Author's Note: As aforementioned, kitsune know how to cast illusions on people, and the poem Homura reads to himself is called "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" which is about an emperor's beloved concubine, the love they shared, and the sadness of their separation. You can find a translation for reading, which I also used, at:
taleofgenji. org/ sorrow. html
It was written during the Tang Dynasty. Whether it was created before or after the Saiyuki story, I couldn't figure out. :\ And for those that don't already know, Saiyuki is more or less the Japanese way of saying "Journey to the West" which was the original name of the Chinese version of the story. It was also written during the Tang Dynasty, not sure of the exact date(s) though.
Memories of a Life Gone By Pt. 18 Remorse
Gojyo looked out into the clear night, idly sucking a cigarette on his lips. He blew out a long, languid trail of smoke into the night. A warm breeze flew past his spot on the balcony and fluttered the sheers in his room. Whispers of rain and weather wafted from the others' balcony down the hall. His door opened.
"Gojyo," Hakkai called out quietly as the tall man walked inside.
The other man blew out another long trail of smoke in response. In his hands, Hakkai temptingly shook a large jug of sake and held out a set of cards. He smiled. Intrigued, Gojyo looked over.
"Come on, Gojyo. You know we could always talk over this," Hakkai continued with his friendly and concerned smile.
"What's there to talk about?" he asked as he walked over and sat down at the table.
Hakkai watched as the end of Gojyo's cigarette began to glow with a quiet sucking in of air. The soft slapping and rustle of his shuffling cards seemed to resound in the dim, moonlit room.
"I think it should be obvious, Gojyo…" He continued to smile. "I think anyone would be a just a 'little' bit upset if their lover just betrayed them… at least I would be if Kanan were still around…"
Glowing ashes fell into a silver ashtray with the flick of a thumb. A set of five cards slid toward him. A sake jug opened up with a quiet pop. A side of his lip twisted upward, forming a slanted smile.
"Am I that easy to read?" Gojyo retorted with his devilish grin.
Hakkai's smile contained his answer as he organized the cards in his hand.
"She was a nice enough girl, Gojyo," Hakkai continued. "Not my type, personally, but a nice girl none-the-less…"
"Hakkai…" Gojyo began, grinning. "We've known each other for over three years… You don't have to lie to me."
"Gojyo, it would be highly inappropriate for me to express my true thoughts on the girl," Hakkai effervescently smiled.
Then, Gojyo laid down his hand. Four queens and an ace stared up at the two players from the tabletop. Hakkai laughed knowingly as he laid down his four kings and his ace. The other man chuckled as he blew out another trail of smoke and tapped his cigarette into his ashtray.
"I'll never beat you at this will I?" he smirked.
"Nope," Hakkai continued with his upward twist of lips adorning his face.
She looked up into the night sky watching the bright moon slowly inch across the sky. Her ears twitched to the sounds of the fox, raccoon, and forest spirits crying out into the mountains.
"Do the cries of the night call out to you, Megumi-san?" Homura asked coolly as he walked up to the window. "Do you long to be with your kind?"
She shook her head.
"As much as I could be considered a creature of the night, Homura, I don't think I feel like going anywhere. Not for a while, at least," she replied as she looked down at the town street.
A beautiful girl happened to look up at her window and cast a knowing smile as a small hint of fox ears popped up from under her hair. Miyuki stared down longingly as the young fox maiden in disguise wrapped her arms around that of a young man. Homura's eyes followed her gaze, his brows furrowing in suspicion.
"Do you miss him?" He suddenly questioned.
She let out a quiet gasp and looked up to him shaking her head quickly as though she were a small child. She remained silent. His mismatched eyes turned to her with the quiet accusation behind them dimming ever so slightly.
"I want to hear you say it."
His words trailed off, suspicion still evident beneath the deep tone. Her shoulders slumped. Her lips parted. Silence flowed from her parted lips.
"… I don't miss him…" She replied quietly.
Her reply was almost venomous to him in its tone. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, jealousy beginning to course through his veins.
"Fine, then. I will not doubt your word…"
Within, the man began to fume with anger, feeling deeply that he had been lied to. Thoughts of the past and of Rinrei's face began to race through his head. The memories of what they had resurfaced as well as the ongoing hypocrisies of the superiors. I would be foolish if I thought you and your General didn't have the troubles we did… He thought. But you cannot expect me to be not a bit envious that you didn't have your love ripped asunder and had to watch the one you cared for be abandoned to the wolves of the mortal world… She looked to him unsurely as his thoughts of jealousy and anger suddenly entered hers.
"Thank you, Homura-sama," she continued, still quiet. "Do you wish anything else of me?"
His eyes opened, setting to her before looking away.
"No… that will be fine…"
His expression was stone cold while within he began to feel a deep sadness. A small war of sorrow and rage waged on as he moved to sit in contemplation of his memories and of his experiences in an off white heaven. She walked away, tensing as she seemed to feel his anger pervading the air. She shivered.
You've severed one half of the two… Why not destroy the other half? His jealous thoughts enticed eagerly as visions of Gojyo's mangled body flashed through his head. There is no way she could begin to understand what you have gone through these past 500 years unless she experiences it herself… but she'll learn of that soon…
His charmingly sinister smile grew at the thought of the parasite growing inside her.
In her room, Miyuki howled in pain as her arm shook with spasms and her shoulder throb with searing pain. Homura's attendants stood by idly and watched with a smile.
She stood frozen on the cliff as she watched Homura press his sword's blade into the chakra on Sanzo's head. No! This is wrong! Make him stop! Miyuki's unconscious called out. Her heart ached as she watched Sanzo fall to the ground. What have you done? She asked herself as she ran over to him. The murderous glint in Sanzo's eyes seemed to say it all as he pushed her away with what strength he had and aimed his gun at Homura. She looked towards the others, quivering.
We should've never believed that old hag… Sanzo's thoughts cursed. I should've just killed her on the spot…
This sucks! Why can't I beat him?! Goku's mind screamed in aggravation.
Why am I even surprised? All the beautiful women always betray you in some way anyway…
Under her dark bangs, her eyes began to fill with tears at the words of Gojyo's sad thought. Nervous, silver eyes looked in Hakkai's direction. The man's green manacled gaze continued to look at Homura as images and words of the feral creature residing underneath his façade flooded her head. Slowly, he turned to her with a smile that made her look up at him in fear. Then, someone grabbed her hand. She jumped and whipped her head around. Homura's devilishly smiling face looked down on her.
"Come now… You've come too far to back out now… We're leaving," he told her sternly as he turned away with a flutter of his robe.
She stumbled along behind him unsure of what to do. Miyuki turned back and watched their saddened, distraught faces. Meanwhile, Homura offered his challenge at Konran Tower.
Nervously, Miyuki paced around her room as the elaborate silk and brocade robes slowly floated behind her. Inwardly, she cursed Homura's nonchalant flamboyancy at the situation and at the tightness of the twists and buns in her hair. What kind of villain prepares a four course meal for his enemies?! How absurd! And why is formal attire necessary! It's so useless! She thought bitterly at the god's oddities. As she picked up an incense burner and a few sticks, she walked out of her room and shut the door with a slam.
In his chambers as he waited, Homura looked down at the book in his hands.
"'Our spirits belong together, like these precious fragments. Sometime, in earth or heaven, we shall meet again…'" he read aloud, quietly to himself, stopping to let his eyes scan the page. "… On that seventh night, of the herd boy and the weaver, in the silent palace we declared our dream…"
His mind raced with memories of Rinrei as he continued to read the character filled pages. Earth fades; heaven fades, at the end of days. But Everlasting Sorrow endures always… He read as he closed the book with a silent determination. He let out a sigh and covered his face with a free hand, feeling a wave of what seemed like endless sorrow washing over him. The endless days of searching, waiting, and hoping… all for nothing… His thoughts quietly commented. His golden eye peered out between his fingers. Don't worry Rinrei… We can meet again in our new heaven and earth, and we'll fly together as birds with one pair of wings as Yang Kwei Fei and her emperor did… He set the book aside. Slowly, his eyes drifted shut, and he snored quietly.
They snapped open when his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of screeching tires in the distance. They're here? He thought, amused. With a cocky smirk, he stood and headed to the top of the tower to begin his preparations.
Miyuki quietly padded down the swirling spiral stairs as she heard the front doors bust open and the loud screeching of Hakuryu's tires.
Hakkai looked around the dark room.
"It's awfully quiet isn't it? Almost unnaturally so…" He commented to the group solemnly.
"A trap maybe?" Gojyo added.
"It doesn't matter. Besides, even if it is a trap or something…" Sanzo trailed off.
"We have no choice but to go anyway," Hakkai finished with his fake smile.
"You got it!" Goku cried out excitedly.
Their gazes suddenly turned to her direction. Slowly, she stepped out of the stairs and bowed lowly to them. Gojyo's eyebrows furrowed with the mixed emotions and worry running through his head.
"Homura sends his warmest wishes and welcomes to you all," she greeted formally as she pulled out her incense and lit a stick on a nearby torch.
Sanzo cocked his gun with an echoing crick. Nonchalantly as she could despite the growing nervousness of his gun, she set down the burner and let the incense fill the room. Slowly, her youki grew, mixing in with the sweet scent that wafted to their noses. Slowly, she made her way to them. Sanzo followed her path with his gun as the others prepared their own weapons.
"I won't hurt you," she whispered quietly as she looked down on the floor. "I just want to know one thing though…"
They shot her suspicious looks. Suddenly, she looked up to them with glowing silver eyes.
"What is the one thing you want the most?"
Sanzo and the others' visions grew white.
"Gonou! Gonou!" a familiar voice called out, gently shaking his body. "Wake up! You're having a bad dream!"
Hakkai shot up and looked around frantically almost knocking Kanan in the head with his chi-firing positioned hands as he did so. His green eyes grew wide as he saw her sitting at his beside. Desperate hands reached out to her face, still unbelieving of his surroundings. He looked at her, his eyes running over her face and his hands savoring the warmth of her skin. It's her… it's really her… He thought as he let out a long sigh of relief at the fact that this illusion did not fade away as it so often did.
"Are you all right, Gonou? You were having a really bad dream…"
"A dream? It was all a dream? It felt awfully real… And you were… Hyakugan Mao…"
Kanan blinked, quietly wondering if he had lost a few marbles. Slowly, she nodded.
"Why don't I make you some tea? It will calm your nerves," she smiled, laughing. "And who's Hyakugan Mao?"
Hakkai shot her a surprised look.
"N-No one…" he replied unsurely as he rubbed his temple gently.
As he nodded, he looked around what seemed to be his and Kannan's room. He stood and made his way around touching everything and finding it all in its usual place. An uneasy feeling grew in his stomach. He turned to Kanan's vanity mirror and studied his reflection. His ears had no limiters, and his monocle was gone. He closed his left eye to find his right one, the damaged one, working perfectly. He blinked, slightly confused.
"You know!" She called out from the kitchen. "You were calling out something about a Sanzo, someone named Gojyo, and someone named Goku an awful lot. Maybe you've been reading that Journey to the West book too much again…"
The mentioned book sat on the kitchen table innocently. Her laughter ran through the small house as he walked to the kitchen with a slow nod. Kannan placed two tea cups on the small wooden table and sat down.
"Come, drink. It'll do your nerves some good," she laughed.
Hakkai stared into the familiar and loving green eyes that matched his own and sat down across from her with a smile. Yea… I guess it was all just a dream… He thought as a real smile grew on his face. Kanan's fingers trailed along the edge of the teacup as she and Hakkai chatted. Her eyes looked toward the knife on the counter from time to time.
As his nerves relaxed, Hakkai stood and made for the stove, looking at the silver teapot eagerly. Then, he stopped. He stared at the distorted images on the clean and shiny surface. He looked to Kanan's back, finding nothing. Then, to the teapot, he stared again. He let out a quiet heart sinking sigh. The black tail wagging in the reflection of the teapot made Hakkai's stomach dully ache. He looked to "Kanan" and rested his hands on her shoulders. Her once truthful eyes looked up to him, glowing with an inward smile.
"… It was a good dream, while it lasted…" He spoke quietly. "But I really must ask you to try and refrain from pulling such low tricks against me, Miyuki-san…"
"Kanan" laughed.
"What are you talking about, Gonou? Who is Miyuki?"
He picked up the familiarly hurtful knife on the counter. His false smile returned to his lips.
"Please don't make this harder than it already is… What I'm about to do hurts enough as it is…" He whispered painfully as he wrapped one hand around her shoulders.
"G-Gonou?" She stuttered as she saw the knife in his hand. "What are you doing?!"
"Just… ending a wonderful dream…" he smiled, positioning the knife at her neck and slowly began dragging it across her skin.
"Kanan" let out a scream as Hakkai's vision grew white once more.
Miyuki backed away from his form slowly, panting hard as she covered the shallow, bleeding wound with her hand. Bitterly, she chuckled to herself. He's good… Got to give him that… She thought as she stared at Hakkai's sleeping face one last time. Turning, her eyes settled at the next person sleeping in the jeep. Slowly, she leaned in with an amused grin. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Koryuu…"
Author's Note: For this part of the side story, it will flip back and forth from Gojun's present as he reminisces on what he and the other's went through. I'll keep that part in italics.
Nu Gua was supposedly a "Woman regenerating insect" who created the world by doing 70 transformations which made the earth and various parts of the cosmos. Her organs also then made 10 deities. Supposedly, she made the class system of the world by molding yellow clay into the shape of humans. When she got lazy, she began flicking the clay around to make something that was close enough resemblance to a human. Thus, the perfectly modeled pieces became the higher classes of humans while the flicked around pieces became merchants, peasants, and artisans.
Memories of a Life Gone By: Romancing the Memories pt. 17 The Path They Chose
He leaned over his desk, a quill running over the blank pages of a journal. One working eye followed his hand's movements across the page. The quill's soft scratching sound slowly faded as he buried himself in his memories of the recent events. The story I shall from this point on, perhaps only now I know it, the entire story of the path they chose. He wrote. The truth that I'll reveal…
Gojun continued to write with the world fading around him as he reminisced.
"Ha… ha… ha… ha…" Goku wheezed.
Megumi rushed into the room with a cloth and basin of water in her hands. Quickly, she dipped the cloth in the water preparing a compress for the feverish boy in the bed.
"Goku…" Konzen looked down on the boy a stoic and worried expression on his face. "Tenpou, Megumi do something! His fever's gone up, and if something isn't done…"
"Yes, yes I know!" Tenpou smiling hopefully as he rushed skimming through the books. "That's what I've been doing. Going through it all book by book, and from what I can figure out, Seiten Taisei Son Goku's power has overwhelmed his physical strength."
"Then we must undo the transformation..." Megumi murmured gravely as she pressed the cold compress on this face gently taking another cloth and dabbing the water around his hot skin.
"The only thing is..." Tenpou began. "I don't know how to."
Kenren walked in.
"Yo," he grinned winking childishly. "Everything's boarded up for the time being."
Megumi smiled.
"Many thanks," Tenpou added, briefly looking up from his pile of books.
"Just to make us all feel a little bit better," he smiled sitting down next to her as he placed a hand on her knee.
She blushed turning her head downward shyly.
"Oooh!" Tenpou smiled as he held up a book. "Why don't we try this next? We pump the blood of a goat right into Goku's stomach!"
"Are you trying to kill him?" Kenren asked flatly.
"Tenpou-san, why are you reading books called Black Magic for Fun?" Megumi asked sweat-dropping.
Tenpou smiled.
"You fools," a white scaled man muttered as he leaned against the wall.
"Now, now Gojun-san," Megumi smiled. "We're only trying to help him."
"Hence why you're all fools!" he cried. "You've made all of Heaven your enemy! You've protected Seiten Taisei Son Goku even though he caused all this trouble! You've taken me hostage! Nataku is dead by his own hand! Li Touten is out for your blood! The entire Western army is just waiting to storm this part of the castle!"
"Nataku was going to kill Goku!" Megumi cried before letting out a tired sigh. "It's not like we wanted any of this..."
Homura listened in on the conversation as he stepped out the aisles of Tenpou's library, skimming through a book. He glared at the white scaled dragon of the Western Seas.
The rebels – Tenpou Gensui, Kenren Taisho, Konzen Douji, Megumi, Homura… Other than these five names… the cause of all this, Seiten Taisei Son Goku, whom they fled the imperial palace with, under their protection. These guys made me, Dragon King of the Western Seas, a prisoner and occupied the southwest barracks, which also housed Tenpou Gensui's headquarters. They collected all the other residents of the barracks into one place and of course, confined them too as prisoners, too. It's been one night since the siege began. All around the building, waiting for the opportunity to come, are over two thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army…
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air at Gojun's words.
"Oh my… It's as if we're terrorists isn't it?" Tenpou chirped out cheerfully.
He and Kenren began to laugh.
"We are!" Kenren agreed enthusiastically.
"THIS ISN'T SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT!" Gojun barked angrily. "… Well what do you plan to do now?"
Tenpou lit up a cigarette.
"Well we'll figure something out," he replied casually.
I could see those words weren't spoken with true feelings. They weren't overzealous, stupid soldiers. With only four men – No, for those who could attend to battle potential, only two in this group, with nothing that they could do other than an act of suicide, it was obvious it was too late. But at that time, I… couldn't comprehend that.
Megumi's ears twitched at the sounds of the soldiers just waiting outside the barrack walls. She slowly stood and made her way to listen by the boarded window.
"Hmph! I always thought Tenpou and Kenren were eccentric."
"However you look at it, they're spoiled idiots."
"Ha-ha no kidding!"
"With the numbers we have, we don't have to ask the Eastern Army to come help!"
She furrowed her brow worriedly. Kenren stood and turned her to face him when he rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't you worry. You've got four big and strong men to get you out of here," he grinned cockily.
The thoughts of his that entered Megumi's head spoke otherwise. She plastered a grin on her face and let out a forced laugh.
"Please stop! You mustn't, Li Touten-sama!" a soldier begged, outside. "You still need to rest!"
Li Touten sent his fist flying back to the soldier's face, knocking him down easily.
"SHUT UP! Listen up everyone! On behalf of the Dragon King of the Western Seas I, Li Touten, will command all of you from this point onwards."
A maniacal grin grew on his face.
Slivers of soft moonlight drifted through the slits in the boards. Feral silver eyes stared out into the mass of soldiers as her claws scratched at the wood eagerly but lightly. Forcing herself to turn away, Megumi headed back to Goku's side. Around her, the others slept uneasily on the floor, couches, and chairs. She refreshed Goku's compress. With a quiet sigh, she leaned back into her chair as her eyes slowly began to grow heavy and flutter.
"Oi…"
A pair of crimson eyes looked down into her tired gold ones. She sat up and turned to Kenren. He held out his blanket with a smile. He motioned to a small prepared spot on the floor in a quiet corner.
"I'll watch him for a while. Get some sleep," he whispered.
"Do you really think any of us can or want to sleep at the moment?" she murmured back as she looked around the room, her silver eyes glowing.
Tenpou, Konzen, and Homura's eyes looked around the room, half opened in the darkness.
"She does have a point…" Homura called out quietly as he sat up from his spot on the floor.
She let out a tired chuckle as Kenren draped the blanket around her shoulders. Standing and dusting off his white lab coat nonchalantly, Tenpou prepared a few candles and lit a lantern. Homura straightened himself and adjusted the blanket around his hips, picking up a book and skimming the pages afterwards. Konzen quickly made his way to Goku's wheezing side.
Then, Homura's mismatched eyes blinked curiously as he stopped at a page. Eagerly, he read. With casual curiosity, Tenpou walked over and peered over his shoulder.
"Ah," he chuckled. "That's the story of how Nu Gua created the world."
The others looked up, expecting him to continue.
"Supposedly, within seventy transformations, Nu Gua made every part of the earth and the cosmos and formed humans out of yellow clay."
Homura smiled amusedly at the story before looking around the room at the restless, worried faces. Gojun sat, bound and glaring at his captors. Slowly, his mind drifted back to thoughts of Rinrei.
"Why must the heavens do this to us? We have done nothing wrong. What makes us so horrible because of our golden eyes?" he rambled as he looked down at the book in his hands.
Megumi let out a sigh as she walked over to Goku and checked the heat of his fever and the compress on his head.
"Well it's not like we can go out and make a new world, Homura," she replied. "There will always be pains in living whether you're a god, heretic, or the average human or youkai."
"Ch. I'll agree to that. If you could make a perfect world, I'd join," Kenren commented casually grinning as he lit up a cigarette.
"Ha-ha, me too," Tenpou laughed sarcastically, lighting up his own cigarette.
Konzen snorted, rolling his eyes, refusing to betray his thoughts. In Homura's eyes, the spark intrigue lit up as though the seeds of an idea had been freshly planted into his head. A smile grew on his face. I'll take that challenge… He thought, determined. I'll make it so that all of us can live in peace and without worry… Would you like that Rinrei? When it's done, I'll take you there too… He turned back to the book on his hands, wondering how his plan could come to fruition.