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By the time Mizu reached the abandoned shelter it was late; too late for her to want to change her clothes or even wash her face. She had a cache of food here, a bedroll, and weapons, and after checking everything was in order she fell into grateful, dreamless sleep.
Did she hear the rain? It did rain, and the roof of her little shelter leaked and perhaps distantly in her dreams she heard the plink, plink, plink of water hitting the worn and tattered tatami.
She almost did not hear the stranger enter, but the part of her mind that always listened for danger was awake, and she sat up, her fingers already wrapped around a blade hidden beneath her blanket.
"Madame, forgive me," a voice said in contrition and surprise, and a man bowed to her very low. "I did not know anyone was here; I thought this place abandoned. I only sought shelter from the storm."
"I--" Mizu said, and her voice caught. She cleared her throat. She pitched her voice to a more feminine cadence. "It is not mine; like you I only sought shelter, and rest."
She could not see his face; it was too dark for that. But she had recognized his voice at once, though it had been years.
Taigen.
She was still dressed as a woman, and she was grateful for that. Taigen would be less likely to recognize her in this garb, with her face painted, and her hair piled ornately upon her head. If she kept her voice low and soft and sweet perhaps she could slip away in the morning before he woke, without him ever being the wiser. The only way to get close to her target had been to dress as a woman; the monk at the nearby hermitage had told her that.
Every servant, every visitor, every guard in the castle was a woman. So the lord had thought he would be able to avoid his own death.
He had been mistaken.
"Madame," Taigen said after a long moment of consideration. "I do not wish to make you uncomfortable. Might I share your shelter only for a short while, until the storm subsides?"
"Of course," she said after a brief hesitation.
"Thank you," he said and bowed again.
He went to lie down by the door, out of the way of the damp spots where the roof was leaking and he sighed contentedly.
"Is there anything you require?" she said after a moment. Mizu! she cursed herself. The more you speak the greater you risk revealing yourself!
"Oh, I am quite well! But I thank you for your concern."
"You have no blanket?" she said after a moment.
"My cloak does well enough for me."
"Are you hungry? I have a little food."
"I could not take food from you!" he protested. "I have come upon you suddenly and unlooked-for, madame I do not expect--"
"I have a little sake."
"Well," he sat up. "Perhaps just a little sake. It does take the chill away, don't you find? And it is a very wet evening."
**********
"Please, madame," he said when she filled only one cup. "Drink with me, I beg you."
She hesitated. But still she could not see his face in the dark, and that meant he could not see hers. She poured the second cup.
She had left her bedroll to come close to him, and pour the sake.
"To your very good health, madame!" he said and drank. "Ah!" he said. "Good sake. I thank you. I regret, I have no food to share--but perhaps there is another way I can repay your kindness."
"Oh?" she said, a note of skepticism making its way into her voice before she could prevent it. Again she cursed herself. She must not sound like herself! She mustn't sound like Mizu at all, lest he suspect.
"Indeed! Perhaps I can tell you a story to pass the time. Now, this is a true story," he said, warming to his subject. "I was travelling some years back, much as I am now, and I fell in with some companions on the road. We found ourselves taking refuge on a night not unlike this one, in a shelter not unlike this one. Only this was an abandoned temple.
"Well, there was an old woman there who cared for the temple, and cleaned it, and would offer aid to travelers. She offered us shelter for the night--much as you did!--and my companions and I settled in, with a cup of sake--"
"Why, how familiar this must all seem to you," Mizu said drolly, unable to help herself. It had been years since she had seen Taigen. Years since she had been back to Japan. In spite of her native caution she was curious to see how he might have changed. She already knew he had not fled with Akemi. She had been to Edo.
"Indeed, indeed! But there is a great difference, madame."
"And what is that?"
"Here, there are no cats!" he said triumphantly, and drank.
"Cats?" she said in bafflement, refilling his cup.
"Yes. The old woman had two cats; they played with the tassel at the end of my friend's belt. The old woman left the room to fetch us some refreshments, and then the strangest thing happened. The two cats got up on their hind legs--and began to dance!"
"I never saw a cat dance," she said dubiously.
"Nor had we! My companions and I were astonished. One of the men--he was even a little frightened! But the old woman returned with rice cakes, and she told us not to worry. That the cats did that sort of thing all the time. So we returned to our drinking and our conversation, and the two cats ran off. It was growing late and we decided to retire. We lay down right there, the three of us in a row and I closed my eyes. I must have fallen asleep; I don't remember. But I remember opening my eyes--the companion to my left had screamed. I asked him if he was all right, but there was no reply. I reached for him in the dark--but his blanket was empty! I could not believe it. I turned to my right, to my other companion. Only for him to scream right into my ear!
"I knew something was terribly wrong, but not what. I called for the men, but there was no answer. Something awful had happened, and I drew my sword. I was determined not to be taken so easily.
" 'Who's there!' I called. 'Show yourself!' and then--the most horrible sight you can think! Madame, imagine it--a cat, larger than a tiger, as large as a room! Menacing, devilish, teeth the length of your arm--"
"A cat?" she repeated.
"A cat!" he said, leaping to his feet and stretching his arms out like claws. "A great monstrous she-beast! It was the old lady; she had changed back to her true form! I raised my sword--again, and again I slashed at the foul beast," here Taigen began to theatrically wave and slash an invisible sword as if he were on the stage. He leaped from spot to spot on the worn mats. It was quite a performance. Mizu was suitably impressed. He had certainly earned his sake. "I swore to avenge my companions. I have fought many battles, madame, but I think none taxed me as this one did. I had never fought such a creature before, and I hope to never do so again!"
He gave a theatric shudder, and she obligingly refilled his cup when he held it out to her.
"I see you are alive," she observed. "Might I then conclude you defeated the beast at last?"
"Quite correct, madame! And luckily I lived to tell of it!"
"It is quite a tale," she said. "But do you know what the strange thing is?"
"Indeed, if you do not think that tale strange then I cannot say!"
"It is such an odd set of circumstances, one would think it must be wholly unique. Surely such a thing could not have happened twice. And yet...I've heard that story before."
"Oh, I'm not surprised," he said instantly. "I've told that story to others; and it's such a strange tale! No doubt it's spread far and wide."
She shook her head, feeling...unwillingly charmed. Taigen seemed to her to be largely unchanged. There was something comforting about that. It was a long time since she had seen a familiar face.
"And what brings you here, madame, on this lonely night?" Taigen said, changing subjects. A teasing note entered his voice. "Unless you too are a spirit, who only emerges to eat lonely travelers?"
"It is only a personal matter that finds me here. I...sought spiritual guidance, from a sage. His wisdom is renowned."
"And did you find what you were seeking?"
"I did."
"Then I congratulate you," he said, and he saluted her with his cup. "I wonder if you have any stories?"
"Oh, I am no storyteller," she said quickly.
"No? Who are you then?"
Did she imagine the arch note in his voice?
"Just a traveler, like yourself. No one special."
"Hmm," he said. "I wonder. You're very beautiful--"
"Sir!" she said, and her scandalized tone was genuine.
"Oh, please do not be offended! I was only saying, I think I know who you might really be."
Her heart beat a little faster, but her voice was cool and controlled when she said, "And who is that?"
His voice grew kind. "There is a lord very near here, renowned for only taking on women--pretty women--as his servants."
She was silent, and told herself it was relief she felt and not disappointment. Taigen continued, "But I would warn you not to seek service with such a man. He is cruel, a brute."
"The world can be cruel," she said after a moment.
"That is true," he said. "It's been a hard winter, and the last few years have been harder still. Nevertheless. Trust me when I say he is not a man that would well use a woman like yourself."
She swallowed. "And what kind of woman am I?"
"Kind," he said at once.
"Oh, you don't know that. You don't know me at all."
"Don't I? You let a stranger share your shelter; you offered him hospitality, without the expectation of anything in return--"
"Perhaps I was frightened of you," she said, and he laughed.
"Oh, I doubt that."
"Why?" she demanded.
"Because," he said in amusement, "As we have agreed, it's been a hard winter. And you are a woman traveling alone, in a hard world. You look like you come from sturdy stock; like as not you have some trick your mother taught you, and would have me gutted like a fish if I tried any...unwanted familiarity."
She smiled a little reluctantly. But he had not finished.
"And you are beautiful, as I have said--"
"That you cannot know either, it is too dark to see! And anyway, I am not."
"But you are; a woman who is as beautiful as you on the inside will always be beautiful on the outside."
She shook her head; ridiculous but Taigen sounded sincere. He had acquired some good lines and a little polish in the time she had been away from Japan.
"Is that all?" she asked sarcastically.
"No! You are clever as well. You must be, to live in the world on your wits. And I think you are wise. Because you do not readily believe everything a stranger tells you." There was no light to speak of; it was dark, and the world was made of shadows. But even so she saw the glint of his teeth as he grinned at her.
"You have a gift for speech," she said after a while. Her tone was less admonishing than she would have liked. It was good to see someone she knew again. That was all. The world was...vast. Lonely. She and Taigen had not been friends but they had been...allies for a time.
"I thank you for saying so, madame! I do not care to brag, but I have some skill in other arts as well."
"Such as?"
"Swordplay," he said, and again she caught the glint of his teeth in the darkness.
She narrowed her eyes. Was that an innuendo?
"I know nothing of swordplay," she said, her voice cold.
"I could teach you."
"I think not."
"Ah, but I am considered a skilled teacher," he said. "Truly, all my students tell me so."
"How lovely for you," she said acidly and he laughed.
"Perhaps you underate your skill," he said.
"How so?"
"You tell me you know nothing of swordplay, but perhaps that is only modesty. You also tell me that you are not beautiful, or kind, or clever, but we have already established those claims are false. Perhaps--"
You had always to know when your opponent meant to misdirect you; if he wanted you to look here, then you ought to be looking there. That had been one of her earliest lessons. But on this occasion, too distracted by her opponent's words, she failed to recognize his true intentions. When he leaned forward and kissed her she was totally unprepared.
Instinct kicked in at once; she could have tossed him aside, or struck him. Perhaps she could have even done it in a way that would preserve her cover, and ensure he would not immediately recognize her as a former opponent.
And yet...
It had been years since her mouth had touched another's, and Taigen's mouth was sweet and faintly sour from the sake. Beneath it there was the knowledge that...he had been right, in some way. This was a contest of another kind. She had recognized it just a hair too late, and so he had gotten the first strike in.
Also she could feel the remembered strength of his body.
What would the maid she pretended to be do now? Mizu...Mizu had dreamed of this, on certain lonely nights. She had not forgotten Taigen. But the girl she pretended to be? Would that girl strike an "overly familiar" stranger? Or...would she yield?
Too much time passed while she remained undecided, and Taigen moved forward until his knees were between her thighs. He deepened the kiss and parted her robe, pulling her into his lap. She felt his manhood and it shocked her, as much as if she were a blushing maid who knew nothing of...swordplay.
"Sir," she said, pulling away at last, very close to losing her head. Her cunt tingled. Yield, her body said, but she could not. "You must not--"
"Oh, but--" he said, and one of his hands had found its way between them. The layers of her clothing had been rucked up, exposing her bare legs, and it was nothing for him to run a finger along the delicate skin of her inner thigh. She felt his finger brush against the coarse hair of her pubic mound, and against the outer lip of her labia. It made her shiver.
He paused. "Madame," he said in a different voice. He cleared his throat. "Forgive me, if I have caused any offense I did not mean--"
She kissed him, hard, her hands on either side of his face. Now he was the one who hesitated, but before long he had taken her hips in his hands and pulled her forward.
"Ah," she gasped, feeling the throbbing heat of him between her thighs. "Yes, yes," she murmured.
This was like some fantasy of hers come to life, but nothing that had ever felt so good. She could hide here in the dark, and pretend it was only a fantasy; anything to feel this warmth, this pleasure, this physical delight a little longer.
Swordplay indeed.
"Are you so shy?" she whispered to him; they had been at this game for long minutes, and yet while her robes were split to the waist he remained--modestly--clothed. "Where is the sword you promised to show me?"
Her hand was in between them, and she could almost see his surprise in the dark; she felt him swallow. Her fingers sought, and found, entry between the layers of his garments and her hand wrapped around his shaft. He was hard, as hard as steel and her fingers grasped his sword as if for close work. His breath was jagged in her ear and she said, "Take off your kimono," and he complied without hesitation.
She ran her hands over his broad back and arms. Whatever other swordplay he might have been at these last few years he had kept up with his training. The hard muscled bulk of his body thrilled her, and she touched him all over, nearly consumed with lust.
"Are you--are you sure," he said as she lay back.
She did not tease him this time. She pulled him close instead, a hand on his cock guiding him forward. She drew her bare thigh up to wrap around his waist, and though his breath was short and ragged he entered her in a long slow glide.
He moaned when he was fully sheathed within her, burying his face in her neck and kissing her there. His girth made it a tight fit, but she relished the sensation, the way he stretched her pliant body. She cried out in ecstasy. The perfection of it, the way his cock filled her, the way he pulled out and moved forward again in long, sinuous, masterful strokes. Their flesh was made one, their bodies moving in flawless rhythm. Taigen kissed her mouth, and each thrust of his iron hardness set her ablaze, made her body glow with heat and pleasure.
She had not taken a lover in all the years since her husband had died...in the years since she had killed him. She had not wanted to. Whatever the pleasures of the flesh, they could not compensate for the betrayals she had suffered.
But this...she was not herself tonight, and this she could enjoy in a way that Mizu never could.
She cried out as the pleasure doubled and trebled. Her flesh was hot and tight around the blunt thickness of his cock, and as she grew tighter he groaned in her ear, pounding into her. So good; every stroke of him against her overheated flesh was a pleasure more profound than the last. Was it always so? Had she forgotten?
"Yes," she cried, "Yes!" as ecstasy filled her.
At the same moment he cried, "Mizu!" and came, pulsing deep within her body.
*****************
She gaped at him; his cock was still inside of her and the sound of her name echoed in the air.
"What--" she said in disbelief.
He grinned, and kissed her unresisting mouth; she turned her head away.
"What do you--what did you--"
"Did you think me such a fool?" he asked her. He sounded very pleased with himself.
"I--" she pushed him away, and he rolled off her but not very far, coming to rest only inches beside her body.
"Mizu," he repeated, his voice suffused with joy. He kissed her again. "Dear one. Do you know, I'd given up hope of ever seeing you again?"
"I--" This could not be happening.
"Imagine my shock, my happiness when I heard a ship had docked, and a strange blue-eyed ronin had disembarked."
This was impossible.
"I followed your trail. It's true I did not recognize you at first just now--and when I did I was surprised as anything to see you dressed and acting like a woman--what a lark!--but I realized what must have happened. You had to do it, to infiltrate the castle--I presume he is dead?--and I caught you before you could change back." He laughed. "The only thing I was not expecting," he added, "Was this."
He reached down tenderly, to touch her oversensitized cunt, and that finally woke her to the gross indignity of it. She moved with preternatural speed, straddling him, and one of her hands locked around his throat.
He laughed--as much as he could in such a position--and gazed up at her adoringly. "Darling Mizu," he choked out.
"You--have you gone mad?" she demanded and eased up slightly, glaring at him.
"For a while I swore I'd kill you if I ever saw you again," he said reminiscently. "Then, when I was sure I'd never see you again I told myself I'd kill you...or I'd fuck you. I just--" he laughed self-deprecatingly, "I never imagined I'd be the one doing the fucking."
She scowled at him. "I could kill you right now."
"Yes," he agreed. "It's one of the things--the many things, I've come to realize--that I missed about you."
"You've lost your mind,” she said coldly. “You're a maniac."
"I'm barely half the maniac you are," he said with an unshakeable grin. "Did you really sail all the way around the world? What was it like?"
"Too strange to tell," she muttered stiffly.
"Well, we've got lots of time now," he said, putting his arms around her waist. "Plenty of long nights to while away with stories."
She made a disgusted noise and pushed him away. "We are not traveling together!"
"Why not? We got on well before."
"If that is what you call--! Ugh! Because I'm not going to be your wife, or your mistress!"
"Who asked you to be?" he parried cheerfully. "Perhaps I'll be yours."
"Taigen!"
"It's nice to hear you say my name again," he told her sincerely. "I've missed it."
"You're a lunatic," she said flatly.
"Do you know," he moved with a speed that was nearly inhuman, and he pulled her into his lap again; one hand came up to graze her breast and she gasped in spite of herself, "How boring," he kissed her mouth, too light and quick to be caught, "How insipid life has been without you?"
"I have a mission," she gritted out. "I have no time for...frivolity."
"Yes, yes," he said soothingly. "Your revenge quest. I'm happy to join you."
"I'm not asking you to!"
"Well you've got no choice," he said blithely. "I'll follow you around, just as Ringo used to do. And I assure you, I'm as determined as he is."
The name gave her a pang. "Do you know how he is?" she asked suddenly.
"I do, and I saw him only a few months ago. Mizu, I think he'd be glad to see you. We could go to him--"
"No, no," she said and shook her head, and then she glared at Taigen again for all the good it did her in the dark. "Everything I touch, everyone I care about comes to ruin--"
"You care about me!" he said, delighted.
She smacked him.
"Ow!"
She pulled herself away, but he recovered quickly, rising to a half kneeling position and grasping her waist, his leg between hers. She had not fully disrobed when they had lain together, but her robes were in a sorry state now, and he touched her breast again through the thin fabric of her undergarment.
"Bastard," she said; her ire and appetite both raised. One of his hands found its way up her bare leg to clasp her bottom.
Taigen stroked her. "Let us try it," he entreated charmingly. "If I displease you--if I fail to serve you--" His fingers touched her still-slick opening, and she closed her eyes, the delicious intrusion making her breath come short and sharp. "You can take whatever revenge you like against me," he promised. His fingers thrust within her and she gripped his shoulders.
"It's more than that," she said savagely. "I'm not a woman--I won't live as a woman, I--ah--"
"I know that," he said fondly, as he used his hand to fuck her. "Mizu, when all these years I thought you were a man. I never even imagined you'd let me fuck you--"
She made a noise that was half-laugh, half-groan. "I thought I'd be on the receiving end, and only then if I was exceptionally lucky. Hell, we can still do it that way if you want. I know there are men who take it from women. Anyway, I thought you'd have my balls just for kissing you earlier, I was sure the jig was up. Mizu, I know how strong you are--"
She pushed him down, and he let her. She climbed on top of him, mounting him, feeling a surge of relief and pleasure when his thick member filled her. He gasped, his hands coming lightly to grasp her hips.
"You're exceptional," he told her, "I've never met a fiercer warrior. After you left, I traveled all over Japan. I fought under the best masters. I swore if I ever met you again I would best you--" he groaned as she quickened her pace.
"Quiet," she snapped.
"No...I won't be, ah...because there is no one better than you, Mizu. I know that now. There is no one else like you. And I'm not a fool, whatever you think of me. I'll follow you, if you let me, and I'll follow you even if you don't. And if I ever dishonor you I'll kill myself before your blade ever reaches me."
He grabbed her and swung them over, a move she thought he must have learned in their time apart. He was back on top of her, moving within her and she closed her eyes and drew her legs up. The feeling of him on top of her was extraordinary. He seemed to know she liked it better, or he guessed, or perhaps he was just very lucky; he parted her remaining clothes and kissed her breast, his mouth hot around her nipple, and he sucked it while he fucked her. She cried out again as climax reached her a second time. Every part of her was seeped in the physical joy of lovemaking, a feeling she had not had in so long that she'd thought it lost to her forever. She had believed sex was a kind of poison...
Taigen had not turned away from her when he learned the truth. He had not shown her disgust, only delight. Adoration. Once, someone else had looked at her that way, but he had betrayed her.
Taigen had known the rest of her first. Was that the difference? No. Or not that alone. Taigen was the better man.
And Taigen was certainly mad; though perhaps as he said only half as mad as she was.
He took her hand in his. "Well?" he asked her. He kissed her knuckles. "Do we have a deal?"
She opened her eyes and looked at him. The rain still fell outside, and it was still too dark to see, but she could hear what she needed to in his voice. He was contented, not superior. If he was smug it was only because he thought he had won the dubious honor of following her into battle.
Why was that enough to make her stomach flutter, and her body tremble with excitement?
In her most severe voice she told him, "You are to treat me as before. I will never be a woman. I will never be your woman." She emphasized that flatly. "That is our understanding. If you falter...!"
"All I ask," he said, and she could imagine his eyes dancing, "is the chance to die gloriously in battle by your side."
"You are a fool," she said darkly.
"Then I'm in good company," he said, and kissed her again.