A TALE FROM THE PAST
by Kittymui
CHAPTER XXI
Kagome looked at Sango with widened eyes and a dumbfounded expression. The demon child that Sango had planned to kill turned out to be Inuyasha. Her little brother, who was still a baby when she first and last saw him, was ordered to create a havoc around the village to lure the taijiya out of their hiding place. It was unbelievable.
'Could it be true...?' she thought to herself. After ten long years, she was being summoned back to the fortress for a short reunion to celebrate her birthday. If it was possible, they even wanted her to come home earlier to attend the preparations.
She snapped out of it when Sango walked closer to her. "This letter was given to me by Inuyasha-sama. He said it was for my eyes only, but I guess you have all reasons to look into it as well," she said as she handed over a paper envelope.
Kagome accepted it with both hands. She hesitatingly took out the letter and unfolded it until five columns of clear black characters were visible before her eyes. Gracefully written with a fine brush in a familiar handwriting, the words retold her the same message that she heard from her guardian. When her chestnut eyes landed on the name on the lower right corner, she could no more doubt its credibility. Her hand unconsciously drifted to the necklace around her neck and she turned to Sango. "When do we leave?" she asked.
Sango smiled. "Whenever you're ready to go, hime-sama."
Kagome thought for a second. "How long...will it take?"
"If we leave now, we might be able to arrive before the first month of autumn ends," explained the taijiya.
"That would be too soon...wouldn't it?" Kagome reasoned. "I mean...the shorter I stay inside the fortress, the smaller the chance for assassins to kill me there...right?"
"True..." was Sango's reply. She frowned when she noticed the strange look on Kagome's face. "Why are you so hesitant Kagome? Weren't you always dreaming about returning to the fortress?"
"Yes...I just..." she stammered as she fumbled her damp sleeve.
"By the way..." Sango said in respond to her awkward behavior. "What happened at the creek this afternoon? Why were both you and Bankotsu soaked?"
Kagome averted her gaze to hide a blush. "W-we fell into the creek. I already told you that, didn't I?"
Sango placed her hands on both sides of her waist. "Seriously Kagome. After living together for so many years, do you think that I wouldn't notice the difference between a lie and the truth? Now spill it girl. Did he do something inappropriate to you? If so, I'll personally k-"
"It wasn't his fault! It was me..." Kagome cut her off but eventually faltered without finishing the sentence. Her head went red like a strawberry when she realized how indecent that must have sounded. "No, I mean...uh...you see..."
The taijiya gave her an expecting look. "Okay, what were the two of you doing at the creek on the first place?"
"Bankotsu wanted to show me something," Kagome explained. "Something he found when he went swimming in the creek this morning."
"Aha! So you didn't fell into the creek!" Sango said unsurprised.
"Hear me out okay?" Kagome scowled. In the next couple of minutes, she explained everything that had happened from the moment she and Bankotsu fell into the water.
"You WHAT?" Sango exclaimed wide-eyed.
Kagome dropped her face in embarrassment. "I-I kissed him..."
Sango's expression turned serious. "You do realize that he's an assassin, don't you?"
"Yes, he already told me that he would leave once he's better because of a mission," Kagome said. "But he promised that he'll quit being an assassin and come back for me after completing it."
"Come back for you?" A stupefied look appeared on Sango's face. "What about your true identity? What are you going to tell your family?"
Kagome thought for a moment and dropped her gaze to the letter in her hand. "I'll tell Bankotsu when he comes back from his mission and then I'll return to the fortress with him," she decided. "I'll stay with Bankotsu no matter what my family says."
Hearing this, Sango softened her eyes. "You really care for him, don't you?"
Kagome nodded. "Yes, and he cares for me as well."
Sango approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I guess you wouldn't listen to me whatever I say now, but I want you to know that I'm happy whenever you are," she smiled. "But how are you going to tell Bankotsu about leaving for the fortress without disclosing your identity?"
"I'll think of something," Kagome reasoned "Will it really take a month to return to the fortress?"
"Probably longer," her guardian replied. "The fortress is located far up north, if we were to travel from here to the fortress, our current amount of money wouldn't be enough. Not to mention that we'll have to leave some rations and money behind for Bankotsu."
"Do you think he'll be all right if we're away for so long?" Kagome asked worriedly.
"He's an assassin. He even managed to kill a demon with his handicap, he should be fine without us around for a while," Sango reassured her.
"I guess you're right..." Kagome nodded. Now that she had made sure about Bankotsu's well being, a strange excitement started to rise in her chest as she thought about seeing her family again. Over a month, she would be able to reunite with the ones she had missed for almost ten years. It was just like a dream coming true.
But first, she had to tell Bankotsu about this.
.-.-. back at the house .-.-.
Kagome stopped before the door and hesitated. After a deep breath, she finally pushed it open and entered.
"Kagome?"
It was Bankotsu who spoke. He was sitting against the wall in the back with Kirara resting on his lap.
"Kirara? Sango's at the creek waiting for you," Kagome said to the fire cat.
Kirara let out a small mew and made her way towards the door behind the princess.
"What's wrong?" Bankotsu asked after the fire cat left. Something inside him was telling him that Kagome had sent Kirara away on purpose.
Kagome walked towards the back wall and sat down next to him. She swallowed hard. 'This is it Kagome...there's no turning back now...just say what you have practiced back in the forest...' she told herself. "W-we received a message from my little brother," she finally said.
Bankotsu raised his brows in surprise. "Your little brother? You mean the one you and your sister had to abandon when you two escaped back then?"
Kagome dropped her face. While she should be happy that he had remembered what she told him some time ago, she felt rather guilty for having him remember a lie. "Y-yeah," she replied.
"That's wonderful!" the assassin cheered happily. "What did he say?"
"He said that he's doing fine and that he was adopted by a wealthy family in the North," replied Kagome, trying to sound as certain as possible.
"And?" Bankotsu noticed that it wasn't the end of the sentence.
"He also said he wanted a family reunion," she added hesitatingly.
"That's great Kagome! You three shall finally be together again!" he smiled, but dropped the cheerfulness when he realized he was the only one being happy about it. "What's the matter Kagome? Why aren't you happy about it?" he asked her.
"He lives all the way North...it will be a long travel..." Kagome told him.
Bankotsu raised a brow. "Are you afraid? But Sango's there with you right?" He was surprised when a sudden weight landed on his right shoulder. "Kagome?" he asked as the familiar spring rain scent rushed up his nose.
"It's not that..." she wailed as she clasped his right sleeve.
Instinctively, Bankotsu wrapped his arms around her and made her sit between his outstretched legs with her body leaning sideward against his chest. "Then what is it Kagome?"
Kagome sunk into her own thoughts as she listened to Bankotsu's calm heartbeat. 'Calm down Kagome...what you're telling him isn't completely a lie...' she told herself inwardly. 'Inuyasha is really living in the North right now and he did ask for a family reunion...'
After gathering some courage, she began to speak again. "If they ask us to live with them...what do I do?"
She felt his chin placed on top of her head.
"Silly girl," he said with a gentle voice. "Do you think I will give up on you that easily? Unless you tell me I shouldn't, I would comb through the entire Japan to find you."
Kagome smiled sadly. "Sweet talk...how do you intend to find me? You don't even look how I look like."
His embrace grew tighter. "I will find you Kagome. I promise."
"I wish you could come with us..." she murmured softly.
Bankotsu let out an inaudible sigh. "It's not possible. If I move at the same time as my companions, they won't be able to find me."
"I know..." Kagome pulled away a little to look at his face. "But what if your companions find you here while I'm gone?"
Bankotsu thought for a moment. "Then let us make another promise," he suggested. "Let us meet here at this place on the last day of autumn. I promise that as long as there's still strength residing in these legs, I'll come running back h-."
Kagome silenced him with a chaste kiss. "You sound as if you're going to die...I don't want that," she said as she pulled away.
Bankotsu cupped her cheek. "I'm not going to die Kagome. Not before I've seen your face with my own eyes," he said determinedly.
With a warm smile on her face, Kagome settled back against his chest. "I'll wait for you."
As they stayed in that position, the fatigue of this afternoon began to catch up with them and they drifted into a deep sleep.
.-.-. couple of days later .-.-.
Bankotsu let out a deep sigh as he floated on his back on the water.
It's already been two days since Kagome left and he was really beginning to miss her. He missed her body against his and her spring rain scent.
He smirked as he remembered the day they had to leave. He realized that had the taijiya not interrupted them, he probably wouldn't have let her go from his embrace.
Fate really was a strange thing. About three months ago, he was convinced that he was going to die with two of his companions taken as hostages, ambushed by old enemies and robbed of his ability to see. From the moment he became an assassin, he had decided never to think about living a peaceful life again. And yet, Fate had to make him meet Kagome, who cared for him regardless of who he was. Because of her, he actually wanted to live a peaceful life again.
His thoughts were abruptly cut off when some nearby bushes rustled suspiciously.
Bankotsu immediately let himself sink underwater until he touched the bottom of the creek. With all his might, he set off with his feet and shot out of the water towards the bank, where his halberd lied.
"Show yourself!" he shouted as he swung the weapon towards the bushes. The halberd cut through the thin branches of the bushes and crashed into the earth with a thump.
"Woah!" a voice cried surprised.
Bankotsu raised a brow as his ears twitched at the voice. 'This voice...'
"Your sharp senses never cease to amaze me leader," another voice commented from the same direction.
Bankotsu recognized the voice and widened his eyes. "Renkotsu!"
"Yo! Don't forget about us!"
"Yeah!"
"Jakotsu and Mukotsu too?" Bankotsu exclaimed stupefied. "But how?"
The footsteps became louder with each second and they stopped right before him.
"It's good to see you alive and well," Renkotsu said relieved. "Sorry to have interrupted your relaxing bath."
"Humorous as always huh?" Bankotsu retorted as he knelt down and searched around for his robe with his hands.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" Jakotsu asked worriedly.
At the same time, Bankotsu finally found his haori and straightened up again with an annoyed grunt in respond. Without saying anything, he walked into the direction where he had thrown his halberd and pulled the weapon out of the earth with his free hand. He placed it on his shoulder before turning to his companions again. "Let's go back to the house first..." he suggested and turned to leave.
.-.-.
After the five of them settled down on the wooden floor of the small house, Bankotsu was the first one to speak. "Tell me, how did you guys manage to find me here?" he asked. "Moreover, how did you escape from the ambush?"
Suikotsu was the one who replied. "When I came back from exploring the area, I found the cave filled with snakes. First thing I did was open a path, but when I managed to do so, you were already nowhere to be found."
"We eventually managed to drive away the snakes. As soon as the sun came up, we started to search around for you," Jakotsu continued. "We even stayed at the gathering place for a couple of weeks, hoping you would show up again. But you never came, so we eventually decided to leave the cave."
"You have no idea how hard it was to search for you while keeping a low profile. Honestly, this would be the last place we expect you to be, but Jakotsu insisted, so we decided to take a look," Suikotsu explained. "And I'm glad we did."
"Yeah, we almost thought you were dead..." Renkotsu added, but faltered when he realized how rude it sounded and quickly picked up the sentence in another tone. "Anyhow, we're so glad to see you're okay. You've found a pretty good hiding place for yourself."
"I didn't find it," Bankotsu responded. "To be honest with you, I'd almost died three months ago, but I was saved. Although my eyes are still not able to see, I've healed pretty well."
"What happened?" Suikotsu asked.
"When I dashed out of the cave during the ambush, some snake spat into my eyes and pushed me off of the cliff," Bankotsu frowned. "Not knowing what kind of snake it was, we couldn't get rid of the poison from my body. We were only able to prevent it from destroying my vision completely."
He turned to where Mukotsu should be sitting. "Since you're a poison user, you should be able to find a way to cure me, right?"
"Heh, some snake poison wouldn't be able to stop me Mukotsu," Mukotsu snorted confidently, as he walked closer and examined Bankotsu's eyes.
"By the way leader," Suikotsu suddenly said. "Who's the 'we' you're referring to?"
Bankotsu refrained himself from raising a brow as his eyes was being examined. "What do you mean?"
"You said 'we' a moment ago, when you were telling us about the cause of your blindness, who did you refer to?"
"Oh that," Bankotsu said. "I meant the girl and her sister who saved me."
"Hmm," Mukotsu finished analyzing and backed away. "I'd say they did a wonderful job in protecting your vision. A week will be enough for me to make the antidote."
Bankotsu let out a relieved sigh and smirked. "I'm counting on you then."
"Two girls?" Suikotsu continued. "Where are they now?"
Bankotsu scowled at his companion's curiosity and replied with a dead silence.
"Woah, Bankotsu is becoming protective all of a sudden," Renkotsu laughed. "You'd better back off Suikotsu."
Suikotsu laughed along. "We're just joking...I'm sure our leader wouldn't mind that...right?"
But Bankotsu's expression remained unchanged as he parted his lips again. "I'm going to disband the Shichinintai."
The rest of the group dropped their jaws.
"WHA-AT!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey everybody! Sorry for the long wait and short chapter. I've been in Hong Kong for the past month for holiday as well as family visit. Besides that, I've got a very important presentation on the 24th of August (it's going to determine whether I can get my Bachelor degree or not), so the next chapter will take some time to be updated as well. However, I can promise you that it won't take as long as two weeks, so don't worry.
Greets,
Kittymui
.-.-.-.
'Italic': thoughts
"...": spoken words
.-.-.-.-.: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises
.-.-.-.
Next chapter: Chapter XXII
.-.-.
Now that Bankotsu has announced about disbanding the Shichinintai, how will the rest of the group react to this? Will they understand his reasons? Besides this, it's time to plan how to assassinate the princess of the Western Lands.
.-.-.
Vocabulary:
hime-sama: princess, -sama is a honorific suffix.
taijiya: exterminator
Shichinintai: a group of assassins led by Bankotsu, literally means 'seven-man-group'.
.-.-.-.
REPLIES TO REVIEWS:
When I came back from Hong Kong, I was shocked at the amount of reviews I received for the previous chapter. It's the first time that I received so many for one chapter, it was completely beyond my expectations. I'm so happy to know that so many readers like this story of mine. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed and supported my story so far :). No matter how long or short the reviews, I appreciate them all! Thank you very much! I'm very sorry that I can't reply all these wonderful reviews in this chapter due to the lack of time; I hope you'll forgive me!
Posted: 15 August 2005
Last Edited: 15 August 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!