The Black Strings of Hell

Azumamaro the Jewel Eater was the equivalent of the boogeyman in the youkai world. Sesshomaru remembered the scary stories centered around this creature in his childhood. This creature's tale was told often to young inu who thought stealing was an inoffensive crime. It was possible that the young inu soldiers also knew the name, but among the nobles of the House of Inu that name was often spat on. He was never fearful of this creature, but he was fascinated by its evolution into power.

Azumamaro (as legend would have it) was once an abumi-guchi type of demon born from the lingering spirit of a dying warlord. The supposed warlord loved riding horses and went into battle with his prized stallion and the crown jewel of his village. Not much was known about the warlord, but his spirit was so bound to the mortal earth that he couldn't find peace in the afterlife. Instead, he ironically became a lingering spirit that would haunt mounted commanders near the battlefront where he died. A priest had sealed the spirit away in a gemstone resembling one of the warlord's crown jewels on a commander's stirrup and was cast away to the Susu-harai, a wasteland of haunted items or tools. Outraged, the warlord's spirit sought vengeance on the priest but could do very little as a haunted stirrup, so the lingering spirit began to devour the spirits of other haunted items or tools until he was strong enough to escape the wasteland and return to the battlefronts. While there, he possessed the corpses of fallen soldiers for a time but couldn't maintain use of the bodies. Spotting a beautiful stallion without an owner, he instead attached himself to it and became a warhorse. In the heat of battle or a desperate attempt to escape, soldiers ran to him for aid, but he devoured their souls and possessed their bodies until deterioration.

Frustrated, the warlord was said to have witnessed a battle between deities and had an idea. He entered the world of youkai as a warhorse instead. Demons went to him for his beauty and combat knowledge. Those that trusted him enough were able to keep him in their stables, but his trusted owner met a gruesome fate. They were brainwashed into doing his bidding until their lives were taken by unknown means. Once dead, they were possessed and devoured. On the day he had possessed his first demon, he learned from a beggar that the priest that had bound him had already died from old age. The priest was a nomad and had no home to destroy much like the beggar. Filled with grief and fury, the warlord transformed into a strange creature covered in fur and became known as The Grieving Devourer. He plundered holy cities and palaces for crown jewels or enchanted jewels that resembled the one that confined him. Growing in power, he also grew bolder and started to plunder demon territories by controlling children or maids and making them find any jewel of possible use. Those that gave him useless treasure to please him instead were devoured themselves.

To see this creature before him was almost disappointing. He wasn't really furry. He had a smooth coat resembling a horse and strong muscles. The mane and tail on him were probably the most frightening details. They contained the contorted faces of people he had consumed in various stages of death trapped in black hair. The bumps on his body were probably the only other thing of concern as they looked like whelps or boils. Some were blackened stones, others were breaking out of his skin and pulling it apart, and very few have yet to break the surface of his skin. His teeth were spaced out but large, jagged at the surface, and sharp enough to chew on mountain stone. His size was also of interest. Though he was crouched low to the ground, his legs could easily tower over them. He wasn't quite the shape or structure of a demonic horse, but you could see that he used to be one. His face was long like a stallion and his ears pointed upwards.

Sanraku whispered to his comrade, Reijiro, "... I don't remember fighting a demon with such odd boils. Think he needs skin cream?"

"Not the time," Reijiro reprimanded, getting into a battle stance. "Those boils are stony. He might be a mountain dweller."

"Azumamaro is a jewel thief. That's his plunder," Sesshomaru corrected, locking eyes with said beast.

"I stole nothing, son of Inu no Taisho!" the beast spat, narrowing its eyes. "These jewels are merely substitutes for the one I'm after. Some centuries must have passed since I last saw your pitiful father. You, and the other scourges I have to look at, were far younger when I met him. He spoke of you to others often when he traveled this way. Namely to the young princess I had the displeasure of having to battle along with him."

'Princess? No... father's mist - no, father's human wife wasn't alive when I was young. Nor could she fight. This creature must mean another...' Sesshomaru thought.

"You gettin' your ass handed to you by a princess is a useless fun fact. Why are you here?" Reijiro demanded, eyes glowing and growls coming out as practically low vibrations.

"That is my own business, boy!" Azumamaro hissed, rising from the ground to half of his towering height. "The little brat offered you up as a sacrifice with exception to that old man, but I think one of you, inu, will do just fine! One of you just might know where that bastard, Okakura, lives."

"'Fraid not, stoner," Reijiro replied, summoning a bit more yoki energy.

Sanraku growled then said, "You can take your business elsewhere for all I care."

"Ha! Such brave pups!" Azumamaro scoffed. "It is no matter. You will be part of me soon enough. It seems the heavens have a sliver of righteousness left, after all. Tis only fitting that I consume the son of the demon lord that tried to imprison me within the sunstone."

"Sunstone?" Sesshomaru questioned.

Kirameku Ha raised an eyebrow at the beast's words. This creature must be the one Meioshi was looking for. That means the child he saw might have been the lone survivor. Her assumptions seemed to be correct. Hearing rustling next to him, the old man peeked over to see Jaken creeping close to him and the dragon. Huh, could've sworn he was next to Sesshomaru. Speaking of which, the boy mentioned his father before. This bitterness towards him must be a recurring theme amongst his father's rivals or enemies. Feeling a gust of cold wind behind him, the old man turned to his right and heard the goblins from before creeping up to them. This wasn't good at all. An ambush was the last thing these kids needed. Putting a hand on his katana, Kirameku Ha twisted the hilt of his blade over to his right and pushed it down until he heard a click. He kept his hand on the sword until one of the enemies attacked. Azumamaro heard the click and took a peek at the old man behind the inu boys. Why'd that stupid kid want to spare him anyway? She didn't know him. Of all the meals before him, the old man seemed to be the most valuable to him. After all, he stood by the side of mounted soldiers in his past. Interested in Kirameku Ha, Azumamaro decided to test him and sunk a tendril of his tail hair into the ground.

"Of course, you wouldn't know of it," Azumamaro scoffed, sharp hooves digging into the ground. "You all are but children before me. The sunstone is a holy gem capable of feats inconceivable and enhancing the strengths of all creatures. It's most known for its ability to trap all demons no matter the immunity to reiki or repellants. In the hands of a demon, it can trap his enemies and decimate the humans with a single command. Something called the Shikon Jewel was the next best equivalent. I had gained an interest in it until I came across this legendary stone. It was capable of doing more for me than that shiny rock everyone was hunt-happy about. I suppose the Meido Stone could be regarded as a third best option. That one would've been worth an assassination attempt or two."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the creature for even suggesting such a thing. Suddenly, the creature snapped his attention to Kirameku Ha and the hair tendril shot out of the ground to wrap around the old man. Anticipating such an attack, Kirameku Ha unsheathed a double katana covered in mianyi and slashed at the hair trying to trap him. Jaken was a little slower in his response to the attack and barely got away until Ah-Un stomped on the hair. It shot a blast from its mouth to zap the hair away and stepped in front of Jaken to protect him. Kirameku Ha commanded the power of a tidal wave to his sword and struck at the ground to hit Azumamaro with it from the distance. Surprised by this call of power, the inu boys turned to the old man with wide eyes and opened mouths.

"Sensei!" a familiar voice called out.

Azumamaro shook his mighty form to drop the heads of fallen soldiers he had absorbed in his past. His eyes then glowed and enchanted the heads to give them physical forms again with his hair and yoki energy. One by one, commanders and warriors rose from the ground to lift their weapons and stand before the group. Without warning, they shook a bit until they were fully animated and bolted forward. The soldiers went straight for Kirameku Ha and... Meioshi.

"Doctor?" Jaken called.

The doctor unsheathed her snow sword and went on the offense until the pallbearers of the Netherworld leapt in front of her and Kirameku Ha. They roared in unison to form a barrier around them and made her retreat a bit in response. The soldiers were thrown back until Azumamaro made them go after the inu boys. He gave them stone and crystal armor before he crept towards Kirameku Ha and Meioshi. She looked at the goblins surrounding them and let out a low growl of her own. Her eyes were even beginning to glow orange.

"Stand down, girl!" one of the goblins ordered. "This is not your fight! Nor is it the old man's. Obey Master Tadamasa's orders. The black strings have already been connected. It is the silver string of eternal life that you must monitor. You are only allowed to support an end of the black string. Choose wisely, else you sacrifice an innocent."

"Is there no way to spare the one strung by silver thread?" Meioshi asked after some silence passed.

"It is his time, doctor," another goblin growled. "You cannot stop what will happen... but Tadamasa is allowing you to honor his death. The silver string is around another. Protect the bond between brothers and ensure his guardianship."

"That is the brother's final wish," a different goblin said.

Meioshi was shaking before she calmed down. Azumamaro must be one of the ends to the black string. The pallbearers wouldn't be stopping her if he wasn't. That means that she can't kill him for Hasumi like she promised. Whoever was destined to kill him had to be the one to do this. Her sensei isn't the one fated to kill him either. The pallbearers told him to stay out of it as well. She wasn't sure if he understood the goblins, though. Humans can't understand the language of the dead. To them, it just sounds like roaring, growling, or chirping. In the distance, Sesshomaru, Reijiro, and Sanraku were at war with the enchanted swordsmen. When Azumamaro felt the boys were distracted enough, he tried to go for the doctor and her sensei again. Sesshomaru caught this and used his poison whip to stop him. Before he could let out a response, he heard a sword being sheathed and looked to see his good-natured rival... no longer fighting. She instead summoned her boat oar and closed her eyes with disappointment. She was... standing down?