Chapter 14: Never Lovable, Almost Beautiful
Author: Jun-I
Pairings: Kanbei x female Kyuzo
Warnings: See Chapter 1
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Note: In the anime, Kanbei really did have this small smile on his face when Kyuuzou showed up outside the House of the Fireflies. And the look he gave the red samurai… The 'soft look' that Kyuzo gives Kanbei in the House of the Fireflies was also really there in the anime. In this fic, I simply followed canon for most of the Kyuuzou/Kanbei romantic tension within anime events. Kyuuzou and Kanbei really had something going on! Yay for canon-supported couple!
It was night in the House of the Fireflies. Kanbei came upon Yukino and Kirara sitting in the stairwell. The peasant girl was leaning on the older woman's shoulder. Yukino said kindly to her, "Don't worry about him. He choose the path he wanted – to help people and save the village."
"But…" the priestess responded.
"You did not followed him here merely out of concern, did you?" The older woman said gently to Kirara. The priestess did not answer.
"She must be upset that Katsushiro left," Kanbei said to himself. "Well, I'm not exactly pleased that he ran away too."
Kanbei had not meant to drive Katsushiro away. Lately, nothing had been going the way he wanted. "It would have been complicated enough if only Kikuchiyo and Katsushiro followed me to the Capital," the commander thought, "but to make things worse, Kirara had to follow her heart and insist on accompanying the young man. Not only that, she brought the child Komachi along. Now we have two untrained civilians to take care of when violence could erupt at any moment!"
Just then, Yukino turned around and noticed the dark man standing there. "Did you hear what we were saying?" the woman asked, somewhat embarrassed.
"No," Kanbei lied. Then the samurai's sharp ears picked up the sound of metal slicing metal outside. Quickly, he turned and walked towards the door as fast as he could without arousing the suspicion of the two women. Kikuchiyo stepped out into the hallway just as Kanbei hurried past. The robot did not need to ask to know that something was wrong. He fell into step behind the commander.
As Kanbei reached the front entrance of the House of the Fireflies, he heard a hate-filled voice scream, "Kyuuzou –" followed by the sound of sword meeting mecha. He dashed into the courtyard. Kyuuzou was there. Seven crab claw mechas lay in smoking ruins around her. The scarlet samurai swiftly cut down the last one standing just as Kikuchiyo and Kanbei ran up behind her.
"It seems that we have come late." Kanbei approached the female samurai. She did not turn to face him as she stood among the fallen robots. The white-clad warrior examined the mecha. These had flame lighters installed. If the robots had lived a moment longer, they would have torched the House of the Fireflies.
"You came at the right time," he said to Kyuuzou's back.
She spoke without turning to look at him. "These were sent by Ukyo to kill you. I only wish to inform you of this."
Her voice was cold. Yet Kanbei's lips curved into a small smile. She had come to him. Of all the things that had happened lately, this was perhaps the one thing that was going his way.
"Ahhh…. Kyuuzou-dono," Kikuchiyo piped up, "You really care for Kanna Village, although you won't admit it."
"You're mistaken," the woman corrected him coolly. "I am merely waiting for this assignment to end."
It was another reminder to Kanbei of the only thing binding the two of them together – their date with death.
"You're not being at all lovable, are you?" Kikuchiyo boomed at the willowy figure.
No, Kyuuzou had never been lovable, yet Kanbei loved her still. But she did not know that. "And even if she did, she would not care," the dark samurai thought resignedly.
"Be careful," Kyuuzou continued as if she had not heard Kikuchiyo speak at all. "This is one of Ukyo's tactics."
It was then Kikuchiyo and Kanbei saw Ayamaro hiding behind a nearby tree. "Hey there," the mecha called out. "Isn't that the uncle in charge of the rice?"
Kirara came out into the hallway after checking on her sleeping sister. She noticed that the room opposite was brightly lit. Kanbei, Masamune and Kikuchiyo were inside. Kyuuzou was sitting outside in the corridor, right behind Kanbei.
"When did she get here?" The priestess wondered. But she was not too surprised to see the samurai woman. What she did not expect to see was their old foe Ayamaro having his dinner inside the room. Odder still was the sight of the former lord of Kougakyo having a calm conversation with the three samurai.
The young woman walked over and listened to the conversation. Ayamaro told the samurai that the new Amanushi's fair words were most likely lies. "Ukyo eliminates his opponents in secret while he flatters them in public," he warned. And what's more – even as Ukyo gave out free rice to the citizens of Kougakyo, he would probably use the Nobuseri to squeeze the peasants for more rice.
The look on Kanbei's face grew graver. The dark samurai stood up abruptly. Just then, Kyuuzou spoke softly. "It seems that our work is not yet done."
Kirara looked over to her. The older woman was facing away from Kanbei. She had one slender arm draped gracefully over the balcony rail, and was looking somewhat wistfully at the glowing fireflies floating through the garden.
"So it seems," Kanbei said as he turned to rest his eyes on the other samurai's willowy form. "I have kept you waiting. Please forgive me." His voice was gentle as he spoke to the fair-headed warrior.
"Did the Kanbei's tone just take on a degree of tenderness I have never heard him use with anyone else?" Kirara could not help wondering. "Or perhaps it is just my imagination. Kanbei is always kind to the womenfolk. But does Kanbei even know Kyuuzou is a woman?"
Kirara watched the blonde turn at Kanbei's voice. The priestess noticed with some surprise that the stern lines of the female warrior's face were softened by an almost-gentle expression as she looked up at the tall samurai. For just a brief moment, the look in Kyuuzou's red eyes was warm, not cold. Kirara realized that the older woman, who had never been fair of face, was at that moment almost beautiful. Then that vision was gone, replaced by Kyuuzou's usual hard, dispassionate mask. The peasant priestess wondered if she had really seen this other face at all.
Still, Kirara thought she could detect a slight shift in the other woman's energy. But she could not tell exactly what the change was.