Dawn came far too slowly as far as Sanzo was concerned. He'd stayed up all night, staring out the window and watching as the stars faded into the lightening sky. Just as he felt he couldn't wait any longer, the sun peaked over the horizon and flooded the room with warm, golden light.
Hakkai and Gojyo were up already as well, pacing, fidgeting and waiting for it to become late enough for the town to open. Coden sat on the bed on the other side of the room, his gaze locked on Sanzo's back. His eyes were red from crying and lack of sleep but he wasn't tired. He wanted to know where Goku was and why Grek had taken him instead.
Around 7:30, Hakkai looked to the window and sighed a little impatiently. "I think it's late enough. I'm ready if you three are." He offered, knowing the answer before he even finished the sentence.
Sanzo and Gojyo nodded in agreement and Coden hopped off the bed as the group made their way to the door. He waited until the other two had walked a little ways ahead before he stopped and tugged gently on the back of Sanzo's robe. "Um…Mr. Sanzo…?"
The priest turned and looked down, a slight amount of irritation prickling his voice. "Yeah?"
Coden let go and looked down. "I'm really sorry about Goku…he shouldn't have…he got hurt because he helped me…I'm sorry…"
Sanzo sighed heavily and let his hand rest on the child's head. "Don't be stupid." He said softly, looking down at him. "Goku helped you because he wanted to. Let's just worry about getting you home for now. Don't worry about Goku, I'll take care of him."
The little boy smiled softly and nodded. "Okay."
Sanzo nodded in return and gently pushed him forward so he could catch up with Hakkai and Gojyo. His hand wrapped around the cold body of the pistol at his side and he felt his eyes harden.
"I will find you, Goku." He muttered softly to himself. "I swear it."
Goku's eyes cracked open with an enormous amount of effort. Everything hurt and it was alarmingly hard to breathe. His arms were chained together at the wrist above his head and the cold metal cuffs were working diligently at slicing into his skin.
Forcing himself to stand a little straighter to give his arms a break, Goku scanned the small room he was currently occupying. The floor was dirt and the walls were made out of dull, grey bricks. A heavy door sat a few feet in front of him and small, barred window hung high above his head, letting in just enough light to see. The room smelled like blood.
His face and forehead had been cleaned; the dried blood wiped away with something abrasive that made his skin sore. He could feel the little electrodes still attached to his skin but knew there was no way he'd be able to remove them in his current position. There was a low grumble from his stomach but surprisingly he wasn't hungry. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep to block out the throbbing headache that pressed against his skull with each heartbeat.
The door swung open and the old man walked in, grinning happily in Goku's direction. "Ah!" he exclaimed brightly. "I see you're finally awake. About time too, I was starting to think you'd given up and died already."
"Why…are you doing this?" It was hard to talk and the words seemed to fall out of his mouth in a clutter.
The man chuckled lightly. "Why, I've already told you. I want to see how long it takes to reduce you to a snarling, blood-thirsty beast. All of my other subjects would have succumbed completely by now but you've managed to hold onto your human self for much longer than I anticipated. I must praise you for that."
Goku shook his head, wincing as the headache only grew worse by doing so. "Look, despite what you may think I'm not the cause for the Minus Wave. The youkai all over Shangri La are going crazy but not because of me…" he paused to catch his breath and blink away the fog clouding his vision. "Your wife-"
The man had crossed the room quicker than Goku thought possible and punched so hard he thought his jaw would break. "Don't you ever talk about my wife, you monster!" he growled deeply, his eyes cold and sharp as razors.
Goku winced and spit a glob of blood onto the man's shirt. "You're the monster…"
A hand grabbed him tightly by the throat, cutting off his air supply completely. The man smiled coldly, watching as the boy gagged and gasped for air under his grip. Finally, he released him, stepping back and admiring him with morbid pleasure. "We'll see who's the monster." He said, walking over and flipping a small switch behind the door.
Goku barely had time to register what had happened before he felt his consciousness being violently ripped away and his demon side emerging. He opened his mouth to scream but ended up letting out a guttural groan instead.
The old man watched as the boy transformed, pulling and jerking against the chains that held him in place. The teen managed to rip one arm free and was fully prepared to do the same to the other when the switch was flipped again.
Goku sagged by one arm, breathing heavily and shaking. His nose began to bleed, small, crimson streams trailing down his mouth and jaw.
The man smirked and roughly chained his hands back together. "The more I force you to change, the quicker you will lose yourself." He taunted playfully. "I'd imagine I can break you in a matter of hours."
Goku lunged forward, glaring hatefully but the man stepped just out of his reach. "See?" he said as if proving a point. "It's already started. You're not even in your demon form and you're ready to rip my throat out."
"I'd do much more than that…" the teen growled, spitting as blood ran into his mouth.
Smiling twistedly, the man winked at Goku before turning to leave. "Don't worry, I'll have you broken by nightfall." The door slammed loudly, leaving Goku alone into the room. Hot, angry tears trickled down his face and he grit his teeth tightly in frustration.
He hated his demon counter-part and how much energy it took to keep him subdued. True, his headband helped but it also took and enormous amount of effort on his part as well. Worst of all, the longer he was forced into his youkai self, the harder it became to remember some of the simpler things from his human life.
He found himself forgetting what kind of cigarettes Gojyo smoked and which side Hakkai's monocle was on. Worst still, he was beginning to forget things about Sanzo as well. What he smelled like, what the name of his sutra was, the color of his eyes…
Goku suddenly realized he wasn't sure what his name was. It slipped and drifted just out of his memory like an elusive dream you forget when you wake up.
"Goku…"he mumbled softly, the words echoing around him. "My name is Goku…" He repeated his name like a mantra, listening carefully to the sound each time.
The sob came without warning and caused him to cough roughly, a shudder running down his body as well. Tears fell freely down his face, mixing with the blood from his nose. He sniffed uselessly, the smell of tears and blood making him nauseous.
He wondered how much longer he'd be able to control himself before he lost it completely. How much longer could he force himself to remember?