Chapter 75

The curse of hot springs



Mai relaxed in the hot water, grinning to herself. This wasn't a bathtub, but the hot springs were a luxury nonetheless. She was surprised, how quickly she became accustomed to the travelling throughout the whole medieval Japan. It seemed like a normal thing now.

The girl didn't notice a pair of eyes warily observing her. She washed the soap of her skin. As she was doing it, she felt a shiver go down her spine, when she heard a rustling in the bushes. She rushed to the shore, got out of the pond and quickly put her thin inner kimono on. The girl whirled around to the source of the noise, wrapping her arms protectively around her.

"Who's there?" she said harshly, looking around. Suddenly, a lizard-like youkai crawled out of bushes. Mai made as many steps back as possible, till her back collided with stone wall. She cursed, realizing that she was in a trap. She flinched, when she saw the demon staring at her with hungry eyes, licking his mouth.

"Prepare, I'm making you mine now!" the lizard chuckled, unfastening the ties of his hakama.
Mai's eyes widened. Did he want to rape her? Not wasting any time, she took a deep breath.
"SESSHOMARU! HELP!" she yelled as loud as she could. She glared at the lizard. "You're so dead now."

The demon grinned, showing pointy teeth, obviously not believing her. Mai looked around for something, that she could use as a weapon, but there wasn't anything like that at hand. She prayed for the inu-youkai to come quickly.

"No use screaming, sweetie." The lizard said in a lecherous tone, as his clothing dropped on the ground. Mai's eye widened, when she saw his erected member. Crap! – she thought panicking.
The girl noticed a flash of white and in a heartbeat the silver-haired demon was standing between the stone wall, where Mai was, and the lizard, wielding Tenseiga. The reptile looked very displeased, that someone spoiled his fun.

"Get out of my way, dog! Find yourself another female. This one will be mine today."
"Hn." Sesshomaru smirked and lifted his sword. "Meidou Zangetsuha!"

Mai watched as the inu-youkai sent the another demon right to netherworld. She sighed with relief.
"Are you fine, woman?" Sesshomaru asked, turning around. As he did, she became unable to utter a word, fierce blush appearing on her face. She gawked at the half-naked demon – he had only his hakama on, the silver strands clung to sweaty skin. He must had gone training again. Damn, why must he be that devilishly handsome?- she cursed. Instead of answering, Mai only nodded, feeling horribly embarrassed.

Sesshomaru stared back at the woman. She was standing under the stone wall, dressed only in one layer of see-through silk, that was clinging to her wet body, bringing out her tempting curves. She wore no obi and was modestly holding her kimono, preventing it from opening and showing her naked body. The sight of her flushed skin awoke his desire. Suddenly, all his thoughts fled from his mind and there remained only an uncontrollable urge to take her as his woman. Something deep within himself told him, that it was wrong, but the lust was stronger – it felt as though something else took control over him and made him do it. Sesshomaru sheathed Tenseiga and made his way towards Mai.

The girl widened her eyes, when she saw Sesshomaru approaching her. The look in his eyes scared her out of her wits – it was the same as the youkai's, that wanted to rape her just a while ago.
"Sesshomaru, what are you doing?" she asked nervously, her back plastered against the stones. The demon didn't reply, he was ravishing her with his eyes. What the hell happened to him?! Mai decided to attempt to escape, find a rock and hit him in the head – maybe that would make him normal. She whirled around and saw a stone wall. She completely forgot, that it was there. She wanted to leap sideways and get out of there, but Sesshomaru was faster. In a heartbeat he pinned her against the rocks. Mai gasped, as her stomach was squished. Then, another sensation got her attention – she felt her back tightly pressed against his bare chest and his hand wrapped around her waist. She wanted to struggle and hit him, but it was extremely difficult while holding her clothing in place. Besides, his hold was so firm, that the youkai didn't even budge the slightest bit.

"Let me go!" she screamed, but the demon was ignoring her protests. Mai tried to elbow him, without any noticeable reaction. What the hell was he doing? She didn't understand his actions – she didn't gave him a reason to show his superiority in a humiliating way, so what…

Mai sharply took in the breath, as she felt Sesshomaru's hand move lower, to her hip and tracing small circles over it with his thumb. Only a thin layer of silk was in the way between her bare skin and his roaming hand. She was about to scream at him to stop, but another sensation distracted her. The demon leaned over her and the girl felt his hot breath near her ear. Suddenly he nibbled her earlobe with his lips. Mai shrieked, tossing her head to the sides.

"Stop it!" she screamed at the demon. Sesshomaru growled at her warningly, before he buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent, his lips making its way to her neck. Mai struggled, but he was holding her firmly and even frantically tossing her head wasn't helping. Her breathing hitched, as she felt the youkai delivering wet, sucking kisses to the side of her neck, not stopping caressing her hip. The girl wasn't able to think coherently anymore. What was going on? Was Sesshomaru going to rape her? What the hell happened to him?! She kept wriggling, but it didn't impress the demon in slightest, who continued his ministrations. Mai yelped, as the hand moved from her hip upwards, roaming over her stomach. She gripped the youkai's wrist in attempt to make him stop, but the hand kept moving without any difficulty. She cursed Sesshomaru's abnormal strength. Then, he stilled for a moment.



Back in the camp…

"Kohaku, why are you sad?" Rin asked, sitting beside the boy. He sighed.

"I'm still a little worried about the bottle I lost." He explained. "If someone accidentally picks it up, he or she may be in very serious trouble."

Rin furrowed her brows. Trouble? She sprinkled Mai with the liquid from the bottle this morning…
"What do you mean by trouble?" she inquired.

"The liquid attracts demons, who will want to hurt the person." He replied. Rin opened her eyes wider.

"But you said, that it will make two people like each other!" the girl exclaimed. Kohaku started blushing for some unknown reason.

"You see… Rin, it isn't always a good thing. Sometimes it hurts people a lot, especially women."

Rin felt panic welling in her heart. She didn't really understand, what exactly Kohaku was telling her, but she figured out, that Mai was in great danger because of her. The child bit her lip, having a hard time whether to protect her secret or tell the boy. She sighed – Mai was more important.

"Kohaku, I have to tell you something." She said abruptly, clutching the boy's arm. "I stole the bottle."

"Rin!" Kohaku scolded her. "Give it back." He said, reaching out. Rin wriggled her fingers.

"I… I sprinkled the liquid on Mai. I wanted to make her and Sesshomaru-sama like each other!" she exclaimed, trying making excuses. Kohaku widened his eyes.

"How many drops?" He uttered.

"Drops? I poured everything out." Rin answered. Kohaku made a face palm.

"That's very bad…" he muttered. Suddenly he lifted his head, remembering something. "Where is Mai-sama?"

The both children stared at each other, coming to the same conclusion.

"She should be back by now." Rin whispered, worried about her friend. Kohaku glanced at the sleeping demons and stood up.

"I'll go look for her. Stay here, Rin." He said and darted off to the forest.



Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, as he suddenly regained his senses, when the aphrodisiac wore out. Startled, he realized in what position he was. Mai's small frame was pressed tightly against his chest, his hand was caressing her through the thin fabric and his face was buried in the hollow of her neck.

He pulled back a little and noticed that the flesh on her neck was covered in kiss marks and everything indicated, that he was the one responsible for that. He was confused, as he had no memories of doing those shameful things to her. Mai was struggling in his grip, but he hesitated to let her go. He knew, that he should stop this madness immediately, but he could not ignore his desire for the female. She seemed so tempting now, especially with her skin seductively flushed like now and with the kiss marks on it. It seemed, that he unknowingly already caressed the woman, but could not remember doing it. He felt some of regret because of that, as he truly desired to know, how Mai tasted. Sesshomaru thought, that the damage was already done and even if he wanted, he could not undo it. Besides, this was the only chance he would have to satisfy his burning desire and caress the charming woman. He would only kiss, nothing more. A few kisses more would not make a difference.

The demon buried his face in the hollow of Mai's neck again and licked her skin slowly. He smirked, hearing her give out a surprised cry and her heartbeat racing. Feeling encouraged, he continued kissing her neck, now gently brushing his lips over her tender flesh. He felt guilty for shamelessly taking advantage of her now, but the curiosity was stronger.

"Sesshomaru, don't." the woman whimpered, but her resistance was getting weaker, she was probably tired already from the constant struggling. The demon slid the kimono from her shoulder, using his teeth and began showering it with light kisses, slowly moving his hand upwards with every intention to touch her breast. He felt the woman stiffen even more and backed away his hand, not wanting to force her into more. Suddenly, he turned her around, so that they were facing each other. Mai looked at him hesitantly, her face red from embarrassment and fear in her eyes. Sesshomaru gently brushed her flushed cheek with his clawed fingers and cupped it, preventing her from moving her head. She closed her eyes. He motioned himself closer to the woman and noticed, that she was still hiding her body from him.

"Mai." He muttered her name. The woman opened her eyes, the fear now replaced with a fiery expression. Sesshomaru was pleased – apparently her excitement matched his arousal. He leant over her, wanting to capture her lips. He wondered, if they tasted as sweet as he expected.

"Sesshomaru." She said quietly. The demon smiled inwardly, hearing her saying his name. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his groin, as Mai kicked him in the crotch with all her strength. "Take this, you lecherous bastard!"

Surprised, he pulled back and instinctively dodged her fist, as it brushed past his cheek. The inu-youkai swiftly snatched her wrist.

Then, both Mai and the demon were sprinkled with a powder, that made Sesshomaru's nose burn. He let go of the woman's arm to cover his nose, preventing himself from inhaling more powder.

"Mai-sama!" the girl saw Kohaku running towards them. She sneezed and waved to the boy. He came closer, warily observing Sesshomaru, who was glaring at him. The kid gulped.

"Sesshomaru-sama, sorry for the powder, but it should help to neutralize the potion." The boy bowed. Mai narrowed her eyes.

"What potion?" she asked the boy. Kohaku blushed fiercely.

"In the morning Rin sprinkled you with an aphrodisiac, that attracts the demons. She overdosed it and…" he mumbled.

"An aphrodisiac?" Mai repeated, glancing at Sesshomaru, who refused to look in her direction. So he did those things to her because some… Viagra? It would explain a lot, since the dog demon would be probably disgusted at mere thought of touching a human, like he did just a while ago. Mai felt her heart pounding faster, as she remembered the sensations. She made herself focus her mind. She looked at Kohaku. "So… everything, Sesshomaru was doing, was not his fault?"
Kohaku agreed.

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama can't even remember it." The kid said. Mai felt relieved. At least a little bit of shame was spared.

"I think, that it's the best to keep it that way." The girl stated.



Sesshomaru could not believe his luck. The demon was irritated, how the two humans were discussing the matters concerning him, while completely ignoring his presence, but the turn of events was indeed fortunate. He was slightly surprised, that he let himself be manipulated by some aphrodisiac, but he suspected something like that. The youkai was pleased, that the woman believed, that he was under the influence of the substance all the time and had no memories of what had just occurred. He decided not to clear the obvious misunderstanding, as he presumed, that the woman would not be pleased by the fact, that he took advantage of her and forced her into submitting to the brief innocent caress. She should be kept oblivious to his sinful desires.

"We are going back." Sesshomaru ordered. Mai and Kohaku flinched, as though they forgot, that the dog demon was still there. Obediently, they trotted after him to the camp. The demon glanced over his shoulder at Mai, who was still blushing.

"Woman, whatever happened today, forget about it." He said harshly. Mai nodded and the three of them continued walking in silence. Kohaku furrowed his brows, as though he was thinking about something intensely. Finally, he spoke.

"When I think about it, the effects of the aphrodisiac should have worn off earlier…" he was wondering aloud. The boy stopped in midsentence and gulped with fear, as Sesshomaru sent him a murderous look. "… or not." He added quickly.