Pairing: Kanbei x female Kyuzo
Warnings: See Chapter 1
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
The samurai prepared to rest, knowing it might be their last night in the land of the living. They would be attacking the massive flying fortress the next day – with a force of only five.
When Kyuuzou walked towards the spot she had chosen to rest for the night, she passed Komachi and Kikuchiyo resting against the side of the Nobuseri's giant sword. The little girl was lying asleep in Kikuchiyo's lap. The woman warrior's thoughts flashed back to the one night Kanbei held her. She quickly pushed the memory away.
Kyuuzou ran into the dark ronin as she rounded the corner of the wrecked Nobuseri's hull. The two stood staring at each other for a moment, then the man in white stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. As the red-clad warrior found herself pressed tightly against her commander, she felt the unwanted being in her womb stir for the first time. A river of surprise ran through her, followed by searing shame. Once upon a time she had been a simply a warrior - neither a man nor a woman - only a samurai. And one of the best, at that. But because of Kanbei, she was now forced to face the very part of herself she had spent most of her life working so hard to forget.
The crimson warrior placed her pale hands against Kanbei's chest and pushed him back slightly. She looked up into the tall samurai's dark eyes and saw a desperate intensity in his fevered gaze. This was different – different from the first time he embraced her. There was a hint of doubt and hesitation in his eyes then.
"So, now he takes for granted that he could have access to my body whenever he pleases." the proud samurai thought as she sighed.
The commander wished he did not need the excuse of a near-hopeless battle to hold his best soldier in a private embrace. But now it seemed that even this excuse was not good enough.
Kyuuzou pushed the man away gently but firmly. "It would grieve her to see this," the fair-haired samurai stated in an unfeeling voice. Then she walked on.
--
The samurai parted ways with the peasants the next morning. Kanbei instructed Rikichi to take the womenfolk back to Kanna in the Shikimori land speeder. The samurai were to race on to the Capital.
Kirara had long debated whether she should tell Kanbei of her love for him. She held back earlier because she suspected there was someone else on Kanbei's mind. Yet it was only a speculation, not a confirmed fact. And that someone did not seem the least interested in Kanbei, at least not in the same way that the priestess was. When Kirara realized the man she loved was heading off to almost certain death, holding her tongue on account of something that may or may not be no longer made sense. She needed to tell him, "Come back alive! I love you."
As the warriors turned to leave, the water witch called out the commander's name. Kyuuzou's back was to her, as was Kanbei's, but she could tell by the sound of Kirara's voice that the woman was on the verge of tears. The peasant girl began to speak but the white-clad samurai interrupted her without even turning to look at her.
"Do not say a word," he said coldly, "My heart is a blank. Even the smell of water cannot enter it."
Kyuuzou was standing right behind Kanbei when he spoke those words. On one hand the blonde felt a strange relief that Kanbei had openly rejected the priestess. On the other hand, she wondered why she would care.
For the first time, the female samurai was conscious of being jealous of the peasant woman. Ever since that thing had come to life within her, it was almost as if her emotions were no longer quite her own.
Kyuuzou had not altered her outward behavior towards Shimada even after the one night they shared. At least she thought she hadn't. The proud samurai would not change her decision to kill Kanbei in one-on-one combat, but she knew that she had started to feel differently in his presence. Was it because of that undesired creature living inside her?
Kyuuzou pushed her doubts away as she prepared to face the upcoming battle. Soon enough, her troubles would be over, one way or another, she told herself.
--
Heihachi flew ahead to Kanna in the Yakan while the remaining samurai raced towards the Capital on the Nobuseri's flying sword. As Shichiroji piloted the vessel, he gazed ahead at his commander. The dark man's attention was focused on what lay in front of them – the approaching Capital. Or perhaps Kanbei's gaze also rested on the slim red-clad samurai standing at the prow of the flying cutter, Shichiroji thought.
"So, are we using our strategy?" the aide asked the commander.
"Of course we are." Kanbei replied.
Shichiroji paused, then he remarked, "You said those words because of the girl."
Kanbei did not respond. Which girl? The unspoken question entered in his mind. But he knew the answer. Shichiroji and the other samurai did not know Kyuuzou was a woman.
During the time Shichiroji followed Kanbei, the aide had seen many women fall in love with the masterful commander. Shimada always turned them down politely but firmly, without giving any of them a chance to prove their worth, leaving many broken hearts in his wake. Some have called the dark handsome man 'heartless'. Shichiroji once thought it was because Kanbei's mind simply no longer had room for such pursuits. But over the last few months, he was beginning to suspect this was not the case.
"You are just as sinful as before. Only this time you added a lie to the injury," Shichiroji stated.
The older man was still silent. "Is your heart really a blank?" Shichiroji continued. "But the girl knows everything."
Shichiroji had noticed how Kanbei spoke to Kyuuzou. His tone was different. Always considerate, almost solicitous. And there was the way Kanbei's eyes followed that scarlet figure. None of the samurai talked about it, but every one of them noticed. The peasant girl was no fool. She must have seen that too. But why would a man reject a warmhearted, beautiful woman who loves him for a cold, unhandsome man who only desires to kill him? Shichiroji could not understand.
"Stop your nonsense." Kanbei said curtly to his friend. He allowed his eyes to rest on the slender figure standing before him, her long red robe billowing in the wind.
--
When the first flying robot came close enough to her, Kyuuzou leaped onto it. She was only too glad to get off the Nobuseri cutter. Her keen ears had picked up on Kanbei and Shichiroji's earlier conversation. Everyone thought that Kanbei should accept the love of the peasant girl. Perhaps they were right. But then, why should she care? She had no claim on that man. Even if Kanbei and Kyuuzou both survived this battle against the Capital, one of them would be dead soon after anyway. Either Kanbei won't survive to live happily ever after with Kirara, or Kyuuzou won't be around to see them live happily ever after. Why was she even thinking such thoughts? The female samurai was annoyed at herself.
Kyuuzou threw herself into what she did best –fighting and killing. As she flew from mecha to mecha in a deadly dance of death, Kikuchiyo called out, "Not bad! Kyutaro!"
The crimson warrior once again felt confident and in control. She had not felt this way since the time that undesired thing came to life within her. The Capital was right ahead. Kyuuzou made her way up the sky, using the flying Nobuseri as stepping stones to her destination. She wanted to end this battle quickly. After the killing was done here, there were another two lives she needed to take. The tiny life growing within her. And the life of its father. She had not quite decided which one of the two she would end first.