"Thank you, King Shanwang," Meioshi said, finally turning to face his naked glory. Her face was set with a troubled look, but her determination shone brightly. "The smallest favor may yet give the largest reward."
Shanwang may never admit this to another living soul, but he admired Meioshi's vigor to do right by the lost souls. Look at his new home! Arimasa, her grandfather, and Suiren, her mother, allowed Meioshi to carry his mirror across many landscapes until he was satisfied with his new holding place. Though Meioshi was a child, she felt he shouldn't be buried underground in case he ever rose up from his prison and unleashed his fury on Heiwa. It was best for Shanwang, in her youthful opinion, to see the beauty of the world and to see why the Jigoku family would go through any length to protect it. Though the king ogre enjoyed pillaging through villages and raiding demon territories, his stay at this mountain was far superior to the volcano he used to live in as ruler of Ogre Island. There was beauty to behold here, and he was able to act more like a king at his palace than an inmate of a prison. He was able to use his judgement when punishing the humans and demons sent to him, and he was able to construct things of interest like the warship he had. Inspired by Meioshi's ability to make smaller boats, he used her blueprints and Arimasa's older drawings to design his warship. Having six arms made the construction easier than he thought once he got the hang of it.
Meioshi developed into quite the young woman since then. He was proud of her for becoming one of the strongest in the Jigoku family as she was, and, as long as she continued on her path, she would exceed Unmei's power. She already surpassed Arimasa, who was considered the strongest incantation user, and he had a feeling she would surpass another ancestor if she survived this new task without using all of her mianyi. He looked forward to seeing the fury Meioshi intended to release on her enemy. It was bound to excite him. Watching her stand up to summon her boat, Shanwang wondered what was going through her mind now. It looked like she was piecing something together just now.
"Where are you going, doctor?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice.
"Ketsueki Shirudo. Much earlier than predicted," Meioshi replied, twirling the boat oar around to gather magical energy in it. "I might be able to get a firmer clue along the way."
"Why would a better clue than mine be at a boring place like that?" Shanwang scoffed. He had an extreme dislike of that village. It was too easy to raid.
"I'm going there to find the Dai Fubuki blade," Meioshi said with a light chuckle, stabbing the oar into the ground. "Heiwa is protected now with the barrier having been expanded to the farmlands. I can move forward from here. You'll be experiencing a new power soon."
"We?" Shanwang corrected with emphasis in his raised brow and tilted head.
Meioshi smirked at this, pulled the oar up, and fished out her boat from the soft earth of the meadow. She backed up to pull the boat out further and released the oar from its looped hook at the boat's lip. She hopped on the boat, moved the glass anchor from the rest position to the back of the boat, and placed the oar on its resting station.
She then replied, "We."
"The Dai Fubuki blade will be difficult to use unless you're only accessing the magical powers within its bodice. You aren't strong enough to carry it in battle," Shanwang informed, unfolding his bottom four arms to show three of his hands opening and one of the hands holding up a single finger. "It is said to weigh close to 60 kan."
Meioshi's mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened exaggeratedly before she shouted, "Sixty?"
"How much did you think it weighed? It's made out of metal, fool!" Shanwang argued, unfolding all of his arms at her reaction. "Plus, it has divine powers that control ice and snow! A block of ice from a mountain is heavy, even for me sometimes! You may as well be picking up a metal ship!"
"There has to be some way to pick the shit up! I need that blade!" Meioshi counterargued. "You have to know something!"
"Oh, wait, I actually might," he said, putting a finger under his chin. "Your blood pact might be the key. The protector of the divine arctic blade had to be strong enough to call upon the ice for power regardless of its status. You have to work with it to carry it. If that's not enough, I can lend you my strength in short bursts when necessary but only when necessary. Controlling ice could be useful."
Meioshi sighed with slight frustration and grumbled, "Alright then. It'll have to do. Oh! Before I forget, I met a new demon I'm not quite familiar with. He's considered an idol among others, but you're the only demon I know that's well-known on that level. If you have any records about him, be on the lookout for what I could gather... if I survive."
"You will," the ogre said with a proud smirk. "You're too stubborn to die now. Too much work went into this. The fact that you need this blade intrigues me, however. It, too, is guarded. By a warrior, no less, who used it to defend himself against snow and ice demons during the winter wars. You will have to complete his test to gain the strength to even lift it. Do that and you will be devastating in battle! A true comrade to the ogre family!"
"Tch! If I don't solve this mystery, we'll both be weakened in battle," Meioshi said, lifting the oar to row. "Wish me luck, naked sire. The wolf is starting to wake again."
"You don't need luck," Shanwang replied, watching his ward sail away on the wind currents. "The wolf needs to find his own howl."
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Nearly two hundred years ago...
Loud cheering and chants sounded in the early morning. It was enough to wake anybody, but the boisterous voices of many men were the signals of more men leaving for war. No one ever told her why her village was involved in the war. They were at peace for some time and ruled by an aging shogunate. He wouldn't be leader forever, and the title would pass down to his son. She didn't particularly care for the son. He had a hidden lust for the divine sword and craved for the glory of battle. He even had the audacity to have his sights on the one person she cared about.
"Time to wake up, you goofball! Wake up!"
Feeling gentle tickling at her sides, she was greeted with the sweet laughter of a girl with dark hair set in a lengthy bob and gentle brown eyes. Her robes were already on her. Lifting her torso up slowly after the tickle attack, she rose from the coziness of her bed and rubbed her eyes. A proud yawn and stretch soon followed the happy giggles of the early morning.
"Why is everybody so busy?" she asked.
"Lord Honoseiken lent soldiers to a neighboring village for the war efforts. We have to pray for their safe return," the beloved priestess said, smiling mischievously at her next words. "You'll miss breakfast if you don't hurry."
"Not breakfast!" she shouted, jumping out of bed and running to the kitchen.
The priestess laughed behind her, but she was excited about breakfast whenever the priestess woke her. That usually meant she made something delicious. True to her predictions, the priestess eggs, rice, and small cuts of meat. They ate together that morning before preparing to visit the shrine. Men were changing their jobs from farming and fishery to making weapons and armor. Women were praying for their lovers' return, and children were either proud of their fathers or brothers or worried for them. Her father was a close friend of the shogunate's son. That disturbed her and made her dislike the shogunate's son even more. He just rubbed her the wrong way, and she often trusted her gut in never staying around him for too long. Her priestess would sometimes follow her in getting away from the two while they talked. The priestess often excused herself on the grounds of either disciplining her or needing to perform some arbitrary duty.
That day, however, they were surprised at being interrupted by Lord Honoseiken during their prayer. They were kneeling at the altar and bowing low. Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder made her scream and the priestess screamed after her in response. The two turned around to see the shogunate chuckling at them and folding his arms behind his back.
"Good morning, girls," the shogunate greeted with an amused twinkle in his eye. "Good to know you're prepared for a sneak attack."
Breathing heavily, she placed a hand on her chest to calm her heartbeat before saying, "I think my chest imploded!"
The priestess laughed breathily before asking, "What are you doing here, Lord Honoseiken? Are we interrupting your time of prayer?"
Lord Honoseiken was a man you could trust with your life. He was a revered general during his time at war and chosen by the people to lead them. He's been an excellent ruler since the public made that choice. He was fair and had no problem punishing the wrongdoings of others. He was also gentle when he felt he could be. For whatever reason, she trusted him so much more than his son. He had at least four children if she remembered correctly, but she liked his eldest son least of all. Ignoring this thought, she could see that age was going to take their beloved ruler someday. The salt and pepper hair he used to don was becoming grayer, his eyes were turning a lighter brown, and his handsome features were decorated with wrinkles and wisdom. He could still run and play as he often did with children when he walked through the village, but his movements were slowing down. She was going to be sad when that day came. She would probably be an adult by then, but she could see that Lord Honoseiken would have to step down soon.
"Heavens no," the elder said, kneeling in front of them. "I've come to ask something of you. This is a secret, though. You can't tell anyone about this. Can I trust you with this task?"
"What is it?" she asked, turning around to look the shogunate in the eye. The priestess did the same with concern in her eyes. She then asked, "Is it something serious?"
"For me, yes," the elder said, nodding with a gentle smirk. "Would you mind coming with me?"
"No, sir," the priestess said. "We don't mind at all."
The elder nodded, rose slowly in an elegant shift of movement, and nodded to the direction he was heading towards. They left the shrine and followed the elder through the forest and then to a stone mound. Confused, the girls watched the elder go around the mound and place a hand over it. The earth rattled and it suddenly became cold. The beautiful spring day had suddenly turned to a pocket of frost. Shivering, the girls embraced each other to warm up until the shogunate chuckled again at their reaction. When the rattling stopped, he placed his hand on the mound and the rock, dirt, and grass melted away from a small, running flame across its body to reveal a breathtaking sword and scabbard embedded in thick stone and ice. The shogunate took the sword by its hilt and scabbard and effortlessly pulled it out of its holding place.
He then walked up to them and said, "This is Baohu qi Voluptatis, the divine sword of ice and snow. I found it here when I was a young man trying to survive the winter months. This sword helped me in battle as a foot soldier. Only one of pure heart and discipline can wield this blade. Touching the scabbard will freeze you to death if you are unworthy of its power. The sword will do much worse. You both are pure of heart. I wish to entrust this blade with your protection. If anything should happen to me, retrieve this sword and run to the hinoki tree along the path of snow there."
The shogunate turned around and pointed to a small trail of snow connected to the mound. The girls looked at each other and then to the shogunate. Bravely, she approached him, reached out to the sword with her eyes closed, and grabbed the sword's hilt. She didn't freeze! The shogunate gently released it until she held the sword and scabbard in her hands. The priestess hesitantly touched the hilt and also didn't freeze. The sword approved of them! So did the shogunate. That peaceful day of wonder, however, would be the last day she saw the shogunate smile.
She didn't know what happened. She only knew that within a month her village was under attack. A rain of arrows littered the sky like a dark cloud and hit or killed many people. Another rain of arrows laced with fire fell from the sky without warning. The priestess grabbed her, and they ran to the forest to retrieve the sword...
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Sesshomaru and Jaken noticed that the sky was lightening in color from the soft red to a more violet and orange mixture. The air was less stale and instead warmer. The smell of incense, smoke, and fire was suddenly rising. Curious, Sesshomaru went to the origin of the smell and was met with a burst of cold air and the sound of many footsteps and some rustling of trees. When he turned around, the trees of the brush became less dormant, and their coloring went from black to brown with new growth appearing. A wagon rolling also could be heard. The pheasant stopped foraging for a moment to rise his head slowly and watch the sun rise an inch more. A cloud was beginning to form, and the pathway was more defined. Ghosts were starting to appear as well.
"What is that, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked, hearing a faint voice commanding someone to fire. "Is that a battle up ahead?"
"No," the pheasant replied. "One of the oath keepers is remembering a moment from the past. The cloud is representative of many things, but this seems to be the beginning of the transition and transformation. What you see going forward are people and places that are no more. Speak not to the ghosts. They are only here to distract you so you start over."
"Those are archers," Sesshomaru said in reference to Jaken's question.
He was quiet as he thought of the doctor. The sounds of commands and screams in the distance made things a bit clearer. When Meioshi revealed the golden sun trinket that bound him, Sesshomaru waited for her to try her luck at besting him again using that method during their battle. He wasn't going to fall for it twice. Instead, the woman gave the trinket away to her enemy as a wager to satisfy the beast. He didn't understand what was going on entirely, but the offering of her power to find another person that the wolf wanted interested him. Her offer may have had a sliver of confidence behind it, but the woman herself had a voice that said the opposite. The trinket couldn't have been her main source of power, but it must have held a significant amount for it to replace the might of an arctic sword. He then remembered the blood pact and seeing his rival be pierced in the throat with an acidic arrow. Her body shaking violently and her eyes rolling in the back of her head shocked him. He almost felt... something indescribable for the doctor's life. It was a sudden jolt of an emotion he didn't quite recognize. He only knew the girl was hurt or hurting. He didn't know what he could do to ice. When she returned to normal, he felt more relaxed and reverted back to his usual blankness. It was only until Jaken called him that he remembered his rival was okay and able to fight him again.
"Five days will be given for you to find the true guardian of the sword..."
Seeing ghosts of frightened people running or sneaking down the beaten path, he looked up to see the gate leading to a phantom village. Hearing the sound of arrows and commands, Sesshomaru looked up to see arrows raining down on the village and hurting the ghosts. A young girl was running towards him in a tattered kimono, crying and calling out to someone with a faint voice. He could barely hear the name. When another little girl ran up to her, the two embraced each other and ran towards him again.
"Quickly, Hon'no!" the taller priestess said to the little girl.
Sesshomaru and Jaken watched the two run into the brush and heard a voice order, "Get them and the sword!"
"Lord Sesshomaru, could this be the memory of the wolf from the Netherworld?" Jaken asked. "Neither of those girls look like that awful doctor."
Sesshomaru and the green pheasant were quiet, but the pheasant was paying close attention to the western lord and his servant. There had to be a reason for them being sent here. Were they truly meant to be witnesses of the blood pact?
The pheasant said, "If the ghosts are appearing, then the Netherland wolf is reverting to its original form. It appears my old friend has gained its trust. The guardian is ready to be at peace."
"I don't understand," Jaken said, scratching his temple. "Lady Meioshi doesn't owe anyone in hell, but she's forming blood pacts with creatures who reside in hell? Why?"
"The Netherland wolf is a lost soul," the pheasant replied with a serious tone. "Lady Meioshi must have a daring reason to want to help it. That is all I can surmise from this. Until more is revealed, we'd best push on."
"Those girls didn't look like Yuko," Sesshomaru said quietly. "The wolf wants her for something else."
Jaken growled, punched himself in the head a few times, and mumbled, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope Yuko won't get hurt. She might've been nosy, but she was a happy girl. The doctor owes me a fight!"