Saiyuki: Curse of the Crimson Maiden
AN: I don't like how this came out, but I wanted to get the idea down before I forgot it. Personally, I think the whole thing just kind of came out odd and a little out of character compared to my other fics. Enjoy.
Four travelers entered the famed Crimson Maiden Inn, buying two rooms to split amongst the four. The blonde monk and small child took one room and the redhead and brunette took the other. They settled into their respective rooms to rest for the time being. Upon the table in each hotel room sat a copy of the famed book "The Crimson Maiden". The elder brunette picked up the book and sat on the bed he had staked out as his own.
"I wonder what all this hype about the "Crimson Maiden" is about." Gojyo spoke before his attention was brought to Hakkai who held the book in one hand.
"Well, there is one easy way to find out. Shall we?" Hakkai asked and cracked the book open with a sweet smile.
Just then, Sanzo and Goku walked into their room. The blonde wore his usual annoyed scowl while the boy was smiling brightly. "Hakkai! Hara hetta!" The boy whined before he saw the book in Hakkai's hand. "Oi, are you gonna read it?" He asked with bright golden eyes.
"Ah, hai." Hakkai replied pleasantly.
"Sanzo, let's listen!" Goku chirped and flopped on the bed next to Hakkai. Gojyo chuckled and joined him. All three looked at Sanzo, waiting for him to take his seat. Violet eyes narrowed before the blonde scoffed and snatched a chair, pulling it close to the bed and sitting down.
"Now then, "The Crimson Maiden"." Hakkai said cheerily and began reading, "Many years ago a woman returned from a long journey and gave birth to a female baby topped with brilliant hair as red as the gentle petals of a rose, on the side of Lotus Lake. The girl's mother fell ill on the girl's tenth birthday. On her death bed, the woman requested she be buried in the place of her daughter's birth. Upon her passing, the woman's request was fulfilled.
Many years later, on the maiden's twentieth birthday, she fell ill with the same sickness that stole her mother. Knowing her time was short, the girl visited the lakeside where she was born and her mother was buried. By chance, a passing nobleman caught sight of the beautiful maiden and her flowing rose red hair. His heart had been stolen the very moment he laid eyes on her. He approached the beautiful maiden kneeling by the shore and spoke.
"My lady, your beauty rivals even that of the goddess herself. I know not thy name, but I know, even now, I am destined to be yours. Will you have me?"
Flattered by the man's offer but saddened by her own inevitable fate, the girl's smile dropped and she replied.
"Good sir, you must have misread the stars that night, for you see, I am ill and am destined to death."
Deeply saddened by this, the man wished with all his heart and soul for the woman's recovery. Their combined wishes brought forth a mystical being with hair and eyes as black as the night.
The mage spoke smoothly, "I can cure your ailment for a price." The sly creature said.
"Name your price." The maiden replied as she settled into the arms of her beloved.
"The color of your crimson hair is all I require." The mystic replied.
Both lovers exchanged glances before the Maiden came to her answer. "So be it."
The mage, clad in black robes stepped out of the shadows and motioned to the lake. "My lady must take a dip in this lake that I've cast my spell upon and she will be cured. However, if she ever leaves the vicinity of the lake she will fall ill once more and meet death." The mystic replied and cast his spell over the water.
The Maiden summoned her courage and slipped into the charmed waters, dunking beneath the surface before shortly popping back up. As the water dripped from her hair, so did the crimson color, leaving behind platinum blonde hair, smooth as silk. She turned to her prince, cured of her ailment and he looked back at his beautiful elven woman. Her ears pointed elegantly past her hair, her eyes, now ice blue, bore slitted pupils. The man was entranced by her new beauty.
"The blood of a human is weak but the blood of a demon is strong enough to overcome such an illness. With your human blood purged, you have now become the demoness of Lotus Lake." Said the mage before he vanished. And the beautiful maiden with her noble husband lived at that lake until age stole away her husband. It is said that on her final days with her husband, the Maiden left the lake with him, losing her gift from the mystic. She fell ill and died, along with her husband, just as youthful as the day she met him."
Hakkai finished the story and closed the book. "And that is why Lotus Lake is now known as the Lake of the Crimson Maiden." Hakkai said softly then set the book aside. "I heard several people talking as we entered the Inn. Tonight is the celebration of the Crimson Maiden. It features a maiden with crimson hair and her husband as they dip into the lake. The hair is just dye, so when she surfaces, the dye will be rinsed out and she will emerge as a blonde. And they will serve a free meal to those that show up." Hakkai said happily.
"Free food? Count me in!" Goku bounced happily on the bed and started playing with Hakuryuu.
"A lovely maiden, huh? Sure, I'll be there." Gojyo replied.
"Tch, whatever." Sanzo replied and flicked the ashes of his cigarette into the ash trey.
"Then it's settled!" Hakkai chirped, clasping his hands together.
The four got together and walked down to the lake where the celebration was being held. It seemed most of the village had gathered there for the celebration. All the tables and benches that had been set out were quickly filled up, leaving a good portion of the villagers and the ikkou to find seats in the grass. Hakkai staked out a nice little area for them and put down a blanket for the four to sit on. Jeep made a little nest in Hakkai's lap when he sat, Goku went to the buffet tables and brought back mountains of food, while Gojyo sifted through the crowd for some female company. Sanzo sat next to Hakkai reading the paper, pretending he wasn't enjoying the leisurely activity.
Soon, the reenactment started and things settled down a bit. Those that weren't interested in the story were left ogling the Crimson Maiden. Her flowing crimson-dyed hair reached her hips in silken waves that dazzled in the sunlight. Seeing the crimson hair in person, Hakkai noticed how uncomfortable Gojyo became and he could understand why. But the redhead held out well, despite the sudden obvious lack of flirtatious behavior. When it came time for the dip in the water, the woman's hair dye rinsed away leaving lovely strawberry blonde hair. She pulled a half mask over her face to give her more demonic features, such as the ears, but even then, she still looked stunning as she stepped out of the lake and kissed her true love.
Hakkai was so taken in by the lovely performance that he almost didn't notice the impending danger. Almost. Those emerald eyes darted to Sanzo who had also felt the surge in dark energy. Hakkai sighed and the three fighters stood, leaving Goku confused, but happily eating on the blanket. Hakuryuu took to the air to keep out of the line of danger.
Sanzo whapped Goku in the back of the head with the paper fan, causing the boy to yelp and drop the bun he was currently chewing on.
"Ite! What was that for?!" The boy demanded.
"Tch! Stop stuffing your face and get up here!" The blonde snapped.
Just then, screams broke out in the audience followed by a mad rush as people began to run away from an incident that started down by the lake. The play was officially disrupted now, actors fleeing for their lives. A wave of demons had begun disbursing the crowd, slaughtering a few humans while yelling for the Sanzo ikkou to expose themselves and hand over the scripture as well as their lives.
"Ah! There you are, Sanzo Party! Die and relinquish the scripture!" The demon that appeared to be he leader spoke.
"iRelinquish/i, huh? Sanzo, they're gettin' smarter." Gojyo quipped and summoned his Shakujou.
Sanzo scoffed and flicked his cigarette away after drawing his gun and cocking the hammer. "I don't care how smart they are. They're not smart enough to notice they don't stand a chance." He shot two of the demons in the head already, wanting to waste no time chatting.
Hakkai slipped behind a couple and took them out with a blast of chi and a content smile while Goku summoned Nyoi-bo and clobbered a few more. The demons began to fight back, slowly losing in numbers until there were only a small handful left. Hakkai and Gojyo were back to back now, fighting demons on either side while dancing dangerously close to the lake. The lead demon caught on to their proximity and decided he would use it to his advantage.
With a raged battle cry, the demon launched himself at Hakkai and Gojyo, tackling Hakkai squarely and knocking him backwards into the lake. At the attack, Gojyo stumbled and stepped back, tripping right into the lake as well. Sanzo saw the maneuver but didn't have a chance to do anything about it, relying on Hakkai and Gojyo to get themselves out of this predicament.
As Hakkai and the demon went down, the demon grinned and wrapped his hands tightly around the healer's neck, using his weight and position over the converted youkai to sink Hakkai and hold him under the water, hoping to strangle or drown him. Whichever happened first.
With a burst of chi, the demon went sailing out of the water, landing dead on the shoreline. Hakkai gasped for air when he surfaced and looked around for Gojyo. The redhead slowly surfaced and the sight terrified and puzzled the converted youkai.
As Gojyo surfaced, the blood red of his hair bled away into the water revealing midnight black hair. Long pointed ears protruded from his head and when he opened his eyes, they were a shade of stone grey, replacing his rounded pupils with slits. A tattoo of splotches drifted down his cheek and neck, disappearing under his shirt like falling sakura petals. As the shock set in, Hakkai realized Gojyo was snarling and his eyes were wild. The healer's blood ran cold.
"Gojyo!"
Sanzo heard the healer's panicked voice and his eyes darted to the two idiots in the water for a moment, to see something he didn't expect. The black haired demon had pounced on Hakkai, one hand around his neck, the other dripping blood. It took him a moment to make out that the black haired demon was actually Gojyo. The blonde cursed but was forced to pay attention to his own fight as a demon carelessly swung an axe-like weapon at the monk.
"Saru! Help Hakkai stop the idiot!" Sanzo ordered as he shot off another few rounds into the handful of demons left.
Goku looked over and nearly stared and gawked at the scene, though the scent of Hakkai's blood drew him out of his little stupor. The little saru rushed to his friend's aid, landing a nice solid smack to the side of Gojyo's ribs with Nyoi-bo, sending him off the writhing green eyed youkai. Goku moved to Hakkai's side and helped him out of the water before Gojyo could regain his composure.
"Daijoubu ka, Hakkai?" Goku asked quickly and held up Nyoi-bo as Gojyo rose from the water, glaring angrily.
The healer nodded and coughed, rubbing his throat, nice little bruises in the shape of Gojyo's fingers began forming in the pale skin. He had a three clawed gash in his shoulder, but it didn't seem to hinder him in the least. "He's become quite powerful." Hakkai finally spoke.
"Why's he attackin' us?" Goku asked as he deflected one of Gojyo's attacks with Nyoi-bo and jumped back.
"Gojyo has been only half demon his whole life. This power is new to him and probably uncontrollable. I'm sure he's acting on pure instinct." Hakkai explained as he put a defensive barrier around the two of them, watching Gojyo collide with it and bounce off. "It's safe to say parts of this legend were true."
"How much do you want to bet the Crimson Maiden's eyes were red?" Sanzo added now that the other demons were starting to fear for their lives.
"Huh?" Goku asked, not quite catching onto the insinuations.
"When a hanyou is immersed in this water, he or she will emerge a pure blooded demon. That would explain why the water didn't temper with me or the other demon. Or you for that matter, Goku. My concern is; who did this? That mage mentioned in the story? For what reason?"
"Who cares?" Sanzo growled and walked towards Goku and Hakkai, looking at Gojyo. "Oi, kappa! I knew you were simple minded, but I didn't know it was this bad! Are you really going to let some simple demon powers control you? Tch! Baka." The priest goaded and looked for any sign that Gojyo was still in there.
The redhead-turned-demon let out a long snarl that eventually turned into a word. "Teeeemmmeeee!" He cursed the monk who scoffed.
"Prove me wrong." Sanzo replied simply and shrugged as he reloaded his gun.
"Ah, Sanzo…" Hakkai laughed nervously as he stared between the demon and the monk. "I don't think antagonizing him is a very good idea in this situation."
Sanzo ignored Hakkai, as per usual, and kept his violet stare on the kappa. "Well? I'm waiting!" Sanzo called and Gojyo launched himself at the priest.
The blonde broke off at a run from the kappa and the lake with a string of angry curses. He'd underestimated Gojyo's speed, or overestimated his own. The demon caught up quickly and knocked him to the ground with little effort. The onyx eyes flared with anger as his claws bit into Sanzo's skin, clawing at him like a wild animal.
Hakkai's eyes widened as he put together what Sanzo had been doing. "Goku, when I get Gojyo off Sanzo, carry him away from danger. I'm going to lead Gojyo away from the lake. That should reverse his transformation if the legend is true."
"H-hai!" Goku agreed and waited for Hakkai to make the first move.
Hakkai gathered chi in one hand, a blast small enough to do minimal damage but still draw Gojyo's attention. He ran towards the two then right past until he was several yards in front of them and threw the blast at the hanyou-turned-demon. When the blast hit, Gojyo looked up with wild eyes. Hakkai charged another small blast as a challenge which Gojyo gladly accepted.
The black haired demon rushed the converted youkai for several seconds before stopping abruptly, pinning the brunette with a suspicious glare, backing away slowly. Hakkai stopped and faced Gojyo again, mind reeling for a way to encourage the demon to continue chasing him. Gojyo obviously knew something was wrong, whether he comprehended what it was was a different story. Gojyo turned and saw Goku in the distance holding the barely conscious Sanzo. Those two looked like easier targets at the moment so Gojyo changed course.
"No! Goku, he's coming back to you!" Hakkai called as he started running back towards Gojyo, Goku and Sanzo.
The boy looked up in time to dodge-roll out of the way with Sanzo, Gojyo's claws raking into the dirt where they once sat. Goku knew he couldn't dodge many of those quick attacks with the larger man in his arms. He jumped back and put the blonde down on the ground, moving back to Gojyo to attack, only to be batted away by the hanyou-turned-demon.
Hakkai came up behind Gojyo, just as Goku hit the ground, and snatched one Gojyo's wrists, twisting it behind his body. The healer kicked one of Gojyo's legs out and used the imbalance to shove him to the ground, pinning his chest to the dirt. Shakujou materialized in Gojyo's other hand with a growl and the chained crescent blade slashed through the air at Hakkai. Gojyo's control over the weapon had increased with his demonic powers. Hakkai dodged to the side, but the blade wrapped the chain around one of his arms and then down around his waist, pinning the arm to his body. Gojyo threw Hakkai off then jerked the chain towards him, tumbling Hakkai face first into the dirt. Gojyo was atop Hakkai in a flash, mimicking the way Hakkai had been upon him moments ago, with a knee crushing painfully into Hakkai's lower back. Hakkai gasped as a heavy blow landed against the back of his neck, leaving him seeing stars through fading vision. Vaguely he heard Goku call his name before he slipped into darkness.
"Hakkai!"
At the sound of Goku's voice, Gojyo left the unconscious demon and went after Goku. The little brunette fended off the hanyou-turned-demon's attacks one by one, trying to figure out what he should do.
iI should do what Hakkai said. Get him away from the lake!/i
"Oi! Kappa-roach! Come get me!" Goku yelled and started running. Obediently, Gojyo followed with an enraged yell. He ran after the runt who had no idea how far he needed to run. Soon enough, Gojyo stumbled to his knees, holding his head tightly. The ears began to recede into his head and round off, his fangs slipped back into normal canines, claws rounded and withdrew, hair shortened to it's usual length and the red bled from roots to tip, engulfing the black hair. When Gojyo opened his eyes, they were crimson once more.
Goku let out a long heavy sigh and flopped to the ground panting. "Egah! You bastard." Goku rolled his head to look at Gojyo, who still looked shocked. The boy frowned and sat up. "They're ok. Sanzo'll get better and Hakkai was still breathin'." But this didn't seem to ease Gojyo's look of terror.
"I was out of control…" Gojyo breathed softly, sounded disappointed in himself. "I… I wanted to kill all of you…"
Goku got up and walked over to Gojyo, extending a hand to help him up. "Yeah but… you didn't." He said thoughtfully. "You only hurt Sanzo a little and you only knocked Hakkai out. If it had been me… they would have died if I'd gotten a hold of them like that. That means you were still making some of the decisions. Even though you thought you wanted to kill them, you stopped yourself."
Gojyo looked up at Goku and then smiled, taking the boy's hand. He stood with Goku's help and brushed himself off.
***
In a dark lab, a figure sat in front of several computer screens sipping a cup of coffee. Black hair spiked haphazardly, wearing a white lab coat and holding a white plush bunny. The man chuckled darkly, black eyes glinting in the light of the screens behind the glasses.
"Oya, oya. It looks like they survived again." He chuckled again and swiveled around in the chair, looking at his companion in the room. The woman snapped the book shut that she held in her hands and tossed it at him. The title read "The Crimson Maiden".
"What does this have to do with our mission?" She snapped shrilly.
The dark haired man waved her question off and smiled. "Isn't it amusing how a simple story like this can lose so many facts through the years?" He asked and this puzzled the woman even more. He kicked back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table, lazily smoking the cigarette that dangled from his parted lips. "Really. A mage? That was the best they could do?"
The woman just huffed and shook her head before returning to her work.
**Fin**