Everything was cutting her from all angles, and it was dark. Not as dark as the underworld but enough for her to feel blinded again. She was flailing around to reach for anything to stop her from falling and flipping around but to no avail. Her heart was racing as she fell through the void. It was more frightening not knowing how far down she had left to fall before she splattered onto the ground than battling the titans of the underworld in their domain. At least until someone had grabbed her hand and carried her bridal style. Meioshi gasped and looked up to see Hikozaemon II holding her in his arms and flying towards some undisclosed pathway. His mouth parted and from it spewed a blood red bullet that heated the air around them to searing levels. Meioshi was confident she would burn alive from the force, but the bullet's heat left as quickly as it formed and lit the elder's way. His flames lit torches to a stone bridge. It was there where he landed and placed Meioshi down gently. The more Meioshi looked at the elder, the more she could see Sesshomaru's features in him. The sharp edges of the ears, mortiferous golden eyes, the pronounces fangs after unleashing power. It sounded like Hikozaemon II let out a gruff bark when he released the bloody fire ball. She had never flown with Sesshomaru, but she wondered if the flight was as gentle. She whispered her thanks and heard Jaken's screams from a distance. The poor imp was also flailing about, surrounded by violent sands and winds like Meioshi was earlier. She made a motion to rescue him, but Hikozaemon II stopped her and pulled his indigo cloak off him to manipulate it into a flying carpet. It caught Jaken and brought him to safety.
"Jaken," Meioshi called, rushing over to him with concern. "How on Earth did you get mixed up in this?"
"You tell me! I went after Lord Sesshomaru and wound up in your web of trouble!" Jaken argued.
"My cute grandson has some maturing to do," Hikozaemon II replied, folding his arms behind his back. He turned to gage his surroundings, but his old eyes had their limits now. Luckily, his sense of smell picked up the slack. "It appears this enemy is strictly after the girl. It would've captured anyone who was close enough to her."
"Ah, it needs leverage then," Meioshi surmised with a smirk. "That's probably Princess Gongsim's soldier. He was adamant about battling me. I didn't think he'd grow so impatient."
"A princess captured you before?" Hikozaemon II questioned, turning to Meioshi.
"Mhm," Meioshi said with a nod. "Lord Sesshomaru's mother knew her. She's the daughter of the water goddess belonging to this land."
"... Well, it's no wonder why my grandson is so taken with you. You're surrounded by battle stimulants!" Hikozaemon II remarked, leading the way.
"Eh?" Meioshi chirped cutely. "Well, it's not my fault! I hardly know anything about Goryeo or its deities! I just got here!"
"Your beauty and valor are transcendent of place, daughter of Usha. Silk Road women are simply made that way," Hikozaemon II joked with a light chuckle mirroring a scoff.
"Pfft! This one, a beauty? Surely, you are ill, elder," Jaken argued, getting up to run after Hikozaemon II.
In all his years of serving Lord Sesshomaru, Jaken had never met Hikozaemon II or had the opportunity to be this close to him. He walked very elegantly despite the situation and seemed to be one with the shadows unlike his lord who was one with the wind. It made him question things. When would Jaken ever get this chance to know his lord intimately? Or his family members for that matter? Perhaps it was a good thing that Meioshi had been challenged to battle yet again. The good doctor followed after the elder, but she did stop to gather his red flames into her hands and form armor and bandages on her body. It was like the night she met Sesshomaru for the first time. She had just recovered from her injuries in the underworld and was discussing her next phase in her mission. When she left her family's temple at the base of the cliff, there was his lordship at the edge of the forest, waiting for her to come out. She sensed his might immediately. Hikozaemon II waited for her to finish preparing for battle and was interested in Meioshi's ability to manipulate the elements. His shadow and fire powers mixed together to form dark, lightweight armor with fire-nullifying bandages. The talisman on her ankles and ears must be related to her power. Her hat's structure remained the same, but the cloth that was meant for blocking pesky mosquitoes turned into a string of bloody red fringe tassels to hide her eyes. Interesting...
"That hat that you wear. It is linked to your elemental manipulation?" Hikozaemon II asked, making Jaken turn to Meioshi to see her clothes had changed.
"When did you change clothes, silly woman?" Jaken asked, flinching at the thought of the good doctor stripping near the elder like she did on the beach with Sesshomaru. "Did you undress near the grand elder?"
"First of all, that was one time because your young lord wouldn't leave me alone while I was vulnerable," Meioshi argued calmly, turning to the side. She wasn't ashamed of the incident, just admitting that it had to be done for a reason. "Second of all, yes, my hats are like treasure chests. They hold as much as their structure allows until I use it. Lastly, no, there's no need to undress when I change into armor. That's why the talismans are on my ankles. Fighting while naked is most uncomfortable..., but I do enjoy the air sometimes!"
"You perverted fool! Keep your clothes on!" Jaken roared, pointing at the good doctor. She just smiled with a big toothy grin.
"I stand corrected. There seems to be more than one reason why my cute grandson is stimulated," Hikozaemon II said more to himself than aloud. "We will proceed to your battleground."
"Yes, elder!" Jaken said, keeping up with the man. Meioshi followed after them, observing her surroundings and analyzing the terrain. "Uh, grand elder, might I ask something of you if it is of no offense?"
"You may speak," Hikozaemon II permitted, remaining calm as he sniffed the air briefly. The corridor to wherever they were going was getting tighter. There could be salt acid traps in the walls.
"You have seen many things on these lands as an outsider, but you have made it your home for many centuries. Was your homeland very different from Nihon? How easy was it to adapt to Nihon and its language?" Jaken asked.
"Nihon was not easy to adapt to," Hikozaemon II answered, narrowing his eyes at the memories. Meioshi and Jaken caught the hint of bitterness in the elder's voice, but they let him continue. "The forest that the exiled tiangou claimed was merely an uninhabited land similar to my home, and it was the easiest to cultivate. We were surprised by the indigo plants found there and the lack of native youkai in the area, so it became a safe haven for us. Some of us were naturally gifted with carpentry and architecture, so we banded together to make strongholds and traps to keep the natives out. Our walls were enhanced by our Yaoguai, the equivalent of yoki, and the natives called our lands the Forest of the Flying Inu henceforth."
"So, the original inu clan gave your land your name?" Jaken asked with awe in his voice.
Hikozaemon II nodded before he stopped. He caught the scent of acid down the corridor. It was strong. He creeped down the corridor slowly, sniffing the air once to detect a less potent smell of acid, and caught sight of the corridor thinning and opening to three pathways. Large holes decorated the foyer. Generating his fire only in one of his hands, the elder led the way down the safest path. When all seemed fine, he took cautious steps and continued his story quietly, "Yes. We had no name for our lands other than safe haven."
"That explains what you told Lord Sesshomaru and I about the indigo cloaks!" Jaken said, nodding enthusiastically.
"A lot of us were farmers, or at least familiar with agricultural duties, so we studied the lands and any passing humans to see if a plant was safe to eat or use as medicine," Hikozaemon II said. "Those that were safe, we harvested. Some humans were purposefully frightened off to make them drop certain produce or leave behind laggard animals. What was stolen was replanted or butchered for our use. Hunting for meats was always a struggle, but we took great care to hunt in groups and feed the weak first. We were at war with the natives often. Between the wolf tribes and the inu clan, they made our way of life difficult. Our ability to fly is what saved us from death. The wolves had an agility we hadn't come across before, but they were bound to the earth. The inu were blessed by the gods and favored by some humans. Because we were built for war and lived in the shadows, the wolves looked to us for an alliance against the inu clan. They were looking to increase their political power. That was the first time we met the Wolf Elder from the North. He was an ambitious man in his prime, seeking peace among his brethren and power over all mountain youkai in the same breath. We did not accept his offer because he had intended to take our land and enslave us. The women who were with us were either our wives or sisters in arms. They would have been brutally disgraced. Denial resulted in a stronger assault against our land from the wolf tribes. The inu... played a different game. They, too, sought an alliance with us, but they were the oddest group. They would have ceased their attack on us, but we had to claim total loyalty to them. The offer seemed harmless and was expected of an alliance, but their intention was to devour us and take the land to increase their power. At the time, the inu claimed very little territory. They were largely mountain guardians. Obviously, between the wolves and the Birds of Paradise, a high place in the hierarchy was farfetched. So, they allied themselves with the gods or beings of higher power to ensure their security and numbers."
"How did they know you were once a high-ranking guardian spirit, elder?" Meioshi asked cutely.
"A mountain god sought battle with us. I accepted the challenge, believing the goddess of my homelands had sent word to the challenger. They were not associated with each other," Hikozaemon II replied, turning down a new corridor with a smaller foyer.
His ears perked up to the growls of a beast in the distance. Meioshi's eyes narrowed, feeling the ground undulate and... breathe? She knelt down to touch the sand and jumped back when she felt small hairy legs running across her palm! Using the outer line of the holes in the foyer to stand, Meioshi was surprised to feel oil on her hands and stepped back again. Hikozaemon II smelled the oil and turned to look at Meioshi's startled form. She seemed more alert and now was aware that wherever they were was inside of something alive.
He continued to speak to form a distraction, "I was not aware the inu were watching. My victory prompted them to cease their attack on us first and instead aid us against the wolf tribes. When the inu no longer had an interest in claiming our territory but forming a truce, the wolves followed suit. It was then when the intermingling started to happen. Some of the soldiers took inu wives or wolf wives. The ladies - few as they were in our army - accepted marriages to the inu or wolves. All was not peaceful, however. Those that intermingled returned to the safe haven, but they brought the children of these bonds with them. Milady, my young one's mother, was one of those children. The powers that these children obtained is what began the separation of the youkai clans. Milady gained the power of flight from her tiangou mother but the divine abilities from her inu father. One of my flirty son's playmates had the otherworldly speed of his wolf mother and the power of flight from his tiangou father. The mixing of abilities reshaped the classes of the clans."
"Interesting," Meioshi said softly, folding her arms with genuine appreciation of the elder's story. "I thought the inu like Lord Sesshomaru had existed for many years, but you're saying the inu that are around now are quite young."
"Yes. Their ability to fly was once a birthright belonging only to the crossbred children of a tiangou and an inu. It has now become a way to establish a hierarchy. The inu were already favored by the gods as masters of judgement, but it is now possible for them to obtain a higher ranking if they can learn how to fly. The Okuri-inu, our new name, was then born," Hikozaemon II said, cautiously leading the way to a foyer with sweet-smelling water.
It was an enchanted fountain. The water was glowing like a sky light was illuminating it. It made Meioshi look up to see an eye blinking at them. Within less than a second, a large creature in the shape of an elongated flea closed the large eye on its back and opened its mouth to try to consume the trio. Hikozaemon II immediately formed a cloud of shadow to discombobulate the flea demon while Meioshi took her hat off, split it to form two discs, and threw the solid top part of the hat into a wall with the salt acid in it and the bottom part of the hat with the fringe straight at Jaken's Nintojo. Umebayashi released a powerful fireball to protect Jaken, but Meioshi's fringed hat collected it before disappearing into the shadow. Abruptly, the flea demon went for Jaken and slapped him with its large claw. Hikozaemon II caught him and dodged the creature's attack while Meioshi called the acid hat telekinetically and threw it at the flea demon in retaliation. Watching the beast hiss from a lost arm being burned by the acid hat, Meioshi used her Nether Dash to zip behind the flea demon and burned its abdomen off with the flame fringe hat. Hikozaemon II used that opportunity to burn the beast to a crisp with his bloody red flames and call his shadows back.
Rumbling made both warriors look up at the ceiling again. Two more flea demons were racing towards them, but these two had grotesque, bone white masks on their faces with foot-long fangs and large, bony jaws. Meioshi threw her hat into the salt acid walls again, but the other part of her hat was doused in the glowing waters. Combining both hats, she threw the fringe double hat at the ceiling to make a slippery acid for the beasts to tumble on and summoned Baohu qi Voluptatis to deliver an ice strike. That trapped the large beasts for a while, but she was distracted long enough for a monster to jump out of the sands and consume her again.
"Doctor!" Jaken called out.
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To Sesshomaru | From Kagome & Inuyasha
Wow! Thanks for the gift, big brother! I don't know what made you want to give us something, but I actually appreciate it. Sorry if this letter sounds chaotic. The grammar isn't quite to par since I'm so goddamn distracted by KAEDE AND HER SECRET BOYFRIEND! I'm a wreck!
(P. S. I'm trying to ween myself from my old life. Giving it all up for Inuyasha has been harder than I thought.)
Your gift didn't go unnoticed, though. It helped me realize that some great changes are coming. I just need to figure out how to adjust to them. That's got me scared. Leaving my world behind... is bigger than some leap of faith. I have to be the family Inuyasha didn't have and the friend he can always rely on as we... well, grow up together, I guess. It took time for us to develop feelings and even decide to marry. I imagine it'd take more time to be a proper wife for him. Plus, he has to be the family I'm leaving behind and the friend I can gossip with. It's a lot for one person who's been ostracized for most of his life. We kind of decided not to have a wedding for that reason. It wouldn't be right to have something neither of our families could or would participate in. That's kind of the whole thing with weddings: the joining of families. Ours wouldn't be able to meet.
On a more positive note, I think Inuyasha felt the same way I did when he saw your gift. He didn't know what to do with it. It was cute! He was trying to follow your scent after you left it. He's been pacing more now, especially at night. I think he wants to tell you something about it, but he's definitely been trying to find you. This might be a long shot, but I'd like to try to have a family dinner with you all someday. I won't be seeing my family anymore, and... you'll be all I have. It'd be nice to do something that'll make this transition easier.
If you don't mind, can you keep this a secret? Inuyasha's been pacing a lot and sniffing around for someone. Oh, this is before you gave us your gift, by the way. He keeps saying he's looking for an older man. He found an old toy a while back that he's been practically sleeping with, but he said it was a special gift from his childhood. An old man used to play with him as a boy and protected him and his mother. I didn't know anything about this. Did you? When he opened up to me for the first time, his strongest memories were tied to his mother. He said he never knew his father, but this particular man is important to him. It didn't sound like the man abused him like his human relatives did, but Inuyasha recently admitted that he thought that man was his father at first. His mother told him he wasn't, and the old man was the one who told him that his mother's death wasn't her fault. Inuyasha never talks about how his mother died, but it sounded like he wasn't the only witness to her death. Besides you, I think the closest he'll ever come to knowing his father is this old man. Their time together was shorter than his time with his mother, but he's held onto that part of his life even tighter. Maybe part of this big change as we move forward together in life is getting closure from everyone.
If you don't know anything about this old man, I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe it is more responsibility to figure that out than yours. On top of this huge secret is the mystery of Kaede's apprentice. I didn't know she had one OR that she was very close to this person. While those kids were out collecting herbs, Kaede let me visit this estate where they lived. It's a nice size house with actual fencing and a barrier. It was powerful! We've traveled all over the place to track down Naraku and have met all kinds of warriors with various power levels, but I felt the weight of that barrier. It was really uncomfortable. A man about Miroku's age is there practicing advanced medicine like Kaede's apprentice, and he's raising the younger kids. I'd like to formally meet this apprentice and those kids to know why they're being separated from everyone. Rin's been dying to play with them, too!
This is a lot to keep between us, but... Could you keep one more secret, big brother? I've... been writing letters to this apprentice and putting them in a box. Call me childish but I've been hiding them in the back of that estate under some trees. I mean, there's only two letters so far, but I think that's bound to grow with all the silence going around over here. Maybe I should go find her myself. I haven't been on an adventure in a while. You'd think I'd be tired of that after everything that happened, but I'm even more curious than before. What is Kaede's apprentice like? Is she calm and collected like Kaede? Dutiful and beautiful like Kikyo was? Maybe righteous and caring like Sango? OH! I DON'T KNOW!
I'm so tired of this... Well, I better head to bed. Thanks again for your gift, big brother. I hope this means that we're rebuilding what it means to be a family despite our differences.
With love from your favorite little brother and little sister,
Kagome & Inuyasha