DISCLAIMER: Saiyuki isn't mine but I own Ying's scar. Also, I do have a gigantic keloid on my right knee. It itches, stings and makes it a b---h to kneel down. I feel the scar-ness! I am one with the scar-ness! I know what a pain keloids are! Raaar!
Ahem. Onto the story. It's another 'filler' chapter, warui! It was the fastest chap I ever finished -- two days! Oh, and great news -- THE WHOLE THING IS COMPLETED! Updates should come a little faster now, with new chapters once every 1-2 weeks. Maybe 3, because I'm currently slightly occupied with an Add. Maths. folio. Anyway, just rest assured it's not going to be abandoned half-way.
PAST
Kago
"Douzo, go right ahead and choose."
"Sankyuu!" Gojyo beamed up at the florist and ran down the aisles of blooms, trying to choose the best bunch of flowers he could find for his stepmother. Jien stayed put near the counter, warning him not to knock anything over.
"He looks very happy, Jien-san," remarked the florist.
"I think he is, Aseki-san," came the reply. "My ofukuro's finally warming up to him."
"!! How so?"
"From what I gather, she found him playing her piano one day. She's been tutoring him ever since." He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Not bad, eh? He alREADY knows how to charm the ladies. I bet he'll be a hit with 'em when he grows up."
"Yes, I believe he may be an even greater Casanova than Sha Jien," guffawed the florist. Gojyo looked up inquisitively from a pile of purple blossoms at the sudden burst of laughter, but went back to his search. "In any case," the florist said sotto voce to Jien "I hope that she takes the gift in good grace. Although she appears to be warming up to him, she's always been a little...well...I shouldn't say. She's your mother."
"Couple riceballs short of a bentou?"
"Something like that."
"Aniki! Hora, mite!" Gojyo squealed joyfully as he held up a bunch of bright red daisies. "Look, do you think she'll like these?"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure!" Jien enthused. They WERE very pretty. He reached into his pocket for his wallet and cracked it open, hoping fervently there would be enough money...
"Oh, put that away, Jien. Look here, Gojyo-kun, I'll give you the flowers because they're truly a special type of plant. Just remember to give them to your kaasan right away for me, all right? What do you say to that?
"I say arigatou, ojisan!" Gojyo exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear and burying his nose in the blossoms. The florist smiled and rang up the purchase
_Maybe now, you won't cry for him anymore..._
++++++++++
The only word one could use to describe it was horrific. A huge, angry dark red scar slashed down the whole left side of Ying's face, wrapping his cheek in ugly, pitted tissue. His left eye was in no better state--dull and opaque, its pupil fixed and staring and the sclera that should have been white a dull reddish hue instead, thanks to all its capillaries being smashed apart. Gojyo didn't have to ask about whether Ying could see anything out of that eye--it was pretty obvious.
"How the hell...?!" spluttered Goku.
"WHO the hell..." Gojyo began.
Ying left the queries unreplied and let his hair fall back into place and shoved the sais into his jacket. "Less talk. More run."
"Ah Ying..." Hong Wu's grip around his walking stick tightened. "Be careful."
Ying turned back and forced a smile. "Ah ba, ah ma, it's all right. I'll come back with Zhen Ji soon! That's for sure!"
++++++++++
Eight-year-old Hong Lang Ying leant against the wall of his family's house in Weishan, looking up at the blue sky and two white butterflies dancing against the azure background. It was a warm summer's morning, and the boy was sitting out in the grass, a plain blue bandanna wrapped tightly around his head. His mother and father had told him that because of his half-demon status, he was to keep the bandanna on at all times outside. It was so warm. So sunny. So pleasant. So peaceful. So perfect.
"...So bored," whined Lang Ying, tugging at two loose ends of his bandanna 'cap'. "I can't sit here all day! Wonder where mom is. Ah ma~!" He got up and went to find his mother, who was out round the back hanging out the laundry. She looked up from her work and smiled at her son.
"Yes Ah Ying, why are you calling for me?" she asked, brushing a few stray strands of raven hair from her forehead.
"Ah ma, may I go to the park and play? Pleeease? I'm so bored staying here!" he pleaded.
"Well...I'd say no, normally...but it IS such a nice day. Yes, Ah Ying, you may go. But be back before lunch, and remember..."
"Don't remove the headband! Yes ma! I know! Thank you so much!" he said enthusiastically and sprang away before Sheng Wei could even blink.
Lang Ying raced down the streets towards the park, grinning hugely. The freedom he felt was wonderful, and the streets were full of people as usual. Many of his neighbours and fellow residents were out for their Sunday constitutionals. Lang Ying had always known them as fairly friendly folk, although a little guarded in their manners. He was still unsure why his parents had warned him about guarding his conduct in front of them, as his innocent mind could not fathom just how narrow a mind could get as one approached adulthood...especially when you lived in the so-called 'demon-free' town of Weishan.
It was then he saw the pretty pink flowers sprouting up out of the packed, dusty earth beside a drain. He smiled, and reached down to touch their velvety petals. Nobody seemed to want them, although they were very pretty. All and sundry hurried by without so much at a glance at the blooms. Kaasan would like a gift of these, thought Ying. Quickly, he gathered a small bunch before spotting some more further up the road. Unfortunately, by this time, he had rather a large armful to handle. There had to be some way to carry them all properly...
Of course! Ying drew of his bandanna-cap and used it as a sling for the flowers. That did the trick nicely. What he didn't notice was how the whole street had frozen at the sight of his scarlet locks, glowing like fire in the summer sun.
Lang Ying felt like he was being watched and stood up hurriedly. What was going on? Why were they looking at him, spluttering and pointing and muttering like that? It was with a sudden icy fear that he then realised he had done exactly what his mother had instructed him not to.
A gang of older boys began to advance towards Lang Ying. The cold, bloodthirsty look in their eyes was something Lang Ying would never forget. Their leader, the grey-eyed one with his hair up in a bun, advanced menacingly towards the half-demon. Lang Ying gulped, took a step back.
"Well look what we have here, gentlemen," he drawled smoothly, "a half-demon, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah, uh-huh," came general assent from the gang of boys.
"It seems he couldn't even pick what he wanted to come out as. Demons are bad enough..."
"Excuse m-me," Lang Ying managed to squeak out, "but I don't want any trouble. These flowers are for my mom, and I'd really like to go home." He was quite surprised when the leader stepped aside and smilingly let me pass. He gave the older boy a small boy in thanks and walked off back home, clutching the flowers to his breast. As soon as he'd passed, however, the grey-eyed boy bent to the ground as if searching intently for something.
"Hey, you. Taboo child."
Lang Ying flinched. No-one had called him that before, but he somehow knew its meaning. The young one turned around fearfully and stammered out a "Y-yes?"
The gang leader one was throwing and catching a stone of some size and weight in his hand. Up and down, up and down he tossed it. "I don't like that look in your eyes boy...or your eyes, for that matter. I'd better remedy that." Having said this, he hurled the piece of pavement brick straight at Lang Ying's head.
Pain exploded in the half-demon's skull. He screamed in pain as he fell to his knees, clutching his wounded eye. The tears mingled with flowing blood, incardinating his palm. _Don't look at the blood...don't look at the blood...don't look at the blood..._ he thought over and over.
"Get him, lads!" shouted the leader, and they all rounded on Lang Ying like a pack of dogs, kicking and punching, spitting and throwing stones and twigs at the lad. He curled up into a ball, pleading with them to stop, but it only gave them greater pleasure to hear their victim crying out in pain. Some of the grown-ups tried to break up the fight, but what made it worse was the fact most of the others were holding them back, shaking their heads benevolently and telling them not to interfere in a petty children's fight, and a few were actually EGGING ON the boys, encouraging them to continue their violence.
Now the leader picked Lang Ying up by the collar as he shook and sobbed, and drew his human face closer to the half-demon's. His hot, moist breath felt like hellfire on the raw wounds.
"Well, half-breed, we've had our fun. Those flowers you picked? You can have them too. We call them demonsbane here. Know what it means? They're hated, like your kind. So take those stupid, ugly weeds and your stupid, ugly self, and go away. Oh yes...and here's something to remember me by." He raised his fist and slammed it straight at the wound he had made with his stone. As Lang Ying screamed, he felt the crowd was adding to the insults, taunting with all the derogatory names they could lay their hands on. You Jouji dropped his victim to the ground and kicked him, eliciting another choked gasp of pain.
"Stop it, all of you!"
From out of the blue, a small-built girl rushed through the seething crowd and hit the grey-eyed boy a good thump on the shoulder. The crowd bristled uncomfortably. "Jouji-sama! You're way too mean! What's the matter with you, ganging up on a kid younger than you?"
"What's the matter with me," hissed the boy coldly, steely anger seeping into his words, "is that I am not a sympathiser with demons like you are! My father shall hear about this!"
"Am I supposed to give two sen?" The girl pouted, folding her arms. Jouji looked immensely disgusted, but he called to his toadies and moved away. He shot the girl no end of dirty looks, though. As the girl looked around, the crowd began to reluctantly disperse, some of them still openly cursing Lang Ying and the girl who had come to his aid. She bent down and tapped him on the shoulder. "Ne, are you all right? Did he hurt you badly?"
"My eye..." Lang Ying whimpered. "I can't see outta it..."
"Come on, I'll get you back home..."
"No!" Lang Ying quickly mustered up all the bits of pride he could. He would not lose face in front of a girl for anything! "I can go home on my own, thank you. Err...what's your name?"
"Seiko! Yaku Seiko desu! What's yours?"
"Call me Lang Ying. Thank you for helping me, Seiko-chan...itai..."
Lang Ying stumbled home somehow, but the shock and bleeding of the wounds did him in and he collapsed in front of his gate. With this, he alerted even more people to his existence as a half-demon and also to his parentage. The wound, aggravated by the further damage inflicted to him, never quite healed properly and left a huge scar. The eye also lost all sight after two days. Hong Wu tried to seek justice for his son, but the Weishan mayor You Mozubane defended his son's injustice and ordered the man to be beaten and branded with the Mark of Black Blood.
"I bestow upon you, the Mark of Black Blood," the words had rung out. "Long may it stay, and long may it burn to remind you of the consequences of having chosen the wrong path for your heart." The brand rose and fell, glowing red-hot. Hong Wu screamed. Lang Ying screamed. Everything exploded in pain.
Mozubane then banished Hong and his family from Weishan forever. Hong Wu dragged himself home with a leg broken in three places, and was permanently crippled as a result of his injuries. The moment he could move as normal, the three left Weishan for the nearby town of Feiyan, where they found that they were not the only ones subjected to the injustices of You Mozubane. Many of the residents also bore Marks.
So it was that Lang Ying lost his innocence and trust, and gained a number of wounds that would never heal, scar or no scar.
++++++++++
"...And that is why I refuse to let another little boy fall to Weishan's prophecy. Ainiku (unfortunately), they have long memories. They remember what happened to me--they will accept no less for my brother!" panted Ying as he continued running. He glanced up--the sky was clouding over with wispy puffs of grey. It might be a summer rain coming on.
"Jouji did that to you and your otousan? Hidee~!" howled Goku. "And no one did anything to stop them?"
"Think about it, saru. If he could do that to a man seeking answers for what had happened to his kid, then just imagine what would happen should anyone dare to oppose his judgment? More Marks!"
"Bingo. Enough talk! We may already be too late!"
Meanwhile, somewhere in the city interior, Hong Zhen Ji was picking pink flowers around the sides of the citadel walls. He smiled gaily as he gathered the blooms into a neat little bunch...and felt as if he was being watched. As he stood up to look round, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.
"Arrr, and what do we have here, then?" the Weishan guard grinned sinisterly.
++++++++++
Weishan Cathedral was quite a majestic affair. Not just an ordinary place of worship, it also served as assembly hall, court, execution grounds and town hall. The building was painted a pure white from floor to ceiling, its steeples reaching into the blue sky, and stained glass windows depicted scenes from the Bible, the Buddhist scriptures and even Weishan's 'history'.
Not just an ordinary place of worship, indeed.
Somewhere round the back of it, a group of ladies were fussing around Seiko's wedding attire. She looked amazingly beautiful in her gown and flower-bedecked veil, but behind it and behind her make-up, tears threatened to well over her blue-green eyes. She closed her eyes, willing them to go away, but it was no use. Tears would still flow, the marriage would still go on...and she would always remember how one year after the incident of the half-demon, he appeared again to her with a bunch of long-stemmed white daisies. The fringe that flopped over his left eye made him look even cuter than she had remembered him.
"Ying..."
"Eh? What did you say, Lady You?" asked one of the more sharp-eared attendants as she applied more makeup to Seiko's cheeks.
"Nan demo nai! Just er...thinking...about Yin and Yang..."
"Ah, sou ka..." The old crone chuckled as she adjusted her charge's train. "You're always so nice to us, Lady You, much nicer than your fiancé. Do try and impart some of your sweetness to him after this, won't you?"
Seiko swallowed, smiled, and nodded mutely.
++++++++++
In the room next to hers, Sen Aseki was helping You Jouji with his own attire. He was dressed in full military attire, blue with gold trim and Chinese cloth buttons.
"Well, today's the big day, You-sama! How d'you feel?"
"Wonderful," purred Jouji, adjusting the fall of his coat slightly. "At last, Seiko is mine and mine alone. She will help to carry on the You line."
"You-sama...if I didn't know better I'd think you had no affection for her whatsoever..."
"Why should I?" came the blunt reply as Jouji looked over his shoulder at Aseki and cocked an eyebrow. "It is her duty to marry me, and mine to marry her. What good would love do in this situation?" Aseki fell silent and said no more. "You may go now," the young mayor said with a wave of his hand. The soldier bowed slightly and exited the room, closing the door firmly behind him. Now alone, Jouji began to smile, then laugh. At last, he would have control over the one woman made for him. He had not forgotten the events of ten years ago--now he would make her pay for them daily. Yes, Jouji, chain her down, bind her wings to you, weight her until her strong will has not the strength to run away.
And just in case, comb your hair, slick it down with hair gel, refasten a button and slip the cold piece of steel into your jacket. Just in case.
++++++++++
And now, review thanks...
Synammon -- *facefault* Ack! The CANON characters are OOC? Damn, I need improvement. They get more and more OOC as the story moves on. XD I will do my level best to try and prevent further happenings of that. Thanks for reviewing! I update!
ayie@hairi -- I worked the translations into the fiction itself. If
you really can't figure it out, e-mail me again and I'll be glad to go through
every term in the book.
Gojyo: *reads letter* Shit. I'm so SCREWED.
real_circus -- Whoa girl, calm down! ^_^;;; Yep, it's THAT piano, the one that started it all!
Ashura Akuma -- Glad to hear it. Actually A.T.F.U. is a theme song from Romeo and Juliet. The lyrics are lovely, but if you've ever heard Henry Mancini play the piano version, you can really DIE. It's wonderful. No, not you, Ashura Akuma, misguided, but You, as in You Jouji the evil evil mayor dude! *spoilers* The ending may be a little sad, but I hope it will be to your enjoyment. You're welcome for the pic.