0hmiygawd-

If you expect me to be sorry for not updating in 2 months, then you are dead wrong. I will not apologize for writer's block. Stephanie Meyer's books are exactly my brand of heroin. (Heh heh heh! Book quote! :J)

0h, and kittyb78 gets special recognition for this chapter. She helped me a lot! Thank you!

The Sunshine's Rays, Chapter 8.


Higurashi Kagome

As I woke that morning, Bankotsu had broken into a sweat. He was shivering rapidly in his feverish sleep. I got out of bed quickly and pulled his covers off, afterwards slowly removing his haori. His whole body glistened with its own moisture. I grimaced, realizing just how potent this poison was. He mumbled incoherently in his slumber, and I tried unsuccessfully to make out what he'd said into words. Abandoning my attempt, I removed the old bandages from his tattered body, and set them into the dying embers of last night's fire.

I stood up and went into the back room where I kept all of my medicinal herbs. After rummaging a while in one of the cabinets, I found some long, clean strips of cloth, and washcloths in a bowl, already wet with lemon juice. I took haste in returning to his side.

I bent down on my knees to him, and started to rub the juice into his wounds. I wondered how much it would sting when it started to disinfect his skin. I was too cowardly to try it for myself. When I had successfully wiped all of the wounds clean, I re-bandaged them. I decided that I did not want to wake him, and so I folded his haori neatly, and placed it next to his head. I took what remained of last night's dinner, and placed them onto the extra strips of cloth. I went to the shelf next to the doorframe, and I picked up the last box of matches I had left, and weighed it in my hand.

"Not too many left," I thought to myself. I slipped my hand into the box, grabbed a match and struck it on the side. I threw the match into the fire pit, and watched the dying pyre spring back to life. I sighed, and placed the carton back on the shelf.

I reheated the food slowly, taking my time. I needed to think about the best path for a "hike" up the mountainside. Bankotsu was in almost no condition to be climbing up a mountain, but I was certain that he wouldn't let me see through his cocky façade. He would go with me if I asked, of that I was sure. If we followed a mountain river upstream, we might be able to see a variety of Anthurium, but I was still not entirely sure of how to get bees to make honey out of it. If I was lucky, there was a colony of them that already did. But luck was never on my side. Gods know, that anyone trying to protect me was tempting fate. Inuya- I stopped in the middle of that thought, and shivered at the mention of his name in my mind. I didn't want to remember what my foolishness had cost me last night. Talismans were simple enough, and yet I seemed to be stupid enough to not put mine back on. Now look what it had cost me...

I released myself from my torment, and abandoned his memory. Back to the task at hand. I decided on the river theory, and now all I had to do was relocate that one river. Of course I didn't know its name. All the things that I couldn't put a name to earned the title of "that one"... My own stupidity made me loathe not... having maps. Maps. Now there was a nice thought. Sure. A map of Feudal Japan really had existed in my time. I scoffed. Oh, how convenient that could have been. I itched my nose, and realized that his breakfast was close to burning. I swirled it around in the pot a few times for good measure, and popped it onto the cloths.

Kneeling down to his side again, I touched my hand to his forehead, sweeping the thick bangs out of his eyes. His purple diamond tattoo was still vivid, as if it was new. I switched my attention to his temperature, and realized that It was way better than last night. We shouldn't have too much trouble going up the mountainside. I pulled my hand away. Almost immediately, his eyes shot open, and his hand grabbed my wrist. His pupils were still dilated from his deep sleep. When they refocused, his grasp withered, and his mouth softened, smirking that stupid, stupid, arrogant smile.

"See something you like, priestess?" his mouth closed on the last syllable, and his eyes glowed with mirth.

I snorted. "No," I said in an even tone. I really was a mood killer.

He scowled, realizing that he wasn't going to get a rise out of me. His nose twitched, and he turned his head to the side. "Breakfast..." he breathed. So gracefully, looking more like dancing than anything else, he walked over to it, and sat next to the fire pit, and heartily ate what I had made for him.

"You eat?" He asked in slang not entirely appropriate for addressing a Priestess of the Gods.

"Yes," I lied. Keeping my face blank was a fleeting talent that I had. He saw through me. Danm.

"Have some of this. It's better than it was last night." I smiled at his compliment. But, oh no. He was a mercenary. Compliments were not in his character. As soon as the smile of gratification smeared on my face, he blanked. His mouth twisted into a scowl. "Not that it was that good in the first place," he mumbled to himself. I let that one go.

"I will be fine. I'm not hungry." That was true enough. I left his empty bedside, and went to pick up the katana that had been rendered useless since his arrival. I walked to the slip at the back of the hut, and opened it wide enough for myself to slide in.

"Where you goin'?" he sputtered through his food. I didn't even turn to face him.

"I have tasks to complete before we head up the mountain. Don't come back here." I closed the slip behind me, and went to the room with all the demon bones.

I unsheathed the katana, dull from so many recent killings, and placed it on the worktable. I grabbed the nearest demon tooth, and started my work. It was tenuous, and the strain hurt my arm. I finished in about an hour, almost completely forgetting the assassin, or manslayer, or murderer, or mercenary, or whatever he was. He was probably pissed by now. I re-sheathed the katana, and wiped the steel dust off from my hands onto my hakamas. When they caught and stuck, I brought them to my face in a blur. I had already smelled a gratuitous amount of salt and rust in the air. When I saw them, my eyes widened.

I was bleeding.

The tool I used was equally sharp on both sides. I had trained myself to bear inflicted pain, but this was just stupid. I had deep gashes on the insides of both my palms. Luck be a lady tonight.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath, looking at the blood on my hakamas. I just put a bloody palm print on my favorite, white hakamas. If I didn't disinfect my hand, because Gods know what kind of -I shuddered- things could have been tucked into the chinks of my katana, they could become infected.

And how do we disinfect things in the era that has no Neosporin? Lemon juice. How fortuitous. I walked out of the room and across the hall, grabbing cloths. All I needed now was the lemon juice, which was conveniently on the herb table. I had almost had a heart attack when I thought that I had left it in the front room, with Bankotsu. If he saw the cuts, he would loose some, if not all of his respect for me. That is, if he even had any. I only prepared all his food and nursed him while he was incapacitated. No biggie. Now here for the courage.

I really need a heart.

Stupid, stupid catchy American jingles.

I took the rag out of the bowl, and wrung it in my hands.

Bad move.

The stinging was terrible. It was unbearable. It isn't fair, it isn't nice. A lady doesn't wonder all over the room, and blow on some other guy's dice. So, let's keep the party polite, never get out of my sight. Stick with me baby, I'm the guy that you came in with. Luck be a Lady, Luck be a lady, Luck Be a Lady, toniiight.

"Nice tune," Bankotsu whispered as his arms circled around my waist from behind me. During all my efforts to clean the wounds without screaming, I hadn't realized that I was singing out loud. By the time I become conscious of his arms around me, and wanted to release myself from his embrace, he plucked a quick kiss on my neck and untangled himself. He chortled at the startled look on my face. I hadn't even sensed him coming into the room. No, no, no. I am not Kikyo.

He spun me around to face him.

"Let me help you with that." He took the cloth in his hands, and gingerly, more so than I thought he was capable of, tended to the proof of my stupidity. He was probably thinking of how foolish I was, to cut myself.

"This was an accident, right?"

"No," My voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I'm suicidal."

"What?" He said as he looked up.

I scoffed.

"Never mind it. I was jesting."

"Ok," His eyes released their hold on mine, and he continued rubbing my hands with the cloth. As he was washing my hands in the vile liquid, I got a chance to look at him.

A mere shadow of the man he used to be.

Dark circles hung stubbornly under his eyes, his face now pale with sickness. Even his clothes' once bright and fear striking familiar colors were faded. His hair was longer, making him look like an imitation of the Shinchinitai leader that he used to be, and was now free flowing and thick. The only thing that hadn't changed were his deep blue eyes. His eyes?

"Breathe, Kagome." The voice was firm; gentle in an unfamiliar way. His gaze had been on me. When had he looked up? Why hadn't I noticed it?

I took a breath in, obediently. How did that happen? He still looked at me, and dropped my hands, and patted my back roughly. A sly smirk creased on his tan face. I looked down at my hands. Bandaged, and I hadn't noticed the rest of the pain. I straightened out my confused thoughts.

"You've finished breaking your fast, I take it." I shrugged and brushed off the hand that rested on my shoulder. I walked out of the door, the hallway, and into the front room. Bankotsu followed at a distance.

"Yeah," he finally said.

"We need to get going today, and head up the mountain. I have things I need to get up there." I kept my tone cool and even. I didn't want him to know why we were going up, and so I let my eyes roam around the room, falling anywhere but his eyes.

"Alright." He went over to the corner and picked up his Banryuu. He slung the massive halberd over his shoulder like a towel. Effortless. "When do you want to leave?"

"Right now, if you don't mind." I eyed his face for any sign of disdain. And when it didn't appear, I secured my katana at my hip, and retrieved my bow and my full quiver of arrows. "Give me a minute while I check for everything." I went into the herb room, and changed into peachy-tan hakamas, leaving the bloodstained white ones to soak in cold water. They'd be pink by the time I came back, but I'd have to sacrifice them. Bankotsu's life was a little more important... I made sure that all of the hidden daggers that I carried were secure and in the right place, as I did with all my poisons, talismans-I shivered-, and only when everything was in place, I ducked into the last room. It was sitting on its perch, glowing with a pure, red aura. I'd hoped that I could always keep it that way, too. I couldn't imagine what would happen if it fell into tainted hands.

I sighed, put it in a fold of my haori, and walked out to the front room again. Bankotsu wasn't there. He was outside, waiting. I walked out to find him, and he was leaning against the wall near the door frame.

"Hey there," Danm his husky voice to the seven hells. "You ready?"

"Yes. We'll follow the river up the mountains to the highest point it leads. That's where I need to go."

"Alright."

--

We walked for what felt like hours, using only the greenery to tell us where the river was. It was time-consuming. When we came upon it, I nearly jumped in. It was so hot outside, and it might have been the coolest place we've been to. I was lucky that there were so many trees overshadowing its bank. Shade was a lovely, lovely thing. Bankotsu was obviously hot, too, because he stole my idea. He started to strip down, and I whipped my head to the north, upstream from the river so that I couldn't see him.

"Kagome," He asked, as he swam by my side, going against the current. "Hold onto my clothes for me." This wasn't a request. Ugh.

I didn't even protest, or whine. I knew he would do what he wanted. This was out of my hands. He makes me so frustrated! I walked back to where he dropped all of his clothes, and picked them up.

To my horror, he left me a present, Banryuu, and all of his armor. I sighed loudly, enough so that I had hoped he'd hear my disgust. I readjusted everything I was carrying for him, and closed my eyes, concentrating on Banryuu's memory. When I opened them, Banryuu was erect, and floating, glowing with a pink aura. I turned around and walked forward, knowing that it would now follow. I caught up to Bankotsu, still carrying his armor and clothes.

"What trickery is this?" He was bewildered by his floating halberd.

I scoffed.

"Not trickery," I said carefully, "Power." It was his turn to laugh. I hoped he'd choke on water. His things were getting to be a burden. We followed up the river for, I think it was ten minutes? That sounded right. The temperature had dropped, and more clouds were obscuring the sunshine's rays. I saw a bunny duck into its hole, and I looked around for any foxes. I neither saw nor sensed any. I looked up into the sky again, and the clouds were filling up the sky, giving everything around me a soft bluish glow. They were dark, and I expected rain. The air was already heavier.

Bankotsu snorted at my last remark, and swam a bit faster upstream. We had already gone quite far up the mountainside. From this height, I could already see the village that I protected. I could barely make it out, but I thought I could see some people leaving the work in their fields, they too expected rain.

A simple existence. An existence that I would never again know.

I looked up into the sky again, and saw that the sky was now completely filled with dark grey clouds.

"Bankotsu," I said softly, knowing that he could hear me. "We need to find shelter for the night. It's going to storm." He stopped swimming, and I walked up to his side. He was holding onto the bank. I stopped, and waited for his verdict.

"Alright." He said as he pulled himself out of the river. Nude. I turned swiftly to the opposite direction. "Oh, come on, priestess. You know you want me." When I didn't respond, he spoke again. "Can I have my clothes now?" I laughed softly, throwing them behind me, and after that I released Banryuu from my "grasp".

"Thanks." I heard the ruffling of clothing, and the clink of armor being put into place. He walked to my side and put his arm around my shoulder. I looked up at him, he was still glistening with the river water; his hair drenched and fixed to his face and back. I pushed the bangs and plaits of hair from out of his face, and looked up at him.

"Don't push my hand away," he begged, although it seemed to be more like an order. I looked away, and walked forward, with him still glued to me. I looked around –anywhere but his face- and searched for anything, a cave, an abandoned hut, a village that I could say (lie to be more accurate) needed an exorcism, what I called "Pulling a Miroku". Maybe the shelter of a weeping willow? We kept walking, all the while his arm around me, making me nervous, with the occasional rub on the arm from him. We weren't just walking around, we kept going up the mountain, and I was getting a bit tired. The sky was dark and bleak, and it started to trickle. I walked faster, again looking for shelter.

We walked farther up the mountain, and a downpour started. I ran now, and he let go of my shoulder, loosening his grip on me and sliding his hand down to mine. He gripped it. I looked behind me, startled, and when he smiled, I smiled back, and I gripped his, acknowledging it. We ran side by side, until finally, Gods be praised, we found the answer to my prayers. An abandoned hut. I slipped inside and jackknifed onto the futon that I found, exhausted. There was only one marital futon in here, and I suppose that Bankotsu thought that we would share it. He sat beside me.

"What time is it?" He asked softly.

"I think it was about five o'clock, in the afternoon."

"Are we going 'ta wait until the rain stops to get dinner? I haven't had anything since breakfast."

I scoffed.

"I haven't had anything in two days," I mumbled to myself. I didn't think he heard me. He laid back on the futon, and patted the spot next to him. I obediently laid down next to him, keeping my distance. I turned away.

"Giving the cold shoulder, are we?" He mocked. I ignored him, and I closed my eyes, concentrating on the thundering and pulsations of the rain. He sighed when he realized that I wasn't about to talk, and scooted closer to me, -still wet, I noted- and pulled the blanket around us, and then silently wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. He laid his head on my shoulder, and I stiffened. "Don't worry," he whispered into my ear, "I won't hurt you." I reveled at his words. Won't hurt me? Won't hurt me?! Now where had I heard those words before? Yes, those were the half demon's words. Won't hurt me. Hmm... Well, he wasn't that half demon.

I eased up, and snuggled the blanket to me, drifting.

'He won't hurt me,' I thought.

--

"Kagome," A soft voice said. Someone was shaking me, too. "Kagome, the storm stopped." I opened my eyes reluctantly. I was so comfortable, and warm. I didn't want to wake up. My eyes refocused, and I saw black. I pulled away from it, and realized, that whilst I was sleeping, I had snuggled into Bankotsu's chest, with his arms around me protectively. I got up with a start. He pulled me back down, into his arms, and rubbed my back.

"I told you that I wouldn't hurt you. Calm down." Why did I always do whatever he said?

"I'm alright." I said after a while. I slowly disentangled myself from his limbs, and sat on my knees.

"That's a lovely shade of crimson." He chuckled as he ran the back of his hand across my cheek, and rested it on my cheekbone. I felt myself go several shades deeper, and I know he saw it because he laughed softly. I looked down, his hand still on my face. "You know, you talk in your sleep." I looked up in fright. What had I said? Oh Gods.

"What did-" He cut me off, of course.

"You said my name in your sleep. And a few other things. But I'll save those for later, for black mail." That stupid, stupid arrogant smile was plastered on his face. I pouted, and got up. I walked to the door, and popped my head out of the side of the slipcover. It had stopped raining, but there was still lightning.

"I'm going to go hunt," I said as I grabbed my bow and quiver. I walked out of the hut, and I looked around me. We were farther up the mountain than I expected to do in a day. I was a bit relieved, in truth; I had thought we had not gone very far. I started to run, watching and listening for any animal like sound, a footfall, snorts, rustles of fir, the brushing against of trees or bushes.

Gotcha.

I ran over to the side, and pulled a bow out of my quiver. I aimed, and then fired. I heard the clanging of metal on metal in the distance.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa! Kagome! It's me!" Bankotsu screamed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, offended.

"As if I'd let you hunt alone in an unfamiliar area!" he shouted from across the distance.

"I know this area better than you do!" I yelled as he emerged from the darkness, and into the meadow that I was in. I could now see him through the moonlight.

"I doubt that." He snickered. He walked no more than an arm's length away.

"Do you always watch me hunt?"

"No." His voice quivered a bit.

"Truly?" I asked, not convinced.

"A few times before, but not every time."

"Oh, is that so?" I made an upward inflection on the last word, and put my hand to my chin in a sarcastic manner.

He faltered, and then gave in. "No, I watch you every time you hunt. But not before I knew you. Didn't you ever find it strange that I was always sweating when you came back? You're faster than I thought."

"I don't like this." I said as I crossed my arms.

"Well, what if I don't watch you, and I just help you hunt?"

"I don't need help."

"I don't like this." He said, mocking me.

"I don't really care."

"Yes you do." He walked closer, the distance between us closing fast,

"N-no, I don't." He closed the distance, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and waist, melting his body to mine.

"Oh, I think you do." His head dipped in; his eyes locked on mine. He kissed the base of my neck, and I took in a shaky breath. He trailed kisses up my neck, kissing and nibbling my earlobe, and then blowing on it, earning a moan of surprise out of me, one that I immediately regretted. He then kissed my jaw line, and placed kisses all along my cheek. He led himself up to my parted lips, and kissed the corners of my mouth. My eyes widened considerably. He went in for the last kiss, one he wished to bestow upon my lips, and I gasped as his lips were millimeters away from mine.

I tore myself out of his grasp, keeping my head as far away from his as possible. When I detached my body and limbs from his, I looked up to see his face. We were now almost five feet away from each other.

He was smiling. He looked like he just won the grand prize! "Kagome," he whined. "You didn't let me have my fun!" He looked like a spoiled child who got his candy taken from him.

"I'll show you fun." I muttered as I walked away, still breathless from his intoxicating kisses. "Asshole." I whispered to myself. I hadn't spoken a cuss word in almost two years. Out loud, at least. I had to hunt for dinner; for even I was getting hungry.

--

When we returned to the hut, together-I groaned-we hadn't spoken since I had called him an asshole. He deserved that, and I didn't even want to talk to him. I more or less would rather shoot my own foot than do so. And I wanted to take a shower. Really bad. I wanted to get rid of his kisses. I definitely wasn't prepared for that. At all. It almost came out of no where.

I was cooking his fish, and I added more daikon radishes to the mix, for more flavor. I thought about his kisses. Had I led him on? Had I done anything to make him think that I wanted him in any way? Was I a tease? Ugh. Well, I had never chastised him for kissing me on the neck after he caught me singing, I hadn't released myself from his grasp when we were looking for shelter. And had I let him think that his advances were welcome, naught but a moment ago? I was so frustrated.


Happy now? I hope you are. This took a few days, and I like it, so I hope you do, too. I hope you know that I do tab the paragraphs, but the stupid document editor just gets rid of them when I upload it. Whatever. Its troublesome.

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