Chapter 21: Omake 4: Birth of an Heir or two (C)
Mineko Shimura could still remember the time when she first gave birth to her baby boy.
Her husband was still alive and with her when she needed his help, with him giving her encouraging words as she went through the labor with a frail body. She was tired since it was nighttime when that happened, and yet she could remember his face and his body betraying no hints of tiredness as he went through the hardship of giving her the strength to go through the ordeal.
Right now, Mineko wasn't sure how she was supposed to really help with that memory as she tried together with Tomomi Sarutobi and a nervous Hashirama Senju to go through the issue before them. It had been a nice visit at the Hokage manor, with the three women enjoying a simple afternoon together. With Hanzo having gone for a little trip around the walls with some friends he made at school, the Shimura matriarch was given the opportunity of being alone for a few hours, and so she decided to spend it as she would usually do at this time of the day.
Mito was already up to it, with her craving for friends to talk to making her more compliant to this kind of ideas, while Tomomi just liked the idea of tagging along now that she was mostly bored of not having her son to spoil from time to time. The trio had been long friends now and… this situation put their bond to an impressive strain.
The hokage had been at home due to some paperwork allowing him to work at home. He was planning to enjoy a late day at home with his wife but then fate decided to rear its ugly face and push their pleasant afternoon down a peculiar circumstance. The first hint that something was odd started when Mito mentioned some aching by her belly.
It was normal for her to feel sore at times, but the increase in pain was a novelty, then Tomomi noticed that Mito's pillow had some stain of wetness that darkened the texture of the soft thing. At this point, it was clear what was going on. After being moved on a safer spot, the pain grew strong enough to get the woman to scream in brief agony.
And it was enough to draw the attention of the busy man a few rooms away from them. Hashirama rushed in fearing the worst, and his best concerns didn't prepare him for the big moment unfolding before him. First, his jaw hit the floor at the sight of what was happening, a shiver preceding the state of dread he was in as he approached the situation with a confused look. He clearly wasn't prepared to handle this kind of trouble. Which was ironic since Mineko could distinctly remember that Hashirama was born in a numerous family.
…
Oh right, the warring...
Irony deleted, only awkwardness was left as she found herself in quite the chaotic situation. Tomomi tried to quickly get the man to snap out of his shock and call a doctor.
The problem? Most of the hospital was under siege by people. There wasn't anything big that would call for that issue, but the problem was that most of the medics have been moved to the frontline and… they were left without experts to handle the matter right now. As much as Mineko wanted to just say 'I can not help with this situation', she just couldn't find within herself to say that. Maybe it was because she could remember something more than just her husband telling her that she got it when it was one of the most terrifying times of her life since she risked losing her baby boy's life and hers in the process. Right now, she could remember just a couple of things she caught not only during the operation but also when the entire ordeal was over and she decided to indulge some info about how the medics got through these issues.
It was many years ago and… now she could hardly remember much with the pressure in there. A look at Mito got her to even worry that this was the only thing they could rely on. From the glance that Tomomi was aiming at her, the fellow mother just didn't have anything to give about her own experience, so the decision was clear.
"Ho-Hashirama-san, I need you to retrieve a basin, to fill it with warm water and bring a couple of towels," Mineko spoke up, her ordering tone gaining the attention of the hokage, but only the combined glares of the other two women seemed to wake him from his shock-induced freeze-up. The man darted for the kitchen and the bathroom, returning once he had everything back there. In the meantime, both Mineko and Tomomi started to throw encouraging words to their mutual friend, with Mito doing her best to not give up as her husband moved as quickly as he could.
Once the man was back, Mineko had her fellow mother help Mito by using some of the towels to have those warmed up through the water in the basin and place it on the redhead's forehead. Meanwhile the leading woman gave a proper look to the situation below and… gave a quick prayer as she could tell this was going to be a difficult birth from the way things were before her.
All experience she could remember of her own delivery was implemented in the situation and… it proved to be a mostly winning situation. She successfully spotted the child slowly being pushed out, commenting on the scene as a means to incite Mito to put even more of herself on the task. It was a struggle, but in the end… the first child was out. Because, much to the surprise of everyone at the scene, Mineko was the first to be shocked since she was the one monitoring the entire situation, with the woman swiftly noticing that a second child was soon to come out.
Another struggle ensued, this one much tougher than the last one as Mito's strengths were faltering at this double birth. The pressure was high just like the tension, with everyone keeping vigilant as the steps of the delivery soon came to be as the second child.
Twins, there was immediate jubilation from a relieved Hashirama as he held both crying babies near to him, adoring them at once while Mito stared with a tired but still awake look. She was granted the chance to rest after a while, with her conditions confirmed to be stable.
In the span of a normal afternoon with friends, both Mineko and Tomomi became godmothers to the two children, with the Shimura woman becoming one to Orime Senju, a healthy baby girl, and the Sarutobi woman becoming one to the cute baby boy that was Kazuhiko Senju.
With a sigh leaving her lips as she returned back home without any problem along the way, Mineko Shimura finally understood why her baby boy tended to be so tired from each day something 'intense' happened to him before the war.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone