It's been an entire month since Bankotsu has seen Riza. He thought the separation would help his concentration but in the entire month, all he could think about was her.
The feelings he felt and the strain of not seeing her had nearly consumed him. He thought that if he had no contact with her he would be able to forget her and move on yet he couldn't. He had gone out with Orihime a few times, even taking her virginity yet all he could think about was Riza.
Riza laid in bed staring at the stone wall. She felt empty, alone, as if her heart was taken out of her body. Her bright blue eyes had lost their shine. Katsu turned and pulled her body into his. He rolled himself over her and pushed her legs apart with his knee, entering her swiftly.
Riza closed her eyes. As Katsu pounded into her, all she could imagine was Bankotsu. The way he touched her, the way he made love to her. She felt so desperate to see him, to touch him, to laugh with him yet her she was. A prisoner to Katsu. His personal play thing.
"You like this, Riza? God, you feel so good! The best pussy I've had." He growled, sucking on her breasts.
"Mhm." She was so lost in her mind for a second she thought she was back in that dark dojo, Bankotsu between her legs. She would do anything just to see him, even if it's for a second.
She hated herself at this moment. Hated that her body was becoming aroused with Katsu. Hated that her womanhood clenched around him, her body needing release.
"Ba...Katsu." She moaned. She quickly corrected herself before Katsu heard.
"Katsu-sama, I do apologize for the intrusion." Ichigo's voice stopped Katsu's movements.
"What?" He growled over his shoulder pulling himself out of her.
"Your presence is being requested by Lord Watari."
Katsu rolled off of Riza and sat up.
"Lord Watari? When?"
"As soon as possible. His messenger did not give anymore details."
With that, Ichigo bowed, sent a glare to Riza and left closing the door behind him.
Riza stood and walked across the room to grab her kimono.
"Where are you off too?" Katsu asked.
"My room. You have someplace to go, no?" She responded slipping her kimono on and tightening the sash around her waist.
"You're going with me. You think I'm going to leave my lady here alone in a cave full of violent men?" He laughed.
"Yes, actually. I do enjoy rallying up the men and slicing them to bits when they pounce."
"That's why you're going with me. I'm guessing it's your "monthly" cycle but you've been increasingly violent these past few weeks. We had a total of 30 strong men and now we have 20."
"What ever could you mean? We have always had 20 strong men. I just got rid of the weak blood."
His arms wrapped around her waist, embracing her from behind.
"That's right." He tilted her head back and gave her a deep kiss, enjoying the taste of her delicious mouth.
"So who is this guy?" Bankotsu asked leaning against a tree.
"Lord Watari. He's a very wealthy and powerful lord." Renkotsu answered.
"I heard he has it in real good with the emperor. The shogun is supposedly his cousin." Jakotsu adds.
The castle was in their view. This lord must had been a paranoid man. The castle was nestle deep in the forest on the side of a mountain. A hidden fortress.
"Bankotsu! Is that you?!" A man called from behind the group.
Master Yamada, the old and shriveled man makes his way to him. Two strong warriors accompanying the man.
"Hey, old man." Bankotsu greets with a smile.
"You headed up here too?" He asked, tapping his cane.
"Too? I guess so. We were called for a job." He answered.
"As are we, my lad. Would you mind letting an old man and his warriors join you on this stroll?" He asked.
"If you fall down these steps and break your hip I won't help." He answered with a chuckle.
The man laughed.
"The only thing I'll be breaking is your neck if you push me down these stairs." He answered with a laugh.
Riza let her blades down gently on her futon. She had just finished polishing her weapon and was waiting for Katsu to collect her to see the lord of the castle. Once they had arrived she noticed a few other mercenary groups, all anxiously waiting for the lord.
The job Katsu had accepted was a high pay and high risk. The details had yet to be shared but she felt like the job was hyped up. Especially with all the murderers and killers that this job attracted.
"Riza. Let's go." Katsu leaned against the door.
Riza stood and stretched. She attached her dual blades to her waist. Katsu loved the way she looked in her combat gear. He watched as her bottom swayed with each step.
She could hear multiple voices speaking over each other from the other side of the throne room. He opened the doors and stepped in. Many of the other mercenaries hushed as soon as Katsu stepped in the door. He had quite the reputation. He was powerful, wealthy, handsome and a ruthless and skilled killer. He was a force to be reckoned with. But so was Bankotsu.
Riza didn't like to compare the two men but she did it so often in her head it had become a natural reaction.
Katsu sat closest to the lord's throne. He motioned for Riza to sit in his lap.
"I'd prefer to stand, thank you." She said, her eyes scanning the room.
Bankotsu sat and flirted with a few of the servant women who were passing around sake and food.
He kissed the neck of one of the girls. He smirked as he felt her shiver.
The smirk quickly disappeared as two men moved away and revealed Riza.
He spotted her before she did. Her attention kept getting caught by the red headed man he had seen her leave with. His heart slammed against his chest so hard he felt it would burst. His breath faltered and his hands started to get clammy.
The man she was with kept aggressively grabbing her and pulling her to him.
He pulled her to his lap and whispered something in her ear. She immediately stopped fighting and crossed her leg over the other when he tried to grip her inner thigh.
Bankotsu felt that the man would not allow her to speak with him or any other man. His hold on her was possessive and made him angry. Very angry.
Bankotsu normally had women throw themselves at him, like the servants surrounding him, yet Riza seemed to slip right through his fingers.
She said something to the man, kissed his temple and walked away.
Bankotsu took this opportunity to follow her.
"Son of a bitch! Oh! God! I hate him! I hate him!!" She yelled throwing rocks into the water. She told him she needed to slip away to search for a way out if things went south.
She hoped and wished for chaos to erupt in that room and when she return everyone will be dead.
"You sure look cute throwing a tantrum." A voice spoke softly.
She turned sharply with a kunai knife ready to throw.
She lowered the weapon when she realized the man was Bankotsu.
"You're here." She stated.
"Aye. I am." He walked up to her, cupped her cheek and using his thumb pushed her head up.
He leaned down to kiss her but she turned her head. He placed a lingering kiss on her cheek and down her jaw.
"We can't." She said quietly. She couldn't think straight. This man had such a strong hold on her. The second he touched her, she leaned into it, letting it take her away.
She slid her hands up his forearms and laced her fingers together behind his neck.
"You're going to get me in trouble." She whispered kissing his chin.
"Good." He claimed her lips. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her tight against his body.
She pushed him back, her cheeks red and her eyes dark with lust.
"I can't." She said turning away from him.
He pulled her to him and rested his head on her shoulder, watching the sun dip down into the endless trees.
"Why? A little pleasure never hurt anyone." He said pushing her hair away and kissing under her ear.
She smiled softly. She tilted her head to give him more exposure.
Katsu watched the servant girl pour his drink. She was beautiful with a great body but she was nothing compared to his treasure: Riza.
He glanced at the doorway, waiting for her return. He scanned the room and his eyes landed on Mukotsu.
His eyes went wide, he spotted six of the band of seven members. Where was the kid? Where was Riza?
He stood suddenly and headed out to find Riza.
Katsu knew about their secret relationship. He had picked the lock to the jail cells and found Riza sucking him off, when he came to find Riza when she was in town he found her with hickeys down her chest.
He was no fool. He saw how she looked at him when he fought the demon spider. And he definitely saw how he looked at her.
Riza moaned softly. His hands were all over her, one hand clutching her breast while other hand was tucked underneath where her bodysuit covered her femininity.
"This isn't how friends greet each other." She moaned gripping his arms tightly.
"We can make an exception, don't you think?" He plunged two fingers deep within her body.
"You're a bad man, Bankotsu. A bad, bad man." She reached behind her and gripped his hair, her hips bucking and riding his fingers.
"Riza!" Katsu called out.
"Where the fuck are you?!"
Riza gasped and pushed him off and quickly started to fix herself and readjust her bodysuit as it was in the way of Bankotsu's wandering hands.
"What the fuck? I was about to get some delicious cream." He pulled her back to him and nuzzled her neck.
Riza giggled as she tried to break free from him.
"Stop!" She laughed.
He hugged her from behind and lifted her up off her feet. She squealed and laughed. How could she be anything but playful with him? She wanted to be cold to him so Katsu wouldn't cause a problem yet she couldn't resist it. She couldn't resist him.
"Riza!" Katsu barked, sounding much closer.
Bankotsu put her down and stared at Katsu. His body tensed up and his eyes dark and dangerous.
He kept his arm wrapped around her waist.
"K-Katsu. Um H-Have you met Bankotsu? He's the lea-.."
"I know who the fuck this kid is." He spat.
"You know who I am, but I don't know who you are. How bout you enlighten me on who the fuck you are?" Bankotsu spat back.
"Get your hands off my woman." He growled. His fists tight.
Bankotsu smirked and pulled Riza to his side, his hand resting on her hip.
"What? This woman?"
Katsu took a step.
So did Bankotsu.
Riza inserted herself between the two alpha males. Katsu's temper rose as she placed both of her hands on Bankotsu's chest, pushing him back on step.
If they decided to fight, there would be no way she could stop them. She was just as skilled in battle as they were but her physical strength was nothing compared to theirs.
Bankotsu kept his eyes on Katsu. His cobalt blue eyes burning with hatred.
He looked down at Riza and all the anger he felt was subsided for a moment as his darken blue eyes drowned in her ocean blue ones.
"Guess it would be a bad time to pick a fight, huh Riz?" He clutched her hand on his chest.
"I'll find you later." He whispered.
"Please do." She whispered back before turning to face Katsu
She cleared her throat. "It would be bad time to start a fight. You must return to your men. Try not to pick a fight with another leader." Riza says over her shoulder.
As she walked past Katsu, she held his hand and pulled him to follow her.
Katsu kept his heated glare on Bankotsu until they turned a corner.
Immediately Katsu grabbed Riza's arm and roughly pulled her into an empty room throwing her against the wall.
"Don't you ever pull that shit again!" He grabbed her chin hard, forcing her to keep her eyes locked with his.
"What ever could you mean?" She said, trying to push him back.
He grabbed her arm and slammed her against the wall. A cry of pain escaped her lungs.
"I know you have something with that mercenary. You are trying to play me for a fool!" He growled in her face, his hold on her arm and jaw painfully hard.
"I'm not doing anything with anyone but you!" She brought her knee up into his groin.
He groaned painfully and backhanded Riza so hard she fell to the floor. Blood dropped onto the floor from her mouth and nose.
Tears misted her eyes and her anger began to boil.
He squated down in front of her and tilted her head up.
Her beautiful face was beginning to bruise where he had struck her. Her blue eyes bright with rage.
"Now this will hurt me almost as much as it will hurt you." He grabbed a fistful of her hair, dragging her to the center of the room and straddled her. His thighs locked her down under him.
He grabbed her bodysuit pulling her upper body up and punching her across her face. He punched her a few more times before standing up. His knuckles dripping with her blood.
"Now, understand this my dear. If I catch you with any of the band of Seven members, more specifically that fucking brat of a leader, I.." he leaned down close to her, "will kill you. And I'll kill Mamo and that precious necklace of your along with your blades will be thrown into a fire to be made into my new weapon. Am I clear?"
Riza gasped, her breath ragged and pain shot through her viciously.
"Crystal." She breathed out.
"Good. Now you look a mess so I suggest you go back to you room, maybe get some ice on your face? I guess I should regret hitting you in the face but at least you still have a nice and sexy body." He chuckled before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Bankotsu watched Katsu's every move. Just as Katsu did his. During the meeting neither said a word, just continued to stare each other down.
The lord of the castle had caused quite a few problems with multiple different lords for using murderers and criminals for his army.
"Bankotsu of the Band of Seven. You along with Katsu of The dark blood clan will take on the armies from the north. That's where the heaviest of soldiers will be coming from. Both of you are the strongest of the groups gathered here today, so you both will fight off the more difficult of Warriors." The lord addressed.
'Where is she?' Bankotsu thought to himself as he noticed Riza was no longer with Katsu.
After the meeting his six brothers invited him to drink.
"Nah, not this time. I have a bottle or two in my room. I want to be left alone." He said walking away.
He turned the corner to see Katsu shoving two half naked girls into his room with a lecherous smirk.
Bankotsu took the chance to search for Riza. He sneaked up to the room, cracked the door to see if she was with the Katsu. He eyes the women in the room and both were brunettes so he dismissed it and continued searching.
"Hold still, Riza." Mamo said as he pressed the damp rag to a nasty cut on Riza's cheek.
Mamo felt such deep rage. Katsu was not above hitting women but Riza was different. She had suffered too much to have a nasty man like Katsu strike her the way he did. He hit her as if she was a full grown man.
"Don't be angry, Mamo." She said quietly.
"How? How could I not? Look at you, Riza! Look at your face! He strucked you and than left you to fend for yourself! What if he had caved your skull in?!"
"I had it under control."
"Under control? Is him beating you half to death your version of under control?!"
"That's enough. He got me when my guard was down, is all. It won't happen again." Her voice hard and low.
"Would the mercenary do this to you?" He asked, pressing the damp cold cloth against her bruised cheek.
She stayed quiet for a moment.
"He would kill me if provoked." She responded.
"But he would kill you swiftly. Not let you suffer."
"I thought you didn't like him." She smiled.
"I don't. But I like him more than Katsu. At least he doesn't abuse his subordinates."
"Bankotsu can't know about this. Use your magic if you can. Whatever you don't fix, I can cover with my mask."
"Can't know about what?" Bankotsu spoke startling the pair.
Mamo jumped and screamed as Riza jumped and gasped.
Bankotsu starts to chuckle but stops immediately.
Riza faced away from him, letting her long hair cover her face.
"Riza, turn around."
"Or what?"
Bankotsu walked to her and grabbed her arm pulling her up. He turned her to face him and tilted her head up to get a good look at the damage Katsu caused.
Riza full expected him to either flip out and start killing people or tell her not to do what she did again and brush it off but he didn't. He pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her waist in a tight embrace.
He pressed his lips to her ear, "I'll fucking kill him if it's the last fucking thing I do." He growled deeply.
She could hear the venom, the pure hatred coming from his voice. Riza closed her eyes and embraced him back.
She was playing a dangerous game. She was being forced to be betrothed to Katsu yet she could feel herself falling deeper and deeper with Bankotsu. She knew that what she was feeling, he was feeling too. She couldn't understand how she knew but she did. He cared for her. She wanted to stay where she was. In the protection of his arms where nothing could touch her.
He leaned back and cupped her face gently with both of his hands.
Mamo watched him. Completely suprised at the calm and relaxed Bankotsu. He looked at her with gentle eyes, something that must have been new to the mercenary.
"I should probably let the brat finish cleaning you off. I have a bottle or two in my room which is actually down the hall so.." he trailed off.
"A bottle each would be a good way to ease the tension of today." She laughed.
"So you were a rich girl! I knew it!" Bankotsu laughed as he drank from his bottle. Riza sat next to him against the wall, her legs laid over his.
"The people who took me in were rich. I was never rich." She laughed.
"So how did you get good at killing people?" He asked.
"I had an adoptive brother that loved to hunt. He would take me out into the wilderness, late at night and leave me with a knife to fend for myself. He would say that I had three options if I were to go hunting with him. Option one: find prey bigger than me and kill them. Option two: learn how to adapt in scary and intense situations or option three: die alone and half eaten in the forest. He thought I would just adapt and stay close but he was wrong."
She took a deep gulp.
"I loved the challenge. I would search and lure animals that could easily overpower and kill me. I'd find them and I'd kill them."
He pushed her dress up to feel the skin of her thigh. Riza has changed into her chemise, something easy to move in and not sticky with blood.
"So was your name always Bankotsu? I heard that when some people reach a certain age they change their names."
"A lot do, yeah. But I've always been Bankotsu. What about you? Riza is an interesting name for a forgeiner to have."
She smiled softly.
"My name? You know my name."
"C'mon "Riza". Tell me what your real name is. I feel there is more to you than you're leading on." He smirked.
"You really want to know?"
"I do."
"I haven't told anyone my name since I was back in my country." She smiled.
"Gotta start somewhere." He finished his bottle and threw it against the wall, shattering all over the place.
Riza took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"Seriza. Seriza Antoinetta Marie Le Blanc."
"Woah. Now that's a name." He laughed.
"Don't make fun of me! And don't say anything! Not even Mamoru knows my full name. He knows my name is Seriza, nothing more. Got it?" She hit his arm playfully.
"Seriza. I like that. It's pretty. I think I'll start to calling you that."
Riza blushed deep red.
"T-thank you. You can call me Seriza. Only you though.." she mumbled with a shy smile.
"You're something else, you know that?"
She looked up at him through her long lashes. He stared at her with a serious expression.
He couldn't figure out what was happening to him. He felt connected to her in a way he had never felt before. Like he was half a person and she was the other half. He had never met a woman like her, she was strong and confident yet so feminine and delicate. He wanted her. He wanted to be more than friends with her. He wanted more. He wanted her.