A TALE FROM THE PAST

-by Kittymui-

The unbroken link

It wasn't until he slammed with his back against the nearby wall that he realized what had happened. He glanced down at the two hands that were clutching the collar of his light blue shirt and slowly raised his gaze until he met an extremely annoyed pair of gold-amber.

Bankotsu recognized the tall student he bumped into yesterday. But instead of his college uniform, he was now dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and a gray pair of trousers. His long silver-white hair was tied back, leaving some short bangs framing his stoic face.

"What are you doing here?"

If gazes could kill, he would've surely been dead by now. His attention turned to Sango, who walked towards them. "Sesshoumaru, he only came to see her," she explained, but fell silent when Sesshoumaru glared daggers at her.

"You brought him here, didn't you?" he inquired coldly. "I will have a talk with your supervisor later."

Bankotsu felt his heart sink when he saw the nurse's face drop and he turned to Sesshoumaru. "Leave her out of this okay? I'm the one who insisted on coming here!" he argued.

His action earned him another slam against the wall behind him and he winced at the pain that shot through his shoulder.

"I don't know how you exactly managed to come in here but if you think you can fool me with the same excuses, you're wrong," the silver-haired one snarled angrily. "Now leave before I lose my patience."

Bankotsu grinned at his menacing words. Strangely enough, he felt rather amused than intimidated. "What if I don't want to?"

Sesshoumaru clenched his fists until his knuckles went white. He was just about to slam him against the wall again when Sango suddenly pulled at his arm to stop him. "Sesshoumaru no!" she cried and turned to Bankotsu. "Stop provoking him okay? Just tell him why you've come to see Kagome!"

To his surprise, Bankotsu saw a hint of amusement in the eyes of the graduate student when he shifted his eyes from the nurse to him. "Yes...why don't you spill your true motives. I suppose you're not that naive to think you can wake her up with a kiss, are you? But if you did, I can assure you that you're not the only one who tried."

A scowl registered on Bankotsu's face, but was soon replaced by a smirk. "As a matter of fact, I do think I can wake her up," he told him confidently.

Sango looked at him quizzically while Sesshoumaru responded with an unimpressed look. "You?" he retorted.

"Yes," Bankotsu said as he jerked away his grip on his collar. He casually adjusted his rucksack and straightened his polo shirt before flashing him one of his arrogant smiles. "Believe it or not, I am the only one who can do it."

With that said, he brushed past him and made his way towards the exit.

"Bankotsu." It was Sango who called out to him and he paused in his steps to reply. "Don't worry, I will come back for her." And then he left the room.

As he closed the doors behind him, he took in a deep breath with his eyes closed.

'Bravo Bankotsu! I'm so proud of you. You just signed your death sentence!' the voice in his head cheered.

Bankotsu opened his eyes again. 'Shut up, your sarcasm is not welcome right now.' His lips curled up into a grin as he started walking down the hallway. 'Besides, it was fun.'

'This isn't a game you know?'

'I know that.' He pushed the button to call the elevator and sunk into thoughts again. 'But that Sesshoumaru is too proud for his own good.'

'He's just being protective.'

A soft chime announced the arrival of the elevator. 'Over...protective...' he corrected as he stepped inside and turned around. 'Just because his sister fell into a coma, doesn't mean he has to act all high and mighty toward others.'

The doors were about to meet each other when a sudden hand stopped them and forced them to reopen.

Bankotsu was surprised to see Sesshoumaru on the other side of the opening. "What do you want?" he asked him coolly.

"You're never to come here again, and that is not a request," he stated plainly.

Bankotsu snorted. "Fine by me. You do realize that you're eliminating the only way to wake up your sister, right?" When he said that, he saw a slight movement in his thin brows, but to his disappointment, the stubborn silence remained until the doors began to close again.

Right before they completely sealed the opening, something snapped inside his head and he smacked the button to open them again. "Damn it Sesshoumaru, stop acting so cool!" he cursed angrily. "Why can't you just admit it!"

"Admit what?" the silver-haired one responded indifferently.

"That you've run out of ideas and that you need help!" he argued, his hand still on the elevator button.

"Are you insinuating that I should seek your help? Don't give yourself so much credit boy," Sesshoumaru retorted. "I will continue my search for the best doctors, even if I have to leave Japan for it. And I will find a cure for Kagome no matter what the cost."

Bankotsu smacked his forehead with his other hand and grunted in frustration. "Don't you understand? You can't wake her up even if you sold your soul to the devil! Nobody can!"

"Nobody..." Sesshoumaru repeated. "...except you?"

"Exactly!" Bankotsu said with hope filling his eyes. For a moment, he thought he had succeeded in convincing him, butthe annoying indifference that remained on his face indicated that he still had a long way to go, and he let out a deep sigh. "You know, I really can't understand you. You said you'll do everything to cure you sister, but you refuse to believe me? Why? Because I don't have a doctor's degree? Well then let me tell you this Sesshoumaru. It his those you call doctors who haven't been able to find out what is wrong with her for the past eight months!" The last part came out somewhat suppressed as he reminded himself that it was a hospital. "If you still want to do it your way, fine! I won't stop you. But at the end, I will be the one to wake her and there's nothing you can do to stop me." He removed his hand from the elevator button and waited for the doors to close as he averted his gaze.

Much to his astonishment, Sesshoumaru suddenly stepped into the cabin to stand next to him.

"Why?" he suddenly asked after the doors closed and the elevator began to descend.

"Why what?" Bankotsu asked back without turning to him.

"Why do you want to help her?"

"Because..." he hesitated for a moment. He sighed as he could practically fell the impatience filling the air and simply blurted out the first explanation that came into mind. "Let's just say I owe her..."

"You owe her...?" The puzzled look on Sesshoumaru's face told him that he couldn't leave it unexplained and he turned to him fully. "The reason why I said I'm the only one who can wake her is because I'm the one who caused her to be in her current state."

"You?" This time, Sesshoumaru raised both brows and the word 'surprise' registered all over his features.

"Well, like I said...I owe her," Bankotsu explained awkwardly. "Truth is, I'm not sure what I exactly owe her, yet. I've only recently heard that I'm somehow related to her sudden coma. I still need to do some reading and investigating..." His voice faltered when he realized how ridiculous it sounded and shook his head. "You know what? Never mind what I said, wouldn't believe me anyway."

At that moment, the elevator stopped descending and the doors opened to the first floor. Bankotsu stepped out of it and turned to Sesshoumaru. "I will come back when I know more. Goodbye," he said as he began to walk away.

A hand on his shoulder halted him abruptly and he turned around to face a rather calm Sesshoumaru. "Come with me," he said to him.

He narrowed his eyes. "Why should I?" he said as he jerked away from his hand. At the same time, he saw how his eyes glanced sidelong at something and he followed his line of vision until he met the word 'Security' printed on a white door.

Sesshoumaru turned around to leave and Bankotsu grunted in defeat as he followed suit.

"Where are we going?" he asked after they exited the building and entered the parking lot. He followed him until they stopped before a row of cars standing closest to the hospital. He watched how Sesshoumaru casually took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and walked towards the only silver Toyota in the row the glistened under the bright sun.

"Get in," Sesshoumaru commanded before disappearing into the car.

Bankotsu widened his eyes. "What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," he said through a lowered window.

Having no other option, Bankotsu did as he was told and sat down in the passenger seat next to him. "Where are you taking me?" he asked again as he fastened his seatbelt. His question was again ignored as the driver seemed to be more focused on the driving than him.

The trip proceeded in silence and with nothing else to do, he studied the interior of the car. Despite the fact that Sesshoumaru's from a fairly wealthy family, his car looked barely different than that of any other regular person. Nevertheless, it was clean and free from any disagreeable scents that you could find in a vehicle. Everything was gray and black except for the small trinket that hung below the rearview mirror. Attached with red braided string, it turned out to be a white dog with a dark blue crescent moon on its forehead. Below it hung a small, red charm with the words 'drive safely' embroidered on it. It dangled back and forth with every turn the car took.

"That's a rather cute safety charm," he commented as he leaned against the back of his seat again.

"Kagome made it for me a long time ago," Sesshoumaru replied after a while.

Bankotsu turned to look at him. "A dog?"

Sesshoumaru stole a quick glance at the charm. "I was born in the year of the Dog, but I've never understood why she chose to make one with a crescent moon on its forehead."

Bankotsu suppressed a chuckled as he envisioned the looks of the dog demon version of Sesshoumaru in his mind. "Well...it does suit you perfectly," he blurted out before knowing it. "Uh...I mean the dog..."

He saw how Sesshoumaru eyed him warily before turning to the road again. "How long have you known Kagome?" he asked.

"She's in my class, but to be honest with you I barely know her. I transferred here a year ago, but even so, I've never really spoken to her," Bankotsu confessed. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that...it's strange..." Sesshoumaru hesitated, probably for the first time in his life. "...Kagome said the same thing...she also said that the charm suited me perfectly when she gave it to me."

That moment, Bankotsu was sure he saw a glimpse of gentleness on Sesshoumaru's face before he returned to its indifferent state. "There are more strange things in this world. It's just that we don't know about them until they happen to us or those close to us." After that, he became silent, knowing that it would be best to leave the topic as is for now.

.-. later .-.

Some time later, they were driving calmly through a district filled with rows of standalone houses. High wooden fences separated one garden from the other, but even so, Bankotsu knew they had to be perfectly tended, if not nicely.

After several turns and passing several houses, Sesshoumaru drove up the sidewalk, past a pair of open gates and stopped the car.

"We're here," he said as he pulled out the keys and unfastened his seatbelt.

Bankotsu did the same and closed the door after stepping out of the car. He instinctively shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight and looked around him. The frontyard was carpeted with a nice fresh green lawn with several low, polished gray stones in it, paving a path from the car to the entrance of the house. Unlike other houses of the district, this one looked more like a mansion, which of course, was not surprising considering the property the family possessed. However, although it's larger, it didn't look much different from the outside than the rest.

"Are you coming or not?"

The voice shook him out of his reverie and he turned to Sesshoumaru, who was already standing near the entrance, looking impatient as always.

"Oh sorry," he apologized and made his way towards the mansion over the stepping stones.

After leaving their shoes behind in the hallway, they ascended the nearest wooden stairs and strode over the wooden floor until they entered a study. It was a quite large space with several bookshelves perfectly aligned to the left and a desk stood at the end of the room.

The study was a mix of modern and traditional taste as a flat screen personal computer stood on the mahogany desk while several old scroll paintings decorated the screens that partitioned the place.

Sesshoumaru sank into his black leather chair behind the desk and ushered Bankotsu to sit down on the brown one from across him.

"Start talking," he said.

"What do you want me to tell you?" Bankotsu asked as he sat down.

The man from across the desk settled against the black leather. "Everything," he told him.

"Everything?" Bankotsu racked his long braid to the front before copying Sesshoumaru. "Then I'll have to start from the moment I realized I was having the same dream over and over again, which was fifteen years ago."

He told Sesshoumaru what he exactly saw in his recurrent dream and how he came to study history here after the secondary school. He also told him about the book he found yesterday in that old, abandoned library and the strange dream he had that morning after reading the book. The one in which he met the Kagome of the past, or rather, what was left of her memories after having reincarnated.

"I know it sounds unbelievable and to be honest with you, I can hardly believe it myself. But after so many coincidences, there's no way I can see it as sheer coincidence anymore," he added at the end. Silence fell between them after that as he patiently waited for a reaction from the man before him, who seemed to be deep in thoughts.

"Can I see the book you mentioned?" he finally asked after a while.

"Sure." Bankotsu took out the book from his rucksack and handed it over to him.

Sesshoumaru bent forward to receive the thick library item and leaned back again while looking at the scarlet front cover. "Sengoku Jidai, the fall of the western lands," he read the title out loud and shifted to look at Bankotsu. "Is this a history book?"

"The tale told inside dates back 500 years, but I don't know about the book itself," he explained. "There is a letter hidden in the back cover, supposedly written by the author of this book. However, I doubt that he was a historian when he actually wrote the book, if that's what you mean."

There was an indescribable expression on Sesshoumaru's face as he studied the book from the outside. It looked as though he was afraid to open it and look inside, although Bankotsu was pretty sure he would rather die than admit it. For someone as sober as Sesshoumaru, it was imaginable that his world of science would crumble as soon as he starts to believe him.

"You know what? Why don't you read it?" he suddenly said.

The pair of gold-amber darted up to meet his.

"Why not? I mean...you're still doubting the credibility of my story right now, aren't you? So why don't you read the book for yourself and then decide whether you should believe me or not," Bankotsu opted as he got up from his chair.

Sesshoumaru frowned at his sudden action. "Who told you to leave?" he asked sternly.

"Nobody," he replied flatly. "But until you've read the book yourself, it's useless for us to discuss this any further." He flung his rucksack over his shoulder and made his way towards the door. "Oh and one more thing," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "Be sure to return it. Because no matter what your decision will be, I will still carry out what I had intended to do, so I'll be needing the book for that."

Sesshoumaru kept his stoic face as he responded. "What makes you so sure that I will return the book to you after reading it? If I don't believe you, I would probably do anything within my power to keep you away from her," he said and held up the book. "And eliminating your only clue to solving the so-called mystery would be the easiest way to do so."

Bankotsu smirked at this. "You wouldn't do that," he said as he turned to the door.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. "Oh? And why wouldn't I?"

"Because..." He opened the door, ready to step out. "It wouldn't be fun if you did." With that, he walked out of the study without sparing him another glance.

But had he done that, he would've seen a genuine expression of amusement on the silver-haired one's face. Probably the first real emotion he showed since last year's midautumn.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I should be ashamed of myself for uploading such a short chapter after not updating for so long...I'm terribly sorry about that. Last week was quite hectic as I had to put together a presentation within 24 hours (I was notified on monday at 5 pm while the actual presentation date was on wednesday). On top of that, I had a paper due thursday (which was later on postponed to this weeks thursday to my relief) and an exam on friday. The exam was tough and I hope I made it...but it's no use brooding over it now since the new term has started already. I'll try to pick up the pace again, but please forgive me if I'm late with updating, I'm suffering some inspiration problems (again) and I'm not proud of it... Anyhow, thanks to all of you who have reviewed, I was truly happy to receive them and they've been greatly encouraging! Thanks a lot!

Lots of greets,

Kittymui

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

-.-.-.-

Next chapter: A forgotten promise

-.-

Sesshoumaru is still wavering after hearing Bankotsu's story and Bankotsu insists on him reading the book. Will he do it? Will he believe the tale told inside? The once sober Sesshoumaru is now going to seek the help of an old friend, whom he neglected for eight months, as a last resort, will she be able to help him and Bankotsu? Please look forward to the next chapter!

-.-

Vocabulary:

No words this time :).

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Posted: 15 November 2005
Last Edited: 15 November 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.