He hurt. They had been attacked. He remembered that. Now pain throbbed through his body, and he did what every creature raised by its parents did when it was hurting.

He reached out for his mother.

Kougaiji said nothing, even as he wished for his mother's presence. She had always taken care of him when he was sick. Now he hurt and it seemed as if he could almost feel his mother next to him.

/shut up/

What?

/not another one./

How was this…?

/noisy. here/

It seemed as if something had grabbed him and shoved, forcing Kougaiji away. The pain faded, and the demon slowly opened his eyes.

He was in a strange room. It's was beautifully, if simply, decorated. In the middle of the room sat a table. At the table was a young woman. Violet eyes watched Kougaiji from a face framed by blue-black hair. Hair that flowed down to the floor, looking similar to the black silk that made up her dress.

From the tip of her pointed ears to the bottom of her fine silk slippers, this was a woman that a goddess would be jealous of. The woman Gyokumen was trying to replace.

"Mom?"

The woman smiled, and Kougaiji rubbed his eyes, then gaped at her some more. This was impossible. His mother was trapped in a pillar of stone.

"I still am, my little firebrand."

The stunned bunny look in Kougaiji's face grew even more slack jawed.

His stunned expression was met by the amused one his mother wore. She sipped delicately from one of the teacups that had sat on the table. After a bit, she seemed to tire of the staring contest, and looked around the room.

"Your friend has good taste." Another sip of tea, and the expression grew wicked. "Of course, one could tell that by his taste in lovers. Or, should I say, lover. Beautiful gold eyes, that one." She eyed Kougaiji. "So, when are you going to find someone, Kou?"

Kougaiji squeaked. Oh, that was his mother, all right. No one else could get that tone of voice just right.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear, it's me."

"How?"

"Your friend. The priest."

"SANZO?"

Violet eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes dear, the priest. You needn't yell."

Kougaiji looked at her, still confused. Rasetsunyo sighed, laughter clear in her eyes.

"Oh, my poor baby. He was made a Sanzo on more that just his pretty looks and excellent form."

"Mother!" Kougaiji's head hurt.

"I'm trapped in stone, not dead. Therefore I can look as much as I damn well please." Oh, Kougaiji wanted to hide. The smile on his mother's face was getting even worse.

"Those two, the priest and his monkey, look very pretty together. Skin shiny-slick with sweat, eyes full of hunger for each other, hands sliding over bared skin."

Oh, damn. Slapping his hands over his ears, Kougaiji was now firmly convinced that this was his mother. She had always had a rather twisted imagination, and enjoyed trading tales with her ladies in waiting and anyone else who was forced to spend time with her. And the stories always seemed to involve pretty males. The most terrifying part was that her ladies would always come up with their own versions. It was quite frightening.

It didn't help that her words brought to mind an incident Kougaiji would rather forget. It involved a sneak attack that failed, and having to fight a Goku who wore a very smug expression and smelt of sex.

Shivering, Kougaiji blocked off the images. He really didn't want to imagine anyone's sex life. And definitely not that of anyone he fought on a regular basis.

Taking a chance, he looked at his mother. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, but she didn't seem to be saying anything, so he decided it was safe. He wanted answers, and hoped she would answer them.

"Mother." She snapped out of her daze, eyes focusing on him once again. There was something almost wild in them, but it quickly faded. "What is going on? Where are we? And how are you free?"

Sadness filled Rasetsunyo's face. "I'm not free, Kou. Not really. My body is trapped in that spell, but my mind is free. Somehow, I am able to leave my body and move about the world. Not part of Gyokumen's plan, I'm sure, but I am not completely without power of my own."

She wasn't free. The weight that had lifted from Kougaiji's heart came crashing back down. "But…." He paused. "Why haven't you spoken to me before?"

Rasetsunyo sipped her tea again, and gestured to the empty seat. When Kougaiji took it, she sighed. "I wish I could have. I tried to. I tried so hard when it first happened. But you never could hear me. So very few people can. It takes something special to hear the thoughts of another. But there are some who do. For instance, Genjo Sanzo can."

Forcing down the urge to yell again, Kougaiji fidgeted with his own teacup. "I don't understand."

"I don't either. Not really." His mother shrugged. "All I know is that, somehow, the child can hear, or at least sense, the thoughts of other. And when that woman brought you here, he grabbed both of us and shoved us here." She drank more tea from the never ending cup. "Here is the part that will be hard for you to grasp, Kou. You aren't really here. Your pain was distracting Sanzo. He could feel us reaching for each other, so he basically shoved us together in a corner of his mind."

That, for some reason, frightened Kougaiji. To be so easily taken from his body….

"The only reason he was able to do so is that you were in pain. Your mind was trying to escape that anyway." Once again, his mother did one of those eerie mind reading replies.

The woman smiled. "It's not that hard. I've been watching over you for over 500 years. You and your sister. No one will hurt my babies if I can stop it."

Something about the ferocious tone in her voice made Kougaiji smile. Yaone had told him about Lirin's wish to be loved by Kougaiji's mother, and it seemed as if that would not be a problem, if they could ever break the curse.

"Of course I care for her. She is your sister, and you love her very much, no matter who her birth mother is. How could I do less?" Rasetsunyo set her cup down, then leaned forward to take Kougaiji's hands in her own. "You are my life, Kougaiji. My child. You and your sister mean the world to me. As well as Yaone and Dokugakuji. They are your family, so they are my family."

As she finished, the world around them blanked out, then came back into existence. Kougaiji froze, unsure of what was going on. Rasetsunyo cursed, her eyes unfocusing.

"Sanzo is hurting too much to even act as a bridge," she spat. Leaping to her feet, she moved around the table. Pulling Kougaiji up, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. "I want you to know that I love you. You are my firebrand, the light of my soul."

Kougaiji returned her hug, eyes burning. He didn't want to lose her again.

Still holding him, Rasetsunyo gave a sobbing chuckle. "You have the right idea, Kou. Sanzo with the sutra might work. Just remember, those pieces of paper helped create the world. Don't underestimate their power."

As the words of warning echoed in Kougaiji's ear, everything faded once more. Pain flared over his body. It was a shock after the warm embrace of his mother, and the demon stifled a cry. Then even that was unnecessary as he fell into the darkness of unconsciousness.

TBC