Know Thy Rival

Losing rationality when Kagome was able to pick up Tessaiga but not him or even Inuyasha at first was a painful lesson to learn. Losing Tessaiga at the cost of his arm was undoubtedly a blow to his ego. Losing to Inuyasha was easily one of the lowest points in his life. Though his defeats brought him great pain, losing to Meioshi was going to be one of the most traumatic experiences yet. He knew the woman had potential as his opponent, but this was different. When he crash-landed into the empty ravine below, he regrettably had to remember foes he couldn't beat in his lifetime. His father used to be at the top of the list throughout his journey. Though he surpassed him in power now, it took many years and trials to accomplish this. Years of walking in his father's shadow and shame, years of trying to prove himself to the court of the House of Inu, and years of angst and anguish at pursuing his ambitions only to be told he was undeserving of those ambitions all floated in his mind like a chaotic rapture of dream sequences. He still had a lot of work to do to prove his worth. Gaining Bakusaiga was only part of the work in progress. While his father granted him his wish through careful planning before his death, Meioshi gave him a painful reminder that power may bring fear and it may make one obedient and it may bring silence to a defiant mouth, but it doesn't earn respect from others. Only one other person told him that, and he's second on Sesshomaru's list of undefeatable foes.

He did not doubt that he would have to face him again in the future, but he didn't want to hear his mouth right now. He did, however, hear a twig snap and hopped up with a venomous growl sounding from the pit of his stomach. The new foe, who was now added to his list of undefeatable, was walking up to him. His eyes went blood red and his teeth elongated to start his transformation, but he noticed that she no longer carried her sword or spear. She wasn't dressed in her battle attire either. Instead, Meioshi wore a light green haori with a vine embroidered on the collar. It was tied at her waist and along the sleeves with a deep green ribbon. Her undershirt was nontraditional in appearance. It was laced from the top of the bust to the high collar covering her neck but skintight like her battle shirt. Her beige hakama pants didn't seem to be too traditional either. They had buttons along the side surrounded by the vine embroidery, and the same design pattern was along the belt. The dark green ribbon was holding the pants in place. The bows she made to land on her hips were almost decorative. They looked like flowers and little balls of puffiness attached. It looked like dandelions were on her hips. Meioshi carried a small bucket in her hands filled with different things he couldn't readily identify, but she didn't seem to be here to continue the fight.

Angry that she was so dismissive of his abilities, he readied his claws for attack and prepared to lash out the closer she got until he heard her say, "Mushin. Bind."

Before he could react to the command, Sesshomaru was bound by her incantation again. She didn't have the sun trinket this time. Yup, a new low for him. Struggling to get out of the divine prison, he bit, clawed, and sunk his head back in to try to move but he couldn't. She placed her bucket down and kneeled before him, not even watching him do this. She took out a small mat that was rolled up on the side of the bucket then two mortar and pestle sets and placed them on the mat. Sesshomaru didn't like that calm demeanor about her at all and she kept quiet while he struggled and growled the entire time. No quips, no unwanted compliments, not even an insult. Just silence. Taking out different spices and herbs, Meioshi went to work on grinding them until one bowl was filled with paste and another was more like liquid soup. Strong alcohol came out next and some small, circular cloths soaked in fresh water in a stone bowl were soon to follow. She mixed the alcohol, spicy paste, and herbal soup and then retrieved some oil from the bucket to give the medicine mix a more pleasant smell. She took a cloth from the stone bowl, wrung it lightly, and went to touch Sesshomaru's face to clean him, but the western lord wouldn't be a stubborn old dog if he cooperated.

No, no, he had to roar, bite at her hands, and fight more. Meioshi only sighed at him, placed her hands down, and waited for him to be still again. It looked like this was going to be a while. She focused her attention on the ravine instead while her patient had an absolute fit, enjoying the bronze and gold of the sunset illuminating the waters. Meioshi did make a mental note that this was probably the most childish and dog-like she had ever seen Sesshomaru. He was normally the calm, quiet one. He never barked, raised his voice, or did anything remotely as vocal as this. Other than the occasional name-calling or huffing he did, he hardly spoke either and, if he did, it was something of importance. He didn't fight this hard either. She would just release him from the bind if that was the problem, but he was too aggressive to be let loose. She knew he'd be upset, though, so she just waited patiently for him to return to the calm man she knew him to be... unless this is how he was and the calm guy was the facade.

When the western lord started to lose his breath in his fight, Meioshi returned her attention to him and analyzed his posture. He wasn't calming down but he was getting tired. Having access to only your head would do that. Chen-bi coupled with Mushin level binds was a force to be reckoned with, but Meioshi could see that Sesshomaru would eventually figure out how to break the bind with time; meaning, very soon, he could be at Zanshin level binds due to his insurmountable strength. Wetting the cloth again to clean him, Meioshi reached out for his face once again only for him to start fighting again, but he made this expression that surprised her. His eyes did something uncharacteristic of the man she met. His mouth curved into this odd shape that wasn't a snarl anymore. For a distinctive moment, his claws weren't slashing at his binds... but pushing. When his roaring quieted to low gruffs, she lowered her hands experimentally to see if he even knew what he was doing. He stopped looking at her and instead focused on breaking the bind. Looking for holes, grabbing at the spears of light to shake them loose, anything he could think to do to escape. He only stopped struggling when he felt Meioshi's touch his hand and looked at her... just to see her smiling at him.

She shushed him gently, silencing his fight, and removed her hand from his to say, "I won't hurt you, Sesshomaru. I'm just checking for wounds." Right as he was about to speak, she interrupted him by continuing, "I know you're not a human like me. You heal faster. This won't take but a moment."

Finally, Meioshi was able to be a doctor and Sesshomaru was able to see it. That smolder she produced when she was concentrating on something was visible to him at a closer distance. She didn't touch him like she did with her imposter or the bird nest, so it wasn't as intimate but it was more than that somehow. She only had to tap at a cut with the cloth. When she reached for the medicine and went to use a different cloth to apply the mix to the cut, she gasped when she looked back at him. It was gone!

"Uwoah," Meioshi whispered, blinking at the healed wound. "Extraordinary! It closed so swiftly!" His eyes returned to their normal coloring as she marveled at his healing rate. She was harmless to him now. "I suppose I'll save this medicine for Jaken instead. I think I have a small empty bottle left here."

She dug in her bucket to sift some things around and pulled out a small brown bottle with a cork already in it. Just as she was moving to pour the medicine into it, Sesshomaru caught the smell of blood and noticed the doctor slowing her movement from pain. Quietly, he asked, "Who gave you that wound?"

Question not registering at first, Meioshi turned to Sesshomaru, who was now back to being who she remembered, and questioned, "Hm? What wound?"

"The one on your chest. You've been cut," Sesshomaru replied.

"Oh," Meioshi responded, chuckling a bit. She returned to her task before moving to clean things up. She then said, "That was me. No one did that."

"Why did you cut yourself?" Sesshomaru asked, indifferent to the information but curious about the reason.

"Punishment for the lives lost under my care," Meioshi answered, finishing up.

"That was no fault of yours," Sesshomaru responded. "You shouldn't have had to do anything, least of all that."

Meioshi chuckled at the man, making him narrow his eyes, and said, "So you were trying to defend me when Kirameku Ha told you about it. Thank you for standing up for me, Sesshomaru. Don't mind this. I decided to accept punishment for my failures when I developed my oath of medicine. I do this in remembrance of the people I had to burn when I became a doctor. I endure their pain before death to never forget it, repent as I heal to honor their journey into judgment and forgive myself when I'm fully healed with hope that the fallen have forgiven me. This return to grace, if anything, is more like a release of my guilt. It's my most dangerous flaw."

"You've no reason to feel guilty for something else's greed or bloodlust," Sesshomaru spoke after a silence passed.

"My guilt comes from incompetence as you've put it," Meioshi said, holding a hand up to Sesshomaru's chest and lightly touching his binds with the middle finger. "Release." With the binds broken, Sesshomaru could easily attack or kill but he didn't. Instead, he simply moved to a seated position to match his rival's since she no longer had an interest in fighting for the day. She then continued, "I know I can't be everywhere simultaneously, but I can try to be more aware of my enemies and their attack methods. I didn't know that the demons I was up against could enter the living world or that they'd be able to find me. To have gotten so close to my home...! That was the worst feeling in the world. But, I did learn that the snow sword was parasitic and could make others go mad. Because I didn't consider it sooner, people who were under my care were terrorized into going after it and they could have gotten it by force had I not been so careless. Even when I moved it to a safer place, someone I knew, who had access to Heiwa without interfering with my barrier, could have annihilated the entire village just to get their hands on the sword. That's where the guilt lies. No, I may not have known everything to stop those demons, but I did know something that could have killed hundreds of others. I put the public at risk, so I perform the punishment as an act of forgiveness. I serve the public. I dishonored the public. I seek grace from the public. It is how my code was born."

"Everything you do is for the House of Inu... You serve the House; you honor the House. You are a servant before you are a leader..."

"I feel guilty for putting you at risk, too, though," Meioshi said sweetly, making Sesshomaru lock eyes with her. His eyes shifted like he was asking a silent question, and the doctor answered it, "Neither you nor Jaken should have gotten involved in my silly mess, and, for a while, I felt like you when you were fighting those binds. Threatened, angry, lost, tired, confused. There's plenty that I don't know, but your reasons for being with me are your own. If you want to help, why pester and pick at your brain to know the reason when I don't have to? I want to help others through medicine. Why not let you help me with the sword? Jaken is well, yes?"

Sesshomaru was quiet at the question, but his silence was a good enough answer for the doctor. She smiled at him, nodded, and looked at her hands for a moment. Talking to a demon in such an intimate and vulnerable space seemed so far-fetched these days, but Sesshomaru had a very calming air about him that Meioshi found therapeutic. Maybe it was an accumulation of circumstances that made her want to confide in him more, or it could have been the lack of judgment he was able to provide. Pity he wasn't a healing type of youkai because he had excellent listening skills and a soothing bedside manner.

Either way, the doctor continued, "That's good news! Just think. If you had gotten yourself eaten, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy listening to you lose your mind in a magical cage while a calm stream was passing by on a summer's eve. Or hear Jaken's little voice supporting you every step of the way in this life. And... I don't think I would have been able to stop the black wall demon without you. I'm a firm believer that everyone and everything has its purpose in life. In those final moments, you were the answer to a centuries-old riddle and not one time did I ask why. I only asked why you felt the need to help. I didn't let my answer simply be my answer."

"Meioshi! Are you here?" a voice called.

The doctor turned away from him to listen for the voice and heard her name again. It was Bonitas. She then replied, "Coming!"

She collected her things and placed them in the bucket with a gentle smile on her face. Sesshomaru only watched her do this until she stood up and faced him again. She said, "You make a good other. One day, I want to fight you without my other power. If I can beat you as a human, then that will be my real victory. Today was just a test. Tomorrow will be the real fight. Maybe you're not just the answer to a riddle. Maybe... you're the answer to my ongoing question. Maybe you're here to tell me that I'm strong enough to fight my real enemy. If you are, then I look forward to tomorrow. Because then I'll know my nightmare is almost over. Jya! Until next time..."

With that, Sesshomaru watched her run off to meet with whoever was calling her with hope and confidence that they'd meet again for a final battle. Jaken called him sometime after she had gained a fair distance between them, but he only stood quietly and watched Meioshi, the healing dandelion seed, being chased by the setting sun and carried away by the summer breeze...

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"The situation in the Mujina Woodlands just keeps growing more and more tense. If that old man is really innocent in all this, what could really be killing these other demons? This is so mind-boggling!"

Sesshomaru was quiet while Jaken rambled on about his investigation. They were riding on a boat to a village called Shinju o Tateru. Like Heiwa, it was an unclaimed territory. It was in the middle of the night. The celestial bodies of the moon and stars were glittering above. There was a hustle and bustle of people in the distance; meaning, they were getting close to the civilized part of town. Foods were being cooked and drinks were being prepared for some evening event. The aromas were filling the young lord's senses, but he wasn't paying attention to them. The guards from his home informed him that Ambassador Norihisa was waiting for him at this particular location to explain more of what happened upon his visit to the woodlands. Unfortunately, the Western lord hadn't been able to gather much more information beyond what was told.

There had to be a vital clue somewhere in all of this. What was it? The more Sesshomaru thought about it, the more Meioshi's words kept floating in his mind. After the rivals parted ways that day, Sesshomaru and Jaken had gone to the Mujina Woodlands strictly to analyze the crime scene but nothing out of the ordinary was there. The bodies had been disposed of and cremated. There was no dancing or prayers for the lives lost. He reviewed the facts thus far. He knew about the snowstorm from the Netherland wolf's curse on the living world, but he didn't know that the effects were so far-reaching. Certain parts of the living world were affected the most by hell's frost, so the Mujina Woodlands must have been one of the places hit the hardest. Why? Was it like the forest near the sea of hills? Connected by a centuries-old attack from a greedy demon? What about this town? Did it see the snow?

"It seems Lady Meioshi might have been onto something, after all," Jaken remarked, walking to the back of the boat and looking into the water. They were entering the town now. Paper lanterns of red, violet, orange, and green were lighting the waterways. It could be quite the romantic sight if Jaken wasn't troubled by the recent events himself. He then continued, "To think that awful doctor was so strong, too. She seemed so ordinary before. If she had that kind of power in her this whole time, surely she would be able to decimate her enemies in a single sword strike. Hm... If we look at the pattern of victims as she said, we might be able to discover something. What could be the common factor? Wait! What about the way these demons are being drained? Each victim was bitten on the neck from what we found out, but their armor also had holes in them like the attacker found a spot big enough (or small enough) to suck everything out from the inside of the body. Such a frightening foe!"

"BANZAI!"

"Ack!" Jaken yelped out of fear.

Someone had leaped onto their boat and rocked it violently with that sudden outburst. Sesshomaru was about to pull out his sword for an attack when he saw a young girl giggling happily at him and saying with closed eyes, "Hi, doctor!"

"What do you think you're doing, little girl?" Jaken shouted more than questioned, hopping on Sesshomaru's shoulder to shake a fist at the girl.

Sesshomaru wasted no time in slapping the imp off him to plunk on the boat's flooring. He took a good look at the girl before narrowing his eyes at her. She was quite beautiful and young. Her hair was pinned up into a bubble ponytail with hair accessories decorating the base of the ponytail. Her makeup was flawless. Eyelashes long and wispy, charcoal giving her feline features, lipstick as red as rare gemstone, and her furisode was as lovely as she was. It was green and gold. The girl gasped when she looked at the boat riders and seemed horrified for mistaking them for... wait, did she say doctor before?

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" the girl said, covering her mouth with her sleeves before bowing elegantly. "I thought you were the doctor. She normally rides this type of boat through here. I'm so, so terribly sorry."

"Doctor?" Jaken questioned, rubbing his head from his lord's strike. He then blinked a couple of times and asked, "Wait, you mean Doctor Jigoku? Meioshi's here?"

"Ah, why yes," the girl said, popping up and smiling gently at them. "I was coming to say hello to her before she left on patrol for the night. I know I already have an appointment with her tomorrow morning, but I like boating with her on nights like these. You two, on the other hand, seem new. Are you perhaps visiting for business?"

"Something like that. Who are you, young one?" Jaken asked, folding his arms.

"Oh, I'm Ohta," she said, giggling and placing a hand on her chest. "Are you the doctor's new friends? How did you meet?"

"Well - " Jaken started.

"We're not friends," Sesshomaru answered coldly. "We just met each other in passing."

"Oh, I see," Ohta said, almost disappointed with this information. She turned away from Sesshomaru and laid on her stomach with a wistful expression on her face. She placed her chin in her hands and let her legs freely swing back and forth as she looked at the sky. Ohta then said, "That's quite a pity. I suppose you're boating in the opposite direction of where I'm going then. I'll just wait until I'm close enough to another stop. Don't worry. I won't be long."

"Hold on! Why is Lady Meioshi here anyway?" Jaken asked.

"She comes here every year. It's where she first started working as a doctor," Ohta replied. If she could sense Sesshomaru's ears perk up at this information, she was careful not to let on that she felt it. Ohta then continued, "She's like... a top soldier here. She protects us from the wrong kind of people and makes things safer. She brings the local children to school during the summer and part of the winter. In the fall, she checks on things to make sure everybody's healthy. Comes with the job of being a doctor and all. All newcomers like yourself have to do a health check before participating in any contact events here. Oh! There's a stop!"

Ohta hurriedly got up and turned to Sesshomaru again before bowing politely and saying, "Thanks for the ride, swordsman. If you're ever in need of something while you're here, just look for Ohta at the Pink Oyster. It's the least I can do for the intrusion. I'll even reserve a meal for you. It's on me."

She lifted herself and stood up. Sesshomaru was about to say something to Ohta, but she had already quite athletically hopped off the boat and landed on a dock. She turned around and waved to them before running off into the streets. Watching Ohta run away like that made him think of the healing dandelion seed... Meioshi... This village was where it all began. It was the birthplace of his rival...

______________________________________

Norihisa waited patiently in the outdoor tearoom for Lord Sesshomaru to arrive at the camp. Pouring an aged bottle of chintashu into a cup, he drank the carmine tonic fondly with a faint blush dusting his cheeks. He thought back to his intimate times with his "wife" and looked up at the moon with an ethereal glow in his eyes. Her transformation would be complete soon. He was very lucky to have a lovely demoness at his bedside, and, as long as his white-masked lover served him well, he might be able to keep her in hell. He merely needed to wait for his mistress' orders and devise the proposition for the arrangement. Hearing two of the soldiers making conversation as they set up sleeping chambers and scheduled lookout shifts, Norihisa wondered if the men would choose the village's most prized services or just the boring entertainment of music and mutton. They might have been too noble for such a thing, but it didn't matter. His public chasteness was not the real him. There was an okiya that catered to high-class patrons regardless of species. It was their loss if they did not indulge. This little village had evolved into a paradise of vice since its beginnings. Shinju o Tateru was probably at its peak of beauty since its initial destruction during the worst of the human wars years ago. Whoever developed this pleasure island of kaleidoscopic colors was an architectural mastermind and one who knew how to make others merry. It was far more organized now than it was fifty years in the past.

It was even easier to claim the empty dwelling in this village as long as one paid for a service and agreed to do a health check for sexual (or other physical) activities. Norihisa had a slight doubt that the lord of the House of Inu would buy out for such a service, but he had to remember that Sesshomaru was still a man despite his celibacy. Celibacy was a choice that could change and a way of life that could be broken. Eating a tender and seasoned piece of raw Matsuzaka beef, Norihisa enjoyed his cutlets with a slight moan. Yes, whoever changed the village to this marvel of ecstasy knew how to make a man merry. The ambassador offered to pay for whatever the guards collectively agreed upon as long as they ensured the safety of the camp. It was more like a manor house. The basics were brought with them like bedding, food, armor, weapons, and the like, but Norihisa wasn't interested in any of it. Experiencing this new culture was more his style, and it was worth the money! The guards weren't sure of the longevity of their stay in Shinju o Tateru, so they modestly decided to wait and see how things would go with Lord Sesshomaru before indulging in Norihisa's way of acquainting himself with different societies. For the most part, the waterfront property the ambassador chose to occupy was quite nice.

The lanterns that were given to them for use were pale blue and violet. It was mainly to show that the threshold was occupied by high-class folk. The villagers were surprised that demons were visiting them, and the guards were surprised that the humans didn't fear them. The guardians of the village were half-demons themselves and didn't cower at their presence either. Norihisa took care of everything quite beautifully. Looking at the papers with the lists of services, the soldiers residing inside the manor were voicing their opinions on certain ones.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you've arrived," the guards greeted, bowing respectfully. "The ambassador awaits in the tearoom. Are you staying for the night, my lord?"

"The situation requires my immediate attention. That is unnecessary," Sesshomaru replied, not bothering to look at the guards.

Jaken hustled after him, only bowing hurriedly to the guards. Norihisa poured another cup of chintashu before placing the bottle down on his small marble and wood table and taking a sip. He reached for another cutlet of beef before the transparent shoji door opened behind him. Standing before him was the Western lord, eyes closed and focused on the purple seating pillow. Jaken stood in the doorway to listen to the conversation. The ambassador took his time observing the young lord. His beauty was almost a spectacle and rivaled a young woman's, especially with his markings. The silkiness of his hair and the fairness of his skin gave him a more delicate appearance, but he could smell his yoki energy laced with poison. Sesshomaru sat down quietly and only looked at the provisions the ambassador had. He recognized the expensive delicacy of the marbled meat, but he didn't understand why Norihisa was eating it raw. Maybe it was how the civilians here prepared it. The wine he was drinking wasn't sake or koshu either. It was a red liquor completely unfamiliar to him, but it held the appearance of warm blood. The scent of it was strong but sweet and subtle in its fragrant undertone.

"Ah, you are earlier than I predicted," Norihisa commented, pointing a hand to the empty cup and plate in front of Sesshomaru.

"You may continue eating," Sesshomaru responded, answering the ambassador's silent question.

Norihisa nodded before taking another piece of meat and asking, "I was told that you had gone to the crime scene some time ago. If you weren't attacked, then that means the rally hadn't started yet. Were you told of the other three deaths?"

"There were three?" Jaken questioned. "But we only heard of one."

Norihisa shook his head, drank more wine, and said, "Two more followed after that. Same area, and the same method of attack. Violence has ensued between the clans now. Neither can cross the wall that was built between them. Anyone who does is automatically killed. If the victims held a title, those associated with him or her are listed as viable suspects. Have you a suspect, my lord?"

Sesshomaru couldn't quite put his finger on it, couldn't even argue against or for it, but Norihisa was being a little too laidback about the situation. He was being too casual around him, specifically. Then again, he only knew Norihisa by name and not personally. He very well could have been a nonchalant type of person outside of the House of Inu. Feeling uneasy with the ambassador, Sesshomaru followed his gut and decided to limit the amount of information he was going to disclose to the other man.

"I have. Were you able to obtain any more information from these deaths? Age groups, social status, political connections?" Sesshomaru questioned.

Norihisa smirked a bit and then nodded. He answered, "The deaths seem to be going up the caste system by starting with simple villagers and climbing up to higher-ups like the chief investigator, who I was with before I left, and now a royal guard. I worry that the clan leaders will be the next target. I informed the court of similar concerns, but they seemed to be more focused on the Anaguma clan leader. They're a little more turbulent in their approach to these kinds of things. The other pattern I noticed came from the cremations of these victims. I don't know if it's from the draining or not, but the bodies don't turn to ash at all; in fact, the remains... turn to snow."

"Snow?" Sesshomaru questioned, furrowing his brow.

Then, that means... Sesshomaru started, thinking about his last fight with Meioshi and the snow sword. She is a primary suspect... but...

Norihisa nodded, drinking more of his wine. He then said, "If you have a suspect at all, you've made far more progress than I. The only thing I've found to be of importance was Mano's words. This snowstorm that passed through the woodlands weakened both rival clans. It is safest to assume that the areas affected by the snow are the ones not protected by a magical barrier and/or ones that have a species of people easily weakened during the winter months. We just arrived here to set up camp, so I'm not sure if this place was affected by the snow just yet. However, I intend to see if the snow had melted sometime before our arrival in the morning. If it did, this place might be harboring the attacker if he or she hasn't already made plans to attack this place. If not, this place was safe and is guarded well."

|| ... ... ... ||

"She's like... a top soldier here. She protects us from the wrong kind of people and makes things safer... she checks on things to make sure everybody's healthy. Comes with the job of being a doctor and all."

"I don't know what your intentions are... if you're so willing to attack innocents all from a lack of evidence for a specific murderer, then I've no doubt you'd threaten the livelihoods of the people I care about and others just as a show of power... you automatically jumped to the conclusion that my sensei had something to do with this when you only met him once and he was unarmed. You never saw him fight up until someone's funeral, which you so dishonorably chose to disrupt with your thirst for gratification, and you upset other mourners who were participating in a rite withheld from most demons! I respected you as a man before... I do not and will not respect you as a warrior until you start acting like one the way I have done for you!"

|| ... ... ... ||

"I have some more digging to do then," Sesshomaru said quietly, closing his eyes. "There are too many places to investigate simultaneously if the effects of the snowstorm are of this magnitude, even you wouldn't be able to solve this on your own. We need more information. Something to add to the list of suspects and narrow in on a motive. I'll return tomorrow evening to hear of your results from the morning's venture. I will continue on my end for another possible lead."