disclaimer
I, Kagura Fuujinnomai do not own Bankotsu, Jakotsu, or any of the other characters associated with the Inuyasha series.
(Although I wish I did own those adorable, wonderful, super kawaii, sexy little sons of...ahem! anyways)
I get nothing from writing my Fanfics.
I am simply a fangirl who wishes to share her passion with the rest of the world.
- sincerely,
Kagura Fuujinnomai

(AN. My very first work of AU! This is a gift for Skittlez. Only she could inspire something this weird... So she and any shounenai fangirl lucky enough to come across this fic can Read, Review, and most importantly, Enjoy. )

Never Again

Jakotsu intervened, snatching Inuyasha's damaged camera and holding it out just in front of his face.
Jakotsutou clamped its fangs down on the camera and Jakotsu was able to pull him away from Inuyasha, who took his opportunity to get up.

He pushed himself from the ground and ran to his bedroom, closing the door securely.

Jakotsutou did not attempt to pursue him, choosing instead to release the camera and return to his hiding place beneath the couch.

Bankotsu, having sat up to watch Jakotsutou's assault on Inuyasha's camera, stared at Jakotsu with wide eyes.
"I can't believe you did that!" He whispered angrily, keeping his voice low so that Inuyasha couldn't hear.

"Did what?" Jakotsu asked, sitting down and grinning innocently at him.

"Don't fuck with me Jakotsu." Bankotsu warned.
"I'm not. I just don't know what you're getting at..." Jakotsu continued to play his innocent bystander game, but a mischievous glint shone in his eyes.

"I'm getting at the fact that I saw you sic Jakotsutou on Inuyasha!" Bankotsu replied, glaring at him.
"And he distrusted you so much as it was!"

"He doesn't know that," Jakotsu shrugged. "Besides, maybe he'll learn a little something about listening to me..."
That said, Jakotsu stood from the couch, giving Bankotsu a quick kiss before heading back to his bedroom.

Bankotsu sat there considering, but the second he heard Jakotsu's door close, he got off the couch, sitting on the ground instead.

He went over the events in his head, trying to remember the exact sound Jakotsu had made that had caused Jakotsutou's sudden attack. He swore it was the same sound Jakotsutou had made after being sat on earlier that morning...

He leaned in closer to the decorative folds which concealed the ground beneath the couch and quietly imitated the sound.

Sure enough, Jakotsutou slithered hurriedly from under the couch, looking around in a panic. It did not attack Bankotsu, but once its eyes met his, it calmed considerably, before slithering off toward the back of the house.

Bankotsu sat there, slightly disappointed in Jakotsu for doing such a thing.
Apparently, that noise was one that a snake would only make if it were in pain. So naturally, Jakotsutou would not react well if it heard the man who raised it make such a noise.

He had purposely coaxed Jakotsutou into an attack...

Bankotsu had talked to Jakotsu about Inuyasha many times and he had agreed to be kind to him for Bankotsu's sake.
At first Jakotsu had been happy to live with Inuyasha; he liked his attitude for the most part, and his intriguing love of photography.
The fact that he was easy on the eyes probably did a world of good as well...

However, Bankotsu had recently noticed that Jakotsu's attitude toward him changed when Inuyasha was around.
He was less patient, quicker to start arguments, and more likely to leave the room than to stay in his company.

Truthfully, Bankotsu was beginning to wonder if they'd be able to live together much longer.

He stood and walked to the back of the house, stopping at the sight of Jakotsutou, resting curled up in front of Jakotsu's bedroom door. Bankotsu thought it over for a short time before deciding to go talk things over with him.

He opened the door slowly, allowing Jakotsutou to slither into the room before following him, glancing around for any sign of Jakotsu.

"I'm in the tub!" Jakotsu called from the bathroom.
Bankotsu frowned at the bathroom door before walking over and opening it.

A smile spread quickly across his face as Jakotsu sat up, pleased to see that he had been correct in thinking that Inuyasha couldn't possibly have been the one to just walk into his room like that.

"Hello lover..." He greeted, sitting up with his many black and yellow rubber ducks floating around in the water around him. "You lonely?" He asked, scooting over to make room. "Feeling dirty, maybe?"

Bankotsu frowned slightly, putting down the toilette lid and sitting, facing him.
"You know why we can't do that..."

"For another day." Jakotsu sighed, resting his arms and head on the side of the bathtub.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to do on a day more like this one?"

"Not that I could do right now," Bankotsu replied, taking a glance at the opposite door which led to his and Inuyasha's room.

Jakotsu turned to look at it as well, catching his drift. At hearing a light gasp, he turned back to Bankotsu, who was staring in surprise down at the ground.

Jakotsu peered over the side of the bathtub, letting out a small chuckle as his eyes fell on Jakotsutou, who was attempting to swallow a rubber duck.

"Shouldn't we stop him?" Bankotsu asked, raising an eyebrow uncertainly at Jakotsu.

"Nah..." Jakotsu shook his head, continuing to watch Jakotsutou in slight amusement. "He's not dumb enough to eat plastic... Snakes can tell what's prey and what's not..."

Bankotsu turned to Jakotsutou, and sure enough, he released the duck and began looking around for anything edible.

"Daddy will make dinner soon..." Jakotsu assured the hungry python, lowering his arms from the side of the tub so that Jakotsutou could slither up them.

"Come here." Jakotsu called, making his infamous kissing noises.

Jakotsutou slithered forward and up his arms, before being lifted by Jakotsu and lowered into the warm bathwater.
Bankotsu raised an eyebrow at this. Humidifiers and large water bowls were one thing, but bathing with a snake?

He stood up, shaking his head softly. "Only Jakotsu..."
Finding himself unable to confront Jakotsu just then, Bankotsu bid him farewell, and turned to leave.

Jakotsu grinned up at him, blowing him a farewell kiss as he draped Jakotsutou safely around his neck and began giving him a thorough rinsing.

Bankotsu closed the door behind himself, returning to his own room, where he found Inuyasha, sitting silently on his bed.

He held what remained of his camera up for his roommate to see.
Bankotsu sighed heavily, bowing apologetically before sitting next to him on his bed.

He took Inuyasha's right hand in his own, examining the many tooth marks which ran almost from his wrist to the tips of his fingers. He winced as he ran a finger over the cuts, their depth startling him slightly.

The amount of blood smudged on both of his hands was surprisingly high, considering the fact that Inuyasha didn't look as if he were in pain and was not making any attempt to bandage the wounds.

His eyes fell on the camera, which had been bitten almost in half, the eyepiece having broken off.
Drying blood was smudged on it as well.

"I'm sorry about him, Inuyasha." Bankotsu began, unsure how else to approach the situation.

"You mean Jakotsutou?" Inuyasha asked, smiling as he pulled his hand back.
"Don't worry about it. That snake hates me so much it was bound to show its true colors sooner or later..."

Bankotsu opened his mouth to reply but Inuyasha cut him off.

"Besides, I got an awesome shot of it right before it bit the camera!"
He announced, sounding genuinely excited. "And I got out my other camera and took a few shots of my hands."

"The before and after affect huh?" Bankotsu questioned, having heard Inuyasha mention that many times before.
Inuyasha had always had such a strange love of photography...

Inuyasha nodded and stood to put his camera somewhere safe. "Cant wait to get the bloody ones developed!"
Bankotsu looked down at his hands, which had slight traces of blood on them.

Despite Inuyasha's excitement, he felt even guiltier than before.

Inuyasha had no idea that Jakotsu had told the snake to attack him... He supposed he should just thank kami for his luck and shrugged it off as he walked into the bathroom and rinsed his hands off in the sink.

"So he bled... Good for him."

Bankotsu turned around, having forgotten that Jakotsu was taking a bath.

Jakotsu skillfully finished shaving his leg and alternated to the next, not even slightly embarrassed by the fact that Bankotsu was watching him.

Bankotsu walked up to Jakotsu, sitting so that their eyes were level.
He sighed heavily, waiting patiently as Jakotsu finished and put his razor up, propping his legs up on the side of the tub as he lay back.

"Inuyasha doesn't know you provoked Jakotsutou,"
Bankotsu began, taking Jakotsu's left hand in his own. "But Jakotsu... You know we can't live like this..."
"This isn't what we wanted. It's not the life you and I planned! The one we've been dreaming about..."

Jakotsu just looked at him.

"We can't continue to live like this."
Jakotsu began to reply, but froze in shock as Inuyasha walked right into the bathroom through the door Bankotsu had left open.

He was holding his injured hands out infront of him, about to reach for a towel to wrap them in, before he noticed that BOTH of his room mates were already in the room. One of them was even bathing...

"Um..." He mumbled, purposely averting his eyes. "You want me to come back?.."

Jakotsu, being surprisingly modest, lowered his legs back into the water where he couldn't see them before replying.
"No, just ignore us." He said, waving it off.
"Bankotsu, I believe, found it necessary to lecture me now since I'm naked and defenseless."

"Yeah, he'll keep a closer watch on Jakotsutou now." Bankotsu assured Inuyasha, standing up and handing a towel to him with a forced smile.

"Thanks." Inuyasha said, his eyes fixed on the door.
"I'll be fine. A few scratches from a non-poisonous snake won't kill me."

He then walked back into his room and Bankotsu followed after him just to be safely inconspicuous.

Inuyasha sat on Bankotsu's bed, firmly dabbing the cuts on his hands with the towel and Bankotsu sat with him.

"Sorry I didn't warn you about-"
"Why weren't you-"
They spoke in unison, both falling silent.

Bankotsu spoke first. "Why wasn't I what?"

"Why weren't you... You know, like looking away or something?.."
Inuyasha looked up at Bankotsu, who seemed to be growing nervous.
"I mean you acted like it didn't bother you at all that he was..."

"Well, you know we've been friends for years..."
Bankotsu explained, trying not to look away from Inuyasha's accusing eyes.
"I mean we had guys' shower rooms in Physical Education class and I mean, he doesn't have anything I don't, you know?"

"Yeah, but he's gay."

Bankotsu's eyes widened as he stared back into Inuyasha's fixed golden ones, and the answers to the questions that had been troubling him slapped him right in the face. Why hadn't he seen it sooner? The obvious reason all of this had happened...
He read right into the simple statement as if Inuyasha had just answered everything at once.

'He's gay, that's why.

It's the reason our friendship is falling apart, Bankotsu. Jakotsu and I don't belong in the same house. We can't be friends and we can not live together peacefully. We're just too different from one another...

If I ever knew you were gay as well, I just couldn't be around you...'

He stared silently at Inuyasha, suddenly aware of the fact that his hands were shaking and his eyes were beginning to burn.
The true meaning of the word 'homophobic' finally dawned on him.

"You... You're right."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at him. "Um, I know that much, you told me before he even moved here..."
"No." Bankotsu looked away from him, fighting back tears as he shook his head miserably.

"We are too different, and I just didn't see it until now..." He stood, turning toward the door.
"I'm sorry for making you put up with my gay high school friend."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, realizing that for whatever reason, his words had really hurt Bankotsu.
He didn't get a chance to even formulate his apology before Bankotsu left the room, closing the door behind him.

(AN. Life holds many unexpected turns and changes. Let downs and heartbreak that can't be avoided.
We humans experience such things and are left to choose how we deal with them.
Will we move on, or let them tear us apart?

Maybe the question is not 'will' but 'can'.

Can we find the strength to move on, or can we bear to move on,
letting go of things we love?)

(2nd AN. read this only if you have questions about Jaktosutou!

Okay, I know there'll be some questions regarding Jakotsutou's attack, so I'll answer them here.

Do snakes really do that?? Yes, in fact. Jakotsutou is a Burmese Python, one of the largest snakes in the world. You know how at zoos the reptile exhibits have signs that say "Do not knock on glass or No photography"? This is because the snakes are sensitive, certain things like loud noises can upset or excite them. If a snake feels threatened it'll probably lunge at you, and if you're on the other side of the glass, this can cause it to severely injure itself. Not to mention scare the person it tried to attack... Even the slightest injury to a snake's nose can be fatal, so this is obviously something the owners of the zoo would want to avoid.

Burmese pythons in the wild usually have more sense than captive ones, but even they've been known to recognize the sound of another snake in pain. This is usually a way to recognize danger, such as a predator that may have injured another snake. The sound alone was not what triggered Jakotsutou, the flash did as well. Mixed together, the sound and flash triggered his instincts, which, unfortunately for Inuyasha, included offensive action.

I hope that's cleared up a bit for everyone! Don't hesitate to question further! ^_^)