Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ CHAPTER EIGHT: Haven ( Chapter 8 )

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

CHAPTER EIGHT: Haven

Ever since the night of that terrible fight, a dreadful silence had fallen upon Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku. None of them would speak to each other. If there was a need to do so, which was now a rare occurrence, they would communicate through either Yaone or Dokugakuji. The poor youkai assassins who made the mistake of crossing the paths of these desperate travelers were dispatched with bloodthirsty ease, made to become fatal stress relievers for three former friends who had lost faith in each other.

In the six days it took to traverse the distance to the location of the missing city of Tofuugai, Dokugakuji and Yaone had no idea how they managed to survive the nerve-wracking tension. There were moments when they wanted to reveal to their road companions the visit of Sanzo's spirit form, but whenever they attempted to do so, they would discover that their voices were locked in their throats. Even attempts to write the incident down on paper resulted in their getting frozen like statues. There wasn't any doubt in their minds that Sanzo did not want them to convey to his friends that he had come to see them.

Yaone and Dokugakuji could only gaze in sorrow at Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku, who kept their eyes straight at whatever direction they were facing. If they only knew of Sanzo's visit, the two youkai were certain that the hope in their hearts would be rekindled and the rift between them mended.

But with the powerful spell that Sanzo placed upon them, their only hope now lay in Tofuugai.

"We're here." Hakkai's voice sounded like a shout in the arid desert, as he turned off Hakuryu's engine.

"Great!" mumbled Gojyo in exasperation, gazing at the sand dunes around them. "Now where the hell is it?"

An urgent hand tugged on Yaone's wrist. She turned to see Goku's desperate golden eyes focused on her.

"Yaone-san," he began beggingly, "please help me dig for some trace of the city. It could be buried right under our feet, just like the castle of the Scorpion Woman."

"All right, Goku-san," Yaone nodded, unable to deny his request.

As they got down from Hakuryu, Gojyo asked in sarcasm, "And how do you intend to do just that, baka saru? Dig up bit by damned bit of this huge desert with a pail and shovel?"

Goku glared sharply at the half-breed. "If I have to, yeah. At least I'll be doing something instead of just moping around."

Gojyo was about to utter a retort, but Dokugakuji stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It won't hurt to look," Dokugakuji suggested.

Shrugging off his brother's hand, Gojyo jumped down as well, with Dokugakuji following suit.

Transforming back into his dragon form, Hakuryu flew into Hakkai's hand.

Smiling at the only friend he had left, Hakkai said invitingly, "Ikuzu, Hakuryu! We have a lost city to find!"

Unknown to them, hundreds of tiny pairs of eyes were watching their every move...right beneath their feet.

---

"This...is...getting...us...NOWHERE!"

Gojyo accentuated each word with a fierce kick at the sand at his feet, sending gritty golden particles flying everywhere.

Dokugakuji, whose nerves were already frayed from his younger brother's incessant griping, winced as a speck of sand entered his eye. As he rubbed at the offensive foreign object with his knuckle, he exclaimed more heatedly than he intended, "Perhaps if you quit whining and stop kicking sand in my face and actually help us look for this damned city, maybe we'll get somewhere!"

"Did you get a damned good look around you?" Gojyo spat back, waving his arms at the nothingness of their surroundings. "We're right in the middle of the fucking desert! The only way we're going to find Tofuugai is to have a huge sandstorm blow every tiny grain of sand away!"

Unable to control his temper any longer, Goku stood up from the hole he was digging and directly confronted the half-breed. "Since all you're good at is spouting that big mouth of yours off, why don't you do just that -- take a deep breath and blow all this damned sand away! Or better yet, since you're the high and mighty ero kappa, why don't you conjure up water in this desolate place and wash everything away -- including you!"

At that last, Gojyo blew his stack. "Who do you think you are to speak to me in that manner, baka saru? I think it's about time I put that smart mouth of yours in its right place!"

The half-breed's fist lashed out, connecting with Goku's right cheek. The blow sent the saru sailing through the air. Before he could crash to the ground, Goku made a limber mid-air somersault. The minute his feet hit the ground, with an angry roar, Goku launched himself at Gojyo, throwing his full weight on the half-youkai, causing him to fall backwards on the sand. Pinning Gojyo down with his knees, Goku started pummeling him with blows one after another.

"I hate you! I HATE YOU!" yelled Goku, tears spilling from his eyes.

"The feeling's mutual, you damned shit!" Grabbing Goku's fist in mid-punch with his left hand, Gojyo's right hand tightened around the saru's neck. As Goku unclenched his fist to claw at the hand that was choking him, Gojyo's now free left hand also closed around the boy's throat.

"STOP IT!" screamed Yaone, as she struggled to pry those fingers loose. Turning to her stunned friend, she exclaimed, "For heaven's sake, Dokugakuji! Please help me!"

Before Dokugakuji could grab his enraged sibling, they were all shocked to immobility by two words.

"GOMEN NASAI!"

Whirling at that outcry, they beheld Hakkai on his hands and knees. Teardrops were falling on his tightly clenched hands. Hakuryu, who was perched on his shoulder, was looking at him with concern.

"I'm sorry," Hakkai repeated, his voice breaking from the force of his sobs. "I'm sorry that I dragged you all into this mess. I'm sorry that we didn't stay behind at Houtou Castle to protect Sanzo and Kougaiji. I'm sorry that Gyumao raped Gojyo. I'm sorry that we can't find Tofuugai. I'm sorry that we still haven't summoned Kanzeon Bosatsu. Everything that's happened is my fault, and I'm taking the blame for it all. I am so sorry!" He lifted his anguished green eyes to gaze at them. "Onegai! Stop fighting! This isn't like us! For god's sake! We're friends! We're supposed to help each other get through this!"

Gojyo immediately rounded on Hakkai, as he shoved Goku away. "And who told you that we were friends? Our so-called 'friendship' has been nothing but a farce right from the very beginning, a mere front to hide the biggest hypocrisy of all --that the only person who mattered to us is Sanzo, that we never truly cared about each other! Now that he's gone, we have finally shown our true colors. That we are nothing but rivals for Sanzo-sama's misguided affections!"

"But I can't help what I feel for him!" Goku cried defensively. "Why is it so wrong for all three of us to love Sanzo?"

"Because Gojyo's right," Hakkai quietly put in, still stunned by the truth in the half-breed's words. "Since that first time we met, it's always been Sanzo who's at the core of our lives. Those times when we were forcibly separated by circumstance -- Homura, Kami-sama, Zakuro, the only reason why we chose to go after the one who's missing was because we needed to be complete to accomplish our mission, for Sanzo's sake. Sanzo once told me that we were free to choose our own path. We could've abandoned the other when he chose to go his own way..." He gazed meaningfully at Gojyo. "...Like what we almost did when you ran off to find Kami-sama after he killed Kinkaku." Hakkai turned to Goku. "Or like when you were swept away by the river when we were attacked by youkai. Or when I put us all in danger when Chin Issou came knocking on my door for revenge." He laughed wryly. "Lord only knew how many times Sanzo told us to leave the other behind, so we could continue on our journey west. But we knew that we could never complete our mission if only one of us was missing. No, not our mission. Sanzo's mission. Everything we've done, everything we're doing now, it's all for Sanzo, but not for us." Deep sorrow formed on Hakkai's face. "And now, even Sanzo is no longer a good enough reason for the three of us to stay together."

Dokugakuji frowned at that last. "Hakkai-san...what are you trying to say?"

It was Gojyo who answered his brother's startled query. "That once this damned mission is over, it's about time that we went our separate ways...permanently."

"But Gojyo-san," Yaone began, unable to hide her dismay, "is it so easy for all of you to throw away a friendship that has lasted for ten years? This is too drastic a decision to make. No matter what you or Hakkai-san say, you are friends. Don't let this thing destroy the strong bond that exists between you."

"There is no bond without Sanzo." Gojyo's hands tightened into fists at his sides. "Even if this bond were still intact, I can't stay in this group any longer, knowing what I could never have."

Hakkai knew instantly what the half-breed was trying to say. "Gojyo, you're wrong. If you're thinking that it has something to do with what happened to you...."

"I only want to be loved!" cried Gojyo as the tears flowed freely from his crimson eyes. "But who's going to love me now, after the way Gyumao had ruined me? No woman would want me. Are you saying that you could, Hakkai, or even you, Goku? Certainly not!" He swept his foot back, ready to kick sand in their faces. "And definitely not Sanzo!"

However, as he lashed out, Gojyo's toe struck something hard underneath the sand.

"What the..." he was about to exclaim, but his ruby red eyes widened, seeing the tiny glass marble at his feet. Inside it was a city.

Then, from out of nowhere, a female voice spoke out, "You are Sanzo-sama's would-be saviors? Why am I not surprised that he is now a prisoner of Gyumao? I am truly disappointed that he had chosen such inept friends to protect him."

"Who the hell are you?" yelled Goku, conjuring up his staff. "Why don't you come out and show yourself?"

There was lilting laughter. "You want me to go out there? Why don't I just invite you in here instead?"

Suddenly, long strips of silk snaked out from the glass marble, wrapping them up tightly like mummies from head to toe before they could act. Even Hakuryu was seized as well. Those silk sashes pulled them down, down, down into what seemed like a bottomless abyss. Their descent reminded Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku of a similar plunge they had taken into a valley shrouded with mist.

But when they reached the bottom, what greeted their eyes as the silk sashes were retracted was the brightness of the desert sun, and the golden aura of the youkai woman standing before them. All around them, hundreds of wary youkai eyes observed what they were about to do next.

With the sash fluttering around her like a silken halo, the youkai woman stepped forward. Bowing to them, she declared, "We meet again, gentlemen, and I see you've brought two friends. I am Kaoru, the Elder of this city. Welcome to Tofuugai!"

---

"ITAIDAKIMASU!"

Gojyo grimaced in disgust at the sight of the saru devouring the luncheon that had been laid out before them with gusto. His hand closing into a fist, he promptly pounded Goku on the head that the boy nearly choked on a drumstick.

"Why did you do that for, ero kappa?" Goku shouted at the half-breed.

"Can't you think of anything else but food?" Gojyo yelled back.

Ignoring their furious exchange, Hakkai took a sip of his wine and turned to Kaoru, who was seated at the head of the table. "Kaoru-sama, you seem to know that we are coming here."

Kaoru nodded once. "Sanzo-sama informed me of your arrival seven days ago."

Goku immediately stood up, hearing her answer. "You talked to Sanzo? But how did you speak to him? Is it some kind of magic? And how is he? Is he all right back in Tenjiku?"

"I cannot say because I did not speak lengthily with him." She gazed at Dokugakuji and Yaone. "But your friends have seen and spoken to Sanzo-sama."

Gojyo stared accusingly at his older brother. "You saw Sanzo and you didn't even bother to tell us?"

"To be fair to them," Kaoru began, "they have tried, but the geas that Sanzo-sama had placed upon them is too strong for them to break. Even I cannot undo the spell."

Blushing in shame, Yaone lowered her head. "Gomen nasai."

"Why would Sanzo do this?" asked Goku in dismay. "And...just how did he do these things? I never knew that he had special powers. More importantly, why didn't he show himself to us?"

"Maybe it's because he and Kougaiji are in greater danger now at the hands of Gyumao," mused Hakkai in growing dread. "If Sanzo informed you of our arrival, then you know of our reason for coming here. It was Sanzo himself who told us to go to Tofuugai. I'm sure you know of a way for us to summon Kanzeon Bosatsu."

However, Kaoru answered, "Sanzo-sama may have told you to come here, but you have read his intentions wrong. It is not for the purpose of summoning the Goddess of Mercy that he had sent you here."

"What the hell do you mean?" Gojyo demanded, banging his fist on the table as he leaped to his feet. "Are you saying that Sanzo sent us out to this damned place for nothing?"

"Sanzo-sama specifically requested that I give you sanctuary here at Tofuugai," the youkai Elder went straight to the point. "He fears for your lives, more so, when he learned what you were intending to do. He asked me to keep you safe here."

Hakkai stood up as well, having heard enough. "Sumimasen, Kaoru-sama. Although you and Sanzo have our best interests at heart, forgive me but I have to respectfully decline your offer of a safe haven for us."

Dokugakuji and Yaone followed their example. "The lives of our friends are at stake here," said Dokugakuji strongly. "We have no intention of abandoning this mission for the sake of our own personal safety."

Kaoru smiled at these replies. "Why am I not surprised that this would be your answer? Unfortunately..." Turning somber, she waved her hand, and youkai streamed into the dining hall, brandishing a motley assortment of weapons. "...Sanzo-sama had also given me expressed orders to forcibly detain you if you should choose to go against his wishes."

Everyone readied their weapons, eager to fight their way out of Tofuugai if necessary.

Grinning, Goku declared, "Do you think you can take us on? Let's see you try!"

"There is no need to resort to violence here when I could simply do this."

At these words, Kaoru's garments began to shimmer, radiating a kaleidoscope of colors.

Before they realized what was happening, their minds were literally shut off, causing them to fall into the relaxed state of slumber. One by one, they dropped to the floor in mindless sleep.

The last to succumb was Hakkai, who vaguely heard Kaoru say, "I give you a little time to mull over the path you would choose to take. If you wish to continue on this same path you are treading, come to me one last time. Your hearts will know the way."

Soon, all were fast asleep on the floor, all, that is, except for Hakuryu. The little dragon had shielded himself with a white aura that protected him from Kaoru's mind spell. He was flying over the still forms, "kyu"-ing frantically to wake them up. When none of them could be roused, the dragon focused blazing crimson eyes upon the youkai woman.

Noting his intense glare, Kaoru remarked, "You have done well to protect them up to this point in time, little guardian. It is a great surprise for me that a lord of your rank and stature agreed to take on a role of subservience as this. Have you received the expiation that you have long sought for?"

The youkai Elder was not at all surprised to hear a powerful male voice spill the word, "YAMERU!", out of the dragon's mouth. As Hakuryu opened his mouth wide to let out a burst of flames, one youkai crept up behind him and knocked him out with a club.

Motioning to the figures at her feet, Kaoru ordered her men, "Take them to their chambers." Pointing to Yaone and Dokugakuji, she said, "Only these two are to be kept under lock and key." She gazed sorrowfully down at Hakkai, Goku and Gojyo. "There is no need for these three to be kept under tight guard. They are never going to leave this place...ever."

As the youkai carried their unwilling guests away, Kaoru gently picked up the sleeping dragon. Going in the opposite direction her men had taken, she brought Hakuryu up several stairways, leading to the finer suites of the castle. Entering one chamber, she laid Hakuryu on the red satin sheets of a large four-post bed.

Kaoru tilted her head to the side to gaze warmly at the sweet little dragon. However, when she turned to gaze into the full-length mirror hanging on the wall behind her, what was reflected back at her was not a dragon, but a naked young man with pale skin covered with shimmering silver scales. Two long ear tails framed his handsome face. His head was cradled on his outstretched right arm, his tousled silvery white hair forming waves on the sheets. Like a youkai, he had two pointed ears, as well as two horns jutting on top of his head. A long braid followed the graceful curve of his back, the curled end teasing the tight mounds of his buttocks.

"Forgive me, my lord," Kaoru told the slumbering dragon sadly. "I know that I have promised Sanzo-sama to keep them safe, but I cannot rob them of the choice they have to make. Whatever that choice may be, I cannot allow him, or you, to interfere."

Saying this, Kaoru stepped out of the chamber, locking the door and sealing it with magic, so that the dragon within could not escape.

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER NINE...