The Seven: Wanted Dead or Alive
Chapter 101: Danger!
Title: Danger!
Author: Hairann
Prompt and Word Count: Cheer-621
Characters: Bankotsu, Sesshoumaru, Kagome and Inuyasha
Warnings: None
Summary: Part 101 of The Seven.
Prompt Summary: Bankotsu realizes that there is more than just Renkotsu on the trail that he has to worry about.
Won third place for prompt!
The first five days of the trip passed by quickly without incident, as everyone was too busy trying to find their own groove to even notice the existence of the others. Bankotsu had made sure to keep a close eye on Renkotsu just in case he was looking for revenge on someone again, but he had been so busy doing his share that he hadn't even noticed the stares.
They were just settling in for the night when Bankotsu felt his heart stop. Above the noise of the others chatting amongst themselves as they got ready to turn in for the night, he could hear the soft gasp of Jakotsu just moments before he hit the ground. Instantly knowing who had made the sound without even having to look, Bankotsu dropped the firewood he had been carrying back to the group and rushed over to to him.
"Jakotsu!" he screamed as he rushed over about to drop to his knees beside him when he heard an ominous sound and pulled his gun from its holster. A single shot rang out and the rattler stopped rattling. Kicking the dead thing away, having heard stories of rattlers biting after they were dead, Bankotsu turned his attention back to Jakotsu as he finally dropped to his knees.
After cheering silently to himself when he noticed Jakotsu was still breathing, a quick search of his body confirmed what Bankotsu had been dreading; there was a snake bite on his hand. Pressing his lips against the wound, he did his best to make a seal and began to suck out the poison. Once he was certain there was none left in his wound, he made sure to spit everything out.
Ripping open his shirt, with little regard for the buttons that went flying everywhere, Bankotsu quickly ripped off a strip and began to wrap it tightly around the bite mark. As Sesshoumaru stepped up beside him, drawn over by the commotion, he couldn't help but notice the almost healed wound on his shoulder. "Will that be a problem?" he inquired as he gestured to the wound once Bankotsu had looked up at him.
"No. That was done by bandits that attacked us, but all of them are dead now," Bankotsu assure him before reaching down and picking Jakotsu up bridal style; careful not to jar the unconscious man. Making his way over to where Kagome was standing next to her wagon, he inquired, "Would you mind if he rested in the back? He won't be able to ride for a while yet."
Before she could answer him, Sesshoumaru called out from behind, "I do not approve of a man being alone with my wife while I am too busy leading the group." Bankotsu glanced over at Sesshoumaru for a long moment as he thought over his options only to realize he only had one. Jakotsu could not ride unconscious and he couldn't do his job if he had to hold onto him.
Deciding it was worth the risk, he called out, "Inuyasha, quietly explain to your brother why Jakotsu isn't a threat please." Turning back to Kagome he gave her a questioning look before she nodded and began leading them to the back of the wagon. Behind them, Inuyasha softly whispered in his brother's ear the truth about Jakotsu's preferences.
When he didn't object again, his only response to the information a slight widening of his eyes, Bankotsu mentally cheered as he placed Jakotsu down in the back of the wagon. "Tie up his horse to the back. No sense in you trying to keep an eye on it while you're busy working," Kagome insisted before climbing in back to make sure he had enough room.
Note: Yes it is true that we now know not to suck the poison out ourselves, but this wasn't known back then and sucking out the poison was a common practice.