"If I don't?" Sesshomaru asked.
The Green Pheasant was quiet in his response, but he paid very close attention to Sesshomaru's body language in his question. He's hesitating. Interesting. He replied, "The oath is rendered void on your part and falls to another to be completed. If the oath keeper was your father as the snippy talking dog over there suggested, then I imagine he had others connected to him who could complete this task. Regardless of what you choose to do, Meioshi will fulfill the role as a witness. Knowing her, she'll work her hardest to do right by the fallen oath keepers."
Hmph! Of course, she will... Sesshomaru thought. It's a part of her vigilance for... lost souls... Was father a lost soul or these others bonded to him? The black wall demon... he mentioned father writing a death poem in his mind when they crossed paths just before he died. This is only written when a warrior has been shamed. Were there things... he regretted before Inuyasha's birth? What plagued him so? Did the oath keepers die before he did? What did you... fail to do for these humans? Are they part of any of this?
"As for this large demon that my friend has mentioned, what are you talking about, old chap?" the Green Pheasant asked.
Kirameku Ha nodded toward Sesshomaru to answer, "The boy called the beast Azumamaro the Jewel Thief. Before it left us so suddenly, it had asked if I, and Meioshi, had served in the military at some point. Even going so far as to say we were of use to him in finding an item it wants. These youth seem to know of the creature as a tall tale only. This 'confrontation' was a first for them. Do you recognize the name of this creature?"
"Yes and no," the Green Pheasant replied, earning the attention of Reijiro and Sanraku. "The Azumamaro that I know of was a creature made almost entirely out of hair and shadow. It was well-known for terrorizing villages by covering them in pure darkness and swallowing them whole in a sense. Survivors of this creature's attack usually died from injuries, but I recall only a few victims describing the incident as being covered in salt acid and suffocated by a skin-eating smoke. I only know this because I've come across a victim once. Azumamaro has entered the in-between worlds before, but another creature that was haunting and consuming dead soldiers had managed to damage Azumamaro's body by the power it collected from other restless souls. They managed to fuse together by some means even I can't rightly trace."
"Hmm..." Kirameku Ha responded, unfolding his arms. "We were headed to a wasteland that the boy needed to find before these other two youth joined him. My pupil mentioned upon her return home that she was trying to locate a stone that was lost from the boy's homelands. Something called the Meido Stone. Would this be located there?"
"The Meido Stone?" the Green Pheasant questioned, eyes narrowing. "This I do not know. Unless it is an item carrying a lost soul or something made from Azumamaro's supposed offspring, I couldn't say. I've never heard of such a thing."
"Offspring?" Sanraku questioned, raising an eyebrow. "That monster had a kid?"
"W~ell..." the Green Pheasant started, dragging the word out in a squeaked tone. "Not in the enjoyable way, unfortunately. I don't necessarily understand this part myself, but Azumamaro's hair was cut by another demon, and the remains of that hair engulfed a sickly child and possessed the body. I believe the girl's name was Yura. Yura of the Demon Hair, if I remember correctly. Azumamaro brought her to the Century Wasteland to retrieve a comb that would grant her some power. He had hoped to use her to pillage other villages, but either the girl or the comb gained some sentience and claimed independency from him. I never heard or saw either of them again since then."
"There's no way the stone would be in this wasteland then. The Meido Stone was a gift to Milady," Reijiro interjected, folding his arms with displeasure. "The last gift to her before our king died. Far as we know, it's not a haunted item unless our king has been lingering in it the whole time."
"He hasn't," Sesshomaru replied, looking into the sky. "He ceased associations with us long before he joined his wife. I do not have time to waste on my father's unfinished works. He is dead. Just like these oath keepers he was close to. This oath means nothing to the House of Inu. Give this task to my brother if it is so important for him to complete his promise in the afterlife."
"Ew, gods, there's more of you?" the Green Pheasant questioned, flinching with disgust at the thought.
"Quiet, stupid bird!" Sesshomaru retorted with annoyance in his tone. "Stay with the old man and watch over your oath. I've things to do at the Akebeko Temple. I'll not entertain this or the foolish witch. We'll continue our journey to the wasteland after this mission. It would be in your best interests to make sure that Jaken remains unharmed in any of this; otherwise... I'll eat your children."
"You keep away from my kids, you evil thing!" the Green Pheasant warned, fluffing up into a ball to show his anger.
"I hear wine and mushroom sauce compliments pheasant breast quite well," Sesshomaru remarked, walking in the direction of the Akebeko Temple.
"EVIL TALKING DOG! I will haunt you in your sleep!" the Green Pheasant threatened, earning no more than a huff.
________________________________________________
"Release me this instant, insolent witch!" Jaken demanded, pounding his fists against Meioshi's back.
She kept Jaken over her shoulder for the duration of their flight. Yuko merely huffed at him, remembering the unpleasant time she had to share with him back when she was searching for little wolf. Homugi was plugging her ears with her fingers as the imp kept making noise. Liuxian kept his eyes forward as he steered the boat, but he occasionally offered Meioshi some water to drink. He knew she preferred herbal infused waters, so he kept a canteen of such on his person whenever they had to travel together. He was unbothered by Jaken's screaming. Once he caught sight of Meioshi's hell traveler flags, he positioned the oar so that the boat could head to that direction.
"That your marker, sis?" Liuxian questioned.
"Good eye, Liu," Meioshi said with a smirk. "Take us there. That's our starting point."
"You dragged me from Lord Sesshomaru's side just to bring me back to your campsite?" Jaken yelled with frustration.
"Is there an 'off' switch at the campsite?" Yuko asked, leaning over the side of the boat to see it.
"I always thought Lord Sesshomaru's attendant was a quieter creature," Homugi remarked, unplugging her ears. "I still don't know how you managed to scoop him up so easily. What did you say to Lord Sesshomaru anyway?"
"I noticed that he gets distracted very easily when you force him to remember things about his past. Obviously, he doesn't allow such negligence in battle, but he does let himself slip into silent musings when the situation is a bit mundane," Meioshi replied calmly. "I didn't bring up anything taxing per se, but I did get an answer out of him in my questioning."
"What'd you ask him, sensei?" Yuko asked.
"Basically, I wanted to know why he was keeping my sensei with him so closely," Meioshi said, taking note to Jaken's curiosity. He stopped struggling for a moment to listen to her. "It didn't make any sense for him to be going to Kirameku Ha the way he's been doing as of late. After the two dueled, Sesshomaru had no reason to assume that my sensei had anything to do with the killings at those woodlands. The attack pattern didn't match. Sesshomaru even told me that he came across a demon who was near the woodlands and who attacked it right in front of him. This was the context of our conversation just before I met you, my Homugi."
"Oh, that's right!" Homugi said, looking at Meioshi and Jaken. "He said he saw a woman there. Him and Lord Jaken. So... he's been accusing your sensei of a crime someone else had done? That's - "
"Precisely why it didn't make any sense," Meioshi interrupted. "He knows who attacked the woodlands and his homelands. There's no reason for my sensei to be at his side like this with exception to one."
"Which is?" Jaken asked, shifting to look at Meioshi.
Liuxian chuckled a bit before saying, "Lord Kirameku Ha has a way with kids. Always did."
"Oh," Yuko said with surprise in her face and voice. "He really likes Lord Kirameku Ha then, huh?"
"More specifically, he reminds him of someone from his past - an elder or older man he looked up to once," Meioshi replied. "In his own cryptic way, his lordship misses that person. He hadn't thought about him in a while from the way he froze up on me."
"Me lord misses one of his elders?" Jaken questioned softly.
Liuxian smiled gently at the question, now seeing how his friend got the upper hand on Sesshomaru. He wondered if Kirameku Ha suspected the same thing from the supposed demon lord, but he was more curious as to why Meioshi trusted Sesshomaru with being around Kirameku Ha. He would have to ask at a later time when the situation wasn't dire. Entering the canopy of trees, Liuxian steered the boat to a hovering position above the ground and anchored it. Meioshi was the first to hop off the boat and gently dropped Jaken on his bed before kneeling in front of him and looking him in the eyes. She didn't say anything for a while as the others inspected the area for themselves. Jaken was practically fuming as he glared back at her.
Homugi was the first to speak as she asked, "You made all of this, Meioshi? Camping trips must be fun with you."
"You don't know the half of it!" Liuxian chimed in, flopping onto Kirameku Ha's bedding area. "Why'd we turn up here, sis?"
"Because Lord Jaken knows something of importance to me," Meioshi said. "There's a little girl that I'm trying to help right now, and this wasteland you were searching for is connected to her somehow. I don't know if Lord Sesshomaru is in danger or not, but I do know that he needs your help just as much as I do."
"Why should I help my kidnapper?" Jaken questioned with a fuss.
"It's not really me you're helping. It's your lord," Meioshi replied, placing her chin atop her folded arms resting on her knees. "Sensei mentioned that your staff was cursed by a pygmy that Sesshomaru came across by the orange tree we made wishes on. I'm thinking there's more to it than that. Reason being that pygmies are very particular with the victims they curse, especially to those who resemble cranes or are quite tall. Sesshomaru dresses elegantly and is of relative height, but there's no reason for one to curse him unless that pygmy was waiting for him to be there. Worse still, your staff was cursed as well. Why it, specifically? Is this not your weapon?"
"Nintojo was a gift to me from Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken said proudly, clutching the staff tightly. "I've used this for many years to properly serve, me lord. A foolish ronin like you would never understand the privilege of serving Lord Sesshomaru!"
"How did his lordship come across such an item?" Meioshi asked.
"I'm not obligated to tell you anything, kidnapper," Jaken replied, turning his nose up.
Meioshi huffed at first then a light snicker escaped before some audible chuckling sounded. She then said, "He can't use it, can he?"
"Huh?" Jaken croaked, opening a singular eye that had closed after he turned up his nose at the doctor.
"Yuko. When Lord Jaken and Lord Sesshomaru tried to kidnap you at my estate, what were you able to overhear them talk about?" Meioshi asked.
"Hm? Oh, Lord Jaken was going to ask you about the barrier over the clinic. It had that neutralizing effect on demons for safety reasons," Yuko answered.
"Anything else before that?" Meioshi asked, smirking shrewdly.
"They were looking at the cliff before then. I guessed that you had just gone up there to get something," Yuko answered.
"Your staff can find things that he wants, can't it?" Meioshi asked, looking at Nintojo. "Problem is he can't find those things himself. Someone either gave that to him or he stole it from someone with the intention of him being able to find whatever it is he wants. Doesn't work if you really don't know what you want or if your mind is thinking of too many things at once, now does it? You're not easily distracted by such chaotic musings, Lord Jaken, so your mind is essentially free of any extra thoughts. You only ever have one clear goal: to please your lord. He needs you because you have a clearer head on your shoulders. Your Nintojo represents what he lacks. You're the key to Lord Sesshomaru getting the things he wants most!"
What he wants most... Meioshi thought, rising to stand. She then looked to the direction of the orange tree and thought, That's how he found Hon'no and the black wall so quickly without me! I couldn't put my finger on it before, but I get it now. There was no possible way Sesshomaru could've traced Hon'no by scent alone in between worlds. The gateway of the in-between neutralizes all scents and halves the capabilities of most demons. Hon'no was in a neutralizing cage along with her townsfolk. He would've been overstimulated by the multitude of scents at half power, and the arctic wolf was a conglomeration of people and beast. Even then, he wouldn't have recognized her scent anyway. She wasn't separated from everyone until Chen-bi had been activated. He must have told Lord Jaken to use this staff to find Hon'no. If what Yuko said was true, then Sesshomaru told Jaken to use the staff on my entire estate as well. He can state what he wants very clearly, but the staff must go completely haywire in his hand. His heart or his mind has too much that it wants at one time. What is Sesshomaru lacking that Jaken is not?
"Represents what he lacks?" Homugi questioned, looking at the heads herself. "An old man and a shrieking woman... what could they represent?"
"How 'bout discipline?" Yuko replied with a flat face. "He could use a couple of spankings."
"If that's the case, Morihei's first in line," Meioshi joked. "And Jaken doesn't have discipline himself."
"I have plenty of discipline!" Jaken argued.
"A shrieking woman is usually known as a banshee, the foreteller of death. I don't know what she'd have in common with an old man, though," Liuxian offered.
Meioshi hummed in thought before parting her lips to quietly say, "Wisdom and understanding."
Turning to Jaken, the doctor looked at him and then the staff. A thought then came to her. Pulling out her Dai Fubuki, she practically whispered a small chant before taking a step towards Jaken and twirling the blade in her hand. She pressed the tip of the hilt of the tanto onto the female head and watched as the staff rattled in Jaken's hand. He jumped back for a second before blue flames covered the staff and the male head summoned a glyph onto the ground. Everyone went on the defense as the male head's eyes widened before he opened his mouth and engulfed everyone in blue and silver flames. A connection between Nintojo and the orange tree was made! Within a moment, the party was sucked of Nintojo's world...