:: The Becoming ::

Gensomaden Saiyuki

Disclaimer: I don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki, which rightfully belongs to Minekura Kazuya.

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: Sanzo/Goku, hinted Gojyo/Hakkai

Warnings: language, shounen ai/yaoi, some violence

Notes: Finally, the chapter where you can actually tell I enjoyed writing it. XD Not that the whole fic wasn't fun, but this was the part I wanted to do most. I hope it shows.

That's right: time for Seiten Taisei. Let's hope I pulled it off. Thanks for all the reviews so far! Constructive criticism and feedback appreciated.

Chapter Five

If the other two noticed his rumpled state or the bags beneath his eyes, they were either too polite or too preoccupied with other thoughts to say anything. For Gojyo, that certainly had to be saying something.

Sanzo, of course, acted as though nothing had happened.

That was perfectly understandable, and Goku was more than willing to go along with it. That had been the promise; that had been the deal. In return for the pleasure, Goku had to keep his lips sealed, not breathing a word of it to anyone.

That was okay. He couldn't afford to be distracted right now, anyway.

Moving in silent accord, the four slipped past the front desk and out of the inn. The clerk didn't ask questions, though he did look horribly curious. Perhaps he, too, had been sworn to silence. One could never be sure without asking questions.

Goku had his staff out at all times. He wasn't taking any chances-- and, judging by the looks of the others, neither were they. Gojyo's shakujo gleamed long and silver in the moonlight. Though Sanzo's arms were folded, by walking behind him and peering beneath his arm, one could see the fingers tracing the outline of a gun beneath his robes. Hakkai was far from completely healed, but he was walking well, light occasionally throbbing at his palms. He had to quickly suppress his power, lest he scare the Shadow demon away when what they really wanted to do was tear him apart piece by piece.

After tearing Hakkai's gut open and attacking Sanzo, the damn thing deserved to die; so thought two members of the party.

It was decided, even without anyone saying anything, that Goku would go first. He was clearly the most tired of them all -- not surprising, he thought dryly -- so it only made sense that he go first. That was their excuse, anyway. Sanzo wasn't supposed to know the real plan, but Goku got the distinct feeling the man had a fairly good educated guess. Little things that had been said only hours ago hinted toward it, and though dense, Goku wasn't that stupid.

Outside the fringes of the town, they stopped.

His eyes had already adjusted to the dark. He could make out the bare branches of maple trees, could hear the quiet rustle of pine needles and wet leaves beneath his feet as he made his way forward. The others hung behind, watching. There was nothing they could do right now.

Perhaps the Shadow demon couldn't really become a shadow itself, as Hakkai had said, because the first movement Goku caught he swung his staff out low on the ground. There was a startled noise of surprise before something fell to the ground, its fall cushioned by pine needles. Dark eyes burned up at Goku, who glared back.

"No way," he growled, kicking at the Shadow demon. It dodged this time. "You'll have to go through me before you touch Sanzo!"

The demon said nothing, but it seemed to understand. Lunging forward, it seemed to take on a full shape in midair. Goku stumbled back, swinging almost wildly with his staff. The hit didn't connect, but that was all right. It wasn't supposed to. For now, he simply had to dodge.

So he did.

For nearly ten full minutes he evaded the demon's attacks, scraping by with a couple close calls but never once getting seriously hurt. He quickly began to realize what Hakkai meant by the demon using a strange yet simple attack pattern. It would lash out, feinting often, trying to trick you into moving in the wrong direction, and only half the time it would seriously try to injure you. It wasn't seriously trying to fight, and that irked Goku beyond all reason.

Might as well give him something to worry about, then.

The next strike was aiming down. Goku dodged to the side. The one after that was going across, and the one after that across the other way. Both times Goku had to jump back, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste. He cursed inwardly.

Then the opportune moment came. One twisted, clawed hand flew up at an angle, intent on dissevering his head from his neck. Instead of completely jumping out of the way, Goku snapped his head back, praying that his own judgment was good and that the blow wouldn't take his head off.

Claws snagged his cheek and left eyebrow, leaving fiery burns in their wake. Goku cried out, not just in pain, but in anger, nearly falling on his back. But the dodge had the desired effect. One moment the golden diadem was resting snugly on his head, the next it was twirling in midair. Goku watched it almost dreamily, the gold dulled to a dim copper in the darkness, and then his vision was blinded by white, then swallowed by a roaring darkness.

"Fuck."

Though the voice was soft, the curse was so rough it seemed as though it had been shouted. Hakkai didn't rose to it, but Gojyo was tense beside him-- though it could have been for another reason entirely. "We didn't have any better choices."

"I'm going to kill him this time."

Hakkai's eyes slid in the priest's direction. For once he wasn't smiling, his expression serious. "Yes," he said heavily. "I'm sure you will."

"Don't underestimate me," Sanzo snapped. Gojyo remained eerily silent.

"I wouldn't. But also note that Goku didn't want to do this."

"He still did it."

"I can be very persuasive."

"I don't see why you're trying to protect him."

As the loud, inhuman shrieks of agony pierced the night air, Hakkai visibly winced and turned back to the scene unfolding before them. He was able to make out Goku's form, crouched on the ground, clawing at his skull in sheer agony as the transformation took place. He couldn't say anything; had nothing to say.

Seiten Taisei had returned.

He was never in a familiar surrounding. Never. It was always different, but that didn't really matter. Because he smelled blood. Fresh blood. Blood coursing through someone's veins.

A feral grin touched his lips.

He didn't have to look, because he could smell this foul beast's blood. Still running. Still trapped in that body.

Not anymore.

Shrieking with delight, he lunged forward. Swiped. Watched dark eyes widen in shock. Watched thick, purple liquid spray over his arm, onto his face, staining his shirt. Splattering. Dripping. Delicious. He licked his lips; very delicious. Not the same wonderful taste as the coppery red of human blood, but good for now.

He howled. Lunged. Sank his teeth into the junction between the thing's neck and shoulder. More blood spurted. Dimly, he heard it screaming. Then the tearing of muscle and flesh. The thickness of meat dripping with fresh blood, bittersweet and wonderful on his tongue. Almost salty. It tried to fight back, clawing at his arms, but only succeeded in tearing his sleeves into ribbons.

He wouldn't waste time eating this strange creature. It was weak. No challenge. Not as appetizing as the human blood he smelled behind him, fresh and wild and boiling with something akin to anger right now...

His hand darted up. Clutched the leathery, hairless head. Sank his claws into it. Listened to it whimper. Brought it down to bash its face in with his knee, crushing the bones. It wouldn't be able to scream coherently any longer. All sound was muffled.

Still gripping the head, he used his other arm to dive into the thing's belly, grasping at its innards, clawing them, ripping them apart. Shredding them. Tearing them out. Watching the dark, raw-smelling liquid splatter all over the ground. Grinning with unholy glee at the whole thing. It was beautiful to him, a horrible, wonderful, enchanting piece of death, full of blood and gore and mess. His hands were slick with blood.

Lips curled in a wicked smirk, he brought his hand out. Blood splattered noisily. He brought his hand up to his face; licked it. Tasted blood. Wonderful, delicious blood. What a treat.

Tongue grazing over his fingers, he used the hand still clutching the demon's head to squeeze. It screamed. He was barely exerting any pressure. He grinned.

He crushed the skull. Bones crunched. The screaming abruptly halted. The silence was sudden and deafening. Beautiful. Still calmly tasting his fingers, he uncurled his free hand. The body fell with a meaty thud. He kicked it. It rolled limply; flopping.

Dropping his arm to his side, he turned to the scent behind him. Fresh blood. Human blood. Red blood. Very different blood. His smile would have been lovely, if the onlookers hadn't realized what it meant.

Death. Death to them all. No matter who. No matter what. He saw two of them murmuring, but couldn't recognize the lip movement or the language. Couldn't hear anything over the roaring in his head, only one word screamed as a violent mantra, the only word he knew, and that was KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL!

His gaze settled on the sun.

There was no questioning who was going to step up to fight. Sanzo couldn't be angry, though he could be annoyed. Why was it that he and he alone -- excluding certain goddesses -- was the only one that could stop this idiot after an insane rampage? When the catlike, wickedly glinting gold eyes came to rest on him, Sanzo glared back and stepped forward. He had accepted the silent challenge.

No useless bullets to waste on this bastard.

His thoughts were conflicting, arguing with each other. On one hand, he knew this was Goku. It was his body, and killing it meant killing him. He had every right to just put a bullet in the idiot's head, and yet he didn't make a move to do so-- even though this wasn't really Goku, presently, but Seiten Taisei. They were two very different people, one demon and one boy, trapped in the same body. Two minds, one body. Two lives, one body. Two Gokus, one body.

Only this wasn't Goku; it was Seiten Taisei.

Why did he keep having to remind himself that?

Seiten Taisei lunged forward, expending more effort to make noise than to be silent. Seiten Taisei wasn't a person, he was a demon in its rawest form. Blood was his only lust; death was his only desire. Any thought of food, living, care, and whatever was remotely humane was banished. This thing lived to kill. In that sense, he was not Goku.

Sanzo didn't shoot, but used the gun as a weapon anyway. He swung it forth, grunting with the effort as the blow was driven from his hips, driving the metal into the demon's belly. Seiten Taisei choked, the wind knocked free of his lungs. He stumbled back, hatred flaring in his golden eyes.

It wasn't Goku, but Goku was hidden somewhere in there, somewhere in the back of this creature's mind. Sanzo knew the boy was watching, horrified at his actions, but having no control whatsoever. Goku said he could never clearly remember what happened before and after his awful transformation, but he could always recall little things.

"My hands... they were seriously trying to kill... Hakkai, Gojyo... even Sanzo..."

Not "and Sanzo," but "even Sanzo." Making him that much more important; making him that much more significant.

Stupid child.

With a loud angry cry, Seiten Taisei threw himself back up. Sanzo was too close to dodge in time; a hard skull crashed into his knees. Wincing terribly, unable to bite back a cry of pain, Sanzo also fell. A crack sounded, loud as a gunshot. Pain stabbed all the way up his leg and to his heart. It hurt.

Like hell he would let a small injury be his downfall. He was the only person that could turn Goku back to normal; the only one. If it was just a simple matter of placing the diadem back on his head, anyone could do it-- but it wasn't that simple. Hakkai and Gojyo didn't know it, and it was likely even Goku didn't realize it, but once taken off the diadem's powers ebbed away. Sure, it might work, but it would take too long for the magic to work the proper effect. The aftermath would leave Goku with a splitting headache for days, and while Sanzo normally wouldn't mind letting that happen just to prove a point to the idiot, he much less liked the idea of Goku's whining about the pain. Even then it would be a weaker copy of what it was before. Once off, it was useless.

No, a new diadem would have to replace the old one. It was the only way it would have an immediate and proper effect. Sanzo intended on making this as painless as possible for himself.

That was why it pissed him off that Seiten Taisei had hit him so effectively. Snarling, Sanzo changed his grip on the gun, careful to keep his finger clear of the trigger as he brought the metal crashing down on the demon's head. Seiten Taisei screamed, knocked to the ground on his side and clutching at the pained spot. Sanzo was immediately on him, one hand covering the fiery golden eyes as he began to chant.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be as easy as the last time. Before he could even finish the first line, Seiten Taisei kicked at him. The sole of his boot crashed painfully between the man's ribs. For a moment Sanzo's eyes widened; the air stilled, and he saw a smug grin of triumph on the demon's face before he went flying back, the chant lost on his tongue and scattered to the winds.

"Sanzo!"

If Hakkai didn't stay back, Sanzo was going to make sure he regretted it. As though sensing the silent threat, the man did stay back, though he was obviously tense. From the corner of his eye, Sanzo noted Gojyo tightening his grip on the shakujo.

He threw himself to the side before Seiten Taisei's boot could make connection with his head. The force and impact hurt his ribs, made him gasp in pain and lose his breath. He had to keep moving, though, otherwise he'd be dead-- and like hell he was going to let himself be killed by an idiot of a demon!

His next action was done on sheer impulse, in an almost desperate hope to try to startle the damned thing. Sanzo swung the gun up, cocked it, and pulled the trigger.

Seiten Taisei froze.

The bullet had just barely missed him, thanks to Sanzo's perfect aim. The blonde tensed, gun still poised to shoot. He didn't know why; that wasn't his intention. But then, neither was moving. The only live thing seemed to be Seiten Taisei's ridiculously long hair, swaying in the whispering breeze. Gold pierced violet, clashing, melding, drowning.

And perhaps it was due to the darkness and Sanzo's rapidly growing exhaustion, but he could have sworn there was a flicker of realization in Seiten Taisei's eyes.

Slowly, gingerly, as though moving any faster would shatter the mood and make Seiten Taisei snap, Sanzo got to his feet. Putting weight on his injured knee hurt like hell, but he managed to stay upright. The Smith & Wesson was still pointing toward the demon, directly at the diadem-free forehead. Both were breathing hard, raggedly, from exertion.

Seiten Taisei stepped forward. Sanzo cocked the gun.

"Konzen..."

The voice was raspy, as though it had rarely been used, or as though he were sick. Seiten Taisei continued to stare, and Sanzo was now drawing a blank. No reaction. Nothing. Nothing except...

That damned name again!

He wasn't fooled. This still wasn't Goku; he was saying the wrong name to the wrong person. Sanzo's eyes narrowed, and he said this aloud, loudly so that it would be sure to drive through the moron's head. "Nice try."

Face twisting in fury, Seiten Taisei pounced.

Sanzo's knee nearly gave out beneath him, screaming in silent agony, but he willed himself to stand just long enough for the demon to start to crash into him. Clawed fingers started to grip his shoulders when Sanzo brought his free hand -- not the one holding the gun; another hit would cause worse brain damage than the monkey already had -- up, balled into a fist, and knocked his knuckles into Seiten Taisei's head. Hard. The force seemed to momentarily stun the demon, and Sanzo quickly took advantage of those few precious seconds. His lips moved quickly, no sound escaping, as he dropped the gun. His hand shot out, closing over the surprised golden eyes.

For once in your life, you damned monkey, stay still!

Perhaps Seiten Taisei realized the battle was lost. It was more likely he was too startled to do anything, actually, but it seemed very odd that he would just sit there while Sanzo completed the mantra.

When he drew his hand back, a new golden limiter was in place. The fangs and long hair vanished, the claws shrinking into normal human fingernails, bloodlust draining from golden eyes only to be replaced by drowsy confusion. Wobbling unsteadily, it only took Goku a couple moments to collapse, completely unconscious.

Being the generous man he was, Sanzo caught him.