Author's Notes: This episode is a bit more focused on Milady and Hasumi as our other cast members try to race against time to solve this "unsolvable" mystery, so it might feel rushed on their end because of the shift in focus but things are simply happening in the background with them. Sesshomaru and Reijiro are working on getting the Naginata of Light just beyond the alcove, Hasumi is calling out to the pieces of the Taiyoko-sen Coin, the Green Pheasant is witnessing more memories opening up for his observance, and Meioshi is now in the Century Wasteland searching for a mysterious comb with Captain Yoshiaga. Jaken and the others are simply waiting for Meioshi to return. That's just a quick rundown to catch you up.
A friendly shoutout to Eala Bhan, who has threatened to lock Sesshomaru in a room with Meioshi because he thinks about her a lot XD, and to Alannada, our newest reader and reviewer, who has completed the tour of Heiwa and gotten the complimentary snacks XD. I do appreciate you both for dropping gems on my story and allowing me to message you in response to reviews I simply couldn't answer in notes. You are not forgotten.
"Milady?" a priestess called, almost unsure of herself.
"Oh! It's Milady!" a kudan youkai said with great surprise.
Milady was more confused than ever before at the recent turn of events. How much more of her past was meant to rise to the surface? It's been so many years since the Fukuyama family had perished. She didn't understand. Ignoring the holy people lingering within the underground tunnel to the alcove, she looked about for the grand monk and his apprentice. Judging from her son's scent in the direction of the Twin Pillars, he was closing in on Yonamine's hidden weapon. The familiar stench of the demons that killed her friends filled her nose and heart with disgust, but she was willing to ignore her obvious displeasure once she received an explanation from Shishido. Said man lumbered right up to her with Naonobu directly behind him.
"Milady," Naonobu said, bowing politely. "Apologies for our current state of hiding, but the situation is quite grim."
"Who unearthed that menace?" Milady hissed, narrowing her eyes. She wasn't about to waste any more time with formalities. They were on a time crunch.
Shishido was quiet for a moment, but he hummed gently in response and smiled cutely at her highness before saying, "I am afraid I have no answer for this. Neither of these foes have been on mortal soil since the fall of Sozosora. But... I do believe it is your time to give a young child the chance to live a happier life again."
"I, specifically, remember placing the girl in a deep sleep until these beasts were destroyed or her parents found. Are you implying that you removed her from this sleep?" Milady asked, frowning at the red cow.
"I didn't remove her, young princess," Shishido replied, shaking his head to show emphasis. "That was the work of another. I believe someone woke Lord Doppo from his spell a few years ago, and it was he that might have unearthed one of the beasts to reunite with his granddaughter."
"Lord Doppo perished centuries ago, did he not?" Milady questioned.
Shishido's smile returned with a glimmer in his black eyes before he said, "Not quite, dear. He transformed himself to watch over his granddaughter until the day she woke. I recall him saying that he met a man with an adult daughter and young granddaughter in passing. His encounter with them inspired Doppo to find his family again, even if that meant waking the beasts."
"The spell was not for him to break!" Milady snapped.
"... Is your heart so hardened that you'd willingly take a father's last living child from his hands just to satisfy a promise you did not make?" Shishido asked, silencing Milady. That struck a nerve that put fear into those surrounding the woman. Her promise to protect Hasumi until she was certain Manzo and Yonamine were, in fact, dead was not to be overlooked. Least of all by a bunch of bovine youkai. When she merely took a step back into a bit of shadow, Shishido stopped her by saying, "If you truly want to respect your late husband's memory and the promise you both made to watch over these humans, give this old man - nay, give this lovely family - peace. Take matters into your own hands, if you must, and watch the wings of fate cover this family."
"I will not let this girl die for your entertainment, ball-less bull," Milady hissed.
Shishido smiled again and said, "You and your son are one in the same. You should know by now that I do not use evil to beget evil. Your insults are no more effective than the buzzing of flies. The girl is calling on the power of those before her in order to protect the people she cares about now. She has chosen life among the living. It is time for you, young princess, to do the same with your own life. How much longer do you intend to waste away for the sake of respectability?"
"It is no waste to rule the House of Inu until my son is capable to taking the throne," Milady replied, clearly displeased with Shishido's preaching. "Acting as commander has been my greatest honor."
"It is a waste of high values if you're forcing your family to walk the earth as Toga did."
"I forced them to do nothing!" Milady finally snapped with a raised voice and lengthened fangs.
"Oh? Show me what you have done differently outside of Toga's shadow," Shishido said, taking a small tree branch from the ground with his mouth and handing it to Milady. She refused to buy into his predictions and smacked the branch away from her, not realizing that the red cow had released the branch prior to her swipe. The two locked eyes before Shishido looked down at the struck branch and saw pieces aligned in a particular manner. One that intrigued the bovine quite immensely. He then said, "Impressive. It seems you have done something different, young princess."
"Does it involve beheading you?" Milady threatened, claws extended.
"My head is too big for your little self to carry!" Shishido boasted, laughing at himself. "You and your son amuse me."
"Grand monk! Stop instigating your death, man!" Naonobu argued, scratching at the ground and stomping his hoof. "Her highness has lost patience and we're wasting time with this!"
"Nonsense!" Shishido said gently, looking at the tree branch again. "Lord Sesshomaru and Milady have unearthed a beast that actually set these events in motion. Lord Toga was quite certain that Lord Sesshomaru's ward would right the wrongs done in the boy's life, but this new beast... is here for something else. Look at the left branch, Naonobu."
The key instructor hummed in suspicion before looking at the branch quizzically. It was in an inverted position, cleanly cut from Milady's strike but torn down along the bark, and the other branches were pointed to the right while the torn one was to the left. The base of the branch was burned, but a small piece of pulp at the upper center of the branch was pointing upwards. Where the scorched end met the tear in the bark, and where the wood pulp met the cut, was what the grand monk was seeing. Naonobu understood what his mentor meant. He said, "A moment of your time to ask a question, Milady."
Milady hesitated, feeling her heart pounding irregularly. She then said, "Proceed."
"Lord Sesshomaru was in a hurry to save someone. Young Reijiro, one of the guards stationed at the Floating Citadel, mentioned that they seemed to be close acquaintances - friends would be pushing it. Would you happen to know the name of this person?" Naonobu asked.
"No... but he did mention someone was helping him find the Meido Stone," Milady answered.
"I'm wondering if the daughter or granddaughter that Doppo met those years ago is the friend that Sesshomaru is going to lose," Shishido said with a hum of thought.
"Will the Tenseiga not work on this person?" Milady asked. "You are saying this acquaintance is a female?"
"Honestly... I don't want it to," Shishido replied, earning a flabbergasted look from Milady. Why would a priest want someone to perish? It didn't make any sense. "There is a reason why this beast has surfaced and why the Meido Stone was targeted in recent days. Whether this person is familiar to the boy or not, regardless of the gender this beast is, it is here to destroy your world... but not in a negative way. This beast flourishes in conflict and aids in finding true peace for others but at a price to itself. Using Tenseiga will stop this creature from doing what it was meant to do. The fact that this creature has made you return to mortal soil twice of your own volition should have made you more suspicious of it, but you don't even know it's name and didn't think to pester your son about it. You only know that it has been with Lord Sesshomaru at least long enough to earn his trust. It even gave Hasumi the strength to come out of hiding when you wouldn't have even known she was woken from sleep. Though I have a doubt, it is possible that this same creature gave Lord Doppo hope again. It is quite interesting indeed. I sincerely hope that Tenseiga doesn't work... simply to see the price that must be paid."
"You will let my son be hurt in favor of curiosity?" Milady questioned.
"I will always be curious. It is part of who I am. Will you choose respectability over your son's pain?"
Milady said no more and stomped off at the red cow's words. Shishido didn't mind this, however. He merely smiled at her and let Milady simply choose... to be a mother...