Author's Note: Hi, it's me again. So glad no one forgot about this story in all those months I took to update. This chapter is another where Jakotsu has his own perspective, and I've put the translations of what he says directly into the chapter. I hope you enjoy it. This is the second to last chapter of the story, so a lot is said in it. I hope it's ok. I'm kind of half/half about it.
Reviewer Responses:
Forever in Darkness: Ha, I just got your review as I was finishing up my response section. I'm glad you like the other stories in the series, and thank you for submitting reviews for each of them :). Half a month huh... well, when you add up the days, I guess it did take me that long lol. And here I was thinking I was being quick with the update...though it did end up taking longer than I expected. Things have been busy. Thank you for reviewing and hope to hear from you again! Take care!
Shadow's-Insanity: Hey! Thanks for reviewing. Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you'll like the new one. Take care and hope to hear from you again!
Lynx t3h Whack: Lol okee, I got the name right this time ;). Glad you're still keeping up with me! Take care and thanks for reviewing!
SpinningAvia: Hello! Yes, Renkotsu's is an ass... a stupid ass, in fact ;). I guess there's no point in being secretive lol; yes Genji is Ginkotsu and his story is next :). Thank you for reviewing and take care!
Gerbil: Hello, great to hear from you! Thanks for reviewing and letting me know you're still reading. Take care!
Torn Angel Wings: Ha, I really didn't mean to be away from the story for so long, especially with it being so close to a finish. I hope to complete this story within a week and start the next. Lol, maybe I should have specified that I only like research when its something interesting too, or for a story ;). I just love learning new things. Thanks for reviewing and take care. Hope you enjoy the chapter and I hope to hear from you again!
Lilly Blitz: Hey! Yeah, I never meant to take such a long hiatus... in fact, I never meant to take a hiatus at all, lol. I've been trying to slowly evolve the characters to their anime personalities. I want to shape them into the people the are in the show, and I have a tendency to take things very slow, especially when I'm enjoying myself lol. Yes, Genji is Ginkotsu... I actually meant to change his name to "Genshi" but I forgot before I posted sigh... what can ya do? Lol, anyway, thank you for reviewing and take care!
Ebonysdove: Hey girl! Great to hear from you again. Severed is getting long as hell, and I pity anyone trying to catch up. I try to stop myself from being so long-winded but I can't. I'm going to update it again this week with yet another chapter over 20 pages. I'm glad you're still keeping up with Sodality and don't think I'm being too dramatic with the scenes. The relationship between Bankotsu and Jakotsu has to change...a bit, at least, and I've got to move them apart :(. Yes, Jakotsu and Suikotsu could have saved themselves a lot of grief by taking part in the evaluation of Renkotsu, but they want to show that they trust Bankotsu and his judgment. Question is: Can Renkotsu show the same trust? ;). Thanks for reviewing girl and take care!
YennieGurl: Lol, you should have been there when Bankotsu made the decision to admit Renkotsu to the group, since Suikotsu and Jakotsu totally left it up to him ;). Renkotsu is a pain in the butt, isn't he? But he's fun to write for. I get to think...hmmm.. How to piss Renkotsu off... or hmmm.. How to have Renkotsu piss Suikotsu and Jakotsu off lol! Renkotsu's suggestions are very good, and most are things Bankotsu never would have even thought of, so that is why it seems like Bankotsu may be letting Renkotsu take charge. He's really just offering good advice that Bankotsu usually chooses to take. Thanks for reviewing girl and take care!
Tareacel: Hey Lady! Nice bribes, I'll take them! I hope this update was soon enough for you to still give me those links. Good fan fiction is becoming scarce, lol. I don't know if you'll be pleased with me in this chapter though sweat drop. Anyways, I do hope you'll enjoy it. Glad you didn't forget about me! Take care and thanks for reviewing!
D. Pearls: Hey! Glad to hear from you again! That is an interesting theory; that maybe the members were inducted in the reverse order in which they died. I never thought of that, but if I steal it, will you sue me? ;) J/K, but do you mind if I use it. I really have no clue as to their order of induction, I've just been going with the flow. Yeah, Bankotsu and Jakotsu are drifting apart a bit, but it kinda has to happen. They're just too close to have a good leader-subordinate relationship. Ha, there is a reason why Jakotsu automatically picks up after people that comes from his past ;). There will be more about that in the last chapter. Thanks for reviewing and take care!
Gray Hoody: Hehehe, Bankotsu did sign up for a telepathy and empathy course, but his application was rejected due to a previous unpaid fee and a bounced check ;). Snorts Just kidding. Bankotsu is still in that glowing stage of having a new toy; you know, like when you get a new game and it's the greatest thing ever until weeks later when you've died for the thousandth time? Lol. Thanks for reviewing and take care!
Makotsu-the Shichinin-chick: Lol alright, Inuyasha! Keh, indeed, hehe. I'll inform Renkotsu of what you said ;). Thanks for reviewing and take care!
OnlyCoolEmoBoysKiss: Lol, hi! Sorry for taking so long with that last update. This one wasn't supposed to take so long either, but things got crazy. Thanks for sticking with me and reviewing! Take care!
Lildaemon: Hey! SO glad to hear from you again. I was worried everyone would have forgotten about this story, I took so long to come back to it. Is Renkotsu loyal? Well, in the anime he wasn't, but maybe there was a time when he was. I'm letting him guide me. I mean, with Naraku and the shikon shards, Renkotsu saw a way to be stronger than Bankotsu, so he didn't need him anymore(at least that's my analysis) He may be an excellent con artist or just a pansy hiding behind someone stronger ;). We'll see how he turns out ;). Yup, I'm not gonna make it a secret, Ginkotsu's story is next ;). I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for reviewing :). Take care!
Draechaeli: Thank you so much for the review! Take care and enjoy the new chapter!
KuraSun: Aww... well, maybe you'll like this next chapter better. Thanks for the review. Take care!
Riftwar-Slave: Lol, someone else beat you to strangling Renkotsu ;). Hope you don't mind :D. Thanks for the review; glad to know you're still with me! Take care!
Chapter 9
"You've got paint in your hair," Suikotsu commented. Jakotsu looked up from his kneeling position on the floor to find Suikotsu towering over him to gaze at his work. Jakotsu frowned at the large chrysanthemum blossoming under his hand and at the amount of yellow and white paint he was getting on his person.
"It will wash out," Jakotsu said, dipping the fine bristles of his tiny brush in the water basin beside him. He sat back on his heels, gazing critically at his work on the other walls of the parlor. He'd planted a garden of lotuses, plum and cherry blossoms, and finally chrysanthemums.
"You and washing that hair. I don't see how you stand messing with all of it," Suikotsu grumbled, picking up Jakotsu's water basin. "The water's turning yellow."
"Bankotsu has more hair than I do," Jakotsu pointed out, swirling a new brush in white paint. "Do you ask him how he stands it?"
"Bankotsu doesn't wash his every other day," Suikotsu said matter-of-factly. "You need anything else besides fresh water? I'm only making one trip."
Jakotsu gazed up in surprise. "Ah, no, not right now. You do not have to replace that. I will do it in a bit."
"Eh, it's an unnecessary interruption, Jakotsu. I want to see this garden of yours finished before Bankotsu and Renkotsu have us out on this new ques of theirs." Suikotsu's tone was uncharacteristically bitter and Jakotsu sucked the tip of his brush to dampen it while studying the older man.
"You are not still thinking of killing Renkotsu, are you?"
"Maybe," Suikotsu growled, some yellow water sloshed onto the floor as he rocked in agitation.
Jakotsu grimaced at the spot, glancing at the towels beside his feet briefly. He'd clean it up as soon as he got Suikotsu outside. The man had calmed down considerably after slaying those nasty workmen, but he was still on edge.
It worried Jakotsu to think that killing so many may not have been enough to satiate Suikotsu's thirst for blood. Renkotsu didn't want to be left alone with him for obvious reasons, but could Suikotsu become a danger to the rest of them?
"Sorry," Suikotsu groaned, looking at the minor mess he'd made. "He just... he took my gloves from my room and adjusted them! He didn't ask; he just took them! Said they were inefficient and that Oo-aniki would have given him permission to do, if Renkotsu had informed him of the problem. No good bastard."
Jakotsu bit his lower lip on a giggle. "Oh."
Suikotsu's tiny black eyes glared at him. "Are you laughing at me, asshole?"
"No," Jakotsu chirped, trying to smile innocently and failing miserably as the smile turned into a chuckle.
Jakotsu shrieked as cold water was poured over his head and he leapt to his feet, seething at Suikotsu. The kimono he wore was not one of his best; he was using it to paint in after all, but now it was absolutely filthy! He was covered in residual paint goo and it was all Suikotsu's doing!
"Você traga baixo o bastardo!" You low down bastard!
Suikotsu had the nerve to grin, cocking his stupid brow at Jakotsu haughtily. "Your pretty words don't scare me."
Jakotsu growled. "Esperanca ao deus que você funbciona mais rapidamente do que mim!" Hope to God you run faster than me!
The words came to him naturally and rolled over his tongue with an ease that told him he wasn't speaking Japonês. He charged Suikotsu armed with a paint brush, wet robes dragging the floor leaving trails of yucky water. That damn Suikotsu was dirtying the place faster than Jakotsu could clean it! Suikotsu guffawed as Jakotsu slammed into him, actually allowing Jakotsu to force him to the floor.
He was laughing too hard to fend off all of Jakotsu's well-aimed, a bit more than half-hearted punches to the chest and gut. "Ja...Jakotsu..." he puffed.
"Que?" What?
"We're touching."
Jakotsu froze immediately, eyes widening at the soft expression on Suikotsu's face as he recovered from his laughing fit. He sat up on the large man's tummy, hands falling to his sides. "Ah..."
"Does it still bother you?"
Jakotsu was not sure. He didn't feel the familiar fear that plagued him whenever a foreign hand came too close; he didn't have the need to scrub himself clean, and there was no urge to spill Suikotsu's blood. "I do not think so."
Suikotsu grinned, delighted. "It only took 6 months to get you to trust me."
Right when I was wondering if you were safe to be around, my friend, my body decides you are not a threat.
Jakotsu took it as a sign.
"You look like a drowned rat, you know?"
"It is your fault."
"What's going on in here!"
Jakotsu started, toppling off of Suikotsu's belly into a puddle on the floor. So cold... His teeth began to chatter as he looked up to see Renkotsu stalking toward them, his face a mask of repulsion.
"You are a vile, disgusting child!" Renkotsu glowered down at Jakotsu who couldn't move for shock that Renkotsu was actually speaking directly to him without Bankotsu in the room to support his words.
"Look at you; you can't even keep your filthy hands off your own teammates!"
Jakotsu stared. What was Moon Head ranting about now?– he was speaking too fast for Jakotsu to understand. He felt Suikotsu sitting up and he turned his head a bit to look at him in question. Suikotsu should recognize the "translate for me, please?" look by now.
Suikotsu was too busy glaring at Renkotsu to catch Jakotsu's inquiry.
"Shut up now, Renkotsu, if you know what's good for you," Suikotsu growled dangerously.
"What did he say?" Jakotsu asked, deeply curious to find out what had made Suikotsu so angry. Jakotsu was sure Renkotsu was not saying anything positive about him, but Jakotsu was hard to offend. He'd been called more names than he'd care to repeat in his past. So long as Renkotsu wasn't using the tone he reserved for idiot's with him, Jakotsu could care less. He peered at Moon Head again, admiring the red flush of his face and wondering if the color extended to the top of his head. Jakotsu couldn't tell because he was wearing a bandana to mask its roundness.
"What did I say?" Renkotsu roared, stepping back, apparently wary of Suikotsu's dark countenance but still offended enough to keep talking. "What do you mean what did I say? Do you not understand spoken word? Are you stupid?"
Jakotsu's brow furrowed, he was getting every other word now. Moon Head had a bad tendency to run words together when he was excited. Jakotsu didn't know how Bankotsu could stand it.
"Renkotsu..." Suikotsu snarled, trying to get to his feet, but Jakotsu stuck out a hand to hold him down.
"Oo-aniki would not like it, Suikotsu. He likes Moon... er... Renkotsu, and it would not do for Bankotsu to find him in pieces when he returns."
Renkotsu glared at them both, the look in his eyes clearly reading that he thought they were too dumb to continue conversing with.
Good, maybe he will leave, and then I can find out what he said.
But Renkotsu didn't leave the room. He instead went to the wall, standing in front Jakotsu's unfinished chrysanthemum. "Flowers..."
He really is a genius, Jakotsu snorted to himself.
"Do you really think Oo-aniki would appreciate something as effeminate as this in his household! I don't know why he puts up with you! You must have something over his head!"
Renkotsu didn't seem to like the display, and Jakotsu wasn't surprised. Renkotsu never liked anything he did, but Jakotsu supposed the feeling was mutual.
Jakotsu rose from the floor, wringing his robes out and kicking at Suikotsu who still looked murderous in Renkotsu's direction. "We should refill this basin and maybe I will think of something else I need while we are outside. It smells bad in here now."
"You'll want to clean up this mess too, before you leave," Renkotsu had finally calmed, his voice low and his phrases coming at a pace Jakotsu could comprehend. "All of it!"
Renkotsu smacked his hand in the middle of the chrysanthemum, smearing the wet paint in a circular motion, and Jakotsu saw red.
No, no need for you to get up, Suikotsu. Moon Head wants to fight with me.
"You are nothing but trash! I waited and I waited for you to show this... this potential Oo-aniki keeps telling me about. I don't understand why you're here, Jakotsu! You're worthless. You're brainless. You probably follow Bankotsu hoping for a chance to molest him! Why else would you dress like that? Do you think an intelligent person like Oo-aniki will forget that you're boy? Oo-aniki is quite indulgent in affairs, but if you think for one moment that he would be desperate enough to..."
Renkotsu didn't quite get to finish his sentence. Jakotsu charged forward, grabbing Renkotsu from behind and twisting his body to slam his back against the wall with a loud crash. He choked and struggled as Jakotsu held him pinned, the pointed, wooden end of the paintbrush Jakotsu had never set down nestled sweetly against Moon Head's delicate jugular.
Jakotsu smiled dreamily at the man, taking great interest in the fear forming in his dark eyes. Hadn't they just been smoldering with a revulsion so thick it had made his eyes look black. They weren't really. Up close, they were brown.
Jakotsu moved closer to Renkotsu, the wet fabric of his kimono dampening Renkotsu's clothing. He brushed a leg against him, careful to keep his other hand against Renkotsu's shoulder. The bones were brittle under his palm and he pressed them harder into the wall, thoroughly satisfied with Renkotsu strangled moan of pain and terror.
"You think that I want for Bankotsu to forget that I am a man?" He whispered. "That my choice of dress should tempt him, perhaps? Well, do you know what I think?"
Renkotsu gasped.
"I think the way I dress tempts you. Do you forget that I am a man? Would you have to be desperate to want me, Renkotsu. Are you desperate, now?" Jakotsu grinned as Renkotsu froze against him, eyes as round as his ugly head. Jakotsu applied careful pressure to the brush, puncturing the skin of Renkotsu's neck lightly and marveling at the thin trickle of blood that escaped the shallow nick. "I should taste you first, and find out if you are worth my effort."
Renkotsu tried to struggled, but Jakotsu held him still. "It would be better if you did not move. You will kill yourself, Renkotsu, and spoil my fun."
Renkotsu's mouth opened and closed much like a fish on shore– not very attractive at all. "You wished for a display of my usefulness, correct?"
Renkotsu stared.
"I can kill with any weapon presented to me without a second thought, Renkotsu. I will show you now with this paintbrush."
"JAKOTSU!"
Jakotsu started, his fingers going slack and letting the brush slip from his hand, at the sound of Bankotsu's raised voice. He looked away from Renkotsu to see that Bankotsu had come into the parlor, fresh grass stains on the knees and elbows of his clothes. "What the hell are you doing? Let him go!"
Renkotsu had already started to struggle as soon as the pressure at his throat was gone and Bankotsu was meters away. "Oo-aniki, he attacked me! He's crazy and trying to kill me!"
Jakotsu backhanded Renkotsu, not even taking pleasure in the way the man's large head rebounded off the wall. "Shut up!"
"Jakotsu, move away from him, now!"
Jakotsu stared hard at Bankotsu as he took several slow steps away from Renkotsu. Bankotsu strode toward them, eyes narrowed and brows drawn together. Jakotsu tried to decipher the emotion in those dark blue eyes. Was it anger?– Distaste?– Both?
And more importantly, who was it directed toward?
"Renkotsu," Bankotsu's voice was firm as he passed Jakotsu and went to Renkotsu's side. The man had slid down the wall and now sat in an ungraceful straddle holding his throat and panting. "Tell me what happened?"
Jakotsu felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath him and he was tumbling toward the hell Mama had believed in, a prison of fire run by a fallen angel. Bankotsu really had chosen Renkotsu... over him.
Bankotsu had proven him right. Love really was just a phase, and this one had passed.
Jakotsu glowered at the both of them, feelings of hurt and betrayal making him sick and dizzy. Bankotsu was supposed to be different, he was! He was Jakotsu's brother, but he wasn't like the others in his family; at least he hadn't been, until he'd allowed himself to be changed.
His mental anguish turned to fury. How dare Bankotsu do this to him! How dare he turn his back to Jakotsu to go to another's side! Hot tears ran down his cheeks as he struggled to find the words to express his sentiments.
"A ti dois merecer um ao outro e pode apodrecimento em inferno para todos eu cuido sobre a ti já não, Bankotsu! Eu odeio a ti!" You two deserve each other and you can rot in hell for all I care about you anymore, Bankotsu! I hate you!
Bankotsu was gawking at him, wide eyed and bewildered. "Ja..." he began, but Jakotsu couldn't stay there to listen to the rest. He felt the walls of the room closing in on him and the fumes of the paint he hadn't noticed before were suffocating.
He had to get out!
Jakotsu left the room, ignoring all calls of his name and stumbled out the front door onto the porch and into fresh air.
"The hell?" Bankotsu sat on his backside in shock. The look on Jakotsu's face and the acid in his voice had twisted Bankotsu's insides into knots of confusion, concern, and just plain fear.
What did he say?
Jakotsu had spoken in his native tongue in which Bankotsu knew few words, but nothing was lost in translation when it came to how he had spoken. It had sounded like a final judgement.
Was he leaving?- was Jakotsu abandoning him?
"Oo-aniki..." Suikotsu stared at him with new eyes, as if he couldn't believe what he was witnessing. "You would question Jakotsu's actions over Renkotsu's?"
Bankotsu blinked. "I... I just wanted to know what the hell was going on. I walked into a battle zone. I wasn't... I needed to hear the story from both sides..."
"You asked for Renkotsu's side first!"
Bankotsu gaped, so he did, but did it matter? He was going to ask Jakotsu what happened as well, and he was more inclined to believe Jakotsu. Why ask for something he knew he was going to automatically believe right away?
"I did. So?"
"That was foolish, Oo-aniki! If you'd paid more attention to him these past few weeks, you would know how stupid..."
"Hey, shut up!" Bankotsu snapped, not appreciating having his neglect thrown into his face like that. It stung. He knew what he'd done, but it had been necessary. Jakotsu needed to learn that Bankotsu was not his alone.
He was spoiled.
"Oo-aniki," Renkotsu was choking.
"What?" Bankotsu rolled his eyes back to the bald man, scowling at the blood staining his fingers from his throat.
"That language– the language he was speaking– is he fluent?"
"Huh?" Bankotsu blinked, eyes taking in the complete disaster in which the room had fallen prey. Dingy water and paint everywhere. The wall Renkotsu sat in front of looked like children had put their hands in a work of art and smeared it beyond recognition.
"Jakotsu– he can't be all Japanese. I thought his accent was strange! The language he uses... that's the language the foreigners I've traded with speak! Tell me he's fluent!"
Bankotsu tensed at the guttural growl from Suikotsu and stood to block the man's charge. "Back down Suikotsu; there's enough confusion here."
Suikotsu's glare was extended from Renkotsu to Bankotsu as well. "You should leave this bastard to me and go apologize to Jakotsu!"
"Jakotsu will..." Bankotsu frowned, the feel of his gut plummeting to his feet making him wince. Jakotsu had gone outside, not up to his room. Bankotsu only had to worry, if he started packing. Jakotsu would never leave his precious clothes behind. "Tell me what happened, one of you– I don't care who."
Renkotsu was too busy pulling his bandana from his head and pressing it against his throat, dark eyes dancing with undaunted excitement, to jump in and tell the story. Which was good for him, because Bankotsu didn't know if he could hold Suikotsu if tried to lunge at Renkotsu again for talking over him.
"Renkotsu insulted Jakotsu; pretty much called him a whore; said he was stupid, worthless, trash and then accused him of trying to seduce his way into your good graces! And all I can say is Renkotsu better thank every Buddha he's ever prayed to that Jakotsu didn't understand half of what he was saying! There would have been nothing for you to stop, Oo-aniki, for Renkotsu would already be headless!"
Bankotsu's fists reacted before his mind could. In the blink of an eye, his knuckles were sore from where he'd given Renkotsu a double blow from either hand to the face. His damn head was still as hard as a freakin' rock! "You said that to him!"
Renkotsu let out a cry as Bankotsu dragged him to his feet and threw him into the table. The short piece of furniture toppled over as Renkotsu's solid frame slammed into it. "Who the hell do you think you are! No one ever talks to him like that, ever!"
"O-Oo-aniki... p...please..." Renkotsu was stuttering, stumbling away from Bankotsu's furious advance and moaning as he was caught by the collar of his tunic. Bankotsu placed his thumb over the wound Jakotsu had made, ready to press down and finish tearing the flesh open.
"I... I didn't understand him! I didn't know he could..."
"He's strong isn't he?" Bankotsu asked flatly, bringing Renkotsu's face so close to his their noses touched. "He moved so fast you couldn't fight back, didn't he? You never thought a paintbrush could hurt you, did you?"
"I...he..."
"You didn't trust me, and you..." he shook Renkotsu, "...told my brother he was trash! I've killed for less than that. I've killed for no reason at all! You know, I don't even think I'll count your death along with the others I've killed. You don't deserve the acknowledgment."
"Let me do it, Bankotsu!" Suikotsu requested. "I've been wanting to kill him for weeks! It's not fair for you..."
Bankotsu chose to tune out the rest of Suikotsu's complaint in favor of listening to Renkotsu beg for mercy. He wanted to be spared of course. "Why shouldn't I kill you? You've violated my trust; you've hurt my team. Tell me why I shouldn't finish what Jakotsu started; you have a minute."
"Oo-aniki, let me..."
"Shut up Suikotsu! Talk, Renkotsu, you've got 55 seconds now!"
Suikotsu groaned in frustration behind him. "I'll be outside!"
"Bankotsu, we have plans! I'm speaking to you as a business man. You want to become renown for your skills; you want to stand out and outshine any other mercenary or ronin! You want daimyos to request you by name and to know who you are! You cannot do that without innovation! You know this. It's what we've talked about. Don't throw it away; you're so close! We're so close. I made a foolish mistake... You are Leader, but you... you're still so young, and I thought... I was foolish, so foolish. I should have trusted your judgment, Oo-aniki! Jakotsu is an incredibly valuable member of this team. He moves as fast as you do, and Oo-aniki, he speaks the boat language! He's our trump card! Bankotsu, look at me! We're there! We can reach the top!"
Renkotsu's words were frantic, almost hysterical, his eyes blazing in jubilation rather than fear.
He's not even thinking of me killing him anymore. Bankotsu thought, thoroughly intrigued. One thing about Renkotsu, when he was passionate about something, he had a way of stirring Bankotsu up too. "Oo-aniki, I have to lead the way to the port. We don't need Genji– he's not very good at talking anyway; the foreigners just like him because he works for food and board. Jakotsu is a gem. They won't give him a hard time, and we can get everything we need, everything! Is he fluent?"
Renkotsu's fervor dampened slightly and Bankotsu released his hold on Renkotsu's collar and removed his thumb from the throat wound. "Tell me he's fluent."
Bankotsu stared, mouth twitching slightly. "He speaks it better than Japanese."
"Excellent!" Renkotsu scratched absently at his throat. "We should leave tomorrow. Tomorrow would be..."
"Renkotsu," Bankotsu said forcefully, schooling his expression and hoping to appear callous, "I still haven't decided whether to kill you or not."
"You let me go," Renkotsu frowned, studying Bankotsu warily. "I thought..."
Bankotsu shook his head and Renkotsu shut up instantly, fear working its way back into his gaze. "You thought," Bankotsu said simply, shrugging. "You do that often, Renkotsu, but never about anything really important. You didn't listen to me when I said this group is family. Jakotsu and Suikotsu are my brothers, and should be yours too. There's no room in this house for separate agents or intolerance. I let it go on for too long with you, Renkotsu. I was so interested in what you had to offer, I ignored important signals from the family that everything wasn't all right."
"I... I want to fit in here; I tried..."
"No, you didn't."
"I can try harder."
"Maybe you can, maybe you can't, and maybe you won't."
"I... I can leave."
Bankotsu's lids lowered, half-hooding his eyes as he took a threatening step toward Renkotsu who stumbled backward, almost falling over the toppled table. "The only way to leave this group is through heaven's gates. We can't have people going off telling the living all our good secrets, now can we?"
Renkotsu blinked. "N...no."
"But..." Bankotsu wanted to chew his braid as the wheels in his brain turned. Every muscle in his body was geared for a kill, every nerve screamed for blood... but his common sense, the thing that he sometimes let make his decisions, told him to wait. Renkotsu was a precious commodity. He was a genius; he could build things Bankotsu had never seen before; he'd be the one paving the winding path Bankotsu treaded with gold...
He couldn't just kill him– not like this– but he had crossed a line, and Bankotsu couldn't let him get away with it.
But it was Jakotsu's line, so...
"It's Jakotsu's choice."
"What?" Renkotsu gasped.
"You go, and you kneel before him, apologize, and ask him what he wants to do with you. Only his word will allow you to stay, and if he turns you away... Well, you can figure out the rest; you're a smart man."
"But... but he was going to kill me!" Renkotsu clutched at his throat again.
"So was I, and you're telling me you trust me more?" Bankotsu raised a brow. He tossed a disgruntled look around the untidy parlor. "Clean this shit up, and when you're done, join us outside for your final judgment."
Renkotsu lowered his head in a slight bow, nodding slightly. "Yes, Oo-aniki."
Bankotsu left the room with a smug smile that was soon to leave his lips. Renkotsu wasn't going to be the only one outside on his knees in front of Jakotsu apologizing and awaiting judgment.
Ai, Jakotsu. I've been a real baka and if you don't choose to execute me, I'll be grateful.
He pushed open the front door and sighed at the sight of Suikotsu and Jakotsu sitting cross-legged in the grass a few feet from the porch. Both heads turned at the sound of the door opening and Bankotsu met and held their gazes.
Neither one looked pleased to see him.
Kami-sama, here I go.
Please let him forgive me. I don't know what I'll do, if he doesn't.
Bankotsu crossed the porch, taking the stairs into the grass slowly. "Jakotsu," he began when he'd reached them, "can we talk?– alone?"
Author's Note: There it is. So, what's the verdict? Good? Bad? So/So? Don't care? Anyway, let me know; please review:)