The summons had been expected. Gyokumen's pet scientists had been running
about insanely for the last few days, and Kougaiji had heard the chanting
of the sutra several times. He was not surprised when the page came,
bearing the command to see the Empress.
So here he stood, head bowed to the insane bitch that was his only key to saving his mother. Cold eyes studied him, as they did every time. If it wasn't for the fact that most of their followers were loyal only to him, Kougaiji was sure he would have been disposed of by now.
"I have a very important mission for you, Kougaiji. This one you must complete, or else everything that we have worked for will be ruined."
Kougaiji said nothing. It had been too long, too many years for him to play the same games over and over. He only needed her for one thing. Once she did that, or he found another way past the problem, he would leave. And he was just too tired to care anymore about the woman's whiney rants.
Not getting the response she wanted, Gyokumen frowned, marring her icy beauty. Still, she continued.
"The Maten Sutra is near. I will give you one last chance to prove yourself to me. Bring me the sutra, and I will free your mother. A simple deal. One we have had for a long time." She looked at the redhead through narrowed eyes. "Do you understand?"
He met her stare with one of his own. "Yes." If she wanted more than that, she would have to pry it from him. He had finally learned that the blue- haired bitch mistress of his father enjoyed toying with him. And that it irritated her when he didn't play along.
Even as she began to rant about how it was the only way to revive his mother, thus his duty, an idea wormed its way into Kougaiji's thoughts. A chance to save his sister and mother, and put the filth that had played with his life for too long in her place.
Gyokumen's rant died as Kougaiji turned his back. "I will return quickly. And I will have the sutra."
"Good." That one word radiated Gyokumen's pleasure at having her way once more. "Oh, and one last thing, Kougaiji. Since you have proven incapable of keeping Lirin within the safety of the palace, I have dealt with it. She has been given a squad of guards to keep her safe."
Guards? More likely jailors. Since he couldn't find a ritual that used one of the Heavenly Sutras, he couldn't be sure, but Kougaiji had discovered one thing. That damn priest had been right. Each and every ritual of resurrection had required the blood of kin to raise a dead form.
And Gyokumen's choices were limited to two. Somehow, Kougaiji was sure that the mother-child bond wouldn't protect his half-sister.
Growling to himself, Kougaiji continued to stalk forward. He was sure that the woman was thrilled at getting one over on him. Bitch.
Once outside the audience chamber doors, he was joined by Doku and Yaone. The worried expressions on both their faces told him that hey had overheard at least part of the conversation/rant. He shook his head once, then led them to the chamber that housed his mother.
Both magic and science had been used to keep this room free of recording devices. It was the only place in the damn castle they could be sure of not being spied on. Only when they reached it did Kougaiji relax.
He looked at both his companions. "I take it you both heard everything?"
Unrepentant, Doku nodded. Slightly more hesitant, seemingly ashamed of spying on her leader, Yaone followed suit. Kougaiji sighed. "Good," he said, rubbing his temple. "I don't have to explain it to you. Yaone, see if there is anyway of getting Lirin free. Try to get out of the castle. If you can, find us. If not, hide. Understand?"
"Yes, Kougaiji-sama." Already Kougaiji could see Yaone working on a plan. "We'll meet later. Doku, come on."
There the group split. Yaone headed for her workshop while Kougaiji and Doku went for the dragons. As they walked, Doku eyed his leader and friend. Kou was up to something.
"We're going to ask for help," Kougaiji said quietly in response to Doku's questioning look. It didn't look as if the comment helped Doku's confusion any. Still, he didn't dare say anymore. Not at the moment. Who knew what spies were around?
///
Gyokumen smiled as she examined her nails. "Follow them. You know what to do."
The dark figure bowed, then hurried from the room.
With a soft chuckle, the demon sat back. Everything and everyone was readying themselves for the endgame. Little did they know she had stacked the deck.
///
Their only warning was the faint spike of demonic energy. Both of their visitors had enough ability to mask that distinct giveaway.
So, when the dragons glided in on almost silent wings, Sanzo and his group was ready.
Hakkai watched as Kougaiji and Dokugakuji slid off the great beasts to land lightly on the ground. Something about their stances instantly caught Hakkai's attention. These were not the proud warriors they normally faced. Instead, they held themselves as if they were about to do something distasteful.
"Genjo Sanzo," Kougaiji started, eyes cast down at the ground. He paused, as if struggling with something. This, Hakkai decided, was going to be very interesting.
Elsewhere, a black-haired goddess looked up.
"I have come to ask for your help. I need your assistance in destroying Gyokumen, reviver of Gyumaoh, and in freeing my sister and mother. If you agree, I will return to you the Seiten Sutra."
Whatever any of them had expected, that was not it. Nowhere in the top ten, even. Quickly getting over his surprise, Hakkai looked at the others.
Sanzo had been just as quick, so his face showed no more emotion than normal. Gojyo and Doku looked remarkably similar with the same dumbfounded expression on their faces. For a second, it was very easy to see their shared father in those faces.
Goku was a surprise. It was as if he expected something like that from Kougaiji. Or, maybe, Hakkai thought, it just seemed like common sense to ask Sanzo. The boy was sure that his caregiver could fix anything.
They received no warning the second time.
A rounded object fell from the sky. Hakkai barely had time to register the fact that there was movement before a blinding lightly flooded the area. It vanished, taking awareness with it.
The last thing Hakkai saw was a pale haired woman land a dragon.
Then darkness took him completely.
TBC.
Oh, dear, Author's Notes. Something I really haven't done before. Not a long chapter, I know, but things are going to get very interesting in the next one, and I didn't want to tack it on at the end of this. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
So here he stood, head bowed to the insane bitch that was his only key to saving his mother. Cold eyes studied him, as they did every time. If it wasn't for the fact that most of their followers were loyal only to him, Kougaiji was sure he would have been disposed of by now.
"I have a very important mission for you, Kougaiji. This one you must complete, or else everything that we have worked for will be ruined."
Kougaiji said nothing. It had been too long, too many years for him to play the same games over and over. He only needed her for one thing. Once she did that, or he found another way past the problem, he would leave. And he was just too tired to care anymore about the woman's whiney rants.
Not getting the response she wanted, Gyokumen frowned, marring her icy beauty. Still, she continued.
"The Maten Sutra is near. I will give you one last chance to prove yourself to me. Bring me the sutra, and I will free your mother. A simple deal. One we have had for a long time." She looked at the redhead through narrowed eyes. "Do you understand?"
He met her stare with one of his own. "Yes." If she wanted more than that, she would have to pry it from him. He had finally learned that the blue- haired bitch mistress of his father enjoyed toying with him. And that it irritated her when he didn't play along.
Even as she began to rant about how it was the only way to revive his mother, thus his duty, an idea wormed its way into Kougaiji's thoughts. A chance to save his sister and mother, and put the filth that had played with his life for too long in her place.
Gyokumen's rant died as Kougaiji turned his back. "I will return quickly. And I will have the sutra."
"Good." That one word radiated Gyokumen's pleasure at having her way once more. "Oh, and one last thing, Kougaiji. Since you have proven incapable of keeping Lirin within the safety of the palace, I have dealt with it. She has been given a squad of guards to keep her safe."
Guards? More likely jailors. Since he couldn't find a ritual that used one of the Heavenly Sutras, he couldn't be sure, but Kougaiji had discovered one thing. That damn priest had been right. Each and every ritual of resurrection had required the blood of kin to raise a dead form.
And Gyokumen's choices were limited to two. Somehow, Kougaiji was sure that the mother-child bond wouldn't protect his half-sister.
Growling to himself, Kougaiji continued to stalk forward. He was sure that the woman was thrilled at getting one over on him. Bitch.
Once outside the audience chamber doors, he was joined by Doku and Yaone. The worried expressions on both their faces told him that hey had overheard at least part of the conversation/rant. He shook his head once, then led them to the chamber that housed his mother.
Both magic and science had been used to keep this room free of recording devices. It was the only place in the damn castle they could be sure of not being spied on. Only when they reached it did Kougaiji relax.
He looked at both his companions. "I take it you both heard everything?"
Unrepentant, Doku nodded. Slightly more hesitant, seemingly ashamed of spying on her leader, Yaone followed suit. Kougaiji sighed. "Good," he said, rubbing his temple. "I don't have to explain it to you. Yaone, see if there is anyway of getting Lirin free. Try to get out of the castle. If you can, find us. If not, hide. Understand?"
"Yes, Kougaiji-sama." Already Kougaiji could see Yaone working on a plan. "We'll meet later. Doku, come on."
There the group split. Yaone headed for her workshop while Kougaiji and Doku went for the dragons. As they walked, Doku eyed his leader and friend. Kou was up to something.
"We're going to ask for help," Kougaiji said quietly in response to Doku's questioning look. It didn't look as if the comment helped Doku's confusion any. Still, he didn't dare say anymore. Not at the moment. Who knew what spies were around?
///
Gyokumen smiled as she examined her nails. "Follow them. You know what to do."
The dark figure bowed, then hurried from the room.
With a soft chuckle, the demon sat back. Everything and everyone was readying themselves for the endgame. Little did they know she had stacked the deck.
///
Their only warning was the faint spike of demonic energy. Both of their visitors had enough ability to mask that distinct giveaway.
So, when the dragons glided in on almost silent wings, Sanzo and his group was ready.
Hakkai watched as Kougaiji and Dokugakuji slid off the great beasts to land lightly on the ground. Something about their stances instantly caught Hakkai's attention. These were not the proud warriors they normally faced. Instead, they held themselves as if they were about to do something distasteful.
"Genjo Sanzo," Kougaiji started, eyes cast down at the ground. He paused, as if struggling with something. This, Hakkai decided, was going to be very interesting.
Elsewhere, a black-haired goddess looked up.
"I have come to ask for your help. I need your assistance in destroying Gyokumen, reviver of Gyumaoh, and in freeing my sister and mother. If you agree, I will return to you the Seiten Sutra."
Whatever any of them had expected, that was not it. Nowhere in the top ten, even. Quickly getting over his surprise, Hakkai looked at the others.
Sanzo had been just as quick, so his face showed no more emotion than normal. Gojyo and Doku looked remarkably similar with the same dumbfounded expression on their faces. For a second, it was very easy to see their shared father in those faces.
Goku was a surprise. It was as if he expected something like that from Kougaiji. Or, maybe, Hakkai thought, it just seemed like common sense to ask Sanzo. The boy was sure that his caregiver could fix anything.
They received no warning the second time.
A rounded object fell from the sky. Hakkai barely had time to register the fact that there was movement before a blinding lightly flooded the area. It vanished, taking awareness with it.
The last thing Hakkai saw was a pale haired woman land a dragon.
Then darkness took him completely.
TBC.
Oh, dear, Author's Notes. Something I really haven't done before. Not a long chapter, I know, but things are going to get very interesting in the next one, and I didn't want to tack it on at the end of this. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
