"Very well," Meioshi replied, nodding and twirling her boat oar. "I'll have to visit my old friend for a spell. Try not to be a showboat, sensei. You'll discourage the youth."
"No promises," Kirameku Ha responded, keeping his smirk.
"I'm not done with you, oni girl," Reijiro said, tightening his grip on his kabutowari. "You're still a suspect in my sensei's death. Whether you like it or not, I want answers from you and I don't give a shit about what Lord Sesshomaru or anyone else thinks of you."
"Reijiro!" Sanraku called, shocked by his comrade's insult.
"No, no," Meioshi said, holding up her free hand to stop Sanraku and Sesshomaru. She sighed a bit before rubbing her temples with the free hand and replying, "If anything happened to any of my teachers, I'd be far worse than what your... Reijiro, was it? I'll take that frown as a yes. I'd've gone quite mad myself much like Master Reijiro if my teachers were hurt. You may interrogate, sir."
"When and where did you meet Lord Sesshomaru?" Reijiro asked. "We'll start there."
"Informally and formally, I met him outside of my village over the summer. Supposedly, he had met my apprentice beforehand and had been searching for me to warn me of a threat approaching," Meioshi answered expertly. "Somewhere in-between the time of him searching for me, he developed an interest to do battle with me. We are rivals now, hence why he notices my behavioral changes a tad better than most. The same could be said of Lord Jaken there who is currently receiving my medical attention and partial servitude."
"I'm receiving no such thing!" Jaken interjected, stomping his small foot at the doctor. "And you're an awful servant!"
"Don't be silly, Lord Jaken! I know you enjoy being under my care," Meioshi replied, smiling brightly at him with bubbles and stars glittering about her eyes before turning back to Reijiro. "Foot rubs are a very crucial part of my medical practice. That's Lord Jaken's favorite part! I check for a lot of things when performing them."
"Th-th-that's ridiculous!" Jaken exclaimed, blushing profusely. "You were being punished for running away and not cleaning the piss buckets like you were supposed to!"
"Oh, you remembered that?" Meioshi asked, placing a hand on her face with mischievous innocence in her voice. She was still making cute faces, making Jaken angry at her. "You really do like me as your servant then. You remember my flaws."
"I don't like humans at all! They're nothing but trouble and never sit still! You still haven't apologized for your apprentice's questions either! I never forgave you for any of that, you little witch!" Jaken exploded, making Kirameku Ha chuckle a bit.
Reijiro turned to the old man, ears twitching at the sound of his voice much like Sesshomaru's once had, and then asked, "What's with the old man being here?"
"... I'm a substitute servant," Kirameku Ha answered simply, making Sesshomaru turn to him for a moment. That wasn't what the man was to him in any way, but he couldn't admit that he requested for the old man to join him. If he did, he'd have to also admit that his rivalry with Meioshi actually meant more to him than simply a test of might, especially if Homugi had changed for the better because of the doctor. Right now, his people were already accusatory of his motives for keeping humans at his side. The old man surprised him a bit with his next choice of words, however, as he said, "But during the time that I've traveled with all of you, I have noticed that there is a troubling disconnect between ruler and public servants. This severance is conducive to nothing and will cause your kingdom to crumble within a short time."
"I couldn't care less about the kingd - !" Reijiro started, interrupted by Kirameku Ha.
"Enough!" Kirameku Ha barked, silencing Reijiro and making him slightly jump. The resoluteness of the old man's voice seemed to resonate through everyone with exception to Meioshi. She knew why her sensei was angry at Reijiro's response. He was dishonoring the warrior's code severely to satisfy his own rage. This was punishable. Kirameku Ha continued, "If you continue to act out of anger, then you will suffer the consequence of having chosen to dishonor the memory of your fallen comrade! Your prowess in battle will mean nothing if you can't respect the man who trained you! Is that how you want to represent your sensei?"
"I'm not about to sit here and get chewed out by some old - !" Reijiro argued, baring his fangs.
What he didn't expect to happen was for Kirameku Ha to unsheathe his double katana and strike with a blast of immense power. It was like getting hit with a storm wave at the beach! Back slamming into the ground, Reijiro slid a few feet from his targets until he managed to recover onto the balls of his feet. He snapped his head up to see Kirameku Ha standing over him with displeasure in his eyes and pointing the sword directly at the jugular. It would have been an easy slice for the old man if his speed was this unreal.
No way! Reijiro thought. Who the hell - ? No, what the hell is he? Humans don't have that kind of power without being priests or something!
"If you don't have the discipline to be a man in your comrade's time of need, you are unworthy of seeing the justice your sensei deserves," Kirameku Ha said with a darkened undertone in his voice. "You may continue your investigation when you are done disrespecting the code of honor among all warriors. Your recruitment into any army is wasted if you don't have the maturity to represent your sensei."
Reijiro flinched at the old man's last words but stood down and held a saddened look in his eyes as he sulked. Kirameku Ha sheathed his sword before walking back to Jaken and the dragon. Meioshi sighed at the young man, now being consoled by his comrade, and blinked before feeling heated breath on her neck. She let out a 'huh' noise before turning to see Ah-Un mewl at her and scratch at the ground.
This made the doctor giggle before saying, "I missed you, too, your majesties! I've no food for you, though. You'll have to wait."
"What you shouldn't have done was spoil 'em," Jaken grumbled, folding his arms. "Now, that's all they'll want to do. Eat and sleep."
"That's not true, Lord Jaken!" Meioshi replied with that bright, bubbly smile again. "I give them a bath and pamper them for helping with sensei's chores."
"Not the point, witch!" Jaken argued, holding a fist up at her. "And stop smiling at me like that!"
"Your sensei's power..." Sesshomaru started, making the doctor and imp turn to him. He was watching Sanraku cheer Reijiro up after lifting him and speaking to him. He seemed to be the nicer one of the two and truer in personality to the warrior code. Reijiro, though he appeared to be the more mature one, was undoubtedly the wild card in personality. The western lord then said, "Is his control of the water in relation to his time in the army?"
"Only his combat skills are in relation to his time in the army, not his powers," Meioshi answered with a soft tone in her voice. "His control of the water is something my family had taught him."
"... when did you join the army?" Sesshomaru asked quietly.
It was almost low enough to have been a whisper to himself, but the doctor heard him quite clearly. He must've heard what Azumamaro had asked them before he attacked. She answered, "A few weeks after getting my license to become a doctor. I went through quite a few battles to prove that I was capable of healing more than just the sick at home. I was a servant of the people first and foremost. Heiwa was part of a very bloody battle some years ago. It was the most catastrophic failure and historic victory of all time. Troops were sent out to seize a trafficking island. I was chosen to be part of the medical unit for the men. I served for a year."
"... why did you leave?" Sesshomaru then asked.
Meioshi's eyes lowered before she said as softly as the day they joined forces, "We earned our victory. I stayed to see it through. I had no reason to do more beyond that. Besides... if I hadn't left, I wouldn't have found Shinju o Tateru or my little ones."
"Those men that dragged you out of your home. Did they know that you served in the army?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Tch!" Meioshi spat, looking to the side and shaking her head. "I'd rather they never know. Returning to the ranks was hard enough. Insulting one of the registry's finest bachelors may as well be an excuse to get me publicly killed. You might like that part, though. Right, Lord Jaken?"
"Don't tempt me," Jaken answered flatly, twisting Nintojo just right for the flames to come out perfectly.
"While I'm all for chatting it up, I simply must leave," Meioshi finally said, twirling her boat oar around to summon up wind and spirit energy. "Genso Shushu-Sen!"
Hopping on her boat, Meioshi sailed away into the air. The men watched her go until the sound of low growls sounded in the distance. Sesshomaru turned to see one of the pallbearers lingering nearby. It lifted its hand to retrieve a Shinto paper that was used to form the barrier that stopped Meioshi from fighting then smiled toothily at Reijiro and Sanraku...
The Blood Oath's Circle usually wasn't far from holy cities, but Sozosora could be the exception to the rule. Meioshi had driven her boat practically twelve miles outside of the village searching for the gate to the world of the in-between. Any further and she may as well have traveled to a different country. She hadn't been up north since childhood! Seeing a small creek glittering below, she steered her boat downwards until the vessel was hovering over it. It wasn't long before she spotted a female pheasant balled up into a fluff in her nest. When the bird blinked the sleep away from her eyes, her neck craned upwards in alert before Meioshi quietly stepped off the boat and kneeled in front of the Green Pheasant's wife.
"Evening, Madame," Meioshi whispered, making the bird yawn and shake a bit. "Where's your husband? Don't tell me he left a fine lady alone."
"Heavens, no! He'd lose his mind!" Madame joked, chuckling. She rose from the nest and hopped into Meioshi's arms to nuzzle. "Hello, my girl."
"Good to see you again, Madame," Meioshi greeted sweetly. "The little ones haven't hatched yet?"
"'Fraid not," Madame sighed, hopping out of Meioshi's arms to run to the eggs. "Laddy is moving about, though. I think he'll be ready sooner than I thought. Sometimes, it takes years for the darlings to hatch. Princess hasn't made any such movements yet."
"Aw, she's just shy," Meioshi said, watching both eggs hop up and down before floating to her hands. "Hello, little ones."
They tweeted in response.
"Your auntie came to visit us for a spell, children," Madame replied, rubbing her beak on the eggs lovingly. "Now then, what seems to be the trouble? You've no blood bond or anything."
Meioshi sighed before pouting and complaining, "No, I can't interfere in the fight this time. The pallbearers won't let me."
"Ah, strings have been connected and such rubbish?" Madame asked with understanding.
"Yes," Meioshi whined, dropping her head. "I can't watch these people suffer behind one demon's greed, Madame!"
"Unfortunately, we can't stop fate, my girl. Some souls are simply irredeemable. It's best you simply monitor the souls that are worth saving."
"I hate this task so much, Madame," Meioshi said, picking her head up. "Fortunately, for us both, I'm not here to complain about any of that. I'm here for information on something called the Taiyoko-sen Coin. Ever heard of such an item?"
"Actually, yes. My husband mentioned it at the dinner table some time ago," Madame said with a playful laugh. "He's so cute when he gets food on his chin! Your Chen-bi was supposedly birthed from this coin. The Taiyoko-sen Coin was used by a priest who only needed a certain amount of power to bind a powerful demon born from man's restlessness. He, unfortunately, misjudged the holy shield's use and it had broken into three pieces. Your Chen-bi, the binding trinket given to you by Kako Seigi's sprite children, is one of the pieces. I'm not sure what happened to the other pieces, but my husband said that the priest kept one of the pieces as an all-powerful shield against strong demons. Presumably, his grave is protected by it. As for the third piece, that's an even bigger mystery. My husband is currently looking into it."
"Can Chen-bi possibly locate it? Like a beacon in the night?" Meioshi inquired.
"I'd say it's worth a try. Who knows? You might be able to reunite Chen-bi with the other pieces to make the Taiyoko-sen Coin again. Causing mischief is your specialty, my girl," Madame said, flapping excitedly. "Don't hesitate to caw for me for assistance."