Memories of a Life Gone By pt. 12 Secrets and Surprises
He stood over the trashcan his thoughts running wildly. He let out a sigh and leaned against the wall watching her as she slept.
. . . Gojyo's thoughts. . .
Well, Gojyo... You really did it this time. Who knew those little "tadpoles" of yours were so strong? But then again, they were yours... I smirk.
"Who would've thought that your libido would get you into trouble?" I mutter quietly to myself as I crave for a cigarette.
Damn that Hakkai...
So... You're having my brat huh? Who would've thought? I'm gonna be a father! What will that kid go through? After all, it's not a hanyou or a full one, and it's definitely not all human... All that teasing, hazing, abuse... Don't that thought bring up some painful memories...
He sighed as the visions danced in his head making old scars ache. He walked over to her and laid beside her taking her hand in his as his arm wrapped around her. He rested his mouth close to her ears.
. . . Gojyo's thoughts continued. . .
"Don't you worry about it, Miyuki-chan," I whispered pulling her tighter to me. "I'm gonna make sure that baby of ours don't go through what I did when I was growing up. You just keep on staying pretty like you always are..."
He rested his head on her shoulder feeling the light painful throbbing of her wound. He placed a gentle kiss on the wrapped bandages. She winced lightly and continued sleeping. His eyes closed as he slipped into a dreamworld filled with surprises.
Weakly, she walked down the stairs with Gojyo following behind her with her hand in his. Hakkai stared up at her from the table worriedly. Sanzo glared. This is awkward.. She thought to herself. Gojyo grinned sitting beside her as his arm draped itself over her shoulders. She smiled. Sanzo cast a longing glare at the small white and blue pack of cigarettes beside Hakkai's far side. I'm gonna kill them... He muttered in his head bitterly. Hakkai turned to him with a strained, patient smile.
"Ah, I'm so hungry!" Miyuki burst out suddenly and eagerly.
"Me too!" Goku cried leaping up eagerly slapping the table with his palm. "Bring on the food guys!"
"Will you be patient you stupid monkey?" Sanzo yelled. "It's coming! After all that absurd waitress from yesterday insisted on getting something healthy for that stupid fox and did all the ordering for us."
Miyuki shot him a confused look.
"Watch it you cheap monk," Gojyo piped up defensively.
Sanzo glared as a large throbbing vein popped onto his forehead.
"You wanna die!" he sneered pulling out his gun as he stood. "After all, we wouldn't be here if you and that stupid fox hadn't done what you did!"
Miyuki continued to shoot them a confused look as a small annoyed throbbing popped up at her temple. Hakkai stood.
"Now, now," he began smiling nervously as Gojyo shot a glare in Sanzo's direction. "We must treat this situation with the utmost delicacy."
"There is no way I'm going without cigarettes for the time this woman is pregnant, Hakkai!" Sanzo glared. "I'm gonna kill you all before I do that!"
Miyuki's confused look suddenly turned wide eyed and shocked.
"PREGNANT!" she cried grabbing the table to keep from falling from her chair. "What are you talking about! I'm not pregnant!"
Hakkai turned and gently took her hand in his.
"Don't worry, Miyuki-san," he smiled as he patted her hand. "You don't have to deny it. We'll make sure things will get worked out."
She continued staring up toward them in disbelief. Gojyo's arm around her tightened it's grip. He grinned.
"Don't worry," he smirked. "I can be a little flaky once in a while, but I'll take responsibility when I need to."
Hakkai smiled. She growled quietly to herself.
"I'M NOT PREGNANT!" she burst out blushing as she noticed the eyes of the others in the restaurant.
She slumped down into her chair and slid partially under the table. Hakkai, Gojyo, and Sanzo stared down on her. Goku continued ranting and raving for the upcoming meal. Quickly, the waitress rushed over. She smiled and placed her hands on her shoulders. Miyuki winced at her sore shoulder. How could that wound not be healed yet? She wondered.
"Come on," the waitress said as she helped her up from the table. "I'll get you up to your room, and I'll make sure to send up a mid-wife to get this sorted out for you all. After all, if you really with child, I'm sure you'll be wanting the best care possible!"
Miyuki smiled letting out a sigh. I can't be pregnant, she thought. It's not possible. Gojyo and I were so careful... She turned hearing a familiar set of clonking boots rush up the stairs.
"Oi," his familiar voice called out grinning.
She turned to him worriedly.
"Gojyo..." she blushed. "Do.. You really think...?"
Gojyo smiled and patted her head and gently pushed her up the stairs. He motioned the waitress away as she smiled and headed down the stairs. Into their room, they walked as Gojyo shut the door behind him.
"Gojyo..." she began slumping onto the bed.
His finger rested on her lips as he sat beside her on the bed.
"Now you don't worry that pretty little head of yours," he finished for her. "You just sit tight until that midwife comes, and you just make sure you have a healthy baby and safe birth at the end of it all."
She sighed. But I'm not pregnant. I just know it. She thought quietly.
As piles of food poured onto the table, small hunched-over old woman wobbled into the inn leaning heavily on a crooked wooden cane. Several gold bracelets on her wrists jingled as she hobbled. The sunlight reflected of large gold disks hanging from her ears. She smiled.
"Now where's that mother-to-be!" she called out laughing as she shifted slowly toward the stairs.
Hakkai and Sanzo quickly followed her. Excitedly, Goku dug into the food.
"Don't take too long you guys!" Goku called out making the food scraps fly from his mouth. "You're gonna miss out on all this good food!"
Hakkai smiled. Sanzo snorted as they trudged behind the old woman.
"Oi kappa!" Sanzo yelled angrily. "That midwife is here!"
"Keep it down you stupid monk," Gojyo replied as he opened the room door. "Your yelling might make that baby go deaf."
Sanzo twitched.
"I'm gonna kill you," he glared as he pulled out his gun.
"Now Sanzo," Gojyo grinned. "You wouldn't wanna make the baby grow up without a father now would you?"
A shot flew by his head. He ducked wide eyed.
"Wanna bet?" Sanzo sneered.
"Now, now," Hakkai began calmly.
"You men are much too loud," the old midwife said in a tight and stretched voice as she walked inside the room. "Keep it up, and that baby will go deaf."
Gojyo grinned again.
"Told you," he gloated.
Hakkai sighed. Sanzo twitched forcedly putting his gun away. Gojyo smirked.
She looked up as she watched the small old woman walk inside. She let out a tired and hungry sigh. The old woman smiled.
"Let's get started shall we?" she asked as she hobbled to her side.
Miyuki smiled a nervous smile.
The old woman frowned as she studied her bandaged shoulder. She ran her wrinkled hands over the bandages frowning more as she felt thick veins and a soft jellied mass under the wrappings. She let out a quiet sigh. Ai ya... She thought with a stressed mental sigh. This woman is not pregnant... She's going to die...
Gojyo, Hakkai, and Sanzo stared down at the old woman worriedly eager as she hobbled out of the room. Her cane went flying for their heads. Gojyo stumbled backwards as he rubbed his head painfully. Hakkai and Sanzo dodged just missing her cane.
"Oi, you old hag!" he glared. "What was that for!"
"You foolish men!" she scolded as she pushed past them. "She's not pregnant! She probably ate something bad and got food poisoning!"
That poor woman, she thought. I could only imagine what it's like to be infected by that parasite demon...
Hakkai grew a large smile on his face.
"That's good news!" He smiled letting out a relieved sigh.
"Ch," Sanzo snorted as he started down the stairs behind the old woman. "Hakkai give me my cigarettes before I kill you."
"Hai, hai," he laughed as he followed behind him.
At the top of the stairs and outside the door, Gojyo stared after them. He let out a sigh and smiled a small smile.
"Well," he began as he lowered his head. "Looks like you'll just have to keep trying."
He smirked and opened the door quietly stepping inside. Miyuki sat on the bed buttoning her dress. She smiled up at him.
"Isn't it wonderful, Gojyo?" she grinned. "I'm not pregnant, and there is nothing to worry about!"
He continued smiling his small smile. He nodded keeping quiet. She stood and pecked his cheek as she walked past. As the door closed, he watched her. He let out a long sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair.
As the bumpy road bounced the jeep from side to side, Gojyo watched as the reeling thoughts in his head flew with the flying mountain forest beside them. In the front, Sanzo let out a long and satisfied trail of smoke. Gojyo let out a light chuckle to himself. Just some food poisoning huh? He thought. ... Oh well...
The rotting corpse drifted in the tide as her limp form slapped against the shore. The townspeople watched the sight worriedly and frightened. A red haired man slipped away from the crowds unnoticed.
In the mid-afternoon sun, Hakkai and the others walked around the bustling marketplace with various bags in their arms. Miyuki's ears twitched as she heard the whispers flow through the crowd. Gojyo scanned the crowd smirking quietly as a sudden idea formed in his mind.
"Yo!" he smirked as he began walking off. "I'm going to take care of a few things!"
Hakkai and Miyuki turned.
"I'll come with you!" she smiled as she trotted to his side.
As he shook his head, she gave him a shocked look. Quickly, he turned away and rushed off hurriedly disappearing into the crowd. Miyuki wondered worriedly. She shook the thoughts out of her head. Stop being foolish! She thought. You're here for Homura! Not a boy!
Hakkai gave the stall keeper a worried look as the keeper bagged his apples.
"A strange murder?" Hakkai wondered curiously.
The stall keeper nodded. Sanzo cast a corner eyed glance to the keeper as his fingers stopped flicking his lighter.
"Yep. Started only this morning, around the time your vehicle pulled up," he replied still bagging. "Such strange and horrible deaths though. Disintended anuses. Livers were missing too. Literally sucked the liver and life right out of them. It's a shame. The victim was such a pretty woman too. You might wanna watch out for that girl with you all."
Hakkai knotted his brow worriedly as he nodded.
"Hai," he replied as he turned away. "Thank you."
"What was that about?" Goku asked curiously as he walked up with a dumpling.
"Ch, another demon issue again," Sanzo retorted bitterly. "I say we don't get involved."
Hakkai and Goku nodded.
"Miyuki-san!" Hakkai called out. "Hoteru ni kaerimashou ka?" (Shall we go back to the hotel?)
She turned and gave a small nod and walked over quietly sighing.
With a long trail of red hair flowing behind him as he walked, he tossed the the dried body into the river with a smirk on his lips. A pained and screaming expression preserved itself on the beautiful woman's withered face. As he walked away, he tossed a small cigarette butt to the ground.
Tiredly, Gojyo walked back into the inn a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. Miyuki looked up and smiled. Hakkai turned. Goku drooled as he stared at the plates sitting on the table.
"Ah, Gojyo," he began as he set a plate of food on the table. "Okaeri nasai. ("Welcome back.") You disappeared on us, but Miyuki-san and I were just finishing preparing dinner."
"We figured you boys could use a home cooked meal," she grinned eagerly. "I'm just adding the womanly touch to it."
"Not hungry," he mumbled as he walked past them and up the inn stairs and into their room.
Confused, Hakkai stared up after him. Quickly, Miyuki followed. The room door lay ajar. She peered inside. He laid in a bed turned away from the door.
"Gojyo?" she called out quietly as she walked inside sitting beside him. "Daijoubu? (Are you all right?)"
He turned to her smirking.
"I'm fine," he replied with his smirk still on his face. "You just don't worry that pretty little head of yours."
She smiled and slowly stood taking his hand in hers.
"Should I keep a few leftovers from Goku?" she asked.
He shook his head as she nodded. He watched as she walked out of the room closing the door quietly behind her. He leaped from bed his pockets jingling loudly and ran for the window. A grin lit his face.
"Time to make another run..." he smirked confidently as he began climbing down. "I wonder who my next victim will be.."
As they cleared the cleaned off plates, a pale and panting woman ran inside.
"Help!" she cried as the tears ran down her face. "There's been two more murders!"
Memories of the a Life Gone By Side Story: Romancing the Memories pt. 11 The Final Straw
Li Touten rolled the glowing ball around his hands smirking. Who knew such a pretty little bauble could be so important to someone... He thought grinning manically. I'll be generous and give them a few days to enjoy they're little "victory."
"You've done well again, Nataku," Li Touten said with a cold smile as he rubbed the boy's head with icy hands. "I just knew you would."
Nataku shivered and nodded.
"Thank you, father," he murmured sadly.
Li Touten continued staring at the glowing ball mesmerized as his son's words fell on his deaf ears.
Kenren's eyes fluttered wildly as he dreamed. A cold sweat soaked his brow.
. . . Dream . . .
Her screaming echoed through the halls bouncing of the walls. Kenren rushed the door slamming into it hard with his shoulder. His boots quickly grew slick with blood as it seeped from under the door.
"I'm coming Megumi!" he called out. "Hold on!"
The door burst open as Kenren watched as a large wave of blood and entrails came crashing over him and picking him up with the fast current. A lifeless and familiar form drifted in a fast tide as he struggled to make his way by its side.
"MEGUMI!" he called out despairingly as the tide grew faster carrying him away farther from her lifeless body.
. . . End . . .
Panting and sweating, he thrust himself into an upright position on his bed. He shivered at the cool night air brushing against his slick skin. He let out a panting sigh as he flopped back onto his black silken pillows. He turned. Her sleeping form laid beside him turned away. Her naked skin glowed a blueish and cold white as the moonlight slipped through the drapes. Shakily, he wrapped his slippery and cold hands around her warm shoulders and pulled her close his fingers possessively digging into the warm skin. He let out a relieved sigh. She moaned in her sleep.
"Kenren," she murmured as she slept. "Your nails..."
He chuckled as he pecked her cheek. He rested beside her arms and hands still around her warm frame. Kenren's skin grew goosebumps at his worried thoughts. Megumi purred as she turned into his cool warmth and settled herself in his arms. He placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Don't worry, Megumi-chan," he whispered as he rested his head just above hers on the pillows. "You're mine, and I won't let anyone get you... Not anyone at all..."
Ah... This can't be a good thing, she thought giggling quietly as she stretched her stiff limbs. Kenren's been avoiding his army duties for the past week! And I've spent more time in his bed than anywhere else! She shifted turning to watch his sleeping form. Her fingers gently ran long his cheek as she smiled. The arm resting around her waist pulled her closer as Kenren's face cracked a small smile.
"Oi," he grinned as he suddenly pinned her to her bed. "What are you doing? I was having the most wonderful wet dream..."
She laughed. He grinned.
"Pervert," she smiled.
He smirked pulling out a pack of cigarettes and putting one into his mouth. Hiscrimson eyes watched the dancingorange red flame.He let out a longsigh of smokesmiling a small smile.
"Come on," he said as he stood making his way to his bathroom. "Get yourself looking pretty. I say we're going out on a picnic. And as your new keeper, I suggest you follow my orders."
He winked disappearing behind the door quickly and easily finishing the cigarette. She giggled as she stood following him inside. She watched herself in the rusted mirror as her brush ran through the ankle length locks. Kenren watched her as he splashed a bucket of warm water over his head. He let out a mental sigh as the sickening feeling settled itself in his stomach. Bah! He scolded himself mentally as he watched the water make a small flood on the bathroom floor. Stop thinking like this! It's not like anything bad will happen to her!... Hopefully...
The cool river trickled by the bank sloshing the lotus blossoms as it went. A light breeze rustled the weeping willow branches above them. She sat back in his arms as they watched the stream in a comforting silence. Kenren laced her shoulders with light pecks. She smiled.
"I want to do all I can for you," he whispered suddenly into her ear pulling her tighter to him.
Confused, she turned to him.
"Kenren?" she asked smiling. "What kind words you speak. What is the occasion?"
He remained quiet.
"... I think I might loose you..." he replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head and turned away awkwardly.
She beamed as she cupped his face in her hands.
"Now, now Kenren," she tittered pecking his lips. "We are young.. Well you look young... And we are immortal. I won't die that easily. And as of now, you're the only 'young' man I'm sticking with."
He chuckled.
"You calling me old?" he smirked.
"No," she grinned. "Besides if you were old you wouldn't be as virile as you are. You know that."
"I can be even more virile if you wanted me to be," he whispered suggestively as his hands quickly began undoing her dress and reached inside.
She blushed.
"Oh my!" she gasped as Kenren suddenly placed himself on top of her.
"Now, now, I wouldn't be doing such a thing as that if I were you," a cold and snake-like voice suddenly interrupted.
Megumi turned.
"Li Touten!" she glared. "What is it now! I'm not yours anymore!"
Kenren smirked. Li Touten smiled as he pulled out a glowing ball from inside his robes. She stared at him shocked her mouth falling open.
"Now," he began triumphantly. "How does that legend in the Lower World go? Whoever has a fox demon's Hoshi no Tama has control over that fox demon or that fox risks losing their power, do they not? You're coming with me now, Megumi. Unless, you should like to see what would happen if I broke it."
She gasped sighing as she began closing her dress.
"Forgive me, Kenren," she whispered as she stood and began walking away with him. "It was lovely while it lasted..."
Kenren shot a glare in Li Touten's direction. The other man turned flashing a triumphant grin as they continued walking.
"You remember, Megumi-chan!" he called out. "I'm not weak enough to lose to a man like Li Touten."
Megumi smiled a small smile as she kept walking. A small set of tears shined in her eyes. Li Touten turned to him with a triumphant and arrogant smile.
"We'll just see General Kenren," he smiled coldly. "I would love to just see you try."
"THAT'S IT! THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" Kenren cried as he burst into the library slamming the doors behind him.
The books toppled from their shelves. Tenpou looked up.
"Oh were you saying something?" he asked idly.
Kenren sighed scratching his head and gnawing the end of his cigarette into pieces of frayed paper.
"No need to explain," Tenpou continued. "I heard. Li Touten is one sneaky little bastard I must say."
Kenren leaned against the wall his teeth grinding on his cigarette.
"That's the understatement of the century," he said flatly. "What do we do now?"
Tenpou closed his book with a firm muffled slam of pages.
"Well.." he began with a cunning smile. "I do have one idea..."