Of More Importance than Shikon Shards by katdemon1895
There are more important things than wealth
I do not own Inuyasha, I do not own Helga’s Dowry: A Troll Love Story but I do hope to hear from you and find out what you think of this second adaptation of a fairy tale to fit a pairing that I have become incredibly fond of
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It was a moonless night and the land was encased in shadows and secrets. The rustling and skittering of creatures seeking shelter or prey echoed in the dark, making the few travelers unlucky enough to be outside jump and shake in fear or huddle closer to their fires.
However, one small group of travelers felt no fear despite the darkness that was creeping towards them. They sat near a flickering fire beneath the shade of a great tree that seemed, if one looked closely, to have a face. Light from the fire danced along the tree’s bark obscuring and illuminating the supposed face all at the same time.
There were five travelers beneath this tree. A man, slim and silent with a kusarigama at his side and wearing a suit that blended with the shadows watched the group with vigilant, caring brown eyes. Nearby, grumbling, was an ancient toad like youkai with bulbous yellow eyes. He was attempting to play a board game with the third member of the little group. His opponent was a handsome young kitsune with sharp blue eyes and perhaps half the physical age of the young man. The final pair was a human woman in a checkered yellow and orange kimono and a tiny girl with hair like the inky night sky and eyes like burnished gold, eyes that the girl was trying valiantly not to close.
“Sumiko-chan, you need to go to sleep,” sighed the young woman to the youkai girl in her lap. The girl scowled slightly,
“Mama and father always tell me a story before I go to sleep. I want to stay up and hear a story,” the girl pouted.
“Your mama and father are busy fighting an idiot who thinks that your mama should be his mate instead of the mate of your papa,” Shippo interjected, “That’s why you’re coming with us, remember? It’s not safe for you to stay where the idiot knows where you are.”
“I know,” Sumiko yawned, “Mama said that you and Uncle Inuyasha and Uncle Miroku and Aunt Sango and Kohaku-neesan would protect me until I could come home and Father said that it’s my duty to help make sure that Uncle Inuyasha hasn’t been slacking in his training.”
The older members of the group all smiled and Shippo tried not to laugh at what Inuyasha's reaction might be to hear Kagome and Sesshomaru’s pup inform him that she was supposed to train him.
“You’ll have to tell Uncle Inuyasha that when he comes back from patrolling,” Shippo told the young girl, “that way you two can set up a schedule for his training.”
“m’kay,” the girl agreed sleepily, “but I still want a story, one of the ones from mama’s home, one about mama and father.”
“From Kagome’s lands?” Rin asked and she glanced over at Shippo. Kagome had, after all, mated with Sesshomaru after Rin had moved to Kaede’s and thus she had not had as much of a chance to listen to the older woman’s strange stories as Shippo had. The kitsune grinned and his tail twitched in anticipation at the chance to show off.
“I know of one,” Kohaku said calmly before Shippo could begin. The rest of the group turned to the normally silent man, each with surprise in the eyes, save for little Sumiko who merely perked up in excitement.
“Really?” Sumiko asked, “A new one?”
Kohaku looked at the group who looked back with interest in their eyes, though Shippo looked a little jealous but the young kitsune nodded in encouragement. Kohaku was a good friend and the young demon slayer so rarely interacted in groups that consisted of more than just Sango and Rin that the kitsune would never do something that would cause the still reticent man to retreat back in his shell.
“I don’t think you’ve ever heard it before,” Kohaku said at last, “Lady Kagome told it to a young couple once who sought the advice of Miroku but found her instead. I happened to hear it.”
“Tell us! Tell us!” Sumiko begged, her excitement helped her to perk up.
“Yes, please!” Rin encouraged him and the two girls looked over at the others in their group.
“I’m losing to this brat anyway,” Jaken grumbled, admitting defeat. He reached into his robes and pulled out a pouch that jingled slightly as he handed it to the young kitsune. Shippo smirked in a way that was wholly Inuyasha as he accepted his winnings.
“A story will be a good way to pass the time,” Shippo prodded gently and at last the young demon slayer nodded.
“Alright,” he said, “Once upon a time.”
“It’s definitely one of mama’s stories!” Sumiko interrupted, “That’s how all her stories start!”
“Hush Sumiko,” Rin scolded lightly, “if you interrupt we’ll never hear it.”
“Sorry,” the western princess replied, “please go on aniki!”
“Once upon a time,” Kohaku began again and the group moved closer to hear the young man’s story.
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Once there was a kingdom filled with magic. Every inhabitant had one kind or another, most were spirits of the land called youkai, a few were creatures of the kami, mikos and monks. In this kingdom there lived a woman named Kagome. Kagome was the most beautiful woman in all of the land and considered one of the kindest and most helpful as well. She had a sweetheart named Kouga and she loved him dearly. They were betrothed and set to marry soon. However, according to the laws of the land, no marriage could proceed if the bride did not have a suitable dowry and, despite how beautiful and kind she was, Kagome was quite poor and had no dowry. This was because she came from a land very, very far away and had abandoned everything in her home to be with her beloved. She had not known about the dowry law. And even worse, Kouga revealed to her that if she did not have a dowry and did not wed then she would be banished to yet another distant land and they would be parted, forever.
The young miko was distraught but she did not allow herself to worry for long. She decided to go with Kouga to seek advice from a local sorcerer, a wise man named Hojo. Hojo took one look at the beautiful Kagome and immediately desired her for himself.
“Well,” Hojo began slowly when the couple asked for advice, “I’m not sure what Kagome can do, but Kouga could marry my sister Kikyo instead. She has a dowry of a flock of twenty sheep, two boxes of gold and three acres. She also has three shards of the shikon jewel. No one save the Western King himself could offer more riches to anyone.”
Kagome was very polite and did not role her eyes at Hojo’s boast about Kikyo’s dowry. She had heard of much greater riches that a bride brought to a wedding. But as Hojo listed the wealth that Kikyo could offer to a groom, she saw her beloved’s eyes light up with greed. They left after a little while and Kouga turned to Kagome.
“Kagome,” he began, “A man like me needs a bride with a good dowry.”
“I see,” Kagome replied, trying to conceal her hurt.
“Well, don’t marry Kikyo just yet. I have a plan,” she lied firmly and she and her sweet heart parted. She did not see Kouga return to Hojo’s house and did not know that he had started to bargain for Kikyo’s hand.
The next day, with an angry, aching heart, instead of seeking out her sweet heart, Kagome began to walk and walk and walk, all the while trying to figure out what she could possibly do. She walked so far that she made it to the eastern lands.
“I’m just me,” she sighed, “I’m not strong and I have no family connections.”
Just as she was falling into deep into despair, something tickled the edge of her senses. It piqued her curiosity and she began to follow the feeling. The young priestess gave a cry of surprise when she found a monstrous youkai that was preparing to eat a little child.
“Get away from him!” the brave girl shouted and without thinking about her own safety, she rushed at the wicked youkai. With that act of courage, the beautiful woman unlocked a power within her that she had only scratched the surface of in the past. A rush of purity enveloped the wicked youkai, turning him to ash and leaving nothing in the clearing save the child the youkai had been threatening, the miko and a purified shard of the shikon jewel.
“Wow!” cried the child, “that was amazing!”
The miko picked up the jewel shard and then looked to the child, “where is your home? It’s dangerous for you to be out here alone.”
“It’s not far,” the child replied, “thank you for your help!”
With that he bounded off before Kagome could stop him, leaving the miko alone with the shard of the jewel. She did not notice that the little battle had drawn some attention to her. She was busy contemplating what had just happened. A seed of hope and a new confidence were instilled in the young miko and she began to walk again, this time with a spring in her step and a glint of determination in her eyes. She did not notice that the one who had been drawn to the battle followed her.
After some time, Kagome came to the border of a wealthy farm. At the border was a group of women who were squabbling over an enormous pile of laundry, one so large it was as though the women had stolen the wardrobe of every person in the emperor’s court to make it.
“Hello!” Kagome called to a group of women who paused in their argument to look at her.
“Hello,” one of the women called back warily.
“My name is Kagome, and I have a deal for you,” the young miko told them, “I’ll do all your laundry and if I manage to do it before the sun sets then you pay me with forty sheep. If I fail then you don’t have to pay me at all and I’ll keep going until I finish the laundry anyway.”
“Agreed!” said the leader of the women, the farmer’s wife agreed immediately, certain that Kagome would never be able to finish the task, “I hate laundry!”
Kagome immediately began to start washing the laundry, using some small magic she had learned in the Western lands to get the job done faster. As she cleaned, the one who had followed her watched her with golden eyes filled with curiosity.
Kagome worked and worked, using her magic to speed things along until at last, she finished washing and drying and folding every last bit of the mountain of clothing.
“I don’t believe it!” the farmer’s wife gasped. She and the others of the farm gaped in astonishment. Kagome smiled and shifted nervously.
“But a deal’s a deal,” the farmer’s wife sighed, “forty sheep, as promised, and a sheep dog too to help you herd them.”
“Thank you!” Kagome said with a bright smile and she led away her prize back to her home.
When she reached the border to the Western lands, she saw a handsome man with long white hair and burning golden eyes. She blushed and looked away as she led her sheep towards her home. She did not notice the way he smiled, amusement and interest in his eyes.
“What is your name?” the man called, shocking Kagome and she looked up at him, her cheeks still red.
“K-Kagome,” she said nervously.
“You did well today Kagome,” the handsome man said and then he turned away and disappeared before the miko could say anything else.
That night Kagome took care of the sheep, giving them shelter and fodder before she went back into the home that she shared with an ancient sorceress, Kaede, her friend and teacher. Her dreams were filled with her sweet heart and plans.
The next morning Kagome set out bright and early and took with her a bag. Once again she did not notice that she was being followed, golden eyes watching her every movement, her steps shadowed by a much taller form.
Kagome walked and walked until she came to a large, bustling city and there she found a good place and set up a table. On the table she set out curious bottles and jars and then she turned to the small crowd that was gathering.
“Hello! I’m Kagome of the Western lands,” she said to the crowd and immediately they began to whisper amongst themselves. They had never seen anyone from the Western lands before but stories of magic that ran rampant throughout the mysterious kingdom were told and whispered in almost every part of the world.
“And these are creams and potions guaranteed to improve health and create beauty, if you use them properly!” Kagome continued. She smiled to herself. Kaede had shown her various ways to heal but she didn’t feel right in taking money for something she would do anyway. However, some of those techniques were just preventative measure and combined with her knowledge to conserve beauty and improve looks in general from her homeland created a way for her to earn another portion of her dowry without any guilt!
“This is a rinse for your hair,” Kagome explained to one customer, “Wash with this and it will get rid of dirt, and then use this rinse and it will leave your hair soft and manageable. This potion will sweeten your breath, just gargle with it and then spit. This will help prevent wrinkles and get rid of stretch marks.”
More and more people clamored to her table as she explained the purpose of each concoction and by the end of the day, Kagome no longer had a single drop of any of her concoctions but she did have enough gold to three boxes of gold as well as another two shikon shards from a pair of women who did not have any magic at all and thus had no idea that they had anything more than a few slivers of a pretty gem. She hurried away from the town, eager to get back to Kaede’s before she ran into trouble.
Once again at the border of the Western lands, she saw the handsome man with golden eyes and moonlight hair.
“Again you prove your resourcefulness Kagome,” the man said, his voice washing over her and making her shiver slightly, “where did you get such potions as the ones you sold?”
“I learned to make healing ointments and creams from the sorceress Kaede,” Kagome replied shyly, “And I knew a bit about beauty potions before I came here, they’re a hobby for many girls my age back home. Since I never heard about such things being used in the kingdom over I decided to make them and try my luck.”
“You have considerable talent with people as well. And how is it you came to the western lands?” the handsome man pressed. He began to walk and Kagome followed after him to answer his question. The two continued talking until Kagome realized that she was at the gate of Kaede’s house.
“It was nice talking to you,” the beautiful miko said shyly and then her eyes widened as she realized that she hadn’t even asked his name! She blushed brightly at her rudeness but before she could make up for the error, he had already disappeared into the night.
“Oh well,” Kagome sighed and that night her dreams of her sweet heart morphed into dreams of the mystery man and more plans.
The next day Kagome knew would be the trickiest because she didn’t have much experience with this sort of work. Still, she was determined and she was resourceful. So she set out, but not alone. With her came her allies, a young kitsune and another healer who happened to be half horse demon, as well as her shadower though she did not realize it. Both the kitsune and the healer were very strong and both cared for the young miko very much and the last thing they wanted was for her to be banished from the Western lands. They followed her and Kagome walked and walked until she came to a small corner of the Western lands. It was a plot of land that belonged to a crabby old man named Totosai and the land itself was covered with dense trees. For as long as Kagome had been in the Western lands he had heard old Totosai complain about the trees, some of which had flowers which produced a noxious gas that would kill almost anyone. She had offered to take care of the dangerous trees before but had always been rebuffed by the suspicious old man who didn’t trust anyone who wanted to do something for free.
“This time I won’t be denied Totosai!” Kagome called out to the old man.
“Eh?” the demon smith said in return, “Oh, you, go away miko girl. I don’t know why you want those trees so badly but I won’t anyone use them for evil!”
“I don’t want the trees,” Kagome declared, “I will admit that once they’re cut down and made ready the lumber produced from all of them would be worth quite a lot. But I’d rather have the land itself.”
“What?” Totosaid demanded.
“My friends and I will clear away every tree on your land and you can keep the lumber, sell it and become very rich. In return, I get the land, all ten acres of it.”
“Why would I want to give up my home, even for all the money I could get from selling the wood?” Totosai demanded.
“Because once I move onto the land, you could go and court Kaede and take my place in her home,” Kagome suggested slyly and was pleased with the blush that appeared on the old man’s face.
“If you’re still not sure, how about this?” Kagome continued when it seemed as though the old man would still refuse, “If I don’t finish by sunset at the end of the week, then you owe me nothing. All the lumber I’ll have cut will still be yours as well as the land.”
“No, no,” Totosai sighed, “Bad luck comes to those who don’t pay their dues.”
A crafty look appeared on the man’s face.
“You’ll have your land, but only as much as you can clear in the week. I keep every acre that has a single tree remaining and you keep every acre you manage to clear.” Totosai countered.
“Deal,” Kagome agreed happily and she and her friends got to work. They chopped and cut and worked hard for days. On the third day they discovered a demon tree, a tree with a corrupted shard of the shikon no tama wedged inside. It was almost sentient and it had, judging from the skeletons of deer, rabbits and one human, apparently developed a taste for blood. Kagome, the healer and the kitsune valiantly battled the tree and after many long hours, they were triumphant and reduced the tree to planks. Kagome purified the jewel shard and added it to her collection. Then she returned to work while the other two rested after their arduous battle.
However, as she chopped, it seemed that for every tree she managed to cut down, three more sprang up in its place. Eventually the healer and the kitsune rejoined her and they too discovered that more trees seemed to appear even faster than they could cut them down.
“Magic’s afoot,” the kitsune grumbled and Kagome and the healer nodded on agreement. Suddenly laughter filled the air and the three turned and saw a fairly plain young woman in a red hakama and a white top. She had long, straight black hair and hard, cold brown eyes that glinted with malice as she laughed.
“Looks like you’ll fail Kagome,” the woman laughed, “You won’t be able to clear even a single acre, at least not before my wedding to Kouga.”
“What?” Kagome demanded.
“Oh, didn’t you know?” the woman said in a mocking tone, “Kouga and I are to be married at the end of the week.”
“You’re Kikyo,” Kagome growled, ignoring the pain in her heart. She had given up her home, her family, had worked herself to the bone and reduced her magic to almost whispers for him, and he was getting married to another just because she already had a dowry? Did he even ever really love her?
“That’s right!” Kikyo laughed, “And I’ll make sure that Kouga will be mine!” She waved a hand and another tree sprang to live. Kagome growled, her fists tightening on the axe.
“And I’ll make sure that I succeed in my task!” Kagome snarled and she called upon her powers which were buffered by her anger. Kikyo sneered and did the same and the two women went to battle.
They threw spell after spell at each other, neither willing to give into the other for any reason. The land shook and the trees toppled over. The healer and the kitsune tried to ignore the war that surrounded them as they continued in their task to help their beloved friend. Neither of them noticed that they had another person helping them in their task, making it go four times as quickly as it would if they had been working just by themselves.
On the last day, Kikyo triumphantly turned herself into a tree and Kagome paused in her attacks. She couldn’t do anything to the tree that was Kikyo without the risk of taking the other woman’s life. As much as she now disliked Kikyo, the last thing she wanted to do was kill her.
Near the afternoon Totosai approached her.
“Looks like you’ve got nine acres to your name,” the old man said, “And I’ll have to find a buyer for the last acre since I’ve decided that I do feel in the mood to move about.”
“Not quite,” Kagome said, “This tree will have to leave before the day’s over. She’s got a wedding to get to.”
“Oh?” Totosai said and he looked at the now unhappy tree closely, “Well so she does. Very well Kagome, all ten acres are yours.”
As if the words were a magic summoning, Kouga appeared, dressed in his finest clothes, obviously prepared for a wedding. Hojo trained behind him, a scowl on his face.
“Kagome!” Kouga said joyously, “Look at your dowry! Look at all those shikon shards! We can be married now!”
Kagome smiled at him and as soon as he was near, she slapped him with all her might. He reached up to touch his cheek and then stared at Kagome as if he had never seen her before.
“Kagome?” he said.
“You’re already engaged Kouga,” Kagome sneered, “And even if you weren’t, I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. I’d rather go back home and never step in the Western lands again than marry a man who only wants me for my riches. I want to marry someone who loves me for myself.”
“Kagome,” the kitsune whimpered, “Would you really leave me?”
“And me Kagome?” the healer added, “I thought we were friends.”
Kagome smiled at them sadly.
“We are friends, I love you both dearly. But as much as I love you, I don’t want to be miserable for the rest of my life, stuck to someone who loves my gold instead of me.”
“Then marry me,” said a voice that made Kagome blush just by hearing it, “I don’t care about riches. Even if you were without a dowry I’d marry you."
Kagome turned and looked at the man who had met her at the border for the past two days, the one that, though she didn’t know it, had been watching how hard she worked to earn her dowry and who had helped the kitsune and the healer finish clearing what used to be Totosai’s little corner of the kingdom.
“I don’t even know your name,” Kagome protested lightly.
“Sesshomaru,” the man replied.
Kagome’s eyes widened and Hojo immediately prostrated himself on the ground and Kikyo even let go of the spell that made her into a tree in order to kneel on the ground. The kitsune and the healer both bowed their heads to the handsome man and Kouga reluctantly knelt before him.
“Your majesty!” Hojo squeaked.
“You really care for me just for being me? You, the King of the Western Lands?” Kagome pressed. She alone stood tall before Sesshomaru, “I could give away all that I’ve earned and you’d still want me even though you could have any woman in twenty kingdoms?”
“Yes,” Sesshomaru replied, “You’re kind and clever and hard working, all admirable traits in a mate that are much harder to find than a woman with a few sheep. And I love you.”
“Then yes, I’ll marry you,” Kagome agreed happily.
And so it was, Kouga married Kikyo since he had agreed to after all. Kikyo nagged at him for the rest of his days, nagging that was made all the worse after he squandered her dowry. Hojo pined after Kagome, and her gold, for the rest of his life and sent frequent offerings of lozenges and rheumatism cures as tokens of his affection. All were given to the healer to be used by him before they ever got near Kagome. Totosai courted and married Kaede and the two trained many kind witches and sorcerers and wonder smiths that helped benefit the Western lands. The kitsune found a lovely vixen of his own and the healer grew in skill and wisdom. Kagome married Sesshomaru and they were very happy together and had many children and many adventures that would inspire many tales, though to the pair who were blissfully in love, none would be as interesting to them as the tale that spoke of how they came to wed.
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“So that’s how mama and Father met and got married?” murmured the sleepy Sumiko when her almost brother-in-law finished his tale. Rin and Shippo both winced as they remembered very different meetings between the miko and the taiyoukai.
“Not quite,” Rin replied at last. Sumiko pouted.
“No one ever tells me how they really met and fell in love or anything,” she grumbled.
“Maybe when you’re older,” Shippo said consolingly, “Now go to sleep. You have to be well rested if you’re going to show Inuyasha how to fight.”
Almost by the time he finished speaking, the little western princess was fast asleep. And slowly, one by one, the kitsune, the human woman and the kappa all followed the young princess into the land of dreams, the whispers and rustlings of the night like a lullaby. Only the man remained awake, ever watchful, until a red clad figure with silver hair suddenly appeared in the clearing.
“Feh,” the man said, “get to sleep kid. And no more stories with that wimpy wolf.”
The young demon slayer nodded, a smile appearing on his face and he joined his companions in sleep, leaving only the silver haired man awake, a nostalgic expression on his face as he stared at the girl who looked so much like her mother but for the blue crescent moon that marked her brow.
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Someday I might branch out and go beyond fairy tales but I was working in the library and Helga’s Dowry: A Troll Love Story was returned and I liked the illustration. Yes, I’m old enough to be in a university and I’m still easily distracted by pretty pictures. I’m also distracted by shiny things and book stores. I read the story, which is adorable, and was immediately inspired to apply it to Kagome, who is undoubtedly clever enough to figure out a way to earn her own dowry, and Sesshomaru, the only male in the Inuyasha world I could think of who wouldn’t ever care about what physical riches a potential mate would bring to the table and would instead choose based on the woman’s character, and maybe her own power too but either way not on how much gold she has or how many jewel shards she possesses