My Sun, My Supernova

Chapter 14

Break My Empty Heart

Sanzo and Goku. Between them, dark obsession is a mutual thing. For the untamed beast that Goku has become, his mad priest is the one living thing whose heart does not beg him to spill its blood with every tantalizing beat, and in fact, so entranced is he by its rhythm, that he instead wants to ensure that it will never stop beating, and for his ears alone. Yet, strangely enough, Sanzo is also the one creature that would gladly offer him his life if it so pleased Goku to take it. The two of them thus find themselves bound together by a connection almost hypnotic in nature.

As Sanzo would describe it, together, the two of them are pure perfection.

He often speaks to Goku of such things, though his ideas and way of expressing them are obviously not sane. His words are either whispered breathlessly while held mesmerized within those terrible eyes, sometimes sung softly when both are at rest, or let loose in a fevered stream of frenzied passion when Goku seeks to demonstrate his claim on Sanzo in a more physically demanding way. Goku does not comprehend the words, but he listens, and he seems to like what he hears.

Now, Goku is awake and at rest, nestled at Sanzo's side on the temple floor. All of his various appetites are comfortably sated, and the demon is content and relaxed. As he quietly observes the familiar creature lying next to him, his wild eyes gleam with pride and satisfaction. He amuses himself by tracing one claw over the pulse in the pale neck, marveling curiously at the delicate fragility of the living flesh and enjoying the feel of life radiating from the warm body. Sanzo, however, nearly comatose with exhaustion, remains oblivious to his touch. Goku huffs a sigh, sensing that the other won't be ready to move on for some time yet. So he spends a few more lazy minutes in tending to his sleeping mate's damaged and blood-stained skin, bathing and massaging with his tongue, and then rolls over and stretches, cat like, before shaking out his tousled mane of hair and heading outside.

On his way out, he pauses at one of the corpses in the room in order to tear off and provide for Sanzo a nice little chunk of meat, and then he slips through the door. If they're going to be sticking around here for a bit longer, then his task is to do a thorough patrol of the surrounding territory, making sure to clear any potential threat to his very, very pleasing yet rather high maintenance human consort.

XXX

When Sanzo awakens some time later, he groans involuntarily as he discovers that his entire body feels like one massive bruise. He's so stiff and sore, and it's so hard to move, that's it's as if he's been made into a permanent part of the temple floor. In fact, that had seemed to be Goku's sole intent at one point in their activities. But at the same time, although he hurts, he's never felt so good, so completely satiated with pure, undiluted bliss.

The pain he feels now is only physical, which can have its benefits, or even be enjoyable, whereas emotional pain is another matter all together. That kind of pain is absolutely unacceptable and must be banished from the soul by whatever means necessary.

When he's finally able to peel himself up off the floor and force himself to stand on shaky legs, the storm from last night has long since passed, leaving behind a bloody massacre in its wake. At the sight of the meal Goku has set out for him, Sanzo discovers he has no control over his body's reaction as his stomach heaves, violently discharging its minimal contents. He wisely decides to pass up the well intended offering.

In a daze, Sanzo staggers his way through the bloodbath this part of the temple has become. It had not been his intent to inflict Goku's violence upon the monks here; he had simply been seeking relief from illness and in need of rest. In truth he had not bothered to stop and consider the possibility that Goku would come looking for him, even though that should have seemed a likely outcome. However, he feels no sense of guilt or remorse now as he makes his way through the slew of corpses strewn about the room.

He sincerely believes that they were each given the chance to experience a miraculous encounter with the very personification of perfection itself, before subsequently being granted a fulfilling and beautiful death. Besides which, he didn't really like these particular monks very much, anyway. He passes their mutilated bodies by now with nothing more than a cursory glance.

Oh, well. So much for his plan of having a nice, quiet temple retreat. As it turned out, Goku had much more interesting things in mind with which to occupy the night.

After preparing another bath for himself, Sanzo eases his pleasantly tortured body into its embrace. The hot water stings the fresh gashes in his tender skin, which by now has become a living tapestry of various cuts and scars, either self-inflicted or due to Goku's loving teeth and claws. Soon, the heat relaxes his aching muscles and soothes his weary body, and he just barely manages to drag himself out of the tub and into the room that was laid out for him before passing out into a very deep, very exhausted sleep, hoping to recover some of the strength lost to him over the past days.

XXX

Unknown to either Sanzo or Goku, the old abbot who had made his very narrow escape from death the night before had wasted no time in hurrying his way into the small town not far down the road.

Here, he had quickly spread his nightmare tale of horror, about a deranged priest and his bloodthirsty beast, depravity, murder and mayhem under a stormy sky.

"The Sanzo priest has gone stark raving mad, falling in league with demons and bringing terror upon the land!"

"Genjo Sanzo, the legendary demon slayer himself, has fallen to such a state as this?"

"He is possessed! An evil spirit haunts his soul! It must be so, how else would one such as he allow himself to fall in with a monster like that?"

The townspeople are terrified, for surely the mad priest and his monster will make their way into town and massacre the population here just as they had decimated the monks at the temple. They must do something to protect themselves, but what? How can they prevent a similar tragedy from striking them down in such a gruesome way?

"We must hunt down the beast! We must drive the evil spirit out of the priest! We must set things right! We must save our town!"

The townspeople become riled as they discuss the emergency. Finally, it is decided that they must hunt down the madman and the demon and take it upon themselves to protect the town from this unspeakable threat. So with a show of bravado and a rousing round of cheering, the people are instigated into action, and their plan of attack is set into motion.

XXX

By mid-afternoon, the organized demon hunting party from the village has made its way to the vicinity of the temple. They are frightened and nervous, but deadly determined to eradicate this new menace. They have resolved to stick together, be strong, and above all else, to succeed.

Unfortunately for them, they have no idea what they are up against.

When they reach the temple, the group splits up, some entering the building to search there and the others remaining to search the area outside.

Meanwhile, the abbot, who has decided to attempt his hand at trying to save Genjo Sanzo's lost soul with an exorcism rite, prepares himself for the procedure. The room they will use is the one where the terrible events had taken place the night before, still littered with the evidence of the crimes committed. He is afraid, for the villagers have not seen the demon with their own eyes, as he has. But he must try to help Sanzo. He considers it his duty and responsibility. He will not forsake the young priest's tormented soul by refusing to assist simply out of fear for his own safety.

XXX

Goku soon picks up the noise of the hunting party, perking up his head and smelling the air. A feral smile ignites his face. This should prove to be very entertaining. He begins to move to intercept his intended prey, unaware of the fact that he himself is the target of their pursuit, not that this knowledge would in any way serve to dissuade him from the game that he has in mind.

Inside the temple, Sanzo's deep sleep continues, rendering him so far unaware of the ominous proceedings taking place around him.

XXX

As the temple is investigated for signs of life, finally the search party comes across what they seek. Candlelight glows dimly from one small room, and they cautiously approach. What they see causes them to pause in hesitant surprise, for it is far from what they were expecting to find.

A mat is spread out on the floor, and lying upon it is a young man, lost in sleep and blissfully unaware of the presence of intruders.

This is the priest Genjo Sanzo? This is the man described by the old monk as a depraved lunatic, a homicidal maniac who cavorts with wild beasts? But he looks so vulnerable, so peaceful, so beautiful. Can it really be true?

The young man appears to be sleeping so soundly, that one of the villagers risks bending down at his side, reaching out to push the soft, golden hair away from the face to reveal the presence of the chakra. So it is true, then. The man takes a moment to regard the sleeping priest curiously, still finding the story hard to believe, and as he does so…

What's this? On the neck, are those…

Bite marks?

Pulling back the blanket reveals yet more marks on the fine skin, and the villager finds himself shaking his head at the sorry sight. Under the tense and watchful eye of the other villagers standing in the doorway, he proceeds to administer a mild tranquilizer, and then binds Sanzo's hands behind his back.

Bringing their catch with them, the group returns proudly to the old monk. He can't repress a gasp, remembering the last time he had seen the young priest, and in what circumstances. One villager has two objects in his hand, and sets them out for the abbot to see.

"Look, we searched his belongings and we found these. This is the sacred scripture you said he carries, right? And this… what is a priest doing with a gun? He really must be mad."

Working quickly, they tie Sanzo securely, and the abbot sets to work painting sacred spells for banishing evil upon Sanzo's body. He is nervous, but even so, he manages to keep his old hands steady as he works, and is able to focus on the task at hand.

"Do you see how the spirit has not only compelled him to consort with demons, but also to mutilate his own flesh? This is a clear sign of what we are dealing with. A clear sign. I'm sure I can help to free his soul, I'm sure of it."

Sanzo finally begins to regain consciousness, his eyelids fluttering. As his awareness kicks in, and he realizes that something is very wrong, he struggles desperately to fully awaken, forcing off the last traces of lingering sleep.

As his eyes open and come to life, the old monk and villagers find themselves faced with the full power of his intense gaze. There is pure madness in those uncanny violet eyes, and a terrifying calm. A cold shiver runs its way up the spines of those attending the exorcism.

One man speaks, in dreadful awe.

"Those eyes…"

The shaken abbot replies, his voice trembling in fear.

"Yes, why did I not see it before. Those eyes can only be the eyes of one possessed by the very spirit of evil itself."

The others gasp and look at each other anxiously, finding themselves unable to stare into those vivid pools of madness, for fear that their very souls will be torn apart and devoured in their depths.

Sanzo takes a moment to absorb his situation, and then a serpentine smile slithers its way onto his lips, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

XXX

Goku is almost having too much fun. So many victims to play with! What a delight! He had started out by stalking them stealthily, watching them in their attempts to route him out. He had amused himself at first by silently extracting someone from the edge of the group, dragging him into the bushes and ripping out his throat

Oh, the joys of tearing open the living flesh!

His appetite wetted, Goku can't resist the impulse to make his presence known. With a bloodcurdling shriek, he tears into the midst of the searchers, sending them scattering in panic. He grins. Now the hunt really begins.

XXX

Sanzo begins to laugh, starting out as a deep chuckle and becoming a crescendo of gleefully evil tones, and then abruptly goes dead quiet. An uneasy silence hovers in the room, and then…

In a voice so low and dangerous that it sounds more like a growl than anything else, Sanzo addresses the old monk.

"You…you were given the chance to witness a true miracle, and this is how you respond? Have you gained nothing from the experience? You are so fucking pathetic. I'd like to see you try your little so called exorcism."

The monk, shaken but determined, begins to chant, directing his assistants to set up holy incense in a circle surrounding Sanzo, to contain the spirit should it attempt to leave the body.

Sanzo spits vilely at them when they approach to do so, and they back away as quickly as they can.

The chanting continues, as the abbot raises his voice to try to drown out the vulgar and twisted language that begins to pour from Sanzo's mouth with ever increasing intensity. He curses them savagely in vivid detail, spewing out death threats and worse in a frenzy of verbal violence and abuse, all the while writhing against his bonds.

Sweat pours off of the old monk, the creases in his wrinkled face deepeningas he concentrates on trying to drive out the spirit, so that he can banish it from the world of the living and rescue the afflicted priest from his living hell.

Suddenly Sanzo stops his ranting completely, unable to continue and left panting from the effort.

"Is… is it over? Did you banish it?"

"I… I don't know."

Everyone peers nervously at Sanzo, not quite sure what to do.

Then Sanzo laughs again. This time, the sound is weak but genuinely amused. He raises his head.

"You think me possessed? By an evil spirit? What kind of bullshit is that? I'm not fucking possessed… and even if I were… you're not doing the spell right."

When his captors just gape at him speechlessly, he sneers in contempt at the extent of their ultimate stupidity.

XXX

Goku has hunted down and picked off his prey one by one, each time coming up with a new and more creative way to dispatch his latest victim.

Finally, when he is certain he has found the last one, he begins to head back in the direction of the temple.

XXX

The villagers attending the exorcism are increasing in excitement. The sight of the dead monks all around them has them frightened and horrified, and in their eyes, this Genjo Sanzo is becoming to look more and more like some dark angel of death.

Someone shouts out a suggestion, and a murmur of agreement rises up.

"Forget the magic tricks, let's just give him what he deserves for his crimes, he must be punished for his sins!"

Someone grabs the gun.

"We can use his own weapon to do it!"

Sanzo grins again. The games are over and he knows just how to respond to this new threat.

"You desire an exorcism? Then I will grant you an exorcism, one so beautiful it is almost too good a gift for the likes of you."

Sanzo begins to chant, even as his gun is aimed in his direction.

Suddenly, an inhuman shriek pierces the air.

All colour drains from the old monk's face, scenes of last night's carnage inflicting his mind. Unable to contain his calm any longer, he turns and runs for his life.

The other villagers remain behind, uncertain. The gun is directed towards the door instead, its holder staring anxiously, waiting to get a glimpse of the beast.

Then, several things happen simultaneously in an explosion of chaos.

Sanzo finishes off his chant by shouting out the final words.

"Makai Tenjou!"

At the same instant, Goku leaps through the door, and the gun goes off, the bullet missing its intended target.

The Maten scripture unfurls in a flurry of activity, catching the gathered humans with its effect. They begin to scream, filling the already desecrated temple with the pure voice of terror.

Goku begins to scream as well, for he has not escaped the same fate.

The scripture lashes out with its power, fully released and utterly unmerciful, and the humans soon succumb, dropping to the floor like puppets with severed strings. Goku is still screaming in agony as it works against him as well, but his eyes are fixed upon Sanzo, and he determinedly approaches despite his pain.

Sanzo cries out as he realizes what is happening. Goku is caught in his attack. But Goku is still struggling to come to him. Why?

Finally, after what seems like an eternity in slow motion, Goku reaches the place where Sanzo is his claws he tears apart the ropes, letting their captive fall free. Sanzo catches himself on his hands and knees, watching helplessly as Goku screams again, collapsing to the floor and writhing madly. Without thinking, Sanzo crawls forward and grabs Goku under the arms, dragging the tortured creature out of range of the effects of the scripture's magic.

The room floods with silence as the scripture settles down. The only sound is that of the harsh breathing from the laboured lungs of the only two beings left alive in this place of tragedy and death.

Sanzo gazes down at Goku, as he holds the demon tightly in his arms, and as he does so a look of puzzled disbelief rapidly grows more pronounced on his face. Goku is looking up at him; his golden eyes are alight even as his body and mind still burn from the spiritual attack just received.

"Goku, why? Why? Why would you risk yourself just to come to me? Why? You must have felt it… how much danger you were in… yet you…Why? Why would you want to do that?"

As if in response, a very soft, shaky purr starts in Goku's throat.

Panic slowly creeps up on Sanzo, and it shows all too clearly even through the fire of madness burning in his eyes.

"No, no, no. I set you free, so you wouldn't have to feel it anymore, the pain. You are perfect, Goku, you should be perfect. So why, why, why? Why?"

Something begins to crack now in the delusional reasoning that Sanzo has built up in his mind. For if a perfect being, one who has purified their soul by banishing all of its terrible pain, were to let another creature touch upon that pure unblemished heart, would that not pollute the perfection which has been attained? That attachment and care for another would only open up potential for a reawakening of pain, would it not? Because what happens if something where to happen to the one the heart holds dear?

The answer is pain.

This is the very thing Sanzo had wanted to release Goku from in the first place, so, why?

For the first time since that day when Sanzo had awoken to a new existence blissfully free of pain, he feels doubt.

One word begins to repeat itself wildly in his mind, like an endless litany with no response:

Why?