Chapter 107

The unsettling tale


A roar sounded in the air, as Mai was staring at the sky. A large shape descended from the clouds and dove into the middle of the enemy's ranks.

"A monster!" someone screamed, while his companion yelled from pain, as the claws tore his body to the shreds. The soldiers shifted their attention from the escapees to the new danger – a dragon attacking them from above. Despite their desperate attempts to defend themselves, the beast was diving to kill one or two of them, before turning in the air and attacking again. Swords and arrows did no damage to the scaled body of the monster. However, the arrows had one effect – there was a terrified squeaking heard. Mai smiled to herself, recognizing the characteristic sound. Sesshomaru knew it too – the dog demon leaned on the sword, visibly relaxed, as he was observing the beast's actions. The inu-youkai decided, that his steed deserved to enjoy itself once in a while.

"Get, what you deserve, stupid humans!" a squeaking voice called and the remaining troops died, fried by the fire.

Mai felt Akira motioning closer to her side, staring at the scene with terror.

"They're mononoke." The boy whispered. The girl smiled wider.

"They're friends." She said to the boy in an encouraging way. Akira furrowed his brows and returned to observing, what was happening. The boy was still clutching the sword, keeping the heavy blade lifted.

By now nearly all the men were dead. When the dragon noticed any signs of life, he dived to finish off his prey. One of them tried to escape, hiking his valuable robes and running as fast as he could. It didn't escape the beast's attention – it followed the escapee and snatched him into the air. The dragon flew up and let go off the screaming man. Sasaki was frantically waving with his limbs, as he was nearing the ground. Mai flinched, as she heard a loud "thud" and a horrible sound of breaking bones. She saw, that the nobleman was still moving, his chest rising and falling in the rhythm of the erratic breaths. The height was enough to break his body, but not to kill him.

The dragon landed before Sesshomaru, waving his tail like a puppy waiting for the praise. The dog demon smiled and patted one of the beast's heads.

"Well done, Ah-Un." He said, before limping towards the heavily injured Sasaki. The nobleman tried to move away, but wailed from the unbearable pain instead.

Without saying anything, the inu-youkai trampled with his foot over the man's face. Mai winced, when Sasaki yelled from the pain. Then, Sesshomaru stepped on the nobleman's throat and shifted his weight on the injured leg, slowly strangling Sasaki. The man could only stare at his killer with the bewilderment and fear in his eyes, for he was unable to even lift his finger. The dog demon waited, till the man's eyes became empty, and took a step back.

Mai thought, that it was cruel, but Sasaki deserved such end.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what a luck, that we found you!" a little green creature on the dragon's back squeaked.

Akira frowned.

"What's that supposed to be?" he muttered.

"Youkai." Master Sekiguchi whispered back, as Mai dashed forward towards the two creatures.

"Jaken! Ah-Un!" she called, embracing one of the dragon's neck. "You're the best!"

Mai let out a squeak of joy and glued herself to Ah-Un, who along with the small green demon, was the hero of the day. It was a miracle, that the two came to rescue them. The dragon, happy to had been praised, let out a contented roar.

Jaken straightened himself, trying to appear taller – like a victorious hero. However, the imp soon took in the surrounding and his mood dropped. It was fortunate, that after days of searching for Sesshomaru-sama they finally found him, but the circumstances were odd. He scanned his master up and down, hardly believing to have Sesshomaru-sama before his eyes. The dog demon didn't have his usual attire on. To be frank, he looked miserable – dressed in torn rags, his silver hair tainted with the remnants of some black substance and tangled. It didn't escape Jaken's attention, that the inu-youkai was limping, as though his leg had been severely injured, and he appeared to be generally exhausted, strain visible on his face. It was strange and scary to see his master appear so… weak. It was the word, that could never be associated with Sesshomaru-sama and yet he looked weak.

The circumstances of their meeting were odd too. Normally the dog demon would have finished off the pathetic humans in a heartbeat, but he seemed to have some difficulties with doing that. Then Jaken noticed something else – his master was wielding an ordinary sword, made by humans, while Mai was holding Tenseiga. The imp furrowed his brows. What was going on here? Well, it was neither time nor place for deliberating. There were more pressing matters to attend. Not to mention, that he and Ah-Un were currently escaping from the danger.

"Sesshomaru-sama…" Jaken began speaking, but he stopped, seeing his master sway on his feet.
The dog demon regained his balance, using the sword as a crutch. He was glad, that Jaken and his battle steed made their appearance, for he did not have enough strength to defeat all the opponents. Now that Ah-Un was at his side, there was nothing to worry about. The journey to Saga would take an hour and be safe for the woman. He gazed at her, seeing how happy she appeared. The boy and the scholar shyly came closer to the dragon, staring at the creature. However, there was something, that was unsettling Sesshomaru. Jaken disobeyed his order to stay at the camp and flew here on the battle steed. Knowing his servant, he would not go against his order if nothing happened.

"Jaken," the dog demon spoke. "Where is Rin?"

Mai lifted her head, suddenly forgetting about cuddling Ah-Un. True, Jaken and the two-headed dragon were here, but the children weren't with them. Did they stay in the camp?
Jaken nervously looked at Sesshomaru, wiping his sweaty green palms in the kimono.

"Erm…" he began uneasily, avoiding to make a direct eye-contact with his master. "It's a long story and we should get out of here…"

The dog demon furrowed his brows, glaring at his servant.

"Jaken." He growled impatiently. The imp's head snapped up.

"Sesshomaru-sama, maybe I'll tell you along the way…" Jaken was insisting.

"Tell me now." Sesshomaru said in a low, threatening voice. The imp gulped, meeting the angered gaze of his master. Jaken looked around nervously, as though anticipating danger and then glanced back at Sesshomaru. He weighed his options and finally decided, that disobeying the inu-youkai was scarier.

"As I said it's a long story." He muttered.

"Jaken!" this time it was Mai, who scolded him, as her patience was wearing thin as well.

"All right." The imp glared at the human girl and cleared his throat. "It happened three days ago."



Three days ago

"Jaken-sama, the food is ready!" Rin exclaimed happily, as Jaken's favorite baked lizards were finally edible. The little girl grabbed the steaming reptiles and made her way towards the place, where the imp was sitting, staring at the horizon. "Jaken-sama, eat up!"

The imp looked up to see Rin's face, brightened with a huge smile, as she passed him his snack. Jaken took the sticks and emerged his teeth in the lizard. However, it tasted like dirt. He noticed with a corner of his eye, that the girl sat down beside him, pulling her knees to her chest. He smiled bitterly, realizing, that the human child tried to cheer him up.

"Jaken-sama, when Sesshomaru-sama and Mai will be back?" Rin asked quietly, worry sounding in her voice.

"Surely soon." Jaken answered.

This was the response he was giving the human girl for the whole past week. He expected Sesshomaru-sama to be gone for two or three days, but a week seemed to be too long. Maybe something happened to his master? Jaken shook his head, chasing the grim thought away. It was stupid to worry about him – Sesshomaru-sama was too powerful for something to happen to him. The imp glanced at Rin. "Stupid, stop worrying. Sesshomaru-sama is going back soon. He needs some more time."

The girl arched her eyebrow, not fooled by Jaken's fake encouragement.

"But it has been a week already!" she protested.

The imp glared at her. Usually when Sesshomaru-sama was missing for some unknown reason, it turned out, that he was seriously injured. Jaken hoped, that it wouldn't be the case, especially when he was with Mai. The green demon kept the thought to himself.

"We have to wait." He said with all the confidence he could muster. Rin clenched her small fists.

"We should look for Sesshomaru-sama and Mai. Maybe they need us!" the child insisted. Jaken waved with his hand.

"Sesshomaru-sama ordered us to stay here." He told the girl, folding his arms.
"But…" Rin began, but stopped, as Kohaku went out of the cave and put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Sesshomaru-sama will be fine." The boy said with a smile, sitting next to the little girl. "It would be a problem if Sesshomaru-sama returned and we weren't here. Mai-sama would be crazy with worry."
Rin nodded, convinced by what the boy said. The three of them sat before the entrance to the cave, staring at the horizon. They sighed simultaneously.

For a longer while they were just sitting still.

Suddenly Kohaku jumped to his feet, his hand wandering to the weapon. Rin's eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Kohaku?" the girl asked, seeing her friend tense. The boy narrowed his eyes and warily looked around.

"I sense youkai in the vicinity." He said quietly.

Jaken and Rin gasped. Both of them stood up, feeling equally uneasy.

"Are they dangerous?" Jaken asked the boy. As a demon-slayer, Kohaku had the ability to sense youki.

"I can't tell." The boy responded, grabbing his sickle and assuming a battle stance. "But, they are not leaving and closing to our position."
Jaken gulped, nervous.

"I'll get Ah-Un." He said and ran into the cave, leaving Rin by Kohaku's side.

The imp snatched Nintoujou and approached the dragon, who was soundly sleeping in the far end of the cave. Jaken patted the beast on one of its heads.

"Wake up! It's no time to sleep!" the imp exclaimed, but Ah-Un only made a low sound and kept napping. Jaken lifted the staff and whacked the dragon with it. "WAKE UP!"

WHACK!

Both heads snapped up, as Jaken hit the dragon with Nintoujou. Ah-Un looked at Jaken with resentment in his reptile eyes and swung his tail, knocking the imp off his feet. The beast let out an irritated hiss, angry, that he had been woken up. Jaken immediately jumped up and began scolding Ah-Un.

"You stupid, lazy dragon! Get up!" he was screaming, while pulling the reins. The dragon resisted and the struggle between the two lasted for few moments.

Then, they stilled, as a loud noise sounded outside the cave.

"Kyaaa!" Jaken heard Rin's voice.

Immediately, Ah-Un got up and galloped outside, with Jaken sprinting after him. As the imp managed to catch up and leave the cave, he witnessed a horrible scene.

The enemy appeared out of nowhere – a group of the fox demons. The imp counted ten. The human children were held captive, already cuffed in the heavy shackles. Rin-chan was struggling, crying for help, while Kohaku attempted to fight, but the both children were immobilized. Jaken saw a few bodies laying on the ground in pools of blood, the demon-slayer's sickle sticking out of the back of one of them. Apparently the boy managed to take down some opponents before he got captured. Even cuffed, they struggled, so the fox youkai used a cloth soaked with chloroform to make them unconscious.

Ah-Un roared with fury, while Jaken clutched Nintoujou tighter, ready to defend Rin-chan. He furrowed his brows.

"Who are you?!" he demanded, however instead of confidence, there was fear in his voice. "Let go off those humans at once!"

The head demon glanced at the kids indifferently, combing his long red hair with claws. He narrowed his emerald green eyes, as the smile flickered on his lips.

"You must be the servant of the pathetic dog." He said slowly. "I advise you to remain still. We have no interest in harming you or the steed. We came only for two humans, who were supposed to be travelling with the son of Inu no Taisho."

Jaken clenched his fists, glaring at the fox demon. Ah-Un was all tense, wanting to attack. However, no one made a move. Both the imp and the dragon knew, that if they did, the children would be harmed. Jaken assessed the chances to retrieve the hostages with his own strength, but they were meager. He wouldn't stand a chance in a fight, not to mention, that it would only endanger Rin-chan's life. He felt utterly powerless.

"Who are you people?" he asked, hoping to get some vital information at least.

Jaken's question made the fox demon burst in laughter.

"Who we are?" he repeated the imp's question, making an amused face. "Enemy. That is all, you have to know." The leader of the kitsune-youkai reached inside his sleeve and took out a letter. Casually, he tossed it right into the imp's hands. "Pass it to your master."

Then, the fox fire blazed around the demons. When the bluish flame dissolved, the enemy was gone, along with the children. Even the bodies of their dead companions vanished.
Jaken jumped on Ah-Un's back.

"Quick! We have to follow them!" he cried, grabbing the reins.

However, instead of leaping into the air, the dragon hesitated, sniffing. After a longer while of standing motionlessly, it roared, sounding sadly. Jaken furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean, you can't track them?!" the imp squeaked panicked, before muttering to himself.

"That bunch of fox demons must have used something to cover their scent. Cunning bastards…"

The green youkai weighed his options. Dear gods, Rin-chan had been kidnapped while Sesshomaru-sama was away! Jaken could barely believe, that such horrible thing actually happened. If his master found out, he would kill Jaken! There was no doubt, this time his head would roll. What should he do? Following the enemy was out of option. The imp stared at the letter, he held in his hand. The damnable fox spared his life, because he wanted him to pass the letter to Sesshomaru-sama. It must contain the demands of the kidnappers. If his master wouldn't get it, Rin-chan would surely die… But if he delivered it, Sesshomaru-sama would be in danger. Which was worse?

"Get a grip, Jaken!" the imp told himself. "Sesshomaru-sama is a powerful Taiyoukai. He will kill those bastards without batting an eyelid. There's no need to worry about him."

Jaken nodded, assuring himself, that he made a right decision. He grabbed the saddle tighter and called to the two-headed dragon.

"Fly, Ah-Un! We have to find Sesshomaru-sama!"

Ah-Un readied himself for the jump, when the sky became black. However, no clouds obscured the sky. The dark shapes in the air were birds, no ordinary ones at that. They dived, surrounding Jaken and the dragon from all the directions. One of them transformed.

"Oh, it seems, that I am too late." A feminine voice said in a sing-song voice. Jaken gulped.