The oracles of the onmyoji joined together to blanket Kishi with power as she reached out to Meioshi battling Sojuro. It was a bitter struggle, and it was one that Kishi was upset about. Upset enough to make the oracles of the past reach out to her. Twirling the boat oar around until it formed a windmill, little Kishi summoned up everyone's power in a conglomerate attack that blasted Sojuro away from Meioshi and made the doctor back away with surprise. The good doctor turned to the girl and laughed a bit when the little one cheered brightly and shouted, "Lady Tennin!"
Hearing the clash overhead, Meioshi looked up to see Sesshomaru and Maboroshi no kohime making clouds disintegrate with their mighty blows. The goddess had gone fully berserk. Spotting Jaken in the distance, Meioshi looked at the flames covering Sesshomaru's armor and body to form a shield and thought about the time she spent trapped within the Nintojo with the old hag. There was a certain power that Sesshomaru possessed that he wasn't using. Perhaps... it could be unlocked. She had to time this perfectly then. Using her Nether Dash ability, she raced to Nintojo's flames and readied her Dai Fubuki to unleash a purification spell that would cover the whole of the onmyoji lands. Closer. Closer. Jaken was within range. The hag's head was within her sights. Another blast rang out and hit the patron goddess.
Tadamasa creepily chuckled, waiting for his prize to be delivered to him. He was here for a reason, after all. He brought Meioshi there for a reason as well. The justice warden could spare the innocent. The pall bearers could not...
Throwing the Dai Fubuki blade at Umebayashi's head, Meioshi performed hand signs rapidly and commanded, "Zanshin level! Bind! I release the Four Kings of Heaven to eradicate the stained and fallen!"
Nintojo's flames burst and blanketed Sesshomaru and Maboroshi no kohime in a whirlwind of fury. The patron goddess looked up and was terrified of the sight before her. She didn't see Sesshomaru in his humanoid form. Instead, she saw a form that merely resembled an inu youkai. A form that stood at the side of one of the angered Four Kings. Umebayashi was ecstatic that Sesshomaru's power had been unlocked in such a reckless move, but it was no matter. Just before the Four Kings could capture Maboroshi no kohime, she did the unthinkable. She belted out a scream, cried, and then slashed at her temple to destroy it. Inevitably killing and trapping the souls of the onmyoji villagers...
"You miserable cretin!" Meioshi responded with shock and fury in her shaking voice.
Tadamasa activated his own powers and sucked the souls of the onmyoji into his snowball before freezing Maboroshi no kohime's godly string of life. He hadn't seen a god with the black string of hell in years. Her fate was sealed. Sojuro acted quickly, however, and rushed to the goddess's side to undo Meioshi's bind and take Maboroshi no kohime away...
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"Mommy! Daddy!" Kishi cheered.
She ran into her parents' arms with a big smile on her face. The Shigochiyo family was freed at long last. Kinzo had run into their arms with tears himself. His father held him tightly and wiped his tears with a teary smile of his own. His own son and daughter wound up being the ones to free them all! But... what happens to the onmyoji now? There is no patron or temple for them.
"My babies!" the mother cheered. "Where should we go? Everyone disappeared."
"Obviously, not here," a familiar voice said.
Meioshi walked up to the Shigochiyo family and bowed low with respect. Sesshomaru and Jaken were behind her but at a distance. She requested to speak them in private after the holy warrior family made a decision. Kishi wasted no time in greeting the doctor with a warm smile and big hug.
"Lady Tennin!"
"Oh! Why, hello there!" Meioshi giggled.
Before she could even stand straight after hugging Kishi, Kinzo wrapped his arms around her and sunk his face in her shoulder. He whispered out, "I'm sorry... that I was too scared to help you. That I caused you so much trouble."
"You were fighting against entities that broke you down all your life and had greater power than you were aware of. You even put so much trust and faith in your patron in order to protect what mattered to you. If nothing else, you are brave, Kinzo. You did what you thought was safest for everyone. Fighting the gods is no easy feat. Anyone would cower at such a challenge. Despite that, you worried about your sister. She came first. You are more than exceptional of being a clan head," Meioshi said, holding Kinzo in her arms.
"Is this what you meant when we spoke? You left the Web of Divine Might because your patron betrayed you. Is that what we did?" Kinzo whispered.
"Yes. She had been denounced. I believe that's why she attacked your village," Meioshi said with lingering fury.
"What happens to us now?" Kinzo asked.
"You're a free man, Kinzo!" Meioshi said, turning her head to him. "You can go wherever you wish! I have a vacancy in Heiwa for you to stay in until you find a better home. It's up to you. Speak to your family about it for a bit. I'll be waiting for you."
Kinzo released her and watched her go to a set of trees. They were free to go wherever they wanted but...
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"I would like to reiterate that I don't like being away from my children," the Green Pheasant remarked, fluffing up his feathers with some anger.
He was under the cypress grove that once lined the onmyoji territory. All was broken and scorched now. The symbol of a holy warrior clan's end. Meioshi smiled at her friend, ran up to him, and hugged him. She then asked, "What brought you way over here anyway, Pheasant?"
"Your bad luck, obviously!" the Green Pheasant argued. "Always in mortal danger, I swear! I take it Tadamasa left. It's not cold anymore."
"Lady Meioshi, you know better than to side with hell's minions like this," the Green Pheasant lectured with worry. "Your life is already shortened by your duties. Don't make it shorter."
"A worry for the morning!" Meioshi chirped brightly.
"What do you mean 'morning'? It's a worry now!" the Green Pheasant argued.
Rustling interrupted the friends before they turned to see Jaken folding his arms and waiting patiently. Meioshi responded to the imp's silence by asking, "Uh, is there room for concern here, Lord Jaken?"
"Oh, I thought this was a line to yell at you. WHY DID I GET DRAGGED WAY THE HELL OVER HERE!?" Jaken demanded with a stomp.
"To protect Lord Sesshomaru, Lord Jaken!" Meioshi replied with that bubblegum smile.
"Kickin' your ass, witch! Oof!" Jaken threatened before getting popped in the back of the head with a small rock.
Meioshi took that as her cue to finally speak to the inu prince and walked over to him. He was sitting down quite calmly per his usual. Rather than sit by his side, Meioshi stood in front of him... before bowing quite low at his feet. He may not have shown surprise in his features, but he was surprised by his rival's actions.
"My apologies for troubling you..., taisho," Meioshi said, gaining a reaction out of Sesshomaru this time. "I'm not exactly a youkai hellbent on serving you, but... I would like to be given the chance to serve you someday. I wish to be a ronin no more."
"For what reason are you choosing me? I am not a general," Sesshomaru replied quietly.
"Why did you come here to help me?" Meioshi asked, earning silence as an answer. She smiled at this, lifted her head, and said, "That's why. Your sense of duty and the pureness within your heart are what I look for in another man. Well, one that I would prefer to follow. My general... passed on in active duty. I hadn't returned to the line of combat after such a grand loss. He gave me a chance to serve as a medical nurse for the soldiers. I looked up to him. That small piece of him - the part where he would run to aid a comrade - is in you. And... I do look up to you in a way. You are my symbol of strength as it stands. Hehehe! Look at us, inu prince! Same positions like that time at the ravine! Only this time your armor has cracked. So has mine..."
"Why does that man keep attacking you? This is the second village he's had a hand at destroying," Sesshomaru questioned. "And the second time you've engaged in combat with him."
"... You will only pity me, prince," Meioshi replied remorsefully. "I don't like being pitied."
"... You can serve me when you are ready to tell me the truth," Sesshomaru said, making Meioshi perk up to look at him with a light blush. "You are Jaken's maid, and you've yet to produce an antidote."
"H-h-hai, taisho!" Meioshi replied with a cheerful smile and a low bow.
"Lady Tennin!" Kishi called in the distance.
"How many wards do you intend to collect, witch?" Sesshomaru questioned, confused by the doctor's exuberant response.
Meioshi rushed to stand up before stopping. She quickly hugged his lordship, twirled about, and ran to the onmyoji. They decided to stay in Heiwa...