Two Months to Live
Chapter Twenty-Three: Haunted Castles and Soul Chambers
Fanfiction by: Corisu Li, Mystellia@aol.com
, home page http://www.freewebs.com/chasms/
This is a sequel to One Month for Romance. It is complete in 27 chapters.
It has a few plot twists that will shock you.I'm posting it here with the
permission of the author. I found it at http://www.geocities.com/inuyashakarma
. Enjoy. Tim Seltzer
Disclaimer: Kunoichi: *grins eeeeeevilllyyyyy*
Corisu Li: *stares* Why do you look so diabolical?
Kunoichi: I got a suggestion that I reeeeally like...
Corisu Li: *backs away* Uh...
Kunoichi: Aw, don't worry. It has absolutely nothing to do with you...
*gives pointed glances to all of the bishies in the room*
Inu, Kouga, Sessi, Miroku, and Ninsei: O.O
Corisu Li: Ohhh... you're talking about Isabel's suggestion, aren't
you?
Kunoichi: Yepperz! *whips out a huge jar* I bought these from a dude
who looked kinda like Jaken. I think he was mad because they wouldn't affect
him...
*The label on the jar reads "Instant Rabid Fangirl Pellets: Add water
and let the glomp-fest begin!"*
Miroku: *shivers* Oh, Kami-sama... help us.
Sesshoumaru: Hmmph. This will not affect me in any way.
Kunoichi: *smiles sweetly at him* And why NOT?
Sesshoumaru: *blurs away and returns with Aamalie in his arms* Tell
them.
Aamalie: *whips out the digihammer* There's nothing to TELL.... *glares*
Corisu Li: *sweatdrop* Ah. Let's just work with the OTHER bishies, ne?
Kunoichi: *nods hurriedly*
Corisu Li: *wiggles nose and pit appears under all bishies except Sessi,
dropping them from sight*
***Meanwhile, in the Meiji Era...***
Megumi: Rooster-head! When I catch youuuuu....
Sanosuke: *runs* Megumi, I DIDN'T do it! That was Yahiko! I swear! *suddenly
sinks into ground and disappears*
Megumi: *blink blink* Where'd he go?
Kenshin: Oro?
Aoshi: *strides up, looking VERY important* Perhaps one of you can explain
why I found THIS in my meditation room? *holds up a fangirl by the collar*
Kenshin: Who is she? And why is she wearing such strange clothing? *pit
opens under him* Oroooooooooo...... *falls*
Aoshi: Interesting... *is sucked into a pit, dropping fangirl on her
butt*
Megumi: What's going onnnnnn? *looks utterly confused*
Fangirl: WHERE'S MY SHINOMORI-SAN?!?!?! AOSHI-SAMA, WAIT FOR MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
*dives down the pit before it closes*
Megumi: How.. interesting... *runs for it, thinking she's gone insane*
***Back in the present***
Aamalie: Who were THEY?
Corisu Li: *sweatdrops* Eh. Rurouni Kenshin characters. Geez, Kuno-chan.
You don't do anything halfway, ne?
Kunoichi: They're some of my favorite bishies!! ^____^ And I'm not even
done collecting yet!
Corisu Li: Poor guys... they won't know what hit them...
Summary: Sequel to One Month for Romance. Miroku
finds that he has two months before the kazaana sucks him in. Will his
friends be able to save his life and stake claim over the Northern Lands?
And what does Kikyou want?!?!
Chapter 23: Haunted Castles and Soul Chambers
Ninsei burst through the doors of the castle and his fears were confirmed.
The stench of youkai was everywhere. They had been lured into a false sense
of security, and he wasn't too happy about it.
"Kohaku! Shippou!" he called, but there was no answer from either the
boy or the kitsune. "Kunoichi-san!" He whirled to face her as she trotted
up beside him, looking apprehensive.
"What's going ON, Ninsei-san?" Her bow was still clutched loosely in
one hand, having failed to pierce the cage walls.
"There are youkai here. They are everywhere, as a matter of fact. We
must stay on guard."
Kunoichi stared at him in disbelief. "How could there be youkai in the
house? Wouldn't we have sensed them before?"
Ninsei shook his head. It was time to tell the girl what he knew. "This
is no ordinary energy field. It is only possible to form such a barrier
with immense mental prowess. No youkai that I know of, not even the most
powerful enemy that I have faced, had sufficient strength to accomplish
this."
Kunoichi nodded slowly. "So this means... this means that whoever is
after the others is quite strong, then?"
Ninsei tensed as he felt youki reverberating through the hallway, but
no youkai appeared to accompany it. He relaxed and continued. "I said immense
*mental* prowess, Kunoichi-san. Physical strength is unrelated."
"So then, what is the problem? If this thing attacks them, it won't
be too difficult to defeat it, then!"
"It is not that simple. Mental traps are more formidable than any material
ones." He motioned for her to follow him as he began to creep down the
hall, being careful not to attract unneccessary attention. "There is one
more thing that I must tell you about traps such as these..."
"Nothing could be much worse..."
"Inside, the caster can summon hordes of youkai, called Sai, to be at
his or her command. They need no instruction because they are extensions
of the caster's own will."
"Mm. That's worse, huh?" Kunoichi stopped suddenly. "Did you sense that?"
A crawly feeling had worked its way to the top of her head from the base
of her spine, and she shivered.
"I felt nothing. Let's go, we have to find-" He stopped short. Cries
were coming from up ahead... the cries of a small fox youkai. "Shippou!"
The pair dashed down the hallway, no longer bothering to be silent. As
they skidded around the corner, a strange sight confronted them.
Shippou appeared to be hanging in midair, his head dangling while his
tail was pointing straight upward. After Ninsei beheld a strange crumple
in the fur of the kit's tail, he came to a sudden realization. "The Sai
are invisible for this caster!" he shouted, immediately looking around
in vain, straining his ears for the slightest sound.
"Help me!" Shippou cried, struggling against the clearly firm grasp
of the Sai. With a cry, Ninsei directed his attention to the offending
youkai and launched himself forward, holding his staff aloft. He followed
through with the swing, and hit...
...Abolutely nothing. He slid to a stop, while Shippou suddenly thunked
to the ground. The Sai had fled; it was apparent by the sudden clean smell
of the air.
"Where is Kohaku, Shippou?" Kunoichi demanded, setting the kitsune on
his feet.
"I dunno! When you guys didn't come look for us, I went to try and find
Kohaku. I saw him in the entrance hall, and he looked like he was fighting
something, only I couldn't see it! And so I threw foxfire at it, and it
knocked me out, and when I woke up, it was holding me here, by the tail!
I don't know where Kohaku went!" As he broke down into tears, Kunoichi
worked to pull something useful from his ramblings.
"We have to find him, Ninsei-san. He could be hurt..." 'Or worse,' she
added silently.
Ninsei nodded. "But how will we prevent the Sai from sneaking up on
us? It is a veritable danger to wander around amongst invisible enemies."
"I've got it!" Kunoichi snapped her fingers. "Ninsei-san, turn the floor
of every room in the castle into sand!"
Ninsei brightened and held up his staff. "Excellent suggestion, Kunoichi-
san!" He complied, and Shippou immediately overbalanced and flopped face-
first in the sand.
"Why did you do THAT, Ninsei?" Shippou complained, standing and brushing
dirt from his clothes.
"It is simple. The sand will allow us to see the footprints of the Sai.
Ingenious, really." He gave a warm look to Kunoichi, who blushed. "Now,
let's find Kohaku!" The other two nodded, and they began to make their
way through the castle, their eyes locked on the sandy floor for any sign
of danger.
---------------------------
Sesshoumaru folded his arms in front of him and looked around in disinterest.
'It appears that someone is toying with us,' he decided finally, as he
took in his surroundings.
He was in a large, darkened room that was teeming with strangely-shaped
devices. He could make out the form of Shirokin in one corner, his navy
hair pooling around his head. Yuya lay on her back in an opposite corner,
her eyes shut. And Rin lay in the center of the room, tears streaming down
her face even as she slept.
'Weaklings,' he thought. 'Unable to withstand the transition into the
soul chambers of another's mind...' Sesshoumaru was unfazed. He had spent
many a time exploring the recesses of others' minds, so he was almost a
relative expert. Despite his scorn for weakness, he dropped to his knees
beside the small girl and brushed the tears from her face. 'Weak...' he
thought again.
At that moment, light streamed into the room from some place above them
all, and he could see the room in even sharper relief. His eyes worked
just fine in the dark, but he was unable to make out the nature of the
objects that littered the room. As he observed them, he could see how ironic
his first thought was.
The room was filled with children's toys. There were false swords, dolls,
and more interesting things that Sesshoumaru had never before seen in his
long life. He suspected the that ideas for the toys were drawn from the
occupants' minds.
A moment later, Sesshoumaru whirled and drew a hand back, ready to attack.
A small girl stood behind him, a forlorn smile on her face. Her expression
was a paradox, she seemed unable to settle on a definite one. Her short
lavender hair was pulled into a ponytail, but some loose strands still
danced around her face. Her eyes were a deep purple, and she held something
lumpy in her hands.
Sesshoumaru did not relax. He had learned that enemies come in all shapes
and sizes. "Who are you?" he demanded, straightening, but not dropping
his guard.
'I... am.' she stated simply, then sat on the ground and began to unwrap
her lumpy package. Her mouth did not move; he heard her very thoughts.
Sesshoumaru refused to let this faze him, and he refused to let her escape
the question.
"That does not answer my question. Who are you?"
'I am... everything. Although there are things that I am not.'
"Cease your riddles and give me a response." Sesshoumaru was beginning
to lose patience with the small girl.
'Light.' was her last response, before Sesshoumaru suddenly blurred
forward and made a motion as if to grab the front of her yukata. It would
have been a perfectly executed move, if the girl had been there.
The Taiyoukai turned and glanced around, finally spotting her perched
on a stack of oil paintings. She was still unwrapping the package as if
nothing had happened. When she pulled an odd-looking doll from it, Sesshoumaru
almost wanted to gasp. Almost.
She held up a life-sized doll that looked exactly like Jaken. Wires
sprung from every joint and extremity, leading to a small branch that the
girl held in her left hand. The eyes on the doll suddenly rolled, and fixed
on Sesshoumaru. "Help..." it squeaked.
This was when a rancid smell hit the youkai's nostrils. It was a stench
of death, of decay. He realized then that the thing wasn't a doll, but
Jaken himself. His body was stiffened, leading Sesshoumaru to believe that
the girl had inserted poles of wood into his body.
'How gruesome,' he thought. This was nothing like the methodical way
that the Taiyoukai killed. This was masochism at its extreme.
'Thank you,' the girl said then, twitching the branch in her hands so
that Jaken's form seemed to speak the words.
Sesshoumaru was now very angry, though it did not show on the outside.
"Tell me why you did this," he said, ignoring the fact that the girl seemed
able to read his very thoughts.
She moved Jaken's mouth again. 'He did not wish to play with me.'
"Who ARE you?"
The girl looked up, a cold grin on her face. 'I am...Purity.'
"You are purity, you say?"
'I am... THE purity... and it is also my name.' Jaken's stiffening jaws
snapped open and closed as she spoke. 'And if *I* am Purity...' her cold
violet eyes met Sesshoumaru's. 'Can you imagine what my other is without
me?' Open, close. Open, close.
Sesshoumaru realized at once what was going on. This girl... Purity...
was a spawn of Suikai. Their features were almost identical, despite the
age difference. The Suikai that he had known was weak and unremarkable...
but if she had separated herself as Purity claimed... She would prove to
be a formidable opponent.
Jaken's mind had been broken by the small one.
She would not do the same to him.
---------------------------------
Corisu Li: Ne, rather short. Ah, well.
Kunoichi: *giggles*
Corisu Li: Uh... what are you so happy about?
Kunoichi: Time to collect more bishies!
***At the Kame Game Shop***
Jounouchi: Ah, MAN!!!
Honda: Yessss!!! Your Swamp Battleguard is TOAST! I win!
Jou: No fair... *pouts*
Yugi: *plops down at the table with the other two* What's going on?
Jounouchi: Yugi! Tell Point-Head here that I'm a better duelist than
him! C'mon, say it!
Yugi: *sweatdrop* Weeeell... I've never actually seen you beat him.
Jou: WHAAAA?!?! *facefaults out of his chair and into a pit* AAAAHHHH!!!
Honda: Uh, Yugi? Where'd he go? *walks around table to inspect where
he fell*
Yugi: I dunno. *joins him*
*Pit suddenly widens and swallows them both.*
Anzu: Guys? Guuuuys? Honda? Jou? Yugi? I have a new friendship rant
that I want you to hear! Hello? *shrugs and goes on friendship rant anyway*
***Meanwhile, outside the shop***
Bakura: You saw that, right?
Marik: Yeah. *looks glum*
Bakura: You know what this means, right?
Marik: Yeah... *is pulled into a pit*
Bakura: *sighs, before falling into a pit of his own* That's the fourth
time this WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!
***In Disclaimer City***
Corisu Li: *sweatdrop* Are you QUITE done collecting bishies now?
Kunoichi: Hm. If I think of more, I'll pull them in...
Aamalie: *blinks* HEY! I just realized...HOUSHI-SAMA!! *snaps fingers
and Miroku appears at her side, blinking owlishly*
Miroku: Ahem. It took you long enough...
Aamalie: ^^' I kinda forgot... *huggles Miroku and Sessi to keep them
from Kunoichi's wrath*
Corisu Li: *shrug* Let's see where this plotline takes us... Don't forget
to review.... Until Sunday!
************************
Alianna: You're right... being lazy IS fun... it's also the reason that
I've been slacking lately... So I guess it's NOT a good thing for writers,
ne? Glad you like it, though! ^__^
Isabel: *grin* Evil cliffies of DOOM!! are my specialty, duh! And you
aren't the only one who called Shirokin a jerk. Hn. He wasn't really supposed
to come out that way, either... *frown* Of course, I love your idea! Mwahahaha....*ahem*
Aamalie: *giggles and points* Waaaaait.... *thinks hard, then points
and giggles* Yeah, that's right... right? Anyway, because of the time diff,
you're always at school when I first get home... and you HAVE been slacking
lately... *glare* By the way, how are the wedding plans coming along?
Letitia or Teesha: I already told ya that you could use the idea at
church so nyeeegh... *blink* I don't know WHAT that sound was... Can't
wait to read the fic! Thanks for the praise, Kyoko-chan!
dianne: Thank you! Such kind words! *blush* Anyway, this fic should
be over in about 4-5 more chappies, because NOW I have ANOTHER to work
on... *sigh* But life goes on...
Vampire-Elf: It SO *WAS* a huge cliffie! People have been yelling at
me for a whole WEEK! You have veeery high tolerance... *bows to you* Yeah,
I laughed allllll through writing the 'all hell breaks loose' part...
lemmings-please: Yup! It was quite amusing (and fun) ne? I'm very glad
that you liked it!!!
fire feline: THANK YOU! You are perhaps the only one of my reviewers
who would REFRAIN from throwing fruit! You don't know what that means to
meee *is whacked in the head with an apple, while Aamalie slinks off, giggling*
Grrrr... well, anyway, thank you for the kind words!
Mercurial1: Heh... Mwahahahahahahahahaha.... I am the Mistress of the
Evil Cliffies of DOOM! *smirks*
Dee Bryant: And you should... *diabolical laugh* Oh, you should....
flameflyingfeline: Kunoichi: Squuuueeee!! Candy! I forgot about that!
*runs to Chibi World barrier* Corisu: ARRRG! STOP!! *grabs her, then frowns
at you* Do you WANT all havoc to break loose? *blinks at your suggestions*
Wow... you ARE sadistic...and talented... *begins trying to burn water*
GinHasa: *sigh* Yeah, he is, huh? And you are SOOO not the only person
who called Shiro-kun an asshole/jerk. And the bad things was, he really
wasn't supposed to be like that...
Inusapphrine: Yeeeeah... it was kind of a bad time... which is why I
kept putting it off! That scene was planned since they were fighting Naraku!
*satisfied smile* Erk.. forty pounds of spaghetti? Erg...
Heather: The new fanfic is at Fanfiction.net. It's on my bio page, and
it's called "Protect Me". No one seems to like it much, though... *cries*
Ok, I'm better now. AAGH! WHIP! Run awaaaaaay! *dashes off to school* ARGH!!!
That's no better!!!
badgerwolf: I agree. A lot of other people felt that her outburst was
totally justified.
Vamps: *quirks eyebrow* Yeeeeah... I read it. You're on the happy tobaccy,
aren't you? *laughs* Well, whatever. Mm... pocky good...
Kitsune Bi 123: Erm... I really don't know! Wait... COBRA!! I knew I
knew it! *relieved sigh* I guess I should've said that a while ago. Pocky=
japanese snack that's made of a pastry and a yummy frosting like chocolate
or strawberry. Beta= someone who proofreads your stories for grammar and
stuff.
Elyndewen Startree: AARG! I totally LUV your name! Anyway, sad to say,
Sessi will be doing no slicing and dicing. And she really does need to
chill.. *hands Kagome a Prozac* Wait... that might not be the right medicine.
Kagome, WAIT!
Two Months to Live by Corisu Li
This is a sequel to One Month of Romance. It is complete in 27 chapters.
It has a few plot twists that will shock you.
Book
collections on CD and DVD. A library for the price of a book.