Shinku no En: The Crimson Bond
by UltraM2000
Disclaimer: Don't own Saiyuki…yet. Severe fluff, M2000 style, and slight PWPness. Names of Sanbutsushin are not mentioned in canon; the names of the three aspects of Buddhism are extracted from Malaysia's Form 4 History textbook. See, Sejarah can actually be useful, people. :)
"Yo…Mr. Corrupt Monk and his stupid monkey…"
"Don't keep calling me stupid monkey, you horny kappa!"
"So, what, then? Mini-monkey, perhaps? Brat? Squirt? Aaaa?!"
"All right, all right, you two, be nice…" [1]
"Kyuu~"
"See? Even Hakuryuu agrees with me…"
Sanzo heaved a deep groan of exasperation. It was always the same with these three: Gojyo would start calling that stupid saru names, Goku would answer back, a squabble would start and Hakkai would try and calm the two down, very unsuccessfully. The high-ranked monk righted his kinkan [2] on his head, rearranged the two sutras he wore (he'd reclaimed the holy Seiten sutra from Gyokumen some time ago) and cleared his throat pointedly.
"If you don't mind, I didn't call you two here just to see you fight Goku like old times," he snapped acidly. "The Sanbutsushin wanted to see all four of us…"
"…On matters of grave importance," Gojyo imitated Sanzo's low, bored tones. "Yeah, yeah, we know, so why don't we go in already?"
"Because I was waiting for you two to show up first and be properly introduced, you fool!" roared Sanzo, drawing the harisen and slapping Gojyo a hearty blow across the noggin.
"Sanzo…you still keep that old harisen?" spluttered Hakkai, surprise overcoming decorum.
"Yep. Just like the old days," Sanzo said with a calm smile, patting the paper fan once or twice before shoving it back into his robes. "Now, let's GO."
Behind the heavy stone doors within Shayouden, or the Setting Sun Palace, was a portal to a plane very much different from this one. The only residents of this alternate plane were the Three Aspects or Sanbutsushin: Sila, the young woman who personified high conduct, Samadhi, androgynous youth who stood for the aspect of concentration and Panna, white-bearded and sage as you would expect of wisdom's human form. Their job was to span the grey area between Heaven and Earth, delivering the orders of Heaven down to the small beings born of dust that called themselves humans. It was then a voice, muffled by the thick iron doors but still clear and strong nonetheless, announced the presence of their audience.
"The envoy of the Northern Heavenly Emperor Genjyo Sanzo presents himself with his…companions." Sanzo called out, feeling very much the way he had several years back when he'd first been called in by the Aspects and ordered to take Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai west with him. They had a very strange way of making you feel very small and uncomfortable, whether unintentionally or not.
"31st Toua Genjou Sanzou; reformed criminal Cho Gonou, who man now calls Cho Hakkai; taboo child of the half-demons, Sa Gojou; heretic Son Gokuu, who caused the fall of Heaven 500 years ago; you will enter," rumbled a deep, stern voice from behind the doors as they opened of their own accord.
…Sanzo was leaning towards intentionally, at the moment.
The four men walked into the dim chamber. It was comparatively huge, high-ceilinged and lit only by dimly burning green-blue torches. Sanzo knelt, and the others followed suit. The torch flames flared suddenly, and Hakuryuu yelped in fright.
"Hakuryuu, hush," soothed his master.
The flames died down to reveal that the Sanbutsushin had descended. Before the four (five if you add the dragon) loomed three giant heads—an old man's in the middle and those of a young woman and a youth of indeterminate gender flanking him.
"Genjyo Sanzo. Sha Gojyo. Cho Hakkai. Son Goku. Well met," Panna boomed out once more, looking down at them. "Once again, your services are needed to restore the peace of Tougenkyou."
"If you'll pardon my saying," Hakkai began, "Tougenkyou seems peaceful enough at the moment."
"It will not be so soon," Samadhi replied, eyes closed and expression calm as usual. "We have read the signs and felt the presence of a new danger. Two days ago, a pack of youkai descended upon South Tougenkyou and spirited away about 20 humans. They have since been identified as long-deceased souls from the lowest levels of Hell. The takings have continued, again by souls supposedly long-gone, and the only explanation for their presence here is that Avici is expanding." Sanzo seemed taken aback by this new piece of information, and sucked in his breath sharply.
"Avici? Ne, Sanzo, what's an Avici? Are they edible?" Goku asked, eyes wide and innocent.
"Mugenjigoku," snapped Sanzo tersely. Now even Goku could fathom the severity of the problem. Mugenjigoku, Avici, A Bi Di Yu and Wu Jian Di Yu were all names for the last and lowest level of Buddhist hell – the Endless Hell. It was a dark, cold pit full of the most sinful souls guilty of the five heinous crimes: the slaughter of your father, mother or an arhat, the shedding of the Buddha's blood and the creation of disharmony among practitioners of the faith.
"But if Mugenjigoku is expanding, doesn't that just mean there are more souls down there?"
"No, Son Gokuu. The space itself is expanding far further than the newest intakes into Avici. Something is controlling it, giving it power. That person has been discovered to have connections to you four."
"Who? Who? Is it Gyuumaou?" asked Goku. "Chin Isou? Kami-sama? Rikudou?"
"No, none of these four. It was one of the demons you killed on your way—Go Dougan. He is using his spirit's dharmic power to influence the bounds of Avici. If he is not stopped, the barriers of Avici will eventually break, like a river breaks its banks," Samadhi continued, "and all its souls will escape upon Tougenkyou to wreak havoc. The physical forms of the souls sent up were crude and basic, and could not survive long in this environment, but we doubt this will remain the case for any subsequent sorties. It is not desirable to learn how many innocent men will die if the souls are strengthened further by their master."
"Genjou Sanzou, we now give you this decree from Tenkai," Panna rumbled. "You are to take your companions with you and quash the rebellion within Avici."
"We are not dead," Sanzo said slowly, quoting the obvious.
"You needn't be." A portal opened beneath the three heads, the shadows of three objects floating within it. "You will use this portal to go to Avici and return. Bring with you also those taken alive from Tougenkyou's lands. These tools we bestow upon you to be used to your advantage."
"As you will." Sanzo rose from his half-crouch and stepped towards the portal to take the objects. His hands closed around a small glass ball, a gourd full of some strange blue elixir and a sword.
"The glass ball, once broken, will activate the dharmic force needed to bring you back to this world," explained Sila. "The elixir is to be rubbed upon your weapons, Sanzou's bullets and that sword, for they will prove useless upon the errant souls otherwise."
"Sumimasen," began Hakkai, "but if we are meant to kill, er, destroy them…is the torture of Avici not meant to be endless?"
"Soul upon countless soul has been sent to Avici since the dawn of time," Samadhi said delicately. "Even Avici, as we have said, has its own preordained barriers. Cho Gonou, the sword is for you, for spirit force will not work against spirit force. After all…are you not well versed in the art of swordplay, or were you not so versed at one time before?"
He was indeed. Hakkai, or rather Gonou, remembered the slight weight of his old longsword in his palm, the way it had rested comfortably in his grip. The vibrations that rang up the blade as they cut through the flesh of 999 demons barring his way to save Kanan. The glint of pungent blood on tempered Japanese steel and the doubly metallic smell as another blade, a smaller kyoujin, shed more blood, only the blood of the one he had struggled so hard to save…
Yeah, sure he remembered, but all he did was nod, a simple, acceptant nod and taking up the sheathed sword, he fastened it to one of the belt loops in his trousers.
"You are ready. Time is wasting, so go forth and complete your mission. The fate of Tougenkyou is in your hands, Genjou Sanzou and company. Leave now."
The portal was big enough for one person to pass through at a time. Sanzo went first, after only the slightest pause to study the borders of their doorway into Avici. Goku took a few steps back, and then made a running leap through the shimmering gate. Hakkai walked through as calmly as he would've trotted through his own front door. Gojyo materialised his shakujou and prepared to step through, but the Aspects called out to him.
"Taboo child of the half-demons, Sa Gojou, you will wait. There is something that we must warn you of, something that you must also keep secret from your fellows."
Gojyo whipped round and looked up. "Hn? What do y'want now?"
Panna looked a little nonplussed, but continued anyway. "If you intend to go on this journey, then we must warn you of something. One of the first things that alerted us to the situation, even before the kidnappings, was the strange presence we sensed hanging about you and the dwelling you share with Cho Gonou. One of the souls trapped in Avici has been found to actually be innocent of any wrongdoing. It last belonged to a half-demon female like yourself…and she has an en [3] with you."
Now it was Gojyo's turn to look confused. "What's an en, if I may be so bold?"
Sila spoke. "An en, half-demon, is a karmic bond that flows between two souls, binding them spiritually, if not emotionally and physically, for the span of their mortal lives. It is hard to find your en and even harder to dispel once discovered. You have already found three, but the bonds you share with Genjou Sanzou and your companions are of a much weaker kind. I speak of an en between different genders—your soulmate, in effect."
Gojyo was beginning to feel a little disturbed. "Emotionally and physically, eh? So that explains my dreams," he said sotto voce.
"If you go," Samadhi cut into his reverie, "how can we be sure that you will not be so emotionally affected as to jeopardise this mission?"
Gojyo's reply was to now smile a rakish smile, stick a cigarette into his mouth and light it up. "Because this is the first time I've heard of this en crap, and I've never believed in that kinda thing."
Picking up his weapon, Gojyo walked through the portal and was swallowed up by the light.
"The en doesn't care if it's believed in or not," Samadhi muttered peevishly.
"There, there, Samadhi, you tried," Sila soothed, closing her eyes and fading into the dimness with her counterparts. The blue torches flickered and snuffed themselves out. The abode of the Sanbutsushin was once again empty and silent.
[1] A combination of the conversation we got to hear when they first met in the anime/manga and the first few lines in the G-Fantasy Comic CD for Saiyuuki (Vol. 1).
[2] The gold hat/crown thingie.
[3] First seen mentioned to author in Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golding, 1997). The concept seemed quite nice.