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 Seventeen

Chaos descended upon the bandits' camp like a swift sandstorm, and Kanbei was powerless to stop it, his hands tied as they were in trying to save the three wounded men's lives. His attention, however, was being distracted by the noises around him -- shouts, Katsushiro's wailing for his teacher and Moeru's panicked whinnying. Shichiroji'ss furious voice caused him to pause from his task.

The concubine was horrified to see the Samurai straddling the Bandit Chief, his hands tightening around Kyuzo's throat. Shichiroji's face was transformed into a mask of rage.

"Damn you, you desert dog!" the Warrior roared at the man pinned beneath him. "You profess to caring for Shinno, but your assassin almost got him killed! If you want me dead, tell your men to kill the person they are tasked to kill! Not an innocent! If Shinno had been harmed in anyway, I would've pursued you no matter where you hid! You and that bastard who paid you to do it!"

"DON'T HURT MY SENSEI, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Katsushiro screamed in fury, ready to draw his sword.

The man with the abdominal wound suddenly took a deep, heaving breath, gurgling sounds emanating from his throat. Before the whoremaster could do anything, he died.

Gritting his teeth, Kanbei shouted, "ENOUGH! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

Silence fell upon the camp, everyone turning startled eyes towards the concubine.

"Let him go, Shichiroji!" Kanbei commanded sternly.

Shichiroji countered just as strongly, "No! I will not give him a chance to harm either of us again, especially you!"

"He was paid to do the job. Vent your anger upon the man who masterminded this. Not Kyuzo!"

The Samurai stared at the whoremaster aghast. "Are you saying that we should let bygones be bygones?"

"Shichiroji, you've seen for yourself that he is not an evil man. Please let him go! His student needs him!"

"I don't care about his student!"

"Just as you don't care about anyone else, except yourself!"

"You know that's not true! Damn it, Shinno! You know how much I care about you!"

"If you care for me, you will let Kyuzo go! For the love of God, Shichiroji! I cannot take much more of this violence! I've lost one man already! Should I lose more because you are too stubborn and dead set on revenge?"

"Is that really your reason?" Shichiroji stared sharply at the whoremaster. "Let's have the truth out in the open, right now! Tell me the truth and I will let Kyuzo go!"

Kanbei shook his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I want to know how you feel about me!"

The concubine was taken aback by that statement. "This is not the proper time or the place for this!"

"No time is better than now!" Then, in utter desperation, with tears misting his eyes, Shichiroji blurted out, "SHINNO, I LOVE YOU!"

At that pronouncement, Kanbei felt his heart stop. A vacuum seemed to envelop him, making breathing difficult. For the first time in his life, the whoremaster was torn. Though his mind cried out for vengeance, his heart urged him to acknowledge his true feelings for the Warrior.

// Damn you, Shichiroji! // he cursed inwardly, hands clenching into fists. // Damn you for putting me in this tight spot! //

Through the haze of indecision, it was Katsushiro's frightened cries of "Sensei! Sensei!" that brought him back to reality. That, and the whimpers of pain of the wounded men.

Kanbei lowered his gaze, his eyes focusing on the gash of one man's head. "Forgive me, Shichiroji," he said, his voice steady and firm. "I do not love you."

Those five words pierced through Shichiroji's heart like arrows. Slowly, his fingers loosened their grip and released the Bandit Chief, who coughed and gasped for breath.

Somehow, Kyuzo managed to order, "TAKE HIM! I WANT HIS HEAD!"

"No!" Kanbei exclaimed. "That isn't necessary!"

"He tried to kill me…before my own people!"

"But he released you, at my request!" The whoremaster found himself bursting into tears. "Please, Kyuzo-sama! As I have begged Shichiroji for your life, I ask you this time to spare his! Please! I will do anything!"

For a moment, Kyuzo looked at the two men -- the older on his knees, tears in his coffee brown eyes, begging for mercy, the younger suddenly meek in the arms of his captors, head lowered and shoulders hunched from the pain of rejected love.

Turning to the bandits who held the Warrior, he commanded, "Keep him under guard inside his tent! I will decide what to do with him later!"

At these words, the bandits escorted the Samurai to his tent. Not once did Shichiroji raise his head to look at the concubine.

Kanbei prostrated himself at the Bandit Chief's feet. "You have my eternal gratitude, Kyuzo-sama."

Instead, Kyuzo answered curtly, "We shall discuss this later…in my tent. For now, since you are obviously a healer, please see to my men." He gestured to his student. "Katsushiro?"

Katsushiro glanced at the whoremaster, who gave him a reassuring nod. Offering his arm to his teacher, he led the Bandit Chief back to his tent.

Before he could get back to work, there was a gentle nudge on his shoulder. Turning, Kanbei saw Moeru blinking back at him.

"Do you want to help me, Moeru?" he smiled. "Very well! I'll make you my runner if I need more supplies."

The foal's tongue snaked out and lapped away the tears that were continuously flowing from the concubine's eyes.

"It's all right, Moeru," Kanbei sniffed his tears back as he lied. "I'll be fine."

~~~~~~~~~~

Night had fallen when Kanbei left the healer's tent. He had much difficulty in setting the arm of the bandit with the compound fracture, as well as sewing up the break in the skin. Another reason why he had taken his time was to find out the identity of the man they were ordered to kill. Both men, however, remained tight-lipped that, in the end, Kanbei had simply given up and let them rest. He was thankful at least that the kind healer had ordered her assistants to fill up the tub with water for his bath, and even surrounded it with a screen for his privacy. When he was finished, the whoremaster found Moeru waiting for him with a bundle of clean clothes, obviously from Katsushiro.

As he trudged through the camp, with Moeru trotting at his side, Kanbei did not realize that his subconscious was guiding his feet toward the Warrior's tent. In his surprise, he stopped a short distance away, eyeing the stern guards standing at the entrance. At first, he hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Getting down on one knee before the foal, he said, "Moeru, I want you to go to Katsushiro. I have to see Shichiroji."

The foal snorted and shook his head, his mane flying.

"I must do this alone, little friend. Please! I promise I'll take care of myself."

Moeru, however, would not budge. He even cuddled close to the whoremaster.

"Moeru, I swear I'll be fine. But I have to do this. This is between me and Shichiroji." Kanbei kissed the foal's brow. "You understand, don't you?"

The foal gave a grudging nod. Bussing the concubine on the lips, Moeru walked away.

Kanbei got to his feet, fixing his robes. Assuming a regal posture, he breathed in deeply and strode towards the tent. The guards immediately blocked his path with their spears.

"I've come to see the prisoner," he announced.

"We cannot do that, Kyuzo-sama," one of the men replied. "Our Lord Kyuzo forbade us from letting anyone see the prisoner."

"Your prisoner is my bodyguard. I have a right to see him. If you fear that we might escape, you have my word as the Amanushi's Royal Concubine that we will not. If you wish, you could call more men to guard this tent. All I ask is that you allow me to see him and accord us with some privacy."

The two guards looked at each other. The man who first spoke waved to the opening. "We will not call for more guards. We have seen the concern you have shown for our comrades. We trust you."

The whoremaster bowed graciously to them. "Thank you. May Allah bless you for the trust and kindness you have shown me." At these words, he went inside the tent.

Kanbei found Shichiroji lying on a mat in the far corner, back turned to the concubine. He paused, uncertain of what to say.

It was Shichiroji who spoke up. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" the concubine said haltingly. "I wanted to see if you're all right."

"As you can see for yourself, I'm fine. Now, leave me be."

Kanbei took a few cautious steps forward. "Shichiroji, I'll speak to Kyuzo on your behalf. I swear I'll have you freed."

"Now, why would you want to do that? Do you know that your beloved Bandit Chief intends to have me flogged tomorrow at noon?"

"I'll explain everything to him. Kyuzo is a reasonable man. I'm sure he'll listen to me."

Shichiroji at once sat up, the sudden movement causing the concubine to step back. Kanbei was stunned to see the grief in the Samurai's shadow-rimmed eyes. The blue orbs had even lost their luster.

"Of course he'll listen to you!" Shichiroji spat out. "Don't you know that he's in love with you? You remind him of his dead lover!"

The whoremaster was stunned at this revelation. "I…I…I didn't know. I just thought he was being kind to me."

"You are so naive," the Warrior sneered at him, before plopping back down on the cushions.

Kanbei was stung by the younger man's sarcasm. "What would you do if you were in my place, Shichiroji? For the past fifteen years, I've lived without knowing what love is like. It's been one abuse after another. People whom I thought I could trust, people I had loved, were the first to betray me, to rape me. You tell me that I am so naive? I wouldn't recognize love even if it hit me in the face. The closest thing to love that I've known is with Kyuzo's student, Katsushiro. Yes, even with Kyuzo himself. At least, they treat me with kindness and respect. They don't treat me like a whore!"

"If you care for them so much, then why did you come here?"

"Because I wanted to be fair to you. You told me that you love me. I wanted to see if I feel something for you."

"And do you? Feel something for me?"

The concubine shook his head. "I don't know. You've hurt me so many times and broken so many promises. I don't know how I should feel about you anymore." Kanbei turned on his heels. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."

In his haste to leave, the whoremaster did not hear Shichiroji rush up from his mat. He grabbed Kanbei, clamping a hand over his mouth and pulled him back to the beddings. The Samurai pushed the concubine onto the cushions and pinned him down with his body. Kanbei's eyes were wide with terror as Shichiroji reached down to snatch the veil from his face.

"Are you going to rape me again?" he asked fearfully.

That question broke through the haze in the Warrior's mind, his fingers hovering an inch above Kanbei's face. With a choked sob, Shichiroji threw himself at the far, dark corner of his tent and burst into remorseful sobs. The sound of the Samurai's ragged weeping tugged at the concubine's heart. He crawled towards Shichiroji and embraced him.

"I just wanted to see your face," Shichiroji sobbed like a child who was denied the toy he wanted. "Why could everyone see your face? Why not me?"

"Does seeing my face mean that much to you?" Kanbei queried softly.

The concubine raised both hands, about to peel off the veil. Before he could do so, to his surprise, the Samurai stopped him.

"No, you don't have to," said Shichiroji, the regret apparent in his words. "You only show your face to people you trust, and you don't trust me."

"There's another, more important, reason, which I cannot tell you. But if it's causing you so much pain…"

"It's not just your face, Shinno. It's also you. Why did you have to be the concubine of my worst enemy? Why couldn't you have been someone else?"

"But this is what I am, and there is nothing I can do to change that." Kanbei closed his eyes, laying his cheek on the Warrior's back. "We're all alone here, Shichiroji. This is your domain. I am willing to set aside our differences for tonight, and give you what you want the most."

Shichiroji gazed into the whoremaster's beautiful brown eyes. "Do you love me, Shinno?"

Kanbei leaned over to the lamp and blew out the flame. As he surrendered himself into the Samurai's embrace, he whispered, "For tonight, yes Shichiroji, I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~

Katsushiro hurried to Shichiroji's tent. He was furious with Moeru for having left Kanbei all alone. After what the Warrior did to his teacher, he feared for the concubine's safety.

The guards did not stop him as he entered the tent. However, Katsushiro came to a dead halt at the sight that greeted him.

In the dim light of the still smoldering embers of the lamp, Kanbei and Shichiroji were lost in the throes of passion, oblivious to the boy who was watching them. As Katsushiro stared in confusion and growing fascination, he saw the two men kiss and embrace each other. Tears trickled from the corners of Kanbei's eyes. Katsushiro swallowed hard as the Samurai descended to the tiny jewel on the whoremaster's chest to suckle upon it. Kanbei arched his chest upward into that ravenous mouth, moaning in bliss. With mouth agape, Katsushiro saw Shichiroji gripping the concubine's now erect member, stroking it to its full length. To his greater surprise, instead of piss, a milk-like fluid spurted from the tip. Gathering the fluid with his fingers, Shichiroji coated his own member with it. Spreading Kanbei's legs wide, the Samurai thrust his cock into the concubine's opening. To Katsushiro's horror, he felt his own rod rising in earnest within his trousers. The ecstatic cries of the two men drowned out Katsushiro's strangled whimper as he fled from the tent.

Katsushiro did not stop until he reached their lodgings. To his relief, his teacher was not in the tent as he ran inside his chamber.

Moeru blinked at his master as Katsushiro tore off his stained trousers in disgust and wiped away the slick fluids between his thighs. Swiftly, he crawled under the blanket and cuddled close to the foal, hugging his long neck.

Although the images of the coupling he had stumbled upon still burned inside his mind, Katsushiro muttered hoarsely in Moeru's ear, "I didn't see anything, Morrie. I swear I didn't see anything."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Where have you been, Kanbei?" Kyuzo asked the older man as he entered the tent. The Bandit Chief went to see the concubine at the healer's tent, only to find him already gone. He didn't even have to guess where Kanbei was.

Kanbei sighed as he peeled off his veil. "Do you have to ask? I was with Shichiroji, Kyuzo-sama."

"Why did you go to him?"

"To see to his well-being. I've heard that you intend to have him flogged tomorrow."

"That is my plan, especially after what he did to me."

"You know the reason why he did it. He is justified in his anger. If I hadn't been concerned with your men, I would have done the same. If Shichiroji hadn't saved me, your assassin's arrow would have pierced my heart."

"But you were not the target."

"Yes, I know. Shichiroji was the target. However, I was nearly killed as well, and I have very good reason to be angry with you."

"And are you angry?"

"Perhaps, I am. Enough to not want to sleep with you tonight."

Kyuzo glared sharply at the older man. "Is that the real reason? Why don't you just admit that you slept with him? You reek of his scent!"

"And I'm filled with his seed as well," Kanbei declared just as angrily. "So what if I've lain with another man? In case you've forgotten, I am a whore!"

With a swiftness the concubine forgot the Bandit Chief was capable of, Kyuzo lunged at him. Kanbei grunted in pain as he landed on the mat, the breath knocked out of him. Before he could move, the bandit flipped him onto his hands and knees. Kanbei cried out as Kyuzo penetrated him.

"Good thing he greased you with his spoor," said the Bandit Chief, thrusting brutally into the older man's still tender flesh. "I can take you again and again and again like the whore that you are!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Within his chamber, Katsushiro had heard Kanbei's cry. Getting up, he crawled towards the flap, this time, to witness his teacher coupling with the weeping concubine. Unlike earlier, Kanbei was on all fours, the Bandit Chief rutting above him. He had only seen this among animals.

Then, the whoremaster raised his head, his tear-filled brown eyes meeting with bewildered dark orbs. Katsushiro could not look away. He feared that his dear friend had already seen the desire and envy in his eyes. Kanbei, however, gave him a reassuring smile.

As Katsushiro crept back inside his chamber, his tears began to flow, unable to stop them even after the sounds inside his teacher's chamber had ceased.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kanbei lay on his side, his back turned to the Bandit Chief, whose arm covered the deep shame on his face. Kyuzo could hear the soft sobs of the young man beside him.

"Kanbei-sama, I'm sorry," Kyuzo whispered, truly repentant. "Please forgive me."

"I thought you would be different," said Kanbei accusingly. "I guess I was wrong." Gritting his teeth, he added, "If you intend to flog Shichiroji, then I suggest you prepare to use that whip on me instead. I will not allow you to punish a man for protecting me. He is my responsibility. The punishment should fall on my back."

Before the Bandit Chief could speak, the concubine stood up and donned his robes, going inside Katsushiro's chamber. He was shocked to find Katsushiro still awake, sitting on his mat. He was rocking back and forth in agitation.

"Katsushiro?" Kanbei wiped the tears from the boy's cheeks. "Why are you still awake? Come now! We'll sleep together."

Meekly, he allowed the whoremaster to lay him down on the mat, where Moeru was snoring.

"What were you doing with Shichiroji and Sensei?" Katsushiro inquired softly.

"You're not a child anymore, Katsushiro. You know what I was doing with them."

"I could understand that you would want to make love with Shichiroji. Despite the hateful things you say to him, anyone could see that you are in love with him. But Sensei… Why do you do it if you don't love him?" Then, the painful admission. "Why are you stealing him away from me?"

"I'm not stealing him away from you," Kanbei answered patiently. "I wish that I could say that…what you have just witnessed…that he did it out of love for me."

"Yes, I know. I saw you were you crying? If there's love, you shouldn't be crying."

"It's difficult to explain this to a youngster like you. It's a very complicated thing."

For a moment, Katsushiro fell silent. With great hesitation, he asked, "Would you show me, Kanbei-sama? How it's like to make love? I want to know so that I could…with Sensei…"

Kanbei was taken aback by that innocent query. If he hadn't just survived the rape that was inflicted upon him by Katsushiro's teacher, he knew his answer would be in the negative.

But this was Katsushiro -- sweet, innocent Katsushiro. How could he refuse this request? After all, as he told Kyuzo, he was a whore. Besides that, this boy was also a dear friend. Better that Katsushiro learned of earthly matters from someone who cared for him. Not like what happened to him fifteen years ago.

Katsushiro's voice, pleading and filled with love and yearning, interrupted his thoughts. "Kanbei-sama, please? I promise I won't hurt you."

Kanbei leaned forward and gave Katsushiro a passionate kiss on the lips that took his breath away. "I know you won't hurt me, Katsushiro. Tomorrow, it would be a great pleasure for me to make love with you."


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