"With that being the case, though. Lemme fix yer shit. We have enough materials to repair it. Did yer kid visit Totosai alot, hottie?" Moromao asked, picking up the broken Bakusaiga bare-clawed and taking the other half from Sesshomaru very gently to study the structure of the sword.
"Oh, every winter!" Milady replied. "He visited not long ago to defeat that Naraku fellow. He manifested that sword in your claws, though. Totosai didn't craft it."
"Bullshit!" Moromao gasped, turning to Milady wide-eyed and wide-mouthed. He seemed genuinely impressed. "The boy just up and made this? How?"
"Yes. His quest for power was not for naught," Milady answered, looking at her grumpy son but smiling with pride. "He is every bit like his father in that regard. My Toga's most unique power was the ability to craft his own weapons from his fangs and nails. That's why the House of Inu was so intent on making him their general. Such a power is not shared among the inu, but I don't believe it is shared by the tiangou either. Father never mentioned such an ability."
"My flirty son always had the sharpest teeth," Hikozaemon II said with scoff, remembering times when Toga was a toddler nipping at his fingers. This did confirm Milady's words, however. "His paws often destroyed the playroom."
"Though Lord Totosai can make a weapon out of anything, my Toga had no need for crafted tools," Milady said. "He didn't start using weapons like swords or knives until after he had met Totosai. Transferring his raw strength into the blades gave Toga a sense of control and opened a path of full mastery of his power. I've yet to see father's full power, but I imagine Toga was relatively close to it."
"I don't know much about Nihon's tiangou, but the tiangou of Zhongguo are unbelievably powerful. It's nearly impossible trying to sell them my weapons!" Moromao complained, hunching over. "I even tried to match their standards! No luck, no luck!"
Hikozaemon II briefly huffed before smirking with pride. His people were still uptight after all these years. Sesshomaru turned to his grandfather with a bit of interest. His grandfather barely smiled or laughed in his childhood memory, so it was surprising to see him do either so often now. Sesshomaru had seen Hikozaemon II use his powers before, but he was very little at the time. They had just adopted Junibun, the pet rabbit, into the family. Was there more to the old man's power? What force of nature was he truly if his own daughter-in-law hadn't seen his power?
"Neither of my Toga's sons tamed their raw power first like he did," Milady continued. "My son is only here now because of the big-hipped human. Some creatures from the Underworld infiltrated our territory and stole the sire's Meido Stone from me. If it were up to me, I would've just eaten her on the pretense that she might have been an accomplice. Humans may not provide much strength once consumed, but it'll be enough to appease your hunger."
"I mean if he's into the taste, sure," Moromao remarked, placing Bakusaiga into a vat of water. The sword's energy made the water bubble violently before it seeped into the water and made the vat turn green. Moromao folded his large arms and merely observed for a moment. He then said, "Gotta be careful with eating holy warriors, though. Some are poisonous."
"We're immune to most demon-repelling methods," Milady explained nonchalantly, picking up a dancing fan with a metal leaf body. Who would use such a weapon? She continued, "The House of Inu trains our youth to develop such immunity to build a fearsome army. My unfriendly son ate humans for a solid year. I don't know what suddenly stopped him, but he did gain a bit of strength. His father didn't know about that. Probably for the best. He hated such behavior."
"Fair enough. My brothers and I stopped eating humans, too," Moromao informed, taking a twig from a pine tree to test his quiet theory.
Placing the twig in the vat showed him what the Bakusaiga was really formed from: a very distinctive source of hatred. The pine twig practically melted to nothing... save for one baby pinecone and a tuft of needles. It seemed to be the only thing unaffected by the pure poison Bakusaiga unleashed; thus, there was a part of Sesshomaru that was still pure and searching for growth. His poison didn't form a protective bubble around it. The broken metal edges of Bakusaiga were elongating to meet the baby pinecone. Invested in what he was seeing, Moromao folded his arms and hummed with thought as he continued to watch Bakusaiga respond to its surroundings. Slowly, he tilted the vat's lip upward to see if the broken Bakusaiga would cut or protect the baby pinecone. Instead, Bakusaiga simply attached itself to the pine tuft like a melon vine.
"... Lord Tiangou, what is your favorite tree?" Moromao asked, seemingly at random. It was an odd enough question to incite a verbal 'huh?' But, the blacksmith was theorizing.
"I favor numerous trees," Hikozaemon II replied with genuine consideration and thought. "The dove trees were my favorite as a boy in the spring. I often climbed them or chased birds near them. My flirty son gave me a sapling as a gift. Yangmei trees I practically eat until my stomach cramps."
"I gave you that for your birthday!" Milady said with an almost excited smile.
"It is still in it's pot," Hikozaemon II informed, looking into Milady's eyes. "Nihon has many trees that are admirable for viewing. I never did get to see that purple ash tree, but I favor the silver wisteria trees of the Sky Citadel. I spotted a sapling not long ago. My young one's companions have a flora journal I would like to see. There are several species of plant I don't recall seeing in all the years I've been there. I'm curious to know what else can be easily cultivated."
"What about you, hottie? Favorite tree?" Moromao asked, narrowing his suspicions down a bit.
"Hitotsubatago and purple wisterias," Milady replied.
"What was the sire's if you don't mind my asking?" Moromao asked, grabbing a pair of metal tongs. He was preparing to take out the Bakusaiga from the poisoned vat.
"Oddly enough, you would think he'd love pine trees because of his personality, but he favored the momiji," Milady answered. "He always felt that was his weakness: his inability to adapt to change quickly. My Toga could be impatient at times, but I don't think anyone thought he couldn't adapt to new things. He went off on his own to do something different all the time."
"Picking a new destination to explore does not equate to adaptability nor does it relate to doing something different. Doing the same thing in a new place is still doing the same thing. My flirty son was well-known for getting into trouble with enemies, but that's what ultimately exhausted him. The path you take to each destination is supposed to change you - familiar or new. My flirty son struggled the most with that concept. Because his response to trouble was the same, his journeys ended the same way every time. He didn't realize he had to let the path change his course until he met a little girl at a party," Hikozaemon II said, locking eyes with Milady.
"All I did was go get a drink," Milady offered as a rebuttal. "I hardly danced!"
"... Lord Sesshomaru, in these grottoes are many treasures and tools that can aid you in either buying land or building a palace. For a moment, let's say you found a spot of land you wanted to cultivate like your grandfather did in Nihon. Say the land is worth six fine steeds, a bit of livestock, and several pounds of wheat or rice. How much money would you give me for it? Remember this land is ideal for what you want to do. You can use it as a battle arena, maybe have your own base of operations there, start collecting a few servants, build a farm and forest to survive, or even start a sacred armory. Go into our treasure room on the second floor and show me how much you'd pay for that plot of land," Moromao instructed.
Sesshomaru was hesitant, but he stood there with thought. If he found the perfect landscape for his needs, what would that look like? Would he be near a lake, river, waterfall? Would there be a grand canopy of trees? Would it be open space like a prairie? There had to be enough room for Aa-Un and a mate. Jaken needed a place to sleep and feel welcome at home. Rin needed a place of her own, too. He supposed his mother and grandfather could have rooms. An arena was a good option to do battle. But..., a garden would be nice. As Sesshomaru continued to think, he leapt up to the treasure room and began idly hunting for the appropriate amount of money for such a place. Yamashi walked up to Moromao and looked into the vat to see what the blacksmith was seeing.
"You think he has potential as another merchant?" Yamashi asked.
"I think Lord Tiangou was onto something. The path you take to every destination is supposed to change you. The kid didn't forge Bakusaiga from a place of hatred or as a result of completing trials," Moromao informed. "This thing is sentient! His power is buried deep within his soul. Something materialized into the Bakusaiga in order to protect him. You see how the sword is clinging to this twig?"
"Yeah, it's wrapping around it," Yamashi replied, getting a closer look.
"Sesshomaru is the pine tree. The sword is clinging to him. You actually did meet him for a reason," Moromao said, locking eyes with Yamashi. "He's got more than enough potential to be a merchant, but blacksmiths all around will continue to fear him."
"Why?" Yamashi questioned.
"How many warriors do you know can transfer a part of their soul into a blacksmith's entire craft shop?"