It almost worked, except that I stumbled over the edge of a rug, and Iida was able to grab me by my hair, pulling me back against him, holding me with his arm across my throat.
"I think that we're going to wait for those who showed up for you,” he called out gleefully.
I struggled, but he cut off my breath, making me feel like I was going to pass out from the lack of air. “I'm surprised that the great Inuzaka Keno tried to escape rather than kill me,” he said.
"I'm thinking of changing my mind,” I gasped. I really hadn't. I was concentrating on breathing.
He nuzzled the side of my face with his cheek, loosening his chokehold a little. His free hand lightly traced down my chest and stomach, lightly scratching me, before it snaked underneath my fundoshi, touching me where I really didn't want to be touched, his fingernails prickling me like claws. I let out a half-choked scream and stamped on one of his feet, which he ignored. All I did was hurt my bare foot on his heavy sandals. The two goons were grinning like idiots, and I vaguely heard the sounds of fighting in the hallway, even with the thick walls and heavy door.
"Such a delicate blossom,” Iida taunted me.
"You....” I gasped, feeling stupid and helpless because I couldn't do anything to stop him from doing this to me. I thought about kicking him again when he tightened his grip on my privates.
He laughed, licking the side of my face, making me jerk as far away as I could, ignoring the pain in my groin. “Keep still or you will regret it,” he threatened.
I felt the slow trickle of blood down my right leg after that and stood as still as possible. I had gotten the message: he'd really hurt me if he wanted to, and I was cowardly enough to want to avoid it, since I wanted to try to escape again. I knew I couldn't do that if he truly injured me. He'd just scratched my thigh or something this time.
The door burst open, and I wanted to sink through the floor in embarrassment. Samojirou was there in armor with his katana drawn and covered with blood. One of the goons lunged at him, and he easily beheaded him, making it look almost like an afterthought.
He took one look at what was happening and growled, “Let him go!"
"I want to see how far Inuzaka is willing to go to make that happen,” Iida laughed.
When Iida said that, I could see the rage and the sorrow in Samojirou's eyes. I knew what he was afraid of. I was afraid of the same thing.
Genpachi burst through the door behind him, his katana equally covered with blood, and took care of the other goon. A second behind him was Wolf, with his broadsword drawn, also blood spattered.
"This is amusing,” Iida said, ignoring the fact that his goons had just been killed. “I seem to have the upper hand here. I suggest that you put your weapons down."
Samojirou took a step forward, his eyes wild, not bothering to lower his sword. Genpachi flicked the blood off his katana and sheathed it, circling to the right a bit. His eyes were watchful, and I knew that what he had done really wouldn't keep him from killing Iida if he wanted to. Wolf stepped into the room cautiously, and then he stopped, stunned by what he was seeing. “Keno,” he said quietly.
"I'm fine,” I managed to get out before Iida tightened his grip on me, choking off my breath again.
"Now that we have all the players here, I wonder how this part of the Game is going to end,” Iida laughed.
"You won't live through this,” Samojirou vowed, his rage turning his voice ice cold.
"Neither will he if you play this wrong,” Iida said. He laughed again, and I wondered how sane the man was. This was something that sane people didn't do, baiting three men who were very willing to kill him. “Blossoms are very fragile."
"What do you want?” Wolf asked. I didn't like the fear in his eyes. But I was glad too. He wasn't berserk. I didn't think I could have handled that.
"I don't think you can give me what I want,” Iida said with a high-pitched laugh. “What my master wants."
"What are you talking about?” Samojirou demanded.
"What do you think will happen when the Dreamlands goes to war? When those here destroy themselves with their fighting? While the Dreamlands just are, what do you think they are?"
"What master do you serve?” Genpachi demanded.
Iida laughed. “My master is called many things, some of which you might know. But all I will tell you is that he will revel in the Dreamlands’ destruction and rebirth."
"Rebirth?” Samojirou asked.
"Your peace is what keeps the Dreamlands stable. That is why there are nothing more than skirmishes, for all that the Southern nations call out for war. War has come, and it will destroy you all!” Iida laughed and scratched me again with his nails.
Wolf went still, his nostrils flaring. I heard a growl deep in his throat, I swear. I guessed that he'd just caught of whiff of my blood. I tried to swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. Wolf just screamed and threw himself at Iida. From the look on everyone's face, they hadn't expected he would do that.
Iida stood his ground, using me as a shield, which was stupid, because the man was a head taller than I was. Mason limped into the room, clutching a katana he had gotten from somewhere. “For fuck's sake, not again!” he exclaimed.
I threw myself forward, trying to make myself a smaller target, struggling to get out of Iida's hold, not caring what got broken in doing so. I felt his nails shift and dig into my left thigh. With my right foot, even though I was horribly off balance, I tried to kick him in the groin again. This time it worked, because his grip loosened, and I was able to get away. Wolf got one wild swing in as I hit the floor and rolled away from the two of them. I managed to get to my feet away from the fighting and head toward Mason. He handed me his katana without a word.
Genpachi went into the corridor to take care of the second wave of fighters that had just arrived, seeing that Wolf was taking care of this problem.
"Are you hurt?” Samojirou asked.
"Just scratched up,” I said as I winced, feeling the damage done to my thigh. “You go help Genpachi."
"And you?” he asked.
I looked at the fighting in front of me. Wolf was still swinging wildly, trying to get to Iida, who was dodging him with ease, letting him chase him around the room. He was blocking some of the blows with his knife, matching Wolf's wild strength easily.
"I'm going to stay here, just in case he needs help,” I told Samojirou softly. “When he's done with Iida."
Our eyes met, and I lunged forward to kiss him. It was passionate and all too brief.
Iida saw what we were doing and laughed wildly. “Will you still want your blossom when he's drenched in blood?"
Samojirou whirled and went out into the corridor to help Genpachi. If he didn't, I thought that he'd have attacked Iida. But he knew that Wolf might think that it was a good idea to attack him too if he did that.
Wolf ignored what we were doing, and I could almost admire his single-mindedness. Iida scooped up a katana, dropped his knife, and fell into a defensive position. Wolf circled around him, breathing heavily before moving in for the kill. He had calmed down a little, but I still didn't think he was going to be acting logically soon.
"I didn't think that Wolf was so fond of you,” Iida said with a smirk. “He is truly in love with you."
"You're full of shit,” Mason scoffed. “No offense, kid, but I don't think that he likes you that way."
"I know,” I said, trying not to feel miserable about it. If he had.... But I had Samojirou now, and that was better than anything I could have had with Wolf. But there was still a part of me that was attached to my first love.
Wolf growled and swung wildly at him, wide swings that Iida parried easily. But he wasn't able to go on the offense, and Wolf was driving him toward the balcony. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. I wasn't surprised that Wolf wasn't saying anything, because he was too focused on trying to kill Iida. If this were a battle, this would have gotten Wolf killed.
"I regret that I'm not going to see t
he end,” Iida said, sounding breathless and tired. He almost sounded sad too. “This Game is a glorious one.” He laughed. “Our wild one here is not going to like one of the players."
I had a feeling the man wasn't talking about what most of the nobles here called the Game. It was like they were playing Go, and he had set them up to play chess or even poker, and they didn't know that. “What are you talking about?” I demanded.
"A smart blossom,” Iida said, backing away from Wolf. Part of me wanted Wolf to kill him and another part of me wanted to know what Iida was talking about. “You see more than the others."
"We should try and stop Wolf, but I don't think that the fucker's worth it,” Mason said behind me. “He's a bigger asshole than the Trustees are."
"From the mouth of babes,” Iida called out.
That was the last thing he said. Wolf lunged forward and took the man's head, because Iida at last was unable to block one of those wild, powerful swings. Iida's body fell one way and his head went sailing out the balcony door. Iida's torso sprayed blood all over Wolf, and that seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he had been in.
He looked down at himself in horror, before he looked over at us. “What happened?"
"You went bugfuck again,” Mason told him bluntly. “Killed that fucker Iida."
The sounds of fighting had died down out in the corridor. “It's clear,” Genpachi called out.
Samojirou came back in the room, his sword sheathed, even though he was covered with blood and other detritus. He opened his mouth to say something when the building started to shake, as if there was an earthquake.
"Time to leave,” Genpachi announced, as if this was a party.
"The Dreamlands do not have quakes,” Samojirou said. “This is some sort of evil spell."
"You don't have to tell me twice,” Mason said. We all moved out into the corridor and picked our way around the bodies there. Some of them looked human. Others were more deformed than a tengu. The smell was terrible, and I felt the building disintegrating around us. We managed to get out just as the walls started to fall. If we had been on a floor higher than the third, we wouldn't have been able to make it out of there. Samojirou picked me up and carried me out. I buried my head into his neck and shook, because everything that had just happened was catching up with me.
We stood in the empty lot next to where Iida had been keeping us, that building reduced to rubble. Samojirou kissed me, murmuring in my ear until I stopped shaking. After a minute, I heard Mason say, “Get a room."
Genpachi started laughing, and soon we all joined him, relieved that we had gotten through this, at least.
* * * *
Samojirou
I returned to Inumura's stronghold in Edo with the others. I didn't want to leave Keno just yet. I had almost lost him again.
"I think that Kyushu's going to be more difficult to deal with than you thought,” Keno told me quietly.
He'd had his wounds tended to. They were not serious, but had been messy, since Iida had almost unmanned him with his nails. If he had been a little more to the right, he would have. Wolf had killed the honorless bastard too quickly and easily. He should heal without a scar, though. We were lying quietly in Keno's room now, wrapped around each other, needing to know we were safe.
"Why?’ I asked.
"Something that Iida said,” he said thoughtfully. “About Wolf not liking some of the players in the Game."
"The man was mad."
"I don't think that he was a man at all,” Keno said. “He was something evil, worse than the monsters that live here."
"Like myself?” I asked lightly.
"You and Tamazusa-sama aren't evil,” Keno asserted. “If you were, you would have told me about my ancestor."
Before I could say anything, he leaned up and kissed me. I wasn't surprised when it became more involved, because I believed he was using his body to tell me something that he couldn't. He rolled me over on my back and started kissing his way down my neck, making the most amazing sounds as he did. He licked my chest, worshiping it almost, making small nips occasionally, causing me to writhe and gasp in pleasure. When he got to my staff, he licked it, twirling his tongue around it, and then licked and sucked on my sac. He eased me for a time, and then I lifted him up for a kiss. I tasted my sweat and seed on him, and it was more intoxicating than the headiest sake. “I want you,” I groaned.
"Take me,” he whispered, rolling gracefully onto his back and spreading his legs.
I studied him, hating the traces of Iida's scratches on his legs, but there was also an innocent wantonness about him. His staff was erect and curling toward his stomach, his sac was hard. I leaned over to taste him, smelling of his desire and herbs. He smiled at me and poured some oil on his fingers. I watched, enthralled, as he prepared himself for me, because I was afraid I would hurt him. He was moaning and whimpering as he worked three fingers into his opening slowly. His eyes were half-open, and all I could see was love in them. “I can't,” he husked out.
"Prepare me,” I said.
He dreamily withdrew his fingers and poured more oil on them, then caressed my shaft, oiling it thoroughly. I loomed above him and guided his left leg onto my shoulder, marveling at how flexible he was even as I pushed into him. I was in no hurry to end this, so I made sure that my pace was fast enough for him to enjoy, but not to bring him to climax. I held his wrists down by his sides so he couldn't touch himself and proceeded to kiss him breathless as I rocked in and out of him.
"Please,” he begged, sounding needy and shameless. I marveled at the changes a year had wrought in him. I knew that he wouldn't have been this way in the beginning, even after we had become intimate.
"Please what?” I asked lazily.
"Please... I'm close,” he whined, begging delightfully.
"So am I,” I told him, getting a bit breathless myself. “And I will not be hurried."
He whimpered deliciously until he came, a soft moan deep in his throat as he spilled. I relaxed then, coming with him, delighting in the fact that we had come together.
I collapsed gently upon him, eventually shifting so that he was curled in my arms.
"You don't have to go,” he murmured.
I thought about that. I didn't have to now, but I would soon. The Hakkenshi were gathering forces across Nippon to drive the invaders out. I just hoped it would be enough to save it from what I had learned from Iida.
I did something so cowardly I should have been ashamed of myself. I kept silent and didn't remind my lover that while I might not be leaving now, I would leave him eventually.
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Chapter Seventeen
Tamazusa
I was surprised to see Mason return with Aboshi from Inumura's castle.
"Just wanted to make sure that you're all right,” he said, trying to sit down gracefully in a kimono. All he managed to do was not expose himself to me. I've seen drunken merchants who were more graceful. But he was trying, and that was what was important.
"And why wouldn't I be?” I asked. “Iida's forces have melted away, like the snow in spring."
They had. His troops had fled in the night, returning to the sea, it seemed to me. Mawatari had committed seppuku. Okita had found his body in their camp. It looked like the man had not had a second and had died in agony after he opened his stomach.
Now the Hakkenshi and I had to rally the other lords of Nippon to chase the Trust and the Southerners out of Kyushu.
"It was you who seems to have been in trouble,” I teased.
"Fuck, that was embarrassing,” he said. “Just don't give the kid shit about it. He kicked ass."
"So I have been told,” I said, stepping closer to him, smiling coyly at him. “And you have nothing to be ashamed about either."
Mason grinned. “I knew there was a reason that I liked you.” He sobered. “Iida was bugfuck insane. And shit, I think that there's something nasty hidden on Kyushu."
"We will deal wi
th that when we have to,” I said. Then I sighed. “And now I have to convince the other lords that unifying under one banner is the only way we can save ourselves."
"Hinaginu-san tried to explain that crap to me,” Mason said. “I still don't understand shit about it. But are you going to be the big boss?"
I laughed and shook my head. “I will leave that honor to Inusuka Shino. The Hakkenshi are clever strategists and are thought of as honorable men. I have a reputation for being none of those things. I will support whatever they decide."
Mason nodded. “While I want Wolf to watch your ass, he lost it again, and that ain't good.” He hesitated for a second. “Shit, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I think that Wolf would if he knew how. I think that the Trust shrink at Waltham really fucked him up. Stupid shit too. Something about Keno and bein’ in love with him. I know that he don't swing that way, but he lost it when McGann got hurt and then when Keno got hurt. Before that? Fuck, he was like the iceman in a fight. So I don't know what to think. I know that he wouldn't want to tell you this, ‘cause you still ain't his favorite person. But he's smart enough to know that you're able to take care of McGann. So, while he would be willing to protect you, I think that it's better that he stay with McGann and get his head on straight. I'm willing to cover you, but I know that everyone else here can kick my ass, including Sakura, probably with his makeup brush too."
"I will think about what you have told me,” I promised gravely. “And I am honored by your offer of protection.” He looked so serious I couldn't help adding, “Because I know that all you want to watch is my ass."
He gaped at me, shocked that I had used such language, I thought. He started laughing after a moment, amused by something else besides what I had said.
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