Kaguya-hime, Inuyasha style
Prolouge

This story is based on the'Taketori Monogatari' aka 'Kaguya-hime', which are, if translated, 'The Bamboo Cutters Tale' aka 'The Shining Princess'. I was forced to read this tale in my Japanese class, and I have found it quite interesting if we replaced the charactors with certain other charactors.

The bold/italiced parts are of the original bamboo cutter story, so if you want, you can ignore them, since they are in no way part of the plot. However, it might also be amusing to compare the two and see how the Inuyasha version is... strange.:) So anyway, the original is by Kawabata, Yasunari, translated by Donald Keene. Enjoy.:)

Once upon a time, an old man had come across a strange well. He didn't realize just how strange that well could be, of course. The old man had simple come here to get some water for his wife, who kept snarling at him to get the laundries done.

The old man paused in his work. Was that the cry of a child he heard through the gently whispering bamboo stalks?

As he came across the well, he thought that he could hear a distant cry from inside the well. Which was impossible, of course, since the stupid useless well was completely nailed shut. He was about to leave and look for a well in use, but stopped when heard another cry from inside the well.

He put down his things and began to search the grove. People had been known to abandon unwanted children in rice fields, hoping the babies would drown, but he had never heard of a child abandoned in a bamboo grove. Still, he felt compelled to investigate the cries.

Now this was just plain creepy; it could be some strange youkai, for all her knew! But they do say curiosity killed the cat. In this case, however, curiosity did not kill the old man, and, instead, saved a life.

His wife was sure to be mad if he destroyed the bucket; however, he had no other weapon to try and get the well to open. So he began to slam the wooden bucket onto the wooden barrier.

CRACK!

Oops.

And so the old man threw out the wooden bucket (that had been splintered to pieces- apparently the bucket was very weak) and proceeded to the tiring task of prying open the wooden barrier with his hands.

He really hoped there would be something in there worth his wife's thunderstorm.

The sun had gone and arrived by the time he had finally let one of the nails loose. Grunting, he removed the rest of the board with immense difficulty and was shocked to see something glowing at the bottom of the well.

Still gob smacked, he hurriedly pulled the string to see what the glowing thing could be; and he was even more shocked when he saw a tiny baby girl, only three inches high, shining with unearthly light.

To his side, one of the bamboo stalks was glowing! "Well, they do call me the Bamboo Cutter," he thought, and he proceeded to cut down this mysterious stalk. But inside there was a tiny baby girl, only three inches high, shining with unearthly light.

He'd never been more excited in his dull entire life; this was just the kind of thing the local newspaper journalist would love to hear. Already in his head news headlines were popping up about the mysterious little girl in the well.

Since he and his wife had never been blessed with a child, perhaps this would be a very good chance to actually experience fatherhood.

He was surprised but delighted. He took this tiny infant home cupped in one hand. Together his wife and he decided the girl was their very own blessing from the gods, since they had long been childless. They took very good care of her, and just like the bamboo she came from, within three months she was full grown. The diviner was called, and named the girl Kaguya-hime, or the "Shining Princess".

And so that day, when the old man came home without water but with a baby girl instead, he earned a huge wallop in the head that was sure to have killed about a million brain cells, before his wife cried and hugged him with the happiness of finally getting to raise their own child.

They took very good care of her, and nursed her and fed her and spoiled her like a princess. Within three months, to everyone's astonishment, she was full grown.

However, even when she was full grown she did not have a name. So Lady Kaede was called, since she was quite a trusted miko.

The old miko gave the girl from the well a critical look. "I declare her 'Kagome'."

Let the Bamboo Cutter's Tale begin.

Liked it? I know it was short, but it is a prolouge.:P I am pretty sure Inuyasha will come in in the next chappie. Do me favor and click the blue button down there, wouldjya?:o Thanks.;)