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Crimson Hearts	By : roryheadmav Category: +S to Z > Samurai 7 Views: 3229 -:- 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
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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, EGDH, EGONZO. Absolutely no monetary gain has been made with
this work.
CRIMSON HEARTS

© September 2, 2005 By Rory
V. Pascual

CHAPTER TWO: Let's Go!
The spokesman of the farmers from
Akame Village prostrated himself before the startled young samurai and
the beautiful geisha who was his lover. The farmer's five other companions,
one of them an aging warrior, also did the same.
"We are begging you, Shichiroji-sama!"
the speaker for the peasants exclaimed in earnest. "The Nobuseri has been
taking three times the usual quota of rice. They ransack our homes and
our storerooms for the meager supplies that we have. Our families starve
while this new Amanushi fills his coffers with the crops we had worked
so hard to grow and reap. Surely Kanbei-sama would not ignore the pleas
of humble farmers such as ourselves."
Shichiroji raised a halting hand.
"Believe me. My heart is stirred by your plight. But the fact of the matter
is I have no idea where Kanbei-sama is. Ever since we parted ways at Kanna
Village, I haven't heard from him in three years."
The samurai dared to inquire, "What
about you? Could you not help us?"
Shichiroji sadly shook his head.
"I am not the strategist that Shimada Kanbei is. Besides, no samurai would
go blindly into battle without knowing what or who he is up against." He
remembered the four comrades they had lost. "It's a bitter lesson we learned
all too well. I'm sure Kanbei-sama will tell you the same thing if he were
here."
After a few more minutes of fruitless
discussion, the farmers were escorted outside, the sorrow and fear etched
on their faces.
Yukino laid her hand over Shichiroji's
clenched fist. "Are you sure about your decision, love? That's the fifth
group of peasants to come here this week alone to appeal for your aid."
"Did you think it was easy for me
to turn down their request? Of course I wanted to help them. But�" Shichiroji
punched his right metal fist on the floor in frustration. "Damn it! Who
is this new Amanushi? I thought all of his clones had been destroyed. None
of those farmers had seen this new ruler. They're just repeating what the
Nobuseri had been telling them. There might not even be an Amanushi."
"Are you so sure about that?" Yukino
gave her lover a knowing smile. "What does your samurai instinct tell you?"
Seeing Shichiroji fall silent at her query, she continued, "If you harbor
doubts, don't you think that you should consult Kanbei-sama about this?"
"I don't know where he is. I did
not lie about that fact," Shichiroji admitted. "Even if I did know where
he is, I would never bring this up with him. He made it perfectly clear
that he desired a quiet life when he gave his sword to Katsushiro. If there's
a man who deserves peace in his life, it's Shimada Kanbei."
"You care about him very much."
"How could I not? We've been together
through several military campaigns. He saved my life far too many times
than I could count."
"The first time I met Shimada Kanbei,
I found him to be different from other samurai. Quiet, introspective� You
couldn't tell what's on his mind. And�there's an aura of deep sadness surrounding
him."
Shichiroji nodded, agreeing with
Yukino's assessment of his old partner. "You have no idea of the many hardships
that Kanbei-sama had endured. He always thought about others first, before
his own needs and his own life. I never told you this. That day you found
me in the river� Before that, the enemy was pursuing us and I ended up
getting wounded by gunfire. It was Kanbei-sama who put me inside that pod
and set me adrift in the river. That was the last I saw of him. Five years
passed, and I often wondered what became of him. I feared that he may have
died or may have been captured by the enemy. But when he showed up at the
Firefly House together with Gorobei-dono, Kikuchiyo, Katsushiro, Kirara
and her fellow villagers, I was relieved. You never knew how happy I was
to see him alive and well."
"I owe a lot to Kanbei-sama as well."
Yukino took Shichiroji's hand and pressed it to her cheek. "If it wasn't
for what he did, you and I would never have met."
"That is oh so true."
"However�" Yukino became serious.
"What if what the farmers told us is true? What if there really is a new
Amanushi and war and chaos falls upon the land once more? Do you think
Kanbei-sama could be able to distance himself from the conflict, knowing
that people needed him? The farmers also said that the Amanushi is searching
for him. Doesn't Kanbei-sama deserve to know that there is a threat to
his person?"
Before Shichiroji could reply to
Yukino's queries, they were jolted by a horrendous shriek that shook the
Firefly House to its rafters. This was followed by the pitter-patter of
frantic little feet. The door slid open a crack and the oldest geisha of
the Firefly, a wizened lady no higher than Shichiroji's knees, squeezed
through, swiftly closing the door behind her.
Fearing mayhem, Shichiroji grabbed
the spear propped up on the wall beside him. "What's wrong? Is someone
causing trouble again in the dining hall?"
The tiny woman's reply was not what
they expected. Her eyes as wide as plates, she cried, "It's the dead! The
dead walks! Oh, Master, my Lady! The dead man lives again!"
"Get a hold of yourself! You're not
making any sense!" Yukino exclaimed, now feeling nervous herself. "Tell
us what happened!"
"The Crimson Samurai!" the
old geisha screeched in absolute terror. "He has risen from the grave!
The dead walks the earth once more!"
Suddenly, the door slid open with
a bang, and the old woman recoiled from the tall figure that was flashing
sharp daggers at her with his blazing eyes. Shichiroji and Yukino stared
aghast at their unexpected visitor.
"Old fool!" Kyuzo spat angrily at
the terrified geisha. "Who're you calling a walking dead man? Do I look
dead to you?"
"But�you ARE dead!" Shichiroji found
himself gasping out. "We buried you, Heihachi and Kikuchiyo beside Gorobei's
grave back in Kanna village. Kanbei-sama�he even we�" He stopped himself
before he could finish what he was going to say.
Kyuzo glared at the blond samurai.
"Are you saying that Kanbei shed a tear for me? He's probably happy that
our duel did not take place. Well, I'm back now and it's time we settled
the score once and for all. That's why I'm here. Shichiroji-dono�tell me
where I can find Shimada Kanbei."

~~~~~~~~~~
"You�are�useless!"
"Excuse me! It's not my fault if
Kanbei-sama chose not to keep in touch with me!"
"You could've made the effort at
least to know where he is! You're his old comrade!"
"The man desires peace and privacy!
Besides, how would I know that a dead man would appear at my doorstep,
wanting to know his whereabouts?"
"And like I told you many times before,
I am the clone of the original Kyuzo. You could even say that I AM Kyuzo.
I am most certainly not a zombie!"
"You are NOT Kyuzo-dono! You said
it yourself. You're just a clone! The original Kyuzo never talked as much
as you do!"
"You annoy me!"
"You annoy me too! You've become
just as noisy as Kikuchiyo-dono!"
"Don't compare me with that rusty
tin can!"
Despite her fear of the young warrior,
Yukino could not help but be amused by the exchange between the two men.
Superimposing between them before any blades could be unsheathed, like
a hen placating squabbling chicks, she said, "Now, now, gentlemen! Is this
any way for distinguished samurai such as yourselves to behave?"
"Well, he started it!" Shichiroji
was well aware of how childish he sounded, but he had lost all patience.
"It is only now that I understand why Kirara-dono detested him. Why, of
the four who perished, Kanbei-sama wept openly for him is something I'll
never figure out! It's a waste of tears is what I think!"
Yukino was surprised by what her
lover had said. Shichiroji seemed oblivious that he had finally blurted
out what he had been keeping from them.
"And I'm telling you the only reason
why he wept is because he thought he was free from the oath we made to
each other!" Kyuzo insisted. "Those were tears of joy, fool!"
"Who're you calling a 'fool'?"
"Now, that's enough!" Yukino took
Kyuzo's arm, surprising the stern warrior. "Kyuzo-sama, if I may have a
word with you in private."
"Yukino-san!" Shichiroji declared
as they stood up. "Be careful with him!"
But the geisha merely patted the
samurai's arm, saying, "Don't worry, love. I trust him."
Yukino then escorted Kyuzo to the
garden. Sitting on a bench overlooking the pond with the fireflies flitting
across the lily pads, she gestured to the place at her side. Kyuzo settled
down on his knees, still in a guarded position.
"Kyuzo-sama, forgive me for asking
such a personal question, but I want to know�" Yukino sighed. "Why are
you so bent on fighting Kanbei-sama?"
"It's a matter between samurai, Yukino-san,"
was Kyuzo's simple answer. "Being a woman, you wouldn't understand."
"True, I may be a woman. But my female
intuition is telling me that there's more to this than what you're telling
me." Yukino gazed at the firefly that had flown onto her lap. "I must admit
that I was surprised by what Shichiroji had unwittingly revealed to us.
As I said to him before you arrived, Kanbei-sama is not the type of man
to reveal his emotions to anyone. For him to weep over your grave, it means
that the feelings he holds for you are much stronger compared to those
for your other comrades. I could understand Shichiroji's pain, because
they had been friends for years. But you've only just met, and yet there
is a deep bond between the two of you. It's like�fate�has drawn you two
together. You're like magnets that attract and repel each other at the
same time."
Kyuzo did not say anything at that
comment. He kept staring out into the pond, his face as hard as stone.
To Yukino, the young man at her side could have been a statue.
Thinking that she had offended the
samurai, she said sincerely, "Forgive me. I fear I have angered you."
"No, you did nothing�except to make
me think." For the first time, Kyuzo looked at her, and the pain that was
visible in his eyes stunned her. "Yukino-san�could I trust you to be discreet?
I wish to confide something in you, something I never told anyone. It is
something that Shichiroji-dono must NEVER know. But�I must share�this�with
someone. You are a very wise woman. Perhaps if you knew, then at least
I would have one person who understands my motives."
Yukino took Kyuzo's hand in her grasp
and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You can trust me with your secret, Kyuzo-sama.
Unless you tell me that it's all right to divulge it, I will not reveal
it to anyone."
There was a softening in Kyuzo's
eyes as he faced the beautiful geisha. With a deep breath, he unburdened
his soul to Yukino.

~~~~~~~~~~
Yukino entered her private chamber
to find Shichiroji with his things already packed for a long journey.
Smiling, she said, "I am glad to
see that you've decided to seek out Kanbei-sama."
With a scratch of his head, Shichiroji
snorted, "That man won't leave us alone if I don't accompany him on his
search. I'm doing this more for the sake of my old friend � to warn him
that the new Amanushi is seeking him out AND to keep Kyuzo-dono from slashing
him. I think it will be best if we dropped by Katsushiro's home as well,
see if he would want to join us�although it would probably be a huge shock
to him. It was he who killed the original Kyuzo after all."

"Is it true what you said?
That Kanbei-sama wept over the grave of Kyuzo-dono?"
Shichiroji nodded. "It was a chance
encounter actually. It was evening and we were getting ready to leave Kanna
Village the next morning. I went to the graves to light incense sticks
for our fallen comrades. But I never got to do it. Kanbei-sama was there,
kneeling before Kyuzo-dono's grave. I saw him lay his palm over Kyuzo's
crossed swords. As he lifted his head to the moonlight, that was when I
saw the silent tears that were streaming from his eyes. I left before he
realized I was there." With great reluctance, he admitted, "I was confused
by what I had witnessed�and hurt. How could he weep for an enemy that was
sworn to kill him and not his friends? Would he even weep if I had perished?"
"I have no doubt that he would weep
for you, and that he had shed tears for your friends as well. But
this matter between him and Kyuzo is a different thing entirely."
To his surprise, Yukino suddenly
wrapped her arms around him. "My love, I know how much Kanbei-sama means
to you, and that you would do anything to protect him. However, please
do not interfere in this�feud, if you'd like to call it that."
"Why should I not interfere? Kyuzo-dono
is determined to kill Kanbei-sama. I can't just stand by and watch him
murder my friend."
"It is something that needs to be
resolved between the two of them," Yukino strongly insisted. "Trust me
on this, Shichiroji! You've heeded my advice before. I ask, more so, that
you do so now!"
Shichiroji had never seen his lover
this grave before. Whatever it was that Kyuzo had told her, it had affected
her greatly.
Giving her a tender kiss on the lips,
he said, "I cannot promise it, but I will try." Shichiroji nodded to the
futon. "How about giving me something to look forward to when I return?"
"You pervert!" Yukino giggled lightly
as she pulled her beloved toward the bed.

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Crimson Hearts