The Taste of Crimson

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Saiyuki and all associated characters were created by Minekura Kazuya. I am making no money from this and am merely using the characters and setting for storytelling purposes.

Author's Note: In the manga, it's shown/stated a few times that Dokugakuji had to have sex with his mother to keep her calm so she wouldn't beat Gojyo more than she already did. Very brief mention of that is made in this chapter.

While Goku contentedly munched his way through a sack of meatbuns, Hakkai bought two cartons of Hi-Lites and one of Marlboros. Gojyo always smoked more than usual when he was upset, and if the innkeeper's attitude was widespread, the boxes in a single carton wouldn't last for long.

The woman running the tobacco stand seemed much livelier than her fellow townsfolk. Hakkai was willing to bet that she'd happily talk to strangers. "Um, please excuse me for asking such an insensitive question, but did something happen here?"

The woman looked startled for a moment, then smiled pleasantly. "Ah, you must not be from around these parts. Another young man was killed yesterday."

"Another?"

The woman nodded. "Ever since the youkai went crazy, something's been preying on the young people in the region. It's more boys than girls, but both are in danger. Whatever's doing it, it calls them out in the night and drains their blood. It's likely youkai doing it, since they've all gone wrong in the head. Some folks think they're just showing their true colors, but I don't believe it. Only going insane would make Lady Menyou leave her half-breeds to fend for themselves."

Hakkai blinked, absorbing the spate of information. He'd definitely been correct about her willingness to talk. "Pardon?"

"You wouldn't know about Lady Menyou, not being from around here. Even most of the outsiders who've heard of her village haven't heard of her. She's a youkai woman who fell in love with a human man about fifteen years ago. They had twins, a boy and a girl. But the year they turned two, there were a lot of floods. The villagers blamed the bad luck on those two little taboo children and killed them and their father while Lady Menyou was out running errands.

"They say she cursed the village and started wandering, picking up unwanted half-breeds as she traveled. She eventually ended up in these parts and set up the Village of Taboo off to the west of here. Used to be that half-breeds were welcome as they trickled through on their way to the village, but once the youkai went nuts…." She trailed sadly with a shrug.

"The townspeople shunned them because of their youkai blood," Hakkai finished for her.

"Yep. Makes me a bit sad. I've always liked the color red."

Hakkai smiled, his eyes briefly squeezing shut. "I've become somewhat fond of it myself lately. Thank you for your time and for telling us what's been going on. We'll try not to intrude too deeply upon the town's grief."

As he and Goku continued with the shopping, his mouth curved into one of his genuine smiles. What he had told the woman hadn't been a lie. It had taken a while, but the color red no longer only reminded him of blood, of all of the lives he had taken, and of the life he hadn't been able to save.

It still brought those things to mind, and probably always would, but it also made him think of more pleasant things. Like the man who had taken him in and saved his life, asking for nothing in return except for a respite from his lonely, boring existence. Or like bright red apples shared with friends.

"Goku, let's get some apples, shall we?"

"Yeah! I love apples!" Goku exclaimed enthusiastically around the meatbun in his mouth. Hakkai chuckled and led the way to the nearest fruit stand.

"Please don't hurt Mommy!"

"SHIT!" Gojyo snarled, pulling back on the shaft of his weapon. He focused his will into the chain, trying to retract it, but the girl was too close. He'd never be able to stop the forward momentum in time. In a motion too fast for the eye to follow, he spun the shakujou, sending the crescent blade in an arc over the little half-breed girl's head before it slammed into the ground.

"Kyoko!" The youkai woman leaped from Sanzo's prone body and grabbed the child, holding her close. Her eyes widened as she finally got a good look at Gojyo. "You're a child of taboo."

Gojyo couldn't help the automatic flinch at her words. No matter who said it, that particular phrase always hit like a slap to the face. A familiar click caught his attention and dragged him away from his own issues. The monk was on his knees with his gun pointed at the woman.

"Sanzo, don't shoot! She's not berserk; she was just trying to protect her kid." He glanced back at her. "Right?"

"I truly am sorry. I thought you were from the town."

"Tch. Pay more attention before you go attacking people," Sanzo grumped, tucking his gun away.

"Mm. I'll do that," the woman smiled shakily, then released the little girl in her arms. "Mommy is thirsty, Kyoko, would you go up to the loft and get our water?"

The little girl bit her lip and looked at the two men nervously. Gojyo smiled sunnily and waved at her.

"You don't have to worry about us, princess. We wouldn't even think of hurting the mother of such a cute little lady."

Kyoko smiled shyly before darting toward the ladder and scrambling up to the loft.

"Are… are you by any chance from the Village of Taboo?" the woman asked once her daughter was out of hearing range.

"The wha?"

"Village of Taboo," a voice repeated from the entrance.

"Hakkai, Goku, you found us," Gojyo said, grinning over his shoulder at them. "What's this village you're talking about?"

"There is apparently a village to the west of here for unwanted half-breeds," Hakkai explained as he and Goku set down the supplies. He put the bag with the newspaper and Marlboros near Sanzo.

"Not just unwanted ones," the woman said sharply. "I haven't lost my mind yet, but that doesn't mean I won't. Kyoko will be much safer in the Village of Taboo. You really aren't from there?"

"Nope. That's not the kind of place for me. You see, I'm… very wanted," Gojyo purred, his lips quirking up into a slow smirk. He lazily looked her over as she blushed, taking in the trim figure, long blue hair, bright green eyes, and the attractive face with a marking like a green leaf on the right cheek. She was in her thirties, but he had always felt that beautiful women, like fine wine, only improved with age.

WHACK! SLAM!

"Owowowow! Damn it!" Gojyo yelped, clutching his aching head. "What the hell did you do that for, you stupid monkey?" He really should have expected the hit from Sanzo's fan, but Goku kicking him had been totally uncalled for.

"Quit being gross, perverted kappa!"

"Damn it, don't call me that, stupid baby chimp!"

"I'm not a chimp!"

"Oh, so you admit that you're a stupid baby?"

"Shut up, cockroach!"

"He's not a cockroach, you meanie doody head!"

Goku and Gojyo both froze and slowly looked toward the source of the outburst. Kyoko was standing at the foot of the ladder with a water bottle hanging over her shoulder. Her little fists were clenched, and she was pouting furiously.

"Meanie… doody… head?" Goku repeated in disbelief. "I'm not a meanie doody head!"

"You called him a cockroach!" she yelled accusingly.

"He is a cockroach! He's got those goofy looking antennae."

"You're a doody head!"

"I am not! Sanzo! Sanzo, tell this little girl that I'm not a doody head!"

"What the hell makes you think I want to get involved in your juvenile arguments?" Sanzo growled through gritted teeth, wondering if it was possible for the vein in his head to burst free and run away. His musings were cut short by the youkai woman's laughter.

"Ah, I'm sorry for their childish behavior," Hakkai said with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay. I haven't seen Kyoko this happy since we left home." She smiled sadly as she watched the six-year-old kick Goku in the shin while Gojyo laughed so hard he started wheezing. She looked back at Hakkai. "I'm Retsuko."

"Cho Hakkai." He smiled and pointed to the little white dragon on his shoulder. "And this is Hakuryu."

"Kyuu!"

"Hakkai, quit flirting and fix dinner," Sanzo ordered testily as he opened up the newspaper. He was hungry and their best cook was acting like he'd been infected by the idiot redhead's raging hormones.

The brunet youkai's face settled into the neutral expression that usually meant he was mildly annoyed. "I was not flirting, Sanzo, merely being polite. I realize the concept is foreign to you, but please do try to remember the difference."

Sanzo grunted and pulled out his reading glasses. "Whatever. Less talking; more cooking."

"Of course, Sanzo," Hakkai said, his usual masking smile firmly in place.

"Food!" Goku broke away from his new verbal sparring partner and danced around Hakkai, his golden eyes shining brightly. "Can I help you cook, Hakkai?"

Hakkai laughed softly, his smile turning genuine as he patted Goku on the head. "All right, but only if you promise not to eat all of the ingredients."

"I promise."

Once they got a small fire going, Gojyo sat near it, debating whether or not his current nicotine craving was bad enough to make going outside worth it. He loved his cigarettes, but that didn't mean he was going to smoke in front of a six-year-old.

He absently scratched his right hand, then frowned and looked at it more closely. What the fuck had he cut himself on? The area around the little scrape was puffy, and it itched like hell.

Oh, yeah, that's right. The chick from the inn got me with one of her nails. Eew. I guess it's just as well I won't be with her tonight. She looked good, but she must have some serious hygiene issues.

His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle tug on his hair. He glanced over his shoulder, and Kyoko let go, staring at the floor while she mumbled an apology.

"Heh." Gojyo pulled a pink ribbon from his jacket pocket, smiling sadly as he thought of Yakumo and his youkai kids. They had been cute, especially the two little girls who had tackled him and used the pink ribbon to tie his hair into braided pigtails. He handed it to Kyoko and grinned at her. "Just no pigtails, okay?"

"Okay!" Kyoko agreed, her entire face lighting up with childish glee.

Goku glanced over and immediately started laughing at him. "Getting your hair done, huh, Gojyo? You're so lame!"

"Shut up, monkey. It can't be helped. Even little chicks dig the long hair, and I hate to disappoint the ladies." Goku just snickered in response and went back to helping Hakkai.

Retsuko came to sit beside Gojyo and smiled. "Thank you for entertaining Kyoko," she murmured. "She's been bored and unhappy."

"No problem," he said, flashing her his most charming smile. "She's a cute kid."

"I don't think your friend would agree," she said wryly, glancing at Goku.

Gojyo laughed. "Don't worry about him, he'll get over it. Besides, he's a doody head, so who cares what he thinks." He tilted his head back and grinned at the little girl skillfully braiding his hair. "Right, kid?"

"Yeah!" She giggled and nodded enthusiastically.

Retsuko sighed softly. "We'll go our separate ways in the morning, but it's nice to have company for at least one night."

"Mm. It's a shame for a beautiful woman to be all alone at night." His tone was innocent, he wasn't going to obviously hit on the woman with her daughter right behind him, but the look in his eyes was most definitely not.

Retsuko blushed and looked away. "I'll be forty in a few years, you know."

"Doesn't matter." He smirked. Despite her words, he could tell she was interested. "I like making friends with older women."

There was a disgusted snort and the rustle of a newspaper followed by something that sounded suspiciously like "making friends my ass". Gojyo half expected the fan to come out, but Sanzo apparently didn't want to risk drawing Kyoko's attention to the fact that her mother was being seduced. It was a good thing that Goku was absorbed in helping Hakkai. The monkey would have thought nothing of loudly calling him a gross pervert.

Retsuko was still blushing, but she smiled and glanced back at him speculatively before quickly looking away again. "Making friends, huh? I think I would li-"

"Hakkai," Sanzo called, the tone in his voice cutting the youkai woman off in mid word. He had apparently finished his favorite sections of the paper and was frowning at the front page.

"Yes, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked, most of his attention on adding the vegetables Goku had chopped to the soup.

"Did you find out anything else while you were shopping?"

"Ah, yes, actually. There have been several youkai – Goku, please don't eat that – attacks in the region. The victims are young men and women found drained of their blood. We should probably be careful, as we fit the victim profile."

"There are blood drinkers in the area?" Retsuko asked, alarmed.

Kyoko finished her braiding, but instead of going to her mother, she sat in Gojyo's lap, eyes wide as she listened to the scary grown-up talk. The adult half-breed started absently petting her crimson hair.

"No need to worry, ma'am," Hakkai said reassuringly. "They haven't attacked any children, and, unlike Gojyo, they seem to have no interest in anyone over twenty-five."

"She'd definitely be safe if she's one of the blood drinking youkai," Sanzo said, staring at Retsuko with narrowed eyes. He didn't think she was, the only thing she seemed guilty of was seriously bad taste in men, but life had taught him to always be suspicious.

"Mommy doesn't drink blood!" Kyoko protested indignantly. "That's icky!"

"Don't listen to the uncute monk, kiddo," Gojyo advised. "He's just a paranoid jerk."

"The accusation is understandable," Retsuko said calmly. "I'm a forest youkai, not a blood drinker, and if we happen to meet again after tonight, I'll use my powers to catch some dinner and cook for you all."

"You'll cook for us?" Goku's eyes shined with excitement. "Sanzo, can they travel with us? Please, can they, can they? I wanna try her cooking!"

Sanzo twitched. "Moron. Even if I wanted to travel with a woman and a little kid, the jeep only seats four. What the hell do you use the space between your ears for, anyway? Meatbun storage?"

Gojyo snickered. "That would explain so much."

"Shut up, kappa!" Goku scowled at him.

Hakkai chuckled softly and put the finishing touches on dinner as the two of them traded insults. "My, my," he murmured to himself. "Even when we have company, they can't help being childish, can they?"

The bastards trying to revive Gyumaoh had a lot to answer for, but currently at the top of Gojyo's list was the fact that, because of the damn Minus Wave, it had been way too fucking long since he'd last gotten laid by a youkai woman. Humans were nice, but the scent of a satisfied youkai woman always made him feel like everything was safe and peaceful, even if only for one night.

Jien always smelled like that when he came to bed from Mom's room, he thought drowsily. He shivered and snuggled closer to the naked body in his arms, trying to forget the long ago sounds of a creaking bed and his mother's moans. Retsuko had come down from the loft after putting Kyoko to bed, and the two of them had gone to one of the stalls for some privacy.

He sighed softly and reluctantly got up, careful not to wake her. As much as he would love to stay with her all through the night, the feel of her warm skin against his proof that he was at least good enough to sleep with, he desperately needed a cigarette.

He pulled his pants on, automatically checking the pockets for his pack and lighter, and left the stall. Hakkai and Goku were asleep near the barn door, but Sanzo was nowhere in sight. Gojyo assumed he was out smoking. The monk was rarely considerate of other people, but the barn was small and Retsuko and Kyoko had been there first.

He slipped outside and leaned against the barn, fishing a cigarette and his lighter out of his pocket. As he'd thought, Sanzo was there, halfway through a Marlboro. Gojyo grunted in acknowledgement of the other man's presence and lit up.

"I don't care how cold the water is, you're taking a bath in the damn river before we leave in the morning," Sanzo said. "You smell like a whorehouse."

Gojyo took a slow drag from his Hi-Lite, breathing out the smoke with a sigh of pleasure as the nicotine began to work through his system. "Jealous, Sanzo?" he asked with a smirk. "Sorry, man, you may be pretty, but I'm so not into guys."

The banishing gun was instantly out and pointed at him. "You have a death wish, asshole?"

"Not at the moment. You just make it too damn easy to yank your chain."

"Keh. Bastard," Sanzo muttered, putting away his gun. They both knew he wasn't going to use it, so it was pointless to keep it out. He flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it out with his boot before turning toward the door. "I'm going back to bed."

"Nighty-night, Master Sanzo," Gojyo drawled. "Have pleasant dreams about me."

"Drop dead."

Gojyo laughed softly to himself and gazed up at the stars. He idly wondered if Hakkai had remembered to pick up beer for the cooler. His four favorite things were cigarettes, women, beer, and pissing off Sanzo. Things had started out pretty badly, but now all he needed was a nice cold one to make the night perfect.

That thought was almost immediately contradicted by his hand itching again. "Fuck damn it!" he hissed, scratching furiously. "What the hell did that bitch have on her goddamn nails?"

He gasped and dropped to his knees, his cigarette falling unnoticed to the ground as a burning sensation spread from the scratch like lava in his veins.

"What… the hell?" he gasped out before everything went blank.