He hated her so much sometimes. He'd show her. This Lord Sesshomaru was a merciless killer. That ridiculous woman, Jigoku Meioshi, will rue the day she messed with the great - !
"Would me lord like to play a prank on that insolent, irresponsible, ignorant woman?" Jaken asked darkly and mischievously. He was grinning from ear to ear. Literally. "Her sleeping quarters have to be close by, yes?"
"That is childish, beneath me, and will only be a temporary relief," Sesshomaru replied, narrowing his eyes. "However..., it is not something beneath you, Jaken. Her quarters should be easy to find, given how similar everything is to Heiwa's aesthetic."
"Oh me, oh my, whatever shall I do? Hm, hm, hm!" Jaken hummed with thought, scratching his chin with his claws maniacally. He had a thought and perked up immediately. "Oh, I've a marvelous idea! Nintojo will enjoy this!"
At the sound of its name, Nintojo twitched until Umebayashi's eyes popped open and remained wide. Whatever it was that Jaken had in mind, the hag was definitely and ominously intrigued. No one knew this, but Umebayashi had swallowed the Gogyo Stone of Fire while on Satsujin Island. Any excuse Jaken had to use the staff's power excited her the most.
"Starting a fire would be most expensive to fix and be a reason for war... Proceed," Sesshomaru said, walking through the living quarters to figure out where he'd be. He can't ask Yamashi since he's currently... fixing Yuko's lantern. Maybe he could ask [Nihipali]? "Just don't set my quarters ablaze."
"Oh, wait, where are we staying, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken asked, making Sesshomaru stop for a brief moment before he went in the direction of his mother's scent.
"The ship more than likely," Sesshomaru replied.
"Absolutely not!" a familiar voice shouted with outrage.
It was Ohta. He was crossing his arms in an X and puffing his cheeks quite cutely while the young emperor of Heiwa was snickering at him. He had to be complete with his tour of his temporary school with the emperor. Both boys were walking together like best friends and carrying shopping bags. The emperor had very few guards with him, but, after he revealed his true powers to Sesshomaru and the others, his lordship reasoned that young Kunimatsu had no need for them. That was quite impressive and honorable for his age. He underestimated Kunimatsu when they met at his palace. He would make a formidable ruler indeed.
For the briefest moment, Sesshomaru saw himself in Kunimatsu the most, especially with his white kimono set and princely jewelry. While Sesshomaru never paid attention to his looks, he was aware of his effect on others. He supposed that's why he understood Kunimatsu to some degree. The boy couldn't have been aware of his appearance to others because the human maids sneaking a peek at him were blushing and giggling away. Sesshomaru didn't have loyal guards when he was younger and trying to take over the House of Inu, but he does now in a way. Reijiro has yet to discover that the person he wants to protect is Sesshomaru - at the least the younger version of him - and Sanraku has shown interest in the ways of a guardian youkai, which Sesshomaru had become as a protector to Jaken, Asa no Sara, Rin, Kagura, and Kohaku. Kunimatsu was being accompanied by his own men, but they must have been men he clearly trusted. Otherwise, Sesshomaru doubted Kunimatsu would be around anyone other than Meioshi given his story.
Ohta was a direct copy of Meioshi. He was carrying his shopping bags, deer horn weapons, and school satchel on his person nonchalantly. His wavy hair would gain much attention from the young workers here if [Nihipali] and Yamashi were right about the humans working for demons willingly. He was dressed in a seductive red kimono set and carried himself more like a man each time Sesshomaru saw him. The boy disguised as a young maiden was fully gone, it seemed. Meioshi was going to be a wreck. Ha. With the commotion at sea calmed down, the boys were able to explore Goryeo just as children. It looked like Ohta was just coming back to the boats to pack his purchases away. Too much stuff to carry. Sesshomaru sniffed in the boys' direction to make sure they didn't have any Goryeon wines on their person since their guardian just ran off with a big helping of booze! Silver lining: they were more responsible!
"You're not sleeping on any boats while I'm here! You're in a totally different territory. You could float to heaven knows where! Mom has some options for you and your group since your caravan is six deep. I came here to tell you that," Ohta said, turning his head to the side while putting his hands on his hips.
"What options?" Jaken asked, curious about this detail. The doctor planned so far ahead?
"I can show you all of them," Ohta said, putting his arms down. Nodding to Kunimatsu, he then continued, "Nima-kun wanted to see the changes to the docking houses. His quarters are between the docks and the edge of town. I just came back for my key."
"Key?" Jaken questioned.
"To my lodging. I'll be with the emperor mostly, but mom's letting me stay at her clinic and quarters while she's gone like usual. She'll be back earlier than the others because of the funerals for her family," Ohta explained, running over to a tree to put a colorful paper in it. Afterwards, he knocked on the tree to pop open its bark and reveal a small door. Retrieving his key, he placed it on his person and walked back over to Lord Sesshomaru. "So, where would you like to go first?"
"... Did you tell her about your wish then?" Sesshomaru asked, making Ohta gasp. "You're saying 'mom' a lot more than usual."
"Oh, uh, I - !" Ohta stammered, blushing and tearing up a bit. He shook his violently to snap out of it and started shouting, "D-d-do-don't change the subject! Where do you wanna go?"
"You didn't say anything about the places. Only that you were told that foolish woman had options for the House of Inu's royalty," Sesshomaru replied, closing his eyes to relax himself. Well, at least he didn't have to sniff around for information.
"You're in luck, Lord Sesshomaru!" Ohta cheered, no longer crying or shouting. Yup, just like his mother. Ohta clapped his hands together much like he did when Sesshomaru saved him from those samurai at the okiyas and put on that bubblegum smile Meioshi was notorious for. "You have three lovely places to choose from! There's the fashionable greenhouse lodging with gorgeous paper lanterns, the pagoda overlooking the rolling hills, and the luxurious dock house for all extra guests and stowaways. Just say the word and I'll escort you to your humble quarters."
"Oh. That's what you meant by changes. When was a greenhouse added?" Kunimatsu asked out of genuine curiosity.
"Pfft! This is Jigoku Meioshi we're talking about. Of course, she'd have a greenhouse," Ohta said, waving a hand. "I'm more surprised that she's not staying in it. She has that medicine lab in the back of it."
"Ah, she has a few patients here, too?" Kunimatsu asked, earning a nod from Ohta. "I didn't know she visited this country so often."
"Only when Yamashi will be out longer. The okiya children all came here one year for schooling, but we didn't go much further than the docks. This is my first time seeing the town," Ohta explained. "I don't remember anyone saying they would revisit here. I don't think we didn't like it, but it didn't call out to us like the other places."
"I am intrigued by the pagoda. Are you not staying there, young Emperor Kunimatsu?" Jaken asked, hiding his arms in his sleeves. He took note of Ohta's words very carefully. He had almost forgotten that Meioshi was imprisoned in hell for a few years and recovering from that prolonged stay. The timeframe when she was out of Ohta's life was curious one.
"Oh, I am. Lady Meioshi must mean the lower compound," Kunimatsu said, turning around to point at his living complex near some hills. Sesshomaru and Jaken took note that it was exactly like the palace in Heiwa. It was smaller, but it was much closer to Meioshi. "It has extra lodging at its base floor for my teachers. Since I'll be in town with Ohta for school this year, my teachers won't be visiting me. I'll be going to them, and my lessons will also be cut shorter this year. Lady Meioshi is returning to her duties as the trifecta leader, so I have to be present for many events back home. Depending on Lord Yamashi's business projections, I'll be returning to Heiwa a month or two before him. He's usually the last to leave. You're more than welcome to use the base floor as lodging."
"What is the meaning behind a 'trifecta leader'? You are the emperor, are you not? Why the need for other supposed leaders?" Jaken asked in Sesshomaru's place.
"Hmph!" Kunimatsu started with an amused grin. "You have been curious about Lady Meioshi's duties ever since I met you. If you wish to learn about the trifecta of Heiwa in more detail, we will have to discuss this in private. After I finished shopping, however. I saw sweets!"
SWOOSH! BOOM! Dust cloud and sunflowers floating about.
"I heard snacks..." Hasumi said menacingly.
"Race you to the market after Ohta puts away his things!" Kunimatsu challenged gleefully.
"You're on!" Hasumi accepted, pointing at the emperor.
"I have some escorting to do. You two go on," Ohta said, placing a hand on his chest and shooing the eager tots away. Without hesitation, Kunimatsu and Hasumi bolted to the markets for snacks while the emperor's guards flinched at their master's speed and chased after him. "So then, which lodging would you like to tour first?"
"Must I bother myself with such unimportant things?" Sesshomaru asked with a frown.
"It's either that or the storage room! I should warn you. No one cleans it!" Ohta cheered, annoying both Sesshomaru and Jaken. He is entirely too much like his mother.
"So be it. Parchment," Sesshomaru ordered, confusing Ohta and Jaken. "I have letters to write."
______________________________________________________________
"Mmm, oh! Lower please. Yeeesss..."
"Meioshi! People can hear you! Have some decency!" Homugi ordered, blushing.
She joined Meioshi in the bathing house of the youkai complex and let the masseuse give her a full body massage. He was a handsome human with very steady hands and closed eyes. Unfortunately, the good doctor was completely nude and in total bliss while the guy was surprised by her reactions to his handiwork and often had to figure out where to look that wasn't her shapely butt or the sides of her healthy bosom. He cussed himself out for not choosing a maid to do this. This was frustrating! The bathing house had a proper wooden sauna area and a waterfall to collect pure rainwater and filter it through the house. Meioshi and Homugi were on the stone tables meant for acupuncture. After Meioshi had performed an odd ritual on the tables and drew glyphs on them, she undressed, flopped onto the table, and let whatever magic was in the stone table radiate throughout her body. She was glowing at first. Homugi took an interest in the bathhouse since she was looking to open one in the future and flopped onto the table herself. When the magic started flowing through, there were certain spots that irritated the blue merle beauty. So, she had been trying to copy Meioshi for a while.
Opening one eye to Homugi, she smirked mischievously and teased the blue merle beauty by asking, "Would you prefer massaging me, my knight?"
Homugi blushed brightly, looked at the audience for assistance, and then shouted, "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"
"Think of this as training, my Homugi," Meioshi instructed, reaching into a bowl of water quite casually and retrieving a single stone. "Massages require extensive knowledge of all major pressure points throughout the body and the lines that connect them to others. It's how I perform a lot of my medical practices. You are in pain because there is a point in your body where your inner essence, or yoki in this case, is unable to travel through the channels connecting two major points. Finding the channel and opening it is required to heighten your power and have greater control over your weaknesses, motions, thoughts, and emotions. From the sounds of it, there is a disconnect around your pubic bone and stomach channel. You need greater care in those areas, not necessarily the others."
"Wh-why those areas?" Homugi asked.
"Emotional exhaustion is directly related to the stomach channels, and it's possible that you will develop a digestive disorder or immune deficiency if you don't take care of yourself properly now, especially when you reach old age. You've been stressed for some time," Meioshi said professionally. It was enough to make the masseuse pause for a moment to seriously take mental notes before he continued with purpose. "If you had remained where you were before we met, you would have become ill quickly. Food would lose its quality and taste, and you would not wish to eat. The pubic bone governs your sense of taste and your perception of yourself and the world around you. It is interesting to me that you want to run a bathhouse because the element associated with the pubic bone is water, and your capacity to show empathy is also tied to this major point. You can learn much from this stone table. Look at the circles that are glowing and the bowl of water lifting."
"Huh?" Homugi gestured, hopping up to see that her table was glowing.
She forgot that she was half-naked as she looked at the chalk lines tracing the outline and bone structure of her body. A big orange circle was glowing where her pubic bone was, and the bowl of water next to her was pulsating synchronously with the orange circle. Looking at Meioshi, she could see her table was glowing yellow.
"Wh-what does yours mean?" Homugi asked, leaning over to see more of Meioshi's table.
"... My heart is still broken, I'm afraid. That's the channel that's weakest. Along with my kidney channels. I could develop a breathing condition, heart disease, and loss of memory if I am blessed with old age after this war with my enemy," Meioshi said. "My element is fire and, ironically, my sense of sight is tied directly to my center. I am glad, though, my Homugi."
"Glad that you have a broken heart!?" Homugi questioned.
"No. I am glad because I am healing," Meioshi said with a warm smile. She lifted herself up, summoned up a bit of fire from the bowl of wax next to her into her hand, and pressed the flame down onto the table. Two channels reconnected with her yellow circle. "I can taste my freedom so much clearer now! I can see it! It's almost within my grasp!"
"... Will that... happen to me? When I reconnect everything, will that happen to me?" Homugi asked, looking at her table. She had to complete this training then. She had to! She just had to!
"Yes. You will take back what is yours only when you complete this training," Meioshi said, putting the flames out by crushing them in her hands. "Until then, I will be in the sauna. Try a different masseuse."
"Okay," Homugi said to herself, determined to reconnect these odds and ends.
She flopped back down and just listened to the water. Every now and then, she would watch Meioshi breathe and walk around for a comfortable spot before she finally covered herself in a towel and robe and just relaxed. As the two relaxed, Homugi felt a pair of rough, patient hands on her back. It felt nice. She supposed the maid had left for something and asked for a replacement. The demons were quite kind to their human servants. Homugi forgot that Meioshi didn't like that term because of the negative implication so heavily tied to it, so the blue merle beauty had to remember not to keep doing it. It was a force of habit she would gladly get rid of. Hearing something pop, she let out a small hum and sigh. Ah, so this is what Meioshi was feeling. This does feel nice.
Hearing a familiar dark purr, she heard a man's voice ask, "Are you always so tense, little rogue?"
Homugi's eyes snapped open immediately before she caught a case of whiplash from turning too fast and spotting Reijiro leaning over her and a small quip of his lips.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
CRASH! BAM! BOOM! BOOM!
Homugi was pitching whatever she could get her hands on at the shadowy inu soldier. He did manage to hide away behind something, but it was more like he was evading further attack.
"Now, now, hear me out...! You were covered," Reijiro tried from behind a rock wall and some ferns.
"I didn't give you permission to touch me!" Homugi roared. Poor Meioshi remained as still as a statue to avoid catching any stray fire. Homugi as a cleaning force was already tough to reckon with. Homugi defending her honor? Looks pretty bad.
"It sounds bad when you put it like that, but I was just relaying information! Lord Sesshomaru picked out our lodging. He told me to ask you about yours," Reijiro tried again, seeing a large wash bowl and using it as a shield.
"So, you sneak up on women and touch them inappropriately to send news? You're mad!" Homugi argued, grabbing a metal rake to strike Reijiro with it.
"It's not even like that! You're at a massage spot. I thought it was cool!" Reijiro tried again, blocking a knife being thrown at him with the bowl. The bowl broke into pieces from impact and scared him enough to fall on his butt.
"IN WHAT UNIVERSE!?" Homugi roared. "What kind of creep are you? Get the hell outta here and away from me!"
"Okay, okay, okay! But the lodging - !"
"OOOOOUUUUUUTTTTT!"
Sensing the burst of hyper-yoki emanating from Homugi, Reijiro bolted out of there without another word. Meioshi tried to hide her snickering, but she was on Homugi's side on this one. You shouldn't touch a woman or a man without their permission. It's a matter of respect and etiquette. In Reijiro's case, however, his interest in Homugi was much clearer with that action. He's not a disrespectful man from the looks of it, just secretly clumsy and a bit enamored with the blue merle beauty. Had been since the Henka no Koshin festival. They were quite cute as a pair, but Meioshi took note of Reijiro's behavior. She would monitor him in case of danger for Homugi's sake.
________________________________________________________________
"Now then, how should I spoil Meioshi's evening? How, how, how?" Jaken asked, pacing back and forth in his room.
He spotted the parchment in Sesshomaru's room and snuck over to it. He scribbled something very quickly, tested Nintojo's flame abilities, and was able to transform the parchment into an origami bird.
"Yes! Fly, my pretty! Find Lady Meioshi," Jaken commanded, hopping on his feet with evil excitement.
The bird fluttered away and out of the window, but not without Lord Sesshomaru spotting it. He followed it until it reached the good doctor as she was retrieving a lantern from the ground. It was larger than a room's light, but it lit up her face quite nicely. She took it a humble abode where the maids and workers were coming in and out until they stopped to speak to her. It was nighttime, after all.
"Oh, doctor! How was the steam this time?" a maid asked. She was a bright and cheery girl.
"Perfect, my dear! You've improved greatly! Who brilliantly soaked the stones in herbs to add that marvelous fragrance?" Meioshi asked.
"I did," the young boy from earlier replied shyly.
"An excellent idea, Yong-Su! Have you all been treated well?" Meioshi asked. "Your Nihonese has gotten practically flawless!"
"We've been practicing," the maid replied, sitting down to properly speak to Meioshi. "The masters have been kind to us. Won't you visit more, though? We miss you."
"Are you ready to say your name, little one?" Meioshi asked softly, placing her hands under the girl's chin. "You seem to be cured of muteness."
"I... am Tae-Yun," the maid answered, tearing up.
"Tae-Yun, a beautiful name. Have you all been practicing your defense lessons as well? You're far too pretty and too young to be vulnerable," Meioshi lectured, touching Tae-Yun's nose and winking.
"Yong-Su's gotten really good. Him and Ohta plan to spar tomorrow," Tae-Yun revealed.
"If you all keep doing good, you'll be able to learn new things this year. You all are very intelligent, and Ohta is looking forward to becoming a teacher himself," Meioshi said. "It'll take some serious doing, but I'm sure we can form a study abroad program for you all. You all learn so quickly. That way, I'm able to visit you more and care for your ill like before."
"Sah! Ohta is so cute! Just like your emperor!" one of the other maids gushed.
"Oh, look, doctor! A flying paper bird," an older maid pointed out.
Meioshi smirked at the magic object, walked up to it, and caught it in her hands. As the bird was unwrapping itself, Meioshi enclosed the bird in a reiki barrier and watched it implode into flaming, feathery, papery pieces. The good doctor didn't say anything, but she did play with her barrier bubble like a ball. Jaken may have failed in pranking her, but he gifted Sesshomaru with another view of Meioshi's playful smile as their first night in Goryeo proceeded on.
Such a magical place...