Chapter 3

Cobalt eyes watched the grand sun fall behind the mountains. The thought of mountains he had a sense of irony and guilt flitted across his mind. But almost as if it was second nature, his mind wandered to the cause of these feelings and they landed on a certain half demon. One he felt a certain loyalty to for bringing him back from the grasp of death. The sick twisted bastered that he owed everything to. It sickened him to no end.

"Naraku," he spit into the grass he was standing on. The demon that enjoyed and lived on the misery of others disgusted him but had complete and total control over him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Bankotsu turned away from the random mountain he was observing, and started walking East to his next destination. The destination was of course hand picked by Naraku, which would most likely spell death and destruction at Bankotsu's hand with the use of his famous companion.

He let out a sigh. He did enjoy killing, almost to the point of an obsession. But killing people when it was for the enjoyment of others wasn't the same. Bankotsu wasn't accustoming to being on a short leash, well it was short for his standards.

Bankotsu continued to let his mind wander as be causally lifted the extremely large banryuu that he had named his Companion. The name Companion was also ironic to him, considering the steel weapon was all he had left. After the deaths of his brothers, the Band of Seven at Mt. Hakurei, he was alone. Of course he never counted Naraku as anything but the slimy creature that he was.

As he mused on his rather lonely thoughts, he tried to remember what exactly had happened at Mt. Hakurei, but the memories began to grow blurry and then appeared as if they were not there. At the result of his failing memory, Bankotsu gritted his teeth.

He knew something had happened there that Naraku wasn't telling him. He remembered wakening up in the rubble of the grand Mt. Hakurei, to the oily voice he had come to know so well.

"Wake up Bankotsu, the last of the Band of Seven," Naraku's bodiless voice had said in that voice the sent shivers down his spine. But soon Bankotsu registered Naraku's words. 'The last?!'

Bankotsu woke and sat up violently looking for any sign of his brother's. No one was there. He was completely alone, and for the first time…terrified. The terror soon turned to rage, and the only one he could blame was Naraku.

"You did this! You slimy, sick, cruel," Bankotsu stopped at the sound of a throaty chuckle. "What's so funny?" Bankotsu demanded.

"I appreciate the compliments, Bankotsu. But atlas it would be vain of me to accept the glory of bringing down the powerful band of seven, when I did not," Naraku informed with a slight hint of regret in his voice. Weather the regret had to do to with the missed opportunity or that the Band of Seven has fallen, Bankotsu did not know.

"If you didn't…then who did?" Bankotsu asked wearily. He was answered by another chuckle. Oh how he hated that laugh.

"Eager to extract revenge, are we? That information will all come in due time, dear Bankotsu. As long as you do everything I say, you will get your revenge, as will I," the half demon said amused. Bankotsu didn't like the way things were going, but he found it impossible to refuse, and so he agreed.

Bankotsu sighed again and opened his eyes after that memory had faded. What he now realized was that Naraku was no longer controlling him with the ShikonJewel Shard

Oh no. He realized this when he tried to remove it, so he could join his brothers, when the shard was no longer there. When Bankotsu tried, Naraku's bodiless voice spoke to him again.

"I have removed the Jewel from the equation. It was a vulnerability we could not afford," after the initial explanation Bankotsu began to grow suspicious. But his questions were soon answered. "The ones you wish to take your revenge on will be able to track you through the Shikon Jewel also gives them a simpler target for them to dispose of you. And remember if you kill yourself, I can always bring you back. Chose wisely my minion."

Bankotsu silently cursed Naraku but stopped gritting his teeth. Anger flared as the realization of the fear of Naraku's spies overhearing his rant. Since when had Bankotsu, the Leader of the Band of Seven been afraid of anyone?! But as soon as he anger came, it cooled. One day he will get Naraku, but that day will eventually come, just not tonight. Tonight he was heading to a village where his enemies were most likely to be residing. If they weren't there, he was to kill a single elder priestess and wait in the forest that one of his targets was named after, Inuyasha's forest.

As he continued walking through the forest, he thought about somewhere to spend the rest on the night. He started thinking about his targets. All he knew was that there were three that posed a threat if he fought them, but the young priestess with them did not. His orders were not specific, just to take something that was of importance to the group. Also Naraku had ordered him not to kill any of them. Bankotsu shouldn't be very surprised; he knew Naraku enjoyed torturing his victims, so this was the very first step of his plan.

Bankotsu didn't particular mind as long as he get's to kill the bastared that killed his brothers in the end. As he was thinking that thought, he walked through some bushes and ended up in a clearing.

"Hmm, must be getting close," Bankotsu said to himself as he began walking across the clearing. Not far into the field, Bankotsu saw a well and began to walk over to it. Once he arrived by the well, Bankotsu peered inside the old well. Dry, completely dry, with bones at the bottom. "Odd," was all Bankotsu said.

Before Bankotsu could dismiss the well something caught his eye. A sparkle of something wet was on the grass, not twenty feet from where he was standing. He walked over and plucked a single blade of grass. There was fresh blood on one side of the blade, almost like the blade of his Companion at the end of a battle. Bankotsu smiled to himself.

"Found you."