Beauties of the Blade final part

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Norihisa waited patiently in the outdoor tearoom for Lord Sesshomaru to arrive at the camp. Pouring an aged bottle of chintashu in a cup, he drank the carmine tonic fondly with a faint blush dusting his cheeks. He thought back to his intimate times with his "wife" and looked up at the moon with an ethereal glow in his eyes. Her transformation would be complete soon. He was very lucky to have a lovely demoness at his bedside, and, as long as his white-masked lover served him well, he might be able to keep her in hell. He merely needed to wait for his mistress' orders and devise the proposition for the arrangement. Hearing two of the soldiers making conversation as they setup sleeping chambers and scheduled lookout shifts, Norihisa wondered if the men would choose the village's most prized services or just the boring entertainment of music and mutton. They might have been too noble for such a thing, but it was no matter to him. His public chasteness was not the real him. There was an okiya that catered to high-class patrons regardless of species. It was their loss if they did not indulge. This little village had evolved into a paradise of vice since its beginnings. Shinju o Tateru was probably at its peak of beauty since its initial destruction during the worst of the human wars years ago. Whoever developed it to this pleasure island of kaleidoscopic colors was an architectural mastermind and one who knew how to make others merry. It was far more organized now than it was fifty years in the past.

It was even easier to claim the empty dwelling in this village as long as one paid for a service and agreed to do a health check for sexual (or other physical) activities. Norihisa had a slight doubt that the lord of the House of Inu would buyout for such a service, but he had to remember that Sesshomaru was still a man despite his celibacy. Celibacy was a choice that could change and a way of life that could be broken. Eating a tender and seasoned piece of raw Matsuzaka beef, Norihisa enjoyed his cutlets with a slight moan. Yes, whoever changed the village to this marvel of ecstasy knew how to make a man merry. The ambassador offered to pay for whatever the guards collectively agreed upon as long as they ensured the safety of the camp. Really, it was more like a manor house. The basics were brought with them like bedding, food, armor, weapons, and the like, but Norihisa wasn't interested in any of it. Experiencing this new culture was more his style, and it was worth the money! The guards weren't sure of the longevity of their stay in Shinju o Tateru, so they modestly decided to wait and see how things would go with Lord Sesshomaru before indulging in Norihisa's way of acquainting himself with different societies. For the most part, the waterfront property the ambassador chose to occupy was quite nice.

The lanterns that were given to them for use were pale blue and violet. It was mainly to show that the threshold was occupied by high-class folk. The villagers were surprised that demons were visiting them, and the guards were surprised that the humans didn't fear them. The guardians of the village were half-demons themselves and didn't really cower at their presence either. Norihisa took care of everything quite beautifully. Looking at the papers with the lists of services, the soldiers residing inside of the manor were voicing their opinions on certain ones.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you've arrived," the guards greeted, bowing respectfully. "The ambassador awaits in the tearoom. Are you staying for the night, my lord?"

"The situation requires my immediate attention. That is unnecessary," Sesshomaru replied, not bothering to look at the guards.

Jaken hustled after him, only bowing hurriedly to the guards. Norihisa poured another cup of chintashu before placing the bottle down on his small marble and wood table and taking a sip. He reached for another cutlet of beef before the transparent shoji door opened behind him. Standing before him was the western lord, eyes closed and focused on the purple seating pillow. Jaken stood in the doorway to listen to the conversation. The ambassador took his time observing the young lord. His beauty was almost a spectacle and rivaled a young woman's, especially with his markings. The silkiness of his hair and fairness of his skin gave him a more delicate appearance, but he could smell his yoki energy laced with poison. Sesshomaru sat down quietly and only looked at the provisions the ambassador had. He recognized the expensive delicacy of the marbled meat, but he didn't understand why Norihisa was eating it raw. Maybe it was how the civilians here prepared it. The wine he was drinking wasn't sake or koshu either. It was a red liquor completely unfamiliar to him, but it held the appearance of warm blood. The scent of it was strong but it sweet and subtle in its fragrant undertone.

"Ah, you are earlier than I predicted," Norihisa commented, pointing a hand to the empty cup and plate in front of Sesshomaru.

"You may continue eating," Sesshomaru responded, answering the ambassador's silent question.

Norihisa nodded before taking another piece of meat and asking, "I was told that you had gone to the crime scene some time ago. If you weren't attacked, then that means the rally hadn't started yet. Were you told of the other three deaths?"

"There were three?" Jaken questioned. "But we only heard of one."

Norihisa shook his head, drunk more wine, and said, "Two more followed after that. Same area, same method of attack. Violence has already ensued between the clans now. Neither can cross the wall that was built between them. Anyone who does is automatically killed. If the victims held a title, those associated with him or her are listed as viable suspects. Have you a suspect, my lord?"

Sesshomaru couldn't quite put his finger on it, couldn't even argue against or for it, but Norihisa was being a little too laidback about the situation. He was being too casual around him, specifically. Then again, he only knew Norihisa by name and not personally. He very well could have been a nonchalant type of person outside of the House of Inu. Feeling uneasy with the ambassador, Sesshomaru followed his gut and decided to limit the amount of information he was going to disclose to the other man.

"I have. Were you able to obtain anymore information from these deaths? Age groups, social status, political connections?" Sesshomaru questioned.

Norihisa smirked a bit and then nodded. He answered, "The deaths seem to be going up the caste system by starting with simple villagers and climbing up to higher-ups like the chief investigator, who I was with before I left, and now a royal guard. I worry that the clan leaders will be the next target. I informed the court of similar concerns, but they seemed to be more focused on the Anaguma clan leader. They're a little more turbulent in their approach to these kinds of things. The other pattern I noticed came from the cremations of these victims. I don't know if it's from the draining or not, but the bodies don't turn to ash at all; in fact, the remains... turn to snow."

"Snow?" Sesshomaru questioned, furrowing his brow.

Then, that means... Sesshomaru started, thinking about his last fight with Meioshi and the snow sword. She is a primary suspect... but...

Norihisa nodded, drinking more of his wine. He then said, "If you have a suspect at all, you've made far more progress than I. The only thing I've found to be of importance was Mano's words. This snowstorm that passed through the woodlands weakened both rival clans. It is safest to assume that the areas affected by the snow are the ones not protected by a magical barrier and/or ones that have a species of people easily weakened during the winter months. We just arrived here to setup camp, so I'm not sure if this place was affected by the snow just yet. However, I intend to see if the snow had melted some time prior to our arrival in the morning. If it did, this place might be harboring the attacker if he or she hasn't already made plans to attack this place. If not, this place was safe and is guarded well."

"She's like... a top soldier here. She protects us from the wrong kind of people and makes things safer... she checks on things to make sure everybody's healthy. Comes with the job of being a doctor and all."

"I don't know what your intentions are... if you're so willing to attack innocents all from a lack of evidence for a specific murderer, then I've no doubt you'd threaten the livelihoods of the people I care about and others just as a show of power... you automatically jumped to the conclusion that my sensei had something to do with this when you only met him once and he was unarmed. You never saw him fight up until someone's funeral, which you so dishonorably chose to disrupt with your thirst for gratification, and you upset other mourners who were participating in a rite withheld from most demons! I respected you as a man before... I do not and will not respect you as warrior until you start acting like one the way I have done for you!"

"I have some more digging to do then," Sesshomaru said quietly, closing his eyes. "There's too many places to investigate simultaneously if the effects of the snowstorm are of this magnitude, even you wouldn't be able to solve this on your own. We need more information. Something to add to the list of suspects and narrow in on a motive. I'll return tomorrow evening to hear of your results from the morning's venture. I will continue on my end for another possible lead."

"This is even more confusing than before! How does a demon being cremated turn to snow and not ash? I don't understand this at all."

Sesshomaru was once again quiet while Jaken rambled on about the new information that was given. This time, they were walking down the alleyway instead of through town. It was quieter and there was a cobblestone walkway being lit with the many different lantern colors. The new pathway gave him time to think. His assumptions were largely correct when he was thinking about the clues before. Unfortunately, his rival's advice on how to approach this investigation, though helpful, made her the biggest suspect and having a sword that can control ice and snow wasn't helping her case, but... Sesshomaru was hesitant on having Meioshi as a suspect. His list of misfortunes seemed to grow by the minute whenever she got involved. Now, only one of the questions remains: Was this town affected by the snowstorm from the black wall demon's curse? According to Norihisa, he would know by morning, but his gut was telling him not to trust the ambassador. Something about the way he acted around him was off-putting.

"Maybe I'm the one missing something here," Jaken complained, tilting his head to think of something useful to deduce.

"Hey, let go! I said I'm off!"

That sounded like Ohta. Sesshomaru looked up from the cobblestones and saw pink lanterns hanging from an extravagant okiya, or at least the back of one. Ohta snatched her arm out of some samurai's clutches, who was eyeing her lustfully, and glared at him with disgust and defiance. Her kofurisode was no longer on her body but a rainbow-colored yukata was in its place. She seemed to be leaving the okiya, or at least retiring for the night.

"Hey, come on, Ohta," the samurai pleaded, caressing her cheek. She backed away and closed her yukata tightly. The man then said, "I only want to kiss you. I'll give you two extra gold beads in exchange."

"Save your beads for my working hours. I told you I'm off!" Ohta snapped, gasping when another man snatched her from behind.

"Stop being nice to the bitch and just take her already. She's too pricey anyway," the other samurai said, forcing Ohta to look up at him.

"Don't mess her up, man," the samurai warned, holding up his hands. "You'll have a harder time paying for damages than just paying for her service."

"Behind you!" the other samurai suddenly shouted, seeing a towering presence creeping up behind his comrade.

All he saw was a figure with red eyes grabbing his comrade and tossing him away like dirty laundry. Before he could even react, he felt a devastating punch to his jaw that made it crack. It wasn't broken, but it would have a nice bruise and some swollenness within the hour. Ohta watched the men run away before she looked up and saw Sesshomaru standing in front of her with a frown on his face.

She blushed with wide eyes and whispered, "Swordsman! What are you doing here?"

"Are you alright, Ohta?" Jaken asked, bounding around the corner. "We thought you were in danger."

Ohta's eyes softened before she smiled and answered, "Yes. Thank you, swordsman. I'm alright now. Those were just some sleazebags trying to patronize me. Oh! You weren't coming to the okiya for dinner now, were you?"

"No," Sesshomaru replied, oddly fast and with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, good!" Ohta said, clapping her hands together to smile cutely. "Are you staying at the local inn? They have excellent room service."

"No," Sesshomaru answered, knowing he could just stay at the Inu camp but didn't want to be around Norihisa.

"Then, where were you going to sleep? Not in the boat I met you in, right?" she asked, taking a step back with some shock evident in her voice. When Sesshomaru's mouth twitched a bit, she crossed her arms with displeasure and said, "Absolutely not! No acquaintance of mine sleeps on a random vessel with the threat of drowning or drifting to heaven knows where. You're coming with me where it's safe and there's food. We're having nabe for dinner and a steamy, lavender and jasmine bath. Let's go!"

He didn't know how he ended up roped into it, but Ohta got him to go with her. For whatever reason, it seemed safer around the girl than it did around his own men. Well, more like his parents' men. Ohta and Jaken engaged in idle conversation about the village, and Sesshomaru learned that Ohta loved to read and write poetry. The western lord decided to wait to ask Ohta if she had seen snow when they reached her home. What he didn't expect to see after walking for some time was a three-building estate in the middle of a field of flowers. They crossed over a green soribashi bridge lit with green, yellow, and orange gas lamps before going up a beaten path to the home.

"You live here, Ohta?" Jaken asked, impressed by the sight.

"Only for a little while, sadly," she replied, walking to the building on the left. "I work most of the year and only get to start coming home at this time of night or earlier around the middle or end of spring, depending on business. First things first, before you eat dinner, you have to wash up. You'll be in heaven after a good soak!"

Ohta reassured them with a smile and opened the translucent shoji door. Unfortunately, the bath house was occupied, and a person was walking around in orange hakama pants and white bandages cross the chest and bust. Though Sesshomaru didn't recognize the woman at first, there was something about the way she was drying her hair that seemed vaguely familiar. Meioshi was drying her hair as she stepped out of the steam room, not really paying attention to who was entering it. She just assumed it was one of the kids running inside to play in the water. When she looked up, she caught the sight of webbed feet and the cuffed bottoms of white pants. Both very familiar. She looked up to lock eyes with no one other than... Sesshomaru and his imp attendant, Jaken.

"Aaaaaahhhh!"

It was no longer safer around Ohta.

Author's Footnotes:

Readers' Guide

Mini-Episode 4: Beauties of the Blade

Plot Summary: Meioshi heals Sesshomaru's wounds and leaves for work. Sesshomaru and Jaken go to Shinju o Tateru, a bustling okiya village, to meet Ambassador Norihisa about the recent killings of demons in the Mujina Woodlands. He meets Ohta, a young girl who works at the Pink Oyster okiya, and is told that Meioshi is also there for work. Parting ways, Sesshomaru and Jaken learn from Norihisa that more killings have been reported, the rally has started, and the rival clans are now on violent terms. Deciding to continue investigating, Sesshomaru leaves the manor that Norihisa was able to reserve for the inu soldiers in order to think of the recent events. Overhearing an argument outside of the Pink Oyster okiya, Sesshomaru saves Ohta from two samurai men and opts to rest at her home for the night. They reunite with Meioshi at an estate more along the countryside of town.