CHAPTER 6
Warning : Minor spoilers for Volume 8 and the beginning of Volume 9 of the Manga.
Sanzo felt himself drawn to the river, for some odd reason. He'd been wandering through the darkened streets of the town, looking for a shop that stocked ammunition for his revolver, and come up with a blank. Eventually, his feet had taken him to the large river that the town had grown up beside.
He wasn't overly fond of rivers. Wasn't overly fond of large bodies of water, for that matter. Getting dunked in one when he was a kid might have had something to do with it. But he couldn't remember that incident, although there were dark nights when the rain became the roaring of water in his ears, and his dreams turned to drowning, and he hated rivers with a vengeance.
Still, it wasn't that. Now that he thought about it, it was probably the way the sound of the rushing water sometimes went deep into his heart, forming sounds, forming words, forming names. A name. His name.
...Sanzo...
He hissed in frustration. It was starting again. The moment he was out of sight of the bakazaru, it started.
Sanzo! Don't leave me!
"Urusai," he muttered to the mental voice. I'm not coming back, he thought viciously back at it. So you can shut up now and get lost!
..Sanzo..
He turned away from the river, pushing back the tinges of regret he felt. It alarmed him. Regret at finally leaving that bakazaru behind? He should have done it a long time ago. Heck, he should have done it the first time he laid eyes on him. He, damnit, didn't want to regret this. He didn't want to see the utter misery in Goku's eyes.
I will not leave you. His own words drifted back to him. His promise to Goku, scarce months ago.
But that had been before Natsuji and Isir. That had been before Hakkai turned on him. Whether Hakkai was betraying him for real or whether he was being manipulated was of no consequence. The result would be the same. Staying any longer in Hakkai's company equated certain death.
And Gojyo blindly took Hakkai's side. Did it for no other reason than the fact that he thought he trusted Hakkai, thought he trusted this man that was not a man. How long had they known each other? 3 years. 3 years, and all of them still kept secrets in their hearts, kept their pasts behind closed doors, kept their true feelings walled away. None of them really knew each other.
So that meant leaving the kappa behind along with Hakkai.
And that meant leaving the saru too, because there was simply no easy way to bring him along without alerting the others. And Goku would plead and justify and beg him to go back.
He wasn't going back.
Getting to the West alone, on foot, was preferable to putting himself in the sights of someone liable to shoot him in the back. And not even realize whom he shooting until he was dead.
Sanzo, don't go..!
The voice was truly annoying. If he ever saw the bakazaru again, he'd have to smack him -- extra hard -- and tell him to shut the fuck up.
He needed to get away from the river. He needed to get away from the river now.
"Leaving already?" a voice said from the side.
Sanzo spun.
Standing just a few meters away, framed by the light of the rising sun, was Isir.
Without batting an eyelid, Sanzo drew his gun and fired.
The bullet shot straight through Isir's forehead and exitted the other side, without leaving a mark.
Isir smirked. "Not one for talking, are you? We have a lot to catch up on, you know. And you recovered pretty fast. Faster than I would have thought."
Not a trace of youki. Not even a wisp-- wait, it was there. Faint and diffused and drifting around. And none of it was emanating from the youkai in front of him. Which meant..
Sanzo lunged forward. His fist passed straight through Isir's grinning face. An illusion, then. Which meant that Isir himself was somewhere not too far away. Possibly even in the town proper.
Narrowing his eyes, Sanzo scanned the area. The youki was too diffused to help him pinpoint anything, but it also meant that any youkai were still far away. He scanned his remaining supplies of bullets. Dangerously low. He had enough for one reload, tops.
"You're so amusing," the phantom mocked him.
"If you want to talk to me, come out and meet me yourself, kusoyaro!"
"Not yet. Not just yet..." the voice faded. The illusion did, leaving him alone except for the river.
Sanzo swore viciously.
***
Alone in the inn, Gojyo lit another cigarette and yanked the tab off a beer can. He glanced at the clock. It had been almost ten minutes since the saru had charged out of the door, Hakkai in hot pursuit. No sign of success.
"Che. Stupid.. damn, stupid monk.." it occured to him that Sanzo had agreed to Hakkai's staying.. simply because he'd already made up his mind to go. Damnit, the monk was just so freaking paranoid at times.
The more charitable side of him, the side that he didn't like to admit to, especially where it concerned Sanzo, was calling for attention. He kicked it into a corner with a vengeance, and concentrated on the cigarette instead.
***
Goku instinctively knew Sanzo's whereabouts. No matter how far he was from the priest, something, some little compass needle in him always pointed him the right direction. Problem was, it wasn't too accurate.
He heard Hakkai calling his name, but he hardly heeded - Sanzo had walked out when he was in no state to walk out, and Goku was worried.
Not that the priest couldn't take care of himself. Just that, nowadays, it usually took all four of them to defeat the opposition. Gone were the days when Kougaiji sent one or two errand boys to deal with them. Fame has its down sides.
Urusai..
A quiet whisper in the back of his mind. Sanzo.. annoyed, angry.. not coming back?
SANZO! Goku yelled back at that voice. Sanzo.. don't leave me! Don't leave us!
Nothing. Not the whisper of a response, just the sense of his presence fading. As if he was leaving in spirit as well as body.
Something was catching in Goku's throat. He found himself shaking his head violently as he ran, following the wavy little compass needle in his mind. Nonono, he can't leave.. he won't.. he promised.. No!
Then : Danger. Youki!
Dark shapes leapt down from the rooftops to block his path.
He skidded to a halt, Nyoibou materializing in one hand.
There were no words; the youkai just charged.
Goku leapt towards the nearest one, bringing Nyoibou down in a two-handed swing that would have snapped the youkai's neck.
Except... where there should have been flesh and blood and bone.. Nyoibou hit air and slipped straight through the youkai's grinning face.
Goku overbalanced heavily and lost his footing. Youkai closed in from all sides. He felt a whisper of air against his neck and instinctively lashed out. The end of his staff crunched heavily, and a youkai stumbled backwards, coughing blood. Leaping to his feet, Goku sprang over and planted a foot in his throat, sending him tumbling to the floor. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and brought Nyoibou up to counter the stroke.
The sword passed right through the staff and right through him, without leaving a mark.
What on earth is happening?!
Goku lashed out at another attacker, and hit nothing. He attacked yet another and took him down in a spray of blood. He couldn't counter every attack, not when he didn't know which was real, and which was an illusion. Realizing that he was outmatched, Goku dodged and sprang lightly away. This was just a diversion. He needed to reach Sanzo.
***
Hakkai lost sight of Goku in a matter of moments. Frowning, he turned and headed down the next street...
***
The sense of youki was becoming stronger with every step he took. It seethed around him, cold and scathing and terrible. Sanzo frowned and quickened his footsteps. If there were youkai in town, there was no telling what damage they'd do in their hunt for him...
..And the thought of anyone else getting hurt on his behalf..
He shook dismal thoughts away and focused on the source of that youki. The youkai had to be near.. it was getting so strong..
They jumped him from above.
Sanzo felt the rush of air, glanced up, and dodged to one side as five youkai leapt down from the roof. He nailed one with a head shot even before it reached the ground. The remaining ones attacked simultaneously on all four sides. Sanzo ducked away from the wild slashes of the foremost, and narrowly escaped being skewered by another. There were more than four of them now, he realized. They were closing in, cutting off all possible escape routes..
His next bullet zapped through the head of a youkai and thudded into the wall beyond. The phantom grinned and swiped at him, claws passing harmlessly through his face.
Oh shit. I can't afford to waste bullets on illusions!
His senses tingled. Sanzo slammed an elbow backwards, and heard a grunt as it connected. He spun and fired. Blood splattered. A youkai went down.
It didn't take him long to realize that he wasn't functioning at his usual standard. Certainly, he wasn't as fast on his feet as he would have liked. He wasted another of his precious bullets and felt a mounting surge of panic.
One bullet left in the magazine. One reload.
He missed the sutras. He really did. He kicked a youkai in the stomach and sent it back a few paces before it came charging back, furious. He dived out of the way and it barreled past him..
.. and suddenly, there was an arm around his neck, dragging him backwards and cutting off all his air.
Sanzo gasped and fired over his shoulder. There was a scream and blood sprayed over his robes. The grip slackened, but the weight of the falling youkai behind him sent them both tumbling to the floor.
...Oh shit.
The remaining youkai, real and illusion, closed in.
*
Goku heard the gunshot.
He raced around the corner just in time to see Sanzo go down, dragged backwards by the youkai behind him. He ran, accelerated, and leapt.
Nyoibou passed through illusion and thin air.
Goku flailed with nothing to stop his forward trajectory. He crashed heavily into the ground. He was on his feet as fast as possible, in time to see Sanzo regain his footing. There was a blur, a youkai attack, and the priest went crashing backwards again. The youkai turned to face Goku..
..just a second before Nyoibou came crashing round hard enough to crush skull and shatter bone. The youkai dropped soundlessly to the floor.
There were two more youkai closing, one from either side. Goku twirled his staff. The end went through the one on the left without pause, and impacted solidly with the one on the right. The youkai howled in pain and retreated a few steps, before Goku decked him from close range. There was a crash as youkai and wall collided. Goku sprang forward to finish him off--
"Yameru, Goku!"
Goku glanced around as Sanzo limped over, breathing heavily. "San.."
Sanzo ignored him, opting to train the sights of the Smith and Wesson on the youkai. Goku turned and scanned the area, but it appeared to be clear.
"What's the deal?" Sanzo asked. "Your leader wants me alive, doesn't he?"
"The Boss wants you dead," the youkai sneered. "The only question is how long he takes to kill you."
Goku hissed in anger. Sanzo didn't react. "What were your orders?" he asked levelly.
The youkai snarled and spat. "Think I'm gonna tell you, human?"
Sanzo's finger tightened around the trigger.
"That doesn't scare me."
"Answer him! Or I'll beat you into a pulp!" Goku snapped.
"Ha. That doesn't scare me either. But I'll tell you. Our orders were to rip you apart. Tear you into tiny little chunks and bring your head back to Isir-sama. How's that?"
"You're lying," Sanzo said dryly.
"You'd better believe it."
"Interesting. Which means that this attack was destined to fail. All of you... sacrificial goats. Nothing more."
"You--!"
"Goku. Finish him off."
"Hai!" Goku went for the kill. He took the youkai down in one stroke and turned to look for Sanzo. The priest was striding off.
"Matte Sanzo! Wait!"
Sanzo paused. He glanced over his shoulder. "Go back, Goku."
"Huh?"
Purple eyes narrowed. "Don't make me repeat myself."
"But.. where are you going? Why can't I go with you?"
'Because Hakkai might be following you' didn't seem like a good thing to say. "This is my business," Sanzo replied instead. "I'll handle it myself."
"Is it because of Hakkai?" Goku asked. "Sanzo.. I trust him! I don't think he'd.. he'd.. betray us.."
"Whether he's betraying us or not is irrelevant."
"What do you mean?"
Sanzo sighed. "Whether that ki attack two days ago and the whole youkai fiasco was intentional or otherwise is not important. What's important is that.. consciously or not, Hakkai is being manipulated. It's evident that he can't stop it."
"Are you saying.. that Hakkai would end up ..doing something bad without even realizing it?"
"Yes."
"But..." Distress welled up. "Then how can we stop it? And why can't I come with you?"
"Go back. I won't be long."
"You're coming back, right?"
Sanzo didn't reply. He turned back and continued on his way. Goku stared at his retreating back in dismay. "Where are you going?" he called.
No response. Just the sound of quiet footfalls echoing down the street.
***
"You just let him walk off like that?" Gojyo demanded. "Have you no sense?"
Goku hunched over the table and looked miserable. Hakkai laid a hand on Gojyo's shoulder. "Maybe it's for the best."
Goku glanced up. Gojyo gave Hakkai a questioning look.
"Sanzo... wants to get his sutras back himself. He wouldn't want us tagging along."
"We don't.. 'tag along'," Gojyo replied, with a trace of annoyance.
"You know what I mean."
"But what's so bad about following him?" Goku asked. "After all, the last time he lost his sutras, he needed us to help him get them back."
"That was different."
"Not really. We have no idea how powerful Isir is. As powerful as that kami-sama fellow? Anything's possible," Gojyo commented.
Hakkai frowned. "On the otherhand, if we follow him, and things go wrong.. well, how do I say this? Perhaps it would be better if we weren't there, to forestall any suspicion from falling on ourselves. We might even forestall the chance of things going wrong in the first place."
"Isn't that terribly selfish?" Goku said. "I mean.. leaving him to walk into Isir's clutches again.. it's not safe!"
"Goku, even if we were there, Sanzo might not exactly welcome us," Hakkai said quietly.
Goku... Goku looked absolutely crestfallen. "He doesn't trust us any more?"
"I don't know. Sometimes.. even I don't understand him," Hakkai's eyes were shadowed; his usual smile was absent. "Maybe, if he defeats Isir and regains his sutras.. things might change."
"Especially if it's Isir who's screwing things up, yeah," Gojyo said. "Shit, trust bouzu to pull something like that. And make bakazaru here absolutely miserable."
Goku shot him a glare.
"Well, no use worrying about it," Hakkai sighed. "We just have to wait until he gets back..."
***
TBC
***
Extensive Author Note :
Alas, I've run out of updates across the board. This is the last Shadows update I had on standby...
Which means that I'll be taking a short leave of absence (inclusive of the ff.net downtime, well, it amounts to about 1 month) from the writing scene for a while. This is partly because I have exams on right now. Normally, exams wouldn't stop me from taking an hour out each day to write, but my Muse has been working non-stop since Chapter 7 of Borderline, (March 14, 2002), clocking some 4 new fics and 64000 words in just 3 months.
And Time Again - 7,902
Borderline - 24,301
Firearm - 1,892
Reverse Psych - 9,796
Shadows Beyond - 18,762
World of Saiyuki - 1,551
Total - 64,204
That's an amazing amount of writing for me, since my writing sprees didn't use to last more than 2-3 weeks with 1-2 month breaks in between, and 60,000 words would typically take me an entire year to reach. *smiles* I guess all those reviews do help...
But my Muse is exhausted and has started thinking of ideas for original fiction (which probably won't get written. I'm interested in the story, but it takes too long to write and I never finish those pieces of work.) So my Muse is taking a well deserved break.
At any rate, it's a good time to take an opinion poll on Shadows thus far.
Subsequent parts will be focused on Goku, and, as such, on Sanzo, due to a promise I made to one of my readers earlier. However, I don't neglect characters, so Hakkai and Gojyo will receive their fair amount of screen time. I was hoping to write in a section about the Kougaiji-tachi, but I just realized that this fic, based after the events in Vol 8 and 9 of the manga, would also be based after the ...changes... in Kougaiji. So.. no Kougaiji. I'm sorry.
But what does everyone think of the style of writing thus far?
Should I have :
More descriptors?
More introspection (not angst, but feelings, thought, dialogue, musing, etc)?
Or should I just get on with the action and the story, like what I've been doing thus far?
I'm perfectly capable of extensive elaboration and stuff, the only question being.. should I increase my wordcount by resorting to fluff? XD I'm not saying that I'll definitely change my writing style in response, but I am interested to know what you think.. ^_^.
And, as of June 16 2002, sf-works constitute ~5% (numerically) of all Saiyuki fanfics on ff.net! *grins* Although I'm quite certain it's closer to 10%, wordcount wise, I'm too lazy to go and add up the total word of the Saiyuki fandom.. *g*.
Scheduled date of release for Chapter 7 - July 15, 2002. Till then..
-- sf, June 24, 2002.
