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The Seven: Wanted Dead or Alive	By : Hairann Category: InuYasha AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 141
- 142
- 143
Title: Rock Graveyard

Prompt and Word Count: "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart." by Anne Frank-1166

Characters: Bankotsu and Renkotsu

Summary: Part 142 of The Seven: Wanted Dead or Alive.

Prompt Summary: Bankotsu learns something rather odd about the rocks he's gathering.

Once he had finished filling the wheelbarrow, Bankotsu instantly began making his way back up to the surface; not bothering to say anything to the group that was still working. He could not help but find it a little strange, everyone working in silence and independent of the others even as they worked side by side. The last two jobs he had, the people had actually worked together as a team and there was plenty of chatting as work was done. During the cattle drive, even with all of the problems they had along the way, they had still worked in groups and there were plenty of conversations during the day and especially around the campfire.
And when he had worked alone with Jakotsu, he always had something to say and Bankotsu could not imagine working as a team with anyone any better than he had with him. Their rhythms just synced up perfectly; making the work seem more like playing than actual physical labor. Stopping for a moment in his ascent up the tunnel, Bankotsu realized thinking of Jakotsu was not a good idea at the moment. Already his mind was beginning to wander and he was starting to realize just how much he was missing him.
Knowing he would not get any work done if he allowed himself to think of him too much during the day, Bankotsu smiled at his memory before pushing it to the back of his mind. Shaking his head to make sure it was focused back on the task at hand, he began pushing the wheelbarrow up the tunnel once more. Quickly finishing the rest of the distance to the exit of the mine, Bankotsu squinted his eyes against the assault of the morning sun; only then realizing just how accustomed they had grown to the dim light.
Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, not wanting to risk any dirt from the rocks getting in his eyes, Bankotsu waited for them to adjust once again before glancing around. More so than he had realized in the mine, when it finally dawned on him that he would need his gloves, he had truly not been prepared to start working as he had originally thought. Not only had he forgotten something so obvious as needing work gloves when working with rocks, but he had actually forgotten to ask Renkotsu where to put said rocks once they had been gathered.
Feeling like an idiot, Bankotsu was about to find the nearest miner to inquire where to drop them off, when he noticed Renkotsu was flagging him down. Sighing in relief, Bankotsu began making his way over to him; spotting a large pile of rocks on the other side of the incline he was standing on. “It's best to remove the top rocks by hand instead of just dumping the whole thing over until you have the chance to get more used to the weight. Otherwise, you're likely to fall into the rock pile. I would not recommend it,” Renkotsu informed him as he began pulling the top rocks off of the wheelbarrow as he was speaking.
Following his lead, Bankotsu began grabbing others and dropping them down on top of the large pile below them. Noticing Renkotsu was wearing gloves, he couldn't help but tease, “You could have warned the clean guy about wearing gloves, you know.” For a moment, Renkotsu paused with his hands on a rock as he finally noticed Bankotsu's bare hands.
Shrugging, he tossed a couple more rocks into the pile as he answered honestly, “I figured it would have been obvious and I knew you had your own gloves since you used them on the trail.” Quickly testing the weight of the half-emptied wheelbarrow, Renkotsu continued, “Go ahead and dump the rest in. Just be careful, the rocks are heavier than they look.” Nodding, Bankotsu stepped back in front of the wheelbarrow and gently lifted up on the handles; a bit startled, even with the warning, when the weight of the wheelbarrow tried to pull him down into the pile with it.
“Jeez, you weren't kidding. Is this thing really supposed to be that hard to dump out? Seems like it would just be easier to empty them out by hand,” Bankotsu insisted as he righted the wheelbarrow and turned it away from the hill so it wouldn't slide down into the pile. “And you're right, it should have been obvious, but somehow needing gloves didn't cross my mind until I cut my finger.”
“Well at least you won't forget them again. And two things for the wheelbarrow. First try dumping out the side rather then the front. It will be heavier, but less chances of falling in. And the main problem is the dirt we're standing on is too loose. There's no traction or support. But it is the best place to bury them so we risk falling in to make the digging and burring a lot easier.”
“No, I definitely won't forget them again,” Bankotsu laughed before turning his attention to the dirt at their feet. “We just bury the rocks? We don't do anything with them?”
“Like what?”
“Like foundations for homesteads or roads. Bridges or wells. Anything that uses rocks or stone pretty much.”
“It costs way too much to ship the rocks anywhere to make them worth selling. They are just not worth anything. And neither will our pay if we don't get back to work.”
“Go ahead, I'm just going to make a stop by the horses for my gloves and I will head back down again,” Bankotsu assured him before grabbing his wheelbarrow and heading in the direction they had hitched their horses up in.
“Just be quick about it!” Renkotsu warning before grabbing his own wheelbarrow and making his way back toward the mine for his third trip. As he walked, Bankotsu couldn't help but think to himself that it still did not make sense for them to just bury all of that material simply because it was too expensive to ship it by wagon somewhere else. While he may no longer believe that people are really good at heart, especially with everything that he had seen in his life, but he still believed that everything had a purpose; was useful.
Just because it did not make sense to ship it away, it did not mean that they couldn't use the rocks for something here in the mining 'town'. For one, it could be used to build the foundations and even rock houses for the miners to live in instead of tents. They could build themselves some wells, if there was a water source below them at least, instead of relying on rain water for their supply. There were so many things that the rocks could be used for and as soon as he had the chance, Bankotsu was going to bring up his suggestions to the foreman.
- 141
- 142
- 143
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The Seven: Wanted Dead or Alive