Author's Notes: Alright, good people, we're getting into some interesting territory for this chapter. It's not a love scene in the "graphic" sense of the phrase, but it does involve a bit of love in the literal sense. I wouldn't take it as being romantic, personally, but I wouldn't penalize you for seeing things that way either. This episode is essentially filler content for both Sesshomaru and Meioshi. You can skip this episode if you like. The next main episode is titled Shizukesa, the Forest Ogress. After that, it's full steam ahead with Meioshi and Sesshomaru reuniting as a full party, so whoever was part of their respective teams will join together through some mutual means. Sesshomaru can pretty much choose which party members he'll want to take on certain missions for the House of Inu by this point. More shenanigans on the way! XD
"...She had a dream of a lover's star sparkling in a moonless sky..."
~ Yuko to Homugi, The Forest of Lurking Beasts I (Chapter 85)
The beauty of painting the landscapes of the world was never lost to him. As out of place as he was - nay, as he felt - he could tell that he was at the mercy of a skilled hand in this world of art and nature. Hopping through bamboo trees were small rabbits fleeing past him to get to the other side of the canvas where a cliff was just beyond his sights. When his eye followed the little bunnies to the cliff, he watched them take flight into the night sky that was being painted. The moon and stars were freshly plotted against the paper. There was nothing he could touch. Fearful of ruining the portrait world, he merely walked through it as the alerted subject. Panda bears followed him until they took an interest in a tasty treat among the trees. He turned to watch them climb and chew cutely. When he started to see kanji being written in the background, he turned to see the words and proceeded to try to read them. He couldn't make much of the words with exception to a singular phrase...
The Box of 130 Wishes...
An odd line for a haiku poem. Perhaps it wasn't a poem at all. Maybe that was the title of the painting. He pushed on until he saw his family talking at the Wish Tree. They were plucking papers from the tree, but the papers ripped up in their hands. They jumped back with shocked or alarmed expressions on their faces. From the shredded remains of the papers formed what looked like millions of colorful butterflies migrating elsewhere. Oh, no, he wasn't following them this time. Instead, he found a spot that seemed to be missing color and texture within the realm of the painting. Curious, he walked over to it and simply stared at it. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he couldn't turn away from this one white spot. It wasn't a moon, a star, a mound of snow, or a bundle of clothes. It was just an empty space. Perhaps the painter forgot about it? Surely, there was something that could fill this void. Turning away for a moment, he could feel eyes surrounding him. His family was no longer speaking, only watching him. It alarmed him, their silence. The butterflies all stopped moving. They were no more than wallpaper. The rabbits flying in the sky watched him go just as the pandas watched him pass. It was eerily quiet now.
The Box of 130 Wishes...
The words were clearer and closer to him. They were the distorted image of the world, a lurking predator that the other prey feared. Perhaps the words were a warning of what was to come. The further away from the path he went, the closer the words came and the bolder and fresher the paint became. Going back to where he started was not an option. He walked back to the spot to try again. The silence never changed and the eyes never moved, but the sound of birds chirping did arise and the words faded away to return to their original spot. The world was too beautiful of a place to continue staring at this nothingness. There had to be some way to get the painter's attention to fill this void. A flower would be better than nothing! He tried inspecting the white patch for a clue, but it was empty space with very little wind passing through it. This emptiness was getting on his nerve! Instead of going back the way he came, he reasoned that perhaps he should keep going forward, but, when he stood up to move, he froze in place and his heart moved uncomfortably. He was surrounded by these dark entities with beaming orange or beaming yellow, beaded eyes towering over him. They didn't have teeth or mouths, but they had long limbs and claws.
"The box," one of the horned creatures said.
Its voice made his mouth dry up. He started to get hot. It was getting really hot. He tried to swallow, but it felt like there was cloth in his mouth. Claws like twigs and branches crept around his body and pulled him back. He was too frozen to fight back. He could only see this one horned creature looking at him as he was being dragged to the ground. Paint was being dumped on him. Teeth were tearing into him. His clothes were being shredded. Paint bristles were jabbing his eyes until the horned creature morphed into a distorted figure that struck fear into him.
"The box," it said again.
A bright light and a gust of wind blinded his vision further until he felt wind and light all around him. The painting was gone. The words were no more. He wasn't being attacked. He felt like he was floating instead. He wasn't as naked as he thought he'd be. He wasn't as bloody as he thought he'd be. He merely watched the faceless woman from before shush him and clean him. She wasn't a red sage anymore. She was instead as white as the spot on the painting. Her waters were pure and her cloth vaguely familiar.
"My poor butterflies," she said sadly. Her hat much larger than before and somehow familiar to him. He's seen this hat before. From where? She then said again, "My poor butterflies."
He looked around to see what she was talking about, but there were no butterflies in the white void. At least, not flying. The green swallowtail was on a small pillow, lying dead on its side. He reached out to touch it, but it was so stiff against his finger. He felt himself shed a tear. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming and he couldn't stop them. His tears kept falling and falling until he realized he was no longer just floating in space. His tears became a small stream for the sage's boat to travel on.
"My poor butterflies," the White Sage repeated.
"What happened to her?" he asked, not understanding why he was so sad for this one creature.
"Those monsters hurt her!" the White Sage cried. "But... she gave herself up to help you fix your wings. Forgive yourself, my butterfly. She loved you."
"I've done nothing worth forgiving," he said, taking the swallowtail into his hands. He mourned for her.
"She gave herself up to help you fix your wings. She loved you," the White Sage repeated. "She loved you."
In his hands, the butterfly turned to dust and his tears showed the outline of his new wings. They weren't fixed, but they were healing. A flash of red zipped past the White Sage, causing her to sigh with a new love in her voice. She picked up whatever had boarded the boat and said, "Little ones! What are you doing here?"
"Swallowtail wants us to give him hope," the voices said in the White Sage's cupped hands. "We have to paint him with pretty colors when he's ready!"
"Which one of you is here to help him first?" the White Sage asked.
"I am!" a small voice said. From the sage's cupped hands came a small ladybug. It flew around him to wrap him in a soft blanket and kissed his cheek to stop his tears. He looked down at the bug now on his knee and waited for it to speak. He could see that it had three spots on its back. "Hello!"
"I don't want to be painted," he said softly.
"Oh, I'm not here to paint you. I'm here to carry your name," the ladybug responded.
"My... name?" he asked.
"Uh-huh!" the ladybug replied with a cheerful nod. "Swallowtail said she would come back to visit you from the afterlife, but I had to carry your name."
"Why does my name matter?" he asked.
"I don't know... Lord Sesshomaru," the ladybug replied. "The swallowtail just said that she would."
"You spoke my name already. Carry it to Swallowtail," Sesshomaru replied.
"You have to whisper your name to me, Lord Sesshomaru. Your voice has to reach the swallowtail. C'mon, Lord Sesshomaru! Whisper your name!"
"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru! Wake up, Lord Sesshomaru!" Kijiro said, shaking Sesshomaru's arm.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Jaken said, cringing at the small child's actions.
Kijiro was at the engawa of Kirameku Ha's home, where Sesshomaru decided to sleep, but he simply couldn't get the western lord to get his big butt up! He and Mama Mei-Mei were a lot alike when it came to oversleeping.
Ohta hummed with thought as he looked down at the peaceful sleeper. He then had a dangerous thought and crept over the lord's body to simply stare at him for a moment. Mischievously, the teen said in his softest, most seductive voice, "My lord, I can't serve you if you're still asleep. You won't be able to perform well like this... My lord? My lord? QUICK, MEIOSHI'S IN TROUBLE! SHE DOESN'T HAVE HER WEAPONS!"
WHOOSH! Ohta and Kijiro let out a yelp of surprise when Sesshomaru shot up to reveal part of his sword... but the western lord saw no danger and was only met with a frightened Jaken and chewing Aa-Un. Said dragon huffed like they were laughing.
Kijiro then said, "Wow! How'd you know that was going to work, big brother?"
"I didn't," Ohta said, rubbing his head and spitting out loose dust from Sesshomaru's speed. "I thought the breakfast thing would've done the trick."
"You could've said Jaken was in trouble, young Ohta," Kirameku Ha suggested, folding his arms. "The reaction would've been the same. I thought you said you no longer wished to use those tactics from the okiyas?"
"Kijiro flopped on the dude like three times and it still didn't wake him up!" Ohta replied, helping said child up to his feet. "That was all I could think to do."
"Why your mother specifically?" Kirameku Ha asked out of curiosity.
"He was like that when I met him. Those pointy ears perked up when I said her name," Ohta revealed, making Sesshomaru growl. "Are those new guys training with us, Lord Kirameku Ha?"
"This, I do not know, young Ohta," Kirameku Ha replied. "Your training will begin later than usual. I've to meet with some soldiers in half an hour. Study the scripts and meditate until I return. We will proceed accordingly."
"Okay!" Ohta and Kijiro cheered, running off to the training grounds. "Bye, Lord Sesshomaru! Don't forget to eat breakfast!"
"Who are you meeting?" Sesshomaru asked, watching the kids run off before turning his gaze to the old man.
"Retired soldiers mostly. They wish to see Meioshi's funeral home. It was undamaged, luckily. Things will proceed as planned with it," Kirameku Ha answered.
"Hi, Lord Kirameku Ha!" Kyoko greeted happily, waving before rushing off to Meioshi's bestiary museum. "Be back with those goblin scrolls you asked for!"
"Watch your step, young Kyoko," Kirameku Ha warned, nodding to some rocks she was liable to trip on. The girl said her thanks and watched out for other trip hazards. "She must be organizing the library with the boys today. Hopefully, they won't get too distracted with the taxidermy assignments."
"Does she have parents?" Sesshomaru asked quietly, watching Kyoko disappear from his line of sight.
"Her mother, Tsukushi. I don't know what happened to her father," Kirameku Ha replied. "Her mother knows where she's going a majority of the time during school break. Kyoko prefers to be with young Meioshi to learn more about science and to play. She and the boys seem to find enjoyment in her teachings."
"Why did you request goblin scrolls?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Meioshi knows their language. I was curious of her knowledge of them," Kirameku Ha answered, hearing the gong of the hour. "I must leave for a moment. You are welcome to travel however you wish until my return. Obviously, you know Kyoko and the boys will be at the museum. Ohta and Kijiro will be at the training grounds between my home and Meioshi's estate. You need merely follow the Zen path. If you need something from me, I will be at the funeral home. There is food left for you in the kitchen."
"Hey," a familiar voice called.
Kirameku Ha and Sesshomaru turned to Reijiro dressed in reasonably normal clothes. He definitely looked human by appearance in his cinnamon and bright green kimono. It actually surprised both men that he would have such attire in his small wardrobe. He must not have anticipated much going on in being Sesshomaru's temporary guard. His hair was even combed into a nice topknot, but the bottom of his hair exposed his black and white spots - a trademark of his inu heritage quite visible to the humans.
"Are you headed to oni girl's house? My bro's been talking to that pheasant since we got here. I don't know if he lodged in her house or not," Reijiro explained.
"Ah, he probably did. The Green Pheasant usually stays at her home regardless of its condition. If not, he's probably at the guest house she has next to the clinic. It's open. Of course, he very well could've gone to the guest inns in the youkai district. Those are usually open to newcomers as well," Kirameku Ha suggested calmly. "His options are practically endless."
"Oh, you look good, bro," Sanraku said, taking a bite out of a meaty bun.
"Where the hell you'd just come from?" Reijiro questioned, brow twitching.
"Hm? Oh, that big red guy brought me some buns," Sanraku answered, pointing to Lord Aka. He was trading something for shinier items from the looks of it. "He said he was preparing gifts for his old friend's funeral. He went to look at oni girl's cliff."
"She opened the cliff?" Kirameku Ha asked in a demanding tone, unfolding his arms to do so.
"Uh, not yet, sir," Sanraku replied. "He just said that the barrier was being lifted. It's weakened."
Kirameku Ha was silent at this, but the boys could see that the old man's shoulders were shaking. He turned to the direction of Meioshi's home and tried everything he could to resist the urge to run to the cliff. He had to wait. If Meioshi was opening the gates to the hell traveler's domain, then... she was ready to say goodbye to her family... and... to release their souls...
Author's Footnotes: According to the AuntyFlo blog, the ladybug was known as a lucky charm and symbol of love. The imagery you see here is in accordance with this supposed myth/superstition. Also, who doesn't like ladybugs? XD They're so cute!