InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Double Vision ❯ Chapter 73

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Sango and Bankotsu rode side by side, the hooves of their horses stirring up clouds of red dust in the cold, dry air.  Puffs of moist, hot vapor steamed from the horses’ muzzles.  Their mounts were mortal animals.  Fine animals, she thought with approval, patting the muscular neck of the black mare she was riding.  Well-bred, well-trained, heavy warhorses, perfectly matched in size and color, shod in iron and equipped with the best harnesses money could buy.  Their horses and gear had been allotted from a garrison of a few hundred mounted human samurai, all armed to the teeth and busily training.  

Under other circumstances, it would have been a pleasure to work for an employer with plenty of money and a willingness to spend it on weapons, soldiers, and fine mounts.  But the vibes she got from Inu reminded her too much of the personable, overly handsome “young lord” who had been responsible for the eradication of her tribe.  Both her enemy Naraku and her own husband Miroku had taught her to regard charm and good looks as weapons, rather than natural personality traits.  She could not bring herself to think positively about Inutaisho’s charming nature, which she perceived as calculating and manipulative.  In light of the lessons taught to her by Naraku and Miroku, there was no way Sango was going to buy into the positive spin Inutaisho was attempting to put on his interest in Kagome.  Regardless of the stories she had heard in the past, which portrayed him as a great leader and hero, it was very clear to Sango that Inutiasho did not have Kagome’s best interests at heart, as he wished her to believe.

Clutching the magic stone Amaya had provided her with, Sango decided it was time to broach the subject with Bankotsu.  She had the feeling that he was the type whose loyalties changed with the direction of the wind.  She feared that his willingness to side with her and Amaya against his benefactor spoke more of restlessness and a short attention span than any kind of enlightened moral judgment.

“It looks like you’re going to be getting what you wanted most, Bankotsu.  Your sword Banryu and your comrade Jakotsu.”

“It would appear that way.”  Bankotsu smirked as he rubbed the grip of his great halberd.  

“Once we find Jakotsu, what’s keeping you from returning to Fudo to honor your commitment to Inutaisho?  Inutaisho is really rich.  He’d make a great employer for you and Jak.  It’s pretty obvious he’s gearing up for war, and that’s your thing, right?”  Bankotsu tilted his head to one side and turned his peacock blue, slanted eyes upon Sango.  She caught her breath at their beauty.  It was hard to believe Bank had been a mere human before his death.  He possessed the exotic looks and perfect body she had come to associate with demons in their human form, not mere mortals.  She felt something inside her belly clutch, her nipples harden.  It was a reaction she had felt around male demons a few times, the handsome powerful ones.  Even, to her shame, Kagome’s love, Inuyasha.  “What are you, Bankotsu?  Really?”

“Just a man, Sango.  I was born to two serfs in a dirty hut in a dead-end village.  Everything I am, I’ve made myself.  Our lord was a demon, and I used to watch him ride through the village dressed in silk and riding a fine horse.”  Bank stroked the neck of his mount with his long, pale fingers.  “Can you blame me for wanting that for myself?  Power, riches, wealth?”

“No.”  Sango breathed.  “I don’t blame you at all, Bankotsu.  We are all what we make of ourselves.  I admire your determination to better yourself.”  She thought of another young lord, Kuranosuke Takeda, the one who had attempted to court her.  Everything he had or was had been given to him on a silver platter.  He was a nice guy, tall and rich and handsome, but his sense of entitlement had turned her off, big time.  “But you did make an agreement with Inutaisho.  Then you fell in with Amaya and me so easily.  How can we trust you not to double cross us?”

“That army he’s building up.  All the men and horses and equipment.  And all the metal work that goes on in Fudo, and the roads.  It’s all so… military.  I’ve never been one to follow orders, be a part of something that big and organized.  I can’t be a part of that, Sango.  And what about Amaya?  She seems awfully cozy with Inutaisho.  What makes you trust her so much, and not me?”  

Sango reflected on what Bankotsu had told her.  He had sounded sincere, and more importantly, what he had said resonated within her own soul.  She too felt the desire to excel and succeed, yet remain autonomous.  Did he truly feel the same way she did, or was he just another man, using his looks and winning ways to trick her?  She knew she had paranoid tendencies.  Kagome had told her it was understandable, given all the betrayals she had suffered.  But she had to trust someone.  There was no way she could take out Inutaisho on her own.  She had made a leap of faith in accepting Amaya as an ally.  Amaya was obviously closely connected to Inutaisho, his trusted mistress.  If she could bring herself to trust Amaya, it was hardly a stretch to take Bankotsu at his word.  

They rode on in silence.  They had agreed to meet up with Amaya once they reached the heavy woodland about four hours ride west of Fudo.  Sango spent the rest of the trip sneaking glances at her companion.

They found a perfect spot to set up camp, a clearing in the forest with enough dried grasses to satisfy the needs of their horses, and a clear little stream for them to drink from.  Sango searched for firewood while Bankotsu took care of the horses, removing their saddles and harnesses, and hobbling them out where they could graze and drink to their hearts’ content.  He stroked them fondly as he wiped the sweat from their big, warm bodies with a soft cloth.  He admired horses, as symbols of power, grace, and wealth, but he loved their loyalty and companionship.  He thought again of Jak.  He had been the only member of the Band of Seven he could truly trust and count on.  He patted Sango’s horse on the flank.  He was much closer to getting Jak back than he had been just the day before.

It was easy to find lots of dry firewood, and Sango had built a big fire close to a fallen tree.  The log made a nice, comfortable seat, and she stared dreamily into the leaping flames as she waited for Bank to join her.  She smiled when he sat down close to her side, producing a bottle of sake, which they passed between them as they sat together, and the night closed in on their little camp.

Sango was a little out of it, mellow with the heat and light of the fire, the alcohol, and Bankotsu’s closeness.  Their thighs touched as they sat side by side, drinking until the bottle was empty, sitting in a comfortable silence, leaning against each other.  She jumped when Amaya walked into the circle of firelight, one hip at a time.  Bankotsu got up to add more wood to the fire, and Amaya took over his spot by Sango’s side.  Instead of returning to sit beside the women on the fallen log, Bankotsu sat cross-legged on the ground off to one side.  

Bankotsu poked the fire with a long stick.  The flames leaped up, lighting his beautifully sculped face.  “Sango interrogated me about my willingness to switch sides and betray Inutaisho, Amaya.  Now I’m curious about your reasons.  Why would you turn against the man you love?”


    



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