King Rat, No Mercy
Author Notes: Finals are over, ETB gets an A for the course! Now comes the next two accelerated classes. Don't worry, it won't affect my update schedule.
Review responses!
RodiSquall: Yeah, I'm fine! I just had a major project due last Thursday, and basically worked day and night for five days straight. Left very little time for leisure writing. And I came up with the idea of making Ryuji colorblind early on in designing his character, which is especially effective in a universe that judges very harshly on appearances. My only concern would be that it cheapens his affection for his brother, but then I realized that he'd love Aka even if he knew he was a hanyou. He just didn't, and was surprised (to put it mildly.)
D-chan: I'm actually glad you asked, since this is a perfectly good point to explain. The flashbacks are part of Gojyo's dreams. Every time he falls asleep, he is experiencing Ryuji's strongest or most important memories. This is because Gojyo is absorbing Ryuji's soul, and his memories are tied to it. He is essentially reliving Ryuji's life through his eyes. If he were absorbing any other soul, he'd be seeing those memories as well.
As to why this is a perfect point to explain? Read on.
Disclaimer: If I were making money off of this, would I be in college again?
11: The Life of a Rat
"Fucking rat. Fucking rat. Filthy, nasty, fucking rat." Gojyo didn't know this voice, but it dripped hatred. He was reminded of his own stepmother, until he opened his eyes and saw a bedraggled woman- swollen cheeks, tangled hair, and human eyes- grabbing his face, holding his chin. She squeezed his cheeks, her fingernails digging into his skin. "I hate you. You've ruined my life. Why won't you just crawl back into your monster father's skin where you came from? Fucking rat!"
"Please, mother-" the weak voice he felt coming from his lips was not his own, it was immature, it was high pitched, it was reedy. "I don't know what I did-"
"You exist. Your monster father forced you on me, and now you exist. And I hate you for it!" She lifted him up by his neck and pitched him at something hard, and everything was dark again. Gojyo began to hear other voices:
"... tossed out by his nutty ol' mama when he was three. He's been in that spot for two years now. No, don't give him food, you think a freak like that wants to live?"
"... I don't think he has a name. Nothing but a street rat anyway."
He opened his eyes, and looked down at his thin, bony hands. He was curled up against a wall on a dark street, surrounded by refuse. His arms were no thicker than birch branches, his knobby knees thin little lumps under the ragged tunic he wore. A man stood over him, with red hair, red eyes, and a loaf of bread in hand. "Here, kid." He dropped the bread in front of him, and laid a thick sheet of butcher paper over his shoulders. "No child deserves to live like this. If I could have kids, I'd never want to see them like this." The man walked away, and he grabbed the bread and hugged it to his chest. It was warm, it smelled good, though he knew this meal was only a temporary delay of what seemed inevitable. But something welled up in his chest, something powerful, a determination without name.
Gojyo felt his fists clench around the bread, and heard his reedy little voice whisper, "No more." He tore a piece of bread off and stuffed it in his mouth, still mumbling through his full mouth, "Nothing but a rat... filthy rat... then I'll be a rat."
Gojyo's heart screamed when he realized who that voice belonged to. How was he seeing Nezuoh's memory now? Was something of him inside of him too?
(Suggested Track: "It's Time," Imagine Dragons. There's a really nice acoustic version on YouTube, filmed at the Occidental Saloon.)
He didn't have time to think about it. All the memories of that dirty, trash-filled alley were quickly replaced by a whirlwind of happy memories.
"Y'see, sir," he heard Kenren saying to someone. Ryuji and Aka were hanging outside the window, their contraband soccer ball between them, as they listened to the conversation inside the house. "We- Tenpou and myself, that is- did some looking into it. They are brothers, just different dads. The two were tormented most of their lives on the lower world, which is why Ryuji reacted to harshly to your admonishment of his little brother. Besides that, he's colorblind, so no, he honestly couldn't tell his brother is any different from him."
"Colorblind?" Goujun sounded disgusted. "Unfortunate bastard." Ryuji clenched his fist, but Aka covered his hand.
"He is, yeah. And that's why I took his punishment- he couldn't help his feelings, and I wasn't there to stop him. But you know, I think we have a chance to do something good with them. If there's ever been anyone who needs some leadership, some stability, it's the two of them. You still want them reassigned?"
"No, no," Goujun sighed. "They may stay here, they can live with you until they are old enough to join the army. I expect you'll start them in basic training soon. As I said before, keep them on a tighter leash until the older brother learns to control himself." They heard Goujun rise, and the pair quickly scrambled from the window and started kicking the ball back and forth to one another. The door opened, and Kenren opened an arm to show Goujun the way out. Goujun stopped on the path and considered the boys. They froze, but he let a tiny smile twitch across his face. "It seems you have gotten better at soccer. Use the side of your foot, not the toe, you'll have more control that way." He reached out and planted his head on Aka's head. Aka's cheeks darkened in a blush, and Goujun turned and left. Kenren flipped the bird at Goujun's turned back, then gave the twins a thumbs-up. Ryuji and Aka grinned- they were safe!
He blinked, and the scene changed.
"Do you like that book?" He looked up, and saw Tenpou smiling at him. The room around him was a pigsty, laundry hanging from the ceiling rafters, an ashtray overflowing, books and paper strewn everywhere. Ryuji had a thick book open to a world map in his hand, as Aka and Kenren tried to pick things up. "My, you boys surely never had a formal education. And combat practice with Kenren doesn't really count, does it?"
"Hey, man, I'm trying my best!" Kenren protested, but Tenpou giggled pleasantly.
"How about after we finish cleaning, I give you boys some real lessons? I'll teach you math and geography, and I'll show you some good books."
"I have books," Kenren grumbled.
"Books with more words than pictures. Does that sound fun, Aka?" Aka nodded, and Ryuji nodded too. He couldn't keep the smile from his face.
The next thing he knew, he was waking up on a sleeping mat. Two others were next to his, and Aka was in the one furthest from him. The middle one was empty, and appeared to have been long such. Konzen, inexplicably, was sitting on Kenren's futon and flipping through one of his magazines with disgust on his face. A spread of store-bought dumplings and fresh tea waited on the table. Ryuji sat up and gawked at Konzen, until Konzen looked up at him.
"Your guardian is away for the day on some nonsensical exercise. I was asked to mind you until evening. Eat breakfast and bathe so I can give you your lessons for the day, and you'll have to come with me so I can take care of some business." Konzen cast his eyes around the room, before looking at Ryuji again. "How can a house so sparsely furnished still be this poorly kept? Do all army urchins live like this?"
"Aka, wake up!" Ryuji tossed his pillow at Aka, his wide smile making his cheeks hurt. "Lord Konzen is here!"
"Really?" Aka shot up in place, eyes wide. He beamed as he saw Konzen, and jumped from his futon. "I thought we'd never see you again!"
"Don't talk nonsense. Did you honestly think Kanzeon Bosatsu would abandon you to the idiots in the army without checking in on you once in a while?" Konzen grinned his twisted grin. "Come here and eat." Ryuji and Aka sat on the opposite side of the table and started picking out dumplings. Konzen tossed the magazine aside, and leaned closer to the twins. "It's been two weeks. I see whoever this is has gotten you new clothes and your own beds, but has he been treating you well?"
"Yeah, he's crazy nice!" Aka grinned. "He doesn't even care I'm a hanyou."
"Ah. And does your brother care?" Konzen was nonchalant as he poured them each a cup of tea.
"You actually knew I couldn't tell?" Ryuji paused mid-bite. Konzen nodded.
"I couldn't be certain, but I had a very strong suspicion. I made a note of my observation in your papers that I passed to Tenpou, with encouragement to look into it further. I suppose Tenpou checked?" The boys nodded, and Konzen sipped his tea. "I'm glad the truth has come out, then." Ryuji and Aka began to eat again, under Konzen's quiet watch. He alternated his gaze between the two again. "Perhaps it is worth mentioning. I had a harder time finding your information than I should have, as you two gave me bad information. Neither of you are eleven. You are ten."
"What?" Aka looked up, confused. "I mean, maybe we lost count, but-"
"No, you are still shy your eleventh birthday. According to the records I found, your birth date- both of you- is on the nineteenth day of the eighth month."
"Isn't that tomorrow?" Ryuji gaped. Konzen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"So it is." He finished his tea. "What a coincidence. If you behave and study hard, I'll get you some sort of treat when we run our errands." He looked up at them, and offered them the first smile they'd seen on him that wasn't more sarcastic than sincere. Ryuji and Aka beamed at each other, and obeyed Konzen patiently. Gojyo realized what Ryuji must have realized- Konzen was trying to show them affection as best as he could. His awkward mannerisms, his uncomfortable smile, they only served to make him more familiar.
He blinked back into darkness. Somewhere distant, he heard a quiet, timid voice atonally mumbling: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..." The voice sounded terrified, and yet, the droning was comfort in his ears.
He became aware of the door slamming shut, and shot awake. It was late in the night, and Kenren stumbled in the front door, loaded up with boxes. He dropped a duffel bag by the door and tossed most of his poorly-wrapped packages down by the table. He set the last two things he carried, a box and a bouquet of white and yellow flowers, on the table and collapsed onto the floor between the twins. "Ow." They hadn't thought to roll his mat back out. The noise woke Aka, and both boys leaned over him.
"General, are you okay?" Aka asked. Kenren rolled onto his side and grinned.
"You know it! I'm home with you, ain't I?" Aka chuckled, and Kenren pushed himself back up. "I'm sorry I woke you guys. It's damn late."
"Where did you go?" Ryuji asked. Kenren laughed again, and went to turn on the lamp.
"We had a mission down on the lower world. Temple needed defending, sent me and my guys down to take care of it." Ryuji spotted bruises on his face and part of a bandage showing from under his clothes.
"Did you get hurt?"
"Eh? Me?" Kenren pointed at his chest, face wrought with mock disbelief. "Nah, I'm perfect! Not a scratch. Don't you worry about a few little marks here and there, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, what about you guys? What did you do all day today?"
"Lord Konzen came over to watch us," Aka replied, looking a little bewildered by his quick change of subject.
"Lord who now?" Kenren crouched down between them again.
"Lord Konzen. Didn't you ask him to mind us for the day?" Ryuji folded his arms. Kenren grinned nervously.
"Knew I forgot something." He rubbed the back of his head. "What a jerk I am. Tenpou must have thought of it. He kept you entertained?"
"He gave us lessons and took us into town to run his errands. He let us play outside while he did his work and stuff, too," Ryuji answered. Aka nodded in agreement.
"Good. I'll ask Tenpou to send him over again next time I have to go down to the surface." Kenren rubbed his hands together. "Free babysitter!"
"Babysitter?" Both boys repeated dubiously.
"Oh, like you guys know a better word for it!" He stuck his tongue out at them. "Here." He reached behind him and grabbed two of the small packages. "That's for you guys. I found it all outside with your names written on it." Ryuji gawked- a package with his name on it? He noticed part of a message written on the top of his: "Give these to your wards tomorrow-" He looked at Aka's package: "or I will come over there and-" He saw Kenren holding a third, large, square package, shredding part of the wrapping off and crumpling so he couldn't see what the black ink on it said. Ryuji opened his and found a small leather sack full of small, black glass stones. Aka had a similar bag, this one with white glass stones. Kenren opened the third package, and pulled out a plain wooden board with a grid carved across the top.
"It's Go!" Kenren beamed. "It's a Go set! Ah, this is great, I haven't played Go in forever!" He set the board down in front of them. "I kind of sucked at it, though."
"Maybe Konzen will teach us," Aka thought aloud.
"I bet that's what the guy had in mind!" Kenren clapped his hands together. "He needed an excuse to come back and see you. Okay, one more apiece and then back to bed." He grabbed two more packages from the stack he'd carried in and gave them to him.
"Wait, where did these come from?"
"I bought them yesterday and stashed 'em at Tenpou's place while you guys were solving for 'x' or some shit." Kenren reached out and rubbed both of their heads, mussing their hair. "You think I didn't know your birthday is today? And it's past eleven anyway! You can open the rest tomorrow." Ryuji looked between the lumpy package and Kenren, jaw agape. He peeled some of the wrinkled paper back, and saw fabric inside. Kenren leaned forward and looked. "Ahh, did I give you the clothes? Sorry. You'll get better presents tomorrow."
"No, it's nice." Ryuji couldn't keep a smile from his face nor tears from his eyes. "I don't think I've ever gotten a birthday present before."
"Me neither," Aka added, and he began to rub his eyes too. Kenren sat back and smiled contently.
"It's not gonna be the last time you get birthday presents, either. Hell, I even got you guys a cake. It's just vanilla, but it's cake." Ryuji opened the package the rest of the way and pulled out a red soccer jersey with the number 01 embroidered onto it. Aka had a white jersey with 02 on the back. Both boys were dumb with surprise, unsure of what to do or say. They each dropped their jerseys and dove at Kenren, jostling for position to hug on to him tight. He grunted, but wrapped his arms around them. "Hey, what is this?! Come on, guys, it's not like I'm going anywhere. Quit grabbin' me! I'm gonna knock your little heads together if you don't- ah, who am I kiddin'?" He chuckled, and let them hug him. "Happy birthday, kids. You've got a lot ahead of you, right?"
He was happy. He was insanely happy. He was too happy.
Gojyo opened his eyes for a brief moment, and squeezed them shut again. The bright midday light flooding in through the high windows ached his eyes. His whole body hurt, his swollen middle rippled with pain. This rude awakening was cold comfort compared to the happiness of his look into Ryuji's memories. His hands drifted to squeeze and push the pain down, and comfort washed over him like a rolling river. He would never understand how touching that which he hated so deeply relieved his anxiety.
"Ryuji?" He called, and listened, but there was no answer. He heard a soft cough, and forced his eyes open to turn and look into the gap. Ryuji was curled in tight around himself, his face in his knees. He looked threadbare, as worn out as his clothes, like someone had plugged a spigot into him and everything that made him whole had been filtered out. He was breathing slowly and deeply, fast asleep. Gojyo decided that finding out how he was feeling wasn't worth waking him. He tried to pull his knees to his chest, but was blocked. He vaguely realized that something felt awful about the mass in his middle.
He hadn't thought about it until that moment, but he realized just how unnatural it felt. He thought back to Yohei and Eiji. Somehow, in the few weeks before they had been born, having them inside him felt like the most natural thing in the world, even if it had been incredibly uncomfortable. It had been like wearing a winter coat, like part of his clothing. Their heartbeat- he knew it had been two now, but it had always felt like one- synced neatly with his, their few movements like nothing more than his weight shifting. They felt like part of him, and this was nothing like that. He was painfully aware of the weight inside him. The heartbeat he felt now was syncopated unevenly against his. Something felt wrong. It came to him- this time, it wasn't moving. There was no other movement within him but the beating heart. "What is wrong with me?" He moaned to himself and hugged himself tight. A bitter shiver ran down his spine.
The door to the next cell banged against the wall, and Gojyo looked through the gap. Two guards stood over Ryuji. "Wake him up," one grumbled. The other kicked the boy in the leg, and Ryuji fell over, limp and lame. His hair fell across his face as he slowly sat himself up. He coughed a few times, blood dribbling from his mouth as soon as he opened it.
"Alright, you ugly brat, let's go." The second guard latched his arm under Ryuji's and pulled him up. Ryuji promptly began to retch hard, bringing something thick, wet, and solid from the pit of his stomach. Gojyo cringed as something hit the ground that sounded heavy. "Fuckin' shit-" The second guard sounded surprised at whatever Ryuji had produced, but Ryuji laughed an unusually high-pitched laugh. Gojyo recognized this expression- disbelief.
"Good goddamn, is that a kidney? You smell like a corpse. How 'bout we drown you til you're clean?" The first guard held Ryuji by the collar of his tunic. Ryuji mumbled something indistinct. "The fuck did you just say?"
"... said I'd like that very..." Ryuji trailed off and spat a chunk of something thick onto the ground. "... very much."
"Isn't he weak enough yet? He don't seem to have much life left in him," the second guard asked the first as they began to drag him away. Gojyo pressed his ear to the wall to hear the first guard reply;
"King says kid's gotta be as good as dust. Sooner we break his spirit..." Gojyo could no longer hear them, but he got the gist.
"That son of a bitch," Gojyo growled to himself. "They think they haven't broken him yet? Fucking vultures, they're waiting for him to-" he stopped short, realizing what was coming next. "Die. He's, he's going to die." Gojyo threw himself forward, clutching his head. "No, he can't die," he hissed. "He can't- he's my kid- I'm not gonna be responsible for that!" He chewed his lip, realizing he was talking to himself, but not caring. "No, I can't give in, I can't give up. His brother... his brother won't give up, will he? Aka, you have to help your brother. I can't. I'm useless!" His mind drifted briefly to his friends. Hakkai had given in, this he knew. Goku was gone. But what if Sanzo was still out there? What logic still worked in his aching head told him that Sanzo surely had given in as well, but he still insisted to himself that the Sanzo he'd been seeing was not the real one. He refused to believe it. He beat the thought back into his head- Sanzo had to be there. Nothing would convince him otherwise. "Sanzo, they're your kids too. Ain't you gonna do anything?"
Goku had fallen asleep shortly after arriving back from covering their tracks, but Sanzo and Hakkai had remained awake through the night. Hakkai had spent the entire night coursing wave after wave of weak chi through Aka's wound, and passed out moments after it had finally closed. Sanzo had watched, unable to find rest. After dragging Hakkai over beside Goku and the dying fire, he sat next to Aka and watched him sleep. He silenced every single wayward notion in his mind, staring silently at the boy's chest quickly rising and falling. When the sun began to come up, he used his sash to cover Aka's eyes. Goku woke up when the sun rose, and joined Sanzo.
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"Ask Hakkai." Sanzo didn't look away from Aka.
"He's sleeping," Goku mumbled. "What do you think?"
"Hakkai did his best. I trust his work," Sanzo replied.
"Rest," Hakkai murmured from where he lay. Sanzo and Goku looked over to him. "He needs to rest. I still need a few more hours myself. Amuse yourselves."
"But- what about Gojyo?" Goku frowned.
"He's stuck here the same as the rest of us. I'm sure an extra few hours making him wait will leave him no worse for the wear. Like you said, he always seems to turn out okay in the end." A small smile creased Hakkai's face, one that looked more false than most.
"I'm worried. We still haven't seen any sign of him." Goku shuffled his feet.
"I've been sensing for him as we've traveled, but I haven't gotten even the slightest hint that he's been here. Perhaps it's because my powers are so muted. This magician Aka knows surely will be able to find him easier than I. For now, I'm still exhausted." Hakkai sighed and was silent; his eyes were still open, but Sanzo knew he was asleep again. Goku sighed as well, and began to trace pictures in the dust.
"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about all this. This place is so dirty and dry and sad."
"Just starting to get a bad feeling?" Sanzo reached out and batted Goku across the forehead. Goku whined and brushed him off. "Let me ask you something."
"Wait, you want to ask me something?" Goku's slack jaw betrayed complete confusion, but Sanzo gave him an incredibly stern glare.
"Relish the opportunity, it may never arise again. Goku, what does the phrase 'King Rat' mean to you?"
"King Rat?" Goku frowned, and repeated it, "King Rat, King Rat, King Rat... I remember hearing Gojyo say it once, a while ago, when he was feeling like a jerk. Rats are bad, right? People don't like 'em. They're pests who steal food and spread sickness and stuff. I guess, if someone's a King Rat, they're a bigger jerk, a bigger pest. No, the biggest pest." Goku nodded. "Yeah. Guess that makes sense."
"So the vermin at the top of the heap would be the King Rat?" Sanzo mused. "It seems too simple."
"Simple is usually right," Goku pointed out. "But some people like rats. I remember Hakkai said once that rats are really smart, but that's definitely not Gojyo."
"It seems strange, that the King here calls himself Rat, but Gojyo used the same phrase on himself," Sanzo pontificated, more to himself than Goku. "And yet, here we are."
"Maybe it's a coincidence," Goku suggested. Sanzo shook his head.
"No such thing."
"Then I dunno."
"Hmph." Sanzo turned his focus back to Aka. "And I suppose it's a coincidence..."
"What is?"
"Never you mind," Sanzo swatted Goku again. "Go draw a pretty picture around Hakkai."
"Can do!" Goku beamed and bounded away to start drawing Nazca-like lines around Hakkai's still form. Sanzo kept watch over Aka, though his eyes had begun to droop with weariness.
Something in him told him it would be wrong for him to be away from the boy. Whether or not either knew it, each needed the other.
"Do you want to live like this all of your lives?" Gojyo recognized the wheedling, nasally voice coming from his lips as he faced two hanyou crouched around a fire in a refuse bin- it was much like the voice of the child he'd heard before, but older, mature, more adult.
"The hell are you talking about?" One of them grumbled.
"I mean, do you want this for yourself? Do you want to live in garbage and filth, fighting for your every meal like rats over poison?" He snarled, opening his arms. "Or would you rather rise and demand we be treated with the respect afforded everything else alive?"
"We ain't never deserved no respect," the other hanyou replied.
"Why not?" He stood upright. "If you are cut, isn't your blood red?" He pulled a bottle from the trash heap and smashed it on the wall, then jammed it into the inside of his elbow. The two other hanyous grimaced, as blood dripped from the gouge. "Our blood is redder than theirs," he whispered. "And just think, if we had the guts to hold our heads up, we could rise upon these heretics and lowlifes."
"You're insane," the first hanyou muttered, shaking his head.
"No, you are." He clenched his fists and held them in front of him in determination. "You've given up when there's nothing holding you back but the hatred of humans and our own solitude. Rise and come with me." He gestured wildly around him. "I have crawled these streets, this city, and taken everything it has to give and some it doesn't, and I for one am not afraid to throw its hatred back at it! We will be the start of the revolution, and we will rise on Heaven." He reached his hand out to them, his blood still pouring off his wrist. "Stand and join me, and we'll raise our voices until the gods can no longer ignore us."
"He's crazy, but he might be right," the second hanyou said to the first, and he got to his feet. Standing, he was large, broad-shouldered, and built like a bull. "What's your name, and what's your plan?"
"My plan? It's simple. I'm going to raise an army of red blood and rise on Heaven to demand what we deserve. We're people like all others, with red blood, with wants and needs." He lowered his eyes and smiled slyly. "We will unite and make our way to Heaven to make our demands, and if they don't listen, we will oust those pitiful celestials. If I would do this-" he held up his bloody arm- "just to get your attention, imagine what I'd do to them." The other hanyou rose to his feet as well.
"And the name?"
"It is a name befitting a street rat like myself- Nezuoh." Nezuoh smirked madly, eyes alight in the fire and brightened with his ambitions. "We need able men, three thousand at least, and we will begin here. We begin with this place, and the rest shall fall around it."
"Whatever you say, Lord," the ox-like hanyou agreed with a sly smirk.
"Not Lord. Call me King."
Gojyo knew it. He had known this was where he had started, he had figured out the second he heard that voice, the second he'd felt that cold, bony hand holding his chin. But why? How was he seeing it?
You rat bastard, what the hell are you trying to do?!
End Notes: Yeah, I'm glad I had a chance to explain the whole "seeing into the soul" thing. Neat little side effect, right? The question does remain- what is it a side effect of?
So, next week, I'm hoping to post an omake episode. It'll be a nice little breather, as I promise, things get kicked up in a BIG way in chapter 13.
So, in short:
Did you enjoy it? Review! Did you not enjoy? Review!
Constructive criticism? Please review!
Questions? Concerns? Review!
Predictions? Anything you'd like to see? Review!
Anything? Review! Nothing? Review anyway!
Until next time!
