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


Consider Yourself

Chapter 11

Weak Willpower

When Bankotsu let out yet another grumble at the table where he was hunched over textbooks, Manami stood up from in front of her easel and crossed the length of the room over to him. She hovered by his side for a moment, her eyes scanning his notebook writing, before raising a hand to run her fingers over his hair. "I think you need a break," she said lightly.

"I gotta finish this," he mumbled in reply. He took a deep breath and briefly sat back to run his hands down his face. Manami leaned forward and propped her forearms on the tabletop, clasping her fingers. "This fucking class...if it weren't mandatory, I would never have taken it; and my head hurts."

Upon closer inspection of Bankotsu's notebook, Manami wrinkled her nose. "Math...yuck," she said, a smile easing it's way onto her face. When Bankotsu only sat forward again and stared hard at the open pages, Manami stood up and entered the small kitchen. The tinkling of glass made Bankotsu look up. When he saw her pouring shochu into one of the glasses, he outwardly groaned...but inside, he was instantly intrigued.

"Hey," he said warningly, "You know I want to, but I've really gotta wrap this assignment up. It's already late."

"Boy, you sure sound responsible," she teased.

His brows furrowed. "I'm damn responsible! Considering my quote-unquote 'reckless tendencies'."

"And while we're considering how much you drink, let's also remember how long it's been since you drank at all!"

Bankotsu put his pen down between the pages of his textbook. "Sure feels like a hell of a long time..."

A big smile spread across Manami's face as she padded back and forth from the fridge to the two glasses, pouring juice and ice into them. "And this is nothing for you, anyway. Here," she said as she returned to the table and held the glass out to him.

Bankotsu shook his head. "You don't know when to quit." The deep frown that held his handsome features captive for hours finally cracked. He reached for the glass.

"Everything is good in moderation, and sometimes a little more so. It's been over a week, cut yourself some slack." She gave him a saucy wink before raising her own glass to her lips. "Be happier, I like you more."

Bankotsu only snorted before downing the glass. He frowned at it as he shook the remaining ice cubes around. "That was super light, Manami. I need another one," he said as he noisily flipped his textbooks shut.

"Anything for you," Manami said as she took his glass. As she walked into the kitchen, Bankotsu couldn't help but to look at the way her hips swayed. After a few delightfully graphic thoughts entered his mind, he became aware of two things. One, if he kept drinking like this with the beautiful girl in the next room, then his very long day was about to get even longer; and two, despite his efforts, his week-long abstinent streak had been easily reduced to a burning heap.


A/N: This chapter was written using prompt #26 - Forever and a Day from The Original List of Themes, created by #100ThemeWriters on DeviantArt.