Fuel to the Fire

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Chapter 2

Tatsumaki remained tight-lipped as the men spouted their betrayals and treason against the government, about how the ruling parties had left them stripped of their titles and earnings. The woman shared between the three men only made his job harder. Yume had been gentle with him, but something in her eyes told him that this was more than a job. He could not betray her identity just as she would not reveal his. As she bathed the last gentleman, Tatsu created a mental checklist of the explanations he needed to hear from her.

For starters, where did she get that body from? Working in parlors and bathhouses did not give a woman the figure and musculature that she was now sporting. Maybe the rumors of female ninja had actually come true; maybe this was just a side job for her when she was looking for work. Then again, maybe she was living in the country at some point, farming for vegetables with her husband and children. Tatsu shuttered at that thought. No, she wouldn’t do that. She had promised to be his, right?

Yume had been very professional about this job, not giving any hint of action outside the bathwater. Unlike her cohort who was currently riding the Choshu governor while having her breasts sucked by the other two men, Yume simply raised herself from the water, and bowed to her customers. “It’s been a pleasure to serve you, gentlemen,” she said. As she put one leg out, the governor from Tosa grabbed her hand. “Wait a minute, you haven’t finished serving us yet,” he said. Eyeing Yume as she turned to face me, “Those men paid for her favors in advance, I was not a part of that deal because that is a service that I do not provide,” Yume stated, pulling her hand away and climbing out of the tub.

The woman’s moans from the next tub prompted the enraptured Tosa man to climb out after Yume. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “You will not turn away a paying customer, bitch!” he yelled, shoving her to the ground and settling himself atop her nude form. Before the scene continued any further, Tatsumaki was out of the water and pulling the man off of Yume. He wheeled around to hit Tatsu, but stopped and laughed instead. “I see, you want a piece of her first! I’m not one to settle for seconds, but this is your first time, so I’ll let it slide.”

The Tosa governor slapped Tatsu on the back, and then made his way back to the bath. Tatsu reached out to help Yume from the floor. As she grabbed her kimono, Tatsu turned to block her from their view. “While I appreciate the offer, I’m afraid I am not one for a public spectacle,” he said with the other men nodding at him. Turning back to Yume, he said, “Is there somewhere more private we can go?” Yume nodded to him while she helped with his yukata. “I have a room on the next floor,” she said, looking to the other men. “Gentlemen, Emiko is more than ready to help you with your fantasies. Just be sure to thank her when you are finished.”

Taking Tatsu’s hand, Yume led him to another stairwell, past other girls who giggled at her before entering into their own duties. The third floor was much smaller and quieter than the bath floor. There were only five rooms here; mostly sleeping quarters he was betting. Most of the sex in bathhouses remained just there, in the bath. Yume led him to the door at the end of the hall. Sliding the door open, their eyes fell upon another stunning woman seated with accounting books and an abacus. “What’s the meaning of this, Yume?” she yelled, standing before Yume as if to challenge her. Yume stood her ground, “Leave us!” Tatsumaki wasn’t sure whom she was speaking to, so he turned to leave. However, Yume kept a firm grip on his hand. “Ayame, I said to leave us. This man is paying good money for my service. You may return at sunrise.”

The woman huffed, then grabbed her materials and left. Yume breathed a heavy sigh, then moved around the room blowing out all of the oil lamps, save one. She turned back to Tatsu, the remaining lantern light glowing behind her silhouette. “We’ll be alone for a while. The girls will be busy,” she stated, as she stalked towards Tatsu like a predator identifying her prey. She smiled as she approached him. Before he could see her next move, she was behind him, her hand entwined with his hair and a kunai against his throat. “I am only going to ask this once, Tatsumaki, why are you here?” Remembering his own training, Tatsu grabbed the hand with the knife, slinging her around to face him. The move was so fast that it caught Yume off guard, and she let go of his hair. Throwing his leg behind hers, Tatsu tripped Yume, then fell on top of her. He forced her own hand against her throat, daring her to breathe against the kunai. “I could ask you the same question, Yume,” he said into her ear. This was the part of her he had always loved, her will to survive and her fire that burned in her soul. Her struggles against his hold only helped to turn him on, to remind him of her long absence. “Get off me,” she said, breathing harder due to his weight upon her body.

Tatsu let go of her hand, then sat back against her legs, keeping her pinned underneath him. She sat up, and shook her head. Her hair had come loose from its trappings, and Tatsu could see where the knife had come from. Another knife and two darts hit the floor once her hair was free. Tatsu reached behind her to pick up the equipment. “My, haven’t we been busy?”, he laughed, pulling a sour look from Yume. “And what business is it of yours, Tatsu? I hear you stopped looking for me after six months of chasing me. Why do you care what I’m doing now?” Yume challenged, crossing her arms and staring up Tatsu. “What business is it of mine? Why do I care? Is that all you have to say?” She was making him completely flustered. Yume smiled at him again, letting him know who had the upper hand. He watched her again. She had a new and colder confidence from when he first met her, something had indeed happened to her in the last five years. He was sure the weaponry was only part of the surface. There was only one way to determine where her heart truly lied. Running his hands into the back of her hair, he pulled her face to his, taking her lips with his. She immediately replied by slipping her tongue past his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down on top of her.

Five years of frustration and solitude could not stop Tatsu from removing his yukata fast enough. She struggled with her own ties, eventually cutting the obi free with her kunai. Tatsu pulled himself away long enough to shrug off his robe, then returned by pushing himself into her. She raised her hips to greet him, wet and ready. He sunk in deep, and felt a weight lift from his heart. He breathed hard through his pumping, releasing all his anger and loneliness into her. She smiled and returned the favor by wrapping her long legs around his back, pulling him into her deeper. “By the Gods, I’ve missed this, Yume,” he whispered before taking her lips again. She moaned against his lips, pulling him tighter against her. She pulled her lips away to groan through her release, stifled little breaths escaping her lips. Five years without any satisfaction warrants a man with a quick release, which Tatsu discovered. Driving forward one last time, he released his pleasure into her. Both breathed hard, sweat glistening in the remaining lantern light. Tatsu looked down on Yume again, smiling at her. He sat up, leaving Yume empty and alone on the floor. He pulled his long hair away from his sweaty body, then lied back down on Yume’s ruined kimono.

Yume rolled over and propped her head in her hand. She looked down on this man she hadn’t seen in years, trying to hide her secrets behind her eyes. Changing her mind, she climbed on top of Tatsu, straddling his hips and folding her arms across his bare chest to lie against them. She continued to watch him, his breathing labored from their activity and her added weight. “What?” he asked. She continued to keep a smile on her face, but spoke between her teeth. “You never answered my question, Tatsu. Why are you here?”