Part 4

By the time the sky was darkening and they'd found an abandoned barn in an empty field that was suitable to hole up in, Kyuuzou was wondering what Katsushiro's problem was. The boy hadn't said more than two words to Rikichi all day, and he still sounded angry.

They'd each chosen a stall to sleep in, Kyuuzou in the middle with Rikichi and Katsushiro on either side. Once the sounds of breathing evened out to his right, showing that Rikichi was fast asleep, the samurai rose from his mattress of hay and snuck around the wall to Katsushiro's stall. He opened the door and glanced inside to see if the younger samurai was still awake.

Katsushiro had chosen a stall at the end of the barn, several spaces over from Rikichi. He was leaning against the wall, sitting crosslegged with his sword resting against his shoulder, clutching at it with a white-knuckled grip with his left hand. His eyes were closed, but his breathing was anything but steady; he was fighting off the memories, brought on by the attack and now the dark gloom of the barn.

I'm safe, he repeated over and over to himself. I'm safe, they're way back there, they'll never find us here, and I've got my sword and I don't care what Kyuuzou says, I'm not letting anyone I don't trust within twenty feet of me without drawing it! I don't need anyone else to protect me, I can do it myself, and so I'm safe!

Kyuuzou eyed him for a moment. "Katsushiro?" he called softly, not wanting the peasant to hear.

Jumping, Katsushiro leapt to a crouch and spun to face him, almost drawing his katana before he realized it was only Kyuuzou. "Don't DO that!" he spat, keeping his voice soft as well. Trembling, he resettled himself, glaring at the older samurai. "What do you want? Planning to lecture me some more?"

Kyuuzou blinked at the reaction. What's wrong with him? "No," he said, his voice neutral despite his confusion. "Have you done something I should lecture you about?"

"Not that I know of since this morning," Katsushiro replied, his voice frosty. "But then, I wasn't expecting to get lectured for defending myself and Rikichi either, so maybe I have. You tell me."

Kyuuzou was still lost, and starting to regret coming here. Katsushiro was being very irrational. "No..." he said slowly. "Not that I know of. I didn't come to lecture you." When did I lecture him for defending himself? he wondered.

Katsushiro was trembling again, much as he struggled against it. Damn his traitor emotions, anyway. The others were right, he really was such a child! Even as angry as he was, all he really wanted to do was throw himself into Kyuuzou's arms and be reassured that the Yakuza couldn't get him here, that he was safe and wouldn't have to go through that again.

"Then why did you come?" he asked, voice trembling as badly as his body. The whirlwind of the last twenty-four hours was catching up to him, and he was going to break if he wasn't careful.

"You seemed...upset. I wanted to make sure you were all right," Kyuuzou's composure was beginning to crack, his confusion showing in his voice. "Why are you angry at me?"

Katsushiro turned to stare at him in shock. Is he for real? "I seemed upset... and you don't know why?" he repeated, disbelieving.

Shaking his head, Katsushiro had to either laugh or cry. He chose to laugh, though it came out half hysterical and he had to muffle it in his sleeve or Rikichi would have been coming over to find out what was going on. "You... are unbelievable," he informed the older samurai through his hysterics. "You honestly don't know why I'm mad at you?"

Now Kyuuzou was beginning to feel embarrassed, and it wasn't a sensation he was used to, nor was it one he enjoyed. He folded his arms and glowered at Katsushiro. "I presume it has something to do with me preventing you from defending yourself, which I never did."

"Is your memory really that bad?" Katsushiro wanted to know, rolling his eyes. "You all but knocked me on my ass before you lectured me about it. This morning? We were attacked, I drew my sword, you got pissed of at me for it?" he prompted.

Kyuuzou gave him a look. "Yes, you drew your sword, long before the battle commenced, and long before it was necessary. That is why I disciplined you. Of course you should defend yourself if I can't get to you fast enough."

Making a frustrated noise, Katsushiro cut his hand through the air in a sharp gesture. "Kyuuzou, if I hadn't already had my sword drawn when those men attacked us, we would be dead now and you'd have been avenging my corpse! I barely blocked the first swing as it is!" He shook his head. "I'm a fast draw, but not that fast. The rest of humanity does not have your preternatural speed, damn it. I drew as soon as I saw them coming at you, because I knew at least one or more would try for the 'easier' targets, and I wouldn't have time to draw once they started the attack."

Kyuuzou stared at him for a long moment. "You...wouldn't have had time to draw?" he asked. Suddenly, he was re-evaluating his strategy and realizing that he'd massively miscalculated.

Rubbing at his temples, Katsushiro discovered all the tension was giving him a nasty headache. "Are you not even aware of how good you are?" he asked, a little plaintively. "Don't you understand? Kambei-dono is the only one of us who can even hope to keep up with you. And I'm not exactly the most skilled other than him!" Reluctantly he added, "As much as I hate to admit it, except for maybe Kikuchiyo I'm probably the worst fighter in the group. I'm good enough to be able to hold my own against other, normal, samurai, but that's all."

But you weren't fighting ME, you were fighting a bunch of ruffians, Kyuuzou thought. He frowned down at the floor. "I...didn't realize," he said quietly. "I would never intentionally prevent you from defending yourself, Katsushiro. I thought you were wilfully ignoring the danger to your wrist for no reason. That's all."

"I want my wrist healed as much or more than you do," Katsushiro said with a sigh, slumping back against the wall wearily. "And I do have enough sense not to strain it unnecessarily. You can't judge me by your standards, is all. Trust me to know my limits, okay?"

Kyuuzou hesitated, then nodded. "I apologize for lecturing you," he said quietly, staring at the floor.

"And I'm sorry I reacted so badly," Katsushiro apologized as well, recognizing his own fault in the whole mess. "It's just..." He bit his lip, not sure he wanted to confess just how weak he'd been. Finally he sighed and ran a shaking hand through his bangs. "It was probably the worst possible moment you could have picked to do it. Especially since it seemed like you were upset with me for defending myself."

Kyuuzou nodded again. "It's not your fault," he said. "You were afraid, and I made it worse." He began to turn away in preparation of leaving, certain that Katsushiro wouldn't want him to stay.

"Where are you going?" Katsushiro was surprised, then dismayed. Had he managed to drive Kyuuzou off with his childish behaviour already? "I really am sorry, I promise I'll try to be better, please don't go..." Don't leave me alone, not right now, please... Half the reason he'd been SO angry at the older man, he now realized, was a cover for the fear that Kyuuzou's anger at him meant the other samurai wouldn't stay with him that night.

Kyuuzou froze. "Don't...don't beg me." He sounded faintly horrified as he turned back. "I thought you wouldn't want me to stay." He took a step towards Katsushiro, then stopped again. "What do you want?" he asked helplessly. "Please don't beg me again, just ask."

Surprised by the sudden change in tone, Katsushiro looked up at him. I wasn't begging, was I? Maybe a little... why does that bother him so much? "I do want you to stay," he said softly. "I... feel much safer when you're near." He made a self-deprecating face and sighed. "I know it's stupid, it's not like they're out there waiting for me to let my guard down, but..."

Kyuuzou shrugged. "It's not stupid," he said, moving across the stall towards Katsushiro. Now that the younger samurai had confirmed that he wanted him to stay, he was beginning to relax again. "I want to stay," he added. "I prefer this, to pretending."

Katsushiro shifted to make room for Kyuuzou beside him - not that there wasn't enough room to start with, but it was more of an implied invitation. "I do, too," he admitted with a sigh. "Last night, and this morning... were really good."

Kyuuzou settled to the floor next to him. After a moment of hesitation, he wound an arm around the boy's waist. "They were," he agreed. "I'm enjoying this."

"This is going to be even harder than I thought it was," Katsushiro sighed, turning and pressing against the older man, his head on Kyuuzou's shoulder. "I'm so on edge I'm overreacting to everything... and your 'act' during the day is just a little too convincing!"

"It has to be convincing, or it won't work," Kyuuzou said, frowning slightly. "Your act is also quite convincing. You didn't seem to like me at all, today." It occurred to him that it might not have been an act, given how mad Katsushiro was, but he was still hoping the boy could pull it off WITHOUT being angry at him.

"Let's hope I can keep it up without that kind of provocation, because gods know I don't want a repeat of today," Katsushiro said in an unconscious confirmation of Kyuuzou's thoughts. He burrowed a little closer, grateful for the warm comfort offered by the older man's strong embrace.

"I hope so, too," Kyuuzou said softly. "I prefer that hiding our...relationship not end the relationship."

"All right," Katsushiro took a deep breath. "I promise I'll try not to take anything you say in public personally... and I suggest that we take a moment as soon as we're in private and check to see if anything bad that happened during the day was actually serious."

Kyuuzou nodded. "All right," he said. "I'll try not to go overboard as well, in an attempt to seem as though nothing has changed."

"We do at least have the advantage that we'd never really interacted before this," Katsushiro pointed out. "Whatever our behaviour is towards each other, it will be accepted as 'normal'. And I'm sure there's no reason the others would suspect anything if we'd obviously accepted each other as comrades on this part of the journey."

"That's true," Kyuuzou agreed thoughtfully. "Though I shouldn't treat you too differently than I treat others. Acceptance is logical, but I will accept everyone in our group as comrades, and I won't treat them the way I treat you."

"Other than the fact that we did spend three days alone together, which might have fostered a stronger sense of companionship," Katsushiro said. "But I only meant that you shouldn't go overboard in an effort to make it NOT look like there's anything between us."

"I know," Kyuuzou replied, a ghost of a smile on his face. "I could be wrong, but I think we understand one another now. At least, as far as this is concerned."

"I'm sure we'll find something else to misunderstand each other over shortly," Katsushiro assured him dryly. "We are very different people. But I guess that's part of what makes you so interesting... I've never met anyone like you." He hesitated, then figured he might as well ask, rather than risk triggering another fight later. "Why did you get so upset just now, when you thought I was begging you?" For Kyuuzou it was 'so upset', anyway... for anyone else it would have been hardly a reaction.

Kyuuzou chuckled softly over what Katsushiro said first, then sobered instantly as the younger samurai asked about begging. "You should never have to beg me for anything," he said. "Just ask. I would never make you beg."

"I wasn't, not really," Katsushiro told him. "I was just upset, I guess, so it came out more strongly than I meant it to." He studied Kyuuzou's dark eyes, looking for some hint of the basis for this reaction. Kyuuzou had neatly sidestepped the question of 'why', and Katsushiro doubted asking again would produce any further results.

"Oh," Kyuuzou replied, tightening his arm around Katsushiro. "It sounded like begging. I...don't want you to think I wouldn't do what you want...just out of spite, or to control you."

Katsushiro's gaze sharpened, and a few more pieces fell into place in the puzzle that was his companion. Someone did that to you, didn't they? I bet I don't have to guess who. What else did he do to you? And how many odd ways is it going to crop up and slap you in the face, even now that you're rid of him? "I know you wouldn't," he assured the older man softly. "Kyuuzou, I trust you, or I wouldn't be doing this at all."

Nodding, Kyuuzou leaned back against the wall of the stall. "I just wanted to be sure," he said quietly.

"Thank you," Katsushiro said, sincerity clear in his voice. "This may well be the most insane thing I've ever done, but... but I'm glad it's happening." He wrapped his own arms around Kyuuzou's chest and hugged him tight.

"It's not the most insane thing I've ever done," Kyuuzou replied with a ghost of a smile. "But I'm glad, too."

He liked it when Kyuuzou smiled, Katsushiro decided. Even though it was such a small change in expression, hardly even noticeable if you weren't looking for it, it spoke volumes in its own way. Leaning up, he fastened his lips to Kyuuzou's mouth and did his level best to taste the smile.

A small sound, half born of surprise and half of pleasure, issued from back in Kyuuzou's throat as Katsushiro suddenly kissed him. His eyes sliding shut, he put his other arm around Katsushiro and pushed forward gently, laying the other samurai down in the hay as he covered him with his body.

Some of the tension drained from Katsushiro as Kyuuzou bore him down into the hay. He felt sheltered and safe... and more than a little turned on. Wrapping his arms around the older man's neck, he rocked his hips up, rubbing his lower body against Kyuuzou's, cursing the layers of their clothing.

Kyuuzou was doing the same thing as his hands went to the ties of Katsushiro's outfit, his fingers releasing them quickly. He wanted skin, and warmth and more of that pleasure-filled touch, and he wanted it as quickly as possible.

Pulling away to pant softly against the older man's neck, Katsushiro fought against the instinct to cry out in pleasure as Kyuuzou's calloused hands wormed their way inside his jacket and under his shirt to find his skin. His jacket fell open to either side of him, and he dropped his hands to try to do the same to Kyuuzou's jacket.

While the previous night had been slow and leisurely, exploratory and tender, this was fast and needy, full of urgency, though not without gentleness. Kyuuzou pulled back from the kiss and attacked Katsushiro's throat, licking and sucking, though careful not to raise a visible welt.

At the unexpected attack on what he was rapidly discovering was a very vulnerable spot, Katsushiro gasped and rocked his hips up harder, grinding against Kyuuzou even through their clothes. A whimper escaped him before he could stifle it, and he clamped one hand over his own mouth to hush the ones that followed. Last night the wall between them and Rikichi had been thin, but tonight it was non-existent. Hopefully the peasant was a deep sleeper!

Not realizing how close Katsushiro was to blowing it, Kyuuzou slipped a hand into Katsushiro's pants, curling his fingers around the boy's rapidly hardening cock and stroking.

Squirming beneath the attention, Katsushiro squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back, struggling to draw in enough air. Giving up on actually getting the heavy red jacket off Kyuuzou, he settled for unfastening it and retaliating by sliding his hand into the older man's pants as well.

He couldn't breathe. Lack of air was making sparkles dance in front of his eyes - or maybe that was just what Kyuuzou was doing with his thumb, oh gods...

A louder cry escaped him as he shuddered, only partly muffled by his hand. He wasn't even aware of it as his hips bucked, desperately seeking more pressure or friction or speed or something that would pull him even further along the path of ecstasy.

Kyuuzou froze, clapping a hand over Katsushiro's mouth as well. "Be quiet!" he snapped quietly, though the damage had already been done.

Stirring, and still obviously not fully awake, Rikichi called out. "O-samurai-sama? Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine," Kyuuzou growled. "Go back to sleep."

Katsushiro froze as well, his green eyes dark and wide over Kyuuzou's hand. His body was still shaking with need and pleasure, one trembling hand wrapped around Kyuuzou's cock while the other was fisted in the red material of his jacket.

"...O-O-samurai-sama? W-what are you doing all the way over there? Is something wrong with Katsushiro-sama?" Rikichi stammered. There was a shifting sound, as though he were getting up.

Kyuuzou cursed silently and jumped to his feet instantly, putting himself to rights rapidly, just in case the fool actually came to investigate.

"I'm fine, Rikichi-dono," Katsushiro called, his voice only slightly breathless. Thinking fast, he added, "Kyuuzou-dono was just showing me a massage that helps dispel bruises faster, for my injuries from yesterday's fight, but it hurt more than I expected it to. I'm sorry we disturbed you."

The sounds of approaching footsteps stopped. Kyuuzou stepped out of the stall and glowered at the peasant, who gave him a fearful glance, then looked towards the still-hidden Katsushiro with relief. "Oh, of course. I hope you feel better soon, Katsushiro-sama," he said, bobbing his head in a bow as he retreated towards the stall again.

Kyuuzou waited until he was out of sight, then moved back into the stall. "I'm sorry," he whispered, dropping to one knee next to the younger samurai.

Katsushiro scowled, and finished tying the laces on his pants before hitching his jacket up over his shoulders again. He left it undone for the moment, but the mood had been broken. "He'll take forever to go back to sleep," he mourned softly. His body was still humming with tension, but they didn't dare risk anything further. "Damn it. I'm sorry, I really am," he apologized with a sigh. "I tried to stay quiet."

"It's all right," Kyuuzou said, winding his arms around Katsushiro again and tugging him against him. "It wasn't your fault. It's hard to keep silent." He pursed his lips. "Perhaps later, once we've reached the village, we can find somewhere to go where you can be as loud as you want."

Katsushiro shivered and stifled a groan, his interest slowly reviving from both the closeness and the idea. "That'd be nice," he agreed breathlessly. "We definitely have to do that."

Of course, he reflected, his eyes gleaming with amusement and desire, Just because I'M loud shouldn't mean HE has to suffer... He squirmed a little closer, hands darting inside Kyuuzou's jacket again, determined to do at least this much to make up for his sulking earlier and the fact that he'd been too loud and woken Rikichi.

Kyuuzou's eyes widened. "Wha--" then Katsushiro's hands closed around his still-sensitive member and he choked off the question with a soft moan. "Katsushiro..." he whispered, far too quietly for Rikichi to hear.

"I want to do this much, at least," Katsushiro said, determined. He slid his hand up and down over Kyuuzou's length, not worrying about drawing it out but just making it feel good. "Consider it an apology for my behaviour earlier."

"You don't have to apologize for that," Kyuuzou reminded him, but gasped again softly and closed his mouth, leaning back and winding a hand in Katsushiro's hair. He loved the soft texture of the younger samurai's hair, loved stroking him and massaging his scalp as the thin strands slipped through his fingers.

Katsushiro murmured softly in pleasure, the sound almost a purr. The bath that morning and the night before had done wonders for his hair, which had been starting to get rather ragged after the journey through Shikimoribito tunnels. Sometimes it was such a pain he thought about cutting it all off, but moments like this were more than worth the effort the rest of the time.

He leaned in close, his cheek against Kyuuzou's chest as his hand pumped up and down, and briefly considered lowering his mouth to return what Kyuuzou had done for him last night. His mind still shied away from the idea, however, and he regretfully decided that at the very least, it should probably wait until they didn't have a listener.

"H-handkerchief," Kyuuzou gasped a few minutes later, his hips beginning to thrust upwards into Katsushiro's hand as his muscles tightened.

For a moment Katsushiro had NO clue what the older man was on about. Finally realizing Kyuuzou was about to come and didn't want to soil his clothes, Katsushiro frantically hunted for something to use. He wound up grabbing one of the soft cloths he used to polish his sword - and made a mental note NOT to use that cloth again until he had a chance to clean it thoroughly.

He let go of Kyuuzou just long enough to wrap his hand with the cloth before returning to the older man's cock. The rough friction of the soft cloth was enough to push the blonde over the edge, but the cloth soaked up everything without leaving a mess.

Kyuuzou orgasmed with hardly a sound again, just a soft sigh and a few hitched, indrawn breaths as his body trembled in Katsushiro's grasp. Finally, he relaxed into the hay again, struggling to slow his breathing without gasping too loudly, and tugged Katsushiro down against him. "Thank you," he whispered.

Katsushiro squirmed, trying to get comfortable. His own body was on fire again, but he did his best to ignore it as he curled up next to the taller man. "My pleasure," he murmured, voice tight.

Kyuuzou eyed him, his breathing beginning to slow. "Do you think you can be quiet?" he whispered, his hand straying to lay over Katsushiro's hip.

Choking down a moan, Katsushiro buried his face in Kyuuzou's shoulder. "Yes," he said, voice muffled by the heavy fabric of Kyuuzou's jacket. Then as the hand drifted a little further, he whimpered and said, "No. I don't know. Oh gods..."

Kyuuzou hesitated. They couldn't get out of the barn without passing by Rikichi, and the peasant was undoubtedly still awake. Though, if Kyuuzou told him to stay put, he was reasonably sure he would. "Come on," he said, rising to his feet and grabbing Katsushiro's hand to tug him up as well.

Katsushiro moved automatically to grab his sword as he stood, but a flare of pain in his wrist reminded him just in time. He scrambled to his feet, looking up at his companion in confusion. "Where are we going?" he asked, freeing his good hand and picking up his katana, sticking it through his belt.

"Somewhere a little further away," Kyuuzou said. "You'll still have to be quiet, but not quite as quiet. Come on." He turned, preceding Katsushiro out of the stall.

More than willing, Katsushiro eagerly followed him out, though he did wonder how he was planning to get by Rikichi. And why didn't we do this before I got him off? he thought ruefully. Damn it, just give me one hour ALONE with him in a real room with a real bed, and nobody listening on the other side of the walls! I'll even do without the bed, and still be happy...

"O-samurai-sama?" Rikichi called as they headed by the stall. "What--"

"Nothing's wrong, just go back to sleep," Kyuuzou replied with a frigid glare at the other man. "Katsushiro and I are just getting some air and doing a little scouting. Just stay inside and you'll be safe." And he swept past without waiting for the stammered response.

Struggling against laughter at Kyuuzou's high-handed manner, Katsushiro bowed slightly towards Rikichi as he trailed the older samurai. "Everything's fine, Rikichi-dono, don't worry about it," he murmured before they left the man's hearing.

Once outside he took a deep breath of fresh night air and let it out in a trembling sigh. They didn't dare go too far, and he felt oddly exposed out here, but he found himself crowding close to Kyuuzou in eagerness nonetheless.

Kyuuzou led him around the barn to a patch of soft grass nearby. They were extremely exposed, but the distance would at least help muffle the boy's noises, and they'd still be close enough to the barn in case someone attacked. "Lie down," he whispered.

I trust him, Katsushiro reminded himself, slowly drawing his sword from his belt and setting it to one side as he lay on the grass. He won't let anything hurt me... he's faster than any human has a right to be, as long as his sword is in reach, he'll be able to protect us. Shifting nervously, he waited, looking up at the older man with trusting eyes.

Kyuuzou knelt beside him, sealing his mouth over Katsushiro's in a deep kiss as he untied his pants once more and slipped a hand inside.

The kiss muffled the passionate noise that escaped Katsushiro despite his best efforts. Right... we can NOT do this when there's a chance someone will overhear us, Katsushiro acknowledged reluctantly. He just was not able to keep quiet enough, not when Kyuuzou was doing amazing things with his hand.

Clutching at Kyuuzou's shoulders, he rocked his hips up into the touch, wanting more.

Kyuuzou slowly increased the pace, continuing to kiss and devour Katsushiro's mouth to keep him silent. He loved the soft noises, he made, and regretted the necessity to be silent. The way that the younger man was so out of control due to his actions was intoxicating.

Given the way he'd already been brought near the edge once that night, it didn't take long for Katsushiro to lose control entirely. His body shuddered as he reached the peak, and he cried out sharply into Kyuuzou's mouth. His hand came up to thread through the blonde hair, holding him gently in place as Katsushiro kissed him like his life depended on it.

Kyuuzou had been ready. His other hand came up, holding the same rag that Katsushiro had used on him, catching the flow before it could touch and stain the younger samurai's clothes.

Finally he drew back as Katsushiro began to calm. "Better?" he whispered.

"Y-yes," Katsushiro agreed, eyes half closed with satiation and body utterly limp. "You're so amazing," he murmured, smiling happily at the older man. "Gods. I've GOT to learn to do that quietly, or we're NEVER going to have the chance to do it..." Once all of them were together again, the seven samurai and three villagers... and then they would reach the village itself, and they'd be lucky to get any time to themselves, let alone far from other people... he sighed.

Kyuuzou gathered Katsushiro into his arms, cradling the younger samurai to himself as he sat in the grass. "It will be difficult," he said. "But I'm sure we'll find a way to do it." He pressed a kiss to Katsushiro's forehead, then sighed softly. "Somehow."

|Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8|

Return to Miscellaneous Page

Return to the Main Index

Email Miko no da
Email Chichiri no da