:: Perfect World ::

Gensomaden Saiyuki

Disclaimer: I don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki, which rightfully belongs to Minekura Kazuya.

Rating: PG

Pairings: Homura/Rinrei, hinted Goku/Homura

Warnings: AU-ish, mild angst, violence, language

Beta-read by: Iapetus

Notes: I just want to let the reviewers know that I deeply appreciate all the feedback they've given me. PW has become a sort of baby of mine in this fandom, and I'm delighted to see that people are enjoying it.

In answer to hayashi-kutsuki's question... one thing I look for in reviews, in general, is people telling me what is or isn't good about the fic-- and this includes punctuation, spelling, grammar, and, most importantly, characterization. I've been told before that certain readers don't care for my portrayal of certain characters, but they never really say why, or what I did wrong, or how I could have made something feel more right to them. Even if what they have to say may completely parallel my point of view, I still am keen on that other perspective. Insight is the key to enlightenment; one should understand all (or at least as many as possible) sides of a subject, from many others' points of view, before they can figure out what they really believe.

That's just my belief, of course.

Constructive criticism and feedback is always appreciated.


Chapter Five

This wasn't the set-up she'd had in mind at all.

If asked, Kanzeon Bosatsu would have shamelessly said she was a fairly easy-going goddess. After all, she didn't mind bending a few rules to get her way and entertain herself, and all that was required to please her was for something interesting to happen. While the current events were fairly interesting, they weren't doing much to bring entertainment from her stuffy young nephew.

So you think that just because you had a difficult past I'm going to let you get away with being so boring, she scoffed quietly, her eyes ever trained on the image of Konzen's reincarnation floating in her pond. Not likely, dear nephew.

When it came right down to it all of this could be blamed on Homura for being too impatient. After all, his and Son Goku's paths would have crossed eventually. But it seemed he had wanted to get right on with things, freeing Goku before her nephew could.

Oh, she supposed she could have made the connection between Konzen and Goku stronger so her silly nephew would have felt more compelled to shut up the supposedly annoying voice. She just hadn't expected Homura to move in so quickly.

Well, you can't really blame him, she decided. Things are horribly boring up here, and he's one of the few that realize how incompetent these fools are.

She had to give him credit for that, even if he was messing things up for her. Besides, he probably hadn't realized exactly how important Goku was to the chain of things. She could safely assume that Tenpou wouldn't be completely blind if Konzen had released the boy first. Aside from that, the tension between the three -- Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren's reincarnations, of course -- would be far less with a childlike presence to distract them.

Also the experiments to reviving Gyuumaoh had, somehow, been hurried along. There was no telling exactly how Homura's releasing the boy had done that, simply that it was true. The gods hadn't expected work to progress so quickly, after all.

She smirked, standing up. It only meant that they would have to speed things along as well, naturally. She hadn't planned on sending the group after Gyuumaoh for another two or three years, but it simply couldn't be helped now.

Or rather, she was extremely bored and wanted to get things rolling again.

"I hope you're up for this, Konzen," she said aloud, smirking at the blonde man's reflection. "Because this is going to be rather long, painful journey for the three of you."

------

Sanzo was not in a good mood, to put it lightly. Getting a summons from the Sanbutsushin was normal; after all, he was a high-ranking priest, whether he liked it or not. He was there to do the work the so-called gods above couldn't (in Sanzo's mind that simply said they were too lazy and wanted a mortal to do their grunt work) or to occasionally complete a fairly difficult task.

This time it was traveling west to stop some idiotic resurrection. That in itself was annoying; it would take months, even years just to get to India, never mind find and stop the fools trying to revive the demon king. However, to make the task even more painful, he was supposed to drag Cho Hakkai and Sha Gojyo with him.

And that wasn't even the most annoying part.

"There is one last thing before you leave."

Sanzo frowned slightly, his gaze still on the floor. It had seemed like finding out his master's sutras were in the west as well had been of most importance, so of course they would save it for last... but if there was one other thing, what could it be? He waited for the order to continue; this time it came from the left head.

"There is a creature that walks this earth. He is essential to the stopping of the resurrection of Gyuumaoh." Sanzo's eyebrow raised slightly as he peered up at them skeptically, but he said nothing, patiently waiting for the rest. "He is not quite demon, but not quite human, either. A heretical being borne of the earth..." Her voice grew stronger suddenly, emphasizing the importance. "Your orders are that when you find him, you must stop the journey until he agrees to come with you."

Sanzo narrowed his eyes. The idea seemed ridiculous, stupid even. How could one heretic make so huge a difference in battle that they would have to halt all travel until he came with?

Before he could express this thought, however, the middle head spoke. "He will not be hard to identify. His eyes are gold, as all heretics are." A brief image flashed by in Sanzo's mind, one too fleeting to really grasp, and he had the distinct feeling that image hadn't been from his own mind. "He responds to the name Son Goku."

Surprised to feel a strange twinge of familiarity, it took Sanzo a moment to refocus on the conversation at hand. "Forgive me if I don't find one little monkey worth stopping a journey to cease an entire resurrection," he said, his voice flat though his speech was polite enough.

The right head spoke, and it irked Sanzo to see that she had the slightest of smirks on her face. "Then it will ultimately be up to you to decide if you really should stop or not. However, you may find that you won't have much of a choice in the end."

Bad enough that they had called him on such short notice, but to pile so much idiocy on him at once was enough to irritate Sanzo just enough to be a lot more curt than usual. It seemed like sheer folly to stop an entire journey just to get one creature-- one demon. One heretic; heretics weren't demons, technically, even if their powers were demonic. There was no way one being could make that much of a difference.

That only meant one thing to Sanzo. It meant that should he happen to run across this Son Goku he would continue going west without so much of a backward glance. Gods or no, orders or none, he wasn't about to let some damned demon stop him for even a moment.

------

Goku didn't bother asking Homura to tag along the next day and Homura seemed relieved to note that. It was horrible being alone but getting into yesterday's mess had been ten times worse. At least to Goku it had been.

It's because I hate fighting with him, he thought absently, walking aimlessly through town. He had no real destination in mind at the moment; he just wanted to walk and think things out. Yesterday would normally have been unremarkable but so many things had happened in such a short time period that he was still uneasy and uncomfortable. He knew he was in deep trouble the moment he realized Homura was making him uncomfortable just by looking at him.

It was a bit odd, however, how Homura had been glancing at him all morning and looking so damned thoughtful. It made Goku tingle at the same time it made his skin crawl. He wasn't sure he liked that last reaction very much, and he wasn't sure what to make of the first.

I wonder if I should have lunch yet... Breakfast had been a hearty but lonesome affair; Homura had decided to leave the moment Goku announced he was hungry. At least he'd lingered long enough to make sure the boy had enough money to buy a decent meal.

Sometimes Homura could be just as generous as he could be stingy...

Goku blinked, taking an actual look at his surroundings. Somehow his feet were carrying him further and further to the outskirts of the town. He faltered in his steps a moment, indecisive, but decided that as long as he was back by nightfall it shouldn't matter where he went. With that in mind he continued to let his feet do the thinking for him for the time being.

He was always grateful for the times their training would pause; rest was something Goku wasn't allowed too much of when they were on their "normal" schedule. Still, each break always ended up with everyone going off to do their own thing. He knew Homura didn't lack feelings for his companions and cared for each of them on some level, that he held him, Zenon, and Shien on some level of importance, but there were moments Goku really felt he wasn't truly a part of their group. It was as though they were a trio with excess baggage-- hell Zenon even teased him about that sometimes.

It's not that it's dark, just that I can't see the sun. He blinked, frowning at the strange thought. It felt important in a way but he wasn't entirely sure how.

The crowds were thinning as he neared the edge of town. Goku glanced around, not sure exactly what he was looking for, but whatever he was subconsciously trying to find wasn't there. He gave a slight shrug before leaving the town completely.

There wasn't much out here; all around the town was pretty much forest, which was good when people wanted to hunt. Still, Goku felt more comfortable out here and away from people. He liked people just fine, but for some reason he always felt more at ease in the wilderness. It was a bit contradictory since he hated sleeping out there, but then Goku sometimes thought he was a contradiction in himself anyway.

He could hear a faint sound of running water. Goku started toward it, lunch all but forgotten for the time being. Somehow it wasn't the same complaining you were hungry when there was no one around to hear it.

The sound drew closer and soon enough Goku found himself stumbling upon a river. One look around told him all he needed to know: that nothing was there, not even a bird.

Wow. That's not a little suspicious, he thought dryly, going to the edge of the river while pretending nothing was out of place. The water was clear, flowing so fast there were little white currents on the rim of the banks. Goku crouched down, testing the water with his hand and cringing; it was freezing. The water was very clear though and he saw no sign of animal life inside. Must be where they get some of their water from...

He found a rock lying nearby, picking it up and examining it. Goku calmly brushed off the dirt, pretending to be very interested in what he was doing. He smirked faintly, standing up and tossing it into nearby shrubbery.

Hard.

There was a loud thwack! and an even louder curse. Goku snickered as a demon burst from the bush, a lovely red mark forming on his cheek as he glowered at Goku.

"You stupid bastard," he snarled.

"You were practically asking for it," Goku retorted. "No half-intelligent person would come here, not hearing any sounds of animals, and think everything was okay." There was one way Zenon's survival skills came in handy. Where there was a thick forest there was always the sound of some sort of animal: birds twittering, deer rustling leaves, crickets chirping, small noises. If not then all the animals had been killed off, which was either rarely because of human stupidity, or more commonly, demon stupidity.

Zenon never failed to remind him just how much he loathed demons.

"Ch'." The demon's eyes were focused on Goku but more on the area above his eyes. If he recognized the demon power limiter then he was probably a bit smarter than Goku would have originally given him credit for. "This comes from some idiot trying to pose as a human?"

Goku tilted his head, grinning. "What's with all the talking? You were hiding, obviously waiting to ambush someone... bet it's because of the rumor of gods coming to earth." It wasn't exactly uncommon for Homura's group to be approached by demons, sometimes even humans who refused to believe anything but the original rumors. Some wanted to get rid of them, as killing a god would surely give them a huge name, but most simply wanted immortality.

Homura and Shien had the power to grant it, this Goku knew. He didn't know if Zenon could, as he'd never seen or heard of the man doing it, and Goku was positive he himself couldn't. However Homura only granted divinity to those he believed would be useful to him and honestly wanted what he did. Shien was in perfect agreement with him there.

The demon sneered. "So you're one of them, are you? All right then, He Who Poses as a Human... I'll just kill you nice and easy and we'll see how much these gods will think of themselves afterwards."

What a complete and utter moron. Zenon would have shot him without second thought, Goku knew. Still he was getting bored and a little scuffle sounded fun.

The second the demon launched himself at the boy Goku quickly dodged, nearly slipping on the loose dirt beneath him. He found his ground quickly, calling forth his staff without a second thought. This time when the demon attacked he gave it a good, solid blow to the side. It went staggering back with a grunt of pain but didn't fall.

He has good footing, he thought absently, this time using the staff for defense as the demon attempted to claw at him. All that happened was a surprisingly strong arm slamming into the side of the staff. Kinda fast, but I can be faster. He knows his territory and I don't, and if he were a better fighter he'd have the advantage...

Goku dodged a furious swipe easily, ignoring the snarl of frustration just before he slammed one end of the staff into the demon's gut. The creature coughed weakly, stumbling back, and Goku allowed it enough time to regain its bearings. Zenon and Shien were all for the rule "take them while they're down," but Goku found that in simple play like this he preferred Homura's tactic when the man was in a good mood: sit back, let them have a little time to recover their senses, and start all over again. It was a game, really, and a pretty unfair one since he knew what the outcome would be.

But Goku was bored, and he hated being bored. It had to be rectified somehow.

"Geez, that's all you've got?" he taunted, grinning as he brought his staff up to block a heavy swing. His staff was made of good, strong metal, perhaps something even tougher than that. It could block even Homura's attacks, so it blocked this moron easily. "Come on, you expect to take a god on with that kind of power?"

The demon snarled. "I'll kill you!" Goku simply smirked, moving back just in time to avoid a sharp slash of claws. Now he was just playing, not taking his opponent entirely seriously. He didn't let his guard down, but he allowed himself to relax a little.

"Damn it, start taking this seriously!" the demon shrieked, attacking with renewed fury.

The phrase drew up a memory from a training session with Homura once. It had been early on, only about a year or two ago. Goku had been attacking the man, but Homura would only dodge and smirk. Each amused chuckle would only annoy Goku further, making his attacks fiercer yet sloppier, though he hadn't noticed at the time.

"Not fair! Start taking me seriously, Homura!"

He could still remember the man's response; remember how Homura had caught his next punch instead of dodging it, gripping his fist so tightly it had made him cry out. The mismatched eyes had narrowed a bit, and he'd said...

"I'll take you seriously once you realize what you're up against," Goku echoed the words in his head, suddenly tired of this game. He stopped moving, rooting his feet in one place and watching the demon charge in rage. This demon was one of the typical ones, the kind that assumed that just because he was stronger than the average human he was stronger than anything...

It was a notion Goku killed the second his staff came crashing down on the demon's elbow. The scream that followed made him wince a bit but he didn't pull back until the blow was finished. The demon fell to the ground, writhing in agony as he clawed at his now broken arm.

Goku allowed his staff to vanish back to where he had called it from. It was a trick Homura had taught him once; though calling the weapon had been a complete surprise. When he asked Homura why he'd called a staff, of all things, the man had simply said it must be the perfect weapon for him. At first Goku hadn't believed it but by now he was very fond of his weapon. It could change length at his will, he never had any problems summoning or getting rid of it and it could be doubly useful in a huge fight since he could make it "split" into three pieces. All would be hooked together by a couple chains, giving him more flexibility to swing it where he chose.

I'm hungry again, he realized, turning to head back to the village. I hope that restaurant we went to yesterday has good lunch too...

The rustling didn't disturb him; he had left the moron squirming in agony on the ground. The sound was different from a person writhing on the ground and it took him too long to realize that. Goku spun just in time for two clawed fingers to catch under his diadem. He only had time to hiss as the nails scraped his forehead, but then there was only panic as his coronet was dislodged. He had no idea why but suddenly his mind was screaming, shrieking for him to put it back in place. Goku was already bringing his knee up into the demon's gut, dislodging him with a solid blow. He fell back to the ground, hands flying up to his diadem and pushing it back into place just before it could fall off.

Fury made him act before he thought. He scrambled up, finding the demon trying to sit up again. With a snarl Goku slammed his heavy boot into the idiot's face, holding nothing back. There wasn't even time for the demon to scream before his entire face was kicked in.

It wasn't until Goku had left the area only two feet behind before the reality of what he'd just done caught up with him. He staggered a moment, his hand slamming into a tree before he fell. The rough bark scraped his hand, making him flinch a bit. He was too busy trying to breathe properly to care at the moment. It wasn't because he'd killed the demon; simply that he was never that brutal. Quick, clean kills were a lot easier on his conscience.

But he'd just kicked the guy's face in... He probably wasn't even completely dead yet, just quietly gurgling in agony, unable to move because of the sheer amount of pain that had to cause. He wouldn't die right away.

He didn't care go back to see if he was okay. It would be stupid to do so, since he knew there was no way that demon would live much longer considering how hard he knew he could kick. Not only that, if he saw the actual extent of the damage he'd inflicted he very may well be sick. Goku didn't underestimate his own strength.

It took him only a minute to make his head stop spinning, and then he could look up so the world wasn't twirling. He blinked at the sight before him, unsure if he was hallucinating, and then blinked again. "What...?"

Homura stood before him, his expression unreadable. His already careless hair seemed even more tousled, as though he'd been in a hurry to get there. He strode toward the boy once Goku looked up, eyes flitting to the diadem before he murmured, "Good," absently, then he went past the boy.

Goku's stomach lurched. "Wait... don't..." His voice trailed off; Homura wasn't listening anyway. The man disappeared for a moment, coming back a short time later. His expression had changed a bit, enough to show sympathy.

"We'll have to leave by morning," he said. "We might as well go back so you can lie down; you seem ill."

Goku flinched. His murder would only intensify the rumors which was why Homura wanted to leave. He lowered his head, mumbling an apology.

A sudden push on his forehead forced Goku's head up. Homura's fingers were pressed against his diadem, his features drawn in a completely solemn and understanding look. "It could have been worse," the man said calmly. "Much worse. I'm thankful it's not. If you can walk we ought to head back now."

Goku nodded, letting his hand fall from the tree so he could stand upright. He wobbled a little but got control of his limbs quickly. He managed a small, tentative smile which, to his relief, Homura returned. The man gestured toward the river, but in a slightly different direction where the dead body lay.

"Clean off the blood in the river, and then we'll go."

------

It had been a call too close for Homura's blood. He partially wished that the surge of not right that he'd suddenly felt had been in the form of a silent voice; that way he could probably "hear" her, or at least her ancestors, calling out to him and he would be able to find her resting place sooner.

Still, whatever it had made him leave right in the middle of a conversation, giving a vague excuse of having forgotten something important. The importance part was true; something bad was going to happen, or had happened right then. He hadn't dared phase out right in the middle of town so he had gone right to the outskirts, into the woods. Even then he didn't try the transportation trick, mostly because he wasn't even entirely sure where to go.

He was only feet away from the site before he realized what the feeling had been: Seiten Taisei. Either he was or had almost been almost called forth. Seconds later he found Goku leaning against the tree, trembling and with blood splattered from his right knee on down, but otherwise okay. The diadem was still intact, still in place, but Goku's hair was mussed enough for Homura to instantly know what had happened. Something or someone had nearly ripped it off and Goku had, miraculously, been able to keep it on.

That was a relief.

Leaving now would be an inconvenience, though Homura inwardly doubted it would make too much of a difference. He had zero leads in this place; it wasn't getting him any closer to her resting place than he'd been five hundred years ago. And while she was important enough for him to spend so much time searching, Homura knew when his search was getting him nowhere-- though he was reluctant to admit it.

And then there was the other way Goku's killing had helped. He waited until they were back in the room before he did anything; Goku was sitting on his bed, removing his wet, cold jeans before he spoke, and what he said surprised himself. "Now you've killed in your first fit of rage." Goku looked up, seeming taken aback, but Homura continued on. "You're going to slip occasionally. That is what can happen when you let anger get the better of you. Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah," Goku said slowly, looking as though it was taking time for the man's words to sink in.

"This is one reason why Shien is always telling you to think before you act," Homura said. "Not just because you may make a mistake, but also because you may end up doing something irreversible before you think. Now that you've experienced it first-hand, do you truly understand?"

"Yeah..."

Homura allowed himself a small smirk. Goku seemed more dazed than sick now. The boy was doing well, at least. If he let something like that get the better of him than Homura would have overestimated some of the boy's abilities. He was pleased to see he hadn't. You'll be perfect when the time comes, Son Goku...

"Take a hot bath," Homura suggested. "After that I'll buy you something to eat. You must be hungry."

"Starving," Goku agreed, his smile much stronger than it had been back in the forest.

Good, was all Homura thought. "Go on, then. I'll wait for you."

Goku nodded, about to slip into the bathroom to do just as the man had suggested, but just as he grabbed a fresh change of clothes he looked back at Homura. "Um..." His eyes lowered a moment, the strangest hint of red on the high points of his cheeks. "Thanks."

Saying nothing, Homura watched him disappear into the bathroom before he closed his eyes, feeling suddenly old and weary even as a self-mocking smirk touched his lips. And so he still continues to throw out those hints... you play very unfairly, Son Goku, considering that I doubt you even know what you're doing.

"Very unfairly," he agreed with himself aloud, with no one to hear him but the walls just as the sound of running water dimmed his voice.