Enjoy

I wake to the sound of low terrified screams from a woman and a soft dull light flashing at my feet. I hum as I push the thick grey comforter off me and sit up. The T.V was showing an infinite loop of scenes from the Brain leeches 2 movie. Each time the loop restarted, a bloody arrow reappeared next to the word 'play'. I ran a hand through my hair that managed to free itself from my braid and glance over at the clock.

6:45am

I had to get to Iggy's house before 8. I slid out of the bed, thankful that my sandals protected my feet from the cold hard wood floor and examined myself in the mirror. My clothes were a bit wrinkled, my necklace was missing, but there wasn't any unusual soreness in or on my body.

"I didn't touch you, I swear." Bankotsu mutters beneath the large comforter, and I smile.

"You wouldn't be alive, if you did."

He does a big inhale and yawns as he pulls the covers off him and sits up. He runs his hands over his face and leans forward resting his forehead on his raised knee caps. His unbraided hair cascading forward and hiding the side of his face.

"That was the worst night of my life. I got no sleep."

"I slept fine." I say casually as I combed my fingers through my hair and began braiding it.

"Well of course you did."

"If you couldn't sleep then you should have just turned the T.V off."

"The T.V. wasn't why I couldn't sleep." He flops back on his pillow and looks over at me."

"Why the hell are we up at 6 in the morning?"

"Because I have to get to Iggy's house before Sesshomaru's driver comes to get me at 8."

I search around the bed looking for my necklace and Bankotsu lazily watches me. My head pops up from the other side of the bed, "This would go by much quicker if you assisted me."

"I don't even know what you're looking for?"

"My necklace."

He reaches over and lifts the pillow I had used. Seeing no necklace he drops the pillow again and looks over at me. "Well, it's not on the bed."

"Really?!" I stand and begin to properly search the bed.

He rolls over to the other side in compliance with my non-verbal command to move and then rolls back over when I go to search the other side.

"Told ya."

I sigh in response and go back to searching under the bed. After another five minutes of futile searching, I give up and look at the clock.

7:08

I stand to grab my purse when I'm suddenly pulled down on the bed. Bankotsu wraps his comforter covered arms around me and begins to kiss my neck.

"I do not have time for this."

"So."

"So? So let go."

"But I've been so good. I deserve some type of reward."

"Your reward is an intrinsic one. The knowledge that you can truly be a decent human being is noth-"

"Boooooooooooo" he says in a deep playful voice as his hold on me tightens.

"Bankotsu, I really must leave. It takes these cabbies at least fifteen to twenty minutes to actually pick someone up. Not to mention the time it will take for them to actually get me to Iggy's."

Somehow, Bankotsu manages to grab hold of his phone and call a taxi while still keeping me firmly pressed against his chest. "There, now we have a solid fifteen to twenty minutes left, so about my reward."

I groan realizing there was really nothing left for me to do and no way to weasel myself out. "I know I will regret asking this, but what do you what?"

"I can have anything?"

"Within reason."

He takes a long moment to think and I begin to hum the jeopardy tune.

"I want you to be my girlfriend."

'I knew it' I close my eyes, "We've discussed this already, Bankotsu."

"I don't care."

"You should, because it will not happen."

"It's my reward."

"I am not a reward."

"I didn't say you were."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"You want your reward to be me as your girlfriend, therefore, I end up being the reward, and I am not an item to be won."

"…..you are now."

"I beg your pardon."

"You're my girlfriend."

"I did not agree to such a thing."

"Don't care."

"You can't do that."

"Just did."

"That's not how it works."

"It is now."

"You're acting like a child."

"So."

I do a slow exhale, "Bankotsu, this isn't funny."

"Not joking."

I try to sit up, but he keeps me pinned. "Let me go."

"No."

"Bankotsu…"

"If I let you go, are you going to slap me?"

"…..no"

"Liar."

"I promise."

"Promise what?"

"I promise I won't slap you."

There was a pause, and then I began to feel his hold loosen. Suddenly he tightens it again. "If I let you go will you hit me?"

"I said I wouldn't."

"No, you said you wouldn't slap me. You said nothing about other forms of hitting."

"Damnit."

He nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck. "Just agree to be my girlfriend." He says softly into my skin. "Even if it's secret, I'll live with that."

"Secret?"

"I won't tell, you won't tell; we'll go on dates in parts of town where no one knows us. Secret."

He starts to kiss my neck, and his hands manage to free themselves from his comforter and begin to creep their way up my shirt. "I'll even leave you alone at school so it seems like I've lost interest."

His hands were warm against my stomach and my heart began to beat violently the higher they went. I feel his fingers begin to slide under the bridge of my bra.

"Say it."

His hand slides higher and begins to drift to the side. I grab it as it grazes the side of me.

"Fine"

"But I love him, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru gives me a violent glare as a growl rolls in his throat, "He's a vile disgusting creature!"

"No he's not! He's sweet, and cute, and funny, and….well just look at him. He's in a bowtie for crying out loud!" I hold Taco to my cheek and give Sesshomaru the biggest puppy dog eyes I could muster. "He's still just a baby, Sesshy; Sort of small and defenseless; taken from his mother and sold at a fair. I am all he has left in the world. Would you really take that away from him as well?" With Taco's natural charm and my eyes, Sesshomaru didn't stand a chance.

He looks away from us, and I am unsure if the look of disgust was because of us or because our cuteness finally got to him.

I honestly don't blame Inuyasha for telling Sesshomaru about Taco.

In fact, I had prepped myself before I walked through the door to get into it with him about Bankotsu, and instead I was faced with a stern lecture about how he would not tolerate the continuation of my age old habit of harboring animals; especially in his home.

In my defense, until Taco, I haven't harbored any animals for a solid 6 months. It would have been seven, but then I saw Jeremy—the raccoon cub—and I just couldn't leave him out there by himself. Needles to say, Mother was NOT pleased.

But I have digressed.

I suppose Inuyasha is saving the Bankotsu bomb for a time where it would benefit him as well. I see Sesshomaru cross his arms over his chest as an annoyed look bleeds across his face, "Fine."

I perk up.

"But, he lives outdoors like the wild beast he is."

"Right…..when he gets older."

Sesshomaru's eyebrow twitches, "No, now, Elizabeth."

"But he's still kind of small. He'll get eaten by a stray dog or cat." I gasp, "or a HAWK!"

"I don't care."

"Sesshomaru-"

"It's either outside or I take him to a restaurant."

I hold taco closer to my chest and he readjusts himself in my arms, "You wouldn't."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrow, "Try me."

I look down at Taco blinking back tears. "He's just baby." I say softly, but Sesshomaru either didn't hear or choose to ignore me for he was already back to work looking between the massive stacks of papers and punching whatever numbers were on them into his calculator.

I shut his study door softly behind me and walk over to the back door still holding Taco close to me chest. My eyes grazed over the perfectly manicured yard taking in the large decoratively cut shrubbery, the massive fountain, and the cobbled stone pathway that lead to the garden/maze further back.

I pursed my lips, unable to find any reason as to why Taco would not be safe out there. I watch as a squirrel scurries over to the found to get a drink, and I sigh reaching for the door handle.

Suddenly, cat appears from nowhere, snatches the squirrel up and dashes off again. I blink waiting for my mind to finish processing the event that just took place before me, and I step back.

There was no way I would expose my poor Taco to such savagery.

I must give Bankotsu his credit; he is a man of his word. Our encounters at school have been nothing more than walk-by 'heys'. There has been no staring, no stalking, no paper balls bouncing off the top of my head or ass; nothing.

He stays with his group, and I stay with my Iggy, and after a couple of weeks even the school began to notice-and like flies to honey, all the girls began to surround him once more.

Bankotsu—in their eyes—was not only one of the most popular boys in school, but now he was one of the most popular SINGLE boys.

There was no longer an evil red head latched to his arm nor was there a beautiful demon girl caught in his cross hairs to deter the oncoming slew of admirers from finally getting their chance, and to say that Bankotsu enjoyed the attention would be a painful understatement.

The man blatantly struts through the halls of the school like the only rooster in a large hen house.

There was actually one morning where, as Bankotsu was walking down the hall, he happened to wink at a girl and she fainted.

ACTUALLY FAINTED!

Like the women in really bad love comedies do when they see the supporting male character to emphasize to the viewer that he is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread.

I couldn't contain myself, and I laughed right there in the middle of the hallway.

I believe that was the only time Bankotsu ever broke the no staring rule.

But despite how much attention he got at school—or how much he loved it—every other Friday, I would take three different busses through town, get on a fourth bus, ride it to the park, walk to the other end of the park, get on the fifth bus, ride that one to the west side of town, walk a block or two east, then go through an ally way, walk a block or two west and enter into a small diner where Bankotsu would crack some joke about my convoluted method of getting there.

From there we would either walk about town, go to a movie, go to the small pond—sometimes I would bring taco so he could swim and try to socialize with the other ducks—or just stay at the diner and eat. Some days we would talk about senseless stuff like sports, movies, food, and Bankotsu's favorite topic:

"Why the hell is this duck in a bowtie?"

Other days-specifically ones where Bankotsu's home life was not at its best- our conversations would turn dark. On those days, Bankotsu's usual laid-back demeanor would be replace with a quite stiff cold one; no smile or smirk on his lips.

His hands would be forever clenched in fists ready to strike the first person who blinks at him wrong, and his deep cobalt eyes would be as black as oil. It is on these days I understand why Inuyasha warns me so about him. It is on these days that our most aggressive and violent arguments are born.

It is on these days where I cut our meetings short.

But, on the good days, I find myself learning new Bankotsu-isms, like the fact that the right side of his mouth twitches ever so slightly when he thinks of something dirty, or that he does the softest little hum whenever he lies, but my favorite thing that Bankotsu does is he gets the cutest scowl on his face whenever he is focused on something as if he could intimidate the solution to reveal itself without any more effort on his part.

I've developed a habit of discreetly taking his picture when he scowls. Of course, it did take a couple of embarrassing failed attempts—most of them involving me forgetting to turn the shudder noise off—before I was able to become quite masterful at taking 'stalker photos' as Bankotsu so endearingly calls them.

In my defense, this all started when I noticed that the background of Bankotsu's lock screen was an image of me drifting off to sleep against his shoulder. Naturally, this discovery led to me trying to unlock his phone to see what other illegal photos he obtained.

I suppose I'm saying all this as a way to explain that into a month of our "secret relationship" I have fallen in strong like for man. To say I am in love would mean my feelings for Bankotsu surpassed any doubts I may have of him. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

"What?"

I pull myself from my thoughts at the sound of Bankotsu's voice, "Huh?"

"You're staring at me. Usually that's what I do."

"I was not staring."

He chuckles, "Yeah you were. You were completely mesmerized my handsome features."

"Oh shut up."

He laughs as he dips another fry into his milkshake.

I watch him for a moment longer before standing and sliding in to his side of the booth.

He makes room for me and pulls me in to his chest, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You do realize you never willingly let me touch you unless I force it or you're not feeling well, right?"

"Am I not allowed to lean against you without there being some ulterior motive?"

"You are, and I'm not complaining, but…..this isn't normal."

I close my eyes and he moves slightly to continue eating. We stay like this for a minute before I'm finally able to sum up enough courage.

"Why do you do the things you do?"

"Huh?"

"Stealing, fighting, getting in to trouble; why do you do it?"

He's quite for a moment before I feel him shrug.

"I'm serious, Bankotsu."

"Why do you always have to be little miss perfect?"

I try to ignore being offended and sit up, "I don't know what that has to do with my question, but for your information what you call 'being little miss perfect' I call being proper, and that is how I was raised."

"So, why do you think it's any different for me?" He casually looks over at me as he bites down on another fry.

"So you mean to tell me that you were raised to steal and fight?"

"Saying that I was raised would imply that someone actually cared enough to take an interest in my life. I'm saying the lack of any adult supervision in my earlier childhood is why I am the way I am now. I was homeless from the ages of five to thirteen, and the only way to live was for me to steal and sometimes that means to steal from other homeless kids, so I had to fight too. By the time Naraku came around, I was already pretty set in my ways—had my own little gang and everything, but it wasn't like he adopted me to help me become a better person. He said I had some natural talent, and that I could be of use to him. He had me do a lot of questionable things, things a kid—even one as fucked up as me—shouldn't have to do." He shrugs, "But I did it, and it was fun."

"Do you ever consider stopping?"

"Can you just suddenly stop being miss prim and proper?"

"I could if I tried."

"But would you? Would you really give up the only way you know how to live your life? Just because someone asked you too or because someone doesn't agree with it?"

"If I cared enough about them."

He laughs, "Then you're stupid. You're stupid to trust someone that much. I'm not saying you can't change. I'm just saying you better do it because you want to, not because someone asked you too. You don't know their motives; you don't know who they really are, so why would you completely alter your life for them? What if it doesn't work out…then what…..then who will you be?"

I was quiet; unable to answer him.

He finishes his milkshake and reaches for his wallet, "I completely understand why your brother doesn't like me, and in all respect he shouldn't, I'm not a good guy. Never had been, and I never intended to make you believe I am. I'm a horrible person who does some horrible things, mostly for shits and giggles, and I don't see myself changing anytime soon; if at all."

He nudges me to move and I stand.

"A lot of the girls I'm with love to think that I'm some cliché movie 'bad boy' that they can change, and sometimes I let them think that because I get a lot of girls that way and the sex is great, but since I actually like you, and I do plan to stick around you for a while, I'm going to go ahead and tell you everything you need to know about me."

He pulls me closer to him, "1. You cannot change me, no matter how hard you try. 2. I will always do shit that you disapprove of so go ahead and get used to it. 3. I would never purposefully drag you in to my shit, so there's no need to worry about that. 4. I am a horrible person, who has done and can still do very horrible things. Never forget that."

I shut my locker door and press my head to the cool metal. Bankotsu's words still resonating in my mind. I never had the notion that he was a good person, but I also never considered him a bad person either. He was simply Bankotsu—always neutral with some questionable morals, but now…..

Someone slaps their hand across the back of my head. I yelp and turn to see Jewel laughing as she continues to walk down the hall. Ever since I warned Jakotsu about his locker, Jewel's bullying has become far more frequent and physical. Oh, how I wanted nothing more, but to run down that hall and snatch what little hair she has left from her head, but I couldn't….or to be more precise, I shouldn't. There was nothing I could that I could do—without killing her—to retaliate. So I resolved to just grit and bare it, but for how long, I could not say.

"Just punch her. That's what I did."

"What?" I stared at Iggy in disbelief as she casually bit into her sandwhich.

"Yeah, sophomore year, Jewel was messing with me and for awhile I just ignored her, but then one day I just had enough and walked up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and clocked her good across the face. Granted, I ran away right after I did it, but yeah, a win is a win."

"Did she stop?"

"Well….no, not really. In fact, her bullying got a lot worse, but…I'm all skin and bones so there's only so much power I have behind my punches, but you….I mean look at you, all demon amazon-like and what not, I'm sure if you knocked her around a few good times she'll leave you alone."

"Please do not tempt me."

"I'm serious, Elizabeth, just clock her one good time…..in the face…..with all your strength….I REALLY want you to do this now that I'm thinking about it."

"Well, it would be nice."

"Yeah! See, just do it one time. Knock her out cold. Just think of how good it would feel. I promise you, after I hit her, it was like I just dropped forty pounds and the adrenaline rush was sooooooo sweet."

I laugh at her and shake my head, "Iggy, I can't. I'll get into trouble."

"Not if you do it off campus."

I scoff, "And where would I do it, hmm. The park?"

"Yeah, it's a nice big open space, not a lot of people around after seven, plus you go that way to get home anyway, so you can be all like POW BAM whoop dat ass, and then just casually walk home. Jewel would not stand a chance."

"You're silly, you know that."

"All I'm saying is that it could work…and that you would feel great."

The end of the day bell rings, and I gather my things before heading to my locker. I feel every muscle in my body tighten when I see Bankotsu leaning casually against the locker next to mine. I recover quickly and continue towards my locker, trying not to make eye contact.

I force myself to focus after failing to open my locker three times in a row and glare when the fourth time fails.

Was this even my locker?

My heart began to race, and I felt my cheeks warm as my mind went back to the fact that Bankotsu was still standing there, not actually watching, but still watching me fail in opening my locker. My fingers fumble over the lock once more and I growl.

"How are you this distracting when you're not even doing anything?"

He laughs, "I just have that affect on women I guess."

"You're breaking the rules."

"I know, but I had to find out for myself if it was true."

I sigh in relief as the locker finally relinquishes, and I begin to unload my bag. "If what is true?"

"Are you really going to fight Jewel in the park today?"

I freeze.

"I mean, I'm not against it. I've seen how she's been treating you these past few weeks and if it wasn't for these damn rules, I would have kicked her ass a long time ago. I'm just shocked that's all; proud, but shocked."

I finish packing the book that I needed in my bag and slam the locker door, "Don't be. This is a huge misunderstanding. Iggy and I were simply talking."

"Well, whatever you were saying managed to get around the school. Now, everyone is headed to the park. This is going to happen."

"No it's not. I just won't show up."

Bankotsu breaks another rule and looks at me, "You have to."

"Why?"

"Because this rumor says that you're the one going around saying how you're going to kick Jewel's ass. If you don't show up….it's not going to end well for you. You'll be seen as a little bitch…..well…..technically you kinda-"

"If you finish that sentence, I will kick you in the crotch."

"You have to show up."

"Fine, but I won't fight. Jewel isn't completely unreasonable. Once I tell her we were simply just talking, she'll go away."

Bankotsu raises an eye brow at me, "Are you sure we're talking about the same Jewel?"

I fling my bag over my shoulder and walk away.

"I swear I didn't say anything, but you got to admit, this is really exciting."

I roll my eyes at the bouncing Iggy next to me. We approach the entrance of the park, and my heart sinks as I look upon the massive crowd of spectators that has gathered.

Iggy finally settles down as reality crashes over her, "So this is really happening."

"No….this is simply a misunderstanding. When I explain it to her, all will be well."

Iggy gives me the side eye before looking back at the crowd, "At least one of us believes that."