Chapter 4: Committed
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Author: Jun-I
Pairing: Kanbei x female Kyuzo
Notes:
-Kyuzo is a woman disguised as a man. At this point, all the samurai assume that Kyuzo is male, with the exception of Kanbei, who is not sure of Kyuzo's gender.
- Since Kanbei at this point isn't sure if Kyuuzou is male or female, I'm using s/he and his/her to refer to Kyuuzou when taking Kanbei's point of view. When taking Kyuuzou's point of view, I use 'she' since she knows she is female.
Warnings: See Chapter 1
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Kyuuzou calmly slipped her swords back into her S-shaped scabbard. A wrecked Raiden lay before her. She heard Hyogo's cannon discharge but this time, she was ready for him. The woman dodged the cannon balls easily. Then she turned to face the man who had just tried to kill her.
"Kyuuzou, why did you kill that Nobuseri?" the pale man said, "Kanna Village has violated the injunctions of our lord. We should bring a speedy report to Ayamaro."
The woman eyed him coldly. Hyogo then asked mockingly, "Is it because you cannot forget that samurai? I can't believe that you, of all women, would care for a man."
Kyuuzou did not answer him. She would not rise to his baiting.
The pale man laughed unpleasantly. "And of ALL men, you pick this scruffy creature no better than a dead dog. Your uncle would have found you a better match, if you'd just ask him."
The crimson warrior remained silent.
Seeing that Kyuuzou did not seem to appreciate his sense of humor, Hyogo switched to a different tune. "Killing a poor samurai cannot bring you glory. I will keep this a secret from our master. If you stay in Kougakyo, you will have safety and shelter. Come back to us."
Even as he spoke, the Yakans were closing in around Kyuuzou.
Kyuuzou had long disappeared from sight when Kanbei and the other samurai heard a loud explosion. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw a billowing cloud of black smoke rising from behind the sand dunes.
As the four samurai came upon the scene of destruction, they saw the androgynous warrior surrounded by Yakans with drawn swords. "Kyuuzou." That was the first word which escaped Kanbei's lips.
"Did he do all that damage?" Shichiroji marveled as he eyed the fallen Raiden lying near the red warrior.
Then more Yakans appeared, dragging Kikuchiyo with them. Without hesitation, Kanbei ran towards the Yakans, followed by the rest of the warriors.
Kyuuzou turned her head as she heard Kanbei's sword slice through the first Yakan. Had he come for her? No, it was only for his mechanized comrade.
Hyogo fired at Kanbei, but missed. As the four samurai tried to fight their way over to Kikuchiyo, slicing through one Nobuseri after another, Hyogo realized the tide of the battle was turning against him. So he said to the woman, "Kyuuzou! If you wish to fight this man so badly, do so now with me as your judge. If you kill him and come back to us, you will not face any consequences for your actions. But if you die, I will kill him."
Kyuuzou turned to face Kanbei with a small, sarcastic smile on her lips. This was not how she envisioned their final match would be. She would prefer to fight on her own terms, at a time of her choosing. As their eyes met, somehow they understood each other. They both knew that this was just a sham; that Hyogo's hand was on the trigger, waiting for the chance to shoot both of them. Yet they had to play his game for perhaps a little longer. The rival fighters moved their hands to their sword hilts. Then everything happened in a flash.
Kanbei saw Katsushiro launch off the cliff, jumping straight at the Yakan holding Kikuchiyo captive. Kyuuzou heard Hyogo's cannon go off, followed by the battle cry of a child. She spun around and rushed at Hyogo before he could pull the trigger again. With two neat strokes of her twin swords, she fell both the cannon and the pale man holding it.
As Hyogo lay dying, he asked her, "Why?… Kyuuzou?"
"I just want to live a real life," she told him.
His last word to her was "Fool!"
But how could he understand what was in the woman's heart? In name, Kyuuzou was her uncle's enforcer and bodyguard. She did her job well. But sometimes she was not sure if she was protecting Ayamaro or if he was protecting her, the way Father and Mother saw it. As far as they were concerned, she was a precious daughter handed over to a powerful male relative for 'safekeeping'. The only time Kyuuzou felt free was the time she rebelled against her parents and joined the army. Now scarlet warrior had rebelled again. She knew the price would be high. But at least she was free once more.
Betraying her kinsman and employer was not something Kyuuzou had wanted to do. But what she wanted even less was to be something passed from one male protector to another; to be watched over from cradle to grave. Such would not be her fate, not if she could help it.
Kanbei came up behind her. "May I ask you to come with us?"
She would not meet his eyes. But she responded, "When do we leave?"
"Now," he replied.
Just then, the peasant priestess approached Kanbei. "That person is an enemy!" she declared, looking at Kyuuzou.
Kyuuzou glanced at her. As Kirara moved her eyes from Kyuuzou to Kanbei, the red warrior noted that the young woman's expression shifted from hostility to concern. The female samurai realized the girl did not want her here because she saw her as a threat. A threat to Kanbei.
Kirara had looked at her with suspicion just as Gorobei had done. But there was something more in the girl's hostile gaze. Kirara eyed Kyuuzou with the kind of anxiety and animosity that a woman would only use on another woman! Had the peasant girl seen through her disguise too? Kyuuzou frowned.