Synopsis: Changing circumstances force the usually cool-headed samurai to make a decisive move.
Pairings: Kirara x Kanbei, Kanbei x Kyuuzou
---------------------------------------------
Chasing the Capital across the desert to Kanna, the farmers and warriors came across an unexpected find. Bits and pieces of slain robot bandits strewn across the sand. In her heart, Kirara would rather have left this scene of death without stopping longer than a few minutes, but twilight was approaching. Thus this was the sad spot where Kanbei decreed that they should spend the night before the samurai would make their attempt to reach the Capital the next day.
These reminders of carnage did not seem to perturb the other members of the party, least of all Kyuuzou. Calmly, the red-clad samurai chose the place where he would sleep for the night. A nice sheltered spot under the wrecked Raiden's hull, away from the other samurai and peasants on the other side of the wreckage.
When the stars lit the clear desert sky, the scarlet samurai seated himself against the metal body of the dead Nobuseri, savoring his solitude as he closed his eyes. But try as he might, he could not enter the full rest he needed before the final battle that would come the next day.
"I am at your service." The straw-headed warrior silently mouthed the words in bitter mimicry of the water witch. Kyuuzou had observed Kirara serving tea to Kanbei earlier in the evening. He remembered how the woman had hovered attentively around Kanbei even after the 'serving' was done. When the commander suggested that the priestess get some rest, she had replied with that oh-so-meaningful catch-all phrase. "I am at your service."
"Just what kind of service was she offering anyway?" Kyuuzou thought acidly. The silent samurai tried hard not to be annoyed at the woman but he could not help himself.
It was only too clear to Kyuuzou what the girl wanted from Kanbei. Kanbei had turned her down, hinting that he may perish in the coming battle. But what if he survived? Would he be open to her courtship then? Probably not yet, for death would still be on the horizon. Kanbei could not be sure of his continued survival, at least not until the duel with Kyuuzou was over, the red-eyed warrior smirked to himself. So, it would take his defeat and demise to give Kanbei and Kirara a happy ending.
The scarlet samurai was upset at that thought. He knew he had no reason to be, but he was. Still, Kyuuzou realized he could not afford to give room to smouldering anger. The samurai would be facing a difficult, if not impossible battle the next day. Knowing that he needed to go into a resting state as soon as he could, the red-clad warrior pushed his anger into a distant corner of his mind, crossed his legs in a meditative pose, and entered the realm of slumber.
He did not know how long he had been asleep when Kirara's voice floated into his ever alert ears from across the desert sand, soft but definitely discernable. "I am at your service."
Kyuuzou slowly opened his eyes and got to his feet. Following the sound of that not-so-distant voice, he quietly made his way around the hull of the giant robot. He saw Kanbei lying at rest beside a piece of dead Nobuseri. Kirara was kneeling beside him. The red-eyed samurai watched silently as the dark-haired woman lay herself down beside the warrior in white. The older man slowly turned to look at her. Kyuuzou could not believe his eyes when his leader and the priestess embraced each other in the silence of the night.
The scarlet samurai knew that what was to follow was not for his eyes, but he stood riveted to the spot as the bizarre coupling unfolded before him. Fluidly removing her blouse, the priestess placed Kanbei's tattooed hands against her young, ripe breasts. Kyuuzou, the hidden voyeur, felt oddly disconnected from the scene happening before his eyes, noting rather dispassionately that Kirara's exposed torso was unappealingly paler than her face and her arms.
But when Kanbei parted the hill tribe priestess's pale thighs with experienced hands, a sudden rage rushed into Kyuuzou's heart. "She is taking something that is supposed to be mine!" The unbidden, irrational thought seized his entire consciousness. "How could Kanbei do this?! After he had held my hand and said that he loved me."
And almost immediately, Kyuuzou felt foolish. None of his thoughts were making sense to him at this moment.
Holding his breath, Kyuuzou watched the old samurai slowly press forward between the bare legs of the hill tribe maiden, like a man who had been kept waiting too long and dared not rush his pleasure should it end too quickly, Kyuuzou thought, or like a man who was tenderly cautious with the comfort of his lover. Neither idea pleased the crimson samurai. The skinny young man was suddenly aware that he did not have the curves and valleys of the young woman's body. And for the first time that he could remember, the proud warrior felt inadequate.
Nausea washed over Kyuuzou when he saw the man who said he 'loved' him move gently against Kirara at first, then increasing the force of his rocking motions when she silently urged him on, shamelessly throwing her short legs around Kanbei's strong waist, firmly anchoring his body to hers. Could Kanbei get the same pleasure out of his scrawny figure? Kyuuzou wondered. Why would the dark-haired ronin want him when he could have the eager Kirara?
Holding in his rage, the scarlet samurai ground his teeth together as the two bodies, one dark, one pale, continued to grind against each other in odious synchronicity, blissfully oblivious to the gaze of his cold scarlet eyes. Their carnal rhythm became faster, more primal, accompanied by the rising pace of Kirara's labored breathing. The quiet watcher, however, continued to stand as still as a statue. But when the peasant girl's pathetic whimpers finally turned into obscene moans, the silent samurai could be silent no more. Kyuuzou threw his hands over his ears, shrieking, "Stop!!!"
That was when he awoke. He was still sitting cross-legged with his back against the Nobuseri's hard cold shell.
"So it is just a nightmare." The crimson warrior exhaled forcefully, relieved beyond measure. Then he noticed a pair of sturdy white-trousered legs planted on the sandy ground right in front of him. Kyuuzou raised his chin. Kanbei's concerned eyes were peering down.
"Are you well?" Shimada asked. Kyuuzou did not answer. He knew that he was now awake but his mind was still floating in that amorphous state between the dream world and the waking world.
Kanbei knelt down beside him.
"Are you all right?" Shimada's tone was caring. "I heard you cry out so I came over."
Kyuuzou uncrossed his legs slowly, meeting Kanbei's dark eyes.
"What is she?" The fair-headed young man declared with a sudden vehemence. "A mere child! A sheltered maiden. She does not know battle and death as we have known it! And she never will!"
Kanbei stared at Kyuuzou with raised eyebrows. He had never before heard speech of such passionate conviction coming from the seemingly unfeeling young samurai.
"She does not understand a warrior's soul! She cannot give you what you need. Only another samurai can!" The words left the pale warrior's mouth before he could call them back. But he did not regret them. There was no point in regretting what could not be unsaid. And somehow, in that strange state of mind between dreaming and waking, Kyuuzou was beyond caring.
There was no mistaking the meaning in Kyuuzou's words. Kanbei looked into those burning ruby eyes and read crazed desire there.
Since their first meeting, it had been obvious to the older samurai that the scarlet warrior was one of those subtly mad but very sane individuals. Kanbei had been inexorably drawn to the twisted soul behind the cool facade. Even so, he never expected to see the fevered craze he now saw in Kyuuzou's eyes. The icy androgyne had too much self-control to allow madness to descend into craziness - until now.
Kanbei stared down at Kyuuzou with an unreadable expression. Kyuuzou watched him and waited. Neither man shifted closer to the other. But neither man moved away. Kyuuzou could hear the other man's breath, smell his scent. Finally Kanbei spoke. "I thought you wanted to kill me."
"I still do." Kyuuzou replied in an almost seductive whisper, looking up at him through half-closed eyes. "But before you die, would you not like to have a taste of what you've desired all this while?"
So, finally one of them had put into words that unspoken secret that was plain for all to see, except for those who did not want to see it. Kanbei felt a sense of relief. From the first day the two warriors met, a strange thread of obsessive desire had linked them, even as the younger made it clear he wanted to kill the older. And the more time they spent in each other's presence, the more that thread of lust seemed to thicken.
Kanbei had accepted the existence of that fruitless passion. Kyuuzou, proud as he was, had resisted it. That was the chief reason he never slept in the same room with the other samurai, specifically Kanbei. The quiet loner would rather seek shelter under the trees than feel the discomfort of that unwanted yearning.
The cold samurai would have been willing to keep Kanbei and himself suspended in a state of unfulfilled desire for the rest of their lives, as long as no one else touched that Shimada man. But now that it had been made clear to him that there was another person who boldly desired the dark ronin, Kyuuzou felt an insane jealousy eat away at his soul.
The crimson warrior was now forced to make his move and stake his claim. He reached up and closed his slim fingers around the collar of Kanbei's white jacket. But he did not pull the older man closer. He simply held still.
Kanbei remained silent and composed as he gazed down at Kyuuzou impassively. But the scarlet samurai noticed with a perverse sense of satisfaction that the older man was trembling just so very slightly.
"Take me... if you dare." Kyuuzou suddenly said with a wanton shamelessness that surprised even himself.
Kanbei's eyes widened. This was certainly not a veiled invitation. The white-clad warrior had long desired Kyuuzou as he had desired no other, but he conducted himself honorably towards the young man as he felt a commander should. Now as Shimada heard the slender samurai speak those words, his pent-up lust reached breaking point. The dark man fought to maintained a semblance of self-control in the face of Kyuuzou's tempting, challenging smile.
"Coward," Kyuuzou hissed. Then he pulled Kanbei down to himself and kissed him hungrily. The tall man did not resist. In fact, Kanbei was now kissing him back rather forcefully, grabbing a fistful of the blond warrior's hair as he angled Kyuuzou's head for better access.
Kyuuzou relished the solid sensation of the taller man's body bearing down on his own as he allowed Kanbei to dominate their exchange. The quiet loner wondered what kind of lover his masterful leader would be. He was only too conscious of the other man's hard desire pressed against his thigh. Twirling his fingers in Kanbei's long, wavy hair, he teased, "You behaved so indifferently just now, but you were more than ready."
That was when Shimada stopped himself. The urge to sheathe his throbbing need within the heat of Kyuuzou's quivering body was nearly driving him insane, but this was neither the time nor the place to indulge their private desires. If he went any further, he would not be able to hold back.
Kyuuzou looked almost insulted when the handsome dark samurai pulled away. But Kanbei ran his hand down the pale warrior's flushed cheek to Kyuuzou's heaving chest before closing the distance between them once more to give Kyuuzou a brief chaste kiss on the forehead.
"I will come for you. After we have destroyed the Capital" the commander gently raised Kyuuzou's chin with his strong fingers. "I am sorry, but please wait for me a little longer."
Kyuuzou's dispassionate mask slid back into place as his breathing gradually calmed. But he acknowledged Kanbei's promise by quietly raising the older man's hand to his lips.
"Sleep well," Kanbei rose to leave.
Walking away from the crimson samurai, Shimada knew full well that Kyuuzou's eyes were following him. For the first time in many years the old warrior felt glad to be alive, eager to see the next day and the day after. Yet, this new desire for life was accompanied by a strange sense of foreboding. The seasoned soldier could sense Death around the corner, waiting.
"Perhaps I will not live to claim my prize," Kanbei thought. But he could not let that possibility disturb him. There was nothing to be gained from worrying about circumstances beyond one's control.