Love is Like a Coin
By: Tanokai
Disclaimer: I do not won Saiyuki or any of it's characters. I wish I did, but I don't
General Kenren sat in a Cherry Blossom tree drinking rice wine.
"Hey! Got room up there for a War Goddess!" Yelled a lady from the ground. She appeared young, but so did all Gods and Goddesses. She had bright red eyes, and long crimson colored hair that would reach her knees if she let it down, but she had it up, braided, and tied around in a bun. She was six feet two inches tall, just a bit shorter then Kenren. She was wearing a light bluish gray, almost silver colored, hakui and hakamas.
Kenren looked down at her and smiled. "I think I can make some room for you." He watched as she jumped up, grabbing the branch. She then settled down in front of him leaning back against him. Her left leg was under his and hanging off he branch, while his was bent at the knee, the foot on the branch; her right leg was bent at the knee only slightly and rested on the branch much like Kenren's left leg, while his right leg hung off the branch. The lady's left arm rested across her stomach. Her right arm hung down at her side and her hand rested on the thigh of his right leg.
The General took a sip of rice wine from saucer in his right hand before wrapping his left arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to himself. He held her firmly, not wanting to let her go, but when he felt her flinch as he pulled her close he let go, quickly moving his arm away. She had gripped his leg tightly as well.
"Sentoshin?" Kenren asked, unsure as what just happened.
"Hm?" She asked as she took the Saucer of sake from his hand and finished off what was left in it.
"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" He seemed worried. He didn't know why she flinched; did he grip her to hard without knowing?
"Don't worry," she said quietly as she stared at the bottom of the empty saucer. "It wasn't your fault. I was careless that's all."
"Careless?"
Sentoshin placed the empty saucer in Kenren's hand before she moved the right sleeve of her hakui away from her shoulder. She had gold colored cloth wrapped around her midsection and chest as well as her arms, from her wrists to nearly her shoulders. On her right arm, though, there was a white bandage that wrapped around her shoulder. Showing through the bandage was blood that went in a vertical fashion down her shoulder and it looked like it went down to her elbow as well. Kenren looked over her right shoulder and down to look at it.
"I see. Who did it?" he didn't seem happy about her being injured.
She hesitated a moment as she pulled the sleeve back onto her shoulder. Then she sighed as she leaned back against him once more. "Shien, but like I said, 'I was careless'."
"Shien! Why I aught to-!"
"Settle down, Kenren. I was the one who offered to help him train."
"But why? Why would you do something like that? Did you forget what happened the last time?" Kenren asked; his voice was filled with worry. The last time she had offered to help Shien train, he wasn't exactly in a good mood, but he rarely was when he decided to train. By training he would vent off his anger, and few would know he was ever angry. So, as they trained Sentoshin was having a hard time keeping up with his anger and, in the end, all she could do was lay helplessly on the ground, using all the strength she could grasp to hold a defensive barrier around her self to keep Shien from landing another blow. This was a tactic she rarely used, but she couldn't do much else as her arms felt like they were on fire. She had managed to block all his attacks with her arms, but she knew that luck wouldn't last much longer. When Shien was had finally vented all of his anger, his thoughts were broken when he noticed that he was not being attacked. He had looked down at his sister just in time to see her barrier flicker away and her arms, which she had up to hold the barrier with her energy, fall limply to the ground. One arm landed across her stomach and the other on the ground beside her, but that was nearly a year ago.
Kenren wrapped his arm around her midsection and held her close that way, but once again, he moved his hand away when she winced and her grip on his leg tightened again. "He got you there too?"
"Yeah. Sorry, and as for offering to be Shien's training partner, what would you have me do? Would you rather me sit and watch as his skills and abilities diminish? I'm the only one he'll spar with."
"It's not as if he needs them anymore if all he's going to do is watch as Nataku does all the fighting!"
Sentoshin jumped off the tree branch, not caring that she almost knocked Kenren off it. She landed on her feet but fell to one knee, holding her stomach with her left arm. She stood again and looked up at Kenren, her eyes flared in anger. "He had no choice, damn it! And if I EVER hear you say that again about my brother, I won't stop myself from kicking your ass!"
Later that day Kenren watched as Nataku was asked to take another assignment. He couldn't take it, though. Nataku was still recovering from his fight with Gumaoh. The next thing he knew he was kneeling before the Jade Emperor, asking him to send his army in Nataku's place. His request was denied and he stood as Nataku passed by him, giving him a playful nudge that hurt so much it took all his control to not double over. Not to long after, he was interrogated and tortured for his act. He was then locked in one of the cells, his hands chained to the wall. Gojun came a little later and gave him the key to free himself before leaving.
Just as Kenren was unlocking the cell door he heard the crack of a whip, which was immediately fallowed by a woman's scream. The sounds echoed through the cells, but Kenren could still tell from which direction the scream came. He didn't want to think that the scream could belong to her, but Sentoshin was one of only few Goddesses in Heaven. He ran as fast as he could in the direction the scream originated. He passed many empty cells. Actually, all the cells were empty. He heard ten more screams and whip cracks before he reached the cell from where the scream came. It was a large cell at the very back of the prison. It was the place where they tortured everyone who committed a sacrilege or treason.
He watched with wide eyes as the lady who was being tortured stood up, swaying slightly at first until she found her feet again. Her long red hair had fallen from its bun, and strands of hair had obviously started working it's way from the braid. Her hakui was torn in multiple places, across her left arm, at her back. Her right arm, her sides, and even her hakamas were torn in some places. She looked at the left sleeve of her hakui and tore it off, as it was almost off now anyway. The gold colored cloth wound around her left arm seemed to have begun unraveling. Kenren watched with horrid fascination as she stood there and took another slash of the whip; this one was at her right arm. She screamed and grabbed her arm.
"Had enough yet, Sentoshin? Have you?" asked the man who had struck her with the whip.
She said nothing. All she did was lower her arms to her sides.
This act only angered the man. He struck her again, this time the whip made contact with the already existing wound at her stomach. She cried out, tears of pain filling her eyes as she fell to her hands and knees, her right arm clinging at her stomach. The man wasted no time in his next attack as he struck her back with the whip, and again. She was now completely on the ground her eyes closed tightly.
"Sentoshin!" Kenren finally managed to yell.
"What?" the man looked up at the General. He had been to enthralled in striking at the War Goddess to notice his earlier victim.
Sentoshin opened her eyes and lifted her head slightly so that she could see whom it was what called her name. "Ken...ren."
"Sentoshin!" He yelled again.
"Why are you here General?" The Torturer asked, "Did you not have enough earlier?"
"Ken...ren. Leave. This...doesn't concern...you," Sentoshin said brokenly.
"Shut-up, War Goddess! You're actions have you in store for a good while down here. You don't need to make it harder on yourself!" The Torturer stated before he looked back to Kenren. "As for you, I suggest you leave before you get booked for another session down here and make the Goddess's stay here longer."
Kenren clenched his teeth, but could do nothing else but leave. He wasn't about to be the cause of any more pain for Sentoshin.
He closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he heard another scream.
Kenren sat outside of the prison, waiting for when they would release Sentoshin. Not to long after he sat down near the doorway, Shien hurriedly made his way inside. Undoubtedly he went to get his sister. Someone was probably sent to tell him what was happening. About an hour later the door opened again and both Shien and Sentoshin exited. Shien no longer had his yakata on as he had given it to his sister to wear as her hakui and wrappings were nearly all torn and unraveled now. He held one arm firmly at her waist to support her and his left hand held onto her left arm as it was draped around his shoulders. They went on slowly as Sentoshin was hurt quite bad. She walked with her head bowed and leaning heavily upon Shien. The clothes she wore, and part of Shien's as well, were covered in her blood. Some parts were even soaked enough with it that blood dripped with every step.
Kenren stood and made to step toward his love, Sentoshin, but he received one terribly icy glare from Shien and stopped in his tracks. He watched as they left, and stood there wondering why Shien had looked at him like that. Sure, Shien didn't exactly approve of his love toward his sister, and he would sometimes give him a glare or two when he neared her, but never had he given a glare so cold as that before. Never before had General Kenren seen such raw hatred in anyone's eyes, and never had he seen any hatred in Shiens. The glares he would get from him before were just that of disapproval, not hatred.
Once Shien got his sister to her room he laid her down and slid off his yakata from her shoulders. He then got a bowl of water, rags, medicine and bandages and began to clean up her wounds before he bandaged them.
"Why, sister?" Shien asked as he unraveled all the cloth from her arms.
"Why what?" She asked in a weak voice.
"Why do you defend him, when he asks this upon himself?"
"For two simple reasons. One: I love him, and two: I hate the Emperor."
"But must you put yourself threw this?"
"This is nothing, Shien. You know that. I've gotten worse beatings sparring with you."
"You should know better then to try and lie to me. You already know it won't work. So, why? Why do you side with General Kenren? He is at the opposite side of Heaven as us, and he always has been."
"I love him. He couldn't care less about the Emperor. We need more people here in heaven like that."
"But that does not mean you have to take his blows for him. Your body can only take so much."
"I love him, that's why." Besides, she thought to herself, I heard the order given by the Emperor to the Torturer to kill Kenren, but for him to make it look like an accident. Kenren has stood against the Emperor for far to long. At least now Kenren will have to stand against them a good deal more times before they decide to execute him. Now they are unsure how many times it was actually me who opposed the Emperor and not Kenren. They know I won't give Kenren another order like that. I was just lucky I was one of the few Goddesses here in heaven, or they would have killed me.
"I don't understand."
"That's because you've never been in love before. One day you'll fall in love, though. Then you'll understand why I will give my life, and even my soul, for Kenren."
"Of all the people you could have loved, why him?"
"You cannot choose who you love, brother. Life chooses it for you. You said he was on the opposite side of Heaven. Well, if you look a coin long enough, you begin to see that if one side of that coin did not have an opposite side, it would not exist. That's what love is like. There are a few people who love someone who is not opposite from them, though. They resemble a two-headed coin, but most love is like that of a normal coin. Just be glad I'm not like your friends. Be glad I didn't fall in love with someone in the lower world."
"I guess you are right on both accounts."
Meanwhile, Kenren stood there thinking about this. He wasn't even aware of anything around him, as he was so lost in thought. Then, he was awakened from his thoughts as someone's fist collided with his jaw and sent him flying into the outside wall of the prison. The General slid down the stone wall before standing to his feet rubbing his jaw. By this time he knew exactly who had hit him.
"What the hell was that for?" He demanded still rubbing his sore jaw.
"Did you not wonder why they cut your torture short this time?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it, it did seem shorter then normal."
"Sentoshin told them that she put you up to it since she could not attend herself."
Kenren's eyes widened, "That's why she-Hag!" Kenren doubled over, coughing up blood as Shien delivered only hell of a strong punch to his gut.
Then, Shien just turned and walked away.
The next day Kenren walked toward the Cherry Blossom trees. He knew that would be the only place he could see Sentoshin. That is, if he should see her at all. She took quit a beating the other day. He blinked as he say a figure sitting at the base of one of the trees. It was Sentoshin. When he neared her, she looked up at him. Despite the beating, her face was unscratched. That was usually bad. It meant that the Torturer was more into actually hurting the person then punishing them. She smiled at him, as if the day were like any other,
"What are you doing there?" Kenren asked.
"What do you mean? You saw me yesterday. I thought you'd know that I can't climb onto one of the tree branches," she said with a smile still on her lips.
"That's not what I meant. I mean why are you here? Why aren't you resting?"
"I rested plenty. I'm in so serious condition so I was aloud to move as I please. The Torturer may have done a lot of damage to me, but he's good enough not to put anyone into danger. He's really good at beating the hell out of people and not killing them. Believe me, that wasn't the first time I was put in that position."
"Anyway. Your brother came to see me after he left with you."
"What?"
"Yeah. He told me that you were hurt because you said that you made me say what I did to the Emperor. He then got two good hits on me before he left."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think he would do that. If I had, I would have told him the truth. I would have told him that I had disobeyed orders in a crucial moment and was accused of Treason while I was in the lower world. I knew what Shien would have done if he found out.'
"Don't worry about it, Sentoshin. I've taken harder and worse blows then that in my life," Kenren said with regret in his voice as he knelt down next to her and lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes.
Later that day Kenren went once again to see Nataku take another mission. This time, he did not kneel or speak politely.
He yelled out at the jade Emperor, "How can you keep doing this! If you don't stop he's going to die! Can't you see that?"
Kenren began to make his way toward the Jade Emperor, but Gojun quickly came up behind him and grabbed his arms to restrain him. "Your completely out of line, Kenren!"
Kenren slipped out of Gojuns grasp and hit him so that he went flying into the crowd. When her turned around, Shien was standing right in front of him.
Kenren simply stared at him wide eyed, before he was hit in the gut. He coughed up blood and doubled over like the last time. Shien made to strike him again, but Zenon had come up behind him and placed his hand on his friends shoulder. Shien stood there a moment, and then he turned to head back to his place beside the Emperor. Zenon turned as well, but what they saw they didn't like.
The Torturer had shoved Sentoshin upon the steps leading toward the Emperor. She laid there on the steps for a moment her eyes closed tightly in pain, and her breathing was ragged. She then stood. At first she faced the crowed, an icy cold glare, one that put the one Shien gave to Kenren the other day to shame, in her eyes. She then turned to face the Emperor, the glare still there.
"Well, well. I assume, War Goddess, that you remember the last time you gave me that glare," the Emperor said his eyes narrowed.
She remembered. It was when she was younger. She had been furious that the Emperor was ordering that War Prince Tatakaioji be reincarnated into the lower world because he would not accept one mission for the simple reason that he could barely walk. Tatakaioji had been terrible wounded in a recent fight, and had gotten a gash all the way up his left leg. Sentoshin had yelled at the emperor with raw hatred in her eyes. She then received a public beating like the one she felt she was going to get soon. The last time she had been knocked out for nearly a week. This time, she wasn't sure if she would get off so easily. "How could I not? It was the first time you let the Heavens see what I see when I look at you," she stated with a cold tone that matched her eyes.
"And what is that?"
"The lowlife scum you truly are." A moment after she finished saying this she let out a cry of pain as the Torturer used his whip on her back. He hit the same place he hit many times the previous day. Sentoshin fell to one knee, but forced herself up before her knee hit the steps below her. She wasn't going to show him any respect, whether by accident or not.
Zenon, Kenren, and Shien did all they could to try and reach her, but their efforts were useless, the Heavenly army was standing in front of then, blocking their way. Shien almost made it through, but one of the soldiers of the Heavenly army got hold of a chain and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him back. The attack was completely unexpected and the hit was hard. His wrists, ankles, and neck were then bound with the same type of chains that bound Homura. With Zenon, they caught him from surprise by hitting his spine with a metal rod. This stunned his nerves long enough for them to bind in him the same style as Shien. Kenren was simply restrained as they bound him. He was still trying to recover from the blow Shien gave him. Both Zenon and Shien were dragged to their feet to watch helplessly as Sentoshin was attacked. Nataku could do nothing but stand there, closing his eyes to block the sight, but he could do nothing to block her screams. He had promised her many years ago that he would never interfere if she were to receive any kind of public beating.
The Torturer got out a second whip and hit Sentoshin twice in the same spot. She fell to the ground, a scream escaping her lips. Before she could stand the Torturer kicked her in the side and she was forced onto her back. She then let out an inhuman scream as the Torturer hit her repeatedly in the stomach. It was because her brother's energy surrounded whips had hit her there not to long ago. Those whips left a wound that burned like a red hot flame when it was touched, but when it was hit with a force like that of a whip, it would burn like that of a white flame. When he stopped it was because she had rolled onto her side ad was curled into a tight ball.
Kenren, Shien, and Zenon all fought against their restraints, but they were unable to do any good. Shien fought the hardest. This was his sister he was watching taking this beating. She was all he had left in Heaven besides his friends, Homura, Zenon, and even Nataku, but with five soldiers holding him back, and the chains binding him, he could do nothing but struggle futilely and watched as his sister was publicly abused. Kenren struggled with all his strength as well, but the only reason Shien was able to struggle harder was because he was stronger then Kenren. No, Kenren and Shien both struggled for love, but Zenon struggled for friendship, He and the War Goddess were good riends, just as he and Shien were good friends.
Sentoshin stood slowly, taking one step back before she was able to find her balance. As the Torturer was about to strike again Kenren yelled out, "What the hell is the meaning of this? Why are you doing this to her?"
Murmurs went throughout the crowd. That was a good question, why was the Emperor doing this? It was know to everyone ho highly he thought of the War Goddess Sentoshin. The Goddess who's name literally meant Battle Heart.
"That's a fair question.," the Emperor said. "The War Goddess , here, has been planning a rebellion against the Heavens. I am doing this to show everyone else what will happen to them if they go through with the rebellion. After this I plan to reincarnate her into the lower word."
"It's a pity for you, Jade Emperor, that I'll be reincarnated into the lower world before I can make any your story hold any truth," stated Sentoshin with bitterness filling her voice. The Torturer stuck her again.
And so went the beating. Sentoshin sot up every time when the Torturer paused his attack. Every time she did it was like a blow to the Jade Emperor. It went like this for nearly half an hour. Then, after another assault upon her stomach, she curled into a tight ball like before, but she didn't stand this time. Zenon, Shien, and Kenren, who had been struggling the whole time, stopped. They stared at Sentoshin's unmoving body. They all let out a breath they didn't know they were holding when they saw her move. She attempted to push herself off the ground and stand like she had done many times already, but her arm gave way and she fell back onto the steps, which were now covered in her blood.
Shien couldn't take anymore and he tried thinking on any way he could get to his sister, or, at the very least, get either Zenon or Kenren to her. He noticed, now, that only four soldiers restrained Kenren, while five restrained himself and Zenon. He turned his head slightly toward Zenon and after a moment Zenon looked at him. Shien's eyes were open slightly and he kept his head tilted toward Zenon, but looked toward Kenren. Kenren fallowed his gaze and after a moment he nodded slightly.
It only took two minutes for Shien and Zenon to knock out Kenren's unsuspecting restrainers. They had been to enthralled in watching what was happening to notice. Kenren then made his way toward Sentoshin. He kneeled by her side and gently rolled her over, lifting her by the shoulders slightly. She groaned in pain as he did so, but opened her eyes and stared at him.
"Sentoshin…" he said quietly.
She smiled. "Looks like Heaven will start to change now. I don't regret not being able to see it. I only regret that I am leaving you and Shien, but I knew it would happen. I've known for a long time that I would be reincarnated into the lower world."
Kenren shook his head. "Don't say that."
"Why? It's true. Troublemakers like us don't deserve to be in Heaven, and to be honest, I'm glad. Heaven is a place for those who cannot see the beauty in an imperfect word. Heaven is made for those who wish for a peaceful existence and those who wish to help keep a peaceful existence by staining their hands with blood so that others will not have to. Fighters like my brother, and innocents like Goku, they are the people who Heaven is made for. People like the Jade Emperor and Li Touten deserve nothing more then Hell. Heaven was meant to be a place of peace, not forced loyalty."
Then, her eyes closed slowly and her body went limp. Sentoshin never again saw the heavens as War Goddess Sentoshin. Five hundred years later Sentoshin was reborn as a half breed demon named Sen Kanashimi.