A Chance Encounter
Author's notes: Chuken - means "faithful dog" in Japanese. And a big thanks to Lisa for helping me finish this story, her ideas aided me greatly.
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"Kagome-chan! Don't go playing near that dirty well, you hear?"
Kagome's pregnant mother stood in the back doorway of their house, watching her daughter run off to play. She felt a slight kick interrupt her thoughts and she lovingly patted the bulge on her stomach. "You're so impatient, Sota. It won't be long now before you're out of there so just behave yourself. Kagome-chan, did you hear me!?"
"Haiii...!" Came the faint reply from somewhere near the shrine, Kagome's high childish voice meeting her mother's ears. Kagome's mother turned to enter the house, feeling another kick against her lower back. She only smiled though and continued to prepare that night's dinner.
Kagome picked her way through the brush, approaching the large shrine warily. She never went too close to it, her Grandfather and parents had warned her enough about that. But it wasn't all the scary monster stories her Grandfather told her that kept her away (she scoffed inwardly at the thought) but the weird feelings she always got whenever she came too close, just within reaching distance of the shrine walls. This time, like always, she circled widely around the structure, heading instead for the giant tree that stood behind it.
Kagome stopped suddenly though and ducked behind the nearest shrub when she saw that she wasn't alone in her destination.
A stranger, a man, stood before the tree, one black gloved hand placed upon its surface where the bark was worn away. Jeans and a large sweatshirt were his only articles of clothing, along with a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. Short, ash white hair poked out from underneath the cap, two short strands coming out to rest on either side of his face.
Kagome backed away from him silently, wondering what he could possibly be doing here. He might be another customer that was lost, or...
She didn't have to chance to finish the thought though, for at that moment the man turned around to face her, his small nose twitching impishly.
"You can come out from there now," he commanded, his strong voice ringing through the quiet.
Kagome emerged from the bushes, her eyes wide with surprise. "Wow, how'd you know I was there?" He tapped his nose gently with one gloved finger. "The nose knows." He chuckled, a low, warm sounding thing, then turned to look back up at the tree.
"Nose...?" Kagome echoed quietly to herself, coming up to stand behind the man. "Are you here to buy something at the shrine? 'Cause I have to warn you, all my Grandpa's stuff doesn't work."
The man smiled at that, exposing two curiously sharp canines as he grinned, their white surfaces glinting in the sunlight. Kagome looked up and gasped slightly at the sight, which caused him to quickly shut his mouth, his golden eyes guiltily not meeting her own.
Kagome shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other for a few seconds, then turned back to the stranger. "What's your name?"
"Chuken," he replied.
"I'm Kagome. Yoroshiku!" she replied brightly, bowing formally at the waist. "My grandpa's teaching me to be a shrine maiden here. So are you here to buy something?"
His gave a small shake of his head, sending his white locks swaying. "This place is special to me. Sometimes I like to come back and remember everything that's happened..." His voice trailed away and his eyes once again turned to stare up at the tree.
"But they're good memories, right?" Kagome asked, coming to stand beside him and stare up at the tree with him."
"Aaa," he replied.
"My grandpa says this tree is reeeeally old. Do you think it was around when there were dinosaurs??"
He laughed. "I don't think so. Humans were here long before this tree was."
Kagome gave a small humph and crossed her arms at having her illusion destroyed. "How do you know? They could've."
He laughed again, seeming to find her discomfort amusing. "Sumanu, but how about believing in things like magic and demons existing when this tree was around?"
"Did they really?" Kagome asked, her anger quickly forgotten and her curiosity piqued.
Chuken's golden eyes twinkled with amusement. "What do you think?" he asked in response to her question.
Kagome looked away, her eyes growing thoughtful and betraying more than her years would have expected them to. "I think... it would have been wonderful if there really were magic and beasts back then. With knights and princesses and evil guys, just like in the story books!" Kagome spun around, arms outspread, as if to emphasize her excitement.
Chuken laughed good-naturedly at her joy and smiled with tenderness at her small form. "Yes," he whispered. "Just like in the story books..."
A voice rang out from the direction of the house. "Kagome! Kagome-chan, its time for dinner!" Kagome stopped her spinning and looked sadly in the direction of her home. "I..." She looked up at Chuken unhappily. "I have to go, my mommy's calling me."
Chuken nodded and tilted his head in the direction of her house. "Go on, your mom's waiting." Kagome nodded, her eyes growing a little larger as she watched Chuken for a moment. She backed up a step, her eyes not leaving his, then turned and ran for the house. However she only got a few steps when the tip of her foot tripped over an exposed tree root, and she went tumbling towards the ground. Much to her surprise though she never made contact with it and instead found herself in a warm embrace. Gently she was set upright and her brown eyes locked with Chuken's golden ones.
"Do...domo arigatou," Kagome said shakily, obviously not over the fall.
Chuken smiled warmly and squeezed her shoulders gently. "There there, nothing hurt na?" Kagome nodded sullenly.
On a whim Chuken grinned widely, exposing his small white fangs, which caused his eyes to sparkle with laughter.
His smile was too infectious and Kagome smiled back, finding herself more in awe of his curious fangs than afraid of them. She giggled after a moment when his goofy grin remained plastered on his face. After a moment his wide smile faded into a softer one, and with an affectionate pat on her shoulder he started to rise from his crouched position before her. He didn't make it up all the way though due to a pair of smalls arms that suddenly snaked their way around his neck.
Chuken stopped, surprised. This small girl, this sweet, caring girl, was hugging a perfect stranger, with no reserve and only with the purest intentions. Chuken felt his heart burst then break all over again. Carefully, slowly, he placed his gloved hands on her shoulder blades and lightly hugged her back, relishing in the smell that was uniquely Kagome as it drifted off her body.
Kagome pulled away after a moment and gave Chuken a sweet smile, then backed up and took off running towards her house.
Chuken watched her leave, rising from his knees when her form disappeared beyond the trees between the house and the shrine. He walked over to the ancient sacred tree and placed his gloved hand on it once more. "Kagome..." he breathed, a single tear rolling down his pale skin. "Aishiteru..."