The Dragon Jewel (Part Five)

Holding an exquisite, water-blue sphere in her hands, the Dragon Maiden knelt on a massive sea turtle and slowly approached them.

"My sincerest apologies. It seems you've already passed Lord Dragon God's trial," the Dragon Maiden said in congratulation. She turned toward the scattered seaweed and frowned with mild dismay. "What a shame about all that illusion algae."

Sesshomaru regarded her coldly.

The Dragon Maiden pursed her lips in grievance and reached out to take Han's limp right hand.

Neither Sesshomaru nor Han stopped her. The Dragon Maiden had shown them no hostility from the beginning. According to her words, that troublesome seaweed-or rather, illusion algae-had been a trial set by the Sea Dragon God, not something she had deliberately concealed from them.

Han felt spiritual power flowing through their joined hands, along with the Dragon Maiden's remorse, and gradually let go of her resentment.

In human legends, people who stumbled into Dragon Palace City enjoyed such warm hospitality from the Dragon Maiden and the sea god, such fine clothes and sumptuous food, that they forgot all desire to return home. Those experiences were probably illusions conjured within that illusory realm. Some people were devoured by the illusion algae, while others were luckier and released for various reasons, allowing such legends to spread. The legends among monsters were closer to the truth. Those who escaped the illusion algae with their lives could sense that the Sea Dragon God was neither hospitable nor necessarily friendly. Otherwise, he would never have set up such a dangerous illusion.

Only after Han's spiritual power had recovered did the Dragon Maiden withdraw her hand. "Come with me."

Sesshomaru followed without hesitation. Though what he had just seen was only an illusion, even if there was only a one-in-a-thousand chance, he had to confirm the location of his father's grave. As for traps, he feared nothing.

This time, the Dragon Maiden invited them both onto the turtle's back. It was remarkably spacious, much larger even than an ordinary human fishing boat. The sea turtle moved at a leisurely pace, yet its speed was astonishing. Carrying the three of them, it reached the true Dragon Palace City in the blink of an eye.

Unlike the glittering sea city wreathed in auspicious radiance from the legends, the real Dragon Palace City, though magnificent, was steeped in the ancient atmosphere of history and time.

Beyond the palace gates, which rose too high to see their tops, lay a broad road paved with scallop shells. It crossed the entire courtyard, connecting the gates to the palace chambers. Perhaps the boundless expanse before them should not have been called a courtyard at all; it was simply too vast. Ordinary-sized seaweed and anemones grew over the fine sand, along with exquisite coral. Like a carefully arranged human garden, this underwater courtyard was intricate and beautiful.

From the turtle's back, they could clearly see the distant palace chambers: lofty buildings, vermilion eaves, graceful corridors, and sandalwood-colored floors. From afar, an enormous azure dragon seemed to coil above the palace. Yet that was only the dragon's aura, and even so, it was deeply intimidating.

The Dragon Maiden led them into a chamber, where they sat beside a table. Brightly colored conch shells of every kind hung on the white sand walls, decorating the room. In one corner stood a vase of human craftsmanship, patterned with entwining flowering branches. Thin, airy sea-blue curtains hung from the ceiling, gently swaying in the clear seawater. The entire room was like a wondrous, ethereal dream.

"Tell me, what treasure do you want? Blood coral? Jade pearls? Tortoiseshell?" the Dragon Maiden asked cheerfully. "It's so rare for monsters to come here. I haven't seen any other monsters in a very, very long time."

"No, none of those." Han found it somewhat difficult to say. "A Dragon Pearl."

"A Dragon Pearl?" The Dragon Maiden raised her brows in surprise. "Why do you want a Dragon Pearl?"

"Because I want to give a human a longer life," Han answered.

"A human?" The Dragon Maiden was even more surprised.

"Yes. That woman saved my life and gave me my first place of refuge, nearly losing her own life in the process. Now she wants to spend her life with a monster, but human lives are far too short compared to theirs. That's why I came looking for a Dragon Pearl, hoping to fulfill her wish. Though she probably wouldn't want an excessively long life." Han did not know that Kikyo wanted to use the Shikon Jewel to turn Inuyasha human. Otherwise, she would certainly have stopped her. An evil demonic jewel like the Shikon Jewel was best used as little as possible.

"Hmm, I see." The Dragon Maiden thought for a moment. "Then what would you offer in exchange? The jewel around your neck? The sword at your waist?"

"We can trade for it?" Han asked in astonishment, then added unhappily, "I'm afraid neither of those will do." She was keeping the jewel safe for Himiya, and the sword had been forged from the dog demon's fang. Neither was something she could readily hand over.

"Yes. Though Dragon Pearls are precious to the Dragon Race, they aren't our greatest treasures." The Dragon Maiden did not explain much more. Many things common knowledge among the Dragon Race remained secrets that could not be shared with other races. For instance, once a dragon had received the inherited memories and power within a Dragon Pearl, it was merely a magnificent jewel. Of course, to humans, it was probably still a treasure. Grandpa Turtle had told her that long ago, a human had swallowed a Dragon Pearl and turned into a dragon.

"Then would you be willing to retrieve the Dragon Bones for us?" the Dragon Maiden asked. "If you can recover the stolen Dragon Bones, I'll give you a Dragon Pearl." In truth, simply giving them one would not have been out of the question, but she would have trouble explaining herself when Lord Dragon God woke later. She wanted to give them one outright but could not, and that was a small worry of her own.

"When were they stolen?" Sesshomaru, who had been sitting silently all this time, suddenly asked.

"About a hundred and fifty years ago," the Dragon Maiden said with certainty. "A monster skilled in illusions stole the Dragon Bones. If he fused with them, he would probably become stronger than ever before." After a dragon died, its bones were the last part to decay. They were where the Dragon Race's greatest power resided.

"Have the Dragon Pearl ready," Sesshomaru said. The timing matched. That monster was probably Ryūkotsusei, the monster his father had risked his life to seal away.

"Huh? You know where that monster is?" the Dragon Maiden asked in surprise.

"Yes." Sesshomaru nodded. Thinking about it now, that monster had probably once been an ordinary minor monster capable of illusions. He had stolen a dead dragon's bones to become a great monster who could command wind and rain, only to be sealed by Sesshomaru's father shortly after fusing with them.

"Then I leave it in your hands." The Dragon Maiden smiled happily and gave Sesshomaru a solemn bow. Compared with a dragon's last remaining bones, a Dragon Pearl was hardly worth mentioning.

"We're leaving, Han." Sesshomaru stood. Since they had accomplished their purpose, there was no reason to linger.

"Oh, so soon?" The Dragon Maiden looked a little sad. Other monsters so rarely came to Dragon Palace City that she had hoped they might stay a little longer.

"Yes. That way, we can bring the Dragon Bones back to you sooner, Asumi," Han said with a smile. Since Sesshomaru knew where the Dragon Bones were, retrieving them quickly would surely be no problem.

"Wait..." The Dragon Maiden hesitated, then said, "Play a game with me for a while." This was the best gift she could offer.

"Huh, a game?" Han wanted to keep the Dragon Maiden company, since she seemed to have been lonely for a long time, but she was also a little concerned about the dog demon. "Sesshomaru..."

"Decide for yourself," Sesshomaru said calmly. Though he was a dog demon who preferred swift action, he was also unexpectedly considerate.

"Yes!" Han nodded firmly at the Dragon Maiden, who was watching her expectantly. "Then let's play for a while."

The game the Dragon Maiden described resembled bouncing a handball, using the beautiful, shimmering ball of water she held. But rather than bouncing a handball, it was more like passing one. The only rule was that the ball must not touch the ground.

The Dragon Maiden began, tossing the handball to the conch-shell girl on her left as a demonstration. After catching it, the girl passed it to the half-merman boy. He hesitated for a moment, then tossed it back to the Dragon Maiden.

"Han, do you understand?" the Dragon Maiden asked.

"Yes," Han answered. The game was not difficult. The only strange thing was that the water ball did not float upward in the water at all, but sank instead. Is it really that heavy? she wondered.

The Dragon Maiden tossed the water ball toward her. The instant it came her way, Han felt as though a world-shaking wave were crashing toward her.

"Han, catch it," the Dragon Maiden said anxiously. "You know how."

"I don't know!" Han had the distinct feeling that something terrible would happen if the ball fell onto the sandy seabed.

The ball was already right in front of her when Han remembered the exercises she had done at Granny Medicine's place. Water. It's water. I can draw on the power of water!

Guided by her will, the surrounding water gathered around her hands and met the oncoming ball, slowing its momentum.

The water ball finally landed safely in her arms. Its weight dragged painfully at Han's hands, but at least she had caught it, and she let out a small sigh of relief.

"Han, toss it to me." Across from her, the Dragon Maiden laughed and waved.

"All right!" Han nodded brightly. Supporting the ball in the water, she tried to toss it away, but it only grew heavier.

"Just like before. Think about what you did before," the Dragon Maiden could not help reminding her.

Before... before... it was the water!

Han's eyes lit up as she recalled that feeling. The instant she called out in her heart, the water all around her answered.

Recalling how she had felt just then, Han slowly gathered the surrounding water. The ball in her hands finally lost its weight and obediently sailed toward the Dragon Maiden.

Han began to understand why the Dragon Maiden had been so eager for her to play this game.

The Dragon Maiden wanted to help her use her own power more effectively...

But using power was often something one understood more deeply through personal experience. That was why the Dragon Maiden, despite being so eager to help her, could not simply explain it outright... That must have been difficult for her too...

"Han, catch!" At the Dragon Maiden's clear call, the water ball flew toward Han again. "Try the opposite force."

The opposite force-does that mean dispersing the power of water? Han began to sense the water's power within the ball, trying hard to communicate with it and disperse it into the surrounding water. At last, the ball settled into her arms, calm and gentle.

"How was that?" The Dragon Maiden winked at her and asked proudly.

"Yes, wonderful!" Han said happily. She had never imagined she could use her power this way.

As Han gradually grew more adept, everyone's exchanges became increasingly light and fluid. And the balls reflected the people who threw them; each person's throw was different.

The gentle freshwater-snail girl always passed the ball softly, while the lively half-merman boy's throws were always full of force. Even the one the Dragon Maiden called Grandpa Turtle would casually bump the ball upward with his back, passing it into someone else's hands without the slightest pause.

From her initial frantic fumbling, Han gradually learned to handle it with ease. Later, she could even guide the currents with one hand and send the ball straight into someone else's hands.

Of course, the Dragon Maiden was still the most skilled. She even passed the ball with her forehead, back, and feet, never letting it pause for an instant.

What seemed like a simple game was actually an exercise in controlling the power of water.

At last, the water ball returned to the Dragon Maiden's hands. This time, she did not toss it again, but cradled it in both hands as she had when they first met.

"Well, Han, do you feel a little more familiar with water now?" the Dragon Maiden asked.

"Yes, definitely." Han nodded. "Thank you," she said earnestly.

The Dragon Maiden shook her head. "It's nothing. We're friends, aren't we?" The Spirit Clan was the Dragon Race's only friend.

"Yes." Han nodded firmly. "You and I are friends, Asumi."

The Dragon Maiden smiled in satisfaction and took a little conch shell from inside her clothes. It was rounded, about a finger long, and adorably white as jade. She handed it to Han. "This is for you. Even in the driest place, you can use it to draw water from this sea whenever you wish." It was a treasure more precious than a Dragon Pearl. "Its name is the Water Whistle."

Han hesitated for a moment, then accepted it. Even though she had never seen it before, she knew it was extraordinary. But she had no more precious gift to give in return. As she had done before, she could only remove a bead from the prayer beads around her neck and offer it to the Dragon Maiden with embarrassment. "These prayer beads were given to me by someone else, and I later blessed them myself. Though it probably still can't compare with the Water Whistle, at least it holds my blessing too."

The Dragon Maiden accepted it with delighted surprise and tucked it against her chest. "This is the most precious treasure you carry. It's more precious than the Water Whistle."

If the Water Whistle was a conch shell blessed and empowered by the Sea Dragon God, then this prayer bead was a treasure empowered by both a human and a member of the Spirit Clan. The power of the two races gave it extraordinary spiritual power, and the sincere blessings it carried far surpassed those of the Water Whistle. In the Dragon Maiden's eyes, neither the sword nor the jewel was as precious as this prayer bead.

The two smiled at one another and clasped each other's hands, finally saying goodbye.

Watching the two girls' joined hands, Sesshomaru recalled the legend told among monsters.

The Dragon God had long since fallen into slumber, and the Dragon Maiden held the Dragon God's Eye as she guarded Dragon Palace City beneath the sea.

The Dragon Maiden's game was called Passing Handball. Every time the Dragon God's Eye was passed and caught, it brought waves to the sea's surface.

If the Dragon God's Eye fell onto the seabed, the ocean would shake, raising towering waves.

In the end, Sesshomaru remained as silent as ever and did not tell the girl the legend.

The great sea turtle took them back to the surface, to the place where they had first descended. On the cliff above, Jaken and Yunai were still waiting.