Chapter One

"I must say, that was a quick mission." The young mercenary leader said as he and his band of brothers made their way back towards the village where they were headed to collect their pay.

"Big Brother Bankotsu, do you think the young man will come through on his deal?" Jakotsu asked and Bankotsu, their leader, smirked as he adjusted his great halberd on his shoulder.

"He better unless he wants a taste of Banryu here." Bankotsu said with a smirk as the blade glinted in the sunlight.

"Hey what's going on down there?" Suikotsu, another of the members, asked and Bankotsu raised an eyebrow, looking down at the village they were approaching. Suikotsu continued dragging the body in the sack behind him as they walked, every once in a while getting it snagged on a rock.

"I'm not sure." Bankotsu answered as they saw a small army of samurai gathered in the middle of the village. Bankotsu proceeded with caution, keeping his eyes on the general that he spotted up ahead.

"Look! They have returned!" One of the samurai called, Bankotsu narrowing his eyes and looking around.

"Bankotsu, leader of the Band of Seven?" The general demanded as he dismounted his horse, stepping towards the group.

"What do you want?" Bankotsu demanded in return as he stepped forward.

"Follow me. And only you." the general said before heading to a small house, stepping through the door and disappearing inside. Bankotsu handed Banryu over to one of his men before following the man inside. He was met with the scene of an older man and who he assumed was his crying wife sitting on a pair of floor pillows. A younger man, the spitting image of the general, sat across from them, looking down at his hands until they both entered. He was the same young man who had sent the Band of Seven out on the mission they had just returned from.

"What's going on?" Bankotsu asked as he and the general went to sit, "Wait, where's the woman that was with you last time?" The young man looked up at Bankotsu, who was trying to remember his name. Haru? Haruto? Hideki?

"My son, Hayato, his fiancee was kidnapped once your group left this week for your mission."

"Hayato? Close enough." Bankotsu thought before he heard the rest of the general's statement, "I didn't take her if that's what you were assuming." he defended as he made a move to stand.

"That's not what I meant." Hayato said as he looked over at the young mercenary, "What I mean is, I'll pay you if you return her to me safely." Bankotsu looked over at him as if he was stupid.

"You want me to do what?" Bankotsu asked, wondering if he had heard him right.

"I want you to return my future wife to me." Hayato said as Bankotsu smirked, shaking his head.

"I don't know if you realized this or not, but I'm a mercenary. I kill. I don't save." Bankotsu said as the occupants in the room frowned.

"What if we pay you double?" the general asked.

"I'm not a babysitter. I'll be glad to collect my pay and leave." Bankotsu said as he stood to leave.

"Double plus two weeks supplies." Hayato said as he stood as well.

"Listen, do you even know where the hell she is?" Bankotsu asked, remembering the face of the quiet young girl that had been in the room at the time of Hayato's request to Bankotsu to kill a man murdering people of the village. No one said a word, "So what makes you think that if I was to accept this mission that I would know? Now if you'll be so kind to hand me my pay so my brothers and I can leave."

"Triple the payment." Hayato replied, too stubborn to give in. Bankotsu felt his blood starting to boil and his temper rising at the annoying young man.

"I'm not going to -."

"Plus a month's worth of supplies."

"Now we're talking." Bankotsu said as he turned to look at the four people, "I'll accept, if you can give me any clue to where she might be."

"Well, we're not entirely sure about-."

"Lord Hayato, my son, Kyo, has something to tell you." a young woman said as she walked in with a small child clinging to her kimono. The child looked up at Bankotsu, fear obvious in his eyes.

"What is it?" Hayato asked as the woman pushed the small child forward.

"Go on sweetie, tell them what you told me." the woman said soothingly.

"I heard that…I heard Lady Araiya's captor say that he was taking her across the western mountain range." the young boy answered.

"Why do you want me to do this anyways? Why don't you and your samurai go get her?" Bankotsu asked and the general stood.

"We're leading an invasion north of here tonight, and we were going to ask you and your brothers to help us when you returned. So if you go, will your brothers help us fight?"

"My brothers are going with me."

"I don't trust a group of men looking after my Araiya, so I only wanted you to go get her. You are the leader of the Band of Seven. You are very strong and I know that you can protect her. My father needs their help in the invasion. If the invasion doesn't happen now, we'll lose our chance to gain control of that territory. We wanted to get there before their reinforcements arrived." Hayato said.

"Fine. I'll go get the girl. You better have those supplies and that money ready by the time I get back." Bankotsu said as Hayato and the others bowed to him.

"Thank you."

"This is against my nature, but the pay is too good to pass up. Don't ever expect another search and rescue mission from me ever again. Keep ahold of your woman when I bring her back." Bankotsu said before walking out the door to meet his brothers, "You all are staying here to help lead an invasion. I'm going to go get a young girl and return her to her rightful village." Bankotsu said as he took back his halberd.

"Lord Bankotsu, here is your pay from the other mission!" Hayato said as he ran up to him and handed him a pouch of money. Bankotsu tucked it inside his armor, his brothers looking at him confused.

"What?" Bankotsu asked, looking at each of them.

"You…you're going to save someone?" Jakotsu asked and Bankotsu shrugged.

"Pay's too good to pass up. I'll be back soon, you guys have fun in the invasion." Bankotsu said as he went to leave.

"Wait…why aren't the samurai and their general going to save the girl if her return is so important?" Suikotsu asked, Bankotsu shrugging again.

"I dunno, they're all idiots. Apparently the invasion is more important. Anyways, I'll see you all in a week or so. Kill some people for me too, okay?" Bankotsu said over his shoulder as he began walking down a path towards the western mountain range.

"I…don't get it." Jakotsu said as Kyokotsu shrugged, "Why would brother save someone?"

"Because, like he said, the pay must be too good to pass up." Renkotsu answered.

A/N: So this is my third Inuyasha story, and my other two have nothing to do with this one lol This is a totally separate story from Crimson Moon and Endless Hopes. I'm hoping my dedicated readers from the others will enjoy this too, along with new readers. So to all of those who read, even if you don't like it, thank you for taking the time to check it out. Always appreciated. Love always, HellKaisersAngel