Carnival

by windwhisprer

.::AU, 39, Oneshot::. There was no escaping the carnival when Konzen made the mistake of stepping onto its grounds that night.

Carnival

"Konzen! Konzen! Stop! I think I saw him!"

Konzen resisted the temptation to pinch the bridge of his nose. The darkened streets provided little light, and Konzen doubted that in fact, Goku had seen the little cat that they had been looking for. He had come home from work that afternoon to find Goku sobbing loudly. He had explained that the cat Konzen had bought him for his birthday last year—Onion, or some shit—had run away. Konzen had been exhausted and had asked Goku if they could just go search in the morning, but the boy had insisted that they find the cat that night. So, Konzen had to get back into the car, searching down empty highways for a stupid cat that Konzen could care less about.

Konzen let out a sigh as he pulled to the side of the road. Goku undid his seatbelt and bolted out of the car, calling out, "Onion! Onion!" as he searched.

Konzen remained in the car for a few moments longer, letting his eyes slip closed. They burned, reminding him how little sleep he had gotten. It had felt like forever since he had gotten a decent night's sleep. Ever since his aunt dumped Goku on him, the boy had constantly been causing Konzen trouble, and not giving him a moment's peace. Still, Kanzeon insisted that he "livened Konzen up." Even Konzen had to admit that he'd grown used to Goku's company.

With a sigh, he grabbed the flashlight and got out of the car, flicking it on as he followed the sound of Goku's voice. They weren't far from the house, but they were out back, on a highway Konzen didn't even know existed. There weren't even streetlights to show Konzen here the hell he was. It was near pitch black.

"Onion!" he heard Goku cry as the boy continued to head farther from him. Brat had fast little legs. "Onion! Come back! Don't go in there!"

When Konzen heard the sounds of a fence rustling, he paused, trying to catch Goku in the beam of his flashlight. "Goku, wait!" Konzen called as he made his way towards the sound. "Goku, don't go meddling around in—"

Konzen was cut off as he ran into a fence. He cursed, backing up. He was surprised he didn't see it. He scanned his flashlight over the chain link fence, just managing to spot Goku as the young boy darted through the chained up gate after a small scampering animal.

"Goku!" Konzen cried, frustrated. "Goku, don't you take another fucking step!"

The youngster didn't seem to heed him, heading off into the mass of structures within the fence.

Konzen growled, making his way over towards the gate and slipping in past the small opening. Once he was inside, he paused, shining his flashlight at the surrounding structures. The entire world seemed shrouded in darkness and even the light from his flashlight didn't seem to help. Konzen squinted, taking in his surroundings before it suddenly hit him. They were in a theme park. He glanced around, wondering if they were breaking and entering, before he realized that this park was old. Old haunting rides seemed like skeletons with rust creeping up the sides of them, and tents with holes in them dotted around.

Konzen shook his head. This was insane. He just had to grab Goku and get the hell out of there.

Frustrated, the blond made his way along the old walkways, searching for the boy. There were old rides, giant tents, game booths. It was eerie how empty it was.

"Hi there!"

Okay, Konzen took that back. It wasn't as empty as he thought.

The blond paused, turning back to look into the darkened game booth from which the voice had resonated from. He felt something slither up his spine, like he shouldn't be there as he shined his flashlight into the darkened game booth. Despite the fact that the light was strong, it caught nothing but darkness. There couldn't actually be anyone in there, could it? It was an old, rickety wooden structure where children would've paid money just to try and win a dinky little toy.

Konzen swallowed audibly. He couldn't have imagined a voice that clear. "Hello?" he called out, still searching fruitlessly with his flashlight.

Suddenly, the entire booth flooded with light. Konzen squinted at the fluorescent lighting that flushed away the darkness from within. He caught sight of a simple table, with BB guns that were chained to the table they were resting on. On the wall were markers where people would have to shoot, and on the sides were fabulous toys that looked full of dust and cobwebs. As the lights turned on, the markers on the back wall began to move and dance around, waiting to be shot.

A young, blond-haired man stood behind the counter. He was dressed in an old gamers' outfit, with dark pants and a light shirt. He also wore a pouch that jingled with small change as he moved. He wore a cap over his short blond hair, and a scar that ran over his right eye.

"Do you want to play?" the man asked. "Kami-sama's the name. Ten shots for fifty cents. Hit more than five targets and you get a prize," he said with a beaming smile.

Konzen stopped, awed by the weird sight. This was proof that he needed some good hours of sleep. "Uh... hello?" Konzen asked, flicking off his flashlight as he took cautious steps towards the man. "Do you work here?"

Kami-sama frowned. Either he didn't like the question or he simply chose not to answer it. "Ten shots for fifty cents," he repeated, turning and grabbing down a stuffed rabbit. "See? Look what you can win. Take it home to your best gal."

Konzen shook his head, pushing the rabbit from his face. It was full of dust and looked like it was falling apart. "Look, my... kid ran in here," Konzen fumbled, focusing on the man's face. "Can you tell me where he went? He's a short kid with brown hair, looking for a cat named Onion."

Kami-sama cocked his head to the side. "You don't want to play?" he asked.

Konzen's patience was rapidly wearing thin. "No," he snapped. "Now, do you know where he went or not?"

There was no smile on his face as he simply pointed straight out towards an old building, "Went there. Went to see the puppets," he said simply, as the entire booth suddenly lost its lightening, and the man was thrown into darkness.

Konzen stared for a few moment longer, taking in deep breaths. That was strange, he decided, shaking his head. The sooner he found Goku, the sooner he could go home and get the hell out of here, Onion or no. He noticed that lights had illuminated around the small building Kami-sama had pointed to. Konzen paid it no mind, instead crossing the distance to head toward the building. As he continued to walk, Konzen could catch faint whispers in the darkness. They seemed to grow louder as he passed, and Konzen was beginning to worry about Goku. They had to leave. Who knew what creeps or psychos could be hiding in the shadows?

As he cast his gaze around, the whispers fell silent, as though they could see him. He didn't like this. No one bit.

He arrived at the puppet theatre Kami-sama had directed him to, pulling open the door and stepping inside. It was dark inside, and Konzen hesitated. Had Goku really been here?

He shook it off, stepping deeper into the theatre. He flicked on his flashlight and scanned the area, not finding nearly as much as he thought he would. The entire place had looked like it had caught fire once, and the inside was charred black. He made his way into the large open theatre, surprised to find the large seated area completely scorched. There was rubble lining the seats, and the stage itself to be in pieces. Tatters of the old red curtain hung at the sides of the stage, looking, for the most part like it was about to fall apart.

Despite the shadows that crept up from the sides, there was light shining from some indistinguishable source, allowing Konzen to see the theatre as it was. Still, there was no Goku in sight. Konzen was about to turn and leave, when he spotted a woman hanging on strings. A spotlight illumined her here she hung on stage, her head bent down and her arms spread wide. Her orange hair was tangled and hung around the sides of her face, and her dress was in tatters.

"Dear god!" Konzen suddenly exclaimed, jumping down from his spot among the seats and racing towards her. He jumped up on stage, looking at the wires that ran right down into her body. Konzen cursed, dropping his flashlight and moving to dig his pocket knife from his pants. Just as he was about to cut the poor girl loose, she looked up.

Bright cat-like green eyes stared at him for a moment, first in fear, and then in wonderment. Then, she opened her mouth weakly...

...and began to scream.

She began to kick and fight him. Konzen dropped his knife in surprise as he covered his ears. He stumbled backwards until his foot met air and he tumbled off the stage onto a pile of rubble.

Konzen smacked his back against a piece of word and let out a curse as the girl continued to scream. However, her incomprehensible words began to take shape. "Big brother!" she screamed, covering her ears. "He tried to cut my strings!"

Konzen stared up in wonder as a young man entered the stage. He, too, was suspended by strings that ran up into the ceiling. He had long red hair that ran down his back, with a crown that sat awkwardly on his head. He wore a long cape with a sword by his side, looking for the most part like a fairy-tale prince.

Konzen stared. He had to be seeing things. This was all some fucked up acid trip, wasn't it? Konzen just wished he had taken acid in the first place, so he could actually blame the strange day on the drug. The redhead stared at him coldly before crossing the stage and attending to his sister. "Are you all right, Lirin?" he asked.

She nodded, sniffling and staring coldly at him. "Humans," she spat. "Don't understand the importance of strings."

"Kou!" a man called as he entered the stage. He was tall, with dark hair and dressed like a traditional knight.

"Lord Kougaiji!" a woman called, racing on stage in a similar outfit, except it was meant for females.

Seriously, Konzen hoped Kanzeon slipped something in his coffee before he left. This was just getting weirder and weirder.

Kougaiji, the young prince, turned to him with sharp eyes. They seemed to pierce right through Konzen's soul. "Tell me, human, what you are doing in my theatre," he barked.

Konzen slowly got to his feet, his back aching as he did so. "Look, I'm looking for a little kid. He's short, got brown hair and is looking for his cat. Some guy.... Kami-sama said he ran in here," he looked up towards Lirin, who crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest and growled at him. "I just thought she was in trouble, okay, I don't know what..."

He shook his head as the young knight-woman spoke up. Konzen heard Kougaiji refer to her as Yaone. "Ah, yes, young Goku!" she chirped. "He was here."

Konzen perked up. "Where did he go?"

Yaone placed her hands behind her back and smile cheerfully. "I would tell you, but I see no profit in it for us."

Konzen ground his teeth together. "What do you want?" he snarled.

Yaone looked to Kougaiji, who leaned forwards. "This is my theatre," he said, waving an arm over the burnt mess. "Some idiot dropped a cigarette, and look what happened. There's nothing left of this place." He paused, placing his hands on his hips as a frown twisted in place. "I want my castle back," he said.

Konzen's brows drew together. "What?" he exclaimed.

"I will tell you what you need to know, and in exchange, you must come back here and fix my theatre," Kougaiji said simply.

"We may not like it, but we're puppets," Lirin insisted, twirling on the spot. Konzen watched in fascination as her strings twisted together before they fell into place. "And we're tired of living in this place."

Konzen shook his head. "Fine. Whatever. I'll come back and help you fix your theatre. Now, tell me where Goku is," the blond demanded.

"He said he wanted to see the clowns," Dokugakuji, the large, bulky knight said. "They hang out by the Ferris Wheel."

Konzen nodded, turning on his heel and making his way towards the door. He paused when he heard music beginning, turning back to look at the stage. Lirin and Dokugakuji were gone, leaving Yaone and Kougaiji on stage. The prince bowed, and Yaone curtsied before Kougaiji took her into his arms. The tinkling music continued to play, the spotlight flickering as Kougaiji and Yaone continued to waltz on the burnt stage. Konzen paused, watching the lady-knight and the prince move together as though they were one, strings twisting but never knotting. They passed through one another, unconstructed by their strings in every way.

Konzen hated to say that there was something very familiar about that scene, but shook it off. He pushed out of the door and made his way back onto the street.

The entire theme park was alight. There were no other people that Konzen could see, but he could practically feel them lurking in the shadows. Streetlamps illuminated the old grounds as Konzen made his way towards the skeleton of a Ferris Wheel. It stood out tall and proud in the center of rides that looked as though they had seen better days.

He could hear laughter coming from the large wheel as he made his way towards it. He spotted three young men near the wheel, two of which looked like they could be brothers. One was seated on the ground with a liquor bottle in his hand, grumbling beneath his breath. The second was leaning up against the fence surrounding the ride, talking to someone else. The pair were both dressed in some strange kind of clown costume, with red hair and blood red eyes.

The man who was standing was talking to a young brunet who seemed to be the one who ran the Ferris wheel. He wore glasses perched on his nose, with a strange outfit similar to what Kami-sama wore. He also wore a cap over his head and was lazily chewing bubble gum.

"...So he told me he'd pay me back when I saw him again. Like that'll happen. Kid's a freakin' ghost. Are you listening to me, Hakkai?" the redhead asked, snapping his fingers in front of the vender's face as his bubble popped.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I was Gojyo," Hakkai replied, turning his gaze over towards Konzen. "I just realized that we have company."

Gojyo turned to look over at Konzen and grinned. "Shit, Sanzo looks girlier than ever," he taunted, snickering behind his hand.

"Can we help you?" Hakkai asked cheerfully as he turned his bright green eyes on Konzen.

The blond stopped, taking in a deep breath as he let his gaze sweep over the three of them. "Look, I'm trying to find a little kid. Brown hair, should be running around here. He was looking for his cat," Konzen said, watching recognition flicker in Gojyo's eyes.

"You talking about Goku?" he asked.

Konzen nodded.

Gojyo's face darkened suddenly. "Fuck, little snot owes me money. What, he screwin' you over too now?"

Hakkai sighed, blowing another bubble as he placed his chin in his hand. It popped with a loud snap that echoed through the empty area. "Gojyo, he's not looking for Goku," he said. "He's looking for little Goku."

Gojyo blinked, and the young man on the ground next to him scoffed, taking another swig form his bottle as he stumbled to his feet. "Jeez, Gojyo, how stupid are you?" he slurred, turning his slanted eyes on Konzen as Gojyo shot back another insult. Kenren, as Gojyo had called him, placed the lid back on his liquor bottle before he stuck it back in his belt. "Yeah, Goku was through here. Why?"

"He's my... uh... my charge," Konzen said, looking at the three of them. "Can you at least tell me where he went?"

Gojyo and Kenren looked at each other. Kenren tipped back the strange looking hat on his head, bells tinkering as he did so. "No," he said finally, turning to look at him. "Little Goku's happy here. So fuck off."

Konzen bristled. "Excuse me?" he barked.

"You heard him," Gojyo said, taking a step forwards. "Little Goku told us all about how much of an asshole you are, so we're not helping you find him."

"I am not an asshole, I give that kid everything I have," Konzen snapped, feeling frustration beginning to build. "My life was fine before he came in, and now it's like I spend every free minute trying to make his life better! Don't even say I'm not fucking trying!"

Gojyo's brows rose and a smirk curled on his lips. "However, you're not giving him the one thing he seems to need," he said, patting Konzen on the head. "If you feel so hostile towards the whole situation, then you should just turn around and go home."

"Let the carnival have him!" Kenren said with a hiccup.

Hakkai sighed, popping his bubble again. "True," he said lazily.

Konzen growled, slamming his fist down on the bar Hakkai was seated behind. "Fuck you all! I'm going to find Goku and to hell what any of you weirdoes think!" he yelled, turning on his heel and about to stalk off when Hakkai reached out and grabbed his arm. Konzen turned back to him as the young brunet gave him a smile.

"Look, we're sorry, okay. If it means that much to you, we'll take you to Goku," he said.

Konzen let himself relax as he turned to look at the three of them. "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.

Hakkai held up a small hand held remote with a large button in the center. When he pressed it, nothing happened. "Fix my button," he said simply. "I can't run a Ferris wheel if I can't make it go."

"And separate us," Gojyo said, holding up his hand. Konzen stared where the two clowns were practically fused together at the wrist. "If you promise to help us, we'll help you."

Konzen shook his head with a sigh. "Fine, I promise I'll help you," he said, looking between the three of them. "Now where's Goku?"

Hakkai hoisted himself through the window on his booth, landing next to them as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "He went to go see the Magician," the man said happily. "I'll show you the way," he said, turning on his heel.

"Fucking hate that guy," Gojyo mumbled under his breath.

"Freakin' asshole," Kenren agreed with the same voice. Konzen glanced back at them in confusion, shaking his head. They looked and sounded exactly the same, save for the length of their blood red hair.

Konzen turned back to Hakkai as the man continued on his way merrily. He continued to pop his bubble gum, reminding Konzen of a small child. He glanced around at the darkened sky before taking in the lights that dotted the midway. He could hear the sounds of life all around him, but could not see anything. To the naked eye, the entire carnival seemed dead, but he could hear people laughing and rides moving.

"Let me guess," Konzen drawled as he turned back to look at Hakkai. "Is this some kind of twisted 'theme park full of damned souls' or some shit?"

Hakkai turned back to look at him with wide eyes. "Of course not," he said simply. "We chose to be here, and we're anything but damned. What makes you say that?"

Konzen rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. Between dumb and dumber back there, you, the strange game vendor who doesn't seem to understand plain English—"

"Ah, yeah, Kami-sama. Didn't know he was still here..." Hakkai mumbled distractedly.

"—and now, we're going to see a magician. Not to mention we're all in a theme park that looks like it hasn't been used in years. Spells 'horror movie' if you ask me," Konzen grumbled as his eyes swept over the area again. However, he caught sight of some movement before he zoned in on it. Brown hair, small figure that darted around a corner; Konzen's eyes widened.

"Goku!" he barked, taking off in a dead run after the prankster. Hakkai, Gojyo and Kenren seemed surprised before taking off after him.

Konzen made his way after the boy, watching as he weaved through the tents and game booths with ease. Konzen growled, pushing himself until he finally managed to catch the young boy. He grabbed him by the shoulders and whirled the boy around, surprised to find that it wasn't Goku at all.

At least, not his Goku.

His Goku could only be about ten years old, with long brown hair and wide, stupidly innocent eyes. This man looked just like Goku, but older. His hair was short and his eyes were narrower. He wore different clothes and he was a bit taller, but otherwise it looked like his Goku. Right down the odd, golden coloured eyes. Konzen released him in shock, watching as the young boy began to laugh. However, despite the fact that Konzen could see his open mouth and his shoulders shaking, there was no sound.

"Stupid monkey!" Gojyo roared as he came up behind them. Konzen couldn't move, he was simply in shock as he stared at the young man.

The strange Goku smiled, turning to Gojyo and holding up his hands. He began to speak, but again no sound escaped him. It wasn't as though he couldn't speak, more like he had been put on mute. He continued to chatter as Kenren and Gojyo swung their joined arm around his neck.

"You owe me money, monkey boy, let's see it!" Gojyo said as he messed up the boy's hair.

"And therefore, by default you owe me money," Kenren added, socking the boy in the arm.

Goku laughed, continuing to chatter away even as no sound escaped him.

"Stop making excuses!" Gojyo exclaimed. "When you lose at poker, you have to pay up."

Konzen continued to stare as Hakkai placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can't hear him, can you?" he asked quietly.

Konzen turned to look at him, shock written into his features. "How..." he shook his head. "I can't even read his lips. He's chattering too fast. Like a freaking monkey..."

Goku finally slipped away from Gojyo and Kenren, laughing as he held up his hands. His lips continued to move rapidly even though Konzen could hear nothing.

"Don't you dare, you little rug rat!" both Kenren and Gojyo exclaimed at the same time, causing a strange sort of stereo as the boy snickered.

Konzen could definitely make out the 'later' as the boy waved to him. Just as Gojyo and Kenren lunged for him, Goku flipped backwards onto his hands, then flipped again and again before he disappeared into thin air. Konzen stared at where he disappeared to, feeling his hand clench up in a fist. He turned to look at Hakkai as the man popped his bubble again.

"I want to find my Goku," he said coldly, hoping to get his point across. "Now where the hell is he?"

Hakkai smile charmingly as he blew another bubble. "No idea, but the Magician might know."

"Arg!" both Kenren and Gojyo exclaimed in unison. "Little fucker's ripped us off again! I'm going to wring his neck!"

The first time had been odd, but hearing them both talk at the same time was scaring Konzen.

Hakkai laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They tend to talk in unison when they're angry," he said, placing his hands in his pockets as he made his way down the road again.

"Shut up, Hakkai!" the redheads exclaimed as they followed after him.

Konzen let out a soft sigh, hurrying to walk next to Hakkai, ignoring the fuming pair behind him. "Why couldn't I hear him?" Konzen asked quietly, curiosity getting the better of him.

Hakkai shrugged his shoulders as he blew another bubble. "I suppose you just weren't listening," he said simply.

They continued down the street for a short time until they came to an area fenced in with tall wooden boards. Konzen spotted a ticket booth as they went through the gate, but it was abandoned. As they made their way into the area, he spotted rows and rows of seats and a stage in the center of it all. It looked mostly untouched, just old. There was a sign that hung over the stage with the words 'Homura, the Grand' scrawled across it. It looked as though at one point it was bright and would attract a crowd, however it had dulled with years of neglect. There was a young woman on stage, sweeping with a frown on her lips. She had long brown hair with a short dress covered in sequence. She glanced up as they entered, a smile lighting on her features.

"Hakkai! Oh, Kenren and Gojyo too and...." she trailed off as her blue eyes caught sight of Konzen, a smile catching on her lips. "And Konzen. You've grown."

Konzen was about to ask her what the hell she was talking about before Hakkai spoke. "Rinrei," he said happily, jumping up on stage. "Is Homura here?"

She smiled, nodding. "Yes, he's in his office, working on his next show," she said as a frown caught on her lips. "Little Goku was helping him out. He looked rather depressed until little Goku showed up. He really is a sweetheart."

Konzen's heart seized, and suddenly he didn't care how this woman knew him. "Goku was here? Where is he now?" he demanded.

Rinrei smiled. "I can take you to Homura, he'll know," she said, moving to put her broom away. However, when she did so, her arm suddenly separated from her shoulder and fell to the stage with a thud. There was silence for a few minutes before Rinrei laughed nervously. "I suppose this is what I get for letting Homura cut me up into little pieces as he does."

"Allow me, sweet cheeks," Kenren purred, bending down and picking up her arm. He handed it to her with a sultry smile, obvious intent in his eyes.

Rinrei frowned, snatching her arm back and connecting it back to her shoulder. "I'll take you to Homura now. He's in the back," she said, tuning and heading behind the stage.

Konzen blinked, before shaking his head. At this point, he frankly shouldn't be surprised. He didn't even bother to question why her arm fell off, instead focusing completely on getting Goku back and getting the hell out of there before he lost his mind.

They were led behind stage to a dressing room. When Rinrei opened the door and let them in, Konzen realized that everything in the room was levitating.

He literally smacked himself in the face with his hand. Too late. He was completely insane.

A dark haired man stood behind the desk, pouring over pages of work. He wore a suit with white gloves, looking the part of the magician as he studied the pages. Rinrei smiled as they poured into the room. "Excuse me, Homura," she said, causing the man to look up. "Hakkai and some of his friends came to see you. They wanted to talk about Goku," she explained.

Homura turned mismatched eyes from them back to her, raising an elegant brow. "Little Goku," she added with a smile.

Homura's other brow rose to join it as a smile curled on his lips. Suddenly, everything that had been hovering just moment ago fell back to the ground, causing several crashes to sound. Neither Homura nor Rinrei seemed to mind.

"Ah," Homura said, circling around his desk to get a better look at them. He was a strong man, and exuded arrogance. Konzen hated him already. "Hakkai, and..." the dark-haired man trailed off, his mismatched gaze settling on the two twin clowns. "And look, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb. How lovely," he said pleasantly.

Both Kenren and Gojyo grit their teeth, muttering a, "Bastard," in unison.

Homura chose to ignore them, his gaze settling on Konzen as a smile curled onto his lips. "Ah, Konzen," he said smoothly as he took several steps towards him. "You've certainly grown. I remember when you were just a little boy. You used to love my show."

"Excuse me?" Konzen shot back, trying to seem as imposing as Homura. "I've never been to this fucked up place before and I never plan to again. I'm just here to get Goku back."

Homura frowned, pulling up his sleeves on his suit to reveal bare arms. When he clapped his hands together, sparkles exploded and it seemed like he pulled a picture from thin air. He twirled it in his fingers to face Konzen, showing an image that looked at least twenty years old.

As Konzen studied it, he realized that indeed, it was twenty years old. The picture was of himself when he was only five, short blond hair mused over a pale face, with two perfect violet eyes that stared out towards the camera. However, there was a small smile curling on his lips, as though he was afraid to outright grin. Behind him stood Homura, a gloved hand on his shoulder and a smile on his lips. They were standing on the stage, the bright sign, 'Homura the Grand' behind them.

Konzen stared at the picture for a long time before he finally took it from him. He took a deep breath as he studied every inch of the picture. "Where did you get this...?" he breathed, turning his gaze up towards the magician in front of him.

Homura cracked a smile. "Oh, so do you remember? Your father took you here once when you were small. You came up on stage and helped me with my magic, and your father wanted to take a picture of us."

Konzen continued to stare. This had to be some kind of trick. However, the more time he spent there, the more it made sense. His father used to take him here, before it... "This place closed down twenty years ago," he said, turning to look up at Homura, then to the rest in the room. "For one thing, why are you all still here, and another, why the hell haven't you aged in twenty years?"

There was silence after Konzen's exclamation, and it was broken by a pop from Hakkai's bubble gum.

"Um..." was all Kenren could come up with. "We don't get it either."

Konzen felt close to ripping out his hair. "Fuck all of this!" he exclaimed finally, turning to look at Homura. "Now tell me where the hell Goku went!"

"I'll tell you," Homura said, taking a seat on his desk and crossing his legs. "But you have to do me a favour."

Konzen resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. Figured that Homura would want something from him. Every single person he had run into had wanted something from him. "What do you want?" he snapped, eyes narrowing on the man.

Homura knocked over a pile of papers, watching them scatter all onto the floor. "These are plans for future shows," he said bitterly, looking at all he ink scrawled across the pages. "But there are no more shows. Children these days don't care about magic, even when it's real. They care about their stupid video games and some new action movie." Homura turned his eyes on Konzen, taking a deep breath. "Bring children back to my shows. I want to see children in the stands again. If you promise me that, I'll tell you where Goku is."

Konzen sighed, running a hand through his long blond hair and muttering curses beneath his breath. "Fine," he said. "I promise to bring children back, if you tell me where Goku went."

Homura smiled, nodding towards the door. "He went to go see Tenpou. He was looking for you, if I recall."

"Woohooo!" Kenren suddenly exclaimed, causing all eyes to turn to him. He merely grinned, seeming unconcerned with the attention on him. "Dude, it feels like forever since I talked to him. Let's go!" he exclaimed, heading out of the room and yanking Gojyo with him. Gojyo spat out curses at the other man as they headed away from the stage.

Konzen ignored them as he sighed, handing the picture back to Homura. "Keep it," the man said with a smile. "You look like you would have more use for it than I."

Konzen said nothing, simply putting the picture in his pocket as he turned from the room. He made his way across the stage and out, back into the midway. His head was full of question and pounding with the strange sights he had seen, but he decided to simply focus on getting Goku back. That was what was important.

Konzen glanced at the other three men around him who seemed to be waiting for him. With a sigh, he asked, "And where, pray tell, is Tenpou?"

Kenren grinned. "He's at the information booth! Follow me!" he proclaimed, turning on his heel and heading towards the booth.

Konzen let a sigh escape him as he followed after. If anything else, these men seemed to be good at showing him where the hell he was going. He shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way along the midway, following after Kenren and Gojyo as they headed towards the information booth. Konzen tried to block out the sounds of the carnival seeming to come to life, keeping his mind completely centered on finding Goku. The sooner they did that, the more of his sanity he might be able to save.

As he made his way along, he could see lights from nearly everything glowing brightly. The sounds of life all around him were steadily growing louder and louder, however he still could see nothing.

Weird no longer described this place. It was beyond insane.

They made their way up to a white booth where a brown-haired man was sleeping away. His hair reached down to his shoulders, with a pair of glasses that perched on his nose. He wore a white collared shirt and a black blazer with a nametag.

Kenren made his way to the front desk, grinning before he slammed his hand hard down on the wood. "Tenpou!" he yelled, causing the man to awake with a start.

He jolted awake, fumbling with his glasses as he blinked himself back to full consciousness. "Bonjour bon monsieur! Wie sind Sie an diesem Nachmittag? ¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?" the man said happily, a bright smile crossing his lips.

Konzen blinked. French, German and... Spanish?

Kenren shook his head. "Tenpou," he called, catching the man's attention. "English."

The man blinked again. "Inglese? Dovrei parlare italiano?" he asked.

Konzen blinked.

"No, Tenpou. Wrong again," Kenren said, shaking his head. "The language I'm speaking."

"Ah," Tenpou said with a bright smile, smacking himself to the side of the head. "Penso que sou quebrado."

"...Portuguese?" Konzen breathed.

"Ah, I think I got it," Tenpou finally said, shaking his head. "English, right. It's been a while since I've spoken that," he said with a beaming smile, turning to look at the men in front of him. "Now, how can I help you?"

Kenren grinned, hoisting himself up on the desk. "Tell, him, Blondie," he said with a grin.

Konzen rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to find Goku—"

He was cut off by Gojyo, Kenren and Hakkai all cutting him off with, "Little Goku."

Konzen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. My Goku, the little one. Homura told us he was here. Now where did he go?"

Tenpou frowned, trying to come up with an answer. Finally, he merely beamed and said, "Ich verstehe nicht. Kommen Sie bitte später zurück."

"Tenpou," Hakkai said, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's not very nice."

"What did he say?" Konzen demanded of Hakkai as he turned towards the other man.

"He said he doesn't understand you, and that you should come back later," he explained, blowing another bubble.

Konzen was at the end of his mental rope. He slammed his hands down on the table, staring the man in the face. "Look!" he yelled, catching Tenpou by surprise. "If you don't tell me where the hell Goku is, I will fucking kill you, all right? I'm sick of talking to you weirdoes. I want my fucking charge back!"

Tenpou's eyes were wide as they slid from Kenren back to Konzen. "My," he squeaked, taking a step back. "Temper, temper, Mr Konzen," he said, gently pushing Konzen away from him. "Look, if you want me to tell you where Goku is—"

"I know already," Konzen snapped, shoving his hands in his coat pocket. "You want a favour. What is it already?"

Tenpou blinked, before a smile crawled on his lips. "Higher pay!" he chirped.

Konzen stared at the other man for a moment. "That's it?" he asked.

Tenpou nodded. "Yup. I haven't been paid a cent in the last twenty years!"

Kenren couldn't stop the snickers that broke through his lips. "Tenpou, we haven't been in business for the last twenty years," he said.

The man blinked. "We haven't?" he asked, before frowning. "Then what am I still doing here?"

Konzen was sick of this idiot. "Look," he snapped. "I'll help you. Now, where is Goku?"

"Goku?" Tenpou asked, cocking his head to the side. "Try the fortune teller Chin Yisou. He'll know where he is."

Konzen was at the end of his mental tether. "Fine. Where is this fortune teller?" he snapped.

"Kenren knows where he is," Tenpou said with a smile, turning back to the other man.

Kenren rolled his eyes, turning on his heel. "Yeah, yeah. And this fucked up fieldtrip continues. See yah, Tenpou!"

Tenpou waved. "Have fun!" he called, but paused. "Oh, wait!" The four of them stopped, turning back to look at Tenpou as the man jumped out from behind his booth, heading over to Konzen. "When you see Sanzo, give him this. That guy is always forgetting his things. I think it has to do with the fact that people are trying to kill him all the time," he said with a chuckle.

"Sanzo? I haven't seen him since the last time he got shot," Gojyo said, tipping his hat to one side.

"Bugger just won't die," Kenren said as the pair nodded to one another.

Konzen accepted the little box, frowning n confusion. It was a simply oak box that fit into the palm of his hand. When he went to open it, Tenpou smacked him smartly across the head. "Ow!" Konzen cried, clutching the side of his head.

"That box is for Sanzo's eyes only," Tenpou scolded. "Don't open it!"

Konzen scowled at the other man, placing he box in his pocket as he turned on his heel. He didn't even know who the hell Sanzo was. Konzen shook his head, following after Gojyo and Kenren as the men brought them over to a small tent that wasn't far from the information booth.

Inside, there was a strange sort of man in long white robes. He was chewing on a toothpick as he sat lazily behind a table. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his narrow eyes were directed at his cards as Konzen entered. Gojyo and Kenren stayed outside the small tent, and Hakkai hung back just behind him.

"This guy creeps me out," Hakkai mumbled against his back. Konzen ignored him and focused instead on the man seated across from them.

"Read your fortune?" he asked in a breathy, almost non-existent voice. It made a shudder crawl up his spine.

"No," Konzen said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat across from him. "Look, I'm looking for.... little Goku. Tenpou said he came through here."

"No," Chin Yisou said, shaking his head. "Tenpou said that I knew where he was. He hasn't been here yet."

Konzen rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Do you know where Goku is?"

Chin Yisou said nothing for a long moment, looking over the crystal ball that sat in the center of the table. "I do..." he drawled, turning his narrow eyes up to Konzen. "You know what comes next."

"You want something," Konzen shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Let's hear it."

"I need a new crystal ball," Chin Yisou said, picking up the one on the table and shaking it. There was a faint jingling, as though it were a broken light bulb. "Give me that, and I will tell you where Goku is."

Konzen nodded. "I promise to get you a new crystal ball. Now, where is he?"

Not ten minutes later they were headed back the way they came towards the rides. Apparently Goku had gone back towards the roller coaster, wanting to ride the thing. Konzen had grown irritated of running all over the stupid park, and headed after Goku at a run. He was tired of just missing the boy, and wanted to fucking catch him for once. The sounds of life had grown louder, and with them Konzen could make out some images drifting around. They were like phantoms of people that had been there before. Hakkai had explained that they were just that, memories of people who had been there a long time ago. Konzen ignored them, outright running straight through them as he bolted towards the roller coaster.

Though it was not running, he could hear the creaking of the ride and the screams of people who had ridden it before. Konzen finally stopped in front of the roller coaster, taking deep breaths in as he looked at the man out front. He looked half-insane, with a long dark cloak and blue eyes that stared at him critically. Was this Zakuro?

"Welcome!" the man exclaimed, throwing his arms up into the air. "Welcome to Zakuro's awesome, all mighty, super cool, awesome, spectacular roller coaster!"

"You said 'awesome' twice, idiot," both Kenren and Gojyo drawled from behind him.

"Where's little Goku?" Konzen snapped, glancing over the man's shoulder to try and catch sight of him. He was out of breath, and he wasn't in the mood to hunt the little bugger down.

Zakuro seemed surprised for a moment, before he placed his hands on his hips. "Where's Goku? What about me? No one ever comes to see the great and almighty Zakuro!"

"Tell me where he is," Konzen said, breathing ragged as he let his eyes sweep over the area. However, he caught a flash of blond and swore his heart stopped. As he looked in towards the old skeleton of a roller coaster, he caught sight of Goku. His Goku. The boy was walking with a taller man that Konzen swore looked just like him. He was wearing jeans and a jacket, his blond hair cut short.

"Goku!" Konzen screamed, prepared to jump the fence and chase after them before Zakuro got in his way. The man didn't look like much, but he managed to grab Konzen keeping him back despite the fact that Konzen kicked and fought every second. "Goku!" Konzen screamed again.

The man Goku was walking with seemed to hear him, glancing over his shoulder to look at him. Konzen and the blond met eyes, and he knew that without a doubt, that man was Sanzo.

Sanzo turned back to Goku, who apparently hadn't noticed Konzen screaming for him. Sanzo turned back to the chattering boy next to him, leading him farther away from the man screaming for him. Konzen continued to fight against Zakuro, who had a firm grip on him.

"Let me go!" Konzen roared, elbowing the man in the side of his face.

"I can't!" Zakuro yelled, keeping a firm grip. "Promise me you'll fix my roller coaster!"

Konzen paused a moment, looking to where Zakuro pointed. It looked like nearly half of the roller coaster had collapsed. Zakuro's eyes were completely serious as he stared Konzen down. "Promise me you'll fix it, and I'll let you go."

Konzen looked from Zakuro's face to the collapsed roller coaster, nodding. "Yeah. Fine," he said. "I promise."

Zakuro nodded, releasing Konzen as the man practically bolted over the fence. Konzen streaked across the empty yard, trying to catch up with Sanzo and Goku, who had already disappeared.

Hakkai, Gojyo and Kenren hesitated a moment. Hakkai popped the bubble he had been blowing, turning back to look at Gojyo and Kenren. "This has gone far enough," he said coldly. "You two go find the Ring Master; I'll catch up with Konzen."

"But—" Kenren started, who was cut off by Hakkai.

"No buts," he said sharply. "I know this isn't what we planned, but I'm afraid of what's going to happen. Sanzo's.... Sanzo's not supposed to get involved, I'm afraid Goku might get hurt." Hakkai crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the two clowns. "Tell everyone to keep doing what they're doing. And for God's sake, find Goku."

"If we could do that, we wouldn't be in this mess," Gojyo replied.

Hakkai rolled his eyes. "The Ring Master will know where he is. Just find him."

Hakkai then turned, jumping over the fence and heading after Konzen. Gojyo and Kenren both sighed before turning to find the Ring Master.

As Hakkai made his way across the field, he searched for any sign of Konzen, finally spotting the man catching his breath against a support beam. It was dark in the empty field as Hakkai make his way towards the man, placing a hand on his back. Konzen looked up at him, and Hakkai could see his eyes burning with anger and frustration. "Candy..." he gasped, causing Hakkai's brows to rise in confusion. "They said they were going to find candy..."

Hakkai stared at the other man for a moment, before he let out a sigh. "Kanan," he said simply. "C'mon, she sells candy. We'll try to meet them there."

---

Sanzo was really not in the mood for any of this. He glanced down at the boy next to him, who was sucking on one of the candies Kanan had given him. He pulled the large sucker from his mouth, twirling it in his fingers as his other hand clutched Sanzo's sleeve tightly. The boy looked so familiar, with long brown hair that ran down his back in tails and stupidly huge golden eyes. Sanzo had been minding his own business when the little boy managed to find him, spouting the name, "Konzen" repeatedly. The boy was lost and scared, and just when he thought about sending the boy away, he realized he couldn't.

Once Sanzo had calmed him down, the boy had said that his name was Goku. The name had set off alarms in Sanzo's head, but he hadn't been able to figure out why. Goku had pleaded with him, asking him to help him find this "Konzen" that was so important to him.

Sanzo had figured that he could just bring Goku to the Information Desk, since that was where the lost and found was. However, as they crossed the amusement park towards the Information Desk, Sanzo had realized that he wasn't dying. For some reason, Sanzo had he uncanny ability to attract deaths to him. Most of the time he was killed by some strange occurrence, but would be brought back no matter how gruesome the death was. On an average day, he was killed about thirty or forty times.

However, when they got to Tenpou's desk and Sanzo realized nothing bad had happened, he had promised Goku that he would stay with him until he found his owner. Goku seemed to like that idea. Several hours later Sanzo found himself still perfectly intact. He had no idea what it was, but the kid was keeping him alive. He hadn't been shot nor had anything crushed him. As Sanzo glanced down towards the little mop of brown hair, he realized that the kid was kind of like a good luck charm. He wasn't about to let him go anytime soon.

They headed across the park slowly; Goku's grip was firm on Sanzo's sleeve the whole time. Sanzo wasn't about to actually hold the brat's hand, but he didn't mind his presence. He continued to bob next to him, sucking happily on the treat as they continued around the amusement park. Sanzo felt a frown twist on his lips as he looked around the park. Phantom images of people who had once been there frittered past them. Goku didn't seem to mind them, and instead through it was awesome when they occasionally walked through him. Sanzo watched Goku for a long moment, then turned to look up at the ghost people that wandered around and the life that had been forced back into the park. It... felt so strange to him, to see so many lights and hear so much laughter. For as long as Sanzo could remember, the park had been silent.

Sanzo couldn't say when he arrived in the park, only that it was a long time ago. Over the years he'd become so used to just keeping himself alive that he'd forgotten what the park was like. He supposed that people really were here at one point, but... it just felt so strange.

Sanzo groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. A headache started to pound at his temple, telling him there was something he needed to remember. Something about noise.... so noisy...

"Sanzo?" Goku asked worriedly when the blond stopped walking. He held Sanzo's sleeve tighter and blinked, those stupidly huge eyes curiously studying him. "Sanzo, is there something wrong?"

Sanzo looked through his fingers at the boy, wondering why that face was so familiar. "No..." he said, shaking the thoughts away as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm fine. Let's keep walking."

"Yeah," Goku said, tugging him along as they continued to wander through tents and skeletal rides. However, they weren't so skeletal anymore. The rides that were still functional twisted twirled and drove onwards, even though there were no passengers. Those that had long since broken down stayed still, but a blind man would think they were running. He could hear the screams and cries of people who had ridden them a long time ago.

"We're gonna find Konzen, right?" Goku asked suddenly, causing Sanzo's attention to divert down to the boy next to him. He was sucking thoughtfully on his cherry pop, making his lips look unusually red. "I mean, I like you, Sanzo. I like you a lot!" A cheeky grin was turned up to him, but it slowly slipped and he could see the worry in those golden eyes. "But, I think Konzen's gonna be mad when I find him. I mean... I've been gone for a long time. Oh, I think you'll like Konzen! He's got blond hair like yours and junk. He's the guy who takes care of me!"

Sanzo kept close to the boy as he continued to talk, absentmindedly placing one hand between his shoulder blades to lead him. "Don't you have parents?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Goku shook his head, not looking at the least bit affected by it. "Nope. I'm an orphan. Konzen adopted me. I don't need parents though, because I love Konzen lots!" he chirped, sticking the sucker back in his mouth.

Sanzo waited a few moments for the boy to continue, and when he didn't, the man sighed. He had no idea what he was doing getting attached to a little brat. He normally kept to himself, mostly because he ended up getting killed gruesomely every few feet. However, Goku was keeping him alive. That enough was reason to stick with him.

"Does Konzen love you?" Sanzo asked out of curiosity.

Goku stayed quiet, sucking on his cherry pop. He mumbled something, but Sanzo didn't quite catch it. He didn't bother pushing it, since the boy didn't seem to comfortable with the subject. Instead he placed a hand on the boy's head in a comforting manner. Sanzo glanced over his shoulder out of habit, but he caught sight of nothing but phantom figures.

His mind replayed not too long ago when he caught sight of Konzen at the roller coaster. He had known it was him instantly. Goku didn't seem to realize he was back there, and kept on chattering, but Sanzo had seen him. He could've turned Goku around and returned the brunet. In that moment he'd had to make a decision whether or not to keep Goku or give him up.

He glanced down to the boy next to him who was bobbing and sucking noisily on the sucker in his mouth.

Sanzo didn't think he made the wrong choice. He had no regrets.

---

"Shoot," Hakkai grumbled as they came to stop next to Kanan's candy stand. "We missed them."

Konzen stopped next to them, bent over his knees and dragging in ragged breaths. He'd been running all over the park to find Goku, and it was starting to tear him apart. His muscles burned and his lungs felt like they had holes in them, but he wasn't complaining. It was his suggestion that they run the whole way, after all. Konzen did office work for a living, he so wasn't used to such strenuous activity.

He plopped down on the ground as he managed to catch his breath, looking up towards Hakkai. The Ferris Wheel operator didn't even seem to have broken a sweat. His gaze was trained towards the candy stand not far from them.

Konzen turned to look as well, catching sight of a simple wooden stand with what looked like were once bright signs decorated colourfully. A woman stood behind the counter in the process of making cotton candy; Konzen figured she was Kanan. Her brown hair was long and drawn back into a low pony tail, with a simple black skirt and a button down blouse. A young man was leaning over the counter, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He had narrow eyes and thinning hair with a cruel smile.

"Mr Banri," Kanan snapped as she shook her cotton candy machine. "Please. I meant it when I asked you to leave my stand. I'm busy."

"Look around you, babe," Banri said sleazily as he leaned in further on the counter. "There's nobody around. Just a bunch of leftover emotions. So, why don't you just ditch the stand, and you and me can go find something fun to do."

Konzen resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. Honestly.

Hakkai stepped in, crossing the small expanse between them and grabbing Banri's wrist, pulling the young man away from the stand. Banri let out a yelp as Kanan's eyes settled on him. "I believe," Hakkai said sternly, a placid smile crossing his lips. "That Kanan asked you to leave her alone."

Banri let out a string of curses. "Yikes! Jeez, lay off, okay. I was just talking to her." When Hakkai released him, the man sneered, rubbing his bruised wrist.

"Go back to the front gate," Hakkai said sternly.

Banri scoffed. "To do what, sit on my ass, handing out tickets to dead people? Look, no one comes in here anymore. I don't see why I have to stay in that damn ticket booth and—"

Konzen couldn't fully see the look on Hakkai's face, but something made Banri stop short. Then the man's eyes trailed back over towards Konzen, and a smile crossed on his lips. "So this is him, eh?" the man asked as he crossed over towards where Konzen was still seated. He bent down in front of him and sneered. "Looks like a pansy ass."

Konzen growled, pulling himself to his feet. "Don't fuck with me; I'm not in the mood for any of this," he stepped around Banri and headed towards the candy stand where Kanan was watching him patiently, almost expectantly. "Look, I know that little Goku came through here. Tell me where he went."

Kanan smiled simply, nodding her head. "I know exactly where he went," she said simply.

Konzen waited patiently, though he probably should have known that it wouldn't be that easy. He let a sigh drift through his nose as he turned to look her in the eye. "What do you want?" he asked.

"More girls!" Banri suddenly exclaimed, sliding in next to Konzen and giving a grin. "This place is so boring. I want to see some more teenage girls here, you know?"

The three others glared at him. "Did I ask you?" Konzen asked bitterly.

Banri grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"I need a new candy stand," Kanan said as she turned back to look at him. "Everything. My machines are old and rusty, my stand itself it falling apart and the candy is going stale. I need everything renovated."

Konzen turned to look from Kanan to Banri, letting a sigh escape him. "Fine. Whatever. Now where is Goku?"

Kanan smiled and simply shrugged her shoulders. "He went to see Nataku."

Again, Konzen found himself running as they darted in between tents and booths. His lungs burned, head spun and his vision wavered; he was tired of this. He had to find Goku and end all this now. Luckily, Nataku wasn't very far from Kanan's stand. Konzen had to rest on the side of an abandoned booth as he took several breaths in.

"There he is," Hakkai said, pointing out towards the young man in front of them. "Shit, looks like we missed them."

Nataku was the juggler. The young man looked no older than fourteen and was juggling three bean bags. He was barefoot, walking casually and not even paying attention to the bags he was juggling. He was instead focused on another who was talking to them. Konzen's head stopped when he saw the familiar brown hair and frame that was standing next to Nataku, chatting away. However, it wasn't his Goku. The older version of his charge stood with his hands in his pockets, talking casually with the other man. Konzen could hear the faint murmur of Nataku's voice but again, with Goku he couldn't hear a thing.

Finally, the young man paused, turning his golden eyes in Konzen's direction. There was a pause as he simply stared, wide-eyed at Konzen. Nataku called out his name and shook his shoulder, but Goku merely shrugged him off. Just as Konzen was about to call out to the young man, Goku turned and ran off into the folds of the amusement park.

Konzen wanted to call out to him, but knew it was a stupid idea. The kid wasn't going to listen to him. He watched as the boy who wasn't quite his charge turn and disappear into the distance. Konzen watched that small body disappear into the shadows caused by the artificial lighting, feeling a heavy weight settle into his chest. He didn't know why, but it never felt right when he watched Goku run away from him. Even if that wasn't his Goku.

It hurt.

He watched as Hakkai approached Nataku and struck up a conversation with the young juggler. Konzen shoved his hands in his pockets turning away from the boy's disappearing back as he turned to address Nataku. The juggler kept his balls flying, not paying any attention to them in the least as his golden eyes slipped from Hakkai to Konzen.

"He wants to find little Goku?" he asked sceptically as he locked eyes with Konzen. He seemed a little miffed at the idea.

"Yeah, can you help him?" Hakkai asked politely. There was an awkward pause, broken by the sound of Hakkai's gum popping.

"What's in it for me?"

"Whatever you want," Konzen replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Everyone else seems to want something from me. Why should you be any different?"

Nataku hesitated a moment, his golden eyes darting down towards the ground in thought. Finally, his gaze shot up towards Konzen, resolve settling in his features. "I want to be able to leave," he said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Konzen exclaimed, a strange expression settling into his features. "You can leave whenever you want to."

Nataku shook his head, his eyes glued to Konzen. "When you take over , promise me that you'll give me my freedom."

Konzen's brows drew together. "Yeah, fine, of course," he mumbled, his brain still attempting to wrap around the words.

"Hakkai!" came two nearly-identical voices from behind them. Konzen, Hakkai and Nataku turned to look as Kenren and Gojyo ran up from behind them.

The twin clowns took a moment to catch their breath, two identical pairs of blood-red eyes settling on Hakkai's face. "The Ring Master needs to see you, Hakkai," they both said in unison. Konzen raised a brow at the pair. Ring Master, he wondered idly, his gaze settling on Hakkai as the young man frowned.

"Because of..." Hakkai trailed off, raising both brows.

The twins nodded. "Yup," they both said, voices sill completely synched. "He says that the time's too close to ignore anymore."

Hakkai nodded thoughtfully, blowing another bubble before turning to look at Konzen. "Good luck Konzen. I suppose I'll see you later." Before Konzen could object, Hakkai turned to Nataku. "Can you take him?"

"Of course," Nataku said, still juggling his balls.

Hakkai nodded as he, Kenren and Gojyo turned and ran off into the folds of phantom people. Konzen stayed and watch them disappear. Not that he was upset with them leaving, it was just surprising. H turned back to look at Nataku as the man looked up at the balls he was juggling. Finally, he threw all three into the air, opening a small bag at his side and watching as all three dropped inside.

"Let's go then," Nataku said finally, looking up towards Konzen. "Little Goku headed off towards Shien's Gift shop."

Konzen said nothing as Nataku turned and began to weave his way through the phantoms walking all along the ground. Konzen didn't bother. He simply stepped right through them.

As they walked, Konzen observed the park as it came more and more to life. It was hard to believe that a few hours ago the place was completely dark. It looked like it'd been shut down for good, which, it had. Now it had so much life, it looked as though that had never been the case. Lights were on, rides were whirling and it seemed as though the park was full. However, Konzen could still see the neglect in the rides and the booths that were busted down. Apparently, those things couldn't just fix themselves.

The more he looked around, the more he wondered what kind of place this was. He wondered, more than that, what had brought the place back to life. Was it just because there were normal people within or...

...Or was it Goku?

Before he could pursue that thought any further, he bumped into Nataku. He blinked, looking down at the youth who merely shot him a dirty look before he opened the door and stepped inside a small gift shop. The place was still dark and completely filled with dust. Light filtered in from some indistinguishable source, just enough so Konzen could weave around the shelves. There were little knick knacks on shelves, hats, water bottles, toys, things of all kinds scattered about the shelves. Konzen couldn't help but study the things as he passed, feeling as though he'd been here before.

"Konzen, do you see something you like?"

"...No."

"Don't lie to me, Konzen."

"...I don't know. I like this necklace. But... aren't necklaces for girls?"

"Nonsense, Konzen. C'mon, I'll buy it for you."

"Thanks, Dad."

Konzen paused at the memory that replayed in his mind. That's right... He remembered that. His father had bought him a necklace here once. It had been a simple necklace with a circle pendant on the end. It had been shaped to look like an old Chinese coin. Konzen had worn it for years before it broke.

He shook his head, choosing instead to focus on Goku. Goku was his responsibility. He was his charge, his...

Goku was his son, wasn't he? Sure, Konzen hadn't exactly adopted him, and he'd been practically dumped on him, but he was still in charge of Goku's life. The boy was only ten years old, having lost his parents to a car crash when he was only seven. Goku had been in Konzen's care for two years now and....

And thinking back, I'm a terrible father. Konzen thought bitterly. He paused, letting his eyes narrow as memories assaulted him. Goku smiling. Goku trailing behind him. Goku falling asleep on the couch waiting for him.

Despite everything. Goku's always there. I'm the world's worst father, and yet... he shook the thoughts away as he caught sight of Nataku a ways ahead of him.

"Stop reminiscing and get your ass up here," the boy snapped as he turned and made his way up towards the front counter.

Konzen kept his mouth sealed shut as he followed the boy through the store to the back, where a desk was set up. A stoic man stood behind the desk, his eyes closed and his hands resting peacefully on the top of the counter. Konzen paused in front of the man, wondering if he was even alive. He sat as still as a statue, eyes closed and dust even covering parts of his body. Konzen watched in silence for a moment before finally the man shifted, his head cocking to the side and dust springing into the air with the action.

"Nataku?" came a quiet, breathy voice from the man. "What brings you to my store?"

"This is Konzen," Nataku said simply, shoving a thumb in the direction of the blond man. "He's looking for little Goku. Did he come through here?"

Shien stayed silent for several moments, staring at Nataku without actually seeing him. Then, he turned to look at Konzen, moving with stiff motions. He brushed dust from his shoulders, finally turning his attention towards Konzen. The blond wondered idly if he'd moved at all in the twenty years that the park had been shut down.

"Little Goku? Yes, I believe he did come through here," he said, folding his fingers on the front of the desk.

Before Konzen could get another word in, the door opened and the bell sounded behind them. A man with flaming red hair and bored eyes stepped inside, lighting a cigarette. "Hey Shien," he murmured as he stepped further inside. He let his gaze drift back up towards the group assembled, blinking. "Ah, sorry, you got company."

He didn't seem very sorry as he strode all the way up to them, pulling himself up on the counter as he looked over the three of them. However, when his eyes settled on Konzen, a smirk crossed his features.

"So this is him," he murmured to Shien, who nodded in response.

"So it would seem," the man mumbled in agreement.

Konzen glared at the air of them as finally the redhead leaned forwards. "Name's Zenon. I'm he maintenance worker here, and if you're striking up any deals with Shien then I'm in."

Konzen rolled his eyes, "Fine. What do you want?"

"I'm out of tea," Shien said impassively.

"And I need my own office. Seriously," Zenon mumbled as he took another drag from his cigarette.

"But you don't even fix anything!" Nataku said, his eyes narrowing on the man.

"Hey, I'd fix stuff if I had a place to work from," Zenon said as he leaned back on the counter, keeping his gaze locked on Konzen.

The blond shook his head, "Fine. Whatever. Now, where's Goku?"

Shien and Zenon looked at each other. Zenon cracked a grin as Shien turned to look back at him. "Why would I know that?" he asked quietly.

Konzen grit his teeth. "You said you'd tell me where he was!" he exclaimed, taking a menacing step forwards.

Zenon held up his hands. "Hey now, calm down before you break something," he said, causing Konzen to pause. "We don't know where he is, we'll admit that," he said, before he nodded to the door. "But I did yah a favour. Goku's waiting outside to take you to him."

There was a moment when Konzen's brows drew together, trying to puzzle out what he was talking about. He turned on his heel and made his way to the door, slowly at first before he sped off. He tore open the door to the front of the shop and hurried outside, surprised to find the older version of his charge leaning against the shop.

He was only about a foot shorter than Konzen, with his face more angular than Konzen had ever seen it. His eyes were a bit narrower; however, they still hadn't lost their innocent gleam. He kept his hands in his jean pockets, and the collar of his jacket was pulled up around his mouth. He looked slightly displeased with the situation.

Goku only looked about eighteen or nineteen. Konzen wondered idly if this was what he was going to look like when his Goku got older.

Goku let his eyes trail over to Konzen as he let out a sigh. He stood straight up as he looked the man from head to toe. He cracked a small smile, but it was gone in an instant. Then, as usual, Goku began to talk, but Konzen could hear nothing. It still seemed as though the boy was on mute.

"Hold on," Konzen said, holding up his hands. Goku paused in his chatter, looking up at him with those stupidly huge golden eyes. "Goku… I can't hear what you're saying…"

A look of bitter anger crossed the youth's face as he puffed out. He took a deep breath, slowly mouthing the words, 'Come with me,' motioning behind him.

Konzen's brows drew together. "Where are we going?" he asked.

Goku rolled his eyes, acting for the most part like an exasperated teenager. 'To find Goku,' he mouthed slowly. 'Little Goku,' Goku added, making motions with his hands.

Konzen felt like an idiot having to communicate like this, but he saw no other way.

"All right then," he said, nodding to the youth. "Let's go."

Goku smiled, nodding as he turned on his heel and began to lead Konzen through the park. Konzen kept his eyes glued to Goku's back as they walked, taking note of the way this teenager held himself, the way he walked and how he acted. Was this… was this how Goku was going to act when he got older? A stab hit him square in the gut. He hoped not. This Goku treated him like he wasn't worth his time. Like he was a nuisance. Like…

How Konzen treated his Goku.

Konzen felt a stab hit him at that thought. He immediately banished it, not wanting to think about what that could mean at the moment.

He blinked when he ran into Goku's back. Backing up, he looked at the youth, who had stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced from Goku to what lay in front of them. That was weird; there was nothing to hinder them. Why did Goku stop?

"Goku?" Konzen called out. The youth said nothing, instead raising his hand and pressing forwards. A series of blue spark exploded from where Goku touched as the youth retracted his hand.

Konzen swallowed audibly, turning to look in front of them. Was this another kind of magic? He shakily pressed his hand forwards, but there was no explosion of sparks to greet him. When Goku tried to push forwards one more, he got the same sparks flying at him, singeing his hands.

Konzen stayed silent for several moments before Goku turned his hard gaze on him. He pointed forwards, his lips quivering as he simply mouthed, 'Go.'

Konzen kept his eyes locked on Goku for several long moments before he nodded. "Thank you," he said, turning and bolting ahead of him. He had no idea what he was looking for, but it couldn't be that far away. He continued to run blindly, searching for any sign of his charge. Phantoms on either side of him ducked out of his way, as though they could actually see him charging through them.

"Konzen!"

Konzen whirled around at the familiar, high pitched voice as familiar arms wrapped around his waist. He stumbled, nearly falling as his weight settled against him. Goku's small, ten-year-old body was pressed tightly against him as the youngster shook with sobs. Konzen was slightly in shock as he looked down at the boy pressed so tightly against him. Scrawny arms, long tangled brown hair and big, stupid golden eyes that were spilling tears. It was Goku. His Goku.

"I'm so sorry, Konzen!" Goku babbled as he shook with sobs. "I'm so sorry I ran away. Just, I didn't mean to and then I got so caught up and stuff and then I got scared 'cause I couldn't find you and Sanzo was there and—"

"Quiet Goku," Konzen said harshly, cutting himself off when he realized what he had said. An image of the older version of his charge danced in his mind, desperately trying to communicate with him. He began to understand what that meant. "Never mind, I'm sorry…" Konzen wrapped his arms around Goku's form and pulled the boy closer to him as he sunk down on his knees. "Keep talking Goku, I'm listening…"

Goku blinked as he stared at Konzen's face, more tears slipping from those impossibly huge eyes. Goku then wailed, throwing his arms around Konzen's neck and pulling himself close, crying and babbling about how sorry he was for running off.

Konzen felt so relieved. The adrenaline that had been building in him the whole day just disappeared as he pulled Goku tight against him. He had Goku back. Here. Finally.

His gaze slipped back up in front of him, surprised to find another man standing there. Several feet away from him Sanzo stood, his eyes narrowed with jealousy and anger. Sanzo could have been a perfect clone of him, save for a few subtle differences. The main one being the length of his golden hair.

His eyes raged as he stared Konzen down, and he could practically see the message written all across the young man's face.

Give Goku back to me.

Like that was going to happen.

---

Sanzo glared down at the scene before him, eyes narrowed in contempt. The sight of Goku in his guardian's arms sobbing his eyes out should have been sweet, cute even. However, Sanzo could only feel jealousy and hatred stirring in his gut. Goku worshipped Konzen, and as far as Sanzo knew, the man couldn't care less for the boy. Sanzo may not really care one way or another for the kid, but at least he liked having Goku trail behind him. Not to mention that it managed to keep him alive.

They had been visiting Hazel, the beast tamer and Gat, the strong man, when Konzen had found them. Sanzo had practically pried the boy away from Gat, wanting to stay just ahead of Konzen. He didn't want to lose Goku.

However, Goku had heard Konzen call out his name. The young brunet had turned, joy seeping into his features when he recognised his guardian. Then, he let go of Sanzo's hand, and ran back into Konzen's arms.

Admittedly, that had hurt. He wasn't about to lose the only thing keeping him alive to some... cheap imitation.

Konzen glared at him from his spot on the ground, keeping his arms wrapped securely around his charge. Sanzo matched his glare with equal intensity, all but ignoring the phantoms walking around them on all sides and the sounds of the carnival.

There was a moment of tension that descended between the two men, only broken by Goku's incessant babbling.

"Goku," Sanzo called finally, catching the young boy's attention. "Why don't you—"

Sanzo cut himself off suddenly as he heard a familiar click. No. No way. This wasn't fucking fair!

Gunshots fired, deafening in his ears as Sanzo jumped out of the way of an oncoming bullet. His head whirled around, trying to find the source of the attack. Several more guns were fired from nowhere, which Sanzo just barely avoided. Seven shots from a handgun, however, managed to nail him right in the stomach. The force sent Sanzo flying, hitting the dirty ground and rolling, blood left in his wake.

Goku screamed.

When finally Sanzo stopped rolling and fell still, Goku shook in shock. Even Konzen couldn't help but stare. What the hell was that? There were no guns, nobody that could've attacked him, nothing. Where did those shots come from?

Goku screamed and struggled, managing to wrestle himself out of Konzen's hold to rush towards Sanzo's side. Konzen cursed, forcing himself to his feet to chase after Goku. He caught the boy's arm, pulling him back even as Goku wrestled away, latching himself onto Sanzo's neck and pulling himself close. Konzen finally released the boy and let him do what he wished.

Konzen ran a hand through his bangs, muttering a curse under his breath as he looked down towards Sanzo's form. A pale hand was thrown across his stomach where blood was sluggishly leaking out, staining his shirt and the ground beneath him.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Konzen cursed beneath his breath, turning away and looking out over the carnival. Life was carrying on as it usually did, no phantoms even turned to look at them, despite the fact that Sanzo was just shot down in the street.

"Shit, what do I do?" he breathed, looking back down at Goku who was clinging to Sanzo for dear life and crying his eyes out. Konzen finally sighed, bending down next to the boy and placing a hand on his back in a half-hearted attempt to comfort him.

Goku continued to cling to Sanzo, his arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he kept his face buried close. Sanzo remained motionless as Konzen continued to curse, before finally his fingers twitched. A sudden cough caused Konzen to whirl around to look at the other blond.

Okay, that's not possible...

Apparently it was. Sanzo's body convulsed as he coughed, sitting up and causing Goku to loosen his grip on his neck. Goku backed up, blinking owlishly at Sanzo as the man tried desperately to get air back into his lungs.

"Sanzo!" Goku exclaimed, lunging on the man and pulling him close.

Sanzo continued to cough, shoving slightly at the boy. "Get off me, Goku," he rasped. "I can't breathe."

Goku released him, still sniffling in relief as Sanzo took a moment to recollect his bearings. Konzen watched, wide-eyed, as the bullets tumbled from Sanzo's skin and hit the pavement, cling after cling after cling.

No. Seriously. Just no, Konzen thought numbly as Sanzo managed to get his bearings back.

"Are you okay, Sanzo?" Goku asked worriedly.

"Relax," Sanzo rasped, slipping a hand under his bloodied shirt and grabbing one last bullet from his stomach and dropping it on the ground. "I'm a sideshow attraction. I die; it's what I do...."

Konzen let a soft sigh slip through his lips as he shook his head, finally able to relax. He didn't notice that suddenly all the phantoms around them had disappeared, or that the rides had suddenly stopped moving. Konzen only looked up when the lights went out with a buzz and a snap.

Konzen's head snapped up and his eyes darted around the suddenly darkened midway. What was wrong? What happened? Panic began to grow in Konzen's chest.

"Sanzo!" Konzen heard a voice form behind him, whirling around to find Tenpou heading towards him, holding his vest on and carrying broken glasses in his hand. "Ne le touchez pas! Você está arruinando-o! Y—" Tenpou growled, growing frustrated. "Konzen! Grab Goku!"

Konzen blinked, unsure of what Tenpou meant before he heard Goku cry out in alarm. He whirled around, finding Goku unconscious in Sanzo's arms. The blond carried Goku in his arms, slowly backing away from Konzen, a sneer on his face. "No way..." he breathed. "No way am I passing this up."

Konzen's eyes widened. "What the fuck are you doing?" he yelled, taking several steps forwards.

"Don't move!" Sanzo barked, causing Konzen to freeze, his eyes worriedly flicking over towards his young charge in Sanzo's arms. "You don't know what it's like to die over and over and over. Goku is the only one that can fix this and I'm not letting him go!"

Tenpou came to a stop next to Konzen, dragging in rasping breaths. His eyes then snapped up to Sanzo. "Sanzo, put Goku down. He's been returned to Konzen, you know what will happen if you interfere now."

Sanzo's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, like I'm going to go back to being a sideshow. Fuck off, Tenpou; I'm creating my own path. He can take my job," he said, nodding to Konzen. "God knows he deserves it. Who knows, he might be good at it."

"Sanzo!" Tenpou barked, eyes flashing dangerously.

Sanzo cracked a delirious smile. "Not going to work. So long as I have Goku, I'm immune." Sanzo's brows rose as he took several more steps backwards, keeping Goku's unconscious form close. "I bet I can even walk out of here."

Tenpou's eyes widened. "You know what would happen if you did that!" he barked. "If you left, then the magic here would undo itself! Everyone here would simply cease to exist!"

Sanzo's eyes twinkled. "Not my problem," he said quietly.

"What the hell is happening?" Konzen demanded of Tenpou, his eyes narrowing as a hiss pulled itself from his lips.

"Big Goku and Sanzo are the seals that bind the park," Tenpou explained quickly. When the park was shut down, the Ring Master placed a spell on this park, so that the magic that bound us wouldn't disappear. To do that, he needed Sanzo and Goku to act as seals, and separated them so they would never be able to come in contact again. If they came in contact, and we hadn't found our new owner, then the magic would die and we would cease to exist."

"What does that have to do with my Goku?" Konzen yelled.

"It seems like your Goku is acting like a bridge between the two seals, weakening it," Tenpou muttered quietly.

Konzen's eyes were locked on Goku's sleeping face, the way his body hung limply, as though he was dead. Then he thought about all the effort he had gone through to find Goku again, and his resolve to start being a better father. Fuck the strange circus; he really didn't care what happened to it, just that some psycho was making off with the unconscious form of his charge.

"Hey!" Konzen barked suddenly, causing everything to freeze around him. "I don't give a fuck about your life, or your problems. But that's my son!" Geez, those words sounded weird on his tongue. "I'm not letting you just waltz off with him."

Sanzo's eyes narrowed, "Ever the hero, Konzen. What are you going to do?" he asked quietly, readjusting his hold on the unconscious brunet.

Tenpou cast Konzen a side look, but said nothing. Konzen stayed silently, letting his hand dip into his pocket. He pulled out the small wooden box that Tenpou had given him earlier that night, holding it out in front of him. He watched the way Sanzo's eyes widened, glad that he'd done something right.

"Give me Goku..." Konzen said slowly. "Or I'll smash it."

Sanzo's head whirled up to look Konzen in the eye, "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Sanzo eyed the box, glanced over at Tenpou and then down to the limp form in his arms. Konzen could see the indecision and panic starting to work its way into his eyes, however Sanzo swallowed it all down. He took several tentative steps forwards, causing the knots in Konzen's stomach to loosen just slightly. Konzen felt as though he was going to shatter waiting to see what the man was going to do next.

Goku still hung limply in his arms, looking for the most part like he was just sleeping. Sanzo hesitated in his movement, a steely resolve settling in his eyes. However, the fact that Konzen didn't know what that resolve was scared him.

Finally, Sanzo walked towards him, placing Goku gently on the ground in front of him.

Sanzo took a step back, and Konzen tossed the box to him as he made his way to Goku's side. The boy was okay, nothing more than a bump on the back of his head. Konzen glanced up to Sanzo as the man turned the small box over in his hands.

"Where did you find this?" he breathed.

Konzen glanced over at Tenpou. "It was given to me," he finally said, turning his gaze back on Sanzo.

Konzen could swear he could see emotion seeping though the mask the man tried so hard to keep up. He didn't look very intimidating at all, simply a man who was lost and looking for a way out. Konzen knew the feeling, so he didn't bother to pass judgement on the man. "I've been looking for this... for so long..." Sanzo breathed, finally opening the small box.

Konzen's eyes widened as he watched a small yellow bird flutter out of the box, looking for the most part like it was emitting light. The bird chirped, circling around Sanzo's head as the man watched it. Konzen blinked, completely confused before the bird chirped and flew off into the darkened midway.

Sanzo stood with his arms hanging limply by his sides, the corners of his lips twitching upwards as silence descended down upon them. He held the small wooden box loosely in his hand, simply waiting, as though something tremendously important was supposed to happen. After several minutes, Konzen wondered if anything was going to happen at all. He turned to look at Goku and pulled the youth closer to him, hoping that he wasn't too seriously hurt.

Konzen started when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to face the older version of Goku standing behind him. The young man smiled down on him, the small yellow bird that Sanzo had just released perched on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Konzen," Goku said. It took Konzen a moment to realize that he could actually hear his voice. His eyes widened, surprised to find his voice a little deeper than his charge's, yet still filled with sincerity and kindness. There were tears in the older Goku's eyes as he slowly released the man's arm and turned his attention towards Sanzo, who was standing not far away.

The blond was looking right at them, looking for the most part like he had been beaten and broken and finally, someone had shed a bit of hope down upon him.

Without warning, Goku tore towards him. He leapt into Sanzo's arms as the man caught him, causing the pair to spin. Konzen could hear Goku's laughter as he clung to the blond and even Sanzo couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. It was a strange sight to see, since Konzen couldn't recall a single moment when either of them looked so happy. Goku was laughing and even Sanzo's joy was evident, even if he would never admit it.

Konzen watched in fascination as the pair leaned in for a kiss, clinging to one another as though their lives depended on it. They had finally stopped spinning as Sanzo set Goku back n the ground, his arms still wrapped tightly around him. Goku was clinging to the other man just as hard as their passionate kiss deepened. Konzen blinked as he watched both Goku and Sanzo's forms grow dimmer and dimmer until they disappeared all together.

Once they were gone, a clatter sounded, and the small box that had held the bird hit the ground. There was silence as the clatter rang off the empty air. Konzen clutched his Goku close to him as he stared at the spot where the pair had disappeared to. Finally, Tenpou let out a shaky sigh, stepping forwards to collect the small wooden box off the ground.

"I guess..." Goku said quietly, from his lap. Konzen's eyes looked down towards the boy, finding his hazy golden eyes half-open, staring over to where Goku and Sanzo disappeared. "Sanzo really did get his happy ending..."

For a moment, Konzen merely looked down at the form of his young charge, moving to brush bangs from the boy's eyes. "Are you all right, Goku?" Konzen asked as he moved to help the boy sit up.

Goku blinked up at him and cracked a large smile. "Yeah. I'm okay... my head hurts though..." he complained softly, rubbing the back of his skull for effect. He did seem a bit quieter than he did a moment ago, probably because Sanzo all but evaporated before his eyes.

Konzen let out a sigh of relief as he kept one hand on the boy's back in comfort. This nightmare was almost over. All he had to do was get Goku out of there, forget everything he saw here.... He let his eyes slip closed as the night's events flashed before him. He wouldn't forget what he learned, but he couldn't stay here anymore. It was going to drive him crazy.

"Here, Konzen," Tenpou said, standing in front of him. Konzen looked up at the man, taking the box extended to him. He was slightly creeped out by the positively beaming smile on his face.

He studied the box for a moment, not even minding as Goku wiggled closer to see as well.

At the bottom of the small box, was a piece of paper. He pulled it out and unfolded it, squinting to try and make out the very messy handwriting.

Sanzo-

Until Konzen comes to free the Carnival, the Ring Master says we can't be together. It'll be painful, not to be with you, Sanzo... so I'm giving you my heart, 'kay? Keep it safe. It'll help you find me again when this guy comes to save us.

I love you.

-Goku.

Konzen read the words over once, twice, and then a third time. Then, he silently folded up the paper and placed it back in the box, closing it up. He took a deep breath in, looking from Goku, who was smiling up at him, over to Tenpou.

"Let me guess..." he said, trailing off. "We're not done yet?"

Tenpou let out a small laugh. "No, I'm afraid not," he said, placing his broken glasses back on his nose and shoving his hands in his pockets. "There's one more person you have to see."

Konzen felt an amused smirk catching on his lips. "The Ring Master?" he asked.

Tenpou continued to smile. "Of course. He's been waiting for you."

Konzen let out a soft sigh, getting to his feet and taking Goku's hand in his own. Goku smiled up at him and squeezed his hand, waiting to see what he would do.

"Well then," Konzen said, "We'd better not keep him waiting any longer."

---

Konzen and Goku followed after Tenpou as the man lead them through the amusement park towards the Ring Master's trailer. Konzen kept Goku's hand tightly clutched in his own, not about to let the youth go anytime soon. He had no real idea what this carnival was, just that he was glad he'd found it. It must've been one of those life-changing events that people talk about. Though it was more in a magical sense.

"Hey Konzen," Goku whispered as they continued to follow Tenpou.

Konzen looked down to the boy who was smiling brightly up at him, and couldn't help the answering smile that appeared over his lips. "What Goku?" he whispered back.

"I like it here," he admitted, moving closer to the blond and gripping his hand just a bit tighter.

Konzen said nothing in response, though it seemed like Goku wasn't looking for a response.

They continued on in silence for several long moments, giving Konzen a moment to look around him. The phantoms from earlier were still gone, and all the rides had ceased moving. Konzen couldn't even see any of those who worked there that they had encountered earlier. They passed by Kanan's candy stop, finding it completely empty. Zakuro's roller coaster had been abandoned, and as they passed by Hakkai's Ferris wheel, there was no sign of the man. However, every light was on, even if there was not a sound to be heard. It was very eerie, and Konzen gripped Goku's hand just a bit tighter.

As they made their way through the park, Konzen fingered the small wooden box in his pocket. Goku had insisted that he keep it. Goku always was a sentimental little kid, keeping every pretty rock or every 'special flower.' Konzen thought about protesting, but simply let it slide. It was just a little box, after all.

"If you couldn't guess, Konzen, we've been waiting for you. You've been making promises, haven't you? Well, it just so happens that you've already fulfilled one. Sanzo and Goku didn't even have to tell you what they wanted, and you managed to give it to them. That... makes me hopeful for the rest of us."

Konzen shook his head to clear himself of Tenpou's voice as they continued. Goku and Sanzo wanted to be together? He glanced down towards Goku, who was happily bobbing next to him. He hoped to God that he never had to deal with something like that with his Goku.

"Hey! Konzen! Konzen! Look! It's Kenren and Gojyo! And Homura! And—And—Everybody!"

Konzen looked up at Goku's call, blinking when he realized that everyone he had met that night was assembled around a large white trailer. Goku bounced up and down, waving to people he knew while Konzen just stood and stared. Shien and Zenon were standing next to one another; Nataku was juggling two balls with one hand. Kenren and Gojyo were both grinning like mad, each waving their joined hand at the bouncing Goku. Kanan stood with a beaming smile on her face, while Chin Yisou simply crossed his arms over his chest and stared sightlessly.

Konzen let his gaze linger over every face, his brows rising in surprise. Just what the hell was going on here?

"Konzen!" he heard Hakkai called as the man wove through the people and stepped forwards. He smiled down at Goku before the youth was distracted by Kenren and Gojyo, turning to look at Konzen. "I'm glad you managed to help Goku and Sanzo. It means you really are capable of this."

Konzen stared for a few moments. "Capable of what?" he asked slowly, his gaze slipping to the group assembled around him.

"Ah, Konzen, I'm so glad I finally get a chance to meet you!" came a cheerful voice that still managed to send a chill up his spine.

Tenpou stepped aside with a smile, revealing a slim man with dark hair and glasses perched on his nose. He wore a top hat and white gloves, with a cane and a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth. On the side of his coat, embodied in red thread was 'Nii Jianyi, Ring Master.'

Konzen's eyes flickered from his jacket back up to his face, to find those eyes on him. He felt Goku shuffle closer, but didn't break eye contact with the man. "So, are you in charge of this place then?" he asked as he stared the man down. Something about Nii creeped him out.

At his question, Nii barked out a laugh. He had to grab his cigarette as the laughter broke through his lips. "Oh heavens no!" he cried, wiping away a stray tear as he focused on Konzen and Goku. "I'm only the Ring Master, I don't think there's any way I can own all of this!" he said, waving his hand around. "No, it's much too important a job. Too much paperwork for my liking..."

Nii trailed off, turning to his cane and popping the top of it off. From there, he pulled up a rolled up piece of paper out before righting his cane again. He took his time unrolling it, finally turning it towards him. Konzen's eyes widened when he realized that it was the deed to the park.

"You don't know how many years we've waited for you," he said. Konzen kept his eyes glued to the deed, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea. "Though, we did get tired of waiting..."

"Onion!" Goku exclaimed next to him. Konzen's eyes flickered over towards Rinrei, where the young woman was holding the cat that went missing earlier that night. Goku accepted the cat from her, happily bouncing around and talking to the stupid animal. Konzen's gaze flickered from Goku back up to Nii.

"What makes you think I can run this place it you can't?" he asked slowly, trying to figure a way out of this. No way was he going to run a freakin' carnival this crazy.

Nii smiled. "Well, you did handle Goku and Sanzo quite well. That's evidence enough," he said with a simple shrug.

Konzen pulled Goku closer, preparing to turn away. "I'm sorry. I can't accept this. I have a job and a life, I can't just drop it all to run some fucked up carnival." He pulled Goku closer and turned, "Let's go, Goku."

Goku looked upset, but said nothing as he turned to head after Konzen.

Nii didn't look pleased at all. He cleared his throat, pulling a small piece of paper from his from his coat pocket. He unfolded it and smiled, looking up towards Konzen's back. "You can't quite leave yet, Konzen. Even if you don't take legal ownership, you made a few too many promises."

Konzen froze, turning back to look at Nii. "Excuse me?" he said, staring at the other man as he turned the page over so Konzen could get a better look.

It was a list of all the promises that he made while he had been looking for Goku. His gaze flickered up from the list to Nii's face, and then to all those assembled around, staring at him expectantly. He glanced down towards Goku, who was looking up at him with those stupidly huge golden eyes, asking for something. He quietly waited for Konzen to make his decision, squeezing his hand.

Konzen let out a sigh, turning back to take the deed quietly from Nii's hand. He quickly skimmed it over. "I have no choice in any of this, do I?" he asked.

Nii grinned broadly. "No, you have a choice. The problem is if you can honestly walk out those doors without feeling just a bit of guilt that you've left us all to rot," he said pleasantly.

Konzen looked up at the group of people assembled before him, all silently waiting and watching. "Why me?" he asked quietly. "Why can't you get someone else to do this?"

Nii smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Because, simply put, no one else can."

Konzen looked back down towards the deed in his hand, his gaze trailing towards the dotted line at the bottom of the page, reserved for his signature. He let the decision roll around inside him for a few minutes before he realized that he was ultimately defeated.

"Anyone have a pen?"

---

Konzen took a deep breath in as he dodged two young girls who practically zoomed past him. He glanced around, finding his carnival completely alive with people. Real people this time, not phantoms of those who had once been there. It was about three in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly down on his back. As he glanced around, he noticed that lines for the rides were long, attractions were huge and people were laughing everywhere.

It had been a year since that night when he had searched desperately for Goku in the mess of a theme park that had been left to die. Since the very moment that Konzen had signed the deed, he knew that he was tied to this place. He could practically feel it. He couldn't walk out that door and never come back. He was stuck here, forever.

The months after that night had been difficult. He'd had to dip into his savings more than he would've liked to resurrect the place. The good thing was he didn't have to hire any help. Zenon actually started helping with the mechanics of fixing rides, and within a few months everything was up and running. Zakuro's roller coaster had taken some time and help from nearly everyone on the park, but Konzen was proud of his work when it was done. Goku, of course, had immediately demanded that he get a ride on it when it was finished.

Homura's stage had been cleaned up with ease, and Konzen had bough paint to redo the signs all over the park. 'Homura the Grand's' sign was a lot bigger and brighter than he would've liked, but Goku and Homura seemed to like it, so Konzen could care less.

It seemed like every attraction needed just a bit of cleaning up. The puppet house had been the most difficult. Konzen had puzzled over it for a long time before he finally figured out how he wanted to approach the thing. Finally, he decided to tear it all down and rebuild another one. That took a good four months, but Kougaiji seemed pleased with the result nonetheless.

Hakkai's button had been another story all together. Homura, Konzen and Zenon had all been working tirelessly on the Ferris wheel, unable to figure out what was wrong with it. Goku and Hakkai had taken a seat near the conductor's booth, merely watching. Goku had been studying the button closely, before in one fell move, he slammed it against the ground with a whack!

Suddenly, the Ferris wheel came to life and began turning. Hakkai's eyes snapped to Goku, his jaw dropping open. "My god!" he exclaimed, taking his button and starting and stopping the ride. "You fixed my button!"

Konzen had nearly smacked himself for that one.

The amusement park had been pretty easy to put back together. Once it was all up and running, and he'd come to Nataku to let the young man leave, he noticed the way the blush spread across his features. "I don't want to..." the young man admitted. "Can I just stay? Maybe?"

When finally Konzen opened the gates, he was surprised by how many people had flooded through. Children had heard that the park was being put back together and wanted desperately to come. Parents who had been to the park when they were children brought their kids. Soon the park was alive with people, rides were whirling, and people were playing. Not to mention that Goku came to the park whenever Konzen was working there. After school every day Konzen picked him up from school and brought him back to the park. Goku absolutely loved it there.

Everybody knew him, and of course Goku knew everyone. Konzen had watched him one afternoon when he helped Rinrei clean up after a magic act. The boy simply glowed. He brought life to the amusement park and everybody within it.

Konzen, for the most part, was stuck up inside an office, doing a hell of a lot of paperwork. Not that he minded. He worked at a law firm before this for his aunt, so he knew how to handle a heavy workload. Goku had come bursting in that afternoon flushed and excited. Konzen was about to tell him to get out and that he was busy, however he was getting bored of doing budget calculations and so he let Goku lead him out into distraction.

He'd never realized how beautiful a day it was. He squinted at the sudden assault of light as Goku lead him through the crowds of people. It was a Saturday, so there were a lot of people flooding the gates. He glanced through the people all about, shaking his head as Goku lead him through different ways towards Kanan's candy stand.

Standing there waiting for him was an older man looking to be in his late thirties. He had long brown hair tied back in a braid with the evidence of wrinkles catching the corners of his eyes. He stood with his arms crossed and an amused smile on his face as Goku pulled him forwards. Next to him was a young boy only about eleven or twelve. He had short blond hair, violet eyes and...

Fuck. If this is some kind of cruel joke...

Goku let go of Konzen's hand to practically grab the other young boy's and drag him forwards. The young blond boy looked annoyed, but didn't protest. "Konzen! This is my new friend, Sanzo, and this is his dad!"

Konzen's eyes were glued to Sanzo for a little moment. The boy glared back at him, but said nothing. Finally, Konzen turned to look towards the young boy's father, who extended a hand to him.

"Koumyou," the man said cheerfully.

"Konzen," he greeted back, accepting the handshake.

"Now, c'mon, c'mon! Nii's show starts in a few minutes! You gotta see it, Sanzo!" Goku exclaimed, immediately turning his attention back to the boy next to him.

Konzen thought about protesting—he had seen Nii's show a million times anyway—but decided against it. He'd been stuck inside for too long, and it was about time he got to spend some time with Goku.

The four of them began to make their way across the midway, over towards the large building where Nii's show took place. People were filling the stands with their snacks, talking excitedly about what they'd seen so far. Koumyou and Konzen took a seat next to one another, while Sanzo and Goku sat down on the bench beneath them. Goku continued to talk, and for the most part it looked like Sanzo was listening to him.

Konzen watched them for a few moments longer, studying every movement Sanzo made. He'd had enough issues with the phantom Sanzo who tried to take Goku away from him the year previous, and didn't like the idea of a perfect—although younger—image of the man coming back into Goku's life. However, Goku didn't seem to mind him at all, in fact, he looked quite taken with the boy.

Finally, Konzen relaxed back into his seat with a sigh, deciding that nothing could be done about it.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Koumyou asked from beside him. Konzen blinked, turning to look at the man with a small smile.

"Yeah," Konzen agreed. "Yeah, they are."

The theatre went dark after that, and the show began. Lights flashed, Nii stepped forwards and spoke as different attractions stepped forth and preformed their duties. Nataku was there, juggling insane amounts of knives or balls or whatever he could get his hands on. Hazel, as usual, put on a flamboyant show, and Gat was there to back him up. As Konzen watched, he couldn't stop his gaze from drifting down towards the pair of boys seated in from of him.

Goku moved just a bit closer to Sanzo and the blond didn't seem to mind; not even when Goku let his head rest on his shoulder.

It was a cute picture. Konzen let relief relax to the idea, allowing Goku the freedom to choose what he wanted.

After the show, Konzen had been heading back towards his office with Goku, Sanzo and Koumyou on his heel. Goku had been talking rapidly, and occasionally Sanzo would manage to get some words through. However, Goku continued to prompt him into talking, and every time he did, Koumyou's smile stretched just a bit more.

Goku approached him when Koumyou had brought Sanzo into Shien's gift shop, a beaming smile on his face. "Hey, Konzen, Konzen!" he chirped, looking up towards he man. "Where's Sanzo and Goku's box? You know, the big Sanzo and Goku."

Konzen blinked. "Why?" he asked dumbly.

Goku's smile stretched off the boundaries of his face. "I wanna give Sanzo my heart."

Konzen couldn't help but stare at his young charge for several moments. Finally, his brain managed to start forming sentences once again as he blinked. "You... are you sure about that, Goku?" he asked quietly.

Goku nodded enthusiastically.

Konzen had thought about saying no, but decided against it. He made the short trip back to his office, turning on the light as he rummaged through a cabinet. Finally, he grabbed the tiny little wooden box that had contained the big Goku's heart over a year prior. The note that the other Goku had written had been taken out. Beside that, was the picture Homura had given him that night as well. Konzen again hesitated, but simply smiled as he placed the box in his pocket and made his way back over towards the gift shop.

Goku was practically bouncing all over him when he came back out. He rolled his eyes and called the boy an idiot before handing him the box. Goku then bounded over to Sanzo, who was standing out of earshot. Goku began talking, fingering the box nervously. Konzen couldn't hear what was being said. However, finally Sanzo reached out and took the box, leaning close to kiss the boy on the side of the cheek. Goku's head snapped up before he wrapped his arms around Sanzo's neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other," Koumyou stated from behind him. Konzen turned to look at the older man who was lazily smoking a pipe.

Konzen scoffed when his words finally sank in. "That's putting it mildly." He shook his head and turned back to look at Sanzo and Goku, who were both talking to one another, well out of earshot. As he watched the boys interact, he could feel a smile beginning to catch on his lips.

"I suppose that's all right though," he continued, not looking at Koumyou as he spoke. "So long as they get a bit of happiness out of this, then it was all worth it."

Koumyou raised a brow at him as Konzen turned to look at the man. "Was it now?" he asked, mildly amused.

Konzen thought back to that night, and then over to the months he spent working on the stupid circus to make it perfect. He was glad that he signed that deed. More than glad. This place was his, and if it gave Goku a feeling of home; a feeling of pure joy. If he could give Goku the kind of happiness of being with someone he loved...

"Yeah," Konzen said quietly. "It was worth it."

___

A/N: Another thing that's a million years old. I wanted to do s much more with it, but oh well. Here it is.

I hope you enjoyed.