He watched them disembark without another hint of protest. Only Meioshi's scent was untraceable, so Sesshomaru took a deep breath and walked inside of Meioshi's art studio. He hated it. Luckily, he was only there to see the lingerie dresses that were stitched. He had no business wanting to see any of it, but the women were very excited and happy to see the new collection Meioshi stitched prior to them ever meeting. He heard light jogging in the distance and smelled a familiar, playful scent approaching him. It was Kita. Couldn't they meet somewhere else besides this terrible place? She looked like she was in a hurry, though. When she entered the studio through the front door and retrieved something from a desk, she was just about to greet Sesshomaru like a customer until she realized it was him. She didn't change her greeting, but she seemed... interested in him being in the "storefront" part of the studio. There was no sand in the front, so he walked around the building entirely to get to the back. Just next door was the larger building that the foreign holy warrior was introduced to. Meioshi removed the spells hiding it and her family docking area, which may have been why Sesshomaru was more comfortable even stepping foot near the beach studio. She heard about him asking how large Meioshi's estate really was. Kita knew, being the doctor's patient and art model, but she was more curious about why Sesshomaru wanted to know.
"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru! Sorry about that. I thought you were a customer," Kita said, relaxing and placing a small booklet down by a small desk.
"That pervert put a store in this place?" Sesshomaru asked with some outrage. "Has she no class?"
Kita laughed aloud and answered, "You really are a silly man! It's mostly a night linens store if it makes you feel better. Doctor sells these garments for a small income. It's not her main source."
"Then tell her to sell these linens in the marketplace like a normal merchant," Sesshomaru argued, eyebrow twitching with annoyance.
"Selling such linens in that kind of public is highly taboo and wouldn't end well for my doctor," Kita replied, tugging out the doctor's signature lamp hanging chair. Sesshomaru was all too familiar with that seat. He and Meioshi had battled over Homugi's safety in the lavender and sand fields when he saw it for the first time. Meioshi was sitting in that chair just before attacking. Such a seat must be a favorite of hers. It provides an immediate source of light and perhaps power. Kita flopped into the chair's fluffy cushion and grabbed another cushion to simply hold it comfortably then said, "She gets bullied enough as it stands."
"Bullied?" Sesshomaru questioned, returning to his blank mask though curiosity danced across his eyes.
"M-hm. Unfortunately, the kingdom isn't really happy with Meioshi's family, least of all Meioshi's work. She's been labelled an untouchable, or Burakumin, and is treated as such. She never walks around with her horse to travel anywhere for that reason. Some terrible people try to poison the dear or attack it. Handling the dead just makes things worse, so she doesn't get nearly as many patients as she should. Performing surgery, embalming the dead, preparing cremation sites make her public enemy number one. You'd be surprised how many awful rumors surround her," Kita informed.
"What's wrong with her family?" Sesshomaru asked, not understanding that bit.
"One of her ancestors had left Heiwa to live elsewhere," Kita explained. "He was just too young to be a holy warrior was all, but the people here labelled him the greatest coward and lost trust in the hell travelers. Shintoism, as a result, became popularized very quickly, so the temple housing all the priests was erected and put just between the emperor's palace and First General's estate. That poor boy's leaving allowed these great demons to kill and devour the townspeople. Heiwa was practically extinct at one point! But, that boy did come back to make things right and divided the lands to what they are now. Niji Shaku, or Old Heiwa, is all owned by the hell travelers and barricaded from the kingdom. Hell travelers stopped living in Heiwa for quite a few years before Lord Arimasa, Meioshi's grandfather, had returned the family here and started allowing others to live in Old Heiwa again. He moved the hell traveler clan onto the cliff behind the doctor's home for training and passing of power. Niji Shaku became a little village again! The emperor's lands are obviously closer to the waters so the well-off children can go to school, but it is also connected to the First General's estate. That's where all the samurai, bounty hunters, and police reside. Unfortunately, because the Shinto priests rely so heavily on the kingdom people's belief in their system, they make it their mission to sneer at and slander the good doctor's name. When she enters the kingdom, she deals with a lot of crap. It's sad, really."
"If the public doesn't even want to deal with her, why does she cut herself to prove her loyalty to them!?" Sesshomaru shouted more than questioned.
"... Young Emperor Kunimatsu is her patient," Kita replied, smiling softly. "She's not really that loyal to the kingdom people, but she is to him. He'll be a leader and servant to the people when he's ready, so her loyalty to him is loyalty to the public. The public might not like it, but she's returned the hell travelers from exile in a way. Politics are dumb, aren't they?"
"Her joining the army wasn't proof enough?" Sesshomaru argued.
"I don't think she was proving anything to the people in joining the army. When she came back, she fought tooth and nail to form a physical license to practice medicine like she's doing now. Not long after her return, she was known as an official doctor in writing. She found Ohta and the other children, Yuko, me, and quite a few other patients in the years following. She found Ohta almost right after her return from the army. I'd ask him more about what she was like back then, and what she went through to legally get him out of the okiyas. She put that license to use very quickly!"
"This license is related to the Tate Record? She mentioned it when Rosanjin tried to sell the children to certain... bachelors," Sesshomaru said, trying to hide a low growl. He still hated what Juba and Chiura had recounted that day. A moment of innocence and happiness about to be stolen for selfish lusts within an instant. It could've happened to Rin! He was glad that it didn't, but... just the thought...
"Ah, yes, it is! It is a form of protection against other doctors trying to swindle you for their services or even someone wrongfully selling you off to settle a debt without the proper documentation. Many poor families can't read or write, so they can sign off on things or even agree to things that are detrimental to their health. There's more to that record than you or I know, though. That's a question for Yuko. She knows about the record extensively and wants to add it to her own license. I think Meioshi went through all of this because she wanted more legal independence as a doctor. Her experiences here and in the army probably pushed it further and faster," Kita explained.
"If she's so against these wrongdoings, why make this place?" Sesshomaru asked sincerely. "You said someone forced himself on you. Ohta and the others were solicited for sexual labor at one point. I would imagine that she's seen much happen to others in her childhood despite how happy and carefree everyone seems to remember her being. If she's seen so much, why make these portraits and style of undergarments? Why not turn away from it?"
"... That's what she was trained to do while in the army," Kita answered, smiling warmly at his lordship. He didn't realize it, but he showed his true emotions when he asked that very last question. He was concerned - almost passed the point of just being worried - and genuinely confused. Kita then continued, "She refused to just be a nurse for that quack she was under. She wanted a spot in the army that was very dangerous and could be very traumatic for her, but she did the training for it and became what's called an ianfu, or comfort woman."
"She performed sexual services?" Sesshomaru asked with some repulsion.
"No, the term was more literal. She quite specifically provided counseling for her fellow nurses and emergency medics, treated rape victims like me, cared for prostitutes who were hired to satisfy the soldiers' sexual needs, tended to the soldiers' wounds, fears, and traumas, and she defended the camp from inside attack as a soldier herself. I don't know if that's all she did, but that's what she explained to me when I had gone to her about my experience. Her friends told me about her barn. It houses animals now, but she used to hide away and harbor abuse victims. She was almost raped and killed herself. She said she was very lucky that it didn't happen, but that didn't stop her from being a bit traumatized from those struggles. She pushed herself to learn how to fight with more advanced techniques to escape stronger men and ambushes. That training made her the best candidate as an ianfu," Kita informed.
_____________________________________________________________
Kinoshita Tomokazu (43) | 20th day of the third month | Time of Death: the hour after noon, 33 minutes passed | Death by multiple arrow shots along the beach; fired from the boxed crossbow device crafted by enemy troops
Succeeded by a wife, three children, and a young babe
Cremated on the 23rd day of the third month
Urn not delivered to the family; weapons and armor found in the soldier barracks
I remembered this man. He was on the second ship sailing along the shoreline of the trafficking island to scout for any escapees to bring to the medical tent. The boxed crossbow device was very large with twelve large arrows comparable to the size of fishing spears along the border of the box, sixteen arrows that with poisoned tips in descending order of the spearheads, and smaller darts that could pierce straight through the body to hit organs within the center. The darts varied in number but always remained half the size of a physical arrow. He was hit in the heart by the poisoned arrow. The impact killed him first before the poison had a chance to act. Tomokazu loved to play cards and carved carps out of wood for his eldest child, the firstborn son. He was a gifted sculptor.
Takahara Matashichi (29) | 10th day of the fifth month | Time of Death: the hour before midnight | Burned to death by fireball attack; enemy troops snuck close to the camp to unleash oiled hay balls
Succeeded by a fiancé and one child
Cremated on the 14th day of the fifth month
Urn delivered to the family; weapons and armor given to the family
Matashichi heard the ambush in time to warn the firefighters, but the ball of hay that easily eclipsed the height of our barracks drenched him in oil. The ball didn't fully catch fire until it hit a nearby torch. He had been trapped underneath the burning ball for close to ten minutes before anyone heard his screaming. He was unresponsive to treatment by the time he reached medical services. His cremation took longer because of the oil. Matashichi was excited to return home for good to raise his five-year-old daughter. He intended to marry the mother. He couldn't do it sooner because he was sent to active duty. His returns home were short visits. This operation was going to be his last one. He earned enough money to support the family. He loved building sandcastles to cheer children up.
Akamatsu Emiho (34) | 15th day of the eighth month | Time of Death: the third hour after noon, 29 minutes passed | Head severed from the body; enemy troops chased her to a cave exit; injuries before death suggest she was being penetrated violently but the tearing was small and rushed; her captor had changed his mind in a hurry
Succeeded by no one
Cremated on the eighteenth day of the eighth month
Urn given to her sister; no personal possessions were found
Emiho had escaped from the enemy camp and stumbled into one of the soldier's barracks for safety. I had personally cared for her. She had been a rape victim for some time, judging by the state of her injuries and bruises. The enemy troops had seized her village and taken many of the women and young girls as spoils. Unless the men complied with the enemy's demands, they were killed on the spot. Only two men from her village had survived to serve the enemy. Emiho was very bright and quite cheerful. Yuko reminded me of her. Emiho used to ask many questions about my work and seemed eager to be a nurse. She suffered from insomnia and often woke up from sleep like someone had shaken or slapped her. Her sister was another rape victim on enemy territory. We agreed to try to save her and the others. Emiho's sister had explained that Emiho heard her screams in the forest and went to try to save her, but enemy troops had apprehended her and chased her to her doom. I didn't see her sister when we gathered the victims. One of the men informed me that she was taken away and had the urn in her possession. Emiho's sister had committed suicide just last year on the anniversary of Emiho's death. A letter was sent to me about it two months after. I can only assume guilt was responsible for her death, not the action of suicide itself.
Kimura Risako (45) | 20th day of the eleventh month | Time of Death: unknown | Stabbed in the chest and side multiple times; enemy troops kidnapped her
Succeeded by a husband, three children, and four grandchildren
Cremated on the twenty-second day of the eleventh month
Urn not given to the family; all personal items were found in the damaged medical unit
Risako was the lead medic of my unit... The enemy troops had used one of their captured women as a decoy for us to respond. They killed a few soldiers and kidnapped us. The general was forced to surrender us due to the ambush and threat of immediate decimation. We were surrounded by weapons that we had never seen before. Beyond the boxed crossbow, which we thought was the worst of mass destruction, was so much more. The director of the trafficking island tried to force me to talk... I refused. Risako, Orimi the besshikime who had been transferred here, and my dear friend and comrade, Sayo, had all refused and fought back. We were separated from the rest of the unit. I was slammed into many walls, believing that I would be another victim, but I was instead forced to watch other women be raped in groups and beaten like a slain pig for its tender hocks. The director was showing me my fate if I did not succumb to his will. I had been trained for this, however. Though I did not want to suffer what I was seeing, I had treated patients who suffered from this before. I even had my own scares. He saw right through me... So, he made me a deal. He kept me further separated from my unit. He promised to let me go if I agreed to be the enemy troops' medic. He had noticed my skills with surgery and found me valuable. As for the others..., I decided their fates...
|| ... ... ... ||
Some years ago...
He was a tall, slender man with fair skin and light facial hair. His eyes were cold. Only a spot in hell was colder than the look in his eyes. He took his hair down from its confines to shake the dark tresses and started removing his armor bit by bit. Meioshi was as still as stone in the corner and as defiant as a gust of wind changing its current. She wouldn't look at him. She didn't have to. He was cleaning himself off at his wash basin and continuing to undress himself until he was down to a robe and loin cloth. He wasn't going to bother wearing proper clothes. He was already tired. Walking over to Meioshi, he crept up behind and held her gently.
Placing his chin on her shoulder, he whispered almost seductively, "You need not worry about the pain of being my woman, little nurse. Your beauty is too otherworldly and misunderstood to be appreciated by low ranks. I am quite tired. Aren't you?"
"... Then sleep. You took my weapons. I am harmless," Meioshi replied, bowing her head down.
The director said nothing in response. He merely took a lock of her hair, kissed up its length, and moved his kisses to her neck. He whispered in her ear, "Sleep with me. You are an ianfu, are you not?"
"My service is an act of healing for the traumatized. You are not suffering," Meioshi replied emotionlessly.
"An act of healing?" the director asked for clarity, kissing Meioshi's head and holding her tighter. "Oddly specific role. Your general was no fool, though. You have such precious skin. You are warm, dutiful, but very well. You need to see trauma in order to act then?"
"Only trauma that you are suffering from," Meioshi specified.
"As you wish, little nurse," the director said, lifting himself and Meioshi up from the floor. He escorted her to a window that was closed up and leaned over Meioshi's back to press his weight down onto her. He made sure to mesh their sensitive areas together and stayed close to Meioshi's ear. "I will show you my trauma. Will you sleep with me then?"
"Release my unit, then we'll talk," Meioshi replied, unmoved by the proposal.
"Release your unit?" the director asked, lifting himself up. He put his hands on Meioshi's hips and started rocking himself into her softly to feel her. When his arousal started to build, he stopped to drag his hands up her back. He then said, "Very well. I'll release them."
With that, he yanked open the door blocking the window to reveal Meioshi's beloved medical team being abused by several men and corrupted women. When the director gave the signal, the men removed the chains and gags from them and continued in their torment.
Meioshi gasped and screamed through tears, "NO! STOP IT!"
Just before she could jump through the window to help anyone, the director pulled her back and pinned her down on the floor. He then whispered, "Aht, aht, aht. You wanted me to release them, did you not? They're released from bondage. Now, sleep with me."
"Let them go!"
"Do as I say and I'll think about."
"Meioshi!" one of the medics cried out through her pain.
"Okay! OKAY! TAKE ME! Just don't hurt them anymore, please!" Meioshi begged through her own tears.
The director stopped, stood up, gave a signal, and watched as the screaming stopped. He then closed the window and asked, "You did not agree to be my medic, did you, little nurse? I can release them from this place in exchange for you. Would you agree to that?"
"I already offered me in exchange for their freedom."
"You offered your body. I intend to enjoy that with time. I will need your answer in being my medic. Do you still need to see my trauma for such an exchange?" the director asked.
"You're not at war with anyone! You're just a weapon manufacturer!" Meioshi tried, not understanding the director's words.
"... There is a reason why I singled you out from the rest... priestess," the director hissed, turning slowly to Meioshi with a poisonous glare. "Either you agree to be my medic... or watch them die."
"What?" Meioshi whimpered. When the man said nothing more, he snatched her up and forced the window open again. Right before her eyes, the attackers pulled out multiple weapons from knives to daggers to swords. "NO!"
"Then, I hold onto my promise!" the director hissed.
Within moments, the room was littered with blood splatters and dismembering of fingers or eyes. All Meioshi could do was scream and struggle to get inside of the room to try to help, but she couldn't. She was thrown to the ground and saw one of the most horrific shadows to cover the walls of the room...
"What has eight small legs, two large legs, walks sideways, and has eyes pointing straight towards heaven?"