InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Robotic Beauty ❯ The Princess's Curse ( Chapter 1 )

Robotic Beauty

A/N: Well, I've got this story posted on ff.net and I decided to post it here too! Hope you guys enjoy! It's a Sleeping Beauty parody with a Chobits twist. Interested? (Well, maybe not, but just read it anyway!)

Ch. 1

The Princess's Curse

"You failed to invite me to what could be the most important celebration of the century"

King Higurashi groaned mournfully.

"But where are my manners? I shall also give something to the dear child…

A curse."

His hair seemed to have grown gray over the space of one night. Dark bags encircled his eyes while lines of worry creased his forehead. Wearily, he covered his face with his large hands. He felt someone put a hand on his shoulder, and he lifted his head from his hands to see his wife. The expression on her face mirrored his. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it turned out to be a grimace instead.

King Higurashi shook his head slowly, communicating to her without words.

Queen Higurashi let a small trickle of tears leak out of her already bloodshot eyes as she slipped her small, delicate hand in his large one.

~ On the day the girl turns sixteen, she will touch the tip of an arrow and fall into the endless eternity of death. Treasure her while you can. Sixteen years will go by faster than you think. ~

"Sixteen years will go by faster than you think," He murmured, recalling the evil wizard's words. Slowly his hand closed around his wife's. "Sixteen years will go by faster than you think…"

^_~

They say that he was a miracle worker. His creations were flawlessly smooth and perfect. The other blacksmiths could only look, long, and envy at the his skill. Their works were crude and unrefined, full of uneven edges and dents made from clumsy errors. But he did not make such mistakes. He put all of his heart and skill into his projects, loving the surface and even interior to perfection.

Still, even with all his dedication and love for his creations, one could only wonder how he did what he did. The flawlessness seemed almost done by magic. Tools in those days, after all, were still the process of development. If one would ask how he achieved such greatness, he would only give a mysterious smile and turn away, never speaking his secret, never uttering a word.

His skills increased year by year until he could create a robot, one that would actually be able to walk, talk, and feel, the interior so complex it was a wonder he could understand it himself. Intricate weaves of wire and metal made up the interior. He called the robots Androids. His knowledge had to be magical! the people reasoned. What else could it be? With that in mind, they stayed away from him, fearing his magical power, should one day someone upset him.

And so the name of Kazaana, Mushin, the great blacksmith, reached the palace of King Higurashi.

Fifteen years had passed since the evil wizard named Naraku had placed the curse on the Higurashi princess, fifteen years of searching out every set of bow and arrows in the kingdom and setting them aflame. The king's very nerves were on end. Only one more year was left until the supposed death of his darling daughter, Kikyou.

But then he had heard about Mushin.

They said he was a miracle worker, able to make robots that could actually be able to walk, talk, and feel.

Afraid to believe such a thing was possible, he traveled outside his palace walls to see this Mushin character himself.

^_~

Someone was rapping loudly on the door of his hut. Grumbling, Mushin raised his head from his latest project. It was a young girl named Kagome. His son had brought her home one day. She had begged and he had agreed to transform her into one of his famous Androids.

"Miroku!" Mushin yelled, "Go get the door!"

"Yes, Father," Miroku sighed. After years of begging, he had finally become apprentice to his father and now was trying his hand at the life of a blacksmith, but how was he expected to do anything at all if his father kept on pushing chores onto him? With another dramatic sigh, he stood up and walked the length of the house to the door.

He turned the knob his father had craftily made and to his surprise, he saw a fancily garbed man in front of him. Behind him - he did a double take - was the king, holding himself up regally above a beautiful white horse.

"You, boy," the king spoke, "I need to speak with Mushin the blacksmith."

Miroku stared wide-eyed, "Y-yes, sir, your Majesty, sir, this way," he stuttered. Abruptly, he turned around, almost tripping over his own feet, and yelled to the house, "Father!"

After a moment…

"What is it, boy?" A peeved voice grumbled back.

"Th-the king is here to see you," King Higurashi heard.

"The king, you say? You had better not be joking, boy."

"No, Father, he's really here!"

Another moment…

"Alright, alright."

The voice grew louder, indicating his approach. A bald, plump man came into view. He wore clothing slightly richer than ones the average peasant wore, and over it, he had on a black apron along with leather gloves over his hands. The man's lips were pulled into a permanent frown and a white mustache topped his upper lip. His cheeks were red and he held a small mallet in his right hand, still glowing from the heat of the blacksmith's anvil.

His bushy eyebrows arched in surprise as he surveyed his visitor. Apparently, he thought his son was joking.

"Are you Kazaana, Mushin?" King Higurashi asked with a superior voice.

"Who wants to know?" Mushin asked suspiciously.

"King Higurashi of Higurashi Palace." The king replied evenly.

This time, the old man's eyebrows shot up and he dropped to his knees respectfully, "Please forgive me, your Majesty, kids these days, you never know what schemes they think of…"

"Yes, and I'm sure all peasant kids are just as royally garbed as I."

Mushin kept silent.

"I have come here to ask of a favor. You must have heard of my daughter Kikyou, whom has been cursed since birth, fated to touch the tip of an arrow and fall to the clutches of Death himself. I need you to build me an Android and let her take the place of my beloved child. Teach her to act like my daughter and shape her into the woman my daughter is. There is but a year left. I ask you to grant me this one boon, and forever shall I be in your debt," he solemnly swore.

"Humph, do I have a choice?" Mushin grumbled inaudibly.

Miroku quietly made his way to the Android-in-making. He sat down the now vacated stool and stared at her face. There was nothing. Absolutely no emotion could be seen on her face. Her fine eyelashes kissed her skin in sleep. Nervously, he covered her torso with a blanket. He could see the gap in her stomach, where his father had been working on, and it unnerved him. Colored wires and strange disks and plates filled the interior. He just couldn't understand how his father could do this! Such elaborate designs and complex functions! How in hell's name had he been able to turn a human into a robot? It was absurd and unheard of! It was absolute ludicrous! But he had achieved the unachievable. He had done the impossible.

Suddenly, the girl before him blinked her lashes open, startling him out of his wits.

His heart pounded heavily in his chest, and after a few moments, he gathered his scattered wits. "What are you doing awake?" He managed to get out.

She said nothing. He was dismayed to see the nothingness her eyes held. No fire, no emotion, not a bit different from how her face had looked moments ago. The orbs had even changed color. They had turned from a beautiful stormy blue to an impassive midnight black. Though light still reflected from the blacked orbs, they held absolutely none of the passion they had once possessed. The vivacious fire of her eyes had been the very thing that moved him to take her home in the first place. The sudden change was perturbing.

Slowly, the girl's lids slid shut and she moved no more.

Miroku sighed. He certainly didn't like this new version of the lively Kagome he used to know. Before his father had finally decided in turning Kagome into an Android, they had spent two years getting to know each other better. When they had first met, Kagome had been only fourteen years old. Miroku groaned, he felt another one of those flashbacks coming on…

<Flashback>

He was strolling along down the beaten path when he heard the noise. It was a woman. Definitely a woman. He could pick up the sweet, melodious tones of a woman's voice from the midst of even a hundred voices of contrasting masculinity. No doubt, this was a woman.

But what disturbed him most was that the voice was not a happy one. Orienting on it, he discovered it coming from behind the leafy bushes to the side of the road.

Creeping ever so carefully, he parted the foliage to reveal a beautiful young woman who couldn't be beyond the age of fourteen. The girl was kneeling in a patch of dead leaves, uncaring of the dirt that specked her plain green kimono. Her hands were fisted against her chest and tears streamed down her face from dazzling blue eyes, as sobs wracked her body.

His heart went out to the poor woman. He knew not what troubles drove her to her tears, but he knew just the thing to cheer her up. He would walk up to the fair maiden and with his suave words and looks, he would cajole her out of her tears. It was the perfect plan. He could already imagine the encounter…

"Why, beautiful lass, must you cry so? For surely even Fate would not dare to place such sorrow upon your shoulders. Come now, dry those tears from your lovely face and tell me what a comely young maiden like yourself is doing in the middle of a forest weeping?" He would say.

"Oh, Miroku, now that you have come, I am no longer sad. You are the bright rays of my sunshine and as long as you are here, I will never be woeful again!" She would exclaim dramatically. "Will you allow me the honor of bearing your first born child?"

"Why, dear girl!" He would chuckle. "I would never deny you such a request! Of course you may bear my first born child! I would love nothing better!" He would reply.

…And she would proclaim her undying love to him as they made love in the middle of the forest surrounded by the luscious flowers of blooming passion…

But what he did NOT expect was for the young girl to pull out a dagger from within the folds of her voluminous sleeves and hold it high over her heart, tears continuing to soak her tear-stained cheeks. He let out a choked gasp and before he knew what was happening, he had shot out of the bush and knocked the rusty knife away from the girl.

Immediately, she crumpled to the floor, droplets from her face tumbling to the dead leaves on the ground.

Her head shot up as soon as she realized she was still alive and her burning eyes blazed into his. "What are you doing?! Why did you stop me?!" She screeched.

He gaped, his flowery words deserting him, "I just saved your life and you're yelling at me?"

"I was trying to kill myself! You have no business in interfering!"

He stared openly, at a loss for words, "But… but… why?" He crawled to her side and sat next to her.

She averted her face, "Why should I tell you?"

"Aw, come on," he coaxed, "Tell Miroku what's the matter." He smiled and slipped his arm around her waist, momentarily forgetting he was holding a suicidal girl. His fingers stoked her hip absently. Her hand instantly came out and smacked him, hard, across the cheek, leaving a red mark and possibly a bruise for the morning. She used the distraction and quickly wiped the remaining tearstains from her face before scooting away.

"It's none of your business."

He sighed and held up his hands, "I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I just don't like to see girls cry. Won't you please tell me what's the matter? Maybe we can be friends."

She sighed and after hesitating for two lengthy moments, gave in, "My family left me because I chose a demon boyfriend, and my demon boyfriend left me for the next demon whore he saw, okay? Now will you please leave me alone so I can kill myself in peace?"

He patted her hand sympathetically, ignoring her last statement. "Look, even though things may look bad, you must always keep your head up high. No matter what the situation, there will always be people to help you. You just need to find it in yourself to move on and learn how to be happy once more." He mentally beamed at himself and gave himself a (mental) pat on the back. He had actually said something that made sense!

The girl looked up at him, "Thanks," she murmured.

"No problem. Just let me help you, okay?" He stood up and dusted his robes before holding out a hand to her. Tentatively, she took it.

"By the way, what's your name?" He asked.

After no more than a fraction of a moment's hesitation, she replied, "Kagome."

<End Flashback>

Miroku had made immediate friends with her and over the months, he grew closer to her and felt like she was the little sister he never had. Her return feelings were mutual. She even called herself Kagome Kazaana. She was a spirited and passionate girl. She soon let go of her heartache to Miroku's indirect persuading and he rediscovered the bright side of her that she had thought she would never see again.

But then, after nearly two years, she had fallen in love once again to a human boy from the village, and once again, had her heart completely and utterly torn from her chest and stomped upon contemptuously. Her eyes had dulled, her movements less lively. She could no longer take life's cruelty and had begged his father to turn her into an Android.

Miroku had protested, but she merely said that, as a human being, she was no use to anyone, a burden. But as an Android, she could at least help people out instead and lift the weight from others' shoulders. Her mourning would help no one, and especially not herself.

So he had agreed, but he had not known that turning her into an Android would wipe her emotions away completely! If he had known that, he would have never let her undergo such a transformation-!

His thoughts broke off as his father reentered the room.

"What did he want?"

Mushin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hesitant to answer, "He wanted an Android to take the place of his daughter when the curse happens..." He trailed off.

"Oh," Miroku answered, not looking up from his 'little sister'.

"…And I promised him Kagome." He finished.

Miroku's head snapped up so fast, it was a wonder it didn't come off his neck completely.

"You what?" He asked in a soft, dangerous voice.

"Son, I cannot make an Android in less than a year!" He protested in defense of the storm he knew would come. "Much less teach her the ways of the Princess! In no more than eleven months, the time of the Curse will come to pass. We, as loyal subjects to the king, must do everything in out power to help His Royal Highness and His kin! Wasn't it Kagome's last wish to do some good to the world? Wasn't it to help others when she couldn't help herself?" Mushin demanded heatedly.

Miroku couldn't argue to that.

"In five months, I will be finished. After that, you can help her get to know herself better and teach her how to act like Princess Kikyou."

"What? You mean snobby and cold?"

"Miroku…" Mushin warned.

Miroku gave his father a bone-chillingly cold stare. He walked past him and out the door, slamming it loudly after himself.

Mushin sighed and rubbed his temples. It was going to be a looooong eleven months.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Okie, dokies then. What d'ja think of that? Good or bad? R&R!