{Kaede's POV}
Meioshi was walking along the shores of the beach one final time before her departure. She wasn't crying or shivering, but she wasn't smiling either. She was statuesque, determined, anticipating. Kaede walked up to her in silence, but she didn't take her eyes away from the sea, so Kaede took Meioshi's hand into hers and looked out to sea with her. The girl's response was a soft hand covering the older woman's and a light grip to show she was still present and knew she was next to her. They both were in kimonos tonight. Meioshi, a lovely print kimono and brightly colored obi. Kaede, a softer colored kimono with a regal obi. She matched her man and even smelled like him. Meioshi matched no man, but she did wear a perfume that was light and playful. It was going to be her last night wearing a feminine scent. She would be resorting to the basics of hygiene going forward. Meioshi looked so much like Arimasa when she stared out into the sea. Really, she looked Nihonese the most when she had to be serious. As a playful thing, she was Indus.
"You're awfully frisky these days, old mum," Meioshi quipped with her accented voice, making Kaede smile softly.
"Only with my man. Ye may do the same when ye marry," Kaede commented.
"Think so? Well, that's encouragement to return home quickly, isn't it?" Meioshi joked, blinking slowly. The action could almost be confused for a content kitten's blink.
"I'd say so. You've been getting more male attention lately."
"Ah, you are referring to the swordsman that visited here?"
"He and your general."
Meioshi turned to her at this, but she didn't hold Kaede's gaze. She instead looked down and then back to the sea. She said, "I worry about him, old mum. The same can be said for the swordsman. I've a premonition - an ominous one. Lady Jinghua Mirai looked at me strangely when I visited her for counsel at the shrine. She was quiet, but... I don't know... She seemed distant. Like... well, we were never at odds with each other, I don't believe, but it felt like she wanted nothing to do with anything. I knew this war would mean a great deal for me, but I didn't think the gods would be so silent. Perhaps this is how the whole of the devout feel when we must take on a great burden. There are some fights you must be prepared to fight alone. Seek no counsel for what is destiny. Simply do. Do you think this is how Lady Midoriko felt? You have told me about her a few times before when I was littler."
"It is hard to say how an ancestor felt before they met their end. Though I and my sister were tasked with protecting the Shikon Jewel, only Kikyo spent her time trying to understand and become as pure as Midoriko was. I, on the other hand, abandoned the Shikon Jewel. I only protected it and meditated on its origins once the village had accepted me as its protector. My path was different," Kaede explained.
"You say that, but I believe it is you and your path that I understand the most. If nothing else, your heart is one of the purest I've come across," Meioshi said, fully turning her attention to Kaede. "I wasn't born in Nihon like you. I was born in a mountain town that sat between two powerful countries. It took six years for me and my family to take up residence in Heiwa. In those six years, I was exposed to more of the world just as you were when you left the village while young. Being devout to anything is strange when you experience life in a different way, but that difference makes your path more intimate and personal. You discover your own way to show devotion to a cause or spiritual way of life. You question what is custom. I respect that about you."
"... And I appreciate that about you. Your ability to recognize who is most like you is uncanny but endearing. Perhaps Midoriko shared more in common with you than either of us think. Choosing a life of purity and great sacrifice requires much isolation but also much learning and development. You have to ascend to a certain level to match the might of a god. It is possible that despite our worries about you, you are meant to reach a level we can't and won't understand," Kaede said, caressing Meioshi's cheek. "Little peach girl of the hell traveler clan, what premonition did ye see to make you so morose?"
"... Those connected with the Web of Divine Might would know about this, but I'm not sure about those of the Shinto faith. Have you ever heard of the Satsujin?" Meioshi asked, worry now prominent in her features.
"The Satsujin?" Kaede asked.
"Yes. They are... at best, an odd collection of riffraff," Meioshi said with her accented voice.
"You believe this group will cause trouble?" Kaede asked.
"The Satsujin are trouble, old mum," Meioshi said with a bit of fear in her voice. There were very few things that Meioshi feared, but this group somehow inspired such in the girl. "They are a group of youkai with no allegiance to god or man and not easily controlled. They represent what is known as the Five Crimes, sins unforgivable even in hell, and the species of said youkai vary across many terrains. I know of only one by name because he decimated a village that was visited by a holy warrior, Ryukotsusei. A corrupted titan of the dragon kingdom who was once idolized by our allies in the dragon warrior clan. There are several tales of the world being covered in darkness by singular deities or plagues, but all pale in comparison to the shadows that the Satsujin cast. Once a youkai commits an unforgivable sin, the gods place the Shōkin māku, or "bounty mark", on them."
"A bounty mark? They expect bounty hunters to go after them?" Kaede asked, folding her arms behind her back.
Meioshi shook her head and continued, "No. Only untouchables can kill these creatures. Holy warriors, on the other hand, bear a different task with them. Depending on the level of the mark, a holy warrior can obtain a method or weapon to imprison the Satsujin."
"Could you perhaps use the Four Heavenly Kings to aid in binding this Satsujin? Suiren and Arimasa have taught you much about exorcisms and the like. I, as well," Kaede suggested.
"Unfortunately, the Four Heavenly Kings are not strong enough to bind the Satsujin. Even Lord Izanagi and Lady Izanami could not handle the Satsujin's strength, but they did devise a way to limit the Satsujin's power. Our world is made up of three major realms and several minor points of existence: the heavenly realm, earthly (or mortal) realm, and hell. A perfect example! Lord Pheasant is the master of the Blood Oath Circle, a point of existence once locked away between heaven and the earth. He has since moved from the Land of Green Pheasants within that in-between plane and can now travel through all of the in-between planes of the three realms. But..., the Martial World is where titans go... and it's where you learn how to control the Satsujin. Lord Izanagi had formed a pact with the Niō, Agyō and Ungyō, to create a powerful gate that banished the Satsujin to an undisclosed prison in exchange for a gift. The nature of said gift? Well, that's the mystery. Either way, the Niō agreed and formed an impenetrable prison that was hidden within a labyrinth locked behind a sacred Miwa Torii gate. The key to the gate, the Miwa Bangle, was placed in the Martial World. Only a titan can control the Satsujin, and that's only if they can succeed in a competition against the strongest of all living creatures," Meioshi informed.
"So that limits the chances of a human being able to control them," Kaede remarked with a scoff.
"Depends on your power as a warrior. It is possible to be granted a weapon capable of aiding you in defeating these titans," Meioshi added, perking Kaede's interest. "Titans among humans are extraordinarily rare, and they are not always a titan because of their affinity for combat. Sometimes, they marry into it. Regardless, humans and titans must all go through the same trial within the Martial World. One of the three items donned by the Niō must be given to you should you complete their trial: the vajra, the most ancient weapon capable of eradicating all evil, the ten'ne, the long-flowing hair ribbons of heaven, or the mo, a loin cloth more sacred than the tsuna. In order for you to obtain the Miwa Bangle, you must have one of these items in your possession. That is how one controls the Satsujin, and their power is dictated by the one who bears the key to their prison."
"What does all of this have to do with your premonition? You believe someone unlocked these beasts?" Kaede asked, quite interested in the information but unsure of how this effected Meioshi.
"... Yes, I... can't necessarily explain that part, but... either a new youkai has joined the ranks of the Satsujin or one was already out. Both are possible," Meioshi said, stroking a lock of her hair with some nervousness.
"How can you tell?" Kaede asked, standing in front of Meioshi to make her look into her eyes.
"The map that the general gave me of the island we're to seize... it... had the bounty mark on it..."
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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?"
"You are a crab demon?" Meioshi gasped, shivering and crawling away from the disguised creature.
In a burst of blue and purple flame, the sacred Shōkin māku appeared on the man's shadow and his eyes started glowing that demonic red. His shadow was a large crab but... dressed in what looked like robes. A priest's robes, no less. He then hissed, "Very good, little nurse, but I am afraid I am far worse than a demon. My traumas are in relation to you and your kind."
"What?" Meioshi questioned with a whisper.
"Long ago, a human priest much like you cracked my shell with his staff, and the villagers that sent him to my temple had chased me out and tried to kill me," the man said, sauntering over to Meioshi. He kneeled before her, eyes changing to a creature's, and said, "I have no remorse for killing you, humans, but... you are different, priestess. Unlike the other priests I've killed or the villagers I've enslaved, I have watched you. Your power is not like that priest's. A beauty indeed."
Meioshi shivered from the man's cold touch until she felt the floor undulate and ripple. When she looked down, she saw the floor moving and churning like water! The man stole a kiss from her before lifting them both up and raising his hand to summon a ball of fire and water. Skeletons burst from underneath them and crawled up to claw their way out of the water. The man then showed the skeletons a visual of Meioshi's people, armored them with his powers and shards of his shell, and brought Meioshi closer to his body.
He then ordered darkly, "Kill the low ranks, capture the general."
Meioshi gasped before shouting, "No!"
"Show me who you really are, priestess. Are you a descendant of that bastard priest or something more...?" the man hissed.
"Who are you, Satsujin?" Meioshi demanded, awakening her powers.
"... Kanibōzu, the haunter of temples and devourer of priests," he said, lips moving back and forth awkwardly like a crab's. "Does my sin bother you, little nurse?"
"Kaishi Novum!" Meioshi called, summoning her spear.
"Let's see you try to escape my claws, wench..."