Chapter 140

Between a rock and a hard place

Once Sesshomaru landed near the camp, Mai tried to get away from him, but the demon’s threat seemed to be real.

“Take your hand off me!” the girl hissed out, when the dog demon grabbed her wrist and began dragging her in the woods. 

The girl heard Rin’s laughter, but her husband was leading her in the opposite direction. That must have meant only one – he was set on getting her laid right now.

“Do not protest.” Sesshomaru said in a scolding way, as though she was a child. Mai sent him a glare and sat on the ground, making dragging her harder for Sesshomaru.

“Shouldn’t you be busy chasing Naraku?” she asked, as she received a meaningful glare from the dog demon. Sesshomaru frowned upon the mention of the enemy’s name.

“Naraku can wait a few hours.” He replied, yanking resisting Mai up.

“This can wait too!” she retorted quickly, clutching a nearby tree with her free hand, using it as an anchor. 

Sesshomaru barely refrained himself from growling at her for her unreasonable behavior. Should not she have this problem of hers solved already, considering, that she visited the miko? Apparently not, for she was resisting him with all her meager human strength.

“This is the last time I am letting you have it your way.” He informed his insufferable wife, as he ceased pulling her into the woods. He let go off her wrist reluctantly. “I am giving you time till the sunset. My patience for this nonsense has ended.”

With this words he turned around and began walking towards the camp, leaving Mai frozen in place. The girl bit her lower lip and trotted after him. Jaken and the rest of their group joined the two and soon the complete group was continuing their search for Naraku.

The distressed girl was constantly glancing nervously at the sun, her mood becoming gloomier as it was lowering itself towards the horizon. The wretched sun was reminding her, that her innocence was nearing towards its miserable end. Once the sun set, Sesshomaru would drag her in the bushes and do… IT to her. She trembled at the though. Would it hurt much? Would she be feeling disgusted? Would he be brutal? Probably not, Mai thought. She was pretty sure, that the dog demon wouldn’t hurt her on purpose, but her first time was scaring her out of her wits nonetheless. She still had the smelly powder, she got from Sango, but she could use it only once, so she intended it to be a last resort. She still had the time to think of something. She turned her head and looked at Jaken. She would need his help. Now.

Mai jumped at the first opportunity and stayed a little behind to collect some mushrooms. Of course she asked Jaken to help her. When Sesshomaru was so far away, that he couldn’t hear clearly, she turned to her companion.

“Jaken, I need your help.” Mai whispered to her green friend.

Jaken frowned, not happy, that his female companion wanted him probably to meddle in her private affairs.

“It’s about Sesshomaru-sama?” he whispered back, making sure, whether he was right. Mai nodded, the look of worry all over her face. Jaken sighed – it was clear, that she didn’t yield to his master yet, for the inu-youkai was more annoyed with every passing day, while the stubborn girl looked more and more scared of Sesshomaru-sama’s advances.

“I need him to slow down a bit with all this.” She whispered frantically, dropping the basket with mushrooms, because of her trembling hands. “Shit!”

Jaken winced, seeing Mai so distressed. The girl was a mess – surely Sesshomaru-sama didn’t have 

the right approach towards the women. Actually, he pitied his female friend and therefore decided to agree to her request. And for the sake of his master, naturally.

“I’ll think of something.” He promised solemnly. Mai’s face brightened, relief washing all over her face.

“Thank you!” she nearly exclaimed, beaming with gratefulness. “But you have to do it before the nightfall.”

Jaken nodded and took the basket out of her hands.

“Sure. Now let’s go back, before Sesshomaru-sama starts to suspect something.” He said quickly, warily looking around. Mai nodded and the both servants returned to the rest of the group.

The marching didn’t continue for too long, because Sesshomaru-sama ordered a brief break and Mai made a late dinner for everyone. Jaken was deep in thought, considering the options he had.

“Jaken.” The imp’s head snapped up, as he heard the demanding voice of his master. The dog demon sent him a meaningful look. “Come.”

Jaken gulped, as drops of sweat began forming on his forehead. Had he been found out? Was Sesshomaru-sama intending to punish him for the betrayal? Having all the grim suspicions possible, he hesitantly followed his master. The dog demon led his servant deeper into the forest, just outside the humans’ hearing range. Trying to control the trembling, Jaken looked up at his master’s face, waiting for the worst.

“Jaken, I require you to aid this Sesshomaru.” The master said in a tone, that conveyed, that it was not a request, but an order. Jaken narrowed his eyes at the inu-youkai, confused. Wasn’t it about him plotting with Mai against Sesshomaru-sama? The dog demon cleared his throat and set his gaze on the trees. “How to make her be mine willingly?”

Jaken blinked slowly. Was Sesshomaru-sama asking him for advice? On love problems at that? The imp had the impression, that the world would end soon if such things were happening.

“Sesshomaru-sama?” Jaken looked at the dog demon questioningly. The inu-youkai glared at him, impatience and irritation flickering in his golden eyes.

“I need her consent this night. Think of something. Or I will kill you.” Sesshomaru nearly growled, adding the usual threat.

Jaken flinched slightly. Were they tonight having this date, he heard Mai once mentioning? Why he had to be involved in this?!

“O-of course!” the imp stuttered, thinking, that he was dead meat. 

He had already promised Mai to help her prevent Sesshomaru-sama from consummating their marriage and now his master wanted him to help make the complete opposite happen! How could he, Jaken, manage to keep his word both to Mai and Sesshomaru-sama? It was impossible and was making him feel like some detestable double-traitor.

“Well…” the dog demon spoke impatiently, hurrying Jaken up.

The imp let out a distressed squeak.

“Just a moment, Sesshomaru-sama!” he mumbled, the wheels in his head turning nearly with the speed of the light. How to help Mai keep her chastity intact? How to make Mai accept Sesshomaru-sama’s advances at the same time? Jaken’s eyes brightened, when the solution popped into his mind. It was only a temporary one, but it will do for tonight and maybe for the next week or two. The imp puffed his chest with pride, before announcing: “There is a way to do that.”

The inu-youkai send him a wary look, visibly eager to learn about it. Jaken cleared his throat.

“You should court Mai, Sesshomaru-sama.” He shared his idea with his master.

“Court?” the dog demon repeated, frowning. He had doubt and annoyance all over his face. “She is my wife already. I have no need to court her.”

Jaken sighed, expecting such words from his master. Actually, his solution was brilliant. If Sesshomaru-sama courted Mai, her virginity would be temporarily safe and she would treat the inu-youkai more affectionate at the same time. Maybe it would help the two of them solve their marital problems on their own later, without dragging poor Jaken into this.

“It will take some time, but it’ll be surely effective.” The imp ensured his master.

The dog demon scowled.

“I want her now! Think of something else.” He growled, rejecting Jaken’s brilliant idea. The imp took a deep breath. He was standing before the difficult task of talking some sense into his stubborn master. Truly patience wasn’t the dog demon’s strongest points.

“Sesshomaru-sama, I would advise patience in this case.” Jaken tried to convince his master. “Mai is not ready for such a step in her life. It should be taken into consideration.”

“She is my wife!” the dog demon hissed out, slamming his fist against the tree and piercing a hole in the innocent trunk. 

Jaken sighed heavily, leaning on his staff. This was going to be tough.

“Did you know, Sesshomaru-sama, that if you toss a frog into the boiling water it will jump out? But if the water is cold and is warmed gradually, the frog will stay until it’s cooked. Sometimes the longer way is actually the faster.” Jaken shared his wisdom with the dog demon, who calmed down a bit and seemed to be listening to the imp carefully. The short youkai looked his master in the eye. “Mai is just like this frog – everything is happening too fast for her and that’s why she’s rejecting you so fiercely. But should you take time to make up for all the steps in between, she will surely grow affectionate.”

Sesshomaru stayed silent, considering Jaken’s words. They made sense, but he wanted her to be his now, not after the days, perhaps weeks of troublesome courting. But, if his servant was right…

“Will it work?” he asked harshly.

The imp immediately nodded, bowing deeply.

“Yes, I’m sure of it!” he assured Sesshomaru-sama, but the inu-youkai arched his eyebrow, showing doubt.

“Your plans are usually a failure.” He stated. Jaken let out a protesting squeak.

“This one will be a success! I vouch for it with my own head.” The imp said quickly, throwing himself at the ground in an impressive display of master-level-groveling.

“Hn.” The dog demon averted his gaze from the servant. “Remember your words.”

Jaken flinched, hearing the warning, that undoubtedly included a threat. He started sweating from stress – his head was in the danger of being separated from the rest of the body.

“What exactly do you propose?” the inu-youkai asked.

The green demon wiped the sweat from his forehead, concentrating. He struggled to remember everything, that Mai said about how courting should look like, according to her. Fortunately, she said rather a lot of it and Jaken had good memory.

“A romantic dinner.” The imp stated, choosing the best possible measure to win the girl’s heart. 

Seeing, that Sesshomaru-sama had no idea of romantic dinners, Jaken didn’t hesitate to share every single detail, he knew about the romantic dinners. “Yes, it has to be a romantic dinner. You will have to have a meal together, talk with each other, compliment Mai. Oh, and there have to be candles included. They’re essential. And the most important thing is to behave like a gentleman.”

The dog demon arched his brow at the foreign word, which Jaken probably picked up from Mai.

“What do you mean?” Sesshomaru asked. The imp beamed with happiness, glad, that he could be useful for once.

“A gentleman is never forceful towards the lady, he always puts her comfort first. He is chivalrous and treats women with respect.” Jaken recited the definition.

“Hn.” Sesshomaru frowned with disgust, before muttering: “So it means a wimp. Most likely he grovels before a woman, bribing her with trumpery too.”

Jaken tilted his head, wondering, where did his master got such weird ideas from.

“I will go with your plan.” Sesshomaru announced his decision, before glaring at Jaken. “You have the time till sunrise to collect, what you need. There is a village nearby.”

The imp blinked, wondering if he heard right. Was Sesshomaru-sama making Jaken handle the preparations for HIS romantic dinner? Personally the green demon thought, that such things should be done by the one, who is participating in the event called a date, but a dedicated servant shouldn’t argue.

“Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!” he squeaked and darted off to get Ah-Un and do the chores as quickly as possible, leaving his master alone.

Once his servant flew off on the battle steed, Sesshomaru assessed the ungrateful task, he faced. He hoped, that marrying the troublesome woman would spare him the courting, but Jaken insisted, that it had to done. Earlier he thought, that it was completely unnecessary, but now the dog demon was not so sure of it anymore. Perhaps it was the only way to make Mai willing to be his wife in every meaning of this word. It was a nuisance, but it was still better than violating her. He decided to try it. If Jaken plan failed and there would be no progress with the female tonight, he would simply execute his previous plan, that included taking her despite her protest and tears.

The inu-youkai frowned, when the thought of one essential detail of Jaken’s plan. Namely, the meal was supposed to be consummated together. His servant would surely fetch the appropriate food for his human wife, but Sesshomaru had no intention of eating the same things, she would. That was a sacrifice, he could not make. Yet, he should eat too.

“Tch!” he hissed out with discontent and darted into the woods.

Just as Jaken landed, covering the goods, he bought, with a rag, he slid off Ah-Un’s back. He met Mai’s questioning eyes and showed her thumbs up, making the girl’s worried face brighten a bit. Then, he darted into the forest, where he expected to meet Sesshomaru-sama. The imp looked around, but his master wasn’t there.

“Sesshomaru-sama?” he called the dog demon’s name quietly, but only silence answered him.

“Jaken.” The imp squeaked from surprise and jumped, hearing Sesshomaru-sama’s voice. The green youkai whirled around and saw his master glaring at him demandingly. “Did you bring everything, that is needed?”

Jaken quickly nodded and began unpacking the bundle and taking out each item, one by one.

“Here’s the basket. I bought the best food I could, it should suit Mai’s taste. In the shuttle is tea and there are two cups inside as well. Where are they… here are the candles!” he exclaimed, while taking out the candles and beginning to place them all over and lightning them, so that the tiny clearing in the birch-tree coppice would turn into a place suitable for a romantic dinner. “Also there is a blanket to sit on and last, but not least… flowers.”

Sesshomaru stared at the colorful bouquet of chrysanthemums, Jaken was holding and currently trying to shove into his hand.

“What am I supposed to do with those weeds?” the dog demon snapped, not liking the whole idea of this romantic dinner – it was dangerously close to groveling on knees.

Jaken sighed.

“Giving it to Mai before the dinner will increase the chances of success thousand fold.” The imp explained patiently. “I guess, that females just naturally like flowers. Rin loves them too.”

“Hn.” The dog demon muttered with irritation, but nevertheless he took the bouquet from Jaken, glaring at the poor flowers, as though they were burning. Then, he addressed his servant. “Bring the wretched woman here.”

Mai clenched her trembling fingers on the fabric of her kimono, nervously glancing at the sun, which was already setting. She gulped, scared out of wits of this night. Jaken showed her thumbs up earlier, but she didn’t have the chance to talk to her green friend, so she was worrying like hell. Did he figure something out? She saw him coursing between Sesshomaru and Ah-Un, so probably the imp was realizing his plan, whatever it was. However, the most unnerving was, that she wasn’t informed of it and she could only wait helplessly. She pulled her knees closer to her chest and kept staring at the setting sun.

“Mai!” the girl yelped and nearly jumped up, startled, when she heard Jaken’s voice. She turned her head towards the imp, who pointed her the direction. “Better hurry up. Sesshomaru-sama is waiting for you.”

The girl stiffened and slowly got up, dreaded by Jaken’s words.

“But you promised to…” she began scolding the imp, but he put his finger to his mouth, shushing her with a gesture. Then, he winked. Mai slowly nodded. “All right. See you later.”

The girl set off in the direction, that Jaken pointed, having mixed feelings about this. She wondered, what was her friend’s ingenious plan and if she would be able to follow it, when she knew nothing about. She wiped her sweaty hands, when she was walking towards the small birch-tree coppice. She narrowed her eyes, for she saw light. Yes, there was definitely light ahead of her. It was strange, since it was a forest.

“Don’t follow the light.” Mai muttered and followed it, unsure, what was to expect. 

She emerged from behind a larger tree, stepped on the hem of her overly long kimono, tripped and nearly bumped into Sesshomaru. She swayed a bit, before she managed to regain the balance. Then, she cautiously looked at her husband, not really wanting be the first to say something. Unfortunately for her, long silence fell, for the dog demon was equally as talkative as a rock. He was just standing before her, motionless, his face an expressionless mask. Mai already opened her mouth to initiate a conversation, but shut it, when she noticed the surroundings.

Everywhere were candles – their soft light was making and ordinary birch-tree coppice seem like a magical place. She furrowed her brows at the strange sight. What was going on? Then she saw something else. In the middle of the clearing was laying a colorful blanket. Mai’s mood changed instantly, as suspicion crept into her mind. Damn Jaken! He must have been a double-agent and only pretended to cooperate with her! Surely the jerk, who happened to be her husband, was intending to throw her onto this blanket and strip her from the virtue!

“Sesshomaru…” she quickly spoke, wanting to make the last attempt to wiggle herself out of the situation, but the dog demon had no intention of letting her talk.

“Woman.” He said, silencing her for a short while, which was long enough for him to inform her of his intention to court her. 

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows. He did not like Jaken’s plan at all, but it had been already decided, that he should go through with it. He gazed at his wife intently, as though he was trying to convey the message with his thoughts. Of course it had no effect, as she was just staring at him, looking more and more nervous. The inu-youkai was reluctant to lowering himself to ask his own wife for a permission to court her, but it had to be done. Moreover, he wished to get over it as soon as possible.

“Mai.” The demon addressed the woman by her given name, his voice confident and formal. “From now on his Sesshomaru will be courting you.”

Mai blinked, staring at the inu-youkai. Did she hear him right? He wanted to court… that means to date her? And why did he made it sound like a threat?

“Court me?” she asked, baffled, what did he exactly mean by it.

The dog demon broke and eye-contact, setting his gaze on the trees over Mai’s head.

“You will be courted by me.” He rephrased it, making it sound even more like a life sentence, rather than a request.

The girl’s eyelid twitched, as she was looking at the troubled demon. Dear god, he was so hopeless. She sighed heavily.

“And by this courting you mean…” Mai tried to coax Sesshomaru into enlightening her more about his plans.

“This Sesshomaru decided to consummate the marriage after courting.” He coughed his decision finally.

Mai barely refrained herself from shouting with joy. Yes! She was safe! At least for some time. Well, it was nice of Sesshomaru, that he wanted to date her first. Actually, it was very thoughtful of him to take her needs into consideration, even though the girl was sure, that all of it was thanks to Jaken’s clever manipulation. Bless the imp!

“Woman.” Sesshomaru’s voice brought her to reality. Mai’s head snapped up and she gazed at the demon, who was nearly glaring at her, as though he was expecting her to say something.

“Oh.” She mumbled, feeling, that she was beginning to blush. She averted her eyes from his and set them on her feet. “I’m okay with it, I guess…”

“Hold it.” The dog demon suddenly spoke, shoving something quickly into the girl’s hands. She grabbed it by instinct and gawked at the item, she was holding. Flowers. A beautiful bouquet of chrysanthemums. She gasped, startled. First Sesshomaru was asking her to date him, then flowers… the world was ending. She looked at her husband, but she didn’t manage to cough out any response, because she was too surprised in a positive way. She never expected the demon to be able to make such romantic gestures. Come to think of it, he looked like he was undergoing some kind of torture, but still… Mai’s heart began pounding faster from excitement. Her first date. It was her first date! And she got flowers!

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows, observing the female’s strange behavior. His youkai sensed detected a sudden change in her the moment he gave her those weeds. Apparently Jaken was right on this. Now that she had been informed and he got rid of the weeds, it was the high time to proceed with the so-called “romantic dinner.”

“Sit.” He commanded. 

Mai nodded, showing absolutely no signs of fear. She was slightly nervous and had butterflies in the stomach, but she wasn’t scared. She was all too eager to participate in the date, despite the partner was her horny demonic husband and he was horribly green, when it came to romantic gestures. The girl seated herself on the blanket, discreetly straightening her wrinkled clothing and making an effort to quickly comb her hair with the fingers. She gazed at Sesshomaru with anticipation. The inu-youkai joined her, seating himself in front of her, his face focused and serious. Then he grabbed a basket, that was nearby, and with a firm move he put it between them in a manner, that resembled a general unfolding a map before discussing war strategy. For a longer while neither of them said a word.

“Umm… What’s this?” Mai finally asked, pointing the basket.

“Romantic dinner.” Sesshomaru said dryly, speaking it with disgust.

Mai’s eyes widened and she clutched the bouquet tighter. A romantic dinner? Oh god, she wanted to squeal from excitement! Sesshomaru was clearly forcing himself to undergo this, but at least he was trying. To think, that her fist serious date would be a picnic… with candles. Gosh, it was moving. Maybe not all hope was lost for her husband. She should give him at least a chance.

“T-thank you. I really a-appreciate this.” She mumbled out, angry at herself, that she began stuttering from all the excitement. She smiled widely at Sesshomaru, contented to be on a romantic date instead of being raped in the bushes.

Sesshomaru eyed his wife suspiciously. Her moods seemed to be changing much too quickly. A few hours ago she was putting a fierce fight and now she was calmly sitting here, smiling to herself like a fool. If a bunch of weeds and a few candles worked such miracles, he eagerly anticipated the moment after they ate together.

“Help yourself.” He said stiffly, pointing with his clawed finger at the basket, which stood between him and Mai.

The girl frowned slightly at Sesshomaru’s rudeness and sighed with dismay – he was going in the right direction, but he should really work on his behavior. She motioned herself closer to the basket and reached inside, smiling at her husband. 

Then, the smile from her face fell, as she grabbed something wet, sleazy, soft and slightly warm. Cautiously she took it out and froze in disgust, staring at what she was holding. 

A heart.

Blood was dripping from it. Mai was gawking at it in horror. Shit, it was still warm. She didn’t even want to try to guess, to what kind of creature it belonged. She flexed the fingers and the heart fell with a damp plump back inside the basket.

“Something wrong?” Sesshomaru asked innocently, noticing nothing strange in packing bloody hearts into a picnic basket.

Mai twisted the corners of her lips up in a forced smile, while discreetly wiping her bloody hand in the blanket…

“Nothing.” She said quickly, letting out a sheepish laugher. 

Then she took a deep breath, gathered her courage and took a peek inside the basket. She flinched at the sight. Inside, there was a lot of delicious things – under different circumstances she would devour all of it in a heartbeat – some riceballs, steamed buns with meat, cupcakes and a lot more. However, the romantic effect was ruined by the tiny fact, that onto the delicious treats, that were even placed in the basket in a decorative way, someone had dumped a few raw hearts and the blood was dripping on the cupcakes. 

“Are you not hungry?” Sesshomaru asked her. 

Mai looked at him, the forced smile still plastered to her face. Damn, now she lost appetite, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell that to her husband. After all, he meant good. 

“I’ll eat something in a moment.” She replied, trying to spot anything in the basket, that wasn’t yet soaked with the blood from the hearts. 

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows and motioned himself closer to the basket. He wondered, why Mai was hesitant to eat. Was the food, Jaken had brought, not appropriate? Or perhaps she was just waiting for a man to begin the meal first, as expected from a well-bred woman. He reached into the basket and grabbed one of the hearts, he had prepared earlier especially for this wretched dinner.

Mai’s eyelid was twitching, as she saw Sesshomaru sink his fangs in the raw heart. Damn, dating a demon was tough. Once he finally devoured his meal, he stared at the girl with anticipation. She stared back at him.

“Why are you not eating?” he demanded. 

Jaken made clear, that eating together was the most important part of the romantic dinner and it was unsettling, that the woman refused to have her meal. Was she defying him even now, when he sacrificed his pride and made her such a favor?

The girl gulped, seeing, that Sesshomaru was beginning to glare at her.

“It’s just…” she began, trying to think of something to say, that wouldn’t ruin the date.

“You are rejecting this… romantic dinner.” The demon stated accusingly. Mai instantly waved her hands in a submissive gesture.

“No, no! I like it. I really do!” she defended herself, glancing at the bloody content of the basket.

“Then eat.” Sesshomaru insisted. 

“No way! It looks delicious, but it’s covered in blood.” Mai explained, wincing. The demon only arched his eyebrow.

“And?” he asked, reaching for another heart. The girl sighed, thinking, that it was no point in arguing with her husband.

“Never mind.” She muttered taking out a steamed bun, which was the least stained with blood. 

She used the hem of her kimono to wipe the remaining red sticky liquid off the food. “Just be careful not to cake my food in blood next time.”

“Hn.” The demon muttered in response and awkward silence fell. Again.

Author Note:

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Oh, the end of the story is growing near... like creeping death...