The Taste of Crimson
Chapter Twelve
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: Volume eight of the Saiyuki Reload manga shows how Gojyo and Goku got their weapons. It's extremely unlikely that that's how all of the youkai (or any of the youkai for that matter) in the series got their weapons, so I've decided that the normal way to get them is to either be taught to summon a weapon, or to have it appear in a time of need.
Also, as far as I know, Lirin's exact age is never specified. She's Gyumaoh's daughter, so she has to be over 500, but she would have been sealed away for most of that along with Kougaiji and the others in the castle. Based on both her physical development and her personality, I'm going to assume she's somewhere between twelve and fourteen (I personally hit puberty and had largish breasts at the age of ten, so twelve isn't that farfetched).
All was dark and quiet as Meihan climbed down from her assigned tree house. She hurried toward the pond, hot, angry tears sliding down her cheeks. She hated this place, and she was going home as soon as the stupid comet went past.
So what if she chose to think of herself as human? It didn't hurt anyone, and the other girls in the tree house had no right to yank her dyed hair and call her nasty names. At least she was willing to live out in the real world, not hidden away in some stupid little village.
She dropped to her knees beside the pond and glared at the reflection just visible in the dark water. A pale echo of angry red eyes glared back up at her as she focused on the roots of her hair.
She thrust her hands into the water, pulling up slimy chunks of dark mud. Before she could run it through her hair, she sobbed and dropped it back into the pond.
The little girl puts the final touches on her mud castle, looking up from her creation as a youkai man laughs and joins her in the shallows of the river.
"You've got mud in your hair, Red," the youkai says, kneeling beside her and running his hand through the mud-streaked locks.
She giggles and hugs her father, feeling safe and happy. She doesn't know that within a week, he will be murdered, and she and her mother beaten, by a group of youkai who blame the recent poor harvests on the presence of a child of taboo.
Meihan sniffed and staggered up to her feet, wiping at her eyes. Her father had been a fairly low level youkai, his massive physical strength the only real difference between him and a human. He hadn't stood a chance when the other youkai had turned against him.
She turned to head back to the tree house and immediately dropped to the ground, pressing her hands against the middle of her head in an attempt to keep the bright red roots from betraying her position.
The cute guy who had flirted with her had appeared out of nowhere with a silver-haired youkai woman. He was barefoot, and his jacket and headband were missing.
Gojyo and the woman went into the nursery building. There was a deep, masculine yell and a brief commotion, both abruptly and eerily silenced.
Meihan cautiously got to her feet and darted to the building, slipping quietly through the play area. She stayed hidden in the shadows as she peered around the edge of the curtain dividing the sleep area from the playroom.
All of the children, plus the woman who had been keeping watch over them for the night, had their mouths covered and wrists bound by some sort of black stuff. For some reason, Gojyo was just standing there, holding a metal, bladed staff but not bothering to do anything to help the kids.
Meihan had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping when she noticed the blood on the shaft of his weapon. She looked around wildly, finally seeing the dark-haired youkai man on the floor, a small pool of blood near his head. She didn't particularly like youkai, but the man had seemed nice.
The silver-haired woman made a gesture with her hand, catching Meihan's attention again, and the strange black bonds pulled the children and their caretaker towards the youkai woman. Taking advantage of the fact that her legs were free, the adult half-breed sprinted forward and attacked, knocking the youkai to the ground with a vicious kick.
"That wasn't a smart move," the youkai hissed, slowly getting to her feet. Black tendrils rose from the ground and wrapped around the redhead, immobilizing her. "I'm not going to waste anymore of my energy on you. Gojyo, kill her."
Gojyo moved toward the bound woman and raised his weapon, the crescent blade pointed at her. He hesitated for a moment, just long enough for Meihan to spring into action.
The teenager rushed forward and flung herself between Gojyo and his intended victim, unsure of what she could do besides get killed as well, but unable to just watch as someone was murdered. She closed her eyes and raised her hands in an instinctive effort to defend herself, nearly falling as her energy levels suddenly plummeted.
Clang!
Meihan opened her eyes and stared at her hands in shock. She was now wearing a pair of jointed, metal gauntlets.
Where did...? she thought, blinking in confusion. She didn't have time to dwell on it. She curled one hand, gathered the last of her energy, and slammed her gauntleted fist into Gojyo's gut.
"Ooof!" He doubled over and dropped to his knees. "Wha…what's going on?" He glanced around, his look of bewilderment swiftly replaced by anger and worry. "Meihan, get out of here, no-"
He stopped in mid-word, his eyes and expression going blank. Before he could do anything else, there was a commotion from the doorway. Reishu tore through the curtain, immediately summoning and throwing her knife at the youkai woman.
"I don't have time for this," the youkai hissed in annoyance, easily deflecting the blade with a patch of darkness.
The knife vanished and reappeared in Reishu's hand, but before she could attack again, part of the floor turned pitch black.
Meihan, and most of the children, screamed as they plunged into the Shadowed Ways.
Somewhere in the mountains, Lirin stretched and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and blinked up at the sky, pouting as she realized it was a couple of hours before dawn. She'd only meant to take a short nap, not waste the entire night.
It wouldn't be long at all before Yaone realized she'd stuffed pillows under her blankets before taking off with one of the long-distance dragons. Then Yaone'd go and tattle to Big Brother, and they'd come after her.
Lirin scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd barely have enough time to find Doku and the little kid, and none at all to play with Sanzo and the others.
The dragon beside her suddenly tensed and made a small sound. The girl glanced at him, then, following the direction of his gaze, peered over the edge of the roomy cliff she'd chosen to nap on. A youkai woman was down on a much larger cliff with a bunch of little kids, a teenager, a woman, and Doku's little brother.
Lirin cocked her head, the tip of her tongue poking out from between her lips as she tried to figure out what was going on. I bet she's using all them little redheads as hostages so he'll do what she wants, she thought.
Doku was like another brother to her, and Gojyo was his little brother. That made him sort of like her brother too, so she figured she should help him. Plus, if she rescued him, Baldy Sanzo would be so happy, he might just give her the sutra. Or maybe even a meat bun!
"Hee! Little Lirin to the rescue!" she yelled, leaping down the sloped cliff face as the youkai woman led her group of half-breeds into a cave.
He follows Her, leaving the darkness of night for the deeper tenebrosity of a cave. The air feels thick and heavy against the bare skin of his face and arms, like he's moving through the liquid reality of a dream.
A nightmare… a small part of him whispers in despair. A ripple of unease washes through him, dissipating before it can be fully realized. How can anything be wrong when She is near?
Something rushes into the cave, flinging itself at Her. Her silent command vibrates through him, relayed by the venom flowing through his veins with his blood. She wants the thing dead. She wants him to kill it.
He holds out his arm, and the firm, cool shaft of his shakujou fills his hand, thrumming with the barely contained eagerness to cause mayhem. He swings it, the subtle flexing and movement of his wrist sending the chain out, his thoughts gliding through the shimmering links with just enough power to guide the arc of the deadly crescent.
The chain wraps around the thing that dared to attack Her, the crescent blade embedding in the cave wall and pulling the chain tight enough to trap the creature. He flips the weapon, preparing to drive the blunter, but still deadly, end into its body.
The thing… child… stares at him, its… her… eyes full of fear and confusion. A kid. She's just a kid. No younger than twelve, but no older than fourteen. The child doesn't understand why he wants to hurt her. Doesn't know what she's done wrong.
His hands begin to shake, and he drops the shakujou. He can't kill her. He has to kill her, because She demands it. But he can't do it. He can't kill the girl. He must obey. He can't hurt an innocent little kid.
He screams in agony, clutching his head as he falls to his knees. Everything fades away as he spins out of control within his own mind, plummeting toward a clear pond beneath a sakura tree.
Sanyin stared incredulously as Gojyo screamed and crumpled to the ground, barely noticing as the brat who had attacked her escaped. Her attention was all on the man who should have been under her complete control.
I don't have time to deal with this, she thought in irritation, approaching and nudging him with her foot.
She glanced at her captives. Even with all of the energy she'd expended in transporting so many through the Shadowed Ways, a mouthful of blood from each of them would provide more than enough energy to overthrow the current leader of her clan.
She smiled and licked her lips as she slowly approached the frightened children. She would make her move right after dawn, which would give her plenty of time to… play… with her food.
He laughs, dancing through a world where the rivers are chocolate and giant dumpling boulders cover the gently swaying noodle grass. He jumps onto one of the boulders, wrapping his arms around it and sinking his teeth into its softness just as he feels a sharp pain in his side…
"Wake up, monkey!"
"Mrglgmf!" Goku yelled around his pillow, sitting up and rubbing the spot where Sanzo had kicked him. He didn't know what the blond was so crabby about, but that had really hurt!
Goku stopped biting his pillow and looked around with a small frown. Not only was Sanzo grumpier than usual, Hakkai looked upset, and Gojyo was nowhere to be seen. Goku's mouth suddenly went dry with worry. He remembered the last time the stupid kappa had gone missing. Sanzo had gotten really angry, and Hakkai had been scary.
"Gojyo's gone off to pee or somethin', right?" he asked, laughing nervously. He knew that wasn't what had happened. Sanzo and Hakkai wouldn't be in bad moods if Gojyo had just wandered off to take a leak.
He couldn't figure out where he would have gone to, though. There was nothing they were leaving unfinished, and the Village of Taboo didn't really seem like the kind of place Gojyo would decide to stay. There were a handful of women with no men around, but there weren't any bars.
"I'm afraid not, Goku," Hakkai said, his voice eerily neutral despite the warm smile he put on for the boy's benefit. He turned towards Sanzo. "I suppose we will be going on without him?"
"No," Sanzo said, glaring at Gojyo's empty sleeping spot with narrowed eyes. "I remember how annoying you two got the last time your pet kappa disappeared. Besides, he didn't run off on his own this time."
Hakkai sucked in a sharp breath. "You think…"
Sanzo nodded and strode over to Gojyo's blankets, reaching down for something. "I don't care if some jackass psycho came out of nowhere and slaughtered a whole herd of innocent little brats right in front of him; Gojyo is a chain smoker, and there's no way in hell he'd willingly go anywhere without these," he said grimly, holding up a pack of Hi-Lites. "Which can mean only one thing. Someone has stolen our pervert."