Chapter 89

The gates of Kanazawa



Mai wobbled on her feet and grabbed the wall for support, as the cave floor shook violently. Small rocks fell from the ceiling right onto the heads of a small group. A loud boom could be heard and the walls were vibrating long after it happened. The girl widened her eyes, confused. What was that? It sounded just like…

"Mai-san, what was that?!" Chiyo squeaked, voicing aloud Mai's thoughts. The young girl looked scared, as she cuddled to her grandfather. Master Sekiguchi exchanged glances with Mai.

"Gunpowder." He said, panting, as the escape exhausted his worn body. "Gunpowder exploded."
Mai looked at him, shocked. She knew, that the man was right, it sounded just like in movies. If something like that happened, it could mean only one – Sesshomaru was… She shook her head, not wanting to admit to herself, that the dog demon could be no longer among living. He was always so strong, so confident. It always appeared to her, that he was kind of immortal, anyone could die, but not him. She felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, but tried to keep her cool. It would be the time to mourn Sesshomaru later. Now it was her task to get herself and those people to the safety. She clenched her fist.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" she called to her companions, supporting the scholar Sekiguchi. "The cave can collapse anytime now!"

Chiyo and Souichiro nodded and followed her, as she dragged the scholar along the corridor. Mai gained a position of a leader and everyone relied on her. She had to be strong for all of them.
The cave was shaking from time to time, sending a shower of tiny rocks on her heads. Mai feared, that the explosion's aftershocks may cause the whole corridor to collapse, so they had to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. However, they were running for some time now, covered a considerable distance, but there was no end of the corridor. Mai prayed inwardly, that the cave wouldn't have a dead end. To make the matters worse, the people were growing weaker with every passing minute, as lack of sleep and weariness were taking their toll. Moreover, the air inside the cave lacked the oxygen, what was making them dizzy. Chiyo was holding on quite well, but the two elderly were barely standing on their feet. They had to get to the surface fast. Mai forced her companions to pick up the speed.

The girl clenched her teeth from the effort, as she was nearly carrying Sekiguchi on her back and lead their group, lightning the way with her torch. Then, she nearly bumped into a wall, as the corridor ended without any warning. The old scholar leaned himself against the wall and Mai looked around. She didn't want to say aloud, what she thought. It looked like it was a dead end. The walls around them were considerably smooth.

"There's no way out?" Souichiro asked, panic in his voice. Mai took a deep breath, not wanting to sound unconfident – she would only scare the others. She noticed, that Chiyo was horribly pale already and her lips began to tremble.

"Calm down." Mai said. "Let's look around."

The others nodded, without much enthusiasm though and started searching the place. It proved to be difficult, as the light, cast by the torch, was very faint. Chiyo and Souichiro were tracing the surface of the wall with their fingers, while Mai looked on the cave floor. It was very uneven, covered in dust and small rocks. One structure caught her attention. The girl crouched by it and cleaned it from the rocks with her hand. Underneath the layer of soil was solid wood. Mai furrowed her brows.

"Chiyo, come here and hold the torch!" she called to the younger girl. Chiyo swiftly ran to her and did, what she was asked to. With her hands free, Mai worked faster to uncover the strange structure. She gasped, when she recognized, what it was – a wooden ladder, about three meters long. The girl looked up and, actually, there was a small hatch above. It was a way out! Mai smiled to herself.

"There's a hatch up there." She said, pointing the ceiling. "Help me get this ladder up."

With Soichiro's help, she managed to set the ladder in place. It was wobbling a lot, but it was still intact, as the wood wasn't rotten even after all those years.

"Who's coming first?" Chiyo asked, looking questioningly at Mai. The girl furrowed her brows, thinking. She should stay and hold the torch. She was too weak to force the hatch open anyway. She looked at one of the elderly men.

"Souichiro, do you think you'll manage to open the hatch?" she asked him. Chiyo's grandfather nodded and straightened his back, as though he wanted to appear stronger.

"Maybe I'm old, but I'm used to hard work." He said and began climbing the ladder. Mai took the torch from Chiyo and waited. The three of them were observing, as Souichiro wrested with the hatch, that refused to open. The man's face was red with effort and the drops of sweat began streaming down his face. Finally, with a loud squeak, the hatch moved slightly. With one more forceful push, Souichiro managed to open it completely and the sunlight filled the cave. Mai felt like shouting with joy. They made it! They found the way out. She looked around and saw the same hopeful expressions on her companions faces.

"All right." Mai said. "Chiyo, it's your turn. Master Sekiguchi will come right after you."

The girl nodded and began climbing the ladder. The old scholar looked at Mai with a smile on his wrinkled face.

"It looks like you lead us out, Mai." He said.

Mai nodded. However, she couldn't smile back to Sekiguchi. Too much happened, too many sad things. Silence fell, as both of them stayed quiet, waiting for Chiyo to get to the surface. However, a barely noticeable sound could be heard. Mai narrowed her eyes, as she heard it – it was coming from the corridor. She stared into the darkness. The noise was faint, but was getting stronger with every passing second. Master Sekiguchi also noticed it, tension all over his face. Mai glanced at him.

"This sound…" she whispered. "Those are footsteps, aren't they?"

The scholar didn't answer, but nodded, confirming her fears. Mai bit her lower lip. Someone was coming and his footsteps were echoing throughout the cave, warning them. It could mean one – one of the enemies got through Sesshomaru and Harada and he was coming. Without hesitating, she extinguished the torch, not wanting to give out their position too quickly. If only they managed to get out of the cave and block the hatch with some stones, they would be safe. She looked up and saw, that Souichiro was already helping Chiyo off the ladder.

"Master Sekiguchi, hurry up." She whispered and took out the knife, Sesshomaru gave her the day before. She honestly hoped, that she wouldn't have to use it.

Mai was glancing at the old scholar nervously. The old man was slowly crawling up. The girl refrained herself from tapping with her foot. It was doubtful if the ladder could support two people, so she had to wait for Sekiguchi to get out of the hatch. The sound of the footsteps was getting louder, now echoing throughout her mind. Mai tried to keep her hands from shaking. She put the knife between her teeth and grabbed the ladder, waiting for her turn to climb up. The enemy was getting closer and the elderly scholar was awfully slow. She could go after him, but it was too risky. The ladder was so old, that could collapse and both of them would be in deep shit. She waited and the noise was louder and louder.

Finally, Souichiro and Chiyo grabbed Sekiguchi and helped him up. Instantly, Mai began climbing as fast as she could, two steps at the time.

Suddenly, she felt something grabbing her ankle. The girl realized in a heartbeat, that it was the enemy. She tried to move her leg, attempting to kick him off the ladder, but her ankle was trapped in a steel grip. Mai cursed inwardly – if her leg wasn't caught in midair, she could have used the other one to kick that attacker in his face, but she needed to hold on to the ladder somehow. The girl kept trying to wriggle herself out of the hold, but her efforts were fruitless.

She decided, that it was the time to resort to violence. The girl grabbed the ladder firmly with one hand and took the handle of the knife, that was between her teeth. With a considerably swift move, she crouched down and prepared to slash the enemy. She was swinging her hand already, when she saw, who was the person, that grabbed her ankle. Her eyes widened from surprise, as they met golden eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, that reached to the cave. Mai stopped her hand from moving in the last moment and lost her balance, falling from the ladder right at the top of that person.

"Mai-san!" the girl heard Chiyo's voice from above, as she landed on something soft. Mai pulled herself up to the sitting position and wasn't sure if she should be happy or quite the opposite. Namely, she was sitting atop Sesshomaru, who she just knocked down. The demon was glaring at her in his most intimidating way.

"Umm… you're alive." Mai coughed out, stating the obvious. The inu-youkai arched his eyebrow.

"Disappointed?" he asked. The girl narrowed her eyes at him. Damn, the guy was like back from the dead and he was cheeky already! She made a pouting face.

"You didn't have to scare me so much!" she scolded him. Sesshomaru didn't answer and pulled himself up, throwing Mai off him. The girl yelped and opened her mouth, about to protest, but closed it almost immediately, when she realized the position, she just had been in – straddling the dog demon. She felt a blush rushing to her face. Crap, not now. So embarrassing!
The dog demon yanked her up, without any warning and dragged her to the ladder.

"Climb, woman." He told her, looking at her flushed face with amusement in his eyes. The girl wanted to berate him for ordering her around, but, on the other hand, letting him have fun of her because of her damn blush was worse. Without word, she obeyed him. She climbed a few steps, when she wanted to ask Sesshomaru, what happened to captain Harada. She glanced at the demon. Her face turned scarlet, when she saw, where the inu-youkai's attention was. Sesshomaru was casually staring at her now exposed tights. Mai felt anger boil in her veins. She understood, that he was a male, but to have a nerve to do something like that!

"Sesshomaru…" she said in a low tone, warning in her voice. The dog demon looked up.

"Hurry." He said, before looking away. Mai narrowed her eyes at him and got back to climbing, wanting to get her legs to safety from Sesshomaru's stares as soon as possible. He is so unbearable! Well, at least he's alive…

The girl crawled through the hatch. Souichiro helped her up. Everyone's eyes widened, as they saw Sesshomaru following Mai.

"Sesshomaru-san?" Sekiguchi choked out, surprised, that the demon was still alive. "And the captain?"

Sesshomaru straightened his clothing.

"Dead." He said shortly, but after a while decided, that the courageous human deserved his story to be told. "He set the gunpowder on fire and collapsed the cave. The enemy will not pursue us."

Mai sighed. She expected, that something like that happened. However, it was odd, that Sesshomaru didn't refuse to go to them. She smiled to herself. Apparently the captain was convincing. The dog demon may be a bastard, who kidnapped her and got her into the whole mess with Naraku, but she would miss him if he was dead. Harada made a good deed, she would surely remember to light a candle for his soul.

"Do not stay behind." Sesshomaru's voice made Mai turn her attention back to what was happening. She saw, that the dog demon was already walking away and the group followed him without saying anything. The girl also dragged herself after the inu-youkai.

All of them were exhausted, as they didn't close their eyes even for a minute, so Mai was glad, that Sesshomaru didn't force the murderous pace. She furrowed her brows. Perhaps he was tired too? If he was, he didn't show it. The girl marched faster, so she could walk beside the demon. She stole a glance at him and thought, that his face looked a little bit weary. This journey was surely a tough one for both of them.

Sesshomaru lead their group through the forest, till they reached the stone road. Once they were on the way to Kanazawa, Mai sighed with relief. The road was crowded, so the probability of being attacked was low. From now on, everything will be okay – she was sure of it. Or rather, she hoped.

During the whole journey, no one said a word, till they reached the capital. Everyone went through something depressing and no one was in mood for chatting. Finally, they were about to pass the gates to Kanazawa. Mai looked up and saw, that the castle, that had been burnt to the ground, was being rebuilt and the wall encircling the city was still under repair. Everyone's papers were checked thoroughly at the gates and their group had to stand in a long line. When the moment of parting was near, it was the time for reflections.

"It is a miracle, that we are alive." Souichiro shared his thoughts with no one in particular. All eyes looked at him. Chiyo hung her head, surely thinking about her mother, who just lost her life.

"It's not a miracle." Master Sekiguchi disagreed quietly, shaking his head. "We wouldn't be among living without the efforts of brave men, who sacrificed our lives… and one demon. We owe you our lives."

The elderly man looked at Sesshomaru and slightly bowed his head with respect. The dog demon didn't seem to be moved by the praise.

"Hn. It was not my intention to protect you." He said, turning his head away. Mai sighed heavily, sending him a doubtful look. The dog demon would never change, would he? The others stared at him with disbelief. The girl flashed an apologizing smile at them.

"Don't mind him. Sesshomaru has just a terrible attitude, but he's a good man... I mean demon." She said to their companions, trying to explain the inu-youkai's behavior to them. Maybe she was used to his antics, but the same couldn't be said about other people. Mai felt Sesshomaru's gaze on her and glanced back. Almost immediately she regretted it, as she met his murderous glare. She gulped and was thinking of something to say to him, when Chiyo approached the inu-youkai.

"Umm… Sesshomaru-san…" the young girl began shyly, staring at her feet. Her nervousness was apparent – she was twisting her fingers, her lips trembled a bit. Slowly, she lifted her head, looking at the demon. Tears were sparkling in her eyes. The dog demon looked at her impassionedly. Chiyo cleared her throat. "I… I just wanted to say, that… I don't blame you for my mother's death. I know, why you did that. I just wanted you to know. Thank you for not letting me and grandfather die."

When the girl finished, tears were streaming down her face, as she clenched her fists. Sob shook her body, when Souichiro approached his granddaughter and took her in his arms, comforting the girl.
Mai looked at the pair with compassion. From her own experience she knew, how hard it was to deal with the death of a relative. But, she knew, that it was possible – only time would heal Chiyo's wounds.

"Papers!" an official called, as it was her and Sesshomaru's turn to cross the gates. The dog demon handed the pieces of paper to the man, who checked them carefully. The official sighed heavily, obviously bored by his job. "The haven is in the western part of the city. You just have to go straight, along the main road. Next!"

Sesshomaru began walking without even turning away, while Mai glanced at their temporary companions. She smiled to them and waved.

"Goodbye and good luck!" she called to them. Chiyo waved back to her, Souichiro and master Sekiguchi bowed their heads and bid her farewell with smiles. The girl turned away and followed Sesshomaru, as they made their way through the city of Kanazawa.

Chapter 90

An unpleasant surprise



Mai made a quick detour after getting money from Sesshomaru – when she spotted a dango shop, she couldn't help herself and bought as many as she could carry. The girl was stuffing herself with the food and satisfying her poor rumbling stomach, as she and the dog demon were walking down the main street of Kanazawa. It was crowded, the citizens were hurrying somewhere, busy with work. Hopefully no one paid attention to the two. Mai was looking around with curiosity.

The city bore marks of destruction – the old intact buildings were an exception. Everything in Kanazawa looked like under construction: the castle was slowly being rebuilt, many brand new houses were erected already, while others were waiting for their turn, now being ruins, only a little repaired with planks and paper. However, the capital seemed to cope with all the damage quite well – the streets were lively, filled with merchants, peddlers and passerby.

Mai and Sesshomaru were constantly bugged by the sellers, who wanted them to buy their merchandise, but the dog demon was sending them his intimidating glare all the time and hurrying Mai. The girl trotted after him, equally eager to board the ship as quick as possible. She looked up. The sun was highest in the sky, so it must have been around noon. Two days had passed since their visit by the eremite Shomyo, what meant, that they had only ten till the deadline. Mai sighed heavily. She would kill for a rest, but they were in a hurry. She regretted, that Jaken and the others were so far in the north. If they could just have Ah-Un fly them to Saga, it would be so much simpler. However, they would never reach the campsite in time.

"Woman, it is not a leisure stroll." Sesshomaru reminded Mai and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her after herself.

The girl wanted to come up with a witty reply, but she was too tired to argue with the demon and just resigned to the fate, as she was barely standing on her feet. She stuffed herself with the last dango and threw out the stick. She decided to share her doubts with the inu-youkai.

"Sesshomaru, I was wondering, why the Echizen soldiers attacked us at all. Didn't the fake father shove me to you some time ago?" she asked, what was bugging her ever since their horrible adventure. Sesshomaru slowed down a little, so that she was in a close hearing range.

"I suspect, that it is known only by the humans, who were there that time. The ones, who attacked us, must have thought, that it would please their lord if he got his daughter back." He explained.

"Oh, that makes sense." Mai muttered, thinking about how Harada called the guys – more guerilla than soldiers. Perhaps her fake father didn't announce publically, that he let a demon have his daughter and the leader of that guerilla hoped to be rewarded for getting the princess back. She shook her head. There was no point in pondering about this, they were already safe and sound in Kanazawa.

As she and Sesshomaru were approaching the haven district, the surrounding began to change. The friendly atmosphere began more gloomy. This part of the city was intact and bore no signs of destruction. However, it didn't make it look inviting, as it could be called rather shady. Instead of the merchants and peddlers, the streets were occupied rather by prostitutes, hunting the potential clients.

Few of those women tried to lure Sesshomaru, but gave up quickly, when they noticed, he has holding Mai's wrist. Finally, the girl saw the actual haven. Lots of ships were moored and the commotion was really great – the sailors and merchants working like ants, as the cargo was being carried here and there, loaded on the carts and smaller ships. The masts were looking like a forest. Mai smiled.

"Sure they have a lot of ships." She said to Sesshomaru. "We should ask someone, which sails to Saga."

The dog demon didn't answer, but let go off Mai's wrist. The girl narrowed her eyes at him, knowing, what he meant. Of course the damned demon didn't have any intention of chatting with the humans and wanted Mai to do it. She folded her arms and approached one of the sailors, busy with reloading the cargo.

"Excuse me!" she said loudly, tapping his shoulder, to get his attention. "Do you know which ship sails to Saga?"

The man looked at her and frowned, obviously annoyed, that she interrupted him. The sailor spitted on the ground.

"How would I know." He muttered indifferently. "Ask the haven administrator. He's there."
The sailor waved his hand in the direction of a fatty, dressed in fancy kimonos, who was yelling at some captain. Mai nodded and thanked the sailor for the cooperation. She made her way towards the haven administrator and Sesshomaru followed her, apparently the demon wasn't eager to leave her on her own in such place.

"My cargo will rot!" a captain with a long beard was arguing with the fatty. "Who will pay me for those radishes? Maybe lord of Kaga?"

The haven administrator threatened with his plump finger.

"Don't say such stupid things, it's your fault! You're late with this delivery, Yashiro." The fat man yelled at the captain. "I said already, that the limits for those months are over. You'll have to wait a week or sail north."

"North?!" Yashiro exclaimed, his face red from anger. "You greedy pigs! All you think it's your own gain!"

The fatty waved with his palm and two broad-shouldered soldiers grabbed the struggling captain and dragged him away. The haven administrator sighed heavily.

"Again." He muttered to himself.

Mai sped up and ran to the man.

"Excuse me! Are you the haven administrator?" she asked the fat man. He looked at her, scanning her up and down with a disgusted frown, apparently caused by Mai's poor-looking and torn kimono. The man folded his arms.

"I am. What do you want?" he snapped rudely, his gaze wandering to Sesshomaru, who was standing in some distance from the girl, but was warily observing her and the surroundings. Mai bit her tongue, not to say something, she would regret. She had to be polite, even if this pig was an asshole. She cleared her throat.

"I wanted to ask, which ship sails to Saga. Somewhere near would do too." She said.
After hearing her words, the haven administrator laughed humorlessly.

"Here we go again." He muttered under his nose, before saying loudly. "That would be two ships in this week. One is leaving today, but it's off limits and takes no passengers, while the other should be setting the sails tomorrow at dawn. If you want to board it, better be quick, because I heard, that many people wanted to get on it. The next ship, which sails south, will leave this haven no sooner than in a week or two. Your ship's name is Hyakka. It will arrive in Saga in seven days."

The man pointed his finger at the ship in the far edge of the haven and turned away from Mai, as though the time, he spared for her, was more than enough. The girl frowned, but mumbled a thanks and made her way to the ship, the haven administrator was pointing. Sesshomaru followed her like a shadow. The demon blended in the crowd surprisingly well – no one spared even a second glance on him. Mai spotted the ship with a large letters "Hyakka" on the side. It was nearly fully loaded, but the sailors were still carrying various boxes and sacks on board. The girl had trouble going near the ship, because a considerably big gathering of people was there. She wondered, what they were standing here for.

"Excuse me, where's the captain?" she asked the nearest person, a woman with couple of small kids. The woman shrugged her shoulders.

"No idea." She said and furrowed her brows, before asking: "You want to board the ship too?"
Mai nodded and the woman gave out a heavy sigh.

"The same as we. The man in the front has a list of the waiting for boarding. You should sign up."

She said. The girl felt uneasiness. Waiting for boarding? She began to have some bad feelings about this.

"What do you mean?" she asked the woman. "Is there any problem with sailing on this ship?"
The woman smiled bitterly. Mai noticed bags under her eyes and her pale face.

"They're not taking any more passengers. I'm sorry, but you're late. We're waiting for the place on ship since yesterday, but we're quite far in the line. All we can do is to hope, that one of passengers resigns or gets sick."

Mai's eyes widened.

"There are no places left?" she repeated and the woman nodded, confirming her greatest fears. She felt a stab of stress. How the hell are they supposed to get to Saga without a ship? The girl clenched her fist, not ready to give in to the despair, and turned to Sesshomaru. The demon didn't looked thrilled either.

"Maybe we could convince the people, who are in line ahead of us and two passengers to give up their places." She whispered to the inu-youkai, presenting her only idea, how to cope with the hopeless situation. Sesshomaru furrowed his brows.

"Convince, you say?" he asked, flexing his fingers. Mai rolled her eyes, knowing, what popped into the dog demon's mind.
"No killing!" she hissed out. "I meant rather bribing."
According to her, it was the only way out. Sesshomaru had quite a lot of gold on him, so maybe they could buy a place from other people. The inu-youkai nodded.

"It seem to be acceptable." He said. Mai nodded.

"I'll go and ask that man in the front, how many people are in the line before us." She said and began pushing her way to the man with the list. The guy was sitting by a makeshift desk, made of some boxes and writing down the names. When he saw Mai before him, he asked with a tired smile.

"How many people do you want to enroll?" he asked. The girl looked at the list. The whole piece of paper was filled with tiny characters.

"Two…" she replied slowly, observing the man's work. She cleared her throat. "Could you tell me, how many people are on this list?"

The man nodded.

"Of course, wait a moment." He muttered and began counting. Mai paled, when he flipped over the piece of paper and continued counting the characters on the other side. To her dismay, under this one, were three others pieces of paper, all filled with tiny writing. Finally, the man finished counting.

"Two hundred sixty-three. What names should I write down?" he asked, already touching the brush to the paper. Mai stared at him, depressed.

"Forget it." She mumbled and turned on her heel, dragging herself back to Sesshomaru. Crap, what were they supposed to do now? Try to reach to Ah-Un? Buy horses? She knew perfectly, that the chances, that they would make to Saga in time were slim, optimistically thinking. Even with

Sesshomaru's gold, there was no way, she could find all those people and bribe them. It was simply impossible.

Once she approached Sesshomaru, she looked at him with dismayed face expression.

"Two hundred sixty-three." She said simply. The dog demon didn't say a word, but Mai noticed the tension all over him. After all, there were his demonic powers at stake.

"Do you have any other ideas, woman?" he asked. The girl shook her head and silence fell. The dog demon clenched his fist. There was still will to fight in him.

"Did the haven administrator not mention another ship?" he asked. Mai lifted her head and bit her lower lip.

"Yes." She nodded, thinking intensely. "It was supposed to be leaving today, but the fatty said, that there are no passengers allowed on board. We're screwed."

The dog demon clenched his teeth.

"I will attempt to get Ah-Un." He said with kamikaze-like determination. Mai only sighed.

"We won't make it in time." She said quietly, but Sesshomaru ignored her. The girl pitied him, she really did. Both of them went through so much to reach Kanazawa, only to discover, that it was pointless. It was the worst luck of all.

Mai followed Sesshomaru, as they were walking along the crowded haven. She was looking around, observing the surroundings – the gathering in front of "Hyakka", the commotion around some smaller ships. She spotted the most magnificent ship of them all – it looked a little like a warship. The flags of Maeda house were billowing in the wind, so she guessed, that it must be the daimyo's private ship. She narrowed her eyes, to read its name, written in red characters on the side. "Gorouza". The girl felt shiver go down her spine. What a horrible name for a ship – she knew the man personally and she didn't have the best memories. The sailors were busy like ants around "Gorouza", so Mai thought, that it must be the ship, that was supposed to leave today.

"No one is allowed on board! Go away!" she saw some soldier yelling on a man, who tried to bribe him with gold. The girl regretted, that they couldn't board it - it would be wonderful if they could, but apparently the haven administrator said the truth.

Then, someone bumped into her. Mai swayed on her feet, trying to keep her balance.

"I'm sorry." A young woman muttered. The girl saw, that the woman's face was wet from the tears. A sob escaped her throat and she tried to get past Mai, when two men snatched her shoulders.

"Come back, Tazuko!" one of them hissed. Sesshomaru instantly whirled around and snatched Mai's arm, dragging the girl away from the commotion. She looked over her shoulder at the scene. He young woman was struggling with the men – one of them looked like a noble, all dressed in the overly fancy and colorful clothes, while the other had the serious demeanor of a soldier, presumably a high-ranking officer. The woman was dressed rather ordinarily and didn't stop crying.

"I won't come back!" she wailed, while she tried to free herself from the men's hold. "Find someone in my place! I have enough!"

The noble made an angry face.

"Are you stupid, girl?!" he yelled at her, barely refraining himself from slapping her across her face.

He grabbed the front of woman's kimono. "We don't have time for this! The young master will be arriving any moment now. The ship is ready to leave the haven. Too late for second thoughts!"

However, the woman didn't give up. She bent her knees and sat on the ground, refusing to go with the men.

"I said I quit!" she screamed, gaining attention of every passerby in the vicinity. Also Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks and looked at her over his shoulder.

"Don't put up a show, Tazuko!" the noble hissed out, nervously looking around, embarrassed by the unwanted attention. The soldier furrowed his brows.

"If she doesn't want…" he began, but the one in fancy clothes interrupted him.

"We need to have a maid for the young master on board!" he said loudly.

Suddenly, Mai felt a forceful pull, as Sesshomaru pushed her towards the two men and the unhappy maid. The girl looked at the dog demon, confused.

"Sesshomaru, what…" she began, but closed her mouth after seeing his determined face expression. He stalked to the fancy-dressed men with his usual confidence, dragging Mai along. The noble and the soldier looked at him, questioningly, but before they had a chance to come up with something to say, he pushed the girl in front of himself, still holding her in his steel grip.

"She is your new maid." He said, pointing with his eyes at confused Mai. "She possesses all the required abilities and will work in exchange for two places on the ship."

Mai blinked, surprised by what occurred just now. Did Sesshomaru just try to sell her?

The nobleman and the soldier also stared at the dog demon, not expecting such turn of events. In the meantime the woman named Tazuko didn't waste time. She snaked out of the soldier's hold and darted forward, vanishing in the crowd.

"Hey!" the military man yelled after her and took a step, wanting to chase after her, but stopped, when he realized, how pointless it was – it would be impossible to find her in such a dense crowd. He cursed under his nose. The nobleman hit the soldier with his fan.

"You idiot!" he hissed out, sounding like an angered serpent. "You let her escape! We need a maid!"
The nobleman clenched his fist, artery pulsing in his neck. Then, he glanced at Mai, scanning her up and down.

"Do you know how to cook, clean, do laundry?" he asked, resignation in his voice. The girl nodded.

"Yes…" she said slowly, not believing, that Sesshomaru's makeshift plan could actually work. The man in fancy clothes furrowed his brows.

"Have you any experience in taking care of children?" he kept inquiring. Mai nodded for the second time.

"Yes, I've been taking care of a little girl…"

"Enough." The men interrupted, making a face, as though he ate a lemon. "You're hired. You'll be young master's new maid. Show us your papers!"

Mai looked questioningly at Sesshomaru, who reached to his sleeve and took out the papers, handing them to the nobleman. He took his time, reading it. He glanced shortly at the inu-youkai.

"We don't have a place for you." He said to Sesshomaru, smiling mockingly at him, before returning the papers. Mai looked at the dog demon and then at her new employer.

"I'm not going without him!" she protested, while the inu-youkai glared at the man. The nobleman casually fanned himself, before turning around.

"You're free to come aboard, but your betrothed will have to stay. It is final." He told her and walked away towards the ship. Mai cursed silently, clenching her fists and glaring daggers at the man's back. It was so close and still…

She looked at Sesshomaru, hoping, that he had another good idea in stock.

"What now?" she asked him quietly. The demon grabbed her wrist and began leading her towards

"Gorouza". The murderous gleam in his eyes scared her slightly. The demon smirked.

"Is that not obvious?" he asked the rhetorical question, while pushing aside the people, who stood in his way. "I will find a redundant crew member."

Mai felt a shiver go down her spine. She knew, what he was going to do. He would kill someone and take his place. Crap, her boss was a horribly dangerous youkai. The girl doubted if Sesshomaru had the sense of good and evil, like humans did. Perhaps not. However, the situation was so grave, that she was sure, that the dog demon would do anything to get on this ship and she had no chance to stop him from doing anything drastic.

When the pair was quite near the ship, they heard drumbeats and the crowd parted, making way. Mai craned her neck to see, what happening. She hissed, when Sesshomaru nearly pulled her arm out of joint, as he continued dragging her towards "Gorouza." The girl saw only glimpses of a cortege – a bunch of noblemen rode in open palanquins, waving to the crowd. Mai noticed their colorful silk kimonos and perfect hairstyles.

"Hey, no onlookers allowed here!" the girl turned her head to see some soldier ranting to Sesshomaru, who managed to get himself and Mai considerably close to the ship. She wanted to explain, when someone put his arm on the soldier's shoulder.

"It's all right. The woman's a new maid." He said and the girl recognized the military man from earlier. She saw Sesshomaru scanning the rude soldier, as though considering something. Mai felt cold sweat on her forehead. Was the inu-youkai looking for a prey?

The situation was getting more and more dangerous. If the dog demon did something stupid… they were in the heart of Maeda's territory after all.

Then Mai saw a familiar face in the crowd.

Chapter 91

Chapter 91

"Gorouza" sets sails



Mai narrowed her eyes. There was no doubt – beside one of the palanquins was walking none other than master Sekiguchi. Was he about to board "Gorouza" too? The girl felt a faint spark of hope in her heart. Maybe not everything was lost yet. All she had to do right now, was to catch the old man's attention. She pushed some people aside and made her way closer to the empty space. She lifted her arm to wave to Sekiguchi, when suddenly she felt someone pulling her arm forcefully and whirling her around.

"Ouch." She moaned, as her face collided with someone's firm chest. She spit the long black hair out of her mouth and lifted her head to see Sesshomaru. She tried to pull back from him to scold the demonic asshole, but he was pressing her tightly to himself, so that she could barely breath.

"Sesshomaru!" she hissed out, angry, that he interrupted her.

"Silence, woman." The inu-youkai said quietly, never breaking his hold on her. "Keep your head down. One of the noblemen may recognize your face."

The girl stilled, ceasing her struggling. The demon was right. She cursed herself mentally, that she hadn't thought of it first – if someone, who knew princess Amayami, would see her, she and Sesshomaru would be in real trouble.

"Sesshomaru, Sekiguchi!" she said to the inu-youkai, tugging at his kimono. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes.

"I have noticed him." He replied and made a pause. "As he noticed us."

Mai hissed like a snake, irritated, that she couldn't turn around and see it for herself. She had to depend on Sesshomaru on this one.

The inu-youkai bored his gaze into the old man, till the scholar noticed him – it was really a matter of time, as the pair managed to push their way through to the first line of onlookers and Sesshomaru definitely wasn't short. Sekiguchi's eyes widened, as he kept walking beside a palanquin. The man nodded to the inu-youkai and leaned over the palanquin, whispering something to the person inside, bowing his head continuously. Finally, slowly he began approaching the place, where Mai and Sesshomaru stood.

"Not here." He said in a nervous whisper, getting past the armed guards and leading the dog demon after himself. Mai had some difficulty walking, as Sesshomaru still had her pressed against his side. She thought, that both of them would use a bath. The elderly scholar led both of them in a considerably quiet place, where only the ship's crew could enter. Once they were outside of the people's hearing range, Sekiguchi relaxed a bit.

"It's dangerous for you two here." He hissed out. "What are you seeking here, anyway?"

Sesshomaru glared at the old man, visibly annoyed, that the old man had the guts to scold him. He freed Mai from his grip.

"I need to board this ship." He stated shortly. Master Sekiguchi looked him in the eye for a longer moment, considering, what he just heard.

"Board this ship?" he repeated, scratching his head. "It's not so simple. There are no passengers allowed, you'd have to be employed…"

Mai decided to step in.

"I've already got hired as a maid. We need a place for Sesshomaru." She looked at the elderly with pleading eyes. "I beg you, master Sekiguchi, help us!"

The old man's face softened and he nodded. A smile appeared on his lips.

"I owe you two my life. I would be a horrible man, if I refused." He said. "Come with me, I have an idea."

Sekiguchi looked at Sesshomaru.

"Do you know how to read and write, demon?" he asked. The inu-youkai glared at him.

"Hn. What a foolish question. Of course I do." He retorted. The old scholar nodded, acknowledging his words and made a gesture to follow him.

Mai blinked, nod believing her luck. She trotted after the old scholar, walking close to Sesshomaru. Cautiously, she stole a glance at the cortege, that finally reached its destination. Out of the palanquins stepped a large group of nobles, with servants at their sides, ready to grant any request. It seemed, like some sort of farewell ceremony was taking place. She spotted a nobleman from before – he was standing beside a young boy, a child of about ten years old, maybe eleven. The kid was dressed even fancier than a noble. Mai kept her head down, afraid to be recognized. She saw a middle-aged man giving a solemn speech. She narrowed her eyes and noticed Maeda's crest. The girl guessed, that the man must be a new lord, appointed after the death of the monster Maeda Goemon. So… the child was his son? Mai frowned, when she saw also a heard of young women surrounding the lord – they were richly clothed, but their behavior suggested, that they were rather prostitutes than noblewomen.
Before she knew it, Sekiguchi led her and Sesshomaru to the footbridge linking the ship with the wharf. Two soldiers were guarding it. One of them was constantly checking a list.

"Master Sekiguchi!" the other exclaimed, bowing his head with respect. "We were worrying about you. We're leaving the haven soon."

The second guard didn't even lift his head and made a mark on his list.

"This way, master Sekiguchi." He muttered and finally lifted his head. He looked at Sesshomaru, then at Mai and checked something on his list.

"You're the new maid?" he asked, without waiting for the girl's answer. "Come on board quickly. You're late."

Master Sekiguchi cleared his throat.

"This man is my assistant. He'll be boarding too." The old man said confidently, pointing Sesshomaru. The guards looked at each other in confusion. The one with the list checked the paper.

"But, master Sekiguchi…" he began, finding the right place in the list. "Your assistant already boarded."

The elderly man furrowed his brows and straightened his back in attempt to look intimidating. Mai
thought, that he looked rather like Gandalf. Sekiguchi sent a glare.

"I have hired a new assistant in place of that useless man. Just replace their names on your list." He said. The soldiers exchanged glances again. The one without a list stepped on a footbridge and went on board. The other one scanned Sesshomaru up and down with doubtful face expression.

"A new assistant?" he muttered, taking his time to stare at the demon markings on the youkai's cheeks. "He looks like a killer to me."

Sesshomaru said nothing, while Sekiguchi waved his hand casually.

"Do not mind his appearance. We all make mistakes, when we are young." The scholar explained.

"Sesshomaru used to be a mercenary, but he had to give up the trade and turned to books and scrolls."
The guard nodded, but he didn't look convinced enough. Apparently books and scroll weren't going with the demon's looks. Mai couldn't blame him for that, as the lie sounded strange, while confronted with Sesshomaru's imposing stature. The guard looked at the inu-youkai once again and noticed the missing arm. After that, the harsh look in his eyes softened a little, as though he saw a vital evidence, confirming Sekiguchi's words.

"Your papers." He stated, reaching out and making an impatient gesture. Sesshomaru sent him a cold glare and handed him the passes. The guard examined them carefully, nodding continuously. Mai was glad, that their lie sounded plausible and could be easily linked with everything, that was written in those papers. The soldier folded the passes and returned them with a heavy sigh.

"So you're betrothed?" he asked, looking at Mai somewhat sadly. "Just when I began to have hope…"
Instantly, he stopped in midsentence, seeing the girl's face turn red and an ominous presence behind her back. Sesshomaru looked like he was about to strike the guard down with merely a glare. The guard laughed sheepishly and stepped out of their way, making a gesture to get onto the footbridge.

"Get your hands off me!" a man's yell caught the attention of the small group, gathered at the footbridge. Mai looked up and saw the other soldier, dragging a young man, who kept struggling and yelling. When the man spotted Sekiguchi, his face brightened, a hopeful smile appearing on his lips.

"Master Sekiguchi, tell them…" he began, but the old scholar interrupted him unceremoniously.

"I regret to inform you, Okabe, but you're fired." He said calmly. The young man stared at his now former employer with disbelief. The soldier took advantage of the moment and pushed Okabe over the side, sending the screaming young man into the cold water.

"Come." Sekiguchi said quietly and with surprising speed got on board. Mai and Sesshomaru followed him, before the fired assistant could get out of the water. The guard also went after the pair.
When the girl crossed the footbridge, she saw the military man from earlier.

"Everyone's on board!" the soldier with the list reported to him, passing the piece of paper. His superior nodded and looked at the newcomers. He furrowed his brows, when his eyes rested on Sesshomaru.

"You… what are you doing here?" he demanded harshly. Fortunately, master Sekiguchi came with help in time.

"He is my assistant." He explained shortly. The soldier glanced at the list and nodded with approval.

"If you say so." He muttered, before lifting his head and clearing the throat. "Don't dawdle and take your places!"

Mai looked around, unsure, what he meant, when she noticed the people standing in a row. There was a gap at the end of it, big enough for three people. She, Sesshomaru and Sekiguchi marched towards it and took their places. The girl hung her head, so that the bangs would cover her face, as she could be seen by the noblemen. She observed her surroundings cautiously. She saw, that in the row stood a dozen of soldiers, a fat man and a skinny youngster in ragged clothing. Aside that, there were a few crew members running here and there, readying the ship for departure. Mai lifted her head a little and saw, that the ceremony on the wharf was over. The nobleman and the little boy were heading towards the ship. Once they set their feet on the deck, "Gorouza" began leaving the haven, slowly sailing towards the sea. The boy stood motionless with the fancy-clothed man at his side, till the ship left the haven.

The girl leaned on her other leg, wondering how long they would have to stand in the row. Finally, something began happening. The nobleman introduced himself as the emissary of Kaga's province. Mai learnt also, that the ship was headed towards the Hizen province, but that wasn't a problem, because it would be no more than a day's ride to Saga. They were supposed to disembark in seven days, so there would be still three days remaining till the deadline. The noble called Sasaki made a long and boring speech about how important is to serve the young master properly, confirming Mai's suspicions – the boy was the son of the current lord of Kaga. After that, Sasaki began checking the people in row, making sure, they were the same as those mentioned in the list. The girl nearly fell asleep, when he was instructing a dozen of soldiers, what they're supposed to do. Then, he reached the fat man, who turned out to be a cook and a skinny youngster, responsible for laundry and cleaning.

Finally it was Mai's turn.

"Mai from Hida province, maidservant." He muttered, looking at the list. Mai nodded, waiting for him to continue. Sasaki looked at her seriously. "Your task is to be young master's personal maid. You will cook his food, wash his clothes, clean his chambers and serve him. Remember, that his word is final. Do not disappoint me."

The girl refrained herself from frowning, as she thought, that Sasaki took the position of a maid a little too seriously. Come on, how difficult it may be? She was taking care of Rin, so she'll cope with another kid too.

Then, Sesshomaru earned a harsh look.

"Assistant?" Sasaki read aloud, what was written in papers. He had his doubts, but proceeded with instructing the new employee. "You are supposed to write letters for master Sekiguchi and provide all help, he may require. Is that understood?"

A long moment of silence fell, as Sesshomaru glared at him. Mai saw the murderous intent in his eyes.

"It is." The dog demon replied finally, making the girl breath out with relief.
Apparently he wasn't that stupid to jeopardize this opportunity. It was a miracle, that they made to Kanazawa alive and managed to board a ship. It would be a higher level of idiocy to screw up now. Fortunately, even Sesshomaru realized this. Mai saw a vein pulsing in his neck. Once Sasaki ordered everyone to get to their jobs, the girl grabbed the dog demon's arm and climbed on her toes to whisper to his ear.

"Bear this, it's only a week." She whispered quietly. "It's for the sake of getting your powers back."
Sesshomaru didn't answer, but Mai noticed, that he looked more at ease. Perhaps he wouldn't murder anyone during their trip…

"You two! To work!" the girl heard the military man, who turned out to be a general, yell to her and the inu-youkai. Mai opened her mouth to make an excuse, but Sekiguchi stepped into action.

"Come, boy." He said, addressing Sesshomaru. "I need some help deciphering the tiny characters. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be."

Mai saw already the demon's face expression, that told "do not dare to order me around, you pathetic human" and sent Sesshomaru a meaningful, pleading look. The inu-youkai glanced at her and nodded, leaving after master Sekiguchi. The girl sighed with relief. She was pretty sure, that she could count on the old scholar to keep Sesshomaru out of trouble. Now when the youkai-problem was more or less solved, she had to roll up her sleeves and get to work. Sasaki was sending her death-glares already. She smiled sheepishly and trotted after the man.

"You surely took your sweet time." He hissed out to her, making angry face. "If you dawdle too much, you'll be punished."

The man glared at her in a way, that was supposed to be intimidating, but Mai withstood it and looked back at him with prideful face. Sasaki's glares were only squinting compared the ones Sesshomaru sent her from time to time. However, she reminded herself not to draw too much unnecessary attention. There were really not many people on board and she with the inu-youkai looked the most suspicious of all. She bowed her head.

"I'm terribly sorry. That won't happen again." She apologized, while cursing the man mentally. Sasaki fanned himself.

"Follow me. You will meet your master." He said shortly and made his way towards the wooden superstructure. He opened the door and led her to the small corridor. Mai saw stairs leading under the deck and few doors on this level. Seeing how curiously she was looking around, Sasaki decided to explain. "Here are the quarters of the young master, master Sekiguchi, general Shimada and mine. Under the deck is everything else, including the kitchen."

Mai nodded. She made a mental note to do some sightseeing later.

In the meantime Sasaki instructed her to obey the kid, who was the daimyo's son. She learnt, that the boy's name was Maeda Akira and he was the only child. The kid was being sent to his mother's family in Hizen province to know the world and such. Mai pitied the young one – it must be tough to part with the parents. She decided to comfort the kid somehow, for surely he would be a little sad.
Sasaki announced their presence and slid the solid door open. He went in, followed by the girl. The boy was sitting on a pillow in front of a low table with his back straight. Mai looked around and barely restrained herself from whistling with awe. The cabin was huge and, from what she noticed, consisted of three rooms. The one, they were in, was particularly spacious and richly decorated. Everything looked very tidy and perfect.

Mai noticed Sasaki's poisonous glare and immediately bowed her head.

"My name is Mai. I'll be your maid. I hope, we'll get along." She said with a friendly smile. However, the boy didn't smile back nor react in any other way. He behaved, as though Mai wasn't even in room. He looked at the noble. Sasaki bowed his head.

"I will take care of some things now. Have a nice day, young master." He said, bowing deeper and retreating towards the door. Once Sasaki was out of sight, Mai sat down in front of the boy and smiled friendly again, hoping to make the atmosphere better. She was sure, that Sasaki's presence was just making the child tense.

"So, what do you want to do?" she said, the smile still glued to her face.

The boy didn't answer her right away. He stood up, taking a cup of tea from the table, and walked towards her. Mai looked up, wondering, what he was doing. Soon his intentions became apparent, as Akira emptied the cup right at the top of her head.

"Never speak to your master first, you filth." He said with a venomous grimace.

Chapter 92

The young master



Mai felt hot tea dripping from her hair and face, while the boy was grinning at her sadistically. She could hardly believe, what just had happened. Her confusion only fueled Akira's amusement.

"Oh, the floor is wet. Clean it." The little devil said in a monotone voice, making his way back to the place, where he was sitting earlier. He waved his hand and pointed the closet. "Rags and such are there."

The girl glared at him and clenched her teeth, horribly pissed. How dared he? To think, that a kid turned out to be sadistic bastard! Her first thought was to stalk to him a punch him with all her might, while yelling what was on her mind. Will all her willpower, Mai refrained herself – if she did that, she would get in trouble and draw unnecessary attention to her and Sesshomaru. For his sake, she had to endure everything and play a good maid, so that they could safely reach Saga. Oh dear, she really wanted to punch that nasty grin away from his face, surely she did. The girl repeated several times to herself to calm down and bear it. It was only for a week. A week and she would be near Saga.

Without a word, Mai stood up and made her way towards the closet. She grabbed one of the rags, got on her knees and began cleaning the floor out of the spilled tea, ignoring the fact, her head and the upper part of her kimono were soaking wet. She kept her head down, not to see the smirk on young master's face. She was afraid, that if she lifted it, she would throw this rag in his head. When she was done, she pulled up and sat on her legs. She noticed, that Akira went to the other room and sighed silently. Life was unfair – Sesshomaru was happily resting with master Sekiguchi, while she was stuck with the sadistic prince, working. To make the matters worse, she was worn out by the adventures along the way to Kanazawa. She would really use a good rest.

"Hey, you!" she heard the kid's voice calling her. Mai sent a poisonous glare at him.

"It's Mai." She said and saw the kid frowning, as he dumped a folded cloth onto her lap.

"Go wash it." He ordered her arrogantly.

The girl grabbed the piece of clothing and stalked out of the quarters, eager to get away from the little devil. She had the urge to scream from frustration, but held it. Damn, she would never say a bad word about Sesshomaru as a boss. Mai made her way down the stairs and had to stop for a minute, waiting for her eyes to accustom to the dim light. She looked around and walked along the corridor. She saw the stairs leading to the lowest level and a big room with numerous futons laying on the floor – she suspected, that it was here, where the soldiers and crew members sleep. Further she spotted a kitchen.
She recognized it by the fumes coming out through the closed door. There was nothing else here. The girl turned around and went back, looking more warily. And there it was – she missed the narrow door. She knocked and, when no one answered, she slid it open. No one was inside, but she was in the right place. Everywhere were folded kimonos, either blue or white. It was the beginning of a journey, so there wasn't a pile with dirty ones yet, but that would surely come later. Mai saw also a huge barrel with water and several bowls. She took the smallest one and filled it with water from the tap, careful not to use up more than necessary. She grabbed a soap and dumped the silk kimono into the bowl. She began rubbing the soap into the fabric.

"Ouch!" Mai hissed out, as she felt sharp stab of pain. The water in the bowl began changing its color to red. The girl pulled her hands out instantly and stared at them. Little streams of blood were flowing out of the numerous cuts on her palms. She furrowed her brows. What the hell was happening?

Carefully, she gripped the hem of the clothing, she was supposed to wash, and lifted it. Many shards of glass fell with into the water. Mai's eyes widened. The glass hidden in the fabric? She felt a shiver go down her spine – she just fell into a trap, set by the little devil. Maybe it could sound presumptuous, but she came to conclusion, that the brat tried to kill her, or at least injure. She clenched her teeth, as anger boiled in her veins. She wouldn't let that kid do such things! Being rude was nasty, but this surpassed everything. She grabbed the bowl and marched upstairs.

Once she was on the deck, the girl looked around, searching for a certain person. Finally she spotted him – Sasaki was yelling at one of the crew members. She approached him, looking like fury incarnated. Not bothering, that she was interrupting him, she shoved the bowl with wet kimono in his hands and brought her palms to his eyes.
 
"The brat did this!" she said angrily, before Sasaki had even the chance to open his mouth. "What sort of child does something like that?! Do something about this!"

"Silence!" Sasaki yelled at her and threw the bowl into the sea. "Get some bandages and go back to the young master. I will pretend, that I did not notice, how disrespectful you just were."

Mai glared daggers at him. Did the man intended to simply ignore the fact, that the daimyo's son was becoming a monster?

"But…" she began, but the nobleman interrupted her.

"If you do not like your job, the shore is not far away. You can take the lifeboat and we can say goodbye anytime." Sasaki said, fanning himself with an arrogant smirk on his face.

Mai sent him a last furious look and turned around, stalking towards the brat's quarters. She clenched her fists, feeling the warm blood dripping from them. Now she understood Sesshomaru, when he had those urges to murder anyone around and couldn't – she felt the same now.

"Hey, girl!" Mai turned around, when she heard a cheerful masculine voice. Its owner turned out to be the cook, a fat man with ever-present smile on his plump face. He waved to her and jogged in her direction, panting. "You're in need of bandages? Looks pretty bad, this injury of yours."

The girl nodded and followed the man to the kitchen. The cook bandaged her hands and made tea in the meantime. The man turned out to be a very sociable and talkative person, as he kept sharing personal information, jokes and rumors about the crew. In few minutes Mai learnt, that his name was Soji, he recited also the names of all crew members too, but she forgot them instantly. When the girl finished drinking her tea, she stood up, about to go back to her hellish work.

"Thanks for everything, but I have to go back to the brat." She said in a humorless tone. The cook nodded with compassion.

"I heard, that he's a malicious kid. Be careful, Mai." He said, forcing her to take a rice cake with her.

The girl thanked him politely and made her way to little Maeda's rooms, chewing the cake. Earlier the level was empty, but now, when the ship had its sails set, the narrow corridor became crowded with sailors and soldiers. Mai felt uncomfortably, having to push her way through them. She was nearly sure, that one of them touched her butt on purpose.

Then, an arm blocked her way, as one of the soldiers leaned against the wall, stopping the girl. She took a step back, but bumped into another soldier, who flashed a smile at her. She realized, that she was trapped.

"Let me through. I have to go to the young master." She said calmly, glaring upwards with confidence.
However, the men only laughed, as though she just said a good joke. The big one, who blocked her way scanned her up and down.

"You must feel lonely." He said in a tone, that was supposedly seductive, but rather made Mai nauseous. Slowly, she reached to the knife, she had hidden under her kimono, even though she was painfully aware, that she had no chance against several soldiers.

"Move. I'm betrothed." She hissed out, hoping, that this lie would chase them away. The big man arched his eyebrow.

"Betrothed? It's a shame." He said, faking disappointment. "I think, I'll live with it."

With this words, he reached with his filthy hands to touch her. Unfortunately for him, Mai was set on defending her chastity at all costs and swiftly grabbed the handle of the knife, unsheathing it fast, before she plunged it into his thigh. Then, she turned the blade to make a hole bigger, just as her dad instructed her, and pulled it out. The soldier stared down, shocked by the pain. The girl took advantage of his confusion and ducked under his arm, darting towards the stairs. She nearly reached it, when someone grabbed the back of her kimono, pulling her backwards. She gasped, unable to make a louder sound.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Suddenly, a low rumbling voice echoed throughout the corridor and the hold on Mai's clothes disappeared. She lifted her head and saw the general, who stalked to the source of all commotion with a face distorted by rage. He offered his hand to the girl and pulled her up.

"All right?" he asked her quietly. Mai nodded, moving herself behind his back, eager to get away from her attackers. The general scanned his retainers with angry gaze, taking more time to look at the wound, the girl managed to make.

"Seppuku." He said calmly. "If anyone touches this woman, he has to commit seppuku. Now, get your asses to the deck. Flagellation awaits you."

Then he turned his head to Mai and nodded with a smile. The girl smiled back and rushed to the stairs to get to the young master's rooms as soon as possible. The stay on the ship was getting more and more nightmarish with every passing minute…

The girl announced herself and slid the door open. She made a step inside, when her foot landed on something slimy and sluggish. Slowly, afraid to actually see it, she glanced down. Dead frogs. She stepped on dead frogs, that were placed in the entrance. The devil kid was trying her patience. Mai did her best to maintain a poker face, but it didn't came to her naturally, like to someone, she knew.

"I'm going to the fencing class." The young Maeda said, skipping over the dead animals and passing Mai by. "Clean the room by the time I come back."

Once he left, the girl took a look inside and froze in terror. The chamber looked like some crime scene. Everything – the floor, furniture, walls – were smeared with some unknown substance, the table was turned over, the clothes were laying in one huge pile in the middle of the room. Mai took a deep breath, reminding herself to endure the hardships without a word of complaint. She grabbed a rag and got to work, trying to ignore her sore hands.

The little monster came back, when she was just finishing. He looked around the cleaned room, frowning with disappointment, that she managed to make everything clean. Akira furrowed his brows, thinking about something intensely.

"Sushi. I want sushi. Now." He commanded, giving Mai a sly look.

The girl narrowed her eyes. Did he just say he wanted her to roll sushi? Is he out of his mind. Without gracing the kid with another look, she stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. When she was walking towards the kitchen, the sailors and soldiers were fleeing out of here way, mainly because the news about seppuku as punishment for touching her was already spread. However, her pissed look also may have left some impression.

Mai made the damn sushi, enjoying a moment of peace, as she was chatting with the friendly cook, who was making the dinner. Her fingers hurt like hell, but she just bit her tongue and kept on working. She took the food to young Maeda's chambers and sat by the table. She wondered, what Sesshomaru was doing. She hoped, that he didn't get himself in any trouble… The girl was so exhausted, that she didn't even notice, when sleepiness overtook her. Her head was approaching the surface of the table till she leaned against it and drifter to the sleep.


 
Mai woke up instantly, almost knocking over the table, as hot liquid was poured on her head. She rubbed her eyes to get it out of them and saw the sadistic brat standing over her. Apparently he was back and intended to continue making her life miserable. The girl understood now, why the previous maid was so desperate about quitting the job.

The brat picked up one piece of sushi and frowned, the look of disgust all over his face.

"What is that supposed to be?" he asked in a mocking tone, throwing it away onto the table. "It's horrible and ugly. Go to kitchen and make new ones."

Mai was twisting the fabric of her kimono under the table, the tea dripping from her wet hair. In her mind she imagined herself grabbing the back of the brat's head and slamming it with full force into the table, again and over again, till only a bloody pulp would remain of his arrogant face. She felt, that her patience reached its limits, even though she was trying. She really was – she doubted, that many people would endure a full day of humiliation, exhaustion and pain, like she did. However, she was only a human. The girl stood up and calmly gathered the food from the table.

"Are you sure, that you won't be eating the food, I made?" she asked dryly, holding the perfect sushi in her hands. A master chef wouldn't make it better.

The kid snorted and marched to the other room to change the clothing.

"Such rubbish? Of course not!" he exclaimed.

Mai acknowledged his answer and stalked out of the room, closing the door delicately. She went to the kitchen again.

"You again?" the cook Soji greeted her with wide smile. "The brat must be giving you hard time."

Mai smiled faintly and placed the plate with sushi in front of the fatty.

"It's for you." She said.

Soji stared at her and then at the food in disbelief. Such dishes were rather a rare treat for the commoners.

"Seriously?" he made sure, before gabbing one piece. Mai nodded and he stuffed it into his mouth, the expression of pure bliss on his face.

"Could you give me one serving of what you're having in menu?" she asked politely, frowning at the disgusting smell coming out of the huge cauldron. Soji stared at her.

"You sure?" he mumbled, still chewing the sushi. "It's a radish soup. It's so horrible, that even I'm not eating it."

Mai waved with her hand, making a dismissing gesture.

"It's alright. Just bring it on." She replied.

Once armed with the smelly soup, decorated with the extra – a fish's head, Mai marched back to deal with the little devil. She went in, politely and all, and placed the soup on the table before the young Maeda. The boy stared at it, the fish's head stared back. He frowned.

"What is it?" he hissed out, making clear, how angry he was.

Mai calmly folded her arms. She was used to dealing with a grown demon, so she wouldn't let a kid bully her anymore.

"Your dinner." She replied with a ironic smile.
Akira hit the table with his small fist, making the bowl rock dangerously.

"Don't mock me!" he shouted at the girl. "I want my sushi!"
Mai sat down casually and stretched her back, making the kid even more furious.

"I made you a meal, but you didn't want it." She reminded the boy calmly, talking slow, as to an idiot.
"So I've brought you, what everyone on this ship eats. If you behave like a spoiled brat and scorn the food, I make, that's what you'll get."

The kid's face turned red with anger, as he couldn't find any witty reply right away. He clenched his fists and glared at Mai.

"I'm your master! You have to do everything I want!" he yelled at her, obviously wanting to scare her. However, the girl only arched her eyebrow, looking more amused than terrified. After all, it took more than a hysterical child to scare her.

"Oh, really?" she asked sarcastically, tilting her head. She looked at the boy and decided to make everything clear to him. "Listen up, kid, because I'm not going to repeat myself. Here're the rules: I'm going to do the cleaning, cooking and such, but you have to respect me, be polite and no idiotic pranks allowed. If you don't like my rules, better get used to the radish soup."

After she finished, the young Maeda was gawking at her with disbelief, apparently surprised, that someone dared to talk to him like that. He clenched his teeth and sent her a death glare. Mai thought, that the brat reminded her mildly of someone she knew…

"Obey me or I'll have you punished!" the kid yelled, standing up and looking at the girl with superiority.

Mai decided, that it was best to ignore his insufferable behavior, as it was all about the attention. Thanks god, that Rin was such a nice child. The girl poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, you stupid bitch!" the child kept yelling with somewhat desperate look in his eyes. Mai looked at him with mild interest, just as people are observing copulating stick insects.

"I think, you should get used to the radish soup." She offered her advice.

A weird sound escaped the young Maeda's throat, as he found himself at a loss of words.
Then, someone knocked and the door slid open. Mai turned her head and saw master Sekiguchi, accompanied by Sasaki. The old man had an unhappy face expression and was holding a handful of books and scrolls.

"It's time for your afternoon lessons, young master." Sasaki said, bowing deeply and pushing the elderly scholar inside. The girl noticed, that Sekiguchi was putting up a resistance – surely he didn't want to go anywhere near the hellish kid too. Sasaki looked directly at Mai and made a gesture to follow him. The girl got up and left the room, leaving the poor scholar trapped inside.
Once the door was closed, Sasaki stopped for a brief chat with her.

"The young master will now attend the lessons with master Sekiguchi and then I will instruct him about the politics. You are free to do whatever you please for the rest of the day." He said and began walking away. Then he stopped and pointed the nearby door. "I nearly forgot. Here is your personal cabin, right next to the young master's room."

Mai observed as Sasaki vanished behind the door, that was leading to the deck. A wide smile appeared on her face. It was afternoon and she was set free from the clutches of the little devil. Wonderful, given her situation. She was barely conscious, considering that she didn't close her eyes last night, so she would use a good sleep. Speaking of sleep, Sasaki mentioned something about her private cabin. The girl's smile grew bigger. Her own room with soft bed… sounded like a dream. She put her hand on the door, the only thing parting her from the luxurious interior and slid it open.
Her lid twitched, as she took a look inside.

Chaptert 93

The cabin of doom



Mai blinked with disbelief, staring at her supposedly personal cabin. Was that some joke? Rather not, Sasaki said it with a perfectly straight face and he didn't seem to be much of a joker. Maybe it was just another of the brat's pranks. No… it couldn't be. But still… The girl kept gawking inside.
"It's a damn closet." She commented aloud.

The so called "room" was only about three and a half quadrate meters big, what made it indeed just a big closet. The actual closet was taking all the space on the right wall. The sunrays were lightening the room, making their way through a small window. The girl looked at the floor and estimated, that there was barely enough place for a futon. She stepped inside and thanked all the saints, that she was not claustrophobic, because if she was, she would get an attack right now. She slid the actual closet's door open and examined the contents. She found a rolled futon. She sniffed it – it was all clean and nice-smelling. She spotted also some clothes – two white sleeping kimonos and two blue regular ones. She made a mental point to change her clothes later, because with her current kimono she looked like a beggar, not to mention, that it was torn and way too short. Pleased with what she found, she left the tiny room and went to the kitchen to get more bandages, as the ones she wore, were already dirty with the blood soaking through.

Mai thought, that she was quite lucky, that master Sekiguchi had to handle the brat instead of the brat. Speaking of the old scholar… sudden realization hit her. If Sekiguchi was with the little devil, no one was babysitting Sesshomaru. The girl prayed, that the demon stayed in the scholar's quarters. She made a mental note to check on him once she was back from the kitchen.

The girl invaded Soji's kingdom once again, snatched the bandages, politely refusing to stay for the tea and hurried back. As she was making her way through the corridor, most of the men were gluing themselves to the walls, as though the contact with her was lethal. Mai saw an obstacle in front of her – a considerably big crowd gathered near the stairs. She tried to push her way through the agitated crew members.

"He's going to kill him, he's definitely going to kill him." One of the tanned sailors was repeating with a serious face, as the others were listening to him and nodding.

"Let's go up and take a look as he finishes him." Another man suggested, gaining approval of his comrades.

"Who's fighting with who?" a young voice asked, belonging, apparently, to a newcomer, who didn't know yet, what was going on, just like Mai. The first man cleared his throat.

"One of the land rats pissed Juro. Knowing Juro, the guy would be beaten to pulp." He said, laughing loudly. "After all, the guy's a cripple."

Mai's eyes widened. A cripple? Did they mean… She never thought of him that way, but Sesshomaru was lacking one arm, so he may have been seen by these people as a disabled.

"Crap." She muttered to herself. No one was watching over that stupid demon and he got into a dangerous situation already! She had to stop him quickly, before he manages to murder somebody. Mai pushed the men in front of her forcefully, yelling: "Move!"

She got through the surprised men, forcing her way with fists and kicks. Once she reached the stairway, she ran as fast as she could, her thoughts widely racing around Sesshomaru. She had to get to him in time. The girl stormed onto the deck and saw a source of the commotion right away – a circle of curious onlookers was formed. It looked exactly as when two kids fought in elementary school and the rest gathered to gawk. Mai pushed herself between two sailors and saw Sesshomaru, standing firmly on the deck, his hand close to the bundle on his back. The girl knew, that he was ready to draw his sword anytime and cut down his opponent. The one, that wanted to fight the dog demon turned out to be the biggest of the crew members. Juro, Mai remembered his name. Juro was a large pile of muscles and was clenching his fists, preparing to beat Sesshomaru up. The girl was somewhat glad, that she made in time – everyone was still alive.

Juro spit on the deck.

"No one insults Juro, cripple." He said, looking at Sesshomaru with disgust, and let out an amused laugh.

Mai bit her lower lip. No matter how big or strong he was, he was no opponent for the inu-youkai. She saw, that the dog demon was trying hard to keep the control over himself. The vein in his neck was pulsing, his eyes glared at Juro with murderous intent, but he made no move. It was a surprisingly calm behavior, given the situation – apparently he was keeping Mai's plea in mind. But, no matter how hard he tried, should Juro attack him, the bloodbath would follow. She had to step in. Now.

The girl stormed inside the circle and got between the two men, who were preparing to fight. She motioned herself closer to Sesshomaru, with her back to him, as though as she was shielding him. She spread her arms and glared up at Juro warningly.

"Leave him alone." She said loudly and confidently.

Silence fell, as everyone was gawking at the girl. Then, Juro and his comrades burst out laughing. Mai heard Sesshomaru letting out a low growl behind her. Juro turned around and looked at the other sailors and soldiers.

"Look, the cripple is being defended by a girl!" he called, pointing his finger at the pair. An even louder laughter answered him.

"Move, woman." Mai heard Sesshomaru hiss out. She could tell by the tone of his voice, that the demon was barely controlling himself. Surely he wanted to slaughter the sailors now and she didn't blame him for that. To be so insulted and humiliated must have been extremely frustrating, especially for him. It was highly possible, that it was the most shaming event in his entire life. Mai bit her lower lip. She hated to do it, but this time Sesshomaru's pride had to be sacrificed. She glanced at the pissed youkai over her shoulder.

"Please, bear it." She whispered to him, but the demon didn't appear to listen to her, his eyes set on Juro. Mai furrowed her brows, knowing, that she had to take out a cannon. She said quietly to him:

"Go and kill everyone, but don't whimper if you don't get your powers back."
Sesshomaru graced her with a furious glare, but apparently her words got to him and he made a right choice between the two – he lowered his hand slowly. Mai smiled to him, but he returned only the angered look. Damn, she pitied him right now.

The girl flinched, when unexpectedly Juro made a step forward, flexing and clenching his fists. He sent the pair a wide smile. Mai saw, that he lacked the front teeth. The man stretched his neck.

"So… you're going to fight, cripple, or you're going to hide behind your woman's back?" he asked in a mocking tone.

The girl spread her arms wider, giving the man a challenging look.

"Don't come closer!" she called to him, furrowing her brows. "If you do… seppuku!"
Juro laughed, as well as some of his comrades, but the soldiers, who were present, didn't find it that amusing. They exchanged nervous looks.

"Hey, big man, it's true!" one of them said loudly to Juro. Another military man nodded.

"The general said, that whoever touches her, will have to commit seppuku. I wouldn't recommend to go near her if you want to keep your guts inside your belly." He reminded.
Juro looked at them, now unsure, what to do. Mai nearly heard the squeak, as the rusty wheels were turning in his small brain. Apparently he was attempting to estimate the risk. Finally he reached to some conclusion and laughed sheepishly, waving with his hand casually.

"I don't want to waste time for the cowardly cripple." He said and turned his back to Sesshomaru, before walking away. The onlookers began returning to their work, visibly disappointed, that there wasn't a fight after all.

"To be such coward in front of his betrothed…" one of the soldiers muttered with a disgusted look on his face.

"He's a cripple… he wouldn't stand a chance against Juro…"

Sesshomaru clenched his teeth, as a growl full of rage escaped his throat. His eyes were metaphorically sending lightning bolts towards the men. Mai wanted to pat him on his arm, to comfort him, but the demon slapped her hand and stalked towards the side of the ship. He gripped the wooden surface of the railing forcefully and stared at the waves below, shaking with the subsided fury. The girl carefully followed him and stopped beside him. The demon didn't grace her with a single look. Mai was thinking of something consoling to tell him, but nothing was popping into her mind.

"You humiliated me publically." Sesshomaru said in a rough voice, filled with anger.

The girl sighed quietly.

"I'm sorry about that. Really, I'm terribly sorry." She apologized him honestly, wanting to do everything to make him feel better. "But you know, what would happen if I let you fight. The trip would be over and we would never be able to reach Saga in time. I know, that it's difficult for you, but don't kill anybody, even if you have to sacrifice your pride."

A longer moment of silence followed, as Sesshomaru was processing Mai's words.

"I understand." He said finally. The girl smiled, relieved, that she didn't have to argue with him at least. She decided to make his gloomy mood better.

"You know, you're not the only one, who's suffering." She said, making a theatrical gesture to emphasize her words.

Sesshomaru arched his brow, expressing mild interest. Mai was glad, that she diverted his attention and continued talking about her new master, the so-called "brat". She described in detail her every misadventure, not leaving out any embarrassing fact. She saw, that the demon was listening to her tale with full attention. When she finished, he looked a bit more consoled, now knowing, that he wasn't the only one, who was terribly humiliated today.

"I will add the brat to my personal kill list, then." Sesshomaru commented, looking at Mai's bandaged palms. "Right after Naraku and Inuyasha."

The girl sighed heavily, thinking how hopeless he was. There was only killing on the demon's mind. Well, he seemed more cheerful though. Mai yawned and decided, that it was safe to leave Sesshomaru and go to sleep.

"I'll be going to sleep. I have a private cabin." She said with a smile, that was supposed to make him jealous.

Although, considering, that the inu-youkai would probably spend night in Sekiguchi's quarters, her closet was miserable. And it was a closet. Anyway, Sesshomaru nodded and the girl rushed to her cabin, eager to get under the bedcovers as soon as possible. She reached her closet… cabin that is, and placed the futon on the floor. She had to do it with the door open, as the futon was occupying the entire space on the floor. Mai took out a pillow and bedcovers. She slid the door close and put on a white sleeping kimono. She was about to slide under the covers, when she remembered something else. The bandages. She forgot to change them. Unfortunately, in the middle of the commotion she must have lost them. The girl cursed under her nose and put on her sandals back. Still muttering curses, she made her way to the kitchen.

The trip took longer than expected, as she made a little detour to the laundry room. It was empty, so she used the opportunity, blocked the door and quickly washed herself. Now wonderfully refreshed, she made the next stop at Soji's kingdom, where she just had to drink tea. Finally, with her bandages changed and a supply, she went back.

Humming under her nose, Mai slid the door open. She blinked. She slid the door closed with a loud slam. Was she hallucinating from the lack of sleep? She opened it again and looked at the intruder, who was occupying the corner of her closet. There, casually leaning against the wall, was sitting none other than Sesshomaru and gazing back at her with an impatient look. It didn't escape the girl's attention, that he was already dressed in a white sleeping kimono. Mai took a calming breath.

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing in my clo… cabin?" she asked, resting her hands on her hips. The demon looked at her with his usual stoic face-expression.

"Is that not obvious?" he replied with a question.

Mai furrowed her brows.

"Don't tell me, you want to sleep here." She said, a warning tone in her voice.
The demon didn't answer her, he just kept looking at her calmly. She was no telepath, but she knew more or less, what the look meant.

"Oh, you want." She muttered, more to herself than to Sesshomaru.

The inu-youkai sent her a meaningful glance.

"You are the only woman on a ship full of men. You need my protection." He said, looking at her very seriously. "Surely they are praying on your body."

Mai rolled her eyes, defeated by Sesshomaru's logic. It was his idea of protecting a girl's chastity? To sleep with her? Seriously, he was too much to handle. She cleared her throat.

"I'll be fine. Find yourself another place to sleep." She told the inu-youkai.

However, he was still sitting in that corner, making no move to stand up and leave.

"I will stay." He insisted.

Mai furrowed her brows, pissed, that she couldn't finally go to sleep, because a youkai invaded her bedroom.

"Go to master Sekiguchi's quarters. There's no place for you here." She was being equally stubborn.
The logical argumentation didn't seem to reach Sesshomaru, though, as the demon was insistent on forcing his point of view onto her.

"I will watch over you, while you sleep. Rest assured." He replied.

Mai clenched her fists and took another calming breath. Dear god, the talk with the inu-youkai resembled a tennis-match.

"I'm not sure if you noticed already, but my cabin is of the size of a closet! Even if I wanted to let you stay, there's no enough room for two people! There's only one futon here and it's narrow!" she raised her voice, pissed by how her words didn't make their way towards Sesshomaru's brain, as though he had some anti-Mai shield.

While Mai began fussing, the dog demon kept his calm.

"Be silent, woman." He said, closing his eyes. "You do not need that much space."
A strange noise escaped the girl's throat, as she run out of logical arguments. The stupid demonic asshole didn't listen to her at all! She could have talk to a wall and the effect would be the same. She opened her mouth with intention to yell at him and somehow chase Sesshomaru out of her closet.

"Oh, it is you two." A male voice sounded behind Mai.

The girl closed her mouth, momentarily forgetting about the tirade and whirled around to see the general… what was his name… Shimada. Yes, general Shimada. The man arched his eyebrow and glanced inside the tiny room.

"You two were surely making much noise. Lover's spat, huh?" he asked casually, making Mai blush from embarrassment and anger. However, the general only laughed. "I see, that you two are sharing the cabin. Well, you're betrothed, so it's not something strange. I would get suspicious if you didn't."
Mai furrowed her brows at his last words. They sounded somewhat strange, especially, because the general said them totally seriously.

"Suspicious?" she repeated, forcing the smile on her lips.

The general returned the gesture in more natural way.

"Sasaki told me earlier to keep an eye on you two. He said, that you don't behave affectionate enough for a couple and could be a pair of Echizen's spies. But, seeing, that you share a bed, I don't suspect you. Goodnight." Shimada made a gesture with his hand and stalked away to his chambers, leaving Mai frozen in place.

The girl felt, that her hands began sweating. So she and Sesshomaru were being suspected of being spies? She had to admit, that Sasaki was dangerously close to discovering the truth. They were no spies, but definitely not allies either. If the ship's crew got more suspicious, she, Sesshomaru and master Sekiguchi would be shorter by a head. Mai cursed under her nose, feeling trapped. She took off her sandals and stepped into her room, closing the sliding door. She leaned against it, feeling the slight rocking of the ship.

"That's a problem." She commented quietly, exchanging looks with Sesshomaru. The general's words made her worried. Apparently the devil kid wasn't the biggest problem, she had to face.
Sesshomaru lazily stretched his leg.

"It appears, you will be protected at night, after all." He said with a satisfied smirk.
Mai abruptly sent him a furious glare, wanting to wipe that smirk out of his arrogant face. She hated, how self-satisfied the inu-youkai looked, just because he had it his way. She wanted to give him a witty reply, but she was painfully aware, that the dog demon was right. If she threw him out now, the general would get suspicious and… She shook her head. Crap, Sesshomaru would have to stay in her closet. She glanced at his large frame in the corner. He seemed to occupy most of the space. She was already getting claustrophobic – just how was she supposed to fit onto that futon?

"Woman." The inu-youkai spoke, averting her attention from the strange tetris-like thoughts, she had.

"That human's attention was drawn to our behavior as well."
Mai stared at him, trying to understand, what he meant, beating around the bush as usual. She replayed in her mind the short conversation with the general. Her eyes widened, when she realized, what the dog demon was talking about.

"He said, that we're not affectionate enough." She said slowly and instantly her cheeks flushed, as it came to her mind, what was usually expected of the betrothed couple.
Sesshomaru hid his amusement behind his stoic mask.

"It may be proper if you would enlighten me, what behavior you humans take for affectionate." He said in a demanding tone.

Mai blinked. The dog demon seemed to be quite motivated. He wanted to go along with this farce without resisting? The girl decided, that he must be very desperate to get his powers back, if he didn't put up a fight, when confronted with such embarrassing task. But, she was aware of it too – if they are to reach Saga more or less safely, they have to go along with pretending to be happily betrothed, so happily, that they wouldn't be suspected of being a pair of spies.

"Woman, reply at last." Sesshomaru hurried her, interrupting her mental monologue. Mai cleared her throat, as she noticed, that the inu-youkai's patience was wearing thin.

"Um… it's like…" the girl though of the behavior of typical high school sweethearts. Not that she was one before, with her zero-social life, but she saw them at school. "Well… they hold hands, go on walks, cuddle… and such."

She decided to left out the kissing. The idea of her and Sesshomaru cuddling, even if only for a show, seemed to be just so wrong…

The inu-youkai arched his brow, after hearing Mai stuttering out the answer to his question, while blushing fiercely.

"Cuddle… publicly?" he made sure, he heard right.

The girl nodded, too embarrassed to cough out a vocalized reply. If anything was consoling, Sesshomaru looked equally thrilled at the prospect of cuddling.

Finally the dog demon relaxed, as he apparently came to terms with the cuddling-crap, and patted the futon beside himself.

"You should get your sleep." He said.

"Sleep?" Mai repeated after him, gazing at the not-so-big futon, again playing human-tetris in her mind. Human-demon-tetris, to be exact.

Chapter 94

Sharing the futon



Mai was staring at the futon and kept wondering, how the hell was she supposed to lay down with Sesshomaru occupying the whole corner. To be truthful, the demon's territory was more than a half of the futon, as he stretched his long legs out. The girl tried curling in the ball under the bedcover on the other side, but being bent in half wasn't exactly a comfortable position to sleep. Letting out an unhappy moan, she sat up and looked at Sesshomaru, who was observing her actions with interest and growing amusement.

"Hmpf!" the girl demonstratively turned her head away from him and tried to figure out the best way to finally get some sleep. Curling into a ball on the opposite side of the futon was out of question – she had too little space. Maybe if Sesshomaru would pull his knees to the chest… She shook her head. The demonic asshole would never agree on something uncomfortable for him. She had to find a compromise. Damn, why he had to be so big? If she was stuck with Jaken, she wouldn't have this problem from the start – she would just stuff him into the closet. Mai sighed, as only one thing came to her mind. She was ready to do anything to avoid it, but it seemed, that it was no other choice. She cleared her throat, praying for her blush to disappear and her voice to sound casual.

"Sesshomaru, you have to lay down." She said, avoiding to make an eye-contact. The girl added an explanation quickly: "There's too little space for you to sit."

The dog demon glanced at her and her considerably intense blush did not escape his attention. He suspected, that he would see that expression on her face many times during this week. Without wasting more time, he put the bundle with his swords away and slid under the bedcovers, observing Mai.

The girl was horribly aware of the little fact, that Sesshomaru was staring at her and waiting for her to lay down beside him. She knew, that it was only for the sake of keeping the cover, but it was terribly embarrassing for her, though. She was maybe on one date, counting the walk with Maeda Goemon, and now she had to get into one bed with a man. Not a boy at that, but a fully grown man, who was much older than she – a few centuries, to be exact. Dear god, was she cursed? Had she wronged someone in her previous life? Why the hell all kinds of bad and humiliating things tended to happen to her? Mai bit her lower lip and slid under the bedcover, nearly gluing herself to the surface of the wall, careful not to touch Sesshomaru by accident.

The inu-youkai rolled to his side to observe Mai's attempts to keep her distance from him. As amusing her foolish actions were, she would never rest, if she planned on continuing such behavior.

"You should just assume a comfortable position." The demon offered the girl an advice.
Mai glared daggers at him.

"I can't. You're taking too much space." She hissed out, noticing with a certain dose of irritation, how casually Sesshomaru was laying. To make the matters worse, the damn bastard left some space between himself and the wall. Mai narrowed her eyes at him. "Move closer to the wall."

The inu-youkai sent her a long, doubtful look.

"I would rather not." He replied.

Mai saw, that he had the swords placed there. Crap. Still, he was unnecessarily occupying too much place. Was it revenge for earlier or what?! She glared at the demon in a hostile way.

"Come on, don't be like that! Move." She urged him to listen to her, without any positive effect. She frowned. "You don't need to sleep anyway!"
The demon glared back at her.

"You are too noisy, woman." He growled, a warning tone in his voice.

However, Mai ignored him and kept bugging the youkai to give up his space for her sake. As she carried on making demands, Sesshomaru's glares were gaining the intensity, till he finally snapped. Without any further warning, his arm moved under the covers and he took hold of Mai's waist. Before she had any chance to react, he pulled her away from the wall till she was laying next to him, flat on her back. The girl stared at him, speechless, as he brought his face closer to hers, overpowering her with his intimidating aura.

"You will remain here all night. Shall you disobey me…" the demon told her in a deadly-calm voice, leaving the rest up to her imagination.

Now, that he showed his true demonic colors, Mai lost all the will to argue with him. She only nodded and pulled the covers up till her chin. She nearly forgot, how scary Sesshomaru was, when he wanted to. Having made sure, she understood him, the dog demon flipped over and laid down with his back to the girl. She bit her lower lip, painfully aware, that her shoulder was touching his back. However, she wasn't eager to get away from the place, she was. She sighed heavily, cursing all the gods for her never-ending supply of bad luck. She freed her hand from under the cover to get rid of something, that was making her neck itchy. She grabbed it and saw, that it was a long strand of black damp hair. She noticed, that it smelled quite nice. Come to think of it, Sesshomaru smelled rather good in general. Did he take a bath? Mai sighed. At least he wasn't smelly. After their crazy run to Kanazawa, both of them smeller rather foul. Well, now her futon was safe from stench and would remain nice and fresh. In the meantime, she fell asleep from all the exhaustion, not even bothered anymore by the demon's closeness.



Sesshomaru was listening to the woman sighing and wriggling. He winced, when she pulled his hair. At least she ceased being unbearably noisy and acting foolishly. She should know, what is the best for her, so the dog demon did not understand, why she would not just position herself comfortably and have her rest. Fortunately, he was here to assist her with that – it did not escape his attention, how weary she appeared, even though she was feisty as ever. Sesshomaru heard her breaths becoming slower and deeper. She was falling asleep. The inu-youkai decided to wait some more time, not to disturb her, as his close presence was apparently troubling for her.

Instinctively, he put his hand on the swords, covered with cloth. The demon stared at the wall before his eyes. It appeared, that he would have no other occupation till the sunrise. It seemed like a pointless waste of his time, but there was nothing else he could do. Perhaps it was an opportunity to finally rest. The past two days were undoubtedly eventful and drained most of his current strength. Since the unfortunate incident at the Mount Tate he did not have much time to reflect on it. The weakness, spreading throughout his body, was terrifying him. It felt, as though he was losing the very core of himself, that defined him as who he was. The mere thought, that he could never get his youki back, was bringing him to the brink of madness. However, there was one more thing, that bothered him, aside the shame of being weak like a mere human. With so little power, depending only on his remaining strength and ability, he barely managed to defend the woman, that was laying right behind his back.

Sesshomaru clenched his teeth from the frustration. He was the one, who was supposed to protect her and yet he was mostly depending on her during the last two days. His pride was making it nearly impossible to admit, but letting her handle everything was presumably the wisest choice – as a demon, Sesshomaru did not possess much knowledge of human customs. Moreover, her idea to travel with the ship was not so foolish either, even though all the humiliations, that befell him here, had a destructive influence on his pride. The inu-youkai repeated to himself to bear it for the sake of retrieving his youki. Even if he was shamed now, it was nothing compared to the prospect of remaining pathetically weak for the rest of his lifetime.

The dog demon closed his eyes, deciding not to ponder about his situation anymore. After all, it was only a week. He listened to the sounds, that surrounded him. Without the youki, his senses were dulled, but he heard the distant commotion on the deck of the ship, footsteps and talking of the humans. He heard also deep, regular breaths, coming from behind his back. He opened his eyes. The woman must be asleep by now. Slowly, Sesshomaru turned around, careful not to wake her.

Fortunately, she was sleeping soundly and he doubted, that even a cannon would disturb her slumber.
Nevertheless, he felt the need to be sure.

"Woman." The dog demon said quietly and observed her face, waiting for a reaction. However, she did not respond, not even a single muscle on her face moved. Sesshomaru furrowed his brows.

"Mai." He called her name, this time slightly louder.

She did not wake up or reply either. She was indeed asleep.

Sesshomaru glanced at her peaceful face with slightly irritated look on his face. Part of him enjoyed the position, he was in, and the other despised it, as his shameful human-problem was far from being solved and yet she was laying here, as though she was baiting him. Deep inside, the inu-youkai was still fighting the sinful desire, but, instead of being weaker with the time, his… affection towards the woman grew stronger. He felt it with each passing day – the need to keep her safe, to be near her. A mere thought, that another male would look at her in an inappropriate way was infuriating.

Slowly, he reached out to brush off the hair from Mai's face. When he was doing it, his fingers accidentally caressed her cheek. Sesshomaru felt, how soft and warm was her flesh under his palm. He frowned. He was aware, that his actions were foolish and were only deepening his problem, but he could not refrain himself. It was undeniable, that he actually enjoyed laying next to her, touching her and was not truly opposed to putting the idiotic show for the suspicious humans. Even though he was strongly against showing affection publicly, it could be… interesting.

Sesshomaru moved himself closer to the sleeping woman, not ceasing caressing her face and neck with his hand. He brought his face near to hers, so that his nose was buried in her hair, as he inhaled her scent. If it was sinful, why did it feel so right? Her warmth, her closeness was making him feel at ease. It was a pity, that she was not a youkai like him…

The demon snaked his arm under the covers and put it around Mai's small frame, right under her breasts. Now, that she was in his arms, he felt, how petite and fragile she was, compared to him. Sesshomaru stiffened, when he felt her suddenly moving. His arm tensed, as he did not know, what he should do – pull back swiftly or rather stay still. Fortunately, she was just shifting on the futon, still asleep. Sesshomaru let out the breath, he was holding. Embracing her like this was surely enjoyable for him, but risky as well. Should she wake up and find them in such inappropriate position, she would certainly be unbearably noisy. But, if he pulled back, before she awakens, everything would be in perfect order. The inu-youkai relaxed, embracing Mai tighter.



Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, as he heard a loud noise. Momentarily he became aware of his surroundings. He was nearly laying on Mai and the light of rising sun was creeping into the tiny room. He blinked, feeling disturbed, that he had absolutely no recollection of how he found himself in such position, not to mention the time of the day. Did he fell asleep and slept till morning? It was unlike him, for as a demon he required very little rest in opposite to humans, who spent nearly half of their short lifetimes in slumber. Apparently the loss of his youki and the exhausting events of the last three days took its toll on him.

Then, he felt the woman begin wriggling under himself and moaning something. He reacted instantly. If she woke up like this, it would be problematic. Swiftly, he rolled onto his back, away from her as possible.

The loud sound again. Now Sesshomaru, realized, that someone was knocking on the door. This time, it woke even Mai. The girl opened her eyes quickly and sat up instantly, suddenly completely awake. She looked around, rubbing her eyes. The dog demon was laying with his eyes closed, but she knew, that he wasn't sleeping. Actually, she never caught him sleeping. Someone knocked on the door again.

"What?!" Mai called with irritation, as she was woken up so brutally, just when she was beginning to have a nice dream about watching television.

"It is Sasaki. Open the door or I will do it myself." The male voice sounded from outside the closet… cabin, that is.

The girl gulped, realizing that her temporary boss came to wake her up. She must be in deep shit. She glanced at Sesshomaru, who was peacefully laying, very close to the wall – nice of him… Then, Mai's attention was caught by pointy things: pointy claws, pointy ears. And the crescent moon right in the middle of the forehead. The girl hissed out a curse. That idiot demon took off his glove and head kerchief! Without them he looked… well, like a youkai. If Sasaki sees him like this…

Mai heard the sound of the door sliding open. Her eyes widened, as the thought flashed in her mind – she mustn't let the man see Sesshomaru now! With a move besting even Kevin Costner in

"Bodyguard", she threw herself at the inu-youkai, hiding his demonic traits with her own body.

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, as the door began opening and exactly in the same moment Mai landed on him, taking a hold of his hand and suffocating him with her breasts. His first reaction would be scold her for such foolish behavior, but it was difficult for a male to come up with a good remark, while being straddled by a woman, with her breasts shoved in his face.

Sasaki opened the door, the angry grimace on his face. He looked down, about to reprimand Mai, when his jaw dropped, the blush making its way up to his forehead. The girl looked back at him, sending him a sheepish smile. The noble found himself speechless, when he just walked on the pair in such an obvious situation.

"Just dress and get to work." He managed to say, when he finally got back the ability to speak. Sasaki was averting his gaze.

He slammed the door shut and stalked away.

Mai let out a relieved breath and sat up, glad, that she managed to cover Sesshomaru in time. It was quite embarrassing, but still better than having the demon exposed. Anyway, she had to have a little talk with him about being more careful. She opened her mouth to begin a tirade and looked down at him, when she met Sesshomaru's gaze. The demon was staring at her with a strange expression in his eyes. Then it was, when she realized, that she was still sitting on his stomach, practically straddling him. Instantly the blush returned to her face as she nearly jumped off him, mumbling constantly, how sorry she was.

However, Sesshomaru didn't seem to be particularly worried about the situation.

Blushing constantly and avoiding to look at the demon, Mai ushered him to wait outside the room, while she changed her clothing and she stormed out of her closet, setting off to work. The girl was in hurry to leave Sesshomaru behind, for they got into an embarrassing situation. Again. Crap, this was beginning to be a regular occurrence.

Trying to calm herself down, Mai knocked and, without waiting for reply, she stormed into the young master's quarters.


Author Note:

Hello, everyone. I know, that I'm uploading very slow, but please be patient. I'm doing my best despite the sad and irritating fact, that my malfunctioning router keeps disconnecting me from Internet. I'll try to post at least one chapter daily though, so please just wait a little bit.

Thanks for reading my story. It'll be great if you reviewed it by posting a comment. I thank very much all the people, who commented already. Virtual cookies and hugs for you guys! If you haven't reviewed yet, please do. I love reading messages from my readers.

Once again sorry for the delay in uploading the story.