Chapter 123

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha join forces




Mai leaned her back against her wall, focused on thinking. All she had to do is to wait for Sesshomaru and hope, that the horrible mark on her belly wouldn't show. Anyway, her period bought her a couple of days of safety. She knew, that she could hold on for a longer while – at least a week, but she was also aware, that her scent was fading with time, making it more difficult for the dog demon to track her. Of only there was the way to make her scent stronger… Then, an idea popped into her mind. It was kind of gross, but should work.

"What are you doing?" the miko asked, as she saw Mai's bloodied panties fall to the floor. The girl smiled.

"I know, that it's disgusting, but Sesshomaru will surely pick up the scent of my blood. I've got to make this place to reek of it." She answered. She took the blood-soaked cloth and began smearing the blood onto the window frame, gaining disgusted looks of the other women. She shrugged it off, though. It wasn't the time to care, what others thought – getting the hell out of there was a priority.




"Can't you track those women down, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked. The hanyou shook his head and snorted.

"Keh! If you think, that it's that easy, maybe you should try!" the half-demon snapped at the monk, folding his arms. Then, he sniffed the air furrowing his brows.

"This scent…" he muttered.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, pointing the opposite direction. Everyone turned their heads where she was pointing.

"Crap!" the hanyou cursed, unsheathing Tessaiga. "Not him again."
Soon the rest of the group saw the newcomer – the lightning ball approached them at a great speed and as it reached the group, it dissolved.

"What are you doing here, Inuyasha?" the silver-haired demon asked, sending the hanyou an annoyed look. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the youkai.

"I wanted to ask you the same." The hanyou growled. Sesshomaru glared at his younger brother.

"Are you really that stupid?" he asked, gaining a growl from Inuyasha. "Even you, with your inferior hanyou sense of smell must have picked up this scent."

The half-demon's eyes widened.

"This scent of blood…" he began, while Sesshomaru was already leaping into the air. The inu-youkai looked at him over his shoulder.

"You can come along, if you wish." He called to Inuyasha and took off.

The hanyou turned to Kagome.

"Kagome, get on my back. Hurry!" he said to the schoolgirl. She did, what he said and Inuyasha rushed after the dog demon, Kirara also following them.

"What are you doing, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to help that bastard!" he answered. Kagome clutched his haori tighter.

"Why?" she inquired.

"This scent of blood… it's Mai's."



"She must gone crazy from fear." Stated one of the women, seeing Mai, who was smearing the blood onto the walls with determination on her face.

The girl flinched, as she saw the other side of the room, where the pregnant women were locked. The one, that was stabbed in the belly some time ago didn't scream anymore, but was still moving. She was so pale, contrasting with the pool of blood, in which she was laying. The woman didn't have long to live. One of the women saw, that Mai was observing the dying girl and came closer.

"They will take her away at dawn." She said quietly. "My both sisters are dead already. I watched them dying all night."

Mai flinched and looked at the woman's face – the dark circles under her eyes, pale – she looked like a ghost. All girls seemed to be broken already. The only one that wasn't was the miko.

Suddenly, Mai heard a creak behind her. She saw the door opening. The women, who were sleeping, woke up instantly and moved closer to the walls. She also made a few steps back and saw the witch standing in the doorframe, accompanied by the two ogres. The hag looked directly at Mai and smirked.

"The lord Shutendoji requests your presence… despite the state, you're in." she said.

Mai widened her eyes, realizing what was happening. No… she wouldn't let them. However, in a heartbeat she was captured by the ogres. The girl struggled desperately.

"No!" she was screaming. "Let me go!"

The ogres weren't moved by her demands. She was dragged by them out of the room and then along the hallway. The witch grinned at her.

"You should feel honored." She said. "To give birth the child of the great Shutendoji, is the best what could happen to a human woman like you."

Mai glared at her, not stopping twisting under the ogres's strong grip.

"Cut the crap, old hag!" she snapped at the witch. "I saw, what you do with those women."
The youkai woman cackled.

"Only because they're failures. Maybe you'll be lucky to live till the childbirth." She said with amused smirk plastered across her face.

"All of you will be dead until then." Mai hissed. The witch laughed again, taking her words as an empty threat.

"We're there." She said with a wide smile, knocking on a door. "Master, I brought the second girl."

"Bring her inside." A male raspy voice said.

The witch slid the door open and stepped aside, bowing.
Mai frowned with disgust, seeing the Shutendoji. He looked like a typical oni – huge, about three meters tall, his skin was red, the face unbelievably ugly and the long, twisted horns on his head. He was sitting on a big bed, dressed in a loose kimono. The oni scanned Mai up and down, grinning lecherously.

"This one seems to be more womanly, than the previous one." He said, chuckling.

The girl heard one more voice – quiet sobbing. She turned her head and saw Kaho, curled in the ball in the corner of the bedroom. The young girl was naked, her body bruised and blood smeared on her tights. She was shaking and sobbing.

"Kaho." Mai whispered, shocked by the sight. The raped girl was a fourteen year old child. She felt a wave of nausea washing over her body, as the oni laughed again.

"The girl was such a disappointment. Crying all the time…" Shutendoji said in a mocking tone. Mai glared daggers at him, clenching her fists.

"You bastard! You'll pay for this!" she screamed at the demon. He stopped laughing and sent her a scolding look.

"I doubt it." He retorted. Mai struggled.

"Sesshomaru will come here and will rip you in shreds!" she threatened, but instead intimidating Shutendoji, she angered him.

"Do not be delusional, girl. No one will come." He hissed, standing up.

Now, when he did, he seemed to be really huge. He stalked to the corner and unceremoniously grabbed Kaho by her hair. He dragged the whimpering girl by it and literally tossed her out of the room. Mai heard a characteristic sound of a cracking bone and Kaho's pained scream.

"Get her here." Shutendoji ordered and Mai was shoved by the ogres into the room. The door behind her slammed shut. She whirled around and leapt to them, trying to open them. She clawed at the wood and desperately attempted to slide them open – they were the only way out of the room. She felt panic overtake her mind. She was about to be raped!

"Stupid!" the oni bellowed and grabbed her shoulder. Then, he shoved her violently onto the huge bed. Mai yelped, more of fear than pain. She flinched at the Shutendoji lusty smile, but struggled to maintain her pride, even in a situation like this. She refused to become another of those lifeless dolls, locked in the dark room. She would fight till the end.

"Even if you have your way with me, Sesshomaru will avenge me." She said, glaring daggers at the oni.

"Enough talking." Shutendoji hissed and approached the bed. Panicked, Mai quickly rolled off the bed and tried to dart off, but the oni grabbed her hair and shoved her back onto the bed. He was gripping her neck with one hand, only to hold her in place and supporting his weight with the other. Mai turned her head away, as he leaned down.

"Sesshomaru…" she whimpered.




Miko Misaki covered her mouth with her hand, as the witch took Mai to Shutendoji. Misaki was sure, that the stubborn girl would be safe for some time, but apparently was wrong. She pitied the energetic person, who had the courage to stand up to their captors – not many women did that. By the sunrise her spirit would be crushed and she would join the lifeless girls in the neighboring room. What a waste…

Suddenly, Misaki heard a noise outside. She rushed to the window to see, what was happening. The miko gasped from surprise at the sight – what Mai said turned out to be truth, not the imagination of the delusional woman. Outside, a battle had just begun. She could see numerous minions of Shutendoji attacking the small group. Two of the newcomers were definitely youkai. She could feel the strong demonic auras emanating from them. Both of the demons were silver-haired and armed with swords. Behind them there was a big cat-youkai, carrying three adult people and a child. However, the two silver-haired youkai were the only ones fighting. She doubted, that such few people could take on the hordes of enemies. Misaki gripped the bars and observed the battle.







Inuyasha and Sesshomaru quickly exchanged glances and leapt into the air.


"KONGOUSOUHA!" Inuyasha yelled, sending a rain of diamond spears in the direction of the enemy, slicing them to shreds. Sesshomaru took the other side. He glared at the numerous oni and let them come closer, so that all of them were near to each other.

"Meidou Zangetsuha!" he cried and the ogres were sucked into the netherworld in a heartbeat.
The both brothers were slowly moving forward, fighting off the hordes of enemies side by side. They were getting closer to the castle at the top of the mountain.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called, as Kirara flew closer. "Leave them to us! You two go to Mai!"

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha nodded.

"Kaze no kizu!" Inuyasha shouted, sending the blast straight at the castle, making a gap among the enemies. Not waiting for the younger brother, Sesshomaru leapt forward. Inuyasha cursed under his nose and followed the dog demon.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango cried, sending her weapon whirling around the two silver-haired brothers, cutting the ogres in half.

Kirara turned abruptly. Kagome yelped and slid of the cat-youkai's back. Luckily Shippo jumped after her and transformed into the pink balloon, supporting her. She smiled.

"Thanks, Shippo-chan." She said, taking her bow off her shoulder and aiming at the opponents.

"Anytime!" the fox-demon exclaimed, as Kagome released the bowstring, sending the purifying arrow into the air, doing a lot of damage among the enemy's ranks.

"It's time to finish it." Miroku muttered, unfastening his prayer beads. He reached out with his right hand.

"Kazana!" he shouted and the ogres screamed, being such into the hole in the monk's hand. After a longer while, all of them were obliterated. Miroku quickly fastened the prayer beads back, breathing heavily.



Sesshomaru broke through the stone wall, sending the debris flying in every direction. The scent of blood was very strong here, as though it was covering the whole room. The demon looked around, searching for Mai. Inside, there were about forty human females, some pregnant and chained to the walls. All of them were quivering from fear in the corners, eying him with terror and sobbing. None of them was Mai.

"Mononoke." One of them whispered and trembled from horror, attempting to hide behind another woman.

Inuyasha finally joined his brother, leaping into the room and also looking around. He made a confused face.

"I smell her blood everywhere, but…" he began, earning a murderous glare from Sesshomaru.

"She is not here." The dog demon finished, obviously in horrible mood. Inuyasha could tell, that his older brother was only waiting to slaughter something.

Miko Misaki stared at the two silver-haired demons. They looked very alike, like brothers. Somehow, they managed to defeat Shutendoji's minions, so they had to be extremely powerful. Was one of the one the youkai, Mai was talking about? Hesitantly, she approached them.

"Excuse me…" she began, scared by such strong demons. She doubted, that she would be able to purify them if she tried.

"What?!" snapped the one with the dog ears atop his head. The other one glared at her with killing intent in his golden eyes. Misaki gulped.

"Is one of you, by the chance, the youkai called Sesshomaru?" she asked quietly. The one, that spoke before, pointed the taller one with his clawed finger.

"It's him." He said, eying the door. Misaki forced herself to look at the intimidating demon.
"Mai was taken to the Shutendoji's chambers. You have to hurry!" she told him. His eyes widened at her words and the hand clenched on the hilt of his sword.

Suddenly, the Shutendoji's ogres broke down the door and ran to the room. Without turning towards them, Sesshomaru swung Tenseiga.

"Meidou Zangetsuha." he said, sending a black crescent towards them, that sucked all the enemies in. The women screamed from terror, scared by the dog demon even more than of the ogres. However, More enemies were coming. Sesshomaru gritted his teeth.

"Sesshomaru, go." Inuyasha said, assuming a battle stance. "I'll keep them occupied."

The inu-youkai nodded shortly and leapt into the air.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" the hanyou yelled, sending a blast towards the ogres, wiping them out. Sesshomaru swiftly glided over it and landed a couple of meters further. More enemies were about to attack the dog demon, but Inuyasha was already firing another Kaze no kizu at them. The inu-youkai vanished, following Mai's scent.




"Get off me, you shit-face!" Mai screamed, tossing on the bed and trying to free herself from Shutendoji's firm grip. The ogre grinned at her futile attempts.

"Accept your fate!" he said harshly, sticking out his disgusting tongue. He leaned down with the intention to lick her. The girl managed to slip one of her hands out of his clawed paw. Clenching her fist, she delivered a blow in the underside of the ogre's jaw, mainly thanks to the fact, that he wasn't expecting such an action from a woman. Mai hit him with all her strength. Shutendoji bit his tongue and backed away, roaring in fury. He glared at her with hatred.

"Bitch." He hissed, raising his hand to deliver a blow.

Then, Shutendoji turned around, hearing pained screams, coming from behind the door. Mai used the moment, when he was distracted and quietly crawled to the edge of the bed. The ogre noticed it and reached to grab her, but in the very moment the door flew into the room with a loud bang. In the doorframe stood an ominous figure, emitting a murderous aura.

"Who are you?" Shutendoji asked the newcomer, flinching as the powerful youki began swirling around the man, whose red eyes gleamed in the dimmed light. He smirked, making the ogre unwillingly tremble.

"I came for my woman." The demon stated calmly raising his sword. "I will send you to hell."
Shutendoji was about to retort, but the girl was faster.

"I'm not your woman!" she protested. The dog demon turned his attention to her, barely hiding the bewilderment from the tongue-slip.

"You are my servant and a woman." He said quickly, covering the blunder, before glaring at the ogre again. "Come here, woman."

Mai arched her eyebrow, almost convinced by the explanation and, not wasting more time, quickly darted to the inu-youkai. She hid behind his back, readjusting her disheveled kimono. Shutendoji narrowed his eyes at the demon, who dared to barge into his bedroom and steal the woman, he intended to bed tonight.

"I will rip you to shreds!" he threatened the fearsome demon. The man didn't seem to be impressed by his words in the slightest.

"Did he do anything to you?" Sesshomaru asked, glancing at Mai. The girl shook her head.

"No, you came in the last moment." She answered, smiling faintly. "I knew, you will save me."
The dog demon nodded, acknowledging her words and turned away from the ogre, ushering the girl out.

"Don't ignore me!" Shutendoji yelled.

"You do not deserve my attention." The dog demon said calmly. Without turning around, Sesshomaru swung Tenseiga at the ogre, sending the Meidou Zangetsuha right at the startled enemy. He managed to gave out a cry, before being thrown into the netherworld.

Mai looked at Sesshomaru, who stood motionless, glancing at her. His eyes turned back to usual golden color and the ominous demonic aura subsided, once she was safe. The girl could feel the tears welling in her eyes.

"I was so scared!" she wailed, sobbing, as she cuddled into Sesshomaru's armor. She began shivering, as all the stress and fear finally found its release. She grabbed the empty sleeve of the demon's haori and pressed it to her face, wiping the tears, that refused to stop flowing.

The inu-youkai stiffened, startled, that Mai was clinging to him and sobbing into his sleeve. He did not know, how should he understand her strange behavior. Hesitantly, he put his arm around her, pulling her closer to himself. To his surprise, the woman did not protest, but wrapped her arms around his waist. Sesshomaru noticed, that her crying subsided a little once Mai pressed her face to his chest. She grabbed him tighter, clearly unwilling to let go. They were standing like this for a while – embracing each other tightly and neither of them made a move to pull away. Their heartbeat and breaths merged in a brief moment of harmony and peace.

"What the hell?!"