Never Gentle
by Midori Bond

Chapter 4

Kambei looked over his shoulder and couldn't suppress the frown that crossed his face. This was his journey to make, yet Shichiroji and Kirara took it upon themselves to accompany him. While he could understand Shichiroji's desire to be a comfort for his friend, Kirara's constant interfering is starting to border on obsessive. He turned his eyes to Shido and Hotaru. Shido hadn't changed too much from the boy he knew. But the girl, she was a puzzle to him. The feeling that there was something familiar about her grew the longer she stayed silent. Kambei slowed his mount to match Hotaru's and looked at the woman.

Hotaru looked at the great samurai and felt a smile cross her face. "Is there something you're curious about?" she asked kindly. When he blinked at her, she laughed. "Nari has the same look when there is something that bothers her."

The elder Samurai nodded. "What are you to her?" he asked. That was another thing that bothered him about the blonde. She carried another's sword, she knew her personality. It was never easy for a Samurai to allow someone so close. For Kambei, the only person to achieve that honor had been Shichiroji.

"After Seiji-dono died, Grandfather adopted her. We're like cousins," she answered. She glanced behind her, and noticed the hurt look Kirara was giving Kambei's back. "What is Lady Kirara to you?" she asked in turn. When the man frowned, she shrugged. "My apologies. It isn't my place to ask."

"Then why did you?" Kambei asked.

She looked at the setting sun and smiled when she saw the edge of the forest that surrounded her home. "Because it's clear that she is in love with you. You didn't make her stay in Kanna, which leads me to think that you don't mind her being by your side, yet, you have done your best to ignore her."

Kambei lowered his head slightly. Hotaru was a very observant woman. He looked over his shoulder and saw the look Kirara was trying to hide from him. Kambei felt like he was struck. She had never looked at him with such hurt in her eyes. Instantly, he was reminded of his wife. She had that same look when he told her he was going back to the battlefield. A look of betrayal.

"Miroden is only through this patch of trees," Hotaru announced.

Shido looked at Shichiroji and continued his tale. "So, all of the Samurai were rounded up and then issued orders to go to various villages to stop the Nobuseri. I was given a troop of ten and told to come here to Miroden." A small smile crossed his face as he thought about Nari. "When we got here, Jiro-sama told us that if we wanted to fight for them, we would have to follow Nari."

Kambei's eyes were hard as he looked at the forest they were about to ride into. "Then he was a damnable fool for putting her on the battlefield," he said harshly.

"You wouldn't say that if you saw her," Shido said shaking his head. "I've even fought against her. She's a master with that sword of hers."

Hotaru giggled as she looked at Shido. "You call that a fight?" she asked as she rode to Kirara's side. "Even when pulling her blows, Shido-noji still almost ended up getting killed."

"Her blade was designed to kill. Only someone with great skill can not kill with it," Kambei confessed.

Shido frowned. "I wondered about that," he said lowly.

"I don't get it," Kirara said softly.

Kambei inhaled as Hotaru looked at him. He then turned his attention to the young woman at his side. "The sword Nari uses has two blades. With the pair so close together, if someone is cut, the two slices are too close together to be stitched. That way, even if the victim survives a stab wound, they would still bleed to death."

"That's barbaric," the former priestess gasped.

The samurai shrugged as glanced at Kirara. He didn't want to hurt her, but she had to learn what kind of man she was in love with. "It was the best way to ensure that my family survived," he said reasonably.

Kirara looked at him for a long moment. Her heart was torn. She knew she loved him, and she knew that he wouldn't accept her love. It was even possible that he couldn't accept it. But that didn't stop her from still loving him. She turned her eyes to the forest and inhaled slowly. "You never told me you have a wife," she said softly.

"Had a wife," Kambei corrected. "She died during the war."

"I'm sorry," Kirara said glancing at him.

Kambei shrugged as they moved through the forest. "It was war," he said in his calm reasonable tone.

Kirara looked at him and wanted to cry. There was no way he could be so cold towards a woman he had shared his life with. "Would you be so callous if I died?" The question slipped out before she stop it. When cool brown eyes looked at her, she met his gaze without hesitation.

He reached forward and gently caressed her face. He knew he was sending her mixed signals. She was young, inexperienced, ignorant of the ways of a Samurai. She had an entire life to live, he didn't want her chained to him out of some misguided hero-worship. But on the other hand, Hotaru was right. He wanted her by his side. "I wish to never find out," he told her before pulling his hand away from her cheek.

Kirara closed her eyes against the tears that wanted to fall. She could feel the heat of his hand against her skin, even through his gloves. She could see the tenderness in his eyes. But there were times when his cold attitude warred with the man she knew he was. It felt like she was dealing with two different men, and it ripped her heart out.

"If you can't deal with his way, why do you chase him?" Shichiroji asked.

Kirara opened her eyes and looked at the blonde man. Kambei had rode ahead with Hotaru and Shido. She shook her head and frowned. "I can deal with his ways," she said clearly.

"Then why are you crying?" Shichiroji countered. He looked into brown eyes. "You knew Kambei-sama was a samurai. With as many people that he has lost, he still opens his heart to care for others, if he tries not to. When he pushes you away, you come back to him, but when he tries to bring you close, you pull back." He nodded as she had the decency to look ashamed of herself. "Please, Kirara-dono, we are going to meet his daughter. A woman that he thought was dead for the past fifteen years. If she is anything like Shido-noji is saying, Kambei-sama is going to need us to stand at his side and be understanding."

"Do you think I won't be?" she asked.

"I'm telling you that his daughter, a woman older than you, will be filled with rage and hate directed towards him. Some of her animosity may be turned to us. I am making sure you know to brace yourself."

Nari laid still in her bed. For the past three days, Kou had been bringing her food. Momotaru had taken to helping Jiro with whatever he needed. She felt like an invalid and she hated it. Sara was currently letting Kyuzo out of the healing tubes, and that meant that this was the perfect opportunity to get up and walk around.

Nari bit down on her lip as she forced herself to stand. Her muscles were stiff and didn't want to work, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. She only had one month. Jin was going to return, and there could only be one outcome to his visit. She would have to kill him. Nari walked to her door and leaned heavily against the wall. She would not let her injuries defeat her. She pushed her door open and mused as she saw Shen playing guard. "Are you here to tell Sara that I'm up, or to try to put me back in?" she challenged.

Shen smiled as he stood and went to her side. "I was supposed to put you back to bed, but considering how long it's been, and the fact that I would never stand a chance against you in a fight, I'll help you take a walk around the village."

She smiled as he offered his arm to her. Shen had quickly become like a younger brother, and she couldn't help but adore him the same way she did Kou and Kei. As she took his arm, she heard a commotion outside. She frowned as they both started to walk out of Jiro's house. Nari winced as the setting sun struck her eyes. She lifted her hand to shield grey eyes and realized that she wasn't wearing her cowl and headdress. She looked at Shen and frowned as he smiled at her.

"You don't need to cover your face," Shen said easily. "You have scars, as do we all. You don't have to hide them."

"I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable," Nari confessed lowly. She looked towards the forest path and frowned when she saw five battle turtles riding towards them. She could easily make out Shido and Hotaru. What caught her attention was the figure in white riding with them. "No," she whispered shaking her head.

Jiro smiled as he looked at the riders coming to his village. He knew Nari was going to be upset with him for inviting Shimada Kambei to his village, but he would never forgive himself for putting her in danger, and never telling her father that she was alive. Jiro could now let her go without a worry. Nari could live her life as she saw fit, and maybe the older samurai could figure out a way to deal with Jin.

Nari slowly moved away from Shen and walked over to where Momotaru was greeting Shido and Hotaru. She didn't say a word as she ignored them in favor of the tall man she once thought of as a god.

Kambei inhaled sharply as he looked at Nari. The last time he saw her, she was Komachi's size. There was no doubt in his mind. This woman in front of him was his cherished daughter. He reached out to touch her face, only to flinch when she slapped him.

"Leave," she ordered. Her grey eyes were full of hurt as she gazed into his serene expression. Her jaw tightened as he simply stared at her. "I don't need you here, and I don't want you here." She couldn't stand the look of a martyr in his eyes. When he didn't move, she went to strike again. Her eyes widened as he moved away from her. She couldn't stop her momentum and started to fall forward.

Kambei wrapped his arms around her before she could fall. As he pulled her close, he could remember a time when he held her mother in a similar manor. He closed his eyes as she gathered her feet under her. "You look like your mother," he whispered into her hair.

Nari's eyes closed as she breathed his sent. Musk, and spices, it was the same as fifteen years ago. "She always said that I look like you," she said pulling away from him. "Everyone says that I am so much like you." Her voice held bitterness as she pressed her hand to her chest. She looked into his eyes, fighting the tears in her own. "But I don't want anything to do with a man that would abandon his family."

"Kambei-sama would do no such thing," Kirara said, unable to allow this woman to insult him.

When Nari's eyes gave Kirara a vicious look, Kambei stepped in front of her. "This is between me and my daughter," he said quickly.

Nari shook her head. "I haven't been your daughter for fifteen years," she hissed.

He noted the way she was held herself, and remembered what Shido told him. "You're injured."

"Like you care."

"I do."

"Since when?" she challenged. "Since you abandoned us to go to war, after you promised us you wouldn't? Or it was when you promised to return, and never did? Maybe it was when you picked her up?" she asked gesturing to Kirara.

Kambei frowned deeply. "Leave her out of this," he said sharply.

"Why? Am I wrong in assuming that she's with you? She called you by your name, so you aren't her father. Or are you? Do I have a number of siblings out in the world? A countless number of bastards spawned by a bastard samurai." Nari's rant halted when Kambei struck her across her face. She allowed a hiss to escape her as she hit the ground.

"I will allow you to take you anger out on me. But only me," he said furious. Never had he thought that his beautiful little Nari would be so hateful. "There is no excuse for what I did to you and Machiko. Now that I can see you with my own eyes, I see that I should have made sure you survived the carnage."

Nari wiped the thin trail of blood from the corner of her mouth. She didn't have the strength to stand again. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to. "Well, I did survive," she spat, fighting to at least sit up. "I have a life of my own. You can leave."

Kambei felt his jaw tighten as he looked at her. She had the stubborn will of a samurai, there was no doubt about that. As he went to her side, he heard Shichiroji inhale sharply.

The few villagers that crowded around them all quickly parted as Sara made her way to Nari's side. She didn't pay attention to her cousin trailing calmly behind her as she spotted Nari on the ground with a man in white trying to help her. "Nari, you aren't supposed to be out of bed," she said dropping to her knees beside the fallen woman.

"Kyuzo-dono, you're alive?" a blonde stranger questioned.

Kambei's head snapped up. His brown eyes were wide as he looked at the man he thought was dead. As red eyes gazed back at him, he went to stand. Kambei paused when he heard Nari inhale. He looked at his daughter and reached out to help her stand.

"Don't touch me," Nari spat.

"Kyuzo?" Hotaru questioned. Her eyes were wide as she slowly went to his side. When he looked at her, she ran into his arms. "You're back," she cried as his arms tightened around her. "You finally came home."

Sara tucked Nari's hair behind her ear and frowned at the bruise Kambei left there. "Momotaru," she called. "Can you please take Nari back inside?" she asked the tall man.

When he went to pick her up, Nari forced herself to her feet. "I will walk on my own," she told her cousin coldly. She refused to look at her father as she turned to go back to Jiro's home. As she took a step, Nari clutched her chest again. Before she could argue, she felt Momotaru lift her up into his arms. "I'm no cripple," she hissed at him.

"And I won't stand here and let you make Sara cry," he countered as he walked to the elder's home.

Nari looked over her shoulder and saw the girl that came to Miroden with Kambei sliding into the arms of the strange blonde samurai. "Put me down Momotaru," she ordered. When he continued to walk, she growled. "Damn it, I said..."

"I heard you," he said calmly. He carried her into the house and started for her room. "I'm choosing to ignore you," he added. The growl that reached his ears made him smirk. For such a skilled fighter, she was being incredibly childish. His expression soon changed when he felt a familiar wetness on her back. "See, you opened one of your wounds," he said. "I'll have to get Sara in here for this."

"Do you know who that man is?" she asked as he placed her on her bedroll.

Momotaru nodded as he straightened. When she looked at him, he shrugged. "He's Shimada Kambei," he answered. He went to the door and was relieved when he saw Sara entering the house. "She's in here," he called out. He looked at Nari as she simply closed her eyes while sitting up. "You're a lot like him, you know."

Nari slowly shook her head. "I'm nothing like him," she spat.

"You say that because you're upset with him," Momotaru said with a shrug. As Sara entered the room, he bowed respectfully to his commander. "I'll be right outside if either of you need anything."

"I want my sword," Nari said instantly.

"I said need."

"You're being an ass Momo-noji," she said stressing the nickname the children called him.

Dark eyes narrowed for a moment. "And you're being a brat Nari-chan," he smiled before closing the door.

Sara fought the smile on her face as Nari closed her eyes again. "You don't need your sword Nari," she said lowly. She went to kneel next to her, knowing that Nari was trying to keep her temper in check. "Kyuzo's fine now. The extra days in the tube did wonders for him."

"That's good," Nari said softly. She allowed Sara to take off her tunic. "Hotaru looked really excited to see him."

"What would you expect? He is her brother." Sara frowned as she looked at the wound on Nari's back. It seemed as if it stopped trying to heal after she was taken out of the healing tube. "Nari, this is bad," she said softly. "Let me take you back to the tubes."

"No. I can heal on my own," she said, even as her breath became more labored. "I don't want to go back in there."

Sara felt her heart break as she pulled three dried leaves out of her pocket. "Then eat these. It should help slow the bleeding." Before Nari could examine what she was being given, Sara quickly fed her the herbs. She then helped the injured woman to lay on her stomach. "I'll be right back. I have to go and get the extra string and needles."

As she walked out of Nari's room, she heard the younger woman's curse. She looked over her shoulder and smiled as she saw Momotaru watching her. "She's going back to the tubes," she said with a nod.

"Do you know why she isn't healing?" he asked. He frowned as he looked into her tear filled eyes. "Don't worry, Sara-dono. We'll get her healed and then she'll be ready to kill us all."

Sara sighed as she leaned against his chest. "I gave her a sedative. It should hold until we get her back into the caverns." She straightened and rubbed her eyes. "She hates being in the healing tubes, but there's no other option."

Momotaru nodded as he wrapped her into his arms. "We can worry about her feelings when she's healed and your grandfather gives her that damned sword back," he said lowly.

Kyuzo looked at his former traveling companions. He knew they all believed he was dead. He even believed it. Yet here he stood, in his home village, with his little sister clinging to him. His eyes turned to the woman in his arms. When he left, she was only a small child of only eight. Now, she was a blossoming woman. He reached up and gently ruffed her hair. "I'm back," he said soft enough for only Hotaru to hear.

She nodded as she released him. As she wiped her eyes, she looked him over. "You look good," she said, gently caressing the side of his face. When her eyes met his, she wanted to cry all over again. He was standing here, in her arms, but the look in his eyes was that of a complete stranger. "You became a master samurai, I see."

Kyuzo nodded only once. Again, he looked at the trio that travelled from Kanna with her. "Did my sister bring you here for me?" he asked lowly.

Kambei gave him the same blank look Kyuzo was known for. "We were not aware of your survival," he said lowly. "I only came for my daughter." His eyes turned from his rival to the villagers standing around. His eyes then settled on the old man standing quietly with Shido. "You are the one that raised her?" he questioned.

Jiro looked at the noble samurai that calmly walked over to him. "Yes I am," he said with a nod.

"I should thank you. I thought she was lost to me, like her mother." Kambei allowed a troubled look to cross his face. "But I have some reservations on how she was brought up."

Hotaru frowned as she went to stand at her Grandfather's side. "Kambei-sama, please, do not blame my grandfather for Nari. She is her own person."

"She should never have picked up a sword."

"So you keep saying." Hotaru frowned as she took Nari's place between her grandfather and a threat. "But please, tell me, do you even know why she picked one up?" she challenged.

Jiro placed his hand on Hotaru's shoulder. "We did not invite Kambei-sama here to insult him," he said lowly. He looked at his honored guests and bowed his head. "Please, accept our welcome. Hotaru, escort our guests to their rooms. Kyuzo, your room is the same as it was before you left. Do you remember where it is?" he asked looking at his grandson. When the quiet blonde simply nodded his head, the elder frowned. "Alright. Please, honored guests, come inside and have a chance to rest."

TBC...