Legacy

Summary: Plans for an experiment with Gojyo as the ideal test subject have surfaced, and the group is pulled into a world of deceit and emotion as Gojyo uncovers his roots and finds out who his family truly is. [eventual slash – you have been warned]

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother? *glomps Hakkai and Tenpou*

Author says: I was writing this under the influence of cough medicine, which made me drowsy. I think that's all you need to know. Heh.

Chapter Two [in which Kougaiji and his crew as well as the villains appear… for real]

The world seemed to have been scrubbed clean, each leaf and rock glistening with the rainwater from the night before. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and generally everyone was bright and happy. Everyone but four characters in a green Jeep trundling down the dusty road, away from the rising sun.

Goku had fallen asleep again, and snore were being produced in time with the vehicle's jolting. Sanzo had given in to the exhaustion gnawing at the edges of his mind and was dozing in the front passenger seat, and Hakkai was yawning continuously. Only Gojyo seemed relatively alert.

"Hakkai."

"Hm?"

"Get some sleep, let me drive for a bit."

Hakkai shook his head. "It's all right, I'm not slee…" his protest fell flat as he yawned widely. The Jeep came to a halt and the pair switched places. "Now, don't leave your foot on the accelerator when stepping on the brake otherwise you may step on both at the same time and spoil the engine. Also…"

Gojyo pushed Hakkai gently back onto the seat. "Sleep. I know how to drive. I don't think Hakuryu would like it if you drove him into a tree." Hakkai mustered up a small smile before slipping into unconsciousness.

They had barely cleared the last farmhouses when four figures suddenly materialised on the road ahead of the Jeep. Gojyo brought the Jeep slowly to a stop to avoid bumping the others around too much [Sanzo got murderous when woken up suddenly] and squinted at the people, two female, two male. The male standing at the head of the group had very long red hair, a tan that Gojyo could never obtain despite their incessant travels on the road and a scowl on his face. Kougaiji.

Gojyo sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for a fight, even if it was with such worthy opponents. Beside him, Sanzo cracked open an eye and groaned softly. "That annoying brat."

Goku awoke with a snort. "Oh, look," he said, with a startling amount of enthusiasm considering the fact that he had just woken up. "Kougaiji."

Shaking the bleariness from his eyes, Hakkai smiled very slightly and called out to the other group, "I don't suppose you'd go away and come back again in a few hours?" A small explosive was tossed over and it went off two feet above their heads. "Ah. I thought not."

It wasn't the first time any of them had fought each other, but the battle was clearly one-sided. Sanzo didn't even bother with protocol; he pulled out his fan, knocked the short, energetic Lirin out and settled wearily against a tree to watch the others. Goku could only dodge whatever Kougaiji sent his way, and Hakkai's energy bursts seemed smaller and less intense than usual. Gojyo was wincing with every step he took, causing his half-brother to frown in concern.

"What's wrong with you?" Dokugakuji asked.

"Blame Hakkai," Gojyo snapped, blocking another blow. Dokugakuji raised an eyebrow and looked at Gojyo suspiciously, glancing from the latter's face to his behind to Yaone's green-clad opponent.

Suddenly, Gojyo understood what Dokugakuji was thinking. "Damn it, bro, it's not like that!" He sent the detachable blade flying, but it was knocked away easily.

Goku had regained his spirits and was attacking Kougaiji back in earnest. Very soon, he was straddling the latter's chest with his staff pressed against Kougaiji's throat. "Yeah! I won!"

Kougaiji fixed Goku with a glare. "You treat this as a game, don't you?"

Goku nodded. "As long as you don't harm Sanzo, I'll treat it as a game. If you do…" he didn't continue. They both could remember the incident in the desert very well. At least, Kougaiji did. Goku only remembered the injuries on Hakkai and Gojyo.

"All right, you win," Kougaiji said suddenly. "Get off me."

Goku obeyed. The demon prince glared at Goku again. "When did you get so strong?"

"Ah…" Goku thought about it. "Thank the gods."

Kougaiji wondered what that meant, but decided not to pursue it. "Let's go," he barked. Yaone and Hakkai bowed to each other, Lirin scampered back to her brother, complaining loudly about cheating baldies [Sanzo could feel the veins in his forehead swelling] and Dokugakuji winked at Gojyo.

"Watch your back, eh, bro?"

Gojyo flicked the finger at the tall demon, but grinned nonetheless. "You watch your own."

"Good fight," Yaone said. Hakkai opened his mouth, about to reply, when he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He whirled and threw a barrier over Gojyo.

It was just in time. An arrow that would have struck Gojyo in the shoulder glanced off the shield and onto the ground, where Goku picked it up. Sanzo fired a single shot into the direction from which the arrow came from, and the air shimmered, revealing a person clutching his arm. A bow was lying beside his feet.

Hakkai snarled and was about to hurl an energy ball at the attacker when someone else got there first. Dokugakuji picked the person up by the collar and shook him hard. "Who the hell are you?"

The person's long, unkempt hair fell from his face to reveal slit-pupiled eyes and a pair of pointed ears. He bared his teeth at Dokugakuji and vanished. Doku swore.

"Now, now, mind your mouth," a voice chided. Eight pairs of eyes stared at the newcomer. Two pairs widened in recognition.

"I see you remember me," the stranger said smoothly. His eyes were a startling shade of blue and the coat he wore fluttered in the breeze. "Jien. Gojyo."

Dokugakuji let out a strangled croak, while Gojyo's mouth hung open. "You… you're supposed to be dead!"

The man laughed lightly, then gazed at the stunned brothers. "That's what you were supposed to believe."

Gojyo shook his head slowly. "No… you're lying, you bastard." Dokugakuji still hadn't moved. "You're lying."

"Gojyo, Gojyo… is that the proper way to greet your father?"

…to be continued

Author says more stuff: Was that fun? *grin* Those who still don't know the pairing will find out in the next chapter. I think my chapters are horribly short, but this one is three and a half pages in handwriting. Painful work, but that's how I go about doing things. This fic was written largely as an experiment, because I have never completed a chaptered fic in my life. I will finish this one, though. The whole thing's planned out already. I just haven't written it. The point is, if you're expecting this to be an action fic with a little slash thrown in for fun… sorry, you're going to be disappointed. Action will be there, but so will slash. Lots of slash. This was started off as a slash fic for my little guinea-pig-cum-rubbish-bin, deviant*, so… yep. Just to tell you. ^_^