Chapter 132

The nightly visitor

The next day looked pretty much the same as always – waking up the at the sunrise, following Sesshomaru. Along the way Mai did all she could to distract herself from her problems with the brand new husband, who wanted to get her pregnant. She spend the rest of her day on teaching Rin and Kohaku various things, mostly math today. The boy was quite good, but Rin seemed to be just as talented as Kagome, when it came to numbers.

Mai dreaded the moment, when they would have to set up a camp for the night. She had some serious fears, that Sesshomaru would try to pull off something, but fortunately someone saved her, namely Naraku who appeared somewhere in the range of the inu-youkai’s nose, making him leave. She sighed in relief seeing the demon, was gliding away.

When the sun was setting, Sesshomaru was still away. Hopefully he wouldn’t come back till morning – Mai didn’t want to waste her meager strength on fending him off, defending her virginity. She hoped, that the demon would think of this unlucky marriage just like her, but she underestimated the power of the medieval way of thinking and the cursed male pride. Crap, she didn’t want to be stripped of her virginity in such circumstances. Moreover, she wasn’t ready to get knocked up!

 The girl crawled under the kimono, that served as a cover and hugged Rin, using the kid as a kind of chaperon, just in case Sesshomaru returned before the sunrise. Damn, if only the marriage could be somehow called off…  She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

“Mai! Mai!” the girl moaned, hearing someone calling her name, but flipped it off and covered her head with the cloth, but the nagging didn’t stop. “Mai, wake up!”

The girl was drifting back to sleep, when she felt stinging on her forehead. She slapped it and groaned at the pain, as she hit herself in the face. Slowly, she opened her eyes and examined her palm.

“Myoga-jiji?” she asked sleepily, seeing the flea plastered to her hand. The tiny demon regained his usual shape, while Mai yawned.

“I hoped to find Sesshomaru-sama here.” The flea explained. “But I see, that he’s not here.”

“Mhm.” Mai murmured in agreement. She still wasn’t fully awake. “He’s out.”

“I wanted to warn him. In the vicinity was seen Inu no Taisho’s old enemy!” the flea said. The girl furrowed her brows.

“Another one? His old man must had have had the talent to piss the people.” she muttered. Myoga nodded.

“This one is called Shishinki. Mai, Sesshomaru-sama must not let himself be dragged into the fight with him! It’s important. He must not listen to what he says!” the demon warned with dead serious face. 

Mai rubbed her eyes.

“Sure. I’ll tell him.” She murmured and wrapped the covers tighter around her body, readying to continue the sleep.

“Congratulations on the marriage Mai!” Myoga exclaimed suddenly. Mai’s immediately eyes snapped open and she sat up.

“How did you…” she began, shocked that he already knew. The flea grinned.

“The old friend of mine conducted your wedding ceremony.” He explained.

“A friend.” Mai muttered. Myoga seemed to have so many friends as the Soviet Union used to have spies. But, if he would tell Kagome and Inuyasha about this… She swiftly snatched the flea and squeezed him between her thumb and forefinger, bringing him closer to her face. “If you tell anyone of this marriage, I’ll have Sesshomaru melt you with his poison claws!”

She released the demon, who still had a wide smile.

“You don’t have to be shy about this! It seems like it was the fate, that brought you two together.” He said happily. 

Mai scowled.

“Rather a curse. I wish I could get a divorce.” She muttered.

“A divorce? What is it?” Myoga asked, curious about the word he didn’t know. Mai suspected, that curiosity is as natural for Myoga as breathing.

“The divorce means, that you cancel the marriage and you’re free again.” She explained.

“I see.” The flea scratched his chin. “Actually, it is possible for a marriage to be cancelled.”

Mai’s eyes widened. This was the first time she heard about that.

“How to do it?” she asked the flea quickly. 

“Well…” Myoga replied hesitantly. “It’s quite simple really… All you have to do is to proclaim, that you cancel the marriage. But there is one condition.”

“What condition?” Mai asked, expecting it to be some invincible thing. The flea demon blushed slightly.

“That is… oh, this is embarrassing.” He began. Mai gestured him to continue. “It’s just that the marriage cannot be consummated for one year. After this year, either husband or wife is free to cancel it.”

Mai stared at the flea demon. According to him, all she had to do is to somehow fend Sesshomaru off for one year. She had a hunch, that it would be difficult, but he gave her his word not to do anything against her will. She will have only to avoid saying “yes” to him at all costs. Maybe it wouldn’t be easy, but was plausible. A small spark of hope returned to her heart – she would escape this unwanted marriage! Surely Sesshomaru would be relieved as well, even if the demon’s pride wouldn’t let him admit it. After all he was also maneuvered into this mess by his mother and he went along with it only because of his sense of honor.

“Myoga…” the girl said, smile appearing on her face. “You’re the best!”

For the next few days Mai did everything not to be alone with Sesshomaru even for a minute, not to give him an opportunity to try to bed her. Every time she went bathe or the nature called her, she was taking Rin along. In the night she was also sleeping next to the child, so that her chastity would be safe. Fortunately, Naraku was keeping the dog demon occupied most of the time. Hopefully their greatest enemy would remain that active for a longer time – the longer the better. The inu-youkai concealed it quite well, but she saw, that he was getting irritated with her behavior. She sighed and decided to endure it somehow. One week of her marriage passed, fifty-one to go.

Mai was riding with Rin on Ah-Un, admiring the landscape, when a doll-like creature appeared out of nowhere before Sesshomaru. The girl flinched and grabbed tighter both the saddle and Rin, just in case the dragon would have to evacuate them quickly.

“Sesshomaru-sama,” the doll spoke. “Would you like to learn Tenseiga’s secret?”

“Tenseiga’s secret?” the dog demon repeated.

“Yes.” The doll answered. “You are worried by the fact, that Tenseiga’s Meidou is not perfect.”

Mai gasped – how would that person know about this?

“Hey, you! How do you know about this?” Jaken exclaimed, asking precisely what the girl also wanted to know.

“Shut up, Jaken.” Sesshomaru said coldly. Mai widened her eyes at his reaction. If he said something like that, nothing good wouldn’t come out of this. The doll-like person turned away and began walking. He glanced over the shoulder at the dog demon.

“Come with me, if you wish to discover this secret.” He said. The inu-youkai didn’t answer.

“Sesshomaru-sama!” Jaken said, wanting to warn the dog demon.

To Mai’s surprise, Sesshomaru followed the kid. After some time Jaken spoke again.

“Sesshomaru-sama, do you know this kid?” he asked.

“I do not.” The inu-youkai replied. Mai rolled her eyes.

“I fear, that it may be a trap.” The imp shared the result of his observations.

“A trap?” exclaimed the surprised Rin. Mai sighed.

“Of course it’s a trap. Only a complete idiot would walk right into it just as Sesshomaru does right now.” she said in a sarcastic tone, cursing the inu-youkai’s stupidity. He’d drag them into some shit again for sure.

“If so, I will kill him.” Sesshomaru said. Mai wanted to beat some sense into him, but knew better than to argue with him, when he had his mind set on something.

Suddenly, their suspicious guide disappeared. Then, a round Meidou struck from above and Ah-Un barely managed to jump sideways.

“I knew it!” Mai shouted, scared and pissed, that she was in some mess because of Sesshomaru again.

Kohaku caught Jaken with the chain, saving the imp from falling into the abyss. The dog demon locked the attacker on and rushed to kill him. Mai lifted Jaken on Ah-Un and looked in Sesshomaru’s direction. 

The inu-youkai was talking with another demon clad in black, who claimed to know Tenseiga’s secret.

“Who are you and why do you know about Tenseiga?” Sesshomaru questioned the stranger.

“Long ago I saw that sword in action.” He said, what made the inu-youkai gasp. Mai shook her head – she didn’t like this. The demon continued. “But it had a different shape, when I was fighting with your father.”

“You old man! You’re only pretending to be young!” Jaken fired up. The girl saw Sesshomaru readying his claws. Then he leapt towards the demon to strike him, but the stranger easily dodged.

“If you want to learn the secret so badly, why don’t you use it now?” he asked. “It seems, that I, Shishinki, am being disregarded!”

Mai furrowed her brows at the mention of his name, but suddenly a Meidou shot out of the stranger’s staff and Ah-Un once more barely dodged it.

“Crap. It’s Meidou Zangetsuha!” Mai yelped, as the attack similar to Sesshomaru’s nearly killed them.

“Sesshomaru-sama’s Meidou is bigger!” Jaken insisted.

“Size doesn’t matter.” Mai stated. Kohaku nodded.

“It’s perfectly round.” The boy observed.

Sesshomaru and the guy in black were talking with each other, but the girl wasn’t paying attention to their conversation, as she was trying to figure out, if she heard Shishinki’s name somewhere before. It sounded kind of familiar…

“Sesshomaru-sama!” Rin exclaimed, as Meidou flew right next to Sesshomaru. Mai drew a breath, scared for him.

“Idiot!” she hissed quietly. 

Soon, the demon and Shishinki began fighting. However, Sesshomaru was at the disadvantage, as his Meidou was being sucked in by that of his opponent. Then it dawned on Mai. Shishinki was that Inu no Taisho’s enemy, that Myoga warned her about. Because she got so excited by having a chance to divorce, she completely forgot to warn the dog demon. Crap! He was in danger! Mai bit her bottom lip, knowing, that now there was nothing she could do. The inu-youkai seemed to want to know that secret badly and would now listen to nobody.

“SESSHOMARU!” a familiar voice yelled. Mai looked down and saw Inuyasha and his group. She let out a relieved breath. At least Sesshomaru would have his brother to help him out.

“Kohaku!” Sango called. Kohaku also looked down.

“Sister.” The boy said. Mai rolled her eyes. Great, a family reunion.

As expected, Inuyasha attacked Shishinki, who skillfully dodged Kaze no kizu. The Inu no Taisho’s old enemy began mocking Sesshomaru and taunting him by speaking about Tessaiga.

“He’s angering Sesshomaru-sama on purpose!” Jaken stated. Mai nodded. Shit, the stupid dog would fall for that, there was no doubt about that. As expected, the inu-youkai lost the control over his anger and attacked the opponent, but Shishinki’s Meidou was superior. The enemy kept provoking Sesshomaru by blabbering about how the dog demon’s father separated Tenseiga from Tessaiga, what was supposed to mean, that he got the worse sword. Mai precisely knew, what effect it would have on him. She clutched the saddle till her knuckles turned white.

Then, the commotion began. Shishinki was firing his Meidou at the brothers, Inuyasha counterattacked with Kaze no kizu and was punched by Sesshomaru for interfering.

The inu-youkai readied his claws and charged at Shishinki, dodging and avoiding the Meidous along the way. Then the opponent fired more attacks at once, but the dog demon somehow maneuvered between them.

“Stop, Sesshomaru! You’ve never fought such an enemy!” Inuyasha yelled. Mai felt her throat get dry. At this rate he’d get killed!

Sesshomaru kept dodging the Meidou’s but Shishinki began to read his moves. Even Myoga tried to reason with the inu-youkai, but he charged right at the enemy anyway, barely avoiding being killed – his empty sleeve was cut off. Fortunately, he managed to scratch Shishinki’s face. Mai’s heart kept pounding like crazy. Inuyasha ran to help his brother, despite Sesshomaru’s protests. Both of them leapt into the air, avoiding Meidous, that flew right at them.

Mai froze, knowing that while in air, even Sesshomaru wouldn’t dodge the attack.

“He’ll die.” She whispered in trembling voice upon the realization. The girl was worried to death.

“Sesshomaru!” Inuyasha hurried his brother. The dog demon ripped out Tenseiga.

“Know, Shishinki, I will not get myself killed so easily!” he cried and swung his sword, sending a huge and perfectly round Meidou at the enemy, that sucked Shishinki’s smaller ones and himself in as well.

Mai let out a relieved breath. He was safe. Damn, she was so scared for him – Sesshomaru was clearly at the disadvantage during this fight. The idiot had little chance, but he charged anyways. What the hell did he have in that head of his instead the brain?! Worms?

Ah-Un flew after the dog demon as he left after the battle with Shishinki. Mai narrowed her eyes at the stupid inu-youkai. Once the dragon landed on the ground near Sesshomaru, she slipped off the saddle and confidently stalked towards the dog demon. Her face expressed determination, the lips were merely a thin line.

“Sesshomaru.” She said his name. 

The demon looked at her, wondering what did he want from him.

SLAP!

Mai slapped Sesshomaru with all her might on the side of his face, leaving a red mark. The youkai, startled by her action, stood still like paralyzed and stared at her. The girl glared at him and gripped tightly the front of his haori. She took a deep breath, readying herself for a tirade.

“You dumb egoistic asshole! Do you have hay instead of brain?!” she shrieked at him. “You got us all worried – Rin, Jaken, Kohaku and me! I thought, that you were going to get yourself killed! Did you even think how worried I was?!”

The demon stood dumbfounded by her outburst and didn’t even utter a word, still staring at her. Mai shot him a final glare.

“Hmpf!” she pouted and turned on her heel, stalking back to Ah-Un and climbed on the saddle, as though nothing had just happened. 

Jaken sighed and tugged the dragon’s reins, leading the beast towards Sesshomaru. The imp looked at his master with pity in his eyes.

“That’s why I’m avoiding to get married, Sesshomaru-sama.” He said to the dog demon.

After being slapped, the inu-youkai avoided Mai. Once they found a suitable place to set up the camp, he vanished, probably training in the woods. Jaken and Kohaku set a camp with Rin helping them. While flying on Ah-Un, Mai earlier spotted a river, so she thought, that she could catch up with the chores and do some laundry. Becoming the wife of the demonic asshole named Sesshomaru didn’t change her occupation – he made clear, that she was still employed as his servant. Anyway, someone had to do those things and she was far too kind to watch poor Jaken slave for two.

The girl gathered all the laundry and went to the riverbank. As she was scrubbing the dirt out of the clothes, her thoughts wandered to Sesshomaru. She sighed. Given the circumstances, it was unavoidable. Damn, he really scared the shit out of her today. She really thought for a while, that he was going to die on her eyes. Mai furrowed her brows. The situation was just too complicated – recently she had a mess in her head. Sometimes that asshole Sesshomaru was an… well, asshole and she hated his guts. On the other hand, he showed his better side from time to time and she couldn’t dislike him then. Actually, he was quite likeable in such moments, even very much. And she didn’t want him to die or get hurt, that was certain. She discovered, that even though they argued a lot, she had grown to like the insufferably arrogant demon. Mai blushed slightly. Of course not like a man, rather as a companion, right – only a companion. Her blush deepened as she remembered his fabulous kisses. That was definitely not like the relationship between companions! The worst thing was, that she really enjoyed them – it was just so wrong! Her feelings were so contradicting – she seemed to like him and hate at the same time. Mai stiffened, when something popped into her head. What if … No! She shook her head. It was not possible, that she was in love with that idiotic dog demon! Not with him!

“I don’t get it anymore!” the girl whined, getting more and more confused with each passing minute. 

Damn, this marriage complicated everything! Because of that, the demon wanted to… Her cheeks flushed fiercely at the thought. There’s no way he’s getting her virginity! Not ever. Mai clenched her fist, having decided to not to give in to Sesshomaru for fifty-one weeks more. She had to endure both for her own and the demon’s sake.

However, easier said than done. She managed to avoid close contact for full seven days and her “darling” seemed to be at his limit already. It was hard to ignore that intense glares of his. So far he was being nice as for him and apparently was waiting for Mai to come to him instead of throwing himself at the poor girl. But she was no fool – his patience was wearing thin and she perfectly knew, that the dog demon always got, what he wanted. Damn, she was slowly running out of the excuses. She desperately needed help. There was no way she could handle this alone.

The girl glanced over her shoulder at their group, searching with her eyes for the possible ally. Rin was out of question, as the girl was beaming happiness since the wedding day. Besides, Mai was pretty sure if the kid had to choose sides, Sesshomaru had the upper hand. She shifted her attention to Kohaku and immediately ruled him out too – the boy was grateful for the dog demon for keeping him and protecting, so he would never bit the hand, that feeds him. Ah-Un would be also rather useless, what left Jaken.

Mai narrowed her eyes, locking on the imp, who was currently baking his some mushrooms. Actually, it wasn’t the worst idea. He kept lamenting, that Sesshomaru’s future was wasted and was horribly gloomy since the wedding. Plus, as a person, who kept eluding his fiancée, he could sympathize with the idea of making his master a bachelor again. Well, divorcee, to be precise. The girl smirked under her nose and quickly finished doing the laundry.

Then, she approached the imp and, seeing, that the children were occupied, he began luring him into cooperation.

“Jaken,” Mai began. “It sucks, that Sesshomaru is married, huh? After Naraku is defeated, you won’t be able to stay at his side anymore.”

Jaken looked at the girl abruptly.

“Stupid, nothing will change!” he protested, mainly convincing himself. True, it was a shame for the powerful inu-youkai to be forced to take human for a spouse. However, it was Mai, who was travelling with them anyway, so everything should stay the same – his master would travel with them as before. Probably the only difference would be, that Sesshomaru-sama would drag the girl into the woods every night, nothing, that could be much of the nuisance.

“You’re wrong. Sesshomaru said, that he wants to have kids.” Mai stated.

“So?” Jaken arched his eyebrow, not understanding, what she was aiming at. The girl sighed heavily.

“It means, that I’ll get stuck with them and you too. Someone will have to watch over me and his kids while he roams around like usual. Guess, who would that be?” She ruined Jaken’s hope in a matter of few seconds.

The imp’s face paled, assuming a light-green color. Mai was right. Before she joined her group, Sesshomaru-sama made Jaken babysit Rin-chan. Surely once his master had the offspring of his own, the one watching them and their mother would be… him. That meant, that his blissful days of travelling by the inu-youkai’s side would be over soon. And judging by the lustful looks, his master was sending Mai, it would happen really fast.

“Something must be done to prevent it!” he blurted out, before he thought.

Mai smirked inwardly, seeing that her ally was all too eager to help. She nodded, making a sad face.

“Plus, it’s so shameful for Sesshomaru to have such a pathetic human for a wife. I’m sure, that the other demons will mock him. Poor guy, I pity him. He must be so unhappy to be stuck with me. It’s showing on his face.” She said, faking pity for Sesshomaru, so that Jaken would want to defend his master’s honor.

The imp narrowed his eyes at Mai. Right, it was humiliating for Sesshomaru-sama to be married to a human, but it wasn’t exactly true, that he was unhappy… His female companion was really that clueless, wasn’t she? The reason of their master’s misery was rather the fact, that she refused to do some indecent things with him in the bushes. Surely if she did, Sesshomaru-sama would beam with happiness.

Mai decided, that it was the time to share with him her idea.

“Jaken, you know what?” she began, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I heard, that it’s possible to get a divorce after a year without doing you-know-what. If I manage to fend Sesshomaru off for that time, both of us will be free.”

Jaken gawked at Mai. She wanted to cancel the marriage?! She must have been desperate to be ready for such a step. However, it was not stupid. His master had to act like a proper husband, for it would shame his mother should he be the one, who proposed the divorce. But, Mai wasn’t bound by such ties. If she was the one, who demanded to cancel the marriage, Sesshomaru-sama’s honor would be more or less untouched, for the blame would be all hers. It was the perfect solution to save his master from fathering hanyou offspring and shaming him even more.

“I’ll help you.” He decided, evoking the smile on Mai’s lips. “You have to do it for Sesshomaru-sama’s sake.”

The girl felt lighter with relief. She threw herself at Jaken and hugged him happily.

“Jaken, you’re amazing!” she exclaimed, glad, that now she wasn’t alone in the fight for her virginity and bright future.

When the night fell and all the humans went to sleep, Jaken stayed awake, gazing at the campfire. He was thinking of possible solutions to Mai’s and Sesshomaru-sama’s problem. Actually, he thought of few. For example he could bribe some healer to tell his master, that the girl was ill and it would be too dangerous for her health to bear a child for the next couple of months. Or maybe something with the weird human customs and superstitions, like: a princess should lose her virginity in spring. 

“Jaken.” The imp squeaked, as he didn’t notice the inu-youkai returning to the camp. He looked at his master, who sent him a meaningful glance and walked away into the forest. Instantly he got up and followed the dog demon, curious, what was the matter.

Once both youkai were out of the human’s hearing range, Sesshomaru stopped.

“I require your assistance.” He spoke to his servant.

Jaken bowed enthusiastically, happy to have an opportunity to do something useful at last and cover the series of blunders.

“I’ll do everything, Sesshomaru-sama!” he exclaimed with excitement in his voice, waiting for the order.

The dog demon narrowed his eyes at the imp.

“You speak with the woman more than this Sesshomaru.” He said slowly, carefully phrasing each sentence. “I need you to learn, what would take her to yield to me peacefully.”

Jaken blinked at his master, who averted his gaze, ashamed.

“Sesshomaru-sama?” the imp was confused. Did his master…

The dog demon glared at the imp, being in foul mood, as he had to drag his servant into the private affairs. The truth was, the inu-youkai’s only idea how to make Mai return his affection was to make her bear his pup. However, to do that, he would have to take her and she would not yield without putting up a fight. Raping a woman, who was precious to him, was not the thing Sesshomaru wished. Therefore, he needed an insight of another party and Jaken was his most trusted servant.

“Find a way to make her want to become mine.” He hissed out.

Jaken paled again. Not good. He was between rock and a hard place.

“O-of course!” he squeaked, frantically thinking, how was he supposed to make the both parties happy. A drop of sweat fell from his forehead.

Why me?!

Author Note:

Hey, folks. Thank you very much for the reviews - I look forward and enjoy reading them just as much as you like reading new chapters. I'm glad that you liked the new design and Sesshomaru's lack of talent in romancing department.

So... review to find out if Sesshomaru manages to seduce Mai before she gets to divorce him!