Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
XXX
By the time they found the mansion, the rain had subdued. Sango walked inside with Hiten's arm over her shoulder. He was too weak to even be in the mood to argue and was barely conscious. Kagome jumped off Inuyasha's back and the hanyou carried Abi inside. Miroku continued to assist the young, injured mercenary inside. They walked in and all sighed.
Sango set Hiten down, Bankotsu plopped beside him, and Inuyasha gently lay Abi down.
"Oh…my…gods…" Jakotsu walked in the room and dropped his sword. They all looked over and Inuyasha gulped when he saw it was him that he was staring at. "Inuyasha!" He lunged at him and Inuyasha tried to run to the side but it was too late. He was tackled to the ground. "I missed you so much!" Jakotsu tightly wrapped his arms around his neck and sat at the hanyou's waist. "You and your little ears too."
"Get off me!" Inuyasha pushed him off.
"Ok…we need to heal all of you…" Kagome frowned.
"What's going on?" Yura walked in. She gasped and sat beside Abi. "Will she be ok?"
"She should be fine." Sango answered. "She just needs medicines to keep it from getting infected and rest…"
"Hiten!" She jumped from Abi to the thunder demon, who was forcing himself to keep his eyes open.
"And Bankotsu….are you going to help?" She looked up to Sango.
"Yeah…Sango and Kagome can start bandaging us…" Inuyasha said as he dusted off his clothes. He felt someone rub his ears and looked over his shoulder and saw Jakotsu.
"I've always wanted to touch them!" He smiled.
"I can help you with the bandaging." Yura smiled.
"I'm useless…" Jakotsu shrugged.
"Alright…I'll take Abi…she looks like she needs the most." Kagome crouched in front of the princess and jumped when she felt a rough hand clutch her wrist. She looked to the side of Abi and saw Hiten.
"If she dies…you die…" He whispered.
"Hey! Don't be throwing around threats when we're here saving your asses." Inuyasha yelled as he removed his kimono.
"Last time I checked, my ass was perfectly safe." Bankotsu rolled his eyes.
"Will you stop staring at me?!" Inuyasha glared at Jakotsu, whose eyes filled with excitement as he removed his kimono.
"I could bandage that wound for you…if you wanted…" He winked and Inuyasha twisted his face in disgust.
"Hiten looks like he might need your medicines too, Kagome." Sango frowned.
"I could always help." Miroku walked up to them.
"How about worrying about your friend rather than the bad guys?" Inuyasha spat as he sat down. He was panting under his breath, truly exhausted.
"Alright, I'll do Abi and Sango, you can do Hiten."
"My fucking bone is shattered! Don't you think I deserve some of these great medicines?" Bankotsu glared.
"Take him, I don't need them." Hiten said with lidded eyes.
"You're in bad condition." Yura looked at his cut up body.
"I'll be…fine…" He said between his deep breaths.
"Don't be so fucking modest." Inuyasha glared.
"Listen, half-breed, I never asked for your help and once I'm better, I'm going after you." He glared.
"Wow…these fights are so much more interesting now." Jakotsu smiled. Bankotsu sighed, feeling guilty.
"No, the slayer can heal you." He smiled.
"I said I'm fine." He snapped and everyone around him went silent. "What the hell are you still doing here?" He glared at Kagome. "Go heal Abi!" She grunted and Miroku picked up Abi and followed Kagome to a room. "Now you take the mercenary." He glared at Sango.
"I said for you to take it."
"Take. The. Fucking. Medicine." He glared daggers. "Get your wounds bandaged and I better not hear you bitch about the pain." Sango helped Bankotsu to his feet and led him down the hall. "Yura, heal mutt-face."
"What about you?"
"Heal him." He ordered. She hesitated but walked up to Inuyasha.
"I don't trust you." He glared.
"If we trust you, you should trust us." She crossed her arms. He let out a sigh of defeat and followed her.
"What about you?" Jakotu asked.
"I'll be…fine…" He eased himself to his feet and walked to the porch. It was wet still from the rain, but that didn't bother him.
XXX
"Hey, uh…what's that?" Bankotsu asked Sango as he pointed down to the bottle
"It's one of Kagome's remedies…it stops infection." She poured the bottle of liquid onto a rag.
"Rubbing alcohol?" He asked as he read the bottle.
"Mhm." She smiled and nodded. She brought it to his shoulder and he hissed.
"That shit burns!" He fell on his side in attempt to get away from her.
"You need it!" She growled. He was a mercenary and he was acting like a child.
"I do not need to get my skin burned off last time I checked." He replied defensively.
"Dammit, sit still or I'll hold you down." She glared.
"Psh, I'd like to see you try." He smirked. No less than a second later, she was sitting at his waist and had the top of his kimono pulled down so his bad shoulder was exposed. He let out a yell in pain as she put pressure on the wound with the 'rubbing alcohol'. After a few minutes she removed it and he gasped for air before calming down. "So…you like the top?" He smirked and she slapped him across the face. She got off him and pulled out bandages.
"Take off your armor and shirt."
"Damn, demanding too…I bet you like it rough." He smiled as he untied his armor and she rolled her eyes. She began to wrap his wounded shoulder and heard an occasional hiss and groan as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"What else did you hurt?"
"My knee…" He frowned as he looked down, then he smiled. "Want me to take my pants off?" He winked and Sango's face got red with anger. She slapped him across the face again. "Aw, come on…"
"No…" She went to his knee and rolled up his white pants, learning that they tucked into the gray material that covered his calves. His knee was swollen and bruised on the side.
"He hits hard." He said defensively. "But I barely felt a thing." He smiled cockily and she rolled her eyes. He was uncomfortable again as she wrapped the bandage around it.
"Is that all?"
"You can't do anything about the bone/"
"No…that will heal over time." She frowned. "Sorry."
"Hey don't be, I mean, healing is one thing, but you make it fun."
"What do you mean?"
"Well come on, you sat basically in my lap if you get what I mean, slapped me twice, and you're fun to humiliate…like right now…you're face is fucking red." He smiled. Then another stinging sensation came across his cheek. "And there's strike three."
XXX
Inuyasha twitched as Yura sat behind him. In between every time she wrapped the bandage around his abs, she stroked his hair.
"I'm not a dog ya know!" He finally snapped.
"But you're a dog demon, correct?" She smiled and he grunted. "Don't mind the others. Hiten just acts mean and Bankotsu is only joking…Abi's kind of cold, but once you get to know her she's really a sweetheart…and you already know I'm nice." She giggled.
"Oh yeah…what about Jakotsu?" He scoffed, waiting for her kind words about him.
"Oh, he's practically in love with you."
"Huh?" His back shot up.
"Sit still!" She glared and he just obeyed. This was the most confusing and awkward decision he had ever made. What was he thinking? The blood loss must've affected his brain.
XXX
Kagome sighed as she looked down to the woman she just bandaged. She stirred a little.
"Hiten?" She mumbled.
"No it's me…"
"Mmm…." She closed her eyes again. Her shirt was useless since it was cut completely open and stained with blood. She used the bandages to wrap around the woman's rather large chest, but they still didn't look like they'd hold out. She stood up and walked out of the room. Maybe she could lend her Inuyasha's kimono or something.
"Miroku?" She asked as she saw him leaning against the wall. "What are you doing here."
"Kagome…do you remember the first time we met Jakotsu?" He asked in complete seriousness.
"Hardly."
"He called me sexy, Kagome. I do not want to be alone in a room with another man who believes me to be 'sexy'." He still wasn't even smirking.
"Don't you take those things as a compliment?"
"When they come from a woman's lips, then its very, very different…I mean…"
"Isn't Hiten out there?"
"When I checked, no." He frowned.
"Oh…well, come on." She walked ahead of him and sure enough, there was Jakotsu, looking bored out of his mind.
"Hey there, monk?" He licked his lips and Miroku jumped behind Kagome. She rolled her eyes.
"Where is Hiten?"
"I dunno." He shrugged. "I think he's outside." Kagome nodded and hesitantly walked outside. He was sitting with his back against the wall. His head slowly bobbed downward but he snapped it up every time it went down, forcing himself awake. Probably out of fear of losing consciousness.
"Hiten?" She whispered and he jumped. He faced her and she remembered the fear of him she felt the first time she had seen him. "You should let me look at your wounds."
"I should do as I please." He snapped. "Is she ok?"
"Yeah…I just bandaged her…" He got to his feet and limped towards her.
"Take me to her."
"She needs rest!" Kagome yelled and he snarled.
"I said take me to her or I'll kill you right here!"
"She's not even conscious yet, I think the last thing she wants is you watching her while she sleeps!"
"You have no idea about her wants!" He yelled and she winced. "Now bring me to her." He practically whispered. She glared at him before leading him inside. They walked down the hall.
"I do not like it!" They heard Sango yell at Bankotsu through the wall. They winced and heard the mercenary laugh.
"I said I'm not a dog!" Inuyasha shouted from his room. "I don't care if my hair is 'pretty' or shiny, get away." Kagome smirked a little to that and Hiten remained un-amused. She slid the door open and he roughly pushed her aside before walking in the room.
"Hey!" She yelled as she got to her feet.
"Sh." He glared and kneeled beside Abi. He untied his armor.
"What are you doing?" Kagome angrily whispered. He rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt over his head. It was mostly covered by the armor so there was hardly any blood on it. He sat her up. "Stop it!" Kagome stormed toward him but stopped when she saw what he was doing. He pulled his shirt over Abi's head and pulled her limp arms through the sleeves before laying her back down.
"She'll live…right?"
"She should." Kagome crossed her arms.
"Then you can leave us."
"What about you?"
"I said leave us."
XXX
"He's just getting back." Renkotsu approached Naraku.
"I see." He chuckled. Less than a minute later, the albino child himself stood before him. "Where have you been?"
"I managed to kill Manten." He replied.
"Very good…start potting with Renkotsu." He smirked. Hakudoshi nodded and began to walk away with Renkotsu not far behind him. "Oh, and Hakudoshi." He stopped dead in his tracks and waited for Naraku to continue. "You killed Juromaru too…right?" His purple eyes got wide. How did he know about Juromaru? How much did he know about Juromaru? Did he know that he brought him back to kill Naraku?
"Yeah…" He anxiously waited.
"Good…go on." He heard Naraku snicker…he had to have figured out by now what Hakudoshi was plotting.
XXX
Bankotsu, Sango, Inuyasha, Yura, Miroku, and Jakotsu sat in the sitting room.
"What? My hair isn't good enough for you?" Bankotsu glared at Yura as she ran her fingers through Inuyasha's hair.
"It is, but Inuyasha's is so much nicer." She smiled. Kagome scoffed.
"Hey! What is that supposed to mean? And I told you to stop!" He shook Yura off.
"I could always do your hair, Inuyasha." Jakotsu winked.
"Stay away from me!"
"I don't get why you all like him so much, the ninja is way cooler." Bankotsu smirked.
"I'm not a ninja." She rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, you know, she's way more interesting."
"How so?" Sango asked skeptically.
"Well, for one, I learned you like the top, you're extremely violent, and you get…'flustered' very easily." He smirked.
"Wow…sounds like you had fun." Jakotsu sarcastically remarked.
"I am not like that!" Sango clenched her fists.
"Actually…you kind of are. I mean, I'm not sure about the whole top thing and…wait…how did he know about that?" Miroku asked.
"Nothing happened!" She snapped and everyone shrunk back.
XXX
She slowly opened her eyes and glanced around. At the side of her sat Hiten. Her vision was blurry and she didn't move until it adjusted. He was sitting up and his eyes were focused on the ground.
"What happened?" She mumbled and he looked over to her.
"Inuyasha and the others came back with and healed us." He didn't move from his spot.
"Why aren't your wounds tended?" She propped herself up on her elbows.
"I'm fine." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. She slowly crawled beside him.
"Let me look at them?"
"I'm fine." He repeated.
"Hiten…denying and ignoring the wounds wont make them go away and wont make you look more powerful." If she could yell, she would.
"I do need anything looked at."
"Please…if your wounds get infected…you might die…" Tears welled up in her eyes.
"I won't die…"
"How can you say that? Hiten…we lost Kagura…and Manten…" She finished in almost a whisper.
"No…I lost Manten." He frowned and broke their gaze.
"It's ok to mourn a loss." She cupped his cheek in her hand and forced him to face her.
"A loss is a loss." He said coldly and got to his feet.
"Are you that heartless? He was your brother and I know that if none of us were here, you would be fucking crying!"
"Crying is for the weak." He whispered as he held the wall for support.
"Then I must be pretty damn weak because I wasted a lot of tears on your sorry ass." She glared and he looked over his shoulder at her. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it. he had nothing left to say. "You know he would cry for you."
"He was killed because he was the weakest…onlt the weak cry." He looked away.
"Then what are you doing right now?" He didn't respond, just kept staring at the door. "Hiten look at me." She ordered. "I said look!" She yelled and he slowly turned his whole body around to face her. A single tear rolled down his cheek and he collapsed to his knees. She crawled forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stroked the back of his head and frowned when she felt his hair matted with dried blood. He had taken the worst beating.
"I relived the worst moment of my life…I deserve the pain and suffering…" He whispered.
"It wasn't your fault…"
"If I would've stayed out there in the mountains…he would've lived. Even if I didn't listen to Hakudoshi…" He heard his voice slightly crack.
"Hiten…don't blame yourself."
"Then who the hell is there to blame." He pulled away from her embrace and looked into her eyes. "Hakudoshi and…you…" His eyes got wide.
"Me?" She cocked her eyebrow at him.
"You…you came for me in that mountain…you made me feel guilty…" He growled. "And it was because of you I fucking left in the first place." He snarled.
"Hiten…you aren't thinking clearly…calm down." She put her hands on his shoulders and he pushed her away. "I despise you…" He got to his feet and held his head. He stopped walking, but his feet lead him backwards and his back hit the wall. "Hiten!" Abi crawled forward and his body hit the ground.
XXX
"Ten bucks says I can chug this." Bankotsu smiled.
"No way in hell. That's too big…even for you." Jakotsu smiled. "You're on!"
"Is this really what you do for amusement?" Inuyasha impatiently shook his knee as he sat cross-legged.
"No, usually there's Abi or Hiten to fight with or annoy." Bankotsu snickered.
XXX
"Stay awake…" She shook his shoulder and he lifted his head. There was a blast of fire from outside and it hit the wall. She gasped.
XXX
"What was that?" Inuyasha jumped to his feet. After the mansion shook, Bankotsu gagged on his sake.
"You owe me!" Jakotsu laughed.
"Aren't you going to see what that was?" Kagome asked.
"Nah, it was probably Abi and Hiten fighting…and that was unfair!"
"Guys…I don't think it was Hiten and Abi…" Yura frowned.
"Why not?" Jakotsu asked.
"Because they're leaving the room." She pointed and they all looked down the hall. Abi had Hiten's arm over her shoulder and used the wall to keep her own weak body at balance.
"There's a man…" She panted. "He's spitting fire." Bankotsu and Jakotsu's eyes got wide.
"Renkotsu…" They whispered in unison.
XXX
Bwahaha! I haven't left you with a cliffie in a while…have I now? Its ok, because by the time I do actually post this, I'll probably be done with the next chapter. Please review! XD