Shinku no En: The Crimson Bond
by UltraM2000
Disclaimer: Don't own Saiyuki…yet. Severe fluff, M2000 style and slight PWPness. More hopeless angsting by Houran.
To all Malaysian readers: I will be at the AXN Anime Festival in MidValley on 27/09, cosplaying Gojyo. I'll be easy to recognise -- look for a kappa with black hair and specs! ;)
Cold and dark and lonely…I remember somewhere cold and dark and lonely…
It was then you pulled me out of the darkness, and brought me into the blinding light, beautiful and warm. Twice have you done this, and the second time the light shone all the brighter upon us. Alas, the light is fading with the passing of time, and I now see it shining in a place far beyond my reach.
For that one taste of light, I will willingly return to darkness if I may see it still, albeit far away. Who knows…with the strength you have given me, I may be able to create a light of my own now…
The sun was just starting on its way down towards its nadir when the bus creaked to a stop. Houran was jolted out of her slumber, and looked around, forgetting momentarily where she was. All around her, passengers were draining rapidly out of the vehicle. The sign she saw through the window read, in plain black script, 'Bakuga'.
A horrendous growl arose from Houran's innards, and she winced. She had not eaten a thing since last night, and hunger had been gnawing at her insides since the bus-trip started. She felt in her pocket for the coins she had left, thought it over and decided to continue to tough it out until she reached Hattarei. Perhaps some fresh air might help the dizziness.
She picked up her bag and stepped down from the bus. The chill winter air did help some, but when she returned to her seat, she found it occupied by a rough, brash demon and his equally cruddy-looking companion. They weren't passengers prior to this, she was sure of that.
"Excuse me, sir, but I think that's my seat you're in."
"Oh really, lovely?" he said with a lecherous grin, looking up at her. "Where's that written? I don't see your name on this here seat! Maybe the label got stuck to you?" He tried to cop a feel of Houran's behind, and she gave a sharp yelp before slapping him as hard as she could across the hand.
"Groper!" she spat furiously.
"Aww, whassamatter, lovely?" he said, pretending to be hurt. "Can't a man have his fun? I don't stake my claim on just ANY babe, you know…give us a kiss, why don't you? Or something more, maybe? Then we'll give up the seats!" He and his companion had disgusting leers painted across their faces as they advanced towards her, taking her by the hand. Houran tried to pull away from them, but the nausea returned with a vengeance and she ended up sprawled across a chair, one of the men looming over her, eyes glinting wildly.
"Don't fight it, lovely—can't you see fate brought us together right here? You seem so cold…come, let me warm you up a little…" He ran his claws down her cheek almost tenderly.
"Let—me—go!!!" she shouted.
"You might wanna do what she says," someone snarled behind them. Houran's vision was blurred from shock and hunger, and the two demons further obscured her line of sight.
"A tough guy, huh? She belong to you?"
"Hah, I wish I could say that. Just here to teach you how to treat a lady right, boys."
"Smart mouth you got there! Let's get 'im, Zan!"
"Oh, so you want some, do you? Come and get it!"
"Gladly, stranger! RRRAAAAARRRGHHH!!!"
There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, some cracks and crunches, and finally two dull thuds. The last one standing dusted himself off, corrected his jacket and walked over towards Houran.
"…Besides, I had my eye on her first," Gojyo said with a smile, leaning on the back of Houran's seat.
"G…Gojyo?" she stammered, the colour returning gradually to her cheeks. "But how…why…"
"I had some help." He gripped her arm gently. "Can we talk, babe?"
She stiffened. "I don't see what about," she replied tonelessly. "There is nothing to be said."
"There's plenty to be said," countered Gojyo. "Look, I know I've been a rotten bastard to you the past few weeks, especially last night. There's an explanation for all of it, if you'll just come back with me. I can't force you—hell, I wouldn't blame you for leaving, the way I've been acting towards you all of a sudden—but I'd really appreciate it if you would just give me a chance to explain." He looked up at the young woman earnestly, fire gazing into fire. "Please, Houran?"
Houran looked at him for what seemed like a long, long while. "Why should I believe you, when you've lied to me before?"
Gojyo looked genuinely injured. "I'm not asking you to believe me. Just listen."
Houran drew a breath and let it out. "All right," she conceded. "But how…"
"Kyuu!" Hakuryuu popped his head out of Gojyo's jacket and nuzzled Houran's cheek.
"You didn't think I FLEW here, did you?"
It was a six-hour long drive, and Houran slept most of the way. She woke to find them already driving past the borders of Chouan, Gojyo humming softly to himself through chattering teeth, and his coat wrapped around her shoulders.
"You were shivering like mad in your sleep, silly girl," Gojyo said gruffly when she protested, "and I didn't have any other spare cloaks in the boot."
"But Gojyo, your vest is SLEEVELESS!"
"So I'll show off my biceps a little. That so wrong?" He tried to joke, but stopped when he saw Houran's pained expression. He sighed, and fixed his eyes on the road again.
"I didn't do it 'cause I had to, Houran," he said very gently, "I did it 'cause I wanted to. I have no burdens." She looked up at him and blinked a few times.
"Gojyo…"
"Eh? What?"
"…Nothing." She smiled. "Thank you."
"No biggie." He looked up at the sky, then at his watch. "You must be hungry. Fancy something to eat? I know a place where we can get really good sukiyaki, and the parking's great, even on weekdays."
"That sounds lovely. Where is it?"
"We're in front of it."
"Oh."
The two half-demons entered the old-style establishment, and Gojyo quickly placed an order for two. It was very nice, the both of them kneeling at the low kotatsu [1] and eating with relish. Both of them were much hungrier than they looked, and polished off the whole pot in next to no time, Hakuryuu helping by cleaning up the gristly bits.
"Now," Gojyo said, taking a deep breath, and Houran's hand in one of his own, "about that explanation…y'see, I…"
"Gojyo-sa~n! I see you came back!"
"…Hello Yin-chan," Gojyo sighed.
A bespectacled young woman appeared round the partition separating the tables, bowed in greeting and knelt by the kotatsu, arranging her thick skirt a little around her knees. "I didn't expect to find you here!" she smiled, pushing back a few stray strands of hair.
"Yeah, well, I eat out here once in a while. Have you eaten? We were just about to leave."
"I just finished, and I was about to do the same. Oh, by the way—you, Sha Gojyo, are in luck! Everything is all set up perfectly! Why not come with me to see 'it' tonight?"
"Great, I'd love to!"
"Excuse me, miss," Houran began, just a little pointedly, "but have we met?"
"I don't think so," Yin conceded, a small and embarrassed smile on her face. "Although I'm a friend of Gojyo's, he asked me to keep that a secret from you."
"Oh." Curiouser and curiouser.
"In any case, the name's Yin. Tsubame Yin," she smiled as she shook Houran's hand. "Local real-estate agent."
Yin hopped in the back of Hakuryuu and the three drove a little further into the heart of Chouan. Gojyo seemed to know very well where he was going, which made Houran a little surprised. Had he been repeating this trip for the past few weeks—possibly with Yin in tow?
Come on, Houran, girl, don't be paranoid. Yin was just a real estate agent. A really cute estate agent. Oh, dear…
They stopped in front of a new, clean-looking apartment complex. "We're here." Yin reached into her pocket and tossed Gojyo a small silver key. "This is yours."
"Thanks. I really owe you one for the past few weeks."
"No prob. I got the guys to move the furniture in for you this afternoon, but it's not quite finished yet."
"I can finish that on my own…."
"Gojyo, just what's going on?" Houran interrupted, terribly confused. If you will recall, the explanation was still forthcoming.
The kappa just smiled his mysterious smile. "You'll see soon enough."
Upon reaching the fifth floor, Gojyo took the key out and unlocked the door to apartment 05-7. The door swung open, and he stepped inside, flicking on the light switch. The fluorescent light sputtered to life, illuminating the apartment. It was a picture of cleanliness and simplicity, and Houran was quite taken with its minimalist beauty.
"Y'like it?" Gojyo asked her suddenly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded. "It's in the heart of town, close to everything, and you could practically walk to give Hakkai a visit if you wanted to. Heck, I wouldn't mind living here at all," he continued.
"Visit? Well then…you must have gone through a lot to get this ready," Houran replied softly. "Thank you. It won't take long to get settled in here, I'm sure. I appreciate your concern all this time, and I hope we can remain as friends, at least…"
The hand left her shoulder. "Houran, WHAT are you talking about?" Gojyo's tone was rather confused. "You think that…I wanted you out of my life?"
"Gojyo, I chose to leave because I…I thought that you wanted your own life back. I can't blame you." Her gaze was still averted from his face. "Am I wrong?"
Gojyo sighed deeply, passing a hand over his rogue's face. "…Sheez. I guess I'd better get this out quick, afore I lose what remains of my nerve." He took a deep breath, looked Houran in the eyes and began. "I know this babe, see. She's really pretty and she has a great body, but that's beside the point. She's also—"he began ticking off fingers—"kind, gentle, smart and very brave. I've always wanted to tell her I loved her since we parted ways, back when I was still on the road with the others. When I first met her I remember feeling like I didn't have to pretend with her, like I wanted to protect her and stay by her side. To make sure she was all right, y'know?"
"I—I see." Houran looked away, out the window.
"Don't look so downcast, Houran," he whispered, turning her face towards him. "I'm talkin' about you. I love you."
There. He'd said it. No trimmings, no trappings, no playboy smile, just the bare truth of the words.
"Gojyo!" She looked up at him, amazed.
"I dunno if you did what you did back there in Avici as a sign of thanks, not affection, and I think I was losing a few marbles myself back then—hell, I think I still am. I do know, though, that I'm telling you everything like it is. I meant what I said and I intend to prove it to you in my own way. Even if you think I'm just a guy who's completely off his rocker, I'd understand. I'd just like it if you stayed here. With me."
To say words completely failed Houran was an understatement. She stared up at Gojyo, her eyes wide as saucers. Slowly, her hands found their way to his, and she squeezed them. It was the only way she could express her emotions. A slow smile dawned upon his face, and he then got to his knees.
"Houran…would you be willing to stay here? As my wife?" He produced from his pocket a small blue velvet box, opening it to reveal a ring with two small heart-shaped diamonds set in it. (Somewhere in the background, Yin was scrabbling for a tissue in her handbag.)
He would have expected a yes, a no, a shake of the head or a nod, but definitely not a powerful, unexpected hug that almost bowled him over. Houran wept into his shoulder for several seconds, then looked up, her eyes shining with freed affection.
"I could think of no greater honour, Gojyo."
He chuckled, and kissed her gently on the lips. "Well, whatEVER are you crying about? I don't like to see a woman cry." (Yin tried to discreetly blow her nose.)
She laughed, a light, gay sound like crystal bells, and looked away to wipe her tears. "Who's crying?"
They kissed once more, a deep kiss that lasted a full minute or so, and Gojyo realised that for the first time, the tears of a woman did not inspire fearful thoughts of his mother—only a burst of untamed affection. They could be happy after all.
One chapter to go, brave reader! ^_^
Konzen -- I'll try to do so. I have exams next week. Also, Gojyo
has something to say to you. *nudge*
Gojyo: ...*sigh*...I forgive you, Konzen. Just don't cry! I still don't
like women crying!
M2000: I thought you jes' got OVER that?! *points about 9-10 lines
upwards*
Gojyo: ...for the most part, yes...
Kairi-chan -- As you can see, naaaaaaah. He wouldn't do that if UltraM2000 was writing the fic.
D-chan -- That's why I put these two together. They need someone who understands what they go through, not to mention some lovin' ^_^ Life will not suck for the rest of this fic.
Ashura A.: You bet your bananas he's serious! And as you can see...bukan setakat bersekdudukan sahaja...(it wasn't just that he wanted to live with her...) Houran's sorry, but she would like to remind you she didn't hurt Hakkai--just knocked him out. ;)
ceres17 -- Because I have impatient readers, and an equally impatient senpai
*glares good-naturedly at Firnheledien*. I think Houran's beauty goes a lot
further than skin deep, and I would even go on to say she's one of those
examples of the demure Eastern stereotype female...although she can kick butt.
Besides, she's half-demon, remember? As we all know they can be stunningly good
looking.
Gojyo, Hong Lang Ying, Hong Zhen Ji: Why thank you. (LY + ZJ -- OCs from
'A Time For Us')
UltraM2000: :GAAAH! Where'd YOU guys spring from!?
Kairi-chan -- Yep, they both love each other to pieces...It will end soon, but it WILL be a happy ending!