"... Wow. I knew Sesshomaru was a fighter, but I would've never guessed his mum was such a fright," Meioshi said, fascinated by Milady's combat affinity. She wanted to continue watching, but Homugi swayed her body to lead the group away.
"Lord Kirameku Ha! Do you need help escaping the lady there?" Homugi asked, adjusting Meioshi's weight in her arms.
The blue merle beauty wasn't sure why she liked this part of the adventure, but she did. It felt right. Meioshi was far from being a damsel in distress, but she was cooperative in this moment and allowed Homugi to be her knight. Maybe that's what it was. Homugi was finally living out her childhood dream. She was protecting her very own princess, or who she felt was worthy of being protected, and taking charge of the situation for once. Ohta was crying with laughter trying to burst from his soul. As cute as it was, Meioshi was really tall and really long. She looked so awkward in Homugi's arms, but the petite inu lady was showing ample strength if she could carry his Mama Mei-Mei effortlessly. Meioshi had the right body shape to fit into someone's arms. Ohta couldn't say anything about it really. He would be doing the same thing, and he looked forward to the day when he would save his mother figure. For now, he was happy with just being her child.
"Sunflower... POWER!" a familiar voice yelled, summoning a blinding burst of light.
Well, speaking of being a child... Hasumi appeared from a portal made of clouds and blasted Princess Gongsim away from Kirameku Ha. The elder just stood still with widened eyes at the sudden attack. When he saw little Hasumi standing in front of him, he was surprised by her sudden bout of strength when she pulled him away.
"I leave you alone for five minutes on the other ship and look at this! My auntie is fighting some water noodle outside, which I can't catch for my collection of rare demons because it's immune to my sunbeams, my big brother is on his knees crying his ass off and I don't know why, and my mommy is being whisked away by my rarest and prettiest catch! What the hell is going on?" Hasumi demanded, startling everyone with her rage.
"Little one! Language!" Meioshi lectured, pointing her toe at Hasumi.
"Papa Liu is on his way here if you don't get on the boat," Hasumi said, still frowning from her outburst.
"... Homugi, the boat," Meioshi suggested, letting said inu beauty carry her to the family ship.
"Kirameku Ha, wait!" Gongsim called, blushing brightly.
She put a hand over her heart and formed a barrier around Kirameku Ha, making the man turn to the princess. From her bosom was a bright light similar to her mother's bioluminescent soul that undulated like seawater. Gongsim gulped before performing hapkido motions with her hands and materializing a musical instrument that was similar to a koto. At least, to Homugi and Ohta, it looked like a koto. Kirameku Ha, however, knew that it was Goryeo's gayageum and Princess Gongsim played this instrument often. Seeing a bit of conflict in her sensei's eyes, Meioshi took a deep breath and calmly wiggled her way out of Homugi's arms. Homugi was about to argue with the good doctor, but the serious expression on her face silenced Homugi. Something was bothering Meioshi about this situation.
"Great uncle," Meioshi called firmly. "Permission to fight in another's place."
Kirameku Ha felt a bit of nervousness with his pupil's tone. His heart beat strangely, and he could feel something in his chest warm up to make him uncomfortable. He knew why she was angry. He was a taken man, and this event was disrespecting the relationship he had built with another. His other. Meioshi was right. He should have been firmer with the princess. He may have been a flirty thing in his youth, but that was in his youth. He thought Gongsim would have understood that when he saw him as an elderly man. Perhaps this was a fight that belonged to his other and Meioshi knew that. The truth was that he really did consider being with Gongsim. A human orphan raised alongside a prince and being pursued by the halfling of a water goddess? What young man wouldn't feel great pride by that?
Yet...
He didn't feel right accepting such a thing. His leader and best friend, Arimasa, was not raised to be so egotistical. Listening to his ego would have brought the name Jissoji much shame, and he owed them far too much to abandon everything out of recklessness or even greed. Kirameku Ha had explained this to Gongsim. That's why he left, but a man cannot understand the fullness of a woman's mind or emotions. They are not trained to do so. They can only assume based on some recognizable patterns. For him, he can pass off his unexpressed feelings as a moment of guilt or perhaps even disappointment. For a woman, for Gongsim, the man has to hope that he never feels her pain in the way only she can feel it. He was a boy when he met her. He was far too fragile to understand the ache of the one you love simply... leaving. The gifts and games and nightly strolls suddenly gone and you have no idea what you did or if there was something you could've done differently.
"Princess Gongsim, was it?" Meioshi asked to clarify. She walked forward and took a fighting stance but stopped for a brief moment. No, she couldn't be aggressive. She had to use a fighting style that didn't harm the lovely Gongsim. Motioning her hands and arms in a singular, circular motion, Meioshi chose an open palm stance instead and said, "I cannot allow you to continue to hold my great uncle hostage. You are disrespecting his bond with another woman by holding onto this past you lived with him. Is your love for him, or the memory of such a thing, so poisonous that you would rather he be damaged to set yourself free?"
"What I feel for Kirameku Ha isn't anything you would understand!" Gongsim argued, removing her skirt to reveal cuffed pants and a cape. "It's not just love! It's not even the loneliness I felt for the years he was gone! It's the realization - the reality - of being completely forgotten about... by a man I could never forget. I went after your ship because I recognized his inner essence, the sound of his heartbeat, the smell of him... When I didn't see the noble soldier but an elder..., that's what surprised me. I can offer you your youth back, Kirameku Ha! I don't want you to go!"
"Jigoku kara inochi o sukuu," Meioshi chanted, releasing a fragment of power. Her eyes didn't turn spidery orange, but they did glow before bleeding and shutting closed. King Biancheng restored the punishment. Of course, he did. Undeterred from this, Meioshi let her handicap show itself and said softly, "Reveal this one's hell."
Gongsim could feel the weight of Meioshi's power crushing the very floors she was standing on and positioned herself to attack from the sudden threat. The princess rushed at Meioshi and pulled one of the strings on her instrument to loosen it and use the instrument like one would a rope dart. Meioshi allowed herself to be hit by it but remained still.
She instead commanded, "Great uncle, decide."
Kirameku Ha grunted in reply before looking down. He heard his pupil activate her might. His beautiful Gongsim... Was she truly that pained by his presence? his absence? He should be able to fix this on his own. He was responsible for Gongsim's pain. The man should do this..., but, if Meioshi was standing in someone else's place to deal with the situation, then this was a matter that had advanced to something only the clan head of the Jigoku name could judge and correct. Perhaps that's what bothered him. He was the family's guardian - trained to protect the clan head of the hell travelers! This was a dishonor to their name! A punishable offense!
"Gongsim don't!" Kirameku Ha tried.
"If you refuse to accept Goryeo as a home or even an ally, you are an enemy to my clan! You betray all of my homelands for the boyish pursuit of glory!" Gongsim roared, unleashing her full power.
Meioshi didn't fight demigods often, but she definitely wasn't expecting to do so to protect her sensei's honor. Least of all with a handicap! Nevertheless, she knelt down and chose a proper fighting stance enhanced by her mianyi. This time, Meioshi rushed at Gongsim to initiate the battle. Gongsim was a superb fighter. Homugi was in awe at the speed being exchanged through the knife hands and full fists from both women. While it was odd to see Gongsim pluck a string from her instrument to release her watery powers before blasting Meioshi with it, the pure amount of control Meioshi had over water and her ability to smoothly and effortlessly counterattack was intimidating. The good doctor sunk low to the floor to dodge the gayageum being swung at her before hopping on one hand and performing a sweep kick, bounding leap from a handspring, and double kicking Gongsim and her weapon before backflipping into her original stance.
Gongsim swiftly recovered and used her weapon to trap Meioshi's ankle and make her do a split. She landed a low kick on the good doctor before swinging her weapon like an axe. Meioshi recovered quickly, gathered her mianyi into her hands, and punched the floor to create a sonic wave to stun Gongsim for a brief moment. Using her Nether Dash ability, Meioshi chased the sonic wave until she was in tandem with it and double punched Gongsim on her side. She was able to cross block the next attack, but she stayed closer to Gongsim. The rope dart was only effective at long ranges. Up close, it acted as merely a knife. In Gongsim's case, unfortunately, it was more like a shield and Meioshi didn't know what the other strings unleashed. She only knew one released the instrument to a rope dart's function at long range, and another string unlocked full control of the water element. It didn't feel like the gayageum could be broken with force. It was too force if Meioshi's light tapping against it was anything to go by. That's why she had gotten closer anyway. To get a feel for this peculiar choice of weapon.
"Hasumi, return to Papa Liu! He has to stand down!" Meioshi commanded.
Gongsim released a wind blast from a different string to get some distance between her and the good doctor, which worked in her favor, and watched as Meioshi demonstrate impressive control over wind by jumping into the air and propelling herself away by using the wind blast as a spring-loaded foundation for her to gain intense speed.
"Now!" she barked, startling Hasumi with her serious tone. Hasumi was about to argue, but she blushed brightly out of fear for her new caretaker's safety and obeyed. "Homugi, get the others to the ship!"
"Right!" Homugi said, leading the others away.
"Wait, what about me lord's mother?" Jaken questioned, feeling the immense power coming from outside.
"Just get your ass on the ship, imp. My unfriendly son is pacing back and forth trying to get to you anyways," a familiar voice said with footsteps following after it.
Jaken turned to see Milady walking up to them just a tad disheveled from battle. Her hair was fully down and messy, and she seemed quite annoyed by her appearance. Hesitantly, Jaken obeyed but kept his eyes on her and Meioshi. Were they going to fight side by side?
Gongsim was shocked by Milady's supposed victory. She gasped then called, "Mother! What did you do to my mother?"
"What I couldn't do before, of course," Milady purred in response, smiling confidently. She locked eyes with Gongsim intensely, making her feel a mix of emotions and think the worst. She then reached into her kimono and lifted up several tea bags before saying, "Plucked more branches of her marvelous tea trees! I've a proper collection of divine teas now. I might even have a tea bath when I get home!"
Meioshi wheezed with laughter before sniffing it up and returning to a serious disposition. Her eyes remained closed and bleeding. Gongsim performed the classic anime flop for a brief second before returning to seriousness herself.
"B-b-but my mother - !" Gongsim started.
"Listen, little girl, I've known your mother for years. She's my rival. You're an afterthought to me," Milady interrupted, uninterested in the demigoddess. She flipped her hair elegantly and continued, "Whoever bedded my old rival was either desperate like you or a better warrior than that old man you're trying to bed. I forgot what she even said earlier. Release him and move on. You're a woman born from the loins of a water goddess, some kind of shaman with your own goddamn army, and a warrior. You've obviously moved on since that man there left and look at how much more powerful you've become since then. It doesn't make sense for you to hold on to the shit now. You're clearly a better version of your mother as you are now. Why waste it? Your mother couldn't stop me from taking her teas before and I just got a rainbow of drinkables now. Clearly, she's getting weaker. So what if you live a little longer than most? They're not on your level anyway. Straighten up and stop misrepresenting powerful women! You're a disgrace!"
"I became a shaman because he was going to become one, too! It wasn't just because I'm spiritual! He's like you - a youkai! He's just in human form," Gongsim argued, getting emotional.
Milady was completely displeased with Gongsim's response then. Even though Meioshi was in a position to say something, she stood down and let Sesshomaru's mother speak. She was talking from experience and not confidence.
"... So, you only have power because a man was nice to you?" Milady asked.
"Well, no, I - "
"Shut the hell up!" Milady barked furiously. She summoned her furs and whipped Gongsim's hand hard enough to break skin and make her drop her weapon. "You are a dishonor to your country and your baseless religion! A true woman worthy of praise and privilege adds value to the lives of others and doesn't tolerate bullshit that removes value from her own life, regardless of where or who it comes from! If this man was able to leave you without a second thought, you were never valuable to him and you're not valuable to anyone else if he's the only reason why you live. Your existence is validated by your efforts and self-understanding, not outside voices. For you to stand before me, a demon queen who holds a goddess - a mortal enemy to my kind - in high regard because she has shown great integrity as a woman, and say that one man defines you and all that you've done is completely unacceptable! You are weak! She's over there settling over this nonsense because nothing can get through to that thick skull holding a fragment of a brain! Take off your robes and dress in burlap like the slave you're choosing to be!"
Gongsim was shaking at Milady's words. She was not worthless! Her beautiful country, the citizens, the water palace... She loved it all more than anything! Kirameku Ha could see that. That's what he loved about her. She loved him because he saw her... for her. He trained with her, rested with her, protected her, caressed her, and sometimes kissed her sweetly. He helped to mold what she was. A guardian of Goryeo. She started crying then. Meioshi dismissed her fighting power when she heard the sniffling and smelled the tears. She walked around Gongsim, took her in her arms, and rested her chin atop her head. The demigoddess was surprised and confused by the silent supporter enveloping her. It was warm. Taking Gongsim's hands into her own, Meioshi summoned a bright light and revealed colorful strings around them.
She then said softly, "Princess Gongsim, can you see a loom around you?"
"A loom?" Gongsim asked with a small voice.
Meioshi nodded and said, "My clan is an odd one, y'know. Lord Kirameku Ha, my great uncle, has been its protector for quite a handful of years, but each clan head must do things in places where he cannot go. There are tasks that even he cannot do despite his strength. The women in my family are especially out of his reach. His power is great, but it is limited. You are like us, Princess Gongsim. The loom I'm asking you about is a very special thing that only we can see. The foundation of the loom is in a place you cherish the most. No matter where you are, the main end will always be there and it stretches all the way to where you are. The other end doesn't anchor until you are close to death. The reason for this is because where you choose to settle down until your time in the living realm concludes is everchanging. Instead of the end moving all about and clashing with another, it simply stays with you. My loom is anchored elsewhere. You won't see it's end, but... you will see my strings. Everyone has them, even you. Red strings for love, purple strings for your life's wealth, gold and silver strings for protection, blue strings for serenity and peace. The colors are as vast and beautiful as all of the gorgeous trees surrounding this very palace. Each year that passes has a strong memory sewn into your life's tapestry. The odd part is you never get to see what was sewn. You don't even get to see the weaver! You don't get to see anything... until your loom is fully anchored on both ends. I can sense the main end of your loom. Can you see where it is anchored?"
Gongsim looked up finally and noticed that there was something large behind Meioshi. It was a tall structure! And, as Meioshi said, it had colorful strings hanging over them like curtain drapes. In front of Gongsim was the other end of this supposed loom sitting in her lap. Was that always there?
"The large end is... here," Gongsim answered.
Meioshi smiled gently and said, "This palace is precious to you, princess. Your mother and father must have raised you with fond memories, yes?"
"Yes," Gongsim said softly, blushing.
"You might see a bundle of strings above us, but they're not quite connected to the other end of the loom. You see, the strings are directly connected to your soul. The people in your life, who cherish the most, will be connected to you by one of the colored strings. If someone makes you feel young and playful, you might see them covered in yellow or orange. If you feel thoughtful or philosophical around another person, you might see them covered in green. Everyone is connected to you in some way, even the people you wish you could forget, but there's this peculiar thing that happens when someone leaves your life for a little while. A talisman appears to mark the end of their presence in your life while jewels or trinkets appear when they will return in your life. Look at Kirameku Ha's string. What do you see?" Meioshi instructed, tugging on the strings connected to Gongsim very lightly as if she knew how fragile they were.
Gongsim looked at the string connected to Kirameku Ha and then to him. He seemed so sad, but his eyes were glowing. He had two strings around him. Teh red one was thicker at the end surrounding him, but it thinned out and was connected to a trinket. That had to be when he left her, but Meioshi said that the trinket meant he would return someday. He did. Later than they could've anticipated but he returned to her life. After the trinket was the part that made her shiver. The red string shrunk in size again to such a thinness... before the talisman appeared before her. This was the last time he would see him. They were connected to each other ever since they met, but the main ends of their looms were separated. His foundation end was elsewhere, but the red string of love connected them. That gave Gongsim great peace. Her love for Kirameku Ha was not in vain. It just wasn't expressed or discovered in its fullness because of war. There was this other grey string that was surrounding them and mixing with their red string, though.
"This grey string is mixed with the red. What does this mean?" Gongsim asked.
"He is disappointed," Meioshi answered. "Where is the grey string going? Towards you?"
"It's around him," Gongsim replied.
"He's disappointed in himself. I daresay he knew he hurt you in a deeper way than you thought," Meioshi said. "Do you still believe he is an enemy to you or your country, princess?"
Gongsim lightly gasped before crying. Her Kirameku Ha was hurt that he had to leave. Another color appeared on the red string. It caught Gongsim's attention. There were actually two colors appearing. They were weaving themselves around the red to make the initial red string stronger until the length of the string was entirely uniform.
"There's yellow appearing! And blue!" Gongsim said, reaching out to touch the red string connected to Kirameku Ha.
Meioshi smiled and then said, "You are free, Princess Gongsim... As are you, great uncle. You both are happy and at peace. You got to see someone you loved again and they are well. Great uncle has lived to an old age, and this little princess has become a holy warrior. Now, an important part of the strings in your life is the size of each string. Do you see how the red string of love starts off thick then becomes thinner?"
"Yes," Gongsim replied, turning around to look at Meioshi fully.
"The thicker the string, the stronger your emotion towards the person connected to it. Your love was quite strong for my great uncle, was it not? You must have a new red string somewhere. Your love for someone or something else is stronger than your love for Kirameku Ha-sensei now. Can you find it?" Meioshi asked softly, opening more power so that Gongsim could see the fullness of her loom.
Gongsim saw a very thick red string that almost looked like a rope. It was tight and tough to touch or pull. She traced the spiraling pattern all the way to her mother, her army, and the country of Goryeo itself just beyond the horizon of the palace. Her love for Kirameku Ha was replaced by her love for her people.
"M-my home! I'm so sorry! I tried to abandon you out of my own selfishness!" Gongsim apologized.
Meioshi closed off her powers, embraced Gongsim once more, and smiled at Kirameku Ha. Gongsim released him and the youth spell was gone from him. The good doctor then said, "A life for a life, my great uncle."
"You are true to your name, Lady Meioshi. Your grandfather was right," Kirameku Ha said to himself, closing his eyes to smile remorsefully.
All these memories from a time gone made the weight of Arimasa's death so much stronger. Arimasa grieved a little for his friend but not nearly as much as he wanted to. He, like Meioshi, had so many events worsening in tandem so much that the Jigoku family's death couldn't be processed at the time. Now that Meioshi was progressing to her final battle as all Jigoku clan heads before her have done over the past 300 years and counting, he was allowed to grieve properly with her. He was learning the truth little by little. Meioshi's time in war was harsh. Everyone had reason to worry, but Kirameku Ha was with her tirelessly and through exhaustion when she returned home from the trauma and injuries. She saw a truly bloody and barbaric enemy. In return, however, he was blessed with many peaceful memories and proud moments.
"You are the daughter... that we deserve," Kirameku Ha said.
Milady turned to the old man when he said that and was very quiet. She pardoned a lot of things in her life in regard to Sesshomaru's travels and companions. The creature of chaos... was going to be difficult to pardon. She was unlocking too many pasts, too many memories. She was releasing bitterness and fury from hurting souls and changing it to peace and forgiveness. There is a reason why Sesshomaru found her. There is a reason why this holy warrior has the powers and abilities she has. It wasn't for naught. Grand Monk Shishido might be right. Almost always is.
"Hey, big hips!" Milady called, walking over to the ship. "Get up and let's go. My tea's going to spoil from all these feely-good feels. I'm here to enjoy my holiday, not soften it up."
"... Just like his mother," Meioshi remarked, smirking mischievously.