There wasn't time to revel in the amazing explosion of freedom. One minute he was surging against the invisible mental bars that kept him just barely contained, and the next... he was free. The other one simply dropped his frail hold and stepped aside so that he could rush to the forefront of consciousness. It was now his hand that felt the cool dampness of forest earth. His nose that took in the musky scent of decaying leaves with an undertone of freshness that spoke of new greenery fighting its way to the surface. His eyes that looked down at the hands that were pushing his body up, a delighted thrill tingling down his back when he saw the delicate tracery of vines disappearing under the sleeves of his shirt. He didn't have time to marvel properly at the beauty of that design, or the beautifully curved claws that were soon going to be painted in fresh blood.
His lips curled upward as the air began to warm in response to the approaching fiend. He could sense it so clearly now, without those damned limiters or the other one muffling his abilities. The aura flooding off of that creature was impressive, a force that felt so very heavy and solid... but it was breakable. Because now that he wasn't being dragged down by the chains his other half used to try and control him (a laughable thing at that), he could feel exactly how this fiend's aura was comprised. And, since he knew how it was made up, he could very easily dismantle it. He could tear it down flaming piece of flaming piece and laugh when that youkai prince gaped in horror at the destruction of his fiery pet. He wanted to laugh now with the anticipatory joy of decimating this creature... but the heat was getting a little too close to his back now. He was out of time to relish these small pleasures.
It was an act done almost more out of instinct rather than a conscious decision to do so. He knew what to do, how to manipulate the immense amount of chi that was gathered inside him. It was practically begging to be let out. Slowly, as if he had more time than he actually did, he lifted his hand from the ground and released the flood gates that contained this energy in his psyche. The chi came rushing forward, racing along the curving path of the vines circling his entire body. It pulled from around his ankles, down the bridge of his nose, along the curve of his hip, and pulsed away from the scar across his stomach. All of it pounded its way through the vine markings to his arm, leaving a slightly warm, stinging wake in its path. When it reached his wrist, he slammed his hand hard into the ground and shuddered ever so slightly as the vines rippled from his skin into the ground. God... did it feel good to release it!
The shadowy pattern flew across the dead leaves and bracken, not disturbing the under growth so much as flowing over it to reach its destination. With those quickly moving tendrils came his power, the chi that was now screaming its thanks for finally being allowed out of his person. It was a mental type of orgasm, one that left him a little short of breath and tingling all over with the sheer wonder of the aural released. He glanced through lengthened strands of hair at the fiend's gaping maw. Its eye was closed as it scooped up and disintegrated everything in its path just to get to him. His smile widened as his eyes followed the flickering movements of his vines. It was almost upon the fiend...
When the two powers collided, it was as if all the sound in the area had been sucked up into the meshing of flaring greenish-gold and burning orange-red energy before it suddenly exploded outward. The impact of the sound wave flattened the young saplings and shrubs nearest the energy clash and blew his hair back from his face. It ripped leaves and smaller twigs from the larger trees and continued to surge outward through the forest like a tidal wave. His ears rang with the booming blast while his eyes closed against the blindingly bright explosion of light that shot upward through the trees and turned everything it touched to smoldering ash. The heated energy burnt through everything so quickly that the fires literally put themselves out. A scream, deep and roaring and most definately not anything that was human or youkai, followed closely in the wake of the sound eruption. It was pale in comparison, but it was equally as satisfying in its pained agony. The fiend fractured as his vines climbed all around it, pushing the chi into the areas necessary to break the creature. Those fractures deepened, sinking into the very making of the creature before it finally cracked completely. The broken pieces ripped away from each other before fading into the air as if they'd never existed at all.
He slammed the flood gates shut, the shadowy vines vanishing with application of control again. He couldn't release too much of the chi right away, not if he intended to have a good, hard fight before killing the youkai prince standing a good distance away from him. The name of the prince escaped him, and he honestly couldn't have cared less to know it anyway. What had his attention were the rounded eyes that were displaying a horrified shock, the slight paling to darkly tanned skin... and the smell of blood rushing just under that same blanched skin, encouraged faster by the increased pulse the prince had no control over. There was power in this one's blood, something he suspected would taste like hot cinnamon on his tongue. It was a taste that would be delicious when first tasted and swallowed, but not to hold in his mouth and savor.
"You're not going to do that anyway. You're only going to defend us from his attack and you're going to leave Kougaiji alone. That's his name, by the way. Kougaiji."
He almost laughed out loud at the other one's stern tone. Was he actually being scolded like a child? How utterly amusing! HE was in control of the body now, not the other one. He had been released from his prison for the sole purpose of dispatching this rival and returning to the lovely woman with his blood on her skin. That was exactly what he intended to do, and there would be no detering him from that cause. Perhaps he would bleed his rival dry over all that lovely, white female skin that smelled heavenly of fear. Hmmm... what a truly beautiful image that would make. Her, pinned to the ground by his vines while he stood over her with his rival's heart dripping onto her smooth, flawless skin, the heart still warm and beating faintly from having been ripped fresh from his chest. Yes... the more he thought about it, the more he had to have it as reality.
"NO! You can't do that!"
He actually did chuckle at the outrage from his other self. "Oh, really? And why not?" he murmured, his eyes narrowing as his rival shifted his foot ever so slightly. He silently cursed the less than perfect vision which marred the incredible brilliance of his body, one eye seeing as a human would while the other was youkai sharp. It saw colors in a sharper contrast, picked out minute details in scenery much clearer than his other eye. How he wished he could throttle the other one for doing that to his perfect eyes! His rival began to circle slowly, hands limp and loose in preparation of attack. Gonou turned and followed his movements, his ears tuned in on the sounds of shouting and wild crashing through the underbrush. It sounded like the little one, the one whose blood would be as rich and metalic tasting as the forest earth. His was the kind of blood that truly tasted like life. Perhaps when he was done here he could sample that bounty as well.
"YOU WILL NOT HURT GOKU!"
Sneering at his other self's scream of sheer anger, he decided it was time to remind the other one just how incredibly terrible paybacks could be. In his mind, he envisioned chains streaming from the darkness. Thick chains, heavy and sealed together with padlocks. The other one had time to blink before he was suddenly wrapped in those chains, the very weight of them dragging him down onto his knees. He would have prefered locking his other self into that same damnable cage he'd been forced into... but he wasn't quite strong enough yet for that. The other one's presence was still to strong in this body. He could restrain it, but he couldn't lock it away. Yet. "What are you doing?" he demanded, his voice filled with nothing but panic. How disgusting to think he had to share this magnificent body with something so weak! "You can't do this! How is this even possible, it's MY body!"
"Correction; it's OUR body. I just happen to be controling it at the moment," he replied quietly, shoulders rolling with an easy grace as he sank into a low crouch. His claws scraped against the dead leaves, a harsh sound that was being quickly drowned out by the shouting of his other name. He was right, it was the little one running down the hill making more racket than he wisely should have. He smiled, running his tongue over the nicely sharp point of his elongated eyeteeth. His other self shivered inside his head and turned away, knowing exactly what he was thinking in regards of how to use those wonderfully sharp fangs.
His body went still. As in, he controled it perfectly to the point where not even the necessary breaths disturbed the absolute and utter lack of movement everywhere else in his body. He remained crouched with one hand on the bracken strewn carpet of the forest, waiting for the man across from him to move. A thin wind invaded their stand off as the other also went completely still, one foot in back as he stood perfectly straight with fingers curled into fists. He wasn't going to bother being so polite as to use his knuckles. When the inevitable rush came, he was going to tear that tawny skin straight from his rival's bones. The tension in the air grew thick as all else faded except for the sound of two beating hearts and the feel of adrenaline surging into his blood. It was the type of excitement that bordered close to pure arousal for him, the thrilling thought that soon he would have his foe pinned to the ground with his hand ripping a hole through the softer mid section of his stomach.
But first... the amuse bouche. The build up of adrenaline, the constant pressure from his brain to just go-go-go, was what he craved. A simple little appetizer provided by the one who would also serve for the main course. The endorphines kicking in was a remarkably heady, thrilling thing, a simple pleasure amidst all the many greater ones to come. He could feel the excitement tightening his chest, each breath a little shallow and tinged over with that zinging sensation that started low in his stomach and worked its way through his lungs into his throat. He knew he was smiling, and he also knew that uncontrolable expression of glee was further irritating his rival. He could smell the seething rage bubbling through the other's blood. A hot, musky smell that only spiked the adrenaline rush higher. There was no fear in this one, nothing but that anger tempered over with a thin veiling of cool restraint. It wouldn't take much to rip that veil away, he mused, eyes narrowing and smile slipping ever so slightly as his rival shifted the back foot. No doubt attaining a better grip in the slippery leaves for when the rush would come.
He was ready for it. He didn't hesitate for even a split second as the other man let out a fierce snarl and went racing across the forest at him. He kicked up off the ground, leaping as high as the trees would allow, and came whipping down like a falcon on its prey. His rival just barely bent over backwards to avoid his slashing claws, one hand immediately following through to deflect the lightning quick follow through of his other hand. He swept low, avoiding the flashing fist coming for his head, and swung his leg around in the hopes of taking his opponent down. His hands touched the ground and he released the chi, the vines rushing across the ground and uphis rivals leg.
A bright burst of flame shot downward for his shadowy vine trails. He hissed as the burning tendrils acted like his chi in reverse; they traveled back up the vines and into his skin, searing the skin areas around his markings. He drew back sharply, withdrawing his vines from the assault. He was both angered by this action as well as impressed. And all this time he'd thought the other man could only make giant fireballs and summon fiends. Apparently, he had some skill in chi manipulation.
His other self sighed wearily, the chains clinking as he slouched forward just a bit. "You shouldn't underestimate Kougaiji. It's very foolish to do so, and will probably get us both killed."
Yes... the other one did have a point there. He caught the wrist of his opponent's hand, the fist curled tightly to heading straight for his face. A cruel smile twisted his lips, and he made certain to let the other man see it. His vines flowed easily from his hand and down the other's arm to his shoulder. Quickly, lest his rival summon some more of that chi-made fire, he simply released his hold completely on his own chi. The intent was to flood his rival with so much of his own energy that it would do exactly as the lightning fiend had done and immobilize him. His rival's eyes widened and he tried to jerk away. The sharp movement prompted him to squeeze his hand harder, his claws finally breaking through the much firmer skin. Blood, thick and oozing and oh-so-beautiful in the glow of energy and sunlight, immediately burst outward. It splattered across his own hands and flowed down along darkly bronzed skin before disappearing under the dark material of his opponent's jacket. The lighting turned the blood to liquid rubies, rich and dark yet able to reflect the light around it as clearly as a mirror. Its darkness against the rich tone of his rival's skin was a sight worthy of whatever gods looked down on them.
His rival hissed, a pained sound that was sharp to his ears. He quickly caught the other wrist coming at his stomach and used his own body weight to his advantage. He simply dropped to the ground, his grip throwing his opponent off balance, and flung the other man over his shoulders. He continued to hold on, the claws of his other hand now also bathed in the gorgeously thick blood, as his opponent smacked hard into the earth. Breath escaped from the other man in a loud puff of sound that became a wheezing cough as his lungs quickly tried to bring more air into his battered body. It was amazing the shoulders didn't dislocate. Amazing... but disappointing as well. How he would have loved to hear that wet popping noise of joints sliding out of place!
He released the bleeding wrists and quickly rolled awar from the slashing kick that would have connected with his jaw. He sprang to his feet easily, reveling in the way this body responded so beautifully to what he directed. His other self was struggling against the chains, trying to twist free and reclaim the marvelous vessel he was currently using. Already, he could see one hand was working its way through the mass of links and locks; the other one's will was still too dominant for him to completely subjugate it. That would change... but for now, he had to be quick or else his chance to satiate his cravings would be lost until the next time this situation arose. He ducked the next three punches, dodged a sharp kick and a knee, and finally managed to weave his way through the flurry attacks to inflict some of his own. back.
The first slice of claws through flesh nearly brought him to his knees in delight. It was a thick sound, almost like scissors cutting through stiff paper except that it was firm and wet and... oooh, the blood... He placed two more rips through his rival rapidly, tearing streaks from inner stomach to upper shoulder diagonally and another down along a hastily turned hip. His rival gasped, eyes widening as the flare of pain finally broke through him. He acted on that surprise and took a half running step into the knee thrust that sent the other man into the air. The solid cracking sound and the way the other's chest gave to his blow told him more than a couple ribs were now broken. He smiled and remained where he landed to watch his rival struggling a mere ten feet away.
His opponent ("Kougaiji," his other self reminded him with an edge of impatience) was choking for air, blood staining his lips like poorly applied lipstick. Blood flowed freely from the deep gouges that raked their way across his body. Tears could be seen along his pants in the hip area, the lighter colored material stained dark from the liquid soaking through. He laughed softly as his opponent sat up gingerly, wincing at the undoubtedly agonizing pain that was in his chest. He waited until those indigo eyes fell on him... and was very disappointed to see there was still no fear. If anything, that glare became more heated, but that heat was still being carefully controled. That wasn't the reaction he'd wanted to get. He knew his lip was curled into a slight pout as he considered this very surprising reaction.
"It's over. You've already proven you can beat him. We're safe. It's time to end this without further injury," his other self insisted with the firmness of one used to having his orders obeyed.
He grinned, his eyes catching sight of his bloody hands. "This will end when I feel like it, and not a minute before hand," he murmured in response. "Just sit back and enjoy yourself. You know you are. This is what you've been longing for as well, and you can't deny it."
"It's what YOU wanted. YOU were projecting this through ME. Believe me, I would never want this."
"Liar."
"I'm not, and I want me body back NOW!"
"Then take it back... if you can." For added effect, he mentally tightened the chains around the other one, laughing when his other self gasped and winced at the sharp dig of metal into his metaphysical flesh. The hand that was almost free was trapped again under the immense pressure of those chains, the fingers curling into a tight fist. He relaxed the pressure ever so slightly, his eyes returning to his opponent as he slowly lifted one blood coated hand to his lips. The fluid was beginning to dry, sticky and unfortunately cold, but its taste was what he was after.
Indigo eyes flashed with surprise, but still no terror as he slowly began licking his fingers clean. It was just as he expected it would taste; a sweetness that had a sharp spike to it, a cinnamony-metalic combination that zinged across his tongue. The other one closed his eyes in disgust and began trying to break himself free again. He kept his eyes on his rival as he chased a thin trailing of blood down his palm and to his wrist, a drop that had been stirred free by the laving of his tongue on his flesh. The flavor of this particular blood rolled through him, filling his throat and nose with that slightly spicey undertone. All blood smelled the same on the surface. It wasn't until one actually tasted it that the finer nuances could truly be appreciated. It was those subtle differences that he craved, along with the fear he could invoke in those to die at his hands.
"You're... sick. You're not... Hakkai..." His rival was on his knees now, watching as he switched hands and ran a tongue all the way up his first finger and across the claw tipping it.
"Mmm... you're right. I'm not that pathetically weak one," he replied, lips curving into a smile he knew was terrifying in its beauty.
"Now that's just being unnecessarily rude and cruel," his other self scolded, pausing in his bid for freedom just to say so.
He laughed again, truly amused by how restrained his other self was. This... his body, his power, everything... was something to revel in. It was the simple beauty of pure and honest freedom. He was genuinely free of any and all constraints that the other one believed were necessary. Wasn't the monk constantly preaching about not being bound by anything? Muichimatsu was such a wonderfully splendid concept, one that he participated in fully. But now was not the time to ponder the many nuances of philosophy. His body was screaming for another taste of that hot cinnamon-spiced blood wastefully dripping onto the forest floor.
He pressed the attack this time, running full tilt toward his rival in a rush of speed so fast that the forest seemed to disappear around him. His rival managed to avoid the slashing claws that went for his mid section in the hopes of spilling intestines in a steamy wash, but in doing so he missed the free hand that slammed into the forest ground. The vines twisted and curved down his arm, for now simply acting as a way to bind his rival. He jerked on that extension of his power and his rival fell as it forced all his weight onto his injured leg. The thud of him falling hard to the ground caused the leaves and bracken to dance briefly in the air. His rival's breath left him in a great gush of sound, his arms flailing to his side to try and lessen the bruising. There wasn't time to start a counter attack. His vines swarmed over his rival, wrapping and coiling tightly. There were too many of them to attack at once, too many to try and thrust his burning aura back through. The man struggling against a hold that was just as solid as chains, had just sunk from 'rival' to 'prey'. Once the fighting option was taken, there was no rivalry. Only feastin.
He smiled as he watched his new prey continue to fight the vines that were quickly covering every surface of his body. He didn't care if there was still no fear in those fiery eyes, what he wanted was that exquisite crimson treasure locked beneath the skin. Slowly, he knelt by his prey, the vines clearing from across the muscled stomach with a simple thought from him.
"Don't," the other one commanded with an icy sharpness and an equally frosted glare. That other presence pulsed hard in his head, blinding him for a second with the excruitating agony of it. Damn it... He tightened the chains and was rewarded with a pained cry from his other self. The headache lessened to the point where he could open his eyes again, but remained as an uncomfortable pressure at the back of his mind. His smile returned again, a slow predatorial curve of lips that made sure to accentuate the sharpened teeth just waiting to tear their first piece of tawny flesh away. Later... he was still playing right now. Keeping his gaze locked with the eyes that appeared to be ink dark in their burning ire, he took a single claw and sliced it with deliberate slowness across his midsection. The stomach muscles jerked in response, but no pain was evident across that haughty face. It infuriated him to not get the reaction he wanted. Teeth gritting, eyes narrowing maliciously, he drew his hand back to simply rip open the entire stomach and have at the soft organs inside. Perhaps that would earn him the desired reaction!
"HAKKAI!"
He and his other self both froze at the name, and the voice shouting it. The crashing through the trees came to a sudden hault, the cacaphony of chaotic movement now replaced with huge gulps of breath. He turned toward this sound, his hand having stopped within a bare inch of striking the tense skin of his prey's abdomen. Ah... it was the little one! He'd been correct all along. Tossled brown hair that reflected auburn and copper highlights had dead leaves and broken twigs stuck in it. Fresh dirt and grass stained his pants. Golden eyes were round and filled with... there it was! The fear he wanted. He glanced at the prey he had fastened to the ground, his smile turning thoughtfully sly. Was it even possible to have his vines attack another while still holding someone securely bound? He wasn't sure... but this was a remarkable opportunity to experiment with it. He pivoted around on his knees, one hand already caresing through the crunching leaves for the cool, moist earth beneath. His power was pulsing and pounding against his control over it, eagerly pushing to be freed into the awaiting soil.
"Run, Goku! Get out of- AGH!" A quick thought from him tightened the vines to a new degree of painful around his bound prey, one choking hard over his throat to stop the warning. He would not have his experiment interupted! He returned his gaze to the boy standing a good distance from him, eyes narrowing as those eyes darkened to the color of antique gold. The little one's face went almost blank, a wary tension still present in the firm press of his lips and the subtle shifting of one foot further back. He was positioning himself for a defensive stance, preparing for the iminent attack.
He frowned as the little one took a deep sniff of the air, eyes closing briefly as the smells of the forest were processed through his brain. When those golden eyes opened again, they were filled with worry and confusion. "You're not Hakkai," he said, his voice low but still audible due to the utter lack of sound in the forest. "You're usin' his body... but you're not Hakkai."
His smile quickly turned into a cold little laugh. How interesting... it seemed the little one could actually smell a difference between himself and his inferior half. Perhaps he wasn't as incompetantly naive as he'd originally assumed. "Very astute observation," he commented sarcastically, his fingers brushing across the clumped dirt. He would be patient. He would wait until the boy relaxed ever so slightly and then... the experiment would truly begin.
"Then who are you? You've gotta have a name if you're in Hakkai's body but you're not Hakkai," the little one pressed. He held his staff low, the heavy globed ends pointing toward the ground and the trees. That didn't mean it couldn't be swung for an attack at any moment though. He could feel the aura surrounding this much smaller creature. It was ungodly strong, as if all the might and hardness of the mountains were contained within one pulsing, heavy power that was somehow carefully contained. It was enough to give him pause in releasing his own power. If this was how strong he was with the limiter, what must he be like without? Hmm... but, he was getting too far ahead of himself. One experiment at a time. Besides, the little one had asked him a question.
He opened his mouth to answer... and froze, jaw snapping shut as his lips formed a thin frown. His name... did he have one? It made sense that he would have one. The other one did, so why shouldn't he? He could have sworn there was another name that had bene used at some point. He searched back through their combined memories, trying to recall what exactly it had been. The other one tensed up as he began to search, eyes widening when he finally uncovered the name he remembered.
"No... you can't use that name. That person is dead," his other self said, something very much like cold terror in his voice. Whatever hesitation he'd had before about using it was quickly dissipated by that tone. If his other self didn't want him to use it...
The if it belonged to a dead person, there was no reason why he couldn't have it, he thought. He smiled at the little one waiting nervously for his answer and made certain to enunciate it as clearly as possible for the benefit of enjoying the other one's reaction. "My name... is Gonou." He had barely gotten that out before burning, searing pain ripped up through his arm, traveling the twisting trails of his markings. He hissed, dropping his control over the binding vines in a reflex to escape that wash of heated energy being shoved through him. Gonou whipped around, snarling as his prey immediately leapt to his feet and away. The beautiful blood was drying in crusty patches to his tanned skin, marking it in an uneven splatter design.
His prey glowered at him, lips thinning back away from sharp fangs. "Your fight is with me, remember?" the other man sneered, "Leave him out of this!"
Hmmm... it seemed his other self wasn't the only one who didn't want him near the boy. Gonou knew his grin had twisted sadistic by the sharply intaken breath the little one sucked in and the slight widening of his eyes. His gaze flickered over to the smaller one, taking in the soft skin that had a naturally golden undertone to it. It still had the freshness of youth, though it was obvious from the thinned fingers curled around his staff that there was quite a bit of muscle to this one. Still... baby soft skin marked over with his claws and teeth was a very attractive image. He glanced again at his prey, who was waiting with just a small amount of fire dancing in his hands, and cocked his head almost curiously. Without warning, he sprinted toward the little one, running so fast his feet barely disturbed to forest floor. His prey immediately took off after him toward the boy standing with a frozen look of shocked horror on his face. Excellent...
Gonou fell to his knees as something slammed and ripped its way through his brain. God... what in the hell WAS this? He heard the little one shout, felt and smelled him as he rushed by and dimly recognized the sounds of fighting, but the pain... His claws clenched tightly to his hair, pulling hard enough to tear strands from scalp, but even that pain couldn't cut through this. He fell to the forest floor completely when he felt what amounted to a mental jerk on the back of his shirt before he was spun around harshly by the other one. How in the hell did HE get loose? His eyes widened and his back arched off the forest as that dominating presence began to shove its self back through their shared body, trying to force him out. No... he was NOT giving this body up! It was HIS!
"I told you before... you will NOT harm Goku, nor any of the others. Even if it kills me in the process, I'd rather we both go down than see one of them get killed by you," his other self explained with a deadly coldness that was both thrilling to hear and a little intimidating at the same time.
Gonou snarled, thrashing onto is side in the leaves as he continued to fight the battle that was rapidly being lost. His other self was quickly shoving him back toward his cell... His teeth gnashed and ground together as his hand remained buried in his hair. His heels dug into the forest floor in an effort to prove that he was still in control of the body. He shoved at his other self's presence in an attempt to keep himself from being locked in that cell again. The other one shoved back, and shoved back hard. As in, hard enough to make him scream at the pain it caused. More voices, arguing, but the fighting had stopped. Gonou jerked over onto his elbows and knees, face all but buried in the sweetly decaying leaves. This was his body, and he wasn't about to give it up to a hopelessly weak entity! He focused his attentions not on getting his body to move but on trapping the other one again.
The other one was jerked away from him, a small gasp of surprise torn from his lips as the chains circled him again, quickly dragging him down despite his efforts otherwise. Gonou immediately felt some of the pressure ease from his mind enough to pick out the snippets of arguing around him.
"...But it's Hakkai..."
"Move or I'll shoot through..."
"...Get the hell outta my way, you Buddhist..."
"...Hey, ease down a bit, bro..."
A deeply intaken breath told him that everyone was there. He could smell that faint sun-after-the-rain scent of the monk. There was the deeply aromatic, rich smell of the half breed, something that reminded him strongly of dark chocolate and fresh vanilla beans. Another smell, this time one that made him think of sun-kissed ocean waters, a scent that was both warm and a little tangy at the same time. And the woman was here again. He'd recognize that soft aroma of her skin anywhere. The other one was jerking hard against the chains, one hand sliding free easily as he worked to try and shove the chains down and off his psyche. Gonou knew he couldn't hold him there forever. His time was limited for achieving the blood and fear he wanted. He looked at those surrounding him a good distance away through the shaggy tendrils of his hair.
The monk was holding the little one back, using one shoulder to do so while keeping a constant eye on where Gonou knelt. The larger man in white was keeping the half breed in check. His lovely female prey was tending the fire youkai in a space set farther apart from the others, her fingers flying over the wounds he'd so carefully inflicted. How rude, repairing the damage he'd caused! Gonou used the rage at her presumptuous nature to leap to his feet in a single, elegant movement to run at her. Both of them looked up, her eyes widening in the fear that smelled so wonderful on her while his eyes narrowed and a snarl snaked its way free from his throat.
He could here the other shouting, rushing in to try and stop him. None of them would be fast enough, not with the way his marvelous body could move. His other self was very close to breaking free, the pulsing push of his presence starting to make dark spots dance in his vision. He had to hurry, or he'd be taken down again by that one. Gonou was on them, his hand flying back in order to rip new gouges into the fire youkai's face and neck. It would be interesting to see her try and sew together a torn trachia, all the while coating her body in that spicey blood. His claws whooshed as they cut through the air, heading directly for the exposed throat his prey had left open for him.
Everything was going so bad! Goku felt frozen as Hakkai (or Hakkai's body with that dead-smelling guy using it) ran amazingly fast toward Yaone and Kougaiji. He ended up falling flat on his face as Sanzo, with a sharply snarled, "Shit," suddenly stopped trying to keep him from running to where Hakkai had been kneeling and instead ran for where he was going. His own panic kicked in at that; Sanzo... running toward the scary Hakkai... Sanzo...
"SANZO!" Goku didn't remember getting on his feet and didn't remember any of the steps it took him to get to his guardian. He skidded to a hault when Sanzo suddenly stopped. He heard that voice, the one that always filled him with warmth even when it was shouting death threats, begin to speak softly and in a kind of rhythme. He'd heard something like this before... It took him another second before he remembered what it was; a chant. Sanzo was activating a spell! His mind flashed back to that day when Sanzo had been busy writing neatly on those strips of paper. "This is for when everything goes straight to hell."
Goku felt as if someone had dumped ice cubes down his boxers and duct taped the legs together to hold the ice there. The tantras... Sanzo was gonna use the tantras on Hakkai! "Sanzo, no!" He made a grab for his guardian, this time in order to save Hakkai's life.
Sanzo was quicker. He flung his hand out, the paper whistling through the air as four of the tantra whizzed by. "Kinbaku!" Sanzo shouted. Light, a faintly violet glow that looked almost like the Maten Sutra in use, flared around those frail strips of paper. They struck Hakkai in the back, sticking firmly to his shirt... and Hakkai fell to the leaves completely imobile.
All Goku could do was stare at where Hakkai fell. Sanzo... He couldn't believe Sanzo had actually... He was so busy staring at the completely unmoving Hakkai that he wasn't aware of the angry boots crunching through the leaves, or of the outraged snarl from from Gojyo's lips as the red head jerked the monk around by the silky shoulder of his robe.
What finally broke him from his daze was the shout of, "You fucking bastard!" before the sharp crack of flesh hitting flesh sent Sanzo sprawling to the ground with a broken, bleeding lip.
Author's Note: Whew... been a while since I've updated this one! Sorry about that, I blame the fact that I just recently got addicted to the Hellsing soundtrack. Which, obviously, prompted Bob the Muse to wanna write Hellsing stuff when he SHOULD have been writing this one! Anyway, thank you for the patience and I promise to TRY not to let this one go so long again before updating. Thank you especially to Angel's Wings and Ophelion for being so amazingly patient. I do hope you guys haven't chewed your nails to the knuckles yet...