"BANZAI!"
"Eek!"
Meioshi looked up from her animal pens to see Ohta scaring the hell out of Yuko and Homugi in unison from his playful outburst. He smiled with a feign of innocence before locking eyes with the doctor who simply smiled at him before shaking her head to laugh lightly. Ohta's sneakiness amazed her greatly sometimes. He'd been doing that jump scare since she had met him. At first, it was the only way he could hold onto his childhood and innocence until he was freed. These days, he did these outbursts as a greeting to the doctor but also as a newfound joy in startling others. According to her wards in the okiya village, Jaken seemed to be a favorite victim of Ohta's, but it seems Homugi was slowly becoming fresh blood for the boy. It wasn't long before the grapple bears followed after the teen with smiles on their faces as well as Kyoko and the boys. The doctor was worried that the grapple bears and her students might have trouble getting along, but Musuko took to Ohta like a brother and was often impressed by the teen's hosting skills. Kyoko fell in love with Juba and looks after her like a little sister, and Shotaro had become protective of Chiura and Kijiro as of late.
Meioshi had been watching Shotaro more closely since Homugi had started living in Heiwa. The boy seemed to be showing signs of a crush on the blue merle beauty, or at the very least a heightened sense of fondness for her. He was eager to show her things and seemed to sort of gravitate towards her side in a group setting. Though she felt the boy was too young for such romantic pursuits, she made a note to help him acknowledge his feelings and to use them as a guide for when he would be ready to begin courtship. Meioshi decided she would only bring it up if the boy openly said so, however, or if her assumptions were correct. After all, he was barely ten. As for Homugi... the doctor needed to pay special attention to her response to Shotaro's feelings if he grew to genuinely have them for her. Although she might not have noticed his behavior around her, Homugi was likely to act bitter towards him and Meioshi would not tolerate that. Homugi's maturation into adulthood had been riddled with much hardship. Anything could trigger a traumatic memory right now. Regardless of this, Meioshi promised to train Homugi into living a more promising life. The blue merle beauty wouldn't be able to do this without letting go of past hurts.
"Well, well, well. Look at all of these helpers!" Meioshi said, hopping over her fences effortlessly. "Ready to clean out the barn? Or would you rather help fix the kitchen?"
A large gasp sounded from Kijiro before the boy shouted with horror on his face, "The kitchen's messed up?"
"You didn't see the big hole, Kiji-kun?" Chiura asked, pointing to the blast that took out the right side of the doctor's home. "Mama Joō took us stone shopping for new oven stones, remember? Mama Mei-Mei's oven's all broken."
"That's so mean! How's Mama Mei-Mei supposed to make pudding?" Kijiro asked, crocodile tears spilling out of his eyes.
"Of course, you want pudding whether the world's on fire or not," Ohta remarked, smiling at the boy. He then turned to the doctor and asked, "Lord Aka and Mister Shimpei are bringing you the stones Auntie Joō picked out for the stove and oven. She said you prefer a certain type. What's up with that?"
"Ah, the food quality turns out better with those particular stones. Plus, I can use a little bit of magic on them," Meioshi said with a wink.
"Magic? For what?" Homugi asked.
"Secret," Meioshi replied, smiling shrewdly.
"Oh no. Not that smile," Yuko said, flinching. "It's bad magic, isn't it?"
"Don't be ridiculous! I don't know any bad magic," Meioshi responded with a bright smile. "I just like building up suspense. You know that!"
"Suspense and anarchy is more like it!" Yuko remarked, clenching her fists to argue.
"Nevertheless, my kitchen is in shambles and that is completely unacceptable when I've patients that must have a proper meal under my care," Meioshi said. "I've to ask Lord Aka a question anyway."
"About what?" Ohta asked, running into Meioshi's arms to nuzzle her bosom.
She looked down at him and returned his hug with a gentle smile before replying, "Something Lord Sesshomaru lost, supposedly. My darling, you've grown a sun!"
"Yup!" Ohta cheered, chuckling. "Baba Namika's been feeding me all kinds of things. S'posed to help me grow! Oh, she mentioned something about a debut anniversary next year. It was something you and the others did when the school you went to was still around. What's she mean by debut?"
"She's doing a reunion party?" Meioshi asked more to herself than anything. She looked to the side and then said, "But... the school's been gone for a decade. What reason... would she have to bring it back this way?"
"So, it's a class reunion type of thing? That sounds cool!" Ohta said, not understanding Meioshi's saddened response to his new grandmother's idea. "You get to see some of your classmates again!"
Meioshi blinked before smiling for a second and then dropping her smile to look to the direction of where her school used to be. She then said softly, "It's more than that, I'm afraid. Your baba was one of the best event coordinators of Yanagisawa by far. She wouldn't be doing something like this for fun. Too much history is woven into the fabric of her life. She was on her way to being the headmistress until the school was destroyed."
"Destroyed? But... she said it just closed down," Ohta said, arms loosening in the hug.
"It did," Meioshi said, rubbing Ohta's shoulder absentmindedly with her thumb. It looked as though she were reliving the memory. In a way, she was. Memories of the fires, helping other students escape the flames, and watching it become a geisha house all floated to the surface of her eyes. She was no longer a student at the time, but she had just started her career as a nursing apprentice and emergency service unit. She then informed, "Afterwards. When a group of soldiers had come to embark on our lands, they crossed the line and set our school ablaze while people were still in the building. They even had the nerve to kidnap whoever they wanted and head east! Sensei, Jījī, and other parents managed to stop them and save whoever was taken. Because there was a greater demand for entertainment during war campaigns than any other career choice, the school was rebuilt into the geisha house. We lost so much in the fire. Mother Namika left it behind and never looked back. She refused to let such a rash decision soil the history of our beloved school. I never did find out why Yanagisawa School no longer received funding to start it up again."
"Maybe they decided to give the money to our school," Shotaro suggested, pointing to himself as though he represented the new school that was built in Yanagisawa School's place. "Our teachers said that it was birthed from your old school, sensei. We even pay our respects to it on the day of the Great Fire."
"I think Katsui-sensei told us that Yanagisawa School had been around for 200 years," Musuko informed, folding his hands behind his head. "Entertainers, bookkeepers, cooks, and interior decorators were popular jobs if you worked at the palace. You had to learn to be the best, though."
"That sounds like the story of our old village," Juba remarked. "Were we in Yanagisawa School the whole time, Mama Mei-Mei?"
"You taught us how to do some of those things," Chiura said, blinking cutely.
"Oh, I suppose you were the last students to be part of Yanagisawa's history, my little ones," Meioshi said with a light intake of breath. "I taught you a lot of what I knew or remembered back then. If not, a little something extra."
"Will we ever meet the one who taught you in medicine? Your classroom teacher?" Yuko asked with curiosity in her features.
"Well, yes, actually," Meioshi replied with a bright smile. "I'm afraid she was never a teacher at Yanagisawa School, however. If you mean the one who first taught me how to make medicine, that's a bit different. I don't know where she moved to, but I credit her with being my very first teacher in nursing."
"Who's the one who taught you after the first teacher?" Homugi asked.
"Lady Kaede," Meioshi answered, reducing the brightness of her smile to something fonder and with a light blush to soften her features. "Mizuonimura is just passed her village. We'll be making our way over there much sooner than predicted. Before that, I've much to tidy! My house is missing its other half and there's a goat trying to get into the kitchen!"
"Hey!" Kyoko shouted, fussing at the goat. "Who even are you? You don't live here!"
_____________________________________
Lord Aka was by the pond, looking up at the cliff of Meioshi's estate. It was a nice, cool night. He wondered if there would be a day when Meioshi would allow him to revisit the property up there. If for nothing else, just closure at the loss of his beloved friend and maybe a pleasantry visit for the other ancestors he knew in Meioshi's family. Hearing familiar footsteps behind him, he turned to see the doctor walking up to him before holding his arm and looking up at the cliff herself. When she released him, he turned to her and waited a moment.
"You had a question, child of Unmei?" Aka started.
"You can return to it during the festival with Mizu Hoseki, Great uncle Aka," Meioshi said sweetly, earning the demon's attention. "I decided to go this year. The barrier will be down until the last day. I intend to fix only the entryways and lighting afterwards. I can't stomach the rest, but... with time... you'll be able to see it whenever you like. I'm sorry I withheld you from it."
"No, child," Aka said, petting Meioshi's cheek with a singular finger. "Hasten not. Above all else, that was your family. I had only recently become a friend to it. If you are not ready, it is my responsibility to respect that. I... myself... am not ready to let them go. It will be hard, but I will not dishonor their memories. For now, we will discuss other things. You have summoned me."
"Know ye of the Meido Stone belonging to the House of Inu?" Meioshi asked in Aka's speech. "I've a hunch that Lady Rakuyama had infiltrated the territories to steal it. Lord Sesshomaru had mentioned her name, and Homugi left me in a hurry to protect it. I didn't explain much to Kirameku Ha, but Sesshomaru indirectly asked me to find this item and knows very little about it himself. Know ye of it perhaps?"
Aka hummed in thought before saying, "I've known it to be a crown jewel of great power. It has been used to resurrect the dead only once. Lord Sesshomaru once had a human child with him on his quest for power and the building of his own empire. His search was long and seemed endless. I know not the happenings of the child's death, but the Meido Stone was used to bring the child back to life. His father, Lord Toga the Great General, was at odds with the boy over the House's customs and feared he would become a tyrant. To ensure he would change his cold ways, he gave him the power to save lives only through an elaborate plan. In that instance, however, he could not save this child. The keeper of the Meido Stone had to. As for the stone's other powers, this I know not."
"Why would a demon have that kind of power at all?" Meioshi questioned, biting her nail. "That belongs to a divine spirit."
"The House of Inu were once guardian spirits who worked with divinities the way you do, child," Aka replied. "One among them had broken them down to mere demons or figures of war. They are not nearly as powerful as they used to be. Lord Toga was perhaps the last true guardian spirit reminiscent of their original heritage."
"I've heard of this shift in power. So, demons about your age and older know their true history, but the young lord does not? I don't understand this," Meioshi responded. "Did Lord Toga know of it?"
"I should say not," Aka commented, scoffing at the mere mention of such a thing. "He had to take this power of resurrection from a divinity. It wasn't given to him. When the House of Inu shifted, so did all of their divine power. I dare say, all of their dark power did as well. Lord Toga was a powerful demon, but his power had its limits."
"What's the stone made of?" Meioshi asked, folding her arms. "Is it just a glass container?"
"Supposedly, it is made of moonstone. Perhaps, you can learn more about this stone by finding an opposite to it. The opposite may even help you locate it," Aka suggested.
"An opposite? Then, I need to find a stone that can kill like the Sessho-seki stone?" Meioshi replied.
"The Sessho-seki stone would be a good opposite, but I do not believe this is what you need. You know of this stone quite well. You need another one that you do not know," Aka said. "I believe there is a crown jewel that serves better as the opposite to the Meido Stone. I tried to take it once, but it only works in the hands of a human much like the Meido Stone only works in the hands of a demon. We called it sunstone once, but it is a crown jewel known as the Himawari Jewel now. It is located in a holy city."