Remembrances in Deep Sleep
By Languish-Dreams
Golden eyes slowly opened blinking back hazy confusion before silently scanning their surroundings. He listened until he picked up the gentle even breathing of the person in the bed across the room.
'Asleep. Good.'
Gingerly, one hand lifted, stiff and unwilling at first, gradually receding into fluid normalcy. The other hand followed, until both were flexed and ready; feet and legs soon followed, until the entire body was smoothly transitioned from reluctant participant into obliging servitude. He sat up slowly and silently, still testing the bounds of this new power. Standing was a slow and arduous task, but he knew once he did, things would begin to progress with a greater ease. It was another anonymous inn in another equally anonymous town, but he made his way to the bathroom as if he had been there before. Truly he had not, but every inn seemed built by the same blueprint. It was annoying and yet comforting at the same time. He shut the door and locked it behind him before turning on the light switch.
Dull, lifeless golden eyes looked back, unblinking in the sudden assault.
It had surprised him, the first time he saw himself like that. Or rather, the first time he had seen Goku like that. Seiten Taisei sighed and bit back a frown. It was still Goku's body after all, at least right now it was. He simply controlled it. It had taken a pain staking amount of years to learn that he could even do this. The boy was so hard to dominant with the damn limiter on. But Seiten had learned that Goku's weaknesses brought him power. Sickness, injury, or in the case of tonight, deep, deep sleep. He could still remember how shocked he had been the first time he had discovered this new power. It was several years ago, long before this infuriating journey. One fateful night when a much weaker and younger Goku had gotten sick. Seiten had felt the shift in energy, had felt the boy's spirit diminish ever so slightly and, curious as a cat, he had explored this new feeling. Opening Goku's eyes had been easy, gaining control over the rest of the boy's body had been far more difficult.
Seiten thought of it as a kind of exercise for himself. It wasn't often that the limiter came off, and for that, he was thankful. For the meantime. Losing control over yourself and killing everyone in sight wasn't exactly his idea of being strong. He blamed his blood lust on those damn memories and the idiot Gods who knew so little of Earth's creations themselves that they truly believed they could control them. Seiten sighed again. He could still remember his life before Goku, living free in the woods with nature in all her glory surrounding him. Until they had come and taken him to heaven to be judged, slamming a limiter on his head to control his 'demonic' self. He was very much aware of his surroundings, and of the fact that there was someone else with him. Inside him. And it must have been there all along.
It was an uncomfortable feeling for him at the time, and he could now sympathize with Goku since the boy felt the same way now. They hadn't asked for this, neither of them. Yet he had been angry at the time and locked himself away, refusing to be an idle spectator in his own body once he realized he could not break free. Seiten had caught flashes ever now and again of Goku and the ones called Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren.
"Your hair, it's like the sun!"
"Konzen! I picked you some flowers! Aren't they pretty?"
"Hi, I'm Son Goku, who are you?"
"My name, I forgot to tell him my name..."
"Konzen!"
"Konzen?"
"KONZEN!"
But that one faithful day. The day that had changed everything. The first time Seiten Taisei had re-gain control over his body.
'I wasn't able to control myself. I just wanted revenge. Revenge for having taken me from my home and locking me away. The bloodlust was too much to tame…'
He had killed at random, not really knowing or caring who, just as long as they felt the sweet pain of vengeance. And he would have taken them all down, if he had not been recaptured. Seiten had somewhat paid attention, though the weeping Goku had not, to the Gods and Goddesses that decided his fate. Imprisonment within the mountain, memories to be stolen. It was a good plan had they truly known all the players. They had stolen all of Goku's memories of heaven and the ones' he'd loved; and Seiten Taisei had gained them all. After five hundred years of pondering, he had never been able to figure out why it had happened that way, it just had.
Five hundred years in the prison had been utterly boring at the time, but had given Seiten plenty of time to reflect. And to shift through memories that were not his. He had never truly hated Goku, simply envied how he could walk amongst people without fear. Without as much fear as he would have evoked anyway. But the boy was naive in the ways of the world and people. His mind was too young to truly understand the things that went on around him. At least in some instances, otherwise the child held a surprising amount of insight and wisdom that was too often unseen. Seiten had realized Goku's lack of understanding in some matters while looking over memories and hearing conversations spoken in Goku's presence. Conversations that clued Seiten on the danger that was lurking ahead for the four of them, even as Goku had ignored them in favor of something more fun to do.
The boy was so lonely inside the stone prison. He ached with a loss he didn't know and for a love he could not remember. Seiten Taisei had felt pity, and then anger at this. The Gods were punishing this innocent creature because of him. Goku did not know what Seiten knew, he didn't understand like Seiten did. He was, after all, still just a child. Seiten vowed then to protect Goku from ever feeling like this again. He would never let anyone harm the innocence that clung to the wild boy like a second skin. He was so lonely. Seiten had once tried to reach out, to connect with his other half. But Fate is a fickle mistress. The Gods had banished Goku from remembering his time in heaven. Seiten had gained those memories. And in turn, banished Goku from knowing his existence. He would have laughed at the irony had in not been so infuriating.
And so the years had slowly ticked by. He rejoiced as Goku found a friend in the form of a little yellow bird. He reveled in the child's simplistic happiness. He wept bitterly with the boy at nature's betrayal in taking the bird's life. When Goku's 'sun' had appeared, Seiten recognized him immediately.
'Konzen. He did come back, just as he said he would….'
But no. It wasn't really Konzen, just some cheap reincarnated imitation. But Goku was happy and there was nothing Seiten could do about it. The years passed painfully slow after that. He watched the two interact together, seeing the same characteristic in this 'Sanzo' person as he did in Konzen. Goku's memories had slowly become like his own over the many years of imprisonment, until it had been hard to tell if they weren't. Seiten felt that the Gods were mocking him in bringing this Sanzo to them. It wasn't Konzen, and yet it was. He wanted to kill this imposter, before Goku became too attached, before this new sun was struck down, before they were both left alone again…
And twice he had gotten his chance. Twice he had failed. He knew if he could control the blood lust that spurred him through battle, he could defeat them. His release brought back the memories of heaven, the memories of the God's betrayal. And his anger knew no bounds. There were three imitations now. All three of them had come back to haunt him, to taunt him, to leave him again. Seiten had to protect Goku. He had to keep them from leaving the boy again, like they did before. He had to get control, to grow strong…
So here he was, staring through blank eyes at the reflection of his other self. Once, he had tried to kill the imposters in their sleep while like this. But he had hesitated, feeling the pull of Goku's spirit through him. He knew the earth-child could not sense him. But it was almost as if he could sense what was happening subconsciously. Seiten had spared them then. He couldn't stay in control forever like this, and his numerous attempts to pull the diadem from their head had failed as well. Again, almost as if Goku had unconsciously sensed the intention. They had both grown much stronger. Seiten wondered if he would truly be able to win one day. Goku's loyalty and love for the three imposters grew each moment. He wasn't sure he'd be able to destroy them without destroying Goku as well.
He sighed. He had not gained this control tonight to stand in the bathroom thinking of things he could no longer change and a future that was all too uncertain. Swiftly and silently, Seiten shut off the light and cracked the door open. Silence.
'Good. Stay asleep.'
He moved down the hall with ease, his light footsteps never betraying him until he was down the stairs and outside the inn. Fortunately, they had chosen to remain on the outskirts of town.
'Close to the forest.'
Seiten smiled and pushed Goku's body to run. He ran for ages through the trees, reliving days long gone, ignoring the scratches of branches or the sharp pokes of rocks underneath his bare feet. He could feel the wind blowing softly through his hair as he finally stopped near a stream to rest. It was invigorating to be so close to freedom again. So close to the way things had once been.
'So close to home.'
He lay down in the dirt, relishing the moon's soft glow on his sweat-soaked body, the wind's gentle caress over his tan skin, the leaves' playful touch as they swept past…
He didn't care how long he lay there. He just wanted to be free a few moments longer.
Sanzo crashed through the dense forest, one single thought screaming through his mind.
'I am going to KILL that monkey!'
He had awoken a little before dawn to discover Goku was not in bed. He hadn't really paid much attention at first. Until an hour had passed and the boy had not returned. Sanzo had turned the inn upside down, and searched every part of town that the little monkey could have gone to. Finally, he had turned to the forest. It had given him some relief to find a piece of Goku's shirt hanging on a branch soon after entering said forest. But then his anger had then kicked into overdrive.
'He better be dead or dying when I find him.'
After a few more minutes of dodging branches and tripping over hidden rocks, Sanzo pushed back a limb and entered a clearing. And lying flat out on the ground next to a stream was an unconscious Goku. He looked around quickly, but couldn't sense anything dangerous nearby, and as he approached he could see no visible wounds save for faint scratches and bruises, most likely from the tree branches.
"Hey, monkey!"
He raised his fan, fully prepared to bring it crashing straight down on the idiot monkey's head, when blank golden eyes suddenly flew open. No innocence, no happiness, no cheerful energetic naivety; just blank and lifeless gold. Sanzo froze for a moment and stared into the void, and then the eyes closed.
It took a few moments before he remembered to breathe. Cautiously he approached Goku's body and bent down beside it. He shook Goku's shoulders, first lightly, and then more frantically until those eyes blinked open once again.
"…Sanzo?"
Wonder, love, curiosity, sleepiness, and an over-whelming perplexity at seeing the surrounding landscape slowly seeped into those bright golden eyes.
Sanzo mentally sighed in relief.
"Why are we in the woods?"
Then he rolled his eyes. "Idiot monkey, you were the one sleeping out here, don't you know why?"
Goku looked around for a minute then shook his head. "I was asleep in bed. I don't remember coming out here."
Sanzo looked at him for a moment and realized the boy wasn't lying. He shook his head and stood up.
"You must have been sleepwalking. Tonight I'll have to tie you to your bed to make sure you don't go anywhere. Idiot monkey."
"Tie me to the bed? But I didn't do anything Sanzo! Sanzo! I'm not a monkey, don't call me that!"
WHACK!
"Shut up!"
"Ow! Sanzoooooo..."
Goku pouted and rubbed the bump forming on his head before getting up.
"Hey, Sanzo? Are we gonna have breakfast when we get back? Huh? Are we?"
Sanzo sighed again and bit back a grin. He turned and made his way back to the inn, fully awake (and hungry) monkey trailing straight behind.
'That was too close.' Seiten sighed as he pulled himself back to the darkness. He was curious as to what had brought the usually cold monk out to even find the missing boy. Most likely Sanzo had thought Goku was in some kind of trouble, and probably the source of that trouble. Yet he had not missed the emotions dancing in the monk's nearly unreadable eyes when Goku had woken up. He thought it was his imagination at first, but still…
'I wonder…'
He settled himself farther back, ready to spring forth if needed, but otherwise…
Seiten Taisei had something new he needed to reflect on.