Author's Note: This was my very first romance fanfiction ever! 24 chapters long, I published it in Quizilla when I was fourteen years old. I still love it though, I enjoy rereading it so much that I decided to rewrite it. I'm changing a lot of things, but the main storyline will remain intact. Meet Gift the wishgranter: this story is narrated through her eyes and yes, this is an OCxBankotsu story. Well I hope it can satisfy your Bankotsu love fantasies and without further ado: Enjoy!

Theme Song: "Everytime" by Britney Spears

The Blue Eyed Mercenary

A lone figure moved within the dark room, idly pacing back and fro, as if contemplating something, and then finally settled next to a delicate tea table in the middle of the room. Seconds passed and the person sat deathly still, until her silhouette began to feel around the table and she was able to find a small candle and accompanying matches. The young woman fidgeted with the item and was able to light a small flame on the candle. As if by magic, the room became dimly lit by the miniature flame, and the girl's features were revealed.

She looked unusual, with hair the color of carnation and eyes that were aquamarine pools. A maid of seventeen, the girl was used to being different from the rest. Gift was a wish granter, a magical entity with capabilities of granting every wish any mortal could desire. She was a rare breed, but a prisoner to humans nonetheless.

For as long as she could remember, Gift had been a prisoner of feudal lords. Because of her amazing ability of being able to grant any wish anyone could desire, she was hunted down, like a price, kidnapped from village to village, in a never ending cycle. Humans treated her like an object; her servants and caretakers were instructed to treat her like a delicate item, and were forbidden of any human interaction with her, afraid that she would break and become useless at her job. Simply put, the sole purpose of her life was to please her Lord with wishes.

Gift rested her torso and head on the small table and tried to daydream about what it would be like to be human, vulnerable but happy. Seconds passed and she grunted in annoyance when she was unable to even entertain herself with her thoughts. Suddenly her reverie was interrupted when the alarm horns resonated within the castle walls. She held on tightly to her table and listened intently, trying to image the fighting and dying that would soon ensue within the castle, and cynically reminded herself that her cycle was probably going to start over again.

It was always the same; every once in a while mercenaries and hirelings would attempt to break in to the castles she resided in, in attempts to kidnap her for their lords. Sometimes they would fail, and sometimes they would succeed and she would be taken hostage to yet another region. It was the cycle of her life. Gift long ago accepted her reality that would forever more mar her existence, her heart becoming immune to anything or anyone.

In her cynical musings, Gift entertained herself with the thoughts of soldiers killing all her guards and breaking down the doors that led to her room. The minutes dragged on as a tremor overtook her castle; it felt almost like the confrontation had turned into an all-out war. Outside she heard the terrified screams of the castle staff, and soon her fantasy became a reality as the guards outside her room engaged in a life-or-death battle for her safety. The fools, she thought. If these mercenaries didn't kill her guards, then soon after more hirelings would eventually come, to attempt to take her. There would be no end to their fighting.

Gift left her sitting spot next to the tea table and stood in the far end of the room, her heart racing as she waited in anticipation for her inevitable kidnapping.

It all happened too quickly. A short man had kicked her door open, and she was momentarily mesmerized by his boyish features and pretty blue eyes, but soon her amazement turned to fear at the oversized halberd he carried with him. Gift noticed that he was alone, and the thought that he had single-handedly killed all the guards leading to her room terrified her.

He approached her without hesitation, forcefully seized her wrist—she didn't even dare fight him off—and quickly led the way out of the castle. Her heart was too numb to be affected by the blood splattered upon his arms, robes, face, and she silently walked with him through the empty hallways. Every once in a while a servant or two would dare take a peek at her retreating form, and would easily coward at the sight of death in the hallways.

The girl zoned out as she walked with the assassin, and before she realized they had left the village and had entered the forest, under the guidance of a full moon. She was surprised at how unceremoniously this man carried her; Gift was used to carriages surrounded by security guards waiting for her outside the castles, so that she could be securely taken to her new lord. This man, however, seemed to not be bothered of all the malevolent entities that could be waiting for them in the darkness of the forest.

The lone pair sped through the thicket, avoiding the elongated tree roots that protruded from the ground, and climbed through boulders, without a single moment of stopping to rest. As they walked Gift made sure to detail the man that had kidnapped her, curious of his indifferent attitude toward his job. He was short, and Gift had the inkling that he might be just as young, if not slightly older, than her. He had long, ebony hair that was tied in a long braid, and his skin was tanned, no doubt due to the many battles he had to fight under a hot summer sun.

The man guided her as if she were a rag doll, indifferent to the fact that she might not be able to catch up to his pace, and soon Gift began to grow tired and hurt. She felt shaken and insulted, so she stopped firmly on her tracks to defy him, but her posture wavered as the man kept tugging on her wrist, effortlessly staying on his original course. His cold eyes finally turned to her in annoyance before she fervently asked, "Where are we going? How much longer until we get there? And who are you?"

But the man chose to only answer one of her questions. "A couple minutes more left, just keep walking," he ordered her before turning around and continuing on their trek.

The girl sighed in defeat and resorted to simply continuing following him. She just hoped it would only take them a couple more minutes; she wasn't used to walking for so much, so she was already tired, not to mention that her wrist already felt sore from his grip. Eventually the pair reached a small house that was just beyond a clearing. Gift nearly tripped in surprise as she realized that they would be staying in a small house in the middle of the forest. Let me emphasize: a small, unprotected house in the middle of the forest. She couldn't remember the last time she was awarded with so much luck; maybe, just maybe, this could finally be her opportunity to run away.

As soon as they entered the abode the assassin released hold of her wrist, and she was free to move around in the house. Gift peeked around the small rooms that were separated by sliding doors, and noted that besides the main parlor she found that the house had a small kitchen, a room with a privy and a tub, and three other empty bedrooms. While she was looking around the halberdier had busied himself with rummaging around a small closet inside one of the empty bedrooms until he found pieces of clothing, which he handed to Gift before saying, "Have this yukata, and feel free to make yourself at home. I will go outside to get water in case you want to take a bath. Do not try to leave this house."

His stare he had on her was icy and precise, but he didn't linger waiting for her response, and simply left the house. Gift touched the soft fabric of the clothes in sheer surprise and wordlessly stood rooted to the spot. She had so many questions rushing through her mind, which wasn't numb anymore, due to the exciting change of events in her life. What did this mean? What was she supposed to do in this house? What were his purposes? Was she his prisoner, then? She scowled as she laid a futon down on the floor in one of the bedrooms; she didn't even know this man's name!

Her thoughts were interrupted as the man returned with buckets of water, which he placed in the bathroom, and half-mindedly told her, "There, you can bathe now."

The night was cold and dark, but that was exactly what she was planning to do. She felt that a bath was the perfect way to rid herself of the memories of her previous life. Gift nodded a thanks and waited for him to busy himself with something in the kitchen before rushing inside the bathroom. She wondered if the sliding doors would provide her with enough privacy, but shrugged the thought away; she had little dreams, not very many feelings, and very little dignity. The water was cold on her skin, yet she didn't mind. Her mind was too exhilarated thinking of all the possible ways she could fool this man and run away. She could be free. Freedom was something she never tasted before, and now was just fingertips away.

The dark sky changed from midnight black, to icy blue, until small rays of yellow sunlight had begun to creep through the small window in the bathroom. Gift shifted in the cold water and shivered as she woke and realized that she had fallen asleep inside the bathtub. The girl dried herself and hastily threw the yukata on, now afraid that she might catch a cold. She quietly slid the tatami door open and tip-toed out. Gift directed her legs to the left of the hallway and stopped dead on her tracks when she reached the parlor. The dawning sun hardly illuminated the entrance to the house, so the parlor was somber and dark. The girl, however, was startled by the eyes that were staring at her from the other side of the room.

Her captor was sitting next to a tea table in the parlor, his legs crossed and his hands held a small cup of tea. His eyes, however, seemed to glow in the darkness, which was what had her on edge. The man motioned to the spot opposite of him in the tea table and said, "Your breakfast."

Gift gingerly approached him—noticing how he wasn't splattered all over with blood anymore—and sat on the ground, eyeing what was on top of the tea table. Had he been someone different she would have felt more apprehensive, but something about him drew her to him; perhaps his countenance was so indifferent and genuine that she felt somewhat comfortable around him. A small, empty teacup was the only thing set on her side of the table, so she figured this was what he had meant by "breakfast." After pouring some tea on the teacup, she took a sip, never once taking her cerulean eyes away from him. Soon Gift couldn't take the silence any longer, so she finally asked what she wanted to know the minute she laid eyes on him, "Who are you?"

"My name is Bankotsu." He replied after taking a small sip from his tea. The stare he had on her was as resilient as hers.

The girl finished her tea and almost blushed when she felt her stomach growling uncomfortably. This had to be the most unremarkable breakfast ever. She felt uneasy under his unwavering gaze, and she knew that he could tell. Gift began to grow annoyed of their staring contest and decided to get on to finding out what he wanted from her, "So have you decided what to wish for?" Just as she asked this though, a hard lump settled on her stomach as she remembered she had forgotten all about her staff in the other castle; without her staff the wishgranter was going to be unable to grant a single wish.

Almost on cue, Bankotsu reached for something next to him and quietly slid a staff from his side of the table to hers, as if he had been reading her mind. She eyed the item in amazement and whispered, "How did—"

"You forgot this at the castle," he began to say once he noticed her surprised expression. "I took it from the Lord himself right before I claimed his life," Bankotsu only smirked.

"Thanks—" Gift looked down, visibly blushing in gratitude.

"Anyways I don't get to have any wishes. I'm just the delivery boy; I was hired to kidnap you and take you to Lord Sanada." The man spoke about kidnapping her as casually as if they were commenting on the good weather.

"Oh…" Gift murmured in disappointment. She should have known better than to think her life had changed. It would just be the same vicious cycle over again, until she was old and ugly and wrinkly.

"We'll be staying here for quite a while though," the mercenary finally took his mesmerizing eyes away from her and looked out the small window in the parlor, from which they could now see the sun beginning to rise. "I'm not taking you to my employer until my brother Jakotsu meets me here," he finally added.

She looked at him with mild interest, but once she realized he didn't care to return her stare also turned to look out the window, "How long until he comes?"

The young man shrugged, "Who knows, it could be in a day, or a month."

Again, the slightest glimmer of hope awakened within her. Now she was certain; this had to be her turning point. This had to be her chance at a real life. She would fool him and run away; she didn't care about her captor or his lord or his brother. All that mattered now, was her freedom.

to be continued...

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