[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter five
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: Hello there! ^^/
I´m so slow in writing recently, sigh... I´m so sorry and ashamed.
*bow*
If there is still anyone patient enough to wait for the continuation of this story - thank you so much and I 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 //
Resolution and retreat
Laughter of children splashing water at each other by the lake… Gossip of women taking care of food preparations… Encouraging cries of warriors practicing archery and throwing tomahawks… Noise of focused men´s works on building a special wooden lodge for the annual Sun Dance ceremony…
Liwan was listening to all of it, while getting acquainted with his new stallion and smiling over the fact how familiar this lively bustle was to him. Except missing some brothers and sisters and - on the other hand - seeing many new ones around, everything was just as he remembered. It was great to be home again and he couldn´t get enough of that peaceful atmosphere…
“I´ve already told you. It will be better if you stay here.”
“Tell me one good reason why should I?”
Well, peaceful… Liwan finished the examination of the animal´s hooves and glanced towards his wigwam. Two youngsters were standing in front of it, consumed in a heated conversation.
“Soldiers mean laws and laws mean wanted posters.”
“And? I´m not on them!”
“But your brother is and someone can mistake you for him easily!”
“So far nobody did! It´s not like we haven´t met any soldiers on the way up here!”
Liwan sighed, patted the obedient horse gratefully and crossed hands on his chest. It didn´t seem they would conclude their argument any time soon.
The young shaman nodded to Migisi´s greeting in a friendly way, as the Chippewa woman passed by with some blankets in her hands. Not only her, but also other residents of the village were sending curious, or even amused looks towards the couple. Yet, those two ignored everything and kept throwing unappreciated arguments at each other.
“But we didn´t confront anyone directly as we´re going to now! Nobody cared to look at your face properly!”
“That´s quite a lame excuse, Kame. Something like that won´t keep me sitting on my ass. We´re not in Colorado anymore and my resemblance to Leo was rather risky only over there.”
“I know! But it´s better to avoid troubles than going to meet them,” Kame insisted on his cautious attitude, which seemed a bit over the edge even to Liwan.
“That sounds as if I should behave like a coward.”
“Don´t twist what I say!”
“I think you two should…” Liwan tried to get himself into it, using the short, insulted pause, but without any success.
“Why don´t you listen to me just once, Jin? It will be safer if you don´t go with us to the fortress.”
“I always listen to you, Kame,” the older one opposed. “But you´re too anxious. Nobody can judge me for looking like my brother!”
“Do you really think they will listen to such a justification? They will be suspicious and…!”
“Hey!!” finally, the young shaman managed to disrupt them, by stepping into the small space between the two. “Stop acting like two buffalos. It seems we must not go anywhere,” he said, pointing to the opposite side of the lake.
Both Kame and Jin looked in the direction and finally noticed the riders in blue uniforms, clearly heading towards the village.
“Great!” Jin leant over Liwan´s shoulder to grin at Kame. “At least we can disprove your pessimistic, over-worried theory about wanted posters.”
“Fine! Don´t expect any help from me when you´ll end up arrested!” the younger one snapped.
“You both shut up or I tie you in my wigwam and you can argue there till the next sunrise!”
Liwan´s raised voice finally silenced them, though each kept staring at their opponent rather defiantly.
“Good!” the Indian between them huffed, getting his usual composure and patience back quickly. “If you want to help, keep your weapons and yourselves out of their eyes.”
With that, Liwan left them to join Chief Ninastoko, who was obviously already informed about the soldiers´ arrival and set off to meet them.
*
“It wouldn´t be so bad to be tied down with you if Liwan let me decide our position,” Jin stated carelessly, once the Indian was out of earshot.
The younger one gave him a burning look: “Stubborn, reckless and perverted. I have no idea just why I´m wasting myself on you.”
The older one made a step closer: “Because I´m irresistible, remember?”
Kame sighed and avoided Jin´s hand, which reached for his waist: “If they notice us, be polite and try not to piss them off right away, all right?”
“Sure. I promise I will try to hold back,” he nodded seriously.
An expression, which appeared on his boyfriend´s face after that, was rather dangerous.
“If you just try, you can sleep outside with Kuro tonight.”
“Ouch… Your lack of trust in me hurts, Kazuya.”
The other´s lips twitched in a suppressed smile and he quickly turned away: “Don´t act all innocent, I know you,” Kame stated, already walking in Liwan´s steps.
Jin rushed after him: “And I know you and your exaggerated worries,” he assumed. “So, calm down and I´ll behave, what do you say?”
Kame murmured something incomprehensible.
“But don´t expect me to behave tonight in our private wigwam,” Jin added in a quieter voice.
Finally, the younger one couldn´t help but chuckle: “You´re horrible.”
“And it´s your fault,” he grasped a chance to have the last word.
The blue uniformed ´visitors´ rode through the crowd of gathered Indians and stopped a few yards away from Chief Ninastoko, who observed them with a stiff expression. Jin and Kame remained standing sideways, partially hidden by one of the wigwams, but close enough to hear anything what was about to be said.
As soon as Jin could take a close look at the commander of a rather small unit, he regretted his easygoing promise to Kame. He had a hunch that it would take him a lot of effort to behave nicely towards that soldier. It was a rather skinny man, with a thin mustache and strangely cut hair, with half of them being forcefully soothed to one side, as could be seen when he took his hat off in greeting for a moment, which was obviously a more mocking than polite gesture.
“Chief,” the leading soldier smirked in a way, which made Jin dislike him immediately. “Here. Your rations for the next month,” he waved towards a single carriage, which his subordinates dragged in the middle of the village and took the protecting cloth away, so that the Indians could unload it.
The Tribal Chief gave the supplies one sharp look before returning it to the man in the saddle above him.
“One carriage? Not enough, Sergeant Turner,” Ninastoko stated strictly in broken English. “Month back there were two.”
“Last month is not this month,” the sergeant reacted, obviously not concerned. “You will make it with this.”
The Chief´s face darkened and he spoke in his native language now, quickly and fiercely. On that, Liwan came forward and started to translate.
“Our people cannot survive just from this little. Great White Father in Washington promised much more supplies for tribes in reservations. Where is the rest of these rations?”
Turner leant out of the saddle, eyeing the tall Indian: “I don´t remember seeing you here before,” he frowned, not paying any attention to the question. “Who are you?”
“My name is Liwan. My father is a medicine man of this tribe,” Liwan introduced himself calmly. “I just returned from travels.”
“Is that so? And your little brothers didn´t tell you about the rules? You should have reported your presence in this reservation in our fortress.”
Hearing that, Jin figured there had to be a pretty long list for this ´safety-related´ stuff, which that young Chippewa woman mentioned by their arrival.
Surprisingly, Ninastoko spoke again, obviously upset: “My red brother just came back home. Ninastoko need not report this to Paleface.”
The sergeant´s face contorted in an unsatisfied expression and he placed his palm on the rifle attached to his saddle: “I believed that each of you stupid Indians over here remembered the deal - follow the rules and you get your rations. Disobey and deal with the consequences!”
Jin´s fingers subconsciously reached under his coat to the gun belt and touched one of the revolvers, making sure it was there and all ready. This conversation was not going too well, he knew that even without looking at the dark faces of gathered villagers. Not to mention his dear over-worried boyfriend´s expression. Jin knew that concentrated, intense look and knitted eyebrows. Kame was not very fond of the way how that man treated his second family.
“So, take what we provide and shut your savage mouths!” Turner continued harshly. “Otherwise, you´ll get nothing at all!”
“We not,” the cold voice of Tribal Chief replied to the haughty soldier and then added something in Indian language.
Liwan nodded and then translated again: “This is violation of Great Treaty between our nations, Sergeant. Chief Ninastoko wants to know who is responsible for that.”
Sergeant Turner pierced both muscular Indians with a dangerous look and then he pulled the rifle from its sheath: “Are you suggesting that we cheat on you with these rations?” he asked, inciting his horse towards the Chief and young shaman, already waving with his weapon threateningly.
At that very moment, also Kame moved and Jin, who expected nothing else, followed him. Anxious rustle and humming, as some of the warriors reached for their weapons as well, accompanied them on the way toward the discussing circle.
*
Neither that bighead Ninastoko or cheeky little shaman moved, but all the warriors around them suddenly had bows in their hands. Turner was not impressed by that. He knew his men behind him did the same as him.
“Are you saying I´m a liar?” he snapped, when he stopped his horse right in front of their noses.
Those two remained silent, but instead, another voice was heard: “They just want to know the reason for this reduction, Sergeant. That´s all.”
Joshua Turner observed the youngster, who made his way through the gathered redskins and stopped right next to that shaman guy, with a raised eyebrow. Then he spotted another black clothed fellow appearing behind this one´s back, with a stupidly huge hat on his head, and he raised even the second one. Obviously, all his efforts were for nothing once again. And here he hoped that there would be finally order in this stupid reservation.
“There´s no need for any drastic methods to solve this,” that new impudent bastard added.
Turner strengthened his grip on the rifle.
“This is great. Just great. It seems all these red savages are even dumber than I had thought,” he stated almost fuming. “Chief! You were requested to report every newcomer in the reservation immediately. And now I see not only one, but three straight away! How can you expect to go along with us, when you´re not able to keep your word?”
Chief Ninastoko probably didn´t understand everything he said, but definitely enough for not liking it, as that red face of his was getting even redder. But that couldn´t discourage Turner. He had his task and he would pull it through to the end no matter if they liked it or not. He dismounted and stepped even closer to the frowning Indian.
“Explain this! Now!” Turner requested, while pointing with the rifle at those two Asian guys.
Ninastoko growled something in that crazy language of theirs.
“They are our friends,” the young shaman announced the translation kind of stiffly. “No new inhabitants, no need for report.”
Turner took a deep breath: “I decide what´s necessary and what´s not!” he snapped.
Just two days before, his superior talked about a free position, which could mean a great promotion for him. But if the news about Indians having some visits in the reservation without their patrols even noticing it, it was quite certain that an opposite change would be awaiting him. So, he was determined to knock down that defiance of theirs… Even if it would be for the prize of shooting off this stupid Tribal Chief´s head.
*
Kame was clenching his hands into fists, watching each move of the angry sergeant carefully.
“Not to piss them off, remember?” Jin whispered to his ear mockingly.
“I´m trying,” the younger one murmured darkly.
“Got it or not?” Turner asked threateningly, seeming to be eager to use the rifle in his hands.
“We´ve arrived just yesterday, Sergeant,” Kame cut in hastily, before any of the Indians could reply. “We wouldn´t have enough time to let you know, even if we knew it was necessary.”
The sergeant gave him a long, disgusted stare: “That´s not an apology, kid.”
It was getting hard to remain calm, but Kame was well aware that arguing with this man would not help anyone, so he just swallowed his pride.
“Are you here for business?” the sergeant asked then. “You´d have to pay a fee for that.”
“Another stupid rule, I guess,” Jin behind him murmured inaudibly.
Kame couldn´t agree more, but didn´t let it show in his voice: “No,” he assured the pissed soldier. “We´re their friends, as they´ve already told you. We´re here just for a visit, so don´t worry about us. We´ll be gone…”
Kame fell silent, when Sergeant Turner suddenly approached him with three quick steps. Jin behind him tensed and his hand moved. Just for sure, Kame stepped hard on his feet to remind the older one his promise. Still, he felt Jin´s dark, threatening aura behind himself, when the sergeant jabbed his chest with one finger. He assumed he should be grateful it was not a muzzle of that rifle the man held in the other hand.
“No brat like you will tell me what to do!” Turner stated angrily.
*
Kame stood there, repaying the contemptuous look of the soldier unmoved, while Jin had a strong urge to punch the man. His boyfriend might have looked younger than of his age, but that didn´t give that asshole any right to act so superiorly.
“I asked, if you got it?!” the sergeant repeated.
Not only Jin was stabbing the man with his eyes now, most of the Indians around, including Liwan with a tomahawk appearing in his hand like by a miracle, joined him. Turner looked around and some muted curse escaped his lips, before he stepped back from Kame a little. His subordinates also seemed to be a little nervous being surrounded by half the village now.
“I understand many things, Sergeant, but your attitude is not included among them,” Kame finally replied in a cold tone.
The sergeant shot a few morose glances around, before he straightened his shoulders and raised one of his fingers again: “This time, I´ll let it go, since you´re new here,” he proclaimed as if he was doing them a favor. “But if you cause any trouble, and I mean anything I won´t like, you´ll regret it.”
No one reacted.
“We will take the empty carriage next time,” he snapped towards the Tribal Chief, mounted his horse again and ordered his squad to leave. “And by that time, I don´t want to see you two around here, remember that!” Turner added, pointing at Jin and Kame.
Only two dark looks replied him.
A few incomprehensible and probably very rude shouts accompanied the soldiers´ departure, but no Indian stepped in their way. Even before the last rider left the village, Jin snapped, not trying to hush his voice.
“Arrogant bastard! What the hell are all these rules?”
Ninastoko turned to them: “This Paleface always troubles. Make new rule each visit,” and just as before, he ran out of his English vocabulary, so he added something Jin didn´t understand.
“Chief is sorry. He would tell you to hide, if he knew,” Liwan translated.
“That´s all right,” Kame shook his head. “We know the types like him,” he sighed, quite relieved that the sergeant didn´t have more obtrusive questions.
“I should have kicked his ass,” Jin murmured, when the thunder of hooves died down in the distance.
“That would not improve the situation, Akanishi,” Liwan frowned, while Kame gave him a half-scolding, half-approving look.
“Of course not. But it would make me feel better,” the young gunslinger assumed.
Liwan just snorted something in his mother tongue, before he parted with them: “I will see my father now; he wanted to know once the soldiers arrive.”
Other Indians also started to break apart.
Kame turned to the Tribal Chief: “Can I see what they brought?”
Ninastoko nodded and gestured him to follow.
“Well, and meanwhile, since I was not arrested…” Jin flashed a victorious smile in reaction to Kame´s sharp glance, “I´ll take care of Kuro and Ukushi.”
Kame sighed. Chief Ninastoko already headed towards the carriage, while he approached Jin and looked in his eyes: “I know I worry too much. Sometimes. But…”
“You can´t help it,” the older one completed him with a small grin.
“No, I can´t,” he confirmed a little sheepishly.
They stood there for a short, fleeting moment, both feeling a bittersweet squeeze somewhere inside them.
Kame didn´t like their morning argument and he was glad for Jin´s understanding. There were times when the older one would have been much more upset about something like that. And Jin just couldn´t be angry with the younger one for worrying about him so much. Not when he knew in his heart what it actually meant.
“All right, I get it,” Jin raised his hand, patted Kame´s shoulder and pushed him away gently: “Go already, Chief is waiting.”
With a smile, Kame nodded and rushed after Ninastoko, while Jin went to take care of what he had promised. He was quite sure that their dear travelling companions would be upset they had saddled them for nothing.
*
Several Blackfeet and a couple of Chippewa Indians were already unloading the supplies, when Chief Ninastoko, followed by Kame, got to the carriage.
There were mainly bags of flour, beans, salt, coffee and tea, but there was no meat. If not the living cattle directly, at least some dry beef was usually provided in the rations, but to everyone´s unpleasant surprise, there was none whatsoever this time. If the Indians didn´t keep hunting outside the reservation in secret, it would have been a disaster for the whole tribe.
Considering how much the local population had grown in the short time, everything was in short supply. Not to mention the great disadvantage the red nation had now, as they had to change their way of cooking quite drastically. From what they were provided, there was no way they could get enough nutrition. No wonder the recent epidemic was so devastating.
No one around commented on the content of the carriage or complained. Everyone knew that their Chief was not happy about it, especially since Ninastoko was observing his brothers working with hands crossed on his wide chest and with his eyebrows knitted in deep furrow, as he was counting each bag and sac. And Kame stood beside him, with an almost identical expression, without even realizing it.
This was even worse than he had thought. With how the things were going with the resettlement of all Indians into reservations, there was no way they would endure treatment like this for long. Almost all Indians he had ever met were very proud and if they would not get what they were promised, they would revolt against the white nation again. Such a situation could turn into another bloody clash so easily…
What was so difficult about providing the original inhabitants, or rather the remaining minority of them, with enough supplies when the white nation took so much of the great lands of America for themselves? Why were they so unwilling to share what was not theirs in the first place?
Blackfeet were never farmers in the specific, Old World people meaning of the word, they could have always relied on the large, fertile lands around them to provide them with everything they needed, so most of them were hunters. But now, their space for hunt had shrunk to barely something they could find a rabbit upon and in those mountainous areas they couldn´t even grow the crops the way the white nation did. The Indians started to be more and more dependent on what the government soldiers provided them and that was far from enough.
Kame stared into the space, not seeing the carriage or Indians anymore, lost in his thoughts.
There had to be something what could be done. This poor-ration-problem might have been doing of a few officers who wanted to feather their nests with some additional dollars. The government actions recently showed they would like to put an end to the endless conflicts with the original inhabitants, so why would they want to spoil their own efforts like that?
It was necessary to avoid dealing directly with soldiers who were in charge of rations. It could be more than expected that all of them would have the same or even worse attitude than that sergeant Turner. They should aim higher, to inform their superiors about what was going on in the reservation and request for a remedy.
Then Kame remembered they had met one just, uncorrupted soldier in a high position - maybe Captain Walker could help them. Unfortunately, they had no idea of the honest man´s current whereabouts. Was he still in Colorado? Hunting Sioux rebels or Black Riders? Maybe they would be able to find out if they sent a telegram to one of the forts there. But the outcome of such an attempt was quite uncertain.
It would be better to send a complaint directly to Washington. The Office of Indian Affairs was surely the best place to address, since it was their duty to oversee that the treaty with the red nation was respected and followed by both sides. But how to make sure they will read a message from some insignificant immigrant from Montana?
“I can´t see into your head, but somehow, I can imagine what´s in it right now.”
A deep voice brought Kame from his mind trip back into the middle of Indian village.
He looked around rather confused, since he found himself standing in an almost empty space, except a few kids, who were gathering the last beans from the ground, which spilled there from one damaged bag. Everybody else including Chief Ninastoko were already gone and the carriage was dragged away, into the protection of treetops on the edge of the forest. Only Jin was standing beside Kame now, watching him with his eyes warm and deep.
“You´re trying to figure out how to help them,” his handsome lover continued calmly.
Kame repaid the other´s look, before he nodded seriously.
Jin moved closer to him, circled one of his arms around Kame´s neck from behind and let his chin rest on the younger´s shoulder.
“You frown too much during it,” he declared teasingly.
Kame let the pleasant sensation from Jin´s closeness sink into him as a soothing balm.
“I do not frown now…” he reacted quietly.
The older one chuckled a little, but otherwise didn´t comment on his meaningful remark.
The bean collecting children finished their task, finally stopped sending curious looks towards the standing couple and ran around them giggling. None of the two paid them any attention.
“So? What are we going to do?” Jin asked softly.
“Well…” Kame took a breath. “First, I want to consult it with the Chief and Liwan and check on that military fortress as we had intended this morning. And then…”
“To the civilization again?” the other one guessed promptly.
Reluctantly, as Jin´s embrace was just too comfortable, Kame moved and turned, so that he could look in the older one´s face.
“Yes,” he confirmed a bit heavily. “I doubt the direct commander of this Turner would be of any help. And around Helena, which we passed on the way here, there is no other fort. We need to go at least to Bozeman, to get to someone who can actually do something about all of this. There is Fort Ellis close by, and if I remember correctly, Captain Walker was originally assigned there. So, there should be another captain at least and we can talk to him. If that doesn´t work…”
“Wait, wait,” Jin stopped him with a raised hand. “Too much information, Kame.”
“Ah, sorry…”
“What about you would explain me all the details of your certainly awesome plan once we´re on the road?” the older one suggested.
“Yeah, sure…”
“And forget about hiding my face with bandages or something,” Jin grunted.
Kame sighed, but nodded, feeling kind of defeated.
The older one hid his hands into the pockets: “When do you want to set off?” he asked directly.
“Well...” Kame hesitated about what to reply.
“As soon as possible, right?” his boyfriend figured.
The younger one took a breath: “Jin…”
“So, what about giving me some of your precious time at least till then?”
Kame fell silent guiltily.
“You have all kinds of complaints about me, but you´re quite difficult to deal with yourself,” Jin informed him.
“I´m sorry, Jin. I know we wanted to spend some time here, but this situation…”
“It´s always something, right?” to Kame´s surprise, the older one laughed shortly. “Look, I don´t actually care where we go, as long as we´re together. So, keep your apologies for the evening,” Jin stated with a provocative smile.
Kame gulped down heavily under the suddenly darkened look of his lover: “All right, I will…”
***
Even though the summer was already spreading its warm arms all over Colorado, that night was cold in the mountains. The sudden shower chased the citizens of Leadville out of the dark streets and made them hide under the roofs of pubs or their own homes. But a serious group gathered in a certain, currently closed, grocery store, was not hiding only from the rain, they were also trying to avoid any curious eyes…
“Are you done yet?” a young, calm voice reminded Cullen that he had been checking the empty street behind the wet window for longer than necessary.
“We shook them off our tail miles ago,” another voice behind his back agreed. “We´re safe here.”
The oldest member of Black Riders turned to face the rest of people in the storage adjacent to the shop with a grim face: “Maybe for now,” he reacted to Ryo´s carefree statement.
A heavy odor was hanging in the room, as none of them, not even Jane, dared to visit any of the local public baths, once they finally arrived. Leo´s poster was hanging everywhere, along with numerous warnings regarding to any bigger group of unknown riders or travelers. They blended in the fuss of Leadville streets just as inconspicuously as ever before, but they didn´t feel safe anymore. After a few unpleasant incidents on their way here, they learnt to be very careful about whom to trust. The owner of that grocery shop was one of very few they agreed on; the man owed them for lives of his kids.
“Join us, Cullen,” Leo gestured toward the last empty chair around an ancient table, still in such a calm way, that it almost freaked the older man out.
After they were forced to leave Hereford, Jane´s birth town affected by the epidemic, in quite a hurry, then being chased away from Greeley and after a difficult trip back up to Leadville, while they had to be on constant alert in front of that super-fucking-special unit of soldiers, which Tabor sent after them, he would have expected that their young leader would be at least anxious, if not upset. Obviously, he should have known better.
Not for the first time, Cullen admired Leo´s composure. It was one of the reasons he respected him as the Riders´ leader despite their great age difference. And he was determined to do anything to help him to remain in this state, which happened to be vital in many situations their gang had found themselves in.
So, Cullen leant on the wall next to the window instead, to keep an overview about what was going on in front of the store at least by the corner of his eye. He was still unsure if it was a good or bad idea to go back to Leadville. But how was that saying? Under a candlestick there is the darkest place? Who would expect them to go back to where the part of their gang was mercilessly gunned down?
“That´s fine, I´ll rather stand,” he stated firmly.
Leo Akanishi nodded, connected his hands in front of him in a typical gesture and remained silent for a while, probably gathering his thoughts. Jane was sitting on his right, slicing some bread and cheese for everyone, as they didn´t have time to eat properly that day yet, while Jack next to her distributed the food on plates. Nick was slowly getting to the end of pile of the newest newspapers, pushing only some of them in front of Leo and Ryo was cleaning up his favorite colts.
Six tired and dusty people in one badly lit room. Seeing them like this, Cullen was once again reminded that not many were left from their original gang…
Leo´s eyes fell upon one of the headlines, which Nick considered important enough to pay them an attention. As far as Cullen could tell from the view upside down, it was one of those with the repeated appeal to Colorado citizens to report anyone even close to suspicious to the US Marshals. Leo grasped the edge of papers and stared at the article for a while, before he put it down again.
The plates for everyone were prepared, but nobody touched the food yet.
Ryo finished the careful maintenance of his weapons, hid them into their sheaths and gave a long, careful look to their still-so-silent leader.
“Stop brooding, Leo and out with it,” the young Rider proclaimed what no one else had courage for.
Leo raised his eyes to him, then to Cullen and to the rest of his friends, leaving Jane for the last. The brunette gave him an encouraging smile. Only then Leo finally spoke.
“First of all, I´m sorry, guys.”
“That´s not exactly a beginning I expected,” Ryo frowned. “What the hell are you apologizing for?”
“For breaking a promise, I gave you all,” the young leader reacted.
Cullen raised an eyebrow over that statement, but somehow, he already knew what would follow… As well as Jane, who seemed not surprised at all. It was quite probable that Leo had already talked with her about what he was going to say.
“What promise, man?” the black haired one requested an explanation.
“I gave you my word that Tabor would get what he deserves. But I´m not able to lead you to accomplish something like that. Not under the circumstances.”
A short silence followed, with the rest of Riders exchanging the meaningful glances.
“I´m sorry,” Leo repeated heavily. “As long as there were some bounty hunters or overactive sheriffs, we could deal with it. But with that military squad coming after us, those high rewards… Tabor took this to another level and I will not risk taking you all with me to the gallows.”
In another short pause, Cullen ran his eyes over others. And he liked what he saw. Some of them sometimes acted like brats they were, but they were not stupid.
“And that´s it?” Ryo leant over the table, to check on their leader´s face from close-up. “That´s why you´re so apologetic?”
Leo blinked confused about an almost amused tone his friend and companion used: “Well…”
Surprisingly, usually silent Nick picked up on Ryo´s question then: “We were with you this whole time, Leo. We realize what´s going on around us. Don´t you think we were wondering about what to do as well?”
“Hell, I did. It gave me a headache past few days,” Cullen grunted.
“So, it was not our stupidity that caused it, for a change?” Ryo smirked on him, before turning to Leo again. “Exactly as Nick said. I´d like Tabor to pay for everything even more than he already did, but I´ll rather be alive to see that.”
“Hey! You used my words!” Jack complained immediately.
“Sorry, kid,” the black haired one grinned. “It sounded too well.”
“You two talked about this?” Leo asked a bit surprised.
Both guys nodded, as well as Nick: “With me.”
“I told you the others worry about it as well,” Jane reacted a little reproachfully.
Leo turned to her with an apologetic expression: “I should have listened to you more, love, sorry.”
“Don´t think your pardon is so cheap,” Jane informed him ´nicely´.
Jack and Ryo chuckled.
“Well, I admit that we used to be kind of blinded by revenge,” Cullen considered convenient to speak his opinion as well. “You had to be there to calm us down and lead us the safest way possible. And you did it well… But even these kids can use they brains sometimes.”
“Oh, thanks for such a nice compliment, old jerk,” Ryo spread his lips in a wide grin.
“You´re very welcome,” Cullen informed him.
“Look, we understand it´s too risky to keep going against Tabor now,” Nick returned to the previous topic. “You don´t need to apologize for that, Leo.”
The young leader looked around the Riders once again and smiled: “I underestimated you.”
“Not nice of you,” Ryo pouted. “Bad, bad leader, you are.”
Cullen looked through the window shortly, before he stepped closer to the table: “Skip apologies and tell us what you decided.”
“All right…” Leo straightened up in his chair. “I want to leave Colorado. At least for some time. My face is a way too known around here and I´m fed up pretending to have an injury or disease.”
Once again, that was nothing what would surprise Cullen.
“I thought so,” he murmured. “And it´s a quite reasonable decision.”
“Where to?” wondered Ryo.
Cullen was quick to guess: “After your bigheaded brother?”
“I admit that it´s the most tempting option,” Leo smirked a little. “I´d check on him for a change this time…”
“And kick his ass for leaving without even saying goodbye, right?” the black-haired one assumed.
Leo threw a dangerous glance in Ryo´s direction: “Why would I do that?”
“Well, you almost kicked mine, when I arrived to Hereford with this news,” Ryo reminded him.
“That was because you also let Koki go!” Leo protested. “It´s useless to persuade my stubborn brother about anything, I know that.”
The young Rider shrugged: “Our Goldilocks isn´t any easier to deal with, for that matter.”
“Damn, we know that you two miss them,” Jane cut into their almost argument shaking her head. “Can´t you cry on each other´s shoulder later?”
Jack covered his mouth laughing, Nick was amused as well, just Cullen managed to cover it with a cough. Their brunette was damn right and it made those two speechless for a while.
“Exactly,” Cullen followed up. “The important thing is what you want us to do now.”
“Well…” Leo´s eyes focused on the newspapers again.
“I´m going with Leo,” Jane announced in that pause.
“Naturally,” the oldest Rider nodded. “And? What about us, Leo?”
Their leader looked at him: “I won´t decide this for you. You can all stay here in Colorado or come with us. There´s only one thing, I was thinking about…”
“You want someone to stay and watch over Tabor, right?” Cullen completed him calmly.
Jane gave him quite an impressed look for that statement. Once again, he figured what was on Leo´s mind. Well, he knew him for long and they had kind of similarly working mind.
“Yes,” Leo nodded. “There´s no guarantee we can use it later, but that´s exactly what I´d like some of you to do.”
“I´ll do it,” surprisingly Jack volunteered himself the first.
“You?” Ryo chuckled. “Come on, kid. It won´t be exactly safe trying to stay close to that rich bastard.”
“Heh, exactly because I´m just a kid,” Jack made a grimace. “I won´t be that suspicious. I can try to get a job at one of his properties. Just a young boy trying to earn something. Nobody will even think about me belonging to the Riders.”
“I can´t stop praising you today,” Cullen announced. “That´s quite a wise thinking of you, Jackie.”
The youngest Rider stuck out his tongue at him.
But Leo didn´t seem to be fully persuaded: “All right, but I don´t want you to stay here alone.”
“That´s why I stay as well,” it was Nick reacting. “Honestly, I´m not exactly up to long travels anymore, Leo. I think I´ll be more useful here, to watch over our young hero not to put himself in too many troubles.”
Jack pushed his elbow into the older man´s side, but he was obviously glad.
“That should work,” Cullen admitted. “As for me, I´m not breaking any promises until it´s completely necessary. I´m going with you too, Leo.”
Their young leader nodded gratefully: “That leaves you, my friend,” he looked at Ryo.
“Well… I don´t know…” the black-haired one crossed hands behind his head and swung in his chair. “What should I do?”
Jane rolled her eyes: “You´re a terrible actor as always,” she stated.
“Oh, careful, my dear, I was working at the cirque once!”
“As a trained monkey?” Cullen wondered.
“Tss! You have no idea what you missed,” Ryo snorted. “But anyway - I think it will be nice to check on Montana´s girls.”
“I´ll be glad to have you with us,” Leo reacted, with his eyes full of appreciation. “Thank you, guys. For everything.”
“Oh, stop, or I might start crying,” Ryo reached out to bump Leo´s shoulder. “Jack, get us some bottle from that old geezer´s supplies. We need to drink up to the safe travels!”
“Not too much though!” Leo called after the youngest member. “I want us to set off before the sunrise, as we need to gather our stuff from the cottage, got it?”
“Roger that, Chief!” Ryo saluted.
- To be continued -
Credit for banner:
witchann2
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: Hello there! ^^/
I´m so slow in writing recently, sigh... I´m so sorry and ashamed.
*bow*
If there is still anyone patient enough to wait for the continuation of this story - thank you so much and I 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 //
Resolution and retreat
Laughter of children splashing water at each other by the lake… Gossip of women taking care of food preparations… Encouraging cries of warriors practicing archery and throwing tomahawks… Noise of focused men´s works on building a special wooden lodge for the annual Sun Dance ceremony…
Liwan was listening to all of it, while getting acquainted with his new stallion and smiling over the fact how familiar this lively bustle was to him. Except missing some brothers and sisters and - on the other hand - seeing many new ones around, everything was just as he remembered. It was great to be home again and he couldn´t get enough of that peaceful atmosphere…
“I´ve already told you. It will be better if you stay here.”
“Tell me one good reason why should I?”
Well, peaceful… Liwan finished the examination of the animal´s hooves and glanced towards his wigwam. Two youngsters were standing in front of it, consumed in a heated conversation.
“Soldiers mean laws and laws mean wanted posters.”
“And? I´m not on them!”
“But your brother is and someone can mistake you for him easily!”
“So far nobody did! It´s not like we haven´t met any soldiers on the way up here!”
Liwan sighed, patted the obedient horse gratefully and crossed hands on his chest. It didn´t seem they would conclude their argument any time soon.
The young shaman nodded to Migisi´s greeting in a friendly way, as the Chippewa woman passed by with some blankets in her hands. Not only her, but also other residents of the village were sending curious, or even amused looks towards the couple. Yet, those two ignored everything and kept throwing unappreciated arguments at each other.
“But we didn´t confront anyone directly as we´re going to now! Nobody cared to look at your face properly!”
“That´s quite a lame excuse, Kame. Something like that won´t keep me sitting on my ass. We´re not in Colorado anymore and my resemblance to Leo was rather risky only over there.”
“I know! But it´s better to avoid troubles than going to meet them,” Kame insisted on his cautious attitude, which seemed a bit over the edge even to Liwan.
“That sounds as if I should behave like a coward.”
“Don´t twist what I say!”
“I think you two should…” Liwan tried to get himself into it, using the short, insulted pause, but without any success.
“Why don´t you listen to me just once, Jin? It will be safer if you don´t go with us to the fortress.”
“I always listen to you, Kame,” the older one opposed. “But you´re too anxious. Nobody can judge me for looking like my brother!”
“Do you really think they will listen to such a justification? They will be suspicious and…!”
“Hey!!” finally, the young shaman managed to disrupt them, by stepping into the small space between the two. “Stop acting like two buffalos. It seems we must not go anywhere,” he said, pointing to the opposite side of the lake.
Both Kame and Jin looked in the direction and finally noticed the riders in blue uniforms, clearly heading towards the village.
“Great!” Jin leant over Liwan´s shoulder to grin at Kame. “At least we can disprove your pessimistic, over-worried theory about wanted posters.”
“Fine! Don´t expect any help from me when you´ll end up arrested!” the younger one snapped.
“You both shut up or I tie you in my wigwam and you can argue there till the next sunrise!”
Liwan´s raised voice finally silenced them, though each kept staring at their opponent rather defiantly.
“Good!” the Indian between them huffed, getting his usual composure and patience back quickly. “If you want to help, keep your weapons and yourselves out of their eyes.”
With that, Liwan left them to join Chief Ninastoko, who was obviously already informed about the soldiers´ arrival and set off to meet them.
*
“It wouldn´t be so bad to be tied down with you if Liwan let me decide our position,” Jin stated carelessly, once the Indian was out of earshot.
The younger one gave him a burning look: “Stubborn, reckless and perverted. I have no idea just why I´m wasting myself on you.”
The older one made a step closer: “Because I´m irresistible, remember?”
Kame sighed and avoided Jin´s hand, which reached for his waist: “If they notice us, be polite and try not to piss them off right away, all right?”
“Sure. I promise I will try to hold back,” he nodded seriously.
An expression, which appeared on his boyfriend´s face after that, was rather dangerous.
“If you just try, you can sleep outside with Kuro tonight.”
“Ouch… Your lack of trust in me hurts, Kazuya.”
The other´s lips twitched in a suppressed smile and he quickly turned away: “Don´t act all innocent, I know you,” Kame stated, already walking in Liwan´s steps.
Jin rushed after him: “And I know you and your exaggerated worries,” he assumed. “So, calm down and I´ll behave, what do you say?”
Kame murmured something incomprehensible.
“But don´t expect me to behave tonight in our private wigwam,” Jin added in a quieter voice.
Finally, the younger one couldn´t help but chuckle: “You´re horrible.”
“And it´s your fault,” he grasped a chance to have the last word.
The blue uniformed ´visitors´ rode through the crowd of gathered Indians and stopped a few yards away from Chief Ninastoko, who observed them with a stiff expression. Jin and Kame remained standing sideways, partially hidden by one of the wigwams, but close enough to hear anything what was about to be said.
As soon as Jin could take a close look at the commander of a rather small unit, he regretted his easygoing promise to Kame. He had a hunch that it would take him a lot of effort to behave nicely towards that soldier. It was a rather skinny man, with a thin mustache and strangely cut hair, with half of them being forcefully soothed to one side, as could be seen when he took his hat off in greeting for a moment, which was obviously a more mocking than polite gesture.
“Chief,” the leading soldier smirked in a way, which made Jin dislike him immediately. “Here. Your rations for the next month,” he waved towards a single carriage, which his subordinates dragged in the middle of the village and took the protecting cloth away, so that the Indians could unload it.
The Tribal Chief gave the supplies one sharp look before returning it to the man in the saddle above him.
“One carriage? Not enough, Sergeant Turner,” Ninastoko stated strictly in broken English. “Month back there were two.”
“Last month is not this month,” the sergeant reacted, obviously not concerned. “You will make it with this.”
The Chief´s face darkened and he spoke in his native language now, quickly and fiercely. On that, Liwan came forward and started to translate.
“Our people cannot survive just from this little. Great White Father in Washington promised much more supplies for tribes in reservations. Where is the rest of these rations?”
Turner leant out of the saddle, eyeing the tall Indian: “I don´t remember seeing you here before,” he frowned, not paying any attention to the question. “Who are you?”
“My name is Liwan. My father is a medicine man of this tribe,” Liwan introduced himself calmly. “I just returned from travels.”
“Is that so? And your little brothers didn´t tell you about the rules? You should have reported your presence in this reservation in our fortress.”
Hearing that, Jin figured there had to be a pretty long list for this ´safety-related´ stuff, which that young Chippewa woman mentioned by their arrival.
Surprisingly, Ninastoko spoke again, obviously upset: “My red brother just came back home. Ninastoko need not report this to Paleface.”
The sergeant´s face contorted in an unsatisfied expression and he placed his palm on the rifle attached to his saddle: “I believed that each of you stupid Indians over here remembered the deal - follow the rules and you get your rations. Disobey and deal with the consequences!”
Jin´s fingers subconsciously reached under his coat to the gun belt and touched one of the revolvers, making sure it was there and all ready. This conversation was not going too well, he knew that even without looking at the dark faces of gathered villagers. Not to mention his dear over-worried boyfriend´s expression. Jin knew that concentrated, intense look and knitted eyebrows. Kame was not very fond of the way how that man treated his second family.
“So, take what we provide and shut your savage mouths!” Turner continued harshly. “Otherwise, you´ll get nothing at all!”
“We not,” the cold voice of Tribal Chief replied to the haughty soldier and then added something in Indian language.
Liwan nodded and then translated again: “This is violation of Great Treaty between our nations, Sergeant. Chief Ninastoko wants to know who is responsible for that.”
Sergeant Turner pierced both muscular Indians with a dangerous look and then he pulled the rifle from its sheath: “Are you suggesting that we cheat on you with these rations?” he asked, inciting his horse towards the Chief and young shaman, already waving with his weapon threateningly.
At that very moment, also Kame moved and Jin, who expected nothing else, followed him. Anxious rustle and humming, as some of the warriors reached for their weapons as well, accompanied them on the way toward the discussing circle.
*
Neither that bighead Ninastoko or cheeky little shaman moved, but all the warriors around them suddenly had bows in their hands. Turner was not impressed by that. He knew his men behind him did the same as him.
“Are you saying I´m a liar?” he snapped, when he stopped his horse right in front of their noses.
Those two remained silent, but instead, another voice was heard: “They just want to know the reason for this reduction, Sergeant. That´s all.”
Joshua Turner observed the youngster, who made his way through the gathered redskins and stopped right next to that shaman guy, with a raised eyebrow. Then he spotted another black clothed fellow appearing behind this one´s back, with a stupidly huge hat on his head, and he raised even the second one. Obviously, all his efforts were for nothing once again. And here he hoped that there would be finally order in this stupid reservation.
“There´s no need for any drastic methods to solve this,” that new impudent bastard added.
Turner strengthened his grip on the rifle.
“This is great. Just great. It seems all these red savages are even dumber than I had thought,” he stated almost fuming. “Chief! You were requested to report every newcomer in the reservation immediately. And now I see not only one, but three straight away! How can you expect to go along with us, when you´re not able to keep your word?”
Chief Ninastoko probably didn´t understand everything he said, but definitely enough for not liking it, as that red face of his was getting even redder. But that couldn´t discourage Turner. He had his task and he would pull it through to the end no matter if they liked it or not. He dismounted and stepped even closer to the frowning Indian.
“Explain this! Now!” Turner requested, while pointing with the rifle at those two Asian guys.
Ninastoko growled something in that crazy language of theirs.
“They are our friends,” the young shaman announced the translation kind of stiffly. “No new inhabitants, no need for report.”
Turner took a deep breath: “I decide what´s necessary and what´s not!” he snapped.
Just two days before, his superior talked about a free position, which could mean a great promotion for him. But if the news about Indians having some visits in the reservation without their patrols even noticing it, it was quite certain that an opposite change would be awaiting him. So, he was determined to knock down that defiance of theirs… Even if it would be for the prize of shooting off this stupid Tribal Chief´s head.
*
Kame was clenching his hands into fists, watching each move of the angry sergeant carefully.
“Not to piss them off, remember?” Jin whispered to his ear mockingly.
“I´m trying,” the younger one murmured darkly.
“Got it or not?” Turner asked threateningly, seeming to be eager to use the rifle in his hands.
“We´ve arrived just yesterday, Sergeant,” Kame cut in hastily, before any of the Indians could reply. “We wouldn´t have enough time to let you know, even if we knew it was necessary.”
The sergeant gave him a long, disgusted stare: “That´s not an apology, kid.”
It was getting hard to remain calm, but Kame was well aware that arguing with this man would not help anyone, so he just swallowed his pride.
“Are you here for business?” the sergeant asked then. “You´d have to pay a fee for that.”
“Another stupid rule, I guess,” Jin behind him murmured inaudibly.
Kame couldn´t agree more, but didn´t let it show in his voice: “No,” he assured the pissed soldier. “We´re their friends, as they´ve already told you. We´re here just for a visit, so don´t worry about us. We´ll be gone…”
Kame fell silent, when Sergeant Turner suddenly approached him with three quick steps. Jin behind him tensed and his hand moved. Just for sure, Kame stepped hard on his feet to remind the older one his promise. Still, he felt Jin´s dark, threatening aura behind himself, when the sergeant jabbed his chest with one finger. He assumed he should be grateful it was not a muzzle of that rifle the man held in the other hand.
“No brat like you will tell me what to do!” Turner stated angrily.
*
Kame stood there, repaying the contemptuous look of the soldier unmoved, while Jin had a strong urge to punch the man. His boyfriend might have looked younger than of his age, but that didn´t give that asshole any right to act so superiorly.
“I asked, if you got it?!” the sergeant repeated.
Not only Jin was stabbing the man with his eyes now, most of the Indians around, including Liwan with a tomahawk appearing in his hand like by a miracle, joined him. Turner looked around and some muted curse escaped his lips, before he stepped back from Kame a little. His subordinates also seemed to be a little nervous being surrounded by half the village now.
“I understand many things, Sergeant, but your attitude is not included among them,” Kame finally replied in a cold tone.
The sergeant shot a few morose glances around, before he straightened his shoulders and raised one of his fingers again: “This time, I´ll let it go, since you´re new here,” he proclaimed as if he was doing them a favor. “But if you cause any trouble, and I mean anything I won´t like, you´ll regret it.”
No one reacted.
“We will take the empty carriage next time,” he snapped towards the Tribal Chief, mounted his horse again and ordered his squad to leave. “And by that time, I don´t want to see you two around here, remember that!” Turner added, pointing at Jin and Kame.
Only two dark looks replied him.
A few incomprehensible and probably very rude shouts accompanied the soldiers´ departure, but no Indian stepped in their way. Even before the last rider left the village, Jin snapped, not trying to hush his voice.
“Arrogant bastard! What the hell are all these rules?”
Ninastoko turned to them: “This Paleface always troubles. Make new rule each visit,” and just as before, he ran out of his English vocabulary, so he added something Jin didn´t understand.
“Chief is sorry. He would tell you to hide, if he knew,” Liwan translated.
“That´s all right,” Kame shook his head. “We know the types like him,” he sighed, quite relieved that the sergeant didn´t have more obtrusive questions.
“I should have kicked his ass,” Jin murmured, when the thunder of hooves died down in the distance.
“That would not improve the situation, Akanishi,” Liwan frowned, while Kame gave him a half-scolding, half-approving look.
“Of course not. But it would make me feel better,” the young gunslinger assumed.
Liwan just snorted something in his mother tongue, before he parted with them: “I will see my father now; he wanted to know once the soldiers arrive.”
Other Indians also started to break apart.
Kame turned to the Tribal Chief: “Can I see what they brought?”
Ninastoko nodded and gestured him to follow.
“Well, and meanwhile, since I was not arrested…” Jin flashed a victorious smile in reaction to Kame´s sharp glance, “I´ll take care of Kuro and Ukushi.”
Kame sighed. Chief Ninastoko already headed towards the carriage, while he approached Jin and looked in his eyes: “I know I worry too much. Sometimes. But…”
“You can´t help it,” the older one completed him with a small grin.
“No, I can´t,” he confirmed a little sheepishly.
They stood there for a short, fleeting moment, both feeling a bittersweet squeeze somewhere inside them.
Kame didn´t like their morning argument and he was glad for Jin´s understanding. There were times when the older one would have been much more upset about something like that. And Jin just couldn´t be angry with the younger one for worrying about him so much. Not when he knew in his heart what it actually meant.
“All right, I get it,” Jin raised his hand, patted Kame´s shoulder and pushed him away gently: “Go already, Chief is waiting.”
With a smile, Kame nodded and rushed after Ninastoko, while Jin went to take care of what he had promised. He was quite sure that their dear travelling companions would be upset they had saddled them for nothing.
*
Several Blackfeet and a couple of Chippewa Indians were already unloading the supplies, when Chief Ninastoko, followed by Kame, got to the carriage.
There were mainly bags of flour, beans, salt, coffee and tea, but there was no meat. If not the living cattle directly, at least some dry beef was usually provided in the rations, but to everyone´s unpleasant surprise, there was none whatsoever this time. If the Indians didn´t keep hunting outside the reservation in secret, it would have been a disaster for the whole tribe.
Considering how much the local population had grown in the short time, everything was in short supply. Not to mention the great disadvantage the red nation had now, as they had to change their way of cooking quite drastically. From what they were provided, there was no way they could get enough nutrition. No wonder the recent epidemic was so devastating.
No one around commented on the content of the carriage or complained. Everyone knew that their Chief was not happy about it, especially since Ninastoko was observing his brothers working with hands crossed on his wide chest and with his eyebrows knitted in deep furrow, as he was counting each bag and sac. And Kame stood beside him, with an almost identical expression, without even realizing it.
This was even worse than he had thought. With how the things were going with the resettlement of all Indians into reservations, there was no way they would endure treatment like this for long. Almost all Indians he had ever met were very proud and if they would not get what they were promised, they would revolt against the white nation again. Such a situation could turn into another bloody clash so easily…
What was so difficult about providing the original inhabitants, or rather the remaining minority of them, with enough supplies when the white nation took so much of the great lands of America for themselves? Why were they so unwilling to share what was not theirs in the first place?
Blackfeet were never farmers in the specific, Old World people meaning of the word, they could have always relied on the large, fertile lands around them to provide them with everything they needed, so most of them were hunters. But now, their space for hunt had shrunk to barely something they could find a rabbit upon and in those mountainous areas they couldn´t even grow the crops the way the white nation did. The Indians started to be more and more dependent on what the government soldiers provided them and that was far from enough.
Kame stared into the space, not seeing the carriage or Indians anymore, lost in his thoughts.
There had to be something what could be done. This poor-ration-problem might have been doing of a few officers who wanted to feather their nests with some additional dollars. The government actions recently showed they would like to put an end to the endless conflicts with the original inhabitants, so why would they want to spoil their own efforts like that?
It was necessary to avoid dealing directly with soldiers who were in charge of rations. It could be more than expected that all of them would have the same or even worse attitude than that sergeant Turner. They should aim higher, to inform their superiors about what was going on in the reservation and request for a remedy.
Then Kame remembered they had met one just, uncorrupted soldier in a high position - maybe Captain Walker could help them. Unfortunately, they had no idea of the honest man´s current whereabouts. Was he still in Colorado? Hunting Sioux rebels or Black Riders? Maybe they would be able to find out if they sent a telegram to one of the forts there. But the outcome of such an attempt was quite uncertain.
It would be better to send a complaint directly to Washington. The Office of Indian Affairs was surely the best place to address, since it was their duty to oversee that the treaty with the red nation was respected and followed by both sides. But how to make sure they will read a message from some insignificant immigrant from Montana?
“I can´t see into your head, but somehow, I can imagine what´s in it right now.”
A deep voice brought Kame from his mind trip back into the middle of Indian village.
He looked around rather confused, since he found himself standing in an almost empty space, except a few kids, who were gathering the last beans from the ground, which spilled there from one damaged bag. Everybody else including Chief Ninastoko were already gone and the carriage was dragged away, into the protection of treetops on the edge of the forest. Only Jin was standing beside Kame now, watching him with his eyes warm and deep.
“You´re trying to figure out how to help them,” his handsome lover continued calmly.
Kame repaid the other´s look, before he nodded seriously.
Jin moved closer to him, circled one of his arms around Kame´s neck from behind and let his chin rest on the younger´s shoulder.
“You frown too much during it,” he declared teasingly.
Kame let the pleasant sensation from Jin´s closeness sink into him as a soothing balm.
“I do not frown now…” he reacted quietly.
The older one chuckled a little, but otherwise didn´t comment on his meaningful remark.
The bean collecting children finished their task, finally stopped sending curious looks towards the standing couple and ran around them giggling. None of the two paid them any attention.
“So? What are we going to do?” Jin asked softly.
“Well…” Kame took a breath. “First, I want to consult it with the Chief and Liwan and check on that military fortress as we had intended this morning. And then…”
“To the civilization again?” the other one guessed promptly.
Reluctantly, as Jin´s embrace was just too comfortable, Kame moved and turned, so that he could look in the older one´s face.
“Yes,” he confirmed a bit heavily. “I doubt the direct commander of this Turner would be of any help. And around Helena, which we passed on the way here, there is no other fort. We need to go at least to Bozeman, to get to someone who can actually do something about all of this. There is Fort Ellis close by, and if I remember correctly, Captain Walker was originally assigned there. So, there should be another captain at least and we can talk to him. If that doesn´t work…”
“Wait, wait,” Jin stopped him with a raised hand. “Too much information, Kame.”
“Ah, sorry…”
“What about you would explain me all the details of your certainly awesome plan once we´re on the road?” the older one suggested.
“Yeah, sure…”
“And forget about hiding my face with bandages or something,” Jin grunted.
Kame sighed, but nodded, feeling kind of defeated.
The older one hid his hands into the pockets: “When do you want to set off?” he asked directly.
“Well...” Kame hesitated about what to reply.
“As soon as possible, right?” his boyfriend figured.
The younger one took a breath: “Jin…”
“So, what about giving me some of your precious time at least till then?”
Kame fell silent guiltily.
“You have all kinds of complaints about me, but you´re quite difficult to deal with yourself,” Jin informed him.
“I´m sorry, Jin. I know we wanted to spend some time here, but this situation…”
“It´s always something, right?” to Kame´s surprise, the older one laughed shortly. “Look, I don´t actually care where we go, as long as we´re together. So, keep your apologies for the evening,” Jin stated with a provocative smile.
Kame gulped down heavily under the suddenly darkened look of his lover: “All right, I will…”
***
Even though the summer was already spreading its warm arms all over Colorado, that night was cold in the mountains. The sudden shower chased the citizens of Leadville out of the dark streets and made them hide under the roofs of pubs or their own homes. But a serious group gathered in a certain, currently closed, grocery store, was not hiding only from the rain, they were also trying to avoid any curious eyes…
“Are you done yet?” a young, calm voice reminded Cullen that he had been checking the empty street behind the wet window for longer than necessary.
“We shook them off our tail miles ago,” another voice behind his back agreed. “We´re safe here.”
The oldest member of Black Riders turned to face the rest of people in the storage adjacent to the shop with a grim face: “Maybe for now,” he reacted to Ryo´s carefree statement.
A heavy odor was hanging in the room, as none of them, not even Jane, dared to visit any of the local public baths, once they finally arrived. Leo´s poster was hanging everywhere, along with numerous warnings regarding to any bigger group of unknown riders or travelers. They blended in the fuss of Leadville streets just as inconspicuously as ever before, but they didn´t feel safe anymore. After a few unpleasant incidents on their way here, they learnt to be very careful about whom to trust. The owner of that grocery shop was one of very few they agreed on; the man owed them for lives of his kids.
“Join us, Cullen,” Leo gestured toward the last empty chair around an ancient table, still in such a calm way, that it almost freaked the older man out.
After they were forced to leave Hereford, Jane´s birth town affected by the epidemic, in quite a hurry, then being chased away from Greeley and after a difficult trip back up to Leadville, while they had to be on constant alert in front of that super-fucking-special unit of soldiers, which Tabor sent after them, he would have expected that their young leader would be at least anxious, if not upset. Obviously, he should have known better.
Not for the first time, Cullen admired Leo´s composure. It was one of the reasons he respected him as the Riders´ leader despite their great age difference. And he was determined to do anything to help him to remain in this state, which happened to be vital in many situations their gang had found themselves in.
So, Cullen leant on the wall next to the window instead, to keep an overview about what was going on in front of the store at least by the corner of his eye. He was still unsure if it was a good or bad idea to go back to Leadville. But how was that saying? Under a candlestick there is the darkest place? Who would expect them to go back to where the part of their gang was mercilessly gunned down?
“That´s fine, I´ll rather stand,” he stated firmly.
Leo Akanishi nodded, connected his hands in front of him in a typical gesture and remained silent for a while, probably gathering his thoughts. Jane was sitting on his right, slicing some bread and cheese for everyone, as they didn´t have time to eat properly that day yet, while Jack next to her distributed the food on plates. Nick was slowly getting to the end of pile of the newest newspapers, pushing only some of them in front of Leo and Ryo was cleaning up his favorite colts.
Six tired and dusty people in one badly lit room. Seeing them like this, Cullen was once again reminded that not many were left from their original gang…
Leo´s eyes fell upon one of the headlines, which Nick considered important enough to pay them an attention. As far as Cullen could tell from the view upside down, it was one of those with the repeated appeal to Colorado citizens to report anyone even close to suspicious to the US Marshals. Leo grasped the edge of papers and stared at the article for a while, before he put it down again.
The plates for everyone were prepared, but nobody touched the food yet.
Ryo finished the careful maintenance of his weapons, hid them into their sheaths and gave a long, careful look to their still-so-silent leader.
“Stop brooding, Leo and out with it,” the young Rider proclaimed what no one else had courage for.
Leo raised his eyes to him, then to Cullen and to the rest of his friends, leaving Jane for the last. The brunette gave him an encouraging smile. Only then Leo finally spoke.
“First of all, I´m sorry, guys.”
“That´s not exactly a beginning I expected,” Ryo frowned. “What the hell are you apologizing for?”
“For breaking a promise, I gave you all,” the young leader reacted.
Cullen raised an eyebrow over that statement, but somehow, he already knew what would follow… As well as Jane, who seemed not surprised at all. It was quite probable that Leo had already talked with her about what he was going to say.
“What promise, man?” the black haired one requested an explanation.
“I gave you my word that Tabor would get what he deserves. But I´m not able to lead you to accomplish something like that. Not under the circumstances.”
A short silence followed, with the rest of Riders exchanging the meaningful glances.
“I´m sorry,” Leo repeated heavily. “As long as there were some bounty hunters or overactive sheriffs, we could deal with it. But with that military squad coming after us, those high rewards… Tabor took this to another level and I will not risk taking you all with me to the gallows.”
In another short pause, Cullen ran his eyes over others. And he liked what he saw. Some of them sometimes acted like brats they were, but they were not stupid.
“And that´s it?” Ryo leant over the table, to check on their leader´s face from close-up. “That´s why you´re so apologetic?”
Leo blinked confused about an almost amused tone his friend and companion used: “Well…”
Surprisingly, usually silent Nick picked up on Ryo´s question then: “We were with you this whole time, Leo. We realize what´s going on around us. Don´t you think we were wondering about what to do as well?”
“Hell, I did. It gave me a headache past few days,” Cullen grunted.
“So, it was not our stupidity that caused it, for a change?” Ryo smirked on him, before turning to Leo again. “Exactly as Nick said. I´d like Tabor to pay for everything even more than he already did, but I´ll rather be alive to see that.”
“Hey! You used my words!” Jack complained immediately.
“Sorry, kid,” the black haired one grinned. “It sounded too well.”
“You two talked about this?” Leo asked a bit surprised.
Both guys nodded, as well as Nick: “With me.”
“I told you the others worry about it as well,” Jane reacted a little reproachfully.
Leo turned to her with an apologetic expression: “I should have listened to you more, love, sorry.”
“Don´t think your pardon is so cheap,” Jane informed him ´nicely´.
Jack and Ryo chuckled.
“Well, I admit that we used to be kind of blinded by revenge,” Cullen considered convenient to speak his opinion as well. “You had to be there to calm us down and lead us the safest way possible. And you did it well… But even these kids can use they brains sometimes.”
“Oh, thanks for such a nice compliment, old jerk,” Ryo spread his lips in a wide grin.
“You´re very welcome,” Cullen informed him.
“Look, we understand it´s too risky to keep going against Tabor now,” Nick returned to the previous topic. “You don´t need to apologize for that, Leo.”
The young leader looked around the Riders once again and smiled: “I underestimated you.”
“Not nice of you,” Ryo pouted. “Bad, bad leader, you are.”
Cullen looked through the window shortly, before he stepped closer to the table: “Skip apologies and tell us what you decided.”
“All right…” Leo straightened up in his chair. “I want to leave Colorado. At least for some time. My face is a way too known around here and I´m fed up pretending to have an injury or disease.”
Once again, that was nothing what would surprise Cullen.
“I thought so,” he murmured. “And it´s a quite reasonable decision.”
“Where to?” wondered Ryo.
Cullen was quick to guess: “After your bigheaded brother?”
“I admit that it´s the most tempting option,” Leo smirked a little. “I´d check on him for a change this time…”
“And kick his ass for leaving without even saying goodbye, right?” the black-haired one assumed.
Leo threw a dangerous glance in Ryo´s direction: “Why would I do that?”
“Well, you almost kicked mine, when I arrived to Hereford with this news,” Ryo reminded him.
“That was because you also let Koki go!” Leo protested. “It´s useless to persuade my stubborn brother about anything, I know that.”
The young Rider shrugged: “Our Goldilocks isn´t any easier to deal with, for that matter.”
“Damn, we know that you two miss them,” Jane cut into their almost argument shaking her head. “Can´t you cry on each other´s shoulder later?”
Jack covered his mouth laughing, Nick was amused as well, just Cullen managed to cover it with a cough. Their brunette was damn right and it made those two speechless for a while.
“Exactly,” Cullen followed up. “The important thing is what you want us to do now.”
“Well…” Leo´s eyes focused on the newspapers again.
“I´m going with Leo,” Jane announced in that pause.
“Naturally,” the oldest Rider nodded. “And? What about us, Leo?”
Their leader looked at him: “I won´t decide this for you. You can all stay here in Colorado or come with us. There´s only one thing, I was thinking about…”
“You want someone to stay and watch over Tabor, right?” Cullen completed him calmly.
Jane gave him quite an impressed look for that statement. Once again, he figured what was on Leo´s mind. Well, he knew him for long and they had kind of similarly working mind.
“Yes,” Leo nodded. “There´s no guarantee we can use it later, but that´s exactly what I´d like some of you to do.”
“I´ll do it,” surprisingly Jack volunteered himself the first.
“You?” Ryo chuckled. “Come on, kid. It won´t be exactly safe trying to stay close to that rich bastard.”
“Heh, exactly because I´m just a kid,” Jack made a grimace. “I won´t be that suspicious. I can try to get a job at one of his properties. Just a young boy trying to earn something. Nobody will even think about me belonging to the Riders.”
“I can´t stop praising you today,” Cullen announced. “That´s quite a wise thinking of you, Jackie.”
The youngest Rider stuck out his tongue at him.
But Leo didn´t seem to be fully persuaded: “All right, but I don´t want you to stay here alone.”
“That´s why I stay as well,” it was Nick reacting. “Honestly, I´m not exactly up to long travels anymore, Leo. I think I´ll be more useful here, to watch over our young hero not to put himself in too many troubles.”
Jack pushed his elbow into the older man´s side, but he was obviously glad.
“That should work,” Cullen admitted. “As for me, I´m not breaking any promises until it´s completely necessary. I´m going with you too, Leo.”
Their young leader nodded gratefully: “That leaves you, my friend,” he looked at Ryo.
“Well… I don´t know…” the black-haired one crossed hands behind his head and swung in his chair. “What should I do?”
Jane rolled her eyes: “You´re a terrible actor as always,” she stated.
“Oh, careful, my dear, I was working at the cirque once!”
“As a trained monkey?” Cullen wondered.
“Tss! You have no idea what you missed,” Ryo snorted. “But anyway - I think it will be nice to check on Montana´s girls.”
“I´ll be glad to have you with us,” Leo reacted, with his eyes full of appreciation. “Thank you, guys. For everything.”
“Oh, stop, or I might start crying,” Ryo reached out to bump Leo´s shoulder. “Jack, get us some bottle from that old geezer´s supplies. We need to drink up to the safe travels!”
“Not too much though!” Leo called after the youngest member. “I want us to set off before the sunrise, as we need to gather our stuff from the cottage, got it?”
“Roger that, Chief!” Ryo saluted.
- To be continued -
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