Chapter 114

A dangerous ally



"They call me Naraku." The newcomer introduced himself with a fake smile on his lips.

Mai's eyes widened, as she stiffened, the thoughts in her head racing with an amazing speed. He said Naraku, right? Could this person be THE Naraku, the very same evil plotting bastard, who was supposed to be the most cunning and dangerous villain and happened to be Sesshomaru's mortal enemy? The girl clenched her fingers on the fabric of her kimono to stop her hands from shaking.

Actually she never came with Naraku in a direct contact, despite the fact, he targeted her life a couple of times. He did that always using his minions. The closest thing to seeing him, was when she spotted him in a form of a dark cloud, so she never learned, how does he truly look like. To think, that of all people, Naraku would show up here… What should she do? Did he know her face? Mai suspected, that it could be the case, but wasn't entirely sure about that. Her disguise may be good, but it wouldn't fool someone, who saw her before. The girl was absolutely terrified, as it appeared, that her spy adventure would have the worst ending possible.

But, maybe not all was lost. She hung her head slightly, so that her bangs would cover her face and avoided the direct eye-contact with the villain. If she was lucky, he wouldn't notice her.

In the meantime Naraku was being questioned with Ichizo. The fox demon looked irritated by Naraku's mere presence – perhaps his instincts were telling him, that the newcomer should not be trusted.

"So you are willing to perform the task of eliminating Sesshomaru's brother?" Ichizo asked, hissing out the words.

However, Naraku wasn't bothered with a cold greeting. He bowed with fake politeness and nodded.

"Indeed. The hanyou named Inuyasha will be dead in a matter of a moon cycle." He responded, his words sweet like honey.

And just as sticky, Mai, thought. Apparently Ichizo had the same opinion of the guest.
"Is that so?" the fox demon asked nonchalantly, a hint of mockery in his tone. "What methods will you use?"

A dangerous glimpse flickered through Naraku's crimson eyes.

"My methods are my secrets, which I protect dearly." He responded slowly, not willing to spill more information than needed. "However, you have my word, that the task will be performed"
Ichizo opened his mouth, about to reply, but the leader of the Bear Clan interrupted him.

"Naraku is a truthful man. I vouch for his words with my own head, lord Ichizo." Hosen declared solemnly.

Mistake, Mai thought. The bear youkai had been deceived by the vile man.

The fox demon furrowed his brows.

"Better remember your words, Hosen." Ichizo answered, omitting the horary title on purpose. Then, he shifted his gaze to Naraku. "I am just curious, what would you expect in exchange for your services?"

Naraku bowed again, acting as though he felt a great respect before the kitsune-youkai.

"Nothing much." He answered in a humble tone. "Accidentally I came by an information, that you hold hostage two of Sesshomaru's companions. I am interested in the boy. Once the hostages are no longer needed, I would be delighted to receive this child. It is an insignificant request, that would not cost you much."

Mai carefully glanced at Naraku from under her bangs. So the villain wanted to lay his hands on Kohaku's jewel shard… His presence was complicating the already miserable situation.

The red-haired fox demon was piercing Naraku with his eyes. The look he had, indicated, that he knew something about the newcomer. Perhaps his spies provided him with some information on Hosen's acquaintance. Ichizo slowly folded his arms.

"I do not trust you." He stated firmly. "Therefore I will not let you meddle in the affairs of the Alliance."

Naraku narrowed his eyes, visibly displeased with the turn of events, and Hosen let out a furious growl. For the moment Mai forgot, that she was here as a spy with a mission to retrieve the hostages and mentally congratulated Ichizo the right choice. However, the leader's decision created the stir among the council members, who began arguing among themselves, partially supporting Hosen, the other ones were firmly supporting Ichizo, while the rest was utterly confused and was just debating for the sake of talking. The whole time Mai was sitting quietly, waiting for the situation to unfold and for Naraku to finally disappear, so that he already difficult task wouldn't get completely unmanageable.

"Let's vote!" The leader of the Turtle Clan exclaimed, outshouting the commotion. The old youkai glanced at Ichizo, who nodded, agreeing to the proposal.

"Who is with me?" the fox demon asked, lifting his hands.

Instantly four hands sprouted high – they belonged to the leaders of Swan, Turtle, Viper and Leopard Cat Clans. Then, Masahiro of salamanders and Sadao the Racoon hesitantly raised their hands. Mai waited with her decision to the last moment. When she saw, that everyone except her and Hosen already voted for Ichizo, she raised her hand as well.

However, her hesitation with making this decision didn't escape Naraku's attention. He narrowed his eyes, observing her warily, suddenly interested in her. Mai shifted, feeling Naraku's eyes on herself, and turned a little bit in her seat towards Ichizo, so that her face would be covered form her greatest enemy's eyes.

The leader of the Alliance clapped his hands, a triumphant smile on his face, as he crushed his adversary with the majority of eight votes.

"It is settled then. I expect your guest to leave this place immediately, lord Hosen." He said in a tone, that could be considered cheerful.

The bear youkai glared at Ichizo.

"This place is the property of the Alliance. You may be the leader, but as a council member I have certain privileges. Naraku is my guest and therefore he will stay." Hosen insisted.

Ichizo stood up.

"He may stay till the lockdown. He has to leave before the sunset. What do you think, vice-leader?" the fox demon asked, suddenly addressing Mai.
The girl stiffened, feeling like a high-school girl chosen by a teacher to answer a particularly difficult question. She kept her head down.

"I believe, that it is reasonable." She answered in a way she thought was expected from her. Personally she would prefer Naraku to be killed on the spot, but she had to put Rin's and Kohaku's safety first. Ichizo nodded, apparently pleased.

"With this I end the council meeting. We shall gather here at tomorrow noon." The fox demon said.

"Now excuse me, but before the lockdown I need to attend to some matters in the imperial palace."

Mai clenched her fist. The bastard leader was escaping again! Ichizo swiftly whirled around and stormed off the room. Not eager to waste her second opportunity, the girl jumped onto her feet and rushed after the fox demon. She had to jog to catch up with him, as he was taking a long strides, visibly in hurry. The girl controlled her quickened breath with all her might, not to show weakness in front of the youkai.

"Lord Ichizo, I need to speak to you in private." She stated her matter quickly, but the fox flipped her request off with a dismissive gesture.

"I am sorry to decline, lady Anzu, but I am in hurry. Perhaps later today." He said hastily and transformed, assuming his human disguise.

Mai stopped, shocked and angry, that he turned her down just like that. It meant, that she wouldn't be able to steal the key till the lockdown and she had to sit here tightly all the time during the full moon. Her mission was getting more and more risky with each passing minute. Drops of sweat developed on her forehead.

"Damn!" she cursed loudly and whirled around on her heel, about to head to her rooms and check on the prisoners in the closet.

When the girl turned around, she froze in place, as she nearly collided with someone, who had been standing right behind her back. Now she had to take a step back to create a comfortable distance between herself and the one, who she nearly bumped into right now. When she looked up at the face of the man, a shiver went down her spine.

"How fortunate to see you." Naraku said with a suspicious smile.

Mai could only stare at him with wide-opened eyes, temporarily crazy with fear and unable to cough out a coherent response. Naraku tilted his face, as he looked closely on her.

"I hoped to meet you, lady Anzu. I wish to discuss something with you." The villain continued, making a gesture for her to continue walking.

Mai got confused. Lady Anzu? So he didn't recognize her? Well, maybe he considered her to be a small fry – someone so insignificant, that her face wasn't even worth remembering. After all, she was just Rin's babysitter, who didn't have any power or special abilities to be a threat to him. The girl felt a stab of anger, but was glad, that her cover wasn't blown yet. However, that didn't mean, that she was completely okay with chatting with Naraku either. She knew perfectly, that the plotting bastard was horribly dangerous, so she had to be careful, while dealing with him. She shot a glance at her enemy, who was casually strolling beside her.

Mai went out, taking a path leading through the gardens, as she wasn't eager to lead Naraku to her rooms. She cleared her throat.

"What do you want? State your matter quickly." She said in a demanding way, just like a proud youkai lady Anzu would.

Naraku didn't seem surprised with her cold attitude and maintained polite and respectful demeanor.

"Honorable lady Anzu," he addressed her in a flattering way. "I noticed earlier, that you seemed to be… reluctant to turn down my offer."

Naraku looked at her questioningly, but Mai decided to play stupid and make him talk first.

"So…" she spoke, making an impatient gesture, urging the man to continue. Naraku slowly frowned, as he wasn't able to get her to declare her opinion on the matter openly.

"I will be honest with you." Naraku said solemnly. "Lord Ichizo disappointed me greatly today by rejecting my offer. I hoped, the leader of the Alliance would be a wiser person. However, I see potential in you. I shall ask directly – would you take my offer, I stated at the council meeting?"

Mai looked sideways, avoiding eye-contact. Damn, the plotting bastard was trying to drag her into some stupid games. She had to avoid giving him a clear answer.

"It depends…" she said.

Naraku furrowed his brows, growing impatient, that after he showed his cards, she was still hiding hers from him.

"I suspect, that it is a matter of price." He said slowly, trying to guess, what was on her mind. "What would it be? What do you demand in exchange for accepting my services? Is there anything you desire?"

Mai was beginning to understand, why Naraku managed to deceive so many people. If she didn't know beforehand exactly who he was, she would probably fall prey to his sweet words too. Hmm… was there anything she wanted? There was a bunch of things: she wanted to set Rin and Kohaku free, to destroy the hellish Machine, Naraku to stop bugging her and finally disappear, go get her hands on Ichizo's medallion, but to do that easily she would have to…

"Become the leader of the Alliance." Mai didn't even realize, that she said it aloud. When she did, it was already too late.

"That can be arranged." Naraku replied quickly, smiling with satisfaction. "We have a deal, then. I will wait at sunrise after the full moon to collect my prize – the boy, I spoke of. Your wish will be granted before you know it."

Mai barely refrained herself from opening her mouth agape. Did she just accidentally made a deal with Naraku?! But, before she managed to straighten the misunderstanding, the villain already turned on his heel and began walking away. She wanted to chase him, but he simply disappeared.

The girl blinked. What the hell had she just gotten herself into? She had enough trouble and didn't need additional mess with Naraku! Crap, she was just a magnet for danger, wasn't she?

Deciding, that she had nothing better to do, while Ichizo along with her desired key were in the imperial palace at the moment, she went back to her rooms. Besides, she didn't want to bump into Naraku again, so she should better sit tightly for now. The girl stormed into her apartment and checked on her hostages. There were still sounds coming out of the closet, so they were still there and alive. Good. The kids were demons, so they probably wouldn't die if they didn't get food for a day or two. Mai took her time to take care of her hygiene and fixed her disguise for a hundredth time, now approaching the level expert in making demonic make-up. She sat on the pillows and tried to relax a little, gathering her racing thoughts. She was creating various scenarios of stealing of the medallion, but all of them ended the same – with her caught and killed.

The sun was setting and she still wasn't able to think of something brilliant. Then she heard violent knocking on the door and, startled, nearly screamed. She hastily stood up and opened the door, set on not letting anyone inside the room. In the doorway she saw the fox demon, who was Ichizo's right-hand-man. The youkai looked very tense, the stress all over his face.

"Lady Anzu, you are needed in the council room. There is an urgent matter!" he said hastily and, not waiting for her reply, he grabbed her sleeve and began dragging to the hall, where the council meetings were taking place. Mai barely managed to slam the door shut.

She looked at the fox demon, as the both of them nearly jogged.

"What is happening?" she inquired, not even bothering to use an arrogant tone. However, the kitsune-youkai didn't even notice it.

"You will learn in a minute." He replied and showed her into the council room, bowing deeply.
Mai stepped in unsurely, afraid, that either someone had learnt her true identity or about her misfortunate encounter with Naraku. Horribly tense, she looked at the other council members, who were already sitting at their seats. Everyone was present, except Ichizo. The girl headed to her assigned place at the right side of the leader's seat, but the fox servant stopped her.

"My lady, here." He said, showing her to Ichizo's seat. Mai stared at him, confused, and then looked at the other demons, who were gazing at her expectantly. Hesitantly, she sat down. What was going on here?

The kitsune youkai vanished behind a door for a short while and returned a while later, carrying some item. He took place behind Mai's back and placed something around her neck. She looked down to see, what it was and tensed even more.

The medallion.

The eldest member of the council, lord Goro, bowed deeply before her.

"Lady Anzu of the Crow Clan, we pledge our allegiance to you, the new leader of the Alliance of a Flame." He said sincerely and the whole council bowed.


Author Note:

Thanks for commenting. I'm hugging you virtually... today have some virtual gingerbread as well - I made some yesterday.
I don't have to say, that if I get a lot of comments I'll post a couple of chapters at once, right? So... commenr! It always makes my day and helps me keep my spirit up.