Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ METAMORPHOSIS BOOK TWO: ARMAGGEDON ❯ CHAPTER ONE: Reunion ( Chapter 1 )

CHAPTER ONE: Reunion

Lirin bounded excitedly down the stairs, two to three steps at a time. In certain staircases, she would slide down the banisters. Such was her haste to reach the ground level, so that when she finally arrived at the receiving lobby, the front doors banged open and a very happy Gyumao thunderously announced, "TADAIMA!"

"Okaeri nasai, Chichiue!" the little youkai greeted her father with a respectful bow.

But the Demon King merely strode past her, mumbling and giggling like a lunatic. "I go and fetch a runaway bride and I find myself another. I am so lucky indeed! Then again, three brides may be too much. Nah! Only Genjo Sanzo shall be my bride. The other two shall serve as my catamites. Still, nothing pleases me more than to have three delectable young men to break. Especially one very stubborn priest. But after what happened in Tofuugai, I guess breaking him will be easier now."

Lirin frowned, hearing her father's insane mumblings. Three brides? Chichiue is obviously talking about Sanzo and Oniichan. But who's the third….

As if suddenly remembering his daughter, Gyumao paused at the middle of the stairway. "Lirin, I've decided to spare the lives of your two friends. You will need help tending to my two brides and my latest acquisition. This time, no more escape attempts…if you value your life. I hope your brother learned his lesson. What I did to him was mild compared to the punishment that he truly deserved." With a dismissing wave, he continued walking up the stairs. "Tell Sanzo to prepare himself for this evening. I have something interesting planned for him. The following evening, it'll be my new bride's turn."

Before Lirin could ask her father who his new bride was, a sad voice called out her name. "LIRIN-SAMA!" Whirling, her face brightened, tears filling her eyes, beholding Yaone and Dokugakuji.

"YAONE-CHAN! DOKUGAKUJI!" she cried, running into their welcoming embraces. "I thought I’d never see you again!"

"I missed you so much, Lirin-sama!" Yaone wept in relief, kissing her precious ward's brow. "Every night, I prayed for your and Kougaiji-sama's safety! All those horrifying visions…" The youkai pharmacist shuddered. "We feared the worst for you."

"Where is Kou?" Dokugakuji asked, looking around. "Lirin, is he all right?"

Lirin was at a loss for words. She turned her head away, teeth biting down on her lower lip to stop its trembling. How could she tell them the truth about what happened to the youkai prince?

Heart-wrenching sobs caught her hearing. Lifting her eyes, Lirin was shocked to see the monk. Sanzo's shaking right hand covered his face, but it did not stop the tears from flowing from his eyes. Great was his grief that he had to lean against the man holding him for support – a man whom Lirin recognized instantly, despite the absence of a chakra on his forehead.

"Anata…" she gasped aloud, before she could stop herself from doing so.

"Hai, hai, it's me, Homura," the former Toushin Taishi exclaimed with impatient gruffness. "Now would someone please tell me where we're supposed to go?"

"Oh, sorry!" Lirin hastily apologized. "Let's take the elevator. It'll be much faster. Sanzo-sama…what…"

A hand on her shoulder stopped her from going after the two men. It was Dokugakuji.

Shaking his head, he advised, "Leave him alone, Lirin. Let him grieve in peace."

"No way!" Lirin cried in horror. "You're not saying that…"

There was a glimmer of tears in Yaone's eyes. "Sanzo-sama's friends…they're all gone. He arrived too late to save them."

The little youkai was deeply saddened by the news. "Poor Sanzo-sama! And Oniichan… He made a great sacrifice for nothing!"

Dokugakuji and Yaone were startled by that last remark. Before they could pry any further, Lirin asked, "What's he doing here?"

"We're not sure ourselves," Dokugakuji scratched his head in bewilderment. "I don't think Sanzo himself knew what he had done. I never knew the Heaven and Earth Opening Sutras had the power to bring a man back to life."

"It isn't the Sutras," Lirin mumbled. "It's Sanzo-sama himself!"

"Are you three just going to chat there?" Homura called in irritation from the elevator.

The three youkai hurried to the waiting elevator. Dokugakuji and Yaone knew that all their questions would be answered soon enough.

~~~~~

Kougaiji felt his heart was going to pound out of his chest as he waited for Lirin to return. Three days… It's been three days since that fateful night. All that his spies could tell him was that Tofuugai suddenly appeared in the middle of the desert, now a city in total ruin. And from what he heard, the city's destruction was caused by the monk's rage and fury, and not by his father's attack. Although he felt sorry for the hapless youkai who had perished, Kougaiji knew he would've done the same if Tofuugai's leader had threatened the lives of his dear friends as well.

The youkai prince clasped his hands in fervent prayer. I'm not one to pray to the gods, but just this once, I make an exception. Please, PLEASE let everyone be all right!

Then, his heart jumped as the door to his bedroom opened. A smile lit up Kougaiji's handsome face, seeing his friends standing breathlessly at the doorway.

It was Yaone who ran toward him first with a happy cry of "KOUGAIJI-SAMA!"

"KOU!" Dokugakuji overtook the apothecary to fall at the youkai prince's feet, giving him an enthusiastic hug.

Tears of relief poured from Kougaiji's eyes as he embraced his friends. He swore to himself that they would never be parted from him again.

"You don't know how worried we were, Kougaiji-sama!" Yaone sobbed. "Dokugaku and I had so many terrible visions. We wanted so much to return, but…"

Kougaiji cupped the pretty youkai's face in his hands. With a shake of his head, he smiled in reassurance. They had done well by not abandoning the monk's road companions.

"You are well, right, Kou?" asked Dokugakuji in doubt, his eyes spying the gold neckband that covered nearly two-thirds of the youkai prince's neck.

Seeing those inquiring looks, Kougaiji lowered his gaze to the floor. How could he answer that question when he…

"Oniichan…" he suddenly heard Lirin call from the doorway. It startled the youkai prince to see Toushin Homura Taishi alive and well again. But what shocked him more was the sight of the despondent monk in his arms. In an instant, Kougaiji leaped to his feet and hurried toward them, just as Sanzo sagged into his embrace.

Sanzo's fingers dug into Kougaiji's arms. "Kougaiji, they're gone… I came too late to save them." He gazed at the youkai prince through bloodshot lavender eyes. "They're dead, Kougaiji! They won't be coming back! I'm all alone!"

Sorrow for the poor monk drove Kougaiji to pull him into a comforting embrace. In his desire to soothe Sanzo, his lips parted to say, "You're not alone, Sanzo. I'm still here. I'll never leave you alone!"

But no words came out of his mouth. Not a single sound.

Shocked eyes focused on the startled youkai prince.

"Kougaiji…your voice…" Before Kougaiji could pull away, Sanzo's fingers found the clasp of the neckband. As the golden ring fell to the floor, Sanzo's eyes flew wide, a horrified gasp issuing from his lips.

Clearly visible around the youkai prince's neck were fiery red handprints.

It was Lirin who finally spoke up. Voice trembling, she began, "That night…after you escaped… Chichiue regained consciousness after you had knocked him out with the Maten Kyoumon, and he was enraged. The first person he saw was Oniichan. Chichiue…he seized Oniichan by the throat. I thought he was going to kill him. But he spared Oniichan's life. However, since that time…Oniichan can no longer speak."

Sanzo was devastated by Lirin's revelation. His hands shaking, he reached out to touch that bruised throat, saying, "Let me heal you, Kou. Let me get your voice back." The poor monk, however, was clueless on how to tap the power that lay hidden within him.

In the end, Sanzo fell to his knees at Kougaiji's feet, bowing with his brow touching the floor. "I'm sorry! I am so sorry! The deaths of my friends…the loss of your voice… It's all my fault! What can I do to make amends? Please tell me what I must do to make up for everything that I had done!"

Homura, who had been quietly watching the exchange with seething anger and disgust, suddenly declared, "Oh please! Groveling doesn't become you, Sanzo! You say you're sorry? That's a load of crap! You call them 'your friends'? They were nothing but mere servants to you, filthy youkai who were likely to turn on you. They were dispensable. And do you expect me to believe that you give a shit about Kougaiji's voice? You're nothing but a fucking hypocrite!"

"That's enough, Homura! That's a cruel thing to say!" Dokugakuji exclaimed. "You speak of things you know nothing about!"

"They sacrificed their lives for him, didn't they? Kougaiji lost his voice helping him to escape! Now, he's brought me back to life, and for what? To serve as a fuck toy for a crazy Demon King, so that he'll be spared a good fucking that he truly deserves?! Oh, I think I know enough!"

Saying this, the former Toushin turned his back on the shocked people inside the room and headed straight for the door.

"Homura-sama!" Yaone called out behind him. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" Homura snapped back at her. "I'm going to Gyumao's chamber to keep him busy while you exchange pleasantries and all that crap. After all, that's why you summoned me back to this Hell, isn't it, Sanzo-sama." He said the monk's name with utter derision and revulsion.

As he opened the door, Sanzo said, "Homura, don't go. Let me be the one to…"

"Oh just stay the hell there! Let me do the job you sent me here to do."

Before anyone else could say anymore, Homura stormed out of the chamber, slamming the door behind him.

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