DISCLAIMER: we do NOT own ANY InuYasha characters! If I did, then the show would be titled "Sesshoumaru" not "InuYasha" AND Kagome would be killed off…

10 minutes earlier………

"Men!" the scarred village leader, Kano, announced. "That killer cannot live to see dawn. We must—"

"But sir!" Little Yoshi bounced in his seat with the anxiety of inexperience, as the poor thing had never seen abattle. "Lord Bankotsu said he'd take care of—"

"We cannot trust this stranger! He carries with him a sword bigger than his body! He may be a demon of some sort—he could be an accomplice of an even more dangerous lord! They could escape before the sun rises."

"You saw his anger, Kano…" the village doctor added, "he was true in his threat."

"No! A leader couldn't go against his team, not if he had a dream to stick to."

"Are you suspecting something of Bankotsu, sir?"

Kano looked to the doctor with an expression in his eyes that made the short, stocky man look down at his resting hands with a blush on his face. He said not another word.

"Yes, I am…Makoto, take a sword and go check on them. If anything is amiss…I want you to attack. Do what you can, then call for us…and I want a messenger sent to the closest village, we will need more fighters in this battle."

"Yes, sir…" the man Makoto said, bowing deeply.

"But oo-aniki!" Jakotsu begged, 6 colorful kimonos draped over his body, almost doubling his petitesize. "They are dead! No one will come after us!" Bankotsu stopped combing the last room for money and glared at Jakotsu. The boy stared pleadingly from behind a kimono he tried to carry under his chin.

"Ja, we can only take the important stuff. Which is why I'm looking for money. Clothes…are…not…important!" he growled, abandoning his search for a last bit of payment.

Jakotsu pursed his lips and pouted. "Aniki, these are special."

"No, they aren't." Bankotsu lifted the garments from Jakotsu's body, one by one dramatically, dumping them in a heap on the floor. "We're leaving them."

Jakotsu wailed, hishands thrown in the air. "Nooo!" he cried in a his most babyishvoice. "It is difficult to find purple fabric, aniki! We must take them!"

"Aye…save me…" mumbled the leader, his hand on his forehead.

"These are the nicest ones I have had in months! Please!"

"Ja we've got all we need, come on!"

The boys had collected their few things, some food, and Jakotsu was (obviously) having trouble accepting the fact that Bankotsu wasn't willing to take some quality kimonos with them.

Jakotsu cried out with an "EH!" and stomped his heel on Bankotsu's toes. The leader yelped in pain, like a weak, abused puppy kicked in the nose.

"Aaaaaaaaanikiiiii!"

Bankotsu, growling to himself, dragged the bawling teenager from the room, yanking him quick to make sure he wouldn't grip the doorframe.

Baby…

"You are cruel, Bankotsu! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!I'm never speaking to you again EVER!"

Bankotsu shook his head, wondering to himself how long that would last…but at least it was a quiet ending tothis interesting trip. Once they found Suikotsu, he would have to ask Jakotsu about his murders. He should've known….in a village of simple, nice people, he suspected no one, of course, so why didn't he suspect his friend? Duh, they were mercenaries…they killed people…

It was a little more than obvious.

But Bankotsu had to give the now-pouting-brat props…to fool even himself, the great and mighty leader!

Even if he had been klutzy and slit Bankotsu's throat as well…

The boys stepped out into the night. It was getting light now, it could be about 4 AM(1).

The bodies were still undisturbed…how long until children came out to play and saw chopped-up bodies? Ran screaming and crying to their horrified mothers?

Bankotsu grinned in spite of himself.

Jakotsu had yet to speak and Bankotsu was curious as to what the gay boy had to say about their night.He was lasting well; Bankotsu didn't think he'd go so long without whining.

Bankotsu wouldn't mind the drama queen speaking, as long it was to help him find Suikotsu…they were entering the woods, and Bankotsu could only guess where the woundedman had stumbled off to.

He wandered past the bushes that bordered the forest. "Suikotsu?" he hissed into the silent, black trees.

No answer… "Sui?"

Jakotsu gasped behind him. Puh, he probably got mud on his foot...

"Aniki…" the boy whimpered. Bankotsu turned around, facing his friend, who's large eyes were locked on something above, a look of fear on his face that could still be seen despite the darkness.

Bankotsu followed his friend's gaze up, and swore viciously. Looked like their search wouldn't last any longer…

They were staring up at Suikotsu's limp feet…his body was suspended by a rope, tied tightly around his neck.

There was a pool of black blood both had stepped though...Bankotsu felt the stickiness in his sandals. A horrid stench filled the air and with a shiver of disgust, Bankotsu kicked off his sandals and went to pull Jakotsu along.

The boy was frozen in his spot, tears running off his face. He instead moved to comfort him, but stopped at the sound of a soft thwack.

Jakotsu's scream scared him, but when he tried to ask what was wrong—his throat stuck…he couldn't seem to exhale a breath.

An unexpected pain burned in his heart. His eyes drifted down to his chest and broadened with shock. His mouth hung agape, meaning to speak, but he could neither breathe nor talk. His mouth was as dry as sand.

"I-I did it because I love—"

Bankotsu could not hear what Jakotsu was confessing. His senses shut down, and he only himself collapse before falling asleep……

Jakotsu layalone among slain warriors. Those many men…they had marched to their suicide, not a hope of defeating an insane killer.

In the end, they were still no match for Jakotsu, of the would-be band of mercenaries

Two arrows stuck out of his shoulders and out of his stomach and knee protruded two more. Two deeppurplish gashes cut through his calfmuscles...it was impossible for him to stand.Numbness had spread andhis state of mind was in no condition for him to care about his pain.His fingers felt too heavy to move, so as he lay, he did nothing but breathe softly, waiting for a sweet kiss of death. The grass around him was damp, his clothes and hair, too. Blood was thick in the air, on his skin, in his mouth. Everywhere around him…metallic, salty…

Funny that he still found strength to laugh.

He looked over at oo-aniki's dead body with the energy from a last breath. "I killed them because they were trying to take you away from me. You are mine, Bankotsu, nobody else's. I did it because I love you."

The corpse made no response, but Jakotsu in any case, died with a smile on his cracked lips just as the red sun rose over the horizon.

END!

I hope you liked it! I spent a lot of class time writing this you know (and for periods I didn't write anything, my friends made sure I got a big red mark as punishment.) I'm lookin to put maybe a few more stories of InuYasha, Harry Potter, Phantom of the Opera up but I'm horrible about updating (you might have guessed)

(1) time for a game of imagination! Okay, let's pretend that in feudal Japan, they used our way of telling time! come on, you know you miss being a kid!