The Taste of Crimson
Chapter Eleven
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: The last scene of chapter ten won't be addressed much for the rest of this particular story, but I do have a prequel of sorts planned. It will be my take on what happened to Gojyo after he was abandoned with his stepmother's corpse.
A few hours after his talk with Dokugakuji, Gojyo stood on the balcony of Reishu's tree house, leaning against the railing and smoking. He would be spending the night with the leader of the village while the others, including his brother, were stuck in the communal tree house for boys over ten with Kishou and an eleven-year-old.
He watched the smoke from his cigarette drift away on the light breeze, thinking about what he'd learned. He sighed and shook his head. He still had no idea how to feel about it, mostly because it still didn't seem real.
Being beaten by the only mother he knew had been real. Watching his brother run off and leave him with a corpse had been real. Hell, even being assaulted by a perverted, jackass stranger had been real, though his rescuer had always claimed he didn't react to it the way a normal person would have. But Jien slobbering all over him or something in the middle of the night? That wasn't real. It was incomprehensible nonsense.
He sighed again and stubbed out the remains of his cigarette. As he lit a new one, he heard the soft sound of someone else coming out onto the balcony.
"You ever think of quitting?" Reishu asked as she leaned her back against the railing next to him. Her tone was conversational and curious rather than judgmental.
"Heh. Every damn time I have to run," he answered, looking at her. The mostly cropped hair was still a little odd, but the moonlight showed a softer side of her than the harsh light of day, emphasizing the gentle caretaker instead of the hardened warrior.
She laughed softly and gazed up at the sky. "Look there," she said, pointing toward a faint smear of red. "That's the Blood Comet. This is the first of five nights that it'll be visible. The third night is when we'll all turn into youkai."
"What will you do when that happens?"
"I don't know. Be a youkai for the night, I guess," she said, shrugging. "I was only able to get two limiters. I gave one to you, and the other to Akako, since she'll be guarding the human town."
Gojyo tensed at the mention of the limiter, then took a deep drag of his cigarette, the hit of nicotine calming him a little. "I don't need a limiter," he said quietly. More truthfully, he just didn't want one. He really had no way of knowing if his youkai self would be susceptible to the Minus Wave or not.
"If you were meant to be a youkai, you would have been born one." Reishu's tone was blunt, but compassionate. "Is one night as something you're not and can never be again really worth whatever damage you may cause?"
He shivered slightly as she stared at him, her one eye seeming to pierce through him and look directly at his heart and soul. He wanted to say no, that it wasn't worth it, but he couldn't while she held him trapped in her gaze – because it would be a lie. If it was left to him, he wouldn't use the limiter, and afterwards, he would despise himself even more than usual, even if he kept control and didn't hurt anyone.
Finally, she looked away, turning to lean her arms along the rail. "He certainly is pretty for a human," she said, scowling downward.
Gojyo blinked in confusion, unsettled and slightly dazed. He shook it off and looked over the edge, grateful for her abrupt change of topic. Sanzo stood at the base of one of the other trees, smoking a Marlboro.
Gojyo snorted. "He's pretty for an anything, and the unholy bastard knows it."
Reishu glanced at him in surprise. "You're interested in men?"
He laughed in genuine amusement and grinned at her, his gloomy thoughts and uncertain feelings banished for the time being. "Hell no, but I'm secure enough in my masculinity to appreciate a pretty dude. I like to look, but I don't have any interest in touching. I'm just not wired that way," he said, shrugging. "Don't have anything against those who are, though. As long as they leave me the fuck alone, the rest of the guys in the world can be as queer as they want." He flashed her a seductive look. "It just means more chicks for me."
Reishu smirked. "You shouldn't admit that so openly," she teased. "There are lots of women who are attracted to gay men."
"Hm. You may have a point there. Maybe I should embrace my inner homo." He took another long drag from his cigarette, then abruptly whirled to face her, taking her hand in his. "I have a confession to make," he said dramatically. "I… am a lesbian."
"Uh-huh," she looked him over, her single eye sparkling with barely suppressed laughter. "You look pretty male to me."
"Well, yeah, I'm like totally butch, you know?" he said, pitching his voice high while twirling a lock of hair around his finger.
That was too much for Reishu. She started laughing.
Gojyo took another drag from his cigarette, smiling as he remembered an odd bit of conversation from his drunken ramblings the night before. "If I ever somehow turned into a woman, I think I'd be a lesbian, despite all the girly hormones. I'm physically attracted to women, but I'm mentally attracted to them too. Women are like cats," he said with a soft, almost dreamy expression. "Sleek, graceful, playful, and soft. And if you stroke them just right, they'll purr for you."
"If women are cats, then what are men?" Reishu asked reasonably.
Gojyo blinked, then opened his mouth and closed it again, cocking his head as he thought about it. Dogs came immediately to mind, but they were soft and cuddly too. "I have no fucking idea," he admitted "Maybe… turtles? They're hard and not really interesting to pet."
"Uh-huh…. So, if you're a boring, dull turtle, why should I have anything to do with you?"
"Because I'm a pretty turtle, with a very hard shell. And I'm a lesbian, remember? So if you stroke me just right, I'll purr for you," he said in a low, seductive voice that was very nearly a purr.
"Is that so?" she asked huskily, pushing away from the railing and moving closer to him. "I may just have to test that."
She took his cigarette and snuffed it out before tossing it away. Then she led him into her bedroom. He'd gone through it on his way out to the balcony, but he hadn't really looked around. It was a fairly normal bedroom, for the most part, other than the large chest near the closet and the weird hook hanging from the ceiling above the bed.
"Interesting décor," he said, staring at the hook. Okay, that has some pretty kinky possibilities.
"Oh, yes, very interesting," Reishu purred. Then she turned and gazed at him, once again seeming to look into his soul. "My mother was an empath. I can't do what she could, but I can read hearts. I can tell what people want. You want a woman who will love you, keep you, and hurt you. I can't keep you, but I love all of my own kind, in my own way. And I can definitely hurt you."
He moved backwards as she slowly approached him. "I…." He swallowed hard as he hit the wall.
She closed the small distance between them and reached out to gently cup his cheek. "Do you want me to hurt you, Gojyo?" she asked huskily.
He shuddered, dark desire filling him at the thought. "…Yes."
From the shadows of the balcony across from Reishu's tree house, a lone figure watched as she led Gojyo inside. Dokugakuji sighed softly, hoping she'd be able to distract his brother from the memories that had been stirred up.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, wishing his words could travel back in time and space to the little boy who had suffered so much because of him.
The brat never could hide a lie from me, he thought sadly.
Hakkai poked distractedly at his food the next day, wondering if Gojyo would join them anytime soon. He sighed and told himself to stop worrying. It was a little after noon, but Gojyo probably wasn't even awake yet. Even assuming his assignation with Reishu had ended at a reasonable hour, the redhead was a night owl and tended to revert to his preferred sleep cycle if left to his own devices. Hakkai was well aware of that, but recent events had left him feeling somewhat overprotective of his former – and most likely future – roommate.
He sighed again, then smiled as he caught sight of something that distracted him from his worried thoughts. The little pigtailed girl from the day before was sitting two tables away, staring intently at Sanzo. At the start of lunch, she'd been on the other side of the room.
"It seems you have an admirer, Sanzo," he said cheerfully.
The blond grunted in irritation, continuing to reread the paper from the last town. He had to have known that Gojyo's nocturnal… activities… would cause a delay, but he clearly wasn't happy about it.
"Hee, Sanzo's got a girlfriend!" Goku chanted happily, pausing briefly from stuffing his face. Without Gojyo there to compete with him for food, the young man was actually eating at a fairly leisurely pace. Well, for him anyway.
Sanzo's hands tightened on his paper, but he showed no other outward sign of having heard Goku.
Hakkai chuckled softly and offered Hakuryu a small chunk torn from a steamed bun. His habitual smile widened slightly as he saw movement from the corner of his eye. The little girl was now seated at the table beside theirs.
"Come on, kids, time to get back to your lessons," one of the women called.
While most of the children hurried toward the door, their exit slowed by a couple of people coming in, Sanzo's young admirer darted toward them. She rose up on her toes and kissed the unsuspecting monk on the cheek before scampering off to join the others.
Goku almost choked on his food, and a familiar laugh sounded from just behind Sanzo.
"Seems like I wasn't the only one to attract the attention of a pretty redhead," Gojyo said, leaning forward to rest his arm on Sanzo's shoulder.
There was a soft click as Sanzo pressed the barrel of his gun under the half-breed's chin and thumbed the hammer back. "Die," he growled through clenched teeth, his angry glare daring anyone to comment on the fact that his cheeks were almost as red as Gojyo's hair.
Gojyo laughed again and backed away, holding his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, man, not in the mood to kick the bucket right now," he said, circling around to the other side of the table. He gingerly sat next to Goku, careful to lean his weight forward onto his thighs.
"Your night went well, I take it?" Hakkai asked, smiling warmly in greeting. The man looked like he'd been in a fight – there was bruising at the corners of his mouth and around his neck along with what looked like a whip welt mostly hidden beneath one of the sleeves of his tank top – but his eyes held a look of peaceful contentment. Reishu had clearly injured him extensively, but it was equally obvious that she hadn't done anything to him that he hadn't enjoyed.
"What the hell happened to you?" Goku asked, staring wide-eyed at Gojyo.
The redhead smirked. "Sorry, kid, but if I answered that, your owner really would shoot me," he said, reaching over to snag a spring roll from Goku's plate instead of something from one of the platters of in the middle of the table.
"Hey, that's mine! Give it back!" Goku demanded, lunging toward his purloined food.
Gojyo laughed, easily holding the boy back by pressing a hand against his forehead. "Okay, okay, you can have it back," he said with a wicked little grin. Then he licked the spring roll from one end to the other. "Here you go, little chimp."
"Eeeeeww!" Goku jerked back, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Eat it, monkey! Eat it!" Gojyo chanted gleefully, holding the boy lightly by the hair while trying to force the spring roll into his mouth.
It was good to see them playing together and squabbling like siblings. Despite Sanzo's thoughts to the contrary, Gojyo only really allowed himself to act like a child around Goku, and even then only when he felt comfortable enough for it. The bouts of juvenile behavior could be quite aggravating for those traveling with him, but Hakkai thought it was a rather good thing. From what he'd heard of Gojyo's childhood, the half-breed had never really had a chance to just be a kid.
"I liked him better when he was moody," Sanzo grumbled from the depths of his newspaper, breaking into Hakkai's thoughts.
Hakkai laughed. "Yes, well, I suppose it was much quieter, wasn't it?"
"Nuh-uh!" Goku whined, shaking his head. "I'm not eating it. I don't know where your nasty tongue has been!"
Gojyo smirked. "Hee hee hee. It's been off all night doing naughty things to a very naughty lady."
"Telling tales now, are we, Gojyo?" Reishu asked, sauntering from the kitchen with a mug of coffee in one hand. She absently buried the other in Gojyo's hair, petting him. "If I recall correctly, I had you gagged all night. The youngsters tend to think I'm ancient, but twenty-seven really is a bit young to be going senile."
Gojyo actually blushed slightly at that and ducked his head like a child who had been caught sneaking into the cookie jar.
"Heh. Gojyo's younger than that, and he forgets stuff all the time," Goku said before distractedly chomping on the spring roll still being held near his face.
Gojyo yipped and pulled his bitten fingers out of Goku's mouth. "Damn it, monkey! What have I told you about trying to eat me?"
"Shorry," Goku mumbled around his food, not sounding the least bit apologetic.
"Hmmph. And I don't forget stuff. I just like to selectively remember things. I gotta keep lots of room up here for remembering all the lovely ladies I meet," Gojyo said, lightly tapping the side of his head.
"Hn." Sanzo finally folded up his paper and put his reading glasses away. "We'll be leaving once the morons finish eating," he said, looking up at Reishu. "What's the terrain like between here and the pass?"
"Dense forest for the most part. If you just try to force your way through it, it'll take roughly four days," Reishu answered, taking a sip of her coffee. "There is a footpath that cuts it down to two days, but it's warded like the village, so Gojyo's the only one of you who will be able to see it."
"Damn it," Sanzo muttered, frowning in irritation at the thought of Gojyo temporarily being in charge of their route. His eyes narrowed suddenly. "When is the Blood Comet going to start affecting him?"
It was Gojyo who answered, rather than Reishu. "Tomorrow night," he said casually, reaching over to snag a meat bun from Goku's plate.
"Hey! Get your own food, jackass!"
"Shut it, monkey. It's because of me they even let you in here, so the least you could do is share." He took a bite of the bun before turning his attention back to Sanzo. "You should give that limiter back to Reishu. She might need it if someone here gets too crazy."
"Uh, no, not going to happen," Sanzo said. "Most of the people here are kids and won't be a problem. You, on the other hand, will probably go nuts right away, and I doubt your powers will be quite so pathetic as a full youkai."
Gojyo slammed his hands down on the table, pushing himself up to his feet and glaring at Sanzo. The two of them got into verbal spats all the time, but this time Gojyo's eyes gleamed with real anger. "Look, asshole, I've got a pretty good sense of self, and my self-control isn't that bad when I actually give a shit about maintaining it."
Sanzo's response to that was a lightning fast movement that had him on his feet with the barrel of his gun against Gojyo's forehead before the other man could even react. "If you lose yourself, I'll have to kill you," he said evenly, thumbing the hammer back. "It'd be a hell of a lot easier to go ahead and do it now. So, what's it going to be? Am I going to just shoot you and get it over with, or are you going to shut the fuck up about the damn limiter and wear it like a good boy tomorrow night?"
Hakkai tensed, preparing to intervene as Gojyo's eyes narrowed. He knew Sanzo didn't really want to kill Gojyo, though the monk would never admit it, but that wouldn't stop him if he felt it was necessary to their survival. If Hakkai didn't figure out a way to quickly resolve the situation, things would likely go very bad very fast.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and relaxed. The two who had just come in would be able to diffuse things much more efficiently than he could.
"Gojyo!" Kyoko yelled in alarm, attempting to run to him.
Dokugakuji gently pulled her back to his side and gazed at Sanzo with narrowed eyes. "I know he can be a real brat at times, but do you honestly think pointing a gun at my brother in a village full of kids is really a good idea?"
Gojyo closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, visibly getting a hold of himself. When he opened them again, they were clear, without a trace of anger. "Hey, Kyoko," he said, waving at her as he backed away from the barrel of Sanzo's gun. "Sanzo's just being a grumpy prick today. If you ignore him, maybe he'll go away."
"Tch. That's my line," the blond grumbled, tucking his gun back into his robe. Hakkai knew the situation was far from resolved, but Sanzo was apparently willing to put it aside for the moment. "Hurry up and eat, monkey," he said, glancing at Goku. "We're leaving in five minutes."
"Waa!" Goku began to hurriedly devour the leftovers as Sanzo strode toward the door and left the building.
"Be careful not to choke, Goku," Hakkai said distractedly, watching as Gojyo approached Kyoko and his brother.
"Are you really going to leave, Gojyo?" the little girl asked despondently.
Gojyo sighed and gently ruffled her hair. "Come on, kid, we need to have a talk," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her away. He glanced over his shoulder. "You come too, Jien."
Dokugakuji nodded and followed them over to the other side of the room. Hakkai could have surreptitiously moved closer to overhear them, but eavesdropping on their private conversation would have been both rude and unnecessary.
Instead, the human-turned-youkai stood and walked over to Reishu, careful to position himself to her left so she could see him. The woman had remained calm and quiet during the confrontation between Sanzo and Gojyo, doing no more than staring intently at the monk before proceeding to ignore them.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Reishu raised a brow and glanced at him. "If you mean for not interfering, it's because I could tell Grouchy didn't really want to shoot him. If he had, I would have been forced to get… unpleasant." She bared her teeth in a bloodthirsty grin.
Hakkai smiled and laughed softly. "No doubt, though that wasn't what I was thanking you for. Last night was meant to be payment for our stay here, but – his altercation with Sanzo notwithstanding – Gojyo has been in a much better mood this afternoon than he has been lately."
Reishu gazed at him for a moment – almost as if she we staring right into him – and smiled. "You love him."
"Ah-ha-ha…. We are very good friends, but we don't have that sort of relationship." He and Gojyo joked around about such things at times, but it was still very odd to have someone assume they were lovers.
Reishu snorted and waved her hand in a negating gesture. "I'm not implying you two sleep together or even that you secretly want to. Love and sex have nothing to do with each other. I mean, you'd love a sibling, but you wouldn't want to have sex with them, right?"
"Um…. Yes, well…." He trailed off with a nervous laugh, thinking of his sister. Thoughts of Kanan still made him sad, but they didn't hurt quite as much as they used to.
"… I don't want to know, do I?" Reishu asked, sounding wryly amused rather than disgusted or judgmental.
"Uh, no, probably not." Her reaction pleased him. He had grown somewhat fond of her, and while a negative view on her part wouldn't have any real impact on him, he would have been quite disappointed.
"Didn't think so. That doesn't change my point, though. You can have sex without love, and can love truly and deeply without any desire for sex."
"You do have a point," Hakkai admitted.
Reishu smiled at him again and lightly squeezed his shoulder. "I have to get the new kid settled and get things ready to head back out with Kishou in a couple of days," she said, starting toward the door. "Good luck on your journey."
Once she was gone, Hakkai turned his attention to Gojyo once more. The other man was crouched in front of Kyoko, putting himself down at her level as he talked to her. The little girl seemed to be crying. Concerned, Hakkai moved forward until he could hear their conversation.
"…but there is one thing I can promise you," Gojyo said. "After this trip, if I ever get to a point in my life where I can take care of a kid, I'll come get you, okay?"
Kyoko sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Okay," she said.
Gojyo pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. "I'm sorry I've got to leave so soon, princess. Dokugaku can probably stay with you for a little bit, though," he said, glancing up at his brother.
The tall youkai nodded. "I need to get back to Kou soon, but I can stay with her for another day or two while she gets settled."
Gojyo pushed Kyoko back a little and kissed her on the forehead. "Bye for now, kiddo," he said, standing up.
"Goodbye," Kyoko mumbled through fresh tears, hugging Dokugakuji's leg as Gojyo walked away.
"Come on, Goku," he called. "Your owner is already bitchy enough as it is."
"O-ay," Goku said around the last of the food. He swallowed and jumped to his feet. "Bye Kyoko, Dokugaku," he said cheerfully before running outside to find Sanzo.
Hakkai waited for Gojyo to reach him, then fell into step beside him as they too left the building. "I hope that day comes," he said quietly.
"Huh?" Gojyo blinked at him in confusion.
"You'd make an excellent father," Hakkai clarified. Other than a lack of disciplinary skills, Gojyo was quite good with children.
The redhead snorted and grinned at him. "You're just saying that because you know you'd get to play mommy if I ever ended up with a kid."
"Well, yes, I suppose there is that."
Gojyo laughed and slung his arm across Hakkai's shoulders, careful not to dislodge Hakuryu as they headed off together toward the gate.
That night, Gojyo lay face down on his bedding with a pack of cigarettes and his lighter on the ground in front of him, utterly exhausted but unable to sleep. Hiking through the woods for half the day, even on a trail, wasn't exactly the most smoker friendly activity. Sanzo hadn't seemed affected by it much, but Gojyo consoled himself with the knowledge that the damn monk didn't smoke quite as much as he did and probably hadn't been a chain smoker by the age of six.
He lit up a cigarette, relaxing minutely as the nicotine began working through his system. Despite walking being a bitch, he was glad they hadn't been able to ride in Hakuryu's jeep form. It made his ass hurt even when he hadn't spent a night with a woman with a whip and a strap-on.
He shivered slightly, thinking of the night before. He was sore and the whip welts across his back and shallow cuts along his inner thighs hurt like hell, but it had been so worth it. Good dominatrixes were few are far between in his experience – he usually ended up with soft, submissive girls or bitches who just liked hurting people – but Reishu had expertly walked the line between pleasure and pain.
He shivered again, but this time in something close to dread as his memories of being bound to Reishu's bed changed. Vague images of a silver-haired woman flickered through his mind. He frowned. He didn't know any silver-haired women. What-
"Shit," he cursed softly, noticing how thick the shadows around him were. Another damn shadow youkai. Did he have a fucking sign on his forehead that said "eat me; I'm yummy" or something?
He opened his mouth to yell and wake up the others, his half-smoked cigarette falling to the ground, but a band of shadow shot up from the ground and looped around his head, covering his mouth. His wrists were bound together and two more tendrils of shadow rose up, wrapping around his waist and ankles.
He struggled and fought, but was unable to break free as he was dragged down into Shadowed Ways.
Goku blinked sleepily and sat up, frowning faintly as he tried to figure out what had woken him up. Gojyo's sleeping area seemed completely empty. He rubbed his eyes and blinked again. He could see the kappa's bedding now, but not the kappa himself.
He's probably goin' to th' bathroom, he thought, yawning. He snuggled back down, smiling as he dreamed of noodles and fried dumplings.