Master of the Winter part 3

Infuriating wench! The nerve of that lowly human to try and... what was she even trying to do? Sesshomaru was almost crossing his eyes from his own anger as he marched through the grasslands leading to the sea of hills in the forest. To hell with that damn forest! He just had to find the stupid Jubokko tree, right? Fine! He'll find it himself! Remembering the path of the Blood Oath's Circle, he took a right and walked briskly down a slope. Hearing wagons rolling again, he stopped and scanned the new area for anything resembling the wolf's memory. Though he was in the living world, he could smell the Blood Oath's Circle very clearly like he was right back with the pheasant. Wheels turning and footsteps thumping into the earth alerted him. Experimentally, he walked to his right a few steps forward, but the noises were growing fainter in that direction. Looking at his feet, he saw rotting wood pieces sticking out of the ground like fingers reaching out. Shadows danced across them, giving them a fragment of life. Following the pieces with only his eyes, he caught sight of the ghosts from before except they weren't close enough to practically touch their clothing or hair. They were in the distance. He was going the wrong way. Walking the opposite way, he could hear the wagon wheels quite clearly and remained on high alert for the sounds of the archers. The rain of arrows would appear or be heard soon.

Jaken. Sesshomaru had thought he had learned to be more careful around dangerous enemies when it came to his loved ones. For Jaken to be taken away by that monster and used as leverage... He thought Meioshi wanted to help. She was supposed to be this sweetheart, but she goes and does... whatever it was she was doing just now. Calling his voice - ! No, no, he wasn't going to think about it anymore. If all she wants to do is play around and let time roll by, then he would take it upon himself and defeat this psychotic menace. There was another way to defeat him. There had to be. His sword could destroy anything from touch alone. He didn't embark on this journey or gain all this new knowledge for nothing. His power was more than enough. This black wall was no different than any other enemy. It had to have a weak point now with the doctor's tanto stopping him from regenerating. He'll cut it down brick by brick or limb from limb. Not a sliver of mercy! He just had to find Jaken and get the hell away from Heiwa and everyone who lived in that wretched place.

Taking a few breaths to calm his bubbling nerves, Sesshomaru decided to dissect the events leading up to his short-lived alliance with Lady Meioshi and the green pheasant. There had to be something else to her actions - something he had dismissed prematurely. All seemed fine. They agreed to look out for each other until they found Jaken and the others, and Meioshi showed genuine accountability for her carelessness. She didn't want anyone hurt. He knew that. He could hear it in her voice. Creating a nest for the pheasant's chicks was a show of kindness on her part. She was focused, considerate of her - wait... Sesshomaru stopped walking for a moment. Why was it so important for him to have the barrier surrounding him? She knew his strength was immense. Why did she grin at him like that? What was she thinking about? Was she... being considerate of something for him?

"Take the left side passed the shrine... Archers, on the right. Fire at my signal..."

Sesshomaru turned around and was met with a shadowy figure. It was a man, but... only by appearance. He was about Sesshomaru's height but heavier in build and fully suited in armor. His black and gold military armor was laced with a familiar power and scent and the look in his eyes was bloodthirsty. His hair was long and dark like the night sky was trapped in his tresses and his jaw tight like taut rope. Wagons filled with crossbows, bows, arrows, and quivers were rolling behind Sesshomaru. The ghosts of armored men were hustling and getting into position in silence. He was seeing more of the wolf's memory... but the story was unfolding from a different perspective. Soldiers were at the ready, awaiting their next orders. The man was scanning the unsuspecting village and narrowed his eyes. The recognizable moonlit gleam in his eyes sparkled before disappearing. The black wall demon had possessed someone in the past the same way it did to Ichi, but it seemed to have infected this man severely as opposed to the half-demon. That could be what's saving Ichi now - his demon bloodline.

"That old fool thinks giving my sword to children will somehow stop me. You'd think killing his general would make him a tad smarter. Did you find the enchanted tanto, knave?" the man asked with a hiss.

Another young man dressed in simple orange robes and also covered in shadow came forward to nod. He then said, "It is within the hinoki tree beyond the village. The sword will show you the way."

"Retrieve it!" the possessed man ordered, turning to the archers. "First line, ready your bows! You have one hour, knave. Get the tanto and my sword or your life is forfeit!"

Sesshomaru watched the smaller man bow obediently and run with impeccable, inhuman speed to the village, so the black wall demon had possessed him or at least granted him its powers, too. As predicted, the archers were pulling their bowstrings back with blackened arrows pointing skyward. This was the moment the village had been attacked. The black wall demon was behind it all, but that would mean that this was also the last time he had been in the living world and the last time he had seen his father was some time before this grand attack. A soft wind blew and the images of archers and possessed men disappeared. Sesshomaru turned to hear the village cheering. Boat horns and bells sounded in the distance. Sailors must have been leaving the docks. He proceeded to walk to the phantom village, wondering if Meioshi sent him away for this reason. To see the rest of the wolf's memories. It was odd seeing the last days of a fallen civilization play before him. While he never attacked an entire village of humans himself, he could easily count and verbally document times when he attacked groups of humans for his own gain. He supposed he and the black wall demon would have been similar in the past. Both wanted a weapon of great power and were willing to do dirty work to get it. Like a shadow, Sesshomaru would have been more conniving had the two met then. He wouldn't have allowed the black wall demon to possess him, but he could see himself working with it. This demon was goal-oriented, powerful, and a different breed of manipulator able to tolerate deeper levels of hell.

Walking further to his right, he finally saw the remains of a burnt village. Nothing had been spared and all rotted away. Vegetation had grown over all wooden and stone buildings and structures. Homes no longer had rooftops and skeletons of varying sizes were days away from being nothing but dust. He could barely touch the skulls of what would have been animals and watch them disintegrate. Musty cloths were being blown about by winds and rolling up into tubes. The scent of death alone was fading with the age of the village. WHIP! The archers released fire. The phantom village burst with life as civilians looked up to see the rain of darkness looming overhead. When men and women were being hit by arrows, the look of terror on the surviving faces before they started running to safety. Horses were spooked as they were guided by their riders to lead everyone to an escape path. Swordsmen were hustling to a small castle to protect their leader while others were told to help the villagers escape. Finally, Sesshomaru saw the girls from before.

"Hon'no!" the little priestess called, running around to find the little girl.

"Piao!" Hon'no called, holding an ornate sword in her hands.

"Quickly, Hon'no, the forest!" Piao instructed, holding Hon'no's hand as they ran away from everything.

The hail of flaming arrows was next to fall. Sesshomaru looked up and saw the sky covered by a cloud of fire. As a singular, black flame arrow crossed his vision, he was put inside of the castle where an older man was seated at a table. He looked up when the black wall demon entered the place and smiled. Again, Sesshomaru could only stand there and let the memory play out. There was no way the wolf could have seen this unless it was the old man.

"So, you're the one who had been plaguing my firstborn," the old man said, looking into the face of the possessed man with sorrow in his eyes. "The demon after the snow sword."

"False opinion, I'm afraid, Honoseiken. I can't be after something that had already belonged to me," the black wall demon replied, creeping up to the man. "You took the snow sword from me by force those years ago. I simply wanted it back. The lost boy is the one you should be angered with. He did, after all, choose you to hold my sword in his place."

"Why do you have my son, devil?" Honoseiken demanded, balling his hands into fists on his lap and narrowing his eyes.

"He wanted to take your place someday, Lord Honoseiken," the demon replied, arching his eyebrows as though he was confused by the question. Perhaps it was a trait of all humans? Being so slow. He then said, "Did your heart not swell with pride when he took up the sword as a boy? He only ever wanted to fight like you, to move like you, to excel at the art of the samurai like you. So much so that he eagerly snuck away to see the snow sword at sunset and wished upon many a star to be worthy enough to touch it. Such a zealous child is he! Since he wanted so much to be like you, I made him an offer. I trained him in the ways of the snow sword in the night. First, by the sword; then, by my voice."

"You, parasite!" Honoseiken shouted, heartbroken that his son had been infected by this monster for so long. He rose to stand and demanded, "You did the same thing to Akarui! Where is he?"

"With me once more," the demon replied, grinning toothily as he crept towards Honoseiken. "It is quite the pity that your general is gone. We could have had a proper reunion, you and I."

"Leave my general out of this!" Honoseiken barked, heart squeezing at the mention of his former commander. Did this vile beast infect his beloved friend? He then demanded, "What happened to Akarui's wife? You're responsible for her death as well, aren't you?"

"Ah, ah, ah," the demon corrected in a sing-song tone, wagging his finger back and forth. "I only hunt willing prey. I graciously warned Akarui that his wife was visiting the snow sword during the night. Taken by the blade's intricate beauty, she often spoke to it or sung songs in front of it. Stumble across it, did she, while with child. A safe and healthy baby was her simple request. Granted both times with her two little girls. Some nights, I would sing to her. Lullabies I knew from times that have passed."

"You drove Akarui mad with your song!" Honoseiken accused, revealing a holy dagger.

"Ah, ah, ah," the demon corrected again with the tone and finger. "I only infect willing prey. Akarui wanted his wife away from the sword... I only granted him the power to do it without being known or seen. His wife was none the wiser. He may as well have been a stalking demon in her eyes. These are things I cannot do without a body. That is my unspoken rule, old friend. However... I have a counter rule for this. I need merely possess an able body... to kill at will!"

With that, the black wall demon took control of the shadows in the room and reshaped them into arrows before releasing them simultaneously and killing Honoseiken. Every part of the old man's body was pierced with an arrow from every direction and angle. He had no chance of surviving such an attack. Akarui, the smaller man from before, entered the room unphased by Honoseiken's lifeless body.

"Do you have my sword, knave?" the demon asked, turning his head slightly to Akarui.

"It has been separated in Hokyokku no Ori forest," Akarui answered.

The black wall demon's eyes widened with displeasure at this. He stomped over to Akarui, eyes blank and devoid of emotion, and slapped him hard enough to make the man fall to the ground. The demon then ground out, "It's no good to me lost in the forest! Where is IT?"

"The girls split up at the snow sword's resting place," Akarui replied, struggling to get up.

"Take the archers into the forest!" the demon demanded, disappearing in a burst of shadow and snow flurry.

Sesshomaru was silent at this memory once all disappeared. Why was he shown this? Why did he have to see this? He's not the one who wants the so-called snow sword. Meioshi wants it, right? Was he supposed to relay this information to her when they met up again? If so, their temporary alliance is moot. He no longer had to tell her anything. Hearing the wagons for the archers, Sesshomaru turned around and saw the forest that he and the others have visited numerous times at this point covered in a dark cloud with snow falling down. The next parallel point must have been there the entire time and no one knew it. Like the Blood Oath's Circle, he and Meioshi had been going in circles trying to find the next gate. Catching the scent of sweet lemon, Sesshomaru perked up at this and leapt into the air to fly towards the forest.

'The hinoki tree is burning...' Sesshomaru thought. 'Where are you, Jaken?'