"Well, if that's all you're worried about, I suppose I could tell you that your involvement in this blood pact is just as crucial as the oath keepers working together to ensure all is fulfilled," the green pheasant said, flapping his wings a few times before relaxing them. "The Blood Oath's Circle is much larger than you think. You're only in the portion involving the current oath-keepers. For you to escape, as I said, you must find the parallel door. While this task is simple, the problem is going to be that someone has to be on the other side of the door for it to be fully opened. Yes, you might find the door in time, but the oath keepers have to find it as well. Unfortunately, parallel doors are near impossible to find in the living world."
"Permission to kill this bird, me lord," Jaken hissed with a dark blanket over his eyes. They were going in circles for a door they couldn't even open!
"Granted," Sesshomaru said, walking away from them.
"Hold it, imp-key!" the pheasant pleaded, covering his eggs. "To help someone from the living world find the door, you can leave clues behind by placing unusual items into portals that are perpendicular to a parallel point."
"He speaks of nonsense," Jaken growled, readying Nintojo to release its fire.
"It's not nonsense!" the pheasant argued, holding his eggs in his wings to comfort them. The eggs were trembling but not making any noise to signify fear. He then said, "It's a connection point between the living world, the Blood Oath's Circle, and either the heavens or the Netherworld. Location, location, location! It's important to the Blood Oath's Circle."
Sesshomaru stopped at this and turned around slightly to say, "Jaken, why is that bird still talking?"
"Because you're standing in the vicinity of the second connection point!" the pheasant argued, summoning a small amount of spiritual power. Both demons stopped to hear the pheasant continue but were readying their next move to kill it. The pheasant then informed them, "My nest represents the beginning of the pact. The entryway to the Netherworld was a winter's gate. That's why all was dead, cold, and dark when we met in the brush. Wherever the oath keepers formed the pact in the living world is the final point along the perpendicular. That's when you possibly got involved with all this mess and were sent here. The oath keepers must've shared a common thought or idea in dealing with you when you went to fight them. What happens to the oath keepers forthwith will be reflected here and in the Netherworld. There was a point in the living world, where the two shared a bond, and that's why the atmosphere changed and you're able to see the memories of the wolf before it became a wolf. An item from the wolf's memory or even something from the Blood Oath's Circle can be used as a secondary point along the perpendicular. You need merely choose wisely."
"You said not long ago that I couldn't interact with the ghosts," Sesshomaru reminded the bird with a venomous glare.
"You don't need assistance from the ghosts. You need merely choose an item that is familiar enough for the wolf and unusual enough for Lady Meioshi to investigate it," the pheasant said.
"Why would we ever want to help that awful doctor after she sent us here with you?" Jaken argued.
"She didn't send you here," the pheasant answered, silencing both demons with his serious tone. "The wolf did."
"What?" Jaken shouted more than questioned.
"You told me you encountered it before meeting the doctor," the pheasant replied, looking directly at Jaken. "The wolf recognized you. Perhaps, you also share a common thought with it in your desire to bring harm to Lady Meioshi."
"I never said I wanted to kill her!" Jaken argued. "I said she owes me a fight!"
"What of the evil talking dog there?" the pheasant asked, turning slowly to Sesshomaru.
The western lord found he couldn't reply to the pheasant's question. There was something in the back of his mind that was trying to reach the surface of his emotional pool, but he didn't recognize that small piece of emotion rising like a little koi fish. A thought did cross his mind, and it made the pheasant tilt his head so it must have seen the quiet passing of it across his face. The bird noticing the unusual response only made Sesshomaru turn away from it and look above him. The crackling of firewood and floating of lit ashes gave him something else to focus on for a moment. He didn't want to entertain the possibility that the wolf and he shared some commonality concerning Meioshi. Unfortunately, in refusing to confront the question, he remembered his first encounter with the doctor.
Meioshi had a sun trinket atop her cradled thumb and flipped into the sky. The sun trinket twirled in the air, capturing the setting sun's rays, and flashed gold in Sesshomaru's eyes to serve as a possible distraction. When Sesshomaru was just slow enough to move, he watched the glimmering object twirl until he felt the woman's gripping gaze.
Meioshi activated a glyph underneath Sesshomaru's feet and calmly said, "Capture, Chen-bi!"
With that, a death-like grip forced Sesshomaru onto his knees and bound him down. Wide-eyed, the young lord looked up and saw spears piercing the edges of the glyph and creating a sort of cage around him. The Four Heavenly Kings dressed in their regalia of crowns, jewels, and armor surrounded him with frowns on their faces and ensured his capture.
|| ... ... ... ||
Sesshomaru stood there, waiting for his prey to come out of the woods. Gaining a newfound fury, Sesshomaru didn't bother to fly back to Heiwa. He spent his time and energy attacking demons in between his travels just to burn off some of his anger at having been bested. The lantern that the woman possessed accentuated her features: the hazel eyes, the shiny hair, the peachy-colored skin, and the supple lips.
"What is your business with me?" Meioshi asked with a still voice.
Her voice truly was pleasant, but he wasn't interested in hearing her talk. Sesshomaru was only interested in one thing with this woman. He replied, "I intend to fight only the strongest opponents. You have the most potential..."
|| ... ... ... ||
Sensing her power increasing significantly, Sesshomaru lifted his claw and took a step forward to ease into a battle stance. Charging at each other, Sesshomaru and Meioshi clashed in a powerful burst of yoki energy and fire magic. Though Sesshomaru didn't show it, he was excited to have found a new opponent with potentially greater strength than presented. Brute strength alone wasn't going to be enough with her.
Curiously, the doctor hummed with thought then spoke up as Sesshomaru added more power to his strike, "Your might is impressive, young man, but I've no interest in fighting the strongest opponents of the world. Only one. Why are you seeking to be another?"
"That is my business," Sesshomaru replied, feeling the woman adding more power to her magical shield.
Meioshi let out a sigh then tilted her head to say, "Very well. I suppose this will be our relationship then. What is your name?"
"Sesshomaru," he answered, silencing Meioshi and earning an odd look...
|| ... ... ... ||
Sesshomaru was hardly ever taken by surprise, and it pissed him off that a human was able to do it with her bare hands. He hadn't anticipated her speed being a factor in her strength.
"Bring me back the sword, thief!" the demon barked with a possessed voice. "Or watch this world burn!"
Tsuyoi let out another roar before disappearing in a burst of wind and ice that cut into Meioshi's skin enough to make her bleed. The freshness of that spot of blood in the atmosphere made Sesshomaru realize something of possible value. Lady Meioshi didn't naturally have a smell before. He could hear her walking out of the forest and smell the fire burning from her lantern, but he couldn't pinpoint a moment when he caught her scent or her perfume or anything for that matter. Any living being held some recognizable odor to identify themselves. The divine guardian of Meioshi smelled of the forest and some sweet berries lingering underneath that. The demon named Tsuyoi smelled more malodorous than the divine guardian, especially with the scent of hell and ice on his person. Up until Meioshi was cut, there was no smell for her. She didn't smell of death but... there was nothing to compare her scent to since her blood just smelled like the traditional saltiness of the substance. The freshness of it proved she was alive but that was all.
Meioshi approached what seemed to be Tsuyoi's remains and went to investigate what was there. She took her dress between her teeth and ripped at the fabric to tear her dress and create a bigger slit. She used the torn piece to gather the leftover ice and coagulate. The ice fragment spiked up immediately when she tried to touch it and nearly pierced her forehead. She merely let out a sigh and bowed her head low. There was nothing she could do to appease this guardian's hatred for her right now. She needed to approach this creature differently.
"I'm sorry, guardian," Meioshi whispered gently, feeling the cold mist on her leg and face. "I never meant to anger you, but... if you can give me a few days, maybe there's a way I can give you more than your sword. If there is someone that you lost, is there a way I can find that person?"
Sharpness turned to blunted edges as the ice spiked and churned into a blossoming crystal flower at the base. Meioshi was silenced by the responsiveness of the ice. So, the guardian was trying to find someone! The doctor reached into her dress to pull out a familiar item that made Sesshomaru narrow his eyes at the offensive piece. Revealing the golden sun trinket that bound him, Meioshi applied her divine fire to the trinket and pushed it against the aggressive parts of the ice. Within a few seconds, the trinket made the ice hiss and melt away until it was embedded in the cursed ice prison.
"Until I find who you're looking for, hold Chen-bi and use its power to punish me when we meet again," Meioshi said to the ice crystal.
The acidic sludge formed into an arrow and shot Meioshi directly into her throat. Sesshomaru's eyes widened at the sudden attack, seeing black veins crawling up the doctor's face and her shaking violently with foam coming out of the corners of her mouth, and he went to attack the ice but the Netherworld's mist spiraled around the woman and burned Meioshi's kimono at the top.
|| ... ... ... ||
Right then, his eyes widened before returning to normal within the next second. There was a common thought between him and the wolf. It had nothing to do with wanting to kill her; in fact, believing that she had been killed by the arrow did something inexplicable to him. He had no reason to care for the doctor in the slightest and he had no feelings toward her. Jaken was different. He got to know her and Yuko for a little while, even if it was only a day, and he took notice of Jaken not wanting Yuko to be hurt. The wolf didn't want to hurt Yuko either, but it was using her as leverage for something else that he couldn't quite figure out. Regardless, one thing was for sure. Like Meioshi, he, too, was bonded to the wolf in a smaller, less permanent way. They both were angry at themselves for having been bested by a human woman, but they were also impressed by her strength and desire to help others. Sesshomaru pushed forward and marched up the beaten path to the phantom village. He had to find a flaming arrow...
Meioshi was about to land her boat for the night. The wolf had grown tired enough to rest itself again and close its curious eye. Different, playful souls were being escorted by soul carriers of varying shapes and forms. There were dragons of many colors carrying several at a time, butterflies carrying one at a time, and sprites like Bonitas and Caritas letting souls take the form of a small cloud to ride to heaven. The wolf was actually excited to see them. It tried to pull Meioshi off the boat and make her jump to one of them, but Meioshi had to calm it down and explain that she would plummet to her death if she fell from such a height. The wolf stopped but was frustrated that it couldn't be among them. Meioshi could sense a small fragment of sadness within her bosom.
When the wolf returned to looking about at the beauties of the living world, the doctor comforted it again by wrapping it up in the blanket and embracing it. Hope was growing inside of her. Watching the moon rise, Meioshi supposed brought the wolf some peace again. Abruptly, Meioshi heard the sound of a bow's string releasing and a strong light formed on her side underneath the boat. An arrow hit the boat hard enough to make Meioshi fall to her side and nearly drop her oar.
"What the hell was that?" she questioned. She crawled over to the side and took sight of an arrow covered in a blue flame. She tried to pull it off but found it was too wedged in the boat's thick wood too deeply to remove it with ease. She wiggled it around a couple of times to loosen it, trying to avoid the divine fire, and finally got it out with a strong pull. She then inspected it and said, "This is an Arrow of Judgement."
Another light rose from a distant forest and Meioshi could see blue flames rising from a collection of hills. Taking one last, long look at the flaming arrow, Meioshi broke the arrow and jammed it into the back of her boat. She replaced the magic from the air with the divine flame's energy and used it to create a traveling current. She directed the boat to the hillside with an extra burst of speed from the flame. When she was within proximity of the flaming hills, she jumped off the boat and dismissed it and the oar. Landing with a thud, the doctor spotted the cool flames burning off the ice from a stone mound.
"Who shot a divine arrow here?" Meioshi asked quietly.
Seeing no suspicious activity, the doctor walked up to the stone mound to inspect it. Nothing seemed to be off. Taking a deep breath, she released her new ice powers to create a soft, snowy wind to cool the flames. Her blood was again drained. In doing so, she discovered something was off with the stone mound. Mainly, that it wasn't stone. There was some kind of fur or feathers on its body. It seemed to be both. It was also shaking like it could feel the cold air. Then, the shaking stopped, and the mound was motionless. She reached a hand out to touch the mound only to be frightened by the mound taking life and showing her twelve rows of sharp, angry teeth.
"Ah!" Meioshi screamed, jumping back comically. When she realized the creature hadn't attacked her yet, she opened her eyes and said, "Oh! It's just a forest beast."
The beast screeched then roared and took flight. It was some kind of bird! Its wings were like any bird's she had seen, but it gave it the ability to flap and fly in strong gusts of wind. It was in the shape of an eyeball, but the bird had no visible eyes. It only had a wide mouth filled with rotating teeth. The teeth spun around rapidly in the bird's mouth, and it coughed it out. Meioshi quickly broad jumped away from the spinning blade and watched the bird glow to control the weapon and send it back to her. The wolf woke up once Meioshi dodged another attack from the spinning teeth and took control over Meioshi's body. It gave Meioshi another power by using an arctic blast from her hand to freeze the blade and using Meioshi's speed to precisely grab one of the teeth of the spinning weapon and redirect the weapon to hit the creature. The creature yelped in pain and hit the ground before shaking itself and regaining flying momentum.
The wolf growled and bellowed, "Get out of my way!"
Author's Footnotes:
Readers' Guide
Previous Episode: The Strongest Opponent (Chapters 9 through 11)
Episode 4: Blood Pact Under the Magical Trees (Chapters 12 through 15)
Plot Summary: Sesshomaru and Jaken are sent to the Blood Oath's Circle where they meet a green pheasant who oversees the pact between Meioshi and the arctic wolf. The green pheasant learns of the situation from Jaken and explains that the Blood Oath's Circle is not part of the Netherworld but is in the middle of planes of existence. The pheasant then offers to help the two demons escape. Meioshi gets to know the wolf a little better before meeting Shanwang, a king ogre and the demon who trapped Unmei's friend in his magical mirror. She asks for his help in trying to find the true guardian of the divine sword. Sesshomaru and Jaken can see the memories of the wolf. Sesshomaru leaves a clue behind for Meioshi to follow so that he and Jaken can escape the Blood Oath's Circle, but this clue leads Meioshi to another foe.
** Estimated Reading Time for the whole episode: 48 minutes and 15 seconds
** Average Readability Score: 75.75 (according to Grammarly)
Next Episode: Call to Arms (Chapters 16 through 18)
Plot Summary: Meioshi accepts a dual blood pact with the wolf and the bird to find the true guardian of Baohu qi Voluptatis...
* All editing was done using OfficeSuite Documents and Grammarly. Overall writing performance: 86.5
