Never caught my breath
Every second I'm without you I'm a mess
Never knew each other
Trust these words are stones
Why cuts aren't healing
Learning how to love
I'm melting
---
P R O L O U G E
"Kagome?" InuYasha called, dropping the struggling red head wolf in his arms without care. "Kagome, where are you?"
The hanyou scanned the area in which he'd last seen the miko and then proceeded to look behind every bush and tree, and yet still coming out empty handed.
"What's going on?" Ayame demanded while glaring at the hanyou, standing up and brushing herself off with a great amount of distaste. "And where's Kouga?"
"Could you shut it?" InuYasha pivoted to sneer at her. "I'm trying to think."
Walking towards him, she demanded, "Think of what?"
InuYasha nearly rolled his eyes in annoyance; however, it was not the time to be getting in a fight. With a glance around, he noted that the wild fire was growing in size and was much too erotic now to stay where they were. "Of a plan to get us out of here."
He could only hope that Kagome had gotten away safely, too.
-
Kagome sat bolt upright in a flourish, panting hard. Indeed she came up so fast that her head nearly collided with the one that had previously been looming over her. Her company leaned back to avoid being too close and stared at the raven haired girl accusingly.
"Bankotsu!" She breathed, looking as though she couldn't believe her eyes.
And in all honesty, she hardly could. He was awake and breathing, and alive with enough energy to look at her as if she was highly distrustful. The only tell tale sign that hinted to the fact that he'd been mortally injured was the dried blood crusted on the front and back of his haori.
He didn't answer her, either, opting to simply glare while Kagome looked around, puzzled. "Where are we?" She asked.
"Had to relocate," He said curtly. "Didn't want to die at the hands of a stupid fire."
Kagome started at the evident coldness in his voice. Bankotsu's voice was never like that. Sure, he was a ruthless mercenary, but somehow he always found a way to remain so naïve sounding, and so childish.
"Bankotsu…" Kagome began reproachfully. "Is everything… okay?"
Even as the words escaped her lips, Kagome knew that they were unnecessary. She could pretty much tell that everything was not alright easily enough without his input.
"Everything is just fucking dandy," He snapped and stood up. "Where is my Banryuu?"
"Wait!" Kagome stumbled clumsily to her feet and ran to catch up to his retreating form. He had not even waited to hear her answer. "Please wa -"
But the rest of her sentence died gracefully as he whipped around so sharply that she nearly fell over. His eyes scared her the most, though. They were stormy and narrowed dangerously. If only looks could kill…
"I really don't think that this is the appropriate time," He spat nastily, giving her a disgusted once-over.
"Listen to what I have to say!" Kagome cried desperately, reaching out to grab a tanned wrist to hold him, lest he decide to vanish into thin air. "Please," She said, her plea calmer and more refined this time.
She actually thought that he might listen to her. Instead, she was left standing alone with nothing but her ghosts as he snatched his arm back and hissed, "I'm not here for your disposal."
And then he left.
-
"Aniki!" Jakotsu spluttered, absolutely glowing as he tore free of Kouga's claws and proceeded to throw himself into his leader's arms. Bankotsu laughed, as if he had not a care in the world, and the Wolf Prince only scowled and straightened himself out.
"Hey there, Ja," Bankotsu greeted, and anyone could hear the smile in his voice as he held Jakotsu by his shoulders and pushed him away from himself so that he could properly view him. "Let's not get unprofessional now, shall we?"
The Snake made a little noise of approval and nodded excitedly. But then, as if flicking a switch, his elated mood turned dark.
Features shadowed, he muttered, "You took a long leave."
Bankotsu grinned. "It was no vacation, believe me." Then he looked to Kouga. "Hey, thanks for baby sittin' Ja for me while I was gone."
Both males ignored Jakotsu's immediate protests while Kouga answered, "You can pay me back later. For now I think we better regroup."
"Oh, I'm sorry," The Shichinintai leader tilted his head to the side innocently as Jakotsu came to stand beside him. His tone dripped with sickly sweet sarcasm. "But the last time I looked, we weren't on the same side."
Kouga stiffened instantly, standing rigidly by himself, opposing the two humans. "Bastards," He growled, fists clenching. "We helped you."
"And that was very, very generous of you," Bankotsu said flippantly while Jakotsu snickered. "But it was unnecessary all the same."
"You would be dead right now if it weren't for Kagome and InuYasha!" He bellowed back in defense, and when Jakotsu scoffed, Kouga pointed a sharp fingernail at him. "You, too!"
Bankotsu found himself smirking. "That's all very good, but we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for them- especially the girl."
"You would've been fucked over in the end, either way."
"And how do you figure?"
Kouga licked his lips. "Don't tell me you're naïve enough to believe that Naraku would actually keep you around. You have his jewel shards, and Naraku isn't a man known for sharing."
"This is our second shot at life," Jakotsu interjected. "As long as it's good and filled with killing, torturing and pillaging, then who cares if it's short?"
"Get it through your thick skull," Kouga gritted, addressing both Shichinintai. "Kagome was trying to save you the experience of dying again."
"I can't honestly see how she could do such a thing after hearing about all the bad things we've done."
Kouga was on Bankotsu the second the words left his lips. Moving like a blur thanks to the Shikon shards in his legs, the wolf slammed Bankotsu against a tree with the pure speed of his movements, and held him fast with his forearm pressed against the Shichinintai leader's throat.
"Piss off," Bankotsu managed through clenched teeth. Jakotsu observed from the background, knowing better than to interfere.
Kouga let his elbow dig into the exposed neck of his prey and Bankotsu struggled fruitlessly, being held a few inches off the ground and bringing his hands up to claw at the offending limb.
"Not until you hear what I have to say," Kouga issued, totally in control.
"Then start talking," Bankotsu warned him, his voice coming out a little strained.
"You're the luckiest man in the whole world," He confessed truthfully, looking down for a fleeting second. "At first, I didn't know why the hell my Kagome would bother with a scum bag like you, that is, until I realized that she was in love with you."
Bankotsu let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as Kouga relieved some of the pressure off his neck and lowered him down so that his bare feet touched ground once more. "What are you saying?"
"I'M SAYING SHE LOVES YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH, IT ISN'T THAT HARD TO UNDERSTAND!"
Bankotsu was silent. There was no denying that he too felt something for the girl, but as to what that feeling was, he didn't know. Or maybe he did, but was just too stubborn to admit it.
"Believe me," Kouga carried on quietly. "Whatever happened between you and Kagome was a mistake. It was nothing more than a misunderstanding, and I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt her and I doubt she meant to hurt you.
"Whatever goes down in the end, I hardly think you deserve someone like Kagome on your side."
He didn't know how long he stood there without saying anything, but he didn't care and Kouga didn't seem to mind. In a strange, twisted, and unfamiliar way, what the Wolf said did seem to make sense. After getting to know Kagome, Bankotsu highly doubted that the priestess would make up a lie about him and another female.
If he had learned anything at all, it would have been that she had a great amount of self-respect. But that was a good thing, wasn't it? She wasn't a chick that you'd have to constantly reassure that she was pretty and all the other things she wanted to hear. Of course she would have tossed him if she heard that he fooled around with some other girl.
"Will you let me go to her?" He proposed suddenly.
Kouga reluctantly released him and backed off. "If you're lying and using this as a getaway, know that I'll hunt you down."
"As fun as that sounds, I'm unfortunately telling the truth."
"Lucky for you."
"Just… do me a favor?"
Cocking an inquisitive brow, Kouga jibed, "Not that your in any position to ask one."
"You're gonna have to watch Jakotsu again for me in my absence." There was a playful, mocking edge to his voice now.
Jakotsu let out a scream of frustration as he was once again recaptured and Bankotsu left, somehow knowing where he was going, even with the thick, dense like haze that stuck to the air and made it near impossible to see.
He was following something, and it just might have been his heart.
-
"Kagome!"
Kagome swiveled and looked around wildly. Still seeing nothing, she looked over her shoulders, but the smoke from the fire was making it too hard to locate who the voice was coming from.
The voice was male and extremely familiar. She had definitely heard it before. It was on the tip of her tongue – why couldn't she seem to remember?
Could it be Bankotsu, coming back for her? Kami, if it was… she swore to herself then and there that if he came back looking for her, she'd hold on to him and never let go.
"Kagome," Someone heaved a sigh of relief to her right, and with a lump already forming in her throat, Kagome whirled round on the ball of her foot to fall to someone's unexpecting embrace.
"Bankotsu," She said, wrapping her arms tightly around the person's middle and closing her eyes. "You have to let me explain."
"Bankotsu?" A second voice echoed, this time female, sounding confused and slightly put-off.
Kagome's brown eyes snapped open and she pulled away abruptly, coming face to face with Miroku, who was looking at her with a sheepish and embarrassed expression on his face.
"Miroku? Sango?" Kagome said aloud, if only to convince herself, as the facts were already laid out before her. Bankotsu hadn't come back – it was only her friends.
"You mean we're not who you're lookin' for?" Miroku cracked, offering Kagome a grin.
"Uhnnn," Kagome was forced to look away, a fierce blush igniting her cheeks and giving them vivid colour.
"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango asked, sounding rather business-like, and Kagome supposed that she was still mad that Kagome had lied to her to protect the Shichinintai leader.
Kagome nodded feebly.
"Good. Now, where is InuYasha?"
-
Somehow, by some ill attempted joke made by Kami herself, they all wound up finding each other at the same time, coming together to crowd a small clearing in the forest that was not near large enough to hold all of them, especially when more than one of its occupants wasn't playing nicely.
Ayame bounded to Kouga who was forced to let go of Jakotsu in order to protect himself, which led to Jakotsu charging at Kagome and InuYasha running to help. Further more, Kouga managed to worm away from his crazed fiancé only to march up to InuYasha and slug him across the face for some reason or another, or maybe none at all, and Miroku saw fit to join in and poke the irate Kouga in the chest with his staff.
Nothing short of mayhem, Bankotsu and Sango were the only life forms who did not lower themselves to such stupidity, and both of them found it rather awkward standing beside each other.
"I'm Bankotsu," Bankotsu introduced himself and gave the taijiya a mock salute, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, I know," Sango grumbled. "I hear your name everywhere."
Bankotsu shrugged and chuckled to himself while observing the ruckus before him. "And you all thought I was insane…" He said as though he had never heard anything so absurd.
"With good reason."
"Maybe," Bankotsu trailed off distantly, and Sango had to strain to hear the answer over all the shouting and yelling. But the Shichinintai leader swept forwards regardless, his movements unintentionally fluent and analyzed harshly by the demon slayer.
Leaving the brunette behind and being swallowed into the mess that was flailing fists and well-aimed kicks, Bankotsu ducked easily beneath an arm and smirked when he heard Ayame curse. "Ouch, watch it, that's my hair!"
He found Kagome without too much of a problem, and watched her for a moment before approaching. She was trying to escape the tangle, unsuccessfully of course, and Bankotsu presumed that it was only polite to help her out. So, taking her hand in his, he led her to safety inconspicuously enough that no one seemed to notice.
"Changed your mind?" She asked playfully after they'd gotten far enough away, looking up at him with sparking chocolate brown orbs.
Bankotsu reached out cautiously to touch her hair adoringly, his fingers lingering hesitantly before guiding the dark tendrils behind her ear. "Call it a change of heart."
She smiled at him and put her hand on top of his that was still resting against the side of her head. "And who do I owe my thanks for this great achievement?"
The assassin tilted his head back, hardly willing to give credit. "The wolf, actually," He answered finally, coming to meet her eyes once again.
"You seem hesitant."
The older teen blinked a few times at Kagome's soft words. "I haven't really done this before," he admitted.
Kagome took a step closer so that their bodies were touching, and slowly she wrapped her arms around him and rested her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes. "You're doing great," she mumbled contentedly.
She felt his body rumble with soft laughter. "Good to know I have your approval."
-
"I'm sorry."
Kagome offered InuYasha a small smile. "I forgive you."
-
"Kouga?"
"Hey, Kagome."
"I don't know what you did, but I want to thank you."
Bankotsu only chuckled at InuYasha's obvious discomfort as Kagome gave Kouga a friendly hug.
-
"Nice to finally meet you," Bankotsu admonished and held his hand out for Ayame to take, while Kagome stood back with a raging blush that she tried her hardest to conceal.
-
"I suppose it's my turn to do the apologizing."
Without waiting for a reply, Kagome continued. "I was wrong…" She admitted quietly to her shoes. "I made a huge mistake. I didn't say anything even though I knew you were a good person. I knew you weren't all that they said you were. I just wish I had of believed in you, if not myself. You wouldn't have let me down."
Kagome whispered as she reached up and touched Bankotsu's cheek, the back of her hand brushing against the scars that Naraku's poisonous claws had left. "I'm so sorry."
And without another glance she turned her back on him to hide the rush of emotion that was probably making itself visible on her face. She took a few steps away and sniffed.
And then she was being dragged backwards by her wrist and she twirled around just to smash lips with the one and only Bankotsu of the Shichinintai. He grabbed both of her hands with his own and pulled her closer as he kissed her.
Kagome made a little "mmph" sound in surprise, but quickly relaxed into the gesture. She pulled away abruptly and stared into his eyes. "I…Bankotsu, I think I'm in love with you," she said finally.
Bankotsu pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her. "You think?" He chuckled into her hair.
"Okay, okay," Kagome laughed, feeling the happiest she had ever felt in a long time. "I am most defiantly infatuated with you."
He bowed his head so he could kiss her again. "Good," he mumbled against her lips.
---
---
O W A R I
-Huge, HUGE thank-you to everyone who read this fic and supported me. I know it's been dragged out far too long, but it's finally over. And seriously, now that it's all over, I don't want to let Ban/Kag go! So if anyone has any ideas whatsoever, msg me and I'll make another InuYasha fic out of it.
-I ended up ending the story with Naraku still alive, so that if I ever want to, I can write a sequel. They live happily ever after for now, though. Cute!
-For anyone who is interested, I've posted a new BanKag one-shot called Baby Blues. If you've got time I'd love it if you could check it out.