A TALE FROM THE PAST
-by Kittymui-
An unexpected visitor
: DREAM SEQUENCE :
The same screaming and wailing erupted from different directions. Bankotsu held in his breath as the scene, which he had seen for so many times, unfolded before his eyes. However, when he carefully studied his environment, he noticed something different. Instead of the gathering room, where he would be surrounded by turned tables, he found himself standing outside in a garden. A mass of villagers was jammed at the gates to his right while a blazing building stood to his left.
"Prepare yourself demon!" a distant voice cried.
When Bankotsu turned to the voice, he was stunned to see three characters engaging in battle. His eyes first fell on the one whose long silvery locks billowed in the air as he parried an incoming attack. Aside from the fact that he had clawed hands and a furry tail, it was his great resemblance to the tall graduate student he bumped into on campus that had caught his attention. "Sesshoumaru...?" he whispered to himself as he shifted to look at the two opponents of the demon. "Suikotsu...and Mukotsu too?"
As if seeing their names in the book wasn't already confusing enough, the two assassins even shared the looks of his friends at college. What were they doing in his dream? Was this just one of the many coincidences as well?
Just when he thought he saw a hint of pain on Sesshoumaru's face, which was probably caused by the bleeding wound on his chest, another individual appeared from within the mansion to their left. Bankotsu widened his eyes when he saw him lunge at the dog demon. "No Jakotsu! Stop!" he cried, recognizing his roommate. "Sesshoumaru watch out!"
As if the demon heard his warning, he turned to the sneaky assassin and deflected his snaky sword with his poisonous whip.
'They can't hear me?' Bankotsu thought puzzled as the battle of three against one continued without even one of them paying him any attention. He looked down at himself and raised his brows in surprise when he realized he was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of brown shorts. They were the clothes he wore before going to bed. 'What the...why am I wearing my normal clothes this time?' he wondered in shock.
Before he could recover from the first wave of question marks, another realization struck him. 'B-but if I'm here...then...' Without finishing his thoughts, he quickly made his way towards the mansion.
But when as he reached the entrance, he halted his step and instinctively covered his nose and mouth at the sight of the thick black smog that drifted out of the opening. His brows rose when he found himself unaffected and he gazed at the mist. 'I'm not wearing any feudal clothes...does that mean I'm not part of this dream anymore...?' he mused as he slowly lowered his hand from his face. 'Then...these shouldn't be able to affect me at all...'
Convinced by his inner thoughts, he ran determinedly into the fuming building. He smirked inwardly when he found that neither flames nor smoke could touch him as he crossed a blazing room. But after running down several corridors and ending up at the same spot again, he painfully realized he was still vulnerable to the smoke's blinding thickness. 'Damn it...where am I?' he grumbled inwardly.
Suddenly, a faint cry echoed through the crackling fire.
"NO-O-O-O-O!"
Realizing whose voice it was, he disregarded his disoriented sense of direction and began to run to where it came from.
Because of the smoke screen, he failed to see someone coming from the opposite direction until it was already too late to avoid collision. "Woah!" he cried and moved his arms before him protectively. His heart skipped a beat when the person simple walked through him as if he didn't exist at all. 'What the hell!' he thought aghast.
It wasn't until the person disappeared into the mist again that he realized who just walked past...uh through him and he quickly turned around to go after him.
Fortunately it was just a dream or he would've definitely doubted his sanity. It felt like he was looking at his twin, who seemed a bit spaced out at that moment. He watched himself, armored and armed, kneel down to some bodies on the floor and then remembered something. 'If the assassin's here...then...' He darted his eyes around until he met a pair of gold. There he was, hidden behind a corner and looking at the assassin from a distance. Hatred was all over his young features.
Bankotsu's face dropped in empathy when he found sorrow behind the mask of anger. "Inuyasha..." He made an attempt to go to the hanyou, but when he couldn't seem to move forward, he looked down at his feet, which, to his surprise, wasn't even touching the floor anymore. As he mused in himself whether he was the one moving or everything else except him, his body rose above the partitioning screens. The moving stopped when his body reached above the mansion and strangely enough, he was still able to look through the roof at what was happening inside the mansion; as if he was standing on a transparent glass ceiling.
Below his feet, he could see Inuyasha slumped against the floor near the feet of his previous incarnation, unconscious. He watched how he gathered the young hanyou in his arms and started walking towards the exit of the blazing building. Just when he thought it was over, his attention was drawn by something else.
It was the room where the princess of the West was. She was lying outstretched on her back; still and unmoved by everything that is happening around her. If it hadn't been for her kimono, which had now become completely red of her blood, he would surely have thought she was just soundly asleep. When he caught a movement in the peripheral area of his eyes, he realized she wasn't alone. Someone else was with her. He looked worn-out. His armor was smothered in bloodstains and the garment he wore underneath it was torn at numerous places. The battle against the three members of the Shichinintai must have been tough, he thought as he looked at the trail of dry blood running from the corner of his lips to his chin.
Bankotsu watched how he knelt down weakly beside the body of his sister and gathered her in his arms. At the same time the roof had begun to rumble loudly, as if warning the people below that it was about to collapse soon. His eyes darted around the floor plan below him and to his relief; there was no sign of the assassin and hanyou. But when he shifted back to the dog demon, he couldn't believe his eyes.
There were tears crossing the parallel stripes on both his cheeks. The cold and stoic face that would seldom reveal any emotions, was crying and showing the deepest grief he had ever seen. But what shocked him the most was that the demon seemed to have no intention of leaving. Even when the walls and supports surrendered to the destructive flames and collapsed to the floor around him, he remained impassive, hugging the lifeless body of his beloved sister. Until the roof finally crumbled down and buried them under the heavy debris, he was still holding her close to him.
Bankotsu swallowed a threat of tears as he watched the last pieces of the fortress cascade to the ground and slightly averted his gaze. 'The oldest heir of the demon lord didn't die in battle...' he concluded inwardly. 'He chose to die with his sister...' A moment of silence arose as he mentally mourned for those who died that day. Until a voice suddenly caught him off guard.
"It's silly...isn't it?"
He jumped up of shock and turned around. "Who-" he gasped, but his voice got stuck in his throat when he found himself gazing at a young girl. "Y-you're..." he stammered, desperately trying to remember where he had seen her before. The girl before him smiled as she turned to look at the burning fortress. "He should have left me and save himself while he could."
Bankotsu gave her a puzzled look. 'He...?' He narrowed his eyes as he studied her features. She had long raven hair reaching below her shoulders and wore a simple white robe that added up to the simple beauty emitting from her rosy cheeks and chestnut eyes. Although it was just a plain garment, he was convinced that practically everything would look good on her.
"You're taking about Sesshoumaru, aren't you?" he finally asked. "You're...Kagome, aren't you?" As he spoke out the name, he wondered where he had heard it before. It wasn't only from the book that he knew this name. His thoughts were cut off when she answered rather flatly. "Yes, I'm the one you saw earlier, dying in the arms of your previous incarnation."
He raised both brows. "But how? Until now, I've kept seeing the same scene in my dreams over and over again. I understand that it has got something to do with my previous life. But how is it possible for you to appear before me and talk to me?" he asked confused. "I'm not making you up...am I?"
"You're not," she told him plainly. "As for your first question, I can only say that I don't belong to your subconscious world."
This puzzled Bankotsu even more. And he knew it must've been all over his face as the girl began to explain before he even had to ask for it.
"After we die, our spirits will automatically be guided to the gates of reincarnation, where we will depart for our next life. However, before we are allowed to enter, we are obliged to drink the broth brewed by the blind old woman who lives in front of the gates. The broth will make us forget everything of our forfeited lives." Her eyes hardened as she continued. "But somehow, when both you and I drank it, the broth wasn't strong enough to erase all of our memories." She stopped for a moment and eventually shook her head. "No, that's not it. It's more like...something among our memories had refused to be erased," she corrected and turned to Bankotsu. "The scene you saw earlier is unmistakably a fragment of the past, clinging onto your current life. The one you said you kept dreaming about is probably a memory fragment as well."
For a moment, Bankotsu stood silently staring at the girl. Although her story sounded a bit far-fetched, he still wanted to believe it. The way it fitted perfectly into the whole picture made it difficult for him to be skeptical about it. Especially after reading the book and the letter. "How about you?" he asked. "You said you didn't belong to my dream. Does that mean fragments of the past is clinging to your current life as well?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly true. I am, or rather my appearance, is what you would call the fragment of the past that's clinging to the present. Moreover, unlike your situation, I have only recently awoken."
Bankotsu frowned in puzzlement. "What do you mean 'recently'?"
"I mean that I have only come to realize my existence when my reincarnation fell into a coma last year," she explained.
"Last year?" He looked at her with wide eyes. "How come you've never appeared in my dreams until now?"
The girl dropped her face a little. "Unfortunately, as I was just a fragment, I held no knowledge to why I even existed in this era. Hence I had been wandering around purposelessly all this time. But then yesterday, I suddenly felt drawn to something. It was like a voice, calling out to me. I followed the voice, and before I knew it, I had already entered your dream world." A slight pause ensued as her eyes trailed to where they had last seen the remnants of the fortress. "When I watched the fortress burn down to the ground, I had finally come to realize who I w-..." A grim smile formed on her lips as she corrected herself. "...used to be... "
Bankotsu didn't know what to say when he saw her somber expression. But that was until something struck him as he thought about what she said earlier. "Wait a minute...your reincarnation fell into a coma during mid-autumn last year?"
"Yes...on her twentieth birthday, the same day I died," she told him.
Bankotsu thought for a moment. 'Why does this sound so familiar?' he pondered and turned to her. "By any chance, do you remember your reincarnation's full name?"
"Well yes...I heard the nurses mention that before I wandered out of the hospital," the girl replied as she took a moment to refresh her memories. "I was quite surprised when I realized my reincarnation was named Kagome as well. As for her last name, if I remember correctly, it was Asa...hara...yes...Kagome Asahara."
'Asahara...' he repeated to himself. 'Where have I heard that bef-' He widened his eyes. 'Asahara? T-that's Sesshoumaru's last name too!'
He stole a glance at the girl before him as he recalled his Suikotsu's words yesterday at college.
"That's Sesshoumaru Asahara, he's from the last year..."
"...he's quite well-known, because of his short temper and cold character..."
"...he wasn't like this several years ago...his personality suddenly changed because of his beloved sister."
"She fell into some strange coma on her 20th birthday and hasn't woken up again..."
"...since last year autumn..."
Bankotsu held a hand before his mouth. 'I remember now! Kagome Asahara...she's in the same history class as me!' He quickly turned to look at her. "If what you said is true...then Sesshoumaru is your brother in this life as well!"
The girl looked surprised to hear this. "Sesshoumaru...onii-sama is...?" she gasped wide-eyed.
"It's probably because he didn't let you go before he died," he added after some thinking. "His choice to die with you must have created a strong link between you two, which was kept in existence even after you both reincarnated."
The expression on her face as she heard this showed that she regretted her remark earlier, but not entirely. "If the link never existed, he would've been free of all the worries he's suffering right now. Because of that link, he had wasted tons of money on useless diagnoses to find out what was wrong with his beloved sister. He's frustrated because even the best doctors in the world couldn't give him an answer to the mystery revolving around her sudden coma on her twentieth birthday," she lamented.
Bankotsu felt a heavy lump in his throat when he caught a slight tremor in her soft voice. Almost instantly, he scolded himself inwardly for acting smart and thought of something to remove the remorse on her mind. "Did she fell into a coma because you awoke or was it the other way around?" he quickly asked. Fortunately, the question seemed to have drawn her attention and he praised himself for his fast thinking.
"She fell into a coma because of a link of the past clinging to the present. This link is what stopped her life temporarily on the day I died. Part of her soul, remembered something that needs to be fulfilled."
"An unfinished business," he helped her.
"Precisely," she nodded. "The link will only shatter when that business is finished, until then, my reincarnation will stay unconscious."
Bankotsu cocked an eyebrow. "That business? You mean you don't know yourself?" He was stupefied when she nodded again.
She averted her gaze in guilt. "As I said, I am but a fragment of Kagome's memories," she said. "If I knew, I wouldn't have wandered in this era until now. But something did draw me to you, so I'm positive that you're the key to solve the mystery."
"Wait..." he interrupted her with a raised hand. "You want me to help you?"
"I know you can do it. I can feel it, deep down inside, you're the only one who can," she told him.
Bankotsu widened his eyes in disbelief.
"I know I'm probably asking too much of you. By no means, I am forcing you to help me," she said sadly. "But please..."
He was shocked when she began to fall to her knees and quickly stepped forward to catch her.
"I beg of you..." she cried in his chest. "Bankotsu..."
Although it was his name, he knew by the tone of her voice that it wasn't he whom she was calling to. But even so, his arms still responded to it and they instinctively wrapped around her body.
"It is already enough. I don't want them to suffer any more for what we've done wrong in the past."
'She's crying...' Bankotsu thought. Normally, he wouldn't mind girls crying in front of him. Crying was something that would always make them feel better in some way. But somehow, he didn't want the girl in his arms to cry. Not her. 'Is it because part of my soul belongs to the man who loved her in the past?' he mused. Nevertheless, it felt really awkward to be holding someone you knew you loved in the past. As he thought that, he slightly pulled away from her and created some distance. "I-I'm sorry...I just..." he stammered.
"N-no it's okay..." She dried her tears with the back of her hands.
"I really want to help you, but it's all happening too fast...the book...the letter...and you. I just don't know where to begin with comprehending..." he explained with a hard face.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, looking at him with reddened eyes. "I wish I could tell you more."
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." An awkward silence fell between the two as they both started at the dark floor.
"Tell you what," he suddenly began, which made the girl look up at him again. "I think I'll check the book one more time. I might find some useful clues in it about what caused the link to the past to exist."
Her chestnut eyes filled with hope as they gazed into his. "You're going to help me?"
Bankotsu flushed at her intense stare. "Y-yeah... You said I was the only one who can do it right? I'm not that heartless to let you wander meaninglessly in this world while I can do something about it."
To his surprise, the girl launched herself at him again. This time with a wide smile on her face. "I'm so happy," she said as she placed her head against his chest.
"Happy that you don't have to wander around anymore?" he guessed as he looked down at her raven head.
"Not only that," she told him. "When I realized that part of his soul had transcended time as well, I knew he must have regretted what he had done very much. And that's because...I meant a lot for him...right?"
"Yeah..." Bankotsu agreed somewhat awkwardly. After seeing the same dying scene over and over again, why wouldn't he agree?
Another silence.
It was broken when a bright light began to shine upon them.
"W-what's happening?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes. The girl pulled away from him. "You're going to wake up soon," she told him calmly and looked up at the light. She didn't seem to be affected as much as he did. "I guess this is goodbye."
Bankotsu widened his eyes. "Will I see you again? I still have something to ask you," he said hastily to the girl who was beginning to disappear into the white light.
"The fact that I'm disappearing now must mean that my task here is done," she said with a small smile.
"Your task?" Bankotsu raised his brows. "But I thought you belonged to Kagome's soul. Shouldn't you return to her?"
She shook her head and smiled. "At first I had no idea why I coexisted with my reincarnated soul. After meeting you and talking to you, I finally understood," she told him. "I survived the blind old woman's broth because someone needed to tell you about your unbroken link to the past. The fact that I was drawn to you must mean that your link is related to that of my reincarnation's. That is why I believe you're the only one who can break them."
"Wha...? Wait-" It was all a bit too fast for Bankotsu, but he wasn't given a chance to finish as the girl spoke her last words.
"I will go back now...I will be waiting for you...Bankotsu..."
'Waiting for me?' Bankotsu thought confused. "Wait! What do you mean by that?" he cried, but he realized that nobody was there to respond.
Not long after that, the light that beamed from above consumed everything around him in a flash. "Ah!" he winced aloud at its penetrating brightness and shielded his eyes with both arms.
: END DREAM SEQUENCE :
"Waiiit!" he cried as he bolted up from his bed. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was caught off guard by the brightness of his room. An instant headache forced him to shut his eyes again. After all the stars disappeared from his vision, he reopened them again and turned to look at his bedside clock.
'1.00 PM...' he read the time inwardly as he ran a hand over his face. To his surprise, his hand was dry when he lowered it. When was the last time he hadn't woken up all sweaty? He couldn't even remember anymore.
'What was that dream...?' he mused as he tried to remember. It was unmistakably the same scene that he saw in his previous dreams. But this time, it was all happening from a third person's perspective...his, and not through that of the assassin. And unlike other times, the dream didn't stop when the assassin killed the princess; it actually continued until the entire fortress was leveled. 'And the girl...the princess...who suddenly appeared behind me...' Though her image was a bit vague, he could still recall clearly what she had told him.
She was a fragment of what was left of her previous life's memories and her reincarnation fell in a coma because of an unbroken link to the past. The link was some sort of unfinished business and it was somehow related to him. It all sounded very logical and he had no reason to doubt her, but he was still confused about what she said before disappearing into the bright light.
"I will go back now...I will be waiting for you...Bankotsu..."
'What did she mean by that?' he pondered frustrated. Just when he wanted to think about it more thoroughly, a yawn terminated his intentions and his stomach reminded him how grumpy it could be when ignored for too long.
'I better go wash myself first...' he decided as he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.
.-.-.
Half an hour later, he plunged into his chair again, fully dressed in a light blue polo shirt and a white pair of trousers. His long black hair tied neatly into a thin braid and partly draped over one shoulder.
'What to do now...?' he thought to himself as he gazed at the book and letter resting on his mahogany desk. 'Even thought I had told her that I would help her...but how am I going to do that?' He propped his head on his hand. 'I guess I can't rely on her anymore since she's already gone back to where she belongs.'
Much to his irritation, an impatient grumbling coming from his abdomen interrupted his thoughts again. He let out a huffed in defeat as he stood up. 'I guess I can't think on an empty stomach...' he gave in as he slid the letter back into the cover. After putting the book into his brown rucksack together with some writing tools, he grabbed his wallet from his bedside cabinet and left.
.-. later .-.
After a quick lunch at a nearby snack bar, Bankotsu entered the streets again with his rucksack over one shoulder.
Since it was already holiday, the streets had become more crowded than usual. The sidewalks were now occupied by children, playing tag with friends or just happily taking a hand-in-hand with their parents. Besides them, there were also those who took the opportunity to let their newborns enjoy the nice weather in strollers. Summer was indeed one of the happiest seasons of the year.
As he adjusted his rucksack with one hand, he took out his cell phone from his pocket with the other and started clicking through several menus on the small colorful screen. '...Home...Jakotsu...Renkotsu...' He scanned through his digital phonebook until he found the name he was looking for and quickly tapped the dial button.
After he made sure the line wasn't busy, he placed the silver-colored device against his ear.
BEEEEP...
'Come on, pick up the phone...I know you're there...'
BEEEEP...
"Hello?"
'Yes!' "Hey Suikotsu, it's me, Bankotsu," he spoke into his cell phone.
"Yo Bankotsu! What's up? No wait, let me guess...you suddenly realized how lonely you are after Jakotsu left and decided that you will join us on our trip to Europe after all?"
"Uh no..." he responded dully.
"Aww...now I'm hurt!" his friend wailed through the receiver.
He let out an annoyed sigh. "Look, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings okay? I really have something important to ask you."
"Woah! Easy man! I was just joking!" Suikotsu said somewhat taken aback. Apparently, he sounded angrier than he thought. "Something important eh? What is this about?"
"Remember when I bumped onto a tall student yesterday on campus and Renkotsu got all fired up because of his cool attitude?"
"You mean Sesshoumaru Asahara? Yeah, I remember that."
"Back then, you mentioned that it was because of his comatose sister, who turned out to be one our classmates right?"
"That's right."
Bankotsu hesitated before asking the next question. "Is his sister named Kagome?"
He had to create some distance between him and his phone when his friend responded rather enthusiastically.
"Yes that's it! Kagome Asahara! It was on the tip of my tongue yesterday! How could I have forgotten! Silly me," he laughed, but suddenly went silent. "Wait a minute, how did you find out about that?"
"That's not important right now," said Bankotsu. "What I wanted to ask is whether you know where she is right now."
"Uh...in a hospital?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I assumed as much, but which one?"
There was a short moment of silence before a reply was given. "I remember some friends of hers mentioning that she was staying in the hospital on the campus."
"When was what?"
"Begin this year, around spring I think, but it doesn't really matter actually. I'm pretty sure she's still there."
He raised a brow. "How can you be so sure of that?"
"Well, her family owns the place. And since they refuse to entrust her to any other hospital, what do you think would be the best place to keep her?"
"They own the hospital on campus?" Bankotsu repeated wide-eyed. 'But of course...I've heard the name of the hospital before...it was...'
"Yes, the AMC, shorts for Asahara Medical Centre," his friend said. "Everybody knows that."
"How do I get there?" he asked, ignoring the last remark.
"Why do you want to know? You're not thinking of paying her a visit, are you?"
Bankotsu didn't reply to this. Not because he didn't want to, he just didn't know how. There were still too many questions in his head at the moment. Though the answers were quite obvious, he just couldn't accept anything before he had eliminated all possible uncertainties. But he was very close now. One more and he'll be able to believe everything the girl told him.
"Okay, now you're scaring me." His friend's voice interrupted his thoughts. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"
"...yes," he finally replied.
"It can't be helped then...the AMC will be right in front of your nose if you take the usual bus to the campus and get off at the second to last bus stop," Suikotsu explained. "Don't ask me about which room she's in, because I don't know. You'll have to find out yourself when you get there."
With his phone sandwiched between his head and shoulder, Bankotsu quickly took out his notebook and a pencil from his rucksack and noted down some reminders. "It'll do, thanks!" he said as he put away the paper and pencil.
"Oh you're welcome...and uh...good luck."
He frowned. "You sound like I'm about to enter a dangerous man-eating monster's territory. Despite the fact that it's a hospital where I'm heading."
"You are," his friend said seriously. "Well, I don't know about that man-eating stuff but that Sesshoumaru is definitely not going to welcome you with a friendly handshake if you know what I mean. But as long as you don't meet him face to face, it'll be okay I guess."
Bankotsu couldn't help but smirk at this. "Well you know me, the higher the risk, the greater the challenge and the more I will like it."
"Whatever you do, just don't provoke the guy okay?" His voice seemed rather desperate. "Why are you even doing this?"
"To be honest with you, I'm not quite sure myself why I'm doing this as well, but I will explain everything as soon as I've solved this, I promise. I just hope you would believe me when that time comes."
"Of course I will! In my opinion, history and mystery goes hand in hand, so I'll welcome whatever it is you're going to tell me," his friend said proudly. His voice turned serious as he continued. "Just don't do anything stupid okay? Call me if you need any help. Even when I'll be at the other side of the globe, I'll be flying back in an instant if you're in a pinch."
"Sure," Bankotsu smiled, knowing that his friend wasn't lying. Coming from a family with moderate income, he always thought people with wealthy backgrounds were snobby and selfish, but Suikotsu's existence proved him otherwise. He was rich, but he had none of those horrible traits. He remember asking him once why he chose to study here while he could easily have chosen to study abroad or at a more upscale university. It was not long after he transferred here. Back then, he didn't consider himself as Suikotsu's friend yet and still, his answer and expression on his face as he replied were burnt deeply into his memories. Probably because of the great impact his words had on him.
"Being a rich kid doesn't mean I have to act like one, right?" he said with a genuine smile on his face. "Besides, if I had gone somewhere else to study, I would have missed out a great friend like you."
His smile grew wider as he replayed his words in his mind. He had never been good at making friends with his social skills when he was still studying at his previous college. Most of his so-called friends freaked out and stayed away from him as soon as he told them about his strange dream. Perhaps that was what caused him to never mention it again in front of others, especially those who claim to be his friends. As for his roommate, he had never planned to tell him either. But after sharing the same room for a couple of months, he knew he owed him an explanation for crying out in the middle of the night with sweat all over his face. Much to his surprise and relief, Jakotsu didn't freak out after hearing his story. Despite that however, he was still convinced that his other friends wouldn't respond in the same way, so he didn't tell them. But after hearing Suikotsu's words through the phone, he knew he had judged him wrongly and he was somehow glad about it.
His thoughts were cut off when he heard his friend's voice again.
"Is that everything you wanted to know?"
"Y-yeah, thanks again," he said, snapping back to reality. "One more question though. How do you know all this? About our classmate staying in which hospital and so on."
"Geez Jakotsu was right, the summer heat did fry your brain. No wonder he told me to keep an eye on you. Did you forget already? My sister works at the AMC, I told you before didn't I?"
Something clicked inside Bankotsu's head. "Ohhh! I remember now! Your sister...Sango right?"
"Gosh, I don' recall having another sister. One's already enough."
Bankotsu failed to suppress a chuckle. "You two really don't get along, do you?"
"We would, if she would just stop treating me like a baby. I mean come on! I'm turning twenty-six soon!"
"In her eyes, you'll always be her little baby brother I guess. Be happy that you're an only child like me. At last you still have a sibling to quarrel with."
A snort sounded through the phone. "Believe me, with a sibling like her, you'd rather be an only child. Sometimes I can't help wondering if I owed her the pleasure of making my life miserable. You know, like I did something horrible to her in my previous life and now she's been given the chance to pay me back by reincarnating as my sister?"
Bankotsu became silent for a minute and smirked. "Yeah, maybe you're right. If you have committed a sin in your previous life, you will have to atone for it in the next." He was skeptical when he read about it in a book on Karma, but now he had to believe it. Because if his memory wasn't failing him, Sango was the name of the demon killer and guardian of the princess. She was killed during the assault on the fortress launched by the Shichinintai. And coincidence or not, the assassin who ended her life...was Suikotsu. He grinned amused. "I guess you should be relieved that she didn't come back as your girlfriend instead."
"Ha ha, very funny." His friend's response was a mix of sarcasm and irritation.
"No I'm serious," he said innocently. "I mean, being your sister, she has to at least hold back in some way. Imagine what would happen if she was not blood-related..."
"Ok ok I get the drill," Suikotsu interrupted him quickly. "Say, didn't you have something more important to do? Like...rescuing a sleeping beauty from the high tower, guarded by her evil brother? You know...the kiss and wake up thing?"
"Bite me Suikotsu." He scowled while a reddish tint colored his cheeks.
His friend's laughter that followed gradually became a background sound as he suddenly realized something frightful. Cause and effect, such is the Law of Karma. He who sows evil, reaps evil. It might be an immediate result following the act, or a delayed one occurring either in the present life or the next. So he, who had taken the life of the one he loved 500 years ago, will have to repent as well. Perhaps with his life? 'Was that why she said she would be waiting for me...?' he mused. The thought sent shivers down his spine.
"Hey Bankotsu, don't be angry. I was just kidding!" Suikotsu's apologetic voice sounded through the phone.
Bankotsu blinked for a moment. "Huh? Oh don't worry, I'm not angry," he said, snapping out of it. "Anyway, I have a bus to catch, I'll talk to you later okay?"
"Oh...okay. Take care of yourself, okay? Later!"
"I will. Bye-bye."
He slid his cell phone into his pocket and started walking into a familiar direction; the one he always took when going to school.
.-. later .-.
He let out a heavy sigh as he watched the bus leave. As he pushed back his short bangs and wiped the sweat from his forehead, he grunted inwardly why not all buses had air-conditioning installed in them.
But his heat induced frustration subsided rather quickly when his eyes fell on the snowy white building in front of him. Although a large parking lot separated him from the entrance, he still had to crane his head to read the name that stood on its roof.
ASAHARA MEDICAL CENTER
He formed a silent 'wow' with his lips as he started crossing the swarm of cars. The crowdedness told him that it should be around visiting hours at the moment and he quickened his pace.
After passing two pairs of glass doors, he found himself standing in a large hall. From there, he could practically see the balconies of each floor as he looked up. On the ground floor, there were ring-shaped benches encircling nice small pieces of nature, forming small islands. They were all built around the square reception desk that stood at the center. His attention drifted to the large floor plan that stood like a monument next to him. Following the outer edges of the building, he realized that it resembled the letter 'H' from above. ' Makes sense...' he though to himself as he turned away from it again.
After slipping past several wheelchairs and visitors, he finally reached the reception desk.
The attention of the woman who stood behind it was obviously captivated by the document she was holding, as she didn't seem to have noticed him. She had brown hair tied into a knot behind her head and some curly locks framed her long face. Her white uniform made her look like she was in her thirties, but Bankotsu had a feeling she was older than that.
"Uhm...excuse me?"
Her eyes darted up from the document and met his. "Yes?" Her eyes were brown with a yellowish tint, like a hazelnut.
'There's no turning back now...' he thought nervously. He knew he should have at least practiced before coming here. "I'm looking for a certain patient. I know she's staying in this hospital but I've forgotten which room she's in."
"Oh that's easy," she smiled friendly with her rosy lips. "If you can tell me the patient's name, I can check it up for you."
"Her name's Asahara," he replied as calm as possible. "Asahara Kagome."
The smile on her face immediately dropped and her eyes narrowed cautiously as they studied him. "What might mister...eh..."
"Yukimori," he introduced himself. "Yukimori Bankotsu."
"Right...what might mister Yukimori's business be with miss Asahara?" she inquired.
The formal reference by the receptionist made Bankotsu even more nervous. 'Here goes nothing.' he gulped as he bit his lower lip on purpose. "Please don't tell anyone, but I'm actually her boyfriend. My friends told me not to come, but I insisted. I just want to see her again." Adrenaline rushed through his brain as he saw a change of expression on her face. "But I've never heard miss Asahara mentioning she had a boyfriend," she said, slightly puzzled.
'Gotcha!' he grinned inwardly. "Her brother would kill us if he knew, that's why she and I decided to keep it a secret," he told her. "Ever since she fell into that strange coma, I haven't been able to sleep at night. I keep worrying about her. Could you please...I beg of you...please let me see her?"
"Dear sir, I know how you must be feeling right now, but she's in really good hands here. Mister Asahara cares for her a lot, so he wouldn't let anything happen to her," she said reassuringly. "I think you better go before he comes back. If he sees you here, he'll be furious. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
'Damn, she's good...' Bankotsu scowled inwardly. "You don't understand...eh..." he glanced at the name tag on her white uniform and back to her. "Miss Satsuki, if I don't see her now, I might never be able to do that again," he said with a desperate voice. "My family is going to leave for Europe tomorrow, so I don't have much time left. This might be my last chance to see her."
"Oh dear, that's so sad..." the woman gasped as her eyes began to fill with tears.
"Shhh!" he shushed her softly when she began to sob. But it was already too late when a new voice butted in their conversation.
"Satsuki? What's happening here? Why are you crying?"
Bankotsu didn't know whether he should be glad or not that it was a woman's voice and slowly turned around.
It turned out to be a nurse who looked not much older than he. Unlike the receptionist, she was wearing light blue instead of white and her long dark hair was tied into a high ponytail instead of a knot. "Who is this?" she asked while glancing at him.
"This is mister Yukimori, he said he wanted to see our miss," she replied through her sniffing, completely forgetting about her promise to Bankotsu. "He said it was his last chance to see her, it's really sad...and I really want to allow that...but..."
"Is that so?" The nurse turned to face him.
Bankotsu responded with a friendly nod, though he would rather sink into the marble floor of embarrassment right now. What in the world had he gotten himself into? He gulped when the nurse turned back to the receptionist. "Stop crying Satsuki, I will take it from here on," he heard her say before he met her hazel eyes again. "Come with me mister."
'Oh boy...' He obediently followed the nurse in to one of the four hallways that were connected to the reception hall. To his surprise, they stopped in front of an elevator instead of the white door behind them with the word 'Security' printed on it. But Bankotsu knew better and waited until they entered the cabin before asking questions. "Uh miss...? Pardon me, but where are you taking me?" he asked when the steel doors closed and the elevator began to rise.
"Hm? I thought you wanted to see our miss," she responded with sarcasm in her voice. "After all, it is your last chance...right?"
Bankotsu gave her a wary look. "Y-you don't believe me...do you?"
"No, I don't," she said without turning to him. She seemed to be more interested in the floor buttons instead.
He shifted the strap of his rucksack uncomfortably. "But then why?"
"Don't be so nervous Bankotsu, it's not like I'm going to eat you," the woman giggled as she finally turned to him. There was a strange kind of amusement on her face as she looked at him. The way she grinned was very familiar but Bankotsu couldn't pinpoint exactly where he had seen it before. Out of curiosity, he stole a glance at the nametag that was attached to the chest of her uniform. 'Sango...' he read the first name and widened his eyes. 'What the...?'
An extremely amusing look must have registered on his face at that moment, as the nurse burst out in laughter. "Stop looking so difficult," she laughed. "Yes, I am Suikotsu's sister, Sango. He called me a while ago telling me that you were coming to visit Kagome."
The informality didn't go unnoticed and Bankotsu's face showed an even more confused expression. "Kagome?"
The nurse wiped the happy tears from her eyes. "Yeah well, I'm not supposed to call her by her name, but she hates formal titles," she explained. "I've known her for a while now. We've become friends ever since I started working here. She's a very kind and cheerful girl. She sometimes visits me after class and I would always look forward to it. No matter how tiring or cumbersome my day had been, her smile always made my worries go away." Her expression became grim as she continued. "But that was until she suddenly fell into a coma and became one of my patients. Now I get to see her everyday...but not in the way I had hoped for."
"I know you're not a doctor," she said after a pause. "But somehow I can sense that you know more about her sudden...illness...I mean, that's why you're here...right?"
"I don't really know, I'm sorry. I'm here to confirm something, that's all," he replied with empathy in his voice.
"I see..." She turned away as a small bell chimed to announce their arrival. "We're here."
Bankotsu silently followed her as they walked down a long corridor and stopped in front of a white pair of doors. He watched the nurse take in a deep breath before she pushed them open as silent as possible.
They entered a large room with several doors to their left and an array of windows to their right. Remembering the path they walked earlier, Bankotsu concluded that they should be standing in the northeast wing. And the bird view of almost the entire campus through the windows told him that they were on the topmost floor of the building. He had always thought the campus would be prettier with more green and right now, he couldn't agree more with himself. Bored with the dull landscape, he turned back to the interior of the place, which was more pleasant to look at.
The flowery murals and soft red carpeting made the place look more like a regular bedroom than one belonging to a hospital. But he realized it wasn't a nice way to put it as he saw the depressed look on Sango's face. He followed her line of vision until he saw the large bed that stood against the wall in the far back.
"We don't have much time. Sesshoumaru will return from his meeting soon," she warned him.
He nodded understandingly and made his first steps forward.
A white canopy was held aloft on four chestnut poles at the corners of the bed. Besides that, it was composed of a strong, dark brown structure, white sheets and a scarlet blanket.
As he walked towards it, he couldn't help feeling as though he had entered a fairytale. One where he would be the determined prince who have just arrived at the topmost floor of a dangerous tower to rescue a damsel in distress. Everything seemed to be meeting the requirements, except for himself. Firstly, he was nothing like a prince and secondly, he was far from being determined. The truth was, he didn't believe he could save anyone. If it hadn't been for the dream he had this morning, he would probably never had come here.
He slowed down and eventually stopped when he reached the bedside. This should have been the moment where the prince would sit down on the edge and bend over to wake up the sleeping one with a magical kiss. But in reality, he didn't move an inch.
It seemed only a moment ago that he was talking to her, and now she was just like the maiden of a certain fairytale, cursed by an evil witch to sleep eternally.
Her face showed a peaceful expression as she lay there with the red blanket up to her chest and her hands clasped on top of it. Her raven hair was spilled gracefully over the white pillow on both sides of her head and adding up to the serene beauty that radiated from her sleeping face.
That very moment, as he looked at her, he made a silent vow to himself, just like every prince would have.
Fairytale or no fairytale. Prince or no prince. He would definitely put an end to the cruel curse that had befallen this princess.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey everybody! Sorry for the late update! As if two weeks isn't already enough, there's a chance I might take longer to update the next chapter. The first term is about to end and that can only mean one thing: exams and reports. I have two reports due next friday plus an exam on the same day...grunts... I delivered the previous report and now it's only hoping for a sufficient grade.
I thank all of you who have reviewed! I am very happy to receive them (and all the ramen, chocolates and plushies hehehe) and I appreciate all of them very much! Thanks a bunch! In my author's notes I will answer questions posed by reviewers. You might notice that I haven't answered all of them, that's either because the question will be answered in the next chapter or...simply because I just forgot. Please forgive me if that's the case. BelleDayNight: I do have several ideas brewing in my busy mind (written on paper actually). Once I've finished this story, I'm thinking of putting some of them in my profile. Or maybe I'll just keep them to myself and surprise you when I post the next story :). Seiteki Hekireki Jishinkaminarikajioyaji: How was your paper?
Again, thanks for all your lovely reviews!
Lots of greets,
Kittymui
'Italic': thoughts
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-: time gap
-CAPSLOCKED WORDS-: noises
-.-.-.-
Next chapter: The unbroken link
-.-
Yes! He finally met the present Kagome! Maybe you can already guess what the mysterious link to the past actually is, maybe not. No worries, it will be revealed later on. So...Sesshoumaru's going to arrive at the hospital soon, will Bankotsu and Sango be able to leave before he sees them? How will the overprotective brother react to Bankotsu's tresspassing?
-.-
Vocabulary:
Japanese people tend to say their last names before their first names, that's
why I had Bankotsu say "Asahara Kagome" and not "Kagome Asahara".
hanyou: half demon
onii-sama: -sama is an honorific suffix, by adding it to onii, which
means brother, makes it a very respectful way to refer to an older brother
shichinintai: literally means seven-man-group, in the series they are
a group of mercenaries consisting of 7 men.
-.-.-.-
Posted: 26 October 2005
Last Edited: 26 October 2005
Spelling check: YES
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters of this story. 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, I own the idea for the main plot of this story.