Note: You know, this fic was going to turn out soooooo different….heheheh, we'll see.
Fukashigi no Ido
Chaputaa Ni: Inryosui no Madai
Chapter 2: Water of Generations
by ArchFaith (formerly known as the ArchPrincess of Saturn)
"Mother, Mother, how did the story end? Did Yu-Lee fulfill the task? What was it she had to do?"
Mother sighed. "Well ako (1), I've told you before, no one can remember exactly what it was. But some say this: Ju-Lee was sent to live a town full of women, and only women. No men. And there, the water of generations was kept in a small well, for the villagers to drink. They say Ju-Lee's task was to get someone special to drink from it…and that's all I know. Now go to sleep! You have a great and joyous day awaiting you tomorrow."
(-)
It was…a little better.
Sanzo was lying awake on his pillow, his arms folded over his chest, legs curled up in a fetal position, eyes half-closed. Lying like this made some of the maddening pain stop, but not the majority. It felt like a youkai had ripped open his stomach, pulled out all his organs and was now munching on them right in front of him.
Morning now. The yellowy sun peaked over the roofs of the houses and its rays trickled onto his face, casting triangles of light to appear on his cheek and forehead. During the night his power of speech had been robbed of him-he couldn't have screamed if he needed to, couldn't even sit up during the night. The pain had been agonizingly sharp-probably, just probably if he had been any other man, he would have found a way to make as much noise as possible to wake up his companions.
But Genjo Sanzo was not an ordinary man.
He was ruled by pride and sometimes reason, and during the excruciating night they had told him to stand his ground. No, when the great High Priest is in pain, he does not go running to a bunch of half-youkai to assist him. He bears it. He is powerful enough to bear it.
The High Priest is also so powerful that he could decimate anyone who conspired against, women and children and stupid old hags included…
The old youba (2) would pay dearly, he promised. No one made a fool out of him and lived to brag afterwards,
With a short sigh, Sanzo slowly sat up. Finally, the pain had decreased enough for him to move about. He splashed some warm water from a pitcher lying on the dresser, and ran his hands through his blonde hair. He blinked. Good-looking, presentable. Deadly. Not the qualities of a monk. But who cared, anyway? God, or the gods, or whatever, did not really exist. Every single religion that existed on the face of the Earth was a fairy tale, albeit a very elaborate one, but made up nevertheless. Sanzo made it clear he put no faith in no one, believed nothing, hoped nothing. On the outside he could seem pious, reverent, coldly moral…but the outside world was full of people setting up fake screens and walls around their true personalities and beliefs.
All fake.
His sandals came on, and he swiftly slipped the robe around his shoulders and arranged his sutras. The exorcism gun came under his robe. Ah, perfectly normal Sanzo.
Quickly making up his mind not to report the strange night happenings to his companions, he slammed the door to wake everyone up and made his way down the hall.
The end of the narrow wooden corridor ended in a small room, in which there were set three tables and pairs of chairs, in fours, to go with them. Gojyo, Hakkai, and Goku sat at one, Goku nearly sucking the ceramic off the plate, Gojyo eating hastily to make sure Goku didn't eat more than his share of the meal, and Hakkai sitting with his knees folded under him, unthreatening as he sipped a bowl of hot tea.
"You look messed up today," Goku commented between chomps.
"Baka saru (3)," Sanzo hissed as he took his place on a chair, staring down at the almost-eaten meal. It had been huge before Goku wormed his way to it-heavily fatigued and irritatingly puzzled, he questioned, "Where did the old youba get the water to make this food?"
Goku seemed not to hear him as he reached across for some mochi (4) at the far end of the table. Gojyo beat him to it and they angrily played tug-of-war, at last ripping the cake into two untidy pieces, with Goku receiving the bigger half.
"She got it from the well out in front, Sanzo," Hakkai in a sincere yet unappealingly lofty way. He didn't ask the reason, or even throw a questioning glance at the disheveled monk. Hakkai knew Sanzo had a motive for everything, and he almost always discovered the inner reasoning anyway.
"Are you sure?" Sanzo demanded, looking around at them. When no one answered, he slammed his fists down on the table. "Tell me, you baka!"
"I got the water from the front well, bousan-dono (5)," came a pleasant voice. Yu-Lee walked into the room with a small pot, which she placed in front of Goku. He hurriedly cast the cover off. "Kushi-dango!" (6) he cried triumphantly, fishing out the soft dumplings and heaving them into his mouth. Gojyo had completely given up and sat with playing with his ichizen (7), scooping it into his empty bowl.
Sanzo's eyes narrowed as she came to stand next to table, smiling broadly. "Now, bousan-dono, that well off to the side of town is only available to the townspeople, as well as important officials…such as yourself."
"Youba…" Sanzo muttered through gritted teeth. Normally, he would have whipped out his gun and shot her to death, in order to teach her a painful lesson. Ah yes, monks were supposed to teach lessons to disobedient people. But now, he wasn't in the mood. He could always find a time to kill her, but now he just wanted some sort of explanation.
"Y'know, I saw her go out there this mornin'," Gojyo said, beginning to catch Hakkai's general drift, that something was going on. "She didn't go out after that. She was in the kitchen the whole time."
Yu-Lee grinned. "That's right," she said cheerily, going back into the kitchen. Hakkai had watched the entire scene from behind his never-ending bowl of tea, with eyes ever so slightly narrowed. Gojyo leaned with his elbows on the table, staring out of the corner of his eye at Sanzo. Goku had finished the kushi-dango and was now vaguely wondering what was going on. Sanzo fumed.
He stood up, keeping his composure. "She tried something with me last night," he uttered calmly, his eyes darting from one to the other. Maybe it was a good idea to warn his companions of the tricks she played. "I went out to side well…I drank from it…"
"And?" Gojyo questioned, waving his ichizen in the air. "What the hell are you trying to say?"
Sanzo closed his eyes to marvel at the unjust stupidity he awarded this kappa. "I was poisoned."
"What happened?" Goku inquired, leaning forward. "Why?"
"I don't know, baka. I had spasms all last night and until morning. She did something to the wa-"
"Tasukete! Ah, tasukete! " (8) A wailing cry was heard from outside. The men hastily moved to the small window looking out into the main plaza. Several village women and children were running away from the market street, where a throng of ugly looking youkai had emerged from the desert.
It looked a storm; the women with their flowing dresses and long desert veils, the cloth fluttering after them as they fled. Some was running with small, confused children; others clutching tiny, wailing babies. They rushed towards the far end of town, to the supposed safety of their desert wall dwellings, which would crumble like a piece of paper under the youkai's hands.
The youkai were not the kind usually expected; they appeared more as hairy zombies than beautiful demons, and were slow in advancing in the direction of the hysterical women. They measured their steps precisely, taking their time; they were aware of the fact that no matter what the people of this backwater town were to do, they would have their fill of human carnage and killing.
They were not aware of the Sanzo-ikkou.
"Heh," Gojyo muttered. "Nowhere's hidden anymore." He turned to his companions and grinned. "You guys ready?"
"Shua!" Goku answered, wiping the crumbs off his mouth. He tilted his hips and placed on his staff.
"Hai," Hakkai replied, sitting up, putting the tea bowl down on the table.
Sanzo remained motionless.
"Good. C'mon then!" The three ran out while Sanzo slowly rose. He was in no hurry. Besides, the three didn't need his help. These were common outbreaks; they happened in every town they stopped in. Nevertheless, he dutifully stepped outside to kill the remnants of the battle.
He hit twenty-four bastards before the fight was done, about a minute later.
As he stepped out into the bright sunlight of the plaza, he felt the poison take hold of him once again. He felt it spiraling through his veins and arteries, making its way towards his intestines and lungs. Potent and strong, that's what it was. Its comings and goings greatly aggravated him.
Trying to show no sign of pain, he turned and paced three steps before fainting to the ground. "Chikusho," (9) he mumbled, humiliated. Now his companions were seeing him like this. The great monk was faltering. He looked up to see Yu-Lee standing in the entrance to the inn, her expression reading delight and puzzlement. "You uwakionna," (10) was the last thing he said before completely loosing consciousness.
Goku was the first to reach him. "Sanzo? Sanzo!" Kneeling, he gathered Sanzo's limp head into his lap, his blonde hair falling over his closed eyes.
"What's wrong?" Hakkai asked breathlessly, coming up to where they stood.
"Has the monk lost his touch? Only twenty-four killed…he must have not been concentrating today," Gojyo commented, unmoved.
"Something's wrong with him," Goku said, staring into Sanzo's face. Even in unconsciousness, the monk was trying to shield his feelings of pain.
Yu-Lee had come down from the door and now knelt beside Goku and Sanzo. "Take him inside. I know what is wrong with him."
"How are we supposed to trust you?" Gojyo questioned. Though he could sometimes be dense, he knew Sanzo's breakfast table implications. "He said you poisoned him."
Yu-Lee shook her head. "It was not I. It was the well. And he is not poisoned." She stood up and looked around. A large crowd of women and children had gathered around the fallen monk's companions. They stood whispering and questioning amongst themselves. "Ask any of these women here. They all know of the Well of Generations."
"Women…?" Hakkai asked softly, eyeing the crowd. His expression hinted at his newest revelation. "Where are the men?"
The women all looked towards Yu-Lee, who had her eyes to the ground. She seemed ashamed. "There are no men in our village. Men have no set foot in this village for forty years." She looked up at the Sanzo-ikkou. "It is my fault…please, bring him inside. I shall explain all to you."
(-)
Sanzo was lying on the bed, naked under the covers. Yu-Lee was examining him, feeling the veins of his arms and chest. Hakkai, Gojyo, and Goku stood behind her, waiting impatiently for her inspection to finish.
Yu-Lee straightened up. "He's fine now. The bouts have subsided. They come and go." She pulled the sheet up his neck and laid a warm towel on the monk's sweaty forehead. Apparently the "poison" had left his immune system vulnerable to a fever, which had been steadily rising.
She turned. "Now I will tell you all." She motioned to a couple of chairs in the corner of the room. "Please sit down."
The Sanzo-ikkou warily pulled out the chairs and sat down, keeping their eyes on the old woman as she hobbled about and sat.
"Do you know the story of Fukashigi no Ido?" (11) she began, looking around at them.
A negative response.
"Ah, I knew you wouldn't. It's a feminine tale," she continued, placing her hands in her lap. "Before I begin, though: it is said to be a legend, but it is true."
"Now," she started, her eyes darting to the ceiling to recall the past days. "Where do I begin…when I was young, I had fallen in love with a man named Chun-Ying. We were happy together-yes, very happy-and were journeying around the world when we happened on this little village. It was a village of only women-back then, it had been the harem of the god Ju-Lin, a minor god of the desert. We stayed a night, then prepared to leave. No more then a few miles from this town we were ambushed by Ju-Lin. It seems that the water from his Well of Generations had been stolen. He immediately accused Chun-Ying of stealing the water, and killed him before my very eyes.
"I was stunned and heartbroken. I cried to Ju-Lin, begged him to restore my Chun-Ying to me. Ju-Lin relented; he made an agreement with me. He would refill the Well of Generations, and I was to become its keeper. It had been foretold in the olden days about the great journey west that was to be undertaken by a monk in the far future. Ju-Lin knew of this prophecy, and was determined to make sure the monk never reached his location.
"My first was to guard the well until the monk showed up. My second task was to make sure the monk drank water from the well. I have been waiting in this town for forty years…and yesterday he walks in through the door. But I didn't have to coax him to drink from it; he drank himself."
Her eyes wandered to Sanzo, inert on the pillow. "He drank it last night."
Gojyo rose from his seat. "What are we supposed to know if what you're saying is true?" he questioned darkly. "It might just be oushikuso." (12)
"Then what else can be wrong with him?" Yu-Lee answered. "I am sure you gentlemen know how poison works. It doesn't come on and off again."
"True," Hakkai answered thoughtfully.
"Well, then what's wrong with him?" Goku asked anxiously.
Yu-Lee sighed.
"That well…you see, that well…I have no idea why Ju-Lin would want him to drink from that well. In a few days, bousan-dono will-"
TBC
Note: Did you like that? And yes, it's a cliffhanger. The next chapter will literally blow you away! Keep on reading people!
Glossary:
(1) ako: my child
(2) youba: witch/hag
(3) Baka saru: Stupid monkey
(4) mochi: rice cake
(5) bousan-dono: term of address for a highly respected lord (monk)
(6) kushi-dango: sweet dumplings
(7) ichizen: chopsticks
(8) Tasukete: Help!
(9) Chikusho: Damn
(10) uwakionna: slut
(11) Fukashigi no Ido: Well of Miracles
(12) oushikuso: bullshit