Chapter Eighteen: Storm

Neikotsu nervously kept looking at the sun. It was setting quickly and she was dreading every second of it.

"Neikotsu, it's starting to get dark. With just the two of us, we should probably find somewhere safe to stay," Bankotsu said, right as she was watching the sun.

She fidgeted nervously before replying, "Where did you have in mind?"

He sighed and scratched his head innocently. "There's a hut near here. According to Mukotsu, when the family that lived there heard we were around, they fled. So, that means we could stay there."

Neikotsu shrugged and said quietly, "Sounds good."

'What's wrong with her?' Bankotsu thought as she left to get her belongings ready. '…Oh! I get it! Keh, don't flatter yourself, Nei-chan. I'm not going to be persistent. Wait… Nei-chan? That's not too bad. I wonder if she's mind if I called her that. I don't think she would. I heard Jakotsu call her Imouto once, and she didn't seem to care.'

"I'm ready to go," Neikotsu said, pulling Bankotsu out of his rambling thoughts.

"Me too. Let's move on out then, Nei-chan." He paused for a second to see what her reaction would be.

Neikotsu, caught a bit off-guard by the nickname, stared blankly for a moment. "I'm coming… Ban-kun."

The mercenary leader laughed and walked through a thicket of trees up ahead. Still confused as to what was going on, Neikotsu followed close behind. 'Damn it! Stay focused, Aki- Err… Neikotsu. Bankotsu hasn't done anything to indicate he expected something to happen for hours. Almost the entire day in fact. It's not as if he would really ever love me. I'm not exactly trophy wife material here.' She sighed in annoyance at herself and closed her eyes as she walked, letting her subconscious do the guiding.

As Neikotsu silently trudged along through the forest on a roughly beaten path, she began to calm down. 'Besides… Bankotsu seems like he'd be a bit too innocent to do something like that. Probably best not to underestimate him, though. Ack! What am I thinking? I'm not good enough for Bankotsu. He probably has just been going along with that whole "I love you" scene so I won't leave the Shichinintai. Why must life be so complex? It sure would help if we had some kind of guide to show us the right way.'

Still keeping her eyes shut, Neikotsu continued her thoughts on Bankotsu. Meanwhile, Bankotsu was busy thinking about problems of his own. 'I'm hungry. I probably should have eaten more for breakfast. Apparently the woman doesn't cook unless she's uncomfortable with a situation. Maybe I should… Nah. I'll break out all the romantic shit and whatnot later on tonight. Neikotsu has been really quiet, I wonder what she's up to back there.'

Bankotsu turned around to see what she was doing. She was falling behind some, but no wonder- she had her eyes closed. She appeared to be either deep in thought or really relaxed, so he decided not to disturb her unless she was really moving slow.

With her eyes shut, Neikotsu's other instincts were becoming stronger. 'That smell. It's going to rain soon.' Sure enough, as she opened her eyes, she saw thick, gray clouds forming overhead. They were beginning to block out the clear orange-yellowish light casting from the setting sun. "Bankotsu, are we almost there. I don't want to be stuck in the forest at night while it's raining."

"Hmm? Oh," he looked up to notice the thick blanket of gray covering the sky. "Not too much farther. It looks like the storm is moving quickly, though, so we better hurry."

Neikotsu nodded and ran quickly to catch up with Bankotsu. It was getting darker by the second. The trees surrounding them were not making it easy to see, either. She raced quickly on the path. If you could call it that. By now it was mostly just patted down grass and tree roots made by animals or small demons. Suddenly, Neikotsu felt her foot slide down into a hole in the ground as her ankle twisted. For a brief second she heard a 'crack' then she fell down. At first she felt numbed, but in even less time than it took to hear the 'crack' did the pain come.

"What's wrong?" Bankotsu asked when he saw that she fell. Neikotsu bit her bottom lip as she removed her foot from the hole. Without even seeing her ankle, she knew it was broken. She could feel it swelling already.

"M-my ankle. It's broken," she managed to say through the pain of it. Without another word, Bankotsu picked her up gently and carried her on his back. It was a bit difficult at first seeing as how he had to carry Banryuu too, but he was resourceful and managed to balance everything out evenly.

"I'm sorry," Neikotsu said as it started to rain. Bankotsu had to slow his run down to a fast walk and they didn't make it to their shelter in time.

Bankotsu turned his neck to smile sweetly at her and said, "No need to be. Not your fault. I shouldn't have made you run. This place is too damn wooded."

Neikotsu nodded and rested her head on his back. The back edge of his armor was digging into her chest, but it wasn't nearly as bad as having her ankle dangling and being hit by twigs and tree branches that they passed.

After a few excruciatingly painful moments, Bankotsu lead them into the home of the people who abandoned it, and lightly set her down. He exhaled loudly and leaned Banryuu against the wall. "Let me see it," he said shortly.

Obeying his demand, Neikotsu untied the cloth wrappings around her sandals and took her tabi sock off, as well as the other one, just for the heck of it. Bankotsu examined how swollen her ankle was and the purplish blue bruise that was already visible. "You're right. It's definitely broken." He picked up her foot and set it in his lap. "Sorry, but I have to do it. Ready?"

She bit her lip again and clenched her fists. In one quick snap and one pain-filled yelp, her bone was back in place.

Bankotsu looked into her eyes to see if they showed any trace of pain. "You okay?"

"Terrific," came her dull, bitter reply. "…Thank you," she added sincerely realizing she sounded kind of shrewish.

Bankotsu scoffed a "You're welcome" and sat down across from her. He was drenched and mud had splattered on him from running and dragging along Banryuu. He sighed as he removed his armor and shirt.

Neikotsu stared at his muscular arms and chest and then at his face. His usual carefree look was taken over by one of worry and aggravation as he laid out his haori to dry. His long, wet, black bangs hung down past his eyes and clung to his handsome face. Feeling her face grow warm with a blush, Neikotsu focused on the pain of her injury and looked away.

"Here," he said, scooting closer to her. He took the red sash he used to tie around his waist and wrapped it tightly around her ankle. "Not too tight, is it? If I don't do something, it won't heal properly. This is the best I can do for the time being. I'll have Suikotsu mend the bone when he gets back. I don't think it's something to worry about, but it should also be checked for mortification. Does it hurt bad right now?"

Neikotsu shook and said shyly, "It's fine."

"That's good. I feel bad, Nei-chan. It's my fault this happened. What do you want me to do to make it up to you?"

She blushed deeper as she said even quieter, "nothing. It wasn't your fault." 'No! Not now! Please don't let him be all cute and sweet to me. I'm too stressed right now to worry about what he's thinking.'

Bankotsu, however, was determined to show her he was sorry. 'She's so cute when she acts like this. I've mostly just seen her act kind of bitter and hateful. I bet I can get her to lighten up some.'

"Here," he said moving so he was behind her. "I'll help you relax. I've been known to give one hell of a massage. However, seeing as how other than my brothers I'm never really worried about other people, so I don't have a chance to show off my skill."

"Bankotsu…" Neikotsu said as he took off her wet kimono to reveal her under one. "Really, you don't need to. I'm fine. I'll feel better if you ju-" She stopped in mid-sentence at how nicely Bankotsu massaged her shoulders. She began to relax. Her tense body went limp immediately.

Bankotsu smirked loudly. "Ha! I told you it'd be enjoyable." She responded with silence and he inconspicuously pushed her under-kimono slightly down her shoulders. He pushed it lower and lower off of her until Neikotsu grabbed the front to keep it closed.

"Sorry," he said in a pleasant way, but not like he really meant it.

After debating what to do for a moment, she gulped and let go of her under-kimono so it slid all the way down to her waist. She bent her head down so her long hair covered the embarrassment in her face. With her bangs down over her eyes, she didn't notice when Bankotsu moved so he was facing her.

Neikotsu went to cross her arms in front of her chest, but Bankotsu pinned them at her sides and kissed her roughly. She didn't resist and slowly he lowered her to the floor.

Neikotsu slowly opened her eyes as light hit them. She had been sleeping against Bankotsu's chest. She got up from the covers they were sleeping under and pulled her clothes back on. Without waking Bankotsu, she went outside to get some fresh air.

The morning air was thick and heavy. The rain from the previous night made everything damp and sticky out. Neikotsu fanned herself with her hand as she hobbled out to go find some water to drink.

'Well, that didn't go according to plan. I wanted to not let my relationship with Bankotsu get very complicated. So, I wound up having sex with him.' She sighed deeply. 'Now what? I'm going to have to go back and see him. I really hope everyone gets back soon. It's a bit too weird for me- to have someone care like Bankotsu does. I suppose I should make the most of my time alone with him. Oh hey, a stream,' She thought, coming upon a clear, shallow stream. She cupped her hands and took a long drink of water.

As Neikotsu returned to the abandoned hut, she saw Bankotsu just awakening.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked sleepily, sitting up.

She shrugged sheepishly as she replied, "Just went to go get some water."

"How's your ankle. I didn't hurt it last night, did I?" Neikotsu shook her head. "Oh, good. So… We still have two entire days and nights, do you want to-" Bankotsu got silent.

"Something wrong?"

"Shhh, listen. Do you hear it?"

She listened carefully to see if she could hear what Bankotsu did. And sure enough, there was a familiar stomping sound that she recognized easily as Ginkotsu's gait. "They're back already?"

Bankotsu quickly pulled on his clothes and fixed his hair. "Looks like it. Guess we won't have any more time together. For now, anyway." With a somewhat disappointed sigh, he said, "Let's go before they try to find us. Of course, considering we can hear Ginkotsu from here, I assume their already looking."

About half way back they could see Kyoukotsu towering over everyone else. They waved and soon enough, caught up with them.

"Hey, what are you guys doing back so soon?" Bankotsu cheerily asked his returned comrades.

Renkotsu glared hatefully at the young leader. "It was a trap set by Naraku. It's a good thing I suspected something before the attack, otherwise we'd be dead."

"Oh? Well, sorry I accepted. Did you kill everyone?"

Suikotsu grunted uneasily. "No, we never even got there. We were about half way there before we managed torture it out of that guy to tell us it was a trap."

"That means we don't get paid, right? Damn it."

Suddenly, Chouyouma appeared by them. "Yeah, that isn't very good. Luckily, you have me! I knew what that guy was doing from the start. I stole his money before you guys left."

"What?" Neikotsu asked.

Chouyouma smiled ear to ear. "No, dear girl, I was here the entire time. Remember? You did see me, didn't you?"

Neikotsu felt a mix of panic and embarrassment got through her. He knew.

"I knew you were there. Eh, you know how she is: not all the way there," Bankotsu lied, but to his and Neikotsu's relief, it was believed by everyone else.

"Keh!" Jakotsu said loudly, "like I'd trust her to be alone with Bankotsu no Oo-Aniki for three days alone."

The ghost laughed as he assured Jakotsu, "Yeah, you never know how manipulative she could be."

"Uh, I can hear you," Neikotsu growled agitatedly. "By the way," she said to direct the subject in another direction, "How did you know that we were being deceived by that guy?"

"Huh?" he asked with a blank stare. "Oh, that. Well when I was helping Warusa and Naraku there was this dragon who was telling me his plan. I was going to tell you, but I figured I'd give you something to do."

Renkotsu didn't seem to find this particularly funny, but the rest of the mercenaries weren't very mad, so the subject was dropped and the new quest was to find some breakfast.

As everyone else walked ahead, Neikotsu stopped Chouyouma. "Thank you for not saying anything."

"Well, what can I say? It was too fun to watch to have Jakotsu kill you over it."

Neikotsu blushed and was pretty angry, but remembered what else she wanted to say. "That dragon you mentioned… what was his name?"

"I believe it was Kageyu, if my memory serves me correctly."

This wasn't too surprising, but Neikotsu couldn't deny that she was a bit hurt that her former best friend wanted her dead.

Author's Note:

Imouto- Little Sister.

Sorry this took so long. I could have finished it by Friday night, but I was watching Full Metal Jacket and couldn't concentrate. Heh… Were you expecting something a bit more graphic for the Bankotsu/Neikotsu scene? Sorry about that, too. I was going to make it better, but I had lemon-writer's block and it sucked, so I just gave the hint of it. I know, I know, I've been having writers block a lot lately, but I've been pretty busy and haven't really had time to concentrate. I promise to write the next chapter soon.