Somewhere in Time

Prelude (never-before-seen chapter)

The misty hill in the north have always been foreboding, yet there had never been such a dark, infested aura as strong as the one that had taken root in its very core.

A lone village at the borders of Hone no Oka had been living in constant fear, heightened by the incessant warnings of the village priestess. But as days passed into weeks, the threat of the evil youki had remained within the menacing hill, eventually alleviating the villagers' uneasiness of a sudden attack. They were able to enjoy relative peace albeit living under such grievous threat.

She kept her sutras close, just in case.

However, nothing could have prepared them from the formidable aura that instantly blanketed the entire border.

"Idou-sama!" A terrified villager burst into her hut just as she was about to take her bow and arrow from the old wooden chest.

"I felt it too," she said calmly.

"Y-youkai..." the poor man muttered as they hurried towards the clearing just beyond the village entrance. Several armed men have already gathered there in a half-circle. As Idou neared, the magnanimous burst of youki was coming from a tall silhouette unlike any youkai she had expected. It resembled a human, save for its long silver hair, pointed ears, and magenta stripes. It just stood there, expressionless, unfazed by the spears pointed in its direction. An unconscious form lay still in its arm.

"This is no lowlife youkai," Idou declared, stepping forward. "Lower your weapons. They will be useless against a daiyoukai of his power."

Reluctantly the men complied, as terrified as they were in the face of such intimidating presence.

The old priestess turned to the daiyoukai. "What brings you to our village?"

"This woman requires immediate healing." The answer was curt, cold.

"He attacked her!" one of the men shouted, followed by a series of convinced grunts.

"This could be a trick! He's using that woman to get into the village!" another supplied.

The daiyoukai ignored them and continued to bore his yellow-gold eyes at the priestess. She assessed his stature—regal red and white kimono, a bright yellow obi, dangerous-looking chest plate, and two swords strapped to his waist... he was a lord, and a high-ranking one.

A still moment passed.

Idou sighed and stepped aside. "Bring her to my hut."

Protests were heard from the men, but they did not stop the demon lord from following the priestess to the village. As soon as the villagers saw him, an uproar started.

"Youkai!"

"Idou-sama, kill the youkai! Purify it with your power!"

"Look, it killed a woman! She's bleeding!"

Idou turned to the terrified villagers and nodded reassuringly. "Please gather your children and stay in your houses. This will be over quickly."

The people obeyed the old priestess, casting the daiyoukai with anxious glances as they scurried towards the safety of their houses. Soon, the entire village was quiet. Idou turned to the men. "You may return to your families. Tell them that the daiyoukai means no harm and only seeks healing for the wounded human."

They exchanged suspicious glances.

"A demon saving a human?"

"Impossible!"

"We can't leave you unprotected, Idou-sama!"

For the first time, the daiyoukai acknowledged their presence and spoke directly to them. "We will leave your village unharmed once the woman is healed. Interrupt us and I will leave none of you alive."

This bold threat finally scattered the men, until only the priestess and the daiyoukai were left. She led him towards her hut, west of the village well. Once inside, she gestured him to lay the unconscious woman on the tatami. Her odd clothing was torn and dirty, and dried blood covered her wounded shoulder.

Faintly, Idou could feel a familiar aura. "This woman is a miko."

He ignored this. "Miasma has seeped into her wounds."

She placed her hand over the gash on the young miko's shoulder. Her reiki was very weak, laced with a poison so evil, it was tainting her spiritual power. It felt similar to the dark aura that had taken over Hone no Oka.

Idou flickered her gaze to the silent youkai lord. For fifty years, she had come across a large number of youkai, yet none of them could compare to the one she sat face to face with at this moment. His youki was frighteningly vast and powerful—but it was not evil. Whatever threat had come to the hill, it was not him.

She took her hand back and spoke. "The poison needs to be purified before it can be taken out."

Rising to her feet, she lit the fire pit and put a kettle over to boil. As soon as steam rose to the lid, she put in several dried genkwa herbs and let the concoction boil some more. She transferred it to a wooden bowl and offered it to the daiyoukai.

"The miko needs to drink this," she said. He raised one eyebrow, unwilling to make any move. Idou sighed. For someone who needed help, this was one cautious youkai. "The purification will be very painful, especially for a miko. This brew will help ease the pain to an extent."

Still skeptic, the youkai lord gently propped the miko on his lap, took the bowl, and gingerly tipped its yellowish liquid into her mouth. She coughed and spluttered, but did not wake.

Idou watched as the daiyoukai set her back down on the tatami. He looked at her. "Do what you must."

Nodding, she put her hand over the infested wound. She was uncertain she possessed enough reiki to purify such a malevolent aura. After all, she was old. Very old. The only powerful miko she had ever come across was the great Kikyo, and she had been studying only a year under the miko's tutelage before she died.

Yet something about the unconscious woman was different.

Idou focused on this singular point and let her spiritual essence flow to her hand, a soft white glow beginning to radiate towards the still form of the miko. Instantly, the poison reacted to the purification, eliciting anguished whimpers from the wounded woman.

In a flash, the daiyoukai was beside her, holding her hand. He nodded at the old miko to continue.

It was a tedious battle that was eventually won as the last traces of the miasma finally burned away. The young miko's breathing had become less labored. A spike in her reiki mildly surprised Idou. The purification restored some of her spiritual essence, but it should not be as potent as it was.

"Strange," Idou murmured while gathering another batch of herbal medicine in her wooden chest. She ground lingzhi mushroom, ginseng, and evergreen shrub in a mortar and poured a small drop of the genkwa concoction. Once done, she applied the blend onto the open wound of the woman before wrapping her injured shoulder with a clean cloth.

"We will be on our way," the daiyoukai said.

"Wait," the old priestess called in a slightly louder voice. She studied the sleeping form on the tatami and turned her gaze on the youkai lord. "Her soul..."

He raised one eyebrow.

"Her soul is not of this era. Is she the woman they claim to have come from the future?"

"So it seems."

Idou hesitated. "And the reincarnation of Kikyo?"

At the mention of the dead miko, the daiyoukai looked at her sharply. His nostrils flared and a low growl issued from his throat. "I do not believe that."

Idou took a deep breath, wondering where to start. "There is something you need to know."