Chapter 2

The night was cold. And even the drunken sleep couldn't cover that when the captain woke up at early dawn trembling hard. Putting the clothes on and covering up in the blanket he tried to focus his thoughts.

He was held captive with a reason he somewhat agreed with. He got drunk and enjoyed his wild fantasies about the 'day guard' he was ordered to. That was nice and the memories made him smirk and stroke over his lower belly with a pleased little moan. Maybe he can get lucky... But first his body had other urges. And not really knowing where to go to take a piss he peeked out through the door.

The palace seemed to be sleeping, as it was right before sunrise. Not seeing anyone around he sneaked out and desired to go around the building to get rid of the fluids bothering him for release...

Source: National Geographic

Always being good with directions it was not a problem for him to get around that wing of the palace, discovering a narrow waterfall. A nice – probably sacred – pound and small altars around it. And there was the most tempting man standing there, washing his naked body in the cascading water. Kiichi-kun was with his tattooed backside to Corey. His lean long body was strong but slim and elegant. The ancient tattoos ran down on all his back and arms, passing down on his – unbelievably small and round – butt cheeks and upper thighs. His moves were graceful and Corey forgot what he was there for from all that.

He only came back from the mesmerizing visions when he felt a poke in the middle of his back. Turning around, to his surprise a fair-skinned and red-haired man stood there, his katana in it's sheath and he was getting Corey's attention with it. His night guard... He surely was a white man after all...

"Sorry... Just wanted to pee…" he said in English just as a test. But the blue eyes narrowed at him and he got more pokes with the sword.

"I know you speak our language, Corey-san. You should get back to your room," the white samurai said to him in Japanese.

The night didn't give much sleep for the washing up warrior. His tired muscles were still protesting a bit, but the cool water of the waterfall invigorated them a bit. Washing all the sweat off his body and calming his soul and mind he was enjoying the very early morning as much as he could, closing out every other noise but the rumbling of the water around him because he knew it was going to be a long day to stay sharp around the Captain.

He knew he should've hurried to relieve his fellow red samurai from his duties so he could rest too, but he allowed a couple of more minutes for himself.

Putting his wet hair into a samurai bun, he then dried off and got dressed. Following the path that led up from the waterfall, he soon noticed two figures standing close to the edge as the first rays of the sun licked along their form. What the hell were they doing there so early?

"Good morning, Corey-chan and Corey-san," Kiichi greeted them in Japanese, a light frown on his face. "I didn't expect to see you two here this early."

"Kiichi-kun," Corey bowed with a small smirk. "My body woke me up and I tried to find a place to…" he bit his lip.

Corey-chan bowed the same for the tall samurai. "I was just about to escort him back to his residence."

Returning the bows, Kiichi straightened up and nodded. "I see. I take him over from here, thank you. You can go rest, Corey-chan," he told the short samurai who bowed again and walked off.

Then Kiichi looked over to the captain and waved for him to swallow. "I apologize for not showing you the place where you can relieve your body," he said as he led him back to Corey's room and slid a hidden door open at the back. "There you go. Take your time," he said with a neutral face. "I'll arrange breakfast meanwhile," he added while crossing the room, forcing himself not to look at the unmade bed where Corey probably... pleasured himself before nightfall.

Outside he caught the attention of a servant to tell someone to prepare their breakfast and bring it to Corey's room then Kiichi got back inside, sitting down by the door, his katana lying next to his right hand as he forced his eyes to stay open.

Returning to the room that meditative state of Kiichi welcomed him. It did not fool Corey for a second, though. The black samurai was dead tired. And only made the soldier wonder what or who could have kept him up from his beauty sleep. Not like he needed much of that.

"Are you always sleeping poorly?" he asked on a chatty tone, sitting opposite the warrior.

The samurai refocused on the other – visibly more relieved – man, watching him sit down opposite him. Kiichi's training kicked in and looked more aware now that the subject of his duty was back in the room.

"I sleep enough to be able to fulfill my duties. Which now is you," he said on his usual calm and deep voice, but on the inside he was displeased with himself for letting his guard down for a moment and show his tiredness. "After breakfast I'll have to take you to the Shogun. He expects your answer. I hope you have one to his question. Usually he isn't a patient man. I was a little bit surprised that he let your people test his patience this long..." he mused but cut himself off, maybe afraid that he said too much.

Corey just nodded with an all-knowing smile and thought to himself that the samurai should really consider doing him as a duty. The atmosphere would be much more… pleasant...

"I see. And yes, I have an answer for him. You seem to know a lot about him and his ways. He must honor your service and keep you close," he added with his usual half-smiling and unreadable face, looking over the strict man.

Eyeing the strange white man for a long moment, Kiichi finally nodded. What he said was worded in an interesting way, but it was true. "I am his first samurai. His bodyguard when I don't have other duties. Of course I know a lot about him and I am his just as much as his other samurais. I live to serve him with my whole being," he answered, but doubted that a western man would fully understand what all that meant.

"He is like a god here. Ruler of life and death. Only the emperor is more divine and powerful. The fact that the Shogun speaks to you directly should be considered as a huge honor. I honor it every time he addresses me like that," he said with nothing but respect in his voice.

"Understood," Corey nodded with the same mask over his face. He knew such things but figured he wouldn't play out all his cards. The more stupid they think him, the better to serve him in the future. And as he was a more ‘going with the flow’ type of person, he liked to have opportunities kept open just in case.

"The red warrior, Corey-chan. He is close to the Shogun too?" he asked with naivity in his voice but he wanted to gather as many information as he could to know where he and other around stands.

"You seem very interested in the structure and hierarchy of this place. I know that first of all you're a trained soldier. You are a captain for a reason. You were probably taught different kind of tactics to size your enemy up. I can see that you're trying to do that now too. Don't forget, I'm an observant warrior too," he allowed a small smile to grace his otherwise serious face.

Before he could say more, two servants asked for permission to enter and once Kiichi granted it to them, they placed two trays in front of them before bowing and leaving. After that Kiichi focused on silently eating his food with his sticks, keeping an eye on their captive.

After giving up on the sticks Corey actually liked the food. At least he managed to coax a short laughter out of Kiichi while trying to eat with those damned things. The samurai’s laugh was sweet and made his black eyes shine and somewhat also cause Corey to fall for him, beside the physical attraction.

This time his guard took him to another residence. It seemed like the office where the Shogun worked. Or let's say it was more of the resemblance of a western working room than that hall of a local God, like the place they had first met.

The room was definitely a blend of the traditional Japanese and the western culture. Aside from the low tea table with kneeling rugs around it in the left side of the room, there were shelves with scrolls and books. The Shogun was sitting behind an impressive black writing desk. There were the familiar swirling black dragons carved in it beautifully with red rubies as eyes.

The ruler put down a scroll when they entered and picked up a pipe to take a drag from it, the smoke swirling out of his mouth and nose similarly like it would from a dragon.

"Good morning, Corey-san. I hope you slept well. Do you have an answer for me?" he asked after sizing up both men, Kiichi hanging back by the door to guard his sensei.

"Good morning Shogun-san. Yes I have," Corey said bowing with respect. A man in such position had many duties, he knew. Taking the taxes and giving out the share from the grains for the winter. He had to keep up a relatively good mood among the peasants. If for nothing else then for the people to remember the name of the family for long as good rulers.

"I take your offer about my life. I am also interested in your culture. For as long as you allow me to live I would like to learn while you do the same about my culture. I know these are kept from my kind. But I won't ever be going nowhere with it…" the Captain said on a calm tone, looking up at the Shogun like someone on the same level with him, but it was a respect for his personality more than for his rank.

Shogun Jim was humming to himself, puffing more smoke into the air while listening to the Captain. When he finished, he kept his sharp hazel eyes on him for a long moment. Maybe to size up how serious Corey was. His eyes also glimpsed at the quiet and tired samurai by the door. Licking his lips with a slightly darker look, he forced himself to focus on the Captain again.

"I am glad that you decided like this. In return of your services I'll grant you what you wish for. I already knew that you're interested in our culture since you speak our language well. It's impressive. How long have you been here? Six years?" he asked, subtly revealing to Corey that they've been keeping an eye on him and his men.

"Starting tomorrow I'll grant you an hour daily to talk to me. Kiichi-kun will bring you to me. You can also ask him about our culture. I'm sure he'll answer you as best as he can. He's my best samurai," he looked at the warrior again, who silently bowed from the compliment.

Corey didn't miss that look. Again being a gay man who has to use inside signs and has to hide had eyes for such glimpses.

"Thank you Jim-san," Corey bowed too "and yes. It’s been six years since I’ve been living here. And your culture fascinates me. I always wanted to learn more about it. Thank you for the opportunity," he added with respect. Just go with the flow, life is an adventure… There is no such thing as a coincidence. He just had to wait out where this would end. Plus his sixth sense started to tingle more and more…

The tall Shogun simply nodded to Corey's words, taking a drag from his pipe once more then smacked his lips together. "Kiichi-kun will bring you at 9 in the morning tomorrow. Then I'll let him know when to come in case I have other engagements. Now you can go. I am going to be busy for the rest of the day. Explore your new home, Corey-san. You'll stay for a while," he chuckled more to himself then waved dismissively.

To that the samurai by the door took a step forward. "Follow me, Corey-san," he asked the other man, exchanging a short look with the Shogun, who nodded. The silent communication ended with one of Kiichi-kun's own nod and a bow before they left the room.

"Do you want to see the grounds where we train, Corey-san?" Kiichi asked quietly as they fell in step next to each other, the warrior's black eyes always searching their surroundings looking for danger, even if they were inside the palace. They could never know after all. Ninjas or other assassins could be lurking around. At least Kiichi doubted that Corey would be a source of such danger. No, he seemed to be more interested in them and their way of living than to jeopardize this learning opportunity. And it seemed, whatever the Shogun had told him worked, because now he was willing to cooperate.

Corey looked at the samurai. The more friendly tone was probably an order of the Shogun. The sudden change was very much to his liking, though.

"That sounds interesting. Also I like your sword. I got a very close look at it when you killed my best friend and punched me with it..." Corey said with a raised brow. He was planning to get more information about this pretty warrior. And starting clean with what was on his soul was the best start...

Kiichi-san's cheeks and the tip of his ears flushed a bit and his expression showed something like regret hearing that. "I'm sorry about those. I had no other choice. He was going to kill me too if I gave him the chance. Which tells me that he was a great warrior. Who died a honorable death by my dragon sword," he glimpsed at the man walking next to him, Kiichi's hand tightening a bit around the carved dragon hilt of his katana.

"This sword is the only family heirloom I have. It was given to my mother by my father," he said looking into the distance as he was leading them on a path towards their destination.

"Interesting..." Corey mused, thinking about the swords in the throne hall. "My friend indeed was a great warrior. Growing up by my side and fought with me back to back ever since we were sent to duty. He died in battle trying to save me," he nodded as he spoke with a little sadness. "He had a good death," he closed his thoughts. Paolo really was so much like him. He too would have died happily for his short friend. No coincidences. It was meant to be this way…

"Yes," was all that Kiichi said with a kind of respect in his voice that such honored warriors deserved. It was still obvious on his face that he kinda felt bad for hurting the buff Captain like that.

But his thoughts were interrupted when they got to the training kids and one boy ran up to them with a huge smile on his small face. He looked around six years old.

"Sensei!" the boy exclaimed with a cute giggle at the end.

Kiichi immediately went on his knees and bowed his head with respect. "Yuki-san," he addressed the boy and signaled to Corey to show his respect too. "He's the Shogun's son and heir," he whispered under his breath as an explanation.

Corey did as Kiichi and saw the boy bow too then hug the samurai, giggling.
He could see Kiichi smiling wide too. From the way Yuki called him Corey knew that he was teaching the Shogun's son. They had to be really very close…

The intimidating samurai now showed a completely different side of himself. The strict and neutral mask was gone and he was smiling wide as he hugged the boy back.

"When will you continue my teaching, sensei?" Yuki asked with a hopeful expression on his small face, his hazel eyes that were so similar to his father's searching the warrior's face and glimpsing up at Corey too.

"I am sorry, my lord, but your father gave me another task that keep me occupied during daytime. I have to guard Captain Corey Beaulieu," he waved towards the long-haired man next to him.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that, sensei. But I understand. I'm sure it's an important task," he added then looked at Corey curiously. "Nice to meet you, Corey-san. Did you come with one of those big boats too?"

"I was the Captain leading the soldiers guarding those big ships, Yuki-San," Corey told the boy with a big smile too. "That land now is the Shogun’s again as it should be. No more big ships will come."

"Oh.. You are a warrior too. I liked to watch those big ships. Maybe some will come to bring goods to us too," the boy said and bowed again before running back to the teacher calling for him.

"He is smart and adorable. You’re teaching him well," Corey told Kiichi.

Standing up Kiichi smiled a bit. "Thank you. It's my duty and honor to teach and train the future Shogun," he said, his black eyes following the energetic boy who stood back in line and picked up the next move the others were doing.

"He will be a good leader. He has a good nature and all the abilities to succeed his father," the samurai said then looked at Corey. "Do you have children here or back in your homeland?" he asked as they continued their path heading towards the stables.

"Those," Kiichi pointed towards the decent huts in neat lines "are the homes of the other samurai and their family," he explained. "We all live in the inner walls of the palace. The peasants and their families live between our wall and the outer one," he pointed towards that direction. "You'll see it better from the top of the inner wall."

"No. I'm not that type to... marry a woman," Corey phrased it carefully as he followed his guard and took mental notes from everything he was showing. "And you? You have a family too there?"

The way Corey stated that made the taller man examine the handsome bearded face for a moment longer than necessary. "I think I understand what you mean," he said, making sure that Corey saw from his expression that Kiichi had nothing against that. Not like a lot of the white men would.

"No. I don't have a family either. I've dedicated my life to serve our lord. Mother lives far away from here and rarely visits," he said sounding a bit tenser again as if it was kind of a sore spot for Kiichi to talk about.

"The stables are this way. We have the fastest horses in the country," he said with pride in his voice. "Some say that they have dragon blood in their veins," Kiichi said while lightly bowing to the stable master as they walked around the building to the wide field where most of the horses were running free or grazing.

The Captain looked back into the black eyes deeply and nodded slowly. He was sure by then that the samurai was messing with other men too…

He just loved the horses, though. Fastest horses... And at the back of the field he saw some small routes leading into the forest.

"Dragon is the symbol of the family as I see. And important to this culture…" he said calling one of the horses over to pet it. "What happened to the horses of my soldiers?"

"Yes. Dragons are usually considered as water deities bringing fortune, prosperity, life, but can also be destructive. To the Shogun and his ancient family it represents ferocity, strength and wealth. Shogun Root is very proud of being a descendant of this respected family. Legend says that his ancestors were descendants of dragons. Who knows? Maybe it's true. He's a fierce and strong man," he smiled at Corey then watched him pet the brown horse that came over to them.

"They are in the stables. The stable master is checking them out before he lets them close to our horses. They are a different breed and he has to make sure they are healthy," he said. "You have a black horse like I do. You want to see him?"

Corey listened to the explanation silently while petting the horse. But to Kiichi's last words he turned excited and smiled wider. "Can I really? He was my battle horse during all my service," he added explaining his excitement. "I'm very happy that they are finding a new home with you. All of them are great trained soldiers."

Kiichi looked at Corey again from that comment. It was to his liking that he called the horses soldiers, because it was true. A good and well-trained horse could mean just as much as another soldier or warrior on your side. "I like the way you respect those horses. I'm sure they served well so far. And they will find their place among our horses," he smiled a bit more open towards the Captain.

To be honest, the samurai found himself starting to kinda like this stranger a bit more and left his nearly black eyes on him more often. "Come. Your horse is a real beauty. Does he have a name?" Kiichi asked as they headed inside the long building. He quickly asked the stable master about the horses.

"They are all healthy, but I have to keep a few here to let them heal from the last battle, Kiichi-kun," he bowed then after thanking him, the samurai led Corey to his horse.

"Yes… Well… His name is Nightmare," Corey said laughing a bit. "I was just out of the training when my father gave him to me. Wanted a name that makes the enemy fear him… I was young and foolish, I guess. But you use scary names and masks too against enemies. Right? I heard some saying you like… calling the ancients and demons… or more like spirits to fight with you..," Corey looked at the taller man a bit questioning.

But then as they walked into the back of the barn he heard a loud excited neigh and he forgot everything else and ran to greet his fighting partner with a big hug.

The black-eyed man chuckled a bit watching the scene. He gave the friends a few moments to greet each other properly, stopping a few steps away from them.

"It's a good choice of a name for him, I'm sure. And you're right. Our samurai mask is of a demon or oni too, named Ibaraki who used to terrorize a town until one brave warrior stood up against him. We do call the spirits to guide our swords in battle too. We want to honor them and the sacrifices they had made so we could be here, fighting for what we believe is good and worth it," he explained and slowly approached Nightmare.

Once the horse noticed that, he turned his attention to Kiichi, who kept the eye-contact and bowed to the animal calmly and with respect before reaching out a hand for him.

The big black horse sniffed the samurai long then huffed at him.

"Hey there… It's okay buddy. Calm down," Corey told the animal in English and petted his strong neck. "I think he remembers you… But…" he said then in Japanese to Kiichi. Then he walked to the samurai and took his hand to walk back to Nightmare. He flashed a charming smile at the handsome man in his hand with a little naughty shine in his warm brown eyes while stepping to the horse who was watching everything interested but calm and let Corey place Kiichi's hand on his nose.

Kiichi wanted to tell Corey that probably he was right about the animal remembering him, but no words came out of his mouth when Corey unexpectedly took his hand. The Captain's palm was warm and a bit rough from battle too. And for some unknown reason that touch made the samurai's heart skip a beat. But that wasn't why his cheeks colored somewhat. That was caused by that look and the dimples that appeared on Corey's face from that smile.

It's been so long... since Kiichi felt like this. Long years, actually... when... But his thoughts were once again interrupted as he felt the black horse's soft skin and fur under his palm, Corey's hand still on his more slender one.

For a long moment Kiichi was just staring at their hands before he started slightly moving his, a small smile playing on his cute lips.

"I have to confess, though... that my horse doesn't have such an intimidating name like this beauty here. He's called Riku... which means land," he said to... break that moment between them. "Because he's part of this beloved land."

"I like that," Corey smiled warmly at him, letting his hand go and walked over to the side of Nightmare and told him English orders. To what the majestic horse bowed down before the samurai.

"He likes you now," he giggled while the horse stood back huffing at him and pulling on his Japanese shirt, opening it, almost peeling it off his master's muscular upper body who kept laughing. "Hey boy… I've missed you too but we can't do that in front of him…" he looked at the samurai talking in Japanese. "Just joking. I guess he don't know what's this outfit on me," he deeply looked into the black eyes and pulled the shirt together. "Can we eat something then maybe ride out a little on this field with you and Riku?"

It was easier to laugh on what Corey was saying than to talk after that sight. It took Kiichi a moment to collect himself to be able to do so. "I'm sure you're right about the outfit," the samurai said and had to force his black eyes not to slide lower where the shirt opened moments ago.

Clearing his throat, he stepped back from the horse and nodded. "Yes. We can definitely eat something. It is nearly lunch time anyway. Afterwards we can ride out," he said then rather turned his back on the Captain to put his mind in order.

Which was more difficult than he thought it would be. Because this man was putting pictures into his mind without even knowing about it. Forbidden pictures that Kiichi should never have of this man. That pushed him off his balance or inner peace too much and he needed a minute or two to cleanse his mind from that tempting look and those damn dimples...

Next chapter

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