Meioshi was the first to leave the festival behind. Sesshomaru flew over to the funnel with haste, not understanding what was happening but seeing and sensing that his rival was distressed. Another figure also had a similar power to hers. Kirameku Ha and the other men like him all ran after Meioshi. They weren't as fast as her, but they kept up with her quite well. The parade goers were confused by her sudden dismissal with exception to Kunimatsu. He watched his childhood crush be sad for the first time in his life and wanted to comfort her, but he knew that where she was going was beyond his reach. She had to go it alone. As much as Sesshomaru hated the beach, he bit back his feelings about the favored nudity and landed on the hill overlooking the beach. The storm was strong and forcing boats to cling to docks and shores. Reijiro, Sanraku, and Jaken rushed after the men once they spotted Kirameku Ha moving people aside to follow his pupil. They ran up the hill to catch up to Sesshomaru and watched something incredible happen.
The storm clouds were harboring an immense amount of power as three waterspouts hit the sea's surface and widened at the bottom. The sea churned and swirled rapidly until a billowing growl came from the depths. Warships were being pulled out from the spouts by their noses untll they full rose out of the water. The soldiers were gasping "Bowman's Star!" or "Our vessels!" as ships and smaller lifeboats emerged from the water. The sea dragon from before descended from the waterspout and blanketed the men in a thick mist. When the mist died down, all of the old men... reverted in age! Kirameku Ha, who was in the front of the line, looked like he was no older than Sesshomaru and the others! His skin was still that golden color, but the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth were gone. His buzz cut grew out to black locks right at the end of his shoulder blades, his eyes returned to a healthy brown, and his armor regained its proud luster. When one of the men looked down at himself, he saw his aged hands having far less callouses and cuts. Using his medallion as a mirror, the reflection he saw became his evidence.
"Eh!? We are young! Second, you - !"
Reijiro was wide-eyed at the men changing from beloved grandfathers to young fathers, husbands, and recruits. He, especially, paid close attention to Kirameku Ha. He was more noble than he gave him credit for in his armor and manto. From the last spout, sounds of war from cannons to chants all sounded like a fading dream. Images of the past all danced across the mist for the men to see. Out of the spout, where the sea dragon was changing form, walked a man of sturdy, thick build. His proud strides across the water made Meioshi cower. As much as she wanted to run to the man, she felt a wave of shame cross over her and she ran up the hill. Not paying attention to anything in her path. Sesshomaru stopped her from proceeding further and fought with her for a little while until she just cried. He had never seen his rival in this vulnerable state. When she clung to him like a lifeline and just wept in his armor, he didn't move or speak. He just watched her. In his mind, this was what he never wanted for himself. To be so weak that you can't control your emotions or responses to the outside world, but he knew his rival better than that. She needed to grieve in order to fight her hardest. Tears weren't a sign of weakness for her. It was her time to put on her best armor and equip her finest sword. He just didn't know how to properly handle her emotions, and she didn't seem to know that she ran into him. She was closing her eyes like someone else was fighting with her. Like she was expecting to be punished. She reverted into a child emotionally and was shaking.
Returning his attention to the man, he reached Kirameku Ha first and raised the man's head to look at him. He smiled gently and Sesshomaru finally heard the man's name be said, "Arimasa?"
"T-taisho!" another man revealed.
Arimasa, the leader of the Kairyu, stood before them in his warlord's regalia and let a single tear fall from his eyes to show genuine happiness. He was free. That made all the men release their emotions and cry. Their beloved leader truly was gone from the living world. Kirameku Ha collapsed on his knees in mourning, shaking his head and holding Arimasa's hand. Another man was brave enough to run into Arimasa's arms and embrace him tightly. He was one of the younger members of the Kairyu who looked up to Arimasa like one would a father. Other men followed suit and simply held their taisho in mourning. That was until Lord Aka rounded the corner and hustled over to the group. He sensed who the presence was and broke the rules by charging through the parade crowd. Arimasa released his men and walked over to the large red demon. He reverted their ages in that mist and let the demon embrace him. He returned that embrace and cried with him. Gold beads fell all over the beach as Aka mourned for the little boy he protected until he went off to war. When Arimasa released him, the man made a set of stairs out of water and walked up them to find Meioshi. He was no longer smiling.
The doctor felt Arimasa's trying to find her and her eyes shrunk out of fear. She pushed away from Sesshomaru and tried to run, but Sesshomaru grabbed her arm again to stop her until he felt like he was underwater. He couldn't breathe or move. His head started pounding and heating up like someone was squeezing his head and pushing their thumbs in the temples. He loosened his grip on Meioshi at this odd sensation. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable for his lordship. When he was met with a man with a strong jaw and dragon eyes, he was frozen in place. He was a handsome fellow and seemed quite stern with the way he looked at him like an angry father. Sesshomaru bowed to no human, but he could admit that this human was different. He commanded the space around him. He controlled the sea and your fate in it. Somehow or another, Sesshomaru didn't know what made the man stop applying pressure to his head and throat, but the mist released him for a moment to let him cough out the water from his lungs. Sesshomaru looked back to Meioshi to see her struggling to crawl away. She was about to take off again, but the man turned to her and capture her in his mist. He turned to Sesshomaru again, measured him up with his eyes, and tilted his head out of some confusion. It was as though he didn't understand Sesshomaru's presence there. Arimasa then turned to Reijiro and the others. The look of confusion remained in place, but he waited for them to move like he was expecting them to speak.
"You're..." Reijiro started, gulping a bit. Arimasa's eyes lowered in acknowledgement to show his attention had been gained. "You're... Kirameku Ha's taisho?"
"... I am," Arimasa said in a baritone that made Reijiro's heart pound. "Why aren't you telling my brother how you really feel about him? He does not hate you."
Reijiro blushed and said, "Hey, it ain't like that!"
"I didn't say it was," Arimasa said, raising a brow in amusement of the innuendo. "He won't mind you adopting him as a father figure."
"Does that mean we call you uncle?" Sanraku asked, earning a chuckle from the man.
He nodded in response before saying, "If you wish." Arimasa then turned to Sesshomaru and said, "I do not appreciate young men disrespecting my daughter. Avert your gazes next time she bathes, young man."
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at this but said nothing as Arimasa walked over to the mist covering Meioshi. As he approached, his age changed to that of an old man without the armor and strictly a regular kimono. His hair was long and gray, but he maintained that handsome physique and appearance. It was simply aged like a prized wine. Meioshi... Sesshomaru's human, feminine, and brave rival reverted back to a child completely. She looked like a small princess! He was able to see her as the Green Pheasant remembered her. Dressed in a brightly colored yukata and fashionable obi, Meioshi became the young adventurer many knew her to be. Arimasa held her in his arms and wiped her eyes free of her tears.
She mumbled out, "I'm sorry, Jiji. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Jiji."
"The greatest gift anyone could've given me is having you for a granddaughter, Meioshi. My little peach, I bear no hatred for you. Do not put such emotions into my heart when that's not how I feel about you. I fought to protect you from harm. I will always love you, my child," Arimasa said.
His chest tightened at the thought of it. He didn't want to think about it. He couldn't bear the thought of... No, he wouldn't allow him to go. Sesshomaru looked at his rival holding her grandfather tightly while still in that child form and just couldn't bring himself to think about Hikozaemon II leaving him like that. The relationship Sesshomaru had with his father was rightfully forgotten about when the late general decided to live a life with his human woman. He shed no tears on the day of his death. He didn't shed one when he saw his bones towering over him either. He may have respected his father more with the new knowledge of emotional capacities from his journey, but that didn't mean his love was restored for the man. It just meant he pitied him in all honesty. His father had such great power and was the master of life and death, but he wasn't the master of his own fate. Having someone to protect may have made life more fulfilling, but it didn't save you from the true end. That's the main reason why his emotions resorted to simply pride by default when he personally saw his father's remains. Sesshomaru remembered within that moment of seeing the presence in his life that was so much larger than life that death couldn't be escaped, and life would always be threatened. That was the greatest lesson he could say he learned the hardest and the fastest. In his youth, he took up the mantle of lord of the western lands to spare his father's legacy. Let it be just that - a legend, a myth. Only the legacy he had to force every to live down was important to him. There was nothing more to do or to fix with that affair, so the door was closed when Inu no Taisho's eyes had closed.
His mother could be spared such a cold fate. She was returning to the woman he grew up with, albeit slowly. If he could just convince her to stop loving his father, maybe they could be together again. The chances were slim, but... they were there. After all, he knew nothing about her before. Now, he's learned that she was once at his father's side as an assassin. One of the finest to date, according to his Jikomo. Perhaps... the Meido Stone really wasn't as important as he thought. It can't do anything else other than decorate his mother's neck, right? Watching Arimasa turn to the sea, where his men reverted back to their original ages with him, Sesshomaru realized how quickly he changed the conversation with himself. He was doing everything in his power to deflect about what he would do if he lost his Jikomo. He just couldn't do it. He could afford to lose his father. He could even live a life without his mother, but losing his grandfather - the one friend he had growing up and the one person who continued to support him in the midst of all of these trials - would... He just couldn't do it.
Sesshomaru finally had the guts to admit to himself, even if it was just a quiet thought that only the gods could hear, that he didn't want to lose Hikozaemon II. He would never be ready to say goodbye to him. Seeing him again after a period of silence stood between them was truly a welcomed experience. For a brief moment, he had a great amount of sympathy for his rival. Something he didn't believe was left in him. In truth, he saw her as weak and vulnerable, but really, she was stronger than he would've been. He could've been her. If Hikozaemon II ever rose from... He would've tried to run away from the fact that he lost his grandfather to... No, he wouldn't let him go so easily. His grandfather was innocent! He can't leave him! Sesshomaru felt a burning rage rise from his spirit at just the mere thought of someone hurting his grandfather.
Never! Sesshomaru thought. This world will burn before I ever let someone take Jikomo from me!
In that instant, however, his chest grew warm. His lordship missed the elder very much. What he was feeling might have been what Meioshi was feeling now. One enemy to fight... Someone took her grandfather from her. That's why she kept saying sorry. She wanted to be there to protect him. She couldn't be or just wasn't able to for some reason. Arimasa called out to Meioshi with an unrecognizable name - probably a childhood nickname - and pointed out to the warships. She spoke through mumbles and smaller sobs, seeming to cheer up at the exchange, but gave her full attention to her grandfather. He didn't realize it before, but Meioshi... was a beautiful little girl. Her skin was darker than her grandfather's and her features a bit different, but the dark hair was the same and the little tiara in her hair made her look just as regal as the human taisho. Sesshomaru took his time analyzing little Meioshi's details and felt himself relax. He could see himself in his father's shoes if he and Meioshi had met as children. Before she cut herself, before she was marked, before she was a doctor, before everything he knew about her now, he could see himself being just like the young emperor. Eager to play or go on a new adventure... with his childhood crush. How different would life had been if he had known her sooner?
Arimasa said something just before he carried Meioshi over to the men. Together, grandfather and grandchild walked down the stairs made of water and mist to be among the men. They spoke at length for a while before Arimasa handed Meioshi over to Kirameku Ha's arms. The taisho said his final goodbyes before a light and plum blossom petals called out to him. He smiled with joy when he spotted a woman standing on a small skiff. Arimasa walked back into the sea, taking his mist and ships with him, and took the woman into his arms.
"Jiji!" Meioshi cried out, trying to run after him.
"You cannot go with me here, my daughter," Arimasa said from his position and distance. His voice traveled to her and the men. "It is not your time. Seek me at the threshold... when you are ready..."
With that, a beam of moonlight shined down on Arimasa and the woman to call them home and all of Arimasa's power and presence disappeared into the sky. The storm clouds were no more, and everyone went back to their original ages...
_____________________________________________
POP! Cheers!
Regardless of what happened to the hell traveler's side of the festival, the afterparties cued up in full swing. The townspeople were eager to view the emperor's palace and the First General's policing and military service areas. The flags were properly set up along the pathways and night lights of the theme colors gave the heart of Heiwa a kaleidoscope of color. It took a while for Meioshi and Kirameku Ha to leave the beach. Sesshomaru and his small crew took a while to leave themselves, waiting for the two. Fuyu Joo was the only one from the parade who knew where everyone had run to because it was a part of the beach that the Kairyu first landed on for help.
"Zhe-Zhe?" the gentle beauty called. Meioshi turned to her in response, looking into her friend's eyes with a mixture of emotions but remaining silent. "Are you ready to complete your art?"
Meioshi nodded, turned to the sea one more time, and held Fuyu Joo's and Kirameku Ha's hands in each of hers to lead them away from the beach. Sesshomaru and the others followed the three back into the village in silence, but his lordship walked back over to the dancing ring. Meioshi's headdress might've still been there, but he didn't see the beautiful crown of feathers on the ground anymore. Most likely, the emperor had taken it to return it to his beloved doctor. He was supposed to be traveling through town now. Reijiro and the others waited for Sesshomaru to return to their group before they followed the scents of the doctor, her sensei, and her friend to Old Heiwa. Kirameku Ha was the only one to separate from the trio at a certain point. Fuyu Joo and Meioshi walked in another direction while the sensei returned home for a moment. Reijiro and Sanraku told Sesshomaru they were going to see him and that they would wait for his lordship. It looked like he wanted to speak to Meioshi. He nodded to them in acknowledgement, making sure to visit the old man himself afterwards, and followed Meioshi's scent to Miki's extravagant okiya, He frowned at this. Why would she go there?
Following her inside of the building, the chaotic festivities going on in the place were maybe a few points short of legendary. It smelled awful in there! Meioshi seemed to be focused on one thing as she leaned against a wall to observe the afterparty madness. Looked like this kind of party wasn't her style or simply was in mood to join in on this wildness. He noticed that her manto was missing and that glow in her eyes from before had calmed down to merely provide a spot of light in the corners of the hazel irises. Miki was performing a song and dance with confidence and sensuality as her kimono was opened at the shoulders to purposely show skin. When she was complete and the men burst with excitement, she left the stage for other girls to shimmy and dance about.
"What is a charming girl like you doing at a party like this, dear sister?" Fuyu Joo asked, whispering in Meioshi's ear.
Sesshomaru didn't even notice she had come in. Probably too confused by the scandalous nature of this place. Heiwan women seemed to be just loose all around with exception to the emperor's maids. Those were respectable women at least!
"Oh, I just came for a drink. You know I quit dance years ago," Meioshi replied, unimpressed by the dancing or cheers.
A round of drinks reached over to her. She quietly took a cup out of respect before catching a whiff of something unpleasant coming from the cup. Was it dirty or something? She sniffed the contents of the cup before scrunching her nose and looking at the wine. It couldn't have spoiled. Miki would've never allowed for it.
"That's why I came. She hated us most of all and now we're invited to her anniversary party after all these years? Ha!" Fuyu Joo gossiped, earning Sesshomaru's attention. Meioshi had a dancing rival?
"Well, we do have new guests, and... one of them is an attractive male of high societal means," Meioshi replied, inspecting the contents of her cup. What wine smelled this bad? She then continued, "He's the young son of a famous general in the youkai world."
Sesshomaru didn't like that at all. Hell no to that!
"High quality male suitor," Fuyu Joo said, blowing smoke out of her face and coughing it away. "Makes me wonder if all this was to impress him, seeing as though her stage anniversary is in five months."
"Well, she's happy with her active life and skills. I'd say let her have her fun. Men do it all the time," Meioshi commented, covering her cup with her hand so no one tampered with the contents.
"You said you would say that. What do you really want to say?" Fuyu Joo asked, swaying her shoulders and quirking her lips in a gossipping manner.
Meioshi turned to her friend with widened eyes and said, "That I'm going to a real party with real alcohol and actual food that doesn't smell like dick... After this dance, though."
With that, Meioshi grabbed Fuyu Joo's hand and danced to the beat of one particular song that was a favorite of theirs in their childhood. Sesshomaru wanted to leave this dump so much, but... he wanted to bring Meioshi home, personally. Losing a grandfather was hard. It was in his nature, though loathe to admit it, to make sure his comrades were okay before he enjoyed anything himself.
"Well, if it isn't our guest swordsman. I'm glad you graced with me with your presence," Miki said, smiling in greeting as someone walked past her. "I was worried you might ignore my invitation."
Jaken questioned this by asking, "We got an invitation to this as well, my lord?"
"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Miki questioned, opening a fan to cool herself down. "Well, allow me to cater to you personally, my lord. I highly doubt Dr. Jigoku can satisfy your particular needs. She wasn't the best hostess when she was an apprentice here."
Jaken gasped a bit at this and asked, "Lady Meioshi was a hostess here? Surely, you jest!"
"Perhaps you'd like to see the paintings of her then?" Miki offered, nodding and pointing a dimly lit hallway. "We keep the best of every girl: recipes, ikebana, dresses, haiku. All things pertaining to our girls, even those who have retired, found new work, or married, are located in the dancers' hall. Your doctor was a treat to many men. Those strong eyes and flirty spirit added to her sweetness."
Jaken thought back to his times around Meioshi and said, "Well, she does smile often and seems adventurous. She must have been a fun girl when she was younger."
Miki smiled at the imp's words, bowed respectfully, and said, "Come. I'll show you."
Against his better judgement, Sesshomaru followed Miki to the Dancers' Hall. Portraits of girls practicing shamisen or drums were on the walls. Rounding a corner into a room, they were met with the apprentices' museum of arts. Miki directed them to a particular section where an oddly done kimono and stinking ball of algae and dead sea animals were just resting in a spot. The title of Hunting Crane was littered about.
"I apologize if her work wasn't quite up to par," Miki said. "Meioshi was young at the time."
Jaken squinched his beak at the appalling smell of the marine life ball and grumbled, "She seemed to be interested in other things besides dancing and cooking. Did she make that dress there, too?"
"When we were younger, yes. I was her classmate. This was mine," Miki said, showing them her collection of her best furisodes and paintings and trophies.
Jaken complimented, "That's very good! How old were you when you made this?"
"Nine years young," Miki answered, bowing with gratitude. Sesshomaru took a closer look at Meioshi's kimono. He noticed something about it. Miki then said, "Funny little creation, isn't it?"
Sesshomaru stood still for a moment, remembering the little girl he saw in Arimasa's arms, and took his time to decide to defend his rival's honor by saying, "She was at the beach. The smell is faint, but the stains of the sand and village mud are there. This kimono hasn't been washed of the salty waters. Seaweed is still stuck to the bottom. Whatever she was supposed to stitch was forgotten in favor of playtime."
"Very astute observation, my lord."
Meioshi, much like how she was at Shinju o Tateru, leaned against the doorframe to speak. He didn't hear her walk over or smell her scent. She walked over to her section and replaced the stinking ball with a beautiful aquatic display then went to work on fixing her museum collection.
"It was a summer day. Baba wanted me to prepare something for Jiji for the fall festival. Mother's task was to create our art using a red flower. I was so mad I had to do more work for the summer that I made awful selections for my art! Just to spite everyone, I wore the duster coat on purpose at playtime. Baba punished me when I came home, but my babysitter snuck me out of the house and brought me to the beach. While swimming, I saw this breathtaking coral blooming a red flower. That's where my art was born. My gift to Jiji was the coral rose," Meioshi explained, turning to Miki and bowing to her with respect. "Thank you for keeping it, even though it was backwards."
"Let's go home, sister," Fuyu Joo said, taking a moment to look at their old stuff before escorting Meioshi out of the room and the building.