Author's note: At last, I get to type out the story myself. I've been relying too much on Yuka Sakura I think. Anyway, sorry for the prolonged update and here you are, Chapter 4. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Gensomaden Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura's...

"talking"

'thinking'

(me interrupting the story!)

CHAPTER FOUR

kruuuu

"HARAHETA!!! I've been inside this place for too long!" complained Goku. (Anou sa, Goku, you've been here for only a few minutes, 25 minutes tops.)

With a sigh, he sat down on the soft grass covered floor. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine about food....

Suddenly, he opened one eye. "Huh? What's that noise?" wondered Goku. It was a soft sound... It sounded like dripping water. Or maybe not water. Liquid maybe but not water.

Then he saw images.

"It's starting."

Nataku was shaking like mad, as if he was having a convulsion. He shut his eyes tight and clutched the arms of his winged chair.

Without turning to face the boy, Kanzeon Bosatsu said to him, "It's hard to keep inside you what doesn't belong to you, does is Nataku? Especially when it's a force much greater than your self and it wants to get back what belongs to it. If this goes on much longer, say goodbye to your post as the Keeper of Memory, Nataku."

A man clad in heavy armor was watching Nataku with a sad expression on his face. "Once the memory escapes from him, Nataku-sama will die. That's the curse of Totteoku Kioku. It's just too sad..." said Jiroushin and his face contorted as he tried not to let his emotions show.

They were getting closer to their target. Dokugakuji crept closer to Kougaiji. Their breaths were shallow, controlled, so nobody could hear them.

'Shit! Why am I feeling so uneasy?' thought Kougaiji and gritted his teeth.

Dokugakuji sensed his master's feelings and put a hand on Kougaiji's shoulder, hoping it could stabilize the battle that's going on in Kougaiji.

It was enough. Kougaiji's mind cleared and he looked at Dokugakuji with a look of gratitude.

But that feeling was still there.

Sanzo sat up on his bed, still racking his brain as for what happened in the dream. What happened after that?

Goku held his head in his hands, opening his mouth to scream...

But nothing came out of it.

His eyes bulged as he saw the past rushing up to him.

He saw himself talking to Sanzo, killing youkai, fighting Rikudou... But this version is a bit different. He... He has never fought with Rikudou like this before... Has he?

To his shock, he saw through his own eyes, like watching a movie that was presented to close to him. But everything was too clear... He saw Rikudou's flesh coming closer to his own face, he was bringing Rikudou's shoulder to his mouth, and he tasted blood, flesh, and could feel the bone.

Panicked, Goku spat the meat out but nothing was in his mouth after all. It was just in his mind then, but he could... He could still taste Rikudou's burning blood, running down his lips. Goku wiped his mouth with the back of his hand but there was nothing.

'What's happening?!' He thought and began to breathe heavily. He wanted to vomit. And the pictures weren't much help either, he had closed his eyes but the moving pictures were still rushing at him.

Suddenly chains tightened around his wrists, locking him. Goku stared at them with disbelief and a sense of hopelessness started to overwhelm him. He shook his head fiercely. Out of the corner of his eye, he could a dead bird outside his cage, a beautiful yellow bird. He heard a crack from his youryokyuu limiter but ignored it. The bird was all filling up his vision. Then he saw the sun. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but didn't fall. He remembered someone who was like the sun to him. Shining brightly...

Goku shook his head weakly. Another cracking sound was heard.

"THAT'S ALL OVER NOW! I'M FREE! I HAVE SANZO AND HAKKAI AND GOJYO AND HAKKURYUU!!! I'M NOT IMPRISONED ANYMORE, I-"cried Goku but stopped shortly as images not just fly past him, but images that he understood.

He wasn't shackled anymore. He was standing in the forest again. He was here before. Lived here as a matter of fact. Then somebody had come and taken him away, promising food. The villagers were kind to him, gave him buns and such, the forest gave him fruits as well. Delicious peaches and mouth-watering guavas. But the man promised food that was claimed to be heaven class.

The man brought him to a place where he met his sun. What was his sun's name? The answer came out easily. Konzen.

He remembered what he and Konzen and two guys... Who were they? That's right... A spectacled guy named Ten-chan and a rough but pleasantly enough guy called Mr. Ken. They had been through a lot of stuff together. And a boy named Nataku was in the story as well...

Then things went blurry. Goku tried to make the pictures stop for a while but he couldn't. It was like as if someone had pushed the fast forward button.

Then it stopped. Goku was in dark room. But it was tainted with red as well. He noticed that he was lighter, skinnier and younger. It was as if he was a passenger in a train, but this time, his train is himself in a different form.

He was looking around the room when he saw the shape of a man, lying in a corner. The guy was in a bloody mess. His clothes were torn and gashes of wound were everywhere, dark blood everywhere, falling softly to the ground, making soft dripping noises.

Goku ran towards the man. He heard his younger self's voice crying out, "Konzen! Konzen, hang in there!!"

Konzen was still breathing, but it scared Goku to hear him sound like that.

"You're too noisy, Goku! Of course I'll live..." said Konzen. He took a deep breath and looked straight into Goku's eyes. The passenger Goku shivered involuntarily... He had seen those same set of eyes before.

"At least, you're back to your normal saru self..." he said and coughed out blood.

"Konzen..."

The blond-haired god never did turn his eyes away from Goku. Those piercing eyes of his...

"Listen, Goku. I won't be able to be your sun anymore. I'm... Not strong enough..." panted Konzen. He looked sad, shamed as he said that. He gritted his teeth in pain.

Goku tasted salt near his lips and realized that he was crying. Pricking his eyes and blurring his image. "But you've always have been... "said Goku in a hoarse whisper.

Silence.

"Konzen?"

Silence.

As realization swept into him, the tears were no longer just falling down. They came down in a rush. Goku didn't even try to stop them as emotions overwhelmed him. He began to breathe unevenly, and his shoulders shook from sobbing too hard.

"Konzen! Wake up! Konzen!!!" begged Goku. He wanted shake his sun a little bit, but didn't for fear of hurting him.

"Konzen..."

He looked at his shaking hands and his vision wasn't that bad for him to see blood on them. Then he looked back at the still Konzen and both of them, the passenger and the train, grasped at what had happened.

He had killed Konzen.

This was too much. Suddenly, he felt a huge void in his chest, in his heart. It hurts... Goku left the body of his younger self to cry alone. As he held his chest, trying to contain the pain from spreading, he heard a loud crack. His youryokyuu limiter had broken.

Taiyou-Nikochi: Un... how was it? How was it? HOW WAS IT!! slaps myself

To prevent me from slapping myself again, please REVIEW ASAP!!!!!!

(Note): Totteoku Kioku means something like Memory something....