Black Arrow Lord Ch. 04

The daimyo looked around and asked why Valdemar thought that there would be one. It resulted in Valdemar pointing toward the moon and explaining what he knew once again. The daimyo shrugged, "Tell him that if he wishes to take a tree which has already fallen, then he may do that. But I think that he is wrong about the storm."

After bidding the men a good night, the three continued on to the Lady Hoshino's suite of rooms. To the side of that, Aiki led them to a small apartment where their meal was waiting.

Koichi related what had transpired over the moon and the tree.

Valdemar forced himself not to roll his eyes as he told of it yet again, thinking that it he weren't correct, then the villagers would all likely take him to be an idiot very soon.

To his surprise, they were joined after a time by Hoshino-san herself who seemed to enjoy the evening very much.

"My deceased friend and I were very young when we made our mistakes before she and her Gaijin were killed," Koichi's mother said, "Our children were the most joyous errors which we made, and with Matsu-san they have grown very beautiful to our eyes and we feel such pride in them. But this is a place where Aiki-san's options are limited and my son's even more so. If this were the capital or even any of the larger cities, then Aiki-san would have a bright future and Koichi-san might have one worth living. Here? ..."

She shook her head a little sadly.

There was more to it, and Valdemar had to listen to the way that fine Japanese women had of winding what they wished to say in many directions and all over the countryside before they got to the point.

But when they finally arrived there, the Dane sat with his eyebrows raised quite a bit. He looked at Aiki as well as Koichi and wondered what was really being asked of him.

"But there is time yet for this," he heard, "We think that you will be here for a time yet. We only ask this evening if you would consider it."

Valdemar nodded and said that he'd give the matter some thought over the next few days. After that, the conversation drifted over several topics while Valdemar found himself to be the object of scrutiny to the Lady for a time.

He watched as little nuances were passed between the women and after a time, he noticed that Koichi's mother seemed to regard him a little differently as well. But he couldn't make anything of it and he didn't want to ask, since that would bring Koichi into it somehow and he had a sense that whatever it was, it also related to him.

After the meal and the polite talk, He prepared to leave, thanking everyone for a wonderful meal and the chance to get to know them better.

He found Koichi preparing to go with him.

"I can find my way," he smiled.

"You do not understand," Kōichi's mother said quietly, "Last night and tonight it is very cold. We do not know about your little prophesy regarding the moon, but, we have ordered a little more wood to be sent to your home here and, ... well, ... let us say that a space with two people in it will at least seem to be a little warmer than one where you are alone.

My son will go with you and spend the night there. He has wanted to stay there for the past two nights anyway. He has no real friends here but Aiki-san-san and Matsu-san. We are all concerned for your health in that cold home if you are there alone. Please agree to take him along."

Valdemar was a little stuck then. He didn't mind that much at all, but he only had so much in the way of blankets. He was fairly certain that he was a little more inured to the cold than these people were, given where he was from, but this would mean that he'd have to make do with half as many blankets.

But he felt that he had no way to refuse politely – especially after being invited into a home for a fine meal, so he acquiesced and the next thing that he knew, Koichi was walking beside him again with a couple of folded blankets in his arms.

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Their conversation was a little strained after they'd gotten to his home. Kōichi was being nothing but open and honest and matter-of-fact on his side of it. All things considered, it made Valdemar feel a little more as though he was doing something illicit.

He nodded his thanks as Kōichi poured him a cup of hot tea and like this – the way that they were then, it bore little resemblance to any sort of formal tea ceremony or even tea serving. It was just one person preparing tea for the two of them in a cold place as the fire crackled a little.

"Kōichi-san," he began, "Has enough time gone by for you to finally tell me what it was that Matsu-san said to you, or is that something that I will likely never know?"

He expected to hear more embarrassed words and downward glances, but clearly, something had changed that evening because Kōichi did nothing like that.

"You were asked to consider taking Aiki-san and I away with you, "he said, "So, you should know some of the rest of it. We three, Matsu-san, Aiki-san and I have always been close. We love each other very much."

He looked as though he didn't quite know how to continue then, but he finally just pushed on, "I was to tell you as well that Aiki-san was at that old farmhouse because she and Matsu-san had gone there to be alone together.

We do not get many chances to be together, and Matsu-san must spend almost all of her time in her garrison or leading her men. I believe that our mothers want for us to have lives elsewhere and that is the reason that you were asked to think about taking us with you."

Several lights blinked on in Valdemar's head then. "So, if I understand you," he began, "You are all lovers?"

Kōichi nodded without embarrassment or shame , "And we are all very fond of you, for the way that we are seen now in this place. Not much had changed, but we have noticed it. With you here, our lives have improved, mine and Aiki-san's."

He smiled, looking down, "I don't think that I've noticed much of a change in Matsu-san, other than perhaps that she might not regard me as such a criminal now – or at least she might think that I am a slightly useful criminal now."

Kōichi shook his head somewhat emphatically then, "No. She respects you. She did before, but it has grown in her since she saw you in that little fight out there in the forest. That is something which Matsu-san finds very difficult to show to anyone."

Valdemar let it hang there and looked around. "Where, ... uh, ... where were you going to sleep?"

Kōichi didn't even blink. He didn't look embarrassed in the least. He didn't even look just slightly uncomfortable. He just smiled a little.

"I will sleep with you, Valdemar-san."

The Dane managed to suppress a slight desire to groan, since that was what he'd been a little afraid that he'd hear. He looked at that beautiful face and he said, "You're sure that it is what you want to do?"

Kōichi nodded, "Yes." He looked at Valdemar and he saw at once what the trouble was.

"I want to sleep with you and more than anything, I wish to please you tonight. I even know a little of the way that it is done. I have some experience, though I admit that it is not much."

He stood up then and moved closer to where the Dane was sitting cross-legged. "I wish to sit with you. May I?"

Valdemar thought about it for a moment and then he nodded, "Of course."

He just wasn't prepared for the way that Kōichi eased himself down carefully to sit on Valdemar's leg so that neither of them spilled any tea.

He leaned back a little against Valdemar and he smiled, "I must admit that I am very surprised at the way that Mother insisted that you take me along," he said, "I have a feeling that she knows somehow. From what I think that I saw, she even approves."

Valdemar grimaced for a moment as he put his arm around Kōichi's shoulders, mostly in order to prevent him from falling over backwards, "Move a little to your left. Your thigh bone is pressing too hard on my leg."

When Kōichi shifted himself a little, Valdemar asked, "How do you mean?"

Kōichi sipped his tea for a moment and then he said, "It probably relates to what they said to you. Both my mother and Hoshino-san are from the south. They grew up in the Imperial court at Edo, so they do not need to rely on rumors of what is said; they can feel most of what goes on as though it is another sense that they possess. Hoshino-san constantly amazes Maeda-san with her knowledge of tiny little details of what goes on in and around his hall.

They see that Maeda-san will soon have a need of you and they would like for you to stay here. If you do, then Aiki-san and I may have a chance to have lives of our own here. If you cannot stay, then they would like for you to take us both with you. I know Aiki-san better than anyone alive. We are very close in many ways.

One of those ways is that we have always loved each other. But here, we can never have each other, and at best, she would only become a whore from the south. If I didn't starve, I'd probably become something even worse and a thief as well.

I know that it is a lot for you to think about, but they would like it if you would consider it seriously, and if you can only take one with back with you, then it is my sincere request that it be Aiki-san."

Valdemar finished his tea and put the cup down slowly as he tried to understand. Kōichi smiled and reached to prevent the Dane from setting the little cup down on its side in the dirt of the open hearth.

He set his own cup down then next to Valdemar's and he turned a little to reach across for the Dane's other shoulder. His kiss then said quite a lot to Valdemar, who was lost in it within seconds. As the kiss was ended, Kōichi only took his face away a very short distance and he whispered, "You could have us both, beautiful Gaijin, anywhere you wish to go, you could have us both to love you.

I already do, and Aiki-san wants so much to be there as well. No one would dare say anything unkind to us anymore – not if we belong to the Black Arrow lord. Even as it is now, I have noticed the change in the way that I am treated here as I have said.

It is not very much yet, but today, I was actually greeted by an old man. When Mother and I first came here, I remember trying so hard to be pleasant and polite to everyone as my mother taught me to be, but the first time that I tried to say only 'good morning' to that man, he cursed me as the bastard of a southern whore from Edo. I was only a little boy and it made me upset and I asked him what I had done to anger him that way.

He told me to be off, and that he knew that a demon had gotten between my mother's legs to make me. He told me that he wouldn't waste his time speaking with animals."

Kōichi sighed a little heavily, "That has been my life here."

"What changes in your life if you are with me?" Valdemar asked.

"Everything," Kōichi smiled. "You are a Gaijin as well, but you are liked. They cannot help but like you. You are too large and dangerous-looking to be ignored, Valdemar-san. You trade in matters which to many older ones here is still seen as magic, and the Samurai grow to respect you. Everywhere in this village – even right now – there is talk of the way that you shoot with a rifle or a bow – especially the bow."

What he was not saying was something which he knew for a fact.

Maeda would already have begun to see Valdemar as a mild threat if it weren't for the fact that he didn't speak the language well. But he knew that having the barbarian around could help him and the Lady Hoshino had been very quick to point that out, saying that from what she knew, some Gaijin were every bit as duplicitous as the Japanese down in the court at Edo.

But she had met a few, ...

A few, who like Valdemar, weren't looking for gain or power all of the time – or even most of the time. A few were more open and honest, to a degree which manyJapanese mistook to be stupidity, when in reality it was openness and honor.

"The true danger to any of us from them does not come from intrigue or plotting," she'd said, "The true danger comes when they have been used and learn of it. If they are not killed then or before, then a hatred grows within them.

You know this yourself, "she'd said, "He even told you what he did to the one who had him whipped. If it had been you who had suffered that, you would have killed the man who'd caused that with a sword or a knife or a pistol, but no, he beat that man's life out of him. Think of that amount of rage, my love.

Think of what he would do for you as an ally."

But Valdemar knew nothing of this. He only knew that he had feelings for the beautiful boy who professed to love him.

As the room glowed and flickered by the light of the few extra pieces of wood thrown upon it, Valdemar stood as Kōichi removed his clothing for him. Kōichi was doing it as quickly as he could, not wanting his large friend to feel any chill. Even so, ...

"I know that at some point," he said in a very quiet voice as he looked, "You will possess me with this, Valdemar-san. Even now I think that I would welcome it. But the other side of that is that I must come to know of this wondrous thing and learn to master it a little by knowing its desires." He kissed it softly and sighed, "And as yet, I know but little."

He stood up and removed his own clothes in little more than the blink of an eye and then he stepped forward into Valdemar's thick arms. He held himself against the Dane for a few moments and then he looked up and strained a little for his kiss.

Valdemar was gentle with Kōichi in bed. They spent a lot of time only pressing their bodies together and kissing each other. The first time that it grew a little urgent for them, Kōichi pushed Valdemar over onto his back and as he climbed on, Kōichi moved his own genitals so that the Dane had a little room and then he held what Valdemar had between this thighs and he held on a little as he worked his slender hips up and down.

When Valdemar came, he wanted to try to catch the semen and wipe it off, but Kōichi wouldn't hear of it. "I am yours Valdemar-san, and I am happy to feel it on me. Leave it where it is to remind me of my happiness."

The rest happened almost too quickly. Valdemar coaxed Kōichi's semen out of him with his mouth and then he used it to lubricate his lover with his fingers and his tongue, and before either one of them knew it, really, Kōichi was doing his best to allow Valdemar's thick shaft entry into his body.

It took a bit of time, since the big blonde didn't want to hurt the one that he felt so much for, but Kōichi saw it as a signpost for them and he worked very hard to get that thing inside of him. When it happened, Kōichi cried out and they froze. But after a long and gasping minute, Kōichi began to hump back against Valdemar, encouraging him when he thought that he could and before long, ...

Kōichi was on his hands and knees, looking back now and then as Valdemar drove into him again and again. He groaned and he sometimes wept a little. The pain had been surprisingly brief and it had gone completely by then. Kōichi was in joy and loving the way that it felt to be fucked by a man like this, moaning a little very softly whenever his large buck slowed down a little to press into him deeply so that Kōichi could feel the heavy sack pressing against his own. Whenever he felt that, he'd reach back if he could to softly pet Valdemar's scrotum.

But it was only for a minute each time before one or the other of them was back to needing to fuck even more. Kōichi was amazed that the Dane could go this long and he felt a little pride in himself that he seemed to be able to please the man. That thought made him buck back like a fiend, his ragged breath almost whistling in and out of him as he begged Valemar to fuck him harder, and even harder.

Then Kōichi cried out as he came and Valdemar pushed in so hard and deeply for him, hanging on to his slim hips with those huge hands of his – lifting Kōichi's back end off the bed for a moment and moving in slightly different ways.

Kōichi felt his spurts beginning and he hung his head down to see it by the light of the flickering fire. He saw his own hard shaft waving up and down at him as he came. Most of it sailed under him onto the blankets. A little hit him in the chest and he felt it.

And one or two squirts actually hit him in the face. He couldn't believe it.

He was so happy.

Valdemar eased his lover forward to lie on his front before he continued to fuck him to his own finish. By then, all that Kōichi could do was to moan softly and tell Valdemar how good he was.

Kōichi cried out a little when Valdemar came inside of him. It all felt wonderful, but there was the last little bit of reality. Valdemar swelled and hardened just before he came and it opened Kōichi even more and that was where the cry came from.

Kōichi opened his eyes and looked at the face of his lover there next to him for a moment. He lifted his hand and caressed the stubble on the far side for a moment very gently.

"Imagine two of us for this with you every night," Kōichi smiled weakly.

"I'm not sure that I would survive it," the Dane chuckled and they groaned together since the laughter had caused Valdemar to slip out of Kōichi.

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The next morning was still cold, but it felt as though it was a little warmer. Valdemar knew that it was only an impression as he looked around. The sky was dull and overcast and he knew that it was the moisture in the air which fooled everyone.

He left Kōichi sleeping in the bed when he'd gotten up. The way that beauty could love him, he told himself from the door as he looked back. He didn't have much experience at this and he knew it. He'd never done what they'd done last night and he found himself thinking that he liked it.

Right after that thought each time that it came to him, he remembered what had been said of Aiki and her wants. He decided to try to ask in a very cautious way if he could, not understanding how they were both really hopeful to have him like that, and for more than the effect of it on the quality of their lives.

He looked back again from the doorway, seeing that face asleep in the bed. The sight of it almost made him go back inside.

What the hell was he doing getting up to walk away from a bed with that in it?

But he shrugged and walked away to go and look for a tree. No matter what, they'd need a lot more wood if he was even half right.

He found one in minutes, one that had only blown down that very year. A little work and, ...

He saw a pair of women out looking for wood as well, a lovely–looking older woman and her rather pretty, though not exactly willow-like companion. But they were obviously brighter than he was, since they had a sort of a sled. They could pile wood on it and then the two of them could pull it together back to the village.

They knew him to see him, since there were no other Caucasians known to be there and they smiled and greeted him. He showed them his saw, his steel wedge, and his axe.

It was a bit of a crazy pantomime, but after a few minutes, they reached an agreement. He'd cut up the tree and allow them to pick the pieces that they wanted. He'd put the wood on the sled and he'd pull it to where they lived if they'd allow him to use the sled to take his share to his home, bringing the sled back afterward.

Cutting the tree up into logs which could be burned in the average fire pit took only minutes. Aiki arrived then and said hello to the pair of women – a mother and her daughter who was a friend of hers.

Valdemar looked up then, recognizing the voice and Aiki ran to him and hugged him briefly before she bowed a little. He was a little surprised, but her happy face made him grin for a moment.