Otherworld, 20 Years Ago

Since it had been fairly peaceful lately, the Princess decided to travel through Otherworld. She rarely got to travel her own lands because of the danger, and she was looking forward to seeing her people and the land.  Youko Kurama and InuYasha accompanied her on her trip along with a four human guards. Youko Kurama had a small wagon made for the Princess, one that she could use for sleeping and for traveling when she got tired of riding on horseback. It was little more than a traveling bed with cloth side panels that could be raised for air or a view. And since InuYasha knew the lands better than any of them, he would be their guide.  InuYasha remembered how much the Princess loved his field of flowers and sought to find similar places that she might like.  They had traveled for about two weeks, making numerous side journeys to see the beautiful scenery.

They were in the northern part of Otherworld, close to the Four Gods World border, when they approached a small village.  Both Demons immediately stopped. "Blood!" InuYasha said, sniffing the air. Youko Kurama nodded and signaled the guards to surround the Princess, then he and InuYasha went to investigate. They returned after a short while and the group slowly followed them into the village. Everyone was dead. Slaughtered! 

"Do you know what happened?" she asked, watching her guards digging graves for the victims.

"A couple of people were found alive." Youko Kurama answered. "They said they were attacked by a group of Demons, all with jewel shards, called the Shichinintai. There were seven of them, but only three attacked this village -- one had been killed by the soldiers, and the remaining two went to the west. They have no idea were the other four are."

InuYasha and Youko Kurama traveled quickly to the west to find the two Shichinintai who had escaped, while the Princess and her guard traveled more slowly after them. They didn't want to split up their group for long since there were four more Shichinintai.

When InuYasha and Youko Kurama found the Shichinintai, there were three of them instead of two. They all had powers: one had dozens of weapons attached to his body, the other was a poison expert and the third -- well, the third one was a surprise. It was a girl!

"What are you doing with these ruffians," InuYasha called to her.

"Oh! Aren't you cute! I love those ears!" she replied.

Youko Kurama was looking at her very carefully while InuYasha blustered at her words. "InuYasha, I don't think that's a girl.  I'm sure that it is a male."

"Oh! You take the fun out of everything!" he exclaimed. For Youko Kurama was right, the third one was also male, but dressed as a woman. "I am Jakotsu of the Shichinintai. And for taking away my fun, I will kill you!"

With that he unleashed a sword that had a long chain of blades that could curve and bend. He was deadly with that swift blade! But not deadly enough; the battle was very short. InuYasha took care of the one with the weapons with the Tetsusaiga, cutting him open. He was dead before he hit the ground. A canister of poison gas gave the other two a chance to escape but Youko Kurama snared the poison maker in his plants before he got very far. Jakotsu escaped in the poison fog, calling "I'll see you soon, InuYasha!"

InuYasha and Youko Kurama searched the area but found no sign of him. They quickly returned to the Princess. When they got there, they found Kouga with her. The Wolf Demon had heard about the Shichinintai and was looking for them also. They had been seen further west.

"Be careful of the leader, Bankotsu," Kouga cautioned. "He can call down lightning."

"Lightning?" the Princess mused, "That would be a great weapon for a Protector."

"Protector?" InuYasha looked at her incredulously, "He is a killer!"

"If he is a Thunder Demon and can summon lightning, he is too valuable to kill.  I want him captured alive."

So they traveled west, with instructions not to kill the leader. The Princess was sure that once he heard her proposal, he would agree to become one of the Protectors of Otherworld. All she had to do was talk to him, and use her power a little.  Just a bit of trust should work.  A Thunder Demon would make a wonderful Protector!

Three more days passed with no sign of the Shichinintai. In the distance they could see a small fortress built into the side of the mountain. As they got closer, they again picked up the scent of fresh blood.

"They're in there!" InuYasha said, drawing Tetsusaiga. They could see dozens of soldiers' bodies strewn around the gate.

"Stay together!" Youko Kurama admonished Kouga, who tended to speed into trouble. He readied his seeds to make his deadly plants. He had a feeling that these four would not be as easy as the first two.  They cautiously approached the gate, but no one was around. Either they were gone already or they were so sure of themselves they had not set a watch. The three Demons went inside, with the Princess and her guards trailing at a safe distance.

Two of the Shichinintai came from the side of the manor house, then Jakotsu followed a minute later.  One was still missing. Which one was the leader? Renkotsu went after Youko Kurama with his fire wires, strong steel wires with flames burning down their length. The flames were preventing him from using his plants. Every time he started to grow one, Renkotsu would burn it before it got large enough.  Suikotsu went after InuYasha. He was very, very strong with steel claws attached to his hands. InuYasha had already just missed getting slashed. Kouga and Jakotsu paired off, but Kouga easily outran the chain sword.  Now he just needed to get close.

At almost the same instant of Bankotsu's arrival, Kouga got past the defenses of Jakotsu's blade and slashed him open with his claws. A surprised look crossed his face and then he fell dead. The leader watched in horror as Jakotsu died. He charged at Kouga, but Kouga swiftly sped away.

"No! Don't kill him! He's the leader," the Princess admonished.

Bankotsu looked at the young woman standing there. Who was she? Why were they taking orders from her? Whatever the reason, she was the one he wanted. He ordered Renkotsu to separate her from the guards with his fire.  A wall of flames appeared behind the Princess, cutting her off from her guards. 

The Princess could see Bankotsu approaching her. Perfect!

Kouga raced to her side to protect her, but there was no need. She had felled the Demon by herself. What had she done to him? 

Spurred on by their Princess in danger, InuYasha and Youko Kurama got close enough to kill the other two. Then they raced to her side. She was still trembling. How stupid she had been! It had never occurred to her that Bankotsu would attack her before she could talk to him.

"Are you alright?" InuYasha asked, hugging her. She nodded, grateful for his strong arms.

Youko Kurama was bending down, looking at Bankotsu, who was moaning and writhing on the ground. Then he looked at Aara, "Do you realize what you did to him?" he demanded.

Why is his tone was so cold? "I lashed out with my power to protect myself. Why?"

"Look at him! You must have used desire or lust. He is not in pain; he is in need!"

"That is not possible!  I wasn't even thinking about passion. I was terrified so my emotion would have been fear -- if he was feeling fear, I could understand it, but lust?" She leaned over to look at the moaning young man. Youko Kurama was right!  How had she done that?

Youko Kurama was furious. He knew how it felt to be taken against your will.  He picked up Bankotsu and took him into the house. And then he returned to take the Princess by the arm, none too gently, steering her to the house also, and took her to where Bankotsu was lying on the floor.  "You have to relieve his need." 

"What? I don't want to bind him. I …."

"You did this to him. Only you can release him. He is now your male, whether you want him or not." Kurama said angrily.  And then he walked out of the house, leaving her behind with the moaning Demon.

The Princess sat on the floor next to Bankotsu. She was furious at Youko Kurama for talking to her like that. Then she looked at the man on the floor.  She sighed unhappily. She had no choice. Even though it was accident, she was responsible for the state he was in. She studied the young Demon. He had black hair braided down his back. On his forehead was a purple four-pointed star. His eyes were tightly closed, so she couldn't see what color they were. At least, he was handsome. She sighed again. She really didn't have a choice. 

After a short while, she came out of the house. Youko Kurama went to her immediately.  "You didn't bind him correctly.  I can't feel him."  He was right.  She was so angry and upset that she had just bound him to herself, but had not bothered with the binding that would bring him into the brotherhood of her males.  She ignored him and went directly to her horse and mounted it, not saying a word to anyone.  Instead of a Protector for Otherworld, she now had a fourth male and knew absolutely nothing about him except that he was the leader of a group of killers. Or had been -- since the Shichinintai were all dead now.

Youko Kurama brought Bankotsu out of the house.  He felt feverish and whimpered when he was picked up. What kind of a binding had she used on him? Youko Kurama's heart went out to him.  None of this was Bankotsu's fault.   He gently put him in the Princess' wagon. InuYasha had already mounted the huge halberd to the undercarriage of the wagon.  

Kouga left them to rejoin his wolf clan, not quite sure what had happened. He just knew that everyone was either angry or sad. 

At night he would curl up in a blanket and sleep on the hard ground. Each day he would walk silently behind the wagon. He refused to eat, barely drinking enough water to sustain himself.  After the second night, he stopped bothering to get dressed, just wrapped himself in a blanket.  By the third day, he stumbled as he walked, the blanket barely covering him, mostly dragging on the ground behind him.  There was something terribly wrong with him.  It couldn't be just the bad binding!

On the fourth day, when they passed a small lake, InuYasha acted. He was very unhappy. The beautiful trip which he had so carefully planned was ruined. As if the Shichinintai were not bad enough, now one of them was traveling with them. And he was the Princess' newest male! Well, if he was going to mate with the Princess, he was going to at least mate clean!!

He grabbed a bar of soap from the wagon and then picked up Bankotsu and threw him bodily in the lake's cold water. Then InuYasha went into the water after him and began to roughly scrub him. He ripped the dirty, tattered blanket from his hands and threw it away. He roughly unbraided his hair and washed that too. Bankotsu never protested. He just stood there as InuYasha scrubbed him, his body turning red from the force of the scrubbing. When he was done, InuYasha stomped out of the lake, leaving Bankotsu standing there naked and shivering.

Youko Kurama went in after him and picked him up out of the water and took him to the wagon. The Princess followed him into the wagon, giving InuYasha a glare. That was mean! Inside the wagon Bankotsu sat there, shivering. She wrapped a blanket around him and rubbed him dry. She glanced at his dark blue eyes and no longer saw hatred in them. She smiled, then suddenly looked deeper into his eyes.

There was no hate, there was nothing. They were vacant.

She wrapped her arms around him, rocking him gently. "What have I done?" she murmured as tears ran down her face. She had killed his men, his friends.  He only came to her because her power was forcing him -- raping him! -- nightly.  She prayed that Kaiba could help him when they got home.  The mage was a powerful healer, but this might be too much even for him.

After seven long days, they reached the Castle. Caring for Bankotsu had slowed them down to a crawl. When they reached the Castle, the Princess called for Kaiba and told him the story. She left out nothing, admitting her guilt to the young mage. He only nodded. "Take him to his room."

Youko Kurama carried Bankotsu up the stairs to the second room on the left from the Princess' room. Her room was at the end, and the six rooms for her males branched left and right down the hallway. Three of those rooms had been empty - but now only two would be. He took Bankotsu to his room and put him on the bed. Then he left the room, leaving Kaiba and the Princess alone with him.

Kaiba laid Bankotsu down in the middle of the bed, and asked the Princess to lay next to him and to hold him. "Use your power. Cover him in love and comfort, Princess." he said, then got on the bed to lie down behind him. Between them, Bankotsu was surrounded by their warmth. She poured all the love and comfort that she could into him, and Kaiba combined her power with his own to heal him.  At the same time that Kaiba healed him, Aara re-bound him the way she should have from the beginning.  With gentleness and love, she bound him not only to herself, but also to her other males.  They would know him as a brother now.  

Slowly, Bankotsu's eyes began to regain their focus and his arms, which had been laying limply at his sides, wrapped around the Princess. His head burrowed into her shoulder, safe in her warmth. Kaiba got up, nodded to her, and left them alone. Bankotsu laid there, feeling warm and safe. Her power was no longer frightening to him.  He stayed wrapped around her, afraid to break the spell. Tears began to silently fall. "It was my fault, not yours," he said very softly.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"We had taken the fort easily.  And Renkotsu had found a barrel of sake and we were just sitting there on the porch, drinking from the barrel, enjoying the quiet after the fight." he said. She stroked his hair and listening to him.

"Jakotsu -- he always dressed as a woman -- I think he was in love with me, but I felt nothing for him except friendship. But we allowed him…" he swallowed hard, his cheeks reddening, "We all used him for our pleasure."

I thought that they were just more soldiers and that it would be an easy kill. Then I saw the Wolf Demon run by and realized that my men were in danger. That's when I got up and went out, but I was too late. I saw Jakotsu die in front of me -- I still was aroused from what he had been doing to me and suddenly he was dead!"

She could feel his sobs against her shoulder, "I killed them! I choose my own wants over my men and they are all dead because of it."

She now understood what had happened. She had not thrown desire at him, she had just thrown power, but since his body was aroused, her power had augmented that emotion hundredfold. And then she had compounded everything by binding him with anger and not love.  His breakdown had been a result of the combination of his guilt and her anger.  

"Neither of us can undo what was done." she told him, lifting his head and looking into his dark blue eyes, "The only thing we can do is go on from here. From this minute. We will both put guilt aside and start over."  She kissed the star on his forehead and he smiled for the first time.