Chapter Six: A Visitor
Okay, back with some inspiration for this chapter. And thanks for all your reviews, whether you're a Kikyo-hater or a neutral reviewer. There will be more action/adventure rather than the romance in this story since it belongs mainly to Kikyo. Enjoy folks!
Chapter Six
The Sun returned its glow on a new morning. The birds continued to sing as the flowers begin to open to the rising sunlight. It was a brand new day again. Kikyo opened her eyes to find that Kaede had gone out to play with the village children already. She looked around for the wet person she had brought home to help him feel more comfortable from his cough. He had also vanished.
Perhaps he had returned to the forest right before daybreak…
Getting up from her bed, she proceeded to tie her hair into a short ponytail. As she took her bow to have her daily check on the Shikon Jewel, an engraving caught her eye. It was etched into the wooden wall which supported the hut.
"A-ri-ga-ta-a?" She tried to make out the faint words carved on the board. Only the first three manyogana characterswere readable to the priestess, while the last two had a different look. It was no doubt. This half-demon was surprisingly literate, and of course from another region too. "He probably didn't practice how to write," she chuckled to herself. "But this is the first literate demon I have ever seen."
Exiting her hut Kikyo looked at a game of ball again, with cheerful children involved in it. She gave a small smile as the young villagers continued their game enthusiastically. She continued her walk to the stone stairs that led to the shrine perched on the green hill. Climbing up the stone stairs, the priestess made her way up to reveal the shrine in all its glory. Today was the same as yesterday. A small breeze simply blew through the area, rustling the leaves that had fallen onto the stone path that led to the shrine.
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Kikyo opened the wooden door. Before her eyes laid the glowing Shikon Jewel held by a wooden holder with a string of bird feathers attached to it, but its glow had started to switch to violet. The Shikon Jewel had begun to lose its purified state. Knowing what she had to do, the priestess entered the sacred room of the shrine and picked up the precious stone. As soon as it had touched her porcelain skin, the colour of the jewel returned to a healthy pink.
"The protector of the Shikon Jewel, I suppose?" Kikyo heard a male voice from behind. The only light came from the opened wooden doors. A dark figure stood firmly near it, revealing its existence.
"Who are you, may I ask?" The priestess questioned, putting the jewel back onto where it was held firmly. Her eyes turned back to see the dark figure, only to notice that he wore an official's hat.
"An official from the capital?" Kikyo was in shock to see how a high-ranking person could have come from afar. "What brings you here?" At the moment, he raised a block of gold that displayed two characters recognizable to any literate person.
Ashikaga? Is this person a youkai in disguise or just a ningen?
"The Shogun-sama himself has heard of the Shikon Jewel," came the monotonous voice of the official. "And he requests that it is sent to the capital immediately to be placed in a sacred temple."
"How can you prove that you're from the capital?" Kikyo questioned her visitor, suspicious that it could be a trap set by youkai. After all, some had the power to deceive other officials. "You could be a youkai who have set an illusion!"
"This alone," the reply came with a touch of coldness embedded in his tone. The official pointed to the golden seal. "Can disprove your suspicions, Kikyo-miko."
"So you know my name?"
"We have our sources."
"I will accede to your request then," the priestess continued her game, picking up the jewel which remained to glow pink. "But only if I follow you to the capital."
"Very well then," the reply came back. "You have a week to prepare your journey." With that, the dark figure made his way out of the temple, followed by the sounds of the marching of soldiers escorting. Kikyo remained standing, clutching the sacred jewel. She knew that it was a trap, but something disastrous could happen if she refused to hand over the Shikon Jewel.
The priestess stood there for a very long time on the wooden floor of the shrine main room.
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The Sun was burning hot on the baked ground. It had been two days since the peculiar visit by the unexpected visit of the official from the capital. And it was far more obvious that the all mighty warlords of warlords had wanted the jewel.
If I don't go, they might cause something devastating to the village…
Kikyo thought her way through as she walked to the nearby waterfall. It was a few hours after noon, and the Sun continued to warm up the entire area. To prevent any funny events from the officials that could come, she had kept the sacred item with her all the time. The priestess peeled her outer garments off her body as she stood by the river bank. Only left with her undergarments, she proceeded to enter the river, dipping her feet into the water.
The hanyou was nearby. He had come near to the river for water to quench his thirst. Kikyo, noticing that there was no one watching her, took off her undergarments. Folding them into a stack, the miko started to pace towards the cascading waterfall.
Inuyasha bended down at the river bank. Submerging his mouth in the water, the half-demon started drinking the fresh water of the river when a powerful scent alerted his nose. The priestess was near, which meant that the Shikon Jewel was nearby too. His ears twitched as they detected the sound of someone under the waterfall; the sound of someone bathing.
Determined to steal the sacred gem from the priestess, Inuyasha stopped his drinking and jumped to the spot where the scent of Kikyo was at its strongest. Near the river laid a bundle of clothes, with the dyes of red and white. No doubt it was the protector of the Shikon Jewel.
"Where is that jewel?" He whispered to himself as he searched through the clothing, crumpling them as well. He sniffed the outer garments, and the undergarments of the priestess to get the jewel. It smelled good to him, however. A wet pebble hit on Inuyasha's head suddenly. He turned up to look at an angry Kikyo who was covering her top with both her hands. On one of her hands was the sacred jewel where it hung from it through the string of bird feathers. "What was that for, bitch?"
"Inuyasha," she began her speech of sarcasm. "I never knew you were a pervert. To think you enjoy sniffing women's undergarments!"
"Hah! You don't have any weapons with you anyway!" Inuyasha shouted back angrily. "Now give me the jewel!"
"You're still persistent, are you?" The priestess spoke aggressively. "The answer is still no, especially to a beast who even has the blood of a pervert within."
"Don't push your luck, wench!" He fought back angrily, noticing that Kikyo had called him a beast like all the other youkai had. "No perverts will even want to see your deformed and ugly body!" His reply was another pebble thrown onto his head. Inuyasha began to growl at the priestess for hitting him.
"Wretched priestess!" Inuyasha shouted out to Kikyo who had returned to bathing under the waterfall. "This is the final straw!" Removing his top to enter the water, the half-demon entered the water to wrestle away the Shikon no Tama. He was to come close to her, when he heard some screams from the back. The dog half-demon turned to see several village women standing there at the bank, with buckets to collect the fresh water.
"Youkai!" One of the women shouted. As she looked on to the waterfall, she shouted, "Kikyo's under the waterfall." The women started to stare at the inu-hanyou.
"Back off, village wretches!" Inuyasha gave his common crude threat. "I only want the Shikon Jewel from that wretched miko!"
"Trying to take advantage of my Onee-san?" A young girl popped out from the crowd of women. It was Kaede, who had arrived to see her sister. She threw a small stone at Inuyasha. "You pervert!" Followed by her stone attack, the other women began raining stones down on the half-demon, who could only block them with his bare arms.
"That's it! You brat!" He growled angrily at the women. Unable to retrieve his kimono top, and under-shirt, Inuyasha ran into the other side of the river, with stones still being thrown at him.
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Kikyo paddled to the river bank. She had completed her bathing and the rest of the women had barely started theirs. As she dressed in her clothes, she noticed that a certain someone had left his red garments. There were holes in it, probably made by her sacred arrows that had pierced it. The priestess took it up in her hands and proceeded home, placing the sacred jewel in her hakui again.
Little did the priestess know that she was being watched as she made her way back to the village. The Sun had turned a little orange, which signified the end of another day. Kikyo's head was full of thoughts.
I have only five days left…
As she walked back to her village, two amber eyes peered at her from a bush, with two white ears sticking out of it again. The priestess took no notice as she continued her brisk walk back to the village, preparing to put the jewel back into its shrine.
"Damm that Kikyo!" The creature in the bush cursed her. "I'll get that Shikon Jewel someday!"
However, Kikyo was to expect some company that night rather than the hanyou…
Okay, another sucky chapter. Time for some action next chapter then. See ya all of you reviewers soon!
Glossary:
Manyogana : Japanese system of writing that time for writing syallables that cannot be represented in Chinese characters.
Ashikaga : The Shogun during Kikyo's era. (15th century)
