Goku hesitated in front of the house which matched the address of the slip of paper in his hand. It had been three days since the zoo. He hadn't seen or heard from Sanzo since. Although he'd had the weekend off, the blond hadn't come in for his usual coffee on Monday morning. It was disappointing, his heart ached to see the other and somehow explain. Even at the same time, though, he knew that there was nothing he could do. He didn't know what had happened, and there wasn't anything to say until he did.
The thought that he may of lost the other had tortured him this whole time. Hakkai had acted like he knew what was going on, and Goku needed some answers. It was unlikely, but when faced with the chance of losing Sanzo, he had to know the truth.
Determined, Goku walked up the path and knocked on the front door. It took only a few seconds for someone to answer, another elderly man with long red hair streaked with gray. Goku assumed this must of been the 'Gojyo' that Hakkai had mentioned.
"Ah, Goku! Hakkai said that he'd finally met you. It's good to see you again!"
Within minutes, he was swept into the house, his coat stripped off, a beer placed in his hand, and he was seated in the living room across from the strange pair. They behaved as though they'd known him his whole life, joking around about how young he was compared to them, asking about his childhood and his job.
"Look, I came because Hakkai said he knew something about the night Yamakura Mazaki was killed," Goku finally interrupted, more than a little thrown off by the strange situation.
"Oh, right. I just need to see something quick," Gojyo replied, getting to his feet. Goku stiffened slightly as the once red-headed man moved close, lifting his bangs off of his forehead and ears. However, that was all he did before taking his seat once again.
"You really were born human," the man said, looking both speculative and confused.
"Of course I'm a human!"
"You weren't always, you know."
Goku frowned, once again convinced he was talking to at least slightly insane people.
"Look, I have to tell you something, and I need you to just listen for a minute, all right?"
After a nod, the two began. They told him about ancient times, when the world was mixed between new technologies and old legends. When demons existed among human people. They told him of a quest which four people took, a journey which twined their souls and destinies together. They had already been meant to know each other, cast together from a previously existing life in the heavens. Although they never understood why, they formed a bond of brotherhood so strong that even death was unable to break it. And within in that brotherhood, they had found the second half of their own souls.
But time was always against the living. There always came a moment of separation, when time would run out for one or the other. But, undeniably, their souls would be pulled together once again. Even after ages of time, they would find each other once again.
"But you, you were never reincarnated to begin with. You simply lived, powered by the demonic blood within you, through all the time in which we were born, dead, then born again. Until forty years ago."
"We knew you back then. We were only a few years older than the age you are now when you found us. We'd had the dreams, as we had every time, and Gojyo had already remembered his previous lives. We became good friends, as was meant for us. You were once again attempting to have Sanzo fall in love with you, as you did every time you found his reincarnation."
"But we were in a dangerous situation back then. You were Gojyo's ally while he was still part of a gang, and you were involved in a turf war. I guess it went that Sanzo came looking for you, and you protected him. However, the bullet which took your life left your body, and hit Sanzo anyway. You both died that day."
He hadn't been planning to actually drink any of the beer, but at this point Goku took a long swallow. It was just so radical.
"We weren't sure if you would be reincarnated. Your situation was very different from ours. And we don't even know why WE are. You used to hide your demonic form with a diadem made especially for you. It's strange now, that you wouldn't have it, but you still retain a human body. I suppose it's because, in order to be reincarnated in this age, you would of had to been born by human parents. But the spirit of the demon is still within you. You are human now, but you still have the ability to retain your demonic self."
"So you're saying I turned into a demon and killed Mazaki?"
"Well, with time, you were able to control that part of yourself. In the end, the diadem was only to hide your inhuman features. But back when you were young, you couldn't control it. When you were faced with intense emotions, usually those of anger, that part of you would take control. You wouldn't even remember what had happened afterward."
"Now, because you don't remember that life, it's just like back then. That part of yourself is almost completely separate from this one. And you don't remember because your mind just can't accept it."
"This is just too much," Goku sighed, falling back against the couch. It explained so much, but it sounded just so impossible.
"It must be a lot for you. But we wanted you to know the truth. It's the only way you're going to be able to regain control of yourself. From what you've said, I think you're parents knew. That's why they pulled you out of school while you were still so young," Hakkai replied.
Goku shook his head. "How can I believe this? It's just so outrageous."
"But you know it's true," Gojyo stated, startling him. "I remember what it felt like, when half of me was human, and the other half was demon. You can live a completely ordinary life, but you can still feel it. Deep down inside, an instinct that never goes away. An instinct of speed and strength, of intense emotions boiling just below the surface. You can feel it in your dreams, when you watch TV or just walk down the street. A part that feels both good and bad in the same instance, that tells you your blood is more superior even if it reduces you to an animal."
The words struck a chord within him. He HAD felt it. When he'd scraped his knees as a child, faced up against a bully in school, felt that edge of anger when someone showed him up or made some mark against him. There were many gaps in his childhood, and it horrified him to think that he'd reverted to some sort of carnal side of himself that he didn't want to believe existed. He'd been rather spoiled as a child, but he had never thought to think it was because his parents were trying to keep him from becoming some kind of inhuman creature!
After a certain point, they just hadn't known what to do anymore. They'd pulled him from school, began keeping him indoors as often as possible. They wouldn't let his friends visit anymore, keeping him as isolated as they could. But he'd always thought of himself as being happy enough with his situation that he could handle the sudden change in his life. He'd envied the children he saw in the morning, on their way to junior high, but liked the freedom of home schooling. He hadn't questioned his father building a small playground in the backyard, instead of letting him go to the nearby park.
Right before puberty, when his hormones would be acting up, they'd pulled him away from the world.
And they'd done it for a reason.