Chapter 32

The most troublesome heirloom





"You're dead." Inuyasha said bluntly. Mai stared at him for a longer while.

"I'm alive." She answered, feeling awkward. She was sitting here, sound and safe, and very much alive, right? So what was he talking about? Kagome tried to silence the hanyou, but she shrugged her efforts off.

"I mean the you here." He explained. Mai tilted her head, confused. She here? Then the wheels of her mind turned and she paled as she realized, what he could mean.

"Kagome, where's the princess?" she asked her friend. Kagome looked at Mai and bit her lower lip, hesitating to answer.

"You see, Mai, she's dead." She uttered finally.

"Dead?" Mai repeated. The information didn't soak in. Kagome took a deep breath.
"She got hit by a truck. We all were on your funeral a month ago."

Mai sat still for a while, processing what Kagome just said. She managed to stay alive in a hostile world – the demons attacked her, she was even kidnapped by one – and that idiot princess managed to get herself hit by a truck? Seriously?

"Okay." Mai replied slowly. "So I can't go back to school now?"
Kagome shook her head and looked at Mai with pity.

"Sorry, but no. You're officially dead – they did the DNA-test, you got death certificate, funeral and all, so if you walk into the school, you'll be like a zombie."

Mai stared at Kagome, trying to comprehend, what it meant. Dead. She suffered so much to go back here only to discover, that she is officially dead in this world. And to think, that she was worrying about grades right now.

"What am I going to do now?" Mai sighed heavily, resting her head on her hands. She felt a terrible headache approaching. Mrs. Higurashi gently patted her shoulder and offered an encouraging smile.

"Mai, you are welcome to stay with us. We'll be happy to have you around." She said. Souta and grandpa Higurashi nodded vigorously.

"Going back to the feudal era is a no." Kagome decided.

"Sesshomaru would kill her." Inuyasha agreed. Mai thought, that returning to the feudal era wouldn't be so bad, given the circumstances, but the hanyou was right. If she went back there, she would be literally dead – and she didn't like the idea.

"So, I am to sit here and hide like the Jews from Nazis during World War II?" Mai asked. Kagome nodded.

"Pretty much." The black-haired girl told her. Mai moaned with despair. She was totally miserable now. Goodbye Tokyo University, goodbye normal life. Being officially dead she won't be able to do anything here – go to school, work, marry, nothing. Apparently she wasn't the one who realized it – the Higurashi family was looking at her with pity, what made Mai only feel worse. Fortunately, Kagome's mother broke the awkward silence.

"Mai, I've prepared a room for you. It's small, but I hope you'll like it. Kagome, why don't you show it to Mai?" she said with a smile. Kagome nodded quickly and grabbed Mai's hand, ushering her upstairs. Inuyasha was about to follow them, but Kagome sent him a scary look and hanyou gave up, scared of another "osuwari".

Kagome led Mai upstairs and showed her a little room. It was a storage room previously, but Mrs. Higurashi decorated it in very girlish style. Everything was cute, much like in Kagome's room. Mai noticed, that there was a lot of books on the shelves.

"Grandpa and I thought, that you'll like them." Said Kagome sitting on the bed, as Mai was going through the tomes. "And about the situation, I know it sucks, but we'll think of something."
Mai looked at her.

"Like what?" she asked.

"I think, that it would be best for you to go back to the feudal era." Kagome stated, looking for any signs of protest. Mai rolled her eyes.

"Sesshomaru is there. And he was quite angry at me when I left." She reminded the friend.

"I know." Kagome replied. "You have to stay here till we figure out how to prevent him from tracking you down. Meanwhile, you just have to tell me everything!"
Kagome coaxed into telling her the whole story with every little details. Mai sat down and both girl started giggling, as they exchanged their stories. Suddenly, everything seemed normal, as if nothing had happened.



Two months later

Mai slowly got used to the new lifestyle. She was basically a prisoner in the Higurashi Shrine – she went out rarely, always like undercover, avoiding people's looks, as she was hiding from her classmates, the teachers and everyone, she knew. However, there were also good points – she could go to the cinema, was bathing in the tub filled with hot water every day and sleep in a comfortable bed. She had an opportunity to read so many books, that she didn't remember reading so much ever in her entire life.

Mai regretted seeing Kagome so rarely. Her friend was always in a hurry, running between school and the well. When they had a chance to talk, Kagome kept her informed about Naraku and basically everything, what happened, when she was away. Inuyasha also came by from time to time. Mai managed to keep friendly relations with the hanyou. They still kept arguing a lot, but not in a hostile way. She guessed, that it couldn't be helped, considering, that both she and Inuyasha had a fiery temper. Between Kagome's visits Mai couldn't help, but feel lonely. She didn't even realize how quickly two months passed since she came back from the feudal era.

The girl sighed and closed, the book she was reading. She rolled of the bed and went downstairs looking for someone from Kagome's family. Her friend was today on this side of well and was still in school. Mai looked around, but no one could be seen in the house. She decided to check the shrine. The girl went out and heard voices in the storage house. She peeked inside.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked, as she saw Kagome's mother, Souta and grandpa Higurashi.

"We are airing the sword." Answered Kagome's mother with a smile. Mai looked inside and, indeed, saw the very same sword, she and grandpa were arguing a few months ago.

"Oh, Souunga?" she said, coming closer. Grandpa Higurashi narrowed his eyes at her.
"It is called Murakumo no Tsurugi!" the old man insisted.

"No, I say it's Souunga." Mai didn't give up.

"Murakumo no Tsurugi!"

"Souunga!"

The Souta shouted.

"The sword bit me!" the boy stepped away from the sword. Mai folded her arms and eyed the boy with suspicion. Mrs. Higurashi didn't believe the boy either.

And then the sword spoke. Mai jumped back from surprise. Damn, why the old man kept those kind of things at all? The mysterious voice said, that it was sealing the blade and announced, that a seven hundred years old seal is finally about to break. It spoke something about youkai and trouble, before the sword levitated from its original place and simply flew away.

"It's gone." Souta commented.

"Our family heirloom!" grandpa Higurashi started wailing. Kagome's mother only smiled.

"This is going to be a trouble." Said Mai, wondering where did the sword go. The girl glared at the old man, who kept wailing. "By the way, grandpa, where do you get all those dangerous things from?"

Souta tugged her shirt.

"Did you hear about the Noh-mask?" he asked. Mai shook her head. Kagome's little brother ushered the girl back into the house, telling her about yet another grandpa's artifact, that caused havoc – although Mai wasn't really surprised. The old man and Mrs. Higurashi followed them. They started chatting in living room, when Souta suddenly remembered, that he left his schoolbag outside.

"I'm going with you. I must stretch my legs." Mai offered and went after the boy. They crossed the yard, when the girl noticed a familiar figure. The red-clad hanyou was rushing towards the well house, so right in their direction. Mai smiled and lifted her hand to wave to him, but the smile fell from her face. Something was not right. As Inuyasha approached them, she saw the sword from the shrine! The half-demon held it… no, it seemed rather that it was attached to his arm by some vines. Mai instinctively grabbed Souta's shoulder and shoved the boy behind herself. She moved from the hanyou's way and ushered Souta to do the same.

"Inuyasha?" she called unsurely. The half demon stopped and turned to them. Mai gasped and made a step back, when she saw his face. The fangs were twice as long as usual, his eyes were blazing red and on his cheeks appeared jagged purple demon markings. Inuyasha emitted the furious growl. The hand with the sword moved on its own, but he held it in place.

"Run." He hissed through the clenched teeth. He didn't have to say it twice. Mai grabbed Souta's hand and darted to the house. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Inuyasha running to the well house. She stormed into the house and locked the door.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Souta, panting. Mai shook her head.

"No idea." She responded. In fact, she suspected that it was the influence of the sword. Maybe he got possessed or something like that. She looked out from the window and saw Kagome running to the well house. Not good! If she runs into Inuyasha now, she may get hurt.

"Stay here." Mai told Souta and ran after Kagome. She managed to catch up with her friend by the well house. Kagome was about to jump in, when Mai grabbed firmly back of her blouse. Startled Kagome turned her head.

"Mai, let me go. I have to go after him!" she insisted, but Mai was still gripping her.

"You're not going anywhere. He can kill you now!" Mai tried to talk some sense into her friend, as she pulled her away from the well, just to make sure Kagome won't do anything stupid. "Cool your head and go after him later."

The black-haired girl sighed heavily and stepped toward the entrance to the building. Mai let go of her blouse.

"I guess you're right. I'll go tomorrow." She said finally and, sending the last worried look at the well, went with Mai to the house.

Later Mai managed to get Kagome spill the beans about what happened and so the girl learned about the destructive power of Souunga. The next day, everyone stood up before dawn and went to the well house to say goodbye to Kagome.

"Be careful." Mai said, as Kagome's mother helped her daughter with the yellow backpack. Kagome nodded and jumped into the feudal era. Mai looked at the empty bottom of the well for a while and followed the Higurashi family to the house.

Chapter 33

An unexpected trip





Since Kagome left for the feudal era, Mai and the members of Higurashi family were taking turns in sitting by the well, waiting for the girl's return. Kagome was always in danger during her trips to the other side, but this time it was different – the sword could destroy the world. Even Kagome's mother looked worried.

Mai flipped the page, waiting for Souta to take his turn. Somehow she couldn't concentrate on reading. Her thoughts were circling around the issue of Kagome's safety and Inuyasha's too – although she doubted, that anything could kill the stubborn guy. Then Mai remembered, that in that world was another person, she cared about – a girl called Rin. She really missed the kid – during the time in feudal era Mai got attached to the cheerful child and now she was in danger as well. Mai furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fists. Better that bastard Sesshomaru be watching Rin properly. Mai won't forgive him, if anything bad happens to the kid. Or even Jaken. Or Ah-Un. Actually any reason would be good enough to hate that arrogant jerk. The girl was so busy thinking about certain dog demon, that she didn't notice neither that she was making funny sounds nor Souta standing in the doorway.

"Mai?" the boy looked at her awkwardly. Mai turned her head abruptly and smiled at him sheepishly.

"Ah… Hello, Souta." She said. The boy sighed, closed the door to the well house and sat beside her. For a longer while both of them were sitting in silence, staring at the old well.

"Mai…" Souta finally broke the silence. "What were you thinking just now?"

"Nothing really. I was just worried about my friend, a little girl." She answered. Souta looked at her with doubt, like he didn't buy, what she just said.

"Did you think about a boy?" he asked straightforwardly.

"Don't be stupid. Of course not." She answered quickly, maybe too quickly, because Souta didn't seem to drop the subject and decided to inquire further.

"Sis has the same face, when she is thinking about Inuyasha. Do you like the boy, you were thinking about?"

Mai looked at the him abruptly. The boy had an innocent face. The girl cursed, as she felt that she was blushing – against her will, of course. Who in their right mind would blush at the mention of Sesshomaru?!

"The man tried to kill me. Of course I don't like him." Mai exclaimed angrily. Souta's face expression changed to surprised, but then smiled at the girl and patted her shoulder.

"Inuyasha tried to kill sis when they first met too." The boy said in a comforting tone. Mai stared at him. Inuyasha tried to kill Kagome? So it is some kind of family trait or what? Deciding, that some things are too messed up to consider, she gave up. The girl was about to think of some witty reply, but Souta was faster.

"So you were thinking about a man." He said smugly. Mai sent him a furious glare and punched him with her fist, something she learned from Inuyasha. Souta yelped.

"Serves you right. And originally I was thinking about Rin." Mai stated. The boy sighed, gripping his sore head.

"So you worry for her?" he asked. The girl nodded.

"Just as much as you worry for Kagome." Mai said quietly. She looked at the well sadly. "I wish I could go through that damned well and see Rin. Just once."
Souta looked at her and both of them went silent again. Mai didn't know how long they were just sitting there, next to each other, keeping company. The girl closed her eyes and leaned herself against a handrail, emptying her mind of any thoughts. She felt a delicate cool breeze on her face.

"Souta, close the door. There is a draft." She complained.

"I did." The boy said.

"Obviously not". Mai told him. She heard Souta standing up, probably to close the damned door, so she didn't really pay attention.

"Mai!" the boy called, but the girl decided to ignore him, as she was finally about to take a nap. "Mai, you should see this!"

Irritated, Mai opened her eyes. She saw a very agitated Souta standing by the well and gawking inside. The girl yawned, stood up and went to see, what was so important to the kid, that he had to call her.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice showing the irritation. "Better it be something impo…"

Mai stopped in midsentence, as she saw, what Souta was gawking at. She was looking into the well, but saw not its dusty bottom, but the sky.

"Oh shit!" that was the only comment Mai could manage. Souta looked at her, the excitement all over the face.

"Mai, only sis and Inuyasha could travel through the well. Do you think…" he said. The girl kept staring at the sky on the other side of well. That was the sky, Rin slept under. Well, the trip will be only a short one, right? And Kagome will get them back in a day or two, so there was no real danger. Surely, it won't hurt if it's only a short one, will it? And she was bored out of her mind…

"Do you think, what I think?" She asked Souta. The boy vigorously nodded. Mai took a deep breath.

"All right. On the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

When Mai said the last word, she and Souta jumped into the well. As she hoped, she didn't land on the hard bottom, but kept floating, when the purple light engulfed her. She closed her eyes, scared by the eerie feeling, until she felt the solid ground.

"Souta!" she called, opening her eyes and looking around. She was sitting on the bottom of the well, but Kagome's little brother was nowhere to be seen. The girl looked up and saw the blue sky. Okay, so she was on the other side. But what about Souta? He didn't manage to get through?
Regretting, that the boy wasn't with her to keep company, Mai decided to look around. She grabbed the vines and started climbing up. Panting, she crawled eventually out of the well and scanned the surroundings for any sign of danger, but fortunately there was none. Frankly, it was beautiful here. Earlier she didn't have time to take a good look – with Sesshomaru trying to murder her and Inuyasha battling him, she didn't have an opportunity to do any sightseeing. Everything around was brilliantly green, just as she remembered. The birds were singing – in one word – a paradise. Glad to have some distraction from her dull existence, or non-existence, to be precise, Mai energetically marched forward towards the nearby buildings.

When she was passing by the rice paddies, the girl muttered a curse under her nose and glared at the villagers, who were rudely staring at her. Mai regretted putting on this idiotic and insanely short pink frilly dress, that Kagome gave her. Ignoring the stares, she stalked to the center of the village. She did her best not to be bothered by suspicious looks and the whispers of the villagers. She hoped to see a familiar face – Kagome, Inuyasha, perverted monk Miroku, anyone. Anyone but Sesshomaru, that is. She was sure, that she would enjoy a tea party with Naraku more than seeing the dog demon again.

"Are you Mai?" she heard a voice behind her. The girl whirled around to see, who just spoke to her. An elderly woman, slightly overweight, with an eye patch was scanning her up and down. She was dressed in characteristic miko attire. Weren't mikos supposed to be young and innocent? Well, obviously there must be a shortage of priestesses in the vicinity.

Another thing caught Mai's attention. The old woman knew her name. Damn, in her time her own classmates couldn't remember, that she was in the same class as them, not to mention what was her name. Here a bunch of strangers knew who she was, before she met them even once. Somehow, being popular here didn't bring her much luck so far. The girl eyed the old miko suspiciously.

"Umm… yes. And you are?" Mai said slowly.

"So you are that Kagome's friend." The woman said. "Come with me. I'm Kaede and I'm a miko in this village."



After Souunga, the sword of calamity was obliterated, both Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's group were preparing to go their separate ways.

"Feh!" snorted Inuyasha, folding his arms. "He must be all smug".

"How trivial." Said Sesshomaru and started walking away, eager to free himself from his idiotic half-brother. Ah-Un and Jaken trotted after him immediately, but Rin hesitated. She fished a folded piece of paper from her kimono and, with a look of determination, she trailed after Kagome.

"Kagome-sama!" she called and ran after the miko. Sesshomaru stopped, waiting for his ward, watching the child with a corner of his eye. The girl approached Inuyasha's woman and held out the piece of paper.

"What is it, Rin-chan?" asked Kagome with a smile and knelt down to be face to face with the little girl. The miko took the paper from Rin and unfolded it. The child looked at her with seriousness.

"Kagome-sama, could you… could you give it to Mai?" Rin whispered, probably to avoid Sesshomaru hearing her. However, the demon, with his sharp sense of hearing, was able to make out each word and gritted his teeth at the mention of this name.

"Rin." He said harshly, gaining the child's attention.

"I'm coming Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin exclaimed and ran after him. The miko looked for a while at the piece of paper and folded it.

Sesshomaru waited, till the child joined their group and then set off, furious that his ward mentioned the cursed woman again. For the last two months both Rin and Jaken kept complaining about her absence, not letting him forget how she betrayed him. Not only she dared to escape from this Sesshomaru, but also stabbed him with a knife. Not that it was a serious injury for a demon like him, but she intended to kill him – what only proved, what Sesshomaru knew all along – that humans were pathetic treacherous creatures. He should be relieved, that he was free of the presence of the wretched woman, but, oddly, he was not. Earlier, the constant commotion, when she entertained Rin or socialized with Jaken, irritated him, but the silence after she left bothered him even more.

Sesshomaru wished, she was here again. It would be a pure pleasure to watch that sweet lips of hers tremble, when he would show her where her place was – as his property. If he met her, he would make her pay for her betrayal. And he would enjoy it.

Sesshomaru smirked evilly at the thought of punishing the woman. Jaken looked at his master and winced, scared by the sudden smile. The imp wondered, what dreadful things Sesshomaru had in mind.

Chapter 34

Be careful, what you wish for





The old miko, Kaede, served the tea. Both her and Mai sat in front of the cabin and were waiting for Inuyasha's return. The priestess explained, that Kagome told her quite a lot about Mai and her adventures in the feudal era. Kaede turned out to be a wise woman, tough, but also full of warmth, just as any grandmother should be. The girl told her how she managed to get here and the miko only nodded her head, believing the every word, she said.

They were talking for a couple of hours now and Mai shifted on the bench, feeling that her buttocks went stiff from being glued to the wooden surface for so long. She stood up to stretch her legs, when she saw a red shape darting towards her. Inuyasha leapt forward and landed right in front of the startled girl.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he yelled at her. Mai gritted her teeth at the rude welcome, as expected from Kagome's boyfriend.

"Nice to see you too, Inuyasha." The girl said, glaring at the hanyou, who glared back at her.
"Feh!" the half-demon snorted. "Not that I care, if you got killed by a demon or something, but Kagome would skin me alive." He hissed angrily.

"I imagine." Agreed Mai. "Luckily, I am sound and safe. What did you do about Souunga?"
Inuyasha was about to answer, but Kagome's voice interrupted them.

"Inuyasha! What's wrong?" Kagome called. Mai saw over the hanyou's shoulder Kirara flying their way, with her friend, Miroku, Sango and Shippo on her back. They landed a few meters from her. Inuyasha stepped aside so that Mai was now in plain sight.

"Mai?!" Kagome asked, her eyes wide from surprise. "What are you doing here?"
The girl smiled sheepishly.

"It was quite by accident… but I came here through the well." She answered.
Kagome furrowed her brows, stalked to the girl and grabbed her wrist. She tugged it firmly, dragging her friend back towards the Bone Eater's Well.

"We're getting you back. It's dangerous here." Kagome said. Mai found herself nearly running after the other girl, as they made their way to the clearing, accompanied by the whole group.
"Mai-sama, it is nice to see you again." The monk called to her with a charming smile on his face. Remembering his lecherous nature, Mai checked first, if there was enough space between them and returned the smile.

"Nice to see you too, Miroku! And you too Shippo." She said to the little fox demon, who waved in response. The girl turned to the demon slayer. She didn't really had a chance to talk to her, so maybe it was a good time for an introduction, considering, that Kagome was about to shove her down the well very soon.

"Your name is Sango, right? I'm Mai!" she said quickly. The woman with a huge boomerang smiled back.

"I'm called Sango and this is Kirara." Replied the woman, pointing to the little kitten, which was resting in her arms. Mai was about to say something more, but bumped into Kagome, who stopped abruptly. The girl looked around and realized, that they were already there and her friend was climbing on the edge of the well, motioning Mai to do the same.

"Kagome, wait a minute!" Mai protested. Inuyasha yawned and folded his arms.

"Hurry up and go back." He urged her. The girl managed only to wave everyone and utter a short goodbye, before Kagome pulled her into the well.

Mai was falling and expected to engulfed in the light, along with the strange sensation of floating. What was her surprise, when her body literally slammed into the hard bottom of the well.

"Ouch!" she whined, as she began rubbing her buttocks. Mai looked around, but Kagome was nowhere to be seen. Did she go through? The girl carefully stretched her limbs, checking if they are not broken.

She looked up and saw the whole Inuyasha's group and Kaede staring at her.

"Hey! What are you still doing here?!" Inuyasha yelled. Mai clenched her fist.

"You idiot!" she yelled back. "Do you think that…"

Mai paused in midsentence, as Kagome materialized right in front of her. The girl yelped in surprise.

"Mai, you should have held my hand!" Kagome scolded her. Mai narrowed her eyes, angry, that everyone kept blaming her for everything.

"I did. You must have done something wrong!" she answered. Kagome sighed and stood up, pulling Mai on her feet as well. She grabbed the vines and motioned the girl to do the same.

"Again." She commanded and the girls climbed back up and jumped once more.



"I can't do it anymore!" whined Mai, defending herself from Kagome, who tried to push her into the cursed well again. The girl was so bruised from slamming into the ground, that it was difficult to find a place on her body, which wasn't sore. It was pure luck, that her bones were still intact. The both girls tried to get Mai through the well many times already, without any success so far. Inuyasha helped a couple of times, but effect was the same. Every time, Kagome vanished and Mai made contact with the hard bottom of the well. She refused to try once more, she just couldn't.

"Come on, it'll be the last time." Kagome encouraged her. Mai shook her head and clawed at the wooden edge of the well.

"No way!" she shouted at Kagome.

"Come on!" her friend tugged her. Fortunately, the old miko stepped forward, putting her hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Kagome, I think it's enough." Kaede said. The black-haired girl let go of her friend and Mai let out a breath, relieved. The girl sat down and leaned her back against the well. Somehow, Kagome looked much more nervous than her, even though Mai was the one, who couldn't get through the well.
Kaede furrowed her brows, thinking about something intensely.

"It is strange, that Mai came through the well in the first place. It couldn't have happened without a reason." The old miko said after a longer pause. "The Bone Eater's Well is made of the tree of ages, that links both present time and the future. How did you pass trough without Shikon no Tama?"
Kaede asked, turning to Mai. All pairs of eyes also looked at her.

"Err…" began the girl, feeling silly. "There was nothing special. I was sitting by the well, chatting with Souta, Kagome's brother, and suddenly we saw the sky, where the bottom of the well was. We decided to jump in, but I landed here alone." Mai finished explaining and an uncomfortable silence fell.

"Kagome's brother didn't come through?" Kaede made sure and Mai nodded. Everyone was tense, looking at the old miko and expecting her to think of something. The woman coughed and cleared her throat. "What did you do, that Kagome's brother didn't?" she asked.

Mai sighed, starting to feel irritated by the interrogation, that didn't seem to lead anywhere.
"Nothing, we did everything the same." She answered. Kaede scratched her chin.

"Hmm…" the old woman began. "Maybe it was something you said or thought. Wishes can be especially dangerous. Did you wish for something?"

"Wish?" Mai repeated, thinking intensely about the talk she had with Souta in the morning. Brainstorming could be easier, if everyone wasn't staring at her. She tried to remember every detail.
First, she was thinking about Rin, then Souta was teasing her about the arrogant murderous jerk called Sesshomaru, then she thought about Rin again and… shit.

"I think… I might have made a wish about going through the well to see Rin…" she said hesitantly. After she said it, everyone was staring at her in silence. Inuyasha made a face palm. Finally, Kaede decided to break the silence.

"A wish like that could made the well let you through, but it's not likely." The old miko said. Mai felt a little relieved – at least it was not entirely her fault. Jumping into the well without thinking was stupid enough. Kaede cleared her throat, ready to continue. "But if someone on this side of well wished for you to come through as well, in the exact time you made a wish, it could be possible."

Mai felt her face drop. At the exact time? What were the odds that the thing like with the cursed mirror would work twice? Was she the unluckiest person on this planet? The girl was about to say something, but Kagome was faster.

"Maybe Rin-chan wished for Mai to come back to see her again?" the black-haired girl suggested. Inuyasha lifted his eyebrow.

"Feh! Or it was Sesshomaru, waiting to murder her." He said, earning an evil glare from Kagome. Mai cursed, when she remembered something more.

"Umm… grandma Kaede, is it very bad, if I said something like I want to pass through the well even once?" she asked hesitantly. The old miko closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Considering, that the well didn't let you through so far, I believe you will never return to your time." Kaede answered with a dead-serious expression on her face.

"WHAT?!" Mai and Kagome exclaimed at the same time. Mai felt an unpleasant feeling welling in her stomach. Did that mean, she will stay here forever? Without TV, real bathroom and tampons?

Why the hell those things keep happening to her? If only she listened to Kagome and didn't look into that mirror… But it was too late for the regrets now. She had to face the truth – and she felt miserable.

Kagome moaned.

"What am I going to tell mom?!" she whined, panic in her eyes.

Chapter 35

The wind of change





The whole group sat by the well, fervently discussing Mai's future, not bothering to ask the girl, what she thought about it. Not that it would matter – according to her, she was screwed. After considering countless possibilities, a decision was made. Mai would stay for the time being with grandma Kaede, until she decides something else. The girl was fine with that, she hadn't a better idea anyway. If she stayed in the village, she would have an opportunity to see Kagome, Inuyasha and the rest of their group from time to time, so it wouldn't be that bad. On the other hand, living with an old woman in a one-room cabin wasn't really appealing. Maybe she could convince Kaede to make someone build her own hut for Mai.

Finally it was Sango, who decided to bring up the most unpleasant issue.
"What about Sesshomaru?" the demon-slayer asked. "Sooner or later he will be in the vicinity and will pick up Mai's scent."

Mai's attention suddenly turned back to the conversation. After all, the issue of Sesshomaru was a matter of life and death for her. To put it straight, Sesshomaru equals death – and a painful one, Mai was sure of that.

"Isn't there a way to hide her scent?" Miroku asked Sango, as the youkai-slayer seemed to be an expert, when it came to such things. The woman furrowed her brows. Mai prayed in her mind, that Sango would have an idea how to do that. She wanted to die in her bed of the old age, not murdered by a demon, before she even had a chance to go on a date.

"I think, there is one." Said Sango slowly. "There is a herb, that can mask a person's smell and the demon-slayers used to grow it a long ago. I'm almost sure, that a demon with an acute sense of smell like Sesshomaru won't be able to sense Mai, if she has it with her."

Kagome's face brightened and she clapped her hands happily.

"Great! Let's get it!" she exclaimed, smiling at Mai. The girl smiled at her friend back, relieved, that the solution of the problem was so easy. However, it was too soon to celebrate. Sango sighed heavily.
"It's not so simple." She said after a while, making Kagome's smile disappear. Miroku motioned Sango to continue and the demon-slayer nodded. "The herb is very rare and grows only in one place, swarming with youkai. It would be tough, but we could get it."
Kaede smiled.

"If you bring me a couple of those plants with roots, I could grow them in my garden." She said.
Inuyasha stood up and made an annoyed voice.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said, impatient as ever. "The sooner the better."
"I agree with Inuyasha." Miroku said. Sango nodded and Kirara transformed instantly from the sweet little kitten into the huge cat. Both the monk and the demon-slayer mounted Kirara and Inuyasha looked at Kagome.
"Come on, Kagome!" he called. The black-haired girl glanced at Mai and made her decision.
"Inuyasha," she said. "I'll stay with Mai. You will manage without me, right?"
"Feh!" Inuyasha snorted, folding his arms. "Not that you are any help anyway."
Kagome narrowed her eyes and Mai felt evil aura gathering around her friend.
"Osuwari!" Kagome shouted. "Inuyasha, you idiot!"

The hanyou landed face-flat on the ground with a loud thud. Mai giggled. She thought, that she wouldn't be ever fed up by the sight. Inuyasha got up and tried to argue with Kagome more, but she "sat" him again, ending the discussion. Finally the hanyou flew away on Kirara, along with Sango and Miroku, leaving Shippo behind – with a large bruise on his head.

"Damn you Inuyasha!" screamed Shippo after the hanyou, waving with his little fist. Mai couldn't help, but notice, that the little fox demon was behaving a bit like the half-demon. Well, it was to be expected, given how much time they spent together.

Kaede fixed her eye-patch and cleared the throat.

"I'll go to the village now and leave you two. Surely you want to talk about a few things." The miko said to Mai and Kagome. The girl was grateful for the old woman's insight. Shippo looked between Kaede and Kagome, unsure whether to leave or stay with the girls.
"Come on, Shippo. I'll make tea." The miko told the little fox. The kid nodded and rushed after Kaede. Kagome laughed and motioned Mai to get closer.

"I'm sure, that Shippo will find another first love in a heartbeat." She whispered into Mai's ear. The girl giggled and furrowed her brows with a fake concern.

"You know what, Shippo may become a womanizer with Inuyasha's temper in the future. Better pay attention, what influence the both bastards have on him!" she said to Kagome, not stopping laughing.
"Sure." Kagome answered. Both girls giggled for no reason for a while and then stayed silent, just sitting next to each other.

"Quite a mess, huh?" the black-haired girl asked quietly. Mai looked at her and then tilted her head upwards, observing the clouds floating through the sky.

"It was pretty screwed up before." She said with a bitter smile. "Even if I could go back, there isn't anything to go back to. I wanted to study on the Tokyo University, lead a normal happy life, but I can't anyway, so is there any point in returning? Would it matter?"
Kagome looked at her with concern.

"It would." She ensured. "My mom, grandpa and Souta will missing you. It would matter for them."
Mai nodded. She avoided looking at Kagome, as she felt tears welling in her eyes.

"And I miss them too, but…" the girl said hesitantly. Her friend kept staring at Mai. Kagome smiled.
"It is hard, when you have people, you care for, in both worlds, right?" she asked. Mai turned abruptly to the other girl and saw understanding in her eyes. "You missed Rin-chan all the time, didn't you?"

Mai sighed heavily, when her friend mentioned the child. Rin brought a whole lot of trouble upon her head including a murderous youkai, but she was a little sister to her. There wasn't a day without Mai worrying, if the kid was still alive, warm and fed. The worst was, that when both of them were in the same world, they couldn't ever meet anyway. Rin was precious for her, but her own life was too.
The girl looked at Kagome, when she felt her friend poking her with the finger. The black-haired girl passed Mai a folded piece of paper. She took it and wiped the tears of her face with the back of her hand. Then, she unfolded the paper carefully, not to tear it, curious, what it was. Mai gasped. She held in her hand one of Rin's drawings, exactly the newer version of the one, the kid showed her before the escape. In the picture was the whole Sesshomaru's group, including Mai. She and the dog-demon were holding the child's arms. The girl noticed, that Rin was getting better at drawing. The picture was made very neatly – it was apparent, that the child put much heart and time into making this one. However, this was not all. On the side of the piece of paper was a text. Mai opened her eyes wider, as she recognized the familiar messy letters. Rin managed to actually write something on her own. The girl felt pride filling her heart. Mai narrowed her eyes to read the letter.

Mai,
I miss you so much and wish you were with us again. I am heelthy, so please don't worrie about me. I love you.
Rin

Mai smiled, when she noticed the small mistakes. She will have to show the girl, how to get those words right. No… she won't ever have the chance to do that. The girl felt a stab of pain in her heart, but she was glad, that the kid was safe and sound.

She looked at Kagome, grateful, that her friend passed the letter to her.

"Thanks." She said to the black-haired girl. "Your family worries about you, so go and tell them, that you are all right."

Kagome nodded.

"I'll be in a minute, so don't go anywhere!" the girl said to Mai, standing up and climbing onto the edge of the well. She jumped in and vanished, leaving Mai alone on the clearing.

The girl watched her friend passing through to their time. She stared for a while at the bottom of the well, when she heard a gush of wind blowing from behind her, ruffling her hair. Mai whirled around and saw a woman casually landing on the ground, placing a white feather in her hair. She smiled at her, what gave Mai creeps. Instinctively, the girl made a step back, but there was the well behind her.

"Ooo." The woman spoke up, lifting a fan to her face. "To think Sesshomaru left you alone…"

Mai widened her eyes. What the hell did the woman want from her? The girl had a very bad feeling about this – especially because the woman was a youkai. There was no doubt about that. Red eyes, pointy ears, everything about her screamed demon. Mai gathered her courage.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded. The woman snorted.

"My name is Kagura and I serve Naraku." She explained.

Naraku. Mai realized, that she was in a deep shit.

"What the hell Naraku wants from me?" Mai asked, feeling more and more nervous. She looked for the escape routes. The village was quite far from here, so she would have to run fast and far. Did she have a chance to outrun this Kagura woman?

Kagura laughed.

"Och, you're a feisty one." She said, making a step towards Mai. "It's rather obvious, that Naraku would want Sesshomaru's woman as a hostage." Kagura explained, rolling her eyes.

"Sesshomaru's woman?" Mai repeated, confused. Did Naraku take her as Sesshomaru's… lover or something like that?

Mai felt herself blushing and cursed her face for such a reaction in this situation. Her first reaction was to start protesting at the absurd idea, but, fortunately, she stopped right in time. If she said it was not true, she would be worthless as a hostage and, as a result, dead.
The girl decided, that it would be the best to buy some time or distract Kagura.

"So what does he want with Sesshomaru?" Mai asked. Kagura snorted, amused by a silly question.

"Are you an idiot? Don't you…" Kagura stopped in midsentence, as Mai darted sideways, running to the village.

Then everything happened so fast. Mai ran forward and heard Kagura screaming something behind her back. The girl fell backwards, as the wind blades in the shape of crescent moons struck the ground right before her feet. She got on her feet instantly and tried to escape in another direction, but saw Kagura swishing with her fan.

"Fujin no mai!" the woman screamed and the wind blades flew once more in Mai's direction. The girl had to jump sideways to avoid the attack knocking her of the feet again. Angry Kagura gritted her teeth, hissing from irritation.

"Get her!" she yelled and countless snake-like youkai flew from between the trees. Mai yelped and looked for the way to escape, but she was already surrounded.

"Mai!" she heard a familiar voice calling her name and turned her head in the direction of the sound. She saw Kagome crawling out of the well. Shit! Now her friend was in danger too.

"Kagome! Go back!" Mai screamed, but it was too late. One of the youkai flew from the behind and with a swish of the tail hit Kagome in the back of her head, making her lose consciousness. Another one snatched the girl and flew towards Kagura.

"Kagome!" Mai screamed. Kagura turned her attention back to the girl.

"All right. It's time to finish." She said and waved her hand, ordering a youkai to get her. They tried to do the same thing to her as to Kagome, but Mai managed to duck and avoid being hit in the head. She wanted to jump aside, but huge claws grabbed her firmly and lifted the girl from the ground.

"Let me go!" she yelled, struggling with the demon. Kagura rolled her eyes and plucked the white feather from her hair. It enlarged and the demon flew on it next to Mai, who was still trying to fight with her captor.

"Stop struggling you idiot! You're coming anyway." She scolded the girl. "I have no idea what Sesshomaru sees in you."

This was too much for Mai.

"Don't you even dare to say that arrogant jerk's name to me!" she yelled, forgetting to stay cautious. "I hate him and I hate you!"

Kagura stared at her with wide eyes, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"I see you have some guts. I advise you not to say such things to Naraku, if you want to live." She said quietly and flew on her feather higher, the youkai after her.

Chapter 36

Out of the frying pan into the fire





"Kagome." Mai whispered, as she shook her friend's shoulder. It's been a while since Kagura took them to some house and locked them in a cell. The girl was shoved inside and the demon threw the unconscious Kagome after her. While waiting for the other girl to come to, Mai looked around discreetly. They were in the room secured by wooden bars. It was only wood, not steel, but it was thick and there was no way that a girl could kick them out – Mai wasn't Chuck Norris after all.
A large scary youkai was sitting outside their cell, guarding them. It looked like it consisted mainly of fangs, claws and scales – he hadn't even a form close to humanoid-like. Kagura was sitting with them for a while too, but seemed to go somewhere.

Mai saw Kagome stirring. She came closer to her friend.

"Where are we?" moaned Kagome, slowly sitting up and gripping her aching head. She let out a whimper, as she touched the spot, where the youkai hit her – surely there will be a large bruise. The black-haired girl looked around and took in surroundings.

"We're Naraku's prisoners." Mai offered an explanation. Kagome nodded, not seeming to be surprised.

"Och. That's bad." Kagome said. Mai couldn't agree more. "What does Naraku want with us?" she asked.

The brown-haired girl sighed heavily.

"Apparently, we are hostages." She replied. Kagome furrowed her brows.

"So Naraku wants to blackmail Inuyasha with our lives." Kagome shared the result of her little brainstorming. Mai cleared her throat.

"With yours. He kidnapped me because of Sesshomaru. Naraku must have gotten some strange ideas." Mai said rolling her eyes. Kagome stared at her and smiled widely. She snorted and covered her mouth with the hand, not to giggle.

"I see." She replied shortly, still trying to control giggle. Mai narrowed her eyes at her, as she felt her face turning red again. God what was with her and her blushing?!

"Kagome! Be serious in a situation like that!" she scolded her friend. Kagome stopped giggling.
"Don't worry, Mai. Inuyasha will come and save us. I believe in him." She said, glancing at the sun rays, that were shining through the small windows.

"I think we should be counting on ourselves." She said to her and shoved something discreetly into Kagome's hand. The black-haired girl opened her palm and gasped quietly, as she saw a large sharp nail, of a size of a finger. Mai was proud of herself, that she managed to pull two of these out of the wooden pillars. It was a miserable weapon, but better such a weapon than none. Kagome smiled and gripped the nail.

"I can feel only one youkai in the vicinity." She said, giving Mai hope. If only they could take the big one, that was guarding them, down…



"Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, it is too late now." Said Naraku with a smirk plastered across his face, floating in midair inside his impenetrable barrier. Inuyasha furrowed his brows and gripped Tessaiga tighter. Beside him was standing Sesshomaru, who was scanning Naraku for the weak points.

"I don't know, what are talking about, but prepare yourself!" yelled Inuyasha and rushed blindly forward, sending Kaze no kizu in Naraku's direction. Sesshomaru glanced at his little half-brother with disdain.

"You idiot!" he hissed to the hanyou, as the yellow energy wave got reflected by the barrier and was now flying right at the two brothers.

"Shit!" yelled Inuyasha and jumped sideways, just a second after Sesshomaru. Naraku laughed at the desperate attempts of attacking him. However, he didn't even make a single attempt to wound or kill his enemies. He stayed within the protection of the barrier, knowing, that even touching him was impossible – as though he was buying time.

"It may interest the both of you," Naraku spoke up, smiling widely. "that in this very moment, while the two of you are battling pointlessly here, someone precious to you dies."

The hanyou widened his eyes, understanding what the despicable enemy meant.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha said. Naraku laughed.

"Precisely, Inuyasha, I've just given the order to kill her."

The hanyou growled with fury, eager to rush after his Kagome. Sesshomaru only snorted.
"Are you stupid enough to think, that this Sesshomaru would be bothered, if you killed this human?" the dog-demon asked with disdain in his voice. Naraku only smiled wider.

"Would you, knowing, that I have the human girl of yours as well?" the enemy replied with a question. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and sent Naraku hateful glare. He held Rin captive? The battle was important, but he could not let Naraku kill his ward. The dog-demon inhaled the air. The stench of the enemy was everywhere, but there was also another one, very similar, but more feminine. With a corner of his eye, Sesshomaru noticed Kagura – if Naraku entrusted someone the task of capturing Rin, he would to this woman. If he traced her scent back, he could find the place, where his ward had been held. There was no time to lose.

Sesshomaru leapt into the air. Naraku smiled, expecting to be attacked by the demon blinded with fury. However, the inu-youkai engulfed himself in the ball of green light and darted off in the opposite direction, leaving startled Naraku and Inuyasha. The hanyou cursed under his nose, glanced at the enemy once more and ran after his older brother as fast as he could, hoping to get to Kagome in time to save her.



Meanwhile, Mai felt Kagome tugging her arm.

"Mai!" the girl said, getting her attention. Mai whirled around to see what unnerved her friend and cursed under her nose. The demon, who was guarding them, finally moved. He stood up.

"Kill them." He muttered in raspy voice. Mai felt her body go stiff and looked at Kagome. Her friend was gripping the nail behind her back, ready to defend herself.

"Eyes." Kagome whispered to Mai. The girl nodded, understanding, what her friend had in mind. However, she couldn't help to think, that they will die anyway. They weren't warriors like Sango or Inuyasha.

The demon smashed the door with his fist, sending the pieces of wood flying in all directions and started approaching them. Mai made a step back, scared. What should they do now? Kagome stood strong and looked at the youkai with a glimpse of determination in her eye.

"You are going to kill us, right?" she called to the guardian, who stopped after hearing her voice. "We won't try to fight. Let's make a deal: we'll come to you and you'll kill us when we are ready!"
The demon and Mai stared at Kagome dumbfounded. What the hell was she thinking? The youkai laughed.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. Kagome didn't avert her eyes from the guardian.

"We don't want to suffer! And you will have an easy job. Do we have a deal?" she asked. The demon chuckled at the thought of the prey willingly coming right into his arms.

"Deal." He said finally. Kagome nodded and grabbed Mai's hand.

"Come." She told her, sending a meaningful look. Mai understood. Kagome wanted to approach the demon to blind him, but this was plainly crazy! The plan won't work. Not minding her resistance, the black-haired girl dragged Mai behind her, until they were face to face with the youkai.

"I have something to say." Kagome said quietly to the youkai, almost inaudibly. The guardian snarled, irritated and lowered his head to listen to the girl. Mai noticed Kagome tightening her grip on the nail behind her back, reading herself to strike, and did the same. The girl did her best to maintain focus. When Kagome kicked her ankle lightly, Mai gathered all her courage and darted to the demons head. With a scream, she pierced the right eye with a rusty piece of metal in the same time, when her friend wounded the left one.

Mai felt Kagome grabbing her arm and knocking her onto the ground, in the last moment to avoid the sharp claws of the creature, who was waving widely with its limbs, giving off the shrieks of pain. Kagome lifted her finger to her lips showing Mai to be silent and started crawling on her fours through the hole, the demon made earlier. The girl quickly followed her friend, keeping the eye on the guardian at the same time. The blinded youkai was tossing all around the place, cursing and screaming, demolishing everything he made contact with. When they crawled far enough, Kagome stood up and helped Mai get on her feet. Silently they rushed towards the exit. They got out easily and ran away from the house.

"That was surprisingly easy." Kagome said with a smile, as they were running away. Mai nodded, startled that her friend's plan actually worked, even though it was crazy. The girl tried to keep the pace, panting heavily. Then she saw the smile felling from Kagome's face, as the girl turned her head to glance behind. Mai did the same and cursed.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed, suddenly finding the strength to run faster. After them were going numerous serpent-like youkai and they were closing. The girls picked up the speed, struggling to escape the threat. Mai prayed for Inuyasha to hurry.



Sesshomaru knew he was on the right way. He picked up the stench of numerous youkai and two scents of humans. The one belonged to the miko, who travelled with Inuyasha and the other… It was not Rin's scent, but it was a familiar one. The dog demon widened his eyes in surprise, as he recognized it – it was Mai, the woman who vanished in the Bone Eaters' Well two months ago. Was she back? What was she doing here? Sesshomaru frowned at the thought of Naraku capturing his prey – the woman belonged to him. There was no possibility, that this Sesshomaru would let Naraku lay his hands on his possession!



"Run, Mai, run!" Kagome screamed, grabbing the girl and dragging her after herself, as Mai was slower. The demons were catching up and Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen.

Mai was running as fast as she could, but she felt the strength leaving her body. She tripped a couple of times, nearly falling. The girl tried not to look back, but heard the roars of the youkai quickly approaching. Panicked, she desperately tried to speed up, but her she stumbled instead. Fortunately, Kagome helped her and motioned to run.

"Faster!" her friend screamed.

"I'm trying!" Mai screamed back, panting. She looked back and yelped. The demons were closer than she thought. She and Kagome will be dead meat in seconds. She averted her gaze from the youkai and saw a flash of green light approaching them from the front, crashing into the ground in a certain distance from the girls.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome panted, as none other than the tall silver-haired demon emerged from the ball of light. Seeing him, Mai instinctively stopped, but the black-haired girl motioned her to continue running towards the inu-youkai.

"Move!" she screamed to Mai. The girl glanced back once more at Naraku's demons and then at Sesshomaru, who was casually drawing Tokijin. Which was worse? To be killed by those youkai, that chased her or Kagome or be murdered by Sesshomaru later? Finally, she decided to worry about the dog demon later.

She and Kagome picked up the speed, running straight to Sesshomaru. Mai saw him lifting his sword. Her eyes widened, when she noticed youki, that started to swirl around the blade. The girl knew what was coming.

"Down!" she screamed, falling to the ground and dragging Kagome down as well. Her friend yelped, as her body slammed against the dirt. She tried to argue, but Mai grabbed the back of Kagome's head and pushed it down – right in time.

"SOURYUUHA!" the girl heard Sesshomaru's voice and the powerful wave of youki flew just an inch above the girls, ruffling their hair. Then there were only pained roars of the youkai and the silence fell.

After a while Mai let go of Kagome's head and slowly lifted herself to the sitting position. The demons had been annihilated. The black-haired girl sat as well, wiping the dirt of her face.

"Thanks." She muttered to Mai, having realized, that the girl just saved her life. Mai nodded.
"You're welcome." She replied. "Oh no."

Mai opened her eyes wider, as she saw Sesshomaru walking slowly towards them, a dangerous glint in his eye. The girl paled at the sight of him smirking at her.

"Crap." She whispered.

Chapter 37

It never rains but it pours




"Shit." Mai whispered, as she saw Sesshomaru approaching with a malicious grin on his face. She felt all color leaving her face – what an irony: she just avoided a danger only to face a bigger one. The girls quickly jumped on their feet. Kagome looked at Mai's terrified face and moved in front of her friend, shielding her with her body.

"Don't come closer, Sesshomaru!" Kagome called to the demon. Sesshomaru didn't stop. He glared at the black-haired girl.

"Do not stand in my way." He said calmly. Hearing his words, Mai grabbed Kagome by a hem of her blouse and shoved her aside. She didn't want to get killed, but she wouldn't be happy with her best friend sacrificing her life either. Surprised Kagome tried to shield Mai once more, but the girl stopped her.

"Don't. He'll kill you." Mai hissed to her friend. Sesshomaru's attention turned from Kagome to Mai. Terrified girl observed, as the demon hid Tokijin and flexed his fingers, ready to end what he started two months ago. She gulped, sure, that the end was near.

"KAGOME!" a male voice yelled. Both girls and Sesshomaru turned towards the source of the sound. Inuyasha with transformed Tessaiga on his shoulder darted to them and leaped into the air, landing between the girls and his brother. He looked at Kagome over his shoulder, ensuring she was all right. She nodded and smiled at him, grateful, that the hanyou got here just in time. Mai let out a breath, she was holding, feeling relieved.

However, Sesshomaru was not so pleased – the demon glared at the hanyou, irritated, that he dared to interrupt. Neither of the brothers made a move. They were just standing still and observing each other, ready for counterattack – Inuyasha gripping Tessaiga and Sesshomaru with the hand on Tokijin's hilt.

Suddenly, the both brothers and Kagome sensed something, that Mai couldn't. Her friend turned her head upwards. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha forgot completely about their stare contest and concentrated on the same spot as the black-haired girl. Mai looked at their focused faces and glanced in that direction. She saw a dark cloud forming out of nowhere.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, it seems like you managed to save your women. How impressive." The cloud said the word in a deep, male voice. Inuyasha furrowed his brows, tightening the grip on Tessaiga's hilt and Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. As Mai looked at the demon's face, she could tell, he was extremely pissed. He barely managed to refrain himself from transforming – his demons markings began to get jagged and golden eyes gleamed with wrath.

"Naraku, do not assume, that this Sesshomaru would be bothered by the death of those humans!" the demon hissed to the cloud. Mai gasped. Naraku! So that was him!

The dark cloud laughed maliciously and started to dissolve.

"He's escaping!" Kagome shouted, pointing Naraku with her finger.

"I will not let him." Sesshomaru growled, as his eyes become red and his powerful demonic aura flared up around him.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled to his brother, but Sesshomaru paid no attention to the hanyou. Mai covered her eyes with her arm, when she was blinded by a purple light. When she lowered her arm, she saw the demon, transformed into his true form of a huge dog, leaping into the air and chasing the cloud.

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve.

"Inuyasha! Can't we follow him?" she asked, looking after Naraku and Sesshomaru disappearing in the clouds. The half-demon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He shook his head.

"I can't smell his scent anymore. Sesshomaru has a better nose than me." Inuyasha admitted. "If anyone can follow Naraku, it can be only him."

The three of them fell silent, Kagome and Inuyasha regretting, that Naraku managed to get away again. Mai felt, that she was getting a terrible headache. She was only a couple of hours in the feudal era and she got herself kidnapped again, some demon tried to kill her, then she ran into Sesshomaru – why the hell did she have that idiotic idea of jumping into the well? In her time she lead a miserable life, but at least was safe.

"So…" she spoke up. "that was Naraku?"

"Yeah." Answered Inuyasha, folding his arms. The hanyou shot a quick look at Mai and examined Kagome, worry in his eyes. "Kagome, are you really all right?" he asked. Kagome nodded and opened her mouth, about to reply – but Mai was faster. Fed up by being ignored, she shoved Kagome aside and glared at the hanyou.

"Yes, more or less, we are fine. We just got kidnapped by some Kagura and a bunch of youkai, then a demon tried to murder us and we were running away from more youkai, who wanted to kill us. Oh, and Sesshomaru was about to murder me too." She recited with anger in her voice. Inuyasha was a bit taken aback by her tirade. Kagome patted Mai's shoulder to calm the friend and smiled.

"We're okay, Inuyasha. Let's go back." She said. Inuyasha sent a glare at Mai and nodded. Kagome climbed on his back.

"Come on, Mai! Don't stand there!" she called. Mai furrowed her brows. Kagome didn't mean, that she should also…

"Mai, get on my back!" Inuyasha said impatiently, rolling his eyes. Hesitantly, Mai climbed next to Kagome, trying to get the silver mane of Inuyasha's hair out of her eyes. She yelped, as the hanyou jumped forward and rushed at his full speed. She clutched his red kimono, not to fall off.

"Inuyasha, where's Sango and Miroku?" Kagome asked casually.

"They went after Kohaku. We're meeting in the village." The hanyou answered. Mai cursed, as she felt, that she was slipping of his back and gripped his hair to pull herself up.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" yelled Inuyasha.

"Shut up and run!" Mai screamed back, satisfied, that she managed not to fall off.

"You shut up!" the hanyou yelled back. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes. Mai was about to argue more, but Kagome stopped her.

"Calm down, both of you! Geez, why you have to behave like kids?" the black-haired girl scolded them and earned a poisonous glare from Mai along with "Feh!" from Inuyasha.
Sometime later Inuyasha managed to carry the two girls to Kaede's village, where the old miko, Shippo, Sango with Kirara and lecherous monk Miroku were already waiting for them. Mai got of the hanyou's back as soon as possible. The greeting took some time, while everyone exchanged information about the confrontation with Naraku and his minions. Apparently, Sango and Miroku were attacked by Kohaku, the demon-slayer's little brother, who was now working for Naraku. Bored Mai coaxed Kaede into making her some tea.

The old priestess passed a cup to the girl and gave her a small pouch, filled with some smelly plants. Mai examined it carefully.

"What is it?" she asked finally. The old woman cleared her throat.

"The herbs inside the pouch will hide your scent from demons. You must always carry this pouch with you, even in bath." Kaede said with a serious look in her eyes. Mai nodded slowly.

"You mean hide from Sesshomaru?" she made sure.

"Aye."

The girl hanged it immediately on her neck, thinking, that now, when the demon knew she was here again, she would really need it.



Soon Kagome said goodbye, finally leaving to see her family and write some tests and Inuyasha flew on Kirara to visit Totosai, leaving Mai under the protection of Miroku and Sango.

Sango and Mai were chatting about what they would like Kagome to bring along with her from the present time, while Miroku and Shippo were just laying on the grass by the river, after the girls dressed the minor wounds, the monk had.

"Last time Kagome-chan brought something called strawberry shampoo, the hair after washing with it was very silky." Sango said and Mai nodded vigorously.

"Yes, but I like also the one that smells of grapefruit." The girl answered, stretching her arms. Sango furrowed her brows, trying to remember something.

"I think I've tried it once, but cherry scent is the best." Sango replied and turned her head in the other direction. "I wonder if something did happen."

Mai also turned her head and Miroku stood up. A man, from his looks a plain villager, was running in towards the shouting something. When he caught up, he panted heavily, fighting to catch breath.

"The village… under attack… a youkai" he managed to utter. Miroku picked up his staff and Sango placed hiraikotsu on her back. Sango turned to Mai.

"Stay here with Shippo." The demon-slayer told Mai. "We'll come back for you, when we'll kill this youkai."

"Okay. We'll wait. It's not like I'll be kidnapped the second time today." Said Mai, watching as her two protectors and the villager ran towards the village, leaving her with the little fox-demon.



"What an eventful day." Shippo commented. Mai nodded.

"Umm. I would prefer it to be boring, though." The girl said, snorting at the thought, that before the adventure with the cursed mirror she wished for her life to be more interesting. And when it was, somehow she couldn't enjoy it.

"I wonder how when Sango and Miroku will be back." Shippo said, but Mai didn't listen to him, as she spotted a dark shape in the sky, getting bigger and bigger, as though it was approaching. It was quite a familiar sight.

"Shippo…" she began, pointing at the shape. The little fox demon squinted his eyes and yelped.

"It's a demon!" the fox-youkai screamed and started running away, grabbing the hem of Mai's dress. The girl gripped the kid's collar, almost effortlessly lifting him of the ground and darted towards the village. She didn't manage to run far, as the bluish energy ball hit the path before her as a warning and she heard a loud thud behind her back, indicating, that something really heavy just landed. Mai whirled around, ushering Shippo out of the danger's way.

She gasped, when she saw the demon.

"Ah-Un? What are you doing here?" she asked. In front of her was indeed standing Sesshomaru's dragon and was waving his tail in a friendly way. He came closer to Mai and sniffed her cautiously, tilting its heads in confusion, as the herbs in the pouch masked the girl's scent. Shippo yelped and hid himself behind her and Mai patted each head.

"Mai, maybe it's Sesshomaru's trap." Shippo said, but she rolled her eyes.

"If he wanted to get me, he would come himself. I doubt, that he is even capable of grasping the idea of setting a trap." Mai answered. But something was strange. She was wondering, what the beast was doing here alone – without Jaken and Rin or the silver-haired demon. Maybe something happened? Mai suddenly felt a stab of pain in her heart, when she thought of the worst. "Ah-Un, did something happen?" she asked nervously. The dragon roared and nodded its heads vigorously. Mai paled slightly.

"Is someone in danger? Under attack?" she asked, but Ah-Un didn't give much of response. "Hurt?"
The dragon nodded vigorously again.

"Is it Rin?" Mai asked, fearing for the child. Ah-Un stayed still, as if considering something, but after a moment he started nodding fervently.

Mai cursed loudly. That idiot Sesshomaru Rin left chasing Naraku and now the child must be wounded, scared and helpless. How could he be so irresponsible! She knew, that helping Rin could mean huge trouble, but the kid's life was more important. She grabbed the first-aid kit, that Kagome left behind and approached the dragon. She was about to mount it, when Shippo grabbed her ankle with both his arms.

"What are you doing?!" the fox youkai screamed.

"Let go, Shippo! I have to help Rin!" Mai shouted at him, freeing herself from the grasp of little arms. She climbed on the dragon and took the reins.

"I'll be back as soon as possible." She said to Shippo and turned to the beast. "Go, Ah-Un!"



The dragon leapt into the air and Mai clutched the saddle stronger, careful not to lose the first-aid kit. She shut her eyes tightly, cursing her fear of heights. The flight was quite long - when Ah-Un finally landed and Mai managed to gather the courage to open her eyes, she saw, that the sun was already setting. She slipped of the beast's back. The dragon pointed at something with one of his heads and took off, leaving the girl alone on the ground.

"Ah-Un, you bastard! Come down!" Mai screamed after the creature, but it already disappeared in the clouds. What the hell was wrong with it? The girl glanced in the direction, Ah-Un was pointing before, and saw something like an entrance to the cave. Rin must be there! She ran quickly to it and peeked inside. It took a while for her eyes to accustom to the dim light.

There, inside the cave, she saw a figure lying, but it wasn't Rin. It was Sesshomaru.

Chapter 38

Too good for her own good
.
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"Crap." Mai cursed under her nose. Why those kind of things have to happen to her? And how could she be that stupid to be tricked by Ah-Un? The dragon was an animal, for god's sake! She took another peek inside the cave. Sesshomaru wasn't moving. Mai's instinct was screaming: run! Any reasonable person in her situation would get the hell out of here, leaving the demon to heal on his own. But… what if he would bleed to death? Rin won't ever forgive Mai for letting her beloved Sesshomaru-sama die. On the other hand… if he died, the kid wouldn't know.
Mai slapped her forehead. How could she even think like that? She wasn't a monster without conscience, who would let a wounded man… demon - technically speaking – bleed to death. She could just check if he was relatively okay and then run. Right – that was the plan. She stayed at the entrance of the cave.
"Sesshomaru." She called quietly, sure, that he'll hear her. However, there was only silence.
"Sesshomaru!" Mai shouted, but there was no response. Not good – the girl thought and decided to get closer to see what was wrong with the demon. Slowly, she approached the laying figure. She felt her shoe stepping on something wet and sticky. She glanced down. Mai lifted her hand to cover her mouth, not to scream. Blood. There was a huge pool of blood everywhere around Sesshomaru. Was all of that his? Was he even still alive? The girl quickly kneeled by his side. He had his eyes closed and wasn't responding to her presence. She pressed his artery on the neck with two fingers. Mai let out a breath, relieved. There was a pulse, although it was weak. His chest was lifting slightly too. The girl started examining him.
The demon was in a terrible shape. He lost a lot of blood and had minor wounds everywhere. Sesshomaru had his armor shattered and once white clothes were nearly completely red now. Mai leaned and gasped. He was slashed from the left shoulder to the right hip. The wound was deep and the flesh around it had strange color – it must be some kind of infection. The injuries showed no sign of healing.
With determination, Mai opened the first-aid kit. Maybe Sesshomaru was an ass and tried to kill her, but there was no way, that the girl would leave anyone in such state. She would just dress his wounds and leave when we'll start go get better. She removed the remnants of the armor, careful not to get any pieces into the wound and took out scissors. Swiftly, she cut his haori and removed it. Mai hissed, when she saw, that the injury was worse than she thought. The girl looked around for some water to cleanse the wound. Luckily, there was a stream flowing across the corner of the cave. She tore the pieces of haori, that were relatively clean and soaked them with water. Mai washed the flesh around the wound and disinfected the slash by pouring the whole bottle of hydrogen peroxide on the wound. A normal person would wake up and scream in pain, but Sesshomaru didn't even budge. Then, she put some gauze on the injury and did her best to wrap the bandage around the demon's torso, having some difficulties lifting his limp and heavy body. Mai sighed and wiped the sweat of her forehead. All right, the most work is done. She managed to stop the source of bleeding. Now were the minor wounds remaining – the biggest ones on Sesshomaru's cheek, arm, and also few here and there. She bandaged them quickly or used sticking plasters on them. Satisfied with herself, she searched in the kit for any useful items. Mai smiled, as she found a lighter. Great! Now she could make a fire – she could barely see anything in the dim light, that the rays of the setting sun cast.
The girl went to gather some firewood and built a fire at the entrance to the cave. Now that the cave was lit, Mai cleaned a bit around her patient - she wiped the cave floor with the remnants of the demon's haori and placed him comfortably on his white fur. She also washed the rags, just in case she would need them later, and let them dry by the fire. When she was done, Mai sat by the fire, observing the unconscious inu-youkai.
During all this time, she was dressing his wounds he didn't show any sign of regaining consciousness, what worried her. Hopefully now, when the bleeding was stopped, he'll begin to regain his strength. Mai knew, that Rin would be depressed, if he died and Jaken would probably commit seppuku. She had a hunch, that staying here and trying to save that arrogant jerk was a mistake, but she couldn't help it – she was too good and it was her curse. Mai shifted, as she heard Sesshomaru moving. Was he waking up? Hesitantly, she approached him. The demon was trembling. Right, he was dressed only in his hakama and bandages, but it wasn't that cold. She leaned over him and noticed, that he was sweating. Mai touched his forehead and cursed. Damn. He was burning from fever. It must be the infection – Kagome mentioned, that Naraku emitted some kind of miasma, so it must be it. She rushed to get the pieces of fabric and soaked them with cold water. She put those make-shift compresses on his forehead and everywhere, she could, careful not to wet the bandages. Sesshomaru kept trembling and began to moan, when she was looking for something to use against poison. Penicillin. It would be probably pointless, but she had to try something. She had him swallow it and stayed by his side, changing compresses from time to time. The demon still shivered and moaned. After few hours, Mai decided to take a break – she couldn't do more anyway and she had to get a nap. She laid next to him and closed her eyes.
"Mai." She heard Sesshomaru moaning. Her eyes snapped open and checked on him. Was he awake? However, the demon was unconscious. Mai frowned. She was sure, that he was dreaming of strangling her again. The girl sighed and went back to sleep.
.
The first thing Sesshomaru felt was pain. Piercing, excruciating pain, that lit his every single nerve on fire. However the pain was a good sign – it meant that he was alive. Not opening his eyes, he took in surroundings. After the battle with Naraku, he managed to crawl into a cave, severely wounded. Everywhere around was the stench of his blood, it dominated over the other scents. Slowly, ignoring the pain in his chest as he breathed, he inhaled the air. He smelled his own scent, the animals in the woods – nothing out of ordinary. It seemed, that he was alone here. But something was not right. His nose was telling him one thing and the ears another. He heard light breaths and heartbeat… close, as if next to him. He cursed – in this state he might not be able to fight off an enemy. Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, all red, and he frantically searched for the fiend.
As he shifted a little, the pain shot through his entire body. Then he glanced next to him and his eyes widened in surprise. Beside him was laying none other than the idiot woman, curled into the ball. She seemed to be soundly asleep. What was she doing here? Sesshomaru carefully sniffed the air, but felt irritated, because he did not sense her smell. Did she mask it somehow? The demon smirked, pleased, that he did not have to waste his time hunting for her – she came directly to him instead. How stupid could she be?
Sesshomaru tried to lift himself, but the pain was too great to ignore it - he must be seriously injured. The demon glanced downwards and discovered, that he was half-naked, dressed only in his hakama. His torso and arm were bandaged – the blood began already soaking through - and something damp was on his forehead. He carefully took it off and saw, that it was a cold compress. He looked at sleeping Mai again. Was she the one, who dressed his wounds? Sesshomaru became more and more confused. Finally, he decided, that it was safe enough to rest and closed his eyes.
.
Mai stretched her limbs and yawned. Slowly, she sat up, looking around. The sun was already up, the rays of light seeping into the cave. She turned her head and saw Sesshomaru laying still in the same place, his chest rising rhythmically. Good. At least he was still alive. The girl noticed, that the bandages got stained with blood – it was time to change them. She sighed, grabbed the first-aid kit and leaned over the demon, reaching to rip off the sticking plaster of his face.
The girl shrieked in surprise, as the clawed hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and the lids covering golden eyes lifted slowly. She looked at the demon with wide-opened eyes and he glanced back at her.
"You're awake!" she mumbled, trying to free her hand, but Sesshomaru tightened his grip, nearly crushing her bones, not willing to let go.
"I am." He said calmly. "Why did you come here, woman?"
Mai stared at him for a while.
"Isn't it obvious? I was so worried for you, that I came here." She said with sarcasm. The demon furrowed his brows, clearly irritated by her response. Mai sighed. "Ah-Un tricked me into coming here. I thought, that Rin was hurt, but I found you instead."
Sesshomaru was looking into her eyes for a while and lessened the pressure of his fingers on her wrist, but didn't let go.
"Why you did not escape?" he inquired.
"Because you were dying!" Mai nearly shouted into her face. "If I didn't patch you up, today I would have to dig a grave for you! What would I tell Rin? And Jaken? What kind of person I am, according to you? I wouldn't leave anyone to bleed slowly to death, even if you tried to kill me!" Mai began to breath heavily, as she finished her tirade.
Sesshomaru clutched her wrist with more strength, causing the girl to wince from pain. His eyes turned red, as he bared his fangs at her. The demon jerked her hand and pulled her closer to him, so that their faces were only inches away.
"You were the one, that was trying to kill me with a knife!" he hissed, furious. Mai narrowed her eyes, angered. How dare he remind her that?
"It was self-defense! You were trying to strangle me that time!" she retorted. The demon growled at her.
"It was my intention to discipline you, not to kill you!" he yelled at her and averted his gaze from the girl, staring intently at the ceiling. Mai felt anger boiling in her. Discipline? How sadistic could he be?! She felt the urge to punch him with all her strength. On the other hand, she really tried to kill him, but it was his own fault, wasn't it? The girl sighed.
"All right. Let's not talk about it now. Anyway, thanks for saving me and Kagome from Naraku. How did you know, that we'll dodge Souryuuha in time?" Mai asked, deciding it was the best to change the topic and keep non-violent relations for the time being.
"I did not."
Mai took a deep breath, refraining from finishing, what Naraku started. Why must he be such an ass? Let's concentrate on patching him up and then she will run away.
"You need to have those bandages changed." She said to him. The demon glanced at her and averted his eyes again.
"Hn." He muttered. Mai took it for some kind of an agreement.
The silence lasted for a longer while and Mai coughed.

"Sesshomaru, you're still holding my hand." She said. The demon glanced at his own hand, gripping Mai's wrist and released it quickly, as if just burnt him. The girl took out scissors and started cutting the bandage on his torso. Sesshomaru was staring at the ceiling all the time. Delicately, Mai removed the gauzes and took a look on the wound. It didn't seem to inflamed anymore, but it wasn't healing as fast as she thought it would be. Inuyasha healed from his injury much faster. The girl figured out, that it must be because either Naraku's poison or the excessive blood loss.

"Could you sit up?" Mai asked the demon. Sesshomaru nodded and tried to lift himself, gritting his teeth. Although the youkai did his best to maintain stone façade, she could tell, that he was in pain. Mai made a move to help him, but decided against it – it would only hurt his pride and make him more unbearable. Finally, he managed to sit up on his own. Mai pressed the clean gauzes to the wound and began tightly wrapping the bandage around his torso. The girl felt a little uncomfortable, being so close to him and feeling his breath atop her head – she was practically embracing a naked man! Mai blushed at the thought.

"Done." she said after she finished dressing the biggest wound. "I think it will need much more time to heal, but it's better than yesterday."

Sesshomaru nodded and fell backwards on his fur, apparently having used all his strength on sitting up. Mai thought, that he must be really in a bad shape. The girl began bandaging the lesser injuries, noticing, that they began to heal. Some even disappeared completely overnight.

"Why did you escape me?" Sesshomaru asked abruptly, surprising the girl. Mai stared at him for a while. It wasn't like him to start a conversation. Maybe he had a head injury as well?

"I wanted to go home." She answered, ripping of a sticking plaster. Sesshomaru looked at Mai and closed his eyes.

"Will you stay now?" he asked quietly.

Chapter 39

Mai's charming patient.




"Will you stay now?" Sesshomaru asked quietly.

Mai's hands stilled. What have gotten into him? Maybe he had a fever again. The girl leaned down and carefully touched his forehead, but it was cold. She furrowed her brows and poked the demon with her finger, but he didn't react. She sighed. He must have been so exhausted, that he fell asleep like a log. The girl decided, that it would be the best to finish dressing his wounds. Quickly, she put on the sticking plasters and bandages, where needed, and picked up the rags from the cave floor.
She stretched her aching limbs and went outside. The weather was marvelous, as expected from the hot summer. She went on a little trek and found a river. Mai couldn't resist the temptation. The girl undressed as fast as she could and jumped into the water.

"It's the best!" she giggled to herself. Mai took her clothes and washed them in the river, as it was possible, and left them on the stones to dry. Satisfied, she went back to splashing in the cool water.




Elsewhere…

Sango, Miroku and Shippo were sitting around the well, waiting for either Kagome or Inuyasha to arrive. Mai was missing nearly for a day already.

"I can't believe, we lost her." Sango sighed heavily. The monk and the fox-demon nodded in agreement, equally worried.

"Kagome-sama will skin us alive." The monk commented. "It seems, that we fell for Ah-Un's diversion."

The tree of them sat in complete silence for a while, when Shippo tugged Miroku's sleeve.

"Miroku, look! Someone is coming!" the little fox demon exclaimed. The monk and the demon-slayer turned their heads in the direction, Shippo was pointing.

Two small figures were darting towards them. One was a girl with black messy hair in an orange kimono and the other – the green imp carrying Nintoujou. Sango looked warily around, expecting to spot Sesshomaru, but the dog demon was nowhere near.

"Jaken? What are you doing here?" asked Shippo. The green imp was panting heavily. He took a deep breath.

"Did you people see Sesshomaru-sama by the chance?" Jaken asked.

"Did you see Mai?" Sango replied with a question.

"Mai?" Rin asked abruptly. "Mai is here?"

"Sesshomaru has gone somewhere?" Shippo asked.

Miroku coughed, trying to get everyone's attention. Once ensured, that all eyes were on him, the monk began.

"I think, that we must get some things straight. First, Mai. She has returned and Ah-Un kidnapped her yesterday. Jaken, do any of you have something to do with it?" the monk asked, glaring at the imp. Jaken made a resentful face.

"Ah-Un abandoned us too – he suddenly flew off somewhere, so how would we know? Did you meet Sesshomaru-sama? He left us some time ago and is not back yet." Stated Jaken and Rin nodded with worry all over her face.

"Sesshomaru and Inuyasha battled against Naraku yesterday and he chased after Naraku alone." Sango offered an explanation. Jaken and Rin gasped.

"Jaken-sama, do you think Sesshomaru-sama is okay?" panicked girl started shaking the imp by his shoulders.

Everyone was so absorbed in observing those two, that they didn't notice the arrival of three more newcomers.

"HEY!" everyone whirled around at the yell and saw Inuyasha, dismounting Kirara and – to everyone's surprise – Ah-Un. The half demon took a look at the strange group gathered by the well and folded his arms. "Does anyone care to explain, what the hell is going on? And what Jaken is doing here?"

Everyone started talking at the same time, trying to explain the situation to Inuyasha. The irritated hanyou growled and they went silent.

"Miroku?" Inuyasha asked. The monk sighed and nodded.

"I see, that you found Ah-Un, Inuyasha." Miroku commented. The hanyou shrugged his shoulders.

"Feh! It glued to me along the way." He said and glared at Jaken with suspicion. "Shouldn't you guys be with Sesshomaru?"

"It seems, that Sesshomaru is missing." Miroku explained.

"So what? Who cares about the bastard anyway?" answered Inuyasha, yawning. The monk made a troubled face.

"Actually, Mai is missing too. She was kidnapped by Ah-Un yesterday and I believe, that she may be with Sesshomaru right now." He said hesitantly, waiting for the hanyou's reaction. Inuyasha stayed silent for a while, processing the information. Finally, his eyes widened, as he linked the facts.

"WHAT?!" he yelled. "He'll kill her! And Kagome will kill me, if Mai is dead!"

The hanyou turned to Ah-Un and glared at the dragon. The group flinched, when they saw, how scary the hanyou's face was.

"Where are they?" Inuyasha growled. Ah-Un turned his heads away, clearly avoiding answering.

"WHERE. ARE. THEY?!" The half-demon yelled at the creature, but the dragon was stubborn.

"Inuyasha…" Shippo began. "I don't think, that he is going to tell you that."
Inuyasha shot the last glare at Ah-Un and turned to the group.

"All right, we have to track Sesshomaru down. Let's go!" he said.
Sango, Miroku and Shippo mounted Kirara and took off. Inuyasha turned around, when he saw Jaken and Rin climbing Ah-Un with looks of determination on their faces.

"Where do you two think you're going?" he asked.

"After Sesshomaru-sama." Stated Jaken.

"And Mai." Added Rin.

Inuyasha sighed, deciding that it would be pointless to argue with them.
"Let's go!" he shouted and the enlarged group set off to find Mai and Sesshomaru.



Sesshomaru opened his eyes slowly and looked around. The rays of light seeping into the cave had slightly red shade – the sun was already setting. Did he lose consciousness again? The demon frowned, angry at himself for showing weakness in front of the human woman. He should have not let her see him in such venerable state. Speaking of which, she was nowhere to be seen. Instinctively, he inhaled air, seeking her scent, but berated himself almost immediately – he remembered, that she masked it with the herbs. What an annoying creature, trying to hide from him. Where was she? Probably she took advantage of that he was not conscious and escaped again.

The demon gritted the teeth at the thought. How dare his property run away from its master? Carefully, he touched the bandaged wound on his chest. It was still hurting, but the pain lessened much. It seemed, that once the effects of Naraku's shouki had been neutralized, he was able to heal as fast as ever. Slowly, trying not to reopen the wound, Sesshomaru stood up. His legs were slightly trembling, but they supported his weight just fine. He made his way to the exit.

The sun was indeed setting. The demon smelled the scents of small animals, that usually lived in the woods like this. His ears picked up the sounds of trees rustling, the forest creatures stirring in the bushes. He turned his head, as he heard a bigger animal not somewhere very near. Something was odd. His nose could not tell him, what it exactly was. Could it be… Slowly he made his way towards the source of the sound.

As he passed the trees, she saw Mai on the clearing. The woman was dancing with her eyes closed, as though she was engulfed in her own world, no one else had access to. The steps of the dance were foreign to him – he had never seen anyone dancing like she did. Surprisingly, now her moves were fluent and full of grace, the complete opposite of her usual clumsiness. Earlier Sesshomaru did not pay attention to it, but the woman was wearing a strange outfit, resembling attire of Inuyasha's miko. The demon frowned, as he saw how revealing the clothing was – it did not even cover her legs and shoulders. Was she not concerned about the lustful looks of men? Somehow he felt anger welling within him as the mere thought.

Mai kept swirling all over the clearing, practicing the moves, she had seen her mother dancing on the video tapes. She didn't do it for so long. First, she was afraid, that she would forget everything, but step by step everything came back and she let her body take control. With her eyes closed, she imagined herself dancing side by side with her mother – the moments she danced were the only ones, when she felt connection between herself and the woman, who gave birth and loved her and who Mai never really knew, as she died when the girl was only two years old.

The girl was about to make a pirouette, but stepped on a stone and lost balance. Her eyes snapped open, as she desperately waved her arms to regain balance. When she did, she let out a sigh of relief and looked in front of her. Mai froze, seeing a familiar person just three meters from her and stared into the golden eyes.

Sesshomaru stared back at her, not saying anything. They stayed like that for some time, when Mai finally regained the ability to speak.

"Sesshomaru… why the hell are you sneaking on me like that?!" she screamed, angry rather at herself, that she didn't notice him earlier. How long was he standing here, anyway?
The demon glared at her, his face remained stoic as usual.

"This Sesshomaru does not sneak. You are the one, who is not aware of the surroundings." He said coldly, making Mai even more angry. God, she nearly forgot how infuriating he was! The demon looked at her for a brief moment and turned around. "Let us return."

The girl stared at the demon, who slowly began walking away, limping slightly. What did he think, that she was his servant? No way! She would wrap him up for the last time and get the hell out of here! Hopefully he would faint again. However, a small voice in the back of Mai's head said, that the chances for that were slim, considering, that he managed to walk all the way here on his own. She sighed and went after him to the cave.

Once in the cave, Sesshomaru sat down and glared at her. The girl sighed, knowing what he wanted. She grabbed the first-aid kit and began examining his wounds. All except the biggest one were healed already and even the huge slash across Sesshomaru's chest was looking much better now. The wound was closed, didn't bled at all. Mai cursed in her mind, as she was wrapping the bandage around the demon's torso. She thought, that it will take him longer to heal. Now it can be too late for escape.

"Done." The girl announced. Sesshomaru didn't even spare a glance for her – he laid down on his white fur, closing his eyes. Mai pouted at his ungratefulness.

"You could at least thank me." She said angrily to the demon, packing the first-aid kit.

"There is no need." He retorted, not bothering even to open his eyes. Mai glared at him. She didn't believe it! She saved his life, nursed back to health and he insists on being such a jerk?!

"I'm not your servant or slave to talk back like that!" The girl shouted at him, clenching her fists. Her sudden outburst caused the demon to open his eyes and glance at her.

"You are my property." He stated calmly. Mai's eyes widened. Property? That was too much.

"You pompous jerk! I saved your sorry ass and you keep insulting me?! Where is gratefulness! I should have left you here to rot!" she began, ignoring that he narrowed his eyes and growled at her as a warning. "You really deserve to die, you arro… gah!"

Mai yelped, as Sesshomaru's clawed hand darted, grabbing her wrist and pulled it abruptly. The next thing she knew, was landing on her back on the hard cave floor, with Sesshomaru pining her to the ground with the weight of his body. When she realized her position, she tried to wriggle herself out from underneath him, but the large frame of the demon held her in place.
The demon glared at her furiously.

"How dare you speak of gratefulness to me, human? It is you, who should be grateful that this Sesshomaru let you live. Know your place!" He hissed to her ear. Mai wanted give him a witty reply, but she realized, that she was in no position to talk back to him right now. Apparently, he wanted to show her his dominance and she had to admit, that he did it damn well. She was scared out of her wits.

Mai didn't move for a while, trying to avoid Sesshomaru's eyes and to free herself somehow. She felt, that his weight was crushing her, not to mention the awkward feeling at the touch of her bare skin against his. The demon finally pulled back a little, enough to let her breathe freely, but kept glaring at her.

"Did you understand?" he asked. Mai returned the glare and gritted her teeth. She hated to admit, that she was defeated.

"I get it, just get off me!" she snapped, but he didn't budge. Mai inhaled deeply. "I understand, that you are the boss." She said. The demon looked at her for a while, considering her reply and rolled of her, resting his body back on the white fur. The girl sat up, furious at the sadistic bastard, who looked so pleased with himself. Prepare yourself, Sesshomaru! You might have won the battle, but not the war.

Chapter 40

Inuyasha's decision




The next morning…

Mai rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms. The sleep deprivation was killing her. She spent the whole night on some kind of staring-contest with Sesshomaru. With him being a demon, the girl was at obvious disadvantage. Mai kept herself awake waiting for him to fall asleep, faint, drop dead, anything that would enable the escape. She berated herself for being so stupid and waiting till he gets better. Now he was all healthy and back to his charming self – with his "obey me or die" attitude.
The girl wanted to sneak out of the cave, but every time she moved during the night, he opened his eyes and glared at her. Even now she could sense his stare on her back. Mai brought her knees to the chest as her stomach rumbled. She didn't realize till now, how hungry she was. Yesterday she ate only two mushrooms. She turned her head, when she heard a noise behind her.

Sesshomaru stood up and ripped the bandage on his chest. Now only a slight mark was in the place of the terrible wound, a mark, that will probably disappear till sunset. He fastened his white fur on the shoulder, and the swords by the hip, looking for his clothes and armor.

"It's all ruined." Mai offered an explanation, pointing at the shattered pieces of black armor, lying in the corner of the cave. Sesshomaru shot a quick glance towards them and stalked to the girl. She looked up and yelped, when the demon grabbed her arm and pulled her upwards. Acting on instinct, she began to struggle him, as he led her towards the entrance o the cave, but she was weak from hunger and didn't put up much of a fight.

When Sesshomaru dragged her out of the cave, he stilled, turning his head abruptly in eastern direction. He let go of Mai's arm and grabbed the hilt of Tokijin. Instinctively, the girl hid herself behind his back. Carefully, she peeked to see what caused the demon to react so. Some youkai? Naraku?

She saw two shaped flying towards them. She squinted her eyes to discern them and her eyes brightened.

"Inuyasha!" she called happily, waving her hand. God bless the hanyou! She was saved!

Mai's hand stilled, as Sesshomaru sent her angry glare over his shoulder. It might have been too early to celebrate the rescue. The girl noticed, that Rin and Jaken were also with Inuyasha. The hanyou jumped of Kirara's back and landed, unsheathing Tessaiga and assuming a battle stance.

The group landed and Ah-Un trotted to his master. Mai sent a threatening look to the dragon, but the beast glanced at her innocently. Jaken ran on his short legs.

"Sesshomaru-sama! You are all right!" the imp exclaimed. Rin jumped of Ah-Un's saddle and followed Jaken.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Mai, you're back!" the kid shouted and darted straight to the girl, putting her little arms around Mai in tight embrace. "I missed you so much, Mai!"
The girl hugged the child back.

"I missed you too, kid." She said, ruffling Rin's already messy hair. The child laughed happily and glued herself to the girl.

"Inuyasha." Said Sesshomaru with hatred, glaring at the hanyou. The half-demon clad in red kimono smirked at his older brother, looking at the youkai's injury.

"Feh! I see you got quite a beating, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha said and turned to Mai. "Mai, get yourself over here!"

The girl freed herself from Rin's grasp, ignoring the child's protests and slowly made her way towards the hanyou, not losing Sesshomaru of her sight. The demon followed her with his eyes, visibly pissed, but did nothing to stop her. Apparently he still wasn't in state to fight Inuyasha. Mai finally reached the hanyou's side.

"Did he do anything to you?" Inuyasha asked Mai. The girl shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." She answered. The hanyou furrowed his brows and sniffed her, searching for the scent of blood, but found none. He didn't see any visible injuries either. Inuyasha arched his eyebrow, as though he was surprised. "He didn't try to kill you?"

"Not really." Mai shrugged her shoulders. Well, she told him the truth – however, she decided not to mention the little incident with Sesshomaru pining her to the cave floor – that was just too embarrassing.

Inuyasha looked at Mai for a while and then his attention turned to Sesshomaru. Finally the hanyou sheathed Tessaiga and sighed.

"Mai, sorry for that." He said to the girl. She opened her mouth, about to question him, what did he mean by that, but didn't make it, as Inuyasha grabbed her shoulders and violently shoved her towards Sesshomaru. The girl gave out a small surprised cry and stumbled. She would have fallen, but the demon swiftly grabbed her by the waist, supporting her. Shocked, she stared at Inuyasha. Why would he toss her to Sesshomaru?

"Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted, running towards the hanyou. The demon-slayer did the same.

"What did you do, Inuyasha?" Sango questioned him, surprised by Inuyasha's action. The hanyou sighed and looked at Mai with determination.

"Mai, from now on Naraku knows that you are important for us and will try to kill you. You are already involved in the fight against him and your life will be in a constant danger. I can't protect both you and Kagome. Stay with Sesshomaru, he will keep you safe." Inuyasha told her seriously and turned to his companions. "Come on, we're going back."

Mai stared at the hanyou dumbfounded for a longer while, almost oblivious to the fact, that she was still tightly pressed against Sesshomaru's chest. Did Inuyasha just give her to the demon? She couldn't believe it! The hanyou was supposed to save her, not happily shove her to the sadistic bastard!

"Inuyasha!" she screamed, clawing at Sesshomaru's hand, that held her tightly. "Don't leave me with him! Inuyasha!"

The hanyou turned his head away from her and walked over to Kirara. Mai stopped struggling, when she finally understood that he really didn't have any intention of helping her.

"Miroku, Sango, come on." Inuyasha said quietly, ushering his companions on Kirara.

"Don't leave me." Mai whimpered, as the tears began welling in her eyes. She counted on their help and now they were abandoning her like that?

Miroku and Sango hesitantly mounted Kirara and Shippo tried to argue with Inuyasha, but the hanyou sent him a warning look, that made the little fox, demon silent. Before climbing on the cat-demon's back, Inuyasha turned around.

"Sesshomaru, take care of her." He said and jumped on Kirara behind Miroku. The cat-demon leaped into the sky and Mai watched, as they vanished into the clouds, leaving her behind. Mai broke in tears. She just couldn't believe it – how much bad luck can one person have? Now, she would die as Sesshomaru's servant!