Samurai 7 Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson Hearts ❯ Wake Up! ( Chapter 1 )

CRIMSON HEARTS
© August 18, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual


CHAPTER ONE: Wake Up!

A young man floated in serene slumber within a glass pod filled with regenerating fluid. Bubbles extruded from the gas mask over his face that fed him with precious air. Tubes inserted through vital blood vessels provided him with the needed parenteral nutrients. Electrodes attached to his head programmed him with the pertinent information needed to make him function optimally.

However, even with the new data and the deletion of some old ones, there were certain memories that have been permanently encoded into his genetic structure.

Memories of a man with long, flowing brown hair and shadowed eyes…

Of a duel that ended in a stalemate…

A promise that was made but was never fulfilled…

A sudden cry in the distance caused electrical signals to course through his brain with jolting rapidity. His body began to twitch, the movements becoming more pronounced, more violent. He shook his head and the gas mask fell away, causing fluid to fill his lungs. As he thrashed within the pod, a scar materialized on the left side of his neck.

There was that cry again, possibly a rippling echo of the first one, and he wrenched free from his life-support systems. Blazing eyes snapped open.

There wasn't any doubt…

It was that man who had called out his name….


Ayamaro, the Governor of Kougakyo, was never one to pass up an opportunity to make more money. With the aid of the Shikimoribito, they had come up with a novel new source of power – batteries and generators running on organic refuse such as rice husks, which were in great abundance. It was a safer alternative to the old batteries. Underneath those bulky work clothes, the Shikimoribito hid terrible scars caused by the toxic chemicals and radiation being used in manufacturing the old batteries, scars that were certainly not sustained in the wars they had fought in when they were still samurai.

There was a broad smile on Ayamaro's face as he completed the transaction with the Merchant Guild. With a gracious bow, he exited the meeting chamber, his guards trailing behind him.

These guards… They were certainly not as efficient as the two he had before. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one man yawn and pick his nose, tucking his spear in his armpit as he walked. No, such carelessness could never be found in a samurai.

But then again, none of the samurai who applied for the position of his personal bodyguard had passed his rigid standards. So what was a vulnerable governor to do but to clone a new bodyguard from an old one who had proven to be the most efficient of all?

Meeting the former Amanushi had given him that idea. It had been easy to get the technology to do it; money can buy a person anything after all. But, surprisingly, so too were the cells needed in the clone's creation. All he had to do was ask the donor, and blood was given to him in a sterile vial.

"This is my last act of service to you, Ayamaro-sama. From here on, the life I live will be my own," the governor remembered those last words very well, spoken during a moment of privacy at the Firefly House. He also remembered how those sharp eyes lingered on the stoic leader of their ragtag band of defenders.

The memory caused a chuckle to bubble up Maro's throat, making his guards snap to alertness at that sound.

You were such a fool, my young samurai, thought the governor in wry amusement. You said you desired to settle the score, to slash him with your swords? The blood lust has blinded you to the truth inside your heart. That you were enamored with the man you were intending to kill.

It was that fascination with his rival that Ayamaro was determined to purge from his clone. Human memories, after all, could be such a burden. It was his hope that if he proved to be successful with this procedure, he could create more clones from the best samurai in Kougakyo and sell them to wealthy merchants who needed protection.

"MARO-SAMA! MARO-SAMA!"

The governor was shaken out of his thoughts by the frantic cries of one of his scientists running down the hall to meet him. The man fell to his knees before him, panting heavily.

"What is it?" Ayamaro demanded. "What happened?"

The scientist's answer chilled his spine. "He escaped, my lord! The clone! He broke through the glass chamber and fled! The guards and a few samurai managed to corner him at the gates, but they are having trouble controlling him!"

"Damn it!" Ayamaro hiked up his robes and hurried outside the palace.

True enough, at the gates, a naked man was slashing his way through the guards and samurai with two rusty katanas he had taken from the two bleeding warriors laying on the ground. Determination was set on his handsome face, his strangely cut blond hair not the least bit ruffled by the scuffle. His eyes were focused on the gates.

"Wait!" Ayamaro called out, but the clone ignored him as he bolted towards the five terrified guards blocking his way to freedom.

"STOP! KYUZO!"

At the sound of his name, the clone slowly turned to give him a smoldering glare.

Undaunted by that feral gaze, the governor took one, two steps toward the rampaging clone. With hands raised in entreaty, he asked, "Why are you doing this, Kyuzo? You're still not well. You cannot leave this place in your condition."

Kyuzo, however, trained his eyes toward the distant sky. To Ayamaro, the clone seemed to be listening for something.

"I heard a voice."

"Huh?"

"He called out my name."

"Who, Kyuzo? Who called out to you?"

Then, the clone said a name, and Ayamaro now realized that some memories could never be purged.

~~~~~~~~~~

The governor took the clone to the chambers previously occupied by the original Kyuzo. Now dressed in his favorite utilitarian red frock coat, Kyuzo sat before him, listening closely as he recounted the events after their parting from the Firefly House.

There was a look of quiet incredulity on the clone's face as he asked, "I…died?"

"Yes," Maro nodded sadly. "It was quite…tragic actually. As I said, you were…"

"I heard. You don't need to repeat it to me." A scowl darkened his handsome features as he hissed, "Impulsive brat!"

"Don't blame it all on the boy. You acted impulsively as well. You rushed forward to save him, and you were caught in the gunfire. It was all accidental."

"I cannot forgive him!" Kyuzo's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked at his former master. "If I'm dead, then what am I doing here?" The answer came to him in an instant. "My blood! You cloned me using the cells from my own blood!"

"This is the first time I've heard you speak more than a few words," Ayamaro remarked with a grin.

"I could speak lengthily if choose to, and now I demand answers. Why did you bring me back? Let me guess. You needed me to be your bodyguard again."

The governor lapsed into guilty silence.

Kyuzo shook his head in disappointment. "I told you I wanted to live my own life. When you decided to clone me, you should've known that my will shall always prevail in the end."

"Your will…or your heart?"

"What foolishness is this? I have no heart!"

Maro cocked an eyebrow up. "Really? Then tell me how you managed to awaken with your memories intact? You told me yourself. You heard his voice, calling out your name. A voice that only you heard."

"I only seek to settle the fight I have with him," Kyuzo replied, unaware that a becoming blush had risen up his cheeks. "And that is how far my interest in him goes."

The governor couldn't help but be amused, seeing the clone unconsciously touch the scar on the left side of his neck, a scar that his so-called adversary also shared.

"You might have a problem with that," Ayamaro slowly began. "After the battle at Kanna village, he disappeared without a trace. No one knows whether if he's still alive or dead."

"He's alive. I'm sure of it," Kyuzo told the governor firmly. "I'll find him. You can mark my words on that." At these words, the clone got to his feet with regal grace.

"Where are you going?" the governor asked curiously.

"Back to Kanna village. I need to retrieve what rightfully belongs to me." He pulled out the two swords he had sheathed in his makeshift scabbard. "In the meantime, these swords you had given me will suffice. I'll probably have to see a few old comrades along the way."

"A wise decision, Kyuzo." As the clone looked at him questioningly, Ayamaro explained, "There is a new Amanushi. I have not met him yet, but I heard that he is exerting his control first upon the poor farmers with the help of surviving Nobuseri. The samurai that Ukyou had sent to protect the farming villages had all been wiped out. And that's not the only thing I learned…"

"What else do you know?" Kyuzo inquired with a hint of impatience.

"I heard that in all the villages he plundered, Amanushi was searching for him. You have a formidable rival, Kyuzo. If you are determined to locate him, take men you trust along with you. On my end, I will try to gather as much information as I can and relay them to you. Just keep in touch so I'll know where you are. It's the least I could do to repay you for all the years that you've served me."

A ghost of a smile went up Kyuzo's lips. "You've changed, Ayamaro-sama. It pleases me to see that you've become a man of honor."

"I owe it all to you, and also to him." Maro then said grimly, "I pray that you find Shimada Kanbei first, Kyuzo. I do not wish to see him fall into the hands of a dissolute man as the new Amanushi."

"Don't worry. I will find Kanbei."

Saying this, Kyuzo gave the Governor of Kougakyo a gracious bow, and with firm resolve, marched out of the chamber to pursue a long held promise.

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TO BE CONTINUED