Chapter 2

"It's no use panicking, Kosei!" Kosei would repeat to herself as she paced back and forth in and out of the shop trying to remain as calm as the situation allowed. Feeling, however, that she had no strength to deal with her being turned into an old woman by a vicious wizard she decided to go to sleep and think about what to do in the morning.

When morning arrived in contrast to the previous day, the Waste seemed to have gained its peace and quiet. There were no parades that day and no aircrafts were flying over their heads, only the train passing by Market Chipping releasing its black fog and making the usual sounds.

An automobile stopped by the shop that day and a richly dressed woman in a red dress and extravagant hat stepped inside the shop with a number of presents in her hands followed by a butler that was carrying her other stuff. She barged inside the shop with a red lipped grin announcing her presence in a joyous fashion.

"I'm back!" She cheered and all the workers turned their heads from their work to her.

"Welcome home, Ma'am!" The women beamed and centered around her at once. Apparently, Mrs. Yuhi was back now.

"How do you like it?" Mrs. Yuhi asked spinning around a couple of times so that the women would see her new hat and dress. "It's all the rage in Kingsbury!" She explained to them as the women gawked at her clothes.

"Amazing!"

"It suits you!"

"Don't you think it's wonderful?" She asked and living the presents to the women she turned her head towards the next room of the workshop. "Kosei!" She called a couple of times and as she went to Kosei's work room and saw that she wasn't there she frowned.

"Mrs. Yuhi, Kosei hasn't come to work yet." One of the workers let her know.

"I wonder what the matter is!" Mrs. Yuhi said and walked towards the backyard that linked the shop with the house. As she walked inside the house she called again Kosei's name but got no reply so she climbed up the stairs, holding her skirts up so that she wouldn't fall.

From inside her bedroom, Kosei heard her stepmother's voice as she was hiding underneath her blanket and once again she thought that her day couldn't begin any worse. Not because Mrs. Yuhi was here but because she was an old woman. The knocks on her door startled Kosei and she thought of what she could do to prevent her mother from barging in.

"Don't come in!" Kosei's voice sounded crooked as if she had a sore throat. "I've got an awful cold and I don't want you to catch it!" Kosei warned.

From outside, Mrs. Yuhi's eyebrows arched. "You sound just awful…" she said, "Like some 90 year old woman!"

Kosei suppressed a chuckle at the irony of that. "I'll stay in bed today," Kosei said smiling in an embarrassed manner that only made her throat worse. Everything seemed to hurt at that age.

"Are you sure? All right then!" Mrs. Yuhi said and walked away. Kosei could hear her heels retrieving and felt relieved that she had left.

"Here we go…" she mumbled as she rose from her bed with difficulty and once again went to her mirror only to see herself as elderly once again yet this time she wasn't really surprised. "You'll be fine old lady," she said to her reflection finally accepting what she had become overnight, "You're really healthy and these clothes finally seem to suit you!" Kosei joked as she changed from her dress into a high collar white shirt and another dark blue skirt that reached her ankles along with her dark stockings and brown boots.

"I can't stay here!" She mumbled to herself as she listened to the women's voices outside having fun with her stepmother. Putting on her straw hat and a coat on her shoulders she took a little bread and cheese with her from the kitchen before deciding to leave. Kosei sneaked outside feeling a pain in her back but she tried to ignore it as much as she could. As she walked outside from the backdoor she heard men talking while they were holding the newspaper.

"I heard that this war will be terrible…"

Kosei didn't pay any further attention since she knew that she had to leave without being noticed. She passed from the bridge and the train that passed underneath it released all its fumes on her making her eyes tear and she coughed. A man that was standing by the stairs of the bridge observed her cautiously.

"Like a hand, granny?" He offered and for a moment Kosei forgot that he was talking to her.

"Such a gentleman, but I'll manage!" she said with a smile even though she did feel a small irritation. Did she have to get old for people to notice her?

Once she arrived on the outskirts a man with a four wheeled cart stuffed with hay, offered to take Kosei to her destination.

"Sure old lady, but where are you off to?" Asked the farmer.

"Just a bit further than where you are going," she answered and so the man and his son helped her up on the back of the cart before they were on the road to the hills were most farmers lived. The city seemed to get lost before her as she went away and yet she didn't seem to miss it one bit. In fact it seemed that having been cursed was the most interesting thing that had happened in her life but she would still like her old body back and let time decide when she would get old not a wizard and his whims.

The cart stopped high on the hills and yet there were more mountains to cross further ahead. He helped Kosei down and after she thanked him she was on her way north.

"I don't recommend it, granny!" the farmer shouted from where he was. "There is nothing but wizards and witches ahead!" he warned her and yet Kosei had had enough encounters in one day to be bothered now.

"Thank you!" Kosei simply said when she heard the farmer's wife.

"Going at the Folding Valley at this hour?" the woman wondered and Kosei smiled a little at how these people worried about her.

Kosei left them all behind as she continued on her way and a while later she found it very hard to cross the hill with all its rocks and slippery grass. She panted and panted as she walked until she could no longer bear it and sat down to rest and perhaps eat something. She wasn't a young woman anymore. "Thank Goodness, I still have my teeth!" she muttered as she ate a piece of her bread with cheese.

Looking around she noticed a stick hanging from a bush and decided that she should have it. "That'll make a good cane!" walking towards it after being done she grabbed the stick and tried to pull it out of the bush but it seemed stuck yet she was determined to get it and after a good yank she released the stick only to see that it was in fact a scarecrow with a smoking pipe in its mouth, a hat and a worn out suit but what scared her the most was that it was standing on the stick on its own.

"A scarecrow? I thought you were working for the wizard!" she released a relieved breath once she realized she wasn't in any danger again. "How do you stand on yourself though?" she asked and observed how it only looked at her. "Your head's a turnip, I hate turnips!" She noted and turned the other way in order to be on her way, disappointed that she wouldn't have any cane to rely on. "So long!" she greeted it.

She continued on her way with the wind getting colder the higher she went and Kosei began feeling the cold to her bones. She also noticed that the scarecrow was following her bouncing on its stick in order to catch up. Kosei's eyes widened.

"Don't follow me!" She shouted, "You don't owe me anything!" she said trying to get it away from her until she noticed that it was holding a cane and a properly made one. "I've had enough of wizards and spells!" She muttered to herself as it approached her. She decided to ignore it and walk forward but it still followed her and once he was before her, the scarecrow released the cane and Kosei looking at it put her hand to it and instantly felt better. "This is a perfect cane! Thank you kindly!" she told it. "While you're at it, why don't you find me a house to sleep in?" she joked and chuckled to herself as she saw it leave straight ahead of her still bouncing on the stick. Thinking that it had left her Kosei smiled and waved her cane to it before continuing on her journey.

As it began growing darker, Kosei also noticed a battleship flying above her head and thought of what the man on the road had said about the war being terrible but as the wind grew even colder than before she concentrated on the road and getting away with the weather. She was starting to feel weak and tired when the smell of smoke reached her nose and she wondered whether there was a cabin nearby. Feeling empowered once again by the idea of a hot fire and a place to rest she was able to keep walking despite the cold.

That was, until she noticed that the cabin she was actually hoping on finding made its way towards her and it was none other than metal and wooden mass of a castle that belonged to Kakashi. She also saw the scarecrow bouncing before it.

"Turnip head, isn't that Kakashi's castle?" She asked even though she knew it wouldn't answer back. "This is hardly what I meant when I asked for shelter!" she groaned. "What is this?" She asked as she observed at the castle and its form. It had the form of some kind of creature. "You call this a castle?" She wondered and scarecrow bounced at the back of it once the castle stopped moving, where there was a door. It began moving again however and Kosei was able to see the door for herself.

"Is that the way in?" she asked and having no other alternative she ran towards it with as much strength as she could master now that she was old and she was able to grasp on it at the last moment and with one swift as if the castle had felt her, it let her in the porch with her coat however being taken over by the howling wind. The scarecrow went after it and vanished from sight and so Kosei decided to go inside this castle.

Opening the regular looking door she was met by stairs once again and then a warm light from up ahead. At first she hesitated knowing well enough that she would get herself into trouble yet again she didn't have any other choice and Kosei didn't want to freeze outside. From the top stair she peeked around to see whether there was anyone in the room but she only saw a mess of books, dust and other disgusting things as well as a fire and a chair before it. Everything had gone dark but there was the fire lighting the room well enough for her old eyes to see.

Gathering up all her courage she approached the chair, sat on it and leaving her bundle of food aside she stretched her hands towards the fire to warm up. Noticing that the fire was slowly burning away, she rose once again and threw wood on it to strengthen it up. "What is this place?" she hummed, "It looks like a dilapidated heap!"

"Well, one thing about getting old is that nothing surprises you!" she joked even though she had been young until yesterday night. The warmth of the fire was about to send her into a deep sleep until she heard someone speaking.

"How troublesome! That's some spell you're under!" He said and somehow sounding bored. Kosei's eyes widened when she realized it was the fire that was speaking. "It won't be easy to break." He stated and yawned. The fire actually yawned.

"The fire talked! The fire yawned!" Kosei stuttered.

"And you can't even tell anyone about It." it continued it's rambling about her curse.

"You're Kakashi?" she inquired leaning towards him.

"Wrong. I'm the fire demon, Shikamaru!" He announced breathing more fire as he said it.

"Well then, Shikamaru can you break my spell?" She asked him with a slight hope showing in her eyes.

"Troublesome but easy!" He said smirking, "If you break the spell that chains me to this place I'll break yours!"

Kosei was disappointed. "In other words, bargain with a demon," she sighed, "you sure you can keep your promise?"

"Demons don't make promises, too troublesome!"

Kosei's shoulders fell at that and she rested on her chair. "You should better look elsewhere then."

The demon sighed and raised its little fiery hands from the wooden trunk it was holding, "But I'm an exploited demon, I'm chained here by a contract with Kakashi who works me to death!" he explained yet Kosei felt more sleepy as time passed by and couldn't follow him very well. "I'm the one who keeps this troublesome castle moving!"

"My, you've got it rough!" she sighed without really caring since she was about to fall asleep.

"If you figure out the secret contract and break the spell, I will help you!" He almost pleaded.

"I see, a bargain eh?" she hummed, "all right!" she said before her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

"Granny?" Shikamaru called a number of times before he gave up.

"Eh, I've got my doubts about her! How troublesome!"