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-Nine

"Moeru! Chester! Come back here, you two!" Kanbei roared as he raced through the camp in hot pursuit of the errant colt and the dachshund. "I have a bone to pick with you!"

Hearing that word "bone", Chester skidded to a halt and turned around, tongue lolling out of his mouth. His mind was filled with a tantalizing vision of a verdant field with abundant bones growing out of the ground. He could already imagine himself leaping through that field, picking those tasty, crunchy chewables with Moeru's handsome Master at his side.

Moeru stopped at once, seeing the dachshund just sitting there, waiting for the approach of the angry human thundering his way, not knowing the terrible punishment that was in store for him. Before the whoremaster could grab the dog, the colt snatched Chester's tail between his teeth and flipped him over the air and onto his back. Hoping to make a quick escape, Moeru darted in between a surprised Gorobei and Heihachi, who had been searching all over the camp for the concubine. Seeing how exhausted the colt and the dachshund were, the two men took pity on them and blocked Kanbei's path.

"They're getting away!" Kanbei complained like a petulant child, as he peered above the men's heads. To his dismay, he saw his quarry disappear behind a tent.

"And you are becoming a delicious spectacle to everyone in this camp," Gorobei remarked disapprovingly. "Your poor excuse of a caftan is practically your second skin."

"Not that anyone's complaining, mind you," Heihachi interrupted good-naturedly, only to shut up like a clam when the moor glared at him.

Gorobei threw a loose robe over the concubine's near naked form. "My Master Ismail told me to put this on you. Now, perhaps you could tell us what you've been up to."

Grudgingly allowing the two men to lead him toward a small campfire, Kanbei answered, " I just wanted to say goodbye to my friends...and lovers. I wanted to give them something special." His lower lip jutted out in a pout. "But Moeru and Chester wouldn't stop poking their noses into my affairs."

"If you ask me," Heihachi began, "those two are doing the right thing. I'm amazed that Moeru was able to get Chester to cooperate with him. I mean, they just met."

"Believe me, it's probably not that big an effort on his part," said Gorobei wryly. "The Sultan's dog is so stupid that he would do anything you tell him to do, thinking it's all just a game."

Heihachi shook his head. "I don't think so. I've been observing Chester and he's a lot smarter than people give him credit for. He and Moeru are the perfect partners, both sharing the same penchant for mischief. But they both have loving hearts as well. As Gorobei-dono said, Kanbei-sama, they are doing this for your benefit."

The concubine let out a snort. "It's wasted effort on their part. No one wants me...in that way, I mean. I'm beginning to feel insulted. I'll probably have better luck with Kikuchiyo."

Gorobei's right eyebrow formed a perfect arch. "Why are you so determined to have someone bed you?"

"And what does Shichiroji-dono have to say about this?" Heihachi inquired.

At these queries, Kanbei fell silent.

"Speaking of Shichiroji..." With his eyes, the warrior engineer quickly took stock of their surroundings. "I haven't seen him since this afternoon."

The moor looked at the quiet concubine with suspicion. "Kanbei, did something happen between you and Shichiroji again?"

"There is always something happening between me and Shichiroji," the whoremaster answered, the dismay obvious in his words.

"Now you're thinking of getting back at him by going to bed with someone else." Gorobei nodded in understanding. "Don't you know that by doing this, you hurt yourself more than him? Is your stubborn pride worth more than losing the one you truly love?"

"Shichiroji doesn't understand why I have to do this. He refused to listen. Ismail, Kyuzo, Kikuchiyo... Despite knowing what I am, they never treated me like a whore." Seeing the knowing glances of the two men, Kanbei amended, "No. Perhaps at first they had, but in the end, these men loved me, encouraged me to strive for my dream. They gave me hope. This is the last time that I shall be with them. I wanted to show them how grateful I am for everything that they have done for me."

"But they refused you," Heihachi stated flatly.

"Not...exactly. As I said, I haven't talked to Kikuchiyo yet. Kyuzo is in love with Katsushiro. As for the Sultan, he asked me to marry him."

"And what was your answer?" the moor queried inquisitively.

The whoremaster hesitated for a moment. "I said I couldn't marry him, but I still offered to...you know. Ismail refused my offer."

Gorobei slowly understood what had transpired between the Sultan and the concubine. "The Sultan asked you if you were in love with someone else, didn't he. Kyuzo knows that your heart cries for another. This is the real reason why they refused to make love to you. They know that it is Shichiroji whom you truly care for."

"Kanbei-sama, the Sultan and Kyuzo-dono are honorable men," Heihachi explained patiently. "They would not take advantage of your anger toward your lover to bed you. I'm sure that Kikuchiyo will refuse you as well."

"And if he doesn't refuse," began Gorobei, "you have two little guardians who will make certain that no bedding will take place." He then made a sweeping gesture with his hand, and pointed a finger to where Moeru and Chester stood. The two animals were nodding in firm agreement to what the moor had said.

Anger rose inside the whoremaster's heart. Standing in a huff, he retorted, "We shall see about that." Kanbei glared at the colt and the dachshund. "I will not have you two interfere. Do so again and I swear you shall regret it."

Before the concubine could leave, Heihachi's words stopped him. "Are you going to leave us, Kanbei-sama, with anger in your heart for the things we said to you?"

At first, Kanbei could not speak, as shame filled his entire being. He then faced the two men, bowing to them in sincere apology.

"Please forgive me for my rudeness," he said in sorrow. "You are my dearest friends. I should be saying how much your kindness and your wisdom meant to me. That I am very thankful to you for taking care of me. I shouldn't have vented my anger upon you. I'm so sorry."

Heihachi stood up and held the concubine's shoulders. "Kanbei, forgive us as well if we spoke out of turn. We only have your best interests at heart. Same also for Moeru and Chester, and also the Sultan and Kyuzo-dono."

"Why don't you look at it this way?" Gorobei suggested. "You have now proven yourself to be a great warrior to us all. You've freed the Odalisk from eternal torment and you have defeated Ahriman. And yet now, you are taking a step back to the whore you once were. Shichiroji does not want you to do this because you are a different man now – a warrior. Offering your body...this is not the way to show your love and respect to the men who have helped you. This is not the way of a warrior."

"I am not big with words, Kanbei-sama," Heihachi began, "but I will try to make it simple. We are all in awe of you and your great accomplishments this day. Speaking for Kyuzo-dono, it wouldn't be right for men such as we to take advantage of your emotional turmoil to bring you back to your lowly state as a whore. You have done so much for all of us. That is thanks enough for the kindness that we have showered upon you. In fact, the greater debt now falls on our shoulders. And what better way to ensure you remain a warrior but by refusing the one thing, the one special skill that would cause doubt to rise inside your heart and lead you back to the man you were before."

The moor looked at the cheerful engineer in surprise. "And you said you weren't big on words, Heihachi."

"I wish I could say that I understand everything that you have just told me," said Kanbei honestly. "But I will think it over. Perhaps...I also need to talk about this with Kikuchiyo."

"Just to talk, Kanbei," the moor told him firmly. "No bedding!"

The concubine shrugged and smiled wearily. "I wish I could promise that."

"Then think about Shichiroji-dono and what this would do to him." Heihachi breathed in deeply. "Shichiroji-dono is not a very complicated man to understand. The swords of the past are always hanging over your heads. If you take each one away and sheathe them, you'll see that it isn't hard to love him."

Kanbei did not answer. Instead, he gave them that sad little smile once more and walked away. Lost in thought, he did not notice that Moeru and Chester were quietly trotting a few paces behind him.

It did not take long for the whoremaster to find Kikuchiyo. The mechanical samurai was seated beside a tiny cart he had just finished. By the light of a lamp, Kikuchiyo was industriously sewing something that Kanbei could not make out at first. With the thought of giving the cyborg pleasure still on his mind, the concubine peeled off his robe and let it pool at his ankles.

At that moment, Kikuchiyo looked up, a happy smile forming on his face, as he declared, "Look who decided to drop in! Come here! I have a surprise for you!" He even waved what he held in his hands, a pleasant jingling sound coming from it.

Before Kanbei could make a single, sultry step forward, Moeru and Chester sped past him, hurrying toward the jolly mechanical warrior. A dark frown creased the concubine's brow as Kikuchiyo cheerfully tied the things he had made around the necks of the colt and dachshund.

"There you go!" laughed Kikuchiyo, as the two animals shook their heads, eliciting that jingling sound again. "Now neither of you will lose a single dinar ever again. And how do you like the cart I made for you, Moeru? You won't have any difficulty getting across the desert on this thing." As if just noticing the whoremaster, he declared, "Oh, Little Taisho! How long have you been standing there?"

Getting to his feet, the cyborg picked up his cloak. To Kanbei's shock, Kikuchiyo wrapped the cloak around his body. "It's rather nippy tonight," he remarked. "This will keep you nice and warm."

Rather than acknowledge the kind gesture, the concubine suddenly burst into tears, his whole body shaking as he wept. Moeru and Chester's eyes were wide with surprise.

"All right, all right! Come sit with me beside the fire, Little Taisho," clucked Kikuchiyo like a hen, pulling the distraught concubine along. As they sat down before the fire, he draped a muscular arm over his shoulder. "What's wrong? Why are you crying your eyes out again? You know, this is supposed to be a joyous occasion because you're finally free."

As his body hitched with the force of his sobs, Kanbei stuttered, "No one wants me anymore!"

"Why do you say that? You know that I still want you very much."

Tear-filled sweet brown eyes gazed longingly at the warrior. "Really, Kikuchiyo-sama? Does this mean that you'll make love to me?"

Kikuchiyo would have responded in the positive. However, Moeru decided to plop down, laying his head on the cyborg's lap. His face was placed in a vantage position, with his nose and mouth breathing warm air on Kikuchiyo's crotch. Chester, on the other hand, decided to curl up on Kanbei's lap, pressing his tiny body on the whoremaster's loins like a fur-lined chastity belt.

Realizing that the two animals had definite plans of protecting the concubine's honor, Kikuchiyo hastily stammered, "Now why would I want to do that?"

Kanbei pouted, gesturing to the colt and the dachshund. "Your sudden change of heart... Does it have something to do with these two?"

"Maybe partly. I don't want to be emasculated by Mini Moe here." The cyborg sighed. "Seriously though, I don't want to be your accomplice in Shichiroji's heartbreak."

"So you know."

"Why shouldn't I know? Kanbei, I've known Shichiroji for years, and there are only two occasions wherein I've seen him this upset. The first time was when he realized that the concubine he had fallen in love with happened to be the man he had abandoned fifteen years ago. The second time was when said concubine, who has finally fulfilled his destiny of becoming a warrior, emerged from his tent, dressed like the slut he once was, ready to give himself to other men instead of to the Samurai whom he truly loved."

"Kikuchiyo, I am leaving this region, and I doubt if I will ever see Ismail, Kyuzo or you again. I don't want to forget you. In the same way, I wanted to give you something special to remember me by."

"Do you think we could ever forget you, Little Taisho?" Kikuchiyo cupped the whoremaster's face in his hand. "You may think that you owe us something for giving you the encouragement and the support to fulfill your destiny, but you do not. It was by your own effort, your own courage that you became a warrior. And in doing so, Kanbei, you have touched our lives, changed us all for the better. Now you ask us to bed you again? How could we accept your offer, knowing that this might rekindle old desires and lusts that should be left unsated? If you tempt us, not only will we bed you again and again and again, we will never let you go. You will never become the samurai Shimada Kanbei. You will fall back into the life of miserable luxury that was once Little Taisho's."

Kanbei gasped at these words, fear suddenly filling his heart.

Seeing the fear reflected in those coffee brown orbs once more, the mechanical samurai declared, "But I won't take you up on your offer. I've heard that the Sultan and Kyuzo rejected you as well. This is not a rejection of you as a brave and very beautiful human being. This is a rejection of the whore you once were and what you now want to become once more, even for just one night, as a pretense of a gift to ex-lovers. It is because we have too much respect for you, Kanbei, that we combat the lusts that you arouse in us just by your mere presence alone. It is because we love you that we bid you to return to the one man who will not treat you like a whore."

For a long moment, the concubine looked into the cyborg's face. Throwing his arms around Kikuchiyo's neck, he whispered, "I love you, Kikuchiyo-sama! Thank you oh so much for loving and caring for me!"

"And I love you too, Little Taisho!" Kikuchiyo laughed, wiping the oil tears that trickled from the narrow slit of his helmet. "What am I saying? You're not 'Little Taisho' anymore!"

"It's just a pet name, Kikuchiyo-sama. Unlike Ukyo and Hyogo, you never treated me like a whore. I never begrudged your calling me that. It doesn't hurt to hear myself called by that name, especially when it came from your lips."

"But Kanbei..."

"Please don't stop calling me 'Little Taisho'. I don't want to forget who I once was, and especially all the wonderful people who have helped me change my life. People like you."

The cyborg nodded. "If that is your wish, but I don't want you to call me 'Kikuchiyo-sama' anymore. Just 'Kikuchiyo' will do, or even 'Kikunoji', although you're way older than me." Winking, he added, "After all, you are now the Master of your own destiny."

"Yes, I know," Kanbei beamed fondly at the mechanical samurai.

Kikuchiyo then bade the concubine to stand up, a surprised Chester suddenly landing on top of Moeru. "Now go, Little Taisho. It's time you went to him who is the Master of your heart."

Grinning, Kanbei bent down and kissed Kikuchiyo lovingly. Patting Moeru's and Chester's heads, he hurried back to the Samurai's tent, his heart soaring like a majestic eagle in flight.

In his haste to be reunited with his beloved, Kanbei did not see Kikuchiyo embrace the colt and the dachshund. "All's well that ends well, right, my friends?"

To this, Moeru and Chester nodded in satisfaction, the gesture causing the coins inside their tiny pouches to jingle melodiously.

Contrary to what he had said earlier, the whoremaster found Shichiroji inside their tent, waiting for him. There was a tug in his heart, seeing the tear-reddened eyes of the Warrior. Those blue orbs had lost their luster, staring at him with growing dread. Kanbei suddenly found himself deathly afraid, fearing that the Samurai might reject him as well.

As a tear trickled from his right eye, Kanbei announced, "No man touched me, Shichiroji. I swear no one has touched me."

"Even if someone had," Shichiroji began hoarsely, "even if you had obeyed my wish not to return to our tent, I would've gone out to search for you and bring you back."

The Samurai got to his feet, rushing toward the hesitant concubine. All qualms vanished from Kanbei's heart, as strong arms enveloped him and a heated mouth captured his lips. Succumbing to Shichiroji's passion, the whoremaster allowed the younger man to lead him toward the pillows, groping fingers tearing at the fabric of each other's clothing to permit the contact of their bare skins.

Burying his fingers in Kanbei's silken tresses, Shichiroji gently pulled his head back, lavishing the older man's beautiful face with hungry kisses. Kanbei just as eagerly met those passionate caresses, boldly plundering the Samurai's mouth with his tongue, tasting his inner depths. But Shichiroji was not contented with just kissing that face. From those full luscious lips, his mouth trailed down to lick at the concubine's chin. Descending a bit more, his teeth nipped at the prominence of Kanbei's throat, then opened his mouth in an 'O' to seize the fruit that was lodged in the neck of this lovely son of Adam. Moaning, the whoremaster tilted his head to the right, giving Shichiroji free rein to nibble at the hollow between his neck and shoulder. The Samurai, however, desired all that his lover had to offer.

A dreamy smile on his lips, Kanbei let his upper body fall limp over a pillow that his chest was thrust enticingly at the younger man. Licking a path down the whoremaster's breastbone, Shichiroji's hands fondled those firm, rounded pectorals, fingers splayed that those ever tightening nubs of desire stood up like points in the spaces in between his exploring digits. Taking those sweet nipples in his fingertips, he twisted and pulled on them, causing the concubine to move his body with fluid grace, like a writhing snake. But when he lowered his lips at last to a tit, Kanbei cried out in wild abandon. Like a crushing python, the older man wrapped his arms and long legs around the Samurai's body, drawing him so close in order that he could feed upon the nectar flowing in his breast. One after another, Shichiroji tormented and nursed on Kanbei's nipples, which eagerly spurted its milk inside his mouth.

The Samurai felt a hard rod of silken iron prodding at his own erect member. Easing himself off the protesting concubine for a second, he opened his legs wide, knees on either side of the older man's hips. Taking several deep breaths to relax his entire being, Shichiroji impaled himself on that stiff member, sheathing it within his own scalding channel to the root. Surprised, Kanbei bucked against this unfamiliar position of dominance. He was accustomed to being taken; it had been a very long time since he had assumed the dominant role. For a split second, he hesitated, afraid that in his inexperience, he might hurt the Warrior.

Sensing the reluctance in his beloved, Shichiroji's hands tightened on Kanbei's hips. With aching slowness, he worked his ass up and down that burgeoning erection. At the same time, the Samurai moved his lover's hips in awkward jerks.

Realizing what Shichiroji wanted him to do, Kanbei began to thrust upward into the younger man's body, at first, gingerly and with great care. But as the Samurai's moves became frenetic, more insistent, the concubine knew that he could no longer hold back, lest he deprive both of them of the release they needed. Primal instincts governed them as they moved in unison. Such was the intensity of the friction of slick heat against the length of his hard, blood-engorged member that Kanbei lost himself completely. With a ragged cry, he poured out his release into the body of his lover. He was about to take Shichiroji's erection in his hand and give the Samurai much needed respite from his pent-up passion. Instead, his fingers encountered an iron grip around that length. Instantly, the whoremaster knew what his lover truly needed.

Raising both legs, Kanbei slung them over Shichiroji's shoulder, spreading his thighs, so that his rosebud winked in invitation. The sight of that tiny opening was the only incentive that Shichiroji required to bring their coupling to its rightful and total conclusion.

A scream of pain and ecstasy was torn from Kanbei's throat as the Samurai filled him with his formidable weapon. There was no hesitation now. As Shichiroji thrust into him again and again, he bucked his hips against each ram of that blunt head upon his pleasure point. He thought he would black out from the intense sensations that were being elicited from him.

But then, a tiny white light twinkled before the concubine's eyes, steadily growing brighter and brighter. For a brief instant, he saw puffy clouds with golden spires erected on top of them. Standing before one of those magnificent towers were Mithras and Devi Mari. Kanbei smiled gloriously, beholding his loving mentors waving to him. The vision gradually faded away, replaced by a dazzling array of colors, both known and many he had never seen before, as the peak was attained. With a pleased sigh, he felt Shichiroji's seed gush inside his channel, filling him with its slick warmth.

Still, the two warriors have not had enough.

After hour upon hour of bliss, the dawn saw Kanbei with his head cradled on Shichiroji's chest. The Samurai was hugging the older man tightly, his fingertips playing with the silky strands of his lover's hair. Both were still flushed from their intense coupling, as they basked in the afterglow of love requited and fulfilled.

"Shichiroji?"

"Yes, Kanbei?"

"Do you know, that for a moment, I thought I saw Mithras and Devi Mari?"

"You weren't dreaming, Little Prince. I saw them too."

"That was Heaven, wasn't it? We reached nirvana."

Shichiroji kissed Kanbei on the forehead. "And we shall go there -- again and again and again. For as long as we are together. For as long as we both shall live. You and I shall bring Heaven here on Earth."

~~~~~~~~~~

In the days that followed, the soldiers and bandits made the trek across the Sahara, but none of them felt a single day's weariness. After all, having emerged victorious from an infernal battle everyone believed they would not win, they were at last returning home.

Shichiroji, however, was oblivious to the elation of the people around him. His greatest concern was the handsome samurai he made love to night after night and at every opportunity during the day.

Although Kanbei matched his passion with equal, insatiable ardor, the Warrior sensed the increasing restlessness in his lover with each passing day. There were times when the concubine would shy away from any attempts at conversation and would ride off, ahead of the caravan, simply to be alone and to brood. There wasn't any doubt in Shichiroji's mind that Kanbei wanted to go back to their homeland, but fear of what was waiting for him threatened to overwhelm that heartfelt wish.

And then there was the matter of his being a warrior again. Peace-loving by nature, the Samurai knew that, even when they were still brothers-in-arms, Kanbei balked at the idea of bloodshed. But the one thing that weighed heavily on Kanbei's mind was the fact that, one day, he would inevitably be forced to part with the man he loved. War had a way of tearing lovers apart. It was a prospect neither one wanted to face. Kanbei could not dream of going through life without the Samurai. As for Shichiroji, to live without the light and love of the concubine would be a most unbearable curse.

One night, unable to sleep, the Samurai decided to take a stroll around the stillness of the camp. As he expected, he found Kanbei standing on top of the tallest sand dune. The sight the concubine made was breathtaking -- a beautiful, solemn figure dressed in a flowing caftan, his long hair fluttering in the desert breeze. His image was captured in the silver disk of the full moon, like a daguerreotype. So like a statue, his lover was. A moment in time locked in the permanence of memory. There was only one way to bring his Galatea back to life.

"Kanbei?" Shichiroji called out to his beloved, allowing the wind to carry his soft voice over to that stoic figure standing at the dune's peak.

As Kanbei turned around, a sad smile of love and intense longing formed on his luscious lips, seeing his beloved waiting for him below. Same as that magical evening months before, the concubine leaped from the dune and floated down, like an angel come from the Heavens. As he landed, the Samurai took him into his arms, embracing him tightly.

// I'll never let you go, Kanbei, // Shichiroji promised inside his mind, as tears welled up in his eyes. // I swear I'll never let you go. //

~~~~~~~~~~

It was still several hours till dawn at the Tademait Plateau. The camp had fallen into blissful slumber after a night-long feast at the bandit's domain. None of the members of the caravan noticed the silent departure of a man in Bedouin traveling clothes, leading his horse laden with supplies.

After negotiating their way through the craggy paths of the plateau itself, Kanbei and Denko finally reached the other side. For a moment, the concubine paused as he stared at the majestic height of the Tademait. Biting down on his lower lip, he found himself regretting not being able to say goodbye to his dear friends. Especially Shichiroji. But he had to leave now. The more and more he stayed, the greater his resolve to leave for his homeland wavered. Only one knew of his impending departure, and Kikuchiyo was adamant against his leaving them so soon. Thankfully, the mechanical samurai was open to reason and he himself helped him prepare the supplies he would need for his trek through the desert. It nearly broke his heart to ask Kikuchiyo to care for his dearest pet, Moeru. Same as Shichiroji, he did not want to leave his precious colt, as well as the mischievous dachshund who had become his ally.

Kanbei shook his head, hoping to stop the tears that were threatening to rise up from his throat. He must go now. If he didn't, he would just find himself trudging back to camp.

But then, there was the sound of jingling in the air. The whoremaster's gentle brown eyes widened in surprise, as Shichiroji emerged from behind the rocks, riding Thanatos. There were similar packs slung on the stallion's saddle. Fitted to the horse as well were ropes tied to the harness of a tiny cart behind him.

"Shichiroji?" The Samurai's name was all he could bring himself to say.

"You're not leaving without us, are you, Kanbei?" Shichiroji asked suspiciously, but with good cheer.

Kanbei just found himself bursting into laughter as the heads of Moeru and Chester popped up from the cart. The two animals were nodding in agreement with the Samurai's query, causing the coin pouches around their neck to jingle.

Tilting his head to the side, the whoremaster queried, "Won't Ismail be angry that you have stolen his dog?"

"Actually, the Sultan insisted that I take Chester along with me," the Warrior said, grinning. Scratching his head, he added, "Ismail said that he wouldn't dream of letting Chester be parted from his good friend Moeru. But I think he just wanted to get rid of him." Shichiroji then turned somber. "What about you, Kanbei? Do you want to be parted from us forever? Just one word, and we'll go back to the camp."

The tears that Kanbei tried so hard to hold began to pour from his eyes. "You know that it's going to be difficult for us. Things would be different in our country now. The people may not approve of two men having a relationship."

Shichiroji shrugged. "Well then, perhaps we could show them what it's like to be truly in love. No shame, Kanbei. Wherever you go, I shall follow. And to hell with those who would dare drive us apart."

For a moment, there was only silence between them. Then, smiling, Kanbei raised his right hand to the Samurai. Urging Thanatos toward the concubine, Shichiroji took that offered hand. Together, they faced the light of the horizon, and the unknown that was waiting for them in their homeland.


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