Showdown! Arctic Alliances

The mind control infecting this poor creature was enough to disturb a normal man. Feeling another entity's desires for power or pleasure unable to control your body to reject it would take its toll on the young half-breed. Sesshomaru had seen some sick people in his centuries-long journey as a roamer. This situation was no different. Sesshomaru watched with narrowed eyes as Ichi laughed hysterically at the thought of having the doctor under his control. He would have thought that the black sky or the Netherland wolf would have wanted to fight him more because he had defeated the Master of Hell some years ago, but Meioshi made a bigger impression on these two demons than he was willing to acknowledge and that was oddly starting to vex him. Though he knew Lady Meioshi had much potential as his rival, Sesshomaru disagreed with having other opponents knowing of the doctor's true strength and/or secrets. He had to be careful of his questioning now, though. The sky grew more alert to his responses to certain topics of interest, but this did make Sesshomaru wonder if it recognized the bubbling sense of competitiveness he was experiencing. No way was a human woman stronger than him! He drew a very firm line in the sand when it came to Kagome picking up Tessaiga when neither he nor Inuyasha could even move the damn thing!

A thought then occurred to the western lord. One that he decided to let sound softly for the sky to hear it; in fact, he was almost tempted to formally speak to the sky since it seemed to know about Meioshi in hindsight. That could prove to be a useful trick. Meioshi's family had existed for 300 or so years according to the civilians of Heiwa; meaning, his father would have known about Unmei if he truly was interested in Heiwa as a potential territory. A hundred years would have passed between the time his father discovered the refugee camp up until his death. At least three generations of the Jigoku name would have survived, so why didn't his father return to Heiwa? Maybe by then, Unmei and his descendants were in the Netherworld and rendered undetectable by those of the living world. Did the sky interact with the others like it did with Meioshi? Sesshomaru heard the sky grumble in response. So, it did hear the questions. Good. Ichi looked up at the sky and kept his gaze locked on it instead of Sesshomaru and Jaken.

"Yes, the sky knew your father," Ichi said, ears twitching briefly as it spoke for the sky. "He was like you. Able to tell the sky was there, but they never dueled. His fate was marked by a different enemy then. That's when the sky saw him last. The sky was preoccupied with another enemy himself. It didn't care about a dead man."

"How dare you insult the great general!" Jaken defended.

"It's no insult to say a dying man will be soon dead," Ichi responded, closing his eyes for a moment. The sky seemed to have more to say. Ichi then continued, "Your father had a lot on his mind then. Such chaotic strings of thought woven together to form his death poem! And, yet a strange thing to do with no audience and moments before his so-called 'noble act'."

Sesshomaru couldn't explain it, but that tidbit of information silenced him. His eyes widened enough to show his attention had been fully gained, and they returned to normal sizing with some mixture of emotions he was trapped between not wanting to know and not wanting to remember. Phantom memories of a cursed and intimate vision were rising to the surface like an autumn fog over a gray lake. The ghost of a man who once was named father was struggling to enter his domain of conscious afterthought. After all these years, he thought what he felt towards his father had been established, acknowledged, and accepted. Hearing that, in the corner of his father's mind, there were words of a death poem being written with a phantom pen or brush was more than a shock. It seemed unreal. The death poem was a ceremonial occurrence among disgraced warriors. Why would he subconsciously be writing one? Unless... he knew he was getting weaker between the times he... That he knew that... He had to control the shaking his body was so tempted to do. He had to control the irregular heartbeat rising from his chest. How much did he know about his own death? When did he know he wouldn't come back?

"What nonsense are you spewing, half-breed?" Jaken questioned in his lord's place.

"The sky can hear your softest thoughts. Many men lost in the forests during the winter whisper things to themselves," Ichi replied, letting a soft wind blow. He lowered his voice as though he were speaking to himself. It could have been a way to show emphasis, but it didn't quite seem to be the entirety of the situation. Ichi then continued, "Regrets. Fears. Passions. Hopes. Next steps in futile plans. Your father spoke at least one of these when he passed under it. The day was not in winter, but he spoke as though it were. That day was also the last the sky had seen of the living world. One lonely demon walking into the arms of death, the other walking into the arms of new life. Two centuries had gone by since the sky entered the living world again."

The sudden high amount of power being unleashed in the distance brought Sesshomaru back to reality. Any longer and he would have revisited the past. Not one Jaken was familiar with and one he refused to look at another time. He refused to feel anything anymore. He refused to go back to broken remnants. Another surge in the distance made the ground rattle. Yes, he could forget again. He had a way to forget it all. She was out there. She didn't know his father because she was involved in this mess. She had her own problems. The only thing of interest to him now was his future battles with his rival. If he had to destroy these hell-bound creatures first, then that should make his fight with Meioshi worth his while. It took 300 years to make this female child of evolution, resolution, and revolution. He would see this fable unfold with each turn of the page. Reducing the volume of his silent train of thought will prove challenging if more information is fed to him about her, but his resolve to know of his rival on his own was resolute.

The harrying of divine power prickled against his skin, and the strong smell of sweet orange and pine filled the air. It was a calming, pleasant scent masking the burning sulfur of the Netherworld. The feel of ice on his lips was less serene. Sesshomaru supposed he had heard enough to pick out his next choice of actions. He just couldn't think of them too softly; otherwise, the sky would warn Ichi of his attacks or possibly protect its host. On his own, Ichi was weak against Sesshomaru and probably weaker than Inuyasha by a sizable margin, but Sesshomaru would have to test this theory. Inuyasha only managed to best him by catching him by surprise. However, Ichi was under the control of possibly two separate, powerful entities belonging to the frosted depths of hell. He would have to be his most efficient yet. A blunt strike that rattled the very earth under his feet was the perfect sign for him to act. The smell of the doctor's familiar flower oil fluttered to his senses and made him let out a dark, single-note chuckle.

"That is all I wanted to know from your master. I've a foolish witch to fight and you're in my way," Sesshomaru replied at last, revealing Tensaiga.

"Go fight her then, brother," Ichi responded, locking eyes with Sesshomaru. "She's got a few more hours left before she is ours. Enjoy a proper battle."

"As if I would ever let scroungers like you take my opponent," Sesshomaru said, holding up his claw and releasing toxins into the air. Ichi held himself in an odd embrace, showing his muscular arms from field work, and grinned with a sinister display of sharp teeth. He was quiet but anticipating something as his feet shifted in a defensive stance. Sesshomaru then hissed, "I'll destroy you first!"

"I accept your challenge!" Ichi said with widened eyes and an amused grin.

A flurry of snow and ice swirled about Ichi from the ground up to grant him control of the Netherworld's arctic strength while the sky gave him a small ounce of its darker power. Claws being armored with blades of ice acting as nails and bits of bone acting as gauntlets and shoulders being covered in fur similar to Sesshomaru's Moki Moki delighted Ichi as he chose only his hands and feet for battle. If more power was needed, the sky would provide it. Snowflakes solidified into spurs on his feet and a mesmerizing helmet. Sesshomaru decided to take this opportunity to truly forget everything and let Tensaiga's divine power course through its bodice. It was no longer about the wolf or the sky. Everything was about the fight before him... and the fight soon to come...

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On her left, a blunt swipe of his flagpole across the abdomen forced her back with enough impact to retaliate through backflips until she stood firm again. Too open. She had to brace for his power. Defending herself from a downward strike, Meioshi quickly blocked the crushing blow with Kaishi Novum and felt her wrists bend backward and crack. Any harder and they would've been broken. The Nameless General's blows were mind-numbingly powerful. What he lacked in speed, he more than made up for in sheer might. This did not mean he was terribly slow, though. He could punch a man's jaw off its hinge if necessary, and his kicks could knock the wind out of a man. Meioshi only knows this because he punched her in the side and kicked the back of her knee. Though able to block his other attacks, the Nameless General struck his opponent with the intention of stunning surrounding areas at the local point of parry. He was a general for good reason and must have taught Honoseiken well during the kage o tasuo ritual.

He was still a man, though. Handsome as he was. Meioshi almost wanted to laugh at herself. Having a crush on her opponent was unacceptable in every sense of the word, especially with him being dead for an unknown number of centuries, but she was used to having older teachers and trainers like Shishou during her rituals. Having a younger man testing her skill sparked a sort of playfulness in her fighting style and made her strictly want to disarm the man versus defeating him through harmful tactics. While the Nameless General wouldn't see anyone in a romantic sense due to his ascension to the afterlife, Meioshi only toyed with the notion that he might have been quite popular with women during his time. He seemed to love children and found great honor in protecting them. Her grandfather, Arimasa, certainly would have taken an interest in him since he, too, was a soldier. The problem would have been her aristocratic grandmother, Umehana, the judge of man. Her fans hurt! Becoming too distracted with her observations of the General, Meioshi changed her battle tactics after having been hit by another crushing blow.

Twirling the spear and placing it behind her, Meioshi chose a new fighting stance that required her to stand on one foot, hold a hand out with two fingers pointed upwards and her thumb atop the remaining curled fingers, and a sturdy core. She closed her eyes, calmed her breathing, and allowed the atmosphere to reach equilibrium with her. The Nameless General watched her do this with curiosity until he felt a pull at his being. She wasn't taking power from him. She wasn't calling on the energies of the life surrounding them. Power was going to her at will. Admirable. He followed suit and closed his eyes to refocus. Charging at her, the General swung his flagpole multiple times and was surprised by Meioshi's newfound control of defensive techniques. A stab was redirected into an upward swing. Their hands were dancing around the polearm as if they were a joined wind waving the General's flag through their currents. A downward swing was redirected to the side and Meioshi pulled the flagpole towards her and punched it at a perfect point to break it.

The ritual was complete. The Nameless General was still but proud. He waited for Meioshi to open her eyes and lifted a fist to his open palm when she did. The doctor gasped, smiled, and repeated the same salute. Respectfully, the two bowed.

Meioshi's power had deactivated and before her was the Nameless General waiting for her to stand. She could feel the prickly grass and firm earth underneath her butt and thighs now. Her left side was becoming numb, making her realize she had returned to the living world consciously. She was no longer surrounded by ice and snow. There was warmth all around her! Summertime had returned to this land of conflict. Bird-Meioshi was in awe at the sight. The doctor was able to call a spirit from the mystical tanto! How? Feeling warmth rising to the stationary boat, the bird watched the ice surrounding the man and dagger below break into pieces of flower petals instead of ice. Each petal floated to the sky above and punctured the gray blanket of cloud and cold until the sky burned and melted away. The sun was setting. Rising to stand, Meioshi laughed lightly and nodded at the General.

"You make a good sparring partner, old chap," Meioshi complimented, feeling the damage the General was able to do to her even in the Mind's Eye realm.

"Old chap?" the Nameless General questioned, tilting his head with a raised eyebrow. What an odd accent the doctor had.

"A term of endearment," Meioshi explained vaguely, chuckling with some embarrassment and scratching her cheek cutely. "It's equivalent to a friend."

"You make a good friend then, doctor," the Nameless General complimented, smiling gently. He could see the light blush on Meioshi's cheeks and a cheerful laugh brightening up her features. She would have made quite the soldier in his time, but the men wouldn't have been able to focus on the war efforts with a pretty face like that. He then said, "To lift my blade, wrap the scabbard with the cloth from my flag. Make haste, doctor. If you don't find the boy's lantern in time, the black wall could try to recomplete itself."

"Recomplete?" Meioshi questioned, returning to a more serious disposition. "Explain."

"The black wall is only as powerful as the person who holds the snow sword. It needs a lost child to hold the snow sword, a mother to defend the child, and a tether to bond them to it. It feeds off wanderers by using bait and song. If these protectors were children as you said, it may drain them of what power they have left and replace them with a new child. That would leave it with the task of finding a new mother to protect the lost child. The tether will be the hardest to replace, but it can be done with the right information. The black wall needs another demon of great power to rebuild its body but only if the demon succumbs to it willingly. The boy's lantern reveals the tether point so that my blade can break the wall."

"I see, so it's been feeding off the wolf this whole time," Meioshi said, looking to the side. "I'm still lost on why it needs the sword, though. Why must a lost child hold it?"

"Children are pure," the Nameless General replied. "Only one of pure heart can lift the sword, and only one with a pure mind can command the power of it."

Meioshi's eyes widened at this. She then looked up at the bird in her boat, looked to the sky, and touched the medallion on her chest. She thought back to when she was running through the Netherworld, when Yuko told her about the wolf, when she met Jaken, and when she confronted Sesshomaru. A thought occurred to her and she whispered, "It wants to freeze hell and earth over. It doesn't just need a tether for fresh blood. It needs one for a new kingdom."