Chapter 9
We had stopped for lunch whilst traveling through a forest. I was leaning against a tree smoking, watching Gojyo watch Hakkai. The kappa had a strange expression on his face, and I could readily label it: love struck.
I was surprised he still hadn't made a move--it wasn't like Gojyo to wait for so long.
I sensed a faint spike of power and tensed, ready for an attack.
"Hello blondie!" Kougaiji's annoying sister appeared before me, and I relaxed, slightly.
Gojyo whispered something that made Hakkai grin, and it didn't take a genius to figure out he had made a comment on my "girlfriend". He was so predictable.
"Hey!" Lirin shaded her eyes and made a point of looking around the clearing. "Where'd Goku go?"
I was surprised that that nitwit had noted your absence so quickly. Had she looked specifically for you? Was there more between the two of you then friendship? I snorted at the idea. Impossible.
"Lirin! Come here right now!" Kougaiji came out of the trees on the opposite side of the clearing.
My body instantly reacted to him, but I kept my face blank. The demon glanced my way, and I wondered whether he could smell my arousal. I doubted it, though, because you had never noticed how I felt when I had a mask on. Or maybe, you just hadn't recognized my emotions….
Kougaiji reprimanded his sister, but I could feel his eye still on me. I sensed his curiosity on your whereabouts, but he didn't ask. Glancing at me, he spoke, "We have come for the sutra." I could tell that they had even planned to meet us, and that he had simply invented an excuse.
Gojyo, however, did not see through him. "Big surprise," the kappa retorted sarcastically. "That's all you ever come for!"
Kougaiji did not even glance at him, keeping his eyes leveled on me. I wondered whether I'd get to fight with him this time. I wondered if he wanted to fight. I needed to, because I feared what I'd do if he didn't.
"Wondering where Goku is?" I finally said, meaning something else. It was as if we were having a secret conversation everyone could hear and no one could understand.
The demon turned to his companions. "Doku, Yaone, Lirin: stay here. You, monk, come with me."
"What?" his sister whined, but she quieted when Kougaiji glared at her.
Gojyo and Hakkai had risen to their feet, wanting to protest my being alone with someone so dangerous, but I took a leaf out of Kougaiji's book and glared at them, silencing them effectively. Then I followed the demon in to the forest, away from the others.
I caught up with Kougaiji when he stopped, and I glanced behind me. We were isolated, away from our annoying companions.
I hoped he would not come closer. All I could think of was the dream I'd had the night before, weakening my will. This strange attraction was worse than a lust potion, and it suddenly occurred to me that'd I'd have never felt this way if I hadn't pushed you away. Fear, a strange emotion for me, nagged at the back of my mind. I pushed it away.
Kougaiji narrowed his eyes. "What did you do to Goku?"
I kept my composure and managed a smirk. "I used him."
Kougaiji seemed shocked for a moment, then he laughed. "Think you're so powerful, don't you?" He eyed me, and I realized with cold horror he knew exactly what my body was begging for.
"What would you do if I did this?" Kougaiji hissed, pushing me against a tree. He pressed his mouth roughly against mine, taking advantage of my startled gasp and thrusting his tongue in to my mouth.
I remember vaguely wondering if that was how you had felt before my libido took over and I kissed Kougaiji back, running my hands down his back.
Kougaiji pulled away smirking. I refused to look at him in the eye, feeling helpless and exposed. He lifted my chin and gazed at my flushed face.
"You're mine." He walked off.
I sank down 'til I was sitting, body trembling. I could no longer escape the truth. As hard as I tried to deny it, you were not a dirty demon. I was the dirty one, and I was being punished. I, Sanzo, was reduced to a shivering mess by the hand--and mouth, my mind insidiously added--of a demon.
After a while, I stood up and straightened my robes. I walked back to Gojyo and Hakkai. Kougaiji was no longer in sight, and I repressed a sigh of relief.
"What happened?" Hakkai asked.
"We stay here the night," I responded. I walked off to the edge of the clearing, just out of their sight, but not too far away. I could not shake off the feeling of unease, the knowledge that Kougaiji could easily overpower me.
I glanced over at Hakkai and Gojyo. They had begun to eat lunch without me.
"Hey Hakkai, are you straight?"
I wondered if Gojyo's declarations were always so romantic, though it seemed to work on Hakkai, who was blushing and stammering.
"I thought not." Gojyo sat down next to Hakkai, always the cocky bastard. "Just how long have you been in love with me?"
I looked away. Everything had just gone wrong for me, and to watch them two, happily together, only made me feel worse.
It hurt to know I had brought this upon myself.
"You're mine," Kougaiji had said to me.
He was wrong. I was yours.
To Be Continued...