InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 59 ( Chapter 58 )

This author does not own “Inuyasha” or the song “The Highwayman”.


“Bankotsu!”

He turned slowly, and smiled. One of Inuyasha’s women, the one who dressed from head to toe in black leather. She didn’t have Kikyo’s beauty, and wasn’t as young and cute as Kagome, but she was really stacked, and she was tall. He could fuck her standing up. Bankotsu smiled. “I remember you. You’re Sango, the demon slayer. What brings you to the finest inn in all of Fudo?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Bankotsu. Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“I don’t know. Define dead for me. I think I’m starting to get a little confused about that.”

Sango actually laughed. “So, if you’re back amongst the living, where’s the rest of your motley crew?”

“The only one I know about is Jak. He left with Inuyasha and his gang over a week ago, and I haven’t seen him since. Guess I’m not his best bud anymore.”

“Inuyasha was here, in Fudo?” Sango fingered the magic stone Amaya had given her. The goddess had assured her that it would keep her private conversations from being overheard by others. It looked like it was going to come in handy.

“You’re not traveling with dog boy anymore?”

“No. I’m alone. But I like to keep on top of things, so…” She shot him a flirtatious look.

“Inuyasha was here with the monk. They performed an exorcism on the inn, and the innkeeper was so impressed he lined up a gig for them, with some rich, beautiful princess. Next thing you know, Inuyasha‘s older brother shows up and trashes the joint. That‘s the most excitement we‘ve had in this place in months. I guess I can‘t blame Jak for taking off with them. It‘s been pretty boring around here.”

“How about you, Bankotsu. Who brought you back from the dead this time?”

Bankotsu shook his head. “I don’t know and the innkeeper won’t tell me. Grandpa, that’s the innkeeper, is our liason with the client. He says we’re supposed to just sit tight and wait for our assignment. I’ve been hanging out here waiting for word from the customer for what seems like forever.”

“So you don’t know what’s going down or which side you’re supposed to be on when the shit hits the fan? That doesn’t sound too good.”

Bankotsu liked talking to this chick. She was tough, and she knew the business. “You’re telling me. It reminds me too much of our last gig, before Naraku brought us back from our graves. Me and my band were set up and ambushed by the client. It’s been too quiet, and it’s starting to make me uneasy. There’s been no action at all.” He smiled, and looked into her eyes. “Hey, since you‘re not working with Inuyasha anymore, how about we join forces? I’ve seen you fight, and, you know, the more the merrier. Maybe we can hook up with Jak again and call ourselves The Band of Three or something.”

Bankotsu had charm and charisma, all right. “Is this how you recruited The Band of Seven, Bankotsu?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I found Jak first. I just wanted to help him out, he was such a cute kid. But he loved to kill from the start. I’ve never seen anyone who enjoys bloodshed as much as that little nutcase, and you gotta admit, he‘s great with a sword.”

Sango didn’t mind the fact that Bankotsu was a sword for hire, but his bloodthirsty nature was disconcerting. Still, if she was going to have to go up against Inutaisho, she would need all the help she could get. “You don’t know where the rest of your band is, so what about Banryu?”

Bank scowled. “Grandpa’s got my baby and Jakotsutou locked up in his chambers. The whole area is protected by some kind of barrier. He says we get our weapons when we prove our loyalty to our employer. He called it an incentive.”

“I assume you’ve tried to get through the barrier?”

“You bet, but no luck. There’s some major magic going on in this place, and I have a feeling that it will take a skilled sorcerer or holy person to get at those swords. I was hoping I could persuade the monk to give it a go, but it looks like he‘s long gone. So much for that plan.”

Sango fingered the money pouch Inutaisho had given her. A ninja or demon slayer would use just about any katana, but a sword worthy of Bankotsu would be expensive. Inu had been most generous, and she had her own money as well. She and Amaya were scheduled to meet and hit the shopping district as a cover for a reconnaissance expedition later in the day. Sango hoped Amaya enjoyed shopping for weaponry.

Sango spend the rest of the day keeping Bankotsu company and working on cementing their relationship. She found out that he had no money, and was being kept in sake by the innkeeper, Grandpa. She drank a little sake along with him, but even in her current dead state she could not keep up with his consumption. “You know that princess that Inuyasha and Miroku were supposed to be working for?”

Bank didn’t want to give away too much. Better never to talk about one woman to another. Amaya was seriously hot. Drop dead gorgeous. “Yeah, I’ve seen her around.”

“Well, her name is Amaya, and she and I are going shopping later on. Maybe you could accompany us.”

Bank tapped his index finger against his front teeth. Sango noticed he had beautiful white teeth. Kagome was the only other human she knew with perfect teeth like that. “Jak and I were both told not to get too far away from the inn. Jak’s already screwed that up royally. I don’t know if it’s worth risking it.”

Sango considered the situation. She was ninety-nine percent sure that it was Inutaisho that had brought Bank and Jak back from the dead. He had sent her here, to the inn. It would follow that he expected her to meet up with Bank and even possibly Amaya. No telling if Inu already knew of Jak’s defection. “If Grandpa shows up before Amaya, I’ll ask him if you can go along as our bodyguard. It’s not right for a couple of women to wander around without protection.”

“Sounds good to me.” Bank downed another cup of sake. They killed time with a little more drinking and a little more flirting, until finally the hour appointed for Amaya’s arrival rolled around. They made their way to the front door, where they found Grandpa greeting Amaya.

Amaya looked over Grandpa’s stooped shoulder, making eye contact with Bankotsu. “Grandpa, who is this juicy hunk of man, and why haven’t you introduced him to me before this?”

“This here is Bankotsu, Princess. He’s a mercenary, so mind your jewelry. Wouldn’t want to have you lose your baubles to his trade.”

Amaya giggled, fingering the pearl pendant that nestled between her breasts. “I bet it would be worth it! Say, Bankotsu, I know how much big, strong men like you enjoy shopping. Why don’t you come along with Sango and me and carry our packages?”