Woo! Instead of 51--i got to number 52! How thrilling! I'm serious. ANYWAY, lets now go for 65! ANOTHER PRIZE IN STORE!

I cant beleive i've resorted to bribery. BUT ITS THE ONLY WAY!

Alright--for the pervious chapter, i told you i'm making a SANBAN fanart, right? WEll its ALMOST done! I would have waited till i was finished--but i wanted this out sooner.

Now, IF YOU ARE REVIEWER NUMBER 65--You will get a fanart COMPLETELY made for you. It MUST be romantic, in the slightest, and must be a couple from Inuyasha. It doesnt have to be SanBan if you dont want. You get to pick the positions (oh lala) and everything! BE REVIEWER NUMBER 65, and ALL reviewers that help that special person GET to number 65 will be noted in the deviation as well! Yay! It can even be a scene from your own story if you like! If you've written one.

I hate myself for bribing. I really do.

BY THE WAY: I have a recomendded read for yall again. Just lookin' out for my bored readers, hehe!

Heres an AWESOME San/Sess story, which gets no credit at all! The girl's made 7 long-ass chapters, and only 14 freakin reviews! CAN YOU BELEIVE IT!

To put it in ChiGirl's POV, "People are out there literally begging for a good Sess/San, and when you give'um one, they act like their fingers are broken!"

"Voices" by Faere

GO READ AND REVIEW! RIGHT NOW! It's in my Favorites.

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"Ah, memories." Bankotsu remarked, being brought down to the very same cellar he was held in before. He patted the stone wall on his way to his cell, just for emphasis, and was met with the extensive sound of echoing stone under his palm.

As the gate closed infront of him, his eyes looked to see the cell that used to hold all those men had a rather large hole blasted through the wall.

"So, what happened there?"

Daisuke the newest member of the village's fleet, who was told to escort Bankotsu down here, turned to gaze over his shoulder at what Bankotsu was talking about.

"Ah, that. That had happened before I came here, but I heard the village was attacked by a group of wolf demons, and an attempt to kill a wolf demon made the demon come blasting through this wall and the one behind you."

Bankotsu looked over his shoulder, finding the wall fixed nicely.

"Of course, when the word came that we were hot on your trail, they fixed up your cell." Daisuke chuckled.

"I'm guessing all the prisoners escaped nicely during then."

"Unfortunately."

Bankotsu's head fell, "How unlucky of me."

"True," The guard agreed.

"Might I ask why you all went looking for me, but didn't give a damn about the others?"

"Well, first of all, compared to the others you deserved the punishment the most." Daisuke explained, "And about the young woman I heard that was thrown in here as well, they investigated to find the slayer was right, the chief was possessed. So she was let off the hook."

"She'll be happy to hear that," Bankotsu smirked at the old man.

"You know where she is?"

"Uh—er—I mean she'd be happy to hear it if she knew." Bankotsu rolled his eyes, "Hah, like I'd follow around an adolescent like her."

"Adolescent?"

"She's much younger than I am. 19."

"19? And she had slain the village's chief? That's pretty amazing there." The man, probably in his late 40's, gave him a questioning look. "So how old would you be? You look too young to have your head wanted all around this area Japan."

"26."

"Oh?" Daisuke then laughed, starting to head for the stone steps up from the jail, "7 years isn't much anymore, you know. She shouldn't be called an adolescent by you. I've known men my age wedding little girls."

"…"

"These men you know, one of them wouldn't happen to be my executioner hopefully?"

Daisuke laughed, "No, no…"

"Alright well, I wouldn't want the last person I see to be a man like that."

Daisuke shook his head, a small smile on his jaded features. "Bankotsu…" His hand grabbed Bankotsu's shoulder through the bars. "You're still just a boy yourself."

Bankotsu rolled his eyes shaking off the old man's hand. "Well, what's this boy's punishment for killing over 1000 people and demons?"

"A public killing."

"Obviously."

"20 arrows and a beheading."

"Both?"

It was remarkable how easy that conversation came out to be. No excess emotion was spared. It was as if they were talking about something as trivial as the weather.

Daisuke nodded, walking up a couple of steps before waving him off and jogging up the rest of the steps.

A loud sigh erupted the one-manned jail as Bankotsu had a painful urge for some sake to fill the loneliness of this cell.

Bankotsu plopped down on the hard floor, having the power to find the comfort in such an uncomfortable surface. It never really mattered to him, he could get used to anything he's done before.

"Ohh!" Bankotsu was about to lay on his back when the image of a familiar dog with a key dangling in it's teeth came to his vision. There in the corner it was sitting.

The man scooted up to the bars, dangling his feet through the bars and holding a bar in each fist.

'I cant believe I've resorted to this…'

"Pst…hey doggy! Hey, come over here for a second! I can show ya a trick."

The dog's ear twitched, but otherwise hadn't moved.

"Er, ok…how did Sango do this?"

Bankotsu patted the floor…clapped…stomped?

No no…

Clap clap pat pat …bark?

No wait it was…

Pat pat clap—wait were there even any claps?

Ahh!

"Wasn't there a whistle involved?" Bankotsu asked aloud.

His lips formed a circle, as he had seen Sango do it and blew…

"Puuuu…"

"PUUUUU!…"

"Aw damnit,"

It didn't help that Bankotsu didn't even know how to whistle…

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Knock Knock

"…Who is it?"

Sango froze, her hand lingering over the sliding door in a fist.

She had heard him…his voice…

"Hello?" He called out from behind his door.

'Open the door!' Sango told herself.

But she just couldn't will herself to do it. The manager had led her right here, right infront of Kohaku's room. The only thing that separated the two siblings was this door, and all she had to do was slide it open…

'Oh but his voice…it's getting so much deeper than I remembered…' Sango reminisced.

"Is anyone there?"

Sango suddenly heard him stand, and her hand shot out from her statue-like stillness and thrust the door open with a slam, having been frightened.

Silence…

"Ane-ue…?"

Sango just couldn't believe it…after 5 years…all she could see was a young man only resembling her dear brother.

In one hand he held his Kusarigama while the other hand held a small cloth—he had probably been cleaning it. Kohaku was tanner, and his hair—in the ponytail—reached the base of his neck. It was obvious he had grown out of his blue kimono, so he wore his slayer suit. The boy's eyes still held their shy innocence, and that was something Sango noticed hadn't changed, and she was glad.

"Kohaku…"

"Ane-ue!"

Sango saw him drop his Kusarigama and run up to her, giving her a bone-crushing hug.

"Sango!"

Sango, still in shock, slowly wrapped her arms around the boy.

No, not a boy, a man.

Once they pulled apart, Kohaku noticed there were unshed tears in Sango's eyes as she smiled at him.

"You've gotten so tall, Kohaku." The woman choked. The top of his head came to her eyebrows.

He laughed, "But I haven't caught up yet, I see."

Sango joined him in the laugh, "Oh but you will. Ah!" She hugged him again, "I just can't believe it! You're here! In my arms again! Oh…I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, Ane-ue…"

Sango pulled away but kept him in her arms, "Why did you run-away?" She said in a low voice, "Why did you leave?"

"…" Kohaku didn't seem to have an answer ready at that moment. He looked indifferent as he thought about his answer…

"I just—"

"It's alright Kohaku," Sango embraced him once again, "just make sure you give me a solid answer later, okay?

They stood there embracing eachother for a while, both having missed the feeling of their older/younger sibling to hold. Both missing the other's smell and feel, and both missing the fact that they really had a sibling.

Sango laughed, noticing how mother-like she was acting now. Wiping away any tears that managed to fall, Sango tugged Kohaku with her to sit on the bed.

As both siblings plopped on their posteriors with a laugh, Sango smiled in delight.

"So…? Tell me ALL about your travels. I bet you've got so many stories."

"Haha, where do I start?" The boy giggled, feeling comfortable to do such a childish thing only in his sister's presence.

As Sango listened to her little brother, she couldn't help but notice just how handsome he's gotten. The boy-turned-man was just so charming.

For such a small kid, he sure had a lot of stories. His tales ranged from people he's met to thing's he's killed. Sango believed what made a person grow was their experience. Kohaku's experience made him grow unbelievably fast. She just couldn't sit there without amazement coating her eyes.

Before the two knew it, the sky had darkened and the civilians were getting ready to enter their homes. But the two Taijiyas didn't even begin their main tale yet. Ignoring the night sky's time telling, Kohaku continued with his most recent stories, which Sango noted had mostly been accompanied with Bankotsu.

Sango smiled, "So that must be when you paired up with Bankotsu, you keep mentioning him so much."

Kohaku nodded, a proud smile on his face. "I know it is a scary thought, to be traveling with the infamous Bankotsu—but it actually wasn't so frightening. He's not as terrible and coldhearted as the legends say."

The woman gave him an all-knowing grin, "Oh really?" As if she didn't know herself.

"Yeah! And actually—he's a sucker for sake. Not only will he do anything to not pay for his own, but he's such an idiotic drunkard…"

Kohaku rocketed into stories of Bankotsu in his drunken stage. Sango was surprised by the amount of tales he had with the mercenary, but she couldn't forget that they had met much earlier, and traveled together much longer than she had with the mercenary.

Kohaku then started explaining how Bankotsu tried to introduce Kohaku to the world of Sake and Women. At this, Sango blanched, and before she could scramble to her feet and punish her brother for such foolhardy thoughts, Kohaku assured her that he hadn't done anything regrettable.

What he did do though, remained a mystery.

"Lastly, Bankotsu and I came to a pretty popular village and heard a rumor of a 'large youkai-bone boomerang wielding taijiya woman" He took a breathe after saying the long chain of descriptions "looking for a boy who looked just like me, characteristics wise. So when I realized that you might be looking for me…I backtracked to try and find you."

Sango shook her head with a soft smile, "You know two people looking for each other will never find eachother."

"They can only find each other if one looks and one waits, I know. Or else they'd just chase eachother's trails. Father said that once. But I just couldn't help it."

Sango nodded at the distant memory.

After the short period of silence Sango broke the ice with a rushed question.

"So, do you…did you even find out what happened to Bankotsu afterwards or did you split ways and never see each other again?"

"Once I left, he continued forward. After that I lost track of the man."

Sango smirked at her brother, "And this is where I come in."

With a confused look on his face, Kohaku listened as she started her own tale.

Once his sister mentioned that she and Bankotsu met in a jail, Kohaku jumped up from his seat.

"Really! That's amazing…how weird is fate to have us both meet the same man one after the other!"

Sango laughed at the boy's outburst, albeit agreeing all the way.

Her tale was much shorter than Kohaku's, having been only a couple of days ago did all those aspects occur. He noticed most of it was a little vague, but Kohaku didn't question. She had decided to stop at the part right after she found out Bankotsu was never resurrected, keeping out that Bankotsu was arrested and being taken back as they speak. By the time she finished, both siblings were laughing.

"Haha," Kohaku chuckled, "That sounds exactly like Bankotsu."

Sango agreed with a nod of her head.

"So, you found out Bankotsu was never really resurrected, huh?"

"Yeah," Sango chuckled at the memory. She had acted so foolish…

Kohaku then went into the story of what really happened to Bankotsu. Sango was shocked at how easy Bankotsu had gotten out of the grave.

It turned out he was buried alive, while the people who did it told everyone the troublesome mercenary was dead. When Bankotsu appeared the next month with a smirk and sake, everyone proclaimed he had been resurrected.

"…Wow. Climbing out of a grave? How much sake did you have to buy for Bankotsu to tell you that?" Sango laughed.

"Eh, a lot."

"I bought him all my money's worth and all I found out was that he found Miso Soup very, very interesting."

The two shared a laugh.

"That's all he told you?"

"…Well…" Sango then explained, in a shy and hesitant voice, about that night when they both just talked. Talked as if they had been friends for a long time, as if they knew eachother like they knew no other.

"…" Kohaku had lifted a perplexed eyebrow at his sister once she finished, noticing the streak of blush on her cheeks.

Alright, so he hadn't seen or been with his sister in 5 years, and he had to admit that in those five years she sure has grown, physically and mentally—but even so…it seemed as if he knew something that his sister was intending to keep to herself. Like some sort of…sibling connection…

"Have you…" He started, gaining his sister's attention, "…Have you fallen in love with him?"

Almost instantly, Sango had to get rid of the shock first, the woman opened her mouth to protest when Kohaku beat her to it.

"Actually, it wouldn't be TOO absurd. I mean, even though he's a mercenary, he isn't such a bad guy."

Sango listened, watching with wide eyes…

"Remember," Kohaku pointed an index finger, knowledgeably. "Bankotsu's a mercenary…not a relentless killer."

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Bankotsu growled at the dog, as if trying to out-bark it.

"Ahh! You're so…I HATE YOU! Stupid dog, GO TO HELL! I'LL KINDLY LEND YOU A HAND, YOU MANGY…FUCK…AHH!

The dog almost seemed to…smirk…

Noticing this, the last fuse in Bankotsu's head broke. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, RELENTLESSLY!"

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Sango was shaking her head, "Still!" Her eyes penetrated into Kohaku's deep ones. "…I…I don't! How can I love him, ugh, you're so…. How could you say that! I would never even THINK--"

"You're being defensive."

"I AM NOT!"

Kohaku had rolled onto his back, laughing by now. Sango kindly, as a good sister should, took a pillow from the bed and repeatedly smacked him over the head.

By the time they had both calmed down, Sango too was laugh while Kohaku was complaining at how much his stomach hurt, claiming he had probably lost a couple pounds.

"So," Kohaku started with a smile on his face, "Where is the formidable knight anyway?"

Sango's mirthful features fell into solemn ones."…He…"

Seeing the suddenly pained look on Sango's face, Kohaku asked, "What's wrong? Ane-ue?"

"You see…right after I had found out that he was never killed and resurrected, guards came out of no where and saw Bankotsu. But they hadn't seen me. So he told me to hide and I did…but he was taken…"

"And is probably going to be…killed…"

Sango nodded gravely. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to say anything after I noticed how much you like the guy…"

Kohaku shrugged it off, "You say that like we're not going to go rescue him." The boy stood up.

Her head snapped up as she stared at him. "Well…how…of course I was going to go save him!" Sango stood as well. "Just not with you trailing along! It's going to be dangerous!" She placed a hand on his head, but he wiped it off with a scowl.

"I'm 15 now, Ane-ue! I can take care of myself…and you, too! I haven't been traveling by myself for nothing."

Glares and stares penetrated the room between the two siblings. Time would tell what the decision was...

After another few moments of pure silence…

"Fine. But let's hurry, if we're late, by the time we get there he might already be dead."

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Yay!

Review Answerings! (Not everyone, just 4 this time. I only answer if you've made the review longer than the normal 2/3 sentances of 'UPDATE!'(especially if you are a fellow San/Ban writer), or if you're an aquantince, OR if you've asked a question--and i have the need to answer you!) (Smiles, even if i'm unfair.)

Kaoru-Chan: NO! I have definitly not. DEF NOT! I'm really sorry, i'm just soo damn busy--emailing takes forver, So i speed-beta my own work, send it in, and do whats next on my list of life. I've been so busy as of late, start of school and everything--but i have to be in school a week early for sports. It just really sucks. I'm really sorry, and i'm still able to beta anything you've got, if you need it. I also hope you get over your writers block! In a week or so i can help you out with that, but for now my friend i've resorted to my own sucky version of betaing until my schedule opens up. I love you! Dont bawl! lol, bawl.

ToastLuver: Ahaha...man i love your reviews--your just a a damn funny person. You know that? Of course you did. ANYWAYs, i really hope you liked this chap. I tried focussing more on drama than hilarity. Lol, must have been a pain to read. Luv ya, Tluver! You're so cool.

Kitty-chan: For some reason i love your reviews the most out of everyone's (SORRY GUYS, KITTY'S JUST THAT COOL). Lol i didnt know why for a long time, and i just reread your reveiws and somehow loved it the best. Woot! Yuo rock, and i thank you for the vote of confidence! Hope you liekd this chappie, i made it for you guys!

ChiGirl: Ah. Here we go. I just must come out and say, that i love you. Lol your reviews are so reassuring, and so into the story--it makes me feel great that you even read. I'm SEERIOUSLY thankful. BY THE WAY, i really liked this story 'Voices' by Faere--and was wondering why the hell no one reveiws for it, so i looked up the reviews and saw you already complaining about it! I abstolutely love how you stated that, "People are out there literally begging for a good Sess/San, and when you give'um one, they act like their fingers are broken!" That was awesome. But i eally get where you're coming from...so i put tha story as a recomendded read! I'm just that nice. lol jk. Anyway, thanks! You ROCK.

I cried when i saw i had 52 reviews. I really did. You guys, you REALLY make me happy. Which is why i always come back here. And even though that was a lame sentance, i really meant it. lol.