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.