The Seven: Wanted Dead or Alive
Chapter 123: Rude awakening
Title: Rude awakening
Author: Hairann
Prompt and Word Count: Stand off-613
Characters: Bankotsu, Renkotsu and Inuyasha
Warnings: None
Summary: Part 123 of The Seven: Wanted Dead or Alive.
Prompt Summary: Bankotsu regains consciousness.
Feeling himself drop into the icy cold water again was enough to startle him completely awake and realizing his hand was still being held, he knew that he had never released him; even at the cost of his own life. Filled with the overwhelming desire to repay the favor, preferably without either of them dying, Bankotsu grabbed onto the nearest rock he could find and maneuvered Renkotsu onto his back; knowing he would not have the strength to do it once the water was no longer lessening his weight.
Feeling him slip his arms around his neck and hold on, knowing it meant he could let go, Bankotsu reached his other hand and grabbed a hold of the rock with both hands. As his lungs began burning once more for lack of oxygen, Bankotsu nodded once to himself and started climbing up; praying his arms could handle the extra weight after everything he had been through.
One hand after another he climbed higher and higher as the inches seemed to pass impossibly slow. Refusing to allow himself to think about how heavy his body felt with a passenger or how numb his fingers were, he just kept repeating softly to himself, "Just a little bit further, just a little bit more." Finally, after what seemed like forever, he felt the cold night air freezing his entire body once again.
"You two alright?!" he heard called out over the storm and quickly glanced around until he spotted Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru standing off to the side; each having found a rock big enough to stand on, while holding onto the mountain, protruding out over the water. His answering yell of affirmation could barely be heard by the others, but it was enough to rouse Renkotsu.
"Don't move around or you will fall," Bankotsu warned him as he glanced over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the others. "How much longer do you think this will go on?!" he inquired, barely able to make out their forms as the two brothers turned toward each other and began discussing things far too quiet for him to overhear.
"Shouldn't be too much longer now. The rain is already starting to slow. The herd is already starting to head deeper into the valley instead of out; they only do that once the water level starts to lower. Just hold out a little longer," Inuyasha promised and even though Bankotsu had no idea where he was getting such confidence from, he decided he would take his word for it.
At the very least, having hope that it would pass soon was better than constantly dreading each passing moment. And hopefully having a positive frame of mind would help make the time feel as though it was moving faster. Now he just needed to figure out a way for Renkotsu to hold onto the mountainside instead of him as he doubted he would be able to hold them both up long enough for the storm to pass.
As he began looking around within arms' reach of his own hold, he could feel Renkotsu begin to shift around and soon realized that he was maneuvering himself so he could hold onto the wall. Making sure to hold him steady so he wouldn't fall back into the water again, Bankotsu waited patiently for him to find his footing and get a good grip on the wall before releasing him completely. Breathing deeply, Bankotsu closed his eyes as he willed himself to relax and found himself wondering how long it would be before he could see Jakotsu again. He was finding himself missing him more than he would have imagined was possible.