Meioshi and the others watched as Jaken's Nintojo had become silent and Jaken returned to normal. When he did, Yuko was the first to speak, "What was that all about?"
Meioshi lowered her weapon, seeing that it was safe again, and replied, "Hm... it looks like this tanto is capable of far more than I thought."
The Dai Fubuki blade can interact with other weapons by pressing the end of its hilt to it..., but how? Meioshi thought, looking down at her tanto and dismissing her sword for now. Nintojo is still powered by youkai strength. Wasn't this blade crafted to destroy winter youkai? Unless... This is a large assumption to make, but... The General said that he, Honoseiken, and Akarui had chosen a hinoki tree to meet up again in case of the black wall demon's return. What if that's what did it? Maybe the General's blade doesn't just purify wintry youkai... but items made from enchanted woods. So, when the hilt touched the Nintojo, it actually ridded the staff of impurities within its wood and opened something. By doing that, we saw that other world within it. But then... why did no one think to purify it before if they really wanted to use Nintojo to the fullest? Was it not meant to be done?
"I don't know if there's an answer to that question, my Yuko," Meioshi said, sheathing her tanto. "Unless Jaken can point us in the direction of this wasteland that Sesshomaru was initially trying to find, the Nintojo in his hand must've shown him something we can't use. He'll have to be returned to his lordship's camp."
"One problem with that," Liuxian chimed in, walking into Meioshi's direct space. He locked eyes with her, widened them, and smirked before saying, "We're not at your camp anymore. No tents."
"Huh?" everyone questioned.
They snapped their heads around and observed their surroundings. They indeed were not at the Hell Traveler's campsite. The morning sun was on its way to rising, so most of the night was gone, but they were on a cliff overlooking the sea. Clouds spiraling above them gave off hints to a storm, but the air wasn't humid, and no upward drafts could be felt. Not even loose droplets of rain flew out to touch them as a warning of the storm to come. Had the sun been out, the clouds probably would've simply been white puffs circling about. They were located someplace that Jaken recognized. He looked down in a panic and saw himself floating just above the hole he had gotten stuck in when they were searching for the Century Wasteland before!
Flailing about, he ordered, "Not again! Witch, make yourself useful and catch me!"
"You're not falling, Lord Jaken," Meioshi responded quizzically, spotting the hole that Jaken was afraid of falling through. That stopped the imp and made him look down. Unlike before, the hole seemed to have a large, glowing, silver star in its center this time and the air was as solid as stone. Meioshi squinted her eyes just a bit to investigate and took cautious steps toward the hole. She and Liuxian took notice to something within the glowing star. It looked like a glyph or marking. Meioshi looked at Nintojo before turning to Jaken and asked, "Kirameku Ha said... that a pygmy had cursed the Nintojo just before you left my camp."
She gasped then thought, That's what the Dai Fubuki had purified! It got rid of the pygmy's curse!
Meioshi smiled then said, "Thanks, General. Right then. The pygmy must've led you to other places as an act of mischief for a reason. What did Lord Sesshomaru say or do just before you left on this journey here?"
"Huh? Oh, he went to - wait a minute! I'm not telling you anything, witch!" Jaken argued, pointing at Meioshi.
"Why not?" Homugi questioned, angry that the imp was being so stubborn.
"How 'bout you kidnapped me from the group and dragged me all over gods know where?" Jaken pointed out.
"I had a good reason!" Meioshi replied, smiling cutely at the imp and waving a hand dismissively.
"NO, YOU DIDN'T!" Jaken exclaimed, head growing large in Meioshi's eyes.
"Yes, she did!" Homugi argued, growling at Jaken and blushing frustratedly. "We're protecting a little girl we found near the holy city. That's good enough!"
"Why do I care about some kid you found? She could've been part of a trap for all you knew! That's how we wound up crossing paths with that Azumamaro in the first place!" Jaken retorted.
"Minor details!" Meioshi responded, smile changing from cute to bubbly.
"That's so not minor!" Yuko remarked. "Did Jaken's staff thing bring us here or not?"
Meioshi's smile diminished to her feral grin before she took notice to something falling out of the swirling clouds and turned to it. She then said, "Yes, actually. In fact, it brought us to the wasteland Lord Jaken and the others were trying to find."
"It did?" Jaken questioned, calming down and looking at Nintojo. "Why didn't you say so before?"
"Because you needed to do something with it," Meioshi said, kneeling in front of Jaken. "When we were with those girls who protected the snow sword, you summoned fire from your staff to burn me. Do you remember that?"
"Of course, because I was upset at your nosy apprentice over there," Jaken said, turning his eyes to Yuko with an unimpressed look.
"What'd I do?" Yuko questioned, flinching at his words and putting a hand on her chest for emphasis.
"You were asking all those personal questions about Lord Sesshomaru and his... social activities!" Jaken argued, stomping and pointing at Yuko.
"Yeah, and I figured out he'd make a crappy lover for my sensei," Yuko responded, stomping back at the imp. "He's boring, rude, in over his head about everything, and he's not even good in the sack because he hasn't been in the sack."
"Tch, amateur..." Liuxian grumbled, earning a chuckle from the doctor and a light punch to the shoulder before he chuckled himself.
"Uh, is that... important for her?" Homugi questioned, eyes shrinking with surprise.
"Well, I am returning to former hobbies now," Meioshi replied, smiling brightly. "I suppose a companion would be nice to engage in activities with."
"Didn't think bedding demons was an old hobby of yours, sis," Liuxian said, same wide-eyed, amused smirk from before.
"First of all, I'm a celibate now. That demands respect," Meioshi corrected, nose up but a feral smirk in place to show a hint of seriousness. "Second of all, I prefer human males or - if I absolutely had to choose - a kind-hearted half-demon. It is forbidden to mate with demons in my line of work. Befriend is one unique thing. Third of all, I will only consider courtship if there's fantastic sex on the line. I'll not sacrifice my being a lady for any old pervert. This, you know."
"Hot sex is the dealbreaker for you then?" Liuxian questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe a good dancer, too," Meioshi replied, rolling her eyes and throwing her arms up. A thought came to her mind before she shook her head rapidly to focus and swung her arms around as if fighting the air. "Sesshomaru's not my type anyway! Why are we talking about this? None of this has anything to do with Lord Jaken activating Nintojo's flames! "
"My thoughts exactly! How do you know whether or not Lord Sesshomaru's not a catch for a demon woman? Hm? You barely know him!" Jaken argued.
"Well, for starters, he may as well be a woman with flat ta-tas. He's as thin as crackers and still has baby pudge in his face!" Yuko commented.
She's not wrong... Meioshi thought.
"I'm pretty sure fighting a woman with access to an unknown armory, who he doesn't know, on her own property is not the brightest of ideas, so there's your lack of intelligence. I'll give him two more chances to prove me wrong in that area. There's no way he's a romantic," Yuko stated, folding her arms.
"How would you know?" Jaken screeched, blowing Yuko's hair and clothes about with the volume of his voice.
Yuko was unfazed by this, however, and simply dug in her ear to get the ringing out of it. She then challenged the imp by saying, "Name me three things that Lord Sesshomaru has done for another person that even you thought was romantic. It can't be saving someone's life from danger. We're talking regular, run-of-the-mill gestures of affection. Gifting relatives also doesn't count."
That list just got infinitely shorter... Meioshi and Homugi thought.
Jaken, unfortunately, found that he couldn't say much for that and resorted to just huffing and puffing as a response. It came to a point where he couldn't even picture it in his head. This would be so much easier if Yuko hadn't put those restrictions on him! Damn girl!
"As much as I would love to talk shit about Lord Sesshomaru, Lord Jaken has something to do. The silver star at the bottom of this hole has to be lit with Nintojo's fire. That's why you were floating in that hole before, I'm assuming. Right now, that space just under your feet is as solid as the ground we're standing on. You didn't have the means to solve this puzzle like you do now. If you truly want to help Lord Sesshomaru, help him open the gates to your wasteland. There must've been something of interest there that he wanted. Since Nintojo is well again, you might have gone to those other points for a reason beyond the pygmy's curse."
"What do you mean, doctor?" Homugi questioned.
"I think Nintojo was showing Lord Jaken where to go, but this is actually a puzzle to solve not a gate to simply find. Because he didn't solve the puzzle correctly, he must have been floating in that space for a while. Perhaps there's a specific order in which Nintojo must activate the gates. We won't know until Jaken lights the silver star below," Meioshi explained, nodding to the imp.
Jaken returned his gaze to Meioshi, now understanding why the pygmy curse threw everyone off, but hummed in thought for a moment and lowered his head. He does want to help Lord Sesshomaru as usual, but... what if Seisuiki was right about the doctor? What if she's meant to be some kind of mediator for his lord and his memories? In truth, Jaken was worried. This whole ordeal with his father was too personal, but...
"I'll light the stupid thing... under one condition..." Jaken said, lifting his head to lock eyes with Meioshi. "When you and Lord Sesshomaru first met, I felt Tokijin's excitement. He told me that the rumors about you were true. You weren't the typical opponent. I'll help you protect your little girl if you teach me how to fight..."
Hasumi was playing hide and seek with Delan and Xinya as Shishou walked with them. It was nice having playmates. Though she missed her grandfather very much, Hasumi found that she liked Shishou. He was very active and playful! Sensing something amiss, Hasumi stopped running after Xinya and turned her head to the intruder. There were shadows lurking in the trees. The monk family soon sensed it, too. Fragments of soldiers were lumbering towards them. Shishou quickly put his hand on Delan and curled a finger at Xinya to bring them closer. Hasumi was cautious but inched her way closer to Shishou. Swiftly, some of the soldiers charged at them, but Shishou very calmly covered everyone in silver flames and went on the defense. Hasumi watched with awe at Shishou's speed and combat affinity. He disarmed several shadowy soldiers before spinning rapidly in place to send them back with a holy attack.
"Delan. Xinya. Defense technique: cunning monkey," Shishou ordered, smirking a bit.
Without hesitation, the children got into defensive stances. Hasumi gasped at them. They fought together? Standing straight before getting into her own defensive stance, she summoned up some reiki energy and simply attacked whenever the others decided to. A polearm spun about before thrusting forward. Delan made quick work with using his hands to redirect the polearm downward before snapping it in half with a kick and throwing the spearhead directly at the soldier's head.
"EH?" Hasumi shouted more than questioned, pointing at Delan with her mouth dropped open and eyes wide. "You can fight, too?"
"Well, I can't have my grandchildren be completely defenseless," Shishou said, smiling gently. "Now, then, let's make sure these men don't destroy young Meioshi's clinic. After all, she's working so hard to protect you, right, Hasumi?"
Hasumi blushed before tearing up. He was right. Meioshi... was out there probably on her way to fight Azumamaro all on her own. She promised to help her. She wanted to help her. Hasumi liked the doctor. She had to be just as strong and just as brave if she wanted to help Meioshi. She couldn't let her down! But... that also meant... that she'd have to tell her the truth. That she actually did know who Sesshomaru was... because... they knew each other... when he was just a baby. Lord Toga visited her family often, especially on her parent's wedding anniversary...