Title: Reign of the Heart
Content: A/U, yaoi, confusing and eccentric author…^___^
Disclaimer: I own…YOUR SOULS!! *cackles* All right, so I own fairly little, BUT! I own Sanzo figurine and I WUV him! *huggles* By the way, his birthday party went off without a hitch…*fond memories of peach cans decorating her room and balloons with crude likenesses of Sanzo doodled on* The streamers are still in-tact, no thanks to Chaster…. And I have a balloon that resembles an alien…its green too…*blinks O.o*
*waves a pretty sparkly banner* Oh-KAY! I'd just like to thank all you people who…tolerated me, and read this story, and especially those who e-mailed me and put the flame under my butt to get me writing again. I have to admit, the creative bug just wasn't biting. Thank you!
~Chapter Six~
Lirin rubbed at her sore ear with a sour expression upon her round tanned face. She really didn't fit the definition of royalty, and once again, that part of her had shone through and gotten her into trouble. For the third or fourth time, her mother had caught her wearing clothes more often seen on little boys. Kyosyu had dragged the girl by the ear into the changing room, and refused to let her leave until she'd put her dress back on. Lirin did so unwillingly, and that led to her position now, looking for her elder half-brother.
"Damned mother…" she muttered with a growl. She looked around and saw that she was completely alone, and a sly grin crept across her face. Swiftly, she ripped the skirt of her dress right off, and also the sleeves. She'd kept the pants on underneath, and sighed at how much more freely she could walk without a hem to trip upon. "How stupid these things are!" she exclaimed, looking at the ripped cloth in disgust. With a snort of indignation, she cast the remnants of her dress to the floor, and continued her search for Kougaiji.
She was never one to pry intentionally, and when Lirin stumbled upon Kougaiji's private room with the door open, she figured that there would be no problem for her to look for her brother inside. She grinned, a pointed canine protruding from her mouth in a demonic manner of mischief, which likewise danced within her large green eyes. Lirin hoped she might be able to catch her elder brother by surprise. Little did she think she might herself be greeted with a surprise of another kind.
"Big brother!" she chirped, practically bouncing into the large open room. "Kou—" She stopped mid-sentence, face scrunching up in a sort of confusion. Dokugaguji's back was faced towards her, his height hiding Kougaiji, whose clawed hands clutched at the fabric of the taller demon's shirt. The prince sort of sighed as he shifted his chin to lie on Doku's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek against the elder demon's neck. His red-violet eyes opened slowly, and he found himself staring right into the wide, questioning orbs of his younger half sister. The blood quickly blossomed in his cheeks, fortunately for him, only tinting his face a light hue of pink. The redheaded prince coughed a few times, and pulled away from the taller demon that held him. Doku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the prince's sudden action, and he cast a glance over his own shoulder.
Lirin blinked a few times, as did Doku, and then the child grinned widely. Kougaiji's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Surprised ya, didn't I?" she preened. Kougaiji growled low in his throat, bitter at having been interrupted. The child apparently didn't care about the two older demons' activities prior to her entrance, and casually strolled over to her brother. Her smirk melted and became a somber look, rare for the young demon girl. "Kou…I need to talk to you." She stated flatly. Looking down at his half-sister, Kougaiji felt his annoyance subside. Lirin wouldn't be in this kind of mood if the situation wasn't truly important.
"…Yes?" The young demon averted her eyes to the floor, suddenly out of words, something Kou had never witnessed since she'd come to stay at his palace.
"I…well, I noticed that you don't seem to like my mother much…" the girl began slowly, unsure as of how else to put her thoughts into words. Kougaiji opened his mouth to explain, but Lirin rushed on. "And I feel the same. She's never been much of a mother to me anyway…" Bitter anger seeped into her tone. "I'm not much of anything to her," Doku gave the girl a sympathetic look, having been familiar with the feeling of a lost family, similar to not having a true family to begin with. Lirin lifted her round face to look Kougaiji in the eye. "And, I really like it here…and I really like you, too. What I mean is, I really just wanna stay here with you,"
The demon prince stared with a blank expression at the girl, remembering the last time he'd been asked a similar request…also of someone he held dear. His eyes shifted to Doku, his army's commander, his slave in body…his eternal friend. It was he who had asked to stay with Kougaiji so long ago. The taller demon bowed his head in a nod, and met eyes with Kougaiji. He placed a large hand atop Lirin's head, passing it through her hair gently, and both gave Kougaiji expectant looks. The prince, cornered, released a sigh, and folded his arms over his chest, yet the corners of his lips nearly twitched upwards, belying his softened mood.
"You may stay. At any rate, it will be worlds better than leaving you in the care of that woman any longer." Lirin's eyes shown with gratitude and love, and she leapt forward, throwing her arms around her half-brother's waist. She looked up with a wide grin splitting her round face.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, unexplainable sincerity in just those two words, and much more than Kou himself ever expected to hear from the girl. "Big brother…" Gently, Kougaiji reached down, petting her head affectionately. It was almost if they'd never been apart. Doku smiled lovingly at the both of them, memories of the days he was bereft of threatening to claim his mind completely. He was a great deal more than just "happy" that Kougaiji could find a similar feeling in his younger sister.
"…Kou?" The girl began tentatively. Kougaiji raised a slender red eyebrow. "Yaone would like to stay as well."
A long winded sigh came from the relatively small-framed boy for about the twentieth time that day, and it was, in fact, the last time the blonde-haired prince was willing it to endure without comment.
"Would you knock off that sighing?" he growled, almost in a manner suited to his demon adversaries. Goku leaned his forehead against Sanzo's back, right between the shoulder blades, adding a groan to his sigh this time. Sanzo twitched involuntarily, gripping the reins on the horse more tightly.
"I can't help it, Sanzo! My back hurts and my neck is stiff and I'm so hungry I think I'll pass out any minute!" As if to add emphasis to this claim, his stomach rumbled hollowly. "When will we be able to stop, Sanzo?" the boy's whining plucked on the very last nerve Sanzo had, and even that one threatened to snap as he could feel a headache forming right between his eyes. Another twitch of his eye.
"God dammit! Shut up already! We are only a day's ride away, is it possible for you to give me peace for that duration of time?" The prince's tone softened as he felt the warmth of Goku's cheek against his back.
"…I'm sorry, Sanzo. I'll be quiet now, okay?" Sanzo looked upwards, wondering why the gods had bestowed him with this little gift. Or for that matter, Hakkai.
"I guarantee I shall kill him," the prince muttered. Goku's ears didn't pick up on this oath of vengeance, so Sanzo raised his voice for him to hear. "Never mind it." was the prince's pardon to Goku's incessant complaint. Behind him, Goku smiled. They rode on for a few more minutes in silence, when once again, Goku broke the soundless cloud that surrounded them.
"Sanzo…" the boy started. The prince shifted his shoulders, purposely avoiding giving a response. "Sanzo…how come, how come you're a prince?" At this, Sanzo cast a fleeting glance at the chestnut haired youth from over his shoulder before turning around and shifting his shoulders once more. He cleared his throat. "Sanzo?"
"Where did you get such a question from?" Sanzo questioned regally, dodging its answer. He felt Goku shrug against him.
"Well, its just that, you're nothing like any of the other…princes…that owned me," Sanzo felt himself tense at the way Goku used the word "owned" so freely. It appalled him that people felt they could own life, and treat that life so flippantly. He wouldn't express this feeling to Goku, but it still angered him. He softened then, due to his anger for Goku's situation, and decided he at least owed the boy a story.
"I suppose you can say it was pure accident that I am where I am today. I was only an infant when I was separated from my birth parents, so of course, I never knew who they were, nor shall I ever. I have no remorse for that. It just so happened I was found by the late queen of my kingdom, and it was an extraordinary find for her. She was what you may call barren; she could not have children, and so she had no way of producing an heir for the king. When she found me, she wanted to keep me as a son, and the king agreed." As Sanzo spoke, his voice remained facile, and no emotion leaked in.
"Not very long after, she was struck ill, and died because of it. The king was left in grief for his dead wife…he didn't last all that much longer than she." Goku swallowed, eyes becoming slightly moist beyond his control.
"Sanzo…" Cutting off the boy's sympathetic words, the prince continued, voice just as detatched as it had been.
"I was very young at that point, no older than a child, and already I had to be trained to take my father's place as king. By eighteen, I was fully in charge of the kingdom." Sanzo stopped, and Goku waited, thinking there might be more to the story, but there was nothing.
"Sanzo…you must've been pretty brave," Goku told the prince. The blonde raised an eyebrow, turning slightly to look at the youth. His lips formed a frown, and his eyes wanted an elaboration of that statement. "I mean…you must've been really brave to take on so much responsibility when you were so young…I don't think I could've done it…" Goku admitted. Sanzo stared at the boy for some time, and a hint of smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He turned to face forward again, shaking his head lightly.
"Stupid monkey," But he was still smiling.
"You do realize, my lady, that your hesitance may be showing the people unintentional weakness; you and I both know that is a lie," Startled by the smooth baritone of the dark haired man, Kyosyu's hands clenched reflexively around her tea cup, to prevent the hot liquid from jumping out and burning her hand, or worse, staining her gown. She breathed a soft snort at his words.
"You are quite anxious, aren't you?" she mused, this being the third or fourth time Homura touched upon the subject. A ghost of a smirk played at his lips.
"Maybe, but it is for your own good. Without a prince around, now's the perfect time to move into full force, my lady." This formal title was rewarded with a chuckle from the woman, who placed her tea cup down and folded her hands neatly on her lap.
"I know. Which is exactly why I gave the order to attack, and not even a day to spare." She flashed the man a smirk of her own. "I'm not an incapable woman, Homura. But thanks to you, I feel even more motivated." The man bowed his head, accepting the compliment humbly. "It will feel beyond wonderful to finally put the humans back into their place." Homura nodded his assent, and in his two-toned eyes there flashed a glimmer of anticipation, for something far greater than just a war between the two kingdoms. And in the end, the rewards for him would be great.
Author's Note: Blah…it's getting too hard for me to write. Damn! That chapter was wimpy! …Oh well. Merry Christmas anyway, even if it is belated. Do de do. I really can't say much else, except DON'T STAY UP ALL NIGHT PLAYING PS2!!! Just don't! @.@ Although, we definitely came up with some interesting comments…
"Jolly ho! The small small lover approaches!"
And let us not forget about the Kingdom Hearts incident. Does anyone else find it superbly odd that Donald Duck and Goofy, of all creatures, were looking for Squall (of FFVIII)?! *sighs* Yeah, yeah, it was a looooonnnng night. Ooh. And in recent news, the Saiyuki playstation game just came out in Japan (No no! Not that ugly mother that's in the US! The real anime version!). I'm hoping for a translation in the future, but please, don't hold this as fact. I'm just hoping. Strongly hoping. And I still hafta get my Gojyo figurine, but can I find it for a decent price? …If I could, I would've gotten the thing already. Oh well. I think I'll end this nonsense now.
Pinku: ^____^
Lorelei: Wow, that thing's been missing for awhile now…
Pinku: Thing?!
Lorelei: ^____~
