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 23, 2006


Chapter Twenty

When Kyuzo entered his tent with the kurbash secured to his hip, the first thought that came to Shichiroji's mind was that Shinno had betrayed him. It was so easy to lapse into the mindless oblivion of despair after that. He did not fight back, even when his hands were tied behind his back and a noose was tightened around his neck, the other end of which was secured to the Bandit Chief's saddle. Even as they made the trek through the scorching heat of the desert, going to the punishment place, Shichiroji was a picture of submission, not even struggling to keep up with the pace of Kyuzo's horse, as he stumbled and was dragged and nearly strangled on the gritty sand. There was only one thought on his mind, and it was strong enough to block out the sight of his arms being stretched out and his wrists secured to two granite posts, standing in the middle of sand-covered ruins.

// What a fool I am to give my heart and trust to a whore! // the Samurai berated himself.

That first sting of the kurbash caught him by surprise. With each successive bite of the whip, however, the lash cutting deep welts into his skin, despair gradually gave way to anger.

When the lash cut his cheek, his fury found its voice. "DAMN YOU, SHINNO! DAMN YOU FOR BETRAYING ME!"

The next few minutes saw his mind blurred by a haze of agony, as Kyuzo quickened and increased the force of his strokes. Numb as he was, Shichiroji did not hear the Bandit Chief's ranting and ravings.

"You dare curse him!" Kyuzo roared, swinging the kurbash with utter ferocity. "It was you who betrayed him! That man you once dared to call 'husband' knew nothing about betrayal! And yet, for years, you carried this grudge for him inside your heart! You destroyed him! You ruined his life and turned him into a whore!"

Dazed and in pain, Shichiroji did not know when the flogging ceased. Neither did he notice the flurry of activity around him as the bandits made haste to depart. Even as the wind started to build up and hum an ominous note, he remained oblivious to all, but the pain in his stretched arms and flayed back, and the resurgence of anger and hate in his heart.

Suddenly, the simoom slammed into him, the sand scouring his injured back raw. Shichiroji's scream was not of agony. It was a Shinigami's cry of rage.

"DAMN YOU, SHINNO!" Shichiroji's bellow rose above the din of the sandstorm. "DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

~~~~~~~~~~

With sheer determination, Kanbei braved the simoom, unmindful of the gritty sand particles that tore his robe to shreds. Even the burnoose he found inside the pack was not sufficient protection against the sandstorm. There were moments when the concubine wanted to stop and let Denko rest for a few minutes. However, the stallion must have sensed the urgency in his Master and continued to press onward.

"SHICHIROJI!" Kanbei called out, thankful at least for the veil that not only shielded his face, but prevented sand from entering his mouth. "SHICHIROJI, WHERE ARE YOU?"

For once, revenge was forgotten as concern for the Samurai surfaced. Tears of fear and frustration welled up in the whoremaster's eyes as he prayed, // God, please! Help me find Shichiroji! I could never forgive myself if anything should happen to him! //

Denko suddenly began to whinny excitedly. At first, Kanbei could not see anything before him. Then, he could make out dark shadows as the sand thinned a bit, lifted by the wind. With a flick of the reins, the concubine guided Denko in the direction of the shadows he had seen.

Kanbei's heart sank at the sight that greeted him. "My God, no! SHICHIROJI!"

The Warrior was still tied securely to the two posts. Barely alive and conscious, his skin was scoured raw by the force of the simoom. However, this did not compare to the fiery welts crisscrossing Shichiroji's back.

Pulling out the dagger inside his pack, Kanbei cut the Samurai down. Before the Warrior could slip to the sand, the concubine leaped down from his horse and caught him in time.

Realizing it was useless to return to the camp in Shichiroji's condition, the concubine decided that they should wait out the storm in the shelter of the ruins.

"Denko, come!" he called to his stallion.

Together, they made their way towards the ruins. Kanbei chose the building closest to them. Clicking his tongue to the stallion, they quickly went inside.

Carefully, the concubine laid the Samurai face down on the floor. Standing near the doorway, he brushed the sand from his tattered robes before taking the pack slung on Denko's back. To his relief, there was a skin filled with water. Tearing a strip of cloth from his burnoose, Kanbei wet it and started to clean the Warrior's back.

Shichiroji jerked a bit, whimpering in pain.

"Just hold on, Shichiroji," the whoremaster said in reassurance. "Let me get the sand out of your wounds. It would make your healing faster."

With infinite patience and care, Kanbei washed out the sand and grit from the welts. To his immense relief, he was rewarded by the sight of tiny streaks of blue lightning that flowed from his fingertips and slowly closed the wounds. Exhausted from his ordeal, Shichiroji had fallen into deep sleep.

The concubine gazed at the Warrior's handsome face -- admiring those curl-tipped yellow lashes, those thin, firm lips, and that fine nose. A proud face, distinguished.

Kanbei slowly lay down on the floor beside the Samurai, his fingers tracing every inch, every feature on his face. How peaceful Shichiroji looked, his skin as white as the marble statues he had seen in Rome! The whoremaster believed he could stare at his face for hours.

Leaning forward, he kissed Shichiroji at the tip of his nose. Taking the Warrior's arm, Kanbei draped it over his shoulder, cuddling close to his body.

"Sleep well, Shichiroji," Kanbei whispered soothingly, brushing a strand of hair away from the Samurai's forehead. "I'll watch over you."

~~~~~~~~~~

The whoremaster was jolted to wakefulness by a painful jerk on his hair. He opened shocked brown eyes to find Shichiroji glaring down at him. The Samurai's face was a mask of rage, teeth gnashing. His blue orbs were shining with an insane light. His left hand held a fistful of the concubine's hair, the strands tangled between his fingers. The Warrior's right hand was clenched in a fist. For a moment, Kanbei thought the Samurai was going to hit him.

What Shichiroji did next was much worse.

Slamming the concubine down on the floor, the Samurai yanked Kanbei's robe up, baring his lower body. Too stunned to fight back, the whoremaster could only watch in horror as the Warrior straddled him.

"Shichiroji!" Kanbei whimpered in despair. "Why?"

"You have the audacity to ask why!" Shichiroji snarled in his face. "Shinno, I gave you my heart and my soul! But you were just playing with my feelings! All this time, it was Kyuzo who has your favor!"

"That's not true!"

"What's going to happen to that desert pig when another man comes along? Are you going to use him too, the same way you used us?"

"Shichiroji, I don't understand!"

A fierce slap fell upon Kanbei's cheek that he tasted blood inside his mouth.

"COWARDLY BITCH!" the Samurai hissed in fury. "You don't even have the nerve to finish me off yourself! You had to let someone flog me to death!"

Kanbei shook his head. "No, you've got it all wrong!" But he saw that it was useless explaining to the enraged Warrior. In the end, he simply closed his eyes, wincing, as he was brutally penetrated.

Shichiroji's tears mingled with Kanbei's as they dripped from his eyes and fell on the whoremaster's cheeks. With each thrust, the Samurai said, "User! Whore! Why did I ever fall in love with you?"

The same question was on Kanbei's mind. // Why, Shichiroji? Why did I have to fall in love with you? //

~~~~~~~~~~

It was already dark when the simoom abated at last. Completely healed, Shichiroji stood at the doorway, gazing into the clear sky. Kanbei was huddled in a dark corner, weeping softly, scratching at the congealed blood on his thighs.

"Was this your doing, Shinno?" Shichiroji asked, his voice emotionless. "I don't know what miracle you did, but you were better off killing me."

"I did what I had to do…because I…" Kanbei breathed out a pained sigh. "I don't know if you'll listen to me now, Shichiroji. I'm afraid you're already deaf to the truth."

Shichiroji answered dryly, "I'm not interested in anything you have to say."

"But I will still speak my mind." Kanbei took a deep breath to steady himself. "Shichiroji, the last thing I wanted was to see you hurt."

"LIAR!"

"It's the truth! Twice, I begged Kyuzo not to flog you! He promised me he wouldn't, but he lied to me! I…I underestimated the depth of feeling he has for me. You warned me about this, but I didn't listen to you. I should've known he would do this, since he perceives you as a rival for my affection. He made it clear to me after…no…when he raped me last night."

Hearing that last, Shichiroji slowly turned to look at the concubine.

"I'm sorry this happened. Truly, I am. But I never betrayed anyone! I never betrayed YOU! I could never betray you!" Kanbei reached for something hidden in his robe. The Samurai could not see what it was. "I can't live like this anymore! Everything I do is wrong! I never do anything right! It's always me who ends up getting hurt! I can't take anymore of this!"

Shichiroji's eyes widened, seeing the flash of the dagger's sharp edge. Before the whoremaster could plunge the tip into his breast, the Warrior leaped for the blade and yanked it out of the concubine's hands. Like a child, Kanbei flung his arms around Shichiroji's neck, burying his face in the Samurai's shoulder.

"I want to die!" Kanbei wept brokenly. "Oh, Shichiroji! Please let me die!"

A tiny voice inside his heart told Shichiroji that the concubine was telling the truth. He embraced Kanbei tightly, rocking him back and forth.

"Don't you dare do that again, Shinno," Shichiroji began to cry as well. "If you choose death, I will do so as well. I would rather die than live alone without you."

"But we could never be together, Shichiroji! Can't you see? We shall always be enemies, always at odds with each other. We'll always end up hurting each other." In his mind, Kanbei added, // I fear what you might do to me when you find out that I am man whom you hate. //

"What if I swear to you that I will change this time?"

"Don't make promises that you could never keep."

The Samurai pulled the whoremaster even closer to him. "What's going to happen to us now?"

"I don't know, Shichiroji. I really don't know."

"For now, could you find it in your heart to forgive me for what I did to you?"

Kanbei thought for a long moment. "For now, yes, I forgive you, but I won't forget. The wound is too deep. If this happens again in the future, I don't think I could forgive you anymore."

"I swear I won't hurt you again," Shichiroji repeated firmly.

However, the concubine said sadly, "And like I told you, don't make promises you can never keep."

~~~~~~~~~~

The two men rode into the bandits' camp at dawn. Everyone was waiting for them. Seeing Shichiroji still alive with nary a scratch on him, there were shocked expressions on some of the bandits' faces.

"I've figured out a way to resolve this thing between us once and for all," Shichiroji told the whoremaster seated before him.

"And what do you propose?" asked Kanbei in turn, his curiosity piqued by the Samurai's statement.

Shichiroji leaned forward, his brow touching the back of the concubine's head that his breath tickled Kanbei's nape. The Warrior's question that followed was like a bucket of ice-cold water being poured on him.

"I want to marry you, Shinno," he whispered. "Will you have me?"

Kanbei was speechless, his words locked in his throat. Before he could croak out an answer, they were met by Katsushiro and Kyuzo. The Bandit Chief's son quickly assisted the concubine down from the saddle.

"Are you all right?" Katsushiro asked in concern as he hugged Kanbei. "I was so worried about you!"

"As you can see, I'm quite fine." The whoremaster glared at Kyuzo, who suddenly turned as white as a ghost. // No thanks to your father! //

"That's it! I've had enough of this!" declared Katsushiro, his hands closing into fists, his teeth gritted. "I'll go crazy if anything bad should happen to you! You need someone to protect you at all times!"

As Shichiroji and the Bandit Chief looked on in shock, Katsushiro took Kanbei's right hand. Reaching for his teacher's hand as well, he laid Kanbei's fingertips on Kyuzo's palms. The concubine gasped as the boy squeezed Kyuzo's hand around his fingers.

"Will you marry my Sensei, Shinno?" he asked earnestly. "Please say you will?"

"But…but…I…" Kanbei stammered.

Kyuzo stepped forward and clapped a heavy hand on his student's shoulder. "This is a gallant offer you've made in my name, my pupil, and I'm so proud of you." The Bandit Chief gazed into the whoremaster's startled brown eyes, unaware of the pain that he was causing the boy. "Yes, Shinno, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage."

"Wait just a God damned minute!" Shichiroji jumped down from Denko's back, approaching the two men menacingly, growling. "Damn it, Kyuzo! You are not going to marry Shinno! You'll have to go through my dead body first!"

As the three men started arguing, Kanbei's mind was a-whirl with confusion. Two marriage proposals in one morning…the concubine suddenly felt dizzy.

"NO!" A clear, familiar voice rang out through the air. Everyone turned to look at the approaching rider in black.

Kanbei felt his blood run cold at the sight of that fiendish leer.

"No one shall have Shinno," the rider said covetously, "because he is mine, do you hear me? MINE AND MINE ALONE!"

"TESSAI!" Shichiroji hissed in fury, realizing at once that the Amanushi's adviser was the mastermind behind the whoremaster's abduction.

Everything was happening too fast and too soon for the concubine's mind to cope. Like a leaf, Kanbei fell to the ground in a dead faint.

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