Love beyond the Western Lands
Chapter 13: Meeting Kouga
A young wolf youkai woke up in a cave with a gruff growl. "Myrrh!" he grunted. "So freaking windy…" He rubbed his arms to warm himself. "Kouga!" another youkai called. "I'm going to go hunt for our breakfast." "Yeah," Kouga replied, bored. "Go ahead."
Walked over to a corner and strapped his katana back at his waist. He took a brown strip and tied his long pitch black hair in a high pony tail.
He walked out of the cave and into the brisk, cold air and got onto a huge boulder, which overlooks everything. Then, something caught his eye. A girl with beautiful purple hair… "Aha!" he thought, delighted. "I'm amazed Kagome trekked all the way over here…"
He leapt over the rock and into the road to greet her. "Konichiwa, Kagome!" Kouga exclaimed.
Kikyou and Sesshoumaru walked a long winding road. "I wonder if we will reach a village before nightfall." Kikyou thought. Suddenly, a man leapt into the road. He had black hair, with brown furs on him. "A wolf youkai," Kikyou thought. She looked at Sesshoumaru. He looked like he wanted to hold him by the throat the way the wolf youkai was smiling. "Konichiwa, Kagome!" he exclaimed. Kikyou was taken aback. "Kagome?" she thought. "Inuyasha's wench?" He looked at the girl, perplexed. "You look a bit different today… Oh well! You've changed! You're more beautiful than ever!" He opened his arms and pulled Kikyou into his body, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What the…" Kikyou thought, outraged. She pulled out an arm, and struck Kouga on the face. With super-human strength, he went flying to a wall.
Kikyou walked back to Sesshoumaru's side, only she was sort of behind him. "What did you do that for!" the youkai screamed, rubbing his face. "You could have killed me, Kagome! And how did you get that good strength!" "First of all," Kikyou said, pulling out a short sword, "I'm not Kagome and second of all, who in the seven hells are you?" "I am Kouga, chief of the wolf clan. Who are you and that male youkai?" "I am Miko Kikyou, and he is Lord Sesshoumaru."
Suddenly, she saw 3 glints: 2 at his shins, and one in his right arm. "I believe you have something that belongs to me" Kikyou held out her hand. "Give them to me. Give me back my Shikon jewels." "Feh!" Kouga said. "You'll have to fight for it!" "Very well then," Kikyou said, transforming her short sword into the Ni Hon. With a good wave, Kikyou sent dozens of blue and black crescents, which spun and cut into the ground as Kouga avoided them narrowly.
"Ho!" he cried, hitting one out of his way with a fist. Sesshoumaru leapt into the air. He slashed Kouga on the face, leaving 3 bloody scratches on each cheek. "Ow!" Kouga screamed. He kicked Sesshoumaru in the stomach, sending him flying into a muddy wall. "NOO!" Kikyou screamed. She ran towards Kouga with a speed that she just looked like a blur to an ordinary youkai. With one hand clenched into a fist, she sent the fist soaring towards Kouga's face, making him bleed at the mouth.
Kikyou spun in midair, her miko outfit flailing gracefully. She raised her leg and kicked Kouga in the face. She raised her Ni Hon. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" she screamed. She lunged it down hard, making Kouga scream, and having him spurt blood at the stomach like a fountain.
Kouga leapt back, and ran, clutching his stomach. Little droplets of blood fell out of his abdomen. While he jetted away, something fell out of his forearm. Kouga spun around. "My jewel shard!" he yelled. He ran towards the shard, but Kikyou was too fast and swift. With one smooth grab, she held the jewel shard and slipped it in her pocket.
Kouga just stood there. Kikyou sheathed her Ni Hon in its sheath. She raised it and smacked Kouga on the head with it. "OH!" Kouga yelled. As he leapt and ran, he called back: "I'll get more jewel shards! I'll collect all of them! Each and every single piece! INCLUDING THE ONE YOU WON FROM ME!"
Kikyou scoffed as Kouga leapt over the edge of the cliff to the other side. She ran over to the cloud of dust that was still enveloping Sesshoumaru. She kneeled down. Her right hand turned into a misty blue as she placed it on Sesshoumaru's forehead. Instantly, he woke up. "Huh?" he said as he sat up.
Kikyou smiled. "Daijoubu desu ka?" "Daijoubu desu." "Well, let's get going shall we?" "Yes, lets." They both got up and walked to the nearest village. Little that they know Inuyasha and the gang were traveling to that same village as well.
Meanwhile…
Miyako woke up as if someone has just splashed cold water on her… which someone did, for she was shivering and was wet. A single chain shackled her wrists separately. Each of them was latched onto the edges of a circle on the ceiling which looked like they could rotate. Her neck was chained and was shackled as well. Her ankle were attached with an unusual heavy chains and latches. They weren't attached to anything; they merely lay on the floor.
Miyako tried to move her legs. They wouldn't even budge due to the weight of her chains and shackles. "So this is why the chains weren't attached to anything but me…" she thought.
Something then distracted her… Her clothes… They were no longer in rags. She had a new kimono! She suddenly heard footsteps yet there was no one to be seen. "Naraku?" she thought.
"Miyako," Naraku's deep voice called. Miyako turned around with great difficulty. She saw Naraku with anger in his eyes. Besides him was Kayorei, holding a whip. At her waist, was a wrapped up chain.
"You have betrayed us all!" A voice said menacingly. Kagura stepped out of the shadows, with her fan covering her face. "You swore us to the heavens and hell itself you shall not speak of a word!" Kanna's soft voice said as she stepped out behind of a board of chains, shackles and whips.
"I was tormented! I had to…" "Silence!" Naraku boomed in. Kayorei raised the whip. THWAP! The whip tore off a small strip of the skirt of the kimono at Miyako's left leg. Her leg now bore a red mark, which was slightly bleeding. "Ugh!" Miyako winced.
"You will now pay the consequences, Miyako," Naraku said. He walked swiftly up the stairs as Kanna followed. Kayorei cracked her whip. Kagura walked over to the board and took off a whip and stuck it in her kimono belt and took a chain whip in her hand.
Kayorei whipped Miyako hard for five minutes, while Kagura occasionally beat her with the chain whip. In those minutes, Miyako's skirt was whipped to shreds, and her top was badly torn. Her legs bled like a coursing river. Her arms were slashed and bruised. Her stomach bled and was bruised. Her chest had several bloody scratches as did her face.
"Well…" Kayorei began. "That's enough for the first night! Don't you think so, dear Kagura?" "Yes, this shall be enough for one night." As they both turned to leave, Miyako thrashed around. "CHI-WAH! CHI-WAH CHI-WAH CHI-WAH! AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIGH!"
Kayorei spun around. "No…" Kayorei said softly. "…it doesn't seem you've had enough…" She walked over to a trapdoor and opened it. She lowered a bucket down and pulled it up. She motioned for Kagura to come over. "Yes?" Kagura said. "Kagura, where is the salt?" Kayorei said quietly. "It's in the corner. Do you wish for me to get it?" "No, that's fine. But I would like you to get a whip and whip her again." "Again? But didn't Naraku say to whip her until it's enough?" "Yes, but he said whip her until WE feel is enough… and I don't think it's enough…" "As you wish… but what are you planning to do?" "When I get the salt, I will throw most of it into the bucket of water I have. As you whip Miyako, give her new wounds and slashes and cuts. Once that is done, I want you to blind-fold her with this strip of cloth."
Kayorei held up a strip of dark purple cloth and Kagura took it. "Alright…" "Next, I will pick up the bucket of salt water and dump it on her. Now, beneath her, is a circular trap door. I will open it and dump the salt water above her head. Then, remove the cloth and do some more whipping. The water I have now is warm. The water I'll use next will be quite hot and the water I'll use last will be…" "…cold," Kagura finished. "Ingenious!" Kayorei smiled. "Arigato, now, lets get started."
Kagura went over to get a whip. "WHAT ARE YOU UP TO!" Miyako screamed, trying to thrash her legs. Kagura now had a whip in her hand. "Quiet, wench." Kagura whipped Miyako over and over and over again, until her screams echoed in the spacey dungeon.
Kayorei retrieved the bags of salt and dumped one bag in the large bucket of water. She motioned for Kagura to stop whipping Miyako and walked over to a lever switch. She pushed a button left of it and the circular patterns underneath Miyako opened. The heavy chains and shackles which clasped Miyako went zooming down. "EEEK!" Miyako cried, as Kayorei pulled the lever and Miyako began dropping like a bag of stones.
Kayorei held the bucket over Miyako's head and dumped it over. A scream filled the entire dungeon no ningen or youkai ear had ever heard… A scream of torment… A scream of sorrow… The screams that lasted all night, were the shrieks of Miyako's never-ending torment.
Inuyasha and his gang walked a long, winding road. A different route that Kikyou and Sesshoumaru were taking to the same village Inuyasha and the gang where traveling to.
Inuyasha rubbed his chest from time to time, since he reopened the wound a little. "Inuyasha?" said Miroku's deep, calm voice. "You seem troubled." "It's none of your business, houshi (monk)," Inuyasha said, looking the opposite way. "Well, Inuyasha," Miroku said, swinging his arm over Inuyasha's shoulder. "You're my friend. So, technically, I think I ought to know."
The ladies were walking up front, eavesdropping on the conversation. "You think it might be concerning Kikyou?" Sango said quietly, hoisting the Hiraikotsu higher on her back. "It may be," Kagome said in the same voice level, rubbing her chin. "Shippou, what are they saying?" "Be patient, Kagome!" exclaimed Shippou quietly, as he hung on the tip of the Hiraikotsu. "Nothing yet, but Inuyasha looked quite melancholy. Wait! Miroku's opening his mouth!"
"Well?" Miroku said slowly. Inuyasha looked reluctant to speak. "It's… about Kikyou… and Sesshoumaru as well."
Meanwhile, back at Sesshoumaru's castle…
Rin slipped on a suit of taijiya (demon slayer) armor and took a spear from a rack (Yeah, I know. It's waaaaaaay too fiction-y. But it's my series heh. ). She walked out into the courtyard, tying her hair into a pony tail as she went, where Jaken awaited her for her training.
"About time, Rin!" Jaken's shrewd voice said as Rin rolled her eyes. "Get into position!" That wasn't unnecessary for Rin, for her spear was held in her hand and was in her fighting stance. Before Jaken even gave the signal to begin, Rin ran towards Jaken with full speed, spear ready. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Rin screamed. Jaken began to run around before Rin could even strike. "AAH! AAH! AAH! MURDERER ON THE LOOSE! AAH! AAH! AAH! HEELP!"
Rin did the -.- face. She raised her spear. "Spear of fate!" Her spear point began to pulsate and glow dark blue. Jaken's screaming frenzy suddenly stopped. "Uh-oh…" he said timidly. Rin hurled the spear as Jaken resumed screaming.
Kikyou and Sesshoumaru finally reached a village by sunset. "Wait," Kikyou said, before walking under the fine arch. Sesshoumaru turned around. "What is it?" "We can't go in looking like this. We should change our appearance." Kikyou shut her eyes and held out her arms. A purple aura surrounded her. The streaks disappeared and she looked just like her old self again. Only the moon was on her forehead. When she looked at Sesshoumaru, he removed his streaks as well. "Let's go." Sesshoumaru walked and Kikyou followed. She was quite surprised Sesshoumaru could change his appearance as well.
When they entered the village, red lanterns hung all over the place. Ribbons stretched from house to house. A woman walked past Kikyou. "Excuse me!" Kikyou said. The woman turned around. "Hai (I just found out it meant Yes)?" "The decorations… is there a festival tonight?" "Ah, hai. It is the festival celebrating the origin of this village." "This village has an origin? An origin so interesting, it is to be celebrated?" "Hai!" the woman said, flabbergasted. "This village was first inhabited by women. It was for years until an army of men conquered here. Everybody that's here attends the festival. They wear their finest clothes." "I see… Arigato!" The woman smiled and left.
"Let's get to an inn," Kikyou suggested. Sesshoumaru smiled and nodded. They reached an inn an hour before the festival. The manager showed them to the room and left. There were 2 foldable room separators and Kikyou walked behind one and took off her purple miko outfit. Kikyou thought of the different kimonos she had in her mental I inventory. Suddenly, she found something she liked: A black kimono with white and red flowers lining the skirt. She came out of the board and saw Sesshoumaru, already dressed in a red and white yukata with a purple kanji.
"Well, you dress fast!" Kikyou exclaimed, walking over to a table with make up. "It's a habit," Sesshoumaru said with a smile.
Kikyou sat down on the mat, looking hopelessly at the make up: Rouge for the lips, powder for the face, shadowing for the eyelids, all the make up a glamour girl can imagine!
Kikyou decided to start with the powder. She took a little bit and spread it on her face. She looked in the mirror and decided that was enough and took some dark pink powder and rubbed it on her cheeks. Next, was elongating her eyelashes. Kikyou found this a great hassle for she could not even get the brush close enough to touch and ends up poking herself in the eyes.
Finally, with 45 minutes left until the festival, her eyelashes were the most noticeable thing on her face yet. Then, she decided to spice up her lips. She took a spot of rogue and smeared it perfectly on her lips. Finally, it's time for her hair. She brought her hair together and curled it into a bun with 2 strands released and attached to the bun. With a thin stick, she stuck it through her hair.
She looked in the mirror and could not believe it. She looked amazing! She got up and turned around. Sesshoumaru gawked at her like he needed special ed. "You… you look AMAZING!" he gasped out. Kikyou blushed her delicate reds. "A…arigato." "Let's go!" Kikyou smiled which made her lovelier and walked over beside Sesshoumaru and walked out of the sliding door. Sesshoumaru put his arm around Kikyou's waist and Kikyou rested her head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder.
When they got outside, people were already crowded around a large raised platform. Sesshoumaru and Kikyou were lucky enough to get to the front row. The actors began to start the play. Kikyou looked to the left of the platform and saw a red sign which said: The Village's Origin. "Such a blunt title…" Kikyou thought.
But the title meant nothing to the contents of the play: The actors' crying were real, the blood looked so real. Kikyou's heart jumped out of position each time there was a sudden fight or attack.
At the end of the play, the actors bowed and left the stage. Sesshoumaru and Kikyou walked about the village. There were stands selling food and sweets. Kikyou bought a sweetened apple and Sesshoumaru bought a sushi roll for food during travel.
As Kikyou and Sesshoumaru walked the long winding road back to their inn, Kikyou was positive that a girl who walked past her was Kagome.
