Chapter 7

The sun is already bright when Koji awakens with the worst headache he had in a long time. Everything spins around him. He needs some time until he realizes, that he lies on some furs in an alien tent - alone. He stumbles outside and discovers, that his people, just like the members of the other tribe, are still asleep. Slowly, they awake. Headache seems to be a common feeling this morning, uniting for once both tribes.
Koji becomes uneasy. Nothing seems to have happened, weapons and goods are still there. Except for the worst hangover in a long time, nothing bad occurred. This is much too friendly for a tribe they were always on the edge of fighting against.

Where is Izumi?

Just before Koji panics a snickering voice calls him. "Good morning, Koji. How are you?" Kurosaki's grin widens as he discovers Koji's discomfort.
Koji's eyes become icy. "Where is my mate?"
"Oh, you mean this slender little archer? He got up in the morning very early, before sunrise and went on a hunt. Said something about fresh air and the need to clear his head. Want to wait for him here?"
Nothing Koji wants less.
"He will catch up with us later." As soon as possible, his men gather themselves and their wares together. They made some nice deals last night; even two new girls are coming along.
They return to their tribe. Everything is just as they left it. No pillaging. No burned tents.
The guards noticed nothing suspicious.
Koji starts feeling very uneasy. This is just too friendly to be true.
And where the hell is Izumi?

He's got some bad habits. Sometimes, if Izumi is in a bad mood or they argued, he goes on a hunt, leaving the tribe for several days. No way to find him, if he doesn't want to be discovered. He's just to good covering his tracks. The nomads never understand how someone can cover that much space without a horse.
Well, maybe Izumi just needs a little time for himself. Koji hopes, that he will show up soon again.
Still, there is a little voice gnawing inside him. Koji can't shoo it away.
Something is just plain wrong.


Izumi holds his head with both hands; it is killing him. It seems to be twice its normal size. He looks around and discovers, that he is in an unknown place. Everything is dark and chilly.
Izumi sits up slowly, his head start spinning instantly. He waits a few minutes until the spinning subsides. Finally he is able to locate himself. He lies in an earth hole between some furs, a leather sheet covers the complete earth hole, shielding him. Izumi starts digging. As soon as he has freed himself and looks up, he sees into Kurosaki's mocking face.
"Good morning kid. How's your head?"
"Why am I here? Where is Koji?"
"Oh, he already left, together with his people. It seems, that you are stuck with us now."
He takes delight in the disbelieving stare that follow his words. Kurosaki can't resist and adds more humiliation: "He traded you for hunting grounds at the other side of the blue river. You belong to my tribe now. I'm sure, that you'll be a great completion for us. You'll honor your chiefs bargain, will you?"
Izumi hear the words, but his mind seems not to work. He needs much to long, to really understand what Kurosaki just said. Finally, he makes up his mind.
"I don't believe a single word you said. Koji would never trade me, for nothing. You had to hide me in this hole so he wouldn't find me. Let me go back to my tribe."
Kurosaki snickers. "This is your tribe now. Don't be rude kid, or I'll have to get rude myself." He gestures at two men behind him. One is holding a thin rope with strange weights at both ends.

The boy snorts contemptuous. "This will never be my tribe. If you want to hold me, you'll need more then this two fools."
He tenses his muscles, ready to fight. The next second, before he is even able to make a move, the older man swings his thin rope and it wraps itself around Izumi's upper body, tying his arm to it, rendering him completely helpless. Kurosaki laughs. "You have a lot to learn. Take him to my tent."
Kurosaki turns around and leaves it to his men to shove the cursing hunter back to the tents.

Eventually he sits in a big tent, still bound and very angry.
The sun already passed its peak when Kurosaki returns. Izumi had enough time to cool off. He wants some answers now. "Why do you keep me here?"
Kurosaki grips his chin and looks in his dark amber eyes.
"You are beautiful. I understand why Koji likes you so much. Well, we are old enemies; he is a major pain in my butt. If I can hurt him, I will. But I never had the opportunity. Until now. He might suspect already that I have you. It's the first time I got something, he really wants. If he wants you back, he has to beg me. Nothing will sound sweeter to me than his begging voice."
Kurosaki grins and plays with Izumi's hair.
"Your loss will be the perfect revenge for Koji's past sins. You will pay for killing my favorite horse and threatening my life, too. How do you like the thought?"
The boy stares up to Kurosaki, eyes glittering with fury. "What have you planned? Want to kill me?"
For a split second fingers grip Izumi's hair painfully harsh. "Maybe, Maybe not. It depends on how cooperative you show yourself. Tell Koji to get lost as soon as he comes to my tribe. You might even inform him that you got a new lover. Tell him, that I'm the one now. It will hurt him, badly. Then I'll make you a real tribes mate with all rights and duties and reward you with a pretty girl and a tent."
Izumi shakes his head, unbelieving. "I'll never do this. Koji is my mate and our relationship is not yours to ravage. You must be out of your head even to think something like that."
Kurosaki's face becomes a hateful mask.
"I never thought, he would be that good a man. You risk your life willingly for him, do you? He must be better on the furs than I expected. You choose your fate. If you don't hurt Koji, I'll make you a slave. It will break his heart to see you chained to my horse, knowing that he can do nothing about it. He'll never risk a war between out tribes - not because of a dirty little hunter. And -" Kurosaki pulls violently at Izumi's Hair, forcing his head up
and in his neck  "- try, just try to escape. I'll kill you myself and leave your body rotting on the fields. My goal is to hurt Koji not to keep you alive. Got that?"
Dark eyes, glittering and flashing stare up in the hateful face. Izumi shows no sign of fear.
Unnerving.
Kurosaki draws a knife.
"Maybe I sign you as slave right now." He puts on the sharp knife on Izumi's face and ...
"Stop it!" Both men are surprised to be interrupted by the beautiful mate of Kurosaki.
Minamimoto smiles, but her smile doesn't reach her eyes. The look in them is cold and calculating.
"You wouldn't waste the opportunity to scar Koji's lover in front of him, would you? Just imagine him on his knees, begging you not to hurt his little mate. And then you mar him while Koji watches. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Kurosaki laughs. "You are a cold witch, woman. I really like that. Is the tribe still convinced that we made peace?"
The woman nods. "They think, that this boy is part of the trades we made last night. They wonder a little, but think of him as one of Koji's many bedmates.
As long as you don't hurt him, they won't be suspicious. Until it is too late, of course. These idiots really want peace between our tribes."
The blonde man grins. "No matter what happens, we win. If Koji can't help his mate, he is broken. And if he starts a fight, our people have to defend themselves and probably kill him and his tribe."
They both laugh - it's a scaring sound.
Izumi shivers.
"You are insane, both of you. Just for revenge on a single man, you put your entire tribe at risk."
Minamimoto steps to the boy. She looks in his face and suddenly slaps him.
Izumi feels his cheek burning.
"I don't believe that Koji takes a boy as mate when he could have had a woman like me. I like the idea of you being a slave - my slave, or, Kurosaki?"
The blonde grins. "As you wish my dear. I just like the way you play with people."
Laughingly, they leave the tent together, leaving an angry and worried boy behind.
'I have to escape. These two are plain insane. I'll never allow them to hurt Koji using me.'
Izumi checks his ties. He can't break free, whenever he struggles the bonds become stronger. But if he moves inside of them, like a snake stripping down old skin it might be possible to get free.
Izumi starts. It is already dark when he's finally freed. He checks outside the tent. There are too many people around, between them Kurosaki. Izumi tries the backside of the tent. Hmm, the tent cloth can be lifted a little - just enough for him to slip trough.
He crawls under the tent cloth and escapes quietly in the night.