Love In Purgatory
Chapter 2
Here we go, guys! Chapter two is up and running! Hope you enjoy! R&R please
Disclaimer! I do not own Inuyasha, or any of it's given characters.
Bankotsu woke with a start. He rubbed the nightmare from his eyes, and looked around. Remembering where he was, and who's hut he was in, he looked towards the shoji screen. He could barely make it out, thanks to the candle, but he could see her silhouette. He slipped behind the screen, checking to make sure she was okay. To his dismay, she was shivering. He grabbed his blanket and put it over her, along with pulling the one she was already using to her chin. When that didn't help, he crawled into bed with her. Instantly, she cuddled up to him and was able to calm down.
'Probably a nightmare. I wonder if it was about that mutt getting killed. Poor girl was probably forced to watch it, too. Naraku, that prick. If he wasn't dead already I'd kill him myself.' he thought as he dozed off. Little did he know, just how accurate he was.
It was too real. The smells, the heat, the exhaustion and adrenaline, everything.
'No, this isn't possible. It's been five years. No…' she thought, horror lining her features. She looked around quickly, her eyes darting to everyone and everything around. Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Shippo, Naraku. A flash of red and white crossed her vision and she let out a gasp. She was about to yell his name but stopped herself.
'That's how he got killed in the first place,' she thought solemnly. She ran towards him, trying as best she could to reach. But it seemed as though fate wasn't on her side, yet again as the scene unfolded before her. The agonizing scream, his name ripping through the air from three different mouths, and her own terrified heart broken scream. Her legs running towards him, Naraku disappearing, his laughter echoing in the air. Hiraikotsu flying through the air at an alarming rate only to miss and lodge itself into the wall.
She woke quickly, rising from the bed; her body covered in sweat.
'When did it get so hot?' she wondered as she tried to get her bearings. Somewhere in her mind she could hear someone asking if she was okay. At first she thought maybe it was Inuyasha and she was forced back to the past yet again for a split second.
"Kagome! Hey, answer me! Are You Alright!?" a voice yelled in her ear. Finally she snapped to reality. It took her a minute, but she was able to focus on the person above her.
"Thank Kami you're alright." said person sighed. Kagome looked at him.
"Bankotsu? What are you doing in my room?" she asked, shock obvious in her voice.
"You were having a nightmare. Screaming in your sleep." he answered, looking her over. She looked down, her hair overlapping her face.
"I know," She said simply. That's why I came to this hut in the first place. It was bothering everyone in the village. Even Kaede." she whispered.
"Kaede...I know that name. That's the old priestess at Edo, isn't it?" Bankotsu asked. Kagome nodded.
"She didn't want me to leave, after all we were close. And I'm not banned from the village. I just can't sleep there. Well, I can, but only one night at a time. Just to gather supplies." she said. Bankotsu slowly nodded in understanding. Giving up on sleep, she went to the kitchen to make more tea. After putting the kettle on the stove, she sat at the table, followed by Bankotsu.
"So. It 'get's easier', huh?" he asked raising a brow. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"It does. The nightmares however, don't." she sighed pinching the bridge of her nose.
"So what happened?" Bankotsu asked. Kagome kept her eyes shut.
"How'd what happen?" she asked.
"You know full well what." he replied. He was right, she knew what he was talking about, she just didn't want to say what happened.
"It might help, Kagome. Talking about it." he said quietly. Finally she opened her eyes to look at him. Maybe he was right.
"Alright. It was the final battle with Naraku. That we had, anyway. We had finally found Naraku in Mt. Hakurei…"
Flashback
The battle was intense. Everywhere you looked there was fighting. Miroku was fighting Kagura who, conveniently, had just gotten her heart back from Naraku. Sango was typically pitted against Kohaku in a fight for survival. Kagome was helping Inuyasha fight off Naraku, along with fighting Kanna with Shippo. He had become quite the little warrior in their time together.
Next thing Kagome saw was Inuyasha flying backwards. She turned towards him, making sure he was alright. Thankfully, he was standing up without a problem. She shot an arrow at Kanna then Naraku. Then a white and red flash caught her eye.
"Inuyasha!" she yelled instinctively. A second of him looking towards Kagome, that's all it took. And Naraku pierced his chest with a miasma tentacle. Then another wrapped around his throat, and another around his torso. More wrapped around his arms at the shoulders, and his legs at the knees. Finally, one simple little tug of a tentacle, and he was ripped apart. Screams came from every direction. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. Kagome tried to scream his name, but all that came out was a horrified, heart broken scream. Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at Naraku as he was disappearing, his manical laughter echoing in the air. A thunk was heard as the golem hit the floor. It missed and lodged itself into the wall where the spider hanyou once stood. It was obvious that he wanted them to know he wasn't there, simply a golem of himself, but he had still won. He was alive. And they, were vulnerable.
All Kagome could think as she was running towards the pile of red and white was 'he can't be dead. He can't be dead he can't be dead' she repeated it like a mantra in her head. Until she got to him. Then everything seemed to stop. Time, sound, everything. She couldn't hear Sango calling her name, or Kaguras laugh. She didn't feel the blade through her shoulder or hear Kagura scream and her head roll across the floor. She didn't notice any of it. All she knew, was Inuyasha was dead.
End flashback
Bankotsu stared at her as she finished telling him what happened. His brothers all died in front of him, but he didn't think he felt as much pain at their deaths as Kagome did for Inuyasha's. she really was such a fragile young woman. He knew she was tough as nails, but even the strongest man loses his mind over the death of a loved one. Especially a violent one. And she was no exception with her best friend dying like that. Especially at the hands of Naraku who had made them suffer so much already.
Kagome hadn't wanted to relive that moment yet again, but she had no choice with how Bankotsu was looking at her. She looked at him again, tears rolling down her face, though she didn't notice. Bankotsu reached out and wiped them away giving her a small smile.
"Don't worry, Kagome. I'll be here for you." he told her. She offered him a small smile of her own. She stood to grab the kettle, which had apparently been boiling and whistling. When she reached up on a shelf to get the packages of tea, she pulled her arm in quickly and tightly, wincing. She tried to play it off like nothing, but Bankotsu saw it.
"S'that where she got you?" he asked, gesturing towards her shoulder. "Kagura, I mean." Kagome nodded. Sighing, she pulled down the edge of her yukata to reveal her shoulder. There was a big gruesome scar there.
"Even if Inuyasha had lived, I'd be of no use to him. I can't shoot a bow anymore. I'm even more useless than I was before." she sulked. At this, Bankotsu's fist slammed onto the table, startling Kagome and almost making her drop the cups. She turned quickly to look at him. His eyes were closed tightly as if he was in pain.
"Bankotsu?" she asked. He didn't look up at her. She stepped forward tentatively, reaching for his arm. Gently she placed her hand on his bicep and he looked up at her.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked a her incredulously.
"Seriously? As if you don't already know!" he yelled. Kagome shrunk back quickly. Bankotsu regained his composure and stood up walking to her. Before she could react, his huge arms enveloped her in a surprisingly gentle hug.
"Banko-" she was interrupted by his breath in her ear.
"You're not useless. You're so far from it. Look what you've done. Traveled with Inuyasha, gained friends in a time that's not your own, befriended demons and humans alike, fought one of the most dangerous demons in Japan, saved many lives, and all while Inuyasha was calling you useless and a copy of his clay pot priestess. You're amazing, Kagome. I wish you could see that." he whispered. Her eyes were so wide from shock she thought they were gonna pop straight out of her head.
"B-Bankotsu?" she asked. This was extremely strange behavior. Especially for him. She was already surprised he didn't kill her soon as he saw her. Still though, it was nice to actually hear someone say she was worth something. Sure, Sango and Shippo told her she was, but with Inuyasha constantly harping in her ear about what a failure she was, it was hard to believe. Pulling him back, Kagome crashed her lips to his in a firey frenzy of emotion. He returned her kiss with ferver, shocked yet pleased. When she pulled back, she smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. That was the first time in a long time that someone made me feel worth something. I got a little emotional." she chuckled. Bankotsu laughed a breathy laugh and hugged her yet again. Kagome looked out the window to realize the sun was up. It was about six in the morning, and they had been up talking for about three hours. How time flies.
"Aw shit. I'm supposed to be on my way to Edo already!" she yelped running to the cabinet containing her clothes. she threw on her priestess garb, grabbed her backpack, and started to run out the door when she remembered Bankotsu. Stopping dead in her tracks, she looked at him with a smile.
"Wanna come with? It'd be nice to have the company." she asked. He seemed to contemplate it for a minute before nodding.
"Yeah I'll come. It's better than wandering." he replied with a smile. Kagome rolled her eyes but smiled. With a quickness, they began their trek to Edo.
"So, did he ever tell you that you were worth anything? Like ever, at all?" Bankotsu asked a few hours into their journey. Kagome stopped short, before falling back into her usual pace.
"Usually only on a new moon. Well, when he was injured. Uhm...not usually. Ever," Kagome sighed, obviously perturbed by the realization. "He didn't love me like I loved him. He preffered Kikyo." she continued bitterly.
'Come on, Kagome. It's not right to speak of the dead like that.' she thought, not realizing that Bankotsu was watching her.
"Kagome. It's okay to talk about it. You're not speaking ill of the dead, merely the truth. No one will think less of you for it." Bankotsu told her, his hand on her shoulder.
"I know you're right, but I still feel...dirty talking about it. I don't really like talking about him at all, really." she replied.
"I understand." he replied.
"What about you? What happened to your friends. Really? Jakotsu, and Suikotsu? They were my favorites. You know, even though Jakotsu hated women." she laughed lightly. Bankotsu smiled.
"Yeah, they were the greatest. I miss them. I'm not even completely sure what happened. Renkotsu went nuts. One minute we were just sitting by the fire cleaning our wounds..."
Flashback
"I don't understand why we're waiting here!" Renkotsu had yelled. Bankotsu slammed his already broken fist into the tree beneath them.
"I've already told you! Because we're all far too wounded to do anything! We wouldn't be of any use to the fight, or each other!" he yelled in return. Renkotsu stood up in a flash, his gourd in his hands. Bankotsu stood up in return with Banryuu hoisted over his shoulder. For a second, Bankotsu though Renkotsu was going to sit back down, but faster than he could process, the gourd was spilling it's liquid into Renkotsu's mouth and fire was headed at Bankotsu. He jumped back, dodging the flame as best he could, but he was still singed. As he was standing, the rest of the seem started to unfold in what felt like slow motion.
Suikotsu slashed through Renkotsu's face and chest, just as Renkotsu's sword was piercing through Jakotsu's chest, who had also jumped up with his Jakotsuto. Ginkotsu, the biggest member being half machine half man, shot a cannon towards the brothers, resulting in Suikotsu's death and the destruction of the three men's bodies.
When finally Bankotsu could stand, he retrieved his Banryuu and in a fit of rage, he severed the head from the giant machine.
End Flashback
"Typically it started raining and didn't stop till today." Bankotsu said, finishing his story. Kagome had been staring at the ground, horror stuck to her face like glue.
'No wonder he didn't want to talk about it,' she thought, her eyes still on the ground. Bankotsu calling her name pulled her back into reality. She looked up at him, her brown eyes full of understanding and sorrow.
"Hey, no crying. I don't need your sympathy." he spat, getting defensive. Though he was undeniably pulled to her, he had his pride to think of. And he didn't need some damn girl standing here crying for him in the middle of the road. But still, she laughed. That caught him off-guard. He looked at her quizzically to see her smiling at him.
"Men are so funny," she said simply, looking back to the road ahead her hands behind her back.
"How?" Bankotsu asked hesitantly. He wasn't completely sure he wanted to know, but it was nice for the conversation to take a turn. After all, he only told her what happened because she did.
"Because. You guys are always worried about your pride and your dignity. Which just shoots your egos through the roof. No offense. I just thinks it's a little funny." she replied.
"Huh. Most women find it annoying." he said.
"Oh, I do, too. But it's funny as well. Don't get me wrong though, I understand why. It's all about how you present yourself. Men can't risk being seen as weak, cause then people think they can walk all over them and take complete advantage of them." Kagome continued. Bankotsu laughed in return.
"That's some of it. But that's not important. This village, you're sure it won't be a problem, me being there?" he asked. Kagome's face turned grim.
"I'm sure. You're not there to harm them. Besides, these poor people have gone through much worse than the Shichinintai. They've survived the touch of Naraku." she replied grimly. Bankotsu looked at her questioningly, but decided not to push it. Obviously the lives of the people in this village are very important to her.
"Alright. Well, how far are we?" he asked. Time for a subject change.
"Well, just over that hill then we'll be in their farmlands." she replied, her gaze fixed on the hill ahead. They continued walking until they hit the outer skirts of the village itself.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by little voices screaming.
"Lady Kagome!"
"Lady Kagome!"
"Lady Kagome!"
Kagome just had enough time to brace herself as the three children tackled her. Kagome stumbled back, laughing.
"Bunta, Akane, Chiharu! How are you three?" she asked, holding their hands as they continued walking. Bankotsu watched them as they walked through the village towards the house of the head priestess and the children told her about all the things that happened while she was gone for the month. They disappeared as they got to Kaedes and the older woman walked out.
"Kagome. Here to stock up?" she asked, the three of them walked inside. Before sitting, Kaede looked pointedly at Bankotsu.
"Kaede, this is Bankotsu. He walked with me here. He's...well, alone." she said, looking to her companion. Kaede recognized the name, but kept silent. She knew Kagome had a certain sixth sense about people.
"Is everything ready?" she asked. Kaede nodded.
"Isn't it always, child?" the old woman laughed. Kagome blushed and they continued talking. Bankotsu ended up letting his thoughts wander through his past. It went on like that for a few hours, him making the occassional comment. Until suddenly the atmosphere changed. It felt as though the entire room had dropped in temperature dramatically. All eyes were on Kagome who was suddenly wearing a very angry and yet sad face.
"Any word?" she asked suddenly. Eyes cerulian and chocolate turned to face dark brown. Bankotsu didn't even have to ask who she was talking about. He knew. As did Kaede.
"None yet, but I suspect some time soon. I have a feeling fate won't keep them away for much longer. Ye'd do best to remain patient." she replied cooly. Kagome nodded but still rolled her eyes.
"What's wrong, Kagome?" Bankotsu asked. Kagome scoffed.
"I understand that what we went through was horrific, and that they needed their time to cope as well, but it's been Five years! We were like a family. At least, I thought so. That's why I stayed here instead of going home. If I'd have known , I might have gone." she answered, a tear falling down her face. She looked into the fire for a minute, letting the silence stretch.
Finally, she continued, "No. I don't think I would have gone back anyway. I was so far behind in school I would have failed and had go back a grade or two. That life wouldn't have fit me anymore. Not after all of this. This is my home now, and I wouldn't really have it any other way."
"Why don't you search for them?" Bankotsu asked. Kagome looked at him incredulously.
"What? Are you serious? You mean go on another adventure through Japan mindlessly wandering following hints and clues to try and find my friends who might not even want to be found?" She asked.
"Yeah," he shrugged."Why not? I'll even go with you. If you want, we can search for the fox kit first."
"Go search for them...hmm.." she mumbled. She wanted to think about whether it was worth it or not. "Okay. Let's do it. We can use the supplies from here. We'll have to stop back at the cabin."
"Alright. Sounds good. So where do we start?" he asked. Kagome dead panned. Where could she possibly start looking for Shippo? Wait!
"We helped him build a small shrine where his father was killed. We can start there." she answered. Bankotsu smiled.
"Good. Where is it?" he asked. Again, she deadpanned.
"I don't know. But, I know how to get there." she replied sheepishly. Bankotsu groaned.
"It's getting dark. Ye'll have some stew and sleep first." Kaede chided. The other two nodded and looked back to the fire.
"So, what's your guys' story? I mean, how'd you all meet?" Bankotsu asked looking to both women. They both let out a hearty laugh in return.
"Oh god, it was So many years ago! Well, at my families shrine in the future, we have both the bone-eaters well, and the Goshinboku. Well one day I fell through the well to this era, where I was attacked by a demon by the name of Mistress Centipede. The power of the jewel shard, which used to be in my abdomen," she started, untucking her haori to show the scar from the Jewel.
"Well I ended up freeing Inuyasha from the Goshinboku where he had been pinned by an arrow shot by Kikyo. But why that happened is a whole other story. Anyways, he killed Mistress Centipede then tried to kill me and get the jewel. Well, Kaede cast the Beads of Subjucation onto him where I comanded him with a simple word, I'm sure you've heard it. Well we got into a fight and I left, got kidnapped by bandit that had a leader with a Demon crow for a heart. The crow got the Jewel, Inuyasha came to my rescue, crow grabbed a kid, Inuyasha cut the leg off, the bird was flying away and it's claw was still on the childs back. Well back then I wasn't the greatest marksman. So I attached the foot to an arrow and shot it, the bird exploded, as did the Jewel. Thus our adventure began." she finished. As she looked at him, she could see he was trying really hard to hold back his laughter. She could hear chuckling coming from Kaede, too.
"Okay you guys, come on! I was fifteen! And from five hundred years in the future! I was scared, I wanted to go home, and I had never shot a bow in my life!" she defended. That just made them let loose. They laughed harder and she groaned, hiding her head.
"Okay so how did you meet the others?" Bankotsu asked, reigning in his laughter. Kagome smiled a small smile.
"Well, we met Shippo before any of them. Poor baby he had been with his father, who had a shard of the Jewel. The Thunder Brothers had killed him and taken it. We found him and I took him in. Manten, the uglier and younger of the brothers, had taken his fathers pelt and wore it around his waist. Well we got attacked by the Brothers and I was kidnapped," another snicker, "so Shippo talked Inuyasha into saving me. Well all that happened, big fight, I almost died. Shippos father gave out one last burst of Fox Fire to save us from an attack. The brothers died, we took their shards, we also took Shippo in and buried his father. After that, we met Miroku." she said, stopping to take a couple bites of soup.
"We met him in a fight against Sesshomaru. He had taken a hive of Saimyosho from Naraku. Miroku got poisoned after sucking some through the void in his hand. He stayed with us after that, and even saved Inuyasha and Kaedes lives a day or so after that." Another few bites.
"Sango, we met after we stumbled upon her village, where everyone had been slaughtered. We buried them and prayed for their souls. We went to a nearby lords mansion after that where Sango, Kohaku and all the villages best fighters were. All of them but Sango had been slain. The mansions lord was possesed by a spider demon. He had ensnared Kohaku to kill everyone. Sango included. Anyways, she lived. They convinced her that Inuyasha had slaughtered her village. Naraku gave her a Jewel shard to help her fight him. And she did. She fought until the only thing keeping her alive was pure will. We tended to her, told her the truth of what happened. Later we found out that Kohaku disappeared along with Naraku who was the Lord sons advisor. Sango agreed to travel with us. We've been a family ever since." she concluded. She gathered their bowls and chop sticks rinsing them in the water basin, then returning to her seat.
"Damn. He was ensnared everywhere, wasn't he?" Bankotsu asked. Kagome and Kaede nodded.
"Ye have no idea. But, ye will soon learn," Kaede replied. "But for now, sleep. A long day is ahead of you both." They nodded and layed themselves down. Sleep consumed them quickly, as they both thought of Kagomes story.
There we go! Chapter two everyone! Hope you liked it!