Kazuya Minekura is the owner of Saiyuki.
Beta read by Sibyl Rowan.
##
There is probably no time in history when it's good for a male to be born small and pretty. Add golden hair, violet eyes, and claws so small he got cracks about humans leaving him in the cradle as a changeling, and it's no wonder Koru had attitude.
Still, his parents would muse, enough is enough. It was usually while pulling off the top of yet another boy who thought being twice Koru's size had made him safe from reprisals.
It would have helped if there had been a regular band of children for Koru to play with. No doubt he'd have bullied them unmercifully, but he might have calmed down once there weren't large strangers jumping out at him from around every corner. But Koru's parents were archeologists, and their work took them around quite a bit. In the human backwoods, too, where a youkai is considered more an exhibit than a playmate.
When his mother had found her contraception spells revoked by her uncovering the shrine to a fertility goddess, she'd had vague ideas of a little helper, quietly sorting artefacts while he listened to her tales of olden days. Once he'd got old enough not to chew them, of course, she amended to herself, as she saved at the last minute a First Empire dragon whistle from disappearing down his one year old throat.
Or play with them, as she stopped a pre-GunBan weapon from being used by five year old Koru as a small but efficient war club on the latest failed bully.
Or put them together to see how they worked, as when she walked into a darkened room to find the eight year old Koru had somehow raised a demon with the translated text of some ancient water lily cult. True, it was a small, timid demon, glad to be banished back to the outer dark; but it still disconcerted a woman who'd expected nothing more than to put her feet up and watch the latest episode of Street of Soapmakers.
Reluctantly, they decided it was either Koru went away to school, or they went to a rest home. The best school possible, of course. Owing to a certain best selling fantasy, they had rather definite ideas about what the best school would be like. There would be a wise and fatherly headmaster. On the very first day Koru would find his ideal friends. He would be able to surmount all problems.
##
In fact, the Homura Ikkou was very unlike that fictional school.
For one thing, it was primarily a religious foundation. It had been established by a martial order for banishing the demons of Heaven, back when they were thought to be something more than a quaintly archaic turn of phrase. The foundation had gradually taken in pupils. As weather wizards and astronomers gradually showed there was no overgrown Penthouse of the Sky, the order became more for learning. It turned its undoubted skill and spirit to fighting natural disasters, and even keeping peace.
But it was still a military foundation. There was a stable of war dragons in the roof. Ready, the older boys assured Koru, to gobble up any little boy within reach.
"I'd give them stomach ache," Koru answered, apparently finding that satisfactory.
It should be clear, no warrior wants a mount liable to be eat an ally. The dragons had been raised to consider food something you got from a dish. The nearest the last five generations had got to hunting live prey was the youngest hatchlings bumbling after a mouse.
The head of the order was a warrior, a scholar, and a gentleman. But he wasn't a teacher and he was content to leave the younger pupils, at least, in the hands of Cho-sensei.
Cho-sensei wasn't much like the fictional headmaster. An archvillain would have been very ill advised to try kidnapping Cho-sensei's charges, or plotting under his nose. He had the good teacher's nose for plots.
The teacher had vine marks on his skin, which Koru soon learned could change to real vines. He had plant magic, obviously. He also could handle dragons very well. And school boys. He was slim and graceful and very good looking, and no boy in his charge doubted the will of steel under the soft voice and gentle manner.
He first saw Koru carefully arranged in the smallest size of the formal academic silks the quartermaster could find, which was two sizes too big for him and had the hat slipping over his nose. Koru rolled up the sleeves and stamped on the hat. Somehow within an hour he found himself in perfectly fitting silks, and treating them carefully. They were not designed for the active life he'd been leading up to then, but that was partly the point.
Koru also found himself eating a balanced diet, and sleeping eight hours a night in a bed rather than going out on raids or exploration. He developed a crush on Cho-sensei immediately.
Being Koru, this meant doing things meant to impress Cho-sensei. This was when Cho-Sensei started calling him Sanzo. This had apparently been a name of the Golden Demon, which seemed a bit unnecessary for someone who was only folk lore. A crush also meant being near to Cho-Sensei, and trying to do things Cho-Sensei would like. Fortunately, this included doing well at school work.
It also meant doing things to help Cho-Sensei. Koru was quite firm about that.
##
The keen senses of youkai meant they easily disturbed each other at night. Cho-sensei had long ago adapted the habit of a separate room for each pupil.
Koru looked at the ceiling of his room and struggled with his conscience.
On the one hand, he'd promised Cho-Sensei to stay in bed at night. More or less. Anyway, Cho-Sensei trusted him. On the other hand, this night's expedition would be to help Cho-Sensei. To make him well. Koru vaguely felt that came first.
A soothing rationalisation came to him.
If the building caught fire, Cho-Sensei would expect a sensible person – like Koru – to get out. Only a silly little kid would feel himself bound to stay in bed and burn to death. Well, this was the same sort of choice.
Koru had a feeling this argument wouldn't stand up to close examination, so he didn't examine it closely. Instead, he slipped out of bed and through the window.
It was such a lovely summer's night. For a second Koru wanted to run into the woods, and roll in the dewy grass, and never come back. Though he didn't know it, some youkai did this. The youkai had been night hunters a long time before they took up fire.
For Cho-Sensei. Koru threaded a straight line through the forest. Well, almost. There was the smell of a squirrel up a tree, and a rabbit in a bush. Something broke the surface of a brook, and Koru dabbed at the foam, not knowing the teeth beneath it. Luckily he was distracted by the sleepy chirp of a bird in a tree...Eventually he came to the mandrake grove.
Even Koru was sensible enough not to hunt mandrake in the day, when they had rooted. Then, if disturbed, they automatically produced a burst of ultrasonic. But at night they unrooted themselves and hunted.
Koru's delicate, but extremely efficient, nose sniffed. The whole area was blanketed by a poisonous vegetable smell, mixed with old blood and rotting flesh. The thought of actually biting whatever smelt like that made him flinch.
He reminded himself he also had five blades on each hand. Real youkai talons, whatever some other kids had said. Just like the ones with which Doku held back the zombie army.
Cheered by reflecting on the similarity between himself and the legendary, eight foot tall, youkai hero, Koru trotted off to lie in ambush. If the thought occurred to him that Doku did very little lying in ambush, being more the straight frontal assault type, it was overwhelmed by the attraction of all the little lurking points in this lightless, pathless forest.
No eight year old human boy could have waited as patiently as Koru did, but something was telling him this was the right thing.
And eventually something approached, that smelt of poison and carrion. It was bigger than he'd expected. Bigger than himself.
Koru's eyes narrowed in determination.
##
Cho Gonou was woken by a soft noise.
After rather longer teaching children than he could remember, Gonou knew those were often the more dangerous sort. He sat up in bed, trying to figure out both what it was and where it was.
What it was baffled him. There would be an occasional low grumbling growl, like an angry dog, but somehow mechanical. This would be followed by a silence. Then there would be crunching noises, faint even to youkai hearing. Then another silence. Then another growl.
Gonou was sleepy enough to consider leaving it all till morning. From the sound of it, whatever was happening had set in for the duration, and he had the feeling it was something which should be tackled by someone who'd had a full night's sleep.
Unfortunately, it was pretty clear where it was. His kitchen. As soon as he'd decided that, he was automatically donning his dressing gown and slippers and walking toward it.
He switched on the light. "Koru-kun," he said without surprise. Well, with less surprise than anyone else would have inspired. He checked what Koru was doing wasn't immediately life threatening.
Koru appeared to have dropped in to use his kitchen facilities. On one side of the small, cross legged figure was a large pile of bad smelling vegetable matter. On the other was a bowl of liquid that smelled much the same. To the front was Gonou's fancy new food processor.
If Gonou had been awake he might not considered the question he asked the first priority. "Why did you put the food processor in the bread bin?"
Koru looked sheepish. "It was meant to cut down the noise so it didn't wake you."
"Well, it made it less piercing. Koru, I thought you and I had an agreement."
Koru said earnestly, "Yes, but it's like a house burning down."
Gonou twitched, but there were enough safety spells on the kids' quarters so ten fire breathing dragons couldn't burn them down. Even Koru couldn't burn them down.
He looked out the window to check.
Suddenly he recognised the smell. "Koru, where did you get mandrake?"
"From that grove by the old execution grounds."
"How did you find a dead mandrake there? They eat their own dead."
"I killed it."
Gonu looked at the size of the thing. Even scattered across the kitchen it added up to a hefty size. "How?"
For the first time Koru looked abashed. "Silver knife." Gonou caught something mumbled about Doku. Apparently Doku never used silver against his monsters.
Gonou said, relieved, "Doku would have used silver in a flash. Most of his adventures were so dramatic because he didn't use a little forethought, a little – why do you want a dead mandrake?"
"For you. I was going to bring you breakfast on a tray, with a glass of mandrake juice."
Gonou was totally unenthusiastic about the prospect. Just choking down his gag reflex, "Why should I want mandrake juice?"
"To cure your dragon bite."
A certain logic suddenly showed under all this. Gonou had before been amazed at how keen was the hearing of youkai children, and, yes, it was to be expected staff should mention his dragon bite. "I don't want to be cured of my dragon bite. It's done me a great deal of good." He sat down on one kitchen chair and gestured Koru to one just beside it. He carefully refrained from helping the small boy to get up onto it.
When Koru was settled Gonou pushed up the cuff of his pyjama jacket and showed him a small white scar. "That's my dragon bite. It doesn't look harmful, does it?"
Koru shook his head. "It must have been a very small dragon."
"Yes." Gonou could, perhaps, have sent Koru back to bed then. But those violet eyes were looking at him so expectantly...And there was no telling what idea Sanzo would get in his head with insufficient information. "But with a very large heart.
"You know about the Story of the Four Demons?"
Koru looked with obvious disbelief at his beloved sensei. Was this a time to tell fairy tales? At Gonou's faint, encouraging smile he took a breath. Closing his eyes seemed to help him remember better. He recited with flat determination. "Kanzeon Bosatsu sent four demons to kill every youkai from China to India." Deep breath. "Prince Kougaiji with his two best friends and his sister, Lirin, fought nobly against them..." Koru peeped huntedly at Gonou from between his long golden lashes.
It would have taken a much harder man than Cho Gonou to resist that look. He murmured, "We'll skip the fights."
"But Kanzeon had armed the Golden Demon with fire and lightning magic, and the Brown Demon was made of stone, and they continued to kill people.
"Finally they came to the castle where Kougaiji's mother lay greatly ill. He gathered an army to defend her. The demons had killed most of the fighters, so the army was of children and ancients and housewives. The Four Demons didn't want to kill them." Koru contemplated the moral dilemma facing him and decided shirking it was unworthy. "The Red Demon gave a speech on mercy and I don't remember it."
Gonou rubbed his hand over his mouth and said, "I'm sure you'll learn it soon."
Koru gave a brief nod of determination. "So Kanzeon Bosatsu appeared before in all her heavenly glory and told them that killing these youkai would mean there'd be so few youkai left ordinary humans could kill off the rest with no trouble. So the Golden Demon shot Jiroshin with his gun. And once her puppet master was dead Kanzeon Bosatsu went fizz."
"Well...whatever she'd been originally, she was invested with major powers. She didn't die quite as quickly as the story says. She had enough time and power to curse her master's slayers, and seal the curses with her own death." Gonou watched Koru carefully. He didn't want to give the kid nightmares. "There are three heavenly curses; Illumination, Detachment, and Immortality. She used them all.
"First she cursed the Brown Demon, who was about to silence her. She cursed him with Illumination, so his past self was reincarnated in him.
"That turned out not to be quite the retribution she wished. His past self had been a happy, wise king. He returned to his kingdom, where he was greeted with rejoicing.
"But now she could curse the Dark Demon, with another of Heaven's Curses. Immortality."
"That's a curse?" asked eight year old Koru.
"Humans are made for change. What could be worse than living forever unchanging? Think of being eight years old forever. Being eighteen or twenty eight would be equally heavy.
"But the Dark Demon had a friend, a small white dragon. The friend bit him, on the wrist." Gonou shook back his cuff to show the bite again.
Koru was young enough to accept finding a friend was a demon and a legend. He nodded.
"Dragons have greater magic than youkai. That is why Heaven destroyed them first."
"But there're lots of dragons," said Koru, puzzled.
"Yes, and they're smart, for animals. But their smaller cousins had a civilisation which spanned worlds. Its power and wisdom surpassed Heaven's, so the gods destroyed it. This small dragon had been allowed to survive to amuse Heaven. His power and wisdom had shrunk, but he hadn't quite forgotten. And now he used his reptile enzymes – his bite had a magic in it.
"Every few centuries, about as long as a normal youkai lifetime, I fall into a deep sleep and forget my past life. It is just like death really, except I'm in the same body when I wake again. As well, for the last couple of lifetimes, anyway, I've had waiting for me a name and a place and friends who remember me."
"So you don't remember this yourself?"
"No. I had to look it up. Who wouldn't be curious?"
Koru looked unsure about that. Maybe he wasn't the type to worry much about his past lives. "What about the Golden and Red Demons? Were they immortalled too?"
"For them the third curse. Detachment.
"They loved each other greatly. Kanzeon tore that from their souls. They have to go through their lifetimes crippled."
Koru said hopefully, "But that didn't work either, did it?"
"We'll hope not. The records, however, say, nothing of any blunting of that curse." Gonou could only be sorry for his friends the way he could for someone in a book, but he could still be sorry.
Those brilliant violet eyes saw a lot. Koru assured him, "It'll be all right."
"Yes." There being nothing Gonou could do for the dead, he looked around for something he could do. "The smell of this is appalling. We better open a window."
Koru did. "I'll help you tidy up."
Gonou thought he might need a bit more help than that. Diplomatically, "Well, the first thing with mandrakes is to make sure they haven't dropped any seeds." Slipping into schoolmaster mode, "Weeds grow easily from both seeds and shoots. Larger plants can be cut down to the ground or below and they'll sprout again..." He paused and thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. It will be all right!
"And now you better go to bed. You'll need to be up early to help me check out your path for mandrake seeds."
Koru nodded resignedly. Gonou hoped he was checking off the lesson heroism often leaves behind mess which needs tidying up. As he left the room he looked back. "What happened to the dragon?"
"He took one of their thousand year sleeps. It's quite easy once you start. The first five minutes are the worst."
At the thought Koru was ambushed by a yawn. He smiled sleepily at Gonou and went to bed. Even then Gonou watched to make sure he actually entered the bedroom wing.
Cho Gonou surveyed his kitchen. He'd summon some river spirit to flood it in the morning. Koru could do the fetching and holding for that. It should keep him out of trouble for a few hours, anyway.