A TALE FROM THE PAST

by Kittymui

CHAPTER XXIII

"You sure you don't want Kirara to carry you?"

Kagome shook her head. "I want to feel the distance with my own feet."

Her guardian gave her a puzzled expression. "But it's only a couple of yards."

"The more reason I should walk," she smiled.

Unable to comprehend what she meant, Sango shrugged and continued to walk in silence.

"There is it," she said when a large infrastructure came into view.

Kagome looked up and shielded her eyes from the sun as she left the protective shadows of the trees. They've been traveling for nearly two months now and they've finally reached their destination. Still unbelievable, but there it was...the fortress she had left ten years ago.

As nostalgia consumed her mind, Kagome didn't realize that she had quickened her pace. Within minutes, she was already standing before the open gates.

"Hold it right there!"

She snapped out of the trance and suddenly noticed that two guards were approaching her. Both of them looked in their thirties and were dressed in white and navy blue. While one of them had short spiked hair, the other one had his hair tied into a short ponytail at the back of his head.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" the one with the ponytail demanded with a low voice.

With their strict interrogation and imposing posture, Kagome completely forgot about her identity and took a step backwards.

Just when the guards were about to approach her again, Sango slipped in between with Kirara right behind her. "Stop it!" she snapped to the two.

"Who the hell are you!" the guard with spiked hair grumbled.

"I'm her guardian, I'll do the talking in her place," Sango snarled.

"Cocky aren't we?" he scowled. "What business do you have at the fortress of the West?"

"Your lord summoned us," she told them haughtily. "Tell him that the taijiya has arrived and he'll know who you're talking about."

"The taijiya huh?" he snorted and turned to his partner. "Go inform the lord about this."

"Hai!" the other guard acknowledged. After he disappeared into the building behind the large garden, the guard with spiked hair turned to them again. "Don't try anything stupid now. I'll be watching you," he warned and retreated to his post again next to the gate.

Sango sighed annoyed and she whispered over her shoulder. "Once we see your father, remind me to tell him about these unmannered guards okay?"

The taijiya frowned when nobody responded and turned around completely, only to realize that Kagome had disappeared.

'Oh dear...' she thought to herself.

.-.-.-.

So much time had passed and yet she felt like she had never been away from the place as she walked over the stone path through the garden. The house, the path and even the trees had remained unchanged, except for the color of their leaves. Even though she was mostly surrounded by trees in the past years, she had never really studied the various colors of the leaves during fall like she was now. She had always thought that the forests during this season were the most prettiest because of these colorful leaves, and yet, it is this season that the trees try their hardest to get rid of them. She pitied them, and so did the setting sun, which gave them pretty red coats before they fell into the shadows of the walls.

A moment later, she found herself standing in the small garden of the left part of the fortress. Once again, she had managed to slip pass the patrolling guards without getting caught. As another wave of nostalgia flowed into her thoughts, she suddenly felt tears brimming her eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

The low voice startled her and she darted her eyes to the speaker.

Her eyes widened when they made contact with a familiar pair of gold amber orbs.

As the owner of these eyes approached her and stopped at a proper distance, she realized she had begun to stare at him.

Their difference in height didn't change much, as he was still one head taller than she was. But his eyes have become more slit and his face longer than the last time she saw him. His silvery white hair was now long enough to reach below his back. Besides his usual outfit and armor, she noticed something new hanging around his waist.

One of the two swords, which their father used to carry around, was now secured to his waist with a long yellow sash.

A small smile formed on her lips as her eyes traveled upward alongside the white tail that was resting on left shoulder. How could she possible forget about her favorite pillow? So she thought as her smile grew into a soft giggle.

However, the happy memories vanished into nothingness and her smile dropped as soon as the second question reached her ears.

"Who are you?"

To anybody else, it might have been a normal question, but to her it couldn't be crueler. Especially when it came from him.

.-.-.

Sesshoumaru froze when he saw a droplet rolling down her soft pink cheek. Was it something he said?

In a couple of seconds time, the strange girl had gone from a smile and giggle to a face of shock and sadness. How was it possible that one's emotions could be so unpredictable?

Now that he thought about it, he had experienced a similar situation before. But when? And with whom? Why was her sad and teary face even bothering him? After all, she was just a stranger...was she not?

He could not deny that he was slightly surprised by her beauty when she turned to him earlier, but why was he at a loss for words? Normally, when he came across these so-called 'lost' humans, he would coldly drive them away, but why is it that he failed to bring up any of these manners towards this girl? Did he know her? Even her scent seemed sort of...familiar...

The thought started to make him nervous and he quickly shook it off again. The only humans he was acquainted with were the guards of this castle, his mother, Kagome and the guardian he entrusted her to.

He turned to look at the human girl again, only to find her looking down to the floor. In the peripheral area of his eyes, he suddenly caught something below her chin reflecting the red rays of the sun. He took several steps closer to get a better view of what the girl was wearing around her neck and abruptly stopped within arm reach. 'Is that...' he thought shocked at the sight of three canine fangs on a leather cord. He shifted back to look at her face. 'Kagome...?' he thought with widened eyes.

He eyed the necklace again. There was no mistaking it. This was the necklace he gave Kagome on the day she left.

Without giving it another thought, he reached out his arms and pulled the girl to him.

.-.-.

Kagome widened her eyes and gasped when she suddenly found herself in the demon's arms.

"S-Sesshoumaru...onii-sama..." she said softly. There was this strange kind of happiness rising in her stomach as she called his name. It was similar to the feeling of having found what's been lost for years.

The dog demon tightened his embrace in response. When was the last time he had heard someone call him that way? "I'm so sorry. I should have known..." he whispered with guilt in his voice.

Kagome shook her head in his chest. "It's okay...it's been ten years after all..." she whispered back.

"Kagome," he called out her name as he slowly let go of her again and gazed down at her. He gently dried the corners of her eyes with his thumb and cupped her cheek with a clawed hand.

Kagome widened her eyes and smiled as tears started to roll again. "T-tadaima," she sobbed.

Both of them stared into each other's eyes and stood like that for a moment until a voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Mou aniue, are you bullying humans again?"

The two of them looked up and watched a silver-haired boy in red land on the grass at a distance.

.-.-.

Inuyasha knew something was different when he sniffed the air. There was an intruder near Sesshoumaru's quarters. Without further thinking, he quickly jumped into the air towards the left part of the fortress. 'Let's hope I'll make it in time...' he prayed inwardly as he recalled the fate of those that had accidentally ended up in the dog demon's garden in the past. While soaring through the sky, he caught a glimpse of silver below and realized that the full blood demon had already arrived. A quick glance at the intruder made him realize that it was actually a girl. The saltiness in the air also told him that she had been crying and he put up an annoyed face.

"Mou aniue, are you bullying humans again?" he cried angrily as he landed onto the grass not very far away from them. "It's not her fault that she's curious about our fortress," he argued as he walked up to his brother. "Why can't you send her away in a more polite way?"

Sesshoumaru responded with a raised brow. "I'm not sending her away," he replied dully.

Inuyasha frowned in puzzlement. "You're not? Then why-"

"Inuyasha?"

He immediately shifted to look at the girl beside Sesshoumaru. "How did you...?" he asked, but stopped when realizations struck him. "A-aneue?"

Kagome burst into tears and knelt down to hug her little brother.

"What's wrong aneue? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" Inuyasha asked confused as he pulled at her sleeve.

She pulled away and wiped the tears with the back of her hands. "N-no silly, I'm fine," she sniffed. "I'm just happy."

"Heh?" the hanyou looked at her with question marks all over his face.

Kagome laughed as she dried the last bit of wetness on her cheeks. "Look, I'm not crying anymore. I'm smiling."

"Kagome!" A voice suddenly cried from a distance.

The three turned to the voice, only to find Sango running towards them.

"Sango!" Kagome waved at her guardian.

Sango stopped before them and bowed politely to Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. "Good day Sesshoumaru-sama, Inuyasha-sama," she greeted and turned to Kagome with a calm face. "Hime-sama. You scared me back there when you suddenly disappeared!"

'Eh...? Did she just...?' Kagome thought surprised. She had definitely expected the taijiya to scold her for running off like that. "S-sorry...I got carried away," Kagome apologized. "I was wandering through the gardens until Sesshoumaru onii-sama found me. Shortly after that, Inuyasha arrived here as well."

"I'm glad that it was Sesshoumaru-sama who found you," the taijiya said relieved. "If it were to be like the guards we met at the gates..." Her voice faltered when she realized she was becoming a bit rude.

Sesshoumaru frowned at this. "Tell me," he demanded seriously.

Sango hesitated but eventually nodded. "Not only did they fail to address her properly, they even dared to talk to her in an ill-mannered way."

"But it's only natural that they didn't recognize me," Kagome reasoned. "You shouldn't blame them for that."

"That I can understand, but I cannot forgive them for disrespecting you," her guardian scowled and turned to Sesshoumaru. "You should have seen hime-sama's face when they questioned her."

'There it is again...' Kagome thought upset, but was forced to disregard it when Sesshoumaru spoke.

"Hm, I'll tend to this matter later. I suggest we should let you meet mother and father first," he decided as he turned to leave.

Kagome nodded with a smile and joined him while Inuyasha and Sango followed behind.

.-.-.-.

"Mother! Father!" Kagome cried as she rushed over the wooden floor to her parents.

"Kagome!" Izayoi cried with tears in her eyes and received her daughter with both arms.

InuTaisho, who stood beside her, gently stroke Kagome's hair. "It must've been tough, was it not? I'm so sorry for putting you through all this," he apologized deeply.

Kagome pulled away from her mother's embrace and turned to her father. "Don't say that father. You did it for my own good, it was the only choice you had. I never blamed you for making that decision," she told him. "That's why...even if I'm to leave eventually, let's just pretend it isn't...until my birthday, okay?"

InuTaisho returned a smile and bent forward to hug her. Kagome hugged him back by wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've seen and experienced a lot of things that I couldn't have if I stayed inside this fortress. Besides...I got to know a wonderful guardian like Sango. That's why you shouldn't feel guilty at all."

The demon lord released her after hearing this and looked at Sango. "You've carried out your duty remarkably. Is there anything you want as your reward?"

Kagome smiled at this. 'After experiencing so much together, you couldn't possibly ask for anything more...Because you never saw it as a duty, right Sango?' she thought inwardly.

But to her surprise, the taijiya stepped up to the lord and bowed politely. "Can I ask for anything? Anything at all?" she asked.

"Anything that is in my power to give you," InuTaisho replied. "Except for my throne that is."

Sango smiled. "Do not worry milord. I wouldn't dare to ask for something like that. Compared to that, my wish is very simple," she said. "What I want is to have your permission to be her guardian again when the day of her departure arrives."

Kagome had a surprised expression on her face while Izayoi and InuTaisho smiled. "It sure does save me the time and money to find another reliable guardian, but I think I'll leave the decision to Kagome. She's the one needing protection after all," the demon lord told her as he shifted to look at Kagome.

Kagome nodded to her father and turned to Sango with a slightly displeased expression. "Mou! I thought I said not to mention me leaving this place!" she pouted, but smiled again. "Even if my life depended on it, I wouldn't accept a different person to be my guardian. I only trust you Sango."

"Thank you, hime-sama," the taijiya bowed again.

Kagome's face dropped. It wasn't quite the response she had expected at all. However, no time was given to her to react to this when her mother decided to interrupt the conversation.

"All right, enough of the chatter," she said and turned to Kagome. "Kagome, you must be tired of the long journey. You should take a hot bath first. After that, we'll have plenty of time to continue the talking during dinner."

Kagome shifted to look at Sango and then back to her mother. "What about Sango?"

"Sango can go to the room that is prepared for her. I'll have someone bring some new clothes to her later. As for dinner...normally it wouldn't be appropriate for anyone outside the royal family to have dinner with us, but tonight I'll make an exception since I want to hear all about the past ten years from you two."

"I see..." Kagome said slightly relieved and turned to Sango, who bowed to them again.

"Thank you Izayoi-sama. I shall retreat to my quarters now," she said and turned to leave.

Kagome watched her disappear around a corner and turned to her family. "Time for a nice bath!" she said with a smile and retreated from the hallway as well.

.-.-.

'Ahh gokuraku gokuraku...' Kagome sighed content as she let herself sink deeper into the damping water. She leaned her arms over the edge of the bath and placed her head on top of them.
AN: You hear people say this very often in anime series when they enter a nice warm bath or hot spring. Gokuraku actually means 'paradise' and Kagome says that here because she feels like she's in paradise.

She found herself in a fairly large space with a wide sandalwood screen separating the bathing area from the changing area. The walls were made of thick wood with only a thin horizontal space near the ceiling to let the damp escape. Bored with the still life scenery on the walls around her, Kagome uninterestedly shifted her eyes to the part of the wall beyond the screen. An old female servant was working on the other side of the sandalwood and the lanterns near the entrance clearly projected her movements on the wall. From the way she was bending forward, Kagome knew she was gathering her dirty clothes.

"Is there anything else you need, hime-sama?" the servant suddenly asked.

She lifted her head from her arms. "N-no, it's okay now," she replied.

"I've told another servant to bring you new clothes. Shall I discard the old ones for you?"

'Old? Sango bought it for me a couple of months ago and I have only wore it three times!' Kagome thought annoyed. "No! Just wash them and give them back to me afterwards, okay?"

"Very well. I shall have them washed and returned to you later," the servant croaked. "If there's anything you need, I will be standing right outside this room."

"That's fine, thank you," she sighed tiredly.

"Have a nice bath, hime-sama."

She watched how the shadow of the servant bowed politely to her and disappeared, accompanied by the sound of the sliding door.

'Finally...' she thought relieved as she leaned on top of her arms again. Just when she thought she could enjoy a quiet bath, she heard the voice of the old servant again beyond the doors and scowled. 'What is it this time?'

"Please forgive me...I thought I had asked a servant to bring her clothes. I'm so sorry to have troubled you," the servant said with a subdued voice. "Here, I shall bring it to her."

"No. I will do it myself."

"But-"

"..."

"Forgive my rudeness...I shall remain here then..."

With the doors closed, Kagome was only able to hear parts of the conversation. Apparently someone had taken the initiative to bring her the new clothes instead of a servant, but she had yet to find out who. Her body tensed when she heard the doors slid open and her eyes widened at the silhouette that appeared on the wall.

"S-Sesshoumaru onii-sama, w-what are you doing here?" Kagome gasped.

The shadow of the dog demon stopped before reaching the wooden screen. "I came to bring you your new clothes," he replied flatly.

"O-oh...euhm...t-thank you..." Kagome stammered as she shifted uncomfortably in the water. She knew Sesshoumaru wouldn't come any closer but there's no way she could ignore the plain fact that she was completely naked.

"Kagome," his low voice echoed through the steam.

"H-hai?"

"Is something bothering you?"

'...eh?' Kagome raised her brows in surprise. "N-no of course not! Why would you think that?" she laughed, trying to avoid the question.

"You were never good at lying, Kagome," the dog demon reminded her.

"..."

"You don't like it here...do you?"

Kagome quickly shook her head. "I do like it here. All these years, I've been waiting to see you, Inuyasha and father and mother again...it's just...it's so different...except for you and Inuyasha...everyone is so...even Sango..." She stopped in the middle of the sentence. 'What am I saying...? I'm not making any sense now...' she thought ashamed and turned around in the water until her back faced the screen.

"You're angry because she refused to call you by your name, isn't it?"

She dropped her face. "I'm not..." she mumbled but stopped when tears began to sting her eyes. Her brother was right; she never was good at lying. The fact that Sango had to address her formally did bother her. The big sister she knew back at the forest had turned into an obedient guardian once they stepped inside the fortress. They always dined together...and bathed together...and even slept in the same room each night, and now everything they do was separate. How could that not bother her?

Kagome closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. "I'm not angry..." she said after a moment of silence. "I'm just not used to it...everything's so different here. Back in the forest, I was Kagome and could do anything I want, but here, I'm the princess of the West and certain rules have to be obeyed. All because of status differences..."

"Do you want to go back? Back to the forest?"

She smiled as her eyes fell on the fangs that were resting on her chest below the water surface. "I didn't mean it that way onii-sama. I'll have to go back eventually...but that's not the point. I may complain...but I have never regretted it." She stretched out her legs in the water and raised her head to look at the ceiling. "If I was given another chance, I would still have thrown myself between you and that monster (i.e. Naraku), I would still have chosen to create that barrier and become the pillar of peace. I would still..." Her voice faltered as a certain blue-gray eyed assassin came into mind. 'Yes...I definitely wouldn't regret it...' she thought determined. "Don't worry onii-sama...I'm okay now," she reassured him. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Silence fell between the two as they enjoyed each other's quiet company, but it was soon interrupted by the sound of the sliding door opening.

"To me..." Sesshoumaru said with a pause in between. "...you are always Kagome."

The words sent a warm feeling through Kagome's body, but when she turned around to respond, the shadow of the dog demon was already nowhere to be found.

Kagome quickly exited the water and reached out to a towel nearby. After wrapping it around her body, she hastily walked to the other side of the screen, only to find Sesshoumaru gone and a beautiful kimono draped over the wooden robe stand near the wall.

The upper body was mainly light yellow with red sakura flowers, while the lower body also had vivid blue butterflies embroidered near the blossoms. Along the lower edge of the long sleeves and near the feet, the kimono was soft red with white petals. The obi was orange with red leaves embroidered all over it, making the garment complete and breathtaking even though it's only hanging on a stand.

'Kirei...' she thought amazed as she ran her hand over the fabric. She couldn't wait to see how it would look on her.

.-.-.

It took her and her servant some time to put on the kimono and obi, but they were eventually done and Kagome was lead back to her chamber. She looked at herself in the long mirror and couldn't believe what she saw.

Much to her astonishment, the kimono fitted her perfectly. With her hair tied up and some tresses resting loosely on her shoulders, she really looked dazzling. She giggled at her reflection. 'I am a princess after all...' she thought with a wide grin. Upon the sight of herself in the gorgeous kimono, she completely forgot about the unhappy thought she had before and could only think about showing this to Sesshoumaru.

Without second thought, she walked out of her room. 'Where could he be...?' she thought as she ran through the hallways. Her chestnut eyes darted around until she caught a glimpse of silver in the large garden in front of the gates.

Luckily, the sun hadn't completely set yet or all her running would be in vain. "Sesshoumaru onii-sama!" she called out.

The dog demon turned around to her as she stopped before him and it was then that Kagome realized that Inuyasha was there as well.

The brothers widened their eyes when they saw her but it was Inuyasha who spoke first. "Woah you're really beautiful aneue!" he cried and turned to Sesshoumaru. "It's just to be expected from aniue to select such an elegant garment!"

"Hmph," Sesshoumaru snorted arrogantly.

Kagome gave them a puzzled look. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"Aniue chose this kimono for you to wear on your birthday," the hanyou explained. "It's amazing how it fits you so perfectly."

With wide eyes, Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru. "You bought this for me?"

"Yup!" Inuyasha answered in his place.

Sesshoumaru frowned slightly. "Inuyasha, shouldn't you be helping mother with dinner? She had decided to prepare Kagome's favorite dishes tonight, I'm sure she'll need some help," he said with a low voice, making it sound more like an order than a suggestion.

"Okay!" the hanyou nodded and ran back into the house, leaving him and Kagome behind in the garden.

Kagome chuckled softly as she recalled that Sesshoumaru's not a person to say honest words unless they're alone and she gave him an expectant look.

"Do you like it?" he finally asked.

She looked down at her kimono and faced him again with a warm smile. "Very much," she told him. "Thank you so much, onii-sama." She was surprised when Sesshoumaru cupped her cheek with a clawed hand. "Sesshoumaru onii-sama?" she gave him a puzzled look. "What's wrong?"

"I promise you Kagome," he suddenly said after a moment of silence.

"Eh?"

"I will protect your smile with my life."

Kagome widened her eyes, but eventually softened them as she placed her hand on top of his. "Arigatou," she whispered softly.

The two backed away from each other when Inuyasha's voice suddenly echoed from the house.

"Aniue! Aneue! Dinner is ready!"

Kagome laughed at the sudden change of mood and turned to Sesshoumaru. "Let's go back inside, shall we?"

The dog demon nodded and both of them retreated back into the house.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
How did you like this chapter? It took me some time to write the scene between Kagome and Sesshoumaru. I still have to remind you that this is and will remain a Bankotsu/Kagome fic :), hope you won't get disappointed by that hehe. Maybe I should consider writing a Sess/Kag after this story :)? Anyway, please review and tell me what you think okay? Thanks! Oh by the way, thanks to Kyia, I got to watch movie 4 from Inuyasha. I must say that the boss of the enemy group look a LOT like Bankotsu :).

Greets,

Kittymui

.-.-.-.

'Italic': thoughts
"...": spoken words
.-.-.-.-.: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises

.-.-.-.

Next chapter: Chapter 24

.-.-.

In the next chapter, Kagome will tell Inuyasha about the journals she had written for him and about Bankotsu, whose life she had saved and with whom she plans to spend the rest of her life with. Meanwhile, our famous assassin group is still headed for the fortress according to plan.

.-.-.

Vocabulary:

taijiya: (demon) exterminator
onii-sama: a respectful way to refer to an older brother
tadaima: in response to the above, this is what people say when they come home, means "I'm home".
aniue: a respecful way to refer to an older brother
aneue: same as above but for an older sister
hanyou: half demon
mou: something like 'geez', people say this when they're displeased with/annoyed by something
-sama: honorific suffix you add to someone's name whom you respect very much
hime: princess
gokuraku: paradise
kirei: beautiful
arigatou: thank you
hai: yes

.-.-.-.

REPLIES TO REVIEWS:

LadyRedEyes: Thank you so much :)! Like this kind of pace for updating?

satsu: Hey there, thanks for reviewing! Is this soon enough?

Wake-Robin: Thanks! It's getting more and more nervous later :), but we'll get some serene scenes in the next chapter.

TeenAnimeLover: Glad you liked it!

Skitzoflame: Even if he doesn't tell them hey'll eventually find out :), but I guess it won't go as far as that if you know what I mean.

sesshomaruobsessed: Thanks! I'm flattered :). Maybe I'll consider writing originals once I start losing inspiration to use IY characters.

Dark Neko17: Hahaha, glad my pace of updating suits you :). Thanks for reviewing!

Cascading Fates: This one's a bit longer :). What I've written in the summary will indeed happen, or else Bankotsu in present time wouldn't be still dreaming about it right? However, in the chapter where it really happens, the whole scene will be better described than the dream. Hope that clears up a bit :)!

Schwarz Stein: Thanks, I've accepted it. Is there anything specific that I have to do by the way? Glad you liked the chapter!

darkenedmoonlightflame: Thank you! Although I got my bachelor degree, my master is going to start pretty soon so it'll get busy busy again...sigh...

sangotaku6: Thanks for reviewing! If my muses keep working like they should, the next installment should be within the next 10 days!

Mis0ka: Thanks! I'm actually better in action chapters, I'm glad my non-action chapters are satisfying too!

BelleDayNight: Euhm, I've seen people doing it in chinese series, but I can't do it myself. I wonder if there's a manual somewhere on the internet :)...and if the needed plants grow here hahaha. Hmm if everything is going as planned, the book that Bankotsu is reading will end within 5 chapters. This entire story is mainly about the tale from the past, so there isn't much to tell after that (I don't like dragging out things, hehehe). However, I do have something planned for when he finishes reading the book, but it'll be a lot less complicated than the story in the book, don't worry :).

Inukamisashi: Yup! Thanks for reviewing!

SusArackAhack: Interested is a nice word, but I think catastrophic will be more like it when Bankotsu and Co arrives hehehe. Or did you mean Kagome and Co? Never mind that :), thanks for reviewing! I'll try my best to amaze you!

SesshomarusGirl15: Thank you very much! Hope you haven't died of the suspence yet :)...grins...you'll miss out the best part of the story if you did!

Ayome: Wow, I never imagined a reader would review almost every chapter when more than 20 chapters are already posted. I'm really really happy that you did! Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the story so far! You've got it right about Bankotsu not knowing who Kagome is until he kills her :), really sad isn't it? But don't worry, it won't be that depressing in the present time when he finishes reading.

AnimeSiren: Yup, it would get too complicated if they didn't. Glad you loved it!

Murasaki White Flame Fox: I wish I could. I wonder if there's a manual online or something. But honestly, there are people in China who can do that, at least, that's what my fathers says :). Thanks for reviewing!

Shortie630: Thanks! I'll update asap!

waining-moon: Glad you liked it! I'm sure you'll like one of the future chapters that I've planned to write too if you liked the previous one :)!

AnimeAngel41: Hope this is fast enough :)!

thunder sister: I'm a believer that history can't be changed so it's expected to "repeat" itself again. Recall that Bankotsu is only reading a tale from the past, so it's not really about changing history :).

Ana Esterlla: Glad you loved it! Can't wait for more (reviews) too :) hahaha!

rosesRred16: Thanks! I will!

Kuroi Tsuki Jyurian: It's okay! Don't worry about that, take your time ne? Thanks for reviewing!

Kuroe: Thanks! I'll try to update asap!

kakashisninjadogs: Hope this chapter wasn't disappointing :)! Bankotsu is reading a story from the past, which will explain why he's having the same dream over and over again, so it's most likely that what's happened in the dream will also happen in the book. Don't worry, because when Bankotsu finishes reading, the story won't get any more depressing :).

Posted: 5 September 2005
Last Edited: 5 September 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!