Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. The OCs belong to me :)
Yeah, I know, it's been a while since I updated... It's the same old excuse; too much projects, homework, presentations... -.-
~Stars Of The Moon~
Chapter 17
Hikari closed her eyes when Renkotsu finally left her alone.
She still couldn't get those pictures out of her head. Renkotsu's thoughts still troubled her. All of it just happened so fast... The bald man as a young man at first, then, the fire, and finally... His friend half-dead in front of him...
She shook her head. "Now is not the time to think about this. I'll see everything tonight."
She relaxed her mind and wondered yet again what her friends were doing... "It's already been a month... Did they encounter any other ennemies? If they did, I'm sure they found something. I wonder how long it'll take before I meet them again."
Inuyasha could well be a hundred miles away, and it may take two more months before she finds them. And when she did, what will happen? Will a fight break out? Or will they talk peacefully?
She told herself the same thing she said before. "It'll come with time. It'll come with time. We'll see what happens when the time comes. Until then, I just have to stay here and do what I have to do..."
She looked up at the sky. She smiled. "Oh, what a beautiful day..."
A few birds were singing, the grass swayed gently, and the wind blew a soft melody. The sun was still high in the sky, but it wouldn't have been long before it would start setting.
Before she knew it, she feel asleep to the song of the wind.
~Dream~
"You're supposed to stand straight, Hikari," a cool voice warned. "And never close your eyes in battle. Closing your eyes only serves you as a weakness. You never know when the enemy may strike you."
Little Hikari stood back up and held her two blades high. "Alright. Understood. I'm sorry, Brother."
Although his face was covered by the shadows, she could hear her older brother sigh. He held his own blades up, and his blue clothes moved in the wind. "You may have the blood to wield our swords, but you have to remember that you aren't a demon. Wielding these swords were hard for Father and me, and you have to work just as hard as him."
Hikari flinched as her Father was mentionned. Her expression fell, and her brother scolded her. "Now is not the time to think about our father's death." He mumbled to himself, "To think that he passed away of illness. Hah! And I thought he'd die in a battle."
And he spoke to the little girl again, "If you want to make him proud, train hard, and become the best you could be."
Her pulled her head back up, this time, confidence glowing in her eyes. "Yes!"
He grinned. "That's what I wanted to see."
Without waiting for him to get ready, Hikari attacked him with her water blade. Though her brother was surprised, he doged the attack smootly. She brought her fire katana to his side, but he jumped up and dodged it with ease.
A second later, Hikari went after him again. This time, she threw her water sword at him (and yet again, he avoided it). Her fire blade and his swords clashed, and the sound of metal rang in the trees.
Her brother stopped the water blade coming back from behind him, and he jumped up again. Hikari caught her katana and ran at him, but right before she could even reach him, she pointed her fire blade to the sky, her eyes filled with concentration. And finally, she called, "DRAGON FLAME!"
A wall of fire formed around her. She pierced the wall with her weapon, and there was a huge blast of fire heading towards her brother.
Her brother didn't move at all. He didn't even flinch when the blast of fire ended right at his nose. Hikari froze, but tried again, this time, she tried concentrating harder.
All that concentration left when she heard a rather female voice, "I see you're doing well, Hikari."
She looked up to her left and saw two other teenagers walking towards them. She smiled, and her opponent asked, though he wasn't even interested in the answer, "What are you two doing here?"
A rougher voice answered, "Just seeing how our little sis is doing. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Hikari," the light voice spoke again. This time, his red fire clothes were visible, but his face was still shadowed. "You will need more training with your fire abilities. How about we work on that-"
"Hey," the first brother interrupted. "I'm training her sword skills first. And then, she has to go see Michiko to learn more about herbs," he said with a hint of disgust in his voice.
"Very well, then... How about we work on that tomorow?"
"Right after I teach her how to avoid more attacks," the gruff voice said. His green clothes were visible, but his face was blurry as well. Speaking to Hikari, he added, "And while we're going to be at it, I'll teach you a little more about different cannons."
The brother in blue snorted. "Nobody wants to know anything about those things. It's going to be useless for her. Swords, however, will teach her how to fight AND how to defend herself."
"Is that a challenge, brother?" The teenager in green growled.
"Now, now," the red man spoke calmly. "Let's not start a ruckus here. The whole village would hear us, after all."
Hikari blinked in confusion as she thought about her schedule for the day. Then for the week. "Oh my gosh... I've got so many things to do! I can't even spend time with my friends..."
The three teenagers chuckled. The blue man said, "When you'll be older, you'll have a lot more to do. Just like your mother."
Hikari pouted. "In that case, I don't want to grow up. Mother has me to take care of... So I'm not going to have a man or have any children. At all. I'll devote my life to the legendary healers, and I'll be known as one of the best in all of history!"
Her brothers chuckled once again, and she frowned. "What? You think I can't do it?"
"It's not that," the green brother said as he pat her head gently and ruffled her hair. "We're sure you can do it. You just have to work hard if you want to reach your dream."
"That's right," the red brother spoke. "Master everything you have to do, and then you'll decide your path. The day you defeat all three of us is still a long way from now. But when you do, you will be much stronger and wiser than today. That is when you will decide your future."
"And I'm sure whatever path you choose," her favorite brother spoke as he shethes his own blades, "Father will be with you smiling all the way."
Hikari's eyes sparkled as she imagined herself faster, wiser, stronger, than all three of her brothers. That was when she vowed to never give up on her dream to defeat them.
She closed her eyes and felt her father's arms wrap around her body tight like he did when she was a young child. She could see his face again, a proud smile on his face. And she could hear his strong voice once more.
"You can do it, my dear. Stay strong, and become who you want to be."
Her eyes burst open, burning with confidence, and she kept a proud smile on her face. She could feel so much energy rushing through her body, she felt like she could run forever. "I'll do it! I'll become stronger, and I'm going to make Father proud!"
All three of her brothers smiled.
~End Dream~
Hikari woke up as she felt something twitch the tip of her nose.
She blinked once, twice, and what she saw horrified her. She was completly frozen. But then, she shut her eyes and screamed her head off.
*O*~*O*~*O*
Bankotsu couldn't imagine what would have made her scream like that.
A demon? But she isn't scared of any demon...
Something underwater? No, she could have sensed it.
Then could it be... A pervert?
"No!" He shook his head to clear out that thought. He couldn't imagine another man looking at her beautiful body, eating her with his eyes, taking in every single detail he could...
"Stop it!" he growled to himself. "Even if it is a pervert, I'll kill him!"
"Hikari!" he yelled as he and his brothers came to see what was happening. And what they saw shocked them all and horrified Jakotsu. No, they did not see a demon or a peeping tom.
Hikari was standing up, nude, her eyes wide in shock. Her arms were UNDER her chest, leaving her breats completly out in the open.
The girl stared at the men, and the men stared at the girl. All in silence.
...
...
...
Jakotsu's eyes finally went wide, and he screamed out in pain, "NOOO! MY EYES! MY EYES!" And he ran away.
The rest of the Shichinintai were still frozen. Then, their eyes went down to her chest... And they continued staring for a couple of seconds. And that's when Hikari snapped.
She screamed louder than she ever did in her life, and she yelled, "GET OUT! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU PERVERTS, GET OUT AND DIE!"
And the next thing the men knew, they were underwater.
*O*~*O*~*O*
"I still can't believe Lord Sesshomaru decided to work with you!" Rin exclaimed as she smiled at Kohaku.
"I can't believe Inuyasha agreed to let him stay," the boy replied as he shook his head. "To think that he'd let his half brother-"
"Shhh," Kagome hushed. "Not so loud. Sesshomaru or Inuyasha might hear you and decide to change their minds. Let's just leave all the talking for another day and focus on what we have to pack up."
Rin and Kohaku nodded and went back to looking at the herbs they needed to bing.
"It really is a shock, though," Sango whispered to her friend as she and Miroku entered the hut. "Both of them absolutely despise each other, like the hatred we have for Naraku."
"Let's not forget that Sesshomaru isn't a fool, unlike Inuyasha," Miroku said. "He knows that working together will increase our chances of survival and our strength. Plus, he wants to know more about this 'Resurrector' too. The Band Of Seven is a dangerous pack. Sesshomaru killed Mukotsu, the poison master... The mercenaries may be out for revenge."
"That's not all," Jaken pipped in as he appeared from behind Miroku's leg.
"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked.
"My Lord went somewhere, so I was told to stay here and protect Rin."
"What were you about to say?" the monk urged him to go on.
"Those wretched men took poor Rin as a hostage once to lure in Lord Sesshomaru! But they failed and lost one of their companions."
Sango blinked in surprise. "Then it's another reason why Sesshomaru might want to stay with us. He wants to protect Rin..."
"Foolish woman!" Jaken exclaimed. "Lord Sesshomaru may care for Rin, but it is not only to protect her that we joined you! I'm sure My Lord has much better reasons than that!"
"Jaken."
The humans and little demon froze as they heard the cold growl.
Jaken fell to his Lord's feet and appologized, "I'm so sorry, My Lord! I didn't mean to say all that! Forgive me, these humans are most annoying! They keep on asking questions and-"
"Be quiet," Sesshomaru hushed again. He looked up at the humans and said, "We may be working together, but keep in mind that there will always be something seperating us. We will never become allies. As soon as all this is over, we break all bonds."
And without another word, the dog demon walked out.
Kagome watched him leave, and waited for him to disappear comepletly before turning to her friends and saying, "I forgot something. Should we... tell him about Hikari?"
"You shouldn't," said Inuyasha as he walked in. "Hikari's almost like an ally to the Band Of Seven. To us, she's our friend, but to Sesshomaru, she'll just be another enemy in the way. He'll kill her if she ever tries to protect them."
"In that case, shouldn't we tell him about our plans to join them?" Miroku asked.
Inuyasha scowled and snapped, "First of all, I haven't even decided if we will let them join us! And second, I doubt he'll even listen to that. If I decide to let them join us, then we'll tell Sesshomaru about it after some time. If we tell him something like this so soon, he'll flip."
*O*~*O*~*O*
"It's your fault we're like this, you know," Suikotsu told a sulking Hikari.
Her face was still red with anger and embarassement, and she refused to talk or look at anybody. Except Ginkotsu. He was the only one who didn't see a thing since he couldn't get between the trees.
All the men sat on Ginkotsu, and she was observing what she did to each of their bodies. An aching neck, a misplaced bone... So water could actually do a lot more than getting you wet.
She was treating Suikotsu's wrist; it didn't twist very well.
"Ginkotsu, please tell Suikotsu that it's their fault they mistook my screaming as a cry for help," she said to the metal machine as she tried to keep her voice steady. "Don't sound pissed, don't sound pissed..."
"You heard her," Ginkotsu said to his brother.
"Oh, and tell Renkotsu that it's going to be his turn next."
"Renkotsu-"
"Yes, yes, I know."
"Thanks to all these injuries, we're going to have to slow down," Jakotsu sighed. He was the only one who saw Hikari's body and got out of the situation without any injuries.
"Ah, but the sight was well worth it," Bankotsu sighed in sheer hapinness.
"Ginkotsu!" Hikari snapped. "Tell Bankotsu that I'm going to break one of his bones if he doesn't get those images out of his head immediatly! And if he still doesn't listen, I'll break his Banryuu into pieces."
Bankotsu gulped and said, "Loud and clear."
As Hikari treated Renkotsu, she could feel Mukotsu's gaze on her behind. She said slowly this time, "Please tell Mukotsu to turn his head away from me before I turn it for him, Ginkotsu."
Mukotsu's eyes widened, and he immediatly turned around to face Jakotsu.
"I honestly don't see why woman's bodies are so beautiful to you," the gay man said.
"It's like seeing the ultimate man of your dreams naked, Jakotsu," Bankotsu replied. "How does that look?"
Jakotsu imagined the man of his dreams, and then shirtless, then completly nude... His head started spining round and round... And his brothers stared at him weirdly as their cross dresser brother began singing happily in an unknown language.
"It's that beautiful," Mukotsu said.
Hikari growled. "Ginkotsu, please tell everyone that if they don't change the subject to something more appropriate, they're going to have another bath. This time, I'll make sure the water is freezing cold."
Ginkotsu sighed. This messaging role was tiring.
"What made you scream?" Renkotsu asked her as she checked his arms and hands.
Hikari stiffened and caused her hand to squeeze his arm tighter than she was supposed to. Renkotus didn't whimper or anything. He only flinched. She told the man of metal she was sitting on, "Tell them that it's none of their buisness."
"Come on." Bankotsu insisted. "You won't even tell us something like that?"
"No."
"Why not?" Suikotsu asked.
"None of your buisness."
"Please tell us," Mukotsu pleaded.
"No."
"Not even a hint?" Renkotsu asked.
"NO."
"Why can't you just tell us?" Bankotsu asked again.
Her hand started shaking, and she finally bursted out, "How many times do I have to say it? I won't say a thing!" As she said the last word, she made the leaves on the tree above her rumble, and out of the leaves came a small caterpillar.
The caterpillar landed in front of Hikari.
She stared at it in complete horror for a second, until she ended up screaming her head off again. She bolted off behind a tree, as if it would hide her from anything. The poor little catepillar was blown away.
The men blinked, and blinked again.
"'The hell?" Jakotsu commented.
"So you're afraid of catepillars?" Bankotsu asked with a raised brow. "How could you be scared of something so stupid?"
"Or rather..." Renkotsu walked to the tree where she was hiding, and shook a few branches. Insects fell down from it, and Hikari's eyes widened in horror as those tiny little things hit the floor.
She ran off to hide behind another tree, breathless.
"Are you afraid of insects?" Renkotsu asked.
Looking at her pitiful expression, they took that as a yes.
Jakotsu bursted out laughing. "I can't believe this! You're afraid of insects? These small things?" he asked as he held up a few ants.
Hikari, still breathless, glared daggers at him, and puffed, "Shut... up..."
"That's all you're afraid of?" Bankotsu asked as he approched her. "So if I do this..." He took a catepillar from another tree and showed it to Hikari. "You'll run off?"
That's exactly what she did, and a drop of sweat rolled down his head. "Does the same go for bug demons?"
She growled, "Bug demons... and bugs... are two... totally different things!"
"I don't see why you're so afraid of them," Suikotsu said. "There tiny little things, you shouldn't be scared of whatever they do. To be terrified of bug demons, that's normal... But bugs?"
"That's just it!" she exclaimed. "Bugs are tiny, and slimy, and... DISGUSTING! Their tiny legs gross me out and... EWWW!"
All the men chuckled at how childish she was reacting. "To think that a strong woman like you would be scared of small. Tiny. Almost Invisible. Brown. Black. Million-eyed. Insects," Bankotsu teased.
Hikari blushed. "S-Shut up!" The men started chuckling even more at her flustered expression. "H-hey! Quit laughing at me! It's completly normal for a woman to be scared of insects! Everyone's scared of something and- hey! Are you listening to me?"
No, they weren't. They were too busy laughing at Hikari's miserable weakness.
She had finally had enough of her shame, and smacked her head on the tree. "Why, oh, why did it have to come out?"
Her weakness...
"I don't only have one, do I?"
And she thought back to the dream she had. She scowled and hit the tree with her fist. "How could I have dreamt of something so... foolish? Aren't I over it yet?"
Two images of the faces of her three brothers appeared in her mind. Their faces were lighted by the sunlight in the first version. They were smiling. They seemed so strong, trusworthy, and loyal...
But in the second version, their faces were smudged with blood.
And they were still smiling.
Her knuckles became white as she tried hard not to punch the tree another time. She clentched her teeth and closed her eyes. "Calm down... Calm down..."
"Hikari?"
She froze as she heard the familiar voice, and instantly lifted her head to see... her favorite older brother. She remained frozen on the spot, breathless, wide-eyed, not even knowing what to do.
The reason she was frozen was because of the huge shock... but also because of the fury she was keeping inside her.
When she blinked, her brother's image disappeared, and instead, Bankotsu was the one standing in front of her.
He spoke again, and this time, it really was his voice. "Hey, Hikari. You okay? Hellooo?" He waved his hand in her face.
Hikari blinked again, and shook her head to chase away the images in her head. She stopped his hand from moving any longer and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine. No need to do that."
"You sure?"
She nodded. Do not show any sign of weakness... Do not show any sign of weakness...
Bankotsu smiled. "Alright then."
And then, he shoved a beattle in her face.
She stopped breathing at the tiny being in front of her eyes. Its tiny legs wiggled, and wiggled... It's huge black eyes didn't even blink... Hikari felt her whole body freeze.
Her heart stopped beating for a second... Until it started beating faster and faster. Her breathing was back, but it was fast. She felt like she was about to lose conciousness...
Then she drew her head back, and yelled, "You JERK!"
She slapped the beattle out of his hand. And slapped him partly too.
Bankotsu blinked at the light pain he felt on his cheek. "Hey, relax, I was only teasin'."
She glared at him as she tried to catch her breath. "Teasing a woman like that... isn't very good. You jerk... pervert..."
Little did she know, the rest of the Shichinintai were looking. They started to chuckle, and their chuckles turned into laughter. And she felt humiliated all over again.
Oh, what a beautiful day.
*O*~*O*~*O*
That night...
"Ahh..." Bankotsu sighed as he laid down on the soft grass. "Man, am I glad that I'm not sleeping in that village any longer."
"It must have been so hot and uncomfortable, though," Jakotsu commented. "With not enough private space and so many people surrounding you, anyone would think it was a funeral pile, huh?"
Bankotsu blinked and glanced at Hiari from the other side of the little campfire.
Jakotsu grabbed all the wood, and Renkotsu handled to fire. They all had a quick meal, and decided to stay there for the night. There was a river right next to where they were, so they could drink as soon as they wake up.
Mukotsu was already sleeping, his old age holding him down from staying up late.
Hikari, Renkotsu, and Suikotsu continued chattering about some of their stories in life. Ginkotsu was looking at the moon's sparkling reflection in the river. The gentle waves gave it an ovalish shape.
That night in the village was the village was indeed warm, but only because he was there with Hikari. He could still feel her warm body in his arms, shifting gently from time to time because she felt uncomfortable. By then, he'd hold her a little tighter to calm her down. He didn't know if it worked, but she seemed to stop moving.
"Well, I'm going to get some shut eye," Jakotsu yawned.
"Already?" Bankotu sat back up. He looked at the purple sky and said, "It's not even dark yet."
"'S'not like there's anything else to do. Might as well get ready for tomorrow. And if I wake up in the middle of the night, things will probably be more intersting by then," his friend mumbled as he closed his eyes and started snoring.
The leader narrowed his eyes. "He's not even as old as Mukotsu and he's already falling alseep at this time. And what does he mean, 'more interesting by night time'? I hope he's not talking about stars."
He couldn't imagine his best friend having the same hobby as Hikari.
He stretched his arms out and asked the three people chatting on the other side of the fire. "So who's going to stand guard for the night?"
Hikari blinked. "Why ask now? There's still a lot of time before we go to sleep."
Bankotsu pointed to the snoring Jakotsu behind him, and then to Mukotsu who was sleeping on Ginkotsu. "Two of us are already out. Let's decide now while everyone's awake."
Renkotsu immediatly answered. "I'll do it. Suikotsu can take my place a little later."
Suikotsu nodded. "Fine with me."
And before long, Bankotsu, Renkotsu, and Hikari were the only ones awake. Bankotsu and Hikari were talking by the fire, while Renkotsu was making sure his precious gourd and cannons were in perfect shape.
"And I'm telling you this way is safer!" Hikari's voice suddenly exclaimed.
"This way is faster than that one!" Bankotsu barked back. "We'll get to Mount. Hakurei much faster, and look here, demons don't appear around this area! The road isn't bumpy, so that's going to save Ginkotsu some trouble."
Renkotsu sighed. It was amazing how long those two could bicker over something so stupid. Couldn't they decide which way the band would take without waking up the demons in the forest and whitout ripping the only map they had?
"Ginkotsu can take hard roads, and as for the demons, there are going to be tons over here! The swamp attracts them, have you forgotten?"
"Actually, I was hoping you wouldn't spot that one..." Bankotsu mumbled.
"What? I can't afford to use so many of my herbs in a single day! It's already bad enough I have to take care of Mukotsu!"
"If we don't fight anything at all, we'll get bored to death! Us men are going to go crazy if we don't try our skill on something!"
Veins started popping on Renkotsu's head. When he about about to snap, someone else beat him to it.
Suikotsu woke up from the huge racket and snapped at the two teens. "Damn it! can't you two just shut the hell up? We're trying to get some sleep here!"
Hikari and Bankotsu stared at the furious doctor.
The grumpy man seemed to have forgotten that Bankotsu was the leader. He froze, and looked away. "Oh... Sorry."
Hikari smiled nervously. "No, it's not your fault. We should have been quieter. I'm sorry." She glanced at Bankotsu and gave him a look saying 'You apologize too. Now.'
The young leader shrugged and grumbled. "Yeah, whatever."
Suikotsu grunted and lied down again.
The healer sighed and looked back at the map. "How about we go this way," she pointed at a route, "and then we turn over here?" her finger continued moving along the road until it was seperated in two. She pointed to the left side. "We'll rest whenever we want."
Before he could object, she said, "It may be a long way, but we'll only come across a few demons. Does that sound nice to you?" she asked as she looked at his reaction.
He shrugged. "I guess we can go with that."
Then he yawned.
She smiled. "Why don't you go to sleep? The leader needs his sleep too if he wants to keep his band going."
He blinked. "What about you?"
She rolled the map up and said, "I'll stay up for a while longer. I need to think about some things."
Bankotsu opened his mouth to object, but she stopped him by placing her finger it. She smiled and spoke in a soothing tone, "Don't worry. I'll be right next to you when you wake up."
Satisfied, he mumbled as he stood up, "Alright. But make sure that you don't stay up too long."
She rolled her eyes and growled teasingly, "What are you, my father?"
"If I was your father, you wouldn't exist."
She blinked in confusion, and he answered with a smirk, "I wouldn't even be the father of any child, because there's only one woman who will bear my children..." he kneeled back down, and took her blushing cheek in his hand, "I wonder who that could be..."
He gave her a quick kiss, not even caring about Renkotsu's presence. "'Night," he spoke softly.
When he pulled away, she whispered back, "Good night."
He bounded off, rested his back on Ginkotsu, and closed his eyes. She waited for him to fall asleep before walking to Renkotsu. The second in command was polishing his cannons.
She walked up to him, looked over his shoulder and said suddenly, "That cannon is good for close range attacks, isn't it?"
Renkotsu stiffened a little at her sudden appearance, but then relaxed and replied, "Yes."
Hikari glanced at the cannon lying next to it and said as she observed it closely, "That one makes a loud noise when it attacks to block the enemy's hearing... I think..."
The bald man blinked in surprise. "Umm... Yes, you're right."
Then she looked at another one. "And this one flashes a huge light to blind the enemy whenever it attacks..."
"How do you know all that?" He finally asked.
She stiffened and looked away.
"She doesn't want to answer," he realised. But she still replied.
"I... had a mentor," she said rather uncomfortably.
"A mentor?" he asked, slightly shocked. "I thought legendary healers only used arrows, spears, swords, and demonic swords such as yours. I didn't hear a thing about cannons. Or did you learn about them after your village was destroyed?"
That sounded harsher than it was supposed to. If Bankotsu ever heard what he had said, he would have ripped his head off. But Hikari didn't seem to catch the few last words.
She looked up at the sky and spoke softly. He could barely distinguish what she was saying. "Let's just say that I was a special case..."
He didn't understand what she meant, but didn't bother asking. He wasn't really interested in her life anyways. They remained silent. They both knew very well why she decided to stay awake. There were some things they needed to discuss.
They just didn't know how to start the whole conversation.
"Who was that man?" Hikari asked suddenly.
"What man?" he asked as if she didn't know what she was talking about.
He could imagine her scowling. "You clearly know what I mean. You said yourself that we'd talk about what happened to you."
He continued speaking in a calm tone, "Very well. Which man are you talking about? If I remember correctly, I showed you two."
She thought carefully about the two men she saw earlier that day. Should she start with the man with orange hair or the one who was in black and white clothing? If she started with the orange haired one, she may cause Renkotsu to feel pain... The orange guy died, didn't he? Even if Renkotsu was bad... She didn't really want to hurt anybody...
But then again, it didn't matter who she started with. They were both going to be mentionned once anyways.
"Talk to me about the orange haired one," she answered.
He sighed. "I was hoping you weren't going to choose him."
"Am I supposed to think 'oops' in this case?" she thought as she watched him stand up. He spoke again, "But it won't matter since he's going to be mentionned anyway."
"He somehow read my mind." A drop of sweat rolled down Hikari's head.
"The man you saw was Ginkotsu."
Her eyes went wide and her breathing stopped. She looked at the sleeping Ginkotsu and back at the second in command. The image of the orange man bleeding to death came into her mind. Suddenly, everything made sense. "That's how he got that metal body?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke in disbelief.
"Don't jump to conclusions yet," Renkotsu warned. "I'll start from the beginning."
He took a deep breath as he recalled all those old memories. He looked up at the dark sky, just like he did all those years ago...
"I grew up in a poor village," he started calmly. "Because we were so weak, monks used to come to our homes and help us with food, water, money, everything. I remember how amazed I was at how much they owned," he said bitterly.
He took a pause, and only the crikets could be heard.
That silence was broken when Hikari asked unconsiously, "Did you have hair at that time?"
As soon as she asked, she clamped her mouth with her hands. She could see the red veins popping onto his head. "I-I'm sorry! It just came out! I didn't want to-"
He stood bakc up, faced her, and snapped, "Of course you wanted to ask that question, everybody does! Everybody wonders what I'd look like with hair!"
"I'm sorrrryy!"
He sighed and calmed down. "Yes, I had hair at that time. And I'll even specify that my hair was brown so you won't ask later!" he snapped yet again.
"That's... good to know..."
"When I became a young adult, I decided to become a monk, just like the other half of our men," he continued, "The man you saw cloacked in black and white was my master and mentor."
Renkotsu showed her another picture of his master, just to remind her of what he looked like. He was smiling, and slightly behind him, there was another young monk, another teenager, dressed in purple. That man couldn't have been Ginkotsu. His hair was black.
"Wait!" she exclaimed as the picture fadded. Renkotsu blinked in surprise, and she spoke again, "Show me that man in purple again."
He growled and the surprise disappeared. "I thought you were focussing on my master."
"I was. But show me that monk again."
He rolled his eyes and showed it to her again. This time, the monk was facing him. Hikari's breath was taken away as she saw the face. "Miroku?"
She shook her head. "No. What I'm seeing here is over twenty, or even twenty-five years in the past. Miroku wasn't born by then. But on the other hand, his father..."
"Who is he?" she asked.
"He's someone I've only met twice in my life. He was with me for the first few years of my training."
"What's his name?"
"Why all the questions?" he growled.
"There's something I need to know!" Her voice tone started rising with impatience.
He shook his head. "How would I remember the name of a man whom I've met five years ago? Since I've been dead for fifteen years, I suppose around twenty years have past since then. And the man might be dead right now."
She frowned in disappointement. "That man is dead. Unless he isn't Miroku's father."
The man in purple she saw was in his teens. "If Renkotsu met the guy 'five' years ago... Then that must mean five years past after they met... which means that the man might have been in his twenties... During the fifteen years the Band of Seven was gone, he might have had children..."
"He HAS to be Miroku's father."
She knew that if she asked another question, Renkotsu would go overboard. So she kept her questions for another time and urged him to continue, "I'm listening. Go on."
He rolled his eyes. "As I was saying... I had a mentor. He taught me well for a year, until one day, Ginkotsu came along."
An image appeared in Hikairi's head again. It was the orange haired man, holding out his arm as a greeting, just like before. He had strong arms, a large chest, and his eyes shone with confidence and pride in his own strength.
"He didn't come to our temple to become a monk. Ginkotsu came for a visit because he was raised by a famous monk, who was feeling rather ill at that time. He and that monk came to our temple so we could take care of him while the old man was getting better.
"Ginkotsu could have taken very good care of himself. He had the strength, the body, and the mind to survive and find a village of his own to live in. But he chose to stay with us in respect of the one who rose him to be a man."
He looked at Ginkotsu, and Hikari followed his eye. She couldn't believe that the man she saw in Renkotsu's mind was... that. A metal tank. The spirit of a man inside an artificial... body, if we could ever call it that. The only human skin visible was his face.
"You had different names at that time, right?" she asked. "I won't ask for them, but when did you decide to change them?"
"That will come as I go on," he replied calmly. "During the time Ginkotsu's 'master' was healing, I became good friends with him. We visited a village and saw all the fire bombs, cannons, everything," he said, wonder in his tone. "When they blew up, there were sparks everywhere, and the fire kept on burning, and burning... You can tell by how amazed Ginkotsu and I were just by looking at our expressions."
Hikari remembered the weapons scattered on the floor, and the amazement she felt inside. "Renkotsu was actually enthusiastic back then..."
But his tone suddenly grew serious again. "The way we saw things in the temple changed in a single day. Some demons set the whole temple on fire. You saw it before."
She nodded. He said, "The older monks were able to kill the demons, but not before the whole thing caught on fire. Some elderly monks were still trapped inside, and some others were trying to help them out."
It hit her. "Ginkotsu's master was trapped too, wasn't he?"
He nodded slowly. "Ginkotsu and I fought the demons outside. When the trouble with the demons was over, all the monks started going inside to save the survivors. The younger monks in trainning like me remained outside.
"All the others felt worried for their masters... But Ginkotsu and I were different." His voice sounded like it was distant. "We didn't give a damn about anyone or anything at that moment. We stared at the fire and how its sparks flew into the sky. It was amazing. All the ashes were falling slowly... Our complete attention was captured by the fire. That was all we could think of.
"When the fire was finally out, we found many corpses. I remember the smell in the air after everything vanished. Many monks died, and many others were scarred for life."
He paused and closed his eyes. She waited patiently for him to continue.
"When we were told of the dead men, Ginkotsu and I didn't feel the least bit of sorrow. We didn't even flinch when Ginkotsu's master's name was called during the burial. I suppose you can say that was when our hearts started growing cold."
Hikari didn't bother asking if Renkotsu's master survived. She knew the answer already.
"A few years passed... and our passion with cannons and bombs and fire grew even more. Eventually, we even ended up blowing up some trees and setting them on fire," he chuckled.
His chuckled suddenly stopped. And his usual cool tone turned into a very, very icy one. "Over the years, people have noticed how much we loved the weapons. I can't remember how many times my master scolded me to stick with sutras.
"One day, they finally had enough," he growled. "Ginkotsu and I ended up killing an elder by shooting a bomb into the forest. How were we supposed to know that there was an old man taking a walk in there?
"When we replied it was only an old man, that he wouldn't live that long anyways, their fury bursted. They understood that we no longer had any interest in being a monk, or hanging around to be good. No, they knew our hearts weren't 'pure', as they said. They said they could feel our 'evil' from miles away. And for being such horrid things in the temple... Ginkotsu suffered the ultimate consenquence."
Suddenly, Hikari was surrownded by monks in her mind. They looked furious. 'She' had no trouble pushing them away... But whenever she's puch two monks aside, she'd see the orange haired man bleeding and bleeding...
Her sight was covered by blood, and when she looked down at 'her' hands, they were covered with red liquid. There were cries. Cries of fury, of pain... But mostly of agony. Two voices of agony.
One was Renkotu's. The other was Ginkotsu's.
"I was fine on my own," Renkotsu said calmly again. "I survived with a few injuries to my head and chest. But Ginkotsu wasn't trained to defend himself. They delivered blows to his chest... to his heart. It nearly stopped beating when I finally got out of that damn temple.
"We were banished by my own master. It took me everything I had to keep Ginkotsu alive. A few days after we left, he said he couldn't feel his arms or legs anymore. I had to carry him on my back as of then. It took me a year to find a good body for him. With the help of someone I met long ago, I was able to make Ginkotsu his body. We knew we couldn't become part of the good, so we attached weapons to him.
"I also learned how to breathe fire and to control my own weapons," he looked at his cannons and continued, "We attacked a few villages... And you know the rest of the story. Bankotsu eventually found us and took us in. The day we met Bankotsu was when we changed our names."
"How did Ginkotsu survive without arms and legs?" she asked more to herself.
"It was his determination to live," he replied. "When you're on the verge of death-"
"You determination will decide whether you live or die," she completed. She said the same thing to Bankotsu when she first came to their camp to heal Kyoukotsu. Her heart lurched as she remembered the giant's death. If another man of the Shichinintai started dying that night, would they trust her enough to put their lives in her hands?
"That's right. I'm not surprised you already know. Mukotsu's gotten out of many situations of death, and that's because he's determined to live longer. Though right now, I think his time is up."
That very moment, Mukotsu, who was sleeping quietly next to Ginkotsu, started coughing widly. Hikari rushed to his side and and placed a hand on his tiny chest. His coughs started disappearing slowly, until everything was quiet again.
"You see?" Renkotu said when Hikari stood away from the old man. "We've rarely seen a man live over sixty years, and look at him! He's old enough to be Bankotsu's great-granfather!"
Hikari smiled softly as Mukotsu started snoring lightly again. "It's true. A man this old is rare. And I've seen men ten years younger than him who wanted to die because of how useless they felt in their villages. They couldn't go out, they couldn't play with kids, and they could barely walk on their feet to get some water from a river.
"However, Mukotsu's different." She turned around and faced the mercenary. "He may have the old body of a seventy-year-old man, but he's got the mind of a man as old as you.
"He's still got the mind of a spirited young..." she paused as she tried to search for the right word. "... mercenary, still has enough memory to remember our names and the poisons he handles, and not to mention that perverted young mind," she mumbled.
"I'm guessing it'd be normal for him to want to live. If he's younger in mind, then of course, he'd want to live longer." Her eyes grew sad when she spoke the next words, "But like every human, he's doesn't know how to face death."
Renkotsu blinked at how... wise she sounded. When she argued with Bankotsu, she sounded like a young teen. And now here she was, speaking like an old man. "How odd."
"I think Ginkotsu's like that too."
"Huh?"
"Not just Ginkotsu. I mean all of you men." She smiled. "You live for the thrill of killing, but the thought of death horrifies you. All of you have killed at least a thousand men, and yet... I don't know if you've all had your share of kills, but if you did, then why continue living the life of a mercenary?
"All living beings have a goal in life. Insects live to feed birds. Birds live to feed us. Unlike animals or demons, us humans can choose our goal. Bankotsu wanted Banryuu to turn into a demon sword. He got his wish, but what would he do after that?"
She looked at him. The words she spoke sounded like a challenge; she was talking about Bankotsu, but she was speaking to him. "It's the same for the rest of you. We all live to do what we like. But all you do is kill... That isn't the right way to live.
"Some people die before they realise the true meaning to their short humain life. A murderer could have found true love if he didn't decide to go recklessly killing others. And Naraku could have lived so much better if he tossed his jealousy aside," she said quietly.
"But you men were lucky," she continued. "You not only did you have a second chance at life, but now, you're living your third. You can turn your backs on your old life and live some other and much better way."
Renkotsu stared at her with surprised eyes. Why was she speaking of this? All this talk about life, as if it mattered to them... It didn't matter at all, right? As long as they had something to kill, they were fine.
His leader's face came into his mind. Then, Hikari appeared next to him. They were both smiling. Was this the path Bankotsu chose? Did he want to leave his job as a mecenary to live with Hikari? Did he think it was the right choice? Was it really the right choice?
He snorted and finally answered, "If you think you're going to change the way I live, then think again." He turned his back to her and looked back at his weapons once again. "The day we turn good will be when all demons, humans, when all living beings die."
Despite his harsh words, she had a soft smiled on her face. "Even though you're saying that, I'm sure every single one of you want to live a good life," she looked over at the sleeping men, "And I'm sure that all of you know that there's a lot more to living then the job of a mercenary."
Renkotsu snorted again. "Whatever. You should probably get to sleep. You got what you wanted."
After that, he didn't speak another word. Hikari shrugged and sat beside Bankotsu. She looked back at the bald man and smiled.
Oh my gosh. I'm so proud with how Hikari's dream came out! :D
By now, you probably know who her brothers are. If you don't, then... Wait for more flashbacks :) And if I give you a hint, it'll spoill everything...
~FoxRain7~