Kagome sighed as night settled and the moon made its way into the sky. It marked yet another day that she was captive of the merciless band of killers and had failed to escape. Bankotsu had left her once again after giving her the washcloth; going god-knows-where to do god-knows-what. Despite his absence, she couldn't allow herself to relax and her necked ached from being in a constant state of tension.

The glow of the moonlight dragged her distorted shadow across the remains of a semi-dry pool of blood. The reek of death still hung heavily in the air and no matter how hard Kagome scrubbed, she couldn't get the feeling of it off her skin. At this point, she feared the sensation of being drenched in someone else's blood would be permanently etched into her soul, staining it just as starkly as her now filthy washcloth.

It was also not the only reason her mind was in turmoil, however.

While she bathed, Kagome's mind was restless. Under normal circumstances (as normal as kidnapping circumstances could be) she would be furiously hatching a means to escape. She was thoroughly shaken after the events that had just happened. The adrenaline that had once coursed through her had long since ebbed, leaving her jittery and weak. She was no state to flee.

In lieu of devising a plan of liberating herself from her captors, Kagome found herself wrestling with her thoughts. The scene of Bankotsu unflinchingly slaying one of his own kept replaying in her mind. The first emotion that broke into consciousness was was fear; understandable, rational, expected, she thought. Those were feelings that she could deal with. I was the other ones that were much more complicated.

Despite all logic screaming that this was a dangerous thought path to go down, she found herself reluctantly feeling grateful towards him—and not just for slaying her would-be abductor. Her mind whirred in memory of Jakotsu's disdain and cruel touch when handling her; the way Suikotsu claws twitched whenever he looked at her; even Renkotsu's silent and calculating glare that scared her more than threats of open violence. Bankotsu hadn't been lying when he told Kagome that he was likely the only thing standing between her and certain death at the hand of his compatriots.

'Is that the kind of girl I am? The kind that appreciates her captors?'

Kagome groaned in disgust at herself. Bringing a hand up to her face, her eyes were closed in shame as she admonished herself for having such thoughts.

'He is bad.' She thought to herself steely.

A tiny, traitorous voice echoed her mantra almost questioningly.

'He is bad?'

Kagome gave another audible groan as she smacked her forehead, frustrated at her own hard-headedness.

'Yes. Very bad.' She said, answering herself. 'The baddest ever, probably. Bad, bad, bad...'

Against her every intention, Kagome was plunged into another flashback, one of the several occasions where he had been surprisingly gentle with her. She thought back to the previous night they had spent alone together; he had not touched her again after their quarrel. She thought of the several times she'd made an outburst and expected him to strike her, but he hadn't.

Kagome was so deeply confused.

She shook her head in an attempt to dispel her thoughts. Anything she felt other than hatred towards the leader of the Shichinintai was not a rabbit hole she was willing to go down.

It was probably just her being caught off-guard by Bankotsu being surprisingly multifaced. That's all. She expected Bankotsu to be vicious all the time and when he wasn't...it threw her for a loop. Totally natural feelings...right?

Kagome then looked up towards the heavens.

'Kami, what is wrong with me?' she thought

Her mind was in a tailspin. What. Was. Happening? The thoughts that she was dangerously close to entertaining defied everything she knew and had witnessed of the man. Unwilling to follow the trains of thought those admissions might take her, she quickly clamped down banishing them from her mind. She feared the deeper implication of her thoughts, and this was yet another ideation that she refused to acknowledge.

Thankfully, Kagome would soon be interrupted from her troubling thoughts.

Without warning, a whirling blur toppled into the hot spring and ruptured her musings. A cascade of steamy water crashed over her, temporarily blinding her to the newcomer. Concerned that a wild animal or demon was in the water with her, Kagome quickly backed away, crouching into a defensive position.

The intruder hadn't risen to the surface yet; only a jet of bubbles and a set of ripples were visible. The anticipation made the seconds feel like hours, and the tension in her shoulders and neck had become achingly stiff.

She waited. Eyes wide and fists at the ready. She watched as the stream of bubbles slowed and came to an eventual stop.

Finally, the water broke. Gleaming black hair shone as the figure rose and straightened. There was a groan, and Kagome couldn't discern whether it was from pain or pleasure.

She found out soon enough. Less than a meter away in the water was a stark naked Bankotsu.

"Heh" was all he said, wiping water from his eyes, arms, and chest gleaming. All he wore was an insolent gaze that was fixated on her. He made no motion towards Kagome but leaned back leisurely with his muscular arms outstretched among the rim of the hot spring, regarding her with curious but unhurried amusement.

In her very nude and vulnerable state, Kagome gasped on impulse. Her palm was pressed against her chest in an attempt to silence the frantic racing of her heartbeat. Noiselessly, she backed away attempting to increase the distance between her and Bankotsu. The sharp edges of the rocks that bit into her delicate skin quickly told her it was no longer an option.

'Dammit. Trapped again.'

Kagome tried desperately to keep her face passive, to not give away the panic that had her every nerve ending on fire. Her breath ended up betraying her, as each one made her chest heave causing the wave around her to lap gently in the otherwise still waters.

Kagome eyed Bankotsu cautiously: starting from his brawny chest and arms to his powerfully broad shoulders. Her eyes traveled up to his jaw and chapped lips, that were pulled into a mischievous grin. Kagome unconsciously parted her own lips as her tongue darted out, grazing her bottom one in nervous anticipation. Her visual assessment continued, moving from his mouth to his sharp jaw line up to the point where his bangs brushed ever-so-slightly across his defined cheekbones. Her gaze traced all of his features until she had unwittingly locked eyes with him.

Alarm bells rang off in her mind as she watched him stare at her in a way that she could only describe as wolfish.

'Fuck.'

Whatever was about to happen, Kagome wasn't so sure she'd be able to stop it. She thought she saw a muscle stir in his outstretched arms and flinched, but she even finished her action she knew that had been the wrong thing to do.

"Scared?" Bankotsu purred. He waded towards her leisurely. His powerful arms parted the water with ease, lean, hardened muscle flexing with each motion.

"You're right to be," he said with an approving nod. "Something would be very, very wrong with you if you weren't"

By this point, he was nearly upon Kagome.

She was still; not frozen out of fear but of knowing that attempting to run away would be pointless.

The gap between them was soon closed, Bankotsu's body a mere inches from her own. Unwilling to give him the satisfaction of whatever reaction he was hoping to provoke, Kagome jutted her chin out in challenge.

Whatever Kagome had expected, it certainly wasn't him letting out a burst of laughter. The sound was open and genuine; it seemed to catch him off-guard as much as it did Kagome. He let out an almost wistful sigh.

"You're just too funny," he said, "It's a shame that our paths crossed under such circumstances. I'll miss this"

Kagome's eyes narrowed with hostility. He found it humorous that she was constantly on edge, never knowing if she was going to be alive or dead from one moment to the next?

Her bravado was shaken when he placed a bronze, muscular arm on each side of her, his lean muscles rippling in anticipation. Kagome inhaled sharply. She hoped that Bankotsu hadn't snapped her arms to her side, lest they be as disobedient as her thoughts and do something of their own accord...Bankotsu's head lopped over to one side, regarding her with glee. He drank in the hitch of her breath, the trembling of her full lips, the way her creamy breasts bobbed in the water they now shared.

Both were breathing more heavily now. Their stares were unwavering Kagome with anticipation and Bankotsu with intention. He leaned in until his chest was almost upon hers.

'Oh boy.'

Kagome snapped her arms to her side, lest they be as disobedient as her thoughts and do something of their own accord.

Holding her gaze, Bankotsu's right arm broke the water's surface. His hand reached towards Kagome, the water rivulets running down his arm, tracing the curves of hardened muscles and glinting in the shine of the rising moon.

Kagome inhaled sharply.

Never breaking eye contact, Bankotsu's smile widened even further. Kagome watched as his hand came closer and closer, her mind screaming to flee but her body bracing for contact.

Bankotsu's arm came up and reached past her, briefly resting on the hot spring's natural ledge. He quickly retracted his arm to reveal that swatch of cloth he had given her earlier.

He held it in front of her with a little wave and a knowing smile that Kagome found maddening.

"Just freshening up," he said innocently, "I don't mix business with pleasure"

Kagome flushed with a mixture of indignance, anger, and embarrassment. She wanted to smack herself. She certainly wanted to smack Bankotsu. And she wanted to tear that washcloth into a million tiny pieces.

Bankotsu retreated from Kagome's space, giving her some blessed relief from his presence. First, he washed his face, bringing the cloth up and over in smooth motion. Droplets clung to his surprisingly long lashes. As he finished with the motion, his lips parted in a sign of refreshed contentment. Kagome did her best not to notice.

Bankotsu went on to drag the fabric over his neck, across each shoulder, and down each arm. His bicep curled and bulged with each movement as he traced the lines of his toned figure. Kagome snapped her head away, staring intently in the rock to the right of her. She hadn't realized she was staring at him.

Bankotsu gave another knowing smile, but thankfully, said nothing.

Instead, he gestured with his head, motioning towards a nearby rock. Kagome followed the direction of his gesture. Her eyes landed upon another bundle of fabric that lay splayed against the gray stone.

"More clothes?" Kagome asked, her tone dubious.

Bankotsu nodded.

He continued to wash as Kagome exited the steaming water and sprinted over to the clothing. It was rough to the touch. Unlike the fine silk she was forced to wear before, this clothing was plain and likely came from a poor farmer in a nearby village.

"This is another ill-gotten garment, I imagine?" she asked, but Kagome already knew the answer.

"Always" Bankotsu replied without hesitation.

Kagome looked about her surroundings while getting dressed. Except for Bankotu's presence, nothing seemed any different. Was the forest quieter than it had been before? Maybe it was finally that her ears weren't occupied with the sound of her blood rushing. Kagome dismissed the thought.

Her eyes then fell upon Bankotsu's weapon. It was hard to tell in the moonlight, but she eyed a small divot in the blade. Had that always been there? She filed her observation away, though whether it had any bearing remained to be seen. She did not have long to ponder that as her mind whirred in alarm at the sound of a familiar ominous buzzing.

Her hands instinctively reached for her bow which had long since been absent. She ground her teeth in frustration.

There were only a small handful of Naraku's insects that had appeared. They flew over to Bankotsu, who eyed them almost as warily as he did. After a beat or two, he nodded. A look of irritation crossing his handsome face before they made a quick departure.

"We'll be on our way again, shortly" he announced.

Kagome said nothing to this, instead, pondering the implications of his words. Each time her captors picked up and moved to a new location she knew it took her further and further from the possibility of rescue or escape. She needed to make a move soon, whether she felt ready or not.