Title: Gone Astray

Author: annadiel

Disclaimer: Saiyuki and all of its characters are not my property. The only thing I can call my own is the story of this fic. And if this fic resembles anything you've read before, then it's purely coincidental.

Synopsis: Goku gets separated from Sanzo and the others in a big bazaar. Homura seizes this opportunity to persuade Goku once more to come with him. And this time, Goku seems to agree with him. Will Goku leave his mission and come with the god?

Wha--? You're still here! Wow! Thanks! …Okay, chapter three will just be a lot of talking between Goku and Homura. This will start the conflicts, Goku's dilemma and confusion. Will he ever snap out of it? Only I can tell…hehe…

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III. Persuasion

"Homura…" Goku looked at the god indifferently. He stood up, and was astonished. "Why am I…"

"…Why are you unbounded?" told Homura, "It's unnecessary, as I know you will not run away from me again."

"What made you think that way? Don't underestimate me!"

"Who says I'm underestimating you? I revere you, Goku. You are important to me. The ones who misjudge your true powers are your so-called 'friends'. Especially that monk, Genjou Sanzo. They don't care for you. You're just some puppet to them."

"You're wrong! You're terribly wrong about that!" an infuriated Goku shouted back. Birds flew to all directions at the sound of Goku's voice. His shout was enough to raise the dead, but no one heard it, for the two of them were deep in the forest.

"And what proof do you have?" asked the toushin.

"Well…" Goku turned silent for the moment.

"What?"

"Stop pressuring me! Alright, here's why! They are always with me! Gojyo may be cocky most of the time, but I know he cares! And Hakkai, he's always kind to me! He gives me anything I want and I know I can depend on him! And Sanzo, if not for him, I wouldn't be where I am right now! They all have saved me a lot of times already! If they don't care, they would have just left me for dead!"

Homura smiled deceivably. "But are you sure they did all those things for you because they do care? Sha Gojyo's teasing you all of the time, and you call that caring? Cho Hakkai seems to care for you because he sees there will be no one else in the group to do so. And your beloved Genjou Sanzo, do you remember why he freed you? You were calling out to him, and that seemed to him as an annoying noise. He did that just to shut you up. And why do they save you when you are about to fall down? They will lose a very strong fighter if you die. They only benefit in your strength. And after this mission is over, you no longer serve any purpose. Who can tell if they're not going to return you to Mount Gogyo?..."

Goku shriveled at Homura's words. Why, he thought, why do I seem to start to believe on what he's saying? They can't be true. Sanzo will not return me to that prison and lock me up. I know. I believe…

Homura could see that his words were starting to affect Goku. "…Or worse, they may kill you."

At that statement, Goku snapped.

"Sanzo will never do that to me! They will never try to kill me! They are my companions! My friends!"

"Hm? But you are a heretic, Goku. You are considered an ominous existence. You are said to bring bad luck on those who you come close to. And your mere existence can disrupt the balance of the world. Will that reason not be enough for you to be condemned to death? And you were imprisoned before. Do you not know the reason why?"

The golden-eyed kid just stared at Homura with eyes full of hurt and hatred.

"…Oh yes, of course you don't. My apologies. But remember what I said before? That I can give you back your memories?"

"And I told you I can search for them myself!"

"But what if you can't? Who will help you? There is no one here on earth that knows who you are, Goku. Only the gods know you. Only the gods who you were close to know you. But they're all dead. And they don't seem to remember anything about their past life, either."

Goku, after hearing that, again saw that recurring figure of a boy with golden eyes that looked at him, sad and piercing. His head hurt, and he screamed in pain. He clutched his head. "Stop it! Stop it now!"

"Why do you want me to stop? Don't you want to hear more truth about your 'friends'?"

"No! They're not true! You're just making things up to screw my mind!"

"But they're true, Goku. They are not with you because they want to be with you. That is not because of free will, but because of obligation. If you weren't commanded to go to the West, will you ever meet? Will you ever be together like you are now?"

"You were always alone, Goku. You never had any family. Even if you did, they just die, and what's more painful is that they die because of you. You were always alone, and you will always be."

"But Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo are my family now! And they aren't dead!"

"There's no telling about that. You are just sane because of that diadem around your forehead. And who can tell when you'll go berserk again? Who knows? Maybe they will die by your very own hands."

"No! I will not do that to them!"

"But you did attack them before, right? You couldn't stop yourself. You were not yourself."

Goku started to break down. He was totally confused, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"Stop…please, just stop…"

"You're all alone in this world."

Goku couldn't handle it anymore. "I SAID STOP!"

He summoned his nyoibou and attacked Homura. But his attacks were in vain; Homura had an easy time dodging them all. With his emotions getting the better of him, his movements were easy to read. He was so transparent.

"Why attack me so suddenly? You think the same, right? Don't deny them. You know that all I said to you are true," said Homura as he dodged Goku's attacks.

Goku just kept on attacking. He was not listening to Homura, or at least he was trying not to. But no matter how hard he tried, the words kept toying within his mind. A part of him kept denying everything, but there was another part that told him all were true. He stopped for a moment, and to release his emotions, let out a scream. Once again he raced towards Homura and attempted to attack him.

Homura grew bored of just dodging everything, and so as Goku rushed towards him, he braced himself to attack as well. He again was able to dodge the boy's attack, and then he punched Goku in the face, sending the boy flying away from him. Goku fell flat on the ground, and Homura waited for him to stand up. But Goku lied still on the ground. The toushin walked towards him, and was surprised when he saw what kept Goku lying still.

The kid was crying.

"Does Sanzo…really think about me like that…? And also Gojyo, and Hakkai…? Why…? Why?..."

"WHY AM I STARTING TO BELIEVE IN WHAT THIS FUCKING GOD TELLS ME!"

Homura smiled at how everything turned out. "How weak you have become, Goku. But I can help you. I, too, am alone in this world. I, too, have been shunned by society. Only I understand what you feel. For we are the same."

"..We are…the same?"

"Yes. We are the same. My offer still stands, Goku. Come with me, and I will help you gain back your memories. I will help you control the immeasurable power you possess. I will give you everything you want. Just take my hand, and all will be fine." Homura then offered a hand to Goku.

Goku looked at Homura's hand, and then at Homura. Homura looked tender at him. What a calm face, thought Goku, it seems like he will really care for me. But Sanzo, he does not have that kind of appreciation for me. He only treats me as an expendable. He never truly cared. So as Gojyo. But Hakkai, is it true that he's faking his care for me? Why?

And suddenly, he remembered something that Sanzo had said to him recently.

"I did not free you because…I needed a servant."

Yeah, Sanzo said that. Maybe he cares for me, after all. Otherwise he wouldn't have said that.

And with that thought in mind, Goku looked sternly at Homura and slapped the toushin's hand away. "I will not go with you! I will not go anywhere unless Sanzo tells me so!"

Homura, as always, was patient, and he pulled Goku back up, his feet above the ground, and struck him in the abdomen again. The pain in Goku's stomach went back, and he shrieked in pain. Homura did this again and again, until he saw that Goku was nearing unconsciousness. He then held Goku's wrists and he teleported with Goku back to the town.

--0—

"Goku! Goku! Where are you?" yelled Hakkai.

"Oi, baka-saru! Come on, show up your ass!" that was Gojyo. Sanzo just followed behind. But although he did not yell like Hakkai or Gojyo, his eyes were all alert if in case Goku turns up.

There was no sign of Goku anywhere in the bazaar. They were able to search the whole town, but no Goku showed up. They stopped for a while.

"He's not anywhere here," said Hakkai, "I'm afraid he might have been caught. We're too late."

"Don't say that!" yelled Gojyo, "Maybe the saru's gone back to the inn and is waiting for us there. He won't be easily caught! He's strong!"

"But Gojyo—"

"But Hakkai!"

The man in the stall before them heard what they were talking about. So he decided to butt in, "Are you perhaps, the man Hakkai?"

When Hakkai heard his name, he turned to the stall owner, who happened to be the owner of the takoyaki stand Goku went to earlier. "Yes, but how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "Earlier there was a kid with golden eyes searching for you when he was about to buy takoyaki from me. Then this man turned up, he had a weird set of eyes, and he took the kid. I'm sorry for what happened."

Goku was taken, by a man with eyes of different color? Hakkai thought, Could that man be…!

"Hey, ojisan, do you know where they are?" Gojyo asked angrily.

"I-I don't know!" replied the man, shocked at how Gojyo asked him."He just disappeared before me!"

"Homura…" mumbled Sanzo.

Just then, they heard an uproar from the people around. Some were pointing to the sky above.

"Look! There are two men flying above us!" a villager shouted.

Sanzo and the others looked above. And there, they saw who they were finding for.

It was Goku, and he was with Homura.

--0—

"W-where are we?" asked Goku as he felt that he was floating.

Homura answered, "We're back in the town. You told before that you won't go anywhere without Sanzo telling you to do so? Then…" Homura put his hand on Goku's diadem.

"…No! Don't!" Goku yelled as Homura was removing his diadem.

"…I'll make him tell you to go away."

The diadem was now in Homura's hand.

"NOOOOOO!"

"Show me your real powers, Seiten Taisei Son Goku. Kill. Kill for me. Kill them all."

"This will be the start for my new world…"

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Whew! I think that went well. Poor Goku, being brainwashed like that and all. Next chapter, Goku's turned berserk! It's up to Sanzo and the others to stop him! And what will Sanzo say to Goku afterwards that will make up Goku's mind about Homura's offer? Stay tuned for chapter four: Unleashed! Thanks again! Mata ne!