Here's chapter 2 of Darker Than Night. Enjoy! :)
Darker Than Night
Chapter 2: Meeting
Bankotsu's adversary dodged his attack quite easily.
It disappeared into the trees and shot an arrow at him. He ducked, and even felt the wind fly above his head. The arrow glowed a light pink. "A sacred arrow," he realised. "Maybe she's the one from the land of Furyoku," he thought as he remembered the black-haired woman sitting next to the emperor's brother, Inuyasha, at every Gathering.
She shot another arrow, and Bankotsu took this chance to get closer to her. The moment the arrow was shot, he ran at his enemy, and got ready to kill. He held no mercy against enemies, even if they were women.
Apparently, he had to jump away because she held a dagger hidden in her clothes. Bankotsu was surprised to see how well the woman fought. She was back in the shadows in an instant.
He glanced from one place to another, waiting for the next move. "She can be anywhere. But since this land is unfamiliar to her, she has as much as difficulty moving around."
He couldn't have been more wrong.
An arrow shot out of the bushes - really from the bushes - and barely missed its target. It scratched his injured arm. He grunted as he held his right arm. "Why is everybody going for the wounded one?"
Another came from above, and Bankotsu deflected it with his halberd. Then, the leaves rustled. He immediatly chopped the tree down, but found nothing. "The light on Banryuu blinded her for a moment, huh?" He smirked. "Let's use the light against her, then."
He walked forward, and looked around. "Come out, come out, wherever you are..."
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a shine - the shine of the tip of an arrow. It was up on another tree. He didn't need to think twice. He swung his halberd, pointing towards his enemy, and was about to pierce her body.
But that's when he saw the face.
For a moment, he still saw the woman he thought his enemy was. But then, when he looked closer, he realised that this girl looked younger. Her eyes had more energy than the emotionless ones of Inuyasha's woman. He's already seen her before, too. But only a few times, during Gatherings.
He stood still, surprise on his face. Her expression was the same as his. Arrow and sword were facing each other head on, but none dared to make a move.
Finally, Bankotsu blinked and said, "... I know you."
The girl lowered her arrow very slightly, and looked down on him from the tree. "You're... the prince of Lutaru, aren't you?"
He brought Banryuu back and nodded, still on his guard. "That's me."
Unexpectedly, the girl on the tree was pretty. Beautiful even, in the sunlight shining through the leaves. Her brown eyes were full of energy and her hair was loose in the wind. He knew her name, he heard it before. What was it again? Ka... Kag... something that started with Ka, at least.
They were there, staring at each other for a little longer, before the girl regained her mind again. She blushed. "Oh! That's right! I'm so sorry!"
She was in such a rush to apologize - Bankotsu didn't know why - that she fell out of her tree and landed right on him. Her sudden weight on him made him lose his balance and fall over.
He was about to lash at the girl for being so clumsy, but when he opened his eyes...
Hhe was looking at heaven.
The green kimono she was wearing must have been slightly loose, because he could see her chest. Not completly, but still enough to make him get a nosebleed.
The girl groaned and shook her head. "Ouch... That hurt..."
Then, she realized the prince of Lutaru was staring at her almost-bare chest.
Her face went red, her hands went to cover her chest, and she slapped the man with a scream. "AHHHHH! You PERVERT!"
And then, she realized that she actually slapped the prince of Lutaru. She expected him to get furious, knowing how demanding some princes can get, but he only sat up calmly. He smirked when he saw that her face was still red. "So you think I'm a pervert?"
She didn't know what to say. So she said the first thing that came in mind, "You took pleasure in staring at my boobs, what else do you think you can be?"
Bankotsu laughed out loud, and she clamped her mouth shut. She humiliated herself in front of a prince. "This is going to make Sango laugh so hard, she won't look at me the same way again."
She stood up and said, more seriously, "My name is Kagome, servant of princess Sango of Ando. We're trying to find survivors of the Lutaru clan, sir."
"Servant?" he thought. "But she's beautiful, I dont't see why she isn't more special than that."
"Yeah, I've heard," he said as he stood up as well. He thought of his comrades and suddenly asked in alarm, "Wait, is my father back in your clan? What about my men? Are they okay?"
He scared Kagome just by asking these questions, but she replied calmly, "You'll have to go see yourself, sir. Please, follow me." She started walking away, but turned back around and asked with worried eyes, "Are you sure you're going to be okay with that arm, sir?"
He nodded. "Oh, yeah, don't worry. And spare me the 'sir', it sounds wierd."
This made her giggle again. He smiled. He liked this girl already. "Let's go, quickly," she said as she lead the way to the Ando temple.
~O*O~
"Jinenji!" Kagome called as she entered the medical room with Bankotsu right behind her. "I have the prince of Lutaru here injured, hurry!"
"I'm on my way," the giant replied in his soft voice. He bowed to Bankotsu before walking away to search for herbs. When Kagome announced the presence of the prince, many of the patients turned their heads to look at their leader.
"Bankotsu, sir?"
"Is that you, sir?"
"Bankotsu!" a familiar voice said. He turned his head and was relieved to find Jakotsu still alive. Injured, but alive. "You made it," the man with a sigh of relief.
"Who else is here?" the leader demanded.
Jakotsu looked around. "I've heard Hiten's voice, but I'm not sure if it was an illusion or not... Then, there's Suikotsu I've seen once..." It was hard to tell because of the doctors moving around, and the soldiers running up to their prince.
Bankotsu saw Kagome walking away, and called her, "Hey! Where are you going?"
She turned around and bowed. "I'm sorry, I have to go back to search for more survivors. Please, you have to stay here and try to make yourself comfortable. We may bring back more of your men."
He nodded. He admired her concern for another clan's men, but maybe that was just the way Ando thought. The kingdom was always known as the softest one of all. "Thank you for bringing me here."
She smiled and bowed again. She left without another word, and the giant from before - Jinenji, he remembered - appeared. His soft and comforting voice said, "Please, sir, follow me."
He smiled, still thinking of the girl he met. And of her chest. "Lead the way."
~O*O~
When Kagome ran past many injured soldiers, from both her clan and Lutaru's. "This is bad," she thought as she took quick looks at some of their wounds. Some only had minor wounds - these were mostly Ando warriors -, some were missing a part of their body, and some even lost consiousness because of the loss of blood. "Those heartless Yomi soldiers didn't show any mercy," she thought bitterly.
She stopped running when she was about to enter the forest and turned around to look at her temple. Her gaze shifted from one place to another, looking for any of her friends. She couldn't see Miroku, Sango, or Kohaku. Koga was no where to be found either. "They must be in the forest," she told herself. "They're all strong, I'm sure they're still in there..."
She tried to not imagine her friends lying in the grass, motionless, their life being sucked out of them... She shook her head. No. They're alive, they'll be back.
"But a in a battle this big, of course, there will be many deaths," she thought sadly. Any of the soldiers she's looking at can die from their wounds. Naoko and Jinenji will try their best to keep everyone alive, but what if that isn't enough?
"Kagome!"
She looked up and saw the emperor walking towards her. Some of the warriors of Lutaru turned around to stare in amazement at the Lord of Ando. He was sweating, and his own huge boomerang resting on his back seemed like it was slowing him down. There was blood sudged on his clothes. Kagome shocked, immediatly asked, "Sir? Your body! All that blood...!"
He shook his head. "No, this isn't my blood, don't worry."
She nodded, a little relieved. "Still, please, you shouldn't be moving around so much."
The emperor smiled. "I may be getting old, but I can still battle. Nevermind me, I've heard you brought the prince of Lutaru."
"That's right," she confirmed, remembering her encounter with the pervert. She inwardly groaned. It was an honor to meet him face to face, but... If only she hadn't fell on him.
"Good. Was he unharmed?"
"His arm was scratched, and I think it was poisoned, but he's in the medical room right now, and Jinenji himself is taking care of him, sir."
The emperor sighed. "What a relief. At least we saved Bankotsu."
Looking at his worried eyes, Kagome feared the worst. "We... didn't find the king yet?"
He slowly shook his head. "No. I think we are going to have to search Lutaru after this battle is over. To search for any other survivors... and to gather the remains." His expression changed from sadness to determination. "I want you to go to Lutaru with Sango, Shuran, and Koga when they return. You'll need their help."
"Did you call me, sir?" Koga appeared from the trees with an groaning warrior on his shoulders.
"Yes, but I will explain everything when you return that man to the doctors."
"Loud and clear."
Just when the wolf was about to take off, Kagome said, "Koga, you ought to be careful with carying people. Especially when they're hurt." She glanced at the poor man who kept on groaning because of the bumpy ride with worried eyes. "You're going to give your patients a headache if you always run so fast."
He winked at her. "Hey, you know I can take care of 'em just fine."
Koga disappeared just as fast as he came. Kagome breathe a sigh of relief when she spotted Miroku, Sango, and Kirara coming out of the temple. They were safe. Her best friend immediatly ran towards her father, and said, "Kohaku's inside, he's helping Jinenji sort things out."
Her father nodded. "Very well. Miroku, you get back into the forest. I need to speak with Sango and Kagome."
The monk bowed. "Understood." Her ran off in search for survivors.
Kirara stayed by her master's side. Sango asked, "What's this about father? We have to go!"
He shook his head. "Not now. I have another task for you. Have you seen Shuran the panther demon?"
Sango frowned. "No... But I'm sure he'll be back some time now."
Koga came back, being the fast wolf he was, and said, "I'm back! So what do you need me for, sir?"
The emperor looked around, searching the male panther demon who was missing, and groaned. "Never mind. Forget about Shuran. Take as many carts and men you need to go to Lutaru's temple, and gather the survivors. In fact, gather any bodies of Lutaru's men you can find."
Koga and Sango were surprised, but all three got to work. They gathered all the strong men they could find - they even found Shuran, who appeared a little later - and got ready to take off.
Until Bankotsu showed up.
"I'm coming with you!" he yelled.
Another... 'man' was runnig after him. "Bankotsu, get back here! You're supposed to stay here!"
"That doesn't matter right now!" he yelled to him over his shoulder. He turned to the emperor and said, "Please, sir, if you're going back to my temple, let me go there. I have to see if-"
Sango's father shook his head and said with serious eyes, "No. You are injured, and you are the head of the Lutaru clan. If there are enemy soldiers left on the other side on the border, we cannot bring you there."
Bankotsu growled. "But it's my kingdom. I have a right to go. And if there are enemies left there, I'll kill them myself!"
"Your arrogance will not keep you alive if you go into battle like this," the emperor said, his voice trembling from trying to keep his calm. He was losing his patience and his troops had to leave immediatly.
He was about to bark back, when Kagome came in between them and pleaded, "We'll take care of everything and search for your father, I give you my word. But if you come with us as you are now, the poison may spread."
"She knows about the poison," he realized. He looked into her brown eyes, trying to search for any trace of lie, but only found honesty. She really was giving him her word. He sighed in defeat and mumbled, "Fine."
"Let's go back in," Jakotsu said as he took his friend's shoulder and gently took him inside.
The emperor casted a grateful glance at Kagome and announced, "Go!"
When Bankotsu looked back, Kagome and her comrades were gone.
~O*O~
Koga was taking the lead, due to his useful nose and speed. Sango and Kagome followed him on a flying Kirara. The smoke almost completly disppeared now, but nothing guaranteed that the battle was over.
Kagome looked behind her and saw men either carrying carts or riding in them. Shuran was the strongest, so he at least carried two large carts. "So that's why the emperor requested him." On their way to Lutaru's temple, they came across groups of injured soldiers, and some carts had to go back. Kagome stared at them go in pity. "They lost their home... It's just not fair."
Kirara's nose seemed to wrinkle everytime they got closer and closer to the battlefield. "What's wrong, Kirara?" Sango asked. "It is the smell of smoke?"
"What do you think?" Koga said from below. "It's not only the smoke, but the scent of blood is disgusting! When we arrive there, there's probably going to be the smell of fresh corpses too."
He guessed right. When they arrived at the scene, Yomi and Furyoku were gone, but remains of their soldiers were still lying on the floor. "The bastards," Koga spat. "They even left their warriors behind to rott."
"Do we take them anyways?" Kagome asked Sango.
Her friend hesitated, and said, "We'll fill up our carts with the soldiers of Lutaru first. If we have space, we'll see what we can do." "Yes. Our first goal is to find as many Lutaru warriors we can find."
They were easy to recognize too. Since blue was Lutaru's main color, they needed to find those who wore blue armour. Some of the men had to lift heavy blocks of stone to find remains. The only reason any of them could find any bodies at all was because of the sunlight. But even that was starting to fade.
Any news of survivors were reported to Kagome, and she'd report it to Sango. There weren't much, but those who survived the battle were immediatly sent back to Ando for medical treatement.
Kagome walked over the stones of what was once the wall surrounding and protecting the temple of Lutaru. She looked at the working men, then at the carts. There were still no reports about the recovery of the king's body. "Did Lord Naraku take the king captive?" she wondered. "Or did they really kill him and hide the body...?"
She gave her word to Bankotsu that she's find out what happened to the king. What if she wouldn't be able to...? "No," she told herself. "The emperor's out there somwhere. We'll find him." She refused to let a single spark of doubt into her thoughts.
She walked down the pile of stone and came into a halt when she stepped on something. It made a 'clang' noise. She picked up a green piece of armour worn for the arms. When she looked at the Furyoku clan's symbol - a green tornado -, a half-demon's face came into her mind. Her heart ached as she thought, "Did Inuyasha kill people today too?"
Even though they were in different kingdoms, Kagome and Inuyasha became friends when they met each other at the Gatherings. Gatherings were mettings of truce, when all four clans met every two months. At first, Inuyasha didn't seem very nice, but Kagome was able to see his good side, and they became good friends.
Never would she have thought he'd try to kill so many people.
"He was following orders," she said to herself. "Lord Sesshomaru and Lord Naraku decided to invade, and he had no choice to follow his brother. That must be it. The Lord's orders must not be disobeyed, even if you don't to do whatever he says."
She would know. She's been following Hamada's orders for four long years. Inuyasha was stuck with his brother for longer than that.
"Still, how can Lord Sesshomaru accept to even work with Naraku?" she thought. "Even though he always has a pokerface and we can't tell what he's thinking about, he isn't stupid enough to help Yomi, is he?"
"Miss Kagome!" the voice of a panther demon could be heard behind her back.
"What is it?"
He pointed at a big pack of gathered people and said, "We've found a survivor! She would like to speak to you!"
She narrowed her eyes. "In this case, wouldn't it be better to get Sango?"
"Yes, we've decided to bring you and Lady Sango to her!"
Kagome pushed through the big pack of demon blocking her way and saw a woman. Her pointy ears and long claws told her she was a demon. The miko kneeled down next to her and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine... thank you," the girl said as she tried to catch her breath. Kagome's eyes were questionning, and her voice was rasped as she explained, "I ran all the way... here to... tell you where the rest of us are."
She narrowed her eyes. "The rest of you?"
"Now that you mention it," Sango said as she appeared from next to them. "We found more pieces of armour than bodies. Do you mean some of the survivors of the Lutaru clan escaped to somewhere else?"
The demon nodded. "Some of us... went to hide in small villages. I suppose... the rest are with you..."
"Most of them, I suppose," Sango said. "But for others..." She shook her head.
The girl closed her eyes. "Yes. I know." She looked back up to the princess. "Tell me, is our prince in your hands?"
Kagome nodded. "Yes. His wounds weren't too severe, so he'll live through it."
She sighed, and a smile appeared on her face. "What a relief."
"What about Lord Hokotsu?" Sango asked. "Is he with you? We can't find him."
The smiled disappeared. She slowly shook her head. "We couldn't find our Lord. He may be in the forest, treating his own wounds, or he can be..." A tear rolled down her cheek.
Kagome looked away. So Bankotsu's father could be with those who have escaped or those who have died. There was no sure answer. She couldn't show up in front of Bankotsu and tell him that! "What am I going to do...?" She didn't want to disppoint him. He already feels so useless now that he's wounded. What will his reaction be when she tells him that his father disppeared?
The girl stood up and said, "I have to go back now. General Ryura will wonder if there's any trouble."
Sango nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'm glad there are others who have survived. Wouldn't it be best if you all came to our temple?"
"No, please, you've already done enough. And if two whole clans are in one, there will be more problems to deal with. And if our king is still in Lutaru, alive, we would like to search for him here."
The demon slayer seemed like she wanted to protest, but she respected this girl and her words. They've already lost so much. She did not want them to lose their freedom to do what they wanted either. "Very well."
A moment after the Lutaru girl left, someone yelled, "We've found another survivor!"
Kagome signaled Sango that she was going to take care of this and headed towards whoever called her. A wolf demon was sitting over an injured man. In his twenties, about.
His bald head told Kagome that he was a monk. Sure, a warrior could have been bald, but there was something about his face that told her he was a monk. The badge on his arm which had the symbol of a grey dragon also told her that he was of Lutaru.
She kneeled next to him and inspected his face. "Only a small cut. And a light burn on his chest, but if he couldn't escape like the others, it's probably because someone knocked him out..."
"Excuse me? Sir?" she waved her hand over his face. No reaction. "Sir?" she repeated. She wondered if this man was even alive. She brought her hand to his neck, and found his pulse. "He's still alive, alright. All the survivors we've found here were consious... But I can't get a hold of him. And if someone really did knock him out, his head might have problems."
"Get him to a cart," she ordered the wolf demon behind her. "And take him gently, his head may need to be checked."
"Yes, ma'am!" he took the monk with the help of another. Kagome watched them leave and thought, "I'll take a look at that man myself when I return to Ando. That wound's something only Naoko or I should handle."
And before they knew it, it was nightime. They lit up torches to see where they were going, and some soldiers decided to take a nap to keep their strength for afterwards. Or maybe they just got too lazy and went to sleep. Koga and Shuran stayed awake to orders their soldiers around.
Sango and Kagome were together, watching the wolf demons and panther demons work from a flying Kirara. They watched cat and wolf work together to get a corpse to a cart. "It's odd, don't you think?" Sango asked.
"What?"
"A wolf demon and a panther demon working together," her master said with a soft smile. "It's a rare sight."
"Yes, that's true," Kagome said softly as she watched Koga and Shuran talking to each other. She smiled. Her smile dropped when a few seconds later, an argument between them broke out. She couldn't make out what Koga was barking at Shuran for, but whatever it was, it made Shuran snap.
He was about to call upon his famous lighting, when Sango yelled out to them, "Hey, you two! Knock it off! It's dark, and we want to find as many people as we can!"
The two demons flinched under her gaze, glared at each other one last time, and got back to work, each grumbling about something incomprehensible. Sango sighed. "It's too bad that the only things that keeps them together are territory and loyalty. If they lived in different kingdoms and served a different emperor, they wouldn't hesitate to kill each other."
"Apparently, they still would kill each other if things went too far," Kagome said as she shook her head. And it was a good thing that wolf demons weren't the one rulling Ando too. If that were the case, Ando and Furyoku would be in war, four seasons per year. The fact that they were dogs and wolves were reason enough to be in battle. As she thought of the Furyoku tribe, Inuyasha's face came into her mind again.
"Stop it!" her yelled to herself. "Don't think about him! It's only going to hurt me more!" Little did she know, she had grown attached to the half-demon. And reminding herself that he might have killed so many people that day was more than what she could handle. "My clan is in war with his now... I can't feel hurt by what he did!"
"We haven't found Lord Hokotsu's body yet," Sango said in a sad tone.
That snapped her out of her thoughts. "What do you think happened to him?" Kagome asked.
Sango looked at the forest. "By what we know, he can be anywhere. He could have arrived at Ando without us knowing, or his body can still be under those debris. He can be lost in that forest, or with the other survivors of Lutaru. Or he could even have been kidnapped by the other clans. There are so many possibilities, and we can only start with one."
Kagome's eyes were filled with grief. How were they going to find the emperor's body? They couldn't spend the rest of their week searching for him in the forest, and they certainly cannot invade Yomi to find out if the king was in there or not!
"What am I going to say to prince Bankotsu?" she wondered again, for the tenth time that day. She promised him she's arrive with news of his father. She promised him, the prince of Lutaru. Perhaps she really shouldn't have promised him after all. "No! I can't think that! A promise is a promise, and I couldn't keep it! What am I going to do?"
"Are you thinking of prince Bankotsu?" Sango asked suddenly.
Kagome jumped and stared at her friend, surprise all over her face. The princess smiled. "Don't think I don't know that look. You're troubled, and the only thing I can imagine you're troubled about is him. You promised him in front of everyone you'd find his father."
The miko sighed. "That's it."
Her friend's grin widened. "You're right to worry about it," she started. "But if I were you, when we get back, I'd just tell him the truth."
Kagome retorted, "I-I wasn't about to lie to him!"
Sango ignored her. "Even though it's hard to tell him, telling the truth is better than lying, especially in this case. If he got his hopes up because you lied to him, and discovered later that we didn't find any trace of his father, he'd be furious. Worse than that, he may want you dead. And believe me, he has the power to do that."
Kagome couldn't see her master's face. Instead, she watched her brown hair flow gently in the wind. And it made sense that she knew more than her. After all, she was the princess of Ando.
"It looks like we'll have to take the bodies of the other soldiers another day," she suddenly said as she looked down.
The priestess gazed down at the carts, and tilted her head in question. There was enough space for every soldier they could find. "Execpt... Oh." The Furyoku and Yomi warriors. There weren't enough space for them.
"And if we don't hurry up soon, we'll be staying up for the whole night," she said as she looked up at the darkening sky.
"Don't you think some bodies will be turned to dust when we come back?" Kagome asked. "And with the scent of rotting corpses everywhere, I don't think any of our demons are going to be able to take it, and some slodiers need rest..."
Sango slowly shook her head, and when her eyes went down to the carts again, the priestess understood. There wasn't going to be a next time. Sango knew they won't be able to come back.
Kagome placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Let's go back. You should call the men off in then minutes. We've done enough work here."
She nodded. "I'll do that."
Lord Hokotsu was out of Kagome's mind for an instant. But her promise to Bankotsu came back like a freezing wave. And suddenly, she didn't seem to care that she made a promise to a prince. She didn't care that she might have to suffer the consequences for what she couldn't do.
All she knew was that she was going to have to be the one to break the news to Bankotsu. That his father, his only family member, had gone missing.
I find this much better than the first chapter, don't you think?
Please, tell me what you like about this sotry, because I might add some more things to it to make it better! I'm not that good at writing either... so yeah.
~FoxRain7~
