Kuroi-Nurikabe part 2

Jaken was leading the way this time. Memories of the few years that have passed seemed to float to the front of his mind as Sesshomaru was led away from the sea of hills at last. A mirage, he believed, is what you could have called the shift from moving hill to the cloudy sight of pasteur, but he was more inclined to call these subtle flashbacks a side effect of being in the Blood Oath's Circle for that short period of time. Or, perhaps, it only seemed short to him. It was evident that since his last encounter with Lady Meioshi some hours had passed well into the next day. Stopping, the young lord watched as Jaken pointed his staff upwards to let the heads speak. His task was meant to be simple: find the wolf's holding place. It should smell of the Netherworld's flames and a hinoki tree, be large in dimensional space, covered in snow and ice to match its home, and be locked away by powerful divine protection. If it's trapped in between planes of existence, a portal should exist somewhere in order to enter or exit from the prison. This new journey would be trying of his patience, but it was unlike visiting his father's stone tomb.

Before, it would have irked him to have to return to the stone tomb, but his search for Tessaiga was no more. Seeing the tomb did nothing for Sesshomaru when he started his search, but seeing the towering remains of his father woke a careful assortment of emotions for Sesshomaru as though someone had chosen each one to resurface and blanket his eyes. He hadn't thought about it before, but he couldn't quite pinpoint the lack of emotion when seeing the tomb. While Sesshomaru respected his father so much more now, he still had a great amount of respect for him then. He only disagreed with the necessity for compassion not the heroism through his legacy. For an unknown reason, he started to wonder about the wolf. That offensive doctor and her young friend, Yuko, established that the wolf was a lost soul. When Sesshomaru felt death's chill enter the living world, it seemed far from being a recoverable soul. The number of people and demons it had already devoured and used to form its body was great. Perhaps that was the key he didn't see. Though it devoured many, it had a clear mind and specific intentions. It knew exactly who it was looking for and was only reminded that another person was lost to it. Otherwise, the creature was of no threat to anyone but who and what it was hunting. It didn't harm innocents up until a certain point.

The doctor created that point. Somehow, she, or the deity he saw with her, sent the wolf to a new location. Jaken climbed up onto a boulder and let the staff move again. It had them turn and move forward. The change in direction gave the western lord more time to think about things. Of major concern to him was the memory of his father's stone tomb. Why did that come up? Was it the familiarity of the situation? No. Lady Meioshi had the missing sword, so it would have been best to simply return to Heiwa. That made him wonder about the village again. He had almost forgotten that he stormed into the War Room of his childhood home and practically stole one of his father's old maps with Heiwa's information on it. There was little known about the village other than what was seen, but it was a beautiful place. Only the demons really knew him, but they weren't obnoxious in trying to serve him. No one was. He was... just a stranger passing by. He wasn't an enemy, he wasn't a lord in the traditional sense of the word, he wasn't a close friend to anyone, he was just there, and they seemed genuinely happy just to have him as a visitor. How did that girl or her family garner such peace?

Then, it clicked. His father's stone tomb was in a peaceful place. Though smaller than a village, it was quiet and held no danger other than the wolves that guarded it. If Lady Meioshi frees these lost souls, does she give them peaceful burials despite the harm they cause? Another click. His father didn't have a proper funeral. When he died, he only knew that the body was sent elsewhere. His swords went with it, and only a will with his final wishes were left behind. His mother had the stone tomb made in his father's honor to pay her respects somehow. Others could go to it if they wished. Perhaps that's the ultimate reason why he never knew the location of the stone tomb or the location of his father's remains. In spite of all his work, his compassion, his wisdom, his legacy was only in the memories of others. His soul was left behind to either wander or be placed in his swords. Sesshomaru once reasoned that as long as he could get both Tessaiga and Tensaiga then he would have his father's soul with him at all times. That the death of his body had no influence on his spirit, but there was no goodbye to give or preservation of what could be salvaged. He was gone. That dismissal of his father's existence led to a brazen silence on his emotions. Instead, he wanted to prove his father wrong most of all. He had to prove that he was an equal without the emotional compass his father carried in some secret pocket. Sesshomaru would be true to his name; otherwise, why choose it for him at all? Why protect people who couldn't care less of your death? What good was there in having a capacity to do great charity if your legacy entails a respect that no one ever pays?

Then again, demons don't have funeral rites. Hell is the home of a demon's soul unless it is put in an item's bodice to be used as power. So then, why make these blood pacts and promises to demons who were just going to end up in hell again or wander aimlessly or even be trapped in a weapon or some other arbitrary item? Is there a funeral rite for a demon through the doctor's work? How does she honor lost souls? What does that look like? Is that why the demons in Heiwa seemed so much freer? Maybe they knew that when death approached them, someone would be there to send them to their rightful place if they were of good merit. If so, having the doctor as an enemy/rival might not be so bad. Her powers were promising in a battle, this she proved in their short scuffles. A longer, proper battle would have to be done to test her true might if she is as strong as her ancestor has been claimed to be. At no point had he been properly defeated. Only sent away for a spell so she could deal with a new situation. This made his hunt for the wolf more important. If not to fight it himself, then to see how Lady Meioshi honored the death of demons and/or lost souls.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called, looking at his staff. The female head finally screeched and turned sharply. Another movement was heard above them, and the sky seemed to be going blacker. It was well into the morning by now. The imp then said, "Lord Sesshomaru, the staff is stuck between directions it seems. This might be where the portal is."

"It is something else," Sesshomaru responded, sniffing the air. The scent of the Netherworld was too faint. The staff was being misled. He then commanded, "Point it in another direction."

"Right away, my lord," Jaken replied, running to a spot on the left and watching the staff. It wiggled about, snapped forward, and started drifing in its new direction. "I wonder what that was about."

Sesshomaru only narrowed his eyes before turning around. Whatever it is, it's close and it's following them. It must be the same thing causing the sky to darken. When he returned his attention to the running imp, he remained alert as he followed him. Like Meioshi, this thing trailing them seemed to have no clear scent. He could vaguely catch a muddy undertone, but there was nothing but an empty husk holding that particular smell. He lessened his wandered thoughts to about one or two things now. One of them being the doctor's scent and how unusual it was for her not to have one. What he could feel from the doctor, however, was her warmth. Whether or not that was because she was a doctor, he couldn't rightly say. He could only acknowledge that she seemed to have more warmth in her spirit than anything. Though his kiss was reserved for one person, hers was like a fleeting tickle with her use of magic. He supposed that's why he was so offended by the gesture. While innocent in its nature, it genuinely disturbed him that she was able to produce an alien feeling like that. At first, the doctor chasing behind them was simply odd and her request an odder thing. No one ever asked him for luck, only his identity, mercy or help. He didn't realize how much she might've actually needed it.

A kiss, however, usually was a show of affection, hence why he wanted to reserve that for a loved one. He didn't understand why the doctor would just give that away, even if it was a gesture. The implication was clear. The other thing that perturbed him about it was the barrier. A sudden, loud click in his mind made him stop for a moment. Jaken took notice to his lord no longer following him and turned around to see what happened. He was stopped like he was stuck.

"Lord Sesshomaru, did you sense something?" Jaken asked.

"The barrier," Sesshomaru said quietly. He looked above his head and saw the bright blue bead resting above him. It was high enough to where he couldn't reach it even on tiptoe but visible enough to look like a distant star in the dark sky. He then said with visible annoyance, "I don't need your protection, witch."

Catching the smell of blood in the air, Sesshomaru was quiet with some surprise. That was the doctor's blood. Fresh, pure, and littered with a faint hint of some sort of spice. It wasn't overwhelming or muted from some other fragrance. It was a gentle spice, but the fact remained she was bleeding from a light injury. Part of him wanted to investigate, but he silently promised to himself that he would only seek her out if the bleeding was worse.

"Protect yourself, fool," Sesshomaru remarked, closing his eyes and continuing to follow Jaken.

There, it was. He could smell it. The scent of the Netherworld was stronger again. Jaken's staff was rattling violently until it pointed to a torii gate. The male head shot fire from its mouth and showed the portal to the wolf's prison. The sky was getting darker and the surroundings colder. Though the barrier was protecting them from the worst of it, the frost of the Netherworld burst from the portal and covered the grass in snow and ice. Sesshomaru heard the sky moving again and peeked behind him. It was thicker in certain spots like someone painted it that way. The surface of it was shifting like clouds were drifting atop the belly of a beast. That's when he saw it. Snow and ice entering some sort of crevice and fog leaving another opening. The sky was a creature! Abruptly, creatures from the ice were emerging from the ground. Their bodies were humanoid, but the heads, fangs, and claws were similar to the wolf's. They growled before eyeing him then roared. The Netherworld scent was nearly overbearing, but a faint lemon smell from the portal crept out and confirmed the wolf's location for him.

Charging at him and Jaken, some of the wolfish creatures unleashed a fury of speed and made Sesshomaru have to maneuver quickly to avoid the attacks. Jaken bravely threw fire at the creatures, which did startle some of them and made them jump, but a familiar face came out of the portal. He roared to call back the guards and walked before Sesshomaru and Jaken.

"You're the man from before," he started, eyes blackened like the wolf creatures. "The one who stopped me at the farmlands."

It took Sesshomaru a second to remember the creature in front of him. His scent was entirely different and riddled with the wolf's odor, but he looked the same. Yellow-green hair now lying down around his neck, light brown skin now an ashen color, fangs snarling at him, and body noticeable stronger in build than before. It was the one Yuko called Ichi.

"You went to find the doctor," Ichi said. He heard the sky move then looked up. The sky spoke to him in whispers before he returned his attention to Sesshomaru and Jaken and said, "Looks like you did find her. Did she have the sword with her?"

"Why do you want the sword so badly?" Jaken asked with a defiant tone.

"That is none of your concern," Ichi replied. He looked up to hear the sky again and then looked down again. "You are also looking for the wolf, it appears. Are you here to free it? If so, you need merely strike the mouth of the sky up there. It can break the wolf's binds for you, or you can enter the forest beyond the portal and try to undo the purification bars."

"Why is the sky helping the wolf?" Sesshomaru asked with caution.

"Because it is part of it," Ichi answered simply.