Blade Of The Immortal Fan Fiction ❯ Abstinence Education ❯ Part Twenty-Nine ( Chapter 29 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Madame Manga 
Over the river and into the woods...
Anime/Manga: Blade Of The Immortal Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Samurai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.12.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.6K | Visits: 956 | Status: Work In Progress
Over the river and into the woods...
Anime/Manga: Blade Of The Immortal Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Samurai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.12.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.6K | Visits: 956 | Status: Work In Progress
Over the river and into the woods...
The characters and universe of Blade of the Immortal/Mugen no Junin are copyright by Hiroaki Samura and do not belong to me. Not one sen will come into my hands in consequence of this story.
Warnings for sex in various forms, including quasi-incestuous themes and a sixteen-year-old female paired with an adult male. Violence and dismemberment are legally required in any BotI fic, so be prepared.
Zegen: A licensed procurer who buys children and youths from impoverished families and re-sells them into the sex trade.
Daikon: A giant Japanese radish. Often used as a slang synonym for 'penis'.
Abstinence Education
by Madame Manga
Part Twenty-Nine
The ferryboat landing crowded thick with anxious passengers, and the boatmen were charging double on the pretext that the river was still dangerous. Rin heard a number of heated arguments over fares while she and Manji waited for a seat on one of the boats. She put her hand in her bag and counted the strings of coppers by touch for the fourth or fifth time, though she already knew exactly how much money they had between them. After they had packed up, Manji had dug into his sleeves and handed her all the cash he was carrying so she could pay the inn bill.
The landlord was snapping at everyone and looked morose; she gathered that Makie had left the inn early that morning, apparently unaccompanied. He hadn't been inclined to overlook the ruined tatami and insisted on what she considered an inflated price for their food, but she managed to cajole the total low enough not to bankrupt them. They had enough cash to get home with a few coppers left over, and that was all.
Rin looked sideways at her bodyguard, sitting on a log next to her with his arms folded inside his kosode, and wondered just how he had managed to spend ten ryo in a little over two weeks. Maybe he'd been gambling, though she had never known him to give a dice game a second glance. A lot of it must have gone for sake, but how much could he have paid at the brothel? O-Hama's rates were obviously much higher than Manji thought reasonable, but she was a fixture in an outlying village rather than in an exclusive pleasure district in town. He'd said he could tell she disliked him, but apparently she didn't have the right to turn down customers. So even though she was beloved of a hatamoto's son, she was nowhere near the top of the official courtesan's hierarchy and couldn't account for a great deal of the total.
Rin silenced a sigh. No matter how, Manji's burn rate was apparently just as high as he'd told her. The next time he got his hands on some money, she was going to insist on holding it for him and doling it out in reasonable amounts. An odd little quiver went through her at the thought. That was how a wife would manage the household accounts for her husband; samurai in particular usually scorned to count their money like merchants and needed to be kept on a strict budget.
“Um, Manji-san?“
He grunted.
“Did you want your change back? I'm afraid there isn't much left...but I'll pay the boat fare. Since I said that there was no way we were crossing at the ford ourselves.“ Even if the water had receded to ankle-depth, she was never again going to be ported across a river if she could possibly help it.
He made a slight face. “Nah, you keep it.“
“Well, OK, if you want...but I'll keep track of whose is whose.“
Manji looked away and didn't reply, though his nose twitched. Rin bit her lips and closed her bag. The awkwardness she'd envisioned hadn't materialized, at least not in a form she would have expected. Her bodyguard wasn't saying much, but not from shame nor anger. There had been no recriminations; he hadn't mentioned either the act or his earlier attempt to declare a separation. Rin would rather have been trampled by wild horses than bring those subjects up herself, though she knew it couldn't be avoided for long. There was no privacy at hand anyway.
An elderly peasant accompanied by an equally elderly woman and a string of children stumped up to the ferryboat landing and stopped near their seat. He let out a loud exclamation and banged his walking stick on the ground when he saw the size of the crowd.
“Eh-yah! We won't be over the water 'til noon. My old bones are goddamn tired already.“ He glanced around at Rin and Manji as the children straggled up. Three girls and three boys, none of them older than ten. The smallest girl, about four years old, held the hand of a boy who looked the same age–they must have been twins. The eldest girl carried a bare-bottomed infant boy in a sling on her back. Rin got up to offer the old man her seat on the log.
“Young lady, that's most kind and polite of ya, but I'll not displace my betters, no ma'am.“ He gave a low bow to Manji. “And a good morning to you, soldier.“ Manji nodded at him with a mixture of his usual unconcern and an automatic respect for gray hairs, even a farmer's.
Rin looked at the children who crowded around the old couple, clinging to their baggy jackets. They must be grandchildren, but all of them wore mud-stained clothes and had dull, sad faces. Only the infant burbled and cooed at her when she smiled; the rest stared back and bowed, or were made to by the old woman.
“Hello.“ She wished she could cheer them somehow, they looked so despondent. “What are your names, and how old are you? Mine's Rin, and I'm sixteen.“ She heard a small shy chorus of voices, but didn't catch much individual information. Digging in her shoulder bag, she came up with a handful of little sugar candies and held them out. “Would you like some sweets?“
There was a spark of interest in the dull faces; she handed the candy around. Each child accepted with a low bow of thanks, but only the little twins ate theirs immediately. The elder girls examined the candy as if they had rarely seen such delicacies and carefully put it away in their sleeves.
“Most kind to take such notice of us humble folk, young lady.“ The old couple bowed to Rin. “You'll have great rewards in paradise.“
“Oh, it's nothing at all...um, is everything all right?“ She looked at the children, who still seemed glum.
“Well, since yer askin', their folks're dead these three days past, I'm sorry to say. These are my second son's kids.“ The old man leaned on his stick and sighed. “All but the eldest–he's buried under the house with his pa and ma.“ The old woman cleared her throat and the man shrugged at her. “Eh, she's wantin' to know, ain't she? But it ain't fittin' to inflict our troubles on others.“
“Buried?“ Rin opened her mouth in shock. “Oh, what happened?“
“It were a damn big landslide, you see?“ He made a wide gesture and a rumbling noise. “Three of my sons lost their houses, but us oldsters and everyone else got out in time. Ruined the whole friggin' rice harvest and filled the paddies with rocks and crap, more's the pity. They'll be diggin' out all winter.“
“Oh...that's terrible!“ Instinctively Rin reached out for the infant when he waved his little hands at her. The girl immediately slipped her sling from her shoulders and handed her brother over. “I'm so sorry. Where are you taking them, grandfather?“ She settled the baby on her lap and cuddled him, her throat clenching in sympathy. To lose their parents so young...
“Ah, we've got cousins just over the river. Some of 'em can take us an' the boys, I've no doubt. The girls, well...“ He shook his head. “It's too bad, that's what I say. Wish I could live long enough to see 'em with husbands instead...“
The old woman clucked her tongue. “How you go on about that, you old fart! They'll get fed and clothed better'n us, so why mourn over 'em?“
“Eh-yah...“ The old man scratched his sparse cropped hair. “Wish our village head had got some family to make a bit of room.“
“Idiot! Who kin afford to feed someone else's girl-brats for years just to marry 'em off? The cash'll buy a proper funeral and a tombstone, so don't sneeze at that neither.“ She smoothed the hair of the eldest girl with a gnarled hand. “Wash that face in the river, child. You need to look your prettiest for the zegen.“
“Just worthless females, I know. It sticks in my craw anyhow.“ He sighed again and spat on the mucky ground. “Damn, my old bones still ache with all that rain.“
Manji got up as if to stretch his legs and pointed at his seat. “Plant your ass, Gramps. I'll tell you when I want it back.“
The old man looked at him in some surprise and gave him another bow. “If you like, soldier. If you like.“ He heaved himself down next to Rin and the baby and nodded to her. “You'd be going into town, I guess.“
“Not quite that far, grandfather. Just to my–um, his house.“ The twin boy and girl ventured a little closer to her and huddled together, arms around each other.
He nodded and cracked a half-toothless smile. “Ah, that does my sad old heart good. A gentleman and his young lady gettin' ready to raise their family.“ He tickled the baby under the chin. “A man likes to spoil his daughters when he can, but he's got to count on his sons for what's important. So be sure you give this husband of yours plenty of strong boys.“ He winked at the old woman. “My old bat had some secret, I think. Six sons and only one girl to marry off.“
“Sure weren't yer skinny ol' daikon that done it!“ She cackled at him in what seemed to be a private joke.
He waved a hand at her. “Shut up, woman. Have some respect.“
Manji stood only a short distance away, but was apparently pretending deafness. Rin blushed and held the baby out at arm's length for a moment to let him make water on the ground instead of on her lap. The old man moved his feet to avoid the splatter and chuckled.
“She looks healthy, soldier. Got a good hand with the youngsters. She'll pop 'em out one after another, mark my words. You want my advice?“
Manji rubbed his nose.
“I hear you samurai go in for boys an' whores more than yer wives sometimes. Well, swear off 'em for a while now that you're married. Stay home with yer pretty little woman. Eh?“
Manji scratched the back of his head and looked off into the distance at the opposite bank of the river.
“See, you're lookin' sour, soldier. Screwin' the same woman for years to come might sound like a punishment. But enjoy her while she's still flexible, see? This dried-up crone of mine was once a rosy-cheeked maiden, if you can believe it.“ He let out a raucous laugh. “And did we have a fine time in the sack when we were kids? I'll tell you–“
“You're ramblin', you limp-dicked old fart,“ his wife snapped. “Shut yer hole–the samurai-san don't want to hear how many times you could go in a night.“
“He ain't sayin' nothing, woman. Guess he can shut me up on his own.“ They both looked at Manji, who remained silent. “No, he don't look like a man who tolerates talk he don't like. Eh, young lady? How've you found your married life so far? What's this husband of yours do when he's in the mood for the pillow?“
“Uh...“ Rin cradled the baby and put her cheek to the top of his half-shaven head. “Well, um...“
“Ah, a blind man could see you're a new bride.“ He grinned at her embarrassment. “Then just answer me yes or no, if you would, Miss Modesty–d'you look forward to lyin' down at night?“
She took a quick glance at the back of Manji's head. “...Y-yes, grandfather. Very...much.“
“Good for you, soldier!“ The old man clapped his hands. “Keep that pecker up for her!“
Manji mumbled something under his breath, cleared his throat and glanced around at Rin. She'd expected irritation or a sarcastic jibe, but he gave her a searching look, his lips slightly parted and his brows creased. Some quality in it multiplied her embarrassment tenfold; she averted her eyes and pried the baby's fingers from one of her hair rings. He began to fuss and reached for her braids to pull them; she leaned back to avoid his grasp, wondering what to do.
“Young man, you better take an old man's word for it, since he's got one eye on the next life already. Yer woman oughta expect a little preview of paradise while you're spreadin' her legs. The more she wants it, the more you'll want to stick it in her. The more seed you leave in her, the more descendants you'll have. That's how a man knows he'll live forever–when he's got grandchildren.“ He lifted the baby from Rin's lap and bounced him on his knee. “So go fuck yourself up some immortality, soldier. No man's gotta fear old age and death when he's got a woman to bear him sons.“
Cringing and trying not to laugh at the same time, Rin glanced up at Manji. He looked over the river again, but his lips were tight and his gaze unfocused. Her heart gave a thump–what on earth could he be thinking?–but then he smiled a crooked, mocking smile and she relaxed.
“Good luck, Gramps. Sorry to hear about the rocks. That rainstorm sure washed a lot of things loose.“ Manji reached down to grab his bundle by the cord. “C'mon, woman. There's a boat just pulled in.“
Rin picked up her shoulder bag, nodded at the old man and woman and trotted off after Manji. She gave the group of somber children one more smile and reminded herself that karma was karma. Parents died, brothers lost their sisters, girls were sold from necessity and wasted away in the brothels. What could anyone do?
Manji and Rin secured a seat in the middle of the boat and it embarked from the landing filled to capacity. Here the water was calm and broad and brown; the trip would take a peaceful half hour or more. The boatmen stood in the stern working their long oar back and forth in a steady motion. Some of the passengers settled down to take naps, and several men and women brought out pipes. A couple of them were carrying pierced metal charcoal holders. Manji accepted an offered light, passed it on and put his tobacco pouch away.
His hand came out of his sleeve with a slip of paper in it. He glanced at it and unfolded it. Obviously he'd already read what was written there, but he looked it over again and frowned.
“What is that note, Manji-san?“
He passed it to her. “It was in the door when I opened it this morning. Thought for a second you'd left it for me, but I guess not.“
A swiftly brushed line of elegant calligraphy. “Enemies may lie in wait. Do not relax your vigilance.“ Rin read it aloud and looked at Manji. “Huh?“
“Hell if I know what it means. Looks like a woman's hand to me.“
“Yes, it does.“ She creased her forehead. “It's not much of a warning–'may lie in wait'? She wasn't sure if someone meant to do something or not? Who?“
“There's only one broad in town who could've written that, you realize.“ Manji puffed on his pipe. “Though why she'd tell us that ol' Anotsu had something up his sleeve I can't figure.“
“Um... Anotsu?“ Her stomach jumped–she hadn't been able to tell Manji last night, and she couldn't do it now in the middle of a crowded boat. “It says 'enemies', not just one. She wouldn't call him that, anyway... I don't think.“
Manji shrugged. “Enemies? So what else is new?“
“That's true.“ Rin folded up the note and stowed it in her bag.
Until the boat docked on the far side of the river, there was little conversation. The two boatmen exchanged a long anecdote about an early-morning would-be passenger who had tried to insist on taking a horse across in a ferryboat since there were no rafts at the crossing large enough for livestock. They traded witticisms about this particular bit of upper-class idiocy until most of the passengers in the stern were listening with grins on their faces. The boatmen described the object of their humor as a swaggering samurai who dressed richly but went on foot, as did his four hired kenshi. The horse was for the benefit of a sullen youth who rode while the samurai led the mount himself like a servant. His companions had finally prevailed on him to go several ri down the river and cross at the ford, but not before he had blustered himself into a frenzy and challenged several people to duels. It wasn't clear why his business was so urgent, but apparently he planned to meet someone on his way and wanted to get there well ahead of time.
Manji finished his pipe and idly pared his fingernails with a small knife. Rin leaned on the gunwale of the boat and dipped her hand in and out of the murky water. She watched the little droplets she flung from her fingertips make brief rings on the surface and vanish. Manji's state of mind was at least calm, even if she couldn't make out exactly what was going on underneath. Could he have decided they should just continue as they had been, as if last night had never happened? Or...
Rin studied the distorted reflection of her face in the river. It looked back at her in a way that unsettled her a little, though she couldn't remember quite why. Manji really had meant to break off the relationship last night. He hadn't been testing her, even though her reaction, or lack of it, had apparently taken him by surprise. He kept reminding her that he didn't have a future, at least not one that could ever resemble a normal life, and he had disparaged his own feelings and hers over and over.
Maybe she should wake up and listen to what he said. He'd always emphasized that her duty to her parents came first, above any personal misgivings she might conceive. Whenever she raised a question, he invariably urged her to stick to her original purpose. Perhaps...if Manji could get used to the idea of Anotsu as a possible suitor for her hand, which was a big if...her filial duty would even serve as a way for both of them to back out and still save some face. After the supremely reckless abandon of last night...
The heat of that bed seemed to have burned all trace of Anotsu from her mind for a while. Maybe that was what she had been asking for. Rin tightened and released the muscles she sat on, as she had been doing since she woke up. In a day or two she might not feel these odd twinges–she certainly hoped not. At the same time, the sensation so acutely recalled the memory of Manji's henoko plunging into her body that she flushed and trembled.
Was she normal, to have enjoyed that embrace so much? Manji hadn't believed she would, even if he managed to avoid making it hurt. He hadn't actually hurt her, but he had certainly left a mark. He had taken her body, possessed her–there were no two ways about that. Even though he hadn't done it in the proper fashion and his limited definition of virginity hadn't been violated, taking him inside her had subtly changed everything, at least from a woman's point of view.
Rin propped her chin on her hands and rested her elbows on the gunwale to avoid looking in Manji's direction. A man couldn't have felt that strangely compelling mixture of submission and power, that sense of welcomed invasion, especially not when he was doing the invading. It was silly to imagine that the act could ever affect him anything like the way it had affected her.
Anyway, Manji seemed far too quiet this morning for that. She stole a glance at him. He gazed abstractedly upriver and occasionally lifted a brow and nodded to himself; he seemed to be calculating or considering. For a moment he caught Rin's gaze, looked at her without apparent concern and went back to his pondering.
Rin sighed. Manji was right; it was stupid to change their minds when important realities stood in the way on both sides. She would have to treasure the memory of a few days of closeness, and of some moments when she'd really thought she believed in happiness. She put her forehead on her knees and hugged them.
Did she love him? Of course she did. She'd loved him almost from the day they had met. But the other kind of love, the towering and tragic passions of romances? Love for which people did brave and foolish and wonderful things, and sometimes great evil as well? Maybe the young man who'd gained a disinheritance and a scar on his nose for his wild ways could claim to have experienced such emotions. In a way Rin hoped that Tsukue Ryonosuke had at least that compensation for his ruin. For even a moment to have opened his entire heart and body and mind to another without the smallest reservation, and thus to the gods and a glimpse of paradise. What must that feel like?
The boat docked with a bump and she raised her head as the boatmen tied up. Manji gave her a hand up from her seat, pushed through the crowd of passengers and led her to the correct road, since tracks ran off in several directions from the landing.
This route didn't retrace the one they had taken on the outward journey, since they had traveled far down the river from their original destination, and the sights weren't familiar. The sun grew hotter as it climbed the sky and she had to pause at every spring to drink.
As noon approached Rin was tired out and dragging. Manji looked sweaty, but his strides didn't slacken at all unless she begged for a stop. While she held her bamboo-section canteen under the trickle of water from a temple spring by the road, Manji poured a dipperful over his hair. He thoroughly wet it down and rinsed the dust from his face, then wiped his forehead on his sleeve. He dropped the dipper into the stone basin and stepped back to let other waiting travelers drink and refresh themselves.
A couple of them jostled Rin as she plugged her water container. She stumbled and nearly dropped it. Manji caught her and looked hard at the jostlers, who quickly apologized.
Although they moved out to the road to resume their journey, Manji didn't let go of her immediately. With an arm around Rin's shoulders, he pulled her towards him until he could put his face in her hair. He drew in a deep savoring breath, let it out with a blast of warm air to her scalp and released her. Then he took up a swift pace that kept him a step ahead of her so that she couldn't see his expression.
Rin wearily jogged along after him for a few minutes, grimacing at the ache in her bottom. Men were lucky–they didn't have to carry around such awkward reminders. “Manji? Aren't we going to stop and eat something?“
“This early? We're not halfway there, woman.“
“But I'm so tired...I didn't get much sleep at all after–“ She gulped.
Manji stopped in the middle of the road. For the moment no one else was in sight; he turned around and looked at her. Rin felt like running at the first glimpse of his face. He wasn't angry, but she'd rarely seen such heat behind that narrowed eye.
He raised his chin and slowly examined her from tabi to braids, as if he'd never met her before but knew her by reputation. “After–I screwed your brains out?“
“Manji!“ She clapped her hand over her mouth.
He gave her a slightly mocking, lascivious smile. “Yeah?“
“Um...uh...I thought we should discuss that...sooner or later...“
“Sure. Any time you like.“ His eye flicked below her obi. “Feeling OK?“
“I'm...fine.“
“Great. Then after we get home tonight we can do it again.“ He chuckled at her horrified squeak. “Nah, don't worry. I'll wait 'til you ask me.“
Rin stared at him, eyes wide. What on earth was this?
“OK, you want to stop for a while, we'll stop.“ He beckoned her over to the side of the road and walked under the shade of the trees. A little way from the road was another spring, this one with no basin or dipper. Manji sat on a boulder; Rin chose another one a couple of paces away and opened her bag. He waved a hand to decline when she brought out wrapped rice balls.
“Nope, I'm not hungry...yet.“ Again he gave her that look of barely veiled heat. Rin quivered. Suddenly she no longer felt like eating anything; she put the food back into her bag.
“Manji-san.“ She took a deep breath and folded her hands in her lap. “I would like to tell you something, please.“
He cocked a brow at her, apparently amused at her formal manner. “Hnn?“
“It's about what Makie-san said to me when we were having tea yesterday evening.“ Rin swallowed hard.
Manji nodded as if to encourage her to go on, but his amusement had vanished.
“She...she said to you...that she wanted to talk to me about Anotsu Kagehisa...and you thought she wasn't telling the whole truth. Well...“
For a few moments her mind went blank. What was she going to say? The whole truth, of course, but perhaps a little softened. How could she soften it? Manji would see straight through any attempt at dissembling. He wasn't drunk now; he looked alert and very much on guard. At her hesitation, he raised a questioning brow.
“Well...it turned out...that's just what she did want to do. She wanted to know what I–um, what I'd seen in him while we were traveling together. In his mind, I mean. Manji...do you remember what you said to me about him...?“
His face made a slight twitch. Of course he remembered; his air of jealousy had materialized immediately afterwards.
“That if he'd asked my father for my hand in marriage instead of killing him, he could have healed the rift in the Mutenichi-ryu. Makie-san...thinks so too. Remember, she said her family had been part of the school once, and maybe she knows–“
Manji frowned. “So? It ain't that much of a stretch. What the hell could he do about it now, anyway?“
“Well...uh...she thinks that Anotsu-san now believes it wasn't honorable to take my family away from me, because I was an innocent. That maybe he means to try to make amends to my father's and mother's ghosts...and to me.“
“Anotsu-SAN?“ He gave a sarcastic emphasis to the honorific. “So he's going to walk right up to us and let me run him through, is that it?“
“Uh–Makie said that I shouldn't think any more about him paying with his death. Life...he needs to pay with his life instead...“ Her voice shook; she dug her nails into her palms.
“The hell?“
“To give the souls of my parents their rest... and... and honor m-me as their daughter... he needs... to... to have the Asano bloodline continue through... through him. To unite the families...to give my parents... grandchildren.“
She raised her eyes to Manji's face, praying he would understand. It was filial duty–it was the great goal that had formed her life for more than two years. He understood family honor and family blood, didn't he? The only things worth dying for...
Manji understood, all right. He slowly rose from his seat as if lifted by the sheer force of comprehension, but he said nothing.
Rin lifted her hands to him in an attitude of pleading. “Big brother, he's the last man I'd ever want to marry! You know I don't want him for a husband–and it's not like he's said it to me himself, it's only what Makie-san believes he might–but until I know for sure, I owe it to my parents...at least to leave the possibility open.“ She took a huge sobbing breath and held it. “He might be killed tomorrow. He might never come to me after all. But if it comes down to making this choice, then my decision–“
Manji's fingers curled into fists. “Not...a...chance.“
“Don't you see? The grandchildren they should have had...“ A tear ran down her cheek; she knew more would follow. “The whole reason we are–the only reason I searched all over Edo to find you was because I wanted to honor my parents the way I had to. I'm their only child. I can't just forget–“
He took her by the shoulders and pulled her upright. “He's too late. You're mine.“
A hot rush surged through her entire body, making her knees sag like melting candles. “Manji?“
“It's done, Rin. You're mine now. My woman.“
“Wh-what? I never–I never said that!“
“Are you fucking kidding me? After what we did last night?“ His face tilted; his eye narrowed.
“But that wasn't–that didn't count!“
“Didn't count?“ Manji pulled her to him and pressed his mouth hard to hers, catching her upper lip against her teeth.
Rin flinched and turned her head away. “You–you never even asked me!“
“Come on, you little idiot! You've already told me yes–over and over.“
She tried to break his grip and put a hand over her stinging lips. “But I... no!“
“I never forced you.“ Manji kept firm hold of her upper arms and gave her a shake. “You shared my pillow all on your own, dammit! What the hell did you think that meant?“
Rin gasped. “You said it wasn't going to m-mean anything! You even made me promise!“
He threw his head back and laughed as if she had made a joke. “Shit, is that all that's bugging you? Sure, let's clear that up right now.“
“What are you talking about?“
“I get it, OK? You just want me to prove it to you.“ He threw one arm around her waist and dragged her deeper into the woods. “I said some stuff you didn't like, so now I gotta crawl and beg a little before I get forgiven. Fine, I cry 'uncle'. But first–“
Rin stumbled along beside him. “Manji–what–“
Manji shoved through the underbrush with her in tow until he reached a small open area where the sun struck through the branches. He put Rin's shoulders against a thick maple, reached into the overlap of her furisode and yanked it open below the waist. “First–let's get over this damn female second-guessing.“
Continued...
The characters and universe of Blade of the Immortal/Mugen no Junin are copyright by Hiroaki Samura and do not belong to me. Not one sen will come into my hands in consequence of this story.
Warnings for sex in various forms, including quasi-incestuous themes and a sixteen-year-old female paired with an adult male. Violence and dismemberment are legally required in any BotI fic, so be prepared.
Zegen: A licensed procurer who buys children and youths from impoverished families and re-sells them into the sex trade.
Daikon: A giant Japanese radish. Often used as a slang synonym for 'penis'.
Abstinence Education
by Madame Manga
Part Twenty-Nine
The ferryboat landing crowded thick with anxious passengers, and the boatmen were charging double on the pretext that the river was still dangerous. Rin heard a number of heated arguments over fares while she and Manji waited for a seat on one of the boats. She put her hand in her bag and counted the strings of coppers by touch for the fourth or fifth time, though she already knew exactly how much money they had between them. After they had packed up, Manji had dug into his sleeves and handed her all the cash he was carrying so she could pay the inn bill.
The landlord was snapping at everyone and looked morose; she gathered that Makie had left the inn early that morning, apparently unaccompanied. He hadn't been inclined to overlook the ruined tatami and insisted on what she considered an inflated price for their food, but she managed to cajole the total low enough not to bankrupt them. They had enough cash to get home with a few coppers left over, and that was all.
Rin looked sideways at her bodyguard, sitting on a log next to her with his arms folded inside his kosode, and wondered just how he had managed to spend ten ryo in a little over two weeks. Maybe he'd been gambling, though she had never known him to give a dice game a second glance. A lot of it must have gone for sake, but how much could he have paid at the brothel? O-Hama's rates were obviously much higher than Manji thought reasonable, but she was a fixture in an outlying village rather than in an exclusive pleasure district in town. He'd said he could tell she disliked him, but apparently she didn't have the right to turn down customers. So even though she was beloved of a hatamoto's son, she was nowhere near the top of the official courtesan's hierarchy and couldn't account for a great deal of the total.
Rin silenced a sigh. No matter how, Manji's burn rate was apparently just as high as he'd told her. The next time he got his hands on some money, she was going to insist on holding it for him and doling it out in reasonable amounts. An odd little quiver went through her at the thought. That was how a wife would manage the household accounts for her husband; samurai in particular usually scorned to count their money like merchants and needed to be kept on a strict budget.
“Um, Manji-san?“
He grunted.
“Did you want your change back? I'm afraid there isn't much left...but I'll pay the boat fare. Since I said that there was no way we were crossing at the ford ourselves.“ Even if the water had receded to ankle-depth, she was never again going to be ported across a river if she could possibly help it.
He made a slight face. “Nah, you keep it.“
“Well, OK, if you want...but I'll keep track of whose is whose.“
Manji looked away and didn't reply, though his nose twitched. Rin bit her lips and closed her bag. The awkwardness she'd envisioned hadn't materialized, at least not in a form she would have expected. Her bodyguard wasn't saying much, but not from shame nor anger. There had been no recriminations; he hadn't mentioned either the act or his earlier attempt to declare a separation. Rin would rather have been trampled by wild horses than bring those subjects up herself, though she knew it couldn't be avoided for long. There was no privacy at hand anyway.
An elderly peasant accompanied by an equally elderly woman and a string of children stumped up to the ferryboat landing and stopped near their seat. He let out a loud exclamation and banged his walking stick on the ground when he saw the size of the crowd.
“Eh-yah! We won't be over the water 'til noon. My old bones are goddamn tired already.“ He glanced around at Rin and Manji as the children straggled up. Three girls and three boys, none of them older than ten. The smallest girl, about four years old, held the hand of a boy who looked the same age–they must have been twins. The eldest girl carried a bare-bottomed infant boy in a sling on her back. Rin got up to offer the old man her seat on the log.
“Young lady, that's most kind and polite of ya, but I'll not displace my betters, no ma'am.“ He gave a low bow to Manji. “And a good morning to you, soldier.“ Manji nodded at him with a mixture of his usual unconcern and an automatic respect for gray hairs, even a farmer's.
Rin looked at the children who crowded around the old couple, clinging to their baggy jackets. They must be grandchildren, but all of them wore mud-stained clothes and had dull, sad faces. Only the infant burbled and cooed at her when she smiled; the rest stared back and bowed, or were made to by the old woman.
“Hello.“ She wished she could cheer them somehow, they looked so despondent. “What are your names, and how old are you? Mine's Rin, and I'm sixteen.“ She heard a small shy chorus of voices, but didn't catch much individual information. Digging in her shoulder bag, she came up with a handful of little sugar candies and held them out. “Would you like some sweets?“
There was a spark of interest in the dull faces; she handed the candy around. Each child accepted with a low bow of thanks, but only the little twins ate theirs immediately. The elder girls examined the candy as if they had rarely seen such delicacies and carefully put it away in their sleeves.
“Most kind to take such notice of us humble folk, young lady.“ The old couple bowed to Rin. “You'll have great rewards in paradise.“
“Oh, it's nothing at all...um, is everything all right?“ She looked at the children, who still seemed glum.
“Well, since yer askin', their folks're dead these three days past, I'm sorry to say. These are my second son's kids.“ The old man leaned on his stick and sighed. “All but the eldest–he's buried under the house with his pa and ma.“ The old woman cleared her throat and the man shrugged at her. “Eh, she's wantin' to know, ain't she? But it ain't fittin' to inflict our troubles on others.“
“Buried?“ Rin opened her mouth in shock. “Oh, what happened?“
“It were a damn big landslide, you see?“ He made a wide gesture and a rumbling noise. “Three of my sons lost their houses, but us oldsters and everyone else got out in time. Ruined the whole friggin' rice harvest and filled the paddies with rocks and crap, more's the pity. They'll be diggin' out all winter.“
“Oh...that's terrible!“ Instinctively Rin reached out for the infant when he waved his little hands at her. The girl immediately slipped her sling from her shoulders and handed her brother over. “I'm so sorry. Where are you taking them, grandfather?“ She settled the baby on her lap and cuddled him, her throat clenching in sympathy. To lose their parents so young...
“Ah, we've got cousins just over the river. Some of 'em can take us an' the boys, I've no doubt. The girls, well...“ He shook his head. “It's too bad, that's what I say. Wish I could live long enough to see 'em with husbands instead...“
The old woman clucked her tongue. “How you go on about that, you old fart! They'll get fed and clothed better'n us, so why mourn over 'em?“
“Eh-yah...“ The old man scratched his sparse cropped hair. “Wish our village head had got some family to make a bit of room.“
“Idiot! Who kin afford to feed someone else's girl-brats for years just to marry 'em off? The cash'll buy a proper funeral and a tombstone, so don't sneeze at that neither.“ She smoothed the hair of the eldest girl with a gnarled hand. “Wash that face in the river, child. You need to look your prettiest for the zegen.“
“Just worthless females, I know. It sticks in my craw anyhow.“ He sighed again and spat on the mucky ground. “Damn, my old bones still ache with all that rain.“
Manji got up as if to stretch his legs and pointed at his seat. “Plant your ass, Gramps. I'll tell you when I want it back.“
The old man looked at him in some surprise and gave him another bow. “If you like, soldier. If you like.“ He heaved himself down next to Rin and the baby and nodded to her. “You'd be going into town, I guess.“
“Not quite that far, grandfather. Just to my–um, his house.“ The twin boy and girl ventured a little closer to her and huddled together, arms around each other.
He nodded and cracked a half-toothless smile. “Ah, that does my sad old heart good. A gentleman and his young lady gettin' ready to raise their family.“ He tickled the baby under the chin. “A man likes to spoil his daughters when he can, but he's got to count on his sons for what's important. So be sure you give this husband of yours plenty of strong boys.“ He winked at the old woman. “My old bat had some secret, I think. Six sons and only one girl to marry off.“
“Sure weren't yer skinny ol' daikon that done it!“ She cackled at him in what seemed to be a private joke.
He waved a hand at her. “Shut up, woman. Have some respect.“
Manji stood only a short distance away, but was apparently pretending deafness. Rin blushed and held the baby out at arm's length for a moment to let him make water on the ground instead of on her lap. The old man moved his feet to avoid the splatter and chuckled.
“She looks healthy, soldier. Got a good hand with the youngsters. She'll pop 'em out one after another, mark my words. You want my advice?“
Manji rubbed his nose.
“I hear you samurai go in for boys an' whores more than yer wives sometimes. Well, swear off 'em for a while now that you're married. Stay home with yer pretty little woman. Eh?“
Manji scratched the back of his head and looked off into the distance at the opposite bank of the river.
“See, you're lookin' sour, soldier. Screwin' the same woman for years to come might sound like a punishment. But enjoy her while she's still flexible, see? This dried-up crone of mine was once a rosy-cheeked maiden, if you can believe it.“ He let out a raucous laugh. “And did we have a fine time in the sack when we were kids? I'll tell you–“
“You're ramblin', you limp-dicked old fart,“ his wife snapped. “Shut yer hole–the samurai-san don't want to hear how many times you could go in a night.“
“He ain't sayin' nothing, woman. Guess he can shut me up on his own.“ They both looked at Manji, who remained silent. “No, he don't look like a man who tolerates talk he don't like. Eh, young lady? How've you found your married life so far? What's this husband of yours do when he's in the mood for the pillow?“
“Uh...“ Rin cradled the baby and put her cheek to the top of his half-shaven head. “Well, um...“
“Ah, a blind man could see you're a new bride.“ He grinned at her embarrassment. “Then just answer me yes or no, if you would, Miss Modesty–d'you look forward to lyin' down at night?“
She took a quick glance at the back of Manji's head. “...Y-yes, grandfather. Very...much.“
“Good for you, soldier!“ The old man clapped his hands. “Keep that pecker up for her!“
Manji mumbled something under his breath, cleared his throat and glanced around at Rin. She'd expected irritation or a sarcastic jibe, but he gave her a searching look, his lips slightly parted and his brows creased. Some quality in it multiplied her embarrassment tenfold; she averted her eyes and pried the baby's fingers from one of her hair rings. He began to fuss and reached for her braids to pull them; she leaned back to avoid his grasp, wondering what to do.
“Young man, you better take an old man's word for it, since he's got one eye on the next life already. Yer woman oughta expect a little preview of paradise while you're spreadin' her legs. The more she wants it, the more you'll want to stick it in her. The more seed you leave in her, the more descendants you'll have. That's how a man knows he'll live forever–when he's got grandchildren.“ He lifted the baby from Rin's lap and bounced him on his knee. “So go fuck yourself up some immortality, soldier. No man's gotta fear old age and death when he's got a woman to bear him sons.“
Cringing and trying not to laugh at the same time, Rin glanced up at Manji. He looked over the river again, but his lips were tight and his gaze unfocused. Her heart gave a thump–what on earth could he be thinking?–but then he smiled a crooked, mocking smile and she relaxed.
“Good luck, Gramps. Sorry to hear about the rocks. That rainstorm sure washed a lot of things loose.“ Manji reached down to grab his bundle by the cord. “C'mon, woman. There's a boat just pulled in.“
Rin picked up her shoulder bag, nodded at the old man and woman and trotted off after Manji. She gave the group of somber children one more smile and reminded herself that karma was karma. Parents died, brothers lost their sisters, girls were sold from necessity and wasted away in the brothels. What could anyone do?
Manji and Rin secured a seat in the middle of the boat and it embarked from the landing filled to capacity. Here the water was calm and broad and brown; the trip would take a peaceful half hour or more. The boatmen stood in the stern working their long oar back and forth in a steady motion. Some of the passengers settled down to take naps, and several men and women brought out pipes. A couple of them were carrying pierced metal charcoal holders. Manji accepted an offered light, passed it on and put his tobacco pouch away.
His hand came out of his sleeve with a slip of paper in it. He glanced at it and unfolded it. Obviously he'd already read what was written there, but he looked it over again and frowned.
“What is that note, Manji-san?“
He passed it to her. “It was in the door when I opened it this morning. Thought for a second you'd left it for me, but I guess not.“
A swiftly brushed line of elegant calligraphy. “Enemies may lie in wait. Do not relax your vigilance.“ Rin read it aloud and looked at Manji. “Huh?“
“Hell if I know what it means. Looks like a woman's hand to me.“
“Yes, it does.“ She creased her forehead. “It's not much of a warning–'may lie in wait'? She wasn't sure if someone meant to do something or not? Who?“
“There's only one broad in town who could've written that, you realize.“ Manji puffed on his pipe. “Though why she'd tell us that ol' Anotsu had something up his sleeve I can't figure.“
“Um... Anotsu?“ Her stomach jumped–she hadn't been able to tell Manji last night, and she couldn't do it now in the middle of a crowded boat. “It says 'enemies', not just one. She wouldn't call him that, anyway... I don't think.“
Manji shrugged. “Enemies? So what else is new?“
“That's true.“ Rin folded up the note and stowed it in her bag.
Until the boat docked on the far side of the river, there was little conversation. The two boatmen exchanged a long anecdote about an early-morning would-be passenger who had tried to insist on taking a horse across in a ferryboat since there were no rafts at the crossing large enough for livestock. They traded witticisms about this particular bit of upper-class idiocy until most of the passengers in the stern were listening with grins on their faces. The boatmen described the object of their humor as a swaggering samurai who dressed richly but went on foot, as did his four hired kenshi. The horse was for the benefit of a sullen youth who rode while the samurai led the mount himself like a servant. His companions had finally prevailed on him to go several ri down the river and cross at the ford, but not before he had blustered himself into a frenzy and challenged several people to duels. It wasn't clear why his business was so urgent, but apparently he planned to meet someone on his way and wanted to get there well ahead of time.
Manji finished his pipe and idly pared his fingernails with a small knife. Rin leaned on the gunwale of the boat and dipped her hand in and out of the murky water. She watched the little droplets she flung from her fingertips make brief rings on the surface and vanish. Manji's state of mind was at least calm, even if she couldn't make out exactly what was going on underneath. Could he have decided they should just continue as they had been, as if last night had never happened? Or...
Rin studied the distorted reflection of her face in the river. It looked back at her in a way that unsettled her a little, though she couldn't remember quite why. Manji really had meant to break off the relationship last night. He hadn't been testing her, even though her reaction, or lack of it, had apparently taken him by surprise. He kept reminding her that he didn't have a future, at least not one that could ever resemble a normal life, and he had disparaged his own feelings and hers over and over.
Maybe she should wake up and listen to what he said. He'd always emphasized that her duty to her parents came first, above any personal misgivings she might conceive. Whenever she raised a question, he invariably urged her to stick to her original purpose. Perhaps...if Manji could get used to the idea of Anotsu as a possible suitor for her hand, which was a big if...her filial duty would even serve as a way for both of them to back out and still save some face. After the supremely reckless abandon of last night...
The heat of that bed seemed to have burned all trace of Anotsu from her mind for a while. Maybe that was what she had been asking for. Rin tightened and released the muscles she sat on, as she had been doing since she woke up. In a day or two she might not feel these odd twinges–she certainly hoped not. At the same time, the sensation so acutely recalled the memory of Manji's henoko plunging into her body that she flushed and trembled.
Was she normal, to have enjoyed that embrace so much? Manji hadn't believed she would, even if he managed to avoid making it hurt. He hadn't actually hurt her, but he had certainly left a mark. He had taken her body, possessed her–there were no two ways about that. Even though he hadn't done it in the proper fashion and his limited definition of virginity hadn't been violated, taking him inside her had subtly changed everything, at least from a woman's point of view.
Rin propped her chin on her hands and rested her elbows on the gunwale to avoid looking in Manji's direction. A man couldn't have felt that strangely compelling mixture of submission and power, that sense of welcomed invasion, especially not when he was doing the invading. It was silly to imagine that the act could ever affect him anything like the way it had affected her.
Anyway, Manji seemed far too quiet this morning for that. She stole a glance at him. He gazed abstractedly upriver and occasionally lifted a brow and nodded to himself; he seemed to be calculating or considering. For a moment he caught Rin's gaze, looked at her without apparent concern and went back to his pondering.
Rin sighed. Manji was right; it was stupid to change their minds when important realities stood in the way on both sides. She would have to treasure the memory of a few days of closeness, and of some moments when she'd really thought she believed in happiness. She put her forehead on her knees and hugged them.
Did she love him? Of course she did. She'd loved him almost from the day they had met. But the other kind of love, the towering and tragic passions of romances? Love for which people did brave and foolish and wonderful things, and sometimes great evil as well? Maybe the young man who'd gained a disinheritance and a scar on his nose for his wild ways could claim to have experienced such emotions. In a way Rin hoped that Tsukue Ryonosuke had at least that compensation for his ruin. For even a moment to have opened his entire heart and body and mind to another without the smallest reservation, and thus to the gods and a glimpse of paradise. What must that feel like?
The boat docked with a bump and she raised her head as the boatmen tied up. Manji gave her a hand up from her seat, pushed through the crowd of passengers and led her to the correct road, since tracks ran off in several directions from the landing.
This route didn't retrace the one they had taken on the outward journey, since they had traveled far down the river from their original destination, and the sights weren't familiar. The sun grew hotter as it climbed the sky and she had to pause at every spring to drink.
As noon approached Rin was tired out and dragging. Manji looked sweaty, but his strides didn't slacken at all unless she begged for a stop. While she held her bamboo-section canteen under the trickle of water from a temple spring by the road, Manji poured a dipperful over his hair. He thoroughly wet it down and rinsed the dust from his face, then wiped his forehead on his sleeve. He dropped the dipper into the stone basin and stepped back to let other waiting travelers drink and refresh themselves.
A couple of them jostled Rin as she plugged her water container. She stumbled and nearly dropped it. Manji caught her and looked hard at the jostlers, who quickly apologized.
Although they moved out to the road to resume their journey, Manji didn't let go of her immediately. With an arm around Rin's shoulders, he pulled her towards him until he could put his face in her hair. He drew in a deep savoring breath, let it out with a blast of warm air to her scalp and released her. Then he took up a swift pace that kept him a step ahead of her so that she couldn't see his expression.
Rin wearily jogged along after him for a few minutes, grimacing at the ache in her bottom. Men were lucky–they didn't have to carry around such awkward reminders. “Manji? Aren't we going to stop and eat something?“
“This early? We're not halfway there, woman.“
“But I'm so tired...I didn't get much sleep at all after–“ She gulped.
Manji stopped in the middle of the road. For the moment no one else was in sight; he turned around and looked at her. Rin felt like running at the first glimpse of his face. He wasn't angry, but she'd rarely seen such heat behind that narrowed eye.
He raised his chin and slowly examined her from tabi to braids, as if he'd never met her before but knew her by reputation. “After–I screwed your brains out?“
“Manji!“ She clapped her hand over her mouth.
He gave her a slightly mocking, lascivious smile. “Yeah?“
“Um...uh...I thought we should discuss that...sooner or later...“
“Sure. Any time you like.“ His eye flicked below her obi. “Feeling OK?“
“I'm...fine.“
“Great. Then after we get home tonight we can do it again.“ He chuckled at her horrified squeak. “Nah, don't worry. I'll wait 'til you ask me.“
Rin stared at him, eyes wide. What on earth was this?
“OK, you want to stop for a while, we'll stop.“ He beckoned her over to the side of the road and walked under the shade of the trees. A little way from the road was another spring, this one with no basin or dipper. Manji sat on a boulder; Rin chose another one a couple of paces away and opened her bag. He waved a hand to decline when she brought out wrapped rice balls.
“Nope, I'm not hungry...yet.“ Again he gave her that look of barely veiled heat. Rin quivered. Suddenly she no longer felt like eating anything; she put the food back into her bag.
“Manji-san.“ She took a deep breath and folded her hands in her lap. “I would like to tell you something, please.“
He cocked a brow at her, apparently amused at her formal manner. “Hnn?“
“It's about what Makie-san said to me when we were having tea yesterday evening.“ Rin swallowed hard.
Manji nodded as if to encourage her to go on, but his amusement had vanished.
“She...she said to you...that she wanted to talk to me about Anotsu Kagehisa...and you thought she wasn't telling the whole truth. Well...“
For a few moments her mind went blank. What was she going to say? The whole truth, of course, but perhaps a little softened. How could she soften it? Manji would see straight through any attempt at dissembling. He wasn't drunk now; he looked alert and very much on guard. At her hesitation, he raised a questioning brow.
“Well...it turned out...that's just what she did want to do. She wanted to know what I–um, what I'd seen in him while we were traveling together. In his mind, I mean. Manji...do you remember what you said to me about him...?“
His face made a slight twitch. Of course he remembered; his air of jealousy had materialized immediately afterwards.
“That if he'd asked my father for my hand in marriage instead of killing him, he could have healed the rift in the Mutenichi-ryu. Makie-san...thinks so too. Remember, she said her family had been part of the school once, and maybe she knows–“
Manji frowned. “So? It ain't that much of a stretch. What the hell could he do about it now, anyway?“
“Well...uh...she thinks that Anotsu-san now believes it wasn't honorable to take my family away from me, because I was an innocent. That maybe he means to try to make amends to my father's and mother's ghosts...and to me.“
“Anotsu-SAN?“ He gave a sarcastic emphasis to the honorific. “So he's going to walk right up to us and let me run him through, is that it?“
“Uh–Makie said that I shouldn't think any more about him paying with his death. Life...he needs to pay with his life instead...“ Her voice shook; she dug her nails into her palms.
“The hell?“
“To give the souls of my parents their rest... and... and honor m-me as their daughter... he needs... to... to have the Asano bloodline continue through... through him. To unite the families...to give my parents... grandchildren.“
She raised her eyes to Manji's face, praying he would understand. It was filial duty–it was the great goal that had formed her life for more than two years. He understood family honor and family blood, didn't he? The only things worth dying for...
Manji understood, all right. He slowly rose from his seat as if lifted by the sheer force of comprehension, but he said nothing.
Rin lifted her hands to him in an attitude of pleading. “Big brother, he's the last man I'd ever want to marry! You know I don't want him for a husband–and it's not like he's said it to me himself, it's only what Makie-san believes he might–but until I know for sure, I owe it to my parents...at least to leave the possibility open.“ She took a huge sobbing breath and held it. “He might be killed tomorrow. He might never come to me after all. But if it comes down to making this choice, then my decision–“
Manji's fingers curled into fists. “Not...a...chance.“
“Don't you see? The grandchildren they should have had...“ A tear ran down her cheek; she knew more would follow. “The whole reason we are–the only reason I searched all over Edo to find you was because I wanted to honor my parents the way I had to. I'm their only child. I can't just forget–“
He took her by the shoulders and pulled her upright. “He's too late. You're mine.“
A hot rush surged through her entire body, making her knees sag like melting candles. “Manji?“
“It's done, Rin. You're mine now. My woman.“
“Wh-what? I never–I never said that!“
“Are you fucking kidding me? After what we did last night?“ His face tilted; his eye narrowed.
“But that wasn't–that didn't count!“
“Didn't count?“ Manji pulled her to him and pressed his mouth hard to hers, catching her upper lip against her teeth.
Rin flinched and turned her head away. “You–you never even asked me!“
“Come on, you little idiot! You've already told me yes–over and over.“
She tried to break his grip and put a hand over her stinging lips. “But I... no!“
“I never forced you.“ Manji kept firm hold of her upper arms and gave her a shake. “You shared my pillow all on your own, dammit! What the hell did you think that meant?“
Rin gasped. “You said it wasn't going to m-mean anything! You even made me promise!“
He threw his head back and laughed as if she had made a joke. “Shit, is that all that's bugging you? Sure, let's clear that up right now.“
“What are you talking about?“
“I get it, OK? You just want me to prove it to you.“ He threw one arm around her waist and dragged her deeper into the woods. “I said some stuff you didn't like, so now I gotta crawl and beg a little before I get forgiven. Fine, I cry 'uncle'. But first–“
Rin stumbled along beside him. “Manji–what–“
Manji shoved through the underbrush with her in tow until he reached a small open area where the sun struck through the branches. He put Rin's shoulders against a thick maple, reached into the overlap of her furisode and yanked it open below the waist. “First–let's get over this damn female second-guessing.“
Continued...