Hey everyone it's me again! Here's another story I've been kind of toying around with! Hope you enjoy, R&R!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any of it's given characters.
The thunder was still roaring when she finally looked outside. It seemed like forever and yet yesterday since he died. She had to force herself to speak his name, if not aloud. Inuyasha. The thought of him made the fire in her heart roar once more, as it had once long ago. Five long years had passed since Inuyasha died. No- since that THING killed him. Naraku. Of course, in a fit of rage, Sesshomaru had actually managed to rip his head off and get to his heart to rip it to shreds. But still, it wasn't enough to Kagome. Her best friend was dead. She had long before given up her passionate love for him, and settled on loving him as a really good friend. The well had closed, and everyone had moved on. Except her.
The thunder roared again, pulling Kagome full-force from her thoughts. She stood, and retrieved the kettle from her fire. Dipping her tea bag in, her mind wandered again.
'I wonder what everyone has been doing. How they are. I'm sure Shippo has grown into a nice looking demon. Sango and Miroku are probably married and have kids by now. I wonder if they rebuilt her village or if they went to stay in his temple. Maybe they aren't even together. They could have gone their separate ways for all I know. What if they're-' a knock interrupted her thoughts, scaring her and causing her to spill her tea.
"Damnit!" she cursed as she wiped herself off and went to the door.
"Who is it? My husband will be home soon!" she shouted to whoever was on the other side if the door.
"Open up or I'll break the door down! It's cold as fuck out here!" a gruff voice answered. Kagome peeped through the door. When she saw who it was, her hand flew to her mouth, stifling a scream.
"Oh no. Not you!" the person shouted.
"Yes, me. You might as well come in, Bankotsu. It's pouring and you wont find another hut for miles. " she replied, stepping back from the door. He groaned, but walked in anyways, having the courtesy to take his boots off. She walked back to her seat, offering him the one across from her. He complied, and she poured two cups of water, dipping tea bags in both. She gave him one, and kept the other for herself. He took it, and gulped down a swallow.
"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, eyeing him. He didn't look as though he'd been doing too great. She guessed he was on his own. Perhaps his brothers had been killed again. Or perhaps they just died. She knew he wouldn't kill Jakotsu or Suikotsu himself. They were his favorite and most loyal brothers.
"I don't know. Maybe a week ago?" he said, looking off. Immediately she stood up and started making the rest of the pork she had along with the rest of the potatoes.
Bankotsu watched her as she bustled around her tiny kitchen area, preparing what looked like the last of the food she had preserved. He didn't find any reason for her to do that, he'd gone longer without eating, yet here she was, cooking the last of her food. When she finished, she sat it down in front of him.
"Eat. But do it slowly, you don't want to risk upsetting your stomach or over stuffing yourself. Your stomach could swell if you eat too quickly. It's not a good thing." she said as she sat back down. Bankotsu looked from the food to her and back.
"Why are you doing this? I've tried to kill you before. I could've been setting you up to kill you anyway." he said. She simply shrugged and went back to her tea.
"If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me as soon as you saw me." she replied, sipping her drink. She looked at him over the edge of the cup, only to see him still staring at her.
"Well, what about you? Don't think I didn't notice this is the last of your food. You've gotta eat, too." he tried. Again, she shrugged.
"I ate earlier. Eat." she stated simply going back to her tea. He rolled his eyes. Obviously there was no arguing with her on this. So he began to eat. Slowly, like she had told him. Finally he stood, and walked his dishes to the wash basin. He rinsed them, and came to stand in front of Kagome. When she looked up, he held a decent sized piece of meat out to her. She shook her head in return, but he refused to give it up. He grabbed her hand and stuck the meat in it and sat down in his seat. He stared at her intently until she gave up and started ripping the meat apart and eating it delicately. He smiled, completely satisfied with himself.
"So what happened to all your friends?" he asked, trying to spark conversation. She stilled for a moment, but finished her meat and looked at him.
"I don't really know. Inuyasha died in the battle against Naraku, and the rest of them left; went to do their own thing, and move on," she stated simply. "What about you?" she could see him cringe.
"Renkotsu went nuts after our last fight with Inuyasha andhe started slaughtering our brothers. Even Ginkotsu. I was barely able to defeat him. I've been by myself for over five years now." he said, looking sorrowfully at his cup. Kagome felt her heart twinge for this poor man. Just like her, he lost his closest friends and family in one fell swoop. She reached across the table and grabbed his free hand. He looked at her, utterly surprised.
"I have too. It gets a little easier every day when you have something to distract you." she said soothingly. He gave her a small smile.
"You do realize that I'm still 'Bankotsu, Leader of the Shichinintai, killer of a thousand', right?" he asked, eyeing her. She laughed and nodded.
"Yeah. I know. Big bad Ban. You may be all that, but it's different now. There's no Naraku, no Inuyasha, no Band of Seven. There's just, Bankotsu. I hate to say it but it's the truth. There's no reason to behave otherwise." she muttered calmly. Bankotsu just stared at her.
'This woman. The audacity she has, talking to me like that. Who the hell does she think she is?' he wondered, watching her wide eyed. She did not look amused.
"What are you staring at, Bambi?" she asked.
"Who's Bambi? And who's staring?" he scoffed, looking toward the window. It was still storming heavily.
"A deer in a story from my village. And you were." she said, standing. She made up a mat for him, not too far from the shoji screen separating her bedroom from the rest of the hut. Grateful for something other than the cold forest ground to sleep on, he sank into the blankets and quickly fell asleep. She watched him, shocked and came to the conclusion that he had been through hell.
Sighing, she pulled the blanket to his chin and slipped behind the shoji screen, stripping her clothes off, and slipping into her pajamas. Luckily, during her last visit to the future before the well closed, she had grabbed a lot of clothes and pajamas. So at least she could be comfortable in the clothes from her time which people usually get used to pretty quickly. After gawking, of course. She slipped into bed, abandoning all thoughts of the last five years. They were dull, anyway.