InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Miko's Love Story. ❯ The Day After ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own or make profit from the Inuyasha series Copyrights to Inuyasha and Characters belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

I only own the plot, and story line to this story and my OC's. There. I said it. (sighs)

Thank you SangOtaku6 for your many tips :)

Chapter two:

The Day After:

About an hour before sunrise, Bankotsu jumped off the boulder landing gracefully on his feet, with Banryu slung upon his shoulder. He made his way over to Kagome's side.

Inuyasha had been sitting there in the tree watching over Kagome all night. He saw Bankotsu approach her and move over to her side and knew it must be close to sunrise.

Glaring at the mercenary, he thought, 'Damn it all to hell! When I find that Naraku I'm going to kill him the most painful way I can think of! How dare he tie Kagome to such a heartless murderer? Damn, I wish this had never happened."

He growled in frustration tugging on his hair. He jumped out of the tree and landed a foot away from Kagome and Bankotsu.

Bankotsu faced Inuyasha and stared him directly in the eye, as he sat beside the sleeping priestess.

Inuyasha glared at the mercenary leader with serious and hard amber eyes. He warned, "You better not hurt her."

Bankotsu glared back at the mutt and asked evenly, "Why would I hurt her, or for that matter, allow anyone else to? Especially when I know that she is now tied to me?" He silently fumed. 'Really does that stupid mutt think of me as an idiot or something?'

Hearing Bankotsu's words and not happy about the reminder, Inuyasha growled and clenched his fist.

As the sun started to rise, Kagome mumbled and shifted in her sleeping bag. She opened her eyes and stretched, staring at the sky. She felt a twinge of panic rising inside her.

Bankotsu soothed in a deep voice, "Relax...I am right here." and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Hearing his words and feeling his strong grip on her shoulder oddly comforted her. She felt the panic ebb away and smiled at him. She greeted cheerily, "Good morning."

Bankotsu stared at her a minute and mentioned dryly, "Morning, yourself." Raising a brow, he queried, "Let me guess, you're a morning person, right?"

Kagome flashed a million watt smile and nodded.

Bankotsu grimaced. He was not a morning person in any way.

She looked at Inuyasha with the same smile and greeted cheerily, "Good morning, Inuyasha."

Used to how cheerful she was, Inuyasha grunted out, "Morning."

Kagome moved to stand up.

Bankotsu rose to his feet as well.

Jakotsu and Renkotsu had woken up an hour ago and walked over with tons of fish they had caught in the river.

Kagome spotted what they were carrying and her good mood dimmed slightly. She grimaced. "Oh no, not fish again."

Bankotsu laughed and looked ay her. He asked, "What's the matter, you don't like fish?"

Kagome looked at him and replied, "When you have had fish for the last three mornings in a row it gets tiresome."

Bankotsu chuckled and questioned, "Got any other ideas, then?"

Kagome groaned again and shook her head.

Bankotsu held back a smile and mentioned, "Looks like it is fish this morning, then."

Kagome sighed in resignation, and nodded. 'We have got to find something better for tomorrow.' She thought determined.

Bankotsu nodded to Jakotsu.

Jakotsu walked over towards the fire and began smoking the fish.

After the fish had cooked and been passed out, everyone ate their fill. Then the two groups sat around the fire discussing what to do next.

Kagome and Bankotsu were sitting side by side. Sango, Inuyasha and Miroku sat on one side of the fire and Jakotsu and Renkotsu on the other side.

Looking at the groups, Miroku started, "First, we should try to figure out how we're going to travel together, now that there are two groups."

Sango nodded. "That's true, Miroku. After all, Kagome either travels on Kirara with me or on Inuyasha's back. But she can't do that and stay beside Bankotsu at the same time."

Bankotsu frowned. "She can walk for a while beside me. If it becomes necessary I can always have her ride on my back or carry her."

Inuyasha and Bankotsu exchanged glares a moment. Neither was happy with the thought of Kagome riding on the others back.

Seeing the exchange and feeling slightly embarrassed, Kagome blushed a little. "Uh thanks, but for now I think I will just walk."

Bankotsu stared at her and warned, "You better keep up then; because once we set off we are not stopping until we make camp."

Kagome nodded signaling that she understood and would keep up.

Jakotsu queried, "Does this mean we are traveling as one group from here on out?"

Inuyasha jumped up and snapped, "Only until whatever the hell Naraku has done becomes un-done." He began pacing and stayed away from Jakotsu.

Kagome shook her head and scolded lightly, "Inuyasha, none of us are happy about this either, but we are going to have to get along for a while. So try to be nicer, alright?"

Inuyasha growled and sat down glaring at everyone.

Miroku shook his head sadly and reasoned, "Okay, now that that's settled, what are we going to do? We can't just set off without a set course of action."

Thinking it over Renkotsu vocalized, "For once I agree with the monk. We need a plan."

Bankotsu eyed the group one at a time and asked, "Any suggestions?" He knew a good leader valued the opinions of his troops, even though the leader had final say.

"Obviously, we need to find Naraku, but that isn't going to be easy. Unless of course, you guys know where he is?" Sango replied, while looking at the mercenaries.

They shook their heads.

Bankotsu informed her, "He doesn't tell us where he is until he needs to see us, or needs us to do his dirty work. In fact, he has been in a different location, every time we have gone to see him. "

His men nodded their agreements.

Miroku sighed. "I thought as much. So he doesn't even trust his own allies then."

Bankotsu looked at the monk and asked dryly, "With as many enemies as he has, would you?"

Miroku considered this a moment and shook his head. "No, I wouldn't."

Bankotsu added seriously, "Naraku is over-confident. He thought that he could control my brothers, but he found out differently. We may have worked for him but I made the final decisions. "

Making his position known upfront, Bankotsu looked everyone in the eye one at a time and decreed, "No one will ever control me!"

Kagome frowned and asked, "Wait… then all the killing you did for him, was because you chose to, not because you had to?" Her heart became heavy and her shoulders slouched.

Bankotsu held her gaze and informed her, "I am a killer. It's what my men and I are trained to do and it's what we do best." He scoffed and carelessly waved his hand at her as he finished, "So you will just have to get used to it girl."

Kagome looked away from him and said sadly, "I can never get used to the senseless killings of innocents." She busied her hands by picking at invisible lint balls on her pleated skirt.

Bankotsu scowled but stayed quiet.

Sango stood. "Anyways," she said, to bring everyone's attention to herself, in an effort to ease some of the tension building in the air. "We know that we need to find Naraku, but we have no clues where to look."

With his leg bouncing, Inuyasha demanded, "What about the jewel shards? After all, it was Kagome who shattered it in the first place." He sent her an intense scowl.

Kagome's cheeks turned pink as all eyes turned to her.

Bankotsu looked at the girl beside him. "Is that true, Kagome?"

Kagome mumbled, "Yes," She glared at her hanyou friend wondering why he'd even brought it up. "Even though it was an accident," She sighed heavily and returned her gaze to the boy who had addressed her. "I shattered the jewel when Inuyasha and I first met."

Bankotsu's eyes widened. "How did you get it in the first place?" he queried, while continuing to look at the girl beside him.

Kagome's gaze held his eyes. "It was inside me when I first came here."

Bankotsu and the band member's eyes widened.

Jakotsu's jaw dropped slightly open.

Renkotsu looked at his leader and questioned, "Did Naraku not tell you any of this, big brother?"

Eyes narrowing, Bankotsu snapped, "No, he didn't." He faced the Inutachi and stated, "No wonder he was so determined to be rid of all of you."

Inuyasha sighed heavily and barked out, "Naraku would never tell anyone everything. He isn't that stupid. "

Bankotsu snorted. "Of course not. He is devious," He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, adding, "which is a quality I usually admire in my allies."

Shaking his head, he returned his attention to the mutt and finished seriously, "If he had given us this information to begin with, my brothers and I would have been better prepared for the first meetings with you."

Kagome replied evenly, "It doesn't matter. It's in the past now." She moved to place her hand on the upset teenager's shoulder.

He jerked his shoulder away before she could touch him. "Yeah whatever, so what else has he been being kept from us?" Bankotsu stared directly into her eyes, ignoring the slight wounded look she sent him.

Inuyasha snapped, "You know enough now. You are already aware that Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation. Now you know that the jewel was inside of her and that she shattered it."

Annoyed at constantly having that thrown in her face, Kagome snapped, "It was an accident Inuyasha. When are you going to get over it?" She stood up and flailed her arms to the sides. "It wasn't like I did it on purpose." Her eyes danced with angry flames as she glared at him.

Shooting them both glares, Bankotsu ordered firmly, "Enough!"

Addressing the group as a whole, he continued, "Standing here arguing about it isn't going to change the past; nor is it going to change our current situation."

Bristling at being scolded by the arrogant youth, he moved to get right into Bankotsu's face and they glared at one another, neither backing down.

Inuyasha argued, "It still doesn't change the fact she has an obligation to collect the shards and repair it."

"I am aware of my duty, Inuyasha," Kagome fired back, while glaring at said hanyou.

Bankotsu punched his fist into his other palm, signaling that he wouldn't hesitate to knock the mutt back out of his face. He turned to the girl. "Now she has more people to help her with her task."

Huffing, Kagome informed them, "I still have every intention of fulfilling my duty as the keeper of the jewel."

Bankotsu smirked and added, "Of course and as it is now my duty to protect you, I will ensure you have no trouble completing your task."

Kagome looked at him nervously and asked cautiously, "What are you up to, Bankotsu?" she still didn't trust him.

Bankotsu smiled charmingly and replied, "My dear Kagome, what makes you so suspicious of me? Can't I just be trying to help my girl out?" His hand went around her waist.

Kagome sighed and reminded, "I am not your girl, Bankotsu," she pointedly removed his arm from her hips. "And I doubt you would do something without expecting something else in return."

Bankotsu grinned and replied, "Indeed." He was oddly pleased to learn that she wasn't as stupid as he'd first thought.

Kagome sighed and stared into his eyes. "What are you up to Bankotsu?"

Bankotsu's jaw clenched and the smile disappeared from his face. "You'll find out...in due time, " he said as he looked away.

Feeling his sadness, Kagome laid a gentle hand on Bankotsu's shoulder.

This time instead of jerking away from her touch, he turned to look at her.

She suggested, "We will talk about this later. For now, we should get going."

Bankotsu stared into her eyes a moment and then nodded.

She sent him a warm, reassuring smile.

Inuyasha whined, "Kagome, you can't be serious." He stared at her puzzled. He couldn't believe she'd even consider it.

Kagome just stared at Inuyasha a minute.

Bankotsu eyed the group and added, "One last thing. We don't know how long this is going to take, so I don't think the information about this predicament of ours should leave this group." His jaw clenched so hard the muscle beside it ticked.

Miroku spoke up voicing his agreement. "That is wise indeed. There is no telling how Kouga would react and if he were to find out Kagome was bound to another man - especially one of the band of seven. He would only become even more determined to claim Kagome as his mate."

Not pleased in the least bit at this news, Bankotsu scowled and stated firmly, "Then this definitely needs to stay between our two groups!"

After a moment everyone including a reluctant Inuyasha nodded and voiced their agreement.

Bankotsu looked at Kagome. "Let's get your stuff gathered so we can leave." He faced the group and commanded, "Everyone, pack up. We are leaving in ten minutes. "

Kagome nodded and she and Bankotsu walked over to her things. She gathered her belongings and re-packed her yellow bag.

Bankotsu had hefted his Banryu to his shoulder and was waiting.

"I'm ready," she said, putting her arms through the straps of her bag, and held her bow in one hand, with her arrows sticking out of her pack.

Bankotsu nodded. He reached out and clasping his strong hand around her slender one.

Kagome's eyes widened in shock and she looked at him questioningly.

He looked at her and explained firmly, "This is just to make certain you keep up."

She blushed slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice, after all, Inuyasha was the only boy she had ever allowed to hold her hand before and it felt weird having her enemy hold her hand.

Bankotsu noticed the effect he was having on her by simply holding her hand and inwardly smirked, but on the outside his face was serious.

After a moment she entwined their fingers, which slightly shocked Bankotsu.

He refused to show it on the outside, the only visible sign of his shock was the slight widening of his sapphire eyes, which he quickly countered by blanking his face.

She looked up at him and nodded that she was ready.

They walked over towards the others, who were standing in a circle, and clearly also ready to leave.

Inuyasha saw them approaching and noticed Bankotsu holding Kagome's hand. He growled.

Bankotsu smirked at him, thoroughly enjoying the anger he could see in the male's eyes. He taunted, "Something wrong mutt?"

Inuyasha barked out at the arrogant teen male and growled louder.

Kagome sighed heavily and warned, "Don't start again you two."

Sango shook her head and climbed on the now transformed Kirara's back.

Miroku climbed on behind her also shaking his head.

Kirara lifted into the air to fly above the group.

Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder and looked at her. "Is this alright, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled at the kit that was like a son to her and replied happily, "Of course, Shippo."

Shippo grinned and settled into a more comfortable position. He'd much rather be with Kagome than with Inuyasha.

Bankotsu faced the group and ordered, "Let's move out." He walked off with Banryu slung on his shoulder and his free hand yanking Kagome along with him.

Kagome sped up so she was keeping pace right beside Bankotsu. "You didn't have to rub it in, you know," she scolded lightly, blushing.

Bankotsu scoffed. "Whatever, I am just making sure you keep up," he retorted and continued walking while holding her hand.

Kagome sighed heavily and did her best to keep pace with the killer's long strides. It wasn't easy but she managed.

Inuyasha caught up to them and walked along side Kagome on her opposite side, not trusting Bankotsu to be alone with her and still not happy about him holding her hand.

As they were walking, Bankotsu noticed Inuyasha move up on the other side of Kagome giving him a nasty look. He smirked. 'Hm, so the mutt doesn't trust me alone with her, huh? This is going to be fun.'

He glanced at the girl beside him. 'Maybe this won't be so bad after all; at least she is pretty on the eyes. It's better than being tied to an ugly wench.' He snorted not liking the train of his thoughts. He shook his head and looked straight ahead again. He kept walking.

Kagome walked along with Bankotsu holding her hand. 'Why does it have to be him of all people? Did Naraku do this to further anger Inuyasha?'

Her eyes darted to the hanyou briefly. 'Speaking of which, Inuyasha is now beside me and he doesn't look to happy.' She sighed heavily. 'I sure hope we can change this thing soon, otherwise Inuyasha and Bankotsu will most likely come to blows.' She stared ahead and concentrated on keeping her pace even with Bankotsu's, so as not to be dragged along behind him.

Jakotsu and Renkotsu followed along behind Inuyasha, Kagome, and Bankotsu.

Jakotsu walked along beside Renkotsu and pouted. He wanted to latch on to 'his' beloved Inuyasha's arm and walk beside him so bad… but thought better of it, because he knew better than to risk his leader's anger. He decided it was best to just stay behind for now. 'Especially seeing how Bankotsu is no doubt in a sour mood already from being tied to that vile wench.'

Renkotsu was disgusted by the entire situation and snorted. 'Imagine that, our 'leader' tied to a weak wench whom he now has to protect, and is basically glued to the hip with… At least until we can find Naraku and reverse or undo… whatever Naraku did.'

They continued walking along well into the afternoon. As they walked along Kagome's eyes took in the multitude of trees and grass they passed by; along with the various plants and flowers. She never ceased to be amazed by the fresher air in this era; where there were no cars or factories to release pollutants into the atmosphere.

She often longed for the beauty and fresher air of this era when she was in her own time period. Yes, she loved and missed her friends and family and even going to school. But when she was in her own era, the fresh air and natural beauty of this time called to her as much as her friends here did.

Kagome was deeply lost in her thoughts for quite a while. She shook her head to clear it of her musings. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Inuyasha's head snap up and guessed something was up.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" she asked with curiosity visible in her brown eyes.

Bankotsu frowned but stopped as he also felt a demonic aura closing in.

Everyone on the ground stopped.

Kirara flew down and landed next to Inuyasha.

Sango and Miroku climbed off and readied themselves for the upcoming confrontation, knowing it wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

Inuyasha growled, irritated, "Great, just what we don't need right now."

The wind picked up and Kagome sensed two jewel shards heading very rapidly towards their direction. Her face paled as she bemoaned, "Oh no, why now?"

Inuyasha growled and his hand immediately went to the hilt of his sword.

Bankotsu saw this and lowered his Banryu knowing damn well something was up. He looked at Kagome and noticed her paled face, then frowned and demanded, "What is it, Kagome?"

Kagome groaned and answered, "Kouga is coming. I can sense his jewel shards."

Bankotsu gripped his Banryu. "Kouga…? You mean that wolf?" he questioned as realization dawned in his eyes.

Kagome nodded.

Bankotsu exclaimed angrily, "Damn it!" No way was he gonna let a damn wolf harm his group.

The familiar sight of a whirlwind appeared from around a corner of the trees ahead of them, wisping loudly from the windy trail of dust as Kouga ran across the path, and started heading directly towards them.

It stopped only a few feet away from them. Kouga stepped out of the whirlwind and looked in the direction of 'his' Kagome. He snarled baring his fangs and his eyes narrowed dangerously at Bankotsu and Kagome's entwined hands.

"What the hell are you doing here and why are you holding my Kagome's hand?" he demanded, now staring dangerously at the mercenary leader.

Author's Note: Okay guys and gals there is the improved chapter two. Please remember to read and review thanks.