Mysteries of the Deep Sea: First Visit to the Dragon Warriors

Sesshomaru and his band of men were walking back to Heiwa with the prized jewel in hand, talking about nothing and everything. Yamashi was able to get what he wanted from the Yama Oroshi's body parts. It was pretty brutal, but it was necessary. Voices from a nearby village were panicking as the sun began to set and a roar bellowed from the other side. Suspicious, the men waited until something came out. A burst of fire from combusting alcohol erupted from the side of a home. From the smoke came a smirking thief running off with large pots of water and wine. Samurai came around the corner to chase her down.

"Hey! Get her!"

"Stop her!"

"That thief!"

Picking up her speed, the girl narrowed her eyes, threw a smoke bomb down with visible force, and took off into the shadows. She leapt up into the trees and leaped from one branch to another. Ichi responded first to the sudden escape and chased the girl down until he was within range to cut a branch with his chakrams. The girl gasped, flinched, and muttered curses before she acrobatically dodged the spinning weapon. She took out a basic sword to defend herself just in case, but she also kept a tight grip on her pots of liquid. Somehow or another, Sesshomaru got dangerously suspicious of the girl running away from them. When the samurai led the way in chasing after her, he caught sight of a kunoichi also leaping through the trees and bounding on rooftops to catch up with the thief.

"Reijiro," Sesshomaru called, turning to his comrade. "Follow Ichi."

Catching a bamboo shoot, the thief slid down it and leaped behind a strange building. Her mask and hat did excellently in shielding most of her face. The sounds of whipping and cutting alerted her attention. She turned sharply to see what was behind her and panicked when she saw Ichi's chakrams and Reijiro's shadow manipulation licking the air around her feet.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she yelped with a squeaked.

Shuriken cut through the air following after the chakrams. She was seriously panicking now, and the route to her hideout wasn't far. It was just bad for business if those samurai and that kunoichi caught up to her. She had two other things to steal from this village... and for good reason! She didn't need the money per se. Just these particular items! That was it! Finding her "fox hole", the thief turned around sharply, threw another smoke bomb on the ground, and ran straight through some bamboo shoots to dive into the hole.

"She escaped!?"

"Shit!"

When the girl made it to an abandoned shrine, she dropped her pots and collapsed on her back to catch her breath. That was a close call. Way too close! She'd have to travel lightly if she wanted to go back to steal her other item. The fox hole closed up in a puff of smoke to leave behind a Shinto paper hanging on a string. Yanking off her mask and pulling up her hat, the thief stretched out like a cat and smiled a bit. Eventually, she let out a laugh at her fumble. She wasn't supposed to be found out so quickly. She was usually good at this. This is what happens when you set out to work for an honest living! A familiar friend ran up to her and landed on her bosom with a light bounce.

"This is an absolutely awful idea, doctor," the Green Pheasant said, flapping his wings to maintain his balance when she sighed with frustration.

"Oh, where's your sense of adventure and mischief, old friend?" Meioshi questioned.

"Is this the kind of shit you want to teach to the children?" the Green Pheasant asked, leaning over to frown.

"Well, that idiot daimyo refused to trade holy items with me and I need them!" Meioshi complained. "I can't help it if he refuses!"

"Captain Yoshiaka doesn't need anything! This is ridiculous!" the Green Pheasant argued. "Your reputation as a samurai was already under fire. Why make it worse?"

"Meh, it's useless to me anyway. I owe Yoshiaga for helping Hasumi. This is the least I can do for giving her a second chance. Now, have you taught Kinzo how to use our portals or not?" Meioshi asked, finally lifting off her back to properly speak to the Green Pheasant.

"Unfortunately, yes, since you want to teach him our ways. I do not like any of this!" the Green Pheasant complained, stomping his talon and walking off to the old shrine. "Why on Earth was I cursed with being the guardian to this troublemaking child?"

"You love it!" Meioshi said with a mischievous wink. "Oh, let Yoshiaga know I took a bit of the saké if you don't mind. It's pretty good."

"That wine is for ceremonial use, you know," the Green Pheasant informed, lighting the flames of the old shrine telepathically. "It is considered a high sin if you consume it for pleasure."

"I'm already screwed. Doesn't matter," Meioshi said with a shrug. "I've got some fun news, though. Sesshomaru's back from his boys' trip."

"Shit toast on a Monday..." the Green Pheasant grumbled.

_________________________________________

"Whoever that girl was, she escaped," Reijiro informed, folding his arms with Ichi next to him.

"Why'd you chase her, bro? You knew her?" Yamashi asked, smiling at Ichi's expression. It looked like a cross between two frustrated emotions.

"No, but I've had to deal with thieves my whole life. I know the feeling. What did she even take?" Ichi questioned, scratching the back of his head.

"Shojo sake and Mizuchi water," a gravelly voice replied.

It was a man carrying a flag and dressed in samurai armor. He did seem quite annoyed at the turn of events, but, if he was anything else, you couldn't tell. He wasn't a very tall individual - below average height by about one or two inches for a male - but he seemed to make up for it in his regal stature. The man reminded Sesshomaru of Kirameku Ha when he walked. If he was a flag carrier, the man was of high nobility as a hatamoto and guardian to his leader. However, Sesshomaru only had respect for one human male and that was Kirameku Ha. This samurai would only gain his lordship's respect if he was like the grandpa gardener. Inspecting the group of demons, the hatamoto poked his bottom lip out and sniffed the air before turning to each man with some interest. He was joined by the kunoichi and his troop within moments.

"It is not often that we receive visits from our enemies," the hatamoto said.

"Enemy?" Yamashi asked, amused smile not leaving his mouth. "We don't know you."

"You and the wheat-haired one don't, but we are quite familiar with the inu prince and soldier there," the hatamoto said, surprising Sesshomaru and Reijiro.

"How do you know us?" Reijiro asked with suspicion. "We've never met."

"I know your general. He fought Ryukotsusei. Not exactly our ally, but a creature we knew well enough," the hatamoto informed. "These grounds are the home to dragon warriors and worshippers. An enemy to a dragon is an enemy to us."

"If you were truly a dragon warrior, you wouldn't have been so incompetent in catching a small-time thief. She had no dragon powers," Sesshomaru remarked, dismissing the man and continuing his walk. He was stopped by the kunoichi, but he didn't look at her. She wasn't worth his time. "Step aside."

"You are in possession of a powerful artefact. It's a water stone. I can sense it," the kunoichi said, revealing her weapons and glaring at Sesshomaru. Her eyes changed to the slitted crystallization of a dragon. "Perhaps we should take your stone to find that awful woman."

"What, she can't be thirsty?" Yamashi asked, toying with the little lady. "Sake and water are good choices. Dragon's sake and water are excellent choices, however. Girl's got good tastes!"

"We will not be insulted!" the girl shouted, teeth turning to sharp fangs.

"Shungiku, enough!" the hatamoto reprimanded, silencing the kunoichi. "Let them leave. It is obvious they have nothing to do with that travelling doctor."

"Excuse me, did you just say a travelling, female doctor?" Yamashi questioned, eyes widening with complete amusement.

"Er... yes?" the hatamoto answered.

"... ... ... BU HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Yamashi laughed, confusing the samurai and kunoichi... but not Sesshomaru and the others.

In fact, that's what made Yamashi laugh harder. Sesshomaru's response. His ears pulled back with annoyance, shoulders flinched, head snapped to Meioshi's running direction, and his mouth was set in a clear frown. He knew something was suspicious about that girl! Yamashi was having the time of his life at that revelation. So, the good doctor was still capable of committing crimes, eh? Guess she hadn't lost her fire much, after all.

"Whoo! I needed that!" Yamashi then said, patting his belly. "Hate to break it to you, but we do know that woman. You are, in fact, incompetent in catching her."

"What?" Shungiku questioned, dragon fireballs floating around her head with fury. The hatamoto was just as cool as a cucumber at this bit of information, however. "I will not stand for such mockery of our strength! That woman is a thief in every sense of the word, and we will - !"

"She stole someone's heart, didn't she?" Yamashi asked, narrowing his eyes to quickly analyze Shungiku's body language. "Someone you knew intimately."

"WHAT!?" Shungiku questioned with a sharp squeak in her voice.

Yamashi's eyes and smirk widened before he then said, "Oh my days, she stole yours! You showed her where to get the sake and water! BU HA HA HA HA HA HA! Didn't expect the beautiful doctor to be capable of theft, did you?"

The hatamoto and troop turned to look at Shungiku, who was blushing and stuttering for a solid minute, before she shook her head violently and powered up to fight Yamashi. She was fully sick of him.

Sesshomaru sighed at this and said, "It's to be expected. She is kind to those who are suffering whether that's physically, mentally, or emotionally. You obviously were not well, so she stayed close to you to monitor your health."

Shungiku calmed her powers, blushed again, and looked down at her feet. She then whispered, "She helped my sister give birth to a healthy baby. She wasn't a bad person..."

"She isn't a bad person at all, but, if she had to resort to stealing, then she's in desperate need. There's more thieves like that than the evil ones people think about. The ones who do it just to do it," Ichi explained. "In Doc's case, she might be desperately trying to help someone else and can't afford to waste time. She's like that sometimes."

"... You are saying this person is righteous?" the hatamoto asked, activating his own dragon powers. His eyes changed.

"Yeah, she is," Yamashi said, softening his features to show fondness for an old friend.

"... Interesting," the hatamoto replied, summoning blue-green flames into his hand. From them came a tamagushi with shide paper running through it and a jewel and chain clipped to the bottom. Sesshomaru almost thought it was the Shikon Jewel, but he knew that would've been impossible. It had to be something else. The power it was emitting from its dazzling surface made for an interesting show, though. It reminded his lordship of an oyster pearl, but it had a magical barrier surrounding it that looked like luminescent fish scales. It was pretty. He then said, "Prove to me that this doctor is worthy of our wine and water. If you know this woman so well, you should be able to state at least one good deed she has performed for each of you, yes? A righteous person represents many things to another. Is this doctor a friend to you... or a sister? Solve the riddles on the shide. Shungiku will collect the tamagushi when it is complete."

"Wh-wha-what?" Shungiku responded in protest.

"If that boar demon is correct, you put your entire village in jeopardy for the affections of another. This is an offense that will leave you dismissed or dead. Our wine, water, and rice are all sacred things. You should know better than to guide a stranger to it," the hatamoto reprimanded, making Shungiku hesitate in speaking any further. "Since you're so good at showing treasure to strangers, you can either escort these men to a proper campsite or travel with them."

"The only human I trust to build a campsite to standard is the doctor you unsuccessfully tried to arrest. I refuse your lodging," Sesshomaru answered, walking away toward some nearby plains.

"I'm trying to get home to my wife, so we'll make this quick," Yamashi answered, following Sesshomaru but nodding for Ichi and Reijiro to follow him.

Sesshomaru needed time to think. Why would dragons trust humans to this degree? What did that mean? Why would Meioshi steal anything from dragon warriors or dragons themselves? Isn't she worried about her village's safety? Did she seduce this Shungiku woman? Why did that bother him?

"Think it's safe to say you're not feeling the idea of your woman gettin' frisky with another woman," Yamashi joked.

I work with children... Sesshomaru thought. However..., the idiot pig prince... is partially correct...

"I don't have a woman," his lordship responded tersely.

"Tch! Fine, your 'personal interest' might've been with another woman. The ninja chick was a beauty," Yamashi remarked with amusement. "Seemed to like her women sweet."

Heaven above, silence this fool! Sesshomaru thought.

"Riddles, pervert pig, choose your riddle to solve," Sesshomaru snapped, narrowing his eyes with visible annoyance.

"I'll keep screwing with you, snippy dog. You gotta get through me to claim residency in Heiwa anyway, not the doctor," Yamashi informed, making Sesshomaru turn around to look at him. O-ho, that got his attention quickly. Ichi walked up to Yamashi to present the tamagushi since no one even bothered to try to grab the thing. The boar prince looked at one of the papers and read, "You can hear me and control me, but never see me or touch me. What am I?"

"Well, your wife if you keep going on these adventures," Reijiro responded with a challenging smirk, making Yamashi chuckle. See, he gets it! Reijiro then looked over at the tamagushi from his standing position and caught sight of a bold-font riddle. He read, "What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do, and many in the street would stand, were I not a friend at hand."

"There's only one left. I guess I can do this one," Ichi said, pulling the paper towards him. "I am something great that comes from within, an act or deed that inspires a grin. I bring with me a feeling of cheer - lessening the trouble and replacing the fear. I need no thank you, I ask for no pay - I only wish to brighten your day. You'll be amazed when you suddenly see all the good things you can do with me!"

... I detest the use of riddles so much sometimes... Sesshomaru thought, closing his eyes to think.