Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki, but I do own Izumi. He mine, no stealy. And now, Manahaki Kaori is mine. XD Yep, there's someone new.
Sanzo really wants all this nonsense to end, he wants everything to go back to normal. The gang stops at a village, and have a peaceful night for once. At least, until they're confronted by Li Touten once more.
Family Ties
Sanzo didn't say much on the way to the next village, he just took in what the girl had said. Her brother had violet eyes, and fell in the river when she was young. Could that just be a coincedence? Or was she actually his sister? It couldn't be possible, he never really thought of his biological family ever since he was took in by his master, Komyou Sanzo. He never thought of it until he saw her. He wondered how Goku took in this new person, she didn't seem as bad as the others. She didn't pursue the matter anymore when they had told her that he wasn't interested. She said she didn't even want to be the sage of the Water temple herself.
"Sanzo, we're at the village. Shall we find an Inn to stay in?" Hakkai's voice cut into his train of thoughts, the priest only nodded, "Alright then."
There had been something else that Sanzo noticed, Goku hasn't said anything since the girl came either. Probably because the fact that she too, had golden eyes. It was just, something about her that pained him. "Sanzo, would you care if you shared a room with Goku tonight?" Hakkai asked him, he just shook his head, "Is there something on your mind?"
"Basically everything..." He muttered, then took the keys out of Hakkai's hands and walked to his room without looking back. Goku stared after, not knowing whether he should follow the monk or not.
"Is this my fault?" He asked Hakkai, the healer smiled down at him.
"No, Goku, it's not your fault. It's just what's been happening that's bothering him." Hakkai looked after where Sanzo had disappearred, "Still, that girl did something. She said her brother had violet eyes, maybe..."
Gojyo rose an eyebrow, "You're not saying that you think she's his sister?"
"It could be a possibility."
"I just hope they don't team up on us." Gojyo said, "That, my friend, would be true hell." With a small chuckle, Gojyo headed off to the room he was sharing with Hakkai, leaving the other two still standing in the lobby.
"Well, Goku, would you like to run some errands with me for a while or would you like to go rest in your room?"
Goku stared at Hakkai, then at the hallway to where his room was with Sanzo, "If you don't mind, Hakkai, I'll just go with you for now."
Kaori landed infront of Izumi, who seemed to be a bit agitated that she had taken so long. Which, in her eyes, she didn't think she did. She took all the time she needed, but it wasn't that long. "What took you so long?" He asked, a bit annoyed.
"I had to wait for the perfect moment, moron. I couldn't just barge in there and say 'Hey, come with me.' Besides, he doesn't want to come so I'm not going to make him." Kaori stared at him, "Listen Izumi, none of us really care about destiny or whatever. We forge our own destiny, have you ever thought of that? Goku's happy where he is, why take him away from the only family he's got?"
"So, you're basically telling me you don't want to be the water sage either even though it was what you were born to do?"
She nearly punched him on the spot, "Oh, so my own life's purpose is to guard some temple that's fifty thousand feet below sea water? Is that what you're trying to tell me I should do? Cause I sure as hell ain't doing it."
"Why do you run away from what you know is right? If you don't do it, bad things will happen."
"Bad things happen all around us, just look! My little brother is gone, my parents abandoned me, I coped with that. We cope with a lot of things in our lives, Izumi. It's just how we cope is up to us."
"Tell me, how is your brother?"
Kaori stared at him, "What do you mean 'How's my brother?' My brother is dead. I knew that since the day he fell in that damn river twenty three years ago."
By then, Nataku had stepped out, "Twenty three years ago? I thought you were younger than that."
"Shut up, little brat." She snapped, "No one asked you..."
"Sanzo, is twenty three years old." Izumi said flatly, staring at her. She glared, "You mean you didn't recognize those violet eyes? Those eyes are not common around here, Kaori."
"Oh, so you think he's my younger brother? Well, fat chance. I don't think he was dropped in a river when he was an infant, so there's no way."
"Actually, you'd be suprised. Ask him..."
"I'm not going to ask him, you ask him. You're the one who really wants to know."
Nataku just stared at the other two, "Guys, I think we're taking this a little bit too serious. I mean, Sanzo can't be Kaori's brother, they look nothing alike."
"Finally! The little brat says something useful!" Kaori said, throwing up her hands, "Look, I'm tired, I'm going to bed. Anyone wake me up is going to be living underwater for the rest of their pitiful lives."
With a small snort, she walked off somewhere peaceful to get some rest while Nataku and Izumi stared after. "Do...you really think Sanzo's her brother? I seriously think they have no family resemblance."
"Her mother had golden eyes and her father had Violet. They lived in a village, happy. Until one day the demons started going beserk and started to attack, the family ran as far as they could into the forest until they hit the river. The mother was attacked first, and she dropped her infant son into the river." Izumi started, staring after Kaori, "After then, her parents treated her as if she was a curse, the reason why he was dropped, and they abandoned her to fend for herself. Not only because of the loss of their son, but because of her special abilities."
"So...they could be related? Weird. She could be Sanzo's sister, she definetly has his temper."
Goku walked alongside Hakkai while they shopped for the supplies they needed, he didn't really get into anything as he usually did because of the many things that were on his head. They didn't talk much on the way, only a few exchanges of 'What about this?' or 'What do you need?'. He didn't think much about what they needed, but what they needed to do. He still doesn't think that Nataku is completely out of the picture. After learning that he had joined forces with Izumi now, but at least, he thought, he stood up to his arrogant father. Without Nataku, Li Touten was nothing.
"Goku, it's time to start heading back to the inn. We have everything we need as of now." Hakkai said, smiling down at the young youkai, "Shall we?" Goku nodded, not really knowing what else to do. They started to head back, when they heard a voice, and one that they would rather not hear at the moment.
"Going grocery shopping with Tenpou, I see?" they turned around to face Li Touten, smirking at the both of them. Goku glared at him, not believing that he had the nerve of showing up. Especially at a time like this.
"What do you want?" He heard Hakkai ask, in an almost vemonous tone, "We've got nothing you want, or could get here."
"Oh, but you do." Li touten said, looking straight at Goku, only to be blocked by Hakkai, "Listen, there will be deadly consequences if you do not hand him over. So I suggest you what I say."
"You'll have to go through me, I'm afraid." Hakkai said, in a calmer tone now, "Would you mind?"
"Fine by me."
"Wait, Hakkai, he's not worth it." Goku said, "Let's just go back to the inn...he's nothing without Nataku."
"You afraid, Goku?" Touten mocked, "You afraid you might have to go back to where you belong?"
"I am where I belong..." He hissed back, "I won't have anyone else saying where I do or don't belong...especially a scumbag like yourself." There was a long silence, you could hear the sound of Hakkai breathing. Just then, Li Touten attacked, Hakkai was the first to react by creating a force field, blocking his attack. Goku summoned his Nyoi Boi staff, gripping it hard.
"Looks like Tenpou has some new tricks up his sleeve.''
Hakkai didn't know what he meant, why did he keep calling him Tenpou? He wasn't at all Tenpou, "You have bothered us for too long, I suggest you just go before things get heated."
"Ah, but things already are heated."
"What do you want Goku for?!"
Li Touten smirked at him, "We are in need of a new war god."
"Dammit! I can't get to sleep!" Kaori slammed her fist against the ground, "Well, plus the fact that it's still daylight out. Hum, after what happened today I thought I would be able to get some shut eye." She looked around, "Ok, I'm talking to myself, I really need to stop doing that." Still, there was something in the pit of her stomach that was bothering her. Probably the fact that there was a possibility that Sanzo was her younger brother, or maybe something was wrong? 'Why did I become involved in this?' She thought to herself, 'I was doing fine by myself...'
'I'm sorry Kaori, you're just going to have to find someone else to play with, I'm taking care of your little brother.' Kaori, at the age of four, stared at her mother who was trying to calm down a crying infant.
'But mom, why does everyone not like me?'
'It's because they're jealous of your eyes, honey. Now go outside and play.'
Kaori still didn't understand why kids in the village talked about her and her younger brother, nothing was wrong with them. Well, besides the fact that they had different eye colors than regular children. Her brother's especially, when he stared at you with those violet eyes it was hard not to be freaked out. It was almost like he was staring right through your soul. They had called him a demon child, child of the devil. They had thought, that one fateful day, when the demons attacked was their fault.
Their family ran into the forest for protection, but the youkai had caught up with them. Her mom was so scared, that she had placed a rosary around the child's neck to protect it, but it had failed. She had been attacked from behind, and she had dropped the basket that her little brother was in, into the river. Kaori tried to grab it, but a youkai grabbed her from behind. Her parents screamed, and screamed, then, something snapped inside of her. She didn't know what, but the water around her started to rise. Her eyes glowed, and then the youkai started one by one to drown in the water, being dragged in somehow. After the ordeal, her parents had stared at her, in disbelief.
'K...Kaori...' Her father stuttered, not believing what he had seen, 'I...I...' Then, he said the one thing she didn't believe he would ever say to her, 'You're a monster...'
Kaori started to cry, 'I didn't mean to, daddy! I swear, it just happened!'
Her mother screamed at her, 'You monster! You killed your own brother! That's it, fend for yourself, cause we're not having a monster for a child anymore!'
Kaori shot up in sweat, placing a hand on her head as she looked around. It was dark now, but that bad feeling in the pit of her stomach was still there. 'What could it be? A connection to Goku, perhaps?' She got up off of the ground, 'I better check this out..' With those words in her head, she headed off to find Son Goku and the others.
Sanzo growled, what in the hell was taking them so long? They were just running errands, usually Hakkai didn't take that long at all. And he didn't have to worry about Goku being with him, ever since Nataku had betrayed him he wasn't as hyper as he used to be. The only thing he worried about if the kid would stay sulky the rest of the time. He hated seeing Goku so sad, though he'd never admit it. Then he realized something, Goku was turning into him. Something he never, ever wanted to happen ever since he picked the brat up. Then he felt something, something bad. He didn't hesitate to act upon this feeling and he headed out the door, but when he got out, he bumped into Gojyo.
"Dammit, watch where you're going, Kappa!" He yelled, rubbing his head, "Anyways, have you seen Hakkai or Goku around yet?"
Gojyo stared at him, ignoring the comment he made before, "No, but I have this really bad feeling. I was going out to check it out as a matter in fact. Did you feel it too, Sanzo?"
"Yeah, I did..." Without another word to each other, they headed out the door. They searched everywhere for their teammates, but to no avail, "Dammit, where could they..." His sentence was cut short when he saw buildings torn, and blood splattered everywhere. He didn't get it, he would've heard people...screaming. Why didn't he? 'Goku...Hakkai..'
"What happened here?" Gojyo muttered to noone imparticular, Sanzo lit a cigarette and blew off smoke.
"Must've been a struggle, seems like someone got to Hakkai and Goku..."
"So you guys felt it too?" A feminine voice said from behind them, they turned around to see Kaori, "Well, at least I know I'm not going crazy..." There was a silence, which started to annoy her, "Aren't you guys going to go look for them? I think I have a clue to who might have him."
"We do too, actually." Gojyo stated, "Li Touten..."
"He must have Hakkai too, I can't see him anywhere." Sanzo said, sighing, "This is getting ridiculous." He walked past Kaori, "Well...?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to join us? After all, we might have a family tie..." Sanzo huffed, Kaori just sat there, thinking about what he had just said, "If you don't join us, fine by me, but you're dragged into this. Might as well." Then he walked off with Gojyo following right behind him, she stared after.
"Well, you got me." She muttered, and followed the two men, "But I'm only coming because I want to see how this all plays out!"
Hakkai woke up in a prison cell, chained to the damp wall. 'Dammit...' he looked around to see if he could find Goku anywhere, but he couldn't. Hakuryu was tied up to the wall as well, but that was about it. 'I'm sorry Goku, I failed you again...' He couldn't help but feel depressed once more, like the time he couldn't save his one true love. Now he couldn't even help his friend.
"Hakkai, what are you doing here?" A female's voice said, he looked up to see Yaone, "I...didn't know you were here."
"I was captured by Li Touten, what are you doing here?"
"I work here, you're at Hotou Castle...though, I don't know why. Kougaiji hasn't said anything about going after you guys in quite some time." She looked at him in concern, "Here, let me help you out..."
Hakkai didn't know how he ended up at Houtou Castle, Li Touten had no connection to this place. At least, that's what he thought. It didn't really matter, all he needed to do was to find Goku and get him out. "Yaone...I have to find Goku..." He said, as the alchemist let him and Hakuryu out, "If I'm here, he must be here too."
"Well, alright. But we have to be secretive, Dokugakuji and Kougaiji are out trying to find some of the founding scriptures, so we won't have to worry about them." She let him out of the cell, "I am still having trouble figuring out how it is you got here."
"Believe me, I am too."
"Listen, I'm sorry to hear Goku is missing. I will help you find him, but once we do, I will transport you back to your comrades and we will be enemies again." Yaone said, "And, I also have to care for Lirin."
"I understand."
Yaone started thinking, then something hit her, "Wait, this Li Touten, what does he look like?"
"Well, his hair is long and he has a diamond on his forehead, why?"
"A man like that walked into the tower to speak with our leader and the others, I believe he is the man you are speaking of. I don't know what he wanted, but now I'm beginning to get it."
Hakkai looked down, "So, the bastard decides to find someone else to hide behind..." Then he thought, "But how he got so strong to begin with still puzzles me."
"Probably due to the fact that one of our scientists gave him some kind of medicine."
He looked at her, "Who knows what he'll make Goku do."
"What do you mean?"
"He said he needs Goku to be the new War God. Since Goku has defeated the last one, Homura. But he had Nataku, and he left him. So now he's looking at Goku." Hakkai clenched his teeth, "I should've saw it before."
"It's not your fault..." Yaone said, with a soft smile, "We'll find Goku. Don't worry..."
"I'm sorry Yaone, I don't know if I believe that..."
"Listen, we may have to tell your friends where Goku is. If you would like, I could take you back to them."
Hakkai smiled, "No, Yaone, I am not leaving without Goku..."
Yaone chuckled, "I thought you said you didn't believe we'd ever find him."
"There's still a hope."
"There's always hope, no matter what the situation. If you lose hope, then there's nothing." The youkai turned around, "My mother told me that once, before she got killed by a bunch of humans..."
"I'm sorry to hear that, humans...can be cruel sometimes. I know, I used to be one."
Yaone looked as if she was about to respond, when the door they were about to go through slammed open. There was Kougaiji, who was in shock to find Hakkai standing there, "Lord Kougaiji! I found Hakkai in a prison cell, it would seem that Goku has been captured by some guy by the name of Li Touten."
"And why would we care?" Kougaiji asked, but in a soft tone.
"Look, Goku and Hakkai may be our enemies. But remember the time they helped me escape that one camp? I believe we owe them."
The Youkai prince sighed, giving in, "Fine, we'll help him. But only this once." He turned around, "Let's see if we can locate him anywhere inside the castle. I don't know, she might already have him."
"She?" Hakkai asked, confused.
"Gyokumen Koushu, Lirin's mother. Kougaiji and Lirin are only half brother and sister." Yaone explained, not sure if he would be angry that he had told him that. Which, he didn't seem to be. Hakkai sighed, he just hoped that they found Goku in time.
"Hey, Sanzo, do you even know where we're going?" Gojyo asked, irritably, walking alongside Kaori
"Hell if I know."
"Dammit, you damn monk!"
"Well, that was a smart sentence..."
"Well, walking around in circles isn't getting us anywhere, I think we've already passed that tree." Kaori said, looking around at her surroundings, "Not that I mind though, I'm used to this kind of shit."
"Hn..." Was all that Sanzo could say
"Sanzo?"
"What is it, girl?"
Kaori snorted at being called girl, but decided to let it slide, "Do you really think we're related in any way?"
"What brought that up?"
"Well, you only mentioned it earlier. I didn't think it was true, but if you believe it."
"I never said I believed it, I only said it was a possibility."
Gojyo just walked, listening to the conversation, "Well, you two act a lot alike, it's kind of easy to see the family resemblance."
"Gojyo..." Sanzo muttered, "Can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Shut the hell up."
Gojyo glared, "You piece of shit, priest!"
Kaori sighed, "Sanzo, were you found with a rosary necklace around your neck?..." That stopped Sanzo dead in his tracks, "Before, my mother dropped my brother in the river...she, uh, placed a rosary around his neck, you know, to protect him..."
Sanzo just stood there, "Yes...I was found...with a rosary around my neck, but dammit. Why are you bringing this up now? We have to find the others!"
"Well, you can't blame a girl for wondering!" Kaori glared, "The fact that there's a possibility you could be my brother just...well...you know. It's like having a relative of yours coming back from the dead."
Gojyo just stood there, "Well, guys, we can have a blood test later, for now. Why don't we just focus on finding the others?"
Sanzo and Kaori just stared at each other, before saying "Fine.'' And heading off into the forest.
Sanzo: I hate you.
Me: You know you love me. XD
Sanzo: Hn...
Me: -sigh-
Authors note
Sorry this chapter is kind of confusing cause so many things are happening at once. And I have no clue how those two ended up at Houtou castle, I'll figure that out in the end. I wanted Sanzo to revert back to the mean, chainsmoking, monk he is 3 XD He's really having a hard time because he just found his sister.
Sanzo: We don't even know if she's my sister or not.
Me: That's up to me. 3
Sanzo: -.-
Goku: SANZO!
Sanzo: What?
Goku: I'm hungry..
