A TALE FROM THE PAST
by Kittymui
CHAPTER XIX
Inuyasha felt a strange kind of tension as he listened to the mix of footsteps over the wooden floor. He and Sesshoumaru were treading right behind their father as they headed towards his study.
Just two minutes ago, they were welcoming back the demon lord from his long journey. Seeing the exhaustion on his face as he told them the outcome of his discussion with the lord of the Northern Lands, Inuyasha had hesitated to bring up the Kagome-matter. However, much to his astonishment, his brother didn't care less and rudely interrupted the lord, saying that he had to speak with him in private. Their mother had kindly asked if it could wait another day, but Sesshoumaru just cut her off by saying that 'time was running out'.
Hearing that, InuTaisho decided that they should go to his study to talk. The slight irritation that emerged from his furrowed brows caught Inuyasha's attention and the hanyou suddenly became unsure about the final answer to the idea of bringing Kagome back.
There they were, standing inside the demon lord's study and watching silently how he took his time to take off his swords and armor.
"Speak," InuTaisho ordered sharply as he hung up the heavy armor on a standard and tightened the sash around his white robe.
Sesshoumaru stepped forward. "I wish to get your permission to summon Kagome back for her 20th birthday," he said without a drip of hesitation in his voice.
A moment of silence passed as the demon lord tried to comprehend his son's request. "Do you know what you're asking of me?" he asked a bit perplexed.
"Yes." Was Sesshoumaru's short answer.
InuTaisho scowled, which made Inuyasha want to shy away behind his brother's tall figure.
"I thought you had decided never to mention her again," he pointed out.
Sesshoumaru's eyes hardened, but refused to respond to this.
"I see...then...you're aware that we're bringing Kagome closer to the enemy by summoning her back?"
"I have killed all the assassins Naraku sent and protected an empty room without fail. With Kagome inside the fortress, the outcome will be the same," the demon prince stated.
"You're wrong," InuTaisho disagreed. "The next assault will probably be harder to fend off than before."
Inuyasha slightly tilted his head. "Why?"
"The lord of the Northern Lands warned me of an infamous group of assassin, called the Shichinintai, disappearing from the Northern soil," his father explained. "Rumor says they were last seen heading southeast."
"How does that have to do with us?" the hanyou asked.
"It means that Naraku might have hired them to assassinate Kagome," he said. "As the name says it already, the group consist of seven men, and according to the lord of the North, they have never failed a mission before."
Sesshoumaru scoffed at this. "Seven isn't even a quarter of the total number of assassins that the bastard had sent in the past ten years. I see no reason to worry."
Inuyasha stole a glance at his brother and turned back to their father. "Aniue is right. We are strong enough to protect aneue from that group," he said full of spirit.
InuTaisho let out a sigh. "As much as I want to believe that we needn't worry, it's still advisable to gather more information about our potential enemies. Unfortunately, the lord of the Northern Lands had refused to cooperate."
"Hmph, those lowlifes probably still need those assassins to carry out tasks that they don't want to corrupt their hands with," Sesshoumaru scowled.
"Probably," the demon lord nodded in agreement. "We'll have to rely on our own methods then."
Noticing the worry on his father's face, Inuyasha decided to speak out his thoughts. "Why are you so worried chichi-ue? No one had ever seen aneue in real person, doesn't that put us in a more advantageous position than the Shichinintai? We'll just have to find them before they find aneue, that's all."
His naivety and simplicity made InuTaisho chuckle. "Your persistence remind me of your sister," he said with a smile. "What you say is true, but even if I agree to this, how do you intend to find her? For the sake of secrecy, it was decided that her guardian would be the only one to know where they were going, so we have no clue of where Kagome could be right now."
This rendered the hanyou speechless, but the determination on Sesshoumaru's calm face remained, as if he was already expecting that question. "Kagome's guardian is a demon exterminator," he began. "Naturally, she would be the one to take care of their financial means."
His words stirred the attention of the demon lord and Sesshoumaru continued before anyone could interrupt him. "I strongly believe she would do so by helping villagers or travelers and protecting them from malicious demons, so if we start a rumor in a village about a rampaging demon, she will surely appear."
"A demon huh?" InuTaisho pondered with a hand on his chin. "But a rumor needs something touchable for people to believe."
Sesshoumaru turned to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha will take care of that," he stated.
The hanyou widened his eyes and dropped his jaw in disbelief. "M-me?" But he wasn't the only was giving the demon prince a bewildered look as InuTaisho was astounded by the proposal as well.
"Why Inuyasha?" the demon lord asked.
"Delivering the message by myself will be the fastest way, but I'm fully aware that it will draw too much attention," Sesshoumaru explained. "However, I don't trust anyone outside this family, so Inuyasha is the only choice left."
InuTaisho frowned. "Don't you think he's too inexperienced and young to carry out such an important mission?"
The demon prince glanced at his younger brother. "Because of his age and inexperience, people wouldn't suspect his sudden departure from the fortress. His height will allow him to escape and hide easily when villagers are chasing him and with his current skills, I believe he'll be able to survive in the wilderness."
As Inuyasha listened to his brother's reasoning, a strange kind of excitement began to fill his heart. For the first time he was actually useful because of his short length and young age.
"However Inuyasha..." Sesshoumaru continued in a darker voice, which made Inuyasha snap out if it. "If you should fail...I will end your life."
Inuyasha shivered at the cold tone of the threat.
At first he thought Sesshoumaru was overreacting, but on second thought, he could kind of imagine what would happen if the message fell into the wrong hands or if someone found out the rampaging was just a hoax.
His thoughts were cut off when InuTaisho spoke.
"Now that everything's been decided, when will you have Inuyasha leave? And which village do you have in mind?"
"Tomorrow." Was Sesshoumaru's answer. "The village will be the one near the center of the Western Lands, the rumor will spread faster this way."
Inuyasha turned to his brother. "But aniue, how will I recognize the guardian you're talking about?" Although he was thrilled at the entire idea, he couldn't hide the nervousness that was written all over his face. After all, he was going to be the most crucial element of the plan. If he fails to deliver the message to the right person, everything would end.
"I will tell you tomorrow," Sesshoumaru replied and turned back to their father. "We shall excuse ourselves now."
After a polite bow, he turned to leave and Inuyasha followed.
"Be careful," said the demon lord, before they opened the sliding door.
While Sesshoumaru didn't find the need to respond, Inuyasha turned around with a smirk on his face. "Don't worry chichi-ue, I won't let aniue stain his claws with my blood."
.-.-.-.
"You sure you're fit enough to go?" Kagome asked worriedly as she watched her guardian put on her black garb.
"I have to. It's my duty to protect those villagers as well," Sango said while slipping her short sword behind the dark purple sash around her waist. "We earn too little money with the small missions, it's time I took on a big one."
"But..." Kagome wasn't able to come up with a good argument. Sango was right. Solely focusing on small missions wasn't a good idea, especially now when they were running low on money. A lot have happened in the past months and they used almost all of their saved money on bandage and medicine.
"Don't worry, my injuries of last time have already healed," she reassured her. "They're not impeding any of my movements."
Kagome sighed in defeat, realizing that she won't be able to stop her. "Just be careful okay?"
Sango suddenly grinned evilly. "Well...if something does go wrong, I'll always have your sweetheart Bankotsu to rescue me," she teased.
"Sango!" Kagome cried wide-eyed with flushed cheeks.
With the smirk still plastered on her face, the taijiya picked up her large boomerang and turned to the door. At the same time, the door opened and Bankotsu entered.
"Nice timing! We were just talking about you!" she smiled.
Bankotsu gave her a clueless expression but she brushed pass him and closed the door behind her before he could say anything.
"Kagome?" he called out as he walked further into the house.
"I'm here," Kagome responded, slightly relieved that her guardian left without saying any more things that could embarrass her any more.
"You two were talking about me?" he asked as he sat down next to her.
Blood rushed up Kagome's cheeks again. "S-she was just joking!"
"Oh okay," the assassin smiled. "So...where was she going? She seemed to be in a hurry."
The blush on Kagome's face disappeared and she put up a not too happy face. "She went out to kill a demon," she replied with a sigh.
Bankotsu noticed the sad pitch in her voice and turned to her. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm worried," she told him. "I don't know how much of the rumor is true, but I'm afraid that Sango might get injured again."
"Rumors?" he asked with full attention.
She nodded. "Sango told me that a rumor had been spreading since a week ago. It's about a demon child raging around a certain village."
"If it's just a child, your sister should be able to handle it," he comforted her.
"I don't know..." Kagome hesitated. "It only moves at night so the villagers have only seen its shadow, which resembled one of a child. Nobody has succeeded in capturing it so far."
"Sounds like a smart demon," Bankotsu thought aloud. "But a not very strong one."
Kagome was surprised to hear this. "How do you know?"
"I have fought a lot of demons before in the North. Really strong demons don't run away. They choose to fight their enemies till the end to protect their pride," he told her. "Not to mention that we're talking about humans here. How much stronger can a mere human be than the child of a demon? So if the rumor is true, you shouldn't have to worry."
A moment of silence passed with Kagome elaborating on the things she just heard. "I guess you're right," she said after a while.
"All right!" Bankotsu cheerfully interrupted the serious atmosphere. "Now that you've been freed from your worries, are you in for a walk?"
Kagome turned to Bankotsu with a puzzled expression. She didn't notice it before but now that she look at him more carefully, she could see tiny droplets clinging at the ends of his dark bangs. "Your hair is wet, did you go to the creek this morning?" she asked.
"Come with me. I want to show you something," he said as he stood up.
Without asking, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Wait! What about Kirara?" she halted him.
Bankotsu turned to the fire cat who was lying in her usual corner. "It won't take too long...probably..." he said, muttering the last word. "Besides, Kirara doesn't like water, right?"
Kirara growled in reply.
The assassin flashed Kagome an 'I told you so' face before shifting back to the demon cat. "We'll be back soon, don't worry!"
With that, he exited the house, taking Kagome with him.
.-.-.-.
"Probably? What did you mean by probably?" Kagome asked while being pulled through the forest. "W-where are you taking me?"
"You'll see," he replied without stopping.
After a quick walk, they arrived at the same old clearing.
"W-wha...?" Kagome raised a brow as she bent forward a little to catch her breath. "We've been here...so many times."
"Have you rested enough?" Was the only thing Bankotsu asked as he stepped backwards to give her some breathing space. His face was that of a child who finally got to go to a long promised destination.
At the sight of his excited expression, Kagome completely forgot about her fatigue and straightened up again. "I am now."
"Good, let's go." The assassin took hold of her hand again and walked into the clearing.
With his other hand raised in the air to feel his path, he zigzagged around the large boulders over the field until they reached the creek.
Kagome silently followed him as he softly counted his steps alongside the bank.
"This is it," he said and stopped at a spot where the bank on the other side of the creek was replaced by a high and rocky mountain. It was unmistakably the same mountain that was damaged by Bankotsu, but probably the side that had remained unharmed.
"Are you sure?" Kagome asked while looking around. "I don't see anything spe-"
Her sentence literally fell into the water when something suddenly pushed her forward into the creek.
SPLASH
Kagome quickly swam back to the surface and spat out the water that had entered her mouth. "Phhhrrrt...what the hell...do you think you're doing!" she spluttered.
Just when she finished wiping away the water from her face, another splashing sound came from beside her, followed by a rough wave of water that caught her by surprise.
SPLASH
"Ugh ugh..." she coughed, trying to get the water out of her lungs.
"You okay?" Bankotsu's voice sounded from beside her.
Kagome scowled, realizing that he was the one who pushed her into the creek, and turned to him furiously. "Are you trying to ki-" Her voice broke off when she found Bankotsu's face just inches away from hers. With his wet bangs plastered against his forehead and drops of water shimmering on his face, he looked more breathtaking than before.
"Kagome?"
She snapped out of her staring with a blush on her face. "Y-yes?"
"Are you okay?" he repeated his question.
"Y-yeah...just startled..." she stammered. "You should have warned me."
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "But don't you notice something unusual in the water?"
Now that he mentioned it, Kagome realized that there was no solid ground below her feet. Gazing down to look under the water, she found a dark blue nothingness below them. "It's deep," she said surprised.
"Normally, a creek would be much shallower," Bankotsu agreed. "I discovered it this morning, when I went swimming in the creek."
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Kagome asked slightly annoyed. "You could've just told me instead of pushing me into the water."
Ignorant to what she said, the assassin started rolling his long braid around his neck until its end was touching his shoulder. "How long do you think you can hold your breath?" he asked.
Kagome widened her eyes in stupefaction. "What?"
"I said-"
"I know what you said!" she cut him off angrily. "But why are you asking me that?"
"Just answer the question okay?"
The patience and calmness in his voice made Kagome realize how ill mannered she must have sounded and tried to compose herself. "I don't know," she grunted in frustration. "One minute?"
"One minute will do," he said and swam towards the mountain.
Kagome quickly followed him. "Why did you ask me that? Where are we going exactly?"
"We're going to dive," he explained and moved one of his hands above the water to her. "Can you give me your hand?"
Kagome hesitated but eventually placed her hand into his. A blush colored her wet cheeks again when Bankotsu gently secured her hand in his.
"Okay, now take a deep breath. We're going under water as soon as you're ready," he told her.
Kagome inhaled a deep breath and squeezed his hand to signal that she was ready. After Bankotsu finished taking a deep breath as well, both of them dived under the water.
.-.-.-.
Much to her surprise, the assassin managed to swim quite well underwater. Despite the fact that he was blind and had to figure out where they were with one hand touching the rocky wall, he was still able to keep a steady pace.
On the other hand, Kagome was doing her best to keep up but realized that she was being pulled most of the time. Her yukata was definitely hindering her leg movements and she just couldn't help but wonder why Bankotsu didn't have any problems swimming fully dressed.
When their swimming direction suddenly began to change, Kagome snapped out of it and looked around, only to find out that they were entering a fairly large round opening in the wall of stone. That it turned out to be a tunnel startled her but she was even more confounded when she realized that it leaded into the mountain they saw earlier.
As they swam deeper into the tunnel, the amount of sunlight began to decrease at a pace that sent shivers through Kagome's body. At a certain moment, it became so dark that Kagome could barely distinguish Bankotsu's silhouette from the tunnel wall around them. If it hadn't been for his hand, which was tightly holding hers, she would surely have lost it a long time ago.
However, because of the unending dead silence and darkness around her, the calmness inside her slowly began to wear off. 'How long have we been swimming...?' she wondered as uneasiness crept up her shoulders. The one minute she told the assassin was actually just a wild guess. The truth was, she had never had underwater experience before.
Kagome hesitatingly peeked over her shoulder to look behind her and almost instantly; she wished she had never done so. The entrance was nowhere to be found behind them; there was no turning back now even if she wanted to. She quickly shook it off and tried hard not to think about it, but with no sign of the exit or entrance, she found herself unable to calm down again. 'What if I can't hold my breath for one minute...? What if the tunnel is much longer than Bankotsu had expected?' she thought. 'What if-'
Suddenly, something inside her head snapped and she realized that her legs weren't listening to her anymore. 'M-my legs...I can't move them...!' she widened her eyes in terror. 'I-I'm drowning!' She quickly yanked at Bankotsu's hand to alarm him.
Luckily, Bankotsu immediately stopped and turned around to her.
'H-help me!' Kagome begged in her mind as she clasped his upper arms with both hands. Despite her effort to keep the air inside her, small bubbles of air slipped through her trembling lips and floated upwards to the top of the dark tunnel. 'I don't want to die!'
As if she wasn't scared enough, Bankotsu suddenly forced her head to hold still with both his hands on each side of her face. 'W-what are you doing!' she thought shocked. Kagome felt her strength seep out of her body and squeezed her eyes shut when the last bit of tranquility left her. Just when the last breath of air was going to leave her, something suddenly pressed against her lips, forcing them to close again.
Kagome's eyes shot open and widened in shock when they found Bankotsu's eyes just one inch away from hers. Her body froze and her heart skipped when she realized that the assassin had pressed his lips against hers.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Some of you might be wondering why there are still demons (like that lizard Bankotsu fought and those that Sango protected villages from) in the Western Lands, while the barrier's still intact. First of all, you should keep in mind that members of the royal family are also demons. The reason that they didn't get purified when Kagome erected the barrier is because it's a selective one (not all demons are ill-natured). Second of all, demons only get purified if they touch the barrier, so those that are born inside the barrier later on won't get purified. As for the lizard demon, he was born and sealed after the barrier was created. I hope that clears up a bit :).
By the way, sorry for the late update. The end of my internship is near with only 3 more weeks to go, so I need to put more work into it. Oh...almost forgot to tell you an important announcement. Summer holiday is approaching and my destination to spend it has already been decided, so this story will be idle during the next month (July). Don't worry, I won't abandon this story. I promise I will continue writing the chapters so I can post the as soon as I return :)! And euhm...I'll try to refrain myself from writing a cliffhanger before I leave hehehehe.
Greets,
Kittymui
.-.-.-.
'Italic': thoughts
"...": spoken words
.-.-.-.-.: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises
.-.-.-.
Next chapter: Chapter XX
.-.-.
Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it was the perfect spot to stop (in my eyes). So in the next chapter we'll have Inuyasha meeting Sango for the very first time. And then we'll change the scene back to Kagome and Bankotsu again :)! Please look forward to it ne?
.-.-.
Vocabulary:
aniue: a very respectful way to refer to an older brother
aneue: (see translation above) referring to an older sister
chichi-ue: (see above) referring to your father
taijiya: exterminator (of demons)
yukata: a traditional Japanese garment worn by women during summer
.-.-.-.
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
MadMood: Thanks! I'll try!
BelleDayNight: Yeah, but he will not be the only one who's going to feel guilty I'm afraid. As for your question, remember the conversation between the present time Bankotsu and his friends? One of his friends explained that the eldest son of the Royal family died and the youngest son went missing. Actually I haven't really considered letting Inuyasha reappear in the present time, but I'll think about it :).
Wake-Robin: Glad you liked it :). About my internship, it's not that I dislike it, but I'm not used to it, that's all :). I just hope I will get a good grade for it after finishing it.
xxprincess-sakuraxx: Honestly? Nope, he won't get to see her until he has to kill her. It's pretty sad, but it was already settled long before the present time Bankotsu read the tale :). Don't worry, I will update!
Fluffy'sbabe: Hahaha thanks for pointing out the mistake. I guess I was too hasty with editing the story since I wanted to update it as soon as possible :). I'm glad you loved the chapter!
Skitzoflame: Haha yup, it's about time she did :)!
sessywuver: Thank you! I'll try to update as soon as possible!
Hanoi: Hahaha, hope you're still sane :), 'cause I really wouldn't want a reader/reviewer to go mad because I'm late with updating hehehe. Nevertheless, sorry for the late update. But I'm really happy to know that you like the story so far, thanks!
lady-joker: Hmm sorry to disappoint you...I guess I wasn't fast enough to post a chapter before you come back. Hope you like the chappie though :)!
Youkai Dreams: It's really encouraging to receive nice long review from time to time, thank you very much! I'm so happy to know that my story managed to enter your favorites list and that you like my writing style and plot :). Hmm I did set a deadline for myself to update every 10 days, but with my internship and stuff, I'm forced to break that promise...sigh...now I update every 10 to 15 days, I just hope that isn't too long. By the way, don't worry about not reviewing every chapter, because I too don't do it with each story I read :). I'll be sure to look forward to your next review! Thanks again.
Inukamisashi: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed your summer vacation! Good luck at school!
susie202: Thank you very much!
aNiMaAyAnGeL: Thanks but I think I'll let that pass :). As much as I'd love to imagine myself with an anime character, the special feeling would disappear if it's written down. Some things are better kept between the ears I guess :). Thanks for reviewing!
Hieta: Thanks!
inuyashagurl1490: Thank you! Just wait and see ne?
Sirayme: I'm glad you told me that :)! The internship (actually more a research project since it's inside the university) lasts 10 weeks in total. I've still got 3 more weeks to go, so if things go well I'll be delivering my final report on the 8th of July.
miss lady death: Wow, thank you very much! I'm happy to know you love my story!
FluffyWolfy: Thanks!
x0SilverFeathersx0: Thank you :)! Good luck with your story too! Haha I see that you favor Jakotsu, don't you? Unfortunately, it'll still take some more chapters before Bankotsu meets up with his companions again. Until then, be sure to keep reading, 'cause things are getting more and more interesting from now on.
Cascading Fates: Now that you ask, I haven't really thought about Sesshoumaru's choice in mate actually. It's true that every character deserve a happy ending but won't the plot become too 'thick' if I do that? Hmm...I'll think about it :).
Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami: I'll update asap :)!
ninja monkey: Peaches: Thanks! I'm glad you love it so far!
killerkitty1106: That's great! Thanks! As for Sesshoumaru's mate...haven't thought about it yet! I'll consider adding it to the story :).
Posted: 18 June 2005
Last Edited: 18 June 2004
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!