Chapter 21

A difficult battle

When Mai and Sesshomaru reached the camp, Rin greeted then with enthusiasm and Jaken kept complaining, till Mai silenced him with a steamed bun. The girl was about to unpack the items she bought, but Sesshomaru already ordered the group to leave. Mai wanted to protest, but kept her mouth shut, not to anger him anymore today. She did her best finding something out about Naraku, but that arrogant jerk behaved like a sadist again. The girl turned to Ah-Un, lifting the heavy bags and gave the creature her best smile.

“Will you help me carry those, Ah-Un?” she asked, only to be given a declining roar from the dragon.

Eventually, Mai bribed him with carrots to be her mule and she packed on his back everything she bought. Along the way, Mai, Jaken and Rin were enjoying the taste of food – the girl bought fruit, dried meat, cheese, rice, sweets, steamed, buns and dango. The child and the green imp were literally stuffing themselves with it, Rin was trying some kinds of food the first time in her life. Mai had to watch them, to keep the pair from eating all the supplies at once. In the meantime she dressed the kid in a new kimono – a yellow one, which suited her nicely. The girl noted to herself, that she had to wash the child thoroughly and do some laundry, when an opportunity presents itself.

However, Sesshomaru dictated a harsh pace – they stopped rarely and only for a few minutes. What was worse, they kept going after the sunset. Rin was soundly asleep on Ah-Un, covered with an old kimono. Jaken was less talkative than usual and Mai kept tripping in the darkness.

“Jaken, do something.” Said Mai to her green companion as she staggered and yawned, while covering her mouth with a sleeve. The short demon sighed and looked at her with equally weary eyes as hers.

“You do.” He responded. Mai snorted.

“I’m not suicidal. You go.” The girl tried to talk Jaken into telling Sesshomaru to take a break for the night.

The green demon sighed and spoke up quietly.

“Sesshomaru-sama…Mai asks when will we stop.” Jaken said. Mai sent him her poisonous glare. Sesshomaru looked at them coldly over his shoulder.

“Tell her, that she should blame herself for the wasted time.” He said and turned his gaze back in the direction, where he was walking. Mai hissed with irritation. He was blaming her! If not her, he wouldn’t know where to go at all! What an idiot! The girl stayed quiet, not feeling up to another quarrel with the demon, knowing that it would end with him grabbing her throat or something like that anyway. She cursed under her nose and focused on walking without tripping.

The sky was already becoming brighter in the east, when Sesshomaru finally stopped and decided, that it was time to rest.

“Two hours.” He said shortly and walked over to Ah-Un. Mai opened her mouth in disbelief. Only two hours? How sadistic could he be?

The demon approached sleeping Rin and surprised Mai noticed, that he gently patted the child’s head. He scooped the kid with his only arm and gently lifted from the dragon’s back. He laid her under the tree and sat beside the sleeping kid. Rin mumbled something in her slumber and snuggled into the fur, Sesshomaru was carrying over his shoulder. However, the demon showed no sign of irritation. Mai thought, that there must be a bond between him and the little girl. She wondered sometimes how came, that he was dragging the child with him all the time, even though he stated, that he hated humans.

Too tired to contemplate, Mai helped Jaken free Ah-Un from the packages and prepared herself for sleep. She laid one of her old kimonos on the ground and used other one to cover herself with. She didn’t know, when she fell asleep.

Mai moaned, as she felt swaying. She stretched her arm slowly and yawned. Then, she opened her eyes and looked around, blinking. She realized, that she was laying on Ah-Un’s saddle.

“Good morning, Ah-Un.” She said sleepily and yawned once again.

Wait, what was she doing on the dragon? The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the forest…

“You’re awake, Mai!” The girl heard Rin’s happy voice.

The child was skipping beside Ah-Un, carrying a bouquet of flowers in her little hand. Mai pulled herself to the sitting position and wrapped herself in the kimono, she was covered with

.

“Hi, Rin. What time is it?” she asked the kid. Rin laughed.

“It’s already past noon, sleepy head!” she exclaimed, parodying the face, that Mai always made, when she was scolding the kid. “You were sleeping so sound, that Sesshomaru-sama put you on Ah-Un.”

“Oh.” Mai was surprised. She would rather expect the silver-haired demon to kick her, like he did the last time or do something equally violent instead of letting her sleep. The girl looked around. Sesshomaru was leading their group, as he always did, and Jaken was staggering in front of the dragon, holding the reins.

“Jaken?” asked Mai. As the green demon turned back, she saw, that he was barely alive from the lack of sleep. God, what problem Sesshomaru has? Does he want all of us to die of exhaustion? She jumped of the creature’s back and took the reins from Jaken.

“Jaken, it’s your turn to sleep.” She said firmly. The green imp didn’t even show a bit of will to argue. He climbed instantly onto the dragon and was snoring after a while. Mai reached to their packages and took out a few carrots.

“You’re screwed, Ah-Un.” She said to the creature. Both heads nodded in agreement. “Here, have some carrots.”

Mai fed the dragon and Rin, tried to brush the girl’s hair, what was quite difficult, because Sesshomaru wasn’t slowing down. The girl encouraged the child to sing a song, then played with her in a memory game. Soon, the kid got tired and Mai lifted her and placed next to Jaken, on Ah-Un’s back, wrapping her tightly in the kimono. The child tried to argue, but Mai knew better.

“Rin, you’ll get cold! The wind is chilly!” Mai stated, putting the cloth around the little girl, making sure her bare feet were covered as well.

“But Mai…” whimpered Rin.

“Rin.” The older girl suddenly heard Sesshomaru’s deep voice, as the demon looked at them. “Listen to what Mai says.”

The kid nodded obediently and put the kimono on her head as well. Mai muttered “thanks” to the tall demon and turned her attention back to Rin, who curled herself in the ball and closed her eyes. The older girl hummed a lullaby for a while, until the child fell asleep.

The sun was low over the horizon, the sky began to take the color of blood. Mai was walking in silence for some time, but got bored quickly, as Ah-Un wasn’t very entertaining, especially on the second day of marching without break. She looked at Sesshomaru’s back and sighed. She ran to the demon.

“Sesshomaru?” she started.

“What is it, woman?” the demon asked. Mai snorted. So he’s back to calling me “woman”?

“When will we make a break?” 

“Later.” He answered in a tone, that indicated the conversation was over. Irritated Mai furrowed her brows and said nothing. She turned to him to ask him something, but she saw a tense look on his face, as he abruptly looked in the western direction. She wanted to question him, what was wrong, but she didn’t have time.

Sesshomaru whirled around, drawing Tokijin.

“AH-UN!” he yelled suddenly. The dragon jumped and leapt into the sky, obeying its master. Jaken and Rin woke up and clutched onto the saddle. Then Mai lost her breath, as Sesshomaru grabbed her in the waist and jumped forward in the last moment to avoid a great beam of energy, that hit the ground in the place, where they were standing just a moment ago. When Sesshomaru landed, he ordered the girl to get behind him. Mai peeked from behind his back at the attacker and gasped in shock.

This one was way bigger than the previous one. The opponent was a huge dragon, his scales were grayish and – what worried Mai the most – his claws and teeth were enormous. To her surprise, the creature spoke in deep, eerie voice.

“What do we have here? Isn’t it the son of man, who sealed my brother?” the dragon spoke. 

“Sesshomaru it is?”

“Hn.” Sesshomaru only snorted, not willing to answer his opponent.

“And your little hanyou brother finished my honorable relative, from what I’ve heard.” The creature said. Sesshomaru hissed with anger, as thought the dragon just pulled some string.

“I have never considered Inuyasha my brother.” Sesshomaru spoke, lifting his sword. The enemy laughed. Mai gasped in surprise, as she learned, that the silver-haired demon had a brother.

“Too bad. Now I’ll take your life to avenge my brother Ryuukotsei!” the huge youkai growled and prepared himself for attack.

Sesshomaru was faster. He already leaped forward, leaving Mai. He attempted to slash the dragon’s flesh with Tokijin, but the scales were so hard, that he didn’t even manage to scratch him. He advanced at his opponent once again, but the effect was the same. The dragon swirled with his long tail like with a whip, targeting Sesshomaru. The dog demon avoided the attacks, as he moved with his unnatural speed. Mai noticed, that the dragon’s goal was to keep Sesshomaru at distance. The silver-haired youkai fought fervently, jumping around his opponent, looking for weak points, without avail. The dragon’s mouth glowed, as he accumulated the energy for attack. The dog demon calmly raised his sword and Mai noticed the blue glow, as the demonic energy swirled around the blade. The dragon spitted with energy beam.

“SOURYUUHA!” Sesshomaru cried and Mai was blinded by the clash of the two energy attacks. There was an explosion, that shook the ground. The girl checked, if Rin was safe. Luckily, Ah-Un glided so high, that Mai could barely see the two-headed creature. When she turned her attention back to the battle, she noticed, that Sesshomaru managed only to change the trajectory of the dragon’s lightning beam. The opponent laughed.

“You can’t even scratch my body, Sesshomaru. You will end, like the Inu no Taisho did!” the enemy taunted Sesshomaru. Not good – thought Mai. – He’s trying to make Sesshomaru loose his focus. 

“He’s trying to anger you, Sesshomaru! Don’t let him!” she shouted to the silver haired demon.

The enormous dragon turned his attention to Mai. The girl made a step back and looked around, not being able to decide in which way should she run.

“A human woman, Sesshomaru? Well, like father like son.” The enemy mocked the dog demon. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, enraged. The dragon accumulated the energy again. Sesshomaru lifted his sword, ready to deflect the attack, but when the opponent was about to hit the dog youkai, he abruptly changed direction and the beam flew straight at Mai.

The girl gasped, not being able to shout. She watched in terror, as the great energy ball was approaching and she knew, that she’ll be dead in a second.

Sesshomaru darted towards her, throwing Tokijin away and unsheathing his other sword. He got to Mai in the last moment. He landed between her and the danger, rising the sword, as the wave of energy hit. The girl clutched Sesshomaru’s back and saw the flash of green light. After a moment everything stopped. Mai with relief noticed, that she was still alive. The dog demon fell to his knees, panting heavily, as he supported himself with a sword. 

“So you managed to protect yourself and the woman with the sword’s barrier? Impressive.” Said the huge dragon, as he started gathering energy again. “But you will die anyway.”

“Mai,” Sesshomaru spoke. “get on my back and hold well.”

“What?” the girl asked, confused, but decided to obey him. She climbed on his back and entwined her arms and legs around him, trying not to limit his moves.

Sesshomaru leaped into air, avoiding another attack. He sheathed his sword and retrieved Tokijin. The opponent kept mocking the dog demon and sending lightning beams towards him, but Sesshomaru didn’t risk to attack the dragon and only avoided the attacks. 

Mai was gripping the demon desperately, scared of falling. She frantically searched for the enemy’s weak point. Sesshomaru couldn’t pierce the hard scales and Souryuuha was no good either. There must be something more… Mai kept observing the opponent and then she realized it – he wasn’t completely covered in scales! There was a chance.

“Sesshomaru,” she whispered. “Target his eyes. They aren’t protected with scales.”

Sesshomaru without any warning leapt up, avoiding dragon’s tail and beam attack. Mai shrieked, scared by sudden movement. With surprising speed the dog demon found himself by the enemy’s head and pierced the left eye, burying Tokijin to the hilt in the flesh and then pulled the sword out. Sesshomaru jumped back, as the dragon cried in agony and fell to the ground, making everything shake.

“He’s dead?” Mai asked, as Sesshomaru floated in the air.

“Yes.” The demon answered.

Ah-Un approached them, with Jaken and Rin on the back. The both of them were relieved, that Sesshomaru and Mai were alive. 

“Follow me.” Said the dog demon and he glided southwards, Ah-Un flew after him. Mai yelped and strengthened her grip.

.

Neither of them noticed a figure clad in a white baboon pelt, who was observing the whole situation. He chuckled, as his eyes followed the dog demon and his companions.

“That woman may prove useful in the future.” He said to himself and disappeared.