Never
Gentle
by
Midori Bond
Chapter 5
Jin watched quietly as a young woman poured him a goblet of wine. His expression was bored as he looked at the harem he acquired over the years. All of the women were beautiful. Each one of them a flower from various villages he had done business with in the past. Each of his little blossoms were important to him, but for some reason, a masked woman from a small fishing village, captivated him. He had seen Nari with and without her cowl on. She was a vision, even if she didn't think so. The scars on the side of her face could be easily dealt with. With their technology, it would be no problem to graph a layer of skin over the side of her face.
The young woman serving him frowned when he sighed. "Is there anything wrong Master?" she asked in a soft voice.
He turned his attention to her and gently touched her hand. "I'm afraid I'm obsessed, Tenshi," he said before kissing her knuckles. Tenshi had been by his side for more years than he could care to count. He felt perfectly comfortable telling her about the workings of his mind. She already decided to never leave his side, no matter who he chose to share his bed with.
She lowered her head as she sat at his feet. "The woman from Miroden?" she questioned. "The one that hides her face?"
Jin smiled as he thought about Nari. "Yes," he said with a sigh. "But I'm afraid that I will have to be a little rougher on her than you other girls."
Tenshi frowned, though she tried to hide it from her lord. "Why is that?"
"She does not know her place as a woman," Jin said shaking his head. "While I will admit, that is one of the things that drew me to her, she is too wild. She believes that she is Samurai. I can't have any of my flowers carrying swords and trying to fight and kill."
"She has killed Lord Jin?"
He gently caressed her hair, hearing the disdain in her voice. "Yes, she has had to kill in order to survive." He tilted her face up to his and gently kissed her lips. "But you don't have to worry. When she comes here, I will teach her where she belongs."
Sara looked at the sensors to Nari's healing tube and frowned deeply. Nari had been poisoned by the claw that tried to kill her. The slow acting poison would have never allowed her blood to clot so she could heal outside of the tanks, and that thought chilled her. Jin could have easily killed her without knowing it, if he had succeeded in taking her.
"Anything positive to report?" Momotaro asked as he walked into the cavern. He looked at the woman and saw the way she was totally focused on her work. That was one of the things he was learning to admire about her.
Sara shook her head. "No." She moved around the tube and continued to look at the statistics it was giving her. "Whatever this poison is, won't break down enough for me to get rid of it."
Momotaro slowly inhaled. "Kambei-dono wants to come here and see her." He looked at the doctor and frowned when she growled. "Sara, he is her father."
Green eyes flashed at him. She was still angry with the great samurai for striking his daughter. "He hasn't been her father for fifteen years," she snapped. "He thinks she should be a meek little thing that bows her head to the man she's married to. Instead, he has Nari, and when she says something he doesn't agree with, he knocks her to the ground."
Momotaro wanted to wrap her in his arms, but knew, she would never accept him. "She'll be fine," he told her with a shrug. "Nari-dono isn't one to let something like a little poison beat her."
"It's not just poison," Sara nearly shouted. When he looked at her, she wrapped her arms around her body and held herself. She didn't fight the strong arms that pulled her close to comfort. "Jin would have killed her if he took her from here," she said quietly. "If he takes her next month, he'll destroy her."
Neither noticed the four samurai that quietly neared the chamber they were in. Kambei frowned deeply as he looked at Kyuzo. The blonde wanted him to come here to see his daughter, and to see what others thought of the female samurai. But as he listened to Sara, he knew that there was something else he was going to hear, even if he didn't want to.
"Who is this Jin guy?" Momotaro asked.
Sara shook her head and slowly pulled away from him. "He's a merchant. The merchant that all other merchants want to be. He has enough power to control Nobuseri. He's nearly unstoppable. When the Nobuseri came here to for our fish, Nari fought with them. She fought her way to Jin himself, and they bargained." She shook her head and rubbed her arms again. "I don't know what was said between them. When she came back, she said that we would give the Nobuseri twelve bushels of fish, and I would go to Kyogakyo to learn medicine."
"He doesn't seem half-bad," Momotaro said lowly.
"No. It wasn't half bad at all. After I learned all I could, Jin allowed me to return here, and we all built this here." Sara motioned around them. She looked at her cousin and felt her heart sink as she watched Nari. "Did you know that Nari's claustrophobic?"
Momotaro frowned deeply as he looked at Sara. "Is that why you keep her sedated while she's in there?"
A small, guilty smile crossed Sara's face. "Yes. Mentally, she would never survive being locked in one of these tubes. We tried once. Her screams were so horrible, I knocked her out after only a few minutes."
Dark eyes continued to watch her. "What do you think will happen to her if Jin takes her away?"
Sara looked at Momotaro. "She's my cousin, and I love her as such. My grandfather allowed her to fight, and to learn the ways of a samurai. As often as Nari protected us from danger, no one has looked after her. I know what Jin is planing, and I know that if he did manage to steal Nari away, he would destroy her."
"How?" Kambei asked, unable to remain quiet.
Sara turned to him and frowned. "What are you doing down here Kambei-sama?" she asked, barely keeping the growl out of her voice.
"I wanted to see how Nari was doing," he answered. When green eyes looked at him, he walked closer to where Nari was lying unconscious. "We overheard your conversation."
"I see," Sara said before moving across the room. She went to adjust the sedatives that were going into Nari and sighed. "There is a lot you don't know about your daughter," she said lowly. She turned and saw that Kyuzo, Shichiroji and Shido were all in the chamber as well. Her frown deepened as she looked at her cousin. His eyes were focused on the woman in the healing tube. "And it isn't my place to tell you everything that she's lived through."
Kambei frowned as he turned to look at the medic. "What would you suggest I do?" he asked with a sigh. "Leave? Then every lie that she's believed about me would be correct." When Sara's eyes widened slightly, he continued. "I will stay here until I can have a real conversation with her," he said before turning and moving to the opening of the chamber.
"Do you know that you're as big of a danger to her sanity as Jin?" Sara asked while rubbing her eyes. When everyone looked at her, she sighed. "As strong as she tries to be, Nari isn't. I've yet to see anyone that can match her skills with a sword, yet, she doesn't know who she is."
"What do you mean?" Kyuzo asked, startling everyone.
Sara looked at another of the tube's readouts. "Her nature is that of a Samurai. But at heart, she is a young woman, never given a chance to grow. And then, at each turn, she's told that she doesn't know her place." She tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed. "Her mind could snap like a twig with the right pressure."
Momotaro saw the way her hands were starting to shake, and went to her side. "What does that say?" he asked quietly.
Sara shook her head. She wasn't used to dealing with so many questions. "I need air," she said before quickly moving to leave the chamber.
The five men looked at each other for a moment. Kyuzo looked at the monitors and frowned deeply. He knew Sara knew what she was doing, but what he was seeing shouldn't have been right. The medications and sedatives Nari was being given were in such a combination that it could kill her if not watched. He looked at Kambei for a long moment. "Leave her be."
Kambei looked at the blonde with heated eyes. "I won't abandon her again," he said in a hiss.
Shichiroji put his hand on Kambei's shoulder. "No one's saying that. How about we find out more about the village and Nari?" he suggested. When the older Samurai looked at him, he gave him a lopsided grin. "We can ask around, and see what the last few years of her life has been like."
Shido nodded as he looked at Momotaro. "Momotaro, can you please go after Sara. She needs to monitor Nari."
The large man nodded and left the chamber. Shido ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He knew that there was next to no reasoning with Kambei, and he really didn't know if he wanted to. From the few minutes he had spent in Kyuzo's company, he didn't want to think about trying to get him to leave. He was stuck.
"What are all of you doing in here?" Hotaru asked with her hands on her hips. Her garnet eyes flashed as she went to Nari's side. "Don't you know that it's dangerous to bother Sara when she's trying to work with Nari?"
"What would happen if Nari-dono woke up in one of these?" Kyuzo asked.
Hotaru's lips pressed into a thin line. "You don't want to know," she said darkly.
"I do," Kambei said sternly. He looked at Hotaru, meeting her harsh gaze. "I need to know if she is as fragile as Sara-dono was saying."
Hotaru inhaled slowly. All of them would get no where if they continued to push Kambei away from Nari. "Actually, Sara doesn't even know the half of Nari's problems." She adjusted one of the medications as she gathered her thoughts. "When her home was attacked, her mother locked her in a small compartment under their home."
Kambei nodded. "A rescue tunnel," he said lowly. "But those collapsed."
"Yes. But the idea was for her to hide. Not escape." Hotaru gently touched the glass over Nari's heart and held back a sigh. "It was raining, and the damn broke. Seiji-dono said that Nari almost drowned, trapped under her own home."
"How did she get out?" Kambei asked in a whisper.
Hotaru closed her eyes. Nari was going to hate her for telling him everything, but there was no other choice. "The man that killed her mother, found her." She turned towards one of the machines and went to adjust another knob. When she noticed the way her hands were shaking, she stopped and wrapped her arms around her body. "He forced himself on her," she continued, knowing that Kambei needed to hear what she had to say. He had to know what shaped Nari into the woman that she was. "As she tried to fight him, he gave her that scar, calling it a brand of ownership."
Kambei leaned against the wall, feeling as if he had been struck. His eyes went to his daughter, floating in the same life saving fluids that kept the former Amanushi alive for so long. "When did she pick up her sword?" he asked breathlessly.
Garnet eyes looked at him. She could see the pain he was going through, and was glad. As a man, he should be ashamed, and as her father, he should hurt. Suffer as much as Nari did. Hotaru wiped at her eyes and went back to overlooking Nari's vitals. "When he was finished," she answered. "She was able to get a hold of the sword sticking in her mother's neck, and killed him with it."
Shichiroji frowned as Kambei went next to Nari. "How did she come here?"
"Her uncle," Hotaru and Kambei said at the same time. As they looked at each other, Hotaru smirked. "Seiji-dono was well known, and so he brought her here to hide her."
"When did he die?" Kambei asked quietly.
"About ten years ago." Hotaru then turned her focus on her older brother. "Five years ago, she stepped into the roll of becoming Heir of the Elder." Her head lowered slightly when Kyuzo looked at her with neutral eyes.
"That was when she started to deal with Jin," Kyuzo accused.
Hotaru nodded. "Sara only knows about Nari's claustrophobia. She knows nothing about the rape, Nari's scar, or why she prefers to sleep through the early morning."
Kambei continued to look at Nari. He placed his hand on top of the tube, just over where her hands were placed over her chest. "How long will she have to stay in here?" he asked lowly.
Hotaru shrugged. "Whenever Sara says it's okay," she answered. She looked at the men around her and fought back a sigh. "Listen, I don't want to be rude, but you all will have to leave Sara to take care of Nari. She knows how to keep Nari under long enough to heal."
Without a word, Kyuzo turned and walked out of the chamber. He was in debt to Nari. From what he was learning, she was responsible for the survival of his home. The corners of his lips turned down on his normally stoic face. He didn't like being in debt to anyone. Especially someone he didn't know. As he left the caverns, he saw the familiar figure of his grandfather walking towards him. He slowly inhaled as the old man came to a stop in front of him.
"You have achieved your goal," Jiro said clearly. His eyes stayed focused on Kyuzo's. "You are a samurai without equal."
"No." It was a simple answer that he hated. But it was the truth. "I still haven't killed Shimada Kambei."
Jiro's eyes darkened. "You would kill the father of the woman that protected us all?" he asked.
Kyuzo didn't want to have this conversation with him. He didn't want to be in this village with him. He moved to walk past his grandfather, only to stop when an old wrinkled hand grabbed his wrist.
"What happened to you Kyuzo?" Jiro asked quietly. "You were never like this."
The samurai kept his back to his grandfather. How did he explain what he had become? How did he explain that he held no shame for it? He wanted to become a samurai. He became one. In an age when most are lower than peasants, he became a bodyguard and assassin to a merchant. "I was learning to live," he said quietly.
Jiro felt his heart break as he watched this stranger with his grandson's face walk away. "Now that you are healed, will you be leaving again?" he asked.
Kyuzo stopped walking. He honestly didn't know how to answer. Ruby eyes glanced over his shoulder and looked at his grandfather. If it were anyone else, he would have simply walked away. But he knew he wouldn't be able to do that to Jiro. "Hotaru looks like Mother," he said, easily changing the subject.
"She does. But she has the same urge that you do." Jiro moved closer to Kyuzo, still stunned that he could do so. He saw the way the younger man's fists tightened and shook his head. "She wants to see the world. I fear that she wants to leave our little village and go off on some grand adventure."
"Why does she stay?"
"Nari," Jiro answered simply. He felt Kyuzo's eyes on him and shrugged. "Hotaru looks up to her."
Kyuzo felt his frown deepen. He didn't want to think that he also owed Nari for taking care of his little sister. "Everyone thinks highly of her," he commented.
Jiro nodded. "She has done remarkable things these past few years." He walked around the still samurai and looked into his eyes. "I would like for you to stay, Kyuzo. Even if you don't wish to be my successor. I want you to at least get to know the one that will take my place." He stood silently as Kyuzo simply walked around him, and back towards the village.
A young Samurai calmly walked into the highly furnished tea room of the local merchant. He could only watch as a young geisha showed him to his seat.
"My name is Kaeko," she said softly. "Lord Jin will be with you in a moment."
Teal eyes narrowed. "Why would he invite me here if he was going to make me wait?" he snapped.
Kaeko could only smile. "Lord Jin is a law onto himself," she reasoned. "I never tried to figure out his motives."
The samurai snorted as she fixed him a cup of tea. He didn't want to be in this fortress. There were too many memories of this place. "Someone should," he mumbled.
"Are you volunteering Katsu?" Jin asked playfully.
Kaeko lowered herself in a bow, while Katsushiro frowned. "Why did you summon me here?" he asked.
Jin smiled as he sat across from the young man. "I heard about what you did in Kanna Village." Jin kissed Kaeko's hand after she gave him a cup of tea. "Little Katsu's finally growing up I see."
"If you're going to insult me, I'll leave."
"Relax, I have a job offer for you." Jin looked into confused teal eyes and continued to smile. "I would like for you to come work for me."
Katsushiro slowly shook his head. "I have no desire to become a merchant. That was why I left in the first place."
Jin sighed tiredly and waved his hand. "Yes, yes. And you took Mother's maiden name to find your own path, I know, I know." He leaned forward and looked at the angered man in front of him. "Hear me out Niichan."
"Do not call me that," Katsushiro all but hissed.
Jin rolled his eyes and continued. "Listen to me. With the Amanushi gone, the merchant's entire government is falling apart. I can easily step in and take over things. It wouldn't be a problem really. But I need people I can trust, beside me." He saw the protest in Katsushiro's eyes and shook his head. "I want you to be my personal bodyguard Katsu."
The younger man froze. Of all the things he expected his brother to say, that wasn't one of them. "I... I'm Samurai," he said in a small voice. His hand tightened around the sword his former mentor had given him. He didn't want to betray the man. He couldn't.
"Now is the time of the Merchant Katsu," Jin said, ignoring the motion, and the emotions in his brother's eyes. "The samurai are all but extinct. Most are poor and homeless. You were bought by rice." Jin saw something else flicker behind teal orbs, but continued to prove his point. "But there are a few Samurai, that still live with honor, that serve as bodyguards. What is so wrong with you joining their ranks?"
Katsushiro looked away from the table in front of him. Did he want to become his brother's bodyguard? Jin was right. There were no more battles for him. Not with the Nobuseri destroyed and Ukyo dead. He could go back to Kanna at any time, but to watch Kirara moon over Kambei was too much to bear. He also didn't want to think of the four graves on the cliff. Katsushiro slowly inhaled as he turned to look at his brother and the geisha at his side. "Fine. I'll stay."
TBC...