-CHAPTER 3-
Retaliation
Who the hell are you?! he cried.
My, my, what a neat mind you have. So calm, so critical. The sneer was evident. And … my goodness… so many emotional strings. Tragic. How tragic. But useful. Hm…
Sanzo's eyes snapped open. The Being was watching him. "Who… are… you?" he ground out.
I am. The words were spoken directly into his head.
"What the— what did you do?" he demanded.
You don't need to speak, you know. The voice had a texture like slime. He flinched. It's simple. Extending a portion of my thought into your mind… it's been done before.
"Get lost."
You're afraid. I can feel it.
I'm just bloody pissed off!
Liar, the voice mocked him. The sutras, Sanzo. Just tell me what you did with them, and you're free.
He can't read all my thoughts… he doesn't have access to everything… thoughts flashed through Sanzo's mind, before he clamped down on them. No knowing just how much this… invader… could pick up.
"And what if I don't? You can't find out directly, can you? So much for—"
There was a plunging sensation, then every nerve in his body screamed in unison. He doubled over instinctively, the pain in his broken ribs nothing compared to the pain that he was experiencing. He clamped his teeth together, locking back the scream that was clawing its way out of his throat. Time crawled to a standstill, each second burning into eternity…
Then it stopped.
He collapsed backwards, too drained to even open his eyes. Somewhere to the right of him, there was soft laughter.
Shall we try that again?
I don't have the sutras!
This is fun, you know. After we get tired of this, you have enough bad memories to be entertaining. No response? No more smart-assed remarks? Perhaps you need a little more persuasion…
Fuck, no.
You'll have to ask more nicely than that…
The pain was worse this time. His mind whited out under the flashes; hot, cold, hot, cold, burning and freezing at the same time, as every muscle tensed in an effort to stop the pain… vaguely, he was aware of digging his nails into his palms, of the unwilling tears that pooled up behind his eyelids… he tasted blood, knew that he had bitten his lip… But he didn't care. He just wanted a respite. He wanted…
He couldn't breathe. Insane laughter echoed around him. Someone was certainly getting a kick out of this…
It was a long time before the pain let up.
***
"Kougaiji-sama… I heard something," Yaone said, turning.
"I heard it too," Kougaiji frowned. "What do you think it was?"
"Honestly, it sounded like a scream," Doku replied.
"It might be our target. Let's hurry."
They came within sight of the clearing after 10 minutes. Youkai were lounging around the remains of a fire, watching something beyond their view.
Doku came up silently beside Kougaiji. "There was a sentry," he whispered softly. "I took care of him."
Kougaiji nodded. "They're distracted. It must be their leader." He wrinkled his nose. "I can sense his stench from here."
"He's not quite youkai, is he?" Yaone asked.
"No. But not human either. I…" Kougaiji shook his head. "No idea."
They made their way around the edge of the clearing, as the light of dawn filtered through the leaves of the forest.
Kougaiji stopped dead in his tracks, lifting a hand to silence his subordinates before they could say anything.
It couldn't be.
It just… couldn't be.
There was… something, with a smouldering, shifting white aura that billowed around it, an aura which obscured everything else. You couldn't even make out its features.
But it was not that ethereal figure that caught his attention. It was the one opposite, slumped against a tree. His robes were so torn and bloodstained that they were almost unrecognizable, but the golden hair… was unmistakable.
Sanzo thrashed wildly, seemingly unaware of how the cords bit into his wrists and ankles, about how his left arm was sticking out at funny angles in two places… and screamed.
As youkai laughed, Kougaiji hunched down, chills raking down his spine. Beside him, Yaone and Doku's eyes were wide with shock.
There was a pause, a sudden stillness. The Being spoke. "They enjoy it, you know. I promised them a scream for every brenthen you injured. A dozen for every one you killed." The voice was low, almost melodious… cultured. Not someone you expected to find torturing a prisoner to death.
Sanzo raised his head slowly, but didn't reply. Some instinct seemed to prompt him to glance in Kougaiji's direction.
Violet eyes met purple ones.
Kougaiji swore under his breath. The glance had said, clear as day, something he had never expected out of Genjo Sanzo.
A plea.
Kill me.
Something burst into the clearing. There was a brief flash of color, and suddenly, two youkai lay dead. And Goku leapt at the Being.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Goku yelled. Rage made his brown eyes flash gold.
The Being raised a hand, and fired a ki-blast of pure white at him. Goku swerved in mid-air, narrowly avoiding it. He landed heavily, then sprung up again.
The next blast was already streaking towards him. Goku's eyes widened as he dodged, and the blast swerved to follow him.
"Goku! No!" Sanzo yelled.
The ki-blast smashed into the youkai. Goku collapsed to the floor, blood spraying out of his mouth. He staggered to his feet again, as Gojyo and Hakkai entered the clearing.
Youkai were had rushed to their leader's assistance, swarming over the three. The Being stood to one side, his amusement almost tangible.
The Empress' orders rang through Kougaiji's mind. Find out who is doing this. And kill him.
"Cover me," he hissed to Yaone and Doku. "I'm going to summon a demon."
"Hai!" they acknowledged.
He hunched over, mumbling incantations. Power collated, forming the gate through which the demon could come forth.
The Being spun, sensing the build-up.
Yaone leapt forward. The ki-blast scorched the earth just inches away. Doku attacked from the other side. Three enemy youkai rushed up. Yaone danced out of range, and flung a grenade at them.
The explosion took down one, and left the other two twitching on the floor in death throes. Doku rushed the Being, and managed to put in a sword-swing.
The sword touched the aura, and shattered.
The ki-blast caught him in the chest, sending him flying.
"DOKU!" Yaone whipped out another grenade from her belt, and flung it. The Being intercepted it in mid-flight with another blast of ki—
And Hakkai hit him from behind.
There was a crackle of energy, and the Being staggered slightly, then righted. The white aura flashed red momentarily.
Hakkai's eyes went wide. "That was enough to level a house," he murmured.
"Evidently, this guy is tougher than a house," Gojyo returned. "And what the hell is Kougaiji doing around here?"
"I don't know— take cover!" Hakkai flung up a barrier as more ki-blasts scorched through the air towards them.
They hit the barrier, and he staggered backwards. "The guy is unbelievably powerful," he gasped. "I can't sustain this much longer!"
Somewhere off to the right, Yaone went down in a spray of blood. Hakkai's heart wrenched involuntarily.
Goku swung Nyoibu, fending off several more attacking youkai. "What are we going to do?! Hakkai?!" his hand drifted towards his diadem.
"NO, you dumbass ape!" Gojyo snapped.
"But… but…"
Suddenly, fire swept through the clearing.
Kougaiji's fire demon arced through the air, frying youkai to a crisp as it darted towards their leader. Ki-blasts failed to stop it, as it sped towards the Being.
Aura met fire.
There was an explosion, a massive backlash that swept all standing off their feet. The flash that accompanied it left all of them blind for a long moment.
When they could finally see again, the clearing was empty, excepting for enemy youkai fleeing in the absence of their leader. The ground where the Being had stood was charred, the grass completely burnt away to reveal blackened soil.
"Phew, that was close," Gojyo muttered, leaning back.
"SANZZZOOO!!" Goku leapt to his feet, rushing over to the unconscious priest's side. "SANZO!" he grabbed at a shoulder and shook it, then winced as his hand came away with blood. "Hakkai? Hakkai! Help!"
Hakkai stood slowly. A footstep nearby made him look up.
"I require your assistance," Kougaiji said gravely, gesturing towards his unconscious subordinates.
Hakkai smiled. "We owe it to you, for helping us to defeat the … their leader."
Kougaiji looked at him for a long moment. Hakkai's eyes narrowed, and flickered across the clearing again.
"He's not dead, is he?" he asked, too softly for Gojyo and Goku to hear.
"No," Kougaiji replied, equally softly.
"He isn't one of yours?"
"No. We do not know what he is. But he is neither my friend nor yours," Kougaiji's stare grew razor sharp. "As so often happens when we meet, it seems that defeating this enemy for good requires our alliance." His glance strayed to Sanzo. "The enemy will not forgive either of us. But I will speak to you later on this issue. In the meantime… there are lives in danger."
"Hai," Hakkai nodded.
