Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki. (Repeat ad lib.) ;0)
A/N: Any of the places or names mentioned are mere figments of my imagination (except for Tokyo, of course).
III.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Excerpt from the diary of Kaninshi Nii, Year 1510AD
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cho Hakkai (Subject 2):
Apparently the reincarnation of one of the minor gods. Orphaned at age 7 due to a youkai attack and taken to the convent orphanage of his village. The boy… (Here follows the history of Cho Gonou and the meeting with Sha Gojyo, Genjo Sanzo and Son Goku, his subsequent change of name and nature, and the part played in the final battle)
Strange being this Cho Hakkai… What kind of lover would he have made I wonder? Cold, detached, yet passionate to the point of madness… Definitely intelligent and perceptive, he can be defined a sort of second leader in the group. Seemingly so innocent, so good and yet tainted by the guilt of many crimes. His reicarnations…Nakaw Ruishi, murdering his wife just as she murdered their child, Kazumi Yenko, watching calmly, a serene smile on her face as she watched a house burn down, leaving those who had violated her to die a painful death... revenge is sweet is it not?
Remember this, hiding behind the calm façade is his darker side. He will stop at nothing when tipped over the edge. His sanity rubs shoulders with his madness, two souls inhabiting the same body, both strong, unforgiving... and lethal.
(VolII Para16)
>>>>>>>>>>>
Sha Gojyo (Subject 3):
Also the reincarnation of one of the minor gods. The boy was brought up- or dragged up, depending on how you see it-by his step mother and his half brother, Jien (refer to Appendix I). Sha Gojyo was the son of a demon and a human being, which made him…(Here follows the history of Sha Gojyo, his meeting with Cho Gonou, Genjo Sanzo and Sha Gojyo, his relationship with Jien and his part in the Final Battle.)
Flirtatious, engaging, a smooth talker and an agile fighter… very popular with the opposite sex. An interesting man, to say the least. His deep sense of insecurity is masked by false bravado, continuously searching for affection. We nearly managed to destroy his reincarnation when she was made to confront the demons of her past. Quite a brilliant touch of our ancestor if I may say so… The girl had to face and kill her fiancé, the same one she had abandoned in his hour of need…Unfortunately, three other meddlesome women got in the way. Quite pathetic really, don't you think? But useful in its own way. He clings to the past tenaciously even more so than he others I believe. The thoughts, the guilt embedded in his soul tormenting him endlessly, making him ask why, wondering if and perhaps… Such an easy target, especially when Cho Hakkai is not around.
Sha Gojyo is the fire which burns, Cho Hakkai the ice which chills. They complement each other. They depend on each other, giving strength alternately, pushing forward when the other would stop. Break their bond, and they will no longer be whole.
(VolII Para 22)
September 1993
St Joseph's Orphanage, Tokyo
Two children stared shyly at each other. Both orphans, both new to the orphanage.
Brown haired, emerald eyes, thick pair of glasses.
Red hair, red eyes, two scars on the side of his face.
"Cho Hakkai"
"Sha Gojyo"
The Sister Marie smiled when she saw them sitting together in the playground. Cho Hakkai was something of a loner, and it was good to see that he had approached the slightly younger boy. She sighed as she looked down at her papers. It never was easy to get children to fit in, especially special cases like these. Hopefully, the two boys would help each other; their background, in terms of social class, was completely different,yet, they were linked by having to face tragedy at a too young age.
The solemn face of Cho Hakkai stared back at her from the photograph of his file. No mother – she had dieddue tocomplications at the child's birth . His father, a prominent businessman, had been devastated by her death and retired into himself, ignoring the boy and leaving him to his own devices. Not that the boy had lacked any physical comforts… he was well fed, had clean clothes and went to a good school… but man cannot live by bread alone, thought Sister Marie, philosophically.
Hakkai had been left an orphan at age seven, when his father had blown his brains out after discovering that he was bankrupt. The boy had been taken to the orphanage; he had no other family. Finding your own father slumped over his desk in a pool of blood would, or rather should have shaken any person. Not so for Cho Hakkai. The social worker who had handled his case remarked that he'd never seen a child so cold and emotionless. No crying, no hysterics, nothing. Hakkai had been at the orphanage for three weeks, and though he had caused no trouble, he had been distinctly distant and unfriendly to those who approached him.
Sha Gojyo instead had lived for most of his young life with his mother and half-sister. His mother worked as a prostitute; her children had been fathered by different men. Sha Gojyo didn't know who his father was, and in all probability would never know. His half-sister had run away a year before and couldn't be traced. The woman – Sister Marie couldn't really call her a mother- had apparently got tired of dragging a child with her were she went and had left him in the last room she had rented. The social services had been alerted to Sha Gojyo's presence by the rent collector who had gone to collect money and had instead found a child.
Theboy had been in a sorry state. Sister Marie had been horrified to find the child covered in bruises, and half-starved. How could any woman do this to her child? It went beyond her, and angered her. Too often had she seen the damage done by such 'parents' who had unwillingly brought a child into the world.
The nun stood up and walked to the window and watched the two boys as they sat slightly apart from the rest of the children. Cho Hakkai was speaking softly to the other boy, and Sha Gojyo was smiling slightly. Time would heal some of their scars, thought Sister Marie, and perhaps the two children would do for each other what she could not. Both of them needed to love and be loved, and who better than a child to give love unconditionally?
Yay! About time, I hear you say… true. Sorry, but university took up practically all my time this year sigh. I'll make up for that though :0) Thanks to those who reviewed Curtain Call. Any comments?