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?
This question will now be answered.
Previously, Goku's very vulnerable heart had been unknowingly crushed by his companions. And because of this, Goku's hard-as-rock belief in them had been smashed as well. Now he only looks up to Homura and is planning to go to him. What will the remaining three do about it?
Let's all read on…
(I again apologize for the very late update, but it's really hard for me to do so regularly, since the semester's almost at end and projects and reports keep on piling up…)
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VI. Betrayal
"I said go away. I don't need you," an infuriated Sanzo said to Goku, "Go anywhere but near me. Kill if you like. Die if you like…"
"..Just go away."
Those words instantly shattered Goku. He didn't think Sanzo would actually say the words he had been afraid to hear from him.
Even Hakkai and Gojyo were surprised by Sanzo's words. "Sanzo, that's too harsh!" said Hakkai.
And then, they noticed Goku stand up. The boy left the room.
Gojyo asked, "Oi, saru! Where are you going?"
"To my room…" answered Goku wearily.
"Goku!" Gojyo was about to follow Goku, but Hakkai got hold of his shoulder. "Hakkai…"
Hakkai shook his head. "Don't follow him, Gojyo. Leave him be."
"But—" Hakkai's grip on his shoulder became tighter. "…Okay, then." The redhead then turned to Sanzo and told him, "You watch your mouth, monk."
"You didn't have to say that, Sanzo," added Hakkai.
"Tch," was all that Sanzo replied.
At that moment, Hakkai and Gojyo went out of the room, with Gojyo muttering, "…Damn this rain…"
—0—
As they walked, Gojyo said to Hakkai, "That kid, he called us liars."
"Aa," replied Hakkai, "That means he must have heard us a while ago."
"Maybe we should go tell sorry."
"No. Not now. His heart is closed to anything right at this moment. We should leave him by himself tonight."
"Fine…"
The two of them then went to the other vacant room and settled down for the night.
—0—
Goku was in deep thought that night. The noise created by the rain had also produced a melancholic silence that filled the place.
This turn of events for him was unexpected. It didn't occur to him that his companions thought of him that way.
Homura, where are you? Goku thought. Please, come get me already…
He then recalled what he said to Homura before.
"I will not go anywhere unless Sanzo tells me so!"
And Sanzo wanted him to go away.
If that's that, then that's that. Goku's tolerance was already beyond its limit.
His sun had stopped shining for him. He was now back in the darkness that, for five hundred years, had been his sole companion, and at this moment was trying to embrace him once again.
—0—
In the castle where the war gods stayed, it seemed that something was new. Zenon and Shien noticed something different with Homura.
He was very happy.
It was like he was too excited about something. Yes, the toushin remained his calm self, but his smile was wider than before. And his eyes were half-shut from smiling like that. That alone was so unusual for someone like him.
"You look so happy today, Homura," noted Shien, "Did something good happen?"
"Not yet," Homura answered, "But it's coming, and it's really a good thing for us."
"That sure sounds nice," Zenon said, "Hope it happens sooner!"
Upon hearing Zenon say that, Homura stoodfrom his seat and walked towards the door. "Well then, why not make it sooner?"
Zenon smirked. " 'Thought you'd say that." Then the two of them followed Homura and went out of their base.
—0—
The next day, the rain had stopped. The sun shone again in its full glory, slowly filling the world with its heat and light.
This was a sign for Sanzo's group to get going. It would just be another common doing for them, like those other stops they made before. But with all that had happened last night, everything would be entirely different.
Especially with Goku.
During breakfast, only Gojyo and Hakkai were at the dining room. As they were eating, Goku showed up, already dressed and ready to leave. He passed by them and continued towards the door leading outside.
"Oi, Goku!" Gojyo called out, "Aren't you gonna eat breakfast?" But Goku kept on walking, as if he hadn't heard anything at all.
"Eh?" Gojyo was surprised. "He totally ignored me, and even the one thing he loved most: food." He gave a smile and looked at Hakkai. The latter's face didn't show any change in expression; it was the same like it was when the day started: sad and disturbed. Gojyo had somewhat expected a laugh, or even just a faint smile from his friend, with that comment he made. And because of Hakkai's reaction, or lack of it, he realized it was the wrong time to say anything funny, or anything at all.
Seeing that they were the only two eating, he then asked, "Hey, where's Hakuryuu?"
"Outside," answered Hakkai vaguely, "I had him ready earlier."
"And that monk?"
"Also outside…"
—0—
Goku was a bit surprised when he came outside. Before him, seated inside the jeep, was Sanzo. On seeing the monk, his anger was rekindled. But he chose not to say anything as he reluctantly boarded the jeep.
Last night, Goku promised himself that he would wait for Homura. He told himself that while Homura wasn't there for him yet, he would try to bear being with this group, as he wouldn't have anywhere to go to. No matter how hard he wanted to run away, he couldn't, for where would he go? He didn't know where, and how, to find Homura.
And so he would wait.
Moments later, Hakkai and Gojyo went out of the house. "Let's go," Hakkai said. They then got in the jeep and drove out of the forest.
—0—
The journey was a very silent one. No word came out of their mouths. The only things one would hear were the sounds of nature itself and the continuous humming of the jeep. But even though no sound was heard from them, one would feel Goku's mixed feelings of anger and sadness, Hakkai's pity, Gojyo and Sanzo's irritability.
A while after, the forest was behind them. They entered an open grassy field, more or less filled with pillars of stone weathered through time. The group felt the searing heat of the sun at the moment they entered this area, with the lack of the forest trees that gave shade to them and provided them with a cool breeze.
The silence around them should have continued, but unexpected visitors were there waiting for them.
A large group of about seventy youkai were before them. "Hey, look!" one of them shouted, "It's the Sanzo-ikkou!"
"What luck!" said another one, "Let's get 'em!"
Upon seeing the demons, Hakkai stopped the jeep. "Looks like we got company."
"Yeah, yeah," told Gojyo, "I s'pose we should clean this up--"
"Get out of the way, you youkai." Goku suddenly blurted out, interrupting Gojyo. The redhead gave a surprised look at him, but what surprised him more was the strong fury that showed in the kid's eyes.
"Get outta the way, you say?" said the first youkai, "No way, gaki! You're ours!" With this said, the youkai group rushed towards them and were about to attack.
The four of them landed on their feet as the jeep transformed back into Hakuryuu. They braced themselves for the attack and went to different directions for preparation, but before anything reached them, the demons at the far back were killed apparently with lashings of whips. The other demons were taken aback at this surprise attack, but before they could even see who or what killed their companions, they were shot to death, in which the bullets seemed to have come out of a sub-machine gun.
"What the hell--?" The youkai in front were first aghast, then frightened. "Let's get out of here!" The few left ran away from the scene, yet their attempt to escape was in vain. Moments later they were engulfed in a fire that came out of nowhere, turning them into ashes.
As the fire died, Sanzo's group saw who was behind it all. What beheld them were the three war gods.
Goku was surprised upon seeing them. Homura...!
The toushin looked at Goku. He noticed that the sparkle in the kid's eyes, the sparkle that made those eyes very expressive, was gone without a trace. Seeing this, the events of the night before were made clear to him.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Eh? What was that?" said Gojyo.
"'Twas a greeting, redhead," replied Zenon, "Can't you tell?" With Zenon saying that to him, Gojyo cursed.
"It was unnecessary for you to come," told Hakkai, "We can take care of those pests ourselves."
"We came here because of two things," continued Homura, ignoring everything that was said earlier, "But we'll leave when we get even just one of them."
"And just what are these things?" asked Gojyo.
Just then, Zenon and Shien appeared in front of Gojyo and Hakkai.
"Long time no see, Sha Gojyo," said Zenon, "Well then, why don't we make this meeting a nice one?"
"...Nice?" Gojyo answered back, "Since when did meeting you become nice?"
To Hakkai, Shien politely said, mixed with a little bit of sarcasm, "Pleased to fight you, Cho Hakkai."
"I throw that back to you," replied Hakkai.
With these said, the fight began.
Shien brought out his trusty whips and started to lash them at Hakkai. Hakkai protected himself using his barrier. On the other hand, Gojyo attacked Zenon using his shakujo, and Zenon dodged every attack as he fired his gun.
While all of these were happening, Homura walked towards Goku and Sanzo, who stood almost near each other. He looked at Goku in particular, Goku doing the same. Sanzo could only assume what was going on between them.
"Well then, Goku, shall we?" asked Homura.
On hearing this, the three thought Homura was about to fight Goku and take him again. Sanzo got his gun and pointed it at the toushin. "Just what do you think are you going to do?" he shouted.
Goku looked at the monk indifferently. Homura did the same, and said, "What's that for? I thought you told me before that you don't care a bit for this 'brat'."
"He...he said what?" Goku then muttered as he heard what Homura said.
"I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" Homura talked back to Goku, "I had a talk with him before, and what you heard from me came out of his very mouth."
The anger that Goku was feeling since last night was back. Why? Isn't it enough for Sanzo to tell to my face to go away? he thought, Does he have to tell everyone that I'm useless to him?
Including even Homura?
Is this how everything should be? If this is what he wants, then FINE!
--0--
Shien continued on attacking Hakkai using his whips. Hakkai defended, watching and waiting for an opening. He found one, and at the right moment, he withdrew his shield and created an energy ball that he used at the god. Shien noticed it a bit too late, and was thrown back by the attack. Meanwhile, Gojyo was also able to fend off Zenon using his weapon, and with these done, the two of them rushed towards where Homura and their companions were.
"Let's go, Hakkai!" shouted Gojyo.
"Right!" Hakkai replied.
Hakkai created another energy ball and sent it towards Homura. The toushin evaded it easily. Gojyo then used his shakujo, but also in vain. Missing the toushin made him very pissed off.
"Oi, baka-saru!" the redhead shouted at Goku, "Why're you just standing there? Go on and fight this god!"
At this statement, Goku became more furious. What the hell? Did this guy just command me to fight? Do I exist just to fight for them? Is this my only worth? Damn them all!
Gojyo looked at Goku and saw that he was still passive. He then continued his fight with Homura. Hakkai was giving his all at the toushin, while the toushin was obviously playing with him. Seeing that Homura was distracted in fighting Hakkai, Gojyo thought it was the right time to attack. He launched his shakujo at Homura. But Homura sensed it coming.
Damn! thought Gojyo. Then he saw that instead of evading his attack, Homura just smiled at him. This surprised Gojyo. This guy's crazy. Does he want to die?--
Just then he noticed a shadow come in between his approaching shakujo and Homura. That someone blocked the incoming weapon. Gojyo wondered who it was, Shien or Zenon.
But when he saw the figure clearly, he, Hakkai, and Sanzo, were shocked.
Goku held on to his nyoibou as he blocked the shakujo. He looked sternly at Gojyo.
"What the--" Gojyo blurted out, "What the heck are you doing, baka-sa--?"
"Don't just tell me what I'm supposed to do!" Goku shouted back, "Don't command me as if I belong to you!"
"Eh?" Gojyo was confused. He then withdrew his shakujo.
Goku then took an attacking stance. "This is your chance to kill me, Sha Gojyo, Cho Hakkai."
Hakkai was surprised. "But Goku--"
"This was what you wanted to do, right, Hakkai?" Goku answered back, "I'm giving you the chance now."
"--But I didn't mean--"
"It's damn too late for apologies!" Goku started to run towards Hakkai and was about to attack. Gojyo got in front of him just in time to protect Hakkai. Goku then attacked Gojyo first, but Gojyo blocked his nyoibou. The kid jumped back and braced himself. Gojyo then released his weapon at Goku, but before it reached its target, Goku disappeared. He then showed up already beside Gojyo and beat the redhead out. Done with Gojyo, he then raced to Hakkai, as the latter put up his shield. "Too weak," muttered Goku, and even as Hakkai finished putting up the shield, it was then destroyed by Goku.
"How did--" Hakkai was not able to finish his statement as Goku continuously attacked him. He wasn't able to do anything, and turned unconscious, bloodied and severely wounded, just like Gojyo.
"What's this?" said Goku as he knelt before Hakkai's body, "They're so weak. How come they survived this long? Just because of me?" He then gave an eerie smile. But when he was about to stand up, he felt a round metal object against the back of his head. Sanzohad his gun pointed at the kid.
"Who's damn weak?" he then said to Goku.
Goku faced him, the gun still directed at him. He said to the monk, "Go on, Genjou Sanzo. Shoot. That's what you want to do, right?" The eerie smile was still on his lips.
Sanzo got distracted by this smile. And for some reason, he couldn't shoot his gun. Fuck, what's happening to me? Come on, monk, or you'll die...
"Can't shoot?" said Goku, "That's not like you, Sanzo." It was then that Sanzo noticed the change in Goku's eyes.
Tch. This kid, he's changed overnight, thought Sanzo, What did he do? What did I do?...
...Never mind. I'll try to get him back...
He then lowered his gun. "Goku--"
"Bad choice," a voice that came from behind said. And as Sanzo looked at its direction, Homura was there. Seconds later his sword was inside Sanzo's body. As Homura removed the blade, blood spurted out. Sanzo fell down on the grass as his blood rushed out, staining the green grass with crimson color.
Go...ku...
Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo were down. Wounded and bloodied. Attacked by their own companion, who they themselves had unknowingly attacked straight to the heart the night before.
Zenon and Shien, who stood by and just watched what happened, appeared beside Homura. "Whew, that was awesome, kid!" Zenon said to Goku.
Homura then approached Goku. And again, he placed his hand before the kid. "If your mind's already settled, you know what to do."
"Aa," Goku said.
He took Homura's hand. With that done, Homura was very much pleased.
The almost unconscious Sanzo saw everything. "What...is this...Goku...?"
Goku looked down at Sanzo. "You wanted me to go away. I'll do so right now. Next time we meet, we'll be enemies, Genjou Sanzo." And behind Goku, Homura gave Sanzo a smile.
Looks like it's my victory, was the message of the smile to Sanzo.
The four then walked away from the scene. And as they disappeared before him, Sanzo said something, almost inaudibly that no one but himself had heard it.
"...Goku...wait..."
"...come back..."
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At last! I think Goku here is OOC, but after suffering emotionally, who wouldn't be like that? He's now officially a part of Homura's group. And at the last part, Sanzo seemed to realize that what he did was terribly wrong. We're now down to the last three chapters. Next chapter, the three will think about what they did to poor Goku, and also about what they will do to convince him back to them. I think I'll focus more on Sanzo next time. And Homura will give Goku his first assignment: getting the Maten Kyoumon. Thanks for reading! Until next time!
Next chapter: Enemy!