Chapter 59

Sesshomaru's problem



Mai sighed, rolling from one side to another. She was fed up with doing nothing for the past two days. Since the most unfortunate and embarrassing trip to get the damn pads and painkillers from Kagome, Sesshomaru was acting oddly. Instead of heading off in the search for Naraku, as usual, he ordered Jaken to set up a camp, although it was early afternoon. When Mai tried to do anything useful, the dog demon would glare at her, command her to sit still and in the end made Jaken slave for two. The silver-haired youkai didn't even let her play with Rin – when the kid wanted to play, he ordered Jaken to entertain the little girl. Mai tried to explain, that she wasn't bleeding to death, but Sesshomaru wasn't convinced. As a result, all her activities amounted to sleeping, laying or sitting, he even glared at the girl, when she wanted to take a stroll around the meadow. This overprotective attitude of his really annoyed her.

"Jaken, where is Sesshomaru?" she asked this question again. The dog demon was vanishing for some time, but then he always appeared in the most inconvenient moments, especially when Mai wanted to do a laundry or sew the clothes.

"Nearby." The imp replied, pointing towards the trees. Mai sighed. It seemed, that her boss was staying close to them. The girl's hopes for a brief moment of freedom shattered again. If this repeats every month, it would be a pain in the ass. Having decided, she stood up and started walking.

"Mai, where are you going?" Jaken asked, suddenly alerted. "You know, that Sesshomaru-sama ordered you to rest here!"
Mai rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to talk some sense into his thick skull!" the girl hissed. The whole situation started getting on her nerves. Hopefully another attempt would bring some positive effects.
She ignored Jaken's protests and stalked in the direction of the trees. She hiked the hem of her kimono, not to tear the pretty clothes and carefully made her way between the trees. Mai saw some movement ahead of her and a flash of white. That must be Sesshomaru. The girl was about to call his name, but reconsidered. She wondered what he was doing here. Maybe something, that he didn't want Mai and the rest to see? Curious, she slowly approached the demon, careful not to snap any twig. Unknowingly she held her breath – Mai felt like a spy. Hiding behind a tree, she took a peek.

Sesshomaru was practicing swordsmanship – he was swinging Tokijin, as if fighting some imaginary opponent. The silver hair swirled around him, as he switched the poses and Mai noticed something, that made her face turn red. Under the nearby tree were lying his possessions – the armor, Tenseiga, along with haori. The demon was half naked – he was dressed only in his white hakama, even his feet were bare. Suddenly Mai felt like some stalking pervert. It was damn difficult not to notice, that he was a devilishly handsome man, especially when the drops of sweat were streaming over his firm muscles…

Mai turned around, pressing her back against the tree and shut her eyes, trying to calm the racing heart. Why the hell she had to give in to her curiosity? If her heart wouldn't stop pounding the way it did, Sesshomaru would definitely hear it and discover her hideout. The girl was angry at her own reaction at the sight of him. Come on – it was Sesshomaru! Who in their right mind would react like that?!

The girl slowly let out a breath, she was holding and opened her eyes.

"Gah!" Mai shrieked, plastering herself against the tree. In front of her stood Sesshomaru, slightly irritated and very bare-chested. He narrowed his golden eyes and glared at her.

"Why are you not resting?" he demanded. Mai stayed silent, sure that she would be stuttering if she spoke now. She did her best to divert her attention from Sesshomaru's hips, visible through the hakama's cuts, and to focus it on his eyes. His intimidating glare wasn't helping. "Answer me, woman."

"Umm… I…" Mai began. "I wanted to talk to you." She managed to utter at last. The demon grew annoyed.

"Then talk." He nearly hissed. Mai stared at him with wide-opened eyes, her face flushed.
"Okay. It's about this resting…" she started, finding it difficult to concentrate. "Can you put something on first?"

Sesshomaru arched his eyebrow, his annoyance disappeared to be replaced with amusement.
"Are you bothered?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his eye. Mai gulped. Somehow she preferred him to be intimidating – she knew at least what to expect.

"No, of course not." She said quickly, maybe too quickly. The girl observed as the demon thrust Tokijin into the ground and with his unnatural speed closed the distance between them, finding himself much too close to Mai. The girl stiffened at the sight of a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face. What did the sadistic bastard plan?

The girl tried to escape, but the demon slammed his clawed hand against the tree right next to her head – as a hint not to try anything. Mai felt her breathing hitch. She was getting really scared of him. Since she was rescued from the burning castle, Sesshomaru didn't show his violent nature even once. Why was he doing it now? The girl quickly placed her hands on his damp chest, trying to shove him away, but the youkai didn't budge. He glared at her viciously and growled. She closed her eyes, as the demon leaned down and felt his breath on her forehead.

"Why do you keep disobeying me?" Sesshomaru asked. Mai felt his clawed fingers lifting her chin and heard an irritated growl. "Look at me when I speak to you." The demon said with slight annoyance in his voice. Mai opened her eyes, as he said, and stared back at him. She noticed, that the expression on his face changed suddenly. All the annoyance fled and reflected a strange emotion – the mix between surprise and something else, she couldn't put a finger on. Then, as though it burnt, he released her chin and abruptly pulled back from her, turning away.

Mai let out a ragged breath, she was holding. Her heart pounded like crazy and she was shivering. She looked at the demon, who stalked to where his armor and the rest of his things were. What the hell was that about? She observed, as Sesshomaru put on his haori and armor, surprisingly fast and with ease, considering that he had only one arm. He tied swiftly his obi and slid Tenseiga beneath it. Then, he made its way to retrieve Tokijin, that was stuck in ground right in front of Mai. The youkai violently ripped it out of the soil and placed next to Tenseiga. As he did it, his eyes met hers and the girl flinched at the sight of cold fury on his face. Sesshomaru reached to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him. The girl gritted her teeth, not to make a sound, terrified by the demon.
Sesshomaru angrily stalked towards the camp, dragging Mai after himself without saying a word. The girl was confused. Why was he so pissed? She didn't give him a reason, did she? Normally Mai would have asked him, but she had a hunch, that it would be suicide today.

The demon dragged her back to the camp and ordered the group to set off. The girl ran to climb on Ah-Un's back, as soon as the dog demon released her. She should be accustomed to his displays of domination and bad temper, but today he completely freaked her out. And that strange face he made… What was that about?




For the next three days the group was continuing the search for Naraku. Mai thought, that the atmosphere was becoming unbearable. Since their fight, if even it could be called so, Sesshomaru didn't say a word to her. The demon treated her, as though she didn't exist – if he wanted something of her, he was telling Jaken to pass the order. Mai tried to talk to him, she even wanted to apologize – not that she had any reason to do it – but she was being ignored. The girl was thankful, that they stopped and set up the camp today – previously she spent the night on Ah-Un's back and was now tired as hell. She grabbed some of her old kimonos and wrapped Rin in one and covered herself with the other. She observed the fire for a while, before she drifted off to the sleep.




Sesshomaru was gazing at the flames. It was the dead of the night and all his companions were asleep, allowing the demon to consider some issues. He lifted his eyes and looked over the fire. The source of all his problems just rolled onto the other side, so that Sesshomaru could see her peaceful face. Mai. The mere sound of her name unsettled him and triggered his anger. The inu-youkai would have abandoned the troublesome human in the woods long ago, but he was stupid enough to save her life. His father had inculcated into young Sesshomaru, that if you save a life, you become responsible for it. And so he had to keep the woman close, protecting her from any harm, that may befall her. The demon reluctantly admitted, that he had some feelings of fondness towards her. At first he did not let that bother him, as it was the same with Rin – but it turned out to be different. The bond he had with the child was more like the one between parent and his pup. His feelings for the older female were dangerously close to those between a man and a woman. The inu-youkai denied it at first, but since few days he had a proof of it. That time, when he caught the insolent woman watching him practice and wanted to make her finally understand his superiority over her… When she looked at her with those eyes, brown with a touch of green, all his anger fled. He felt stab of guilt as he saw the fear in those eyes of hers, guilt and something entirely different and unexpected – nearly uncontrollable urge to crush her sweet trembling lips with his in a kiss.

The demon clenched his fist. How could a mere human woman make him, a powerful Taiyoukai, have such shameful thoughts! This Sesshomaru refused to be infatuated with a lowly human! The inu-youkai stood up, having decided to solve his problems once and for all. He stalked towards the sleeping woman. With ending her pathetic life he would put an end to his trouble. The dog demon lifted his arm and green light appeared on the tips of his fingers, as he prepared to use his poisonous claws to kill the woman. The female stirred and rolled onto her back, letting out a soft moan. The moon cast silvery light on her face – in her sleep she looked so pure and innocent, but also seductive, with her lips slightly parted. Sesshomaru clenched his fist and lowered his arm. He could not do it. He, the demon who never hesitated to slaughter unimaginable amount of humans, could not bring himself to end the life of a single woman. Was this how the downfall of his father began?