The moonflower serpent slithered its way to Homugi and performed a tail whip to properly disarm her. Recovering from this attack, she twirled her mace around and dashed at the beast. Quickly dodging multiple bite attacks, Homugi leapt into the air and swung harshly against the serpent's neck. It hissed in pain before using its eye beams to paralyze Homugi and grab her with its tail to toss her. Right when the ailment wore off, she found herself tumbling in the ground and surrounded by the moonflower and lotus serpents. Sojuro and Meioshi broke from their power struggle and commenced a proper duel. The hyper divine energy proved to be too much for Meioshi's form over time, and Homugi was struggling to keep up with the serpents herself. Though she could handle the lotus serpent with some ease, the moonflower serpent proved to be a handful with his paralysis technique.
Neither Homugi nor Meioshi liked the idea, but the two simultaneously thought of retreating. The problem was going to be to what location. They were in between the farmlands and the village, but... Meioshi's herbal garden was the perfect place of refuge. Hidorobō may have been powerful, but he couldn't handle the realm of the Netherworld on his own still. He was too young of a deity to make it that far. Calling out to her flames of the Netherworld, Meioshi prepared herself for battle and hoped she could ensure Homugi's safety. Sojuro charged at her with more agility in his movements while Meioshi defended herself with her form's hardened appendages. She didn't want anyone to see her in this form. It was a shameful thing to become it, but the most she could do now was simply accept it. She couldn't fight her "master" just yet. Unable to block a flurry of slashes, Meioshi was cut in several places and unable to stop the bleeding. She was weak against holy attacks like Hidorobō's when in the Netherworld predator form. She let out a pained roar before being silenced by a hard kick to the ground. Recovering quickly, she plunged her arm into the ground and summoned Netherworld fire from the earth that engulfed everyone in flame and sulfur.
Before Hidorobō knew it, his target and the other demon girl had disappeared from his sights. They retreated. Sheathing his sword, the blue dragon warrior looked at his burnt surroundings and then to the serpents. He caught sight of a small twig that was set aflame out of the corner of his peripheral vision, and he walked over to it with an almost statuesque expression. Kneeling down to pick up the twig, he observed it and thought back to that short amount of time when he held Meioshi in his arms.
He then produced a wicked grin and growled with that baritone voice, "Go ahead and run, my darling. Since you will not listen to my wife's warnings, perhaps you will listen to Hidorobō's..."
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Yuko was asleep next to her husband when she heard chimes. Stirring from a dream, she felt his lips on her neck and pried her eyes open when she saw the insides of them turning orange. She cuddled into Yamashi's attentive teasing and felt him press his body closer to hers. He was such a cuddle bug sometimes! Dragging his clipped claw up her thigh, she giggled at his attempt to seduce her. When the room lit up, she placed her hand on his to stop him and waited for a moment. They didn't light any candles. Shouldn't the room be darker? Seeing the lust and worry mixing in her husband's yellow eyes, she turned to him when nothing seemed to be amiss and wrapped her arms around his neck to allow him to kiss her deeply. When the room flickered with light, she stopped him again until she realized where the light was coming from. She shot up, startling Yamashi at first to make him gasp, and turned to the lamp in the bedroom. It was Meioshi's shrine lamp! She was there at this late hour? When the glass surrounding the candle turned black, Yuko's eyes widened with fear and she darted out of the bedroom before Yamashi could even respond. She barely heard him call her name. She didn't get terribly far outside before catching the smell of smoke in the air. To her immediate left, there were flames building up near Heiwa. Was the village under attack?
Yamashi hustled outside himself and asked, "What the hell is going on?"
"It might be protesters. Stop them if it is. Kyoko could be in the house," Yuko pleaded, kissing Yamashi before running to the shrine. "Sensei's hurt!"
Yamashi nodded silently, seeing Ichi run towards him, and said, "There's a fire in the village. It might be doc's home."
"On it!" Ichi replied, running at top speed.
Yuko ran to the shrine while her husband and brother-in-law went to investigate the fire. This was exactly how she met Meioshi five years ago. Wildfires had started appearing in the village and farmlands, and then demons terrorized everyone but Meioshi protected them all in a beastly form so frightening and powerful that many attacked her. Yuko somehow knew the beast was different. It understood human language very clearly, could sense fear, and seemed to be afraid of itself more than it was of the villagers. When Yuko went to confront the beast, she discovered that it was a woman who had forgotten how to be human. A woman who gave her a wonderful life, helped her dream, and counseled her into accepting love. She was sweet, caring, and gentle. She couldn't let the villagers hurt her! Running to the shrine, she saw the ethereal pale-yellow flames lighting the outside torches. The herbs were just as fragrant and healthy as always. Then, Yuko heard her. Meioshi was hiding and growling. Something shot out of the shrine entrance in a fury until Meioshi jumped in front and wedged her axe-hand arm between Yuko and a morning star mace.
"Sensei!" Yuko called, embracing Meioshi's arm. Much like those years ago, the doctor was the long-legged and long-armed creature towering over her. Meioshi responded in a deep growl but lowered her head to press her forehead against Yuko's to show that she was okay. Yuko then asked, "Meioshi, what happened? Why are you in this form?"
"Who are you?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
Yuko snapped her head to the source to see a beautiful demon woman standing behind Meioshi. She had spotted hair and a rare eye condition she remembered being called heterochromia. Her body was a nice, slender figure, but she could fight and would probably kill if Meioshi hadn't stopped her. She didn't seem suspicious or angry, just confused. Yuko then responded, "I'm Yuko. Who are you?"
"Homugi."
"Homugi. That's a pretty name," Yuko complimented, smiling. "Did you see what happened to Meioshi? Maybe what transformed her?"
"I saw this guy and some snakes attacking her. One of the snakes... did something like cast a spell and she just changed into this. Why was that man trying to attack her?" Homugi asked, frowning at the memory of Hidorobō.
Meioshi suddenly caught the scent of something and purred in disbelief. Her head picked up and turned to a direction before she said in a deep, dark voice, "Sesshomaru... here?"