Chapter 12: Before the Storm
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Author: Jun-I
Pairing: Kanbei x female Kyuzo
Warnings: See Chapter 1
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Kyuuzou was lying against her favorite tree. The samurai was not really asleep. She always rested in a state of half-sleep while keeping her senses trained on her surroundings. It was not possible for a lone woman to sleep in peace. There could be danger in the night.
The sound of a snapping twig told her someone was approaching. The crimson warrior had her sword out of its sheath and pointed at the intruder in a blink. She opened her eyes and noted with relief it was just the child. "Do you want to die?" she asked curtly.
"I… I just want to tell you that you were great!" Katsushiro said with shining eyes. Then he bowed and trotted off.
The master swordswoman smiled as she closed her eyes once more. She was probably the only woman in Kanna whom little boys wanted to grow up to be. Then the lone warrior became aware of another presence in the woods. It was not Katsushiro. It was a familiar presence. One she had felt many times before.
"Come out already," she said to no one in particular.
The tall samurai with long flowing hair came into sight like an apparition between the trees. Kyuuzou said nothing as she watched him approach. Wordlessly, the dark, handsome man knelt down at her side. Thus the two seasoned soldiers looked each other in the eye on the eve of a great battle. They did not need to speak to know what the other thought.
They were facing enormous odds. Taking on 30 Yakans and Tobitos would be within their capabilities. But there were many more foot soldiers remaining. Not to mention the two surviving Raiden and the Red Spider. Earlier, Kyuuzou had taken care not to mention the giant mecha in front of the peasants and young Katsushiro. Kanbei noticed that. It was a deliberate omission. Yet it was not intended to deceive. No one had forgotten the giant robots they saw inside the Nobuseri ship. And the peasants too, had seen them before.
Kanbei gazed at the other samurai's expressionless face. Victory was not impossible, but one small misstep may cost Kanna everything. Still, they had to do their duty, or die trying. There was quite a good possibility both of them would be dead before the sun set on the next day. Kanbei knew that if he did not reach for what he truly desired now, he might never have the chance again. With that thought, the dark ronin leaned closer to the crimson samurai.
Kyuuzou had just returned from spending more than a day in the shadow of death, following their mechanized foes. She even mocked Death and survived when she risked exposure to kill the Raiden. But the warrior knew she might not be so lucky the next day. Standing in the twilight zone between life and death, the notions of love and hate did not seem to matter at that moment. It felt as if she and Kanbei were the only two people left in the world.
That night, in the presence of her rival, the cold warrior felt strangely different, almost warm. So she did not refuse the dark man when he tentatively embraced her. Kyuuzou merely eyed him with cool curiosity. She did not resist when he went on to fumble with her red dress. She was indifferent, at least for the moment. "So, what move would my rival make next?" the idle question flitted across her mind.
Yet after the man had slipped her dress off her slim shoulders, she could no longer remain indifferent. It was time to get even, she thought. The female samurai turned and pushed the older warrior roughly against the tree. Kyuuzou straddled the dark ronin and started pulling his clothes off rather roughly. They were still competitors in a game for control. He laughed and let her do as she pleased.
The commander gazed up at Kyuuzou's pale face as she trailed her fingers across the scar on his chest. The younger warrior stared down at him with challenge in her eyes. Her hands stilled.
"This changes nothing," she said coolly to him. "I will still kill you when the time comes."
"I accept your terms," the other samurai replied calmly. Then he reached up and pulled the strong, slim body down to himself.
Kyuuzou watched as the dark-haired man ran his hands over her scarred chest. He did not seem either revolted or overly interested. Shimada continued to gaze into her eyes with an expression that looked almost like longing. His hands moved lower. Even then, she did not flinch. Kyuuzou was almost surprised at herself. For once in her life, she did not feel disgusted at being desired. How strange.
The fair-haired samurai felt a pang of jealousy when she wondered how many others he had before her. But she pushed the thought away. This was a brief moment of stolen pleasure in the calm before the storm. None of this had any meaning beyond two warriors trying to feel alive in the shadow of death.
That night, she allowed herself a few hours of real sleep while he kept watch by her side.
Kanbei remembered the moment when they both knew he now knew that she was not a man. "If I had known you were a woman, I would not have struck you," he had said to her.
She replied rather detachedly, "Woman or man, a soldier is still a soldier. It should make no difference to a commander."
Now the dark ronin looked down at the pale woman lying asleep beside him. Until a few hours ago, he was not certain if Kyuuzou was a man or a woman, but it did not matter to him as far as his desire for the strange samurai was concerned. Either way, Kanbei had wanted to hold the scarlet warrior since the day he first saw her.
The commander finally had his wish, but tasting the cold warrior only made him feel hungrier, emptier, lonelier. He had held her close, but even then she had been distant. She felt his heated flesh against hers, yet her eyes remained cold. He had claimed her body, but her heart seemed unreachable.
Not long later, the warrior beside him slowly opened her eyes. Kanbei watched those scarlet orbs come into focus – for a moment, there was uncertainty, even a hint of vulnerability in those usually sharp, cold eyes. But it was just for a moment. When she met his eyes, her characteristically cool, unreadable mask slid into place.
"Sleep," he said to her kindly.
"No, you sleep," she answered curtly. "I'll keep watch."
"I'm fine," he replied. "Sleep some more."
"It is in everyone's interest that you're well-rested and wide awake when the battle comes." Something in her tone left no room for argument. The commander obeyed her.
Kyuuzou watched the dark man as he rested beside her. Then the crimson warrior realized that the time she lay in Kanbei's arms was the first time in her life she had ever felt at home in a woman's body.
The white-clad samurai did not sleep for long. He awoke when the storm started. Sheets of rain blew through the forest. Sheltered by the great tree, the two samurai were spared the brunt of the storm. Even so, he put his scarf over her head and wrapped his arms around her. Kyuuzou neither acknowledged nor refused his gesture.
Then the crimson samurai felt tremors in the earth. The Nobuseri were approaching. She informed her commander, then she left him to run to her assigned position in the rice field furthest from the village. As Kyuuzou zipped through the woods, she spotted Kirara on her way to find Kanbei.
The red-clad woman felt a twinge of guilt. Kirara had been true to her word and kept Kyuuzou's secret. Yet the fair-headed samurai had done something that would grieve the priestess if she knew. Kyuuzou had long noticed how desperately the peasant woman's eyes sought after the dark-haired samurai. It bothered the keen-eyed warrior. Kirara and Kyuuzou were certainly not close friends the way two women could be, but they had been through a perilous journey together and developed a certain respect for each other.
Yet she told herself what happened the night before meant nothing. She laid no claim on that man. Besides, the priestess had understood all along that whatever almost-friendly feelings lay between the two women, the samurai would have no regard for Kirara's heart when it came time for her to duel and kill Kanbei.