Disclaimer: Yet again, I do not own Inuyasha.

Thank you for your reveiws! It helps me keep my spirit up when I write :)

~Stars Of The Moon~

Chapter 16

The next morning...

"Thank you very much for letting us stay here," Hikari said as she bowed to the old lady.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep those clothes?" The lady asked. "You never know when you may need to use them..."

Hikari interrupted her quickly, "No, no. I think I'll be fine without them."

The woman sighed, but said to Bankotsu, "Then why don't you keep them for her? I'm sure you can take care of these," she handed him the clothes Hikari wore last night.

"Don't mind if I do."

"Please, journey safely, my Lady, Sir," Masa bowed to the L. Healer.

Hikari smiled. "Thank you again."

When she and Bankotsu were finally out of the village, Bankotsu stretched his arms out and yawned. "Finally! Some fresh air!"

She rolled her eyes. "And I'm betting it smells like freedom."

"Yes, it does." He started running ahead, and Hikari blinked. "What is he doing?"

Then, he yelled behind his shoulder, "I'll race ya to the others!"

She blinked again. And this time, she smiled maliciously. "If it's a race he wants, it's a race he'll get."

On the other side of the forest, the men of the Shichinintai were waiting patiently for their leader's arrival.

"When is Big Brother coming back?" Jakotsu demanded Renkotsu. "It's been a day already an he still isn't here. You don't think that something happened, do you? What if-"

Okay, so they weren't waiting patiently.

"Jakotsu, be quiet," Renkotsu growled. "He's going to arrive soon, and no, I don't think anything happened to him AND Hikari. And if anything did, Bankotsu wouldn't have any problems on handling it himself."`

And turning to the trees, he added, "You have to be patient. Besides, I'm betting they're on their way here right now. Knowing Big Brother, he'd want to get out of that damn village as soon as possible. Also, Suikotsu and Mukotsu would tell us if they were getting here."

Suikotsu and Mukotsu were out hunting for breakfeast. And they decided to hunt close to the village to see if Hikari and Bankotsu were going to arrive. Of course, they were being careful not to get spotted.

"Why did you have to come along to hunt?" the doctor asked the old man. "If you poison the food, you'll poison us too!"

"I won't do such a thing," Mukotsu weezed as he mixed up the poison he was preparing. "I'm only going to suffocate the prey. The poison will only go to their throat, not their entire body."

Suikotsu snorted. "Whatever. And hurry up with that gas, we have to start searching for food before Big Brother and Hikari arrive."

"I'm almost done."

The doctor folded his arms across his chest and tapped the ground with his foot as a sign of impatience. He sifted his glance from one place to another, and froze when he heard the ground trembling from a distance.

It sounded like the trampling of feet. It was still far away, but it was getting closer.

Suikotsu looked at his old brother and noticed that even he stopped mixing his medicines. "Hear that?" Mukotsu asked. "It sounds like people are coming quickly."

He nodded and gave him a sign to keep quiet.

"What the hell? Did the villagers see us from that far? Either way, if they have weapons with them, we'd better hide and make an ambush. And even if they don't, we'd have to hide."

Suikotsu started backing away slowly and he whispered to Mukotsu, "Let's get out of here before they notice us. Come on!"

He broke into a speed walk and looked over his shoulder to see if Mukotsu was following. The old guy was still gathering his things, but it didn't take long for him to finish.

Suikotu hissed, "Hurry up! Those tiny legs of yours should still work today!"

Mukotsu glared at him and started running, which was almost like a jog for a regular man. Suikotsu groaned in annoyance. "At this rate, I'm going to have to pick him up and carry him back to camp."

The ground was trembling under his feet, and his eyes widened slightly. They were getting closer, whoever 'they' were.

He looked back at Mukotsu who was already starting to pant from running at his maximum for a few seconds. "Damn it! Come on, he's got to have more energy than that!"

Behind them, the bushes were shaking, and there was only one thing left to do.

Suikotsu growled, grabbed Mukotsu, ignoring the poison that fell out, and broke into a dash.

And he cursed at himself when he heard the footsteps still getting closer and closer. "Shit! Now what do I do?"

There was no way he was going to get killed by someone from a village. If this guy was fast enough to catch up to him, then he must be as strong as him too. No. He was not going to die.

And he came to a halt when he heard a voice behind him. "Huh? Suikotsu? What are you doing here?"

He turned around and saw Hikari looking at him with an odd expression on her face. And that expression turned into a 'what the hell?' when she saw Mukotsu under his left arm.

"Okay... I'm not going to ask," she said as she shook her head. "But what are you two doing here? You aren't supposed to be so close to the village."

Suikotsu blinked. He felt incredibly stupid. And all he wanted to do was punch himself in the stomac.

Hikari didn't wait for an answer, because she looked behind her and said quickly, "Never mind, tell me later when we get back to camp, alright? I gotta go!"

And with that, she rushed off even faster than Suikotsu has before. No wonder he couldn't run away from her.

He and Mukotsu stared at her leave, frozen on the spot.

"... What just happened?" the old man asked more to himself than his brother.

And before Suikotsu could answer that, a huge gust of wind made him loose his balance and fall on his behind. He growled and was about to yell at the damn thing.

But then he noticed that the 'thing' that made him fall was a pissed off Bankotsu.

And yelling at a pissed off Bankotsu was never a good idea.

"Looks they're having a race," Mukotsu commented.

Suikotsu blinked a few times. And he shook his head to clear out his mind. Nothing happened, nothing happened... And his mind drifted off to what he and Mukotsu were doing out there in the first place.

"Damn it!" he roared as he jumped up. Mukotsu stumbled down and looked at the doctor in shock. "We're supposed to get back to camp with food!"

*O*~*O*~*O*

"Kaede! Kagome needs your help!"

"I am on my way, Shippou."

"Hold still!" Kagome said through her teeth and she tried to pin the dog demon down.

"You are NOT putting that thing on me, ya hear? It stings like hell!" Inuysha yelled as he continued moving his leg out of Kagome's reach.

His leg was starting to recover from the poison steadily. However, the wound still needed to be treated every day, and every day, Kagome or Kaede needed to put that 'damn medicine' on the injury.

And every day, Inuyasha would whine loud enough for everyone outside the village to hear.

"It may sting, but just endure it for two more days!"

"I don't need this stupid medicine! I'm a half demon, damn it, I can heal faster and better than you!"

"That's what you said yesterday!"

"That's because it's true!"

"Can't you just shut up and deal with this?"

"What? I dare you to say that again!"

"You'll heal even faster with this medicine! So just shut your mouth and bear it!"

"It's not just the feeling of the damn thing, it's the smell too! I refuse to have that on me!"

"SIT!"

"Gah!"

"My, my," Kaede said as she entered the small hut. "It seems that ye didn't need my help for this after all. However, ye souldn't have 'sat' him, my child."

Kagome sighed. "I know, I know. But sometimes, I can't help it, you know?"

"I understand."

"Now then," the miko said as she grabbed Inuyasha's injured leg. She said to Kaede, "I may still need you help. Can you make sure that he doesn't move?"

"Of course, my dear," the old lady said as she installed herself next to her.

Just when Kagome spread the medicine on the leg, Kaede warned, "Make sure ye don't press too hard on the wound. We don't want it to open, and we certainly don't want Inuyasha to wake up the demons in the forest."

Kagome smiled. "Right."

Outside, Miroku and Sango waited patiently for their friend to come back out with some news. Kohaku was watching Shippou and Kirara who were playing with some village children.

"Do you think we're really going to have to wait for two more days before heading out?" Sango asked as she watched little Shippou play tag with his new friends.

Miroku sighed. "I don't know. If we're lucky, Inuyasha may heal faster. But if things are going as planned, it may really take two, or even a few more days before we can move again."

Sango sighed too. "I know that the Resurrector will take a some time to recover his powers... But what if he moves faster than us? We have to be one step ahead of him."

"And we have to go search for Koga and Sesshomaru as well," the monk added. "The least we can do right now is think ahead of time and wait..."

He moved his hand towards Sango's bottom, but was whacked on the head when his cursed hand was an inch away from touching her. "Don't even think about it," Sango growled.

"Why, think about what, my dear Sango?"

"You may have gotten rid of the wind tunnel, but that hand is still cursed from your lecherous thoughts."

He placed his hand on his chest as if insulted. "Why I never, Sango! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Kohaku ran up to them and asked, "Is Kagome finished yet?"

Before either of them could answer, Inuyasha's voice yelled from the hut, "OUCH! Stop, DAMN IT! Let go of me you hag!"

Miroku smiled. "You have your answer right there, Kohaku."

"Yeah, but I'm whishing that it would have been answered a different way."

Sango questionned her brother, "Why did you ask, Kohaku?"

The young emon slayer shrugged. "This kid wanted to see Kagome, but I don't know why. She didn't seem hurt or anything, but since she asked so kindly, I came here to get her."

"Well, you should go tell her that she's busy right now," Miroku spoke.

He nodded. "I'll go do that."

As they watched him leave, Sango felt a deep sorrow growing inside her. "What if the Resurrector really is Naraku? What will happen to Kohaku? Is he going to be under his control again? And will I ever get him back?"

Miroku noticed that she was looking uncomfortable, and he reassured her, "Don't worry too much. Everything will be fine."

And this time, he didn't try to grope her.

"Not everything," she said as she looked down. "After every battle, people can die. And during the time Naraku was alive, how many people have we lost? Look at Inuyasha! Because of that poison, his leg stayed paralysed for over a day! What if the Resurrector can prepare more poisons like that? Most of us will die! Who knows, maybe Hikari is already dead because-"

Miroku grabbed her shoulders and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Sango. You're thinking too far ahead," he said in a soothing voice. "What we should think about now is not the bad things that will happen, but the good things and the things that will keep us alive.

"Think about the postitive, not the negative, and what you wish for will happen."

Sango sighed and relaxed. Somehow, he always found a way to keep people calm. She smiled. "Thanks. I needed that."

"No need to mention it." He smiled too.

Finally, Kagome appeared from inside the hut and sighed. "It's over. Finally."

"How is it now?" He and Sango asked at the same time.

"The wound's getting better, and we're moving our leaving date by a day."

Their eyes narrowed. "... One day earlier, or one day later?" Miroku questionned.

Kagome grinned. "We're going to leave one day earlier."

Sango smiled. "That's a relief. We'll be able to search for Koga and Sesshomaru a little faster now."

Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared above their heads. It couldn't have been a cloud because they were the only ones in that shadow. And when all three of them looked up... They saw Sesshomaru and Ah-Un flying.

The three stared in shock at the dog demon's sudden appearance.

"Speak of the devil..." Kagome mumbled.

Sesshomaru and Ah-Un landed not far away from them, and from Ah-Un's back jumped down a little girl. And from Sesshomaru's white fur plopped down a small green demon.

"Hello!" Rin said happily.

"Rin! What are you doing here?" Kagome asked the little girl.

Rin froze and sudddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Umm... well..."

Kagome shook her head. "Never mind. I'm going to have to ask Sesshomaru something anyways."

Miroku mumbled to Sango's ear, "Who would have ever guessed that Sesshomaru would come to us before we got to him?"

She whispered back, "Who cares? He's here and we can ask him if he can help us or not!"

Inuyasha bursted out of the hut with his nose in the air. Then he saw his older brother and yelled out, "What the HELL are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru ignored what he said and spoke in his usual cool tone. "I expected you to smell us before we arrive, Inuyasha. Has something happened to your sense of smell? Or is it that you have grown weaker?"

Inuyasha growled and prepared himself to attack. Kagome said calmly, "Inuyasha, he's probably not here to fight. Calm down."

He didn't seem to have heard what she said, but then he laid his ears on his head and growled one last time. "Fine. Hurry up and tell us why you're here! The sooner you leave, the better."

Sango and Miroku stared at him oddly and he snapped at them, "What?"

Sesshomaru looked like he was about to speak, and Rin tensed. "Did Lord Sesshomaru already make his decision? Am I going to stay in this village, or stay with him and Master Jaken?"

The mighty dog demon only spoke to Miroku and Sango. "I recall you saying that you were going to search for me. Why is that?"

The demon slayer and monk froze and Inuyasha glared at them. "... You talked about it out loud?"

Sesshomaru demanded, "I know I heard right, so answer me. Why did you want to look for me?"

Nobody spoke for a moment, and Rin wondered why they really wanted to search for her Lord. "Searching for Lord Sesshomaru would be one of the worst things they can think of. But if they were looking for him, then something urgent must be happening."

Of course, anything that involved Sesshomaru, the great Inutaicho's son, was important.

The Inutachi exchanged a few uncertain glances, wondering who should speak first. Then, Kohaku showed up calling for his friends. "Sister! Something really odd happened! I can't-"

He stopped when he saw Sesshomaru and his little group. He was about to say something really important to his older sister, but to Hell with that. Why was Inuyasha's brother here?

As soon as she saw Kohaku, Rin had a happy smile on her face. "Kohaku!" She ran up to him and smiled even more. "It's been so long since we've last met! How have you been?"

Kohaku blinked and noticed how much the little girl grew. She must have grown one or two inches taller. But even if she did grow, she was still wearing that orange kimono of hers. And it looked tighter.

Couldn't Sesshomaru have found a village to get her some new clothes?

He said, a little confused with what's happening, "I... I'm fine... How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been well too! But..." she glanced at Sesshomaru from the corner of her eye. "I think Lord Sesshomaru is having a lot of problems right now."

Kohaku felt slightly surprised. "Oh? Why?"

Her happy face was replaced with a worried expression. "The demons are getting stronger. And what's worse is that they travel in groups. And we can't even travel at night because they're even stronger by then, right?"

"So we were right," Kohaku thought. "Sesshomaru is having problems of his own with the demons."

"Rin," Sesshomaru's smooth voice sounded loud and clear.

"Oh! Yes, my Lord!"

She bounded off to Sesshomaru's side, and Kohaku walked to Sango. He whispered into his sister's ear, "What's happening?"

Sango only shook her head, a sign that said 'You'll know soon enough'.

"Are you going to tell me anything or not?" Sesshomaru asked again, this time with a hint of impatience in his tone.

Inuyasha growled, and Kagome sighed. If nobody was going to say anything for three more seconds, she was going to say it. She has had enough of this silence, and she certainly didn't want a battle between brothers right now.

One, two, three.

Kagome finally spoke. "If we tell you, then you have to swear to not interupt until I finish." Her friends looked at her, surprise on their faces. What she said was almost like an order... Wasn't it?

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, but then nodded cooly. "Very well."

The miko tried not to make her voice sound too shaky. "You know how the demons these days are getting stronger." Okay, that was a good start. "And we might have the reason. Someone has been giving the demons more and more strength. That same person has been resurrecting our old enemies, and we call him the Resurrector. And we think that the Resurrector is Naraku."

The dog demon's eyes widened a little, but he kept a straight face, and gave her a sign to go on.

"Naraku's done this before. he fakes his death and came back to stab us in our backs. Also, even though the Shikon Jewel is now gone, he may have found another way to make demons stronger. And this isn't the first time he brought people from the dead.

"Like I said before, this Resurrector guy has been bringing our old enemies back. And so far, he's brought our two first enemies and..."

She trailed off. She looked at her friends, wondering if she should really say the other group. After all Sesshomaru knew them too. In fact, he even killed two of them.

The answer she got was not from any of her friends, but from Sesshomaru who said, "And who?"

The priestess took a deep breath and said it. "The Band Of Seven is back too."

Rin and Jaken gasped, and Sesshomaru's eyes widened completly this time. "The Band Of Seven?" he asked as if he had bad hearing.

"They were the mercenaries who were resurrected by Naraku long ago!" Jaken exclaimed in shock. "We got rid of all of them, didn't we?"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru hushed. "Be quiet."

"Oh, umm... yes, my Lord!"

Kagome continued, "We defeated our two old enemies, but with a few problems. For one, they've both got a lot more stronger. Also, they had new claws, new teeth, and even new poison. Inuyasha-"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cut her off. "You don't need to say anything."

Sesshomaru said coldly, "Let the woman finish. And if you want me to listen to you, tell me everything."

She took a deep breath and said, "We were attacked, and Inuyasha's leg got poisoned. Though it's better now, it took around five days for it to heal. And it took us a while to make an antidote."

She could tell that he was itching to tell her to pass on to the Shichinintai's resurrection. But he kept his mouth shut. Because unlike his younger and much more impatient brother, he stayed calm and kept his word.

"The Band Of Seven were brought back, and when we fought them in battle, we could barely lay a finger on any of them. They never let us a chance to fight back, and all we could really do was dodge their attacks."

Sesshomaru blinked and said, "I see. So Naraku may be still alive. But what does that have to do with you searching for me?"

Kagome took a deep breath. Now was the time to get straight to the point. "We both have troubles with the demons, we both hold a grudge against Naraku, and some of our old enemies are alike.

"So what we were thinking about was... If you'd like us to work together for this."

*O*~*O*~*O*

"YES! FINALLY!" Hikari screamed out all of a sudden and made all the men jump. And they were all on Ginkotsu, so when they landed back down, Ginkotsu whimpered an 'ouch!'.

"What the hell?" Jakotsu yelled at her.

Her eyes were shining with excitement. "We're in luck."

"What is there already?" Bankotsu growled as he tried to hear again. Hikari was sitting right next to him, and his ears were still ringing and ringing. Her scream was that loud.

"There's a hot spring!"

"I thought you could only sense the aura of living things," Renkotsu said as he narrowed his eyes.

She glanced back at him. "People have been in the hot spring once not long ago, and their auras still remain on that spot. They felt rather relaxed, and isn't that how you always feel after a nice bath?"

And before Renkotsu could add anything else smart, she continued, "And trees are living things too. When the trees are all gathered around in a circle, most of the time, there will be a big pond, or in this case, a spring."

"So where is it?" Bankotsu asked, though he wasn't very eager to know.

"Not too far now," she said, her voice trembling with excitement. "A few more minutes and we should be there."

"Who said we're going to stop there for relaxation?" Jakotsu hissed at her. "Last time I checked, you didn't make the decisions here." He turned to Bankotsu, and everyone waited for his answer.

Their leader grinned. "Well, Hikari can rest there for a while, I suppose."

"Yes!" The healer whispered to herself. And she whispered to Bankotsu, "By the way, there are two hot springs."

He raised a brow. "And? What of it?"

"You're not serious are you?"

"What?"

She glared at him. "Don't you remember the conversation we had yesterday? If none of you men take a bath today, I will make the water come to you. And if that doesn't work, I'll make sure that you never see your precious Banryuu shining again."

He stiffened and gulped. That wasn't going to be good. He nodded his head quickly, and Hikari smiled sweetly.

When she looked away from him, he breathed a sigh of relief. She really was the only one who could make threats big enough to scare him.

Ginkotsu stopped when Hikari announced their arrival at the spot. She jumped off the metal machine, walked into the forest with with Bankotsu by her side (because she always needed a guide, of course), and came back out with a smile on her face.

"Yup! It's there!" she announced. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a bath!"

She turned her back to them and was about to leave, but Bankotsu stopped her. "Whoa. I have to send in someone to look after you."

Hikari glared at him. "Then send Jakotsu. He's the only one who isn't interested in a girl's body!"

"Damn right!" Jakotsu yelled.

"And if my guard is you or Mukotsu," she continued slowly, "I'll knock you out before you even get the chance to peek."

Bankotsu and Mukotsu sighed. Slightly because of defeat, but mostly because of disappointement. "Fine. Renkotsu!" he called his second in command.

Renkotsu blinked. "You're kidding right? Suikotsu is much better for this task."

"I have things I need to discuss about with him. You guard Hikari."

He look he got from his leader clearly said 'Don't argue or I'll kick your ass'. Or maybe it meant 'Peek at my woman and I'll make sure I kill you'. Either way, he had to obey.

"Yes, Big Brother."

He and Hikari walked to the hot springs without exchanging a single word.

"Here we are!"

Renkotsu tossed the branches out of his face and saw the steamy spring. She walked to the edge of the spring and tested out the water with her hand. "Ah... Nice and warm..."

She looked at Renkotsu as if she expected him to do something. "Well? What are you waiting for to turn around? I can't strip while you're looking."

His face slightly became red. His voice didn't sound cool anymore. "T-then where do you want me to stay at?"

"Look behind you. There are tons of leaves everywhere. You can stay there and guard me at the same time," she said as if it were really obvious. Which it was.

Renkotsu turned around without another word and hid in the trees. And before he disappeared, he heard her say, "Oh, yeah, and Renkotsu... I think you already know this, but..."

He flinched as he heard the next words. They sounded so calm, and yet they were so menacing. Killing... "If you peek, I'll kill you before Bankotsu gets the chance to do anything."

He could imagine her flaming aura rising from her body, and the death glares she was giving him.

"U-unders-stood!"

He quickly hid behind the leaves and turned his back to the spring. He heard her undress and her the water splash as she sliped inside. For him, it was easy not to give into temptation. He kept his cool.

Hikari sighed in happiness. "Finally. A place to realx my thoughts... A place without men or any loud things..."

"But still a place without women to talk to," she thought in disappointement.

She thought about her friends she could always talk to, Sango and Kagome. "I wonder how they're doing... They must have found some new clues about our enemy by now. I just hope nothing bad's happened to them."

Then she thought about the Band Of Seven. "Do they really not know who brought them back? Or are they hiding it? No... I would have known by looking into their thoughts. But still... no clues at all? Damn, this resurrecting guy is good."

Without even realising it, she was sensing people's aura's nearby. She felt the closest aura, Renkotsu's, and noticed that he felt completly calm. But he did feel a little annoyed since he was the one who had to look after her. The bald man was always so mysterious. Okay, so he had a sense of humour, and he also had loyalty... But when it came to greed for power, life, or anything - he would leave everything behind. "Where did he get that character from?"

That's when she thought about his past.

He was the smartest of the Shichinintai, not to mention the one with the best strategies. He knew how to write, and knew a lot about metal, so he must have had very good education. And she said all of a sudden out loud, "You were a monk long ago, weren't you?"

She felt Renkotsu's aura sharpen, a sign of huge shock. He tried to do as if he didn't hear her, but he couldn't ignore it. He didn't say anything until she repeated herself, "I'm right, aren't I? You can tell me, nobody can hear us."

He growled. "You looked into my memories, didn't you?"

"No," she replied calmly. "The clues were kind of obvious, actually. First, you know how to write and how to read, unlike Bankotsu or Jakotsu. You must have developped your past in someplace with a lot of knowledge. And from what I know, monks are very wise," she said as she remembered Miroku's words of wisedom...

And the lies he made to flirt with women.

"Also," she continued, "there's the fact that you always keep your head bald. Honestly, I didn't think it would be much of a clue, but whatever, it counts, doesn't it?"

He growled again. "Apparently."

"And when I searched into Kagome's memories," she spoke, "The monk's outfit fit you rather well, if I do say so myself."

"However..." she said more slowly. "What I don't understand is why you abandonned such a life. Being a monk isn't bad, and people respect them very much."

She knew very well that he may not answer. After all, men were arrogant that way. But both she and Renkotsu knew that if he didn't say anything to her, her curiosity will only become stronger, and that would lead to a few problems.

So whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to tell her.

Hikari's aura sensing told her that Renkotsu was closing his eyes. She heard his thoughts as if he were saying right in front of her. "I'm only going to show you what I remember of my past. That's it."

Almost instantly, in her thoughts, she saw a man in black and white clothing standing in front her, smiling as the rays of the sun shone down on him. Then, all of a sudden, the scenery changed and she was inside a temple. A man with orange hair in his early twenties was standing in front of her, and he held out his hand as a greeting.

The scenery changed again, and she was looking at a... cannon. She was surrounded of bombs, cannon balls, and metal. She felt something spark up inside her... She recognised this feeling as amazement. Then, she saw a temple burning down. People were screaming in pain, and she heard people next to her praying to their god.

"Please save us... Please spare their lives..."

Normaly, people would be afraid of the flames... but all she felt was the same amazement from before. And of course, this amazement was what Renkotsu felt.

After that, the man she saw at the very begginig was in front of her again. Only this time, he looked furious. He was yelling his anger, and even though the words sounded blurry, she could perfectly distinguish what the man was saying.

"What have you both done? This is not what you are supposed to be doing!"

After that, she saw the man with orange hair again. This time, he was surrounded by a pool of his own blood, and the light in his eyes were starting to vanish. She heard a furious voice yelling out to the men surrounding her.

She recognized this voice as Renkotsu's.

All these men, whom she recognized as monks, seemed calm, and one in particuler, the black and white monk from earlier, only replied calmly at all the yelling, "This is what your punishment is for not following the way of Buddah."

"Renkotsu!"

The images vanished instantly when Hikari and Renkotsu heard Jakotsu's call. Her eyes burst open in shock, and she felt breathless. "What... was... all that?"

"Renkotsu!" The gay's man voice sounded again. "Bankotsu wants to see you!"

The second in command stood up slowly and replied, "I'm on my way."

Hikari heard the words in his head. "If you want to know more, then tonight."

She understood. And when she felt both of their auras leave, and guessed that Bankotsu trusted her enough to leave her alone.

She sighed. "Great. Just what I needed. More questions in my head."

With the Band Of Seven...

"Ah, there you are," Bankotsu greeted his best friend, and second in command as they appeared. The rest of the men sat in front of their leader.

"What's this about?" Renkotsu asked as he sat down with the rest of them.

Bankotsu closed his eyes, deep in thought. "I thought back to the day Hikari went after you and Suikotsu to help you hunt. Then, I realised that the food tasted a lot better than usual. In fact, you could even say that it was prepared by someone else."

Suikotsu had a drop of sweat rolling down his head. "What, so the food we usually make doesn't taste good? And we have a 'unique' way of cooking it?"

"And... what of it?" Renkotsu asked.

Their leader decided to get straight to the point, and pointed an accusing finger at Suikotsu and Renkotsu. "What happened that day? What did Hikari really do to you two? I never tasted food so well cooked from you, so what happened?"

Suikotsu and Renkotsu glanced at each other. Well, they weren't getting out of this one.

"She showed us how to give mercy to the animals we killed, and she also showed us how to make the meat look brown. A good color for well-cooked meat," Renkotsu said without any expression showing on his face.

Everyone stared at him weirdly.

"I'm only telling the truth."

Suikotsu rolled his eyes. "She showed a way to hunt animals and a way to cook the meat so our food can taste better."

"Ah, now that you put it that way, it makes more sense," Bankotsu said with a smile.

"She was giving the prey mercy," Renkotsu growled. "I don't see why she would do that to something that's going to die anyways."

"In case you haven't noticed, we are those 'somethings' too," Bankotsu said as he frowned. She healed him the very first day they met, and even though it was tradition, she still obeyed her rules. And on the second day they met, she could have left him unconcious - but still alive - but she healed him.

Then, one thought came into mind. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "But don't expect mercy from her every time she kills a prey."

Renkotsu blinked. "You mean even though she's a kind-hearted L. Healer, she can still kill something like a maniac."

"In some cases, I wouldn't take 'maniac' literally... But in this case, maniac should be taken just like that," he smirked.

FLASHBACK

Bankotsu's head and neck still ached the day after the time he got shot with a huge wave of cold water.

"Damn it..." he growled. "And not only does this hurt like shit, I'm starting to get hungry too." He looked up at the sky and flinched at the brightness of the sun. "There's tons of light, but it feels like I'm burning in the flammes of Hell."

He should've stayed near that waterfall.

He cursed at a tree and punched it. The tree's bark cracked under his fist. Normally, he'd be really proud of his strength, but he was too pissed to even think straight. "Where the hell are Naraku's insects? Or at least his servants?"

Four days - four days - he's lived without a single sign of the one who resurrected him, and he felt as lost as a worm in a demon's nest.

And he felt so useless without his Banryuu. He could've killed so many pigs with a single swing. Yet here he was, almost starving to death. Weren't zombies NOT supposed to get hungry?

He didn't even know where he was going right now. All he was told to do was serve Naraku, but how the heck was he supposed to do that if he didn't know where the hell he was?

"Damn it! I hate thinking about things like these!" He yelled to the sky.

Then, he remembered the tiny bag he had with him. He took it out and obversed the small bag once again. He was impressed with how well the patterns were made. The patterns of golden dragons shone in both the sunlight and moonlight.

He threw it up and down just to hear what was in it. It made a jingling noise. "Money?"

If it was money, then he could use it to buy a few things in a village. It was simple - all he needed to do was hide the purple star on his forehead, fake a cute smile and voila, he wasn't the leader of a band of mercenaries anymore.

He opened the little bag, and what he saw inside was not money.

It was blue clay. But something about it made it feel odd. He pocked it gently. It was hard. Not as hard as stone, but soft enough to mold and hard enough for it to dry up quickly. Next to the blue clay was a piece of metal. And on that piece of metal was the imprint of a dragon.

"Is this girl obsessed with dragons?" Bankotsu thought as he snorted.

Well, anyways, it couldn't have had enough value to be sold for a good price. He shrugged and hid it back into his clothes. His mind drifted off to the one who owned this small bag.

He still couldn't remember the girl's name... "But damn, was she beautiful."

If she didn't look so flustered the first time he had a good look at her, he could have seen more of her beauty. More of her bright blue eyes, more of her sweet smile, and more of her soft voice...

He jumped when he heard the loudest scream of fury he's ever heard in his mercenary life. "GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A... I SAID GET BACK HERE WITH THAT! IT'S MINE! DON'T YOU DARE RUN FROM ME, YOU COWARD!"

His eyes widened as he recognised the voice. "That woman again...!"

Without even thinking, he started running to the sound of the voice. And yes, it was still yelling. "HEY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

Bankotsu blinked and blinked. What could have possibly made her so pissed? Was she always like this when she was angry? He's seen her when she was kind, when she was embarassed...

"Now I'll see what she looks like in all her fury."

He continued running. Then, all of a sudden a katana flew - that's right, flew - right past the tip of his nose. The blade flew away just as fast as it came before his eyes could even widen and before he could even stutter a 'What the hell?'.

The next thing he knew, a tiger demon holding a boar and two rabbits in its jaw ran past him, its eyes wide like the moon with shock. And not far away from him, Bankotsu could hear the voice getting closer.

And as the voice got closer, he saw the woman's shape becoming clearer and clearer as well. Somehow, her face didn't seem too different from the last time he saw her.

She was red... But this time, red with rage, it seemed.

As she came closer he wondered what he should say. Or if he should say anything at all. He quickly made up his mind, smiled his most handsome smile, and waved at her. "Hey! It's me again!"

She didn't slow down to greet him.

In fact, she didn't even glance at him. She just ran right past him, as if he were an old tree. And she continued yelling, "GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID CAT!"

Bankotsu watched er leave for a moment, until he realised she ignored her. His eye twitched. How dare she... ignore... the leader... of the Shichinintai? Oh, she was not going to live after doing that. She may have healed him twice, but none of that mattered when it came to ignoring him.

He bolted off after her, still fuming about how she could just...

He thought about the many ways he could kill her. Even without Banryuu, he was pretty strong. Maybe he could strangle her, or beat her up to death... Or maybe he could break all the bones in her body...

He stopped thinking when he saw her in the middle of the clearing. He also noticed that she finally stopped moving. However, her chest was heaving from all the breath she lost.

The tiger demon from earlier was standing in front of her, its amber eyes glaring down at the woman. It had finally had enough with the running. And a fight was about to go on.

Bankotsu suddenly got the idea that the tiger was going to get her before he could. "That's not going to happen. I won't let a demon get my prey. I'll jump in when that thing attacks, then, I'll come in and kill it.

"Then, when the girl thinks that I saved her, I'll come closer to her, and-"

He stopped all the images in his mind, and his eyes widened in shock when the girl jumped on the tiger first. The blade that flew earlier came back to her and she slashed the demon's tail off.

Bankotsu facepalmed. "How could I have forgotten about her katanas?"

But right after her first attack, she placed both of her blades in their shethes on her back. Her eyes burned with the fires of Hell, and her whole body was flaming. Even her hair looked like fire in the wind.

Her yells echoed in the forest as she started yelling again, "That's my prey you're dealing with! Don't think that just because I'm a mortal, and a woman and that, you can get away with this! You demons are all the same, damn it!"

The young man in the bushes watched in awe, shock, and slight horror as the girl whom he thought was so gentle and shy beat down a demon three times her size.

It only took a few kicks and punches for her to break the demon's bones. Every time the tiger tried to bite her, she would dodge the attack and deliver a blow to its sides.

Bankotsu shivered. He sure was glad that he wasn't that demon. And sure was glad that he never messed with womans' bad side.

The dead boar and rabbits came out of the feline's jaw and landed on the ground. It continued fighting for its life against the strong opponent. But before long, its breathing became shallow, and its moves were getting slower.

And a single kick was enough to make it fall to the ground, its body limp and cold of death.

The leader of the Band Of Seven expected the girl to stop attacking the poor dead creature, but she didn't. She was stomping on the demon's body, still as furious as ever.

"This what you get from taking away my lunch! Now I have to go kill some other boar, damn it! Your slime dirtied it all!"

He wondered if he should tell her to stop doing something so useless. Then again, she could think that he was going to steal her prey too, and then go after him.

And this time, he knew that he wasn't going to get out of it alive if he went with that plan.

Yet again, without thinking, he came out of the bushes and called, "Hey!"

Almost immediatly, she whipped her head towards him, her eyes still blazing, and snapped, "WHAT?"

Bankotsu took a step back and kept his guard. "Okay, so maybe this wasn't a good idea..."

She seemed to have finally noticed who he was. Instantly, all her fury vanished, and face, red of anger, was now red of embarassement. Just like that morning.

He relaxed, and smiled his cocky smile. "I didn't know how dangerous a kind, beautiful woman could become if her lunch was stolen."

She blushed even more, and turned her head away from him. "Y... You didn't see anything! A-at all!"

He felt slightly disappointed when she turned around. "That's what you told me the other day. And yet, I still remember it clearly."

She was shaking with how embarassed she felt. "He wasn't supposed to see that! Why does he keep showing up at the wrong moment? First what happened two night ago, and now this?"

Her stomac made a growling noise, and she felt her face burn like fire.

Bankotsu chuckled and called, "You should probably start hunting again! Your food is all slimy!"

Then, he remembered the little bag he kept with him. He might as well give it back while he still could. He wasn't the nice guy type, but since the thing was useless... He took it out and spoke again, "Oh, yeah! You forgot this the other day!"

She turned around, and looked at what he was holding. Her eyes widened in shock and she jumped off of the demon. And in an instant she was in front of him.

She tried to grab the bag, Bankotsu always kept it out of her reach. Just to see what she looked like from close.

Her black hair smelled so sweet... "Probably from the other night," he thought as his naughty memories showed him all he saw two nights ago.

He couldn't help but stare at her face. Her cheeks were still pink from embarassement, and oh, how beautiful did her blue eyes look in the sunlight... He was wrong: she didn't have the same blue eyes as him. No - hers were much brighter... And shone much more than his.

Her lips kept on moving and moving. She was talking to him, yet he could barely hear anything. The only thing he wanted to see right now was how she looked when she smiled...

And for some odd reason, he wondered just how her lips would taste like...

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

Bankotsu blinked, and all of a sudden, he could hear again. "Huh? What?"

She sighed, and crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you want for it? Money? Food? Anything, just ask."

He stared in confusion, until he realised that he could get anything he want. And it was all thanks to this little blue bag. He smirked. "Alright. First, your name, and what you are."

She blinked. "That's it?"

"Of course not," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Then, I want you to hunt for me."

Now she was shocked. "What?"

"You hear me. So first your name, then, what you are, then, some food, and," he added, "a good place to sleep."

Her eyes widened and she threw her arms in the air. "That means you have to stay with me for the rest of the day!"

He grinned. "Exactly, my dear. You catch up pretty fast."

She looked like she was about to decline everything, but then, she looked at her precious bag in his hand again and sighed. "Fine. I'll do it all."

She decided to get the first part over with. "My name is Hikari and I'm a legendary healer. And I already told you all of this the day I first healed you," she mumbled.

"You can't blame me for having such a bad memory. But you can say that I'll remember from now on. I can't forget such a beautiful face," he said as he took her chin between in his two fingers.

She blushed again, and slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me. And no flirting, please."

He smirked. "Alright, then what if I admire your body?"

She stiffened and didn't even bother answering. She turned around and yelled behind her shoulder, "Come on already! Do you want some food or not?"

END FLASHBACK

"Now do you see what I mean?" Bankotsu asked.

Everyone was left in shock.

"She continued to kick the demon even though it was already dead?" Mukotsu asked, just to make things clear.

"Yup. She told me later on that she had to unleash all her fury on something. And even after killing it, she still had a little anger left, so she continued stomping on it until she felt better."

His brothers shivered.

"Who would have guessed she could get so violent if we stole her lunch?" Suikotsu said.

"That explains a lot why she left to teach you two how to cook better," Jakotsu spoke.

All of a sudden, they heard a loud screech. All of their eyes widened as they regonised the scream of terror.

"Hikari."

"Hikari!" Bankotsu ran off to her direction, and the rest of his brothers quickly followed.

Looks like I'm back with flashbacks and long chapters.

And thanks again for your reviews! I really appreciate it! ^^

~FoxRain7~