Oh my gosh. I can't remember the last time I updated O.O

Disclaimer: ... Inuyasha does not belong to me... Again.

~Stars Of The Moon~

Chapter 22

Previously;

FLASHBACK

"Perhaps Lady Hikari needs to tell someone about what she feels. She thinks so much of others that she doesn't think about herself. Perhaps if someone asks her of what she truly feels, that smile can finally reveal what it's hiding, as you say."

And for the first time, Bankotsu smirked at the old man. "Maybe."

*O*~*O*~*O*

"I'm glad that's over," Bankotsu grumbled. He waited for Hikari to walk past him before adding, "What took you so long? And you have what I want, right?"

She rolled her eyes and held up the basket she was under her arm, and the warm sheets under the other. "You know I do. You stalked me in the village. You saw me get the food and the sheets."

Bankotsu seemed surprised. "How'd you know I was-"

"I can sense your aura as if were as clear as day," she explained. "And that horrible feeling of jealousy didn't get pass me either," she said silently. "It was so strong, it was hard to smile in front of the children."

She sighed and continued walking. She looked up at the purple sky and said, "Let's get moving. We'll have to find another place to spend the night. If we're lucky, we'll find one before the sun starts setting.

Bankotsu watched her walk away a little before following. She didn't seem to want to talk to him, but he brought up a subject anyways. "By the way... I'm thinking of adding something onto the list of things you owe me."

"There shouldn't be any more," she grumbled. Louder, she said, "Fine, let's hear it."

"You know how to fight with fists, right?" She nodded without looking at him. "Then I'm thinking of learning a few techniques fom you."

She whipped around. "What?"

"As long as I don't have my sword, I'm not that useful, see. I have the strength to fight, however, I can't charge into a battle like an idiot. So, you should teach me how to fight. In return, I suppose I can protect you."

She stared at him. "... That's pathetic."

Bankotsu froze. He chuckled to hide his anger. "Pathetic, you say?"

"That's right," she said as she placed her hands on her hips. "For one, you say you're useless without your sword. It's fine that you're being honest with yourself. But asking, me, a woman, is a sign of weakness. Have you no pride at all?"

He didn't say anything. Yes, he had pride. In his strength, looks and many other things. But he hated feeling useless. He would do anything to get power, even if it meant getting help from a woman. "And besides, she isn't just some ordinary woman..."

She went on, "And I don't need protection. I have my own swords right here," she said as she turned her back to him so he could see her blades. "You've seen me take down a demon with my bare hands, remember?"

Bankotsu frowned. She did have a point. Why didn't he think about it sooner? He felt like an idiot.

He was sure she was about to refuse it all when she sighed. "... But... these days, I myself haven't had much training in martial arts either... And all the demons I encounter are weak ones, so everytime I fight, it's so boring, I have to keep the battle going for a few minutes for me to start sweating."

He noticed a small blush on her cheeks. "If you're as strong as you say you are... I guess training with you wouldn't be that bad."

He inwardly smirked. "So she can have a weak side too."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said with a grin.

She somehow seemed to have been affected by his smile, and she started to walk away. "T... This is the last time I'm considering another one of your requests!"

"Suuuurrre..."

It was silent for another minute, when he decided to bring up another subject. "Are you good with wartial arts?"

"Good?" She turned around and faced him with a proud smile. She held her fist up. "I've been fighting since I was four. Though I'm not great in strength, I have a bunch of useful techniques."

He grinned. This was the second time she really smiled at him. He liked it. When she turned her back to him, he said, "You should smile like that more often."

"Huh?" she stared at him, frowning.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "You've only smiled to me twice. And before you say anything-" Hikari opened her mouth to say something, clearly insulted, but he stopped her "-yes, I'd like to see you smile more. It bothers me when you have that emotionless face on. Honestly, I get this once-in-a-lifetime-chance to travel with a beautiful woman, but she doesn't get to smile much for I don't know what reason."

"Maybe it's because I don't like you very much?" she said. "Just now you're added something new to my things-to-do-list. Which kinda makes you annoying."

He blinked. He didn't expect that. "So it's not because I'm a mercenary and because I killed a lot of people?"

Hikari paused. "Hmm... I didn't really think about that. To be honest," she examined his face, "when I look at you, you don't seem like a mercenary. You don't have that killing intent... and your character isn't the one of a killer either."

"Also," she pointed to his neck. "I've gotten used to sensing that jewel shard in your neck. In fact, your aura seems more human now than it was the first time I met you. It's almost as if you weren't undead at all."

"You knew about the jewel shard, huh?" He touched his neck and grinned. "You know, you're not surprising me anymore."

She winked. "Oh, I can be full of surprises."

His grin grew wider, and Hikari realized she had smiled at him again. She blushed, and that brought a smirk to Bankotsu's lips. He walked up to her, and his face was an inch away from hers. She could feel his hot breath as he spoke in a husky tone, "Then I suppose I'll have to discover them all."

Her face was beat red. She was speechless for a moment, when she finally got hold of her senses, and pushed him away. "G... get away from me!"

Bankotsu predicted that she'd do something like that, and jumped back before she could touch him. He had a smirk on his face when he saw just how embarrassed she was. "This is fun. I should tease her more often."

Hikari kept opening and closing her mouth, trying to find the right word to insult him, but finally she grumbled something and stomped her foot in frustration and walked away, her head still fuming.

He continued following her silently for another minute, when he spoke again. "You know, you should learn how to smile naturally more often."

He heard her groan, "Not this again?"

"It's true, though," he said. "The smile you give to those villagers isn't your real smile."

She blinked in surprise. "It may fool your precious people, but it's not fooling me. See, I haven't been surrounded by smiles like other people have. I know if someone's faking it or if you really mean it. And what I saw there wasn't very natural."

Hikari didn't say anything. She didn't move. So he went on, "I wouldn't be surprised if you're like this because your clan was killed."

That was when she reacted. She whipped around, her eyes wide with surprise. "How did you-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked before she could finish. "You know, it really might have made me look smarter in front of that old geezer."

She closed her mouth and looked down, staring at her feet shuffle for a moment. "... It's not something people would like to talk about. And I especially don't want to bring back any memories of that day..."

"Look, I'm not afraid to say that probably everyone I knew in my old village is dead, and honestly, I don't really care about them," Bankotsu huffed. "I even had a little sister and an older brother, but really, I-"

"That's because you've moved on and because you have your band of mercenaries to take care of!" she suddenly snapped.

He was shocked to see her angry. He could have sworn that she would cry, like any other girl can, but she looked down again, her bangs covering her eyes. And she said dully, "I... can't move on. No one took care of me for the past six years... So I've kind of forgotten how having the same people around you feels like. And to be honest, I'm kind of hoping for it to stay that way..."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why would that be?"

She slowly turned around. "... I have my own reasons."

Bankotsu knew asking her what that was was going to cause trouble, so he got to the point. "I can tell you don't like being alone, though." She didn't reply, and he walked past her. "Believe me, you'd feel a lot better if you smiled naturally."

He looked back at her. She was staring at him, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking. He grinned anyways. "Just take a look at me. There's not a moment in life I feel regret. I smile at whatever life throws at me, good or bad."

"And," he approached her, and smirked as he watched her blink in surprise, "I can smile at a problem like you any day."

She raised a brow. "I'm a problem?"

"Only when you're like this."

He was surprised to see her smirk, and then give a small smile. "Then I suppose I'll have to stop being such a 'problem', as you say."

Bankotsu blinked, and said as she started walking away again, "You know, you look a lot more beautiful when you smile like that too."

She froze and bowed her head. He snickered when she stuttered, "L... Let's g-get going already!"

END FLASHBACK

*O*~*O*~*O*

The next day, when Hikari was in good enough shape to move, she and Bankotsu went to go meet the rest of the members in the forest. Renkotsu and Jakotsu were already there with the others, waiting for them to arrive.

"Took you a while!" Jakotsu snapped, though his voice wasn't harsh.

"Sorry," she apologised, "I was talking with Sango and Kagome a long time..."

"You don't have any idea how long I've waited for them to finish," Bankotsu sighed. "I would have had enough time to walk two miles, kill fifty demons, and come walking back. That's how long it took."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "That's odd, I don't find that very long."

"How's... everything going?" Ginkotsu asked.

"If you're talking about me, then yes, I'm getting better," Hikari moved her right arm. "Though this thing needs to lighten up a little. I won't be able to move it in battle. But forget about me, I hope I'm not causing any trouble by being gone...?"

"Oh, no, hunting is very easy," Mukotsu said. "The nature is nice, and we can peacefully take strolls in the forest, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong-"

"In other words, you're bored."

"Yes," Ginkotsu sighed. "Yes, we are."

"Ginkotsu's been stuck on the same spot for a few days now, and all he could do was nap while I took a look at his weapons," Renkotsu said. "Well, we'll certainly be ready for an attack."

"We should probably bring you something, then," Bankotsu said. "Anything you got in mind? A shogi game?"

Suikotsu raised a brow. "You know that those kind of games aren't very interesting, Big Brother. Renkotsu's always going to win."

"Um... you never know?"

The doctor sighed. "Whatever. Either way, I need to have a word with you, Hikari."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that's right! It was something about-"

"Let's go talk about it over there." He started walking away into the trees, and she followed him. "If everything goes well, we should be back soon."

"What do you think he means by that?" Jakotsu asked when the two disappeared.

"Let's hope it's something useful," their leader said as he stretched his arms out. "But more importantly, we should discuss about the situation."

"Ah, yes," Mukotsu nodded. "If I heard well, Inuyasha and his friends are here, correct?"

"Yes," Renkotsu sat down next to the old man, and his the two remaining brothers sat next to him. They formed a circle. "First of all, we've already decided that we won't try to kill each other."

"Logical," Ginkotsu commented.

"Not very surprising, as much as we hate it," Mukotsu snorted.

"But the problem is if we're going to work travel together or not," Renkotsu continued. "We clearly think that this is the best way to settle things, but Hikari think otherwise. And so do the women with Inuyasha."

"And apparently, this isn't something we can fix in a day," Bankotsu said. "We may feel more comfortable if we travel apart, but it's going to be more risky. Renkotsu says that the one who brought us back might be after us if we decide to go with Inuyasha."

"Yeah, and if he's able to bring people back from the dead, the guy's probably super strong," Jakotsu added. "One of us might not live through another battle agaisnt a hundred demons..."

"And you think we should...?" Mukotsu asked.

Bankotsu sighed. "As I said, it isn't something we can fix in a day. Right now, I want to know Inuyasha's opinion on this... If he's absolutely agaisnt us travelling together, or even having an alliance, then we have no choice, do we?"

"But Hikari... isn't going to like it..." Ginkotsu said.

Renkotsu frowned and looked down. "Most likely. And if Inuyasha announces the news, she's either going to beat some sense out of him or going to go with it calmly, which I highly doubt."

The leader had a small smile on his face. "Well, do we all agree that we go with whatever Hikari thinks is best, even though it's going to kill us?"

There was a long silence, and the atmosphere felt heavy. The men were hesitating.

Finally, Jakotsu said, "Fine, whatever. I know it's going to be useless for me to complain about it anyways since I'll be outnumbered. As long as everything goes alright, I'm fine."

"... To think that you were going to be the first one to speak up," Bankotsu said as he placed his hand proudly on his friend's shoulder. "Well, what about the rest of you?"

Renkotsu shrugged and grinned. "Hikari isn't a fool, so I suppose she's sure she's making the right choice. Let's just hope she isn't going to kill us..."

"If she saved me, then I'm sure she won't kill us," Mukotsu chuckled. "I'm going to enjoy life as long as she stays."

"Gesh!" Ginkotsu agreed.

"Then it's settled." Bankotsu grasped his fist in his hand. "Even if Suikotsu disagrees, too bad, he's outnumbered. We're sticking with her, and she's sticking with us, whether she likes it or not."

"But if she doesn't like it, it should be bad..." Mukotsu said.

"Oh, don't worry, there are times when she can't win agaisnt me," their leader smirked.

*O*~*O*~*O*

Suikotsu lead the L. Healer quite far away.

They've already lost hearing of the rest of the Shichinintai long ago when he stopped them. "This should be fine."

Hikari observed her surroundings. They were in a small field of herbs. "Probably where Akari gets her own," she thought. Then she wondered why Suikotsu would bring her in a place like this.

"Mind explaining what this is-"

He interrupted her. "No talking. Just watch."

He grabbed his claws he had underneath his arm used them to make a small scratch on Hikari's face. She flinched and took a whole step back, staring at him with wide eyes. "What are you-"

She noticed that he wasn't attacking her. He dropped onto his knees and starting passing his hands in the patch of herbs, searching for something. Hikari wondered if he was searching for a weapon, then she told herself that if there were a weapon here, Akari would have gotten rid of it.

Finally, he removed his hand from the ground, and Hikari braced herself. She watched closely as he brought up... some herbs, of course. She didn't take any steps back as he approached her, but she kept her guard up.

"It's alright," Suikotsu assured in a soft tone.

Hikari's eyes widened. She didn't recognise this voice, and she tensed. However, she was as still as a statue when his hand reached her face. His finger ran over the small scratch on her cheek, and then was she able to see his true face.

The green markings on his face disappeared, and his hair was as spicky as ever. Nothing about him changed. But his eyes- his eyes made a huge difference. They weren't as sharp as usual, they were softer.

Gentleness and kindness glowed from them, not the cockiness she was so used to see. And perhaps his smile changed too. It wasn't his usual smirk. It was the type you'd see on a nice man...

"You're..."

He nodded. "Yes. I am the other side, the doctor." He smiled, the smile of a saint. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Hikari, staring up at this 'Suikotsu', a complete stranger, didn't know what to say. "Ummm... Nice to meet you too..."

"I know it must be odd for me to show up like this," he said as he rubbed some of the herbs on his palm, extracting juice from the plants. "But you must understand, I couldn't stay inside when you were here, with these other men."

She blinked. "Sure, I think I understand... a little."

He laughed lightly. "Allow me to explain more clearly. You see, whenever one of us, the two sides of Suikotsu, appear, the other is always inside, there, yet not there, seeing through Suikotsu's eyes." He spread the medicine on her scratch gently, although she flinched a little. "Ever since you've arrived to the Band Of Seven, I've noticed that slowly, you were changing the group. 'Our' way of thinking, the way of seeing things. You've changed 'us' to real human beings."

"Now, you can't say that," she retorted. "You've all been human beings from the start. Killing a thousand people doesn't mean you're an animal or a demon. Your heart is still human."

Suikotsu's warm and grateful smile made her heart skip a beat. "Thank you. It means a lot to me." He sighed. "This is precicely the reason why I cannot let you leave."

"What?"

"When you were injured, you have no idea how worried I was. And how the other part of me was waiting for news impatiently. But I couldn't wait all day. I had to do something. I wanted to help." He looked into her eyes. "And I've found a way."

"Please, explain." Hikari sighed.

"Not too long ago- last night, or the night before, I belive- I entered Suikotsu's dream to speak with him. And luckily, he couldn't wait for you to come back either. We both agreed that my skills in healing would be useful to you, and the band. If there was at least one person who knows how to handle injuries, then it would be alright for you to come back to us, instead of waiting in the village for so long."

She blinked in surprise. "It's all... kind of hard to believe... I mean this 'Suikotsu' and that 'Suikotsu'..."

"Yes, I imagine it would be rather confusing," the doctor said gently. "But the truth is, you were also the first one to understand."

Hikari's only reply was a confused frown. "You mean... that night when I talked to you about your headaches?"

"Yes. I think other than the leader, you were the one to ask about our sides. You were worried about me, a killer, someone who has killed even children in the past... And yet you were still worried."

"It's a habit of mine, actually..."

"But a nice habit. At first glance, it seems that you can tell immediatly if something's wrong. And even if the sick person was a horrible person, you'd get worried, and care for them. Actually, ever since you've arrived, I've tried to break through the other Suikotsu you know, to talk to you like this. Though I haven't tried nearly as hard as I did today or the other night."

"You... wanted to talk to me?" she asked. "I understand that, but... you came out now so you can heal me?"

His eyes were worried, and he dropped his hand. "Please, I understand if you're upset because of my foolish and selfish reason, but..."

"Oh, no, I'm not annoyed or anything," she replied calmly, and she smiled. "But it's a relief to hear that Suikotsu, which ever side it is, won't be bothered by his other side. You're both in peace now, right? None of your two faces disappeared, but you're alright now, aren't you?"

She smiled even more. "It doesn't matter if it's for healing or fighting. I'm just glad to see you finally feel better."

Suikotsu blinked in surprise, and his eyes became as warm as the sun. "Thank you."

"So this means that we should be able to quit the village, right?" she asked. "Wait. Speaking of the village, wouldn't you want to go take a visit...?"

She already knew the answer, but Suikotsu shook his head. "No. It'd be best not to. Perhaps another day."

"Okay." She paused. "Then shall we get moving?" Hikari asked. She smiled as she took his hand. "You'll have to tell the others."

"Of course."

As they walked, Suikotsu felt his heart grow warmer. "I understand now... How she could have possibly changed heartless mercenaries into... No... We weren't heartless at all..."

A little further, Hikari heard Suikotsu grunt, "Hey, slow down."

She blinked and turned around. "You changed back."

He nodded. "I think it'd be better to show up like this. They'll freak out if I look like the doctor form."

"That makes sense," she said, thinking about how she'd react if she were in Bankotsu or Jakotsu's place. No, they wouldn't want to see their brother all nice and kind. In fact, even the doctor Suikotsu would feel uncomfortable.

"I'll take the lead this time," he said as he walked past her. "I'll do the explaining, and I guess you can fill in some blanks, or whatever."

It was then that she realised that Suikotsu was embarassed to show his other side to her. "Now that I think of it," she thought as she stared at Suikotsu's muscular back, "I've never really talked to him alone before... and we aren't as close as we think... I think the only time we've really became close was when I was worried about him..."

"I don't know when the dotor really started to fight back, maybe it was when my headaches started," he explained. "But anyways, his will to come back started growing stronger every day. But after you talked to me that one night - you remember, right?"

She nodded, and he went on, "He calmed down, probably because you were worried about me. And then, you got injured..." he trailed off, trying to think of what he could say. He slowed down. "Lets say... I felt useless not being able to do anything. I wanted to do something to help, like how Bankotsu and the others went to the village with you...

"I guess that was one of the few times I've seen the doctor in my dream. He wanted to do something to and... we made a deal. I'd let him resurface from time to time so he can take care of you, and I'll be able to feel like I'm doing something... in a way. So there."

Hikari blinked in surprise. "He remembrs everything... almost. I don't even need to precise anything..."

"So how do you think the others are going to take this?" he asked.

"I'm sure they won't be upset... I mean, if it means getting out of the village and healing me, I'm sure Bankotsu will be happy..." she trailed off and frowned. She seemed disturbed.

"What's wrong?"

"I wonder how Inuyasha is going to take this... He might get even more worried, but having another healer is very useful..."

"Oh, right, Inuyasha's at the village, huh?" He looked ahead. "... How did the villagers there react?"

Hikari thought about it, and tried to imagine the children's faces when Kagome and her friends arrived at the small hut. "I don't think there's been any major reaction, nothing too important that would make everyone panic..."

Suikotsu's only reply was a nod.

When they got back to the clearing, Bankotsu and the others were still sitting in a circle.

Hikari went to go sit near the leader, who moved a little to give her some space. "Did anything happen while we were gone? What did you guys talk about?"

"Nothing in particular," Renkotsu answered. "Just discussing busyness, as usual. About Inuyasha."

"So... You haven't decided yet, have you?" she asked warrily.

"Maybe we did," Bankotsu shrugged, and grinned. "Maybe we didn't."

She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"There's no need to explain. I'll make the final decision anyways."

"I don't like that idea..."

"So what did you talk about back there, Suikotsu?" Bankotsu spoke to his brother. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"Yeah," the spicky-haired man said as he sat down next to Renkotsu. "It's good news for us, that's for sure."

The leader narrowed his eyes and glanced at the healer next to him. "And it involved Hikari?" When his head was about to turn back to Suikotsu, he suddenly frowned, and took a closer look at Hikari's face. "What's this green thing...?"

"Huh?" Hikari's fingers came up to her cheek and she felt the medicine Suikotsu used before. It already started to dry off, but the green color must have stayed...

"That's probably the plants," Suikotsu grumbled.

"Plants? What are you talking about?" Jakotsu asked.

"It was just a little scratch," she explained. "Suikotsu stopped the bleeding with some herbs."

Bankotsu raised a brow, clearly confused. "Care to explain?" he asked his brother.

Suikotsu started off with the whole story, but Hikari helped with some confusing parts, and eventually, she had to finish everything, because Suikotsu was getting confused himself.

It took a lot of time.

"So now that Suikotsu knows about healing, we can leave the village," Bankotsu said when they were finished.

"But we owe an explanation to Lady Akari," Renkotsu pointed out. "She knows Hikari's condition best, and she won't let us get out of the village easily if Hikari isn't in good shape to move around."

"That's true, unless we come up with a good explanation, she isn't gonna let us through," Jakotsu said as he sighed. "But I want to get out of there soooo badly!"

"Can't you guys just endure it a little bit more?" Hikari asked, a little spark of hope lighting up in her mind. "It should take two or three days, no more than that..."

"Hikari," Bankotsu said, staring at her seriously. "Ginkotsu doesn't want to stay on the same spot for two or three days. Suikotsu went through the trouble of dealing with his other side to help you. Mukotsu is getting tired of this boring air, and we want to get out of that village as fast as we can!"

She held her hands up as if to give in. "Alright, alright!" She sighed. "We really will need a good explanation though. To Akari and Inuyasha. They'll wonder why we want to leave so soon, with me injured like this."

"Explaning the truth will be hard too," Renkotsu said as he bit his fingertip. "They probably won't understand as much as we did the first time you told us about Suikotsu. We can tell them to truth, leave the village, and settle the final decision of our alliance in the forest. But our main obstacle is Lady Akari..."

After a long time of thinking, Jakotsu snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"

"Think right now, Jakotsu," Bankotsu warned. "If it's something that can't be done and that involves killing, we're not doing it."

The cross-dresser snorted. "It's a good idea, don't worry. Listen..."

IMPORTANT A/N:

Really, I'm sorry for the long wait... But I'm busy with another story at the moment, and I'm more excited about the other one, honestly... I'm sorry if I'm letting you down.

So, I think I'm going to give this story a break. Probably for a long time, if I don't decide to give up on it... Again, I'm sorry if you like this, and you want me to continue, but please understand.

~FoxRain7~