Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Crimson Hearts (Chapter Eleven and Onwards)	By : roryheadmav Category: +S to Z > Samurai 7 Views: 1743 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai 7, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Chapter Eleven
- 1
DISCLAIMER: This story is a
non-commercial work of fiction based on the anime/manga Samurai 7. Original
copyright of Samurai 7 belongs to Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo
Oguni, MICO, GDH, GONZO. Absolutely no monetary gain has been made with this work.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been having
problems getting into my AFF.net account recently (and I've heard that others
are also having difficulty as well). For those of you who have been following this
story, I have an alternate site on Y! Gallery, where most of my stories are now
archived. If you wish to read previous chapters of "Crimson Hearts,"
you may go to the Read Only Archive of AFF.net or proceed to Y! Gallery at http://yaoi.y-gallery.net/user/roryheadmav/
. If you wish to read new Samurai 7 stories, I have two new stories in
Y! Gallery. Unfortunately, you can only review/comment on Y! Gallery if you
have an account. Also, Y! Gallery can never be opened with Internet Explorer. I
highly recommend you use Mozilla Firefox or Netscape when browsing through the
site.

CRIMSON HEARTS

�
April 8, 2006 by Rory V. Pascual

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Help!

Kanbei marched quietly behind
the Amanushi who was doing an inspection of his Nobuseri troops. Kaguyama
observed the former commander. Although outwardly he seemed calm and focused,
the Benigumo knew that disturbing thoughts were whirling inside his mind.

"No word yet about
Kirara-dono?" Nagai could stop himself from inquiring in concern over the
comlink they shared, knowing the true cause of their leader's distress.

"Absolutely none,"
Kaguyama told the Raiden. "Kanbei-sama told me that it was better that she
was out of harm's way, but I think he's only saying that to comfort himself. He
is obviously distressed by her sudden departure."

"Yesterday morning, I was
briefing him on the relocation of the survivors of Otama Village, and relayed
to him the good news that the young man Kyuzo-dono had slashed was only given a
shallow cut and it wasn't anything at all serious. Although he was nodding all
throughout my report, I doubt if he had listened to a word I said."

The two Nobuseri stopped their
discussion when the Amanushi came to an abrupt halt before them. To their
shock, Kanbei continued to trudge miserably on, bumping right into the ruler.

Surprised by what he had done,
Kanbei stammered softly, "Gomen nasai, Amanushi-sama."

"Nee, Kanbei-sama,"
Amanushi began with a wry grin on his face. "You seem out of it these past
few days."

"It's nothing," the
samurai gave the weak reassurance. "I'm just not feeling well. I think I'm
coming down with something."

Indeed, the two Nobuseri could
see that Kanbei's cheeks were flushed, his eyes bloodshot. It was an
understatement to say that he did not look well. He definitely looked very ill.

The Amanushi, unfortunately,
could not care less about his unwilling lover's health. "Is it your health
that's bothering you or are you worried about that girl from Kanna
Village?"

"Why should I be worried
about Kirara-dono when she is no longer in the Capital? The safest place for
her to be is as far away from here as possible."

The moment he uttered those
words, Kanbei realized he had made a big mistake, especially when he saw how
the Amanushi's face darkened.

"True, but you still can't
stop thinking about her," the evil monarch mumbled, an ominous
undercurrent in his words. Whirling towards the startled Nobuseri, he shouted,
"All of you! DISMISSED!"

The troops strode out of the
hangar. Only Kaguyama and Nagai lingered briefly to spare a worried glance at
their leader.

"Is there something
wrong?" Amanushi asked the two Nobuseri.

"No, sir!" Kaguyama
exclaimed. "We were just leaving, sir!"

When the Nobuseri had departed,
Amanushi whirled to face his recalcitrant lover, only to find Kanbei already
stumbling towards the lift. Storming over to the older man, he grabbed a fistful
of the samurai's hair and yanked him back into his arms.

"And where do you think
you're going?" he snarled in the older man's face.

"Please, Tetsuo,"
Kanbei begged feebly. "I wasn't lying to you when I said I wasn't feeling
well. I just want to go back to our chamber and rest." Seeing the wicked
gleam in the ruler's eyes, he quickly added, "Just to rest. Nothing
else."

To his dismay, Amanushi yanked
his robes open and pulled out his straining erection from his trousers.
"Unfortunately for you, I need to be relieved of this."

"For god's sake, Tetsuo!
I'm sick! Ask me another time. I swear you won't hear any more arguments from
me. Just this once, leave me in peace!"

The Amanushi, however, shoved
him down to his knees and dug his fingers into the warrior's cheeks, forcing
him to open his mouth. "Don't worry. This will be a fast one. Besides,
it's said that my juices are an excellent tonic. Who knows? It might heal you
of whatever it is that ails you."

Before Kanbei could utter a
dissenting cry, the Amanushi shoved his hard member down the samurai's throat.
Kanbei was gagging at the intruding length, but the instinct was readily
replaced by the more desperate need to breathe. Again and again, Amanushi
thrust in and out of his mouth, cutting off his supply for air that he was on
the verge of blacking out. It was a small mercy that the evil ruler's release
came quickly. Weak as he was, he could only let the bitter come dribble out of
the corner of his mouth as the Amanushi let him fall to the floor.

"I guess you really are
ill," the monarch remarked in confirmation, as he put his appearance into
order once more. "It felt like my cock was inside a furnace. You go to our
chamber. I'll have the physician look at you."

Kanbei would not let anyone see
his shame. Picking himself up from the floor, he said, "I don't need
anyone. I just need to rest. I'll be fine." He waved back the Amanushi's
tentative gesture to offer support and all but staggered inside the lift. When
the doors closed, he leaned wearily against the wall and closed his eyes as he
was hit by a throbbing headache.

"You're no warrior!" he
remembered Kirara's harsh words to him. "You're nothing but a common
whore!"

Tasting the Amanushi's seed on
his tongue, Kanbei let out a bitter laugh. "You couldn't be more right
about me, Kirara-dono. But why should your rejection hurt so much?"

Lonely and miserable, the
samurai could only breathe a relieved sigh when he finally reached the floor
where his chamber was. Not trusting his own strength, he slowly walked down the
hallway, using the walls for support. Kanbei thought he was going to get some
peace and quiet at last.

But when he opened the door, he
could not stop his groan, seeing Kyuzo sitting on a chair beside the dresser.
Judging from the look on the crimson warrior's face, even he was not too happy
about being in Kanbei's chamber, but the terrible state of his lover made him
change his mind in an instant.

Hurrying to Kanbei's side, Kyuzo
said, "Kaguyama-dono told me that you weren't feeling well, and he was
right. You look awful." His eyes narrowed with suspicion, seeing the
glistening streak down the older man's chin. "Did that bastard do
something to you again?"

"It's none of your
business," Kanbei answered curtly, as he plopped into the chair that Kyuzo
had vacated, just as his surroundings began to spin. With a groan, he cupped
his aching head in his hands.

Going down on one knee, Kyuzo
pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped away the come from the older
warrior's lips. "I've been to Ayamaro-sama's estate. He told me that
Kirara didn't go there. Neither Masamune-dono knows where she is. I've asked
the guards to search for her, but I don't think she's in Kougakyo
anymore."

"It's all right. She's
probably back in Kanna Village by now. She'll be much safer there than
here."

"But you're still worried
about her. That's why you're in this terrible state. I thought I'd ease your
mind if I at least found out where she is for you."

"The only thing that could
ease my mind is if all of you would be in the same place where she is right
now. Why did you have to come searching for me?"

Kyuzo raised his hand and cupped
his lover's face. "You know the reason why we came."

To his shock, Kanbei slapped his
hand away with utter viciousness. "I know damned well why you came,
Kyuzo! You're no different from the Amanushi! You only think of me as your
whore!"

"That's not true!"
Kyuzo quickly denied. "You know how I feel about you!"

"That's the problem! I
don't!" Kanbei stood up as the younger man made to reach for him, nearly
stumbling back over the chair. "Stay away from me!"

"KANBEI!"

The elder samurai shook his
head. "All I wanted was to start my life afresh, to forget all the
terrible things I'd been through. I thought I could forget. But when I was
taken here�" Kanbei leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. "Damn
it! Is this all I'm good for � to be everyone's plaything? I never wanted this
to happen to me!"

"I know, Kanbei. I
know." Kyuzo inched closer and closer towards the sick man, even if
Kanbei's words were like thorns pricking his conscience. "If there's
anyone to blame, it's me. It was I who captured you and brought you into a life
of shame."

"I endured everything that
they did to me, because I believed that you cared about me. But I was so damned
wrong about you. The only ones who truly loved me were my wife and Shichiroji,
and now I've lost them both�because I made a mistake in giving my heart to
you!"

Shichiroji? Thoughts
were whirling inside Kyuzo's mind. He remembered Gorobei mentioning to him
before that the two men had called each other "spouse."

"Why won't you be honest
with me, Kyuzo?" Kanbei asked bitterly. "Why won't you tell me what I
am to you? So I wouldn't have to endure this pain and uncertainty. So I
wouldn't have to feel so filthy!"

To Kyuzo's horror, Kanbei's eyes
suddenly rolled up in his head and he fell convulsing to the floor, his whole
body shaking violently. Swiftly, he removed his belt and pressed it between the
samurai's teeth to prevent him from biting his tongue.

"Kanbei! Kanbei!"
Kyuzo cried as he held the convulsing man down. "It's all right! Be
calm!" It seemed like the seizure went on forever.

Then, Kanbei let out one
shuddering gasp and sagged into Kyuzo's arms, his face ashen. Not knowing what
else to do, Kyuzo held on to his lover, rocking him in his arms as tears began
rolling down his cheeks.

"Kanbei, please don't
die," Kyuzo whispered as he buried his face in that soft brown mane. His
hand caressed Kanbei's flushed and fevered cheek. "I don't know how I
could live without you. I love you, Kanbei. I love you so much. Oh God! Please
don't leave me!"

There was the sound of the door
sliding open. Then, the Amanushi declared in outrage, "Bastard! What are
you doing with my Consort?"

At that moment, Shichiroji
arrived with Kikuchiyo and Katsushiro. "Kanbei-sama!" he gasped out,
seeing his former partner's limp figure.

"Call a doctor!" Kyuzo
cried out in panic. "He had a terrible seizure! Oh, please! Get help! I
think he's dying!"

It was Kikuchiyo who hastened to
find the physician on board. Striding towards the crimson warrior, Amanushi
took Kanbei away from him and carried him over to the bed.

Glaring at a distraught Kyuzo,
he demanded, "What happened here?"

"I�I was giving Kanbei-sama
a message when he just collapsed and started having convulsions." To
everyone's surprise, Kyuzo prostrated himself at the evil ruler's feet.
"Since I was with Kanbei-sama during this seizure, I would accept any
punishment for anything that I have done that may have prompted the decline in
his health."

Shichiroji dared to look at the
Amanushi. "I don't think you should punish this man, Amanushi-sama. If he
were not here, Kanbei-sama might be in a worse condition. I've seen men bite
off their tongues and bleed to death at the height of a fever."

The Amanushi was at a loss on
what to do. He was practically seething with rage, and he wanted to kill the
man who dared to touch his Consort so intimately.

But then, he was distracted by
the arrival of a messenger. "Amanushi-sama, forgive the intrusion, but
there's a problem at the mines that requires your urgent attention."

Snorting in thwarted rage, the
ruler glowered at Shichiroji. "I leave him in your care." Gazing back
down at the crimson samurai, he muttered, "As for you, I'll deal with you
later." At these words, he stormed out of the chamber.

When they were finally alone,
Shichiroji approached Kyuzo and gently helped him to his feet. Katsushiro could
not hold back his anger.

"This is all Kirara-dono's
fault!" Katsushiro exclaimed. "I've had enough of her childishness.
I'm going to find her and drag her back here!"

"Katsushiro, wait!"
Shichiroji said, but the young samurai had already left the room.

"Shichiroji-dono�"

That soft voice caused
Shichiroji to turned towards the crimson samurai, and he was taken aback by the
tears and anguish in Kyuzo's eyes.

"Kanbei-sama told me
that�the two of you were�" Kyuzo's voice hitched as he tried to quell the
rise of more tears. "Please take care of him! He needs you more than he
does me."

Before Shichiroji could stop
him, Kyuzo fled from the chamber.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I just gave Kanbei-sama
the new medicine that the physician left with me," Kikuchiyo sadly reported
to Shichiroji, "but I don't think it's helping him."

Four hours earlier, Rikichi had
taken the blond warrior's place so he could get some rest. Kikuchiyo was to
have been Rikichi's reliever. It did not surprise Shichiroji to find the farmer
still with the engineer, gently washing Kanbei's face with a moist cloth.

Kanbei himself was gasping for
air like a fish out of water, crying and moaning deliriously in his restless
slumber.

"Kanbei-sama was calling
out names earlier � Maeko, Kuri, you, and�" Rikichi hesitated to reveal
that last name.

"His wife and
daughter," Shichiroji answered. "He lost them during the war."

"I'm afraid,
Shichiroji-dono," Kikuchiyo admitted, stealing a glance at the figure on
the bed. "It's been two days already, and still no change in his
condition. And now he's calling out to long deceased loved ones and�"

"HE'S NOT GOING TO
DIE!"

All whirled to find a distressed
Kyuzo peeking like a nervous child through the crack of the doorway, the glow
of the crystal on his wrist transforming his face into a cadaverous mask.

"You two get some
sleep," Shichiroji told his comrades. "Kyuzo-dono and I will take
over from here."

"Promise me you'll call us
if you need anything," Rikichi reminded the samurai as he went out of the
room with Kikuchiyo.

Shichiroji sat down on the chair
vacated by Rikichi. Patting the seat beside him, he invited, "Come, sit
here with me, Kyuzo-dono. It's much better than just peeking through the door
every half hour or so."

"But�I have no right,"
Kyuzo replied, with a forlorn shake of his head.

"Let me decide that for
myself. Now, come here, will you?"

With absolute misery etched on
his handsome features, Kyuzo trudged towards Shichiroji and sat down beside
him. For a while, neither man spoke.

In the end, it was Kyuzo who
broke the silence. "I wasn't able to keep my promise to you,
Shichiroji-dono. I am so sorry."

"As much as I don't want to
know what happened to Kanbei-sama during the time that we've been apart,"
Shichiroji began carefully, "I can see for myself the damage that it had
wrought upon his psyche. You have no idea how much it disturbs me to see him
like this."

"He still loves you, you
know. Kanbei-sama admitted that much to me. Only you can be able to heal his
damaged soul." Kyuzo gazed longingly at the sick man lying on the bed.
"I cannot be the man for him. Kirara-dono make it perfectly clear that if
I were with him, he will always carry the stigma of that horrible, disgusting
past that bound us together."

"Is that why Kirara-dono
left so suddenly? She saw the two of you�"

"She called him a whore.
But if there was anyone who deserved the greater blame for what happened that
night, it's me. Kanbei-sama was asking me how I felt about him, but why
couldn't I say those words that would've eased his heart and rid him of the
shame? Does it mean that he's only just a bedmate to me?"

"If that's how you think of
him, then it would've been very easy for you to lie, but you never lied to
him."

"But I did not answer his
question either."

"And it's simply because
you're unsure of how you should answer, for fear that whatever actions you may
take might contradict what you say. You are protecting his heart, just as you
are protecting yours. Unfortunately, it is only causing great pain for the two
of you."

"Help me, Shichiroji-dono!
I don't want to see him like this � so miserable, so heartbroken," Kyuzo
confessed in deep sorrow. "You and Kanbei-sama once shared a love. Can't
you rekindle those feelings again? If there's anyone who can give him peace and
happiness, it's you. I will gladly give him up to you just to see him happy
again."

Shichiroji, however, shook his
head. "That would be possible if that love you speak of still
existed."

"Are you saying that you
don't love him anymore?"

"I do, but as a friend.
Certainly no longer in the way that you're thinking. Kanbei-sama knows this,
ever since he went to the Hotaruya to get my aid for the Kanna campaign."

Understanding dawned on Kyuzo's
face. "So that's why he said that he had lost you."

"Besides," Shichiroji
added, "why should I stake my claim on a heart that already belongs to
another?" The samurai smiled, seeing the astonishment on Kyuzo's face.
"Kanbei-sama has been calling out your name in his fevered dreams, much
more than mine. I'm sure both Kikuchiyo and Rikichi would attest to this, even
if it will cause them undue discomfort and embarrassment."

"But, Shichiroji-dono, I
don't deserve him!" Kyuzo bewailed in frustration, his ruby-colored eyes
clouding with tears.

Instead, Shichiroji took the
crimson warrior's hand and laid it over Kanbei's cold palm that was lying on
the pillow. At once, those fingers closed around Kyuzo's hand, the crystals on
their wristbands casting a soft glow in the chamber. Then, Kanbei turned over
onto their joined hands, pressing his cheek to Kyuzo's fingers. In the warm
light of the crystals, they could see that calm had settled on Kanbei's pale
features.

Shichiroji patted Kyuzo
reassuringly on the back. "I think now is the time for you to prove your
worth to him, Kyuzo-dono."

* * * *
* * * * * *
- 1
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Crimson Hearts (Chapter Eleven and Onwards)

CRIMSON HEARTS