ship.”

 

“He was a priest?”

 

“Yeah. First he blessed our union ship and he was to marry us, but, he died in an accident and my part . . . uh, Kagome is her name.” He hadn't realized how nervous he was about this until he started to talk. None of the words that came out of his mouth were making much sense. He took a quick breath and started over. “Her grandfather and younger brother died in a car accident before the wedding could take place.”

 

The doctor wrote this down. The female had suffered something very traumatic. He drew a large arrow to the words see shrink, which he then circled several times as the patient went on with his story. Unfortunately, all this babble was important. He'd rather just get to it, leave the nonsensical conversation for the psychologist and let him do his job.

 

“After that, she was depressed for a few months. I told her that we didn't need to be officially married to start a family. She only wanted to be married by her grandfather. She's been happy for the past year and yet . . . no matter how often we try . . . nothing.”

 

The patient sighed. It was frustrating. So much so that he was here, seeking help from the best doctor at the best fertility clinic in the world. He wanted a child more than anything. Kagome wanted one just as much. Yet . . . and yet, it wasn't happening for them.

 

“We've tried those ovulation thermometers, several other doctors and . . . still nothing.” The patient then glanced up at the doctor. “You're our last hope.”

 

He hated it when they said that. Countless patients came to him as a last resort, hoping that he could grant them a miracle, as if he were some sort of god. But he tried. He did the best he would with every couple. It was his job. It was his life, the one he had chosen. But he wasn't a god, nor did he have godly powers. Some couples were fated to live without having biological children of their own. And yet, even when desperate for a child, so many were reluctant to adopt. There were so many children in need of families.

 

The doctor made a few more notes in the patient's file. Once finished, he closed the file and placed it on the desk. It was just one more file that he would have to work through. It was the reason why he had no other life outside of work.

 

Folding his hands on top of the file, he looked directly into the patient's eyes. “I can't make any promises, but, only time will tell.”

 

He opened the file back up and glanced through the paperwork the patient had filled out. No matter how many forms each patient was required to fill out, he still had to ask them the same questions. He began to question the need for forms.

 

“I just have a series of questions I need you to ask. You need to be completely honest with me so that I can help you.” He watched as the patient nodded before he started with the questions. “Is there anyone in your family, either male or female, who has had a problem with infertility?”

 

It took a few minutes for the patient to answer as he considered every single person in his family that he knew or knew about. He shook his head as he recalled all of them being more than successful with children. “No,” he voiced his answer with some mustered up confidence.

 

The doctor nodded and wrote this down in his notes. “Have you had pelvic or scrotal surgery? Have you had any abdominal surgeries, like a hernia operation, that could scar or injure delicate internal structures?”

 

This answer was quicker, another no for both of the questions. The doctor made a quick note of that as well.

 

“Were or are you exposed to gonadtoxins?” The confused look on the patient's face prompted the doctor to explain the term gonadtoxins. “Uh, gonadtoxins are chemicals that literally poison the parts of your body that produce sperm, such as chemotherapy drugs, pesticides or other workplace chemicals.”

 

“Uh, no. I work at a very secure, very clean and protected place.”

 

“Oh, where at?”

 

“Bio-Guchi.”

 

The doctor was impressed with that. It was a well-known and well respected company that he was familiar with. That was good. His patient made enough money to cover the costs of the baby-making process. He didn't like to turn away couples that couldn't afford the procedure, but he couldn't do it for free all of the time.

 

“Do you drink alcohol?”

 

“Sometimes. A glass of wine or champagne on occasion, or a cup of sake.”

 

“Do you use any recreational drugs, such as marijuana or smoke?”

 

“Absolutely not.” The patient scrunched up his face at the idea of taking those kinds of drugs. Many did deny it, thinking that admitting to it made them a bad person.

 

The doctor made notes of these before asking the next question. “Are you exposed to heat for long periods of time, such as steam or a sauna?”

 

The patient shook his head. “No, and if I do, it's maybe once a week for no more than an hour.”

 

“Do you have any diseases or conditions that require medications?”

 

“Nope. Just an occasional aspirin or cold remedy.”

 

“Uh, lastly, have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease?”

 

“Kagome and I were both tested before we became sexually active with each other. We are both clean.”

 

“And the last time you were screened?”

 

“Just a few months ago, with the first doctor. That test was also negative.”

 

The doctor wrote a few more things down before he was finished with that part of the appointment. “Well, everything looks good so far. Next, you'll need to talk to Saori, my secretary, and she, with a nurse, will get a sample from you so we can determine if the problem lies with you.”

 

“A . . . s-sam . . . sample. What kind?” He didn't know he was going to be tested so early. He figured this to be just a simple consultation appointment. But this doctor meant serious business if he was already asking for a sample.

 

“Sperm sample.” The doctor had the ability to say that without cracking even the tiniest of smiles. He said it so often that it was just an ordinary statement for him to say. If anyone outside of his profession said that phrase, it was followed by chuckles. However, it was half of making a child, so its importance was great.

 

“Oh.”

 

“This problem you and your partner are experiencing could be you. Most men like to think that it's the woman's fault. An idea based on centuries of social and cultural stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. Remember, conception involves two people. Both are equally responsible for conceiving a child as much as not conceiving a child. It's through these tests that we can determine the real problem.”

 

He had seen many arguments stem from this issue alone. It was what prompted him to discuss this when the couples were separated from each other for some of the appointments. He could talk about this with them mano y mano. “We check several factors with your sperm. Once we rule out you, then we can focus on the female.”

 

“You will give a sperm sample today and one tomorrow or Monday. We will also require a blood test, which will be taken today. Talk to Saori about setting up an appointment with an urologist. We have some that work here, so no need to find one on your own.” The doctor glanced back down at the file. “How many hours do you spend on your cell phone on a daily basis?”

 

“What?” the patient asked, questioning the absurdity of such a question. What did that have to do with having a baby? His cell phone . . .

 

“The Cleveland Clinic just released a study correlating low sperm count with prolonged cell phone use. It's only a correlation, but we can't rule anything out.”

 

“Okay. Not much. Maybe an hour or two a day, tops.” The patient patted his pants and felt for his small cellular device. He didn't want to embarrass himself by pulling it out and checking his actually daily usage. He was sure though that it was under four.

 

The doctor grinned. “Well, you should be fine then.” Scanning over the notes he meticulously took, he found a few more questions he needed to ask.

 

“How many times a week, on average, do you masturbate?”

 

The doctor watched as the colored drained from the patient's face only to be refilled with a deep blush. It was a typical response to the question. First, they were dumbfounded by being asked such a personal, secretive question.

 

“What kind of question is that?” the patient roared, taking offense to this new line of questioning. And then they were angered to suggest that a man in a relationship, such as he was in, would even think to resorting to such a dirty, disgusting act that only hormonal teenagers and sexual deviants practiced. It was all part of the routine, one that the doctor hardly took notice of anymore now that he expected it.

 

The doctor sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “It's one that I need you to answer, honestly, if I'm going to help you.”

 

The patient calmed down. The doctor was right. Masturbation did involve the same sexual organ that was involved with making babies. He sighed as he gave the matter some thought. “On average? Weekly? I don't know. I'd say, two, three times a month, but on a weekly basis . . . “

 

Then, when they did admit to it, they lied about how often they did do it. Doing it several times on a weekly basis was way too much. Spreading it out over a month seemed to make it more bearable to admit to. Even if it was normal to do it several times a week, not many confessed to the true number.

 

The doctor just accepted the answer knowing the patient wouldn't change it. It was true that some males did not succumb to that kind of release as often as others. But there was normal and then there was above and beyond the call of duty. Masturbating constantly couldn't impair fertility, but it was possible to injure the organ involved, causing problems with sperm flow. But if he confessed to only a few times a month, then he would wait for the urologist. The urologist would find out the truth. They always did.

 

“I think that's all I need to know for now. Once I have the results from the semen analysis, blood analysis and the report from the urologist; we'll have another appointment to review it all. Then once we've taken care of that, I'll schedule an appointment with your wi . . . uh, partner.”

 

The doctor examined the file one more time just to be sure there wasn't anything he missed. “Any questions?”

 

The patient only shook his head no, thinking that it would be best to wait until the results came in. If everything checked out for him, then he would have to do what he could to help and support Kagome. He knew it was going to be a long, hard and emotional process, one that they were both committed to.

 

“Well then . . . “The doctor picked up the phone he finally found after removing the mess off of his desk and dialed Saori's extension. “Hey. Yeah, schedule him for the usual male fertility examination. Starting as soon as possible. Today is good if they have time.” He hung the phone up and picked up the patient's file, closing it up with the notes he took contained inside.

 

“The tests only take a few hours to complete, but depending on your schedule and when you have the urologist appointment, it might take a few days. Let's see, today is Thursday, so we'll try to schedule an appointment for you to go over the results next week. And then your partner will be next.” It was strange to say partner and not wife. That would be a struggle to remember.

 

The patient nodded with a slight smile on his face. He turned in his chair to the sound of a knock echoing in the room. It opened and a nurse dressed in a simple blue and white scrub outfit walked in.

 

Holding out the patient's file, the nurse walked over and took it, so she could add her notes to it. Smiling at the patient, she said, “Follow me,” in a voice that was genuinely cheery, not fake.

 

The patient stood, as did the doctor. Briefly, they shook hands before the patient hurried up after the nurse. She closed the door behind her, leaving the doctor alone with his mess of files. Glancing at the clock, it was now 12:07. Saori told him that he needed to leave at 12:15 to make it on time to the luncheon.

 

Eight minutes.

 

Not enough time to get any work done, but too much time to just sit around and wait. Glancing over at the files, he knew that this would be another weekend stuck in the office working. He worked in a fertility clinic, helping couples to make families when they couldn't under normal circumstances. This kept him from having a family of his own. The only women he knew where the ones he worked with. But they all had lives outside of the clinic.

 

He decided to just leave. The board of directors would be surprised if he showed up early for the luncheon. Normally, he arrived just on time, leaving no time for those few minutes before to chat about nothing. He didn't have a wife or children to talk about, so it was fine if he didn't show up for that informal part.

 

 

xxx- One Week Later -xxx

 

 

Saori opened the door and let the patient inside, following him up to the doctor's desk so she could give him the patient's file. She left quietly and shut the door to give the two men their privacy.

 

The results were in and this was the appointment to go over them. The patient had been nervous all week. He went in for two sperm sample appointments, was fondled by the urologist and had a blood test taken. Now the doctor would tell him if he was normal or not.

 

The doctor opened the file and scanned the results carefully. This was a sensitive matter. He glanced up at the patient, noticing the pale, clammy skin that was a result of the stress and nerves. Another normal look he'd seen in his office. Males took the fertility tests just as hard as women did, stressing over what some doctor would tell them about their masculinity, as if this was the only measure of manliness.

 

“First, your semen analysis. Your ejaculate volume was normal, meaning that you ejaculate enough semen to allow conception. And the concentration was within normal parameters as well. Typically, we look for a concentration of 20 million individual sperm per milliliter.”

 

The patient was shocked to hear such a large number. But as long as the doctor said that he was within the norm, he wasn't going to ask why it was such a high number. The doctor continued with the results.

 

“You have 83% mobility, which is good. The little guys need to swim and this just says that in each sample, 83% of your sperm are healthy enough to swim up the birth canal. And they are in good shape.” The doctor looked up at the patient and smiled. “Your semen sample checked out just fine, meaning we don't need to do any other follow-ups. Even if it had turned out abnormal, it doesn't necessarily mean that you would be unable to impregnate your wife, uh, partner.”

 

Damn, he forgot.

 

“The urologist just left me a note in here saying that everything checked out. His only recommendation is that you schedule yearly check-ups for your prostate.” The patient nodded, knowing that prostate cancer was a serious threat to men. He was of that age now.

 

“Your blood test came out fine as well. Hormone levels were tested as well as possible genetic disorders. It's possible for you to pass on certain genetic disorders that would make infertility a problem for your offspring, but in your case, there is nothing to be worried about.”

 

The patient tossed his head back, smiling and letting out a huge sigh of relief. He was normal. He was a man. The doctor just closed the file up, letting the patient have his moment. It was an uncomfortable sight. The doctor didn't like it when the men acted so cocky. In the instances where the male was the one that was most likely at fault, they would demand retests, or leave for second opinions, only to come back only after accepting the fact that there was something wrong with them, but never fully believing it.

 

There were other ways to prove that one was a man.

 

Once finished with his little moment of victory, he lifted his head up and looked at the doctor. “So, we get Kagome in here and get her started.”

 

“Yeah. But first, I need to tell you that I do require you to see our psychologist once every two weeks, or every week depending on the psychologist's recommendations.” He watched as the patient frowned. “I'm also going to suggest nutritional supplements which contain amino acids for you. Also, I am recommending that you cancel any sauna visits until your . . uh, partner becomes pregnant, as well as no alcohol. This ensures that we are doing everything we can to make pregnancy possible.”

 

The patient hesitantly nodded. He thought that he was free from most of the doctor's orders, but that wasn't the case now. But if this was what he needed to do to help Kagome and to get her pregnant with his child, he would do it, no questions asked. He would have to trust the doctor and his methods. He wasn't the best fertility doctor in the world for nothing.

 

“If there are no other questions, then I'll have Saori and you work out a schedule with our psychologist. Sometimes infertility is a mental rather than physical factor. Your . . . partner will be scheduled for private appointments and then you will be scheduled appointments that will require both of you to attend together.”

 

“I think that is everything,” the patient spoke as he started to stand out of the chair. The doctor stood in response to his patient. The patient stuck his hand out. “Thank you doctor. This means so much to us.”

 

The doctor shook the patient's hand, giving him a forced smile. “It's my job. But, this is only the beginning.”

 

“I know, but still, it's a start.”

 

“Just don't start celebrating yet,” the doctor half-joked.

 

The patient chuckled, though he didn't quite get what the doctor had said. “Again, thanks, Doctor Takahashi.”

 

“No problem Mr. Akitoki.”

 

The doctor watched as the patient walked out of his office, closing the oak door behind him. Plopping back down into his chair, he sighed. Something about that patient bothered him greatly. He was too . . . cheery? He didn't know. Still . . . This case was already different. Helping a non-married couple was a huge setup for lawsuits and custody battles. The board of directors would be telling him to turn this one down if he had told them about it.

 

But he hadn't, solely on the reason that his patient, Akitoki Hojo worked for Bio-Gutchi, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Helping Akitoki Hojo would be helping out the clinic. It wasn't that his clinic needed financial help, but he found that a possible partnership with Bio-Gutchi would be good for creating new and improved fertility drugs.

 

Doctor Takahashi picked up his phone and dialed Saori's extension. He only had to wait one ring before she answered. Normally she waited two or three just to annoy him. “Hi. Did Akitoki schedule an appointment with the head doctor?” He listened as she explained to him that he indeed do that. “Good, call his wife, damn, partner and schedule an appointment with her. Thanks.”

 

Inuyasha stood up out of his chair and stretched his muscles. He felt as if he had been sitting in that chair all day long. He needed to get out of the office and into the gym. A gym had been built into the clinic specifically for him, but his other employees expressed an interest in it, so it was expanded into a company gym. Still, it was a place for him to go and unwind.

 

 

xxx-xxxxx-xxx

 

 

roshully's note:

Hi. Welcome to my story. I have no idea how I came about with this, but it just popped into my head one day and I just had to write it. Which is sad, because I had other story ideas from earlier that I wanted to write, but this just wouldn't let me.

 

I am trying to be as factual as I can with this story, so a lot of the medical terms and procedures are based on reality and not just something I made up. And I'll try to explain them within the context of the story if it fits. If not, check here for an explanation.

 

I appreciate reviews, but they are not necessary for next chapter postings, as it was with my other stories. But still, I like them as much as the next person. Questions, comments, concerns, or anything, let me know.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

roshully