The Strongest Opponent final part

"Out of hiding then, doctor?" Sesshomaru asked, dropping Yuko down to analyze Meioshi.

This woman never ceased to surprise him. He didn't even hear her come back! While that could have something to do with Meioshi's undetectable scent, she was also a fairly quiet woman and her estate seemed peaceful just from surface value. Irregardless, he would have to discover a way to identify her later. She was a human. She should have a normal human scent, especially if she was living in an aromatic place like Heiwa. Yuko smelled of green tea and jasmine flowers. It was a very sweet smell in contrast to that fiery, defiant attitude she had a moment ago. Her hair was damp at one point in the night, and he could smell the moisture and some fragrant mineral that lingered in the water to cleanse her body. Yuko was a typical country girl. He knew that smell. A doctor should smell of medicine, metal, or even blood. Lady Meioshi held no such fragrance. She was just... blank. What was neutralizing her natural scent? He could smell the Netherworld's frosted toxins coming from the doctor, but her perfume or natural odor wasn't there. It was simply odd for lack of a better word.

"I thought you'd be smarter than this," Sesshomaru remarked, partially smirking at Meioshi's anger. This was normal behavior of an enemy when he threatened their space. He then said, "Leaving this vulnerable girl alone when you just fought with me is careless of you. Supposing your debt collector had come for her. Would you have been surprised if she were dead at your lake?"

Meioshi said nothing. She didn't even flinch at his words. She merely kept her eyes locked on his, waiting for Yuko to move away from him and Jaken. The silence gave Sesshomaru enough time to think about her climbing out of the water earlier and her battle attire now. Her kimono clung to her body shape enough for him to get a visual of the curves the doctor actually possessed, and her hair was much wavier when wet. Meioshi's visit to the cliff was exceptionally brief, so she must've only needed a particular thing. It couldn't have been her new armor, though. Sesshomaru took note to the forgotten kimono and lightweight armor Meioshi had worn upon their first formal meeting.

This time, her hair was tied up in a high ponytail and was decorated with a thick, gold ring and crimson red tassels flowing down to her shoulders. The color of her tassels was changing, however, and the influence of the arctic wolf was making the gold ring turn to a silverer color. Her dark gray armor lined with red was turning lighter in tone for the gray and bluer along the lining. The black, skintight, long-sleeved shirt remained black, and it alerted Sesshomaru to Meioshi's curvier bust, but this was normal of a woman's body. He had seen curvy women before. Meioshi's body seemed more athletic in build like she had been fighting or exercising for some time. At least to the point where she suited a martial lifestyle. Unlike many other fighters, her pants were also skintight. The armor across her hips is what was the more interesting detail as the armor covered an overskirt that was belted by a thick leather strap and animal hide. Her gauntlets were also changing from red, dark charcoal, and gold to blue, medium gray, and silver.

He also took note to Meioshi's armor forming a sort of V across her chest to slightly expose the top of her bosom. Her shirt was actually torn where the armor was dropping. The off-shoulder look was... unique. She would almost have been a lovely woman if Sesshomaru hadn't already dubbed her a rival. The wolf's branching formed a new armor that was protecting Meioshi's neck, but Sesshomaru could smell the rage exuding from the doctor as her eyes glowed an ethereal blue and the makeup on her eyes changed from thick red stripes going from the bridge of her nose to the end of her eyes to pale purple scratches remnant of a paw strike strictly between the eyebrow and the lid. Her actual eyelid already had black wings painted on them, which just made Sesshomaru focus on them more.

"You're awfully presumptuous," Meioshi replied, narrowing her eyes. "Perhaps I should correct that mouth of yours."

Letting out an inelegant harrumph, Sesshomaru turned to give Meioshi his undivided attention and lifted up his claw to crack the knuckles. He let Yuko run back to the house to watch the two confront each other. Unfortunately, though perhaps it was better for Sesshomaru not to know, Yuko no longer saw him as a romantic candidate for her mentor. A brazen man like that would never interest Meioshi. She was too adventurous, caring, and sweet. Plus, all she would get out of Lord Sesshomaru for "fun" was a fight. They were women. They would want more eventually, and she knew her mentor would want a more meaningful relationship given what she had to sacrifice to become the warrior standing before them. As she was, the doctor was Yuko's inspiration to be strong in the face of danger and gentle in the face of distress. She could feel that wolf demon inside of Meioshi and could see its eyes taking the doctor's sight. Together, however, both the doctor and the wolf were fighting for her safety. She would honor them by seeking refuge.

"Good. We've something to finish," Sesshomaru growled, letting a little more yoki energy seep out than their last encounter.

"And I have a message to get across," Meioshi responded, twirling her spear into an offensive position. "Don't you ever touch Yuko again!"

No fire energy this time. Not even ice to shield herself. Sesshomaru wondered if this was a result of not having her roningasa hat, but he was more focused on this new battle stance she chose. Her free hand was more aggressive as an open-handed claw. That had to be the wolf speaking through her. The arrow from earlier must channel its power from itself to the doctor. This just made Sesshomaru remember the shock of the exchange and become subconsciously curious about the two entities before him.

"Only a fool would dare fight Lord Sesshomaru of the western territories," Jaken bragged, gripping Nintojo to ease his wrath. To think he had lunch with this impudent woman! The audacity of her to glare at his lordship! He then said, "What could a human like you do to a demon?"

"Why don't you test me then, pretty boy?" Meioshi hissed with a sultry tone. She tilted her head to the side, lifted an eyebrow, and smirked before saying, "Let's see how much of an obedient dog you can be!"

A gust of yoki energy started forming around Sesshomaru as a result of his anger at the insult, but he didn't want to unleash his full fury on the woman just yet. He'd do as previously suggested and test the blue-eyed beauty now that she had the arctic wolf guardian controlling her. Tokijin, however, was pulsating with eagerness and wanted to be released on the woman. Its bloodlust wanted to be quenched, and it felt that she could do this with her inevitable death. Meioshi released no yoki energy in response. She was calm, confident with that smirk, and waiting patiently for Sesshomaru to strike. Yuko was worried. Lady Meioshi never allowed violence near her home. She had to have been truly angry that Sesshomaru tried to hurt her.

"Doctor, be careful," Yuko said softly, leaving the battle to take cover.

"Tick tock, little boy," Meioshi insulted after Yuko closed the door behind her and quickly escaped to the safe haven.

Sesshomaru went blood red, having the last straw being pulled by an insignificant human, and he bared his teeth with a growl before rushing at the doctor to silence her. With almost equal speed, Meioshi ducked from Sesshomaru's swift strike and grabbed him by the hem of his armor before throwing him a certain distance. She dismissed her Kaishi Novum, lifted up her hands, and spaced them apart to open a fiery portal into the unknown. Without a second thought, she punched Sesshomaru in the chest with enough force to blast him back and directly into the portal. Jaken gaped at this newfound power from the doctor before falling into a smaller portal the doctor had opened beneath his feet.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called, feeling himself fall to his doom.

She snapped her fingers calmly, silencing both males, and closed the portals. Taking a deep breath, Meioshi broad jumped to the pond shore and landed with a light thud. She looked at her hands before clenching them tightly into fists and sitting down. She sat cross-legged, evening her breathing until it flowed with the pond waters, and remained quiet. She had to control the beast resting within her. She would worry about Sesshomaru and Jaken later when Yuko's life wasn't on the line. By Meioshi not being in full control of her powers, she had no inkling of where the wolf sent them. The wolf merely accessed her ability to use portals to inspect what skills it could gain from her. While on the cliff, she was able to get something of value to her for this particular mission. She couldn't solve this mystery in five days. She knew that, but she needed to find some leverage with the wolf in order to use Baohu qi Voluptatis going forward. There's no way she can simply find the true guardian of the arctic sword without speaking to it!

In an effort to plan ahead, she was able to piece together a few clues. Kyoko, her little detective, gave her a hint to look for lost souls in the forests. She looked at the branching the wolf was using to drain her life and took notice to the bulging veins appearing similar to wood bark. The particular bark belonged to what looked like a hinoki cypress tree. Hinoki trees were divine and used for high-quality timber. This wolf and the true guardian had to have served in a fallen shrine. Where should she begin to look? Mizu Hoseki, her beloved childhood babysitter, mentioned speaking to the soul carriers. The problem was she wouldn't be able to speak to any of the souls being carried by these entities. Maybe that was the bigger clue. Why refrain from speaking to the true guardian? Didn't the wolf want to hear its master's voice? Sighing with frustration evident in her body language, Meioshi scratched at her neck underneath the tree roots. There's only one person (or rather, one being) that could help her with this since the wolf was considered a demon and a resident of hell.

"I really... really... don't want to see him for this shit," Meioshi grumbled.

She opened her eyes, feeling the wolf go quiet, and looked up to see Yuko return to her. Meioshi merely smiled at the girl to reassure her that everything was fine, and Yuko tightly embraced her with relief.

"Doctor! You worried me!" Yuko said, backing up to get a good look at her. "Your eyes are that bewitching hazel again. They were a beautiful blue before, but that's not quite your color."

"Blue is a lovely color, though!" Meioshi replied cheerfully with a bright smile. "I rather enjoy blue hues."

"You're more fall colors like oranges or dusky purples to draw attention to those eyes," Yuko complimented, happy that her mentor was once again being playful. "My hypothesis failed, unfortunately. Lord Sesshomaru is an awful match for you! I would never allow a pert upperclassman like that to court you. You need someone a bit more dashing, I'm afraid."

"Well, this wolf is about as dashing as I'll get," Meioshi remarked, looking to her side to see that the estate looked fine. Nothing attacked it. She then said, "So far, I'm even more confused about all this than prior knowledge. I need the names of shrines either surrounded by hinoki trees or growing a hinoki tree. There's too many places with that particular tree as part of its flora."

"Why the hinoki tree?" Yuko questioned.

Meioshi pointed to her neck and said, "This. The bark is the same as a hinoki tree's bark. If I could just get one more clue, this part of the mystery would solve itself."

"Well, it devoured a lot of people. Maybe they tried to challenge it or something like Lord Sesshomaru did with you," Yuko offered.

"The sword is too dangerous for anyone to touch it, but... supposing the people it devoured are like me. Maybe... they tried to trick it into giving up the sword in exchange for a decoy," Meioshi guessed, regretting her next choice of words. "If that's the case, I really do have to talk to that creature."