Title: Omurasaki
Rating: G-PG
Author: Irken Pop-Tart
Summery: A few brief moments of peace allow time for Jakotsu to ponder his own take on things.
Author's Ramble-
Well, this will be my first venture into the Inuyasha fandom, done as an entry for Undying Devotion's fanfic contest- in the hopes of -maybe- aquiring some doujinshi or such, which makes itself particularly difficult to find. Pretty self-explanatory, comments are greatly appreciated, and in no-way are these characters mine. Though I'd do backflips to make claims on Jakotsu/Bankotsu, unfortunately, they -do- belong to the great Rumiko.
(Incedently, if you've not, check out her early works in Urusei Yatsura... If you can stand incomprehensible madness anyway)
-Zam,
The Irken Pop-Tart
Butterflies.
He had always had such a fascination with them, from his childhood, his only fond memories, were those which somehow, included a butterfly.
The first chance he had, he had snapped one of the little fluttering creatures from the air, startled by the result... The tattered wings, the blue and black powder. The tears that had sprung fourth as he ran to his mother, begging her to fix the insect.
Of course, the clumsy hands of a child can do no good to such a delicate thing...
He remembered the butterfly, as a sort of echo of what was to come. His way of learning- that his adoration, his affection, and his desire for possession- would end only in death.
Of course, anyone else might find it a laughable thing, relating the extinguished life of a simple insect to the lives of the men and youkai he had taken... Or the idea he had so long kept to himself... This mantra, this thought... To want results in pain, to own results in death... And for this, he would strike, poisoning those he desired, taking them from this world so none other could have them.
And none... No man or demon would have him... The closeness would give way to cold, and the flickers of soft touch would end in broken wings, glittering powder which would cover the hands of the new owner, who had yet to realize the beauty he had taken from the world.
As he sat now, gazing quietly across the field of flowers, fingers idly playing across the sleeve of his yukata, he mused over such things...More than this, he let his mind drift back to his companions, wondering for a moment, how furious Renkotsu might be that he had once again slipped away from the camp, avoiding any chance of being discovered for duties, or practice... After all, there was only so much of the summer season left, and he refused to waste it all on Renkotsu's own ideas... Better to sit in a tentative peace and watch the wildflowers, thankful for the calm it instilled in an otherwise mad life.
"Oi! Jakotsu!"
Almost resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he willed himself to blend in with the flora, praying the chance he would remain undiscovered...
Cursing the gods softly, he turned his head as Bankotsu plopped down beside him with a charming smile, before the two of them resumed watching the insects go from flower to flower, the silence between them cause neither for comfort or distress.
Leaning to his side, and then resting against the shoulder of his companion, he found his eyes once again searching the face of the younger man, tracing the features as he so wished to...
His eyes were bright...That sparkling array of black and blue which made Jakotsu want to simply reach out and take them... He wanted the feel of the other man's skin against his own, the soft feel of his hair. He wanted every ounce of power the boy before him held, to take it and trap it, to make it his own-...
But he withheld.
Some of them, he knew, wondered why he had never been drawn to Bankotsu as he was to all the others...Women would fall on their knees to have the Shichinin-tai leader simply cast his eyes in their general direction. The youth was by no means unattractive, usually rivaling the soldiers Jakotsu toyed with.
But not once, in all the time the band was together, had they seen the effeminate man do anything more than tease his friend. In fact, Bankotsu was normally the one to instill any sort of contact, always garnering surprise on Jakotsu's behalf. They wondered of course, why it could be, that the one closest to him, uncaring of his oddities, would not gain such suggestive attentions...
Jakotsu himself, never wondered... For he knew.
While he donned paints and silks, casting the impression on himself that he could, maybe for a moment, catch the beauty of the little creatures he cherished, he knew years ago, the moment he had met Bankotsu, that he could never rival such a man as this one...
And further still, he knew that no matter how much he wanted that hair, those eyes, and the warmth of the touch, he would never have it...He would never seek to have such things from his brother in arms.
For to want would bring him pain, and to have him would result in death... So he himself flitted about, like the butterflies around them, man to man- like flower to flower, taking the spilled blood as the insects took the pollen, always watching, always waiting...
He couldn't see the way he moved, the glitter of the silks, the shimmer of the paints...They would not attract the other's attentions, and with a despondent finality, had long past decided against catching this one...
This butterfly which moved about, striking quickly, and holding such a passion for his skill, and his desire to improve that it drew Jakotsu ever closer, the display's making him dizzy and uncertain of just what exactly it was he truly wanted.
Did he want this? The emperor of butterflies, sitting beside him, trapped in a jar, or pinned down, with broken wings, and spatterings of dust everywhere? Or was it perhaps... That in this case, his darker wish was not to own the other.
But perhaps to be owned himself.
The silence broke as Bankotsu turned to look at him, curiosity brimming in his eyes. A silent question, to which a painted smile was the answer... But the younger man's eyes flicked back out into the field... "Guratto..."
Indeed he followed the other's gaze, as the two brilliantly colored blue and black butterflies twisted about viciously in the air, striking at one another, still as they continued to flutter away.
Jakotsu's eyes lowered, and Bankotsu cast a grin at him... "Nande?"
Looking back at the blue eyes, Jakotsu's smile became genuine... "Aishiteru Omurasaki."
And leaning back against Bankotsu, as the two stared off across the flowers, it was realized, that this... was all that needed to be said.