Author's notes at the end.

Disclaimer: Saiyuki is not mine. The story is fictional and all similarities to people and events in real life are coincidences.

Those Beautiful Green Eyes

Chapter Thirteen

"Why are you out here?" I ask both myself and Father who is silently sitting beside me, probably mentally calculating the odds. It's been quite a while since we stepped out into the garden. Five sticks of cigarettes a while, if you want a time frame. The night is tense and still. People are asleep, and the animals are too afraid to come out. The wind is AWOL, too.

The quiet is making me uneasy, especially with an opponent approaching so fast.

He doesn't make a move to face me, but replies softly, "I want to see the sunrise, but I know very well that I can't."

Is he talking about not seeing morning the way Karin had been wondering about not seeing tomorrow, or is he talking about his blindness? Maybe both, I can't tell. His face is carefully neutral.

And what about you, Kenren? What's your excuse?

I slide back a bit on the rough bark of the root until I feel the trunk of the tree on my back, not a smart thing to do if you're wearing something made of thin material. But I'm wearing leather, so I'm fine. I lean on the tree and blow out a puff of smoke. "Are you hoping for something?"

"If I believed in life after death and redemption of sinners," he raises his face to the heavens, and as if on his command, the wind comes blowing, making his silvery hair dance. And, for a moment, it seems that he is decades younger than he appears to be. "Yes," he murmurs. "I suppose I would be hoping for something."

The wind dies out and so does the moment, and once again I see the age creep back onto Father's face. "Right now, this is something I have to do," he tells me. I know he is talking about facing the youkai everyone so fears. After all, wasn't he the great man who had saved this entire village maybe more than once in the past?

But this time, he won't be doing it alone. "You're not young anymore, Father," I point out. "You can't keep doing this."

He shrinks away from me ever so slightly that had I been anyone else, it would have been imperceptible. "Kenren, please do not stop me," his tone holds more authority than his words should contain. He almost sounds like an adult reprimanding a child.

I take a drag from my cig. "I'm not going to stop you. I'm just going to make sure that this will not be the last favor you ask of me." For Karin's sake, for Jien's sake, for Yaone's sake, and for the sake of all the families in this house, Father, "I want to make sure that you come out of this alive."

Something tells me surviving this is not something he expects to happen. A sad chuckle escapes his lips. "No matter what I do, I seem to be the one who always comes out alive. I have unbelievable luck, Kenren."

I hope that his luck would hold out this time. If my senses aren't deceiving me, luck won't be enough to ward off this youkai. I take a moment to evaluate Father's own power. One day of not healing an almost endless stream of patients seems to have done wonders for him. The life energy I once thought was fading is revitalized and surprisingly strong. I guess you'd have to have a large amount of energy to heal as many people as Father does.

I decide to drop the topic and we are silent again. I focus my attention on the chi of our enemy. I really can't help but think that it is familiar.

Wait. I can't feel his chi anymore.

I feel a hand on my arm. "He's here."

Everything is once again painfully still. I can't help but think about the silence before the storm. I hear my heart beat, solid and steady in my head. I concentrate, forcing myself to locate my opponent.

"Above us!" Father shoves me with his entire body and rolls us to safety.

A red staff with golden knobs at the ends comes crashing down less than a foot from where I land. The wielder of the staff turns slowly to look at me and I come face to face with the golden eyes of the Itan... the heretic child. "Goku!" I gasp out.

Goku smiles devilishly. He does not say anything. I see that his diadem isn't there.

Beside me, I see Father pulling himself together and pushing himself up. His blindfold had fallen off. His red eyes stare blankly forward. "He can't hear you. He's gone to a very dark place where his Sun is dead."

Sun? What the hell does that—? Konzen is fine! He's in heaven and...

I don't really have time to think, because I barely have time to dodge the blow Goku tries to deliver to me. When I am out of the way, the ground where Goku had been standing on exploded. I look up to find Yaone and Jien running out of the house and towards the battle.

"Oi, oi," I greet my older brother. "You're late, sleepyhead."

Jien grins widely at me, "It's not my fault you decided to start the party without us."

Yaone goes straight for Father who is standing on guard and assessing the situation. "Father, are you alright?"

Father smiles easily, "Yes, thank you for asking. How is everyone?"

"Karin is minding them. She's taking them all to the basement. They should be safe there." Yaone plants herself between Goku, who has decided to attack the old man, and Father. She throws explosives at their assailant. "You've saved me countless times, Father; it's my turn to save you."

"Yare yare, we've gone through this countless times," Father chastises gently. "You shouldn't live to repay other people, Yaone-san. You need to live for yourself."

Yaone just gives a grateful smile before readying herself for her next strike.

Goku had evaded all our attacks up to this point as we had evaded all of his. He is crouched on a large branch of the ancient tree, a bit confused. He seems to be figuring out which of us is least threatening.

"Why isn't he attacking?" Jien keeps his heavy sword drawn. I wonder briefly where he had kept it all these weeks we had been together in Father's house.

Father steps forward and Goku just watches him curiously. "He doesn't know what to do."

Being the old and apparently weak one, Goku immediately saw that Father—who had exposed himself—would be the best target, and in a blink of an eye, seized the opportunity to make a kill. He opts not to use the nyoibou and bares his fangs and claws.

I rush to Father's aid and as he sidesteps to avoid the oncoming blow, I am ready with a defensive strike.

A quick sidekick sends Goku flying in the direction opposite of that he had been heading. He had obviously underestimated his opponents and he was seriously pissed. Another smile crosses his face, this one more menacing than the first. His golden eyes glinted manically. The game he had been playing had just become more interesting.

I shudder a bit when I see that Goku barely felt my attack. He had been more surprised than hurt and now, the surprise was wearing off.

"Nice one," Jien pats me on the shoulder. "But you hit like a girl." He brandishes his sword as he moves towards Goku who is picking himself up. Jien swings the heavy blade at the golden-eyed boy, but is taken aback when he finds that the blade had been caught between Goku's hands.

"Get back, Jien-kun!" Father shouts in alarm as a surge of chi tells me that Goku is planning a powerful strike.

But Jien is not able to move in time and in a flash finds himself hoisted up in the air via his sword, which is still in his hands. Jien and his sword are thrown up to the sky and the nyoibou is summoned. The staff stretches to the length necessary to strike the airborne Jien right in the gut. Jien releases his weapon and he lands away from it, temporarily incapacitated by the force used on him.

"Jien!" Yaone cries out as she, without thinking, runs to her friend's side. Goku hinders her from doing so, and would have sliced and diced her with his claws, had Father not jumped in the way and taken her down. Long red lines form on Father's back, exposed as Goku's claws had torn through his clothes.

"You should watch where you're going, Yaone-san," Father reminds her, his voice strained by pain.

Tears stream down Yaone's cheeks. "I'm sorry, Father."

Okay, if Goku were to attack them right now, they would be dead meat, right? I take it upon myself to step up the plate and make my offensive. This effectively gets the monkey's attention. "Over here, bakasaru!"

I smirk, despite the situation. It's been years since I last called him that.

He charges at me.

"That's mine!" Goku growls as he tries to grab for the strip of beef that I'm holding out of his reach.

I snort. There are so many advantages to being tall. I grin at him, "Baka, it doesn't have your name on it, so it's free for the taking!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see you chuckle quietly. The vein on Sanzo's head pulses angrily. I can almost see him reaching for his gun at this moment.

"Gojyo!" Goku complained.

I open my mouth a drop the piece of meat into it. I chew it slowly, savor the taste, and let the monkey know exactly how good it is. "Mmm..."

Hey, I have to win sometimes.

You're watching me with much interest. Then a mischievous gleam appears in your eyes. A short chuckle as an angry Goku tackles me to the floor. You saw that coming, didn't you? Then, you're belated warning invades my ears despite the noise of the annoyed saru and the softness of your voice.

"Watch out."

My attention snaps back to Goku who is already right in front of me, he has delivered his attack. Fine time for a flashback to happen, I'm probably dead now.

A sea of red invades my vision. I look down to find Karin had blocked Goku's staff. Her arms are crossed in front of her in a defensive position and are glowing a soft gold. She is not strong enough to fully stop Goku and is sent hurtling back towards me. Her back collides with my stomach and it takes all my strength and coordination to prevent us from flying to the house from the sheer force of the blow. I instinctively wrap my arms around my savior's body, holding her a few inches off the grass and keeping her safe. I end up skidding a few feet away from Goku, my feet digging little canals on the ground.

I check on Karin. Her chi had not protected her completely and I could tell that both her arms were badly damaged. She is in a lot of pain, but still finds the audacity to glare up at me. "What were you doing standing there like a complete idiot!"

I gently put her down behind me. "Remembering an old friend."

"You have interesting timing," she grits as she falls to the grass, passing out from agony.

Sorry.

So what's Goku's excuse for attacking? He seems hell bent on killing us, but...

"That was not his purpose for coming here."

...I remember Father's words.

Goku is still coming towards me. That's good since Jien is still out cold. Father is having a hard time getting up and Yaone is...

Golden eyes are suddenly turned up to the sky. He knows Yaone is attacking him. I won't give him the chance to make a preemptive strike against her. I lunge at Goku, an elbow-strike aimed at his chin. Goku easily fends me off with hands, and judging by the smile on his face, I know that he is playing with me. He is toying with me as a cat would do to a mouse it is about to kill. With Goku so close, I smell the pungent scent of infected flesh. That is when I see the many untreated wounds marking his body.

He gives me a feral smile and doesn't let me go.

With me there, Yaone thinks twice about throwing her explosives. That split second of hesitation spells trouble for her. I am abandoned by my captor and the nyoibou is brought crashing down onto the back of her neck in a fatal blow. Fortunately, Yaone manages to twist her body in time to block the staff with her hand. She lands hard on the ground, the force making her gasp and black out.

I watch as Goku gets ready for his next attack. I see him in a new light, now. He is like a wounded animal, afraid and in pain. He has come here for sanctuary, most likely because Father has treated him before. But maybe he cannot trust. He is confused and doesn't know what to do other than to attack.

I hear the soft clink of metal on stone and I see that Father is taking off earrings I never even knew were there. As his silvery hair grew and his ears, fangs, and nails sharpened, I hear myself whispering involuntarily. "Father...?"

I feel his chi flare to a degree I never thought possible for the old man.

No, I know this chi. I know this feeling.

Leaves were tattooed all over his now more youthful body, though his eyes were still red and his hair still silver. Goku easily weighs the bigger threat and since I am too shocked to do anything, he automatically goes for it.

I know that chi. That's...

Father opens his arms wide and welcoming. "Come, Goku," he calls to the rampaging boy like a mother.

What the hell? Why isn't he even defending himself? I run to him, yelling his name, which I now realize. "Hakkai!"

"Have you thought about it, yet?"

I blink. My eyes are taking their dear sweet time to adjust to the ungodly bright light that suddenly surrounds me. Then again, ungodly should probably be the last word I should use to describe the light that Kanzeon Bosatsu brings with her whenever she visits me.

"Thought about what?" I finally am able to make out the features of the infamous Goddess of Mercy.

She takes so much pleasure in explaining. "How you're going to get Tenpou to return to his body."

Oh yeah... Good point. Now that Hakkai is dying, I should give him a good reason to return to heaven.

"Sure, I thought you said heaven needed its best strategist back."

Kanzeon Bosatsu giggles. Giggles! If it wasn't so mortifying, I'd laugh. "You think he'd return for that reason? You know him better than that."

Well, I know he wasn't particularly fond of the drudgery of living there.

"Err...his family and friends are waiting for him?" So, it's cliché, shoot me.

She snorts. "Something better is needed in this situation. Besides, that's overdone."

Now, I'm lost.

The Goddess of Mercy pats me on the head.

"The right words will come when they need to. Don't over think."

When I come to, I am horrified as the nyoibou hits your stomach and runs you clean through. You do not even flinch. You keep your stand and Goku ends up falling into you. "It is over," you whisper, a smile on your beautiful face. A warm green glow wraps around you and Goku. Goku's eyes go wide at the lack of resistance at first, and then close, as an expression of peace takes over his face. A few words, which I could not hear, pass his lips before relaxing completely in your arms.

I finally find my senses and pull Goku away from you just as your chi fades. The nyoibou has long disappeared, with Goku falling into a peaceful slumber. I set him on the ground and barely have enough time to catch you who are now too weak to keep your body up. We both fall to the grass.

Some people just know when their time is up. You're one of those people, I guess.

I stare at your aged face and blank red stare. "Hakkai?"

"No one has called me that in years, Kenren." You cough. Blood pours out of your mouth as you manage to laugh, albeit choking on your own blood. "He was the last one to call me that."

He? Do you mean...

"Tell Jien-kun that it's time we told Karin the truth," you instruct me. "And that I loved his brother more than life."

...yes, you meant me.

"Hush, don't talk anymore, love," I stroke your cheek gently. You seem puzzled. Of course, you know Gojyo is dead. "I know you don't believe in life after death, but do you believe in happy endings?"

You don't answer. The life force that you had is fast fading. You're so close to death.

"Tenpou," I lean over to whisper into your pointed ear. And then I murmured the best reason I could think of to make you return to heaven.

Author's Notes:

Yipes! Sorry! I've never been good with endings! I know this closing chapter was, well, crappy. But I'm superstitious and another chapter and an epilogue are coming up maybe...when all the angry shouts subside.

Aheheh...

Flame me, but don't kill me.

- paris