Authoress' notes: Looong notes, I'm sorry, but stuff has to be explained here.
OK, the reason why I have not updated this story in a few weeks is because I wanted to take some time off to do more reasearch. And I researched this issue TO DEATH. I'm starting to truly introduce my original character in this chapter, and I wanted it done right. I ph33r the Mary Sue! LOL. My research has brought me to tell the story this way, and I hope it's successful.
I'll be heavily relying on Bankotsu as he is portrayed in the manga, not the anime! The Bankotsu in the anime is NOT the same person as in the manga, and the English translation in the dub further assassinates his character. There are some things in this fanfic that are anime-based only (such as the 1000 human kills) but for the purpose of the story I'll let it in. It's already written, I like it, and I won't change what I've done.
Now that I had time to think about it, I was fascinated by how someone could be so incredibly, immensely physically powerful, yet so...kind and controlled, for lack of better words, and I wanted something to exist that explained that. I think, maybe subconsciously, this is what instantly attracted me to Bankotsu to begin with. I love the way he treats his men, even sometimes for as undeservedly as it is. Maybe the only other thing I'll use from the anime as my own cannon is Ban's fight with Renkotsu, where I believe he was at his (mindbendingly!) finest, as this seems to be one of the few things in the anime that seem to ring true to his personality in the manga.
If you are interested in the sites where I did my Bankotsu research, and would like to know why I characterized him in such-and-such a way, go to the Shichinintai Chaos website and look at "anime vs.manga Bankotsu". Also look up "wot-club" in a search engine. There you can get the manga translations. If you like what you see and appreciate Bankotsu the way lots of other Inuyasha purists do, then...welcome to the dark side. (insert evil laugh here). :)
BY THE WAY...This story has over 300 hits and two reviews. Where is everyone? (hears crickets chirping). Please review!
10/30/05---Chapter edited. Unnecessary capitals sporked.
Wayward Ransom, Chapter 10.
Turning away from the decrepit little study room-slash-bedroom, and walking through the leaking partition between it and the main room, Bankotsu stopped to look at for a moment what he missed going into the cottage. On the inside of the threshold, at about his neck level, was a sturdy dagger, halfway impaled into the door frame. It looked like it had been thrown more than once, because there were a number of deep punctures around the same spot on the doorframe. Below it was a small wooden cupboard, decorated with an elaborate woodcut of a phoenix on its top. It had a tiny pull-out drawer, and below that, one door that swung outward. It was completely scratched up on the side by the opening of the door, and was at an odd angle to the threshold as if someone ignored its presence barging in. On the floor next to it was a shallow white dish. The dish was overturned, and Bankotsu knew it had been knocked off the little cupboard many years ago.
Looking back up, he had to chuckle slightly at the knife in the doorframe. He remembered the first time he walked in this little cottage.
He was told to open the door and go right in, which he did after impaling his massive halberd in the ground in front of the solitary step. Most of the time, simply seeing the weapon itself was enough to make an enemy turn tail and run. Sliding the door open and taking in the musty smell of the cottage, which hadn't been used for a while except for the girl that was housed here now, he took a step inward.
He saw the screen to the next room open slightly. He took another step inward, when suddenly, and completely unexpectedly, he saw a flash to his left and heard a sound thock! behind him. When he turned around, there was the dagger impaled in the doorframe. Somewhat immune to pain, he didn't even feel the slight surface cut on the left side of his neck, and turn his blue collar a bit dark.
"Pay at the door! I don't care if you're a soldier or not," said a light, but demanding female voice in the other room.
Don't care if you're a soldier or not? thought Bankotsu, confused. Ahhh. I see. I guess that the only people that know the girl is in this place is the goverment. He thought it was an extremely strange way to greet someone there to protect her. But he couldn't fault his unseen ward; he guessed that prostitutes had hard enough lives, and most, if not all of them, chose to learn some skills to protect themselves, hence the thrown dagger. While it might work in intimidating someone who had no experience with combat, it didn't even faze Bankotsu. He admitted to himself that he chuckled at the dagger back then, too. But why was she taking customers even here? Didn't the old man give her at least a couple yen for saving his neck?
He gruffly answered the voice in the next room. "I'm not here to screw you, I'm here to protect you." He sauntered over to the wall on his left, sat in front of it, and brusquely leaned against the wall, putting his hands behind his head. A long, stiff silence followed. He glanced over and knit his brow at the screen to the next room, which was to his left. He knew that girl was in there. Maybe he could draw her out with some chatter. Maybe he really would luck out and she'd be pretty, too.
He tried again to get a response. "The old man sent me here to guard you until my men finish off another warlord. Sooo...did you meet up with 'im yourself or didja tell one of his lackeys?" He was really out of his element making the first attempt at conversation like this.
His question was met only with more icy silence. This was unsettling. Maybe she was pretty, but she sure wasn't very sociable. From his experience, he knew some girls were like that, and some weren't. Eh. That was their decision. Whatever suited them was fine, and got them through their goddamned day. Just like himself.
He looked around the room for a bit. The cottage was sparsely furnished, now that it was only being used temporarily, but in better condition, it must have had the potential to be a very cozy place. A mural on the wall opposite him depicted a phoenix rising from the ashes, in a similar style to the woodcut on the little cupboard he passed on the way in. The person who lived here before must have been influential and seemed to have had a lot of custom artwork done. On another small cupboard to his right that looked identical to the one by the door, a candle in a lantern was ready to be burned later on that night.
"So..." he spoke again. He had to know what the girl looked like, anyway! He didn't think of getting a good description of her from anyone before he left the old man's place, and the old man didn't really seem to care; he just knew she was escorted to the cottage, and she was alive. And...most importantly, at least in the old man's own eyes, so was he. He knew she had an escort drop her off here, but they must have taken a different way out of the place and he didn't meet up with them, either. Well, either way, she just got here, so there was no room for confusion yet.
"...got any sake?" was his next sorry attempt at some smalltalk. Even though he could often be irresistibly charming, and encouraged his men often, he was usually too direct and quiet to ever be considered a great conversationalist. But Jakotsu was slowly teaching him over the years how to chit-chat. Bankotsu snickered thinking about it. Jakotsu was so much better at that than himself; then he frowned. To the point of distraction quite often, however. He had to be told again and again on the battlefield to keep his mouth shut, and just press forward.
The longer the girl held off in approaching him, the more curious he became. He waited for an answer, and still got none at all. Not a sound came out of that other room. He turned his head to look at the screen, and noticed a wetness on his collar. He wiped it with a hand, and saw a bit of blood. Sure enough, the blue part of his shirt collar was getting dyed dark from the oozing light cut from the dagger, which was still stuck in the doorframe.
Curiosity and necessity finally took over. He couldn't afford to have someone he needed to watch all the time be so standoffish. He got up and walked over to the screen. He knocked and just started to say, "Hey. How-"
The door suddenly opened just enough so a large jug of sake could be thrown forcefully through it. Bankotsu watched the jug with wide eyes as it flew almost across the room, rolled to the opposite wall, thunked loudly off it, and came to a stop after rocking back and forth a bit.
Umm...okay, he thought. The jug didn't sound too full. He figured the guards that dropped her off at the cottage left it there.
The screen was just about to get closed shut as Bankotsu impatiently put his foot and a hand into the threshold, preventing it from closing. "I wanted to ask you how I'm supposed to guard you when I don't even know what the hell you look like? How do I know you're not a spy posing as her, damnit?"
He slid the door open, and there was a tiny figure at the far end of the room, who had just silently sat back down. She was smaller than himself, as far as he could tell. She had her blood red, gold trimmed outer kimono covering over her head like a veil, which was fashionable at the time. She had her back turned and was sitting at a low table, using a brush to make delicate, graceful black marks all over a large piece of parchment. Scrolls were neatly piled on the desk in front of her. "Only paying customers can see my face. I told you that!"
He had to snicker. She was intriguing, and her defiance he found kinda...cute. Even without seeing her face. Forcing himself to act serious, he replied in mock anger. "And I told you that I'm not-"
"You're not a customer until you pay me." He saw that she stopped making marks on the scroll. "I'm not taking anything off until I hear money in the bowl. Until then go sit out front or leave, and have a nice day."
"Yeah, by the way, itis a nice day," he shot back. He was good at conversation when he was defending himself, however. "Pretty much means you can't stay pent up in here all day. Why not go for a walk or something?"
She completely ignored him.
"What's your name? Can I at least have your name?"
"If you noticed, I didn't ask for yours. I don't want names, just money."
He hmphed, amusedly. Looking at her tiny, fair hands, he noticed her right hand was now fiddling with something on the desk as she spoke. He couldn't see it before as the door wasn't open wide enough. It was red, and...
...and he was shocked. It was so similar...no way...but it looked just like...
He had to ask about it, but hid the fact that the familar object made his heart race. If that wasn't what he thought it was, it didn't matter. He had nothing to lose anyway. But he still had to know. It was all just too weird. After going completely wide-eyed for a moment, he collected himself again. "Whatcha got there? Looks like a tassel from a weapon."
She was silent.
He leaned comfortably against the threshold between the rooms and crossed his arms and his feet. He closed his eyes. "I've been in the military for a long time. So I betcha I can tell where ya got it, even though those are pretty rare. Ceremonial nodachi. From a small town all the way to the east of here."
Without even looking, he could feel that she stopped twining the red strings between her fingers. He could tell she was intrigued. But she for certain wasn't as intrigued as he was. "Probably even had a green sheath." He spoke a little lower and rested his head against the wall. The fact she was getting really interested in what he was saying was wringing his chest, making his heart beat a little faster. "Probably a bigger weapon than you can carry. Hmmm. Most likely someone else carried it for you." She flattened her hand loudly against the table at his pointed observations.
He opened his eyes again and cocked his head toward her. He continued to speak almost breathlessly. "So...was he someone special? Did he end up using it fer ya?" He made sure to pause inbetween questions, to make them sink in. Make them sink way in. He knew he had her undivided attention. "Did he defend you? Give ya that as a token of friendship?" She couldn't see how fixed his gaze was upon her as he continued. "He still around? If he's not...do you hate him? Or do you...forgive him for...not being able to-" He had to cut himself off, and look away from her, towards the other room.
After another agonizing pause, he heard a sniffle coming out of the cloaked figure. His constant barrage of too-personal questions was really getting on her nerves. Silence carried on for about a second. The cloaked girl slammed her little hands on the desk, quickly stood up, then reformed her hands in angry balls at her sides. "No. I won't turn to you. Why can't you just...leave me alone?" Her light voice started to lose its strength and trembled. "My face is only for customers, not nosy bodyguards!" Her head turned to the side toward him but she still would only let him see her back. "You don't need to see my face to defend me. And it's not like you need my help to hold them down for you or anything."
The last few words stunned him. He remembered when they were three, when she jokingly offered to hold the boys down so Bankotsu could beat them up for her next time they annoyed her. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. He couldn't tolerate it any longer.
Enough questions! Boldness finally overtook him, and he strided over to her left side to try and get around her. She turned to her right, which was still away from him. Were it not for that curious little ornament she was touching, he probably would have left her alone, and let her sit there shrouded until his job was over. Knowing his men, he wouldn't need to be there very long anyway.
With a flash, a metallic sound rang out by her left hip, and she brought her wakazashi down in her right hand, trying to jab his chest.
However, Bankotsu was just too beyond this. He even had time to roll his eyes as he saw the blade coming at him. She was absolutely no match for him. He easily caught the weapon between his palms, and with a strong flick of his hands, effortlessly disarmed the girl, the wakazashi ending up thrown into a far corner with a clang!. She growled in frustration and tried desperately to fight him, but he already had both of her hands behind her back, pinning them to her and stopping her from moving with one arm.
He was even more cocky...and curious...now than ever. Now that she was so close, he could clearly see how petite she really was. The top of her head really, really tried to reach the middle of the bridge of Bankotsu's nose and barely accomplished that. She could have easily been mistaken for a young child.
She uselessly continued to try and break free from his iron grip. She whimpered not from pain, but utter fury while he spoke. He could feel some kind of strange formations on her forearms through the fabric she wore as his hands held them to her back, his thumb running over them, back and forth. They seemed to continue down to her hands. He made a mental note of it. "Nice try! Gotta give you credit for being pretty fast on the draw, but way too slow on the delivery!" he laughingly said. "I have to say I respect you for at least trying to defend yourself! However-"
Holding her closer to him to prevent her from getting away, he reached under the kimono-cloak on her head and could feel the side of her face. She struggled one last time, and then gave up, sniffing. He could now see her little red mouth, locked closed in anger, and downturned. He caressed her cheek and she sniffed loudly. He could feel wetness on it, and her entire body went more rigid and cold the closer he held her. Firmly holding her chin with his hand, he continued. "-however, I can wait here a long time until you let me see your face." He leaned in closer, until he was an inch away from her ear, and whispered into it through his teeth. She was so tense he was afriad she might snap in half. Too bad it had to come to that, but this was...just too strange to be true. "Believe me. It's not...that...hard."
The girl stood still and silently, and felt the breath of his words on her ear. He seemed genuinely interested in knowing who the hell she was. He also seemed unusually strong, just as she heard from the guards who were gossiping about who was assigned to guard her. He probably could have just done anything he wanted, especially after getting the knife away from her. But why didn't he do things she expected him to do with her? She did notice that he had an unusual smell...he smelled like...musk...and fine incense, mingling together. What an intriguing scent he carried. But his obnoxiousness, nosiness and the fact that he was touching her without paying pissed her off too much, and she tried her damndest to ignore it. And...she was a bit stuck right now.
The girl tipped her head just slightly toward Bankotsu. He took this as a gesture to remove her veiling kimono from her head and face, because obviously there was nothing else that could've been done. Using his right hand, he slowly pulled it off, and it fell gracefully, almost silently, to the floor. Even her shirts underneath were colorful. They consisted of bright reds and beautiful, elaborate gold foil-like patterns.
He placed his hand on her cheek again, and waited with bated breath for her to look up at him. His patience was rewarded when her eyes flicked to their corners to look up at him, and stayed locked there.
Her strange, almost glowing, yellow eyes.
A soft blush, caused by the fury drawn out by young man's earlier prying questions, covered her cheeks. It made her eyes stand out all the more.
She spied the cross-shaped scar on his forehead. She now knew who he was, too.
Bankotsu's face softened, and he let out a little shocked breath inbetween his teeth. "Akiko..." he sighed. In his utter amazement that his earlier hunch was correct, he neglected to keep hold of her arms with his left hand, and she stiffly brought her arms around to the front, readying one of her hands in order to slap him away.