"An absolute mess, this is!" Meioshi complained, walking through her home to see the minor repairs and major damage done to it. "Petty bastard couldn't just leave any of it alone, could he?"
"Where do we even start?" Yuko questioned, feeling depressed at how much was destroyed.
Meioshi, Yuko, and Homugi were all slumped over at the mess left behind. Although there were piles ready to be sorted through, the estate was practically in shambles everywhere else. The doctor was the first to heave out a long sigh and grumbled something about working from the farthest distance out until they made it back to her training grounds. Her traveling wagon was completely ruined, so Meioshi couldn't use it to carry repair tools or equipment. Frustrated with that, the doctor pinched the space between her temples and shook her head instead. She led them to her personal farming area and started fixing up her crops and fences the old-fashioned step-by-step way.
"Looks like I can cut back some of the crops to help them flush back out," Meioshi commented, inspecting the leaves on some of her flora. "The rest can be pulled out for the fall vegetables."
"Wow, working at the farmlands came in handy!" Homugi commented, observing a damaged plant.
"You should be an expert now, right?" Yuko remarked, winking and smiling. "Let's see whatcha got!"
Homugi nodded confidently and started picking up broken fencing in a flurry of dust, speed, and determination. Meioshi produced an interesting face when she saw the remnants of cleaning power that was Homugi rummaging through her fruit tree orchards. The doctor could only reason that the girl must just really enjoy cleaning. Yuko laughed at the demon girl before shaking her head and hustling to clean up the rice crops herself. As the girls worked, Lord Aka and some of the children had scurried over to Meioshi to check on her and help with the crops as well. Before long, her plants were tidy and anything that was broken or trashed were placed in piles for burning or recycling.
The fences were easy to repair, and Lord Aka was able to donate some unused wood from his stables. Musuko shined best when it came to woodworking, so he helped make fence boards while the others found paint and made lanterns. Kyoko and Yuko liked painting, so they helped with the boards. Shotaro volunteered Homugi into helping make fence and paper lanterns. The blue merle beauty seemed to enjoy making them. She made one with spots on it and painted a small heart in the corner with a leaf in the middle. She decided to keep it. Lord Aka and Meioshi worked together in making compost and tying up the broken fence boards into bundles. Once the farming areas were complete, everyone moved on to the barn. Homugi was surprised that Meioshi owned such a fine piece of land for her farming. It was really the perfect size for her. There wasn't too much of a singular crop or herb. Everything had a future use.
When Meioshi opened her barn doors, a foul odor spewed out and some farm animals started hustling out in a frenzy. Pulling out a rag to cover her face, the doctor narrowed her eyes and proceeded to inspect the storage areas.
"Ew! What is that stench?" Homugi complained, covering her nose with her sleeves.
"Smells like something either died or spoiled," the doctor answered. "Perhaps both."
"You don't think that dragon took a dump in here, do you, sensei?" Kyoko asked, covering her nose.
"That would be most unfortunate if they did, but I wouldn't put it passed them," Meioshi replied. She rummaged through a particular area and spotted a dead chicken. She then said, "Welp, found one of the culprits. If you want to help clean the barn, you'll need to change clothes and find some gloves and shoes. Otherwise, the pens will need some tidying instead."
"Okay!" Kyoko cheered, raising her hands up and running out of the barn and into the direction of her home. "C'mon, guys!"
"Coming! Oh, can we stuff the chicken, sensei?" Musuko asked before taking off to run.
"You're going to eat it?" Homugi questioned, horrified at the notion of eating the dead bird.
"I don't think it's safe to eat, but sometimes sensei lets us empty out the carcass and stuff it for the museum," Musuko replied. "That's how we make some of the statues."
"What museum? Is it in the village?" Homugi asked, tilting her head with curiosity.
"No, it's by the forest, Miss Homugi," Shotaro replied, looking up at the woman fondly. "You must've passed it up without realizing it. Sensei built it for medical science purposes. We kinda suckered her into teaching us more about it. We've been learning about taxonomy and anatomy ever since."
"I'll have to see when my poor dear expired before I let you touch her," Meioshi said, smiling at Shotaro. "You can make a sculpture of her as a memorial, however. Hurry and change your clothes, though. Kyoko's waiting for you."
"Okay!" the boys cheered.
As Meioshi ushered everyone out, she was stopped when Homugi asked, "Are you teaching me about that next, doctor?"
Unmasking herself, Meioshi asked, "About the dead chicken?"
"Your museum," Homugi asked, following her out of the smelly barn. "Am I learning about that next?"
"Oh!" the doctor replied with a gentle laugh. "No, that's not part of my teachings for you. If you just wish to know more about science, then I've no problem teaching you. The children love animals, so I teach them about them."
"How did they sucker you into teaching them about animals?" Homugi asked.
"Those cute faces!" Meioshi squealed, hugging herself tightly at the memory. "About three years ago when I started doing instructional seminars, I was working on many different programs. Yuko was another one who suckered me into teaching her about nursing during this time."
"Damn straight!" Yuko cheered, putting two fists on her hips and pointing her nose upwards proudly. "Wasn't hard to do either. Just had to pout a little and blink my pretty eyes repeatedly!"
"Yuko was the first to ask me to teach her more about medicine," Meioshi said, looking to her apprentice and then to the peaceful sky and clouds. "I took an injury while protecting the farmlands and couldn't make the medicine on my own. She soaked up my instructions like a rag and learned to apply it gently. I suppose once I started showing her how herbs could be used for many different things, I felt she should see some of my anatomical studies and diagrams in order to understand what I was saying more clearly. From there, she gained this insatiable curiosity about my medical notes. When I returned to work as a sexual health doctor, she latched onto me and has been at my side in medicine since. The boys were a little different. They kept getting in trouble at school. Boring work and all."
A female pig snorted at Meioshi before sniffing at her ankles and legs. The doctor kneeled down, scratched behind the pig's ears, and smiled at her. She nodded at the girls to follow her to the pens and went to work on cleaning them out while they waited for Aka and the kids to return. Aka merely returned to his stables to see if there were other materials he could donate for repairs. It wouldn't take him long.
As Meioshi cleaned out some food troughs, she continued her story, "While I was walking to the market, I noticed that Musuko had a knack for catching small animals. I asked him to catch a particular reptile for me as a test. If he did, I'd reward him with whatever he liked. That little bugger chose steak and potatoes! But, I agreed to his demands. Once he caught my creature, I let him put it in a habitat I had built for it. He started asking me questions about my notes and wanted to keep a few of my statues for his room. I offered to teach him how to make his own after I made his expensive luncheon, but I would only do so if he behaved in school and did his work. He did! In a way, he was my biggest helper in building the museum. But that's how Musuko became a student of mine. Now, Shotaro, was actually well-behaved in school. He only got into trouble when Musuko did or when he felt pressured by his parents to do well in school. I caught him hiding away during playtime so he could run to the beach and collect seashells. Musuko wanted to hunt for another creature I had taken interest in, so Shotaro had to sit alone that day. I love diving for underwater treasures! That got me thinking... so I dove for this rainbow shell on a coral reef and plucked it from its home. He didn't want to talk to me at first until I gave him that shell. When a small crab popped out of the shell, you should've seen his face! After that, he kept sneaking off to find more shells, and I kept diving for other things until he finally spoke. I agreed to teach him more about marine life if he helped Musuko finish his work and if he continued to do his best on his own work. From there, Shotaro became another student. Now, Kyoko was a very special young lady. Her mother was very ill. Lord Aka sent her to me for treatment, so I had her and Kyoko live with me for a while. Kyoko was full of energy and happiness! She would run through the house to see my observatory room and run to the pond to go swimming and run to the gardens to chase butterflies and run to the kitchen to help cook! But... when I had to arrange a funeral service for this family... I don't know what made her heart skip a beat, but... she wanted to help that family. She did something not even an adult man would do... she looked at the corpse I had wrapped up and spotted some scars on the side that matched nails. Sharp ones... when Musuko and Shotaro had come from school to do a new taxonomy assignment, Kyoko sort of eavesdropped on them. I brought her in to learn how to stuff a raccoon. She spotted the exact same scratch on its back like the corpse! As it turned out, we discovered that a demon had attacked them outside of the village barrier. I let her explain our findings to the family. She asked to be my apprentice so that others like that family could know the truth about their loved ones' demise."
"Has she been... investigating deaths a lot since then?" Homugi asked, curious of the answer.
"Only certain ones. Her mother doesn't like her around corpses, and with good reason, so I had to compromise and instead teach her about dissection. She actually has quite the stomach for it!" Meioshi said with a laugh. "But I look forward to the day she becomes a detective. She'll ease a lot of people's minds and be an excellent grief counselor. Some people need that in their lives. She may very well be the one to take over my funeral services and run the home when I pass or retire. She doesn't mind visiting it or my three grandmamas!"
"You're not allowed to do either of those things!" Yuko fussed, pouting angrily. "Least of all without a husband or lover at your side! You're staying alive until I find the perfect bachelor!"
"But I'm celibate now," Meioshi tried with a gentle smile.
"Only because some of these men are gross!" Yuko argued. "You have to have a type for me to go by. C'mon, Meioshi, tell me!"
"I don't have a - oh!" Meioshi stopped, thinking of something. She then said, "I completely forgot about that."
"About what?" Homugi asked, now curious of the doctor's response.
"There is one man I've grown an interest in seeing. An old friend of my grandfather's brought him to my attention," Meioshi replied, placing a finger on her chin and cheek with thought. "Oh, I don't remember his name off the top of my head, but he's supposed to be perfect."
"P-p-perfect how?" Homugi asked, getting closer to the doctor.
"In every way you could think of," Meioshi replied. "Hair, eyes, chin, body, endurance, fighting prowess, voice. All of those things."
"That's fantastic! Why didn't you setup a date with him yet?" Yuko questioned, getting closer to the doctor as well.
"Because there's no such thing as perfect, and name me one person you know who's both perfect and single?" Meioshi replied, folding her arms to prove a point.
Homugi then replied seriously and honestly, "You are."
"Eh?" Meioshi gestured, watching Homugi blush before hesitantly reaching out to take one of Meioshi's hands into hers.
The blue merle beauty then said, "You're not weak, Meioshi, and you're not difficult to love. You shouldn't look down on yourself so much. You might be a regular human, but... you're kind, smart, talented, and fun to be around. Yes, you have some weaknesses just like everyone else, but you accept them and you learn from them. You don't push them down or even work yourself mindless to overcome them. You use them to create a stronger weapon - to master the most difficult of virtues. You work with them. I think... doing that is what makes you the righteous warrior that I look up to. No one just does what you do. Who the hell stands up to a lord of demons? Or even thinks to slap him without consequences? Or even stops him from having his way? Who opens their doors to outcasts or troublemakers or the unfortunate and treats them better than where they came from without asking for a single reward? Who teaches children to be themselves and to love learning about the world around them? How many women do you know are in advanced medicine like this? How do you even worm your way into a career like that and still have the ability to do domestic work like cooking or cleaning? Unmei taught you something that even Lord Toga couldn't teach despite him being known for his emotional intelligence: the capacity and the understanding needed to have unconditional love for others. Do you know how hard it is to love just because? Everyone is practically raised just respecting one another if the person in question even deserves it. We even have the nerve to interchange the definition of respect with the definition of love. But... you don't. You love everyone regardless of what they do to you or how they see you. You don't even care what they choose to say about you or to you. You press on. Respect is not interchangeable with you. I don't believe in perfection anymore, but... I have at least seen what it looks like to get close to it."
"You're so frightfully honest," Meioshi said, shifting uncomfortably. When Yuko placed her hand on top of Homugi's and Meioshi's and smiled brightly, the doctor could only blush and smile gently at both girls before saying, "But I guess I needed that. Thank you... my girls."