Inu-baby123: Glad you like the story ^-^
Kagome Lady of Darkness: Thank you very much, and I love this pairing as well. It's my second favorite and I had to write a story about them because of how few I have found. I think I'll pair her with Jakotsu in my next story though. Just because it's different and there are literally like maybe 2 or 3 stories with those two together.
Momo: Heh, it's my second favorite pairing. Nice to see my readers can recognize a cliffy without me having to point it out ^-^ Thank you for your review and here is the update.
xXBlackxxStarXx: Lolz I agree, BanKag is sexy. Here's the update and thank you for your review
Nosuka chan: I noticed that a long time ago lolz Anywhoo, thank you for your enthusiasm and your review ^-^
AnimeAmore: Thank you very much ^-^ and here is the update
"The sky is opened up, so don't get swallowed by the flames."
~Escape the Fate~
There's No Sypmathy for the Dead
"B-Bankotsu…" Kagome managed to choke out.
'Maybe I should just leave before he wakes up.' Kagome thought as she started to back up slowly, until a crimson liquid surrounding the young mercenary leader's form caught her eye. She was confused to begin with, and then her eyes widened as she realized he was badly hurt. 'Damn… I can't just leave now.' The priestess sighed in defeat.
If it had only been Naraku there, bleeding and on the brink of death, she would have happily helped tipped him over the edge, but, alas, it wasn't. This man hadn't really done anything to the group. Kagome sweat dropped at that as she thought back on the battle. 'Okay, so he has. Still, he isn't as evil as Naraku. I can feel it.' The priestess contemplated, and then gave in to her compassionate nature. Sometimes she hated herself.
Kagome went over and attempted to drag the mercenary, but he proved to be too difficult for her to move. 'Shit and I bet he wants to keep his damn halberd with him too.' Kagome glared at said article and decided that she would just carry that back to the village first, then have some village men help her carry the injured "warrior", that's what she would tell the villagers he was anyways, back to the elderly priestess there.
The young priestess sighed in defeat, once again, and reached for the halberd still held loosely in Bankotsu's hand. Right before she touched it she saw his hand tighten and a voice from right below her growl, "Touch Banryuu and that will be the last thing you ever do wench."
Startled, the priestess looked down into the eyes of a very pissed off mercenary. Ignoring his warning, she continued her ascent toward the hilt of said Banryuu.
"That's fucking it, I warned you!" Bankotsu yelled in outrage and pushed the girl off of his person, leaving her sprawling on the ground.
Kagome's temper finally getting the better of her, she stood and yelled, "What the fuck is your problem you jack ass? I was just trying to help you!"
"Help me my ass! How the fuck is trying to get Banryuu away from me trying to help me?" the mercenary bellowed, just as angry as Kagome.
"You are fucking wounded you fucking idiot! I was trying to get your weapon to the village and then get villagers to help me get you back there too!" Kagome seethed.
Nothing was said for awhile after that proclamation had been made. Bankotsu stared this woman down, glaring at her, her doing the same. He was studying her eyes for any deception, and she was waiting for any intelligence to spark into the boy's eyes. She didn't hold her breath.
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'How can Inuyasha do that without guilt? Just because Kagome isn't here doesn't give him the right to be so faithless.' Sango thought with sadness as she heard the Inu Hanyou's declaration of undying devotion towards the undead priestess. 'Why did you volunteer this Kagome?' the slayer thought sadly. She turned her cheerless eyes on Miroku, and Miroku nodded his head in understanding. He was upset about this situation too.
"Inuyasha, shouldn't we go check up on Kagome, just to make sure she's alright." Miroku suggested hopefully.
The Hanyou heard the hopefulness in his friend's tone and was about to agree when Kikyou interrupted saying, "I sense two jewel shards coming in our direction."
With those words Inuyasha's thoughts strayed from Kagome to the oncoming battle. 'Or confrontation I guess…' Inuyasha thought as he saw the tornado coming towards them that indicated Kouga, the wolf demon leader that claimed Kagome as his even though she disagreed completely. As Kouga stopped right in front of the group, his long dark brown ponytail whipping around wildly and finally coming to a stop, Inuyasha sighed and demanded, "What do you want you mangy wolf?"
"Keh, the real question is; where is my Kagome mutt face?" Kouga demanded in turn, his icy blue eyes scrutinizing the Inutachi.
The Inu Hanyou automatically growled, bearing his canines at the wolf, and replied, "She ain't yours asshole! If she belongs to anyone it's me!" He then winced, waiting to be sat like per usual. But nothing happened.
He blinked, confused for a second and then remembered it was Kikyou with him, not Kagome. And he had just claimed Kagome as his right in front of her. 'Damn…' Inuyasha thought as he slowly turned around to see her reaction to his words. Strangely enough, she had no emotion whatsoever on her face. She looked just as serene and emotionless as usual.
"My reincarnation is not traveling with us at the moment, as you can see. If you really want to see her, I suggest that you pick up her scent and head in that direction." The undead priestess informed the wolf prince calmly.
Kouga looked at Inuyasha quizzically, then shrugged it off and sped away with a salute to the group.
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"Look, we don't have time to stand around all day. You are injured and could die from that wound. Please Bankotsu, let me help." Kagome broke the staring contest and pleaded with the mercenary.
Said mercenary blinked and then asked, "Why would you want to help heal me? I'm your enemy you idiot."
Kagome huffed indignantly and muttered, "Because it's who I am."
Bankotsu stared at her a moment and weighed the pros and cons of allowing this. 'Pros- I wouldn't die again, this annoying pain would go away, I could get to know my enemy better, I won't have to put up with her yelling at me if I agree. Hmm, Cons? Yeah, I can't really think of any.' He reluctantly agreed to the strange girl's request.
"Can you walk?" Kagome asked suddenly, switching from blistering anger to concern in the blink of an eye.
The mercenary gave her an incredulous look before answering with a nod of his head. The priestess smiled and watched as he stood up. He seemed to be doing fine until he stood to his full height. Suddenly, what felt to him like electricity shot through his torso and he crumpled over in pain. Kagome ran to help, but before she could reach him he snarled, "Don't touch me girl!"
Ignoring him, yet again, she helped him stand a little. This time he hesitantly allowed it instead of reacting violently. The young mercenary was in too much pain to speak coherently let alone injure her. Kagome allowed him to lean his body on her as they both slowly made their way to the little village Kagome had been staying in for the past month.
Before fully reaching the village, Kagome set him against a tree and said, "Ill be right back, I have to check to see if my son is here or still out collecting herbs and playing around. Don't move."
If Bankotsu had been able to laugh at that moment he would have, like he would have been able to move in this condition anyways. He was surprised his body made it as far as it did without him passing out. As he watched her retreating back, he rested against the tree for a bit, closing his eyes.
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"Tsuyomi, are you here?" the young priestess called out for the elder priestess as she raced inside the hut.
"Yes child, what is your hurry?" the elder priestess inquired from her spot in front of a pot that was cooking lunch.
"Is Shippou back with you?" Kagome asked, biting her lip.
Tsuyomi laughed and answered, "No, he is out playing with some of the village children."
Kagome said her thanks and then ran back to Bankotsu. He was leaning against a tree with his eyes shut. She approached him and was about to gently shake him awake when his eyes snapped open causing her to stumble backwards with surprise and fall flat on her backside. Bankotsu couldn't help himself and started laughing. His laughter ended quickly when searing pain shot through him.
The young priestess glared daggers at the young mercenary and finally gave up. She helped him up again, and they hobbled the rest of the way to the village, him using her for support. Finally, after seemingly hours, they reached the village and Kagome brought him to the hut Tsuyomi resided in.
As soon as the elderly priestess saw the man Kagome had in tow, she hastily got herbs and bandages ready. She then sent Kagome out to fetch water and a rag so as to clean the wound of the man. Right when Kagome got back, and Tsuyomi had started the cleaning process, the young priestess was interrogated.
"What is this young man's name Kagome dear?" Tsuyomi questioned in a kind but firm tone.
"Bankotsu…" Kagome answered a little hesitantly.
Tsuyomi nodded and then inquired, "How did you come across him?"
"He seemed to have been injured from a battle of some nature. From the way he was dressed I assumed he was a warrior of a sort." Kagome answered, giving the woman a half truth.
There was silence between the two for several minutes before Tsuyomi finally said, "I will patch him up, but it's your job to care for him after that."
Kagome agreed with the elder priestess and then walked outside to think. She walked to the clearing that she had found the mercenary leader in. Unable to stop herself, she went over to the large pool of blood and just stared into its depths. She saw a crimson version of her face and realized she was crying as a clear tear dropped onto her reflection. 'What is wrong with me?' the priestess thought in confusion as she wiped away her stinging tears.
Having enough of looking down upon such a gruesome sight, Kagome walked across the clearing to sit with her back against a tree. She just stared up at the sky thinking about everything that had happened over the last month. Well, not everything, only the parts that really stood out. 'Today is one of those times.' The raven haired teen thought absentmindedly.
She knew she would never forget this day; the day she saved the life of an enemy. She almost let out a laugh of bitterness thinking on that. Inuyasha would surely kill her if he ever found out. The others wouldn't go to such extremes, but she knew that they would be severely disappointed in her. There would be so many difficulties simply because she saved this one man's life.
'I should have just left him there' Kagome thought. Then the guilt started eating away at her for even thinking such a horrid thing. 'No, I could never do that. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had done that.' At this point she decided, for the second time in the same day, that she hated herself sometimes.
The sun was shining down onto the troubled priestess, and finally the girl noticed that there was something glinting and it wasn't the blood. 'How did I not notice that when I was over there? It's huge.' Kagome questioned herself as she saw Bankotsu's halberd lying on the blood soaked grass. 'He must have been really injured if he didn't remember Banryuu.' The priestess thought with worry.
Kagome stood up and, as if in a trance, walked over and picked up the halberd with one hand. She saw her reflection in crimson, yet again, because of the blood still covering the blade. She couldn't help but shudder; realizing it was probably a bad omen of things to come.
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"Oh my, that is a big weapon isn't it?" Tsuyomi commented as Kagome walked back into the little hut carrying the young mercenary leader's halberd.
Hearing that remark, Bankotsu looked up in time to see Kagome nod her head and reply, "Yeah, I'm surprised he has a fast enough reaction time to get away from most attacks when he has to lug this thing around."
The black haired teen glared at her after she spoke and was about to make a snide comeback when he had a realization. 'She's holding Banryuu without a struggle…' Not wanting to sound clueless, he kept his thoughts about it to himself.
"What, couldn't think of any good comebacks tough guy?" Kagome teased lightheartedly when she saw Bankotsu's mouth shut before any words had been spoken.
"You aren't worth the effort." The mercenary scoffed, looking away.
"Child, you just gave effort at a comeback; which means she was worth the effort." The elderly priestess corrected with a knowing smile.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at the mercenary, even though he couldn't see it, and then informed everyone she was going to go watch Shippou play with the village children because she couldn't bear Bankotsu's company any longer. She then exited and went to do as she had said. Bankotsu smirked as he saw her leave. He had an idea.
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"Kouga, are we glad we caught up with you!" a wolf demon in Kouga's tribe with silver and dark gray hair exclaimed as he and another demon of his tribe with silver hair up in a Mohawk stopped in front of their leader panting.
"Hey guys, what took ya so long? I'm looking for Kagome right now." Kouga answered casually, leaning against a rock that was in the center of the meadow they were currently in.
"But Kouga, Inuyasha's group is in the other direction." The multi hair colored wolf informed with a scratch of his head.
"Ginta, don't point out the obvious. You know Kouga gets mad at us for it." The demon with the Mohawk whispered in warning to his brother.
"I know they are, she isn't with them though." The wolf leader said with a grin.
Ginta and his brother gave Kouga a strange look and then Ginta whispered, "Hey Hakkaku, do you think Kouga is ok? He isn't getting mad or anything."
Before Hakkaku could reply, their leader interrupted their side conversation; giving them an explanation, "That undead priestess was traveling with them instead of Kagome. Do you know what that means?"
Both his subordinates gave him a blank stare which indicated they were both coming up with nothing. Kouga sighed in annoyance and bit out, "You two sit here and think on it. You can catch up later when you have come up with something." With that, he took off.
"Wait, Kouga!" both brothers called out to their leader and scrambled off after him.
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"Inuyasha, do you think we could go visit Lady Kagome now? Sango is most upset, and I too would like to see how she is faring. Perhaps she's well enough to travel with us again." Miroku beseeched his Hanyou friend.
Inuyasha thought on it a few moments and said, "Kagome not traveling with us is working out fine for now Miroku. You've even stopped being a pervert."
The demon slayer wanted to kill the Hanyou. Did he not realize that Miroku actually not being a pervert was a bad sign? Yes, his habits were annoying, but at least they knew he was well.
Sensing Sango's anger, Inuyasha gave in before any bodily harm could be done to him. His agreeing put the slayer at ease, but she was still irritated that he had even considered not going to check up on their living priestess.
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Kagome was sitting atop a hill, watching Shippou play tag and such games with the village children who looked about his age, when she sensed a presence behind her. She turned slightly and groaned when she saw it was none other than the one she was avoiding. 'Damn him, can't he leave me in peace?' the priestess thought in annoyance.
"Are you incapable of leaving me alone?" Kagome muttered under her breath, but Bankotsu heard her and smirked.
Instead of saying anything he settled for slinging his arm over her shoulder in a friendly manner, just to irritate her even more. Kagome shrugged his arm off and began to walk away, but was stopped when the mercenary grabbed onto her ankle causing her to fall on her face. Seeing this, the young man laughed and choked out, "That was graceful," before laughing again.
It hurt to laugh, but he couldn't stop it. It had been a long while since he had a good laugh; years to be more precise. He had been dead for awhile after all. Laughing, even through the pain, felt alright.
"Yeah, keep laughing. I'm the one who has been assigned to take care of you buddy!" the young priestess reminded him fiercely with an unreadable look on her face. Bankotsu knew one thing about it though; it wasn't good.
Kagome walked over to get Shippou, and then left the field for some lunch; leaving Bankotsu behind in his felled state of laughter.
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"Mama, isn't that the same guy we fought with when you got hurt the second time?" the kitsune quietly asked Kagome during lunch time; eyeing their guest suspiciously.
Kagome nodded and whispered in turn, "But he is okay for now. I saved him because he was severely injured in the forest."
"Why would you do that? He is our enemy, and tried killing you." Shippou questioned, giving her a quizzical look.
Kagome sighed in defeat and said, "It's who I am. I couldn't just leave him there to die if I could save him. You should know that by now."
The kitsune pup nodded in understanding, and then left the hut to go play again. Kagome looked up at the mercenary because she had thought she heard him say something. From the look on her face he could tell that she hadn't heard him, so he repeated himself, slowly this time.
"What are you going to do when the mutt comes to get you?"
The young priestess glared at the mercenary leader and spoke, "You should be long gone by then so I won't have to worry about it."
Bankotsu raised his eyebrows at her, shrugged, and laid down for an afternoon nap. 'Haven't done this in awhile either. It's kind of nice.' Though he would have preferred someone less annoying and temperamental than this slip of a girl. 'At least she's pretty.' She would do for now he supposed. Now was not the time to think upon the type of person he would rather spend his day with, though his brother Jakotsu came to mind when he did. 'That little homo.' Bankotsu thought with affection, 'I wonder what he's up to.'
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Kouga had been running awhile and finally caught Kagome's scent. He also caught another scent. All he knew was that it was a male scent intermingled with a graveyard smell. He would ponder on the second one later, what mattered at the moment was that his Kagome was with a guy he didn't recognize. 'Don't worry, I'll save you Kagome!'
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"Kagome, I have finished patching up your clothing. Here you go dear." Tsuyomi interrupted the young priestess' glaring at the back of the "warrior's" head.
The elder priestess chuckled as Kagome thanked her and left for the clearing to change into her school uniform. Changing actually allowed her to think. At times she hated thinking though. Her thoughts always strayed to the rest of the Inutachi. What were they doing? Did Inuyasha even miss her, or was Kikyou who he had always pretended he was traveling with? Did he even notice she was gone?
Tears started coming to her eyes. 'I shouldn't even be thinking about this.' Her tears died down as soon as she sensed an aura behind her. Kagome quickly turned to face her supposed attacker.
"B-Bankotsu, what are you doing here?" the priestess blushed deep crimson when she looked down and realized she had yet to put her skirt on. She swiftly slipped it on and accused the mercenary of being a pervert.
"You're the one who is supposed to be caring for me, remember? As I see it, I need to stay with you at all times." Bankotsu gave her a smug look. He really did enjoy pushing her buttons.
"Kagome, back away from him!" the two heard a male voice call out with worry.
'Well, it's not Inuyasha.' The young mercenary leader glimpsed the man rushing towards them at an inhuman speed. He was clad in fur and some type of armor. His hair was up in a ponytail and his blue eyes glared menacingly at Bankotsu. 'Wait, this is the bastard who killed Kyokotsu!'
"Bankotsu, please don't start anything. You're too injured to fight anyhow. I bet you can't even swing Banryuu without it hurting." Kagome muttered under her breath before the wolf reached them and pulled Kagome into his embrace.
Kagome finally convinced Kouga she was okay, he let go of her and placed her behind him.
"Who are you and what are you doing with my mate?" Kouga demanded menacingly.
'Well, I won't start anything because I owe her at least that. She saved my life after all, but I bet I could get him to start it first.' The mercenary gave a convincing glare and responded coldly, "Your mate? I don't think so. She's my fiancée, so I would appreciate you giving her back to me."
At this point Kagome's eyes had gone wide. 'What the hell does he think he's doing?' the priestess raged in her mind, unable to form words.
"I'm… leaving now." Kagome finally managed to say, before walking out of the clearing.
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'She…she didn't deny it.' The wolf leader thought with astonishment and defeat. He looked up at the black haired teen, 'Kagome's fiancée,' he reminded himself, and solemnly said, "Take care of her, and please don't hurt her like the mutt has." He then left in search of his two followers.
'That didn't work as planned.' Bankotsu thought with frustration as he turned to follow Kagome's path back to the village.
"Bankotsu, I thought I smelled you!" the young man heard the familiar masculine voice of his enemy. He smiled, 'Maybe this wasn't such a waste after all.'
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Back at the hut, Kagome was wondering where Bankotsu was. She was about to go look for him, but when she went to leave the hut she ran into a wall, 'er…chest?' She looked up into the eyes of Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, when did you get here?" Kagome exclaimed with surprise showing on her features.
"Heh, I thought you'd be a little happier to see me Kagome." The Inu Hanyou smiled warmly and hugged the girl in from of him.
"We simply stopped by because people were wondering how you are faring. We are leaving as soon as everyone gets to see you." Kikyou said informatively behind Inuyasha.
Kagome nodded her understanding and went to go see her friends.
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"Shippou, I want you to go with them this time. I'll be back real soon okay?" the young living priestess said softly to her kitsune pup.
He was about to argue, but he didn't because he could see how tired she was. He simply agreed with her request, hugged her, and jumped into Miroku's arms.
"You're lucky we came when we did Kagome. That mercenary was in the clearing near here when we arrived. I fought him, looks like he's dead. You're safe now." Inuyasha yelled as he walked away.
Panic ripped through Kagome's body. 'I shouldn't care. It's good, no difficulties now.' As much as she tried to convince herself, it wasn't working. She waited until the Inutachi was out of sight and then she fell to the ground crying.
'Maybe I can still save him.' Kagome thought frantically as she ran to the exact same clearing she found him in earlier that day. 'Please God let him be okay! He isn't that bad of a guy. A little annoying at times, but everyone is now and then.' She shouldn't care. She really shouldn't, but it didn't stop her. Once she got to know someone, she would do everything in her power to make sure they stayed alive.
The priestess arrived in the clearing and fell down into the blood of the dying mercenary. She was desperately trying to wake him up; hoping he was just playing a sick joke on her. 'He's not going to wake up.'
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Blood. He smelt a lot of blood and tears. He contemplated whether to investigate or to leave whoever it was to their devices. 'Inuyasha's priestess…' the silver haired taiyoukai noted the scent in the air. Why he was always so interested in what she did he would never know, but he gave in and walked in the direction he knew she was. As he walked closer he felt tenseiga pulse at his waist. 'Is she…? No, she is the one crying. Then who…?'
The taiyoukai arrived at the clearing to see Kagome weeping into the chest of a very dead body. The teen had black hair and a four pointed lavender star on his forehead. He didn't know of the boy's eye color because the boy's eyes were closed.
"Move girl." the taiyoukai ordered emotionlessly.
"S-Sesshoum-maru…" Kagome stammered out and fell backwards.
For whatever reason, Tenseiga decided that this man was worth saving, even as his flesh was slowly melting and becoming nothing but bone. He wasn't one to deny his sword what it wanted, however much he despised his birthright. Sesshoumaru gracefully unsheathed his sword and killed the demons surrounding the teen in one motion. Afterwards, he walked away without a word.
"K-Kagome," Bankotsu rasped out after he revived.
"Yeah?" She had forgotten her sorrow from earlier in her relief that he was alive.
"You kind of look like a whore in those strange clothes." The mercenary bluntly told her.
In the village, everyone could here the slap and yell of pain.
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Before anyone asks, the reason she didn't notice he had shards in his neck is because she was too worried about him to notice. Now she doesn't notice because they aren't there. Kikyou took them out and purified them. Sesshoumaru saved his ass just in time. Yes, this means Bankotsu is actually alive now. XD
Her distress was because she kind of liked having him around and she realized he wasn't too bad if you weren't in a battle with him. Loss of any and all life she mourns. Well, all but Naraku anyways. (Don't get me wrong, I support NaraKag, but I can say now that I couldn't use this situation to get them together.)
Love is far from happening, but there's somewhat of a tentative friendship forming. Anyways, read and review please.
