Chapter Three: The Samurai

Youji leaped from his wagon as a cheer rose up among his companions. He let out a whoop himself and yelled at Omi to get out there. The teen's face lit up when he saw what everyone was so happy about. Ken and Aya were riding up to the circle of wagons. The brunette had a huge grin on his face, but the mysterious swordsman next to him was expressionless. "Didja find the trail?" Burt asked, walking up to them as they dismounted. Aya nodded tiredly.

"It will take almost a full week to get the wagons there and it will be rough, but once we reach the trail we will be only three weeks travel from your claims." Another cheer went up through the crowd that had gathered around the two men. The preacher's wife began to cry with relief.

"Our food stores are runnin' a bit low." Burt said gravely. "We won't last the week if we can't get more." Aya mulled this over for a moment then nodded. Without a word he swung up onto his horse and rode off towards the east. Youji stared after him, his heart sinking in his chest. He'd wanted to try and talk to the mysterious stranger. With a sigh he headed back to his and Omi's wagon. When he got there he found Ken and his adoptive brother seated on the grass behind it chatting. He sat down with them and listened as Ken told them about his trip with Aya. Youji was surprised to learn that the swordsman was actually a Samurai. Sure he'd had that mask, but the blonde had assumed it was a family heirloom or something.

Just as the sun began to set he heard the sounds of a horse. He stood and looked eastward. His jaw dropped when he saw Aya walking up to the camp. He was carrying his saddle over one shoulder and slung across his horse's back were two dead deer. The fanged mask was in place, covering his mouth and nose. Youji felt a shiver run up his spine at the cold look in the younger man's eyes. He wondered what it would take to get the man to warm up to him...that was assuming Aya would even return his advances and there was definitely no guarantee of that. The blonde homesteader sighed as the beautiful man disappeared among the wagons.

A few minutes later there were shrieks of disgust that had him, Ken, and Omi running to investigate. They found Aya replacing his saddle on his horse's back. The two deer were now on the ground in front of a group of women, who had been sitting around the fire cooking. Burt's wife, Elaine, was laughing now as she stirred a pot of stew. "Well aren't you a sweetie." She chuckled, handing her chore off to her daughter, Maggie, who had begun to giggle into her hands.

"A what?" Aya's deep voice was slightly muffled by his mask. He reached up and took it off.

"A sweetie." Elaine repeated, her lips twitching.

"Ah." The samurai grunted after a long moment. "I have been called many things, ma'am, but never that." The woman chuckled softly as she walked up to him.

"I am afraid that none of us know how to properly butcher one of these animals, would you be able to show me?" Elaine asked, her eyes sparkling. Aya looked at her for a moment then sighed. He pulled the saddle off his stallion and set it on the ground then took the horse's reins and tied them to the nearest wagon.

"Taizei*." He muttered under his breath after forcing the horse to look him in the eye. The horse seemed to glare at him for a moment before shifting on its feet and tossing its head. Aya muttered something else Youji didn't catch before grabbing a long bladed knife from his boot and walking to the first deer. "I bled it and removed the organs already." He said quietly, using the knife to open up the huge cut that went down the center of it.

"Wonderful!" Elaine clapped. "Now how do we skin it?" Aya gave her an odd look before showing her step by step how to skin the deer then he showed her what parts of the animal were edible and what parts needed to be tossed. After doing the first deer he handed Elaine his knife then pointed at the other one. "By myself?!" The woman exclaimed.

"How else will you learn?" Aya quirked a brow at her.

"You're gonna stand there right?" She asked worriedly. At his nod she relaxed visibly then got to work. Every once in a while Aya would reach down to correct her grip on the knife or the direction she was cutting. It took twice as long as the first deer and by the time it was finished almost everyone had eaten and gone to bed. Burt and another man took care of the deer carcasses while the women who were still up began wrapping the meat to store it. Aya walked over to where he had left his horse and began to gather his belongings. Youji watched him for a moment, noting that his movements seemed slow.

"He barely slept the entire time we were gone." Ken said quietly at Youji's shoulder. "I can't believe he's still up, especially with that cut he's got."

"What cut?" Youji asked in surprise. The gunslinger then told him about waking up in the middle of the night to the smell of burning flesh and a low groan of pain to see Aya cauterizing a long gash on his side.

"He's been fighting an infection, but he won't let me help." Ken sighed. "Maybe you can talk some sense into him." The brunette started to turn away. "Omi's asleep already." He smiled up at Youji. "He started nodding off during dinner so I brought him to your wagon."

"Thank you." Youji bowed slightly. "I must admit I wasn't paying attention to my little brother." The blonde added sheepishly. Ken only chuckled and walked away. Youji looked over towards Aya in time to see him swing up into the saddle and begin riding towards the stream on the other side of the hill.

Aya almost fell as he dismounted next to the stream. "Mamoru.*" He whispered to Kage as he knelt beside the water. The horse nuzzled his cheek then stood guard over him so that he could wash the deer blood from his skin. The samurai carefully slipped off his shirt and scrubbed it clean. With that done he hung it on a nearby tree then built a hat sized fire. He pulled his medical supplies from his saddle bag and set about changing his bandage. The red infected lines had disappeared and the wound had scabbed over. Both signs that it healing, which relieved the samurai greatly. Out here in the wilderness there wasn't much a person could do if wounds got infected then worsened. If the injury was on a limb there was always amputation, which was just as likely to kill the person as the infection, but a wound to the abdomen, torso, or head that option was quite obviously impossible. As he re-bandaged the wound he heard Kage wicker softly.

"Dare*?" He asked, getting to his feet and slipping his left hand pistol from its holster.

"Just me." Came a deep voice. "Youji Kudou." A tall blonde man stepped out of the shadows from the direction of the wagons. Aya recognized him as one of the homesteaders. "Ken said you were injured. I'm a doctor so I thought I might be able to help."

"I am fine." The redhead frowned then reached into one of his bags for a fresh shirt. He eyed the other man as he put it on. Kudou was taller and looked older. His skin was tanned from days spent driving his wagon and there was a light in his green eyes that unnerved Aya. He'd seen that look before when he was younger and still in training. It had been in his Nenja's* eyes whenever they had lain together and in the eyes of many of his brethren as they'd watched him train. To them he had been beautiful and they had wanted him. He had never thought of himself as attractive, but knowing that others did had amused him and many times he had played on their desires to get extra training.

When he'd come to America he saw the same desire, but not from men. Their cultures were too different. Most men refused to look at other men with lust, but the women were different. They eyed him with longing, admiring his exotic looks and elite skills. He had never lain with a woman and had no desire to, so he ignored them as best he could. The 'loose' women found in bars and brothels disgusted him with their forwardness and disease ridden bodies. They painted their faces and wore garish, revealing clothing to attract their clientele. Most men lusted after them, but Aya was not one of them. He had been in the presence of many Geisha* in his lifetime and to him they were the epitome of grace, beauty, and womanhood. They were not prostitutes or whores like many believed. They were literally moving works of art dedicated to the life of beautiful service.

Aya pushed his thoughts aside as Kudou moved closer to him. He was wary of the intent in the older man's eyes. It wasn't as though he was averse to the idea of coupling with the blonde man. He just wasn't sure it was the best idea. The people of America were against same sex relations and he had seen many men lynched after just being accused of homosexual acts. If they were to have sex then they would have to be careful.

"You should return to your wagon, Kudou-san, it is not safe out here at night and you are not armed."

"Please, call me Youji." The blonde grinned. Aya blinked in surprise then shook his head. He may not still be a samurai in service, but he still had his honor. He also didn't want to get close to anyone. Calling Kudou by his first name and without honorifics meant he was accepting a friendship with the man, which was not something he wanted or needed. He was not in this country to make long lasting connections with people. It was exile and he longed to go home where everything made sense.

"You need to return." The swordsman said curtly, turning to where he had hung his shirt. The garment was still wet, but he took it from the branches and stuffed it in one of his saddlebags.

"Do you have a place to sleep?" Kudou asked curiously.

"I will make camp not far from here." Aya replied, swinging up onto his horse. He paused next to the blonde man. "You should be careful, in this country, looking with desire at other men." He said calmly and quietly. Kudou jerked as if slapped and stared up at him.

"How..."

"I have seen that look many times in my life." Aya explained, his eyes constantly moving to make sure none would overhear. "Many in my old way of life practiced Wakashudo*." Kudou's eyes widened in understanding. "This place is different. They do not accept that type of relationship...do you understand?" He finally met the older man's eyes. After a moment Kudou nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Good. Now come, I will escort you back to your wagon."

Youji laid awake for a long time thinking about what Aya had said...and what he hadn't. The doctor knew how to read between the lines. Aya had warned him not to be obvious about his desires, but he hadn't been against the idea either. He had also admitted, in a round about way, that he had been with men before. The knowledge cheered Youji up considerably. It was now not outside the realm of possibilities that he and Aya could...entertain each other. They would never be able to have an open relationship. The samurai had been right when he'd said that the people of America didn't understand or accept homosexuality.

A blush of embarrassment stained his cheeks. He hadn't realized he'd been so obvious about his feelings for the younger man. He had desired Aya from the moment he'd seen him. From now on he needed to be more careful. He also needed to speak to Omi and Ken. He'd noticed the looks passing between them lately and he needed to warn them before someone else figured it out.

Translations:

Taizei: Means 'stay'. Aya is telling his horse not to move lol.

Mamoru: Means to protect or guard.

Dare: Means 'who'. (pronounced- dah-ray)

Wakashudo: "The way of the youth". As I understand it, was a practice engaged in by Samurai of all classes. The samurai would take on a younger partner to train. This partner was also his lover.

Nenja: The older partner. A man named Tatsuya was Aya's nenja.

Wakashuu: The younger partner.

Geisha: Traditional female entertainers. They acted as hostesses and their skills included various arts such as classical music, dance and games. THEY WERE NOT PROSTITUTES. This is a foreign misconception. Some women dressed as Geisha were prostitutes which is probably where the misconception came from, but a legitimate Geisha did not have sex for money.

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter. I had to do some actual research lol. If I got any facts wrong feel free to let me know.