A Reason to Live
Chapter Eighteen
A Long Talk
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
"What do you wish to talk about Bankotsu," Sango asked as she nervously rubbed her hands on her kimono. 'Could he be about to declare his love for me as Kagome had suggested? No way! I am just imagining it. No one could actually fall in love with someone like me. I murdered my own brother after all.'
"Well, you know I think you are a pretty… I think Kagome would say, 'cool' woman, and I value your opinion over that of the others," Bankotsu supplied as he looked around the small hut, rubbing his head sheepishly. "Well the thing is, I… I… I am worried that in order for me to defeat Hakai, I may have to become my former cold blooded self."
"Wait… what," Sango interrupted as she rushed to him, and took his hand. "You can't do that Bankotsu! Not after all of the progress you have made! There must be another way, and together we will find it, but you just have to have faith!"
Bankotsu shook his head sadly. "You don't get it do you," Bankotsu supplied as he gently rubbed her hand with his thumb. "In order for me to be able to protect you from Hakai, I have to be able to fight without any emotions at all."
"That is just foolish," Sango exclaimed as she pulled her hands back. "Why do you think Inuyasha was able to be you that time at Mount Hakurei? It is because he had something to fight for! If you become the old Bankotsu, what do you really have to fight for!?"
"I HAVE YOU TO FIGHT FOR, STUPID," Bankotsu roared. His outburst caught Sango off guard, and she stopped her ranting to hear what he had to say. "That bastard Hakai plans to hurt you in order to get to me. I would rather he killed me again a hundred times over, then hurt you. That is why I want to become the cold hearted bastard I once was, because as it is right now, I cannot bring myself to kill my only remaining flesh and blood."
"Why not? I did," Sango said as she stared at the ground. Tears threatened to leak from her eyes, but a sudden slap brought her from her state of tears.
"How many times do you have to be told woman. That was not your god damn brother," Bankotsu hissed low in his throat. "That was Naraku's puppet. I promise we will find a way to bring your brother back." This time, it was Bankotsu who earned a slap in the face.
"You idiot, there is no way to bring back the dead," Sango exclaimed. She was about to continue when she was pushed out of the hut.
"Well then how do you explain me," Bankotsu snapped as he stepped out of the hut, seeing Sango in a defensive stance.
"You are just lucky is all," Sango snapped as she threw a punch at Bankotsu, who dodged the blow, and sent a fist back at her. Sango was quick enough to grab Bankotsu's wrist, and threw him over her head. Bankotsu landed on his back, but was able to pull Sango down with him. For a few moments, the two fought on the ground, until Bankotsu was finally able to pin Sango's arms to the ground.
"You stubborn brat," Bankotsu sneered.
"You undead freak," Sango retorted, causing Bankotsu's eyes to widen. "Oh did I hit a sore spot? Mr. Big Bad…" As she tried to continue mocking him, Sango was cut off by Bankotsu's lips pressing against her own. Slowly Sango began to return the kiss with more passion. Her entire body began to feel alive. Slowly Bankotsu pulled away from her, and smiled down at her.
"So does that prove to you that I am a living breathing person, and not some undead freak," Bankotsu asked as he released her hands. Sango wanted to say something, but could not think of the words, so she allowed her actions to do the talking. Instantly Sango grabbed his head, and pulled him back into another passionate kiss.
"What the hell are you two doing," Inuyasha's voice called, causing the two to jump away from each other. "I leave for a few minutes, and you two start dry humping each other?"
"What do you expect Inuyasha? They are both adults," Shippo supplied from the half-demon's shoulder.
"I expect them to have some manners, and do that in private," Inuyasha supplied with a snort. "Not in front of half the village." Looking around, the couple was mortified to see almost all of Kaede's Village standing in front of them with wide eyes.
Bankotsu was the first to come to his senses. "And just what the hell are all of you peepers looking at," Bankotsu exclaimed as everyone started to disburse.
"How inappropriate," one of the village women remarked.
"And I always thought that Sango was just a nice young lady," another replied.
"I supposed we could always blame that ruffian they brought around," another woman retorted.
"He is still better than that damn monk who kept stroking our bottoms," a final woman said, causing all of the village woman to nod in agreement.
"You dumb bitches know we can still hear you, right," Bankotsu snapped as he began to seethe with rage.
"As I said, a ruffian, but still better than the monk," the last woman stated.
"You learn to deal with the chatty women in the village. It took them months to accept Inuyasha enough to talk about him with him standing around them," Shippo stated as he jumped to the ground, and headed for the hut. "I hope Kagome brings back some of her delicious food from her world!"
"Wait, her world," Bankotsu asked.
"Oh that's right. No one explained to you that Kagome is from the future," Shippo said. "She is able to pass through time by using the Bone Eater's Well."
"How in the hell is that possible," Bankotsu exclaimed as he looked to Inuyasha for verification.
"The Sacred Jewel has the power to bring her here, and take her back to her world," Inuyasha stated. "But her world is not that great. It is far too noisy, and it has a lot of weird smells."
"Are you saying that you have been to her world as well," Bankotsu questioned as he sat down, trying to wrap his mind around what he had just learned.
"Yes I have. Many times to be honest," Inuyasha stated.
"Could we go to her world," Bankotsu questioned.
"Maybe if you used the Sacred Jewel," Inuyasha said as his place a hand on his chin in thought. "Should we go for a visit? I am sure her mother would love to meet you two."
"Doesn't Kagome have to study for one of her exams," Sango questioned as she regained the ability to form words. The blush which had covered her face slowly fading away.
"So what," Inuyasha supplied in a dry tone. "She always has an exam of some sort. Besides, her little brother has always wanted to meet you and Miroku, Sango. This is the perfect excuse for that."
"Sounds like it could be kind of fun," Bankotsu supplied as he jumped up. "Ok, let's go bother Kagome."
"Apparently someone did not get enough of a beating earlier," Shippo said as he walked into the hut.
"Shippo, you don't want to come with us," Inuyasha asked.
"I have already been to Kagome's world," Shippo said from the hut. "She took me once when you and she had a bad fight about Kikyo."
"Wait when," Inuyasha snarled.
"When don't you upset Kagome with Kikyo," Sango questioned as she slapped Inuyasha on the back.
"Not you too," Inuyasha snapped.
Hakai slowly made his way through a temple, coming to a stop at the end of a long hallway. Reaching a hand out, he knocked on the door, and waited for a response. "Enter," a strong voice called from the other side of the door. Hakai pushed the large door, and stepped into a dimly lit room. "Why are you here Immortal?" The speaker was hidden in the shadows, but Hakai could clearly make out the man's small frame sitting behind a large desk.
"I want to know if it is true," Hakai called out. "Are the Chaos Demons really coming back from the underworld?"
The man lifted his head in the dark, and a sad expression overcame is old face. "Yes it is true," the man said as he ran a hand over his bald head. "They are coming back, but they will not be at full strength until they have a thousand children sacrificed to the Demon King."
"So then, I have a chance of stopping them," Hakai questioned as he lightly ran a hand over the hilt of Soukatsui.
"No. Not even you can stop them by yourself," the man said as he stood up, and stepped into the light, revealing the prophet from Hakai's village. "You will need help." Kenshin gazed lightly at Hakai. "Can you work with Bankotsu in order to destroy your most feared enemy?"
Hakai glared at Kenshin. "Is there no other way," Hakai asked as he slowly grabbed Soukatsui's hilt tightly.
"Even if you learned the strongest technique of the Immortals, it would not be enough to stop the Chaos Demons," Kenshin stated. "In fact, I do not think your soul is pure enough to learn the Destructive Wave."
"But Master Kenshin, I…," Hakai began.
"Silence. Hakai. I helped you to become an Immortal, and you simply turned your back on our teachings, and you killed off the others, except for a select few I was able to get to safety. "And now that the creatures we all fear are coming back, you expect those of us that are left, to come out of hiding to help you slay them. You foolish child. You slayed all of our warriors. The Immortals are nothing more than pure scholars now. Thanks to you."
"But Master, I can learn the Destructive Wave, and I can stop these creatures," Hakai said in a begging voice. "Please Master; allow me to repay my debt to you by destroying the Chaos Demons."
"Foolish, foolish child," Kenshin stated. "You cannot slay the Chaos Demons by yourself. In fact, even with Bankotsu's help, you may not be able to slay them. They are the bringers of the apocalypse."
"Master, I will find a way to stop them," Hakai supplied as he turned to leave.
"If you really wish to stop the Chaos Demons, you must give up your dream of killing Bankotsu," Kenshin called. Hakai stopped in the doorway of the large room.
"And why is that," Hakai questioned as he turned to look at his teacher.
"Because you must have a pure soul in order to learn the true teachings of the Immortals," Kenshin stated. "And with the grudge you harbor against your brother, you could never learn the secret teachings."
"Master Kenshin, you know you are asking a lot of me," Hakai said as he turned his back to Kenshin. "But if I must let my little brother live in order for me to continue living, then so be it. I enjoy this life far too much to allow it to be taken from me."
"My boy, you have yet to find your reason for living, but when you do, I fear any who would cross your," Kenshin stated as he watched Hakai walk from the room. "Perhaps Kami will bless this world, and we will find a way to defeat the Chaos Demons."
"You know Kami has no control over the Chaos Demons," Hogosha said as he stepped into the center of the room. "Those things know nothing, but how to destroy."
"Perhaps, but I believe Kami has given us the tools to fight back against the Chaos Demons," Kenshin said as he gazed past Hogosha, and looked to Hakai's retreating form. "I truly believe Hakai and Bankotsu's combined powers will be enough to eliminate the Chaos Demons."
"That is only if they are unable to sacrifice the children to the Demon King. Should they sacrifice those children, not even Kami could stop them," Hogosha said.
"That is not true. Kami has a weapon that he passed down to the Immortals just for these beasts," Kenshin said as he pulled out an ancient looking scroll. "This scroll holds the secret to the Vanishing Ball."
"But Kenshin, that technique is considered forbidden, even for the most devout of Kami's followers," Hogosha said as he back away from the scroll, a look of pure fear crossing his face.
"You are right Hogosha, but it may be the only way to stop the Chaos Demons should they reach their full power," Kenshin said as he tucked the scroll away.
"If they Chaos Demons reach full power, there will not be enough time for you to teach that technique," Hogosha said as his emotions returned to a neutral state.
"If I feel that the Chaos Demons are getting close to reaching their full power, then I will start teaching Hakai the Vanishing Ball," Kenshin stated.
"For the sake of the world, I hope he is a quick study," Hogosha replied in a dry voice.
"For the sake of the world, I hope he really can overcome his hatred towards his brother," Kenshin said, earning a nod from Hogosha.
A/N: Well that is it for Chapter Eighteen. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you are getting annoyed with the references to the Chaos Demons, I apologize. I do not want to reveal what a Chaos Demon is just yet, but I promise that there will be no mention of them in the next chapter, because in the next chapter, we are following Bankotsu and Sango into Kagome's time. Also, for Fairy, I am sorry if I disappointed you with Bankotsu not confessing his love just yet, but I hope the latter part of the conversation was enough to satisfy the need for fluff.