Kenren: I have to see Marshal Tenpou about something. Know where he is?
Tenpou: Aa. That's me. What do you need?
Kenren: You're kidding.
Tenpou: Oh yes. I don't believe it myself sometimes.
Kenren: Right.
Tenpou: So, who are you?
Kenren: Oh, forgive me. I come to you today, having been kicked ou--ahh, transferred from the Eastern army, to assume the duties of general in the Western one. My name is Kenren. I would ask your Excellency to look favorably upon me in my position as your subordinate officer. So...yeah. That's about the size of it.
Tenpou: Ah. So, you're my new general.
-----
Kenren: You're a big-time, impressive Marshal and all, right? So why do you still go out in the field with the men?
Tenpou: Don't you think that's more fun? Besides, why's someone like you a soldier at all?
Kenren: Why? Partly cause I'm interested in Down There, and cause I hate being bored, and cause I can feel my mind rotting--
Tenpou: And because you want to feel like you're alive?
Kenren: Yeah, probably that, too. So...when is it that you feel like you're really alive?
Tenpou: Hmm...maybe that split second when I think just how good a cigarette tastes?
Kenren: Now we're talkin'.
-----
Kenren: A grudge against me is like a grudge against you, right?
Tenpou: Really? Well, that's quite unexpected. I didn't realize we had such a married relationship.
-----
Tenpou: The order's just come down that you're dismissed as general.
Kenren: ...heh.
Tenpou: There's no 'heh' about it. I can't get on with people the way you do. If I may state my personal position, I'm not so flexible that I can work under just anyone.
Kenren: Tenpou...
-----
Kenren: We can't turn back now.
Tenpou: I never had any intention to.
-----
Tenpou: Well...'If we're all fools together, we may as well dance.'
Kenren: Never heard that one. What is it?
Tenpou: A famous saying Down There.
-----
"Tenpou!"
"Take care of Konzen and Goku, Kenren. I'll handle this."
"Like hell! There's no way I'm letting you take the door by yourself. They'll be inside any minute."
"I'm aware."
"Then let's hold them off together."
"Kenren--"
"No! We don't stand a chance alone."
"You don't stand a chance together."
Kenren and Tenpou turn in unison to face their ex-commander, who is tied up on the floor. It is just them along with Konzen and Goku inside the small building, though an army of Li Touten's personal soldiers surround them from outside. It is the beginning of an impossible battle they have no chance of winning.
"You know it's true." Goujun continues, tense against the wall at his back, with eyes that sear fire, though he would never ask for vengeance. "Listen to me. You can still surrender."
"We're not surrendering!" Kenren shouts.
"Then you'll die. If you surrender, you will be stripped of all power and undoubtedly imprisoned, but you'll live. Please, don't throw eternity away over these silly ideals. It isn't worth it."
Tenpou calmly steps closer to the dragon king and bends down in front of him. "If this is not worth dying for...what is?" he smiles--a smile that is so much more than any other mouth could make it. "If we can help it, no harm will come to you when all this ends, but please, do not try and change our minds. Heaven isn't worth living a lie." The marshal stands back up and turns without looking at either the dragon or his companion as he heads for the pulsing door.
"Damn you, Tenpou, listen to me!" Kenren calls after him, grabbing the brunette's arm and pulling him firmly back against him. "They'll come when they come, and we'll both be ready for them. Don't you dare die without me..."
Relaxing back into that too soothing embrace, Tenpou allows hesitation no one but the general could even hope to create inside of him. "...okay, Kenren. We'll wait together." He turns within that comforting hold and places a hand on Kenren's flushed face. A part of him would love to indulge in a kiss, but now is not the time.
Kenren returns to his post between Goujun and the door, and Tenpou walks the short distance to Konzen, who is sitting on the floor at the far back of the room with a comatose Goku--still in his true form as Seiten Taisei--slumbering in his lap.
"Any change?" the marshal asks, smiling down at his friend. He has never known Konzen to be so emotional and full of fear, but he would sooner take Goku's place than ever look down on his friend for finally showing some reaction to life.
Konzen shakes his head, clinging so desperately to the small boy, his white knuckles appear even paler than normal.
Tenpou strains to maintain his smile. "One never knows what may happen. Don't lose hope yet."
"How can you say that...?" Konzen breathes, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as he stares at Goku's still face, and at the shallow breaths moving his small chest in such an awkward rhythm. "Look at him. Look at us. There is no hope..."
Crouching down, Tenpou reaches out and places a firm hand on the blonde god's shoulder. "There is always hope, my friend. Even if this ends in the worst possible way, who is to say death would be enough to keep the four of us apart?"
Tenpou's smile--holding strong--even has the power to soothe the coldest kami of all, and Konzen nods, returning his attention to Goku as he strokes at the boy's soft, brown hair. But Tenpou only has enough time to stand and take in the sweet sight before him for one small moment, before their losing battle errupts around them.
"Tenpou, the door!"
BOOM.
Though Kenren has called out in warning, it is not enough. Everyone is thrown back as the door blasts open and Li Touten's soldiers begin storming the building, pushing through the debris they have just created.
The countdown has began...
"Come on!" Kenren calls, grabbing Goujun by his bonds to pull the dragon along.
But Goujun is immovable. "Don't waste your time on me." he speaks firmly, wrenching free. Kenren stares at him questioningly, but Goujun is steadfast. He returns the general's stare with something unbelievably like...understanding. "Just run, you fool, and get as far as you can."
Kenren pauses only a moment to grin back at a man he has never liked, though now he is certain he can learn to respect, before dashing as far from the door as possible.
He reaches the far end of the room and searches through the dust to find Tenpou and the others. Spotting the marshal pushing himself up from the floor, he rushes to help his friend stand, and both know there is no time for words as they steady themselves and turn to look for Konzen and Goku nearby.
Thankfully, Konzen is already on his feet, Goku being carried heavily in his arms, and once realizing they are all together, the three gods take off towards the far door, barrelling through it and down the hallway on the other side. There is a large room at the back of the building, but no other exits.
No way out.
"What are we going to do?" Kenren asks, shutting the door behind them. His eyes widen. "No lock. Shit."
"What do you mean, no lock?!" Konzen cries, already huddled on the floor with Goku in his lap. It takes alot out of his thin frame to hold so much weight, considering Goku's chains. "This is impossible. Impossible." Rocking despite himself, he clings ever more tightly to Goku and stares down into that too beautiful face. "Please, Goku, wake up. I hate to ask this of you, to use you, but if you'd only wake up, you could save us all. Please...we need you..."
Once again, Konzen feels a gentle weight on his shoulder, but this time, it is the unruly general who is offering support. "We can do this, you hear me? Now, I want you to find the darkest, furthest corner, and you stay there no matter what happens."
"We'll hold them as long as we can." Tenpou adds, standing right beside Kenren as added support.
Konzen nods, feeling so weak, so useless, but knowing there is nothing more he can do but pray for a miracle.
"They have real guns, Kenren, not our usual tranquilizers." Tenpou speaks once Konzen has disappeared into the shadows of the far wall.
"Gotta love Li Touten's power these days, eh?" Kenren grins back, the pair bookending the door, listening to the loud shuffle of swiftly approaching feet. "Though I guess they have a right to shoot us, don't they? Treason overrules everything, even the law that says gods can't kill."
Tenpou flexes his fingers, laughing lightly at Kenren's comment. "It's funny, isn't it? We're just like those living in the world below. We spout morality, but in the end, we turn and kill each other without remorse."
"Yeah...irony..."
The door cracks, under pressure from the many bodies slamming into it. Apparently, they haven't thought to see if it is locked.
"So...I guess this is it."
"It would seem so."
Finally, the knob is tested, and the door begins to open.
"Kenren..."
"Tenpou...please forgive me."
"Forgive you? For what?"
"For this..."
The door opens fully, and as the soldiers rush through, Kenren shields Tenpou by pulling the marshal safely behind him. Under orders, Li Touten's men make no hesitation...and fire, releasing enough rounds to be fatal even for a god.
Tenpou stops breathing, unable to form a single, coherent thought. Kenren's body is convulsing right before his eyes, catching every bullet in order to keep him safe. If Tenpou had a wit left, he would be throwing Kenren to the floor to protect him instead, but he is too stunned, too horrified...horrified at the sight of his dear friend...being gunned down an inch in front of him.
"K-Kenren..."
The firing subsides and the soldiers swarm inside, surrounding them. But as far as Tenpou is concerned, they don't even exist.
Kenren crumbles to the ground, and Tenpou reaches forward to catch him, falling with him until both are huddled on the floor, painting a picture far too similar to Konzen and Goku, who--for now--remain forgotten.
"You fool...you stupid fool..." the marshal speaks, his voice a tremor, mirroring the rest of his trembling body. He had himself believing he could survive seeing this, but he hadn't been ready for it. Not like this. He is not ready to hold Kenren as he dies. "Why...why did you do that?"
Kenren blinks slowly, a smile forming on his blood-tinged lips. He already looks so unearthly pale. "I...bought you a moment..." he winks, his chest rising and falling too quickly with the labor of clinging to his rapidly fading life. "I figured...I owed you..."
"You didn't owe me anything, Kenren. Damn you...I...I would have died beside you..."
"Yeah...well...I never said I was too bright...did I...?" the general laughs, sounding choked back with the blood rising in his throat.
The wounds covering Kenren's body are so many and so gruesome, Tenpou would have had to look away if he'd been in the right mind to notice. At the moment, he is too busy staring into those familiar, blue eyes. Already, he can see that those eyes are fading; Kenren barely has a moment of his own.
"Te...T-Tenpou...?" Kenren cringes through a wave of pain, shaking so hard, he can barely hang on to the hand clinging so desperately to his own. "...s-s-suki...s-suki da..."
And even as tears are beginning to stream down his pale face, Tenpou smiles. "Suki? No, Kenren. No." Bending his head lower, he presses a kiss softly to Kenren's quivering lips, and whispers, "...ai shiteru..."
When Tenpou pulls back, Kenren is smiling, but though his lips try so hard to move--to say anything--in the end, they fall forever silent.
"No...no...Kenren, please..."
"Enough with the sentiments. Your husband's dead, Gensui." sounds one of the soldier's voices from somewhere behind him. Tenpou doesn't respond. "On your feet, traitor. Come quietly and the Emperor might just show you a little mercy." Still, Tenpou remains as he is. "I said, get up!"
WHAM.
The butt of a rifle strikes the side of Tenpou's face, sprawling him to the floor. He is dazed a moment, but in truth, the blow is what finally clears his mind.
Before any of the soldiers has the chance to reach down and pick him up, Tenpou springs to his feet and strikes, uncaring to who or what he hits. Two of the soldiers fly back with the force of that first blow, and another handful are fended off as Tenpou blindly fights, lashing out in every direction.
"Put him down, now!"
"Stop messing around and get him!"
"Fire, you idiots!"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Tenpou doesn't even remember falling, he only knows the feel of the cold floor at his back, and the feel of a very different cold seeping into every limb as his vision begins to darken.
'Forgive me...Kenren...Konzen...dear Goku. It was a fool's dream...'
And the voices around him begin to dim, though he does not know how long it will be until he will hear even his own voice again. And Heaven--his home--begins to fade, though he does not know that he will not see it again. And all questions concerning those left behind--Konzen, Goku--are left unanswered as one thought flashes again and again through Tenpou's mind.
'Kenren...I love you...I love you...I love you...'
And even in the darkness, Tenpou would swear he can still see Kenren's grateful, beautiful smile looking back at him...
End Part 6
A/N: OMG! I could barely write this. I just wish they could all be saved somehow, you know? Everything was better in the Gaiden, damn it! (sniffle) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Kenren and Tenpou's end in my version of how things went down. As for Konzen and Goku, you know you don't even have to ask, because we all know what happened.
For the record, all of the stuff at the beginning was actual dialogue from the Gaiden manga, and I just felt the need to share it with everyone. Also, I love all those moments when it is so obvious that Kenren and Tenpou are more than friends.
Okay, the next part will be heading into Gojyo and Hakkai, with some Kenren and Tenpou moments, too, though to know what I mean, you'll have to wait and read. Love you all, and thanks as always for such faithful and heartfelt reviews. I love doing this. :-)
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