Pant, drip, blur, pant, drip, blur, pant. She was losing consciousness as quickly as she was losing blood. Her throat burned mercilessly as she drank the forest air. Her chest tightened like the ribs were curling into themselves to hold her heart. How long will this fight continue? The beast hardly looked effected by any of her strikes. Though she was using a normal sword with only a slight enhancement, her very basic of weapons, she at least thought she would be able to put a dent in the creature's strikes. Hearing the dragon roar then seeing it narrow its eyes at her made her stumble backward in response. As much as her body was screaming at her to stop, her mind refused to give up. She knew she couldn't defeat the dragon with her own meager strength, but she had to rely on her battle strategies to make up for that disadvantage and surprise her adversary. Struggling to get into a defensive stance, Meioshi's arms shook to lift the sword once again. She would have to use the kage o tasuo ritual to best the beast. She closed her eyes, evened her breathing, and changed to a neutral resting stance.
The dragon's eyes glowed with some confusion and disappointment in the murky depths. It inhaled rapidly before disappearing into the shadows of the forest. Inhale, rustling; exhale, growling. She could feel the creature's movements in the snow. They were precise, angry, and menacing. It moved like the black wall demon. A double swipe! She dodged in time and slashed at its tail, effectively cutting through the scales and making the dragon hiss. Claw slashes, guard, swipe at the beast's jaw. Movements matched enemies past. Attack patterns became recognizable, kata and dodges more pristine in their execution. Finally, the beast was feeling the weight of the battle wearing on it. It attacked with more fervor. She defended more carefully... until she stumbled. That one mistake like several others sent her flying into an aged oak tree. Her head was ringing, straining, when she made impact against the bark. She lost her breath. She lost her energy. As her body slumped down, all she could do was remain still and pant helplessly as the beast roared into the sky. The air grew colder. Snow picked up. She shivered, struggling to hold onto her breath.
"Thou hath shown me great perseverance, bountiful courage, and enduring faith, hell traveler," the dragon said. "Ye may have been defeated on this day, but thou shalt not remain so for eternity. I shall grant ye my power and avenge thy brethren. Call upon me and I shall vanquish thine enemy."
"I don't kn - " Meioshi started.
She let darkness claim her and collapsed onto the ground. The dragon growled lowly, seeing a blush creep onto her cheeks, and snatched the doctor up in its jaws. It picked her up and walked with her in its mouth to the direction of her clinic. Her sword forgotten and the forest blanketed by snow...
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Homugi caught the scent of Meioshi's blood in the air. It was thick! Without a word, she ran to the doctor's home with worry in her features. What happened to her? Why was she bleeding so much? The countryside went by her in a flash until she reached the battered estate. She thought she heard Yuko call her name, but she ignored the calls and slid to a halt by the kitchen area of Meioshi's estate. The barriers collapsed around all except that cliff. Hearing movement at the doctor's clinic, she rushed over to it and hopped over the bottom wall of the blasted building. Inside, a glyph started shining and Homugi was trapped inside of a purification cage. She tried to bear with the pain of the intense divine energy, but she started gritting her teeth and shaking as her skin burned. This was a heightened level of power!
"Meioshi!" Homugi called, struggling to fight back.
"Oh, I know you," a small voice called out. "You're that girl from the lagoon. The one with the spotted hair. Hang on, Chara!"
"I dunno, Bonitas. That girl's got a lot of yoki energy," another voice said with apprehension.
"She's okay, brother. She helped doctor," Bonitas reassured.
"If you say so," Chara replied with a sigh.
Homugi felt a strong wind blowing her back and blocked her face with her crossed arms as the burning intensified. With time, the burning turned to light stinging then to light discomfort then to nothing. When all felt safe, she lowered her arms and turned to see four sprites in different colored robes floating about with curious eyes. One sprite 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. She remembered him being called Bonitas. He was at the lagoon when she met him and the other sprite in red robes and silver hair. His distinctive green eyes blinked at her before he smiled and waved. That one was Caritas, the sweet boy.
Caritas greeted, "Oh, we do know her! Hi, Lady Homugi. What are you doing way out here?"
"You're those boys that came with me to the Mujina Woodlands," Homugi said with recognition. "Bonitas and Caritas. Who are the other two there?"
"Oh!" Caritas replied, snatching another boy in orange robes by the arm to pull him towards the blue merle beauty. This particular sprite had dark blue eyes and pale blue hair that matched the color of the sea and sky. Caritas introduced him by saying, "This is our other brother, Chara. Sometimes, he gets carried away and puts up his strongest shield to protect us. He's big on safety being one of the eldest of us. Just like Bonitas!"
"Wouldn't have to if you'd behave," Chara pouted, pulling on Caritas's cheeks.
"Ouchie..." Caritas hissed, squirming about.
"Do you need healing, miss?" a female sprite asked. She wore pink robes and had green eyes like Caritas but short, black hair like Bonitas. It was easy to see that those three were related. Chara's features were comparatively different. She then asked, "Brother's protection energies can be quite dangerous."
"Who are you, little girl?" Homugi asked gently.
"Hehe, I'm Fides!" she replied, twirling around cutely. She had Caritas's personality. "I'm a bit too old to be called a little girl, but I'll give you a pass. I am tiny in this form. I'm helping brother heal Meioshi. We're her nurses when she can't nurse herself properly."
"What happened to her?" Homugi questioned, stepping forward.
"She completed her training is all," Fides answered, flying over to a wall in the front room. "Her new teacher was a tough one, but he was necessary for her to redevelop her confidence and esteem."
"But..." Homugi started, looking down at her hand. She didn't realize she had balled them into fists in that instant. She relaxed them before saying softly, "she never... gave off the feeling that she lacked those things."
"Oh no! Fides didn't mean it like that," Bonitas explained, waving his hand to correct his sister's words. "Sometimes, Lady Meioshi doesn't believe in her own strength against certain opponents because she still thinks she's in learning mode. Kind of like what you told us about you when you were a student at your dojo. That's sort of where she is mentally. She's of the mindset that she is but a child still learning how to do her first kata. These trials she has to complete are meant to help her reshape her mind. She is still a student, yes, but she is not as weak as she believes."
"She thinks she is weak?" Homugi asked with visible fury.
"Uh..." Bonitas started, floating away from the blue merle beauty.
"I'm putting up the shield!" Chara warned, holding his hands up to follow through.
"No, don't!" Caritas said, pulling Chara's robes over his head. He then flew over to Homugi and asked, "You were told of her family's history, yes?"
"Yes," Homugi ground out, remaining angry.
"You, and the Lord of the West among demons, have seen the henchmen of her enemy in recent days," Caritas explained, no longer smiling or making playful gestures. "You were lucky that they hadn't used their full power to fight you. They did as commanded: left a warning. If you could feel the effects of brother's purifying energy, and he's not at full power or even in his true form, how much stronger do you think Hidorobo would have been if he wasn't holding back?"
Homugi's eyes lowered at this, and she said lowly, "You misunderstand, sprite. It is only in this form that your purification energy can hope to harm me."
Caritas didn't lower his eyes in response, but he did drop his youthful voice and traded it for a masculine one - one with audible bass. He then said, "The same can be said of us. We are not allowed to be among the mortals for a reason. Hidorobo didn't come down from his throne among the heavens for nothing. If he had been sent to kill, he would have. Unlike you, and your former lord, Hidorobo has the means to kill any and all demons at will without having to perform a single sword strike. When he fought Prince Yamashi, he showed signs of his ability to drain yoki energy. That's what he used to blow holes in the doctor's estate. Meioshi's enemy is more powerful than Hidorobo and us. If he can drain your energy with a few flames to level a home, he can level much more with a firestorm. We can sense that you are not weak, Lady Homugi, but do not underestimate the doctor's opponent."
"Do you like your new life, though?" Bonitas asked, keeping his childlike voice and appearance to speak.
"New life?" Homugi questioned, replacing her anger with some mixture of frustration and worry.
"Being the doctor's knight, of course!" Bonitas said with a light laugh. "Didn't think your princess would be so much trouble, did you?"
Homugi's eyes widened before she blushed brightly and averted her gaze elsewhere. She then grumbled, "Sh-she-she's not a princess! She's just a good person!"
This made the other sprites smile and/or chuckle. Bonitas then said, "She is. I'll take that adorable, little pout as a yes, though."
"Don't just assume things! I'm a scary demon! I could eat your human doctor at any moment!" Homugi argued, closing her eyes to argue.
"But then you wouldn't be a real knight and... you'd lose a new friend," Bonitas said, making Homugi open her eyes to gasp. She teared up immediately at those words, but that made Bonitas float to her and wipe her tears away with his small, gentle hands. He then said, "You've come too far to lose your chance for both of those things, Homugi."
"I guess it's okay for you to see her then," Chara said with a soft smile. "But don't go waking her up too early. Healing is important."
"Oh, yeah, I was supposed to be opening the door! You got me all distracted with the feels!" Fides cheered, patting her blushing cheeks with her small hands before rushing over to the forgotten wall.
She pressed her hands against it and watched as the hell traveler's mark spread against the wall before backing up. The dimensions of the room split in twos. The length of the foyer broke before expanding, the height of ceilings became layered, and the width of the room elongated until everything appeared misshaped or obscured. Suddenly, a bright light disoriented Homugi's sight, and she was in a room with angled floors and concaved walls. She scanned her surroundings, taking note that the room still an open hole in the wall, but the walls seemed to be pulsating. She went to touch it and felt wet flesh undulating slowly. Homugi jumped back and felt cold, humid air coming and going. The room, or at least the walls, were breathing!
Vegetation was growing from chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and water was pouring into a form of pod. It was like a piece of nature was architecturally chosen and placed in spots to make the surroundings feel more surreal. Bonitas and Chara tugged on Homugi's yukata sleeves to lead her to the pod while Fides and Caritas led the way. They poured a pale blue oil into the pod before smiling in unison. Fides placed her hands on the pod to make it thinner while Caritas peeled back a layer and floated aside. He nodded at Homugi to come closer and watched her walk towards him with some suspicion. When Homugi looked into the pod, she gasped and flung herself on it. Meioshi was inside of it! She looked like she was sleeping.
"Doctor!" Homugi exclaimed with a whispery voice. The pod glowed in response and a soft hum echoed through the estranged hallway. A playful, warm gust of wind blew in front of Homugi before a vine creeped out from the side of Meioshi's healing pod and a flower bloomed. "What the hell kind of training were you doing, you goob?"
"She said not to worry so much," Fides replied, gently taking the flower into her hands and pointing it at Homugi. "But she's also saying that everything hurts. More paint, Cari!"
"'kay!" Caritas cheered, flying around a corner to retrieve the healing paint.
"Paint?" Homugi questioned, raising a brow.
"It's how she heals," Chara piped up. "She sleeps in the bath for a little while and lets the paint sink into her skin. Sometimes, she'll request a Scroll of Cognizance to transfer information into an archive for newer enemies. She didn't ask for one this time."
A Venus fly trap stirred from slumber next to the pod, snapping at the sprites. Bonitas chuckled and said, "You're always hungry, silly girl! Whatcha wanna eat?"
The echo of her hum traveled through the hall again and the smell of sweet orange filled the air. Homugi hummed with confusion at this response and guessed, "Something with oranges?"
"What do you mean 'you're in a petty mood'?" Bonitas questioned.
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"Young man, we've been going in circles for several days and you refuse to let me setup a proper camp or ask anyone for directions," Kirameku Ha complained, furrowing his brow with obvious annoyance at the situation. "Furthermore, your imp just fell in a hole leading to heaven knows where and is screaming."
"I'll find a way out, Lord Sesshomaru! Don't you worry about me!" Jaken tried to reassure.
"Do it quickly, Jaken. I've lost my patience!" Sesshomaru growled.
They were on another island that was completely uninhabited but filled with lush foliage and a couple of cliffs. Unfortunately, they were on one of the cliffs that just so happened to have a trap hidden underneath some stones. Jaken had climbed onto the stones for a better vantage point and to see if Nintojo had led them in the right direction, but he fell straight through the stones and has been struggling to get out since. The sage did try to lend the imp a rope to pull himself out, but Jaken was in an awkward position. His weight was too heavy for the sage to pull him up like gravity was tripled within this... dimensional space. Even Ah-Un couldn't pull him out! That and Jaken explained that he wasn't on the ground. He was floating like he was in an air column.
Kirameku Ha sighed then said, "Your staff has been cursed by another demon, imp. That's why it's been leading us astray. Your lord downright refuses to pay any kind of formal attention to it because it's a quote-on-quote waste of his time. Since he's not going to help you or anyone else on this forsaken path to wherever the hell he's trying to go, I'm going to suggest that you try to use your staff to climb out. The pygmy is toying with you at this point. I'm going to the inn near here and I'm going to sleep. You should be able to detect my pupil's camp by smell or find her flag. Wherever you found the damn pygmy, the staff will lead you back to him or wherever the hell it's trying to get you to go. When you've gotten the pygmy's curse off you, I'll be at the inn."
With that, the sage put on his hat, straightened his clothes, and walked off. The dragon was stuck between remaining at Sesshomaru's side or following the sage. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes until Kirameku Ha stopped for a second. He turned around, undid his wagon from the dragon, and pulled it with ease to where he was going. Now, Ah-Un were fully conflicted. The food was going away.
"Damn this wretched island!" Jaken complained.