The Taste of Crimson
Chapter Nine
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: Sorry this has taken so long. I had a nasty case of writer's block, which wasn't helped at all by the fact that this is essentially a transition chapter, setting things up for the climax of the story (which will likely be in either chapter fifteen or sixteen).
Dokugakuji peered out of the alley, unconsciously fingering the silver armband that allowed him to pass for human and limited his power. He was in a town that was almost large enough to be considered a city, trying to find out about the Village of Taboo.
He'd already been to several towns in the past couple of days, the information he gathered from each narrowing down his search area without actually telling him where the village was.
Talking to the humans had been an ordeal. His fists clenched as he remembered some of the conversations he'd had. Their hatred of youkai was understandable, but the things they'd said about half-breeds….
Dokugaku took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. The humans were being terrorized and preyed on by youkai. They had no idea what was causing it, or that it didn't affect half-breeds. What they felt wasn't the same as the unreasoning hatred and contempt his little brother had been subjected to in the village where they'd grown up.
He had a new life and name, but that didn't erase the memories of his past or make them any easier to bear.
He hurries through the village, so anxious to get home that he's left work early. Mother has been relatively calm lately, but he's uneasy. His little brother has had even more bruises and cuts than usual. When asked about it, Gojyo just laughed nervously and said he'd been playing with the other village children.
He slows when he sees a group of children gathered around something, throwing rocks and laughing cruelly. He assumes it's a dog and starts back toward home. He feels sorry for the animal, but not enough to leave his brother and mother alone together any longer than necessary.
Before he can get very far, he freezes in his tracks, making out the words "child of taboo" amongst the children's babble. He turns back and runs to the circle of kids, roughly pushing two girls, one human and one youkai, out of the way.
His brother is there, on his knees with his head tilted forward so his bangs hide his face. Rage fills him, and he turns on the scattering children, intending to punish as many of the little monsters as he can get his hands on.
"Don't hurt them, Jien!" Gojyo pleads, jumping to his feet and grabbing his wrist. "If you hurt them, they won't like me."
He looks down at his little brother in disbelief. The boy is covered in cuts from the sharp rocks as well what looks, and smells, like animal droppings. His eyes are filled with pain and sorrow, but also with stubborn determination.
"They already don't like you," he says gently, petting Gojyo's hair.
The nine-year-old looks down. "I know. But someday… someday I might be good enough for them to like me. But that won't happen if you hurt them."
His heart breaks at Gojyo's words. He wishes he could just grab the boy and leave the village, traveling until they found a place where no one knew what red hair and eyes meant.
His little brother looks back up at him, flashing him the sweet little smile that always enrages Mother because it looks nothing like Father's. "We should go home now, big brother. Mom's probably worried about us."
The boy's smile falters somewhat at his own words, and he reaches into his pocket for a cigarette. They both know that Mother will only be worried about one of them.
Dokugaku was pulled from his memories as something red caught his attention. A badly scarred one-eyed woman with red hair was walking openly down the street. Two teenagers, one a redheaded boy and the other a girl with black hair, followed her. They weren't close enough for him to see, but he suspected the two redheads also had red eyes. The woman was dressed as a warrior – a leather and steel bustier, leather pants, and leather wristbands –, but didn't have any visible weapons. She was either foolish, or she could call in a weapon at will.
They stopped at the inn across from Dokugaku's alley, and were soon joined by another female redhead. The newcomer talked animatedly with the scarred woman for several moments, the latter eventually patting her on the shoulder before she and the two teenagers went back the way they'd come.
Dokugaku frowned and stepped back deeper into the alleyway. If the three redheads really were half-breeds, the lack of reaction from the townsfolk didn't make any sense. Perhaps the town was close enough to the village that the people knew half-breeds weren't going insane.
He sighed and tried to figure out what to do. He could approach the remaining redhead, but if she really was a half-breed, he doubted she'd be very happy to have a stranger suddenly start asking her about her home.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize there was anyone else in the alley until someone abruptly pressed against his back, an arm sliding across his shoulder to hold a knife to his throat.
"Give me all your money, and I might just let you live," the man said smugly.
Dokugaku sighed again, disgusted with himself for letting his guard down. In a burst of movement too quick to follow, he lifted his leg to slam his foot back into the man's knee while simultaneously grabbing his wrist. He forced the human to the ground, pinning him with a knee in the small of his back and one hand holding his head down. His other hand still had a vice grip on his attacker's wrist.
"Now then, I have a few questions for you. Answer them, and I might just let you live."
When Dokugaku got back to the tree where he'd tethered the dragon, Kyoko was nowhere in sight. He wasn't too worried, though, as it was likely because she'd done as he'd told her.
"Kyoko!" he called up into the tree, absently petting the dragon's head. The leaves rustled as the little girl gingerly climbed down. Once she was within reach, he carefully pulled her from the tree and sat her down on the dragon. "The village is about half a day's walk into the woods."
Kyoko gazed up at him in relief. "Mommy will look for me there when her mind gets better."
Dokugaku looked away from those hopeful red eyes, suddenly uneasy. He'd assumed that the girl's mother was like his own, a woman driven insane by the infidelity and death of the man she'd loved. But something about the tone of Kyoko's voice and her wording bothered him.
Her tone doesn't mean anything. Gojyo loved Mother even though she constantly beat him when she wasn't ignoring his existence. And six-year-olds word things strangely all the time.
He was almost certain he was right, but if he didn't ask, that sliver of doubt would haunt him. "Kyoko, when did your mother start hitting you?" he asked gently, not wanting to upset her too badly.
"Mommy started acting weird, an' then she hit me for no reason, but it's not her fault!" she insisted. "Gojyo said it's 'cause of the Minus Wave."
Dokugaku closed his eyes, feeling ill. He'd known all along that lives were being ruined because of the woman he indirectly worked for, but until now it had been an abstract concept, something that didn't really affect him.
"Hey, how long do you think it'll be before Mommy's better?"
He opened his eyes, but couldn't bring himself to look at her as he answered. "I'm sure it won't be long at all," he said, unable to tell her the truth. If her mother had succumbed to the Minus Wave and attacked the Sanzo Party, she was dead.
Gojyo's gaze darted back and forth nervously as they walked through the busy streets of the town Reishu had marked on their map. The scarred woman had said it was safe, but he still felt uneasy and tense, like someone was going to jump out of nowhere and attack him or something.
I hate feeling like this, he thought unhappily, hunching forward and shoving his hands in his pockets. Damn it, I wanna go somewhere where I can just hang out with a buncha drunk jackasses, winning all their cash while the bar floozies crowd around me.
"It seems Miss Reishu was correct about this town, Gojyo," Hakkai said, interrupting his pleasant little fantasy of being surrounded by adoring bar chicks.
Gojyo didn't react to his words. It had been over a week, but, except for the few times they'd had to deal with youkai assassins, he hadn't acknowledged the existence of Hakkai or Sanzo since the night the shadow youkai woman had attacked.
The brunette walking beside him sighed heavily. "Really, now, Gojyo, I understand why you're upset, but you're being incredibly childish."
Gojyo pulled a cigarette from his pack and lit up before responding. "Hakuryu, tell your owner that if I'm gonna be treated like a kid anyway, I might as well act like one."
"Kyuu?" the little dragon cocked his head, then craned his neck to look at Hakkai. "Kyuu, kyuu!"
Hakkai sighed again. "Yes, Hakuryu, I heard him. Please don't respond when he says things like that. It will only encourage more juvenile behavior."
"Keh. His behavior is always juvenile," Sanzo muttered scornfully as they neared the inn.
Gojyo twitched and had to fight hard not to reply directly to the monk. "Goku, tell your owner that just because he acts like a crusty old fart, it doesn't mean everyone who doesn't is acting like a kid."
"Sanzo, Gojyo says-"
WHACK! WHACK!
"Ow! Whad'dya hit me for, Sanzo?" Goku wailed loudly while Gojyo cursed and rubbed his poor, aching head.
"Idiot, don't repeat what he says!" Sanzo snapped grouchily as he tucked his fan away. "I'm right fucking here; I can hear every moronic thought that passes through his sorry excuse for a brain to dribble out of his filthy mouth."
Gojyo growled around his cigarette. He opened his mouth to tell the stinking monk off, but was distracted by a young woman at a nearby food stand. She was pretty, and she was staring at Sanzo with a weird expression. She flashed Gojyo a distracted, but friendly, smile when she noticed him watching her.
He smiled back and waved, all of his tension fading away along with his anger at Sanzo's words. Everyone in town who saw him had to know what he was, but apparently they really didn't give a damn.
He clasped his hands behind his head and whistled a cheery little tune as he followed the others to the inn. In this situation, not giving a damn was a hell of a lot better than ignorance.
Shihi hurried through the streets, trembling with excitement. She couldn't believe it. The Sanzo Party was here! The handsome, courageous youkai hunters she'd heard so much about were here, in her town. The stories all said they were heading west, which would take them through the mountains where the worst of the local youkai laired.
She had to tell the others as quickly as possible. With the Sanzo Party on their side, they could speed up the timetable of their plans and finally strike back at the monsters that had been preying on them.
Gojyo held his cards in one hand, a slow smirk spreading across his face as he casually reached back with his free hand to release his hair from its ponytail. The two girls behind him murmured appreciatively as he shook his head slightly, the motion making the long strands glitter like spun rubies in the dim light as they settled into place.
He watched with carefully contained amusement as the man across from him licked his lips nervously and stared at his cards. He'd messed with his hair just because he'd felt like it, but he'd shown the same lazy smirk earlier when his hand been a royal flush. It was as distinctive as the nearly manic grin he'd had plastered across his face when he'd had nothing but pair of twos.
Gojyo chuckled around his cigarette as the man cursed and folded. He casually tossed down his own cards, revealing the two of diamonds, four of spades, five of spades, eight of hearts, and Jack of clubs. It was utter garbage. His pair of twos from before would have beaten it.
"An important tip, my friend: when it comes to poker, Sha Gojyo has no tells unless he wants to," he said smugly, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands behind his head. Technically, he hadn't had to show his cards, but his opponent was starting to bore him.
The man grumbled, quickly finished his beer, and left the table. He wasn't happy about losing, but from his casual walk, Gojyo was pretty sure he wasn't planning to come back later to start something.
He leaned forward to collect his winnings, adding them to his already substantial pile while the girls hovering behind him squealed in delight and rubbed against him. He smiled at them both, shuffling his cards and waiting for the next sucker to come along. He felt at home in the bar, with the smoky air, the rank stench of unwashed men, the noisy babble of barely coherent drunks, and the lovely ladies in their skimpy dresses and gaudy jewelry.
The familiar environment put him so at ease that he wasn't even mad at Hakkai and Sanzo anymore. He scowled briefly at the thought of the damn monk. Okay, so he wasn't mad at Hakkai anymore, and he wasn't ticked off at Sanzo any more than he usually was. Someone seriously needed to pull the stick out of the bastard's uptight ass and beat him with it.
Of course, pulling the stick out of Sanzo's ass means I'd hafta touch it. He shuddered at the thought and gulped down his beer before filling the glass again from the pitcher. Sanzo's ass was actually pretty fine, aesthetically speaking, but it belonged to a guy, and a frigid, bitchy one at that. If it had belonged to a frigid chick, on the other hand….
Mrow. That would be one ice princess I'd definitely have to thaw with the old Sha Gojyo charm. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and eyed his beer dubiously as he realized he was basically contemplating bagging an imaginary female version of Sanzo. Maybe I oughta lay off the booze for the rest of the night….Nah, he thought with an amused snort. Who gives a shit about a couple of weirdass fantasies? Sobriety is so overrated.
He drained his glass again just as a fellow child of taboo sat down across from him. Her mouth quirked up in a small smile as the ladies behind him stiffened and pulled away slightly.
"Don't worry, girls, I'm not here to steal your new toy," she said, putting a sheet of paper face down on the table. "You're Gojyo, right?"
"Yep," he answered, leaning forward slightly. "Is Reishu here?"
"Nah, she had to take Kishou and the new kid back home. She told me to watch for you and give you a detailed map to the village." She patted the sheet of paper, eyeing his deck of cards thoughtfully. "I've been bored lately, though, so I'm going to make you work for it."
Hakkai sat at the small table in his room, sipping tea and attempting to read. It was quite late, or early, depending on how one looked at it, but sleep eluded him. He felt like there was something he should be waiting for, something that had to happen before he could sleep.
I'm waiting for Gojyo to show up and try to convince me to go out drinking with him, he finally admitted to himself. It was what the redhead always did when they got to a town large enough to have decent bars. It obviously wasn't going to happen this time.
He sighed and got to his feet, intending to at least try to sleep, when there was a light rap at the door. He barely resisted the urge to yell at whoever it was to go away. He'd been uncomfortable and out of sorts for over a week now, but really, that was no reason to be rude.
He opened the door and blinked. A very rumpled looking Gojyo was standing there, holding a case of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He smelled of booze, sex, and cheap perfume.
"Yo, H'kai, how ya doin'?" he slurred cheerfully.
"I'm… fine," Hakkai answered slowly. His friend was very obviously drunk and had apparently forgotten that he was still angry about the shadow youkai incident.
"I found bar chicks!" Gojyo announced, beaming with pride.
"Um… congratulations?" Hakkai peered over the other man's shoulder to make sure he hadn't brought said bar chicks along with him. The hallway was, thankfully, quite empty aside from Gojyo.
"An' there was a cute little redhead, but she jus' wanted ta gamble. She dinnit want to have sex with me," he said sadly. "Not enough cute chicks wanna have sex with me, even though I'm very hot. Do you think I'm hot?" He tried to pull off a seductive pose, but just looked drunk and mildly confused, as if his poor, drink addled brain was trying to figure out just what he thought he was doing.
"Ah-ha-ha… um…" Hakkai smiled and rubbed the back of his head, trying to decide what to say without hurting Gojyo's feelings. He settled on something that was pretty much the truth. "I'm not the best judge of men, but if you were a woman, I'd definitely find you quite attractive, and would possibly want to have sex with you."
"I'd wanna have sex with me too if I was a woman." The redhead blinked, considering that for a moment. "I mean, I'd want to have sex with you if I was a woman…. Or if you were a woman…. I think." He nodded sagely, as if he'd just said something deeply profound, then blinked again in confusion. "Wait… what was I talking about?"
"I have no idea," Hakkai said. Gojyo sometimes didn't even make sense when he was completely sober. Trying to decipher his bizarre thought processes when he was drunk was nearly impossible. "I thought you weren't speaking to me."
"You were an ass, but you're my best friend, so I forgive you." Gojyo put his cigarette in his mouth and flung his arm around Hakkai's shoulders, pulling the shorter man against him. "I brought beer," he said, holding up the case for Hakkai's inspection.
He smiled slightly and sighed. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed Gojyo's tendency for random physical contact. Unfortunately, he couldn't take advantage of the fact that his friend was an affectionate drunk. It wouldn't be right.
"I'm sorry, Gojyo, but I can't accept your forgiveness right now. You're drunk."
"Psssh, I'm not drunk," Gojyo denied, barely avoiding spitting on Hakkai. "I'm just a tad bit tipsy, 'sall. I've had an awesome night, an' I wanna end it with a few drinks with my best bud."
He rubbed his cheek against Hakkai's hair, then let him go and carefully navigated the short distance to the table, setting the case of beer down on the middle of it. He turned one of chairs around and straddled the seat before opening the case and pulling out two beers.
"Don't you think you've had enough for the night?" the brunet asked, sitting across from Gojyo and taking one of the cans.
"Probably, but I don't care. I'm gonna take this beer and drink him down," the inebriated half-breed cheerfully announced, immediately guzzling half the can.
Hakkai raised a brow. "I didn't realize that beer was male."
"…Huh? Dude, beer ishn't male. Sha Gojyo is a ladies' man, an' he don't swallow guys. Beer is definitely female."
He eyed his can with an almost dreamy expression and brought it up to his mouth, slipping his tongue into the opening as if he was kissing a woman. Then he yipped in pain and jerked back, falling backwards from his chair with a startled squawk. His beer went flying across the room as he hit the floor.
Hakkai winced and peered down at him. "Are you all right, Gojyo?"
The redhead blinked up at him owlishly. "How did the floor get here?" he asked in utter bewilderment.
Hakkai sighed and stood up. "Really, Gojyo, there are some things you just shouldn't stick your tongue into."
"Yeah," Gojyo agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Garbage disposals, an' toilets, an' other guys's mouths… an'….." He trailed off, looking at Hakkai in vague alarm. "Oi, H'kai, the floor… dude, it's touching my ass."
"Erm…. Ah-ha-ha…. Yes, I suppose it is." His friend was apparently completely wasted. If he tried to get him to go to his own room, he'd likely just pass out in the middle of the hallway.
"I hope it's not a gluy foor… guy floor… 'cause if I'm gonna get groped by a floor, I want it ta be a chick."
"Ah, well, I don't know about the floor, but I'm fairly certain that the bed is female," Hakkai said, helping Gojyo to his feet. He settled the other man's arm across his shoulders and smiled at him. "Let's go sit on it, shall we?"
"Okay," Gojyo chirped happily, leaning against Hakkai.
They managed to get all the way to the bed before Gojyo tripped. Hakkai tried to catch him, but only ended up pinned to the mattress with the redhead sprawled across him.
"Um… Gojyo?"
The only response was a string of incoherent babble followed by the deep, even breathing pattern of sleep. Hakkai sighed in exasperation, affectionately petting Gojyo's hair. It was a bit uncomfortable, but, on the bright side, he wasn't likely to get cold.
"Goodnight, Gojyo," he murmured, smiling softly and closing his eyes.