I find it sometimes when I am awake, I think I'm sleeping. Even as I walk along the mountain terrain in between Bankotsu and Jakotsu, I feel asleep. Maybe it's because this all kind of feels like a dream. Aren't you surprised I'm saying this is a dream, not a nightmare? In a nightmare, everything is scary and your heart beats fast and you can hardly ever wake up from it until something devastating happens. Devastation is my life. It doesn't hurt me anymore. I'm numb. I think it's starting to be a good thing. After the continuous cycle of waking up, being touched by Bankotsu, fighting and killing because of the emotional breakdown I have everytime I start to fight - It's like the tears just numb me -, then I'm just ... tired. I eat. I try to sleep. I get touched by Bankotsu. I don't care what he does anymore. I know, it sounds like I'm giving up, but I'm just so tired.

My pulse is so slow now. I'm surprised I'm not dead because of how low my pulse is. But I'm so numb now that I don't think about death. I just watch the sun rise and I just watch the sun set.

None of them mean a thing. Other then Keitaro, Momoka, and Tukiyo are all gone.

" Bankotsu, where are we even going?" Jakotsu whines, rubbing his sword-barren shoulder.

He just smiles. " Well, since we're heading farther north, I just wanted to stop by and see some .. thing," he replies, keeping his arm around my waist.

I've learned to act. An actress with a mercenary can have its perks. When you act like you like the things he does and say, it's easier to avoid the punishment and violence he inflicts upon others. Even though I act, I give him signs that I hate him; like right now. Even though he's touching me, I smile like the sun but glare at him like a sinner. He chuckles. He probably thinks its cute.

" Oh, you mean your pare-?" Jakotsu starts to say before he gets cut off by Bankotsu hitting him over the head.

" Don't ruin it!" he scowls," It's supposed to be a surprise for them all. And Asuka."

I glare at him. "I hate you and your damn surprises. Leave me out of it."

He nuzzles my neck, gently kissing over my pulse. He whispers in my ear huskily, " Last time I checked, you didn't hate me last night."

I punch him in the jaw. " Tch. I never said or did anything."

He rubs his jaw, glaring at me. My heart jumps and my eyes go wide for a brief second before I slam them shut, preparing mentally for the blow he's sure to bring me. But instead, all I feel is a rough, warm hand caressing my hair.

He laughs. "Did you honestly think I was gonna hit you?"

I glare at him, embarrassed from my reaction. " Of course. You hit me all the time." This is when, of course, he actually hits me. I feel the rough blow on the back of my head, causing me to stagger and almost lose my balance. I glare at him more. "That was uncalled for." He grabs my hair roughly and tilts my head, glaring at me.

" Yeah, it was. Your attitude was also uncalled for," he states, releasing my hair with a rough jerk. I rub my head where he pulled. " Get a better attitude before tonight." Tonight? I don't even want to think of the night now, because I know what always comes. I brief blink of my eyes and I can already see his face in ecstasy and mine in complete turmoil.

" So, what's the plan?" Jakotsu asks, looking at Bankotsu, " How long will you be?"

He shrugs. " Dunno. I haven't seen them in a long time, so I'd think a week or two. We haven't been hired in a while, so it's kind of like a vacation," he replies, putting his arm around my waist again.

" We aren't coming with you," Suikotsu states looking at his leader.

" Yeah, sorry," Bankotsu says," It's just ... you know ... what they'll think ..."

" Yeah, I understand," Jakotsu says, with a rare, caring smile, " Have fun with them and take your time. We'll go farther north and we'll meet at the northwestern shoreline. You remember the one?"

He smiles, as if recalling a long ago event. "Yeah, I remember," he says. Then he unexpectantly hugs Jakotsu. " Take care of yourself. I'll see you in a week or so."

Jakotsu hugs him back tightly. "Yeah. Have a good time and say hello for me."

He smiles, pulling away. " I will." He waves to the rest of the Band of Seven. " Take care of yourselves! Don't cause any unnecessary trouble while I'm gone!"

Jakotsu laughs," No garuntees, big brother!" He waves back as he starts to walk away with the rest of the Band of Seven leaving Bankotsu holding me close with Banryuu in his other hand.

Wait. What just happened? Where are they even going? Who is Bankotsu visiting? Why am I stuck here with him? Why did the rest of the Band of Seven so willingly leave? What's going on?

I turn around and look at him. " What's going on? What were you and Jakotsu just talking about? Where are we even going?" I demand.

He chuckles and takes my hand. " You'll see when we get there. But as I said," he replies, suddenly scowling at me," Improve your attitude. I don't want you to embarrass me."

I smirk. "Me embarrass you? Just by being in the same country as you, you put everyone to shame," I say, glaring at him.

" Right there," he says," Right there, Asuka. It's that tone that makes me want to slap you. Now, knock it off. I'm known as a kind man around these parts. Don't ruin it by being a bitch."

" Excuse me? A wha-?" I start to say, my voice increasing with each word prepared to yell at him. He cuts me off by kissing me hard. I don't kiss back. He might get a kiss when it's night and I'm tired and dead to the world (or at least it feels like that) but he won't get one now. Not when I demand what I want to know.

He pulls away. " If you follow me, you'll find out. It's only a half hour or so away. It won't be long," he says, taking my hand in his. I resist the urge to vomit as he touches me again. I growl at him but I agree to go with him. I have no where else to go anyway. But who knows? Maybe whoever or whatever we're seeing, if I kill it, maybe Bankotsu will feel the same pain I did when his friend murdered Keitaro, Momoka, and Tukiyo.

We'll see if he turns numb like me.

| MERCENARY TRUTH |

After walking a while longer through the thick forest, the distance in front of us starts to clear up. There are now less and less trees with every step we both take. There are less branches and bushes scratching my legs and less vines that catch my weapons. But, despite how much I hate it, Bankotsu holds my hand the entire way. I'm mad at myself, because I'm not objecting to it. But, in a way that's my plan - to have him become comfortable around me and trust me more, and then I back stab him. I can start to day with whatever he's showing me.

He smiles like the sun as he steps out of the forest. " We're here."

I look around with my blue eyes. It's not what I was expecting; I don't even know what I was expecting. I take in that we're in a large clearing, with mountains in the background. There's one, no, two small houses enough to house decent-sized families of five or six. Around them are small fields used for growing produce. I can see that further on there's a dirt road. It must be the way they travel to trade for things like silk or meat. There's a large cart that would allow them to take it. I even see a horse that would allow the cart to be pulled. I can even hear and see a small waterfall behind the houses.

It's such a peaceful place. Why would someone like Bankotsu come here?

A man who appears to be at least thirty-five years of age stand up from the garden to stretch, his long, black-brown hair braided down his back. A young woman with pale skin is hanging up freshly washed clothes and sheets. A woman around the same age of the man, maybe younger, comes out of the house. Her skin is on the verge of being tanned, however it isn't as pale as the other woman's skin. Her hair is long and pitch black, her eyes a piercing sapphire blue. She has lines on her face that show she's always smiling.

Those sapphire blue eyes oh so remind me of the man standing beside me.

Her eyes scan the horizon, watching the other two work. As she continues scanning, her eyes fall on Bankotsu and I. Her mouth turns into a small 'o' shape and she covers her mouth with both of her delicate hands. Her eyes seem to fill with tears. The man looks over to her and follows her gaze to us. He drops the rake he was holding, his dark eyes full of surprise. The young woman also looks at the other two then she looks at us. She jumps up from the river and her face breaks out into a huge smile.

I look up at Bankotsu and I see he's smiling, looking the happiest I've ever seen him. He almost looks normal as he smiles. Happy and normal. He gives my hand a gentle squeeze, stabbing Banryuu into the ground and pulling me close, both his arms holding me tight. He smiles at the family in front of us.

He continues to smile at them. "It's great to see you all again. I missed you all."

The young woman takes off sprinting to Bankotsu. He doesn't realize what she's doing until she's tackled both Bankotsu and I to the ground. I can't help myself but to laugh at Bankotsu's surprised expression because it is such a rare one.

" Bankotsu! I can't believe it! You're back!" the young woman cries out happily, nuzzling him and holding him close. I feel a twinge inside me. Who is this woman? And what is with that twinge? What was that emotion I just had ...?

" Yuuki! You're crushing him and the girl he has with him! Get off of your little brother!" The man orders his daughter with a smile.

Little ... brother?

The older woman comes over and hugs Bankotsu as well once we stand up and dust ourselves off. Bankotsu trades the woman for me, holding her gently.

" Welcome home, Bankotsu," the woman says, smiling at her son.

I look from Bankotsu's father, to his elder sister, to his mother. This ... is his family ... Bankotsu, he has a family ...

Voila! It's up. I'm sorry this took so long, high school can be stressful XP New friends, new classes, new friends who might be more than friends, getting cut from sports teams, etc. These have all happened since September and it's a big change. I'm still getting used to another year. I just kind of want to fast forward to baseball season so I can play baseball again XD

I am very happy with this chapter because I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while. This is the start of a HUGE change for Asuka and her relationship with Bankotsu and it's an important mile stone for this story.

This is also the second anniversary of when I started this story. I started it back on December 23rd, 2010 and now it's December 23rd, 2012. I've changed so much and so has my writing, but I will still remain faithful to this story, despite my crazed schedule. Thank you all for staying and supporting this story with your reviews!

Read and review!

Joyeux Noël et bonne anneé! XD