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Part Nine: Stupidity and Jealousy...





Instead of knocking, Jakotsu slipped quietly into his lover's room. "Aniki-chan...?" he said softly, surprised to see Bankotsu sitting there, polishing his Banryuu instead of resting./ Damn it... he only does that when he's really angry. But what's he so mad about? I didn't do anything.../

"What do you want?" Bankotsu said coldly. He kept polishing his halberd as if it was very important he do so, and Jakotsu could feel the waves of anger rolling off him. He had not even bothered to look up at his paramour which made Jakotsu feel suddenly afraid. "Well...? Unless you've come to say something important, you had better leave."

The cross-dresser looked at him, letting the hurt he felt at his lover's tone show in his eyes. "I, ummm... I," he paused to watch Bankotsu as he tried to rub a hole in his halberd. "Aniki-chan-"

"Don't call me that!"

Jakotsu sighed. "Fine... Bankotsu-Oo-Aniki, are you in pain?"

"No, I'm not in pain."

"Are you angry?"

Bankotsu sighed and looked up at his paramour, clearly irritated by his stupidity. "Of course I'm angry, Jakotsu. Wouldn't you be in my situation?"

Jakotsu stood there, thinking it over. "What situation...?" he said hesitantly.

Bankotsu shook his head. "The one where you spent the night with Ren."

"Ooh... But why are you so angry about that? We didn't do anything except suck each other off and that was only because I was trying to help him out with Sui..."

Bankotsu felt as though he was going to be sick. "That's exactly why I'm angry," he said tersely.

"Why? All I was doing was helping out my 'brother' because brothers are supposed to help each other out, right? Isn't that what you always say?"

"Yeah..." Bankotsu said wearily, and he was clearly disliking the direction their conversation was taking. "Do tell me, Jakotsu, how is having sex with my second-in-command supposed to be helping him or this team?" he said icily.

"But we didn't have sex, Bankotsu-Oo-Aniki. All I did was show him how to give Sui pleasure orally the same way I was taught. They love each other, Oo-Aniki, but they are afraid to give into it. You and I have such a wonderful thing here, and after talking with Ren, I thought I should show him a few things so that he could know that kind of happiness. It meant nothing to me, I swear it! It would be the same as Gin showing me how he makes those whirling blades of his fly through the air! Or Mu showing me how to make poisons, or Kyo showing me...ummm... I don't know. He scares me too much to really go near him..." the cross-dresser rambled on. "But I do know that if Ren and Sui take their the love further, it'll be one less thing for them to think about and that'll make them more focused on their work..."

"And you expect me to believe that shit?"

"It's not shit, Oo-Aniki... I'm sorry you don't believe me, but I don't know what else I can tell you..." Jakotsu said sadly.

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be uncomfortable with you sucking off my second-in-command?"

"No... Because it's not like I haven't done that before. Come on, Oo-Aniki, how many times have you sent me off on a mission to do just that when we needed information on an enemy? Or how many times have you asked me to do that so we can have a roof over our heads while we're recovering from our injuries, or when we needed money so we could buy food to feed our bellies? Plus you know damned well what I used to do before you took me away from that!" Jakotsu said bitterly.

The leader of the Shichinintai was completely caught off guard by his paramour's argument. "This is... different."

"How so? Because you know Ren and have worked side by side with him? But if I were still stuck in the bathhouse and you were a regular client of mine, you two would eventually come to know each other. And maybe even become be friends... and I have had two regular clients at once. So how would this be any different then? Maybe if you explain it, I'll know better how to make it up to you, because I can see you're hurt by it and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, Aniki-chan..." the cross-dresser said plaintively.

Bankotsu felt his anger melting away like snow on a warm spring day. He also hated seeing his lover upset, but he was still hurt and he tried clinging to the remains of his anger. Turning away so as not to break his resolve and forgive Jakotsu too quickly, he said softly, "I just... I don't want..." He swallowed. "I don't want to lose you to him!"

Jakotsu stood there, stunned by that little revelation. "You never were in any danger of that, Aniki-chan..." the cross-dresser replied equally as softly. "It's you I love and no one else..." Jakotsu walked over to where his lover sat, and knelt down next to him, throwing his arms carefully around him as he pulled him close.

Bankotsu sat there stiffly in Jakotsu's embrace as he was teetering on the edge of flying off into a rage and beating some sense into his paramour or bursting into tears of frustration over his stupidity as he had the feeling his lover still refused to believe he was wrong. "How can I be sure of that?" he said softly as he gave into his feelings of jealousy. "You might be saying that because it's the easiest thing to say that'll mollify me, and not because you mean it."

Jakotsu sighed wearily, and letting the hurt he felt bleed into his voice, he said softly, "Oo-Aniki, I have never once lied to you in all the time we've been together and you know it!" He took a deep ragged breath as he tried to hold back his tears and failed miserably. "I can't believe you'd say that to me!"

Bankotsu closed his eyes and let his arms snake around his paramour's waist in a tentative embrace. "But that's what I was so worried about when you had your liaison with Ren..."

The cross-dresser held his lover tighter. "It wasn't a liaison, Oo-Aniki-chan," he soothed. "It was more like when I was in the bathhouse and was being taught what to do by the girls. They would show me how to do something by doing it to me and then they would later on watch me to make sure I knew what I was doing while I was there helping out with one of their clients. That's all..."

"Are you sure that's all it was...?" Bankotsu said quietly, and looking up at his paramour, his expression softened as he grasped at that sliver of reassurance he could use to forgive Jakotsu.

"I swear on all that I hold dear," Jakotsu said, hugging his lover as tightly as he dared to, to underscore his words. "That's all it was, Aniki-chan..." He kissed the top of Bankotsu's head.

Seconds later, Bankotsu wrapped his arms tightly around Jakotsu's waist.

Smiling, his eyes bright with tears, Jakotsu gently tilted his lover's face up and kissed Bankotsu long and hard.