"Ukoku!" Koumyou ran towards the other Sanzo, and embraced him lightly. "Its been years - how are you?" He asked, smiling. Kouryuu stood several feet behind his master.
"I'm doing fine, Koumyou." The Sanzo responded, smiling slightly. "Not much has changed since last time. I just got this kid following me around now." He motioned towards the kid hiding under the long sleeve of his robe. The child was slightly shorter then Kouryuu was, with hair a lighter shade of blonde. Covering his right eye was a small piece of cloth which found its home in the boys matted hair.
The Sanzo himself was equally as odd - if not more eccentric. He was a heretical Sanzo - having no chakra on his forehead, like Koumyou, Kouryuu's master did. It was said he was one of the smartest men at the time, and one of the most powerful when it came to Buddhist powers - and the youngest Sanzo too, at only twenty three years old. He dressed similar to Koumyou, though his robes were white unlike Koumyou's off-white ones. He wore glasses - which enlarged his pitch black eyes- the same tone as his shoulder length, tangled hair.
The boy ran up
to Kouryuu, with a smile spread out across his boyish face.
"Wanna
play?" He asked, holding a doll out to the older boy. The doll
was an old thing, its orange hair starting to fade as the pieces of
yarn unraveled. It smiled with button eyes and pieces of felt on its
cheeks.
"Huh?" Kouryuu responded, glaring at the other boy. Never had he seen another child around the temple who had hair, like himself and his master.
"Play!" The voice was persistent. "Do you want to?" The boy grabbed at Kouryuu's wrist. Before the young Kouryuu could retract his arm, the other boy grabbed it.
"Hey!" Kouryuu screamed at the boy. "Don't touch me!" Kouryuu's pupils grew huge in rage.
"Oh.. I'm sorry." The other boy said, lowering his head in a small bow. I didn't mean to upset you." Before Kouryuu could respond, another voice was heard.
"Heh.. Come on, now. Being stubborn with the ladies leaves you lonely." Kouryuu turned around to face the other Sanzo. The other boy saw him too. "Come here." The Sanzo beckoned for the other boy to come to him.
"Yes, Sensei!" The boy smiled, and gladly ran toward his master. He gave the man a quick hug, then retreated to his place behind the man's sleeve. Kouryuu stood, baffled. The boy saw this as an opportune time to taunt the other child, by sticking out his tongue. After all, he had his masters protection if anything went wrong. Kouryuu stood, dumbfounded.
"Wait..." The Sanzo said, pushing the boy aside and taking a step towards Kouryuu. "You're a boy? With such a pretty face, I mistook you for a girl." He chucked uneasily. "Sorry about that." The man's face grew unreadable suddenly. He reached out his hand, and placed it under Kouryuu's chin. After moving the face around so he could look at all angles, he said the words that would stick with Kouryuu for the rest of his life. "I see... a kiddo who combines heaven and hell."
"Huh?" Was the only response Kouryuu could think of. A hidden meaning... he thought to himself.
"Nothing. I was just talking to myself. Well then, Kouryuu-kun. See you later." The man reached for the crown which was upon his head. Slowly, he took it off giving Kouryuu the first good glance at his face. The man smiled, and turned so his back faced Kouryuu. He started to head back to the main temple to visit with Koumyou, but took one last look behind him, beckoned to the other boy, and was gone.