Ban/Kag Seeing her crush with another, Kagome runs away, crying and contemplating her relationship with a certain hanyou. While wandering around, she meets someone she hasn't seen since he died one year ago… Why is he alive?
"That absolutely stupid, selfish mutt!" the girl cried from her comfortable sitting position on the large rock.
Kagome rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the tears that formed in her eyes. There she was stupid, foolish love sick Kagome once again trying to show affection to that certain someone. "Where did I go wrong?" she sniffed more tears dripping off her chin.
No denying it anymore, though. I definitely love him. But where did I go wrong? Kagome thought to herself. She was pretty, right? Some guys back home had asked her out with high hopes plenty of times before and ended up going home or back to class spaced out and shattered from the inside out. She never meant for them to have their feelings hurt. She knew how much it hurt not to have your feelings returned and having an unrequited love; oh boy did she know! She'd personally experienced that a dozen too many times with a certain hanyou! But I guess you can really only love that one special person.
Kagome bit her lip slightly, just enough to inflict a little bit of pain. How could she have missed it! How could she have been so stupid! Of course he didn't return her feelings! He didn't love her! How could he? She was so much more womanly. She was so much more powerful than herself. She wasn't cute and adorable; she was beautiful and sophisticated. She was so much more willingly and giving to him than she could ever be!
Kagome shuddered suddenly hearing Kikyou's cries of pleasure ringing through her ears and bouncing around inside her head. It was so sickening! It was disturbing! It should have been me there under him! Kagome paused for a moment, ashamed of herself for even thinking that thought. "No, it shouldn't have been me under him," she whispered quietly, defeat evident in her voice. "If he loved me would have been me under him!"
A soft crisp breeze passed by, making Kagome more aware of the little streams flowing down her eyes. She frowned slightly and brushed her sleeve across her eyes. "Heh, it's no wonder Eri got so mad when Masou-sempai dumped her," Kagome laughed sarcastically, hoping a different memory would erase the malicious one engraved in her mind. Kagome's thoughts did changed but she couldn't help but feel guilty at using a friend's pain to sooth hers. "At least she payback'd that stupid guy!" she reminded herself, hoping somehow to justify her evil action. "He was a stupid jerk off who used poor Eri-chan as a side doll! When she didn't look, that son of a bitch ran off with another woman. He wasn't even good looking anyway!" Kagome announced proudly to no one. Turned out to be the teacher that filthy slug scumbag was cheating Eri with! Stupid man. Stupid girl! Kagome took a deep breath before jumping off the boulder.
Kagome blinked a few times. "Damn, that was Inuyasha I was referring to, wasn't it?" she asked herself. "God Eri, I'm sorry I didn't understand your feelings better."
Kagome began chewing on her bottom lip nervously. The thought that someone could understand the kind of pain she was going through now and would comfort her made the young miko want to run back home and press that doorbell button that seemed so familiar to her. Even that old shrine that she used to detest had become very important to her, other than the fact of being her second life gateway. "Eri… Arimi… Yuka…" Kagome missed them terribly, she just never knew how much until now.
Now walking at a decent pace, the love stricken girl swiftly strode towards the dried up well.
Kagome peered down. Looks as inviting as ever, she thought sarcastically. "I'll just take a seat for a while," she said to no one in particular as she moved to sit on the edge of the olden well. Kagome sighed heavily and began combing the long black tresses that were her hair, humming a quiet happy tune to cheer up her depressing attitude.
Some time passed before Kagome stopped humming. She realized that her unhappy tears were blown dry by the gentle wind and her thin fingers began sliding down her soft her hair without any fuss.
"I guess I lost track of time," she murmured as her eyes glanced at the setting sun. The sky was a majestic shade of cobalt, glittering stars blinking almost undetectably as the colors changed from that majestic blue to a lustrous orange to an effervescent scarlet as the sun dipped lower and lower, hiding behind the lively trees and grassy hills of feudal Japan. Kagome slid off the well's rim and landed awkwardly on the wild grass.
"I wish I knew how much I really love him…"
Almost as if standing next to this tree makes you feel truer to yourself…
Kagome blinked her eyes. Why did she suddenly remember what her mother told her that one day? She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. Kagome eyed the well, trying to come to the decision of visiting the sacred God Tree or just jumping back through the portal and enjoying teenage life until a certain hanyou popped up again.
And, as if by command, a light breeze swept past her face. The soft wind flew towards the Sacred Tree as if urging she follow. Kagome sighed hesitantly but took a few steps forward. Then some more steps. Without even fully thinking, Kagome began chasing the wind, playing a small quick game of tag.
Kagome brushed the branches behind her as they made minor scratches on her long legs. "I wonder if maybe I should wear pants instead of skirts," Kagome winced as a thin twig dug deeper into her arm. She snapped the branch aside mindlessly, wondering if perhaps she should have just jumped down the Bone Eater's well. "Guess it's a bit late for that, huh?" she muttered angrily as the twigs protruding out of the thin branches continued their assault on her.
Pushing a large branch to the side, the young miko stepped out, revealing her being to the great tree.
"The Sacred Tree," she breathed, taking a few steps forward.
No matter how many times she passed this tree she always felt some sort of tugging at her heart while gazing upon its lush blessedness.
Kagome automatically walked up to the tree and began stroking its healthy bark. Being so close to the god tree, Kagome began feeling that familiar tugging. A glow began to fill her finger tips, making the young girl feel purer. Kagome rested her head against the old tree, silently absorbing its unspoken wisdom.
"Yes, that's right," Kagome murmured incoherently as the bark of the tree left small scratches on her left cheek. "He's still willing to be my friend. As long as he accepts that from me, I won't ever leave his side."
Kagome's meditation was disturbed when she felt movement in the bushes.
Warily, Kagome quietly leaned off the tree and began tip toeing towards the noise. She couldn't help it; she was curious by nature. She carefully tip toed over to the rustling bush. A shaky hand reached forward, ready to cover the mystery of the trembling bush.
Right as she was going to push the leafy branches aside something shot out of the bush and jumped her.
Kagome's eyes slowly closed when realization came to her. "Heh, silly, Kagome! It's just a cute white bunny rabbit! Don't get so jittery!" Kagome croaked, nervously stroking the albino rabbit's white fur. It had leapt out of the leafy bush and landed in her arms. The rabbit fidgeted fretfully.
"What's up, little guy?" Kagome cooed.
The rabbit stopped moving for a split second before continuing its agitated squirming.
"Do you want me to let you go?" she asked it.
The rabbit continued to wriggle in her grip. She sighed and let it bounce off her chest.
Before the rabbit even touched the ground, a wave of massive pressure slashed through the air. Too perfectly was the rabbit's head completely decapitated off of its small body.
Kagome gasped, petrified by what she had just seen. "Oh my god," she began walking back, carefully.
"Where'd it go?"
The first thing Kagome saw emerging out of a bush was an enormous oohoko.
"Banryuu," Kagome breathed silently recognizing the large halberd immediately.
"Chikusho!" someone muttered angrily. "Damn branches, I'll slice them all later."
Kagome watched in horror as the leader of the infamous Shichinintai came into view. His arm grasped the halberd tightly, using it as a support to getting up from the ground. His long black braid waltzed with the wind and his closed eyes opened. Both human's eyes met; cerulean blue with chocolate brown.
"B-Bankotsu." Her voice quivered fearfully. She continued walking back.
The shock that had once been in his icy pools quickly morphed into a look of recognition and pure malice. He stood up, straightening his back and posture, holding his head up proudly while hoisting the large halberd over his shoulder. "Well, well! Look what the cat dragged in," he smirked smugly. He began walking towards her, purposely making each step slow and intimidating.
Kagome immediately noticed this and sped up her steps. "You're! What are you doing here?" she stuttered nervously. "I saw him kill you. You're dead!"
The smirk on his face widened drastically. "Well, technically I'm an undead but it doesn't matter either way."
Kagome's back bumped into the hard trunk of the God Tree. Damn! She took a quick inhale and made a run for it.
Seeing the girl backed up against the tree suddenly, he suspected she wouldn't go down quietly. As soon as she gulped, he made a dart for her.
He gazed down triumphantly as the shaking girl was trapped in between his arms. With the tree behind her, she had no where to run to. He licked his lips, trying to decide on a proper way of killing her. "How shall I kill you, wench?" he asked her.
Hoping to delay the situation more, she spoke up. "Kagome," she stated.
The killer raised his eyebrow questioningly.
"Kagome. Not wench. Kagome," she repeated.
"Alright then, Kagome, how shall I kill you? I believe slow and painful is best considering your friends killed all of my comrades. Ah, yes, and Inuyasha, he killed me. How could I have forgotten?" His smile continued to grow with each fearful emotion that flickered in the girl's eyes; his fangs were now visible.
Kagome's heart began racing. The cruel grin and malevolent eyes that looked down at her scared her pass the seventh level of hell. He now resembled a wolf that had cornered Mary's little lamb and was more than ready to devour it whole, bones and all. If only he was that kind, she thought, terrified from head to toe. He knew that she knew he would make her death as painful as he possibly could.
He brought his face down, making direct eye contact. His rough hand captured her chin, holding it in place. The girl swallowed loudly. "How can I possibly make you suffer enough to satiate the fall of all six of my companions?"
She just looked at him with fear in her eyes.
"No suggestions? Kagome, haven't you ever thought about a specific way you would like to go?"
The girl trembled nervously.
He glared at her. "Speak up!"
"No!" she squeaked.
His features calmed back. He once again had that lovely smirk plastered on his face. "How about I suggest some things to you?" His handle on Banryuu tightened.
Kagome's eyes shot open and the fear evident in her eyes tripled easily.
Feeling the fear radiate off the miko's body he couldn't help but lick his lips again. "What would be an appropriate death? Strangling the life from your small body won't do me any good. Needs to be much more painful than simple choking. Though beheading you would seem reasonable since Jakotsu and the others were beheaded for their Shikon shards. But, unfortunately, you only have one head. Maybe cutting off a few of your limbs before just chopping your head off would be good?"
Tired of hearing the many ways he could avenge the deaths of his fallen friends by her own, she stood up their foreheads now touching.
"Look here, I understand that you're a mercenary but god! Are you a bloodlust or what? I've had a few of my own friends die too, so don't act like you're the only person in this world suffering! Just pick a damn reason and get it over with," Kagome huffed irritably. She folded her arms over her chest.
He stared blankly at her, trying to decide if he should salute her foolish bravery or be infuriated that she did not hold any respect for him and recognize his authority and power.
Watching his eyes change into an unreadable form, Kagome began to panic inside her mind. What's he thinking about? Reflexively, she dug her fingernails into the bark of the olden tree.
"You are an interesting girl," he said monotonously. Kagome flinched. That tone was only used by Kikyou and hearing that attitude coming from the happy carefree leader of the Shichinintai, frightened her more than his usual mischievous smirk. His voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Kagome was it?" he began. She slowly nodded her head, careful not to agitate the murderer any more than she already did.
"Let's make a small proposal. If you hand over your shards of the Four Souls, I'll let you live to see another day. If not, I can kill you and take them by force. What do you say?"
Kagome looked at him. He was going to let her live if she gave up the four shards that were contained in the little glass bottle that hung from the necklace around her neck. If she did give him the shards how would she know if he wouldn't kill her? There would be a slim chance he'd go against his word and turn around and behead her. But if she didn't give him the fragments, he would definitely kill her without a second thought. Would I be betraying my friends if I gave him the shards? Would they understand? Would Inuyasha forgive me? As a friend and not anything else?
Thoughts straying back on Inuyasha, Kagome began biting her lower lip. She couldn't help but wonder if he cared about her feelings for him; but then again, why would he? He had Kikyou. All she was to him was a girl who helped him gather the shards of the Shikon no Tama. The Shikon no Kakera that he would use to became either a full demon for himself or become a full human for Kikyou. But now that Kikyou was an undead he probably wouldn't become human, leaving him the only option of being a full demon. He was powerful as a half demon, having the blood of pure Tai inu youkai running in his veins. Right now, he could easily stand his ground and he had previously killed many strong opponents such as Hiten of the Thunder Brothers, the deceased Shichinintai, and many incarnations of Naraku himself. If he truly cared about her, as a friend, he wouldn't get too angry with her and would just scold her for not being able to defend herself.
But, on the other hand, Bankotsu was still human, well formerly, and there was still the slim chance of her being able to escape and run like hell. Maybe she could bring up a barrier as a guard. Should she play it safe and just fork over the shards? Or should she try to get away and pray her miko powers would be enough to hold him back?
Kagome closed her eyes and made her decision.
How's that for a first chapter? Yes, it's a cliffie but I thought that might be a good place to end it. I know the story so far sounds a bit played out, but its actually going to be different than the other versions I've read. I also know that Bankotsu seems a bit more sadistic than usual but everything gets explained later. Jamatane minna-san!