Ok, first of all, I deleted Not all Men are Dogs because it was hard to think of ideas for that one, plus I needed to make room for my new Harry Potter fanfic that will be coming out soon. Sorry to those of you who read!
Second: Yeesss, I have reached 430 REVIEWS AND OVER! Sweet! Thank you all so much! On with the next chapter.
LAST TIME
RECAP…
Bankotsu listened for some time, waiting for the little voice to answer back, but it never did. What was he thinking, anyways, talking to himself like that? It was crazy, and he could count himself dead if anyone heard it. He forced his legs to stand him up, and then attempted to carry on a more leisurely walk. However, all he could think about was Kagome. He stopped in his tracks, growing extremely frustrated with himself.
"This is not going to work," He whispered to himself thoughtfully. "What I need is a distraction: I need to forget."
And as the thoughts of forgetting everything that had happened in the past month plagued his mind, a sinister smirk spread itself across Bankotsu's smooth features. Murderer's never dwelt on the past.
Chapter 21
The young, dark haired man fingered his exaggerated sword almost too innocently, while looking down at its form with glazed over midnight blue eyes.
His brothers had always reminded him of his usually light blue eyes growing darker when he thought about killing. They teased him that with such light eyes, he looked like a softy.
Well now he had hardly any brothers to tell him that. Only one person could take full credit for that, though.
InuYasha's lapdog. His rag doll. The one, the only, pussy priestess Kagome Higurashi.
She hunted them down and told the bastard and company to retrieve the shards of the Shikon jewel. And for what? So the filthy half-breed could become a full-fledged demon that would forget her in an instant as soon as he was transformed? He'd kill her.
So didn't she realize she was taking lives? For no good cause, too. Despicable.
Bankotsu looked up from his Banryuu to the tiny village just a few feet from him, his long black bangs falling in his eyes. No one screwed with his heart.
Because he didn't have one to begin with.
He was standing just behind a border-line fence that he could probably knock over if he poked it, hidden from sight by a big stupid bush. He tweaked a leaf off just for good measure.
He could almost see the blood and flames now. It would have been nice to have Ginkotsu and Renkotsu here, making everything alittle more chaotic, and Suikotsu and Jakotsu filling the hazy air with screams that echoed through the night.
At least he got all the fun to himself. God, it was great being a killer.
But it was even nicer to rip and tear and kill when he was wasted. He stabbed the tip of his halberd into the soil with more force than necessary, and walked casually into the open summer's air.
XXX
As soon as the voice uttered into the crisp outside, Sango felt Miroku's arm tighten around her waist. He gently pulled her so that her back was leaning against his chest and to her surprise, made no lecherous moves. The demon slayer didn't even have time to push him away before the newest edition to the little group prowled out of the of the InuYasha forest, his tall form shaded by the dark.
"What? Who…" Sango trailed off in a whisper as the figure advanced towards them, coming out of the shadows and revealing himself as none other that Kouga of the Wolf Demon tribe.
But there was something wrong. Miroku seemed to notice it too, as she heard a small gasp escape him. To InuYasha, however, it seemed old news. What was going on?
"Long time, no-get-your-tail-kicked," He sneered. The demon had his arms crossed over his chest and his weight on one leg, looking overconfident. Sango noticed how his jaw moved stiffly like a robot's, and how his eyes were unfocused and almost black.
InuYasha exhaled in a bored fashion, like getting ready to do long-dreaded chores. "I should have known you were too weak to break Naraku's hold on you." He rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles.
"Naraku's hold?" Miroku inquired worriedly, "What do you mean, InuYasha?"
"By the looks of it, Naraku's taken control over Kouga's mind by corrupting the jewel shards in his legs," He nodded towards the dark light erupting from both the wolf's legs. "And now he's hell bent on getting Bankotsu and Kagome because they both have shards of the Shikon no Tama."
"Speaking of which," Kouga interrupted, "Are you ready to hand them over? Or do I need to get my hands dirty?"
"You aren't getting anywhere near Kagome!" The white-haired man snarled, stepping forward.
"That's fine. Not the quickest option, but I'm in no rush. I'll just have to have some fun with you, then." Kouga replied casually, also taking a step forwards to match InuYasha.
"InuYasha! You moron!"
InuYasha whirled around to face Miroku at the comment. "What was that for?" He yelled in outrage.
The monk slapped his hand to his forehead dramatically. "You've done it now," Was the muttered response.
InuYasha turned back to Kouga unconcered. "Keh, I hardly see this as the right time to talk about your inner turmoils, Miroku," He jeered. "Now: back to business."
Sango seemed to realize what Miroku was getting at, seeing as her jaw dropped slightly, but she shook it off and addressed the obnoxious half demon, "Be careful, InuYasha. Kouga isn't himself; you can't hurt him!"
"Even though I'd just love to," He taunted back.
"Going to listen to your girlfriend, InuTrasha? Because, quite honestly, you couldn't hurt me even if you tried." The wolf demon said lightly. "Pathetic, really."
InuYasha felt his cheeks grow hot. "She is not my girlfriend! Yeah know, you're cruising for a bruising, Kouga."
The mesmerized wolf prince pouted, "Tsk, tsk. All talk, and no play?"
On his last nerve, InuYasha whipped out his Tensaiga. "Your going to pay for that, you smelly wolf. I don't have time to waste arguing with you."
"Then I guess we better wrap this up, hey? Nice knowin' ya."
And without any warning, Kouga scrunched up his back legs and pounced at the hanyou like a giant jungle cat, and soared over his head, landing a few feet behind him. Miroku hastily gathered up Sango in his arms and narrowly escaped the landing.
"Now that Bankotsu is gone, there is no doubt Naraku will take his jewel shards." Miroku whispered gravely as he let the demon slayer's feet touch the ground, referring to earlier when he had yelled at InuYasha.
"I figured that too. If he was with us, Kagome would have protected him with her pow – ahhh!"
But Miroku had caught her up in his arms once more and dashed to the side to avoid InuYasha's body. The half demon fell to the ground in a heap with a dull thud, Kouga standing proudly with his hands on his hips not far away.
"The corrupted jewel shards must have made him stronger," Sango said, leaning against Miroku to steady herself. "We have to help InuYasha!"
"Oh, no you don't," The monk refused to release her from his grasp as she made a weak effort to grab her Hiraikotsu, which was in Kaede's hut where Kagome was currently asleep. "You're not in a stable condition. Besides, InuYasha can handle this one."
"That's for damn sure," InuYasha's gruff voice came. "I won't be beat out by some mangy little wolf."
"Enough talk, mutt," Kouga hissed nastily, "I'm sick of you're stalling. Fight me like a man."
XXX
"Jakotsu! Would you just wait up?"
But the young Shichinintai did the complete opposite. Maybe if he sped up and just kept ignoring his follower then he'd forget and go screw something.
A bush maybe.
"Oi, Jakotsu, I'm talking to you! I can still see you, you know, and I know you can hear me."
"Oh, bugger off, Suiko- oof!"
Suikotsu tackled Jakotsu onto the ground until he was straddling him, with the feminine man lying on his back. Swiftly and tactfully, Suikotsu kicked the Jakotsutou out of its master's hand so nobody would be harmed, accidentally or purposely.
"Get off me, you great oaf!" Jakotsu hissed angrily.
"Listen you," His companion countered. "I'm sick of your moping around. You need to move on and get on with your life."
"Tell me, Suikotsu," Jakotsu said slyly. "You don't seem to terribly sad about Oo-Aniki's death. Quite the opposite, if you ask me."
Jakotsu wasn't allowed a single breath after he uttered those words, for Suikotsu lost himself and backhanded his friend viciously.
"How dare you!" He seethed loudly. "How dare you accuse me of being glad of Bankotsu's passing!"
Jakotsu lay stunned, unable to think or process the words that were flying at him. He felt hot tears well up in his eyes but he pushed them back stubbornly.
Suikotsu panted wearily above him. "We could have avoided that," He said very quietly, his voice almost inaudible. "I'm sorry I hit you, but you have to know that you aren't the only one who's grieving. I loved Aniki, too, Jakotsu."
"Get off me," Was the emotionless response.
"Please don't be difficult, Ja," Suikotsu pleaded helplessly. He knew that they only had each other left, and if they fell apart, Naraku would swoop in and snatch their Shikon shards, along with their lives.
"You're pathetic," Jakotsu snarled. "Only weaklings beg."
Suikotsu sighed, but remained silent. Reluctantly, he lifted himself of the other and stood up, stretching his back, and without another word, continued to tread off down the path. He knew of a village down the road; perhaps he could forage some food.
After he was sure Suikotsu was a good distance away, Jakotsu put his hands on his knees and helped himself up off the ground. He shook his hair and dusted his elbows and finally bent down to pick up his Jakotsutou, which he sheathed with ease.
XXX
She could remember the very first feelings she felt around Bankotsu, brave and arrogant leader of the Shichinintai. She stood out and out of place, just like a flower in a fridge.
She was gentle and delicate, and he was a fridge- not quite a freezer – but still cold, but deep down, soft, like ice-cream once it was taken out.
She remembered the night she had caught him crying for his comrades when Naraku threatened to take their shards.
She remembered when he fought against InuYasha's youkai form to save her…
Kagome brushed away a tear that was steadily making its way down her cheek. Her face was hot.
When the teenage girl was at the top of the flight of stairs, she stopped and listened for more noise. Then she heard the sound of cracking and splintering wood, coming from none other than her own bedroom! She quietly tiptoed to the door frame and poked her head inside. When she saw her closet completely shattered and broken into a million pieces, she jumped in and let her temper flow through her teeth.
"Bankotsu!" She yelled angrily. "What do you think your doing!"
Bankotsu turned to her, his Banryuu resting on his shoulder which had been operated on, a smirk gracing his features. "I found her." He stated.
"And you just destroyed my closet, you jerk!"
Kagome smiled faintly, but it only made her sadder. She cuddled herself closer in her sleeping bag and tried to sleep, but she couldn't. Every time she shut her eyes, his smiling face appeared in her mind's vision.
She remembered the time when Bankotsu attempted to hurt a nurse named Nikki in her time. She had scolded him, but it turned out she had been wrong. She had turned out to be a murderer.
Why did it have to end up this way? Everything could have been perfect. It was so hard to believe that he'd throw away everything they had for Ayame. Was Ayame worth it? She choked down a sob and covered her head in blankets bitterly.
"Well, you're always calling me hey or something like that." Kagome explained, searching for an answer. Bankotsu said nothing after that, so Kagome continued. "Look, I'll call you by your name and you'll call me by my name, ok. It's Kagome. You know that."
"Whatever your sweet heart desires, Kah-go-may." Bankotsu answered sarcastically.
"Hey," Kagome snapped angrily, "Do you know what I've been through, just to save your life?"
"I didn't ask you to save my life."
Kagome Higurashi was snapped out of her thoughts as Kaede's hut shook and something just outside thundered dangerously. She was up in a heartbeat, her sling of arrows on her shoulder and bow in hand.
Her breathing quickened as she started to hear people yelling and screaming. The loudest voice definitely belonged to InuYasha. Was there an attack on the village?
She swung open the door and rushed outside. Indeed, there was a demon attack, but not just any demon.
"Kouga?" She called softly over the crowd.
And it was the instant he slowly began turning his head towards her that it dawned on her like being splashed with ice cold water that something was different, and the wolf demon wouldn't come happily bounding over to her.
He gazed upon her with empty, unfocused black eyes, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
"Kagome!" InuYasha cried. "Get inside! Now!"
But it was too late. Kouga had caught her up in his arms in mere seconds, much like the first time they had met and he had kidnapped her. She let a scream escape from her throat as she realized she was in the air, and frantically gripped Kouga's costume for balance.
"Let me go!" She wailed, over come with fear and terror. What were his intentions this time? Obviously nothing innocent. Last time he had done this, he wanted her to become his wife. She didn't know what to expect this time, especially since he wasn't himself.
"Please let me go," She whined helplessly, her voice almost nothing in the whirling of the air.
"Oh, I doubt you'd want that, precious. We're only a couple hundred feet above the ground," Kouga said in a falsely pleasant voice.
In times like these, Kagome would have always called on InuYasha, but the only word that came to her tongue was…
"…Bankotsu,"
When your love is falling like the rain
I close my eyes and it falls again
When will I get the chance to say I love you?
I pretend that you're already mine
Then my heart ain't breaking every time
I look into your eyes.