Chapter Thirty-One: Q&A with Three Naked Guys

Cresting above the distant mountain range, a full moon rose, bathing barren orchards in the throes of late autumn with its pale light. Fields of dead grass and leaves surrounded the trees, as drained of color as they were of life. And through the skeletal branches that ached for the first snow of winter, steam from a hot spring billowed as it met the chill air.

At the source of the steam was a dark pool bordered by smooth hunks of granite. And against one, a fair-skinned figure sat in repose. Long, silvery hair that shimmered faintly under the moonlight flowed around him, the ends curling on the surface of the water. His toned body of corded muscle leaned comfortably against the rock and his head drooped in slumber. Three magenta markings striped his cheeks and through the part of his hair, the crescent moon on his forehead peeked.

"Dog?" a dark and sinister voice called out.

Drool seeped from his parted mouth to drip onto the water.

"Dog?"

A snore caught in his throat and his clawed hand scratched absently at his nose.

"Dog!"

"Ten more years," he mumbled.

A splash of water rose up as a wave and struck him in the face, dousing him.

Sputtering, he sat up, his golden eyes wide open. "I'm up! I'm up!"

The voice growled.

Clearing the water from his face with the sweep of his hands, he looked over to find the source a discontentment. With thick arms crossed against his robust chest, a richly tanned man glared at him with burning red eyes and a permanent scowl. A halo of spiky, red-orange hair cascaded around his head and down his back to sizzle in the water.

The fair-skinned man grinned. "Orochi-san, it's been forever."

"I wish," the man rued.

"Uh, who are you guys?" another voice asked shakily, "What is this?"

Both men peered over to discover a third man. With the rest of his body hidden below the surface of the water, a head crowned with a bright red fohawk stared back at them.

"Tora-san, right?" the fair-skinned one asked, then gestured to himself, "My name is Shiro, and I'm Sesshoumaru's great-great grandsire." He pointed to the menacing figure beside him "And this is Yamata-no-Orochi, the Eight-Forked Serpent and greatest evil of all time. Otherwise known here as the Dragon King."

"That's terrifying," Tora gulped.

"My pleasure," the Dragon King sneered.

"We're originally from Seven Feudal Fairy Tales," Shiro explained, "And as in that story, we have been tasked yet again with answering reader questions."

"And with providing fanservice," the Dragon King spat with disgust.

"So, that's why I'm naked in a hot spring with two strangers?" Tora asked. "For fanservice?"

"Well, we're fanservice. You might be dinner."

"Okay…" he said and inched a little further away in the pool. Then he frowned, his finger rising from beneath the surface to point at Shiro. "Hold on. If you're from another story, then how are you Sesshoumaru's great-great grandsire?"

Shiro frowned, opened his mouth, and then frowned again.

A dried leaf tumbled from a denuded branch above to land on the surface of the pool.

The Dragon King chuckled darkly. "You've broken him. How delightful."

He held up a finger. "I've got it. Parallel worlds. This Sesshoumaru isn't my great-great grandpup, but that doesn't mean that he isn't the great-great grandpup of the Shiro native to this world."

"Wait, does that mean that there is more than one Shiro?"

"It means that there are infinite Shiros," he replied jubilantly.

The Dragon King groaned and rubbed at his temples. "And folklore depicts me as the essence of nightmares."

He cleared his throat. "Shall we get started?"

"Please," he agreed, eyeing Tora with a fanged grin. "Before our dinner gets pruny."

Tora floated a few steps further away.

Reaching back, Shiro felt the top of the rock beside him until he found a piece of paper and an old pair of wire-framed glasses. With a flick of his wrist, the temples flipped open and he put the glasses on.

"We're going to start with story-related questions first," he said as he held the paper out on front of him. "The first one is from Kit and asks, 'What is with the spider on Sesshoumaru's chest in the beginning of the story?' And the answer is that the spider symbolizes many things, but more specifically here, it's the manifestation of what nearly killed him. It's not really a threat anymore and serves mainly as a scar or a brand.

"The next questions are from Purple Rain." He sighed. "Rest in peace, Prince."

The Dragon King rolled his eyes.

"And they ask, 'In reference to the spider, how did Sesshoumaru become infected by Naraku? And what was the point of Sesshoumaru losing 500 years if Naraku still lives or succeeded to be a pest in the modern world? Orochi-san, an answer, please."

"You're correct in guessing that Naraku is involved," the Dragon King explained, "But you will also be relieved that this low rent villain is only a passive actor in this story."

"You sound jealous."

He hmphed.

"The next question is related to the Higurashi family," Shiro said, "And it's from Rayne Alchemist who asks, 'Would therapy be something this family would ever consider going to?' Tora-san, if you would."

"So much of this story is about developing healthy relationships and identities," Tora explained, "And they are a family that has definitely experienced trauma with the loss of a husband and father along with Kagome's trips into the past and how that's affected her and others. There's a lot that they haven't dealt with and they essentially rely on the strong bonds they have with each other to make up for it. Would they consider going to therapy? Sure. Would they have to recognize a need for it first? Absolutely."

Shiro nodded appreciatively. "Maybe we shouldn't eat him."

"We'll see," the Dragon King mused.

"I eat a lot of ramen, so I'm definitely too salty," Tora supplied. "Terrible for your arteries."

He eyed him critically, tapping a black claw against his lips.

"We now have a Kagome-related question from Cyrus559…" Shiro began, frowning, "I'm surprised that there were five hundred and fifty-eight Cyruses before this one. Are there really that many Cyruses? I would think that there would be maybe ten at most."

"Read the question," The Dragon King demanded.

"Fine. Fine. They ask, 'Kagome used her powers to create useful light when in need, will she be able to use her powers just as creatively in other ways if necessary?' And the answer is that she will have more opportunities to apply her powers in different ways, and of course, not necessarily in the manner that they were intended."

"And hopefully they don't involve me running up a stairwell half-blinded," Tora added.

"Ooh," Shiro cooed, "Now we have a few Tora-related questions."

"We don't really need to ask those, do we?"

"If you become lunch, then you won't have to answer them."

"Oh no. That's fine," he quickly amended, "Bring on the questions. I love talking about myself while naked in a hot spring with two guys who are thinking about eating me. I'm living the dream right here." He whimpered. "%$#&, I hope this is a dream."

"The first question is from Violent Entertainment," Shiro announced cheerily.

"I like this one," the Dragon King approved. "The best kind of entertainment is violent."

"They ask, 'Be honest, being known by the police isn't a good thing, but are you at all jealous that the public didn't give you your own cool vigilante name?'"

"What's wrong with my name?" Tora asked woundedly, "It means 'tiger' in Japanese." Then he brightened. "Actually, I'm tackling the whole vigilante name thing like Starlord did. Just keep saying it until it catches on. With my luck, if I left it up to public opinion, they'd call me Punk-Ass Bitch or something. And while accurate, I think I'd rather go by Tora. Besides, tigers are cool." He pointed to the two other men. "But not as cool as dragons or great-great grandsires, am I right?"

"Flattery isn't as tasty as tiger," the Dragon King reminded him.

"I am pretty cool though," Shiro remarked with a smug smile.

He shook his head, disgusted.

"The next question is also from Violent Entertainment and asks, 'Tora, you've been very cool as a cucumber about this whole thing. I'm wondering if you've ever had an "Oh my god, youkai are real?!" breakdown off screen XD.'"

"What does XD mean?"

Shiro shrugged.

Tora sighed.

"Well, answer the question," the Dragon King demanded.

"I think my chill attitude has less to do with the fact that I met a youkai and more to do with the fact that when I met him, he was grievously wounded. Him being indisputably mortal took the edge off the supernatural aspects, like when he throws cars at people or jumps off buildings. Yep, I absolutely didn't go home and scream into my pillow for twenty minutes. Repeatedly."

"Uh-huh."

"And on an unrelated matter, does anyone have a pillow I can use for at least twenty minutes?"

"No."

"And the last question for Tora is from Cyrus559 and asks, 'Why did you choose to name your bike Akane?'"

"This is a tradition for the author on longfics, Tora explained, "Where someone or, in this case, something is named Akane in tribute to Takahashi's series Ranma ½."

"In Seven Feudal Fairy Tales," the Dragon King added, "One of my sons is also named Akane."

"It means 'deep red', so it seemed perfect for the bike."

"There's another possibility," Shiro wondered aloud, stroking his chin. "We don't know your first name. Your father wouldn't happen to turn into a panda when doused in cold water, would he? And you don't happen to transform into a girl under the same conditions?"

"Uh… Are girls less tasty?"

"No, they're much more tasty."

"Then I definitely don't turn into a girl."

The Dragon King looked at him skeptically. "We will spray him with cold water after this and let you all know what happens."

"Moving on," Shiro said happily, "The final questions are about my favorite great-great grandpup himself."

"Why isn't Sesshoumaru here instead of me?" Tora asked. "It's his story."

"I ask but he always says no."

"That's not fair. I didn't even get a chance to say no."

"Yes, but you don't throw cars. At any rate, this question is from Rayne Alchemist, who seems to have a pretty handy profession. And they ask, 'What's one thing Sesshoumaru finds pleasant about this time as compared to the past?' Orochi-san?"

The Dragon King nodded. "The answer to this is the accessibility of knowledge. Before he used to have to walk all the way across Japan to talk to some ancient tree and now, he just looks it up on his phone. He doesn't even have to leave the shrine. He can fully embrace his introversion."

"Introversion?" Shiro asked.

"Yes." He pointed at his own chest "Introvert."

Next, he pointed to Tora. "Extrovert."

Then, he pointed at Shiro. "Pervert."

"Rude," Shiro replied, "Yet accurate."

The Dragon King gave him a self-satisfied smile.

"We have a question from iPod Reader, who seems to be a few years behind the times, and they ask, 'What can Sesshoumaru do for work when he's not playing hero?' And I would say that given he's no longer wedded to nobility or elite pursuits, then he'd likely enjoy doing anything where he can rely on the strength of his own skills and abilities and feel a sense of accomplishment. So, construction work, carpentry, or even being something like a pilot."

"But can you imagine," Tora interrupted, "If he decided to try working at a host club?"

"The best part would be that he wouldn't even serve customers. They would pay for the privilege of serving him."

"He would bankrupt every woman in Tokyo and half the men."

"Or burn the place down," the Dragon King interjected.

"Or both," Tora offered.

"Or both," they agreed.

Shiro nodded. "The next question is from Cyrus559 and asks, 'What does Sesshoumaru think about staying with the Higurashi family and their colorful members?' Tora-san?"

"In the beginning," Tora explained, "He viewed them as humans he was indebted to and once he felt satisfied that he had repaid them, he would have likely departed in search of purpose. Or to become a recluse. Now, they are his clan, and not one he's decided to oversee. He actually defers to Ms. Higurashi for most matters out of respect for her role as the matriarch. And while he's working on curing his tendency towards vengeance, he'd raze the city to the ground if anything ever happened to Souta."

"As he should," the Dragon King approved.

"We have one more question from Cyrus559," Shiro said, "'Will Sesshoumaru ever be able to channel his full strength again?'" He smiled. "I'll answer this. By becoming a man of clear convictions that go beyond himself and by connecting with the people and community that matter to him, he will have the opportunity to be more powerful than he was ever in the past. If he doesn't fail, he will become the best version of himself in every way."

"So proud," Tora agreed.

The Dragon King groaned. "Can we move on?"

"Now for our final question," Shiro said, waving the paper.

"Finally."

"It's from Alerialblu, who I imagine is blue in color. They ask, 'The Sesshoumaru of your story feels real, like a human being with complex emotions but also you took care to remember that he is not from the present. He is a being from a past long gone and his loss is palpable in your story. My question is how did you accomplish that? Did you research about what we feel and how we feel when we've lost our path? Tora-san?"

"The premise of this story," Tora explained, "Started from the position that Sesshoumaru was broken by the tragedy that led him to being sealed five hundred years ago. But there's also the suggestion, as we move forward, that he's always been broken. That he's always struggled with developing relationships with others. The people who are closest to him are followers, not friends, after all they refer to him with deference only. His family is estranged. He struggles with pride, vengeance, and entitlement. And his stoicism masks a numbness where the only emotion he feels comfortable in expressing is anger. There's this very unhealthy masculinity that defines him, and while some of these traits make him attractive and desirable to us, it's not good for him. So, this is a story about him finding his way out from that.

"For research, the author has degrees in psychology and anthropology, but mainly it's storytelling sense. There is a reason why there was originally a ten-year writing gap for the author in between Chapters 10 and 11. The story was waiting for her to find the words to tell it right."

Shiro sighed. "I guess we won't eat you this time."

"Really?"

"You're so saccharine that you'd give me indigestion," the Dragon King groused.

"Yes!" he shouted as he stood up, sending out a spray of water that drenched the other two.

They glared at him, water trickling down their faces.

"Sorry?" he said with an uneasy look and a shrug.

"Dinner may be back on," they agreed.