Chapter 125

The old promise




Everything happened so fast… The huge dog was about to swallow Mai along with Rin, when the girl suddenly felt a strong push from the side. Startled, she let go of the child and fell on the ground. It was Kohaku, who pushed her out of the monster's way. In a moment later, the dog got the kids, swallowing them and leapt through the gate, that Sesshomaru's Meidou Zangetsuha left. Shocked Mai was still sitting on her butt, not moving, as though not believing what just happened.

Sesshomaru leapt after the dog, despite his mother's warning and the gate closed. Mai heard Jaken calling his master's name and the demoness lamenting in a obviously fake, overdone way. The girl narrowed her eyes at the woman. How could she be that cruel to make the dog from netherworld kidnap the kids and send her son to almost sure death? Glaring daggers at the female inu-youkai, she stood up and joined Jaken. The imp began begging the demoness to spare Sesshomaru the cruel fate, but she remained cold. The mother was observing everything, what was happening with her son and the children, in the Meidou Stone and commented it loudly. Jaken was weeping and Mai felt extremely worried for their companions. She was sure, that Sesshomaru would rather obliterate the entire netherworld, than let anything happen to the little girl, but the situation looked poorly. It turned out, that humans were unable to stay living in the other world – Kohaku regained consciousness only thanks to the jewel shard in his neck, but Rin wasn't breathing.

"The girl must die." The dog demoness stated. Mai and Jaken gasped, the girl felt the tears welling in the corner of her eyes. Impossible… Surely, there was something, Sesshomaru could do. There must be something!

"It's impossible!" Jaken exclaimed, still kneeling before the youkai woman.

"She could come back to life, if Tenseiga defeats the guardian of afterlife." The demoness said, restoring hope in Mai's heart. "But that would never happen. The guardian is beneath the darkness and no one managed to return from it. Either way, the girl cannot be saved."

Mai clenched her fists, pissed, by how indifferent Sesshomaru's mother was about Rin's life.

"You're wrong." She said, gaining the youkai woman's attention. "Sesshomaru will save her, no matter what. Even if no one did it before, he will."

The dog demoness send her a piercing gaze, as though she acknowledged Mai's presence just now.

"How could you be so sure of that?" she asked, maintaining her stoic face. Mai looked at her with determination in her eyes.

"Sesshomaru is the most stubborn person, I've ever met. If he wants to achieve something he will do it." She stated, believing the every word she said. The demoness gazed at her for a moment, before turning her attention back to the Meidou Stone.

"So he went into the darkness." She said.

"What will I do, if Sesshomaru-sama won't return?" Jaken wailed. Sesshomaru's mother returned to ignoring Mai's presence.

"Imp." She addressed Jaken.

"Jaken, my lady." Mai's green friend said through the tears.

"I am no cruel monster." The female inu-youkai said. "I will be sad, if my son dies during the training, so I will open a way for him."

"You're amazing, lady mother!" Jaken exclaimed enthusiastically. Mai folded her arms.

"He won't return without Rin sound and safe." She muttered, but no one paid any attention to her.

The demoness lifted the Meidou Stone and the way to the afterworld appeared, with Sesshomaru on
the other side.

"Come, Sesshomaru!" his mother called. "You have the chance to return to our world. However know, that the gates will close soon. If it happens so, you will not be able to return to this world!"

Mai furrowed her brows, having decided to act.

"Sesshomaru!" she shouted. "You have to kill the guardian of the netherworld to revive Rin!"

Mai saw the dog demon nodding, that he understood, and leaving into the darkness. After a short while, the gates closed. Jaken glared at Mai.

"What have you done, stupid!" he scolded the girl. "Do you want Sesshomaru-sama to die?!"

Mai looked at the imp.

"He'll return." She said "I believe in him."

The demoness looked at Mai with strange expression in her eyes, but Jaken gained her attention again.

"What will happen to Sesshomaru-sama?" he asked. The female inu-youkai looked displeased.

"Tch! That fool did not listen to me. He does not want to return." She answered, glaring directly at Mai. The girl gulped. "He ignored his mother's kindness. What a mean child!"

Both Sesshomaru's servants were staring at her dumbfounded. Jaken let out a squeal and Mai began to pity the dog demon – he must have had a tough childhood with such a mother.

The tension was getting stronger. The demoness was gazing at the Meidou Stone, while Jaken and Mai waited for her to say something. The girl was worried more and more, even though she believed with all her heart, that Sesshomaru would save Rin and safely come back. However, a seed of doubt began sprouting in her soul. What if he failed? What if Rin, the ever-cheerful foster little sister died?

What if he would die too? Mai lost too many close people already and didn't want to lose more. She felt, that her palms were sweating.

"It is odd." The demoness finally spoke. "Even though he defeated the guardian, the girl is still dead. Imp." She addressed Jaken.

"My name is Jaken. You are doing it on purpose." He said in a pained voice. The demoness didn't pay any attention to his protests.

"Was the girl revived by Tenseiga already?" she asked.

"Y-yes. What about it?" Jaken replied.

"So she will not return to life." The demoness said in an emotionless tone.

Mai's eyes widened in shock, as she felt a sudden stab of pain in her chest.

"What do you mean?" she uttered. Sesshomaru's mother looked at her coldly.

"Tenseiga can revive a person only once. It seems, that this chance has been used already." She said.

Mai felt her body stiffen and tears began welling in her eyes. Rin was dead? She would never see her happy smile again… never play with her, never teach the child anything new. Another dear person had been taken from Mai. She shook her head, refusing to believe it. No, it couldn't be!

"Meidou Zangetsuha!" Sesshomaru's voice bellowed.

Mai turned her head towards the source of the voice and saw the gate to the netherworld open, much bigger than before. Sesshomaru and the children returned to the normal world – Kohaku was beside the demon, but Rin's lifeless body was hanging limply in the inu-youkai's arm. Mai covered her mouth with her hand, realizing, that it was all true. Sesshomaru didn't manage to save Rin.

"Rin…" Mai whispered, tears streaming down her face, as she approached Sesshomaru. The demon looked at her, sad expression in his golden eyes and shook his head. The girl began sobbing uncontrollably. The inu-youkai carried the body to the throne and carefully laid Rin down. He touched the child's face, silently bidding farewell to his ward, before turning to his mother.

"Did you know, that she will end like this?" he demanded.

Mai ran to the dead child and scooped her lifeless body in her arms, not stopping sobbing. She brushed the dark strands aside, to see Rin's face. It looked so peaceful, as though she was sleeping.
However, her skin was getting colder and colder, reminding Mai, that it was a corpse, she was holding.

Sesshomaru's mother lectured the demon about the importance of the desire to save the beloved person and the pain after losing her. The girl gritted her teeth. Rin died, so Sesshomaru could learn how to master his sword? Mai looked at Sesshomaru's mother with hatred in her eyes.

"How could you let this happen?!" she shouted at the demoness, tears flowing from her eyes. "Rin was an innocent child. She didn't deserve to die!"

The youkai woman looked at her indifferently.

"This sacrifice was needed to help my son master Tenseiga." She replied calmly. Mai glared daggers at Sesshomaru's mother. How anyone could be so cruel?

"You don't deserve to call yourself a mother!" She hissed out to the demoness, clutching Rin's lifeless little body. "A real mother wouldn't do such a thing to her own son!"

The silver-haired woman narrowed her eyes at Mai, irritated by the remark, before turning to her son.

"Are you sad, Sesshomaru?" she asked. The demon didn't answer, but his eyes, as he was gazing at dead Rin, told everything. His mother took off the pendant with the Meidou Stone.

"Do not expect to get another chance." She said, approaching the human girls. Mai looked up, surprised, what did the woman want. Instinctively, she wanted to shield the child's lifeless body from the demoness, but Sesshomaru's mother sent her a sharp look. The human girl didn't move, as the demoness laid the Meidou Stone on Rin's chest. The gem began emitting bright light, that engulfed the child's small frame. Mai gasped, as she saw the kid draw first breath and cough.

"Rin!" she exclaimed, pulling the child closer to her chest and laughing through the tears.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened at the sight of Rin's revival. Jaken and Kohaku also called Rin's name, moving closer to her and greeting her with happy smiles on their faces. Mai released the kid from her tight grip, letting the others welcome the child back among the living. She saw the silver-haired demon quickly walking towards them. He sat at the edge of the seat and gently touched Rin's cheek, his eyes glistening with joy. The child put her small hand on his big one.

"Sesshomaru-sama." She said quietly.

"Everything is all right now." He said.

Mai felt, that she was getting emotional. She wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve. Damn, Sesshomaru looked so fatherly now – he really must have loved the kid. She grabbed Rin and pushed her towards Sesshomaru.

"Here, hug her." She said to the demon, who looked at her quizzically. He stared at her, but when Mai narrowed her eyes, he pressed Rin tightly against his chest, stroking her head with his clawed hand. The older girl smiled widely at the sight. The child looked back at her and reached out.

"Mai." She said. Mai nodded and sat closer to Rin and Sesshomaru, also hugging the child and ignoring how the three of them must have looked like now. It didn't matter. The most important was, that the kid was sound and safe.

Sesshomaru's mother was looking at her son with the two human females with slightly disgusted look on her face. She glanced at Jaken.

"Imp, who is this girl to Sesshomaru?" she asked quietly. The green demon wiped the tears of happiness from his face.

"The child is Sesshomaru-sama's ward." He replied.

"The other one." The demoness corrected herself. Jaken looked at her.

"Mai is his servant, just like me. She's Rin's attendant." He answered. The youkai woman furrowed her brows.

"A servant?" she muttered to herself.



Sometime later, Sesshomaru and his group were preparing to leave. The demon and his companions were just walking away, when the silver-haired youkai called her son.

"Sesshomaru, did you not forget anything?" she asked. Sesshomaru stopped abruptly and tensed.

"My business here is done." He stated, not turning back. Mai glanced behind and saw his mother stalking down the stairs. Personally, she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Now, she didn't blame Sesshomaru at all for not visiting his parent in two hundred years.

"Sesshomaru!" the demoness hissed. The inu-youkai hesitantly turned around to face his mother. The woman came closer and glared at her son in familiarly intimidating way.

"We agreed on something." She said slowly. Sesshomaru glared back at her.

"I do not have time for this now." He hissed out. The demoness narrowed her eyes.

"Two hundred years ago we agreed, that you will be free to do what you want, in exchange for one small favor to your poor mother. You swore on your father's grave!" She said. The dog demon looked away.

"I will visit you sometime later." He flipped her words off, turning away and preparing to leave.

"Tch!" his mother hissed. "You ungrateful child! I will not let you get away again. I require your presence at the feast tonight or you can consider our agreement cancelled."

With those words she whirled around and made her way up the stairs. Mai saw Sesshomaru clench his fist. She was eager to know, what the agreement was exactly about. What was that favor, that the demon owed his mother?

The silver-haired youkai didn't move for a while, an annoyed expression on his face. Then, he turned around and followed his mother. Jaken and the humans trotted behind him.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Jaken asked. "Excuse my curiosity, but what is that agreement about?"
Mai, suddenly interested, looked at the demon, who clenched his teeth. Sesshomaru's mother stopped and turned around.

"Do you want to know, imp?" she asked, with slightly amused look on her face.

"It's Jaken, my lady. Yes, I would like to know!" Jaken said eagerly, gaining a murderous glare from his master. Mai was also curious, what was the mysterious promise, that pissed the dog demon so.

The female inu-youkai smiled.

"I promised my son not to bother him, while he's free to travel, where he wants. In return, he is to marry the maiden, I choose for his bride, once he shows up in my castle."

Jaken and the humans gasped.