Shinku no En: The Crimson Bond
by UltraM2000
Disclaimer: Don't own Saiyuki…yet. Severe fluff, M2000 style, and slight PWPness. GREAT liberties taken with portrayal of Chinese/Tougenkyou hell.
…To sleep:
perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil…
(Hamlet, W. Shakespeare)
"TENKAI KAIZAN!!!"
Strips of the Holy Sutra billowed forth, glowing blue and burning everything they touched to pure white ash—pillars, stones, circuits and paper plane alike. Eyewitnesses later claimed a huge light burst from the ground, sending a scorched paper plane sky-high. As pieces of debris began to fall from the ceiling, Hakkai leapt into action. He managed to set up a defensive ki barrier just in time before the more dangerous pieces began to fall upon the hostages. Goku was instantly at his brother-figure's side, snapping the ropes that held them captive with relative ease. Things got a little easier when Hakkai tossed him his own kyoujin, old and worn and sweat-smoothed, to do the job.
Still more flying sutra shot towards Dougan, binding him within holy tantras. The paper burned his skin like blazing brands, sending him to his knees howling in pain. More of the strips closed around him, immobilising him in folds of white and green.
"LET ME GO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" "SANZO-SAMA, LET ME GO! NO! I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU…Sanzoooooo," wailed Dougan around a mouthful of sutra.
"I have no interest in your show-and-tell game," Genjyo Sanzo cut him off, and raised his Smith and Wesson shoureijuu. The Seiten could not kill—neither could the Maten—but this little thing could, quickly, silently and painlessly. He fired. The bullet cut a clean path through the darkness and punched a hole straight through Dougan's forehead. The screams ceased abruptly. The limbs fell limp. The eyes clouded over in death beyond all death, and the soul collapsed. Dougan's body began to crumble to a fine, dark grey dust like stone shavings, and the soul perished forever.
"Ah, the bigger they are, the harder they fall," mused Gojyo…but he wasn't quite looking at Dougan.
"Urusai," choked Sanzo from his undignified facedown position on the floor. His breath came in ragged gasps, and there was blood trickling down the corners of his mouth. Damn, the use of the Seiten had drained him of a lot more than he'd thought. Goku was at his side instantly.
"Sanzo, Sanzo, are you all right? Speak to me!" Goku cried out worriedly, shaking his shoulder. "You're not dying here, right? You're not going to leave us alone, are you? Ne? Ne? Ne? Sanzo?!"
A hard, compact, leather-clad fist made contact with Goku's midriff, and he staggered back.
"Ita~i! What did you go and do THAT for, Sanzo? My stomach's already aching from hunger!"
"I was aiming for your mouth, you noisy little monkey."
"Ah, you're all right, then!" Goku beamed. Sanzo muttered something under his breath as he picked himself up.
"That's our bouzu…he only looks and acts all soft."
"Want to go first, cockroach?"
"Everyone all right?" asked Hakkai. "I will get the healing done once we are back above…oh. Houran! Minna, where's Houran?"
"…"
"Oi kappa, what're you mumbling about?"
"…dead…"
"WHAT?!" Even Sanzo looked shocked.
Gojyo's voice was artfully flat and emotionless. "When you guys were out cold, Dougan went for me. There wasn't any time to dodge his axe. He would've made me into a piece of sushi, if not for…" Gojyo's brow furrowed, and he looked away. "Silly girl. Why th'ell did she do such a thing?" he snorted.
"Maybe because she loved you, Gojyo."
Gojyo looked up at Hakkai, not a little taken aback.
"We do strange things to the beat of the drummer of our soul. I ought to know." Hakkai's smile was sympathetic as he rubbed his thumb along the bloodied edge of his sword.
"Hn." Gojyo made a small non-committal noise as he dematerialised his shakujou. But you knew, didn't you, Houran? he thought sadly, pityingly. You knew that somehow this was going to happen in some way, that it would come down to Dougan and the rest of us, and you chose the rest of us. The world. The living, not the dead. Maybe you weren't as influenced by that bloody fool as much as I'd thought. I'm sorry.
…And you still knew, didn't you, Houran? You knew what it was like, because your past and mine both sucked like anything. Maybe I could have made you forget. Maybe together, we could both forget and concentrate on other things. I guess…I guess that I will never know.
Man and shikigami, taboo? As if I ever cared. I didn't think you would…I mean, I think I did feel something for you like you did for me. Maybe not love, both of us. Kinship, or perhaps it was something deeper.
"Go…jyo…san…"
I hear you calling me. Goodbye, Houran. Find your rest. I won't forget you or your spirit.
"Gojyo…"
I wanted to protect you. Is that love?
"Oi, Kappa…"
Ngh…if it is, then…I loved you with every half-breed particle in this body. I love you, Houran, as much as you felt for me. Don't leave like this…
"HOI, GOJYO, WE'RE TALKING TO YOU!"
Uh?!
"Bakagappa," groused Goku.
"What?" Gojyo snapped tersely.
"She's breathing," Hakkai replied, picking her up. Dougan's former captives had gathered round, and Sanzo dropped the small glass ball that would bring about their return. Those words, and the sharp tinkle of glass, were the last things he remembered.
"How is the girl?"
"She lost quite a bit of blood before I managed to get to her, and the wound is deep. She's not in a very good condition."
"I can see that…I don't see what she saw in that fool cockroach."
"Perhaps the same things you saw in your surrogate father…Kouryuu."
"…Oi, Hakkai, your character just gets better and better."
"Forgive me my jokes…but please, if you're going to shoot me, put a silencer on your gun. You will wake Gojyo before he gets enough rest for my ki to do maximum good."
"I think he'll be jealous when he wakes up."
"Why's that, Goku?"
"'Cos you got to see Houran naked, and he didn't."
"To bandage her wounds! I have no interest in ogling!"
"Think the kappa will care?"
"Good point, saru."
"I'm not a monkey, Sanzo!"
"…Now, now, gentlemen. When is our audience with the Sanbutsushin again?"
"In a week. Think Gojyo will be awake by then?"
"Probably."
"Damn."
To explain the conversation further, one must digress to what happened just after Sanzo and the others returned to the living.
The 100 hostages had been rescued without any major casualties, and they all had a good memory wipe to make sure their experiences in Avici would not be remembered. It was better to experience its tortures only once in your life/death, and with good cause for it. Samadhi was very much surprised to see a young woman, covered in blood from head to toe and lying limp in his arms. He was cradling her with almost a kind of reverence.
"Explain this, Sa Gojou, Genjou Sanzou," Panna said coldly. "This woman is not one of the hundred souls abducted for Dougan's clandestine activities."
"Well, she followed me home," Gojyo muttered. "Can I keep her?"
Sanzo was about to say something to a rather insulting effect, but it was, surprisingly, Samadhi that butted in. "You found your final en, did you?" the Aspect chuckled gently.
"Say WHAT?" Goku sputtered.
"An en, Son Goku…a karmic bond that flows between two souls, binding them spiritually, if not emotionally and physically, for the span of their mortal…"
"I know all THAT," Goku interrupted impatiently, "but GOJYO has an EN?!"
"Suck it up, saru," Gojyo replied. He shifted his grip upon Houran's shoulders. While Hakkai had used part of his remaining ki to close the wound, she was still pale and silent, as if already dead. Only by sticking his finger under her nose occasionally could Gojyo tell that her breathing had not stopped.
"If there is anything else that needs saying," Sanzo began, on one knee in typical pose of obeisance to the Sanbutsushin, "then let it be said. My companions—" he gestured towards the scruffy, bloodied and bruised trio, adding a silent 'and I' to the statement— "need medical treatment."
"Then no more will be said, Genjyo Sanzo, at least not for a week. Report back to us after then." Panna still sounded righteously miffed. "Ask the temple monks to attend to you."
"I thank you."
Hakuryuu sputtered back home, where the poor dragonet finally gave up the ghost. Houran they gave shelter, Gojyo volunteering his bed for her. Hakkai managed to get down a glass of water and prepared to do something about Gojyo's wounds. The help was, however, weakly declined.
"Look, just get yourself patched up first," Gojyo slurred thickly. "And keep Houran alive, man. I do not want to see her dead, or you…Urghh. Ow."
Gojyo, dizzy with fatigue and loss of blood, tried to sit down on a chair, missed it by quite a few inches and lay out cold on the floor. Hakkai sighed, got his much chunkier companion undressed, dragged him to his own bed and set out some futons for his own use tonight. It was after he got some food into his system that he set to work.
On Houran, as Gojyo had requested.
…Keep Houran alive, man. I do not want to see her dead.
It was some three days before Gojyo awakened. Hakkai's healing had done a wonderful job—why, the blinding pain had faded to a dull, only slightly persistent full-body throbbing. Swearing lovingly at the state of affairs, he pulled himself up on heavily bandaged arms and scratched his forehead, feeling the rough scabs pitting them.
"Don't move too much. It'll reopen those wounds and I don't really feel like cleaning any more blood from the sheets."
"Hakkai?" His tongue felt detached from his body, and he mumbled something completely indecipherable after that.
"Good morning to you too. I brought you breakfast."
Gojyo accepted the warm porcelain bowl from Hakkai's hands. "Porridge?"
"Easy on your digestion. Eat up, you need your nourishment."
"Yes, mommy." A teasing grin accompanied the reply. He snorted with laughter, but it turned into a bad fit of coughing and it was a long time before he could calm himself. Picking up the spoon on the bedside table, he ate slowly. Hakkai provided second helpings, and it was only after the third bowl of strengthening ginseng congee that Gojyo put down his spoon.
"How is Houran?"
"Stable, thankfully." He gave his report in a professional, concise manner. "The wound was deep, and she's lost a lot of blood. She's been in a coma ever since we came back. I've been giving her small sips of liquid and helping to speed up the healing process with herbal tonics and ki, though, and I might be able to try some thin porridge today if her stomach can take it." He got up and prepared to go, but a certain tanned hand grasped his wrist in a request to stop.
"Let me do that. Your injuries probably aren't healed yet, either. You need to give yourself some downtime, 'Kai. Heaven knows you deserve it."
Hakkai had a thousand reasons to say no—his friend was still weak, he had just awakened, Houran wouldn't be waking up any time soon, she might choke and Gojyo wouldn't know what to do, there was just a dam of angst waiting to spring open—but he still said "Yes, all right. The porridge is being kept warm on the stove."
"Right, gotcha. Thanks. What do I do if she throws up?"
Ah. Clever Gojyo. You thought of that. "Turn her head to the side and make sure she doesn't inhale the vomit. Then tell me. I'll be getting some sleep in the living room, well-deserved as you put it." Hakkai gave his friend a friendly pat on the shoulder and slipped off to the living room to sprawl out on the couch. He'd finish reading his Wu Cheng En novel [1] and pretend to sleep—he wanted to see just how Gojyo would deal with things.
Call it scientific curiosity.
The half-demon slowly put his feet on the floor. They didn't give way under his weight, which was a good sign. Limping into the kitchen, he gave the warm pot's contents a stir, spooned out a bowl and took a seat next to his bed, currently occupied by Houran. He could not resist running his hands gently across her face, rubbing a thumb down a fragile cheekbone. She slept so peacefully—hard to believe just days ago they had been fighting together for their very existence.
"Well, let's see if you can take this in yet," he said aloud. "Rice porridge. I think Hakkai put some of those medicinal herbs he was talking about in it, and I tasted ginseng as well. It's not half bad, actually. Work with me here, kiddo. I'm a little rusty on this nursing business." He tilted her head back gently, opened her mouth and, bit by bit, fed the spoonful of watered-down rice porridge down her throat. Closing her mouth, he put the spoon aside and ran his fingers down her neck to stimulate the muscles. He was well rewarded for his efforts when Houran swallowed; it was more of a reflex action than anything, but still something.
"Yosh', attagirl…"
Gojyo repeated the process until the whole bowl had been consumed in this manner. All the while, he talked aloud as if she was awake and could hear him. It wasn't really anything earth-shattering—just how nice the sun looked outside today, and what had happened and what he'd dreamt, and how cute she looked asleep. He thought maybe she could hear him on a different level.
"All right, I'm finished up here," he said with a yawn. "Sleep tight, love, I'll be back for dinner," the half-demon said to his guest, and placed upon her forehead a kiss far more innocent than the one they shared within Avici.
Of course, the truth was Gojyo never did go anywhere. Hakkai dozed off somewhere around the novel's 83rd chapter, and when he woke up, his first instinct was to check on his 'patients'. He found Houran sleeping peacefully, a bowl of porridge empty to the last grain, and Gojyo snoring slightly on the chair beside her.
"Aww…Hakuryuu, look…"
'Kyuu?'
"Sssh. Let's get the camera."
[1] Wu Cheng En wrote Xi You Ji…or Journey to the West.
This ends the battle arc of Shinku no En. The next few chapters will deal with a little more romance for our erogappa, so be prepared! ^_^ And to the reviewers...I MADE THE SUTRA CHANTING UP! *point point*
ceres-17 -- *new reviewer applause* ^_^ Yeah, Houran...Y'know, a.k.a Houlan/Penglan.
Ashura A. -- For the moment, the torture is over, and Gojyo WILL keep this promise. You'll find out how and why exactly when the story is done. Don't worry about the ending...it's better than A.T.F.U.'s, in any case.
D.
Chan -- I'm deeply flattered one of the long-time writers here reviewed SNE
and enjoyed reading it,
and equally delighted to find a fellow GojyoxHouran supporter!
Dougan: And I'm glad you bestow upon me such
praise...
M2000: She didn't PRAISE you, she called you a MOLESTER! Now scram! I
don't appreciate weirdos who dye their hair with blood, especially the blood of
an innocent li'l hanyou! *reads sutras*
Dougan: Aw crap, not AGAIN! *dies*