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Part 7 Once Katsushiro had moved to follow Kambei, Heihachi glanced at Shichirouji. The older samurai nodded, shifting his grip on his naginata so it was just a little better placed to kill Kyuuzou instantly if he tried anything. Heihachi edged forward and grabbed the blonde's two swords, holding them both awkwardly in his off hand so he wouldn't have to sheath his own. Kyuuzou was, frankly, better than either he or Shichirouji, and certainly was faster. Even unarmed, he wasn't sure he wanted to trust that Shichirouji would be able to keep him contained without Heihachi's support - he'd seen the look of utter fury Kyuuzou had given Kambei. "Where are we going to put him?" he wondered aloud to Shichirouji. "If we take him back to the village, everyone and his dog will know we've taken one of our own prisoner in about five seconds flat. The rumours are going to be bad enough as it is." "Hmmm." Shichirouji narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, then nodded. "I know... one of the big caverns on the side of the cliff, one of the ones we didn't put a stake in. I'm sure you can rig something from the remains of the defences to keep him inside." "Perfect!" Heihachi agreed, his mind already racing over ideas. The big square-cut holes in the cliffside were all interconnected tunnels, but he could block off the back and front of one easily enough, and as long as there was a guard Kyuuzou wouldn't be able to get out without them knowing about it. Kyuuzou listened to their planning with detachment, his eyes on Heihachi. Shichirouji was out of his periphery of vision, still holding his Naginata blade against his spine. The blond's eyes were filled with contempt as they rested on the redhead, and it didn't occur to him that Heihachi might misinterpret the source of the contempt - thinking he was contemptuous of their ability to control him and keep him prisoner. In fact, he had no intention of resisting whatsoever, and never had. The attack on Kambei had been a reflex, born mostly of his rage at their accusation, and had never been intended to hurt the older man. But that didn't mean he was going to make things easy on them. "How are you going to get me there?" he asked, his voice as calm as though he were asking if Heihachi thought it was going to rain later on. The gentlest of taps by the heavy blade of the naginata against his neck was his answer. "You can either go willingly, or we can make things a lot easier on ourselves and just kill you here," Shichirouji informed him, his voice light as if he were making a joke. Inwardly the older blonde was beyond furious. Katsushiro was a sweet kid, and deserved a hell of a lot better than this. Shichirouji had been glad when the kid latched onto Kambei as a teacher... he knew his old partner would never take advantage of the hero worship the way many teachers would have. The way Kyuuzou apparently had. Damn it, I should have seen this coming, he scolded himself. Kambei and I both should have! He's been hero-worshipping Kyuuzou almost as badly as Kambei since we all split up in the countryside. We really need to talk to Rikichi... I hope this doesn't go back that far, but it might. I hope Kambei can get the kid to open up to him. Kyuuzou clenched a fist. Bastards. They really are that convinced that I did this? Or do they consider me this expendable that they would kill me with so little evidence? "I'll go willingly," he said, the smallest of trembles entering his voice as his anger overwhelmed his control. A moment later, he quashed it again. Heihachi didn't make the mistake of thinking the tremor in Kyuuzou's voice was from fear. If there was anything this man was afraid of, it wasn't them. "Let's go," he said quietly, and turned to lead the way. Shichirouji waited until Kyuuzou followed him, then trailed behind, naginata lifted slightly but still well within striking range. Gods, this is such a mess, Heihachi reflected ruefully. I don't know how we're going to deal with this without the village finding out... poor Katsushiro certainly doesn't need everyone to know what was happening. Especially not Kirara! Glancing over his shoulder at the cold expression in Kyuuzou's eyes, Heihachi had to wonder how the whole thing had gotten started. Despite his willingness to bow to authority, Katsushiro wasn't exactly the type to passively let someone hurt him. Kyuuzou met Heihachi's gaze frigidly, not looking away until the redhead faced forward again. They walked in silence for a few minutes while the seething force of his rage ebbed, leaving him feeling drained and subjecting him to the full force of the humiliation he was now going through. He was fervently glad they weren't planning to parade him through the village like they had the traitor who'd sold them out to the Bandits. That would have been more than he could have stood. As they stepped onto the cliff path that led down to whichever hole Heihachi and Shichirouji was planning to incarcerate him in, he finally broke the silence. "Would you really kill me over this?" he asked. He just couldn't imagine that they believed it so strongly. He'd expected them to disapprove, but to accuse him of rape? And to be so certain that they'd kill him for it, without even asking Katsushiro what had happened? "I'd rather not, not until we get the whole story," Shichirouji said. "But I will if you try to get away. After all, if you are innocent," his tone implied he didn't think it terribly likely, "it'd be a waste of a very good samurai. And if you're guilty, well..." he gave an easy smile. "It'd be a shame if you were already dead. I'm sure Kambei will think of something appropriate as a punishment." Heihachi glanced back at him again. "I know what I saw, Kyuuzou," he said, his voice dark. "I don't see how there's very many innocent ways you could interpret it, either. And attacking Kambei like that wasn't exactly the best method you could have chosen to protest your innocence." Kyuuzou glowered at Heihachi, though he felt the first twisting of fear in his stomach at Shichirouji's words. There is nothing they can do to me that hasn't already been done, he thought, the thought oddly calming. "You're both fools," he growled. "We'll see," Heihachi said, shrugging and turning back to the path again. "Kambei will get the truth from Katsushiro." And let's just hope the kid isn't too scared to talk... or worse, convinced he deserves it! Kyuuzou snarled aloud at Heihachi's words. Kambei had better not hurt him... he thought. If he found out that Katsushiro was forced into ANYTHING as a result of this...no words would be able to encompass the carnage that would result. Shichirouji and Heihachi exchanged a significant look at that snarl. Neither of them ascribed particularly protective instincts to Kyuuzou, and it would have shocked them that the blonde would even consider the idea of Kambei hurting Katsushiro, so they assumed it had to be a fearful reaction of Kambei learning the truth. "All right," Heihachi declared as they reached the top of the path that wound down along the cliff side. "You take him down, I'll go find something to rig up as a barrier." "I want to talk to Katsushiro," Kyuuzou said, glaring at Heihachi. This is getting out of control, we have to figure out what to do. I can't betray him, but I don't particularly want to die, either. I have to convince him to bring someone into his confidence before they FORCE him into it. "Why, so you can get your stories straight?" Heihachi asked, glaring back at him. "Hell no! I'll be right back, Shichirouji." The naginata-wielder nodded, and prodded Kyuuzou to start walking down the cliff-side path, though he used the haft of the staff rather than the blade. "I'm sure Kambei will be by to speak to you once he's talked to Katsushiro... you can ask him to speak to the kid. Whether or not he'll let you, I can't say." "He won't let me, either," Kyuuzou replied darkly, walking down the path. And Katsushiro won't talk, I'm sure of it. He's too afraid of Kambei finding out about what happened. What am I going to do?
Katsushiro was carefully and methodically sharpening his sword. It didn't particularly need the attention; he'd been very careful about maintaining it since Kambei's mini-lecture the first night Katsushiro had killed someone. But the repetitive motions and oddly soothing sound of it helped lull him into a sense of calm, quieting the storm of emotions within him. What am I going to DO? he wondered for the hundredth time since the others had caught him and Kyuuzou in the woods. They've already decided what the truth is, and until I tell them what they want to hear, they won't believe anything I say. He paused briefly to pour more water over the whetstone, searching futilely for an answer in the gleaming reflection of the blade. Kirara opened the door. "Katsushiro-sama?" she called before her eyes alighted on him. "Katsushiro-sama, may I come in?" She had heard rumours flying about the village, that someone had been hurt, or something had happened. Katsushiro's name had seemed attached to the situation, though no one seemed to know why the samurai had gone tearing out of the village as though an attack had been coming. Though his expression remained outwardly polite as he turned to bow to her, Katsushiro inwardly groaned. Oh gods, I really do not want to talk to anybody right now, and especially not HER! She's entirely too perceptive... but if I don't talk to her, she'll go to Kambei, and get HIS version of the story. "You're always welcome, Kirara-dono," he said politely as he raised from the bow and moved to put his sword back together again. He used the need to do it properly as an excuse to lower his eyes, hopefully making it harder for her to read him. Sliding the tang back into the hilt, he made sure everything was properly in balance before he inserted the pin that held it all together. Kirara knelt nearby, studying him with a concerned look on her face. "Is everything all right, Katsushiro-sama?" A little helplessly, Katsushiro cast for an acceptable answer to that. No, everything was most definitely not all right - he felt like the support had been kicked out from beneath him, leaving him floundering. But he didn't really want to get into it, either. "Everything is... fine, Kirara-dono," he finally lied with a soft sigh, not knowing what else to say. He studied her in turn, noting the way she was obviously worried as much about him as everything else. A few weeks ago, that would have made me breathless with happiness, that she would notice and care about me, he knew. When did I fall out of that infatuation with her? When did my heart stop beating faster when she was around? He knew the answer, of course... at about the same time his heartbeat had started reacting to Kyuuzou's presence instead. But though he'd never even dared so much as think the words to himself, he knew what he felt for Kyuuzou went much deeper than infatuation. And now they're trying to take him away from me... even if they mean well, even if they eventually understand that he's not hurting me... will he still want me, after all this trouble? Kirara searched his face. "The villagers are concerned," she said. "There is a rumour that something terrible has happened, that was the reason why the samurai ran out into the woods this afternoon, and they aren't telling us what it was." Katsushiro winced. He should have realized the rumours would be flying by now. "Ahh... it was a misunderstanding," he said evasively. How could he explain this without giving away that the samurai were fighting among themselves? That would be a devastating blow to the confidence of the villagers. Nor did he want people eyeing Kyuuzou with doubts once the whole thing was sorted out. "It was something just between us, and it will be sorted out soon. It's nothing for you all to worry about, Kirara-dono." Kirara didn't look convinced, but she gave him a smile. It didn't seem as though things were as "all right" as Katsushiro wanted her to believe, but if he said that it was something they didn't need to know about, internal samurai stuff, she believed him. "Thank you, Katsushiro. I'll make sure the villagers know they have nothing to worry about." He relaxed a little when it seemed she wasn't going to press the issue. "Thank you, Kirara-dono," he said sincerely. "I'm sorry we all made you worry." This is all Heihachi's fault - I don't care WHAT he thinks he saw, he's totally blown this all out of proportion! There was no need to worry the villagers... Kirara bowed to him. "I hope that you are able to resolve this quickly and easily, Katsushiro-sama," she said. "It makes me sad to see you so distressed." He blushed faintly. He was never quite sure what to say when she said or did things like this, even though the stammering tongue-tied feeling of infatuation had passed. Truly, she was a remarkable woman - strong, caring, and mature - and had things worked out differently he'd have been proud that she seemed to have chosen him as the object of her attention, if not her affections. "I hope so too, Kirara-dono," he said, even more fervently than he'd intended. "Believe me, I hope so too." He rubbed his eyes wearily, wishing he could wake up and find the whole day was nothing more than a nightmare. Kirara bowed again and withdrew as silently as she had come, her face troubled even as she moved to the nearest group of whispering villagers and began to try to reassure them. Katsushiro sat and stared at the door she'd exited from for a few long moments, his mind in turmoil once again. All the calm he'd managed to extract from the simple process of sharpening his sword was gone; he was once more caught in the maelstrom. I can't just sit here, he realized. I've got to DO something. I want to talk to him... but they probably won't let me near him, even if I knew where he was. So... I'll just have to talk to Kambei again. Rising to his feet, he sheathed his sword and shoved it into his belt, then padded out the door in search of his sensei. Kambei wasn't hard to find. In fact, he was just outside, on the other side of the cleared area that served as the main thoroughfare of the town. He had been turned in the direction of the cliffs, scanning the horizon as though looking for something. He'd found Rikichi, and the story the peasant had to tell only made the situation worse than ever. The man had reported that things had seemed very odd between the two samurai he travelled with; there had been odd sounds in the night, which Kyuuzou dismissed and Katsushiro nervously explained as Kyuuzou 'helping with his wounds'. The two had sought privacy from Rikichi at every opportunity - or rather, Kyuuzou had, with Katsushiro plainly in tow. Add in an argument where Kyuuzou had struck Katsushiro, apparently in anger at the boy for drawing his sword during a fight, and it all added up into a picture that Kambei didn't like in the least. When Katsushiro emerged from the house, he turned to look at him, his eyes revealing little. Katsushiro approached him, his eyes shadowed. "Sensei," he greeted him. "The villagers are worried." "They're not the only ones," Kambei replied, his eyes searching Katsushiro's face. Is he ready yet? He'd been disappointed by the speed at which Kirara had emerged from the house. He'd hoped that Katsushiro would confide in the miko, at the very least. Will he listen this time? Katsushiro wondered, studying the older man in turn. Or just dismiss anything that doesn't fit what he thinks is the truth? "Sensei... you were the first of us to accept Kyuuzou. You've seen the honour in him from the very beginning, that's part of why he joined us! How could you think he would do something like this?" Kambei gazed down at him kindly. Katsushiro at least seemed more calm now. Perhaps they could come to find the truth this time. "Come with me," he said, moving towards the house. This conversation required privacy. Once inside, he sat down, setting his katana next to him. "What you say is true, Katsushiro," he said. "But it doesn't fit what Heihachi saw today. Until that disparity is explained, I will not do anything that might endanger you." Katsushiro knelt before the man he'd come to think of as his teacher, setting his katana down beside him as well. His hands in his lap were hidden by the long sleeves of his jacket, but they were clenched into tight fists. He couldn't see any way out of this without revealing the thing he'd sworn to himself Kambei would never know. But worse than that... he wasn't sure he could explain what had drawn him and Kyuuzou together without giving away Kyuuzou's secret, as well. "Can't you just trust me to be able to look after myself?" he asked desperately. "I'm not an unblooded child anymore, sensei." "Even adults, fully capable of 'looking after' themselves, can be caught in a trap, Katsushiro," Kambei said quietly. "Particularly the invisible kind made of their own feelings." Trying not to tremble, Katsushiro looked down. "What... what's going to happen to him, if I can't convince you he hasn't done anything wrong?" No matter what the punishment was, could he bear to let Kyuuzou suffer it? Would Kyuuzou ever forgive him for being a coward? Kambei eyed him, wondering at the source of the fear. Was he afraid for Kyuuzou's welfare? Or just afraid that the punishment would only bring him more pain as revenge, once it was over. "If Kyuuzou has truly hurt you the way it seems he has, I will personally ensure that he never has the opportunity to hurt you, or anyone else, again," Kambei said, his voice darkening. "He will die, and do so as the dishonourable pig he is." "NO!" Katsushiro was on his feet, panicked, before he even realized he was going to move. He dropped back to his knees again almost immediately, then further down still, bowing so low his bangs brushed the floor. "PLEASE, sensei... please, you can't, you mustn't..." Oh gods, he was going to have to tell him, he had to, he couldn't let Kyuuzou die... Kambei was a little surprised by the force of the reaction. He'd expected some relief that the nightmare was truly over. "Nothing has been decided yet, Katsushiro," he said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If Kyuuzou is innocent, explain all of this. Explain why he was holding you against him as you choked, and why he didn't even make a pretence of innocence when he was accused. Explain how this came about!" Shaking beneath Kambei's hand, Katsushiro squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fist, and forced the words out of his mouth. "It... it happened..." His voice broke, and he stopped to swallow, still not raising from his bow. I have to do this. I have to tell him. Kyuuzou's life is on the line. Even if he never speaks to me again, at least he'll be alive. "In the first town we stayed in, after we all split up." His voice was harsh with suppressed emotion, but at least the words were coming now. "The city was run by a Yakuza group who apparently had something against samurai. I was... I was stupid, I went out alone and I wasn't paying attention, and I let them get the drop on me." He had to stop to catch his breath, to gather his thoughts, and let a harder tremor pass. Kambei withdrew his hand as Katsushiro began to speak, not daring to say anything as the boy forced the words past his lips. Even when Katsushiro stopped, he remained silent, not wanting to break the spell that was allowing him to speak. "They..." As he remembered Katsushiro's voice became small, the voice of the scared child he had been at that moment in time. "They did... things. To me. Kyuuzou stopped them, killed them... but not in time." Finally he raised up slightly to look at Kambei, his eyes dark with emotion and pleading with Kambei not to think less of him. "I fought them, I did, but there were too many." "I have no doubt of that," Kambei hastened to reassure him. Why didn't he tell me this long ago? Did he really think that I would think him weak? Lowering his head again, just enough that he wasn't looking at Kambei any more, Katsushiro said, "I don't know what I'd have done without Kyuuzou. He's been so good to me... he's not like he is most of the time, when it's just the two of us. He's different... gentler. He would never have forced me to do anything... I was forcing myself, because I wanted to get over this damn phobia. I don't want those Yakuza to have left me incapable of enjoying something that should be wonderful." The picture was beginning to form in Kambei's mind. Katsushiro had been raped, and Kyuuzou had saved his life. After that, they had become lovers. Kyuuzou must have seen an opportunity to comfort Katsushiro that had afforded him pleasure in return, and had taken advantage of his vulnerable state. The idea that Kyuuzou wouldn't have known that Katsushiro was vulnerable was impossible - whether he'd intended to hurt the boy or not, he'd screwed him shortly after a rape. His gentleness would seal the younger man to him, and they were seeing the effects now. "Katsushiro," he said quietly. "How soon after the incident did you and Kyuuzou...become lovers?" "It's... complicated," Katsushiro said, giving a soft sigh of frustration at the whole situation. "That night, I suppose... though he didn't take me until much later, long after we'd reached the village. I wasn't ready." He bit his lip, remembering the way Kyuuzou had been so patient with him, even though the older samurai had obviously been frustrated. Well, Katsushiro had been just as frustrated, his body wanting it so badly but his mind still rebelling. "So you were raped that day, and Kyuuzou slept with you that night, though he didn't take you until later," Kambei said in a neutral tone. Inwardly, he was vibrating with rage. In some ways, this was worse than he'd thought. Though there was little outward evidence of abuse, the impact of what Kyuuzou was doing had obviously made a huge difference to Katsushiro. And to try to tear them apart, would only turn Katsushiro against Kambei. "Y-yes," Katsushiro agreed, wondering why Kambei made it sound like a bad thing. Oh, to anyone else perhaps it would have seemed the older man was merely restating the facts, but after weeks of learning to catch the tiniest flickers of emotion in order to help him interpret Kyuuzou's thoughts and moods, Kambei might as well have been shouting his displeasure. "He stayed with me - I was half in a panic at the idea that they mind find us again. Then I had a nightmare, and he woke me, and held me, and..." he blushed faintly. "Well, things happened." "I see," Kambei nodded. "Just one more question, Katsushiro," he said after a short pause. "Why did you and Kyuuzou hide this from us? Why not simply tell us about your relationship, rather than force us to discover the truth and suspect the worst?" Katsushiro's shoulders tightened. "We knew you wouldn't understand. It was easier this way, and I suppose we fooled ourselves into thinking we could keep it like this." He glanced briefly up, then down again. "He's a very private person, sensei. You can't understand, nobody can, not unless they've been through it too." The last words emerged as hardly more than a whisper. So it was Kyuuzou's idea to hide their relationship. I thought so. Kambei gazed at the lowered head of his student. How can I salvage this? "Katsushiro, I know that all of this is very frightening and difficult for you. I can promise to try to resolve this as quickly as possible, and I hope that whatever the result is, you can understand that we are only trying to help you and keep you safe." Katsushiro's fists clenched a little tighter. "I don't want to be kept safe!" he snapped. "Not from Kyuuzou. You're still not really listening to me at all, are you? Everything I'm saying, you're slotting into your mental perception of what happened. Why won't you listen to me? What is it you're still thinking that's so bad?" "I am listening to you, Katsushiro," Kambei said, his voice raised just enough to override the younger man's anger. "And I'm seeing a young man who may very well have been manipulated in a moment of vulnerability by a man whom we both know to be ruthless and cold in the pursuit of his goals. While I believe that Kyuuzou has his own sort of honour, what he has done is wrong. He took advantage of you when you were vulnerable, and he continues to seal you to him with gentleness, while counselling you to keep his secrets, so that we cannot intervene." Kambei rose to his feet. "The fact that you can't see this is a symptom of what he has done to you, and no more. For your safety, I will ask that you stay here tonight, and do not leave this house. If you do, I will be forced to place you under guard as well, until this has been sorted out." So saying, he swept towards the door. And by dismissing what I say as a 'symptom', he's guaranteed that I can't say anything to convince him, Katsushiro thought angrily. "You will not have to guard me, sensei," he assured the older man, his voice heavy on the honourific. "But if you hurt him... I will never forgive you." He lifted his eyes to Kambei again, defiantly this time. "And if you're planning to go confront him about 'manipulating' and taking advantage of me, I suggest you go prepared to defend yourself. I can't think of anything that will infuriate him more." Kambei glanced over his shoulder, his eyes sad, then turned and disappeared out the door.
Heihachi paced back and forth outside the makeshift enclosure. The tight confines of the square-shaped cut in the side of the cliff somewhat limited his movements, so it was a very short round of pacing. Five steps to the wall. Tight spin on his heel. Five steps to the other wall. Turn and repeat. The metal and wood wall he and Shichirouji had erected to keep Kyuuzou inside was sturdy, though he wasn't entirely certain it would actually keep Kyuuzou in if he were truly determined to get out. The blonde's fighting abilities were impressive, to say the least. Kyuuzou was beginning to get dizzy, watching Heihachi pace. By now he'd calmed down, and was beginning to question the wisdom of his decisions up to this point. They wouldn't have believed me, anyway, he thought. But why are they taking so long? Surely Katsushiro's told them what happened by now... Heihachi came to an abrupt halt. He couldn't take it any longer, he had to know. "Why'd you do it?" he blurted out, staring at Kyuuzou through the enclosure. "Did you honestly think you'd get away with it?" Though who knew how long they HAD been getting away with it... Well, stupid questions were slightly better than pacing. Kyuuzou eyed Heihachi. "I didn't do it," he said. For some reason, he could say it, now, when before he couldn't bring himself to. Perhaps it was the bars between him and his accuser. Or perhaps he'd just calmed down enough. Heihachi gave him a disbelieving look. "Pull the other one," he retorted. "I SAW you, Kyuuzou. Even if you're small enough that those swords of yours really ARE an attempt at compensation, he had you in his mouth." Kyuuzou recoiled slightly, a look of disgust on his face. "Obviously your powers of observation are lacking," he replied coldly. Heihachi rolled his eyes. "So, why'd you do it?" he persisted. "Katsushiro's a good kid, he deserves better than that, damn it." "Yes, he does," Kyuuzou agreed. "And better than this, too." Better than you forcing him away from me, when neither of us has done anything wrong. "Why did you follow us?" "One of the villagers reported hearing screaming in the woods," Heihachi replied. "I wasn't following you, I was scouting. It's a damn sure bet who was doing the screaming, though, and it wasn't you." "No, it wasn't me," Kyuuzou acknowledged. "Katsushiro isn't very good at being quiet. And we found that place so he could be as loud as he liked." He frowned. "Apparently we were wrong." Heihachi wavered in his conviction for just a moment. He'd never screamed during sex, but he'd had a girl or two who had. From an outside perspective, it probably would sound a lot like... Then he shook his head, and his resolve reasserted itself. He scowled. "He was choking, and you were holding him there, damn it! I saw!" "No he wasn't, and no I wasn't," Kyuuzou growled in reply. "He was inexperienced, and you assume too much." Heihachi growled, and would have kicked the wall if it hadn't been such a childish thing to do. "I know what I saw," he muttered. He shook his head again, and returned to his pacing. "Kambei will get the truth from Katsushiro. The kid trusts him. And man, if you have done anything to Katsushiro, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when Kambei gets here." Kyuuzou growled softly, settling against the wall of the cell. "Kambei can't do anything to me." Heihachi gave him a faintly amused look. "You kidding me? That kid is like his pet project, or something. And if there's one thing I'm learning, it's that you do NOT want to piss off Kambei." Kyuuzou snorted, glancing up at Heihachi and meeting his gaze. "There is nothing Kambei could do to me that I fear," he said. Heihachi looked back at him for a long moment, a shiver creeping up his spine. "That I will believe," he said slowly, quietly.
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