Chapter 145

Follow your heart

Mai and Keiji were still riding in the back of the column, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to the girl. The horses’ hooves scuffed up a lot of dust, making it almost impossible to see clearly what was ahead of them. Suddenly the riders in the front stopped. Mai and her younger ally barely managed to still their horses before they bumped into the other samurai.

“Look!” one of the soldiers in the front of the column shouted, pointing at the sky. The girl looked up and gasped, seeing a huge dark cloud in some distance from them. Under it was floating some unidentified round object. She squinted her eyes, trying to discern it, but she didn’t have a hawk’s eyesight.

“It looks like a giant spider.” Keiji stated, also squinting.

“Spider?” Mai repeated. She had a bad hunch about this. 

The phenomenon was definitely the one of youkai nature and a demonic spider could be associated with one villain – Naraku. If she was right, Sesshomaru was there, battling him. Given that the inu-youkai was still alive…

The group was so absorbed by observing the ominous phenomenon, that they didn’t notice another enemy, circling them and closing the trap, until a pained scream was heard.

“AAA!” one of the samurai screamed, as a frog-like demon darted out of nowhere and snatched him from the saddle, swallowing him.

“Mononoke!” Keiji yelped, his eyes wide-opened from the shock. 

Mai cursed under her nose. Sudden youkai attack was the last thing she needed right now. She quickly looked around and counted around ten frog-demons, each of the size of a horse. Crap, they’re screwed. The youkai had their group completely surrounded and would leap to devour them anytime now. If only she had more time to think of something…

“Meat.” Croaked one of the frogs.

“Meat… we want meat.” Another spoke.

The samurai were nearly panicked – most of them were seeing youkai for the first time in their lives. 

The commander clenched his teeth, gathering the courage.

“On my mark, we will charge!” he ordered.

Mai cursed. That was probably his only idea, but it was the worst one he could think of. She was no strategist, but only an idiot wouldn’t know, that once they charged, the frogs would leap at them from behind and sides. No way she was going to die here, killed by a bunch of frogs! Not before she got to see Sesshomaru.

The girl glanced at the boy, who was trembling like a jelly.

“Keiji, stick close to me.” She told him. 

The scared boy nodded. Mai kicked the sides of her horse and galloped towards the commander.

“Hey! Commander!” she shouted to him, not even bothering to make her voice sound more masculine. “Charging is a mistake!”

The man looked at her sternly, displeased by the fact, that a youngster questioned his authority, but 

Mai wasn’t bothered. She stopped her horse by his.

“Kakiya...” he started in a warning tone, but the girl interrupted him.

“If you command to charge, you’ll get us all killed.” She explained quickly. “But I have a plan. Trust me, I know quite a lot about the youkai.”

The commander furrowed his brows at her, but his gaze wandered to the hungry beasts. Finally, he decided what had priority – his own pride or the lives of his men.

“Fine, Kakiya. What is your plan?” he asked. Mai looked at him with determination in her eyes.

“Give the command to me.” She insisted. 

The man hesitated to oblige, but in that very moment another scream pierced the air, as the second soldier was devoured by the youkai. The older samurai examined Mai’s face and nodded solemnly.

“Everyone! From now on, Kakiya is the commander!” he bellowed and turned to Mai to speak quieter. “I hope, that your plan will work, boy.”

Mai nodded and yelled:

“Everyone, dismount and do what I do!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, sliding of her horse. Hesitantly, the samurai did the same. Mai energetically slapped the rump of her steed and the animal ran away, rushing straight to the frog demons. Mai hoped, that it will give them some time. She reached for her hidden bag and frantically searched for a flint.

In the meanwhile the demons leapt on the defenseless animals, ripping them apart and devouring, just as the girl planned - when their bellies would be filled with the horses’ flesh, the youkai would move much slower, at least in the theory.

“Form a circle, your back to the inside!” Mai yelled. “Do what I do!”

She ripped off her sleeve and wrapped the fabric around the blade of her naginata. Confused, the soldiers obeyed. They doubted, if it would be effective, but Mai was the only person, who had an idea, what to do. She read once in grandpa Higurashi’s book, that amphibian demons were weak against the fire. She lit the flame with the flint and set the cloth around her naginata on fire. Then, she passed the fire to Keiji’s naginata and he did the same for his neighbor. The last one, who received the fire, was the commander, who was standing at Mai’s right side.

“Now what?” one of the samurai asked. 

“Now we wait.” Mai replied, doing her best not to show her fear in the voice. She was scared like hell, but was also determined to survive. 

Once the frog demons finished feasting on the horses, they turned their attention to the humans, licking the animals’ blood of their heads with long slimy tongues. The fire slightly distressed them, but not enough to give up on the attack. They assumed the positions around the samurai.

“I’ve never fought the real enemy before.” Keiji whimpered to Mai. The girl smiled faintly.

“Neither did I.” she admitted. “But all you have to do is to stick the sharp end into the opponent, simple as that.”

Personally, she hoped, that it would work like that.

Finally, it begun.

All frog demons leapt at the humans at once. However, once their flesh was burnt, they were completely losing their senses, blindly trashing, making them an easy target for the samurai.

Luckily, none of the beasts was attacking Mai directly. The girl stood with the hellishly heavy weapon, ready to defend herself, warily looking around and playing her role as a commander, mostly using the knowledge from movies and period dramas.

“Hold the formation!” she yelled atop her lungs, seeing, that several samurai were trying to chase their prey. She almost didn’t notice the beast, that was crawling in her direction.

“Kakiya!” one of the samurai yelled, as the frog leapt from nowhere and landed not a meter from shocked Mai. It was too close to stab it, so she did the first thing, that popped into her mind – she solidly whacked the demon’s head, using her naginata. The youkai was dumbfounded for a while, just enough for a fellow samurai to come the girl with help and stab the frog.

“Thanks.” Mai muttered. The soldier nodded. Mai looked around to assess the situation. Half of the frogs were killed, leaving five opponents left. Several human bodies, or rather remains of them laid on the ground, but most of their group was alive, what gave twenty-one or twenty-two warriors, including herself and Keiji, who were rather useless in combat. The numbers looked so-so, but what worried Mai the most, the advantage of fire was lost, as the flames died away from waving with the weapons. She grabbed the burnt cloth and shoved it off the blade of her naginata.

Then, the next wave of attack came.

“Keep the circle!” Mai shouted. 

The samurai obediently came back to the formation.

The demons attacked almost immediately, now not only feeling hunger, but also urge to avenge their killed companions. Unfortunately, the youkai weren’t as stupid as they looked and learned on their mistakes – they decided, that to cope the rest, they had to eliminate the leader. All at once leapt at Mai.

She girl yelped in fear, as Keiji dragged her down onto the ground, saving her life, as the frogs missed her by inches. The samurai threw themselves at the demons, slashing them and stabbing, in order to get them away from the girl. Mai tried to crawl away, but one of the youkai pinned her leg to the ground. The girl managed to turn around, with her leg still immobilized. She did her best to free the limb from the grip, but without avail. She saw, how the frog, that was directly above her, licked its eyes with the longue tongue, anticipating a delicious meal. Mai was defenseless, for she lost her weapon in the commotion and she didn’t have a spare one.

“Meat.” The frog demon croaked, opening its enormous mouth. The death was upon her, but the girl refused to accept it without a fight. She frantically looked around, searching for something useful. Then, she saw a ripped off human hand, the fingers still clenched around the hilt of the sword. If only she could reach it… Mai outstretched her right arm, her fingers brushing against the hilt of the sword. It was so close and yet out of reach.

Suddenly, the frog jumped to leap down on her defenseless prey. Taking the opportunity, that her leg was now free, the girl managed to roll sideways, grabbing the hilt of the sword along the way. Just in the very moment the demon’s mouth was directly over her, Mai thrust the blade with all her strength through the frog’s roof of mouth, until she hears a characteristic scroop, as the metal pierced the skull.

The youkai, twitching in agony, fell heavily onto the ground right next to her. The girl was panting, struggling heavily to catch the breath, not believing what she just did – she singlehandedly slain the demon.

“Kakiya!” the commander called one of her fake names. Wow, now I have more than one. – Mai thought briefly.

“I’m here!” she called back, as she tried to get up, unsuccessfully, because the damn armor was obscuring her movements.

“You’re alive.” The samurai stated, apparently surprised by the fact, as he outstretched his hand. The girl grabbed it and was pulled back on her feet. She swiftly retrieved the lost naginata – this weapon suited her better, as one could whack the opponent good with it. It seemed, that the victory was theirs, for all the demons were laying on the ground and the soldiers were finishing them. The commander slightly bowed his head before Mai with appreciation.

Then, the girl saw the frog, which was laying on the ground like dead, rise, right behind the soldier’s back. Her eyes widened at the threat, but everything happened so fast, not giving the man a chance to react. The amphibian opened its mouth, spiked with long dagger-like teeth and leapt forwards, as though it wanted to devour both Mai and the commander at the same time.

“Watch out!” the girl yelled. 

The soldier lifted his naginata, but the demon just chomped it, breaking the weapon in two and leaving the commander defenseless. The youkai readied itself to devour the prey, but had been stopped. Mai leapt forward, foolishly charging at the frog.

“Hya!” she shouted, swishing the heavy weapon and slashing the monster’s foul mouth. 

The wounded frog squeaked from pain, but soon rage appeared in its red eyes, as it locked the girl on. It charged, knocking the commander down along the way.

Mai stood firmly, focusing and not allowing the fear to take control over her body. It was a task. A simple task. She just had to stick the sharp end in the right place. The demon roared and she moved her naginata as fast as she could. The blade pierced one of the red eyes and she pushed her weapon with all force, till it sank deeper, reaching the brain. The frog let out a last croak and fell limply to the ground. The girl let out a breath and leaned on her naginata, closing the eyes and calming herself.

Then, she heard ovations. She looked around. They won. The frog demons were all dead, however over one third of their group also lost their lives. She searched with her eyes for Keiji and let out a relieved sigh, as she saw the boy safe and sound, not counting a few scratches. The commander was bruised, but also in one piece.

Mai suddenly remembered, what was her destination. She whirled around to gaze at the place, where Naraku supposedly was, but the dark cloud was gone. That must mean, that he had been either defeated or escaped again. Either way, she had to go there. If Sesshomaru was still alive, he wouldn’t linger there for long. Without a word for her companions, she made her way, limping, towards that place.

“Wait!” the commander stopped Mai. She turned around to look for him. “Kakiya, you saved us today. You’re the bravest man of us all!”

Mai smiled at the words.

“I’m sorry, but I have to take care of my business.” She said, turning away. “Besides, neither is my name Kakiya nor I am a man.”

The samurais were confused. The commander furrowed his brows. The boy’s knowledge about the youkai was suspicious, but saved them. He suspected from the moment Kakiya took the command, that he may be not who he had claimed to be. However, the last part…

“What is your name, then? We wish to know who we owe our lives.” He called after the figure, that was already walking away. 

The girl glanced over her shoulder.

“My name’s Mai, but in Echizen people call me Amayami.”

The men gasped, startled by the news.

“He’s a woman.” One of the samurais stated the obvious.

“And the princess.” Someone else added. “Shouldn’t we stop her and bring back to the castle?”

Keiji gripped tighter his naginata, shocked that his idealized first love turned out to be a tough warrior woman. He thought, that his cousin would have to change his marriage plans, for the princess wouldn’t let anything stand in her way between herself and her beloved. Keiji had an idea who could the man, who held the princess’s heart, be.

“No, we must let her go.” He said.

Sesshomaru watched, as Meidou opened and sucked Inuyasha’s woman inside and his foolish brother followed her. And yet, he understood Inuyasha’s choice. If he was in his brother place, he would do the same thing.

Suddenly, something averted the dog demon’s attention. He picked up the mixed scents of youkai and human blood, one of them was very familiar. Sesshomaru’s eyes widened, as he recognized to whom it belonged. Mai! Without hesitating he leapt into the air.

“Sesshomaru-sama, where are you going?” Jaken questioned.

“Sesshomaru-sama!” Rin called after the demon, who was flying away.

The inu-youkai did not pay any attention to his companions, he was focusing on one thing – getting to Mai. The scent of the huge amount of blood indicated some slaughter, including youkai and humans, probably the humans had been attacked. What was the worst, he sensed the woman’s blood as well. If she was still alive, she must be wounded. If she lost her life already… Sesshomaru suddenly felt gratitude for Rin for bringing back Tenseiga, which he foolishly cast away, after the Meidou Zangetsuha had been transferred to Tessaiga. He might have to use his father’s fang today.

Sesshomaru discovered with a certain dose of surprise, that Mai’s scent was closing to him own, what meant that she was on the move. The demon felt a wave of relief wash over his body. She was alive, wounded, but alive. Soon, he spotted a figure in the distance. His nose told him, that it was Mai, but she looked completely different than usual. The woman was clad in an attire of a male warrior, including an armor and she was covered in blood from the top of her head to her toes. Thankfully, the scent indicated, that it was not her own blood, but that of a youkai. He saw her eyes widen at the sight of him.

Mai gasped, watching as the silver-haired demon was gliding towards her. She felt relief – he was alive! Happiness filled her heart, pushing all anxiety away. She feared, that she would make it in time for his funeral or see him severely wounded, but he was all right… What a relief.

Sesshomaru landed in front of her, scanning her up and down. I must look horrible – Mai thought, realizing that she had the youkai’s blood smeared all over her body, even her tangled hair was sticky with the red liquid. 

“You are okay... I’m glad.” the girl uttered to the demon. “I just… wanted to see you again.”

Mai felt tears welling in her eyes. She cursed herself for the pathetic reaction, she didn’t want to cry in front of him. She wanted to be strong.

The demon gazed at the crying woman and took a step closer to her. Her words...

“You came all the way here to see me?” he asked. The girl lifted her head to look into his golden eyes.

“Yes. I was worried, that something happened to you. I had a bad dream… and I had to see you.” She blabbered, feeling that her words were making less and less sense. She bit her lower lip, deciding that it was the time to confess her feelings for Sesshomaru. She wanted him to know them, but it was so difficult to begin, with the demon sending her one of those intimidating looks. The girl focused and looked him in the eye. “I came, because… because I…”

Sesshomaru furrowed his brows at her incoherent blabbering. He arched his eyebrow, waiting for her to say, what she attempted to. He could not notice, how sweetly her cheeks were flushed, even though they were dirtied with blood.

“I wanted to say, that… I mean…” Mai was struggling to make her first love confession and the demon’s poker face wasn’t making it easier for her.

Finally, the inu-youkai lost his patience. He grabbed the woman’s shoulders and pulled her closer to him, till their armors slammed against each other. He glared at her from above, towering over her small frame.

“Will you say it or not?” he hissed to her, still holding her shoulders. 

Mai felt her anger spiking at his hostile attitude. She was in the middle of coughing out her confession and the demonic bastard was back with his antics!

“I love you, you idiot!” she shouted in his face. 

Then, she blushed fiercely, having realized that she said that out loud and set her gaze on her feet.

Sesshomaru’s eyes widened, as he had been surprised by Mai’s sudden confession of affection towards him. Who would have thought, that his stubborn human wife returned his fondness and would come all the way here to say it? Maybe he had been too rash in his decision to set her free. However, none of that mattered now – she was now nearly entirely his.

The demon slid one hand from her shoulder to her back, pulling her as close as possible, considering the fact, that both of them wore armors. Sesshomaru cursed the garments in his mind, as he yearned to feel her warm body press against his. With his other hand he cupped her cheek and lifted her head.

Mai looked up at the inu-youkai, the scarlet blush burning her face. Sesshomaru said nothing, but he embraced her, gazing intently at her. Her cheeks flushed even more as he began lowering his head.

“Sesshomaru?” Mai said his name, expecting to hear some kind of answer to her confession..

“Hmm?” He muttered, caressing her cheek with his thumb. She closed her eyes, giving in to the feel of his hand and the other one tightly pressing her to himself.

Something was not right. Mai pulled back from his embrace. The demon immediately took his hands off his sweet wife, thinking that he alarmed her with his bold actions again. Apparently she was just too innocent.

The girl took a step back from the inu-youkai and took a good look at him. Earlier she didn’t notice it, but there was something different about him. She furrowed her brows, studying his large frame. There she saw it! He had two swords by his hip – Tenseiga and the other one, she didn’t recognize. He must have somehow laid his hands on it, while she was away. Speaking of hands… Mai stared at him. Shit! He had both!

“Did your arm grew back or what?!” she exclaimed, surprised by the sight.

“Hn.” The demon smirked, presenting her his new limb, as he flexed his clawed fingers. “It did.”

Mai winced, seeing a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face, as the deadly claws of his left arm gleamed in the sunlight. Great, now that he has both arms, he’ll molest me twice as much – she thought. Seeing the demon so pleased with himself, the girl sighed heavily. She decided, that she had the worst taste in men.

“Is there something else I should know about?” she asked, pointing the new sword. The youkai followed her gaze.

“This is my new sword, Bakusaiga.” He stated.

“Oh.” Mai muttered, hearing the extensive explanation. Well, sooner or later she would surely see it in action anyway. Besides, her dear husband was never a talkative person.

“Why are you covered in youkai blood?” Now was Sesshomaru’s turn to satisfy his curiosity. At the question Mai grinned widely.

“Oh, just on the way here I took the command over a squad of samurais, when a bunch of gigantic frog demons attacked us and we beat the crap out of them. I killed two on my own.” She boasted. The demon arched his eyebrow.

“You are a surprising female.” He said, pulling her back into his embrace.

At the same time she felt the leather straps of her armor being slashed, as the demon cut them with his sharp claws, causing the uncomfortable wretched thing fall onto the ground. Mai yelped, surprised, how skillfully he unwrapped her from the armor. It was kind of scary. Now that nothing was standing in the way, Sesshomaru grabbed her both hips and moved her even closer. The girl gasped at his sudden action and grabbed the front of his haori. Her heart began racing faster.

“About what I said…” she began, but Sesshomaru interrupted her, suddenly leaning down and pulling her into the kiss. 

He crushed his lips against hers, devouring them passionately. Mai closed her eyes and gave in to him, climbing on her toes, as she wrapped her arms around her neck. She moaned quietly, when the demon slanted his head and deepened the kiss, sliding his warm tongue into her mouth. The girl trembled from excitement at the pleasurable experience and retuned the kiss with equal enthusiasm. Hesitantly, she mimicked the moves of his tongue. Sesshomaru groaned at her action and his hands began roaming all over his body. His one hand firmly grabbed her buttock and the other moved slowly from her hip up, towards the breast.

Suddenly Mai broke the kiss, fighting to catch a breath. She looked at her husband, her face flushed. The girl lifted her hands to the demon’s face and brushed her fingers over the  magenta stripes on his cheeks. She climbed on her toes and kissed him on the cheek shyly.

“I love you.” She whispered fondly. 

Sesshomaru combed her tangled hair with his claws.

“I know.” He replied.

Mai narrowed her eyes at him, as the romantic mood disappeared. I know? This was all he had to say when she just declared her love for him?! What an arrogant jerk!

“You senseless demon!” she spat at him, as she banged her fist against his armor. “After I…”

However, she never had the chance to finish the sentence, as Sesshomaru covered her mouth with his, delivering another kiss and silencing her. Mai felt her body getting warmer, as his hands roamed all over her back, touched her hips, moved in circles over her belly, while he kept devouring her lips with hers. Then, one of the hands left her body, as the demon began unfastening the leather straps, that supported his armor, never parting their mouths. Once the armor fell onto the ground, Sesshomaru broke the kiss.

The girl was panting heavily, her eyes half-closed. Suddenly, she yelped, as the youkai pulled her down onto the ground and climbed atop her, when she was laying on the grass. Mai’s eyes widened in shock at his rash action… Did he want to… No way, she just confessed to him, she wasn’t ready for this!

Sesshomaru felt his woman stiffen under him, as he pinned her with the weight of his body to the ground, but did not pay much attention to it, for he was confident to coax her into relaxing in no time. After all she just confessed her affections for him, so she must want them to become one as badly as he did. The demon lowered his head to kiss her into oblivion. 

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed as his lips met Mai’s palm instead of her mouth. The girl covered the youkai’s dangerously sinful lips with her hand, preventing him from kissing her. She glared at him.

“Are you crazy? You want to… here, now?!” the girl said nervously.

The demon grunted, displeased by her negative reaction. Her behavior baffled him – the one moment she says that he has her affection and the next she refuses to become his wife completely. The minds of human females must be strange indeed. Feeling disappointed, he pulled back and stood up, releasing her from his embrace. Once he put his armor back on, he reached his hand to Mai and yanked her on her feet.

Mai saw, that her husband was pouting. She rolled her eyes. Damn, she just had to marry a sex-possessed beast. And yet, she felt somewhat guilty for the disappointed look on his face. She felt, that she had to explain this to him.

“Sesshomaru, look at me.” She said to him. The demon turned his golden eyes to gaze into hers. Mai sighed. It seemed, that they had a misunderstanding here. He was so difficult to handle at times. “It’s not that I don’t want you… I do, but it’s just, that I’m not ready yet to… you now.”

She felt the blush return with the doubled power at the mere thought of making love with Sesshomaru. The girl was horribly nervous about this, not to mention that everything was happening in an express tempo. 

“I will wait till you are.” The demon said, wondering if he had not just lied to her, as patience was the trait he lacked.

Mai smiled ho him, happy that he understood. 

“Do not torture me for too long, though.” The demon added, making Mai roll her eyes.

She came closer to Sesshomaru and hesitantly brushed her fingers over his. The demon turned away. She sighed, disappointed, but then he gripped her palm, entwining his fingers around hers. She gasped, slightly surprised by the gentle gesture.

“Let us go.” The inu-youkai said and the pair departed, their hands joined, as they embarked on the new life together.

Author Note:

The end.

I hope you liked it and I didn’t disappoint you. The couple of months I spent on writing, while waiting for your reviews was really meaningful and fulfilling to me. It was a pure pleasure to make my readers happy and entertained. Now please review.

 About the heated discussion I saw under the previous chapter, you're quite right. You might have a feeling that the love story story was dragging, because originally the story was shorter by over 40 chapters and I had to stall the romance to insert action. About the sudden twist in Mai's feelings, I admit that I was eager to end this ;-)

Comment!