A TALE FROM THE PAST
by Kittymui
CHAPTER X
"Careful," she said as she helped him up.
With one of his arms draped over her shoulder, she supported him while they exited the house and entered the forest.
"This is a very thick forest," he suddenly remarked.
Without looking away from their path, Kagome raised her brows in surprise. "You can tell?"
He nodded. "The sounds of the trees and bushes are very frequent and nearby."
To be honest, she didn't agree when he said he wanted to retrieve his halberd the morning after he mentioned it. But he was stubborn, just like herself, so she had no other choice than helping him.
'Oh well...maybe the fresh air will do him good...' she thought as she glanced sideward at his face, which was blindfolded with a black cloth. As her attention strayed from the road, she didn't notice a section of roots sticking out of the ground in front of her feet and tripped over it. "Woah!" she cried.
But when she softly thumped against a warm chest instead of hitting hard dirt, she realized that the young man had caught her. His arm, which was resting on her shoulders before, was now secured around her waist and holding her close to him.
'It's warm...' she thought as a wave of nostalgia filled her mind. She hadn't been held like this for a long time now. The last time would be nine years ago when she said goodbye to Sesshoumaru at the gate of the fortress.
"Are you okay?"
His voice made her snap back into reality. Almost instantly, she became aware the close proximity between them and she quickly took a step backwards out of his embrace. "Y-yeah...thanks," she stammered.
Suddenly she felt quite relieved that his eyes were still covered or else he would have seen her cheeks, which were several shades of red at the moment. "We shouldn't be too far from it now," she broke the awkward silence and went to his side to be his support again.
As they continued to walk, Kagome wondered why she had been so eager to help this stranger and why she was still trying so hard to help him. It was never her nature to pity people, that, she could be sure of. Her eyes drifted upwards to the strings of white clouds in the azure sky as she reminded herself of the dream she had been seeing from time to time, in which she would find herself encaged by fiery flames. The dream began with fear, despair and darkness, which the blazing cage couldn't even enlighten. And then, out of nowhere, a silhouette of a warrior would suddenly appear. He would extinguish the flames to rescue her and take her away to a faraway land, where they could live happily ever after.
This dream recurred several times already, but she had no idea why. It could be some kind of vision of things that are yet to happen, but perhaps it's just sheer loneliness and naivety.
She stole a quick glance at the man walking beside her. Maybe it's because he's the first new person she had got to meet ever since she left the fortress. 'Could he be that warrior from my dreams...?' she mused, only to shake off the thought afterwards. 'Don't be silly Kagome. He's an assassin remember? He'll most likely leave this isolated hole the moment he's able to see again.'
Her face dropped at the conclusion, but her motivation to help him recover did not. She shoved aside her mental ranting as soon as they arrived at the clearing where she had found him. "This is the place where I found you," she told him and led him alongside the border to some bushes. "We hid it somewhere around here if I'm not mistaking..."
"Ah! There it is!"
She slightly pulled him down to a crouching position and guided his hand to the long hilt of the large weapon.
Despite of having seen it before, she was still amazed by its size and she doubted if he would be able to wield it at all.
Her eyes widened in an instant when he single-handedly pulled the halberd out of the shrubs and placed it with ease on his right shoulder. The halberd was unmistakably larger than the man, yet he showed no sign of exhaustion or difficulty on his face. She had to admit that his unusual strength was a bit scary but she also realized that with his current inability to see, he was more vulnerable than she was.
With that thought, she took hold of his free arm. "Let's go back. It's not good to be outside too long in your condition," she suggested.
"Okay," he agreed.
.-.
Upon arriving at the house, she told him to place the halberd on the floor. It had become dirty of lying unprotected in the open nature and they both recognized the need to cover up the sharp edges and the pointy crescent-shaped symbol attached to the end of the hilt.
While the man sat down on the floor next to the weapon, she gathered the needed things for the cleaning. With a small bucket of water and a piece of cloth in her hands, she returned to his side.
Just when she was about to touch the metal with the wet cloth, a hand got hold of her shoulder and halted her. "It's better if I do it," he told her.
"But you-"
"Even though I can't see, I think I'm still more experienced with cleaning weapons than you are," he cut her off and demanded the cloth with an open hand.
"If you say so..." she gave in with a sigh and placed the fabric on his palm before standing up. "Then I'm going to prepare some large cloths for your weapon and a new bandage for your eyes."
.-.
While he doubled the cloth's thickness for Banryuu's sharp edges, he sunk into his own thoughts.
It was good to know that his fighting partner survived the fall and remained undamaged. The weapon had been accompanying him even before he established the Shichinintai and had saved his life countless times. He couldn't possibly imagine what he would do if it had gone missing or if it was destroyed.
With his ears, he followed the movements of the woman as she walked from here to there. He knew inside that had it not been for her, he wouldn't even be sitting here right now. She had really done a lot for him. It was not his intention to reject her aid but the last thing he wanted to see was she getting her fingers cut off by his halberd.
"By the way..." he suddenly thought of something. "I haven't asked you your name yet."
It was funny how it failed to cross his mind to ask the name of his lifesaver, but then again, it had only been 2 days since he awoken. It was only natural for him to be more occupied with his injuries than formal introductions.
After a short moment, she settled down behind him. "My name's Kagome," she replied, followed by the sound of putting down a pile of fabric and a small bottle. "And yours?"
His head perked up at the name, completely forgetting her question. 'Kagome huh? Where have I heard the name before...?' he thought as he halted his activity. Then a sudden realization struck him. 'Wait a minute! Isn't that also the name of princess of the Western Lands?'
'But it doesn't make sense...' he reasoned inwardly. 'Why would a member of the Royal family be living in the middle of the wilderness?'
The longer he thought about it, the more confused he became. But the pondering stopped when he felt the cloth around his eyes being untied.
"Your eyes look a lot better now," she told him. "The redness have faded and they're not so swollen anymore." Her voice was filled with relief and gentleness, which somehow eased his mind. 'It's probably just a coincidence...' he shook off the previous thoughts. 'It's not unusual for two persons to have the same name.'
Again, his thoughts were interrupted, but this time by a familiar refreshing feeling landing on his sensitive eyelids. "It's nice..." he said softly after a moment of silence.
"Yeah, the medicine is really-"
"No...I meant your name..." he smiled, not blaming her for misunderstanding him.
"Oh...t-thank you..."
"I'm Bankotsu by the way," he finally answered her question.
"Bankotsu...that's a nice name too," she complimented as she wound a new cloth around his eyes. "A couple more days and there would probably be no need to cover your eyes anymore."
"Thank goodness! You can't imagine how tiring it is to keep my eyes shut all the time. I hope I haven't forgotten how to open them," he laughed as he continued to clean his halberd.
And Kagome laughed along.
.-. somewhere in a forest far away .-.
The fresh breezes of spring glided pass his soft cheeks as he soared through the air. His long silver manes, billowing in sync with his red robe, framed a young face and a pair of gold-amber orbs filled with untamed ambition and vigor.
He slightly bent his knees upon landing on a branch of a tree that rose above the green carpet of treetops and threw a glance backwards. "Heh! There's no way he can catch me now," he smirked. But as soon as he turned to look ahead, a figure blocked the great scenery.
'Great...' he sulked inwardly as he knew who it was.
"You've failed again."
"Yeah, I know..." he grumbled as he looked up. The demonic individual was much taller than himself, probably twice his height, and he wore a white haori and hakama with red edges. On top of that, he had equipped himself with traditional armor, held together by a thick yellow sash around his waist, which protected his torso.
Facing his graceful yet appalling stature, he felt a strange sort of admiration instead of fear. This person in front of him wasn't just some demon; his name was Sesshoumaru, or better known as the rightful successor of the current lord of the Western Lands. But to him, he was none other than his big brother.
Although they had some outer features in common like the color of their hair and eyes, there was still something that caused him to look up to his brother. Other than the dark markings on his face, the pointy ears on both sides of his head and the furry white tail resting on his right shoulder, this dog demon also possessed something he could never achieve.
Pure blood.
A disheartened expression appeared on his face as he sat down on the timber with a soft thud.
"Do you intend to give up?"
He shook his head. The truth is, he would never allow himself to give up that easily.
"Then stand up," the full-blooded dog demon ordered.
He did as he was told but didn't lift up his face.
"Do you know why you fail time after time?"
"Because I'm a hanyou," he replied flatly.
His answer earned him a heavy pat between his white canine ears.
"Wrong!"
"Ow!" he cried, staring up at Sesshoumaru. "Then tell me! What am I doing wrong!"
"You failed because you haven't developed your potentials to their fullest yet," his brother explained. "More accurately, it's because you keep reminding yourself that you're weaker-"
"I'm not!" he denied angrily.
The grown-up demon knelt down until their faces were on the same height. "You're not," he agreed with him. "Having your mother's human blood flowing inside you only makes you stronger and not weaker. Do you know why Inuyasha?"
He shook his head.
"More than any other living creature, humans are egoistical and have never-ending desires. And you have inherited that blood," he told him. "That's why you will never accept defeat. Your strong desire to fight is like an endless source of strength and that's what makes you even stronger than a full-blooded demon like me."
(AN: I got this from the third movie. Pretty nice said don't you think?)
A sudden confidence filled his heart and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Really?"
"I don't lie."
"Is that so...?" Inuyasha tilted his head slightly. "So...you'll tell the truth whatever I ask you?"
Sesshoumaru straightened up and folded his arms together. "Depends on what you ask," he said.
"Then tell me...is it true that I have an older sister?" he asked with a serious face.
He noticed the sudden change of expression on his brother's face and knew he had hit the jackpot. "Well? Are you going to answer that or not?" he pressed on.
His brother let his arms hang loosely at his side and took his time. "It's true," he finally replied.
Although he had already expected such an answer, he was still bewildered to hear it as a fact. "How come no-one ever told me about it?"
"It's because you're still too young to-"
"I'll be turning ten in a month! I'm old enough!" he cut him off. "Please tell me! Aw come on! I have the right to know! Please?"
"All right...all right, just stop the dishonorable pleading," the demon gave in annoyed and surveyed their surroundings for possible eavesdroppers.
"It's already been nine years..." he began after he made sure nobody was in the vicinity.
The two brothers sat down on the thick branch, and memories of the past were refreshed and told.
.-. later .-.
"She must be lonely..." Inuyasha said after hearing the whole story. "Poor aneue." When he looked aside, he saw a hint of sadness on his brother's face. "You miss her...don't you?"
"Not only me, father and mother miss her as well," he admitted. "But there's nothing we can do about it. It's for her own safety."
"That's just an excuse!" he blurted out. "We were able to withstand that bastard's attacks until now, even though it's an empty room we're protecting, so why can't we bring her back to live with us?"
A slight shake of the head disproved his reasoning. "It's true that Naraku's attempts to assassinate Kagome were unsuccessful, but that's only because he had been sending weak assassins so far. Although there haven't been any activities since last attack several months ago, there's a chance he might be gathering some strong forces or preparing for another assault at the moment. We can't be too careful about that."
The hanyou dropped his face and fumbled with his long red sleeves. 'This is so unfair for aneue...why does she have to be the one suffering...alone...?' he thought inwardly. 'There has to be something that can be done...'
A sudden idea popped up and he jumped to his feet. "I know! I'm going to get stronger!" he stated determinedly and turned to his brother, who gave him a surprised look. "If I become really strong, I'll be able to protect aneue and then she'll be able to live with us without having to worry about possible attacks! Right?"
But Sesshoumaru showed no response. "Rested enough?" he asked while straightening himself up.
Inuyasha grinned. "You bet!" He was definitely ready for some action again.
Both of them jumped into a ready-to-go position. "I won't lose this time! You're not going to catch me anymore!" he snickered.
"Hmp. If you succeed this time, I will teach you another claw attack," the older of the two stated.
"You mean there's one more powerful than Sankon Tessou?" Inuyasha's gold-amber eyes glowed with spirit. "All right!"
"But if you fail..." the full-blooded dog demon added. "You will not ever mention Kagome again."
The hanyou widened his eyes in disbelief. "W-what! B-but-"
"I will not repeat myself Inuyasha," he stated coldly.
It really ticked him off. 'He miss her too...then why...?' he thought, lightly frustrated, but quickly shook it off. Why his brother didn't want to mention his dearest sister, he didn't understand. Maybe it was meant to discourage him, maybe not. Although it was unreasonable, it was nevertheless an excellent motivation for him to do his best.
"Feh!" he stuck up his nose. "Then I'll just have to win, don't I?"
Without saying anything else, he set off with his bare feet and jumped forward into the air, leaving his big brother behind.
While making his way towards a distant treetop, he looked over his shoulders at the branch where he stood before. 'Huh?' He blinked several times to make sure it wasn't the distance creating illusions. There was no mistaking it.
Sesshoumaru, who was still standing there, was looking at him with a proud smile on his face for the very first time.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey people! After some thinking, I've eventually decided to shift back the perspective to the fortress. At first, I thought there were some constraints like I told BelleDayNight in my reply to her review of the previous chapter, but after reminding myself of something very important (which I will restrain myself from telling you at the moment :P), I realized I was wrong. The only thing I can tell you right now is that everything is still going as planned and all will be solved at the end :) so please be patient okay?
Greets,
Kittymui
.-.-.
'Italic': thoughts
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises
.-.-.
Next chapter: Chapter VI
.-.
In the next chapter, we'll see more of Kagome and Bankotsu. Look forward to it!
.-.
Vocabulary:
youkai taijiya: demon exterminator
hanyou: half-demon
aneue: royal/honorable older sister (an old respectful way to address your older sister)
aniue: royal/honorable older brother (an old respectful way to address your older brother)
Sankon Tessou: a claw attack used by Inuyasha, literally means 'Soul-Shattering Iron Claws'
.-.-.
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
xxprincess-sakuraxx: Hehehe, sorry for the suspence but I can't really rush this no matter how eager I am to finish this story :).
Angel of Darkness and Death: I'm doing my best! I like fluff situations too, but I can't really make them closer at the moment since they've only met a few days. Just be patient okay :)? I'll read your story once I'm done with homework!
shadows-insanity: Thanks. Although it was short, I still hope you liked the Inu and Sess part :). But sorry, I can't have Sesshoumaru meet Kagome right now, but I have something planned for them, don't worry!
BelleDayNight: Thanks for the nice long review! Glad you liked it! Hope AuthorAlert is working properly now :). Hahaha, I like to hook friends up with nice anime series too! Do you know Fruits Basket? That's a REALLY good anime. That aside, you're really good in grasping the story in advance :P, hope there aren't too many spoilers hehehe.
sessywuver: Thanks! To be honest with you, I don't know many Kag-Ban stories. Most of the stories involving Bankotsu also involves Jakotsu being his close friend (emphasizing the 'close' word here). That's one of the reasons why I chose to write about this pairing :)! Hope you like it so far!
Yukisora: Hey don't worry about it! Glad you're still interested in this story :) and that you're still reviewing!
Skitzoflame:Yup! There'll be more!
eMeLyNoOoPeE: Hahaha, well now you know right? Glad you like it so far and thanks for reviewing! And yup, you got that right about Bankotsu never knowing how Kagome looked like, pretty sad huh?
ally-wolf-goddess: Thank you! I have to agree with you about that, but nothing good will come from this story if I rush it :)!
Wake-Robin: Yeah, it's sad...but don't worry about it, trust me okay? Thanks for reviewing!
FanFic-Faerie-Rikku91: Thank you very much! Sorry for the late update!
sakurakitsune14: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter as well! My test went well by the way :), now it'll be just waiting for the results!
Meimizu: Thanks a lot! I'm happy to hear that! Of course I don't want to upset readers! That's why I usually update each 10 days (sometimes less). Hope that's acceptable :)!
Duzzie: Yup and I will keep updating! Thanks for reviewing!
Inukamisashi: UDS? What's that? But anyway, thanks so much for reviewing!
Sirayme: The test was okay! Thanks for asking :)! I'm honored that you think that way, I really do!
darkenedmoonlightflame: Thank you! I'll try to update as soon as possible! As for more Ban/Kag stories, I'll think about it :)!
Posted: 8 March 2005
Last Edited: 8 March 2005
Spelling check: YES
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters of it. And I do not own whatever elements of this story that seem familiar and had already been used by other creative individuals before. But... I do own the idea of mixing all of these elements together into a new story!