Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any similarities between this fanfiction, other published materials, or real life is purely by coincidence and copyright infringement was not intended. All rights to the Inuyasha series belong to its original creator, Rumiko Takahashi.

What's up guys? I've been on a roll lately (or so I think) with chapters for this story! I don't think I've written this much in a long time and I'm slowly getting the rust off so hopefully I'll be back to normal soon! Anyways, (sorry if you already know) but chapter two is different. It's about three times longer than before and now it takes a different direction with Bankotsu's personality and also includes an interesting ending (for those of you that love the cottony goodness of fluff). Oh! And about the rating... at first it was for freedom but now I'm thinking about including a lemon, so if you want or do not want a lemon please mention it in a review or PM. Thank you!


Pieces of Time
Chapter 3: Doubt

Bankotsu's lips curved into a devilish smile. "Pretty soon you'll be begging to help me find shards."

He stood and gently pushed Jakotsu aside as he strode towards the girl. Kagome backed up to the wall and tried to look away as the sly and undeniably handsome mercenary pinned her down. His deep azure eyes bore into her soft brown orbs and he let her chin rest between his index finger and his thumb as he pressed his cheek against hers. What the heck is he doing?

"Believe me when I say begging," he whispered, resting his free hand on her hip. "After all, there are just so many things that I'd love to do to you."

Kagome's eyes widened and her body went as rigid as a rock. He can't be serious!

A deep cherry-pink flooded her cheeks and she could hear her heart beating in her ears, blood racing in her veins as she struggled to get a hold of herself. She was practically a grown woman after all, even if she was a priestess she still human. "Bankotsu..." His name rolled off of her lips almost as if she had said it a million times before and the slight gasp in her voice wasn't lost on him either. What's wrong with me?

Bankotsu's eyes glinted with mischief when he pulled back and saw her rosy cheeks. Is she serious? He tightened his grip on her hip and pulled her against him, loving the way she pursed her eyes shut and tried to shut him out. Brushing a few strands of her silken black hair out of her face he couldn't help but let the low chuckle in his belly spill from his lips.

Kagome peeked at him and her face reddened even more when she saw him burst out into a fit of laughter. He could barely keep himself from falling to the floor when she began to shout at him. "What's so funny?"

The boy backed away and held his stomach; he couldn't believe what she was thinking! After finally settling down he wiped a tear from his face and inhaled deeply. "I can't believe what you thought I meant!"

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" She rested her hands on her hips and scowled at him.

"You! You actually thought that I would go for someone like you!"

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks and for a moment she thought she saw her soul float out of her mouth and into the skies. Of course he didn't mean that I'm such an idiot! Kagome fell back against the wall and slid down as she stared blankly up at the wooden ceiling. Judging by the look of it, they'd be in trouble if it rained. Of course, she only made that observation in a poor attempt at escaping the reality of the humiliation that was brought on by Bankotsu's play on words. It was worth it, if only for a single instant.

Jakotsu stifled a laugh and turned away when he suddenly realized what had transpired between the two. She's such a gullible fool!

Sshhh....

The paper door was slid open and a tall figure entered.

The azure-eyed leader turned and smiled. "Ah, Suikotsu! You've returned."

Kagome met the doctor's gaze and made no move to greet him. Why should she? They did kidnap her...and humiliate her. If she hadn't remembered the day Kouga proclaimed his love to her from the mountains she would have counted it as the most embarrassing day of her life.

"Boy, have I got a story to tell you!" Bankotsu gave Kagome a knowing look and snickered. "Unless of course, you'd rather tell him what happened."

Kagome slapped her hand to her face. It was the most embarrassing day of her life; and not only that, she had to hear about it too! "Jerk..."

Bankotsu shrugged his shoulders. "Sticks and stones," he retorted.

Dammit, he was really starting to get under her skin now! "Rrghh... I'm leaving!" She stamped over to the paper door and slammed it wide open. I need to strangle the person who started that saying. She walked quickly but as the sound of the steps creaking behind her reached her ears, she couldn't help but glance backward. What is he smiling about now? Her eyes fell on the bottle he held between his thumb and index finger; now he was more than just a jerk, he was a thief! "Why you--!"

He tucked the tiny container into the folds of his blue and white haori. "Feisty," he mused, watching as an alluring fire began to burn within her lovely eyes. "We can always come for you later," he said carelessly. "Besides, I've got a message for that mutt of yours."

She felt a nerve begin to twitch. "What am I? A pigeon?"

Bankotsu shrugged for what seemed the tenth time that day. "Well--"

"Don't answer that," she interjected.

He pouted; at least he had some time to mess with her. "Fine, just make sure you tell him and your little friends that the Band of Seven is no longer affiliated with Naraku."

His words sounded more like a command than a request and Kagome swallowed hard when she took in the meaning of his words. If he's not working for Naraku, that must mean that...! No, Naraku can't be dead, otherwise he would've said so.

"Girl, did you hear me?"

"Huh?" Kagome looked up at Bankotsu dumbly; how could she have spaced off like that! "What were you saying?"

He groaned; she had the attention span of a child. "Forget it, just remember to tell your dog-boy about Naraku," he said, waving his hand in dismissal.

Was he really letting her off so easily?

She stared at him and he frowned in discomfort, beginning to eye her suspiciously. "What's that look for?"

"Oh! Nothing, nothing..." She clapped her hands together and counted her blessings as she turned on her heel. "I'll be going now; bye!"

Kagome sprinted off into the forest and never looked back until she reached the well, quickly noting that Inuyasha and Shippo were missing. No wonder, it's already getting dark. Only a sliver of the sun now remained above the horizon and the rich scarlet colors that painted the sky began to bubble away as a grandiose indigo took over and took its time in leading the stars into the sky.

Kagome exhaled and began to head for the village. When she arrived, she saw the light from a fire burning brightly in Kaede's hut and the silhouette of Miroku's staff dancing up against one of the walls. Thank goodness... She thought, relieved that her friends weren't still looking for her out in the dark. She climbed the incline easily and pushed the woven door out of her way as she entered the hut. All eyes landed on her. "Hey," she greeted meekly.

"Lady Kagome," Miroku started, his voice holding a note of surprise. "We thought you'd been kidnapped."

Kagome scratched the back of her head. "Err--yeah, I guess so," she mumbled. "I ran into some trouble," she admitted, plopping down between Sango and Kaede's sleeping form. She saw that Shippo was already snoozing in Kirara's warm fur.

"Trouble? Of what sort?" Sango asked, brushing her fingers through Kirara's silken mane.

"I sort of ran into the Band of Seven. They kidnapped me, but after taking my shards of the jewel they let me go... and they said that they were no longer involved with Naraku..."

Miroku's eyes widened. "No longer involved? How is that possible? Naraku would never allow something like this...!"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, at first I thought they meant that they killed Naraku, but if they did, he probably would've just said so."

"By 'he' you mean Bankotsu, yes?" Miroku inquired.

"Yeah, he definitely would've said something if he killed Naraku. I mean--he's got an ego the size of Japan!" Kagome stretched her arms to emphasize her point and Sango paused, taken aback by her friend's exclamation.

"Sounds just like a certain half-demon," Sango said, an amused expression crossing her features.

Kagome's eves roved over the room. "Wait... where is Inuyasha?"

Miroku and Sango exchanged looks. Both of them had completely forgotten about their companion and unknowingly left him out in the forest searching alone and in the dark of night.

Sango lifted her fingers from Kirara and set them in her lap. "Do you think we should search for him?"

Miroku coughed and cleared his throat. "Perhaps it would be wiser to let him run in circles rather than over our heads when he realizes that we returned to Kaede's hut long before himself."

Sango's face dropped. "That's just your way of saying that you're too lazy to go out and look," she muttered.

Miroku soon found himself being dragged out of the hut by the demon slayer and he quickly realized that if he wanted to avoid another trip to the hot springs he would have to pick himself up from the ground.

Kagome smiled; they probably didn't even notice how much they resembled a married couple. "Wait up!" She called, jogging to catch up with the two.

Minutes of silent walking led them to the base of the sacred tree and at that point only the sounds of the crickets filled the air. "Do you suppose he'd be--"

Inuyasha dropped down from a nearby tree, a blur of red and silver before he landed softly on the ground in front of the group, eyes wide as saucers. "I can't find her!"

Kagome stepped out from behind Sango and Miroku, her eyes lighting up. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound of her voice. "Kagome? Where were you?" Concern shone in his smoldering amber eyes as he took her petite shoulders into his hands.

"Uh...I just got a little sidetracked," she mumbled.

"Sidetracked?"

"Yeah, well, kidnapped, actually..."

His brows furrowed and he brought his face closer to her ebony tresses, down to the crook of her neck and then along her collar bone, sniffing out any irregular scents.

The fine hairs on her neck lifted and she could barely contain the shiver that wanted to travel down her spine, but after a moment of sniffing around he pulled back and scrunched his nose leaving Kagome nearly breathless with just that simple touch. "You were kidnapped by Bankotsu? How did you escape?"

She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment as she struggled to regain her composure. "He sorta just let me go... it was really weird."

"Just let you go? What'd he say?" Now he was interested; why would Bankotsu just let her run off after kidnapping her?

Miroku jumped into the conversation, clearing his throat to interrupt. "Shall we begin walking back to Kaede's?"

Inuyasha relinquished his hold on Kagome and the group started for Kaede's hut. A few steps later, Kagome began to tell Inuyasha everything that happened... other than her big moment of humiliation of course, leaving Inuyasha wondering about what else could have happened in the hours that she was gone.

----

The moon that had been shining brightly from its place in the sky earlier in the night now fell back into the darkness as the clouds enveloped it and the stars began to fall prey to the inky blackness of night. A certain half-demon woke to the whispers of the wind; right on cue for what he was planning.

He took a quick look at the ground below him before dropping from the tower-like tree he was sleeping on. With a soft thud he was on his feet and soon stood at the entrance to Kaede's hut. His golden eyes flickered across the room through the boarded window and his stare landed on Miroku's sleeping form that lay against the wall near the door.

Crouching at the entrance he reached his hand in and tugged at Miroku's robes. "Hey, wake up...!"

Miroku blinked. What in the...? Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he yawned and saw Inuyasha's silhouette through the woven door. "What is it?"

Inuyasha grabbed at Miroku's robes and led him down the hill, glancing back up at the hut before he began to speak. "Miroku, did Kagome say anything else about what happened between her and Bankotsu?"

Miroku's brows knit together as he tried to shake off his tiredness. "Inuyasha," he began, his voice taking a serious tone. "What are you getting at?" The monk leaned against a nearby fence and Inuyasha followed suit, taking a seat on one of the posts.

"Well, I know she got kidnapped and everything... but when I smelt her earlier, it wasn't 'cause I couldn't identify the smell, it was because she reeked of him!" Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he recalled the overwhelming scent of the assassin.

"Well, Lady Kagome did say that she was taken to their hideout... perhaps they'd been living in there for days. Would their scent not linger about the residence?"

"There's no way she could smell that much like him just from being in their hideout!"

"So... what would make her smell of Bankotsu as much as you claim?"

Inuyasha stiffened and blushed, folding his arms into his robes as he looked away. "Well--you know," he said suggestively.

Miroku raised a brow. "Are you saying...?"

His blush deepened. "Well, they must've at least hugged...a lot," he mumbled shyly.

Miroku raised a brow, Inuyasha's sentence piquing his interest. "Is it likely that she's had sexual contact with him?"

Inuyasha nearly fell off the fence and onto his face. "Are you crazy? Why would she go off with him?"

Miroku clucked his tongue at the half-breed. "Well, isn't that why you're so up in the air about it? Because you're jealous?"

The word jealous echoed in the recesses of Inuyasha's mind but at the same time a part of his mind shut down and forced the word out the other ear. "I am so not jealous! Why would I be after a someone like her anyways? She's always mad at me! Plus she's always complaining about wanting to go home and...and--!"

"And what, Inuyasha?"

Running out of things to say, he turned away and grunted. "Look, I'm just worried that she and Bankotsu have got--something going on!"

"Riiight," Miroku drawled. "And I suppose this something is a little more than hugging." The monk knew he was hitting nerves, and it pleased him to no end when Inuyasha blew up in his face.

"Shut up!"

Miroku snickered. "Whatever you say Inuyasha... but seriously, do you think they had sex?"

"Is that all you can say after this?" Inuyasha's face was priceless.

"Well, no... While I'd love the conversation to continue in this direction, I must say that if Kagome really is involved with the Band of Seven; Bankotsu or otherwise, we may have much trouble ahead of us... And not only that, but the chances of us actually collecting the shards of the jewel on our own will diminish almost completely."

Inuyasha nodded. "You're right; without Kagome we might as well be going around with blindfolds on," he muttered. "But we could still--"

"Inuyasha." Miroku's violet eyes burned with seriousness. "Lady Kikyo may have the ability to sense the jewel shards, but bringing her into this will only make matters worse." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The half-demon's predictability was the same as always. "Besides, we haven't yet confirmed anything... for now, I think it would be best for us to just get some rest. If worse comes to worst we'll discuss things as a group." With that, he was off and Inuyasha could only sit and mull things over.

Dammit... that monk just knows everything doesn't he? Inuyasha thought sarcastically. Then again, he does have a point... "Argh! This is so stupid!"

End of Chapter 3


With all the changing and everything on chapter two I never got a chance to include the reviewer replies in the chapter so for chapter three I'm starting it. XD


Yuti-Chan: OMG I love you! You reviewed not once, but twice! I wasn't expecting to get a review for the "new" chapter two but you reviewed! Thank you so much!

kittyb78: Thanks! I hope you read chapter two after I changed it! It's got fluff! (Who doesn't love fluff?) I just hope that you also like the new direction I took with Bankotsu... e___e;;

aislin94: You're right! Long chapters are better, but I'm just bad at writing in third person perspective so everything gets worse (I think) xD. And no problem about the english, I think it's cool if you speak another language!

Omica21: Ta-dah! Chapter three is here! Thanks for the review by the way, I'm praying that you liked chapter three!


Well, that's it for reviewer replies! (Not much but every review counts!) Anyways, I know the summary of this story and the actual content aren't connecting yet but I promise everything will come together soon! Again, thank you to all the reviewers and readers, I hope you enjoyed chapter three! Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far! See you in chapter four! :)

(6/25/09: I recently had the idea of including characters and elements from the Inuyasha Secret of the Cursed Mask game but I wanted to take a poll on how familiar you guys are with it, so please stop by my profile and vote! Thanks you!)