It Breaks My Heart

"Sounds like a fair exchange." Bankotsu responded bluntly with a nod of approval. "I'll see to it that an I’ll hand never meets your person." He added, tilting his head slightly to get a glimpse of what she was doing with mild interest. He had never really witnessed someone cooking before. The Band were more the types to just gobble down whole vegetables rather than prepare them and even then most of the time they'd just be feasting upon meat and ale anyway. Bankotsu continued to watch for a short while before shrugging and proceeding to exit the Kitchen area. "I should go inform my kin. Prepare them for you ahead of time rather than just springing it upon them." The young warrior spouted as he made for the exit.

Kagome nodded faintly looking to the other smiling kindly to him. "... Thank you Bankotsu, for letting me stay with you after the events that took place..." She spoke softly returning to the meal she was preparing at hand. "... After dinner though I was wondering if you could take me someplace to get a few things..." She placed the sliced potatoes to the side starting on the carrots now.

Bankotsu merely nodded at her thanks, shrugging it off as something unnecessary. "Need to get your things, huh? Yeah, I can do that." He said, consenting to her request. Being a traveler, she couldn't have that much to retrieve. As he tromped through the castle, he began to think of how funny fate could be. One minute he was ready to cleave her head from her shoulders, the next he was ready to help her move in. "Who knows? When the dog-boy catches wind of this, he'll go mad with jealousy and come storming here to try and get her back... heheh... try." Bankotsu said to himself, thinking aloud as he departed the castle to round up the rest of his party.

An hour had passed since Bankotsu had left and Kagome had everything ready for the band when they finally arrived back home. She had five bowls set out of stew only finding a few things in the kitchen to use for some sort of stew. She had warmed and toasted a bit of a loaf of bread she found along with a little bit of butter. "When Bankotsu takes me home I'll be able to get a few things they might like." She smiled to herself as she knelt down at the table waiting quietly for Bankotsu and the others to return.

As the table had finished becoming set, the remainder of the Band of Seven entered the spacious dining hall. Bankotsu in the front with Jakotsu, Suikotsu, and Renkotsu in tow. "And there you have it, Brothers. After a very long day we've been greeted with a hot meal." Bankotsu presented to the others as they filed into the room and to the table. "Hm. Well I must say this is a welcome change from the norm." Jakotsu replied, surveying the spread as he daintily sat himself down.

"Feh. If only Mukotsu was here... He'd be able to tell if this girl has poisoned the stuff." Renkotsu remarked sharply as he swished his finger about in his bowl uneasily. "Mind your tongue, brother. Kagome has worked hard to prepare us this meal, you show her the proper gratitude and eat up."

Bankotsu replied sharply, receiving a stern glare from Renkotsu before they all had gotten settled and began to eat. "Sure, eat up boys. I can't taste any blood in this meat, but it could be a lot worse." Suikotsu piped in with his two cents between bites.

Kagome sat down at the table making sure to give the others room She glanced looking over to Renkotsu. "If you’re scared I poisoned it then go find your own dinner." She spoke rather coldly as she 

started to eat her stew smiling happily as she pulled her silky black hair behind her left ear. "I'm sure you can hunt with those explosives of yours."

"Renkotsu couldn't catch an illness in the Arctic, hon." Jakotsu joked, placing his hand over his lips as he giggled softly. With a huff, Renkotsu looked around the table at the others and eventually broke down and began to dig in as well. "Count yourself lucky our brother has taken you in, girl. Otherwise I doubt you'd be speaking with such candor." Renkotsu said bluntly after he had a taste. "This will take some time to get used to for all of us, brother. In time you'll learn to accept her." Bankotsu stated optimistically, trying to put everyone at ease.

"Tonight if you need me to tend to any of your clothing that you've ripped or torn I'll sew it back together, after I get back from getting what I need." Kagome spoke taking a few more bites of her stew. "If you like I can also get things for when you guys are away from this castle. They'll make you pretty happy and satisfied." She smiled. "They'll be wrapped so they won't look tampered with like I did something to it."

As Suikotsu finished mercilessly devouring his meal, he took a moment to consider the empty bowl before carelessly letting it go to clatter about the table before him. "Done." He said bluntly, wiping his mouth across his sleeve and taking his leave of the table as if he didn't hear but one of Kagome's words. Eventually the remaining brothers had finished their meals as well. "Spare me your pleasantries, girl. I accept that Bankotsu is allowing you to stay here. But, that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it." Renkotsu stated with a somewhat dark tone, staring down at Kagome sternly before making his leave as well. " Perhaps this will be harder than I first thought..."Bankotsu said with a sigh as he rested his head in his hand.

"... Your brother's are no doubt stubborn Bankotsu." Kagome looked over to him once Jakotsu had finally left leaving his bowl behind. She stood from her seat once she had finished her stew gathering all the bowls up. "If you want more stew I can go and pour you some more and if you are finished and you are still willing to take me somewhere to get my things then could we go now while the others are in a sour mood, we could give them time to get over me staying."

"Renkotsu will be fine after he blows off some steam. In the meantime, I can go help you get your things together." Bankotsu replied looking back over to Kagome. "Yes, you two run along and get her little knick-knacks. I'll keep an eye on things around here." Jakotsu stated, waving his hand in an "off you go" manner.

"I'll get the dishes done after I get back from the trip Jakotsu so don't worry about it, also leave anything you need sewn up on this table I'll get to it when I get back." Kagome smiled kindly as she took the bowls into the kitchen.

"Thank you, honey." Jakotsu replied as he rose up from the table and excused himself. Flamboyantly hurrying around the table to his brother. "Isn't she a dear? Its a good thing you didn't eviscorate her, Bankotsu." He said, nudging his brother with an elbow before making his way out of the dining room as well. From Jakotsu's remark, Bankotsu blushed slightly out of embarrassment and slapped his palm into 

his forehead. He sat like that, silent for a few seconds as he let the wave of humiliation wash past before removing his hand and looking over to Kagome. "So just how much do you need to get, anyway?" Bankotsu asked as he picked himself up from the table and followed her into the kitchen.

"Hmmm I'll try and get a month's worth of stuff for trips you guys go on and I'll need my homework... I want to make sure I get enough to last awhile so you don't have to run me back and forth." She gave a kind smile to the man who followed before setting the dishes in a small bucket of water to soak. "I can carry it all, but I don't want to be caught by Inuyasha or the others near the village we go near... I want to ask you a favor though... When we go around the village... Could you promise not to destroy it...?"

"Nonsense, you're not to exert yourself when you're in the Band of Seven's care." Bankotsu opposed, waving his arm dismissively. It was more of a Gentlemanly thing to say, but really, if a woman could carry the supplies easily it'd be no problem for him either. Though, when he heard her request to not lay waist to the village, the young warrior recoiled a bit, insulted. "Now, now, Kagome. I told you before, I'm a mercenary, not a monster. I only kill and destroy when I am paid for it and I'll thank you to remember that." Bankotsu stated, nodding in approval of his own words and folding his arms tightly.

Kagome shifted uneasily lowering her head as she gripped her left arm with her right hand. "... I know you've told me that, but I wasn't sure because Kikyou was from that village... That's what I was trying to say." She spoke softly before looking back up to the other. "Please forgive me I was just a little worried is all Bankotsu."

Bankotsu looked down to the sincere look in Kagome's big, soulful eyes. He couldn't blame her, when he thought about it. Before today whenever they had crossed paths he had destroyed the very landscape asunder just to try and destroy Inuyasha, so it was only natural she'd fear for the wellbeing of innocents. He felt the burn of embarrassment on his face yet again as he continued staring into her eyes, so he quickly turned his face aside. "Yeah, yeah, sure." He said bluntly with his eyes clamped shut.

She smiled kindly to the older male taking one of his free hand's into hers. "Are you ready to go Bankotsu?" She was glowing in the faint light of the candles that lit the kitchen her smile the warmest thing there at the moment. "I don't mind traveling at night and if you like we can make it into a little mission."

As he kept his eyes shut, Bankotsu felt Kagome's hands snake into his folded arms and fish out one of his own, clasping it tightly. He wondered just what was she up to. Even though he kept his eyes shut, he could still feel her lipid eyes upon him, causing his face to grow a bit more red. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's get going." He replied, trying to break the uncomfortable situation and getting things underway.

Kagome nodded as she let go of the others hand and allowed him to lead her out of the house they had decided to settle into. "... Bankotsu you know what village Kikyou was from don't you, because right now I'm not sure where were at... I don't know the way back from here..." She started to feel a little guilty, but it was true she wasn't conscious on the way there and she had no way of telling how far he had traveled with her to get her there.



"If it was the village near where I took you from, then I should be able to navigate my way there again." Bankotsu replied, strumming his chin thoughtfully as he breached the front gate to the outside. He stood still outside until Kagome had caught up, using the time to try and re-orient himself with the path he took back. Then, after getting an acceptable idea of where the village was, Bankotsu kneeled down and extended out his arm to Kagome. "Here, get on my shoulder. We'll be able to move a lot faster this way." Bankotsu stated. If he was going to get her to this village to collect her things. He should at least see that it gets done quickly.

Kagome nodded once she made it to the other carefully climbing onto his back to get to the destination a lot faster. "Thank you Bankotsu."

Eventually, after taking a roundabout path and temporarily getting lost at least once, they had arrived at Kikyou's village. As soon as he arrived within the limits, Bankotsu was careful to not be seen by the townsfolk, lest he cause a panic as he made his way to the well. It was difficult though, concentrating on the path or stealth while his hand secured Kagome to his shoulder by her smooth, slender, thigh. Finally, he let her to the ground gently by the well she had pointed out to him and proceeded to straighten out his Yukata. "You know, I think you're actually lighter than Banryu." Bankotsu said observing, chuckling a bit at the unexpectedness of it.

Kagome blinked slightly at his comment then looked down. "I would hope I was lighter then a weapon that size." She spoke in a semi serious tone trying to trick he other as she stepped forward towards the well. "I'll return in an hour if you want so you are not seen you can hide in the forest." With that said Kagome jumped into the well and into her time. An hour had passed before she returned pushing two bags over the edge of the well then crawling out with a backpack over her shoulders taking a few glances here and there before pulling herself out from the well and into a sitting position waiting for the other to return from the forest to collect her.

"Its about time." Bankotsu whispered to himself from the tree line as he watched Kagome pull herself out from the well. He took a moment to consider just how that well of hers worked as a thorough fair to the future. But then, he just shrugged it off and made his way back inside the village. The good part of her taking so long was that there were less people about the streets now and he was able to approach the well easier. "Welcome back. So this is everything, then?" Bankotsu stated, looking over the satchel on her back.

Kagome nodded as she sat on the side of the well wearing her modern day clothing, but with less showing. A pink sweater and longer jean pants, her back bulging out behind her before she moved to stand on her feet. "I put some things in these bags that I thought might be useful to you and the others." A smile formed. "Oh yeah I almost forgot I got you something for bringing me back here." She shifted through her pockets and pulled out a few pieces of hard candy. "... I know it's small, but I thought it would tied you over for the journey back."

"Hmm... Thank you." Bankotsu replied, taking the candies and looking one of them over. Interested, he eventually managed to figure out how to open the wrapper and popped it into his mouth. It wasn't meat or ale, but it was good in its own way. With a nod, Bankotsu put the remaining candies inside his Yukata 

and proceeded to relieve Kagome of her bags. He then slung them over his shoulders quickly and reassumed the position. "Well then, shall we go?" Bankotsu asked with a slight slur in his voice from the candy.

Kagome nodded as she slid onto the other's back placing her hands onto his shoulders. She held on once the other had took off watching as the village became a blur in the distant. Some how on the way there Kagome had drifted off in the comforts of his hands. Once the other came to a stop Kagome opened her brown orbs using her left to rub the sleep from her eyes. "... Were home already...?"

"Yep." Bankotsu replied bluntly as he let her dismount cleanly again, dusting his hands off effortful. "I suppose it was a bit of a faster trip since I had a better clue of where I was going this time." Bankotsu concluded looking back to her, thinking it somewhat endearing how she was able to fall asleep on the trip. "Perhaps you should head up to bed? You have had quite a day." He suggested with a laugh, considering how he was responsible for her emotionally trying experience.

Kagome shook her head sadly. "I have to wash the dishes and then I want to get a start on breakfast it won't be to long before the sun will be up." She smiled. "You should rest though you've been taking care of me all day and then you took me to get a few things." She tilted her head to the side. "Unless you’re worried that I'll run away."

Bankotsu simply shook his head and placed his hands softly upon her slim shoulders, looking down to her. "The only thing I'm worried about is that you end up exhausting yourself. Really, you'll just be a hindrance to everyone including yourself if you try doing so much with no energy. So please, head up to bed." he explained sincerely.

She frowned slightly, but nodded knowing full well she wouldn't win the fight. "Fine, but tell your men to have their clothes by my door so I can sew up any holes or clean out blood stains." She spoke softly picking her bags up. "Oh yeah keep these candies hidden I didn't bring anything back for them like that I only had a few pieces left."

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A/N: Review please we did an update!