The Servant of the Demon Lord

~Chapter 32~

"I thought we agreed that you had enough?" Mayu asked, arms crossed. Sesshomaru had downed even more, and somehow, it never came back up.

"I n-never agreed, t-to anything." He slurred as he blinked a couple of times trying to refocus his vision.

"Well now you are, you've had too much." Mayu scolded.

"I know my limits." He growled softly.

"Do you want Rin to see you pass out drunk?" He fell silent.

"That's what I thought. Hand it over." She said holding her hands out. He hesitated but gave in as he handed the pot to her. She took it far away from him before walking back to him.

"They're handing everyone their lanterns now. You want one as well?" She asked softly. Sesshomaru stared into space for a moment, then his pointy ears fell a little.

"Y-Yeah." He whispered making Mayu frown, but nod. It took a white, but soon, everyone held a lantern. Mayu walked back to Sesshomaru who stared at his people, then she held one out to him making him look over. He carefully took in, then stood shakily.

"Come." He whispered before he started walking. How he walked so well was beyond Mayu, but she complied. Soon, they found themselves isolated, but still in town. A beautiful pond full of colorful creatures, birds resting near it.

"Wow." Mayu whispered. Sesshomaru was oddly silent making her frown and look up.

"Are you ok?" She asked. His ears fell a little making her walk up so she could see his face, then she froze. He was tearing up.

"Sesshomaru?" She asked as she put a careful hand on his arm. He then smiled weakly as he looked down at her.

"I killed him." He choked out.

"What?" She whispered under her breath.

"I killed my father." Mayu perked up. His smile faded as he looked away again trying to hide his face, but even so, she could still see the tears running down his face.

"We got into an argument, I wounded him severely. After that, he was too weak to defend Inuyasha mother without giving his own life." Mayu frowned. How long had he been keeping this to himself? She carefully reached up and made him look at her before she wiped his tears away.

"It's not your f-"

"Yes it is and now I can't ever fix what I did because I was so young- so hellbent on being stronger because I thought I had to prove myself!" He snapped making Mayu pull back, his sudden loud tone scared her a little. As soon as he realized that he had snapped making her pull away, he quickly took her hand putting it back against his cheek.

"I'm sorry, please, don't go." He nearly begged. Mayu stared dumbfounded, he's never acted this way before. So he was an emotional drunk?

"I'm not leaving you, Sesshomaru." She whispered in a soft tone. Sesshomaru looked to the side for a moment.

"But I stole you from your people." He whispered.

"You stole me from hell, they were never my people." She corrected making him look at her again.

"Plus, you've made me feel more important than I have in years. I was so... alone... when we first met. But, you gave me a reason again." She smiled gently as she spoke.

"Little me would call me now crazy, but, I love you Sesshomaru. Demon or not, you're the kindest man I've ever met. You're kind, gentle, caring, though you may not show it as others do, I can see it. You love Rin as your own, you love your people, and even after your mother has hurt you I don't doubt that you'd give your life to keep her safe." Sesshomaru listened to her every word carefully, then closed his eyes nuzzling into her hand when she finished.

"I love you as well, Mayu." He whispered. Mayu glanced over and saw a few lanterns in the sky already.

"I see, it's time." Sesshomaru opened his eyes as he looked up as well.

"Come on then, let us not be late." She said before she held out her lantern, then she froze.

"I didn't think about it, how are we to light them?" She asked.

"Say your prayer, I'll take care of it." Sesshomaru whispered sounding very tired. Mayu only nodded as she closed her eyes holding the lantern close to her chest.

'Aito, I'm sorry I never got to do this sooner. I hope you're ok, and you're happy. I also hope you do not worry about me, you don't need to anymore. I'm finally happy again, I'm safe, I'm loved. I wish you could be here too, I know you'd adore Rin and Sesshomaru. You'd adore the gardens, the town, the people here. I love you, Aito, with all my heart. Thank you, for being my brother and for loving me.' She slowly opened her eyes, then a glow caught her attention. She looked over seeing Sesshomaru's lantern was lit with a golden flame, his finger was too.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Uhn." Mayu nodded. He reached over and touched the small candle inside, a small flame forming. They watched their own flame for a moment, then they slowly released the lanterns. They floated up into the sky to join the others, they danced around each other making Mayu smile. She looked over seeing Sesshomaru looking up, then something caught her attention. She looked and saw what looked like a man, he looked almost just like Sesshomaru. However, he wasn't... solid which confused Mayu. Suddenly, she perked up. Sesshomaru's father. She slowly smiled at the man making him give a curious look. She subtly waved at him, and to her surprise, he did the same. She then closed her eyes before giving Sesshomaru a gentle hug making him look down. Then something caught his eye as well. A little boy stood, watching with a smile.

"Take care of her." He stared for a moment, then looked down at Mayu, her eyes still closed. He only nodded, then closed his eyes as well as he carefully wrapped an arm around her.

"It's late, we should go home." Mayu muttered looking up at him. Sesshomaru nodded, he was exhausted. Maybe she was right, he had too much to drink. So, with that, they left to meet up with the others so they could rest.

"I love you, my son."