Chapter 51

Sesshomaru's most valuable possession




Sesshomaru rushed towards the burning castle, frantically trying to make out Mai's scent. Was he too late? If her body turns to ashes, even Tenseiga would not bring her back to life. Upon the realization, the youkai felt a stab of guilt and something else in his cold demonic heart. Having picked up a slight trace among the stench of burning wood, without hesitation, the demon slammed himself against the wall, breaking through. Once inside, he brought his hand to the face, shielding himself from the unbearable heat. He quickly scanned the room, looking for the woman. The whole place was already almost completely engulfed in flames, that created a blazing inferno. Sesshomaru's eyes widened, as he saw her – there she was, chained to the pole in the middle of the room, the only place where the fire did not reach yet. She was limply hanging in the scruffs, her arms above the head. Her hair were covering her face and she did not make a move – the demon did not know, if she was even still alive. He prepared to jump toward her, but a burning log fell from the ceiling, blocking his way. Through the flames he saw, that she stirred.
"MAI!" he yelled.

The girl shifted, struggling to maintain consciousness. Her vision was blurred, she saw only bright red, dancing everywhere around her. The heat was unbearable and every shallow breath hurt more, reminding her of the nearing end. Mai thought, that she heard a voice among the roaring flames. Was that a joke, made by her dying brain?

The silver-haired demon circled the burning debris, searching for the way to get to the woman before she dies. The youkai knew, that every second was precious. Finally, he found a gap and jumped through it. He leaped to the pole.

"Mai." He called her name. Mai slowly lifted her head. She heard the voice again. Among the blazing red, she saw a shape, a silhouette, but she couldn't make out what it was. She concentrated her eyesight and saw a pair of golden eyes looking into her own. She smiled.

"Sesshomaru, you came." The woman whispered weakly. The demon with a swift move slashed the iron chains with his claws and caught Mai, who was hanging limply in his grip, like a lifeless doll. Sesshomaru knew, that she would not stay alive if they lingered here any longer. He threw her over his shoulder and drew Tokijin.

"Souryuuha!" he said and the blast of the sword's demonic energy shot out, destroying the walls and extinguishing the flames. Without hesitation, the demon jumped, following where Souryuuha stroke, escaping before the burning building collapses. The roof went down right behind the demon's back, as he managed to carry Mai out. As he glided in the air, his youkai ears picked up a disturbing sound – or rather lack thereof. The woman's heart was beating slowly, her pulse barely hearable even for Sesshomaru and the breaths were shallow. Now she stopped breathing at all. The demon cursed in his mind – she was hung over his shoulder and her chest was pressed too tightly against his back – with the little strength that was left in her, she could not draw a breath in this position. He must land without delay and place her in the position, that would enable breathing.

Seeing no other choice, the youkai landed in the middle of the battlefield. He thrust Tokijin into the ground and gently put the woman down. He placed her in a half-sitting position, supporting her with his arm, and waited. He ignored his surroundings, concentrating on only one thing – to hear her breath. If he would not hear her inhale the air, he was ready to use Tenseiga. Sesshomaru hoped, that the sword would not fail him. He could not lose the woman's life, especially now, when he was so close to saving her. As ashamed he was, the demon admitted to himself, that the human was precious to him – she was his most valuable possession.

After a few seconds, that dragged on like eternity, Sesshomaru heard Mai taking a breath. He gasped, feeling relieved. Around them the humans were battling among themselves – clash of steel, battle cries of the attackers, pained screams of the defeated, but the demon heard only the woman's shallow breaths. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gazed at him. She moved her lips a little, trying to say something, but Sesshomaru stopped her.

"Do not speak. Spare your strength." He said and watched her smiling at him faintly. The demon could not help smiling back at her.

"You look creepy." The woman muttered. Sesshomaru frowned at her words. Apparently, she was regaining her strength faster than he thought. Then, the demon averted his attention from the Mai and warily looked around. The humans were approaching them, clearly readying to attack himself and the defenseless woman. Quickly, he coaxed her into sitting on her own and stood up, reaching for Tokijin. He positioned himself between Mai and the humans.

The soldiers were a bit unnerved by the presence of the youkai, who ripped Lord Maeda's head off, but in larger group they felt more confident. The both sides stopped fighting among each other and their attention focused on the demon, who was far more dangerous than the opponents. The soldiers were cautiously approaching the youkai.

"Slay the demon!" someone from the crowd cried. The others immediately picked up the idea and pointed their weapons at Sesshomaru.

"Death to the mononoke!" yelled another voice.



Further from the place, where Sesshomaru and Mai were, Shinji was standing among his retainers. The young general wiped the blood of his blade and turned his head towards the commotion.
"What is going on there?" he asked himself, furrowing the brows. After the youkai killed their enemies' leader, chaos ensued on the battlefield. Some of the Maeda's men yielded, other run away and some were still fighting. Shinji had to admit, that the dog-demon saved their skins by his act. The general wondered, what the commotion was about. It seemed, that the both sides stopped fighting and concentrated on something else. What could that be?

"A horse!" he yelled to his retainers. Almost immediately, one of them returned, leading an animal. Shinji mounted it and strapped Maeda's head to the saddle, not wanting to lose it. He kicked the horse's sides and rode where crowd has gathered. As Shinji got closer, he saw what made the men stop battling. Their attention focused on the silver haired demon, who stood still, the sword in his hand. He wasn't making any move, he only observed the soldiers warily. The young general squinted his eyes and he noticed a shape, crouching behind the youkai. Shinji's eyes widened, when he recognized the silhouette – that was Amayami. She was still alive! The samurai figured out, that the dog-demon must be the same, who kidnapped the princess months ago. Given that, he was the one, Amayami escaped. So the youkai was about to capture her again and the soldiers were trying to prevent it – that was the most logical explanation of the scene. However, to Shinji, it seemed to be quite the opposite. Knowing Amayami's feisty character, she would try to get away from the demon, fight to the last breath, but she was sitting still, as though not wanting to run. The demon was protecting her. He had come here to rescue her from Maeda's clutches and now was shielding her from the soldiers.

Shinji cursed under his nose. Considering the events near Asakura castle, at the time, when Amayami was kidnapped, the young general had an idea, what the demon was capable of. If he decides to strike, it will be a massacre.

"Let's kill him!" one of the soldiers yelled. Shinji gritted his teeth. As a commander, he had to act swiftly.

"Men of Echizen! Retreat after me!" he yelled to his soldiers in order to get them out of here.
Just after he managed to gather most of his soldiers and move them sideways, the Maeda's men finally decided to attack. They rushed at the youkai all at once. Shinji turned in his saddle to observe the scene. There were over a hundred attackers and the silver-haired demon stood with a stoic face, not showing fear or any other emotion. He waited. Then, he lifted his sword and the young general could see a blue glow around the sword.

"Souryuuha!" the youkai cried and a wave of demonic energy shot of the sword, annihilating everything along the way. The soldiers didn't even have a chance to cry from fear or pain. In a second the youkai wiped all of them from the surface of earth, not even bones remaining. Shinji shivered at the display of an unimaginable power. This man could singlehandedly defeat the whole army.

The demon's eyes turned to Shinji and his men. The young general was inwardly trembling from fear, as the youkai stared their group down. After a while, the demon apparently decided, that they were no danger to him and ignored them. Shinji let out a breath, he was holding all the time. The young man still observed the demon. He watched him turn around to Amayami and help her stand up, supporting her with his arm. The girl was gripping his armor, not to fall down. Shinji furrowed his brows. What was the relationship between those two?

"Stay here." The young general commanded his retainers and, having made his decision, rode towards the demon and Amayami.

As he approached them, the demon stared him down, ushering the girl behind him.
"I mean no harm!" Shinji cried from the distance, not willing to give the demon a reason to kill him like the Maeda's soldiers. The youkai didn't seem to be convinced by his words. He didn't draw his sword, but outstretched the arm, flexing his fingers.

"No, don't. He's a friend." Said the girl weakly from behind the demon's back. As Shinji came closer, he saw how fragile she seemed now, barely standing on her trembling legs. The dog-demon glared at him with a glint of determination in his eyes. The young samurai knew, that for any mishap he would pay with his life.

"I am not your enemy, youkai." Shinji stated, stopping his horse in some distance from the demon and the princess, dismounting. The demon was looking at him with an impassionate face. Slowly, the young general made his way towards the pair, ignoring his instincts, that told him to run away.

"Thank you for defeating the enemies of Echizen." Shinji said to the demon.

"They were in my way." Replied the silver-haired youkai. Shinji looked at the princess, who was standing at the demon's side, gripping him for support.

"Amayami-hime, are you all right?" he asked. The girl nodded.

"Yes, I'm okay. Leave." She said. Shinji stared at the girl. Why did she tell him to leave? Wasn't she happy to see him? The young general was so absorbed in gawking at her, that he didn't notice the look of annoyance on Sesshomaru's face.

He was about to answer, but he heard a sound of hundred hoofs. He turned around and saw the riders carrying the banners of the Asakura clan approaching them. When the troops were not so far away, Shinji could make out the silhouette of his Oyakata-sama. His lord spotted him away and the small army rode to where he, the princess and the terrifying youkai were standing. The demon put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Lord Asakura rode forward.

"My lord!" Shinji, greeted him, bowing deeply. The lord looked at him briefly and then he set his gaze on the girl. He jumped of the horse.

"Amayami, my daughter!" he called to her and, forgetting all his dignity as a daimyo, he ran to the demon and looked at him with the pleading eyes. "She's my only child, please…"

The soldiers averted their eyed from the sight of their lord begging the youkai. Shinji saw, as the silver-haired demon glanced at the girl, as if considering something. Then, he grabbed her by her shoulder and shoved into Lord Asakura's arms. She stared at him, shocked.

"Sesshomaru!" she tried to protest, but the demon turned away.

Absorbed by what was happening, Shinji nearly forgot of his duty. He retrieved quickly Maeda Goemon's head from the saddle and approached the lord.

"My lord! It is the head of Maeda Goemon!" he presented the bloodied trophy. The lord nodded, acknowledging it.

"Well done, Hiroyoshi, Shinji! As a man of honor I must be true to my word. Hereby I give you Amayami-hime as your bride." The lord announced.


Author Note:
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