Revised Edition with changed/added footage: 8-8-2006

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Chapter 8: To Be Strong

The afternoon had passed uneventfully and the night sky was beginning to show signs of a brewing storm. The seven respective members of the Shichinin-tai were each in their own quarters, all sound asleep. All that is, except for their young leader.

Sitting upright on his futon, watching as the torrents of wind and rain began their descent on the area; Bankotsu was wide awake and showed no signs of tiring soon.

"It was a night like this, several years ago…." He mused to himself as his thoughts drifted to times of the past.

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The storm was raging outside the building as a well-attired woman rushed into the room.

"The soldiers are back, they're attacking the village!" Her panicked voice rang out.

The elder man looked to their sleeping son, and went over to shake him awake.

"Bankotsu, Bankotsu…wake up," He said shaking the boy from his sleep.

"Father?" He questioned.

The man looked to his wife and bit his lip, "Son, I want you to do what I say."

The young boy nodded, looking expectantly to his Father.

"I want you to run to the forest and stay there until I come and get you, okay?"

"But…"

The woman knelt beside him them, "Go stay in that cave on the edge of the mountain. It'll keep you dry until we can come get you."

He hesitated a moment, "You want me to leave you?"

"Please, go. We don't have time." His father said, handing him a small bag.

"Be strong son, you'll be fine." His mother added, kissing the top of his head.

"Okay," Bankotsu replied, going out the door and running as fast as he could towards the forest.

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A loud crash of thunder snapped Bankotsu out of his thoughts.

"Has it really been ten years since then?" He said to himself, "Ten years since I first ran away from a fight and I still regret it."

He laid back on the futon and stared up at the ceiling, the rain steadily hitting the roof creating a soothing melody.

Bankotsu sighed, "And yet, I don't think that the past has anything to do with why I can't seem to sleep…"

He looked over to the other edge of his futon, realizing he had inadvertently lain as if there were two people sharing the futon.

"Well, I guess there's just one thing to do in a time like this," He said getting up and heading for the door, "I just need some sake."

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The quiet footsteps sounded as Bankotsu walked down the hallway towards the main living quarters. He paused outside one room, hearing a voice from inside.

"Stay still if you want me to get this out," An irritated voice reprimanded.

"You could be gentler you know," Came the retort.

Bankotsu peeked in through the door.

"You wake me in the middle of the night to get an arrow out of you and you expect me to be gentle? What did you eat anyways?" Suikotsu questioned.

"…a few animals," Kyoukotsu reluctantly replied.

"What's wrong, you guys?" Bankotsu asked pushing the door open.

Suikotsu and Kyoukotsu both looked up at the person entering.

"Oo-aniki, did we wake you?" Suikotsu asked while continuing to pull on the embedded arrow.

"Oh no, I was just getting something to drink. What happened?" He replied tilting his head slightly.

"I was hungry, went to eat something. And then the usual- got called an oni and got shot at," Kyoukotsu muttered.

Bankotsu walked over and sat down next to the giant-sized man. "The oni thing again? Keh! And you didn't eat any people this time, did you?"

"No," The gruff voice muttered.

"Neh, Kyoukotsu- how'd you get so big anyways?" Suikotsu inquired as he washed the blood away from where the arrow was.

The hulking form shrugged, "Always have been larger than normal. Then, eating normal meals just didn't fill up my stomach, so I began to eat whole animals and then peo…"

"We get the idea, Kyoukotsu," Bankotsu remarked, not wanting the details on the other things the strange member considered eatable.

"So you were just born that way?" Suikotsu asked perplexed.

"Yeah, you have a problem with that?" He retorted.

"Nope, not at all," Suikotsu said, hands up in front of him, "Just makes me wonder what your parents were like."

"Wouldn't know…"

Bankotsu looked up then, "You didn't know your parents at all?"

"Even they didn't want an oni-child," He said quietly, crossing his arms.

"It's hard to live in a world where even your own relatives don't want you to live," Suikotsu remarked sadly.

"That's why we have to be strong, and live on," Bankotsu commented after a moment of silence, "The past is the past, there's no use dwelling on it. We're our own family now, all seven of us." He added with a smile.

"How is it you always know what to say in times like this?" Suikotsu pondered aloud.

He laughed a bit, "I guess that's why I'm the leader here, eh?"

The other two shook their heads at the youthful boy before them.

"What?"

"Never mind," Suikotsu replied, as he began to thoroughly wash his hands in the basin.

"Well, I best let you two sleep some, who knows what'll happen tomorrow," Bankotsu said standing to leave.

"Night, Oo-aniki," They replied as he went out the door.

"How can he always so optimistic, even when he's had it just as bad as the rest of us in the past?" Suikotsu murmured quietly.

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The rain had stopped, and the sky was bright that morning. A young wide-eyed boy scrambled out of the rocks on the cave ledge and looked down at the town below- or at least what used to be the town. Moving as fast as his legs would carry him, he made his way down to the charred remains of the buildings.

"Mama? Papa?" He questioned as he looked around the place where his home used to stand.

He pulled at some tattered papers with small symbols scrawled on them. The body of the man hired to teach him to write lying nearby. He bit his lip, and continued to look around.

"Mama? Papa? Where are you?" The shakily voice called out. He stopped on seeing the two bodies under the rubble nearby.

Tears began to well in his eyes, "You said you were coming to get me. Why? Why did you stay? I can use a sword too…Why didn't you let me fight?" His voice quaked as he sunk to his knees, "I might have made a difference. I might have saved you."

"You, boy, what are you doing?" A sharp voice called out.

He looked up at the soldier, knowing it was one of them from the night before.

"Are you alone boy?" He asked walking closer.

Bankotsu flinched at the word 'alone,' his fists balled at his sides.

"So you are alone," The man noted, "If you're here for their money, I already took it." He sneered, holding up a pouch.

His long black hair moving with a flourish, the boy grabbed up a smaller wooden beam, and thrust the jagged edge through the soldier's chest.

"You…why did you…" The man staggered.

"Revenge, for my family," He said defiantly, easily holding the large beam up.

"But you're just a kid. How can you…be so strong…"

"Because my mother told me to be strong," He replied, pushing the beam further into the man and ultimately killing him.

The boy stooped down and pried the pouch of money from the dead man's hands. "For a sword, so I can fight and not run." He said to himself as he walked away from the rubble.

He paused and looked back over his shoulder, "I'll be strong from now on, Mama…Papa. And I won't run from a fight ever again, unless it's the only way to keep living."

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Bankotsu sighed and poured himself another cup of sake. Storms like this always made him think about the past; even if he told others to forget the past, he himself couldn't do so.

"So you are alone." The voice echoed in his head as he rubbed at his temples.

He closed his eyes, and another memory overlapped the other

"I hate being lonely…" Jakotsu murmured, eyes downcast, then he reached up and brushed his fingers against Bankotsu's cheek again, "But now I have you."

Bankotsu's eyes shot open; he slowly stood up and walked down the hall.

"He must think I'm ignoring him, I haven't talked to him since we got back this afternoon," He muttered to himself as he slowly opened the door to Jakotsu's room.

Sprawled out on his futon, the blankets kicked aside, laid Jakotsu sound asleep.

"Well at least he's getting a good night's rest," Bankotsu said to himself walking over and pulling the blanket back over Jakotsu.

"Ban…kotsu…." He muttered.

Bankotsu jerked back, face flushed and stared down at him. Jakotsu rolled in his sleep, pulling the blankets around him. He breathed a sigh of relief, and allowed himself a slight smile. Turning to leave, he was just about to slide the door closed, when he heard a voice call out.

"Aniki, is that you?" The once sleeping figure inquired as he squinted at the figure in the doorway.

"I'm sorry I woke you," He replied quietly, "I'll be going now."

He took a step forward, but Jakotsu's plea stopped him, "Please, Bankotsu…wait."

Knowing that staying here for long would only cause troubles, Bankotsu turned to face Jakotsu from his place at the door.

"Did you need something?"

"Why were you here? Is something wrong?" He questioned.

Bankotsu hung his head, trying to figure out the least embarrassing way to explain this. "I was just checking in on you when I went down for some sake."

Jakotsu frowned, "There's something else."

"It's nothing, just go back to sleep," Bankotsu said quickly, and was just about to slide the door all the way closed when Jakotsu spoke up.

"Were you feeling alone without me?"

Bankotsu halted all his movements; afraid the slightest gesture would betray his emotion.

"You were lonely, weren't you?" Jakotsu continued, as he stood up.

Bankotsu's eyes scanned up and down the halls, looking for any signs that the others were awakened by the conversation so far. Before he could conclude if anyone else was awake, two arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"Should we go somewhere else to talk?" He whispered into Bankotsu's ear.

Not knowing what else to do, he replied, "Sure."

The rain still lightly fell outside as the two figures sat on the far porch of the building, away from the sleeping quarters.

"So tell me, what's wrong?" Jakotsu asked gently.

"I told you, nothing is wrong," He retorted.

"Then why…"

Bankotsu cut him off, as he put his face in his hands, "I always feel alone when it storms, but I can usually deal with it fine. But this time, it wasn't just my parents I missed- I was missing you being there with me too."

A shocked expression crossed Jakotsu's features before he moved closer and placed an arm around Bankotsu.

"You're still confused about your feelings, aren't you?" Jakotsu thought to himself as he felt Bankotsu shift in his arms.

"Jakotsu?" He murmured against the taller man's chest.

"Hmm?"

"Can you…" He turned his face away, and whispered "Can you hold me, just for a little while?"

Jakotsu looked at him with a softened smile, and nodded 'yes.'

Lifting the smaller man into his lap as if he were a small child, Jakotsu gently put his arms around him, looking for any signs of a change of mind on Bankotsu's part.

Instead, Bankotsu laid his head against Jakotsu's chest, and clung to his kimono.

After a few moments in silence, Jakotsu noticed something damp against his chest. Upon looking down at the man in his arms, he noticed a single tear trailing down his cheek.

"Bankotsu, what's wrong?" He questioned as he loosened his hold.

"I can't help it. I miss them. I'll always miss them," He muttered, clinging tighter to Jakotsu.

"It's okay, I understand. I miss my parents too, but we can't change the past. We just have to move on. That's what they'd want."

Bankotsu looked up at Jakotsu then, rushed words coming out, "But would they want us to be killers? Would they want us to be just like those that took them away from us? Would they want us to be together?"

Upon realizing what he said, he pulled himself away quickly, cursing to himself.

Jakotsu sighed, and quietly replied, "I think, they'd want us to do what we had to survive- even if it was killing others. And I also think that, deep down, all things aside, they'd want you to be happy with whomever you choose to be with."

Bankotsu seemed to take that into consideration as he turned back towards Jakotsu. Unable to find the words he wanted, he followed his impulse and pressed his lips to the one next to him.

Jakotsu blinked as Bankotsu pulled away and stood up, a blush etched across his features, "I better get to my room before the others see me out here."

"Bankotsu…I…" Jakotsu scrambled up after him.

"I'm still a little confused, but I'm beginning to understand myself better," He paused, and said with a slight smile over his shoulder, "Goodnight, Jakotsu."

As the figure returned inside, Jakotsu put his fingers to his lips, "He kissed me," His face widened into a smile, as he called out behind him, "Goodnight, Bankotsu. Sleep well!"

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