"Lord Sesshomaru, you're here for the bake-off, too?" Kijiro questioned.
He was wearing a green and dark blue yukata that resembled a bug's body with its pattern. Sesshomaru had returned to Heiwa just in time to see the demons hustling in a panic. Homugi let out a yelp as a burst of flour flew out of the kitchen window of the doctor's home. Reijiro and Sanraku were seated outside with the boy, speaking with Chiyumi and Kirameku Ha.
"What on Earth is happening over here?" Jaken asked.
"Miss Homugi wanted to make her mom's old cookie recipe for the baking competition," Kijiro replied. "Since she's new, she thought she'd give it a try. What's that big ruby in your hand, Lord Jaken?"
"This, dear boy, is a sugar garnet. Lord Sesshomaru went through great lengths to get it," Jaken said proudly, unable to lift the item like he really wanted but smirking nonetheless.
"Wow! It's so pretty!" Kijiro complimented, shooting in different directions to observe the sugar crystal. "Where'd you get it?"
"Secret," Sesshomaru replied, patting Kijiro on his head before peeking into the kitchen window. Homugi and Yuko were actually working together to make the cookies. It looked like some burned. The rest smelled good, though. He then turned to Reijiro and Sanraku, who were waiting on him, and said, "The Gogyo Stone has been retrieved. Any luck on the maps?"
"Actually, we might have two potential spots that the vault could be located," Reijiro answered, stepping out of the way for Homugi to run past him. "Not enough buttermilk."
"This one is too tough. Wrap it in a steamed towel," Chiyumi suggested.
"Man, this is so hard!" Homugi complained, drooping her head down.
"Cooking under pressure can be difficult, young Homugi. Take your time. Remove some of the wood from the oven and look at your ingredients again," Chiyumi offered, looking down at Kijiro who was running around her.
She smiled when he cheered, "Mr. Reijiro said add buttermilk!"
"Huh?" Homugi questioned, turning to the dark-haired inu. She pouted before saying, "But buttermilk will take away the taste."
"Those particular cookies are usually fluffy with crisp edges. The reason for the crunch along the sides and bottom is because you add a fruit filling in the center. Makes it richer in flavor with the right fruit," Reijiro offered, not looking at the blue merle beauty but impressing Sesshomaru.
"You cook?" Sesshomaru asked.
Reijiro replied, "I know that recipe. My mom used to make it. Should we leave to inspect the territory in question?"
"No. I want to attend the Youkai March for information. One of the rogues might know enough about the Yama Oroshi lands for us to infiltrate the area, or at least setup a better entry point into it. The less work, the better," Sesshomaru answered. "Have the other demons gone on their confectionary hunt?"
"Prince Yamashi's done with his. His people go with the same thing every year. They just swap toppings or fillings depending on which crops are successful for the year. I kinda like him. He's cool," Reijiro added, smirking a bit. "I didn't know he was the head of the welcoming committee for the rogues. He shows new rogues around and stuff. For someone who's lazy with festivities, he's extremely organized with his actual work. I'm thinking he'd have plenty of information to offer given his professionalism."
Homugi interrupted the conversation by plucking Reijiro's ear and folding her arms. She then said, "How come you're not baking anything, footman?"
"I'm not a rogue," Reijiro replied, not turning to Homugi but lowering his eyes and turning slightly.
"You're here a lot, though. Is the House of Inu trying to take over this land?" Homugi questioned with some worry in her voice.
"No. We're here for a different mission. San," Reijiro called, turning to his brother. "Buttermilk. Mrs. Yuko, may I borrow a bowl?"
Yuko poked her head out with curiosity and questioned, "A bowl? How big?"
"How many people are attending?" Sanraku asked.
"Um..." Yuko started, looking to the sky to think of a number. "It's mostly the kids in Old Heiwa, so I'd say a decent hundred or more. If the emperor allows the children from the kingdom to go, then you're looking at a solid two hundred."
"Hey, Grandpa Kira, got a wagon?" Sanraku asked, smiling brightly.
"You're going to make over 200 cookies on your own?" Kirameku Ha asked, raising a brow.
Sure enough, they did. Reijiro quietly went to work mixing perfect amounts of flour and sugar into large bowls while Sanraku got the buttermilk and other liquid ingredients together. The biggest shocker of all was watching Sesshomaru and Kirameku Ha slice the sugar garnet into smaller pieces with their swords for Kijiro and Jaken to smash with hammers... with Chiyumi's approval, of course. Yuko was speechless at this. What was Lord Sesshomaru going to make with that red sugar garnet? Did he even know how to bake? The big crystal made a decent five large bowls of sweetness. Once Reijiro was ready for his batch to mix, Homugi took a bowl from him and mixed it herself while locking eyes with him. She had made these cookies with her mother all throughout children. She should know how to do this! What would this infantryman know about her mother's recipe? She had that special ingredient that made all the difference! She never had these cookies with a filling for that reason! Reijiro said nothing as Homugi gave him this challenging gaze. Probably a good thing. The girl was a cutie.
Twirling his spoon between his fingers, he went to town mixing everything with ease and speed that Homugi could only marvel at in silence. Sanraku took Reijiro's bowl once the dark inu was done and immediately started pouring the mixing in perfect drops onto stone trays coated with butter. Chiyumi retrieved her serving trays and placed them on Kirameku Ha's small wagon. When a bowl became free, Sesshomaru just about made the world stop turning when he took his batch of flour and started mixing it with the garnet powder. Kijiro ran over to Sesshomaru with a bundle of sheep's milk from Meioshi's barn and sat next to Sesshomaru to watch him. He hoped his lordship would allow him to help. Jaken was also eager for his next instruction from his lord. He didn't know the young lord could bake. Chiyumi offered Kijiro a spoon to help Lord Sesshomaru perform his silent work while Kirameku Ha set up cooling areas on the engawa for the baked goods. He kept a close eye on Sesshomaru, though.
Oddly enough, Sesshomaru appointed Jaken with stirring the flour, sugar, and milk together. Sesshomaru was a bit more delicate with the butter. He held a spoon over the flames in the oven for a short period of time and sifted through it until the butter reached a texture he was comfortable with using. When he returned, he poured just enough butter in the mixture and started whipping the ingredients until the mix was fluffed like a cloud. When a tray became free, he applied very little of the remaining butter and allowed Kijiro and Jaken to spread it over the stone. Everyone just kind of sat back and let the inu men work in silence. They seemed content and worked with each other well in the kitchen. No one mixed up their ingredients by accident or anything. Sesshomaru sat his cookies outside with Kirameku Ha's cooling station ready while Reijiro and Sanraku remained in the kitchen.
"Hey, Miss Homugi?" Sanraku called, startling the blue merle beauty. She hadn't realized how mesmerized she was with Reijiro's baking skills. Hardly anything dropped on him! And those biceps...
"Y-y-yes?" Homugi questioned, shaking her head to snap out of her trance.
"Are there any lemons at Oni Girl's house?" Sanraku asked, leaning back to see where Homugi would point.
"Oh, I'll get 'em!" Homugi said in a hurry, rushing out of the kitchen to avoid questions.
"Mommy!" Kijiro called, a tidbit of fear lingering in his voice.
All the bakers stopped when they sensed an odd presence approaching Meioshi's home. Reijiro was the first and only to let out an audible growl. He placed his spoon down and walked outside to see an old man, limping about and looking around. He sat down on the ground for a moment to rest himself and let himself be overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds of Heiwa. Kirameku Ha walked up to the older man and inspected him, taking note to some suspicious details here and there.
"Who are you, gent?" Kirameku Ha asked.
"Ah, just a traveler, my lord. I am Kinzo. Is this perhaps where that beautiful doctor lived?" the old man replied. "She said this was a safe place for me. Some horrible demons were chasing us, elder! She stayed behind in the dungeons of Taifū no me Isle to free me. You have to help her if she doesn't come back!"
Kirameku Ha nodded before leaning down and saying, "Very well. I'll deploy some men for a rescue mission if she is not back by nightfall. Why don't you come with me to the ravine? I'll make sure you've recovered then."
"Oh, thank you, my lord! You are too kind," Kinzo replied, bowing low with respect and following Kirameku Ha to Meioshi's funeral home.
Author's Footnotes: Hello all! Hope you're enjoying everything so far. I'm trying out another thing for this wacky project of mine. XD Like I don't have enough for this thing! Anyways, I want to do a set of awards for you, the readers, just out of fun and curiosity. I was thinking of giving shoutouts to my readers from different countries outside of my hometown through the very made-up VPN Vision Award.
As of December 2021, when I revamped this whole story, readers from the following countries have read and visited Hell Doctor the most (in descending order): United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Hungary, and Venezuela. For your continuous support through revisits and new visits, I give you all a VPN Vision Award sticker! ... in spirit. XD Big applause for the nominees and honorable mentions! A huge thanks to you, my readers from around the world, for supporting this story. Sadly, this isn't a real award, but it's my show of gratitude to you. Thank you.
Now, for my reviewers, you need a different award. We will call yours the Episode Enthusiast Award. This honor goes to marsmagari, Eala Bhan, and Alannada. Gold, Silver, and Bronze honors, respectively. Thank you for taking the time to review my story, engage with me through messages, and recommend other stories to me. I truly appreciate you all, and I hope this story has been worth your while. This is my monster project, so I know it's a long one.