Susu-harai, Journey to the Century Wastelands part 2
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"Looks like you might need a little something strong," Sugawara suggested, turning when a bell rang lightly. "Come, Lord Sesshomaru. Lord Imamura has your sustenance ready. The private room will serve you best for this evening."
"... what options were you trying to suggest?" Sesshomaru asked, mouth twitching at the notion of even bothering to ask.
Sugawara returned his gaze to the lord and let his eyes shift with greater intrigue. Even as a younger teen, Sesshomaru never questioned Sugawara's suggestions. The frog demon took note of Sesshomaru's body posture: eyes narrowed, brow twitching very slightly every 5 to 7 seconds, right corner of the mouth downturned at an angle like a growl was preparing itself to appear next, sleeves shifting to cover fingers potentially rolling up into a fist, and head slowly tilting downward. This same behavior was what Sugawara caught onto when he first met the young lord. His clothes may have been different, and his hair styled differently, but he acted just like this when he ran away home and found this place. At the time, he was escaping from the "barbaric" customs of taking a woman in both marriage and body. It made him uncomfortable. Acting like this meant only one thing for the frog demon: a woman was involved in whatever was transpiring in his life at this moment.
Sugawara bowed before saying, "Why don't I escort you to the room? As we walk, I'll tell you the ones I'm thinking of."
Sesshomaru's features softened up as the frog demon turned to the entryway. Sugawara tapped on a wall that took the appearance of yellow, orange, and green oil sheen on water and watched the yoki energy glimmer before it burned away like paper. Another small bell rang. Before them was a landscape of lush juniper shrubs, evergreen trees, and bonsai trees leading to the Harpy's Wildflower tavern. Stone pots containing wildflowers and vines were in a pattern with ground lanterns lighting the way. Above the door of the tavern was a window box filled with jasmine grass and larger leafed wax plants. A few purple and yellow flowers were in bloom and attracting the last bits of butterfly species before their inevitable migration. Sesshomaru supposed there were some changes made outside as well. Cobblestone pathways were now part of the landscaping of the tavern. Inside the building was always a cozy experience. The wooden floors were freshly waxed with a cedar finish and joss sticks were lit to give the tavern a pleasant and fresh scent. Not too overwhelming, not too subtle. Perfect for his sensitive nose. Always has been. He could smell food being freshly cooked and was led to the private room up some stone stairs.
Upstairs was a smaller bar and medium-sized table already filled with Sesshomaru's personal favorites. Imamura, Sugawara, and Milady were probably the only people alive who knew what he preferred eating. Sitting down on the red and gold pillow, Sesshomaru took a deep breath and looked out the window. The view was perfect as it overlooked the entryway.
"Akaisake, rose wine made from red rice for a twinge of sweetness, shiboritate, green wine made from pine for a stronger, fresher taste, or koshu, a golden yellow wine with a honeyed flavor," Sugawara suggested. "I believe those are the best choices for your needs. The sweetness is for clearer thoughts to keep you neutral. The pine is for wisdom as these trees have been here and have seen all long before you and I were born. The golden honey is for resourcefulness as you may need to use your cunning for what ails you. Effectively helping you work through these things. We can add other notes for a unique, exquisite flavor as well."
"Shiboritate," Sesshomaru chose, closing his eyes.
Sugawara nodded and then said, "I'll inform Lord Imamura of the reason for your visit. Your drink will be ready shortly."
"Sugawara... make it two," Sesshomaru requested, furrowing his brow.
"Two?" a hooting voice responded.
Enter Imamura, the fish owl demon and dandy of the demon world. He was dressed outlandishly this evening. Long, golden haori jacket with extremely eclectic blue hakama pants, bright red top with wildflowers as the embroidery pattern of the fabric, and a checkered pattern obi. The obijime cord was probably the most normal being a forest green. On his large talons were golden tip coverings and plates along the bottom of his feet acting as tabi shoes. His chest and neck feathers made an extravagant collar as he puffed it out in question, wing covering his chest like he was grabbing a set of pearls. The fool even had the nerve to wear makeup on his beak and around his eyes!
"You never order two of anything!" Imamura remarked, walking into the private room with clicking following him because of the feet accessories. "What on Earth has troubled you this grossly?"
"The Meido Stone. I know you've heard part of the story through rumors," Sesshomaru replied. "Sugawara just informed me that Okakura helped create it and the Black Pearl. What do you know?"
Imamura hummed in response before taking a seat in front of the Western lord. He then said, "For being a favorite patron of mine, I suppose I can offer a clue where your father's servants will not. One rumor that I have found to be most probable is that it is more than an ancient container of power the way Okakura has boasted of many of his items. The eye of Okakura's watch tower knows the power limits of each demon at birth and several thousand years prior. For your father to use the Meido Stone, he had to be at a certain level according to the eye, not the citizens of the House of Inu. The same must be said of your mother. He wouldn't have been able to entrust her with such an alluring threshold of might if she wasn't of equal strength. One too ambitious can easily misuse such a stone and destroy many a village or town. His intentions for its use may have been pure, but I do not believe he truly knew of its capabilities entirely. What I have heard from the probable rumor is that the Meido Stone was birthed from the combined powers of the Gogyo stones representing the five phases of all life. Water, fire, earth, wood, and metal are the basis of the Meido Stone's cosmic power. The Meido Stone cannot control life without controlling these elements. To find the Meido Stone, or at the very least its birthplace, it may be of interest for you to find these five stones."
"Where would the water stone be?" Sesshomaru asked, wondering if Meioshi might have it since she had the pearl.
"This, I do not know. You would need a location device capable of finding these stones. The only one I can think of that might work is in the Century Wasteland," Imamura explained.
"Where would I have to go to find this place?" Sesshomaru asked, narrowing his eyes.
"That should be easy. It's an island connected by a very thin strip of silver sand. You can't touch the surrounding waters; otherwise, you'll be sucked in as junk and consumed by the demon that eats said junk. The door to the wasteland is made of pure green jade and the junk is dumped onto a large floating boat to be brought to the island. You can either look for the door or look for the junk boat."
"Lord Sesshomaru! You're back!" Jaken cheered.
He was lying back in his bed with a cup of some kind of beverage and a thin blanket across his shoulders, completely relaxed and enjoying the coolness of the fall air, while Kirameku Ha was lying back half-dressed and half-asleep on his bed with some sort of towel across his shoulders. Both fabrics looked to be of fine quality. Ah-Un was chewing on some fruit with contentment but looked up at the western lord with interest. Sesshomaru took notice of the slippers, or what looked like fuzzy slippers, on the imp's feet first. Jaken doesn't wear slippers. He then looked over to the dragon, taking note of their brushed mane and clean paws. Unless the old man brought a brush with him, he was sure they didn't have such an item on their persons. Ever. Neither did anyone typically sharpen or clean Ah-Un in the history of their travels. Lastly, he glanced at the old man who was dozing off. Sesshomaru was able to see a couple of battle scars on the old man's chest and took note of his shapely torso. His physique didn't go away with the times, but at least the sensei was dressed in thinner clothing to keep cool. Though mighty in battle, Kirameku Ha couldn't fight one particular enemy in the night: sleep. Eventually, he let slumber claim him.
"Are you enjoying this trip, Jaken?" Sesshomaru questioned with faint amusement in his tone.
"Honestly, I think I'm just being spoiled because the doctor's sensei is here. She visited while you were gone," Jaken replied, taking a sip of his tea.
Sesshomaru's brow twitched with displeasure at that, and he growled, "What?"
Jaken flinched at his response and said, "Well, Lord Kirameku Ha was making dinner while you left to dig up information, me lord. Meioshi had come to check on him, and he mentioned being unusually hot as of late so she performed her duties accordingly. He looked a lot better."
"Did you... also feel sick?" Sesshomaru asked with worry replacing his tone. Much like the amusement, the worry was faint and foreign to Jaken.
"Not particularly. I just wanted a foot rub. It was exquisite," Jaken said, blushing from the memory. "Being a doctor certainly has its perks."
So, she spoiled them all while he was away. Women. There was no need to do all of this. It's only been three days since they started their journey. Was it not obvious they just wanted to be spoiled? If this was what they wanted, he could have brought them to a ryokan for a night! Oh... no, he couldn't. Kirameku Ha was a human. That would complicate the reservation process. Well... fine! Two could play at that game! He's been in battle like Kirameku Ha. He gets him. He would know how to care for a war veteran best without the need to spoil him! As for Jaken...! He wasn't going to rub his feet, but he'd at least look into finding a healer for his condition. If Meioshi gave him another massage, she must have been checking for signs of further poisoning. He supposed they would have to return to the Vermillion Forest after this trip if it was even successful.
"Oh, did you find the information you were looking for, me lord?" Jaken asked, hoping to change the subject.
"In part, yes," Sesshomaru responded, walking over to his bed. He shouldn't be calling any of the sleeping mats beds, but the way they were dressed up seemed more like beds. He sat down on his and continued, "We will be looking for a place called the Century Wasteland in the morning. It has a gate made of jade and a small strip of silver sand leading out to an island full of junk. We might see a floating boat around it."
"Will we be needing Nintojo then, me lord?" Jaken asked.
"Yes, we should make it there within a few days if it's further west. Otherwise, it may just take another day or two in either direction," Sesshomaru replied. "Did the doctor come here alone?"
"Yes, me lord. We actually took a short stroll to get food for Ah-Un. The munchers over there found a treasure by an orange tree, but the doctor left it. Said something about it probably being savings for someone. We did make wishes on the orange tree, though. That was nice," Jaken said. "Ah-Un made a wish for a new bed. Kirameku Ha wished for a new gardening hat. His current one makes the back of his neck itch from the loose straw pieces. Oh, he also wished for a new shovel to dig up smaller plants or babies from the parent plants that are trying to spread. Meioshi wished for new slippers for the coming winter, specifically for the village's holiday season. They host winter parties around that time. She did leave something at the orange tree, though. It looked like it was for someone. She wouldn't say who. I'm sure it was just another wish too embarrassing for her to say aloud."
Jaken snuggled into his bed comfortably before mumbling something inaudible and falling asleep himself. Ah-Un followed after. No one seemed to notice that the western lord's pupils had dilated or that he had grown quiet. About twenty minutes had passed before he finally stood up to find this treasure tree. It wasn't very far from the campsite at all. He spotted a piece of paper stuck to the tree with a piece of silver and magenta ribbon hanging from the bottom. Closer inspection revealed that the silver piece was a small crescent moon. He pulled the paper off the tree and turned it to the other side to see forgiveness written in small print. He couldn't tell if he was daydreaming or if the doctor had put a spell on the note, but he somehow could feel her presence nearby.
"Do you think you're ready, Lord Sesshomaru?" she would probably ask in that accented voice of hers.
An orange dropped from the tree as he was thinking of an answer. He stood aside to catch the fruit but didn't tear his eyes away from the paper. He inelegantly harrumphed at his uncharacteristic behavior and ripped the skin off the orange to bite into its flesh. When he was finished devouring the fruit, he tossed the remaining seeds and skin on the ground and spun around to return to camp. He then said, "I don't need your nagging, witch. Stop spoiling my traveling party and worry about yourself. Winter will be harsh this year."
"You're one ripe difficult bastard, aren't ye?" a strange voice remarked. Sesshomaru stopped walking and only turned his head slightly to the side. That malodorous stench could only be one thing, a pygmy. Said creature hopped around the tree in one particular spot, head spinning in full, uninterrupted rotation with its jaws open in a crooked smile and fingers wiggling with mischievous excitement. He then said, "A pretty girl made a wish did she, did she. Just for ye, for ye, and ya take the gift meant for the wish granter and discount her simple wish. What an ass be ye! A lesson ye must learn. The pygmy's curse doth ye earn! To rid ye of my curse, my curse, solve the riddle or it will grow worse. It can't be seen. It can't be felt. It can't be heard. It can't be smelt. It hides behind stars and under hills and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after. Ends life. Kills laughter."
Grabbing an orange from the tree, the pygmy threw the fruit at Sesshomaru's head and hung from a branch with glee. The western lord caught the offensive, rotten fruit in his claw, but it burst and the scent of a terrible spirit surrounded him before disappearing along with the pygmy...
The next morning, Jaken led the way to their destination and used Nintojo to lead them to an island out west, but Kirameku Ha took notice of a ghoul entering the mouth of the female head on the staff and she rattled violently before pulling Jaken in a different direction. This confused Sesshomaru, but the old man remained silent. They were going south instead. When they reached the destination the staff led them to, they did find an island with luscious flora and white sands with silver speckles in the form of rocks or crystals along the beach, but it wasn't the place that they were looking for.
"Is this the place, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked.
"No," Sesshomaru answered, frowning with displeasure.
Jaken tried to use the staff again with more specific details, but Kirameku Ha caught that ghostly form again entering the staff head's mouth before it rattled violently and rocketed Jaken to a new location...
Meioshi, Homugi, and Yuko were walking together to their destination. Yuko was happily leading the way and picking different flowers of interest along the way. She gave a few to Homugi for her to make a flower necklace or crown. Homugi smiled lightly at Yuko and added different colors and shapes to her jewelry. A blue arrow suddenly sped past the doctor and was jammed in a nearby tree.
"What's that?" Homugi asked, taking note of the paper strapped to the arrow. At first, she thought they were being attacked, but Meioshi hummed in question and yanked the arrow out.
She read the note to herself in silence then laughed...
"Poor fella," Meioshi joked, smiling brightly. "Guess he'll be south for a while."