A Few Minutes
Pairing(s): Asakura Yoh x Higurashi Kagome, Onesided!Bankotsu x Higurashi Kagome, Onesided!Tao Ren x Higurashi Kagome Rating: T
A ficlet of Chapter 21 from Sakuma-chan’s Shaman King fic because I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t control myself.
“Just stay right here. I’ll bring them all back, okay?”
Bankotsu gave her a reassuring smile, before turning to his brother with firm instructions.
He glanced back towards Kagome, his smile faltering momentarily at the blank look in her eyes. He thought he’d seen the last of that.
‘I’ll fix this,’ he privately promised, sharing a nod with his brother, and turned to quickly chase after their scattered party. ‘Wait for me, Kagome. Just a few minutes.’
---
He found the Usui siblings first.
“I’m really sorry,” Pirika whispered remorsefully, blinking through her tears.
HoroHoro rubbed her back, meeting Bankotsu’s solemn gaze with his own. “Me too.”
Bankotsu clapped a hand on his shoulder and rested a gentle hand on Pirika’s head. “Just come back,” he said in lieu of an empty it’s okay, because it isn’t. Not right now. “Alright? She needs you. All of you. I gotta look for the rest of the brats.”
“We’ll help,” HoroHoro insisted. Pirika nodded frantically from his arms, scrubbing her tears away even as they were replaced almost immediately. “Please! It’ll be faster if there were more of us.”
“Sure,” Bankotsu shifted impatiently, every second away from Kagome itched. “You two get the Taos. I’ll find Asakura.”
The older brother frowned. “Shouldn’t we get Yoh? We know where his house is.”
“No, I need to talk to him. Just point me to him.”
Both siblings pointed.
---
To be honest, HoroHoro was surprised to find the Taos so quickly. They were just standing by the park, conversing quietly amongst themselves, with Bason floating uncertainly by his shaman.
“Ren!”
“Jun-nee-chan! Sango-nee-chan!”
Both girls looked up in surprise, but Ren refused to face them. HoroHoro noted the stiffness of his shoulders and his white-knuckled fists.
“Pirika-chan,” Sango stepped forward in concern at the sight of the girl’s tearful eyes. “What are—”
The blue haired girl shook her head as she passed by her outstretched hand, stopping before Ren to bow deeply. “I’m very sorry!”
The older boy stepped back instinctively, only to pause as her words registered. “Huh?”
Without looking up, she continued, “This is all my fault! If I didn’t suggest playing that game, we’d all still be friends—!”
“Hey,” HoroHoro interrupted. “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine for making Ren do that dare. I was being an asshole.”
Pirika moved up from her bow to protest, “But—”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Both siblings turned to the Tao heir at his words. Ren still had his face turned away from them, his arms folded. Pirika couldn’t help but think that it came off less defensive and more withdrawn, like he was trying to protect himself. “She made her choice, and it was Asakura.”
“Yoh left not long after you did.” HoroHoro told him.
That got his attention. Golden eyes glared at him in confusion, his brows furrowed. “What?”
“We all did,” Pirika added guiltily. “Ban-san found me and onii-chan asking us to come back, but we offered to help look for you all.” She glanced hopefully at the women she’d grown so close to in the past few hours that she’d known them, giving a wobbly smile of gratitude as Jun offered her a handkerchief.
Ren frowned. “Well, you’re wasting your time. We’re not coming back.” His expression darkened, his voice falling flat. “I doubt she would care if I returned.”
“Are your feelings for her that shallow?”
In a flash, Ren’s hands fisted into the fabric of HoroHoro’s collar, golden eyes narrowed dangerously. “What did you say?”
The other boy glared back, unflinching compared to his earlier cowering at the springs. “Do you even consider her a friend?”
“How dare you—“
“Then why are you running away?” HoroHoro challenged. “Why are you doubting that she cares about you? She rejected you. So what?! Did she do it intentionally? We all know Kagome-chan is ridiculously dense! It’s not like she meant to hurt you! She clearly doesn’t even know you feel that way about her! If you were really her friend, then you would know that’s not the kind of girl she is!”
“Right now, all she must know is that all of her friends just suddenly left her,” Sango remarked, stepping up to separate them from each other. “I understand that you’re hurt, Ren. And you have every right to be. But I think this all escalated very quickly, and that we all just need to calm down a little and talk things out.”
“Ban-san seemed very concerned.” Pirika added, worrying the handkerchief in her hands. “I think Kagome-nee-chan needs us.”
Ren’s glare wavered at that.
An image of Kagome’s tearful face flashed in his mind. His jaw clenched.
“Tch.”
---
On a different part of town, Bankotsu managed to find Yoh not that far from where he’d found the Usui siblings. The brunette’s dejection worked in his favor, his footsteps slow and lethargic.
“Asakura!”
The other boy’s footsteps stopped, turning to look over his shoulder with a smile that looked forced. “Ah, hey Bankotsu. What’s up?”
Bankotsu stepped forward. “You’re coming back with me.”
Yoh’s smile strained a little. “I don’t think…”
Blue eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t asking.”
“Eh?” Was the only thing Yoh could say before he dumbly found himself being bodily carried back towards the direction of the inn. “W-wha—”
“Look,” Bankotsu scowled. “If it were up to me, I’d prefer to keep you away from Kagome. But regardless of however we both feel, you’re still her friend. And as someone who’s known her longer, I’ll tell you right now that she doesn’t have a lot of those left.”
He looked over his shoulder to meet Yoh’s startled gaze. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her smile and mean it. And I’m not going to let you take it away from her again.”
“…put me down.”
“You’re coming back with me.”
“I am,” Yoh agreed. “But you’re walking too slow.”
---
“I-I’ll be right back!” Mukotsu winced as he accidentally spat at her with all his stuttering.
But she only blinked wordlessly, eyes unfocused.
‘It’ll only be just a few minutes.’ He told himself as he vanished for the exit.
---
“Alright, the band’s back together!” HoroHoro cheered as Bankotsu and Yoh met up with them as they hurried back to the inn. Ren and Yoh warily glanced at one another but didn’t say a word.
“Good job, you two!” Bankotsu grinned, ruffling Pirika’s hair and causing the young girl to blush prettily.
Sango suddenly spoke up. “You said Mukotsu-san was with Kagome-chan, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Isn’t that him?” They all turned to see the young man walking in the same direction as them with a drink in hand.
Alone.
Yoh suddenly felt dread curling at the pit of his gut, for some reason. ‘What the…?’
“Mu?!” Bankotsu called out to him. “Where’s Kagome-chan?!”
His older brother jumped, wide eyes blinking at the large group running towards him, feeling his heartrate spike back up at having all their attention on him. Mukotsu meekly raised the can of juice in his hands. “I-I just went to get her a drink.”
“Where is she?” Ren demanded sharply. Yoh noticed the sudden tension in his shoulders and the alert way he was holding himself.
“S-she was sitting in the lobby—” was all he managed to say before the Tao heir left. Yoh quickly hurried after him, but not before quirking a smile at Mukotsu in thanks.
As they all filed back into the inn, Ren suddenly stopped, causing them all to crash into him. “Ren, why did you stop?” Yoh grunted as someone accidentally pushed him into the other shaman.
“Asakura?” Ren said, cautiously confused, as if he knew the answer to his own question and didn’t want to be proven correct.
“Yes?”
“Who the hell is that?”
He pointed ahead of them, where someone who looked startlingly like a longer haired Yoh pulled on Kagome’s hand and wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.
Eerily similar brown eyes flashed over to them from over Kagome’s shoulder. His smirk widened at the sight of them, causing them to bristle as he pulled Kagome flush against his body, and mouthed something in their direction.
Too late.
The feeling of dread intensified. Screams erupted in the inn as everything was engulfed by flames.
“KAGOME!”
