Author: Thank you all everyone! I'm very happy at your response. I'll work even harder! (glomps everyone) Ah, well, this is what happens when I get excited (throws popcorn)
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Disclaimer: This fic is written for entertaining purposes only. (and for SessRin fans XD). All rights on Inuyasha are reserved for Takahashi Rumiko-sensei only. (Just give me Bankotsu XD)
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Chapter 3 Unexpected Revelations
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"Oi oi, why don't you just speak? You are downright creepy, you know?" A small boy pushed an even smaller girl, and she fell backwards. But she didn't even cry, whimper, or anything. She just sat there staring at the boy with her blank, hazel eyes.
The boy groaned and stomped the ground hard. The girl didn't flinch, and it could be said that she continued to look at the boy almost fearlessly.
The boy scowled and bent down to her eye level and stared back. It was a matter of 'who-looked-away-first'. Flaming indigo eyes, or vacant hazel ones.
The boy closed his eyes after awhile and sighed. This girlwas getting onto his nerves. After all, he was very used to other peers wincing in fear when he strolled around his territory. Their reactions gratified him. But this girl, she showed no emotion at all. No fear, no anger. Nothing. Nobody knows what her name is. Sure, they are all orphans, but at least they have names.
Everything about her baffled him. He had been trying to insinuate fear for weeks now, but all she did was just staring at him with her unsettling eyes.
To let out his frustrations, he stormed to the garden and took out his wooden sword, ready to smash those flowers and bugs and everything. Needless to say, he was shocked when the girl tackled him to the ground and threw her tiny body on his sword-arm.
It was the first time he heard her speak. "Don't! Don't!" Well, not too much but good enough for starters.
"Don't-don't?" He mimicked her panicking tone, "Is that all you can say?"
He easily overpowered her and shook her away from his arm. At last, she showed anger. She was ready to stop him from destroying the flowers again. Their squabbles went on for awhile, with the girl's comebacks consisting of only one word 'don't'.
He wasgetting tired. He snarled in the most terrifying voice he could muster, "Quiet! Tell me a good enough reason and I'll stop."
The girl's lips trembled and she stammered so softly that he had a hard time catching her words, "…loves flowers…… they remind… of ……'s parents…"
She suddenly crumpled to the ground, sniffing and tears leaked out of her eyes. The boy gaped at her, and looked around. He had a reputation to uphold, so it wasa good thing there wasno audience.
He patted her head awkwardly, "Erm. Well. I… I am sorry. I… I just wanted you to talk, that's all. But… if you don't want to, that's okay."
She looked up at him with large, watery eyes, and he gulped. Whywas he being so kind? He wasthe famed notorious leader of his own 'army'!
He scratched his head and patted her on the back, "Cheh, just learn to stand up for yourself, won't you?"
Three days later, the boy found out he was going to be adopted. He had protested vehemently but, of course, it was no use. As he was about to leave, the girl came up to him and gave him something. It was a hand-made sheathe for his wooden sword. It was rather well-made, and the boy gaped at the girl again for the umpteenth time.
She had a dazzling smile, "Thank… thank you……… you gave me the courage to talk…thank you……"
With a 'cheh', the boy shrugged and patted her head again. It hadn't occurred to the both of them that they never asked each other's name until he had already left.
Bankotsu yawned as the morning sun peeped in. What a trip down the memory lane he had. He scratched his nose and looked at the wooden sword hanging from the wall. It was very unusual for him to get sentimental, but he treasured the times he WAS. It was a childhood reminder of the life before he was adopted into a mafia family, a carefree, interesting life with a perplexing girl.
After his name was known through out the underground world, especially the police, the government agents gave him and his Shichinintai many offers, and he had accepted. He doesn't care whether he worked for the mafia, police or anything, as long he has money, and that his 'brothers' are fine, he had no complaints.
However, years of doing such work took many from his 'family'. Kyokotsu was killed when the quarrels between different departments had become too severe, and Ginkotsu and Mukotsu were killed by some of their targets, who actually had the guts to counter. They didn't live for long that they had taken my brothers...i'll always be there to avenge them, Bankotsu smirked inwardly.He sprawled on his bed in a sudden wave of sadness. Just two days ago, Renkotsu had been killed by the organization he had betrayed them with. Only two brothers are left. Two of the original Shichinintai. But the best, too, Bankotsu mused, scratching his nose.
He shook his head to get rid of the nostalgic feeling. He stormed off into the kitchen, trying to find sake. Good sake always worked for him.
Rin opened her eyes, feeling déjà vu. She was sick of fainting and waking up in a room she didn't know. At least, last time it was Miroku's, but this time……
She looked around the room, and found nothing. Yes, nothing is the exact word. Besides the makeshift sofa-bed she's lying on, the ghastly white room is empty. Rin felt like being a prisoner after she got up and discovered that the door is locked and the window too high for her reach.
Rin then realized she wasn't wearing her uniform; just some plain, fluff bathrobes a little too big for her.
Flashbacks of the murder rushed back again and she resisted the vomiting, again. Really, déjà vu's aren't enigmatic at all but just really, really, annoying.
She heard the door opening and saw a man in his late twenties walked in, a stethoscope around his neck. He had a rather kind feature.
"Oh you are up! We were worried for awhile, though it wasn't surprising since you had to witness all that blood," he had a gentle tone, his eyes shining in genuine concern. Rin gasped, "Who are you? And how do you know… how do you know……"
"Get her out of that room, Suikotsu. That room is just plain depressing and we shouldn't keep that girl in there for too long," a voice came into the room.
The man named Suikotsu nodded and gestured her towards the door. Rin gulped and ran several scenarios in her head. Okay, they are complete strangers, confining me in this room while I was out cold. And now they want me out. They are both guys, and they know about what happened. Oh dear god. What am I supposed to do in this situation? Well, at least I'll be out of this room, and maybe I can find an escape.
When Rin reached the living room, she realized that she was in an apartment building, at a very high floor too.
If she wasn't in a kidnapped position, she would've probably appreciated the place. It was rather well decorated, the TV, sofa and carpet aligned at certain angles, the decorations plain and simple. Overall, this whole place emits an atmosphere definitely not falling under the category of big-bad-typical-villain's place.
"No bad I say, eh? Oi Suikotsu, you should probably go back to Kanna now. Who knows what that kid might do this time," the same voice commanded the doctor, who nodded curtly and left, just as sudden as his appearance. That left Rin alone with this man.
He looked young, actually; only a year or two older than her, Rin recognized this man as the one holding the enormous sword the night before. Rin would be lying if she said he wasn't striking; from under his bangs, a purple cross tattoo somehow suited his youthful, attractive face, his dark braid sling over the head rest of a comfy-looking armchair. His indigo eyes twinkled in obvious amusement.
He smirked and got up. Rin flinched and tensed, having no idea what to do; she would rather deal with the man named Suikotsu – he's a doctor after all…… so he couldn't be that bad, right? But then again, looks may be deceiving, just like the man before her.
"So, what do you think of this place? Not bad at all, is it?" he gestured around the place casually, opening a beer can and gulped a considerable amount of it in record time.
"Huh……?" Kidnappers do NOT ask you that type of questions……or do they?
"Want some? And don't give me that underage-crap, either. I know it's legal for you to drink, no?"
Rin glanced outside the window and replied triumphantly, "It's morning, and I don't drink in the morning!" Or at night, or any other time whatsoever.
"Cheh, you're no fun. Well, must have lotsa questions, ne, Rin?" He put his arms behind his head and put his legs on the coffee table. Rin resisted the urge to scold at his manner.
Rin licked her lips anxiously, throat parched. Her legs felt weak suddenly and she tentatively reached to the closest stool and sat down in relief.
The man shrugged, "Well, never had any outsiders here before, and with al the things happening to you, I wouldn't blame you for being wary of us. Maa, name's Bankotsu, and…… how do you say this… I actually work for the government. You can go look at the merit if you want."
Rin could only gape.
He chuckled, "As I expected. Well, first of all……"
The door slammed open and two voices almost shouted simultaneously, "Where's the new recruit?"
A… man wearing a long yellow gown sort of skipped to Bankotsu, who suppressed a groan unsuccessfully. The queer had his hair up in a bun, put in place by a blue hairpin. He had two blue stripes vertical under his eyes, and he seemed to have worn eyeliners and lip gloss.
"Aniki! Oo-aniki! That's the one? Awwwww I was hoping it would be Fluffy-chan's little brother! Inu-chan is just so adorable! Eww, never thought it would be a girl… yuck," he stuck out his tongue at Rin, who, at momentary shock, returned the favor rather childishly.
Rin shrieked in alarm when she felt hands smoothing her hair rather creepily. The feeling is rather familiar – she had felt it on her first day of work at the pub.
"Yu…Yura-san?" Rin managed weakly.
Indeed, the hair-obsessed weirdo seemed to be just concentrating on combing Rin's hair. Yura wore rather flamboyant clothing, showing her shoulders and stomach, barely covering the chest area; the skirt is so short that it showed her thighs almost completely. She had short-cropped hair and a red hair band. She grinned in satisfaction when she was done.
"Hai, Rin-chan? Dame dame, you shouldn't leave you hair in this…… outrageous condition! Stitches or not, always take good care of your hair! I mean, your hair is the most gorgeous only second to Sessy-chan…"
The cross-dresser pouted and waved his arms exasperatedly, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeh? I'm not second, Yu-chan? After al the shopping I've done with you……"
Yura rolled her eyes, "Oh, get real, Jakotsu. I only shop with you because you know a lot rather, and Ayame-chan wouldn't go with me!"
Jakotsu sniffed fakely, "Yu-chan! You're so mean. Say something, Bankotsu-no-aniki!"
Bankotsu, who had been watching the little squabble with amusement, winced and chokedon his beer.
"Errrr, I'm not done explaining things to Rin yet so get-out, we're busy."
When his words went unnoticed, he thumped the empty beer can onto the table hard, and growled, "I said. Get. Out. Now."
Jakotsu did a mock salute and marched out the door. Yura was stuffing many hair conditioners into Rin's arms and left, yelling after Jakotsu. Bankotsu sighed and shut the door, making sure it was locked.
Rin blinked when his eyes caught hers. Bankotsu shrugged, "That Jakotsu, even though he called me Aniki, is actually my older brother. A pain in the ass sometimes, but life wouldn't be fun without him. Yura is the……well, I believe you know her already. They lived three floors below us, which is a good thing."
Rin tried to process all of her data, and stammered, "Erm… Yura-san…didn't she worked for Renkotsu-san before…" the memory of his bloody corpse rushed back suddenly, "Ah, gomen…,"Rin added when she saw a flash of pain in the man's eyes.
Bankotsu folded his arms and leaned against the wall, "Ah, don't worry about it. Renkotsu's my older brother…… and he betrayed us to our objective organization. When he was out of use, he was deposed of immediately, just as you had seen…… me and my partner just need to obliterate them as well. Yura was the spy and information collector for pubs and night clubs, and she also monitors those possible traitors…… and you, despite my partner's warning, still came back. SO that's why we have to bring you here."
Rin stared at her fingers, unable to speak. She should've listen to Kagome…… her head throbbed dully and she whispered, "Did… did you… I mean……"
Bankotsu stared at the girl who had her hand on her head. He replied, "Well, Suikotsu did that to you. Sure, he seemed like a good-natured doctor, but at night, especially under full moons, a totally different, feral personality comes out. He was all trying to kill you twice now, just to erase the evidence," he glanced at her pale face.
She gulped, "why are you telling me all this?"
Bankotsu snickered unexpectedly, "Ask my partner…… since we're not killing you, it also means we can't let you off to the streets now that you know us. Since one of our member just……passed on, you are to be our new crewmember! My partner decided that you could live at this floor with us! Welcome!"
He extended his arms like how a father would welcome a child home.
Rin stared off into space.
Rin used the rest of the day to think about her current… problem. Bankotsu and the others doesn't seemed that bad, though they are not… normal either. Bankotsu had warned her that if her whereabouts were known, the enemy would come to remove her, too, since she had worked with Renkotsu before. Rin was crushed when Bankotsu also mentioned that she couldn't go back to school. She wanted to graduate! She'd always wanted to live a normal life, either as a simple flower vendor or a vet that saves lives of animals.
But now, everything's shattered. Her dreams.
Now she had to stay with total strangers, doing god-knows-what-job. Seriously, why didn't she listen to Kagome? She brought this all upon herself!
She had also wanted to ask more, but Bankotsu decided there was too much information for one day. Rin wanted to know more about their government work. Wouldn't hurt to get a bit of prove, would it? Rin was also very anxious about her friends. Would they worry about her? After all, to them, Rin had disappeared for three days now. Rin held back a tear. Bankotsu's right; it had been all too overwhelming.
Rin had attempted to escape, but it was all futile. Bankotsu's too strong, even with just one hand. He didn't seem at least perturbed with her escape plans, though.
It was evening already, and Rin paced around the door. She carefully inched her fingers towards the doorknob. Her conscience kept yelling at her, of how useless and stupid she was; what can she achieve by running away? She had seen those assassins with her own eyes. Bankotsumustn't belying - it was too outlandish to be a lie.
Rin frowned when Bankotsu didn't stop her from opening the door. She was prepared to run, and found the answer to her question when she crashed into a familiar warm wall of……… the most handsome man she had ever seen.
She remembered those eyes. Moon. Long, sleek silver hair. Stoic expression. Cold glare,
Her other-worldly image of him was broken when he reached down from his great height and lifted her up in the air, leaving her dangling helplessly.
"Oi, whacha doin', Sess?" Bankotsu's voice slurred slightly thanks to all the alcohol he consumed.
"Put her in her proper place."
"Which is..." Bankotsu groaned. Seriously, it gets really irritating to make Sesshoumaru talk just a tad more.
"She should be staying in the room, not out here."
Rin's flare blazed and she muttered darkly, "What? Aren't I the newest member of your…… government-whatever thingy?"
The man's face bore no emotion as he continued walking. The hell with her perfect image of him a few minutes ago. According to her first impression of him, all these weeks ago, this man is just a pompous idiot who's veryrutheless with guns. Probably had emotional issues too, the way he just shot the masked man so indifferently right in front of her. And the way he's treating her right now.
"Hey, are you even listening?"Rin tried mimicking Inuyasha's growl.
The cold manwhirled around suddenly, pinning her against the wall. His face was only an inch from hers. Rin could smell a spicy, unique scent from him, and she felt her face blushing crimson. He growled huskily, "Keep in mind that you are fortunate to be left alive. Do not feel too relaxed here. I shall be watching you."
Rin felt something icy and hard against her ribs. She bit back a gasp when she saw a pistol digging against her bones.
"It was easy to pull the trigger...and save us a lot of trouble, too."
He let her go, and Rin slid down the wall, too stunned to reply. He went into what must be his room, and the door clicked shut softly.
"Need a hand?" Bankotsu seemed to have sobered up already. He pulled Rin onto her feet. He ruffled her hair almost sympathetically, "Well, don't mind him too much. He doesn't trust people easily at all. Maa, sorry about it, but you have to stay in this stifling so-called guest room tonight. Trust me, you'd like your new life……well, at least you'd adjust to it. I'll show you the whole place tomorrow, and meet the others. I'm Sess's only roommate because……well, I'm the only one can put up with him."
Rin breathed slowly, "He… he's……"
Bankotsu let out a bark of laughter, "Well, I've gotta admit, he's the most skilled sniper we have. Give him a rifle and…… well, you don' wanna know. That's Sesshoumaru-sama………or what most people call him. We all have different nicknames for him though," he added, smirking.
Rin's jaw dropped, "Inu……Inuyasha's half-brother…?"
Bankotsu raised an eyebrow, "Thought you know that already? Your friend, right? Well, I mean, how many people have silver hair anyhow?"
"Well, it's just that……… I didn't…… I can't connect Inuyasha to Sesshoumaru-sama……"
Bankotsu grimaced, "You don't really have to call him that……… and yeah, I guess I could understand. Inuyasha had a rather unstable temper, ne?" Rin wondered how he knew about Inuyasha. Right, definitely some spy work.Bankotsu continued, "Well…… just don't judge him to quickly, okay? He's been through a lot……"
He scratched his head, and he seemed to be a little distant. He then suddenly whacked Rin on the back playfully, "So, we're hoping you might do the trick, eh? You might just be the one to bring him out his cold shell! Countin' on ya!"
Rin blushed and glared at Bankotsu. What's that supposed to mean?
She glanced at Sesshoumaru's room, and put a hand over her heart. No, she doesn't like him at all. He's a man who had threatened her, a defenseless little girl (she definitely is the way he looked at her, with all that superiority air) with a gun.He brought her here, away frm her old life, but he was also the one who had preventedSuikotsu from killing her.
Yes, she doesn't like him, but the quickened pounding of her heart when he was so close before was undeniably true.
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End of chapter 3
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Questions/Answers
Ellaa - ...this is in fact a SESS/RIN fic...and definitely NOT...Sess/Kago...
Sesshoumaru's Woman - exactly what I had in mind...XD
Every one - THANX FOR ALL OF YOUR ENCOURAGEMENTS!
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Not exactly a serious chapter, is it? Also, Jakotsu and Bankotsu are blood-related brothers; he found that out during his time in the mafia somehow. So those of you who likes Ban/Ja pairings...you shouldn't be here. I realy think Bankotsu is straight. And about why Rin said the window's so high...well, the apartment floor is huge. It's really tall. The rest shall be explained in next chappie. Also, not exactly love blossoming in the air...or is it?
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Again, thanx for all your reviews! Leave one again just for old time's sake (blink) Anyhow, tell me what you think :)
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-ttyl
-Kaco-