The Rising Action: Jigoku Meioshi

Map Within Rising Smoke

Leaving the Forest of Lurking Beasts, Meioshi walked over to her estate's garden for a moment to think of Shanwang's riddle. He decided to hang out at his old prison for a while to marvel at the difference between where he was under Unmei's control and where he is under Meioshi's control, even going so far as to walk around the cliff to venture deeper in the Jigoku estate, or what's left of it! She let him do this so that he could, in a way, let himself feel the weight of his own emotions. As menacing as Shanwang was, he had the capacity - as small as it is - to feel certain things beyond anger and confidence. It's what caught Bichisutomu's attention when he confronted the Oni from what Shanwang has said. Meioshi believed that if her ancestor could see potential in Shanwang as something more than a frightful beast then so could she. Hearing his footsteps against the earth fading away to her family's boating dock, she caught sight of the transitioning pathway to the cobblestones leading to her garden.

It was located to the right side of her home just in between the clinic and her museum. Though, to many others, her home seemed quite grand with all of the different buildings she owned, Meioshi found she disagreed with others calling her wealthy. Her vow of poverty didn't allow her to take money, so she keeps very little at her side and often gives it away to pay for other people's services or to help beggars. Even being called Lady Meioshi felt odd to her when she only ever wanted to be called doctor, but, given that the translation of her name means doctor when written correctly, she supposed that she could take some solace in her identity being literal. After all, she was a female doctor. Unless she takes into account her brooding, temporary ally's nickname, witch, she didn't really want to be called that either.

Sesshomaru, to her, could be rather odd at times. He had this strange need to do things his way, but, when that method didn't work out for him, he sort of... closed himself off first before he floated to whoever he believed could be of assistance or came back with a solution. He won't simply say he needs help. He kept doing it when they were at Shinju o Tateru. They were in the village for a few weeks at best, but he never stayed around his own men to evaluate his findings. He would pop in on her at random times and briefly tell her of his findings if she asked. Every now and then, Ohta or another child under her care would offer up a suggestion or clue, but he waited until Meioshi made a final word before he moved to try something else. Ohta, being her little bossy one, often made Sesshomaru and Jaken join them in relaxing so the two could think. Meioshi wasn't sure if the reason he stayed around her was because he was surveilling her or if he was silently asking her for help. He was so gung-ho about solving the issue at these Mujina Woodlands himself, but, when he came up with nothing, he would muse to himself in a corner on his own. It wasn't until she bypassed his warning to stay out of it that she got him to formally ask for a suggestion as indirect as he could make it. She looked up at a weeping willow tree and wondered about the quiet man. What made him so distant from his own kind? Has he always been like that?

Attention taken from her, Meioshi heard some birds tweeting in the blooming flower trees in front of her museum. She wondered if the little birds were confused by their stuffed comrade, or a statue of a comrade. Usually, if she or the kids couldn't stuff an animal, they would sculpt, paint, or draw one. Kyoko almost always visited the museum first while Meioshi was toiling away with something menial. She loves her taxonomy assignments and somehow doesn't mind stuffing the many different species of animals she gets to study... with exception to the squirrels. Poor Kyoko was crying for weeks because Meioshi stuffed a squirrel she recognized and had an attachment towards, but the little one had come to accept that her beloved squirrel was in the "memorial" phase. Kyoko was going to be an excellent surgeon with time. She found a sense of enjoyment in dissection practice, and she was quite skillful in being able to guess correctly at the time of death of a living creature. Meioshi fully supported her girl's dream of being a detective. It was unorthodox for a woman to do that kind of work, but the doctor believed in her apprentice and knew she could change the way the world viewed the working woman and the female scientist.

Smiling at her apprentice's potential, Meioshi thought of something as she looked at the birds entering the open windows closest to the roof of the aviary portion of her bestiary museum. She quickened her walking pace to her home and hustled into the side entrance. Opening the shoji door to the spiral stairs, she skipped over some steps to run up to her sleeping quarters on the next floor. Another set of shoji doors opened as she ran to her right side to enter the observatory room. It was an interesting place designed to be three-tiered with a glass ceiling. A lot of natural light entered the room, and it could be one of the most romantic spaces in her home when her candles were lit at night or one of the most enchanting if she went out to capture fireflies with the children. It was the resting place of one of her favorite hobbies: cartography. Walking up to the hemisphere near the center of the room, she looked at the blank, curved surface of the grey, smooth stone. This was where she built terrains from clay or constellations from crystals.

"I have seas without water, coast without sand, towns without people, mountains without land," Meioshi repeated, eyes shifting as she stared back at her reflection in the glossed stone.

"Ogre Island is closer in characteristic to a continent, doctor. The commanders ruled what would be considered countries or states..."

She repeated the riddle a few more times until she looked at an unfinished work of hers. Her eyes widened a bit and she said, "It's a map! Seas, coast, towns, mountains. All things describing the physical features of new territories without physically being present! The riddle is telling me where the map is! Representation, representation. Right then, what is the next part of the riddle trying to tell me? I have no feet, no hands, no wings, but I climb to the sky. What climbs to the sky naturally but without body parts or some sort of mechanic to do it? What's being represented here?"

Stepping away from the glossy hemisphere and turning to her maps on the wall, she caught the sight of her old farmer's weather map. She used to collect them to make better star maps as a child. These days, she used them for actual farming and harvesting practice. Wait!

"What about water like mist or steam or fog or, or...?" Meioshi whispered, closing her eyes.

"The commanders are supplementary to each other. In order for one to do his job, you need another to do his and so on and so forth..."

"Each one controls one of the eight elements of the living world: water, fire, earth, wind, force, time, metal, and light. The king, of course, is the master of thunder and lightning..."

"All Oni know when their kind is born, in trouble, or dead," Shanwang replied, grinning.

"Smoke!" Meioshi said. "The riddles crafted by each commander... link to another. They need each other to oversee the fate of all their kind. If Numa-o is the controller of the waters, then his riddle must link to another commander who can produce or control smoke. They must be working together to hide each other. To ensure no one finds either of them, they have to hide the map leading to them. The map itself is within smoke that rises to the sky, so where would smoke continuously rise or magically be unending? How thick would the smoke have to be?"

"Apart, we are invisible. Together, we are direction. In your hands, I will never be. Where is the commander?" Shanwang asked, completing the riddle.

"Maps aren't invisible, though," Meioshi said, folding her arms to bite one of her nails. "They just need to be made or memorized. The same could be said of smoke. You merely need flint, stone, and wood to make fire, which inevitably produces smoke, but only the process of it can be memorized. Smoke is a result of a process. Maps of memory or charting. Maybe... it's the process itself that's being described. Apart, we are invisible because we have to be made. Together, we are direction. Is it saying that after you make the map and smoke you will be pointed in the right direction? No, what if...? What if that part of the riddle is the clue to finding the map? A place where things are made?"

"Then, you'd be on the right track," a familiar voice said from the window.

Meioshi turned around for a moment only to be terrorized by the grinning face of Shanwang staring at her. Only his head was in the window, the rest of his body was covered by her house. She let out a yelp before shouting, "Heaven's sakes! Why are you in the window? I thought you were going back to your palace!"

"Well, I was until I heard you musing," Shanwang replied, raising a brow before lowering it back. "Looks like you got most of the riddle solved. The map to Numa-o's territory is indeed within smoke. Now, you just have to find the blacksmith the riddle is talking about. Of course, there's a problem with that."

"Oh, gods, no," Meioshi complained. "What now?"

"The blacksmith doesn't know he has a map in his smoking forge, but you can try to use the sprites to find the three-eyed oxen in the blacksmith's possession," Shanwang suggested. "Oxen are sacred animals."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this Numa-o gent was sending me on a wild goose chase," Meioshi said, folding her arms. "Guess I'll use my boat to make the trek to this blacksmith you're talking about."

"I don't know him, personally, but the commanders did apparently. He must bear an impressive skill with weaponry or armor," Shanwang remarked, narrowing his eyes at the commanders' secrecy. "Before I leave from here, I've another riddle for you. Might help with the direction part of the first riddle. Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed. What am I? Behind my eyes, you cannot see what goes up and down without moving. Through my eyes, you will see this thing running without legs yet hardening like stone. What can you see with me?"

Meioshi was quiet as she looked at Shanwang grinning at her. She took a deep breath and then said, "I swear you do this just to toy with me."

"Meh, sometimes," Shanwang responded, shrugging his large shoulders.

_______________________________________

Okakura directed Homugi to the guest rooms while Sesshomaru and Jaken stood outside. Well, if Jaken had to be honest, Lord Sesshomaru looked like he was about to implode. As the sun was setting, the beach waters held a romantic glow of fuchsia and deep orange. The glass spheres held a gold tint to their surfaces. The watch tower of the Nautilus was quite beautiful during the evening hours. Hearing stomping in the distance, Sesshomaru turned his head slightly and focused on his senses on the strange presence.

"My lord, who is Homugi? An old friend of yours?" Jaken asked, hoping to break the tension.

"An oni," Sesshomaru said aloud, ignoring Jaken's questions. "Jaken. With me."

"Yes, me lord!" Jaken responded, tripping over his feet to hold onto Moko Moko.

Sesshomaru immediately took flight to follow the oni and saw one covered in moss and waterlogged bark. It was lumbering to someplace but was glowing with yoki energy like it was sending off a beacon. It wasn't necessarily a towering demon like the one he had when he confronted Inuyasha, but it was a hefty specimen with bulky arms and legs. it took some time before the ogre stopped. It found whatever it was looking for and watched its prey. Sesshomaru went to land near it, but it disappeared into a smelly mist and formed an inch worth of fog to border a particular space. He flew passed the fog to go ahead of it and noticed that the fog reacted to him slightly. Experimentally, he landed near what looked like a lagoon and walked forward. He caught the scent of sweet orange and wild cherry. Divine spirits were here.

Silently, he lurked over to the lagoon and spotted two sprites playing in the water on the side. A splash of water caught his attention, and before him was a woman sitting on a boulder. She had burns on her back forming a shapely tattoo that took the appearance of odd wings and markings along the spine that made him trace where each vertebra was located on her body. The expanse of her back, though marked, was as clean and smooth as an unmarked painting canvas. The spinal markings stopped just above her hips and showed off the small of her waist forming a shapely, feminine figure. She had a bar of soap nearby and went to rub circles in her thighs. The curvature of them mixed with the color of her golden skin made her more erotic by appearance. She rubbed the soap into her skin until she reached her arms. They were toned but not exaggeratedly so or too masculine. It was just enough to let him know that she was athletic. Her bust shape wasn't perky or sagging but a healthy medium and a healthy size. He could see the swelling of them as she scrubbed circles into her sides and the nipples weren't quite pronounced. All was smooth as she scrubbed. Finally, she stood up to scrub the more sensitive areas of the female body. He turned away sharply out of respect until the fog gathered closer and made him look at her. First, she scrubbed her shapely arse, which wiggled as she scrubbed, and then her genitalia. She didn't turn to him when she did this. Once she was fully washed, she took a bucket of water and dumped it on her scalp and hair to let the water trail down. Soap bubbles and lather all descended into the crevices of her body. She rinsed herself off a couple more times before washing her hair with a bottle of liquid. She massaged her scalp to produce a light lather before leaning over to rinse it out. Flipping her hair back and to the side like a horse tail, she tied it up into a high ponytail and twisted her hair to wring the water out and style it with a thick ribbon of sorts. In summation, her body was quite lovely. The oni could be after the sprites to consume them, but they were known for preying after women. She was easily his prey if that was the case.

Sensing the oni getting closer, Sesshomaru turned only slightly to wait for it to attack. The only thing that stole his attention away from it was a name he dreaded hearing come from the sprites.

"Lady Meioshi, are you coming over to swim, too?" the sprite with white hair asked, waving cheerfully.

"The water's really nice," the dark-haired sprite commented.

No... Sesshomaru thought, closing his eyes.

"Okay, little ones. I'm coming!" Meioshi cheered, wrapping herself in a short robe before diving into the lagoon waters.

Sesshomaru could admit a lot of things to himself. This assortment of events, for example, was not his cup of tea. He was already annoyed with having to visit Okakura the Nautilus at his watch tower. Now, he has to work with Homugi, his former betrothed, on this new investigation of missing inu clansmen that no one told him about, and his rival, who's crossed paths with him at three different points in time thus far, is being hunted down by potentially all of the oni in existence for unknown reasons because why wouldn't she be? Every time they reunite with each other, she has some new enemy or puzzle on the horizon! He shouldn't be surprised that she was playing with children either, or at least spirits that looked like children, but somehow watching Meioshi engage in carefree activities seemed to help him think. Hearing the soft laughter from playtime was equivalent to white noise for the western lord. He wasn't sure if he missed the days when his innocence wasn't lost but watching his rival swim and seeing Homugi at the watch tower brought back quite a few memories. Many of which were not favorites for Sesshomaru, but his uneven heartbeat was a strong sign that no matter how many years passed he would always remember that awful weight of tradition and peer pressure resting on his shoulders when it came to Homugi and his omiai.

Feeling the oni's yoki energy pulsating and the fog thickening around the lagoon stopped him from reminiscing any further. The doctor remained oblivious to the danger approaching her, but the oni's movements were changing from ominous lurking to scouting stealth. It was getting closer to them, making Sesshomaru narrow his eyes at the proximity, but stopped as if it were waiting on Meioshi to know of its presence. A singular tendril of fog creeped its way to the lagoon waters, making Meioshi only turn slightly with narrowed eyes and a smirk. She was more alert now. More tendrils creeped their way towards the waters until a simple orb web had formed and eyes formed from yoki energy and water manipulation to gravitate above the surface. The sprites ceased their play for a moment to observe the creature. They didn't seem to be fearful of the oni.

"Kachan oni," the fog and eyes said with gravelly voice. "You have hidden your scent from the living world. Why?"

"Kachan oni?" Jaken whispered aloud, raising an eyebrow. "But the doctor is a mortal human, is she not? Are those sprites maybe what it's referring to?"

Sesshomaru remained still as he listened on. He wasn't sure if he should eavesdrop on his rival's business, but he did have information to relay to her and the oni migration was of interest to the bumbling fool. Hopefully, the doctor could handle the creature, but it was difficult to tell if this oni was a threat.

"To protect myself," Meioshi responded, smile not leaving but an odd glint was in those smoldering hazel eyes. She knew the oni was looking for her. She then asked, "You've been trailing me for a few miles now, so you must have another way of tracking me. Do all aquatic specimen like yourself have homing abilities? Or is that a personal skill of yours?"

"Your sprites gave you away," the fog and eyes responded with a proud voice. "A true oni has multiple ways of tracking prey including those of the heaven realm. You seem to understand this in part. You will learn more of this with time as you mature, kachan oni."

"Understood. Are you the one called Numa-o then?" Meioshi asked in reply. "I was under the assumption that I only made everyone curious."

The oni narrowed its eyes but said with honesty, "I am Kiyonobu. Guardian of the marshland kingdom. Name yourself."

"Meioshi. Guardian of my homelands and the world beyond," she answered, placing a hand on her chest before lowering her hand. "Why have you come to me, Kiyonobu?"

"Lord Numa-o sensed your ability to command snow. I was sent to locate you. If you proved worthy of tutelage, you would be taken in under his wing. Your mortal skin is impressive. Once aged, you will make a fine wife," Kiyonobu answered.

"Oh?" Meioshi responded, jumping at the notion and blushing a bit. She was flattered at this and said with a light giggle that interested Kiyonobu, "Thank you. Now, what's all this about tutelage? How do I obtain it?"

"Continue on your path to the blacksmith's volcano pass," Kiyonobu answered, making the fog thicker around the lagoon. The water levels were decreasing as the oni collected some of the waters with him. He then said, "When you find Lord Numa-o's palace, complete his challenge and claim the vault."

With that, the messenger made of fog gathered his essence and lagoon water and sunk back into darkness, leaving Meioshi behind with the sprites to solve another piece of her growing puzzle and Sesshomaru behind to confront her. Kiyonobu's pounding footsteps sounded in the distance before all was quiet again. The doctor sighed before rubbing her forehead between her thumb and pointer fingers. Ogres were such cryptic things! What on Earth did Kiyonobu mean by a vault? Dropping her hand, Meioshi took a step to her side and closed her eyes to think for a second.

"Well, you heard the man, boys," Meioshi said aloud, turning to Bonitas and Caritas. "We're off again on our journey."

"Aw, man!" Caritas whined, paddling to the doctor. "Can't we swim for a few more minutes, Lady Meioshi? The camp's almost ready."

Meioshi giggled before holding her waist and responding, "Alright, but not for too long. You'll prune up and won't be able to hold your bowl to eat. Your little hands will burn up and no dinner until they heal."

"What? No kimchi gyoza nabe! Unacceptable!" Bonitas shouted, barreling out of the water with a burst of speed.

Caritas laughed before swimming out of the water calmly and saying, "He sure does love his dumplings. Wait for me, brother!"

Meioshi shook her head at the excitable boys and moved to follow them out of the lagoon. Before she stepped out of the water completely, she stopped and smirked toothily. Her eyes slid closed for a moment until she spotted a pink shell on the shoreline. Picking it up to inspect it, she waited until the little ones were done wringing water out of their swimming robes to turn her head to the side. The sprites ran into the bushes, where her campsite must have been, and were hustling to change out of their clothes and into pajamas.

She raised her voice a bit to say, "You can join us for dinner if you wish, my lords. That concludes our show for the night."

Sesshomaru's heart just about plummeted to his stomach when she said that, but he remained in place just in case she was talking to someone else. How long had she known he was there? At the same time the oni arrived or before that? He hoped it wasn't before the oni approached her.

"You stop right there, woman!" Jaken shouted, stomping on one foot. "Forget about the grub. What are you doing talking to ogres? Why are they looking for you?"

"That's a secret," Meioshi answered, peeking over her shoulder and winking suggestively at her rival.

Without staying to hear his response, the doctor proceeded to leave the two demons to converse with each other until Sesshomaru spoke up, "Nurikabe, the black wall demon, had an ally in the Netherworld. A woman named Rakuyama. Know of her?"

Meioshi gasped at this, eyes widening and body stiffening. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at her response to this information. The doctor knew this person.

"Who the hell is she?" Jaken demanded. "She's been killing multiple innocent demons at the Mujina Woodlands as a consequence of you and that stupid sword! Talk, woman!"

"Yes, I know who Rakuyama is," Meioshi said in an almost remorseful tone. "You can't defeat her on your own."

"Lord Sesshomaru is the most powerful being in the living world to date!" Jaken argued, offended by the doctor's words.

"He's also a man with a high amount of yoki energy," Meioshi said, not wanting to tell them how she knows of this creature. She continued, "That's what she consumes. He'd be a target for her. She's highly parasitic much like the black wall demon. In the Netherworld, she's known as Queen Kyonshi, the energy eater or yoki consumer. She doesn't care about the snow sword, but... it doesn't make sense for her to go so far for the black wall demon without a reason either. You'll have to keep a close eye on her if you spot her again, but I wouldn't get too close. I don't know why it didn't occur to me in the first place!"

"Who is she?" a voice asked.

Meioshi, Sesshomaru, and Jaken all turned to see Homugi standing before them with a displeased look on her face. She was giving Meioshi a fairly dirty look similar in maliciousness to Zakaza, but the blue merle beauty was also angry at Sesshomaru. They were supposed to be working together on this assignment, but he goes off to inform a human on crucial information? The mere insult of it all!

"Lady Homugi?" Jaken questioned.

"Explain to me how you know the assailant of the Mujina Woodlands, human," Homugi demanded with a seething tone and glare.

"That is none of your concern," Sesshomaru answered, narrowing his eyes at her.

"If you're involving a human in our affairs, it is my concern!" Homugi argued, snapping at Sesshomaru. "You dare betray the House of Inu by withholding crucial evidence? There are lives being put in danger, as we speak, and you only care about your attachment to this human! You're no better than your father! I thought you wanted to be different but you're exactly the same!"

"Know your place, wench," Sesshomaru growled, silencing Homugi.

"I won't sit here and let you insult the inu line any further!" Homugi argued. "I'm taking her to the court to decide punishment and that is final!"

"I said know your place!" Sesshomaru growled deeply, baring his teeth and picking up a bit of wind. "You, brats, are all the same in that regrettable place. Thinking you know everything and can cross the line however you please. I already told you that you'll never be a leader in the House of Inu if all you do is overstep your boundaries. You'll live the life of an old hag, wandering around blind and dumb, until you understand that your place is in the background like any other perfumed woman. You haven't grown up or gotten it through your head yet after all these years. You are unworthy of being a right hand and unworthy of a bridal position."

SMACK!

Homugi slammed her hands over her mouth as she witnessed the unthinkable. Jaken's mouth just about dropped to the ground at the sight. Meioshi was fuming at the western lord's words and hissed out with an evil and snakish voice, "Go back to where you came from and don't you ever come near this woman again..."