Enhancing the power of the trance, Maboroshi no kohime watched Sesshomaru charge at Meioshi before turning to her warrior clan. Before she laid waste to Meioshi and her holy city, she had to hear from her people the real reason they were separating her from Kinzo and Kishi. Was it just her absence or was it something more? Perhaps this Lord Sesshomaru could be of better use to her as well. Why did he deny being a member of the Shinto Guard? Had he not been called to active duty yet? Later. She would discover the truth from everyone later. Walking down the cliff and forming stairs with her stormy powers, the goddess marched before her clan and stood before them with a strong stance. Kinzo and Kishi were holding each other in fear while the onmyoji of the past formed the grand wall. The patron goddess was hurt by such actions, but she would not be deterred from watching over Kinzo. He had great potential to surpass his predecessors! Kishi as well!
"For what reason have you chosen to shield the clan head and messenger from me?" Maboroshi no kohime demanded.
"Is it not obvious?" a familiar deep voice asked.
A blue dragon of water and shadow surrounded all before becoming a man. It was Sojuro. He stood tall against the patron goddess, measuring her up and down before turning to the holy warriors. He inelegantly harrumphed, acknowledging their pathetic protests and cowering before catching Maboroshi no kohime's gaze. She was silenced but alert.
"Jinghua Mirai is here, kami knight?" the patron goddess questioned.
"No," Sojuro replied, folding his hands behind his back with patience. He then nodded at the onmyoji and said, "Your clansmen no longer wish to be under your patronage because you've been keeping them like pets and not servants."
"I've done no such thing!" Maboroshi no kohime argued with frustration.
"No? You are speaking to the husband of one of your kind," Sojuro hissed, walking just close enough to the patron goddess that he practically towered over her. He sunk down to her ear and purred seductively, "I know the scent of my brethren on your person. It is a distinctive scent carried by the sacred foliage of the holy warrior's clan. You see, gods like you generally carry the scent of honey, agarwood, or ginger lily depending on the generation you belong to. Those of mortal blood like me who have entered the afterlife carry the scent of sweet orange or wild cherry. Holy warriors like your men there bear the scent of the herbs of the earth and a sacred tree. My scent was the hell traveler's spice and the snowbell tree." Maboroshi no kohime quivered at this information, which made Sojuro scoff with a dark smirk. He then stood straight again and walked around the goddess like a hunting predator very slowly. He continued, "I share a scent with the demon wench you sided with on the cliff up there. It is only natural that a holy warrior's scent should blend with the patron god's... should they mate with each other."
Kinzo gasped at this, confused by Maboroshi no kohime's shaking. He had never mated with her, so... "Goddess, you...?"
"You have the very graceful scent of the laurel tree and white sage blended in with your honey fragrance," Sojuro purred, taking a lock of the goddess's hair into his hands to smell it. "If I walked over to Kinzo right now, I could guarantee I would catch the smell of those things. I learned a little something from my wife on the eve of our first mating, in fact. You haven't had a new clan head for 100 years, so four generations should be missing from the onmyoji wall there, yet I see a fifth member missing from here. Where is he, Maboroshi no kohime?"
Maboroshi no kohime shook like the earth was rattling beneath her and began to cry. She turned to Sojuro like a turning wheel that kept catching on a mislocated peg and gave him a pleading look. The kami knight took the smaller beauty's face into his larger hands and wiped away her tears softly. It was probably the gentlest thing Maboroshi no kohime had seen him do, but it was also a painful reminder that she was losing her clan because of her selfishness. She wanted to feel this, a gentle caress. To be looked at without fear, to be spoken to softly. She started to see why Jinghua Mirai, goddess of war and wisdom, had chosen to bed this mortal man. His arms were strong and thick with muscle, his hands were calloused from battle, and his face and stance were very firm, but all of his strength was coupled with kindness. He wasn't accusing her of anything. He spoke the truth from the mortals' perspective. She didn't know where her beloved had disappeared to. He was gone just before the war among the deities. Sleeping at Kinzo's side and being shrouded with his kindness reminded her of him. He was a good friend, but she had grown lonely and a yearning for him to mature had developed.
"Ah, you thought you could keep that secret, didn't you? Fear not, patron. I am proof that a god and mortal can be united through a sacred bond. In fact, my beloved has a proposal for you," Sojuro said, creeping into the goddess's ear again. "If you truly want to be with Kinzo there, don't walk the path of redemption like that foolish hell traveler is telling you. You are a goddess, Maboroshi no kohime, not her friend or student. You've no reason to bow to her. She has betrayed the Web of Divine Might and all of its alliances holding it together. For what reason should you heed her warnings? They are fruitless! You have an inu under your control, yes? Use his power to your advantage and leave the witch with a warning. Jinghua Mirai has become impatient with the traitor. Another offense and I will be sent to kill her once and for all. Then, you'll have nothing in your way to claim your knight."
A kami knight of her own. Jinghua Mirai could promise such a thing? What did Sojuro have to do to become the knight to the goddess of war? What would she have to do to claim Kinzo as hers or find her beloved? As she was ruminating on her thoughts, Kishi had started chanting again and a plethora of scrolls surrounded Meioshi's boat before her oar stabbed Sojuro in the back. He didn't let out a single sound. He merely looked down and turned to see the little oracle holding the oar in her hands and chanting rapidly. From the scrolls poured kanji symbols that formed Meioshi's ghost wings on Kishi's back. Kishi's head dropped for a second as did her chanting before she lifted her head and revealed the spidery orange eyes belonging to the doctor.
"Lady Tennin... please help me... I don't want them to hurt Kinzo!" Kishi pleaded bravely.
"Kishi, no! You don't know what you're doing!" Kinzo tried.
"Onmyoji!" the voices of the past called, startling the biwa hoshi.
"Do not cower before your enemies!" one of the grand monk's commanded, strengthening the wall. "The oracle has chosen her source of strength to deliver the Whirlwind of 100 Demons. Stand down."
"But she's still a child and she's sick!" Kinzo pleaded.
"You are pure of heart, young Kinzo. We are sorry you and she suffered for this long," another grand monk reassured, guarding Kishi. "Put your trust in us to save you from this nightmare."
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
Sojuro and the others looked up to see a collision of grand power split the cliff in half to nearly hit the center of the Earth. The booming sound of the earth rupturing to such a depth could be felt for miles. A body shooting to the lake suddenly landed on the waters as though it were solid ground. It was Meioshi at full power. Her hair was crimson red, her eyes were bleeding like tears, and her armor was fully enhanced with the hell traveler's powers. A tiger skin loin cloth decorated her front, however, and was the trademark garment of King Shanwang. There seemed to be more than one power source fighting for dominance, and it was alarming to see her struggle with it all. With surprise and anger in his eyes, Sojuro regenerated from his wounds after the oar was pulled from his body and watched the subject of his obsessions leap into the air to clash blades with the possessed Sesshomaru.
There seemed to be no need in hiding his desires, so he impolitely stared at Meioshi's body moving about while engaged in combat. The tension of her muscles, demonic aura creeping off her skin, and curves attributed to the female body couldn't be ignored for the kami knight. With the fantasy still fresh in his mind, his hands twitched and ached to reveal his own sword once more to battle his foe. He didn't want Sesshomaru in his presence or his place. Meioshi was his to fight like that, his to hate, his to kill.
"I tire of seeing this inu around my prey," Sojuro hissed to himself, narrowing his eyes at the possessed Sesshomaru.
Releasing a devastating flurry of claw strikes, Meioshi countered Sesshomaru's critical parry by winding her sword around, dropping it, and then locking Sesshomaru's arm with the sheath of her arctic sword. The dragon's ice clung to Sesshomaru's armor and put him in an uncomfortable position long enough for Meioshi to thrust onto the goddess's armor with her enchanted tanto. Ice formed on Sesshomaru's armor before he roared and performed a sweep kick that knocked Meioshi off balance. With the time taken from her to respond efficiently, he swung Bakusaiga with deadly force and rocketed her to a long distance away from the spectators. Giving chase, he didn't expect for Sojuro to appear before him to summon a bolt of lightning. The kami knight whipped the lightning bolt around to act as a chain belt and popped Sesshomaru across the face. Angered by this, Sesshomaru cut the lightning bolt barehanded and used his Moko Moko in retaliation to whip at Sojuro.
"Unhand me, foul beast! Ugh! Help, a dirty goblin with a limp is trying to steal my shit!" the voice of Jaken rang out.