Sage under the Moon
-by Kittymui-
The day he began to regret
"Kyaa!!" Kagome shrieked as she spotted another bat flying towards her.
Sesshoumaru jumped in front of her and sliced it in half after several unsuccessful attempts. "Stop screaming girl, your voice is messing up my accuracy!" he grumbled in frustration.
"You have no right to complain! You're the one who suggested leaving village! I never should've listened to you!" she spat back and quickly ducked to avoid another clawed free-fall.
The former dog demon narrowed his eyes as he parried an incoming attack, and stood protectively between her and the remaining fiends. After the numerous battles they've fought, or he fought, he realized that the attacks launched at the human behind him were far more vicious than those directed at him. He knew they were only meant to keep him busy and give others the chance to go after their real target.
Kagome.
Sesshoumaru blocked an enemy trying to pierce past him while he was in thoughts. He scowled at his blade that was vibrating after the impact with the demon. For the first time he had to agree with the girl. They should've stayed in the village. Ever since they left, the frequency of encounters and the number of fiends only multiplied.
'Only a fool would think that these were mere random encounter.' He thought to himself, ready to parry another blow. 'Well whoever is sending them must be becoming impatient, that's for sure.'
With one final swing, he sent the last bat to the afterlife. 'This isn't good…' he concluded inwardly while sheathing his sword and gazed down at his bruised, clawless hand. He realized that if things remained as they were, it was only a matter of time that he would no longer be able to handle the demons.
Sesshoumaru tossed a quick glance over his shoulder to Kagome. "Let's go," he told her coldly. "We need to get to the next village before it gets dark."
Kagome gazed up at him in disbelief. "What?!"
"Unless you want to sit here and wait for the next attack, I suggest we leave now," he reasoned.
But she refused to take another step. "Why do I get the feeling like we're pursuing something instead of being pursued?"
He sighed in annoyance. He praised for her sharp intuition, but her stubbornness would definitely get them both killed eventually. "Look girl, we-" he began as he turned around to her fully, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw her face.
The fatigue in her hazel eyes almost instantly blew away the impatience that built up inside him. Somehow, he didn't care about the dangers lurking ahead of them anymore. All that mattered was her well-being.
Kagome raised her brows when Sesshoumaru suddenly knelt down before her. "What are you doing?"
"Climb on my back," he told her as he pushed his long black hair to the front.
"W-what?"
"Do you want to get out of here or not?" he grumbled in irritation. "Hurry up before I change my mind."
With a hesitant nod, she bent forward and looped her arms around his neck from behind.
Without a word, Sesshoumaru lifted her off her feet and started walking out of the small clearing.
As they strode over the grassy forest, Kagome felt a wave of nostalgia washing over her. 'It's just like when Inuyasha helped me out of the fortress back then…'
But although it was similar, she couldn't help noticing the subtle differences. Perhaps it was just the difference in posture, but she felt more secure leaning against the back of the former dog demon.
The hanyou's grip was protective accompanied by some inexperience and clumsiness. The older brother, on the other hand, held her with the right balance between firmness and gentleness. Much to her surprise, his arms around her legs absorbed every single movement caused by each step he took.
His warm back combined with the serene sounds of grass below his feet was more sleep inducing than she had expected and eventually she was lulled into a deep slumber.
-.-
By the time she woke up, she was no longer being carried on one's back. She found herself lying on her back and staring at a dark starry sky. The treetops circling around the clearing were illuminated by a crisping fire near her.
She pushed herself up from the grass and rubbed the remaining drowsiness out of her face. "How long have I been sleeping?" she croaked and stole a glance at Sesshoumaru, who sat on the other side of the flames.
"Long enough for the sun to set completely," he responded dryly.
"I guess we didn't make it to the next village huh?" she said sheepishly.
"Your weight rendered me incapable of dashing through the woods. We'll have to wait until you can walk by yourself again," retorted Sesshoumaru and threw a piece of log into the fire.
Kagome crossed her arms and huffed. "Hmph, Inuyasha didn't even complain about-" she put her hand before her lips. 'You moron! You almost told him that Inuyasha was the one who helped you escape!' She stole a glance at Sesshoumaru, only to find him looking back expectantly. 'Ok…bad move…' she grunted inwardly, realizing that it only made herself look more suspicious.
Much to her relief, Sesshoumaru gazed back into the fire after a while.
'Was I too harsh?' she wondered when it became awfully silent afterwards. 'Maybe I shouldn't have compared him to Inuyasha.'
Unable to get over the guilt she felt, she shifted to face him fully. "I uh…didn't mean to-" she began, but when she saw him turning to her again, she quickly averted her eyes awkwardly. 'Why am I apologizing?' she thought confused.
"Er…uhm…what is it that we…I mean, you are looking for by the way?" she blurted out in an attempt to change the subject. She immediately regretted asking when he didn't reply her. 'Right, as if he would tell me…' she huffed inwardly. Her thoughts were interrupted when Sesshoumaru finally spoke.
"A woman," he said. "I'm looking for a woman…"
"A woman?" she repeated after him. For some unknown reason, she felt something churning in her chest.
"…who claims to be the Sage under the moon."
Kagome gave him a puzzled look. "I'm sorry? A Sage?" But as soon as her question left her lips, a realization hit her. "Is it because you want to turn back into a demon?"
A frown formed on Sesshoumaru's forehead as he explained. "She's the one responsible for making me look like this in the first place."
She widened her eyes slightly. Now that's something you don't hear everyday. 'Not that it's hard for someone like him to anger a wise one.' She reasoned in herself. "You must have done something terrible for the Sage to punish you like this," she mused aloud. 'Like killing innocent people and burning down a brothel or something.'
"Well whatever that is, I'm sure this is a fitting punishment for it," she retorted when Sesshoumaru remained silent.
Silence
Kagome felt a rising anger in her chest when she saw the emotionless expression on his face; no denial, no repent, nothing.
"Fine!!" she spat angrily. "I hope you'll stay human for the rest of your life!!" With that she turned her back to him and lied down again. As she pulled her cloak closer to her body and curled herself into a ball she tried to understand where the outburst suddenly came from. 'Why am I so angry? It's only natural for him not to feel guilty…why was I hoping for him to show any sign of regret?' she wondered frustrated. 'And I was even planning to apologize to him earlier!' She closed her eyes firmly to push back the welling tears. 'How foolish of me…'
Sesshoumaru gazed over at Kagome's curled up form on the grass. He didn't realize how deep in thoughts he was until her angry voice made him snap out of it. Before that he was thinking about the one who's behind all the monsters going after Kagome. He reasoned that whoever it was must possess great influence to dispatch demons like that.
But who could it be? Who had such power and hold such grudge against her?
Besides himself, there was only one other person he could think of.
Kaguya.
But he couldn't rule out the Sage either. Although she didn't have a grudge against Kagome, she might be punishing her for traveling with him.
'In that case, leaving her would be the best option.' He thought to himself. 'But if I'm wrong, she would definitely die…' He stole a glance at Kagome, wondering why he felt concern for her. But he quickly shook off the thoughts again. 'No matter, I have to find the Sage anyway. If she refuses to come along, it'll be her choice.'
That decided, he put another log into the fire and cleared his mind for the evening.
-.- the next day -.-
"Wake up human."
"Ngh…"
"Wake up!"
Kagome slowly opened her eyes with a hand quickly shielding them from the blinding daylight. The azure sky greeted her kindly until the stoic face of Sesshoumaru suddenly towered above hers.
"Get ready, we're leaving," he said and moved away.
"I have a name you know," grumbled Kagome as she sat up.
Her remark was ignored as the former dog demon turned around and started walking away.
She jumped to her feet and leaped after him. "Hey wait-" she didn't get to finish when a sudden dizziness hit her and sent her toppling backwards. Much to her surprise, Sesshoumaru darted back towards her and saved her from a painful impact with the floor with his arm secured around her waist. Her eyes slightly widened as she gazed up to find his lips a hairbreadth away from her forehead. She could feel the warmth of his torso flowing through his haori into her hands, which were resting against his chest.
Seconds went by as neither of the two moved or looked away.
Sesshoumaru couldn't help but notice the quick heartbeat thumping against his hand on the small of her cloaked back. The strangest thing was, he could not differentiate whether it was his or hers. The pace of her breathing told him it was hers, but then again, she wasn't the only one breathing more rapid than usual. 'What is this nervousness I'm feeling? Why am I not disgusted by her proximity?' he asked himself repeatedly.
He prematurely ended his inward struggle when he saw the unusually redness coloring Kagome's cheeks and her confused expression. She wasn't gazing away, but she wasn't exactly looking at him either. It was as though she was staring right through him. "Are you okay?" he asked.
They gazes met briefly before she hastily pushed herself out of his embrace. "It's all your fault!" she cried angrily.
Sesshoumaru instinctively switched into self-defense mode at the sudden accusation. "That's what you get for standing up so quickly you fool."
"I wouldn't have to do that if you weren't so hasty about finding that Sage of yours!!" she spat back. Her eyes narrowed as she retorted. "Oh I know, you want to return to the fortress as soon as possible so that you can be with your beloved Kaguya again, don't you??" She broke their gazes again and brushed past him until they were standing back to back. "Because if you do, you're on your own from here on. There's no way I'm going back to be Kaguya's or your servant again!" That said, she set out into a completely different direction than originally planned.
Sesshoumaru silently listened to her footsteps until he could no longer distinguish them from the sounds of the forest. 'Should I have stopped her? What if she encounters the demons pursuing her?' he mused inwardly, but shook his head again. 'It's her choice. She'll have to face the consequences herself.'
He closed his eyes to suppress an upcoming headache. Keeping watch all night was taking its tool on his human body. 'Perhaps she's better of traveling without me.' He reassured himself.
Suddenly, a loud scream pierced through the forest, coming from the direction Kagome went into.
Sesshoumaru widened his eyes as he recognized the voice. 'Kagome!' Abandoning his previous thoughts, he immediately dashed to where the scream came from.
"Kagome!" he called out to her. "Answer me, Kagome!!"
The sound of water became clearer by the minute as he advanced through the forest and he felt he should make haste. "Kagome!!!" he cried and increased his pace.
Eventually, he reached the banks of a large creek crossing his path. It was swollen with water that poured down in the past few weeks. Its current made it look like a gigantic water snake that could swallow up everything in its way.
Without second thought, Sesshoumaru followed the banks downstream until he caught notice of a small bridge. His eyes widened in horror when he realized that half of it had submerged into the vicious creek. With the quick waves pulling at its loose ends, it was only a matter of time the bridge would be devoured completely.
'Did she cross it?' he thought panicked. "Kagome!!" he cried and continued to follow the current. He abruptly stopped in his tracks when he finally spotted a shade of raven floating in the middle of the creek.
"Kagome!!"
Kagome didn't realize someone was calling out to her as she was too busy clinging onto the rock before her and keeping her head above the water.'So this is my punishment for staying with him huh?' she grunted inside, barely able to prevent herself form being squashed by the strong current. 'How could I even expect him to think differently about the human kind?' She smiled ruefully. 'After becoming a demon again, he'll return to the fortress…to be with Kaguya…' Tears welled up in her eyes as the last bit of denial crumbled within her.
She was so sure she could hate him until the day she died, but now she realized she no longer held this feeling against him. She gazed up to the blue sky. 'Grandpa…grandma…please forgive me…' she sobbed inwardly and closed her eyes to accept her face. More tears began to flow down her cheeks as the image of the Sesshoumaru refused to fade in her mind.
At that very moment, something solid bumped against her back and pushed her firmly against the rock before her.
'Have I…died?' Kagome wondered. She could no longer feel the harsh waves against her back and her body seemed to have stopped billowing along with the current.
"Kagome!" a voice called from behind her.
She snapped out of it and widened her eyes at the new pair of hands on the rocky surface in front of her. 'W-who…?'
"Kagome!" the voice called again.
Her eyes darted to the side, only to find Sesshoumaru's wet face planted on her right shoulder.
He was sandwiching her securely between him and the rock and protecting her from the current. His arms, which he had snaked under her arms to hold onto the rock, lifted up her body a little and prevented her from tasting any more of the creek water.
"S-Sesshoumaru…" she panted with a trembling voice. 'You came…'
"Good, you're still conscious," he said relieved. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah…." She nodded stiffly, with her eyes fixed on his. "Why are you-"
"We're going to freeze to death if we stay in the water too long, do you think you can turn around and grab onto me?" he cut her off.
"But I can't feel the bottom of the creek," replied Kagome.
Sesshoumaru brought his arms closer to her body. "Use my arms for support," he told her. "Hurry."
Kagome did as she was told and slowly moved her hands away from the rock to grab his arms. She was about halfway the turn when her hands suddenly slipped off and caused her to sink into the creek.
The water had almost entered her lungs when something wrapped around her waist underwater and pulled her up again. She coughed out the water as soon as she surfaced and gasped for air.
"You okay?" Sesshoumaru's voice asked worriedly.
"I-I guess so…" spluttered Kagome as she removed the remaining water from her face. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself leaning closely against Sesshoumaru's body.
"Hold on tight to me," he told her. "I'll need both hands to get us out of the creek safely."
She nodded and wrapped her heavy arms around his neck. By the stability of his shoulders, she realized that unlike herself, he was standing on the bottom of the creek. Until now, she had never really liked the way he always towered over her, but she had to admit that it was his height that was saving them from drowning.
"Sesshoumaru," she said softly as her eyes followed the wavy movements of his long black hair just below the water surface.
"What is it?"
"I uhm…wanted to…" her voice faltered when she saw something in the corner of her eyes. They widened when she saw the bridge of earlier coming at them with great speed. "I-it's the bridge! It's going to hit us!!" she gasped and closed her eyes in fear.
When she came to her senses again, she found herself leaning with her back against the rock with Sesshoumaru's face closer than ever. His eyes were closed and his forehead leaned against hers. She widened her eyes slightly as she studied his unusually calm features. 'Did he…shield me?' she wondered. "Sesshoumaru?" she called to him. One of his arms was still tightly wrapped around her middle so she knew he couldn't be dead. Not yet at least. "Sesshoumaru, please wake up!"
She let out a relieved sigh when his eyes slowly reopened and gazed into hers. "Sesshoumaru! Thank goodness! Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" he responded after a brief silence. "How about you?"
"I'm okay."
"Good." Sesshoumaru shook away the dizziness and calmly assessed the situation. He immediately noticed a rope dangling in the water not very far away from them. It belonged to the bridge, but instead of washing away like the other parts, it got stuck to a group of rocks near the banks. He turned to her again. "Don't let go of me," he told her and started to walk over the slippery creek bottom.
Kagome locked her arms around his neck accordingly and rested her head on his shoulder.
Step by step, they moved away from the boulder until Sesshoumaru was able to grab the rope with both hands. "Alright," he panted and began to pull themselves towards the shore.
Both of them breathed in relief as they successfully climbed onto the bank.
"Are you…unhurt?" he asked her through the panting.
Kagome dropped her gaze to her drenched body while pushing aside her wet bangs. She froze when she saw traces of red on both her arms and quickly turned to Sesshoumaru, only to find a deeper shade of red at the base of his neck. "You're bleeding!!" she gasped and scurried to kneel down next to him. A horrified look appeared on her face when she pushed away his black locks and saw the long gash behind his ear. With the ends of her sleeves she covered the wound to stop the bleeding. "We need to find you a doctor!"
Sesshoumaru grunted at the sight of his own blood. "Urgh…humans are so weak…" he muttered as the dizziness returned.
Kagome scowled and put more pressure on the gash, causing the former dog demon to frown. "Then why did you save me? Am I not just another weak human?"
He glanced sidelong at her. "If you hadn't gone off on your own, none of this would've happened," he said coldly and reached out his hand to her.
"That's it! I've had it with you!!" snapped Kagome, slapping away his hand. "I just don't get you! Why bother saving me if you knew you'd end up being frustrated?!" She stood up and was about to walk away when Sesshoumaru's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
Kagome turned to him angrily. "Do you hate being human that much??" She tried to pry off his hand, but his grip around her wrist only tightened. "Let go of me!"
With a strong pull, he forced her to sit down beside him.
"What are you-" she hissed but stopped when he rolled up her sleeve and revealed a large bruise on her left arm. She gazed in terror at the bluish wound and turned to Sesshoumaru in silence. 'When did he notice it?' she wondered in confusion and watched how he tore out a piece of fabric of his robe.
"The sooner you're patched up, the sooner we can leave," he told her as he started bandaging her arm.
"You really hate this human form of yours, don't you?" she asked after a while.
"Yes."
She felt her heart sink in disappointment. She parted her lips to speak, but didn't when he suddenly looked up and stared at her with a strange expression.
"…because…" he continued and paused as if looking for the right words. "…I can't protect you if I'm like this."
Kagome widened her eyes slightly. "W-what are you trying to say?"
"The demons attacking us are becoming stronger each time, you must have realized it as well," he explained. "But if I remain in this form, I might not be able to withstand the next attack. That's why I need to find the Sage, fast."
He finished knotting the bandage together and carefully placed her arm on her lap. "But if you still insist on traveling alone, I won't stop you."
After saying that, he attempted to stand up, but dropped to the grass again when another wave of dizziness hit him.
He raised his brows when Kagome moved closer to him and placed his arm over her shoulder. "You moron, you shouldn't be moving on your own when you're injured!" she scolded him.
With her help, he managed to stand up. But as they walked away from the creek, a sudden cramp in Kagome's legs caused her to topple forward, pulling him with her.
The two of them ended up lying on the floor again, with Sesshoumaru flat on his back and Kagome right on top of him.
A smirk formed on Sesshoumaru's lips as he regarded their situation. "Hmph, it seems that I'm no more a moron than you are," he retorted.
Kagome cocked a brow. "And why's that?"
He stifled a laugh at her denseness. "How can you possible consider helping me if you can't even walk properly yourself?"
"It was a cramp okay?" she defended.
"And not to mention you didn't even notice the bridge was broken before crossing it," he taunted.
"Why you-"
"Promise me you won't do that again," he cut her off.
She stuck up her nose. "If that's what it takes to make you stop pestering me, I'll cross as many broken bridges as needed."
Her heart skipped a beat when Sesshoumaru suddenly wrapped his arms around her and sat up with her on his lap.
"If that's what it takes to keep you from walking off on me, I will stop, as you call it, pestering you," he announced clearly.
Kagome snickered. "Since when did you start taking me so seriously?"
"I am serious Kagome," he told her sternly.
Startled by his sudden seriousness, Kagome couldn't find the words to reply. She could only stare into his depthless hazel eyes.
"Oh my, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," a female voice spoke out of nowhere.
Kagome and Sesshoumaru darted their eyes to the side to see a young woman standing at a distance.
She had short dark hair and wore a black sleeveless attire with a deep provoking neckline. It appeared to be a set with the tiny black skirt she wore below. But the most peculiar thing about her, besides her doll like face, was the blood red comb she held in her hand. Aside from that, the only life-threatening thing about her would be the short katana she was carrying around her waist.
Sesshoumaru jumped to his feet and placed himself protectively before Kagome. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Step aside human, my business is with the girl behind you," said the woman.
He flicked back his damp hair and readied himself to attack. "I refuse." Not giving her a chance to attack first, he lunged forward with his blade first.
A grin formed on her red lips as she swiped in the air with her comb.
Both Sesshoumaru and Kagome widened their eyes at what appeared out of nowhere and protected the woman.
"Hair?" Kagome blinked surprised at the locks of jet black pushing back Sesshoumaru's blade.
"Hm?" The woman approached the former dog demon and stopped only inches away from his face. "I've killed many humans, but I've never seen one as cute as you. Say, why don't you pick my side instead of hers," she pointed at Kagome. "She's not even pretty. I can offer you much more." She reached out to him, but Sesshoumaru jumped away before she could touch him.
"Keep your filthy hands to yourself wench," he barked.
The smile on her face dropped. "So you like her that much huh? In that case, I'll have to get rid of her first." As she said that, excitement returned to her features. "Oh what am I saying…that was my intention all along! That'll be killing two birds with one stone!!"
Sesshoumaru scowled. "Over my dead body!" He struck at her again, but none of his attacks hit or even touched her.
"Gosh, you bore me," she yawned and swiped with her comb once again. This time, a web-like net flew towards Sesshoumaru and trapped him against one of the trees behind him.
"Damn it!" He angrily struggled against the entanglement, but none of his movements seemed to affect it. 'This woman, she's different than the enemies we encountered before.' He thought alarmed. "You! You're the one who've been sending those monsters after us, aren't you?!" he yelled.
"Oh, did they attack you as well? Darn it, I told them only to kill the girl, but they never listen to me!" she pouted in reply. "Well, I'm glad they didn't kill you. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you as soon as I'm done with this girl here. How does a piece of these lands sound to you?"
'A piece of land?' Sesshoumaru wondered inwardly, but quickly turned to the comb-user when he saw her approaching Kagome. "What do you mean by that?"
Much to his relief, the woman stopped in her tracks. "Taking the bait aren't you?" she grinned at him. "That's what I thought too when she made this offer. And all she asked for in return was this girl's life, what a bargain huh?"
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. 'She?' "Are you sure she'll keep the end of the deal? It sounds too good to be true," he reasoned.
"Hmm, you got a point there," she contemplated. "But then again, she does own a lot of land…how could she not give a piece to one of her best friends?"
While she was being distracted, Sesshoumaru quickly signaled to Kagome that it was her chance to run. And luckily, she got the message.
"Oh no you don't!" the comb-user hissed and hooked a strand of hair around Kagome's ankle before she could escape.
"Ack!" Kagome cried in pain as she fell and hit the ground hard.
The woman sighed in disappointment and glanced at Sesshoumaru. "Stalling time, are we? And there I thought you'd really consider taking my offer." She walked over to Kagome and knelt down beside her. Without warning, she grabbed her hair and pulled her head up, causing her to yelp in pain.
"Let her go you wench!!" Sesshoumaru pulled frantically at the hair entrapping him, but without success.
"The name's Yura, pretty face!" she yelled back. "Got it memorized?"
"I swear, if you dare to hurt her I'll rip you apart!!" he cried furiously.
"Hurt her? You mean like this?" she pulled out her katana and pierced it through Kagome's upper left arm with one quick stab.
Kagome's loud cry echoed through the forest as she roughly jerked it out of her limb again.
Sesshoumaru widened his eyes in horror. "Kagome!!" he yelled, ignoring the cuts he was receiving with each attempt he made to break free. 'Damn it!!' he cursed inwardly. 'If only I were still a demon!! I would've been able to save her!!'
"Darn it! I'm sorry, I meant to stab your heart, sweetie," Yura sighed as she gazed at her bloodied weapon. "I really need to practice more." She lowered her face to Kagome's level and giggled. "You wouldn't mind helping me, would you?"
Kagome panted heavily as she gazed terrified at the blood flowing from her arm to the grass below her. "Just kill me and get this over with you bitch!" she snarled with the last bit of strength left inside.
She felt a sharp pain in her head when the comb-user pulled her hair again, but she pressed her lips together. 'I won't cry…I won't give her the pleasure!' she cried in herself.
"Oh? You're a touch cookie, aren't you?" commented Yura and she finally let go of her. "How about this?"
Kagome gasped sharply and widened her eyes at the katana that was now stabbing through her right hand. Her lips parted widely but no sound came out because of the immense pain running through her nerves. Her body became so numb that she didn't even realize that the comb-user had kicked her in the side to make her lie on her back.
Through her blurring vision, she saw her raising her katana, ready to stab her. Just before she completely passed out of the pain, she caught a glimpse of something pale green wrapping around Yura's wrist and stopping its descent.
'That whip…' Before she could finish the thought, everything went black before her eyes.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello people! I was able to update faster than last time, hurray!! Hope you'll like this chapter as well! Please review after reading, thank you! Sorry for not responding to your reviews this time, but nevertheless I want to thank all of you who reviewed the previous chapter!! Thanks a bunch!!
Cheers!
Kittymui
'Italic': thought
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
CAPSLOCKED WORDS: noises
-.-.-.-
Next chapter: The day the real trial began
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What's that? A green whip? I guess there's no need to explain where it came from :). But the story's not over yet!! Look forward to the next chapter!
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Vocabulary:
hanyou: half-demon
haori: traditional japanese attire for the upper body for men
-.-.-.-
Posted: June 7 2007
Last Edited: June 7 2007
Spelling check: YES
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Inuyasha characters or plot. Nor do I own anything of the Chinese myth/fairytale I'm basing my story on. If there's anything similar between my story and that of another author or artist, I swear sincerely that I have no intention of copying or stealing anything!