Hours later, her throat was dry and she had to continually lick her cracked lips. Pausing to feed more sticks to the fire, she surveyed the men around her. The largest of them was flat on his back, snoring unattractively. The peculiar little man was muttering in his sleep about some woman, and rolling around now and then. The man that looked like he had once been a monk slept silently on his side, with his quiet friend asleep on his other side. The one with the green face markings and sharp tongue slept fitfully, occasionally seeming as if he were in discomfort or even pain. And the man – she was sure it was a man – in the pink yukata slept near the leader, cuddling his sheathed hinged sword as though it were a doll.
The leader himself remained awake, although with all the sake he had consumed, she did not know how that was possible. Bankotsu gazed at the flickering flames, and then looked over at her. Her bangs hid most of her eyes, but he could still see her pale, drawn face with dried blood caked on her skin. She had to be exhausted, but she went on talking, pausing only to clear her throat or lick her lips. He felt a slight, vague admiration for her persistence.
She cleared her throat again. "A very long time ago there was a feud between cousins over who would take over the throne of a kingdom," she said huskily. "The gods of the land themselves were involved, and came down in disguise to aid both sides. The entire war is too lengthy to recount, and this story takes place on the eve of the biggest and fiercest battle."
Bankotsu leaned back against a large rock and watched her through half-closed eyes. For a moment he thought her eyes reflected red in the firelight, but when he blinked he could no longer make out her eye color and decided that it must have been a trick of the flames. "Go on."
"The prince of one side was having trouble sleeping, and so he went outside. His charioteer, who, unbeknownst to the prince, was really one of the gods in disguise, was there." She closed her eyes a moment, trying to think past the thick exhaustion that was clouding her mind. "The prince was troubled and asked the charioteer if he thought it was bad for the soul to be killing so many people, as in most places it is not considered a virtue to kill countless people."
Bankotsu opened his eyes fully and looked at her with interest. What was she trying to say? He didn't want a lecture. His eyes narrowed and he cracked his fingers ominously. "And what did this god in disguise answer?" he asked in a sinister tone.
"He said that it was not bad for the soul to kill people if that was what the person had been born to do."
Her answer surprised him and he looked at her with wide eyes. "Really?" he asked with childlike curiosity, all traces of malice gone.
The girl nodded, relieved that he liked what she had said. He sounded so young… younger than her, but she sensed that he was the most deadly of all the men there. It was not her intention to anger him. "Yes. He said that we are all born to do something, and that we must do it to the best of our abilities. For some, that is killing. For others, it is being a villain, such as the prince's cousin. The cousin was meant to fight the prince, and if he did it well then when he died he would not be punished. How could he be punished for doing what he was meant to do?"
Bankotsu mulled that over. He liked that idea, since he believed that he had been born to kill. He certainly enjoyed doing it, and never felt more alive then he did when he was in battle. He didn't believe in the afterlife, but if he was wrong and there was such a thing, it was kind of nice to hear that he wouldn't be punished, since he was only doing what he was meant to do. "What happened next?"
"His mind at ease, the prince went back to his tent to sleep. The next morning, the last battle began. He won, of course, and his cousin was defeated. The prince became a king, and the evil cousin that died was reborn into the prince's family, though his duty in his next incarnation was not to kill but to one day be king himself. Since he had done his duty well in the previous life, he was rewarded in the next."
"Where did you hear this story?"
She closed her eyes tiredly. "I don't remember, my lord. I heard it a long time ago from… A monk, I think… He said he heard it from someone on the continent."
"Too bad Renkotsu's asleep. He'd have been interested in it." Bankotsu yawned and stretched out lazily. "You've done well tonight, girl. I think you may live after all." He looked over at her to see her reaction.
"Please, my lord," she whispered hoarsely. "I only ask for my life to be spared – nothing more." She bowed her head humbly, but no tears came this time.
He studied her for a long moment. Her stories had been entertaining, and he felt pleasantly drowsy from the food and sake. "Go then."
She lifted her head in surprise, her eyes wide. It was the first time she had directly seen his face and she was shocked by how young and innocent he looked. "My - my lord?" she stammered, uncertain if he was playing a mean-spirited trick on her.
Her face may have been a mess, but her eyes were surprisingly pretty. He laughed at her hesitation. "What are you waiting for, girl? Do you want to become our maid permanently?"
Was he teasing her? She didn't know for sure. Rising slightly, she half stumbled and half crawled over to him. "Thank you, my lord," she said, the gratitude evident on her face, and dropped down as gracefully as possible into a very low bow.
Smiling almost benevolently, he nodded at her. "I wouldn't advise going east," he told her, the smile turning into a grin. "Or we might run into each other again and I can't promise you'll be so fortunate next time."
The fear back on her face, she swallowed hard and nodded. Rising to her feet once more, she made her way past him. For a moment, she paused and looked over her shoulder. She could just see the top of his dark head over the boulder he was resting back against. Then she turned around and ran as fast as her injuries would allow her to.
Bankotsu listened to the sound of her running until it faded into the night, and all he could hear was Kyoukotsu's snores and the occasional cricket chirp. Jakotsu let out a low moan and he cocked a brow at his best friend. Great, another one of those dreams. Feeling pretty content with himself, he yawned and let his eyes slip shut. The night was peaceful, and he had nothing to fear.
After all, was he not the leader of the Shichinin-tai?