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 26, 2006


Chapter Thirty-One

The pounding of Kanbei's heart sounded like thunder in his ears as he walked through the catacombs. His body shook, but not from the cold. Hands trembling, he closed the lapel of his robe, goosebumps rising on his skin. As his frightened brown eyes roamed all over the dark, dank catacombs, the concubine could sense that something was watching him.

Kanbei's hand tightened around the torch itself, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. // No. I must not be afraid. I have to do this. //

Swallowing hard, the concubine continued on his way, trying desperately to ignore the ever increasing pervasiveness of evil surrounding him.

As if guided by some unknown force, Kanbei soon found himself standing before the two large, carved stone doors. He knew that imprisoned within that chamber was the infernal creature he had come to see.

Fear seized the concubine. Was there an incantation he needed to recite? he thought in a quandary. But there was no mention in the journal he had read. What does one say to a demon?

Not knowing was appropriate, Kanbei settled for a simple, "Hello?"

To the concubine's surprise, he was greeted by two deep, raspy voices -- one male, one female.

"A visitor!" the male declared in delight. "And a truly unexpected one at that!"

"But a very welcome guest indeed!" the female exclaimed, equally pleased. "You have surprised us, Little Prince. I suppose you told no one that you would be calling on us."

"No," the whoremaster shook his head cautiously. "I told no one. It was only today that your existence was made known to me."

"Ukyo chose to keep it a secret from you until the right time comes," said the male. "From this, we could see that someone else told you."

Kanbei nodded. Gazing at the closed doors, he said in confusion, "I don't understand. I thought there is only one of you inside this room. Yet, you are obviously two different beings."

It was the female who answered. "We are two in one and one in two. It makes no difference, in any case, because we share the same dreams, the same goals..." Silence. "The same desires."

The concubine checked the step back that he was about to make. "When my…Masters…hurt me, it was you who healed me."

"It was nothing," the male dismissed it casually. "We simply brought out that which was already in you right from the beginning."

Kanbei humbly lowered his head. "Although your words confuse me, still, I would like to thank you for what you have done."

"So polite, so sincere!" gushed the female. "Little Prince, you are truly delightful!"

"Why did you come, Little Prince?" asked the male in amusement. It was apparent to the whoremaster that the male was aware of the reason for his visit. "It's not yet the right time."

"I..." Kanbei stammered. "I wanted to ask you about the...the wish."

The female giggled. "So you've been told about that as well."

The concubine rushed towards the doors. "Please! I want to know. Is it true that I am the one to make the wish for my Masters?"

"That is correct," said the female.

"Only them?" Kanbei asked. "Why not me? Can I not make a wish for myself?"

"One wish for only one master," the male repeated. Laughing, he remarked, "But it is difficult for you, Little Prince, since you have many Masters to choose from and only one wish to make."

"But...but...it can't be this way!" Kanbei argued. "This isn't fair! It's my body that's going to be used for this damned wish!"

The two voices spoke in unison. "Yes, and such a lovely body you have!"

Kanbei's ash brown eyes flew wide, seeing four red flashes from the small openings on the doors. Before the concubine knew what was happening, an invisible force lifted him up into the air and slammed him against the doors, with his arms raised on either side of him and long legs spread. To his horror, clawed hands reached through the holes of the
doors and grabbed him, keeping him securely in place.

"You said this isn't the right time!" Kanbei cried, shuddering all over, as those same hands holding him captive began to caress his body. "You can't do this to me!"

"But you came to us willingly, our pretty Prince," the voices whispered lasciviously.

"I'm not willing anymore!"

The male and female behind the doors burst into laughter. "Are you so sure about that?"

Then, the door opened a crack under his cheek. Clawed hands forced his head to face the opening. Kanbei was shocked when icy lips began to smother his face with kisses. A forked tongue insinuated itself between his lips, licking the depths of his mouth. The foul taste of that tongue made him want to gag.

Thankfully, those loathsome mouths pulled away, but this was a temporary respite. Kanbei was shocked to see that the top part of his robe has been yanked down his shoulders. He gasped as those same lips captured his nipples, greedily suckling the essence within. To his dismay, the concubine found himself responding to those ravenous lips and the feel of clawed hands caressing and fondling every inch of his body. When his erect cock was gripped, he eased his hips forward and back, letting his shaft scrape against the rough skin of that hand. Before he could come, that grip tightened around the base. Kanbei groaned in frustration, shaking his head. Then, a strangled cry escaped his throat as his cock was sheathed in a moist, cold mouth. His body bucked violently as he lost all control. With wild abandon, he pumped his hips vigorously inside that hungry. Lost in the desires that were being elicited from him, Kanbei did not notice that the two mouths were alternately feeding on the fluids leaking from his tumescent member. When he came at last, those mouths eagerly lapped up the seed that gushed out.

Weak as he was, Kanbei slipped down to the floor, landing on his hands and knees, his luscious behind facing the crack. As his robes were raised, strong hands parted the mounds of his ass.

"Tell us what you want, Little Prince," the voices said in breathless anticipation. "TELL US!"

Although his heart and soul rebelled against it, Kanbei's fevered flesh demanded the joining that was to come. Raising his ass enticingly, he cried out one word. "Yes! YES!"

Behind him, the Odalisk slowly reached out with eight arms, grasping Kanbei's waist, eager to plunder the concubine's lovely body. Before the demon could succeed in its vile plot, a shimmering aura surrounded the whoremaster, jolting it with raw energy. The Odalisk screamed in pain and frustration.

Kanbei sat on the floor, dazed, when he heard a voice scream inside his head, "Run, Kanbei! RUN!"

Swiftly, the whoremaster got to his feet and made to escape through the catacombs.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?"

Before he could flee from the Odalisk's domain, Kanbei slammed into an invisible barrier, the collision nearly knocking him out. A scream was wrenched from his throat as that strong force hauled him back towards the doors.

"No!" the concubine cried, shaking his head, trying desperately to inch away from those doors. "Please don't!"

"You can't leave us like this, Little Prince," said the male chidingly.

"Not when you haven't satisfied us yet," the female added.

"But you've tried and you couldn't take me," argued Kanbei. "I only came to seek answers to my questions. I didn't come here to play whore to you!"

"Now, perhaps not," the two voices of the Odalisk said in unison. "But you will come to us in the end."

"NO! NEVER!"

"It is inevitable, and you know it. When the sun vanishes from the sky, we shall possess you at last."

"You need me willing. I will never come to you willing!"

"Do you think you will not? We've waited so many years for you. We could afford to wait a few days longer."

"What's going to happen then?"

Laughter. "You'll see. We think you're going to enjoy it, just as much as we...if we are to gauge it by your response earlier."

Despite his fear, a blush rose up Kanbei's cheeks at that answer. "No, what I meant was after, after the...wish. You're going to destroy the world, aren't you?"

Tongues clucked and the concubine thought he could see eight clawed fingers wagging in the darkness. "One thing at a time, Little Prince. One thing at a time."

"I won't let you do this," Kanbei declared strongly. "I'll do everything I can to stop you!"

"That's the last thing we expected to hear from you...after the things you went through. Don't you want to have your revenge on those who did this to you?"

"But not at the expense of innocent people!"

There was more laughter. "Little Prince, you are indeed a prize! And a worthy adversary!"

"Don't speak to me in riddles!"

"What kind of demon would we be if we tell you everything? Rest assured that you, my sweet Prince, will play a major role in this drama. It's up to you what part you would choose -- the hero, the villain or the victim. All depending upon one little wish that you
will utter from your luscious lips."

Kanbei shook his head firmly. "No, I will not be your pawn in the world's destruction!"

"Like we said, Little Prince..." The Odalisk reached out and caressed the concubine's cheek. "It's all up to you. A pity that you have so many Masters to choose from. A word of advice. If you want to save your world, choose wisely. Now, leave us, Little Prince. It looks like you are in need to complete our tryst, no matter how much you say that you didn't want it. You may do so with your Masters. We shall see each other again soon enough. When that time comes, it shall be you and we."

The demon's laughter rang out through the catacombs. Fear overwhelming him, Kanbei fled from the infernal chamber. It seemed like he had ran for miles. So it was to his immense relief when he finally reached his chamber. Breathless, the concubine closed the secret panel behind him. Moeru, at once, trotted towards him, the worry reflected in his coal black eyes.

Getting down on his knees, Kanbei embraced the colt hard. "I'm all right, Moeru! I'm all right."

The concubine's heart nearly jumped when someone suddenly asked, "Where have you been, Kanbei?"

Kanbei slowly looked up find Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo standing beside the bed, concern in their eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Where the hell is he?" Shichiroji growled in frustration as he and Kikuchiyo made their way back to the whoremaster's chamber, Moeru following at their heels.

Earlier, the colt had gone to the Samurai's chamber in a panic. The two warriors immediately went to Kanbei's room, only to find it empty. In their fear, they ignored Moeru's frantic gestures and hurried outside the hallway. Not wanting to reveal the concubine's disappearance to the Amanushi, they searched throughout the Palace. But no sign could be found of Kanbei.

Kikuchiyo turned pale, realizing something as they went back to the whoremaster's
chamber. "By the gods! I hope he isn't in the place where I think he is!"

As they neared the bed, as if in answer to the mechanical samurai's suspicion, the object of their search made his entrance through the secret passage. Overjoyed, Moeru ran towards his Master, who embraced him in immense relief.

"Where have you been, Kanbei?" Kikuchiyo found himself exclaiming.

"Do you know that you scared us half to death when we found you gone?" Shichiroji declared as well.

Kanbei could not answer at first, as tremendous heat suffused his body. He clutched the lapel of his robe with a cold, clenched fist. Turning to Moeru, he whispered, "Little friend? I need to speak to my two Masters in private. Please?"

Moeru cocked his head to the side, looking at his Master quizzically. Nevertheless, he obediently did as he was told and quietly walked outside the room.

When they were alone at last, the concubine stood up, keeping his head lowered, his face covered by his hair.

Kikuchiyo's eyes grew wide in alarm. "Kanbei...you saw it, didn't you?"

"Yes...and it made me rouse to it!" To the shock of the two men, the whoremaster let his robe slip from his shoulders, the garment pooling at his ankles. His arousal was a tempting sight both Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo found difficult to ignore.

"Did it..." Shichiroji was afraid to ask. But he blurted out, "Did it take you?"

"No." Kanbei lifted his head to reveal tears rolling down his cheeks. "But it made me feel so filthy! More than anyone else, it made me feel like a true whore!"

"Kanbei..." the Samurai started to ask in concern.

"Please!" the concubine begged them earnestly. "I know you're not like that...that thing! You could show me that it doesn't have to be that way!"

"Little Taisho..." Kikuchiyo took a step forward, but Shichiroji blocked the cyborg's way with an outstretched arm. He looked at his fellow samurai in alarm. "Shichiroji, surely you're not..."

Rather than answer, Shichiroji went towards the weeping older man. Seeing him approach, a heartbreaking smile formed on the concubine's face.

"Shichiroji! Yes!" Kanbei exclaimed, hands raised to the younger man. "Thank you! I hoped it would be you! I know you love me!"

But when Shichiroji was face to face with the whoremaster, a sharp exhalation was elicited from Kanbei's lips. To Kikuchiyo's shock, the concubine collapsed onto the crook of the Warrior's arm. As he peered closely, the mechanical samurai saw that Shichiroji's hand was clenched in a tight fist, which he had used to punch Kanbei in the belly.

Suddenly, Shichiroji pointed a finger at the secret panel from which the whoremaster had earlier emerged. "I know you're there! If you think I'm going to allow you to use Kanbei as your tool to sate your unbridled lust, you're wrong! Kanbei will never be yours, do you hear me? NEVER!"

An angry roar echoed throughout the Palace and a putrid stench filled the air. Moeru, who had actually been eavesdropping outside the door, suddenly burst through the door and leaped into a surprised Kikuchiyo's arms, shaking all over.

"You win this time, Samurai!" the Odalisk declared in its male and female voices. "But he'll be mine in the end! MINE!"

Then, the sickening aura of the demon faded away and peace returned to the Palace once more.

Shichiroji sighed in relief. "It's gone...for now!" He lifted the unconscious whoremaster in his arms and laid him on the bed, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

Doing the same with the colt, Kikuchiyo declared, "Get in there, you cowardly midget!"

Moeru bared his teeth at the cyborg, but settled down beside his dearest friend, drifting off to exhausted sleep.

Kikuchiyo turned to the Samurai. "Brother? For a while there, I thought you would..."

"Take advantage of him? In that condition?" Shichiroji shrugged. "Ithought it was you who were about to..."

"I must admit I was tempted. But…how did you know that it was the demon?"

"This...this has happened before. I don't know how I was able to resist the temptation."

Kikuchiyo grinned. "It's your love for him that makes you strong."

Shichiroji gazed sadly at the sleeping concubine. "Let's just hope that it is strong enough to save him from the terrible fate that is in store for him."


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