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 July 2, 2006


Chapter Forty-Seven

The floor beneath the seven samurais' feet violently shook that they had to brace their legs apart to keep their balance. The same could not be said for Moeru. As the shearing forces of the quake slowly but surely wreaked damage upon the Palace architecture, the colt was patiently seated on the floor, still waiting to show his beloved master his "prize", sliding left to right, right to left along with the shaking floor.

"What's happening?" Kanbei yelled above the din.

"Now that Ain Mehira has outlived its purpose of keeping within its walls a demon, the Palace is collapsing," Shichiroji shouted back.

"It's time we got out of here, don't you think?" Gorobei hastily suggested, as a piece of marble fell on his head.

The concubine looked down at the still waiting colt. "Sorry about this, Moeru, but we have to leave this place before we get buried alive."

Moeru snorted in exasperation, wondering if he would ever be able to show Kanbei his precious 'prize.' Before he could insist that it would only take a minute, a beefy arm picked him up. The sudden squeezing of his soft belly caused him to exhale sharply that his 'trophy' fell out of his mouth.

As Kikuchiyo ran out of the Throne Room, with his comrades following close behind him, he told the startled colt, "If I knew that this is all it would take to make you get rid of that thing, I should've done it earlier."

But Moeru was determined to not lose his 'prize.' To the cyborg's shock, the little horse kicked out of his grasp.

"MOERU!" Katsushiro cried out, horrified, as his beloved pet sped past him, going back to the Throne Room.

"Kanbei, wait!" Kyuzo skidded to a dead halt, seeing the concubine turn on his heels and race after the colt.

Inside the Throne Room, Moeru nimbly dodged the large chunks of brick and marble that fell from the ceiling, as he searched desperately for his "trophy". Soon enough, he found it, slipping and sliding amongst the debris at the foot of the dais, remarkably still whole and fresh. The colt happily trotted toward it and picked it up, keeping it protected inside his mouth.

But then, there was a loud rumbling above his head. Moeru's eyes were wide as platters, seeing a large panel of the ceiling about to crash down on him. Before the colt could get crushed, Kanbei suddenly appeared. With his sword, he slashed the panel into smaller, harmless pieces that missed the little horse entirely.

When he landed, the fuming and extremely worried concubine picked up the colt and crushed him in a bear hug. "Do you have a death wish, Moeru? Damn it, don't you dare do that to me again!" Kanbei cried. "I could never forgive myself if anything terrible happened to you!"

Guilt pierced Moeru's heart, feeling his beloved master's tears wetting his coat. He nuzzled Kanbei's cheek, hoping to reassure him and say that he was so sorry.

Suddenly, there was a deafening roar as the entire floor started to cave in beneath their feet. Already, there were gaping cracks between them and the doors. Worse, the ceiling was on the verge of total collapse.

"KANBEI!" the concubine heard his lover's voice and, surprisingly, it came from above them.

Training his eyes upward, Kanbei saw that Shichiroji was heading toward them. The Samurai was using the falling beams and panels as stepping stones to get between the wide cracks in order to reach them. Like a feather, he landed on the spot where the whoremaster and the colt were.

Rounding on the Master and pet, Shichiroji declared, "If you two do this to me again, I swear I'll kill you both!"

"I love you, Shichiroji!" Kanbei muttered huskily, a sweet smile curling up the corners of his lips as he gazed at his breathless lover.

The Samurai couldn't help but grin. "You can make it up to me later, once we get out of this damned place." He pointed a scolding finger at Moeru. "As for you, I'm going to wallop your butt with the biggest belt I could find."

Moeru batted his eyelashes at Shichiroji, hoping he could get a reprieve. He could already envision a huge leather belt whacking his poor behind.

"Don't give me that innocent look!" the Samurai retorted. Facing the concubine once more, he asked, "Can you manage?" gesturing to the falling pieces of the ceiling.

"Try me," Kanbei declared confidently.

"Very well! Follow me!"

Swiftly, the two warriors negotiated the distance from the dais to the doors, leaping over the cracks via the falling panels of the ceiling. They were already near the doors when the piece of brick that the concubine stepped on broke under his and Moeru's weight.

"SHICHIROJI!" Kanbei screamed as he and Moeru started to plummet into the crack.

Jumping for the edge, Shichiroji grabbed the whoremaster's wrist in time. Five more hands joined his. With a fierce tug, the warriors hauled Kanbei and the colt to safety.

"Come on! Let's go!" shouted Shichiroji. Not wanting to lose his lover again, he tightened his hold on the older man's wrist, leading them all through the crumbling hallways, heading for the stables.

Arriving at last, they found Kikuchiyo literally tearing his hair out in frustration. All the horses were gone, obviously taken by Ukyo's men when they rode out to defend the city. The only horses left were Kikuchiyo's own steed, Thanatos and Denko. But the mechanical samurai was having trouble getting the three war steeds under control. All three stallions were kicking at two heavy doors that had frozen stuck from the tremors and the furious pounding of hooves. However, they were successful in opening a small crack between the warped doors.

Kanbei eyed that crack suspiciously and then looked at the desperate stallions. As he peered closely into that space, he caught movement within.

"The colts!" he exclaimed in sudden realization. "They're trapped inside!"

"This whole place is about to go!" Kikuchiyo shouted. "We can't save them!"

"We can't leave!" argued Shichiroji. "Our horses are not going to stop until they free them all!"

Moeru's coal black eyes focused on that crack. Swiftly, he leaped out of the arms of a shocked Kanbei and squeezed through the opening. The little horse grimaced at the sight of the terrified colts huddled in the corner. Putting down his 'prize' for a minute, he whinnied excitedly, waving his head towards the crack. Still, the colts would not budge. Trotting toward the frightened younglings, Moeru snapped at them several times with his teeth. That move sent all the colts scurrying out of the hole, one by one.

"Moeru, get out of there!" he heard Kanbei's frantic cry. "It's starting to give way!"

The colt made to gallop through the crack. His body was halfway through when he remembered his most precious possession. Moeru quickly snuck back inside before the concubine could grab him. Just as he snatched his 'prize', two hands gripped his tail and yanked him out. Moeru blinked at Kikuchiyo's formidable face. Angry steam was coming out of the exhaust pipe at the right side of his head.

Seeing the little horse's full mouth, Kikuchiyo hollered frustratedly, "AAAARGHHHH! We're going to die because you wouldn't let that thing go! I'm going to squeeze your neck until you cough it up!"

Already afraid of the belt whacking that he was sure to get from the Samurai, Moeru leaped down from the cyborg's grasp. Waving his head to the younglings, as quick as a tiny bolt of lightning, Moeru led the colts outside the stables.

The seven samurai stared at their animal friend in disbelief. Hearing crashing sounds behind them, Shichiroji hurriedly got on Thanatos, hauling Heihachi up on the saddle with him, and remarked, "We'd better get going ourselves!"

Leapfrogging on his horse, Kikuchiyo declared, "Aye! But once we catch up with those colts, you can mark my words on it! Moeru is going to take all the credit for saving our lives!" Gorobei got on the stallion behind him.

Kanbei was already seated on Denko, with Kyuzo and Katsushiro. "I don't think that Moeru would do that."

"Oh, but you don't know him like I do!" the mechanical warrior said sagely.

At these words, the seven samurai galloped out of the stables, following behind Moeru and his band of orphan colts.

~~~~~~~~~~

Through his long scope, the Sultan witnessed the destruction of Ain Mehira. All the men stood on top of the dune, staring at the terrible sight that was unfolding before them. He mumbled in growing dread, "No! This can't be happening! After all that they've been through, it shouldn't end like this! NOT THIS WAY!"

A frown creased Masamune's brow, noting what looked like a small dust devil near the gates of the crumbling walls of the doomed city. Squinting, he pressed his hands to his brow, shielding his eyes from the gradually brightening glare of the sun to peer at that strange phenomenon. He let out a happy cry, realizing that it was not a freak weather phenomenon at all.

Forgetting himself, the scribe tugged excitedly on the Sultan's trousers. "They're alive! THEY'RE ALIVE!"

Training his own scope on that dust cloud, the Sultan himself laughed, a clear sign of his relief, "They're coming! THEY'RE COMING!"

A great cheer erupted from the men, seeing the seven warriors riding toward them. Proud little Moeru was at the fore, leading the colts of Ain Mehira. Reaching the camp at last, three soldiers hastened to tend to their stallions as the samurai got down. At once, the Sultan and Masamune ran towards their friends.

"Thank Allah you're all right!" The Sultan exclaimed.

"You scared us half to death!" Masamune declared. "For a while there, we thought you wouldn't make it!"

"Actually, we almost didn't...thanks to someone I know." Kikuchiyo cocked a menacing eyebrow up and glared at the preening colt, who chose to ignore the cyborg. After all, this was his shining moment.

Katsushiro was not very happy with the colt's antics. He bopped poor Moeru on the head with his fist, eliciting a whine from the tiny horse. "Didn't I tell you to protect Kanbei-sama, not nearly get him killed?

The scribe patted Shichiroji' shoulder. "More or less, we had an idea of what was happening to you in there. Kanbei's spirit essence...he came here, together with Kirara, Tessai and Hyogo. They helped us win the battle out here."

"Kirara, you say?" Shichiroji was surprised to hear the Oracle's name.

"Yes, Shichiroji," Kanbei confirmed to the younger man. "She asked me to tell that this was her way of making amends for everything that she's done to you. Please forgive her, so she could rest in peace."

The Samurai smiled as he looked warmly at his lover. "Yes, I do forgive her."

At that moment, the Sultan approached the concubine. Kanbei went down on his knees, lowering his gaze in the proper obeisance. But the monarch bade him to stand once more. With tears welling up in his eyes, the Sultan hugged the concubine.

"You did very well, Kanbei," the ruler announced, cupping the whoremaster's face. "As I knew you would, you exceeded all my expectations. You are now a warrior, perhaps THE warrior of all warriors."

A dark red blush went up the concubine's cheeks at that praise.

Smiling warmly, the Sultan asked, "How does it feel to be a true warrior, my love?"

Shichiroji heard what the esteemed ruler called the concubine. His face darkened with jealousy as he looked at the two men. The Samurai had completely forgotten what Kanbei had been to the Sultan.

"To be truthful, Ismail," Kanbei shyly whispered the Sultan's name. "I don't feel any different. Despite what happened, the things I did, I'm still the same person."

"That is because, right from the very beginning, you already possessed the heart of a warrior. The only thing that was needed was to draw it out again." Ismail gazed lovingly at the concubine. "Kanbei, I am so proud of you!" Saying this, he embraced Kanbei and bestowed a passionate kiss upon his lips.

Shichiroji scowled even darker, seeing his lover return that kiss just as eagerly, his arms wrapping around the Sultan's neck.

Teasingly, Gorobei inched close to the seething warrior and muttered in his ear, "Why, Shichiroji? Have you stayed too long under the desert sun that your face is now as dark as mine?"

The Samurai responded to these inquiries by pushing the moor's face away. He was about to stalk toward the two men and break it up when someone else did it for him.

A cold, wet nose nudged Kanbei's bare leg, drawing his attention. Looking down, he saw that Moeru was patiently seated near his right foot.

"Oh, I forgot! You were going to show me your 'prize'," the concubine declared. As he got down on his haunches before the eager colt, he said, "All right, Moeru! I'm sure we won't have any distractions now. So show me your precious 'prize' that you would risk all our lives just to keep it in your possession."

In unison, Heihachi and Shichiroji commented, "Kanbei, seriously, you are going to regret it!"

"Believe me!" Kyuzo declared with a snort. "I wouldn't waste my time looking at the damned thing!"

"That's because you've already seen it…in the distant past!" Katsushiro argued with obvious jealousy in his tone of voice.

But the whoremaster ignored their warnings, his whole attention focused on the little horse. With great ceremony, Moeru cocked his chin up and slowly opened his mouth for the grand unveiling.

"YAP! YAP! YAP!"

To everyone's shock, a tiny bundle of joy snatched Moeru's 'prize' from inside his mouth. Running a distance away, the robber of the colt's 'trophy' paused, his small tail wagging left and right like a metronome in high speed. To Kikuchiyo's chagrin, the happy animal looked just like the 'thing' that was dangling from his mouth.

"What a cute little dog!" exclaimed Kanbei in sheer delight. "That's a dachshund, isn't it? Who does it belong to? What's his name?"

The Sultan groaned, an embarrassed blush going up his face. "That's my dog. A gift to me by the English tutor of my children. I was thinking of giving him a name that is appropriate to his status of the dog of the Sultan. But, with his looks and playful, mischievous demeanor, he would probably cause me great shame. So I decided to call him 'Chester.'"

"He is sooo sweet!" the concubine declared, laughing.

Kikuchiyo elbowed Shichiroji lightly in the side. "He looks like a hairier version of Hyogo's you-know-what to me." The Samurai nearly choked in suppressed laughter.

Moeru glared at the naughty dog that had stolen his beloved master's attention from him. Worse, his 'prize' was hanging from its mouth. He grimaced in disgust, seeing Chester wetting his 'trophy' with drool. He had to get it back.

Furious, the colt raced after the dachshund. Despite his small size and short stubby legs, Chester was a fast runner. Around and around the camp, the little horse pursued the equally little dog. Moeru was already snorting in rage. Inside his mind, he was envisioning a scene wherein he would catch Chester and grant him a kick with both hind legs in the rump.

Shichiroji was trying to hold back his mirth, his attention focused on the 'prize' that was the true object of the chase. Glancing at his amused lover, he could not help chuckling, realizing that Kanbei still had no idea what it was that the horse and dog were playing with.

Heihachi scratched his head. "Poor thing is going to be in terrible shape once those two are through chasing each other."

Sure enough, the colt and the dachshund ended up stopping right before the concubine. The two animals were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war over the 'prize.'

Kanbei frowned as he watched Moeru and Chester battle for the 'trophy.' To him, it looked like a pale sausage.

Turning to Shichiroji, he asked curiously, "Where did Moeru get a sausage and when did he learn to eat meat?"

The Samurai blanched at that innocent query, at a loss on how to answer. Kikuchiyo, however, burst into laughter, with Shichiroji joining him, causing Kanbei to look at them suspiciously.

Then, Moeru tumbled head over heels on the sand, having snatched his 'prize' back from a yapping Chester. The whoremaster peered closely at that 'sausage' that dangled through the gap between the colt's front teeth.

Suddenly, Hyogo's ghost materialized beside the colt and screeched with eardrum-shattering force. "THAT'S MY COCK! GIVE ME BACK MY COCK!"

As everyone looked on, there was a bright flash inside Moeru's mouth, as a tiny bolt of Hyogo's life energy burst out of that member. The jolt shocked the tiny horse that the white hair at the top of his head stood up like spikes. In surprise and pain, Moeru shook his head, sending his 'prize' sailing through the air. All followed the seemingly slow progress of that still fresh body part as it rose high up and slowly made a graceful arch down, down, down...landing right smack on the concubine's bare right thigh!

Kanbei's exquisite brown eyes slowly widened in horror and disgust until they were as round as platters. To his even greater shock, a tiny bolt of chi streaked out of the severed member and entered him right in the region of his crotch, zinging waves of pleasure shooting through his groin. As his face turned deathly pale, he could saw an overjoyed Hyogo, his voice now at its normal tone, crying out with joy, "MY COCK! MY PRECIOUS COCK! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

From somewhere behind him, the whoremaster heard Kikuchiyo remark to Shichiroji, who was roaring with laughter, "Amazing, Shichinoji! This only confirms what I have suspected for a long time! THAT A MAN HAS TWO HEADS!"

The sun shone bright in the heavens as the moon's shadow receded. With Ain Mehira in its death throes, the noise of the city's total destruction was drowned out by the ear-piercing shriek of the great warrior, Shimada Kanbei.


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