Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Marionette ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

CHAPTER FIVE

"JIROUSHIN! KWANNON! BREAKFAST IS READY!"

Hakkai sat bolt upright in bed at that bellow. For a moment, he just sat there, very disoriented, the hair on his head messed up from tossing and turning all night. Hakkai couldn't even remember what time he managed to drift off to sleep.

For some strange reason, the marionette had been very restless during the past week. Sometimes, he would find Gojyo staring at him through those warm, baby crimson eyes, a wistful smile on his face. When Hakkai asked if he wanted anything, the clone would begin by saying his name, and then no more. Just a lengthy pause and that sweet smile on those luscious lips. Thankfully, he used the repairs in the lab as a perfect excuse to get away from the marionette, something he was finally able to complete yesterday. However, if the days were troublesome, it was much worse at night. Seeing that handsome face staring back at him was sorely trying on his wanting libido. Hakkai was certain Gojyo wanted something from him, but he couldn't guess what.

There was a soft knock, and the door slowly opened, sure enough, to reveal the marionette's smiling face.

"Hakkai?" queried Gojyo softly, thinking that his guardian was still asleep. "You awake or are you still snoring?"

Rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, Hakkai answered, "Yeah! I'm awake. What did I tell you about shouting inside the house? That yell of yours could wake up the dead."

Gojyo burst into sheepish giggles. "Sorry! It's just that I couldn't find Jiroushin or Kwannon anywhere, and breakfast is getting cold."

"What's for breakfast anyway?"

The marionette then mouthed off a menu of exotic dishes that made Hakkai turn pale. Acceding to the clone's request for his wife's cookbooks, never in his wild imaginings did he expect that Gojyo would actually try out the recipes one by one. True, the marionette turned out to be a culinary master, but all those special meals were putting a terrible dent in his budget.

Hakkai wouldn't dare ask Gyumao for more money. The multimillionaire had been furious upon learning about the lightning storm that damaged the lab. Although he had been tempted to lie and say that the cell samples and the clone had been destroyed, Hakkai knew that that report would send Gyumao rushing to his manor. Instead, the scientist had decided to say that he was recreating the experiment with the few cell samples he still had in his possession and had promised to call the multimillionaire everyday with his progress report. If Gyumao knew about the success of the experiment and of Gojyo's existence... Hakkai visibly shuddered at the infinite possibilities, none of them good.

"Are you feeling cold, Hakkai?' Gojyo piped in. "I could get you a sweater."

Hakkai shook his head. "No, it's okay. But thanks just the same."

"I do wish you'd come down. Breakfast is getting cold, and I don't want to miss my favorite cartoon."

There's the reason for the rush, the geneticist mused. "You go ahead. I'll be right down." Before the marionette could leave, Hakkai called, "Angel, wait."

"Need anything?" There was a touch of impatience in Gojyo's voice.

"I think it's you who needs something from me. You know I've been working hard for the past seven days. Angel, I really need to get some sleep at night. And I can't get any sleep if you keep waking me up at night. What do you want?"

Gojyo hesitated. Then, gazing up at Hakkai through that silken screen of lashes, he blurted out, "I WANT A POKEMON!" and dashed down the stairs before the scientist could reply.

Hakkai slapped his hand to his forehead. Groaning, he muttered, "First, it was women and their naked breasts and, now, it's Pokemon. I should've known bringing that TV down was a huge mistake."

The geneticist immediately donned his robe and went down to the kitchen after the marionette to have a heart to heart talk with him. As he went down the stairs, however, he found Gojyo plopped down on the floor before the TV in the living room already watching "Pokemon."

"Why do you want a Pokemon, Gojyo?" asked Hakkai gently, sitting on the couch beside the clone.

"I want to be the greatest Pokemon Master in the whole world, just like Ash," Gojyo exclaimed enthusiastically, gesturing to the baseball cap-wearing hero of the anime.

"Pokemons are not real," the scientist said patiently. "They don't exist."

Gojyo stuck his lower lip out. "You can make me one. You're a doctor, a scientist, like Ash's friend, Professor Oak. You can make me a nice Pokemon and I'll keep him in my Poke Ball."

"But I can't make you a Pokemon." Hakkai gestured to the marionette's face. "And stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Pouting!"

"What's that?"

"The thing you're doing with your lower lip."

"Jiroushin told me that if I wanted to get something out of you, I should stick my lip out as far as I can," Gojyo revealed to him. "If that doesn't work, I should do this." He then clasped his hands together in earnest entreaty and gave Hakkai a woeful, pleading stare. Batting his eyelashes, he begged, "PUHLEEZE, Hakkai? Please give me a little Pokemon?"

Hakkai felt a tingle shoot down his groin. Damn it! This marionette has formidable persuasive weapons in his arsenal.

Steeling himself against the feelings that were being aroused in him, Hakkai said sternly, "Tell Jiroushin to stop putting ideas in that cute little head of yours or else I'll put him in a Poke Ball."

Gojyo's face brightened, although this was more from the scientist's comment that he was 'cute'. "Can you do that? Put Jiroushin in a Poke Ball? Oh, but don't put Kwannon in a Poke Ball. I'll just keep her in storage. She's just as bad as Charizard and Crabby!"

"I meant it as a form of sarcasm. Don't take everything I say so literally."

The marionette's shoulders dropped. "No Pokemon?"

"No Pokemon. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a quick shower. Then, we'll eat breakfast. Better see what Jiroushin and Kwannon are up to."

Gojyo stood up to obey. However, he still dared to ask, "Are you SURE no Pokemon?"

"I am absolutely sure." Then with an air of finality, he went back up the bedroom.

Hakkai was just reaching for the knob when he heard a very frustrated and very angry Gojyo yell, "JIROUSHIN, YOU UGLY MUTT! IT DIDN'T WORK!"

The scientist let out a sigh. Maybe I should get him one of those stuffed Pikachus. Naah! He's spoiled enough as it is. At this thought, he entered the bedroom.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, Gojyo had stormed off into the garden, looking for Jiroushin and Kwannon. He found the both animals lying flat on their bellies, side by side, before a thick rose bush.

"Jiroushin, you told me Hakkai would fall for that lip thing," he complained to the Golden Retriever. "But he said he's not going to give me a... What're you two looking at?"

Curiosity getting the better of him, Gojyo dropped down on his belly as well between the two animals. "I don't see anything!"

Then, the marionette saw it – two pairs of glowing dots, one pair gold and the other pinkish red, in the darkness of the rose bush.

Frowning, he called inside, "Hey! Is that you in there? I've been looking for you for days! You caused me a lot of trouble, you know that?"

At that moment, Hakkai emerged at the verandah, with clothes and towel hanging from his arm. Looking out into the rose garden, he was greatly amused by the sight below. Gojyo, the cat and the dog were lying flat on their tummies on the ground. To the good doctor, they looked like toad roadkill.

"Hey!" he called out. "What are you guys doing?"

"Looking stupid!" was Gojyo's sarcastic reply.

"I could see that." Seeing the intense interest the three clones had for the rose bush, he queried, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Suit yourself!" With a shrug, Hakkai went back inside to take a shower.

"All right, he's gone!" Gojyo whispered to the thing with the feral golden eyes. "Come on! Don't be afraid! I promise I'll take care of everything. No one's going to hurt you."

Slowly, the marionette reached into the rose bush.

~~~~~

A few minutes later, Hakkai hurried down to the kitchen, feeling refreshed from his bath. Gojyo was puttering around in the kitchen, laying out plates filled with mouth-watering food to the scientist and the dog and cat, who sat pertly at the dining table.

Despite his concerns for his budget, Hakkai grinned as he took a whiff of the delicious aroma of the food on his plate. "This smells wonderful, Angel!"

But as he looked at the marionette, his eyes narrowed.

Sitting on Gojyo's head was the strangest looking beret he had ever seen. It was color white with bits of white fur. There was a tiny bit of leather peeking out at the back. Wrapped thickly around his neck was a thick golden brown fur scarf.

"Gojyo, what's that on your head and neck?" Hakkai couldn't help but inquire. "If that's a hat, it's so darned ugly. So's the scarf. Animal rights activists would have a field day, seeing you wearing fur."

"What?" the marionette asked in turn, pointing to the thing on his head. "This? No, it's not a hat. And this…" He gestured to the fur around his neck. "This one's not a scarf. These are my Pokemon and... Oops! Sorry, he says he's not a Pokemon. But he sure looks like one."

"Angel, didn't I tell you that Pokemons don't exist?"

"But he said you made him, the same way you made Jiroushin and Kwannon." The clone pouted. "Whatever that's supposed to mean. Kwannon is also insisting that you made me too."

Hakkai glared sharply at the Persian, who quickly lowered her head. "Yeah, right!" he declared sarcastically. "If you got this hat and this scarf from someone, I want you to return it. Shame on you, Gojyo. Didn't I tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"But I haven't talked to anyone," said Gojyo defensively. "And they're mine. I'm not letting my Pokemon go. At least, I have something to call my own rather than me borrowing Teddy." The marionette patted the bear, who was sitting on the kitchen counter. "No offense, Teddy. You know I love you very much."

"But, Angel, Teddy is yours."

The clone shook his head. "No, he's not mine. He belongs to Linchei."

"All right, all right! I give up!" the scientist raised his hands in surrender. Standing, he reached for the strange hat. "Come! Let me fix that hat of yours. The tag is showing."

When Hakkai touched it, however, he swiftly pulled his hand back in shock. It felt like velvety leather and it was warm. His eyes widened as the thing he thought was the label dropped down. It was a long, narrow white tail. Then, the thing on Gojyo's head began to move, uncurling itself, revealing a long slender neck with tufts of hair running from the tip of its head to the small of its back. It spread out its white wings.

The scarf also began to move, its arms and legs wrapping around Gojyo's brow and neck. Around its forehead, gold wires and circuits formed a strange crown. Lodged in the center of the crown was a small satellite dish. Its golden eyes twinkled with mischief.

Hakkai's jaw dropped, realizing that he was looking at his escaped monkey clone. As for the…thing…on top of the marionette's head, he suddenly remembered that other mishap when the monkey escaped. He recalled that a large beaker of primordial fluid had tipped over, pouring its contents on his iguana specimen. It too had escaped, but he thought it had perished. Looking at it now, it certainly didn't look like an iguana. It looked more like a small dragon.

"Hakkai," Gojyo began cheerfully, "I want you to meet, Goku, and this is his friend Hakuryu. Goku, Hakuryu meet Hakkai."

The good doctor acted instinctively. Snatching a cleaver from the drawer, he lunged at the two mutants. Hakuryu blew a stream of fire at Hakkai, which the scientist was barely able to evade. Seeing Hakkai distracted, Goku swiftly jumped down from the marionette's head and onto the counter. Hakkai was about to bring his knife down on it, but the monkey clone easily evaded that fatal strike. Around and around the kitchen, Hakkai pursued Goku. Fearing for their own lives, Jiroushin and Kwannon somehow managed to yank open the door to the cabinet under the sink and hide inside, with Hakuryu following after them.

Gojyo, on the other hand, was in a state of panic. He chased after his bloodthirsty guardian, shrieking, "DON'T KILL GOKU! DON'T KILL GOKU!"

Somehow, the marionette managed to get between Hakkai and Goku, the mutant monkey having leaped on top of the dining table.

"Gojyo, get out of the way!" Hakkai snarled, the cleaver poised and ready to strike. "That thing's dangerous!"

"But you said you wanted to talk to Goku!" argued Gojyo. "That's why he's here!"
Before the geneticist could push the clone aside, a bizarre thing happened.

From behind Gojyo, near his waist, a white table napkin was being waved. Cautiously, Goku emerged, the napkin held in his right hand. The monkey clone stood on its hind legs like a human, as he waved the napkin above his head as a sign of surrender.

That gesture... It was so familiar to Hakkai. Something from two years past. War games on a grassy knoll.

Before he realized he was actually doing it, Hakkai slowly raised his right hand, index finger pointed like a gun. Taking aim at the monkey, he pretended to fire his gun, saying "POW!" at the same time. To his amazement, Goku's right hand flew to his chest. With great exaggeration, the mutant monkey took a few steps back. He staggered right and left. As Hakkai looked on in shock, Goku fell over backward, landing flat on his back, the table napkin fluttering over his still form, covering it like a shroud.

Stunned as he was, the scientist could only watch as a distraught Gojyo picked up the fallen monkey.

"Goku! Goku, wake up!" the marionette cried, shaking the monkey clone. Turning accusingly to Hakkai, he demanded, "What did you do to him, Hakkai? Wake him up! You're a doctor! Please help Goku!"

"He's fine," Hakkai mumbled in shock. "He's just play-acting. Like when we used to play with each other while he was still well."

To the geneticist's even greater surprise, a crystal tear formed in Gojyo's right eye, the drop rolling down his cheek.

"Please, Hakkai!" the marionette pleaded in earnest, unaware that he was crying. "Do something! Help Goku!"

Hakkai slowly walked towards the mutant monkey. For a moment, he was hesitant to touch the creature, disgust nearly overwhelming him. But then, he saw those hope-filled crimson eyes focused on him, waiting for any assistance that he could give. Gingerly, he reached out and ran his fingers through the soft fur on the monkey's head.

"This isn't funny, you know," Hakkai said gently, unsure of why he was talking to this perversion of nature. "Can't you see that you're making Gojyo very unhappy? Wake up now, Goku...or should I call you 'young friend'?"

At that last question, to Gojyo's amazement, the monkey clone spritely leaped to his feet, giving the scientist a snappy salute.

The marionette turned curious eyes towards his poleaxed guardian. "Hakkai?" Gojyo queried, his confusion apparent in his voice. "You have a monkey for a best friend?"

~~~~~

"Gojyo, just wait here. I need to examine Goku in private. I swear, he'll be all right."

Before the marionette could argue more, Hakkai swiftly closed the door to the lab and locked it to ensure that he would not be disturbed. He then turned to the monkey clone who was seated on a chair, his legs crossed, a computer cable attached to the socket at the back of its head.

"Very well, Goku," the scientist mumbled, punching in codes on the keyboard. "Let's see who you really are." Pressing the ENTER key, Hakkai waited patiently, his emerald eyes focused on the large computer screen.

At first, there was only snow and static. Soon, however, an image began to form on the screen, revealing a grinning eighteen-year-old boy with a shock of golden brown hair. He looked exactly as he was during the peak of his good health.

"How long has it been, Hakkai?" the man on the screen asked, grinning.

"Nearly two and a half years," Hakkai answered, staring at the child prodigy who had been his good friend and partner in awe. But then, a scowl darkened his features. "What kind of mischief have you been up to, Son Goku?"

Goku wagged a scolding finger. "What happened to respect? Is that any way to call your partner?"

"I want to know what happened, Goku," the scientist accorded his kin the proper deference. "You're supposed to be..."

"Dead, you mean, and my consciousness not inside the body of a mutated monkey clone. I have two explanations actually. The first is that I couldn't leave, knowing our work is not yet done. It wasn't a stroke, Hakkai, as the doctors believed, although it would've been a quicker and better way to die than from cancer. I had successfully transferred my mind to the master computer. How was I to know that you intended to boost the monkey clone's intelligence by using the master circuit we implanted in its brain? In upgrading the master circuit, you transferred my consciousness to the monkey. Poor thing couldn't cope at first. In the end, I had to...remake...its form a bit so that it could accommodate the intellectual capacity of my mind."

"And your second explanation?"

Hearing that question, Goku became somber. "I couldn't leave you, Hakkai. Not after what happened."

Hakkai turned his back to the image of his best friend. "Are we back to that again? I'm trying to get it all behind me. Should you reopen still raw wounds?"

"It is you who open your wounds again and again. Even if you wrack yourself with guilt, it's not going to bring Kanan or Linchei back. Let's say, if by some miracle, they had survived that night, would you have been happy living a lie?"

The geneticist's hands closed into fists. "At least they would still be alive."

"Yes, they would be alive, only for you to fool again," retorted Goku. "Hakkai, I told you it would be a big mistake if you got married, knowing where your preferences lay."

"I thought I could learn to love Kanan. I thought I could change, for Linchei's sake." Hakkai shook his head. "But it's all over now. My family's gone. He's gone..."

"Thank God for that! I never liked that bugger in the first place. He's just like his boss."

"The only thing that matters to me now is my research."

"You mean our research, don't you?" Goku waved his right hand to correct himself. "No, you're right. It is your research now. Because if I were still alive, I would never have allowed a rich pervert like Gyumao to corrupt our work."

Hakkai gazed at his friend. "I need him to finance this project. No agency would give me the funding for cloning research."

"And, yet, you have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. You have successfully cloned a human being. A cybernetic clone, to be exact. But at what price, and are you truly willing to have this delightful creature pay your debt to Gyumao?"

"I don't intend to give Gojyo immediately to Gyumao, not when his programming hasn't been completed yet."

"How, pray tell, are you going to do that, with Gyumao's disk destroyed?" Goku asked sarcastically. "Now that I'm here, I might as well help you. I'll just hook myself up to Gojyo, like when Jiroushin, Kwannon and I fed him the basic knowledge of grammar, spelling, and math. But this time, I'll feed him information on sex -- men and their hard members, women with their velvet openings and voluptuous breasts, and..."

Hakkai stared at the boy in shock. "So Gojyo was telling the truth! It was you who switched the TV to the Playboy Channel."

Grinning, Goku said, "The advantage of having your own built-in satellite dish. Of course, I need to feed the signal to a television set to actually see those beautiful women."

"You haven't changed one bit, Goku. And, no, I do not need you to instruct Gojyo about sex. You know for a fact that although he now possesses near genius intelligence, he still has the mind and ways of a child."

"But isn't this the knowledge that Gojyo needs to learn in order to...please...Gyumao? What kind of cybernetic whore would he be if he doesn't know a thing about sex?"

"It's not yet the right time for him. You nearly traumatized him when you pulled that stunt."

"I didn't hear you complain too much. If I remember correctly, you had a look of satisfaction on your face when your sweet Angel declared that he was swearing off women and their jiggling boobies." Goku gave his best friend a knowing glance. "In so short a time, you've grown very fond of Gojyo."

"Not in the way that you think. Have you forgotten what he is?"

Goku shook his head. "No, I haven't. Neither have I forgotten that there is a mystery surrounding his true origins. Like where did Gyumao get the cells used for his creation. However, it is in my humble opinion that it is you, Hakkai, who has forgotten what Gojyo truly is. Such is the extent of your memory lapse that you haven't told him that he is not human."

"As I said," Hakkai repeated, "It's not the right time yet."

"And would you mind telling me when is the right time?" Noting the sullen silence in his friend, Goku quickly countered, "Forget I asked. Hakkai..." he began hesitantly. "We've always been very close. I know you, probably more than you know yourself. All your life, you've been making one mistake after another. Now, you're on the verge of committing another blunder. Deny yourself and what your heart longs for and you will lose your chance at happiness. Not only will this break your heart, but also the heart of someone who loves you dearly."

Hearing his best friend's admonition, Hakkai burst into bitter laughter. "You're talking about Gojyo, aren't you? He is like a son to me. I do not care for him that way. And I throw back your remark at you. It looks like you're the one who has forgotten what Gojyo is. A clone. My creation. A hodgepodge of tissue, wires, circuits and machinery. Goku, Gojyo doesn't even have a heart!"

Goku gave his grandson an enigmatic smile. "Oh, but he does, Hakkai! Gojyo has a heart!" He pointed to his chest. "It's right where it should be!"

Before the scientist could argue that what was contained in the marionette's chest was the back up to the master circuit, Goku raised a hushing finger to his lips and gestured towards the door.

Turning around, Hakkai frowned, seeing Teddy's head peeking through the small crack of what had been a locked door. Then, Kwannon imperiously flounced into the lab. The bear retreated to be replaced by a hand that snatched the cat by the tail, yanking her howling outside.

"That is one very resourceful child you have there, Hakkai," his former partner commented, grinning. "You'd be a big fool if you lose him."

"But he doesn't belong to me, Goku."

"Neither does he belong to Gyumao. He belongs to no one but himself. Let him decide to whom he should give his heart to. In the meantime, I shall return to my present body and keep an eye on him. I am quite fond of our sweet little marionette. I will not see him fall into the hands of someone like Gyumao. If you care for him as I do, you will do the same. And you must decide when to tell him the entire truth."

Hakkai couldn't reply, for he himself was confused. Even he could not define the feelings that he was harboring for his creation.

Noting his friend's silence, Goku interrupted, "Oh, and one more thing! Now that the master computer is fixed, I suggest that you observe Gojyo closely." He laughed uproariously. "It seems there is still something that you haven't taught your marionette."

"What are you talking about? I've taught him practically everything. What else does he not know?"

Goku winked at him. "Just watch him closely and you'll see." Smiling at him reassuringly, he said, "I have faith in you, Hakkai. I know you'll do the right thing for both of you."

At these words, the boy's image faded from the screen. Just as Goku's consciousness returned to the body of the monkey clone, a very guilty Gojyo entered the lab, with Teddy in his arms. Perched on his shoulder was an apologetic Hakuryu.

"I swear I didn't hear or see anything, Hakkai," the marionette said defensively, that luscious pout on his lips. "I told Jiroushin not to do that trick with his claw. He was the one who picked the lock. Teddy was so worried about Goku, you see. Hakuryu also wants to apologize for nearly barbecuing you. And Kwannon... Well, she's just being nasty again. But I swear, Hakkai, I didn't hear anything."

"It's all right, Angel," Hakkai reassured Gojyo. "I believe you. I was actually going to let you in. Goku's fine and wants to be with you all the time."

Gojyo squealed in glee as Goku leaped into his embrace. "That tickles!" he giggled as the monkey clone clambered up his body and draped himself over the marionette's head and shoulders.

"You two take care of each other, okay?" the scientist begged, more for his best friend's benefit than the clone's. He turned to the dragon. "And Hakuryu, I will accept your apology if you'll always watch over Gojyo for me."

Goku gave him the thumbs up. Hakuryu nodded eagerly.

"Oh, I'll take good care of Goku and Hakuryu!" Gojyo chimed happily. With a blush going up his cheeks, he shyly added, "And I'll take real good care of you too, Hakkai. I promise you'll never lose me. I'll always stay with you in this nice big house with Jiroushin and Kwannon and Goku and Hakuryu and Teddy forever and ever!"

Before he could ask Gojyo if he had actually heard a part of his conversation with his best friend, Hakkai's eyes flew wide as soft lips pressed on his cheek, right at the corner of his mouth. As he turned, the marionette had already skipped merrily out the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I am very much elated by the response I've been getting regarding this story that's why I added two more. Sad to say, however, next week, I have three interviews scheduled so I'll be pretty busy. By the weekend, hopefully, I'll have "Tainted Love" finished and more of "Marionette" posted. Again, thank you everyone for your encouraging reviews. Keep on reviewing! Oh, and Xeriah, you still owe all your readers, including me, a new chapter of "Hoping's Very Fears". Just a little reminder for you. He he he.
Converting /tmp/phpPkcmiW to /dev/stdout