Samurai 7 Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson Hearts ❯ Bend! ( Chapter 5 )

CRIMSON HEARTS
© September 12, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual


CHAPTER FIVE: Bend!

Anger can make a man do reckless things.

This was something that Shimada Kanbei had learned during those long, hard years of the war. He had seen men become careless as they allowed the anger and rage to consume them. Such fiery emotions cost most of these men their lives.

Kanbei considered himself a very patient man. He could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that he had lost his temper. The last time he blew his stack, he remembered, was after that unfortunate affair with the former Amanushi and Sanae.

It had been distressing enough that Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo disobeyed his orders and followed him to Kougakyo. What irked him was that Katsushiro would not stop berating him for the grave error that nearly led to his beheading. Neither would Kikuchiyo cease his gratingly annoying chatter about his being 'distracted' by the beauty of Rikichi's wife that was why he failed to rescue her. Before he could bring himself under control, he had stood up and given each samurai a hard blow with his katana. Those blows were not what he intended to deliver. In truth, he had been itching to cut off their heads. Still, as a result, Katsushiro had grown distant from him, even after the Kanna campaign had been concluded. Kikuchiyo, on the other hand, became more determined to prove his worth to their stoic commander, giving his life so valiantly to the cause at the very end. The consequences of that one act made the samurai swear that he would never get angry again.

Now, however, Kanbei had lost his tenuous grip on his patience. To hell with the consequences, he thought, as he stormed through the hallways of the gigantic battleship that was the new Capital. In his fury, he wanted to tear off the long train of the elegant golden robes he was forced to wear to quicken his pace. Unfortunately, he dared not let go of the scrolls and documents he carried in his arms. Already, he was crushing the parchments to his chest as he envisioned the person he was rushing to see. He would soon be rid of these bothersome documents. Once these documents had been relinquished from his grasp, his hands would be free to do serious bodily harm.

Reaching the Great Hall, two guards immediately blocked the doors. "Kanbei-sama, forgive us, but the Lord is having an audience with his court."

But Kanbei snarled, "GET OUT OF MY WAY THIS INSTANT!"

Pushing through the guards, he kicked the doors open and stormed inside the Hall. His sudden entrance startled the courtiers who were seated before their ruler. However, on the face of the new Amanushi, there was nothing but amusement. Still, his eyes held a menacing glint at the audacity of the samurai to disturb him during such an important time.

Kanbei was unperturbed. He strode up the stairs of the dais until he was directly facing the self-proclaimed monarch.

Amanushi leaned back into his throne, cupping his chin on the palm of his hand and laying his elbow on the armrest. "What can I do for you, my dear Kanbei-sama?"

Gasps rose from the courtiers below the dais as Kanbei threw all the documents he carried at the ruler's face. "THIS! I demand to know what is the meaning of this!"

The ruler casually glanced at one scroll lying near his toe. "Oh, it's just the tithe allocations that I am requesting from the farming villages. You should know that. You made these documents yourself."

"But the terms have been changed! The documents that you distributed to the villages are not the ones that I had drafted and which you had approved! With these new terms, you will starve those poor farmers to death! You do not need that much rice and livestock for the Capital's use! Even the Shikimoribito now have their own trading relations with the farmers, so they won't need rice from you! Why did you change the terms?"

To the samurai's infuriation, Amanushi replied, "I am the sovereign ruler of this land, am I not? I have every right to change my mind if I want to."

Kanbei's hands tightened into fists at his sides. "You asked for my advice and I gave it to you. You asked for my help in drafting these new laws and I did what you asked me to. If you were going to change everything that I had written, the least you could've done was remove my signature from the documents. I am not the author of this trash!"

"Why, Kanbei-sama? Are you afraid that you would lose the admiration of the masses who look up to you as a hero?"

"I care not for praises or platitudes. I am concerned about the plight of the people. You told me you wanted to earn the people's respect. I formulated fair laws for you. If you are not going to follow my advice, of what use am I to you as your Royal Adviser?"

Amanushi sighed wearily as he got to his feet. Unlike Ukyo, this new ruler was a brute of a man. He was a good head taller than the samurai, with a large, brawny body that spoke of years of hard labor.

Reaching out, he cupped Kanbei's face in his right hand, a wicked grin on his lips. "I think everyone in this hall knows exactly what role you play in my court, Kanbei-sama," the monarch said aloud for all to hear. "You should be thankful that I gave you this title. I could've given you a better one, but you persistently refuse to accept the…place…that is most suited to you."

The suppressed laughter of the courtiers below caused the samurai's temper to rise up in a fury.

"Don't touch me!" Kanbei hissed as he slapped Amanushi's hand away. He all but ran out of the Great Hall, the ruler's lewd laughter ringing in his ears.

The samurai went straight to the chamber that he shared, with great loathing, with the monarch. He jerked off his robes and changed into a comfortable yukata. Breathing heavily, he pressed his palms on the desktop as he tried to bring his anger into some semblance of control. But he failed miserably.

"DAMN YOU!" Kanbei cried as he pounded his fists on the desk, sending pens and quills clattering to the floor. Among the objects that had fallen was a bronze letter opener. His gray brown eyes gazed at that small knife with murderous intent.

But as he bent down to pick it up, ringed fingers seized the knife before he could do so and another hand squeezed his behind. Kanbei straightened up in an instant, ready to drive his fist into the face of the man who had touched him. However, Amanushi was faster, backhanding the samurai with such force that he slammed face first into the wall. Kanbei whirled around to fight back, but his wrists were grabbed and pinned on the wall on either side of his head.

"You have the gall to shame me in front of my court!" Amanushi murmured dangerously, his eyes gleaming with madness.

"What you're doing is wrong!" Kanbei insisted. "The people have suffered enough! Must you continue to torment them?"

"What I choose to do with my subjects is my business because I am their ruler. If you want to improve their lot, then you must accept my terms."

"NEVER! Why should I accept when you have been taking liberties upon me ever since I was brought here? I won't…"

Amanushi pressed his mouth to the samurai's lips, stopping the flow of those furious words. Disgusted, Kanbei wrenched his head away from that offensive kiss.

That gesture only served to fuel the anger of the ruler. With a snarl, Amanushi shoved the samurai onto the desk. "BEND OVER!" he shouted, keeping Kanbei's head down with brutal fingers tangled in that long brown mane.

Kanbei shuddered as the perverted monarch reached under his yukata, a beefy hand crawling up his thigh. When fingers thrust hard into his opening, he bit down on his tongue to stifle his cry. At once, blood filled his mouth.

"Why should I even bother to prepare you when I can simply do this!" At these words, Amanushi rammed his erection inside the samurai's body.

Strong will alone stopped the scream that was rising up Kanbei's throat. As the thrusting began, he squeezed his eyes shut, willing his body to relax so as to lessen the pain of that blunt member bludgeoning his insides.

Amanushi felt the constriction around his erection ease up, and he nibbled at the throbbing artery of the samurai's throat. "This is what I like about you, Kanbei. You really know how to satisfy a man." His fingertips caressed the six-petalled flower tattoo at the back of the older man's hands. "No one knows what these pretty marks mean. You never told your old comrades, have you? But I know. It's a secret that only you and I share. One thing that binds you and I."

Kanbei did not reply. He bit down on his lower lip in determination. He was not going to surrender to the shame.

"Oh, Kanbei!" Amanushi whispered as he thrust again and again into the samurai's tender flesh. "All I want is your simple 'yes'. Just that one word and you won't have to endure this. Be willing, and I will never hurt you again."

"No! Never!" the samurai declared between gritted teeth. "I would rather die than go to you willingly!"

"Would you rather that I destroy your beloved Kanna Village?"

Kanbei's eyes widened at that query. "You wouldn't! You promised me!" Despite his abhorrence, he moved his hand so that he could squeeze the ruler's fingertips. "Tetsuo…" he spoke Amanushi's true name for the first time. "You promised!"

Amanushi gave the man beneath him a reassuring kiss. "Yes, I did make you that promise, didn't I? That's why I spared them from Nobuseri attacks and lessened the tithe that they have to pay me. But wouldn't you want the other villages to enjoy the same benefits? Just say 'yes', and you will have the power to change this very nation."

"But at what cost will it be to me? That one word could condemn me to Hell!"

The monarch sighed in exasperation. Jerking his member out of the samurai's body, he lifted Kanbei in his arms and carried him over to the bed. Tearing off the older man's clothing completely, he resumed taking the unwilling body beneath him.

"Why do you say that, Kanbei?" Tetsuo muttered as he filled the samurai with his release. "Isn't this Hell for you already?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Again and again, the Amanushi took the poor samurai. But Kanbei never gave in to the twisted monarch's desires. He simply lay back on the bed and let Amanushi do as he pleased, not once giving him the satisfaction of a response. All throughout the abuse, he was nothing but a corpse that gave nothing in return.

It was midnight when Amanushi finally drifted off to sleep, his greedy mouth suckling upon the samurai's tender nipple. With a grimace, he pushed the slumbering ruler off him and got out of the bed. Kanbei was tempted to go into the bath and wash away the filth of their coupling. That first time he was brought to the Capital, he had even managed to procure a long tube that he could use to cleanse his insides as well. Amanushi, however, caught him before he could do anything and had beaten him to an inch of his life. Up to now, his body had not completely healed from that brutal whipping.

Instead, the samurai pulled on his torn yukata and padded out onto the balcony.

The heavens were filled with twinkling stars, the crescent moon a leering mouth that scoffed at the misfortune that had befallen him. There was a time when he admired the beauty of nature. But now, he was seized by a deep sadness that tore at his heart.

"Why did this have to happen to me?" the samurai asked himself quietly. "Why now? A man of my age...playing whore to a twisted king…."

If he were here, the thought suddenly entered Kanbei's mind, this would never have happened to me.

But he was dead. There was no hope of rescue. No hope, either, of the honorable death that he had promised. He was alone here.

The samurai would have given in to despair. Only two thoughts helped him to endure – the salvation of Kanna Village and that none of his friends knew what had become of him. What was being done to him….

Kanbei stole a glance at Amanushi who was snoring in bed. He couldn't share that bed with that horrid man. Instead, he curled up on the balcony floor, wincing at the pain in his tender behind. As he gazed up at the stars one last time before giving in to restless slumber, he whispered, "Yes, perhaps it's better this way."

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