Chapter 85

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From between the trees, the rain of arrows fell on the group gathered around the cart. It was hard to tell exactly, what was happening: Matsuko and Chiyo were screaming from fear. Sesshomaru was standing above them, deflecting every arrow, that came in their direction, with his sword. Souichiro was the other one, who didn't lose his cool in the commotion – the old man grabbed the scholar Sekiguchi and pushed him down, closer to the women. The old man ensured, that Chiyo and her mother were keeping their heads down, while the demon was protecting everyone. Outside the cart the inferno was raging. Mai heard clash of steel, battle cries and pained screams of the victims. In the dark she couldn't tell who was the ally and who the enemy. The arrows kept coming from all directions and Sesshomaru was forced to dance all over the cart, keeping up with difficulty, as now his body wasn't moving so quickly as it used to.

The girl looked at the inu-youkai with worry. It was certain, that he'd get tired soon. With a fluent move Sesshomaru deflected the arrow and slashed the man, who was attempting to climb on the cart, before turning around to deflect another arrow. Mai made a decision without hesitating. She rushed to the front of the cart, keeping her head down, and grabbed the reins.

"Hold on!" she called to Sesshomaru and with all the force she slapped the horse with the reins. The animal was paralyzed with fear, fortunately uninjured, so it took a stronger slap to make it move. The horse neighed and galloped forward. The dog demon swayed on his legs, but didn't lose the balance. All the passengers screamed, terrified by the sudden move. Mai struggled to keep the control over the horse, frantically pulling the reins, wanting to direct the animal, where she wanted.

The cart jumped onto the stone road, nearly turning over while on the curve, but the girl urged the horse to go faster, mercilessly slapping it with the reins. The rain of arrows stopped for a while, as their move must have surprised the enemy.

Sesshomaru was still standing, the sword in his hand, ready to fight. The demon was panting slightly, as his body was much weaker and tired faster. He looked at Mai over his shoulder with approval.
"We're going to die!" Chiyo's trembling voice whimpered. Souichiro glanced at his granddaughter in a scolding way.

"Be silent, child. We're not." He tried to calm Chiyo down. The old man looked at Sesshomaru with awe in his eyes. The show of his swordsmanship was indeed impressive.
The cart rocked dangerously and the horse began slowing down, exhausted by the wild run. Suddenly, from between the trees riders galloped, judging by their attire – enemies. Mai's eyes widened, as they were everywhere – in the back, front and on the sides. The cart was completely surrounded.

"Faster, woman!" Sesshomaru called to her, while assuming the stance. The girl nodded.
"Hya!" she yelled, slapping the horse with all her might. The crazed animal rushed forward with desperation. Souichiro's family and master Sekiguchi curled on the floor of the cart, terrified to death.
The riders were approaching and were trying to get on the carriage. However, they underestimated their opponent. With unnatural grace, Sesshomaru was lightly jumping all over the cart, cutting the enemies down with deathly precision.

"Kya!" Matsuko screamed, as one of the enemies jumped on the carriage and swung his sword to slash them, while the demon was occupied with fighting on the other side of carriage, close to Mai. The girl noticed the situation and pulled the reins, making the horse do zigzags. The soldier lost his balance and fell down. Sesshomaru quickly finished his opponents and with one leap got to the man, slashing his head off. With a kick, he got rid of the extra weight and the beheaded body fell on the stone road.

More enemies, jumped from the two sides of cart. Sesshomaru swiftly killed one, but the other knocked his sword out of the hand. The blade flew into the air and was soon out of sight. The soldier smirked, sure, that the victory was his and lifted his sword, about to cut the demon down. The inu-youkai made use of the gap in his defense and swiftly grabbed his throat, crushing it in his grip. The man struggled, but Sesshomaru jerked his wrist, breaking the soldier neck. The man's limp body fell back. The demon was left with no sword, he could use.

"Tch!" he hissed, when he saw that the riders were still chasing them, and more – catching up. The horse, that was pulling the cart, was running slower and slower, despite Mai's efforts to keep a fast pace. The girl looked over her shoulder and saw, that one of the mounted soldiers took out the bow and aimed directly at Sesshomaru. The characteristic whiz could be heard, before the arrow hit the target. The archer was already grinning widely, but the smile dropped from his face, when he saw the demon holding the arrow in his bare hand.

Then, many things happened at the same time. The cart buckled dangerously and the side hit the road, when they bumped into a hole, causing one of the back wheels to fall off. Mai grabbed the side of the carriage frantically, trying to regain balance, while the passengers screamed from fear. Suddenly, more riders emerged from the forest, this time they wore different attire, rather familiar ones. The clash of steel sounded in the night air, as the mounted soldiers began fighting among each other, both groups chasing the cart.

Mai turned her attention back to the road ahead and saw shimmering surface – a river. There was also a bridge in the front. Sesshomaru also saw it.

"Mai, turn!" he yelled. The girl looked at him and then back at the bridge and saw, what the demon noticed – it was collapsed. Frantically, she pulled the reins on one side, making the cart turn by ninety degrees. However, the missing wheel made the cart unstable and it buckled on the edge for a split second, before it fell on the side.

Mai anticipated the hard landing, but a dark shape flashed and Sesshomaru caught her in the last moment. Souichiro's family and master Sekiguchi crawled out of the carriage and quickly came closer to the inu-youkai, counting on him to protect them. The enemies were almost there and Sesshomaru was unarmed.

Not waiting for anything, Mai grabbed Matsuko and Chiyo and ushered the women to hide behind a cart, doing the same with the elderly men. The riders caught up to them and the dog demon was standing, focused, knowing, that the weapon, he needed, was in enemy's hands.

Suddenly, something flashed from behind the opponents and stuck in the overturned cart. It was a sword. Sesshomaru cast a quick glance at the direction it flew from and saw captain Harada nodding to him. The inu-youkai nodded back and swiftly grabbed the sword, just in time to deflect the blows from his opponents. With the mastery, he killed his opponents almost effortlessly. The rest of the riders were finished off by Harada and his remaining men – in total four, including the captain.

Once the last enemy was killed, Harada scanned the battlefield, frowning upon seeing the damaged bridge. Mai and the other people came out from behind the cart. The captain's face expressed relief, when he saw master Sekiguchi safe and sound.

"You sure know, how to fight." He said to Sesshomaru. The dog demon looked at him for a while, without saying anything, before turning to Mai and examining her. The girl was perfectly fine.
Harada dismounted and caught an abandoned horse, before the animal would have chance to escape.

"All of you, get on the horses." He ordered, leading the steed to Sesshomaru and handing him the reigns.

"Captain, what now, more enemies will be coming soon. We're outnumbered!" one of the younger soldiers called. Harada furrowed his brows.

"We'll go the old keep and wait for the reinforcements. It's the only way to keep us alive." The captain decided and helped Chiyo get on the same horse, the young soldier was on.

"Is there no bridge in vicinity?" Sesshomaru asked, pushing Mai onto the horse's back. Harada shook his head.

"The closest one is half a day from here. Provided it's undamaged." He said with an uneasy expression on his face. "There is an abandoned post nearby. It's unmanned, but we should be able to barricade inside and last a day or two, till help comes. The men, who attacked us were only the minority of their forces."

The captain helped everyone get on the horses, so that civilians were riding on one horse with the soldiers. He took the scholar Sekiguchi with himself and Mai was riding with Sesshomaru.

"After me!" Harada ordered and kicked the sides of his horse, forcing the animal to gallop. Others followed his and rode through the forest, almost not being able to discern the path in the darkness of the woods. Mai grabbed the saddle, afraid to lose balance and fall from the horse. Sesshomaru noticed it and put his arm around her, holding the reins at the same time. The girl relaxed and leaned her back against his chest. She smiled to herself, when she remembered, the last time she was with the demon like this – it was the time they first met, when Sesshomaru kidnapped her on Ah-Un's back. The difference was, he was the danger that time and now she felt safe with him. Somehow, she felt certain, that the inu-youkai would defend her, no matter what.

The peaceful moment didn't last long. The enemies' arrows flew again from behind the trees. In the last second, Sesshomaru pushed Mai off the horse and both of them fell onto the hard ground, rolling, till they slammed into a tree. The girl muffled the pained yelp and the dog demon instantly jumped on his feet, ripping out the sword. The captain turned his horse around and jumped into the enemies, killing both archers.

Mai heard a women's scream and saw, that the one of the soldiers and Matsuko fell of the horse. The man's back was spiked with the arrows.

"Mother!" Chiyo shrieked and struggled in the soldier's grip. She tried to free herself and run to her mother, but the samurai held her tightly. Captain Harada and the other soldier dismounted swiftly, drawing their swords.

"Yamazaki," the captain addressed the soldier, that was holding the screaming Chiyo. "Take the civilians to the keep and prepare the defense. I and Katsu will take care of them."
The one called Yamazaki nodded and snatched the reins of master Sekiguchi's horse.

"Yes, sir!" he acknowledged the order and looked at the other civilians. The young soldier didn't waste time and kicked the sides of his steed. Souichiro wanted to dismount and run to his daughter-in-law, but Harada slapped the rear of his horse and the animal galloped after Yamazaki. The captain looked at Sesshomaru and Mai.

"You two better get to the keep quickly too." He said. However, the girl didn't pay any attention to him.

"We must get Matsuko first!" she said. She stood up and ran to the place, where Matsuko was. With effort, she pushed the dead soldier off the older woman and examined her. Matsuko opened her eyes and Mai let out a relieved breath. She was alive.

"Get up, we have to escape!" she ushered the woman to stand up. Then, she noticed something unsettling. From the front Matsuko looked okay, but… Mai cast the quick glance at her back and gritted her teeth – in Matsuko's back was an arrow. The woman was probably too shocked to feel any pain now.

"Mai, Matsuko, get on the horse, now!" Harada yelled to the women and lead the horse closer. The soldier also noticed the arrow sticking out of Matsuko's back.

"I'm not leaving her." Mai said with challenge in her voice. Sesshomaru frowned, but the captain only nodded and lifted the wounded woman on the horseback. Mai turned to the inu-youkai, when…

"Hey!" she yelped, surprised, when Harada lifted her off the ground and placed her on the saddle behind Matsuko.

"Sesshomaru!" she called the inu-youkai's name. "Come on!"

The demon looked her in the eye. The sound of the hooves was getting closer.

"Ride fast." He told her and smacked the horse's rear with the blunt edge of the sword. Mai opened her mouth to protest, but she bit her tongue, as the steed rushed forward.

"Stupid dog!" she hissed out. She wanted to turn around and beat some sense into him, but knew, that she would be only a liability now. Now seeing other choice, she motioned the horse to go faster. Better stay alive, Sesshomaru.



Sesshomaru watched as Mai galloped away towards the keep, that was supposedly safe. Keeping her alive was now priority, even if it meant, that he had to aid the human soldiers.

"Captain, they'll be here any minute!" the soldier named Katsu said, his voice betraying how nervous he was. Sesshomaru noticed with the corner of his eye, that the man's hands were shaking, as he was holding the sword. Pathetic. He would die in the first seconds of battle. The demon's attention shifted to the one called captain.

"We must hold them here for at least half an hour. Yamazaki needs to get all mechanisms running in this time." Harada said, examining the blade carefully.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, recognizing the composure of the experienced warrior, similar to his own. The captain could prove himself to be a useful human, after all.
The sound of hooves was louder and louder.

Whiz!

The arrows were once again sent in the direction of the three men. Sesshomaru and Harada skillfully deflected them with their blades, but Katsu got hit directly in his throat and fell limply to the ground. The dog demon focused, counting the enemies – twenty. Twenty mounted riders. He glanced at the captain, who returned the look. Both of men nodded, having communicated without exchanging the words and rushed on the enemies.

Harada knocked one of the soldiers off his horse and, having killed the previous rider, quickly jumped on the horseback.

Sesshomaru assumed a stable stance and waited for his opponents to come for him. As expected, soon he was surrounded by the enemies. Once they were close enough, he smirked and his sword danced, fluently slashing the enemies along with their steeds. His moves were so quick, that the soldiers didn't even know, what hit them.

In the meantime Harada managed to finish off four opponents, before one of the attackers stabbed his horse's chest with a spear. The animal squeaked from pain and fell to the ground. The captain, with a grace of a cat, rolled on the ground and jumped onto his feet. He looked over his shoulder and saw Sesshomaru's back.

"You showed quite a swordsmanship." He said to the demon, panting.

"You were not bad yourself. For a human." Sesshomaru retorted, warily observing the opponents, who were encircling the both men. There was still a dozen of attackers remaining.

"Which master taught you?" Harada asked in a casual tone, his eyes also on the closing enemies. Sesshomaru glanced at him over his shoulder, surprised, that the man chose a moment like this for a casual conversation.

"My father." He replied, annoyance sounding in his voice. "Shut up."
Harada's laughter sounded through the night.

Then, the opponents attacked, all at once. Sesshomaru and Harada whirled around, their swords deflecting the enemies' blades and sending the swords flying. The both men simultaneously changed the direction of the attack and cut down the disarmed soldiers. After the maneuver, the opponents became more cautious. The demon and captain split up, fervently swinging their swords to kill as many opponents as possible in the least time, almost as though it was a competition.

Suddenly, Harada tripped over a dead body and fell to the ground, when his sword clashed with the blade of his last enemy. The man was already making a move to slash the captain in half, when he coughed with blood, as the blade pierced his back and came out of his chest. The soldier fell limply to the ground. Harada saw Sesshomaru standing before him. The demon casually ripped the sword of the corpse and swung it to get rid of the blood, before sheathing it. The captain narrowed his eyes.
"You didn't have to help!" he said. "I had everything under control!"

Sesshomaru arched his eyebrow, smirk playing on his lips.

"I did not say anything." He replied, his face showing amusement. At least he had the opportunity to get a little revenge.

The captain muttered a curse under his nose before getting on his feet. Harada looked around and frowned, dissatisfied, seeing that Sesshomaru killed more opponents than he did.

"I have to admit, that you're the best swordsman I've met." He said a praise honestly.

"Hn." The dog demon was pleased by the man's words. "It is obvious."

The inu-youkai caught the steed and mounted it. Captain Harada did the same.

"And most arrogant too." He said quietly to himself, before kicking the sides of his horse and setting off to the keep.