Love Beyond The Western Lands: Curse of the Black Gem
It has been 3 years since Kikyou and Sesshoumaru were married. Kikyou and Sesshoumaru bore a baby boy, Tomo. All thought he was supposedly a three year old, but due to the dragon side, it made him 8 years older. Kikyou divided the Shikon no Tama's power into two. After Rin-Chan completed her training, she divided the powers from the Shikon no Tama and her own necklace, with Rin's favorite necklace: A silvery string on crystals along with a piece of sapphire carved into a crescent moon. After Tomo was worthy enough to wield the Shikon No Tama's power and to protect Rin, he was given his own Shikon no Tama vessel: A navy colored head wrap. Riko also got her own Shikon vessel: A necklace with a blue chain and a navy blue pendant. Sesshoumaru then received his own Shikon no Tama: the wedding ring.
Let's hope they will remain together till death do them part. After youkai have discovered powers of the Shikon no Tama resided in Sesshoumaru's household, they have been hounding them and attacking them for them. It was unsafe for them to have five jewelry vessels with divided powers of the Shikon jewel… until one night, a sickness fell upon Kikyou, which made her a target for youkai…
Chapter 1: The Tiger's Fight and the Nectar of Sakura
A navy-haired boy ran into his mother's room, grasping flowers. "Mother!" he exclaimed, dark red eyes gleaming, "I found these flowers just for you!" Kikyou smiled and gratefully took the flowers from the child. "Thank you, Tomo," she said. Tomo climbed into Kikyou's bed where she lay. "Mother," he said, worried, "how is your condition? You don't look much different from yesterday." Kikyou strained a smile. Sweat was beading her forehead. "Tomo, your father, the lord of the western lands is finding the doctors of the highest rank. I will be fine, child. Now run along a play with your sister." Tomo smiled.
Tomo smiled hopefully and veered out to room. "Rin-Chan! Rin-Chan!" he crowed. "Where are you? Let's go out and play!"
Kikyou smiled to herself. Suddenly, her head pounded. "My condition," she thought. "…it's worsening! What is this? This illness?" Suddenly, an explosion rang out. "What the…?" Kikyou began. Sesshoumaru walked in along with Riko, Jaken, Rin and Tomo. "Sesshoumaru! What's going on?" Kikyou exclaimed. "Lord Ankara!" Rin exclaimed. She and Tomo placed their hands on their weapons. Another explosion rang out. "That'll be that wretched woman," Jaken said, "banging down the door."
Kikyou thought for a moment. "Ah, yes!" she thought. "Lord Ankara, chief of a tiger tribe who was in love with Sesshoumaru. Ever since she found out Sesshoumaru and I married, she had been stalking us, trying to kill me and Rin and Tomo… that's was that after I got this sickness a week ago; that's when she stopped bombarding on the doors…" A third explosion spread out in the air. "Goodness!" Riko exclaimed. "I wonder if she is always like this…" Another explosion rang out. Riko put her hand on her katana. "LORD SESSHOUMARU!" a stout female voice said. "Come on out!" "Children, Jaken, Riko," Sesshoumaru said, turning to his family, "protect your mother! If anything happens, flee with Ah and Un." Kikyou made to get out of her bed. "Kikyou what are you doing!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed. "I'm going with you," she said curtly. "Kikyou, no!" Sesshoumaru said. "But-" Soon, they were arguing. "Kikyou, I can't have you risk your life out there!" Sesshoumaru yelled over here. "Kikyou you don't understand. They will try to hurt me by hurting you (I heard that from somewhere lol. Can't remember where…)." And without waiting for an answer, Sesshoumaru zipped out the room.
Sesshoumaru leapt out of the door, there to meet a beautiful lady, standing at the big gates. Her ivory skin shown in the sunset light. Her jet-blue hair shined as she tossed it and opened her blood-red eyes. Her shiny slayer armor reflected the sun's light. "Sesshoumaru," the woman said, annoyed, "why have you not come to see me?" "Ankara," Sesshoumaru, closing his sexy amber eyes and opening them again, "you should know that I am married. Find some other suitor that would be enticed by your looks."
When he turned, Sesshoumaru heard the sound of a katana being slowly drawn out. "You…" Ankara said, menacingly, "…will…not…DEFY ME!" She swung the blade as the crescents blasted towards Sesshoumaru. But the strange thing was that when Sesshoumaru leapt into the air to negate the attack, the crescents disappeared into thin air.
Ankara chuckled. "My attacks only affect my desired target… or if I just want the attacks to disappear…" Sesshoumaru darted towards Ankara, cracking his knuckles. He slapped Ankara on the cheek, leaving three long, deep, bloody marks as well as a scratch. The slap sent Ankara flying. When Ankara revived, her katana pulsated. "I know you did not strike me!" Ankara said. When the pulsation of the katana stopped, a purple aura began to pour out. "What is that?" Sesshoumaru thought, "Is that a miasma? No, the clouds of the aura are too light to be a miasma… what is it? Whatever it is, I should take care of it."
Snow began to fall lightly again and got heavier as the battle raged on. Suddenly, Ankara nicked Sesshoumaru on the face. "What?" Sesshoumaru thought. "Did I just get slower?" Suddenly, Ankara lunged. Sesshoumaru took a hit to his armor. Sesshoumaru sacked her in the stomach, which sent her flying for the umpteenth time. Sesshoumaru merely had a scratch on his face and his armor which needed buffing. Ankara, on the other hand, was bruised, bloody and bleeding. Somehow, no matter how fast
Ankara began to laugh. "Sesshoumaru, my dear," she said, "we fight as fierce as thunder claps for a mere quarrel, yet I love you with the deepest passion… tell me, my love… do you feel numb? Does it feel like with every movement, your closer to being paralyzed?" "Wha…. she… she's right!" Sesshoumaru thought. "But how…?"
Flashback-
When the pulsation of the katana stopped, a purple aura began to pour out.
End flashback-
"…oh no…" he thought. Soon, he could not move. Ankara limped to Sesshoumaru as he stumbled onto a wall. Ankara pressed her body onto Sesshoumaru's, stabbing her katana into the snow. She smirked and then tried to lick Sesshoumaru's lips, but then Sesshoumaru turned his head. "If you think I would kiss you on the lips, you are very wrong." "Oh, my Sesshoumaru…" Ankara said seductively, slipping her hand into Sesshoumaru's kimono. The iciness of her hands made him gasp. "…don't be so rash." She leaned up for a kiss. Her cold lips touched Sesshoumaru's warm ones. "N-no…" Sesshoumaru thought frantically in his head. "Damn this to the bowels of HELL! When will this strange aura discontinue its effects? Why do I feel weakened? My energy being drained out of me…"
Ankara slid back down, breathless. "Sesshoumaru," Ankara said, "you did not open your mouth!" She leaned in for the second kiss, but as she did, the snow howled; the anger of Kikyou was raging inside her.
Kikyou's head pounded as she saw the sight of Sesshoumaru and Ankara kissing. Sesshoumaru did not look like he was enjoying it, but Ankara was in heaven. "Th-that bitch ('Scuse the language, but Kikyou tends to curse when she's ANGRY.)," Kikyou thought angrily. "That is it! I will take this fight into my own hands!" She got out of her bed and got dressed. "Mother!" Tomo cried. "What are you doing!" "I'm going outside," Kikyou said as Riko helped slipped on her black top, "to destroy that chi-wah that dared to press faces with your father." "But, Kikyou-No-Danna!" Jaken said. "You are ill! You have an unknown sickness!" "Jaken, Riko," Kikyou said after she retrieved her bow and arrows as well as her beautiful Ni Hon and her trusty Ameterasu, "protect Rin and Tomo! And like Sesshoumaru said, if anything happens, flee with Ah and Un, but retrieving the Shikon no Tama vessel first!"
Kikyou climbed onto the snowy rooftops. "The snow helps sustain my current condition," Kikyou thought. "I should last long enough to take care of this wench." When Ankara leaned in for a kiss again, Kikyou slung an arrow and aimed. But when Ankara's lips were a millimeter away from Sesshoumaru's, she heard his voice. "Your not here just for me, aren't you?" "So right," Ankara said. "I'm here for you as well as the Shikon no Tama. I'll go get the...? What's this? There are two other vessels… I sense three, now four, and five… Ah! Six! Looks like some scavenger hunt… I shall go retrieve the vessels. I already know you have one… your wedding ring. But, I shall not rip that from you."
Ankara backed off Sesshoumaru as he slumped down. She began to walk towards where the shrine of the Shikon no Tama were. "The Shikon no Tama!" Kikyou thought furiously. "She can't have it!" She slung an arrow. She strained her energy to ready one arrow. "Must be accurate!" she thought. "So…. damn dizzy!" "WENCH!" Kikyou screamed. She shot the arrow. Ankara was just in time to block the attack. "Ah, Kikyou!" Ankara said, gloatingly. "Out from your little cot, eh?" "Ankara, you wench," Kikyou seethed. "How dare you kiss Sesshoumaru like that just after we had married!" "Married, eh? Well… all I have to do is kill you and take your ring!" Ankara swung her blade and crescents exploded once more.
Suddenly, something struck Ankara; Sesshoumaru was moving! "What is this?" she said surprised. "Heh heh heh… you did not know?" Kikyou said. "I am a miko… the only that can make dangerous auras harmless." "D…damn you!" Kikyou began to make her next move until she was beginning to get dizzy. "Ugh… c… can't think!" she thought, painfully. Suddenly, her mind seared. "AAAAAH!" she screamed, kneeling down sharply and grasping her head. Suddenly, she felt blood dripped onto her face. Kikyou looked up.
Ankara raised her bloody katana. Kikyou squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the laughter. When the blade dropped to her doom, Kikyou heard a snap: Sesshoumaru broke the blade! With a good kick, Sesshoumaru sent Ankara flying, nearing her to her brink of death. Blood spurted out from her mouth. Soon after, Kikyou fell unconscious.
Sesshoumaru walked over to her. "Wench," Sesshoumaru said. "After you have stopped hounding me for my love, Kikyou fell ill. What do you know of it?"
Ankara hacked up more blood. "I… I will only tell you… because I love you… This disease… is like a mere flu to us tiger youkai… but for others…. its life or death." Ankara had another fit of coughing and hacking up blood. "The… the antidote… it's…. Sakura's Nectar. Gather the petals and collect them into a mortar. Grind them until all of the liquids are sifted out… add some of horse root extract into it… If desired, add fruit extracts for flavoring." Ankara coughed once again and reached into her robes and pulled out a test-tube with purple liquid. "I… I never thought I'd need it tonight, but I brought it anyway." She slipped it in Sesshoumaru's hand and gave a small smile. "Don't think I've given up upon you," Ankara said, "Sesshoumaru. I love y…" Her eyes closed, slipping into eternal darkness.
Sesshoumaru soared over to Kikyou's unconscious body. He felt her forehead: It was like a furnace. Sweat beaded Kikyou's forehead. Her hair was sticky and matted. Sesshoumaru pulled the test-tube's cork and opened Kikyou's mouth, pouring the liquid in. Kikyou's body heat receded to ordinary warmth. Her hair once again blew freely. The precipitation disintegrated. Her pained face returned to her calm, collective state. Sesshoumaru held Kikyou close to him as he carried her back into the castle.
To be continued…