The Wayward Servant part 2

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"An antidote?" Sesshomaru asked bitterly. "You must take me for some kind of fool to believe that Jaken would need that."

"He might be a demon, but he is not immune to poisoning, Lord Sesshomaru," Meioshi responded, maintaining her concerns after catching her breath. "It was difficult to remove your toxins, even when I had help, but I didn't suffer an attack like Lord Jaken. A parasite took your power to wreak havoc on his mind. The divinity of the hinoki tree purified whatever poison was starting to eat away at me, but that method won't work on him. It would kill him. I don't even think the poison has been fully removed. Its lingering effects simply have been reduced to a harmless status. However, the same could be done for him. Though the poison affected some motor skills, I do believe Jaken's condition is treatable and shouldn't harm him further if it's tended to as soon as possible. Luckily, the toxins are slow in their damage currently, but I don't know the extent of your toxin's capabilities. He could seem fine for several years or several days before his condition becomes noticeably much worse, but I don't want you to continue traveling uninformed of this. Take your time and decide on your next course of action."

"Who cured you?" Sesshomaru asked with a low growl in his voice.

"A demon," Meioshi answered, making Sesshomaru narrow his eyes. "One fairly knowledgeable about his kind. I can consult with him for an antidote if you wish, but my suggestion would be to either bring him home or take him to yours. Someone must know how to remedy this ailment. It may be as simple as creating a serum from his natural habitat or a spot in yours where you developed your envenomation. You have a very unique biology, Lord Sesshomaru. I would look into it further as you may be the key to Lord Jaken's cure."

Silence fell on him as the doctor turned to her shell crib. She retrieved a baby pink cloth from it and went into the bushes without another word. Sesshomaru only looked over Jaken's sleeping form with a look akin to regret in his eyes. Hearing water splashing and moving around, his eyes shifted to his side. He could only guess that Meioshi was bathing herself. They weren't near fresh water, just a deep puddle that was found. She boiled any impurities out of it before it became usable. It appeared as though he was going to be taking everyone home much sooner than he thought. He hadn't truly been alone for more than a hundred years. That was going to take some getting used to, but the western lord felt a strange tugging in his chest. He hadn't been to the Vermillion Forest of Imps in some years. Would they even recognize Jaken? His other problem was bringing the doctor home. Should he just let Ah-Un take her back to Heiwa?

"Lord Sesshomaru..." Jaken said in his sleep, snuggling in the bunk bed. "This oil is better for your feet..."

Sesshomaru allowed himself to smirk at the ridiculous dream Jaken seemed to be having of him before it went away in favor of a blank mask. The doctor will be the first to return home. Jaken... will have a longer journey to endure...

Manjushuge. Spider lilies. A sea of orange and red woven together artistically to appear as a calming, vibrant flow of crimson against deep brown to black tree trunks perfectly spotted in different locations like darkened capillaries. The wispy legs of the bright red blooms moved like the hairs on a spider crafting a winding web as a soft breeze passed by. Legend has it that the manjushuge were crafted by imp demons as an act of mischief against humans who feared spiders, but the beauty of the flowers instead brought joy to many who found the blooms to be a spectacle. Just passed the field of spider lilies was a pathway leading to green benikaze grass and damp soil surrounding a ditch that led to a pond of a sort. This natural landscaping is what gave Jaken's village its name. Always surrounded by reds, oranges, and golds, the land of imps was quite captivating, especially with such dark trees, rocks, and waters sitting next to the colorful foliage to give things more of a pop to the naked eye.

Sesshomaru was toting Jaken on his Moko Moko before he landed near the border leading to the fabled forest. Apprehensive at first, Jaken questioned why he was being returned to his home, but the western lord reassured his attendant that they were just visiting for a moment. In the meantime, the doctor would be returned home to retrieve equipment for her stay. Leading the way, Sesshomaru quietly scanned his surroundings before proceeding down the pathway to the village of imps.

"Lord Sesshomaru, have I dishonored you in some way? I know you said we were just visiting, but why the need to come here at all? Did the new leader of my old home trouble you in some fashion?" Jaken asked, reaching out to touch a lily.

"We are looking for a healer. One capable of making an antidote against poison," Sesshomaru answered plainly though cryptically.

"Is this antidote for the doctor?" Jaken asked, looking back at Sesshomaru. "She seemed fine at the camp. I didn't think I was that bad. Running off to commit suicide like that! The nerve! Unless..." The imp picked up his foot to smell it but didn't sense anything out of the ordinary. He then said, "Nope, still smells like that oil. If she poisoned herself to get out of her punishment, I'll punch her in the ass!"

Sesshomaru smirked at him, fully amused by the imagery and its connection to his threat of forcing Meioshi to bathe Jaken while naked, and said, "That will not be necessary... yet. Irony aside, she is susceptible to being weakened by poison due to being a human. Gathering remedies for such a frail being is simply a method of precaution. She is your servant until I deem her innocent of the crimes against the House of Inu."

"Aye, me lord," Jaken responded, smiling crookedly. "There is something I'm curious about, though. You said she offered you uncharted territories when you apprehended her. What did that mean? Are they like Heiwa as in your father never claimed ownership over them?"

Sesshomaru pulled out his map of uncharted territories and handed it to Jaken. When the imp took it to look at it, he said, "He can't claim something that didn't exist yet. These lands are relatively new. Heiwa was just a couple of tents filled with cowards when he mapped it. It wasn't established like what we saw. Whatever the witch claimed as territory are all lands that have only been established for a few years. How she was able to do this underneath so many noses is the better question, especially if she managed to stake a claim on demon territories within the west."

"That would mean she stole land from you, right?" Jaken asked, clutching the map tighter in his hand. "Wouldn't that be against the law or an act of war?"

"That was part of the reason why I accepted her offer," Sesshomaru answered, narrowing his eyes. "She mentioned having a demon healer, a knowledgeable one at that. If he or she is known to me, she will be marked as an accomplice to the assailant. For her sake, she better have a flawless explanation for such a thing."

"Lord Jaken? Lord Sesshomaru? Is that you?" an imp dressed in no more than goat fur approached the two, looking quite surprised with his mouth agape. He then said, "My heavens! It is you! It's been so long!"

"Benjiro!" Jaken greeted, walking up to his old comrade. Said imp chuckled before placing a hand on Jaken's shoulder and nodding. Jaken then asked, "It has been a long time! You're the new leader of our home now, eh?"

"More like a young elder honestly," Benjiro replied, scoffing a bit and waving a hand at the notion. "It's kind of like advising. Easier to do without all that centralized pressure. How have you been since serving Lord Sesshomaru there?"

"There's so much to tell you about it! But it's been a worthwhile journey, I'd say," Jaken answered, folding his arms. "I have a new servant now. Lord Sesshomaru said she needed some antidotes for different poisons on our new quest. One of those remedies can be found here. Have you anything that can be used for such a thing?"

"Ah, a woman servant, you say?" Benjiro asked, licking his hand and stroking his head with a smug smirk on his face. "Is milady single?"

"You don't want that witch. She's a human," Jaken replied with a flat face.

"Wha? Human? You have a human servant?" Benjiro questioned, taking a step back and guarding his torso with a crossed arm over his chest. He seemed quite repulsed. He then asked, "How'd you wind up with such unfortunate luck?"

"That's part of the story. We've already had a human servant before. This new one is simply older," Jaken replied. "She gives the most excellent foot rubs, however, and she's pretty good at making campsites."

"A foot rub, you say?" Benjiro questioned, rubbing his chin with interest. "I'll have to see about this new servant of yours someday. In the meantime, why don't you join me for dinner? I believe Joruri might know of ingredients for such remedies. You can tell us all about your servant and your adventures since you've been gone. It'd be nice to catch up!"

"That sounds nice. Have you a place large enough for Lord Sesshomaru, though? Most of our homes have small roofs," Jaken mentioned.

"That will not be necessary," Sesshomaru responded softly. "I've to retrieve the witch. Upon our return, she should have her equipment ready for the journey ahead and this Joruri should have had ample time to find items that could make serums against poison. Anything against poisons of the mind or salt acids are the main remedies needed. A convenient antidote against plants and animal bites toxic to humans and your kind would also suffice. It's just a simple visit as planned. Calm your nerves."

"Yes, me lord," Jaken said, nodding.

He watched Sesshomaru take his leave and frowned a bit with suspicion. That request was oddly vague. Too vague for his lord. Something was wrong...

Author's Footnotes: Hello all! I don't really know/remember where Jaken lives in terms of a village/territory name, but I gave his homeland a bit of redesigning based on a photograph of a particular flower that is native to Japan and blooms during the summer to fall season, which is where we are timewise. The homeland that I'm giving Jaken is probably way more pleasant - and maybe slightly creepier if you're not a fan of spiders - than what was originally part of Rumiko Takahashi's concept and design, but I honestly was just breath taken by this singular composition of nature and wanted to use it as a backdrop somehow.