I disclaim ownership of InuYasha and all associated characters. Credit goes to Rumiko Takahashi, respectively.

Unexpected Behavior of The Cloudless Mind

For the hours that Suikotsu wasted before talking to his brother, the entire apartment tensed under the weight of Kikyo's presence alone. She didn't speak, and her silence toward him was utterly unbearable. In the same room with her, he felt like a quivering child awaiting his mother's wrath. 'This is ridiculous.' Even worse was that every time he tried to speak to her, she would only look at him with that emotionless expression she was so good at, before turning away again. After so long, Suikotsu grew tired of being so patient with her. He knew exactly what she wanted, anyway; he just didn't know if he wanted to give it to her. But the further the sun drifted west, the more his own volition pushed him towards confronting his brother.

Suikotsu stepped up to the plate. He stood in front of Bankotsu's door, ready to knock. It crossed his mind briefly that he hadn't heard a single peep from his brother all day long. Bankotsu was extremely good at moving about undetected (when sober)...so he hoped for the best. His knuckles rapped crisply against the wooden door, and he began to wonder if Bankotsu was even there when there was no response. "Bankotsu...?"

The faintest shuffle was made, another moment passed, and the door was opened. A tight, sad smile graced Suikotsu's face. "There you are."

"Yo." The energy that emanated from Bankotsu was different from before, when the brothers fought a few days ago. He was calm, and he had his wits about him. His eyes were clear, even if they were a bit dull. 'If there was ever a good time to speak to him, it would be now,' thought Suikotsu.

"I just wanted to talk to you...are you busy?"

"Actually, I am," Bankotsu replied. The door had only been opened far enough for bankotsu to stand snugly between the gap, almost as if he were hiding something.

Startled by the answer he received, Suikotsu tried a different approach. "May I come in?"

Bankotsu looked behind his shoulder, then shook his head. "I'm kind of in the middle of packing some stuff." At Suikotsu's confused and guilty expression, he continued, "That's what you wanted to talk about, right? I always have been one step ahead of ya." He let loose a smirk. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Wait!" Suikotsu's hand shot out to block the door from closing on him when Bankotsu stepped back. He gawked at his brother, bewildered. "What?"

"Geez, you're dense today," Bankotsu said as he wandered back across the room to his two duffel bags atop his bed. "Did Kikyo fry your brain again?"

All Suikotsu could do was assess the sight in front of him from the doorway. For days he had worried about how he was to approach his brother, and what exactly to even approach him about, and here the guy was already packing his things like it was second nature. All of a sudden, Suikotsu wanted nothing more than to convince him to stay...and at the same time, he knew very well that when Bankotsu had intent to do something, he very well committed himself to it. For a while, simply watched Bankotsu sift through clothes and text books as calm as ever. Then he asked, "Where will you go?"

"I've got connections...don't worry, I'm not going too far. And I'll stay in school, yadda yadda," Bankotsu replied, waving a hand in the air dismissively.

Suikotsu wanted to question everything about his younger brother's motives, but for heaven's sake, Bankotsu was already 23 years old. He had every right to handle personal matters on his own.

When Bankotsu hefted one bag's strap over his shoulder, and tucked the other bag under his arm, Suikotsu stepped out of the doorway to let him through. As Bankotsu slipped his shoes on by the front door, Suikotsu stood idly by, unsure of what to do. The hard part was over. "I hope you don't mind that I didn't take everything with me all at once. I'll come back for it though," Bankotsu said matter-of-factly.

"N-no, it's not a problem, really. It's still your room."

"Eh, but tomorrow it won't be," Bankotsu said matter-of-factly.

Suikotsu didn't know what to say to that. He supposed Bankotsu was right; surely Kikyo would find every reason to keep him out after he'd left. Bankotsu opened the door and stepped outside. "...Are you sure about this? You're family..."

For a moment in time, Bankotsu had a choice. In the next, it would be gone. In that moment he stood still, staring at his brother, his mind wavering under the weight of his bags and his options. But before another word could be said, he shrugged and walked off.

A/N: This chapter was written using prompt #65 - A Moment in Time from The Original List of Themes, created by #100ThemeWriters on DeviantArt. I'm pretty fond of this chapter's title for some reason. :)