Know Thy Rival final part

Sesshomaru didn't hear Meioshi come into the guest lodge at all. He didn't even smell... oh. He had forgotten about that. She didn't have a natural smell. Looking up with a vicious glare, he spotted the woman leaning on the doorframe with her arms folded and body perfectly angled from the waist down. Her bandages were no longer covering the entirety of her chest. The kanji symbols for "fail no more" were forever etched into her skin. The fresh cuts were still red. The older ones turned white from having healed. She was no longer bleeding like she had days ago. The smell of her blood was fully muted now. Her hair was no longer in the high ponytail he had come to recognize as a trademark style. It was instead allowed to fall, but her tresses had pieces like Chiura's trinket decorating her hair. An assortment of shapes, tassels, papers, and strings gave her casual sleepwear more of a personality. Her orange hakama pants remained on her person from when they met again in the bathhouse. The only addition was a practically sheer, deep blue haori with names along the bottom of the jacket. Ohta's name was on the left, so the names of the children she must be caring for were sewn into the haori's design. Like before in the ravine, Meioshi was calm and patient versus Sesshomaru's more calmly aggressive demeanor. When he noticed the difference in approach, he became less aggressive and waited for the woman to speak.

"Are you joining everyone at the table, Lord Sesshomaru?" Meioshi asked politely. "Or would you prefer to eat here with Lord Jaken?"

"I'm not hungry," Sesshomaru responded.

"Pfft! Well, you're not being cooperative either," Meioshi remarked, rolling her eyes before raising an eyebrow at Sesshomaru. "My baby grapple bear picked out that yukata and your pillows and sheets just for you, and you'd rather sit on the cold floor in nothing but a thin robe than just show your appreciation for her thoughtfulness."

Sesshomaru said nothing to her about that, but he did turn to the open shoji door to see the grapple bears clinging to Ohta before releasing him to run and play together. Would the doctor feel lonely once Ohta came of age? He would be a man sooner than the little ones. He would no doubt marry a young lady in the future, and he behaved like a mixture of brother and father versus one or the other. Eventually, he would transition into becoming a parent. What will the doctor do when that happens?

"How many children are here, doctor?" Jaken asked, looking out of the shoji door. "I didn't realize you cared for so many."

"Enough to fill up the dining hall," Meioshi responded. Though she didn't disclose a finite number, it was easy to see that there were at least 20 children of varying ages. "Doesn't look like any newer ones were brought here recently, but there shouldn't have been this many to begin with. If you're not joining us in the dining hall, gentlemen of the west, I'll serve you here."

"My portion will go to Jaken," Sesshomaru stated, almost dismissively.

Meioshi responded, narrowing her eyes at him, "I don't poison my enemies or my rivals. What are you so afraid of? No one's here to hurt you."

"There is nothing here to fear," Sesshomaru said with a light growl in his voice, narrowing his eyes. "You are still a suspect for the killings of those demons."

"I told you I had nothing to do with what happened in your woodlands and proved it accordingly!" Meioshi shouted, standing straight up. "What more do you want from me besides 'I don't know'?"

This reaction made Sesshomaru turn to look at the doctor. Meioshi never showed displeasure or anger towards them before. Since coming here, she has been different. She was more on edge, defensive, and slightly paranoid. Something was bothering her. Perhaps, this was the most honest or angriest they had ever seen her, but she wasn't that jovial girl after the battle was over. She was something else.

"I want to know why my investigation keeps circling back to you," Sesshomaru replied. "New evidence put you back on the list of suspects. Whether you like it or not, your visits to hell have a greater consequence than you realize. Another clue tracing back to you and I will be forced to be rid of you."

"What clue did you find that made me your prime suspect? I don't just go around killing demons for fun! I barely do exorcisms! I at least allow for some demons to speak their peace on their actions," Meioshi tried.

"This village is close to the Mujina Woodlands. You expect me to believe that if a demon from there wandered here to take one of your children, you wouldn't take action?" Sesshomaru questioned.

"If you want to act like an arse to me, so be it! Leave my kids out of this!" Meioshi argued, shocking both Sesshomaru and Jaken. "You were so steadfast on figuring things out yourself, I let it slide - questionable methods and all! I even let you fight me to detect an attack pattern to be of some use to you. All of that was a waste of time just like this stupid rivalry you want to trap yourself in if the only conclusion to your problem is that my sword magically walked halfway across the country to kill your precious victims near a village I never even heard of! You wanted to figure it out on your own so damned bad! Here you go!"

"What about this village then?" Jaken argued, indirectly defending Sesshomaru. "If the effects of the sword or even that demon we fought with you were such a load of nothing, why was this village hit by snow?"

"It wasn't!" Meioshi argued, making Sesshomaru perk up at this information. "I protect these kids and the workers the same way I protect my home! Beyond that, I don't know!"

"Wouldn't the demons of the Netherworld prey after your wards?" Sesshomaru asked, locking eyes with her. "Or the demons here? You speak of safety with such fervor but you're not demonstrating the sense of it."

That set the doctor off just enough for her aura to darken and look at Sesshomaru with a glare that could cut hard stone. She then growled, "I've put up with some of your shit, but this is where I draw the line. What I will not stand for is you treating me or these children like they're out to assassinate you! I thought you were at least a man worthy of respect, but, if the belittlement of other innocents is what you'd rather be known for, you're not even worth the majesty of your swords. I don't know how you helped Ohta, but your behavior is as childish and selfish as a spoiled tot! Pick a bone with someone else who has time to waste on you! Don't you ever speak of these children or my efforts again."

Frozen, Sesshomaru only sat there quietly. That's what pissed her off. His dismissiveness to the children under her care. These children were a touchy subject for the doctor, it seemed. He could relate to that. Quietly, he took the time to dissect her words. Despite him and Jaken being demons, the children were able to treat them with respect and kindness. They showed gratitude, had talents, and had a safe place to stay. Downplaying their good qualities inadvertently downplayed Meioshi's efforts. Was being so brazen to her worth it?

_________________________________________

About seven years ago...

Meioshi was eating lunch at the Pink Oyster with the house mother during the afternoon hours. More specifically, she was sitting in front of a bowl of rice and cold tea with the chopsticks and teapot untouched. Her pillow was dingy and musty, but she couldn't choose where she sat or what she sat on. She was chained to the dining table and barely able to lift her head. She had just lost quite the fight. How ironic was it for a doctor to be in pain and her medicine burned to ash and broken bottle? Her eye was swelling up and turned a deep purple, her breathing labored, and her body swaying trying to sit upright. The house mother was calmly eating her sushi from across the empty table, not paying the weak doctor any mind. It wasn't until a crash, groan, and some thumping sounded that she stopped, let her eyes perk up, and smiled excitedly like something new and exciting was on its way. The moaning and small yelps that echoed summoned a torturous grip on Meioshi's throat and all she had the strength to do was cry. That beautifully cheerful and hopeful girl was being abused again, and she was too weak to stop it.

"Oh!" the housemother said with a giggle. "That girl is quite the treat for the house patron, don't you think? See there, doctor. If you had taken that girl away from here, we wouldn't make any money like now. She's a house special!"

"You..." Meioshi croaked, shaking. She wanted to get up and stop them. She wanted to pick up her sword. Her tears wouldn't stop falling, though. She just couldn't move. There wasn't another gram of fight left for her to use. She then hissed, "You monster!"

"Monster? Me?" the house mother questioned, eyes widened and a hand on her chest. "But you're the cunt with the demon eyes! How am I the monster?"

"You let these men rape these little girls and boys," Meioshi said with a hurt voice. "Don't you remember what this life was like? Wouldn't you want to protect them?"

A slap was heard. Screams of pain took over the sounds of moaning and the thumping was angrier.

The house mother then laughed darkly before answering, "I made it to old age with and without this treatment as a joro. This is a lucrative business, doctor. It took you nearly six jobs just to buy the girl two days' worth of sleep, but I can't deny that you held your own for those few days of working. Perhaps you'd like to be a joro like the girl. You have this otherworldly beauty that's attractive to several patrons, especially the samurai that wander through here seeking shelter. You'd fetch a healthy price!"

"That's all you care about? Money?" Meioshi asked, not wanting to believe someone could be so cruel.

"I care plenty about a lot of things," the house mother replied. "My husband was thinking of a proposal just for you. You fought so well and so hard for this one girl, he felt we could bargain for her to have a bit of free time. Since she rested with you, more patrons had come to buy her. They offered nearly twice as much just to spend an entire day with her! We were thinking that since you worked so hard in cleaning up our okiya and the resources we were using you might be able to upgrade our business. If you can help our okiya generate a yearly, steady income of what your home is worth, we will free the girl from work at least once a year for a set amount of time."

"No," Meioshi replied, shaking her head slowly and feeling her weight drop down. She shifted a bit to pick herself back up and repeated, "No."

"No?" the house mother asked, drinking some sake. "What changed your mind?"

"I want all of the children to be free once a year including her," Meioshi corrected, swaying back and forth to stay conscious.

"They don't have prices yet. If we free them all, they'll be added to the market prematurely. I thought you were against that," the house mother said, narrowing her eyes and grinning.

"You misunderstand," Meioshi said, eyes burning with a defiant resolve. She then continued, "I will clean up your okiya. I will restore your resources. I will even make the land profitable enough for even high-class patrons to descend from their makeshift thrones just to wallow in these pits in secret if I have to. In return for all of that, for every bit of money you earn because of my efforts, I want all of these children freed for an agreed amount of time. I want a list of every sex worker, patron, and customer who so much as blinks at a pebble that borders this area. Whatever money that I, or they, earn will go towards their freedom for good. You want to swim in gold and silver? Fine! I will build a pool for you all to drown!"

________________________________________

She woke with a start when she remembered a hard, heavy fist connecting with her jaw to render her unconscious. Only this time, she wasn't thrown into the old pig's pen like those years ago. Her breath was heavy, eyes shifting, chest stinging. Meioshi didn't think her dreams would be so vivid right now, but it was nearing the time for the agreement to be settled. Taking some deep breaths to calm her heartbeat, the doctor rubbed her eyes before letting out a stifled chuckle and getting out of bed. She walked outside to get some fresh air. All was quiet tonight. The children were sleeping or resting. Walking to the stream, she splashed some of the cool water on her face and took a couple of breaths. She kept her hands on her face for a moment just to control the dream's images replaying in her mind. It felt like a mockery of her subconscious, but she allowed her feelings to travel to the forefront. She looked into the calming waters and saw the emotions dancing across the reflection of her eyes. She wasn't nearly as emotional over that memory as she used to be. Being able to let go of her mistakes and work towards making things right gave her the strength she needed to persevere and remain patient.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned with a smile on her face, expecting a child to have woken up to embrace her or engage in nighttime play, only to see manicured feet in the grass. Confused, she furrowed her brow and slowly looked up. White, cuffed hakama pants followed in her ascending line of vision until she saw a red yukata on top of the pants. Finally, she was face to face with Sesshomaru looking down at her. Ah, so he was trying something out by mixing fashion pieces. Nice.

"You being out here can't be a good thing," Meioshi stated, noticing a small pendant on the yukata. It was Chiura's trinket. She then said, "I'm surprised you're still here. Nice pajama set."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her before asking, "Why do you have so many wards?"

"Ohta brings them to me," she replied honestly, returning her sights to the stream. "The masters of this village try to lie and cheat their way out of our agreement. Ohta wants justice for the other kids, so he sneaks them away and brings it to my attention that they've been wrongfully forced to work here. I act as their guardian and legally penalize the masters for disobeying the contract."

"What are they forced to do here?" Sesshomaru asked quietly with a twinge of hope that the doctor wouldn't confirm his suspicions.

"Various forms of labor now. It used to be strictly prostitution," Meioshi answered, leaning back to lay an arm on her knee.

"Even the younger ones?" Sesshomaru questioned, not wanting to believe Chiura was being forced to work as a junior joro.

"Depends on what's popular in the market," Meioshi replied, letting the wind take her hair and trinkets. "Right now, they work with different people like cooks, dancers, or farmers. I lost many a battle and many an ichibuban trying to get them away from this place. The most that I could do was create this small haven for them until I could buy their freedom or help them buy their own. Only a few of the kids have been able to legally escape. They've bought the freedom of some others but there's still so many here."

"Okiyas have a house mother. Are you one?" Sesshomaru asked, walking to the edge of the stream.

"No," Meioshi said with a light laugh. "They gave me that name some years ago. I think mama to them is more literal than occupational. This was all I could do for them legally, but the contract is complete now. The masters specifically said they wanted yearly wealth equivalent to my net worth. I gave them that for some years. They increased the volume of child laborers and swept funds under the rug to keep for themselves instead of giving the extra money back to their workers so they could buy their freedom. That is a direct violation of the agreement." She rose to stand up, no longer laughing or smiling, and narrowed her eyes. She then said, "You have a few days to finish up your business here... before this village burns!"

Sesshomaru couldn't explain it, but he could almost taste the doctor's rage. She had been planning to do this for some years from the sound of it. He asked quietly, "Will they not miss this place?"

"Who?" the doctor asked with a hiss.

"The children. Are they not used to their lives here?" Sesshomaru asked, making a fair point.

"Would you want your child to be a prostitute or slave if you died too early in life? Their lives?" Meioshi asked. When she received silence as an answer, she then tried to say, "Then don't question - "

"You didn't let me answer the question," Sesshomaru snipped. "These children have a routine regardless of what happened to their parents. They only know you to be their parent as it stands if what you say is true of their name for you. Their mother retrieves them every year at around this time to play or go to school. When she is forced to leave, they work but they don't work alone. They work with each other. This is what they know. No, I would not want any child to have to work for that kind of money, but your reprieve from this life is what created a routine that they recognize and know. It's not just the place that I'm asking if they'll miss."

Meioshi went almost deathly quiet at the demon lord's words. He was right. Some of the younger children potentially would miss this place greatly. Not necessarily the okiyas but the estate. Taking her time to form an answer to his question, she turned to him with remorse in her eyes and whispered gently, "No, I prepared them enough for them to choose where they wished to live. My only prayer is that no one from here drags them back to rebuild any of it."