- 24. Sinker -
Kagome decided to take a page out of Sesshōmaru's book.
"We can't let the rest of these fools get the best of us! Do you really want to do our report on yet another Oda Nobunaga trope or 'Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'?" She connoted, while resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Not only are they already taken, but don't you think it's...overdone?"
No response. Not even a condescending glance, or customary scowl, or whatever it is Sesshōmaru did to express his discontent.
Determination blazed her features. She had one more trick up her sleeve.
"If anything, I'd say it's an insult to your intelligence. You being a history buff and all."
If this little ego stroke doesn't convince him otherwise, I don't know what else will. Gah, I can't believe I have to resort to this! Kagome mentally chided, but steeled her nerves as she looked at him expectantly.
Sesshōmaru considered her suggestion. He wanted to exceed expectations, as with everything he did in life. It was only natural that he take the road less traveled.
The little bird makes valid points, he concurred inwardly. The professor was combing through the mythic texts at a snail's pace. We are already behind schedule as is.
His face twisted at the thought. He knew his fair share of the aforementioned tales. He was growing quite weary of yet another class spent overanalyzing the underlying meaning, or how the hero saves the day, et cetera, et cetera.
More importantly, time was of the essence. Weeks have passed since this project was assigned, and still without a topic that he found was worthy of his time.
Armed with her compelling case and heeding Inuyasha's advice, Sesshōmaru finally decided to test his brother's theory.
"Very well."
He heard Kagome thank the gods profusely.
- x -
A/N: Kagome, you sly vixen. Another two-for-one!
'Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' AKA 'Tale of Princess Kaguya' is a narrative about the life of a mysterious girl (Kaguya) who is discovered as a baby inside a bamboo plant. The tale/protagonist is pretty popular in Japan, as it's been adapted into several story lines and films (including IY movie 2: Castle Beyond the Looking Glass). I read it in a Japanese Folklore class I took as a young sapling in college many moons ago. I think it predates the Feudal Era, but I remember liking the story so… it's here. Just gonna ignore the historical inaccuracy for a sec.
Oda Nobunaga is known as the "first" of the three unifiers of Japan when he obliterated the Ashikaga Shogunate. This was basically the catalyst to the "beginning of the end" for the Sengoku period. His other compadres (his successors, actually) Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, collectively ended the Feudal system, which helped transition Japan to the (more peaceful) Edo period. Apologies for the terrible synopsis. Dr. Google can elaborate more on this (my Japanese history is shoddy ^^;)
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.