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 28, 2006


Chapter Thirty-Six

The next seven days passed in a haze for Shichiroji. No thoughts of the past intruded inside his mind, not even the image of a handsome concubine with tear-filled ash brown eyes. His sole preoccupation was the siren in his arms.

Just like now. With animal grunts, the Samurai drove his cock hard inside Kirara's ample behind. On her hands and knees, the Oracle was shaking her head, her dark brown tresses whipping in the air, as she gave herself completely to wild passion. With moans and groans escaping her lips, she took Shichiroji's hand that was gripping right hip and pressed it over her right breast. Instinctively, the Warrior's hand tightened around it, fingers pinching her nipple. Something inside him wanted to claim that hard pebble of flesh between his lips.

Pulling out, Shichiroji flipped Kirara onto her back. As he thrust inside her slick channel, the Samurai's mouth descended to her breast, chewing and suckling on the tit, trying to draw even a drop of fluid out. However, there were no sweet essences to be drawn out.
Shichiroji kneaded and squeezed her breasts to no avail.

// It isn't the same, // the thought suddenly crossed his passion-clouded mind. // It wasn't like this. True, his breasts were not as full as these. He is a man after all! Still, his sweet milk, his luscious flesh, his tender lovemaking... //

Shichiroji's eyes snapped open. There was the difference. When he had coupled with the concubine, it wasn't just sex. They were making love. Despite his claims of hating the younger man, Kanbei's heart always betrayed him. Shichiroji had never known such pleasure, such joy, such fulfillment before, not even with Yukino, may her soul forgive
him. It was only with Shimada Kanbei that he truly felt complete.

At once, all desire waned. Kirara glared darkly when Shichiroji stood up and turned his back to her, staring at the light at the cave's mouth.

"I've stayed here long enough," Shichiroji stated firmly. "Kirara, I want answers this time."

There was a soft blue glow behind him. Slowly turning around, Shichiroji saw the Oracle dangling a blue crystal pendulum on a string from her middle finger. With the tip of her finger, she touched the crystal.

Kirara's eyes rolled up, revealing on the whites. With a monotonous drone, she intoned, "Like the phoenix, a warrior shall arise from the ashes of broken hope and dreams to battle the Ultimate Evil that threatens to consume the world in darkness. Only by the might of the power of his heart and soul could he vanquish the One True Evil to eternal perdition."

"A warrior rising like the phoenix..." Shichiroji gasped, kneeling down before the Oracle. "You're talking about Shimada Kanbei!"

An evil grin formed on Kirara's lips. "Shimada Kanbei? That name is familiar to me. Your lover? Is he the one who took my place inside your heart?"

There was something about the expression on the Mikumari's face that made the Samurai uneasy. "He is...Ukyo's whore."

"Ah!" Kirara giggled in glee. "So you covet the Amanushi's whore. What's the matter, Shichiroji? Doesn't Ukyo want to share his catamite with you, the same way you two had shared me between you?"

"Kirara," Shichiroji said slowly, gritting his teeth, "I must know what this prophecy means."

The Oracle's eyes seemed to glitter like gold as she used her hypnotic Voice again. In a singsong manner, she answered, "If you want to know the meaning, then you must pay the price."

Shichiroji shook his head, pressing his hands over his ears. "STOP IT! Stop playing tricks with my mind!"

But then, Kirara's voice changed, transforming into a male baritone. As the Samurai looked up, he saw Kanbei standing naked before him.

"Help me, Shichiroji!" Kanbei pleaded with him. "You must pay the price, so that you would know the meaning of the prophecy."

"Kanbei?" Shichiroji sobbed, slowly approaching the vision of the concubine. "Kanbei, is it really you?"

The whoremaster raised his hands to the younger man. "Shichiroji, please! I need you! Make love to me!"

Succumbing to the illusion of his beloved, Shichiroji fell, weeping, into those open arms.
Lost in the spell, he did not hear Kirara laugh in triumph.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Kikuchiyo-sama? I brought you some sweet buns, honey and wine."

Kikuchiyo waved to the whoremaster who was peeking through his door. "Come in, Kanbei!" The cyborg paused. "That little runt you call a 'horse' is not with you, is he?"

Kanbei carried the tray over and laid it on the table. Sheepishly, he answered, "Actually...errr...he is."

Moeru's grinning head popped up beside the mechanical samurai, teeth chattering. Letting his lips curl up, the two men could see that a front tooth was missing. The tail of the concubine's caftan was draped on top of his head that Kanbei's left leg and thigh were bared to Kikuchiyo.

"Hello, Mini Moe!" Kikuchiyo greeted the mischievous colt. "How are you?"

The colt laid his head on the table, still with that toothy grin, breathing on the Warrior's sweet buns through the gap where his front tooth should be.

"So you like sweet bread, huh? Do you like honey on it too?"

Moeru eagerly thumped his chin on the tabletop as he nodded.

Taking the knife, Kikuchiyo generously slathered honey on the bun and held it out to the colt. "Here you go, Moeru! Why don't you take it outside and eat it? I need to talk to Kanbei privately."

At once, Moeru's face darkened, with the expression that spoke clearly, "I knew there was a catch!" The colt shook his head.

"Come now!" Kikuchiyo declared. "Why don't you be a good boy for a change?" Eyes twinkling, he said enticingly, "I'll tell you what! I'll add another bun with lots of honey!"

Again, a stubborn shake.

"How about two or three? If you like, I'll give you the whole plate!"

But the colt stubbornly refused to budge.

Freeing the tail of his caftan from his dear pet's head, Kanbei bent down and rubbed his brow. "Moeru, for once, please obey! I really do need to speak with Kikuchiyo-sama alone."

"I have one final offer, Moeru," Kikuchiyo suddenly interrupted. "I'll give you two sweet buns! Plus, I'll throw in a shiny dinar." The mechanical samurai held up the coin between his fingers. "What do you say? Do you take it or leave it?"

In reply, Moeru stood up on his hind legs and snatched two sweet buns off the plate. With tail wagging, he trotted outside the chamber.

Shrugging, Kikuchiyo made to drop the dinar inside his pouch. "What does a midget horse know about money anyway?"

Suddenly, though, Moeru hurried back inside the chamber. Before the cyborg could react, the colt nipped the dinar between his teeth. As Kikuchiyo gaped in shock, Moeru headed straight for the door.

"Moeru, I don't want you swallowing that coin," Kanbei warned him. "I have no intention of poking through your poop for it."

The colt, however, accidentally bumped against the door, distracted as he was by the whoremaster. There was the sound of choking, followed by a hard swallow. Moeru turned to give the concubine a sheepish grin, the dinar now nowhere in sight. Before Kanbei could scold the colt, Moeru made a hasty exit, the door closing behind him.

Kanbei faced the laughing cyborg. "You won't find it funny, Kikuchiyo-sama, when I have one of the servants deliver Moeru's manure to your chamber door. I'm letting you dig for that blasted coin."

"It's all right, Little Taisho," Kikuchiyo reassured the older man. "I'll be more than happy to do it for you." He thought for a moment. Picking out another shiny coin from his pouch, he pressed it into the concubine's hand. "On second thought, better give him this instead. It's cleaner."

Kanbei gazed at the shiny dinar on his palm. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Kikuchiyo bade the whoremaster to sit down beside him. "How are you feeling, Kanbei?"

"I'm fine, Kikuchiyo-sama. Why shouldn't I be?"

"You're not worried about Shichiroji?"

"Why should I worry?" The concubine shrugged, chewing uncomfortably on his lower lip. "It's better this way. I don't have to be concerned about Ukyo's wanting to kill him."

The cyborg placed his fingers under the older man's chin, making the concubine face him. "Why don't you just tell me the truth, Little Taisho? Your eyes already show me what is inside your heart."

At first, Kanbei could not speak. Realizing, however, that it was useless to lie to the mechanical samurai, he breathed out a shuddering sigh from his lips.

"Shichiroji promised me that he would never leave me again," Kanbei confided with the cyborg. "After all this time, I should've learned my lesson, that Shichiroji never keeps his promises." A tear fell from his eye and trickled a path down his cheek. "I've been asking myself if it was my fault. That night he left...I had an argument with him." Kanbei's hands shook, causing the dinar to fall from his grasp, as he pressed his palms to his face to halt the flow of tears. Kikuchiyo could see that the whoremaster was struggling with his bitter emotions. "Damn it! I mustn't cry! I swore to myself that I would never shed a tear over him. But why does it always have to be this way between us? Why do we always end up hurting each other?"

Kikuchiyo took the distraught concubine into his arms, patting his back soothingly. Kanbei clung tightly to Kikuchiyo, burying his face in the cyborg's shoulder, as he accepted the comfort that was being offered to him.

"That's it, Little Taisho," the mechanical samurai mumbled in a soothing tone. "Cry it all out. It will help you feel better. Whoever said that it was wrong for you to cry has to be an idiot." Kikuchiyo cursed out loud, "Damn that fool! A veteran samurai and he still knows nothing! Idiot only knows how to hide, how to escape from his responsibilities!" He pulled away and gazed straight into the whoremaster's anguished eyes. "Kanbei, listen to me! You must forget about him! If Shichiroji truly loves you, he would never have abandoned you – back then and now that you are lovers once again. You don't deserve him, Little Taisho! You deserve someone better, someone who would love you and protect you!" Taking a deep breath, Kikuchiyo declared, "SOMEONE LIKE ME!"

Kanbei shook his head. "But I'm not worthy of you, Kikuchiyo-sama! I'm just a whore!"

Kikuchiyo suddenly embraced him even tighter. He muttered hoarsely, "No! You're never been a whore to me! I love you, Kanbei! I love you so much! Give me your heart, and I swear I will make you forget him!"

That last was so appealing to him. Rather than answer verbally, the concubine communicated his desire with his body, giving himself completely into Kikuchiyo's less-than-skillful arms.

As he showered Kanbei's beautiful face with gentle caresses of his fingertips, Kanbei quickly removed his caftan. Lifting the older man up, the mechanical samurai carried him over to the bed. Like a man starving for a feast, Kikuchiyo let his hands explore every inch of the whoremaster's luscious flesh, teasing an earlobe and tracing a trail from neck to shoulder.

Kanbei closed his eyes, feeling the cyborg's fingers making its way down his breastbone. Those fingertips moved to the right and squeezed a turgid nipple. A delicious shudder went up his spine as Kikuchiyo kneaded his breast, his other hand capturing his burgeoning erection, stroking it to its full, iron-hard length. Feeling the mechanical samurai nudge his thighs apart, he knew what was about to happen next.

The concubine's eyes fluttered open to gaze upon his lover's face. However, it was the image of Shichiroji smiling down upon him that he saw in the gloss of Kikuchiyo's helmet.

At once, a tremendous feeling of guilt overwhelmed him. With a cry of "NO!", Kanbei shoved the cyborg from him. Returning to his senses, the whoremaster stared, horrified, at the deep hurt in reflected Kikuchiyo's mien.

Bowing low before the mechanical samurai, he cried, "Forgive me, Kikuchiyo-sama! For a while there, I thought I saw..."

"You thought I was Shichiroji," Kikuchiyo continued his sentence for him.

"Yes." There was no point in denying it. "Kikuchiyo-sama, I am so sorry!"

Strangely enough, a gentle hand was laid on his shoulder. "You know, I should be very happy about your reaction, because this is a clear rejection of Shichinoji. Unfortunately, you have made me see things in a totally different light."

Kanbei frowned. "Kikuchiyo-sama, your words... They are confusing to me."

"All this time, I believed Shichiroji to be the one solely at fault. It's easy to think that, after the way he abandoned you fifteen years ago. So easy to think that he is the villain, even up to now. But I was wrong."

"Why? Are you saying that I am to blame for all my misfortunes?"

"For what happened to you when you back then, all the blame for it should be placed on Ukyo's head. For the things that have been happening to you and Shichiroji recently, you equally share the blame."

"I don't understand."

"You two have a knack of creating complications and conflicts in your relationship. You think too much alike. At first, you hate each other so much, both of you so damned determined to get revenge. Now, that you discover that you truly love each other, you do one of two things." Kikuchiyo raised a finger. "You fight..." A second finger joined the
first. "...Or you intentionally hurt the other, all for the purpose of driving the other away. But when that happens, you end up running into each other's arms."

Kanbei sadly shook his head as the tears threatened to flow once more. "Not this time. I've hurt him too deeply. He won't be coming back, and it's for the best."

"But DO you want him to come back?"

"It makes no difference what I want."

A small laugh rumbled from the mechanical samurai's throat.

"What's so funny?"

"Shichiroji."

The concubine gave the cyborg a look that screams "Uh, oh! He's gone insane!"

Kikuchiyo noticed the expression on Kanbei's face. "Don't give me that look, Little Taisho! Just think about it and you'll see how amusing Shichinoji is."

"Why don't you eat a sweet bun first? You must be hungry. You're beginning to spout nonsense!"

"No, I'm not hungry. Don't you see, Kanbei? It took fifteen years for him to realize that he still loves you."

"It wasn't love that drove him. It was hate."

"But a hate fueled by the pain of a broken heart. As I told Shichiroji, love is a much stronger emotion than hate." Kikuchiyo gave the whoremaster a firm gaze. "Mark my words, Little Taisho. Shichiroji will return to you!"

Kanbei sighed as he stood up and got dressed. "If he wants to keep his head on his shoulders, it would do him well to stay away."

"Speaking of staying away..." Reaching out, the mechanical samurai grabbed the concubine's wrist. "Little Taisho, don't think I haven't noticed the small basket you hid beside the door. You're going to it, aren't you?"

A timid nod was the reply.

"And I thought Ukyo was the crazy one. This is a dangerous game you're playing, Kanbei."

Kanbei smiled reassuringly. "It's all right, Kikuchiyo-sama. I know what I'm doing."

"And what pray tell is that?"

A small shrug. "Offering companionship to someone who has become bitter from intense loneliness."

That answer startled Kikuchiyo. "That is a demon, Little Taisho! Not a human being! An evil, malicious creature from Hell! Don't you know that your life, no, your very soul will be sacrificed to it?"

"I know, but..."

"But what?" the Horseman demanded.

A sorrowful little smile formed on Kanbei's lips. "Have you ever experienced devastating loneliness, Kikuchiyo-sama? I have. In a mere heartbeat, my life changed drastically -- from a respected warrior, I became the Amanushi's catamite and whore to so many people I could not count them all with the fingers of my hands. I've lost my family, and
the man I loved branded me a traitor. True, that you, as well as Gorobei and Masamune, are my confidantes. However, neither of you could fathom the pain and the loneliness existing inside my heart. When I met the Odalisk, it was like meeting a kindred spirit. Yes, it is a demon, but it knows and shares my pain. And it has acted contrary to its evil nature to help me and heal me of my wounds. Tell me, Kikuchiyo-sama, why I should not go to it, when it NEEDS me, perhaps even more than Shichiroji!" Kanbei readily confessed, "I'm not afraid of death, Kikuchiyo-sama. After all these years of pain and
suffering, I'm actually looking forward to it. Still, I would like that my life have a little meaning, that I could have, at least, accomplished something. I want the Odalisk to know love and happiness, Kikuchiyo-sama, and I will do it with all my heart and with my meager capabilities as a concubine. That is what I am, after all. Everyone's whore."

Kanbei did not wait for Kikuchiyo's reply. Bowing to the stunned warrior, he quietly went out of the room. Moeru was waiting for him outside, one sweet bun lying half-eaten at his feet. The colt's fur was bristly, staring at the door of the chamber beside Kikuchiyo's room.

Smiling, the concubine picked up his basket of food and rubbed Moeru soothingly on the brow. "It's all right, Moeru! You don't have to be afraid. It's...it's just a friend."

Kanbei opened the door to reveal two pairs of glowing eyes inside. He raised a beckoning hand to it. "Come, my friend! Let me escort you back to your chamber."

The demon gestured to some place inside the room, possibly another hidden passageway.

"There's another way," the whoremaster told it. "You don't have to walk in darkness for a change. I promise we won't run into anybody in the hallways."

For a moment, the Odalisk hesitated. Then, a large, ash gray arm reached out, the clawed fingers enfolding the concubine's hand. As it emerged, Moeru squeaked in terror and cowered behind his Master.

"Oh, Moeru! I told you not to be afraid." Kanbei urged the colt forward and introduced, "This is my dearest friend, Moeru." He gave the demon a half-suspicious, half-teasing look. "You're not going to eat him, are you?"

The color from Moeru's lips vanished as he gazed, poleaxed, at the hideous creature before him. The colt was sure that the demon was going to eat him.

But the two heads of the Odalisk gave him a nearly human smile. The colt nearly had a heart attack when one of the demon's hands ruffled the white tuft on his head and pinched his ears.

To Moeru's surprise, the female head acknowledged, "It is a great pleasure to meet you, little one."

The male head said good-naturedly, "Is this one of your Masters, Little Prince? Perhaps you should wish for him to be taller."

Talk about his height got Moeru growling, completely forgetting that he was facing a formidable demon from Hell.

"Now, now, Moeru! Be nice!" Kanbei wrapped his arm around one of the Odalisk's eight arms. "Shall we go?"

Taking the basket in one hand, the demon allowed the concubine to lead it down the hallway, a cautious Moeru trotting at its left.

Unknown to the trio, Kikuchiyo had emerged from his chamber. With eyes as round as platters, he stared in shock at the Odalisk, the whore and the colt strolling along the corridor like three friends going out on a picnic.

"Were you eavesdropping on me again?" the mechanical samurai heard the whoremaster query softly.

The Odalisk's answer was another question. "Was it true? Everything you said to the warrior of metal?" The disbelief was obvious in its two voices.

Kanbei patted its arm in reassurance. "For as long as I still live, I swear I will keep you company."

"But why? We do not understand. What is your reason for doing this?"

"Like I told Kikuchiyo-sama, you need me. I cannot abandon someone who is in need."

"Little Prince, surely you know that, despite this, your life is still forfeit."

Kanbei leaned his cheek against the demon's arm. Before they disappeared at the end of the long hallway, Kikuchiyo clearly heard the concubine's reply.

"My dear friend," whispered Kanbei with a sigh, "don't you know that death is the best gift that you could give me?"

* * * * * * * * * *