Of course, dinner itself was no less tense. Ginkotsu couldn't even come inside without detroying one of the doorways. This caused Suikotsu to start snapping at Renkotsu for making Ginkotsu's new armor too large for any practical purpose. Renkotsu grit his teeth and picked up some rice with his chopsticks. Kagome timidly nibbled on a bit of the dried meat, not daring to eat more though she was starving. Jakotsu was eating just as tenderly, but for a different reason.
"I'm glad we didn't actually stop there today," he said. There was no need to say where he was talking about.
"No point, was there?" Bankotsu shrugged.
"There was one..." Suikotsu brooded.
"Look, Suikotsu, I know you sometimes get into these moods... Well, anyway, there was no purpose to putting yourself, or any of us, through that again," Bankotsu answered crisply.
Suikotsu placed his chopsticks down, apparently not wanting to give up the subject. Renkotsu rolled his eyes and slammed his down as well. "Alright, Suikotsu, thanks a lot for insisting on discussing this depressing subject! So, Bankotsu, let's start with you! Were you the last one to get his head cut off?" he asked sharply.
Bankotsu looked stricken and haunted for an instant. "Yes," he answered, taking a sip of tea to try and cover up the dryness of his throat.
Jakotsu stopped eating as well. He quietly pulled from his haori sleeve a long dagger in a shiny laquered scabbard with a few jewelled tassles dangling from the hilt. Kagome stopped for a moment, catching herself thinking how lovely it was, when Renkotsu started to groan. "I can't believe you still have that..."
"They buried me with it. Isn't that nice?" Jakotsu explained brightly as he pulled the dagger out. Kagome completely lost her appetite.
"Well, I'm glad they lent me the dagger I used. I certainly don't wish to see that thing again," Renkotsu grumbled.
"Imagine that, young miko, that they allowed us the honor of hara-kiri before they beheaded us! And it's all due to our Big Brother's ability to bargain with some of those very same daimyos that had once paid us to destroy their enemies," Suikotsu explained to Kagome with a frightful dark look in his eyes that didn't match the bright tone to his words.
Hara-kiri, forced suicide by disembowelment--the death of choice for dishonored samurai. Chills nearly made Kagome convulse. "Renkotsu's right. We shouldn't talk about it anymore," Bankotsu said shortly, then attempted to take more rice between his shaking chopsticks.
"But, just one thing. I did it right, didn't I? I mean, no expression or anything. I did it right, Bankotsu?" Jakotsu asked.
Bankotsu said softly, "You did it the best of all of us."
"Oh, no! I'm sure you did it better than I could have! I mean, I was about ready to scream, but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction! I can't imagine you doing it any way but perfectly!" Jakotsu argued.
Bankotsu shifted uncomfortably. "It was...right. Let's not talk about this anymore, please." His tone was almost pleading. Kagome heard the lie in his voice.
"You had to promise the daimyos that you would just be beheaded, didn't you?" she asked him quietly.
"Kagome!" Bankotsu hissed.
Jakotsu gasped. "You mean to tell me that they made you sit there and watch while we all got to end our lives with some shred of honor knowing all along that you would not be afforded the same honor? Why those FUCKERS!" The other brothers looks of horror mirrored Jakotsu's next words. "You should have told us before! We must kill them, any of them that are still left!"
During that outburst, Kagome watched Renkotsu's expression of guilt grow deeper and deeper. She held her breath. Then, it happened. He reached into his kimono and produced two glistening pink-purple crystals. He held his hand out to Bankotsu. "Here...I, um, meant to give these to you and, um, I forgot until just now."
Bankotsu watched them drop into the palm of his hand, still warm from Renkotsu's hand. "I cannot bear the thought of losing another one of my brothers to these damned things. I forgive you for 'forgetting' to give them to me earlier."
Kagome didn't dare let out a sigh of relief. Instead she made one more attempt at eating. These men were all killers, efficient and brutal, from what she'd heard, and even from what little she's seen of them in action. Renkotsu managed to evade her sacred arrow, Bankotsu managed to survive a direct blow of the Kaze no Kizu attack from Inuyasha... But at the same time, there was something different about these villains than the others she'd faced in the past.
"You're a sly one, child. I'm going to keep both eyes on you from now on," Bankotsu murmured. Kagome didn't dare answer back. "In fact, I beleive Suikotsu should be the one to guard you tonight. Make sure she does not escape before we have a chance to deliver her to Naraku."
Later, Kagome tried to fake-sleep, but it was difficult with Suikotsu looming over her. He was a large man, and even without his claws on, he still appeared wild and fierce. She began shaking. He was watching her too closely for her peace of mind. Ha! Peace is not what she would find while a captive of these madmen.
After another half hour, what she'd suspected would happen all along finally did--his big hands ensnared her. One went over her mouth while the other snaked around her, pinning her arms to her torso. As she inevitably began to struggle, he whispered, "You're coming with me, and if you scream you die, understood?"
Kagome nodded, unable to do anything else. Why was he taking her out of the room? If he was going to actually...he could have just...but no. Something in his face, wild, yet troubled, made Kagome think that perhaps his intentions were not what she'd originally thought they'd be. Very slowly, he tiptoed along the walls of the room, then slipped out that door, only to angle himself along the next wall.
Of course, Kagome realized. These castles were made with floors that purposely squeaked. It would warn of intruders. Suikotsu stuck close to the walls since there, the floor might not squeak as much. Kagome could catch a glimpse of Bankotsu's back turned to them in another room. He looked like he was asleep, but Kagome thought, maybe his ears were still fairly sharp while he was asleep too. She silently struggled, just so Suikotsu would lean forward ever so slightly, step just a bit too far forward.
Squeak
Kagome stopped her struggle as Suikotsu's grip on her tightened. It was like this for the rest of the time, until they finally managed to make it outside, where he dropped her down and grabbed only her hand. "Now, we go this way, and no more tricks! This is too important."
"What do you think you're doing? What do you want with me?" she asked in a loud whisper.
"I need your help." With that statement, he pulled her behind him and led the way down the mountainside. As he single-mindedly led her along, Kagome noticed moonlight glinting off a blade of steel back behind them. They were being followed.
Suikotsu led Kagome to a large clearing, roughly the size of a few soccer fields melded together. With only the crescent moon overhead, it was much too dark to see the grass, though it crunched under her feet. "I remember it was around here. Yes, the arrows began to fly from there," Suikotsu began, pointing up at the knoll they'd just walked over.
"Is this...where you..."
"Where we were executed, yes...I think I was about here when I dropped it. I hope I did drop it here. What if I lost it on the road?"
"Lost what?" Kagome asked.
"My crystal. It's got magical powers. It allows me to control...him. Bankotsu had made it for me when I first joined the Band. As long as I have it, I can bring him out at will, and then put him away when we are done. I didn't mean to frighten you, you must have been very scared! But I know you can locate those Shikon jewel shards, and I thought maybe you might be able to help me find my crystal."
Kagome was a bit shocked. "Oh, alright, if I can, I'll help you find it. But, I don't see anything," she told him.
"And you won't," they both heard from behind them. They whirled around to find Bankotsu with his Banryu at his side. "Suikotsu, why didn't you just say something?"
"Oh, Big Brother! I..." Suikotsu stammered, but Bankotsu just raised his hand to stop him.
Kagome finally found her voice. "Well, he needs that crystal! Maybe some innocent people might not die if we find it, you think?"
Bankostu's dark eyes were amused at Kagome's vehemence. "I care nothing for innocent people, seeing as how there are virtually no innocent people in this foul world. But in order to keep Suikotsu, my brother, from suffering, I agree with you that we must find it. But seeing as how I am the one who made the crystal for him, you two can't find it without me." He took Kagome's free hand into his. "Now, take a look at the field again."
Kagome suddenly sensed the essences of these two men. There was great power, great suffering, great losses and great gains. A faint glow about thirty meters away emerged suddenly. She gasped, "I see it!"
"Lead us to it, Kagome!" Bankotsu ordered. She led them, one on each hand, to the spot.
Suikotsu let go, began feeling the ground for it. "I think it's slightly underground," Kagome told him. He nodded enthusiastically, and began digging. He gave a wordless yell when he felt it. Kagome actually found herslf grinning as he produced a glowing white crystal from the earth.
Bankotsu didn't let go of her hand just yet. "Thank you for helping him. And yeah, maybe we might be able to spare an innocent life or two while we're at it, if it's that important to you."
Kagome, in response, tried to kick Bankotsu in the shin. He laughed at her feeble attempt then tried to step on her foot. They continued this useless duel until they noticed Suikotsu bowing before them. "Miko, I cannot thank you enough for what you've done. And Big Brother, I cannot express enough sorrow for what I said to you earlier. I have brought great dishonor on myself for acting like that."
"Showing concern for your fellow brothers is no dishonor. I know that you grieve, especially for Kyokotsu. You and he were close; I can recall many a scrape you both got into, he with his head strong ways, and you with your own stubbornness. I have not allowed myself the time to grieve our fallen brothers. Now, I think it's best if we all returned to the castle." And with that, Kagome and Suikotsu followed him back in the darkness.
When they arrived, the other three brothers were wide awake, waiting just outside the gates. And one of them was especially pissed. "Well, decided to have a little party without me, did you? Oh, of course. You're punishing me for the jewel shards. Well, I suppose then it was not necessary to take her outside the castle, just on my account. If I were to hear you all at it, I suppose you would have been punishing me more, no?" Renkotsu growled.
"Um, Renkotsu, she doesn't exactly look like she's been violated. Then again, from what I've heard, Bankotsu and Suikotsu can be exceptionally good performers," Jakotsu smirked.
Kagome could feel the fire in her face threatening to make it explode. Bankotsu began to laugh. "Let me guess. You guys stayed up all night and figured that all out amongst yourselves, huh?"
Suikotsu leaned down to Kagome, his cheeks somewhat red as well. "He's not speaking from personal experience, you know," he told her shortly.
"Says you..." Jakotsu grinned, then got a little more serious. "I couldn't sleep anyway; everytime I close my eyes, I see a sword coming down on my neck. Kind of makes it difficult to get any kind of quality sleep."
"Well, then tomorrow night, you'll be the one to watch Kagome," Bankotsu told Jakotsu. Renkotsu looked furious still, and Jakotsu shrugged with little enthusiasm. Bankotsu noticed this and explained very briefly, "We have Suikotsu's crystal back. That's where we went earlier. It's time to get back to sleep."
Kagome followed Banktosu and Suikotsu back to the room she'd been in before. But she got to see one last angry glance from Renkotsu, and knew his issues with her were far from over.
Thanks for your feedback so far! I promise that Jakotsu's going to get more outrageous next chapter!