A TALE FROM THE PAST
by Kittymui-
CHAPTER XIII
Soft rays of light began to fall upon the Western Lands as the rain clouds, carried by the Southern winds, began to take their leave. Countless little raindrops that remained on the grass and leaves refracted the beams of the sun and shimmered like small crystals. As various beings of the forest came out of their hiding places, a distant bird song welcomed the serenity that had returned. The storm seemed to be the proof of the permanent change of temperature and it will probably be the last one until autumn arrives.
Inside the courtyard of a certain fortress stood a fair lady. Her small shoulders gradually moved up as she inhaled the fresh after-rain scent that lingered in the air. While some tresses rested on her shoulders, the rest of her silky black hair hung loosely behind her grand red kimono and billowed in sync with the gentle breezes.
The slight furrowing of her thin brows created a troubled expression on her graceful features as she opened her dark brown eyes. A soft sigh escaped her rosy lips.
"Is something wrong?" a voice startled her.
She turned to look over her shoulder and formed a smile on her lips. "Oh it's you Sesshoumaru." She watched how the tall silver-haired demon walked towards her and waited until he stopped beside her before continuing. "It's nothing...I was just thinking about the dream I had last night..."
"What kind of dream?" he asked.
"I saw Kagome," she replied.
Sesshoumaru's ears twitched a little upon hearing the name, but he waited until she finished her story.
"She was in pain...and there was blood all over her body," she continued with a pained expression. "...and there was nothing I could do but watch."
A moment of silence fell between her and Sesshoumaru until she decided to speak again. "But I'm sure she's doing fine...she's a strong girl...and it's just a dream...right?" she said while turning to him.
"The taijiya will guard her with her life so don't worry too much," he reassured her. 'She had better be...' he added inwardly.
"I guess you're right," she said with a small smile. "By the way, is there something you wish to speak to me about?"
The dog demon nodded. "It's about what I had asked you several days ago."
"Oh that..." she recalled and averted her gaze to look straight ahead of her. "I'm sorry, but I have not yet found an answer to it."
A frown appeared on Sesshoumaru's face. "Don't you want to see her?" he asked.
She smiled sadly. "Is there any mother who does not wish to see her child?"
"It's been ten years," he reminded her. "All these attempts sent by Naraku to assassinate Kagome had been successfully deferred so far despite the fact that she wasn't even here. This is a prove that it's safe enough to-"
"As long as she's the creator of the barrier, we can't have her live here inside this fortress Sesshoumaru...that's too dangerous," she cut him off. Although she sounded determined, her face was expressing the opposite.
"I know that," he agreed. "What I'm asking is a chance for a reunion after being separated for so long. One week...even one day would suffice."
She let out a deep sigh. "When?" she said after a moment in thoughts.
Just when Sesshoumaru was about to answer, a voice interrupted him. "On her birthday!"
Both adults raised their heads up to a tree nearby and watched how a ten-year-old boy jumped off of the highest branch and landed on the tiles before them. His silvery white bangs and fiery red sleeves touched the ground as he slightly kneeled upon landing.
"Inuyasha, you were up there the whole time?" the lady asked surprised.
He flung some silver tresses over his shoulder. "I like taking naps in high places," he confessed.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop conversations of adults?" she huffed with a frown.
"I didn't do it on purpose," the hanyou argued. "Besides, I was the one who brought up the whole idea to summon back aneue."
The lady widened her eyes and turned to her eldest son.
"Yes, I was the one who told him about Kagome," Sesshoumaru told her with a calm face.
"You?" she said in disbelief. "But I thought you decided that you wouldn't talk about-"
This time, Inuyasha decided to speak. "He was, at first, but I nagged him so hard that he had no other choice but telling me," he laughed, shifting his gaze from his mother to his brother.
"I see..." she mumbled. "So...you wanted her to come back on her birthday, but isn't that too dangerous? I mean...people from all over the Western Lands will be coming here to express their gratitude to Kagome."
"This year isn't going to be any different than previous years," Sesshoumaru reasoned. "Only this time, the one in the room will be the real Kagome instead of Rin. Nobody had ever succeeded in meeting the princess face to face, that's why even Naraku still believes that Kagome is still within the fortress. We'll just have to make sure that it stays that way."
"What you say is true...but..."
"Don't worry haha-ue," Inuyasha cut her off. "I can protect aneue too!"
She smiled. "Yes, but-"
"Aniue will be there too. He's strong enough to protect aneue from an entire army right?" he said determinedly while turning to Sesshoumaru, who looked away out of embarrassment.
Inuyasha was surprised when his mother suddenly put her hands on both his shoulders and knelt down to him. "I know that, dear Inuyasha," she sighed. "Just let me finish, okay?"
He nodded.
"I understand how the both of you feel, because I feel the same way too. But even if I consent to this decision, you will still have to ask the lord first," she told them.
"Father?" Inuyasha raised both brows. "Where is he? I'll go to him right away!"
"Don't be hasty Inuyasha," his mother stopped him. "Your father isn't inside the fortress."
Both dog demons widened their eyes, but when they sniffed the air carefully, they realized she was telling the truth. "Where is he?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"A couple of days ago, your father received an invitation from the lord of the Northern Lands to discuss about a peace treaty. You probably didn't know because the both of you were busy training outdoors lately."
"Aw man! Why didn't you say so in the first place! Now we'll have to say the same things twice when chichi-ue comes back!" the hanyou pouted.
"Haha, I tried to tell you, but you just kept on interrupting me," she laughed.
"When will father return?" Sesshoumaru asked.
She stood up and turned to him. "A messenger came this morning, saying that the lord had already crossed the border, so I guess it will take some weeks before he's finished with discussing the peace treaty."
Hearing that, Inuyasha dropped his face in disappointment. 'A couple of weeks! But that's too long!' he groaned inwardly.
"Don't put up that face," his mother smiled to him. "Kagome's birthday is in autumn so you will have enough time to persuade your father when he comes back."
"Really?" the hanyou's gold-amber eyes lit up and he turned to his brother. "All right! Come on aniue, I've rested enough! Let's train some more! I want to become much stronger before aneue comes!" With that, he jumped onto a high branch of the tree of earlier. "I'll wait for you at the same old spot!" he yelled and leaped over the walls of the fortress into the forest.
Amused by his little brother's rapid mood change and motivation, Sesshoumaru let out a soft chuckle and turned to his mother. "Then I shall take my leave as well," he said with his head slightly bowed forward.
"Be careful okay?" she said with a warm smile.
"I will," he nodded. "Good day, mother." And he slowly walked away towards the main gate.
.-.-.-.
'W-where am I...?' he thought as he drifted out of slumber, but as soon as he did so, a throbbing headache welcomed his awakening. Tiredly, he rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to suppress the pain, but he groaned when the headache only seemed to worsen at his touch.
"So...you've finally woken up huh?" a woman's voice spoke.
Bankotsu slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position and shook off the last bit of fogginess that consumed his mind. 'That's Sango's voice...' he thought as he turned his head into her direction. Just when he was about to run his fingers through his long hair, he suddenly noticed the bandage that was wound around his head.
"Are you still sane?" she asked harshly. "You'd better be, because you have a lot to explain to me."
"W-what happened?" he asked as he felt a sensitive lump on his forehead underneath the bandage.
"You really have no idea, do you?"
Bankotsu grunted at her provocation and folded his arms together. "No I don't. So why don't you spill it."
"Bastard..." he heard her mutter under her breath but decided to ignore it.
"Yesterday, Kirara came running to me in the middle of the storm when I was on my way home. Riding on her back, I was eventually brought to the clearing where we had found you...and I couldn't believe what I saw."
Bankotsu closed his eyes for a moment. 'Damn, this headache is killing me...' he thought frustratingly.
"It was a mess," Sango continued, cutting off his thoughts. "The mountain at the other side of the creek was damaged and there were boulders lying everywhere. Some of them had fallen into the creek, causing the water to spill all over the place. It was practically a swamp." She took a short pause. "And you...you were lying next to a large rock near the border of the clearing. Your head was bleeding when I found you."
Bankotsu frowned. 'That's right...I went there to train...' he remembered. 'I continued training despite the rain and thunder...I hit the mountain out of anger...those boulders came rolling down at me...'
"And then I found Kagome not very far away."
'Kagome!' he thought widened eyes and turned to her fully.
"She was almost completely buried under the rubble. Kirara and I managed to get her out of it, but..."
The faltering of her voice caused a wave of fear inside the assassin. "How is she?" he asked worriedly.
"I had hoped you would be able to explain to me what had happened," she continued, ignoring his question.
"How is Kagome right now?" he repeated with a scowl.
"I thought I told you not to go outside! Why didn't you listen?" she yelled.
"Where the hell is she Sango! Tell me!" he yelled back with fear and anger evident in his voice. 'She can't...she can't be...'
"She's still alive," the taijiya finally replied. "She is sleeping on the floor next to you and you didn't even realize that. I guess that proves how weak she is right now."
Bankotsu held his breath for a moment and listened carefully. Eventually he caught a very faint sound of respiration coming from beside him. Slowly, he began to recall a certain voice he had heard through the rumbling rocks. 'The voice I heard back then was Kagome's...she pushed me out of the way...to save me...'
"I want answers Bankotsu," Sango demanded impatiently. "Kagome was buried under the heavy rocks and she barely escaped death. Right now, I'm not even sure if she'll wake up again and yet, an assassin like you got away with a small scratch. What in the world happened yesterday! Tell me!"
"Kagome...saved me from the landslide, she pushed me away when those boulders were rolling towards me," he explained.
"It didn't look like a natural landslide to me," Sango commented with suspicion filling her voice.
"It wasn't," he confessed. "I was the one who caused it."
"You what!" she cried disbelievingly. "No wait a minute, what were you two doing out there in the first place!"
Bankotsu held up his hand to interrupt her. "Hear me out okay? I went there to train, but I didn't know Kagome had followed me. I did ask her to come with me since she was so worried about me being alone, but she refused. I really had no idea that she was there too. As for the landslide, I used my halberd and send an attack towards the mountain from across the creek. I didn't think it would cause much damage, until I heard the rumbling rocks coming down at me. I heard Kagome's voice calling out to me, but before I could react to it, she pushed me away to save me. Upon landing on the floor, I hit something very hard with my head...and then I lost consciousness."
Quietness fell between the two as he finished. He knew the taijiya was fuming of anger by her quickened and heavy breathing.
"I can't believe it..." she mumbled.
He lowered his face. "I'm terribly sor-"
"Don't give me that false apology," she retorted. "You assassins don't have a speck of compassion towards other lives, let alone regretting for taking one."
"I'm not...like that," Bankotsu snarled.
"Then what! You're thankful that Kagome had sacrificed her life to save yours! You murd-"
"Stop talking like she's dead okay! Because she isn't! Geez!" he snapped at her. He wanted to continue but halted himself when he caught a slight trembling in her breathing.
"You don't understand..." she said, a lot softer than before. "I've already lost a lot...if Kagome dies, I'm not going to live either..."
The sudden confession took Bankotsu by surprise. The woman, who had always seemed so strong-minded, was suddenly showing her weak side and for a moment, he was at a loss for words. "L-look, I know that nothing I say now would be able to make the situation any better," he began after she had calmed down. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, but at least let me take care of Kagome until she wakes up. After that, you can kill me or do whatever you want with me."
"You?" she sounded dumbfounded.
"Yes," he replied determined. "For all that she had done for me, please let me stay to do something in return."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"You can have Kirara watch over me," he reasoned. "If I do something suspicious, you can kill me right away. Without my halberd, which, I presume, is still lying in the clearing, I'm pretty powerless against you and Kirara."
The taijiya got to her feet and walked away. "Rest assure Bankotsu, I won't kill you," she told him. "If Kagome found out I had killed the one she had tried to protect, she would hate me for the rest of her life. But after what had happened, I might not be able to refrain myself from killing you as long as you stay here. That's why, you're going to stay until she wakes up...and then you'll leave."
"If she dies, however," she continued. "you better wash your neck and wait for me, because your head will be mine."
After saying that, the taijiya opened the door and exited the house.
.-.-.-.
Normally, Bankotsu would never allow someone to mock and threaten him like that, but this time was different. Sango had every right and reason to hate him. He was the one to blame and nobody else.
He lied back down on his futon and sunk into his thoughts. There was no time for regrets, the most important thing right now was to make sure that Kagome survives. If she dies, the taijiya would have his head.
A smirk appeared on his face as he replayed her words in his mind.
"If she dies, however, you better wash your neck and wait for me, because your head will be mine."
'The hell I will sit still and meet my end obediently. Even without Banryuu, I'll be able to take on a fire cat and a demon exterminator.' he thought to himself. Not that he liked the idea of fighting a woman and a cat, but he had no other choice.
He wasn't allowed to die yet. Not before he had finished the mission to assassinate the princess of the Western Lands and saved his two companions from Naraku's hands.
His train of thoughts ended when the throbbing pain in his head returned after a short pause. 'Urgh...this headache...why isn't it going away...' he groaned inwardly as he placed a hand on his forehead. He snapped out of it when Kagome's weak breathing reached in his ears and he slowly turned to her. Suddenly, he realized how insignificant his headache was compared to the pain she must have experienced when she was hit by and buried below those heavy rocks. 'I'm so pathetic...' he chuckled inside.
Carefully, he reached out his hand to where Kagome should be lying. He flinched slightly when he came in contact with something cold, but realized that it was a hand, Kagome's hand. Guilt filled his heart as he wrapped his warm hand around her cold one. "Kagome," he whispered softly.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey everybody! I finally finished the paper, now it's only hoping for a good grade :). I still have to prepare a plan for my internship so I'm still very busy at the moment. If time permits, I will update as soon as possible! Hope you liked this chapter, I promise a longer chapter next time!
Greets,
Kittymui
.-.-
'Italic': thoughts
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises
.-.-
Next chapter: Chapter XIV
.-
It'll take a while before InuTaisho comes back, so we'll be focusing on Bankotsu and Kagome from here on. But will Kagome survive? Will she be able to meet her family again? More importantly, what will Bankotsu do if she really dies? If she wakes up, he will have to leave...but how will Kagome respond to this? Be sure read the next chapter to find out!
.-
Vocabulary:
hanyou: half-demon
taijiya: exterminator
haha-ue: a respectful way to refer to your mother
chichi-ue: a respectful way to refer to your father
aniue: a respectful way to refer to an older brother
aneue: a respectful way to refer to an older sister
.-.-
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
Inukamisashi: Sorry for the late update :). Thanks for reviewing!
Hazel or Kory: Hey Olivia! Thanks again for reviewing! By the way, Bankotsu isn't going to meet his team mates in some time!
sesshomaruobsessed: Thanks! I guess Kagome won't be able to apologize for a while, hehehe.
sakurakitsune14: I'm happy you think that way :)!
Wake-Robin: Thanks! Hahaha hit by lightning, haven't thought of that one! Good one! Hahaha.
shadows-insanity: Thanks!
Skitzoflame: Sorry about that :)!
xxprincess-sakuraxx: Hehe honestly, I hate suspence too, but they're fun...sometimes :). Thanks for reviewing!
BelleDayNight: Yeah, I had hoped for a long chapter too :), no really. It's a disappointment for me as well, but I can't really help it, unfortunately enough. Kagome and Bankotsu will separate eventually, but before that...I'm thinking about telling more about them and their relationship :).
Kokoro Mizu no Kaze: Thank you! I will write a longer chapter next time!
Sirayme: Thank you very much :). I'm glad you think that way!
TamiaEternity: I will!
Fluffy'sbabe: Thanks! I'll try to update sooner next time!
Posted: 10 April 2005
Last Edited: 10 April 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!