Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or

concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:

The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.

Chapter 29: To cut out an infection, sometimes you must be willing to excise healthy flesh.

The three sisters traveled in silence, as Nabiki brooded on what was to come, and Kasumi seemed to have accepted that things could end very badly. Akane looked from one sister to the other, with a helpless expression on her face. She could defeat an entire army of demons on her own, especially if the Demon King was nearby, but this was a situation that she was sadly and horribly ill-equipped to deal with. All of her life, the three sisters had been together, and had watched out for each other. Even when they had to go their separate ways for the training that they had needed, they had made sure that they were as close as possible. That was just how it had always been, and the way that Akane had thought that it would always be. This situation, this silent and unspoken divide was something alien to her, something wrong, but she had no idea how to resolve this. And like so many other things recently, it made her question who she was, and what purpose she served in this world. What was the point of her power, if it could not be used to help those that were closest to her? If it was an active threat to someone that she cared for, far more than she felt comfortable admitting to. Especially if thoughts of HIM started to awaken the power that slumbered just under her skin, where it waited to take her over. To make her into a weapon.

One that could all too easily be turned against the people that she cared about.

Akane shook her head as she forced her attention back to the present. She had to do what she could to protect her sisters. She had to make sure that nothing happened to either of them, especially if they were not going to make sure of that themselves.

Kasumi watched the countryside as they traveled. They had only seen the burned out hulks of houses and homesteads for the last hour or so. It would seem that the local lord had been very thorough in making sure that those that were afflicted with the Dusk would be isolated and cut off from the rest of the citizens in the area. It made her wonder just how much food and shelter they might have, and what the conditions that they were expected to live in were like.

Or, she would guess, that they were expected to die in. Before she had discovered that the power to heal that she had could be forced to work on those that the Goddess did not wish to heal, there had been no treatment for Dusk. It was a certain and painful death, one that could possibly be spread to others.

Perhaps she needed to think about her healing differently, as well. It was not that she forced it to work on them, it might be more accurate to say that the Goddess had not allowed it to work on those that she didn't want it to work on. It honestly made more sense, if she thought about it. The power was hers, she had grown more and more certain of that as she used it more and more often. She could feel where it welled up from now, feel the liquid heat as it flowed through her body and into those that she tended to. She had felt it before, but she had always assumed it was the Goddess's Grace as it flowed through her. The words that she had been taught to speak, the thoughts that she had been instructed to keep in her mind might have served more as a way to distract her from what she had done, instead of allowing it to happen.

It would also explain why not all those that worked in the Church could heal, or act as channels for the Divine. It was not that they had not been pious enough, or been chosen by the Goddess. It could very well be that they had lacked the talent for it, just like how her sisters each had their own talents that they had honed to a fine edge. It made sense, now that she had thought about it.

It also branded her a heretic of the worse sort. A person consumed with avarice, who believed themselves above the Goddess. Who thought that they knew better than the gods.

It was never something she would have believed she would be capable of, but here she was. Kasumi Tendo, high priestess, companion of the Heroine, and heretic.

Nabiki chewed on her lip as she glanced at her sisters then blew out her breath. This whole situation was just ludicrous. Neither of the other two seemed to really grasp just what they had stuck their heads into, or at least they didn't care. Akane was so lost in her head, dealing with the will-she, won't-she of her relationship with the part time man, part time woman that she had fallen for that she wasn't really focusing on what was happening around them. Then there was Kasumi who seemed to be so intent on being a martyr that she was not focused on all the OTHER people she could possibly help if she just kept her head down and played nice for just a bit longer.

The burned farms told her a very particular story. It was obvious that the farthest away ones had been burned first, yes, but she would wager that all of them had been burned in a relatively short period of time. The people had been driven out of their homes and herded towards the village, regardless of whether they were already infected or not. The sort of short-sighted paranoia she had come to expect from the ruling class, and the church. Of course she would never say any of that out loud. It was her job to be the quiet one, the sneaky one. Nabiki never made waves, if she could help it.

And she certainly did not get attached to pushy, violent demons who did not take no for an answer. Certainly not for ones who would maul her, mark her, and treat her as some sort of sexual toy.

Definitely not.

Nabiki gritted her teeth and glared at the road ahead. She most certainly was not lonely. Or wanted to feel that annoying furballs heat against her body again.

She certainly was not feeling aroused at an inappropriate time thinking about that stupid wayward cat.

Nabiki jerked when Kasumi placed the back of her hand against her forehead and made a soft sound. Nabiki looked at her older sister as she was pulled forcefully from her thoughts

"Are you okay, Nabiki? You look a bit flushed, and you seem to be a bit warm. You are not getting sick, are you?" Kasumi said with a gentle, concerned look in her eyes.

Nabiki flushed and looked away so she missed the satisfied smile that flickered across her elder sister's face for a moment. When she looked back, Kasumi once again bore the same placid, gentle look on her face as always.

The three sisters passed over a ridge, and could see the small village at the bottom of the valley. There was a patchwork of sparse fields that surrounded the village, and a couple of cows and other livestock that grazed here and there. It was early evening, so there were not many people to be seen outside. It looked like any other village, as long as you ignored the warning signs that were placed along the road to ward off travelers. The only people that would come here were those that were left with no other options. Those that had been cursed with the Dusk.

The sisters shared a look before they entered the village proper. The inn was shuttered and dark, along with many of the other buildings. Some of them had the doors nailed shut, since their residents would never again cross the thresholds.

The only building that seemed to be in decent repair was the small temple, which had its doors open, and the sound of prayer could be heard from within. The three sisters shared another look and Nabiki split off to scout the area that surrounded the temple, while Kasumi walked in the open doors and Akane stood near the entrance.

Nabiki walked quietly as she scouted the area, her eyes narrowed. She could feel several eyes in her from behind shuttered windows and doors that had been opened just a crack. She figured it only made sense in a village of outcasts and exiles where anyone out of the ordinary would be either a new unwilling resident, or an interloper. Still, none of them seemed overtly hostile. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong here.

It smelled like a trap.

Kasumi walked into the temple with her back straight and chin up. There were times that keeping her head down and her demeanor meek would be appropriate or even the best option, but this was not one of them. These people needed the confidence she projected, needed the assurance that she was in charge and in control. They needed hope.

Her eyes swept the small temple, and she noticed the people at prayer. All of them were in tattered clothing, and bore stained bandages on some part of their body. It was obvious to her trained eye that the bandages and wrappings were meant to conceal more than to help heal. A sign of shame, of hopelessness.

Her eyes met the sunken orbs of the young priest as he stepped forward. He struggled to keep his eyes up, and to look at her face. His robes had been often mended, and his hands were completely wrapped. He bore the symbols of a novice, barely out of being an acolyte, but still had been thrust into leading and tending to these people.

"I'm Hikaru Gosunkugi, and I'm in charge of the temp here… Or, I was, at least… Now that you are here, you will be taking over, right? Not that I want anyone else to be sent here for bearing the curse of the Dusk, but…" Hikaru stammered and rambled out.

Kasumi smiled softly and stepped forward to gently lay her hand on his. When his face jerked up in reaction she smiled at him warmly. "I have not been sent here by the Church to take over the guidance of these souls. I have come here to free you of the Dusk." Kasumi said in a soft, gentle voice.

Gosunkugi jerked again, then looked down at her hands, then up at her face with his pale, drawn features. "You… are from the Inquisition? You… You came to kill us?" He said in a quiet, strained voice.

Kasumi smiled a gentle smile as she looked down at his wrapped hands. "I am not with the Inquisition. How long have you been here?"

He swallowed hard and looked down at her hands on his. "Close to a year. I had just become a priest when the first spot showed up. I was sent here once my condition became known…" He shifted uncomfortably, his gaunt features became even more pale. "The first task I had here… was seeing to the remains of the previous priest." His narrow, thin shoulders slumped more as he spoke in a tired, soft voice. "I've had to bury so many more since that first time…"

"You have shown such strength, such dedication to those that were left in your care." Kasumi said as she gently rubbed his wasted, ravaged hands. "I have come here to free you all from this terrible burden, so that you can once more live the lives that you have been denied." Kasumi said as she let her power flow, a tide of warm, bright light that drove away the shadow of the Dusk from the young priest.

Gosunkugi shook and jerked as the cold, dead feeling in his hands seemed to be burned away by a bright, vibrant heat. It was not a terrible heat, like a fever or a fire. Instead, it felt like a warm, loving embrace from a mother that he had not seen in a long, long time. He knelt on the ground and cried while Kasumi gently unbound his hands, and cast the stained bandages aside. The hands that were revealed were unmarked by disease, whole once again. He looked down at his hands in shock, then up at the softly smiling face of the priestess before him. No, not simply a priestess. A Saint who brought peace and relief, who eased suffering and returned hope.

In that moment he knew in his heart of hearts who he would be thankful to in the future. And he also felt a terrible weight as it settled on his narrow shoulders. He knew the guilt that he felt now would remain with him his entire life. He had to do something, anything. No matter what.

"Holy Priestess…. Saint…. I have wronged you…" Gosunkugi said without being able to look at Kasumi. He paused, then pressed on. "The Inquisition is here… I .. I should have warned you…"

The two words that Kasumi spoke before she moved to help the next patient would be burned into him for the rest of his life.

"I know." Kasumi said before she knelt down to continue the work she had chosen for herself.

On a hill behind the village, tucked away among the trees, a force of the militant arm of the Inquisition waited while Kasumi worked. They kept out of sight, knowing that Nabiki and Akane would be with their target, and not wanting to scare off their prey beforehand. It was always best to let your target prove their guilt, even if you knew that you would be able to extract it yourself easily enough. And with a spellcaster, you always wanted to let them expend their mana before you moved in. It was how they had always worked, the secret hand that moved in the shadows to ensure the order of the world.

"I am looking forward to putting this entire village to the torch. Those that have been shunned by Our Merciful Goddess deserve nothing more than death. They are a stain that needs to be wiped from this world!" One of the younger, more fervent of the Inquisitors spoke up as he lovingly caressed his sword.

"As long as the heretic gives herself over, there will be no need for such a useless display." The forceful voice of the Paladin sounded from the back of the group, as he did not even waste a look at the young hothead.

"The village serves us better as a bargaining chip. As long as they are alive, the heretic will keep to her act, I am sure. They are leverage, and nothing more." An older member of the Order spoke up as he checked over his gear.

"As much as I would love to deal with the so-called Heroine right now, she will not be an issue much longer. The rites are already being performed to bestow the Mantle on another, and after that? She is just a useless country bumpkin that we can deal with at our leisure. Her, and that conniving snake of a middle sister." One of the younger, but established, members said as he knelt down for his prayers.

The Paladin nodded as he rose from where he had performed his own preparations, and had offered himself once more to the Goddess of Light.

"Soon, we will snuff out this flickering flame of heresy, and then Her glorious Light shall continue to guide the faithful ever onward." The Paladin spoke as he finished donning his gear and made himself ready for the confrontation that awaited them. It would proceed as it always did, and another heretic would soon be taken to the Tower to confess to their sins and repent their ways before her head would join the others that had strayed from the Light.''

As She willed it.