Chapter 3: Human Village

Kyoko finally reached a village. She approached the first person she saw. "Does this village have any tailors?"

The peasant woman trembled in fear, she knew that this was no normal woman standing before herself. "Y-yes, th-there is a t-tailor in th-this v-v-village. H-he makes the f-finest k-kimonos in the area."

Kyoko nodded and popped her knuckles, one by one, out of boredom. "Where does he live?"

"J-just down the way there. H-his is the second house on the end there."

"Arigato." Kyoko slowly traipsed through the village, leaning her head back on her arms, crossed together behind her neck. [This certainly is a nice village… Normal too, every single person here is looking at me like I'm going to strike him or her down and bathe in his or her blood… I hate that. Some of them have never seen a yokai in plain daylight, if at all, but they still do not trust me.] Kyoko stopped at the house that the peasant woman had directed her to. She knocked on the wooden door. "Sir? I have come to request a kimono."

An elderly man opened the door smiling, as though he was greeting a dear friend. However, when he realized what Kyoko was, he looked on in fear, as though it was the grim reaper at his door.

"Sir, I would like to purchase a new kimono."

The old man sensed no danger and invited Kyoko into the house. Kyoko looked around, the house was well built inside, and everything about the way the place was made was to remind a person of how wealthy the man had become from making the clothes. "What is it that you are looking for, ma'am? I have a wide variety of kimonos already made, and if you wish, I can make one customized for you."

"May I see the ones you already have?"

"Yes, yes… Ken! Ken, we have a customer, come, bring to me the ladies' kimonos!"

A little boy soon answered the man's call and entered the room with several boxes in his arms. The boy bowed as he handed over the boxes to the old man. The boy then looked up at Kyoko. "Grandfather!"

The little old man smiled and bent over so he could hear what the boy had to say. The boy leaned towards his grandfather's ear. "Grandfather, she is a yokai… She'll kill us."

The old man smiled, understanding the boy's fear. He shook his head and opened the boxes. "What type of kimono are you looking for-"

"Kyoko."

"Well, Kyoko-san, what do you need?"

Kyoko smiled. "I need something that looks elegant, but is not too constricting. It needs to be made from a stronger material, silk is not an option-it tears too easily."

"I see. Any preference in color?"

"Not really. Whatever you happen to have that would fit that description would work quite well."

"Alright…" The old man pushed several of the boxes away and finally pulled two of them. He held out a black kimono that was trimmed in pale blue. The sleeves were unlike any Kyoko had seen before-rather than having a loose fit, they were made to hold closely to the arm, not too constricting on the arm, but enough that there was not much extra cloth hanging about like there had been on the kimonos Kyoko had before. On the trim, there was elegant embroidery that reminded Kyoko of the wildflowers growing in the forests. The bottom part of it was a long skirt that would go all the way down to Kyoko's ankles and had a long cut up the side of it, continuing to the middle of the thigh. Kyoko smiled. "I like this one. How much do want for it?"

"It's not really worth that much. Only a few hundred yen should cover it."

Kyoko nodded and pulled the satchel from her shoulder. "I haven't got any yen, but…" Kyoko withdrew a sparkling gem from a small box within the satchel and handed it to the old man. "I'm sure you could trade this for more than enough money."

The young boy snorted at Kyoko. "You expect to fool Grandpa with a green rock?"

The old man looked at the gem in bewilderment. "A jade of that color… my, my… are you sure that's the payment you wish to use for this rag?"

"Yes. I have no need, and I'm sure that you could easily sell it. I have no need for such a thing."

"If you wish, you could take this entire collection of kimonos."

"No, I have no way of carrying that many. But… if you insist… could you repair this kimono I am wearing?"

"How soon do you wish it done?"

"It matters not. It could be several months before I return to this village. Just keep it held back so that when I return it can be ready."

The old man nodded his head. "You can use that back room to change."

Kyoko nodded. "Arigato." Kyoko took the black kimono and headed into the room the old man had directed her to. She pulled the door shut behind her and set the black kimono onto a bed in the room. She pulled off her dirty, tattered kimono and lay it next to the new one. She slowly pulled it on and adjusted it to herself. She turned around to see herself in a mirror. She smiled. The kimono was perfect for her figure, flaunting every curve her body had to offer. She folded her old kimono and exited them room. She handed the kimono to the old man. "Don't replace the sleeves. All that needs to be done for the sleeves is to have them hemmed where I tore the material away."

"That shall be simple enough. When I am finished, I will put this kimono away for until you return."

Kyoko bowed out of courtesy. "Arigato." Kyoko turned around and exited the house. She smiled as she headed out of the village. She no longer paid mind to the stares she was given as she strutted through the street with a new kimono-a yokai in a human village typically received such attention. She was heading out as a young man stopped her. "Ma'am, I see that you have just purchased a new kimono from that old man and I was wondering where you were planning on sleeping tonight."

Kyoko thought for a moment. "I will most likely find somewhere in the forest to sleep as I usually do."

"Why would you ruin that brand new kimono on the wilderness when you could sleep at our inn?"

{Author's note of sarcasm: Please, could this guy get any more pathetic? It's like he's the feudal version of Billy Mays-the OxyClean guy.}

Kyoko nodded. "I suppose I could."

The man smiled. "Great! I'll show you in!" The young man pulled on Kyoko's arm, prompting her to follow. "My name is Shibata."

Bewildered, Kyoko followed shortly behind him. [He reminds me of Satoru, somehow… It's not just his looks, but also his attitude…]

When they entered the inn, Kyoko was bombarded by the smells of the kitchen and incense left burning in the guestrooms. She felt uneasy; her senses were so overwhelmed with all of the smells that she couldn't smell much of anything else. Shibata led her into a room and was quick to leave her to explore her quarters for the night. Kyoko tossed her satchel onto the bed and lay back on the comfortable material that made the bed; it was much better than the knobby branches of a tree. Kyoko soon grew tired of staring at the ceiling of the room and decided to see what the double doors-opposite the door that led into the room-led to. Kyoko thrust the doors open to reveal a typical Japanese flower garden, nothing unusual for an inn to have outside of its rooms. Kyoko nearly jumped when a knock at the door disturbed the serenity of the evening. Kyoko opened the door to reveal Shibata. "Dinner is about to be served, Kyoko-san."

[When did I tell him my name?] Kyoko nodded as she grabbed her satchel and threw it over her shoulder. She stepped out of the room and followed Shibata to the dining room. She marveled at the sheer beauty of the room; paintings adorned the walls, crimson being the predominate color in most of the décor of the room. She looked through the open doors-much the ones in her room-to see a courtyard. The courtyard was not carpeted with flowers as the one Kyoko had seen before, rather, it was made up of only a few grasses, a walkway, and an old cherry tree in the corner. Kyoko shuddered at the sight of the tree; its blossoms were more of a deep red than any shade of pink, like most cherry blossoms. [Like blood…] Kyoko shook the bad feeling that all of this seemed to give her and waited for her food to be served. Shibata grinned at Kyoko in such a way that she was startled. Kyoko looked around the room. "Am I the only guest dining tonight?"

The young man's grin twisted into a devilish smile. "Oh yes, I forgot to ask you if you minded dining with our other guests-you see, we only have two others tonight-but since you are yokai, I thought I should inquire."

"I can't see why I would have any problems, dining with the other guests."

Shibata nodded. "I'll call them in." He left the room, but soon returned with a man and a boy. Chills ran down Kyoko's spine as she saw the two. She hardly heard Shibata leave the room. [They… they are taijiya! Those people make a living killing yokai!] Kyoko chuckled nervously. "Shibata did not manage to tell me… the ~ nature ~ of your profession."

The taijiya snorted. "He also forgot to mention that we would dine with a yokai."

Kyoko shuddered at the mere malice in the taijiya's tone. She bowed lightly before him. "Taijiya-san, I assure you that I mean neither of you any harm. I was raised by humans; my name is Kyoko."

The taijiya nodded and studied Kyoko for a few moments. "You seem to be the same age as my daughter. How old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"Oh. My daughter is only seventeen."

Shibata broke the conversation as he entered the room, followed by two young women, carrying the guests' dinner plates, piled high with food. They left the room, only to again return with three goblets of water. As soon as they served the drinks, they left the room, but Shibata remained.

Kyoko cautiously picked up her chopsticks and began eating the food set before her. She felt tense, Shibata was in the corner of the room, never lifting his gaze from her, and the taijiya seemed as nervous as she-they were, quite technically, enemies. Kyoko decided to ease her nerves by taking a drink of the tea in the cup that had been set before her. No sooner than she had taken a few drinks from the cup, her vision blurred slightly and her entire body felt numb. She dropped the cup and fell forward, but quickly caught herself, using her arm to support herself. "Taijiya-san, perhaps the food is too much for the boy. I need a moment of private conversation with you, anyhow."

The taijiya nodded, sensing that something was amiss. "Shibata-san, would you escort my boy to our room?"

Shibata gritted his teeth as he left his perch in the corner of the room to escort the boy to his quarters.

As soon as the taijiya was sure that both were out of hearing range, he leaned toward Kyoko. "What seems to be wrong?"

"There's something wrong with the tea, don't drink it. After I took a drink, my vision blurred, and now my entire body feels numb." Kyoko tried to push herself to stand but fell backwards as soon as she did so. "There's something wrong in this place. I find it to be no coincidence that neither of us was informed that the other would just happen to be our own mortal enemy. Go quickly, and assure your son's safety. I feel that we have been drawn into a trap."

The taijiya nodded. [She seems to care for my safety just as much as for her own… Just like my daughter…] "When I return to my village, I shall remember to tell my neighbors that you are to be welcomed, should you ever come there."

Kyoko smiled. "And what village is this?"

The taijiya stepped toward the door, no longer looking at Kyoko. "We are a hidden village. We have a fort in the mountains south of here. If fate should be kind, I would like to introduce you to my daughter, so that she can understand that yokai such as yourself do exist. She-like the rest of the village-seems to have forgotten that it is possible for humans and yokai to live in harmony in some circumstances. It is a true pity that there are so few yokai like yourself in this world." With those words, the taijiya left the room.

Kyoko wasted no time concentrating all of her energy into standing and walking out of the inn through the doors that led to the courtyard. She shut the doors behind herself as she headed towards the short wooden fence that separated the courtyard from the rest of the world. She cried out in pain as she felt something dig into her right shoulder. She turned around to see that Shibata had followed her out of the dining room. He now held a sword over his shoulder. His face was once again twisted into the devilish smile that had frightened Kyoko once before. "You can't run. Hell, you won't even be able to smell your own blood when I slice you open." Shibata's smiled widened as he held the sword closer to his face. He licked the broad side of the sword, like a man crazed. "Now, sit and stay like a good little doggie while I cut you open."

Kyoko frantically tried to will her legs to move, but, instead, all she managed to do was to trip and fall. [Damn! I can't move quickly enough… He seems to have planned this all along. First he brought me into the inn, where my nose was rendered useless by all of the scents and then he drugged me with the tea, somehow…]

Shibata whistled. "Didn't I tell you to stay? You've been a bad little doggie, you have…"

Kyoko's eyes narrowed in fear as she frantically tried to pull herself away with her arms. [This man is a maniac!]

Shibata skipped playfully towards Kyoko. "Come now, you haven't given up yet? You can't really think you can get away, do you?" He brought the sword down to her face. He pushed the tip into the skin on her forehead, just enough to open the flesh, causing the crimson blood to run down the middle of Kyoko's face, just past her nose.

[I can't even smell that!]

He pulled the tip of the blade out of her flesh and gently ran it over her cheeks, past her jaw and over her neck. He laughed when Kyoko shuddered in fear. "You know, you're kinda pretty like this. You know what I really like? I like it when I see a girl all scared like this. It makes me want to drink in her life-blood. Perhaps, I should spare your life and keep you for myself. All I'd have to do is cut you up just enough that you wouldn't be able to get away." He pulled the sword away from her neck and rested it between the folds of her kimono, carefully opening the kimono, revealing her flesh to himself. "Let's see… we'll start… right… here!" He stabbed the sword through her abdomen.

Kyoko let out a howl of pain. She screamed out a name, but she could not recall what she had said-her entire mind was consumed with fear and pain.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you all at once, Kyoko-san." He ran the tip of his sword lightly over her skin yet again, selecting the next place for his blade to taste her skin.

Tears ran down Kyoko's cheeks. [Someone… please…]

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{Author's note-Don't worry, I know that Sesshoumaru was nowhere in this chapter, but he IS coming, but I don't want to ruin anything, so you'll just have to wait to see the next chapter.}