How the Band of Seven came to be

by Delightfully Wicked

Whilest fighting Inuyasha, Bankotsu had a flashback on how he first came up with the idea for the Band of Seven or Shichinintai, for the Japanese fans after his encounter with Naraku in the woods. So, I sat down and began to type of how Bankotsu met each

How the Band of Seven came to be…

Bankotsu wandered through the forest ahead of his brother, Jakotsu. They'd heard there was a very strong demon in these woods, and he wanted to kill it. Not so he could make the woods safer, of course, nor so that he would be known as a hero. He was going to kill it to become stronger.
As he arrived in the clearing, he found the demon already dead, lying motionless in the water. Standing beside it was someone wearing a wolf's skin.
"Did you kill this demon?" Bankotsu asked, unstrapping his Banryuu from his back.
"If so, what would it matter to you?" The man asked.
"Are you demon or human? It doesn't matter, I will kill you just the same."
"You seek to become stronger, I see." The man said, "However, you are not strong enough to defeat me."
"We won't know until I try."
"Perhaps we'll meet again, human." And with that, the man in the wolf scan jumped at an incredible height, disappearing away.
Bankotsu stood there, thinking over what had been said.
"Big brother! Wait up!" Jakotsu's voice echoed through the woods. He looked from the monster to Bankotsu and sighed, "You killed it already? Just once I wish you would have left one for me!"
"Jakotsu…" Bankotsu said slowly and thoughtfully, "I want to go to war."
"What? But you said you would never take orders from a samurai."
"And I won't." He answered simply, "We'll make our own army. And I'll be the leader."
"Ooh! Really? Are there going to be any hot guys in it?"
"No, Jakotsu. They have to be strong. They have to be powerful. I wonder how many we need?"
"You're right. It's probably wouldn't be any good to have any hot guys in it, because knowing me I'd just slice them up to pieces!"
"Let's go…" he said as he strapped his Banryuu to his back and began to walk away.
They left the woods, traveling across the land looking for strong assassins to join their group.
It was three months, and still no one had been strong enough to fit Bankotsu's standards. They were all either too weak, or unable to be trusted, and so he'd slain them all with his Banryuu, adding to it's power.
"Five hundred and seventy six!" He declared as he sliced another useless mercenary in two with his Banryuu.
"If you keep killing everyone like this," Jakotsu sighed, "we'll never have anyone to join our army."
"They need to be strong." He stated bluntly, slinging his Banryuu over his shoulder and walking down the street. People backed out of his way as he and his brother walked, some even fleeing for their pitiful and useless lives. He didn't care, though. None of them were worth the time, nor the effort.
"What about this guy?" Jakotsu asked, gesturing towards a nearby WANTED poster. Bankotsu stepped up to examine the picture. It was a picture of a man wearing a long bandana, a strange purple symbol on his head, and an arrogant look on his face. Below, it said:
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Renkotsu
"He doesn't look like he can be trusted," Bankotsu observed thoughtfully, "But he'd be good next kill." He shrugged. He turned around and slammed his Banryuu down, slicing a nearby villager who was fleeing in two. The other villager stopped dead in his tracks. "You there!" Bankotsu said as he pointed his giant sword at the cowering man, "Where can I find this man?" He asked cheerfully.
"W-w-who?" The man stammered, "Him?" He asked, pointing at the picture of Renkotsu.
"Yes, do you know where I can find him?"
"You're pretty cute…" Jakotsu observed, leaning forward, "Bankotsu, can I kill him? Please?"
"What was that you said about killing everybody?" Bankotsu asked.
"Aw! Come on!" He pulled out his Jakotsutou eagerly, "Please?" He narrowed his eyes and smiled wickedly at the man cowering before them.
"Where is this man?" Bankotsu asked more seriously.
"L-l-last I heard he w-w-was in the next v-" The poor man didn't even get to finish his sentence. A snake-like chain of blades sliced him to pieces, and then returned to Jakotsu's blade. Jakotsu licked the blood off of the blade happily.
"What did you do that for?" Bankotsu asked, more curious than angry, "He was about to tell us where this man was. Now we'll have to ask someone else."
"Oh, don't be such a complainer!" Jakotsu said cheerfully, slapping Bankotsu on the back, "He said the man was in last seen in the next village."
"How do you know?"
"Just trust me on this one! Have I ever let you down?"
"No, of course not." Bankotsu said cheerfully, "Come on! We'd better get going if we're going to catch him before he leaves."
"Do we have to be in such a hurry?" Jakotsu looked longingly from his sword to the people who were now backing away wearily from him.
"Yes. You've had your fun, and so have I. We have to go now."
"Not really, you got to kill two people. I only got to kill one." Everyone exchanged worried glances again, and some even began to run off at hearing this.
"Fine, one more." Bankotsu sighed, "But make it quick."

Jakotsu turned to the crowd and smiled, pointing his Jakotsutou at them.
"Who will it be first?" He asked. Everyone took a step back.
"Don't run," Bankotsu advised, "Or there'll be more casualties than one."
"Eenie…" Jakotsu took a step forward and moved his blade to point at someone else, "meanie…" He took another step forward, and everyone took another step back, "miney…" he said sadistically as he took yet another step towards the crowd, pointing his Jakotsutou's blade at each cowering visitor in turn. At last, someone lost their nerve and turned to run, "Moe!" Jakotsu shouted as he swung his blade forward. Again, a snake-like link of chains protruded from the sword and sliced the person to pieces. The villagers scattered, screaming and shouting in terror as Jakotsu sliced them all down with his blade, laughing like the madman he was all the while.
Bankotsu looked up at the sky and sighed, waiting patiently for Jakotsu to finish. When at last the entire village had been slain, the two set off once again for the next village.
They arrived at the next village three days later, but it had already been burnt down, the few survivors, if any, had already left. Bankotsu sighed.
"Sorry, big brother." Jakotsu said, "But you know how I get."
"Come on, maybe we can head him off at the next village."
They set off once again, heading for the second nearest village.
"If we go to the nearest village, we'll just get there too late again," Bankotsu explained, "But if we get to the village after that…"
"Then we'll get there before him!" Jakotsu said brightly.
It didn't take them long to bypass the next village, which was still on fire.
"See? He's been here recently."
"Maybe we can ask which way he went?"
"And then let you get caught up like you did last time? Besides, I think I may already know."
They took the fastest route they knew of to the next village, arriving by the next day. It was not burnt nor harmed in any way as far as they could tell.
"He hasn't been here yet."
"Then let's enjoy ourselves!" Jakotsu pulled out his Jakotsutou again eagerly.
"No." Bankotsu laid his hand on the blade gently, "Not yet. We don't want him to skip this village just because it's already been attacked by someone else."
They wandered through the village, ignoring everyone's shocked and scared faces.
"Look, big brother!" Jakotsu said excitedly, pointing to a WANTED poster, "We're celebrities!"
Wanted:
Dead or Alive
Bankotsu

Wanted:
Dead or Alive
Jakotsu

Suddenly, there was an explosion in the distance. It sounded like it was the restaurant they'd passed earlier.
People ran by Jakotsu and Bankotsu, running from the source of the explosion.
"I think he's here…" Bankotsu grinned malevolently as he began to walk towards the restaurant.
He soon came into view of a man with a cannon mounted on his shoulder, laughing hysterically as the restaurant burned before him.
"That's for the lousy food!" He shouted gleefully before firing off another shot, "And who says I need to pay a bill?"
"You there!" Bankotsu pointed at Renkotsu with his Banryuu, "Are you strong?"
"Yeah," he said, a smug yet serious look was on his face, "What of it?"
"Do you think you could beat me in battle?" Bankotsu asked.
Renkotsu looked him up and down, as though sizing him up, and then dropped the cannon to the ground. He took out a bottle of whiskey and announced, "Come near me if you dare, for it will be I who sends you to the fiery depths of hell."
"It looks like he's got a thing for fire, big brother." Jakotsu replied, looking at Renkotsu thoughtfully.
"I can handle him." Bankotsu began walking towards Renkotsu. He waited until he was only a few feet away before raising his Banryuu and announcing, "He's not even going to fight back! Five hundred and seventy-"
Renkotsu took a big gulp of the whiskey, and then spat out flames rather than the liquid he'd just ingested. Bankotsu barely managed to avoid the surprise attack, swinging himself to the left. Renkotsu began to turn towards the left, following Bankotsu as he avoided the flames.
Bankotsu jumped to the left, gaining himself a few feet, and then jumped towards Renkotsu, his Banryuu positioned to impale his foe. However, Renkotsu spun to the right, avoiding the attack. Bankotsu immediately responded by stabbing his Banryuu into the ground in mid-motion, and then using it to swing around and kick Renkotsu to the ground.
He gripped his Banryuu with his left hand and pulled it out of the ground, slamming it down once again in a single axe-like motion. Renkotsu rolled to the left, avoiding the giant blade by merely a few inches, and then kicked the giant blade with both his feet, knocking it out of Bankotsu's hand.
He jumped to his feet and punched Bankotsu, but Bankotsu caught his fist with one hand, stopping the attack.
"You underestimate me, Renkotsu." He said, smiling gleefully. Renkotsu responded by trying to uppercut his stomach with his other hand, but Bankotsu caught that as well, raising it to equal level with the first.
He head-butted Renkotsu. Hard. Renkotsu began to stumble back a bit, but Bankotsu wouldn't let go of his hands, and as soon as Renkotsu gained his balance, he was head-butted again.
Bankotsu smiled arrogantly, delighted with how the fight was going, when he saw something that made his smile disappear. He could see something dribbling from Renkotsu's mouth, but it wasn't blood…
He let go of Renkotsu's fists and fell back in just enough time to avoid another flame-blowing attack. Renkotsu wiped his mouth,
"Indeed, you are stronger than I'd expected. However, I don't think you're quite strong enough."
Bankotsu kicked Renkotsu's feet from under him, making him fall to the ground as well. There, sitting on the ground, Renkotsu glared at Bankotsu, who merely smiled arrogantly. The two turned around and scrambled for their weapons; Bankotsu for his Banryuu, Renkotsu for his cannon. They reached them at about the same time, and turned around to face each other.
Renkotsu did not hesitate; he fired his cannon directly at Bankotsu and watched the explosion with satisfaction. That oughta show him… He thought to himself. The flames were soon swept away however, as Banryuu swung to the side, it's wielder hidden by the smoke, blowing out the flames. Bankotsu lunged forward, stopped before Renkotsu, spun around and kicked the back of Renkotsu's legs (causing his cannon to shoot in the air, which made Jakotsu think twice about staying where he was to watch the fight), and Renkotsu fell to the ground.
"The fight is over," Bankotsu said as he held Banryuu to Renkotsu's neck, threatening to decapitate him at any time, "You have lost."
"Do what you will!" Renkotsu shouted angrily, "I'm not afraid to die! Not by your hand! Not by the hand of anyone of this Earth!"
"You misunderstand," Bankotsu said happily, "I'm not going to kill you! Though you would make a good addition to my Banryuu's power, I'm not going to kill you. At least, I won't if I can help it."
"What are you getting at?" Renkotsu asked suspiciously, aware that he should choose his words wisely lest he be able to speak them no longer.
"I want you to join my army." Bankotsu said.
"What's in it for me?"
"Well, you won't be killed, for one thing. At least, not by me. Being in an army does involve the risk of death. You'll get to kill and slaughter all you want, and no one will stand against us!"
"How many men are in your army?" He asked, still suspicious, "Two hundred? Five hundred? A thousand?"
"Two. At least, that's how many so far."
"Two thousand?" He asked. It was a rather small number for an army that's supposed to be unbeatable.
"No. Just two. Me, and my good friend Jakotsu." He pointed his thumb at Jakotsu, who waved happily.
Rather than bursting out with curses of how stupid Bankotsu must be, as he very much felt like doing, he said,
"Fine. I'll join." After all, he thought, if his army is made up of men like him, and like me, then it won't take much to become invincible. Besides, I don't have much of a choice right now, aside from dying. I don't much feel like doing that today.
"What's your name?" Bankotsu asked as he moved the Banryuu away from Renkotsu's neck, strapping it to his back.
"Didn't you see on the poster? I heard you were looking for me." He said as he stood up.
"We can't read." Bankotsu admitted, happily, "Can you?"
"Yes." Reading was an exceptional skill, "As well as write." He added.
"Great! You'll be my second in command!"
"Out of three?"
"Aw!" Jakotsu whined, "I wanted to be second in command!"
"Sorry, Jakotsu, but we have to put personal friendships aside in favor of strategy. You understand!" he said, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"Well, as long as I still get to kill." Jakotsu said happily.
What an odd bunch of men, Renkotsu thought gloomily, but I owe my life to them… For now.

author's notes!

Review, please! I did not know the exact dialogue from Bankotsu's meeting with Naraku in the forest, but I recited it as best I could.
Sorry, but I used the dialogue from the American version, and don't want to hear people complaining about how the Japanese version is better, the American version is butchered up, or even recommend me seeing the Japanese version because I didn't post this for those things.
If you would like to say, "btw: You can get a Japanese version at… name of store/website/wherever", fine. But I don't want the entire review to be about that!
I want the review to be about my story, what you think, and how soon you want an update. Thank you for taking your time to read it, and to comment on it. Comments and criticism are welcome (though not flame. I don't take insults well…).