It was a beautiful, beautiful day in the Otani region of Kyoto, Japan, and the sun shone bright and lovely, its gentle rays beaming down on a fine, ornate-looking Buddhist temple that sat at the front of a natural pathway that led deep into lush woods. A stone path had been laid out, leading up a large pair of stairs to the temple and, sitting inside in the main hall as various tapestries hung upon the walls showing off proud accomplishments of Buddha and his beloved were two men. One was a rather pot-bellied, fat, short-bearded fellow who had a shaved head and a large black Buddhist robe, who was in the middle of serving his guest a fine bit of tea. He had deep brown eyes, much like his beardless, slightly big-nosed companion, another fellow Japanese who had hair tied in a bun as he bowed back in appreciation of the fine Green tea being served.

"Thank you so kindly for this. It's been too long, Honen-Bo Genku."

"Yoshi, do tell me. How goes the writing at the Imperial Palace? What have you heard?"

"Everyone's rather excited. We've got dragons coming in to see Shogun Yoriie himself!" Yoshi said as he sipped his tea. "We're all very, very pleased. There's been squabbling for years since the 100 year peace ended for Northern Japan. If they agree to help, then maybe we can unite all of the warring factions of Japan and bring everyone under a singular, glorious rule to head into the future with our heads held high!"

Genku just shrugged, and sipped his tea. "As long as whomever is in charge allows me to teach my students of the Buddha and acts justly and fairly for the people, I've no personal preference. I only hope any leader is one who would follow a path that Buddha would be proud of."

"I have to say, Buddhism is doing very splendidly lately, there's so many people founding schools. But enough about me, Genku! Tell me, how goes the current crop of students?" Yoshi inquired as he looked over at a large sign that showed off the various names of students currently at Genku's school, not far from the door out to the backyard, and also not far from a beautiful tapestry showing a Japanese man aiming a spear down at a monster. This tapestry was unique though, for though he was trying to drive a spear through a "youkai", a shapeshifting monster that could pass as human, alongside the man wasn't just a platoon of other warriors fighting youkai…but a positively beautiful-looking Japanese dragon that was resplendent above the fighter's heads, roaring proudly, lightning flashing from his body, several bolts striking the Youkai.

The shapeshifting species was not well liked by the Japanese at all. In fact, many Human cultures really, REALLY did not like monsters who could magically pretend to be human. They wanted a clear difference, rightly or wrongly. Genku felt it was because people didn't want to look into a face that was like their own…only for it to become something far, far different. Nobody liked seeing their reflection made foul. It made him pause to think about this.

But as Yoshi brought up his students he was snapped from thinking about the youkai, and about how beautiful humans found species like the dragons and mer-people to be, broken out of thinking about the adorable "temmie" race as the mention of his current students interrupted his thought process, and he sighed.

"They're fine." He said rather quickly.

"Just…fine? Have you any problems with them, Genku?"

"No, not these students, Yoshi, not these students."

"I'm sure you must have some fascinating stories to tell about them!"

"Not THIS bunch." Genku muttered, Yoshi noticing a visible bitterness faintly echoing in his tone, neither of the two aware that a rather portly, sort of fat-necked, pot-bellied, ponytailed young Japanese man was listening in just outside, the rather crumbled remains of his most recently graded test on the advanced tenets of Buddhism in one hand as he listened closely.

"Is something wrong with them? You sound rather disappointed, Genku. Please, tell me." Yoshi insisted, sipping some more green tea as Genku took in a long, deep breath.

"The thing is…they're all fine. Just…fine. And that's it! None of them are very good. None of them are exceptional, or amazing. They do their work in a satisfactory way. They're deferential and well-behaved. They do not fight, they do not steal, and they do not get rowdy. They're neither hot, nor cold. They're neither poor, nor incredible. They're simply…average. That's it! Average. Nothing I would call special, Yoshi, and in truth, I honestly believe I would rather have a fool or an idiot or a bully to tutor than a bland bunch like I have. I can WORK with the fool, the idiot, the bully, I can improve them and make them better, and that becomes a story, they can become something they and I can be proud of, but despite my best efforts, the current students I've got are simply just…fine. And that's all they ever seem to be. Just…fine."

With that, he leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "I never thought I would say this, but they're the first students I have that make me feel like I failed."

The ponytailed student sighed quietly, looking back over his barely passing grade in his other hand, then crumbled the test into his pocket and made his way deep, deep into the forest. The soft twittering of birds filled the air as he kept his hands in his robes pockets, head hung low, rather big nose sniffling a bit as he shook his head back and forth, finally arriving at his "thinking stump", a stump of a tree a good distance into the woods that he plopped down on, head resting in his hands as a little bunny rabbit hopped its way over to him, the soft tweeting of birds getting louder as several sat down on nearby tree branches.

The ponytailed Buddhist student sighed as he closed his eyes to think like he liked to do, far, far away from everyone else. But whenever he sat down to think, what came to mind was…

"This is awful." Seiichi murmured, the 12 year old Japanese boy deeply sighing. "A week of staying up late to study and this is it. This is the best I can do." He grumbled as he took out his test results again and then ripped them up, looking over the pieces in his palm. "Sometimes I wish I was a fox or a rabbit or a bird or a snake or somethin'. THEY don't gotta take no tests."

And as he mentioned every single animal, the pieces of the ripped up test formed into imitations of the creatures, levitated up by blue magic, as the young mage sighed and then finally stuffed the pieces into his pocket as the bunny looked up at him and he knelt down, rubbing over its head as gently as possible.

"You're looking extra fluffy today, Swift Foot." He told the bunny with a small smile. He reached into his robes, pulling out some small little bread pieces he saved, setting them down for the rabbit to nibble on. "Seeing you always makes me feel a bit sunnier inside. Glad I can count on your fluffy little face-"

It was then that he heard a rustling in the woods, and he whipped his head in its direction as he saw a distinctly long-haired, pale-skinned being who had pointed ears and slender fingers walking forth, their androgynous form looking him over, resting one hand on a tree, dark eyes narrowed as the other pulled out a samurai sword from a scabbard on its back.

"One of HIS students. Damn Buddhist bastards." The youkai growled out in a distinctly manly, gruff voice. "I'm so fucking sick of your type walking around like you OWN these forests, these were our lands long before you were a twinkle in your parent's eyes!"

"Sir, I don't want no trouble." Seiichi insisted, holding his hands up. "Really!"

"Shut! UP." The youkai growled. "I've heard enough excuses from you humans! Your stupid squabbling amongst yourselves is ruining everything beautiful about the land I loved!"

Seiichi took off running, barreling through the forest as quickly as he could, but he was not exactly in good shape. He was rather short, after all, and being tubby, he was quickly losing his breath as he kept racing through the woods, deeper and deeper into its depths, feebly wheezing out cries of "HELP! HEEEELP" every ten seconds. "SOMEBODY!" The youkai, meanwhile, just kept a steady pace, his sword gleaming in the filters of light that flitted down through the forest canopy above.

And then…then it happened. Poor Seiichi finally ran out of breath, collapsing down, flopping onto the forest floor, moaning, barely able to stand up as the youkai stood over him, sword held high. "With this, I can finally begin to avenge-" The youkai said.

Then, a loud, immense, glaring roar. He looked up, gaping in shock, a BEAR tumbling towards him. The youkai gasped in surprise, holding the sword up as the bear raced at him from the west, but then-

SCRAAATCH!

"AAHH!"

A crow had sailed on down, various other birds now assembling in the trees, calling out, loudly screeching and yelling in their birdsong as the youkai clawed at his scratched-over face…and the bear slammed into him, knocking him clean against a tree. KA-KROOOOOOM! He pile-drived through it, then another, then another, flopping to the ground, barely conscious as the bear "harrumphed"…and turned to Seiichi.

"You alright, Seiichi?"

"I'm…okay." Seiichi rose up, and dusted himself off, looking over at the barely-conscious youkai. "You didn't hit him too hard, did you?" He asked quietly. "I hope he isn't seriously hurt."

"He did attempt to kill you, Seiichi." The crow in the tree said, as the small group of doves cooed in agreement.

"Oh yes, oh, yes! Bad, BAD youkai! Bad! BAD!" They all said at once, as a pair of tanuki raccoons made their way through the trees, led by the bunny that Seiichi had been petting, a snake slithering around a nearby tree to peer down at the murmuring, groaning youkai.

"Oh, what a rotten thing to do. You've always been so kind to us, Seiichi."

"You totally changed our minds about how we thought humans could be."

Indeed he had. Seiichi might not have been good at the advanced tenets of Buddhism, a passable mage at best when it came to the basic blue magic that all human mages could do, but he did have one incredibly potent and powerfully useful talent. He, like the future namesake, was a "Dolittle". He could talk to the animals! Even animals like insects or fish or the like he could speak to, though, in general, they didn't have much to say.

Things had started out primitively. He'd been in class, trying to figure out the "Noble Eightfold Path" on a test. He always kept messing up the precepts they represented, the habits of Buddhism to adhere to. "Okay…Right understanding. I know this one. It's…um…it's…ah! Bad acts and thoughts got consequences and so do GOOD acts and thoughts. Um…what's next, uh…um…"

Then a fly had landed down on his hand, and he'd groaned. "Ugh, go away." He grumbled at the fly, snapping at it under his breath in a way he'd never, ever done so before. The stress of the test was making his brain all fried and frizzy, it felt like he was buzzing all over. And then…

The fly buzzed on back. "Don't squish!"

The other students had turned around to see Seiichi yelp, and flop backwards, chair and all, falling to the floor as Genku sighed deeply and pinched the space between his eyes, Seiichi gaping as the fly swerved up, up into the air, soaring off. "Don't squish! Don't squish!" It said as it landed back down on Seiichi's nose, and tasted over it. Maybe, perhaps, Seiichi needed to take a bath. But still, realizing he could comprehend animal language had opened up many doors! He'd moved on to other insects, like a spider in the corner, spinning its web. Then several ants. Then the koi fish in the pond in the school's backyard, and then, small animals like, say, the bunnies and the tanucki. Then birds, then the occasional snake, and finally, the larger animals.

For once in his life, Seiichi finally felt like he'd done something really, really well. That he'd done something truly special.

It was a nice feeling. A kind of soft, gentle warmth that crept up your body and felt like a big hug from the inside out as much as from the outside, one that couldn't help but bring a smile to your face, and brought about one single, soft moment of absolute peace.

Nirvana.

"You ssssssure you don't want me finishing him?" The snake asked, glancing back at Seiichi as he vigorously shook his head, jolted out of thinking about the past, out of Nirvana.

"N-No. The most basic teachings of the Buddha say killing's really wrong!" Seiichi insisted as the other animals looked about at each other.

"We're very glad your "Buddhist" teachings ask that you show such love and kindness to all of us, and being able to actually speak to us, to hear us, we're truly grateful for that as well. You're probably the nicest human we've ever known." The bear spoke up with a sigh. "But it might be easier on you to just let us finish him. Then he can't come after you."

"I have to stick to the Buddhist ideals. Maybe you guys can't get it because you ain't human but…I mean…" Seiichi nervously put his ponytail slightly in his mouth, chewing on it a bit in the way he did when he was nervous. He always had such a hard time putting big concepts out there, trying to explain how they worked. It made his brain twist and turn up into knots. Finally, he thought he had a good way to describe what he was trying to get across.

"You animals have…instincts, right? Like, they're just all ingrained in you, you just KNOW them, and they're a part of you that you can't get rid of, and they're really important. You wouldn't be "you" without them. For us humans, our ideals, sticking to them? We wouldn't be "us" without them. If somebody doesn't have any ideals they can hold onto and hold up, then…then they're just…they're not human! They're not even animals, cuz an animal has to stick to an instinct, somebody who won't stick to anything, won't hold onto anything and just does whatever, then…they're scum!" Seiichi finished. "Does that make sense?"

The animals glanced about at each other. They sort of got where he was coming from, even if they didn't fully comprehend. "We kind of get it, yessss." The snake said, sighing. "Very well, dear one. We will spare this youkai. For now." He intoned, the youkai groaning as the bunny pushed the sword the youkai had over to Seiichi.

"You should take his weapon, though."

"Okay. I'll give it to Master Genku." Seiichi reasoned. "We can give it perhaps to somebody as a gift. Maybe when the dragons come in they might pass by and we can offer it to them, I hear they love collecting Japanese swords and weapons!" He remarked with a rather dumb grin before an idea hit him. "Say, you guys ain't ever told me what the dragons are like. I've only heard rumors and whispers about them and what they look like, are they really so incredible?"

"They're…they're okay." The crow intoned, as the many doves in the trees nodded, each one speaking individually.

"Not bad, not bad."

"Charming enough."

"Bit conceited sometimes."

"Kind of haughty, but personable."

"Very nice fashion sense."

"But they do eat people."

"Can't forget that."

Seiichi gulped. "What?"

"Nobody's told you?" The animals all glanced about at each other in a rather surprised, nervous way. "Dragonsss can be very nice, very friendly, and most of them love how your culture adores and worshipssss them. But their diet consists of a lot of meat." The snake intoned. "We serpents are cousinssss to their ilk, and as such, we know. We KNOW they're not above eating people, or monstersssss. Whole and alive. There'sss even been some cases when entire towns vanished into the maw of a dragon."

Seiichi turned pale. He quivered like a mouse caught in the talons of an owl as the other animals glanced at each other, then at him. "…on second thought, I kinda hope they don't come here." He finally squeaked out.

…

…

…

…"So tell me how these "puca" look."

"I'll do you one better, Hadiya. I'll show you." Erimentha grinned, the Greek woman's dark skin soft to the touch as she and Hadiya sat together on a stone bench at Constantinople, not far from the Hagia Sophia. She took out the quill pen she had in one ear, and took out a bottle of ink from one of her many belt pouches, humming as she licked the end, then dipped it in the ink, and began to draw on a large scroll of parchment she'd gotten out from her bag. Her hair fell down in thick locks from her back, a nice fringe over her forehead, with her eyes a lovely shade of Trojan blue to match the clothing she now wore, her little toes wiggling in their sandals as she furiously drew.

It was astounding how quickly Eri could draw, but then again…Erimentha was a mage. With the use of magic, anything was possible, and her unique Purple magic allowed her to bring vivid images to life as she smiled in delight, holding up the parchment to Hadiya. "See?"

"They really DO look like goats!" Hadiya remarked, her head utterly shaved, wearing a very lovely matching yellow outfit much like Erimentha, almost exactly the same in design, with a black belt and sandals just like Eri. Several nasty scars were running down her back as she blinked her unusual green eyes, the young African woman gazing over the parchment as the picture of the "puca" trotted about, spinning around, the faintly humanoid goat-like monster smiling up at her. "It's so cute! How lovely."

"Uhoh. More of them." Eri's eyes went wide, she could see some people coming out of the Hagia Sophia and quickly focused, the moving picture on the parchment turning normal as Hadiya turned and frowned darkly and furiously at the men emerging from the Hagia Sophia with several barely-clothed women, all of them singing loudly and proudly. Hadiya's eyes narrowed coldly as she looked at those whores and the even more disgusting people paying them to be in that church.

Hagia Sophia had been beautiful. A majestic, enormous dome in the middle with somewhat smaller domes all about, towers piercing high into the sky, made of majestic brick and mortar. Mosiacs had filled the place, beautiful paintings of adorable cherubs had been put inside, Christ upon the dome, a burial cloth of Christ would get shown on Fridays, they'd even put in a new depiction of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, between apostles Peter and Paul, and upon the enormous side arches within were painted the words of the prophets and teachers of the church, and all, ALL in beautiful, splendid colors that made one weep to behold it.

And the smell. Beautiful incense, soft and lilting through the air. It had been that smell that had attracted Hadiya to the place after sneaking away from the boat she'd stowed away on. She had left her home behind, wanting to see the world, to hear of the beauty that laid beyond, and there, there in that church, she had let the incense and the candles wash over her. Though she didn't worship the God that lived there, she had found a "god" of her own as she'd seen Erimentha, who was sitting before the Virgin Mary, head bowed, quietly praying.

They'd started to talking, and Hadiya had told her about how the incense had reminded her of the smells of her home, of how the scent wafted along the long grass back on the plains of Nigeria, especially just after the rains, and Erimentha had listened, nodding gently as they sat in pews. Their hands had touched. Had held. Had laid in each other's for a long…long time.

Long even after they'd left the church.

Hagia Sophia had been special to Hadiya. She'd grown to see it as a living, breathing thing, a special place, full of life, and a sense of divine majesty and beauty, and that smell…that sweet smell.

Now it smelled like wine and piss and fire and ash. The Fourth Crusade had swept into it and those disgusting crusaders had done foul things inside. They had smashed up the silver screens showing icons of the Eastern churches, ripped apart the icons and holy books, and put…put WHORES on the patriarchal throne within to sing coarse songs as they drunk themselves into a stupor with wine, using the Church's holy vessels. And you didn't want to know what they did to the priest's offices there.

"I want to kill them all." Hadiya said, her voice cold and furious and hateful. She was mad at the whores but not as mad as she was at the crusaders. Those women couldn't truly help it. This was just a job for them. The crusaders had CHOSEN to do this.

"Tell you what." Eri sighed gently as she patted over Hadiya's shoulder. "I've got an idea. Why don't I treat you to a nice bottle of wine and we can relax and have a drink and forget all about them for one day?" She asked. "And I'll draw your picture. The lewd version, for kicks, and then you can try and draw mine."

"Oh, I'm terrible at that. I don't know." Hadiya sighed with a pout as Eri chuckled a bit.

"I'll do it bliiiiindfoldeeeed?" She added. "And that's not the only thing tonight I'll do blindfolded."

Hadiya felt a smile come to her face. "Okay. You know what? I'd like that." She said, giving Eri a quick little kiss on the lips, the softness of the touch sending a faint spark through them as they rose up, Hadiya now putting her hand on Eri's shoulder as they made their way off for the market, the bustling noises of people at the stalls filling the air.

Unfortunately that day was TAX day, and that meant lots of grumbling and growling as Eri stopped, seeing several people giving hateful glares at the short-nosed, smooth-haired, slightly moustachioed tax collector who was shaking his bag, several guards on both sides of his slender frame as he looked at the stall owner before him, who was grumbling darkly, the long-and-white-haired man giving the tax collector a distasteful look, much like he was a fly who'd landed on his meal. "Now, now. It's tax day! Open up your heart…and your money bags."

The white haired man's eyes were obscured behind a cloudy pair of glasses as he grumbled, getting out his money and handing some coins over. His hands were rather large, indeed, he was quite muscular for a silk and linen seller. Eri felt a sense of unease as she looked at him. There was just something about Solomon that she didn't like. He had been perfectly friendly and nice to them all the time, and had sold them some fine linen and a very nice dress to Hadiya too just last week, he was quite the skilled tailor but…still…

"Here." He intoned, his somewhat dark skin reddening on his face, flustered and irritated as he handed the money over, fifteen golden coins. An entire day's worth of profit. He grunted as the tax collector shook his bag again.

"AAAAAAND can't forget your permit pay? Our city so graaaaciously let you set up shop here."

"Sure…sure." Solomon handed out another three gold coins with a sigh as the tax collector grinned. People grumbled and muttered more furiously behind the tax collector's back, but then turned eerily silent as he approached another stall, a baker, with-

Eri almost shrieked. This person was new! She'd not been to the market with Hadiya in several days and this newcomer was a surprise. An unpleasant one. Her body shuddered, Hadiya clutching her hand tight to calm her as she saw the multiple eyes, the purplish skin and hair tied into long, flowing ponytails, bound up in various spots like "bunches". She had sharp fangs in her maw, and four arms, and was quite well-built. She wore a big golden necklace that fell over her flat chest, and her black eyes glistened darkly as she folded her arms over her chest as the tax collector approached her.

"Tax day, Ms. Uttu. Let's begin with the basics, and then your permit payment!" The tax collector sang out.

"I already paid it when I applied for one just four days ago." Uttu intoned, her voice silken and smooth but with a distinct edge as Eri shuddered in disgust. She hated, hated, haaaaaaated spiders. All those arms and legs and…and too many eyes and to have an Arachne here? A spider-monster? Still, at least she looked rather spider-LIKE and not as human as she'd heard the Tsuchigumo of Japan could be, a youkai tribe terrifying and devious and, evidently, cannibalistic. She didn't want to imagine what it would be like to meet one of THOSE in a dark alley, thinking she was just passing by a normal person, until that person's many legs were suddenly wrapping around her and-

"Now, now, the rules are the rules." The tax collector said with a dirty little smirk. "And if you talk back again, I'll ask you to give me a bit more as payment for such blatant disregard for civil-"

Uttu promptly shoved an entire money bag right in his chest and he took it as she scowled. "Is…that…sufficient." She muttered.

"See how much better things are for your type when you just cooperate? Everybody wins! See you next month!" The tax collector said, heading out of the market, humming merrily, Uttu turning to look at Solomon, asking a single, simple question.

"Did you have to pay twice for the same permit?" She inquired of him, giving a glance to the other market men and women present as they glanced at each other's stalls, then back at her, and Solomon sighed.

"…no." He muttered, the other sellers in the market shaking their heads too, Uttu sighing.

"And how much did you pay for a permit when you applied?"

"Three gold."

"…I had to pay six." She grumbled. But of course the one seller there that wasn't a human had to pay extra. Of course they did.

For a brief moment, Eri flinched, as a new, odd feeling rose in her. It took a while before she realized, as Hadiya and her approached the wine seller in the marketplace, that what she felt was…pity. She was feeling sorry for the Arachne, who quietly rubbed over her rather tubby, pregnant frame, eyes closed, head bowed as she sighed sadly.

"What would you like?"

"Give us a good year, whatever type." Hadiya insisted. "Eri and I have a lot to forget tonight."

"Just once I wish the tax collector would forget tax day." Eri mused aloud, as the other sellers chuckled a bit at this. "Or that he'd forget to breathe. That'd be nice."

"Tax maaaaaaan!" Solomon proclaimed, sticking out his thick tongue as the others booed and hissed in agreement. "I can't stand him either. He's almost as bad as those drunken louts who keep using the Hagia Sophia as a toilet."

"Unfortunately, those "louts" are paying me quite a bit to…perform…there." Uttu mumbled as the others in the market shuddered and cringed and looked disgusted. Though WHY, exactly, Eri and Hadiya weren't sure. Perhaps some felt bad for her too…and others perhaps for the crusaders who'd have to see this being naked. "I need the money very badly. Even…their blood money."

Eri felt her pity intensify. She turned to Hadiya. "Um…say, Hadiya, maybe tonight…we can make one little stop before we head home for our special time together?" She asked quietly.

"I think I know exactly what you mean." Hadiya offered warmly. "…I don't know if it's a good idea, but…I think it's very noble idea, and I like that." She confessed.

The quilt of night descended down upon the city, soft torches on the walls lighting the path to Hagia Sophia as Eri and Hadiya made their way towards the back entrance of the Hagia Sophia, Uttu now dressed very scantily, Eri trying not to look and trying harder not to look disgusted as they walked up to her. They could hear loud roaring and laughing and singing inside the church and Hadiya cleared her throat as Solomon walked out from the back to approach Uttu as well.

"Okay, I've got the, um…the "stage" they wanted set up, all the curtains are ready and-oh. What are you two ladies here for?"

"Listen, we've got money. Ignore what the crusaders want, we can pay you." Eri said quickly as Hadiya nodded, getting out a money bag.

"You're clearly in need, it's the right thing to do." Hadiya reasoned.

"You are kind, humans." Uttu sighed. "But I can't do that. I did make a vow to perform, and I never break a vow."

Hadiya nodded sagely. "I can understand that. All the same, take some of our money anyway. We'll wait for your performance to finish, and you can have a little extra for the sake of your children."

"This city stomps down on me every day." Uttu intoned. "It was a struggle just to get set up here. I'm grateful that, for once, somebody is lifting the boot off my neck. Especially humans like you." She nodded and gave a soft little smile. "I'd smile wider for you humans, but, well…your ilk are frightened by my teeth."

"Yeah, I'm kind of…not a fan of spiders." Eri said, nervously looking away, wiping her brow a bit free of sweat. "Don't take it personally, I've had some really, really bad experiences on a very long boat ride with them." She mumbled out, slightly kicking at the ground as Uttu chuckled, and headed back inside, Eri and Hadiya waiting as Solomon smiled and nodded at them, heading off.

The two women wouldn't have to wait long. Come just an hour later, after about half an hour of hooting and hollering, it died down, and Uttu was heading back outside. Hadiya handed over a small bag of money, and the Arachne took it with two of her four arms, bowing her head before heading off, like Eri and Hadiya did, for home.

The girls, however, wouldn't know that the crusaders inside…EVERYONE inside that building…wouldn't ever desecrate the church again.

Uttu had seen to that. They'd find that out come the next morning…