Chapter 89

The gates of Kanazawa



Mai wobbled on her feet and grabbed the wall for support, as the cave floor shook violently. Small rocks fell from the ceiling right onto the heads of a small group. A loud boom could be heard and the walls were vibrating long after it happened. The girl widened her eyes, confused. What was that? It sounded just like…

"Mai-san, what was that?!" Chiyo squeaked, voicing aloud Mai's thoughts. The young girl looked scared, as she cuddled to her grandfather. Master Sekiguchi exchanged glances with Mai.

"Gunpowder." He said, panting, as the escape exhausted his worn body. "Gunpowder exploded."
Mai looked at him, shocked. She knew, that the man was right, it sounded just like in movies. If something like that happened, it could mean only one – Sesshomaru was… She shook her head, not wanting to admit to herself, that the dog demon could be no longer among living. He was always so strong, so confident. It always appeared to her, that he was kind of immortal, anyone could die, but not him. She felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, but tried to keep her cool. It would be the time to mourn Sesshomaru later. Now it was her task to get herself and those people to the safety. She clenched her fist.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" she called to her companions, supporting the scholar Sekiguchi. "The cave can collapse anytime now!"

Chiyo and Souichiro nodded and followed her, as she dragged the scholar along the corridor. Mai gained a position of a leader and everyone relied on her. She had to be strong for all of them.
The cave was shaking from time to time, sending a shower of tiny rocks on her heads. Mai feared, that the explosion's aftershocks may cause the whole corridor to collapse, so they had to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. However, they were running for some time now, covered a considerable distance, but there was no end of the corridor. Mai prayed inwardly, that the cave wouldn't have a dead end. To make the matters worse, the people were growing weaker with every passing minute, as lack of sleep and weariness were taking their toll. Moreover, the air inside the cave lacked the oxygen, what was making them dizzy. Chiyo was holding on quite well, but the two elderly were barely standing on their feet. They had to get to the surface fast. Mai forced her companions to pick up the speed.

The girl clenched her teeth from the effort, as she was nearly carrying Sekiguchi on her back and lead their group, lightning the way with her torch. Then, she nearly bumped into a wall, as the corridor ended without any warning. The old scholar leaned himself against the wall and Mai looked around. She didn't want to say aloud, what she thought. It looked like it was a dead end. The walls around them were considerably smooth.

"There's no way out?" Souichiro asked, panic in his voice. Mai took a deep breath, not wanting to sound unconfident – she would only scare the others. She noticed, that Chiyo was horribly pale already and her lips began to tremble.

"Calm down." Mai said. "Let's look around."

The others nodded, without much enthusiasm though and started searching the place. It proved to be difficult, as the light, cast by the torch, was very faint. Chiyo and Souichiro were tracing the surface of the wall with their fingers, while Mai looked on the cave floor. It was very uneven, covered in dust and small rocks. One structure caught her attention. The girl crouched by it and cleaned it from the rocks with her hand. Underneath the layer of soil was solid wood. Mai furrowed her brows.

"Chiyo, come here and hold the torch!" she called to the younger girl. Chiyo swiftly ran to her and did, what she was asked to. With her hands free, Mai worked faster to uncover the strange structure. She gasped, when she recognized, what it was – a wooden ladder, about three meters long. The girl looked up and, actually, there was a small hatch above. It was a way out! Mai smiled to herself.

"There's a hatch up there." She said, pointing the ceiling. "Help me get this ladder up."

With Soichiro's help, she managed to set the ladder in place. It was wobbling a lot, but it was still intact, as the wood wasn't rotten even after all those years.

"Who's coming first?" Chiyo asked, looking questioningly at Mai. The girl furrowed her brows, thinking. She should stay and hold the torch. She was too weak to force the hatch open anyway. She looked at one of the elderly men.

"Souichiro, do you think you'll manage to open the hatch?" she asked him. Chiyo's grandfather nodded and straightened his back, as though he wanted to appear stronger.

"Maybe I'm old, but I'm used to hard work." He said and began climbing the ladder. Mai took the torch from Chiyo and waited. The three of them were observing, as Souichiro wrested with the hatch, that refused to open. The man's face was red with effort and the drops of sweat began streaming down his face. Finally, with a loud squeak, the hatch moved slightly. With one more forceful push, Souichiro managed to open it completely and the sunlight filled the cave. Mai felt like shouting with joy. They made it! They found the way out. She looked around and saw the same hopeful expressions on her companions faces.

"All right." Mai said. "Chiyo, it's your turn. Master Sekiguchi will come right after you."

The girl nodded and began climbing the ladder. The old scholar looked at Mai with a smile on his wrinkled face.

"It looks like you lead us out, Mai." He said.

Mai nodded. However, she couldn't smile back to Sekiguchi. Too much happened, too many sad things. Silence fell, as both of them stayed quiet, waiting for Chiyo to get to the surface. However, a barely noticeable sound could be heard. Mai narrowed her eyes, as she heard it – it was coming from the corridor. She stared into the darkness. The noise was faint, but was getting stronger with every passing second. Master Sekiguchi also noticed it, tension all over his face. Mai glanced at him.

"This sound…" she whispered. "Those are footsteps, aren't they?"

The scholar didn't answer, but nodded, confirming her fears. Mai bit her lower lip. Someone was coming and his footsteps were echoing throughout the cave, warning them. It could mean one – one of the enemies got through Sesshomaru and Harada and he was coming. Without hesitating, she extinguished the torch, not wanting to give out their position too quickly. If only they managed to get out of the cave and block the hatch with some stones, they would be safe. She looked up and saw, that Souichiro was already helping Chiyo off the ladder.

"Master Sekiguchi, hurry up." She whispered and took out the knife, Sesshomaru gave her the day before. She honestly hoped, that she wouldn't have to use it.

Mai was glancing at the old scholar nervously. The old man was slowly crawling up. The girl refrained herself from tapping with her foot. It was doubtful if the ladder could support two people, so she had to wait for Sekiguchi to get out of the hatch. The sound of the footsteps was getting louder, now echoing throughout her mind. Mai tried to keep her hands from shaking. She put the knife between her teeth and grabbed the ladder, waiting for her turn to climb up. The enemy was getting closer and the elderly scholar was awfully slow. She could go after him, but it was too risky. The ladder was so old, that could collapse and both of them would be in deep shit. She waited and the noise was louder and louder.

Finally, Souichiro and Chiyo grabbed Sekiguchi and helped him up. Instantly, Mai began climbing as fast as she could, two steps at the time.

Suddenly, she felt something grabbing her ankle. The girl realized in a heartbeat, that it was the enemy. She tried to move her leg, attempting to kick him off the ladder, but her ankle was trapped in a steel grip. Mai cursed inwardly – if her leg wasn't caught in midair, she could have used the other one to kick that attacker in his face, but she needed to hold on to the ladder somehow. The girl kept trying to wriggle herself out of the hold, but her efforts were fruitless.

She decided, that it was the time to resort to violence. The girl grabbed the ladder firmly with one hand and took the handle of the knife, that was between her teeth. With a considerably swift move, she crouched down and prepared to slash the enemy. She was swinging her hand already, when she saw, who was the person, that grabbed her ankle. Her eyes widened from surprise, as they met golden eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, that reached to the cave. Mai stopped her hand from moving in the last moment and lost her balance, falling from the ladder right at the top of that person.

"Mai-san!" the girl heard Chiyo's voice from above, as she landed on something soft. Mai pulled herself up to the sitting position and wasn't sure if she should be happy or quite the opposite. Namely, she was sitting atop Sesshomaru, who she just knocked down. The demon was glaring at her in his most intimidating way.

"Umm… you're alive." Mai coughed out, stating the obvious. The inu-youkai arched his eyebrow.

"Disappointed?" he asked. The girl narrowed her eyes at him. Damn, the guy was like back from the dead and he was cheeky already! She made a pouting face.

"You didn't have to scare me so much!" she scolded him. Sesshomaru didn't answer and pulled himself up, throwing Mai off him. The girl yelped and opened her mouth, about to protest, but closed it almost immediately, when she realized the position, she just had been in – straddling the dog demon. She felt a blush rushing to her face. Crap, not now. So embarrassing!
The dog demon yanked her up, without any warning and dragged her to the ladder.

"Climb, woman." He told her, looking at her flushed face with amusement in his eyes. The girl wanted to berate him for ordering her around, but, on the other hand, letting him have fun of her because of her damn blush was worse. Without word, she obeyed him. She climbed a few steps, when she wanted to ask Sesshomaru, what happened to captain Harada. She glanced at the demon. Her face turned scarlet, when she saw, where the inu-youkai's attention was. Sesshomaru was casually staring at her now exposed tights. Mai felt anger boil in her veins. She understood, that he was a male, but to have a nerve to do something like that!

"Sesshomaru…" she said in a low tone, warning in her voice. The dog demon looked up.

"Hurry." He said, before looking away. Mai narrowed her eyes at him and got back to climbing, wanting to get her legs to safety from Sesshomaru's stares as soon as possible. He is so unbearable! Well, at least he's alive…

The girl crawled through the hatch. Souichiro helped her up. Everyone's eyes widened, as they saw Sesshomaru following Mai.

"Sesshomaru-san?" Sekiguchi choked out, surprised, that the demon was still alive. "And the captain?"

Sesshomaru straightened his clothing.

"Dead." He said shortly, but after a while decided, that the courageous human deserved his story to be told. "He set the gunpowder on fire and collapsed the cave. The enemy will not pursue us."

Mai sighed. She expected, that something like that happened. However, it was odd, that Sesshomaru didn't refuse to go to them. She smiled to herself. Apparently the captain was convincing. The dog demon may be a bastard, who kidnapped her and got her into the whole mess with Naraku, but she would miss him if he was dead. Harada made a good deed, she would surely remember to light a candle for his soul.

"Do not stay behind." Sesshomaru's voice made Mai turn her attention back to what was happening. She saw, that the dog demon was already walking away and the group followed him without saying anything. The girl also dragged herself after the inu-youkai.

All of them were exhausted, as they didn't close their eyes even for a minute, so Mai was glad, that Sesshomaru didn't force the murderous pace. She furrowed her brows. Perhaps he was tired too? If he was, he didn't show it. The girl marched faster, so she could walk beside the demon. She stole a glance at him and thought, that his face looked a little bit weary. This journey was surely a tough one for both of them.

Sesshomaru lead their group through the forest, till they reached the stone road. Once they were on the way to Kanazawa, Mai sighed with relief. The road was crowded, so the probability of being attacked was low. From now on, everything will be okay – she was sure of it. Or rather, she hoped.

During the whole journey, no one said a word, till they reached the capital. Everyone went through something depressing and no one was in mood for chatting. Finally, they were about to pass the gates to Kanazawa. Mai looked up and saw, that the castle, that had been burnt to the ground, was being rebuilt and the wall encircling the city was still under repair. Everyone's papers were checked thoroughly at the gates and their group had to stand in a long line. When the moment of parting was near, it was the time for reflections.

"It is a miracle, that we are alive." Souichiro shared his thoughts with no one in particular. All eyes looked at him. Chiyo hung her head, surely thinking about her mother, who just lost her life.

"It's not a miracle." Master Sekiguchi disagreed quietly, shaking his head. "We wouldn't be among living without the efforts of brave men, who sacrificed our lives… and one demon. We owe you our lives."

The elderly man looked at Sesshomaru and slightly bowed his head with respect. The dog demon didn't seem to be moved by the praise.

"Hn. It was not my intention to protect you." He said, turning his head away. Mai sighed heavily, sending him a doubtful look. The dog demon would never change, would he? The others stared at him with disbelief. The girl flashed an apologizing smile at them.

"Don't mind him. Sesshomaru has just a terrible attitude, but he's a good man... I mean demon." She said to their companions, trying to explain the inu-youkai's behavior to them. Maybe she was used to his antics, but the same couldn't be said about other people. Mai felt Sesshomaru's gaze on her and glanced back. Almost immediately she regretted it, as she met his murderous glare. She gulped and was thinking of something to say to him, when Chiyo approached the inu-youkai.

"Umm… Sesshomaru-san…" the young girl began shyly, staring at her feet. Her nervousness was apparent – she was twisting her fingers, her lips trembled a bit. Slowly, she lifted her head, looking at the demon. Tears were sparkling in her eyes. The dog demon looked at her impassionedly. Chiyo cleared her throat. "I… I just wanted to say, that… I don't blame you for my mother's death. I know, why you did that. I just wanted you to know. Thank you for not letting me and grandfather die."

When the girl finished, tears were streaming down her face, as she clenched her fists. Sob shook her body, when Souichiro approached his granddaughter and took her in his arms, comforting the girl.
Mai looked at the pair with compassion. From her own experience she knew, how hard it was to deal with the death of a relative. But, she knew, that it was possible – only time would heal Chiyo's wounds.

"Papers!" an official called, as it was her and Sesshomaru's turn to cross the gates. The dog demon handed the pieces of paper to the man, who checked them carefully. The official sighed heavily, obviously bored by his job. "The haven is in the western part of the city. You just have to go straight, along the main road. Next!"

Sesshomaru began walking without even turning away, while Mai glanced at their temporary companions. She smiled to them and waved.

"Goodbye and good luck!" she called to them. Chiyo waved back to her, Souichiro and master Sekiguchi bowed their heads and bid her farewell with smiles. The girl turned away and followed Sesshomaru, as they made their way through the city of Kanazawa.