Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
.
.
Chapter 10
.
Akira and master Sekiguchi hurried the horses, making the animals pass the limit of their stamina. The hooves were making the ground tremble, as a large group of samurai was chasing the escapees. Unfortunately the enemy was catching up, despite the Akira's desperate attempts to elude capture. It seemed, that the plan of acting as a bait worked too well.
The boy yelped, when his steed neighed and suddenly fell to the ground. Sekiguchi's horse did the same – the arrows were sticking out of the animals' bodies.
"Damn." The boy cursed and, along with his elderly companion, they continued escaping on feet. But, master Sekiguchi wasn't able to keep up the pace. He leant on his staff heavily, his face distorted by a grimace of pain. Akira's gaze traveled lower and he saw the reason of the scholar's pain – an arrow was sticking out of his thigh, making the escape more difficult, if not impossible. Nevertheless, the boy was reluctant to leave the old man behind. He grabbed him by his waist, supporting the weight of his body.
"Come on, master Sekiguchi." Akira said through the clenched teeth, dragging the scholar along. The boy glanced over his shoulder again and winced, as the enemy were closer and closer. The sound of the hooves was getting louder with each passing second. It appeared, that their fate had been already decided, when unexpected rescue came.
The dozen of samurai slowed down a bit, as a figure clad in white descended from the sky, gracefully landing on the ground between Akira and the pursuers. The soldiers yelled, encouraging themselves and unsheathed their swords, charging at the newcomer. The rescuer outstretched his hand calmly and then moved it fast, a whip of green light appearing. The whip slashed the samurais cleanly in half, without effort penetrating their armors and spines. Akira gasped, seeing the massacre – the corpses scattered onto the ground, the guts spilling from them and filling the air with the stench of death and the demon in the middle of it. The boy saw only his back, but the figure was strangely familiar. Then the youkai turned around.
"Oh, the brat." He stated, looking at Akira. The boy stared back at the demon with his mouth opened agape. The man was indeed familiar, even though the kid never had seen him with his youkai powers or in the usual clothing.
"Teacher?" Akira coughed out, not expecting to see Sesshomaru so quickly. The dog demon arched his eyebrow, clearly amused by the boy's reaction.
"Have you been training daily?" he asked sternly.
Akira nodded eagerly, suddenly feeling like a little kid.
"Yes! Every day." He confirmed, as his eyes began glowing with happiness, for he had the chance to meet his mentor again.
In the meantime the two-headed dragon caught up to his master and made a circle over the place of massacre, lowering the flight. Ah-Un managed to land smoothly right next to Sesshomaru and Mai slid off the saddle, trying not to look directly at the slaughtered samurais. She covered her nose with the hem of her sleeve, as the odor of blood made her feel nauseous.
Even though the circumstances were kind of dreadful, she smiled widely, seeing her friends. What a coincidence to run into Akira and master Sekiguchi! After a year the boy looked more mature and tough, nothing like a brat, he had been before. The old scholar had changed as well. With the worn cloak on, the staff and the longer tangled beard he looked a lot like Gandalf, there was only a characteristic hat missing.
"Akira, master Sekiguchi!" she exclaimed happily, coming closer to the two. She narrowed her eyes, examining the boy carefully – now he was just as tall as she was, despite that he was still an eleven-year old child. With an oversized sword on his back and the travelling clothes he looked more like a young ranger than a spoilt daimyo's son. Mai smiled to herself, seeing, that the boy turned out to be quite a fine youngster. She glanced at her husband.
"He's less bratty, isn't he?" she commented the change in Akira.
Sesshomaru maintained his poker face.
"Perhaps." He said with disinterest, but Mai could recognize, that he was swelling with pride – no wonder, for his very first trainee made much progress. Surely it was a source of happiness for the teacher.
Then the girl remembered the purpose of their group coming here – they were supposed to follow Isao's kidnapped wife and kids, so as to find their captor. She glanced at the slashed bodied and glared at her husband in a scolding way.
"Sesshomaru! You should think first, kill later!" she snapped at him. "Now that you've killed everyone off, we can't question them anymore!"
The dog demon glared back at her, displeased, that she dared to scold him in front of others.
"Be silent, woman." He hissed out, but his wife wasn't the easiest one to silence. She huffed and rested her hands on her hips.
"How, according to you, will be find out, what happened to Isao's family?" she questioned Sesshomaru. "Congratulation, dear. You've just ruined the chance to learn something useful at last."
"Hn." The dog demon turned his head away, as the vein on his neck began pulsing.
Master Sekiguchi and Akira, who were observing the marital spat, were looking rather uneasy. The old scholar furrowed his brows and combed the beard with his fingers.
"Isao's family?" he repeated, immediately gaining Mai's and Sesshomaru's undivided attention. "We were helping him and his family escape from those samurai. Sadly, only he and one of his daughters managed to get away. His youkai wife and the other children began behaving strangely. Short after that they ran straight in enemy's hands."
"It was Yadori Sanagi, that affected the demoness and the hanyou offspring." The inu-youkai said.
Seeing the confused looks on Akira's and Sekiguchi's faces, Mai hurried to explain.
"Bugs, parasite bugs. They can control the weak demons and half-demons." She said.
"I see. That's why the humans were unaffected by it." The old scholar muttered, scratching his chin. He winced, when he moved his leg a little, as the arrow was still stuck in his thigh. However, he clenched his teeth and decided to bear the pain. "Anyway, the soldiers went after me and Akira, but the woman, who set those insects free wasn't with them."
Sesshomaru knitted his eyebrows.
"What woman?" he demanded. Master Sekiguchi leant heavier on his staff.
"I suspect, that she was the leader. She was clad in black from heads to toes, there was creepy air around her. I suspect, that Isao's wife and children came to her."
Mai felt a shiver go down her spine at the mention of a scary person. It was disturbing, but finally they had a clue, what was happening with the missing demons.
"So… we just have to get that woman in black." She was thinking aloud, happy, that it turned out to be easy. Now they would be able to go home.
"Hn." Sesshomaru folded his arms. "This Sesshomaru will track her down in no time."
Mai rolled her eyes at the confidence and usual arrogance of her husband. Master Sekiguchi sent the dog demon a warning look.
"Be careful, she has those insects with her." He reminded, worry all over his face.
However, Sesshomaru flipped the scholar's concern off, turning around and readying himself to continue the pursuit.
"Do not be foolish." He retorted dryly. "Yadori Sanagi will not affect such a powerful youkai as myself. A human should…"
Suddenly Sesshomaru paused in midsentence, as he felt a sting on his nape. He wanted to get rid of its source, but he felt a strange numbness beginning to spread throughout his body.
Mai and the others looked at him with expectation, waiting for him to finish, what he had to say. But, the dog demon wasn't saying anything for a while. He furrowed his brows and reached with his hand to the neck, but the arm stopped in midair, as though he couldn't move it further. The grimace on his face deepened, as the seconds of silence were dragging on.
"Sesshomaru, is there something wrong?" Mai asked, seeing her husband's strange behavior.
This time he didn't say anything as well. He was just standing in place, looking as though he was paralyzed. There was emotion in his eyes – anger, some confusion and will to fight, but the face was getting expressionless like a mask. Mai took a step closer, now knowing for sure, that there was something wrong. Never she had seen Sesshomaru act like this. She put her hand on his arm in a calming gesture, worry all over her face.
"Sesshomaru!" she called his name, urging him to say something, but he didn't react. Then, all the remaining emotion faded away from his eyes, leaving them cold and blank. Mai gasped, seeing the change. The dog demon looked, like he wasn't himself at the moment. She panicked, having all the worst suspicions. She squeezed his arm tighter, wanting to get his attention. "Sesshomaru! What's happening?!"
Finally her shouting had an effect – the inu-youkai gazed down at her. The girl felt a shiver go down her spine, when she saw the expression in his eyes – it weren't the eyes of the Taiyoukai, who was her husband. Not anymore. They were the eyes of a wild, mindless beast. Mai felt an urge to back away from Sesshomaru and used all her willpower not to run. She was still clutching his arm.
The others were observing the situation with growing nervousness. Akira and master Sekiguchi kept their distance. Rin tried to slip of the Ah-Un's saddle, but Jaken firmly gripped the girl and shushed her, eying Sesshomaru with worry.
"Sesshomaru! Snap out of it!" Mai nearly yelled at the dog demon, overcoming the fear, she just felt.
The inu-youkai bared his teeth in response, flashing with his long sharp fangs, as he began emitting a low growl – definitely a warning. The girl furrowed her brows, thinking quickly. What could be the reason of Sesshomaru's abnormal behavior? Given the circumstances, the first and most logical thing to assume would be the influence of Yadori Sanagi, even though the parasite shouldn't affect such powerful youkai as him. Mai had to check it at least. Still holding Sesshomaru's arm with one hand, she reached to his nape, wanting to get rid of Yadori Sanagi, if there was one.
All of a sudden, the dog demon snatched her hand, before she managed to check for the parasite. The girl winced, for the grip was terribly strong. She felt as though her bones were just being crushed by Sesshomaru's hand.
"Stop!" she breathed out, but her husband wasn't himself. He brutally yanked her off, pushing her back. Mai flew backwards and landed on Akira, knocking him down. Both of them fell to the ground, the boy amortizing the girl's fall.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin called and tried to get to her guardian, but Jaken acted with cool head and gripped the back of her obi tightly.
"Stay here, Rin-chan." He told the little girl, narrowing his eyes at his master. "It's better not to go close to Sesshomaru-sama now."
Despite what the imp said, Mai crawled off Akira and stood up, her body slightly aching and her wrist pulsing with pain. The dog demon looked like he was readying himself to take off, so the girl didn't waste time. She darted towards him as fast as she could and reached out with her hand, wanting to grab the edge of his armor to stop him. Her fingers only brushed against his silver strands, when Sesshomaru gave out a furious growl and quickly whirled around. When he was doing it, Mai saw the characteristic green gleam coming out of his fingers. Her eyes widened, when she realized, that he wanted to melt her with his acid.
The dog demon was about to strike, when a stone was thrown in his direction, heading right between his eyes.
"Mai, run!" the girl heard Akira's voice. Sesshomaru caught the stone in midair, closing his hand around it and melting it with his poisonous claws. This gave Mai enough time to escape. She ducked under the inu-youkai's shoulder and darted towards Rin and Jaken.
"Everyone, back away from him!" Master Sekiguchi called, limping away from Sesshomaru. The rest of the group followed him, cautiously backing away, as the dog demon was glaring at them. When he decided, that they didn't want to stop him, he leapt into air and flew in the direction of Isao's village. When he was taking off, his long silver hair got blown off a little, exposing a Yadori Sanagi attached to the back of his neck.
After the inu-youkai left, no one of the group commented it. Mai was panting heavily, still in shock, that her husband tried to kill her. Again. Damn, she hoped, that it wouldn't become a habit of his. Nevertheless that bug made Sesshomaru attack her and fly off somewhere.
"You must be freaking kidding me." She breathed out, shaking her head in disbelief. "Someone just kidnapped my husband."
Judging from the blank facial expression of the rest of the group, they shared Mai's thought. Rin shifted on Ah-Un's back uneasily.
"What now?" the child asked the question, everyone had in mind. Usually, Sesshomaru was the one, who came with rescue. Now the roles had reversed and the demon was the one, who needed to be saved. The companions began exchanging uneasy glances.
"The parasite controls him now." Master Sekiguchi said, tugging his beard. "He must have gone, where Isao's family is."
Akira furrowed his brows.
"And probably the woman in black is there too, the one, who controls the bugs." The boy added.
Mai bit her lower lip. The things were happening so fast… Yet, Sesshomaru had to be saved quickly, before something happened to him. She was seriously worried about his well-being. What would happen to him? Would the kidnappers want to kill him? Where was he heading? She shook her head, chasing the grim thoughts away. She had to be strong for him and do everything to get him back, safe and sound. It wasn't the time to sit around and weep, but to act. Mai straightened her back, as she decided to take the lead. The girl looked at her companions – a dragon, an imp, two children and an old injured man. Oh, and a woman, who can't manage to march all day. All in all, it was a pretty weak team.
"We need reinforcements." She decided, massaging her aching wrist. She looked at the arrow, which was stuck in the scholar's leg. Then she gazed at Ah-Un's passengers. "Rin, you'll fly on Ah-Un to our village and you'll get Inuyasha to come here. Tell him, that's it's really urgent."
"Yes!" Rin exclaimed, nodding and taking a hold of the reins. Mai smiled to her encouragingly and turned to the scholar.
"Master Sekiguchi, you'll go with Rin. You'll get your leg taken care of at the village." Commanded and the elderly man made his way towards the dragon, little hesitant though. He bowed his head slightly, greeting Rin and Jaken. The little girl flashed a friendly smile at the scholar.
The imp narrowed his eyes at Mai, looking at the girl with suspicion.
"You're planning to go after Sesshomaru-sama, aren't you?" he stated.
The girl didn't answer him, as she had thought, that it was obvious, that she wouldn't leave her husband.
"I have no choice." Jaken sighed heavily, sliding of the two-headed dragon's back and approaching Mai. He looked up and smiled. "I have no choice but to help you."
The girl returned the smile, feeling a little bit encouraged. She already saw in Akira's eyes, that the boy was eager to aid her, not Jaken declared this. She was confident, that in one way or another she would manage to free Sesshomaru from the mysterious enemy. She turned to Rin.
"Go now, Rin!" she called to the little girl. The child nodded solemnly.
"Let's go, Ah-Un!" she exclaimed and the beast leapt into the sky, carrying the kid and the elderly scholar on his back.
When the three of them were left, Jaken sighed, leaning on Nintoujou. He glanced at Mai. Akira did the same.
"So what's the plan?" he asked their temporary leader.
"I haven't got one yet." The girl answered. "But somehow we'll get Sesshomaru back."
.
.
.
Author's Note:
You evil reviewers ;-) When I saw how quickly you commented, I couldn't deprive you of this chapter. You're awesome!