Chapter 8
Once Goku was secured behind her on Virya, and they were moving west, Iyame twisted so she could see his face. "Goku?"
"Hmm?" he asked absently. He was busy concentrating on ignoring her nearness and did not give her his full attention.
"Goku?" she said again with a small tap to his hands.
His eyes finally focused on her completely. "Yeah?"
"Why are you so uncomfortable around me? Why do you avoid anything but casual contact with me?" she asked quietly.
"I'm not uncomfortable and I don't avoid contact with you. I'm touchin' you right now." he argued.
She looked at him uncertainly, "If you are not uncomfortable then why do you always step away when we get close except when we sleep?"
Goku looked away for a moment before returning his gaze to hers, "I'm not really comfortable with that kind of stuff yet. I know it's serious and I don't want to walk into it lightly."
"I do not understand."
"I know that I've known you for a long time but I don't remember you very well. Sometimes I get flashes in my dreams, but mostly I feel like I've only known you for a month. I can't do . . . that stuff . . . with someone I don't know very well." he explained a little awkwardly.
"But you can hardly stand to be close to me at all anymore. You've started riding in the jeep every other day and when you ride with me you do not really talk to me. You barely touch me when you are teaching me. I feel like you just want to be away from me."
"That's not it. I'm just- I don't know." he said in frustration. "Can we talk about this later?"
She looked thoughtfully at him before nodding slowly. "As you wish."
"Okay."
She gave him one last searching look before turning back to face the front.
Gojyo looked up in time to see her troubled look before she cleared it away and put on the cheerful mask she seemed to be wearing more and more often. It sometimes reminded him eerily of Hakkai. A look happy and no one will ask you too many questions sort of thing.
"Looks like there's trouble in paradise." he said quietly to Hakkai.
"What do you mean?" his friend asked.
"I'm not sure yet, but I know something's not right over there."
"Perhaps we shouldn't interfere."
"Che, what are friends for if not interfering when you're doing something stupid?"
"What makes you think someone is doing something stupid?" Hakkai queried.
"Easy. Iyame's hiding her reactions from him. I'll find out what it is tonight." he said with an air of certainty and expectation.
"Just remember the person in the middle usually gets caught in the crossfire." Hakkai reminded him.
"What can those two possibly do to me?" he asked flippantly as he began to plot.
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At dinner that night, he sat next to Iyame while he helped her prep the food. "Are you all right?"
She smiled over at him, "I'm fine, Gojyo. Why do you ask?"
He studied her closely before reaching over and brushing a fingertip under her eye, "You mask is wearing a bit thin right there."
She sighed very softly, "It is nothing."
"If it was nothing you wouldn't be wearing it in the first place."
"Perhaps. Does it really matter one way or the other?" she asked.
"Of course it does. We're your friends too, not just Goku's. If you need someone to talk to, any of us would be happy to help."
"I cannot get between Goku and his friends and it would not be right for me to do so. People invariably feel the need to choose sides and that could tear apart our family."
"But we were your friends too before, weren't we?"
"You were."
"So why can't we be again?"
"You are."
"Then let us help you."
"There is nothing to help."
He reached over and snagged the tear that had snuck past her guard and held it up for her to see, "That's not true."
"Excuse me." she said quickly as she hurried away.
Gojyo looked at her retreating form in surprise for a moment before taking off after her.
The other three looked up in surprise as they saw the pair run off and Sanzo's and Hakkai's surprise only increased when they saw Goku did not get up to go after her.
"Goku, would you please help me finish cooking dinner?" Hakkai asked.
The monkey absently nodded his head before standing slowly and following Hakkai.
Gojyo caught up to her not too far from camp and stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Iyame. Talk to me."
She shook him off. "There's nothing to talk about. My mate cannot stand to be near me. I should not be traveling with you. I can follow behind and cause him less discomfort. I can cause myself less discomfort as well." She snapped as Dana wandered over to check on her. "No! I cannot deal with this for another day, Dana. He's driving me insane." she shouted.
The three back at the camp looked up as they heard her shouting. The two demons could understand every word, and Sanzo was able to get the gist of it.
"Goku, perhaps you should talk to her?" Hakkai suggested kindly.
He mutely shook his head as he watched Gojyo reach for her again as he spoke, "Iyame, what are you talking about? Anyone can see he adores you."
"He has been riding in the jeep more often and unease radiates off of him every time we are within a few feet of each other. He is trapped and does not love me as he did before." she said before bursting into tears of hurt and frustration.
"Che, don't cry. Please? I hate seeing beautiful women cry." he said as he pulled her into a gentle hug. He sighed. It looked like he was going to have to take one for the team. He discreetly checked to make sure Goku was still paying attention before pulling a little away from her. "Don't cry, Iyame. It's not fair."
She sniffled a little as she looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
"I really can't stand seeing beautiful women crying. It makes me want to kiss away their tears." he replied clearly before leaning his head down.
Iyame stared up at him in disbelief as he lowered his face to hers and his lips brushed against her . . . cheek? Before she could recover herself enough to demand answers for his strange behavior he went flying and her stunned eyes found Goku standing right in front of her.
He glared fiercely at her for a moment before pulling her body roughly against his and pressing his lips to hers in a bruising kiss. He pulled away a few minutes later and growled, "Mine."
She blinked at him in surprise before finding her voice, "Always."
As the almost feral anger cleared from his eyes he looked down at her in concern, "Are you okay, Iyame?"
She shrugged noncommittally. "I still walk this earth so I do not have anything to complain about."
Goku frowned at her, "That's bullshit. Tell me the truth."
"What do you want me to say, Goku? The more distant you remain the more alone I feel? That every time you turn away from me it makes me want to curl up and die? The more you refuse to treat me as your mate the more it makes me wish I had not found you? How helpful is that? Does it change anything? Does it make anyone feel better? No! So what do you want from me?" she demanded as tears started coursing down her cheeks once more.
"Iyame-" was as far as he got before a shout from Hakkai drew their attention to the hoard of youkai that was descending on their camp. He turned and pulled her close for a quick kiss. When he pulled away a moment later he looked steadily into her eyes as he spoke, "I love you. We'll talk about this later."
She nodded as he took off to help with the fight. She leapt up into a nearby tree and summoned her yumi. Explosive arrows flew in quick succession at the youkai that were furthest away from the other members of the group. She kept a steady eye on her family and thinned the crowd when it became too much around any single individual. As they fell into the rhythm of the fight the others would call to her periodically if they spotted a problem. As youkai continued to pour into the clearing Iyame yearned for more speed and finally tore off her limiter so she could use the full power of her reflexes. Shots rained down as she fired as quickly as possible while maintaining near perfect accuracy.
The leader of the youkai spotted her up in the tree and immediately sent some troops to get her down. She picked them off one by one until he had to send reinforcements. They swarmed the tree and a piercing whistle sounded as she called for help. Virya immediately swiped the enemies he had been working on to the side and made for the tree his daughter was in. He was too late though and one of the youkai made it up to the branch she was on. In the struggle she fell out of the tree and let out a piercing scream before landing with a thud.
Goku looked up as he heard the scream and watched helplessly as she fell. He watched anxiously for her to get back up and when she didn't he started to panic. He viciously killed any youkai that got in his way as he moved towards her and saw the others, including both cats, working that direction as well. He finally got close enough to see her and the youkai that was leaning over her, grinning gleefully as he took a swipe at her unmoving form with his talons. As blood splattered, Goku let out a howl of rage and grief that stopped anyone within hearing distance in their tracks.
He ripped his limiter off as the others watched in shocked horror. They redoubled their efforts to get to Iyame before further harm befell her as Goku's eyes took on a decidedly feral gleam. Virya responded to the cry of his other charge by leaping over the slightly disoriented youkai and raking his claws across the one that had dared injure his charge. He flicked the pieces away before taking a protective stance over her still form and destroying any that came within reach of his deadly claws.
Goku – now Seiten Taisei – saw this and turned his attention to the rest of the youkai. He knew his mate would be safe while he took care of the others that dared think they could lay a hand on her. Battle light filled his eyes and he licked his lips in anticipation of the blood that soon would be shed.
The other three had managed to battle their way to each other and started moving towards Iyame so Hakkai could heal her if her wounds were serious. Their way was eased by the speed in which Goku took care of the enemy. Hakkai thanked all the gods in heaven that he had decided to spend some time getting to know Virya because the cat wouldn't let any of the others near Iyame. He checked her over while Sanzo and Gojyo kept the stragglers away from them. Her wounds were deep and she had lost a lot of blood, but he healed them as best he could. She had a lump on the back of her head, probably from the rock she had landed on if the blood was anything to go by.
He looked up at the cat, "I've done what I can. She should be fine after some rest."
The cat nodded before returning his attention to the fight, or rather game, that was playing out before them. Seiten Taisei was playing with the few youkai that were left. The three started discussing how to get the limiter, which Gojyo had picked up on the way over to Iyame, back on Goku's head.
"It's not like we can just walk up to him and put it back on. Can you wake Iyame up?" Gojyo asked Hakkai.
"I don't think so. She didn't wake up after I healed her, so she must need something else." he responded.
Seiten dropped the last youkai and decided it was time to check on his mate. He turned and saw three standing entirely too close her and headed over before they could harm her.
"Shit." was all Gojyo got out before Goku buried his fist in his stomach and he dropped like a stone.
"Guess he's not in the mood to play with us." Sanzo observed dryly before getting ready to call on his sutra's power to bind Goku. He didn't have a chance because Goku darted around them so quickly he and Hakkai couldn't keep him in sight long enough to do anything.
Meanwhile blue eyes blinked open and looked around curiously. She saw dead bodies everywhere and her clothes were covered in blood. Am I in a battlefield? How did I get here? She looked up and saw a giant blue tiger standing over her and panicked. She scrambled out from under it and stopped abruptly as the world started spinning from the sudden movement. She let out a very quiet moan, but it was loud enough to stop Seiten Taisei in his tracks.
He looked over and saw the blood on his mate's clothes and decided playtime was over. He needed to know she was all right. He moved to swipe viciously at the pair still standing but was knocked over from behind. He turned and saw the other cat standing between him and the others, protecting them. He looked at her curiously before shrugging and running over to his mate. He came to an abrupt halt in front of Yochi and, in her fear, she almost fell over backwards trying to escape.
He reached out with gentle hands and steadied her on her feet. He did not understand why his mate was scared, but he could very clearly hear her heart beating wildly and smell fear pouring off her. He swung her into his arms, cradling her close, and took off before anyone could react.
Hakkai watched them go before kneeling next to Gojyo and healing his wound.
"We need to follow them and get him under control." Sanzo stated angrily. He couldn't believe the monkey had done something so foolish, yet again. He pulled out his gun and was abruptly knocked over. He glared up to see one of the cats resting its very large foot on his chest.
"What the hell is your problem?" he growled at it.
It leaned down until they were nose to nose and looked directly into his eyes before growling at him.
"He said he'll kill you if you harm his children." Hakkai relayed.
"If your children go on a killing spree, I will kill them if I can't stop them any other way." he snarled into the cat's face.
"Virya," Hakkai began, "Would it be possible for Dana to follow and then travel with them? We could follow behind later and try to stay between them and civilization."
The cats locked eyes for a few moments before Dana loped off in the same direction as the other two.
"We won't kill them." Hakkai assured the cat.
He glared down at Sanzo for a long moment before lifting his foot and sitting down next to them, tail flickering in irritation.
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Seiten Taisei ran until he was far enough away that he was certain no one could catch up with them. He saw a clearing and slowed to a stop. His mate was still terrified and there was nothing around but him. He didn't know why she would fear him or what to do to make it better so he set her down and then sat down in front of her so he looked as small and non-threatening as possible. He would not take such a submissive pose for any other reason and it grated a little even though it was for his mate. He kept his eyes on her feet and watched her stand there and tremble.
He extended his senses to make sure no one was around them and found patience as he continued to sit at her feet until the trembling finally subsided and her heartbeat slowed down. As the stench of her fear was blown away by the gentle breeze he chanced a look up through his lashes. She was staring at him curiously and her hand was halfway to his head. When she realized he was looking she moved to snatch it back but he latched onto it before she could and moved it to his head before releasing it. She tensed but then relaxed when he let go and after a moment started running her fingers through his hair.
A few minutes later she started speaking quietly. "I do not know who you are, but I can feel we are connected. I have no idea how I came to be here or who I am but . . . I know you will not hurt me." she moved her gaze down to his golden eyes before asking, "Right?"
He looked at her curiously. Seeing she wanted reassurance, he reached out for her other hand and rubbed it against his cheek while letting out a long purr. She relaxed and he tugged her into his lap. She tensed again but he only nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You are my mate?" she asked in realization.
He purred again and she relaxed completely as she buried her face against him.
"Why can I not remember you? What is your name? What is mine?" she cried softly into his chest. "And why was I in the middle of a battle? What happened to me?"
He held her tightly and rocked her while her tears flowed and answered her questions as best he could. It seemed to help since she stopped after only a few minutes. She pulled away a little to look at him and realized that he was bleeding from a cut on his cheek. Her eyes narrowed in concern and she reached up to rest her hand against his cheek.
"You are hurt." she said before her hand started to glow softly, startling her. When it stopped she ran a thumb over the blood and saw that the cut had been healed. She looked into his wild golden eyes and smiled, "I healed you."
He smiled back at her and leaned forward to steal a kiss. She allowed it and, after a moment, he deepened it and slid his hand up her thigh. They lost themselves to their instinctive need to be together for a long time after that.
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By the time Dana caught up to them, he was curled protectively around her as they slept. The cat gave them a knowing look before settling down nearby to keep watch. One golden eye opened to verify what his nose had told him before he pulled his mate closer against him and went back to sleep.
When they awoke Yochi followed her mate over to the tiger and watched them communicate in fascination. She had no idea she could understand tiger-speak.
"Who am I?" she asked the tiger, her desperation to know coming through clearly. She held her mate's hand tightly as the tiger explained who she was and why she couldn't remember anything.
"So they are friends?" she asked after the other three she had seen were described and identified. She turned to her mate and asked, "Why would you try to kill them if they are friends?"
He growled a response and she smiled gently at his concern for her well-being. "But, if they are friends, they would not hurt me."
Another growl.
"She said they healed my injuries. I do not think they would harm me after that."
Narrowed eyes greeted this.
"If Virya was standing above me, do you think he would have let them near if they wanted to take me away? And Dana tried to protect them too even though we are her children."
Eyebrows drawn together thoughtfully before a quiet growl.
"Do not be silly, Seiten. You are my mate, not any of them." she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up to trail kisses along his neck.
He purred in response before picking her up and carrying her back over to the clearing, kissing her hungrily the entire way. Dana watched them for a moment before making herself scarce. She didn't feel any great need to be there while her children played, no matter how pleased she was that they finally were. Perhaps there would be cubs for her cubs to play with after all . . .
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Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo were trying to come up with a plan to catch Goku and Iyame before they hurt anyone.
"Do you think Iyame is still all right?" Hakkai asked.
Sanzo looked over at him and gave a small shrug as if to say, how the hell would I know?
"As close as those two are, if Goku does something to harm her, he'll be devastated. Especially if it's permanent."
"She's not in any danger from him. The last time they saw each other and his limiter was off they just got grabby." Gojyo replied.
"Let's go." Sanzo said as he hopped into the jeep. Hakkai and Gojyo followed and they looked expectantly at Virya.
He gave Sanzo a threatening look before taking off at a steady but ground eating pace. Hakkai hit the gas and took off after him, jolting them all back in their seats.
"She was acting oddly when she stood up." Gojyo stated.
"It's likely she hit her head when she fell and was dazed. It's possible she may be suffering from slight amnesia, but let's not borrow trouble." Hakkai returned.
"What about her limiter? I saw it was missing right before Goku took her." Sanzo asked.
"She should be fine without it. She had to take it off to heal you and Hakkai and didn't seem interested in anything beside the task at hand. I wonder why she can stay in control but Goku can't?" Gojyo mused.
"I wonder if she'll still be in control if she doesn't know who we are or if she'll assume we're a threat and react accordingly." Hakkai added.
Virya rumbled a comment and Hakkai turned thoughtful. "Good point, Virya. We hadn't thought about that."
"What?" Sanzo growled.
"She can speak to the tigers still and they have been around her so much that their scent is part of hers. She'll recognize that easily in her youkai form and know they are friends. That should work on us as well."
"It never worked with Goku." Sanzo growled.
"We'll have to find out why." was Hakkai's only reply to that before he slammed on the brakes.
The other two looked at him, perplexed, and he chuckled and indicated towards the front of the jeep. They followed his gaze and narrowed their eyes at the sight that greeted them. Homura and his two cohorts were standing casually in the center of their path.
"Well, hello Sanzo and party. How are you this fine evening?" he sneered.
"What do you want, Homura?" Sanzo growled.
Virya came up behind him just then and gave him a thorough sniffing. Startled, Homura spun around and stared at the big cat for a long moment. Once done, he butted Homura's shoulder in a friendly way and sat down between the two parties. The war prince gave him a puzzled look before returning his attention to the jeep.
"Where is our little Goku?" he asked snidely.
"None of your concern." Sanzo replied shortly.
"He's our Goku, not yours." Gojyo muttered around his perpetual cigarette.
"Well? Aren't you going to tell me?" he taunted.
"No. What do you want?" the monk demanded.
"To play with little Goku. I'll find him myself if you don't want to help me." he replied before disappearing with his friends and one last flash of his smug smile.
The three shared a glance before once more following Virya's quick pace.
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Yochi woke up before her mate and propped herself up on an elbow so she could study him. He is so beautiful. His long hair was golden brown and soft to the touch. She rubbed a few strands between her fingers as she looked at him. He had long claws that could shred the enemy to bits or gently caress her body without breaking the skin, golden eyes that told her everything she needed to know about what he was feeling, a voice that could howl in rage or purr in pleasure depending on his mood, and his body! What more could a girl ask for? It was long and lean, muscular, and well trained. He could protect her or their children from anything and reveled in it. She ran her fingertips along the planes of his chest while she studied him and soon he started purring in his sleep. She smiled in delight and rested her head on his chest so she could feel it better.
She heard quiet footsteps and looked up to see Dana return to the clearing. The tiger looked at her questioningly for a moment before Yochi smiled and answered, "For now . . . Okay." she quietly pulled out of her mate's grasp and pulled on her clothes before walking over and sitting next to the tiger.
Dana rested on her side and reached over a paw to pull Yochi against her chest.
"This feels familiar." she said quietly to the tiger. They lay like that for a long time while Dana talked about their past and tried to help Yochi remember.
They traveled the countryside for several days catching wild game for meals and scavenging in empty houses before they came upon anyone else. Seiten and Yochi had been sleeping when someone staggered into the clearing they had stopped in. They looked up in time to see him collapse. Yochi hurried over and checked his injuries.
"He is badly hurt, Seiten. Would you please get some water for him?"
Seiten growled a response and she gave him a stern look, "He is not going to harm us. Look at him. He is unconscious . . . . I cannot stand here while he bleeds to death, it is not right."
Another growl and a shake of his head.
"Please, my love?"
He finally nodded and ambled over to the stream. When he got back she used the water to clean the wound before she placed her hands on it. The pair watched as they glowed while the tissues knit themselves together.
She smiled up at her mate, "Thank you. He will probably sleep for a while, so we should keep an eye on him. Do you want to find some dinner while I start a fire?"
He nodded and was off. Yochi sat quietly near the resting man and studied him carefully for signs of further injury. She was curious how he had come to be in the middle of nowhere and injured. Perhaps he would wake soon so she could find out. Once she was satisfied he was all right she went to collect wood for the fire. After the fire was burning merrily she dug through the bag of supplies they had scavenged from an abandoned house and got what she needed to make stew.
Seiten came back a few minutes later with some rabbits and she got to work on dinner while he watched the stranger suspiciously. Not too much later he stirred and Yochi went over to help him into a sitting position.
"I am glad to see you are awake, friend. How are you feeling?" she asked solicitously.
He blinked his lavender eyes at her before asking, "Who are you?"
"I am Yochi. You stumbled into our camp wounded so I healed you. Are you feeling all right?"
He nodded slowly, "I am Lord Kougaiji. Thank you for your assistance."
Seiten growled and Kougaiji turned to find the source of the sound. He stiffened and tried to move away from him. "Goku? Where are the others? Why did you help me? Are you planning on holding me hostage?"
Yochi gave him a puzzled look at the name he used on her mate but let it go as she held him still. "We helped you because you were injured. You are free to walk away as soon as your legs will carry you. To that end, let me get you some dinner." She went over and filled the other bowl and brought it over to him.
He smiled his thanks and ate while he asked questions, casting puzzled glances at Goku from time to time. "Where are Sanzo and the others?"
"Sanzo?" she asked blankly.
Kougaiji looked at them in surprise.
"The monk and the other two Goku travels with?"
Yochi shrugged, "I do not know anyone but Seiten and Dana."
"How is that possible?"
"There was a fight and I hit my head. I do not remember anyone. I only know Seiten is my mate because I can feel the connection between us."
Kougaiji looked at them thoughtfully. He could probably convince them to join his side but something about that grated against him. It would be dishonorable to take advantage of them like that. Suddenly something large was behind him sniffing his head closely. Kougaiji snapped his head around and found himself face to face with a giant blue tiger.
"Dana, you should not sneak up on injured people. You are apt to scare them half to death and undo all my hard work." Yochi chided the tiger.
"You know her?" Kougaiji asked in surprise.
"Oh yes, she is our mother." At his perplexed look she elaborated, "She said she adopted me about five hundred years ago and Seiten only recently."
"You're over five hundred years old?" he asked in surprise.
"So she tells me and she has no reason to lie. Seiten is as well."
Kougaiji took a moment to digest this information. He looked up and realized the sun was going down fast. He stood up gingerly. "I should get back. It's late and my friends will be wondering where I am. Thank you for helping me. I hope I can return the favor some day."
"It was nice to meet you." Yochi said as she stood to clasp his arm.
Seiten came over as well and reached out to grip Kougaiji's arm, which took the demon by surprise. He looked at the couple one last time before disappearing.
