Chapter 64

Looks can be deceiving



What a nice boy. – Mai thought as Kohaku helped her pick up the scattered packages and offered to carry them for her. The girl agreed happily and split her things among herself and the kid.
Kohaku was a boy of about eleven or twelve years old. He had his dark brown hair gathered in a ponytail and freckles on his face. He wore simple peasant clothes and had a sickle tucked behind his obi, so probably he was a son of farmers. The boy seemed to be a polite and kind young man.

"You live here with your parents, Kohaku?" Mai asked the boy, who shook his head.

"No, Mai-sama." he answered shyly. The girl furrowed her brows.

"I'm just Mai!" she laughed. The kid insisted on using the damn honorifics, even though she scolded him every time he did. "So you came to this town to visit?"

"Not really. I just don't remember." He said, looking ashamed. Mai glanced at the boy, interested.

"What do you mean: you don't remember?" she inquired. The kid didn't look so dumb, that he could forget what he came here for. Kohaku set his gaze on his feet and stayed silent for a while. Then he peeked at Mai, as though considering whether to trust her or not. Finally he spoke.

"I don't remember anything but my name. I just woke up this morning and I was near the town…" the kid was talking incoherently. Mai gasped. Kohaku had amnesia? For real?

"You don't remember a thing before today?" she inquired. The kid shook his head. "Even one?"
Kohaku stopped abruptly, deep in thought. He furrowed his brows, focus on his face.

"I think I remember something…" he began hesitantly.

"Great! What is it?" Mai encouraged the boy.

"A face, woman's face and strange feelings. I think that she is close to me." He uttered. Mai sighed, disappointed.

"Just the face?" she asked. Kohaku nodded. The girl thought, that it was no good then, he was probably only remembering his mother or sister. If only he could remember some characteristic place, it would help find his home. The kid was so nice and Mai pitied him. She really wanted help him find his home – his parents must die of worry. She scanned Kohaku up and down. Everything indicated, that he was a peasant: simple kimono, a farming tool. However, Mai didn't ever see a sickle with a chain attached to it. Well, probably it was some two in one. She and the boy were walking around the market for some time now and no one recognized the kid, what must have meant that he's not from vicinity. Poor Kohaku. Mai doubted, that he would be ever able to return to his family.
Kohaku must have seen the worry on her face, because suddenly he got depressed. The girl smiled at him.

"Don't worry, sometimes people start remembering things after some time." She tried to cheer him up, but with little effect. She sighed and turned her head. Then, she noticed the dango shop. "Kohaku, come on! We have to eat some dango. I'm paying."

"I don't know…" Kohaku began, but Mai cast him a poisonous glare, making him stop talking and nod his head instantly.

"Yes, Mai-sama!" he answered like a soldier to his commanding officer.

"Good boy." Mai praised him and led the kid to the food shop. They put the packages down and the girl ordered a whole plate of dango. She convinced Kohaku not to be shy and eat as much as he liked. Hesitantly he took the noodles on the stick and began stuffing himself. Mai thought, that he had quite an appetite, as expected from a growing boy of his age.

The girl took advantage of the fact that Kohaku was busy eating and grabbed his head, starting pressing the skull in different places.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" she asked.

"No. What are you doing, Mai-sama?" Kohaku answered, baffled by her weird actions. Mai furrowed her brows.

"I thought that your memory loss was caused by an injury. You know, like hitting on the head or something like that, but everything looks fine. Maybe it was not physical injury, but some kind of a mental shock." Mai told the kid, wondering what could cause a sudden memory loss. If it was from some shocking experience, what would that be? It was the era of the Warring Provinces – a lot of horrible things were happening: constant wars, attacks of bandits and youkai. Maybe the kid lost his family in some attack, escaping himself, but lost all his memories in the process.

"Mai, sama, what do you think happened to me?" the kid asked, looking at her seriously. Mai considered if she should tell him what she thought despite that it might hurt. Well, he was a big kid, so he should be able to cope with nasty things. She was only two or three years older than him, when her dad died in the car accident and she had to start living on her own.

"I think, that you saw something bad, so bad that you preferred to forget it." She said slowly. Kohaku stared at her.

"Something bad?" he looked at her with scared expression on his face. "I wonder if it isn't a good thing, that I don't have any memories... If you experienced something horrible, would you like to forget it?"

Mai gazed at the ceiling. The kid asked a good question.

"No." she said. "I would like to find a courage to deal with it. But, you can't help that you lost your memories. I think, that you should put your past behind you, despite how bad it could be – if you ever remember it – and live strongly from now on."

She looked back at the boy. There was a single tear on Kohaku's cheek.

"Thanks." He said quietly. Mai nodded her head and took another dango.

"Cheer up, kid. Everything will be all right." The girl comforted the boy. He muttered something inaudible in response, still depressed. Damn, Mai was starting to like this nice kid and felt reluctant to leave him to beg on the streets. She knew that it was a bit stupid – she wasn't responsible for him in any way, but his sad story just made her heart melt. Well, that idiot Sesshomaru might as well wait a little longer. Determined, she looked at the kid.

"Kohaku, first you have to make a living somehow, what means that you'll need a job. Do you have some abilities?" she asked. The kid stared at her with wide-opened eyes.

"Abilities?" he repeated dumbly.

"Yes, abilities." Mai said, rolling her eyes. "Like making barrels, forging spoons. Anything will do."
Kohaku furrowed his brows, thinking intensely.

"I don't really remember, but I noticed in the morning, that I can do something, others don't." he said, smiling at last.

"Great!" Mai clapped her hands. "Show me."

A special talent? That was good. The girl wondered, what it could be. Maybe something artistic, like singing, dancing or painting. She couldn't wait to see. Kohaku stood up and told her to wait a minute. Mai nodded and the kid went to the bartender. He borrowed a couple of candles and set them on the tables, there were nineteen in total. He lit them, smiling happily. Mai was observing with curiosity, wondering what were the candles for. A magic trick perhaps.

"Watch carefully, Mai-sama!" Kohaku called to her and took out his sickle. He grabbed it by the chain and started swinging over his head. Then he released it and the sickle flew, the girl saw only a blurred shape and the tool was back in Kohaku's hand. With her mouth opened agape, she saw that none of the candles was lit anymore – all candlewicks were cut off. The other customers started clapping and praising the smiling boy. Kohaku grinned at her, happy with himself.

"How was that, Mai-sama?" he called her. Mai kept staring at the boy.

"Great." She said, still taken aback by the unusual display. It was an amazing trick, but there was something off. It wasn't normal for a kid in Kohaku's age to be that skilled with cutting anything. Shouldn't the peasant kids be more clumsy? Now that she thought about it, the boy's sickle looked to her more like a weapon than a farming tool. The way he swung with it didn't seem like making a trick – the face, Kohaku made while doing it, reminded her of Sesshomaru attacking his opponent. The same focus, assessing the weak and strong points of the opponent and striking him. Her observation unnerved her. Who the hell was that kid? It was nice talking to him before, but now he made a shiver go down her spine, as if her instincts told her to get out of here and run as fast as she could. This time she decided not to ignore it.

She stood up abruptly and went straight to the exit, trying not to draw unnecessary attention and leaving all the things she bought.

"Mai-sama!" she flinched as she heard Kohaku's voice calling her name. She looked over her shoulder, a fake plastered on her face.

"I'll just go outside for a while. I'll be right back." She said, barely controlling the nervousness in her voice. Not waiting for the answer, she left the shop and quickened her pace. She would just go straight to Sesshomaru and everything will be okay.

Mai felt something tugging her sleeve. She turned around and cursed inwardly.

"Mai-sama, you left your money and all your things!" Kohaku said, carrying her packages. Mai swiftly pulled her sleeve from the boy's hand and smiled faintly. She had to get the hell away from the creepy kid.

"Oh really? Silly me…" she muttered, estimating the distance from where he was to the place where Sesshomaru and the group were waiting. Kohaku smiled at her.

"You're lucky, that I was there. Your things could have been…" Kohaku stopped talking in midsentence and his body went strangely stiff. Mai took a step back as she saw the boys eyes becoming empty, like the lifeless eyes of a doll – or a puppet. Silently he lifted his sickle.

Mai didn't need more evidence, that the kid was dangerous. She turned on the heel and ran as fast as she could, pushing the people aside. The girl knocked over a cart with some vegetables along the way and looked over her shoulder. Kohaku was chasing her. As she was looking back, she didn't notice the stray dog, that found itself right before her feet. Mai shrieked when she tripped over the animal and fell to the dirt. Right in the same moment she heard terrified shouts of the people and the swish of Kohaku's sickle right above her head. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. Scared and shocked, she sat down and cast a quick look around. Her eyes widened. Around her were dead bodies of innocent villagers laying. Tripping over the stray dog actually saved her life – the boy's weapon only scratched her arm instead of slicing her in half. She watched as Kohaku was coming closer, beginning to swing the sickle. Mai's legs were immobilized by a corpse of a man. She desperately tried to shove the body of her legs, but it was damn heavy and the boy was approaching.

"Kohaku, don't do this!" she shouted to him, but the boy behaved as though didn't even hear her. He was swinging the sickle over his head. Mai's eyes widened in horror when Kohaku released it and sent the weapon flying right at her. Instinctively she shut her eyes, awaiting pain and death. She was like that for a second or two, but the finishing blow never came. She opened her eyes.

Mai gasped from relief, seeing her savior. The silver haired demon was standing between her and the boy, his back to her. Kohaku's sickle was stuck in his left shoulder, piercing the remnants of the mutilated left hand. She watched as the boy pulled the chain, ripping the blade of Sesshomaru's flesh. When he retrieved his weapon, he turned on his heel and simply fled.

The girl let out a breath she was holding until now. She was glad, that the dog demon came once again to save her life. Sesshomaru turned around and looked at her. He reached down and grabbed the heavy corpse with his clawed hand, throwing it away, as though it weighed nothing. Then he turned his attention back to Mai, who was still sitting on the ground. He reached his hand to her. Hesitantly, Mai gripped it with her own, much smaller, palm and Sesshomaru yanked her upwards. When she was on her feet, she let go and looked upwards at him. She noticed, that his white haori was stained with blood.

"You're injured." She stated the obvious. The demon looked at her arm.

"So are you." He said. Mai looked at her shoulder and saw the red stain on her kimono getting bigger. She paled. When she was shocked, she didn't feel a thing, but now it began to hurt. Carefully, she touched it and winced from the pain.

"It hurts." She whimpered. Sesshomaru abruptly grabbed the collar of her kimono and slid it from her shoulder.

"What?!" Mai shrieked and held the cloth so that her breast was covered. The demon didn't pay any attention to her protests though – he was examining her wound.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. The wound was not deep, rather a scratch, but was bleeding strongly. On a demon it would heal in a matter of minutes, but it could be dangerous for a human.

"You need to get it dressed." He said. She nodded, looking as though she was about to break in tears. Mai didn't handle well the sight of her own blood.

He grabbed her and took off, not paying attention to her screams.