Chapter 14 – Speak of the Devil
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Ken and Goku's swap was lasting unusually long. Not, Hakkai reflected, that there was a usual time frame for these sorts of things, or if there was, the healer didn't presume to know it. However, Ken had already been hanging around for an entire week, and the most any of the other swaps had lasted was about three days. Hakkai supposed that this could be due to the fact that Ken had obviously not had the expected memory visions, and he wondered if Ken and Goku were even going to have that experience considering that Goku remembered nothing except 500 years of isolation and imprisonment.
They had been fortunate for the most part that there had been little violence on the battle front. Ken couldn't use nyoi-bo, but he was very good at hand to hand combat. He tended to use a style of street-fighting that the healer had never really seen before, but then, neither had the demons they fought against, so it worked well. The next village they stopped in, Ken had been ushered to the blacksmith's to find a weapon he could use. He chose a pair of multi-bladed daggers that were designed to curve in an arch around the outside of his knuckles. An odd weapon considering how close it required one to be near one's opponent, but if that was the weapon he was most comfortable with, Hakkai wasn't going to argue.
Despite the weapon and the eerie ease Ken had displayed in battling demons, the longer things remained changed the more tense the air around them seemed to grow. This was the final swap, after all, and pretty much everyone was waiting for the other metaphysical shoe to drop. And they were all expecting it to be quite a large and messy shoe.
After their initial locking of horns, Sanzo and Ken had settled into a remarkably peaceful interaction with each other. It even bordered on civil. The priest was obviously still unsettled and although he would never admit it, even on pain of death, worried about his charge. He had discreetly allowed Hakkai to know the previous evening that he could no longer feel their connection, and the startling silence was beginning to bother him. Or, as the monk had put it 'How the hell am I supposed to keep a handle on the little ingrate if I don't even know what he's doing?'. Hakkai had to admit that he was worried as well. Seiten Taisei seemed to have just faded away, the shadow of no consequence, which was absurd, since the demon was really the ultimate consequence. To have not so much as an inkling of him was more disturbing than the thought of him wreaking havoc without opposition. Especially given that they'd seen him before for the briefest of moments…although Ken had appeared to be in control at the time. Hakkai had a horrible feeling, that like Kanan, if anything happened, it would already be too late by the time they found out.
From the back of the jeep, Ken suddenly stirred, wrinkling his nose.
"Ugh. What is that smell?" he growled, waving a hand in front of his face. His fellow riders regarded him intently, wondering what on earth he was talking about. They had discovered that he did, in fact, have Goku's sense of smell, although it wasn't nearly as useful since half the time Ken didn't know what it was he was smelling. This time proved to be no different. He smelt blood, although the usual ozone scent that seemed to waft from demons beneath the effects of the minus wave did not accompany it. It smelled rather more like….well brimstone. When Sanzo raised his eyebrows expectantly Ken frowned at him.
"Hey man. I'm not a fucking blood hound. It just stinks, that's all. Maybe it's swamp gas or something." he grumbled, still wrinkling his nose. And of course, Hakkai didn't think any of them had gotten used to Goku's cherubic face looking…well looking at the very least it's full eighteen years of age. If they were lucky. Usually, Ken's face inside of Goku's made the youth look ancient. And so cynical.
"Case you haven't noticed man? We're in the desert." Gojyo replied flatly, smoking his umpteenth cancer stick of the morning. Both the priest and the kappa seemed to be smoking more often these days. Hakkai didn't know if he could blame them. Sanzo leaned forward towards Ken's personal space and scowled. Patiently. Ken pulled back a bit, and the healer wanted to chuckle at the role reversal, but he refrained from reminding Sanzo how often he spent time beating Goku OUT of his personal space to suddenly want to be in it all the time.
"What does it smell like?" the monk asked, with what Hakkai felt was very polite restraint. Ken frowned at him, offended by the fact that Sanzo obviously didn't like him, but thankfully refrained from jumping down the blond man's throat.
"Like blood. And brimstone." he grunted. Sanzo blinked. Brimstone? At his somewhat confused expression, a corner of Ken's mouth turned up.
"You know. Sulfur. Hellfire." he elaborated. The monk frowned. What on earth would combine those two scents if they'd already figured out what demons under the minus wave smelled like? Beside him, Hakkai frowned.
"Why, I believe the only man we know who uses any sort of fire is Prince Kougaiji himself." the healer murmured. Sanzo groaned, Gojyo right along with him.
"The absolute last person I want to see right now is his highness. " Sanzo grumbled. Gojyo grunted his agreeance. No sooner the words were out of his mouth than a huge fireball erupted in front of Jeep, Hakkai swerving wildly to avoid all of them getting fried to a crisp and coming to a grinding halt not forty paces from the Devil himself. And such a term seemed to fit Kougaiji rather well today. His face was carved into a wicked smirk that bespoke little of good will. Sanzo tensed and Gojyo groaned more loudly this time.
"Dammit can't we catch a friggin' break!?" the Kappa growled, hopping out of the jeep angrily with his weapon ready. Sanzo stepped out of the passenger side as did Hakkai. Ken ambled out last, scowling, and levered a very un-Goku like glare at Kougaiji.
"Who the hell is this asshat?" the brunet growled. Gojyo couldn't help it, his frown of annoyance melted into a loud guffaw as the Kappa hugged his sides in an attempt to contain the mirth. Hakkai put a hand to his mouth, trying to stifle his chuckle and one corner of Sanzo's mouth tugged slightly upwards. After all, it wasn't everyday Goku greeted Kougaiji without the utmost of enthusiasm. Kougaiji blinked. And then his face twisted itself into a very un-Kougaiji like expression. He leered at them.
"Talk of the Devil and he shall appear." he crooned by way of greeting. Hakkai and Sanzo frowned and Gojyo stopped laughing. Of all the things to come out of the Prince's mouth, that was by far one of the oddest. No 'give me the sutra'. Not even a formal recognition as the 'Sanzo ikkou'. In a matter of moments Ken had lost all color, his eyes wide in some sort of recognition. Hakkai sincerely hoped that he had not chosen this moment to get sucked into a vision, but gold eyes were focused coherently on Kougaiji's face. Which had begun to twist itself into a sort of vague recognition as his gaze fixed on Ken's face. The healer did not like the cruelty in the recognition, and neither did Sanzo. The priest stepped between them, disturbed at seeing his charges' face carved into such an expression of terror.
"What do you want?" he barked. Kougaiji's expression twisted itself into a frightening Cheshire Cat's grin.
"Why I only came to play, of course." he remarked, leaning to the side to make eye-contact with Ken again. The brunet blanched and then suddenly a wall of stone seemed to slam down over his features. What happened next happened so fast that no one had an inkling it had even occurred until suddenly Ken and Kougaiji were locked in battle. And Ken was already losing.
It was astounding to watch. Two people that they had gotten so used to fighting and moving so differently. Kougaiji moving quickly and unpredictably; cat-like, Ken wild like a wolf, more defensive than offensive and so unlike Goku it was almost a shock to the mind. They came in close, Ken's blades against a sword that Kougaiji had thought to pull out from somewhere, and the Demon Prince leaned into Ken's personal space.
"Well well….You certainly seem to know me….But I can't seem to figure out who you are….I'll bet I can guess though. Won't you give me a little hint? This is all so terribly unfair. …" Ken blanched again and nearly lost an eye before he managed to disengage himself and duck at just the right moment. He bounded backwards more like a frightened rabbit than a fearless warrior.
He would recognize that cocky attitude and creepy smile anywhere. Even on a different face. Even in a different mind. What he didn't understand, however, was the reason Mastermind didn't recognize him – fully anyways. Thank any deities who happened to be listening for really, really huge favors. It also appeared, that in this body, mind-control was unavailable to the telepath. Thank the gods for even bigger favors. Readying himself, he brought his claws up, trying to settle his nerves. Trying to ignore the million other implications and risks that his mind had already begun frantically calculating as soon as he had realized the truth, Ken tried in vain gain his bearings. He was pretty sure that shortly he wasn't going to even be able to defend himself from Schuldig. He didn't even want to think about the rest of his companions. He was understandably surprised when a gunshot suddenly echoed across the desert landscape, drawing that Cheshire Cat's smile towards a very disgruntled looking Sanzo. He was further surprised when Emerald green silk suddenly blocked his view.
"You're not Kougaiji." It was not a question, and Sanzo definitely did not sound happy. The Demon Prince straightened.
"What would make you say such a silly thing?" there was a nasal mocking in the Prince's voice that made Ken cringe. Generally, he really preferred to stick with Berserker. He understood bloodlust. The German's brand of perverted sadism, however, got under his skin. Ken was counting his lucky stars that the man seemed to be somewhat crippled in his abilities. Although the Gods knew what other sorts of abilities he had gained.
Sanzo did not dignify the question with a response. He simply grunted.
"I don't know who the fuck you are, other than a pervert, so you'd better state your business or get the Hell away from me. I don't deal with perverts. I kill them."
Ken squared his shoulders, coming to the side of Hakkai and crossing his arms to watch cautiously. Sanzo's group could certainly manage themselves, but he'd be damned if he was going to allow them to protect him from his own enemy.
Kougaiji's body seemed to relax in pose, and the German cocked a crimson hued head. "Well that's awfully rude of you." he remarked, frowning playfully. "I don't think I deserved that remark." Ken didn't wait. He moved. Everything blurred for a second as he felt himself intercept the German's attack, and when he could see straight again, Kougaiji's body was gingerly picking itself up off the sand, that merry, chilling expression now a dark, foreboding one. The promise in that face froze Ken's blood.
"That was very rude. " he growled low. And charged. Ken had barely managed to bring his arms up in defense before he was flat on his back, the world spinning after the air rushing out of his lungs. Shit…not good. Who usually fought Schuldig? Yohji, right? Weiss needed to work on that… The brunet struggled to his feet and charged forward blindly, feeling a surge of triumph when his shoulder connected with a bare, hard stomach, and he kept pushing, taking them both to the ground. He hardly had time to get in a punch, however, before a clawed hand was at his throat, shoving him back into a painfully arched position, the dominance of the hold clear even though he was the one straddling the German.
"Well." Schuldig panted, smirk back in place with a hint more malice behind it. "It seems I've caught myself a little animal. Whatever shall I do with it?" he crooned, tightening his hold and forcing Ken's arch backwards painfully as he sat himself up fully. The brunet was forced to keep his arms on the sand beneath him to support the painful position or risk breaking his knees and spine. Which left him wide-open and vulnerable to attack. Fuck. He really hated Schuldig. Before the red-head could even pull his small dagger out, however, he jerked back suddenly, letting go of his strangle hold to avoid loosing his arm. A crecent blade that Ken dimly recognized as Gojyo's slid back between them, and Ken could feel the air rushing forth with the blade as he fell backwards, off-balanced. He leapt up quickly and staggered clumsily back. Several gunshots had Schuldig leaping back as well, an aggravated expression on his face. A pair of hands steadied Ken as he came to a stop and he looked over his shoulder and up to see Hakkai's stern expression focused not on himself but his enemy. Schuldig took one look at the serious faces surrounding him and tsked. He was gone before they could react, leaving only the echo of a promise that this would not be the last time they met.
No sooner had he vanished than the same tense expressions turned to Ken.
"Are you injured?" Hakkai inquired politely. Ken frowned, shaking his head and pulling gently at a sore shoulder.
"I'm uhhh…..good thanks." he replied sheepishly, now rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.
"So obviously Princey isn't feeling like himself today." Gojyo quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Sanzo grunted, his expression trained on Ken, trying to erase the sight of Goku being held by the throat in such a vulnerable position, fear in his eyes.
"Indeed." Hakkai agreed from somewhere to his left. Ken fidgeted. "It would appear that you happen to know him, however, which is odd considering he is one of our enemies." the healer murmured. Ken flinched.
"Ahhh….I don't know about that." he replied, voice low. He squirmed when several sets of eyes narrowed. After a tense moment of silence he released a great sigh, stilling. "I'm sorry. I should've been more prepared than that. I was just….very surprised to see someone outside of Weiss here. I don't think that's a good sign." the brunet began. Sanzo's scowl deepened.
"Who is he!?" the priest growled, impatient. Ken scowled right back and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Mastermind. There is an opposing force set against Weiss called Schwartz. They're a group of….talents I guess you can call them. Mastermind can read other peoples' minds. Although he doesn't seem to be able to do so in whoever's body that is." he elaborated. Hakkai frowned, bringing a hand to his chin.
"A mind reader?" he questioned, looking disturbed. Gojyo blinked, coming to stand beside Hakkai.
"You said talents. What else?" Sanzo grunted. Ken sent him a glare but cooperated for the benefit of all.
"There is a man who can predict the future, a man who cannot feel pain, and a boy who can move things with his thoughts." he finished. Gojyo couldn't help it; he started laughing.
"Haha! You guys are fighting the Fantastic Four?!" he chuckled, slapping his knee. Hakkai frowned at him and Sanzo glared. Ken pouted, putting his hands on his hips.
"Hey fuck you asshole! You've never fought them! You have no idea what it's like." the brunet shot back, offended. He shivered unconsciously, remembering the expressions on Schuldig's face, different body or not. Hakkai put his hand to his chin again.
"Then by default, shouldn't Weiss have some sort of abilities? Even Sanzo, the only human in our group, has powers of a supernatural means. Surely Weiss must have something of that nature to their disposal?" the healer questioned. Ken laughed bitterly, his expression twisting for a moment.
"If only…" he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "Weiss has skill. And very mortal, normal weapons." The other three stared at him and Ken shifted uncomfortably. "It's true." he grumbled, tugging idly at the cuffs on his wrists. "And anyways, the only reason Weiss is probably still alive is due to the fact that Schwartz has other objectives outside of kicking our asses." he finished. When it came to Schwartz, Ken was by no means proud. They were truly out-mobbed and out-gunned in that area, and it galled him to Hell that Weiss was at the heart of some sort of sadistic game for the other four.
"And those objectives would be?" Sanzo grunted. Ken frowned.
"Fuck if I know. They're constantly talking about anarchy, but they seem to have some kind of higher plan they're following. If my boss was a friggin' visionary I'd probably be following a higher plan too." the brunet grumped again, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably.
"Judging by your recent performance, I'd say you don't have any plan." the priest snapped. Ken turned to face him, eyes full of fury.
"Hey fuck off dickhead! I'd like to see you stand five minutes against Mastermind. You all should be counting your goddamn lucky stars that he can't give you a mindfuck this way, or we'd all be dead right now. Besides, I usually handle Berserker. Mastermind gives me the fucking creeps."
"Berserker?" Hakkai asked tentatively, since Ken's mood seemed to have plummeted. Not that the healer could blame him.
"Yeah. The guy who can't feel any pain. It's like trying to step on a cockroach in your socks. " the brunet muttered, wrinkling his nose. "But at least he's easy to understand. I mean, it's just battle. Mastermind's a sadistic fuck. He'll twist you inside and out and get high off of how badly he fucks you up." Sanzo, Gojyo, and Hakkai frowned collectively.
"So let me get this straight – Kougaiji has been replaced by someone who's only goal is to mess with people for his own pleasure?" Gojyo asked, all lightness gone from his voice.
"Basically." Ken replied.
"The last thing we fucking need is another pervert around here. This was hard enough as it was with the fucking swap going on." Sanzo growled. Hakkai nodded.
"Ken, perhaps you should tell us anything you can remember about any of these people that will help us." the healer prompted gently. Ken sighed.
"Sure, whatever you want."
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Goku was bouncing a soccer ball idly on his knees, back and forth, back and forth, trying to escape the stillness of Ken's room. The pattern ended when he stepped on some kind of small doll and lost his balance, landing painfully on his tail bone. With a growl and a sigh he surveyed the room around him, rubbing his sore rear. Ken sure kept a messy room. He'd always had to keep his room clean at the temple. Sanzo kicked the crap out of him if he didn't. On the journey west, he had very little to keep clean, so this new messy room thing was a fresh concept. He wondered idly if he'd keep a messy room given the choice. Probably.
The brunet didn't really understand where everyone had gone. He knew they were assassins, but not like the assassins Kougaiji sent, who were usually as subtle in their attacks as a tap-dancing elephant. Weiss was different, sleeker, smarter, and very good at what they did, which Goku supposed made sense since they were supposed to be equal to the Sanzo-ikkou. But now he was sitting here in this room, waiting for Aya to come get him, and wondering what everyone was doing. Wondering why he couldn't go too. He had cleaned the kitchen up afterall, with Yohji's help, but Aya was absolutely firm that he not leave Ken's apartment. And it was so boring here!
He had stood himself back up, and was bouncing the ball again when it flew suddenly out of it's predicted orbit and landed hard on a nearby desk, sending various items scattering everywhere and stirring up an enormous clamor. He noticed a grayish piece of paper covered in tiny black writing floating down slowly. There was a large picture on the front of someone that looked vaguely like his current reflection, so Goku reached out to snag it.
The moment he did, the world blanked out.
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When he came-to, he was picking himself up off the grass, spitting dirt, and trying to figure out why his vision was swimming. Get up Hidaka! What the Hell is wrong with you!? Someone echoed in his brain. It took him a moment to realize the voice wasn't his. It was the voice that came out of his mouth while he was Ken.
Something came flying through the air at about the same speed of one of Sanzo's bullets and whizzed right past his head, slamming into the netting around him. Goku blinked and turned around, recognizing the soccer ball laying in the dirt behind him. There was an enormous roaring around him, but he couldn't really figure out what it was; his vision was too blurry. Things kept doubling and tripling on him. It felt like one of those nightmares that couldn't be escaped. To Goku, anything that deprived him of his senses was terrifying. If he couldn't see or think or hear straight, it usually meant that he wasn't himself. Literally.
The following fifteen minutes were agonizing. Goku realized, dimly, that he was living vicariously through Ken. He had no control over his body, and he could hear the brunet crying out frantically within his own mind, terrified at what was happening, not understanding why he suddenly couldn't prevent a goal to save his life. Goku didn't know how to play soccer, but he'd figured out enough despite the confusion to know that the ball probably wasn't supposed to be flying past them. Ken kept wondering if he were sick, if he had a tumor, any explanation for his current disability.
Goku knew after the first ten minutes that Ken'd been drugged. Heavily. His body felt the way Goku's did after Hakkai gave him medicine those times he'd well and truly gotten his ass handed to him. Mostly by Homura.
Eventually, it ended. The game was over. The accusations and humiliations that followed Goku barely understood, living in a world where major sporting events of this nature hadn't really existed and athletes weren't equal to celebrities. He understood enough to know how badly it hurt Ken. How the wrongness of what had happened, and Ken's frantic search for the man who had set him up tore the young man up inside. How the empty-handedness he had in the face of his accusations, his inability to prove his innocence, killed him. He could never play soccer again. It haunted his every waking moment, pursued him in his nightmares.
Everything ended in a horrible fire, the loss of Ken's best buddy the crowning finish to a life that had been utterly ruined in a matter of months. Really, in a matter of moments. Goku tried to wrap his own mind around it, affected by the urgency of Ken's emotions to just know why. Why he had been the epicenter of such a cruel game.
The memories that followed blurred. Ken was rescued by Weiss. It gave him the opportunity to leave his past behind, the way Hakkai had consented to the death of Cho Gonou Goku supposed. But he had a feeling that Siberian was a lousy substitute for Hidaka Ken, and that Ken couldn't hide or banish his former life any more than Hakkai could behind those fake smiles of his. Goku hated those smiles.
Gradually, Goku felt when Ken began to recover himself. First with all the kids he played with, and then eventually with….Ran. Aya. Ran was Aya, but Ken called him Ran. Ran was like the sun to Ken. Like Sanzo. And Ran loved Ken too. Ran loved Ken back. Sanzo…well Sanzo wasn't the same, to be sure, but as Goku felt himself drifting away in the warmth and security of Ran's arms, softly whispered words of comfort and reassurance echoing in his ears, he realized that he wished more than anything that Sanzo would. Maybe someday.
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Ken woke with a start, blinking to clear his fuzzy vision. He felt horrible. Like he had the worst hangover of the century, although he was pretty sure he hadn't been drinking. With a groan, he clutched at his skull with two hands, rolling over, and curling into a fetal position.
Goku had….his memories were awful, and Ken was just so grateful he only had a maximum of a hundred or so years on the planet. A hundred or so that relied on him being able to nurture bodily functions. Five hundred years was a long time. And it was longer still for Goku. Who thankfully could no longer remember his birth, or his life before heaven. The freedom and beauty of it. Who could also no longer remember exactly what had transpired in heaven to land him with his awful punishment. Even if the punishment in itself had been an act of mercy. He shuddered, feeling ill at the remembrance of blood. At the rage of Seiten Taisei, justifiable rage, if Ken had any opinion on it. At the terror of Goku, who often wondered if he would some day wake up back in that cave, with no memory of Hakkai's kindness, Gojyo's teasing, or Sanzo's constant presence to carry him through.
With another groan, Ken turned, gingerly putting his hands beneath him to lever himself into a sitting position. His arms shook beneath the weight, and he nearly collapsed, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around him suddenly, supporting him.
"Take it easy. You've had a rough night." a familiar voice soothed.
"R-Ran?" Ken muttered, sitting up slowly and clutching at his head. He swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut. Oh Gods, he felt like crap. Already the memories he'd shared with Goku were dissipating, leaving only the foul ache in his head behind them.
"Ken?" his lover sounded surprised and hopeful.
"Yeah." Ken grunted. The gentle embrace turned into a hug and Ken turned his face, burrowing it into the juncture between Ran's neck and shoulder, taking in his lover's scent. "Nnn…Missed you." he murmured. Ran sighed.
"Missed you too." he replied, tightening his hold. They sat in silence for a moment until Ken stirred, moaning again.
"We've got a problem." He grunted. Ran sighed again, this time sounding slightly annoyed.
"On top of everything else?" he grumped. Ken nodded against him.
"Schwartz is swapping too. I had a run in with Mastermind while I was out." Ran stiffened beside him.
"And…?" he asked slowly.
"And I almost didn't make it out, I was so shocked. " Ran's hold tightened further. "I told them everything I could to prepare them, but I don't know much at all. Ran, we've gotta talk about this with the rest of Weiss. It's about time we started exchanging battle strategies. I had no idea how to fight Mastermind, since I'm usually against Berserker. "
"Hn." Ran agreed. He didn't like this at all. Things had suddenly become more dangerous than ever.
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Whew!!
An update! An update!! Yes, I fully and freely admit that I coped-out on Goku's memories since I really don't want to start elaborating theories as to what happened in heaven. Minekura-san has only given a few hints, and I really don't have the time and energy to play with them. Guess we'll just have to wait for Gaiden, ne?
My wonderous thanks and heartfelt appreciation to all those who read and review my stories. Especially for your patience. I will see this story through. Edo too. I just may do it after a tortoise fashion, in direct opposition to the hare pace I initially set up when I was living in Japan and spent my days doing nothing at work most of the time. I'm now getting a 2nd job and studying for the Praxis I test. Wish me luck!!