Part 8

Kambei didn't seek out Kyuuzou, as Katsushiro had thought he would. He wanted to give the other samurai some time to stew, to decide to cooperate, and to reflect upon what was going on. Besides, he needed the insight of his right-hand man.

He found Shichirouji alone near the cliffs after a rather extensive search, and headed towards him. "Where is he?" he asked. "And Heihachi. Did he give you any trouble?"

"Down below," Shichirouji informed him, nodding towards the cliffs. "Heihachi contrived something to block in into the entrance to one of the tunnels. I promised to relieve his watch at midnight. Kyuuzou isn't going anywhere for a while." He studied his old friend, eyes dark and worried. "What did the boy say?"

"Katsushiro was raped by yakuza on the way to the village," Kambei said with a soft sigh. "Kyuuzou killed them, and then proceeded to 'comfort' Katsushiro during the aftermath. He told Katsushiro to keep it secret, because according to him, we wouldn't understand."

Shichirouji made a sound that was part way between a laugh and a snort. "Gods, that makes me feel old. I remember when I was a teenager, and convinced that nobody else could possibly understand." He gave the word a heavy weight, rolling it in his mouth with a taste of irony. "It's hard to remember sometimes that Kyuuzou's probably only a few years older than Katsushiro. They're very different."

Kambei grunted his agreement, his expression thoughtful. "That hadn't occurred to me," he said. "Kyuuzou seems so much more mature, but if you look past the attitude, he doesn't look much older than Katsushiro." He shook his head. "I misjudged him. I knew he was ruthless, but to take advantage of Katsushiro's vulnerability like that..."

Shichirouji, now that he was out of the heat of the moment, was starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing. Something about the situation just didn't sit right with him. Still, Kambei was right, it was beyond criminal to take advantage of the vulnerability of a young boy who'd just been raped. "I take it Katsushiro is defending him?" he drawled, leaning on his staff. "Convinced he's in love with Kyuuzou, is he?"

"He hasn't said the word, yet, but I believe so." Kambei eyed Shichirouji. "But all of this is just my interpretation of what I've seen thus far. What are your thoughts, Shichirouji? What is your feeling about Kyuuzou?"

"Maa... now that I'm thinking past my anger, something doesn't fit," Shichirouji admitted, turning to stare out over the cliffs again. "We know now at least part of why Heihachi saw what he did. Well and good, Kyuuzou isn't actually forcing the boy. Emotionally manipulating him into it is just as bad, of course. But I feel like I'm still missing part of the puzzle."

Kambei followed Shichirouji's gaze, thinking. Finally, he took a breath. "You're right," he said. "There's something I'm not understanding here." He glanced at his friend. "For one thing, why did Kyuuzou attack me, but otherwise, make no move to resist? He had to know we would find out what happened." He rubbed the small patch of hair on his chin in thought. "Is it possible that he sees nothing wrong in what he did?"

"Mmmm." Shichirouji thought for a moment, letting his mind wander back over the years, to a time when he'd been younger and rasher and far more reckless, and remembered his equally rash and reckless best friend. "Kambei? What would you have done, all those years ago, had someone accused you of raping me?" He shook his head. "You're very different from Kyuuzou, and yet... I wonder."

Kambei hesitated. "I wouldn't have simply stood there and let the accusation be made," he said. "I would have fought it." But he frowned. Could there be a reason why Kyuuzou had acted the way he had? He's so quiet. So difficult to fathom.

"I think his anger towards you when you accused him of raping Katsushiro is the first time I've ever seen any real emotion from him," Shichirouji pointed out quietly. "What would cause someone to be that way, I wonder?"

"Hmm..." Kambei stared out over the cliffs for a long moment. There was something else that was bothering him, and it seemed connected to that very question. He thought about the conversation he'd had with Katsushiro, and his words. Something about not understanding... "Unless you've been through the same thing," he muttered, his eyes widening with understanding. He turned to his friend. "Shichirouji, do you remember Hyougo, the man that Kyuuzou killed just before joining us? Did anything about their relationship seem off to you?"

"The one who hardly bothered to defend himself, because he obviously didn't expect Kyuuzou to turn on him?" Understanding dawned in Shichirouji's eyes as well. "What was it Kyuuzou said to him, when he asked why he'd done it? 'Because I want to live'..."

Kambei nodded. "Katsushiro trusted Kyuuzou, because Kyuuzou understood what happened to him. Understood far better than Katsushiro did himself, I suspect." His expression darkened. "Is it possible that someone who has been abused would callously take advantage of the abuse of another?" He waved a hand, dismissing what he'd just said. "Not just someone, but Kyuuzou in particular. Is Kyuuzou capable of such a thing?" He glanced at his friend once more. "And if someone who'd been through something like that had escaped, how easy would it be to fall back into the patterns of behaviour that protected him before?"

"Falling into the same behaviour that warped you and continuing the cycle is a common pattern of abuse," Shichirouji said, his eyes dark again. "But Kyuuzou in particular? I'm not sure. There is a strong core to him, something that obviously refused to break, or he'd never have turned on Hyougo in the first place. Moreover, the kind of abuse we're discussing here would have to be quite severe, to produce a personality like Kyuuzou. Katsushiro hasn't shown any signs of that sort of personality distortion, has he? Other than what could reasonably be expected by the fact of his rape at the hands of the Yakuza, and the inevitable maturing that the events of the last few weeks have brought him?" He tilted his head, murmuring more to himself than to Kambei, "If it's all you've ever known, how would you go about offering comfort to someone else in the same position?"

Kambei nodded. "And when we confronted him, what did he do? He didn't angrily deny the accusations. He didn't explain. He attacked, and when that didn't work, he shut up. He never once tried to defend himself." His lips thinned. "What do you suppose Hyougo did when he believed Kyuuzou had done something wrong, and Kyuuzou denied it?"

"Nothing good, I'm sure," Shichirouji agreed grimly. "That man... was disturbing, I could sense it though I faced him for perhaps two minutes all told. The question is, how can we be sure? Katsushiro's version of events is suspect, because whether or not Kyuuzou is deliberately manipulating him, his story would be much the same. Do you think you can get Kyuuzou to talk to you at all?"

"I won't know until I find out," Kambei said. "Maybe if I approach him in a different way, with this new information, he'll be willing to talk."

Shichirouji gave a long, drawn-out sigh. "Ahhh. If he really is innocent, then I hope all this mess doesn't put too big a strain on their relationship." Shifting, he lifted his staff and slung it over his shoulder. "Are you going to talk to him now? If so, perhaps I should replace Heihachi on watch early. I don't think he's entirely level-headed about this."

"Yes, let's not wait. If he's innocent, there's no need, and if he's guilty, it won't hurt to talk to him now," Kambei said, gesturing to Shichirouji. "Show me where you put him."

Shichirouji led Kambei down the side of the cliff to the place where they'd penned in Kyuuzou, his mind working overtime the whole way. If what Kambei suspected about Kyuuzou's relationship with Hyougo was true - and Shichirouji could think of no other explanation that fit the facts so perfectly - then they'd all done Kyuuzou a grave injustice indeed. He only hoped the blonde - and Katsushiro - would be willing to forgive them.

"This should be interesting," he murmured to Kambei as they rounded another switchback and Heihachi came into sight. "Good luck - I think you'll need it, to get him to talk."

"Kambei!" Heihachi greeted them in surprise. "How's Katsushiro? He okay?" Behind him, Kyuuzou was just barely visible through the bars of the makeshift cage.

Kyuuzou sensed Kambei and Shichirouji coming in an unfocussed way, but didn't see them until Heihachi greeted them. At the redhead's words, his attention focussed, his eyes glaring at Kambei and Shichirouji through the bars.

"He's okay," Kambei replied, his eyes moving to Kyuuzou as he walked up. The blond reminded him of a caged tiger. Though he was still, there was an energy, a coiled rage that felt as though it could explode right through the bars if he released it. "We're here to clear a few things up with Kyuuzou."

"Good luck," Heihachi sighed quietly. If it were anyone but Kyuuzou, it would have been too quiet for anyone but Kambei and Shichirouji to hear. "He's real good at talking in circles and not saying anything." The redhead rolled his eyes.

"You spoke to him?" Kambei asked in surprise, eyeing Heihachi.

Kyuuzou was getting tired of people talking about him as though he couldn't hear them. It seemed obvious that Katsushiro still hadn't told Kambei - and while he couldn't blame him, he disagreed. He'd just have to solve this himself. "Kambei," he said. "I want to talk to Katsushiro. Bring him here, now."

Heihachi bristled, once again ready to spit something nasty about Kyuuzou wanting to get his story straight, but Shichirouji clamped a hand on his shoulder and drew him back. "Let them talk," he advised the redhead, and his words were quiet enough that Kyuuzou couldn't understand them. "There's more going on here than you know. I think Kyuuzou will be more open if we're not throwing accusations at him with every breath he takes."

Kambei directed a grateful look at Shichirouji over his shoulder, then moved directly in front of Kyuuzou. "It's all right, Kyuuzou," he said quietly. "You don't need me to bring Katsushiro here. He's already told me everything."

Kyuuzou blinked, an expression of faint surprise coming to his face. "Then why am I still here?" he asked. "I haven't done what you accused me of. I haven't done anything wrong."

Shichirouji had drawn Heihachi far enough back that their whispered conversation wouldn't interrupt, but not so far that they couldn't hear what Kyuuzou and Kambei said. Heihachi gave Shichirouji a surprised look. "Why, what'd the kid say? What possible reasonable explanation could there be for this?"

"It's complicated, and not my place to tell you," Shichirouji replied. "Hush, and maybe you'll hear it for yourself. We're still not sure of all the details, that's why Kambei wanted to talk to Kyuuzou."

Kambei hunkered down, so that his face was level with Kyuuzou. The key was not to seem like an authority figure, he suspected. He'd have to tread lightly here, to get the truth, and he didn't want Kyuuzou to feel as though he were coming down on him again.

Kyuuzou watched him suspiciously as he sat, his distrust evident in his eyes. What is he doing?

"You're still here because I want to be sure that what Katsushiro told me was the whole truth. There are still some parts of the puzzle missing, and I'm still not convinced that you didn't do anything wrong," Kambei explained, his tone still even and quiet.

"I didn't rape him!" Kyuuzou snarled, the explosion surprising even himself. "I held him, and he was upset. And when I asked him if he wanted me to kiss him, he said YES. And none of this is any of your business, anyway! You have no right to dictate what we do."

Heihachi's eyes were comically wide as they listened to the uncharacteristic outburst; if the situation had been less serious, Shichirouji probably would have laughed at him. As it was, the older blonde simply listened, not displeased by the outburst. If Kyuuzou felt this strongly about the situation, it might well mean he felt that strongly about Katsushiro.

"You're right," Kambei said, as unruffled by the outburst as a boulder in a windstorm. "If everything is as it should be, then I have no right - and no desire - to interfere in your relationship." He leaned forward slightly. "Kyuuzou, when I heard that you had slept with Katsushiro the first night after he'd been raped, I was angry. Do you understand why?"

Kyuuzou eyed him for a moment, then shook his head.

Nodding, Kambei straightened again. "I thought so, and that's what worries me."

"Why?" Kyuuzou asked softly.

"Because, Kyuuzou," Kambei replied. "To most people, what you had was an opportunity. You had a beautiful, frightened, vulnerable boy in your arms, and you had the chance to take advantage of that situation. You protected him, and sealed him to you with his loyalty." He eyed Kyuuzou carefully. "The next step, to many people, would be to push that envelope. To see what he would let you do, now that you've ensured that he would never question you."

For a moment, Kambei thought he was dead. The rage that blazed in Kyuuzou's eyes was truly potent, as the blonde launched himself at him.

Luckily, Heihachi's engineering skills were unparalleled.

Kyuuzou smashed into the bars as though he hadn't even known they were there. His fingers scraped briefly at Kambei's clothes, then fell away as the blonde slumped to the ground, stunned by the impact. "I didn't," he whispered, curling into a ball against the bars. "I wouldn't do that."

Heihachi had his sword half drawn in an automatic reaction before Shichirouji's hand on his arm halted him. The taller man shook his head, indicating that Heihachi shouldn't interfere - even though his other hand was clenched tight around his staff and he was fighting with his own instincts not to leap forward and shove Kyuuzou away from the bars, protecting Kambei.

Kambei hesitated, then reached out to Kyuuzou and touched his shoulder. The man flinched away and he withdrew his hand. "Why not?" he whispered. "You could. His loyalty to you is absolute."

Kyuuzou glared at him through a fall of blond hair. "Because it's WRONG," he snarled.

Shichirouji let out a silent, satisfied sigh. So he does realize. Good. It wasn't deliberate, then. And maybe he really is the best thing for Katsushiro, under the circumstances.

"I'm so lost," Heihachi muttered, shooting a narrow glance at Shichirouji. "You are so giving me the entire story later, or I'm going to hound you to death!" Shichirouji chuckled and just shook his head.

Kambei visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Kyuuzou," he said, gesturing to Heihachi as he rose to his feet. "That was just what I needed to hear." He hesitated. "Can you forgive us for what we've done?"

Kyuuzou got to his feet. A bruise was already developing on his cheek where he'd impacted with the bars. Another one, on his chest, would be worse, but it was hidden by the clothing. "You were trying to protect him," he muttered. "It's not your fault that you're ignorant and reactionary."

Shichirouji couldn't help it - he burst out laughing. "I've heard you called many things, old friend," he said to Kambei, his eyes sparkling, "But that's definitely a first!" Nonplussed, Heihachi's gaze darted between the three of them as he clearly attempted to make sense of the whole mess.

Kyuuzou aimed a glare at the other two. "I was including you two in that description, as well," he said coldly.

Kambei chuckled. "Heihachi, please release Kyuuzou from this cell. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"I know," replied Shichirouji easily as Heihachi uncertainly moved forward to take the bars apart. "But it's not nearly as odd for us to be referred to that way as it is for Kambei, you must admit."

"Hey!" Heihachi protested, glancing up from the screws he was undoing. "Speak for yourself!"

Kyuuzou eyed Heihachi as the redhead began to dismantle the bars. "Do you agree with Kambei?" he asked quietly. "Or do you still think you know what you saw?"

"I..." Heihachi gave him a sideways look, uncertain. "I don't..." He wanted to hear it from Katsushiro, to see for himself that the kid really was okay with all this - but Kambei knew Katsushiro better than Heihachi did, and if Kambei thought everything was okay...

"Argh!" Heihachi made a frustrated noise and shook his head. "Ah, hell, I don't know WHAT to think. If Kambei says it's okay, then I guess it must be." He cast a look at Kyuuzou that was half apologetic, and half defensive. "It looked pretty bad, damn it. And he's just a kid..."

"He is three years younger than I am," Kyuuzou said, his eyes narrowing. "As best as I can estimate. And he is blooded. He is inexperienced, but he's not just a child."

"That's... not exactly what I meant," Heihachi said, scratching at his head briefly. He twisted another screw loose, then jumped up to catch the grating as an entire section of it started to collapse, leaving a makeshift 'doorway'. "There! Ehhh... no hard feelings, right?" He gave Kyuuzou a nervous smile. The blonde could slice him to pieces without thinking twice about it, Heihachi knew. He didn't particularly want Kyuuzou as an enemy.

Kyuuzou stepped out of the doorway. Kambei and Shichirouji were off a ways, watching their conversation sidelong as they discussed something in low tones. "If you give me back my katana, there will be no hard feelings. What exactly did you mean?"

"He's just so damn innocent," Heihachi explained as he retrieved Kyuuzou's double saya and handed it to him. "It's hard to imagine him doing something like that... or being really able to decide to do it..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Obviously he's not nearly as innocent as I thought," he muttered under his breath.

"No, he's not," Kyuuzou replied coldly, strapping the Saya around his shoulders and settling it on his back. Kambei and Shichirouji evidently know already, so I might as well enlighten the fool. "He lost that innocence when he was raped by Yakuza on the way here. If he ever had it. You give him too little credit."

"When he... what?" Heihachi's eyes widened in horror. "Ah, hells... I had no idea. Damn it, why does all the shit always happen to the people who deserve it the least?"

Discreetly, Shichirouji coughed into his hand to get their attention. "Speaking of Katsushiro," the older blonde said lightly, "we might want to get back and reassure the poor kid that we're not planning to taking Kyuuzou's head off any time soon."

Kyuuzou looked at Shichirouji and nodded. "I'll go," he said shortly. "He'll want to see me, anyway." He turned to head up the path, moving quickly with an anticipation that was obvious to the other three.

Kambei called after him. "Kyuuzou. While you're there, you might want to tell him how you feel. Now would be a good time for that."

Kyuuzou stopped and shot a confused look over his shoulder at the older man. "How I feel?"

Shichirouji smacked his forehead with his palm, and laughed. Heihachi just rolled his eyes and kept working on dismantling the rest of the makeshift cage. "Ah, young love," the older blonde intoned, digging his elbow into Kambei's side with a grin. "The confusion, uncertainty, wild emotions and hormones... I'd say I miss it, but it'd be a lie."

Kyuuzou's eyes widened when he heard what Shichirouji said, but he turned and continued up the path without another word, his brow creased with thought.

He reached the house where Katsushiro was staying and hesitated before calling out. "Katsushiro? Are you inside?"

Katsushiro had been kneeling in front of the fire, polishing his sword with long, slow strokes of a soft cloth. The sword didn't really need the attention; Katsushiro just desperately needed something to occupy his hands, if not his thoughts.

At first he though maybe he was imagining the soft call. Shaking his head, he leapt to his feet and sheathed his sword, before padding softly to the door. He opened it a crack and peered outside, then his eyes went wide and he threw it the rest of the way open, hard enough that the frame shuddered and threatened to crack at the impact. "KYUUZOU!"

He badly wanted to just throw himself into his lover's arms and reassure himself that the older samurai really was there and in one piece, but he wasn't sure how the gesture would be received. So he hovered instead, green eyes wide and anxious.

Kyuuzou gestured Katsushiro back and stepped into the house, closing the door. He had a bruise developing on one cheek and he was moving more stiffly then before. He hesitated uncertainly, seeing that Katsushiro was practically vibrating with something, but not sure what it was. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, reaching out carefully to envelop Katsushiro in his arms. "I was worried about you."

"Worried about me?" Katsushiro sighed and wrapped his arms tightly around his lover's waist, burying his face in the blonde's shoulder and just clinging for a long moment. "You were the one they were going to kill if we couldn't convince them you hadn't done anything wrong!"

Pulling back slightly, he studied the older man's face with worried eyes. "What did Kambei do? What did you say to him? He still didn't believe me when he left here..."

Kyuuzou blinked. "He didn't? He came to talk to me, saying that he believed I hadn't done anything wrong." His eyes darkened. "He accused me of using the fact that you were raped to manipulate you, and treating you well only so that I could get away with treating you badly later. But he believed me when I said I wouldn't do that." A hand drifted upwards to touch the bruise on his cheek. "I was rather forceful in my denial..."

"Is that what he was thinking?" Katsushiro made a frustrated noise, and stroked Kyuuzou's back absently. "Gods, what a mess. It seemed like no matter what I said, he just wasn't really listening. He only heard the parts that fit into what he'd already decided." He touched the bruise on Kyuuzou's cheek. "Did he hit you?"

"No," Kyuuzou said. "I was...angry at what he'd said. I tried to get out of the prison." He winced. "Heihachi builds strong prison cells."

Katsushiro stared at him in disbelief, then burst out laughing, snuggling his face into Kyuuzou's shoulder again. "What did you do, throw yourself into the bars trying to reach him?" he asked, picturing it. He almost wished he could have been there to see it... Kyuuzou didn't often show emotion, certainly not on that level of magnitude.

His voice softened as he added, "I'm sorry you had to go through all this. I hope... I hope you still think it's worth it." That had been his greatest fear through all this - well, other than worrying that Kyuuzou would be killed.

Kyuuzou pulled back and stared at him. "Why wouldn't I think it was worth it?" he asked. "I..." He hesitated, was this what Kambei had meant? Could it be that Katsushiro really didn't KNOW?

Katsushiro kept his eyes lowered, staring at Kyuuzou's collarbone as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world. He knew his own emotions were undoubtedly shining in his eyes for all the world to see, and Kyuuzou could be so damn observant sometimes. Other times, he could be completely oblivious. And he seems to inevitably pick the worst moment for either...

If this whole mess had accomplished nothing else, it had forced realization on Katsushiro of how deeply his feelings for Kyuuzou really ran. He knew it was probably as much childish infatuation as anything else, and he was trying hard not to end up making his lover uncomfortable, but gods it was hard not to show how he felt.

The silence drew out for a few moments, and Kyuuzou could feel the tension singing in the air like a plucked bowstring. Finally, he surrendered. "I love you, I think," he whispered.

Katsushiro's eyes flew up to meet Kyuuzou's before he realized what he was doing, and he stared in shock. "You... you do?" he whispered, disbelieving. Slowly hope blossomed in his heart, echoed in the warm heat of his eyes. "Really?" It was too good to be true, too much like the ending of one of those stupid stories... Kyuuzou buried his emotions so deeply, could he really have come to feel that strongly for Katsushiro?

Kyuuzou shifted uncomfortably. "So far as I understand the definition of the word," he said cautiously. "Yes..." He eyed the boy warily. Katsushiro seemed happy, and that was a good sign. But...he certainly hadn't returned the sentiment, yet. Was something wrong? Had he said it too soon? Weren't there...times and ways that these things were supposed to be said? He didn't exactly have a rose, or a ring to give him...

Katsushiro continued to just stare at him for another moment, long enough that Kyuuzou began to think he really had mad a mistake... and then the younger man flung his arms tight around Kyuuzou's neck and kissed him, as passionately as he ever had. "Kyuuzou..." he murmured against his lover's lips, his eyes sliding closed as he shivered with pleasure and happiness. "I... I think I love you, too."

Kyuuzou's eyes widened, and then closed as he relaxed in relief. "Oh good," he said softly, winding his own arms around Katsushiro so tightly he could feel the bruises on his chest screaming in agony. But he didn't care, the rest of him felt so good, the pain didn't matter.

"So... does this mean we don't have to hide, anymore?" Katsushiro asked hopefully. "Pretty much everyone knows about us, now." The idea of not having to fight so hard for moments of privacy, for being able to openly walk off with Kyuuzou, was dizzying. Not that he was planning to do something vulgar like hold hands in public or worse, but... just not having to worry about being seen slipping off would lift a weight from him that had been almost crushing.

"We don't have to hide anymore," Kyuuzou agreed. The idea of public displays of affection would have horrified him even more than Katsushiro, if the possibility had even occurred to him. "I think that will be easier. And less likely to be misunderstood."

Katsushiro's eyes lit up, and his expression became just a little wicked. "Well, you know what that means," he said, rubbing one hand lightly against the back of Kyuuzou's neck. "There's no reason for us to sleep in separate houses tonight." A rueful grin crossed his lips. "Might still have to gag me, though... no sense in getting TOO obvious about it."

A slow smile spread across Kyuuzou's face. "So long as they don't walk in and see that," he said. "But I doubt they'd dare." He bent his head to kiss Katsushiro tenderly.

Katsushiro returned the kiss with interest, and there was a happy smile on his lips when Kyuuzou lifted his head again. "I doubt we'll have any more problems with observers, no," he agreed softly. "And if they're stupid enough to put themselves in a place where they walk in on us, they can just deal with what they see."

He rubbed his whole body against Kyuuzou provocatively. "Take me to bed," he demanded. "It's been too long since we did this somewhere soft." Now they could have a bed whenever they wanted it. The thought make Katsushiro very happy indeed; though he rather thought he wouldn't mind still going other places, sometimes. There was something rather freeing about having sex - no, making love - out in the open. His smile at that thought was so brilliant, it almost eclipsed the light from the fire.

"I love you," he murmured again, thrilled just to be able to say the words. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Yes," Kyuuzou agreed softly, all of Katsushiro's words encompassed somehow in that single word. His smile was smaller, but no less genuine, as he drew Katsushiro towards the futon in the corner.

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