Chapter 146

The lovers’ nest

As Mai and Sesshomaru arrived at the Bone Eater’s well, the girl’s mouth opened agape at the commotion. It seemed, like some serious drama was going on.

Kagome was clutching the edge of the well, her knees were so bruised, that they bled.

“Mama! Souta! Grandpa!” she was wailing, the tears streaming down her face. 

She flung her leg over the edge, wanting to jump, but Inuyasha yanked her back up.

“Are you crazy?! You won’t get through even if you break your both legs!” the hanyou yelled in the girl’s face. Kagome stopped crying for a moment to glare at Inuyasha.

“You’re heartless!” she exclaimed. “Osuwari!”

Mai winced, as her brother-in-law got slammed against the ground. Apparently, for some unknown reasons the well stopped working and Kagome was stuck in the feudal era for good, just like her. Inuyasha had this misfortune to happen to have beads of subjection around his neck, what made him an easy prey for the pissed girl. Poor guy.

The girl blushed, when she saw Miroku kissing Sango passionately, while gripping her buttock. The priestess Kaede swiftly covered Shippo’s and Kohaku’s eyes, while Jaken did the same with Rin. With a certain dose of relief, Mai discovered, that everyone was safe and sound, even though they looked just as messy as she was.

“Sesshomaru, what about Naraku?” she asked the demon.

“He was defeated.” He stated shortly. Mai felt a wave of relief wash over his body. That sneaky villain wouldn’t be trying to kill her again.

“That’s great.” She said. 

Earlier, she planned to get away from Sesshomaru once Naraku is dead, but now everything changed. Mai smiled to herself, not believing, that having being dragged back in time and kidnapped by a fearsome demon would end so well…

Mai felt somebody’s gaze on her. She lifted her head and saw Kaede, staring at her and the inu-youkai, with a wide grin on her face. The girl glanced down and noticed, what made the old woman so amused. She and Sesshomaru was standing next to each other, still holding hands. Mai blushed at the realization, embarrassed, and the dog demon reacted similarly, his eyes widening. Abruptly, they let go of each other’s hand and took a step aside, making the distance between them bigger. Kaede nearly burst in laughter at the sight, but remained silent and pretended, that she didn’t see anything.

“Sango, marry me!” Miroku finally stopped kissing the demon-slayer and proposed to her suddenly. Mai thought, that it was quite a good show – romance, drama, everything.

“Y-yes.” Sango agreed, blushing. Mai sighed, feeling a little bit jealous, as she never got a real proposal. She glanced at Sesshomaru, who looked bored.

“Sango, let’s marry right away!” the monk exclaimed, grabbing his fiancée’s hands and looking her deeply in the eyes.

“Wedding?” asked Kagome, suddenly stopping wailing, as she wiped her tears swiftly. A huge smile appeared on her face. “I love weddings!” she exclaimed.

Mai and Sesshomaru quickly exchanged glances, the girl was scared by Kagome’s enthusiasm. Somehow she was less eager to share the news about having the dog demon as her husband. Judging from the look on the inu-youkai’s face, he wasn’t eager either. 

Kagome stalked to Miroku and Sango, completely forgetting her own personal tragedy, and laid her hands on their shoulders.

“You shouldn’t be so rash, Miroku-sama.” She scolded the monk. “Weddings need preparations, it’s a special day in every girl’s life and everything must be perfect! You can marry in three days. I think, that we’ll handle the preparations until then.”

“We?” asked confused Inuyasha. Kagome looked at him sharply.

“Yes, we. Everyone will help.” She stated firmly. “Mai, I’ll find a work for you too.” Her friend said, pointing her finger at the girl.

“Me?” Mai repeated, having a bad hunch about her friend’s crazy ideas.

Fortunately, before she got a task from Kagome, help came in the form of the old miko. Kaede made her way towards her and her demon husband.

“Sesshomaru, Mai, there is something, I’d like to talk with you about.” She said, ushering the pair to go towards the village. Mai stiffened and she saw with the corner of her eye, that Sesshomaru also tensed. Anyway, they followed the priestess. After some time, Kaede spoke.

“Mai, did Sesshomaru tell you, that we agreed on Rin living with me from now on?” she asked the girl casually. The girl narrowed her eyes, as it was the first time, she heard about this. She glared at the demon.

“Oh, someone forgot to tell me about that.” She said dryly, not taking her eyes of Sesshomaru.

“Hn.” The inu-youkai was hard to intimidate. “Rin is my ward, so the decision is mine.”

“So you just want to leave the poor kid?” Mai asked, her eyes glaring daggers at her husband. The demon returned the glare.

“It is final. Rin is a human and as such will remain with those of her kind.” He insisted.

“I’m not leaving Rin! She’s staying with me!” Mai exclaimed, folding her arms and turning her head away. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her.

“Do not try my patience, woman!” he hissed out, but she refused to give up and let the youkai leave the child in a stranger’s care.

“Hmpf! I won’t change my mind either.” She insisted.

Kaede coughed, gaining the attention of the arguing pair. The old woman had amusement written all over her wrinkled face.

“Maybe I could propose a compromise.” She suggested. “I could take Rin-chan for my apprentice and the child could visit you anytime, Mai. On the outskirts of the village there is an old, abandoned house. It will need some repairs, but you could move in there. This way you’ll have Rin close and Sesshomaru’s decision would be also respected. What do you think?”

Mai hesitated to answer. She glanced at Sesshomaru. Considering, that they were married, they should move in together. But, would he be willing to live in a human village. It was… well, full of humans, after all. And it was also the Inuyasha issue. The two of them seemed to get along slightly better, but it was a catastrophe waiting to occur. She bit her lower lip.

“After you two are married, Sesshomaru can move in as well.” Kaede added, seeing her hesitation. Mai’s cheeks flushed.

“We… um…” she stuttered, but the dog demon helped her out.

“We already had the wedding ceremony performed.” He explained shortly. 

 The old miko gasped, surprised.

“Oh, that’s unexpected.” She commented, a wide smile appearing on her face. “Congratulations, then. To think, that you two got along THAT well… amazing. You should take a look at the house.”

Mai looked at Sesshomaru, wondering what did he think about this idea with the house. Personally, she liked it very much – she would be close to Rin, her friends, far from horrible mother-in-law…

 “Hn.” Sesshomaru didn’t grace her with a glance. “It cannot be helped. This Sesshomaru will see that abode.”

Kaede smiled. 

“Good, I’ll show you the way. It’s best to do it now, when Inuyasha and the rest are occupied, since you two are together in secret, right?” the old woman asked slyly.

Sesshomaru ignored her and Mai started blabbering again.

“It’s just… I don’t want spoil the wedding for Sango…” she mumbled.

“Inuyasha must not know for the time being.” The dog demon decided, wanting to cope with his insufferable hanyou brother later. He was not eager to see his stupid grin and hear idiotic remarks. At least not for next few days. His spouse seemed to agree with him in this matter.

Kaede nodded.

“Sesshomaru-sama! Mai!” a childish voice called. Mai looked back and saw Rin, running to them with a cheerful smile on her face. The child collided with the girl, hugging her tightly. “You’re back, Mai! Jaken-sama said otherwise, but I believed, that you’ll come back!”

Mai smiled and ruffled the kid’s black messy hair. Damn, she loved this child.

“From now on, I’ll stay forever with you.” She assured Rin, glancing with the corner of her eye at Sesshomaru. It was the best moment to make sure, that he’d stay in this village. He never said no to the kid. Mai smiled at Rin. “Sesshomaru and I will be living just on the outskirts of the village, so you’ll be welcome to visit us anytime!”

The child’s eyes brightened and she turned her attention to the dog demon.

“It’s true, Sesshomaru-sama?” she asked the inu-youkai happily. “Please say, that you’ll stay here with Mai! Please, please!”

The demon was looking at the both human females, sending him identical cheerful smiles and expecting his positive answer. The idea of living anywhere near humans and his idiotic brother was not appealing, but his wife and ward were very insistent on it. Both of them were humans, after all, and it was natural for them to want to stay among their kind. Besides, considering that sooner or later his spouse would conceive a child, she should have a roof over her head. The alternative being the castle with his mother in it, suddenly living in one village with Inuyasha did not sound that bad. Moreover their future hanyou child would be safer in a human village.

“We will live here.” He stated, looking at Mai seriously. The girl smiled even wider and nodded her head in silent thanks.

Kaede led the three of them through the village. Mai noticed, that many houses were destroyed, probably because of Naraku’s attack. They passed the village and the old woman led them further. Rin gripped Mai’s hand and shyly slipped her small palm into Sesshomaru’s big one. The demon grabbed it, without looking at the child. The older girl smiled fondly at how fatherly her husband looked.

“We’re here.” Kaede stated, turning around. “Later I’ll send someone for Rin.”

With this words she walked back to the village. The child spotted some flowers nearby and ran off to 

pluck them. Mai and Sesshomaru went to take a look at their newlyweds’ nest.

.

“It’s…” Mai searched for the right word.

“Ruined.” Sesshomaru said for her.

“True.” She admitted.

Both of them were staring at the house – it was really big, even had some sort of a small courtyard, but would need some serious repairs. However, the structure of the house seemed intact, even though the walls had some holes in them. The house seemed to be built by some rich villager and abandoned afterwards.

“I wonder why it’s empty.” Mai said.

Sesshomaru didn’t offer any answer and made his way inside. The girl trotted after him. The door was blocked – the demon had to use his youkai strength to open it. He went inside and she followed him, curiously looking around. As they wandered through the house, Mai noticed, that it had quite a lot of rooms, most of them spacious and there was a bathing room too, although in terrible state. The house was completely devoid of furniture – it was probably taken by villagers after the house had been abandoned.

“Lots of cleaning.” Mai summed up. “But it’s big.”

Sesshomaru nodded, assessing the condition of the building. It was not his area of expertise, but he thought, that the house looked worse than it really was. It had a potential to become a humble, but decent abode for his spouse and their future family.

“It will do.” He said finally. The girl smiled, as it were his first words since he came into the house. It will surely take a lot of work to get this building to the pleasing state, but surely they’ll make it.

Suddenly Mai felt tugging on her arm. She realized that it was Sesshomaru, who scooped her in his arms.

“Sesshomaru…” she said quietly, blushing, as he lowered his head and closed his eyes, searching for her lips. 

Mai did the same and pressed herself tighter against him. Their lips were barely touching. She shivered, anticipating the kiss…

“Sesshomaru-sama! Mai!” a childish voice called. 

The pair abruptly jumped away from each other, not to be caught red-handed by Rin on kissing. The child found them and, smiling cheerfully, gave Mai a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh, are those for me?” The girl asked Rin. The kid nodded happily and she kneeled to hug the adorable child. “You’re so sweet, Rin.”

Sesshomaru frowned, that his little ward interrupted the intimate moment between him and his spouse.

Mai went with Rin outside and the dog demon followed them.

“Woman.” He drew his wife’s attention to make her aware of two figures approaching their new abode.

She lifted her head to see a woman with a child. She squinted her eyes and recognized familiar faces.

“Nanako! Shiori!” she waved to them and Rin squealed with excitement, seeing her friend. The older woman waved back and the little hanyou girl separated from her mother and ran to meet Rin.

“Hello Mai! Sesshomaru.” Nanako greeted them with a smile.

“You moved here?” Mai asked, disbelieving, that the woman listened to her advice. Nanako nodded.

“Yes, Shiori is well-treated here. Kaede told me, that you’ll be living here too.” Nanako said.

“That’s right. It’s great, that Rin will have a friend here.” Mai answered. Surely Rin will have a good childhood here – among friends, close to Sesshomaru and her. The kid deserved it. “Anyway, what are you two doing here?”

“Oh!” Nanako exclaimed, as she nearly forgot the reason she and Shiori came here. “Kaede asked me to take Rin to stay overnight.”

Before Mai had any chance to say something, Sesshomaru came closer and motioned Rin towards Nanako. Shiori squealed with fear and immediately ran to hide behind her mother.

“Just take her and leave.” He spat, irritated by how long the two human females were pointlessly talking. 

Nanako grabbed the hands of the girls and said a quick goodbye to Mai, who waved to them. Then she turned to Sesshomaru with the intention of scolding him for being so grumpy, but he grabbed her hand and began dragging her towards the house. She began struggling, but he sent her a sharp look.

“It will rain soon.” He said. The girl stopped and looked back and saw the dark clouds gathering over the village.

“Oh. We can see if the roof is leaking.” Mai commented, as Sesshomaru lost his patience and lifted her from the ground, scooping her in his arms.

“Gah!” she yelped from surprise, wrapping her arms around his neck, as he carried her inside their new home. 

Once inside, the dog demon carefully placed her on the floor, eager to continue that, what Rin interrupted. Before he managed to kiss her, Mai placed her hands on his chest, keeping him at a certain distance, and gazed seriously into his eyes. Earlier, when she confessed her love for him, she didn’t receive a proper answer and she wanted to finally know, if her love was requited.

“Sesshomaru, what do you think of me?” she asked.

The demon stared at her, silent, startled by her sudden question.

“You are my wife.” He said after a while.

Mai furrowed her brows, not satisfied by her answer.

“I know that. I mean… I wanted to know if you…” she blushed, as the words just refused to come out of her mouth without a certain dose of resistance. “If you love me back.”

Sesshomaru averted his gaze, having difficulty to give her a straight answer. He admitted his feeling for her to himself, but saying it out loud was entirely different. There was no possibility, that he could lower himself to saying such pointless things. His pride as a man and a warrior prevented him from doing so. Besides, his actions spoke for themselves – therefore there was absolutely no need to declare his affection to her.

However, Mai kept looking at him, expecting his answer, so he should give her a hint.

“You are the future mother of my son.” He said seriously, feeling ashamed at the statement. 

For a Taiyoukai like him to acknowledge a human female as a mother of his future offspring was meaningful, for it said, that he was ready to father a hanyou if it was their child. Mai should understand, how profound his words were.

Mai sighed heavily, hearing his answer. So that was all about – the cursed potion that made her the only woman capable of bearing his child. To think, that she was so stupid to hope, that he could love her back. Why would he, anyway? She was a human woman, not a beautiful one at that. Maybe it would change with time… She looked at the man she loved. Even if it was unrequited love, it was enough if she was by his side. It will have to be enough…

“It’s okay. I understand.” She said, hesitantly embracing Sesshomaru. 

The demon put his hands around her small frame, pulling her closer. Even though she acknowledged his words, she seemed to be sad. He furrowed his brows. Human females were indeed strange creatures, completely illogical.

He gently brushed a stray strand of her hair form her face. He noticed, that she was not wearing a hairpin he gave her. The demon lifted Mai’s chin with his clawed finger, making her face him. Surprisingly, she offered no resistance, as he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers, simply enjoying her closeness. Suddenly Mai immediately tangled her palms in his silver hair, pulling him closer to her and kissed him. Encouraged, Sesshomaru deepened the kiss.

A while later, their sensual kiss slipped out of control. Mai yelped, as the youkai slammed her back against the wall, not breaking the passionate kiss. She felt his hands beginning to explore her body, sliding along the curves of her hips. Then, Sesshomaru’s lips left hers and moved to her neck, fervently licking and sucking the delicate flesh. Mai moaned, feeling her body warm to his kisses and his touch. Her mind was speaking against it, but she needed more. She barely noticed, when he slid her kimono from her shoulder, exposing her breast for him. The girl gripped him tighter and clenched her teeth not to exclaim, as the demon cupped her breast in his clawed hand and began caressing her nipple with his thumb.

Suddenly, they stiffened, as they heard a knock on the door, Sesshomaru still holding her bare breast.

“MAI!” Inuyasha’s voice yelled.

Author Note:

If you join forces and comment, I’m willing to update right away. You know that, right?

Please share your opinions with me. For those, who didn’t reviewed yet: I know, that you’re reading (I have statistics), so don’t be shy and write a few words. I’m greedy, when it comes to read messages from my beloved readers.

Oh, sorry for tricking you...