FicWad

Notes: This chapter was built up after I'd written a completed other chapter 14 that was tucked away for a rainy day. I have a few other ideas for how to continue this story, but as it stands now I'm going to close this off and label it complete. Chapter 14=The End.

Thank you to everybody who has been reading this far. It's certainly progressed far from what I'd expected it to be when I started it a little over a year ago. Along the way I've learned a few tricks to write better (I think, anyways) and I've also learned two valuable lessons; writing in first person can become difficult for prolonged periods of time, and planning a fic in full makes life 100% easier instead of writing on the fly (which I did here).

I'm quite happy with how the sex scene turned out, as I thought that the first person would make it a messy affair (luckily I was mistaken!). I'm not too sure about the ending, but can't justify sitting around for a month trying to mull it over (and really, a month is far too long to come up with a sentence!)

I also wanted to point out that if it weren't for a few words from zhoutais_dayoff, then this would have taken a completely different turn of events! Ekei's presence, and the inclusion of Jubei's battle with Nobunaga wouldn't have been there if it weren't for her!

Thanks to my lovely beta Mchan for reading this over for me, even though the fandom isn't 100% your thing.

Also, thanks goes to my other, lovely beta Kat, who was always happy to read my chapters over when I wasn't sure about certain aspects of it.

Please see Chapter one for full disclaimers and summaries.

/Kotaro's POV/

+++++++++++++++++++++

I wasn't sure what Magoichi had planned as we followed Jubei and Oyu down the ladder. He seemed rather grim and I figured I'd find out soon enough what we would need to do to convince my clan that I was dead. We found Oyu when we got to the lower room, and I didn't miss the tears that were streaking down her face.

"Oyu, what happened?" I was a step ahead of Magoichi in getting to her to see if she was alright.

"Jubei... he..." she wiped at her eyes, trying to stop them from falling.

"Went on alone?" Magoichi finished for her. "Well, he is probably the only one here who could take on Nobunaga by himself."

"I know," she sniffled. "I just wanted to help..."

Magoichi shot me a look, meaning for me to take over. I guess he wasn't too comfortable with situations like that. As if I was!

"Um, don't cry, Oyu. We all tried our best to help, and we succeeded, if he got to Nobunaga before anything... bad happened." I was terrible at this, but it seemed to cheer her up, so I continued. "Jubei will survive this. You'll see!"

She braved a smile and I shot one back at her. She was kind of cute, and I couldn't help trying to cheer her up.

"Well, now that we've done our job," Magoichi cut in, "I think we should start heading home. I don't know about you, Oyu, but my village is still in danger."

I kept talking while we made our way through Gifu castle in a weird attempt to cheer Oyu up. I was still on the lookout for any demon attacks, but I guess they had all gone because I couldn't sense anything. The air in the corridors was almost clear, with only the stale, old aura of the demons who had gone. I could, however, sense something else. Something powerful. It had started off fairly faint, but continued to grow stronger with increased speed. Finally I couldn't bear it any more. "Do you guys feel that?"

"That aura? Yeah," Magoichi said. "It's been getting stronger ever since we left the tower."

"What do you think it is? It's not demon energy, but... it's so strong."

"It's my brother," Oyu said quietly, "He sold his soul to the demons for this power." She sighed, and I could hear the fear in that simple noise. "I-I know Jubei will be okay... but I can't help worrying."

Up to that point there hadn't been a doubt in my mind that Jubei could take care of Nobunaga without any trouble. I mean... his clan was so powerful... the Oni were meant to take care of the demons, but I think her apprehension was rubbing off on me a little bit.

I looked to Magoichi for a little reassurance, but he just gave me a sideways look that said that he knew what I was thinking and that I was being foolish for thinking it. That expression quickly changed, however, when the walls around us were rocked by a terrible explosion. The noise of it tore through the castle and sent the stones shaking around us.

"What was that?!" Oyu nearly shrieked.

"It sounded like it came from the tower!" At least, that's where it sounded like it had come from.

Oyu was the first person down the corridor that we'd come from, leaving Magoichi and me trailing behind her. We all ran as fast as we could, racing to get back to the tower where we'd left Jubei to fight on his own. I ran up the stairs and out the door to the tower balcony. But for all our rushing we were all forced to stop before we reached the bridge that led to the tower.

While I'd never seen a demon gate before, I knew instantly that's what was hovering in the air a few feet from us, effectively keeping us from the tower where Jubei was. The edges of the portal were burnt black and the pungent smell of sulphur was blasting up from it, forcing me to hold my breath as I looked closer, squinting to see what looked like a completely different world on the other side.

"What the hell is that doing here?" I tugged angrily at Magoichi's arm to make him answer me, not really caring how scared I sounded.

"How the hell should I know!" Magoichi said, brushing my hand away.

I looked back into the void, the glimpse of the demon realm on the other side put a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Dead trees stretched on for miles, the vague outline of mountains in the distance only adding to the desolate aura of the place.

My eyes swept over the red and black landscape, too horrified to keep looking and too afraid to look away. There had to be a reason for the portal to be there. Where was Jubei, or Nobunaga? As I wondered about the samurai, my eyes were drawn to something that was moving on the horizon. A figure that stood out against the endless ruins, whose aura drew me in like a moth to a flame and made me forget about everything else.

From a distance he looked human, but as I focused on him, the portal seemed to get closer so that I could then see he was anything but human. His hair was stark white against his dark grey skin, but it was his aura that continued to stun me. It pulsed with a blue glow that I could sense even from our vantage point. Definitely not human.

He was standing still, his sword drawn and gaze focused on a large golden idol that towered over him. It was an ugly statue, with with an obscurely wide base and long frame. It had the form of a misshapen human, except for the few creative additions that the creator had thought to add in. It had many mechanical parts that showed through the golden skin, making me think it looked more like a mechanical demon than a statue. Along with this were two masks that hovered on either side of its head, each with its own grotesquely angry expression that added to its chilling appearance.

The demon energy pouring off of it told me that it was alive, despite how completely un-alive it looked. I almost felt that I could reach out and touch the freakish aura that was thickening the air with each passing moment. The idol pulsed with life, just as the tower had, and anything else that had the demons' taint on it. It seemed to be made of living tissues, but the mechanical parts that protruded in places told me it wasn't of this world.

The only thing I could think of at that moment was how glad I was that I didn't have to fight it.

The two figures stood there, their auras becoming stronger and stronger until the white-haired demon's power surged and he made the first attack. His sword cut deeply into the golden body, but the statue didn't seem to react to the injury, instead it built up a powerful energy attack of its own.

"What the hell is that?!" I yelled as it unleashed a flame attack, covering the ground by the demon's feet in fire.

"It's Jubei," Magoichi said calmly before leaning down to pull some things from his pack.

"And my brother," Oyu finished.

"What? That can't be Jubei!" I yelled at the gunman. "Neither of those things is human!" How did he know something like that? Why did Oyu know but I didn't?

I stared at him as he unfolded his pack onto the ground, sorting through its contents and completely ignoring the fight. I couldn't believe he'd find something more important to do at a time like that.

"He's transformed into an Onimusha," Magoichi said, never looking up from what he was doing.

"An Onimusha... Jubei?" I couldn't look away; it was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen, as far as battles go. He gracefully avoided the fire and leapt forward again, swinging widely with his sword and landing another powerful blow.

I still couldn't believe Magoichi was ignoring this. I leaned closer to him to tap his shoulder, never taking my eyes from the fight as Jubei held out his hand and fired some sort of energy blast. The light tap I'd intended for Magoichi reflexively turned into a harsh punch when I saw Jubei get knocked backwards as spirals of rock shot up from glowing sores in the ground.

"What, Kotaro?!" Magoichi asked, angrily rubbing his shoulder where I'd hit him.

"Sorry!" I said, leaning over to try and get a better view. "Why aren't you watching this?"

He didn't answer right away and I peered over his shoulder to see what was so interesting. (Patience was never one of my virtues.) His pack was completely unraveled in front of him, every tube of powder open and spread around. He was working on taking apart several large guns, carefully putting their pieces into groups on his unraveled pack.

He was unbelievable! "How can you be thinking about gun maintenance at a time like this?!"

"It's not maintenance! I can't stand here and do nothing!" He angrily unscrewed a section of one rifle, only to attach it to another, longer section. He cursed as a spring slipped from his fingers and fell into a pile of gunpowder.

"What the hell do you think you can do? We're too far away. Even your guns can't reach-"

"They'll reach," he snapped, carefully fishing the errant spring from the explosive powder. "I've just got to make some modifications..." His hands flew over the metal parts, picking each piece up with ease and fitting them together in swift motions that could only come with years of experience.

I watched him for a bit, but my attention was again drawn out to Jubei as Nobunaga's monstrous form put out another attack, sending beams of light across the ground, barely missing the Onimusha.

I leapt up from Magoichi's side, leaning further over to see what happened.

"Ohh boy," a familiar voice boomed from behind us. I turned quickly only to see the monk from Imasho, Ekei, standing behind us. Had he come to help Jubei too? "This sure is some great fight, eh?" He was grinning widely, his eyes dancing with excitement. Nothing seemed to faze him, even the battle that would decide the fate of Japan.

"Yeah, great," I smiled, looking away from him to see what Nobunaga was doing again. I could only ignore him for two seconds before his heavy arm came to rest on my shoulder and he leaned on me, fully enjoying the battle.

Jubei was slowing down some.

"Jubei! Watch out!" He bellowed as Nobunaga took another swing at him.

"I don't think he needs your advice right now," Magoichi said, looking up at the monk for a second.

Ekei looked at Magoichi as if he'd just noticed him there. His eyes grew wide when he saw what the gunman was doing, and his mood changed instantly in that second. "What the hell are you doing, traitor?!!"

"Making a big gun," Magoichi said matter-of-factly. "What does it look like? I can't get down there to help..."

"Oh no you don't," Ekei shouted, pulling his hozoin spear from his back. "I won't let you kill Jubei with that thing!"

"Jubei?" I interrupted, sliding around the monk to put myself between him and Magoichi. "But, he's going to shoot Nobunaga."

"Don't be a fool," Ekei shouted, saliva flying into my face along with his words. "He's a spy for the demons! He's doing all this for gold!"

I looked at him queerly, half-turning my body from him just in case he snapped on me too. "Are you... mad?"

"No, he's just really loud," Magoichi said, standing with a rifle that looked like a mix of a few of his larger guns. The barrel reached farther than anything I'd seen him use, and the trigger had been put on the side as well, but that could have been to make room for the oddly shaped device attached to it. "Alright, time to see if this baby can do the trick!"

He walked past us, ignoring Ekei, to what I suppose he thought was a good spot to shoot. I looked back to Ekei who was nearly turning red, his mouth twisted in anger. "I won't let you kill Jubei!"

For a brief moment I wondered if that was how I'd sounded when I'd doubted Oyu. I couldn't have sounded so thick-headed. "Magoichi isn't an enemy!" I yelled, rushing to put myself between the monk and the gunman again.

"Why are you defending him? Did he charm you into trusting him?" Ekei swung his spear above his head in an angry flourish before aiming it over my shoulder at Magoichi.

"Ekei, it's true," Oyu tried to step in, putting a hand on the spear. "We're only trying to help stop Nobunaga!"

"You too?" He looked at her, shocked. "Pretty girl, he's been lying to you! Do you think a man like that would do anything that wasn't for money? Nobunaga is paying him a lot of money to do this!"

"Shut up!" I shouted, pushing the spear away from us. "You don't know anything!"

"It's true! He's made you trust him so you wouldn't stop him until it's too late! He was never trying to help Jubei! Everything he does is for the gold that Nobunaga promised him!"

Oyu didn't say anything, and when I looked over to her I could see the uncertainty on her face. "Don't believe him, Oyu! What does he know?"

"I-I'm not sure," she said. "I don't know what to do. My brother would do something like that, but... I just don't know..."

"Step aside so I can stop him from killing Jubei!" Ekei yelled, swinging his spear wildly at us.

Oyu ducked out of the way, but I was tired of dodging and met his blow with my kunai. "Don't do this," I warned, my blade scraping against his spear. He had a wild look to his eye and I wondered where he'd gotten the idea that Magoichi couldn't be trusted. I chanced a look over my shoulder to see what was taking Magoichi so long to shoot, but the gunman was having trouble with his creation. "Magoichi, what's the holdup?"

"Egh, it's stuck!" He cursed and fumbled with a tube of gunpowder, spilling it on the ground. "Damn!"

The same word, along with a few other colourful ones, coursed through my mind as I turned back to the monk, readying my weapon. This would be interesting.

When he came at me, it was at full strength. I would have dove out of the way, but Magoichi was behind me and I had to meet the monk head on instead. My kunai caught his spear, diverting it into the ground and forcing all of Ekei's bulk to come down on me instead.

I knew he was bigger and I knew it would hurt, but I didn't know the impact would re-open my wounds from my fight with Ginghamphatts' legs. I could feel the air leave my lungs as I hit the ground flat on my back. I gasped and tried to a take a breath, sharp pain coursing through my arms where the gashes had started bleeding again. While I was down, Ekei pulled his spear free and aimed it at my body. I looked up at him, holding my breath to try and keep from gasping weakly. He was aiming right for my heart. I had to move, but it was so hard. I could only look up to his eyes, staring blankly at him while I tried to get some air back into my lungs.

His expression softened a bit, before he looked over at Magoichi again. He began to walk over to him, seeming to have forgotten about me, but I jumped up and got between them again. I shook my head at him, "N-No!" I gasped, finally taking in a lung-full of air, hands bloodied as I held my kunai up to block him. "I won't let you!"

"Damnit boy, get out of the way!" He swung his spear wildly at me.

"Knocking me down won't stop me, you'll have to kill me! I won't betray him, no matter what you say!"

His eyes narrowed, flicking between me and Magoichi. "Could it be that you're working for Nobunaga too, boy?"

I shook my head, "That's ridiculous! Where did you get your information?"

"It doesn't matter!" He bellowed, "If you're not with me, then you're against me. My honour won't let me fail!"

"My honour won't let you succeed!" I stood my ground, breathing normally again. Given the situation I would have thought that I'd be more on edge, but I was instead overcome with a strange calm. "I'd rather die than let you kill him, so stop talking and come at me if you really believe what you're saying!"

He just glared at me, his spear wavering for a second.

"Hey, Ekei!" Magoichi called out, "If I was working for Nobunaga, do you think I'd do this?" He raised his gun, bracing the butt of it against his shoulder and bringing the barrel up to aim it. I could see his muscles straining under the weight, but that didn't matter as he pulled the trigger, firing a massive blast towards the battle between Jubei and Nobunaga.

The shot blasted a hole deep into the side of Nobunaga's body. The demon-machine staggered and I held my breath as it gave Jubei the opening he needed. The Onimusha saw it too and flew for it, swinging his sword in a flash of power that sent sparks of light flying around him.

The two masks that were floating on either side of the statue shattered as the head of the statue was destroyed.

I stepped forward to get a better view by Magoichi. I sensed Oyu standing near us, and Ekei even edged closer until he was resting heavily on my shoulder again, as if he hadn't tried to kill me moments before. We watched silently as the golden idol crumbled to the ground, Nobunaga's voice echoing through the gateway as it cursed Jubei for defeating him. Then the gateway began to glow, closing itself off from our world. It spun onto its side, as if shaking Jubei free from its hold and he fell through the opening, past the bridge in front of us and further below onto one of the lower sections of the tower.

Oyu rushed to the edge, calling his name, but it didn't seem as if Jubei had heard her and instead took off at a dead run.

"Looks like he's in a hurry," Ekei laughed, "But he beat Nobunaga! I guess I was wrong about you, Magoichi!" He reached around me to smack the gunman in the arm. Magoichi rolled his eyes.

"This calls for a celebration! Little lady, would you like to try some delicious foreign booze?" He pulled a bottle with a strange label and showed her.

Oyu wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"Magoichi, what about-"

"No," he cut the monk off.

Ekei turned to me with a gleam in his eyes. "What about you? Have some, to make up for me trying to kill you!"

"Uh," I stammered. It did sound interesting. "What is it? Maybe just a sip..."

"Kotaro, it's called Vodka," Magoichi grinned with a warning look, "And I'm almost positive you'd be better off saying no."

"What's wrong with-?" Ekei began to protest, but quickly seemed to change his mind. "Oh, well, don't say I didn't offer! That leaves more for me! Hee-hee!"

I would have liked to try it, but the smell on Ekei's breath after a drink felt like it might have burned my eyelashes off and I inwardly thanked Magoichi for saving me.

"Ahh, this is great! There is nothing left to worry about; Japan is safe!" He took another drink, wiping his mouth and smiling widely.

"Not quite, baldie," Magoichi said, seriously. "Nobunaga sent his army out before his fight with Jubei. It's heading out to destroy what they can, including my village..."

"Well, I guess we'll have to stop them, then!" He laughed. "I made a very valuable contact the other day. He's helping me to realize my dream to become a lord! With his help we can take care of that army. Ekei will save the day again!"

"What are you talking about, idiot? You didn't save the day the first time," Magoichi huffed and I stifled a laugh.

Luckily Ekei didn't hear me and kept going on about how, if it wasn't for him, that Nobunaga would be leading his army at that very moment.

I listened for a bit, but his words began to mesh together in a long droning sound of mumbling as my vision began to waver. I couldn't really focus on what was being said and suddenly felt so weak. I looked down at my arms, realizing that my wounds really were more serious than I'd originally thought. In hindsight it was probably a bad idea to try and save time by using a small healing powder in the tower. My arms were bleeding really badly and I was feeling faint. I tried to cover them up, but only managed to push more dirt into the cuts as my knees buckled and I started to fall forward.

I waited to hit the ground, but it didn't come. I was caught on my way down and instead eased against someone's chest. "Magoichi..."

"Hell, Kotaro, why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" I cracked my eyes open, blearily seeing him hovering over my face.

"Let me have him, I'll heal him up!" I heard Ekei's booming voice command Magoichi and I was laid on the ground. I tried to tell him that I was fine, but the loud monk just hushed me up and kneeled beside me. He held my right hand up, quickly putting something on my arm before tightly wrapping it up with bandages. I winced when he tied the knots extra tight, then felt him doing the same to the other arm, and despite the tightness of the bandages, I started to feel better. He then pressed something against my lips and I cracked an eye open to see what it was, opening my mouth to tell him I was fine, but he just pushed the healing herb past my lips when I did. "I, uh, I'm sorry, kid," Ekei stuttered, as I chewed on the tasteless, dried leaves. He was speaking so quietly I wasn't sure if he was the same man from before, as I'd never heard Ekei speak lower than a shout. "I didn't want to hurt you so badly. Hell, I didn't even think I'd cut you!" He laughed, "I guess I really am the master of the spear of the Hozoin!"

"Ginghamphatts did that, baldie," Magoichi called over from where he was standing with Oyu. "All you did was knock him over a few times."

That seemed to raise the volume of Ekei's voice again, because he went from whispering apologies to me, to loudly telling Magoichi he was an idiot. They bantered back and forth for a while, and I took the time to regain some of my strength; the herb doing its job well. By the time I was able to climb to my feet without feeling dizzy, they were going all out; insulting everything from each other's parentage to the type of alcohol they drank.

I noticed Oyu edging away from them, looking from Ekei to Magoichi to the entrance that led to the lower levels. She noticed me and gave a weak smile. "I-" she said quietly, interrupting Ekei and Magoichi mid-insult. "I'm very sorry, but I need to go. I'm worried about my daughters... and my brother's army..."

Again, Ekei changed his tone in a heartbeat and rushed towards her, taking her hands into his and apologizing for keeping her waiting. "I'm so sorry, pretty lady. I won't keep you any longer! Hey! I'm going the same way as you, we should travel together! A pretty lady like you needs a man to protect her from demons, or any humans out there that would try to hurt you!"

"I can take care of myself," she huffed, giving him a look that promised him pain if he said it again.

"Of course you can, my dear!" Ekei laughed, resting his spear in the ground so he could lean on it. "But it would be good for us to team up anyways, don't you think? Together we could fight whatever demons we find along the way!"

Her eyes flicked up to mine, and I didn't have time to hide the smile on my face, so instead I winked at her. She'd have a tough time getting rid of him, and would probably have him following her the whole way home.

I was glad that he hadn't taken a liking to me instead. I shuddered at the thought.

"Well, I hate to run," Ekei waved at us, "But I've got a lovely lady to escort back to her family!" He flipped his spear under his arm with a flourish before turning and walking away.

Oyu bowed deeply, "Goodbye, Kotaro, Magoichi. I'm glad to have met the both of you." She turned to leave, but paused and turned back, bowing again, "Thank you so much for everything!" Then she turned and followed the monk into the tower, leaving me with Magoichi.

The gunman came up behind me and turned me around to face him, "Are you sure you feel alright?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You have no idea what went through my mind when I saw you collapse there..." His hand trailed down my arm to the bandages. "Before you go, maybe you should stay here to rest. I have to do some things anyways, so you wouldn't be alone..."

"Really, Magoichi, I'm fine!" I didn't want to have to sit around anymore, but he didn't seem to care about what I said.

He tightened his grip on my arm and pulled me back to where his pack was laid out. "Just have a seat and wait while I put my guns back together. I won't be that long."

I huffed, but didn't protest any more. I was starting to realize that, with Magoichi, you had to read between the lines and hear the words he wasn't saying. "How long do you think you'll be?" Just because I understood what he really meant didn't mean I wouldn't get bored waiting.

"I'll let you know when I'm done," he said, leisurely taking apart the massive canon he'd made.

"Well hurry up! You're taking too long." He didn't say anything, but I heard him chuckling quietly under his breath.

Well, fine, if that was how he wanted to do it. I was in the mood to play anyways.

I climbed to my hands and knees, quietly crawling over to him as he took the barrel apart and put the different pieces into separate piles. I'd never really worked with guns, and was fascinated by their inner workings as I got a closer look. Magoichi still hadn't noticed me and I was right beside him looking over his shoulder. It seemed that he wasn't as good at seeing through my stealth as he let me believe.

I waited for a bit, watching the seriousness in his face as his hands roamed over the parts, picking out the pieces he needed.

Then I got an idea. It seemed like a good one at the time, and I couldn't help myself as I sprang to my feet and leapt at him while letting out a shout. It was his fault; he was being too serious and I was way too bored to sit still for that long.

I knocked him over so the both of us fell to the ground in a heap. He cursed loudly and glared up at me strongly enough to make me think it had been a bad idea. That feeling lasted for about two seconds before I grinned at him, "Gotcha!"

"Kotaro, what the hell are you doing?" His hands shot up to hold me in place against him. "I'm almost done, you can leave after that, okay?" His grip tightened, meaning he wouldn't let me go until I promised to leave him alone.

"But I'm so bored!"

He sighed, loosening his grip, "If you stay quiet," he started, a wolfish grin spreading across his handsome features, "I'll reward you for your patience."

"Hmm," I pretended to think, but his grip tightening told me to stop playing around. "Alright, alright, I'll wait. Geez, I didn't know you didn't have a sense of humour, Mago!"

He bristled at the nickname but said nothing. That was him; man of few words as he rolled me off of him and went back to fiddling with his guns. I understood how people could mistake him for a cold bastard. Luckily I knew that he'd warm right up after he'd finished what he was doing.

All I had to do was wait... but I hated waiting.

Instead of sitting still, I wandered away, deciding that exploring the tower might be more interesting. It was the tallest one of the castle and there had to be some interesting things lying around. At least, that would have been a safe assumption if humans had been living there. The demons, on the other hand, hadn't bothered to do anything to keep it looking nice at all. It was a real same too. I slid the doors open to a room not too far away and was surprised to find some of the furnishings had been left alone. It seemed to be some sort of room where people would rest, or meditate, or whatever it was that wealthy families kept rooms like that for. Probably where they performed all their fancy tea ceremonies. All I knew was that there were still many soft-looking cushions and cloths lying around that made me want to curl up and sleep. I found a few chests tucked under tables or behind chairs, but they didn't really have anything interesting in them; just some dusty books that Magoichi would probably trade his left arm for.

While exploring the rest of the room something at the other end caught my eye and I wandered over to look. What reminded me of a Buddha statue was carved into a niche in the wall, only this one's upturned hand was glowing a soft red. At first I thought it was a jewel, but when I got closer I could feel it was something else entirely. I reached out to touch it, but my hand passed through the light, as if it wasn't really there.

"They're souls," Magoichi said behind me. "They're on a different plane of existence right now, but since they're concentrated in the statue you can see them."

"Oh," I said, more as an acknowledgment that he'd spoken than anything else.

"Still bored?"

"Not really."

"That's too bad, I was going to help you find something interesting to do." I heard him drop his pack and guns behind me. He didn't say anything else, stepping up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders and pulling me back against his body. I repressed a shiver when I felt his warm chest on my bare back.

He started off slow, and I don't know if it was better that way or not. I'd been wanting this for a long time, but since I'd met Magoichi, I really started to understand why. Well, I think I was starting to understand. His lips against my neck set my eyes to drift shut and I consciously or unconsciously tilted my head to give him better access. Really, I wanted him to just keep doing what he was doing, but it seemed that anytime I moved to give him better access, he'd take advantage of it and push harder.

Not that I minded, but if I liked him licking my neck, then I wanted him to keep doing it for a while, and not move to my earlobe... although it did feel better than my neck.

After everything we'd been through with Gogandantess and trying to kill Nobunaga, I needed this; to let him do what he wanted. After all, it was what I wanted too. Magoichi nibbled harder after a while, alternating between tongue and teeth and playing with my senses.

I couldn't hold back a gasp when his hands started roaming over me, and that seemed to spur him on to be more aggressive. They traveled down my arms before quickly meeting across my bare stomach, tickling me and distracting me from his mouth. I'd always been ticklish, although I hadn't been touched like that in years. I giggled a bit, squirming back against his body and right against a familiar hardness. I ground back against it, smirking when he groaned into my ear and gripped my waist more firmly. It seemed like he'd been waiting a while for it too.

He was still moving too slowly for my liking, though, so I put my hands over his and guided them over my body, first bringing his right hand up to my chest. Once it was there he didn't waste any time going for my nipple, rolling it between his fingers and exciting me more than it should have. I reached up and tried to do the same to my other nipple, but anything I felt there was overpowered by the strength and warmth of his hand on the nub he was fingering. I gave up pretty quickly trying to match him and just rested my head against his neck and enjoyed the feeling. As his fingers worked wonders on my chest, I could feel myself hardening, and suddenly I wanted a bit more attention from the hand that was still resting patiently against my belly. Without a word I gripped that hand, guiding it lower until it was resting on the waist of my leggings. I resisted pushing his hand further and instead left it resting there, praying that he'd reach further down on his own.

He didn't move his hand. He didn't even speed up what he was doing and just lazily twisted my nipple between his fingers, his head bent over my neck and nibbling at my collarbone.

"Mmm, Magoichi?" I moaned, pushing against him and rubbing against his cock as it pushed against my ass. How the hell could he take his time?

"Shhh," he whispered in my ear as he bit my earlobe. "Trust me on this, I know what I'm doing."

"I'll bet you do," I whined, unable to keep the hint of impatience out of my voice. "But... could you go a bit faster?" If he didn't touch my cock soon...

"Hmmm," he licked my ear, running his tongue along the shell before trailing across my jawbone to my cheek. "Are you sure you want that?"

"Stop teasing me!" I ground back against him again to try and set him off. My leggings, while designed for comfort, felt so tight at that moment that I just wanted to get rid of them.

A growl was my only response as his hand left my nipple and joined the other at the waist of my armour. In one swift movement he pulled them down around my ankles, leaving me completely naked except for my feet. I would have stepped out of them to finish the job, but a quick smack on my bottom pushed me forward into some pillows and he ripped the last of the clothing from my body.

I landed in some very plush cushions and had a hell of a time gaining any sort of purchase to turn myself over. I kept sinking into them and that put me at a definite disadvantage when it came to doing anything to Magoichi. Well, from my end, anyways. He definitely had the upper hand while I was on my stomach.

He grabbed my leg and flipped me over so then I was sprawled out on my back and looking up at him, half-praying for mercy while my lower half was begging for more. I ached to reach down and touch myself, just to alleviate a little bit of the pressure. I could feel the pulse in my cock, saw it throbbing against my abdomen.

Magoichi was busy taking the rest of his clothing off, already bare chested and working on the ties on his trousers. The dim light in the room illuminated his form beautifully. It was the first time I'd seen him without a shirt and caught my jaw dropping as his bottoms slid down his muscled legs to his ankles. His body was solid with muscle, flexing as he kicked his boots to the side and tossed the last of his clothing over his shoulder. I watched him through half-lidded eyes as he moved, his cock erect and bobbing against his navel. He looked down at me and I licked my lips in anticipation.

I kept my eyes on him, watching him while I spread my legs wider, lightly touching my cock with a finger and spreading the wetness around the head. It wasn't enough, of course. I would have loved to take matters into my own hands, but it would be over far too soon, and I knew it would feel so much better if Magoichi took care of it. His hand was hovering over his own arousal, as if he was trying to resist copying my movements. I wanted to stop and give him an opening to come in, but it was so hard to pull my hand away. I wanted it so badly. Wanted him.

My body was completely hot by then, blood buzzing quickly through my veins and travelling to the centre of my being. I wanted, no, needed his body against mine. "Magoichi," I moaned for effect, putting on a bit of a show for him. "What are you waiting for, an invitation?"

"Kotaro..." his voice was husky when he said my name, and it was enough to make me even hotter for him (if that was possible). After that, neither of us said anything. He kneeled, climbing over me and leaning over to kiss me. It wasn't delicate, or tentative, or anything that didn't say, 'I want you now!'. It was his mouth trying to devour mine and mine trying to do the same. I don't know where my hands were, absently rubbing his nipples, or holding his shoulders so he couldn't pull away from me. It wasn't important. All I was aware of was his closeness and the heat between us that kept rising and making me sweat, writhing, naked on those pillows with him on top of me.

My haze of pleasure was broken when I felt him shift our positions, vaguely aware of what he was doing until my legs were parted and he licked a finger before reaching down to push it into me. I clamped down against the intrusion, half-enjoying it but unable to stop my body from resisting anyways. He pulled away from me and moved lower between my legs, pulling his finger out to spit on it before pushing it back in. I gripped my knees, pulling them as close to me as possible to let him finish preparing me. I closed my eyes, laying back against the cushions and focusing on relaxing my body. He pushed into me a third time and I forced my muscles to relax, focusing on the pleasure of his finger inside of me. Eventually, one finger became to two, spreading apart inside of me, pushing in as far as they could, and every now and then something would happen that would make me cry out. Something deep inside of me would go off and I couldn't help moaning when it did. I looked down at Magoichi to find out what was happening, but he had the biggest grin on his face that told me he knew exactly what was happening. "What was that?" I breathed.

"Like that, do you?" he asked, pushing inside me again and touching that spot that made me see stars behind my eyes.

I didn't trust my voice anymore and just nodded.

"You'll like it even better in a minute," he whispered huskily. Two fingers became three and my head dropped against the pillows while he spread me even further apart. I can't even explain it. It was heaven. I mean, I'd done things before, but nothing like this. Magoichi pulled his fingers out of me and spat onto his hand before reaching down to spread the saliva across his erection.

He crawled up to me, kneeling between my legs and putting the head of his cock against my opening. The concentration on his face was unwavering, and I felt myself tense up as I thought too much about it. He pushed inside me and I inadvertently clamped down on him, making his eyes shoot open and sending shoots of pain through my body.

I thought he'd keep going, or yell at me, or something, but he just stopped, breathing very heavily with his head bowed. After a moment he looked back at me with that same look of concentration, "Kotaro, you've got to relax. I-I don't want to hurt you, but this feels so... oh, god, Kotaro..."

I nodded silently and relaxed against the pillows, steadying my breathing and focusing on the tip of his cock that was pushing inside me. It felt so big, bigger than I knew it was. I had to force myself to relax around it; focus on the pleasure and ignore the pain. I reached down and grabbed my own arousal, softened from the pain, but that quickly changed as I stroked, doing what I knew worked best. I wasn't even embarrassed when a moan escaped my lips. It spurred me on, letting me focus on the feeling of him easing further into me.

Our eyes locked together as he slid inside, pressing deep until his hips were resting against my thighs and he let out a shaky breath. I could feel his cock throbbing against my insides, and I pushed back against it, sending a surge of pleasure along my spine. He let out a shaky laugh, "Ready?"

I nodded, letting go of my cock and holding onto my legs to pull them close to my chest. He moved slowly at first, pulling out with the same care as he'd entered me, then pushing inside again. It was excruciatingly slow. His eyes never left mine.

He moved like that for a few minutes, his gaze never wavering as he stretched me wider and wider until he was sliding in and out of me with little resistance. I clenched around him, but only because of the growl I'd get from him when I did. It was like he was holding back an army with his will alone. The look in his eyes burned into mine. When he leaned down to kiss me, I was the one that reached up to pull him down. I wrapped my legs around him, throwing my arms around his neck and holding him to me, trying to press as much of his body to mine as I could. It felt like my body was on fire, every touch of his skin against mine stoking the flame within me to burn hotter. His mouth covered mine with kisses, but it was lost in the mix of sensations that he was stirring in me. My entire body, from head to toe, was living for him at that moment. For his touch, his attention, and passion. I wanted them all.

Each thrust inward sent a fresh wave of pleasure through me, letting my cries reach higher than ever before. Every outward stroke pulled the fibre of my being with it, nearly overwhelming me before he'd thrust in again with even more force. He was speeding up his pace, movements becoming more hurried. He was pulling out less, then driving into me with more force, then quickly repeating the movement.

I was losing my mind. He broke the kiss between us, his face hovering inches away from mine as he continued. In his eyes I saw the battle raging within him to keep going. Seeing him like that, with his defenses completely down, broke something inside of me. The raw emotion and instinct that I saw in his eyes was clear as day. I couldn't stand it anymore; if I didn't do something...

There was a familiar tightening starting in my groin, spreading through my belly and quickly bringing me to the edge. It took all my strength to relax, leaving me hanging on that precipice of release.

Magoichi didn't slow down.

"Magoichi," I moaned a warning, drawing out the last vowel of his name into a high-pitched, desperate wail.

I couldn't hold on. I was losing the fight against my body.

Never once did I look away from him. Our eyes stayed locked as his hand reached down to grab my arousal, squeezing me firmly and setting off an explosion deep inside me. Shock waves spread throughout my body instantaneously, overwhelming my mind with release and I clung to him for support. A choked out wail escaped my lips; I couldn't get enough air into my lungs before I would cry out again, and I couldn't stop screaming. It felt like the feeling would go on forever. I writhed beneath him, moving my hips with his thrusts to lengthen the moment and bring him to his climax as well.

I was dimly aware of him going rigid, my name pushed past his lips as I felt his cock pulse inside me. It wrought havoc on my already over-stimulated entrance, every movement of his cock burning through the exhausted nerves.

I relaxed back against the cushions, holding Magoichi against me as the waves of our release subsided. Eventually he pulled out of me and rolled onto his side next to me, reaching up to stretch and resting his head on his hands. "So," he said after a long moment, staring up at the ceiling. "I see you're feeling better."

"I told you I was!" I said, turning over to face him.

"Yeah, you did, but you're stubborn. You could have just been saying that."

"Why would I lie about that?"

"So I wouldn't worry?" he half-smiled.

"Yeah right," I mumbled. I really had felt fine. "Do you worry about me?"

"Only when I think you're going to get killed."

"Aah," I said, frowning. "So not that often then."

"Actually, all the time," he laughed and I smacked him. "Do you know what you're going to do now?" he asked, suddenly becoming serious and looking over at me with those deep-brown eyes.

"Find something to wear?" I asked. I didn't feel like wandering around half naked, since my ripped up vest wouldn't do much anymore.

"No," he tried to laugh. "I'll help you fake your death so you don't have to go back to Fuma... but, well, did you think about coming with me to Saiga?"

The thought of not returning to my village didn't make me as sad as it should have. I'd miss a few things, sure, but they really weren't that important to me. No memory seemed to matter when I thought of what I could have if I just went with him. I wouldn't have to go on missions to spy, or kill... if I didn't want to. The thought of being trained to shoot a gun appealed to me too, although I'd see if I could find a smaller, hand-held gun, since those rifles were too big for my liking. I made a sound of thought in my throat, pretending to think about it, even though my mind had already been made up the first time he'd asked.

"It depends," I started, waiting for him to roll over to face me.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"Can I have a gun?"

His face relaxed and he smiled, the emotion reaching his eyes and he beamed at me. "You're a man after my own heart, Kotaro."

"That's not all I'm after!" I winked and reached up to kiss him, pressing my lips to his and parting them with my tongue.

This kiss was different from the others; it wasn't hurried or rushed. It felt just right.

Magoichi held me close until I fell asleep wrapped in his arms and coat that had found its way over to our makeshift bed. When I woke up it was still dark out, and Magoichi was already dressed and ready to go. "Ready?"

"Ugh, yeah," I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and climbing to my feet. "I need a second to get ready."

The moon was hanging low in the sky and it poured in through an open window. "The sun will be up in a few hours," I said, tying up the last of the clasps on my leggings and slipping into my sandals. "What was the plan for my death?"

"I'll show you in a second," he said, waiting at the door for me with my ripped up vest in his hand. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

His question was my last way out of going with him, but there was no way I'd give it up. "Yeah."

Without a word he opened the door and walked through it. I followed, pausing in the frame and looking back at the room we were leaving behind. I hadn't forgotten to bring anything with me. The smell of sex in the air and the indents we'd made in the cushions were the only things we were leaving behind. We'd vanish into the night, without leaving a trace that we'd been there. It would be the last thing I did as a ninja before leaving my old life behind.

I took the final step through the doorway to stand beside Magoichi. Without a word he turned and led the way, taking me out from the shadows and into the bright future I'd chosen to share with him.

~End Enemy of my Enemy~