A/N: I finished my other story chapter and still wanted to write, so here's another one of these. I'm happy that I actually got two reviewers. I wasn't expecting anyone to review so soon. I mean, so far this isn't really a crossover yet. Who am I kidding, I actually thought that nobody would like this story. So, for my first two reviewers, you get cookies and an answer!
April-nee-chan: It was a cliffy? I never knew. Well, you were one of my first reviewers, so have a cookie!
regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: I'm wondering if this is soon enough for you. How about a cookie for your review?
There was a couple other things that I'm going to say before the chapter. If anyone actually reads my A/N's.
1) I have decided to make my chapters as long as humanly possible and still have a life. That means that I plan to make each and every chapter well over 2000 words, hopefully with a minimum of 2500. Alas, no garuntees. No doubt there will be times when I have shorter chapters (though I hope not!) and others where my chapters will be novels in and of themselves (I really hope so!).
2) I need a little bit of help. Almost everyone knows the story of Beauty and the Beast. If you don't, and you're reading my story, then don't read this next part. Okay, so the beast gets stabbed by Gaston in the movie, right? Well, since my story has the equivalent of two Gaston's, I need to know which one will be the more violent. So, who does the stabbing? The two are towards the end of the story, but if you still don't know who they are, I'll tell you next chapter.
Now, enough blabbing. On with the story!
Kagome walked down the winding road with her little brother, listening to him prattle on about nonsense things that boys seem to find interesting. Her soft soled leather boots padded softly against the gravel path, cut through the forest that lay between her father's house and the local village. Kagome would've liked to be able to listen to the birds and other forest dwelling animals, but her brother's loud voice drove them into hiding. Kagome shifted her basket higher onto her arm before lazily drawing her attention back to Souta.
"...so Haruko 'nd Ke'ji took th' dare an' swiped lots o' bread off Kageromaru!" Souta concluded. He smiled happily, two teeth missing from the otherwise perfect rows of pearly white cartalidge. His hands were placed casually behind his head, his bare feet making less noise than Kagome's own.
Kagome took note of his lack of shoes and sighed. "Souta, why don't you wear shoes? You know you ought to. It'll be my head, not yours, that gets cracked if papa finds out you split your foot open from lack of footwear."
Souta's brow creased in concentration as he tried to pick out what his sister just said. After a moment of thinking, Souta brightened up. "Them thur shoes' make meh feet ache somethin' awful. 'T's no fun, neither." Kagome shook her head as he picked up the thread of a new story and continued on. The two siblings crossed a tiny bridge that led them over a babbeling brook and, almost like magic, the village was painted before them.
Each home was a perfect replica of the next. White walls, carefully thatched roofs and wooden shutters thrown open to the tantelizing breeze welcomed Kagome and Souta. Small picket fences protected little plots of land set aside for gardening from young children scampering across the streets. A few of the gardens that Kagome and Souta passed were filled with flowering blossoms, but most held vegetables or medicinal herbs in their clutches.
Kagome smiled. This was a place where she knew how to act. A place where she could fit in with the other women, shopping for food and other supplies that she needed to take care of the men in her household. Here she was just another customer for the baker to sell his bread to, for the butcher to call out his sales, for the local widow to try and tempt Kagome with her new fabrics just brought in from the outside world.
Kagome and Souta broke from the road to turn down a smaller lane. Following this, they were soon bombarded with the sounds and smells of the village square. People shouted back and forth to each other, performing a sort of melody in which the butcher kept time with his cleaver and the children danced merrily through the crowds. Horses and cattle added their own deep voices to the cacophany of noises as they were led from one stall to the other.
Souta turned an eager face to his older sister. "Cun I run 'n' look fer meh mates?" he asked. Kagome nodded, which released a small spell on Souta. He whooped and leapt into the crowd, dodging a horse-drawn cart and quickly disappearing into the hustle and bustle of the market.
Kagome sighed and shook her head. Reminding herself that she had errands to take care of, she picked up her pace and dove into the sea of bodies. Moving gracefully through the press of humanity, Kagome easily made her way to the local bookstore. She smiled as she was greeted with the cover of a book of heroes in the glass window. The sign called a greeting to her as it swung in the breeze. Kagome reached for the old brass knob that held the door closed to all but the most brave of people. The bell announced her presence as she forced the door open.
Kagome let her eyes slowly adjust to the dusty store, filled with shelves bursting with knowledge. Books littered tables, sat in stacks on the old floor just waiting for someone to pick them up and explore the pages hidden behind colorful bindings of leather. Kagome weaved through the chaos of paper and ink with the ease of long practice, making her way to the left side of the store. Her basket tapped rhythmically against her leg, the book inside shifting to the beat.
She came quickly onto a counter, as littered with books as the rest of the store. Clearing her throat lightly, a head peered over the mountain of literature. "Ah, Kagome," a quiet voice greeted. "You're back already, I see."
Kagome nodded and waited patiently for the young man to extract himself from his former position. A small crash was heard as one of the towers stacked on the counter gave way to gravity's pull. A small yelp followed. Kagome rushed to the aid of a hand poking out from a rather large pile of books. Laughing, she used her weight to help a man with dirty brown hair to his feet.
He stood around a head taller than Kagome's own meager five and a half feet. His brown eyes held kindness and innocence more commonly found in a young child than a man of eighteen years. He dusted off his leather apron and straightened a creme colored shirt before turning his attention back to Kagome.
"Sorry about that. Gets a little crowded in here sometimes."
"It's nice to see you again, Houjo," Kagome replied. "Did you get anything new?" For as long as Kagome had known him, Houjo had been an avid reader. He himself had taught her how to read and write. It was more than most young children around their village could accomplish. Of the entire population, only Kagome and Houjo read on a regular basis, which was the basis of their origional friendship.
Houjo rubbed his ink-stained hands eagerly. "I just got a new shipment. Follow me." He squeazed passed Kagome and led the way to the back room. If it were at all possible, the back room was filled even more than the actual store. Here was where Houjo kept those books that he prized above all else. Those, and a few that he thought Kagome would be interested in.
Kagome followed him to the far right corner, where a pile of papers sat. They were each bound in groups, which gave away to Kagome that they were waiting for a new binding. Along with selling books to those few who could read, he re-bound old and tattered ones for a fee. People from the nearby villages sent their bibles and pleasure books to him to fix up, and he, in turn, prospered enough to continue his little store.
Picking up a small, leather bound novel, Houjo handed it to Kagome with a flourish. "It was in horrible condition when I found it in the bottom of the crate, but it's an amazing story. It's actually more of a small collection of fairytales, but still worth the time I took to re-bind it." He scratched one corner of his mouth, smearing small amounts of black across his cheek.
Kagome ran her hands over the cover. It was entitled A Series of Tales and Kagome eagerly began to flip through it. This had been exactly what she had been waiting for. Her eyes lit up as she came across a carefully drawn picture. It was so detailed that Kagome wanted to cry, having never held a single book in her hands that showed scenes this clearly. A small caption was scrawled on the bottom, claiming that this was "The Mermaid Ariel and Her Beloved Prince". Kagome reluctantly closed the book. Pulling out the old one from her basket, she put the two together and held them out for Houjo.
He reached out and took one, but left the gold one in Kagome's possession. "You take it. I've already read it over, and it would fit your tastes better than mine." Kagome gawked as he continued. "I mean, women like you like all that wishy-washy love stuff. I'm more into science myself, and reaccountings of history. There's nothing I would do with it, it'd just sit around gathering dust like the rest of my collection." He looked up and his eyes held a carefully concealed emotion. "Besides, I owe you a late birthday present. Consider my debt paid."
"But, I couldn't! You spent so much time redoing the binding..." Kagome trailed off as Houjo gave her a stern look. Sighing, she carefully placed the book into her basket and covered it again. "I can't thank you enough, then. I do believe that instead of getting your debt repaid, you just earned a favor."
Houjo shook his head. "Nonsense. It was my pleasure, majesty," he said, making a mock bow. "And now, if her highness will excuse me, I have work to finish. If you would please proceed me?" He gestured to the doorway and they both laughed. Kagome walked in front of him until they got to the door. Still laughing softly, Houjo held the door open for her. "Now don't be a stranger. Come back sometime next week and I might have a few more surprise books up my sleeve."
"I will," Kagome promised. Cheered up considerably, Kagome made her way towards the baker. A cheery fellow with an even happier wife, Kagome enjoyed the time she took to purchase goods from them. Their stall was small compared to some of the others, but was packed with sweet rolls, fresh loaves of bread, and just about every sort of pastry Kagome had ever heard of. Already she could smell the croissants and baguettes being pulled from the small stone oven located at the rear of the enclosure.
Kagome smiled as she caught the red hair of Kenshin. His pale face was always smiling. He had no temper that Kagome knew of, even when he found out that his mischeivious children had tampered with some sort of device or other. He could always be picked out in a crowd, even if he had his hair covered. Kind violet eyes were always watching everything. If you couldn't see his eyes, you knew it was Kenshin from the cross-shaped scar on his cheek.
As Kagome approached, Kenshin's wife, Kaoru, entered their shop from a door that led to their house. Her midnight hair, nearly as dark as Kagome's own and as long as her husbands, sat in a small knot at the base of her neck. She was an odd one, or so the other villager's thought. Kagome could see why they thought that. After all, Kaoru wore the exact same make of breeches and shirt as her husband, regardless that it was labeled 'un-lady-like' by most every other man. Kagome absolutely adored Kaoru, even if she had one of the worst tempers in all the land. Midnight blue eyes met chocolate brown ones as Kaoru spotted Kagome.
"Why, hello, Kagome," Kaoru's strong voice greeted. "How are you today?" Kenshin turned and offered his own hello, muffled due to the fact that his arms were full and blocked his mouth slightly. Kenshin and Kaoru were two other villager's that visited Houjo on a regular basis. No one knew where they had come from before they arrived at their tiny village. Wherever it was, they had both learned to read and write like noblemen out there.
"I've just come from Houjo's. He's just gotten a new shipment in, and gave me a new book." Kagome pulled the precious item from her basket and showed it to her friend. "According to him, it's a couple fairytales all in the same binding. It even has pictures!" Kagome opened the book to the mermaid picture and showed it to Kaoru.
"That's great!" she exclaimed. "May I take a look?" Kagome handed it over to Kaoru and watched as her friend began to scan the first few pages. "I think I've heard of this story. If I remember correctly, it runs along the same lines as what you usually read, Kagome." Smiling, Kaoru carefully handed the book back to its owner.
"That's what Houjo said." Kagome replaced the book in her basket and adjust her skirts. "I can't wait to read it, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait until later tonight." Kenshin came upon the conversation, and Kagome immediately adjusted to include him. "I mean, I still have to do chores and supper tonight. Which reminds me, I need a few things."
Kenshin nodded as Kaoru retreated to check the ovens. "Mrs. Higurashii, it's nice to see you in good health." Kenshin's soft tenor was a joy to Kagome's ears. She always enjoyed him talking to her, if only because he was sweeter than any other village boy. "Would you be needing anything in particular, or just the regular order?" he asked.
After Kagome said that it was going to be the same as always, Kenshin and her began to talk about little nothings as Kaoru filled her request. They chatted for a good few minutes before Kagome was handed a small cloth package. Politely excusing herself, Kagome left her friends to the next costumer in line to continue her shopping.
Her errands were just about finished when Kagome heard the telltale signs of the local prettyboys. Kagome shuddered and slowly turned on the scene. Two young men with the same length of black hair brawled in the middle of the square, effectively blocking traffic from all angles. People shouted and complained to the two boys, who ignored everything but the fight. Shaking her head, Kagome stepped out of the crowd and walked towards the fight. If everyone else was afraid to get in the way of two childish men, that was their choice. It sure as hell wouldn't stop Kagome.
Just as she began to make out the insults that were being thrown back and forth, the two participents pulled apart. The one on the left sported a black eye and a split lip, his clothes torn at the seams. The other had various cuts located all over his chest and arms, wounds that most likely came from an object sharp enough to puncture skin, but not enough to kill. They both panted heavily and glared at each other. Kagome expected to be struck by lightening from the tension that was held between the two opponents as she walked in between them.
Bad move. They both snapped out of their fighting stupor as soon as Kagome appeared in their line of vision. Kagome squeaked as two incredibaly tall men descended upon her. Her right hand was grabbed and held by the guy with the cuts as a hand was laid on her left shoulder from buise-boy.
"Kagome, this mutt started it..."
"No I didn't! It was your fault..."
Both began to argue over her until Kagome thought her head would explode from all the noise. Pulling her hand and shoulder away from them, she said loudly, "Enough." Both looked stunned at having her speak. "Take this somewhere else, Kouga, Inuyasha. You're blocking traffic." She didn't wait as both realized that they had, indeed, been stopping the world with their fight. Kagome was almost to the edge of the crowd that had gathered when she heard running feet.
Not wanting to deal with two love-struck adolescents, Kagome ducked into the crowd. Keeping a hand on her basket, she hurried towards the fountain a small distance away from the village square. She knew that they would stay and scour the square for her, thinking she had hidden in one of the many shops. With a feeling of triumph as both Kouga and Inuyasha vented their frustration on each other, Kagome pulled from the mob of people and into a quieter, less crowded clearing.
Lady luck must have had a grudge against the young girl, for just as she thought she was in the clear, she was spotted by two women at the fountain. Cursing her luck, Kagome slowly made her way towards them, their icy glares penetrating the warm spring air to wrap around Kagome's throat like some demented shawl. As she finally made it to the young brunette and red haired women, she greeted them. "Kikyo, Ayame, how are you this fine day?"
End Chapter
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