Ambiguity
Chapter 5: Rendezvous at the Rock
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Author: Jun-I
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
It had not been a pleasant journey, but at least they had survived. Kirara's constant competitiveness and cattiness had annoyed the female samurai to no end, but Kyuuzou put her irritation at the younger woman aside when danger came. She had rushed between Kirara and the Nobuseri, saving the girl from certain death. The robot was quickly put out of commission by Kyuuzou's twin swords. The crimson warrior, however, sustained an arm wound in the fight.
The samurai woman did not stop to fuss over her injuries, but was the first to press ahead on the road to Kanna. Finally, the three reached the agreed meeting place under the wing rock. No one else was there yet. Kyuuzou sat down some distance from the rock, facing away from Kirara and Shichiroji. She meditated in silence for some time. Then she heard the peasant priestess' approaching footsteps.
"I'm sorry I was a burden to you." The voice was kind, apologetic.
Kyuuzou looked up at Kirara suspiciously, wondering if the younger woman's cattiness would suddenly resurface. But Kirara smiled down at her. "If you are willing, I could repair your robe. It is the least I could do."
Kyuuzou looked around carefully. Shichiroji had disappeared. "He went to relieve himself," the water priestess said, as if reading Kyuuzou's thoughts. "He said he would be gone for a while."
With some relief, Kyuuzou gingerly removed her robe, taking care to keep her back to the other woman. She felt Kirara's eyes studying her slender figure as she undressed. Kyuuzou wondered if the other girl knew. But how could she ever guess? The female samurai was as trim and flat-chested as a man.
Kirara said nothing as she took Kyuuzou's red robe. The peasant took out her sewing kit and began her work. For a while, the two women sat side by side in silence. All these years, living in the world of men, Kyuuzou had maintained her steely aloofness as a defense against unwelcome attention. Perhaps it wasn't necessary now. She felt a tiny degree of warmness towards the peasant girl. After the priestess finished her work, she handed the dress back to the samurai, saying, "Thank you for saving my life."
"You're welcome," Kyuuzou replied, putting her robe back on.
It was then the priestess asked, "You're a woman, aren't you?"
Kyuuzou 's eyes widened just a little. The samurai stared at the priestess, unsure of what she should do next. Kirara continued, "You can fool others with your external appearance, but a water priestess can feel the quality of someone's inner energy. A woman's energy pattern is distinct from a man's."
Kyuuzou said nothing.
The priestess continued. "If I thought you were a man, would I be sitting here next to you, without a chaperone present, sewing your clothes while you were partially undressed? That would not be appropriate conduct for a woman of my position. What other people think or say is one thing, compromising my own standards of propriety and discretion is another."
Kyuuzou glanced behind them and then said, "… As to what other people think… everyone is watching us right now."
The rest of the seven samurai, along with Rikichi and Komachi, had arrived at the wing rock and were looking in on Kirara and Kyuuzou's exchange. Fortunately, they were outside hearing range. Kirara smiled at her, "Never mind them. They can think whatever they want, but rest assured, I won't tell your secret to anyone."
A small smile stole across the cold warrior's face. For that brief moment, the two women felt something akin to friendship pass between them.