Chapter II – Part Two
It was in the middle of the night and he was in his bed as he should be. But he was wide awake.
This in itself was not so unusual. The Demon Prince often stayed up late, plagued by his sorrows. But tonight, he had never felt more helpless.
"Do you know the Demon Lord Hirata?"
Gyoukumen Koushu had asked him.
"Yes. He is the Leader of the Shadow Illusion Tribe."
"Good, so you do know of him. Few do."
"He and his clan withdrew from the outside world years before I was born, hiding themselves away by casting illusions around them. What of him?"
"He has a daughter."
"So?"
"He tells me her mother was a celestial maiden."
"A goddess? He lies."
"No."
It was then that Kougaiji felt the first trickle of extreme unease.
"Aren't you curious about her?"
"Why should I be? Another half-breed."
"Apparently she killed a thousand youkai. She is quite demonic now, I assure you."
"What does this have to do with me??"
"Ah, Kougaiji, always so little patience." He hated her laugh. "She has everything to do with you."
She had told him then of her plan.
They needed the scriptures, badly. Apparently, getting them from Genjo Sanzo was taking a little bit too long. There would not be time to obtain the other scriptures. Therefore, to steal the remaining sutras besides Sanzo's, they had to have a being of great power on their side. A demon of great power. A demon whose perfect obedience they held.
"Unfortunately, you are the most powerful demon around with your sorcery and even you are taking too long with just the Sanzo-ikkou."
"You try taking it from them then!"
Her smile was wide and positively evil. "I have a better plan."
They were going to create that demon of absolute power. Actually, Kougaiji was. His step-mother's head scientist, Ni Jieni, had explained, deriving much pleasure from it. His step-mother apparently did not possess enough intelligence to give the lengthy speech.
"To escape Hirata, the goddess fed the child inside her all her power until she faded away and died. Now the goddess was just some celestial maiden of no importance in heaven, but you should recall that children born from parents of two wildly different races were apt to have some great power that threatened the heavens itself. When the mother fed her child all her heavenly energy, the half-breed child's powers were increased beyond imagination. Therefore, the child of Hirata by that goddess had a supreme power. However, the goddess had made her child human to hide it from the father, and therefore its powers were hidden as well. When the child – the daughter the Empress spoke of – killed a thousand demons to become a demon herself, all those hidden powers spiraled out of control until she can no longer use them without seriously damaging herself to the point of death. But, if she were to have a child, she can do as her mother did – transfer all her powers to the child inside her. If we were to gain control of such a child, the possibilities would be endless."
Kougaiji had already known then what they had planned. But his mind had refused to acknowledge such a ludicrous plan.
His step-mother's next words had snapped him out of his denial.
"We want you to bed her, to get her with child. Then we can use the child to bring about the theft of the scriptures and the revival of my beloved."
Kougaiji had exploded and in no means left them in doubt of exactly what he thought of their plan. He had pointed out all the flaws in their grand plot quite desperately. The child might not necessarily have its mother's powers. Or its body might be too weak for such energy since it was not a half-breed. Kougaiji could probably use the child against them.
All of his reasoning had fallen on deaf ears.
"Nonsense. I hold Rasetsunyo Kou – your darling mother – prisoner in her pillar of stone. You'll never betray me, Kougaiji. And I had Ni research extensively on this."
"Then let him bed her!"
She even had the nerve to look appalled at his furious suggestion.
"Why, Kougaiji, of course not. Lord Hirata wants only the son of Gyumao and Rasetsunyo Kou to bed his precious daughter. In fact, he demands you marry her." She had clapped her hands together and turned away, walking slowly towards the huge form of the Demon Bull King behind her. "Isn't it lovely? Gyumao would be so pleased I arranged such a wonderful match for his son."
He had simply walked out at that moment.
"Don't worry, Kougaiji, I promise she'll be beautiful." Gyoukumen Koushu had called after him. Ni Jieni's and her cackling laughter had trailed after him through the hallways.
And so he had learned of another task that his step-mother demanded of him.
Kougaiji closed his eyes and frowned. There was nothing he could do, and he knew it. He thought of the room down the hall, full of binding spells that hung from cords and wires before the stone pillar. The stone pillar from which the statue of the beautiful demon lady rose. She whose throne that woman was using.
Mother.
For her, Kougaiji would do anything.
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A/N: R&R pls!