Early mornings were always the quietest times to travel, especially when the sun hadn't quite risen yet. The sun rising was a beautiful and calming sight no matter the journey ahead. Sesshomaru and Jaken had returned to their travels seamlessly since the defeat of Naraku. Though Rin was no longer with them, Sesshomaru made it his routine to visit her often and ensure that she was learning to be human again for the greater good. While Lady Kaede, Kagome, and Sango were doing fairly well with their teachings, Sesshomaru knew that Rin was still that same troublemaking girl with the bright smile that melted his heart. Things were quieter without her voice interjecting on information Jaken might have been telling him as they discussed their next steps, but the western lord continued on his own path to challenge other strong demons again. As a plus, he brought Aa and Un with him to pay Rin a visit for a little while. Instead of Jaken riding on his Moko Moko, the imp rode on the dragon for a change.
Unfortunately, in obtaining greater strength and abilities throughout time, there weren't many challengers left to satiate his thirst for battle and there was less of a need to find any new ones. Sesshomaru found there was less promise in fighting newer opponents who could equal his strength. His brute force alone was enough these days.
As the young lord flew overhead in the calming landscape of sky and cloud, he caught the scent of the Netherworld some miles away from him and the air had abruptly grown colder. The winter months were not approaching this fast, and the summer was only just beginning with the harsher and warmer days. It was the chill of death. Jaken and Aa and Un caught the change in atmosphere almost immediately after Sesshomaru. Without missing a beat, they saw a conglomerate of severed heads trapped in a dark mist and funneling down to the earth below. Unfamiliar with this type of creature, the party descended to the ground closest to the creature's vortex as it was making a point. Approaching with caution, Sesshomaru watched as the acidic tornado formed into a disfigured wolf. The creature turned to Sesshomaru and the others initially but saw nothing of interest among their group. Irritated, it growled before sniffing the air and then the ground.
Jaken was the first to speak when he inquired, "A demon from the Netherworld has entered the land of the living? What might have possessed it to do that?"
Sesshomaru grew silent, thinking of his tragic time in the Netherworld, but ultimately decided it best to investigate to make sure the demon wasn't going in the direction of Lady Kaede's village. It wasn't interested in fighting him whatsoever and was intent on catching a particular smell. It took a few steps to the left before shaking its head and turning to its right. It didn't find the scent in that direction either. With some curiosity, it went towards Sesshomaru, looked at him, and then sniffed him. It shook its head and continued its search.
"It seems awfully focused on finding something," Jaken commented, furrowing his brow with some confusion. "What on Earth is it trying to find?"
Its ear twitched at that and the massive head of the beast shot up. It caught something. When it sniffed the air again, it looked at Sesshomaru again and sniffed the air behind him. Its pupils immediately shrunk and it let out a death-defining roar before jumping over Sesshomaru and bounding in the direction of the smell. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the creature and proceeded to follow it. It wasn't going in the direction of Kaede's village, but it was looking for something of possible interest.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called, not understanding where his master was going. He hustled to return to direct Aa and Un to follow him, but the dragon took off too fast and left Jaken to fall behind. "You accursed pet! Lord Sesshomaru!"
The beast could feel the gravity of the living world pulling it down. Its speed significantly reduced to loud, quaking prances. It could smell the offensive spice of the purifying herb in the distance and it wasn't very far. It was in abundance! The woman might be there, welcoming death from its bone-crushing jaws. It wasn't interested in the nearby travelers along its path as it nearly crushed a group of men, it wasn't concerned about gravesites honoring fallen men, and it wasn't concerned about children. It knew what it was after. Sesshomaru, however, was even more curious about the creature. It was ignoring its surroundings for this one thing it was sniffing out, and it seemed to be heading to a place he didn't formally recognize. When the creature slowed to a halt and sniffed the air once more, it trotted over to a young girl no more than possibly fifteen or sixteen. She was terrified of the beast coming to her, but her fear stopped the wolf and made it growl with displeasure. She wasn't the woman it was after.
It sniffed the air again and immediately growled from the sharp burn it inhaled. The herb was nearby and it was strong. It walked to the herb's fragrant domain through the forest trees with caution. Sesshomaru only looked at the girl to see what made the creature ignore her but couldn't see anything that was off. Was she too young? Did the girl not have something it wanted? That's when he heard the screams of a different woman. The creature let out a pained yelp then an angry roar, which got Sesshomaru's immediate attention, before it stomped the ground enough to make it quake and form a shockwave across the earth.
"Yuko, run!"
Yuko was a young farmhand of about twenty years of age. She was lovely in face and body, hence her marriage bond to another, but she wasn't a typical farmhand. She was training to be a nurse and to one day take the Oath of Medicine. Yuko tended to both the local farm and a separate garden with very specific herbs that her mentor needed. The reason why she chose not to run as instructed was because Yuko often helped heal demons as large as the one before her. As the creature stepped towards her, Yuko could see this demon came from a very scary place. Within its bones and rotting fur were severed human bodies, its claws were jagged and sharp, and its snout narrow with blade tip whiskers. Her mentor told her to never show too much fear to other demons if they came to her for healing. In this case, Yuko couldn't rightly tell what the beast wanted. It just stared at her.
The artic wolf creature could smell the scent of the thief on Yuko, but it knew that Yuko wasn't the woman it was after. She didn't have the sharp, hazel eyes that burned with an amber glow. She wasn't the same height or build either. She wasn't even dressed the same! This woman had no armor or weapons, and she didn't smell of divine strength and power. Normally, the fur and skin of the beast would prickle and pop from the sensation of the woman's power, but only the herb burned its nostrils relentlessly and practically disarmed it enough for the demon male to retrieve a lengthy sickle quickly.
"Yuko, don't just sit there! Move!" the man barked.
"Ichi, no!" Yuko responded, surprising the demon man now known as Ichi.
"Are you insane?" Ichi questioned in shock.
"It's not after me!" Yuko retorted, rising to stand. She quietly walked up to the wolf, making it narrow its eyes, and asked, "It's looking for someone else. Did you lose someone? Or are you looking for a different woman? I can heal a wound if you need help."
Silenced by the question, the wolf slowly stood up straight and measured Yuko with its blackened eyes. Sesshomaru chose then to approach from behind, strictly to hear the creature's answer. The beast slowly crept towards Yuko again as if it were getting a good look at her to reassure itself and then said slowly in an amalgamation of voices, "Yes. The thief of my sword."
"Your sword?" Yuko questioned, placing a hand on her lips. "What did the thief look like? Was it a woman like me?"
"Yes," it replied. "She was taller with amber eyes and a silver spear. She smelled of the herb there."
"What was she wearing?" Yuko asked.
"Armor like a soldier," the creature answered. "And a thick coat of hide."
"I think I might know that person," Yuko then said with a smile, making the wolf's ears fold back and a low growl rise from its broad chest. "She's my mentor. She would never steal something on purpose. Are you sure she didn't just find it in an abandoned place? She may still have it in case the owner returns for it. She's quite kind and would happily return it to you if it belongs to you."
"She has no right to touch anything that doesn't belong to her!" the wolf bellowed, making the ground shake.
"Yuko!" Ichi shouted.
The woman's demon companion, however, felt the creature was too close to Yuko with its angered response and attacked it. Sesshomaru could feel that the demon was weak against this icy monster, so he intervened and stopped Ichi from practically getting himself killed. Sickle and sword clashed in a heated moment.
"Get out of my way, servant!" Ichi demanded, pushing Sesshomaru back with enough strength to make him slightly falter.
While Sesshomaru was not happy about being called a servant, he was intent on knowing who Yuko was talking about and why the Netherland wolf wanted her. If the sword could be returned, there was no reason to thirst for blood. This ran deeper than what the wolf was saying. Ichi tried to attack Sesshomaru instead, but the young lord bested him easily with his hand and punched Ichi to the ground. The wolf was surprised by Sesshomaru's presence and backed away to pace a little. It looked at Yuko once more, hesitant to leave just yet, but intent on finding the thief. Using its long tail, the wolf pulled a man's head from its neck and positioned it in front of Yuko. Whoever the man once was, he certainly didn't look pleasant from where Yuko was standing. She backed away to get the sight of the corpse head away from her but she found she was losing control of her body and couldn't move immediately. The head's eyes flashed a bright light and read through Yuko's memories until he came across the woman who matched the wolf's description. There she was! The tall woman who came to hell and took the sword!
She had been to hell before, dressed in a kimono and carrying the herb, but she found a way to escape. She was covered in her own blood and scars that shouldn't have healed. She was crying and crawling with the last ounce of strength she had left to a sacred hedge. Yuko was much younger when the two met. Afraid that the woman would die, Yuko brought her to the other farmhands to help her. She taught Yuko how to make a certain medicine to patch her own wounds and Yuko learned her name. Meioshi... Yuko helped Meioshi restore her health and became close friends with her. Meioshi attended Yuko's wedding before she returned to her village. The village wasn't far from here! Only a few hours walking distance! With that, the wolf returned the head to its rightful place, sniffed the air again to try to pinpoint a more definitive location with so much of the herbs invading his senses, and finally caught Meioshi's scent. There! Its eyes widened then narrowed before it leapt over everyone again and charged faster than before to get to Yuko's friend.
When Ichi stood down, he watched the creature head to the neighboring village. Hopefully, Meioshi or the emperor's guards could fight it back and keep it away from the farm. Yuko, however, was furious at Ichi and forcefully turned Ichi around and slapped him across the face.
"Are you satisfied now?" Yuko questioned; anger evident in her voice. "You just put hundreds of people in danger because of your recklessness! Get out of my garden and go back to your precious farming if that's all you care about!"
"That thing could've killed you!" Ichi defended.
"It's going to kill everyone near the kingdom now, you idiot!" Yuko argued.
"And you think Yamashi would forgive anyone if something happened to y - ?" Ichi tried.
"You dishonor me," Yuko hissed, turning her head away from Ichi until he gritted his teeth and stormed off. She then looked to Sesshomaru and begged, "Please, sir! If you aren't that creature's servant, stop it from going into the village up ahead! It's headed straight for Heiwa! I won't be able to warn Lady Meioshi in time. She must've been in the Netherworld and found the creature's sword by accident. If all it wants is its sword back, she just has to surrender it. Please, I'll pay you however I can, but help Lady Meioshi! She's a doctor with dark hair and light brown eyes the color of wood pulp or honey. I'll reward you however you want but please stop it!"
Sesshomaru only looked at the woman stoically before turning away from her and walking off. He then said, "I've no need for such things."
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Tall, soft grass playing music with the winds as it waved back and forth tickled her palms and fingertips. A small boy was throwing up a kite in the air and giggling when it flopped down to the plush grass and soil of the earth. That laughter filled her ears with longing and joy. She would be home soon. The clouds were fluffy above her, floating like a distant memory, and passing over the vast sea of darkened blue sky. The sun was beginning to set and turn to its vibrant and boastful orange hues. An older woman with salt and pepper hair pinned into an architectural rope bun and dressed in a long, soft fuchsia kimono was watching the boy play with his kite. She also giggled with him and helped him pick up the bright blue kite. She nodded her head, signaling for him to run, and watched as he took off some distance. The wind blew a strong gust that sung a fluttering song and made the woman toss the kite up. Not a moment sooner did the wind take up the kite and let it fly. The woman turned to look at the girl approaching her and waved before walking over to meet her.
She then said, "What are you doing here, my granddaughter?"
The granddaughter blinked in response and smiled warmly before saying softly, "I missed you."
"Oh?" the grandmother questioned, raising an eyebrow. "All the times I put you in etiquette school and you suddenly miss me."
The granddaughter raised her finger and said, "That's what I missed. That challenging gaze filled with the need to straighten me out."
"You need someone to straighten you out, my granddaughter?" the grandmother asked with a smirk and a raised chin and nose. "You chose the right person for such a task."
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what I need," the granddaughter responded with a remorseful smile, dropping her head down. "I think I just needed to hear your voice again. To know someone familiar to me is still with me."
"Stand straight!" the grandmother commanded, silencing the wind with her voice. "I'll have absolutely none of that pouting in my presence!"
"Eh?" the granddaughter questioned, confused by her grandmother's orders. She stood straight regardless, not knowing what else to do. When a beautiful, golden fan popped her in the head, she yelped, "Ow! What? What'd I do?"
"You have forgotten who you are!" the grandmother replied, head held up high with a firm heel dug into the ground. "I brought up school for a reason. You wanted to study medicine to help others because in your heart you felt no man should suffer from ailment or mistreatment. One's social standing should have nothing to do with one's health! When I put you in that school, it was to teach you how to be a proper lady. You fought tooth and nail with me to prove to me that a lady is more than a performer of the arts. She can do more than domestics. She does not deserve to be treated as less than and neither do her children for a circumstance beyond her control or as a result of carelessness from some man. She is a human being who deserves a right to her own status and existence just as a man does. That is what you told me with that radical mouth and mind of yours! You went into hell to do the same thing you're doing now: helping others. The living and the restless suffer equivalently. The oath of medicine you took is the flag you bear no matter where you go. No matter the status or condition or the background of the creature, you will and you want to heal it."
"Baba..." the granddaughter whispered, feeling her eyes blur and burn with tears.
"You get that radical nature from my side of the family," the grandmother said softly, lowering her fan and her head to look at the girl with leveled eyes. "Meioshi, no matter what comes your way, you were born to be a healer. It's not just in your blood. It's in your heart. Helping others is what you wanted to do. Don't let these tasks cloud your mind from who you really are. That is not the granddaughter I was proud to have raised."
Without another word, Meioshi ran into her grandmother's arms and let out tears of joy with a soft laugh. In her heart, that seemed to be what she needed the most. With her mind clear, she could focus on the next task at hand, but she couldn't do it as she was...
She was resting in a bath of thick, white paint. At least that's what it looked like if you were standing next to it. The bath was in a sacred temple within a forest not far from the village of Heiwa. A normal human would have drowned from such a thing, but the paint was no thicker than water for her and no human could enter the temple unless a divine being allowed it. Fortunately, three were present and surrounding the bath. One of the divine spirits was a small sprite named Bonitas. He had black hair groomed into a Paige cut, gray eyes the color of beach pebbles, and white robes floating about in an ethereal glow and manner. Bonitas was the serenity of goodness, often lecturing his other siblings on the importance of reading when in Meioshi's clinic. He was frequently found in the doctor's study, eagerly soaking up information she possessed and using it to conduct his own experiments. Somehow or another, the little sprite enjoyed being a helper in the medicine lab. Meioshi often complimented Bonitas's ability to craft new medicines or potions, and the little sprite worked harder to further impress her and his father. Kako Seigi, the tallest of the divine beings and deity of the forest, was letting Meioshi speak with her family members. Caritas, the sprite who helped her in the Netherworld, was placing more oil in the bath to essentially keep her calm. Physically, she couldn't be seen underneath the paint unless the oil was poured in because it coated her body and glowed around her shapely form.
Kako Seigi watched the oil travel to Meioshi's body before turning to Caritas and softly commanding, "Caritas, release the scroll to open her seal."
Caritas nodded and flew to the statue of an ogre carved out of bronze that was embedded in the ceiling. The ogre looked quite menacing from below. Its eyes were glowing golden red like a piece of coal set aflame. Its bearded maw set open as tusks protruded from its mighty jaws. The bulky arms of the beast holding the unrivaled virtues in its six arms were all folded in the shape of a star around its broad chest and wide head. Even the lengthy hair forming a crescent to its feet took the appearance of a stream flowing from the foundation of the feet to the crown of his head. The outstretched arm is what held a scroll in the clutched hand. The scroll was radiating with power. Caritas closed his eyes and lightly pushed on the item before the scroll came out and plunked into the bath of paint. The scroll sunk into the paint, floating to Meioshi's body, and then unwrapped itself and snaked its way around her body until she was fully wrapped up excluding her dark, wavy hair. When Meioshi could feel her lungs working hard to breathe, she woke, and the paint had begun to ripple and travel like a fish was swimming close to the surface to eat a pellet or a bug. The deities watched as the woman emerged from the bath and walked onto a bamboo matting at the base of the bath.
Caritas flew over to her and said with a light chuckle, "Wake up, doctor."
Meioshi stirred up a bit at the sound of her nickname and uncrossed her hands from her chest to absorb the white paint into the scroll. It was a healing ritual that transferred information from battle onto the scroll. Once the paint had dried onto the scroll, two jade bracelets appeared on her wrists, and she peeled off the scroll from her face. She let out a long yawn and stretched her arms up in the air until she held a smile on her face and the twinkle in her hazel eyes had returned.
"Have I been asleep long?" Meioshi asked, flipping her hair to shake her head a bit.
Bonitas giggled at this and lightly punched her leg before saying, "Silly girl! You just woke up!"
Caritas joined in the conversation and flew over to hug Meioshi's neck, who gladly returned the gesture with a light giggle, before adding, "Welcome back, milady. You gave me a scare when we came back. I thought you wouldn't make it for a second."
"A few months away from hell will do that," Meioshi responded, caressing Bonitas's head. "Any fatal wounds?"
Bonitas shook his head and replied, "Nope! Just a harmless scratch. Didn't take long to heal at all. I think we just panicked because your mianyi drained so rapidly when you came back."
"Ah, that's good news. Oh, how's the clinic?" Meioshi asked, kneeling in front of Bonitas to meet his height. "Any visiting patients?"
"None so far," Bonitas said, putting a finger under his chin. "Caritas and I took inventory on everything as instructed. The purification barriers in the village weakened a bit."
Kako Seigi then stepped before his friend and sons to speak. Although he was thankful that Meioshi was practically unharmed, the guardian beast entered the world of the living. He needed to withhold the creature until Meioshi was ready to fight it. As things were, she had just recovered and her mianyi needed to be rebalanced. His plan for the creature was also going to take some work, but he believed in his warrior and had no doubt that she could convince the creature to side with them. After all, it was chosen to guard a divine weapon.
"This is a result of your injury," Kako Seigi explained, patting Meioshi's head as he would a daughter. "When you obtain wounds in spiritual realms, your body and powers are affected twofold. Barriers are only half as strong, spells weaken, and chants lose their effects. Your medical practices are safe from your evident weakness, but anything you use in relation to your mianyi will plummet. However, there is a way to stop such a severe drop. We will discuss this later. You may return home until your next mission. Caritas stays with me for now."
Meioshi nodded at this and responded, "As you wish, my friend. Try not to tire Caritas out too much."
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Sesshomaru stopped walking towards the nearby village when he noticed the scent of the Netherworld disappearing. It wasn't quite gone, but he wasn't sure of the best way to explain its new location. It seemed to be in a different realm somehow. One that was inaccessible by any normal means. The Netherworld wolf didn't return to its domain because no other portals opened to hell, but it didn't quite leave the living world either because he could still detect its fragrance. The distance of that scent is what puzzled him, though he would never show this. When he sniffed the air again, he seemed to calm down and develop a curiosity of the society he was closest to.
Instead of that familiar burn of hellfire drifting in the air, the young lord caught the scent of fruit pies and bread. The sounds of sheep and children playing danced along the summer breezes, and saltwater was splashing upon a shore while ships' bells rang to alert other crewmen. He was closer to this unknown village called Heiwa than he thought, and it seemed to be filled with life. He could smell other demons close by as well. The doctor he was looking for must be a well-known resident of this place. Wild blossom trees were littered about along this beaten pathway he found. Travelers frequent the area often. Wanting to find the Netherworld wolf, Sesshomaru decided to stand in the trees for an elevated view and high-jumped to the top of a particular tree. He was much closer to the village than he thought!
It was a moment's journey up ahead. He carefully looked at the formation of watch towers that led to a palace. There seemed to only be about four and each had some type of mirror on a gizmo. Sesshomaru couldn't quite fathom what the mirrors would be for, but he took note of them. The blossom trees were on their way to producing their fruit as he saw the many pastel colors decorating the village's landscaping. Gardens were abundant with flowers of varying color and height, and farms were being cultivated for the market and trading ships. Behind the castle was a brilliant view of the sea and sky. The contrast in blue hues was mesmerizing, especially the gradient from violet blue to blue green of the sea against the soft blue of the morning sky! A proud mountain was also in the distance, but it didn't act as a protective guard against weathering elements. It seemed to serve as an accent for the village's simple beauty. While the trees hid most of the rooftops, he could see the village was fairly populated and there were some higher classed demons among the residents. The style of the homes and even the floor plans of some were recognizable as he had come across them in his youth.
What kind of village was this? It wasn't quite located in the west or the east. He knew much of the western lands, being the heir to them, and he knew a fair amount of the eastern lands due to the events leading up to his father's death. This place wasn't even on a border separating the lands, and it seemed to be protected by a light magical barrier. While any form of purification method didn't bother him, the fact that the barrier was in place when demons were inside of it puzzled him. What was the purpose of the barrier if demons were able to cross it? Was it just for show?
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called, looking from above in the sky. "Lord Sesshomaru!"
Jaken stopped calling the master's name once the two-headed dragon roared. They found Sesshomaru standing atop a blossomed tree, looking out into the distance. Birds were chirping above him as he indulged in his thoughts. The dragon landed gracefully, allowing Jaken to get off and run to Sesshomaru's side at the base of the tree. Jaken began to wonder a bit about these events unfolding. Sesshomaru did as requested by that human girl in part. He did follow the beast, but it disappeared before he had a chance to identify this Meioshi or see what sort of debt she had to repay to a guardian of hell. His only real clue about this other human woman were the herbs the wolf didn't like but was sniffing for. Presumably, Lady Meioshi must be able to purify demons. She couldn't be so stupid that she would risk traveling through the depths of hell to try to purify it, could she? No, humans can't readily travel through hell, and he purified the land of shadow and death already. Nothing should be alive in hell, but that ice demon had to have been hidden in a different part of the Netherworld. Sesshomaru had no recollection of ever seeing it.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru called. "Have you heard of a woman named Lady Meioshi?"
"Hm?" Jaken questioned, folding his arms with some thought. He never heard of anyone with that name or title. He then replied, "No, my lord. This entire area is actually unfamiliar to me, but I do remember hearing about a place of refuge during the war some centuries ago. Maybe this Lady Meioshi was an escapee or something to that degree. I imagine no human would want to get in the way of a great battle or be taken as plunder."
"Investigate for a woman named Meioshi in the village up ahead," Sesshomaru ordered, keeping his eyes on the village in question. He then closed his eyes and said, "Take Aa and Un with you. I will return."
Aa and Un roared before departing from the silver-haired master. Jaken frowned in thought. He hadn't seen his lord deep in thought about something for a while. His face may have feigned disinterest, but his voice told otherwise. Though commanding and sharp, there was a faint hint of curiosity from Sesshomaru that piqued Jaken's own interest. Why go dig up information about this woman? Where was Lord Sesshomaru going to go? Humming with thought, Jaken said nothing more as he watched the western lord fly away in the opposite direction of the village. Something must have caught his attention.