One year had passed since Bankotsu and Jakotsu left their village and started training. Jakotsu had brought the sword to which his brother and father met their end. He figured he better take a weapon with him for the training.
Bankotsu and Jakotsu had been scaling the forest for a couple of days, trying to find something to fight. Jakotsu's stomach suddenly started to grumble. "Ō-Aniki, I'm hungry," he complained. Bankotsu turned around to face Jakotsu, giving him a look.
"Jakotsu, you're talking to a person who usually went hungry for days! Suck it up and deal with it!" Bankotsu said.
Jakotsu gave a pout. "But, Ō-Aniki, in order to get stronger we need to eat something!" Jakotsu said.
Bankotsu put his hand up to his chin and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked around the forest, trying to find some food. He suddenly perked his head up.
"Ō-Aniki, what's wrong?" Jakotsu asked.
Bankotsu put his finger to his mouth, shushing Jakotsu. He ran to Jakotsu and grabbed the sword from his hands.
"Hey, that's Kioshi's sword," Jakotsu said. Bankotsu looked at Jakotsu.
"Jakotsu, do you know how to make a fire?" Bankotsu asked.
Jakotsu stared at his young friend. "Ō-Aniki, what the hell are you talking about?" Jakotsu said.
Bankotsu laughed. He ran to a bush, unsheathed the sword, and thrust it into the bush. The squealing of an animal was momentarily heard. Bankotsu took the sword out of the bush and put it back in its sheath.
"Are you hungry for some boar?" Bankotsu said, kicking a dead boar from the bush.
Jakotsu stared at the dead animal on the ground before laughing. "Ō-Aniki," he said.
Bankotsu smiled at Jakotsu. "Well," he said. "You said you were hungry."
After cooking the animal through, the two young boys sat down and enjoyed their meal of the night. Bankotsu had noticed Jakotsu's distant stare through out the night.
"Jakotsu, what's wrong?" he asked. Jakotsu's face stayed the same. "Are you upset that I just grabbed your brother's sword from your hands?"
Jakotsu slowly shook his head. Bankotsu smiled in a cocky manner. "Good, 'cause I really don't care!" he said, trying to lighten the mood. Jakotsu still made no facial response to Bankotsu.
Bankotsu slowly walked over to Jakotsu. "Hey, Jakotsu, are you alright?" he asked.
Jakotsu sighed. He shook his head. "No, not really, Ō-Aniki," he said. He placed his piece of meat down and stared at the sky, sighing. "Why did I remember her?"
Bankotsu looked at his friend, confused. "Why do you remember who?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
Jakotsu threw his head down, facing the ground. "When you took Kioshi's sword, I thought of my mother," he said. Jakotsu placed his left hand on his right arm, pulled up the sleeve of his yukata, and revealed a hideous wound. "The night we left, Haha-ue did this to me. She had Kioshi's sword in her hands and she pierced my arm and I thought of that moment when you killed that boar. Oh, I'm sorry, Ō-Aniki. I didn't mean to ruin the night," he said staring at the sky. He sighed and smiled. "It really is a beautiful night, don't you think, Ō-Aniki?"
Bankotsu looked away from Jakotsu. "Yeah, it is," he said in a soft tone. It was a rarity for Bankotsu to see Jakotsu so serious and depressed. He threw his meat to the ground and stood up. "Let's go," he said.
Jakotsu looked away from the stars and stared at Bankotsu. He smiled, nodded, and stood up from his seat on the tree log. The two of them still had much to accomplish in order to become strong; their training was not yet complete.
The next morning, Bankotsu and Jakotsu were still scaling the forest. Jakotsu bent over and sighed. "Ō-Aniki, I'm tired. Let's rest," he said, complaining.
Bankotsu shook his head. "Jakotsu, there's no time to complain. We need to continue with our training," he said. He stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
"Ō-Aniki, what's wrong," Jakotsu asked.
"We're missing something," Bankotsu said. He turned around and faced Jakotsu. "But what could we be missing?"
Jakotsu stood there, staring at Bankotsu. He just shrugged his shoulders. "I…really don't know, Ō-Aniki," he said. Suddenly, Jakotsu heard someone speaking to the two of them through the bushes.
"So, you're training, are you?" the voice asked them.
Jakotsu held up his brother's sword, ready to unsheathe it. "Who are you?" he asked.
The voice from the bushes laughed. Suddenly, a hand pulled the bushes aside, revealing an old man. "Oh, I'm just an old sword smith trying to get rid of my two greatest creations," the man said.
"So, what have you got?" Bankotsu asked from behind Jakotsu. He sounded interested.
Jakotsu turned around, staring at Bankotsu. "Ō-Aniki," he said, lowering his sword.
Bankotsu ran up to Jakotsu and the old man, placing his hand on Jakotsu's shoulder. "Jakotsu, I think this is it," he said to his friend.
Jakotsu just kept staring into Bankotsu's eyes. He knew his young friend was up to something, he just wasn't sure what.
Bankotsu faced the old man once more. "So, what have you got?" he said.
The old man chuckled. "You two kids seem too young for these weapons. I mean, you could fall off your feet holding this one," he said, pointing to the giant spear like creation.
Bankotsu's eyes widened. "Wow," he said, under his breath.
"Well, you said you had two weapons," Jakotsu said with a grunt. "What's the other thing?"
The old man turned around and bent over, picking up the other weapon. He turned around, presenting the crescent shaped sword to the two boys. "This, my young friend, is the sneakiest little sword I ever created," he said, a glimmer in his eyes.
Jakotsu stared down at the sword. "What's so special about it?" he said, holding no interest in his voice.
The old man stared at Jakotsu. "You don't see it, do you?" he said. "This sword is somewhat like a snake. It has many different layers, many different. You can attack an enemy from far away with just one flick of the wrist." He handed the sword to Jakotsu. "Unfortunately, I'm too old to test this out for you. Come on, give it a try."
Jakotsu stared at the sword. "Go on, Jakotsu, test it out," Bankotsu said, egging his friend on.
Jakotsu kept his stare on the sword. He dropped his brother's sword to the ground and slowly reached for the snake-like weapon. He grasped the hilt and removed the sword from the old man's hands. He raised it over his head. Just a flick of the wrist, he thought to himself. He softly laughed before flicking his wrist and once he did, he was awakened with a surprise. The sword's numerous blades had revealed themselves in one long train.
"What did I tell you? Just one flick of the wrist," the old man said.
Jakotsu faced the man, a surprised look spread across his face. "How…how does it come back?" he asked.
The man laughed. "Just flick your wrist backwards. It's just one simple concept for a very dangerous object," he said.
Jakotsu flicked his wrist backwards and the sword returned to its deceiving form. He found it so amusing.
"That's amazing!" Bankotsu said. "Can we have both of them?"
The old man laughed, but his happy mood quickly disappeared. He nabbed the snake like sword back from Jakotsu. "I may be old, but I'm not stupid," he said. "This isn't a charity, boys. I need money for these."
Jakotsu looked back at Bankotsu. "Ō-Aniki," he said with concern.
Bankotsu grunted. "Well, we don't have any money," he said. He bent over and picked up Kioshi's sword. "But we do have this." He handed the sword to the old man.
The old man took the sword from its sheath and examined it. He began to laugh. "You're going to bribe me with something as worthless as this?" he said, tossing the sword back to Bankotsu. "I'm sorry, but if you don't have anything else, I'll just keep these weapons to myself. You two kids have a good day now. Go run along and play," the man said, walking back within the bushes.
Bankotsu kicked the dirt and began walking away. Jakotsu quickly followed. "Ō-Aniki, I'm sorry," he said.
Bankotsu gave a hateful chuckle from under his breath. "What are you sorry about, Jakotsu," he said.
"Well, about the sword and the halberd," Jakotsu answered, "and that fact that we can't get them."
Bankotsu stopped walking and turned around to face Jakotsu. "Oh, we're getting them, Jakotsu," he said, a devilish look filling his face. "I don't care if we have money or not, but I'm getting that spear, even if I have to kill that old man myself."
The day soon turned into night. Bankotsu and Jakotsu camped out inside a circling of trees. The sparkling fire was starting to die down and Jakotsu's patience was wearing thin. "Ō-Aniki," he said, annoyed. "You've been thinking all day and you've been thinking all night. So, what are we you going to do to get those swords?"
Bankotsu perked his head up and stared at Jakotsu. "I haven't been thinking, Jakotsu. I've been waiting," he said.
Jakotsu's irked mood quickly turned into confusion. "Waiting?" he said.
Bankotsu nodded. He looked out into the forest from where they came, chuckling. "And I think it's time to get some weapons," he said, standing up. He looked down at Jakotsu and motioned him to stand. "Let's go," he said, walking out of the huddling of trees.
Jakotsu ran to catch up with Bankotsu. "Ō-Aniki, you weren't serious about killing that guy, were you?" Jakotsu asked, concerned.
Bankotsu turned around and grabbed Kioshi's sword from Jakotsu' hands. "Do you ever let go of this thing?" he asked.
Jakotsu nodded. "Yeah, sometimes," he said.
"Good, because I need it," he said, continuing his walk. It took a while for the two boys to reach the grouping of bushes where the old man with the weapons stayed. "I'm pretty sure this is the area. I can see signs of a campfire around here," Bankotsu said, pointing to the flickering orange light not so far in the distant.
Bankotsu lead Jakotsu through the bushes towards the old man's locale. And there he was asleep by a fire with his two weapons displayed behind him. Bankotsu looked at the man and grunted. "Well, I guess you've lived a long enough life, old man," he said, unsheathing Kioshi's sword.
He stood by the man's head and was facing Jakotsu. "Well, here goes nothing," he said, raising the sword above his head.
Jakotsu gasped, remembering his brother's final stance. "Kioshi," he said quietly. He could hold the memory no more; he started to cry. "Ō-ANIKI!" he yelled.
Bankotsu perked his head up to Jakotsu and the old man started to wake up. "Damn," Bankotsu said. He acted quickly and stabbed the old man in the chest. Blood sprayed from the puncture and splattered on Bankotsu and Jakotsu's faces.
The old man gave a final grunt and disappeared from the world of the living. Jakotsu saw his brother's sword protruding from the old man's chest. He then looked at Bankotsu and how the blood had splattered on his face.
"Jakotsu, what the hell is your problem?" Bankotsu yelled, walking towards Jakotsu.
"Ō-Aniki," Jakotsu said, pointing at Bankotsu's forehead. "You should see the star on your forehead!"
Bankotsu was taken aback. "What," he started to say.
Jakotsu searched the ground and saw a pail of water. "Go and see!" he said, pointing to the pail.
Bankotsu slowly walked over to the pail and stared at his reflection. "Well, what do you know," he said, seeing the four-pointed star the blood had formed on his forehead.
Jakotsu walked over and looked into the pail, noticing tear like artwork under his eyes.
"Hey, Jakotsu, we don't look half bad with these markings on our faces," Bankotsu said, putting his arm around Jakotsu.
Jakotsu smiled. "It can be our personal symbols or something like that," Jakotsu said. He then remembered the weapons. "Oh yeah, Ō-Aniki, what about the weapons," Jakotsu said, looking at the large, wide spear leaning against the tree.
Bankotsu looked back and ran to the spear and picked it up. "It's…it's kind of heavy, Jakotsu," he said, struggling.
Jakotsu leisurely walked over to Bankotsu and picked up the snake-like blade. "You just need to build up your strength, Ō-Aniki. You're still young," he said, examining his own sword.
Bankotsu sighed. "I guess you're right, Jakotsu. But hey, that's what training is for, right?" he said.
"Jakotsutou," Jakotsu said.
Bankotsu looked up at Jakotsu. "What did you just say?" he asked, confusion filling his voice.
"It's such a coincidence, don't you think? My name and the sword, they're kind of similar, so I'll call it Jakotsutou," Jakotsu said, smiling at Bankotsu.
Bankotsu returned the smile and nodded. "Well, let's get going. I need to train with this thing," Bankotsu said, slowly walking away with the spear in his hands.
Jakotsu looked down his brother's sword. He pulled it free from the corpse and placed it back in its sheath. "I guess it's time for a proper burial, Ō-Aniki," he said. He took the sword and buried it underneath the soil. He placed a rock distinctly over the burial place and began to pray. "Please find peace Ō-Aniki, Oto-san," he said. He stood up with his new sword, acknowledged the grave marker, and left to follow Bankotsu.
The grouping of men was prepared to go off to war. They were all dressed in their armor, their swords by their sides.
"I'm scared," said one of the younger men.
"I don't want to go to war," said another.
"It's for the good of our land," said an older man, full of confidence.
"Sometimes war can be tough. Maybe some training will help you guys," said an unfamiliar voice to the crowd.
A man who seemed to be head of the army walked around the grouping of men and spotted the strange voice. In the middle of the men, young man of about eighteen years stood, wearing a light purple yukata. He sported a hairpin in his hair and had odd face paint. But he was also armed with a hidden sword within a sheath, hanging from the man's back "Who are you," said the head samurai.
The young man threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, I was just walking by and happened to notice your little army. I thought I might challenge you guys, you know, just for some practice," said the man.
The samurai laughed. "Ha, you think you'll survive? There's only one of you and about a hundred of us," he said.
"I agree," said another unknown voice from above. "One against one hundred is a bit unfair, so I guess I'll help him!" The samurai looked above and spotted another young man, standing on the edge of a small cliff. He seemed younger than the other man, probably around fifteen. A huge, spear-like weapon was hurled over his shoulder; and over his white garb, he wore blue-patterned armor. His hair was tied back in a low braid and a four-pointed star was found on his forehead.
"Ō-Aniki," yelled the young man on the ground. The younger man jumped from the cliff and landed on his feet next to the man who seemed to be his friend.
"Would you look at this, Jakotsu; it's our first big fight," said the young man wielding the spear.
"I know, Bankotsu Ō-Aniki, it's very exciting," Jakotsu responded. Bankotsu and Jakotsu had spent the past three years training with their new weapons, and it was time to test their skill.
The head samurai laughed once more. "You think you're going to do any better with that kid on your side?" said the samurai.
Bankotsu and Jakotsu laughed. "You have no idea," they said, simultaneously, ready to fight.
The head samurai gasped and ordered his men to prepare their weapons. Bankotsu and Jakotsu bent their knees and propelled into the air. An aerial attack seemed new and exciting. Jakotsu prepared to flick his wrist, revealing his swords deadly secret, and Bankotsu was ready to show the unknown force of his spear. In seconds, the entire army had fallen to their deaths.
Bankotsu laughed, landing on the ground. "Well, what do you know? I've gotten pretty damn good at using Banryuu," he said, admiring his weapon.
Jakotsu walked over to Bankotsu and placed his hand on Bankotsu's shoulder. "You really have, Ō-Aniki," he said with a smile. He then looked up at the sky. "It's getting late, Ō-Aniki. I think there's a hot spring nearby. You want to go check it out?"
"Sure," Bankotsu responded, sliding his Banryuu into its protective purple slip. The two of them left into the distance towards the hot spring.
The water was nice and warm, just like Jakotsu had promised. "Ah, after a long journey of training, a nice relaxing, stress-free bath was exactly what I needed," Bankotsu said, resting his arms up on the surrounding rocks.
"Yeah," Jakotsu said, staring at Bankotsu.
Bankotsu looked back at him, noticing Jakotsu's distant stare. "Jakotsu, are you okay?" he said, leaning in towards Jakotsu.
Jakotsu nodded and closed his eyes. "I'm just tired, I guess," he said, leaning back onto the rocks.
"Yeah, I think I know what you mean," he said, nodding. Bankotsu started to yawned and his eyelids grew heavy. He started to drift off until he heard movements in the water. He stayed awake, but he found it hard to open his eyes. He then felt someone breathing against his neck and something touch his cheek. "Jakotsu?" he said, wondering if someone else might be in the spring with them.
"Yes, I'm right here, Ō-Aniki," Jakotsu said near Bankotsu's ear.
Bankotsu gasped and quickly opened his eyes. He saw Jakotsu on top of him. "Jakotsu," he said, startled. "What are you…?"
"Quiet, Ō-Aniki," Jakotsu said, putting one of his hands underwater. "I'm sure you'll enjoy this." Jakotsu had a disturbing tone in his voice, but it invited Bankotsu into the moment.
Bankotsu closed his eyes and nodded, Jakotsu's hand stroking his body under the water. Bankotsu felt Jakotsu's hand traverse downwards from his chest to between his thighs. He bit his lip to keep from screaming.
Suddenly, Jakotsu stopped. "Ō-Aniki," he said, concern filling his voice.
Bankotsu flashed open his eyes. He stared at Jakotsu and fell into his chest. "Don't," he started to say softly.
Jakotsu sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry, Ō-Aniki," he started to say, but was suddenly interrupted by Bankotsu.
"No! Don't…don't stop," he said, wrapping his arms around Jakotsu.
Jakotsu laughed lightly and grabbed Bankotsu by the shoulders, lifting up Bankotsu's head. He stared at Bankotsu as if he were going to scold him.
"Jakotsu," Bankotsu said, scared. Suddenly, Jakotsu slammed his mouth onto Bankotsu's, kissing him hard. Bankotsu felt his body being thrust up over the rocks and tossed onto the grass by the spring. Jakotsu was on top of him again, embracing Bankotsu as if the world were to end.
"Ō-Aniki," Jakotsu yelled, releasing his mouth from Bankotsu's. He stared at Bankotsu seductively. "You don't realize how I've longed for this."
Bankotsu looked into Jakotsu's lustful eyes. Jakotsu slowly lowered his head down below to Bankotsu's neck and started to kiss and nibble the soft skin he found. He then returned to lightly caressing Bankotsu's young body with his hands. His light touch quickly became passionate and fast.
Bankotsu didn't know how to soak in all the new sensations that permeated his body. What was happening scared him, so he kept his eyes tightly closed. He figured that he was still some what young and inexperienced, but even through his fear he allowed Jakotsu take over his body and soul. It's only for the night, Bankotsu kept repeating to himself, the mantra flowing through his head.
Due to his fear, his lip started to bleed; he had been biting it for so long to keep from yelling with excitement. Suddenly, his teeth slipped off of his lip. "Jakotsu!" he screamed.
Then, all of the sudden, it stopped again. Bankotsu slowly opened his eyes and saw Jakotsu down between his legs. Bankotsu gasped and backed away quickly.
"Ō-Aniki," Jakotsu said.
"I'm…sorry," Bankotsu said, scurrying off the ground. He ran away and grabbed his clothes, trying to put them on while running. Unfortunately, he ended up tripping and fell on the ground face first. He looked behind him, watching Jakotsu slowly approach him.
"Ō-Aniki," Jakotsu said, a look of concern lingering on his face. "Don't be sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so forward with you."
Bankotsu flipped his body over and faced Jakotsu, shaking his head. "No, don't be Jakotsu," he said.
Jakotsu smiled softly and rested his head on Bankotsu's chest. "You're warm, Ō-Aniki," he said, and then fell asleep.
Bankotsu looked at Jakotsu and sighed. He couldn't blame Jakotsu; that's how he was. He closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.
When Bankotsu woke up, rain was falling on his face. He shook the water off his head and held it up, staring at Jakotsu. He was still laying on him; and they were both naked. Bankotsu gasped and scurried away from under Jakotsu.
Jakotsu's head fell to the ground with a thump. He awoke rubbing his head. He looked towards Bankotsu, who was putting on his pants frantically. "Ō-Aniki, are you alright?" he asked.
Bankotsu suddenly stopped and stared at Jakotsu for a moment and quickly nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said, putting on the rest of his clothing. "Let's get going. We have to go prove our strength to more people."
Jakotsu stared at his ever anxious friend and nodded his head, smiling. "You bet Ō-Aniki."