Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Hemorrhage ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Hemorrhage
 

        Sanzenin smiled sweetly at the snarling figure seated on the floor in a lotus position before him. Clawed hands were digging into taut legs that were eager to spring. Despite the menace reflected in those golden eyes and sharp fangs, the youkai playfully tapped the tip of that pert nose.

        "Now tell me, Goku," Sanzenin began cheerfully. "What is it that you want to do, and this time, please use your tongue. It does work, you know."

        Infuriated at being made to speak, the Seiten Taisei snapped back with obvious lasciviousness, "I WANT TO FUCK YOU!"

        "Don't you mean 'make love'?"

        Grinning from ear to ear, Goku swayed and bounced in his seat, singing, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

        To that obscene tune, Sanzenin flicked his finger sharply at the Seiten Taisei's brow. The strength of that tap sent Goku toppling backwards to the floor.

        Picking himself up, Goku rubbed his smarting forehead and growled, "Why'd you do that for?"

        The Seiten Taisei gasped when the youkai pulled him in a loving embrace and kissed him full on the lips, leaving him breathless. When Sanzenin broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to Goku's brow and looked straight into the depths of those amber eyes.

        "Don't you like this better?" the youkai murmured tenderly.

        A warm smile more commonly seen on the saru's face lit up the Seiten Taisei's lips. Flinging his arms around Sanzenin, he exclaimed, "Yes, hmmm, yes!"

        As he hugged the boy, Sanzenin closed his eyes and sighed in relief. Things are going better than I had hoped.

        Son Goku kept his promise to the youkai. Despite his fear of his dark side, the saru obediently followed Sanzenin's orders carefully. Mornings were spent with martial arts training. But the nights were used for Goku to be in touch with the Seiten Taisei. The first week, it was Sanzenin who helped the saru enter into a trance. It had been a trying ordeal, as both light and dark sides struggled for control of their physical body, a struggle that nearly broke the youryouku on Goku's brow. The Seiten Taisei almost came close to winning, driven as he was by lust for the monk the youkai resembled. For a while, Sanzenin thought it would win. To his surprise, it was Goku who triumphed.

        "How did you do it?" Sanzenin had asked the saru.

        Goku had scratched his head, an expression of perplexity on his face. "I didn't think it would be that easy. I just told him to behave or else neither of us is going to get laid. And he did."

        The youkai had laughed at that answer, giving the saru a warm hug. Then, another surprise. For a brief moment, Goku changed into the Seiten Taisei and bestowed an impish peck on his cheek.

        As the saru emerged once again, Goku growled, "Kono yaro! Don't do that again, you hentai!"

        There was a moment's introspection as the saru 'spoke' with the Seiten Taisei.

        "Something wrong, hmmm?" Sanzenin had inquired.

        Goku grimaced. "He said I won't get anywhere because I didn't have any balls."

        With a grin and wink, the youkai remarked, "Looks like he has something you need."

        Hearing that comment, the saru had blushed as red as a sugar beet. Even so, it was then that he realized that he indeed was sorely lacking, and it was not just in the sex department. In the weeks that followed, Goku gradually tapped the strengths and powers of the Seiten Taisei without the youkai's assist, realizing a speed and agility he never knew he possessed. His mind also grew sharper, more capable of giving convincing arguments to battle strategies posed by the youkai. Slowly but surely, the saru was even growing more accustomed to the abrupt physical changes in his body, gradually accepting his true form as the Seiten Taisei. But when it came to matters of the heart and sex, Goku's timidity remained. And it was this, more than the kinko, that truly prevented the saru's complete transformation.

        Sanzenin felt small's hands begin to creep under his shirt. The Seiten Taisei obviously had no problems with this area. The youkai had to admit that the saru's darker nature was eliciting urges from him he had long held back. But without Goku's control, it will either stay buried in his psyche or become an unstoppable raping creature.

        "I think that's enough for now," the youkai announced as he pushed the boy away and stood up. One of these days, he was certain that he was going to give in to the saru's demands.

        "Honto ni gomen nasai, Sanzenin," Goku said in sincere apology. "I can't seem to control it when it comes to that."

        "I think you and that kinko have kept those urges in check for far too long. It's not wrong to let it go once and a while, especially with someone who's willing. Everyone needs to be comforted and loved."

        Goku pouted. "Well, I don't want to be so desperate for it like that damned ero kappa."

        Sanzenin sighed at that remark. "Someday, Goku, you're going to understand exactly what your friend Gojyo has found in those brief encounters, and why he feels no shame in them."

        "No way!" the saru exclaimed, his body stiff with arms folded before his chest.

        Sanzenin smiled in mild exasperation at that obstinate figure. Going towards the mantel on top of the fireplace, he reached for his journal. "How about I give you a special treat tonight?"

        "SEX?"

        "Of course not! U-----SE!"

        The youkai nearly laughed at that exchange. "No," he said as he opened the journal. "I thought I'd tell you the story of the God Child."

        Saru and Seiten Taisei squealed in delight. Next to sex, the one thing they long awaited hearing is the tale of the mysterious God Child.

        So happy was he that Goku failed to notice the sudden change in the youkai's demeanor.

        Sanzenin was staring in shock at the open pages before him, and at the blood that oozed from each letter written on those pages.

        Is it time? But no! the youkai thought, horrified at its implication. It's much too soon! He's not ready yet!

        For a moment, Sanzenin wavered in indecision. The shadows covered his tear-filled eyes as he closed the journal. If this is your will, then I have no choice but to obey. Goku, my dear child! Forgive me for what I'm going to force you to do.

        Perplexed, Goku stared at the youkai's suddenly silent figure as the journal was laid in his arms.

        "Sanzenin, nani..."

        A golden dagger materialized in Sanzenin's right hand. The youkai then lunged, and a stunned Goku was barely able to get out of the way in time.

        "Sanzenin, what are you doing?" Goku cried, shocked that his beloved mentor would attack him like this.

        "I thought you wanted to fuck me, Son Goku?" was Sanzenin's startling answer, his lavender eyes and the sunstone around his neck glowing bright. "Defeat me and my body is yours."

        To Goku's horror, it was the Seiten Taisei who responded to that proposal with an enthusiastic hiss. As he let the journal drop out of his hand with a thunk on the floor, the kinko around his head shattering into pieces, he said, "Then get ready to be beaten!"

---

        Swing...cut...slash...stab...

        521...522...523...524...525...

        Stab...cut...swing...slash...

        689...690...691...692...693...

        Hakkai had often wondered why it had been so easy to kill. Now, he knew the reason why. The feast... Those who were drunk were too addled to react. Those who weren't were just too surprised to even defend themselves. Indeed, he was Death come swift in this dark, rainy night. Glancing out the window, Hakkai could have sworn that it was raining blood. Or maybe it was the splatters of blood from his victims, forming dark red runnels from his forehead down to this chin.

        Blood certainly had flowed copiously from Hyakugan Maoh.

        "You wouldn't do this to me!" the evil youkai had cried. "I'm the father of the child inside you!"

        "There is no child," Hakkai had mumbled as he buried his dagger again and again in Hyakugan Maoh's body. "It's a bakemono! An evil monster like you!"

        The youkai lord had been what? Victim No. 876...

        So I'm nearing the home stretch, he mused, as he downed another youkai, this time, the same one from the Dark Crow Clan who had abducted him from the village. Victim No. 994...

        Exiting the Great Hall, Hakkai headed straight for the dungeons, the golden dagger gleaming in the torchlight. In the dark, dank staircase, he dispatched the youkai guards he met along the way. 995...996...997...998...999...

        As he neared the cell where he had been imprisoned, he paused for a moment. Hakkai moved before he heard the footsteps behind him, spinning on his heels with arms partly outstretched in welcome, his body exposed and vulnerable. The agony was greater than what he remembered, as claws ripped through his belly. Falling to his knees, Hakkai couldn't help but smile in relief, seeing the gleaming mahjong tile and the writhing worm-like thing attached to it lying in the pool of his blood.

        "You surprised me, Cho Gonou, that you came to this place rather than escape," he heard Chin Issou say behind him.

        "I'm not finished yet," Hakkai replied, crushing the worm under his clenched fist. "I still have you to kill."

        "You're dying. How can you even find the strength to destroy me?" A sneer formed on the youkai's face. "Oh, yes! Just how many have you killed tonight? If you include our guests, the Dark Crow Clan, probably close to a thousand. It's been said that a human drenched in the blood of a thousand youkai will, himself, become a youkai. Are the stories true, I wonder?"

        "Why don't you try it?" Hakkai urged the evil youkai, a small, knowing smile curling up his lips. "You are the one thousandth youkai."

        "Sure. Why not?"

        As Hakkai expected, Chin Issou slit his wrist with his knife. The blood trickling upon his body, Hakkai felt the tremors in his muscles begin to build, his body glowing with an angry red aura, telltale signs of his impending transformation into a youkai.

---

        There was a loud clang as blade connected with blade. The evil youkai woman gaped down in shock, seeing that her docile stepson had blocked the fatal blow. She never expected this. She had expected that Gojyo would just be sitting there with a stupid expression of resignation on his face.

        Certainly not raging fury.

        Teeth gritted, Gojyo glared sharply into his stepmother's eyes. "How dare you! How dare you do this to me!"

        The youkai took two steps back as the half-breed swung his knife hand up and nearly tore the axe from her grip.

        "You've been living in a delusion, baka!" the youkai snapped back. "I NEVER loved you! I wanted to see you utterly destroyed, my husband's seed from his detestable human mistress!"

        "If you hated me that much, why didn't you kill me when I was but a baby? Why make me hope..."

        Gojyo stopped at once, his eyes widening in realization. Not once had his stepmother shown him a single iota of love. Scorn, derision, countless beatings...and now this. What she said was true. He had brought all this misery upon himself for wishing the impossible, and he had caused others to suffer along with him...like his brother Jien and poor Satan. And now Sanzo was going to pay the price for his mistake as well.

        The half-breed's face darkened, hearing what his stepmother said next.

        "Oi! I gave you what you wanted, didn't I?" She rubbed her crotch suggestively. "You're a great fuck, Gojyo!"

        "TEME!" Gojyo's hand tightened around the hilt of his dagger, as he charged at the deranged woman.

---

        Yaone couldn't breathe. Her nose and lungs were being filled by a foul-tasting fluid that made her want to vomit, but she stifled the urge to do so, knowing that it would only hasten her demise. Still, she had to see where she was.

        When Yaone opened her eyes, however, all she saw was dark red. In her shock, her jaw dropped to let out a gasp, only to have that fluid gush inside her mouth. Blood... She was drowning in a sea of blood.

        :Yaone-chan...:

        A strong hand pulled her out of that putrid sea, and out of her nightmare. She was stunned to see a tiny figure standing at the foot of her bed.

        "Lirin-sama!" she gasped. "What are you..."

        Lirin shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

        "Is it Kougaiji-sama?" Yaone demanded, her heart filling with dread. "Did something happen to him? LIRIN-SAMA!"

        Again, another shake of her head. Pointing towards the door, she spoke three words. :Basement... Help them!: Before she vanished, Lirin added, :He's coming!:

        Yaone didn't think twice, as she rushed outside the room, bumping into Dokugakuji in the hallway.

        "Lirin...did she..." Dokugakuji stammered.

        "Hai," Yaone confirmed with a nod. "Dokugakuji, what's going on?"

        "We'll know when we get down to that damned basement. Yaone, ikuzo!"

        It was easy for the two youkai to find the basement chamber. Those frantic "kyu"-ing sounds were all too audible, as well as the loud blasts that the little dragon was creating. Yaone and Dokugakuji found poor Hakuryu blasting at a huge stone door with his breath of fire. When that didn't work, he would ram at it with his little body. The youkai can see all too clearly the bleeding wounds on the dragon's body, as it continued its futile attempts to break down the door.

        Sensing their arrival, Hakuryu turned and "kyu"-ed beggingly. The youkai knew what the little dragon was trying to say. @"They're inside! Help them please!"#
Dokugakuji swiftly conjured up his sword while Yaone produced a string of round bombs. The two youkai charged at the door together with the dragon, but their efforts proved useless as well. There was not even a scratch on the door's stone face.

        "KUSO!" cursed Dokugakuji under his breath. "How the hell are we going to get in? If only I had Kou's ability..."

        Suddenly, there were several deafening blasts that rocked the foundation of the city. This was followed by an ear-piercing shriek coming from within the chamber.

        "IIEEEE!" It was Tofuugai's leader Kaoru, her voice a deafening wail. "DON'T KILL MY PEOPLE!"

        True enough, from outside the basement, they could hear the terrible sounds of screaming. Whoever was committing this massacre was not granting the poor victims any mercy.

        Then, the basement wall exploded, and from the dust emerged long tendrils of green and white silk. Dokugakuji and Yaone's jaws dropped as a slim figure stepped forth, his robes drenched in blood. It was Hakuryu who "kyu"-ed in welcome and relief.

        With violet eyes ablaze with fury and revenge, Genjo Sanzo sternly commanded, "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY OR DIE!"

---

        A shocked gasp was elicited from Chin Issou's lips as sharp claws were buried inside his belly. He looked at the glaring young man before him, stunned by the sight of pointy ears, sharp fangs and skin markings of vines crawling all over his body.

        "Ie!" Chin Issou exclaimed. "You've changed into a youkai!"

        "No thanks to you and your father," Hakkai growled, grabbing a fistful of intestines and tearing it out of the evil youkai's body. With an agonized scream, Chin Issou fell, blood forming a large pool on the stone floor.

        The youkai weakly fumbled for something inside his trousers pocket. But as he finally found it and pulled it out, his hand was stepped on by a heavy boot, causing him to open his fingers and reveal what he was hiding.

        Hakkai picked up the mahjong tile with the kanji for "life" etched on its smooth, white surface. Crushing the tile in his hand, he said, grinning, "Can't have you haunting me again in the future."

        As his life ebbed, Chin Issou said, "It is my father and I who have wronged you. Tell me, Cho Gonou. How does it feel...to have the...blood...of so many...innocents...on your hands?" He then fell limp and perished.

        Hakkai jerked back in shock at those words. As he reverted back to his normal form, his mind whirled in confusion and growing horror. Innocents...did I...oh my God...

        The faces of his victims flashed before his eyes. Servants...little children...women...

        A smiling old woman with a washbasin and towel.

        "Let your vengeance come swift and true, Hakkai-kun."

        "Obasan! OBASAN!" Hakkai screamed out the name of the kind youkai who had cared for him during his long, hard captivity. The very first victim of his dagger, the same blade that she had given him.

        Hakkai dropped to his knees, tears streaming in rivulets down his face, as the truth of his ordeal finally hit him. Clenching the dagger in both of his hands, he pointed the tip to his heart.

        Slowly raising the blade, Hakkai whispered, "Forgive me, Sanzo. I am so sorry I failed you."

---

        His stepmother put up a fierce fight, her axe blade scoring slashes on his body, but Gojyo was beyond pain, seized as he was by rage and blood lust. The half-breed pressed his attack, blocking her strikes with the golden knife, and dealing her with mean slashes of his own that left bleeding cuts on her arms. Inch by inch, he pushed his stepmother back. The woman, however, will not allow herself to be cornered like a rat.

        With a fierce swing, she brought her axe up and knocked the blade out of Gojyo's hand.

        "SHINE!" the youkai shrieked as she charged at her stepson, axe poised above her right shoulder.

        "I don't think so!" Gojyo yelled back, meeting her attack with his right hand.

        She thought the half-breed was making a grab for her axe. So great was her shock when strong fingers closed around her face.

        "I guess you didn't know I'm stronger without weapons," Gojyo chuckled, pleased to see the woman who had tormented him helpless.

        Although she let the axe fall from her hand, his stepmother held her trapped head up high. "If you are stronger as you say, you should've killed me sooner when you had the chance. But, no, you are soooo desperate to be loved. A bastard like you will never find love, Gojyo. NEVER!"

        A scream was ripped from her throat as Gojyo crushed her face with his bare hand. As she exploded into ashes, it was then that the tears he was holding back began to stream down his face. Kneeling in the dusty remains of his stepmother, Gojyo pressed his left hand to his wet face while his right groped blindly for the dagger, his fingertips at last touching the cold blade.

        "I only wanted to be loved!" the half-breed sobbed miserably, his hand closing tightly around the dagger as he remembered his ex-road companions. "Is that too much to ask?"

---

        "Gomen nasai. Honto ni gomen nasai!"

        Son Goku awoke to that anguished wail that seemed to echo in the darkness of the cottage. Why is it so dark? And...what's that smell?

        As he reached for the candle and matches beside the bed, the saru winced as a fingernail scratched painfully on the tabletop, a nail that had suddenly grown long and sharp. Sudden fear drove him to quickly light the candle.

        Goku's eyes flew wide, seeing his reflection in the mirror. Staring back at him was the startled image of the Seiten Taisei. But what shocked him more was the sight of blood that drenched his entire form. It was blood that was causing that foul stench.

        "Oh my God!" the saru gasped, his mind whirling, seeing the place in shambles. "What happened here?" As he tried to think, his head throbbed and he clutched his brow, only then noticing that his kinko was gone. "What the hell happened to ME? And where's... Oh no! Sanzenin!"

        Leaping from the bed, Goku accidentally kicked the youkai's journal that was lying on the floor. Picking it up and pressing it close to his chest, he searched all over the cottage for his mentor. What he found instead was a trail of blood and bloody footsteps that led to the front door.

        As he pushed the door open, Goku's heart gave a lurch, seeing that still, naked figure lying at the edge of the pond.

        "SANZENIN" Goku cried out, as he hurried to his beloved mentor. Cradling the youkai in his arms, he blanched at the sight of that brutally savaged lower body. Deep bite marks marred the once flawless skin of his chest and torso.

        At that moment, the dreadful memory returned to the saru. When the youkai had pulled out his weapon and posed that dare, the Seiten Taisei had seized full control of his body. Taking the fight outside, the two had fought fiercely. Sanzenin had even proven himself to be a fighter equal in strength and power with the Seiten Taisei.

        Then it happened. The Seiten Taisei was getting frustrated, driven close to insanity by lust. It was desperation that drove him to charge at the youkai. Sanzenin had stood his ground, dagger ready in his hand. Or so Goku thought. In a bizarre repeat of what had happened months back in the desert when he had transformed into the Seiten Taisei to fight Kougaiji, with a flippant flick of his wrist, the youkai threw the blade away. In the blink of an eye, the Seiten Taisei had Sanzenin pinned to the ground.

        What his hated alter ego did to the poor youkai was more than just rape. With sheer savagery, the Seiten Taisei bit and tore at the submissive flesh beneath him, just as he plundered relentlessly that region between his thighs, causing even greater damage within.

        Although he was in agony, Sanzenin had reached up and cupped the Seiten Taisei's face in his hands.

        "This isn't what you want," the youkai had said, his voice ragged from the pain. He even gave his ravisher a loving smile that tore at his heart. "Don't you want it to be more than this...Son Goku?"

        When Sanzenin bestowed a tender kiss upon his lips, the Seiten Taisei was suddenly seized by indecision. Goku used that opportunity to retake control of his body. Or had the Seiten Taisei, in his guilt, relinquished his hold?

        "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" the saru remembered his alter ego crying bitterly, grief-stricken by what he had done. The Seiten Taisei would have retreated into the darkness of his psyche forever.

        But Sanzenin would not let him go, simply saying, "Stay. Onegai shimasu."

        Tears poured from the saru's golden eyes at the memory of the lovemaking that followed. His body may be screaming in pain, but the youkai gave himself fully to Goku. And he did much more. With his Healing Gift, Sanzenin gently coaxed the Seiten Taisei out. The sunstone around his neck aiding him, the youkai healed the still raw, sundered ties, connecting the two personas. By the time the youkai and the saru reached the agonizing climax, Son Goku was completely whole.

        Sanzenin's eyes fluttered open, glazing with tears at the sight of the handsome boy who has holding him. "Goku... You don't know how long I've wished to see you like this."

        "Hush, Sanzenin," Goku sobbed, pressing his fingertips to the youkai's lips. "Don't speak. I'll find a healer for you."

        But the youkai shook his head. "I've fulfilled my mission. I've returned you at last to your true form. Demo... Your memories... I'm so sorry I couldn't bring them back to you. I tried so hard. I guess...making you whole again took a hell of a lot out of me."

        "Sanzenin, watashi...watashi..."

        "There's nothing to forgive. This had to happen. It's been...fated...by the gods."

        "Those damned kami again!" Goku exclaimed angrily. "We're just pawns in the games they play! They don't care about the lives that are ruined, the lives that are lost! How can they be so cruel?"

        "I wanted to fight this destiny, but I'm just not strong enough. I had to go along with the flow. But you...and your friends... You have the power to bring about change. All that is needed is for you to recover the memories of the events that occurred five hundred years ago." Sanzenin pressed his hand on the journal that the saru held. Suffusing it with a golden light, he let the book dissolve into a glowing ball and pushed it inside Goku's heart. "That journal is the key to unlocking the chains that bind you and your friends. Use the knowledge within it to fight the gods who have toyed with our lives for so long. Do this for me, Son Goku."

        Goku touched his breast, feeling the warmth of the transformed journal within his heart. "I promise, Sanzenin."

        The youkai caressed the saru's wet cheek. As a tear fell from his eye, he whispered at a point beyond Goku's shoulder, "Oh, Sanzo. How fortunate you are to have a friend as loyal and loving as this! My beloved ward Kougaiji...I'm so sorry that I couldn't see you again."

        "Sanzenin, don't say these things! You won't..."

        But Sanzenin's hand fell limp to the ground as he sighed his last breath.

        Goku shook the youkai in his arms. "Sanzenin, no! Wake up! Please don't die! You can't die!" But there was no response from his beloved mentor.

        As his heart broke into a thousand pieces, the saru picked up the golden dagger lying on the ground beside the dead youkai.

        "Forgive me, Sanzenin," Goku whispered, placing the tip of the blade to his heart. "I know I made a promise to you. But I cannot live with the guilt, knowing that it was I who killed you."

---

        There was a thundering crash as the huge stone door was ripped from its frame by the coils of the Maten Kyoumon. Entering the chamber, Sanzo's furious lavender eyes focused upon the trembling youkai woman.

        "You promised me you would keep them safe!" the monk said accusingly. "What have you done, woman?"

        "I merely did what the Goddess has commanded me to do," Kaoru declared just as strongly.  "And it is the choice of your friends to undergo the tests she had in store for them. It is out of your hands, Genjo Sanzo Houshi."

        Pointing his finger at the defiant youkai, Sanzo roared, "MAKAI TENJOU!", sending the silken tentacles of the Maten Kyoumon in her direction. As its coils wrapped around her body, the monk shouted, "Kaoru, join your Master Wu Han in Hell!"

        The youkai leader made no sound as the Maten Kyoumon crushed her into ashes.

        "No! You fools!" Sanzo heard Dokugakuji's shocked cry beside him. "Don't do it!"

        Lifting his head, the priest felt his blood run cold as he gazed at the horrifying images being shown by the large spinning mirror.

        In the heart of that glowing glass, Sanzo watched, stunned, as his three friends each raised a golden dagger, ready to plunge it into their bodies. To his greater horror, three sharp rays suddenly jutted out from the mirror, pointing menacingly at the still figures lying on the stone altars.

        As Sanzo broke into a run, he heard Yaone scream as the three young man brought the blades down in a bizarre slow motion. At the same time, the rays shot out like arrows. With right hand raised, Sanzo tried desperately to stop them, calling out their names, hoping against all hope that they would hear him.

        "GOJYO! HAKKAI! GOKU! YAMERU!"

        A tiny figure flew past him, just as his friends stabbed themselves. The mirror's sharp rays plunged deep into Gojyo's and Goku's chests. The third ray first pierced poor Hakuryu's little body before being buried in Hakkai's breast. Sanzo's jaw dropped in shock, seeing his friends' lifeless bodies begin to fall to the floor. One by one, he reached out to grab them, but each turned into dust as soon as he touched them. It was Goku whom he was able to catch. However, the saru too began to crumble into ash in his arms until nothing was left. Even Hakuryu has disappeared together with his beloved master. In stunned silence, Sanzo could only watch helplessly as the ashes rose into the air, and vanished into the substance of the spinning glass. He was unaware of the tears streaming from his lavender eyes, as the ethereal forms of Gojyo, Hakkai, Goku and a silver-haired young man, who seemed very familiar to him, entered a golden door in the heart of the mirror.

        "No!" Sanzo wept, pleading. "Don't go in there! You won't be able to come back! Please don't leave me!"

        Not once did the four men look back, determined as they were to seek out the Goddess whom they believed would help them free their friend. As the door closed behind them so too did the monk's heart break.

        Sanzo's anguished wail reverberated throughout the chamber, causing Yaone and Dokugakuji to weep as well. Great was his grief and despair that the Maten Kyoumon responded to the call of his broken heart. Long silk arms fluttered up, breaking that accursed mirror into a million shards. Pieces of glass rained down, creating bleeding cuts on Sanzo's tear-filled face and arms. The sutra, however, continued its ascent, entering a tumultuous black void that materialized on the ceiling.

        Beyond the void were two large doors lighted on other side by torch-lit pillars. Behind those doors was a silent world. A field that was once covered with flowers was now shrouded with dead leaves, dried up petals, and spindly stalks. Mountains had crumbled into large boulders, except for a solitary mount. It once held great power, power that aided in the creation of this bleak world. Now it stood silent, the wards once surrounding it now just faded bits of paper lying at its base.

        Guarding this domain was a single skeleton, seated limply with its back against the doorframe. Even when the Maten Kyoumon blasted the doors open, the skeleton was not moved from its lonely position.

        It was this skeleton that the sutra was seeking.

        Making a quick U-turn, the Maten Kyoumon seized the skeleton in its coils. As it did so, it began to draw power from the other sutras that rematerialized in the giant lab at Houtou Castle. There was stirring within the sutra's wrappings as flesh grew back on those old bones. The stirring became active jerks as the being inside seemed to fight against its rebirth.. Between the sutra's folds, a golden eye suddenly popped open followed by an agonized scream. Before its quarry could attempt to break free, the Maten Kyoumon yanked him out of that dark world and back through the void, sealing the hole behind it.

        Yaone and Dokugakuji stared with eyes wide at the wildly fluttering sutra, and the being encased in its white and green silk cocoon right in the middle of that mass of flailing arms. Gently, the Maten Kyoumon unwrapped its prize, laying him down before the still screaming, grief-stricken priest. As the being within was finally revealed, the two youkai barely stifled their gasp, recognizing him in an instant as a former foe they had found very difficult to defeat.

        Shocked to find himself alive and whole again, angry, mismatched eyes -- one gold, one blue -- focused on the hysterical monk. He slapped Sanzo fiercely, stopping that long scream.

        Gripping Sanzo's shoulders, he shook him hard like a rag doll. "What did you do?" he demanded. "Why the hell did you bring me back?"

        Sudden movement at the doorway, heavy footsteps and Yaone's startled scream caused him to raise his head, only to behold the formidable visage of the King of all youkai.

        "So you found me a new toy to play with," Gyumao chuckled, gazing appreciatively at the naked, dark-haired young man at his feet. "And a Toushin Taishi as well."

        With teeth gritted in anger, he raised his right hand to conjure up his trusty sword to attack the Demon Lord, but no weapon appeared.

        Gyumao shook his head, "tsk"-ing several times and wagging a finger before his eyes. "Lucky for me, you're no longer a Toushin."

        Sanzo slowly roused from his fog of despair, only to be dismayed by the sight of Dokugakuji and Yaone helpless prisoners of the Demon King's men, and a large hand slowly sliding up a shapely rump of a furious young man he never expected to see again.

        Curling up into a ball, Sanzo started to cry all over again, madly tearing out his blond hair in guilt. "No! Please no! How many more people are going to get hurt because of me? How many more people are going to DIE because of me? No more! Please no more!"

        The priest's keening wail was silenced by another blow, this time, courtesy of the Demon King. Pulling the despondent monk up, he ordered sternly, "Urusai! Get a grip, priest! I don't want you going looney tunes on me!"

        But Sanzo would not stop crying.

        Before Gyumao could hit him again, the Demon Lord was shoved back, and the priest enfolded in a grudging, yet protective embrace.

        "Gomen nasai, Homura!" Sanzo sobbed at the young man holding him. "I didn't mean to bring you back!"

        The former Toushin Taishi Homura held the grieving priest tightly. "Damn you, Konzen! What is this hell that you've brought me back to?"