Series: Saiyuki
Author: Zelgadis55
Beta: Diva Urd
Rating: R – due to a previous chapter
Warning: Nudity (no details though) Mary-Sue
Disclaimer: None of the characters other than the Mary-Sue belong to me… Why can't I have the good ones? Much thanks go to Kazuya Minekura for her wonderful universe.
No small animals were seriously harmed during the writing of this chapter, however, one (sarcasm) unfortunate (/sarcasm)Mary-Sue needed burn treatment.
Hakuryu flies down and lands a couple meters in front: Kyuu! Kyuu kyuu kyuuuu.
Zell: Um… I have no idea what you just said…
Hakuryu: Kyuuuu! Kyuu, kyuu!
Zell: (blinks in confusion) I'm sorry Hakuryu, I can't understand dragon speak.
Hakuryu: Kyuu! (Flies away and returns a few minutes later, dropping a small device at my feet.) Kyuu, kyuu!
Zell: (picks the device up, sees an on switch and flicks it)
Hakuryu: Kyuu, kyuu kyuu kyuuuu kyuu? (There, can you understand me now?)
Zell: (grins) Yup! I can. What's up?
Hakuryu: Kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu, kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu! Kyuu? (You may not have seriously harmed me but you are hurting Hakkai with this! Why?)
Zell: Oh… I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional but I promise, I won't do him any permanent harm and eventually, I will help him.
Hakyuryu: Kyuu! (You better!) Kyuu kyuu kyuu, kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu kyuu! (If you don't, you'll be the one being treated for burns.)
Zell: Uh… will bear that in mind.
Hakuryu: Kyuu! (Good!) (Flies away)
Gojyo and Mary-Sue
Pt 16
Hakkai stared up from where he lay in disbelief. Gojyo seemed to have been about to break free of Sue's influence only moments before and now, he was firmly entrenched within her spell once more. Gojyo was really going to kill him if he couldn't do something to save himself and that, Hakkai needed to do without hurting his friend.
Gojyo stabbed down with the staff of his weapon, the chain and blade still wrapped tightly around Hakkai. The healer desperately rolled aside, barely escaping the downward strike. With the tight links of the chain and the way they dug into his body, Hakkai found it difficult to even move just now, yet he wasn't prepared to give up, on Gojyo or himself.
"Kyuu! Kyuu, kyuu, kyuu!" Hakkai heard his little dragon furiously exclaim, followed by several screams and shrieks from Sue. He noticed Gojyo falter again, torn between obeying his orders from Sue and going to her rescue. Going to her rescue obviously won out, because Gojyo suddenly retracted shakujou's chain, unintentionally freeing Hakkai and chased after Hakuryu, who was furiously attacking Sue.
Hakkai pulled himself back onto his feet just in time to see a large burst of flame erupt from the little dragon's mouth. He was less than a meter away from Sue and the woman's hastily pulled on clothes and hair caught alight. She screamed in fright and ran for the river to put herself out. Unfortunately, with her on the run, that left clear space between Gojyo and Hakuryu.
The bewitched kappa used his newfound opportunity to lash out at the transforming dragon with lightning speed. Hakuryu 'kyuued' in fright as someone that he thought he could trust tried to hurt him.
"Gojyo!" Hakkai cried in fear for his pet. He ran behind the tall redhead, throwing his arms around him in an attempt to hold him back but Gojyo fought like a man possessed and nicked Hakuryu's left wing with the blade of his weapon while he flailed.
"Kyuu…" Hakuryu cried.
"Gojyo! Please stop fighting us, we're your friends." Hakkai pleaded, struggling to stay in place even as he cast his gaze over Hakuryu to see if the dragon was badly hurt. The healer breathed an internal sigh of relief when he noticed the damage was only minor. Concentrating on Gojyo, he redoubled his efforts to hold his friend back, continually talking and trying to get through to the hanyou. After several minutes, Gojyo's struggling began to subside, much to Hakkai's relief.
"Let me go Hakkai, I need to find out if Sue's alright." Gojyo suddenly spoke up, a desperate tone filling his voice.
"If I let you go, you won't try attacking Hakuryu anymore, will you?" The healer asked softly. "I don't want you near Sue either. She's a danger to you."
"Dammit Hakkai, just let me go!" Gojyo tried to rip himself from Hakkai's grip. "I really don't' know what your problem is but stop trying to come between Sue and me! I'm sick of you and… and… everyone else trying to interfere. Sue's hurt because of that damn flying rat of yours so unless you plan on using that power of yours to heal her, just stay the hell away from us." He added savagely.
"Look at yourself Gojyo, thanks to her, the only time you show any sign of still being you, is if someone gets you angry enough to fight. A moment ago, you couldn't even remember Goku or Sanzo's names, could you?" There was no response so Hakkai continued a little more calmly. "Gojyo, Sue isn't human or youkai. She is something else, a succubus. Haven't you noticed your strength being sapped? Goku noticed when he went near her. She is trying to consume your life. She doesn't love you, I do!" Hakkai stopped, involuntarily releasing his grip on the kappa. He hadn't meant to say so much but Gojyo seemed not to have heard his last comment.
Gojyo whirled around to face Hakkai, "You're wrong, Sue does love me and I'll do anything for her… but I don't want to hurt you so please just leave!" He turned and rushed to the water's edge where Sue laid, eyes closed and breathing shallowly. "Sue?" he asked, concern filling his voice, "Are…"
Sue frowned without opening her eyes, "Don't bother me. I need to concentrate!" she replied shortly.
Gojyo stayed quiet, not even bristling at her tone and watched in fascination as the burns inflicted by Hakuryu's dragon breath slowly healed over, seeming almost as if they had never existed in the first place. He didn't notice when Hakkai, cradling Hakuryu gently in his arms, finally walked over after attending to the little dragon, to stand beside him.
The healer decided to try getting through to Gojyo once more. "You really do not look very well Gojyo. You're pale and almost gaunt. You weren't like this two days ago. At least come with me for a few hours. Please give me a chance to try to convince you that what I have been trying to say is…"
Gojyo whirled around, anger filling his expression, "Just drop it Hakkai! Take the rat and leave me alone before I'm asked to kill you again, because I will!" he said vehemently, though Hakkai noticed a brief flash of pain pass through the kappa's eyes before putting his hand to his head and rubbing as though he had a headache. "I just… I find it hard to say no to someone I love so much. I'm asking you for the last time, go! Leave me alone! Gojyo looked up suddenly, his dulled crimson eyes meeting Hakkai's gaze.
The healer shook his head. "I can't leave you with her. You have trouble saying no when you're close to her because she is doing something to control you and she needs proximity to you to do it. If you would come away from her for awhile, you would understand what I mean."
Gojyo looked back to his friend for a long moment, the light breeze playing several strands of his hair across his face. "I've never needed anyone before, not since… I need her Hakkai. I can't live without her. I'd go crazy without being near her."
While the two men were engrossed in their conversation, neither noticed that Sue had finished her self healing and in the process looking several years older and angrier. She slowly, silently rose from where she lay near the water's edge, her hate filled gaze fixed on the healer and small dragon that he carried in his arms and little by little advanced on them. Hakkai finally noticed her movement, turning in surprise as she suddenly closed the distance between them.
The healer barely had time to react, managing only to throw the surprised Hakuryu to the side as Sue hit. She punched, knocking him to the ground and descended directly down on top of him. Sue's hands encircled Hakkai's throat in a vice-like grip as she began to strangle him.
"You should have left well enough alone." Sue snarled. "I'll kill you and then that damn fire-breathing dragon. Afterwards, I'll also hunt down that brat."
Hakkai tried to break her hands away from him but felt himself becoming weak at a fast rate. 'She's draining my energy.' He realised and redoubled his efforts to escape her choking grasp.
"While I can drain you of your most of your life's energy, unless you give yourself up freely, like Gojyo will, much of it will be wasted. Still, I should be able to make up quite a bit of the energy I wasted healing those burns. Die, Hakkai, die knowing that you were unable to save your dear friend, let alone yourself." The succubus snarled in fury, seeming to tighten her grip all the more.
Hakkai squeezed his eyes shut in pain, his lungs beginning to burn from the lack of oxygen while Gojyo looked on, very much wanting to help but finding himself physically unable to lift a hand against his love.
Hakuryu cried out frantically for his master and flew at the succubus's back, clawing and biting protectively.
"Gojyo," Sue snapped furiously, "Get that thing off of me and kill it. Right now, in front of this bastard!"
The kappa found himself doing as he was told but hesitated when he reached the woman's side. Sue, his love, was asking him to kill an innocent creature that was only trying to help his master, Gojyo's best friend. The little dragon was doing what Gojyo knew that he himself should be doing but… Sue had asked him for help and he had to do what he could. As the conflicting thoughts raced wildly through his mind, Sue glanced his way.
"What the frigging hell are you doing? Kill it! Get it off of me, you damn useless male!" she screeched.
Gojyo looked at her, nodding, his thoughts clearer now than they had been for a while and he reached out, taking Hakuryu into his grasp.
"Thank you!" Sue snapped impatiently.
"Haku… ryu…" Hakkai gasped, barely able to get the name past his lips.
Gojyo turned to the left and dropped the dragon on the ground then, ignoring his inquiring gaze, turned back to Sue, reaching out and gently taking her arms. In surprise, Sue loosened her grip on Hakkai's throat.
"Wha… what are you doing?"
"Stopping you from killing my friend." Gojyo found himself answering. "I can't let you do it, sorry."
Sue's shock gave way to anger and she lurched for the healer's throat again but Gojyo pulled her back, kissing her gently on the side of her neck. "Sue, I would do almost anything for you but I can't let you hurt my friends any longer."
Hakkai peered up from where he lay, still trying to catch his breath once more. He saw anger and confusion filling the face of the succubus and heard her say, "How dare you disobey me? You're mine! You became mine last night, the moment that you forgot your friends, the moment that you forgot him," she gestured angrily at Hakkai, "the moment you forgot that brat who made me so damn sick!"
Gojyo stiffened at her words, "Who… who's this brat you keep mentioning?" he felt cold. It was bad enough that for a while he had forgotten Hakkai but whom else had he forgotten? And then there was the way she talked about owning him, the way so much of his mind was a bluralong withthe fact that it hadn't even fazed him and the way…
… he had almost killed Hakkai earlier.
It all served to make him suddenly wary. After all the love Sue had offered him, how could he be suspicious?
How could he have tried to betray the one person who had always meant so much more to him than anybody else?
How could he even consider grabbing Hakkai and leaving with him now?
How could he have even forgotten Hakkai…
…which he had…
…for a time…
"That brat," Sue sneered, "is Goku. The one who arranged to give me a dose of food poisoning, the one who was always like an annoying little brother to you."
What little colour remained in Gojyo's cheeks drained completely. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't picture this Goku or anyone else and the more he thought about it, the more the lack of memory was beginning to disturb him. "I… Why don't I remember?" Gojyo asked quietly as Hakkai climbed to his feet to stand beside the kappa.
Sue smiled and it was a twisted little smile. Her voice held a hint of malice but was mainly filled with self-congratulation. "Because by this stage, your past is unimportant. Only I matter to you now and your mind is focussed on giving yourself over to me, to the exclusion of all else. Now, come here, we're going!" she commanded.
Gojyo found he was beginning to walk toward her, not even thinking about it and then, he felt Hakkai's hand gently rest on his shoulder.
"Gojyo…" The healer rasped.
The kappa shook himself visibly, willing himself to go no further and through grit teeth said, "No, I'm not coming with you."
"What? How dare you refuse me!" Sue snapped in anger.
"I just did lady!" Gojyo replied, forcing himself with all the effort he could muster.
"You can't live without me!"
"By the sound of it, I wouldn't be able to live with you."
Sue snarled, "I even went so far as to alter my appearance to perfectly suit your desires and this is the gratitude you show me. You could have died in complete bliss." She shook her head angrily. "Nobody has ever defied me like this before. You watch, you'll come crawling back to me."
Gojyo forced what appeared to be a nonchalant smile onto his face. "I don't think so." He said lightly. Glancing at Hakkai, his eyes pleading urgency, he added, "Lets get out of here."
The healer nodded in agreement as he picked up on Gojyo's unspoken thought of 'before I change my mind'. He bowed slightly to Sue with a smile crossing his features. "Sayônara Sue-san." He said politely, using a voice that clearly pained him to use. Then he and Gojyo began to walk away from the river, with Hakuryu flapping after them and landing on Hakkai's shoulder once he had caught up.
Before they had even walked fifteen meters, Sue snarled and flexed her fingers, inch long talons extending from what had previously appeared to be ordinary fingernails and ran straight at Hakkai. "I won't let you take him away from me!"
Gojyo and Hakkai whirled around, the kappa suddenly brandishing shakujou in his hands but he found himself physically hesitating even as he screamed in his mind, telling himself to go through with the attack, to defend his friend.
Hakkai noticed the turmoil still raging within Gojyo and reached out, clasping the staff alongside his friend. They exchanged a brief, hurried glance and together, thrust the blade through Sue's body. She fell, her eyes seemingly lumps of pure hatred. "You'll pay for this… both of… you… "Sue's eyes closed and she lay unmoving as Gojyo stared down at her, in shock of actually having killed the woman he still loved.
Hakkai knelt down beside the succubus, searching for a pulse. Finding nothing he said, "It's over." He looked up at Gojyo, becoming concerned from the look he saw in his eyes. It was as if there was no hope left within Gojyo's soul.
"I… killed her, Hakkai." Gojyo said simply, his voice almost unreadable. "I love her… and I killed her."
Hakkai stood and stepped in front of his friend, deliberately blocking Gojyo's view of Sue. "Yes, however she was going to kill us. We had no choice. Even if Sue had given up and gone away, she would have only tried the same thing on somebody else who couldn't defend themselves."
Gojyo nodded, seeming to stare straight through Hakkai and down at Sue, then he looked up and met the healer's eyes. "Let's go." He said attempting to sound dismissive but Hakkai knew better.
"I like that idea." Hakkai nodded. "This way."
Gojyo looked a little confused. " I know my mind's been in a fog but I could've sworn that town was back that way."
The healer smiled with a slightly embarrassed expression slipping over his features. "It is Gojyo but… your clothes are this way."
"Uh… yeah, of course." Gojyo muttered. "That's why I feel a little… exposed." Following Hakkai to the side of the clearing where he and Sue had obviously been, Gojyo picked up his previously tossed aside, forgotten clothing and quickly dressed, not caring that he wasn't alone. Once he finished dressing, he motioned to Hakkai that he was ready to leave. Again, the two began to walk away, Gojyo doing his best to hide the despair he felt within. He thought 'I know the truth now, so why do I still feel like I love her?'
"Gojyo, are you alright?" Hakkai asked in concern shortly after as they walked.
The kappa continued to look forward, feeling like he couldn't face his friend. He wanted to lie but knew that doing so to someone like Hakkai, who was so skilled at hiding his own true feelings, was never an easy thing to do. Plus, Gojyo figured that he had already hurt Hakkai enough in the last couple of days without keeping the truth from him as well. "Nuh, not really but give me some time and I will be. What about you?"
Hakkai closed his eyes and smiled broadly, "It hurts a little to speak and my throat will be tender for a while but I am certainly feeling better right now than I have over the last couple of days."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Because…"
"GOJYO! HAKKAI! Look Sanzo, there they are!" An excitable voice rang out.
"No need to yell the obvious bakazaru!" Came the irritable response.
Hakkai stopped what he had been saying and chuckled, "My, Sanzo and Goku appear to have caught up to us at last."
Gojyo peered ahead at the figures crashing toward them. Well, one was crashing toward them while the other had stopped and was lighting up a cigarette where he stood. "Ya know Hakkai," he spoke, continuing to look straight ahead, "I can remember what happened yesterday and last night but I still can't picture the faces of anyone else other than Sue," He then added in a quiet voice, "and you. But I didn't remember you until a little while ago… Everything other than my time with her is a blur, even the stuff from further back in my life. It's like… nothing else matters. Knowing what she was doing, I know I should've been worried and should've rejected her but something in my mind refuses to let me. Even now, I need to see her again and be with her."
Hakkai watched Gojyo worriedly but before he could answer or reassure the hanyou, Goku bound in front of them and beamed. "We were really worried this morning when you disappeared on us Hakkai." As he shifted his gaze from Hakkai to Gojyo, his expression changed from happiness to worry and not a little wariness. "I'm glad to see you're safe too ero-kappa. Um… are you okay?"
The said ero-kappa returned Goku's gaze, feeling as though a specific response was expected. Trouble was, he had no idea what that response was meant to be. Instead, he settled with, "Yeah, I'm fine," and continued to walk.
"Hakkai?" Goku asked in a small voice as he continued to stand in place.
The healer smiled reassuringly at the teenager. "Don't worry too much Goku. Gojyo just needs time to sort himself out."
Goku nodded and followed as Hakkai hurried to catch up with Gojyo.
Soon afterward, the four were on the main path back into town, Hakkai explaining that he didn't want to drive them back. Sanzo wasn't impressed but upon hearing that Hakuryu had been injured earlier, he didn't press the issue. Gojyo barely spoke, wrapping himself up within his own thoughts and as for Goku, the more his stomach protested, the more he began lagging behind. Finally, the saru sank to the ground with a moan.
"I'm so hungry." He sighed. "Hey, Sanzo, can we eat when we get back?"
Sanzo kept walking, not bothering to even glance back.
"Sanzouuu," Goku whined, "please? I'm starving!"
Gojyo stopped and was looking from Goku to Sanzo and back to Goku again, the familiarity of the scene forcing it's way through his washed out memories.
"Sanzouuu!" Goku called out again, scrambling to his feet and running to the monk. "Can we? Please?"
Sanzo turned on his charge, whipping out his harisen and solidly thwapping the hungry teen over the head. Goku collapsed to the ground under the sudden weight of the hit.
"Ow!" he cried.
"This," Sanzo yelled, "is why I damn well told you to eat properly at breakfast. Don't blame me if you only picked at it. Get up and shut up!"
Unseen and unheard by the monk and the saru, Gojyo turned to Hakkai and muttered, "Oh, that Goku."
Hakkai smothered a chuckle but smiled with some relief at Gojyo.
"But I'm too hungry…"
"Actually," Hakkai intervened, "I think something to eat when we get back is a very good idea. I haven't eaten since yesterday. What about you Gojyo?"
"Huh? Oh, no… I haven't either," The kappa said distractedly, "but I'm not hungry anyway."
"Oh, ok. Then it will be just Goku, Hakuryu and myself." Hakkai said, covering up a small frown.
"Tch, whatever! When we get back, I don't want to be disturbed. We leave tomorrow."
To be continued
A/N:
In this chapter, Hakkai says sayônara to Sue. I chose to have him say that instead of goodbye as sayônara has a much more final ring to it :-)
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Sorry to have taken so long but I had several things going on in my life that prevented me from being able to put any effort into this chapter. As I have said before, I handwrite my fics first and then type it up, making often major changes in the process, effectively editing it. I really had no desire to only put half an effort into it.
Lillith: Thank you. Sorry about the delay but do to being on holidays and not having my email up and running properly as I am on the other side of Australia at the moment, it will be at least a copy of weeks before I update this again. I always post to the Webfiction mailing list just before FFNet and the online email is stuffing around my posts. (sigh)
Tora Macaw: Monty Python? Barely seen it so I don't remember that quote :-P Well, anyway, I hope this chapter helps a little (laughs evilly)
ZL: I'm sorry you felt it was getting draggy but if I went any faster, I would have felt as though I was rushing things. Well, Gojyo is going to take a while to get over things. (grin) I can't let him off that easily.
C.T Saiyukily Twisted: (laughs) I told Gojyo back in the character chat in chapter one that he would regret taking Sue (shrugs) Not my fault if he refused to listen to me, the voice of reason. Anyway, as you saw, Hakkai was basically the key of getting through to Gojyo.
SweetSnowCherryBlossomDarkness: Thanks! That's ok. I hope your comp is behaving better now. Mine actually died completely afew weeks back, took over a week to get it fixed and then it wasn't fixed until after I flew to the other side of Aus.
Me-Nuriko: Thanks. I know what its like to fall behind in the things you are reading. I'm glad you liked the Sanzo – Goku talk from a few chapters back. To tell the truth, that was one of the things I worried about since I like to keep everyone s much in character as I can and its not very often that Sanzo shows any sign of (gasp) caring.
