The Blazing Tempest

DISCLAIMER: This story is a non-commercial work of fiction based on the anime/manga Samurai 7. Original copyright of Samurai 7 belongs to Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, MICO, GDH, GONZO. Absolutely no monetary gain has been made with this work.


THE BLAZING TEMPEST
By Rory V. Pascual (Edited by Saiyukihana)
© Original Version 2001; Samurai 7 Version June 22, 2006


Chapter Sixteen

Shichiroji was hunched over his journal. The torn pages beside him were testament to his failed attempts at capturing Shinno's mysterious face on paper. Engrossed as he was in what he was doing, the Samurai did not notice Kyuzo enter his tent. The Bandit Chief smiled as he peered over the Warrior's shoulder.

// You have no idea just how close you are, my friend, // he thought to himself, seeing the errors in Shichiroji' sketch. Still, the concubine's beauty shone through, despite the imperfections in the drawing. Kyuzo was greatly tempted to point the errors out to him.

As he straightened up, his form blocked out the light of the sole lamp inside the tent. Shichiroji literally jumped to his feet, the journal falling page down, on the mat, picking up his spear as he did so. Seeing that it was the Bandit Chief, he dropped his hands and the weapon to his sides.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people?" Shichiroji snarled the question. He was not really angry with the Bandit Chief, but more with himself. Letting his guard down like that was sheer carelessness that could get him killed. Then, there was also the matter of invasion of his privacy.

Kyuzo gave him an apologetic bow. "Forgive me, my friend. I came because I wanted to speak with you in private."

Shichiroji softened at that polite request. Gesturing to a cushion, he said, "Please! Have a seat."

Groaning out loud and joints creaking and popping, the Bandit Chief plopped down on the cushion, a sheepish grin on his face. "It seems my body no longer agrees with such vigorous exercise."

"So I've noticed earlier," Shichiroji remarked. Suppressing his smirk, he added with as much honesty as he could muster, "But it would do you a lot of good."

"So I've heard. I was against it in the beginning, but it's difficult to turn down Shinno."

The Samurai nodded thoughtfully, remembering how the whoremaster had convinced him to train him in the art of the sword. Once he sets his mind to it, Shinno always gets what he wants…with the notable exception of his freedom.

"Yes, that's true," put in Shichiroji softly. "But he has your best interests at heart. He wouldn't insist on it if it were not good for you. Shinno…he's known to put the concerns of others above his own."

"Even though he is the more unfortunate soul." Kyuzo gave the Samurai a curious glance. "You seem to know him very well."

Images of that tragic night in Tessai's tent came back to him. Shichiroji closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. "Not well enough, I should think, that I don't know how to… That I don't remember…" In his mind, he spoke the conclusion. // I don't know how to love him. I don't remember that first time that I had betrayed him. //

"Is this the reason why you've been avoiding Shinno? For awhile there, I thought you were simply a pitiful excuse for a bodyguard."

"If I were a poor bodyguard, I would never have pursued him here. No, Kyuzo-sama, I know when someone does not want me around."

"And you don't like it." It was not a question.

"I would be lying if I say otherwise."

"It seems to me you care for him a great deal."

Shichiroji chose to keep silent.

"If you wish," Kyuzo began, eyeing the Warrior closely, "I could arrange it that both of you could speak in private."

The Samurai looked at the Bandit Chief suspiciously. "Why would you want to do that for me?"

"In truth, I don't. In fact, I even see you as a rival."

"Me?" Shichiroji blurted out in disbelief. "A rival?"

"Are you blind that you don't see the deep affection that Shinno obviously has for you?"

"But his hate for me runs much deeper."

"Hate is but a disguise to hide what is truly inside one's heart. It is a disguise that could be shed by an act of repentance and love."

"No," the Samurai countered with a sorrowful shake of his head. "What I've done to him…it could not be forgiven."

"Are you telling me that you are giving up the fight so easily?"

"Listen to me, Kyuzo-sama. Even if by some miracle of Allah Shinno does learn to forgive me, he could never be mine. He belongs to the Amanushi. We are both fools to dare to love the concubine of a powerful man."

"A fool I may be, but certainly not a coward like you." Kyuzo's eyes narrowed into slits, but they held a sharp glint inside them. "As we speak, my men are heading out to meet and dispatch the man who ordered Shinno's abduction. If they do not succeed, at least they would've delayed him enough for me to figure out a way to help Shinno escape."

"Even if you do get rid of this mysterious mastermind, what are you going to do about the Amanushi?"

There was a moment's silence as the Bandit Chief pondered on whether to answer Shichiroji' question or not. "I never told this to anyone, not even my student," Kyuzo ultimately replied. "The first time I saw Shinno, I thought he was my beloved Merida come back to life. In the three short days that I've come to know him, he has returned me to the land of the living. He helped me to regain my manhood."

"He could only just be using you so that he could be free of the Amanushi," Shichiroji suggested, with a trace of bitterness and envy in his words.

"Shinno is not that kind of man," Kyuzo defended the concubine. "You and I know that very well. He said he didn't want my help, that he didn't want any of his friends to die because of him. But I can't not help him."

The Samurai frowned, unsure of where this conversation was leading. "I find this very confusing, Kyuzo-sama. What are you planning to do?"

"There is only way to free Shinno from the Amanushi. Shichiroji, it is my intention to marry him."

Hearing this, Shichiroji stared at the Bandit Chief in shock.

"I love him, and it's not just because he reminds me so much of Merida. In Shinno, I found the person I would wish to share the rest of my life with. There's also the matter that he adores my student. He would let no harm come to Katsushiro." Kyuzo stood up. "However, there is an obstacle to my plan. Although he is kind to me and generous with his…affections, he does not love me. I cannot marry him if his heart belongs to another."

The Samurai was stunned at this revelation. At first, he could not speak. Surely, the Bandit Chief was mistaken. It was not true that Shinno loved him, not after the cruelty he had inflicted upon the whoremaster.

"I will tell Shinno to go to you," continued Kyuzo, "let the two of you sort your feelings for each other out."

"You risk losing him with this move," Shichiroji pointed the fact out to him.

"I know, but I have hate on my side. Love and hate…we shall see which is stronger." Kyuzo let out a sigh. "It's been a long time since I faced a challenge of the heart. Whatever the outcome, I will see it through to the very end. In the meantime…" A dreamy smile formed on the bandit's face. "I will continue to enjoy the lavish attention that Shinno showers upon me and my student."

"And I know that you will continue to do so till the end of your days." The Warrior firmly told the Bandit Chief, "This is a fight that I am destined to lose. Even if you command him, Shinno will never come to me."

"If I am unsuccessful in convincing him, then it is you who must go to him. Shichiroji, do you not have a card in your favor? Surely there must be something that Shinno wants from you. I give him comfort and protection, and a bit of love, because that is what he wants from me. What do you have that could top what I had given him?"

Shichiroji lowered his eyes to the fallen journal. "There is nothing I could give him, except pain and heartbreak."

Kyuzo shook his head in dismay. "And I thought you would make a worthy rival." Looking at the journal as well, he remarked sadly, "I pity you, Shichiroji. Up to now, you still do not know the beautiful angel that you are letting slip through your fingers."

The Samurai's head snapped up at that comment. Before he could pose a question, the Bandit Chief left his tent without saying another word.

"You still do not know the beautiful angel that you are letting slip through your fingers."

"No, it can't be!" Shichiroji gasped in shock. "Kyuzo couldn't have seen Shinno's face!"

However, it was very obvious to him that the man HAD seen the concubine's face. Perhaps even Katsushiro as well. Shinno trusted the two men. Why should he not remove his veil for them?

Furious and seething with jealousy, Shichiroji grabbed the journal and hurled it at the far corner of the tent. The confines of his lodgings seemed to be hot and stifling that the Warrior stormed outside, panting for breath like a drowning man. Any attempts to calm himself proved futile. His heart ached and the teardrops splashed upon his shirt.

The Samurai raised his head to gaze at the desert moon. Instead, however, his eyes trained up the side of the towering height of the Tademait Plateau.

Kyuzo's words at once returned to him. "There must be something that Shinno wants from you."

A smile slowly formed on the corners of his lips. Yes, there was something that he could give to the concubine.

The question was would Shinno accept it?

~~~~~~~~~~

If the Bandit Chief thought that he could get the whoremaster to comply with his command, he was dead wrong.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" a rich, but very angry, baritone rang out through the morning air. "HOW DARE YOU ASK THIS OF ME?"

To the amusement of the bandits, Kanbei stormed out of their Chief's tent, a placating Kyuzo trailing behind him. His scarlet caftan and trousers matched the color of his flushed face that was visible above the silk veil he always wore. In the bright sunlight, his brown hair was transformed into reddish tongues of flame, flickering in the desert breeze.

"Shinno, I just thought that, if you talked to him, you might convince him that I haven't done you any harm." The Bandit Chief was like a meek lamb begging to a mighty lion. The bandits, who were eyeing the two men closely, remembered a similar incident several years back -- when their great leader had been brought low by the fury and might of his beloved wife. It was like watching history repeat itself.

Kanbei whirled around. "Any fool could see that I haven't been harmed. Is this his doing? What has gotten into you, Kyuzo-sama, that you started listening to a word he says?"

"Like I said, I just wanted to reassure him of your well-being."

"My being is well when I'm with you and Katsushiro." The concubine gripped Kyuzo's hands, tightening his fingers around them in sheer desperation. "You don't know what he's done to me, what he could still do to me. He would only hurt me, RAPE ME!"

However, the Bandit Chief held the older man's arms. "Shinno, you are in my domain. He will do nothing to harm you, certainly not here!"

"You do not know him like I do."

"Don't be so stubborn, Shinno! This is for your own good!"

"All my life I've been told what to do! But none of you knows what's best for me! It is always I who gets hurt in the end!" Tears welled up in Kanbei's brown doe eyes. "It's unfair! It's so unfair!" His jaw hardened in utter obstinacy. "You can have me flogged. Threaten me with death. I don't care. I WILL NEVER GO TO SHICHIROJI! NEVER!"

With a choked sob, the whoremaster ran off, leaving a confused, bothered and bewildered Kyuzo behind. Completely helpless, he did not notice the approach of his student and the colt.

Katsushiro snorted in disgust, surprising his teacher who turned on his heels to face him. "Why do you force him to go to Shichiroji, Sensei? Can't you see that he doesn't want to be with him?"

"This is a very complicated matter, my student," Kyuzo tried to explain patiently. "Difficult for you to understand because you're still young."

However, Katsushiro crossed his arms over his chest, chin raised. "Shinno doesn't want to see him. What's hard to understand about that? You adults! Always making things so complicated. You make me wish that I wouldn't grow up. Let's go, Morrie! We'd better take care of Shinno ourselves."

As his student walked off, the Bandit Chief did not see the colt inch close to him until it was too late. With utter maliciousness, Moeru stomped his hoof down hard on Kyuzo's toes as he passed by, the crunching of small bones audible.

It took considerable effort on the bandits' part to hold back their laughter, seeing their esteemed leader gripping his aching foot with both hands and jumping up and down, howling as he did so.

Katsushiro found Kanbei in the training area. The concubine was leaning over the fence, back turned to him. But as he drew closer to the older man, the boy could see how the silver tears were streaking down his cheeks.

"Kanbei-sama?" he asked softly.

The whoremaster straightened up at once, wiping away his tears on his sleeve. "I thought you promised me you wouldn't call me that out here."

"I'm sorry, but we're alone. I swear no one heard me." Katsushiro shuffled his feet nervously. "I just wanted to see if you're all right."

Kanbei looked at the younger man. "I'm fine," he said, smiling, "now that you and Moeru are here."

Katsushiro beamed as well. "Yes! That's me and Morrie! Your ever loyal bodyguards!" He cocked his head curiously at the concubine. "So…what are we going to do today? More training?"

"Not for you. Today, I train alone." Winking at the Bandit Chief's student, he invited, "You could watch me, if you like."

Katsushiro nodded in eagerness. "Yes, I'd like that very much."

To his amazement, Kanbei leaped high into the air. For a moment, he thought that the whoremaster was jumping over the fence. Instead, Kanbei landed on top of a fence post, standing on it with perfect balance.

"How did you do that?" Katsushiro exclaimed in awe.

The concubine simply shrugged. "A lot of practice…" He giggled in embarrassment. "…And a lot of falling."

Katsushiro watched, with mouth agape, as Kanbei began his exercises. Like a graceful acrobat, he leaped from one post to another. On the rails in between, he did a series of leaps and turns. At one point, Kanbei stood on his hands, fingers gripping the wood, his legs parted in a split.

Suddenly, before Katsushiro or Moeru could even move, a swift figure vaulted over their heads. Twirling on his hands, the whoremaster righted himself, assuming a defensive stance, as his would-be attacker landed on the rail before him.

"SHICHIROJI!" Kanbei hissed in righteous anger at the sight of the Warrior. "Damn you! How can I be free of you? When are you going to leave me in peace?"

With an angry cry, the concubine let fly with a right hook. But the Samurai skillfully ducked out of the way. Having put all his weight and strength into that one punch, Kanbei was caught off-balance and started to fall.

Strong hands, however, grabbed him and lifted him up. At first, he was flying through the air. Then, there was a slight bump as he landed. To Kanbei's shock, he at once realized that Shichiroji was carrying him, like a babe in his arms. Worse, his own traitorous hands were wrapped around the Samurai's neck.

"LET ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" the whoremaster demanded n fury.

Shichiroji grinned. "After saving your life, this is the gratitude I get?"

"PUT…ME …DOWN!"

"How can I do that with the way you're clinging so tightly to my neck?"

Blushing, Kanbei immediately let go, clasping his hands together. "Now, will you PLEASE put me down?"

But a gentle smile formed on the Samurai's face. "Wrong move." He took the concubine's hands and laid them once more over his neck. Closing his eyes, Shichiroji raised Kanbei's veil and kissed him on the lips.

The concubine was stunned, unable to move or breathe. His mind was screaming for him to fight back -- to scratch Shichiroji' face or gouge his eyes out. However, his heart urged his sweet surrender -- to return the older man's sweet kiss, to open his long legs and let the Warrior join with him, to tear off his veil and reveal his true identity to the Samurai.

Before he could decide, Shichiroji carefully lowered him to the ground. As the concubine looked on, the Samurai himself fell to one knee before him. Shichiroji removed a very familiar pack that was slung to his back. Kanbei hadn't noticed it at first. The Warrior raised the pack to the whoremaster, the familiar hilt of his katana poking out of the leather bag.

"We had an arrangement, Shinno," Shichiroji reminded him. "Something we have not yet concluded. You still require further training with the sword."

Kanbei stared at the Warrior in disbelief. "Why would you still want to teach me? I have no gold to pay you." The concubine took a step back, pulling the lapel of his caftan close. "You want that other…service. Is that it?"

Surprisingly, Shichiroji shook his head. "No, not this time. I want nothing in return from you. All I want is to teach you the art of the sword."

"How could I believe you?"

"I do not ask you to believe in me now, not while the wound I had inflicted upon you is still fresh. Take your weapons, Shinno, so you could practice on your own. I will patiently await your decision."

Kanbei opened his mouth to speak -- ready to tell the Samurai that he was eager to continue with his lessons. Instead, he took his pack from the Warrior and said, "I'll think about it."

Shouts and the sounds of galloping horses interrupted their conversation. For a moment, the two men looked at each other.

It was Katsushiro who answered. "Something's wrong. They're saying some men have been killed, some hurt."

"I brought your medical kit," Shichiroji quickly said.

Nodding, Kanbei hurried in the direction of the shouts, Shichiroji and Katsushiro, with little Moeru, following behind him. They saw the bandits crowding around the new arrivals. Pushing through them, he was shocked to find three men seriously wounded. One had a gaping slash over his belly. The other's arm was broken, the bone protruding through the skin. The third had a bleeding gash over his brow.

"My God! Who did this?" demanded Kanbei as he hastened to open his medical kit. He proceeded to treat the men.

Shichiroji caught Kyuzo's approach at the corner of his eye. Their eyes meeting, the Warrior knew immediately that these three men were part of the band the Bandit Chief had ordered to take care of the mastermind of Shinno's abduction.

It was while he was watching the whoremaster as he took care of the wounded that Shichiroji noticed something.

"Shinno…" he whispered.

Kanbei gazed up to find the Samurai very pale. But this was only momentary, his face becoming livid with rage.

"Shichiroji?" asked the concubine, confused. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Take a good look at their clothes."

At first, Kanbei did not see anything wrong with the garments of the three men. True, they were of the same make and color, but they were still ordinary. Certainly not the type of clothes that would attract attention.

Immediately, Kanbei gasped, realizing what the Warrior was driving at. He turned accusing eyes to Kyuzo, whose face had become as white as a ghost's.

"YOU!" Kanbei exclaimed. "It was you who sent that assassin to kill Shichiroji! Why? How…"

Whatever else the concubine was going to say was drowned out by Shichiroji's outraged roar as he leaped, with clawed hands outstretched, for the Bandit Chief's throat.


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