Chapter 98

The training



"I will train you." The dog demon stated after a few moments of observing the boy.

Akira's face brightened a bit, as he smiled with self-satisfaction, happy, that he obtained a new teacher and forced him into submission. But, he underestimated Sesshomaru.

"Under one condition." The inu-youkai continued, making the boy's contented smile fade a little. "You will obey me."

The kid gawked at him, surprised, that anyone dared to make such a demand to the daimyo's heir. Why would he listen to someone? The brat pouted and folded his arms, assuming a challenging stance.

"I obey no one. I'm the one, who's obeyed!" he exclaimed, angry, that his authority was challenged again. However, Sesshomaru didn't look impressed by the boy's outburst – his face showed absolutely no emotions. It pissed Akira even more, as he couldn't tell, what was his teacher-to-be thinking.

"My condition is final. Do not waste my time." Sesshomaru said in a low tone, close to growl.
Fortunately, Sasaki stepped in, fearing for the safety of his head. The nobleman must have been a pretty good judge of character and he noticed, that changing young Maeda's mind would be easier than doing the same with the inu-youkai. The man leaned over the boy and whispered to his ear:

"Young master, it would be better for you to decline and find another fencing instructor."

The kid frowned and pushed Sasaki away, not liking, that someone tried to tell him what to do. As expected, the stubborn child did exactly the opposite than he was told.

"Fine. I'll take your condition, but you have to teach me how to fight like you do." Akira said, glancing triumphantly at Sasaki.

Mai made a mental face palm. The kid had absolutely no idea, what he was getting himself into. She only hoped, that he would survive till the end of the journey, because it would be troublesome if Sesshomaru killed him.

In the meantime, the noble Sasaki chased away the gawking onlookers and vanished somewhere, probably wanting to hide from the little devil. The injured soldiers were transported under the deck immediately. Actually, only a few crew members remained here, as no one wanted to be anyone near Sesshomaru anymore.

Akira looked around, happy, that there was so much empty space. Mai sighed and sat under the mast keeping the eye on the two troublemakers. Well, it was like killing the two birds with one stone – now she could babysit both the brat and the demonic asshole at the same time.

"It's time to start the lesson!" young Maeda reminded Sesshomaru, lifting his wooden sword and assuming the battle stance, as best as he could. The dog demon scanned the child up and down. After a moment of consideration, he picked up the second wooden sword and approached the awaiting child. Akira tightened his grip on the wood, but then he realized, that his new teacher didn't intend to attack him. He just handed him the second weapon.

"Eh?" Akira sounded surprised and little disappointed. Sesshomaru furrowed his brows, urging the kid to take the sword. The boy hesitantly took it, gazing at the demon questioningly. Without saying a word, the demon yanked the boy's arms up, so that he stood with them spread, looking like a scarecrow.

"Stay in this position. An hour for a start will be suitable." The demon said, correcting Akira's position.

The boy's eyes widened.

"But I you're supposed to teach me fighting!" he protested, lowering his arms. Sesshomaru sent him a sharp look and the boy instantly lifted them back.

"Hn." The demon sat down nearby. "How will you battle, if you are not able to hold the sword up?"
Akira gritted his teeth up.

"I can!" he protested, but the dog demon arched his brow.

"A fight is usually longer than a minute. It may take hours, or a day. A warrior must be prepared to bear the burden of his weapon with ease. If you are unable to comprehend it, do not expect me train you." Sesshomaru said with a dead-serious face.

Akira processed his words for a while, before nodding. He gritted his teeth and endured the torture.
Observing the boy, Mai got interested if it was really a training or some sort of revenge. She decided to learn it from the source, as she didn't have anything better to do for the next hour anyway. She stood up and sat down next to Sesshomaru. They were silent for a while, before Mai asked.

"Is this training working?" curiosity sounded in her voice.

The dog demon closed his eyes, as though relaxing.

"It is." He answered. It appeared, that it was the whole reply, but he continued after a while. "I used to train like this with my father, when I was still a pup."

"Child." Mai corrected him quietly. Dogs have pups, people have children. But, come to think of it… Sesshomaru actually was a dog… a big one at that… she looked at the demon. "So what was your best time… you know, at standing like that?"

Sesshomaru wrinkled his forehead, as though he was digging up a distant memory from his mind.
"Nine days." He replied.

Mai gasped and Akira let out a wail, beginning to regret appointing the dog demon for the post of his teacher.

"I won't hold that long!" he whimpered, but Sesshomaru gave him a warning look, making the boy close his mouth and endure.



Mai thought, that today must be the worst day in Akira's entire life. She observed, as the boy had to undergo Sesshomaru's torture-like training for three more hours, making all sorts of physical exercises. After holding the swords, the boy had to sand on one leg on the railing, with the rope tied around his waist – it was supposed to help him gain a sense of balance. In the reality, the dog demon had to pull the boy up a couple of times. The ship was rocking on the waves, so the kid frequently lost balance and was falling. Then, he had to work on his stamina and was running around the ship.
In some mysterious way, Sesshomaru got the kid to listening to him, mainly thanks to his overbearing presence and appealing to the boy's pride. Mai suspected, that he may have learnt this technique of coping with bratty children from his own father. She smiled to herself. She had some difficulties with imagining the dog demon as a small kid, but she was sure, that he used to be a brat too. Come to think of it, he was still a brat, only adult one.

Once the dinnertime was nearing, the girl got up and went to make a meal, as it seemed, that Sesshomaru would torture the little devil for some more time. Actually, she was beginning to feel pity for the kid.

"Sesshomaru, bring him for the dinner after an hour, okay?" she called to the dog demon, before she ran to the kitchen.

When she prepared the meal and got to Akira's rooms, she set the two plates on the table, as she didn't have the time to eat her dinner in the kitchen and started making the tea. She sighed, thinking about the happenings of today. It was definitely against their original plan to keep a low profile, but at least Sesshomaru wouldn't be bullied anymore and he had something to occupy himself with.

Suddenly, with a loud "slam", the door slid open and the dog demon stepped in, dragging young Maeda behind himself. Mai observed, as Sesshomaru warily scanned the room and then made his way towards one of the other chamber's the washroom. Akira was being dragged like a corpse by the culprit, attempting to hide it in the closet. Then, the washroom's door slammed close and the girl heard the boy's screams and the sound, that resembled the one, when someone was just being drown, along with splashing of the water. Sesshomaru wasn't just killing the brat, was he?

Mai froze in place, waiting for something to happen next. Finally, the noise ceased and the door opened, when the dog demon pushed the naked boy out, who frantically covered his private parts and dashed to his bedroom. The inu-youkai, as though nothing had happened, approached the table and sat by it. The girl blinked, wondering if what she just saw was her imagination.

After a brief moment Akira went out of his bedroom, now dressed in fresh clothing, and sat by the table, looking as though he was about to drop dead. However, the sight of many various dishes instantly brought him back to life, as he hungrily stared at the food before him. Without hesitating, he grabbed the bowl with ramen and began eating. Well… devouring would be a better word to describe, what Akira was doing. He managed to get through the half of the meal, when Sesshomaru suddenly snatched the hair at the back of his head. Without any warning, the demon shoved the brat's face into the bowl with soup. Mai watched, speechless from shock, as he calmly held the kid's head down, drowning him in ramen. Finally, he jerked Akira's head by the hair up. The boy was coughing and rubbing his eyes.

"Eating first, while you are among adults, is disrespectful. Go wash your face and return." The demon lectured young Maeda.

The kid stared at the inu-youkai, also in deep shock. However, Sesshomaru's harsh gaze was leaving him no delusions – his teacher was serious. Without a word, he stood up and ran to the washroom.
After a while, Mai regained her ability to speak.

"Are you crazy?! You could have killed him!" she scolded the demon. "We're supposed to watch him, not to nearly murder during the dinner!"

Sesshomaru looked at Mai with determination burning in his eyes.

"The boy should behave. If he does not, he will be disciplined. It is only natural." He explained her calmly.

The girl's eyelid twitched. That was his idea of raising the children? Poor kid, Sesshomaru seemed to be taking the role of his teacher too seriously…

Mai wanted to continue the talk, but Akira showed up and sat by the table, unusually quiet and humble for him. A thought crossed the girl's mind – maybe the dog demon's methods were barbaric, but they seemed to be working better on the brat than hers. She noticed, that the boy was sitting with his hands glued to the table, devouring the meal before him with his eyes. Apparently he was waiting for her to begin eating. She just grabbed the chopsticks, when she was stopped.

"Woman, pour me tea." Sesshomaru demanded suddenly. Mai furrowed her brows, confused. Since when he was eating or drinking? Right, she had seen him nearly drink poisoned sake before, but it didn't count, as he didn't touch it eventually.

"Tea, woman." The demon hurried her.

The girl glared at him, pissed by how he thought, that he can order her around. The clash of glares followed, but the victor was obvious. Mai muttered a curse under her nose and poured the damn tea. She shoved the cup in Sesshomaru's direction, hating, that he made her behave like some obedient housewife. The demon brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. As though it was a signal to begin the race, the girl attacked the meal with the chopsticks and Akira did the same a mere seconds later. For a couple of painfully long minutes the only sounds heard in the room were the chopsticks grazing the plates. The girl felt overwhelmed by the weird atmosphere.

"So… how was the training, Akira?" she asked the boy, having enough of the silence. The boy swallowed, what he had in mouth.

"Exhausting, but I'll be better tomorrow." He replied with a resolve in his eyes.

Mai smiled. He'll probably be better or dead, as she wasn't sure if Sesshomaru knew the limits of the human body. Perhaps he understood those things better now, when he couldn't use his demonic powers and abilities, though. Maybe she was worrying needlessly.

"Finish your meal. You will need the strength." The inu-youkai admonished the boy, seeing the kid leaving the food on his plate.

Mai felt like dropping dead, when she saw, that Akira was actually obedient for once and was eating like a good child without a word of complaint. Crap, the whole atmosphere about this dinner felt so… wrong… Just as if they were a typical traditional Japanese family with Sesshomaru as the head of the family, Akira as a son and her as a home-stay wife, who was asking the kid, how was the school.

Nightmare! The damnable demon reduced her to a middle-aged housewife!

She shook her head, trying not to think of such stupid things. She cleared her throat.

"Akira, you have still some time till your lessons with master Sekiguchi. What do you want to do now?" she asked the child, as she began gathering the empty dishes, including snatching Sesshomaru's empty cup.

The boy smiled dreamily and opened his mouth to answer her, but he got interrupted by the dog demon, who just stood up.

"He will carry on with his training." He said in an authoritarian way and yanked the boy up, pushing him towards the exit.

Mai watched, as the door closed. She sighed. Well, at least she had more free time now, when Sesshomaru was spending so much of it with the little devil. Plus, he seemed to have a good influence on the kid, despite how hard to believe it seemed.


Author Note:

My concience was nagging me to post another one today. I guess, that I owe you that, right? Please give me some feedback. Some of you already reviewed on fanfiction.net (thank you for that, virtual cookies for you), but some of you read the story for the first time. Let me know what you think!