Hello again. Tired of reading this yet? Well, please don't be. I'm thinking about making a sequel... but it's up to you readers if you want one or not. I don't know so please tell me if a sequel is what you crave for then I will do... After I'm done of course.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.
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Nighttime came and we all returned to the study of his majesty, the jackass Sesshoumaru. This time, we were to listen to Crimson Blade's story...
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My real name is Megumi, no last name. I, too, am an orphan, found upon the steps of a church in another country that I will not name. The only clue to my birth was a pendant. No matter what it was, I treasured it...
One of the nuns there gave me my name and the Father there was a kind old man who loved to paint. Sister Angela was the name of the nun and she loved music. Her parents were music lovers too, but when she was ten, her parents died in an accident and Father Joseph agreed to take her in because she had no other family. After that, she vowed to never forget their love of music.
She would always make me sing with her and I grew to love music. She taught me how to make a reed flute, and my very first one that was a success was bigger than the actual size, but I was proud of it.
Father Joseph painted a picture of Sister Angela and myself and I kept it in my pendant. Life was very peaceful for the three of us and the other children. Sister Angela told me many tales of great heroes who went to do many good things for kings and the people and were awarded great things for their achievements... but she never told me about the horrors of what evil men could do to the good people.
It happened one night, we weren't prepared, nor did we know. I was asleep, as was the other children. Suddenly, Sister Angela awoke each one of us and rushed us out the back door. I knew nothing of what was happening, but I overheard the other Sisters whisper amongst each other that the king of that country had been slaughtering all people who went against his regulations and believed that all the churches were against him.
We ran to the forest behind the church and I remembered my flute that I cherished above all else besides my pendant. I had left it behind and I rushed back to get it. The church was on fire and armored men with scary weapons were piled all around, searching for any survivors to slay. I slipped by all of them and ran inside.
Fire was everywhere, on the walls, the tapestries, the floor... I evaded all and made it to my room, grabbed my flute and ran like hell out of there. So busy was I that I didn't notice a door fall off its hinges and fall on me. Fortunately enough, it did not burn me that bad at all, but it did leave a bad mark on my leg. I wiggled out from the intense flames, ran out of the burning church and into the forest without getting caught.
I then realized that I was lost until Sister Angela found me and scolded me about being reckless. Still, she was happy that I was alive and well, even though I was burned a little. We frantically made our way to where the others were supposedly at, but we had to hide because there were soldier walking by past us. When they left, we rushed to where all my friends, the Sisters and Father Joseph were, but what we saw were dead corpses. The soldiers had killed them all and even mutilated the bodies. I couldn't tell who was who and I threw up. Sister Angela prayed for them and then we ran.
I don't know how long or where we ran, we just ran. We ran until the night was gone and day broke over the horizon. We made it to the road and Sister Angela tried to keep us in high spirits by making us sing and telling me stories. She knew where we were and told me of a town nearby that she had visited when she was younger. In case we would get lost, she told me that we should meet there in the town square. We headed towards there and even hitched a ride with a nice stranger who was on his way there, but we were in for a shock.
Soon, the man grabbed Sister Angela and threw her to the ground. He started raping her in front of me and she screamed and tried to get him off her, but he was too strong, even for me. I tried to get him to leave her alone, but he knocked me aside. I grabbed a large branch and hit him over the head with it. He got angry and was going to kill me, but Sister Angela grabbed him and he focused his anger on her. She told me to untie the horse and ride away without looking back. I did as she said as she held him back.
I didn't look back, I couldn't. I was too scared to want to know what was behind me. The horse ran on and on until we reached a pond. I let the horse rest a while as I did and when the sun fell, we continued on. We rode on till I reached a town that as by the sea. It was the town that Sister Angela had told me of. I tied the horse to a tree and went inside to the town square.
I waited and waited for Sister Angela to arrive, but she never came. For three days I waited, eating nothing and not sleeping, but staying alert for any sign of Sister Angela, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally, I fell asleep in an alley and woke up to a man poking me in the shoulder to wake up. I didn't know that fate had sent him to become my master.
He owned a circus and I was very much amazed at everything that they could do there. For the next couple of months he had me help out in setting up the places and getting everyone's props ready for them when it was showtime. I began to get attached to one of the performers. Her name was Madame Sora. She was very popular on the flying trapeze and I just adored her because she was very kind to me as was everyone else, but she was so beautiful. She became my role model.
Then as the nights went on, I started to notice that sometimes the performers would sneak out at night and come back late the next morning or maybe even a few days later. So one night, I followed Sora as she sneaked out one night after we had moved away from the city after doing a performance. I followed her to a mansion and an old guy let her into the house. Being how old I was, which was about seven or eight, I didn't realize that she was there to seduce the guy and saw them making out on his couch. Suddenly, she pulled a dagger out and killed him in one stab. No blood on her, no mess. It was a clean hit and she walked out as if nothing had happened.
She came out and spotted me, I asked her about what had happened and she told me that she would explain after we got back home to the circus. She then went to talk to the boss after we got back and we talked. They were a circus group by day and by night they were assassins.
They had originally planned out that when I reached the age of a young woman, they would send me off to work at another place or I would eventually find a man and settle down. They weren't expecting that I would find out about their other job, but I did and they didn't know what to do with me. I then suggested that I would become an assassin like them and so, they taught me and I became the flaming sword juggler/thrower.
At the age of thirteen, they sent me off to begin my first day of being an assassin. My first kill was okay, but that was the first time I ever killed a man who I didn't know and I threw up and went crazy. Sora and the others who came to get me brought me back and calmed me down. They told me that their first time wasn't easy for them either and so gave me some advice on what to do when doing assassinations. They told me to think about other things when assassinating or do something that would keep my mind off of the blood.
So I took their advice and my next assassination was in assassinating some general guy and he had a lot of people so I started singing to myself and started to sway with the movement of the sword, as if I was dancing. I killed the general and his troop that protected him. Those that survived and saw me spread the word that there was a dangerous psycho that wields two blades on the loose and Crimson Blade was born.
I became one of the three most feared assassins, most wanted and sought out in the world.
Then, we joined the rebel group who wanted the king kicked out and they wanted to claim the throne for the people. The leader of the rebels was the bastard son of the king. So, they made me go in as a maid to get close to the king. I went in and got close to the princess and she made me her personal maid. I couldn't get any closer to the king because he had guards everywhere around him.
Then I met a man who was the king's nephew, a knight, the princess' first cousin and lover. He was suspicious of me from the first day he met me. I didn't care about him much... but he got to me. I tried to ignore it and told myself that I felt nothing towards him, but I... I couldn't admit it, but I was falling for this guy.
I used the princess to get some information for my people and never considered much about her except that she was a pawn, but... One day, she said to me that I was her only real friend that she had ever had and trusted me more than herself. It... It made me feel guilty.
Then my people decided to finally attack and kill the king on the day of a festival. They were to attack and be a decoy while the family got away and I would run away with them being that I was the princess' personal maid and all. When they got away, then I would kill them. So it happened. They attacked and the family got away with several many bodyguards and with me along. I was supposed to kill them all... but I didn't kill them. I argued with myself that I had a duty to fulfill, but I had a friend to protect, so I couldn't' make up my mind... but I had no choice in what would transpire in a few days.
Apparently, I wasn't told of a Plan B. What would happen was that the bastard prince would bring some people, seek us out and kill the royal family. They came in a couple days and killed off all of the royal family, even the princess. The knight got mortally injured, but as the princess was dying, she wished us the best and wanted us to escape.
The bastard prince took no notice of me, but he had intended to have me be killed, but first, he would kill his own father. He cornered his father and told him that he would kill him off and take the throne. He had no intention of making the kingdom become a democracy.
Well, the king seemed to be at a loss, but his personal bodyguards suddenly became bloodthirsty and dangerous. They were almost possessed when they killed the bastard son and all his people.
I took the knight's hand and ran. We ran and ran until we could no longer run and I hid us in a cave. I then took care of the knight because he was losing a lot of blood and I used all that I knew to save his life. That night, he became delirious from a fever and thought that I was the princess. I almost pretended that I was his princess and almost allowed myself to... Well, I stopped before I got any farther and told him that I wasn't his princess or comfort to hide his sadness. He snapped out of the fever and regained his senses. He apologized and fell asleep.
He got better the next day and we traveled on until we hit a fork in the road. I told him to go back to the castle and I had to go my own way. He wanted to accompany me so because being a man and a knight, it was his duty to protect women, but I refused and forced him to go. He finally left, thanking me before he was gone and I went my own way back home to the main base.
I returned and everyone was happy to see me, but they weren't happy when I told them of what happened to me. Finally, they unraveled the tale of the mad bastard prince. They found his loyal followers try to kill the leader, my boss, and they found the truth behind his lies. After killing the royal family, he had meant to take over the throne for himself and kill all who allied themselves with us to free our kingdom. Also, he had promised to bring me back to my group unharmed and safe. Unfortunately, he had other things in mind and planned for my death, but it did not happen.
Just then we found out that the king, although heirless and womanless (even though he could take any woman he wanted) had wanted immortality and power. We received information from our spies that he was looking for the phoenix, a divine creature of great fiery power that was able to return the dead back to life and give wishes. He sent many men out to scour the kingdom for any information about the phoenix. So it was our best judgment that we find the phoenix before he did or kill him before then.
From our spies and scholars (yes, we even had scholars) we found out that the phoenix would appear in three forms. One was its power in the form of something deadly, but powerful and its mind in the form of something memorable. The third form was unknown. Apparently, there was a kingdom nearby that used to worship this phoenix and the phoenix bestowed upon them a treasure that was protected by each of the line to the throne. The king though, had destroyed this peaceful kingdom a long time ago so nothing was left behind... or so many thought.
The king found a survivor of this kingdom, an old man who was a personal guard of the royal family. His final duty to the royal family was to hide their daughter somewhere and let her live on to protect the treasure. He brought her to a church and she was raised there, but the king had ordered the churches to be destroyed a while back so she could have died. Well, they killed the man who spat his blood upon their shoes and wished for the princess to return to exact revenge upon her family's killers before he died.
From everything the old man owned, they found a picture of this thing, the treasure. It was a necklace-no a locket where memories could be stored that looked exactly like mine...
Was I the princess? Yes... the king remembered that I held the locket around my neck every time he saw me and even commented on it. His lust for the treasure drove him to throw his favorite nephew into jail and be tortured into giving information on my location even though he did not know. I, along with several of my friends, broke in and helped him escape with us back to the main base.
There was little time to rejoice. I took care of the knight, but his uncle attacked with full force at our base. He had some people tail us back to base to kill the rebels and capture me. Many of my friends including Madame Sora and comrades-at-arms died but the rest, including my boss, the knight and myself, escaped.
We escaped without being followed to another base. From there we regrouped and waited till we got stronger because that took out a chunk of the rebel army. The knight got better and we got closer, but I refused to love a man who saw me as comfort to forget his lost loved one. It hurt, but when it was time for the final battle, I put it all behind me and told him everything because I might not return. He, in turn, revealed everything to me. He did not hate me. He did not love me as a replacement. He simply just fell in love with me in time. Yes, he did love me and I was happy, even for a second, I was happy.
We, the rebels, stormed the castle and made our way to the king. His Blood Knights guarded him well. We were no match for them all and they cornered us all. Their lives were in danger and threatened if I did not give them the treasure. So, I went forward and gave it to them in return for my companions' safety. They dared not to hurt me, because as it turns out, I was important in summoning the phoenix because I was its priestess.
They forced me to summon the phoenix, but though I tried, the phoenix refused to acknowledge my desperation. Believing that I was a fraud, the king sent his people to kill my comrades and me, but... the phoenix finally appeared and incinerated the king and all his blood knights. The kingdom was saved, my friends were safe and I was glad.
The phoenix asked for my wish and I could only wish for the restoration of the kingdom, but this time it would be for the people. It granted my wish and disappeared, but my locket remained. After that, the knight and I went far away and went to live by the sea. I buried my swords as he locked his away. We lived happily for two years, but one day while returning from the village near our house, I came home to noone. He was not there. He left me a message that told me that he had to leave and would return and for me not to follow.
I didn't listen to him and took out my swords. I decided to follow and went back to the capital to ask my former boss if he knew where the knight had gone. What I returned to was a dark kingdom that was once again ruled by some royal bastards of the previous king with the help of someone unknown, but evil. The place was desolate and the people were afraid of even their own shadows besides the soldiers.
I found my old group. They knew nothing of him, but it may have been possible that he was taken into the castle so I left for there, but security was tight so I was held up. The guards stopped me and I fought most of them, but they kept coming so I was basically losing. Then, Lord Taka's people came to my rescue, but they made a deal with me. If I agreed to help them, I would live after that battle, but if I did not help them, they would leave me to die by the guards' hands.
So I took up their offer and we retreated after a while and so... here I am...
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Megumi looked at us all with tired eyes and a sore throat.
"Do not worry Megumi. We will help you find him," said uncle.
'...Even though our people will not return home... We will help you return home... with your husband...'
"Megumi's story is a sad one. She must have had to endure much," said Sango.
Uncle had taken us aside to talk. "Us" consisted of myself, Sango and oddly enough, Miroku.
Miroku's hand went to his chin, "Ah yes. She has had much sadness enter her life. Maybe I should go comfort her?"
"Hiraikotsu!!!"
Wham! Thump!
In the next second or so, Miroku was Spam on the wall due to Sango's boomerang.
"Hentai!" she scoffed.
"S-Sango? Maybe you should sit down for a bit..." I said.
She sheathed her boomerang and shrugged at me.
"Ahem. Yes, Megumi and Rune have lead a harsh life so far, but as Crimson Moon And Blade, they cannot show any weakness," said uncle.
"Uncle, why do they tell us their stories? Why do you make them tell us? These stories are... are making them feel the heartache from before... Why?" I asked him.
"Kagome, I didn't make them tell you their stories. They asked me if they could tell their stories to us," he explained to me, "so the sadness that comes with these stories are on their own terms. They wanted you to know, to feel the pain they feel. The life of a Crimson Lotus is not very easy."
"I know that... but what does this have to do with me?... or exactly, what does it have to do with the war?"
"Hai. Master, I would like to know too. What makes these stories relevant to our cause?" spoke Sango.
"As do I Master Taka," said the perverted priest who had just pried himself from the wall.
Uncle sighed, "As for Crimson Moon, her story somehow connects with the dragon lad and for Crimson Blade, her story connects with the heirs to the throne in her country. Why are all these people appearing right now? What is their part in the war? One mystery leads to another, but they are all connected to one single person and that person is, somehow, the young Prince Naraku."
"Naraku?" all three of us replied in unison.
"Yes, him... I don't know how or why, but that is what we are trying to find out. From what we've uncovered so far, the Dragon Man is employed and faithful to Naraku, but he is the last remaining of the Dragon Clan, one of the most feared and powerful clans in the world. The twins, the brother and sister heirs to Megumi's country have come to claim the throne.
Most likely, they are bastard children by some low class mistress of the king. His bastard son killed many of who were related to the throne, but these two managed to escape death. Being born into lower class, their mother would have spoken to their father's lineage to them, but seeing as to how many enemies the father had, she would have held her tongue. So... Who gave them the idea that they were royalty and helped them return a democracy back into a monarchy?"
'I don't know...'
"So... all arrows point to Naraku then?" said Sango.
"Yes," replied uncle.
"Even... Even the death of my fellow villagers that led us to flee and find another home until you took us in?" said she.
He nodded.
Miroku's beads clanked together as he raised his hand to look at it.
"It was because of that prince that my right hand is cursed with the Kazaana, as was my father who was killed by this..." spoke the priest.
"I have no real quarrel against this man Naraku, but he is evil and I must get rid of evil because it is my duty as a miko to destroy evil... and my duty as a Lost Soul to return my people back to where they belong," said I, finally.
"Naraku has lead this world on far enough with his lies and deceit. He is cunning and sly and must be defeated or his evil will harm others who are still untouched," uncle announced.
"We will defeat him uncle... We will..." I whispered.
I heard a squeak beneath me. A black rat skittered between my feet and into a hole.
'Hmm... Odd... It's eyes looked like it was glowing red...'
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He stood before the mirror with a smile plastered on his face.
"Defeat me?... What can an old man, a demon exterminator and a perverted priest do to me? I am untouched by humans..." stated Naraku.
He raised his hand up to caress the image of Kagome.
"This girl... Kagome... Don't worry... I will come for you soon enough my sweet... Soon..." he said and kissed Kagome's form in the mirror.
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"Gah!"
Sango's head whipped right at me, "What Kagome? Is something wrong?"
I wiped my cheek.
"It... It felt like... don't laugh at me Sango.... but it felt like someone kissed me..."
"Probably your future husband," She teased me and laughed.
I laughed with her, but my comfort level was decreasing rapidly. Something was wrong here.
'If that was a kiss...it felt cold...'
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You will find out later why Naraku's a crazed sex addict who wants Kagome only and what the deal is with Kikyou. Anyways, this is it for now, I will update ASAP... probably next weekend. Homework and work have got me going over the edge already... (@,@); Also, my sister is selling Happenings books (only for Minnesota, sorry) so if you're interested in buying one (they're $25 btw), feel free to email me and we'll work something out.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and company.
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Nighttime came and we all returned to the study of his majesty, the jackass Sesshoumaru. This time, we were to listen to Crimson Blade's story...
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My real name is Megumi, no last name. I, too, am an orphan, found upon the steps of a church in another country that I will not name. The only clue to my birth was a pendant. No matter what it was, I treasured it...
One of the nuns there gave me my name and the Father there was a kind old man who loved to paint. Sister Angela was the name of the nun and she loved music. Her parents were music lovers too, but when she was ten, her parents died in an accident and Father Joseph agreed to take her in because she had no other family. After that, she vowed to never forget their love of music.
She would always make me sing with her and I grew to love music. She taught me how to make a reed flute, and my very first one that was a success was bigger than the actual size, but I was proud of it.
Father Joseph painted a picture of Sister Angela and myself and I kept it in my pendant. Life was very peaceful for the three of us and the other children. Sister Angela told me many tales of great heroes who went to do many good things for kings and the people and were awarded great things for their achievements... but she never told me about the horrors of what evil men could do to the good people.
It happened one night, we weren't prepared, nor did we know. I was asleep, as was the other children. Suddenly, Sister Angela awoke each one of us and rushed us out the back door. I knew nothing of what was happening, but I overheard the other Sisters whisper amongst each other that the king of that country had been slaughtering all people who went against his regulations and believed that all the churches were against him.
We ran to the forest behind the church and I remembered my flute that I cherished above all else besides my pendant. I had left it behind and I rushed back to get it. The church was on fire and armored men with scary weapons were piled all around, searching for any survivors to slay. I slipped by all of them and ran inside.
Fire was everywhere, on the walls, the tapestries, the floor... I evaded all and made it to my room, grabbed my flute and ran like hell out of there. So busy was I that I didn't notice a door fall off its hinges and fall on me. Fortunately enough, it did not burn me that bad at all, but it did leave a bad mark on my leg. I wiggled out from the intense flames, ran out of the burning church and into the forest without getting caught.
I then realized that I was lost until Sister Angela found me and scolded me about being reckless. Still, she was happy that I was alive and well, even though I was burned a little. We frantically made our way to where the others were supposedly at, but we had to hide because there were soldier walking by past us. When they left, we rushed to where all my friends, the Sisters and Father Joseph were, but what we saw were dead corpses. The soldiers had killed them all and even mutilated the bodies. I couldn't tell who was who and I threw up. Sister Angela prayed for them and then we ran.
I don't know how long or where we ran, we just ran. We ran until the night was gone and day broke over the horizon. We made it to the road and Sister Angela tried to keep us in high spirits by making us sing and telling me stories. She knew where we were and told me of a town nearby that she had visited when she was younger. In case we would get lost, she told me that we should meet there in the town square. We headed towards there and even hitched a ride with a nice stranger who was on his way there, but we were in for a shock.
Soon, the man grabbed Sister Angela and threw her to the ground. He started raping her in front of me and she screamed and tried to get him off her, but he was too strong, even for me. I tried to get him to leave her alone, but he knocked me aside. I grabbed a large branch and hit him over the head with it. He got angry and was going to kill me, but Sister Angela grabbed him and he focused his anger on her. She told me to untie the horse and ride away without looking back. I did as she said as she held him back.
I didn't look back, I couldn't. I was too scared to want to know what was behind me. The horse ran on and on until we reached a pond. I let the horse rest a while as I did and when the sun fell, we continued on. We rode on till I reached a town that as by the sea. It was the town that Sister Angela had told me of. I tied the horse to a tree and went inside to the town square.
I waited and waited for Sister Angela to arrive, but she never came. For three days I waited, eating nothing and not sleeping, but staying alert for any sign of Sister Angela, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally, I fell asleep in an alley and woke up to a man poking me in the shoulder to wake up. I didn't know that fate had sent him to become my master.
He owned a circus and I was very much amazed at everything that they could do there. For the next couple of months he had me help out in setting up the places and getting everyone's props ready for them when it was showtime. I began to get attached to one of the performers. Her name was Madame Sora. She was very popular on the flying trapeze and I just adored her because she was very kind to me as was everyone else, but she was so beautiful. She became my role model.
Then as the nights went on, I started to notice that sometimes the performers would sneak out at night and come back late the next morning or maybe even a few days later. So one night, I followed Sora as she sneaked out one night after we had moved away from the city after doing a performance. I followed her to a mansion and an old guy let her into the house. Being how old I was, which was about seven or eight, I didn't realize that she was there to seduce the guy and saw them making out on his couch. Suddenly, she pulled a dagger out and killed him in one stab. No blood on her, no mess. It was a clean hit and she walked out as if nothing had happened.
She came out and spotted me, I asked her about what had happened and she told me that she would explain after we got back home to the circus. She then went to talk to the boss after we got back and we talked. They were a circus group by day and by night they were assassins.
They had originally planned out that when I reached the age of a young woman, they would send me off to work at another place or I would eventually find a man and settle down. They weren't expecting that I would find out about their other job, but I did and they didn't know what to do with me. I then suggested that I would become an assassin like them and so, they taught me and I became the flaming sword juggler/thrower.
At the age of thirteen, they sent me off to begin my first day of being an assassin. My first kill was okay, but that was the first time I ever killed a man who I didn't know and I threw up and went crazy. Sora and the others who came to get me brought me back and calmed me down. They told me that their first time wasn't easy for them either and so gave me some advice on what to do when doing assassinations. They told me to think about other things when assassinating or do something that would keep my mind off of the blood.
So I took their advice and my next assassination was in assassinating some general guy and he had a lot of people so I started singing to myself and started to sway with the movement of the sword, as if I was dancing. I killed the general and his troop that protected him. Those that survived and saw me spread the word that there was a dangerous psycho that wields two blades on the loose and Crimson Blade was born.
I became one of the three most feared assassins, most wanted and sought out in the world.
Then, we joined the rebel group who wanted the king kicked out and they wanted to claim the throne for the people. The leader of the rebels was the bastard son of the king. So, they made me go in as a maid to get close to the king. I went in and got close to the princess and she made me her personal maid. I couldn't get any closer to the king because he had guards everywhere around him.
Then I met a man who was the king's nephew, a knight, the princess' first cousin and lover. He was suspicious of me from the first day he met me. I didn't care about him much... but he got to me. I tried to ignore it and told myself that I felt nothing towards him, but I... I couldn't admit it, but I was falling for this guy.
I used the princess to get some information for my people and never considered much about her except that she was a pawn, but... One day, she said to me that I was her only real friend that she had ever had and trusted me more than herself. It... It made me feel guilty.
Then my people decided to finally attack and kill the king on the day of a festival. They were to attack and be a decoy while the family got away and I would run away with them being that I was the princess' personal maid and all. When they got away, then I would kill them. So it happened. They attacked and the family got away with several many bodyguards and with me along. I was supposed to kill them all... but I didn't kill them. I argued with myself that I had a duty to fulfill, but I had a friend to protect, so I couldn't' make up my mind... but I had no choice in what would transpire in a few days.
Apparently, I wasn't told of a Plan B. What would happen was that the bastard prince would bring some people, seek us out and kill the royal family. They came in a couple days and killed off all of the royal family, even the princess. The knight got mortally injured, but as the princess was dying, she wished us the best and wanted us to escape.
The bastard prince took no notice of me, but he had intended to have me be killed, but first, he would kill his own father. He cornered his father and told him that he would kill him off and take the throne. He had no intention of making the kingdom become a democracy.
Well, the king seemed to be at a loss, but his personal bodyguards suddenly became bloodthirsty and dangerous. They were almost possessed when they killed the bastard son and all his people.
I took the knight's hand and ran. We ran and ran until we could no longer run and I hid us in a cave. I then took care of the knight because he was losing a lot of blood and I used all that I knew to save his life. That night, he became delirious from a fever and thought that I was the princess. I almost pretended that I was his princess and almost allowed myself to... Well, I stopped before I got any farther and told him that I wasn't his princess or comfort to hide his sadness. He snapped out of the fever and regained his senses. He apologized and fell asleep.
He got better the next day and we traveled on until we hit a fork in the road. I told him to go back to the castle and I had to go my own way. He wanted to accompany me so because being a man and a knight, it was his duty to protect women, but I refused and forced him to go. He finally left, thanking me before he was gone and I went my own way back home to the main base.
I returned and everyone was happy to see me, but they weren't happy when I told them of what happened to me. Finally, they unraveled the tale of the mad bastard prince. They found his loyal followers try to kill the leader, my boss, and they found the truth behind his lies. After killing the royal family, he had meant to take over the throne for himself and kill all who allied themselves with us to free our kingdom. Also, he had promised to bring me back to my group unharmed and safe. Unfortunately, he had other things in mind and planned for my death, but it did not happen.
Just then we found out that the king, although heirless and womanless (even though he could take any woman he wanted) had wanted immortality and power. We received information from our spies that he was looking for the phoenix, a divine creature of great fiery power that was able to return the dead back to life and give wishes. He sent many men out to scour the kingdom for any information about the phoenix. So it was our best judgment that we find the phoenix before he did or kill him before then.
From our spies and scholars (yes, we even had scholars) we found out that the phoenix would appear in three forms. One was its power in the form of something deadly, but powerful and its mind in the form of something memorable. The third form was unknown. Apparently, there was a kingdom nearby that used to worship this phoenix and the phoenix bestowed upon them a treasure that was protected by each of the line to the throne. The king though, had destroyed this peaceful kingdom a long time ago so nothing was left behind... or so many thought.
The king found a survivor of this kingdom, an old man who was a personal guard of the royal family. His final duty to the royal family was to hide their daughter somewhere and let her live on to protect the treasure. He brought her to a church and she was raised there, but the king had ordered the churches to be destroyed a while back so she could have died. Well, they killed the man who spat his blood upon their shoes and wished for the princess to return to exact revenge upon her family's killers before he died.
From everything the old man owned, they found a picture of this thing, the treasure. It was a necklace-no a locket where memories could be stored that looked exactly like mine...
Was I the princess? Yes... the king remembered that I held the locket around my neck every time he saw me and even commented on it. His lust for the treasure drove him to throw his favorite nephew into jail and be tortured into giving information on my location even though he did not know. I, along with several of my friends, broke in and helped him escape with us back to the main base.
There was little time to rejoice. I took care of the knight, but his uncle attacked with full force at our base. He had some people tail us back to base to kill the rebels and capture me. Many of my friends including Madame Sora and comrades-at-arms died but the rest, including my boss, the knight and myself, escaped.
We escaped without being followed to another base. From there we regrouped and waited till we got stronger because that took out a chunk of the rebel army. The knight got better and we got closer, but I refused to love a man who saw me as comfort to forget his lost loved one. It hurt, but when it was time for the final battle, I put it all behind me and told him everything because I might not return. He, in turn, revealed everything to me. He did not hate me. He did not love me as a replacement. He simply just fell in love with me in time. Yes, he did love me and I was happy, even for a second, I was happy.
We, the rebels, stormed the castle and made our way to the king. His Blood Knights guarded him well. We were no match for them all and they cornered us all. Their lives were in danger and threatened if I did not give them the treasure. So, I went forward and gave it to them in return for my companions' safety. They dared not to hurt me, because as it turns out, I was important in summoning the phoenix because I was its priestess.
They forced me to summon the phoenix, but though I tried, the phoenix refused to acknowledge my desperation. Believing that I was a fraud, the king sent his people to kill my comrades and me, but... the phoenix finally appeared and incinerated the king and all his blood knights. The kingdom was saved, my friends were safe and I was glad.
The phoenix asked for my wish and I could only wish for the restoration of the kingdom, but this time it would be for the people. It granted my wish and disappeared, but my locket remained. After that, the knight and I went far away and went to live by the sea. I buried my swords as he locked his away. We lived happily for two years, but one day while returning from the village near our house, I came home to noone. He was not there. He left me a message that told me that he had to leave and would return and for me not to follow.
I didn't listen to him and took out my swords. I decided to follow and went back to the capital to ask my former boss if he knew where the knight had gone. What I returned to was a dark kingdom that was once again ruled by some royal bastards of the previous king with the help of someone unknown, but evil. The place was desolate and the people were afraid of even their own shadows besides the soldiers.
I found my old group. They knew nothing of him, but it may have been possible that he was taken into the castle so I left for there, but security was tight so I was held up. The guards stopped me and I fought most of them, but they kept coming so I was basically losing. Then, Lord Taka's people came to my rescue, but they made a deal with me. If I agreed to help them, I would live after that battle, but if I did not help them, they would leave me to die by the guards' hands.
So I took up their offer and we retreated after a while and so... here I am...
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Megumi looked at us all with tired eyes and a sore throat.
"Do not worry Megumi. We will help you find him," said uncle.
'...Even though our people will not return home... We will help you return home... with your husband...'
"Megumi's story is a sad one. She must have had to endure much," said Sango.
Uncle had taken us aside to talk. "Us" consisted of myself, Sango and oddly enough, Miroku.
Miroku's hand went to his chin, "Ah yes. She has had much sadness enter her life. Maybe I should go comfort her?"
"Hiraikotsu!!!"
Wham! Thump!
In the next second or so, Miroku was Spam on the wall due to Sango's boomerang.
"Hentai!" she scoffed.
"S-Sango? Maybe you should sit down for a bit..." I said.
She sheathed her boomerang and shrugged at me.
"Ahem. Yes, Megumi and Rune have lead a harsh life so far, but as Crimson Moon And Blade, they cannot show any weakness," said uncle.
"Uncle, why do they tell us their stories? Why do you make them tell us? These stories are... are making them feel the heartache from before... Why?" I asked him.
"Kagome, I didn't make them tell you their stories. They asked me if they could tell their stories to us," he explained to me, "so the sadness that comes with these stories are on their own terms. They wanted you to know, to feel the pain they feel. The life of a Crimson Lotus is not very easy."
"I know that... but what does this have to do with me?... or exactly, what does it have to do with the war?"
"Hai. Master, I would like to know too. What makes these stories relevant to our cause?" spoke Sango.
"As do I Master Taka," said the perverted priest who had just pried himself from the wall.
Uncle sighed, "As for Crimson Moon, her story somehow connects with the dragon lad and for Crimson Blade, her story connects with the heirs to the throne in her country. Why are all these people appearing right now? What is their part in the war? One mystery leads to another, but they are all connected to one single person and that person is, somehow, the young Prince Naraku."
"Naraku?" all three of us replied in unison.
"Yes, him... I don't know how or why, but that is what we are trying to find out. From what we've uncovered so far, the Dragon Man is employed and faithful to Naraku, but he is the last remaining of the Dragon Clan, one of the most feared and powerful clans in the world. The twins, the brother and sister heirs to Megumi's country have come to claim the throne.
Most likely, they are bastard children by some low class mistress of the king. His bastard son killed many of who were related to the throne, but these two managed to escape death. Being born into lower class, their mother would have spoken to their father's lineage to them, but seeing as to how many enemies the father had, she would have held her tongue. So... Who gave them the idea that they were royalty and helped them return a democracy back into a monarchy?"
'I don't know...'
"So... all arrows point to Naraku then?" said Sango.
"Yes," replied uncle.
"Even... Even the death of my fellow villagers that led us to flee and find another home until you took us in?" said she.
He nodded.
Miroku's beads clanked together as he raised his hand to look at it.
"It was because of that prince that my right hand is cursed with the Kazaana, as was my father who was killed by this..." spoke the priest.
"I have no real quarrel against this man Naraku, but he is evil and I must get rid of evil because it is my duty as a miko to destroy evil... and my duty as a Lost Soul to return my people back to where they belong," said I, finally.
"Naraku has lead this world on far enough with his lies and deceit. He is cunning and sly and must be defeated or his evil will harm others who are still untouched," uncle announced.
"We will defeat him uncle... We will..." I whispered.
I heard a squeak beneath me. A black rat skittered between my feet and into a hole.
'Hmm... Odd... It's eyes looked like it was glowing red...'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He stood before the mirror with a smile plastered on his face.
"Defeat me?... What can an old man, a demon exterminator and a perverted priest do to me? I am untouched by humans..." stated Naraku.
He raised his hand up to caress the image of Kagome.
"This girl... Kagome... Don't worry... I will come for you soon enough my sweet... Soon..." he said and kissed Kagome's form in the mirror.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gah!"
Sango's head whipped right at me, "What Kagome? Is something wrong?"
I wiped my cheek.
"It... It felt like... don't laugh at me Sango.... but it felt like someone kissed me..."
"Probably your future husband," She teased me and laughed.
I laughed with her, but my comfort level was decreasing rapidly. Something was wrong here.
'If that was a kiss...it felt cold...'
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You will find out later why Naraku's a crazed sex addict who wants Kagome only and what the deal is with Kikyou. Anyways, this is it for now, I will update ASAP... probably next weekend. Homework and work have got me going over the edge already... (@,@); Also, my sister is selling Happenings books (only for Minnesota, sorry) so if you're interested in buying one (they're $25 btw), feel free to email me and we'll work something out.