The Cursed Iris

Sprout 43: The Great Sea Plain

"Stupid little girl why don't you ever listen to me?" Shizuko yelled frantically.

"Shut up stupid fox!" Kikyo snapped, "I didn't expect another one of those stupid skeleton whales to come up on the land. Plus this one was way faster than that one Lady Izanami had me fight."

"Don't make me gag. You shouldn't be calling her Lady Izanami, it's disgusting."

Kikyo turned around to the bake-kujira, and she summoned the Kitsu-Kukan, "This isn't the time for your pettiness. Right now we have to beat this thing," she said as she knocked Shizuko off her shoulder.

Now all I got to do is try to summon them and provide me their powers.

She became surrounded by blue flames, and she grew a tail, "It's weaker this time," she noted.

"That's because you're using the residual energy they left. You didn't actually summon them," Shizuko groaned.

Kikyo prepared to attack. "This power should probably be enough to defeat it."

The bake-kujira lunged at her and that's when Kikyo swung the Kitsu-Kukan. A wave of water that looked like flames followed. It swallowed up the bake-kujira, and Kikyo's transformation wore off. She felt like she had ran a marathon, she was completely exhausted.

"Tired are we?" Shizuko teased.

"Shut up. So question," Kikyo huffed, "so the different species residual energies will stay inside of me until I use it again?"

"Not exactly. It's more like you become one of them once you used that stupid blessing. Once you are able to you can use their powers but only a weaker version than what you'd get from them actually being summoned. Remember what the Hoshi-no-Tama is? Well they've become a part of you."

Kikyo smiled. "Well that's amazing. This blessing Inari gave me is incredible."

"Whatever, now can we finally enter the Great Sea Plain?"

Kikyo sighed, "Straight to the point as ever. Come on then," she said as she picked up Shizuko.

Kikyo didn't know what she was looking for until Shizuko poked her cheek. "Look ahead of you and the portal will open."

She saw it, and Shizuko smiled. "Been a while since I've been to grandfather's domain. Hopefully, we'll get some good training out of this; maybe we'll even get a clue about that prophecy."

"What prophecy?"

"Oh right, my mother never told you about that. Well now that you have me and Ayame is going to get my cousin the prophecy has finally been set into motion. All I know is that it talks about two flowers: you and Ayame and the singularity event. I don't know what that event is exactly, but it would seem like you two are at the center of it."

"Interesting," Kikyo replied.

Shizuko nodded. "Interesting indeed, now we just have to find what we came for."

"Right, also I talked to Lady Inari before we left, and she told me that The Great Sea Plain has another name." Kikyo noted.

Shizuko's gaze seemed distant, "Yes, its other name is Ne-No-Kuni or The Land of Origin. It's where my grandfather ruled over and visited my grandmother. He even moved her grave site to this realm as he wanted her to be buried in a place where she can have a great view of the place she created."

"But isn't her soul still in Yomi?" Kikyo wondered.

Shizuko let out a dry chuckle. "Look at you. Yes it is still trapped there, but I will make it my mission to bring her soul here. That's what she'd want."