Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson Craving ❯ Part Five ( Chapter 5 )

Crimson Craving 5

Mrs. Rusalki

Standard disclaimers apply.

Kougaiji stared up at his ceiling in a daze. Several questions tore at him and it didn't look as if they'd be behaving properly soon. A week had passed in similar fashion, him in deep thought and on a hair-trigger for each summon of his stepmother. He was hard-pressed to make a decision despite the two-week long allowance Gyokumen had generously given him. Beyond that time frame, there was no saying what Yaone's state of being would be.

He was beginning to think that life was really mad at him for some unknown reason. If he weren't agnostic, he'd have thought that he had angered the gods up there by mistake. (Didn't they?) These things should be happening to Gyokumen Koushou and Doctor Nii! They were the ones trying to revive his heretic of a father, Gyuumao. He was just an unwilling pawn in this game of heaven and earth. It was just so damned unfair…

But then again what was fair?

Being on a rescue mission for a subordinate didn't really bother him but it did bother him, deeply in fact, that he felt greatly compelled to do so. Now if he were bothered to feel this, then the problem shouldn't be attributed to Gyokumen Koushou. Perhaps it was princely pride or just another man's claim for independence but he wasn't too glad to admit that he needed Yaone. She was one of the two of his most loyal followers and he knew by experience that the woman would unconditionally lay her life down for him. So if the mission was dangerous and she accepted it for Kougaiji's sake-and it didn't take long for him to figure this out-wasn't it rational to respect her abilities to complete the mission by herself in order to escape complications that Gyokumen was capable of? Surely, Gyokumen had predicted his anxiety over Yaone's absence so she could blackmail him into sleeping with her.

'Damned cunning fox,' he thought bitterly. He also had major misgivings about Gyokumen's openness with sensitive issues such as her need for sex. He doubted very much that it was just about sex and that bit about him being the person most like Gyuumao… he thought it was a load of bullshit.

And it wasn't flattering at all, not the least bit. On the contrary, it was very degrading to be put in as his father or Dr. Nii's fucking substitute.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. Who was he kidding? He could hate this affair all he wanted but he really had no choice in the matter. Closing eyes, he tried to imagine Gyokumen's clammy, pale and clawed hands on his skin and he shuddered in revulsion. "I better get this over with and soon."

+++

Goku and Hakkai were out during the past two days. They searched every nook and cranny of the nearby villages for a cure to Sanzou's illness. So far they have found out who the local distributor of the fruits was and they were on their way to the given address with Jeep. It felt strange only having Goku as a companion. Not that Hakka was complaining. No, of course not! Goku had the most interesting and often humorous observations to keep him in a slightly lighter mood. It was rather invigorating to be out in the open so to speak. The air in the inn was polluted by the screams of ecstasy from the other room, and the smell of sweat and other bodily juices. He didn't want to be away from them but he had to trust Gojyo's abilities to pacify Sanzou.

"Gojyo…"

"Huh?" asked a confused Goku. "Gojyo's not here, Hakkai."

Hakkai scratched the back of his head; a faint pink tint stained his cheeks. "Ah, sumimasen! I was just thinking of something…"

Goku realized that there was more to it than a simple bout of forgetfulness but being the carefree kid that he was, he let it pass. Lately, Hakkai had been more reserved, speaking only when necessary and reacting in a variety of odd ways when Sanzou or Gojyo's name had been mentioned. No doubt, he felt responsible for the well-being of his comrades because he was the only one sane enough to handle the situation… not that his sanity, or his patience even, felt like they were as durable as they had been before.

He hated it when Gojyo would come to meals with those horribly dark rings under his eyes that gave him a tiredly haunted expression. There were more changes about him whose sources Hakkai could guess at very well.

One of the changes in him was the sudden disappearance of his jab-laden remarks. This happened around breakfast of the fourth day. He came within an arm's length of a pensive Hakkai and as if electrified, he backed away, stumbling on his path. He righted himself but not before giving his usual confidante a pleading look. He bolted for the stairs, muttering hardly coherent excuses about Sanzou and the bathroom.

They reached a rundown hut with a store in front. It was closed but that didn't mean they wouldn't try to get the owner to come out. Their troubles were critical and they needed to get them fixed as soon as possible. They had already wasted enough time dawdling in the inn waiting for Sanzou to calm down. They had also been running around in circles in an attempt to find out who could tell them the cure for Sanzou's illness. So far, no one even knew whether there was a cure or not. But after all the chicken runs they had managed, he had a good feeling about this hut.

He rapped his knuckles lightly on the door. A young man, barely over his twenties opened it with sleep bleary eyes. They were invited inside for a couple of minutes after he had discreetly shown the credit card and sure enough, thanks to Hakkai's mastery of the gentle art of persuasion, the two of them walked out the door looking like harlequins that just got laid. Hakkai's smile if possible was wider than Goku's because this also presented another good omen for him. There was no longer any reason for Gojyo to avoid him. He was going to make sure of it.

+++

Sanzou lay on his side, facing Gojyo. The soft snores rising from his chest were proof of his undeniably sated state. He was amazing eye candy… that Gojyo couldn't deny and he was an incredible fuck-mate too if depravity was in control. However, after a week of senseless and mostly selfish bedtime carnalities, he was almost ready to retire on his sex life. Sure, Sanzou had pleased him several times in several ways and had just about juiced every bit of sex drive out of him but it was true that even Sha Gojyo, man-whore extraordinaire had his limits. He was not suited to the vagary of Sanzou's ways! Neither was he some machine that just needed proper lubrication, push the red button and voila! I'm harder than ever! He needed his space, his cigarettes (this Sanzou didn't touch in the duration of his insanity), women (for variety's sake), liquor and a list of other necessities that were impossible to do with a monk clinging to his arm and was constantly feeding him gross images. Heck, the only thing missing was Sanzou holding his dick while he was pissing.

Now that was a thought. It was about time to put those fumbling hands to good use.

He smirked at his acerbic humor. He was convinced that Sanzou wasn't his only problem. Well, he was connected to it at least. Gojyo finally made sense of the final string of words that troubled his slumber. Apparently, the woman-the latest one he had slept with and if he was traumatized to the point of celibacy, possibly the last-was apparently someone who was making a living out of chants and curses. He understood that he was to become a sort of human feeler but he didn't realize that it was going to get worse.

Gojyo who was usually armed with his steadfast faith for his luck could hardly make heads and tails, much less believe that he was cursed to become a literally progressive empathic sort of freak. Sanzou's connection with his 'disease' was simply their sexual affair. If anything, it was like the anti-medicine to it. The more sex they had, the larger Gojyo's radius for empathy became. And just like a TV antenna, the closer it got to the station, the sharper the details of the other's thoughts became. He become conscious of it when he sneaked down for a quick breakfast a few days ago while Sanzou-fucking-sama was still asleep.

Gojyo was pretty sure he hadn't touched Hakkai. He was standing at the landing of the stairs, looking at Gojyo with a welcoming smile and a clearly worried expression. He returned the smile with a trademark grin, sensing the dirty feeling of sexing an insane man flutter away slowly. Here was a friend, ready to accept him no matter how many times he had intercourse, or changed positions the night before. Two steps down the stairs, and he saw with disturbing clarity himself and Sanzou entangled in each other's limbs, moaning desperately against each other's shoulder. He stopped in his tracks, realizing that his smell probably triggered the response from Hakkai who usually didn't voice his private opinions. Gojyo instinctively knew it was from him and despite the rational explanation behind Hakkai's conjuring of such vivid pictures, he felt betrayed and he half stumbled and half walked his way back upstairs.

Once back in his and Sanzou's room, he headed straight to the bathroom, stripped for a bath and began to scrub his body briskly, causing red marks to appear on his skin. They burned his body terribly and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why his eyes had begun to burn too. He turned the shower on high heat and let the scalding trails it left numb him. It hurt to know that such thoughts were directed towards him. Hakkai's opinion mattered to him profoundly.

Four days had passed and he and Hakkai hadn't exchanged more than a couple of words. He did the avoiding mostly, foolishly afraid of Hakkai's real opinions about him. Goku voluntarily brought lunch and dinner for Sanzou and him. Sanzou ignored the boy which made Gojyo want to slap the already insane man silly. Of course Sanzou's reactions couldn't be helped but it gave comfort to the redhead that he was pretty sure that Goku had received plenty of assurance from Hakkai already. He seemed quite content to see his keeper well… this Gojyo knew with resounding evidence.

Those two of course hadn't caught up yet to Gojyo's problem. They just assumed that he was suffering dreadful panic attacks because of Sanzou's tantrums. He also decided that it was best not to worry them further, already sensing Hakkai's melancholy and Goku's restlessness. All right, so Goku wouldn't really care much if he had found out that he could decipher others' thoughts. He'd probably even think it was a cool ability. Besides, weren't Sanzou and meat buns the only entities that usually occur to him? It was Hakkai that became his cause for apprehension. Last time he checked, the guy looked as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his skinny shoulders.

Poor misled redhead, little did he know that Hakkai's cause of sadness fell outside the bounds of Sanzou's state of mental health.

+++

"Propoxur, Cyfluthrin, concentrated Preventol…" she muttered softly as she read the labels of the bottles inside the laboratory. Contrary to her preconceptions, the old palace contained a decent and modern laboratory. All of the chemicals and specimens were well-kept and the place was well-provided for too. Tools were lined up in glass sliding cabinets that stood against the wall. Everything was within her reach without the aid of a stepladder or a stool.

Hayel, the head of the servants in the household guarded her warily but not close enough to cause discomfort. He instructed her about the usage of complicated-looking contraptions that he said were required by Doctor Nii during his short stays there. Ah, Doctor Nii… she still wasn't sure why he had to be there in the first place. Tao Yung's riddle had been incredibly vague.

By now, Yaone should feel the pressure of the job but the pleasant site of the whole palace so unlike that of Houtou castle rendered her a calm, breezy feeling. She was doing this for her master, Kougaiji. If worse comes to worst, she wouldn't regret anything knowing that her prince was safe at home pursuing his more important ends. Her feelings for Kougaiji were well-established and she knew it deep within her. She had no reason to deny it to herself.

She was attracted to his gallant appeal, fierce determination, and beautiful features but most of all, she was hopelessly drawn to his caring nature towards his friends and loved ones.

He was incomparable. Starting from the day that he had saved her from the peril of her own knife, she realized that there was no other place for her in this accursed world but under his service. It was martyr's talk but she felt that she wanted to give all that she could to her prince as long as it was for his happiness.

Her girlish and romantic dreams about him couldn't be dismissed either. Sometimes, the yearning became too much that it caused pain but gentle and appreciative glances thrown at her way from her master gave her the tiniest bit of hope. Those wonderful maybe's and probably's kept her awake most of the night. Kougaiji was a man after all and Yaone's physical appearance-in youkai and human standards alike-was a touch above the provocatively attractive mark.

She sighed as she remembered a moment that she would surely treasure until her brains were still within her skull. She took down the almost full bottle of Propoxur and laid it before her on the table, the waves within it started settling down slowly. Her hands intuitively placed themselves on the edge of the lab table to steady her body. Oh, but the memories of that wacky night lingered! Kougaiji and Dokugakuji had just finished a most immature drinking contest that left the two of them inebriated. She had assisted a considerably heavier Kougaiji to his chambers; the warmth of his skin and the dank smell of alcohol so close to her while they wobbled along the dark corridors of the castle.

They entered his unlit room and she counted the steps to the bed. She believed that she had settled him comfortably on it when a hand gently pulled her down with enough force to make her sit on the edge. There was suddenly a soft brush of pliant flesh against the nape of her neck but before she could assure herself that it was her prince, he had already fallen on his back on top of the mattresses, snoring loudly. There was no way that she could've dreamt the touch. She felt it as certain as she loved Kougaiji.

"Yaone-san!" someone called. He walked to her direction and tapped her on the shoulder. She was shook out of her daydream so unexpectedly that she failed to stifle a gasp.

"Ah, oh… gomen nasai," she apologized. A heavy shade of crimson overwhelmed her features that her face almost looked like a fresh tomato.

Hayel smiled knowingly. "The master wants to see you. He is at his chambers."

+++

"What did you fucking give him?" Gojyo asked from his bed which was on the far side of the room. The expletive was present but there was no menace in his tone. It was simply a constant member of Gojyo's speech. His voice drowned out the horrible gurgling and burbling noises from the bathroom.

Goku sat down on Sanzou's bed, a couple of meters away from Gojyo's and then he shrugged. "The guy told us it was a medicine so Hakkai mixed it in his food."

Gojyo nodded and smiled cynically. "At least he had to go so bad that he forgot to pull me in there…" He sniffed and frowned disgustedly. "Bastard must be crappin' his liver and intestines out by now. There's enough methane in this house to blow the whole village into smithereens."

"What are smithereens and methane Gojyo?"

He ignored the boy and turned on his side facing the wall. These small naps were well-earned and he wasn't about to blow it by helping the monkey enrich his vocabulary. He hugged his pillow and threw over his blanket on his naked upper body. He and Sanzou just had another session before breakfast and he hadn't put on his clothes other than his boxers yet.

"Na, Gojyo?"

"Go away baka saru! I'm taking a nap!" he ordered irritably.

"I'm going to be here when Sanzou comes out and there's nothing you can do about it!" Goku answered back angrily. Stupid half-breed was always telling him what to do.

"Fine. Just shut up so I can sleep…"

Goku put on a puzzled face. The ero kappa hadn't been out of the bedroom since yesterday morning and he still wanted to get some sleep. Strange… but he kept quiet for fear of being thrown out of the room and not being able to see Sanzou.

The door to the room slowly opened and Hakkai's head poked in. He gave Goku a smile, one of the few that seemed genuine during the past week. "Gojyo," he called.

The redhead's body tensed visibly as he heard that oh-so familiar voice. He sat up suddenly and faced Hakaki. "H-hakkai…" he began nervously. The room was suddenly silent… the noises from the bathroom stopped.

Without warning, Hakkai covered the gap between them so fast that Gojyo couldn't find a reason to avoid him. In a few seconds, the redhead was wrapped in a tight manly embrace. Hakkai looked as if he wouldn't be able to release Gojyo anytime soon. The emotions and sensations flowing from him were mostly positive that it even made Gojyo smile a bit. Most of Hakkai's worries evaporated as he held onto Gojyo. Those days when Hakkai thought that Gojyo was mad or disgusted at him for some unknown reason were unbearable. Now that he was within his reach and Sanzou temporarily gone, there was no way Gojyo could worm his way out of explanations.

"Hakkai…" he could only mutter in surprise.

"Gojyo… why were you avoiding me?" he asked with obvious despair.

Gojyo understood completely Hakkai's apprehensions so with the shortage of words he had at the moment, he returned the hug, avoiding Goku's mystified look. "It's all right, Hakkai…" he assured him in a whisper against the other's ear. "It's not you… mostly it's just me and this fucked up business."

Hakkai nodded, his chin hit Gojyo's shoulder repeatedly. He was so happy to hear those words from his friend that he felt like he was suspended in mid-air. It was one of Gojyo's powers to be able to make someone feel like this.

All of these sensations however disappeared when the door to the bathroom slammed open with a loud bang. There was a shrill scream and Hakkai who was unable to react immediately found himself flying to the center of the room.

TBC