Ambiguity
Chapter 7: Unspoken Resentment
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Author: Jun-I
Pairings: 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, Heihachi and Gorobei entered the village and found the three peasants and the other samurai already there. They met at the chief's house and there it was decided that the samurai would stay with Rikichi during their time in Kanna.

When night came and the samurai settled into their makeshift bed chamber in Rikichi's barn, Kanbei noticed that Kyuuzou was missing. He was not too surprised. It was obvious to anyone who had met Kyuuzou even briefly that the scarlet samurai was proud, aloof, and not very sociable. Still, Shimada wondered where s/he was.

Kanbei had hoped that the journey to Kanna would have broken the ice between the cold samurai and his/her two traveling companions at least. But it seemed that all that had happened was that Kirara and Kyuuzou put their enmity aside and replaced it with a degree of mutual trust. That in itself was an achievement, Kanbei told himself. He should not have expected too much. The silent warrior probably needed more time to warm up to the rest of the team.

The next day, Kanbei assigned the samurai their duties. Heihachi was to build the weapons systems. Shichiroji took charge of the fortifications. And Kyuuzou was to teach the men of the village how to use the bow. Kanbei was sure the scarlet samurai gave him a steely glare when s/he received her/his orders. If looks could kill, Shimada Kanbei would have been a dead man.

"Why is Kyuuzou so angry at me?" The tall warrior wondered. Was the master swordfighter a poor archer? All samurai had archery training, but some had much worse aim than others.

The leader secretly observed Kyuuzou's archery sessions. It turned out that his worries about Kyuuzou's skill with the bow were unfounded. Shimada put aside his question as to why Kyuuzou was annoyed at him for giving him/her such a duty. The leader had other things to think about, other pressing duties to attend to.

In the days that followed, Kyuuzou continued to keep to himself/herself and did not speak with the samurai more than was needed. S/he still did not sleep in the same room with them. Kanbei wondered where s/he spent his/her nights.

Yet Kanbei noticed that the strange red warrior was actually somewhat more friendly towards the villagers than towards the other samurai. Kyuuzou's near-cordiality extended not just to the men s/he was training in archery, but also towards the peasant women. Once or twice, Kanbei saw Kyuuzou in conversation with Manzou's tomboyish daughter Shino. But by all appearances, the fair-headed samurai was cautious around the village women and never crossed the line into what might be construed by anyone as impropriety.

Shimada was most intrigued by the strange samurai. The dark ronin wished he could understand what lay behind Kyuuzou's silent exterior. He decided to start with finding out where Kyuuzou slept at night. One evening, as always, Kyuuzou got up and left silently after the group had finished their dinner. Kanbei excused himself shortly later and stepped out of Rikichi's house into the cool evening air. He followed after the red figure who was already quite some distance ahead. Kyuuzou walked right down the wide path cutting a swath through the forest. Then s/he turned off the path and headed into the trees. When s/he reached the ancient redwood tree, s/he sat down under the giant trunk and lay her/his back against it.

Kanbei slowly and silently came up behind her/him. S/he spoke without turning to look at him. "Why are you following me?"

The older samurai was not surprised that his presence had been discovered. He had always been impressed with Kyuuzou's sharp senses. Kanbei slowly rounded the tree. "I am concerned about your outdoor sleeping arrangements," he said as he came to a halt in front of the scarlet samurai. "I am willing to work with the villagers to find you more comfortable accommodations. "

"This suits me just fine." Kyuuzou answered in a chilly tone. "I like my solitude."

This was her honest answer, and it was also a hint to the man that he should leave. But he did not. Kanbei continued speaking. "It is not always safe out here. Come back to the village with me. We will find you a different room. For you alone."

"I do not wish for better accommodations than the rest of the samurai." Kyuuzou replied, "It would not be fair."

The quiet loner had a point. Kanbei knew that he would not win this argument. At least not tonight.

"Sleep well," he said to the scarlet warrior as he turned to leave. "But if you ever change your mind, don't hesitate to tell me."

"I won't change my mind." Kyuuzou said curtly to Kanbei's back.

The dark ronin paused for a moment. Then he turned back to look at him/her. "If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

Kyuuzou said nothing as s/he stared at him with cold red eyes. Kanbei sighed inwardly, then he started walking away. Suddenly, Kyuuzou's deep voice sounded behind him. "I want to train the women to be archers too."

Kanbei stopped in his tracks. He turned slowly and looked at the slender androgyne. He had said to him/her a few days earlier "Train the MEN of the village in archery." Was that why Kyuuzou was angry with him?

"If everyone is in training, who will do the work of the village?" Kanbei asked the samurai who was sitting against the tree.

"Is there a rule that says the men can't do the work of the village while the women train to be defenders?" Kyuuzou retorted.

"You are challenging old customs here." Kanbei replied, "We came here to fight a battle, not to change traditions. And men are more suited for the task of war than women are."

"You are the one who said that the numerical odds are against us," Kyuuzou responded, "Does it not make sense then to have as many trained defenders as we can have? Don't speak to me of the 'weaker sex'. These women are farmers used to hard labor, and some of them are bigger, taller and stronger than Katsushiro. If you are willing to let that child go into battle, there is no reason you cannot let grown women defend their own homes."

There were so many other ruder things she could have said to that man, but that thick-headed chauvinistic fool would probably not understand anyway, Kyuuzou thought.

Kanbei looked down at the crimson warrior with an unreadable expression. Kyuuzou stared back at him with cold, unblinking eyes.

"Very well," the commander finally said, "If any of the village women have permission from their men folk, you can train them as archers. But I caution you not to overstep your limits and recruit women against the will of their men folk. If I receive any complaints from the villagers about your conduct, I will ask you to stop. And at that time you will obey me, without question, and immediately. Is that clear?"

Kyuuzou was up on her feet in a flash. "Permission from men folk, indeed!" she thought. She would have slapped Kanbei. Hard. But the samurai held her hand back. Instead she closed the distance and stepped right into Kanbei's personal space. Their faces were just two inches apart. Kyuuzou looked up into the male samurai's eyes with a taunting, challenging stare. But her voice was even and neutral as she said to him, "Thank you for your permission."

Kanbei thought he detected a hint of biting sarcasm in Kyuuzou's seemingly dispassionate tone. What was more clear was the slender androgyne's unexpectedly aggressive body language. Kyuuzou's posture was invasive, even intimidating. The dangerous warrior was right in his face, glaring at him. Kanbei knew that Kyuuzou was more than a little angry. But even so, the old soldier could not stop his mind from wandering as he tried to keep himself from drowning in those angry scarlet eyes. The other samurai was close, so close. Their lips would meet if Kanbei just dipped his head a little lower. Then the usually composed commander was ashamed of that thought.

Kanbei stepped back, increasing the distance between him and the smaller warrior. His eyes lingered on Kyuuzou's pale face for a little longer, then he turned and walked briskly into the night. Kyuuzou smiled a small, wry smile at the departing figure. The samurai woman had challenged the commander and he had backed down. She had won, at least for now.