DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or the book called 'Hasse Simonsdochter' written by Thea Beckman, nor do I own the characters of these two stories!! But I do own the idea of mixing these two ingredients into a new story.
Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap
*...* : noises
-by Kittymui-
The outcast
Previously:
"But I will not torture her too strictly for your sake." he said with
a cold voice and put the crying Kagome on the floor.
Shira watched her husband leave the room. After that, she held Kagome close to
her and leaned her head on Kagome's tiny shoulder. "Gomen Kagome, please
forgive me...I can't do anything against it..." she softly whispered.
Kagome stopped crying as soon as she was in the arms of her mother again. It was
as if she understood what Shira said and she hugged her mother back.
~*~
Eight years have passed since Kagome's birth. After Ron and Shira had decided to see Kagome as an elves' child, there wasn't a single day that Kagome could avoid being slapped by her father. Whenever she did something wrong or said something that she shouldn't have said, she would end up crying in her room with red cheeks.
Shira, on the other hand, only made Kagome do chores, although she had decided to see Kagome as an elves' child, she couldn't bring herself to hit or scold her.
Ron and Shira didn't teach Kagome to write nor to read, but Kagome was smart
enough to steal some books and documents and use them secretly to learn writing
on her own. Kagome was only eight, but she knew that her parents hated her.
She knew it, but never talked about it.
Every time when she asked her parents about it, her mother would start crying
and her father would slap her until blood was coming out of her mouth; saying
that she shouldn't ever talk about it again.
Kagome never got the chance to wear pretty clothes again after that day eight years ago. She always had to wear like a maid: mud-green colored dress, white apron and white headscarf. Not that the Higurashi's have maids in their households, but Ron had deliberately bought Kagome those clothes.
Whenever she walked down the streets of Pali after finishing her chores she
would always end up crying alone in her own room.
Townspeople muttered things and avoided her when they saw her. Mothers told
their children never to pay any attention to the raven black-haired child nor
play with her. Getting fed up with the looks of disgust coming from parents
and averted gazes of children after eight long years, Kagome would now only
go to the forest when she was allowed to go out. She didn't know why, but the
forest seemed to give her the serenity she wanted. It wasn't hard to find one,
because Pali was completely surrounded by trees except for several unpaved roads.
That's why it was believable for the inhabitants of Pali that there were such
things as forest elves.
Aged inhabitants said to have seen them. But young ones thought it was just a mythical figure from a fairytale until Kagome was born; a living proof of the existence of forest elves. Now everybody of Pali knows that Kagome's an elf except for herself....
One day Kagome finally decided to make herself a hiding place in the forest. She had somehow always yearned for a free life and survival by hunting.
~*~
Kagome was done with her chores. Like always, she was wearing a shabby mud
green colored dress with a white apron over it. Today is the day... she
thought to herself. She asked her mother permission to go out before she untied
her apron and headscarf and left them in her room. I better bring along something
to eat. Kagome thought and quickly grabbed a bag and put some apples and
a couple loaves of bread in it. She put on a pair of worn-out sandals and left
the house quietly.
If it weren't for her mother, Ron wouldn't even think that it was worthwhile
to buy Kagome something to wear on her feet.
After walking about half an hour, Kagome finally left the town. She didn't take the unpaved paths to walk on after that, because she didn't want to encounter people outside the town; inside the town was already hard enough.
I should search for an open area with water nearby to build my hideout. Kagome thought as she walked through the forest. That's strange...I've never really walked this deep into the forest...but somehow...she thought puzzled as she automatically chose certain paths to take. ...I don't have the feeling of being lost.
It was a thickly wooded forest; colorful flowers and bushes grew in it. Beautiful birds and graceful animals inhabited it. In short, it was full of life. Kagome just couldn't understand why the townsmen, and especially his father, could do something that cruel to these wonderful creatures, like hunting them for fun and pride.
Kagome pushed away some branches. Why do I get the feeling that I've been here before? It's like I already know the way to the place where I want to be.
After a while, Kagome reached an open area with a creek running in the middle of it. The open area was almost round like a circle with a diameter of 12 meters and the creek, with several curves, was about 4 meters wide running almost in the middle of the circle.
****************************
*********##.....***************
*******................oo..************
****..........oooooo....###...**********
***.......ooo..............##......##**********
***....##....ooo..................#***********
****...ooo....##........##....*X**********
*******......###...........**************
***********....****************
***************************
* = trees
. = fields of grass
# = bushes
o = creek
X = Kagome's hideout.
"This is perfect!!" Kagome smiled and jumped in the air of happiness.
Kagome started to search for materials and made herself some weapons that she
could use to hunt for food. She made herself a short knife of stone, a small
bow and a couple of arrows with stone arrowheads. This should do it. Kagome
thought pleased.
Nobody taught her but it was as if her instincts told her how to make them.
Kagome wondered why.
After finishing her weapons, Kagome looked up to the trees. I think I should build one in a tree. she concluded. That way, it wouldn't be discovered easily. With that, she started to gather materials for the hut in the tree.
Now and then, brown monkeys that live in trees would come out and watch the strange girl gather the materials that they would also gather to build their nests: reeds and branches.
After she finished gathering, Kagome looked for a suitable tree to build the hut in. She looked up and around and stopped in front of a tall tree. This one's nice. she thought, looking up at a certain branch. Let's see...it's about 15 meters above the ground...high enough. she concluded. And there are enough leaves...wonderful camouflage for my hideout. she smiled.
Kagome started on the floor of the hut first and began to tie up the branches and reeds with strong and long stalks of grass.
A tiny brown monkey approached Kagome while she was working. It was obviously just a baby monkey. Kagome looked up at the monkey and smiled. The monkey backed away a little. Kawaii... she thought.
"Hey there, how are you?" Kagome said with a soft voice. Suddenly she remembered the food that she brought along with her and she searched through her bag. "Are you hungry little one?" she asked, stretching out her hand and offering an apple to the little monkey.
The monkey hesitated for a moment but approached the apple when he didn't sense any danger coming from Kagome. He took it and took several steps backwards. Kagome giggled and continued her work.
~*~*~*~
The sun was already starting to set and Kagome was finally done with her hideout.
It turned out to be a small hut up in a tree, made of strong branches and reeds.
She also made a small balcony outside the hut.
Kagome wiped the sweat drops on her forehead and looked around in her second
home. Good. she thought contented as she pounded the floor several times
with her feet and the walls with her hands. And sturdy. she smiled.
She was all dirty a right now, her dress was now literally 'mud'-green (AN: emphasizing the 'mud' part ^-^) and there was also dirt on her face.
She suddenly realized the time. Oh my god! The sun is already setting!!
Kagome quickly hid her weapons in the hideout, climbed off the tree and ran through the forest towards the town.
It'll be bad if they started to look for me and discover my secret. she thought as she ran through the streets.
[AN: Kagome doesn't have to worry about animals stealing her possessions, because she became friends with the monkeys by being nice to the baby monkey. So they are nice enough to guard her hut for her.]
-- Back to the house --
Kagome slowly closed the door but as soon as she turned around, a huge human form was standing in front of her. The person was already dressed in a blue sleeping outfit.
"Where the fuck have you been!?" Ron roared. "Do you know how late it is!?"
Kagome winced. "I..." she started but before she could finish, she was cut of by a sudden stinging pain on her cheek.
*slap*
Kagome covered her red cheek. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
Ron scanned her from head to toe. "Look at you!! You're dirty!! Just like a beggar!!" he growled.
Kagome started to cry. "I...I just went out to play..." she sobbed.
"Enough!! Just wash yourself and lock yourself up in your room!!" he commanded.
Without saying anything else, Kagome obeyed her father and walked upstairs to the bathroom.
~*~*~*~
Kagome finished washing herself and walked towards her room. She was now dressed in a worn out dark blue thin nightdress.
Before she opened the door to her room, she suddenly heard her mother's voice in the hallway. Kagome listened carefully. It's coming from their bedroom. She realized and slowly walked to their door.
The door was opened a little bit and Kagome stood against the wall next to it.
-- In Shira and Ron's bedroom --
"Why are you so harsh towards Kagome? It's already been 8 years." Shira said with a sad voice. She was dressed in a pink nightgown and sitting on the edge of the bed.
Mommy? Kagome thought as she sat down against the wall near the door.
"She's a monster, Shira!! I will never accept her!!' Ron yelled as he walked back and forth in the room. 'If she wasn't born, those forest monsters wouldn't swap her with our real baby!!'
F-forest...monsters...?
"She's still a child and besides, they have never picked her up again." Shira was still trying to persuade her husband.
They? T-the forest m-monsters??
"They must have already eaten our baby..." Ron spat.
"But it doesn't matter anymore." he said as he sat down and looked at Shira's stomach.
"I will definitely not let those forest elves swap our little Souta with another one of their dirty children again" he said determined.
Kagome's eyes widened as she heard this. Forest elves?! Swapped?? S-Souta??
Shira looked at him. "Shouldn't we let Kagome know that she's going to have a baby brother?"
[AN: Don't ask why, but I just decided that they're definitely going to have a son mwuahaha :P]
"And have her comrades take him away like they did with our baby?" Ron cried angrily.
"W-well...I guess not..." Shira agreed submissively.
Tears started to well up in Kagome's eyes as she slowly stood up. So that's why... She silently thought to herself as she strolled back to her room. ...that's why they hate me...I-I'm an elves child...
-- In Kagome's room --
Kagome's room didn't changed much. The only difference was that all the baby stuff were replaced by a simple bed and a closet. It was a small room, about 3 by 3 meters.
She let herself fall on her bed and cried softly. My real parents won't take me back to the forest... and mommy and daddy rather have me gone... She sobbed and buried her head in her pillow. I-I'm...an...o-outcast...
Vocabulary:
Kawaii: Cute.
Posted: 17 July 2003
Last Edited: 12 February 2004 (re-edited because of tags problem)
Spelling check: YES