Contagion Chapter 13, an inuyasha fanfic

Hey everyone. I made this chapter a bit too lengthy, so I cut it in to two chapters. I was gonna post it at the start of July, but when I was editing, I started rewriting some parts,add in extra parts, and it just became this absolute monster so I apologize for the wait. I got a bit carried away LOL.

I appreciate all of your support and patience!

Take Care, Stay Safe, and Stay Caffeinated XD~

Chapter 13

I continue to glare out at nothing in the small hut as I hear Bankotsu rise. My hands ache from gripping them in fists for so long as I struggle to stop my second wind of rage.

'How fucking dare he…..'

I close my eyes hoping that I could drown out the sound of his movements

'He…he kissed me….. that fucking pig kissed me…'

I was never one to fantasize about my future like Kiku did….never one to image my wedding day….or how I would like to be courted…..or even the first time I…..well…I never really cared about any of that…..or at least…..I thought I didn't care about any of it…..but he…..he stole my first kiss…..

He just took it. Like it was nothing….

…..Like he always does….

...He...

….Always….

…Fucking…..

….TAKES!...

"It was just a kiss, Yaruki."

"…."

"I mean, I could have done a lot worse."

"…."

"Honestly, you should be thankful. Many women aren't as lucky as you are."

"…."

"Plus, you enjoyed it. I know you did."

"…."

"That's why you're so mad now."

"…."

"So just get the fuck over it and-"

*********Banktosu's POV********

I snatch myself backwards as her blade bites across my cheek. She takes advantage of my lost footing and connects a solid and powerful kick to my stomach. I stumble backwards falling on my bottom before rolling over to the side and leaping back to my feet.

She yanks the blade out of the floor which exposes her chest allowing me to return her kick with interest.

She hits the ground hard and I hear her take in a haggard breath, ignoring the biting sting of guilt as I watch her roll to her side wheezing while getting up.

"Stay down." I say flatly, I but it's pointless.

She's too angry right now.

I see her body shake as she continues to steady her breath, and I tense my muscles going on the defensive as she lunges forwards.

We dance around the small space. Her blade striking outwards at every possible opening I let happen.

She stays close. She stays low.

She knows she can't hit my face, so she goes for my body knowing that I haven't had a chance to put my armor back on.

I study her. Watch her movements.

She's getting better. She's learning to use her anger versus allowing it to use her. She's thinking.

I stumble slightly and her blade bites across my shirt.

'Shit'

I continue to dodge her swipes as I proceed to move in a steady circle around the room making sure I don't back myself in to a corner.

I dodge another strike, and she glares up at me in irritation. Her violet eyes pitch black.

They only do that when she gets like this.

When she's truly enraged.

'I should probably calm her down, but first…..'

She swings again, I dodge and land a violent right hook across her jaw knocking her face first to the ground. I kick the blade from her hand and watch as slowly begins to get back up.

A small pool of blood oozes from her mouth and again I press down the pang of guilt that runs through me. "Are you ready to use your big girl words now?" I cautiously step forwards and squat down next to her.

"Let me help you up." I extend my hand out to her as a peace offering.

There is a pause...a moment of quiet rest before she turns slightly, takes my hand,

AND BITES IT.

I punch her again on the side of her head and she lets go immediately. I take a moment to examine my hand noting that this time around she didn't break the skin...probably because her jaw was still recovering from my punch.

She begins to frantically fight against me as I force her to her back pinning her legs shut with my knees so that she couldn't kick me. Her nails dig and scratch at parts of my neck and face, barely missing my eyes in some instances, as I struggle to grab hold of both her arms.

Finally getting a hold of them with one hand, I slam them on to the floor over her head and grip her throat with my free hand.

"What did I tell you about biting me?"

My grip on her neck tightens with each word of my question. Her eyes narrow and I flinch my head away as the wad of spit hits my cheek.

Don't kill her. Don't kill her. Don't kill her. Don't kill her. Don't kill her.

I exhale slowly using my shoulder to wipe my cheek before moving my hand from her throat to her face covering the upper half of it with my palm. In a fluid motion, I lift her up just enough so that she's sitting upright and slam her back down-back first then head- as hard I could without actually killing her.

The desired effect is achieved, and I free her arms and face as I quietly watch her struggle to get the air back in to her lungs. Finally recovering, I grab her arms and her face once more.

And slam her to the ground.

Again, I wait for her to recover, and as she does,

I do it again.

"s-s-s-s-stop..." she wheezes as I reach for her face once more.

I do it again.

I wait again and grab her face as she recovers. I freeze seeing tears streak across the sides of her face and into her ears. "There is a line you do not cross." I say flatly as I debate whether a fifth time is really necessary.

"You. Don't. Bite. Me."

I lift her up and she immediately grabs hold of my shirt as if that would save her.

Surprisingly, it does, because I freeze taking in the violent trembling of her arms as they cling to my shirt for dear life. Her warm tears squeezing their way between my palm and her face only to either drip down between us or travel down my wrist.

"...s-s-s-stop..."

Despite the shaking and the tears, she still has the nerve to give me an order. "Are you asking me...or are you telling me?"

"..."

I ready myself to slam her down and again and her grip tightens on me causing me to stop once more.

"Ask nicely and I may consider it."

"..."

"You brought this on yourself. I warned you the last time you bit me and you chose to do it again. Not only that, but you spit on me, which honestly, is pretty fucking disgusting so...ASK. NICELY."

"..."

"Suit yourself."

"p-p-p-please..."

I let go of my hold to be met with a cold glare. I smirk practically seeing the gears turning behind those pitch black eyes as she weighs what her next move will be. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I wait.

She lets go of my shirt and focuses her attention on to her hands as she flexes her fingers to get the blood flowing back through them.

"You...You're a bitch."

I blink slightly taken aback by how underwhelming her insult was, but I won't lie.

It still managed to piss me off a bit.

"That's it?"

She keeps her focus on her hands, knuckles cracking occasionally as she continues to open and close her palms before finally pressing her palms to the floor and scooting herself away from me. I grant her legs freedom by sliding myself back and off of them. We sit cross legged in front of each other, and I let out a long low sigh.

"Ok...I'm not sorry for kissing you." I begin lowly and her eyes cut sharply up towards me in a glare all while her head remains lowered as if she were still inspection her hands.

"Let me finish before you get mad again…" I say calmly, "I'm not sorry for kissing you. In fact, I plan to do it a lot more and often."

"But!" I hold my finger up to her stopping her from swelling up even more. I smirk.

Damn, she's beautiful angry.

"But...I admit that I shouldn't have tricked you like that..." I scratch the side of my cheek suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable. "...And for that…I...I guess I'm sorry..."

"You...guess?"

I shrug, "Yeah...maybe...sure?"

"...Are you asking me?"

I let out a mix between a growl and a sigh, "Look, that's the best you're gonna get so either take it or leave it."

Her eyes roll hard behind their lids.

"Listen...I respect you as a member of my team. Seriously, I do! And I value the skills that you bring to the group, and you're getting better. "

"Oh, lucky me."

I ignore her bitter tone and pull her towards me so that she falls in to my arms. She doesn't bother to fight me.

"But, I also want you. Which puts me in a very frustrating position. One that, admittedly, I've never been in before. And I don't like it."

"….."

"…Does it make you suffer?"

I sigh softly contemplating her question."No", I lie.

"…."

"It's a mild discomfort right now."

"…..Could it?….Could it make you suffer?"

I note the hint of sadistic excitement in her voice and let out a breathy laugh as I bury my face in her hair and inhale for a moment, "I'll take the loss and kill you first before I let it get that bad."

"…."

"….."

"…I hope it gets worse." Her voice is muffled slightly by my shirt, but I can still make out her words and hear the clear malicious intent behind them."…..I pray it becomes unbearable…..I hope you suffer all the days of your life…..and then suffer even more in the afterlife…"

"…"

"That's fair." I whisper gently into her hair.

"So long as you know that I'll make you suffer with me."

~~~Yaruki's POV~~~~

Under Bankotsu's orders, we rise early that next morning and prepare to head out. I keep Okimi close to me and out of sight as best I could hoping that the commotion of getting our things together would distract all of them from her presence.

Granted, it wasn't like we had a ton of things to gather to start with, but I still feel like my plan would have worked...

"Big Brother, with all do respect, we've already wasted time traveling back for her. I doubt we can afford any more delays with the stray she's picked up."

...if a certain bald headed bitch had kept his mouth shut.

I throw a nasty look at Renkotsu's smirking face before directly my attention to the approaching Bankotsu. He looks over my shoulder get a better look at Okimi before turning his gaze to me. "He's right Yaruki. She stays behind. We're don't have time for any unnecessary stops. We are already running behind as it is."

"Behind for what?"

"We have another job as an advance team. Nothing major, just lowering some of the enemy's numbers to make it easier for the Lord to wipe them out completely."

"...No villagers...right?"

A look that was mix between irritation and concern flashes across his face, "Probably. It all depends on what we see when we get there."

I look away from him as my stomach begins to churn.

"We were given orders to clear the place out as much as we can, and if that means villagers die along side soldiers," He lifts my chin up so that our eyes meet, "I expect you to do your job."

I snatch my chin from his grip,"Well, She can't stay here."

He folds his arms over his chest, face unreadable. I motion to the destroyed village around us, "What...Where is she supposed to go? How is she supposed to get there? What if she gets attacked by a demon?"

"..."

"...! Oh, shit is this the part where I'm supposed to care?"

I frown at him.

"Because I don't."

"..."

"Just so we're clear."

I deflate slightly and close my eyes, "It's just to the closest village. Can't you manage to muster a little bit of humanity to make it that far?"

"We won't be intentionally going to a village. That's what I'm saying! We're going straight to our assignment point. And plus, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't you who said I couldn't possibly be human? Something along the lines of me being a demon, so no...I can't muster up some humanity."

I feel my eye twitch as I choke down my insult. Now was not the time to argue...I had to handle this tactfully.

"What if you treated her like...like...I don't know...a hostage or something...you know...make her responsible for cooking or...I don't know...pouring drinks?"

He leans in closer to me and smiles, "When have you ever known me to take a hostage?"

"There's a first time for everything."

He chuckles darkly, "Do you even know what I do to women when I decide to keep them in my company?"

"Kill their fathers and force them to be a part of this half-assed group of murders."

"Funny. But you came willingly."

"hnnnnnnn..." I scrunch my face in disbelief, "I don't think you know what the word willingly means."

"Yaruki..."

I snap my fingers, "She's my hostage."

He lifts an eyebrow,"...She's...your...hostage?"

"Yep...I caught her fair and square...sooo...yeah...she's my hostage."

I see his face scrunch in confusion, "So...just so I'm understanding this...I tell you we are actively walking in to battle...with no where to really hide...and you're still trying to bring a simple village girl with you...IN TO BATTLE...WITH NO MEANS TO PROTECT HERSELF..."

I look away from him chewing on my lower lip, "I...I can do more for her than she can on her own...She'll be fine."

Bankotsu chuckles and pats my head before walking away,"Suuuuure...but I'm supposedly the monster."

I hug myself a bit at Bankotsu's words before turning to Okimi, "...Do...do you want to stay...or..."

She give me a bright smile, "To be honestly, I'd get lost if I were on my own. I've never really traveled by myself, so...I'd...I'd rather just stay with you...if that's ok. I'll be very careful and I'll stay out of the way. Don't worry."

I nod, "Then I promise I'll protect you."

We make it to our assignment by the next morning, and I lag behind pulling Okimi with me.

"Stay here." I order softly and she nods. "And keep this on you." I press the hilt of my knife in her hand and her eyes widen. "It's only for safety reasons. I'll make sure no one comes this way, but just in case...you'll need it. "

"I...I don't..."

"There's nothing to it. Just keep it hidden. Don't let them know you are armed. Keep it somewhere that you can easily get to, wait until they get close enough, and them aim for here." I lift her arm up and poke her armpit. She giggles slightly before clearing her throat.

"Its actually a pretty lethal spot and its a spot no one thinks to guard. When they reach out for you, ram the blade in to their armpit with the edge facing you. Then pull it out towards you." I demonstrate for her and her face pales, but she nods and does a couple for practice.

"If you can't get to the arm pit, then the next best areas is here." I pat the crook of my leg next to my groin. Her face goes bright red. "Chances are, a man will attack and try to take advantage of you. That will cause him to expose this area. It'll be tough, but if you can get there, stab right where the leg and groin meet and pull down as best you can. Once you do any of this try to get as much distance from your attacker as you can. Understand?"

She nods and does a couple more practice swings for both targets. I watch her silently and sigh, "If all else fails, just scream. Loud and Hard and don't stop. I'll come. I promise. Stay quiet and stay hidden. I'll come back and get you once we're done. Ok?"

She nods again and tucks herself away as best she can.

I run back to catch up with the others.

'But I'm supposedly the monster'

I sneer at Bankotsu words as another man falls to my arrow. I am not a monster...this is just a job...nothing more...these men...they signed up for this...they...they are trained...they can defend themselves far more than the average person.

I dodge another soldiers's strike and the force of my arrow running through his eye sends him flying back. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jakotsu's freakish blade slither through a line of charging soldiers.

They are the monsters. They enjoy this...this needless killing...I just need the money.

The sound of horses approaching causes me to turn. The Lord's actual army charges out from the forest and I quickly move out of their path as they handle the rest of the already dwindling enemy army. Once the last of the men were slain the general approaches and Bankotsu steps up to him even throwing him a friendly wave.

The general does not return it.

"Took them long enough." I mutter stepping next to Jakotsu who nods in agreement.

"That's usually how it is." He mutters as we watch the two converse, "Honestly, I'm surprised that this was exactly what we expected."

I look over to Jakotsu who keeps his eyes on Bankotsu, "What do you mean?"

He throws me an annoyed look, "I mean, sometimes its more than what we're told and other times they hire us as a means to tire the enemy out not thinking we're actually able to handle the job. So...yeah...its rare things go this smoothly."

"...the only person you can really trust is yourself..."

"What?"

"Ugh...nothing...just...something my dad once told me."

The money exchange happens and the general sends his troops out to do a clean up. Bankotsu divvies up the payment and hands it our accordingly, but stops before handing over my portion.

"No villagers this go around, huh? Bet that makes you happy."

I glare at him before snatching my portion, "Yes, actually it does!"

He smiles at me and I huff past him making my way to Okimi.

She comes out at the sound of her name, but freezes. "Are you ok?"

I blink at her, "What? Yeah, why?"

"It's...it's just...you look..." she takes a cautious step towards me still looking at my face, and I feel my mouth twitch in annoyance.

"What?! what is it?! Do I have blood on me or something?" I look down and examine my clothes before wiping the sleeve of my top over my face to see if there was any blood.

"N-no...t-that's not..."

"Then what is it!?"

"N-nothing...forget it...Did you all win?"

I scoff at her questions as we make our way back, "I'm here aren't I? If we lost, I'd be dead."

"Oh...right..."

We catch up with the others and head out on our way only stopping once the sun fully went down.

"You, woman….make yourself useful and start a fire."

Okimi stands a bit straighter before bowing, "Y-yes sir." I huff watching in mild annoyance as she scurries about the edge of the clearing collecting rocks and sticks for the fire.

She was my 'hostage', but since we left that assignment, they been making her do mindless unnecessary tasks that they could easily do on their own...just to piss me off.

And it was working.

"Look at her go. You see that, Yaruki. That is called obedience. You should try it some time."

"You see this, Jakotsu." I begin holding up my middle finger to him, "That's called 'Go Fuck Yourself' Try it." I stalk off to a tree away from the group and flop down against it.

"Renkotsu, go see if there is some water nearby. Yaruki, hunt us something to eat."

"I just sat down."

"And now you're getting up to get us food."

I flip my quiver around to give Bankotsu a clear view of my last three arrows.

"Hunt carefully then." He says settling against a tree and I glare at him.

"HuNt CaReFuLlY tHeN..." I mutter stomping off in to the woods, "You're the one with the big ass sword but noooo...send the girl with three fucking arrows to her name because that makes fucking sense..."

I struggle to keep my arms steady against the wave of excitement coursing through me as I finally catch up to this infuriatingly allusive deer. For every split second dodge, or accidental crack of a twig, or minute gust of wind that gave away my location, my desire to strike this damn deer down grew, no longer making this a hunt for food, but one of a personal vendetta. And now…..to finally have another shot before sun down is a blessing from my ancestors themselves.

I watch with stifled joy as she casually grazes in the small clearing before me.

"You are a worthy opponent, 6-spot. I hope that when I eat you, your speed and cleverness will transfer to me for the rest of my days."

I pull back a bit more locking my arrow on to her vitals, "Farewell, you son of a bitch."

"AAAAAAACHHHHHOOOOOO!"

The deer takes off again.

I stand there...frozen...Trying to process what just happened. I close my eyes as Jakotsu sniffles and sighs behind me.

"God, are you done yet? It's freezing out here."

He sniffles again as he squints his eyes to see what I was aiming at, "Nothing is even there. What are you doing?! How long does this take? I mean jeez, even I would have caught something by now. Aren't you supposed to be this amazing fucking shot. You can't be that good if you can't even catch a fucking deer. Honestly, had I known you'd be struggling this much, I would have killed the damn thing hours ago. Are you even listening to me? HEY! Hello!"

I exhale slowly as I begrudgingly lower my arrow.

No….no….Bankotsu would not believe that it was an unfortunate hunting accident.

"Remind me again," I begin struggling to quiet my rage, "why you're here?"

Jakotsu huffs, "Because you made such a big deal about not haveing any arrows that Brother Bankotsu sent me to help you. He also said I had to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't get kidnapped by another demon."

"But you hate me and you haven't helped AT FUCKING ALL!"

"This is true."

"So why did you come?"

"Because I know how to follow orders."

I doubt Bankotsu would believe in an unforeseeable bear attack too since it's so close to winter.

…No matter how well I clawed his eyes out

A flicker of white catches my eye, and I stop examining a tree lines for a moment before shaking my head and turning still unable to look at him. As we begin our trek back to camp, I violently strike down rabbits and birds along the way. "Well I'm proud of you." I begin my mind finally getting to Jakostu's comment, "Every good bitch knows that the key to a good marriage is following orders."

Jakostu's blow knocks me forwards, and I grip my head trying to swallow the pain away.

"Very funny, you ugly little cow."

I glare viciously at Jakotsu's back as I caress the tender spot on my head.

Wolves. Wolves are believable. A giant pack of wolves…with knives jutting out from their bodies for maximum stabbing…..

Yeah….a pack of violent stabby wolves…..that's believable, right?

Again, I see a flash of white out the corner of my eye. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" He looks in the direction I was facing but frowns, "What are you talking about, you stupid woman, there's nothing over there!"

"OK, but just do your...your...sword thing over there for me." I point in the direction where I saw the white thing while pushing him forwards a bit. He braces himself against me for a moment before swatting my hands away from him.

"And why would I waste my time doing that?"

"Oh my...Can you not be a gaping asshole for like two seconds and just do this one thing for me."

He glares at me, "Well I was until you started calling me names, so fuck you. I'm going back to camp and if you get snatched up by a demon, good riddance."

"I fucking hate you, you know that right!"

He waves off my comment as he makes his way back to the camp. I glare back out into the forest again before growling and running to catch up with him.

We make it back to the camp before it got too dark, and I look around finally spotting Okimi standing on her toes next to the sitting Ginkotsu, examining the four saws on his back in mild fascination. She moves around to his front. Ginkotsu holds up his grappling arm for her to see opening and closing it in front of her face. She takes a startled step back before inching closer again to get a better look.

If I didn't know any better, I would think he likes the attention.

Bankotsu appears in front of me distracting me from calling out to her to move away from him. He eyes my meager catch of rabbits and birds incredulously, "It that really it? You've been gone for quiet some time."

I blink completely at a loss for words. He grabs one of the larger rabbits I manage to catch on our way back and examines it for a minute before sighing. "I got to admit, Yaruki. I'm a bit disappointed. I expected better from you."

I feel my face grow hot from indignation as I snatch my largest rabbit from his grasp and slap his chest with it repeatedly, "Well, I'd like to see you do any better with that tagging along."

"HEY!"

I cross my arms trying to focus on anything else but the infuriating man in front of me. The nerve of him judging my abilities simply because it was a bad day for hunting.

"Not to mention that we would have had deer, thank you very much," I direct my glare to Jakotsu, "But then someone sneezed!"

Jakotsu sucks his teeth, "Don't blame me because you suck. You missed that deer several times before I sneezed."

I hear Renkotsu chuckle quietly, and I glare at him.

"It was a bouncy ass deer!"

I spin back to face Bankotsu who started chuckling, "AND FURTHER MORE," I begin waving the dead rabbit in front of him, "I am perfectly capable of handling myself. I don't need you to send THAT WALKING TRAGEDY OF A MAN-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU HIDEOUS COW-!"

"TO BE MY FUCKING GUARD!"

He says nothing in response to my rage. Only continues to watch me with that stupid smirk on his face.

"A-a-and also..." My words begin to fumble out of my mouth as my rage is smothered by his casual, nonchalant staring, "T-this is a DAMN GOOD CATCH so...so..." he steps closer a slight mischievous glint in his eyes.

I'm not sorry for kissing you. In fact, I plan to do it a lot more and often.

"UGH!" I throw the rabbit at his chest to keep him from getting any closer. "Fuck you, Fuck Jakotsu, and fuck that snarky ass deer!" I quickly turn on my heels trying to hide my flustered face and storm over to my tree. Banktosu chuckles before ordering Okimi to start dinner as Jakotsu continues to grumble continued steady insults at me.

After about thirty minutes or so of giving me space, I hear Bankotsu clear his throat as he makes his way over to me. I tense up and glare harder at the tree in front of me as I see him squat next to me from my peripheral.

"….You wanna talk about the deer?" he begins gently as if speaking to a small child.

"No!" I pout folding my arms.

"..Did the deer call you names?"

I turn my head so that I couldn't even see him in my peripheral.

"You want me to catch that mean ole deer for you."

"GO TO HELL!" I snap before turning away from him again, "It's not even about the deer. Although, there is a special place in hell for it."

He laughs as he sits on his butt behind to me. The smell of the meat makes it way over to us, and my stomach growls. I feel his eyes on my back and a give off a low growl, "Go away."

"Are you still mad about the kiss thing? I apologized didn't I?"

"You call that an apology?"

He shrugs.

"And even if it was- which it wasn't- do you honestly think that everything will just magically be ok because you apologized?!"

"Well...yeah."

I let out a low slow sigh as I plant my face in the palm of my hand.

"I mean honestly, when have you ever known me to apologize... for anything?"

"Exactly!" I spit glaring at him, "Which is why I don't fucking believe you!"

His eyes narrow slightly as we glare at one another before I take the loss and turn away from him once more.

He sighs softly, and I could almost imagine him running a hand through his bangs. Something he only does when he gets tired of arguing with me.

He shuffles around for a moment and I fight the urge to look back see what he was doing. Suddenly, his arm snakes around my waist and my breath catches in my throat as he pulls me into his chest.

"You really can't bring yourself to admit it, can you?" His voice is low in my ear, sending chills through me.

I lock my jaw and glare forwards, "Stop. Fucking. Touching Me."

"Oooh, scary." He chuckles as he gently plants a kiss against my neck before nicking it ever so slightly.

"NOOOOOPPPPPPEEEE!" I shove him away from me, easily breaking free from his grip and standing. "NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NO! NOPE! NUH-UH! NOPE! NO! NOPE! NOPE! NOOOOOOOO!" I randomly pick a direction away from the laughing Bankotsu and simply begin to walk. "NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NO!"

"Yaruki, what's-"

I lift my hand up to silence Okimi and make my way in to the forest.

"NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NUH-UH! NOPE! NOPE! NO SIR! NUH-UH! NOPE! NOOOOOO!"

I don't travel to far from the camp out of fear of getting lost, but I do go far enough to give myself some privacy…and to get my shit together.

You really can't bring yourself to admit it, can you?

I growl and kick a nearby tree immediately regretting it as the pain shoots up my shin. "This is his fucking fault too." I mutter leaning against the tree I assaulted to nurse my toes. I drop down to the ground and bring my knees to my chest, "There is nothing to admit. He's an asshole. Plain and Simple."

Oh really? So I was just imagining you undressing brother Bankotsu with your eyes...

I stab the ground violently with my blade imagining that it was Jakotsu's stupid face" What the fuck is wrong with me?!"

I close my eyes, and I feel it.

The firm grip of his hand over my face.

The painful shock of my body mercilessly hitting the ground

Over.

And Over.

Those dark flat eyes that greeted me once his hand released me. A cold, empty expression on that perfect face.

That was the real Bankotsu.

Not that laughing, teasing, neck-kissing son of a bitch.

Or that blue eyed, lean-bodied young man who on occasion will honestly forget how handsome he is and ends up shocked when he's given free shit by young female vendors.

Or that arrogant man who develops the attention span of a fish if he gets too bored.

No…..that empty…..cold….soulless man…..That was real Bankotsu…..The rest are just acts…..masks….lures...

"And I better not forget that."

SNAP!

I push away from the tree and turn flinging my blade in the direction of the sound. It embeds in the bark of another with a solid thump, and I glare at the empty space.

"If anyone is out there, I am NOT in the mood right now to be fucked with!"

I relax a bit after a moment or so of silence and snatch my blade from the tree.

"Stupid forest and its stupid noises."

The light of our campfire helps me find my way back and I emerge out of the pitch blackness of the forest only startling Okimi. Despite the fearsome pep talk I gave myself before coming back about not looking at him, I steal a quick glance over at Bankotsu who was watching me. Smiling.

My eye twitches as I flop down in front of my tree doing my best to ignore his pestering eyes. After about another hour or so, the soft conversations start to die as waves of yawns pass through all of us.

Okimi settles close to the fire in an attempt to stay warm but also to make sure it doesn't die out too soon as the others go to their respective spots against their choose trees.

Finally, sleep pass through the majority of the group, and I make my may towards the flames not really feeling all that tired.

"Stop it." I whisper harshly as I continue to needlessly stab the burning log with a sturdy stick. I glance around hoping that my voice didn't wake any of the others.

"Stop what?" he matches my whisper tone.

"Stop staring at me."

I look up from my self-appointed stabbing task to glare at him. He stretches a bit before lacing his fingers behind his head. That annoying smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as his eyes continue to stare at me.

"I'm not staring. I'm watching."

"Well stop watching me."

I look back down and continue to stab the log with renewed vigor.

"And if I don't?"

"Ever been slapped with a burning log before?" I spit as I glance over to Jakotsu who flipped over to his side with his back to us. The logs pop and crack below me as I watch small embers break off from the larger flame and flutter upwards only to die out before getting any good distance away from its home.

"I got slapped with a torch once. Does that count?"

My face twists in disbelief as I look over to him, "What?"

He nods, "It was when I was younger….There was this old hag in my village. She used to always bitch at us homeless kids for stealing or heckling people."

"So she slapped you with a torch for…..stealing?"

He shakes his head no as he lets out a breathy laugh, "One night, when she was walking home, I planned on scaring her….you know… hoping it'll startle her so bad that she'd drop dead or something."

"Ah, so…you've just always been an asshole then."

"Sooooo, I hid at the edge of the little alley way that she'd always pass by on her way home, and right as she came up to it, I jumped out and screamed at her as loud as I could."

He begins to chuckle darkly, "Scared the fucking shit out of her, but then she swung her torch at me. Hit me clean across the face and knocked me out cold."

"PFFT!"

"The old bitch left me there too." His eyes narrow slightly as if imagining the old woman in front of him now, "I also think she kicked me because when I came too, my side really hurt, and I had this huge bruise that lasted like a week."

I laugh in to my hands for a moment longer before I am able to compose myself again.

"So yes, to answer your question, I've been slapped with something that was on fire before."

I shake my head still chuckling, "Well that serves you right. Scaring innocent old women like that."

"That old bitch was anything but innocent. I would have done the village a favor had she killed over."

We fall silent as I resume my stabbing.

"You're pretty cute when you smile, you know that."

My smile drops as I glare up at him, "NO!" I whisper harshly shaking my finger at him as if scolding a bad child.

He laughs as I clear my throat and direct my attention back to the open flames, "Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"I'm not tired." I say simply and my log splits in half.

"Neither am I."

"Well….find something else to stare-"

"Watch"

I roll my eyes, "Well find something else to WATCH besides me."

"But I like watching you."

NO!" I snap chucking my slightly charred poking stick at him. He laughs harder.

I turn to make my way back to my spot, but freeze.

"What's wrong?"

I stare in to the blackness of the forest for a moment before Bankotsu's questions finally registers, "N-nothing….I…..I just thought….."

I frown and shake my head.

'Impossible'.

"….hehehehehe…"

The noise startles me wake and I sit up sliding myself away from the forest edge. I strain my ears for any signs of movement, but I hear nothing else. I exhales softly as my heart begins to settle down and my grip on my bow eases. I scan the campsite noting that the flames are nothing but embers now and the others are still fast asleep.

Perhaps I just imagined it...

I rub my eyes and then run a hand through my hair chuckling at myself for being so antsy, but then an uneasy feeling washes over me.

A feeling of being watched.

I immediately throw a glare in Bankotsu's direction, but freeze. His arms crossed over his body, Head hanging low, Breath slow and even….. the man is out cold...

...But I can still feel eyes on me...

My eyes fall to each person. Studying their forms to ensure that they all were in fact a sleep, but even after confirming this, I can not shake this feeling.

Gripping my bow and quiver, I stand and scan the edge of our clearing before stepping towards the center.

Listening.

"If someone is out there," I begin lowly, "Make yourself known now, before I run an arrow through your heart."

Again, I wait and listen, but still I hear and see nothing. I let out a frustrated sigh and shake my head as I lower my loaded bow, "Get a grip, Yaruki. You're letting your nerves get the best of you."

I freeze mid-step on my way back to my sleeping spot.

The feeling…the eyes…burning a hole in to my body, intensifies.

I glare at the darkness of the forest behind my sleeping tree before releasing my arrow and watching as the blackness engulfs it. I hear it embed itself into a tree with a solid thud, but nothing else sounds.

Minutes pass with no further noise, but I continue to glare within the darkness for a short while longer. Finally, I turn and make my way towards Banktosu's tree settling on the side next to him.

"Come to take advantage of me while I sleep?"

I snort, "As if."

"Damn." His head lolls over to the side so he can look at me, "Then why are you over here? Not that I'm complaining."

"Because I don't like my tree anymore."

Bankotsu yawns and stretches before reaching over to me and pulling me to him and in to his arms.

"That's fine. I'll protect you." He mutters gently as he begins to doze back off.

I fumble over the words of my insult as my face flares up, "I don't need your stupid protection!" I finally manage to whisper harshly as I try to break free of his grip.

His half sleep eyes look down at me, "You're scared right?"

My face explodes at his comment and a series of awkward snorts, grunts, and huffs escape me before I'm able to glare up at him, "No! I never said I was scared! I just...don't like...that tree…anymore...JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME GO!"

His sleepy eyes study my face before looking over to my tree. He then lets me go and stands, gripping Banryu in the process.

"Wh….what are-"

I watch as he steps towards my sleeping tree, and in one swift powerful swing, he slices my tree and a few others around and behind it down, widening our little clearing awkwardly and startling the group awake.

They all look towards him in sleepy surprise and he shrugs, "The trees were scaring Yaruki." He says drowsily before turning and making his way back to me.

"God damn it, Yaruki, they're just fucking trees. Shut the hell up and go to sleep!"

"I DIDN'T-"

Jakotsu flips back on to his side not wanting to hear my remarks.

"It's ok, Yaruki. I used to be scared of trees at night too when I was younger," Okimi says rubbing her eyes as she lies back down near the embers, "you just have to remember that the shapes are…..just….imagination…"

"I WASN'T-" I huff realizing that she had already fallen back to sleep before the last part of her sentences could make it out.

I run my hand over my face trying to hold in my groan. Suddenly, Bankotsu yaks me up on my feet while propping Banryu back against the tree. He then spins so that his back is against the tree and drops down pulling me down with him and into his chest.

My face settles into the crook of his neck as the rest of me seems to fall perfectly in place against him. His arms lock around me and he nuzzles against the side of my head burying hid face into my hair.

"There…." He mutters gently into my ear as his body begins to relax, "no more…..scary…trees…"

I let out an irritated growl, but don't bother move. What would have been the point?

"I fucking hate you all." I mutter softly before dozing off myself.

At first light, I pry myself out of Bankotsu's grasp and walk a ways in to the forest where I shot my arrow. A cold chill runs through me upon finding it and seeing that it had pinned a piece of torn white cloth to the lower half of a tree.