Hello, this is S.P. This is a long chapter. It sure looked ominous when I was typing it! Just so you know, the plot turns sinister here. But don't worry, the humour won't die!
Reviewer's Corner:
A huge thanks goes out to all who reviewed or read my story! It makes me glad that you even take the time to read this story of mine !
Blackcherryimplants: Wow, that's really flattering to hear. My best friend Bailey and I both think that the stereotype should die. I mean, why do girls have to be protected all the time by men? It's really not fair. My best friend's now the official fan of Ceres (from Ayashi No Ceres), Yui, and possibly Kikyo too, all vengeful characters. She used to be a huge Kagome fan but did a 360-degree turn and went over to the dark side. I, on the other hand, is not nearly so dramatic. So I write a fanfic instead! Hmm, the official full title of this fic is now Love That Transcends Time: A Tale To Avenge All Unfairly Stereotyped Priestesses/Time Travelers Who Are So Heinously Abused. Lol. And for the battle scenes, I'm just so glad it satisfies you. I'm a huge martial arts fan, just check my bio!
To all of you who don't believe in the stereotype, I suggest you make reference to Motomiya Akane from Harukanaru Toki No Naka De or even Kanzaki Hitomi from Escaflowne, you'll see what I mean. Girls just gotta be less boy-crazy and learn to fight, you know what I'm talkin' about?
The flute's soothing music flowed in the air; it was warm, comfortingly warm. Ai was soaring high in the sky, looking at the brad terrain. But she couldn't see Kirara's back. She panicked, but calmed down when she realized that her wings were carrying her up, up through the clouds. They were Suzaku's wings. The feather glowed brightly against her chest. She was happy. Then, she felt her feet touching the ground, it was all white. Ai's brothers were arguing whether the napkins on her wedding reception table should be green or purple.
"Sango and Nuriko love purple!" yelled Haru.
"But green suits Amiboshi more," argued Yutaka, "he's the groom after all."
"Hey!" Ai shouted, "I'm not marrying anybody!"
Her brothers never heard her. It went dark all of a sudden and a beam of light flashed, ominous, brighter than lightning…
Ai woke up.
She was lying in her sleeping bag, staring hard into the starlit night sky. She sat up, her heart was still pounding, the ominous feeling had remained. She looked around, the woods were dark and silent, only an occasional, soft snore could be heard from Tasuki a few cots away. A raven crowed, and a gust of cold wind blew through the branches, a few leaves fell. Ai's hand touched the Feather for warmth. But it was lightless and cold. Why, she asked herself, why do I have this feeling that something bad was waiting for them in Mitsukake's village?
"The village was called Hakuryo, it was right beside the Kai River, no da," said Chichiri. The sun just rose from the Eastern sky, and the air was cool and fresh.
Glittering dew covered the ground, making it slippery to walk on.
"So we'll just go in, drag Mitsukake out, and ask him what the hell is up. No problem! Sounds quite easy to me!" said Tasuki.
Almost too easy, thought Ai. Mitsukake had not sent them anymore Chi messenges, but perhaps he was too busy curing the village people of whatever plague they contracted. No one even thought, or dared to think, that something might've happened to Mitsukake.
They walked on the dirt trail that led them inside the village. No one spoke; no sounds were heard and no birds sang. The fields looked untended and there's no smoke rising from the chimneys. In one yard of a small farmhouse laid the carcass of a dead pig as it rotted away in the sun. Inuyasha's nose twitched, "This place smells like death."
"But surely there's still someone around," said Nuriko.
If he was not so busy looking around, he would've heard footsteps coming from behind him, which wasn't supposed to happen because he's the last in line.
"We should split up and find Mitsukake," said Tamahome.
The footsteps came slowly closer as it approached Nuriko. It was not at all steady, as if belonged to a sickly man. But still no one noticed.
Nuriko nodded, he agreed with Tamahome. But as he was about to speak, he felt a light tap on his right shoulder.
"What is it Tasuki?" Nuriko asked impatiently, thinking it was the troublesome seishi, only to be greeted by an annoyed reply from the front, "What are you talking about Nuriko?"
Nuriko felt a chill, he realized there should be no one behind him. Then, the mysterious hand tapped again. Nuriko slowly spun around, and screamed.
The man was dressed in rags, and looked like he had no had a bath in weeks. His face was unshaven and his hair was long and matted. Beneath the tangled locks were hollowed, lightless eyes and a wax-like face. His skinny, skeleton-like hands reached out for Nuriko. A mumble came out of his cracked lips, "Food…"
Just as Nuriko was about to go berserk and swing a punch, Chichiri shouted, "No Nuriko! It's Mitsukake!"
An hour later, they were sitting in Mitsukake's makeshift hut by the River Kai at the edge of the village. They had given Mitsukake some food and water, and the doctor had bathed and shaved himself. He looked almost normal now, if not a bit weathered and thin.
"Now couldn't you pick a less scary method for saying you're hungry Mitsukake? I thought you were some demon trying to eat me! You were going for my throat!" Nuriko complained loudly, his last encounter with plague zombies at Shao-Huan's village was still clear and vivid in his mind.
"Gomen, Nuriko-san," the reserved seishi spoke, "But you were carrying the food bag around your shoulder."
"Oh," Nuriko chuckled nervously, "isn't this interesting, heh, heh."
"No," said Tasuki. But he said no more because seconds later, he was smashed into the wall. The whole hut shook dangerously and everyone (minus Tasuki) glared at Nuriko.
Chichiri was quick to business.
"Mitsukake, how is the plague, no da? We saw no one when we entered the village, no da. Is… is everyone here dead, no da?"
Mitsukake's face fell. "That's why I need your help. No, the village hasn't been completely wiped out, yet. There are still a couple of families left alive in the west end of the village. I did everything I could, but none of my plague remedies worked, not even the most potent ones. As you know, I can only heal limited number of people each day, so the curing was slow. But even those I have cured mysteriously got sick again. Puzzlingly, I have been in contact with the villagers everyday, but did not contract the disease. Which is lucky, for I cannot heal myself."
That was a long speech for Mitsukake, and he didn't speak of good news. Everyone remained silent, each consumed in his or her own thoughts. Ai was most shocked of all. The others had seen plenty of destroyed villages in their days, but Ai had not. Her mind could not wipe the image of the dead pig lying in the yard of a ghost town village. If there were rotting pigs, there were rotting bodies of people, spread in the dark, silent huts. And there must be those still clinging to life, struggling at their last moments.
In the afternoon, Mitsukake went to check on one of the remaining plague patients. Despite the doctor's warning of possible infection, the rest of the gang went with him as well. All the way there they encountered nothing but and death and emptiness, dead pigs, chickens, horses and occasionally, people. Their bodies lay bare under the sun, the smell was unbearable.
"Sorry," Mitsukake apologized, "I buried as many as I could."
Ai could not believe the sight before her eyes. In her world, this was something that appears in movies, not in real life! But there she was, witnessing a massacre, a total annihilation of a village. The reality was harsh, and real.
But despite being shocked, she noticed something quite suspicious. The crops, they were dead, too. Ai could understand if they simply died of the lack of care and irrigation. But her instincts told her this was not so. The weeds, they were wiped out also. Something was just not right…
"Doctor, doctor, please save my son!" a woman about fifty years old dashed out of the house as soon as she saw Mitsukake approaching. She had a disheveled look about her: her clothes filthy and torn, her face wax-like and hollow, her hair untied and matted. Her cries for help was layered with desperate plea and panic.
Mitsukake followed the woman into the house. It too, was in a messy state. It seemed to Ai as if since the plague came, no one in the village cared to live anymore. It literally knocked them off their feet.
The doctor-seishi sat by the bed where a ill-looking young man lay. His head was covered in sweat and his face pale, obviously in pain. His mother rambled on, "He threw up every spoonful of medicine…stomache…fever…Oh he's dying help him!"
Mitsukake took the young man's pulse, and felt his forehead. The young man suddenly bursted into a violent fit of pained cough. Mitsukake pressed him down; the young man calmed, and started to take in quick, shallow breaths.
"Alright," Mitsukake said finally, "I'm going to heal him."
"Are you sure you're strong enough, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"I have no choice. But I think I'll be okay."
Mitsukake extended his hand over the young man's forehead. His character glowed as orbs of warm energy light left his hand and entered the young man's body. For a moment nothing happened, but slowly the young man's breathing steadied and colour began to reappear on his ash-white cheeks.
"He's going to be fine, at least for the moment," Mitsukake said to the young man's mother. She bursted into tears of joy. Mitsukake closed his eyes in exhaustion when she said her thanks and asked what he wanted in payment.
"I desire nothing of that sort, thought could you please get my friends some water?" Tama-neko appeared out of nowhere, meowing, demanding fish.
After giving out water to Mitsukake, Tasuki, Tamahome, Inuyasha, and Miroku, the hospitable village woman declared the water jar dry. Ai volunteered to fetch water for her.
"Ai, don't you need someone to protect you?" Tamahome asked.
Ai winced at the word "protect", somehow she had grown to dislike it, especially when it's used on her.
"No thanks Tamahome. I think I can take care of myself for ten minutes." Ai smiled as she grabbed the bucket and skipped out the door before anyone could protest.
There was a well right by the house, but Ai, fearing that the well water might be contaminated during the plague, had inquired the woman, Mrs. Yu, for a fresher source. It turned out that there was a small stream not far into the woods that fed the well.
The dusk was slowly setting on this eventful day. Ai's footsteps were light and quick on the grassy path of the woods, she didn't hum to herself. For some reason the quiet woods were telling her to hush, so she did. She clutched the wooden bucket and made haste until she could hear the musical trickling of water against pebbles. She also heard, or sensed, something else.
She was not alone in the woods, Ai was sure of that. A person was also by the stream, a person with a dark, sly aura that she didn't like at all. But that person didn't seem to have noticed her. Ai slowed down into a cautious crawl as she completely silenced her footsteps. She slid from tree to tree, careful not to step on any twigs or fallen leaves. When she deemed she was near enough, Ai peeked out from behind a tree trunk, and saw a sight that made her eyes narrow in suspicion.
A man clad in black jumped out of nowhere among the trees, and landed silently by the creek. His face was half concealed behind a black cloth, showing only his sly and ruthless eyes. The high ponytail and the short daggers at his belt told Ai he was some sort of ninja.
The ninja looked around. Ai carefully shifted deeper into the trees, holding her breath as she suppressed her chi. It worked. The ninja produced a china vial from his sash, took out the lid, and expertly dumped the contents into the water. After he's done, ninja put the vial back in his sash and jump away in a flash. Ai gasped at the inhuman speed. But something caught her eye as it fell to the ground. It was the vial. The ninja didn't secure it tight enough in his haste and dropped it. Ai made sure he wasn't coming back then made her way to the vial. She picked it up and examined the glossy surface, a crest shaped like a blue dragon was printed at the side. Kutou… Ai quickly opened the lid, and found some white powder still remaining at the bottom. She sniffed it, it was odourless. It was also colourless when she dumped the powder experimentally into the water, but a couple of fish that were swimming nearby rolled up on their bellies and died.
Feeling breathless, Ai pushed herself onto her feet and ran like she never ran before back to the hut. Her friends' lives were on the line.
"Drop the water! Spit it out!" Ai shouted desperately as she barged into the hut.
"What are you…"Tasuki started to ask, but Ai interrupted him as she hit him in the side of the face with the bucket and knocked the cup out of his hand. She also kicked aside Tama neko's uneaten plate of fish. The kitty pawed the air in protest.
"Ai, what's the matter with you?" Tamahome asked sternly.
"Poison…Kutou…water…plague… We're all gonna die if drink…" Ai was trying to put everything in a single sentence, but failed miserably.
"What?" said everyone.
"I said, we're all gonna die if we drink the water 'cause I saw Kutou ninja dumping poison into the stream that fed the well. It's probably what caused the plague in the first place," said Ai.
"You mean…" Nuriko said disbelievingly.
Ai nodded. "It all make sense now. There never was a plague in the first place. The weird, un-plague-like, recurring symptoms, the dead plants and fields, were all results of consuming poisoned well water. Also, Mitsukake didn't get the plague because he wasn't drinking well water. He lived right by River Kai, and got the water from there. As for the ninja's warning to Hotohori, he probably meant that they had already taken revenge, which is this."
"What a cruel thing to do, even in war," Miroku declared.
Suddenly, the monk dropped his cup and doubled over in pain. Soon, Mitsukake, Tasuki, and Tamahome did the same. The cups smashed into pieces on the ground.
"Oh no! The poison must've gotten into them!" Amiboshi exclaimed.
Ai quickly took out the vial and showed it to Chichiri. "Can you recognize the poison? Please tell me you know how to make a cure!"
"I, I think I recognize it, no da. It's oleander pollen, scorpion venom, and an extremely small amount of oblivion herb to make it colourless, odourless, and tasteless. But there's something else I don't quite fathom, no da." frowned Chichiri, his mask fell.
"It's the poisoned vapour of a demon," said Sango, "I sensed a strong jaki coming out it. But it feels like something from our world. You don't think…"
"That bastard Naraku…put it in the poison and give it to the bastard henchmen of the bastard General you guys were fighting to make it so…so your doctor here can't find a cure, at…at least not in this world." Inuyasha spat out breathlessly.
"Damn… damn it! The pain's growing stronger!"
Ai panicked, If Inuyasha, a hanyou, was feeling it, then the four humans wouldn't survive! Surely enough, Mitsukake, Tasuki, Tamahome, and Miroku were now writhing on the floor in pain.
Sango looked at Chichiri, "I believe we still have a chance. I happened to have some powder to cure demon poison in my pouch (S.P. – Go tajiya! Three cheers for Sango) and together we can find a cure."
"There would be no need." A new, growling voice said behind them. They turned around, only to find a horrific sight. A tall man clad in Kutou armour stood in the door way, with fifty soldiers stood behind him in the yard, ten were ninja-like assassins. The hospitable woman of the house and her newly-recovered son lay on the floor in two puddles of blood, dead.
"Shocked, Doctor Mitsukake?" the man smiled sadistically, "to see that the boy you have spent so much energy in healing now lay dead. What a shame, isn't it?"
"You…Kutou…bastards…" Mitsukake gasped out.
The sinister smile was gone from the man's face, "I disapprove of Nakago-sama's alliance with a demon, but I can only admire his wisdom now that the plan has worked. Your strongest warriors were poisoned and weak, as well as your healing source. The young Miko's discovery was unexpected, the ninja-in-question would be punished, of course. Nakago-sama was hoping to get all of you poisoned, however, this is but a minor setback. I do believe we have more advantage."
"So…the plague, the warning, all of it was a trap to kill us?" asked Ai, trembling in anger.
"How smart of you to figure it out. Oops, too late." The man taunted, "Now, prepare to die!"
At his command, about twenty soldiers launched themselves at them with swords and spears. With Mitsukake, Tamahome, Miroku, and Tasuki on the floor, the remaining members of the gang got into battle stance. Amiboshi took out his flute, Chichiri holding his staff, and Sango (very dramatically) tore away her traveling kimono to reveal the taijiya armour underneath. Ai, too, took a deep breath and prepared to fight.
A soldier ran towards Ai, his spear pointing straight at her heart. Ai smiled inwardly, he was underestimating her. She dodged the spear and swung a kick at the back of his knee joints. The soldier gasped in surprise when his legs failed him. Ai grabbed the spear from him and knocked him out. She clutched her new found weapon and swung around just when another soldier came at her from behind. She shoved the blunt end of the spear into his stomach. (S.P. – what, you expect me to make our priestess kill?)
All around her the battle waged on. Sango stood in front of the four sick men and swung her hiraikotsu at anyone who dared to come near. Chichiri was freezing the enemies with his spells before knocking them down his staff. Kirara transformed into her battle form, Inuyasha was knocking down Kutou soldiers with his fist, if not as quick as usual. Even Shippo was fighting, using his illusion spinning top and foxfire to keep the attackers at bay. Chiriko watched the young kitsune in awe; his character had disappeared when he tripped during the confusion and he's now, well a crybaby.
Although everyone was doing their best, Ai knew they could not keep up for long. They must get out. Sango must've realized this, she yelled for Kirara.
Ai knocked aside the soldier she was fighting at the moment and rushed over. She helped Tamahome, Mitsukake, and Miroku onto the feline's back. Kirara grunted under the weight. She wasn't used to carrying three men. Chichiri grabbed Tasuki. "Ai, I can teleport you out of here, too no da!"
Ai refused. "Thank you, Chichiri. But I need to stay here and fight." She jumped away before the monk could make a move for her and threw him Shippo and Chiriko instead.
"Oh no you don't!" The Kutou captain growled. The ten black-clad ninjas jumped out to surround them.
The ninjas made a circle around Ai and her companions. Sango quietly put down her hiraikotsu and unsheathed her katana. Inuyasha flexed his claws.
The ninja closed in, two made moves for Ai. But Inuyasha knocked them out. One still made an attempt at attacking her, but Ai kicked his joints and knelt on his legs, the stick of the spear crossing against his throat, restricting all movements.
"Sango, now!"
Sango dropped her sword combat with the ninja and grabbed the giant boomerang again. She commanded Kirara to go and ran alongside the two-tail, making way with the hiraikotsu. Chichiri, too, took the advantage of the confusion and teleported out of the house.
The ninjas, however, wasn't about to give up yet. They all reached for the hidden weapons in their belts. Seconds later, numerous star-blades and kunais soared through the air, aiming straight for Sango and Kirara.
"Blades of Blood!" Flashed of red light shaped like the new moon cut through the air, destroying the kunais, a couple of ninjas, and half the wall in the process. Sango and Kirara made a run for it and disappeared into the woods.
"Kuso! Damn you!" the Captain swore. Nakago-sama would not be happy with this. He raised his sword above Ai, but Inuyasha broke his leg and he fell down to the ground.
"It's now or never!" Inuyasha shouted, sounding breathless. The poison was really starting to bother him. Amiboshi grabbed Ai and dashed into the woods, with Inuyasha leaping through the air beside them.
They ran and ran, always following the twisting trail, hoping to catch a glimpse of their companions. But the woods were quiet except for their panting and footsteps. All around them were darkness. With only the haunting moonlight guiding their path, Amiboshi, Ai, and Inuyasha sprinted on, not daring to stop, for the enemy may still be hot on their heels. Suddenly, Inuyasha slowed down and knelt on the ground. Ai immediately rushed over to him.
"Inuyasha! Are you okay?"
The hanyou's breathing was coarse and shallow, obviously in pain. It was only made worse by the bloody gash on his stomach, which he inflicted upon himself for the blades of blood attack.
Inuyasha turned towards Amiboshi, "They wouldn't catch up for some time, take Ai and run. I… I'm too weak right now… to protect her. Please…guard her with your…life."
"Inuyasha, what about you?" asked Amiboshi.
"I'm a half demon after all, a couple of… weak humans can't kill me," he forced out a smirk, "Besides, her life is more important. I can't…let her…die again."
"Inuyasha," Ai muttered, she was at a loss for words.
"Go! Don't just stand there stupids!"
Amiboshi nodded at the crouching hanyou before running off, taking Ai with him.
Run, was the only thing on Ai's mind. Run, just run. Don't think about anything else such as your friends dying or the enemy's chasing you. Just run, and everything will be okay.
It seemed like an eternity before Amiboshi finally released her hand and stopped to rest. Ai looked ahead and saw water. The mighty River Kai was blocking their escape.
"Do you want to rest for awhile?" Amiboshi asked gently.
Ai nodded and collapsed.
Amiboshi looked out to the shimmering river, wondering if that's the last thing they'll ever see.
"Will we die tonight?" Ai asked quietly.
"What, you scared?" said Amiboshi, half teasing her.
"No! I was just wondering," Ai retorted.
"It's okay," Amiboshi placed a hand on her shoulder, "We'll fight on. It wouldn't be fair to all our friends and companions if we give up."
An image of Inuyasha appeared in her mind and she felt strength returning to her. Just at that moment, they both heard the whooshing sound of something flying towards them.
Amiboshi shouted, "Watch out!" then knocked them both flat onto the ground, his body shielding hers. A hard, round object flew by merely inches from their heads and sliced through Amiboshi's sleeve. Luckily, it didn't draw blood.
"An…aniiki?"
Amiboshi raised his head. "Su…Suboshi? Otouto? Why do you throw your Ryuseisui at us?"
Ai looked at the two boys, Aniiki? Otouto? Are they twin brothers?
The angry twin retorted, "Why do you protect the Suzaku bitch then brother?"
Ai had to use all her will power to restrain herself from shouting back, "Who are you calling a bitch you bastard."
Amiboshi stood up, "Suboshi, listen to me. Nakago has been lying to us. It's he, and Kutou, who want to start a war, not the Suzaku seishis! On the contrary, they are all nice people. So if you'll just…"
"No! I won't listen to you!" Suboshi yelled through angry tears. "I don't like Nakago either but I'll never betray Yui-sama! I don't have to listen to a traitor!"
The steel balls of Ryuseisui flew toward them, but Amiboshi and Ai managed to dodge them, barely. Just as Amiboshi was stepping backwards he slipped. He fell into the water of River Kai with a loud "splash", dragging Ai down with him.
Suboshi watched, frozen, as the water current buried their heads and soon carried them away. Aniiki… It happened again! It's all my fault! I killed him! Through the tears Suboshi saw faintly something glowing in the water, something red, and warm. He blinked, and it's gone. But there's no time for mournful musings or investigating unknown glowing objects, however, for he could sense the miko's friends coming this way.
