Thanks to Easter break, I've been able to get this done faster :)
(I know that it was last week, but it still helped!)
Foxrain7: Alright, here we go again. *ahem*
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, I only own the OCs...
FoxRain7: Sigh. How many times do I have to do this? -.-
~Stars Of The Moon~
Chapter 9
That morning...
Hikari sighed as she watched the birds fly away. They looked so free and so happy... She wished that she was like that right now.
But she couldn't.
Not with these men surounding her, at least.
Ever since she was forced into the Band of Seven last night, she always felt someone staring at her- whether she was awake or asleep didn't matter. Eyes were always on her, analysing her every move. And every time, she would shiver. Oh, how she wished that she was back with her friends.
Now that she thought about it, she didn't know the exact reason why Bankotsu took her. It was obvious that he wanted her to heal his brothers whenever they were hurt, but other than that, she couldn't think of anything else. That couldn't be the only reason, could it? It can't be reason enough.
They're stronger, so why did he need her help? Okay, so they aren't demons, but they were strong. So why else would Bankotsu take her?
"He's so complicated sometimes!" she yelled to herself. "Honestly, I can't understand that guy! How many times did he try to act so mysterious? How many times did he try to trick me? And how many times did that work?"
When she first woke up, nobody else was awake. Well, everyone was asleep, except Jakotsu, who was keeping guard. She decided that it would be best for her to go back to sleep, or at least act like it, since she knew that the atmosphere would heat up if she was alone with Jakotsu.
She couldn't find any sleep, and she didn't know how long it was before the others finally woke up. As soon as they woke up, most of them just went out for a walk or to hunt for breakfeast. But since she was sleeping on Ginkotsu, the metal tank was the only one who couldn't move.
She could hear Jakotsu saying, "What should we do? We can't just start moving randomly towards a direction. Even with the girl, we still can't find Naraku that easily."
"Keep your voice down," Bankotsu hushed. "I know that. But we might as well start by heading towards the West. We'll see if we can find anything."
Hikari decided to drop the act. First, she groaned a little, and started rolling on her sides. It was quite uncomfortable. After all, she wasn't sleeping on the soft grass anymore. She was on a giant pile of junk. And rolling on it felt like falling on sharp rocks.
Next, she started rubbing her eyes. She was going to have to be 'prepared' to see the sun shining on her face. She might as well go blind if she didn't. She opened her eyes lightly and blinked a few times.
When she got used to the sunlight, she sat up and streatched her arms, and yawned.
And that's when she realized that everyone was staring at her.
Hikari froze. "Umm... hello?"
Then, the men all looked away and went back to work.
"Oh, boy," she thought as she watched the clouds move in the sky. "Just how many times am I going to wake up that way?"
"Hey."
Hikari looked up to see Suikotsu with her food. With the same emotionless tone, he said as he threw her the meat, "It's yours."
She looked down at her slice of meat and grimaced. "Ugh. Just how do they survive with this? This isn't even cooked well and there are still traces of fur ont this thing! They really need to learn how to make a decent meal."
"Eat."
She glared at him. "What makes you say that I will?"
"It's either that or starve to death."
Hikari didn't mind that at all. She can just go out for a while and find her own food. But she doubted that she'd ever have the chance to do that.
She growled, mumbled 'fine' and forced herself to take a bite out of it. Her eyes widened and she told herself to get rid of the emotion written on her face. She gulped it down and hesitated before taking another bite.
Satisfied, Suikotsu took his leave, and as soon as he disappeared from the sight, Hikari spat out the food. She made sure that she didn't spit it out on Ginkotsu. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and looked up. She sneered under her breath, "As if I'd eat anything this horrible."
The men weren't too far from Hikari or Ginkotsu. It wouldn't be long before they leave. Right now, they were discussing plans. As Suikotsu walked up to them, he grumbled, "She's so annoying. Just being near her gives me the creeps."
"That what you said about the priestess too," said Renkotsu.
Suikotsu dropped the subject and asked, "How long will we walk to the West?"
Bankotsu asnwered, "How about... a day? Or at least half a day. I don't want to move slow, nor do I want to move too fast. So I think that's a good time."
"But what if we come across a village?" Mukotsu asked.
His leader didn't say anything. He glanced at Hikari from the corner of his eye, and thought, "That's true... Usually, I'd say that we attack, but... If Hikari's with us... It might be a little bit more than she can handle."
Everyone saw his gaze shift to the girl, and the second in command decided to push him further. "Well?"
Bankotsu made a quick decision, and the words spilled right out of his mouth. "We do what we should do. We destroy it."
His brothers smirked. But not him. He was too busy looking over at Hikari to notice anything. "I know that I didn't make a good choice for her... but she'll just have to deal with it. I just hope that everything will be okay."
He stood up and announced, "Alright, let's move out!"
A few minutes later, everyone was on their feet and walking. Well, actually, they were all riding on Ginkotsu. "What, are they too lazy to even walk by themselves?" Hikari thought in disgust.
She heard the Shichinintai's conversation from before. So far, she couldn't sense any villages nearby, and she was grateful for that. As long as there wasn't any village, no one would be harmed. If she ever sensed the slightest trace of a village up ahead, she would have to do something.
Ideas popped into her brain like hungry demons feasting on a human. "Maybe I call yell out that I need to take a break, and when I come back, I'll say that the area isn't safe, and that we should change course... Nah, they won't listen to me anyways... Wait. That might actually work. After all, they need me to search for Naraku, right?"
As soon as she thought of that, she felt anger rising up. How dare they use her for the same reason she helped Inuyasha! And why did they want to search for Naraku in the first place? Shouldn't they just go on with their lives?
She put that idea aside and went back to her planing. "Alright, so maybe 'a break' won't work, but what if I say that I sense something bad coming ahead and that we should avoid it? They want to live, right? But... Wouldn't they want to see what it is first? They're always looking for a battle, too...
"Okay, on to the next one... How about I say that I need to take a break, but instead of saying that it'll be too dangerous here, why don't I just run really quick to the village and warn them about everything? They can evacuate and when I get back... Wait, I probably won't even have time to do all that! There are children and elders who will need to be escorted, and they'll only slow the others down... And there's no way that the Band of Seven will want to stop because of a mere woman..."
Okay, so this was more complicated than she had thought. She knew that most of her plans won't work. So the only thing she could do was pray that they don't come across a village for the whole day...
"So? Can you feel anything?"
Hikari jumped. Bankotsu was staring at her. She knew it because she could feel his gaze on her. She decided that it would be best not to answer and to pretend that she didn't hear him.
"Well...?"
She inwardly groaned. Great. He knew that she heard him. She sighed and searched for anything that might be in their way. Nothing. Only a few weak demons and humans who will soon leave the area they're in.
"Weak demons," she mumbled. "That's it. Nothing else." She refrained herself from adding 'Don't ask me again'.
Bankotsu raised a brow and shrugged. Alright, so she's still holding the grudge. She'll get over it somehow... right?
For the next hour, Bankotsu kept on asking Hikari if she felt something every five minutes.
"Anything?"
"How about now?"
"Is there something interresting up ahead?"
"Hey! Are you listening to me? I asked you a question!"
She was just about at her limit. And so were the Band of Seven. He was just about to ask again. "So..."
Hikari jumped to her feet, faced him, and pointed an accusing finger at his chest. Everytime she said yelled a word out, she poked him. "NO! I can't feel anything right now! In case you haven't noticed, we haven't moved that much from when we were a kilometer away! So why don't you just ask me when we're five kilometers away, just to see what difference it makes! Until then, you can keep quiet! I can't stand having to answer the same question over and over again!"
Hikari huffed and breathed some air into her lungs as the men stared at her in shock. Ginkotsu stopped moving. Hikari could have sworn that she spotted them all take a step back. Bankotsu, who was used to these kind of tantrums coming from her, was the one who recovered the fastest. "Uhh... A-alright, then...?"
And, here we go again.
"'Alright then'? Is that all you have to say? I've been taken away from my friends, captured by mercenaries, and eaten food that looks like crap, and all you can actually think of is that? At least give me a break and let me off this thing!"
Bankotsu grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his chest. He yelled back, "What else do you expect me to say from a girl who just yelled at me? It's not like I see that everyday!"
Hikari shook her hand out of his and opened her mouth to yell at him again. But she sighed, and sat back down, her back facing him. "Never mind. Look, I don't feel anything, okay? And think before you ask something else."
Everything was silent for a moment, until Ginkotsu started moving again.
"Whoa," Suikotsu mumbled when everyone seemed to have lost their breath. "Is she... always like that?" he asked Bankotsu.
The young mercenary didn't answer, but then, he said, "Only... sometimes... when she's really pissed..."
"So... that was her really pissed side, just now?" Jakotsu whispered. Bankotsu nodded. "I think I like her calm side better."
His brothers all agreed.
"Trust me," Bankotsu inwardly said. "Her calm side isn't her best side. It's when she's happy that you reallt get to see what she is. But I doubt that either of us will ever see that. Ever."
*O*~*O*~*O*
"What do you want?" Hikari growled.
The Band of Seven took a break to rest. Hikari wanted to take a walk and was able to convince Bankotsu that she would be fine on her own by glaring at him a few times. Of course, there was no way that her wishes would ever happen. Especially not with these men.
Ever since Hikari left, Bankotsu was spying on her and watching her every move. And from the very beginning, Hikari knew that he was there.
Bankotsu stepped out of his hiding spot and laughed nervously. "Oh, nothing, just checking..." He looked around and picked up a branch lying on the ground. "... How these branches might be useful one day."
Hikari facepalmed (A/N: Well, you learn something new everyday, I guess :P). "That's a very smart excuse."
He had a stupid grin on his face. "I know."
She sighed and asked again, "What are you doing here?" "Isn't he supposed to hate me?"
He scratched the back of his head and sounded uncertain. "Well... I knew that I couldn't leave you alone, and I could've ordered someone to spy on you, but I knew that nobody would want to, since most of them were creeped out of all the yelling you did. So I guess that I was the only one who could go..."
She raised a brow. "Is that all?"
"What do you mean?"
"There's more to that, isn't there? You could've forced someone to spy on me, but you came on your own instead."
He chuckled. "Nothing ever gets past you, huh?"
Hikari rolled her eyes, and he continued, "We need to talk."
She looked away and asked, "Why? Everything is already said and done. There's isn't any need to talk."
Bankotsu's eyes were confused. "What do you mean by that?"
Hikari's voice started to tremble. "It means that I already know that you hate me! You don't need to explain how useless I am!"
His eyes widened. "What? Where did you get that idea from? I never said that!"
Now, not only did her voice tremble, but her body started shaking. She couldn't stand all this. "It's obvious that that's the way it is! I couldn't save Kyoukotsu and you brought me here to make me and my friends suffer!"
Bankotsu frowned. "Well, Hikari, just this once, you're wrong. I'm not mad at you for anything you did."
She froze in shock. "W-what? You're... not...?"
He groaned, "Of course not! How can you think about something like that? Look, it's like you said, Kyoukotsu didn't trust you enough, so it was his own fault that he died. I know that you did your best on trying to save him, so it isn't your fault. You can read my mind to find proof, if you want to. Go on ahead, search. Is there any trace of hatred?"
Hikari hesitated before looking into his thoughts and searching for her answer. She couldn't feel any hatred or fury coming from him. She tried to search deeper, thinking that this was just a lie, or some kind of act. But no. Hatred was the one thing she couldn't find.
"See?" Bankotsu said innocently. "Nothing."
She rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. I'll believe you..." And she added, with a little hint of amusement, "For now."
He acted hurt and said, "For now? Why?"
Hikari giggled at his expression. "Oh, fine. Since you're begging me."
He flinched and got closer to her. "What was that? A leader of mercenaries never begs!"
She narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?" And since she knew that he wouldn't answer, she said, "Alright, I'm finished taking my own share of the air. Let's go back before your brothers suspect anything. My freedom was good while it lasted."
*O*~*O*~*O*
Bankotsu still couldn't believe that Hikari would have thought that he hated her. Well, he couldn't blame her, though. He should have been mad at her, but somehow, he just couldn't. And he didn't know why.
He glanced at her beautiful form from the corner of his eye. Maybe it was because he really had fallen for her, just as his brothers suspected it. He always doubted his feelings towards her, since he never knew if she lo- ummmm... if she was interrested in him just as he was in her.
Hikari was a lot calmer than she was before. She could breathe again, and she felt like as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. However, she was still on her guard. She may be able to trust Bankotsu, but she still couldn't trust his brothers.
Of course, she still searched for any human life around her, and so far, there was no village ahead. There may have been a village further to the South or the North, but the Band of Seven didn't come across them.
After a while, she decided to search again. She closed her eyes and focussed on the life around her. She could sense the Band fo Seven, and the aura of animals, of course. Searching for auras who weren't in their way was useless. So she went further to the West (where they were heading) to see if there was anything.
And her heart skipped a beat.
People. She can feel people. And not just two or three.
It was a whole village.
And the worse part was that it was only a kilometer away.
She forced herself to keep her mouth shut. If the Band of Seven ever heard her gasp, they would know that something was wrong.
"How could I have not sensed it?" she desperatly thought. "It so close now... What do I do? With the current speed we're at, we'll arrive there in no time... Should I set one of my plans into action? Would it work? Oh, no..."
"Hey! Look over there!" Jakotsu's voice sounded.
Hikari slowly opened her eyes and saw smoke rising into the sky. She saw this before in the village; the villagers were having a large camp fire to honor their ancestors. The Shichinintai seemed to have noticed it too. They knew what was lying ahead.
"Oi! Woman!" Suikotsu called. "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"
Ginkotsu stopped moving and Hikari didn't answer. And she didn't want to answer. She could bearly make out what he said anyways.
Suikotsu snorted. "Never mind. I shouldn't have asked."
"So, what do we do now Bankotsu?" Jakotsu asked.
Bankotsu was staring at Hikari, whose eyes were now wide. He knew that he said that they'd attack the village, but... Just a few minutes ago, Hikari forgave him for what he did, and now...
"Big Brother?"
He looked up. His brave face betrayed his words "Oh, well... "
Yet again, Renkotsu questioned him first. "Will we go and attack the village, or will we just act like we've never seen it?"
Bankotsu gave him a glare that clearly said 'Shut up'. His brothers thought that he was hesitating because of the girl. And they knew very well that that was the reason why. Bankotsu was able to imagine what was going on in their heads. They doubted his leadership.
He wasn't going to let this happen.
And he most certanly wasn't going to let Renkotsu make him look like a softy.
He suddenly announced, "Men, get ready!"
Everyone nodded, and Ginkotsu started rolling again.
Hikari stared at the ground. What did Bankotsu say? She didn't hear his decision. He didn't chose to kill the village, did he? She wasn't sure. But she knew that she would get the answer very soon. When she looked up, the roof of the entrance to the village was visible.
She didn't dare look at what the Band of Seven were doing. She was afraid of the answer she'll get.
"Who wants to go first?" Banktsu asked.
He didn't want to admit it, but the thought of having to fight and seeing blood again made excietement run through his body. He knew that it wasn't right, that he should be more concerned about Hikari, but he couldn't help it.
He tightened his grip on Banryuu's hilt and looked at his brothers. Everyone's eyes were filled with bloodthirst. And he knew that his eyes looked the same. At the time when Kyoukotsu was alive and sick, they've never attacked a village.
And now, after so many days of waiting, they were getting what they wanted.
Mercenaries only worked for warlords, but the Shichinintai was an exception. They lived to kill, and if they were ever bored, they'd go find a village to fill their thirst. They killed just to enjoy.
Hikari heard the screams of joy coming from in front of her. It wasn't very far now. She could see the bright light of the fire, even though she was staring at the ground again. She could already hear the laughter of the man and children, and the giggling of the women. Her heart slightly warmed up. ''They sound so happy..."
And then, an ear-piercing scream echoed through the crowd, and all the laughter was replaced with screams of fear. The warmth in Hikari's heart vanished. Fear rose up in her as Ginkotsu got closer and closer to the village.
There were screams. Screams of fear, of agony, and of despair. Hikari glanced up, just once, and she had already had enough of this. The corpes were falling around her, like as if she was the one who killed them. The children cried for their parents, and men and woman called for their loved ones.
The one time he looked up, she spotted Jakotsu slicing the heads off of men. She watched in shock as their eyes rolled to the back of their heads, and as the blood poored and poored from their necks like a waterfall.
Bankotsu, however, was having the time of his life. He felt alive again, like as if his other half and him finally met again. The screams just made his excitement grow, and the flames were refected in his eyes. His halberd twirled and shone in the bright light of the fire as it was brought down on a man's head. Blood splattered on his face, but it didn't matter to him.
Hikari wanted to puke. She couldn't take all of this all at once. The fear was too great, and her heart began to beat like crazy. Her hands trembled and she wasn't thinking straight. She closed her eyes shut, hoping that when she opens them, it will all just be a dream. But no. Nothing disappeared, and everything was real.
Blood splatetred on her cheek and she stiffened. Her hand shook as it moved to the spot and touched the red liquid. It was still warm and fresh... Hikari was sure that she was going to puke there and then.
She felt so weak and vulnerable that she wanted to hug her legs to her chest and cry. But she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe, and yet she was still alive. She didn't want to see and she didn't want to hear. She was so scared...
Everywhere she would look, there would be red.
Blood.
"So... much.. blood..."
Why didn't she pass out then? Why was she still awake? Mukotsu's smoke should have reached her and knocked her out too. Or the smoke from the fire should have suffocated her. This suffering was too much for her to handle. So why did she have to stay awake?
It felt like an eternity before it was finally over. Hikari looked up from the ground and froze.
There were so many corpes lying on the ground...
If there were a few things that she'd remeber from this massacre, it would be the dead bodies, the screams, and how she couldn't do anything about the killing.
*O*~*O*~*O*
Bankotsu took a huge gulp from his sake, sighed, and leaned back on the wall behind him. "Geez. There isn't anything left, is there?"
Jakotsu sighed with him. "Looks like it. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted."
The Band of Seven was gathered in a circle. They were happily chatting away about how the kill was great by drinking their sake. For example, Renkotsu was able to surprise a couple who were holding hands and burned them to a crisp.
Hikari wasn't with them. She recovered from her shock faster than she had expected. As soon she felt better, she started observing all the bodies, looking for any trace of life in them. But so far, there were none. And she couldn't sense anymore life around her. But she still thought that she should check again, just to make sure that her sensing wasn't mistaken.
Bankotsu said that they should leave her be, because you never know what mood she's in. So most of the band ignored her.
"There were plenty of people for everyone," said Renkotsu. "I think that that was enough to statisfy us."
There was a moment of silence, until everyone bursted out laughing. Nothing was ever enough for them.
"I think that we need someone to poor the drinks for us," Suikotsu said as he glanced at Hikari, who was looking over another body. "Don't you?"
Hikari must have heard that, because she turned around and glared at him. "What do I look like, a slave?" she snapped.
She stomped off and looked over another corpse. Bankotsu's brothers stared at him, waiting for his reaction. Of course, they all expected the best from him. Bankotsu hated doing this, but he was doing this to conserve his pride.
He called to Hikari, "Well... You are our captive!"
Hikari stiffened. Did he just say what she think he just said? But it was true, though...
Despite the protests coming from her heart, she slowly stood up and walked to the men. She sat down and poored some sake into Mukotsu's bowl. "Ah, that's better..." said the old man as he drank up.
Hikari stopped herself from yelling 'Aren't you a little too old to drink?' at him and from slapping the bowl out of his hands. Oh, how she hated this. To be forced to do something so stupid was just... Her jaw clenched as she gave the other men her sake as well.
When she got to Bankotsu, and when she was just about to give him the drink, he said, "You should give up on trying to see if there's anyone alive. Even if some people survived, they probably suffocated with the gas in the air."
Hikari stiffened, and she clenched her fists. She stopped pooring the sake, even though she still didn't finish. Bankotsu and the others blinked in confusion. They couldn't see her eyes since they were covered by her bangs.
And in a split second, she threw the bowl she was holding at Bankotsu's head.
He was completly unprepared for the attack. He yelped, but he managed to move his head out of the way. The bowl shattered on the wall behind him, and he whipped around to glare at Hikari. "Hey! What the hell was-"
But the girl was already walking away. She turned around one last time and snapped, "If you want to drink some sake, poor it yourself!" She stormed off into an alley and didn't look back.
The Shichinintai were left in shock. That girl went against Bankotsu's orders, and she didn't even seem to care.
This was the second time she reacted to their leader's orders. And both times, her reaction wasn't good. "Is she always like this?" they wondered.
"What should we do about her?" Renkotsu asked.
"One of you wil follow her, " said Bankotsu after he recovered from the shock. "Let's see... Jakotsu, you're going to after her."
"What?" The cross dresser wined. "Why me?"
"Because, everyone here got a turn to guard her except you!"
"That's not true! Mukotsu, Suikotsu, and Renkotsu didn't!"
"Suikotsu and Renkotsu escorted her to us when she first came. And Mukotsu won't be able to last long with her, he's going to get tired soon."
In certain cases, Mukotsu would complain, saying that he would be fine, but this was an exception. He didn't want to go near that woman until she calmed down. Spying on her would be fine, but if she ever caught him looking at her from too close...
Long story short, he was just glad that he wasn't going to spy on Hikari.
Jakotsu pouted and stood up. "Fine. But I'd better get something out of this!" He took one last gulp of his sake before walking to the direction Hikari left.
*O*~*O*~*O*
"Kagome, are you felling alright?" Sango asked her friend.
The miko lifted her gaze from the ground and smiled. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. No problem."
The Inutachi arrived at Kaede's village. They explained everything to the old woman and said everything that Hikari told them before they left. Kaede understood and said that the only thing they could do was do as Hikari told them.
Kagome was to go back to her era and stock the suplies. Then, the Inutachi would continue their journey, but to some other direction. They've already traveled south, so they have the Noth, East, and West to investigate. On their way, they will train for upcoming battles and prepare themselves to take Hikari back.
But for the moment, Kagome was lying on the grass with Sango as their other friends discussed what else they could do.
"You don't look like you're fine," Sango stated. "Did the Band of Seven do anything to you?"
"What?" Kagome sat up. "No, they didn't do anything..."
"I don't believe that."
Kagome sighed and brought her legs up to her chest. "They didn't do anything, so don't worry. Sure, I didn't really like being with them, but honestly, other than the food, my day wasn't as bad as I thought as it would be."
Sango's eyes widened. "How can you say something like that? Didn't they threaten you, or tie you up?"
"Actually... no. They didn't. They didn't talk to me or harm me. Mukotsu and Jakotsu stared at me sometimes, but I think that that was it. All I was able to do was eat, walk, and look around. Sometimes, I'd be able to rest."
Her friend's eyes went wider and her mouth gaped open. "They gave you permission to walk around? They gave you that much freedom?"
"Yup. But I've got to admit, it was pretty boring. There wasn't much to do, and we stayed where we were for the whole day. And I couldn't walk that far from them!"
Sango tilted her head. "You're right, that does sound a little boring. But if you were able to walk anywhere you wanted, how did you know that you could? You said that none of the Band of Seven talked to you."
Kagome smiled. "Oh, that. Well, I was talking with Bankotsu-"
"Bankotsu?" Sango jolted up. "He..."
"I can explain!" Kagome exclaimed before Sango can continued any further. Sango relaxed, and Kagome went on, "Bankotsu was the only one I talked to, since he was responsible of bringing the food to me."
FLASHBACK
"Are you going to eat or not?"
Kagome stared at the meat he was holding on a stick. Oh, how she wished she had her bag right now. There may not have been any food left in it, but she coul have at least found some candy or some snacks. Anything better than this.
"What's so wrong about it?" Bankotsu asked. "It's rabbit, just like any food."
It was rabbit, alright. It just looked... weird. It looked a little too... brown. And that wasn't a good sign.
"Did Mukotsu poison this?" she asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice.
Bankotsu raised a brow. "Why would he? You're not going back to your friends until tonight, and until then, you're going to have to stay alive. And besides, I made sure that nobody touched your food. Now eat."
Kagome poked the dead rabbit and grimaced. She glared at him. "What if I don't want to eat?"
He growled. "Damn, you're stuborn."
She humphed and looked away. He groaned and scratched his head. "If all woman are like this, I don't want to get a wife."
Kagome whipped around and faced him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't understand how Inuyasha endures the pain of having woman around. Can't you take orders properly?"
"Of having woman around?" Kagome jumped up to her feet and glared at him. "Look here, mister 'I'm too macho to get a girl'! Woman can complain and can be a pain sometimes, but who looks after you when you're hurt or when you're feeling down? You men are too proud to accept help from someone who cares about you when they could leave you all alone in the dust!
"Who takes care of you around here? You're surrounded by your brothers, so what do you know about having a girl around? Oh, that's right, you had Hikari! Well, let me tell you, Hikari is a great friend and is the most caring person I've ever known! I can't imagine someone saying that she is annoying!"
She started taking deep breaths and looked at Bankotsu straight in the eye. He seemed shocked. Kagome remembered who he was, quickly took a step back, and blushed. "Oh great. Screaming at the leader of a band of mercenaries was a great idea. I've just dug my own grave!"
But no. Bankotsu bursted out laughing and in the end, Kagome was the one to stare in confusion. "Why... is he laughing? What just happened?"
When he clamed down, he had a smiled on his face. "I didn't understand that 'macho' part, but the rest... I can say that you're right. You wouldn't hear Hikari being called annoyed, but I'm and exception. Haven't you seen how she reacts when Inuyasha does something stupid?"
Kagome blinked, unsure if she should answer. And then, she thought about it. "Well... Now that you mention it... She does get really annoyed at Inuyasha when he complains about how slow we go."
"See? That just prooves my point. Hikari may be kind with you, her friend, but with men, that's another story. She can't stand people who are too stupid. And I can tell you, most of the men in this world makes stupid and arrogant decisions."
"I've already went though that," Kagome mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
Bankotsu chuckled and continued, "On the other hand, woman are completly different. You know what the best for people, but you're just to shy to say it out loud. You can't stand up for yourselves or fight back when you know that you're going to lose."
Kagome got mad again. "Excuse me? We don't fight back? What about what I'm doing right now? What about what I've been doing for the past few minutes? What do you call that?"
He rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you and Hikari are different. But I'm talking about the majority."
"Then since me and Hikari aren't the 'majority', we don't need to talk anymore," she said as she sat down and finally took a bite out of her food. A sign that clearly said 'Our conversation is done, leave me alone'.
Bankotsu understood, but he didn't back down so easily. He sat down next to her, making sure that she was uncomfortable. His plan worked. Kagome flinced away and stuttered, "Wha... What are you doing?"
He smirked. "Oh, nothing. Just wondering how Inuyasha deals with your clothing. Honestly, just how does he hold 'himself'?"
Kagome tilted her head in confusion adn wondered, "Hold himself...?" And then, she understood what he meant. Her cheeks went red and Bankotsu snickered. "You... you..." she stuttered.
"I what?" He challenged. This was as fun as teasing Hikari. Only of he was with her, his head would have met the ground a lot sooner.
"You... pervert!" she exclaimed.
Bankotsu threw up his arms like an innocent little boy. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm not the only thinking about how easily you can turn guys on."
Kagome blushed harder. She pointed an accusing finger at him. "How does Inuyasha stand me? How does Hikari stand you? If you made comments like that every day, you wouldn't look as good as you are right now!"
Bankotsu glanced at her teasingly. "Oh? So you think that I look good?"
Her eye started twitching. Just how cocky is this guy? She groaned and looked away. "Never mind! Forget about it and just leave me alone! Aren't I supposed to be your captive?"
He didn't answer and watched her eat the disgusting food. She reacted to his words just as Hikari would. Like that sudden outburst, for example. Or how she retorts by asking questions that he may not be able to answer.
Sure, this girl was his captive, but that didn't mean that he couldn't have any fun with her. These days, there wasn't much to do.
But the strangest things was that Kagome didn't seem the least bit scared of him. "Maybe she's already been in this situation before," he thought."I wouldn't be surprised, with the clothing she wears. Or the fact that she could sense jewel shards."
Hikari and her were different in certain cases. Kagome is more of the shy type with strangers, only when someone doesn't treat her right, she can get pissed. Just like how pissed she was with Bankotsu. However, Hikari, on the other hand, can get mad at anyone who treats her or any of her friends badly.
Bankotsu decided that he should stop thinking and start heading back. Jakotsu or Renkotsu might question of what he's been up to. And he wasn't going to let them think that he did something perverted.
END FLASHBACK
"Well... he sounds like just some other normal guy," said Sango.
Kagome sighed. "He looks that way, but when he greeted me yesterday morning, he sounded like a regular mercenary to me. It was only at that time that he sounded kinda... nice."
"From the way that you described the whole thing, Bankotsu did sound kind."
"But you haven't told me what's been bothering you," Kagome's friend said in a worried tone. "I know that something is wrong when something is wrong. So what's wrong?"
Kagome giggled at what she said. "Okay, so you got me." Her smiled vanished as she spoke. "I'm really worried about Hikari. The Band of Seven wanted to trade me for Hikari, is that right?"
Sango nodded. "Nobody understood why they took you instead of Hikari right away, and it really bothered her... Oh, that's right!"
She had a little gleam in her eye. "Hikari told me everything about what she thought of Bankotsu last night."
Kagome suddenly grew very interrested into the conversation. She could have squealed right there and then if the villagers weren't around them. "So... What did you find out?'
Sango sighed. "Oh, just where do I start?"
*O*~*O*~*~*O*
Hikari looked around. "Yeah... this looks like a good place."
The clearing was surrounded by trees, and the breeze felt perfect. A small river went down the mountain, and fishes were seen flying over the waves. A very soothing area, Hikari would say. She placed her palm on the ground and formed a couple hundreds of wholes in the ground.
The wholes were the size of humain bodies.
She then walked over to the river and placed her hand in the water. She closed her eyes shut and concentrated. She went down the stream, and, just as she thought, found out that the river lead to the village that was once alive.
The Shichinintai were still drinking. They were still talking about they kills and their next plans.
And all of a sudden, Suikotsu spat out his drink on Ginkotsu.
The metal monster growled. "What the..."
"What the hell is that?" Suikotsu exclaimed as he pointed a... huge hand rising from the water which started to take the dead bodies. It took a few, and disappeared back into the water.
Everyone except Bankotsu stared in shock. The young leader took a sip of his drink and explained, "Ignore it. It's just Hikari."
His brothers whipped around and stared at him wide eyed. Mukotsu stuttered, "That woman can do... that?"
Bankotsu acted as if it were comletly normal. "Yeah, I've already told you, haven't I? Hikari can control water, fire, and earth. She can make out anything she wants with those three elements. Kinda like that hand you saw."
On the other side of the village, in the plains, Hikari was working.
She took all the dead bodies from the village with the hand made out of water, and as soon as it was filled, she took the bodies and placed each of them into a hole in the earth. Jakotsu was hidden in the trees and watched her work. "Well... It doesn't look like she's going to run away for the moment. I'll just wait and see what's going to happen next."
Hikari was fully aware of Jakotsu's presence. She just didn't bother taking care of him. As long as he didn't interfere with what she was doing, she'll leave him alone.
By the time half of the sun was visible over the horizon, Hikari was almost finished. Just one more corpse to go. She spent most of her time verifying that all the bodies were placed in a hole just their size. She couldn't take some other bodies, since some organs were slashed off, or turned into dust. She prayed for them, and now, she had to take care of a little girl.
She stared at the girl's face. Her face didn't have a scratch, but her right arm was heavily burned. Hikari thought, "She would have survived with this kind of injury, but I guess that the air filled with gas suffocated her."
And, she smiled sadly. There was something about this little girl that made her feel at peace. This girl's face reminded her about her own when she was young.
Hikari took one final look at her before gently placing her into the earth. She placed her palm to the ground, and in a second, all the holes were covered with dirt. The clearing didn't look like that it had dead bodies burried under it.
The healer sighed and wiped her forehead. "It's finally over. The least I could do is give them a proper burrial. After all, I didn't do much when the killing happened..."
Her mind went back to the massacre. She wasn't supposed to be so afraid. She should have helped some people make it ot alive, and yet, she couldn't do anything. All because she was too afraid.
Afraid of what, exactly?
She didn't realise that her fist was clenched until she asked herself that question. If she stayed here any longer, those thoughts will only come back to her.
All that time, Jakotsu stood there, looking at what she was doing. And he got really bored. He didn't know if he should head back, or stay there. Some of his brothers came to check what was taking so long, and he begged them to take his place.
Apparently, nobody had any mercy for the poor little cross dresser, and left him in the dust.
"Honestly, it's just not fair!" he complained. "I've been spying on this girl longer than anyone else! Everybody took care of her for a few minutes, not for two hours!"
Just when he was about to burst from the trees and yell 'Alright, that's it! We're leaving!', he saw her storming off back to camp. He breathed in a sighed of relief, and ran back to camp to make sure that he was going to get there before her.
Hikari certainly arrived after Jakotsu joined his brothers. But she didn't take any notice of the Shichinintai. Right now, she just wanted to be alone, not too far from them, but not too close, either.
When she got back to the village, all eyes were on her. She ignored everything.
Jakotsu told his brothers everything that happened just in time, and Bankotsu wondered why Hikari even bothered burrying the dead. She didn't even know them, and yet, she helped them, even after death. "That's just how she is, I suppose."
She walked past him, and Bankotsu said, "Where do you think you're going?"
Hikari stopped and slowly turned around. She snarled, "Somewhere away from here. And from you."
Then, they all saw some sort of dark energy form around her. And her blue necklace started to shake. They could also spot a few changes in her eyes. The Shichinintai stared in shock and froze.
The dark energy started feeling like a demonic aura.
Hikari turned around and started walking away again, but stopped on her tracks once more and said, "If you don't want something like this to happen again, I suggest that next time, you keep me out of the battle field."
And she ran off.
*O*~*O*~*O*
~DREAM~
Little ten-year-old Hikari was running to her hut. Wait until her mother hears about how her training went perfectly! She was able to take all her friends down in a minute! She was so proud of herself!
"Hikari, where are you heading?"
She smiled. "Hello, Lady Sasaki! Hi, Amaya! I'm going to report my training to my mother!"
Lady Sasaki was an old woman who taught Hikari about herbs when she was little. Despite her old appearance, she is actually an expert when it came to fighting and herbs. Amaya was her grand daughter, but also one of Hikari's best friends. They trained together ever since they were young.
The old woman giggled. "And I'm guessing that it was a success, as usual?"
Hikari puffed her chest out in pride. "Yup!"
"No fair! I wanted to train too!" Amaya complained. "Grandmother, can't we go and spar?"
"Of course, my dear. But right now, we need to take care of M. Daisuke. He's been feeling sick these days, remember?"
Amaya pouted, and Hikari assured her, "I know that you're going to do a great job, Amaya! Just like you always do!"
Lady Sasaki gave Hikari a little shove. "Well, then, you'd better get going! Don't keep your mother waiting any longer!"
"I will!"
"Mother! Mother!" She called before she ran into the hut. "Guess what?"
She ran to the door to take a few deep breaths, and forced herself to calm down. She couldn't look too excited. She had to look disciplined and act like a adult.
Hikari breathed in the air one last time before entering her home with a smile. "Mother!"
Her mother wasn't alone in the house. Another man was there too. But somehow... the atmosphere didn't feel right... Hikari was confused.
Before she could ask what was happening, her mother yelled, "Hikari, get out of here! Run!"
A split second later, her mother's heart was pierced with a blade. The blood poored out from all sides.
Hikari stared in complete shock. She couldn't think. What just... happened?
When she regained control over her mind, she ran to her mother, taking no notice to the man who killed her. She bent down next to her limp body and started shaking her. Her voice started trembling, "Mother? Mother! Please, wake up!"
Her screams started getting more and more desperate. "Mother? Mother!"
But it was no use. The light in Michiko's eyes were gone. A trail of blood slid down from her mouth and blood poored out of her chest. She looked like as if she was bathing in a pool of blood. Her skin was already starting to get cold. Hikari hated to see her like this.
She knew very well that her mother was gone. And she couldn't hold the tears any longer. She threw her head back, and yelled, releasing all her aguish at once. "NOOO!"
She buried her head in her bloody chest, just like how she used to do when she was little. She weaped, "No... This can't... You can't go... Please..."
Then, all of a sudden, she heard other screams coming from outside, and she smelled fire.
Just for a moment, she didn't care. She didn't care about anything or anyone. She wanted to be next to her mother as long as she could. Then, she lifted her gaze and looked outside. Yes, it was fire. And people needed her help. She couldn't save her mother. The least she could do was help outside.
She stood and walked out. This was what her mother would have wanted her to do.
But the tears still didn't stop falling. Her mother's smiling face came into her mind. Seeing her smile was so encouraging. Now, she needed to see that face more than ever.
When Hikari got outside, she couldn't see anything but red. She was able to clear out a few people, only... they were dead. Just like her mother.
Hikari froze and fell to her knees. She watched in horror as she saw Lady Sasaki burned to death, and some of the other elders getting killed right in front of her eyes. It was then that she lost all hope on saving them. If the elders couldn't handle it, what made her think that she could survive?
The screams were gut-wrenching. They pierced through her flesh and muscles and made her heart beat ten times faster.
She looked down at her feet and prayed that this was all a dream. This couldn't be happening. Their clan was so strong. That why they were called legendary healers. How did it end up like this?
The screams of agony envelopped her like sharp branches in a forest. She knew who all these screams belonged to. And that just made it worse.
Her tears didn't stop falling. Her chest hurt like hell and her throat was so dry. Her eyes hurt and her cheeks were soaked. She didn't know that crying would hurt this much. This was the first time she's ever let so many tears fall.
As she hear the fire crack and the screams, and her hopes started fading away. All her dreams about becoming a great L. Healer, hoping that one day, her name would be known for generations was fading away. She wanted to die there and then. If everyone else around her is dying, then why can't she just die too?
When everything was gone, she was surprised to see that she was still alive. The only one alive. She felt a presense above her and looked up at the three men she trusted the most. No- the three men that she once trusted the most.
She felt like screaming at them- killing them, but she knew that she would never be able to survive if she engaged them into battle. And she was only able to whimper out, "Why? Why did you..."
The man who killed her mother smirked, "Because that's just how it is, my dear."
~END DREAM~
Hikari jumped up and gasped. Sweat covered her forehead and she gasped for air. Her eyes were wide. She felt a pain coming from her right shoulder and stiffened. The pain will go away soon...
She calmed down and sighed. She placed a head on her forehead and thought, "Another dream..."
"You okay?"
She jumped at Bankotsu's voice, She turned around and saw him staring at her. Her voice trembled, "D-don't s-scare me like that!"
Suprisingly, he apologized, "Sorry."
Hikari notice that they were alone. And it was the middle of the night. "Where are your brothers?" she asked.
"They're sleeping somewhere else. You ran off, and I couldn't just leave you alone, so I decided that I might as well get you. But you were alseep when I found you and I decided to sleep here too. Only, I couldn't sleep that long 'cause you started to whimper in your sleep..."
She flinched and quickly looked away. "Did he hear everything I said? Oh no, what is he going to think of me now...?"
"Hey," he suddenly said. His voice tone didn't sound as cheerfull as it usually was. "Are you... still mad at me for... bringing you along?"
"Huh?" Hikari looked confused for a moment, until she understood what he said. And she smiled. "Why would you think that I was mad at you?"
Bankotsu groaned and facepalmed. "You're smiling. You're smiling. I knew it! You are mad at me, aren't you?"
"What? No! I'm not!"
"Then why are you smiling?"
Hikari shrugged and giggled. "I just think that you look cute when you're worried."
Bankotsu stiffened. "I-I-I... I wasn't worried!"
She raised a brow. "Oh? Then what was that right there?"
"It was... umm..."
Hikari laughed. It was the first time she ever laughed in days. Mostly because of the stress she's been handling. Bankotsu was shocked, but then, chuckled.
He got closer to her and rested his hand on her arm. "Look, there's still a while left before the sun rises. Why don't you go back to sleep?"
Before she could protest, a yawn escaped from her mouth. She sighed and lied back down. She muttered, "Fine."
In a matter of minutes, Hikari was sleeping on Bankotsu's shoulder. Actually, Bankotsu layed her there until he was sure that she really was asleep. He looked at her sleeping face and smiled.
She wasn't mad at him.
She wasn't mad at him.
That was enough to make him smile even more. He pulled her closer to his chest and just for a moment, he could have sworn that he saw her smile. But one thing was still bothering him. If he wasn't the one that angered her when she returned from burrying corpes, then what was it?
He frowned. He was going to have to ask her about that tomorow.
And whether she liked it or not, she will answer to him.
Now you probably think that I really like to torture Hikari. WRONG! She just really suffers in this chapter, but the relationship between her and the Shichinintai will get better soon. :)
I'm thinking that I'm writing too much... I mean, almost 9000 words every chapter? Holy cow.
~FoxRain7~