Enter the Satsujin part 2

"Ensnaring Whirlwind!" Hidorobō commanded with a low growl in his voice.

A burst of wind was summoned from the ground and practically lifted Meioshi off her feet. She was surprised for only a moment until she twirled around with the Chen-bi Shield as she was being taken up higher. The chrysanthemum wyvern joined the attack by releasing a fire blast from its mouth and dashing at the doctor. Sheathing Chen-bi's additional knife into a compartment of the shield, Meioshi strapped the shield to her back and removed her roningasa hat to absorb the fire. Hidorobō was quick in using a barrage attack and hit Meioshi twice while she was distracted, but she was able to react fast enough to block the chrysanthemum wyvern with the Chen-bi Shield. Once the hat was full of its fire, she used it to attack the wyvern and cast it out of the wind attack. Unsheathing the Dai Fubuki blade from her person, she hurriedly defended herself from more of Hidorobō's violent attacks before he leapt out of the tornado and watched as his shadows unleashed a singular critical blow at once. Just barely escaping, Meioshi trips over herself before recovering and seeing the chrysanthemum wyvern charging at her again.

Using its speed to its advantage, it slaps her with its tail and bites her in the side twice before tossing her on the ground. Hidorobō dashes at her to scoop her and uses his grab to pick her up and punch her twice before using a backward slash to slam Meioshi into the ground. He plummets down to perform a thrust, but the doctor manages to recover and performs a high kick. The two duel using blades for a short period of time until the doctor delivers a successful critical hit using the Dai Fubuki and Hidorobō uses his Ensnaring Wind again in retaliation. The lotus serpent dives into the ground and emerges from underneath Meioshi to use a biting attack. Because it produces a form of mud shield, Meioshi gets overwhelmed by Hidorobō's barrage and is cut in different places. Feeling herself react slowly, she looks down at her yukata and sees where she's been hit for herself before covering one of the wounds. It's the only one that's begun to bleed. That mud shield was going to be a problem. She had to think carefully for that enemy.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Four enemies surrounding her. One, Hidorobō, controls the wind. Two, the chrysanthemum wyvern, controls fire. She can fight against fire. She knows fire. Three, the lotus serpent, seems to be able to control the earth. The soil protects it. Four, the moonflower serpent, an enemy unknown in capability.

"When you fight, young Meioshi, not every enemy will have the same skillset as you," Kirameku Ha once said. "You can't assume their morals, training, or philosophe are the same as yours. Use what they know, what they are capable of, what they were taught as your weapon. Let their attributes, agility, and attrition become your defense against them. Study the moves that bested you as you are fighting your opponent. This is how the kage o tasuo ritual was birthed. It is not an act of cowardice to turn away from unnecessary bloodshed as many warriors often perceive it. It is not an act of compassion to protect innocent life either. It is the mark of a true Bushido warrior. Can he form a technique capable of defeating his opponents in the present and the future by learning from his mistakes in the past? His past begins when the fight begins. Every strike, every guard, every evasion that has failed is part of the past as he moves in the present. Take those mistakes..."

Meioshi strapped the Chen-bi Shield onto her back once more, fixed her roningasa hat, and sheathed the Dai Fubuki and knife away. Sinking low to the ground in a crouching position, she formed her attacks hands and released a tense breath. Eyes determined, body calm, awaiting for the next attack.

"And change the winds of your fate," Kirameku Ha concluded in his teachings.

Hidorobō glared at Meioshi and changed his own stance. He lifted his katana to his chest, where the blade pointed to the sky, and said, "Divine Paragon of Heaven's Storm."

Diving into the ground once more, the lotus serpent made the earth turn into waves like those of the sea. Feeling her body gyrate, Meioshi simply became one with the waves and closed her eyes to listen for the beast. Hidorobō charged his katana with lightning and rushed at her to attack, but the doctor remained still until the beast stirred. Using the Chen-bi Shield, she twirled it around in her arms until it rotated on its own in her palm. Dodging a hard thrust, she backflipped just in time to block the thrust and the serpent's bite attack. Her rotation speed doubled from the serpent's mud shield and the Chen-bi Shield transferred Hidorobō's lightning through Meioshi's body and into the roningasa hat. Meioshi took off the hat and threw it at the chrysanthemum wyvern to down it. Angrily, Hidorobō punched the ground to summon a rock rocket and kicked it at Meioshi. When she guarded against it, he punched it again to slam her into the ground, but the doctor didn't feel the hard surface against her body. Instead, she felt a soft body catching her and saw spikes from a mace. Gasping, a flash of pink shot by her and knocked Hidorobō into the ground but he retaliated in time to flip onto his feet acrobatically and position himself for another attack.

"Who are you?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Homugi the Blue Merle Thorn."

"Homugi?" Meioshi called, not immediately recognizing the inu beauty.

She wasn't wearing her fancy kimono anymore. Instead, she wore a bodysuit similar in style to Meioshi's but with holes along the arms and legs. The design looked a lot like spots. Though she still wore a kimono, it was more like a commoner's style of dress. It was open shouldered and flared out like a cape at the waist. The sleeves were open like wings. The signature fur pelt that Sesshomaru typically wore was a collar and anklet on Homugi's neck and right foot respectively. Eyes red and hair flowing like waves, Homugi stood on one foot and positioned herself to fight.

"Any later and you might've gotten yourself killed," Homugi remarked, narrowing her eyes at Hidorobō. "Who's this bright-eyed ass wipe?"

Clicking his tongue, Hidorobō tsked and shook his head. He took two pointer fingers and dragged them across the side of his katana to infuse a hyper amount of divine energy throughout the blade. He then said, "Such a pity. Siding with demons isn't a good look for you, my love."

"Love?" Homugi questioned, perking up at this information. "You were Meioshi's lover?"

Hidorobō smirked eerily and replied, "Not quite, demon girl. Perhaps I should show you a little something before killing you as well. Your friend there is a lot like you."

"Like me?" Homugi questioned.

"Of course, you can't tell from that human form of hers. The hell travelers... are no more than beasts in human caging... Answer to the one you call master!" Hidorobō hissed, stretching that smirk into a fiendish smile.

The moonflower serpent finally crept up and spat a drop of light into the air. It was no more than a puddle above its head before that puddle made the ground turn to mush and ripple underneath Meioshi's feet. She was still as her environment shifted. The sounds of hell - ones that she feared the most since her return to the mortal realm - chanted in her ears, making her shake and writhe. She could feel her bones shifting uncomfortably until they started snapping. A growl escaped her lips then some moaning. Struggling to stop the chants, Meioshi clasped her hands on her ears to stop the voices... but she couldn't. Homugi turned to the doctor and watched her transform into something that couldn't even be akin to a beast. Those soft hands that wiped away her tears formed a sixth finger that changed into an axe head. The doctor's thumbs did a similar thing. Meioshi's nurturing but strong and hazel eyes changed to a spidery orange with split pupils. Her dark hair that framed her face so beautifully became fur along her back. That sweet smile that Homugi adored in the time she spent with the doctor was a mouth full of fangs contorting into a wider grimace.

She couldn't stand it anymore. This creature was not her Meioshi. This wasn't the woman she left the House of Inu for... in order to protect her. She had to stop this! Homugi shook her head in disbelief for a moment before dashing over to her and grabbing her head in her hands.

"Meioshi, listen to me! You have to fight it!" Homugi demanded. "You told me that I needed a friend to get me off my ass when I'm down. You were right! That's all I ever wanted. I came all this way to prove that I'm more than just a reject. Don't let this man get the better of you because of your past! I won't stop fighting until I've proven myself. What about you?"

For a moment, Meioshi stopped and looked at Homugi. Their eyes locked before Meioshi saw Hidorobō dashing at Homugi to strike with his katana. She nodded, pushed Homugi behind her, and allowed her transformation to complete itself before striking at Hidorobō. Claw to blade clashed with a deafening impact. The battle between heaven and hell... was now afoot...