永遠の絆

Ceasing LJ activity

witchann2 — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:42:50 GMT

! IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT !

This is just to inform any visitors that I permanently moved online activity to my blog on Wordpress:

Slovošlenky | Anina Perpello

I regularly post there about all my literary activites in Czech.
I no longer write in English.
If you´d like to contact me regarding RW, you can find it also on my Wattpad account Witch2017.
I´ll be happy if you get in touch with me there.

It was fun, thanks LJ. ^^/

Kasumi / Witch / Anina Perpello

***

A/N: One day, I´d like to realize a certain project - to publish Red West officially. If it comes to it, I will post the info about it also here. Otherwise, this account will remain silent.

My 2023 in LJ

witchann2 — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 17:38:55 GMT

The most important fact included in this statistics — Red West story completed...

Yaay!

Get your personal New Year's card here

[Red West] The final Summing Up

witchann2 — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 07:31:58 GMT

Howdy, RW readers! ^^/

Some goodbyes are harder than others. Especially when you must say it to someone dear to you, who had been an integral part of your life for years. You can object that relations to fictional characters cannot be compared to love for real persons and I would agree with you. However, it does not mean it´s easy for me to part with Kame and Jin.

The current state of my mind is rather strange. I thought that I´d be immensely relieved once I would write that final word and leave the RW world for good. Instead… I don´t know. It feels like I haven´t fully realized yet, that my journey with those two really came to its end. Maybe, I had spent too many years with their story and therefore, I´m unable to imagine not getting back to it.

I had started writing Red West in February 2013, more than ten years ago. In the end, there are 3 books of more than a 720 000 words in total. Thinking back about it, I had no idea what a scope would placing my favorite J-pop idols into the Wild West world acquire. The whole story came to life one cold evening in the rented apartment, where I had been living alone, with no one special in my heart. Engulfed with them, I kept writing anywhere I could, anytime I found energy. Now, as it came to its final, it´s shortly before I´m going marry the man I love.

Damn, so many, many things changed… I´m not the same I was when this story began. It was the important part of my life and it definitely had a role in shaping me into a person I am now. Nevertheless, even though I will miss RW a lot, it´s time to let our dear Riders go and move on…

I still do love creating stories – that is one thing, which did not change in the slightest – so I wish to keep writing in the future as well. It remains to be seen how reality will allow me to devote myself to it.

To all those who persisted and reached this finale with me – I hope you enjoyed reading it at least half as much as I did enjoy writing it. I will keep all online doors open in case you would like to contact me. I will keep checking LJ; otherwise, you can find me also on Wattpad or AO3.

My gratitude belongs to my beloved beta-reader Atago-kun – Thank you for your patience with my poor gaps in English. And sorry to my dear Sis – I know that sometimes, I had been persistent to annoyance, while trying to get any kind of reaction out of you.

Thank all of you for reading until this point. I wish you a good time with reading more stories you will like. Take care and spend time on things you enjoy. Life is too short not to do so.

Yours, Kasumi

Ps: Naturally, RW III. is dedicated to Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin. These two will remain in my fan-heart forever.

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Epilogue II.

witchann2 — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 18:06:27 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Attention! There are 2 parts of Epilogue. I have really done it in the end... The RW final is too long to be posted all at once... XD

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine // Chapter thirty // Chapter thirty one // Chapter thirty two // Chapter thirty three // Chapter thirty four // Epilogue I //

Epilogue - part II.
Please, read part I. first...

***

Back in Montana…

“Do we really have to report it today?” Jin complained as soon as they passed the border stone marking Henderson´s lands.

Kame, who had been already expecting some usual objections, did not even turn to him. “We´ve already discussed it – better now than later. At least we can put the whole issue out of our minds.”

“But I hate us rushing here like obedient dogs.”

“This is a mutually beneficial cooperation,” he reminded impatiently. “We´re not his servants.”

“Bah!” Jin snorted doubtfully. “I still think he sees us that way.”

“That´s his problem, not ours,” Kame assumed calmly.

“How come you always find the right argument?” Jin wondered, spurring Kuro a bit to catch up with his sturdy horse. Kame had borrowed it from Mr. Harada, since it would be too risky to ride Ukushi these days.

Kame gave him an inquiring look, not sure, if the other was joking or not. “It´s not the first time you insist to have this useless conversation on our way to Henderson´s ranch.”

His lover frowned at him: “My complaints are justified. Why should we behave like…?”

“Jin,” he interrupted him sharply, but still with understanding. “I know you hate this place. I don´t have any good memories of it either… But would you let me go to him alone?”

Finally, his annoyed companion gave up: “…no,” he murmured with a hunched back.

After that, the rest of their way to the main gate passed in silence, even as they rode through it to the vast gardens, accompanied by bored looks of the present guards.

Cora was heading for the main door thoughtful and still surprised by the unexpected offer.

A few months ago, she would have not even imagined that she would be walking through these spacious, nice corridors and rooms with such a life-altering perspective on her mind. It was a great opportunity, so good that she could not help but wonder what would be the catch in it.

When she was a young girl, she definitely did not plan managing a brothel in her future. Some dreary circumstances had led her steps to admirable Madame Sukina and after her retirement, she passed on the business to her. It was not an easy job, but believing that she was not good enough for anything else, she had treasured it. Therefore, even though she realized there were good intentions behind it, she was still upset that the City Council decided about its closure last week. She worried for her girls, who were about to lose their only way of income and she was determined to find some means to help them out.

Cora knew whose intervention was behind this, so she was not very eager to accept the invitation to visit Henderson´s ranch. However, she had been trying to find a way to thank the man for what he did for quite some time, so she decided to take a chance and tell him what she thought about his cheeky interventions personally. However, their conversation did not turn out how she had expected at all.

She had already realized that Cameron Henderson was a way more than only a former butler of a rich man, who bore a grudge against Jin and Kamenashi. He was a closed up and unavailable man with high demands of those who served under him. Nevertheless, there was a kind side inside of him, which she had spotted by almost a miracle. His attitude was still reserved and serious, but she doubted he would have offered her this job, just because he liked her. He did not owe her anything and he assured her that she did not owe him anything for what had happened either. He was a calculative, proud person, yes, but Cora did not feel dishonesty in his words. He did not even demand an immediate decision of her, which she appreciated. He definitely managed to surprise her greatly, and she needed some time to think about it.

Once she walked outside, she raised a hand to shield her eyes in front of the bright sun. Once her eyes accustomed to the day light, she spotted two riders dismounting their horses nearby. In that moment, one of them called to her.

“Cora!”

She hesitated, but then she headed to them slowly. She knew that the two of them cooperated with Henderson in some way, so it was not surprising to see them here. However, Jin refused to talk about it, so she quite wondered what could be in it.

“Hi, guys,” she greeted them with a small smile.

“Hello, Cora,” Kame nodded, focusing on tying the reins of their horses. He had always been so polite towards her, not giving her more attention than was necessary. She had a feeling that Kamenashi somewhat knew she had been infatuated with Jin before. Fortunately, she did not feel any resentment from him; he just kept his distance.

“Henderson keeps chasing you around as well?” Jin wondered caustically.

She sighed: “He´s not that bad, Jin.”

Having a conversation with him regarding the current owner of the rebuilt farm was always troublesome, but after what she heard today, she was not willing to let Jin have his way.

Her former bouncer grimaced: “I find it hard to believe.”

“Even after everything he did for the city?” Cora reminded him impatiently. “Since the City Council has been established, many things changed for the better with him in lead…”

“He´s doing it just for money and reputation,” he opposed right away.

“Helping me out was not for money that´s for sure,” she found another argument quickly.

“He just wanted to get you on his side,” Jin insisted.

Cora folded her arms defiantly: “And now you´ll tell me that he was planning to go blind in the process, huh?”

“Hem…” Jin cleared his throat, losing words for a while.

There was not much he could say on that. Everyone knew that during the New Year´s celebrations Henderson stood up for Cora, when some drunken cowboys ambushed and harassed her. Unfortunately, during the fight with them, he went half-blind after hit right into the eye.

“Just for you to know, he even offered me to work for him,” she decided to drop another little bomb, while there was a chance.

Jin´s eyes widened. “What? He wants you to be his personal wh-“ he stopped in the last second, under her sharp stare. It hurt Cora that he thought of her that way, even though it was understandable that this was his first reaction.

“No,” she emphasized. “He offered me to be the head of his staff. Here.”

“What if he just wants to get under your skirt?” Jin mumbled doubtfully.

“Even if, I think I can handle that,” she assumed already upset. “Now, if you excuse me…” and with that, she turned away, heading for the stables. Let Jin think whatever he wants. Also thanks to his reaction, Cora realized that she had a real chance to do something about her life now, and she would not let it slip.

*

Jin watched Cora leaving quite disturbed: “I don´t believe it…” he exhaled. Did Cora really think that Henderson changed?

Then Kame approached him and squeezed his shoulder. “Jin, when will you finally get out of your head that Henderson is the second Karnaka?”

He gave him a frowning side-look.

“Come on… He even gave us the house back,” his dear one urged.

“Not without a price,” he murmured.

“Which was reasonable,” Kame emphasized the undeniable fact. “I understand your doubts, I did not believe him at first either, but could you give our agreement at least a chance?”

Jin eyed his serious expression closely: “Why do you keep standing up for him, Kazuya?” he asked with a heavy mind.

“Because I believe that not every dispute must end in bloodshed,” there came a meaningful reply, which actually made Jin stop and ponder it a bit. “I´m really glad Henderson took that little friendly step and that we could follow suite.”

Jin sighed. It made sense at least.

“You´re right. No promises, but I´ll try…”

“Good. Now come… Let´s get over this,” Kame gently pulled his hand toward the entrance of the house they had kept visiting quite regularly after a rather curious conversation, when Henderson stopped by for an unexpected visit…

Cameron Henderson raised his stern eyes to them, after he settled himself.

“Don´t you want to sit down as well?” he gestured in the direction of free chairs around their small kitchen table.

“I´d rather remain standing,” Jin growled, still quite anxious about the presence of this man in their home.

Henderson shrugged. “As you wish, but I believe this will be a rather lengthy conversation… In case you two are as sensible as I think you are.”

Kame returned the man´s inquiring gaze, before he moved and slowly sat down opposite to him. Jin gave him a disapproving look, but did not comment it and only remained standing behind his chair, staring at their visitor.

“Why are you here, Henderson?” Kame asked, also carefully inspecting the man´s expression. There was something different about their foe and it was not only an eye-patch over his left eye.
Henderson remained silent for a while, eyeing the walls of the small kitchen, the entrance to the next room, the packed shelves above the stove and the tidy table, before his eyes focused on Kame again.

“You´d like to settle down here for good, I suppose?”

Kame did not expect such a straightforward question and did not know what to think of it, so it was Jin, who reacted instinctively and without thinking: “If no annoying dick will try to kick us out, then yes,” he growled with a clear hint on their issue with Kamenashi lands ownership.

It almost seemed to Kame that Jin´s reaction amused Henderson.

“I see… In that case, I´ve got a proposal for you two.”

“What makes you think we want to listen to it?” his partner reacted caustically.

Kame turned to look at him:

“Jin, since he bothered to come by, we can at least hear him out,” he spoke seriously. “Is that all right with you?”

Jin made a face, but then nodded nevertheless.

Kame turned back to Henderson. “Go on.”

The man placed both hands on the table in front of him freely, before he started to speak again: “Let´s say that I pondered our… existing relations and figured that it would be more convenient for all of us to cooperate.”

Kame frowned: “Are you serious or are you here to blackmail us again?” he asked sternly, suspicious of the man´s intentions.

Now, Henderson seemed to be a bit tired: “I believe I said it quite clearly. No, I´m here to propose cooperation.”

Then he paused, waiting for a while, if any of them had anything to else to say. This time both of them remained silent.

“I would leave this house in your charge, without any rental payment, plus the adjacent lands. I suppose you´re not interested in the mine…” he made a short, significant pause, “so I shall keep that part, as well as most of the woods.”

“You mean to discard Karnaka´s last will?” Kame asked doubtfully.

“Partially,” Henderson nodded and slowly pulled out some paper from his leather bag. “I already prepared the draft for you to check it out if you want.”

Kame´s eyes narrowed at the document, before he took it in his hand. Jin ignored it, trying to figure out if Henderson was making fun of them or if it was some kind of trick.

”Sounds too good,” Kame stated then. “What do you want of us in return?”

Henderson slightly nodded: “Naturally, I´ve got some conditions… Kamenashi, I´ve heard you´re a quite efficient Indian Agent, so I´d like you to take care of any possible Indian issue on my lands as a priority.”

Kame straightened up in his chair, pondering Henderson´s words.

“To handle these issues is my job in general anyway, so I´ve got no problem with it,” he replied then seriously. “What else?”

“The other thing concerns Akanishi,” Henderson shifted his look at the older one, who kept staring at him with disbelief. “You shall apply for a vacancy on the sheriff´s deputy spot.”

Jin scoffed: “Why the hell should I do that?”

“Like that you will have an influence on the happenings in the city, which…”

“Will be convenient for you,” Kame completed him right away.

Jin moved and pressed both his hands on the table, leaning closer to Henderson. “We will not be your puppets,” he growled determined.

Henderson shook his head calmly, not bothered a bit: “Certainly not. I´d consider it more like a kind of collegial relationship.”

Kame eyed the man intently now: “Give us an example. What would you like to influence?”

Jin gave him a look, which clearly meant: You don´t actually believe him, do you?

“Fair enough,” Henderson admitted. “Well, first of all, I´d like to increase the security. More city residents mean more criminals. Solely Sheriff´s office is far from enough to watch over everything; there should be more men in charge.”

“True,” Kame nodded. “What else?”

“I´d like to open another grocery shop, to give that stingy Franko some competition.”

“While stuffing your pockets with money,” Jin noted sourly.

“Sure,” Henderson nodded right away. “Also, I think it´s about time to close that filthy brothel and give those women a more proper job. And similar things.”

On one side, Jin did not like the idea of them to be included in anything remotely related to Karnaka´s former butler, but on another – Henderson´s plans were damn coherent and reasonable.
“How can we know that you´re not lying?” Kame asked just what he intended to mention as well.

Henderson gave him a long, direct look: “You can´t,” he replied calmly.

They looked at each other wordlessly. Jin shook his head slightly. He did not agree, but he was willing to let the decision up to Kame.

“Let´s say we would accept it,” Kame spoke then, using almost the same tone as Henderson himself at the start of their conversation. “What would be the first thing you want us to… cooperate on?”

Henderson leant back in his chair with a content smile, as if it was not a hypothetical question, but as if they already agreed.

“Finding out the dirty secrets of our dear Reverend.”

Both Jin and Kame stiffened and Henderson´s smile even widened. He probably figured that he hit the bull´s eye. They remained silent, so he continued.

“I´ve got a good reason to assume that there´s quite a few people in our city, who have a… problem with him. Including you two.”

In that moment, Kame realized that no matter the doubtful motivations behind Henderson´s offer, it would be more than convenient to cooperate with him. This man was perfectly informed about what was happening in the city. All things considered, it would be better to have him on their side.

“What would you do if we refuse?” Kame asked more curious than worried now.

“I wonder about that too… Would you try to make our lives hell again?” Jin noted gloomily.

Henderson shook his head slowly: “I simply do not consider that as an option…”

They did think about it all, quite thoroughly and in the end, they agreed. Even if in the beginning, it was only to make sure how serious Henderson was about his statements. So far, it definitely seemed that very serious.

The former Karnaka´s right hand could have been only a calculative bastard who intended to use them, but he was right. They could make things better for everyone, not only for themselves. It was a great motivation for Kame and he managed to persuade Jin as well. Only the future could show if this agreement would really persist, but Kame was glad they went for it. If things would go wrong, they would not have to regret that they did not try at least.

Now, they were in the same room as a few times before, with one great change Kame noticed almost right away. Before, when they had started visiting Henderson´s farm on meetings, there was a huge painting of Raynold Karnaka hanging on the wall, which naturally made them both grimace sourly at the sight, but now it was gone…

Kame had a feeling it would not be wise to comment it, so he pretended not to notice anything out of ordinary, but inside, he considered it more than a good sign for their future cooperation.

When Danny had announced the arrival of more visitors, Cameron thought it was about to be one of those busy, busy days once again.

First, he checked off the last item on the list of tasks, which were necessary to complete for the spring seeding, while Danny was looking over his shoulder. Only then he focused on two men on the opposite side of the table, while his assistant took the list back and left.

Akanishi sat there with elbows on his knees, pretending to inspect the dirt on his shoes. It was obvious he would rather be anywhere than in his study. He kept coming to his ranch just because of his companion. Kamenashi next to him seemed to be rather comfortable in his chair, calmly waiting for him to finish his task. When he caught Cameron´s gaze, he returned it without a flinch. It seemed that at least Kamenashi realized the advantages of their agreement and in the end, Cameron was sure he would persuade Akanishi of it as well.

“So? How did it go?” he asked then.

Kamenashi described their confrontation with Gilbert Kapner and the result of their negotiations with Mormons concisely and to the point. He was quite sure that the strict and somewhat crazy community would take care more than well of their fortunately former reverend.

“Good job,” Henderson nodded after he finished. “Do you have anything else for me?”

Akanishi raised his head suddenly: “I´ve got a question.”

Cameron expected nothing more than inquiring questions coming from the stubborn youngster. He always had some, though recently less of them than before.

“What are you curious about this time?”

The young man´s eyebrows pulled together, but otherwise, his face remained unmoved: “Why do you want Cora to work for you?”

Ah, so they bumped into my future head of staff on her way out, Cameron realized.

“Not your business, just as her decision,” he replied calmly.

This time, such a response did not meet with compliance, since Akanishi´s eyes darkened: “Fair enough,” he stated to Cameron´s surprise. “But if you hurt her in any way, our deal is over.”
Cameron leant back in his favorite chair and gave him a serious look: “I would expect nothing less of you.”

Akanishi remained silent.

“Can I ask something too?”

Cameron raised his eyebrows slightly. Kamenashi as well? They were rather curious today. They were almost amusing like this.

“You can, though I do not guarantee an answer,” he reacted condescendingly.

“Why did you want to get rid of Kapner?” Kamenashi asked right away. “His cooperation was valuable as well, wasn´t it? Was it something personal?”

Cameron stared at the young man for a while. Well, well, it was no wonder this slim person took it from a mere bartender to the important Indian agent with such a bright mind. He could have brushed him off, but from some reason, he wanted to tell the truth.

“I simply despise shallow men like him…” he spoke slowly. “Perverted liars are of no use to me.”

“Interesting. You cooperated with another creepy pervert for quite some time with ease,” of course, Akanishi had to say something to it as well.

Cameron focused on him again, seeing that dark remainder of painful memories in the stiffness of his jaw. He wanted to defend himself, to admit that Grenet was just a dangerous tool which he was about to get rid of anyway, but then he reconsidered.

“You don´t believe people might change?” he asked instead.

The dark eyes narrowed: “What does that have in common with it?”

“More than you think,” Cameron stated seriously. “For example, you had changed from the moment I saw you here for the first time as well. Quite a lot.”

Akanishi stiffened a bit: “Still not following you.”

Cameron looked him in the eye: “Back then you cared only for yourself and for your revenge. You would do anything to get it done, no matter who would be hurt in the process. Now, you care about others, even for harlots. You´re even willing to work for me if it means safety for those you care about. You would not call this a change?”

Akanishi fell silent for a while. It seemed that he somewhat got to him finally. Kamenashi´s eyes were wandering from him to his lover and back again, but he did not say anything.

“Kamenashi as well,” Cameron continued calmly. “You know him the best – does he seem to you as the same person in comparison to your first meeting with him?”

Akanishi did not move an inch and just stared at him, which Cameron returned.

“I still don´t trust you,” he stated then quietly.

Cameron almost smiled. Finally, he at least managed to sow a seed of doubt in Akanishi´s conviction that he was not to be trusted under any circumstances.

“I don´t mind,” he reacted slowly. “Our relations were never based on anything close to that. But you don´t have to trust me to realize that this settlement of ours works quite well, right?”

“Maybe…” Akanishi admitted coldly and stood up. “Here. This is the list of people I suggest to another deputy. Three people are not enough; there are more issues in Bozeman every day.”

Cameron nodded. Such an initiative from Akanishi was surprising, but convenient. “Good… I will leave the choice up to you,” he assumed.

Lost on words for reaction, Akanishi blinked and Kamenashi gave him a surprised look as well.

“If you don´t have anything else, please leave me to continue my work,” he released them impatiently. It was more than enough for honest conversation with them for one day.

*

Danny was just about to head to the kitchen to arrange some proper meal for lunch, when a voice calling his name stopped him on the edge of veranda. He turned around to see Kamenashi and Akanishi heading to him.

“Yes? What is it?” he asked once they reached him.

“Was it you?” Kamenashi asked out of the blue.

He titled his head: “What do you mean?”

“Was it you who led Henderson to the idea of using us instead of fighting us?”

Danny´s eyes widened: “What? How did you…” he stopped under Kamenashi´s serious look. “I just talked with him about you a few times,” he admitted. “But that was it… It was his idea to cooperate with you two.”

“Really?” Akanishi reacted doubtfully.

Danny shrugged: “Why are you bothered by it? Isn´t it better like this for everyone?”

Kamenashi chuckled: “McFly… You´re smarter than you look.”

He shook his head: “Look, I might have mentioned it, but Mr. Cameron changed in this past year. It was his decision not to go after your necks anymore. I´m glad I can work for him and you should be too.”

Once Danny McFly parted with them and went after his duties, they headed to their horses in more or less thoughtful silence. They already released the reins and were about to mount when Jin stopped and looked at the pretty house in front of them.

“I admit that this arrangement has its advantages,” he spoke quietly and turned to Kame, who was watching him closely. “But… What if Henderson just represents the lesser evil? What if it means that by collaborating with him, we are no better than people we were fighting against so far?”

Kame gave him a serious look: “Maybe. But even if that´s the case, I think that main point is if we consider it worth the results.”

***

Two days later, Liwan appeared on their doorstep.

Kame was just gloomily going through the reservation reports from Fort Benton, which they finally bothered to send him after the harsh winter. Frost and hunger caused more deaths than he had thought it could. Despite his unceasing interventions, the provided supplies were not sufficient, even though he managed to involve also Henderson and persuaded him to provide the remnants of the last year´s stock for half the government price. After all, he was rather glad for the disturbance in form of a door knocking, since apart from the Indian issues, mainly his mare kept occupying his mind.

If they calculated correctly, her time should soon come. That was why he stayed at home most of the time now as well, while Jin attended to his duties in the city.

Kame was honestly happy to see his blood brother, until he realized Liwan´s face was more serious than usually. Once they sat outside under the open sky, since Liwan usually did not enter any house until it was necessary, Kame found out the reason. He came to tell him of his father´s departure to the Eternal Hunting Grounds.

The grim news hit Kame hard. He had admired Cloud Dancing and owed him a lot. There had been many times when the old shaman´s skills helped not only him but also his mother and Jin. They remained sitting there, remembering the old days and he was just about to ask how Beara was handling it, when a pained neigh reached them from the small stable behind the house.
Kame flinched and scrambled up to his feet: “Ukushi…” he exhaled tensely.

Since the painful reminder of the mine collapse was slowing him down, Liwan was much faster than he and was already soothing the anxious mare as Kame limped inside breathing hard.

“Ponopoka is coming,” his blood brother spoke in a quiet voice, but Kame noticed the strange tension in it.

Nervous, but still more slowly now, not to disturb his faithful animal, Kame went around to check Ukushi´s pelvis. Just as Harada said, he found a translucent bag that strained a narrow shape from the inside. The little one was definitely on its way. Ukushi neighed again and he really did not like how it sounded.

“Something wrong,” Liwan spoke again, still calmingly tapping the mare´s neck. Kame´s hands were trembling, as he raised them to check the state of the birth more closely. Repeating Harada´s lectures in his mind, he carefully felt for the shapes under the soft layer and… then he realized.

“There´s only one leg.”

Liwan gave him a sharp look. “Not good,” he said.

“I know…” Kame felt the knot of anxiety in his stomach. They had to help her; otherwise, Ukushi could be badly hurt during the delivery. Nevertheless, even though he knew a lot about horses and he witnessed a few births during the years spent with the Blackfeet Tribe, he was not so experienced. What if he would make things worse for her?

“My brother can do it,” Liwan spoke firmly, apparently believing in his abilities.

Kame returned his warm gaze, feeling Ukushi trembling under his hand. It was better to risk it than do nothing at all.

“I… We need some water and… light,” he exhaled heavily.

“I see we came just in time.”

With a surprised relief, Kame turned to the owner of the voice. “Jin… How comes you´re already at home?”

Jin took off his hat and wiped the sweat of his forehead: “Kuro almost tore his reins to persuade me something is happening here.”

“Good horse,” Liwan commented calmly.

“That he is,” Jin nodded with a smile. “So, you´ve heard Kame, Mike,” he turned to the wide-eyed boy on his side. “Let´s go fetch everything necessary.”

By the time the two of them were back, their arms loaded, Ukushi was already lying, still apparently in pain. Liwan was sitting by her head, whispering some Indian words.

Kame´s hands were trembling hard, when he washed them in the water, while Jin fastened lanterns to the beam above them.

“I can see its head!” Mike yelped excitedly, peeking from behind the adults.

“Yeah, that´s good,” Kame took a deep breath. “But we need to get that other leg forward too.”

Jin placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile, which was what Kame desperately needed.

“Let´s do this then…”

It took forever, but according to Mike, both Ukushi and Kame were incredible. The little foal´s birth was such an exciting sight, that he did not even mind that scary Indian anymore.
He did not know exactly what Kame had to do, but after some strenuous exhales and with his hands in the mare´s back, he started to pull and that curious thing was starting to get shape. He and Jin kept helping it, until that wet and dirty creature was completely out. Ukushi remained lying there, snorting tiredly, while they stood there, amazed by the appearance of tiny thing in strange wraps.

“It´s… not moving,” Mike breathed out right in the moment, when Kame knelt down again, carefully tearing the birth wrappings.

Jin, now clearly anxious as well, handed him a clean cloth and Kame cleared the small horse’s nostrils with it.

“Come on, little one,” he spoke shakily. “Don´t let your mother down now…”

And then finally, the foal´s head shifted and slowly rose. Kame looked up to Jin, his face bright and relaxed.

“It will be all right now…”

His statement made Jin grin relieved, while Mike shouted out with happy excitement and Liwan even smiled.

***

The first rays of sunlight shone through the soft morning haze floating above the grassy slope behind their house. A white mare grazed on dew-rich grass and her newborn foal clumsily hopped around her, caring more about the milk in his mother´s teats than about learning how to run properly. Meanwhile, the black stallion trotted nearby, on guard against any intruders. The sight was like a beautiful painting of a gifted artist, bringing peace on mind after the anxious night hours.

Except for the muffled chirping of birds, it was quiet all around. Liwan had left as soon as it was clear that both animal mother and her newborn would be all right. Kame understood his haste. With his father gone, all the shaman responsibilities fell upon his blood brother´s shoulders. Liwan had to be there for his tribe. They parted warmly, and Kame promised to come to the reservation soon to check on the current situation. Mike was sleeping on the couch in their salon, exhausted from helping them watch over the foal for most of the night. After what happened with the reverend, the boy clung to them like a tick, but they didn't mind at all.

As for the most precious person in his life, his steps could be heard on the new boards of their widened veranda and shortly after that, a small cup filled with alluring dark liquid appeared in front of Kame´s eyes.

He gave Jin a bright smile and gratefully accepted the coffee, sipping in slowly, while his partner sat down right next to him on the stairs, with his own cup in hand and looked in the same direction.

“You were amazing last night,” Jin stated softly then.

Kame took a little shaky inhale: “There was nothing more I could to. I´m happy it worked.”

“Me too. And I guess Kuro is the happiest of us all.”

“Definitely.”

“Have you chosen a name?”

“Well, Liwan suggested Kéya…”

“What does it mean?”

“A turtle.”

Jin chuckled: “Fitting, since it took the little one so long to get out of his mother´s womb.”

Kame smiled as well: “I agree.”

“So? What now? Any plans when our precious foal is finally here?”

“I assume that a little visit in Wyoming is in order?” Kame asked.

Jin sighed a bit: “Well, I thought about it and… We have a ton of responsibilities here now. To work as a deputy is… more tough than I had thought. Not to mention your Agent´s tasks.”

“Don´t say…”

“Don´t mock me, I know you´re usually the one reminding us.”

“Your point then?”

“So… What about we would invite them here instead? The upper floor is almost done and the situation calmed down in general. I know it would be risky, but…”

“I like that idea a lot, Jin.”

“Good.”

Smiling at each other, they kissed softly. Then Jin´s body tilted a little to the side, attaching to Kazuya´s shoulder. Like that, the two of them remained sitting there quietly, basking in the growing sunlight, relishing the peaceful view of their home. In their hearts, they knew what the other felt, so there was no need for further words.

- The End -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Epilogue I.

witchann2 — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 18:01:29 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Attention! There are 2 parts of Epilogue. I have really done it in the end... The RW final is too long to be posted all at once... XD

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine // Chapter thirty // Chapter thirty one // Chapter thirty two // Chapter thirty three // Chapter thirty four //

Epilogue - part I.

Kéya

Territory of Montana, Bozeman City
April 1883

The expected storm was coming.

Over the past few days, the daily temperatures had been too high for mid-spring season and it was only a matter of time for thick, menacing clouds to gather above the impressive outlines of the Rocky Mountains. With the approaching evening, the cold wind rose, bringing Bozeman citizens close the windows and light up the candles on their parapets.

Small, goldish lights were also flickering behind the church windows, creating a bit creepy view in combination with the dark background of rustling trees. The building was supposed to be empty by this time of the day, yet quiet boyish sobs echoed within its walls decorated by simple religious paintings.

“Don´t make a fool of yourself, kid. You kept coming to me voluntarily, didn´t you?” a slightly angry voice sounded from the small sacristy.

“I… I thought that you can help my grandparents,” a tearful voice of a young boy replied.

“Of course I can and I will. However, you must make some effort as well. God rewards those who try hard, do you understand?”

“I think so…”

“So, be obedient and take it in your hand… Yes, like this. Squeeze it harder. Good…”

For a while, the boy´s stifled crying merged with the male moans, both sounds coldly emphasizing the emptiness of the building dedicated to prayers.

“…all right, get up now.”

“But… Reverend, I…”

“I said – get up, boy.”

Rustling of clothes followed, and then a chair rattled across the wooden floor.

“Stay like this… Perfect,” there came a satisfied grunt. “What a nice, smooth skin you have…”

“No, please… Reverend, I don´t like this…”

“Hush, God Almighty is watching you. He shall evaluate how you handle this lot.”

The boy yelped and then started to stutter: “Will God… cure… my grandparents if I bear… this?”

“Of course He will… Now, be still,” the man ordered him harshly. “Be a good boy and this repayment to God might be even enjoyable for you.”

Then, completely unexpectedly, a loud click resonated in the room and a gun barrel buried hard between Reverend Kapner´s ribs.

“I´m afraid that your God has other plans for you, preacher,” the menacing words sounded right next to his ear.

Kapner froze like a statue, with his hands still possessively placed on the boy´s alluring hips.

“Let him go,” the uninvited guest spoke again, his voice dripping with ice-cold disgust. “Now.”

Disturbed by the sudden threat, Kapner backed away stiffly and his eyes flinched to the side. He almost cursed aloud. A young gunslinger dressed all in black keeping him in check was no one else than Jin Akanishi.

His precious catch raised his tearful face to another figure, which appeared in the sacristy just as inconspicuously as the black-haired intruder did, and burst out crying.

“Kame…” Mike from Harada´s stables wept ashamed. “What…? Why…?” that naive, fragile child could not even finish the question.

“Dress up, Mike,” Kazuya Kamenashi urged the boy kindly, though with his sharp, accusatory eyes focused on him. “I´ll take you out of here.”

“How dare you?” Kapner growled angrily. He finally shook off the first unpleasant shock and now stared at them both hatefully. It did not matter that they caught him out in such a situation. He had already played it out with other people before and he could do it again.

Kamenashi ignored him and helped Mike to put on his coat, whispering something to him, while Akanishi twisted his gun until it dug painfully into Kapner´s side. “Shut up,” he recommended him.

“Let´s go,” Kamenashi took the still crying boy´s shoulders and gently led him away. Their steps died down as they crossed the church and left through the main entrance.

For a change, Akanishi poked with his gun in the middle of Kapner´s lower back. “Sit,” he ordered.

“What do you think you´re doing?”

“Ask that yourself, you old pig,” Akanishi hissed. “Sit down or I´ll make you.”

Kapner obeyed and sank into his chair, which he had pushed aside before, away from the narrow table. The brazen gunslinger remained standing in the corner of the sacristy, aiming at his stomach.

“You´ll regret this! To threaten the man spreading the word of God like this…”

“You´ve got no right to preach about anything at all,” Akanishi interrupted him with apparent distaste. “Did you really think that just by moving to a different town you can do whatever you want again? Well, you were wrong.”

That statement stunned him at first. It seemed that Akanishi knew more than what was convenient for him.

“I have no idea what you´re talking about,” he spoke haughtily, pretending to have the upper hand.

“I´ve never liked priests, but you´re making me sick,” Akanishi growled. “Preaching to everyone how to behave properly, while harassing kids of your own parish? You´ve reached the new level of disgusting.”

Kapner clenched both hands info fists. How much this bastard actually knew?

“Awful lies and baseless accusations,” he insisted stubbornly.

“Damn, what a hypocrite!” Akanishi reacted annoyed. “We did not come here with our eyes closed! We saw what you wanted to do to Mike!”

“The boy was here to get a lesson about God´s judgment,” he stated sharply. “He came to me of his own accord.”

The gunslinger´s expression darkened in anger: “He´s just a kid! And apparently far from being the first one you intended to misuse!”

“You´ve got no proof,” Kapner opposed stiffly. “Not to mention that you should consider your own situation first.”

“My situation?” Akanishi repeated caustically.

“Don´t play dumb! Both you and Kamenashi, you reek of sin.”

In response to that, there came a bitter chuckle: “You´ve guts to speak of sins? Whom do you think people would believe? Which accusation is worse, huh?”

That finally made Kapner admit this could really be a problem. Those two were indeed popular all around the city. Nobody really cared about what Indian agent and Sheriff´s deputy were doing at home; they did not bother anyone with their relationship. However, as came to his case, it could be very troublesome, if the other citizens knew the truth…

“So, let´s get to the point. You will leave town,” Akanishi concluded. “Today.”

Kapner scoffed, the realization hitting him. They wanted to get rid of him and at the same time, they could not risk the direct confrontation.

“And if I won´t?” he asked defiantly.

“Then by the morning, everyone will know what type of reverend you actually are,” another voice joined them in the sacristy.

Kapner glared at Kamenashi, who just returned. Those two could use a proper lesson themselves. He settled down so well in this city and now, he should just throw it all away? No way.

“You won´t do that,” he reacted upset.

“What makes you think so?” Kamenashi wondered in a detached tone.

“Because then I'll reveal you two,” he threatened right away.

“I see…” Kamenashi shrugged. “Suit yourself then.”

What? Kapner was bewildered that the younger of the two was neither bothered by this possibility.

“So, again – since your head is too thick,” Akanishi spoke this time. “We´re somewhat heroes around here, in case you haven´t noticed. The others won´t believe you, if the two us deny your stupid accusations.”

“Not to mention that we can tell the parents of all those kids you dared to harass about your perverse appetites,” Kamenashi suggested dryly. “Like that you might even experience what the lynching really is like…”

That thought terrified him. “You won´t dare!”

Kamenashi just smirked and an almost devilish grin spread on Akanishi´s face, as he stepped closer and very slowly pressed the barrel of his gun against Kapner´s temple.

“I´ll gladly give you one more option. I will put a proper bullet in your shitty head and we´ll drop your body in the nearest ditch. What say about that, preacher?”

Realizing the ice-cold threat in the gunslinger´s voice, Kapner felt his guts tighten in fear: “You… you would… have committed a… a grave sin…” he stuttered.

Kamenashi approached him from another side, in that moment very different from the polite young man he knew. “There´s no need to worry about us that way, Kapner,” he spoke right next to his ear quietly. “You wouldn´t have been our first kill…”

The crackling thunder above Bozeman put quite a dark ending to his sentence.

It did not take him long to gather all the travel necessities and personal belongings. Despite that Kapner hated to admit it, it was not the first time someone forced him to leave the comfortable place and escape under the cover of night. However, this time, it really made him upset.

Kapner shot those two impudent youngsters a murderous look. They were standing in the doorway, the storm raging behind their backs. They did not let their eyes off him, focused on his every move, not giving him space to try anything. He would love to make them pay for that haughtiness of theirs, even though they were both too old to be taught properly for his taste, but now it was not the time. It was better to retreat and reconsider what he could do then.

“Done?” Akanishi encouraged him to move on by swinging with his revolver.

“Yes,” he growled.

Internally furious, Kapner buckled the second bag packed with his stuff and grabbed the long coat from the hanger. Kamenashi already slipped out and only Akanishi stepped aside to make him way to the door.

Kapner stomped out. The attack of cold raindrops only worsened his mood. To prepare his wagon for the journey was much harder and longer task thanks to that. The harnesses were all slippery and horses restless because of the storm. Before he was done with preparations, his bags on the cargo space were already soaked with water. All that time, those two just kept watching him motionlessly, standing out of the reach of rain in the doorway of his house.

Yet, when Kapner finally climbed up on the trestle, his coat soggy and covered with mud, they appeared on each side of the wagon on their own horses.

“I know my way, no need to do me company,” he snapped, but the only reply was the barrel of one of the revolvers peeking from under Akanishi´s coat.

Gritting his teeth, Kapner urged the horses to move and accompanied by raging thunderstorm, he left Bozeman´s borders along with his escort.

At least some luck smiled at the angry reverend, since the storm was strong, but short. As soon as the last city houses disappeared on the horizon behind them, the stabbing pouring changed into the simple drizzle.

Staring ahead, Kapner was listening to the horses´ hooves softly sloshing through the puddles and mud, stubbornly not even looking back at the two riders. Sniffling and trembling with cold, he kept wondering just how to outsmart them. What argument could intimidate them enough?

The night fell quickly and even though the clouds scattered a bit and the road was still faintly visible in front of him, he would rather stop and rest until morning. However, he doubted his taciturn guards would have let him… Wait, the silence behind his wagon was somewhat hollow…

Kapner glanced back and his jaw dropped. As far as he could see, the road was empty. There was no sign of Akanishi or Kamenashi. They left without him even noticing it. Turning back forward, he smirked. Two softies, they had no idea what they got themselves into…

Kapner let the horses follow the road to east, thinking out the best course of action. He still had some friends in Billings, but it would be too risky to return there. It might be better to retreat to Wyoming, at least for a while. So in Livingstone, he should head south. There was thirty miles in front of him to get there. If he would continue through the night, he should get to the city by morning…

Suddenly, something disrupted his planning thoughts. At first, he thought that he overheard, but then it sounded again – the clatter of many hooves and snorting of horses in front of him. The riders emerged from the dark sooner than he could start wondering who might wander around in the middle of the night.

Kapner stared in shock, as six riders surrounded him, faces in shadows, but the specific clothes of the most of them, he could recognize anywhere.

Alarmed, Kapner swung with the reins, but two riders grabbed his horses each from one side and stopped them before he could make them speed up to trot.

“Not so quickly, Reverend,” the young man´s voice familiar to Kapner said.

“There´s someone who desires to meet you,” another one, quite mocking one, completed him.

Two torches suddenly lit in the dark, just to assure Kapner that his assumption was correct. One of those two bastards holding his horses was Tanaka, who used to work in Henderson´s gold mine and the other one was definitely his cheeky friend. However, that was not the worst. There was also an older man approaching him through the circle of riders – the leader of Mormon community, which Kapner used to belong to once…

No… Not this.

Kapner could still vividly remember the faces of his cute kids, which had caused his quick fall back then. The community rules were ruthless and he had barely managed to escape.
The tall Mormon smiled dangerously: “We shall take you back where you belong…”

Kapner jumped up as a startled rabbit and rather fell than descended from the trestle. This was his only chance to escape the revenge of Mormons. His horror did not allow him to think clearly enough to realize there were too many of them. The other members of the religious community blocked his way, while four of them dismounted and approached him with ropes in hands.
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, said the Lord,” the Mormon leader stated, as his men pushed and kicked Kapner down to the ground to tie him up.

They waited tensely until the small light shone in the distance and waved in their direction two times. Only then, they dared to relax. Their plan apparently worked out, also thanks to their friends.
Gilbert Kapner was a sadistic bastard, who more than deserved what was coming for him. There was no better way to get rid of the perverted man for good. To prove his deeds to the right authorities without any evidence would be almost impossible. At least that was what they considered before they put the whole plan in motion.

“To hell with that hypocritical pig,” Jin commented, cowering in his soggy coat. “Who would say that my fellow prisoner in Billings was not only full of bullshit talk?”

“It´s good that you remembered his name,” Kame agreed.

They knew many things about the so-called revered thanks to Mr. Rogerson – the annoyingly loud drunkard whom Sheriff Brady arrested at the same time they sentenced Jin to death. Back then – and also when they contacted him – he had revealed even things they would rather forget…

Kapner had served as a pastor in four cities before he appeared in Bozeman. There had been complaints and suspicions accompanying him of various kinds, but no one was very eager to talk about them. He used to abuse young people frequently, either girls or boys and the rumors about him to be actively involved in lynching were not just rumors. He apparently even enjoyed participating in it. A bloody pile of shit had been piling up upon Kapner´s head for decades… Until he stumbled across someone was not willing to tolerate it any longer.

“Though… Do you think we made the right decision?” Jin asked then gloomily.

Kame took a deep breath and gave a proper thought to his answer. “I will never forget what Lena told us about him, crying. I will never erase the image of him trying to misuse Mike. So yes, I believe it was the right decision to give him over to Mormons… It would only hurt the people we care about, if the truth came to light in Bozeman. Like this, Kapner gets what he deserves.”

Jin sneezed and nodded, while sniffing again. “Damn right.”

Kame eyed him cautiously: “Let´s go back, before you catch a cold again.”

That was no need to say it to Jin twice. Just the idea of hot tea and warm bed with Kame in his arms urged him to haste.

“I´ll be fine. I´ve got you to treat me back to health, don´t I?” Jin winked at his partner from under the brim of his hat, as they turned their horses back to the west.

Kame raised his eyebrows. “If I remember correctly, you could do nothing but lie around complaining the last time.”

“That was because you didn´t want to sleep with me,” Jin murmured, a little hurt.

“And what was my reason, I wonder, huh?” chuckled Kame.

“Okay, okay, let´s head back quickly, but first…” Jin grabbed Kame´s sleeve and pulled him close for a wet, demanding kiss. “Now, I feel much better,” he grinned.

“Lord will reward you for helping us to achieve justice,” Mr. Young addressed them and shortly bowed his head. “Thanks to you, I shall finally fulfill my oath of vengeance. This sinner shall be executed by the law of God.”

A little anxious, Ryo nodded: “We´re glad we could help,” he replied for both of them, since Koki was just glowering at the mentioned sinner with a gag in his mouth.

“Safe travels,” the old Mormon parted with them and jumped into the saddle, to which let the long rope tying Kapner´s hands.

Both Koki and Ryo quietly watched as the dark silhouettes merged with the night.

“Man, these freaks give me the creeps…” Koki shivered then. “Was it really okay to let them have him?”

Ryo eyed him surprised: “Do you know what he did?”

“Well, Kame wrote that….”

“Not only in Bozeman,” his friend interrupted, shaking his head. “To these Mormons.”

Koki frowned: “I guess it was something really ugly.”

“That it was,” Ryo confirmed darkly.

“Then I don´t wanna hear it.”

Both Riders mounted their horses as well and looked at each other.

“So… Since we´re done with this and already out of the city, shall we make a visit?” Ryo wondered.

Koki grinned: “I wanted to suggest it myself. West or south?”

“We should not bother Jin and Kame so much,” Ryo assumed. “We visited them a month ago…”

“Bother? They were happy to see us!”

“Yeah, they were super excited about you to meddle with their private life all the time.”

“Hey! That´s not true!” Koki defended himself aggrieved.

“We promised Leo and Jane to see them too, remember?” Ryo reminded him.

“Yeah… I do. South it is then,” Koki agreed. “But I will let you ride first only if you recall that bullshit about me meddling with… Hey! Wait for me!”

***

Territory of Wyoming, Casper Town

“I cannot imagine anyone better suited to raise this little one than you two.”

Jane raised her reddened, tearstained face in surprise and Leo turned from the rain-spattered window, his expression glum and worried. They gathered in the dimly lit, spacious bedroom, the warmest room of the whole house of Jane´s family.

“What?” Cullen, standing above the wooden cradle, reacted on their intent stares. “That´s why you asked me to come, to hear my opinion, didn´t you?”

“Well, yes…” Leo admitted slowly, uncertain how to react. “I just didn´t… Your faith in us regarding such a thing…”

“Express yourself properly, you´re a grown up and married man,” Cullen scolded him with a small grin.

On that, Leo smiled at him: “I do appreciate what you just said.”

“Do you really think that we should accept it, Cullen?” Jane asked, in an unusually weak voice. She had been close to her cousin and her sudden passing struck her hard. “I´m glad you think so highly of us, but…”

Cullen eyed her seriously. “Listen and remember, dear. I think that if you agree to take care of him, then the poor kid will be quite lucky, considering the situation he´s in now.”

Finally, also Jane seemed to calm down a little: “Thanks…”

In that moment, the soft whining sounded from the cradle, which quickly turned into the ear-splitting cries. Both Jane and Leo rushed to check on the newborn, so Cullen stepped aside.

“What is it? You´re hungry again? Come here…” Jane took the baby up into her arms carefully, which helped to hush him a little. Fortunately, her voice and touch seemed to have a rather calming effect on him.

“Don´t pamper him though,” Cullen added with a sigh. “I´ve got a feeling, you will tend to.”

Both of them looked at him again.

Leo shrugged: “It will be quite hard, but we will try,” he promised.

“You look tired, Cullen,” Jane noted worriedly, slowly swinging the baby of her late cousin in her arms.

Cullen suppressed a sigh. Their prettiest gang member always had a keen eye…

“Remember my age. I´ve got a damn right to be tired, my dear,” he reacted evasively.

Jane´s expression told him that he did not convince her, but she did not press him and focused on the baby again.

Her young husband approached him and grabbed his shoulder: “Thank you.”

“No need to,” Cullen shook his head. “Enjoy the moment of peace, it seems to me he´ll be yelling soon enough again.”

Leo chuckled: “Yeah…”

Then Cullen grabbed his hat and let Leo and Jane take care of the little one.

The rain even hardened as he stepped outside on the veranda, so he decided to wait for a while, before heading back to his cottage on the edge of wide lands. However, before he managed to sit in one of the chairs, another strong spasm in his chest made him bent down. It was the third one that day… They were coming back more frequently now.

Cullen leant over the nearest pillar, laboriously gasping for breath. It was good that the two of them asked him to come. It would not be long before they would not be able to ask him for any advice…

The burning cramp passed after a while and with a heavy exhale, Cullen finally sat down. He was glad he agreed to go with Leo and Jane to Wyoming. Like that, he could spend his last days on this incredibly pretty farm with the view of prairie, which reminded him of the early adventures with Black Riders – the best group of friends ever. What more could an old bastard like him want?

***

State of Colorado, Denver City

“How could they dare to fire me from the Senator chair? Just after two months! This is ridiculous!”

Horace Tabor raged as he paced across his noble office from one side to another, his face red and mustache bushy.

“Let me tell you this as your friend, Horace,” the mayor of Denver spoke, putting aside the glass of whiskey. “It was not exactly a smart move to show off with that pretty mistress of yours, while still engulfed in the divorce battle with your wife.”

“Elizabeth is my wife!” Horace snapped. “Not that frigid, stingy hag!” he was apparently unable to acknowledge what a huge scandal he had caused by his reckless decisions.

Mayor Morris shook his head slowly. “Not yet, at least not officially. Not until Augusta signs the papers,” he reminded him patiently.

The sharp slam resonated through the room, when Horace hit the table with his open palm. “As if! I could wait for that forever!”

“Well, it´s seems that Elizabeth is not that patient either,” Morris could not help but comment mockingly.

Half the city knew that Tabor´s little whore moved away from the Brown Hotel again, after some not very nice argument with her false husband and spent days locked up in the residence he had bought for her. Not to mention the mayor knew firsthand that Baby Doe tried hard not to be bored there alone…

“She will crawl back!” Horace fumed.

You´re more likely to crawl back to her… Morris thought.

Before he could make another comment aloud, a female voice outran him.

“I´m pleased to shorten your endless waiting, Horace.”

Former Senator Tabor turned on his heel so vigorously that he almost lost his balance. Both present men focused on the tall woman in the open door quite surprised. It was impossible for her not to overhear their previous conversation, but she did not seem bothered by it.

“I knocked, but it seems you missed it,” Augusta Tabor gave them the smallest of lenient smiles ever and stepped forward with some folders in her hands, leaving the door wide open behind her.

“You!” Horace exhaled, glaring at his annoying spouse. “When did you return, woman?”

“You seem to be even more pleased to see me than I expected,” Augusta reacted prudently. “Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor,” she greeted him on the way.

Morris could not help but stand up and bow slightly: “Nice to see you again, Madame.”

A little taken aback, he realized he really meant it. Mrs. Tabor´s presence was like a whiff of fresh air in the smoky office. Her dress was rich, but not as uptight as she used to wear before and her still dark hair was half falling down her bare shoulders from the simple bun. Her face was bright and relaxed; the opposite of how she usually looked like anywhere near Horace.

“I returned just yesterday,” she replied her husband´s question calmly. “And I came as soon as everything was settled.”

“What are you talking about?” Horace growled.

“Here,” Augusta let one of the folders fall down at the table. “The signed divorce papers,” she commented lightly and dropped the second one. “The settlement of our properties and…” the third one falling down was a think envelope. “…my congratulations on your fake marriage.”

Horace stared at her and then at the files.

“What the hell?” he yelped then, apparently completely out of balance from this turn of events.

Augusta raised her eyebrows: “Isn´t it what you hankered for all this time?”

“Are you kidding me?” Horace snatched her elbow and pulled her close. “What´s up with you all of the sudden?”

“Let me go,” his ex-wife´s smile disappeared in the blink of an eye.

However, Horace was beside himself. Instead, he squeezed her harder and Augusta hissed in pain, when he shook with her furiously.

“Did you enjoy playing with me for so long, damn woman?”

Suddenly, some hard steps entered the room.

“Everything all right, Augusta?” the question resonated with unspoken threat and made Horace Tabor freeze. The impressive figure of Captain John Walker stood in the middle of his office, staring at him without a bit of respect.

“Yes, absolutely. Thank you, John,” Augusta reacted gratefully and slipped away from Horace´s weakened grip. “Read them,” she recommended him sweetly. “I think you´ll find the distribution quite fair. We will be staying in Leadville for a while, if your lawyer needs to contact me.”

Mayor Morris had to turn away to cover his amused expression. Who would say that Augusta Tabor could be like this?

Augusta? John? We?

Those words echoed in Horace´s head, swirling and getting apart, as he helplessly tried to put them together. What in the hell? When did those two…?

Augusta calmly crossed his office and took Walker´s offered arm.

“What… is… this?” Horace finally made some words leave his lips.

“This?” Augusta repeated, before pretending the sudden understanding. “Well, I´m sure you remember Captain Walker, Horace.”

He could not help but growl in anger: “Stop ridiculing me!”

Augusta blinked innocently: “With what?”

“By showing off with this…” finally, all the pieces fell together in Horace´s mind. “Is he your lover?”

“Oh, I did not mean to bother you with that, but since you´ve already mentioned it… Yes, he is,” Augusta nodded with a bright smile.

Horace gasped for breath: “You´re kidding…”

His ex-wife expression turned cold: “I´m deadly serious. And let me tell you that he makes me feel a hundred miles better in bed, than you ever could.”

John Walker kept on his impassive expression, but one could see from up close that the corners of his lips flinched in a smile. Both of them were mocking him! Horace fell silent. How could this be…?

“Have a nice day, Mayor,” Augusta parted only with his cocky friend, who seemed to enjoy this theatrical performance and left the room in firm connection with John Walker.

Well, that was something, Morris thought.

He cleared his throat and risked a look at – so far still – Lieutenant Governor. Horace Tabor looked like struck by the lightning. He decided it would be wiser to leave the man alone.

“I´ve got some appointments, so…” Morris excused himself, left the offered whiskey untouched and was gone, while Horace Tabor still stood there like a statue, his mouth open and his expression full of shock and self-pity.

“Oh, my….” Augusta giggled quietly, as they went through the main door open for them by one of the servants. “I cannot believe I said that.”

John looked at her not without pride. “It was perfect. He deserved each word and worse.”

“Well, the truth is, that I was not always a spoiled Silver Queen from Leadville,” she assumed, when they stopped on the pavement, right under the windows of Horace Tabor´s office. “I guess I just remembered it.”

John´s hand slipped around her waist: “I never took you for one…” he assured her. “Though the ´queen´ part fits you quite well.”

Augusta raised her eyebrows: “Should I take it as a compliment?”

He stepped even closer to her: “And never as anything else.”

When John seized her lips then, Augusta did not push him back, even though they were on public eye. After all, she was a free woman now.

Jack could not help but laugh when crossing the street. He was damn lucky to arrive in such a moment for another delivery. He could not wait to tell Nick about how Tabor´s wife screwed him over.

He thought about running the latest and last errand for the poor rich man, but then he reconsidered.

Fuck this job, he thought, dropped the letters to the nearest water barrel and happily started running. It was about time to follow their leader´s ´order´ and go to Wyoming for the surprising christening. He was curious as hell to know where Leo and Jane got that baby they were supposed to adopt.

Harvey barely managed to step aside, when some blonde youngster dashed around him laughing like an idiot. He seemed somewhat familiar… No, it was no one who would know him. Which was good. It would not be convenient if anyone saw him leaving this house. No matter how enjoyable was to fuck his demanding client, he would not want any word of this to reach any close to Tabor´s ears, until he would be long gone from the city.

He did not really expect that this little spying work would end up in a comfortable bed, with a pretty woman writhing beneath him, moaning in pleasure, but he was not about to complain. Not to mention it felt good to get back to that asshole, who was unable to reward anyone´s efforts properly.

So, what now? He was quite thirsty, so a pint of beer would come handy...

Harvey altered his hat against the sun and looked around the street, searching for the nearest pub. His eyes fell upon the couple riding across the distant crossroads.

Well, if that woman does not look like Augusta Tabor…

That was a nice opportunity. Maybe she would like to hear more about what Baby Doe was doing behind the closed door. Harvey grinned. It seemed that with some effort, he could still find some Tabor related job around. It would be more amusing that his usual job of hunting stupid heads. Especially, when none of them was half as interesting as Black Riders had been.

***

- Please, read the rest in Epilogue II -

[Red West] Epilogue done!

witchann2 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 08:37:29 GMT

Monday news!

Just to let anyone who might be waiting for it know - finally, I managed to finish writing Red West!
*performing a small victory dance*
Epilogue will be published once my dear beta will send it back. ^^´

Kasumi

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter thirty four

witchann2 — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 18:34:05 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: The last proper chapter of my AKame western story... It was fun to write it, I hope you will like it.

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine // Chapter thirty // Chapter thirty one // Chapter thirty two // Chapter thirty three //

White Christmas

The winter ruled over Bozeman. A few weeks before the end of the year, it covered the whole city with a layer of pure snow, significantly slowed down its usual hustle and drove even the most hardened old settlers into the warmth of their homes with its freezing breath.

The horses kept snorting with exertion and the frozen surface creaked softly under the wheels of their wagon, as they approached the church building. If the road was not so frequently used, they would not be able to get their grim cargo to the city. It was about time to switch to sled transport, but his carpenter had not yet finished it.

Cameron urged the horses to take the last turn in front of the church, while Danny was cowering from cold on the trestle beside him. Usually, he would have sent only his young assistant to deal with the matter, but he felt somewhat restless.

In the past days, Cameron could not find his usual composure while staying on his farm. Therefore, when he learnt that one of his female servants died of pneumonia, he decided to take care of the unfortunate issue himself.

She was quite old and the sickness took her quickly, before they could even try to move her to the doctor, but she was a good woman. She had been already serving his former master Karnaka and she deserved a proper funeral, so Cameron wanted to personally ask their priest to take care of it.

He pulled the reins on the leeward side of the building and descended right into the snowdrift. Annoyed, he glanced down at his snow-covered feet, knowing that he would regret this carelessness later.

Danny set off to the entrance first, making way for him. However, before Cameron´s subordinate could even touch the door, it suddenly flew open and a blonde girl ran out. She was in such a rush that she did not manage to stop in time and she slammed right into surprised Danny. They both staggered and almost fell, but the young man was able to find the lost balance and readily caught the girl, keeping her on her feet as well.

Cameron eyed the girl´s disheveled hair, blushed cheeks and unbuttoned coat and frowned. It was Lena Brice and she seemed to be frightened. He highly doubted that Danny´s concerned question if she was all right was the reason for her fear.

“I´m sorry,” the girl muttered and backed away a little, so Danny let her go. Before she lowered her head, Cameron noticed tears in her eyes. “Have a nice day, Misters,” she wished them weakly and rushed away, following the tracks their wagon had made.

“What was that supposed to mean?” Danny raised his eyebrows. “Why would a sweet girl like her leave a hallowed place in such a state?” he could not help but wonder aloud.

In fact, Cameron thought the very same, as he turned to the building again, since he heard some hurried steps from the inside.

Reverend Kapner was an important figure and someone he could use well for his own benefit. Not to mention that so far, the man had been quite cooperative. Yet, as his stiff, flushed face appeared in the door, Cameron almost reconsidered his intention to ask the priest for a favor.

Kapner stopped when he saw them standing there and looked around fleetingly, before returning his attention to them.

“God bless you, gentlemen,” he greeted them and tucked hands into the sleeves of his crumpled cassock. “How can I help you in this morning illuminated by God´s love?”

Cameron saw through that pretense almost immediately. Reverend was nervous as if he had been caught doing something forbidden and he was trying too hard to cover it.

There weren't many possibilities of what could have happened between this old man and a pretty blonde before they came. He could not be sure, but just the thought made him sick. Kapner could have been the young Brice´s grandfather…

Ever since spending too much time around Math Grenet with his weakness for boys like Danny, Cameron hated this kind of perverts. Even more so, if they pretended to be the devoted parson and indulged their disgusting appetites behind closed doors.

He was more than glad when Danny started explaining their visit instead of him, since he was too busy to hide his disgust. It seemed that he was about to reconsider the so far useful collaboration with this old pig.

As expected, after the sky cleared out, the strong morning frost persisted until lunchtime and not even the bright sunrays were able to drive it away. However, it could not prevent Harada from enjoying his small smoking sin on the veranda of his livelihood.

He had to squint to face the whitish brightness of ubiquitous snow cover, as he walked out of the door. A local bunch of kids was apparently excited about the weather improvement and played a snow battle between Indians and soldiers on the empty patch between the saloon and brothel buildings.

Shaking his head at the fuss they made, Harada settled in his favorite wicker chair, wrapped up in a warm coat up to the neck and put the cigarette between his lips. Just when he was about to light it, stomping hooves and cheerful neigh made him look up.

The cigarette fell from his mouth opened in surprise, when he recognized two young riders on the back of a black stallion approaching the saloon.

“Well, I´ll be horse-kicked,” Harada commented when the animal stopped, reluctantly obeying the wish of its master. He slowly stood up to get a proper look at those two. “The famous figures of our city have finally arrived…”

“Finally is definitely the word we can agree with,” Jin Akanishi reacted with a tired chuckle and jumped down from the saddle first. “Though I don´t even want to know what you mean by that famous stuff,” he added before turning to help also Kamenashi dismount from the back of his restless horse.

“It´s good to see you, Mr. Harada,” his former employee greeted him once standing on the ground, polite as always.

“Exactly my words,” he reacted, joining them on the street and holding out his right hand. “I´d like to meet your guardian angel, young man. He handles quite a tough job.”

“I´m painfully aware of that,” Kamenashi admitted seriously, returning the strong grip of his fingers.

“I see it´s just as the doc said,” Harada eyed his unusually wide leg, surely bandaged under the trousers and the walking stick attached to the saddle. “You haven´t come out of that collapse unscathed after all.”

Kamenashi shook his head: “Nevertheless, I´ve got a lot to be grateful for. It could have been much worse.”

Harada nodded in understanding and then turned to Akanishi.

“I´m also glad you managed to drag this fool back,” he hit the young gunslinger´s shoulder with a clenched fist teasingly. “What the hell did you tell them this time that the Marshals let you go?”

The two of them looked at each other in surprise.

“How do you know what happened in Billings, Harada?” Akanishi asked then.

“Have you ever heard of newspapers?” he reacted caustically. “The entire city has been talking about you two for days.”

His statement stunned them even more. “Really…?” they breathed out both at once.

“I didn´t expect that our private issues would became the talk of town,” Akanishi murmured then.

Harada snorted in disbelief. “What are you so amazed about? Playing the Riders´ leader, you escaped the noose in the last minute and Kamenashi literally rose from the dead. Do these facts seem not interesting enough for gossip to you?”

Neither of them had any sufficient argument to that.

“And here I thought my ears are playing tricks on me!” a female voice spoke suddenly. It was the best female cook in Bozeman, standing in the saloon doorway with hands on her hips, watching both returnees with bright eyes. “It was about time for you to come back, boys.”

“Hello, Miss McBain,” Kamenashi greeted her, while Akanishi chuckled: “I´m getting the impression we were suspiciously missed.”

“You can bet, it was almost boring here without you,” the woman approached and squeezed their shoulders affectionately. Then she eyed them from head to toes. “Welcome back, but… Sweet Jesus, you two are so thin! You must stay for lunch!”

“Well…” Kamenashi started sheepishly.

“I agree,” Harada cut in sooner than he could refuse. “I´d like to hear from you two directly, just what the hell you´ve been doing.”

“We´ll be happy to stay,” Akanishi readily replied for both of them. “I´m starving.”

“Perfect! The meal will be ready within half an hour!” and with that, Miss Cook rushed back inside.

“Perfect. Then you´ve got some time for a small medical examination,” Akanishi turned to his companion with an unusually serious expression.

“Yes, but…”

“You promised,” he interrupted Kamenashi so sharply that Harada raised an eyebrow.

“I know,” the younger one assured his worried guardian. “Just let me check on Ukushi first.”

“That can wait for…” Akanishi´s vehement rejection was interrupted by the black stallion snorting right into his ear.

“Even Kuro is on my side in this,” Kamenashi commented gleefully.

Harada hid his amused grin only in the last second.

“Okay, okay, got it,” giving up, the young gunslinger turned to his faithful horse, who kept swirling snow with his hooves, apparently eager to visit the stables behind the saloon as well. “Let´s go there first then.”

Ukushi was as thrilled to see her master as the horse could only get. Her blessed condition was already visible with a naked eye. It was touching to see his boyfriend´s welcome with her, in the manner which was already well known to Jin – as they maintained the direct physical touch of their heads, while Kame soothed the long white neck with slow movements. Then he touched also her slightly distended abdomen, smiling.

“It´s already moving, Jin…” Kame announced with his face amazed and excited.

Jin looked at Kuro, who was observing the white mare almost motionless, only his nostrils were shivering. Out of caution, they rather locked him up in the adjacent stable, but at the moment, the horse seemed more calm than during all the way back from Billings.

“Seems you really did a good job, boy,” he praised him.

When Kame slowly left Ukushi´s stable, Jin approached him and handed him back his walking stick.

“Satisfied now?” he asked meaningfully.

A wide smile spread all over Kame´s face. “Yes. Now it´s your turn, I guess?”

Jin grinned: “Yeah, but I´m not so demanding.”

“That’s the first time I hear of it,” Kame reacted doubtfully.

“Well, you don´t have to caress my neck,” Jin emphasized. “…not now, at least.”

Amused, Kame chuckled and wanted to reply, but the loud creak and rushing steps interrupted him. A slender figure in blue dress and dark coat moved past Jin.

“Kame…” the blonde girl with teary face gasped and then jumped around his neck, sobbing. “Mike told me you´re here… I had to see you myself… Oh, Kame, I was so worried…”

Kame returned the girl´s hug tenderly. “I´m glad to see you, Lena…”

The girl squeezed him hard for a bit longer, before she was able to pull away. But she kept holding his hands, eyeing him tearfully.

“I thought… You were…” she stuttered.

“I know… and I´m sorry,” Kame apologized softly.

“I was afraid to believe it, when Dr. Best told us about you. I´m so glad you´re back and… all right,” she finished carefully as she noticed his stick.

“I´m fine,” he assured her firmly.

The girl nodded and then sheepishly turned to Jin, who was giving them space and kept patting Kuro quietly.

“I´m glad you got back alive as well,” Lena spoke shakily. “Jin.”

He looked at her and nodded slowly. “Thanks... And sorry.”

“What for?” she asked confused, and Kame focused on him as well.

“For being such a dick before,” Jin stated, surprisingly self-critical.

The girl blinked, before she smiled at him: “That´s all right, I already forgot about it.”

Kame did not know what they were talking about, but did not want to poke his nose in it, considering better to ask Jin later.

“Will you go with me? My parents would love to see you too,” the blonde girl urged.

Kame slowly shook his head. “I appreciate your invitation, but we just got back, Lena. We´d like to go home.”

Her expression turned a little sad: “Ah, of course, but come as soon as possible, all right?”

They both nodded. “We will,” Kame promised.

“Kame! Jin!” Mike, with whom they had already met when they entered the stables before, was running to them. “Lunch´s ready, Miss McBain told me to fetch you!”

After delicious pork with potatoes and carrots, Jin finally persuaded Kame to visit Dr. Best. The local doctor was more agitated than surprised to see them and scolded Kame even before he walked through the door for wandering around too much.

Jin did not know how long the examination would take, but it already felt like forever. Suppressing an urge to light a cigarette, since he had none with him anyway, he kept pacing the veranda of the clinic. He gloomily wondered just how bad influence their hard, cold travel through Montana could have on Kame´s injured leg. He had already seen it a few times, when he helped the younger one to bandage it with Indian herbs. It was clearly healing, but it certainly did not look as before. And even though Kame tried to cover it, it still hurt him; Jin simply knew that without even asking.

“Jin…” a soft exhale made him tear his eyes off the door leading inside.

A pretty woman in rich dress and warm plaid was standing on the street, smiling warmly at him. Just the sight of her reminded him of that feeling of guilt, which he had almost completely forgotten since then…

“Cora…” Jin slowly stepped down from the veranda. “Hi…”

She sighed over his sheepish tone. “You´re an awful liar, you know that? What were you thinking?”

His face somewhat froze for a moment. “You don´t want to know…” he reacted then.

It was exactly the opposite. Cora would love to know the reasons which made Jin behave in a way, which brought him to the verge of death, but it was not her place. At least, he was free and seemed to be all right now. That was enough for her.

In a sudden impulse, she placed a hand on his face covered with dark stubble.

“I´m really happy you´re back,” she said, fighting the urge to cry.

Jin remained motionless for a while, before he squeezed her other hand firmly. “That makes the two of us. And… I´m sorry for… how I behaved.”

Cora stiffened and then bit her lower lip. Jin was obviously more than regretful about what had happened before his arrest. Now, when there was a chance, she simply had to tell him the truth.

She took a shaky breath: “Well, if you mean that night when we…”

“Jin?”

A bit startled, they both turned to the owner of the pleasant voice. It was good to see a living Kamenashi standing there too, but at the moment, Cora did not feel very pleasant from being interrupted like that. Then she remembered what was on her mind when Marshals arrested Jin, what she had figured out about those two, and flushed.

“I´m done,” Kamenashi spoke again, leaning over the primitive crutch heavily.

“Good,” Jin stepped away from her hastily and approached his side. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah…” the other man nodded, but did not let his eyes off her. “Hello, Cora.”

“Hello… And welcome back,” she replied, managing a small smile.

“Thanks.”

“So? Should we go?” Jin noted, suddenly avoiding looking at her. “Let´s talk later, Cora, okay?”

She gulped down heavily. It felt more like Jin did not ever want to talk to her again.

“Sure.”

In such a coldweather, it was better to leave Ukushi in Harada´s stables, so they headed to their house only with Kuro and a borrowed horse. The other animal dragged their supplies, which they had bought in Franko´s store, on a sledge. The shop owner was not so pleased to see them again, but his mood improved once he realized how great their purchase was about to be. They had literally nothing in store, so they had to gather something to eat, if they wanted to stay out of town.

It took them longer than usually, since the road had not been used at all, so they could recognize the outlines of the empty building only in the dying light. At the beginning of winter, it was getting dark early.

They stabled the horses, and when they finally made their way through the drift of snow to the door, the sacs with supplies hanging from their shoulders, it was almost completely dark already. They could find their way around easily only because they both knew it by heart.

Their house welcomed them with silence and cool air. When they entered, they remained standing in the hallway for a while, both motionless and lost in thoughts. After what they had been through thanks to the gold mine, it felt almost like a dream to be back.

In the end, Kame was the one breaking the silence in an emotional voice. “I´ll make fire in the kitchen, can you take care of the salon?”

“Sure,” Jin nodded, sniffling a bit. “Otherwise we´ll freeze our asses here...”

They split to take care of some light and warmth. Then they unpacked and Kame let the water boil for tea. Soon, the gloomy house started to resemble the home they had left in such a hurry, not knowing it would take them so long to return…

It felt good to be back, yet at the same time there was some strange tension between him and Jin. Kame could not comprehend the reason for it. His boyfriend kept getting away, when he tried to approach him and even avoided looking Kame in the eye. For the whole journey from Billings he did not behave that way, it only started once they got back to Bozeman.

The result of his examination at Dr. Best´s place might have been the reason. His right leg had no chance to heal properly with all the mess around Jin´s execution. The doctor told him that he would certainly limp and deal with occasional pain for the rest of his life. However, since he could be with Jin again, Kame considered it a small price to pay and his boyfriend seemed to be relieved that the medical assessment was not that bad as well. So, Kame wondered how to make the older one talk about what actually bothered him.

“It´s really good, thanks,” Jin appreciated the hot liquid made of tea leaves from the Indian shaman.

Kame raised eyes from his own mug only to see that Jin avoided meeting his look again.

“Want to make it a bit spicier?” not even waiting for his reply, he stood up and slowly went to fetch the bottle of rum from their stack.

“Usually, I´m the one making us drink alcohol,” Jin noted, when he saw Kame pouring a proper dose into both mugs.

Kame put the bottle aside, leaving it within their reach and sat down: “Well, since you´re not your usual self today, I decided to stand in,” he stated meaningfully.

Silence spread over the opposite side of their small table. Kame sipped on the strongly fragrant liquid, before he spoke again. “Will you tell me what made you so broody, Jin?” he asked directly.

Their eyes met in the goldish light of kerosene lamp and remained locked for a long while.

“Damn it…” Jin cursed quietly then and pressed the mug against his lips. He gulped the whole content down in two goes, complained about it being too hot and put it back on the table with a thud. “I should confess something to you, Kazuya… Though, I feel like shit about it.”

“I´m listening,” Kame reacted calmly, pressing his palms against the warm mug.

“Back then, when I thought that… That I lost you, I was clueless about what to do,” Jin ran a hand through his overgrown hair in an anxious gesture. “I kept drinking and behaving like an idiot, I realize that now.”

“I can hardly blame you for that,” he reacted comfortingly. “I was going crazy too, when I thought you were about to be hanged…”

“Well, yeah, but… That´s not all,” Jin uttered unhappily. “One evening I got really drunk at the brothel and…”

Kame already suspected what would follow, but he let his boyfriend say it aloud. Jin looked into his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I woke up in Cora´s bed,” Jin confessed in a tense voice.

A part of him was immediately relieved that he was able to tell the truth, yet at the same time he was terrified of how Kame would react. His boyfriend did not say anything, he did not even move.

“I´m so, so sorry,” Jin continued hastily. “It was just a few days after the collapse and I acted like the greatest dick in the world. I know it does not excuse me, but I don´t even remember a thing about it, really. It just happened and… I feel like I betrayed you with it. I´m sorry,” he repeated heavily.

Kame sighed, pushed his tea aside and leant over the table to get closer to Jin. “I cannot say I´m happy about it, but I can understand it,” he spoke in a soft voice.

“No! It was not understandable, it was just wrong!” he snapped upset at himself. “Rather yell at me, condemn me, hate me, I deserve any of it…” his throat felt stuffed with some bitter lump, he could not even continue.

“Jin…” his boyfriend addressed him with gentle, loving urgency. “You were willing to die for me. How can you think that I´d start hating you because of something like that?”
Looking into those warm, honest eyes, Jin lost his breath.

“I love you,” Kame added hoarsely. “And I cannot think of anything which would make me stop.”

Jin blinked furiously, to chase the stinging from his eyes away. “You´re incredible,” he exhaled then, unable to find any more proper reaction.

A small smile brightened up Kame´s face. “Same to you.”

Jin grabbed the bottle of rum and poured them both one more round.

“To our homecoming,” he proposed a toast.

Kame nodded and their mugs clang.

Both of them gulped the drink in one go and then Jin stood up faster before Kame could even put the mug aside. He offered him a hand and Kame accepted it to help him to get up.

“I love you too,” Jin whispered against Kame´s lips, before he seized them in a loving kiss.

Kame´s heartbeat fastened when behind the taste of rum, he recognized the well-known burning urgency. They were alone with Jin many days during their journey, but their surroundings did not exactly make the best circumstances for something more than stolen kisses and mutual caressing.

“I´ve missed you every damn day,” Jin stated huskily, once he pulled back, leaving Kame flustered.

“…I dreamt of you even in that cave,” Kame repaid him with confession. “Thinking of you was the only thing that encouraged me back then…”

Jin´s grip around him tightened and his eyes filled up with dark, lustful fire.

“Then I must make sure you have as many hot memories of me as is only possible,” he stated, his hands already sneakily wandering alongside Kame´s back.

“I will certainly not prevent you from doing so,” the younger one assured him, his fingers burying hard into Jin´s thick hair. “I want to feel you, Jin,” he whispered, his lips fleetingly brushing against his boyfriend´s cheek.

Jin kissed Kame again, in a harsh and passionate way. “And you will,” he made a hoarse promise.

In a firm embrace, they staggered a little as Jin pressed his boyfriend against the table. Caressing each other, brushing against the other´s crotch, kissing their loved one´s lips and skin – nothing could warm them up any better.

When Kame´s hand wandered across the stretched fabric of his pants, Jin got impatient and started pulling the clothes off him harshly. His boyfriend helped him eagerly, not caring about anything but to fill that void he felt ever since they made love the last time.

“Jin… I want you… so much,” the hoarse words sounded in the cozy kitchen.

A bright smile lit up in the flickering shadows. “I know,” there came a possessive reply and a warm, strong hand circled around Kame´s erected pride. “And I´m eager to make you want me even more…”

Consumed by hot arousal, Kame closed his eyes: “I don´t think that´s possible, my dear Jin...”

“This is just the first round, Kazuya,” Jin stated teasingly as he continued caressing him. “Just wait and see…” and with that, he suddenly pushed him up, to make his boyfriend sit on the table.

Looking at his expression, Kame chuckled shakily. “Your confidence is back, I see.”

“You gave it to me, Kazu,” Jin reacted warmly, his hardened fingers once again moving alongside Kame´s sensitive flesh slowly and purposefully.

With flushed cheeks and stomach shivering with expectation, Kame willfully focused on his boyfriend´s face and then started unbuttoning his trousers. He could not be the only one being treated so… seductively. He pulled them down, just enough to expose Jin´s aroused member. He was not given a chance to give it a proper attention, since Jin stepped between his legs. However, he did not see a reason to utter even a bit of protest.

“You´re…” Jin choked on next words a little, when their hardened cocks touched. “This is so…”

“Don´t speak, Jin,” Kame exhaled heavily.

Their lips reunited again and Jin spread his thighs wide and then bent Kame´s knees a bit harshly, making him lean back over the table to keep balance.

“Cannot we… move to the bed… at least?” Kame stammered due to his irregular breathing.

“No,” there came a hoarse reply. Jin had absolutely no control over his desire or voice. “Be mine, Kazu…” he requested, lingering in front of his awaiting hole, his fingers wandering all over the skin of his raised legs.

That was exactly what Kame wanted. Believing it would bring him back the certainty that this handsome man was only his, he almost desperately needed to feel Jin like that.
“Only if you´ll be mine, too,” he demanded shakily.

A satisfied grin appeared on Jin´s lips: “Of course.”

Kame gasped, when Jin´s fingers headed inside his sacred place, spreading him gently. He moved a little to give him a better access and hissed when Jin pushed his fingers forward greedily. It had been too long since they did not have to bother about anything or anyone and simply make love like this. He did not want to wait even a second longer.

He circled one of his hands around Jin´s neck. “Take me… Now…” Kame demanded, trembling in expectation.

On that, Jin´s fingers retracted only to be replaced with his hot, hard flesh. It hurt a little when Jin plunged inside him in one swift, conquering thrust, but at the same time, it sent thousands butterflies from down there up to Kame´s neck. He would surrender thousand times over to feel like this. In helpless excitement, he swirled and moaned under the demanding pressure of his lover, but Jin just pushed him down for his shoulders to make him still and penetrated him even further.

Kame´s loud reaction on his treatment was that most alluring sound Jin was eager to hear. The table started shaking under his ramming forward. Grasping both Kame´s hips into a firm grip, Jin kept invading inside, dragging out whimpering sounds from his lover.

Kame felt the hard flesh attacking him, in fast, hard movements and could not help but gasp. He yelped a little, when Jin squeezed his hips to keep him in place, as he plunged even farther. He had to lean back with both hands, as Jin slammed against him, suddenly roughly, again and again, turning Kame´s limbs into soft butter. He hid his face into Jin´s shoulder, moaning loudly, a little ashamed of his overexcited reactions of being fucked hard by his handsome lover.

Nothing in the past few weeks could beat that uplifting, hot feeling, which flooded them both. Their bodies kept coming to meet each other urgently, not willing to be separated ever again. None of them could go by without that most intimate connection anymore.

Flooded with pure pleasure, they were home, together, and nothing could be more.

***

Cameron stared at the level of expensive whiskey in the glass, as if it could help him solve the unanswered questions, which kept bothering him persistently. Even though fundamentally, nothing that should arouse his displeasure was actually happening.

His subordinates and employees were more or less hard-working and obedient. The farm had been prospering really well during the summer and the subsequent harvest season, so it seemed they would get through the winter just fine. His incomes did not suffer much due to the gold mine closure, since he still had some profits from the sandstone quarry in Colorado. The Bozeman citizens already respected him, he could tell from the way they behaved when he appeared in town. His status was no less than of Raynold Karnaka once had been, with the difference that he did not reach it by killing off those who dared to resist him.

Almost all his plans and expectations had come out well, except one. However, what bothered him the most was, that this failure did not even upset him as much as it should have.

Cameron had arrived back to Bozeman believing that Akanishi would appear there eventually as well and thus he would have an opportunity to deal with him. However, what he could not anticipate at all was the incredible rumor circulating throughout the city – Kamenashi was hurt but alive and supposedly left to Billings.

First, Cameron talked to Dr. Best himself and only then, he really believed it. The honest doc was not the type who would have lied about something like this. The man did not know many details about how Kamenashi got out of the collapse. Only that his leg was badly hurt and once he learnt about Akanishi´s arrest, he set off despite Dr. Best advising against it due to his unstable health condition.

And now, they were back in the city, both of them. Cameron saw them the very day they arrived, leaving Franko´s store with a lot of supplies, surely heading to the formerly Kamenashi property.

They were on their way back from the church and Danny was apparently concerned about what he would do. Nevertheless, from some reason, Cameron did not know how to react back then and just made the horses speed up.

Ever since that day he managed to avoid meeting those two and he was not sure if it was for the better or not.

In the past, Cameron craved to avenge his master. Yet, gradually, during all that time, as he watched them from afar, knowing what they had been through, seeing how they struggled against all the obstacles and still got up on their feet again, he realized something.

His master did things to them, which made both Akanishi and Kamenashi to go after him and get their revenge. What was the real purpose for him to do the same though? Karnaka was dead and he was the farm owner now, an important person, rich and respected. And those two – they did not do anything to get in his way... They just went on.

Cameron was not sure if he was upset or simply amazed by it. He used to feel righteous anger towards them, but he could not find the source of it inside himself anymore. When he remembered that time he saw the farm burnt down to the ground, he was just sad.

Just what should he do with them to make his efforts meaningful? What was right to do?

He looked up at the huge painting of his role model and patron.

What would Mr. Karnaka do? He would definitely crush those two cheeky brats; he would have destroyed them, no matter what they were doing now…

A short knock disturbed Cameron´s thoughts and a head peeked inside his workroom. “Sir?”

“What is it, Danny?”

“Kamenashi and Akanishi are here…”

Cameron stiffened. So, they came on their own in the end? Was it bold or just stupid of them?

He then turned to his assistant. Danny seemed somewhat anxious. Well, he was always tending to take their side.

Cameron thought Danny really liked those two and hated when he was supposed to do something ill to them. He appreciated that he still followed every order no matter what.

“What do they want?” he asked stiffly.

“To pay the rent,” Danny informed him.

Cameron almost laughed aloud. He completely forgot about that.

He grabbed the glass with whiskey and gulped it down. He did not want to meet them. Not until he would decide how to deal with them at least.

“Then collect it and tell them to leave.”

Danny blinked surprise, but nodded: “…all right, sir.”

Once alone, Cameron turned to the painting again. It was like Karnaka was looking at him with some kind of reproach. Frowning, he turned away. He had to think it through properly first and then he would decide what those two deserved or not. No whiskey and no painting could give him reply to that.

They were not exactly eager to visit the former Karnaka residence, but Kame would rather avoid any unnecessary troubles and in the end, Jin agreed with him. Therefore, they set off to Henderson´s farm on their own accord, to pay the long overdue rent.

It surprised them when Henderson refused to meet them. They thought that he would savor on their humiliation. They expected many various outcomes of their visit on the farm, not only a brief talk with McFly and the closed gate. They stared at it for a while, before looking at each other.

Then, Jin shrugged: “You know, what Harada would say? Don't look the gift horse in the mouth…”

Kame did not think it was wise to let their current relation with Henderson unsolved, but at the moment, they had no other choice. “All right… Let´s go home.”

***

The regular tapping of her father's hammer had a calming effect on her.

Lena did not even mind the biting frost or drifting snow, which was sticking to her shoes. She just kept handing him more cloves for fixing the garland of pinecones twigs along the canopy over the entrance to their house. It was hard for her to believe that a whole year had really passed and another Christmas Eve came.

They were not the only ones working on yuletide decorations – almost the whole city was already up and busy. As she could tell from the alluring smell, their neighbor had been baking cakes since dawn, the noise of shopping fuss in front of Mr. Franko´s store reached even to their street and several figures were moving around the saloon as well. Mr. Harada hosted a Christmas party for his guests. She was so glad that her parents agreed to attend it as well, even if only after dinner at home.

“So? What do you think, Lena?”

She carefully observed the result of her father´s efforts, turned to him and nodded with a smile: “It´s perfect, Dad.”

“Oh, you´re done…” Lena´s mother walked out the door, putting on her gloves. “Great, it´s about time we leave.”

Lena´s high mood dropped to the freezing point right away.

“Do we have to go there, Mum?” she tried to sound as pleading as possible. “I wanted to help you clean up and decorate the tree and…”

Her mother gave her a strict look: “We can do it afterwards. We cannot skip the mass now, when we finally have a proper priest here,” she said firmly and turned to her husband. “Darling? Will you change to your festive coat?”

Her father made quite a weird face, but he nodded. “Yes, of course…”

Lena had a feeling that her father did not admire Reverend Kapner as much as her mother did, but did not dare to ask.

“Lena, you too! Wash your hands and let´s go, or we´re going to be late!”

“Yes, Mum…” she reacted not very enthusiastically and follower her father inside the house.

“And don´t forget to carry that dough back to the kitchen! I'll get to it as soon as I'm back.”

“Sure, Miss.”

“Oh, and don't let the potatoes cook for too long or we'll end up with mush instead of salad.”

“Don´t worry, potatoes are my specialty, Miss McBain, remember?”

“Right, sorry… I´m going then… Mind your leg, young man, all right?”

With that, the sturdy woman rushed out through the open door, heading to the Christmas mass.

Kame just shook his head, smiling amused. He knew that the saloon´s kitchen was Miss McBain´s kingdom, so he did not mind her lecturing, though it was unnecessary. It was a success that she accepted his help at all. Nevertheless, even she had to admit that preparing festive dinner for so many people was a bit over her capacity and let Kame help her quite relieved.

“Watch out!”

A warning cry made Kame peek out from the kitchen. Through the taproom windows, he could see that a part of huge decorative garland fell down, swinging in the air slowly.

“Sweet Jesus, be more careful!” Miss McBain scolded someone, shaking her head.

“Yes, Madame,” Kame heard an apologetic response from Jin, before the woman finally closed the main door.

Relieved that nothing serious happened, he returned to the soup preparations.

Naturally, Jin came to town with him and was currently running all around, carrying out Harada´s demanding requirements. It seemed that the saloon owner wanted to treat their Christmas dinner as a kind of celebration of their return as well.

At first, when Harada had invited them, they were not sure if it was a good idea. They thought it might have been better to spend that special evening in private, since – as it had been confirmed to them several times – most of Bozeman citizens was telling tales about them, one more incredible than the other. Yet now, seeing how cheerfully excited the whole city was, he was really looking forward to spend this night not only with his dear lover, but also with his closest friends.

“Higher… Higher, I said!”

“Come on, this is as high as I can only reach!”

“Prolong your hands then.”

“That´s nonsense!”

“Hold on. I´ll bring you some stick…”

“But, Harada, this is more than… enough,” Jin finished with a sigh when he noticed that the man already disappeared behind the corner. For a short moment he thought about going down the ladder, but then he considered it useless and just settled into a more comfortable position while waiting for Harada´s return.

As he could tell from the nice fragrance when Miss McBain opened the door before, they were about to have some feast in the evening. Especially when his dear Kazuya was involved in the preparations. After all the bad, it was good to look forward to something like that.

“Jin?”

He looked down to see Cora´s troubled face and his mood cooled down a bit.

“Hi, Cora…”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

He cleared his throat. “You see, I´m a bit busy…”

“Please, it´s important. It will be only a minute.”

“All right…” Jin slowly descended to the ground and approached the pretty woman. “So? Should I come back to work earlier or something?”

She shook her head: “That´s not it… Just listen to me for a while, okay?”

Jin did not know what to think of her tone and expression, but he nodded: “Sure.”

“I owe you an apology…” Cora began seriously.

Jin frowned and she hastily continued.

“I lied about that night we spent in my room. I remember what happened.”

He felt really uncomfortable now and took a deep breath to stay calm: “Cora, you´re a beautiful woman, but I´ve already told you that…”

“No, no,” she interrupted him quickly. “Wait, you don´t get it.”

He eyed her curiously: “What then?”

“Well… Come aside for a bit…” Cora pulled on his sleeve and dragged Jin behind the corner, out of any curious eyes. She decided for the straightforward approach. “Look, we were both drunk and I was not against us to have sex, but it never happened, Jin.”

His eyes widened: “What do you mean?”

“You let me take you to bed, but you kept talking about how much you missed Kamenashi and then you fell asleep like a log,” Cora finished her explanation with apparent relief.

Surprised Jin took a step closer to her, looking into her eyes. “So, we really didn´t…”

“No,” she assured him again. “I would remember that, believe me…”

Jin almost started laughing. And here he was so damn worried about it.

“Well, I´m glad you told me,” he smiled at Cora.

“I should have done it sooner, but… I was too selfish. I… I hoped we can be something more,” she added quietly.

That startled him. He liked his female boss, but he did not intend to do anything what would spoil his relationship with Kame now.

“Cora, I didn´t want to make you think that…”

“It´s okay,” she placed a hand on his elbow in a calming gesture. “It´s a shame, but I can tell your heart belongs to someone else.”

Jin returned her look for a long while and then reached for her cold hand, squeezing it gratefully.

“Thanks, Cora. You´re a good friend.”

And finally, even though she seemed to be sad, she smiled at him as well: “My pleasure.”

***

It had been over ten years since Christmas was officially declared a national holiday in the United States and its territories. All the festivities and habits related to them were more than a welcome respite from hard work and daily difficulties of life on the frontier. Not only children were excited about them, everyone was looking forward to the yuletide season and it was apparent in the whole city.

Thanks to their common effort, Harada´s saloon obtained quite a unique atmosphere even among other nicely changed houses. The warmly glowing lanterns were swinging lightly between the rich garlands, which decorated the entire façade. Literally every sideboard, mantle, banister, and any other wooden surface available was covered with simple decorations. The alluring fragrance of all kinds of food wafted from the kitchen windows across the street reaching even the clinic and a bell jingled softly above the door at the arrival of each guest.

With dusk, it started snowing again, but inside the warm taproom, everyone could forget about the vagaries of weather for a while. Wreaths with pinecones were hanging on the walls and boughs of holly on the strains from the chandeliers – all Cora´s girls amused themselves with who of them would make the most of present men to stand under it to get a kiss from them. Moreover, all the tables were connected together, creating the spacious platform for all the bowls and pots with meals brought from the kitchen.

There was a ton of choices for everyone – Miss McBain with Kame got over themselves, though it was possible only thanks to Harada giving them permission to use the saloon´s supplies. There was delicious ham, turkey meat, baked venison, beefsteaks and boiled mutton, served with potato salad and still warm bread. There were also bowls with stuff brought by guests – preserved fruits, dried and canned vegetables, chestnuts, baked fish and even one whole chicken. As dessert, Miss McBain proudly presented her special apple pie and plum pudding. And to the surprise and excitement of everyone, the trappers brought out even chocolate drops.

As came for the liquid part of the feast, it could not be said that the saloon owner was not ready – they could have beer, wine, rum or whiskey. Harada´s original idea was to organize a special dinner for those few guests, who remained stuck in Bozeman because of heavy snowfall, to which Miss McBain reluctantly agreed. Kame offered help, which led to the invitation for Jin as well, Mike dragged in his grandparents, Kame invited Lena, who came with her parents and Cora´s girls from the brothel, who had no families of their own, followed along with their Madame.

Unexpectedly, they had a lot of thrilling amusement, since among those guests stuck in the saloon were four rather curious men, who entertained the whole company with stories from their travels all over the Wild West.

Two of them were skilled trappers, Dick Stone and Will Parker, which both Kame and Jin considered fictitious names, since their real ones were probably too boring. Surprisingly, their leader was a rather short man with false hair, as they found out when the evening progressed and more alcohol disappeared in stomachs of all present. It scared all the women in the room and made them yelp, but the man himself made so much fun of his scalp, that soon nobody was too bothered by it.

The fourth man, not as talkative as the rest of them, though more impressive, was a tall blonde German, who introduced himself as Charley Karl, though it seemed that his companions intended to call him differently. He was the most serious one of the group, but even he was influenced by merry atmosphere in the end. After dinner, he started telling tales about Indian tribes in the south and about his blood brother, the Apache Chief, which made Kame remember Liwan and miss him right away. He promised to himself to visit the reservation as soon as the weather would allow it.

So, in the end, they created quite a big and cheerful bunch. It was liberating to forget about any social status or gossips for a while, as so many various types of citizens sat at one table together, enjoying the special evening. Indeed, Harada proved that saloons were big business during the Christmas.

Everyone had fun; Kame thought that only Lena seemed to be kind of distracted. He realized that she was hiding something, but it did not feel right to force her to talk about it, not that evening…

They ended up staying up late into the night singing carols. It was one of the most joyful evenings any of them had in a very long time.

***

Waking up in the morning, Jin was a bit confused. He did not drink that much, but the whole Christmas party dazed him somewhat, so he was not sure how he got to this strange and at the same time familiar bed. The sheet next to him was still warm, but empty.

He opened his eyes lazily and recognized his surroundings almost right away. It was the room where they kissed with Kame for the first time. He could never forget that moment. His arrival to Bozeman and accommodation in this very room had started all their adventures together, from grizzly hunt, through joining hands with Black Riders, defeating their monsters and to overcoming even death for each other…

Even though the original reason of his journey to this city was dark, as he was filled up with desire for revenge, it brought him something unexpected and amazing. Thanks to that, he met someone he learnt to love with his whole heart and it made his life worth living.

Jin sat up and gave a warm look to the person he was thinking about. Kame was standing by the window, looking outside, flooded by the first daylight. He was only in his trousers and he was… simply his Kazuya. From some reason his heart shivered and Jin smiled. Everything was worth of this sight.

Kame heard the sound of bare feet crossing the wooden floor, but did not move. The firm, warm hands soothed his shoulders first, and then the soft lips patted the spot in the middle of his back, making him shiver. The long arms circled around his body and squeezed him tight. Only then he leant into the warm embrace, closing his eyes. Nothing could make him feel so warm and… treasured. Only Jin´s hug had such an effect on him.

The short stubble tickled his skin, as Jin spoke, leaning over his bare shoulder. “Anything more interesting than myself outside?”

Kame could not help but chuckle. This was his Jin exactly. And he loved him like that.

“Not yet… It is a calm, white morning.”

“I see… So, what are you brooding about?”

He did not even wonder how Jin could tell anymore, so he asked back right away. “Can you imagine spending the rest of our lives in this city, Jin?”

Now, it was time for Jin to chuckle: “With you? Of course I can.”

His reply was so quick it squeezed Kame´s heart with an incredibly lovely cramp. What more he could ever ask for?

Jin pulled back a bit and turned him around to face him.

“For the first time in my life, I feel like I found the real home, Kazuya,” he stated seriously.

His lips spread in a happy smile without him even knowing. There was only one way in which he could react to something like that.

Kame reached out and circled both arms around his dear lover´s neck.

“And I got it back thanks to you, Jin Akanishi,” he said and pressed against his lips in a kiss, about which he simply knew that it would be returned in an equally loving way.

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter thirty three

witchann2 — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 19:05:13 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Just one more chapter (and quite probably Epilogue) to go...

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine // Chapter thirty // Chapter thirty one // Chapter thirty two //

Union

Loads of tiny white pieces were floating in the air. They were wet and cold, but He did not mind. He had seen those useless things before and He was used to them. Sooner or later, they always appeared again.

This time too, they quickly connected on the ground, creating the strangely thin layer and changed the scenery around Fence. The younger Companions seemed to be nervous about it, but He just laughed at their inexperience. He was sure that White would stay calm as well.

White… He was missing Her fragrant presence.

It was getting dark, so the eyes of big House seemed to be brighter than before. Behind them, many Humans were getting their deserved rest.
He was happy that Master and his Mate were together again. Like that, their Herd could return soon, back to His White. He could not wait for it. However, He had to be patient.

He had felt the uncertainty of Master´s Mate before, when he was riding on His back and He saw how funny his walking was. He needed Master´s help to get inside House, after they finally stopped clinging to each other, making those weird sounds.

It might take a while before their Herd would leave. Then for now, He could have some fun with that useless stuff from Sky…

Shaking his big head, Kuro snorted the annoying snowflakes out of his nostrils and started trotting lively around the fence, creating the huge puffy clouds of scattered snow behind his hooves.

Pleasant warmth and cheerful voices were filling the spacious dining room of Tanaka´s ranch. After necessary additional introductions, everyone gathered there for dinner. Its scent still lingered around; even though there was nothing left of it anymore and the small glasses with whiskey replaced the empty plates.

The candle chandelier was illuminating the faces of five family members sitting around the long oak table – four brothers with their mother at the head. Ryo, who got along quite well with Koki´s siblings, gladly joined their wide circle as well as Leo, who kept loudly praising the cooking skills of Mrs. Tanaka. As they had already found out, during summer, she always hired someone for helping out in the kitchen, but after the herding season ended, she took care of feeding her family herself.

Cullen took up the armchair in front of the fireplace, for once refraining from his caustic remarks. With an unusually satisfied expression, he was just wordlessly digesting the best meal he had in quite a while. Across from him, on the spacious sofa, smiling Jane kept throwing checking glances to her left side, where the last two members of their company were sitting next to each other.

At first sight, Kame was paying attention to the loud exchange of opinions by the table. Yet, his eyes were glassy and one of his hands in inconspicuous connection with Jin´s. The older one apparently did not give a damn about being sociable, with his look focused on the crackling fire in the spacious hearth.

They had been like this ever since they came inside – Kame was pale and absent, while Jin red-eyed and very silent. Jane assumed those two probably needed more alone time for themselves.

Already during the delicious dinner and also after they were done with it, both Tanaka family and Black Riders were engulfed in quite an exciting conversation. Everyone had to share their story about how they ended up on the ranch. No one could avoid it, since the lady of the house herself demanded the proper explanation, with strong emphasis on the fact that she wanted to hear the truth.

It was actually quite surprising how warmly they were all welcomed in Mrs. Tanaka´s home, considering Koki´s past rueful descriptions of their endless fights about his involvement with the gang. Even more, when apparently mostly Koki enjoyed sharing his part of mine adventures. His brothers did not fail to remind him several times that they took a good care of their ranch, while he was just loitering around. Yet not even their mockery discouraged him from talking.

Mrs. Tanaka kept on her strict attitude, as she listened to everyone, scolding them whenever they used too rough words, regardless of whether it was her son or the Riders´ leader. Nevertheless, Jane caught the woman smiling gently, when she thought no one was looking. She understood her more than well. Who would not be happy with their family gathered together like this?

The youngest family member – Juri – was the most excited about all those thrilling stories, while Cullen was the calmest, apparently not giving a damn about exaggerated nonsenses some of them described.

While it was obvious that Jin was not inclined to recount his arrest story and Ryo was the one who talked the most about it, Kame´s narration had the greatest success. Though he did not describe his escape from the collapsed mine in many details, everyone was listening to him with bated breath. Considering the hopeless situation Kame had been in, his survival was a miracle. Almost as if someone was looking out for him…

After everything necessary had been said, Mrs. Tanaka heard out many repeated thanks for providing them all the temporary sanctuary. The Black Riders practically did not let her speak; apparently worrying she would throw them out after finding out whom she had actually sheltered. Yet, that was not the case and the woman just requested Koki to pour her more whiskey. On the other hand, her older sons made the Riders swear not to cause any troubles during their stay, which they hastily promised.

It was a very cheerful evening. Everyone was overwhelmed with relief that they finally managed to meet alive and well, for once not bothering with the hand of law or vagaries of weather. And it went by fast…

Shortly after Mrs. Tanaka finally persuaded Juri to go to sleep, Jane thought that it was more than enough for one day. She got up on from the sofa and with hands on her hips turned to Kame.

“You,” she addressed him purposefully harshly. “Enough of slacking, time to treat your leg.”

Kame looked up to her sheepishly: “But I can do it-”

“No buts,” Jane cut him off and grabbed his hand. “Up you go.”

He let her pull him up on his feet, his hand slipping from Jin´s grip.

“And you,” she spoke to the older Akanishi in a voice, which finally made him stop staring at the glowing embers. “You reek of prison. Ask our generous hostess for some water and wash yourself, be so kind.”

Jin´s eyebrows went up in surprise, but he did not dare to utter even a word of protest.

“As for the rest of you,” she glared at other present Riders, each of them more or less successfully hiding their amused grins. “Nobody´s going to prepare our sleeping places in the attic for us. Drink the rest of that warmed whiskey and away with you! We bothered Mrs. Tanaka more than enough already.”

“But Jane, you don´t have to be so…” Leo started, but his fiancée´s look made him bite his tongue before he could say more.

“Yes, dear?” Jane urged with a sweet, yet dangerous smile.

Leo cleared his throat: “You´re right, of course.”

“Good,” she smiled even wider and then led Kame away from the dining room.

Only after the sound of their footsteps died down in the corridor, the Koki´s younger brother Hyouga leant over the table: “Man, she´s hot, but I don´t envy you…” he whispered.

Ryo chuckled, while Leo shrugged, grinning more amused than upset: “She´s worth it.”

“You´ve heard her, boys!” another female voice whipped the air above their heads. “You must get up soon to clean up snow!”

Hyouga gave their mother his most pleading look: “But, Mom, we haven´t finished the bottle yet and we´re having quite a fun…”

Mrs. Tanaka gave him a steadfast look: “What did you say, son?”

“That we´re going right away, Mother,” he assured her, promptly standing up from the table.

“It looks good, but I would keep the healing wrap around it for this night as well,” Jane assumed after inspecting Kame´s right leg. The awful swelling finally subsided and not counting the dark bruises, it looked much better. Both she and Liwan were worried of inflammation, but it seemed Kame got out from the worst. What a luck he had…

“Agreed…” a quiet murmur came as a reply.

Jane raised her eyes. Kame was looking down on his leg, a thoughtful wrinkle on his forehead.

“What´s bothering you?” she asked as she started to wrap the clean bandage around the layer of herbal ointment, which she had applied before.

“You think I might persuade Mrs. Tanaka to let also Liwan come?” he wondered quietly.

Jane thought about it for a while. “You worry about him, right? In this weather…” she waved toward the window.

“Not really, he can take care of himself, but… I would like him to be here with us.”

“I understand… I think it would be better if I try to talk to her instead of you,” Jane assumed.

Kame frowned even more: “Why?”

“Well, she might take it better from me, as from another woman, I mean. Moreover, I´m not closely related to Liwan, so my point of view will be more objective. What do you think?”

“I see… All right, I will be grateful, Jane. Thanks.”

“You´re welcome,” she assured him.

“Here you go!” Juri´s voice sounded from behind the door, before it opened wide.

Jane looked back over her shoulder. The apparently excited boy led the tall man inside. Of course… She knew that he would come.

“Get a proper rest, okay?” she urged on Kame.

He nodded obediently, but his eyes already focused on Jin. Suppressing the smile, Jane stood up and turned to her hopefully-soon-to-be brother-in-law.

“That´s much better,” she commented Jin´s wet hair, shaved face and clean shirt, apparently borrowed from one of Tanaka brothers.

Jin looked at her, seeming to be a little clueless. “Ahem, thanks?”

“All right, you take care of Kame now, he´s yours anyway,” she stated bluntly and focused on the boy. “Juri, aren´t you supposed to be in bed?”

“Well, I… Jin wanted to know where Handsome is… I didn´t mean to…” Juri was apparently a bit startled now.

Amused, Jane grinned at him: “It´s okay, I won´t tell your mother. Come with me now…”

Grabbing his tiny shoulders, she gently pushed the boy out to the corridor and closed the door.

Clutching the arms of high chair, Kame carefully observed his lover standing in the middle of the room. Jin did look better than when he found him lingering outside by the fence, but his eyes were still sunken. He was looking at him as if he thought that Kame might disappear any second…

Anxious from that dark gaze, Kame pushed himself up on his feet, faster than he should have. His right knee buckled under him and he staggered heavily. Jin was by his side in an instant and supported him firmly. Gratefully and with pleasure, he leant against his warm, firm body.

“Thanks…” Kame sighed, once again realizing how much he had been missing the other´s presence.

“You should be more careful,” Jin noted in a hoarse voice. He did not say much since the moment he cried his heart out on Kame´s shoulder and if he did, it was in connection with his well-being. It made Kame´s heart ache.

“Yeah… Help me to bed,” he asked him softly.

Wrapping Kame´s hand around his neck, Jin led him there slowly. Then he helped him to sit down on the mattress and remained standing, staring at his bandaged leg.

“Jin…?” Kame addressed him questioningly.

“When exactly did that happen? When… when you were…” Jin could not or did not want to finish the question, but Kame knew more than well, what he meant. It was one of the most difficult moments in his life. He would be never able to forget those awful minutes of being trapped under the huge boulder, helplessly looking on as his friends led the love of his life away in the scary waterfall of soil and pebbles…

“Yes… It was bad, but it will be fine,” he stated as firmly as he only could.

Jin´s eyes met with his. Suddenly, there were too many things in them. Kame would not be able to describe that gaze even if he wanted to. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Jin´s wrist. He persistently pulled until the other gave in and sat down next to him. Then he covered his smoothly shaved cheeks with his palms.

“I won´t go anywhere without you, Jin,” he assured him. “So don´t look at me like that.”

Jin closed his eyes and breathed out shakily: “I´m sorry…”

Unsatisfied, Kame pressed his lips together – that was not what he wanted to hear.

Leo knew his older brother well and he was right. Jin had been on a very dark place for quite long and it was not easy for him to come back. His mind was not here, in this room with him.

“Kiss me,” he requested hoarsely.

A soft sigh escaped from those full lips in front of him, but otherwise, Jin remained motionless. Kame was determined not to move first. He had to make his foolish boyfriend believe in his presence fully and he could not figure out a better way.

He soothed his temples slowly, half closing his eyes and even lowering his voice. “Please, kiss me, Jin,” he repeated his request pleadingly.

What took only a short while, was like ages to Kame. Then Jin finally pressed his trembling lips against his in a soft kiss. Kame felt as his anxiety disappeared right away. It was such a well-known, good feeling. Nothing could make him feel more relaxed. Therefore, when Jin moved away, he was not willing to let him go so easily.

Kame firmly grabbed Jin´s neck and seized his lips eagerly again. Impatiently, he probed out with his tongue and after a tense moment, he found his companion coming to meet him. Then Jin´s hands circled around his waist and pulled him close, just as possessively as before.

They ended up in a long, breath-stealing kiss. Hands wrapped around each other, feeling the warmth of the other´s body, tenderly enjoying the closeness of their loved one... None of them remembered if they ever kissed in such a desperate manner.

When they finally pulled apart, neither of them had enough. Yet, for the moment, it served its purpose.

“I´ve missed you so much, Kazu,” Jin´s breath tickled his cheek. “So damn much…”

Kame slowly let his fingers slip down the other´s hair and then he gripped Jin´s shoulders.

“I figured,” he reacted with his throat tight. “When I heard you let himself be arrested… You shouldn´t have, Jin.”

“I know. I just…” Jin shifted his head only so that he could look in his eyes. “I could not see any other acceptable option.”

Kame chuckled bitterly. “You´re such a fool… Only thanks to you, I survived. I cannot imagine what I would do, if…” he stopped in the middle of the sentence, unable to continue.

Jin´s grip around him tightened. “I won´t ever let you go again,” he promised hoarsely.

“I count on that,” whispered Kame and closed that short distance between their lips again.

***

It was like waking up from a nightmare knowing in advance that it would never repeat again.

Jin slowly opened his eyes only to focus them on the profile of young man sleeping next to him. Disobedient strands of hair were falling into his face, shaking with his slow exhales. The first sunbeams going through the window were creating the shining background of that peaceful view. To Jin, Kame was never more precious person than in that moment. Not to wake him up, he moved only slowly and supported his head with one hand, so that he could watch him properly.

Kazuya was his way out of Hell. In his loving arms, Jin could finally reconcile with the unbearable pain he felt before, when he believed that he had lost him. Only thanks to his presence, he could forget that anxiety from the idea of spending another day without him. He was able to deal with anything now.

Jin reached out his other hand and touched Kame´s cheek. He gently caressed it, before he continued to chin and then to neck. He pushed the blanket aside slowly and soothed the bare warm chest. He could not resist but follow the outlines of his boyfriend´s muscles, enjoying the warmth of smooth skin. Knowing that Kame went to such great lengths just to be with him, even badly wounded was the most comforting feeling ever.

“Good morning…?” a voice softened by sleep greeted him.

Jin just smiled and let his hand continue the loving ministrations of any skin he could reach.

“Are you enjoying yourself or trying to seduce me?” Kame asked softly.

Only then, he looked up to the other´s face and to those eyes, which were watching him warmly.

“Both,” he replied meaningfully and bent down to those tempting lips. He gave Kame the most affectionate kiss he could only manage, before straightening up. “I love you, Kazuya.”

A beautiful smile brightened Kame´s face even more than it already was. “And I´d love you to wake me up like this every morning for the rest of our lives.”

Jin chuckled: “Quite demanding, aren´t we?”

“Not really. You can count on the proper reward…”

“Really? And what it would be?” he wondered mischievously.

With a quick move, Kame suddenly wrapped both arms around Jin´s neck and pulled him down.

“I can show you,” he whispered against his lips shakily. “Or you can show me…” he added provocatively.

“Gladly,” Jin agreed eagerly, his hand already slipping lower under the warmed up sheets. “But next time, don´t accuse me of being the seductive one…”

***

“Thank you so much for staying with us, Mister!”

The elderly woman´s voice certainly reached all the way down the street. Although she was a pleasant host in general, Danny could not wait for them to be gone. Already after few days, her piercing voice was literally stinging his poor ears. However, he was not surprised she was so grateful, since Mr. Cameron had left significantly more bills than he had to on the reception counter.

“Come back again any other time!” the hotel owner bowed to his boss.

Danny had an impression that the woman was overdoing it a bit. She was even considerate enough to arrange a carriage for them, which was about to take them to the railway station. For that, he was the one being grateful. It was more than convenient that they could catch one of the first test train rides to Columbus, which would shorten their travels a lot.

Mr. Cameron seemed to be finally satisfied with the way the wagoner attached their luggage to the carriage and turned to the widely smiling woman.

“I will remember that,” he reacted in a voice perfectly balanced between condescension and gratitude. “Thank you, Madame. Goodbye.”

Not waiting for the woman to react, Mr. Cameron got into the carriage swiftly and Danny followed him with quite a relief. Once they settled in the surprisingly comfortable seats, the wagoner made the horses move promptly and they set off through the busy morning streets.

After the first scare, the ominous winter clouds evaporated towards the east. Danny was glad that they were about to leave before the heavy snow would block the most comfortable way back to the Rockies, but still, he was confused that his persistent and patient boss would have given this whole issue up so easily. He decided to pack up right after they found out that the Marshals Office set Akanishi free. However, he did not think it would be wise to poke into Mr. Cameron´s decisions.

“What´s on your mind, Danny?”

The sudden question and sharp gaze startled him a little. The seat did not feel so comfortable anymore. Yet, he already knew he could not afford to let the question unanswered.

“Well… I was just wondering, sir.”

“About?” Mr. Cameron encouraged him.

Danny took a decisive breath. “After everything you had done to… get your revenge, why would you just leave now?”

The answer came faster than he expected. “Do you think there´s anything else to do here?”

He blinked and looked away to think about it properly.

“Well… I don´t know,” he admitted in the end.

He thought that his boss would not bother with his hopeless dullness anymore, but Mr. Cameron actually replied the question to him.

“Billings is basically the cradle of Black Riders. They certainly have some friends here, who would be willing to help them. It would be waste of time to search for any Akanishi around here, no matter if it´s only the older one around or the younger as well.”

Danny nodded, listening closely. That made sense to him.

“He will come back to Bozeman, anyway,” Mr. Cameron concluded his explanation.

He stared his calm boss incredulously: “Excuse me, but how can you be so sure about it, sir?”

“You can only call it a premonition, but that old hut is his home,” the older man reacted slowly. “Otherwise, he and Kamenashi would not fight so hard to keep it. Sooner or later, Akanishi will come.”

***

The cold wind was chasing a few puffy clouds on the otherwise pure blue sky. The tiny part of it was visible through the skylight above the gathered Black Riders, illuminating their serious faces.

After the sudden blizzard, the sun came out again, melting the first snow pack, but it would be the time for real winter soon enough. Kame could literally feel it in his slowly healing leg. If they wanted to travel back to the frontier, they should set off sooner rather than later.

To discuss what exactly to do next was the very reason of their meeting in the barn. Yet, as Kame observed the expression of their young leader, he did not think that any quick travelling was a part of Leo´s plans… Especially after Koki announced he would like to stay home for the time being.

After a moment of quiet pondering, Leo – sitting on the huge barrel – looked directly at sheepish Rider.

“So… This is what you decided for sure, then?” he asked rather softly.

“Yeah… I´m sorry, Chief,” Koki mumbled meekly. “It´s not that I don´t want to be a part of the gang anymore, just…”

Leo stopped him with a raised hand. “It´s okay, I understand, Koki. No need to apologize.”

“As I know him he would reconsider this so called decision three times before the year is over,” Ryo noted teasingly.

“Hey! I would expect a bit of understanding from my best friend,” Koki growled.

Ryo openly laughed at him. “That´s why I say this! I already understand how your thinking works, buddy.”

“Insensitive jackass,” Koki turned away from him insulted.

“There´s no need to argue about it,” Leo stated amicably and turned to his fiancée, who was standing by his side, smiling at him encouragingly. “There´s one thing I… we need to tell you, guys.”

“You mean to disband.”

Cullen´s words brought the shocked silence upon them all.

Leo gaped at his older companion for a long moment, before he chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. “How comes you always know, Cullen?” he asked in disbelief.

The older man shrugged: “Life experiences do me a good service. Something you kids are just about to learn.”

“Do you really enjoy condescending yourself above us all so much?” still upset Koki snapped.

Cullen almost burst out laughing, which made them all stare at him even more surprised. “Please, I don´t even need to try,” the man stated amused.

“Anyway, it´s as our old wolf says, so…” Leo took up the word again. “We would like to somehow… settle down,” he reached for Jane´s hand, which she squeezed back firmly.

“Well, honestly, I expected this to come one day,” Ryo sighed somewhat surrendered.

“Me too,” Jin joined him. “I´d be quite surprised about the opposite actually.”

“So, I guess you´ve got no problem with it, Brother?” Leo mused with his eyebrows up.

“Do you need to ask?” the older Akanishi grinned.

“No,” Leo repaid him with the same, before getting serious again. “I care about you all, guys, but I don´t see the point in going on. Since I´m not able to imagine what we should be doing next, I´m not fit to be the leader of any gang anymore. I enjoyed being one though, you can bet on that,” he added in the end.

“I don´t agree with that unfitting-leader part, but otherwise, I get you,” Ryo nodded.

“Thanks…” Leo appreciated.

“So… This is it? The end of Black Riders?” Koki seemed to be openly sad about it.

“Well, at least for now,” Jane spoke suddenly.

Leo turned to her surprised. “What do you mean, sweetheart?”

“I just thought about it now…” she stepped forward a little. “What about we would promise that in case any of us would be in need, we would gather as Black Riders again to help them?” she made a suggestion in a serious, hopeful tone.

Everyone looked at each other. Then they started smiling widely.

“Sounds good,” Koki sniffled, trying hard to cover his eyes shining with tears.

“I absolutely agree,” Ryo joined him cheerfully.

Kame exchanged the short look with Jin, before the replied for both of them: “You can count on us.”

“Dear… I love this idea,” Leo praised his fiancée.

Jane turned and winked at him.

“Cullen?” the Riders´ leader turned to his first man.

“Well… Do you really need to hear anything from me?” Cullen snickered.

Something bothered Leo about that answer, but he did not know what it was.

“So, in that case…” Kame was the one to speak then. “We already talked about it with Jin and we would like to return to Bozeman soon.”

“I expected that,” Leo nodded. “But…”

“Wait!” Jane cut in suddenly. “But you will stay for a while longer, right? You must actually!”

“That´s what I meant to ask them as well, dear,” his fiancé complained gently. “Though… a bit less desperately.”

“I sense some fun is about to come,” Ryo declared playfully.

With a mysterious smile, Leo stood up and hugged Jane around the waist: “For once, your sixth sense is right.”

***

It did not take long before the warm hands of Manitou´s son melted the thin white layer completely. The winter was here for sure, but it seemed there was still some time to get home, before it would show the nature its full power.

Liwan turned away from the view of the mighty river when he caught the sound of hooves and male voices. He stood up from the flat stone warmed up by the sun and looked down the hill at his modest camp in the leeward of a great rock, which looked like the clenched fist. Two riders just arrived there, one helping the other to get down from the saddle of the noble black stallion.
The young shaman observed the unusual couple for a short moment, before he set off on the way down.

“There he is! I told you there´s no need to worry for Bear.”

Akanishi seemed to be more than cheerful considering all the troubles he had caused for everyone. Liwan eyed him from head to toes, which made the smile on the gunslinger´s face falter.

“Liwan…” Kame breathed out in relief and went to meet him, still limping and with help of the crutch, but obviously moving more freely than before.

Liwan returned the firm, friendly squeeze with which Kame grabbed his forearm.

“Are you all right?” his blood brother wondered, observing his face closely.

He suppressed a lenient smile. “That goes without saying,” he reacted with the Palefaces´ sentence, which he wanted to use sometime. “My brother looks better as well.”

“Also thanks to you,” Kame admitted humbly. “Thank you for the herbs.”

It came natural for him to take care of his brother in any way he could, so Liwan simply nodded and then focused at his companion again.

“So… You came to your senses, Akanishi?”

The young man´s shoulders sagged even more, which was a sign that there was some shame in him.

“Yes,” the gunslinger confirmed seriously. “I´m sorry… And thank you. For Kame.”

That was a good start, so Liwan observed him more kindly now. “Have you apologized to others as well?”

“I did,” Akanishi nodded immediately without any sign of annoyance.

Even better, Liwan thought of his reply. It was good that Akanishi seemed to mature after his foolish adventure in prison. Good for Kame, at least. Liwan was already a little tired from all the troubles this man brought upon his dear blood brother. Naturally, he did not mean to tell either of them about it though.

“Come to fire,” he invited them. “Cold not good for my brother´s leg.”

They gathered around the small campfire and Liwan quickly added some dry, fallen tree branches to it. Akanishi helped Kame to sit down and then made himself comfortable right next to him. Liwan did not comment it, but he was glad to see them like this. His blood brother almost killed himself only by worrying for Akanishi. At least now, Kame finally seemed to be at peace.

“What my brother decided to do?” Liwan asked.

“I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but Jane and Leo talked us into staying until their wedding,” Kame announced hesitantly. “And Mrs. Tanaka changed her mind, so if you want you can come to the ranch as well and…”

By that time, he was already shaking his head, which made Kame stop talking.

“Home. Liwan must go,” he stated firmly.

His blood brother did not seem happy about it, yet neither surprised. He just sighed wordlessly.

“You two really know each other too well,” Akanishi murmured, extending his palms toward the fire. “Kame told me that you´ll be eager to go.”

“But that doesn´t mean that I wouldn´t like you to stay and go back with us,” Kame tried one more time.

“My brother is better and in good hands, so Liwan can leave now,” he insisted.

“I understand,” Kame nodded. “But… Be careful,” he urged.

Liwan gave him the serious look. “My brother and Akanishi as well. No more mines or prisons. Please.”

Akanishi grinned sheepishly. “Roger that. And I won´t let Kame step inside any mine for the rest of his life.”

His lover gave him a quick glance. “Nobody will be able to make me enter any, believe me.”

Such a reply was acceptable. “Good. Will my brother come to reservation later?”

“Sure,” Kame nodded right away. “I must return to my duties soon, otherwise I will be fired. Once we get back to Bozeman, I will visit you as soon as possible.”

Liwan did not let it show, but he was happy to hear such a response. “My heart will be waiting for my brother then.”

***

Maria Tanaka proved herself a real treasure when it came to arranging such a sudden, special event as the wedding of Leo and Jane was. Not only she allowed them to organize it on Tanaka property, she also found and was willing to lend Leo an old, well-preserved suit after her husband. Then she took Jane to the city on the short women-only-trip, where they managed to negotiate quite a good price for wedding dress from one of Mrs. Tanaka´s good acquaintances.

They had to remain inconspicuous, so the ceremony in city church was out of the question. Fortunately, based on some unspecified unrequited favor, Koki´s oldest brother persuaded the local circuit preacher to come and lead the ceremony at the ranch, even though it was not the bride´s home as was the usual custom.

In the end, the hardest task was to persuade Cullen that it was safe to hold a wedding at Tanaka´s ranch, since he seriously considered leaving before it would happen. It took all the Riders to make him stay.

After some necessary food shopping, Mrs. Tanaka made the kitchen her kingdom, expelling anyone else out. Only after very persistent persuasion from Koki, she let Kamenashi in to help her.
For the ceremony itself, they adjusted the unused part of spacious barn and decorated it with white sheets, conifer branches and colorful ribbons. It was simple, but more than sufficient, since the bride herself stated she had always pictured their day to be more romantic than ceremonial.

Despite that everything was quite hastily arranged, the wedding made that freezing day bright and enjoyable for everyone. Leo Akanishi was nervous, yet apparently excited, while Jane Briggs was indeed beautiful and obviously the happiest bride ever.

When that most important moment came, everyone enthusiastically gathered in the decorated barn. They stood there in their best possible outfits – which mostly meant they had washed their usual clothes – in two lanes creating the short aisle for the lovely bride, cheering as she approached.

“Isn´t she the most beautiful person you have ever seen?” Leo leant toward his brother, whispering a little shakily.

Jin´s eyes flickered to Kame, who was standing at the end of one line, still leaning over the crutch, yet without any sign of pain. There was no one with brighter presence in the barn for him. As if feeling his look, Kame tore his eyes off the slowly walking bride as well and their gazes locked for the shortest, warm moment.

“Of course, she is,” Jin confirmed his brother´s statement smiling, considering that this sweet lie could be forgiven to him this time.

The priest seemed to be a bit nervous about the top-secret issue, but he relaxed once he realized that those two standing in front of him would be happy no matter what he said to them. They were more than content just with the fact of being together…

“Congrats, Bro,” Jin grinned at his blushed brother, when his turn came to congratulate the new weds. Next to him, suspiciously quiet Cullen was hugging Jane lengthily. “You´re a damn lucky man.”

Leo returned his firm grip and smiled at him widely. “Well, you are too…”

Both of them looked aside for the moment, to the corner of the barn where Kame was trying to quietly persuade Juri that it was all right to give Jane only some dried flowers.

“I think I understand better now, what he means to you,” Leo continued seriously. “And no matter what I might have said before, I´m glad you have him, Jin. Really.”

“…me too.”

Still a little incredulously, since who would have guessed that his crime companions would seriously become his good friends and even marry at his home, Koki looked around his family members and noticed something unusual. His mother was standing aside from others and her eyes were somewhat glassy.

“Mom?” he approached her with a smile.

She put on her usual stern face, when she turned to him. “What is it, son?”

“Thank you,” Koki stated quietly.

His mother narrowed her eyes. “Oh… Why are you so unusually nice to me?”

“I mean it. You´re amazing,” from the sudden impulse, Koki gently kissed her cheek.

Maria Tanaka was quiet for a while, before she cleared her throat and spoke again: “Does it mean you will stay a bit longer this time?”

“…yes.”

Then they all drank and ate, they sang and danced. Well, with the exception of Kame, since he was forbidden to do the last based on the ban from the bride herself.

After all those difficult times they had to endure, spending that merry day with those whom they liked and considered family and friends, creating such a lovely common memory, was the greatest reward they could ever wish for. Even though it was only harder to say goodbye after that…

***

The first thing they arranged after the wedding was sending the telegram to Colorado. They let Jack and Nick know about the happy news and assured them that they did not need to worry about them.

The newlyweds decided to visit Jane´s family in Wyoming first and if possible to settle down there, at least for a while. They successfully persuaded also Cullen to go along with them. The old man did not even protest much, which made Leo suspicious about his behavior even more than before. Cullen was hiding something from all of them, and he was determined to have a serious private talk about it with him at the first opportunity.

Not surprisingly, despite all the taunts, Ryo was about to stay at Tanaka´s ranch for some time. He claimed that someone had to keep an eye on the biggest moron of their former gang, but everyone knew that he just did not want to separate from his best buddy so soon again. And Koki could feign ignorance, but he certainly felt the same way.

Anyway, Kame with Jin were the first to leave the ranch and not even another snowfall, which was just about to start, could hold them back any longer…

While most of Tanaka family members parted with the two inside the warm house, the former Black Riders came out to say their goodbye, not being discouraged by the light snowfall. They surrounded the couple in front of the barn, where they were preparing to leave.

“Must you really go back already?” Leo was apparently not eager to let his older brother out of his sight.

Jin turned to him from altering Kuro´s saddle: “Yes,” he nodded decisively.

“Both of us have a job,” Kame, patting the soft neck of the apparently impatient black horse, joined him.

“Not to mention there´re some unsolved things to deal with…” Jin noted with a sigh.

“People who don´t even know we´re alive…” Kame mused gloomily.

“And more other things, which would not interest you,” Jin finished with a shrug.

“You complete each other quite nicely, I see,” Leo pointed out amused.

“When will be the wedding?” Jane, clinging to his husband´s side, grinned at them.

“Oh, wait!” Koki, shifting from one foot to another in the futile attempt to warm up, yelped. “And who would dress as a bride in that case?”

“My bet goes to Kame,” Ryo reacted immediately.

Everyone in the small circle around them laughed, while Jin and Kame just exchanged a short, wordless look.

Then Leo squeezed Jin´s hand firmly, parting with him almost threateningly: “We will keep in touch.”

“Damn right,” Jin nodded. “No more gangs, got it?”

“No more gallows, got it?” Leo hit back.

“For once I must praise you for such wise words,” Cullen commented condescendingly.

The former Black Riders laughed again shortly, partially because they really had fun, but more likely just trying to cheer their parting moment up a little. Nevertheless, it did not go by without many hugs and hardly suppressed tears and it took a while, before Kame and Jin finally mounted Kuro.

“Will you really be all right like this?” Ryo wondered incredulously, eying the two of them squeezed in one saddle.

“Don´t worry, we´ll take the train to Columbus and we can handle the rest of the way,” Kame assured him.

“Not to mention they´re used to this position, right?” Koki blurted out bluntly.

Without any warning, Cullen slapped him over the head, while Jane hissed at him: “Pervert!”

Neither Jin nor Kame seemed to be bothered though, as they just smiled at their friends and raised their hands for the final goodbye. Kuro jumped in joy a little, once his master allowed him to move forward.

“Let us know that you arrived to Bozeman safely!” Leo could not help but call after them.

Jin shouted the answer over his shoulder: “And you send us the location of your nest of love!”

Once Jin turned forward again and gently incited Kuro to move faster, he chuckled in a way, which raised Kame´s attention.

“What is it?” he asked, comfortably leaning over his chest.

“Well… It´s true that this position brings some memories, doesn´t it?” Jin explained his amusement.

Realizing what his lover meant right away, Kame started smiling as well. “You took the words out of my mouth…”

Then Jin tilted his head. “Not to mention the associations I have with the train…” he murmured to Kame´s ear huskily.

That was something was made Kame feel kind of hot. “Keep the dirty talk for later, okay?” he requested seriously.

“Why should I?” Jin wondered.

“I´d rather not start striping out here in this cold,” he stated meaningfully.

Jin straightened up behind him: “…I must agree with this argument.”

“I´m glad you do… Let´s go home, Jin.”

“Yeah.”

- To be continued -

[RW] Red West III. OST

witchann2 — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 17:42:25 GMT

Hello and good day to any RW readers!

Just as to the previous two parts, I created my personal OST for RW III as well.
In case you´re interested, you can listen to it while reading the remaining chapters...
I´m sharing it now, since there are no spoilers in the songs´ titles anymore...

Link to download: Red West III. OST
Password: ReunionAK

Let me know what you think about it, if you ever listen to this very specific stuff, which has been helping me with writing all this time.

Kasumi

In case the link above is not working, you can find the OST also here:
MegaLink for RW III. OST
No password needed for this one.

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter thirty two

witchann2 — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 20:24:32 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: One of the longest chapters... Cost me quite some effort... Hope you will like the result. ^^´

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine // Chapter thirty // Chapter thirty one //

Face to face

Jin could see only one positive detail about his current situation – his over talkative fellow prisoner was already gone.

As long as the old drunkard had some alcohol in his veins, he simply did not shut up, so during his accommodation in Billings´ prison, Jin heard out plenty of things he did not ever want to know. Fortunately, to his great relief, Sheriff Brady had released completely sober and unduly apologetic Mister Rogerson the last morning. As a result, the whole building was more or less quiet now, which was fine, but on the other hand, the missing distraction created more space for thinking.

He was sitting on the hard bunk in his cell, leaning over the wall with his eyes closed, brooding.

How in the hell could my simple plan have turned out like this?

After all those lies he spewed left and right just to convince everyone that he deserved a proper noose around his neck, one dressed up woman messed all his efforts up. Jin was not even sure, if he should be upset, amazed or surrendered. After all, what was the probability that John Walker and Augusta Tabor would be staying in this city just when he was about to die? One in a hundred? One in a thousand? Not to mention their incomprehensible willingness to get involved in his already decided destiny. Yet – exactly that happened.

Jin did not understand why they cared so much. Captain Walker knew him a bit at least, but why the Silver Queen herself bothered with him? Was it just a coincidence or maybe... a sign from above? Was some questionable deity telling him that he should not give up on his life yet or was he just making this conclusion up to handle with the sudden change?

A door slammed in another part of the building, breaking the silence. Somewhat vigorous steps and shuffling sounds followed. Jin did not let himself be disturbed, not even when the loud voices sounded from the office and reached the corridor with cells.

“Stop resisting and move it!”

That was definitely Captain Walker and he sounded upset.

“Sweet Jesus… What now, John?”

Sheriff Brady welcomed his arrival not very enthusiastically.

“This dirty, overgrown brat has just tried to rob Mrs. Tabor.”

“Really?” the sheriff wondered, apparently not very surprised. “He´s a cheeky one indeed, then. Shut him away and I´ll write the arrest down in the report… Your name?”

Nothing but silence replied the question.

“Never mind, you´ll have enough time to reconsider,” Brady assumed, rummaging through his cluttered desk for a pencil by the sounds of it.

“The keys?” Walker requested.

“Sure. Here you go.”

“Thanks. Come on... No! This way!”

The steps and shuffling moved from the office and echoed through the cold corridor. Then the keys jingled against the iron bars, which slammed shut soon after.

“Now, this should cool you down,” the captain growled at the new prisoner.

Jin could not care less about whom Walker brought in, unless it was another chatty pain in the ass. He did not open his eyes even though he felt that the captain was looking at him for a while, before he marched away from the cells and back to the sheriff´s office.

“I don´t know about you, but I think it was quite enough of issues for today… Would you like to join me for lunch, Philip?”

“Why not? But only under one condition – you´re going to explain me your involvement with Madame Tabor.”

“That was my intention as well.”

“All right. I´ll tell Hank to watch over meanwhile.”

“Don´t worry, my men remain outside as well.”

“Good. Let´s go then.”

The hard steps of two men crossed the creaky floor and the main door shut behind them, closing the prison in front of the outside world. Blessed silence spread all around Jin again.

What attitude should he take to that new interrogation Justice Conger was planning for him? Should he keep on his pretense? Should he pretend to be crazy or…?

“Hey… Jin.”

A bit hoarse, hushed voice cut off his thoughts. Did Walker arrest someone who knew him? Well, it could be just some nosey parker…

“It´s me…”

Damn… He knew that whispering voice.

“Don´t tell me you went deaf, Bro.”

That addressing made Jin fling his eyes open. Holding breath, he stiffly turned his head to look at the figure standing by the bars in the adjacent cell. The disheveled, slender youngster in ragged, childlike clothes and with face almost black thanks to the layer of ash and mud was staring at him with wide eyes, which were of the same color as his.

No. No way...

Jin felt like someone just punched him right into stomach. Leo simply could not be there.

He had been relieved that Marshals rushed with his transfer and trial so much, because it would leave smaller chance for the gang to catch up and try something foolish to help him. Not to mention that it did not give him any space to reconsider his decision. With Leo around, it was another story… Jin was subconsciously aware that he would not be able to give up on everything so easily, face to face with his younger brother.

“Shit…” the curse slipped from his lips without him even noticing.

Leo gave him a wry grin: “Surprise, Brother.”

Jin was not as surprised as terrified by the sight of his brother behind the bars. Leo let himself be arrested? That was exactly what he was trying to prevent!

He hit his clenched fists over the bunk and leant forward. “Are you fucking crazy?” he hissed hoarsely.

Leo frowned at him: “I want to ask you the same thing.”

“They´ll find out who you actually are!” Jin struggled to keep his voice low. The main office was empty now, but the sheriff´s men were surely not far. “They will hang you!”

His foolish brother scoffed: “Oh, so you can ask for a noose, but I can´t?”

Jin gritted his teeth and stood up swiftly, approaching the metal partition between them. “Damn it, Leo… Why do you think I´m here?”

There was a short pause, before Leo reacted with a grim expression: “Because you´ve lost your mind after what happened in that mine.”

Jin flinched, as if the words hit him. Speechless, he returned his brother´s fiery gaze.

“You´re so selfish, Jin,” Leo accused him bitterly. “I´m your brother. You´re my only real family left. Did you really think I would simply put up with your reckless sacrifice? Did you stop even for a second to consider how I would feel if they hanged you instead of me?”

Feeling strangely cold, Jin stepped back. Unable to bear the accusing eyes of his brother any longer, he sat down on the bunk again and covered his face with one palm.

It was only because Leo was not around that he could afford to put on a brave face and head for the gallows without regrets for leaving this gloomy world. Now, each Leo´s word stabbed his conscience. He knew that his little brother would not forgive him for doing something like this, but hearing it directly was a completely different matter.

“Jin… Listen to me.”

He could not even move how frozen he felt. If his execution worked out, it would definitely stop that inner suffering caused by the loss of his soul mate, and at the same time, he could do at least something good for his brother. That was what he had been thinking when he gave himself up to Marshal Botkin. Nevertheless, thanks to Leo´s pleading voice, this reasoning was somewhat losing its footing.

Would his voluntary death mean betraying his sibling as well? Was there anything else he could do about that awful, never ceasing pain he felt? If he stayed alive, would he be able to bear it?

“She said yes.”

Those emotional words finally made Jin look up. Leo was griping the bars dividing them tightly, his eyes focused only on his older brother.

“Me and Jane, we´re going to get married,” he continued in a voice that was shaking a little. “I intended to tell you after we would arrive to Bozeman, but then everything went to hell with that mine collapse and… We thought that we should not bother you with it until you get better. But now… Now I think that if I told you about it back then, maybe you would have a proper reason to stay with us and not to think up crazy things like this,” his hands suddenly raised in an agitated gesture to emphasize where they were.

Something hard stuffed Jin´s throat. At loss for words, he could just stare at his brother.

“I want you to be my best man, Bro,” Leo stated with a half excited, half anxious smile. “So… How can you even think of letting yourself be killed?”

Jin was still looking at him wordlessly, but something was swirling in his dark eyes, something what gave Leo hope that his effort was not in vain.

Is it enough to persuade him? he wondered. What else could he say to make his so badly hurt brother realize that it was worth to keep living?

Jin hunched over, sighed and shook his head.

Startled Leo pressed himself against the bars as if it could let him get closer.

“Jin, I´m so sorry about what happened to Kame, but you´re not alone,” he blurted out the only other argument, which came up to his mind. “Don´t leave me alone either. Tell them the truth. Please.”

There was a short, tense moment of silence, before his brother slowly stood up again, keeping his eyes lowered to the floor. Only now Leo noticed that Jin lost some weight in the past two weeks, the clothes just hanging on his tall figure.

“Jin… Please…” he repeated desperately.

“I´m sorry, little brother,” Jin reacted in a hoarse voice.

Leo was not sure what exactly he could mean by that apology, but he was not able to figure it out from his expression. Then, Jin gripped the bars right next to Leo´s hands, suddenly gazing directly into his eyes.

“I´m sorry for putting you through this,” his brother continued heavily. “I just couldn´t think straight. I wanted to… help you and… go after him at the same time. I didn´t want to think of anything else.”

Still anxious, Leo forced himself to remain silent and wait until Jin was done with what he needed to say.

“Thanks for reminding me that there´s still something that… I can… You know…” Jin apparently struggled to find proper words.

“I do know,” Leo assured him. “We are all here for you, Jin. Cullen and Ryo came to Billings with me. Koki and Jane are waiting in Bozeman,” he continued encouragingly. “Everyone is damn worried about you. There´s also Nick and Jack down in Colorado, you´re the only one who can properly ride Kuro and…”

“You don´t have to continue,” Jin interrupted him quietly, shaking his head again. “You´re right. I did some pretty stupid thing this time, right?”

“You did, but it´s not too late to remedy it,” Leo stated convincingly. “When they will interrogate you again, tell them the truth. They´ve got no evidence against you, they must let you go.”

Jin sighed: “Well, I guess I must do my best not to screw up even more…”

If someone asked, Leo would not be able to describe how relieved he felt that Jin did not protest anymore.

“I will keep my fingers crossed for you,” he grinned at him.

Then Jin frowned: “But… What about you? Why did you get involved with Walker?”

He shrugged: “That robbery was a lie, just a justification for Sheriff. I have a deal with the captain, he promised to arrange my release by morning.”

His older brother gaped at him: “Walker cooperates with you?”

“Well, it seems he takes it as repaying a certain debt.”

Hearing that, Jin seemed to realize the main point. “So, it´s true? That you saved him and Augusta Tabor in Wyoming?”

“Yes.”

“Strangest coincidence,” Jin mused.

“That it was… And right now, I´m eternally grateful for it,” Leo replied. “Actually, Walker said that if anyone can persuade you to stop this act and tell the truth, it would be me… I´m really glad he was right.”

Jin hummed something, eyeing him sharply. “You shouldn´t have risked like this for me anyway.”

Leo raised his eyebrows: “While you can? Come on, we´ve been through this already.”

And his older brother finally gave up: “Okay, fair enough.”

“All right, so tomorrow…”

The sound of hard boots in the office interrupted his words. One of their guards probably decided it would be a good idea to check on them.

Jin quickly returned on his bunk pretending not caring for the world around, while Leo practically copied him. After giving them one sharp look, the guard remained sitting in the office, so they could not talk much from then on. Nevertheless, Leo did not mind. Looking at his brother was enough for him to know that things would finally start to get better.

***

The Headquarters Hotel was not exactly the most comfortable choice for accommodation in Billings, since the building also served its purpose as the main train depot. However, it was definitely the least conspicuous place in case one wanted to blend with the crowd.

Each train arrival meant the flood of travelers, either tired immigrant families or sophisticated explorers or locals returning home. The vast space under the roof supported by four huge white pillars used to be crowded for most of the day.

Cameron was sitting in one of many, surprisingly comfortable chairs in the bar corner on the south side of the main hall. He chose this busy place on purpose. After useless waiting on the main square, he needed to occupy his mind to restrain himself from any rash action.

He was carefully watching the afternoon hustle around, sipping on rather cheap whiskey. Its taste was better than he had been expecting and the service was passable, so he did not mind lowering his standard for once.

An unexpected movement alerted him, even though the person behind his back was very quiet in their action. Cameron´s fingers gripped the skinny wrist of a small boy just when his hand stealthily slipped inside the pocket of his warm coat draped over the next chair. He did not even change his position much; he just turned to the side.

The little thief could not be more than nine years old. He was wearing patched up clothes and there were dark circles under his wide eyes. His expression was startled, yet not frightened. Quite probably, it was not the first time someone caught him stealing.

The boy jerked violently in an attempt to escape, but Cameron only strengthened the pressure on his wrist, making him hiss in pain.

That kid reminded him of something. Countless years in the past, in a different city, but a very similar situation reversed his life forever. How much things changed since then, how far he had come…

Cameron reached out with his other hand as well and spread it under the boy´s shaking fist.

“Let it go,” he ordered coldly.

The little thief frowned at him, returning his stare, before he reluctantly obeyed. The golden vest-pocket watch slipped down into Cameron´s palm. Only then, he released the grip on the boy´s wrist.

“Get lost, brat, before I change my mind,” he dismissed him a detached tone.

The boy almost growled at him in response. In an instant, he was gone.

Thoughtfully, Cameron hid the watch back into his pocket. He had not much time to ponder his decision not to alert the security, since finally, the figure he had been expecting appeared in the crowd.

Danny McFly stopped by his table all fired up and with his breath shortened. Apparently, he rushed to get back to him with the news as soon as possible.

“Sir…!”

“Sit down and catch your breath first, Danny,” Cameron pointed at the empty seat and raised his empty glass in the direction of the bar along with two fingers.

His assistant obeyed, took off his winter coat and settled opposite to him.

“I´m sorry it took so long, sir,” Danny blurted out an apology first. “Hardly anyone was willing to talk about it.”

“That´s all right,” Cameron waved his excuse off calmly. After the confrontation with the small thief, he felt strangely disinterested. “So, tell me… What did you find out?”

“They cancelled Akanishi´s execution altogether, sir.”

“I see… For what reason?”

“It seems that certain Augusta Tabor guaranteed for his innocence and persuaded Justice Conger about it.”

Cameron could not help but raise his eyebrows in surprise: “Silver King´s wife spoke up for him?”

“That´s what they say, sir,” Danny nodded. “I´m not sure when, but Akanishi will be interrogated again. Only then they will decide what to do with him.”

That was quite curious indeed. Cameron remained in silence until another round of whiskey appeared on the table.

“Sir?” Danny was looking questioningly at the glass in front of him.

“Yes, that one is for you,” he confirmed slowly, still lost in thoughts.

“Thanks… What shall we do now, sir?” Danny asked tensely.

Cameron paused, eyeing the rushing travelers again. It was almost starting to look like they came all the way here for nothing.

“Not much,” he stated finally. “We shall wait and see…”

***

The Magic City had a lot to do to catch up with Denver in terms of size, but the view from a certain discreet hotel in the western part of Billings was still quite impressive. Dozens of small yellow lights were lightening up the winter evening, some of them flickering in the cold wind and the neat wide streets were busy despite the late hour.

Still looking outside the window thoughtfully, Augusta clipped the expensive earrings back on her earlobes. She usually did not flaunt her wealth like that, but her attire served its purpose well that day.

A pleasantly familiar hand hugged her waist from behind and pressed her close to the strong body. With a sigh, Augusta sank into the warm embrace of her lover.

Despite that they just finished dressing up; she realized that she would have no objections against taking their clothes off again. She chuckled softly, mocking herself in her mind. Who would have thought that she would catch a second sap in her age?

“What do you find so funny?” John´s breath tickled her cheek.

She glanced at his face: “Myself,” she replied with a smile.

“I find that hard to believe…”

“Don´t ponder it much, really,” still in his arms, Augusta turned and placed both hands on his shoulders, getting more serious. “John? Why did you really do it? Why did you help Akanishi? And don´t try to brush me off with that ´right thing´ excuse.”

He stiffened a little and remained silent for a while, his fingers tracking the side of her neck. “I didn't like the idea of owing something to a bunch of criminals…” he stated then finally. “There was a debt I had to pay for what they did in Wyoming.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that you actually getting to like them?”

“Don´t ponder this too much,” he reacted with a mocking smile.

“You´re a man of principle,” she insisted. “It takes a lot to change your mind.”

“That´s exactly why I wanted to sign that debt off,” he replied right away.

Augusta eyed him closely, not saying anything more.

John chuckled a bit bitterly, shaking his head: “Well, I guess I´m in for some tough times, if I need to hide things from you…”

“That you are,” Augusta confirmed with the most beautiful smile playing on her lips.

***

Once again, Kame felt terribly confused when he opened his eyes and he did not like it one bit. He was lying on someone else's bed in a warm room, which he had never seen before.

What was that place and why he felt so tired when he just woke up?

He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around cautiously.

“Oh, finally!” a child´s voice startled Kame a little, since in the first moment, he did not see the boy sitting in the corner of the room. The last thing he had been expecting was some kid guarding him. It took him a few moments to realize that he knew that boy.

Before Kame could ask him anything, the little guardian jumped up on his feet and ran out of the room.

“Handsome is awake!” he called loudly dashing through the corridor.

Kame sat up slowly, already remembering the boy´s name – it was Juri, Koki´s brother. What was he doing here from all people? His memory was too foggy to figure it out.

“Kame…” the addressing filled with relief made him focus on the door again. It was Jane, who entered the room with genuine joy all over her face. She sat down next to him on the bed and reached out for one of his hands to find his pulse. “How do you feel?”

Kame took his time to answer the question honestly: “Tired, a bit dizzy, but more or less all right. What happened?”

“What is the last thing you remember?” Jane asked back carefully.

He frowned, searching his memory. “Well, we were crossing that bridge near the railroad… And then… I´m not so sure…” he admitted unwillingly.

“Then you fainted from exhaustion,” Jane finished for him, in a surprisingly reproachful tone. “You had got a high fever, Kame. Why didn´t you say something? If you were not on Kuro´s back, you would have certainly fallen down to the ground. It might have ended up pretty awfully.”

Now, Kame really felt like an idiot. He had been so focused on their goal, that he kept ignoring his physical state until his body gave out.

He gulped down heavily. “I… I´m sorry. But we were so close…”

“I know. You wanted to get to Billings as quickly as possible. But you must start caring for yourself as well. If not for Liwan and his miraculous herbs…” Jane shook her head, not willing to finish the sentence. “So, we needed to find some safe, warm place for you and Koki suggested to bring you here. It was closer than continue to the city.”

“Then… This is Tanaka family household?”

“That´s right, young man,” another voice joined their conversation.

Kame remembered that small, kind woman well. She made quite an impression on them all back then, when they stopped by on the way back to Bozeman.

“Mrs. Tanaka…” he pulled the blanket off, intending to get up.

“Forget it,” both Jane and the lady of the house pushed Kame back to the pillows.

He eyed both women surprised.

“No need for such politeness,” Mrs. Tanaka emphasized. “We´re not in Washington, Kamenashi.”

“And you need to take care of your leg properly,” Jane added seriously.

Kame nodded slowly. “Thank you so much for your hospitality, Madame,” he spoke gratefully. “I´m sorry for being such a bother to you.”

However, Koki´s mother waved his apologies off sharply. “Do not even mention it. I expected much bigger troubles seeing my idiot of a son coming back home so soon this time. I hope you feel up to some food? You need to get your strength back.”

“I´d love to, thanks.”

“Good, I´ll send Juri here,” Mrs. Tanaka reacted and was on her way back to the kitchen right away.

Kame focused on Jane again: “Where are the others?” he asked anxiously.

“Koki set off to the city to check on the situation,” she informed him and then lowered her voice. “Though Liwan keeps himself off these grounds. The lady of this house does not favor Indians as I understood.”

“Yeah, I remember… Do we know anything already?” he continued asking tensely.

“Well…” Jane hesitated and fell silent.

“Jane. Tell me,” Kame insisted, gripping his hands to fists.

She sighed a little, before speaking again. “Koki´s brothers said that… There was supposed to be an execution in the city yesterday.”

“Supposed to?” he repeated hoarsely.

“It was cancelled or something. They didn´t know anything specific.”

Knowing something like this was almost worse than nothing at all.

“Then we must find out!” he stated decisively.

“Sure we will,” she assured him. “You must rest now. We will wait until Koki returns.”

Kame took a breath: “But…”

“I´m not going to argue about this with you, Kame,” Jane did not give him any space for arguments. “Focus on yourself for now, will you?”

Kame fell silent, lowering his head. Only then he noticed that his fists were shaking. Jane reached out and squeezed them in hers.

“Or at least try to… Okay?”

***

Marshal Botkin had a strong feeling that quite a hellish headache was about to seize his head at any moment. He placed both hands on the scattered pile of papers, in order to prevent himself to do something entirely different with them. For example, he would love to grab the bulky inkwell and throw it on the still chained young man standing in front of his table. One of those papers was an official document from the Supreme Court related to that man and Botkin had a hard time to believe he really received it – it was an acquittal signed by Conger himself.

Jin Akanishi was returning his inquiring gaze unwavering, not a sign of hesitation on his face covered with a dark stubble.

“So…” Botkin drawled. “You´re telling me that you were lying all this time?”

“Yes, sir,” Akanishi confirmed.

“You are not the leader of Black Riders?”

“No.”

“And you have nothing to do with the gang?”

“No.”

Marshal took a deep breath.

This was a fucking mockery to their institution. How could that bastard be so calm? How could he dare? And now he was in this unenviable position. It was Conger´s decision to let Akanishi go, but the Marshals´ office had arrested him, so he was supposed to release him as well. But even if he disagreed, he could do literally nothing about it.

He stared at the official paper again.

“Why?” he hissed then. “Why did you do it?”

“Well… I was quite drunk, you know?” there came quite a sheepish reply.

Botkin glared at that stupid bastard. “As far as I remember, that was only back in Bozeman. Why did you insist on that story of yours even after that?”

“I… was not exactly clear in my head…”

“Apparently!” he snapped, which made his secretary flinch in surprise. Well, he hardly ever let his emotions to be seen like this.

Akanishi fidgeted with his chained hands awkwardly. “Ahem… I apologize, Marshal.”

“You can stick your apologies into your empty head to have at least something in it!” he growled disgusted. “You told the judge the same fairy tale?”

The careless shrug made the chains clink sharply. “More or less…”

For Christ´s sake, was Conger drunk or what? Botkin wondered.

No, more probable was that the judge was still under influence of that cunning woman. Damn it. Better to live in a prairie with bloodthirsty Indians than with a clever wife. Screw it all. He had not been working so hard all his life and got to his position to waste his precious time with idiots.

Botkin signed the fucking incredible papers in one harsh movement.

“Walker,” he addressed the so far very quiet captain standing by the door. “Be so damn kind and take this nitwit to the outskirts of our city at least. I don´t want to see a single hair of him in Billings.”

“Gladly, Marshal,” Captain Walker nodded, already pulling out the key for Akanishi´s chains.

“Perfect. Now, get the fuck out,” Botkin ordered them sharply.

Walker finished the short work with the chains and headed for the door, though Akanishi turned to him for one last time, with a strange smile: “It was nice to meet you, Marshal.”

Botkin snapped: “Out!!”

He waited until the door finally closed behind them. Only then he wheeled out from behind his packed working table.

His secretary cleared his throat cautiously: “Sir, there´re five new reports with…”

“Not now, not tomorrow,” Botkin interrupted him.

“Sir?” the poor man blinked confused.

“I´m taking my leave,” he growled decisively. “Like right now. It has been long due anyway.”

That yard sucked as a spying position. Ryo did not have a good view of what was happening in front of the building from there at all. Looking around, he rushed across the street and then crouched behind the water barrel.

The main door of the Marshals´ Office suddenly opened and let two figures out. One of them was Jin and to his enormous relief, his hands were free.

Ryo grinned, his previous nervousness gone in that very moment. It seemed that everything miraculously worked out. Leo was already released as well, based on the fact that Madame Tabor did not press the charges and he was waiting along with Cullen in the hideout near Coulson. Only he was too impatient to stay still and went scouting to the city.

Both men mounted the horses and turned to leave. Captain Walker seemed to keep accompanying Jin a bit further and they were quickly approaching his hiding spot.

Hastily, Ryo went backwards, keeping an eye on them. He just wanted to turn the corner, when he butted into someone else. Startled, he almost jumped out of his skin, just as the other one…

“You?” two loud exclamations echoed all around, before they both hastily moved out of the street, almost tripping over the other´s legs.

Already covered by the crumbling picket fence, Ryo yanked the grinning man by his shoulders, surprised and excited.

“Jesus, Koki…!” he eyed his friend. “Where in the hell did you come from?”

His dear buddy just grinned. “Where are you manners, welcoming me like this?”

“Damn…” Ryo chuckled and let him go. “It´s good to see you on your feet, man.”

“Thanks…” Koki whispered, as the captain with the apparently released prisoner just passed by their hideout.

“You already all right?” Ryo asked then. “Where did you leave Jane? What are you doing here?”

Koki raised his hands: “Too many questions, buddy. Jane came here as well and I came to see if…”

“But why? We agreed that…”

The other Rider clicked his tongue: “Will you let me speak or not?”

“Sorry…”

“Fine. The doc in Bozeman had just released me, when we came across someone on the street. And you can´t guess, who it was…”

“Why did you risk that much, Captain?” Jin asked quietly, when they stopped their horses for a while to let a convoy of new settlers to pass the bridge.

John Walker gave him a sideway look. “I´d rather skip any conversation regarding this topic.”

He eyed the uniformed man next him curiously: “Why?”

“Since the more we talk about it, the bigger chance for me to reconsider my decision,” Walker replied sternly.

Jin gulped down and decided it was better to back off and rather spend the rest of their common way in silence.

It did not take long before they reached the huge yard behind the apparently abandoned church. In the shadow of the impressive, but crumbling building, two men were waiting, with their guns and horses on hand. They relaxed only once Jin with the captain got close enough for them to be sure that they were alone.

Jin encouraged the obedient army horse to move forward and then jumped down hastily; glad to see his younger brother outside the prison cells and without any layer of dirt on his face.

“Welcome back, Bro,” Leo grinned at him.

Without a word, since something hard stuck his throat, Jin reached out to squeeze his younger brother´s arm.

“It´s good to see you under the open sky,” Leo murmured in a quitter voice, obviously happy as well and repaid his grip.

“Don´t know if I should be pleased or terrified to see you again, idiot,” Cullen growled in his familiar grumpy mood, breaking their moment.

Jin could not help but gave him an amused look. He realized that he was missing the old man´s remarks. Damn… No matter the reasons which pushed him to such desperate measures, it was kind of good to be still alive.

“With this, we are settled.”

All three Riders turned to the captain, who remained sitting in the saddle.

Leo gave him an honest smile: “I agree. I will never forget what you did for us, Captain. Thanks.”

An unusual smirk appeared on Walker´s face. “Good. It might persuade you to resent the bad side of the law for good.”

The young leader of Black Riders even widened his smile. “It might.”

“Anyway, if not, don´t count on my help next time.”

“Don´t worry, we won´t,” Cullen grumbled.

Captain Walker reached for the reins of the horse, on which Jin arrived. Realizing the man was about to leave, Jin approached closer, before Walker could make both animals to move again.

“Thank you, Captain,” he spoke seriously. “Really. Thanks to you, I´m still here.”

He reached out his hand up to the man above him. After a short moment, John Walker leant down to accept it.

“Well, no matter how foolish this all was, Akanishi, I still think it would be a shame, if you were hanged for nothing,” he stated calmly.

Jin nodded gratefully and stepped back: “Send my regards to Madame Tabor as well, please.”

Only in that moment, the captain´s expression finally softened somehow. “I will.”

And with that, the man rode off. Jin kept looking after him thoughtfully, while Cullen dusted the invisible dirt off his hat and approached his young leader.

“So? Satisfied?” he muttered inquiringly. “Can we go now?”

Leo turned to him: “Well, we must wait for Ryo…”

“Don ´t worry, he´s rushing here from the other side,” Cullen pointed out. “And he´s not alone.”

After the merry welcome and some explanation, the five Riders were getting ready to leave in the direction of Tanaka´s farm. Yet, one important matter remained unsolved…

“Well, this sounds quite incredible,” Leo murmured, careful about keeping his voice quiet.

“Right?” Ryo joined him, apparently still excited about the news. “I even tend to start believing in God.”

“I would not lie about something like this,” Koki pointed out meaningfully.

“I know and I believe you,” Leo assured him. “Anyway, let´s go…”

“But, Chief…” Koki stopped him by grabbing his elbow. “Shouldn´t we tell Jin?”

“No,” Leo glanced at his brother´s back, as he prepared his horse for their shared ride. “I saw him in that prison, guys. He would not believe us. He must see him with his own eyes…”

***

As could be expected from the chilly temperatures and cloudy sky, the small group of Riders barely passed the outside border of Billings, when it started to snow. The thousands of thick snowflakes were falling down one after another, soon about to create a blanket, which would put the pale ground to sleep.

When they managed to reach the lands, which already belonged to Koki´s family, not only the landscape, but also their horses and the men themselves were covered by the white layer. It seemed that the winter finally came to take over Montana.

Silent Jin, seated behind his brother the whole way, gasped in surprise, when they got close enough to the long fence, which marked the space for horses.

“No way… That´s Kuro! Why didn´t you tell me you took him with you?” he turned to Koki riding behind them.

The former miner just shrugged. “That beast simply insisted on going with us.”

“That sounds like him,” Jin admitted, his gloomy expression brightening up a little. “Let me get down, Leo.”

His younger brother stopped the horse to let him slip down. Then he watched Jin as he quickly headed to the fence.

“Leo…?” Ryo spoke up quietly.

His leader seemed too thoughtful to hear him for a while, and then he just gestured for them to continue to the ranch itself without any other word.

With his boots creating the shallow tracks in the snow, Jin approached the wooden fence, behind which the noble black stallion was stomping around impatiently, huge clouds of condensed breath all around him. After quite a long time, Jin felt something similar to joy, seeing his dear horse there so unexpectedly.

“Hey…” he reached his open palm over the fence. “I´m happy to see you, buddy.”

Kuro, covered in snow just as him, looked in his direction and neighed. It almost sounded outraged.

Jin sighed. “I know… And I´m sorry.”

Only then, Kuro approached close enough for his master to reach him and stroke his long neck.

“I´m so sorry…” Jin repeated whispering, attaching his forehead to the stallion, closing his eyes to keep the treacherous tears behind his eyelids. “So damn sorry…”

And Kuro stood still, providing his master the best support he could, just by being there for him.

Hearing so many familiar voices, Kame just could not stay idle in that comfortable bed any longer.

Straining his whole body, he pushed himself up and then stood on his trembling feet. Fortunately, he had already persuaded Jane to help him dress up a few hours ago, so he just grabbed the crutch Liwan had made for him and ignoring the stabbing pain in his right leg, he limped out of the room and then into the corridor.

It seemed that everyone gathered in the spacious kitchen of the ranch. As he moved, Kame could hear more and more voices from there.

“It´s really kind of you to let us stay for a while, Mrs. Tanaka.”

“Well… If I had any idea that it would end up with the whole Black Riders´ gang in my house…”

“Mom!”

“…I´d have prepared more food.”

The relieved laughter resonated in the room.

With his throat tightened, Kame finally reached the kitchen and leant over the doorframe.

“Kame-chan!” Koki was the first to spot him. “You´re already up on your feet!” the Rider, hugging his mother around shoulders, literally beamed.

All eyes focused on him in that moment.

“Apparently,” Jane commented in a much less cheerful way. “Even though he knows he should not be.”

“Kame…” Leo turned away from their generous hostess, walked over to him and squeezed his shoulder. “Let me tell you that you´re incredible.”

“Damn right,” Ryo, sitting on a chair at the table, chimed in.

“Language, please,” Mrs. Tanaka complained, making the Rider bow his head apologetically, while her son Juri just grinned from behind his mother´s skirt.

“Yeah, I must say as well – a good trick with that mine,” the oldest man in the room, standing by the window, hummed.

“Cullen!” Jane turned to him upset. “Can't you tame yourself for once?”

The old Rider shrugged: “I don´t see a reason, why I should.”

Kame did not care about any of their remarks though. He was glad to see his friends, but the only face he was searching for was not among them. All the Riders seemed quite cheerful, so… the worst could not happen. But he had to be sure; he had to ask, even if he was afraid to.

“Where´s Jin?” he finally raised that question tensely.

Jane smiled: “Outside, with Kuro,” she informed him.

Outside… So, Jin was out there? That almost sounded too good to be true.

“But, Kame-chan…” Koki spoke suddenly. “We… we didn´t tell him about you yet.”

He looked at him confused: “Why?”

The grip on his shoulder tightened. “I thought that it would be better if he sees you,” Leo reacted slowly. “He was in a bad place, Kame. We almost lost him.”

He returned Jin´s brother serious gaze for a while, before he wordlessly turned to leave.

“Kame, you shouldn’t walk…” Jane took a breath for objections.

“Let him go, my dear,” Leo shook his head. “We should leave the two of them some space.”

The dim sun was setting behind the northern hills, peeking on the peaceful ranch through the widening rift in the thick clouds. The playfully dancing snowflakes looked like fireflies in that golden light, illuminating the surrounding lands and fields, resting under the pure white cover.

It was freezing, but Jin did not mind. He clung to Kuro, still feeling guilty for leaving his faithful animal friend behind, just as his brother and the rest of Riders. He had been only thinking of himself and of his pain. It was just as Leo had said – he was damn selfish.

Suddenly, Kuro snorted softly, as he used to do when someone approached too close inconspicuously. Jin straightened his head up and only then he could hear the slow steps of someone behind him.

Well, he had remained outside for quite long. Someone probably came out to check on him, to make sure he was not about to do something even more insane than he had already done. Jin slowly caressed Kuro again, to assure him he was fine with it.

“Jin…”

The sound of that emotionally cracked voice stabbed his heart. It did not belong to Leo, or to any other Rider. Jin stiffened, suddenly feeling like a lifeless rock, unable to breathe or move.

More of that slow, heavy shifting of feet in the fresh snow followed and then the hoarse voice spoke again, more urgently now.

“Jin.”

Damn it… So, he did lose his mind in the end. He was actually hearing Kazuya now, but it was surely only a hallucination of his overloaded brain. And if he turned around, there would be no one at all...

Kuro snorted again and pushed him with his big head. Still shaken up, Jin took a step backwards.

He could literally feel it now – someone was standing right behind him for real. And that presence was so pleasantly familiar…

A chill ran down Jin´s spine and a single tear copied the outline of his cold cheek.

“Am I really going crazy now?” he whispered the question, which was not aimed at anyone, yet he received a reply.

“No.”

Still bound by fear that he was just imagining things, Jin turned his head. And there he was, standing within reach of hand. He was looking at him with shiny eyes, the corners of his lips slightly curved in pain, as he was leaning heavily on some crutch. He was unnaturally pale and his facial features wrinkled more than he remembered, but it was his Kazuya.

Jin struggled to remember how to breathe. Was this real or was it a dream?

Kazuya´s expression melted into a soft, shaky smile. He made one more strenuous step forward, reached out his hand and placed it on Jin´s chest.

“I´m real,” he spoke in a shivering voice.

Jin stared at that beloved face in silent shock and with incredulous joy. Hesitantly, he made his hand move as well and let his fingers touch the warm skin of his lover, about whom he believed he lost him forever. Yet, Kazuya in front of him was definitely alive.

A short, creaky laugh escaped his throat, accompanied by more tears uncontrollably falling down from his eyes.

“Kazu…” Jin could not recognize own voice. “You… How…”

Kame covered Jin´s hand with his. “Hi…” he breathed out shakily.

Hell, who cared if this was a dream?

The wooden crutch landed softly in the snow, as Jin eagerly pulled his lover into his arms and squeezed him tight, hiding his face on the slender shoulder. On the verge of self-control, he managed to hold the heavy sobs inside his chest, but he could do it only until his embrace was returned with the same desperation.

“It´s okay,” Kazuya whispered in his ear. “I´m here, my love…”

After those words, Jin could do nothing but sob like a little child.

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter thirty one

witchann2 — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 20:10:18 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Once I got to it, I just could not stop writing... Hoping you´ll enjoy this. ^^v

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine // Chapter thirty //

Intervention

It was a cold, windy morning.

The chilly air carried the strong whiff of upcoming winter season, which seemed to be taking its time that year. Yet, the unpleasant weather did not prevent the first curious onlookers to come wandering around the main square in the center of Billings or to gather in humming clusters in front of the saloons. Public executions were nothing extraordinary in the daily city life, but it did not happen every day that Justice Conger sent some criminal with a famous name to the gallows, which naturally attracted public attention.

A tall man in the middle of the square slowly walked around the impressive, wooden construction, apparently satisfied with the result of his overnight work. It was not as stable as permanent gallows would be, but no one ever complained, the least of all those who used it the most. Not that they would have any chance for objections…

At the same time when the hangman climbed up the deadly device to perform its final test, three inconspicuous figures gathered in the narrow street adjacent to the square. Two men – the older one with a strict, wind-swept face covered with a worn hat, the younger in clothes typical for any farmer – helped a hunchbacked old woman to sit on the edge of raised porch of the so far closed carpenter shop. One man leant over the railing next to the woman, while the other remained standing, looking around bored.

“The Court building is just behind that corner,” Ryo spoke in a muffled voice, waving subtly toward the closer end of the street. “In case they use the shortest route to get there from jail, they´ll definitely take him this way.”

Cullen shortly nodded, while still checking their surroundings carefully. “It´s not bad, but only in case that passage on the opposite side is usable as an escape route.”

“It is,” the younger Rider assured him. “There´s an alley leading to the river.”

His companion grimaced: “Perfect. Let´s drown on the run in that bloody cold water.”

Ryo rolled his eyes: “Don´t worry, rusty wolf. There´s a bridge we can use, of course.”

Cullen stared at him: “Will be probably guarded then.”

“Then find another spot suitable for our ambush,” the younger one hissed already annoyed.

“I think this will do,” a quiet, surprisingly young voice sounded from under the shawl protecting the woman´s face from cold.

Ryo grinned: “Thanks for support, chief,” he whispered victoriously.

This time, Cullen kept silent.

“Let´s check the surroundings,” Leo spoke again rather quietly, still feeling uncertain even in his disguise.

“Sure. Let me help you, Grandma,” Ryo, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement, grabbed his elbow.

“Jester,” Leo commented chuckling, but pretending weakness, he accepted the offered help.

“Anyway, we need to make this insanity work real quick,” Cullen assumed flatly, as they started walking toward the crossroads slowly. “Must not hesitate or we´re doomed along with that stupid ass.”

“Calm down, Cullen, you´re making me nervous,” Leo reproached him. “We can do this.”

“Yeah, we went through the whole plan like ten times,” Ryo reminded caustically.

“I suspect I´ll manage to stay calm only in my grave,” the worried Rider murmured.

The younger one hissed at him: “Come on, this kind of talk now?”

“I´m too old to change my ways, kid.”

“Be so kind and don´t kid me-”

“Hey, guys,” Leo cut off their hushed arguing. “Don´t you think it´s kind of crowded around here?”

Ryo made way for the bunch of kids who were chasing each other shouting, and then his eyes focused on the spacious square.

“Well… A bit?” he commented the scattered Billings´ citizens in front of them.

The gloomy alteration, which they noticed only seconds later, made all three of them stood on the spot.

“And that ugly thing was not here two days ago,” Ryo stared at the new portable gallows and shivered. “Damn, it´s creepy.”

Leo raised his head and looked around with a bad hunch. His eyes widened at the sight of announcement posted on the nearest wall.

“No…” he whispered horrified.

“What´s up?” Ryo turned to him, as well as Cullen.

When Leo raised his hand, it was shaking as he pointed at the announcement. “We´re late…”

Confused, Ryo eyed on the Supreme Court notice about the execution and gasped: “No way! They already sentenced Jin to death?”

“For all saints, can´t you hush yourself a bit?” Cullen scolded him harshly.

Ryo was so shocked that he forgot to get offended. “But… the trial…” he stuttered. “It should be today…”

“They probably concealed the real date on purpose, not to create much commotion,” the older Rider assumed, frowning darkly.

“We must get him out of the prison then!” Leo blurted out in a forcefully hushed voice, forgetting about his role.

Cullen grabbed his elbow and pulled him back to the narrow alley, with dumbfounded Ryo following them. The Rider checked if no one was paying them attention first and then he fully focused on his young leader.

“Listen to me, Leo. That office is like a fortress; they didn´t leave anything to chance. Moreover, they´ll be especially wary today. We might be forced to kill all the guards just to get inside!”

Still unable to control himself, Leo shook his hands off. “During the execution, there will be even more people around! We must do it, while he´s still in there!”

For a long while, Cullen stared at him wordlessly. When it came to his older sibling, their leader was apparently losing all his usual reason. “That would be suicide,” he pointed out stiffly then.

“The moment of surprise will give us an advantage,” Leo insisted stubbornly.

Ryo also took a breath for objections: “Chief, Cullen´s right, we can´t just…”

“Exactly, we can´t! We can´t just let them hang him!” Leo urged desperately. “We will figure something out! We must try at least! Please, guys!”

Cullen and Ryo exchanged a resigned look.

“I won´t let my brother die like this! Not for the things I did!” Leo continued unhappily. “I wouldn´t be able to live with it.”

Sighing, Cullen leant over the wall and Ryo just stood there shaking his head. None of them knew what to say.

“Please… Help me out, even if it would be for the last time.”

***

His clenched fist hit the dark ground on the riverbank, sending the shake from the hard impact up to his shoulder. Yet, Kame was not relieved one bit.

“We can´t just linger here for no reason!” he insisted fiercely. “Help me up to the saddle!”

His blood brother reached out to him, but his hands were not ready to grab him – they were holding a steaming mug instead. “Here. Drink this.”

Kame glared at him: “I´m telling you, I´m fine, Liwan.”

The Indian did not even blink, not moved by his arguments. “Your leg not fine.”

“What?” he snapped. “How can you…?”

“We all can tell,” surprisingly, Koki was the one who interrupted him. “You overdid it, Kame-chan. You need proper rest.”

Jane, sitting by the fire right next to the other Rider, turned to him as well: “Until you´re able to get up on your own, there´s no chance we can continue.”

Kame kept fuming for a while longer, before he finally gave up. They were right. His leg was red and swollen and it hurt like hell, he could not even sleep properly. They were already so close to Billings, yet still half a day of travel away at least, and he was not able to scramble up to the saddle. He had tried like four times.

“Damn it…” he breathed out heavily.

“No cursing. Drinking,” Liwan scolded him, pushing the mug with herbal tea under his nose.

Tired and grateful for having such friends around, Kame accepted the hot liquid with a quiet thanks.

“We can make it,” Koki noted suddenly. “We just have to believe it.”

Sipping the bitter tea, Kame did not react. He would love to have such a faith, but even though he tried hard, he could not overcome that dark fear filling up his guts so easily.

***

“Akanishi. It´s time.”

Jin allowed himself a few more seconds in dark privacy, before he opened his eyes slowly and sat up. ´Finally´ was the only word coming up in his mind, as he saw the group of armed men in front of his cell.

“Stand up and turn to the window,” Sheriff Brady instructed him strictly.

He obeyed without a word. As they unlocked, surrounded him and chained his hands, he kept watching the faint rectangles of light behind the bars outside. It seemed to be a gloomy, cold day, no better or worse for dying like any other. Just like the day when he lost Kazuya and a gaping hole opened in his broken heart.

Jin almost smiled. Soon, just a few more lonely minutes to bear, and he might be able to see him again…

The expression on the young man´s face made Brady stare at him even more confused than he already was.

When he came to check up on Akanishi in the morning, the convicted man was sleeping like a baby. A strange thought occurred to the sheriff seeing the prisoner like that – only someone with clear conscience would be able to sleep this calmly right before his execution. Either Jin Akanishi felt no guilt for all those crimes he confessed to or he was lying through his teeth all this time.
Not to mention that peaceful, almost smiling expression on his face when they led him out of his cell in chains. It was almost as if Akanishi was looking forward to his last walk under the open sky.

The question was almost literally burning on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he just swallowed it down. It was not his place to question Conger´s judgment.

“Let´s go,” he ordered flatly, once his men secured the prisoner, eager to settle the matter as soon as possible.

John Walker was standing on the veranda of Sheriff´s Office frowning, the cold wind ruffling his long coat, as he watched the street. He hated how things ended up for Jin Akanishi. It was a shining example of injustice towards the young gunslinger, from both the destiny and other people. The strong urge to do something about it was haunting the captain ever since their encounter in jail.

Two days ago, he contacted the Marshals´ Office, but its local leader Botkin brushed off his arguments. He had also tried to speak with Associate Justice Conger before the trial, but his cocky secretary did not even allow him to see the man without the pre-arranged meeting.

Inside the cold courthouse, when John listened to that harsh sentence without justification, he actually realized what Augusta had meant by being unable to be glad about Akanishi´s arrest…

Then, he got that idea. There might have been a way to stop the unfair execution. It was a faint hope, but worth trying. Yet, it was not up to him anymore, he could do nothing more than to send that letter and wait if its delivery would fulfill his expectations.

The sharp sound of a whip and of a rapidly approaching carriage alerted his subordinates walking alongside the building. All tense, he looked in that direction as well. It took a few seconds until he was able to recognize the person driving the roofless coach.

John could not help but smile. So, she really came.

A neatly dressed wagoner stopped the horses right in front of the strictly guarded building. Naturally, it did not please the soldiers present on duty.

“Hey! You can´t stand here now, Mister!” the tallest one of all the blue uniforms shouted out commandingly. “Take it somewhere else!”

The wagoner eyed the group of upset guards; he calmly secured the reins and turned to the female passenger sitting in the coach.

“We seem to be in the right place, Mother.”

“Indeed,” the woman with quite a complicated hairstyle nodded. “Thank you, Nathaniel.”

“Move it right away!” once again, the soldier yelled, raising the rifle. “By name of the US…” a firm hand on his shoulder buried the rest of words in the man´s throat.

“That´s all right, Lieutenant,” Captain Walker stated. “I expected this visit.”

“Sir…?” his subordinate looked at him confused, but forgot about any other protests once he saw his superior nodding firmly.

John left the dumbfounded soldiers behind and approached the carriage to open the small door for the elegant lady in rich, blue dress with black laces. She accepted his hand and got out, accompanied by apparently admiring glances from all the men around.

“What a lovely sight you are today, Madame,” John welcomed her flatteringly.

A warm smile spread on Augusta Tabor´s lips. “Thank you, Captain. Am I not late, I hope?”

“I dare say your timing is perfect,” he assured her. Then the captain raised her satin-gloved hand to his lips and kissed it, keeping it close for a bit longer than was necessary.

Augusta´s eyes were shining as he looked up to them again.

“I´m glad to hear that,” she reacted softly and then turned to the office building, her back almost imperceptibly straightening up. “Shall we do this, then?”

John offered her his arm: “I´m right behind you.”

Even though Sheriff Brady liked his job and was a man of reason, he still could not help but sense something wrong about what they were about to do with their strange prisoner. Therefore, he was somewhat lost in thoughts, when the main door to his office suddenly opened. Two people entered and the group of guards with the convict in their midst stopped in the middle of the room a little sooner than he did, when the most unexpected person stood in their way.

“Good day, gentlemen,” the important-looking woman in front of them spoke in a firm, calm voice and glanced at his chest with the shining star, before focusing her sharp gaze on his face. “You must be Sheriff Brady, I assume.”

He just managed to nod blankly.

“Great. Then I must request you to stop this absurdity this very moment.”

Brady literally gaped at the apparently rich and noble lady, whose presence in his office was something quite surprising. For the short moment, he considered dreaming a slight option for this unusual situation, while his men stood there in surprised silence as well. Then Sheriff looked behind the beautifully dressed figure, finally noticing John Walker there, with his hands clasped behind his back calmly, as if nothing extraordinary was going on. The sight of an old friend gave him some balance back.

“What´s the meaning of this, John?” he requested explanation harshly. “Aren´t your men supposed to guard the front entrance and prevent any stranger from entering?”

To his astonishment, the captain just stood there with the strangest expression on his face, while that woman spoke again instead.

“Are you trying to ignore me, Mister?” she asked flatly. “That would be most unwise of you.”

Brady frowned, already getting upset. “Madame, I don´t know who you are or what you want here, but we´re in the middle of doing justice here, so I must ask you to leave.”

“It is because of that mentioned justice why I am here, Sheriff. However, it was rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Augusta Tabor. And I came here to prevent you from doing the greatest mistake.”

Brady blinked and his stomach tightened with anxiety.

Thanks to his sheriff position, he knew Tabors. He had already heard dozen of rumors about their fairy-tale wealth. He was also aware that their – quite popular – son was currently living in Billings. Even though their influence mainly applied to Colorado, they were supporting many important people in Montana as well. It was not a good idea to mess up with them.

“Hey, woman,” Hank behind his back apparently could not take it any longer. “It wouldn´t matter even if you were a queen. We´ve got an execution to perform, so get out of our way.”

Mrs. Tabor raised her neat eyebrows. “Your attitude is most unkind, Mister,” she noted calmly, yet sharply.

“Come on, this is ridiculous!” Hank burst out while Brady was furiously trying to figure out the best words to remedy such insolence.

“I would say so, as well,” their unexpected visitor reacted swiftly. “Not even offering the fragile woman some hot tea in this awfully cold weather.”

John Walker seemed as if something amused him and even though he was covering it up well, Brady would bet he knew what it was. This lady seemed anything but fragile to him.

Hank stepped forward threateningly. “Are you kidding? Does she kid us, boss?”

Brady turned around sharply: “Shut the hell up, Hank,” he growled strictly, giving him the hard look. “Just shut it. Right now.”

His subordinate stared at him, but remained silent.

Then Brady´s eyes fell upon their prisoner. Uncommonly, Jin Akanishi finally seemed to be interested in something. He was staring at the pair standing in front of them in a maybe even more hostile way than his men were.

Deciding to face the situation head on, the sheriff took a deep breath and turned back to Augusta Tabor.

“What do you mean by that mistake, Madame?”

“That you want to hang this young man.”

“Why so?”

“Because he is innocent,” Mrs. Tabor stated with absolute certainty.

Brady was not even surprised anymore, he had his suspicious himself, but nothing could prevent him from doing his job right. He straightened up, holding onto his composure, as he spoke again.

“With all the respect, it´s not your place to judge him. Justice Conger is the one who decided about the fate of this man.”

“Oh, sure,” she nodded almost cheerfully. “I am quite certain he´s already on his way here.”

Such a statement unsettled Brady again. “What? Why would he…?”

The loud steps interrupted his words, followed by the sharp knocking and even more people entering his office. One of Walker´s soldiers opened the door wide for the judge, his secretary and for two men in Marshals´ clothes – Alexander Botkin wheeled into the office in his wheel chair alongside his frowning son. Once again, Sheriff Brady ran out of words.

“Somebody needs to explain to me what the hell is going on!” the usually composed judge approached them while waving with some piece of paper upset.

“Everton!” Augusta Tabor greeted him with the smile so bright it made the court secretary blush and avert his eyes. “Long time no see!” she stepped in the way of Justice Conger nonchalantly.

“Augusta…” the old man seemed to remember his good manners as he took the woman´s hand. “Years have no effect on you. You look stunning, indeed.”

“You flatter me too much, Everton.”

Better and better, Brady thought gloomily. Those two seemed to be more than very good acquaintances.

The strong wheels squeaked on the dusted floor.

“I hate to interrupt your reunion, but I demand an explanation as well,” Marshal Botkin gritted through his teeth, apparently not sorry about the interruption at all. “This man,” he pointed at grimly looking Akanishi, “is currently supposed to be standing under the gallows. Why is he not there?”

Remembering their current issue, Conger straightened up: “Yes, it is great to see you, Augusta, but I´m rather confused. I received your message, which I don´t quite understand,” he shook with the crumpled paper again.

“Let me tell you straight away, Everton,” Augusta Tabor took up the word again. “Jin Akanishi is an innocent man. You can´t condemn him to death.”

Justice Conger stared at her wordlessly.

“How can you be so sure about that, Ma´am?” Marshal was maybe trying to be polite, yet he literally growled at her. Well, naturally, Brady assumed that the man was probably the most upset about this sudden fuss.

“Oh, I will gladly explain it to you all, gentlemen… Could I take a seat, please?”

Captain Walker was on the way to her with Brady´s chair even before the sentence was finished. Augusta thanked him with a smile and still so gracefully sat down in the very middle of the room, with all eyes on her. She soothed out her dress and started talking calmly.

“I arrived to the city just recently, a few weeks ago, to see my newborn grandson. Captain Walker here was so kind to accompany me on this dangerous travel from Colorado. Unfortunately, we encountered some serious troubles on the way,” Mrs. Tabor continued in bit quieter, serious voice. “In Wyoming, we were attacked by red savages and almost all our companions got killed. And it was back then, when I was saved by the Black Riders themselves.”

Not even a sudden Indian attack on Billings would have the same effect on the present men as Augusta´s statement had. Sheriff Brady, Justice Conger and Marshal Botkin – it shocked all of them and made them gape at the woman wordlessly.

“That is why I´m sure about Jin Akanishi´s innocence. I met their leader in person. I saw and talked to him just as I talk to you. And this man is not him,” the woman concluded sharply.
“The Black Riders… they saved you?” Botkin was the first to ask, quite incredulously.

“Yes,” Mrs. Tabor nodded. “I got separated from Captain Walker. Those Indians were chasing after me, when the Riders appeared and shot them all down. I was surprised as much as you are, Marshal. That they were capable of such a chivalrous act, since they are all known to be merciless gangsters and burglars. However, I can swear this – not being for the Black Riders and their young leader Leo Akanishi, I would not be here in front of you now.”

“I… I´m not sure what to say,” Justice Conger was apparently at loss.

“That is understandable,” Augusta comforted him in a kind tone.

From a sudden impulse, Brady turned to the prisoner still standing in the tight circle of his men. Akanishi seemed to be just as surprised as they all were, but also somewhat angry.

“Madame?” he turned to Mrs. Tabor thoughtfully. “How can you know those men were the said gang? Nobody knows how they look like except their leader´s face.”

The noble woman gave him an indulgent smile: “Well, it was not my first encounter with them, Sheriff. Back in Leadville, I caught them trying to rob our safe, where I could see them from a closer distance than I even liked. It was almost ridiculous – in the first moment, they did not even realize, whose life they saved. Only later, they remembered, just as I did. You see, meeting a bunch of riders in black on the way away from Colorado? Who else could it be?”

Augusta Tabor shifted her gaze for the tiniest moment and looked at Walker standing by her side all that time.

“Moreover, they revealed themselves,” she added then. “There was no point in denying their identity, when I figured it out.”

“And they let you go? Just like that?” the ice-cold question came from Marshal Botkin.

Mrs. Tabor looked straight at him. “That´s one of the reasons I rushed here to confirm the truth once I heard about the execution of the Black Riders´ leader. Back then, they put me to sleep and moved me to the wasteland. But – they gave me some supplies, even cash and instructions how to get to the nearest town. They did not want to kill me; they just wanted to be safe first. So, to answer your question, Marshal – yes, they saved my life and then they let me go even though they knew who I was.”

“Why didn´t you report it once you had the chance then?”

She raised her eyebrows: “You´re saying that I should have paid them for their kindness by sending the bounty hunters after them? You can´t be serious, Marshal.”

Botkin grunted something, probably a bit ashamed.

“I strongly believe they´re on the redemption road,” the woman stated with conviction. “As far as I was concerned, there was nothing to report.”

Marshal frowned: “No matter what good deeds they might have done, it would not erase their crimes.”

“I´m aware of that, Marshal,” she agreed. “Nevertheless, if this would be Leo Akanishi, I would still intercede for him to Justice to have mercy, since I owe him and his gang my life. Since he´s not, I ask you to cancel this whole horrible thing entirely.”

“We cannot set him free so easily! Just because you say so! You cannot know what he actually did or not. He confessed!” Botkin insisted, hitting the armrest of his chair.

Augusta Tabor gave him the most annoyed look and slowly got up on her feet.

“Is that so? In that case, if I told you that I cooperated with Black Riders to rob my husband and willingly handed them over the property deed for his silver mine, would you arrest me and sentenced me without any evidence as well?” she asked in an accusing tone.

Marshal gulped down, a bit stunned by her argument: “Madame, this is not about you…” he opposed feebly.

“It is about everyone here!” she interrupted him sharply. “Justice should serve everyone. Should be equal to everyone! Is that not right, Everton?”

The addressed man ruffled his beard sheepishly: “Well… Essentially, I agree with you.”

“Why would he do it then?” Marshal did not want to give up. “Why would Jin Akanishi confess to everything if he did not do it?”

“Oh, dear Marshal…” Augusta eyed him sympathetically. “I suppose it´s hard to believe for you, but even criminals have families. I assume he´s just trying to protect his younger brother. Would you have not done the same for your son if you could?”

There came a short silence after her prompt.

One after another, all of them looked at the man in question. Jin Akanishi was just standing there motionless, yet it was apparent he was thrown out of balance as well.

“I know you, Everton. You would have never sent an innocent man to death.”

The judge returned Mrs. Tabor´s serious gaze, before he sighed. “Let´s say you´re right, Augusta. But I don’t think this young man knows nothing about the whole matter. We must interrogate him again. He might know about his brother´s whereabouts.”

For the first time, Augusta paused, before replying: “Sure, I understand… Would you allow Captain Walker to be a part of it then?”

“Why him?” the man wondered. “Why should he be there?”

“If I may speak for myself, sir, I´ve got some history with this Akanishi,” Captain Walker spoke out politely. “Actually, he had been helping us out in the past. It would be a great loss if you executed such a good man.”

Justice Conger finally nodded: “All right… I agree.”

“Thank you, sir,” Captain Walker reacted seriously.

“Thank you, Everton,” Augusta Tabor joined him smiling again.

Only Marshal did not seem to be convinced. “Sir, if you allow me…”

“I´ve heard enough, Botkin,” Conger stopped him with a raised had. “Unchain him, but take him back to his cell. I wish to interrogate him myself tomorrow.”

Sheriff Brady stood there motionless for a short while, before he gestured his men in a surrendered way. Still rather confused, they obeyed his order and wanted to lead Akanishi away, but the prisoner stood there rooted to the floor.

“Hey, don´t you dare make troubles now,” Hank growled.

Akanishi still resisted their grip though and focused his dark eyes on Mrs. Tabor and Walker. “Why?” he uttered hoarsely. “Why did you get involved in this? Why do you even care?”

Madame Tabor eyed him thoughtfully, before approaching a little closer. “Do not be mistaken, Mr. Akanishi. I don´t know you and your well-being is none of my concern. I simply care for the truth.”

He stared at the determined woman, before shifting his gaze to the captain standing right behind her.

“And you?”

The captain almost imperceptibly shrugged: “It was the right thing to do. I assume you might know a bit about it, Akanishi.”

“Okay… This isn´t even funny anymore,” anxious Ryo turned to Cullen. “Are you sure this is the right building?”

The older Rider gave him a scornful look: “Do you see that notice above the door?”

“Yeah...”

“Then don´t ask stupid questions.”

“Very funny…” Ryo growled.

“I´d very much like to know what´s going on inside as well,” their leader joined the quiet discussion in the shadow of a huge oak tree, which grew opposite the Sheriff´s Office building.

“Yeah, even I must admit that I´ve never seen such a parade,” Cullen noted caustically.

It had been a parade indeed. Sheriff´s men would be one thing, but together with US Army soldiers, Marshals and even guards from the Court? They had been planning to get inside somehow and counted with some resistance, but this was too much for three poor Riders.

“We´re done before we even started,” Ryo commented gloomily.

“Let´s wait and see what happens…” Leo murmured thoughtfully.

His black-haired friend eyed him surprised: “Aren´t you kind of calm all of the sudden?”

“It´s just a feeling… I don´t think that Walker and Madame Tabor went inside without a good reason,” he explained hesitantly.

“Well, maybe you are right,” Cullen informed him. “Look.”

“I´m still confused…” Ryo scratched his head, watching the hastily leaving Marshals and the apparently pleased couple, who appeared outside right after them.

“I´ll check it out,” Leo stated decisively. “They won´t recognize me like this.”

“Leo! Wait!” Ryo tried to pull him back, but the hunched figure of an old lady was already passing the street. “Shit…”

“Dear God, I really wonder who of them is more troubles – the younger or the older one?” Cullen shook his head in disbelief.

Ryo sighed: “It seems to me that the worst of all is the combination of both…”

“You were quite persuasive. Even in details which were not exactly true...”

An amused look of shining eyes focused on the calm man. “John… Are you implying I lied to all those man of law in their faces?”

Captain Walker returned Mrs. Tabor´s gaze warmly: “I would not dare…”

“Good.”

Justice Conger went outside the office as well, joining the pair on the veranda.

“Well, this turns out to be a rather interesting day,” he stated while altering his expensive coat. “Augusta, let me invite you for lunch, I´d like to hear everything you know about that gang.”

“Sure, Everton,” she agreed right away. “I have my own carriage… Should I arrive to your office?”

“Yes, I´ll take you to one canteen nearby. See you then. Captain,” the judge parted with them nodding his head and rushed away with his taciturn secretary tailing him.

Augusta once again accepted John´s arm, as he accompanied her down the stairs and to her patiently waiting son.

“Since Justice Conger took you for now, may I see you in the evening?” John asked once they reached the carriage.

“Well, in case Everton will not request my presence anymore, then yes,” she smiled at him brightly.

“Great.”

When John helped Augusta to get on the coach, an old woman passed by them, with a loud tapping of her stick. The sound made the captain glance at her, but found nothing suspicious, so he turned back to the lady, who managed to impress him a lot once again.

“Thank you for coming, Augusta,” he stated seriously then. “Akanishi doesn´t deserve to be hanged more than myself.”

She shook her head: “No need to. I would not be able to let this injustice go.”

“And that´s what I admire about you,” John reacted quietly.

Augusta squeezed his hand that he reached out to her. “See you soon then?”

He nodded: “I´ll be looking forward to it.”

“Nathaniel, please, take me to the Court building. Bye for now… Captain.”

The carriage left with the heavy rumble of its wheels and John intended to return to the office to speak with Brady. He kind of felt he owed the man some explanation. But before that, his eyes fell upon the hunched figure again. The woman was standing on the corner motionlessly, but once she realized his look, she continued walking promptly.

Something indescribable urged John to check her out. He caught up with her after a few fast steps.

“Madame, do you need any help?” he asked politely.

There was only a headshake as a reply, a very sharp one for such an old lady. Even her moves were not so slow and hinged anymore, as she turned into a side alley.

“Wait a moment, please,” John grabbed her shoulder and stopped on the spot surprised. It was a firm, slender shoulder of a man. What the…?

“Not a move, Captain.”

The sharp words from behind his back made him freeze. He stood there not exactly surprised, when then the tall black-haired youngster appeared by the fake old lady´s side.

“Turn around.”

He obeyed and once again, he found himself standing in front of the impressive barrel. The eyes of the man holding it were stabbing him sharply. John slowly raised his hands in the air.

“Well, I had a hunch you might appear. I had no idea how right it was,” he commented the three Riders presence calmly. He had no doubt about identity of the person in disguise of an old woman.

They exchanged meaningful looks, probably wondering if it was wise to get rid of him fifty yards away from the Sheriff´s Office. He did not consider wise to let them think about it too long.

“If you´re here to get Akanishi out of jail, I strongly recommend you not to even try,” John warned them seriously.

“Keep your advices to yourself,” not surprisingly, the Rider called Cullen growled.

Already with his back straight, Leo Akanishi moved and stood in front of him, eyeing John cautiously from under the shawl.

“What´s going on with my brother?” he asked tensely.

“Well, for now, he´s safe from the gallows,” John replied calmly. “He will be interrogated again tomorrow.”

“Really?” the other Rider – called Ryo, if John remembered correctly – breathed out excited.

“Why the sudden change?” Leo Akanishi wondered suspiciously.

“Madame Tabor guaranteed for his innocence, as well as me.”

The Riders stared at him for a while.

Then the oldest of them snapped incredulously: “Why in the hell would you do that?”

“First, because Jin isn´t the real leader of Black Riders, as we all know,” John reacted caustically. “And secondly, because I owe you…”

Leo Akanishi looked into his eyes, when he spoke again: “Are you willing to help us then?”

“Leo! What do you think you…”

“Not now, Cullen,” the young leader cut his older companion off. “Will you help us, Captain?”

John Walker returned the hopeful, intense gaze, realizing that there was no turning back anymore. Already in the moment when he was writing that message for Augusta, he knew…
He lowered his hands slowly. “I cannot release him, if that´s what you mean, that would be the end of my career…”

Leo Akanishi scrunched up his face in disappointment.

“…but I can get you inside, Akanishi,” John added meaningfully.

“How?” the young Rider breathed out tensely.

He grinned a little: “Well, your companions will not like it...”

- To be continued -

Red West Online - UPDATE

witchann2 — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:43:14 GMT

Howdy to all my LJ Friends and readers!
(Although you seem to be somewhat invisible lately...)

In the past few years, I posted my precious RW story on some additional websites apart from LJ, in an attempt to reach more for-Wild-West-hungry readers.
I´d like to share their list, it may come handy one day... To me at least, even if to nobody else.

If you´d ever like to read RW from the beginning, I recommend the Wattpad or Webnovel version.
All of them are free.

Kasumi

PS: Working hard on RW III. 31...

ARCHIVEOFOUROWN

Red West I.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/7722532
Red West II.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/8246404
Red West III.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680398

WATTPAD

Red West I.
Red West I. - Prologue - Wattpad
Red West II.
Red West II. - Chapter one - On the road - Wattpad
Red West III.
Red West III. - Prologue - Inside one dark jail - Wattpad

FANFICTION

Red West I.
Red West Chapter 1: Prologue, a misc. plays/musicals fanfic | FanFiction

Red West II.
Red West II Chapter 1: On the road, a misc. plays/musicals fanfic | FanFiction
Red West III. --- TBA

WEBNOVEL

Red West
https://www.webnovel.com/book/red-west_24788490106277805
- published under a single title
Book one - COMPLETE
Book two - COMPLETE
Book three --- TBA

~~ASIANFANFICS~~ (currently not updated)

Red West I.
http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/474146/red-west-i-kattun-akame-western
Red West II.
http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1167105/red-west-ii-akanishijin-drama-kamenashikazuya-romance-akame-western

End-Year-Pondering

witchann2 — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 20:16:17 GMT

I´m not sure what exactly brought me to that idea, yet I was kind of hoping to reach 55k pageviews by the end of this year...

It´s close enough, though. I know I can blame only myself for this "failure", since I do not post as often as I should or would have liked.

Anyway, to all of You, who manage at least from time to time to go astray and visit my LJ...
I would like you to know that I´m still here and (hopefully) remain to be active for a few more months, at least until I finish my precious Red West story. Four more chapters to go and that will be it, we will be finally there, at the end. I´m not sure how I will really feel about it, yet now, I´m looking forward a lot to write that "The End" words.
I´m playing a bit with an idea to post some Bonus Chapters, which would include more information not only about specific characters, but also about my western related research, more details about historical stuff in this story, and of course, there could be some more... Let´s say more explicit content. But I will see how it will work out, only after I do finish RW, if there will still be any drive to do something like this.

Most of all, I would like to wish you all a well spent ending of this year and Happy 2023 Year!

Kasumi

Merry Christmas!

witchann2 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 15:18:00 GMT

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter thirty

witchann2 — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 20:28:17 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Another one done... We´ll move around a bit this time, as there is a lot to tell.

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight // Chapter twenty nine //

Passing judgment

The iron bars slammed shut with a piercing screech and a massive key rattled in the lock. In the dim light from the small window, Marshal Botkin watched as the hunched figure of Black Riders´ leader slowly moved forward. Akanishi sat down on the narrow bunk, not paying his new ´accommodation´ more attention than he did to anything around him during their hasty trip to the so-called Magic City.

Seeing their captive properly locked up in one of the secured cells, Botkin finally allowed himself to feel something close to relief. The accumulated stress from thinking about things, which might have gone wrong during their journey, was already causing him a headache. Yet, he did not omit to remind his son to check all accesses to the spacious building and named his deputies for regular patrols, even though Sheriff Brady apparently had enough of his own men at hand.

“Rest assured, Marshal,” the recently elected sheriff whirled with the heavy bunch of keys around his sturdy fingers. “No villain ever escaped from this prison.”

Botkin eyed the conceited man sharply. “That is very reassuring. Therefore, I´m certain you´ll make sure nobody without authorization gets inside either.”

The sheriff scowled: “Should we expect troubles?”

“Not necessarily,” he assumed. “Nevertheless, we should focus on precautions.”

“All right, understood,” Brady nodded, apparently taking the situation more seriously. He handed the keys over to his deputy to hide them in the office, before turning to Botkin again. “I´ve got a message from you from Associate Justice Conger – he´s expecting your report. He requested you to come as soon as possible, preferably today.”

“Supreme Court will be surely at lunch at the moment, sir,” Botkin´s son assumed, leaning toward his father. “We´ve got some time to prepare.”

“It might happen that you´ll find them behind the desk even now,” Brady informed them meaningfully. “It seems they´re working overtime these days.”

“How comes?” Botkin asked. “Anything significant happened meanwhile?”

“Not really,” the sheriff shook his head. “I´ve just heard that a complaint arrived from Washington, regarding lynching in our territory. Conger´s on it like a hound dog.”

Botkin was not surprised. He himself wondered how much longer it would take before the situation with vigilantes in Montana would attract the attention of somebody from the capital.
“I understand. We´ll stop by there today,” he decided. “Keep a close eye on our prisoner, Sheriff.”

“You can count on me and my men,” Brady nodded, his eyes focusing on the motionless figure in the cell. “We won´t let this rare bird fly away, Marshal.”

***

The movements of the black stallion were fast, yet smooth and unusually soft. It was as if Kuro was aware of his rider´s health condition and tried to avoid any difficulties on the road to make the ride as comfortable as possible for him. It also meant proceeding forward in a significantly slower pace, which was getting on Kame´s nerves. Nevertheless, travelling in saddle hurt more than he had been expecting.

Ignoring the sharp bursts of pain in his right leg stole a great portion of his energy. Yet, he just could not bring himself to ask others to stop and have some break more often. His heart kept urging him to rush and it prevailed over the reason and consideration of own physical condition.

They crossed the Yellowstone River near Livingstone, keeping to its right bank from that moment on. The landscape in front of them was endless. Montana had never seemed bigger to him. It felt like it would take ages for them to get to Billings.

Kame stopped Kuro at the top of a low slope, to drink some water and take a breath. Both Koki and Jane on their horses had already overcome it, their figures visible down on the road, as they continued further east. He knew they would stop soon and wait for them somewhere nearby – they never got more than a mile apart from them, as if they were afraid to let him out of their sight. Yet, they gave him some space at least, which he could not say about the over-concerned Indian shaman.

As confirmation of Kame´s thoughts, his blood brother´s stallion snorted on his left side.

“My brother should rest,” Liwan spoke in a worried tone, his dark gaze focused on Kame, who made sure his expression did not reveal what he actually felt.

He took one more gulp of cold water and shook his head determined: “No. We´ll keep going till dark.”

No matter how hard or painful it would be, they had to get to Jin in time. He was not going to consider any other option. One could easily tell that his Indian friend disagreed with his stubborn attitude, yet kept silent this time.

Kuro stomped on the spot impatiently and Kame leant over to pat his neck gratefully: “You´re awesome, just keep going like this, okay?”

The black horse snorted almost haughtily, letting him know that he was planning nothing else.

“All right,” Kame focused on the long road in front of them again. “Let´s move on.”

***

Apart from many other attractions, Denver was quite famous for its lavish gambling houses. As the great city grew in the heart of Colorado, gambling opportunities arose along with it, from cheating three-card frauds to high-stakes poker and Faro games. Successful gamblers were widely well-known personalities, usually dressed smartly and wore expensive jewelry, each of them gaining their moment of glory before the fortune inevitably turned its back on them.

With his candidacy for Senator, Horace Tabor could not afford to be known for gambles, no matter how much he enjoyed playing for high stakes. That was why he never visited any of the city casinos and built up his own gambling room instead.

It was hidden in the underground of Opera House. Therefore, while noble ladies attended some boring theatric performances, their husbands spent their time there with a different kind of amusement. Naturally, Tabor invited only the closest of his acquaintances and business partners to join him, so it was never as crowded as the usual gambling houses in the city and it limited the danger of anyone slandering him as well.

That afternoon, luck was with him. He had already won two poker rounds, and it was his turn to shuffle the pack for the next one. He was just about to call Bernard to light another cigar for him, when his black manservant approached him inconspicuously from behind all by himself.

“The messenger is here, sir,” he whispered right in his ear.

Horace stopped shuffling the cards and gave the man a sideway look. “They finally got the telegraph network working again?”

Bernard nodded: “It seems so, sir.”

“My apologies, gentlemen,” he looked around the disinterested faces of his opponents. “You´ll have to do without me for this round,” then he passed the pack over to the mayor and got up from the brightly lit table.

The mentioned errand boy was waiting in the small cloakroom. Among many of his servants and employees, Horace quite liked working with this one – the slender young man was fast and reliable.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Tabor,” the fair-haired messenger bowed a little, swiftly pulling out a few small envelopes from the apparently new leather bag hanging from his shoulder. “The postmaster collected your mail first.”

“Good, it was about damn time,” Horace commented as he took the paper pile over. “You´re… Jack, is that right?”

“Yes, I am, sir.”

“Go grab something at the refreshment bar on my account.”

The young messenger smiled: “Thank you, sir. I´ll stay there as long as you need.”

Horace waved him off, telling himself that it paid off to raise his salary. The boy even understood very quickly, it would be a shame if he left to work for someone else for a higher reward.
The first short message was from Augusta. It seemed she concluded her foolish trip safely, informing him that his grandson was born healthy and vital. And of course, she dared to remind him that he should congratulate his son at least. As if he would not able to think of it by himself.

Horace pushed the crumpled paper into the patiently waiting Bernard´s hands. He genuinely wondered why everybody complained about dangerous travels through the former Indian territories all the time. His dear wife had apparently no issue at all to get wherever the hell she wanted.

Then he stared at the second, significantly shorter telegram in quite a surprise:

To: Horace Tabor, Denver, Colorado
From: Cameron Henderson, Bozeman, Montana Territory

MARSHALS ARRESTED AKANISHI STOP OTHER RIDERS IN HIDING STOP HEADING TO BILLINGS FOR TRIAL STOP WILL LET YOU KNOW ABOUT VERDICT END

Horace could not help but start grinning like a weasel in a hen house.

That was some news indeed! There was no message from that calculative man for weeks and now this? Just how did he accomplish it? No matter the rest of that annoying gang was still on escape, if they arrested their leader, it was a much bigger success than he was even hoping for after all those previous failures.

“Bernard!” Horace looked up from the telegram feeling quite enthusiastic. “Get the best whiskey in this building for me, I´ve got something to celebrate!”

The manservant nodded and left to arrange the order right away.

Still in surprised disbelief, Horace started to open the third envelope: “Holy crap, really,” he murmured while pulling another paper to the light of kerosene lamps. It seemed that Henderson was not just talking into the wind. He was thinking about sending a letter to the judge in Billings to find our more details.

Horace began to read a short letter still humming satisfied, before he fell silent at the second sentence.

Dear Lieutenant Governor,

please, note that our branch office in Montana Territory notified us about the arrest of the Black Riders´ leader – Jin Akanishi. There has been no sign of other gang members in more than six months.
In the light of these facts, take into account that a special military unit assigned to chase after the gang has been dissolved.
For more information, contact Sergeant Perry.

With kind regards
Dave Cook
The Denver City US Marshal

He gaped at the letter, and then he shifted it with the telegram from Henderson again.

What is this…? Jin Akanishi? Not Leo?

Bernard just appeared by his side, with the thick bottle and glass on a silver tray, when Horace Tabor snapped.

“What the hell! What is this stupid joke?” he waved with the paper in front of the surprised servant´s eyes.

“Sir?” already familiar with his employer´s outbursts, Bernard stepped back a little.

“Get me that boy! I need him to bring me someone from the Marshals´ office right now!”

***

“Hey! Akanishi!” the mocking voice echoed throughout the cold corridor with cells. “They say you turned yourself in, is it true?”

Their silent prisoner did not respond, and probably neither he moved from his sitting position with a hat covering his face, as Brady had seen him a while ago. However, the lack of reaction did not discourage the curious guard.

“I wonder why in the hell would you do it?” the tall man with overgrown, thin hair kept on inquiring. “Did you get bored playing the new Jesse James?”

Brady put down the newspaper and leaned back in a creaky chair, so that he had a direct view on his subordinate. “Hank, stop it. We´re supposed to watch over him, not mock him.”

The most irksome of his men grimaced: “You´re no fun, Sheriff.”

“And you should learn to take your job more seriously,” he countered coldly.

“If I offered to beat the names of others out of him, would that count?”

“It would not, forget it. Not to mention that Akanishi is the Marshals´ prisoner. It´s not our place to question him. Better get us something for dinner instead of fooling around.”

Annoyed Hank snorted, yet he moved away from one of the two currently occupied cells and left the office to do the sheriff´s bidding. Already alone, Brady shook his head with a sigh. If that ill-mannered man was not such a great shooter, he could do without him.

He reached out for the huge tin mug, but he barely managed to take one sip from his already cold coffee, where there came an energetic knock on the door and another of his men entered.

“Some military control arrived for a change, boss,” he announced with a significant grin and moved aside to make way for a tall man in US Army uniform.

Brady stiffened at first, but then he recognized the clean-shaved soldier with sharp blue eyes and stood up to welcome him.

“John! It´s good to see you again, man!” he crossed the room to shake the old friend´s hand whole-heartedly.

“Likewise, Philip,” Captain Walker smiled at him slightly. “And congratulations – I knew you´ll get your hands on that shining star one day.”

He grinned: “I was just lucky that all the people who know me came to vote.”

“True enough,” his deputy confirmed it cheekily and closed the door readily, before he could scold him.

For the moment, Brady let the man get away with it and focused on his visitor: “Do you want coffee? I´ve got some left, though it´s quite strong,” he pointed at the kettle on the small stove.

“I´d like that, thanks,” the captain accepted the offer. “Stronger the better.”

“A rough day?”

“Something like that,” John confirmed, taking the full mug with a steaming liquid from him gratefully.

“Well, I´d offer you something stronger, but I see you´re on duty, right?”

The captain nodded, already serious: “Exactly, so no thanks.”

“When did you return to Montana?”

“Two weeks ago, for a vacation actually. Nevertheless, my superiors decided I´ve already rested enough, so they happily tasked me with the current situation.”

“So, you´re in charge of the city security now, huh? That´s tough...”

“Job like any other,” the captain assumed, sipping the coffee carefully. “So? Any problems so far?”

“Not at all, our precious prisoner is rather boring,” Brady gestured toward the cells and lowered his voice. “I can imagine it must suck that Botkin outran you when you had been chasing after the Riders for so long…”

The captain´s expression stiffened a little: “…it doesn´t really matter who caught him.”

“Yeah, I guess you´re right about that,” Brady admitted.

“Hey… Hey! Let me out!” the hoarse voice suddenly yelled from the dark corridor. “Right the fuck now!”

“And here we go again,” he commented sighing. It seemed their other prisoner – a rather violent drunkard whose favorite activity was making a mess in the local saloons – had just woken up.

The sharp banging over the bars sounded through the whole building. “Does anyone hear me, damn it?!”

“Excuse me for a minute, John,” Brady apologized and headed to the cells hastily. “Shut it, Rogerson, or I´ll let you rot here for real,” he threatened while walking.

“You´ve got no right for that!” the unknown man continued complaining loudly.

“Do you wanna bet?” the sheriff reacted mockingly.

John put the coffee mug aside and followed his friend to the corridor with cells curiously. There was a part of him, which wanted to make sure. Leo Akanishi did not strike him as a careless man, so the news about his arrest surprised him a lot.

Brady was still persuading the drunkard to calm down, as John stopped by the other occupied cell. He did not know if it was a good idea to face that young man, but something indescribable poked him to it.

He eyed the slender figure sitting in the darkest corner of the cell. A somewhat familiar huge hat was covering his face, the dark hair escaping from under it and falling down to shoulders and he really looked like the young Black Riders´ leader. However, John knew both brothers now and his eyes widened in surprise right away.

He searched for Philip with his eyes. “Can you tell me what´s the meaning of this?”

“Shut it, Rogerson, or I´ll make you,” Brady snapped at the now quietly mumbling prisoner, before turning to him. “What do you mean, man?”

John pointed inside the cell: “This is Jin Akanishi.”

The sheriff approached slowly, eying John a bit confused. “Well, we know that. Didn´t you read the Marshals´ report?”

“I did, there was no first name,” he uttered. “But he is not the leader of Black Riders!”

“Hey, I know you´ve been after the younger brother the whole time, but what can I tell you?” Brady shrugged. “He confessed.”

John frowned, unwilling to accept such a false accusation: “That´s bullshit, I know this man. He is not…”

“Stay out of this, Captain.”

It was the first time the prisoner in the cell spoke. Both men looked through the bars surprised to hear his deep voice. Jin Akanishi raised his head and his dark eyes buried into John´s. The two men stared at each other without a move.

“Boss! Your dinner´s here!” one of the sheriff´s deputies´ voice called from the office.

Brady patted John´s shoulder. “There´s no point talking to him, believe me,” he said. “Come, we can share some roasted beef,” and with that he walked away.

John did not let his eyes of the hunched figure. He did not get it. He would be able to accept seeing Leo Akanishi here, since he really did some outrageous crimes while leading the gang. However, as far as he knew, his older brother did not do anything so serious to get a hasty trial, which was about to take place the day after with more than a clear outcome. Damn, he rather liked this young man, just as his friend Kamenashi.

He stepped closer, grasping the bars and trying to see the imprisoned man´s face more clearly.

“Why are you here, Akanishi?” he asked in a strained voice.

“…none of your business,” the younger man spoke with such disinterest it brought shivers all along John´s spine.

“Damn it, there´s not even a single lead on your foolish brother! You don´t have to cover up for him!” he whispered urgently.

“But I can, right?” there came a quiet reply.

John had a weird feeling suddenly: “What happened?” he asked tensely. “What made you do this?”

“Who cares?”

He gripped the bars tighter, forcing himself to keep his voice down. “I wonder at myself, but I do! Not to mention I bet that Kamenashi cares as well. Why at least he did not stop you?”

Only now, he received some real reaction from Akanishi. Suddenly, there was nothing but pure pain in his eyes. The gloomy prisoner closed them and leaned his head back over the wall.

“He could not stop me, Captain,” Akanishi whispered hoarsely.

John gulped down heavily: “Why?”

“Because he´s… gone.”

***

Coulson town was just one of many ugly places which popped out of nowhere during the frontier colonization. Yet, this one was somewhat different from others.

Located on the north bank of the mighty Yellowstone River, just a mile away from the quickly growing Billings, it was soon about to be forgotten. Since most of its residents already moved away, the number of graves on the local cemetery called Boothill outnumbered the remaining citizens. There was no church to keep at least believers on the place and a trolley running between the two centers a few months ago was already cancelled. Any, even the simplest disagreement usually ended up in bloody shootout. The latest sheriff – stubborn and brave man – fled from that hole with no regrets. Just walking on the streets of this rough-and-tumbled town without a gun at your belt, you were asking for trouble.

No one in right mind would want to spend more than five minutes at such a place. Ironically enough, all this made Coulson a perfect place for the Black Riders to hide and plan – at least according to their oldest member.

Therefore, they were now sitting in the small pub with tiny windows, full of awful stench and cigarettes smoke.

“And here I thought that I would never drink anything more disgusting than that dishwater they poured in Hell,” Ryo begun their meeting with a sour grimace, pushing away an empty shot.

Cullen finished the careful observation of all present rednecks and drunkards and looked at him wordlessly, yet with apparent annoyance.

“It would benefit you to let your picky tongue rest and drink something non-alcoholic from time to time,” Leo noted mockingly.

“Boring, chief,” his companion clicked his tongue discontentedly.

“Better than blind,” he assumed calmly, cautiously sniffing the content of his beer tankard, before taking a small sip. “So? What did you find out?”

Cullen leant over the table and started talking in a low voice: “They locked him up in the local jail of Sheriff´s Office; the whole building is guarded heavily. Doesn´t look accessible.”

Leo frowned: “I can imagine. Nobody ever managed to escape from there. Anyone who tried ended up sniffing the daises from below.”

“How do you know?” Ryo eyed him surprised.

“Chatted with the locals, some were surprisingly talkative,” he explained.

His companion snorted half-amused, half-terrified: “I´m surprised you survived that.”

Leo shrugged: “What about you?”

“They say the trial´s gonna take place the day after tomorrow or maybe even later. Court building is big and impressive, but not as heavily secured as that jail, I would say.”

“That could be our chance then,” Cullen reacted.

“I agree,” Leo nodded. “We should strike as they will move him between the buildings.”

“If we attack in the right moment, we will create perfect confusion,” the older man added his idea. “There will be many people, a few shots in the air should be enough to make them panic.”

Ryo cleared his throat: “Isn´t it too… bold?”

“You´ve got any better idea?” Leo asked plainly.

“Well, we can always try to blow that prison up.”

He shook his head right away: “Too risky, we´d have to find out Jin´s exact location. Not to mention there would be many casualties. I´m not willing to sacrifice anyone innocent, if we can avoid it. Not anymore.”

“All right… It´s the trial day then,” Cullen summarized. “We need some proper artillery for that and a horse for your brother.”

“Yeah, we´ve got many things to arrange… But we can do it, guys.”

***

Justice Everton Conger had encountered many various types of criminals during his practice. He arrived for the newest trial convinced that some naive gunslinger would not be able to surprise him no matter how famous he was. Yet, this Jin Akanishi seemed to be a little special case.

The courtroom was huge, but unusually half-empty. The trial was open to public, but they intentionally did not announce the date officially, so hardly anyone knew about it happening. Conger considered it exaggerated, but Marshal Botkin insisted on keeping the whole matter quiet, justifying it with safety precautions. Therefore, there were a few people in the public benches, both locals and strangers, but most of the present were employees of the Supreme Court, Sheriff Brady´s men, a few military officers and some US Marshals.

Hardly ever any criminal walked out of his trials without a death sentence on his or her head. As came for this Black Riders´ leader, there was quite a list of various crimes, of which the US Marshals´ representative accused him – from a mere bank robbery, through dynamite blasts with civil casualties, to the cheeky attack on Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. It took a while to read them all and considering the seriousness of those allegations, Conger could come up with only one verdict. Even though there were things, he had heard about this gang, which could have softened his harsh decision…

They were quite popular among common folks, who apparently saw them as some kind of Robin Hood´s band. No wonder, most of the time they robbed only very rich people and not counting those dynamite incidents, they could have been considered as quite a peaceful gang in comparison with bastards he usually had to deal with. Yet, for him to even take those facts into consideration, Akanishi would have to truthfully testify regarding all the accusations. Instead, he reacted in a way, which actually surprised Conger a lot.

After naming all the charges, the experienced judge expected curses, excuses, apologies or pleads for mercy. However, from the young man came nothing of that sort. Conger´s hand with an expensive pencil for notes stiffened, as he heard Akanishi actually speak up.

He raised his head from the counter and looked at the accused bandit standing in front of him through his glasses. “You confess?” Conger repeated slowly.

“Yes,” Akanishi confirmed, once again in that deep, disinterested tone.

He blinked and eyed the seemingly endless list on his counter again. “To all points of charges?”

“That´s right. Except that mine.”

The judge stared at him: “The mine?”

“The golden mine in Bozeman, sir,” the Marshals´ representative hurried to explain. “There has been an accusation by its owner that Black Riders blew it up out of revenge.”

“I see,” Conger flipped through the pages, finding the related part, and then looked at Akanishi again. “Why not to this one?”

Surprisingly enough, the accused suddenly seemed somewhat annoyed. “I already said at least ten times that the Riders had nothing to do with that fucking mine,” he growled.

That was curious. It would not help him even a bit as came to the final sentence, yet Akanishi insisted to be innocent in particularly this accusation? He was telling the truth in that moment, Conger could tell. However, what it would say about the rest of his statements?

Their audience seemed to get restless, when the judge did not speak for a while. He altered his glasses and looked into papers again. He had no time to ponder this man´s motives, there were other important matters to deal with.

“All right then… As for the rest of charges – do you feel guilty?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have anything to say for your defense?”

“No.”

Akanishi could not have made it any easier for him. Yet, from some reason, Conger was not very thrilled about it. Even though he was busy and had no time to waste for someone who apparently already gave up, it did not seem right.

Conger had seen many villains on that bench, but hardly ever anyone so surrendered to their destiny. Jin Akanishi seemed like someone who could not wait his life to be over. Then the least he could do was to make it quick for him.

They arrived to Billings just in time to verify the situation and act accordingly. Cameron had his resources in the city and it was not hard to find out the local authorities´ plans with the alleged Black Riders´ leader.

Now, as he watched the Sheriff´s men leading the oblivious convict away, he thought he would feel satisfaction, joy or peace. But he could not find any of these emotions in himself; it just felt weird. This was not how he wanted the things to turn out.

Akanishi did not resist at all, he actually seemed too broken to care about anything. There was nothing in front of that cheeky brat who dared to raise his hand against Cameron´s mentor, only the short walk to the gallows. However, was it even enough?

“Mr. Cameron? We should go…”

He did not turn to anxious Danny until Akanishi´s figure disappeared from his sight.

“Yes… Let´s go,” he slowly stood up from the bench. “Find us some accommodation for two nights,” he ordered Danny flatly, before heading outside the court room first.

***

“There´s a letter for you, Mother,” Nathaniel Tabor announced as he entered the warmed up salon of his house.

Augusta looked up from a thick book surprised.

“For me?” she asked doubtfully. For Horace to reply it was a way too soon. “Thank you,” she took the small envelope over. “Would you like some tea?” she offered her son.

“No, thanks, I´ll check on the little one first,” Nathaniel shook his head and left her alone.

She put her evening reading aside on the small table, which already served as space for the kettle with the mentioned hot liquid inside. Then she tore the envelope open, pulled out a small piece of paper and eyed those few sentences apparently written in a hurry.

Augusta´s eyes widened and then she frowned displeased. She tapped over the letter for a while, pondering its content, before she swiftly stood up and left to the main hall.

“Grace!” she called as she was already heading up the stairs. “My dear, I need a favor!”

Her daughter-in-law appeared at the simple railing apparently surprised by her urgent tone. “Yes, Mother?”

“Would you please borrow me the most impressive dress from your wardrobe?”

***

The hammer strikes resonated through the dark streets of Billings. Most citizens were already asleep, or at least they pretended not to hear the tireless works on the square. On the other hand, there were also those who were excited about the upcoming gloomy spectacle. No matter the late hour, they were eager to express their opinions over drinks and cards.

A sudden gust of wind from the Rocky Mountains ruffled the dust on the main road, made the hangman cough and halt his thorough hammering. Yet soon, the tall sinewy man resumed his work and other heavy hits disrupted the peace of night, as well as a nap of some small child, whose crying could be heard from one of the houses nearby the Sheriff´s Office.

All those noises also reached the prison cell in the back part of the building. Nevertheless, Jin sitting on the bunk and leaning against a wall did not hear them. He could not make himself care about the ominous sounds, even though each hit meant one step closer to his own death. Instead, he rather let his mind sink in memories. Some of them were painful, but he clung to them anyway. The images of his Kazuya were hidden deep inside of him, and he was sure they would never fade. However, it was quite certain he would not have a chance to verify it, since the day after this night there was no future for him at all…

Some wandering dog started barking furiously somewhere on the square, but he was silenced soon enough by a rough voice and a hard boot. Once again, only the noises indicating the construction of the portable gallows ruled over the cool streets. Jin frowned nevertheless, disrupted by the barking from his dreaming awake.

A chair in the office on the other side of the short corridor creaked as Sheriff Brady tried to settle himself into more comfortable position. Harsh voices of his men and Marshals pacing around the whole building were heard under the tiny barred window, before they turned around the corner again.

Jin did not want to listen to any of it. He just wanted to go back to his safe castle of memories. He searched for something he could catch on, until his eyes found three rectangles of bluish light on the dirty floor. It was the moon stretching its invisible fingers inside his jail through the window. It was not so long since the warm evening when he and Kazuya had watched the full moon together, before they got distracted by each other´s lips…

Something woke Jin up from his short slumber full of weird dreams. In the pitch black of the wigwam, it took him a while to remember the recent hot session and then he realized that he was alone.

On all his four, he scrambled toward the exit and pushed the animal skin aside. The village flooded by the eerie bluish light surprised him. Wasn´t there completely dark when they left the Sun Dance ceremony?

Jin looked up the find out that the dark clouds tore up in the past hour or so and let the full moon shine fully. The ceremonial drumming was still going on, echoing from the edge of the Indian village faintly. And then his eyes caught an outline of familiar figure standing in the shallow water near the shore of the lake.

He wondered what might have made Kame leave their sleeping sanctuary. He reached into the dark for his pants and slowly headed to the lake as well. As he approached, his lover turned to him and invited Jin with a short gesture to join him. He stepped into the water a bit hesitantly, but it was surprisingly pleasant, despite that it was colder than he had expected. He could see a soft smile on Kame´s face, as he grasped his hand firmly and led him even further, to deeper waters…

Their night bath in the lake was cool, but it washed away their sweat and also tiredness. Then they sat side by side on the shore, listening to the sounds from the continuous ceremony.
Jin pulled Kazuya closer, hugging him tight. The moonshine was dancing on the lake´s surface, glittering in tiny sparkles and making the view one of the most impressive things he ever saw. Especially with the young man on his side, whose heartbeat he could feel under his fingers. It was damn unfair that moments like these were so short.

Kame suddenly sighed: “It´s beautiful, isn´t it?”

Jin eyed the view with the huge moon reflecting its cold fingers in the calm water again.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “But only thanks to the fact that you´re sitting here with me.”

Kame gave him a sideway look: “Somewhat tender, aren´t we?” he noted amused.

“Are you surprised?”

“Not really,” he admitted, snuggling even closer. “Jin?”

The sad voice made him tear his eyes off the bright moon, while Kame´s were still focused on it, he could see the moon shape in them.

“Do you think we deserve this?”

Jin frowned a little: “What do you mean?”

“To be together. Happy, like this.”
He did not like how that question sounded at all.

“You´re not the person, who should ask himself such questions,” he scolded him. “Why do you even doubt it?”

“I don´t know… I… We did things, which are not exactly praiseworthy.”

“I believe we do the best we can every damn day.”

His lover looked at him, surprised by his slightly upset tone.

“Jin…”

He reached out and grabbed Kame´s chin.

“I´ve already told you to stop belittling yourself, Kazuya,” he emphasized and seized his lips lovingly.

Kame sighed and returned the kiss, circling his arms around Jin. Then he suddenly chuckled.

“Hey, what is it?” Jin complained, when he pulled away.

“Before you were all sticky, but now you are wet… And still hard,” he added cheekily.

Jin smiled at him meaningfully. “That´s hardly a problem, is it?”

“Yes… Hardly…”

And then they happily lost themselves in each other´s embrace…

Jin let go of a shaky sigh and closed his eyes. He couldn´t push that cruel realization back any longer. All those pictures in his mind were only his memories now; Kame was not around anymore… And it still hurt like hell.

That was why he was not scared of tomorrow, even though it was terrifying to know that soon, very soon, the firm snooze would steal his breath forever. There was also a good side to it. Not only that he could save his brother Leo from any more pursuing like that, the most important was that his miserable half-existence would be over as well. And maybe, if there was afterlife as some believed, or even the Eternal Hunting Grounds, maybe he would meet with his Kazuya again…

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty nine

witchann2 — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 10:54:21 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: We´re slowly approaching the end of this story...

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven // Chapter twenty eight //

Dead or alive

Up on the hill above the cozy house, which was currently missing its rightful owners, there was a small pasture. Due to the gradually worsening weather, the grass on it was thin and short, but still served its main purpose well.

Sitting on the old stump, Jane was watching the white mare grazing on it gracefully. She was really glad and relieved that Ukushi finally overcame grief for her master. Just two days ago, the pregnant mare barely ate or drank anything and did not want to move away from her stable. In her blessed state, she needed nutrition and healthy movement more than ever before, so when she finally obeyed and let Jane lead her away to feed on some of the last fresh grass available before winter, it was the most joyful event in weeks.

Ukushi raised her head, her ears twitching as if she heard something unusual, but Jane did not notice anything strange in their surroundings. Then the mare moved and approached her calmly.

Jane smiled at the beautiful animal: “Already done?” she asked and stood up.

Ukushi pushed with her big head against the woman´s chest, as if prompting her to go.

“All right, got it,” she clipped a lead to the mare´s halter, patting the left side of her long neck commendably. “Good girl.”

Before they could set off, a short neigh made Jane turn. As she already expected, the black horse trotted out of the forest, heading to them.

Kuro was a little different case. At first, they were worried that he might run off if they let him out of the stable, but even though the stallion was restless, he seemed to attach himself to Ukushi and remained at her side no matter the circumstances. While outside, he used to run off somewhere but he always returned all by himself. Jane thought Kuro was simply an incredible horse and clicked her tongue at him playfully.

Her mood dropped a bit along with going down the hill. She knew someone had to stay in Bozeman to take care of these two horses and of Koki as well, since Dr. Best forbade him to strain himself. Yet, she hated to be left behind while the tiny rest of their gang was doing their best to save Jin. Every minute she did not know what was happening with them made her worried.

Kuro, so far following her and Ukushi obediently, snorted in a rather strange way and Jane looked up. She had a good view on the road leading to Kame´s house from up there; therefore, she could already see a single rider on it.

Frowning, she picked up the pace. She could not recognize who that was…

For once, Danny was not happy that his assumption was correct.

Once his boss ordered him to check up on the situation on Kamenashi property, he knew no warm welcome expected him from anyone who might have stayed there. However, Koki Tanaka seemed to be pissed somewhat over his most pessimistic expectations.

“Was it you? Did you betray us?!”

Danny would have liked to answer those angry questions, but the collar tightly squeezing around his neck was stealing him of the breath for it.
Tanaka shook with him violently, making the back of his head collide with the wooden pillar. Danny did not remember ever seeing such constellation in the night sky…

“Spit it out, you little treacherous rat!”

“Koki! Let him go!” a female´s voice pierced through the ringing in Danny´s brain.

“Why should I?” there came a shout as a reply. “He´s Henderson´s dogsbody!”

“But you will suffocate him like this! If you want answers, you must let him talk first!”

The pressure against his neck suddenly eased up. Danny gasped for breath and staggered. He did not collapse to the ground only thanks to the pillar, on which he leant hastily.

Blinking away the dark stains, which were blurring his vision, he looked up carefully. An attractive, brown haired woman stood between him and Tanaka.

“I know you´re upset, but you should try to think first, for once!” she scolded the man harshly.

Tanaka, with a bandage still wrapped around his head, murmured something vulgar, but did not oppose her and sat down on the stairs leading up to the small veranda instead.

The woman turned to him then, with an unreadable expression: “Do you have a gun?”

“I´ve already taken it from him,” Tanaka growled.

“All right…” she nodded. “Are you Danny McFly?”

Danny eyed her trying to figure out if this woman could be a member of Black Riders as well.

“Yes,” he confirmed a bit hoarsely.

She eyed him from head to toes. “Did Henderson send you to spy on us?”

Tanaka spat: “What else would he be doing here?”

The woman ignored her companion. “Well? Did he?” she urged.

Danny straightened up, finally able to breathe normally. “I was sent here to find out if this house is empty or not. He wanted to know if Tanaka is still here after…”

“After Akanishi´s arrest, right?” she completed instead, when he hesitated.

Danny just nodded.

“How much did you talk, huh?” Tanaka snapped again.

He looked at the angry Rider, feeling somewhat tired. “I did not rat you out.”

“And I´m supposed to believe you that?” Tanaka´s face contorted in a sour grin. “How did that creepy bastard know who I am, huh?”

“I think he recognized you,” Danny explained, striving for a calm tone. “My boss remembers you from the Laporte quarry just as I do.”

“Come on, Koki,” the woman spoke up. “You said himself that you don´t think this guy would give you away…”

Tanaka just snorted in disbelief, apparently in need to push the responsibility for recent event on someone. It made Danny upset. He had been trying hard to keep the identity of Black Riders in secret. It was not his fault that Cameron Henderson was a clever, calculative man, who was able to put things together.

“I just work for him. That doesn´t mean I have the same opinions,” he emphasized.

“Even though… Why would you lie for us and risk losing your job?” the woman asked before Tanaka could spit something again.

Danny shifted his look back to her. Then, she was a Rider too…

“I made a promise, back in Colorado. I have no reason to break it,” he had to clear his throat before he was able to continue. “Especially after what happened to Kamenashi… That… that is just horrible…”

“Huh, sure,” Tanaka smirked caustically. “And while working for Henderson you had nothing to do with anything what could harm Jin or Kame, right? Bullshit.”

Danny frowned: “I just do what I´m ordered to.”

“That´s pretty hypocritical,” the woman noted.

“Yeah, from your point of view,” he opposed.

“Aren´t you a little smartass?” Tanaka mocked him.

Danny kept silent this time. The pretty woman sighed and ran a hand across her face.

“If we let you go, what you´ll tell to your boss?” she asked then, her sharp eyes burying into his.

“Hey! Who said anything about…!”

“Silence, Koki,” she hissed. “You. Speak. What will you tell him?”

Danny suppressed an urge to roll his eyes. What was he supposed to say?

“That Tanaka is still here with some woman who´s taking care of his convalescence,” he shrugged.

“All right… And what do you think he will do?” the woman continued asking.

“With this information? Right now? Nothing.”

“How can you be so sure, boy?” Tanaka sneered.

Danny hesitated: “Because he´s preparing to leave the city today….”

The female Rider raised her nicely shaped eyebrows: “Really? Why so suddenly?”

“Well…” he fidgeted, not really eager to say it aloud. “I guess he doesn´t want to miss it…”

The woman´s eyes widened with realization: “You mean Jin´s trial?”

Danny nodded and Tanaka just cursed again: “Shit…”

***

The small town called Big Timber was a current host of the infamous collection of flimsily assembled saloons and brothels. Exhausted railway workers, gamblers and desperadoes of every grade, the vilest of men and women walked around with their boots half-drowning in mud and horse shit.

Even the most wanted man in the whole territory could hide easily in such a crowded ´Hell´. Yet, Cullen insisted that he would be the one to go scouting, so Leo with Ryo were stuck on the very verge of this scrum, constantly refusing obscene offers of local whores, questions regarding the sale of their horses or lures for gambling games.

“This is a fucking mess,” Ryo complained after finally getting rid of an annoying old woman, who kept offering to predict a very bright future for him.
Leo nodded in sullen agreement. “Once Cullen returns, we shall encamp somewhere further away. I definitely prefer the chilly woods over this…”
“Completely agreed, Chief,” reacted Ryo, twisting his mouth over the second shot of a quite disgusting whiskey.

Fortunately, they did not have to suffer on the place for much longer, since at that moment, their companion popped out from the dusky shadows between the two stagecoaches.

“It seems they passed by this morning,” Cullen announced sourly, stealing the glass from Ryo´s hand and gulping it down in one go himself.
Leo frowned: “They keep moving damn fast.”

“Yeah, definitely not losing any time, this Marshal,” Cullen nodded. “Do you want to stay for the night?”

“Our horses are exhausted, we must rest,” Leo replied, though it was apparent how upset he was about any delay.

“Okay, I´ve noticed a good, quiet spot on the way,” said Cullen, already leading their way further away from the hustling settlement. The two of them followed him along with the horses on a short rein.

“Hey, guys,” Ryo called out, once they were out of anyone´s reach. “I might have one silly question… I know we´re doing our best to catch up with those Marshals, but… What are we gonna do once we manage it?”

Both Leo and Cullen turned to him with not very friendly expressions.

“Hey! It´s natural we should have something planned, right?” Ryo protested.

Leo turned away again, leading his horse further. Only Cullen replied to him, almost growling. “We can plan once we know the exact situation, dumbass.”

***

“We should finally set off as well. Today.”

“What?”

Jane gaped at her suddenly chipper companion as they walked around the clinic.

“Why not? You´ve heard the doc, he said I´m just fine.”

“Koki…” she took a deep breath. “What would be the point of us going after them now? We should wait for their message.”

“Jane, I want to do something…” the former miner emphasized grumpily.

“Kuro and Ukushi need us,” she protested as they reached the spot, where they had let their horses. “We can´t just abandon them.”

Koki yanked the reins of his horse a little harsher than he had to and the animal pointed it out with upset teeth chattering near his ear. “Sorry, boy…” he murmured, before turning to Jane again. “We can just leave them in Harada´s stables.”

“Maybe. But I still disagree,” she insisted. “Leo wanted us to stay put as a backup. And I agree with him this time.”

Koki sighed deeply: “Jesus, I´ll bore myself to death here.”

They both led their animals from the dark corner out to the kind of abandoned street.

“I can think of five things you may do today to keep yourself busy,” she informed him sweetly.

“No, thank you. I´m sure it all will be some annoying stuff…”

“Though all of them necessary, nevertheless.”

“Have you always been so responsible?”

“Only when I need to take care of you.”

Jane expected some offended response to that, but it did not come. She stopped and turned when she realized that Koki was not walking by her side anymore. He just stared forward wide-eyed. She pulled on the reins and walked back to him worried.

“Koki? What is it?”

Wordlessly, he opened his mouth, with some strange shine in his eyes.

Jane placed a hand on his shoulder: “Hey… Are you feeling well?”

Then, a hoarse voice came out of Koki´s throat, sounding almost as if it was not his: “I´ll be damned, but… I see Kame.”

She stared at him.

“…what?” she breathed out startled. “Koki, you scare me. Do you really feel all right? What about your head…?”

He raised his hand and pointed somewhere behind her back.

“Just. Look. Over. There.”

With a tightened throat, half-persuaded that there was no one at all, Jane did as Koki said.

In the middle of the road, an impressive Indian was walking toward them through the clouds of morning fog, leading a noble horse behind. On the animal´s back, a young man with pale face and disheveled hair was sitting, wrapped in dark blue poncho. Stiffened Jane forgot how to breathe for a while.

“Tell me that you see them as well,” Koki requested in a trembling voice. “Tell me I´m not crazy.”

“Dear God…” she gasped for a breath finally, her hand slipping down from Koki´s shoulder. “If you are, then I am as well…”

They both stood there completely frozen up, as the Indian – Jane supposed that would be Kame´s friend she had already heard of before – stopped the horse in front of the entrance of Dr. Best´s clinic.

“Koki… Jane…” a familiar voice, just a little hoarser than they remembered, addressed them. “I´m really glad to see you again...”

Jane felt stinging tears in her eyes. “Kame… How? What…?” she sniffed, blinking fast to clear her vision. “It´s more than nice to see you too,” she could not help but smile widely in the end.

Kame nodded and then his eyes focused on the other Rider, who stumbled forward, completely forgetting about his horse. Jane readily grabbed the reins of it instead.

Koki approached closer, reaching out his hands and hesitantly, as if he was afraid that sight might disappear right away, he placed them on the Indian´s horse first and then on Kame´s thigh. His tense expression melted into a happy one, once he made sure that the rider was a being of flesh and blood.

“Kame-chan…” he looked up literally beaming with joy, his hands squeezing Kame´s leg. “Damn… Is it really you?”

Their enlivened friend hissed in pain and the Indian briskly walked around, grabbing Koki´s shoulder and pulling him away.

“Of course he is,” he said sternly. “Keep away.”

“What? Why?” Koki turned to him confused.

“What happened to your leg?” Jane asked, since she already noticed Kame´s right trousers´ leg was much bigger than it should be.

“Broken,” the frowning Indian replied, already helping Kame down from the saddle.

“Shit… I´m so sorry… I didn´t…” Koki stuttered unhappily.

“It´s okay… You didn´t know,” Kame looked at him assuring. “It´s not so bad.”

Jane noticed that his Indian friend would probably disagree but he said nothing.

“And you are…” she looked directly at the Indian.

“This is Liwan,” Kame introduced him, gratefully grabbing the provisional crutch, which the mentioned man handed him. “My best friend and blood brother from Blackfeet Tribe.”

“I´ve heard about you a lot,” Jane smiled. “Nice to meet you finally.”

Liwan just nodded. He did not seem to be a very talkative type.

She rather approached Kame and hugged his slender form carefully, uncertain about his condition. “You scared us all pretty good, you rascal,” she whispered, suppressing more tears.

“Sorry…” Kame murmured, returning her hug with one hand.

Jane pulled away and observed his face closely. “You must tell us everything.”

“Of course, I will…”

“This is place where Palefaces medicine man work?” Liwan asked.

Jane turned to him, while Koki cautiously patted Kame´s shoulders, still apologizing.

“Yes, Dr. Best. We were just there, he´s inside,” she confirmed.

“Good. This man must see my brother…”

Hearing these words, Kame turned to him: “Wait, Liwan,” he requested, stopping his friend with a raised hand and looked at the two Riders again. “What about Jin and the others? Are they all right?” he asked with tense expectation.

Both Jane and Koki stiffened and looked away. That was enough for Kame to know his suspicion was right – something was off. Something was wrong with Jin. He knew it for quite some time, but now, seeing the faces of his friends, he was sure.

“What happened?” he urged again. “Did everyone get out of that mine…?”

“Yeah, we did… Just… Well, you chose quite a timing for your return, buddy,” Koki murmured, apparently not willing to be a messenger of the bad news.

Jane took a breath: “It´s bad, Kame,” she started carefully.

“Where´s Jin?” he asked again, the words like ice cubes falling from his lips, that cold he felt.

“We all believed you were dead and he… He was not dealing with it well and…” Koki could not find the right words.

Jane embraced herself to say it: “Jin got himself arrested. They took him away, to Billings.”

Her words squeezed Kame´s guts almost painfully. Jin… My dear Jin, just what were you thinking?

“Why? What did he do?” he breathed out heavily.

“Well… He pleaded guilty… For being the leader of Black Riders,” Jane explained with a sigh.

Kame just stared at them, while they observed him worriedly. Suddenly, he staggered.

“I need to… sit…” he almost did not finish and frowning Liwan was already leading him to sit on the edge of veranda.

“The others rode after those Marshals, they will get him out of it, you´ll see,” Koki tried to comfort him hastily.

He raised his wide eyes to the Rider: “The Marshals? He was arrested by US Marshals?”

“Well… Yeah…” Koki nodded sheepishly.

In that moment, he felt like he was about to faint. “Then… They want to hang him…” his voice was just a hoarse whisper, but everyone could hear it.

“We don´t know that for sure… There will be a trial first and…” Jane said, in another attempt to calm him, but in vain.

“We must go. Now,” Kame said, suddenly determined and struggled to get on his feet again.

Liwan grabbed his shoulders: “No. My brother must rest and heal. That leg…”

His blood brother looked at him in a way, which made Liwan stop talking.

“I must go after him,” he emphasized shakily.

“Kame…” Jane tried to convince him as well. “Your friend is right. If your leg is broken, you cannot ride too fast. It´s futile to…”

Kame stabbed her with quite a sharp look and snapped: “Hell no! I didn´t survive a fucking mine collapse to let Jin die on the gallows!” he burst out.

The tense silence fell upon their little circle. Both the Riders and the Indian shaman already knew their friend and brother. When Kame started swearing there was nothing they could do to discourage him from his decision.

“…I understand,” Liwan nodded seriously then. “I go with my brother.”

“And we´ll go as well,” Koki joined him right away. “I wanted to set off after them anyway.”

“All right,” outnumbered Jane knew when to give up any arguments.

“Thank you…” Kame said, suddenly very quietly.

“But!” Jane raised a finger in the air warningly. “Let the doctor check your leg first.”

Kame did not protest against that and just nodded, with his mind full of fearful thoughts.

***

A baby resting in the comfortable cradle smiled at her. For a short moment, Augusta felt like caving in through some magical hole into the past. Her grandson greatly reminded her of Nathaniel. She was a completely different woman back then, sleep deprived, yet happy and full of ideals and dreams regarding her common future with Horace.

A little sadly, she swung the cradle. So much was lost in the flow of time, which shaped her into an adult she was now.

“Augusta? Mother?” she looked up only at the repeated calling. Her daughter in law standing on the edge of spacious veranda was looking at her a little worriedly.

“What is it, my dear?”

“You have a visitor,” Grace stepped aside and revealed the man standing politely a few yards behind her.

Any gloomy memories vanished from Augusta´s mind in the wave of joy from seeing the face of Captain John Walker.

“What a nice surprise,” she stood up from a bench. “Good afternoon, Captain.”

Only then, the uniformed man approached closer, touching his hat: “Good afternoon to you too, Madame.”

“I´ll take Maxwell inside, so that you can talk in peace,” Grace stated, lovingly taking her son out of the cradle. “Do you want something to drink, Mr. Walker?”

The captain shook his head: “No, it´s all right, thank you.”

The young mother nodded and disappeared inside the house.

Augusta and John were looking at each other for a while, without any word, smiling.

“Shall we go for a walk, Captain?” Augusta suggested then. “The back garden has some beautiful autumn colors left yet.”

“With pleasure,” John offered her his arm politely.

Augusta wrapped her fingers around his firm elbow and they set off to the gardens behind the house.

“I see you´re already on duty,” she commented his clothing. “I hope you could rest sufficiently before they called you into service again.”

“Actually, I was almost bored,” John admitted. “I´m not used to wallow around doing nothing at all. Which is what my dear mother wanted from me all the time.”

She chuckled shortly: “So, your family visit went well?”

“Yes, both my parents are doing well and are healthy. It was very nice seeing them again after such a long time.”

“I can imagine. And I´m glad to hear that.”

“What about you? How did you enjoy the time here, with your son and his family?”

“It has been just lovely,” she breathed out satisfied. “Very relaxing.”

The captain glanced at her: “Especially after our journey here, right?”

Augusta laughed: “Well, yes. I could use some peace and comfort of civilization.”

“Me too.”

While talking, they already walked around the whole house, passed the vegetable beds and reached the middle of apple orchard. They sat down on the small bench with the view of Yellowstone River.

“So… What brings you here, John?”

The captain took his hat off and turned to face her directly. Augusta´s breath stuck in her throat under his gaze.

“First of all, you,” John replied hoarsely and in the next moment, he pressed his dry, hot lips on hers.

His eager pressure made her sigh and she shifted herself closer to him eagerly, circling her hands around his neck. John kept kissing her so urgently it took her a while to realize where they were. Shaking with excitement from John´s closeness and apparent desire, she pulled away from him unwillingly.

“Wait… We can´t… Someone might see us…”

He let her go with a sheepish expression: “I´m sorry… I intended to say a ´dinner invitation´, but somehow, it ended up like this instead.”

Augusta looked him in the eye: “No need to apologize for that, John. Well, in case you mean it with that dinner as well.”

Tiny, cheerful lights appeared in the captain´s eyes: “Of course I mean it. I´ve got a free evening so I thought you might want to accompany me…”

“I´d love to.”

“Great.”

“But… That´s not all, is it? I feel that you´d like to say something else?”

John straightened up a little and his expression turned serious: “You´re right. There will be an emergency in the city starting tomorrow. That´s also why they requested me to put an end to my vacation.”

“Why so?” she wondered. “I hope it´s nothing serious…”

“It depends… The word arrived from Bozeman. They said Marshals arrested the leader of Black Riders. And they are going to bring him here, to Billings, for a trial.”

Augusta´s eyes widened. She wanted to say something but she could not find proper words. She did not feel relieved or pleased by this news. She avoided John´s inquiring look.

“It seems you´re not very excited about it.”

She took a breath: “You know my opinion, John. I simply cannot be delighted by this.”

“Partially, I certainly understand you… Anyway, it seems I will be quite busy in the upcoming days, so… I came to see you first,” he stated softly.

Augusta returned his warm gaze. “And I´m really glad for it,” she assured him.

The smile, which brightened the captain´s face, was wide and honest: “So, see you at six o´clock?”

With a very similar expression, she nodded: “I will be ready.”

***

After his ordeal with the mine collapse, cave imprisonment and conflict with Nayati, it felt more than good to be home again. Yet, Kame could not enjoy it fully, since the one he was looking forward to see the most was not welcoming him there.

Slowly limping, he approached the stables from where he could already hear the loud neighing of his mare.

Liwan followed him closely; always ready to help him, while Koki and Jane went inside the house to prepare everything for their hasty departure.
Ukushi was literally attached to the counter, her nostrils shivering in excitement.

With a sad smile, Kame put aside the crutches from Dr. Best and raised both his hands to caress his faithful animal friend.

“I´m back,” he whispered right into the white ear. “You look well, good girl.”

The mare snorted warmly, motionless under his caress. Kame sighed, unhappy about the fact he would have to leave her again…

Dr. Best was just as happy to see him as Koki and Jane were. He was apparently less excited about his broken leg. He checked and re-bandaged it again, saying it was treated the best way possible under the circumstances, but he was strongly against Kame travelling anywhere at all.

However, he remained adamant. Even though the doctor threatened him that he would not walk without limping in the future, if he would not let his leg to heal properly. They could not delay any longer. And he knew the fastest and safest means for him to get to Billings.

Kame patted Ukushi one more time, before the turned to the black stallion, who had been watching him the whole time with his big, wise eyes.

“Hi, Kuro…”

The horse shook his head.

Kame nodded: “I know. It´s up the two of us. We must go after your foolish master again.”

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty eight

witchann2 — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 16:50:37 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Another, this time a bit shorter, chapter done, hope you´ll enjoy it.

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six // Chapter twenty seven //

Constraint

Cameron Henderson approached the tall window leading to the back yard of his newly rebuilt residence and opened the curtains. The usual view was drowning in thick fog. It was a damp, cold November morning, but it would take a lot more to spoil his mood.

He had already overcome the bitter disappointment from not being able to deal with Kazuya Kamenashi himself, but truth was that with the persistent Indian Agent gone, he could fully focus on Akanishi. And so far, everything was proceeding well.

In fact, he had quite a good idea about the identity of that mad assailant who had blown up his mine. He remembered a skillful Irishman corresponding with Tanaka´s description, who repeatedly refused Cameron´s offer to work for him. Nevertheless, he had an older brother who accepted it, got sick soon after and died. Therefore, that man had a motive and abilities to carry out such a deed. None of it mattered though, since it was a perfect opportunity to deal with Jin Akanishi.

It was a real effort to persuade Alexander Botkin that Black Riders were in all probability responsible for the attack. Marshal was experienced and sharp, not easy to manipulate. However, the seed of suspicion had been sown and it was only a matter of time, before the proper results would grow out of it.

Cameron was already certain that Koki Tanaka belonged to the Riders´ gang. He had changed his style and appearance a lot ever since he saw the formerly blonde brat in the Laporte quarry, but seeing his panicky expression at the clinic confirmed his assumption right away.

Then there was the other youngster with stupid and certainly fake name Kiddo, who defended him so actively. Both of them were – quite apparently – acquainted with Akanishi and Kamenashi considering they were willing to risk their lives so frivolously. It was simple to figure out how they all got to know each other. He was only unsure about the fact whether the rest of the gang was currently in the city as well or not. In any case, it could not affect his plan to rob Akanishi of all his friends, hopefully also of his younger brother. Then it would be finally that cheeky bastard´s turn.

With a thick glass in hand, Cameron walked into the middle of his workroom and looked up. The expressive painting on the wall did not seem to care for his mood, but his master was never one to show all he was thinking. Would he be satisfied or upset that this whole payback for his premature passing took so long to carry out? Not that it would matter much…

The sharp knock interrupted his thoughts. Cameron finished his drink and turned to the door.

“Ahem, sir?” the head of his assistant peeked inside. “Sorry for disturbing you…”

“It´s all right,” he gestured him to enter. “What is it, Danny?”

“One of our men just arrived from the city, sir, and… I thought you´d want to know right away.”

He raised his eyebrows over McFly´s hesitating tone. “To know what?”

“Akanishi was arrested, sir,” Danny announced tensely.

For the first time in a very long while, Cameron remained speechless.

“Say it again?” he asked then quietly.

“More precisely, they say the Marshals arrested the leader of Black Riders and are about to transfer him to Billings for the trial,” Danny provided some additional, even more surprising details.

The whiskey glass ended up on the spacious table with an audible thud, as Cameron rather put it aside and took a deep breath.

This was against his expectations. Was it possible that Botkin acted so damn fast?

“How in the hell did that happen?” he turned to the youngster again sharply. “Leo Akanishi would have never exposed himself like this. How did they find him?”

Danny shook his head though. “It´s not like that, sir… It seems they arrested Jin Akanishi.”

“…What?”

***

Feeling chilly, Cora wrapped herself up in a thick woolen plaid, yet she shivered at the sound of chains rattling between the legs and hands of her handsome bodyguard.

She was just one of many Bozeman citizens standing on the street. Everybody was watching the huge stagecoach with the five-pointed star on its door in front of the Sheriff´s Office building. Marshal Botkin was already sitting inside, while his men were working on strapping his wheelchair on the accompanying cart. The rest of U.S. marshals, who had recently arrived to the city, just brought the prisoner outside and escorted him to the coach.

“Is it true?” a voice whispered in Cora´s ear. “Jin said that he leads the Black Riders?”

She didn´t look at Dana, not ever tearing her eyes off the staggering man with hunched shoulders, when she replied: “He did, but I doubt it´s true…”

“What do you mean by that?” the harlot gaped at her.

Before Cora could say anything else, an indignant shouting attracted their attention. It was Harada´s stable boy, running to the group of Marshals around Jin.

“Stop! You can´t take him away!” Mike yelled, trying to get through the tight circle.

“Get lost, kid!” one of the men shoved him away.

The boy did not keep his balance and fell to the ground, yet did not stop protesting.

“You can´t! Jin didn´t do anything!”

“Where are the parents of this brat?” another Marshal looked around. “Shut him up or I will!”

Mike scrambled up on his feet, trying to get through one more time and once again, the man in brown coat stopped him by grabbing his shoulder roughly.

“Let me be!” yelled Mike. “Jin! Tell them you lied! Just tell them!”

Akanishi raised his head and looked at the boy, saying something that did not reach the veranda of Cora´s brothel. Mike shook his head tearfully.

“No… You can´t…” he started sobbing and looked around the gathered crowd. “Why none of you say anything? You all know him just as I do!” he shouted accusingly.

Cora gulped down heavily, already tempted to go and take the boy away. Before she could take a single step, somebody else outran her. Harada approached the armed group cautiously, explained something quietly and took Mike over from the upset Marshal.

“That´s right, isn´t it?” Dana spoke again suddenly. “We all know Jin! How could he be that infamous leader?”

“And what do you propose that we should do?” Cora reacted with her throat tight. “He confessed, Dana.”

The girl pursed her lips, but fell silent, clearly just as lost and helpless as Cora was.

Harada patted the boy´s head comfortingly. Then they stood there, while Mike kept crying and watched as Marshals pushed Jin inside the coach. Before its door closed, Cora caught the last glimpse of her employee and friend sitting inside. He seemed to be lost in his own world.

She closed her eyes suppressing the tears of regret. She felt guilty for lying to him. At least, she should have told him the truth about that night they spent in her bedroom. She should have told him whose name he called in his sleep.

She really got to like Jin Akanishi and hoped that if he believed that he slept with her, it would give her a chance to get closer to him. It was wrong and she would not have a chance to remedy it.

***

Sitting with his back leaning over the tall spruce, Kame grimly watched as Nayati re-bandaged his broken leg. It seemed it was no longer at risk of inflammation and his body temperature kept at its normal. The dull drums disappeared from the back of his head as well, and his stomach was just eagerly processing baked fish, which they had for modest lunch.

Treatment, food and rest. He could ask for no more in the middle of wilderness. Yet, the Crow Indian kept taking care of him without a word or reaction on his questions and it was getting on Kame´s nerves.

His right leg tingled and ached, the cuts on his hands itched and his muscles were stiff, but otherwise, he felt well rested and fully sane. Carefully and with Nayati´s help, he was able to move around, as when he took a pee or rinsed in the river under the swashing waterfall. That was also why he was getting more nervous with each hour from just sitting here on his ass.

“Thank you,” he said flatly, once Nayati finished his work with the healing wrap.

The Indian straightened up and went to add more wood to the fire.

All right… Kame took a breath. Since the polite attitude brought him absolutely nothing so far, he decided for another approach.

“I need you to take me to the city.”

Nayati just sat down by the fireplace, not reacting.

“I know you have a horse nearby, so you can ride me there,” Kame continued persistently. “Somewhere close to the first buildings will be enough.”

The Indian figure resembled a statue.

Kame stared at him. “If you have some objections, just tell me.”

Still nothing.

“Fine,” he snapped, pulled back the covers, which protected him from cold and reached for the long, strong stick, which he had looked up in advance.

Ignoring Nayati´s derisive look, Kame took a few deep breaths. He knew it was going to hurt, but it could not be worse than through what he has been already.

Relying on his unhurt leg and the stick, he stood up slowly. His weak legs were trembling, but he managed to remain standing. Taking his time, he prepared to take the first step. The stick slammed hard against his hand, as he leant on it with all his weight, but he did it. It seemed he would need at least two of these temporary crutches to move properly. He would find the other later then.
Breathing hard, Kame made another step away from the fire and then another. He staggered, already feeling tired.

So what, he told himself. Of course, it would be hard and slow, but still better than doing nothing at all. He just had to…

The tall figure stood in his way before he could make another strenuous step.

Kame looked up and glared at the Indian´s stony face, “If you don´t take me to the city, than get out of my way.”

Nayati shoved him back. Only gently, under normal circumstances Kame would not have moved an inch, but being in the state he was, he staggered back, almost losing his balance.

“You no power,” Nayati stated harshly.

“If you think you can discourage me from going, save your breath,” Kame barked at him.

The Indian smirked and approached him again.

“Stay away from… Hey!” Kame protested when Nayati snatched the stick out of his shaking hand.

Trying to find balance on one leg, he eyed the Indian witch contempt, which rose inside him suddenly. “Coward,” he snapped.

Nayati´s expression hardened. He grabbed Kame´s shoulders, pushing him back to the campfire. Upset by own incompetence, Kame fought back and naturally tripped, falling down to the ground and taking Nayati with him. The impact of his broken leg with the ground sent hundred stars into his brain and the fall of Indian´s body on his chest made him gasp.

Nayati pushed himself up, but remained hovering above him, some strange shine appearing in his eyes. He leant down again, so close Kame felt his hot breath, and inhaled deeply, mumbling something in Indian language that Kame did not understand.

His anger was gone. Just pain, exhaustion and anxiety remained.

He returned Nayati´s look, suddenly realizing there was something in them what he knew but did not want to name. The Indian eyed his face, then chest and the whole body down and up again, his expression somewhat hardening. Kame held his breath, not sure what to expect, but prepared to fight back.

Nayati suddenly straightened and stood up, as if preventing himself from doing something he would regret. Tired and feeling helpless, Kame raised up on his elbows, trying to catch his eyes.

“Take me to Bozeman. I must get there. Please.”

The Indian stood on the spot for a while longer, before he shook his head and turned away from him.

“Shit…” Kame whispered, lying on his back again.

Just how should he persuade this damn stubborn Indian that he just could not lie around here?

Before he could think of anything, Nayati returned. Carrying a rope in his hands…

***

“Where do you think you´re going?” Cullen hissed, dragging Ryo back to stand by their horses. “You did more than enough. Stay here, I´m gonna check the situation.”

With that, the old wolf of Black Riders pulled his hat deeper over his forehead and set off from the shadow of the butchery building. Ryo watched him gloomily as the man crossed the busy, late afternoon street before he turned to Leo and Jane, who were looking in the same way with identical cheerless expressions.

“I know I screwed up, but must he still be so bitchy?” Ryo complained. “Those idiots Botkin had sent after me did not detect anything about us after all.”

Cullen had been right about him bringing along some uninvited guests. Fortunately, they had enough time to hide any evidence of more than two people living at Kame´s house before they appeared on the driveway. They even let them search the property while Leo and Jane were hiding behind anxious Ukushi and very grumpy Kuro, who definitely seemed dangerous enough for the deputies not bothering to check their little stable.

Leo gave him a sideway look. “He wants you to remember your mistake.”

“Bah, I assure you that´s not necessary.”

“You know Cullen, Ryo,” Jane noted amicably.

“I do, but he should know me already as well,” Ryo grumbled and sat down on the edge of a huge log.

“That´s why he did not let you go and attract even more attention to yourself,” Jane explained caustically.

The other Rider did not react on that.

Jane sighed and turned to her frowning fiancé. Following her instinct, she approached him quietly and pressed against his back, hugging him tight.

“Keep the faith, my love,” she whispered. “If anyone can save Jin from himself, it´s you.”

Leo sighed, turned and took the beloved woman in his arms.

“I just hope you´re right,” he muttered.

Cullen returned sooner than they had expected and dropped in their hiding spot so suddenly it made both Leo and Jane reached to their gun belts.

“They´ve already left,” he informed them before Leo could ask.

“Shit,” the Riders´ leader cursed. “How much of a lead they have?”

“Eight hours, at least.”

Surprised Ryo jumped on his feet: “Damn it, we should been faster.”

“Preparations are just as important as speed,” Cullen stated in a cold tone.

“Spare me another lecture, please,” the younger Rider requested annoyed.

“It doesn´t matter,” Leo cut in. “We must go after them.”

“Right away?” Jane looked at him worried. “There´s barely an hour of day light left.”

“I know… But we must act fast or we´ll lose him.”

Both Cullen and Ryo nodded in a rare harmony.

Leo grabbed her fiancée´s hand. “Jane, you should rather…”

“I know,” she interrupted him softly. “I´ll stay here with Koki.”

“Exactly. We´ll let you know as soon as possible.”

She smiled sadly. “I´m counting with that…”

He grabbed Jane´s face between his palms and kissed her lips softly. “Stay safe.”

“You too. And… Remember what I said.”

***

They left the majestic outlines of the Rocky Mountains far behind as the sturdy stagecoach hurled forward to the open plains of south Montana. The cold wind was blowing along the road throwing dust in faces of men who accompanied the coach in saddles. It was slowly getting dark and they would need to stop for the night soon. It would be too risky to continue riding for various reasons.

Marshal Botkin drew the curtain down over the small window and focused on the chained prisoner sitting on the opposite bench between two of his deputies. Akanishi was leaning back with is eyes closed, but he was sure that the young gangster was not sleeping.

Usually, all the captives were transported on the cart behind the coach, but Botkin did not want to let this man out of his sight. If he was right and there were more of the Riders in Bozeman, they had definitely started following their track by this time. So if possible, he wanted to take all the precautions, which would prevent this man from slipping out from his fingers. And to drive to their destination as quickly as possible, of course.

“Who was Kamenashi to you?” he asked from a sudden impulse.

On that, his prisoner opened his eyes and stabbed him with a dark look. Well, well. No other question, with which he kept bothering Akanishi in regular intervals, awoke any reaction.

“Officially, he was employed by the Indian Office, but… Was he a member of your gang as well?” Botkin pressed on.

“I´m not interested in talking with you, Botkin,” Akanishi said stiffly. “If you´re so bored, chat with your deputies,” and with that he closed his eyes again.

So, it was a hit to the bull´s eye, Marshal thought.

This arrogant, reckless man was a mystery to him. Akanishi was lying all the time, but at the same time, he was telling the truth. He also carried some great pain with him, which sometimes soaked through that dispassionate mask of his, but he did not seem to wait for any rescue. He was reconciled and calm.

Well, soon, they were about to see if he would keep on this attitude also during his trial and execution…

***

With his eyes closed, Kame listened to the night woods and to soft swishing of the nearby waterfall, trying to ignore everything else including the ties around his wrists. It was hard, but he was trying to clear his mind off all thoughts and meditate just as Cloud Dancing had taught him. He was hoping that in such a calm state he could finally find a way out from his situation.

He had been pondering Nayati´s behavior and there was only one conclusion he came to in the end. The Indian seemed to despise him on the surface, but at the same time, he desperately wanted to keep him close, at his side. There were not many possibilities why he wanted that. Nayati might have been curious about him, trying to find out what was behind his motivation to help the Indians in the reservation. He had already noticed this kind of curiosity in him before. Though, there was also one more option, but Kame did not like to think about it, because he was here at the Indian´s mercy.

According to what he did before, when they fell on the ground, Nayati seemed to be somewhat attracted to him. Nevertheless, Kame was not sure about what kind of attraction it was and if Nayati would succumb to it. Would it be wise to make the Indian admit it or not?

Breathing slow and deep, he was trying to find an answer to how he should behave, how to make Nayati understand and help him.

Then, something started to bother him and tore him out of his pondering.

Opening his eyes, he found Nayati sitting right next to him, literally staring at him with his dark eyes. Kame returned his look unmoving and then, he leant forward. “What do you want from me, Nayati?”

What the Indian did then, Kame did not exactly expect.

He moved so quickly that he would not manage to move away even if he could and knocked him to the ground. Nayati lowered himself and just as before, he took a deep inhale of Kame´s scent. His expression turned pensive as he observed Kame´s face as if looking for something.

Kame took a deep, little shaky breath, gathering courage to speak openly. “I don´t know if you want to eat, kill or fuck me, but I´ve had enough of this game, so stop being such a dam coward and just do it!”

Nayati stared at him with his eyes wide.

“So, what it´s gonna be?” Kame urged on him already upset and damn tired of trying to get any clear reaction from the other man.

The Indian seemed to be frozen up in one moment and in the next, his lips were pressed against Kame´s and his harsh, hot tongue slipped between them, trying to penetrate in his mouth. It was a wet, hungry and conquering kiss, which tightened up Kame´s throat.

So, I was right… he thought.

Not that he would be exactly happy about it. Now he had to handle this as well.

When he felt a hard hand slipping under the covers, heading low, he managed to shake the surprise off and jerked with his head to escape.

“Let go, Nayati,” he hissed and pushed with his tied hands against his chest. “I said let go!”

With no care to reply, Nayati leant down even closer to him, pressing against him hard, trying to slip with his hand under Kame´s trousers.

“Don´t…!”

The rest of his protest was stopped by Nayati´s mouth on his lips and his tongue forcing his way through again. Kame was too weak against the rested and muscular Indian. Terrified, he tried to shake him off again, kicking. He ended up rewarded with the wave of sharp pain in his right leg.

Nayati straightened up, looking defiantly in his eyes. “Calm down,” he stated hoarsely. “You want.”

“Why the hell you think that!” Kame snapped. “Go to… hell!” he finally managed to kick the Indian´s stomach with his left knee and rolled away.

It was dam clear now, what Nayati wanted to do, but he was not eager to find out what it would be like.

“This is it?” he snapped at the Indian before his horny rescuer could make another move. “This is how you behave in Crow tribe? Taking an advantage of those who cannot fight back?”

Nayati stiffened, his expression somewhat slackened and then he pulled back so quickly as if Kame had become poisonous to him.

Only then both of them noticed someone else joined them at the small camp in the middle of the woods. A tall figure was standing between the two trees. With a great effort, Kame raised himself up, afraid to believe his own eyes.

“Liwan…” he breathed out shocked and with great relief at the same time.

His Indian friend did not reply, though similar feelings were written all over his face. Then he focused on Nayati, who straightened up somewhat stiffly.

“You. Leave,” Liwan hissed, apparently angry.

Suddenly somewhat ashamed, Kame realized that his blood brother had to witness the whole scene. He looked up to the other Indian anxiously. Nayati took a breath and seemed to hesitate, but then he turned and left without a word.

Kame stared after his leaving back, his veins still filled up with adrenaline, remaining unsure what to think about the taciturn Indian.

“Thank Manitou…” Liwan rushed to him and pulled out a knife to cut his ropes. “My heart is overwhelmed to see my brother,” he said then with such an apparent joy, that Kame could not help but raise his freed hands to hug him.

“I´m happy to see you too, Liwan,” he breathed out.

“How did you find me?” Kame asked as they sat by the fire. He would love to set off right away, but apart from the fact that it was deep night, it was apparent that Liwan desperately needed rest.

“Father sent me here. He knew you need help.”

“Cloud Dancing knew?” Kame repeated, not really surprised. It was not the first time the old shaman was aware of things nobody else could even imagine. “I owe him then. Again.”

Liwan eyed him seriously. “My brother owe Nayati as well?”

Kame sighed: “Yes. He saved me. I wouldn´t have made it without him, but…”

“Liwan know what he wanted to do. His eyes told.”

“I don´t understand him at all…” Kame murmured, wrapping himself into the blanket.

The young shaman replied only after a moment of thoughtful silence: “Nayati looking for himself.”

Kame frowned, once again confused. “What do you mean?”

“Nayati need someone…” Liwan hesitated, searching for right words. “To push his insecurities onto.”

“So… He wanted to take it out on me?”

“That can be said.”

Liwan did not mean to tell his dear blood brother that Nayati´s attitude towards him was probably a way more complicated. He felt it from him – the Crow Indian hated Kame, as he hated all Palefaces, but at the same time he was curious and felt strongly attracted to the brave man who stood up for Indians. It was very difficult for him to handle these feelings.

“How can you tell?” Kame wondered.

The Indian avoided his look. “I… could connect with Nayati. In certain way.”

“What do you…?” suddenly, Kame realized what his blood brother probably meant and it shut his next words down.

Liwan took a breath and locked his eyes with Kame. “I think you know, my brother, but maybe it is time to let my mouth say it aloud. There was time when my heart would do anything to have you just as Akanishi had.”

Kame returned his shining look speechless, aching somewhere in his chest.

“If Nayati did what he wanted, Liwan would kill him,” his blood brother stated seriously.

“Liwan… I don´t know what to say,” he breathed out hesitantly.

“No need for more words. It was said, my brother heard. And… it is in past,” the young shaman added quietly.

“Because you´ve got Migisi now, right?” offered Kame, a bit eager to change the topic.

“Not truly. Partially – yes. But Migisi nothing like you to me.”

Suddenly understanding, Kame knew how to react: “You are very important for me too, my brother,” he stated seriously. “You must know you will always have a special place in my heart.”

A faint smile brightened up Liwan´s face. “Liwan grateful to have Kame as friend and blood brother.”

Hi words were sincere and finally made Kame´s anxiety disappear.

“What my brother want to do now?” the Indian asked then.

“I must go back to Jin,” replied Kame almost immediately.

Liwan frowned a little: “Why my brother so desperate?”

Kame hunched over, staring to the flames. “He thinks I´m dead…”

His blood brother nodded: “Liwan understand. We leave when the sun rise.”

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty seven

witchann2 — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 18:17:30 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: We´re moving on... Though, for Jin, not in the way which was expected, I guess...

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five // Chapter twenty six //

Arrest

Draft beer served in the biggest local saloon was not bad at all. However, Marshal Botkin would have enjoyed it more if he hadn´t had to deal with such a complicated case as was the blast in the gold mine.

Initially, when an urgent telegram from Cameron Henderson arrived to his office in Billings, he was thrilled. He finally got his chance to prove all the doubters that it was a way too soon for him to retire.

He had been already serving as a U.S. marshal for two years, when he got sick during an awful winter storm. Ever since the subsequent paralysis of the lower limbs confined him to a wheelchair, people began to doubt his ability to perform all duties properly, no matter that he remained active and surrounded himself with many capable deputies. He was quite certain that if not for the unceasing support of the former president Hayes, they would have removed him from office long ago.

As for the Black Riders gang, even though they were neither seen nor heard of for quite a while, they were still infamous not only in Colorado, but also in both Wyoming and Montana territories. There had been many of those, who had tried to track them down and bring to justice – sheriffs, bounty hunters and soldiers, or even personas like that cocky Silver King. Yet, all those attempts went down in flames. If he was the one surpassing them all, it would definitely reformed his tarnished reputation and silenced all the detractors.

Unfortunately, already shortly after they rushed into the city, he found out it wasn´t going to be that easy.

Demonstrably, a crime happened there, which cost human lives. There were also possible culprits. Botkin was not so sure about their motives in this case, but it would not matter, if there were any proof. Unfortunately, that was a stumbling-stone of it all.

After interrogations of witnesses, the dynamite explosion turned out to be a very hard case to crack. Even though Henderson seemed to be sure about the Riders´ involvement, there was nothing to back his allegation up with, so Botkin sat on the fence, not certain about how to proceed.

There was no sign of Black Riders for quite long and no apparent reason to think they would be here in Bozeman seeking revenge on the rancher. Not to mention that Botkin was well aware of shady business the former owner of Henderson´s farm was involved in and he was not fond of people, who climbed up the social ladder while stepping over the corpses of others. Which was apparently Henderson´s case.

Botkin took a good gulp of beer, staring at the pile of documents and notes at the table. Was this case worth the trouble or not?

“Sir? Dad?”

He knew his companion was trying to get his attention for some time already, but he hadn´t let himself be disturbed until that moment. Finally, he looked up to face his deputy and son in one person. Wallace was always worried to see him working overtime and Botkin was happy to have such a caring son, yet he was well aware of his own limits and was prepared to brush him off.

“Yes? What is it, Wallace?”

His son nodded in the direction of a small table in the corner occupied by a single, black-haired man. He had been apparently sitting there for some time already, drinking one beer after another.

“And? Any problem with him?”

Wallace wordlessly pulled one of the posters from their documentation out and pushed it under his father´s nose. Botkin raised his eyebrows and looked at that drunkard again with new interest.

“I see…”

“You might want to slow down, don´t you think?”

Jin glared at the older man standing by his table with a full tray of empty glasses: “Why should I?”

Harada leant toward him and lowered his voice: “Akanishi, I like you, but if you´re gonna stir some unnecessary troubles here…”

“Don´t you worry,” he assured the man sharply. “I´m just drunk, not stupid.”

“That doesn´t necessarily mean you´re not capable of doing stupid things,” Harada opposed.

Jin shrugged: “Aren´t we all?” he pointed out a surprisingly wise fact.

The saloon owner had nothing to say to that, probably assuming it would be useless to argue with him anyway. Jin reached into his pants´ pocket and pulled out several bills.

“Here, the advance payment,” he stuffed them into Harada´s apron. “Keep bringing me more.”

Obviously, the older man didn´t like the outcome of their conversation and for a moment, it seemed he would like to scold him again, but in the end, he just grabbed Jin´s tankard and returned to the bar.

Right after that, someone sat down to the other side of his table. Jin sent forth a stare that could kill toward the newcomer.

“Don´t even bother to fuck me off,” Ryo blurted before he could take a breath for objections. “Chief´s orders.”

Jin sneered: “To babysit me?”

“To keep an eye on you,” the other corrected him stiffly.

Annoyed, he observed Ryo´s gloomy face, then his fidgeting fingers on the table.

“You don´t seem very happy to be here,” he noted caustically.

“Yeah, but not because of you…” the Rider murmured and leant closer. “In case you haven´t noticed, our dear marshals took over the third of tables here.”

“And what? Am I supposed to pee my pants because of them?”

“Your mood is indeed adorable,” Ryo evaluated sourly.

“Should I dance on the bar counter naked then? Would that make you satisfied?”

Ryo looked at him, tired and somewhat sad: “You know this isn´t about me, Jin.”

Harada arrived with two new beers, exchanged a significant look with Ryo and left them alone.

Jin´s worried companion spoke again: “Look, I know you won´t be glad to hear it…”

“Then don´t say it,” Jin recommended him right away and grabbed his tankard.

“…but Cullen was right,” Ryo continued relentlessly. “You keep drinking every day and there´re dirty talks about what you actually really do in that brothel all over the city. You must pull yourself together.”

Jin grinned bitterly: “There´s one simple solution for all your worries – stop caring about what I do.”

He did not bother to tell him that most of those rumors were just a usual pile of lies and old wife´s tales. At this point, he could not care less about what anyone thought of him.

However, Ryo didn´t want to give up: “Well, you should care the most of all…”

“Either stop lecturing me or get out,” Jin growled.

“I don´t want to lecture you,” his friend urged. “I… all of us just want to help you.”

“Constantly advising me how I should mourn properly is not helpful,” he snapped.

Ryo fell silent for a while.

“You think Kame would be happy to see you like this?” he asked then quietly.

That was a hard blow below the belt for Jin. Stiffly, he raised his head: “Well, I don´t know since he can feel literally nothing anymore.”

Ryo sighed: “Jin, you know what I mean…”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, burying his nose in the tankard again and taking a deep gulp of it. “Just shut it, Ryo. I know,” he added hoarsely. “I know I´m a mess…” he admitted before he could stop himself.

His statement robbed Ryo of more words. His friend stared at him, his eyes wide and full of pity. Jin avoided that look; it was not improving that pain he felt at all.

He was damn aware he was not dealing with Kame´s passing well. He felt lost, aching all over and did not know what to do with himself. Nothing seemed right and it was his own fault that he was not able to change his attitude. It just totally got on his nerves that everyone felt the urge to remind him of that.

First, Cullen scolded him like a little child. Then Cora stopped by to lecture him about taking care of himself more, even before he could order the first beer. After that also Harada, who treated him as a ticking bomb and now Ryo as well. Why couldn´t they just leave him alone for a minute?

There was a long tense silence, before Ryo stood up: “I think I need a stronger drink… What about you?”

“Yeah, whatever you choose,” Jin shrugged.

“Okay…”

Once Ryo left to the bar, Jin realized that he apparently attracted someone´s attention. He turned to the table with a robust wheelchair on one side of it. Both the U.S. marshal and his younger deputy stared directly at him.

Slowly, Jin drank more beer and stared back at them. Even from afar, it was obvious there was some wanted poster in front them. He would not need even two attempts to guess whose name was on it. He would bet his little brother was now the favorite topic of those starred men. He was actually surprised that they haven´t chased him down for some proper interrogation yet…

At that moment, Jin got an idea.

He froze with the tankard halfway to his mouth, afraid he might chase it away by moving.

It was the fucking terrific idea. It would have solved practically all the problems. Leo would be out of the hook, Henderson satisfied to achieve his revenge and he himself would be free of the rest of his life without Kame in it.

It was as if something shifted inside of him. He was slipping down to a dark, yet comforting place for some time already, but only now, he welcomed that feeling. He could do a good deed for his brother and get out of his miserable self at the same time. There could not have been a better solution, though he could imagine Leo would have a different opinion.

Jin stopped himself from thinking the whole thing through. With more time for it, he would have probably reconsidered his decision. He didn´t want that. Once he would do this, there was no way back, so he had to carry it out right away.

He finished his beer and got up on unsteady legs…

Both Marshal Botkin and his son intently watched the tipsy young man crossing the crowded taproom and then sinking into an empty chair at their table.

“Greetings, Marshals,” he addressed them sneering, with his eyes glassy and voice clouded by alcohol. “It seems to me you´re kinda captivated by my presence.”

Wallace took a breath to react, but a raised hand of his father stopped him.

“Good evening, Mr. Akanishi,” Botkin said in a calm voice, studying the defiant face in front of him carefully.

Henderson had mentioned to him before that the older of Akanishi brothers was living nearby his gold mine, and Botkin had been planning to look for him the next day. Though he definitely hadn´t expected that the man would come forward to them himself.

Akanishi raised his thick eyebrows: “Whoa, am I that famous already?”

“Not really,” Botkin leaned back in his wheelchair to make himself more comfortable. “More like your brother is. And you´re remarkably similar to him,” he noted sharply.

“That I am,” Akanishi nodded in an almost satisfied manner.

“Sounds like you don´t mind it much.”

“Why should I?”

"Well, people might mistake you for him," Botkin offered meaningfully.

Akanishi started laughing so hard that the most of saloon guests turned their attention to them.

“Actually, it´s quite convenient,” the younger man assumed then.

“Really?” Botkin stared at him wondering if such a behavior was the result of alcohol effect or if this Akanishi was trying to screw up with them, just as his younger brother did with all Riders´ pursuers so far.

“And what do you find so convenient and funny about it, Mister?” the young deputy put yourself into the conversation.

Wallace could not stand being quiet and probably wanted to put the cheeky gunslinger in his place. Yet, that was not what they needed at that moment. Botkin gave his son a disapproving look before returning his full attention to the man who forced himself to their table.

“That´s simple to explain,” Akanishi shrugged. “It´s ridiculous that everybody´s dumb enough to really do it. Just as you and all those greedy bounty hunters before you.”

Frowning Wallace sprang to his feet indignantly: “You´re overstepping, Akanishi!”

“Oh, am I now?” he noted surprised.

“Why exactly do you consider us dumb, Mister?” Botkin asked, already very interested in what this man was about to say.

Akanishi´s provocative smile disappeared as if it was never there and he leant forward, facing them with a scornful grin: “´cause you´re still chasing after my little brother like blind dogs, while you should be chasing me.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Wallace lashed out. “Everybody knows that Leo Akanishi is a wanted man!”

“Dude, don´t you get it even now?” Akanishi scoffed, contemptuously crossing arms on his chest. “Let me tell you straight then – I´m the real leader of Black Riders.”

Everyone in the saloon stared at him speechless.

“My stupid brother is just a far too convenient distraction,” Akanishi added frivolously.

Wallace´s jaw dropped, while his father realized that there could be quite a different outcome of this whole issue and it was already starting to improve his mood.

Suddenly, the tall, black-haired man rushed to them with a horrified expression on his face: “Jin! What the hell?! Please, excuse him, Marshals, he´s just too drunk. He doesn´t know what he says.”

“Ah, Mr. Kiddo…” Botkin eyed him with keen interest. “So, you´re here Mr. Akanishi´s acquaintance?”

“Yes, and he´s out of his mind, believe me,” Kiddo repeated urgently. “He just recently lost someone and…” he stuttered and looked down on his elbow, which happened to be in a tight grip of the other man.

“Don´t mess with this!” Akanishi hissed, still sitting comfortably, but giving the other quite a dark look.

“You went crazy with grief,” Kiddo snapped at him. “Let me go!” he broke free from Akanishi´s grip and turned to them again. “Please, you must believe me, Marshals!”

Botkin had to suppress a victorious smile. It mattered not that this cocky youngster was apparently drunk. He confessed in front of tens of witnesses. He just needed to figure out if he was telling the truth or if he was just making fools of them. The perfect culprit jumping right into his arms? He would be crazy if he brushed this off. Botkin felt the attention of the whole saloon on him and knew that it was very important how he would handle this.

“I hear you, Mr. Kiddo,” he nodded prudently. “Unfortunately, we cannot overlook such a statement, even if said only in drunken haze.”

“But, Marshal…!”

“For now, we´ll take Mr. Akanishi for questioning to confirm his words,” Botkin cut him off and gestured his deputy. “Wallace…”

“Yes, sir,” his son approached the sitting man with a hand ready on his gunstock. “Jin Akanishi, on behalf of the law of the United States and its territories, you´re now under arrest. Get up.”

Akanishi didn´t protest at all, but did not obey either. That sneaky expression of his was starting to get on Botkin´s nerves. This youngster had an incredible level of arrogance.

One quick glance of upset Wallace in the direction of the other table occupied by Marshals was enough for the two of them to get up and surround Akanishi in his chair, ready to pull him up by force.

“Marshal Botkin, listen to me,” Kiddo approached him one more time. “He´s drunk and blabber nonsenses, you can´t….”

This time, Botkin smiled at him: “Mr. Kiddo, since you care for you friend so much, would you bother to come with us as well?”

The younger one´s face turned pale: “What? But I…”

“We might clear the things out more smoothly with you, don´t you think?”

He did not give the younger man a choice and they both knew it.

As soon as the cell bars slammed behind their unexpected prisoners and the young deputy locked them up with rattling of huge keys, Marshal Botkin struggled to turn his heavy wheelchair toward the clearly dumbfounded local sheriff. The bearded man looked like he was still half-asleep.

“Would you please take me outside for some air, Sheriff?” Botkin asked. “My son will stay here on patrol.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sheriff Harris agreed hesitantly, grabbed the box of matches from the table and a bit clumsily wheeled him out on the veranda.

Two kerosene lamps on both corners of the spacious building were creating the soft pools of yellowish light in the dark haze of the late evening. Most of the citizens already retreated to the safety of their homes, leaving the unpleasant weather behind the closed doors.

It wasn´t like Botkin could not breathe properly in the sheriff´s office. He just didn´t want Akanishi or his anxious companion Kiddo to hear anything from what he wanted to talk with the sheriff about.

Harris leaned against the railing and pulled out a thick, hand-rolled cigarette somewhere from his pockets.

“Sheriff, you know this man – Jin Akanishi, correct?” Botkin started their conversation attempting for a friendly tone to calm the apparently nervous man down.

Harris took a deep drag from his cigarette and nodded: “Well, yes, I do…”

“What do you think about all this then?” he asked directly. “About everything he just said.”

Harris frowned: “In truth, sir, it´s hard for me to believe. Akanishi´s always been a troublemaker. Henderson had even warned me he might have some connection with that gang. However, I´d have never thought that he… I had no idea! Really!”

It seemed that was the main problem – the local sheriff feared that he might blame him for lack of vigilance with the Black Riders´ leader right under his nose. He could imagine that the man didn´t want to lose his warm spot here.

“Don´t worry, I understand,” Botkin assured him. “You couldn’t have realized that. Even nobody else did until he came out.”

“That´s right!” agreed Harris hastily.

“You mentioned that he´s always been troublesome… Can you elaborate on it?”

“He got involved with the late Karnaka´s men shortly after he appeared here, and those caused troubles anywhere they went. Then, he even started working for that rancher, but people say he deceived him to get revenge on someone and was involved in the burning of the farm, but there was no proof. Right after that Akanishi left the city along with some soldiers, allegedly to search for his younger brother, for quite long.”

“How long exactly?” Botkin raised a curious question.

“Uh, not sure… I haven´t seen him half a year, I think, before they returned to Bozeman.”

Botkin eyed the man suspiciously, surprised by the sudden plural form: “They?”

“He and Kamenashi, the former bartender at Harada´s place,” Harris explained. “Ever since they had met there, they were always stuck to each other like leeches, until that shit in the mine happened.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Harris looked at him somewhat surprised: “Well, Kamenashi was one of the collapse victims. I thought you´d be aware, since he was that Indian Agent and all.”

“Ah, I see…”

It was not easy to get anything useful from the sheriff, but things were slowly starting to fall into right place. As per what Kiddo mentioned before, Kamenashi was probably that someone whom Akanishi had lost recently. Could it be possible that the other man was involved with the Black Riders as well?

“Did you know where they were during those six months?” he asked Harris again.

Sheriff shook his head and choked the cigarette butt with his boot: “Nope. Until now,” he gestured toward the office window, “those two didn´t talk about it much. Nobody actually knew what they were up to, even though some said they really were in Colorado.”

It was not a very specific information, but useful nevertheless. It all fitted together. During that time when Akanishi was not in Montana, there were troubles with Riders reported from Denver and Leadville. After they seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth, Akanishi appeared back in town with Kamenashi.

Could it be Jin Akanishi was telling the truth about being their leader? If so, could he be trusted about the fact that he dismissed the other members and he did not have any support here? Was he in fact so sick with grief over the loss of a friend that he wanted to finish himself off?

“All right and what about Kiddo?” he asked then.

Harris shrugged: “Don´t know him, I saw him after the blast for the first time ever.”

“So, he just recently arrived to the city, right?”

“Probably.”

“And he´s apparently a good friend of Tanaka… He also knows Akanishi, probably knew Kamenashi as well… A too big of a coincidence, I´d say,” he murmured to himself. Botkin felt something fishy about that guy.

“Sir?” Harris looked at him questioningly, probably not following his flow of thoughts.

“Never mind. Thank you for your input, Sheriff. It helped me a lot.”

***

Jin opened his eyes and took a deep breath. His mouth was dry as the desert and stomach uneasy. He remembered drinking at Harada´s, arguing with Ryo, the encounter with Marshals and then…

He sat up slowly, not to tempt the thumbing in his head to grow stronger. There were iron bars in front of him. They locked him up in a small cell, which was empty apart from himself.

It was a damn paradox that he felt actually relieved.

He really did it – the first step toward finishing his business in this teary world.

He looked around carefully again and tried to listen to the sounds from the office. There was no sign of anyone else being around. He was a bit worried for Ryo. He shouldn´t have gotten himself involved. He knew they brought him here as well and remembered ignoring his attempts to make him change his mind about what he had confessed. But where was he now? Were they questioning him?

The door of the office clicked and soon the wheelchair already known to him appeared in his sight.

“Finally awake and sober, good,” the old Marshal commented. “I hope you didn´t reconsider your confession, Akanishi.”

He just leant back over the wall without any reply.

“No? Not even regarding the gold mine?” Marshal urged.

That was the topic, which annoyed him with no end.

“No,” he hissed. “I´ve told you a hundred times – the Riders got nothing to do with that.”

Botkin pressed on the matter: “Why don´t you just admit it?”

He sighed and looked at the man directly: “Why would I lie after I told you everything else?”

Marshal did not seem content with such a reply. Nevertheless, he nodded: “Let me ask you something.”

Jin chuckled bitterly: “Can I refuse?”

“Not really,” Marshal was piercing him through the bars with a sharp stare. “You´ve been trying so hard for so long… Why make it easy for us now?”

Well, that was something he could not ever explain properly.

“Does it matter? You´ve got me so why you care?”

The man fell silent for a long while studying him, before he spoke again.

“Don´t think that everybody is as kind as myself to ask these questions nicely, Akanishi.”

He turned away, closing his eyes.

“What about that idiot whom you locked up with me?” he could not help but ask.

“We´ve already released Mr. Kiddo. There was no reason to obstruct his freedom.”

Jin did not really like the tone, which Marshal used, but he could not figure out why.

“Should we expect more of your friends to pop up from the thin air to rescue you?”

"You know the answer to that question, Marshal. Iˇve told you I´m all alone."

“I think you´re lying, but never mind. Prepare to leave. Your trial is going to take place in Billings. So, we´re moving you. Today.”

That´s even better than I´ve hoped, Jin thought with relief. The others would not have to watch his ugly end like that.

***

His lovely fiancée had prepared a full kettle of alluringly smelling coffee for everyone, but on that misty morning, Leo didn´t like its bitter taste. Therefore, the content of the mug on the table in front of him was quickly cooling down untouched, while he gloomily watched the rolling clumps of white stuff surrounding the whole house.

“Will you not eat, dear? Leo?”

Hearing Jane´s worried voice, he realized that he also left his breakfast unnoticed. He sighed and shook his head, trying to focus: “No, sorry… Maybe later.”

“Hey…” Jane put her own coffee aside and stood up from her seat on the bench. Standing right behind him, she placed her warm hands on his tense shoulders, squeezing them assuring. “They´re just trying to sleep off the hangover somewhere. I´m sure they´ll be back soon.”

Leo would like to have her certainty, but he just was not able to relax his tightened stomach.

Cullen, sitting on the opposite side of the table, nodded in agreement: “And if not, I´ll go to find them, so I can be the first to kick their irresponsible asses.”

“I take you at your word,” Leo murmured.

“Well, it seems you won´t have to go that far,” noted Koki, who just walked through the door to join them on the veranda.

Everyone turned in the direction he was looking. A rider, leading a black horse behind, popped up from the thick mist like a ghost. And he seemed to be in quite a rush.

Leo jumped up on his feet and was halfway to meet the incomer before Cullen even stood up.

“Ryo! Finally! Where have you been so long? And where´s Jin?” the Riders´ leader poured questions on his companion.

Disheveled Ryo dismounted and faced him with a strange expression. Kuro, tied short to his horse, was stomping on the place restlessly, shaking his big head.

“Jin… He…”

Leo stiffened: “What happened to him?”

“He got really drunk yesterday and… And…” Ryo stuttered, short of breath.

“And what?!” Leo snapped impatiently.

The black-haired Rider took a deep breath: “He was arrested,” he announced unhappily.

“What??” Jane and Cullen spoke in a double voice, as they already rushed to them as well.

“The Marshals take him for the Riders´ leader now,” Ryo continued in an uptight voice.

Leo stood there, staring at him like a statue.

“Come again?” gaped Cullen.

“Why?” shocked Jane followed him.

Ryo threw his hands up in the air in the hopeless gesture: “Because he told them he is one.”

Jane´s jaw literally dropped: “Why the hell would he do something like that?” she exclaimed.

“Damn…” Cullen cursed. “Why do you think? We all saw him – he´s been struggling to keep going all this time,” he said in a strangely tense voice. “He just used the opportunity to end his misery. Saving you at the same time, Leo.”

Leo covered his face, as he figured what his dear brother was probably thinking: “I´m gonna strangle that idiot… But I think the same,” he looked at Ryo again. “I bet he uttered no word about the rest of us, right?”

“Exactly,” Ryo nodded. “I heard them interrogating him. He took all the blame for anything they had mentioned and claimed that the gang is dismissed now.”

As Koki didn´t dare to run anywhere yet, he finally managed to reach their little group as well, pale as a freshly painted wall: “But… Like this, they… They will hang him.”

“I assume that´s what he want,” reacted Cullen darkly.

“Shit!” Leo snapped. “He´s not all alone, damn it. What did he think?”

“That he has no other choice, I guess…” Koki noted quietly. “Can you imagine how must he feel without Kame when he´s able to do something like this?”

“No, and I don´t want to,” Cullen growled frowning.

“So what? Are we going to let him sacrifice himself like this?” Jane asked tearfully. “What´s the point of us keeping a low profile and not fighting against our enemies, when we´re losing friends one after another anyway?”

“No, we won´t…” said Leo, taking her hand into his.

“I don´t like that I know what this tone of yours means…” Cullen commented.

“Jane is right,” Leo stated firmly, ignoring the older man. “I´m not gonna let them kill my brother for something he hadn´t done, even if it was his fucking dying wish,” he turned to Ryo again: “Where is he now?”

“They keep him in jail at the sheriff´s office, but I don´t think it will be for long. From what I´ve heard, they want to move him to Billings.”

“Just perfect,” Leo growled caustically.

“I´d have told you sooner, but they held me in there for a while as well. They let me go only because they´ve got nothing on me. But Jin… He just confirmed everything they asked.”

“Don´t tell me he confessed to that mine explosion as well?” Cullen asked in disbelief.

“No, not to that,” Ryo shook his head right away. “But to everything else you can remember.”

“We need to figure out a plan to get him out,” Leo stated determined. “Quickly.”

“Wait a second…” Cullen tensed up suddenly. “They questioned you, too?!” he lashed out on Ryo.

“Well, yeah…”

“And did you make sure you were not followed here?”

Ryo´s eyes widened in realization: “I… I didn´t really… think about…”

“Thought so,” Cullen cut him off. “Thank God for this fucking mist. Leo, Jane, the two of you hide, our gold digger stays. I assume you´re supposed to be here,” he ordered Koki. “And I´ll check if Ryo haven´t dragged someone along…”

***

In that terrifying first moment after he opened his eyes, his mind was just as white and empty as the space above him. He did not remember who or where he was. The only thing he could recall was a familiar face with features twisted in pain. It belonged to a handsome man swinging on a noose and gradually losing even his last breath. He was… That hanged man was… Jin…

Kame´s heart clenched with terror at the thought.

No. It could not be real.

Still confused, but finally able to focus on reality, he strived to gather the fragments of his memory.

Comforting arms of cold water… His panic chase after the greenish light… A damn rewarding feeling when he was finally able to inhale the fresh air again, with autumn sun touching his wet face. A blurry sight of a beautiful cave overgrown by greenery... Rough waves painfully shifting with his tired body against the stones… And finally, a free fall followed by the darkness of unconsciousness…

Somehow, he got out of his underground prison. Through the underwater tunnel, he got to another hidden cave, which was located right above the waterfall. He was amazed by the fact he hadn´t drown. He had a feeling that he had already awakened once since then, but he had no proper memory of it, as the hot dizziness had distorted it.

He felt exhausted even though he just woke up. Based on that he assumed that he had probably been through a high fever, which was apparently gone now. So what was that image he saw? A bad dream? A vision? His imagination playing out? He got worried about Jin just thinking about it.

When he made his tired eyes to focus, he recognized the faint contours of the spruce crowns above his head. That white stuff all around was just a thick mist. The air was damp and cold when he breathed, yet he felt warm.

Kame carefully turned his head to the side, from which he heard the crackle of burning wood. He found himself lying near the neat campfire, carefully wrapped in a blanket. He didn´t see anyone else, but someone apparently took care of him and set up the fire. He seriously doubted good spirits of these woods could do it.

He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to estimate his own health condition. His head was light, but the rest of his body felt heavy as a stone. He knew that feeling. He had already experienced this a few times in the past, when he drank a special potion Cloud Dancing had prepared. The Indian herbs had such an effect. For the moment, nothing hurt him, but he assumed the pains would come back once the herbs absorb into his body.

Feeling well in overall, Kame didn´t hesitate for long, before he decided to focus on moving and limbering up. He needed to find out where that painful underground journey had led him.

Slowly, he started to rise to the sitting position, when there came the light steps and a firm hand pressed against his shoulder, forcing him to lie back again. A bit startled, he looked up to a tanned face of muscular man above him.

The Indian shook his head in disagreement, clearly regarding his intention to get up and straightened up again.

Surprised, Kame struggled to find the Indian´s name in his memory: “Nayati?” he tried then.

The Indian stared at him for a long unpleasant moment, before he walked around him without any reply. Kame watched as he set aside the fresh catch of hares and crouched down to alter the fire.

He didn´t know how and what the Crow Indian was even doing here, but one thing was certain – he owed him his very life. If he did not find him under the waterfall and took care of him, he would not have survived.

“Obrige… tamaši,” Kame said seriously with his next breath.

The Indian buried his look into his eyes. A strange chill ran down Kame´s spine. Yes, this was definitely Nayati, who hadn´t seemed to like him much before. Kame didn´t know what to think about him. He did not feel threatened by the muscular Indian´s presence, yet he could recognize the strange mixture of malice and craving in his dark eyes.

Then Nayati stood up and disappeared from his sight for a while. When he returned, he carried a small leather bag, not unlike the one Kame used when he woke up trapped in the cave. Nayati sat down next to him and pulled back the covers to reveal his lower limbs. When Kame raised his head a bit, he could see that his right leg was carefully rebind and immobilized.

Still without a word, the Indian started to remove the simple bandages to check the skin under it. Kame caught a glimpse of it as well – it was swollen and red. Gulping down heavily, he tried to push away the most horrible scenarios regarding infection and putridity from his mind.

Nayati pressed some fresh herbs against his skin, fixed the bandage and pulled the blanket back over it.

“Thank you,” Kame said, not willing to give up despite the Indian´s non-talkative attitude.

This time, Nayati nodded at least, accepting his gratitude.

“How long have I been out?” he asked tensely.

The Indian waved with his hand in an indeterminate gesture, which probably meant he was not sure.

Kame locked his eyes with his: “Why don´t you talk to me?” he asked urgently. “I know you understand.”

Nayati crossed his legs, making himself comfortable and finally spoke in a deep voice: “No need.”

“No need for what? To answer me?”

“Paleface always uses too many words,” came the reply.

Kame frowned: “Can you at least tell me where we are?”

Nayati observed him, as if he was not sure if Kame meant his question seriously.

“South from Paleface city.”

“How far?”

Nayati didn´t react this time. It seemed it would be hard to get anywhere with him. And it was a way too big coincidence that he had found him in these forsaken woods.

Feeling somewhat inferior and not liking it, Kame struggled to sit up again, despite the Indian´s frown. His hands were shaking hard as he leant on them, yet he managed to keep his voice firm as he spoke again: “Nayati, listen, I am grateful for your care, but it doesn´t change the fact, you should not be here. How comes you´re so far from the reservation? And how did you find me?”

Nayati scoffed: “Rules, prohibitions – Palefaces obsessed with them.”

“Do you even realize that if any white soldier sees you out of the reservation they can shoot you on the spot?”

A sharp look almost immobilized him: “Would that make Paleface happy?”

Kame stared at him.

“My name is Kame,” he said then slowly.

The Indian nodded: “Nayati know.”

“So, why don´t you call me that?”

“No friends.”

Already fed up, Kame snapped at him: “Then why the hell did you save me?”

A strange expression ran over Nayati´s face, the one Kame could not read at all and then it was gone. Nayati stood up: “Lie, rest,” he ordered. “Must not walk yet.”

“How can you tell?” he protested. “How bad is it?”

“Must not walk,” Nayati repeated impatiently, straightened up and left, probably to take care of some meal.

No way, Kame thought. I need to walk again as soon as possible. I cannot just lie here while Jin…

Who knew what was happening with Jin during all this time? He just felt he had to find him soon.

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty six

witchann2 — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 17:56:49 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Another long one, enjoy!

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four // Chapter twenty five //

Coping mechanism

A familiar hand – hardened by frequent manual work, yet gentle – caressed his naked arm from shoulder to elbow. It sneaked under the warm blanket and continued across his stomach, where it lingered, warming up his abdomen muscles. Then it swiftly moved on lower, its fingers teasingly going through his pubic hair first, before clasping around his eagerly awaiting member.

When he sighed in pleasure, a wet, hot tongue uncompromisingly spread his lips apart, penetrating his mouth. A heated battle for dominance in the kiss stirred the so far dormant spot inside of him and increased his desire for more, just as the conquering, skillful hand down there did. The demanding pressure of the muscular body made him surrender completely and more than willingly.

Excited moans, whispered loving words, bodies synchronized in growing passion and the strong feeling of being safe and loved… All of it was so unreal…

Kame straightened up with a sharp jerk, realizing he was about to pass out and lose balance even while still sitting on the uncomfortable stone.

With considerable effort, he raised his head again. As he looked around the silent cave, his vision seemed somewhat blurred. It was because his whole body was shivering so hard his teeth were chattering. He felt so damn cold he might have as well be dead. It was as if they had already buried him deep under the ground.

His small, so-called torch was still shining, faintly yet perseveringly. Unfortunately, neither the view in front of him has changed in the least.

Kame stared at the motionless water surface, depressed. He did not see or hear any source of this underground lake. What else could he try in his situation? All his endeavors so far were in vain. Immersing in memories, which included Jin, was a way better than facing this bleak reality.

Bitterly, he chuckled at his own cruel imagination, which had been creating those lovely, dreamed-up images in his mind. It was probably due to that aching bump on the top of his head…

The torch flickered and his surroundings darkened a little.

Suddenly upset, Kame bent down for a little stone within his reach and threw it away. It sank with a loud splash, which echoed around the cave. If he had some spare strength for it, he would have started swearing loudly. Instead, he took another pebble and threw it again, creating more mild waves on the water surface.

“Damn it…” he sighed hopelessly.

To hell with everything. With Henderson, with his mine and most of all, with his stupid, foolish heroism, that led him to this forsaken place.

Then, just when he was about to pick another stupid stone, he saw it.

Something was floating on the surface of the lake.

Kame froze, gazing at that tiny thing, which was disrupting the otherwise smooth view. Slowly, he stood up on trembling legs, grabbed his makeshift crutch and staggered closer. It was still too far, so he was not able to identify what it was. Frowning, he relied mostly on his left leg and carefully checked the bottom under the water with the end of the crutch. It seemed to be shallow near the shore.

After a short hesitation, he walked in or rather stumbled into the lake.

The water was ice cold, biting his limbs as an army of ants, but the same time, it had a pleasantly numbing effect on his broken leg. He made a few very cautious steps forward, since it was gradually getting deeper and then leant down to pick that mysterious thing.

It was a dry elm leaf.

It hasn´t even started rotting yet, so it could not have been in the water for long. Somehow, the leaf had to get inside this cave from the outside. Though there was no visible hole, therefore he could assume that it was hiding under the surface of the lake, which was apparently deep enough for it.

Kame struggled to tame his excitement from such a finding. Even if there was a connection to the outside world, it might be too small for him to use it. Not to mention that trying to find it would be dangerous. Would he be even able to swim properly with his leg broken?

No. It was not a question of if he could. If there were a way, he would just swim through. What was the point in worrying about it, if he hasn´t tried yet?

He returned for the torch and then carefully moved it along the shore to lean it against two stalagmites. He needed at least some source of light to do this. He could not swim through the whole lake, trying to find the canal only by touch. He had no strength for it.

He turned on his axis, musing about where to start. As it turned out, it was more than a good idea to keep checking the bottom in front of him with a crutch first, since the lake deepened so suddenly, he almost lost his balance.

Starting to feel somewhat numb to the icy coldness, Kame looked around trying to remember the shape of the cave and the position of the torch. Then he slowly lowered himself to sit on the overhang under the water, hissing surprised about how much colder it could be yet.

Then, with a heavy heart, he put his crutch aside and took a couple of deep, slow breaths. Indians from the Blackfeet Tribe had taught him to hold breath for quite a long time, but he was not sure if he was able to do the same in his current state. He could not overestimate himself; otherwise, it would be the end of him.

Taking one last breath, Kame sank into the wet coldness.

The water pressure had a disturbingly calming effect on him. It was quite pleasant letting the water bear his weight and listen to its humming voice. Once his eyes accustomed to the new terms, he started to move forward slowly, trying to recognize as much under the water as was only possible.

No sooner than almost two minutes later, Kame resurfaced gasping for breath and groaning in pain. He had tried to prevent himself from moving with the right leg much, even though it was hard to keep direction like that, yet it still hurt like hell. He was shaking wildly again, trying hard to collect himself.

There was one good thing, which hit him confirming there might be a chance for him to escape. The taste of the lake water was good. Not stale or weirdly tasting in any way. It was fresh. There just had to be the source and the outflow of it somewhere.

He held himself afloat, calming down a bit. He got a couple of feet away from the torch and there was not much of what he could see under the water anymore. Nevertheless, he had to try to keep the same direction of his search.

He turned a bit, studying the cave walls around him again. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he caught a glimpse of something. He slowly swam a little further away from the torch light.

There it was again – a slightly less dark spot on the other side of the lake. It looked as if there was some source of natural light. In case he was not hallucinating of course. It was quite far and he was already getting tired. Was it worth risking?

There was a crackle and suddenly, Kame found himself in complete darkness. His torch gave out.

Gulping down panic, which immediately raised up in his throat, he tensely waited for his eyes to accustom. He blinked a few times to make sure. The light spot was still there, coming from under the water.

There might have been a canal connecting this lake with some other place and it should not be hard to find it now. On the other hand, he could not tell if it was wide enough for him to swim through, or if it did not change size in the middle, which would have trapped him. It might have even been too long for him to hold on with his breath. All these possibilities would lead to the same result – he would have drowned.

Not a way I would wish to go, Kame gloomily wondered, as he slowly swam toward the light spot. Nevertheless, there were much worse. Such as giving up and starving to death, while Jin was out there grieving.

With his eyes closed, he tried to get as much air into his lungs as possible, at the same time reminding himself to be careful about the right leg. Determined to try his best, he sank under the water again.

Soon, the surface of the hidden lake became just as unmoving and calm as before Kame had arrived to its underground shore.

***

“Luke Harrow. Negan Smith. Elam Ferguson. Morgan Jones. Rob Gunderson. Kazuya Kamenashi… We have gathered here today, in front of our Lord Jesus Christ, to honor the memory of these brave men, who lost their lives while struggling to provide for their families. Let´s pray for salvation of their souls…”

That morning, the church was so crowded that people were even standing outside in front of the entrance. All the front pews occupied wives, children, and other relatives of those who perished in the gold mine. Most of them were sobbing quietly.

“This sad tragedy is a sign from the Almighty,” Reverend Kapner continued preaching in a heartfelt voice. “It is a reminder to us all that we have no choice in our destiny. Hear the word of God…”

Lena was kneeling in one of those pews as well, with her hands clasped in the pleading gesture, whispering voiceless prayers. Her parents were sitting right behind her, the rest of Bozeman citizens who used to know Kame further behind. There were a lot of them, including the saloon owner Harada, Miss Melody McBain, little Mike with his grandparents, and others. In fact, most of the city had arrived. From Kame´s acquaintances, only Dr. Best was missing, since he still had his hands full with the injured men at the clinic.

However, the one who had been the closest to Kame was not there. She had already noticed that Jin Akanishi really did not come to the Requiem Mass in the end. Even though a day before, she went to tell him about it herself…

Lena was waiting outside, on the street in front of the brothel, not daring to enter. She asked one of the girls just arriving to work to pass on her message and now she was observing the evening hustle on the street sadly.

Even though the news about the mine collapse spread through the city like fire, nothing much changed in its usual daily flow. Several families mourned their loved ones, yet it was as if nothing had changed. As if none of those dead mattered…

She heard a creak of the door and turned. A tall figure walked out on the veranda and stepped down the stairs, approaching her. All the words flew out of Lena´s mind once she set her eyes on Jin Akanishi´s face.

She felt broken ever since she had found out that the news from the collapsed mine related to her fake boyfriend as well, but this man… The dark emptiness in his look almost frightened her.

“So? What is it?” Akanishi asked in a raspy voice.

Lena gulped down heavily, crossing arms on her chest, trying to suppress the tremor, which suddenly seized her.

“I´m not sure if you already know or not, but tomorrow, there´s going to be a mass service for the collapse victims,” she informed him quietly.

He stared at her blankly: “And?”

“Well…” Lena suppressed the urge to step away from him. “I just thought you might want to come...”

There was a short silence.

“No,” he said then. “Anything else?”

This time, it was her staring at him speechless. She had expected him to mourn, but it felt like Akanishi turned out into a complete stranger.

When she did not say anything, he turned away from her, promptly on the way back inside. Lena sniffed, fighting against tears. She believed that Jin truly cared for Kame and what happened would have a bad influence on him, but this man was as closed up and cold as a stone.

She could not hold her disappointment back and made a couple of quick steps after him: “Won´t you even say goodbye to him?” she snapped at his back tearfully. “I thought you loved him.”

Already on the veranda, Akanishi froze. Lena noticed how his hands tightened into firm fists. At first, she half-expected him to storm at her, but then his tense back slackened, he did not react in any way and just disappeared back inside the brothel…

Lena did not understand why Akanishi refused to come. How did he expect to reach any kind of conciliation, when he could not do even something so simple?

There were no bodies to bury. Parting with those deceased in the collapse like this was the least they could do. Was he not able to overcome his dislike towards the church even for Kame?

Lena squeezed her eyelids together, desperately trying to stop the flow of stinging tears.

Just why? Why it had to be him?

After everything her dear friend went through, he lost his life while helping others. If there was any God, he was damn unfair in this case. Why should they pay the Almighty such respect in that case?

In the end, Lena realized that she did understand Jin´s attitude a bit.

***

Jane was among the first to leave the church. The local priest´s speech was empathetic and comforting, yet it felt empty and insincere to her. She slightly regretted going to that mass. Now, she thought it would have been better to go with Ryo right away to see Koki again.

To protect herself from the cold wind, she pulled the long coat closer to her body and set off across the short bridge to the main street, sinking in sullen thoughts.

Jin had been holding on to his non-talkative attitude, spending most of the time at work in the brothel. He claimed to do so at least. Ryo was the one riding here and there between their current shelter in Kame´s house and the city the most, taking care of Koki and shopping. Leo was gradually getting hopeless about how to help his brooding brother and Cullen restless from idly sitting on their asses. And she… She was just trying not to think much about her own previous ideas.

During their journey north, she had been imagining how wonderful it would be once they would arrive to Bozeman and announce their engagement. Leo even intended to ask Jin to be his best man. Nevertheless, they did not utter a word about it yet. It was not exactly convenient. Not now.

Pondering their gloomy situation, Jane was already in sight of Dr. Best´s clinic, when she noticed an unusual number of riders in front of the building and stumbled a little surprised.

Tensely, she made herself continue walking in the same pace and passed by the clinic, pretending not paying attention to the group of men. However, once she turned the corner, she stopped right away and attached herself to the wall, peeking out to check on the situation again. She counted six armed men in dark vests and brown short coats, all of them bearing quite distinctive badges on their chests – of the US Marshals.

Jane observed them, thinking hard. It could be just a coincidence that they gathered right there. On the other hand – it might not. Though armed to the teeth, they seemed to be at ease, talking with each other and waiting for something. More precisely on someone, as she found out soon.

A well-dressed elderly man, whom she had already noticed in the church, approached the Marshals together with a slim youngster. If Jane could rely on the description she remembered hearing from Koki – and once Kame as well –, those two were probably the mine owner Henderson and his assistant McFly.

Henderson shook hands with the most impressive Marshal from the group, even though the man could be over forty years old and he was sitting in the robust wheelchair. Then the two of them approached the entrance to the clinic. She could not hear their conversation with the doctor, but she saw the result – they went inside along with another younger Marshal.

Slowly, Jane leant over the wall behind her, wondering what to do. At that moment, going to see Koki was not an option. She could only wait and see how this would turn out.

The US Federal Marshals were by far the most important government officials in territorial jurisdictions. For what reason did they appear in this city, just when they – the Black Riders – arrived as well? Either it was really just a coincidence and they came here only because of the attack in the mine, or they were damn unlucky or somebody snitched on their presence in Bozeman…

“Why so gloomy, buddy?”

Koki reluctantly looked up to face his friend sitting on the edge of his bed.

“The doc said you´ll be released soon,” Ryo continued cheerfully. “So, you should stand the rest of this boredom and doing nothing quite easily, right?”

“Yeah, I know…” he sighed and leant into the pillows behind his back. His head did not hurt so much anymore, even if was still wrapped in bandages and the horrible sickness had passed as well. Physically, he was recovering just fine. However, it was not so easy with how he felt. “It´s just… hard to be happy about anything when…”

“Is it because of Kame?” Ryo completed him quietly. “I´ve already told you not to blame yourself.”

“How can I not?” he blurted helplessly. “You guys saved my ass back there and he… he paid for my greed. This shouldn´t have happened.”

“Koki…” his fellow Rider took a breath to start persuading him again, but Koki did not let him. He just had to let it out.

“It should´ve been me! I should´ve been trapped in there!”

Ryo frowned: “If you don’t stop bullshitting, I swear I´ll hit you no matter your convalescence. None of us could predict what would happen.”

“That does not excuse me and you know it,” he opposed sadly.

His dear friend sighed: “Stubborn as always…”

Koki rather changed the topic: “What about Jin?” he asked.

“Still the same, sometimes worse,” Ryo murmured. “He…” a sudden knock on the door did not allow him to continue.

“Tanaka, you´ve got some visitors,” Dr. Best announced in an unusually sharp tone and stepped back to the corridor to free the entrance of Koki´s room.

His announcement surprised both Koki and Ryo, since they knew the doc would not bother to accompany Jane – whom they were expecting – to the room, since he already knew her from the day before.

Their surprise quickly turned into unpleasant shock, once one of the mentioned visitors wheeled through the door. Koki just stared, feeling somewhat numb, while Ryo cautiously rose up on his feet.

Altogether three men entered the room.

Two of them in very specific clothes and with shining badges on their chests, which left no doubt about who they were, even though the older one of them was sitting in the wheelchair. The younger Marshal navigated the older man´s chair into the room skillfully.

Right behind the Federal Marshals, the third man stepped inside and his presence squeezed Koki´s gust with a very bad hunch – it was Cameron Henderson.

“Good morning,” the wheelchair man greeted them. His voice was strict and his eyes observing as he studied them with a piercing look. “I´m Marshal Botkin and this is my deputy. I suppose you both know Mr. Henderson…?” he gestured shortly toward that creepy bastard, who moved to stand by the window.

Koki figured that if they were there to arrest him right away, then they would not have bothered with introductions. Therefore, he nodded shortly, noticing that also Ryo realized they could expect some serious troubles, when he heard the name, which confirmed the third man´s identity.

“Good. Mr. Tanaka?”

“That´s me,” Koki reacted as firmly as possible, preparing himself for the worst.

“We´d like to ask you a few questions about what happened in the gold mine, if you feel up to it,” Marshal Botkin finally explained their presence. “The doctor said you should be fully able to handle a few questions.”

Koki allowed himself to feel a bit of relief. If they came just because of the explosion, then he could handle it just fine.

He nodded again: “Sure…”

“Should I leave, Marshal or I may stay as well?” Ryo asked politely.

Botkin focused a bright, exploratory look on him: “And you are?”

“Ryan Kiddo. A friend of his.”

“He had been helping with rescue of the trapped miners, Marshal,” Henderson spoke with an unreadable expression. “I assume it´d be convenient if he rather stayed as well.”
Marshal agreed right away: “Stay then, Mr. Kiddo, you said?”

Ryo nodded: “That´s correct.”

“All right… Wallace, give me a hand, please.”

The young deputy navigated Botkin´s wheelchair right next to the bed and then pulled a writing pad out of his coat´s pocket. Ryo purposefully stepped aside a bit, to have a better overview of the room and especially on Henderson, and remained standing by the front side of the bed, next to Koki.

“We´re here to properly investigate the cause of the recent collapse in the gold mine… Are you Koki Tanaka, currently employed as a miner by Mr. Cameron Henderson?” Marshal Botkin had started the questioning, while his deputy writing.

“Yes.”

“According to the report provided by Mr. Henderson, you said that two days ago you had encountered a man, who blew the gold mine…”

“That´s right.”

“And it was shortly after the beginning of the morning shift in the west part of the tunnel. Is that correct?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Did you recognize this man?”

“I think he was one of the new guards, I didn´t know him by name.”

“So, you can testify he was also an employee in the mine?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You haven´t met him anywhere else?”

“No… Why should I?”

“Did he tell you his motivation?” Marshal asked another question without explanation.

“Well, he definitely talked like a crazy man.”

“Can you specify it?”

Koki huffed: “Specify? He was nuts, okay? He kept yapping something about revenge for somebody who was already dead and then… Then he just blew it.”

“You can´t remember any exact words?”

Rather reluctantly, he thought about it: “I was kind of upset by the whole situation, so no… I don´t know what exactly he was saying.”

Marshal wordlessly shook his head and looked up to Ryo: “Mr. Kiddo, what can you tell us about this incident?”

Ryo shrugged. Koki almost envied him that he was able to look so calm.

“Not much. I arrived at the mine to volunteer only after the blast. I can only say that inside definitely looked like after some explosives blew up. And I believe what Koki says.”

“All right…” Botkin seemed to ponder their words for a while. “Mr. Tanaka, did you see anyone suspicious moving around the mine? Probably even days before the explosion?”

Koki frowned incomprehensibly. These questions were going somewhere, but he could not figure out where: “No.”

“No one in expressly black clothes or having weird comments for example…” Marshal continued.

“What? No, I don´t think so.”

“Do you know the gang which call themselves Black Riders?”

Koki almost burst out laughing, when it occurred to him, but he managed to handle it. Botkin´s eyes were unwaveringly studying him the whole time.

“Well… Yes, I do. The local newspapers mentioned them a couple of times.”

“And even more times you could see their name on the wanted posters, isn´t that right?”

“Yeah...”

“Do you think they might be responsible for this incident?”

He gaped at the man: “What?! No way!”

His reaction was a bit too fierce and Ryo scolded him wordlessly with his eyes. However, he was too upset to realize it. What was this shit about?

Marshal raised his eyebrows: “You sound quite certain about it…”

“Well, it´s obvious it was just some crazy idiot, who lost someone in the mine and wanted to take it on the whole world!”

“Even though, they´re capable of handling explosives, aren´t they?”

Koki´s head was starting to ache from all those quick questions: “Who?”

“The Black Riders.”

Perfect, now he was getting nervous again. It did not feel good to hear their name from the Marshal´s lips so many times.

“How should I know that?” he strained the question between his teeth.

“Well, Mr. Henderson here reminded us that they already used them in the past, even killing innocents.”

“Mr. Henderson is obviously well informed,” Koki reacted caustically, while Ryo seemed that he would have like to strangle him.

“Unfortunately, I had some serious troubles with this persistent gang already,” until that moment silent Henderson suddenly cut in as well. “They obstructed my business a few times, so I did my own investigation, naturally,” he announced with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

Koki frowned at him: “And what in common does it have with the mine? Or with me?”

“How can you tell it was not one of the Riders, if you don´t know the gang as you said?” Marshal hit on him.

“With all the respect, Marshal,” Ryo stepped in. “Now you twist what he says…”

The older man´s look stabbed him so that he had to suppress the urge to step back: “Do I now?”

Henderson´s eyes suddenly narrowed and he moved forward, closer to the bed: “I apologize for interruption, Marshal, but…” he stared directly at Koki: “Haven´t we met before, Tanaka?”

Koki stiffened and his hands began to sweat. After all this time, he was already sure that Henderson did not remember him and now this…

He gulped down to wet his dry throat: “I don´t think so…”

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

“You know, I´ve got a strong feeling I met you under some unfortunate circumstances.”

Fuck… Koki finally realized that he made an awful mistake being so emotional over the Black Riders topic.

“I… I hope not in that case,” he managed to utter.

“Hmm…” Henderson hummed and straightened up. “Never mind. Please, continue, Marshal.”

“So, Mr. Tanaka,” Botkin focused on Koki with his sharp eyes again. “Can you be certain that person was not a member of Black Riders?”

Koki felt his guts clutched in an unpleasant lump. Feeling cold and anxious, he returned Henderson´s stare. There was a knowing, threatening smile on his face.

He licked his lips: “…No. If you put it this way, then I cannot.”

Marshal´s Botkin face brightened up, as if he finally got what he came for.

“Thank you. If either of you remember anything else, which might help us with the investigation, we´ll be staying at Harada´s Saloon.”

“Sure thing, Marshal,” only Ryo replied, as Koki was speechless.

Just before the door closed behind the uninvited visitors, Henderson turned – a half-assed smile still playing on his thin lips: “Wish you quick recovery, Tanaka.”

Koki let him leave without any reply.

Stunned Ryo stared at the door for a while, before he turned back to his friend. Koki was still sitting there in the same position, but his hands were clenched in the shaking angry fists and his eyes were full of remorseful tears.

“Hey, calm down, buddy…” Ryo whispered urgently. “They´ve got nothing on us.”

Koki shook his head unhappily: “He knows…”

Ryo frowned: “What?”

“Creepy Cam knows who we are.”

“Wait a second. He did not imply anything specific. How can you tell…?”

Upset Koki continued ignoring his objections: “Kame-chan had warned me about him many times, but I just didn´t listen. I was so damn stupid.”

Ryo breathed out and sat down on the bed again, finally realizing that his friend was damn sure about what he just said: “Do you think McFly told him?”

Koki shook his head: “That´s the thing. I´m quite sure that guy would not give us away… He could have exposed me back at the mine, but he didn´t do it.”

“Well, he could just play it on us,” Ryo suggested.

“Even if, it doesn´t matter. Henderson knows and we are in trouble.”

Jin was watching the stables behind Harada´s, while smoking his first cigarette of that day.

The saloon owner needed some help with tables´ repairs and since forenoons were usually quite lazy at the brothel, he offered himself to take care of it. He was just taking a short break in the lee of the building, remembering those few occasions he had helped Kame out with his duties around the horses of the saloon guests. Even though he got scolded a couple of times for doing something in a wrong way, it was fun. Everything his boyfriend ever did, it was with such dedication and seriousness...

At that moment, only Mike was running around, obviously busy, probably trying to catch up on all the duties because of his late arrival after the mass.

“Here you are!”

Jin looked up to see Ryo, who was approaching him with a suspicious rush and serious expression on his usually bright face. He tensed up, yet remained sitting on the empty box from whiskey.

“Hey… Something happened?”

“More like someone,” Ryo replied with a heavy sigh and hastily checked the backyard before he continued. “We need to meet and talk. All of us, sooner the better,” he emphasized.

For once, Ryo´s tone was enough for Jin not to ask more questions: “Where?”

“At your house.”

The sound of it stabbed Jin´s chest with bitter intensity. It was not just his, it was Kame´s home as well, it was theirs…

Hastily, he averted his gaze from the other Rider.

“The doc has just released Koki from the clinic, so we´re going there now,” Ryo informed him. “When can you come?”

Slowly, Jin doused the rest of the cigarette and got up: “I´ll go with you, just need to tell Harada. I´ll meet you in front of the clinic.”

***

Distant humming in the woods surrounding the house carried the undeniable essence of late autumn. The sun was hiding its yellow face behind grayish clouds and the strong wind kept chasing around dry, yet still colorful leaves in the gloomy afternoon. Soon, the days were about to get much shorter and colder.

Fortunately, together with Kame they did quite a good job as came to general house repairs, so it was well isolated from the unpleasant weather and there was a fine temperature inside. Thanks to that, almost complete Black Riders could gather in the biggest room of the house – the salon and didn´t have to shiver with cold, even though Jin had barely started the fire in the hearth.

Koki with an ugly, dark bruise on his forehead was occupying Kame´s favorite sofa in the corner, while frowning Ryo was standing above him as a caring hen. Leo with Jane were sitting on the new bench near the fireplace and Cullen took place typical for him – right next to the window to keep an eye on anything happening in front of the house.

Jin was sitting on the floor, right in front of the hearth, altering the growing fire crackling in it. Their current gathering was a way different in both place and time; nonetheless, he could not help but remember the similar serious discussion in the cottage deep in the woods of Colorado. Back then when all gang members voted about what to do with the unexpected new arrival… He had to try hard to focus and actually listen to the narration of the other two Riders.

After Koki and Ryo finished their description of the confrontation with Marshals and Henderson, the room fell into anxious silence.

No wonder, Jin thought bitterly. None of them expected that their trip to Montana would turn out in such a miserable way… The least of all I did.

He was more annoyed than surprised by Henderson calling up the federal marshals to the city. He should have expected that creepy bastard would not have enough even after what happened in the mine. He had already taken Kame away from him and now he focused to do the same with the rest of people close to him. It made him angry and sick.

Slowly, feeling strangely tired, Jin turned to face his comrades and younger brother. He was aware that they were trying to help him in the past few days, and even though he was not able to accept their sympathy, he appreciated it. He just didn´t know where to find strength to fight for them…

“I´m amazed by the ridiculous amount of troubles you´re able to attract,” Cullen was the first to comment the new circumstances, giving the rescued gold digger one of his clearly disgusted looks.

“I know it´s my fault,” the humbled mumbling did not remind the once blonde cheerful Rider much. “No need to remind me.”

“I won´t argue with you about that, but that doesn´t mean our old wolf needs to be such an ass,” Ryo growled upset.

The older Rider eyed him haughtily: “What other choice do I have?”

“We´re not kids for you to be scolding us like this at each opportunity,” snapped Ryo.

Cullen bared his yellow teeth at him in an exaggerated smile: “Trust me, I can´t wait for the day I´ll be able to treat you as adults.”

The younger Rider rolled his eyes: “Jesus, you act like you never make mistakes.”

Cullen´s strong finger pointed directly at obviously depressed Koki: “What this blinded-by-gold donkey did was not a mistake, but a fatally wrong decision. He even introduced himself with his true name, damn it!”

The mentioned donkey dared to raise his head: “Well, I applied for a job. They didn´t know me, so I thought that…”

Cullen cut him out quickly: “Rather stop thinking all together. It seems to me that would be good for all of us.”

“He was trying to be helpful, while you´re just hateful!” Ryo spat out, not controlling himself anymore.

“You´re going too far, Nishikido,” the older man growled. “You´ve always defended his stupidity, but this…”

“Enough!” Leo disrupted their argument annoyed. “Shut it already, seriously. You give me a headache.”

“You bicker like grandmothers in the market,” Jane chipped in readily.” “What´s done is done, rather think about what we´re gonna do now.”

Cullen and Ryo kept killing each other with angry stares, but they ceased their verbal fight at least.

Leo leant over his knees with a thoughtful expression: “First things first… Since when is Henderson after us?”

“Since the moment he found out that I and Kame are the members of the gang as well.”

All the Riders turned their attention to Jin. So far, he had been sitting on the floor so quietly that it actually surprised them when he spoke.

“That´s what we figured out after Jack´s telegram arrived at least,” the older Akanishi added.

“What do you mean, brother?” Leo asked surprised. “What exactly was in that telegram?”

Jin shrugged: “Nothing specific, naturally. Apart from that you´re coming here, the main message was about Creepy Cam´s cooperation with Tabor.”

His statement reverted Cullen´s attention from Ryo to him: “And you´re telling us about that now?”

“Yeah. I forgot to mention it before…”

“You forgot?!” the older man raised his voice.

The Riders´ leader gave him a warning glance: “Cullen… It´s understandable considering what happened meanwhile.”

“I knew about that telegram as well, so you can happily keep blaming me,” Koki joined Jin´s defense quietly.

Cullen snorted mockingly: “How comes that doesn´t surprise me?”

“Did you catch fleas or something, man? What´s up with you?” Ryo asked harshly, obviously fed up with Cullen´s attitude.

“Well, I won´t be here forever to catch and kill those fleas for you!” the oldest Rider snapped and turned away from them to look out of the window.

“What do you mean by that, Cullen?” even Leo asked him bothered. “Did something happen?”

There was a short silence.

“Nothing,” the older man murmured then. “I´d just appreciate some truly peaceful days.”

Ryo kept eyeing Cullen´s back for a while, before his expression eased up and he sighed: “Well… I dare to say I know what you mean. And I agree.”

“So, can I tell you the rest now?” Jin asked.

“Go on, Bro,” Leo encouraged him to continue.

“Henderson hates us for what we did to Raynold Karnaka,” he started to explain from the very beginning in a cold, detached voice. “He´s been focused on us ever since he returned to Bozeman. Claiming that he inherited Kame´s lands from Karnaka, he forced us to pay rent for living in this house and took over the rest of the property along with that damn mine.”

“Just to be clear – while you were talking with him, he didn´t mention us in any way?” Leo asked.

“He did make some hints about robbing the safe vaults, so we presumed McFly told him we were involved with the Black Riders, but it didn´t seem like he considered it important. Moreover, he had no proof to use against us in this matter, so we just let it go. We had other thing so take care of…”

“I can imagine,” Leo nodded. “McFly… Is that the guy who helped us catch Grenet in Colorado?”

“Yeah. I think he´s the main source of Henderson´s information. He appeared in Bozeman only along with him.”

“A little rat,” Cullen by the window murmured.

“Not necessarily,” Jin opposed. “I believe he keeps many things to himself, otherwise Henderson would have enough material to have both me and Kame arrested long ago.”

“The same counts for me, so I think the same,” Koki agreed.

Thoughtfully, Leo nodded: “That makes sense…”

“So, we thought Henderson just wanted revenge on the two of us until that telegram came and we found out he´s like two peas in a pod with Tabor. He had probably offered him cooperation in catching you, based on common finances and shared information. That´s when we realized he wants to use us to target the Riders as well.”

It was one of the longest Jin´s speeches ever and everyone stared at him at first, trying to absorb all the revelations.

“How did you come up with all this?” Leo asked amazed.

Jin´s eyes turned distant and he replied only after a short pause: “We used to discuss it a lot with Kame… We… we were trying to find a way to handle him.”

“How kind of you to tell us about it, too. Are you done?” Cullen asked in a weirdly tired voice.

Jane hissed something at the man, while Jin just stared at him unmoved: “Yes.”

“Even when I take all this into account,” Leo mused, “just why he would blame us for the explosion? How can he know that we´re even here?”

“McFly again?” Ryo offered. “He saw all of us up close, except Jane.”

“Well, he didn´t give us away at the mine…” Koki reminded feebly.

Leo looked at him sharply: “But he recognized you?”

“That´s for sure,” nodded Koki unhappily.

“Then he was scared shitless or calculative,” Cullen had an explanation to provide. “He could tell Henderson about you after that. We can´t trust anyone, how many times do you all need a reminder of that?”

Koki looked at Cullen with burning eyes: “We did well to trust Kame, didn´t we?”

Jin turned away from them to put some more wood on the fire.

“That´s different…” the older man reacted stiffly.

“Really? Tell me how?”

“Come on…” Leo got up on his feet. “I know you´re all upset, but this is not helping, okay?”

Nobody in the room showed any sign of disagreement.

“What bothers me more than McFly is why Henderson doesn´t use this directly or if he shared all of the information with Tabor or not,” emphasized Leo.

Jin half-turned to him to react: “It doesn´t matter if Henderson didn´t mention what he knows in front of the Marshals. He´s just using the explosion against us all.”

Leo nodded: “True. But what is he waiting for then?”

“It felt like…” Koki started and stopped, hesitating.

“I told you to stop thinking,” Cullen reminded caustically.

Ignoring the older man, Leo encouraged him: “What´s on your mind, Koki? Tell us.”

Koki took a deep breath: “It felt like he was having fun, you know? He was just waiting if I´d snap or not.”

“I get you and I don´t like how that sounds,” reacted Leo.

“I´m actually surprised if he showed such emotion in front of you,” Jin commented in a non-participating tone.

“And what about that Marshal? Botkin?” Jane asked then curiously. “What was your impression of him?”

“Well…” Ryo turned to Koki questioningly and after the other nodded, he continued. “We cannot be sure what Henderson disclosed, but he led him to that thought about the Riders having something in common with the explosion.”

Koki followed up right away: “But I don´t think he told him as much as he actually knows.”

“And he was persistent, really,” Ryo huffed. “Even in that wheelchair of his, he had an impressive presence.”

“So, the man won´t stop until he solves this case,” Cullen assumed kind of absently.

“We must count with it,” Leo nodded. “So?” he looked around the face of all Riders. “Any ideas regarding what should we do?”

“Leave.”

Ryo turned to Cullen, who was the first to express his opinion: “He doesn´t necessarily know that all of us are here…”

“Doesn´t matter,” the older man shook his head. “It´s too risky to stay with all those Marshals around.”

“But we didn´t do anything!” Koki opposed indignantly.

“You think they´d listen to your explanation?” Cullen asked him.

Finally, their leader cut in: “I agree with Cullen… We didn´t anticipate this, but we must adapt to the new situation. We must assume that McFly told Henderson about everyone he saw back then – that means all of us except Jane. We should get out of this town,” Leo stated decisively.

Satisfied, Cullen nodded, not saying anything else to the topic, while Koki curled up on the sofa, looking quite miserable.

Ryo didn´t seem thrilled by the idea either, nevertheless asked the question first: “When do you want to leave, Chief?”

Leo hesitated and then turned to his brother: “Bro? What about you? Will you come with us?”

Jin just kept staring at the flames in the hearth.

“The change of environment would do you good, don’t you think?” his brother continued carefully.

There was a moment of thick silence, before the older Akanishi stood up and turned around to face them with a stiff expression: “You guys should disappear. But I´m staying.”

Leo strived to gather the strength for what he had to say: “Jin… What you´re doing is no solution.”

“And what exactly am I doing?” there came a quiet question from his brother.

“You know very well,” Leo urged on him. “You´re closing your eyes, not accepting what happened. It will get better in time, you´ll see… Just come with us.”

“I´ve already decided,” the older Akanishi stated in a detached voice. “If you wanna run, just go and leave me here.”

Leo sighed, not knowing what to say anymore not to make it even worse. It was Cullen, who had his day of giving out advices and his words stopped Jin in the doorway.

“Don´t you think it´s already enough, kid?”

Jin´s look was dark, when he turned back to the older Rider: “Keep your ´kid´, old man and take care of your own behavior more,” he recommended him annoyed.

“You might not believe me, but I´d rather you to go with us as well. You just need to pull yourself together. Otherwise, you´ll be nothing more a drunken burden to us.”

Alarmed, Jane stood up and took a breath to stop this awful conversation, but Leo´s hand on her elbow stopped her.

Frowning Jin huffed: “Since when do you care what I do with my free time?”

Cullen took a deep breath, facing him directly: “Kamenashi´s dead and you should better reconcile with that.”

A dangerous shine appeared in Jin´s eyes: “Shut up. It´s not your fucking business.”

On that, Cullen smirked: “You don´t even seem to miss him so much with all that drinking and fucking around.”

Jin froze and his expression revealed more than clearly what he would like to do at that moment. Jane held her breath, expecting Jin to lash out.

“Come on,” Cullen mocked him even further. “You can hit me, if it makes you feel better.”

Though Jin did not utter a word and stormed out of the house instead. Leo sat down again with a helpless sigh.

Jane approached Cullen and looked in his face: “You insensitive prick…” she whispered reproachfully.

Cullen gave her a long, meaningful look: “We all know that he´s not coping well. Someone needs to tell him. And he must start to listen.”

“And that gives you the right to talk to him like this?” she asked incredulously.

“No, it should have been me,” Leo spoke quietly, before the older Rider could reply. “But I just couldn´t do it.”

Not even the pure rush of wind on the back of his faithful horse could clear Jin´s head this time. He was riding back to the city with his mind almost painfully swirling with remorse.

Cullen reminded him something, which he was desperately trying not to think of. It was too hard for him to face own incapability to keep going in normal life.

He did not exactly remember what happened after he got drunk at Cora´s place that night a few days ago. He just knew that he woke up in her bed half-naked. Cora herself claimed she had even blanker head than he did, so she could not clear the things out. Nevertheless, she was sleeping naked right next to him. Everything led to one thing, which might happened during the night. And apparently, the other girls had already started spreading rumors.

Damn it all…

It still hurt so terribly. Jin was missing Kame´s voice, his kissing, and his mere presence so much. Though at the moment, most of all he felt damn guilty for sleeping with Cora.

His Kazuya was gone for such a short time and he has already fucked someone else? What kind of grieving was that? Did he lose his mind already?

It did not matter that he got drunk into unconsciousness, that it was just sex and he did not even remember the actual act. He still did it and felt like shit because of it.

Not to mention that Lena Brice was just another painful reminder of what he did wrong.

When she had come to see him, he remembered that the last time they were alone with Kame, before all that shit with the explosion went down, they were arguing about her. Instead of love, he was giving just jealousy and complaints to the most precious person in his life. He was not even able to talk to Lena properly, when he had realized that…

Even though Jin knew it would not help him to escape from his conscience, he incited Kuro to run faster. The black stallion – feeling his master´s woe – followed his lead obediently.

A part of him was still expecting to see Kame´s smile behind every corner, behind every tree, in the bed beside him. He was not able to tear his mind off him. He had so many and yet so little memories of him and he could not regret more not spending each new day with him. He knew now – no matter what he would do, nothing would really help to make it better. It was painful and so, so damn tiring…

***

The steps of feet in soft moccasins would not have made any audible noise even without chirpy splashing of the waterfall up the stream nearby.

The muscular Indian followed the river, studying its bank and searching for animal tracks. He had almost reached the waterfall itself, when something else entirely caught the attention of his intent eyes.

There was a body half lying on the stones and half soaking in the burbling water.

The Indian squeezed the bow in his right hand more firmly and carefully checked the quiet surroundings. Then, like a predator, he quickly reached the unmoving figure.

It was a young white man. His eyes were closed, he was lying on his stomach and except the right leg – which was apparently broken – he had many scratches and bruises all over his hands.

The Indian stared at the pale, handsome face for a short moment, before he squatted and reached forward to check the pulse under the cold skin on the man´s neck. Then he threw the bow over his back, grabbed the body with both his hands and slowly raised the unconscious man up in his arms.

- To be continued -

[RW] Pleading for help

witchann2 — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 14:51:43 GMT

Hello there, every-...

*thinking for a while*

Well, to use anyone out here at all is better, I guess.

It has been a long time since I posted anything beside RW related stuff. And today will not be an exception. With just a small difference this time - I´m in need for your help.

After all those years (it´s hard to believe, but I started writing RW in 2013...), I really want to bring this story to its end. I have a clear, precise plan for the remaining chapters and I believe I can do it. But — it´s getting harder and harder with each chapter, especially due to the lack of comments or any other reaction whatsoever. Gradually, it´s like I´m afraid to continue writing, because I don´t know if I can do it right anymore...

Therefore, I´d like to ask all of you, anyone who might still be visiting my LJ, for a big favor.

If there is something you´d like to tell me about RW, anything at all, either it would be praise or critic, please let me know about it.
I suspect that this is the final call I make for any help of this kind. There are not many more chapters to go and then it will be done.
So, why am I doing this, you ask? Why do I plead for any comment, as if I was an uncertain, fanfic-writer beginner? It´s just that I´d love to say goodbye to Kame and Jin knowing that I created one of their stories not only for myself. I will do it anyway, I owe it to them. But with (non-silent) readers around, it would be a way better and much less painful parting.

So, if you find a moment, I will be grateful to know what´s your opinion about RW. Spill anything on your mind. Any, even the shortest reaction is a way better than none to me at this point.

Thank you.

Kasumi

PS: ~~A part of me is telling me that there won´t be any reaction no matter how hard I try. But I did try. That counts.~~ --- 20/7/2022: I´m just really glad that I was wrong... ^_^v

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty five

witchann2 — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 15:20:19 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: As promised - the next chapter done...

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three // Chapter twenty four //

Silence

The cold breath of Manitou blew across the northernmost range of Montana in strong gusts, bringing forests about to sing their deep rustling songs. The ubiquitous natural force extended its invisible hands also to a large Indian village at the foot of Rising Wolf Mountain.

The sharp wind flapped with a buffalo skin covering the entrance to Shaman´s wigwam and fiddled with bright flames under the cauldron in the middle of it. The strong fragrance of its content filled up the space and dozens of various talismans hanging on long cords started swinging and jingling violently.

Disturbed from evening meditation, Cloud Dancing opened his eyes, but otherwise remained motionless. Tensely, he listened to the soft, asymmetrical melody, combined with humming of trees around the lake. He felt an odd tension in the air, but could not grasp the source of it. Manitou was still talking to him, but the old shaman was too tired to comprehend the meaning behind the spiritual hints. Recently, there was only one sign he was able to interpret clearly. Rattling whispers reaching his ears in the deepest part of the night – those were his ancestors summoning him.

The old shaman knew that the end of his time on this world was about to come and soon, he would join his predecessors, his brothers and sisters and his lovers in Eternal Hunting Grounds. He was not afraid. He had been expecting it joyfully, being aware that he could not keep up with all changes of the world around him anymore.

Another sharp blow came, shifting with the thin walls of his dwelling again and Cloud Dancing realized that there was something, which he had to do before his time came.

Slightly frowning, the shaman closed his eyes again, concentrating on the voices of spirits. Something was wrong. He had to find out what they were trying to tell him. His experience and guts were telling him it was very important…

“Father?”

Even though the voice disrupted his efforts just when he almost found the answer to the unknown mystery, Cloud Dancing was not able to get upset at his sweet little daughter. Raising his hand slowly, he invited Beara inside, carefully observing her troubled little face.

He slightly regretted that he became her father so late. He would like to see her growing up to a full-fledged, helpful member of their tribe, as he was certain Beara would turn out to be. It was his second life partner – Chenoa, aka White Dove who gave birth to the girl only to fall into the arms of Manitou soon after.

Remembering his dear wife, Cloud Dancing could not prevent himself from remembering also Hakan, his best friend and the first love of his life. He wondered if Hakan would be willing to see him in Eternal Hunting Grounds. Nevertheless, it was up to Manitou to decide if he was even worthy to meet his dearest brother and lover again.

“Father, Beara apologizes for disturbing you so late,” his daughter spoke in their mother tongue once she squatted on the warm fur in front of him.

Cloud Dancing returned the serious look of her big eyes: “Something troubles you, my child. Speak. What is it?”

The girl shifted restlessly, but spoke determined: “Beara heard voices… Whispering scary things.”

“You dreamt again?”

“No. Not this time, Father. Beara was awake.”

The old shaman studied the girl more interested now. Could it be she, who inherited the most of his ability to talk to the spirits in the end? His dear son Liwan was already fully able to make up for duties Cloud Dancing could not perform anymore, but connecting with Manitou never came easy for him. It was the result of years of diligent study and efforts. Yet, it seemed it came naturally for this little one.

“And what these voices told you?” he asked seriously.

Beara took a shaky breath: “They… they talked about Kame, Father. That something happened to him.”

Cloud Dancing felt the gripping coldness spreading from his heart to all his limbs.

This was what he did not understand. Their dear adoptive son and blood brother was in danger and he did not realize it. Before, not so long ago, he would knew right away, but now… His daughter began to be more sensitive to the messages from Manitou than himself.

“You must believe Beara, Father!” she urged, when he did not react.

“I do believe you,” Cloud Dancing nodded seriously. “Quickly, get Liwan, your brother. I must speak with him right away.”

***

Danny got back to the ranch quite late, but the faint light coming from under the workroom door showed him that his employer was still waiting for his report.

Mr. Cameron was standing by the tall window, looking out on the gardens around the house, even though it was already completely dark, so there was literally nothing he could see out there. Danny stopped at the door, hesitating. There was something radiating from the man, which tightened his throat and did not let him speak first.

“So? Is it done?” his boss asked in a deep voice, not turning away from the dark window.

Danny shook the strange feeling off and took a breath: “Yes, sir,” he confirmed. “Both telegrams were dispatched. I´ll let you know once any reply arrives.”

He did not consider necessary to mention that the city postmaster was not very keen to work overtime, so it took Danny come persuasion and excess fare to get it done. The only important fact was that the urgent messages to the US Marshals´ Office in Billings and to Horace Tabor in Colorado were on the way to their destinations.

“Good. What about those two brave fellows we had discussed before?”

Danny suppressed a surrendered sigh. It was clear that Mr. Cameron would not forget about this topic, but he was not exactly eager to talk about it anyway. It was not his fault that the survivors of the mine collapse attracted his boss´s attention. It did not matter that Danny conveniently forgot to mention they were even more than only familiar to him too…

Since there happened to be two of them at once, he was almost certain that the rest of Black Riders was probably in the city now as well. However, Danny made a promise to them once and he was not willing to break it and betray them. Not even for Mr. Cameron. There was a high probability that his boss might figure it out anyway, but he was determined to keep his mouth shut, otherwise he could not forgive himself. Even more after what happened to Kamenashi.

What he could and should say were the names they gave him. Though he doubted they were the real ones.

“One of them is the witness of that dynamite attacker – Tanaka. He´s hospitalized on Dr. Best´s clinic with a severe concussion, but the doc says he´ll recover. His friend, who had appeared right after the explosion, introduced himself as Kiddo. Last time I checked he stayed put at the mine, just as Akanishi.”

There was a short moment of silence.

“He was still working on the debris?”

Danny would swear he caught a hint of surprise in that question, but he could not be sure at all. There were not many things, which could catch Cameron Henderson unprepared, though this might be one of them. He saw Akanishi struggling with that collapse there with his own eyes and it was not a happy sight.

“As far as I know, sir.”

“All right. Good job, Danny.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, you may go now and get some rest. I expect there will be quite busy days up ahead of us.”

Already on his leave, Danny realized that he did not exactly like how that prediction sounded.

***

A half-made bed. Dirty boots threw aside on one side of it. A carefully folded pile of clothes on the other. Many pieces of clothing just thrown over the chair. Hastily folded stack of working documents related to the reservations on the clean table, except half-eaten breakfast on two plates and two barely-drunk-from cups of coffee.

There were clear signs of two people living in this recently repaired house everywhere. One of them favoring order and tidiness, the other the very opposite. However, only one of them came back home last night…

Just a short tour around the cozy rooms brought Jane to tears. How came that it was always the nicest people, who got the worst from life? It was so incredibly unfair she wanted to scream in anger and pity.

Lost in gloomy thoughts, it took her a while to notice that the water on the stove behind her was boiling already. Wiping her cheeks hastily, she loaded a tray with ceramic mugs, kettle, coffee and sugar. She took a few deliberately slow breaths to calm herself down and only then, she proceeded outside.

They said it was not uncommon for that time of the year to rain in Montana, but that morning the sky was literally pouring waterfalls of water on the earth. The rain drummed on the porch roof with vigor of buffalo herd, but fortunately, it was in the lee, so it was possible to stay there without getting drenched. Which was the opportunity all the men used.

Even though four of them were sitting there – both Akanishi brothers, Cullen and Ryo – except the raindrops falling there was complete silence. Cullen was smoking, Ryo´s eyes were so red it looked like he was crying a short while ago and Leo was observing his motionless brother, who looked completely absent minded, just staring ahead.

Jane placed the tray on the table and returned the look of her fiancé. Leo smiled at her faintly and reached out to soothe her leg gratefully.

“Thanks, dear.”

She just nodded and slowly started pouring the hot liquid into mugs. Then she sat down on the bench next to Leo, with her coffee in slightly trembling hands.

Jane did not get much sleep that night and she could imagine the others were in no better shape. Strong coffee might help everyone to cheer up a bit, but it would not erase the horrific events of the previous day. She wouldn´t have ever thought that their reunion with the two latest members of the gang would turn out like this. How this morning was like for Jin, she rather didn´t even imagine….

After he had collapsed, they took him home on the litter dragged by Kuro. Jane treated his wounds as best she only could and they let him sleep, while the four of them made themselves comfortable in the salon.

Both she and Leo heard Jin getting up when it wasn´t even dawn yet. Her fiancé went to check on his brother, but returned before long. Jin had taken refuge on the veranda and did not talk. That obviously had not changed since.

Jane carefully sipped on the hot liquid and then focused her look on Leo´s brother. With the dirt and blood washed away, Jin did not look so horrifying anymore, but inner pain and grief changed his face so much it felt like she had not known him before.

Ryo chose one of the cups she had prepared and observed the dark surface in it thoughtfully. Then he took a breath and cleared his throat: “I´m going to check on Koki later, so if you need anything in the city, I can buy it,” he announced with both hands pressed against the hot mug.

Jane more than liked the idea she could actually do something and volunteered herself as well: “I´ll go with you.”

Ryo nodded gratefully: “Thanks. I´m sure he´ll be happy to see you.”

“Say hello to him from me,” Leo requested. “I´ll rather stay out of people´s eyes.”

“I can only approve of that,” murmured Cullen.

“Sure,” Ryo nodded and turned to the other Akanishi cautiously. “Jin? Should I take care of something for you? Maybe on the place where you work?”

There was a long silence, so long that they did not expect any reply anymore, but in the end, it came.

“No, thanks.”

Hearing Jin´s quiet, hoarse voice, Jane shivered again. Leo reached out and hugged her around the waist, but did not let his eyes off his brother.

“I´ll go to the city myself as well later,” Jin continued, otherwise still motionless.

The Black Riders looked at each other worriedly.

“Then I can keep you company if you like…” Ryo suggested.

“No. I´ll handle it myself.”

Leo was not so sure about that. More like he was damn worried about what his brother was about to do. It was Cullen, who uttered this thought aloud though.

“I hope you´re not planning to do something stupid, lad.”

As if a statue suddenly moved, that was like his brother seemed to Leo in that moment.

“Stupid like what?” Jin asked, looking at Cullen with unnaturally dark eyes. “Something more stupid than playing a hero in the fucking collapsing mine? I doubt anything like that even exists,” his voice broke with the last sentence into almost non-recognizable.

Everybody stared at him speechless as Jin got up on his feet and staggered a little, making Leo flinch toward him, but in the end he kept his balance.

“I´ll try to get some sleep,” Jin announced hoarsely. “Wake me up at noon.”

With that, he disappeared inside the house.

They all sat there, for a long while nobody willing to speak.

“Shit,” murmured Ryo, covering his face. “I hate this…”

Jane felt new tears in her eyes, stinging, pinching her through and through. She had no words.

Cullen did not comment it either and just lightened up another cigarette in an apparently worse mood than before.

And Leo wondered helplessly, if there was any way to get through the walls Jin had built around himself. With a tired sigh, he reached for his coffee, wishing there was something a way stronger inside.

The empty part of the bed next to him was cold. He ran his fingers across the sheets remembering the warm soft skin under them.

It hurt so much he did not know what he felt anymore. He was so tired his body screamed for rest, which it didn´t get during the night. He just couldn´t sleep peacefully. His mind was too flooded with the depressing ideas.

How should he go on without Kazuya? Just how?

He did not want to accept that his love was gone forever. His heart was literally pleading him not to as it shook in fear from breaking apart. However, his mind was more reasonable.

He knew what he saw, he knew what happened and he knew there was no chance for Kazuya. Even if he survived the collapse, he was trapped under the tons of rock, slowly losing energy and oxygen to breathe. Slowly dying. Maybe even in this moment. And there was nothing Jin could do to change that.

And worst of all, there was no one who would deny these pessimistic assumptions to him.

Damn. He hated how quiet their bedroom was.

His fingers squeezed around the pillow, which had a faint fragrance of Kame´s hair. He missed him so much; it was as if somebody stabbed his heart with an invisible burning knife.
Even though Jin closed his eyes firmly, the two tears found their way out and ran down, freezing his cheeks.

***

There was nothing, which felt like everything that ever mattered.

The soft waves of emptiness were carrying him into the infinite unknown.

Not bothered with anyone or anything, he was calm and reconciled and it felt pleasantly natural. At least, until he heard that voice…

He did not understand what it said, but he knew to whom it belonged. It was his mother´s voice and she did not sound happy.

Confused, not knowing what he had done to upset her, he tried to get closer, but he found himself unable to move or even speak.

Realization of not being free but helpless terrified him.

Then, came the pain…

At first, he hurt all over, unable to figure out the main source of that agonizing feeling. He didn´t know where he was, could not remember what happened.

He instinctively reached out to his right leg, sensing it was the part, which hurt the most. He also realized that he had a body, which was lying on the side on some hard surface and heard his own accelerated, short breathing.

Confused and scared, he was not able to breathe properly, until one small, sane part of his mind yelled at him to calm down.

He forced himself to remain completely still and hold breath, until he started feeling nauseous. Only then, he allowed his lungs to do their job again. Concentrating only at this one task, he slowly took deep inhales of ice-cold air, one after another. It helped a bit and he remembered.

Jin´s tearful eyes… The backs´ of his friends… The collapsing world…

Kame opened his eyes to complete darkness and silence. He was alone and in pain, but apparently alive. There was no way he would feel so damn bad in the afterlife. The thought terrified him. If his leg was still trapped under that boulder…

Fighting against the urge to start hyperventilating again, he tried to roll on his back. It went just fine; excluding the sharp stab of new pain in his right leg and a dull ringing inside his skull.

He moved his hands and carefully tapped around. The right one found only harsh ground, but the left one encountered the solid wall of stones. When he stretched them behind his head, he found another obstacle.

Shaking, he tried to reach up, as high as possible, but found no trace of that huge boulder, which trapped him on the spot before. Gulping down heavily, Kame closed his eyes even though it did not change anything about how he perceived his surroundings.

It was the legs turn. He tried to move with his left feet, which did not hurt so much. Taking another deep breath, he went to do the same with the right one. The explosion of pain made him yelp, but once it passed, he realized – he could move with all his limbs freely.

Kame focused on breathing again, preventing himself from acting recklessly.

One of the tremors probably dislodged the boulder and shifted with his body in some way, which allowed him to survive. Considering the last things that he saw, it was a miracle.

Nevertheless, it did not change the fact that he was still trapped in the collapsed gold mine. That was something he had to remind to himself even though his guts tightened in horror once he made himself consider that fact.

He may have survived the collapse itself, but he did not have exactly the best prospects to stay alive for long. He still heard his own breathing, but otherwise it was deadly quiet all around. He was buried alive under the mountain. There was no chance somebody would find and rescue him. He had been abandoned in the dark, alone and dying…

There was another strange sound, which combined with his breathing. It took Kame a while to realize that he started crying. Heavy sobs shook with his sore body making him feel even worse. He had never felt so lonely and hopeless in his life.

Don´t be… like this… Kazuya…

His eyes widened into the darkness. He would swear he heard Jin´s voice… But that was impossible. Jin surely got out along with Koki and Ryo.

He could not help but pry his ears, but no voice sounded again. Instead, he caught something else in the endless silence. He was sure he knew what that sound meant, but he could not classify what it was.

Jin…

If there was anyone, because of whom he should not give up so easily, it was Jin. He might be in deep shit, but he was still alive. If nothing else, he considered better to die trying to get out of here, than just wait for the death to come for his exhausted, beaten up body.

Okay, one thing after another…

First, he had to find out how exactly it looked around him, though he feared that sight.

Tensely, he searched along his sides. If he remembered correctly, he had his bag with the first aid kit when all things went down. It was still there, hanging on the strap. He was even partially lying on it, without realizing it.

He pulled it out and placed it on his chest carefully. He did not dare to lose anything what might have remained inside after he treated some of the miners, so he slide his hand inside slowly, searching around until he found the small box with matches. From the sound of them rattling, he could tell there was quite a few inside yet.

He felt his fingers were sticky with sweat, so he took one with extra caution. With his stomach clutched in anxiety, he stroked it against the stone, which he had found on his left side before. He had to blink a few times to recognize what was revealed in the flickering small light in his shaking hand. He was surrounded by quite a few huge stones, across which he could not see, there were also a few remnants of wooded struts, but above him there was nothing, just a vast empty space. Kame´s jaw dropped.

The short match burnt out, stinging the tips of his fingers. He threw it aside and remained still for a while, thinking. He did not get to check his leg, but he could imagine it was not a nice sight. According to the stinging pain, it was broken in two or maybe in even more places. He had to be extra careful if he did not want to faint.

He put his bag aside, rested on his elbows and pushed himself up slowly. He waited for a while and then went all the way to the sitting position, groaning. His head got a little dizzy, but the pain in the right leg remained the same.

Exhaling deeply, Kame grabbed the matches again and lightened one of them with more certainty, before raising it up. On his right, there was a huge empty space. High above him, there was a dark ceiling with tens of stalactites hanging from it. He moved a little to look around as much as possible and noticed the avalanche of stones on his left, which led somewhere up to the dark.

“Damn…” his voice was just a hoarse whisper, which once again ended the short time of light he had.

Now, he was sure. He did not know how that happened, but he was not in the mine anymore. He happened to fall down into some cave under the tunnels created by gold diggers. It had to be there from the beginning of time, without anyone knowing.

For a moment, he was once again overwhelmed by the fact he survived that fall. From what he saw, he would expect his body to be smashed to a pulp by stones. Though, from what he could feel, his right leg was in a bad shape and he probably hit somewhere with his head and back, but otherwise everything else in his body seemed to be in one piece. For the first time ever, he wondered if there was something or someone almighty watching over him.

Such a finding completely changed his perception of the current situation. Escape from the collapsed mine would have been impossible, but if he was in some kind of big underground cave, there might have been some way to get out. It was a gamble, a tiny chance, but he grasped it with all his might. Not all hope was lost yet; he might still see Jin again.

His brain had already started working at full speed. He needed to treat the injured leg; he would not get far with as it was. He had some things for it left in the bag, but he needed also some more permanent light to do it. Once he would be able to move around, he could search the cave and look for that strange sound properly.

With new hope and a clear task on his mind, Kame started to pull out more things from his precious bag.

***

Ned was gloomily supervising the cleaning up works around Henderson´s mine. After all, he came to like his job here and no matter the fatal finale, he was going to miss it.

The morning rain gradually eased up, but it was still drizzling in quite an annoying way and that didn´t improve his mood much.

“Boss?” Cooper drew his attention and made a significant gesture to alert him about something behind his back. “He´s here again.”

He turned around to see whom Cooper was talking about, though he already had a hunch. Shaking his head, he set off toward the young man in black coat and hat, who was accompanied by equally black horse. Jin Akanishi was standing there, staring at the disaster before the former entrance to the gold mine. He did not pay an attention to Ned, until he spoke.

“Man, I got you,” Ned emphasized emphatically. “Really. But enough is enough. Just go home. You´re useless here.”

Once Akanishi turned to face him, Ned thought he might have chosen some less harsh words, but it was too late to take it back. After all, somebody had to tell him.

“I know,” Akanishi admitted quietly without resistance.

Ned observed his stiff face frowning. There was no emotion on Akanishi´s face, but he could sense that he was defeated.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“I just… Just want to ask if…”Akanishi stuttered, stopped and continued after a pause. “If there´s any chance that the… the bodies will be retrieved from down there,” he finished with his eyes once again glued to impenetrable blockade.

Ned stared at him, not knowing what to say for a while.

Not even the wives of the deceased miners asked about something like this. He would have to be blind not to see and realize that Akanishi had quite a close relationship with Kamenashi and it hit the man hard to lose such a close friend. Usually, he would not expect from himself to care, but Kamenashi was a good fellow and he did not deserve to end up like this.

He stood by Akanishi´s side, choosing what to say more carefully this time.

“We tried to get there, from two possible places even. It´s hopeless. The mine´s lost. It´s not worth risking even more lives,” he summarized cautiously.

“I see…” Akanishi´s voice was no more than a whisper.

Suddenly, Ned could not bear standing next to him. It was too depressing.

“I´m sorry,” he muttered and rather promptly returned to his duties.

***

She was scrubbing clean each table, chair and shelf in their reception room, even though there was literally no dirt to get rid of on sight. Almost all her girls occupied the sofas and armchairs, slandering half the men from Bozeman. For once, Cora did not scold them for it and did not chase them to work. There was practically nothing to do anyway.

“Jin!”

“Jin´s here!”

Hearing the excited calls, Cora popped her head up to check on the incomer in the door. It was really her bodyguard; with his face half-hidden in the shadow of a huge hat.

“I´m so happy you´re back!”

“They say you were there in the mine!”

“Whoa, scary…”

“What it was like?”

Jin greeted the girls who surrounded him, by a short nod, did not answer any of their questions though and gently pushed through to get to the bar.

“Shut it finally, or I´ll send you all to scrub the back yard!” Cora hushed that flock of hens, upset they had absolutely no understanding or empathy towards their handsome helper.

The girls returned to their gossiping offended and Jin sat down on one of the stools, taking his hat off. Cora almost wished for he would not do it. She had never seen more creepy expression on anyone´s face and it did not fit Jin at all.

“Hi… I´m sorry for yesterday,” his voice was a way different as well. Hoarse and broken, making Cora shiver a little. He seemed to be even worse than she had expected. Ever since the moment she had read the names of those, who perished in the gold mine on the city board, she knew it would be hard on her bodyguard. But this…

“You didn´t have to come yet, I´d understand,” she reacted softly, realizing that Kamenashi had to mean quite a lot to Jin. “Business is quiet. Nobody´s exactly eager to enjoy some wassail with what happened.”

“Bad news spread damn fast, I see,” he noted without any emotion whatsoever.

“Unfortunately,” Cora reached under the bar and pulled up a huge bottle of whiskey. She hesitated while pouring a glass and then poured one more for herself.

“Here you go.”

Jin stared at the liquid in front of him as if he did not know what it was. Cora observed him worriedly, when he finally grabbed it and drank it in one go.

“Thanks,” he murmured even more quietly than before and placed the empty glass back on the bar counter.

Cora pondered his current state for a while, before she turned to the gossiping gathering at sofas.

“Girls, go up to tidy your rooms,” she ordered strictly.

Naturally, all of them started complaining at once.

“What?”

“Why?”

“There´s no need to!”

“Get out,” Cora hissed in a tone, which they did not dare to oppose anymore and one after another they left upstairs.

Then she walked to the main door and locked it.

When she returned to the bar, Jin was still sitting there in the exactly same position and did not seem to perceive what was going on around him. Cora pulled both glasses and the bottle closer and sat down next to him.

She took a deep breath: “If you want to talk about it…” she stopped when Jin shook his head wordlessly.

“Okay…” Cora sighed a little disappointed.

“Can I ask for one more?” he asked instead.

She was already pouring the next round before he finished the question.

***

Kame knew there was no use to rush things, yet it annoyed him how slow and clumsy he was. Already the very first stone in his way turned out to be almost insurmountable obstacle…

He managed to fix his broken leg between two thin plates he had made from the remains of the wooden props with a jackknife. While taking care of it, he swallowed all remaining dried berries from wintergreen plant. He got them from Cloud Dancing and given enough time, they worked against any kind of pain.

Kame felt lucky it was a closed fracture, but no matter that, to overcome the pain as he leant on it cost him all his strength. After overcoming the first boulder, he ended up sitting on the other side of it, suppressing tears, as he could not dare to lose any liquids and waited for the worst wave to pass over.

Now, after many endless minutes, he was finally moving, but slower than any turtle on Earth. With a makeshift crutch – made from the broken prop as well – under his right shoulder and with a torch in the left hand, he staggered forward one-step at a time. He was incredibly glad for the flickering light of his torch imitation, even though it cost him his shirt, as he tore it apart to stripes and wrapped them around a thick piece of wood. Fortunately, one of the props, which fell down with him, was made of freshly cut tree, so also full of tree sap, which he could use for it. Otherwise, he would use all the matches up soon and ended up in the complete dark. Like this, he could at least partially see the incredible view around him.

The hidden cave hall seemed to spread to infinity, though he knew it was just his perception, as he fought for each step forward. The ground under his shaking feet was irregular, full of dangerous holes and sticking out stalagmites.

Kame struggled to ignore pain and thirst and just kept moving forward slowly, until he reached a natural tunnel. It was a way smaller than the cave and quite narrow, but still big enough for him to walk upright. He knew that if he stopped and sat down to rest, he would not have got up anymore. Therefore, he continued and made breaks after each covered yard and looked around, searching for the source of that soft sound which he had heard before.

He had no idea how much time passed or what distance he overcame in the underground. His heart was already beating heavily and he felt dizzy, barely suppressing the urge to vomit. That would not help him at all.

So focused on moving forward, he noticed it only in the last second and stopped.

Surprised by the light reflecting from something, Kame raised his head and then the torch. The tunnel he had been walking through ended and the cave widened again. The walls on both sides split and another big space opened right in front of him.

He looked to the left and then to the right. Nothing except the flames reflection moved on the calm surface.

With his throat tightened anxiously, he slowly sat down on a convenient stone on the shore. He reached the underground lake.

Behind him, there was only the dark, silent heart of the mountain. In front of him, there was an unmoving, cold surface, surrounded by impenetrable rocky walls. There was no way out for him.

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty four

witchann2 — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 10:44:44 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: Another chapter done... and the next one will follow soon.

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two // Chapter twenty three //

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There was nothing around but darkness and air full of dust.

The horrifying rumble stopped as quickly as it began. However, the mountain surrounding them did not return to its natural state of being just a pile of deadly silent rocks. Soft rustle of falling sand or soil in the dark and irregular, slight tremors under their feet clearly meant that the danger was far from over yet.

Shaking off the first shock, Jin realized he could – and definitely should – move. He pressed a sleeve to his face, to prevent himself from inhaling more of dusty air. Then he squatted and fumbled around carefully, searching for the kerosene lamp, which went out during the collapse.

A man started coughing somewhere on his left and then another spoke right next to him.

“Guys? Are you… okay?” a shaking voice revealed Koki.

“Not thanks to you, but I am,” Jin muttered still covering his mouth.

“I feel like shit,” Ryo croaked from the other side of the tunnel, gasping for air. “But I guess I´m still breathing.”

“We´re tryin´ to do the same,” the foreman´s voice came from the left side again, followed by the sound of match striking. A small, yellow light appeared, dimmed by thick dust. “Anyone else got a lantern?”

“Can´t find it,” growled Jin, his hand stinging from scratches, as he kept searching through the sharp stones.

“´Cause I´ve got it,” Ryo announced triumphantly.

“Good. Come to us, carefully. I´ll light it up,” Ned ordered.

Ryo started moving slowly, stumbling over the new debris and swearing quietly, while Jin turned to Koki.

“Can you move?”

The figure huddling against the wall chuckled bitterly: “I´ll try.”

“Fine,” Jin looked up again, trying to see through the impenetrable pollution around them. Ryo´s lantern was now lit up as well and it seemed there was a bent figure in front of them. “Kame? Can you help me with him?”

There was no reply. Jin´s stomach tightened with a bad hunch. His boyfriend was the only one whose voice he hadn´t heard yet. He stepped forward slowly. That crooked silhouette was no person; it was an ugly stone, which had fallen in the middle of the crossroads, almost completely blocking it.

Frightened, Jin shouted: “Kame!”

He winced, when a proper dose of sand from the disturbed ceiling spilled all over his hair and got into his eyes.

“He´s not… here?” Koki asked, somehow getting himself up on his feet. “Not this again,” he commented the blockade of the tunnel.

“Damn it, Kame!” Jin yelled, trying to blink the annoying mess out.

“What did I say about yellin´?” the mine foreman snapped, but Jin ignored him. He caught a faint moan somewhere behind that boulder and it terrified him.

“Light! Give me some light here!”

Just as Ryo set off toward him, there was another suspicious rattle in the depths of gold mine.

“We must go,” Coltrane wheezed. “Or we´re done for real.”

“Agreed,” Ned joined him. “You two – grab Tanaka and…”

Disregarding them completely, Jin took the lantern over from Ryo and faced the boulder again.“Akanishi!” the foreman hissed. “Stop fooling around!”

“Shut up,” growled Jin, looking for the best way to get over the obstacle. It seemed there was a gap on one side. Narrow, but still wide enough for a man.

“Did you hear him, Jin?” asked Ryo, all sweaty and anxious in the flickering light. “You heard Kame?”

“Yes,” he just confirmed shortly and hastily slipped around the stone, not paying an attention to the harsh surface hurting his back.

The swaying light in his hand revealed more, a way smaller stones, which had crumbled down from the ceiling.

“Over here…”

Hearing Kame´s voice more clearly now, Jin looked around frantically, until he finally saw him. He was lying on the ground and his body…

“Shit… Kame!” Jin jumped over another annoying boulder, slipped and almost fell down, but regained his balance in the last second.

There were huge, terrifying crackles both in the ceiling and in the floor of the mine, leading from one side to another, but he was blind to them as to everything else.

Jin kneeled down, put the lantern aside and grabbed Kame´s left hand. The warm eyes covered with the curtain of pain focused on him.

“Kazu…” Jin´s voice betrayed him and his words came out squeakily as slowly moving old hinges. “Just what…?”

“Sorry, I was… left behind,” Kame replied, obviously straining himself.

The small stones rattled as Ryo pushed himself around the boulder to their side as well, swearing nastily. Jin looked all over the huge stone, similar to the one blocking the tunnel, which was covering the right side of Kame´s body up to the waist.

This cannot be really happening… Not this… Is this a nightmare?

Jin felt overwhelmed and could not think straight.

“Crap… Kame!” frightened Ryo finally managed to reach them as well.

“Hey…” Kame took a deep, shaky breath. “It´s not so bad. I can feel it.”

His boyfriend´s voice stirred Jin from numbness. He took a slow breath, trying to collect himself.

“You mean your leg?” asked Ryo, with his eyes unnaturally wide.

“Yes. There must be a gap or something. It hurts, but… I´ve been worse.”

“Can you move?” Jin asked tensely, still squeezing Kame´s hand.

“That´s the thing. Not really… It must be stuck… Under this.”

Jin leant down, trying to see where exactly was Kame´s leg trapped, but in almost non-existing light, it was impossible to tell. Ryo started to walk around the boulder, trying to estimate its size, when Koki appeared in the gap between the stone and the wall. He looked at kneeling Jin and helpless Kame. Even though he seemed as if he was about to faint, his voice was urgent when he called back to the tunnel.

“Hey! Come here to help us!”

That was right; they had to do something about that shitty stone and more of them the better.

“It´s huge but uneven,” Ryo reported, stumbling back to them.

Jin raised his head, only unwillingly tearing his eyes from Kame´s pale face.

“So, we might sway it and pull him out,” he said with newly awaken determination.

Ryo nodded and turned to Koki who just staggered to them: “I told you to stay there!”

“I´m fine, I can help,” Koki replied stubbornly, probably running on adrenaline. “Just wait, Kame-chan, we´ll get you out right away.”

The dark rumble underlined his words and more of dry soil covered them all, making Ryo cough again.

“Hey! If you´re not goin´ with us, we´re gonna leave you here,” the foreman called from behind the boulder.

“Kamenashi´s trapped, come help us!” Ryo called in reply.

“Please!” Koki joined him pleadingly.

“Sweet Jesus and Maria Holy, these idiots are gonna kill us!”

Contrary to this reaction, both men started their strenuous push around the boulder, while Ryo and Koki were already trying to find the best spot to push the stone and not to endanger Kame even more. The ground beneath them was now trembling almost constantly.

Jin leant down again, right to Kame´s face, gently grabbing it between his palms. His boyfriend´s cheeks were wet with sweat and strangely cold.

“Just hold on a second, okay?” he urged.

“I will,” Kame whispered, with his eyes glassy, but at the same time full of trust.

Then Jin straightened up to face the two older men.

“Fuck this,” Ned assessed the situation. “We´re not gonna move it without some lever.”

“I´ll find something,” Coltrane offered and headed to the spot, where one of the wooden props broke.

“Okay, let´s try how tough this shit is,” Ned put the lantern aside to another stone. “You two, move more to the back of it. Akanishi, with me.”

The younger men followed the instructions of the more experienced one without objections. All four of them spread on the same side of the boulder.

“Kamenashi, do you hear me?” the foreman asked.

“Yes.”

“If you can use your hands, try to push it away as well.”

“Got it.”

“When I say three. One. Two. Three!”

All of them pushed forward with all their might, but the stone resisted and did not move an inch.

“Once again! One, two, three!”

Nothing but heavy panting echoed through the tunnel for a while.

“Damn it…” the foreman cursed. “Any change, Kamenashi?”

“…no.”

“Here, I´ve got something,” Coltrane rushed back to them with a part of the broken prop.

“Good, place it here,” Ned navigated him. “One more time!”

Five men struggled against the heavy obstacle again. The lever snapped, the stone reluctantly shifted and Kamenashi shouted out in pain, when the stony burden squeezed his right leg even more.

“Shit!” Ned threw the rest of the useless prop into the growling darkness.

“This won´t work,” Coltrane breathed out.

“Kame!”

He heard the voice calling his name, then the rushing steps and then Jin was with him again. He looked up to his dirty, worried face, which was somehow blurred. He could not see him clearly with his eyes filled with stinging tears.

“What is it, Kame? Did it move?”

He could not reply to him. He just couldn´t.

“This is useless. We must go,” he heard the foreman stating what was frightfully obvious.

“This can´t be true…” Koki yelped.

“Is there anything else we can try?” Ryo insisted.

“If we stay any longer, all of us will be buried here,” Ned reacted harshly.

No way, Kame thought. That was something he would not allow.

“Kame, talk to me!”

He hated that Jin´s voice sounded like that. All strangled and scared. How he would love to hear him speak in a way when they were alone, at home, in their bed…

It felt like someone robbed him of all the running blood in his veins when Kame finally admitted it to yourself and it took him a while before he was able to say it. It was the growing trembles and weird noises, which finally made him open his mouth. There was no time for self-pity.

“Leave me here…”

Everyone heard it and looked his way. Jin´s face contorted in disbelief and fury. He let go of Kame´s hand and stood up.

“Let´s try again!”

Kame took a deep breath: “Jin…”

“Guys, help me grab it from the other side!”

Nobody moved, nobody spoke, but Kame could feel it. They already knew and accepted that it was helpless. Only Jin did not.

“Jin!”

“Come on!” his boyfriend yelled insistently.

“Please, don´t die for me,” he breathed out pleadingly.

His lover froze, staring at the unmovable stone.

“Not you,” Kame urged quietly.

Once again, the mine warned them with deep, heavy rumble that they were not supposed to delay there any longer.

Jin turned to him, his eyes shining with tears and something warm, which somewhat made Kame feel better and even more determined to send all of them away.

Jin stood there with his hands in shaking fists.

He wanted to listen neither to Kame, nor to his reason, which was telling him the dark truth. He was not able to accept it.

“I´m not going to die here,” he said, ignoring the dull pain in his chest. “And neither are you. I´ll do it myself,” he turned to the others. “Get out of my way.”

“Jin. Please, run away. Please.”

The broken voice rooted him to the spot. He didn´t want to, but he had to. He turned his head to look at his partner in crime, his friend, his boyfriend, his love. Kazuya was his life. And in this moment, he had something in those kind eyes that Jin did not ever want to see – goodbye.

No. He could not. Not this.

“Don´t be like this, Kazuya,” he whispered hoarsely, with breath stuck in his lungs, his heart squeezed anxiously.

A faint, loving smile flickered on his boyfriend´s pale lips and then a raspy voice behind Jin said: “We´ve got no time for this.”

Someone´s hand half turned shaken up Jin around and a huge fist covered his vision, before his world blanked out.

The whole mine was shaking, as if during an earthquake.

The black foreman pushed paralyzed Jin to dumbfounded Ryo´s arms.

“Take him and let´s go.”

Then he looked at Kamenashi on the ground. The young man´s eyes were focused on Akanishi.

“Sorry, lad,” Ned muttered. “There´s nothing we can do.”

Kamenashi gave him an absent look: “I know…”

Without further ado, Ned and Coltrane took one of the lanterns and set off first.

Silently crying Koki helped deadly pale Ryo to support unconscious Jin, each of them grabbing him for one arm and then they looked at Kame as well.

“Kame-chan… I´m s-so sorry,” Koki managed to push across his shaking lips.

“Go. Get him out,” Kame encouraged them so quietly that they could not hear his voice in the growing noise anymore. Nevertheless, they both understood and turned away, feeling like the greatest traitors in the whole world.

Kame saw the foreman´s expression and realized what Ned was about to do. He was grateful for it, because without Jin´s resistance, the others had a chance at least. He was scared for his life, but the idea of Jin ending buried there with him and losing his life in vain terrified him even more.

He was unable to escape not only from under the boulder, which pinched his right leg, but also from haunting ideas in his mind. His chest was heavy with unshed tears and fear.

He did not want to die. He did not want to leave Jin, but the fate did not give him a choice. It was not Kame´s habit to complain, but he had a damn right to this time. Life was a damn unfair bitch.

There was so much of what he wanted to do in the reservation yet. So much to tell people in the city about Indians, to make them understand and be more tolerant. He was looking forward to bring Ukushi´s foal into the world. There were so many things, days and nights, which he wanted to share with Jin. Though all of the sudden, he would not be allowed to accomplish any of it. This realization hurt much more than any injuries the crumbling mine could have inflicted on him.

Kame could not hold back tears any longer and they ran down his temples. He did not want to imagine how Jin would feel like once he would awake and find out that he was gone…

Not being able to bear the sight of his friends leaving and taking the love of his life away from him, Kame closed his eyes.

After that, the world around him rumbled, shifted and the sharp, blinding pain made him cry out. Then the emptiness opened beneath him and he fell into the darkness.

***

Later on, neither Ryo nor Koki were able to recall just how they managed to go through the tunnel, which was literally falling apart.

It was a chaotic mess of shaking ground, falling stones and swinging shadows caused by the lanterns in the running men´s hands. Following the lead of Ned and Coltrane, they struggled to get to the exit, dragging unconscious Jin between them. They moved on without thinking, because otherwise they would die.

There was one moment when they had thought that everything was over for them. It was when they finally stumbled to the exit and found it buried under an avalanche of stones. However, Ned´s and Coltrane´s subordinates outside did not give up on them. They were working on the way out ever since the moment it had collapsed. They managed to create the hole, which was big enough for all of them to get through just in time.

Ryo was the last one inside, helping to get Jin out by pushing his unmoving body from behind. Then he looked back for one last time. From what he could see in the dim light of remaining lanterns, the whole mine was breaking apart. There was no chance for anyone who stayed behind to get out now…

With a heavy heart, he accepted the hands of men from outside to drag him out in the last second. He could literally feel the weight of the mountain on him just before his feet were finally free.
Miraculously, they got out, but he knew – they could not ever escape from happened inside the gold mine.

***

“Hey, man. What´s your name?”

Exhausted Koki raised his eyes to the owner of the voice, who stood above him with some writing-pad in his hands. It was Danny McFly, whose eyes widened in surprise. Only then Koki realized just whom was he facing.

Damn it.

McFly actually saw all the Black Riders from up close a couple of months ago, when they had captured Math Grenet, also thanks to help from himself.

Koki´s head was completely blank. He could not think clearly and did not know what to do. However, he would never expected what the youngster did after he clearly realized who Koki was. McFly diverted his look back to the papers and slowly repeated his question.

“Tanaka…” Koki blurted out faintly.

McFly wrote it down with a blank expression.

“Can you tell me if you know about anyone who didn´t get out?” he asked then.

Ryo, finally noticing their conversation, left his spot next to Jin, who was lying in the line of injured men and headed to them.

Koki took a deep breath: “Luke… Luke was there…”

McFly checked something on his list: “Harrow? Already got him. Anyone else?”

Koki wanted to speak, but could not find the words or even courage. It was Ryo, who approached them and spoke instead with a serious face.

“Kame…” he managed to say before his voice broke and he looked away. “Damn it.”

Dr. Best, so far carefully bandaging Koki´s head and not paying attention to their talk, froze.

“What?” Danny McFly looked up to him shocked. “Do you mean Kazuya Kamenashi?”

Ryo just nodded grimly.

“What happened inside?” the doctor asked them hoarsely, appalled by their revelation.

“He was trapped under the fallen stone,” Koki explained in a shaking voice. “We… We could not get him out.”

“Oh, my God…” Dr. Best shook his head helplessly.

“I don´t believe it,” McFly still stared at them with his eyes wide.

Ryo turned away from them, his eyes stinging, looked around and gasped for a breath.

“Jin! Jin, where are you going?”

All of them turned in the direction Ryo was looking. Akanishi regained consciousness and yet staggering and slowly, he was already heading toward the mine again.

Ryo rushed after him, caught up with him and reached for his shoulder.

“Hey… Stop for a minute. Let the doc see you, just to be sure…”

There was no reply, his friend just shook his hand off and proceeded. Ryo stopped, watching him, just as the others. Jin passed by a few miners who were cleaning up and trying to get at least some of the tools from under the mess around the entrance. He stopped in front of the pile of huge stones and stared at it motionless.

Dr. Best shook his head again, slowly finished bandaging and with a torn expression, he left to take care of the next injured man.

Koki did not even notice: “Shit… This is just wrong,” he whispered tearfully. “So fucking wrong…”

Danny McFly stood there wordlessly, reminding a living statue.

Ryo felt burning tears in his eyes, but did not let them to spill. He walked after Jin again and stood by his side. Worried, he observed his face – it was completely black and white as a freshly painted column.

“I´m sorry, Jin…” he said with his throat squeezed.

Not even this time his words had any effect. Jin just leant down and picked a stone. He threw it aside, without even glancing where and immediately grabbed another.

Ryo took a deep breath, gathering courage to say the damn words. The words with which he would condemn Kame to death again: “Jin… The whole mine collapsed. This… this is useless.”

“Hey! Watch what you´re doing!” one of the miners yelled, kicking the thrown stone, which almost ended up on his head.

“Sorry, man!” Ryo called out and tried to reach Jin one more time. “Listen to me, buddy. It´s impossible to clean all this up, okay?”

Without any reaction, Jin kept picking up stones. The nearby workers rather moved themselves aside, out of his reach, murmuring insults under their noses. At the current circumstances, nobody was willing to bother with him.

“Let him be,” a quiet voice made Ryo turn. “It´s not use. He doesn´t hear you,” Koki said, watching Jin painfully. “It´s no use,” he repeated heavily, turned to the side and started to vomit.

While the miners and volunteers from the city were busy with cleaning up works and treating the wounded, four men gathered in the foreman´s tent to discuss the situation.

Sitting at the head of the sturdy table, Cameron patiently waited until his black foreman and broad-shouldered leader of the morning shift finished drinking up the flasks of water. Both men were dirty, bruised and exhausted, but otherwise it seemed they escaped from the mine without any major harm. Which was a miracle considering everything he had learnt about the whole incident.

The fourth man completing their group was Cooper, who was standing at the tent´s entrance, looking out with a deep frown on his round face.

Seeing both men put aside the empty flasks, Cameron pushed a bottle of whiskey toward them. Coltrane grabbed it with a grateful nod: “Thank you, sir.”

Cameron clasped his hands on the table, eyeing all three men in front of him.

“So, tell me – what happened and what´s the current status of the mine?”

Ned and Coltrane exchanged the short look, before the black man started talking first.

“One of the miners said that he and his colleague encountered one of our guards shortly after the mornin´ shift started. He had a gun and they weren´t able to prevent him from blowin´ up the stack of dynamite he had prepared inside in advance.”

“I need names, Ned.”

“I had no chance to check who the attacker might´ve been yet, sir, but we´ll find out. Those who met him were Harrow and Tanaka.”

Coltrane took over: “Harrow´s caught the blow fully, he had no chance. Tanaka´s being treated by the doc.”

“All right, I´ll question him later. What about the mine itself?”

“Honestly, it´s over, sir.”

“No chance we might start mining again, then?”

Ned shook his head: “The damage was too vast, it would´ve been a futile effort.”

“What about creating a new tunnel from some other place? Would that be worth it?”

The black foreman turned to his subordinate: “Cooper, what about that hole? Did you find it?”

“Yes, but it´s too narrow and seems too steep. It´s impossible to access the mine through there.”

Ned noted his response with a nod: “I´ll check it myself later, sir, but I doubt it´ll be helpful. There´s not many possibilities to start minin´ elsewhere.”

Cameron carefully considered all the information he just received.

“How much of already extracted ogre is about to be cleared yet?” he asked then.

“I´ll double check today and provide you the precise number, sir,” Coltrane promised.

“Good.”

Danny´s figure suddenly appeared in the entrance of the tent: “Sir. I´ve got the list,” he announced in a strangely stiff tone.

“So? How many?” Cameron asked without even looking up from the table, immersed in thoughts regarding everything, which needed to be arranged yet.

“Five so far, hopefully not more.”

“It´s a miracle that the number is so low,” Coltrane murmured.

“Mostly thanks to you two, I assume,” Cameron reacted prudently. “And you´ll be rewarded appropriately.”

Danny took a deep breath: “Also Kamenashi, sir.”

Cameron forgot what he wanted to say next. He looked up to his assistant: “Repeat that, Danny.”

“Kamenashi perished in the mine as well, sir.”

He stared at the young messenger in disbelief. For the first time in years, something took Cameron aback and he did not enjoy such an unpleasant feeling at all.

No. This was not supposed to happen…

Kamenashi was about to suffer for what he had brought upon his late master, but not like this. It was not his plan.

“Is it for certain?” he asked, the words coming out from his lips as cubes of ice.

The youngster nodded quite unhappily: “The men who were inside with him say so.”

Cameron sat there, looking through Danny. He just could not believe it.

“We can confirm that as well, sir,” Ned noted gloomily. “He got trapped under the stone, nothin´ we could do for the guy…”

Cameron didn´t hear it though: “Impossible. Fucking impossible,” he muttered, his face unreadable.

Hearing his boss to swear in such a tone worried Danny so much he was almost afraid to continue, but he just had to.

“There´s one more thing, sir.”

“What is it?” Mr. Cameron asked stiffly.

“Well, miners complain about Akanishi.”

Cameron Henderson stood up slowly: “What about him? You mean to tell me that also he…?”

“No, nothing like this, sir. They got him out,” Danny clarified, shaking his head. “But now, he keeps removing the debris away from the collapsed entrance. He´s obstructing the cleaning up works and doesn´t react on anyone. Should we make him leave by force?”

Mr. Cameron fell silent for a long while. Nobody else dared to speak.

“No,” he finally disregarded Danny´s proposal. “I want to see this myself.”

***

A sweaty man, covered with a layer of dust, burst inside the Wallace´s Tavern like an avalanche and collapsed on one of the free stools by the short bar.

“Pour me some beer before I dry up like a badly excavated well,” he ordered the elderly, but still a very well built woman behind the counter.

“Sweetheart, I´ll pour you anything you want if you ask nicely,” the female bartender informed her quest with such a sweet smile, Jane´s teeth started to ache.

“Come on, Mary,” the man moaned. “I had a shitty day.”

“That doesn´t mean you can forget how to behave in my tavern.”

“All right, all right… Pretty please?”

“That´s a way better.”

Mentioned Mary started preparing the requested drink and Cullen – who had been on high alert since the door had opened – finally assumed the man was no threat and relaxed, returning to his own alcoholic beverage.

“So? What happened that you´re thirsty like a camel after the journey in the desert, huh? They forced you to actually work?”

“You wouldn´t be so mean if you knew,” the man scowled.

“If I knew what?”

“There´s been another collapse.”

“The gold mine again? Oh, my… I keep telling you to find a proper job and you just keep risking like this.”

“Keep you clever talk, woman and pour me another one.”

“Excuse me?”

“Can I ask for one more beer, please?”

Only now, the woman grabbed the empty tankard: “Certainly. Was it worse than the first time?”

“You cannot imagine! Not like the last time at all! They say some shithead came inside and blew it up, would you believe it?”

“Oh God, don´t say! I hope everyone got out?”

“What do you think? The whole morning shift was in there, when it all started. They aren´t sure how many were caught in the subsequent collapse. It´s impossible to get inside now.”

“That´s horrible…”

Jane thought the same: “I cannot even imagine what it must be like,” she whispered.

Leo nodded: “Mining´s a dangerous job, but worth it for many men.”

“Until something like this happens!” Jane opposed. “What it´s worth for their families then?”

“It´s a tough shit, yes,” Cullen commented, finishing his beer calmly.

Jane shot him an offended look.

“What?” he shrugged. “It doesn´t have anything to do with us.”

"Still, you shouldn´t talk like this," she scolded him.

Cullen scoffed: “I´m more worried about our scout who´s apparently not able to manage anything on his own.”

“You´re underestimating him,” Jane hissed. “Maybe he just can´t find them because they´re working!”

“Hopefully not in that mine.”

Jane stiffened: “That was a terrible joke, Cullen Esler.”

That made also the man upset: “When did you stop thinking, girl? Don´t call me like this here, for Christ´s sake.”

Leo eyed him frowning: “Do you want to check the situation yourself?”

“I rather should,” Cullen stood up from the table energetically. “Otherwise we´ll be stuck here forever.”

He reached for his hat on the hook, when the noisy complainer at the bar spoke again.

“And you know what? They say that our Indian Agent got trapped in that collapse as well.”

“What? What was he doing there?”

“Meddling into other people business as usual,” the man assumed caustically. “He was basically asking for it.”

Mary put her hands on hips and stabbed the man with a sharp look: “That´s an awful thing to say. Kamenashi is one of the most honest and kindest persons in this damn city!”

Cullen froze on the spot, Leo raised his head in shock and Jane went pale, her stomach clutching painfully.

“One more bad word about him and I´ll pour you literally nothing till the end of your days!” Mary snapped quite upset and grabbed the beer out of man´s reach, before he could finish it.

“Okay, okay, sorry… Give it back here!”

Very quietly, Cullen sat down at the table again.

Jane looked at him with her eyes wide: “I´d like to slap you right now,” she whispered hoarsely.

Leo reached out and squeezed her hand.

“No need, I already regret it enough,” Cullen replied with a heavy sigh.

***

The greatest fuss calmed down after they had taken all the wounded away to Dr. Best´s clinic in the city. The other miners cleaned up most of the tools and other stuff and locked it away. Almost everyone had already left.

Henderson left four guards watching over the gold ore on the edge of the forest. It was about to be carried away later. Apart from the men sitting around the small fireplace, there were only two more people on the site of the dynamite incident.

Ryo was sitting on the pile of long logs, gloomily watching the setting sun. It had been hours since they managed to escape death by hair and yet it felt like days. The only thing, which was disrupting the strange peace around the previously busy gold mine, was constant scratching of moving stones.

At first, he wanted to go with badly injured Koki to the clinic and then to the outskirts of Bozeman to inform the others, but in the end, he did not. He just could not leave Jin here like this. And he had no idea what he would do if Jin wanted to stay also during the night.

The guards knew about them, but did not care. Ryo heard that the mine´s owner himself allowed Jin to stay. Which was weird, but he could not grasp what was behind it. They were also far enough not to hear or see them, so it felt like they were all alone there. Without anyone to talk to, Ryo was sinking in damn gloomy thoughts.

The sound of hooves made him turn to the only proper road, which led to the mine, with hope. He recognized the incoming riders right away and rose, feeling finally something like relief.

Leo, Jane and Cullen stopped their horses behind the tools shed and dismounted. Then they remained standing there for a moment, observing the scene in front of the mine, before they rushed to him. Ryo understood. He was not able to watch him for long himself.

“You´ve heard what happened?” he asked them tensely.

His leader and friend just nodded, his eyes focused behind Ryo´s back.

“So, it´s true?” Jane asked tearfully. “Kame is…?"

Ryo pressed his lips and averted his eyes. Jane understood what it meant and covered her face, shaking.

Cullen stood there, his expression grim: “Just what the hell was Kamenashi doing there?” he asked hoarsely. “Don´t tell me he caught a gold rush.”

Ryo shook his head: “No… Koki did. We managed to get him out. He´s in the hospital, but the doc said he´d be fine. But Kame… He was one of the rescuers and… He got trapped under the fallen stone…”

“Shit,” Cullen murmured, turning away from them.

“How long has Jin been like this?” Leo asked hoarsely.

With a tired sigh, Ryo closed his eyes for a moment. They were shiny and regretful when he opened them again: “He refused to leave Kame behind. We… we had to drag him out by force, so the foreman knocked him unconscious. He´s doing this ever since he came to his senses… Man, I didn´t know what to do with him. It´s just…”

“Stay here, all of you,” Leo requested. “I´ll try talk to him.”

Thoughtfully and slowly, Jin kept picking or digging up one stone after another and threw them aside. If he would keep this pace up, he was about to get inside soon, he just knew. Even with little breaks, he took from time to time to catch a breath and drink some water. He could do it.

The regular and strenuous activity helped him not to think about what happened inside the mine, which was good. He could not think about it. He dared not to. He had a feeling he would lose his mind if he did.

“Hey, Bro…”

Up until now, he ignored anyone, who had tried talking to him. He did not want to listen to what those unimportant people were saying. However, he could not ignore this voice.

Jin straightened up with another stone in his hands and turned around. With dark stubble on his cheeks and chin and with longer hair than he had remembered, but it was definitely his younger brother standing at the foot of the pile he was working on.

“Damn… Leo,” he breathed out, got rid of the stone and looked around. “What if somebody sees you?”

His younger sibling eyed him wordlessly for a while and from some reason, an expression of dismay was all over his face, before he got control over himself again.

“That´s what you call a fraternal welcome?”

Jin stared at him.

“Don´t worry, almost nobody but us is around,” Leo made two steps closer, his eyes running over the pile, before focusing on him again. “I´m glad to see you all right,” he stated more quietly.

There was just a blank space in Jin´s mind hearing it.

What was it exactly - ´to be all right´?

He stumbled down the pile and stood in front of Leo.

“Yeah… Good to see you too,” he said awkwardly and accepted the hand which Leo offered him.

It was worse than Leo had thought. Much worse. A closer look on his brother was terrifying.

Jin was covered with dirt and sweat, his clothes torn and bloody. And when he turned and faced him, his expression squeezed Leo´s heart. His brother´s face was like wax, stiff, and expressionless, with dark shadows under his wide, black eyes.

Jin grabbed his hand and squeezed his shoulder in a greeting, but it was as he was not there with him.

“Want something to drink?” Leo offered him a flask of water with mint, which Jane had prepared that morning.

“Thanks,” his brother grabbed it without hesitation and pressed it to his mouth.

At that moment, Leo noticed something strange. With a tight throat, he looked down on his clothes. On his right sleeve, where Jin had squeezed him before, there was a bloody handprint. It was the same with his shoulder.

Shocked by Jin´s ignorance to the state of his body, Leo watched him as he put the flask aside and started climbing up the collapse again. He gulped down heavily, trying to find the lost voice. The loss of his lover messed his brother up completely and he began to suspect that not even he would be able to help him now. Nevertheless, he had to try.

“Ryo told me what happened,” he noted, trying to keep his voice calm.

A stone in the size of a human head went flying toward the growing pile of them.

“Yeah, instead of doing something he just talks,” his brother growled and sank a pickaxe between other two boulders.

Leo frowned and went for a more straightforward approach: “Jin. There´s nothing you can do for Kame anymore.”

Nothing came from his brother, just scratches of hard iron against the rock.

“You need to accept it.”

Jin turned and stabbed him with dark, burning eyes: “He had never left me behind! He had never let me down! How the fuck am I supposed to do it to him now?”

“Believe me, I understand you,” Leo reacted seriously. “But he´s dead.”

His brother just growled something inaudible and returned to his work.

“Jin, please…”

“If you won´t help me then get out!” Jin snapped without even glancing back at him and proceeded in his useless fight against the stony obstacle.

“I assume it didn´t go so well,” Cullen commented Leo´s expression as he got back to them.

The Riders´ leader shook his head gloomily: “I´ve never seen him so upset. Not even after Pi died…”

“He´s in shock,” Jane whispered, hunching in the warm coat and yet she looked to be cold.

“But what are we gonna do now?” Ryo threw his hands up helplessly. “Leave him here all night?”

“Well, in the end, he´ll pass out from exhaustion, but I doubt that´s the best option,” Cullen assumed darkly.

“Damn… I don´t know,” Leo sighed. “I have no heart to drag him out of there by force.”

“We need to look after the horses at least,” Ryo remembered.

That took Leo´s attention: “The horses?”

“Yeah. I´ve got mine up there along with Kuro and Ukushi.”

Leo pondered their options for a while, remembering the special relation his brother had with his incredible horse.

“Take me to them.”

Another promising spot led him to another disappointment in the form of more stones. The sound of their fall down the pile made him remember the heat, the dust and the pained voice…

With an angry shout, Jin hurled the pickaxe away. He lost his balance, slipped and rolled down, ending up on the trampled surface in front of the pile. Not able to suppress a painful sob, he punched the ground so hard his shoulder began to tingle.

Everything ached him now – his hands, his legs, his back, his head. He was thirsty, hungry and exhausted. And absolutely useless.

He remained sitting there, breathing heavily and curled into a ball.

Useless, that he was. He did nothing but disappoint the person he cared for the most in the world.

What a useless piece of shit I am…

One heavy sob shook with his body, making him sick. What right did he have to cry?

Silence around him was suddenly disrupted by clatter of hooves. A soft snort was heard and warm presence of an animal approached him. Jin was not able to perceive it, until he felt the wet sniffing in his greasy hair. He did not intend to move from his spot at all, but the gentle snorts made him raise his head.

Kuro was leaning to him so close Jin saw nothing else but his big black head. His animal buddy was looking at him, standing there calmly, but his nostrils were trembling in worry and disapproval.
Then he saw himself in one of his warm eyes. He looked like a ghost.

Jin raised both his hands and Kuro pressed his head against him, so he ended up hiding his face on his noble neck.

“I´ve been a damn fool,” Jin whispered defeated. “Damn stupid fool…”

He had no idea for how long he remained like this, clinging on Kuro helplessly before restless neighing made him look around again. The whole mine site was slowly being covered with shadows of dusk. The only clearly visible thing was a pure white mare. It kept running around, looking at the former entrance to the mine and neighing pitifully.

Jin soothed Kuro´s neck slowly, before he stood up on heavy legs and approached the agitated mare, reaching his hand toward her. Ukushi ran around him twice, before she finally stopped, her chest heaving and came closer.

“I´m sorry, girl,” Jin apologized hoarsely. “I couldn´t save him.”

To Leo´s great relief, this time it seemed that Jin actually saw them, when they approached him.

Jane was the first to step forward. She stood in front of him for a while and then, despite Jin´s poor clothing and state, she hugged him.

He did not return it, but did not push her away either.

“Jin… Come with us, please,” Ryo pleaded quietly.

His brother lowered his head and then shook it wordlessly. It hurt to see his big brother like this.

“Hey… I bet Kame would be happy that you´re safe,” Jane joined the persuasion gently.

“You need rest, lad,” even Cullen spoke to him soundly.

“I´ve abandoned him…” Jin´s voice was hoarse and broken.

Jane shook her head, while Ryo opposed vigorously: “That´s not true and you know it.”

However, Jin continued weakly: “I left him to die in there alone…”

“Stop torturing yourself, Bro,” Leo emphasized imploringly and noticed that Jin staggered heavily. “Hey… Jin? Jin!”

Leo lunged forward to catch his brother just in time before he collapsed.

- To be continued -

[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter twenty three

witchann2 — Sun, 01 May 2022 09:05:37 GMT

Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading: atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.

A/N: This is one of the longest chapters of RW so far. Enjoy.

I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.

Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen // Chapter fourteen // Chapter fifteen // Chapter sixteen // Chapter seventeen // Chapter eighteen // Chapter nineteen // Chapter twenty // Chapter twenty one // Chapter twenty two //

Help!

It was the most annoying sound in the world. Groaning, he covered his ears, but it did not help at all. The piercing screeching stabbed in his brain as if it strived to split it into two halves.

In a desperate attempt to escape that awful noise, he sat up and scrambled to his feet, not remembering how he ended up in the lying position in the first place. Unable to keep his balance, he staggered and frantically searched for something to lean on, almost rushing into the wall. He grabbed on the stony surface and tried to take a deep breath. Instead, he started coughing heavily. The lack of oxygen in his cramped lungs sent him back to the ground, where he huddled up, scared by inability to control his own body.

It took ages before the seizure passed over, those ugly bells in his head somewhat quieted and Koki was able to catch his breath. Shaken up, he looked around and saw nothing. That terrified him. He felt the sickening panic rising up his throat until he finally remembered.

The yelling lunatic with a gun… He and Luke scattering to escape the random bullets… The sudden unbearable pressure and light, so much light…

Shit. That asshole really blasted it off…

Only now, Koki also noticed the strange smell in the air and forced himself to breathe slowly and shallowly.

I must find Luke!

He blinked a few times and was finally able to foggily recognize his surroundings, but he couldn´t figure the source of light out. He had no idea where could be the kerosene lamp, which he had been carrying before.

More carefully this time, he got up and turned around his axis slowly. With his head still spinning like crazy, he made a couple of trembling steps, closer to some flickering light.

Anxiously waiting for his eyes to accustom, he tried to remember which way he moved out of that shithead´s way. Moreover, what about Luke? Did he flee deeper into the mine or toward the crossroads?

Leaning on the wall of the tunnel, which seemed smaller than before, Koki walked forward again and finally realized it was the fire, which was brightening the darkness around him.

Double shit…

With the fire inside the mine, he could easily suffocate. He bent down, to keep himself low and wiped the teary eyes with his sleeve. He could finally see better and found out that it was one of the wooden carts, which caught fire, probably during the explosion. The fact that it was just one vehicle confused him. Tens of them should be stored over there, ready for daily use and there should be more smoke if they were ablaze as well.

Hoping that the situation was not as bad as it seemed, he looked beyond the burning pile and froze. He stared at what used to be the wide tunnel and spacious alcove, feeling like a damn statue. There was just a heap of ugly stones instead.

Koki started doubting if he was still really alive. What if that collapse buried his body under the pile of heavy rubble and he was just a ghost now, condemned to roam in this dark mine forever?

“Hurry up, sluggards!”

“But, boss, if there´s a fire…”

“Then we must put it out!”

The voices echoing somewhere behind him made stunned Koki turn. A couple of swinging lanterns appeared from behind the sharp corner of the tunnel. He realized that it was the very spot, which had probably saved his live – it shielded him from the destructive force of dynamite, so it did not hit him so hard. Thanks to it, he knew for sure on which side of the shaft he was now.

“Holy crap!” the huge man in lead of a small group shouted in shock, when he spotted Koki´s crooked figure on the background of the already fading fire.

“Damn it, what is it?”

“That´s Tanaka!”

“God, don´t scare me like this…”

“Man, what are you doing here?”

“What happened?”

“Shit, there´s blood on you…”

“It´s his head.”

“Give me something to cover it!”

“Tanaka, what happened?”

The gold miners overwhelmed Koki with tons of questions, but he was not able to perceive their meaning properly and even less to answer them. Therefore, he just raised his hand and pointed behind his back in a hopeless gesture.

“Crap… Guys, look at this!”

“We´re so screwed…”

Two men smothered the remaining fire, another one made Koki sit and bandaged his head, though he didn´t understand why, while the rest of miners hysterically lamented over the blocked tunnel.

“This should hold for a while,” said the miner treating him, with his face serious and filled with strange shadows thanks to the kerosene lantern put aside on the ground. Now, Koki remembered it was Coltrane – the head of the morning shift in the currently deepest part of the mine. Already aging, but reliable man, everybody knew he was one of the foreman´s favorite subordinates.

“Thanks,” Koki mumbled and leant on the wall behind him, feeling exhausted and depressed. “We´re in an awful mess, aren´t we?”

“You´ve got a point, boy,” Coltrane admitted quietly, before turning to the others: “Shut it for a while, damn it!”

It was quite a relief, when the miners finally fell silent, at least for Koki´s head. He could rest a bit in such peace and quiet…

Coltrane grabbed his shoulders firmly: “Tanaka, do you hear me? You must stay awake, okay?”

“How in the hell can I sleep right now?” Koki almost chuckled over such a stupid idea and reconsidered only in the last second. Such a thing would not help his burning lungs.

“So, you understand what I´m saying?”

“Yeah… You sound kind of funny, but I do.”

“Good. We heard the blast. What were you doing here? What went wrong?”

Koki took his time to find the right words: “Well, some cunt blew up a couple of boxes with dynamite here…. We tried to stop him, but…”

“We? Who else?”

“Luke was with me… Don´t know where… He might be on the other side,” Koki gestured to the stony blockade, trying to ignore the sick feeling, which clutched his stomach. If Luke was not quick or lucky enough, he certainly ended up under the debris.

“Are you kidding me?” one of the other miners burst out. “Who was that dynamite bastard?”

“He wanted all of us dead?” joined him another.

“What should we do?”

“What do you think we can do?”

“Shit…”

“My wife told me I shouldn´t come today… I should have listened to her.”

The miners began talking and complaining over each other, all of them scared and helpless.

Frowning Coltrane straightened up and stepped forward: “Calm the fuck down!”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” one of his subordinates yelled.

“I don´t wanna die here…” moaned another.

“Hey… Guys…” Koki tried to raise his voice, but only Coltrane heard him and hushed the others harshly with his hand. “There must be… a hole somewhere.”

“Why do you think so?” Coltrane asked tensely.

Koki took a deep breath, once again trying to calm down his nerves and think more clearly.

“That fire before… If the smoke wouldn´t be getting out somewhere, we´d have already suffocated here.”

There was a short, deep silence.

“He´s right,” one miner said, breaking it.

“Then we may find it and widen it.”

“And get out!”

“Yes!”

“All right, listen to me!” Coltrane spoke up again. “We must keep our heads cool, got it? Search this fucking avalanche through, but be extremely cautious. The blow could have disrupted much bigger space then only this and if we move with something the wrong way, we could make this only worse.”

“Got it, boss!”

“Sure thing!”

“Good. Let´s do it then!”

When the ground under his feet started dancing in the booming rhythm, Ned knew shit was going down. However, he did not know how could have that happened under his watch.

Although subdued by tons of rock, the deafening blow scared everyone working near the mine´s entrance shitless. No matter what they were doing, everyone remained rooted on the spot and stared at the ominous cloud of dust and smoke pushing itself out, while the short but the more frightening earthquake passed through the soil under them. There was no need to tell anyone this was not another minor collapse.

Ned pulled back the covering over the water barrels and observed the dust flooding out of the mine´s entrance. Something exploded in there, something what was not supposed to be inside at all, since he personally checked that all explosive materials were in the protected and guarded shed. Someone had to bring it down there intentionally. There was no other option.

“Shit,” he uttered under his nose, already trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation.

Nobody with a common sense would dare to detonate inside the mine without his permission, no matter how hard the rock would be. He made sure of it. There would be very dire consequences for anyone who would violate this ban. Even without knowing what exactly happened, he was quite certain that person did it with the intention to damage the mine and harm those working inside.

“Shit!” he cursed again, missing the clatter of hooves behind his back.

“What the hell was that?”

Ned turned to the owner of the uptight voice, who just arrived to the mining area. It was Danny McFly. He had to admit – although not a clever mind, Henderson´s right hand had the perfect timing.

“Try guessin´,” he growled caustically and looked around for the fastest rider. “Seth! Seth!! Stop starin´ and come here, damn it!”

Finally snapping out of shock, the youngster rushed to him with his eyes wide: “Yes, boss?”

“Ride to the city. Alert both the sheriff and the doc. Also ask for volunteers, we´ll need all the help we can get.”

Seth nodded and ran away for the nearest horse.

“You,” Ned looked up at anxious McFly. “Ride for Mr. Cameron, let him know about this right away.”

“Of course, I will, but…”

“No ´buts´! I´ve got no time for stupid questions!”

Seth approached them already in the saddle and dared to start objecting as well: “But, boss, we should know…”

“What?!” snapped Ned, making his subordinate flinch.

It was McFly, who pointed at the panicky mess in front of the mine: “What exactly should we say about this?”

Ned gritted his teeth and huffed. That was right; he should send them off for help with at least some specific information. He didn´t have to think the answer out for long.

“Tell them that somebody blew up Henderson´s mine,” he stated without hesitation.

They stopped their horses at the edge of the forest. Under the short cliff below them, there was chaos. All the miners ran around shouting at each other. The most numerous group was gathering near the entrance, the rest of them took care for a couple of figures lying on the ground nearby. The only thing, which could mean at least some good news, was that the smoke they had noticed before did not have its source here. No matter what caught fire before, it seemed to be extinguished already.

“I think it´s better to leave our horses here,” Jin suggested cheerlessly.

“Agreed, they would only get in the way,” nodded Kame and swiftly dismounted to lead Ukushi to the nearest convenient tree.

Jin did the same with Kuro and frowning Ryo followed their example.

“I still don´t get it,” the Rider rumbled while tying his horse´s reins around the tall spruce. “That dumbass got a gold rush or something? What made Koki start working here?”

“It´s a bit complicated,” Kame replied stiffly and grabbed the first aid kit, while Jin got the water flasks. After even Ryo received his load – the long rope – he had to admit that considering how fast the two of them prepared to leave, they came here ready for anything.

“I´d love to hear his reasons for this, really,” he continued complaining, as they were already on the way down, leaving the white mare, the black stallion and Ryo´s horse behind their backs.

“You can ask about them once we find him,” Kame assumed in a strained voice.

“Only if we do,” Jin mumbled pessimistically.

Ryo shot him an upset look: “Don´t talk like this!”

“I´m just a realist! Look around again!” opposed Jin.

“Oh, yeah, I do have eyes!”

“So, does this look like an easy task to you?”

“Why are you here in the first place then, huh?” growled Ryo harshly.

Kame turned on his heel abruptly, pushing the waterfall of pebbles to slip down under his feet: “Stop it! Arguing won´t help anything!”

All three of them stood there in the middle of slope in the tense silence, only the shouts of miners reaching them for a while.

“Sorry,” spoke Jin first.

“Me too,” Ryo joined him shaking his head. “It´s just…”

“I know,” Kame sighed. “We´re all worried about him. Let´s go...”

“This is not enough! More!”

Four workers dashed off to prepare additional wooden props.

“And brin´ them closer!” Ned yelled another instruction after them, before he looked around the faces of all gathered men.

There weren´t even a dozen, and none of them wanted to go, but they had no choice. If they were about to save anyone, they had to go in there quickly or they didn´t have to try at all.

“Watch your heads all the time. Keep your lanterns and matches safe, no loud noises. As we go, pass each of my orders one to another, no yellin´. Do not forget to brin´ at least some water with you. If you catch any suspicious noise, let me know. Got it?”

Most of them nodded seriously, others gave out a weak ´yes´. Ned had to suppress an annoyed reaction. Apparently, he could expect half of them start whining five yards away from the exit.

“Hey! Where do you think you´re going?”

“This is private property!”

“Though it´s hard to say whose property, huh?”

“What the…?”

“Stay here!”

“Get out of our way or I´ll make you!”

Suspecting more troubles, Ned turned to face three youngsters, who were heading quite confidently toward his hastily organized rescue group. Two of his men were trying – needless to say that very unsuccessfully – to stop them. Not very willing to handle anything else apart that mess in the mine, Ned went to meet them.

“What´s goin´ on?” he asked harshly, his voice making his subordinates flinch. Everyone was a bit on the edge.

“We´re not here to cause trouble, Mister.”

The young man said that with a deadly serious expression and from some reason, Ned believed him. Even if he didn´t like this Indian Agent very much, he already knew he was an honest fellow.
“Let them pass!” he waved the two miners away, eying the incomers critically.

His men stepped aside, revealing Kamenashi, a black haired youngster whom Ned had never seen before and naturally – Akanishi. All three of them seemed they didn´t get much sleep during the night, but at the same time, they were apparently determined.

“What do you want here then?” he asked sternly.

“We heard the blow and figured something happened in the mine,” Kamenashi explained seriously and concisely. “You need all the help you can get, don´t you?”

Ned would have laughed, if the situation would not suck so much. That annoying Agent boy used his own words and he was more than damn right.

“And you´re here to provide it?”

“By all means.”

Considering the current state of things, Ned didn´t see any reason to refuse them.

“Fine,” he turned to his men again. “What are you waitin´ for? Didn´t I tell you what to gather?”

Not even if he started firing, they would not have scattered more briskly.

“What you´ve got with you?” he asked the unexpected newcomers sharply, already thinking about with what he could load them.

“Bandages, water, rope, matches. No lanterns,” Kamenashi provided the brief list.

That was a way better than Ned had expected. He eyed all of them suspiciously again.

“How you got here so quickly?”

“Our house is just a mile away from this mess, man,” Akanishi growled. “What do you think?”

Ned decided to overlook his cheeky tone and focused on the stranger: “And who´s this?”

“Our friend – Ryo,” Kamenashi introduced.

The black-haired fellow raised his hand: “Nice to meet you.”

Ned raised his eyebrow: “It´d be a very short meetin´ since you´re stickin´ your nose into this,” he commented, still wondering for what reason would they sign themselves in this.

“We´re volunteering, man,” Akanishi reminded caustically. “What are you complaining about?”

“I figured that much. Just wonderin´ why...”

“How many men are you missing?” Kamenashi asked.

Frowning, Ned shrugged: “Twenty to thirty, not sure yet.”

“Anyone got out?”

“Only them,” he pointed at the spot with the temporary infirmary and finally realized what made them come. “You´re lookin´ for someone?”

“Yes, Koki Tanaka,” Kamenashi admitted without excuses. “He´s not among them, we´ve already checked. He was supposed to be in the morning shift, even though he overslept...”

Ned nodded: “He´s inside. He arrived with that bunch, which came in late today. I sent them quite deep.”

The short silence fell upon the three, as they exchange worried glances.

“What about that fire?” Akanishi asked then.

That surprised Ned: “What fire?”

“We saw some dark smoke right after the explosion, but it´s gone now,” Kamenashi explained. “Did you put it down?”

“No. Where exactly did you see it?”

The young Agent wondered for a while, looking around: “To the east from here, I think.”

Ned took a sharp breath. Once he connected this information with that rattle of rocks he had heard before, he realized what might have happened. They had not seen the smoke from here, because if the blast happened in the south tunnel, mountains and trees covered it from their eyes.

“If there was smoke, there could be a hole. Come with me, you´ll show me on the map,” he gestured Kamenashi.

The other two came along too, as they rushed to his tent and then leant over the mine´s map spread out on the sturdy table.

“It was here,” Kamenashi found the area with admirable certainty.

“You´re sure?”

“Pretty sure, yes,” Akanishi confirmed it as well, while the young Agent nodded seriously.

“All right,” Ned stepped out of the tent: “Cooper! Cooper!”

At his call, a tall man in his forties – the leader of the afternoon shift – joined them. He looked over the youngsters behind his back, before focusing on Ned.

“Yes? What do you need?”

“Take a horse, ride up the south hillside and check if there´s any new hole over there. The stone avalanche might lead you to the spot.”

Cooper´s eyes widened, but he nodded without questions and Ned continued.

“If it is, and we won´t be outside within two hours, take more men and try to verify if it´s possible to get into the mine through there. You´ll be in charge here meanwhile.”

“Understood. I´m going right away.”

Cooper hurried away and Ned turned to the three volunteers again: “Is any of you skilled in first aid?”

“I am,” Kamenashi came forward.

“Great. We´ve got a couple of seriously wounded men; can you look after them until the doc from Bozeman comes?”

Kamenashi seemed to be a little uncertain suddenly, but he nodded nevertheless.

“You two – have you ever been in the mine before? No? So, look,” Ned quickly started explaining over the map. “That´s the main tunnel. It´s splittin´ in two after half a mile. This is probably the spot, where it blew off and crumbled down part of the mine, no idea how big. So far, no one was able to tell me what exactly happened there. I just assume how it could be. There´ll be poor visibility, heat, a lot of debris and high probability of everythin´ fallin´ on our heads.”

Akanishi´s frown deepened with each of his words, but once Ned looked up to them, he seriously nodded.

“Sounds lovely,” that Ryo lad commented.

“It´s on your own risk. The explosion probably disrupted the whole mine, it can go down rumblin´ any time,” Ned emphasized. “I won´t take responsibility for any of you. Got it?”

Kame and Jin exchanged the short look. There was no need for more words. They both knew they signed up for this already on the veranda of their house, when they decided to come.

Jin turned to the black supervisor of the mine: “I´m going,” he confirmed again.

“Me too,” Ryo nodded as well and stretched his arms over his head. “We´ll find that dumbass friend of ours and get the hell out with him.”

“Fine,” the foreman grabbed the lantern from the table. “My men are ready. We mustn´t waste any more time. Come on!”

Ryo followed the quick steps of the mine´s supervisor right away, but the warm grip on Jin´s elbow prevented him from doing the same.

“Be careful,” Kame requested worriedly, giving him a serious look.

Jin forced himself to a little grin: “As always. Don´t you know me?”

Kame´s hand around his tightened.

“Once Dr. Best comes, I´ll come help you inside,” his boyfriend said quietly.

Jin shook his head and turned, squeezing Kame´s slender shoulder: “Rather stay here. We´ll be out before you even realize it, I promise.”

“Watch out!”

The warning sounded just in time for Koki to gather himself up on his feet and move out of the way of heavy stones falling down the pile. He covered his nose with his sleeve, gloomily observing the cloud of dust slowly settling down.

His head was still spinning and he felt sick. He gave a great deal of energy just to keep the modest breakfast inside his stomach. He could bet his colleagues would not thank him for making their closed up space even more uncomfortable than it already was by vomiting.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder: “Are you okay?” Coltrane asked cautiously.

“I´ve been worse,” Koki assumed objectively.

“It´s not working!” one of the miners balancing on the top the cave-in complained unhappily.

“The more we get away, the more of them fall!” completed him the other.

Coltrane moved closer and observed the non-existing result of their efforts.

“Move a bit more to the right,” he decided then.

“But there´s no point in this!”

“Stop squealing and keep trying!” the shift´s leader scolded them. “We´re not gonna give this up as long as we breathe, is that clear, you bunch of girls?”

“But why should we?”

“Boss, don´t you see that…”

Coltrane cut his subordinates off again: “Because I bet they´ll come looking for us! And once they get to this,” he waved over the collapse, “they must find at least some sign of us trying to get out, otherwise they won´t know we´re alive! Any more stupid questions?”

“No, boss…”

“Great! Keep digging then!”

Cameron arrived at the place when it already resembled a large busy anthill.

A bunch of miners swarmed near the mine, clearing up the space in front of it and apparently solidifying the entrance. Some men from Bozeman were making the new supporting props at the edge of woods, while women were nursing the wounded ones next to the warehouse. Among them, the rest of volunteers ran around, carrying tools, bandages and water.

He evaluated the chaotic situation with one long look, before he dismounted his hot and sweating horse and threw the reins to Danny, who reached the mine´s area just a few seconds in front of him.

“Mr. Henderson!”

“Cooper,” Cameron turned to the tall man, who noticed his arrival and hurried to him right away. “How does it look so far? Any casualties?” he asked dryly.

The man stopped in front of him breathless and obviously agitated, but it seemed he was able to control himself.

“We don´t know about anyone yet. Those, who got out already, have only minor injuries or they´re all right. Dr. Best´s taking care of them. About the rest…” Cooper shook his head without any more words.

Henderson gestured toward the temporary infirmary: “Is any of them able to explain what exactly happened inside?”

“They´re quite shaken up, sir, but all of them agree on that something exploded in the south tunnel.”

Cameron looked at Danny, who had already led their horses aside and observed the fuss around the mine anxiously.

“You´ve told me somebody blew it up.”

“That´s what Ned had said and he was pretty sure about it,” his assistant explained.

“I´d rely on Ned´s words, sir,” Cooper offered. “He was very thorough regarding our dynamite supplies. The mine was supposed to be clear of explosives.”

Cameron nodded in agreement; he knew he could rely on the foreman´s judgment.

“We´ll handle with this later. Ned´s leading the rescue operation, I assume?”

“That´s right. He put me in command while he´s not here. So, if you´re all right with that…”

“I´d have done the same, you shall continue,” Cameron approved. “Keep me informed about any changes.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cooper rushed back to the mine and Cameron turned to Danny: “Find and keep an eye on the documentation in Ned´s tent. I´ll need to know how much dynamite precisely was stocked here and how much is gone.”

Danny simply nodded and walked off to carry out the order, while Cameron headed to the separated space for treating the wounded, trying hard to suppress his annoyance over the fact that he had no idea who might have done something like this.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Dr. Best.”

Herbert recognized that cold, haughty voice. He had been expecting it for a while already, and didn´t even look up from his work, when he replied: “It´s my job, Mr. Henderson.”

“Is anyone here in immediate danger?” the mine´s owner asked, but the doctor could tell there was no real worry in the man´s voice. He had been doing his job for long enough to recognize who really cared and who did not.

“Not really,” he tightened the bandage around the wrist of an older miner and straightened up. “But can you please arrange these two to be transported to my clinic?” he pointed on the two – currently unconscious – men. “I need to treat them more properly than I can under these circumstances. I suspect they might have inner injuries.”

Henderson nodded: “I understand, and it will be done. Your help is greatly appreciated.”

Herbert suppressed an urge to comment his sense of gratefulness and checked the bandage around another miner´s head. He did not perform this treatment, but it was almost perfect. He knew about the bad relations Cameron Henderson had with certain people in the city, but he just could not remain quiet.

“I must say I´m not the only one whom you should express your gratitude, Mister.”

Henderson looked at him surprised: “How comes?”

“Those two,” Herbert turned to the two most seriously injured again, “had quite awful open fractures. They´re alive only thanks to the early treatment, which stopped their bleeding. If not for Kamenashi, I wouldn´t be able to do much for them.”

Hearing the name, Henderson stiffened up a little.

“Kamenashi?” he repeated with a perfectly controlled tone of his voice.

“Yes,” Herbert confirmed. “I´ve been told he appeared here among the first volunteers to help. He had been taking care of the injured miners until I managed to arrive.”

“Is that so?” Henderson didn´t seem very thrilled, but at the same time not surprised. “I shall thank him as well then, but… I haven´t seen him around. Where is he now?”

With a concerned frown, Herbert nodded toward the mine´s entrance: “Unfortunately inside. I couldn´t persuade him otherwise,” he said, once again regretting he was not able to talk Kamenashi out of his idea.

“I see…” Henderson noted, staring at the dark hole. “Then I must wait until he gets out again, right?”

Herbert eyed the man suspiciously. He didn´t have a good feeling about that expression he recognized on Henderson´s face. From some reason, it suddenly felt like Henderson´s own mine turned out to be his worst enemy. Then the strange moment was gone.

“I´ll leave you to your work and arrange that transport.”

“That would be great, thank you,” Herbert nodded and watched the mine´s owner walking away with a strange hunch. Henderson never let it be seen on him, but he felt that the man really hated Kamenashi.

With a heavy mind, Herbert went to meet another injured man, who just stumbled out of the mine. He was sure that Kamenashi´s skills would come handy in that dark pit, but the young man always took a too great risk for the sake of strangers. It didn´t have to pay off for him this time…

The gold mine was a creepy place engulfed in impenetrable shadows and full of strange sounds. The deeper they went, the warmer it got and it felt like they were breathing pure dust instead of air. Jin did not understand how anyone could voluntarily mine the gold ore under such conditions.

Even though most of the rescue group carried the brightly glowing kerosene lanterns, it took him a while to get used to horrible visibility and stop stumbling over the tracks for carts and omnipresent gangue. Especially while he was dragging the sturdy, wooden prop with him, just as the rest of men.

Jin stopped shortly, just to catch a breath, by the dark, probably dead end branch of the tunnel. They had already passed a few messy holes as this one was; the mine was a way more complicated than Ned had explained them on that map. Without a guide, who knew if they would be even able to find the exit? This place made a damn ominous impression on him.

He altered the position of the prop on his shoulder and took up the pace with the others quickly again, pondering gloomily. He was actually amazed how anyone could have such a talent for getting into trouble all the time. He had stepped right into a messy shit a couple of times himself, but Koki Tanaka was a special case indeed. The crazy Rider didn´t listen to him or Kame, when they had advised him against this job and now he got what he was asking for – to be buried alive.

Shivers run across Jin´s spine at the thought. Even though he was upset at that stubborn dumbass for pulling them into this mess, he was worried sick for him at the same time. Koki was annoying and kept clinging to Kame too much, even though he knew that it irritated him, but he didn´t want anything bad happen to him. Not to mention that Ryo was certainly much more worried and taken aback than he was. The black haired Rider just arrived and already found himself on this dangerous rescue mission.

They proceeded forward very slowly, but Jin realized that the black foreman knew his job the best from everyone around and he followed his instructions with trust. Ned was leading their group carefully, stopping often and remaining motionless, as if listening to something they could not hear. He also ordered to place more pit props on certain spots, which left already half of their group behind, working on the tunnel reinforcements. All of this kept delaying them, but Jin believed it was for their safe return, so he bore with the heavy load without complaints.

The tunnel suddenly widened and their surroundings warmed up abruptly. They reached the wide crossroads, where the mine divided into two smaller corridors – southern and western. It was also the first place, on which was evident that something happened in the mine. Besides the awful air, which carried the smell of burns, there were many stones and wooden mess scattered all around. Not to mention a quite distinctive crack on the ceiling above their heads.

They all gathered there around the foreman, who stared at the ceiling for quite a long while, but didn´t comment on it.

“Use all the remaining props here,” the black man instructed two miners then. “Work on it quickly, but carefully.”

Jin exhaled with relief – he could get rid of that damn heavy pillar finally.

“Be really alert now,” Ned emphasized to everyone seriously, and from some reason without the previous harshness.

“And what´ve we been doing until now?” one of the men complained in a hoarse voice.

The foreman ignored him and continued: “In case things go wron´, don´t wait for anythin´ and just head for the exit.”

The group fell silent, not expecting such an order.

“Is it really so bad, boss?” a young miner dared to ask.

Ned looked above their heads again, before he replied: “The explosion ruffled with the mine more than I expected. I still wanna try and find the rest of our men, but if any of you is too afraid to go further, leave now.”

Nobody uttered a word and Ned nodded in appreciation.

“All right. Four of you – take the west. Make sure no one stayed there. The rest of you, follow me.”

The extent of the gold mine impressed Ryo, but he disliked the place just as Jin did. He advanced through the tunnel right behind the black foreman, unable to suppress the pessimistic ideas of what they might find ahead.

During the journey north, he had been looking forward to surprise their friends by unannounced arrival. Instead, he now feared for Koki´s life, not to mention his own.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him from going any further.

“Not so quickly, lad,” Ned warned him. “More light!”

The others brought their lanterns forward immediately and something appeared in their sight. It was the motionless corpse, lying on the side of the corridor. Ryo would have tripped over it, if Ned wouldn´t pulled him back. He gulped down heavily. The male body was a half-burnt, half-bloody mess, partially trapped under the fallen stones, with an almost unrecognizable face.

“Shit…” one of the miners behind his back said.

“Damn it,” Ryo breathed out. “It seems we can´t help this one anymore,” he murmured in a strained voice. The view startled him, but he was also relieved it wasn´t Koki. And when he turned to look at Jin, he noticed the very same relief on his face.

“Yeah… We all can see that,” Ned said in a blank tone, made two slow steps and raised his lantern higher. The huge pile of more stones appeared in the light. “I expected somethin´ like that,” he commented it gloomily, while the miners in their group gasped and cursed quietly.

“What now, boss?”

“What are we supposed to do with this?”

“Shut it,” Ned hushed them. “Listen.”

There was nothing but deafening silence.

“Just what do you…?” Jin whispered, but he was cut off by the sharp scratching and muffled rumble.

Ryo saw it first: “Chief? Up there…” he pointed at the top of the collapse.

Something shifted, a few small pebbles rolled down to their feet and then a hole appeared on the top of the pile.

“Hey! We´re here!”

“Do you hear us?”

“Help!”

“We found them!” one of the miners shouted triumphantly, making Ryo flinch from the unpleasantly loud sound. “They´re alive!”

“Help us!”

The foreman raised his voice only very cautiously: “Yes, we hear you! Stop yellin´!”

“That´s the boss!”

“Ned!”

“I said stop yelling or I swear to God we´re gonna leave you there!” the foreman hissed and that finally made the voices from the buried tunnel calm down.

Ned turned to them again and started giving out orders: “You two – climb up carefully and help them to remove the stones from our side. Don´t just throw them away, use them to strengthen the walls next to the hole or hand it over to the men under you, if they´re useless. Move it!”

It took them a couple of long, tense minutes, until the passage was big enough for a man to make it through. Everybody rejoiced, when a dirty, sweaty face of the first miner appeared on their side.

“You´ve got no idea how happy I´m to see your ugly faces,” the man breathed out and accepted the helping hands of his colleagues.

“Shut it and hurry up,” Ned growled. “Don´t drag yourself over the stones under you. Help him down. Slowly! Good… Come here. How many of you are there?”

“Almost a whole shift,” the man replied.

“Anyone wounded?”

“Yeah, Jones. He practically stabbed himself with the pickaxe and he´s bleeding like a pig.”

“Guys! Get Jones out as the first!”

“Got it, boss!”

Ned turned to the miner again: “Anyone else?”

The man nodded: “Also Tanaka.”

Hearing the name, both Ryo and Jin froze with heavy stones in their hands.

“What´s up with him?” Ryo demanded more details worriedly.

The miner shrugged: “It seems that he hit his head and he´s a bit off. The others only have some scratches.”

Astonished Koki watched as one miner after another pulled themselves through that damn tiny hole. Just how could they fit in there?

“Tanaka. Hey! Tanaka!”

He looked at Coltrane whose head seemed somewhat bigger than it should have been.

“Your turn. I´ll help you up.”

“But… It´s too small…” Koki murmured.

“Don´t worry,” the older miner assured him. “You´re half the size of those who´re already out.”

Ned was gradually sending the rescued miners in small groups to the exit, therefore there was only a few of them left, when the bandaged head appeared in the passage.

“Finally,” Ryo rushed to help the foreman to drag his wounded friend out of the hole.

“Hold this on your wound. And be careful on your way out.”

A familiar voice made Jin turn. Of course – it was Kame. His lover appeared in the light of lanterns, his forehead sweaty and hands all bloody, as he apparently treated the miners on his way to the depths of the mine.

A little out of breath, Kame stopped by Jin´s side, leant on his shoulder and his eyes focused on the top of the collapse.

“Is it Koki?”

“Yes,” he confirmed grimly. “What are you doing here?”

Kame gave him a sideway look: “Did you really think I´d stay outside?”

Jin leant closer to him: “I´d like to strangle you right now, but I love you too much for it,” he whispered in his ear reproachfully.

The corners of Kame´s lips twitched in a delighted smile, but he didn´t say anything. And then they already reached out their hands to help Ryo with Koki, who was apparently conscious and confused as hell.

“What… are you all doing here?”

“Rescuing you, idiot,” relieved Ryo welcomed his buddy.

Koki peered at him: "Hey... You look funny."

Frowning Kame checked the bandage on Koki´s head: “He´s still bleeding. Let´s get him out quickly.”

“Yes, please… I´ll be eternally grateful,” Koki mumbled and looked down. “Damn… That´s Luke…”

Ryo supported him under his shoulders: “There´s nothing you can do for him,” he said quietly.

“But…” even though Koki realized that Ryo was right, he didn´t want to believe it. He gulped down heavily, tears stinging in his eyes. “Shit…”

With heavy rattling of stones, the foreman and the morning shift´s leader joined their little group.

“Save your heartfelt welcome for later,” Ned recommended them.

As a dark confirmation to the truth of his words, a kind of soft crackling was heard somewhere under their feet.

“I totally agree – let´s get out while we still can,” Ryo murmured.

Jin grabbed Koki from the other side and Kame held on to their heels, as they rushed back, right after Coltrane and Ned, who led the way.

The mountain growled and the rock above their heads shook, covering their hair with grains of sand. Breathless and with blood throbbing in their ears, they finally reached the underground crossroads. But before they all could go over it toward the wider tunnel leading to the exit, the ground under their feet shook again. Something crackled sharply and heavy clouds of dust filled up the mine.

“Stick to the walls!” shouted Ned, just before the rock above their heads fell apart with a deafening rattle.

- To be continued -

Well... My blog is 10 years old

witchann2 — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 17:42:04 GMT

And I feel quite old now... Just how comes it has been so long already?

To anyone still visiting my journal — thank you for being here with me. ^^v

[Fanfic] Wattpad publication of RW

witchann2 — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 20:22:34 GMT

Today, I´ve got a small notification for everyone using the Wattpad platform for reading:
https://www.wattpad.com/

I figured I might give my RW fic a chance to ´shine´ also somewhere else than just on kind of quiet LJ.
Therefore, I´ve started to post the once-again-corrected-and-hopefully-more-polished chapters from the very beginning of the whole story there.
In case you´d be interested, you can find it under my username Kasumi2022.
For now, there´s only a few chapters, but I will gradually post all of them soon.

Kasumi

PS: Diligently working on the next chapter of RW III...