Chapter 12: Blood Pact Under the Magical Trees
Sesshomaru couldn't have been any more pissed even if you called him out of his name one hundred times. Eyes still burning red, teeth bared, and vengeance on his heart, the western lord had it out for the so-called hell doctor now. He anticipated a proper fight from the woman, but he instead was thrown into the most random place in the pits of hell. Once he recovered from being bested once again, he started to take note to his surroundings until he got a whiff of the familiar burn of hell. Feeling there was no point to his anger if he couldn't unleash it, Sesshomaru let out one last growl before calming down and taking a few deep breaths. What's been done is done. He looked around to gage his surroundings and noticed that this particular part of the Netherworld was unusual. It seemed to be a thick brush of some kind. It was dark and woodsy. The branches of the shrubbery seemed to be reaching out to grab his clothing like fingers, but he started moving around to avoid any lingering remnants of this place. Though he could smell the burning of hell, it seemed like it was in the distance. It wasn't necessarily where he was. It was like the scent of the wolf when he tried searching for it. The smell was present but not within reach.
Letting out a settled down sigh, Sesshomaru's eyes and teeth went back to their normal color and size respectively. Lady Meioshi was strong. In conclusion to his tests, she had proven to him that she was no ordinary opponent and that she couldn't be treated as a meek human. He could use a significant amount of power in combat with her. She was an appropriate rival. Now, the question became whether or not he would be of sound mind and let her live after this fiasco. Up until now, Inuyasha was his only rival for his father's sword and he could only manage to catch him by surprise every now and then in order to defeat him. Meioshi stated very clearly that she had no interest in facing the strongest opponent, and those who knew her said she was training to confront only one opponent. Who could that have been? No one knew. Whoever it was, however, had to have been beyond his strength. In that case, he may consider interfering with her training to test his own might.
Hearing flapping behind him, Sesshomaru turned around quietly and caught the sight of a small green pheasant tilting its head at him. It only chirped once or twice before doing so. It was an odd finding in hell. Something as colorful as this creature shouldn't be here unless it had a different purpose.
"What are you doing down here, stranger?" the bird asked him. Sesshomaru had no problem showing his annoyance at having to remember how he got to this strange spot in hell. The pheasant caught the glare he gave him and asked, "What's with that face? I only asked a question!"
"Why are you wasting my time?" Sesshomaru counterquestioned with a noticeably displeased growl. "Stupid bird."
"I'm not the one who got thrown in here, now am I?" the pheasant argued. Sesshomaru wasted no time in taking out Tokijin to strike at him. That was to get his point across. When he heard the pheasant yelp and saw colorful feathers floating about, he walked away to ignore the pretty-colored bird's corpse. Unfortunately, the bird wasn't dead yet and shouted, "What was that for?"
"Heed my warning and stay put," Sesshomaru threatened, sheathing Tokijin and continuing his journey.
"You're in my nesting grounds, stepping all over my things, and invading my privacy! It's bad enough I have my last clutch of eggs to father. Now, I've some fancy-clad fool stomping all over my territory and scaring the kids. Look at them!" the pheasant pointed out, only focusing his attention on two inanimate eggs. He hopped over to them and said, "Don't worry, kids. Daddy will protect you from that evil talking dog."
"What was that?" Sesshomaru questioned, turning his head only slightly to glare at the bird with one eye. He already let the doctor get the best of him. He was not about to be insulted by some tiny bird!
"Evil. Talking. Dog!" the pheasant repeated with strong emphasis on each word.
That triggered a tension between Sesshomaru and the pheasant that was seething into the darkened atmosphere of hell's brush. The electric glares being exchanged between the two, while comical, further made Sesshomaru's predicament more annoying. About to go for a different sword at his side to kill the pheasant, Sesshomaru thankfully heard a familiar voice in the distance.
"Lord Sesshomaru!"
Sesshomaru gave his immediate attention to Jaken's voice and left the pheasant there. He walked away from the bird and focused on finding the imp. Anything that would get him away from the creature was welcomed. The pheasant, however, didn't like that and waited until Sesshomaru was a good distance away before following him. The young lord tracked Jaken's voice and scent to the top branch of a dormant tree. The imp was trying to get unstuck but the branch was holding him like a shirt on a hanger. Nintojo was still in hand as Jaken was desperately trying to pull himself off the offensive branch. When he heard a branch or twig snapping, he stopped struggling and looked down to see his lord.
"Lord Sesshomaru, you're okay!" Jaken said, tearing up and letting out a sigh of relief. "I thought that horrible woman sent you elsewhere. I knew she didn't overpower you."
Sesshomaru smirked before returning to his usual blank mask of emotional expression. He then asked, "Why were you sent here, Jaken?"
Jaken spared no time in explaining his misfortune and replied, "I was coming to your aid when she grabbed you, but, before I knew it, everything went black and I was stuck up here. Is this the Netherworld, me lord? It doesn't quite feel like it."
Before Sesshomaru could open his mouth, a voice he thought he left behind had responded, "You're in the Blood Oath's Circle."
Eyes slightly widened and guttural growls rising from the pit of his soul, Sesshomaru turned around to see the green pheasant calmly looking at them. The two eggs it was watching over were behind it in a single-file line. It didn't give Sesshomaru a tense glare, but it was more serious. His voice conveyed the actual weight of Sesshomaru and Jaken's growing problem.
The pheasant continued, "A threshold of sorts for souls who have yet to complete their end of a life's bargain. You can view this as a temporary holding place or a prison."
"A prison for souls?" Jaken repeated, folding his arms with some thought. Moeru's words at the guest inn then rang in his mind. Jaken then declared, "Then, Lady Meioshi does have a debt to hell! She lied!"
The pheasant narrowed his eyes at Jaken before clarifying, "She owes no debt to hell. I know this woman quite well. Speaking of debts..."
"What?" Jaken started before hearing something crack. He turned around to see the tree shaking violently before the branch he was hanging on started whipping around chaotically. Finally, it reeled back as the tree bent backward and stretched upwards a little and flung Jaken down to the ground. As soon as the tree released Jaken, it went back to its straightened position of a regular, inanimate, dormant tree. Plummeting to the ground, Jaken let out a pained, "Ack!"
The pheasant took this time to say, "You owe none either. Now, why did Lady Meioshi cast you down here?"
"You feathery fuck!" Jaken cussed, rubbing his head and chin. He hit the ground rather hard. He then said, "Your so-called doctor threw us in here for no reason!"
The pheasant scoffed at this, leaned into Jaken's face, and tilted his head slightly before asking, "No reason at all?"
"All Lord Sesshomaru did was challenge her to a fight," Jaken replied, standing up quickly to defend his lord. "Since a guardian from the Netherworld is after her and it seems to want that Yuko girl, too, the mystery surrounding Lady Meioshi caught my lord's interest."
"Oh, really? why?" the pheasant asked, straightening his neck and waiting for Jaken's response.
"Because of all the mysteries surrounding her. Demons not wanting to fight her, a hell guardian hunting her down, a family mission involving hell itself, a missing sword, and a hidden portion of an otherwise peaceful estate? What's not to be of interest?" Jaken argued, turning around to fold his arms. Actually, the sound of it all started to intrigue him, too. This was an adventure just waiting for them to uncover!
"Riveting details, imp. And where exactly did you hold this fight?" the pheasant asked, finding it odd that Meioshi would bring anyone here from a duel she could have easily won or forfeited as she normally does.
"At her estate, fool!" Jaken argued.
The pheasant gave Jaken a deadpanned look before saying, "So, let me see if I understand this clearly. You overheard a rumor of a woman named Lady Meioshi, who other perhaps weaker demons wouldn't fight for reasons unknown, and decided to investigate this matter out of interest. I suppose you took notice to demons coming from the Netherworld to find her because of a missing sword, which I've no idea how you found out about, or something to that affect. You came across a young girl named Yuko, who I guess you met in between the time of hearing all of this nonsense, and went on a quest to presumably find Lady Meioshi's estate, which is her home and place of business, to challenge her to a fight. You found it, trespassed on her property, threatened her to a duel, and expected there to be no consequences whatsoever in doing so. She accepted your challenge despite how ridiculous your reasoning sounded, if you even provided one, and you're angry at her because she had enough mercy in her heart to let you go by simply escorting you off her property?"
Out loud, the pheasant had a point. The fact that he had that point is what made Sesshomaru angry again. While that wasn't the entire story, from an outsider's perspective, it seemed rather foolish and not thought through. Perhaps, this was why Sesshomaru and Jaken were completely silent at the pheasant's interpretation of the situation. Then again... no, it was just how the pheasant said it. When the bird sighed and turned to walk back to his nest, Jaken stuttered out a reply to get more information about where they were. If they weren't in the Netherworld, why did it seem like it? Why did Lady Meioshi cast them there?
"T-th-that's not the entire story, pheasant!" Jaken responded, hands twitching. "We actually saw the arctic wolf guardian, and we helped Yuko. She told us to find Lady Meioshi to warn her about it."
"Oh, so I have this backwards," the pheasant corrected, turning back to them with the eggs in tow. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Apologies for misunderstanding. So, you actually came across the guardian first and then met Yuko. She sent you to find Lady Meioshi and you heard the rumors after that. Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes, precisely," Jaken replied, nodded.
"Unfortunately, I still don't understand your desire to fight her," the pheasant said, tilting his head to the side. "No one actually knows that Lady Meioshi can or will fight other than someone or something that has challenged her in the past. She is a medical doctor. You would be told about this first. Given the circumstance, the urgency of Yuko's request probably revealed this hidden fact earlier than intended. You would have to ask this question to the other demons, specifically. Care to explain how you came about knowing her combat skills?"
"Moeru, a kappa demon I met on his way to deliver items to Lady Meioshi, had mentioned this," Jaken answered honestly.
"Very good," the pheasant replied, nodding his head. "Anything else?"
"I believe that's all," Jaken said, turning to Sesshomaru for any added details. When the lord said nothing, Jaken then said, "Yes, that's all."
"Then, you're just a glory hunter sounds like," the pheasant commented, scratching at the ground with his left talon. He picked at something that stirred from the ground and ate it whole. The pheasant then said, "Well, you'd best get familiar with this place because you'll be here often if you keep testing Lady Meioshi's patience."
"Now that you mention it," Jaken started, thankful that the conversation could now be directed to their current location. "You said this was the Blood Oath's Circle. I've never heard of such a place, and it seems an awful lot like the Netherworld. Are we not in the Netherworld?"
"No, you're not," the pheasant replied, scratching the ground to eat another thing whole. "This is where blood pacts are judged in order to either release souls back into the world of the living to complete their agreements or lay the souls to rest. Blood pacts here are typically between humans and demons or strictly between demons. The reason it is called a circle is because you can't escape the brush. You just start over from the edge until you find the gateway out of here."
Sesshomaru then took the time to ask, "The blood pact has been made between the doctor and the wolf. Which one of them brought us here?"
The pheasant stopped foraging and slowly rose his head to look at Sesshomaru. This one catches on pretty fast. He then replied, "If she didn't tell you personally, I've no reason to. However, I can say that you were possibly brought here as witnesses. If that's the case, you'll see Lady Meioshi here if the pact goes void."
"I'm not staying down here with you," Sesshomaru quickly said, narrowing his eyes and releasing some yoki energy to emphasize his point.
"I don't want you near my kids either!" the pheasant argued, flapping his wings to show displeasure at the notion. He then turned to Jaken and said, "You or your imp monkey!"
"What'd you call me?" Jaken retorted.
"Matter of fact, I'll call you imp-key," the pheasant remarked, turning to nudge one of his eggs to his right.
"I will cook you in your sleep!" Jaken threatened.
"Imp-key! Imp-key! Imp-key!" the pheasant insulted repeatedly. "I'd rather help you leave my nest than spend another day with you ingrates."
"Then please help us go back home!" Jaken pleaded, glaring at the pheasant intensely.
"In order to get out of this place, you must find the parallel door," the pheasant said simply, nudging the other egg to his left. When he was satisfied with their new orientation, he turned back to them and informed, "It's in the mouth of the Jubokko tree near here. Easy."
Weekly Power Status
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