Chapter 139

Mai and diplomacy

After spending the night at the village leader’s house, Inuyasha’s group and Mai set off at dawn eastwards. The stroll was pain in the ass for the girl, mainly because she had actually to walk. While with Sesshomaru, she spend as much time as possible on Ah-Un’s back and when she had to walk on her own two feet for too long, the dog demon would usually fling her over his shoulder, carrying her in this manner. Her fancy clothes didn’t make the matter easier either. Maybe they looked pretty, but they weren’t suitable for travelling.

To make the matters worse, Kagome and Sango insisted on inquiring about her mysterious imaginary boyfriend. The girls let the boys and Kirara go first, while their little group stayed behind. Mai was trapped between her two friends.

“Is he good-looking?” Kagome kept asking. Mai sighed.

“Illegally.” She replied and both her friends squealed, excited.

“It is important, that for the man to like children. Does he?” the demon-slayer was curious.

“He does.” Mai answered with a sigh. 

Considering, that Sesshomaru’s group looked like a kindergarten now, it must be true. Maybe he has some weakness towards the little cute things.

“Does he have a sense of humor?” Kagome asked. Mai shook her head.

“Nope.” She answered. “If he has one, it must be a twisted one.”

Her friend scratched her chin, thinking.

“Inuyasha has somewhat twisted sense of humor.” Kagome stated. “Did he kiss you on the lips?”

Mai blushed fiercely at the mention of kissing.

“No…” she mumbled. “Just on… not on the lips.”

“It’s no good.” Kagome stated firmly. “It doesn’t count if it’s not on the lips.”

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the front. It seemed, that a large group of mounted samurai was travelling on the same road in the opposite direction and it was dangerously near Inuyasha. Kagome and Sango exchanged the looks.

“I hope Inuyasha will behave.” Kagome muttered. Sango gripped her hiraikotsu.

“Let’s go!” the demon-slayer shouted and together with Kagome ran towards the boys. Mai cursed, being left behind. She hiked her multi-layered attire and jogged to the front to join Inuyasha’s group.

“I know you.” Inuyasha stated, glaring at the leader of the samurai. Mai managed to catch up to them and was panting, catching her breath. She looked up and gasp. The man on the horse also made a surprised sound.

“Shinji!” she exclaimed, recognizing her friend from the Asakura castle. The young samurai’s face brightened at her sight.

“Amayami-hime, you’re safe and sound!” he said with relief. 

However, after a moment he furrowed his brows, sending her a scolding look. “Amayami-hime, you should be with your lord husband.”

Mai froze at Shinji’s words. Right, the night she was saved by Sesshomaru from the burning castle of Kanazawa, her fake father, lord Asakura, was babbling something about giving her to Sesshomaru as a bride, so the people of the Asakura castle must think, that the dog demon wass her husband now. Accidentally, they had the right information.

“Husband?!” Inuyasha’s group exclaimed and Mai cursed under her nose, as she felt all the eyes staring at her.

“I’ll explain in the moment.” She said quietly and looked at Shinji, who was clearly expecting some kind of answer. 

True, in the feudal era it was inappropriate for a royal princess to travel without her husband or male relatives. Thinking of relatives… actually, she had one here. She grabbed Inuyasha’s fire rat and flashed a smile at Shinji. “My husband is on an important mission and I’m just visiting my brother-in-law.”

Shinji looked like he calmed down, in opposite to her friends, especially Inuyasha, who had his mouth opened agape.

“Shinji, excuse us for the moment.” She said to the young samurai, who nodded, acknowledging her words. Mai looked at her companions.

“Come on, I’ll explain.” She said quietly, ushering all of them to go further from the samurai. The hanyou kept staring at her with shock on his face.

“You married my brother?!” he finally coughed out, his golden eyes wide-opened.

“Mai, what’s going on?” Kagome asked sharply. Mai took a deep breath.

“Look, this is a misunderstanding. I’ll explain it to you right away.” She said, trying to calm them down and hoped, that she’ll be convincing. “Okay. Do you remember Myoga telling you, that I was kidnapped by crazy lord Maeda? There was a huge commotion that time – my fake father sent an army, Sesshomaru came and was obliterating the soldiers, that kind of things. In the end, it came to the misunderstanding and lord Asakura gave me back to Sesshomaru, thinking, that he wants to marry me, what was an idiocy of course. But if we got that straight then, the samurai would probably attack him and he would kill all of them, so I kept my mouth shut. In the end, they think that Sesshomaru is my husband.”

After she finished, everyone was staring at her, grasping what she said. Inuyasha was the first to speak.

“So… you’re not my sister-in-law?” he made sure.

“Nope.” Mai lied. The hanyou let out a relieved breath, what made the girl glare at him. What was that supposed to mean?!

“Why don’t you clear the misunderstanding now?” Kagome asked. Mai opened her mouth to answer, but Miroku did it for her.

“To the people of lord Asakura Mai is princess Amayami. If a lord’s daughter ran off with a man, a youkai at that, and remained unmarried, it would be a major disgrace for the whole province. 

Therefore it would be the best to act, as though Mai was Sesshomaru’s wife. A lady of royal upbringing should travel either in company of her husband or one of his male relatives, that would be Inuyasha, if they believe Sesshomaru to be her husband.” The monk offered a detailed explanation. Mai smiled and nodded to Miroku, happy that he helped her out and patted the hanyou with all her might in the back.

“Shall we go back to Shinji, brother-in-law?” she asked Inuyasha, who frowned.

“Keh!” he folded his arms, but made his way towards the group of samurai. The young general dismounted and came closer to Mai.

“Hime-sama, you are here at a convenient time.” He said. The girl furrowed her brows.

“What do you mean? Is there any problem at the castle?” she asked, wondering what made Shinji looked so worried. The young man nodded, making a death-serious face.

“Actually, there is one and it would be helpful if you could visit the castle of your father.” The general said.

“Keh!” Inuyasha interrupted. “We don’t have time for visiting some castles!”

Mai and Kagome sent him scolding glares and the brown-haired girl turned her attention back to Shinji.

“What has happened?” she asked. The man sighed heavily.

“Lord’s nephew, who happens to be the ruler of neighboring Wakasa province laid his claims to 

Echizen after the death of the current lord. He named as his reason the suspicion, that you are dead and demands your father to adopt him as his heir. Therefore it would be helpful if you showed yourself in the castle before the emissaries. It would ruin the plan of that despicable villain.” The young general explained. Mai scratched her chin, thinking what to answer him. Shinji decided to convince her more. “My lady, it is you, who are the rightful heiress to the Asakura clan. Your son will be the next lord!”

“My son?” she repeated. 

Damn, why everyone have to insist on her having a kid? If she would have one, the boy would be as screwed as Sesshomaru, maybe even more. However, knowing the power of the genes, he would probably run from the responsibility to happily slaughter some demons and promise to get married in four hundred years or so. If she accepted to help the lord Asakura, it wouldn’t be a bother to her, right? She would have only march in and state, that she’s alive. It was a small deed and she pitied Amayami’s father… Not to mention, that the dead princess asked her to take care of the old man. A little bit of kindness wouldn’t hurt.

“We’ll go with you.” She decided. 

“WHAT?!” Inuyasha yelled. “Are you crazy?!”

Instead of arguing with the hanyou, Mai whispered to Kagome:

“I feel, that I owe Amayami’s father… he sent an army after me, after all and his real daughter is dead, being hit by a truck. Maybe we could just to pop in to help the old man out a little?” she said quietly into Kagome’s ear. Her friend nodded, the look of compassion on her face. The black-haired girl looked at Inuyasha.

“Inuyasha, we’ll just pay a quick visit.” She said, smiling. The hanyou narrowed his eyes at her.

“Keh!” he averted his gaze, pouting. “You have to be dreaming, we don’t…”

“Osu-wa-…” Kagome began and Inuyasha froze, gazing at her with fear in his eyes. The girl sighed. 

“It’s important for Ma… for Amayami.”

The hanyou folded his arms, but gave in.

“Keh! Make her hurry.”

Mai sighed. It was kind of irony to make her real brother-in-law act as one…

It turned out, that they were closer to the Asakura castle than Mai thought – only a two hour stroll. Once reaching the gates of the castle, the girl was preparing herself mentally for the diplomacy battle. She reviewed in her mind everything she learned from the history classes and from Aiko’s lessons.

“It’s really surprising, that Mai is even dressed properly.” Miroku said quietly, studying Mai’s fancy attire. “Just as though she was the wife of some lord.”

The girl rolled her eyes. Unfortunately, it happened to be true.

“What a coincidence.” Sango agreed with the monk and looked at the brown-haired girl with worry in her eyes. “But, Mai-chan, are you sure that you’ll handle all this claiming the rights to the providence?”

Mai clenched her fist with determination.

“That will be easy.” She said with confidence in her voice. “You just have to storm in and behave, as though you think, that you are better than anyone in the room.” She was thinking of how her mother-in-law behaved. If she managed to copy her bitchy behavior, everything will be just fine. Plus, she was a leader of the evil demon organization once, so it should be a piece of cake.

“I worry about Inuyasha…” Kagome muttered, pointing at the still pouting hanyou. Mai looked at her newly acquired brother-in-law and decided to give him some advice.

“Inuyasha, I’m sure, that you will manage to act as a good brother-in-law.” The girl said, hoping to make him stop behaving like a five-year old. The half-demon snorted.

“Keh!”

Mai rolled her eyes, thinking how alike the brothers were sometimes. She sighed and spoke to give him some tips.

“Once we meet those emissaries, try to act more… regal.” She said. Inuyasha glanced at her and furrowed his brows, confusion on his face.

“More… what?” he asked, obviously not knowing the meaning of the word. Mai rolled her eyes.

“Like you had your sword stuck up your ass.” She explained in the way, that could be understandable for Inuyasha.

“So… like that bastard Sesshomaru?” he made sure. Mai nodded enthusiastically, happy that he grasped it at last.

“Precisely! Just like that. Aside that, be yourself. I’m sure that they’ll piss themselves from fear once they see your fangs anyway.” She said to him.

“You think?” On Inuyasha’s face a self-satisfied grin appeared. As Mai suspected, the oversized ego was also a family trait. She smiled back and decided to set him in a good mood.

“Sure, you’re the son of a great Inu no Taisho, after all, the greatest of demons. What human won’t tremble before such power?” Mai had a hunch, that she overdid it, but the hanyou’s eyes glistened with joy, as the wide smile brightened his face. He looked like a kid, that just got a new toy. Inuyasha cheerfully patted her back.

“I’m starting to like my new sister-in-law!” he said, his fangs showing in a grin. Mai plastered an identical one across her face and hit him in the shoulder with all strength she could muster – of course he didn’t even flinch.

“You’re too kind, dear brother-in-law!” the girl laughed to hanyou.

The rest of the group was staring at the pair, their eyelids twitching. Shippo arched his eyebrow.

“I think, that Inuyasha and Mai took this acting a little bit too seriously.” He commented. “One could think, that they’re really a family.”

Shinji led their group past the castle gates and down the endless corridors, to the room, where lord Asakura and the emissaries of his nephew were discussing the issue of inheriting the title of the daimyo of Echizen province. Mai readjusted her multi-layered kimono and straightened the red uchike. It was kind of lucky, that she had this attire on – it will help her much needed authority while handling the troublesome guys. 

Before going to take part in the negotiations, she decided to review her plan once more with Inuyasha. She looked at the hanyou, who was now scowling.

“Inuyasha, you remember our plan, right?” she made sure.

“Keh! Sure I do.” He said, before reciting it. “We barge in, tell them, that you’re the boss. If they don’t agree, I’ll threaten them with my claws.”

Mai smiled and nodded.

Kagome’s eyelid was twitching.

“I think, that she spends too much time with Sesshomaru.” The girl said. Miroku and Sango nodded and Shippo sighed heavily.

“I have to be strong.” The fox demon said.

Mai rushed towards the door, guarded by the two soldiers. Seeing, that she was about to go in they crossed their spears, blocking the way.

“No one can enter till the negotiations end.” One of them said. The girl folded her arms and shot him a poisonous look.

“Do you know, who I am? I am princess Amayami! Now move!” she said angrily, but the guards didn’t budge.

“No one is allo…” one of the soldiers began, but he was cut in the midsentence, as Inuyasha leapt towards them.

“OUT OF MY WAY!” he yelled and in one move sliced the spears into small pieces. Then he shoved the guards aside, so that they landed plastered against the walls. Mai showed him the thumbs up. Inuyasha grinned and opened the door with a kick. The girl smiled, stepping on the door. Now, that was the entrance.

The men, that gathered inside gawked at the newcomers with wide-opened eyes. Shinji slipped past Mai and Inuyasha and cleared his throat, making use of the shocked silence that fell.

“Amayami-hime and Inuyasha-dono, the brother of Sesshomaru-dono arrived.” He announced loudly, hoping that he got the weird demons’ names right. No one noticed, that, when the young samurai was pronouncing Sesshomaru’s name, his voice tremble a little, as though some emotion coursed through Shinji. Lord Asakura stared at Mai, as though not believing that she was here in flesh.

“Amayami.” He whispered, shocked. Mai smiled at him. To say the truth, he quite liked the man, like an uncle. Surely he was a good father for princess Amayami. It was nice to be able to help him out from time to time.

The group of richly-clad noblemen, that consisted of six men frowned at the pair. Their leader furrowed his brows.

“What’s the meaning of this? Who dares to interrupt…” he began, resentment in his voice. Mai narrowed her eyes and sent him a cold glare, that she copied from lady Sayuri.

“I dare.” She said confidently, placing her hands on her hips. “I am Amayami-hime. I heard, that someone tries to steal the title, that is mine by law.”

The emissary’s face turned red with anger and surprise. 

“She’s alive.” One of the other noblemen whispered to their leader. The main emissary attempted to send her an intimidating glare, but he underestimated Mai – his glare was nothing compared to the ones, that Sesshomaru was sending her on daily basis. The men had a quick, nervous council in their small group. Finally, the leader spoke.

“Tch!” he hissed, irritated. “A woman has no right to make such demands or even show herself here. Your husband should do it in your stead, given that you have one.” He finished the sentence in a mocking tone.

“Should I beat the crap out of him now?” Inuyasha asked, but she shook her head.

Mai took a deep calming breath. Damn, it was just as troublesome as dealing with the teachers.

“My husband does not concern himself with minor issues, therefore there is no need for him to be here.” She said in the most stern voice she could manage, feeling like some actress. “Acknowledge my claim to the title.”

The man arched his eyebrow, as though not believing her.

“Your attire is very nice and suggestive, Amayami-hime, but do you have a proof, that you are a married woman and not just a demon’s whore?” he mocked her. Mai’s face turned red from anger. Lord Asakura stood up abruptly, equally furious.

“Do not question the honor of my daughter!” he bellowed. The emissary winced.

“Even if she was married, how do you expect us to acknowledge the spouse of some youkai?” he said, appearing to look disinterested.

Mai saw, that the situation was slipping out of her control. She thought, that it would be a piece of cake, but apparently she underestimated the professional diplomats and was oblivious about some customs – like the one, that they wouldn’t even take the words of a woman seriously. It seemed, that the demons in the feudal era were more progressive than humans, when it came to the role of women in the society. She moved closer to Inuyasha and elbowed him.

“Help me out. But no punching yet.” She whispered to him. The hanyou nodded.

“HEY!” he yelled, gaining everyone’s attention. He folded his arms and sent a glare at the emissaries of Wakasa. “No one insults my sister-in-law! My great brother is a powerful Taiyoukai, that will never be defeated by the weakling like you!”

“Our lord has a great military force at his disposal.” The emissary retorted. Inuyasha snorted.

“That was supposed to be a threat? My brother could wipe out that miserable army of yours single-handedly!”

Mai and the rest of their group gawked at Inuyasha, not expecting that he would ever be able to praise Sesshomaru like that. However, the girl noticed, that the hanyou’s eyelid was twitching. She appreciated, that he was doing his best. Inuyasha was truly amazing, he didn’t even choke on his own words yet.

The man laughed.

“The entire army by himself?” he smirked. “Such thing is not possible.”

The girl opened her mouth to snap back at the annoying man, but a loud rumble distracted her. Inuyasha sniffed the air.

“I think, that it is the thing called re… reinforcements.” He muttered. Mai furrowed her brows, as she heard the screams of the soldiers and Shinji yelling.

“Out of the way, fools!” the young general’s voice bellowed. Soon the girl saw, what or rather who was the cause of the whole commotion. In the place, where the door used to be before Inuyasha kicked them out, appeared no one other than the youkai Sesshomaru, with an annoyed look on his face.

“Crap.” Mai muttered. 

He was supposed to come for her later! She bit her bottom lip, her thoughts racing. Now she was in the deep shit. She will have to drag him somehow into her little show, so that Kagome, Inuyasha and the rest wouldn’t learn, that she was really married to the inu-youkai. It was beginning to be a little complicated… She hoped, that that idiot Sesshomaru wouldn’t blurt out something stupid. 

She hiked her kimono and rushed towards the demon, gripping his arm firmly. Mai flashed a smile at him and glued to his arm. She looked at him meaningfully, wanting him to understand, that she wanted him to play along. Unfortunately, he didn’t look like he grasped it. He sent her a baffled look, apparently confused by her behavior. She cleared her throat and looked at the emissaries.

“This Taiyoukai is my husband.” She announced, kicking Sesshomaru’s ankle. “Your lord better take back his claims to Echizen before my husband comes to kill him!”

The situation was getting awkward. The emissaries were scowling, displeased that Mai turned out to be actually alive and her husband appeared, stripping them of their arguments. Inuyasha and his group were gawking at Sesshomaru, their mouths open agape and Mai hoped, that she would be able to straighten the things afterwards and keep her unfortunate marriage somehow secret from her friends.

The demon’s first shock passed and she glared at the girl. He pulled his arm from her grip and swiftly snatched her wrist, the irritation on his face.

“I do not have time for your foolishness, woman.” He hissed to her. “We are leaving.”

With this words he turned away and began walking towards the exit, dragging Mai behind, but the 

girl put up some resistance.

“Wait!” she exclaimed. “I must make these people grasp, that I have claims to the Echizen province! My… father needs my help!”

Sesshomaru stopped and glanced at her coldly.

“The problems of humans are not mine.” He stated. Mai narrowed her eyes and decided to put on the ultimate show. She hoped, that it wouldn’t backfire… Well, now that she was here, she couldn’t just leave the matter unsolved.

“Sesshomaru!” she said loudly, gaining the demon’s undivided attention. Once she had it, she pointed with her free hand at the emissaries of Wakasa. “Those men represent the one, that wants to strip our son of the heritage he deserves!”

“Our son?” the inu-youkai repeated slowly, looking ultimately confused. Mai blinked her eye at him and nodded.

“Yes, the one we’ll have in the future. Are you going to let those men rob the kid of it?” she demanded, placing her both hands at her hips, as Sesshomaru released her wrist. He stayed silent for a while, apparently the wheels in his brain were turning. Mai sighed. “They called me a youkai’s whore.”

The dog demon reacted immediately. His head turned abruptly towards the emissaries and he approached them with his youkai speed. Mai saw his powerful demonic aura swirling around his frame, as his eyes glowered red. The men tried to flee, but Sesshomaru let only one escape and cut off the escape route for the others. Inuyasha swiftly snatched the escapee. 

“No one insults the wife of this Sesshomaru and lives.” He said calmly, reaching out his hand towards the terrified men. Suddenly, the poisonous gas sprinkled out of his claws, literally melting the screaming humans. Mai flinched at the sight. Then, the demon turned to the emissary, that was held still by Inuyasha.

“Tell your master to obey my wife’s demands.” He said and the hanyou released the man, who stormed out of the room.

Mai sighed with relief, that everything was over. In the end Sesshomaru handled the negotiation with his killer effectiveness, as always. Well, she couldn’t really have expected anything else from him.

“Come, woman.” He said and grabbed her shoulder, dragging her to the exit. Inuyasha and the rest of the group followed them. 

Lord Asakura’s gaze followed the one, who he believed to be his daughter, and saw her being whisked again by that cruel demon. He smiled, but his smile had a pinch of bitterness, as though he regretted, that he didn’t even had the chance to speak with his own child.

General Hiroyoshi, known more as Shinji, approached his lord.

“She will be fine.” He said quietly, sadness and longing in his eyes. Lord Asakura nodded.

“She had grown to a strong woman.” He shared his observation with pride.

Once outside the castle, Mai tapped the demon on his hand.

“Sesshomaru, just one more thing. Pretty please!” she made her best puppy eyes. 

Looking annoyed, he released her and Mai ran to Sango and Kagome to get some smelly powder from the demon slayer.

In the meantime, Inuyasha came closer to his older brother, grinning widely.

“I’d never thought, that you’d let the human girl make you pretend, that you’re her husband! I almost believed it!” he laughed hard, clutching his stomach. Sesshomaru frowned at him.

“Pretend?” he repeated slowly.

Crap! Mai looked at the demon, panicked. He thought all the time, that it was for real. Well, it was, but she didn’t want Inuyasha and the others to find out. She excused herself quickly and ran back to Sesshomaru. She flashed a smile at the hanyou and the others.

“Sesshomaru is a great actor, isn’t he? Such a poker face!” he exclaimed cheerfully and glanced at the dog demon. “Let’s go.”

The inu-youkai nodded and formed the cloud beneath his feet. Mai gulped, as she hated it as always and stepped on it, eager to get out of here before anyone starts ask some questions. She waved to her friends and they waved back. She grabbed Sesshomaru’s armor, when they soared into the sky. The girl tried not to look down – her fear of heights got better, but not that good.

When they were out of the range of Inuyasha’s ears, Sesshomaru spoke.

“Did you not tell Inuyasha of our… situation?” he asked. Mai studied his face to find out whether he was angry about this or quite the opposite. Damn his poker face!

“I didn’t.” she answered. “Do you imagine how would he pester you if I told him?”

The demon stayed silent for a while, considering her words.

“Perhaps that was a wise choice.” He decided and focused back on flying. Mai relaxed, happy that he agreed with her so easily. His behavior today was quite okay, to say the truth.

She was surprised, that Sesshomaru reacted like he did, murdering the emissaries on the spot. It was kind of horrible, but he was a demon, after all and perceived some things differently than humans. He must have thought, that he did Mai great favor, what was by the way true. The girl smiled to herself. For Sesshomaru to go that furious, when he heard that she was insulted, was quite chivalrous. She looked at his expressionless face. Maybe he was a decent man in his own youkai way…

“What is it?” he asked without glancing at Mai. 

The girl kept smiling.

“Sesshomaru, thank you for helping me out at the castle, that meant a lot for me.” She said.

“Hn.” He still refused to look at her. “It is a husband’s duty to defend his wife’s honor.”

Mai opened her mouth agape. Wow, that just sounded cool. And somehow romantic. She thought, that maybe her hope for a bearable life is not lost yet.

“That was nice of you.” She praised Sesshomaru and embraced him a little tighter. 

The demon looked at her and smirked.

“You will have an opportunity to show me your gratitude tonight, when you conceive the son, you mentioned.” He said. Mai’s eyes widened and she lifted her head to look at his face, suddenly panicked.

“I was joking!” she exclaimed. Sesshomaru smiled wider, showing his sharp fangs.

“I did not.” He said, boring his gaze into her. 

Mai gulped. She was wrong, horribly wrong. To think, that she placed the words “Sesshomaru” and “romantic” in the same sentence!

Author Note:

I hope you enjoyed a tiny bit of a comedy. 

Everyone, who reviewed, thank you very very much! If you haven't had the chance yet, the survey:

 Please write me in your comments which aspect of the story you like most. Please be harsh and try to give points from 1 to 10:

- humor

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Review and perhaps I update tomorrow morning. Goodnight, dears!