Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction / Saiyuki Reload Fan Fiction / Saiyuki Reload Gunlock Fan Fiction ❯ Cho Hakkai: Murderer? ❯ Chapter 8

Cho Hakkai: Murderer?

 

Chapter 8

 

 

A door to the right opened and the sheriff entered with Hakkai, handcuffed. Gojyo watched his lover and best friend walk to the small table and sit down, while the sheriff remained standing behind him. His face still bore bruises from the beating the day before, although it looked as though someone had made efforts to get the swelling down.

 

Gojyo's anger was dangerously near to blowing at any minute, and he had to close his eyes and force himself to breathe calmly to stop himself from doing something stupid. He opened his eyes again and watched Hakkai. His friend wore a solemn expression, but with a touch of uncertainty.

 

Hakkai's eyes had been resting on nothing in particular when he entered and sat down, but now their eyes met. Gojyo looked into those troubled green eyes and tried with all his might to let the love he felt be seen by Hakkai, as well as a promise that they were not going to let him hang. “You didn't do it,” he mouthed to his lover. He had promised Hakkai he would find out if he had committed the murders, and he hoped he could make Hakkai understand that they had found out he was not guilty.

 

Hakkai frowned. He seemed to understand, but the glint of uncertainty was still there. Gojyo could see his friend was not convinced. How could he be? He did not know anything of what the others had found out.

 

The judge watched Hakkai intently. “The usual procedure is to let the accused swear, by a family member's life, to tell the truth. You don't have any family here, but I believe you care a lot for a certain Sha Gojyo. Are you willing to swear by his life that you are going to tell me the truth?” she asked.

 

Hakkai looked at Gojyo, then at the judge, and nodded. “I swear.”

 

The judge accepted that and continued. “You're name is Cho Hakkai?”

 

“Yes,” answered Hakkai in a clear but slightly strained voice.

 

“You are charged with the murders of Feng Tai and Lee Jin. Do you admit these crimes?” the judge asked, catching Hakkai's eyes and watching him closely as she awaited the answer.

 

Gojyo was surprised. The way the judge observed Hakkai made it look as though she was not one hundred percent certain of his guilt. For the first time he felt a small glimmer of hope.

 

“I did not kill those two boys,” Hakkai answered, his eyes not wavering from the judge's intent stare, but there was a small trembling in his voice that probably did not go unnoticed by the jury or the judge.

 

“So,” the judge stated, leaning back in her chair, “you say you didn't do it.” She paused and read some more in the book in front of her. “Well, isn't it true that Feng and Lee accused you of having a forbidden homosexual relationship?”

 

“Yes, they did.” Hakkai's answer was careful.

 

“Tell me, was their accusation true?”

 

Hakkai looked surprised, and Gojyo frowned. “Is that important for the trial?” Hakkai asked cautiously.

 

“Yes. Answer the question,” the judge demanded.

 

“The accusation is true,” Hakkai answered, and looked over to Gojyo. The half-breed at first was a bit surprised by Hakkai's look, but he realized that the whole town already knew about their relationship and that nothing good could come from denying it. Gojyo knew that with this look Hakkai was trying to show that he did not intend to hide anything.

 

“I see,” came the calm answer from the judge. “You realize that your relationship with this other man also will be considered when the jury decides on the verdict?”

 

“I don't see what those two things have to do with each other.” Hakkai got a dangerous look in his eyes, and Gojyo cringed. Hopefully it was only he, who knew Hakkai so well, who could see the threat in the youkai's eyes. To him it was a clear signal of how tense Hakkai was.

 

“Hakkai, get a grip,” he thought. “We won't let them do anything to you, so don't make things worse. This judge might actually give you a fair trial. Don't ruin it by showing your dangerous side. Just show them your nice, gentle side, the one that looks like you couldn't hurt a fly.”

 

The judge acted like she had not heard Hakkai's last words. Instead she continued, “How did you react when they accused you of loving another male?”

 

Hakkai looked startled, and Gojyo was getting angry again. What sort of freak show was this? Maybe the judge was not as open-minded as she had seemed to be, after all. He gained a bigger understanding of the boys' actions. Living in a town like this, trying to hide their love, must be a fucking misery. There were a lot of things you could say about Sanzo, but at least he did not give a shit about what he and Hakkai did, as long as it did not interfere with their mission.

 

Hakkai seemed to have caught on to Gojyo's thought and was now smiling gently at the judge.

 

“The truth is,” he started, “that I felt a little embarrassed.”

 

“Are you embarrassed over the fact that you love a man?” the judged asked.

“No, of course not.” Hakkai answered calmly, and Gojyo could not help but feel a little bit relieved. Some part of him had been afraid that Hakkai really was embarrassed about loving him. “Only over the fact that they saw us,” a faint blush colored Hakkai's cheeks, “and that they reacted so strongly.”

 

“A-ha.” The judge looked thoughtful. “Is it true that at the inn, later that night, Lee Jin hit you in the groin, and you told your friends that you would deal with it later?”

 

Hakkai said cautiously, “Jin? Yes, he did. When it happened I didn't know his name, but I found out later, when I talked to them.” He looked seriously at the judge. “That's what I meant by dealing with it later. I wanted to talk to them about their bigotry, make them understand…” he trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

 

The questioning went on. Gojyo sat in his chair, watching and listening as the judge went over, in detail, exactly what had happened that night. She jumped in time, back and forth, probably in an attempt to catch Hakkai with an inconsistency. Hakkai told her everything, and never faltered in answering. But when she questioned him about the events inside the boys' house, he hesitated slightly. Gojyo knew it was because he did not trust his memories. He provided the answers, but his hesitation did not look good. Gojyo also noticed that Hakkai never mentioned the fact that the boys themselves were in love with each other.

 

When the judge had finished asking Hakkai about all he could remember from that night, she turned to the audience. “I believe there is a witness who is prepared to testify against Cho Hakkai. Please step forward, Shen Tomi.”

 

Gojyo heard someone rise and saw the girl who had meddled with their memories walk up in front of the judge.

 

“You are quite new in this town, Tomi-san,” the judge said. “You've only been living with us for a year. During this time, you've become a valuable member of this society as our healer, but you still haven't got a family to swear by. As a healer, are you willing to swear by the life of the newborn baby you helped deliver three days ago, at the Qu's household, that you are going to tell the truth?”

 

“I swear,” Tomi agreed.

 

“Tell me what happened on the night of the murders,” the judge demanded, and Tomi nodded.

 

“Tai-san had a wounded leg that I had been taking care of the last few weeks. I went to their house at the same hour as always to help him. When I was almost there, I saw this man leave the house and walk to the park.” She pointed at Hakkai. “I didn't think much about it since I hadn't heard about his forbidden relationship yet. Anyway, I knocked at the door, but didn't get any answer. After I had knocked a few times, and still no one opened the door, I started to think this was strange. They should be home, I had seen that man walking out of the door, closing it behind him. So I opened the door and called their names. Still no one answered. I walked in and got a terrible shock. In the living room, both of them lay in their own blood. I rushed over to them to see if I could help, but it was too late. I was in great shock, but I think it was only a couple of minutes before I ran to the sheriff and told him about it.”

 

Gojyo was furious. He seriously hoped that the newborn Tomi had sworn by would not be hurt due to all this lying. It was disgusting that she had sworn by a newborn when she had absolutely no intention of telling the truth. He itched to stand up and shout that she was lying.

 

“How long a time passed between your seeing Cho Hakkai leave the house and your entering it yourself?” the judge asked.

 

“Oh, not long,” Tomi answered. “maybe two minutes, max three.”

 

“Is it possible that anyone else could have committed the murder during those minutes?”

 

“No, I would have seen if anyone else had entered or left,” said Tomi.

 

“What if there already was someone inside, who murdered the boys after Cho Hakkai had left, but before you entered,” the judge prodded.

 

“I don't think that's very likely.” Tomi came as close to snorting as she could without actually doing it.

 

“I hope the judge caught that,” thought Gojyo.

 

“Likely or not, is there a possibility that that is what happened?”

 

“I suppose,” answered Tomi somewhat unwillingly; but as she did she cast a glance at Gojyo, and more than one in the hall followed her look.

 

“Oh, shit, just what I need,” thought Gojyo, “more suspicions on me. Great. Just fucking great.”

 

The judge asked Tomi a few more questions, more to Tomi's liking, and she answered them with a false concern for the boys written on her face. None of the questions were unexpected by the Sanzo party, and all seemed to point to Hakkai as the murderer. The question about Cho Hakkai being the same as the mass-murderer Cho Gonou was not raised. Gojyo suspected the reason was that the sheriff had believed Sanzo when he had said they were not the same. Tomi had probably not told him exactly how she knew about Hakkai being Gonou. If she had, the question about her seeking revenge might have come up, and she would not have wanted that. Shit, if Sanzo had told the sheriff from the start that he was sure Hakkai had not done this, then maybe the sheriff would have let him go… No, the evidence against Hakkai was quite overwhelming, Gojyo had to admit.

 

Tomi had returned to her seat, and the judge again looked at the audience. “Is there anyone here willing to testify for Cho Hakkai's innocence?” she asked.

 

“I am.” Gojyo rose immediately, without thinking. Sanzo shot him a glare, but he ignored it.

 

The judge frowned. “No, that wouldn't be appropriate. You can't be expected to be impartial, not when Cho Hakkai's life is at stake. I will not allow you to testify. Sit down. Anyone else?”

 

A murmur was heard, as the people who were gathered in the big hall started to whisper to each other. Clearly no one had anything to say in favor of Hakkai.

 

“Dammit, kappa,” Sanzo whispered, taking advantage of the noise in the hall to tell the half-breed what he thought. Rather brusquely he pulled Gojyo down onto the chair. “What were you thinking? You couldn't say anything that would help him now.”

 

“I could have told them he had spent the night with me, and that the fucking, lying girl must have seen someone else,” Gojyo hissed.

 

“And you think they would have believed you?” Sanzo asked angrily. “Idiot, they would only think you knew that he really did it and that you were trying to cover for him. Damn, try to think before you act!”

 

Gojyo did not answer. He knew Sanzo was right, but he was not going to tell him that. “Then why don't you testify yourself, your holiness? Everybody is bound to believe a monk as holy as you, aren't they?”

 

Sanzo answered indifferently. “No, they won't. I think the sheriff is the only one in this town that truly believes me to be as fucking holy as I'm supposed to be. I heard a lot of talking, when I visited the town earlier. A lot of people have heard me swear, seen me gamble and smoke, and they wouldn't think I was beyond lying either.”

 

Goku was sitting on the edge of his chair, biting his lip. “Sshh, quiet,” he whispered to silence them as the noise in the hall faded away.

 

“Since no one - ,” the judge started, but was interrupted.

 

“I'll testify.” It was Goku's voice. Both Gojyo and Sanzo watched, surprised, as Goku walked over to the judge. “I swear by Sanzo's life to tell the truth, because he is the one that means the most to me,” he stated seriously.

 

The judge nodded. “Go ahead. What do you have to say?”

 

“Well,” Goku started, “I have known Hakkai for four years, and he's not the kind of person that would kill innocent people. I can't say I haven't seen him kill, because I have, but that has only been in self-defense when we've been attacked, or to save other people, when they were attacked, and it's not like he enjoys it. Hakkai is the one that takes care of us all. He heals our wounds and nurses us when we are sick; he cooks our meals when we have to eat outdoors. Hakkai is a caring kind of man, not a killer.”

 

He took a deep breath and cast a glance that had a shade of uncertainty in it at Hakkai. It looked like he was about to say something he was only guessing at. “I don't know what happened that night, in the house where those boys lived, but I know Hakkai, and I know he didn't kill them. I just heard that one of the boys had a wounded leg. That made me wonder if Hakkai didn't heal that leg for him. He's that kind of guy. Not killing people because of their petty bigotry, but helping them.” He turned to Hakkai. “Did you heal that boy's leg, Hakkai?” he asked in a low voice.

 

Hakkai nodded slowly. “Yes.” He sounded like he just had remembered. “Yes, I did.” He looked at the judge. “I healed his leg. You can check it. Why would I heal anyone I was going to kill?”

 

Gojyo looked at Goku. Never again would he call the boy a brainless monkey. Goku was a genius. First he turned the audience to feel sympathy for Hakkai, and then he actually made a hole in the evidence against him. Gojyo was utterly surprised. He had had no idea Goku had the ability to think like that.

 

His sense of victory vanished, however, when he saw the expression on the judge's face. “Unfortunately we can't check that,” she said. “The remains of the boys were burned this morning. The jury may therefore not take that part of the testimony under consideration.” She turned back to Goku. “Take your seat, boy,” she said coldly.

 

Goku hung his head and went back to sit beside Sanzo.

 

Gojyo could not believe this judge. One moment it looked like she was impartial, and the next she acted like she was as convinced of Hakkai's guilt as everybody else.

 

“Is there anybody else?” the judge asked a last time, not even looking up. Clearly she didn't expect anyone else to testify.

 

“I have something to say,” said a voice from the back of the hall. Gojyo turned and saw an old man standing near the door. The man walked to the judge. “I swear by my daughter's life to tell the truth,” he stated, and then turned to the audience. The judge said nothing, only nodded at his oath. Gojyo saw the expressions on the jury members' faces, and understood this man to be a well respected one in this town.

 

“I don't know if this young man murdered Tai-kun and Jin-kun,” he started. “But there are some things that I think need to be added to this story. First,” he faced the jury and firmly stated, “Cho Hakkai's sexual preferences have nothing to do with whether he committed these murders or not. Second…” This time he swept his eyes round the hall until he found Tomi. ”Tomi-san has been here for a year. She's been of great help to us.” He paused and looked over the audience. “But there is one thing I wanted to bring up about her. When Tomi-san first came to this town, and until a short time ago, she rented a room in my house. There were many nights when she did not come home, even though I knew her healing skills weren't needed on those nights. I didn't think much about it; a young girl must be allowed to have her little secrets. But one morning recently she came home while I was eating breakfast. She was very upset, and I offered her a cup of tea, which she accepted. I asked her a few questions to make her understand I was willing to listen if she wanted to talk. Suddenly tears started to fall down her cheeks, but I could see she was more angry than sad. `He ruined my life, he took everything away from me. He's going to pay for it,' she said, and then she disappeared into her room. Now,” he turned back to the jury again. “I don't know if this has anything to do with the young man sitting over there,” he nodded at Hakkai, “and I wouldn't have said anything if this wasn't such a serious matter; but I wanted this to be known, too, before the jury decided on the verdict.”

 

“Thank you, Heng-san,” the judge told him. “Do you deny saying this?” she then asked Tomi.

 

Tomi had paled, and to Gojyo it looked like she was weighing the options before she answered. “No, I don't deny it, but I was very upset when I said that, and it really didn't mean anything. It was just something I said because I was angry. And it certainly had nothing to do with Cho Hakkai.”

 

The judge nodded again and wrote something in the book.

 

Gojyo looked at the jury. To his surprise most of them now had very thoughtful expressions, not at all the stern faces of people convinced about the suspected's guilt, as they had had when they had entered the hall. It looked like Goku's and the old man's testimonies at least had made some of them reconsider. He felt his hope increasing. All he wanted to do now was to let Hakkai know about what they had found out.

 

“There will now be an hour's break while the jury talks this over. Then they will inform us of their decision.” The judge turned to the jury. “Remember, if you are not convinced of his guilt, you are bound to vote `not guilty.' Two-thirds of the votes need to be `guilty' or `not guilty' for the jury to claim his guilt or innocence.” With that the judge left the room, then everybody else rose and headed for the door.

 

The sheriff pulled Hakkai's arm to make him rise, but before Hakkai could make a move, Gojyo ran to him. “Hakkai,” he said hurriedly, “we know you didn't do it. We're sure. We know who did, but they won't believe us if we-”.

 

He was interrupted by one of the sheriff's men who had rushed over to draw him away from Hakkai. The sheriff looked icily at Gojyo. “You were forbidden to speak with him. Give me one good reason why you shouldn't be put in jail because of this, half-breed.” He smirked. “Take him away,” he told the man holding Gojyo.

 

Gojyo did not know what to do. He could easily fight the man off, but what would happen if he did? It would certainly not help Hakkai, and he would have to run and not be able to see what happened to his friend. Hakkai was certainly not going to fight his way out of this, that much he understood, and if he had read the expressions on the jury's faces right, he would not have to. But he wouldn't be able to see what happened if he let the sheriff arrest him, either. Dammit, he could not think clearly when it came to Hakkai. He always acted on his feelings before his brain had a chance to think.

 

“Let him go,” demanded a cold voice behind them. Sanzo's. “He won't do it again.”

 

The sheriff looked uncertainly at Sanzo. His thoughts were clear on his face. He wanted to put Gojyo in jail, but he was afraid to do anything against the will of the holy man. He struggled with himself. “Alright,” he said after a moment. “But, he must wear these.” He took up a pair of handcuffs, and looked at Sanzo for approval. Gojyo would have laughed at the sheriff's worshipping of Sanzo if he had not been so frustrated.

 

Sanzo nodded with a grim expression. “Put them on, and give me the key.” His voice was like steel.

 

The sheriff gave the handcuffs to the man holding Gojyo, and the key to Sanzo, without even hesitating about it.

 

Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Gojyo let the man cuff his hands together.

 

Hakkai looked first at Sanzo. “Thanks,” he said to the monk. Then he caught Gojyo's eyes with his own. Gojyo thought he could drown in those eyes. “And thanks, Gojyo,” Hakkai said and smiled. “It's nice to know.” His shoulders had relaxed after Gojyo had told him they were sure he had not committed the murders.

 

“Shut up,” the sheriff said brusquely. He tightened his grip around Hakkai's arm so hard that Gojyo could see the pain in Hakkai's eyes. He hoped the sheriff would not take out on Hakkai his frustration over being manipulated to do Sanzo's will.

 

The sheriff walked away with Hakkai, taking him back to the cell. Or rather dragging him, since Hakkai had stumbled when he tried to follow the sheriff's pushing and pulling on his arm. The sheriff's man checked that Gojyo's handcuffs were locked properly, and then glanced at the key in Sanzo's hand. He opened his mouth to say something, but hastily closed it again at Sanzo's cold glare. Instead he followed the sheriff out of the building.

 

“Thanks, monk,” Gojyo said. “But, why did you help me?”

 

“Ch, I didn't do it for you. It's just not convenient to have you locked in jail. When this is over, Hakkai wouldn't want to leave without you, and I don't want to lose more time getting your sorry ass out.”

 

Gojyo grinned at him. “Of course not, your holiness.”

 

In spite of the damned handcuffs, he felt much better. Now that Hakkai knew they were convinced of his innocence, maybe he would not hesitate to fight for his freedom if it came to that. But he doubted that would be necessary. And Sanzo had calmly stated, “When this is over, Hakkai wouldn't want…”. Heh, Sanzo had probably seen the jury members' expressions, too.

 

They walked outside and sat down on a bench close to the prison. Sanzo took out his cigarettes and lit up one. Gojyo played absentmindedly with the short chains on the cuffs, and then addressed the young man beside him. “Thanks, Goku.”

 

“For what?” Goku looked bewildered.

 

“For your testimony,” Gojyo answered.

 

Goku looked miserable. “But it didn't help.”

 

“I think it might have.” Gojyo was serious. “Some of the jury members looked like they were going to vote `not guilty'. It may not all be because of you, but together with that old man's speech, it might have done the trick.”

 

“Really?” Goku beamed, and Gojyo grinned at him.

 

“Yeah, really.”

 

He looked over the square. The sight of the platform with its constructions was unnerving, and he tried to ignore it. He managed to get out his own package of cigarettes and put one of the sticks in his mouth. It was harder to take up his lighter, and he had to struggle a while before he could light up and finally inhale the smoke from the cigarette. He leaned back against the wall behind him and sighed. The sun was shining, it was pleasantly warm, and the people around them looked a little less hostile. At least some of them. He changed his thoughts when he got a glare filled with animosity from an old man passing by their bench. But there were more uncertain faces now than before, even if some still looked like they wanted to beat the shit out of him.

 

The minutes ticked by slowly. None of them felt like talking, and Gojyo started to feel nervous again. He had just finished his fourth cigarette when Sanzo declared it was time for them to return to the court hall if they were going to get the same seats as previously. Again they crossed the square. This time there were fewer punches than before, a clear sign of the uncertainty people felt.

 

When they reached the door, they were allowed to go inside and take their seats. The other people followed. After a couple of minutes the judge entered, and the hall went quiet. “Bring in Cho Hakkai,” she ordered, and the sheriff entered with Hakkai.

 

Gojyo saw that Hakkai was still frowning a bit. Knowing him so well, Gojyo could see that his friend still had doubts. Shit, Gojyo knew that even if Hakkai believed him when he said he was innocent of these murders, these events had brought up all his guilt for what he had done before, and he could only hope the jury had not noticed and misinterpreted this.

 

The jury entered and took their seats. Six men and six women, and Gojyo thought they must all be great poker players. He could not interpret the verdict from a single one of them, and that was strange. That was one of his advantages when gambling, that he had the ability to correctly interpret the most expressionless faces. Maybe he could not do it this time because of his anxiety.

 

The judge looked at the jury. “Tell me your decision,” she demanded.

 

One by one the jury members rose and declared what they had voted.

 

“Guilty.”

 

“Guilty.”

 

“Not guilty.”

 

“Not guilty.”

 

“Guilty.”

 

When all in the jury had told their decision, Gojyo had counted seven `guilty' and five `not guilty', and he felt like he could jump up and start dancing and singing with joy. The votes had not reached two-thirds for `guilty.' That meant Hakkai would be set free! Goku's speech had done it! Oh, he was going to treat that little monkey to as many meat buns and dumplings as he could possibly eat. Gojyo's emotions were overflowing until he suddenly realized that the hall was, strangely, still quiet. No sounds that showed people were happy about the verdict or that they disliked it. He looked around. All faces held an expectant expression, as though the verdict wasn't settled. What the…? Gojyo turned back to watch Hakkai. His friend was sitting rigidly, staring at the judge; apparently he knew what was going on.

 

The judge cleared her throat. “Seven jury members believe you are guilty, five that you are not, Cho Hakkai,” she began. “As you know, the verdict isn't valid unless two-thirds of the jury's members vote for the same decision. In unclear cases like this, the verdict is decided by the judge.”

 

Gojyo gasped. The judge was to decide the verdict? He hadn't known that. He had been so sure the ordeal was over. Come on, tell us already, he thought. He could not let go of the small hope that the judge would decide on `not guilty.'

 

Again the judge read in her book. When she looked up again, she stated, “I find Cho Hakkai guilty of the murders of Feng Tai and Lee Jin. He will be flogged with 20 lashes and then hanged by his neck. The punishments will be carried out as soon as ready!”

 

 

TBC