Hello! I thought of this story when I re-watched Journey to the West the TV series. I started comparing the Kougaiji from there and the one from the manga. And, well, there's a huge difference, especially in looks. I started combining his personality from the show, and his looks from the manga. And it was pretty sexy. :) So I experimented and got this...

Disclaimer: I don't own the anime or Any of the characters except the ones I made up.

None of us really knew much about Kougaiji's past beyond the fact that he had a mother and a father. We didn't push it either, we all thought that it would hurt him too much to talk about. But all that changed when Kougaiji's cousin and Uncle came to visit. This mundane event seemed very out of place in Kougaiji's eventful life. All of us were surprised at the huge contrast between Kougaiji and his cousin.

He walked into Kougaiji's room laughing and saying, "Hey cousin! What's up?" He held up a hand for a high five which Kougaiji pointedly ignored. Instead he chose to look disdainfully at his cousin's shorts. "Akihiko" He answered warily.

Akihiko

Male Demon

Age: 18

Family: Mother, Father, (Cousins- Kougaiji and Lirin)

Physical Description: Red hair, purple eyes

Comments: His father was the brother or Rasetsunyo. Both his parents are alive. Akihiko has looked up to Kougaiji since he was a child and shares Kougaiji's pain for the death of both his parents. Despite, idolizing Kougaiji, however, he has a more childish and innocent disposition.

Akihiko's smile fades. "So it's true huh?" He studies Kougaiji's sullen expression, and suddenly seems angry, "You really became this boring, angry guy just because that bitch took over?" Akihiko leans in, "The Kougaiji I knew would have fought back! What's wrong with you now?"

Kougaiji gently pushes Akihiko back a few inches, sadness coloring his eyes, "There's nothing I can do Aki, I'm sorry."

A guard walks into the room, bowing low, he says, "Kougaiji- sama, your Uncle and Lady Koushou requests your presence." Kougaiji sighs, "I'm coming." Without meeting Akihiko's eyes, he says, "Wait here, I'll be right back." And walks out.

Akihiko watches Kougaiji until he disappears around the corner, then turns to look at Dokugakuji, Lirin, and I. "So" He eyes Lirin, "You're Kougaiji's sister." She only nods quietly, which was completely out of character for her. Akihiko smiles without humor, "It's too bad you weren't born earlier, Kougaiji was a lot more fun back then." Lirin immediately shakes her head, "No, I like Big Brother now." Akihiko's smile widens a bit, "I see."

Dokugakuji gets a grip of his bearings first, "So you knew Kou when he was little?"

"Yeah." Akihiko turns his gaze to the huge bookcase that dominated almost a whole wall.

"You know, he really isn't so bad now. Just because he may seem a little boring compared to how he was then-"

Akihiko cuts him off, "That's not what I meant. He was much happier then. That's what made him more fun and outgoing."

I couldn't take it anymore, "Akihiko- san, Kougaiji- sama has plenty of reasons not to be happy. And he's accepted them, perhaps you should too."

Akihiko whirls around, eyes flashing, "You think that's why I'm mad? Right now, Kougaiji is pratically sulking! He hasn't accepted anything, in fact, he wants his old life back, more than anything else. And if I were him, I would be hoping for the exact same thing!"

Lirin speaks up, "But Big Brother's life isn't so bad now, he has us!"

"But he wants more! This was the kind of life Kougaiji hated most! Listening to someone else's orders, having next to no freedom, having no other options than what he has in front of him!" Finally, Akihiko runs out of steam and begins to take in our shocked expressions, he exhales, "Shit... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you weren't important to him."

Lirin looks close to tearing up, "Did Big Brother have a really good life back then? Did we take that away from him?"

"No", Akihiko bends down to Lirin's height, "In fact, you're probably one of the only people keeping him from going insane. Besides, he was a arrogant, snobby, cocky, stubborn son of bitch when he was younger. But people still liked him because as long as he liked you, he'd help you and fight for you no matter what the cost was." Akihiko shrugs "I guess now he's just down to the good qualities."

But Dokugakuji still looks disgruntled, "But it isn't hard to guess that his life was better than this. Anything would be better than this."

My curiosity is suddenly aroused, what exactly had Kougaiji lost when he was sealed by Nataku? "Akihiko- san, could you tell us more about Kougaiji- sama's past?" Lirin nods her agreement. Akihiko considers this, "Yeah, I could. No, I can do better than that, I can show you." He grins, "Come on, I know where Kou put all his stuff." He leads us out of the room.

I had always thought that the room Akihiko had lead us to was just a regular storage room. But when we got inside, I realized that it was much bigger than how it appeared from the outside, and it was filled to the ceiling with random things.

"Wow" Lirin breathes, "All this is Big Brother's?"

"Uh huh" Akihiko's eyes scan the room, "Everything."

Akihiko looked the huge paintings that were hung side by side on the wall. The ones I immediately recognized was of Gyumaoh, standing tall and proud. The second was a family portrait of Gyumaoh, Rasetsunyo, and Kougaiji. The third was of Kouagiji alone, he was holding a sheathed sword. All of them were wearing formal clothing. I realized that what Akihiko said was true, Kougaiji looked much happier in the painting. The painter had perfectly captured a mischievous glint in his eyes, with his mouth turned up in a smirk.

Dokugakuji was looking at a sword that laid on a intricately carved pedestal. After a closer look, I realized it was the same sword from the painting. The sheath itself was black but covered almost completely by gold dragons, phoenixes, and other mystical creatures. The expression on Doku's face was the same as a kid opening a huge and heavy present on Christmas.

I opened a door that led into a walk in closet. Clothes of all sorts were hung on hangers. Formal clothing like black jackets, dress shirts, dress pants, the long coats with gold trim that people always imagined princes wearing. Then there were robes like the white one that Kougaiji wore now. But these were colored with hand- stitched patterns. Lastly there was casual clothing, clothes that I had never seen kougaiji in. Normal t- shirts, jackets, jeans, all of them designer of course. On the ground there were shoes ranging from leather dress shoes to boots to converse sneakers. I could've spent all day in there feeling all the soft silks, and imagining a younger Kougaiji in all the foreign clothing.

But Lirin made the best discovery of all. "Hey look at these photo albums!" She cried. We all crowded around her and grabbed an album. Dokugakugi laughed at the pictures of Kougaiji when he was six or so, face still round, eyes big, with an innocent grin, completely unaware of what his future would be like. Puberty seemed to have hit Kougaiji hard, at one point he had been skinny, with gangly limbs, no acne though. Then there his middle teens. He'd muscled up, gotten taller and developed quite handsome face. Then there were random pictures Kougaiji with his friends in random places. Akihiko had definitely been right when he said that many people had been in Kougaiji's life. The people that appeared the most were a very handsome blue haired boy and a more awkward looking black haired one. The person that surprised me the most though, was a blue haired girl. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I picked up a picture of Kougaiji and the girl together. His arm was around her shoulders and head resting on top of hers. She was pressed against his chest. Obviously, by this point there was something more than just friendship between them. I slowly put the picture down, I'd never imagined there was this much Kougaiji had never told us about. I look around at the scattered pictures on the floor.

I take a breath and say quietly, "Do you mind telling us the history of all these things now Akihiko- san?" Doku and Lirin's attentions are captured immediately. Akihiko, who had been looking at a picture of Kougaiji leaning against a wall in a garden, says quietly, "Yeah. I guess you have a right to know.

Cliff hanger! XD I know that went pretty slow, but the next chapter is going to go more into the story. And most of the plot begins in Kougaiji's teen years, so be patient.