Episode 60: While He Was Gone…
A nasty grin stretched across as he approached the sleeping girl. That brother of Inuyasha must have thought they were far enough for them to stop. How little did he know; after all, Bankotsu was always the fastest runner, even before he revived. He just had the ability to cover miles in a few minutes without being tired. He watched the girl's stomach rise a few centimeters before she sucked it back in a slow rhythm.
The way she was sleeping so peacefully meant that she was unaware of his presence. His footing slowed to a brisk walk as his foot dug his way through the thick grass. When he knelt down, he swung down Banryuu onto her, until the cold steel almost touched her skin. He waited for a few more seconds, gradually lowering it when just at the right time, Mika awoke.
Her brown eyes that looked like hazel when she was happy were now a pale brown. Her eyes widened as her fingers clutched bits of gravel. Bankotsu only showed his gleaming whites as he absorbed in her fear. He always loved it when they screamed.
"He'll smell your blood, won't he?" he asked. A sweat drop rolled down her cheek. She pursed her lips.
"I… don't know who you're talking about."
"Sesshoumaru," Bankotsu said.
I knew that. I was just stalling, Mika thought, desperately trying to think of a way to get the blade off her shoulder. But if she made a sudden movement, he would either slice her arm off or dismantle her head by sliding the metal into her neck. What a bloody firework that would be, if he decided to do such thing.
Then all of a sudden, Bankotsu threw aside the blade. He burst into laughter and flung his finger at her.
"AHAHA!!! LOOK AT YOUR FACE! YOU WERE REALLY SCARED!" He tumbled over to his side and held his aching stomach. "You're so fun to tease!"
Mika blinked a few times before grabbing Banyruu and bonking Bankotsu with it.
"You… really scared me," she said, before hitting him a second time.
"A good scare can make you happy, you know." He sat up and threw his arm over her shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm not planning to kill you yet." A gleeful laughter followed after that.
Why did he have to add the word yet? she pondered, not joining in his guffawing.
"You stink," she said, throwing his arm aside and edging away. "You smell like blood."
Bankotsu stopped laughing. "I smell of blood?"
"It's all over you. How can I not smell it?"
He glanced at her awkwardly. He had taken a bath, scrubbed really clean and she could smell it clearly? Oh well. He stood up and fetched Banryuu. "Any idea where your boyfriend is?"
"He is not my boyfriend!" she insisted, jumping up but then suddenly falling back down. She coughed and looked at her hand with the same fearful eyes she had faced toward him earlier. In the corner of his eye, he could spot a handful of red liquid dripping down her hand.
"You sick or something?"
Mika shook her head. "No. I was just…" She tried to laugh and wiped the blood onto her white kimono top before getting back onto her feet. Where was Sesshoumaru? He'd said he be back. Did he abandon her?
"MIKA!"
She spun around, but a hand grabbed her shoulder, halting her action. But from the tone and the voice, she knew it was Yukuro. She hurried to listen for more footsteps, for that would give evidence that Sesshoumaru was there, but only the wind passing through the tree was the other sound.
The snake herbalist was covered in mud and there were sticks in her hair. That meant she had recently been running through harsh land to meet her. She patted her head and stroked her silvery wisps of hair in an effort to calm her down. Bankotsu stood there with the blade on his shoulder before glaring Yukuro with angry eyes.
"Seriously, do you really like me that much? Am I really that good looking?"
Yukuro's face turned red from embarrassment, but Mika couldn't tell if she was embarrassed and mad, or embarrassed and blushing because she actually had a crush on him. Her hand left Mika's shoulders as her other one curled up into a fist. "You're ugly as a pine cone!"
"Huh, that's what you say. You keep following me."
"I ONLY FOLLOWED YOU BECAUSE I WAS WORRIED ABOUT MIKA!"
Mika grinned and slapped her hand onto Yukuro's back. "Yukuro, if you don't admit it soon, he'll be stolen!"
"I'M TELLING YOU, I HATE HIS GUTS! I MEAN COME ON, HE'S A KILLER!!!"
As the words came out of her mouth, Yukuro bit her tongue and gave herself a mental scolding. She had to say the wrong things that ruined the mood. She had to push away the lemons life gave her. She shut her eyes and then reopened them in slits to see if Bankotsu was mad.
He was. It was obvious he was trying to keep his identity a secret to use it for other purposes. Now that Mika knew, he couldn't very well kill the people he wanted to, now could he? After all, Mika was connected to Sesshoumaru, and Sesshoumaru was connected to a lot people he wanted to make sure they perished off the face of the earth.
Banyruu was facing the floor as he gawked at Mika like some sort of prey. His eyes were full of malice and his hands were clutching his blade very tight. The creepy aura that he kept hidden now was leaking like a balloon full of air with a hole at its side.
Yukuro's hands fled to her face in some sort of fury as she hid behind Mika. "OH GOSH I'M SO SORRY MIKA! I HAD TO OPEN MY BIG MOUTH…"
Without any words, Bankotsu thrust his gigantic sword at Mika, who dodged it successfully and pushed Yukuro aside to a tree to safety. However, a rock, which seemed to be there in the worst scenarios, was right behind her. Mika's left foot had to kick it and she had to fall not backwards but onto her stomach. As she struggled to push herself off the floor, a horrifying shadow of his blade towered over her.
"Wait, wait. Don't—"
But it was too late. He brought it down and Mika's head went flying off—
You can't do it.
"MIKA!" Yukuro screamed.
It's just a dream. You can't kill her.
The blood, he could taste it on his tongue. His eyes rolled over to Yukuro, whose face was thin with dread. He returned to look at the girl, whose body was full of blood exits. He loved blood. It was so easy to find. He cackled as a certain thought ran through his mind. Mika was gone. She was finally gone!!!
Don't you want to see me papa? Don't you want to see me? Hee hee…
The voice stopped talking and only the childish laughter filled his brain.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Kikyo had to stop and rest. She told Kohaku that there was something ominous; something so menacing it was putting Midoriko's soul to halt. This caused Kikyo's fake, clay body to stop functioning, so before they could cover any more land, they sat down on huge stones as replacement for chairs and called it a day.
However, after Kohaku finally found a comfortable spot on the bumpy rock, a man with hair that fell down to his knees stood before them. The moonlight was a poor source of light and even though it was clear he was youkai, the way he wore so much white, he practically was the moon itself. His clothes were very stylish and probably very rare and expensive. A noble, obviously. And Inuyasha's older brother.
There was the usual silence before a certain five word sentence was heard. "Inuyasha's dead miko, aren't you?"
Kohaku hurried to Kikyo's defense. "Kikyo-sama isn't anyone's miko," he countered. But Sesshoumaru ignored him. Probably because he was so inferiorly tiny compared to the towering daiyoukai.
"It's all right, Kohaku. It's reality." She turned to face Sesshoumaru with unexpected difficulty. "What is do you want?"
Sesshoumaru's eyes were exactly directed at Kikyo's, Kohaku observed. He was actually looking to the side, as if he was reluctant in what he was going to ask. Then all of a sudden, his tense posture was suddenly become a bit more composed. Did he gather enough courage?
"…The air."
"What about the air?" Kohaku and Kikyo said at the same time.
A tingling sensation ran through their bodies, even though Sesshoumaru was the only one that was alive.
"It's suffocating."
~O~O~O~O~O~
"APOLOGIZE!!!"
Her fingers were cold against his neck. So very cold. She was a good strangler, if only there was a job to pursue such as that. He couldn't breathe. He reached up and tried to strangle her, but she had long, slender arms. She was very heavy too. Her black hair was tickling his face… so distracting…
"SAY YOU'RE SORRY! SAY IT! SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT!!!"
He coughed as a few breaths of the chilly air that didn't even rival to her touch escaped his throat. He could feel his life ending already. How short it was.
Then, he felt her muscles contract. He felt her hands leaving his neck, the air hurrying to supply his lungs with air. He gasped long breaths as he watched Mika through squinted eyes. In the moonlight, her face was milk white and for a moment he thought her eyes were really golden. Then all of a sudden, a tear trickled down her cheek. She sniffed and began to cry.
Ugh… she's so heavy… he thought as she cried. He scowled. Crying was the only good thing girls could do.
I told you, you couldn't kill her. It was just a stupid dream, after all, wasn't it papa? Hee hee! Why don't you talk to her papa? Don't you want to talk to her? Hee hee!
The voice was neither girl nor boy. But Bankotsu was certain it was annoying. It was ordering him what to do? In any case, Mika's crying was bothering him anyway. Might as well go speak with her, he thought grudgingly. He sat up and took a seat beside her.
"You apologize," he said, looking away. "I won't talk to you if you don't."
Mika's mouthed "I'm sorry", but Bankotsu didn't hear a thing. So he grabbed her wrist hard and flung it up and down as a gesture for her to speak up. Mika ended up yelling her apology at him. Then she removed his fingers from her wrist and ran away, leaving crystal like teardrops behind as a reminder of what had happened.
I did it again… I hurt someone again!!! Why do I always do this, Mika wondered as she ran into the deep forests again. She always ran… avoiding her problems that were behind her, chasing her like a ravenous wolf. She wished she was stronger. That way, no one would be hurt, and no one would be blamed…
Then at that moment, a disturbing question arose in her mind. Something that she, now a miko would have never dreamt of doing.
Had she killed before?
Had she, a skinny girl possibly pregnant or sick with a disease incurable, was capable of killing in the past? Had she ever destroyed a dream, took away a child's smile, painted her hands red? She howled in fear of the answer, howling to the cold moon that was always there to listen to people's problems, but never there to soothe them.
When she was finally done sobbing and releasing her sorrows in the form of salty water, she slept, seeking refuge in the nightmares that had come back. Throughout the night, she endured those ghoulish images and the fake blood that was spilled the subconscious area of her mind. She endured to find the truth hidden in her past. She endured to see what answer she could find by searching herself.
But only the puzzling boy's smile was shown. The knife, the icy liquid flowing down her throat, and the girl crying because she took away her lover. Only the wounds she had scratched onto the man she was looking for the missing three years of her life surfaced.
So she woke up eventually, waking up cold, her nose red, and her eyes dry. She hated to be alone, and yet, she hated human company.
Why was her life so meaningless? What was she living for? Why was she so lost?
"Sesshoumaru… please come back soon," she whispered, clinging to herself.
~O~O~O~O~O~
"You seriously don't know how to talk to girls, don't you?" Yukuro said after she found out that Mika was not dead and that she had only stubbornly run away.
"So?" Bankotsu countered, just as obstinate as Mika would have said. "It was her fault."
Yukuro felt a vein break in the middle of her forehead as she flung a rock at him. "No, you're the one who attacked us first!"
"And you're the one who has a crush on me," Bankotsu teased. Yukuro screamed and clutched her hair in frustration. Men were so difficult to talk too!
Bankotsu gave her a smug smirk. "See, you're blushing."
"I AM NOT!" She covered her face with her hands and began to grit her teeth together. Calm down Yukuro, he's just being a jerk. You have to be cool. Cool… yes… that's the word…
"Look, it's a butterfly!"
Yukuro rolled her eyes. [/i]This boy is hopeless.[/i]
"Um…"
The both of them like some couple turned around at the same time to find that Mika had come back after all. She was blushing, but not as an angry beet red like Yukuro. Maybe it was because of her recent behavior.
"I'm sorry," she said, bowing. As she rose up, she held out a shaking hand. "Let's start over again! I'M HASHI MIKA!"
"Uh… yeah… um…"
She blinked twice before Yukuro whispered in his ear to tell him to shake hands with her. He winced and shook her finger. Then he let go and didn't say no more. Yukuro shoved his shoulder as a warning that if he didn't tell her his name she would kill him with her vicious venom fangs.
"The name's Bankotsu," he growled. Mika nodded her head up and down as she jumped for joy.
"It's a really cute name Bankotsu!"
"Well too bad, I don't think it's cute," he said, not buying her compliment. Yukuro sided with Mika as she agreed by shrugging her shoulders.
"I know, huh. What kind of mom would name their child "Bankotsu" anyway? It's such a weird name," she said.
"Hmmph. Whatever you say stalker."
Mika patted Yukuro's head and grinned. "Yeah stalker. You better fess up and tell him that you love him before some girl steals him away!"
Yukuro brushed away her hand and glared at her with a cherry colored face. "I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM! GEEZ; CAN'T YOU DROP THE SUBJECT???"
Only a handful of laughter came from the two, who seemed like childhood friends having a reunion after ten years.
~O~O~O~O~O~
A familiar green imp followed a two headed beast carrying a small girl donned in an orange kimono, with sweat dripping all over the floor that came from him. He was doing his best to lead, but instead, they were leading him. What in heavens would his lord think if he saw them right at this moment? Jaken shuddered to imagine the horrible punishments Sesshoumaru would hand over to him for being so embarrassingly unbearable.
Rin on the other hand, was not being particularly annoying, cheerful, or just there today. She was gloomy and quite silent, which worried Jaken. Little girls around the age of seven should be hyperactive even in the worst situations. If they weren't… well then, there might be something terribly wrong with them.
Fortunately, Rin was not stricken ill by some epidemic and was quite healthy this week. She simply didn't feel like singing, dancing, and occasionally tripping Jaken because of his stupidity. Today, she just wanted to meet up with Sesshoumaru as soon as possible and well… the girl that somehow followed them too. What was her name? Rin pondered for a while until Mika's face popped up.
"Ah! Mika-san!" she blurted, immediately bursting with joy. She clapped her hands and hopped off of Ah-Un. "Ne, Jaken-sama! Where's Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Jaken gave out a compressed sigh of relief, sort of glad that she was starting to regain back her liveliness. "Sesshoumaru-sama is on an important duty I'm sure. He'll come back soon, as long as we keep going straight without any detours."
But then, after a few hours of heading straight, in the end they stood at the edge of a barren cliff that was barely even sustaining its weight of rocks and stone. Jaken decided then that a small turn wouldn't hurt.
However, (and this is a big however), after making a right for eight miles, they landed into a human village that was currently being rebuilt as a stone fortress by thieves and rebels that invaded the town. Smoke and debris escaped through the pipes that the disgusting humans were creating. Dogs howled and barked as several young women that were left alive purposely for an inappropriate purpose entered the town through a large wooden gate.
"Simply horrifying," Jaken stated as they hid in a circle of three trees and two bushes acting as camouflage. He pushed the leaves back together to create a natural effect and scuttled back to a kneeling Rin. "Do humans do this all the time?"
"Do what?" Rin asked, her innocent voice giving off a vibe that she had no idea of what humans did in their short lives.
"Make iron and drag women around for dogs to smell?"
"Jaken-sama, look! It's a butterfly!"
Jaken sighed. At times, he wished Rin wasn't a child. After all, she had such a short attention span.
Then, he felt a punch on his head. A very hard punch. He spun around.
"AH—AH, AH!!! Se-Sesshoumaru-sama! What are you doing here? I thought—"
Apparently, the dog daiyoukai thought too.
"I thought I told you to keep Rin away from places like these?"
"Uh… um… no, I'm afraid you—"
"Stop talking back to me and let's go," he said, changing the subject.
And awkwardly, he didn't give him another punch. That means something must be on his mind… if he forgot, Jaken deducted. He wondered if it was that girl. She wasn't with him at the moment.
"Jaken, come over here," Sesshoumaru said.
Obediently, he hurried over and guess what his kind lord gave him—
A hurl over in the trees and a punch in the noggin.
