Revised Edition with changed/added footage: 8-8-2006
-------------------------------------------------
Chapter 14: Good Advice
Seeing that his braid had been successfully re-tied, Bankotsu sighed, "It's been a long day."
Leaning back, he let Jakotsu wrap his arms around him; he closed his eyes, just enjoying the comfort of being held like that for the moment.
Hearing a noise, he pulled back abruptly, "Someone's coming." Bankotsu said, turning towards the door.
"Is Kinpa okay?" The old woman said bow and arrow still in hand as she looked in.
"Yeah, she's just resting. Everything's okay though," The braided-man replied.
The woman breathed a sigh of relief, "And don't worry about those mercenaries, they're off looking in the other forest for some soldiers."
"Three soldiers?" Bankotsu asked.
"Why yes actually."
"I think someone beat them to it, they were all dead," He said simply.
"What happened to the doctor and your friend?" The woman asked, noting the blood.
"Well, you see- the doctor is…well he has some issues."
She quirked an eyebrow and Bankotsu stood, leading her outside. "Let me explain away from him, it might upset him."
Nodding, she followed him. He paused and looked back to Jakotsu, "If he wakes up, come get me. I don't want anymore trouble, okay?"
"Okay," The black-haired man replied.
Once certain he was out of the sleeping doctor's earshot, Bankotsu began to explain.
"Suikotsu's actually one of our friends, but we didn't want to let him know our real names because it would upset him. You see, he's…well he has two different personalities. One is the kind-hearted doctor that's been caring for your granddaughter; the other is mercenary and killer. The sight of blood or certain other little things sometimes triggers him to switch to that killer-side."
"So then he ended up switching then I take it?" She asked.
"He ran into those soldiers and the blood set him off. My friend and I stopped him before he could hurt the little girl though."
"And when he wakes up?"
Bankotsu sighed, running a hand through his bangs, "Who knows, but I'm hoping that he's either slipped back into the doctor's side or, he's caught in the middle, yet calm."
"In the middle?" The woman looked perplexed, "So there's a third side?"
"Well, sort of. It's like a combination of his two sides. He'll be nice, kind and helpful, yet, he'll remember us, remember killing and can hold his own in a battle. I guess it's what he'd be like deep down if he never did split into two sides."
She nodded, "Now then, since that's been dealt with, let's get you boys something to eat," The old woman said, turning back towards the hut.
Bankotsu shook his head, nothing seemed to faze this woman at all, and he wondered what strange things she'd lived through in her life that had made her that way.
Fixing a simple rice dish up, the meal was served.
"Hmmm? Ah Grandma!" Kinpa said happily as she was nudged awake.
"You're okay right? These nice men said we had a bit of a scuffle," Handing her a dish, she leaned forward to inspect her granddaughter's face closer.
"Yup!" She said smiling, "They protected me."
Before more could be said, they all noticed that Suikotsu had begun to stir. Handing his small dish over to Jakotsu, Bankotsu went over and lifted the man up.
"I'm going to get him a bit away from here, just in case," He explained, walking out and into the edge of the nearby forest.
He sat the taller man down by a tree and waited as he slowly woke back up.
Blinking twice, he grumbled, "Oi, Oo-aniki, jeez you hit me hard."
The young leader smiled slightly, there weren't any markings, and so he was at least in the middle stage, "Sorry about that, I didn't want you to hurt the little girl."
Looking panicked, the man almost bolted up, "Oh shit! Kinpa, is she okay? I didn't hurt her by accident did I?"
"No, she's okay. Just stay calm now."
He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness. Damn I hate it when I get so out of control like that. Sure, he wants to kill them and he wants to save them, but I can only listen to one."
"Suikotsu…"
Punching the ground, the brown-haired man looked up at the shorter man who sat beside him, "Sometimes I wish I wouldn't remember. I wish I could forget how many lives he's claimed, but on the other hand, it's nice to remember how many he's saved. And the times when it's just been me with all you six guys sitting around talking and drinking. The good memories, they almost make it worth it."
"Now don't get upset about this. I told you the day you first revealed your calm side to me that I wouldn't let you kill any more people you cared about and I meant it. Heck, even Jakotsu even went out of his way just to make sure that little girl lived through this. We're here for you, Suikotsu. No matter who you are- we want to help you try and live a normal life with as little guilt as you can. We're all killers, but… well, we all care about each other, so that says something for us, doesn't it?"
Remembering his earlier conversation with Bankotsu about the group, Suikotsu smiled, "Yah. Thanks Oo-aniki."
"No problem. You're my friend Suikotsu, I worry about you," He said placing a hand on the taller man's back. "Now unless you think it's too risky, we should probably get back before Jakotsu snaps from being stuck in that hut with two women."
Suikotsu laughed, "That might be even worse than my bad side on a rampage, a Jakotsu who's had a female-overdose."
As they neared the door, Bankotsu paused, "Suikotsu, if anything at all starts to make you feel angry, let us know so we can get you out of here."
"We should probably leave soon anyway, once I get Jakotsu's leg fixed up. The others are still around, right?"
"Yeah. Will the girl be okay?"
"Her fever went away early this morning, so she should be all right. I'll leave some herbs with her grandmother just in case though."
Heading back into the hut, they found that Jakotsu was picking away at his food, while glaring every few seconds in the direction of the two females in the room. The old woman looked questioningly to Suikotsu then to Bankotsu.
"He'll be fine, we'll keep an eye on him," Bankotsu explained.
"Good, he can at least say for dinner then." She said, handing him a dish.
He went to sit over by Kinpa, somewhat hesitantly.
"Doctor? Are you okay now?" The young girl inquired.
Suikotsu smiled, placing a gentle hand on her small shoulder, "Yeah. I'm sorry to have frightened you, Kinpa. I hope you can forgive me."
"I forgive you, Doctor. I know you didn't mean to," She replied with a smile.
"Yeah," He said somewhat reflectively, "I didn't mean to at all."
Bankotsu looked back every once in awhile, as if to monitor Suikotsu's condition while he was in such close contact with the child. He knew it was possible for him to snap any second for any reason.
"Mou…Bankotsu." Jakotsu said poking him slightly with his chopsticks.
"Hmm, what?" He asked turning.
"You have a piece of rice stuck to your face."
The younger man blinked, wiping around his mouth and still not ridding himself of the stray piece.
"Here, I'll get it," Jakotsu said scooting a bit closer and tilting his head as he almost seductively brushed the piece away with his thumb as he cradled Bankotsu's chin in his palm.
"Jakotsu…" There was a warning tone to his voice, but it merely made Jakotsu smile with amusement.
The rest of the meal was finished in peace and Suikotsu began to prepare a few things for Jakotsu's leg.
While the brown-haired doctor set the loosened knee joint back in place and wrapped it, the old woman pulled Bankotsu aside, wanting to ask him something.
"What is it?" He questioned.
"Your companion, the one with the injury- was his father someone who made swords at one time?" She asked.
Bankotsu's eyes narrowed in thought, "Actually, I believe so."
"I thought I recognized him. He's grown in to quite a beautiful young man since then."
"You knew his family?" He stammered.
"My son had his weapons forged by that man before he was killed by the Daimyou in that big mix-up; I'd had the pleasure of going to pick up one of his swords from them once. The father was a kind man and the mother was simply beautiful. It's not a surprise that her son took after her in that. I'm glad to see that the boy got himself some friends though, he seemed so alone that time I saw him sitting there on the porch, merely talking to the house's young maid."
Bankotsu frowned. That was Kuroi. "Yeah, he's mentioned her and what she did to his family to me before."
The woman nodded her head, "It's a sad thing to think that a small little girl like that would go and cause the demise of an entire household. It's nice to see that despite it all, the son has survived, even though, I'm sure he still bears some scars on his heart from it all."
"Yeah. I think he'll always be leery of trusting others because of it," Bankotsu stated quietly.
"He seems to have an exception in that for you, though. He cares for you deeply, and considering what he's been through, to be able to trust someone like that, you must hold a special place in his heart."
Bankotsu couldn't help but blush slightly at the implication the woman made, "… I guess he does."
She smiled, "You're still young boy, so I'm sure many a person has told you not to rush things- but in these times of war in which boys like you are leading our armies, my advice is this: live each moment to the fullest, because you never know when it might be the last moment you have. I don't worry about the afterlife and that kind of nonsense, I just worry about making the best of the time I'm alive, and I hope that you can do the same."
Nodding the young leader replied, "Thank you. It sounds like that might just be the advice I need to live my life with." He said, thinking on their daily brushes with death.
Returning inside, Bankotsu sat down beside Suikotsu as he finished wrapping the knee joint.
"Suikotsu, will he be okay with that?"
"I wouldn't advise walking on it for a day; after that, we'll just have to see."
"Well, maybe he can just carry me everywhere," Jakotsu suggested with a smirk.
Bankotsu narrowed his eyes, "Only until it's better."
Suikotsu sat back, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. "That's all I can do. Now it's up to time and Jakotsu's own healing abilities."
"We should probably get going," Bankotsu said, looking to the location of the sun on the horizon.
The doctor went over to his young patient, "Kinpa, I'm going to leave some medicine with your grandma, so if you start feeling sick again you let her know, okay?"
"Okay Doctor," She said with a pout, "But do you have to go?"
He patted her on the head, "Sorry, but I do. Don't you worry; you're a tough kid so you'll be fine." He replied, watching as her face stretched into a smile.
She wrapped her tiny arms around Suikotsu as best she could, "I'm going to miss you Doctor, but I'll try and get better for your sake, okay?"
"Okay," He replied with a smile.
Lifting the injured member onto his back, Bankotsu was trying to get his balance when Jakotsu flopped frontward, causing the shorter man to lean forward as the taller member nuzzled his face into the hair atop Bankotsu's head.
"Jakotsu, don't do that," He warned.
"But your hair's so soft, Bankotsu."
"Be good."
Jakotsu reached down, toying with a few wisps of hair in Bankotsu's face, "What about Banryuu?" He asked.
"I'll handle it." Suikotsu said, looking back over to the little girl and her grandmother. He walked over and bowed, "Thank you for all your kindness, Ma'am."
"You three be careful out there. Even for you Shichinin-tai members, things can be dangerous."
They all three froze, Bankotsu finally speaking, "You knew?"
"I ran into two of the others when they were in town, I picked up the patterns in your name plus what I'd known from the rumors and pieced it together. I might be old, but that doesn't make me stupid."
"… I see," The young leader laughed nervously.
"If only my son had gotten in with a bunch of mercenaries like you. He might have found some happiness amidst this crazy life."
The three headed for the door, Bankotsu carrying Jakotsu on his back, and Suikotsu lugging the giant Banryuu behind him.
They said their goodbyes and stepped outside, a soft little voice catching their ears.
"Were they really members of the Shichinin-tai, Grandma?"
"They sure were, Kinpa."
"Wow. That's so cool. I wanna be a Shichinin-tai too then."
At that, the three men couldn't help but laugh. And in times such theirs, a little laughter was always a good thing.
---------------------------------------------