Chapter 34

Be careful, what you wish for





The old miko, Kaede, served the tea. Both her and Mai sat in front of the cabin and were waiting for Inuyasha's return. The priestess explained, that Kagome told her quite a lot about Mai and her adventures in the feudal era. Kaede turned out to be a wise woman, tough, but also full of warmth, just as any grandmother should be. The girl told her how she managed to get here and the miko only nodded her head, believing the every word, she said.

They were talking for a couple of hours now and Mai shifted on the bench, feeling that her buttocks went stiff from being glued to the wooden surface for so long. She stood up to stretch her legs, when she saw a red shape darting towards her. Inuyasha leapt forward and landed right in front of the startled girl.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he yelled at her. Mai gritted her teeth at the rude welcome, as expected from Kagome's boyfriend.

"Nice to see you too, Inuyasha." The girl said, glaring at the hanyou, who glared back at her.
"Feh!" the half-demon snorted. "Not that I care, if you got killed by a demon or something, but Kagome would skin me alive." He hissed angrily.

"I imagine." Agreed Mai. "Luckily, I am sound and safe. What did you do about Souunga?"
Inuyasha was about to answer, but Kagome's voice interrupted them.

"Inuyasha! What's wrong?" Kagome called. Mai saw over the hanyou's shoulder Kirara flying their way, with her friend, Miroku, Sango and Shippo on her back. They landed a few meters from her. Inuyasha stepped aside so that Mai was now in plain sight.

"Mai?!" Kagome asked, her eyes wide from surprise. "What are you doing here?"
The girl smiled sheepishly.

"It was quite by accident… but I came here through the well." She answered.
Kagome furrowed her brows, stalked to the girl and grabbed her wrist. She tugged it firmly, dragging her friend back towards the Bone Eater's Well.

"We're getting you back. It's dangerous here." Kagome said. Mai found herself nearly running after the other girl, as they made their way to the clearing, accompanied by the whole group.
"Mai-sama, it is nice to see you again." The monk called to her with a charming smile on his face. Remembering his lecherous nature, Mai checked first, if there was enough space between them and returned the smile.

"Nice to see you too, Miroku! And you too Shippo." She said to the little fox demon, who waved in response. The girl turned to the demon slayer. She didn't really had a chance to talk to her, so maybe it was a good time for an introduction, considering, that Kagome was about to shove her down the well very soon.

"Your name is Sango, right? I'm Mai!" she said quickly. The woman with a huge boomerang smiled back.

"I'm called Sango and this is Kirara." Replied the woman, pointing to the little kitten, which was resting in her arms. Mai was about to say something more, but bumped into Kagome, who stopped abruptly. The girl looked around and realized, that they were already there and her friend was climbing on the edge of the well, motioning Mai to do the same.

"Kagome, wait a minute!" Mai protested. Inuyasha yawned and folded his arms.

"Hurry up and go back." He urged her. The girl managed only to wave everyone and utter a short goodbye, before Kagome pulled her into the well.

Mai was falling and expected to engulfed in the light, along with the strange sensation of floating. What was her surprise, when her body literally slammed into the hard bottom of the well.

"Ouch!" she whined, as she began rubbing her buttocks. Mai looked around, but Kagome was nowhere to be seen. Did she go through? The girl carefully stretched her limbs, checking if they are not broken.

She looked up and saw the whole Inuyasha's group and Kaede staring at her.

"Hey! What are you still doing here?!" Inuyasha yelled. Mai clenched her fist.

"You idiot!" she yelled back. "Do you think that…"

Mai paused in midsentence, as Kagome materialized right in front of her. The girl yelped in surprise.

"Mai, you should have held my hand!" Kagome scolded her. Mai narrowed her eyes, angry, that everyone kept blaming her for everything.

"I did. You must have done something wrong!" she answered. Kagome sighed and stood up, pulling Mai on her feet as well. She grabbed the vines and motioned the girl to do the same.

"Again." She commanded and the girls climbed back up and jumped once more.



"I can't do it anymore!" whined Mai, defending herself from Kagome, who tried to push her into the cursed well again. The girl was so bruised from slamming into the ground, that it was difficult to find a place on her body, which wasn't sore. It was pure luck, that her bones were still intact. The both girls tried to get Mai through the well many times already, without any success so far. Inuyasha helped a couple of times, but effect was the same. Every time, Kagome vanished and Mai made contact with the hard bottom of the well. She refused to try once more, she just couldn't.

"Come on, it'll be the last time." Kagome encouraged her. Mai shook her head and clawed at the wooden edge of the well.

"No way!" she shouted at Kagome.

"Come on!" her friend tugged her. Fortunately, the old miko stepped forward, putting her hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Kagome, I think it's enough." Kaede said. The black-haired girl let go of her friend and Mai let out a breath, relieved. The girl sat down and leaned her back against the well. Somehow, Kagome looked much more nervous than her, even though Mai was the one, who couldn't get through the well.
Kaede furrowed her brows, thinking about something intensely.

"It is strange, that Mai came through the well in the first place. It couldn't have happened without a reason." The old miko said after a longer pause. "The Bone Eater's Well is made of the tree of ages, that links both present time and the future. How did you pass trough without Shikon no Tama?"
Kaede asked, turning to Mai. All pairs of eyes also looked at her.

"Err…" began the girl, feeling silly. "There was nothing special. I was sitting by the well, chatting with Souta, Kagome's brother, and suddenly we saw the sky, where the bottom of the well was. We decided to jump in, but I landed here alone." Mai finished explaining and an uncomfortable silence fell.

"Kagome's brother didn't come through?" Kaede made sure and Mai nodded. Everyone was tense, looking at the old miko and expecting her to think of something. The woman coughed and cleared her throat. "What did you do, that Kagome's brother didn't?" she asked.

Mai sighed, starting to feel irritated by the interrogation, that didn't seem to lead anywhere.
"Nothing, we did everything the same." She answered. Kaede scratched her chin.

"Hmm…" the old woman began. "Maybe it was something you said or thought. Wishes can be especially dangerous. Did you wish for something?"

"Wish?" Mai repeated, thinking intensely about the talk she had with Souta in the morning. Brainstorming could be easier, if everyone wasn't staring at her. She tried to remember every detail.
First, she was thinking about Rin, then Souta was teasing her about the arrogant murderous jerk called Sesshomaru, then she thought about Rin again and… shit.

"I think… I might have made a wish about going through the well to see Rin…" she said hesitantly. After she said it, everyone was staring at her in silence. Inuyasha made a face palm. Finally, Kaede decided to break the silence.

"A wish like that could made the well let you through, but it's not likely." The old miko said. Mai felt a little relieved – at least it was not entirely her fault. Jumping into the well without thinking was stupid enough. Kaede cleared her throat, ready to continue. "But if someone on this side of well wished for you to come through as well, in the exact time you made a wish, it could be possible."

Mai felt her face drop. At the exact time? What were the odds that the thing like with the cursed mirror would work twice? Was she the unluckiest person on this planet? The girl was about to say something, but Kagome was faster.

"Maybe Rin-chan wished for Mai to come back to see her again?" the black-haired girl suggested. Inuyasha lifted his eyebrow.

"Feh! Or it was Sesshomaru, waiting to murder her." He said, earning an evil glare from Kagome. Mai cursed, when she remembered something more.

"Umm… grandma Kaede, is it very bad, if I said something like I want to pass through the well even once?" she asked hesitantly. The old miko closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Considering, that the well didn't let you through so far, I believe you will never return to your time." Kaede answered with a dead-serious expression on her face.

"WHAT?!" Mai and Kagome exclaimed at the same time. Mai felt an unpleasant feeling welling in her stomach. Did that mean, she will stay here forever? Without TV, real bathroom and tampons?

Why the hell those things keep happening to her? If only she listened to Kagome and didn't look into that mirror… But it was too late for the regrets now. She had to face the truth – and she felt miserable.

Kagome moaned.

"What am I going to tell mom?!" she whined, panic in her eyes.