Kill Naraku

darkenedmoonlightflame

Hiten/Kagome/Bankotsu

BxKxH. Not AU. Caught and forced into the Shichinintai harem, Kagome considers resigning to her fate. But hey, she sure does get pissed off after being fought over and hands-switching when people pick up on the harem idea. Shame she's pretty helpless. But with a little help from a resurrected demon (who also turns out to be the mop boy), she lands herself trained, and ready for revenge. Watch out, Naraku! But first, she has to face her demons, and outsmart the eye candy deprived men that are the Shichinintai... Boy, this totally ruins her resume…

Disclaimer: Don't own the title similarities, or characters. But I DO own everything else, such as writing, plot, and such.

(A/N: ARGH! I forgot the IMPORTANT NOTES! Grrrr… They'll be at the bottom HOPEFULLY this time. If I forget, please do remind me of my stupidity.

It's about time for an update… I've already hit 30 reviews! Yay!

So here we are! Scroll Four!)

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We won't lose anymore to the everyday trickery

Wake up right now

Soon we seem to be surrounded

By the REAL world choking us

-an excerpt from the english translation of grip!

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Kill Naraku

Scroll Four

Acquaintances Rekindled, Part One

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"Sit." Sesshomaru commanded his embarrassed, fidgeting brother, sipping his warm green tea carefully, as he exerted his self-control, opting for strangling his brother later. He wouldn't want his tea to get cold, after all, he told himself. "But if it is something rather stupid concerning that ridiculous idea you had, you'd better spit it out fast before I finish my tea, you worthless half-breed." He drawled monotonously, his sharp amber eyes narrowing as he focused on the individual, who was currently tapping his foot and biting his lip, indecisive.

"You are not a metronome. So do not act like one." He said curtly, inhaling the calming fumes of his tea. This impacted the finalized decision of his younger brother, Inuyasha, who took a deep breath, his yellow-jacket eyes glittering hopefully.

"Can we leave yet?" Sesshomaru snorted, watching in amusement as Inuyasha tried not to jump up and down with anticipation.

"No." He sniffled, disdain and contempt shining in his low voice, resisting having a smug smirk pasted onto his prominent features. Inuyasha inhaled sharply, and his hands contorted and twisted, cracking this way and that, like when he was fairly irked. "I shall tell you when I am ready." A note of self-importance crept into his tone, before he shoved it out rather quickly. He had a reputation to uphold as Lord of the Western Lands.

Inuyasha scowled darkly, feeling his happy parade being rained upon. "I'll be dead by THEN, you vain bastard!" He raved, stomping around the room uselessly, shaking the castle in his anger. He howled and grouched, and made all the furniture skip around. He pounded his fists on the wall and kicked the little toad youkai servant several times. He screeched and wailed and roared at a window, making it shatter.

He plopped down to the floor finally, exhausted as Sesshomaru took another long sip. "Feel better?"

"Much." Inuyasha managed, before flopping onto his back and staring at the ceiling, panting. "So can we go yet?" Sesshomaru took another sip, deliberately taunting his brother.

"When I finish my tea, perhaps."

"How about I shove it down your throat?" Inuyasha threatened. Sesshomaru sat unfazed, slurping delicately on the thick liquid, before setting it aside, and standing gracefully.

"We'd best leave, before you hurt yourself." He remarked snidely, walking in long, flowing strides out of his large room, halting in the ballroom. "I warn you, if I suffer indigestion, I'll rip out your bowels and force feed then to you."

"Not if I get you first!" Sesshomaru promptly ignored him.

"Ah. Shame a place of such grace is destined to host the filth of those… Shichinintai." He remarked venomously, running the tips of his clawed fingers along the golden molding before sweeping out into the glaring sunlight.

"It just is… so like you, wretched half-brother, to choose the worst time of day to travel." He growled emotionlessly, before blurring off, his long platinum locks blowing in an arc behind him, as he became a figure of white, fleeting to the eye. He would elude you if you blinked.

"BASTARD! Don't leave me BEHIND!" Inuyasha thundered, before launching himself after his hated half-brother, his ruby red fire rat haori standing out in the lush green gardens they passed, like a flickering candle. "You… dare?" He wheezed with the effort of trying to stay with Sesshomaru, and gave up hope of an ego lift with a stream of obscenities, and diverted his focus to getting to the fortress of the Shichinintai.

Sesshomaru landed silently before the gates, simply waiting for his hanyou relation to arrive, his lip curling up in a twisted sneer of annoyance on one side.

Inuyasha arrived at last, in quite a huff, his amber eyes buzzing angrily, when he saw the looming fortress. It was no where near as large or elegant as their castle, but it was the closest you would get in the lower ranks. He smirked, and asked cockily, "Ready to make some grown men cry, cat boy?"

"Do not call me that." Sesshomaru snarled, before adding, "Yes, I look forward to their nightmares."

And with that, the infamous Taisho brothers (well, actually it was more Inuyasha) stormed the castle. Inuyasha gave a roar and cut down the doors with a shout of, "Sankon Tessou!" while Sesshomaru merely leapt over them in a bout of laziness.

"I haven't had this much fun in CENTURIES!" Inuyasha cried as the huge spiked wood and stone doors crashed inward, and the two bounded away to avoid them, before returning. Inuyasha struck a ruthless pose with one foot planted on the fallen doors. Sesshomaru just looked arrogant, glaring at the castle, which they would traumatize before the sun had set.

"Get a life." Sesshomaru said coldly, before adding, "Don't hit anyone unless it's necessary. Father would have our heads."

"Very well." Inuyasha sighed, before thundering, "Can you not protect your own castle!" at the fortress in the distance.

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"Can you not protect your own castle!"

Kagome flinched, wondering what type of men these intruders were to openly storm a fortress and declare such a loud insult without fear. Hiten cleared his throat, having returned from fetching various pieces of armor for her. He seemed to be ignoring them, so she would too.

"As you have no doubt noticed, there is a silver blade that… swings up from those arm guards, yes?" Kagome nodded warily, remembering that particular close call, pulling up her modified haori's swirled sleeve. He motioned for her to get closer.

"It shall come up upon command, so you must choose something for it to go by. Say it three or four times, until it pops up."

Kagome thought hard, and the small make-shift prayer came to her in a heartbeat. It seemed fitting enough.

"Zetsumei o seisuhuku tsubasa tame kyuumin mugen." She whispered this a few times, and the blade arched upward toward her. The red flowing script was not something she recognized, but it glittered and glinted beautifully in the climbing sunlight.

"Very good. Now you must say something to make it retract." Hiten commanded lightly, watching with interest, "It should be something people will have great difficulty remembering, just in case. I'll get your other armor ready."

Kagome automatically began singing the song Kikyo had sung so often, the lyrics flowing smoothly from her lips as she whispered it to the blade, it slid back into its hidden sheath with a small whirring hiss.

"Aiiro ni chirabaru nanatsu no hoshi yo

Sorezore ni ima omoi wa tsunori

Uchikudakarete ai wo sakenda

Nigedasu koto mo dekizu ni yume ni sugaritsuku

Ikasama na hibi nado ni wa mou makenai

Mezameyou kono shunkan wo

Yagate bokura wo torimaku dearou

Musekaeru you na riaru na nichijou

Taisetsu na mono wa ... nanda'!

Zeitaku na sekai no naka ni miekakure suru eien no kakera

Sawatte tsukande bokura no ima wo kicchiri aruitekou

"Koukai wa shinai" to, saki e susunda

Warau ka, naku ka? Kou ka, fukou ka?

Kekkyoku ima mo wakaranai kedo

Kawarihajimeta mirai ni hirumu koto wa nai

Sore ga jinsei no daigomi to iu mono deshou

Girigiri wo ikiru bokura no dashita kotae ga

Chigatta toshite mo omoikomi demo'

Tsuyoku negaeba ii

Honmono ni nareru hi made

Reikoku na sekai no naka de tsubusaresou na aijou no mebuki

Sawatte tsukande bokura no ima ni shikkari kizamikomou

Mezameyou kono shunkan wo

Yagate bokura wo torimaku dearou

Musekaeru you na riaru na nichijou

Taisetsu na mono wa ... nanda'!

Zeitaku na sekai no naka ni miekakure suru eien no kakera

Sawatte tsukande bokura no ima wo kicchiri aruitekou

Saigo ni, warau tame bokura no ima wo kicchiri aruitekou."

She finished at last, and Hiten was smiling at her. "You sing like a fallen tenshi." She blushed and found the dirt under her feet extremely interesting. He had brought her to the gatehouse, and they stood in the clearing together, an uncomfortable silence hanging like a cloud.

"Well, let's see if you can bear the weight. You seem strong." He handed her a breastplate, matching to the arm guards and leg guards, black with the lazy tendrils of crimson, sapphire and white. She struggled to put it on right, and he laughed.

"Stand still!" She froze, and he carefully and slowly showed her how to put it on correctly, before removing it and handing it to her. It was of light design, yet very strong and durable; like the other pieces. It had a trailing front and back piece for extra protection. She put it on like he had showed her. "There you are! You've put the arm guards on wrong too, I see."

So they went over those and the leg guards, and when they were done, Kagome fingers ached, and the breastplate was weighing her down. "Only a bit more left, so don't worry." Hiten reassured her, and he strapped on shoulder guards that dwindled fairly thin, an extended triangle. They were double ones, and he put on the larger one over it, before doing the same to the other shoulder quickly.

He whirled around her, tying it all together with a white sash, knotting it elegantly so it just barely draped along her hip.

Kagome was panting from strain now, and she mumbled, "Done… yet?" He shook his head, and began strapped on various weapons onto her all over, before smiling.

"Done. We'll have to train you to hold that much weight first though." He grinned, and helped her shrug off some of the more unnecessary things. "We'll do some basic stances with a katana first. If you do get the chance to hit me, hit with the broad side."

He left all of the weapons strapped on somehow, mostly tucking them into the sash, which he left on around her waist as well, using it to cinch in the loose haori, before adding another sash, going between the valley of her breasts.

She turned as red as a cherry, and looked everywhere but at him, gulping. "Um… what's… it for?"

"Decoration, and so you and I can strap more things on." He proceeded, and her blush eventually lightened, as he let her do the strapping on.

She sighed in relief as the last of the armor was removed, except for what they had chosen to leave on, and wiped beads of perspiration from her brow, sitting down for a moment. "I suppose I'm so weak because of… that."

"That?" Hiten set down the armor inside the gatehouse, concealing it well, before coming out and plopping down next to her.

"Well… it doesn't really matter." He gave her a look. "I nearly forgot everything I already knew, so I departed immediately to return to Kikyo's grave. I didn't bring food, water, or anything. Since I was so panicked, I forgot that I was in a village a nearly week's time away from it. I had to live off of hunger reducing herbs and small pools of rainwater. Breakfast would have been my first actual meal in six days, not a ration, if I hadn't missed it." Kagome sighed, and her stomach chose then to growl loudly in agreement.

Hiten looked at her in concern. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any food here either. It's all in the entrance hall."

"Do you think I could make us something there?"

"Of course. They should have leftovers. Remember, though. Don't eat anything they have out; make your own from completely fresh ingredients." He helped her up, and Kagome was surprised at the unaccustomed weight of the weapons that had been added to her person. They made her feel tired and exhausted, yet safe and calm. "I apologize, but I can't go with you. I have… work… to do." He looked downtrodden, and she decided to let the topic go for now.

"Oh, that's alright. Sayonara, Hiten-sei!" He blinked his burning crimson eyes once, and smiled and waved, although less exuberant than she.

"I wish I could just be that. Hiten-sei." The words rolled off of his tongue, but his husky voice was bitter with regret. He clenched his fist tightly, drawing blood, cursing and thinking silently. "Only one year more. Then I'll be free to do so."

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Inuyasha nearly tore out his hair in frustration. "They're IGNORING us! How DARE they!" He seethed, and a faint tinge of crimson edged its way into his vision line as he glared hatefully at the silent landscape. "They insult us, aniki! They INSULT US!"

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We shall try again tomorrow, if you insist. They must be sleeping off their tea." Inuyasha grumbled and blinked, pondering how his half-brother could and couldn't be right.

"Grr… Fine! We'll come back in a few hours, okay?"

Sesshomaru snorted, as told himself he would throttle his brother later; he didn't want indigestion.

"This Sesshomaru thinks not. We shall simply walk around until they awaken. Observing those pitiful creatures you insist are beautiful." Inuyasha reluctantly nodded, and began walking at a brisk pace towards the entrance gate. His honey colored eyes danced in amusement as he spotted a sentry, fast asleep with a cup of tea in his lap.

"I guess you're right, aniki. For once." He whined, quickening his strides. The two soon arrived at the entrance hall, and in the adjoining room, sat the Shichinintai. Snoring their heads off. Of course, Jakotsu was the loudest of them all.

The harem women were gathered fearfully into a small corner, and shrunk away as Inuyasha approached. He tried to smile, but it just wouldn't happen. Instead, he posed a question, "I take it you all are the divine goddesses they keep in the harem?" They all nodded as fast as possible, then each took a few steps back.

Inuyasha looked at Sesshomaru, and shook his head with disgust. "They may be pretty, but they're all so weak and lifeless and moronic. Just a bunch of scared ninigens."

"For once, Inuyasha, you have said something not entirely outlandish."

"Come on, I'm disappointed. Let's leave." Sesshomaru nodded, and together they left the great hall and halted at the white pillar. Then what his elder brother had said dawned on him. "Did you actually say I might be smart!"

"Where would you gentlemen be going, if I dare ask?" A mocking voice came from behind them, and Inuyasha quickly saw the Shichinintai stirring, Bankotsu's cold eyes looking at them, calculating. "It would stand to reason that the infamous Taisho brothers paid us a visit, and we slept through it, now wouldn't it?"

Inuyasha smirked, and Sesshomaru looked down upon his hanyou half-brother with an annoyed look, like there was a piece of dirt on his immaculate face.

"Idiot." He stated, glaring. He turned to leave, and stopped. There was a figure against the white pillar.

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Kagome sighed, running her fingers loosely through her long obsidian-azure hair, as wisps wandered into and out of her face as they pleased, giving her a haunting, sad image as she trudged to the entrance hall, wandering around and getting lost. She had even stopped at her room and retrieved Kikyo's bow and arrows. She halted, stopping for a moment to lean against the white pillar. Ignoring the petty arguments of the Shichinintai.

She observed the two demons briefly, deriving what she could. The taller one had long, wispy platinum locks, coming down to his thighs, and cold golden eyes. He wore a sparsely decorated haori; white with red hexagon flower designs. White hakamas, and a black type of shoes. There was a large furry thing over his shoulder, as well.

The younger was dressed in all red; red haori, red hakamas. He had a pair of twitching white dog ears on his head; a hanyou. He was more tanned than his arrogant brother, with a short temper. He also had the same gorgeous yellow-jacket eyes as his brother, and they shone with the love of battle. He was smirking, his pointed canines displayed.

She decided to ignore them for now, and turned away, propping an elbow up on the pillar, using it to hold her head up from the side. She looked at the rising sun, which had begun climbing over the trees for quite some time. "Damn… I missed breakfast." She said simply, content to watch light envelop the trees, then switching to gaze at the clouds every now and then.

She turned and rested with her back against the pillar for a moment before returning to her original position, watching the wispy clouds journey through the sky, wondering what it would feel like to fly. "Mortals always have and always will dream of such trivial things." An emotionless voice interrupted her musings, and she sighed dreamily.

"But where would we be if we had nothing to dream of but the past?" She asked, more to herself and the sky than him. She could feel the surprise radiating off of him. It struck swiftly, and came accompanied with only a small twinge of pain; her left eyebrow twitched lightly.

That voice…

It was familiar.

She still couldn't place it, and was simply content to dream and look at the sky. He finally spoke up. Well, she assumed it was a 'he'.

"Woman, tell me how it is that one so intelligent with such beauty… beautiful verses…" He stopped, after his slip-up, then continued, "Wields such weapons of death." She finally dragged her gaze from the sky, and turned it toward the mountains clashing defiantly against the horizon.

Sesshomaru was rather irked that she ignored him, and found his curiosity insatiable as to her boldness. "Every rose has its thorns." She spoke quietly, not knowing what compelled her to refuse to tell him she was merely learning self-defense instead.

His golden eyes glinted, and he stood, huffing down at her. "This Sesshomaru needs not be concerned with such insignificant things, wench."

Her memory was just zinging… She couldn't place it exactly, but she'd heard it before. 'This Sesshomaru.' She pondered relentlessly, the words coming to her lips involuntarily.

"It would seem as though we're all insignificant compared with the heavens. Their prowess is unequaled, is it not?"

Kagome wondered why she was speaking like this. She didn't NORMALLY speak in riddles or avoid questions so elegantly. It seemed to flow into her demeanor so naturally with his commanding presence around her…

She felt eyes baring into her. She finally rolled her head slowly to look over her shoulder, a small smile upon her features. "Yes?"

Sesshomaru watched the woman as she turned her head and smiled at him, saying, "Yes?" She wasn't afraid. This both surprised and irritated him.

Didn't she know who he was? He feverishly hoped she wouldn't become one of the women that adored him. He looked at her.

Her face was nicely tanned, and her eyes were the most unusual gorgeous shade of sapphire, and they danced with fire and life, although they knew sorrow. Her long hair was tinted endlessly with sapphire, weaving and swaying in the breeze, one moment shielding her face like a curtain, the next twisting in the breeze. He was so taken aback, he didn't even mentally slap himself for complimenting a HUMAN'S eyes.

She turned around, switching elbows and looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

Inuyasha finally noticed his gaze, and turned his head to look at her. For once, he didn't even say anything. 'Kikyo…'

"What are you staring at?" She asked, not unkindly. Her voice was smooth and sexy, and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. "Is there a demon? Or some food? Something you find interesting perhaps?" She was smiling genuinely when she turned back to the speechless Taisho brothers.

Sesshomaru closed his slack jaw with a snap, then haughtily asked, "Who are you, wench, to be wearing such armor?" She looked at him hard.

"One so insignificant as I shall fall beneath thy gaze," She answered him, continuing to gaze longingly at the place where the sky and land met. "It shall stand to reason that thy shall have been subjected to such insolence, with but one to remain unbroken." She continued, not knowing why she was saying this, or exactly what she was saying either.

"In a clash of wills, o conqueror, the weak shall be deterred by one's fate to fail simply, and to live and die but a fool's hope. Yet having touched the stars, can one truly be put to rest until their soul may discover the tranquility and solace it seeks?

"For its lamentations shall seek the heavens, and alone it shall be parted for eternity." Her voice hardened.

"So a fool's hope it may be, but answer me this; is it better to have died of cowardice and fear, or to have shone among the stars and have died within glory?

"Or perhaps it is best to go where thy feet may take thee, and walk unto the ends of the earth, until one may gaze upon the dark beauty of death with an aura of love and understanding once more. Will we ever be able to simply just die happily?

"Or shall we endure what fate throws at us with iron strength until we have been snapped, refusing to bend?" Her voice grew angered, stinging and dripping in pain and venom, steeled and infuriated with cold fury.

"I, for one, shan't be able to embrace death without the one thing that haunts me so. For I am compelled to haunt my past constantly, left forever in misery and death, until I am able to avenge and kill the one whom holds my bitterness and betrayal.

"Woe betide those who stand between us."

She finished her small speech, averting her hard and saddened eyes towards the barren mountains, ignoring the fascinated look her pinned her with, the confused one the younger one gave her, and the dumbfounded ones the Shichinintai directed at her.

Kagome felt a twinge of pain as a memory flooded her mind. It was blurry, but she had seen this man before…

And the other one too…

She sighed, and wiped all traces of sadness from her face. "So it is then that I am free to pursue my own wants and wishes, if I am not granted leave of this world in the efforts of vengeance."

"Aniki, how come she's said more to those two weird men than she's said to us the entire time she's been here?" Jakotsu asked, pouting.

Bankotsu suppressed a snarl growing in his chest, and the urge to rip the two staring brothers in front of him apart, lords of his land or not. "Why are you here?" He snapped viciously, channeling his anger into his words to relieve the stress. "Staring is rude." He added.

"But aniki, you do it all the time." Mukotsu supplied, and Bankotsu glowered and the old man shrank back.

The two hadn't taken their gaze from Kagome, although she just smiled at the ground, walking around them towards the Shichinintai. Bankotsu felt relieved for some reason. A growl tore from his chest, and he locked away these strange emotions for the time being as Kagome walked towards them.

"Eh?"

She brushed past them, lifting her eyes only to glare at him and smile at Jakotsu. He saw her lips move. 'Don't you screw up my baby.'

"Ask our guests if they are hungry or not, you oaf." She announced, back to her usual, more rough self. His mouth twitched, as her shoulder touched his faintly and she disappeared inside.

He simmered, and the Shichinintai took a healthy step away from him as he quivered in annoyance. Sesshomaru slid past him like oil, while Inuyasha banged his shoulder against his, challenging him. He grit his teeth, and marched inside to find his audacious girl.

'Wait… MY audacious girl?' Confusion echoed on his face, and he shook it off as a slip of the tongue.

Delicious smells were floating from the kitchen, and Bankotsu voiced, "What are the guards making? It smells good."

Jakotsu shrugged, and whined, "Why didn't they make it for us before, aniki?"

The Shichinintai shrugged, and they all chose an empty table, sitting on one side. The Taisho brothers sat on the other. They sat in silence, tension tighter than a drawn bowstring.

"KUSO!" They heard a shout, and Jakotsu wordlessly got up, and stalked into the kitchen. And emerged a minute later, cackling his high-pitched head off. "Shut up!" A wok flew out of the kitchen, and was introduced to the back of Jakotsu's head.

"Aw…" He moaned, rubbing the area as he threw the wok back, picking pieces of egg out of his hair. He sat down, and tried a piece. "Hell, it's good." He smiled coyly and yawned, calling out, "Done yet?"

"Did I hear 'I want a wok in my face'!" His smile split his face, and he doubled over laughing again. "Keep it up and I'll eat all this myself!" He shut up immediately, a mournful look on his face.

"I want to see if it's any good!" He shouted, and a snort was heard.

Bankotsu rolled his blue-green eyes, and leaned back on his chair, propping himself up against the wall, hands behind his head. He proceeded blowing relentlessly at his bangs, making them flutter. "HELP!" The command was shouted, and Jakotsu grumbled and went back into the kitchen.

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha watched all this with a look of interest. Inuyasha craned his head toward the kitchen, as two figures appeared in the doorway.

Kagome walked up to the table a towel over her shoulder, a happy smile on her face. Jakotsu walked up, growling with a large bump on his head. All of the seated men tried to angle their heads to see what they would be eating.

"Hnn. So the guards are making you carry this around?" Bankotsu smirked. Kagome looked at him. More like burned holes into him. "Blech. Such horrible stuff."

"I cooked it, so therefore if you don't like it, you don't get any. And don't tilt your chair like that." He rolled his eyes, and an evil smile appeared on her face as she kicked the legs out from under him. "THINGS could happen." His eyes grew wide, and he tumbled back, landing flat in the correct chair position on the floor.

Jakotsu began cackling again. "OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" Kagome rolled her eyes, and put down the wooden tray she was holding, spreading it out between them all.

"Woah." Inuyasha said stupidly. Bankotsu zoomed up from the floor, about to argue, when he saw the food. His eyes lit up, and his mouth hung slack. "Hey, stop drooling on my food!" Inuyasha barked. She took the platter from Jakotsu, and spread it out as well. "This is better than that crap we get at our castle!" Inuyasha exclaimed, jealousy hinting through his voice.

Oden, onigiri, tempura, rice balls, soups, sushi, eggs, rolls, noodle wraps, and all sorts of mouth-watering food were laid out between the surprised Shichinintai and Taisho brothers. Kagome grinned, and plopped down, reaching for some shrimp tempura, dipping it heavily in tempura sauce. "Sorry, you snooze you lose. I'm a double-dipper." She bit into it with a sigh, and sat there happily, eating away.

This woke Sesshomaru from his daze, and he reached out cautiously to pick up a roll with shrimp inside it. "What is this, woman?" His tone was curiously friendly.

"Oh that? I dunno, something I made up. Don't put it down, it's good! Try it!" She exclaimed when he hastened to put it back. "You touch you eat!"

He grumbled, and brought it to his mouth with the chopsticks Jakotsu passed out. He blinked in surprise, and everyone turned their heads to watch the Lord of the Western Lands. "You made this?"

She nodded, and added, "See! It's fine!"

"It IS good." He admitted, reaching for another. She looked up at Renkotsu, who sat across from her. "Try some! It's not poison!" She looked a bit hurt, so he sighed and took the bowl of see-through noodles she handed him. "Wait, wait!" She reached over Sesshomaru, grabbed some things, and took the bowl from him.

Before he could blink, she began adding various things to it, and then she handed it back to him. He poked at it skeptically. Resigning himself, he took a bite. His dark eyes widened, and he looked at her.

"Hey, Jakotsu, try this."

"Gladly!" Jakotsu took it from him and slurped it down as fast as he could, handing the empty bowl back to Renkotsu. "Definitely not poisonous!" He smacked his lips, and raised a brow at the sulking Bankotsu. "Try some!"

"I'm not eating anything that witch makes." He said, sinking lower into his chair and shooting looks at Kagome. She stood abruptly, and leaned across the table with her forearms.

"You wanna fight about it?" She asked in a mock serious tone. He wrinkled his nose at her, and she looked sadly at the onigiri she was hovering above. She stood, and walked away with the tempura bowl the Jakotsu was reaching towards. Bankotsu noticed a good deal of food go missing.

"More in the kitchen." She mumbled.

"HEY!" Jakotsu cried, indignant. His cries fell upon deaf ears as she wandered off, pushing in her chair with a lazy foot, and left the castle, instead taking a perch upon the white pillar.

That one memory… of her and the boy and the tree… it seemed so prominent…

'Why?' She asked herself, 'What is it trying to tell me?'

Bankotsu sat in silence on the porch, watching her sit there quietly, pondering about what she was thinking about. Wondering about his feelings from earlier that day… It was then he felt it. Kesshite Musubi Maru. Never Ending Circle, the clan of demons who continually lusted for blood. The Shichinintai's equals, only youkai, basically.

He stood, and motioned to Jakotsu.

A/N: Well, not terribly interesting, and it was kind of stupid. Well, a lot of stupid, actually. Forgive me. So ends part one of Acquaintances Rekindled. Hmm. Seems rather boorish to me. Meh.

Reviews:

satsu: Why thanks, by the way, excellent chapter! (See it WAS better without the swearing. But I do agree with that review; too soon for a kiss, no matter HOW cocky Hiten is.) Oh, try to glomp me to death eh? Take this! (glomps you as well) MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Psst, update soon!

Fallen Seraphim Azareal: But of course! Lol. Gee, I wonder WHO it was…

Kage Otome: Yep, more Hiten coming! Coughsomethinspecialmaybecough.

abc123 now you know: Thanks!

Damned Angel of the Dying Light: Awesome penname, by the way… Hehheh, now you're made me get inspired and thinking… Which isn't always a good thing… You'll see what they think! MUAHAHAHAHA!

Rawhead and Bloody Bones: Yep! The Shichinintai rock! Except for Mukotsu; too ugly. (laughs nervously at angry Mukotsu) Now look what I've gone and done… I'm gonna have to get people to check my food for poison now…

sangotaku6: Great chapter that you updated! I wonder if Kagome will karaoke in front of Bankotsu… What'll he say! Update, please! Anyhow, thanks for the compliment! (blushes happily)

reki-sama: Oh yes, definitely! (winks) Well, how good can you be when you're out to kill someone, but anyway, lol. The love part helps cover that up…

Melantao: Ah, good to hear some questions! Is overwhelming good or bad in the standards of yours? It kind of goes like this… (Dough- shee- tay) Excuse me if it's a bit off, I'm not Japanese. Very observant… that's good! Maybe I'll make a small square… MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Or I could say it's your brain… Hmm…. I guess you won't know for a while! (grins evilly) Isn't that right, muses?

'Kotsu: Yep!

Sesshomaru: You shall not refer to this Sesshomaru in such a degrading way, wench.

Oh shut up, MUSE and 'Kotsu.

Bankotsu-Lover: Yep! You guessed it!

Ayome: Yes, Kagome's had her fair share of a bad past, and well, hopefully it'll improve for her! What didn't you get about the last part?

Cerestra: I bet you do have an account, please give me the name and I'll drop by and check out your work! You've left such nice reviews, it's only fair. And if you don't have a story… get those muses workin'! Well, now you definitely know who the brothers are, yes?

Hoku-chan: That's an interesting way to put it. Well, it's kinda higgly-piggly for now, but if I ever finish it and start editing, it should get much better. So stick it out! (grins) That's what I do. I even get annoyed at all the mistakes I find.

SesshomarusGirl15: Don't worry, I LOVE constructive criticism! And oh… oops? I was looking at the two, and having no idea, picked the one that sounded prettier! (whacks forehead) Well, I guess I should fix that when I edit this someday…

Gods that took longer than the whole chapter!

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Next Chapter: (I'll just be lazy and use the same, since it IS part two.)

'Sup! This is the one, the only, younger bro here! We'll be dropping by to visit the Shichinintai today, and MAN we're gonna kick ASS! WHOOOOO! Stupid aniki finally calls me smart! If that makes any sense… Anyway, who's that weird guy- er, GIRL!- standing up to us? Is she weird or what?

But… is she in the harem or not, cause that jerk, Bankotsu's getting all over-hyper and protective…? I'm confused! And this is so odd! The girl is squabbling with him, and he's squabbling back, and oooh! They're moving in to bopping, slapping, biting, clawing, and other girly fighting methods!

What a stupid wench! Uh… did she hear me? She looks mad.

Eh? That stupid wench stole the girly man's sword, and her eye is twitching….

What am I in for? Ugh, my brain hurts now, dudes. Later.

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Character Relations:

Inuyasha- An inu hanyou, the half-brother of Sesshsomaru, younger. A cocky, reckless fellow with an attitude and a temper. He uses his natural attacks, and sometimes resorts to Tetsusaiga (sp?), his father's sword.

Sesshomaru- half-brother of Inuyasha, elder. A full blooded inu youkai, very arrogant. Keeps emotions under lock and key. Not very adventurous when concerning 'I made it myself' dishes of food. Hey, after Inuyasha's cooking can you blame him?

Attacks naturally most often. Has two swords, Tenseiga and Tokijiin. In this fic, rarely uses Tokijiin, if I even decide to have it.

Kesshite Musubi Maru (Never Ending Circle)- The Shichinintai's rivals. More information to be posted. No spoilers, after all!

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Vocab:

Youkai- demon.

Haori- Japanese men's top. Think the thing Bankotsu wears.

Hanyou- half demon.

Sankon Tessou- Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer

Zetsumei o seisuhuku tsubasa tame kyuumin mugen- Death on silent wings to idle dreams. The 'prayer' Kagome uses to make her arm guard blade pop up.

For the English translation of Grip, ask me for that. I'm too lazy to post it right now.

Tenshi- angel.

-sei- companion. Used as Hiten-sei here. So therefore, Kagome thinks of Hiten as her companion. For now, anyway.

Aniki- respected term for elder brother

Ninigens- humans. Not Japanese, but it's a type of insult usually implied to mean weak and to put humans and demons apart.

Hakamas- Japanese men's pants. Again, think the pants Bankotsu wears.

Oden, onigiri, tempura, rice balls, soups, sushi, eggs, rolls, noodle wraps- all types of food, some Japanese, some not.

Kesshite Musubi Maru- Never Ending Circle

Shichinintai- Band of Seven

Well, that's all for now! Please review, and bow down to the wonderful muses of mine! Psst. They like pocky and doughnuts. But don't… kill them with hugs, okay?

o.O.o.O darkenedmoonlightflame O.o.O.o

And company. Sesshomaru and Bankotsu. My wonderful bishounen muses.