Complicated Childbirth

Disclaimer and warnings from previous chapters applied.

Definition of Medical Terms:
uterus - A thick muscular-walled located in the middle of the pelvis, behind the bladder and in front of the rectum. The main function is to sustain a developing fetus. It can be stretch to accommodate a growing fetus. Its highly muscular walls contract during labor to push the baby out through the cervix and the vagina.

'...' = thoughts
"..." = speech

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Chapter 3 - A Discouraged Inuyasha

Inuyasha shivered as a cold breeze caressed his sweaty nude form. His back was aching terribly as his bulging belly pulled his spine laboriously forward. He had longed lost the feeling of his swollen feet from his squatting position.

He was exhausted from all the pushing, not to mention the continuous piercing pain from his nether region and his back. Moreover, he was flabbergasted at how fast things had progressed. Not only was he totally caught unprepared for what he was experiencing now, but also felt depressed that he was unable to make things happened the way he wanted.

Inuyasha earnestly regretted for not heeding his mate advice to stay in the castle. If only he had not insisted of going to the old village where he and his mum used to stay, none of this would have happened.

Into his seventh month of pregnancy, Sesshomaru had stopped their vagrant lives and return to the castle. Under the watchful eyes of the healer, not only he was unable to practice with his Tetsusaiga, but also forbidden to consume the foods that he long for. To make the matters worse, he was in constant pain and discomfort which further exasperated his already short temper.

Then came this morning that his craving for the sweeten rice balls from the old village superseded everything. He sneaked out of the castle before the crack of dawn and headed toward the village himself.

It did not take long for his mate to catch up with him though. After much pleading, Sesshomaru still insisted on returning to the castle and Inuyasha exploded. He went ballistic, yelling and screaming at his mate about how insensitive and uncaring he was. Inuyasha even threatened to abort the pregnancy since it was such a nuisance.

The threat had the desire effect he expected from his mate. However, Inuyasha immediately felt a pang of guilt when he saw the hurt in his mate's eyes. Sesshomaru finally gave in, only after he had made Inuyasha promised that this would be the last trip till after his delivery.

The journey to the village was spent in an awkward silence. Despite getting what he had wanted, Inuyasha was still sulking while Sesshomaru was back to his composed self. Not knowing the cause of his bad mood, Inuyasha blamed it on the dull, throbbing cramps in his lower abdomen. Since he had experienced constant pains on all parts of his body, he simply ignored the sensation.

Little did he know that it was the main sign of the start of labor.

After a day of traveling in the dense atmosphere, they were ambushed by youkai when the village was just around the corner. For fear of hurting the human villagers, they had changed course and headed to the nearby forest instead.

Inuyasha wanted so much to apologize to his mate for all the problems he had caused which leaded them into their current situation. He grunted as he felt the healing power began to perform its job, healing the tear around his anus which would squeeze the already squashed umbilical cord yet there was not a single thing he could do to stop it. Never in his life did he dream that his healing power was actually caused him more harm than good.

Guilt was seriously eating into him. He desperately needed to let Sesshomaru knew that he never thought of aborting this pregnancy nor finding it a nuisance. All he wanted was a chance to get out of the castle and do something that he pined for.

Together with the agonizing pain and heavy scent of his blood, his stomach clenched and he threw up again and again, uncontrollably till what was left was only the digestive juice. He felt horribly sick and weak, and tumbled onto the grass as he felt the world slipping away.

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~ Many miles away ~

Sesshomaru had just finished off those youkai and was about to leave when he sensed a presence. "What do you want?" Sesshomaru growled at the two figures on the feather.

"I'm not here to fight," Kagura defended as she tossed a small bottle to Sesshomaru. "This will help to relieve some pain. Give it to Inuyasha and find a place to hide before more youkai arrives."

"How did you know?" Sesshomaru scowled. Kanna stepped out from Kagura's back, holding a mirror in front of her which reflected Inuyasha's pained face.

Personally, he held no grudge against them but he cannot let his guard down even though he wanted so badly to get back to his mate this instant. He knew that whatever Kagura was going to divulge was vital and he needed to find out more.

"Why should I believe you?" Sesshomaru asked again as he glared suspiciously at the both of them.

"I have my first taste of freedom after Inuyasha defeated Naraku. Even though I never did get a chance to thank him, I will forever be grateful to him." Kagura explained. "The potion will only temporary relieve his pain. Find a safe place for him while I hold up the rest of the youkai."

"Why are the youkai going after Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru probed. He was still not certain if Kagura was speaking the truth. After all, she had attempted countless of times to end his mate's life under Naraku's order.

"Naraku had spread rumors that by absorbing Inuyasha, one will gain immense power and absorbing the newborn pup, one will get immortality," Kagura disclosed. "He had plotted his plan well. I only get to learn about this after his death. If Naraku cannot get what he wants, he makes sure nobody else can, even when he was no longer around."

Sesshomaru fell silent at that moment, slowly digesting everything Kagura had just told him. If what Kagura said was true, that would explain the constant attacks from those youkai during their vagrant lives. Those youkai who attacked them were able to regenerate, just like Naraku. They would not die of old age or sickness but they could get killed by stronger opponents. Thus they were after Inuyasha to gain immense power for themselves.

On another hand, among the youkai he had just defeated, most of them were unable to regenerate. Although youkai could live thousands or millions of years that did not make them immunized to sickness or old age therefore they were after his pup, to gain immortality.

Before he could response, both of them sensed more youkai approaching although those youkai were still many miles away. If both kind of youkai were after Inuyasha and their pup, they were in grave danger. He needed to return to his mate now.

"If I find out that you are lying to me, you know the consequence," Sesshomaru warned before he headed back in the direction from which he came.

Kagura watched Sesshomaru's back disappeared as he took off at an astounding speed. 'Inuyasha, I'm not sure if I should envy you having such a devoted mate or sympathies you for capturing the attention of all the youkai.' Kagura mused before she and Kanna departed in the opposite direction, toward the approaching youkai.

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~ In the forest ~

Sesshomaru heighten his scent on his way back. Although he had ensured no youkai were around the area before leaving his mate, he could not helped but worry after hearing what Kagura had said.

From a distance, Sesshomaru caught an odd scent, nothing threatening but it was quite unpleasant. Next that came into view was Inuyasha lying on his side with both hands clasped tightly around his stomach and legs clamped together. He rushed to Inuyasha's side and glanced at the trembling body.

Sweat was dripping from Inuyasha's body, making his hair clung to the damp flesh and most of it was plastered to his sweating face and neck.

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru whispered as he brushed the sweaty bangs away from his mate forehead. Inuyasha breath was ragged and looked very pale.

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru tried again but Inuyasha failed to respond. From the corner of his eye, Sesshomaru caught a glimpse of the mess his mate had thrown up earlier. 'This is not good,' he thought.

Worried that Inuyasha might have caught an infection since his genital area was wet and exposed for the last few hours. Moreover, Sesshomaru was fingering his opening while stretching him which might make infection more likely.

Typically for an infection, there would be a lot of malodorous discharge and the person would also experienced severe pain, high fever and vomiting. Inuyasha did not seem to have a fever but he did experienced severe pain and vomited.

Sesshomaru's eyes trailed down to his mate legs and frowned. Gently, he raised Inuyasha's leg and was shocked to see half of the pup was hanging from his mate nether region and the pup was turning purple due to impede of blood circulation. Furthermore, the umbilical cord was badly squeezed and there were dried blood on both his inner thighs and on the pup.

Instinctively, Sesshomaru shoved two of his dry fingers inside his mate to feel the heartbeat of the pup as well as to pry the opening wider for the umbilical cord to continue supply adequate oxygen. Other than an abnormal heart rate pattern in the pup, there was no sign of discharge. Immediately, he turned his mate on his left side with Inuyasha's head resting on his lap.

Inuyasha stirred and slowly cracked his eyes. Once Sesshomaru's face came into view, he clutched onto Sesshomaru's robe and apologized repeatedly. Taken aback by his mate sudden behavior, Sesshomaru leaned forward and embraced him into his free arm, "What's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry. It's entirely my fault for endangered our pup," Inuyasha sniveled and cowered his face into his mate thighs, "I... I never thought of aborting this pregnancy... never found it a nu...nuisance. I don't know why I said such a cruel thing but I never meant it. I'm so...sorry," Inuyasha paused as he was struggling to take in every breath. "Its so pain...painful that I'm not sure if I... I can take it anymore."

Sesshomaru knew that his mate was fatigued during labor thus felt discouraged and defeated. If Inuyasha lost his confidence, he had involuntarily increased the amount of pain and discomfort his body was undergoing. If he was unable to regain his confidence soon, he would eventually give up the urge to push and put himself and the pup in danger. Sesshomaru knew that he needed Inuyasha to refocus his thoughts.

Sesshomaru had never blamed Inuyasha or was angry with his mate because he was fully aware that pregnancy tended to make Inuyasha's moods shift drastically and the tiniest of things could set him off. Knowing his mate's character, Inuyasha would not buy this explanation hence he would have to do it the harsh way.

"If you are truly remorseful then promised to repay me," Sesshomaru stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Inuyasha nodded. "W...what do you want me t...to do?"

"Give me a big family," Sesshomaru replied as Inuyasha stared blankly at him, not comprehending what he had just heard.

"I want more sons and daughters. I want to extend my family and only YOU can do it for me," Sesshomaru elaborated.

"I can’t... can’t do it," Inuyasha gulped as he bit back another sharp pain. "It h...hurts too much."

Sesshomaru wanted nothing more than to embrace his mate with both arms at that moment. However, he would have to pay for a very high price if he was to remove his fingers from his mate opening now when the pup just managed to regulate his heartbeat.

Sesshomaru's usually emotionless eyes were full of torment. In fact, he had determined not to have anymore pups after witnessing his mate's suffering. However, he had to twist it around in order to ensure his mate had something to hold on, for he knew that Inuyasha never break a promise. It did not matter if his mate cursed and swear at him later as long as Inuyasha was able to pull through this ordeal. He could not lost Inuyasha; not now, not ever.

"It's your responsibility and your duty as my mate," Sesshomaru said in a no dispute voice.

Inuyasha knew all along that Sesshomaru adore children although he never admitted it. Hence, this request was a surprised but not unexpected. He could still clearly remember that fatal day when Rin and Jaken were absorbed by Naraku when she attempted to retrieve Tenseiga for Sesshomaru while Jaken tried to protect her.

Not only did Sesshomaru lose his Tenseiga to Naraku, but also loss the two people he greatly cared about.

For the first time in his life, Inuyasha actually saw Sesshomaru's tears as he transformed into the magnificent true demon dog and attacked Naraku ferociously. That was the moment Inuyasha secretly hoped that the pup he was carrying was a girl to makeup for the emptiness Rin had created in his mate's heart.

Looking up, Inuyasha saw his mate was watching him, waiting for his answer. "All right," Inuyasha smiled shyly and looked away as his cheeks were flaring red, "Just one more girl and no more."

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow as it never creased to amaze him that his mate still felt bashful after what they had done. It made Inuyasha looked even more endearing that Sesshomaru could not resist the temptation as he bended down to kiss his lips lightly.

"My love, what I'm going to say maybe a shock to you but I want you to remain calm," Sesshomaru pulled away and regarded his mate with certain wariness. "I need to push back the pup into your uterus to reposition it."

"WHAAAT?!!!"

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To be continued

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