The end of the nightmare had only just begun. Years in training, months performing pilgrimages, nightly meditations continually put into practice, and studies in daily life were boiled down to a single goal: to defeat her enemy. Whispers from the heavens sounded like an ever-changing wind tossing hair and cloth about, but these whispers were eerie chants in her ears. Feeling the ground quake beneath him, Sojuro separated from Meioshi's lips and watched her reaction. She was different. He furrowed his brow at her response. His little advocate no longer had that abounding love in her eyes. She had no hope in the hazel depths or desperation in her tight smile. She looked at him with an acidic dose of contempt in her harsh gaze and was as stiff as stone in his arms. Years ago, she melted at the touch of his lips and pleaded for him to return to her. She begged for nothing now. She merely waited for him to release her, unresponsive to her bleeding wound. Sojuro looked down at his cut and saw no blood seeping out. He only saw the Jigoku crest burn its lines and curves into her skin in a flash of fire and gold light before it closed the gash going across her body in a rapid heal.
Serpentine creatures emerged from the ground to corner her as the two stood there in silence. Neither of them paid attention to them. Sojuro raised an eyebrow at his target and simply said, "You are a demon, after all."
"No," Meioshi corrected softly. "Just a human as always. If you're able to summon these particular kinds of creatures, you must be close to completion of your trials."
Sojuro stretched his lips into a disturbing smile and replied, "I like this perceptive version of you. Tossing you in hell did you some good, traveler. You've actually grown a bit smarter."
"Dumb does not equate to deceived," Meioshi hissed, narrowing her eyes viciously. She lowered her eyes and voice and said in a softer tone, "However... I do believe you should have a ceremonial banquet for your achievement. Perhaps we should start with a new name. Sojuro doesn't suit you anymore. Too plain."
Sojuro became interested in the proposal and straightened both their bodies up by lifting them effortlessly. He didn't release Meioshi. Instead, he lowered his arm to her hips but kept his eyes locked on hers. The glow in his silver eyes was hypnotic. He had only just realized that Meioshi was wearing a metal brassiere underneath her yukata now that part of it was falling off her. Although his attack would have killed her, it wouldn't have hit a main artery for her to bleed out on the spot. The wound would have just made it hard for her to survive longer than a day.
"What name would you propose, my moppet?" Sojuro asked, rubbing circles on Meioshi's hip.
Meioshi was still as Sojuro did this, lifting a brow at his actions. He must be very interested in the proposal; otherwise, he should've felt the amount of disgust in her being from this gentle caress. She turned her head to think of a good name. When one came to mind, she smiled softly and said, "Hidorobō. Has a nice ring to it. You can interpret its meaning in many ways. If you intend to be this... deity, I think it works best in meaning you are the eraser of man's sorrows."
Sojuro's smile became toothy, and he finally released Meioshi from his arms. He hummed with pleasure and responded, "I like it. It can also mean the silencer of hell. After all, I have been sent to give you a message before killing you once and for all."
"A message, Lord Hidorobō?" Meioshi questioned, keeping her smile.
"'You are not a god, hell traveler. You cannot defeat me. No matter who you train with or for how long you live in repentance or how many people you try to save, this search for independence will only grow your sins. Throwing you in hell was a lesson for you to learn. Have you learned it yet?'" Sojuro asked, repeating words from another.
Those were her enemy's words. Meioshi raised an eyebrow at them, thinking of the best response, and chuckled a bit. Her chuckling made Sojuro's face turn grimmer, and Meioshi was soon laughing with glimmering eyes. She held her sides when she quieted her laughing and said with an almost joyful vibrato, "Is the sex so good up there that you forgot what I told you before you cast me away those years ago?"
When Sojuro didn't respond to her, she laughed some more. Even the serpentine creatures were confused at the question as they tilted their heads at the doctor. What was so funny?
"Oh?" Meioshi questioned, tilting her head cutely.
She then turned to the serpents finally able to observe their different markings and body shapes. There were three of them. Each one of them were white but each one had a different flower as their marking. One was the color of pearl and had a lotus as its mark. It was the smaller of the three and potentially female. Another was almost the color of a full moon and had a moonflower as its mark. It was on the larger side and had thicker scales. It was potentially a young male. The other was the largest and appeared to be more of a wyvern than a serpent. Bony appendages sticking out of its head and tough scales provided evidence that it was an older male specimen. It's markings resembled a chrysanthemum, a very holy flower.
"They didn't tell you?" the doctor asked, exchanging a glance between each serpent before returning her sights to Hidorobō. "Let me break it down for you then. It seems your mistress is still quite confused about what it means to be a hell traveler. You see, I healed a few demons in the past while I was studying to become a doctor. To teach me a lesson, your beloved ruler threw me in hell and fucked the young man there while I was gone. Their coupling, apparently, was so good that she decided to keep him and banish me again. This lesson she keeps trying to teach me is some twisted opinion of hers that all demons are evil and deserve to die. Helping them equates to killing us. Us as in man. Man as in humanity. Humanity as in humans, beings that she is not! It just so happened that she used my family's history to back up her reasoning. When I politely explained that my actions were not illegal, she didn't particularly like that argument as you couldn't already tell. So she did something far worse to really teach me a lesson. Ah... but I forgot something, didn't I, Hidorobō? So blinded by their own lust for power and each other, these two intended to teach me a new lesson. Little do they know, serpents... Little do they know... I didn't let their supposed 'lessons' be wasted in vain. I learned a little something down in hell, and I, too, have a message... I will keep training and I will keep fighting and I will keep pushing on! You want a power struggle? Fine. I have already gone through hell and I have marched through high waters. Send who you want to face me because you and they will die along with him!"
Sojuro charged at Meioshi in a rage-filled attack but didn't anticipate Meioshi calling upon Chen-bi. Using the small trinket that saved Hon'no and the others from the black wall demon as a large shield, she blocked the attack and was granted a golden roningasa hat and small knife to engage in combat. Her nightmare... would continue no more...