Chapter 13: Changes
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Author: Jun-I Pairings: Kanbei x female Kyuzo
Warnings: See Chapter 1
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Acknowledgements: Thanks to elfjune for pointing out that the cannon the peasants used on the Red Spider came from another Red Spider slain earlier by Kyuuzou.
Note: In the anime, Kanbei really had that soft expression on his face when he watched Kyuuzou run into the village. I'm not making this up. ;-)
The Nobuseri attacked under the cover of the rain. Kyuuzou met the Red Spider in the rice fields. She could not let this creature enter the village. The metal monster was big, but the female samurai was faster. She slew it and then rejoined the other defenders in the village. Holding their various stations, the seven fought off waves of attackers until there were none left in sight.
But the battle was not over yet. Heihachi regrouped with Kanbei and Shichiroji in the village square. "Are there any more Nobuseri left?" the mechanic asked.
"There's a Red Spider remaining…" Kanbei replied gravely, peering into the fog. They heard the rumble of distant machines.
"They're coming!" Shichiroji said in a low warning voice. Immediately, the three samurai hid themselves behind a farmhouse."Kanbei-sama, is that the Red Spider?" Shichiroji whispered to his leader.
"It should have seen us by now." The dark man replied. Just then, a quick flash of red caught their eye. Kanbei and Shichiroji turned to see the crimson-clad samurai running out of a side alley. She immediately took cover next to a farmhouse.
"It's Kyuuzou…" Shichiroji remarked. A soft look came into Kanbei's eyes and the vaguest hint of a smile played about his lips for that brief moment he rested his eyes on the woman samurai. Then the two samurai men turned their attention back to the approaching threat. A squad of Yakans was approaching, with the Red Spider close behind them.
The four human samurai and Kikuchiyo emerged from their hiding places to confront the remaining Nobuseri. As Kyuuzou deftly sliced through one Yakana after another, the Red Spider raised its cannon and fired it at Kanbei. It was that moment Katushiro and Gorobei ran into the village square. The silver-haired man with the formidable reflexes rushed in and intercepted the volley before it hit Kanbei. Kanbei was saved, but Gorobei was injured in the resulting explosion.
"Gorobei-dono!" Katsushiro cried out as he ran over to kneel beside the dark man. Blood seeped through the war veteran's clothes. "You cursed Nobuseri!" the child cried, turning towards the monster who had injured his friend. Katsushiro would have rushed at the Red Spider but Kanbei put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"All of you stay out of this," the dark commander said as he strode forward alone to challenge the metal monster.
The two samurai – one machine, one man - dueled with swords until the machine decided to use its gun. Fortunately, the shots missed Kanbei. Gorobei and Katsushiro cried out in disgust at the Nobuseri's dishonorable conduct. But Kyuuzou was not just going to sit there and complain the way men did. The woman took action. In a flash she leaped into the combat zone and sliced off the cannon arm of the red robot.
Years ago, the silent samurai lost a friend to a Red Spider. Kyuuzou was unable to save Makoto then. But she could save Kanbei now. The irony was that she did not even consider Kanbei a friend.
In return for her efforts, the commander had said coldly, "I did not ask you to help me."
"It would annoy me if that thing killed you," the woman replied in an equally icy tone. She did not care what that man thought.
"I was not planning on dying!" Kanbei shot back as he turned away from her and went back into battle.
"Men and their foolish pride!" Kyuuzou thought. They were back to their old ways. The prideful competitiveness of rival fighters. The way of a hawk snatching its intended prey from other predators. She was right. The night had changed nothing.
As Kyuuzou watched, the Nobuseri knocked the sword out of Kanbei's hand and prepared to bring its giant blade down on the disarmed man. The woman rushed forward to stop it but at that moment, she heard another cannon go off. The Red Spider fell. It was the doing of the peasants. They had taken down the Red Spider with a captured gun from the mecha that Kyuuzou had slain earlier in the rice field.
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The outcome of the battle was better than Kyuuzou had expected. All the samurai had lived, except for Gorobei, who did not survive his wounds. Kyuuzou was present when they buried him. The silent warrior had developed a degree of grudging respect for the tall silver-haired man. He was the only one with the courage to tell her what she did not want to hear. Even her lord and uncle Ayamaro dared not cross that line. But still, Kyuuzou was not sure if she could agree with what Gorobei had said about Kanbei's regard for her.
The commander left Kanna right after Gorobei's funeral, telling the samurai he must go alone to the Capital to rescue Rikichi's wife. To Kyuuzou he had said, "I have not forgotten my promise to you, but my work is not yet done. Please wait for me a little longer."
She said nothing in return. Kanbei turned from her and walked down the road leading away from the village. Kyuuzou saw Kirara run after him. The village headman said to the priestess, "Let him go. He has to do what he has to do." Yet the peasant woman still stood there on the mountain road gazing after the tall man's departing figure. She stood there long after the dark ronin had disappeared from view. Wordlessly, Kyuuzou turned away from the sight and went back to her great tree in the forest.
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It was some days after the man had gone when Kyuuzou realized something had changed within her. Another woman would have taken much longer to come to the same realization, but a master warrior like herself could sense the presence of another human's ki. Only this time, the alien presence was living within her own body. A parasite. The memory of the night Kanbei embraced her in the forest came rushing back to her. The proud warrior flushed with shame. Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself. It was still early. It had not yet been two weeks. If she got to Kougakyo there were doctors who could get rid of it safely. But if the weeks dragged into months, she would have to seek help from the healers of the Shikimori people, and their help was never cheap.
The crimson samurai wondered briefly if she should tell Kanbei. Then she asked herself, "What for? So he could pay half of the doctor's bill?" Men were never responsible. They just take their pleasure and leave. The silent samurai had freely taken her pleasure too, at a time she was not quite expecting to live long enough to suffer the consequences. But she could handle this matter on her own. Without him. And even if she wanted to find him, she did not know where he was. No one knew where the Capital was.
Without telling anyone, Kyuuzou left Kanna and headed for Kougakyo. She needed to find a lady's doctor. And soon. When the samurai reached the outskirts of the city, she saw the Capital floating over it. "Is Kanbei there?" the silent samurai wondered. Then she asked herself, "Does it really matter?"
"Probably not," the woman in red thought as she shrugged and approached the city gates.
Kyuuzou heard the news right after she entered the city that was her uncle's domain. Everyone was talking about the dark ronin who tried to assassinate the Emperor and was sentenced to a public beheading. Kyuuzou's cousin, however, had assumed the throne as the new Amanushi before Kanbei's execution date. Shimada, never one to give up, broke free of his shackles at the execution. He tried to take Ukyo's life but was foiled when the young Amanushi publicly pardoned him.
Kyuuzou knew that there would be more to follow. Her cousin was shady and cunning. A public pardon would certainly be followed by private vengeance. For a moment, the crimson samurai thought of finding Kanbei as quickly as possible to warn him, but no, that was not what she came to Kougakyo to do. She had to take care of herself first. Besides, Kanbei should be wise enough to know the dangers of Ukyo.
The samurai woman was searching for a lady physician's office when she came across Ayamaro cowering before three men in a back alley. A man with a mohawk was standing over her uncle. Kyuuzou recognized him as someone in Ayamaro's employ. She rushed in front of her uncle just as the man lifted his sword. The scarlet samurai blocked off the strike with her blade and threw the attacker off Ayamaro. She dispatched the two other henchman, and then looked down at the kneeling coward who had tried to cut down his one-time employer. Kyuuzou sensed there was one more person hidden out of sight, watching them. So she said to no one in particular, "No one is to touch Kanbei. He is mine alone to kill." The hidden henchman could convey this message to Ukyo.
Kyuuzou began walking away, and then with a backward sweep of her sword, she finished off the kneeling henchman. She smiled to herself. The ungrateful bastard had not seen that one coming. The crimson samurai started sprinting down the alley. "Wait," Ayamaro called after his niece. "Kyuuzou, wait!"
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The red warrior really had no wish to be stuck with her former employer for company. "Kyuuzou," Ayamaro was saying. "I'm not going to ask why you left. But your parents became concerned after they did not hear from you for a while. I had to lie to them that you took extended leave to go see the world. I hope you won't put me in that position again. I am responsible for you, in a sense. By the way, you should really write to them soon."
The silent samurai said nothing but she was annoyed to be back under the watchful eye of an older relative. Now it would be difficult for her to remove herself from Ayamaro's company and go visit a gynecologist without inviting awkward questions from her kinsman. And if he learnt anything of her situation, there was no guarantee he would not feel obligated to inform her mother and father. But she could not just leave her lord and uncle defenseless on the streets of Kougakyo, especially not after her unscrupulous cousin had taken power.
The former lord and his niece found themselves in the Entertainment District, seeking shelter for the night. It was then Kyuuzou spotted Katsushiro passing by in the crowd. Kanbei could not be far away. The fair-headed samurai recalled the House of the Fireflies. That was where Kanbei and his band were hiding the last time they were in Iyashi No Sato.