The Denouement
Battle of the Seven Maelstroms
"Enough!" Numa-o barked, summoning power into his coral kanabo. "I don't know how you found Shanwang, Kachan Oni, but let your death be a message to him. A tyrant is only as invincible as the height of his pedestal. Once it falls, so shall he. His collapsed centuries ago! I will not let him rebuild it!"
"A tyrant?" Meioshi questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Explain."
"Your precious king's ambition and thirst for blood is what drove the commanders to destroy our homeland in the first place," Numa-o growled. "Because he only cared for battle and being the strongest, his gluttony disrupted the balance of our world and sent all of the elements into chaos. Each of the commanders had to find unique and powerful ways to regain control. Even our status as oni had fallen low enough to make us servants to other species when we were the highest level of demon strength! I refuse to let that foolish tyrant reclaim his title so some opportunist can further lower our race to nothing and have us be controlled by just anyone who believes they can!"
Meioshi said nothing as Numa-o expressed his concern, rage-filled as it was, and lowered her kanabo to where the blunt end was on the ground and only the hilt was in her hands. The audience grew silent at her actions, watching their leader express his feelings towards Shanwang's reign and disappearance, and grew more curious about the young girl before their leader. Numa-o more than likely was telling the truth about his experience with Shanwang in this brief outburst, but Meioshi couldn't bring herself to think the same thing when the king ogre helped her so much. He could've easily left her to die in hell as was intended but he didn't. Remembering how much she was willing to grovel at his feet for a way out and how Shanwang stopped her to ask what happened was really the turning point in their relationship as unusual as it was. Yes, the green pheasant was right in that they were meant to be sworn enemies, but Bichisutomu didn't see Shanwang as an enemy and Shanwang spoke favorably about Bichisutomu whenever she asked if the hell travelers had ever tried to bond with him during her childhood. The king ogre did enjoy spending time with her family at certain times. He made it clear that he didn't like humans but didn't seem to mind her family as much as he used to. Reminiscing about all the times she'd been around Shanwang, she had to defend him. If not for her sense of justice, then certainly because she was grateful for his help against her enemy.
She then said, "I understand. I only knew Shanwang to be as destructive as you say once. My family had always seen him as hateful and aggressive towards us with exception to one man. That exchange between the two is what showed me a piece of his true self. His gluttonous behavior has not changed but has been redirected. I did not know him as king the way you have. But... I have been bold enough and perhaps daft enough to call him both creature and friend. Yes, the smelly, old bugger could destroy a village by just sneezing on it, and, yes, I've seen him walk around completely naked after manhandling a woman more times than I'd like, but... he was the only one who could and would help me out of hell itself. He never pitied me, never even questioned my reasoning to seek his help, but he challenged me at every turn to ensure I could embark on the path he set before me. He has no problems telling me I'm too weak to handle certain enemies, I assure you. I may have lost my fair share of battles, but I'd like to think that his wisdom and forethought was truly my saving grace. No, I do not know him as intimately as the ruler of the oni, but I do know him as the fallen titan who is mighty, unique, intelligent, architecturally gifted, and loves learning. My ancestor could see it in him, and I chose to see the good in him, too. Long before I was trapped in that awful place. If we could take the time to get to know this being with a wicked sense of humor, pride in his own heritage no matter how far from grace he has fallen, and who has the capacity to show appreciation for gifts given to him just because we want to give them to him, why the hell can't you?"
"Friend? You?" Numa-o questioned, summoning more power. "Shanwang has shown me long ago that he's not capable of such sentiment. Gifting him with your pacifiers and toys is more insulting to our oni race than his presumed death in the Netherworld! I will not stand for more insults to our kind!"
Charging at Meioshi with full force, Numa-o struck at her and blasted her at the coliseum wall. Flipping to land on the wall feet first, Meioshi performed an acrobatic recovery and called her fiery Netherworld armor to form on her body for protection. Returning to oni form, Numa-o went for another strike before Meioshi went on the defense and blocked the attack with her kanabo. She grit her teeth from the impact of their clubs vibrating up her arms before being shot out of the castle walls altogether. He was too strong! Recovering again, she performed a hand sign midair as she descended to the ground. Unleashing all of her combined strength, she let out a scream as her powers flowed through her body and gave the kanabo extra strength. Numa-o didn't hesitate in his chase of her and let loose another crushing blow, but Meioshi was able to retaliate and slammed her kanabo against his. The impact was enough to dismantle the streams of flowing water surrounding the castle and make the reiki go somewhat berserk at the lack of water. She gasped at this. The chaotic waters of Ogre Island seemed to be connected to the reiki somehow. Maybe the vault Kiyonobu was talking about was on the reiki!
Meioshi tried to use her martial arts skills as a combination of attack, but Numa-o's armor was practically indestructible. He snatched Meioshi by the collar and flung her into the swamp where the reiki disembarked. Slowed by the moss and muck, Meioshi was barely able to block Numa-o's next blow. The impact of their kanabos colliding created a whirlpool swift enough to take breathing air away from the creatures that inhabited the swamp. Only the birds were able to truly escape. The doctor had a hard time thinking of some way to defeat the aquatic gladiator. His blows were enough to shatter bone, and the blue dragon armor was stopping her Oni Eye from analyzing her opponent. There had to be a better way to battle him! Seeing him go for hand-to-hand moves, Meioshi defended herself from his slower attack patterns and was able to hit him a couple of times, but she didn't have enough force to knock him back a few feet. She had to get rid of his armor somehow. That's the only thing stopping her right now.
Reeling his fist back for a mid-punch, Numa-o went for a good swing before using the muddy waters of the swamp to swiftly teleport and slam his kanabo into Meioshi's back to hurtle her to some other place. Chasing behind her at full speed, he swung his kanabo again with hyper-yoki energy backing him and unleashed a devastating attack. Luckily, Meioshi was able to recover and retaliate in time to block him, but, when the energy burst, she was practically teleported to another body of water with the sheer amount of recoil speed sending her off. Feeling her back slam against new waters like she was being thrown against a stone wall, she recovered acrobatically before shoving a knife hand into the new waters to slow herself down and regain footing. Her hand and arm could feel the water's resistance pulling at her to threaten tearing her arm off, and the tense force of her hand cutting the water was enough to split the water apart and form a raging wave and a pair of walls that disturbed all fish and aquatic mammals nearby. Seeing his prey, Numa-o dashed through the waters and performed a double strike and finisher. Meioshi was able to guard each hit while the power colliding between the two formed another maelstrom from the bottom of the sea floor to the top of sea's surface.
"Hmph!" Numa-o huffed through his nose. "You actually are worth training, Kachan Oni. Your potential is wasted on that hack of a tyrant. Are you so loyal to Shanwang that you cannot be convinced to join sides with me?"
"He may not be a favorite to many, but Shanwang has helped me greatly," Meioshi replied, struggling to resist Numa-o's unbearable strength. "I will not stand for him to be dishonored so grossly!"
Leaping back to ready an attack, Meioshi manages to summon a burst of power and fires it at Numa-o from her hand before following up with two strikes of her kanabo and dismissing it to summon her Dai Fubuki blade to launch Numa-o a good nautical mile away. He recovers quickly and readies a blow powered by the sea and his own yoki energy. Meioshi dismisses the blade to summon her kanabo in defense and collides with the coral kanabo. The impact splits open a dimension into a plane of existence and Meioshi uses that to her advantage to pull out her boat oar from the open plane. Intercepting these changes in weaponry, Numa-o pulls out a weapon that looks like half of an anchor but handles like a longsword. He chooses then to transform into his more human appearance and use slash attacks to disarm the doctor. He doesn't account for Meioshi's ability to grab him with the boat oar by hooking it under his armor and using her Netherworld fire to rocket him through the in-between realm. She reeled back and delivered a punch that rushed Numa-o at a speed equivalent to what he used to teleport her.
Sesshomaru had just reunited with Okakura and Totosai at Rose Water Beach when he sensed a disturbance nearby. Before he could get a word out, a large splash had erupted in the water and a man growled in frustration before someone collided swords with him. The impact was enough to create another maelstrom. When the western lord caught sight of long red hair and a familiar boat oar, his eyes widened at his rival battling the man. She was in that same form that threw him over the cliff!
A part of Numa-o's armor crumbled from the oar's use and made him gasp before roaring out, "You witch!"
Transforming back into ogre form, Numa-o unlocked more power, which made Meioshi's eyes widen and her body tense, before he rushed at her and unleashed a hyper-yoki attack that sent her hurtling through the beach water. She slammed against one of Okakura's stone walls and felt her breath leave her body from impact. Before she had time to recover, Numa-o had already punched into her stomach and sent her through it. Sesshomaru was about to aid her until she recovered from that and barely dodged another crushing blow. Calling a small bolt of lightning to her oar and more Netherworld firepower, Meioshi threw her oar and released a blast to send Numa-o flying another nautical mile away. This time, with his armor breaking away some more, she summoned Baohu qi Voluptatis and performed a barrage attack. She completed the attack with the iron kanabo and sent Numa-o hurtling again at teleportation speed. Surprisingly, the ogre's rage stopped him from tumbling to another place and instead he punched the beach water hard enough to stop altogether and split the waters in a bigger half than Meioshi was able to do with her knife-hand. Rushing at each other, Numa-o and Meioshi collided kanabos again only to enter another broken dimension that sent them to a new body of water.
This went on until seven maelstroms had formed and the two returned to the berserk reiki now roaring and thrashing about in pain. With a crazy idea popping into her mind, Meioshi decided to pull her Kyonshi Mask from the open plane and look closely at the reiki. On its side was an accumulation of body heat in one centralized location. Summoning her Netherworld firepower into the kanabo, she threw it at the point and watched as Numa-o tried to reach out to stop her. The reiki roared as its shell was breaking and was making its descent into a maelstrom.
"Genso ShuShu-Sen!" Meioshi called, rushing to the reiki to retrieve her pearl.
The chaotic waters from Numa-o's hidden vault all rushed out and entered the maelstroms and broken dimensions. Meioshi wasted no time running through Numa-o's castle with the inhabitants rushing to get out of the falling castle. Returning to the coliseum, Meioshi located her pearl on the floor and ran over to grab it. A guard tried to stop her, but she evaded the attack smoothly and called her boat again to rush out of the window of the castle. Numa-o was rocketing behind her from around a corner of the castle and reeled back to swing his kanabo at her. Meioshi just barely caught him out of the corner of her eye and dismissed her boat to descend through the air before calling the boat back to land on it and continue sailing. She had to find the endless stream again. That's the only way the waters could be joined long enough for her to trap them in the pearl. If Totosai and Okakura were right, then it should contain the waters without fail. Hearing the cries of his people, Numa-o turned to them with worry in his features and ran to help them. He had to get them out of the palace.
"I will destroy you both for this, Kachan Oni!" Numa-o hissed.
The pearl began to glow in her arms. Meioshi looked down at it and pointed it in front of her to test the brilliance of it. She brought it over to her right. Its glow reduced. Then, to her left, the pearl sprung to life. It was telling her where to go! She nodded and guided her boat to the endless stream.
Kachan Oni and the Chaotic Water Pearl
Near an active volcano was where the pearl led her. The endless stream was exactly as Shanwang described from the beginning: a string with broken ends. They needed to be rejoined or at least tied together. The question was how. Feeling the pearl lift from her arms, it covered her in a watery shield and centered itself between the broken stream ends. From it came strings that would link everything together. Meioshi looked at the pearl floating in front of her and nodded. She would trust it and its sentience. Grabbing one end of the pearl string on her left then the other on her right, she nodded for the pearl to let go and open its supernatural containment space. She didn't anticipate for the waters to nearly rip her body in two. She let out a horrendous scream at the torturous pulling of her limbs.
"Why do you fight, Meioshi?"
"Of mind... want peace. I only have one enemy to fight."
Calling out to her powers from the heavens to the Netherworld, she pulled the strings together with an immense amount of struggle until she was almost close to the pearl's sides. For a moment, she thought the streams would rip her arms off when she released her hold after losing energy and breath. She inhaled and exhaled quickly, feeling drool pouring out of the side of her mouth and sweat dripping out of her nose. Tears were coming out of her eyes at the tension she was experiencing and the tightening of her muscles in every part of her body - used and unused. Her strength wasn't enough. She needed more power. Reaching out to another reserve of power, she let out an earth-shattering scream before she pulled the strings together and the pearl began sucking up the chaotic waters until all was surrounded by a bright light.
Sesshomaru, Jaken, Okakura, Totosai, Kiyonobu, and Numa-o all watched in awe as mountains of coral burst out of the maelstroms and pure water came pouring out with it. Life returned to the surrounding areas! The broken dimensions sealed themselves back up.
"My lord, what do you suppose happened?" Jaken asked. "Who were those foes from before?"
Sesshomaru was quiet before he narrowed his eyes. Stumbling out of the sea and onto a sandy shore, Meioshi was breathing heavily as she carried her water pearl. She was beyond exhausted. It was a miracle she was able to stand at all, but she kept trudging along. Fighting to stay alive, her vision was fading more and more as she took another step to the shoreline. Once all of her powers disappeared and her hair and eyes returned to normal human coloring, it was easy to feel that her clothes had been ripped to near shreds with the wind touching her skin so scandalously. Tripping over a rock and scraping her knee on a few other sharp ones, she merely got a short yelp and hiss out at the small pain. Her arms were still vibrating from her battle with Numa-o and screaming at her to drop the heavy pearl. It wasn't long before she went unconscious and flopped onto hard sand and small seashells.
Back at his palace, Shanwang could be seen smirking at his throne and saying, "You did good, kid. Rest yourself."
At the reiki palace, Numa-o only allowed himself to grind out, "I'll spare you, Kachan Oni, for sealing away the waters. You are still my prey regardless of when we meet again."
"Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going exactly?" Jaken asked, riding on Sesshomaru's Moko Moko.
"Jaken, use your staff to find Meioshi," Sesshomaru ordered silently but with a growl laced in his tone. "Either track the snow sword... or a pearl containing the waters of a maelstrom..."
Budding Bushido Alliance part 1
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The female head of the Nintojo staff started screeching before it tilted in Jaken's hand. Jaken then informed Sesshomaru, "Nintojo says to begin your descent, me lord. It looks like we're headed to that stone beach yonder."
Sesshomaru inelegantly harrumphed before he did as suggested. He didn't know what the doctor had gotten herself into, but the fact remains that she's always getting into something ridiculous every time he sees her. They flew to a blue stone beach that was across from an island with an active volcano. The location was beautiful, but Sesshomaru cared little for his surroundings. This journey was filled with memories he'd rather forget entirely. Landing gracefully, Sesshomaru and Jaken looked around to get a feel for their surroundings. It seemed to be a safe place.
"Do you smell her blood or anything of value, me lord?" Jaken asked, leading the way for a moment before looking for some kind of cave or camp the doctor could have built. "I don't see why we have to be bothered with the witch, especially after she did something so appalling to you! She should've been killed on the spot! To think such a sweet girl would take things so far! It's outrageous!"
"Jaken, quiet," Sesshomaru growled. "Focus on finding her."
"Yes, me lord," Jaken said quickly, holding Nintojo up. The staff shook before turning sharply. He looked around a tall stone tower and saw something. He then said, "Huh? I think Nintojo is confused. It's pointing to that large shell over there."
Sesshomaru walked around the stone tower in the direction Jaken and Nintojo were pointing and caught sight of a magenta, baby pink, and white striped Gulf pearl oyster. Foolish witch. She must have found it in order to hide Okakura's pearl. It was latched shut like a treasure chest but not locked. He knelt down to unlock the shell and lifted the oyster open only to be rendered breathless at the sight. The doctor was sleeping inside of it! She had the pearl in her arms like she was protecting it, but she was dressed in a sheer covering with red, gold and green spots like coral rocks. Her hair was decorated with colorful shells and seaweed, and her face looked freshly clean. The fight and whatever happened with the waters must have taken its toll on her. She was an easy target this way, but... he couldn't bring himself to kill her like that. He then spotted some toys, food, water canteens, and small weapons near her feet. She almost looked like she was in a crib. Who put her in here then? She couldn't have gotten these things herself.
Jaken creeped over to look over Sesshomaru's shoulder and blinked at the sleeping woman. Ah, so the pearl in her arms must've been what Nintojo sensed. Nice.
"Wake the hell up, witch!" Jaken shouted.