Warning: There are some original characters, but they are just here for the plot! This is NOT a Mary Sue. I repeat, NOT! So don't go away!! Noo!! Don't leave me!
Disclaimer: In a perfect world, I would own Saiyuki. But this is not a perfect world, is it?! IS IT?!!
Feedback: That is what makes writing better, if the readers tell the writer. So if you really hate the way I write, or how uncharacteristic I make the characters, then just tell me! I don't care if you're totally bashing my work, at least spend the time telling me instead of not reviewing! That is the point of the review button right? So push the button! Push it!
Chris Tucker in Rush Hour: C'mon, push it! Push it!!
Little girl whose name I can't rememeber: PUSH THE DAMN BUTTON!!!
Yes, I come back from the terrible world of homework. It's the Homecoming dance today, and instead of spending my time decked in a overpriced dress that I will never wear again and stand around watching happy couples sway around in what they call "dancing", I have stayed home to write. Go me. Oh, and it seems that I went a little over-board on the fighting last chapter.
Elf #1: ::coughunderstatementcough::
So...I'm gonna try to tone things down. Yeah...on with the story!
~ ~ ~
Imagine the stream of Time...
Forever flowing forward,
Leaving you behind.~ ~ ~
"Just like old times, eh?"
The brunette's smile was interrupted by a violent cough. Gojyo was relieved to see no blood came up, one of the benefits of being youkai. Had a man taken the hit that Hakkai had, there would have been a few broken bones, and maybe a crushed spleen in there somewhere.
["Gojyo! Watch out!"]
The kappa scowled, more at himself than anyone else. He was careless. The frustration and fatigue made him reckless. The fucking beasts wouldn't give up, no matter how many of their numbers had died, determined to bring them down. Either they were very brave...or very stupid. Guess what Gojyo settled on. Yep.
["Hakkai!"]
He gently tucked the covers around Hakkai's form, being extra careful around the bandages. Even with youkai healing, he must still hurt like hell. Gojyo could feel himself falling back to the old routine years ago. Dip, wipe, dip, wipe. It came back so naturally, taking care of Hakkai, as if it were right. Almost snorting at the thought, he placed the towel to soak in the basin. He had often wondered, during the numerous times the brunette took care of them, who would watch over Hakkai when he got hurt. Gojyo never would have believed that he, of all people, would be the one.
He owed so much to this man, his life being on top of that list. And yet, he realized how little he seemed to know about him. Gojyo's mind drew back to the scar he had seen when patching up Hakkai's torso. It was old, not something gained from their time together. But he didn't ask questions. Each of them had their fair share of scars, he was sure, some seen and some not. Even the saru had fleeting moments, where he would glimpse a haunted look in those large golden orbs. But Hakkai...Hakkai always wore that smile on his face that Gojyo was starting to detest. The smile that came so casually, leading you astray, yet his eyes were so guarded, so empty. Somewhere, deep inside, Gojyo was afraid of that side, wondering if that was the real Hakkai, instead of the warm man he made himself to be.
They trusted each other with their lives, even Sanzo maybe, but didn't trust enough to tell each other their dark demons that came out with the rain. It would have been funny, if it weren't so true.
"Gojyo..."
Drawn out of his thoughts by the quiet voice, he turned his wine-red eyes on his patient.
"Don't even think of getting out of bed. You need to rest."
"But-"
"But nothing. You've used up all your youki in that fight, and much more. There's no way in hell you'll get 3 steps before collapsing. And you're damn heavy, so there's no way I'm dragging your ass back to bed. I told you I would never..."
Hakkai's emerald eyes seemed to soften; yet Gojyo could have beaten himself for bringing that up. Digging up the past was never smart, and it had been damn hard to get the brunette to loosen up a little after he had come back with Sanzo as Cho Hakkai. He really didn't want to repeat that again.
"The others...Goku..."
The redhead frowned. Hakkai never gave up.
"The saru will be fine. He still has the whole world's food supply to consume. Sanzo'll be with him, though I don't know how much help that bouzu will be while unconscious. Besides there's that girl...Nake or something..."
"Naoke." Long lashes started to flutter, hiding the green orbs, fine silk strands falling on the pillow as his head relaxed slightly to the side.
"Yeah, that's it..." Gojyo sat and watched the other's breath slow to a steady pace, not bothering to brush away the hair obscuring his sight.
Naoke.
[The green jeep roaring towards them was familiar. However, the person behind the wheel was not. "Who the hell are you?" The girl didn't even turn towards him, only kept her grip on the wheel and stared straight ahead. After what had to be a few seconds of tense silence, she finally looked at him. He was taken aback by the reddish hue in her eyes. A half-breed? Brown. They were brown. He shook his head, scattering the ridiculous thoughts. Of course she wasn't a half-breed; his kind was condemned in this world, and few, if any, lived their life being frowned upon so that none dared show their face in public. "What is more important to you? The answer to your questions or your friends' lives?" Startled by the question, he quickly glanced around to spot Goku and Sanzo in the backseat, both bloody and unconscious, but breathing. The seconds ticked by, as he stood there, unmoving. Could he trust this stranger? How did he know she wasn't working with the youkai, and came to get them while they were still weak? But, she was human, wasn't she? And humans didn't mix with youkai, at least not willingly. Look at the blasted monk, who only hung around 'cause the gods ordered it so. "Gojyo..." He tightened his grip on the brunette leaning against him to keep him from moving too much. Damn, why did they keep getting into these kinds of situations? "Gojyo...go with her...Hakuryuu...would never...*cough*..." The half-breed stared at the hood of the jeep skeptically, and the engine huffed, a sound of annoyance and worry. "You damned better be right about this, lizard." He slowly opened the back door, helping Hakkai into the last seat by Sanzo, before getting in front himself. At least he would be close enough to defend the four of them should this girl do anything funny. Almost immediately, the scenery was rushing past them, and the town buildings got closer over the horizon. He looked out of the corner of his eyes at the girl, who hadn't said a word, but focused entirely on avoiding bumps and trying to get to the village as fast as possible. "What's your name?" Hakkai's voice was very soft in the back, and Gojyo was worried he might have lost too much blood. "Naoke. You can call me Naoke."]
Gojyo rubbed his forehead and frowned at the dozing brunette. Trust him to be polite, even when in pain and covered in blood. And now they had to deal with some stranger that they now owed their lives to. Damn.
Suddenly, he needed a drink.
The main floor was empty except a few drunkards who had passed out. Somehow, he doubted the innkeeper would have served him anyway, or would have had someone slip poison into his drink. The looks thrown his way when they had walked in were all too familiar. Feh.
"There's going to be trouble, miss. We don't like their kind here."
"You've shown that quite generously. But we're the ones paying, so I'm afraid we'll be staying."
Gojyo looked around the corner of the stairway, peering through the dimness of the hall towards the front desk. One was a disgruntled looking man, who had to be the clerk, and the other was a cleaner looking Naoke. A flash of gold pass between the two of them, and his eyes narrowed. He knew something was wrong...
Naoke was heading his way, seemingly oblivious to the dark glare on the balding innkeeper's face. Just before she turned the corner, Gojyo reached out and caught her wrist, bringing it up to eye level. Sanzo's gold card shone clearly even under the horrible lighting.
"What the fuck are you doing with this?"
He didn't like the way she was looking at him, as if he were just a little boy asking why the sky was blue.
"In this town, you are required to pay the bill."
"Does that include stealing someone else's money to pay it?"
She did not protest when the credit card was snatched from her hands, but instead, stared steadily at him, the tone of her voice never changing.
"Since you are the ones lodging here, it is only logical that you are the ones who pay." Forcefully, she pulled her wrist from his grip, a set of angry red lines running across the surface, a bruise already showing on the pale skin. Brushing past him towards the stairs, she stopped two steps up, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.
"I suggest you return to your friend. Safety is nonexistent here, especially not for your kind."
Gojyo had to loosen his grip on Sanzo's gold card as he watched the girl walk away; the monk would skin him alive if he cracked their only source of money.
Do you really trust her, Hakkai?
'Cause he sure as hell didn't.
~ ~ ~
The first thing Sanzo noticed was the pain.
His shoulders seemed to be on fire, every muscle sore. Pinpricks stabbed at his arm joints and his head swam as he tried to sit up. His whole upper body suit was shredded, strips of his robe splayed around him. The bandages itched insanely, all crudely done and loosening. Whoever had done them was really crappy at nursing.
It was then that he noticed the warm body next to him. He turned his head to see an unruly head of brown hair. Snorting, he stared at the sleeping boy, half his body slipping off the bed next to a basin of dirtied water and shredded ribbons of cloth. It looked like he collapsed on the spot, not even caring for his own injuries. The fabric of his shirt and cloak were nothing left but bloody scraps, the cherry red already drying to a dull brown and sticking to his skin. The slashes had started to close up, the lips of the wounds a pale yellow, the start of an infection.
WHACK!
Hands on the bump on his head, Goku looked up from the floor at a pair of scowling purple eyes.
"Mou, Sanzo...what was that for?"
WHACK!
"That's for being so damn reckless!"
WHACK!
"That's for fucking bleeding all over me!"
WHACK!
"And that's for being such a dumbass and making me move to hit you!"
The monk lay back down, setting the fan besides him. Moving had definitely not been a good idea. The throbbing had gotten worse, and he could feel a headache coming on. Damned monkey.
He jumped slightly when warm fingers grazed his shoulder. Moving his head, he saw Goku working on the loose bandages. Even with no humor in those eyes, the boy still looked comical, with a tiny bit of his pink tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, evidence of his frustrated concentration.
For once, Sanzo didn't protest. The monkey probably wouldn't stop bugging him until he either shot him or allowed himself to be taken care of, and he really wasn't in any shape to wield a weapon. So he turned to stare at the peeling paint on the water stained wall, flinching only slightly when the wet towel contacted his wounds.
The silence was thick after Goku was done. The boy stayed kneeling on the floor, alternating between the back of Sanzo's head and the loose wooden floorboards. He tried not to move too much; something warm and thick was already sliding down his back when he was redoing the bandages, and he didn't need his nose to tell him it was blood.
"Go take a bath. You smell."
"But Sanzo-"
"Damnit, just..."
"Sanzo!"
Goku leapt forward when the blond slumped over, his concern overriding the pain in his back. His hands running over the unconscious monk, his fingers stopped at the nape of his neck. It was a dart, empty of its contents. Sniffing the needle tip, he couldn't tell all the ingredient scents apart, but there didn't seem to be any trace of poison.
"Who's there? Show your face!"
The boy spun around at the creak of the door, taking a defensive stance in front of Sanzo. He couldn't see who it was standing at the half-open doorway, but charged wildly. He barely acknowledged the pinprick on his shoulder, only to have his vision blur and sway moments later, the floor racing towards him. It took him a while to realize that he hadn't smacked into the ground, but rather, had a pair of warm arms around his waist holding him up.
Struggling to stay awake, he tried to look at his rescuer and assailant. Amongst the shadows was what he thought to be a pair of blood red eyes, but that was impossible. Everything was too fuzzy, his brain too muddled.
Then all was dark.
~ ~ ~
"Is the formula complete?"
"Yes, but-"
"But?"
"There is the chance they'll suffer severe memory relapse."
"..."
"..."
"Continue with the procedure."
"Are you sure that is wise?"
"Do not question orders. Give them to me. I will do it if you will not."
"..."
"..."
"Very well."
~ ~ ~
It was dark.
Just like that place.
But that was long ago.
He was free now.
It was dark.
He raised his hand to his head, wanting to ease the throbbing in his skull.
Clink.
He froze. Slowly, he moved his arm again.
Clink chink.
No way. No way in Hell.
Forcefully, he tugged his arm and his leg, only to have both jerked back before they could get very far. Unbidden tears formed in his eyes as the icy fear gripped his heart. He almost wished he were blind, wished he were dreaming. But the biting cold around his wrists was all too real.
Chains.
~ ~ ~
Blood. There was so much blood. The earth was soaking it in. And it will fall from the sky tomorrow. Because there was so much blood. Master's blood.
A tear slipped under the closed eyelid, sparkling as it fell to the ground.
~ ~ ~
Blood. Brother was drenched in blood. Drenched in the essence of her hate. And he was no longer brother. Because he was cover in blood. Mother's blood.
~ ~ ~
A shudder passed through him, as he tried to curl into a ball. Tried to hide.
~ ~ ~
Blood. There were pools of blood. Pools of Life from the hundred bodies. And he will smile. Because he spilt this blood. Love's blood.
~ ~ ~
He did not cry, did not move. But the small smile on his sleeping face seemed to be empty. Empty like his heart was.
~ ~ ~
He didn't know how long he sat in that darkness. That swirling darkness that sucked away the light, the hope. The hope of ever being free.
The tears had subsided, even when the fear had not. He was alone.
Alone in the dark.
Far away, a tiny cube of light appeared, and someone stumbled in. Someone with sun golden hair.
Sanzo?
It wasn't. Sanzo's hair wasn't that long.
A sense of déjà vu had been building inside him, and the dam broke. Images flashed rapidly before his mind's eye, and he clutched his head in confusion. Long glimmering hair...a smiling face...papers...a palace...a tree...three special men...lotus petals...the sun's golden strands...
His eyes snapped open when he felt hands on his shoulders, and he looked up, saying the first thing that popped in his mind.
"...Konzen?"
~ TBC ~
Author's Note: Did that make much sense? Anyway, I hope that sparks anyone's interest? Anybody?
::The winds whishes by, scatter a few leaves in silence::
...
Elf #1: You took too long. Lazy writer.
You should talk! You're the muse, or one of them!
Elf #1: Eh.
...
