Title: Finding the Sun
Author: AznSage (Page)
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Pairings: Goku+Konzen/Konzen+Goku
Rating: PG
Note: Goku Pov. Sorry for taking so long to release this chapter. I had trouble deciding whether to let Nataku try to kill Goku or not. >.> And I decided to be anticlimatic again. *cough* Read and you'll see what I mean. On the plus side, in the four months I've been absent, I wrote 3-4 chapters for both possibilities...and that will mean that releasing this will be much quicker from this point on because it's already written (now it just needs beta-ing). ^^;;
"What are you waiting for? Kill him!" Li Touten pointed at me angrily, the rage and passion behind the words visibly showing.
"I..." He looked torn between obeying his father's orders or choosing for himself his life. I felt truly sorry for him at that moment. No will of his own. Only that of his father's. His eyes glazed over and the wounds on him were forgotten, for in that one faint moment he had summoned his sword and was lunging towards me already.
But something within him must have stirred. That still human part of him that he had control over.
Because he stopped.
"I..."
Surprised, the only thing I could do was smile at him. I felt the tension of the room fall on us with it's full weight, all eyes on us curious as to the cause of the strange occurrences. I held my head up high though, knowing that Konzen, Ten-chan, and Ken nii-chan were all nearby if I needed them. Even Tentei was curious as to what were the true intents behind all this.
"I..." The sword clattered on the floor, his fingers numb and shaking, unable to grasp at anything with his normal strength. "I want to know your name." He looked up at me with a gaze filled with sorrow, looking like the only thing in the world that would make him happy was knowing who I was.
But before the words could even leave my mouth, Li Touten had moved to his side already, anger still ablaze. "Enough! I've had enough of your foolishness, Nataku!" He struck Nataku across the cheek, anger blazing in his eyes. Words were muttered under his breath, directed only at the now shocked boy that he had even dared call his own flesh and blood. "You insolent little brat!" He bowed formally to Tentei and excused himself and Nataku before grabbing his wrist and practically dragging him out of the court. His fingers had wrapped themselves around it so tightly that I could tell it would bruise in the morning and just add to the pain of healing from battle wounds as well.
The whole court was silent at the display, a few murmurs of inquisition going through the crowd. Tentei cleared his throat loudly and order was restored once again, but not before he opened his golden mouth to bark more orders. Konzen stood stiffly by me and uncomfortably as he listened to more and more of it. I could see him desperately trying to restrain himself from going up to the throne and strangling Tentei with his bare hands. I really didn't understand any of which he was saying, so I could not formulate my own opinion of the matter, so I just continued to stare into space and think.
My thoughts went back to Konzen's words after he had saved me. "I didn't know you started to tell that bastard Homura more about yourself than to you did to me." The tone of his voice was dull, but I could feel the hurt that had come from it so clearly. There was just something in that tone that I knew I was completely missing, but I just could not identify what it was. It wasn't a foreign feeling either, but I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.
"Goku." I lifted my head up and was at attention at the call of my name. Konzen wasn't looking straight at me again, his gaze still far-off and contemplative.
"Uh...yes?" I meekly replied only because I was afraid of what would come next. What would he say to me after I had been so caustic as to not tell him something was bothering me.
"I meant what I said." He briefly glanced at me and began to walk off. Apparently, the court meeting was over and we could leave, but I still stood frozen in place from his words.
"W...Wait! Konzen!" I chased after him in a slow trot, shoving people left and right yet again. When I had reached him, he stopped momentarily and briefly cast me a look that spoke volumes. "I..."
"There's nothing for you to apologize for." Because whatever happens is always my fault.
"Iya! Nothing's your fault!" His eyes widened at my saying that and he gripped my shoulders tightly and shook me.
"What did you just say?" He seemed frantic. Surprised even. And we were still in a busy hallway with Ten-chan and Ken nii-chan nearby. They would notice something wrong with this scene too.
"I said it's not your fault! Everything's my fault! I'm the one who keeps causing you trouble!"
His eyes just seemed to widen even more at that and he pulled at my arm to follow him. "Come on, we need to get to the privacy of Tenpou's study." He moved quickly through the crowd, very obviously agitated. I had no idea what was going on and really did want to know, so on the way I continually pestered and asked, always coming up with no reply.
I would try one last time before we reached Ten-chan's study. The halls here were quite deserted, the two normal occupants of this place maybe a hallway's length away from us at most. "Konzen! Please! Tell me!"
"Because you read my fucking mind!" It was obvious that the ability to stay calm was gone from him at that moment. Something inside him seemed to have broken and left him confused and irate. His normally calm demeanor was gone and there was no telling when it would be back. He was hyperventilating now from the emotions that had been boiling inside him, waiting to be released. And yet I still couldn't say anything because I still knew nothing.
"I..." What was one supposed to say to a confession like that? "Sorry."
He sighed deeply and his grasp of calm returned to him. "No, it's my fault for blowing up at you." He ruffled my hair affectionately and just looked at me intently. "Come on, we can go inside to wait for Tenpou." Opening the door, he led the two of us into the room and took a seat on a pile of books before sighing deeply and leaned against the wall of books to his side.
Not before long, Ten-chan and Ken nii-chan had come back and nodded at us in greeting before asking what we wanted to know. There were matters that needed discussion.
-TBC-
Thanks for the reviews from D-chan (I wuv your work too, you know that =3), UltraM2000 (I can't let Goku do something uber cool--like going Seiten Taise--yet! It'll be soon though...mainly because some things do call for going berserk...), gallatica (they had some ugly lizard in the actual Gaiden story =P), On3 (I'm trying to write more Konzen/Goku moments...it'll get there, the plot needs some advancing so I'm gonna have to try to make it make sense at the same time >.>), Namassuki (yes yes, it will continue quite quickly from now on), Kairi-chan (if you think that's sad, then you're gonna bawl at the ending I have planned...), Azzie (things are progressing uber slowly...but that's the whole point ^^;;), and Ashen Skies (well from this point on, cliffhangers won't be left that for long...mainly because the next couple of chapters are written already ^^;; Glad you're enjoying it! =D). I'll post new chapters every week until I run out of stuff that's written already ^^;; They're all not going to be super long anyway...