Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ CHAPTER ELEVEN: Beginnings ( Chapter 11 )

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

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Beginnings

Hakkai opened startled green eyes to behold cute sobbing and sniffling faces gazing down at him, warm teardrops falling on his cheeks.

"He's alive! He's alive!" a little girl squealed in relief, her shrill voice ear grating, but at the same time familiar to him. He almost laughed when the child peered down at him once more and asked, "Are you alive, Gonou-sensei?"

Gonou? thought Hakkai in bewilderment. But I haven't been called by that name in three years!

"Baka!" a boy rapped the girl on the back of the head. "You see that sensei's eyes are open so that means he's alive!"

Due more to surprise than pain, the little girl burst into tears.

Gingerly sitting up, Hakkai chidingly told the offender, "That's not a nice thing to do, Hideki-kun." Yes, he remembered; that was the boy's name. And the name of the girl came to him as well. Embracing the weeping child, he said soothingly, "There, there now, Minmei-kun. As you can see now, I'm all right."

Minmei rubbed her knuckles over her eyes to wipe away her tears. "Are you sure, Gonou-sensei? You sure scared us when you fainted."

Another little boy named Koji inquired, "Were you thinking about Kanan-san?"

Kanan… The memory of his sister and lost love caused a dull ache to rise inside his heart.

Seeing the sorrow on his teacher's handsome face, Hideki rapped Koji on the head as well. "Another baka! See what you did? You made sensei sad again!"

Hakkai looked at his students in confusion. "Would you mind telling me what's going on here?"

The children suddenly clammed up, stealing uncomfortable glances at each other. To their relief, however, one of their teachers, Kinkedo Jun, was running towards them, having seen Hakkai's collapse from his classroom window.

"Come on, kids!" Kinkedo declared with a clap of his hands. "Everyone back to class! I'll take care of your Gonou-sensei!"

One by one, the children gave their favorite teacher one last worried glance before slinking back to the small school building.

Getting down on one knee beside Hakkai, Kinkedo asked in concern, "Daijoubu desu ka, Gonou-san?"

"I'm not sure." Hakkai rubbed his aching brow. "What happened?" His fingers brushed against his left ear and he nearly gasped in shock to discover that he was not wearing his demonic power control device. Does this mean that I'm human again? What the hell is going on?

"You were playing with the children when you suddenly collapsed." There was a look of disapproval on Kinkedo's face. "I told you it's much too soon for you to resume teaching. You have to give yourself more time."

"Time?" asked Hakkai, truly perplexed. "Time for what?"

"To grieve, to mourn. To get over the pain of losing Kanan."

Hakkai opened his hands and gazed in anguish at his palms. "How can I get over it, Jun-san? After all that blood I had spilled to get to her, I still couldn't save Kanan."

Kinkedo stared at Hakkai in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what I've done? How I've massacred hundreds of youkai…how I killed Hyakugan Maoh…"

Kinkedo swiftly covered Hakkai's mouth with his hand. "Let's not speak of that hated name here," he warned his distraught co-teacher. "I don't want to frighten the children who might overhear us." Laying the back of his hand over Hakkai's forehead, he asked, "Gonou-san, you're not ill, are you?"

"Of course not! Except for this splitting headache, I feel fine."

"It must be due to exhaustion then. You've been taking care of Kanan for over a month. Compared to the others, we were surprised you were able to keep her alive for that long. We were hoping that she would survive."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jun-san? Kanan was kidnapped by the Dark Crow Clan and sacrificed to Hyakugan Maoh! She committed suicide right before my eyes!"

Kinkedo suddenly grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly, "Gonou-san, Kanan did not commit suicide! Don't you remember? She died of brain fever!"

Hakkai blinked at the other teacher in shock. "Brain fever?"

An hour later, Hakkai was trudging through the narrow path in the middle of a field of tall grass, heading for the village cemetery. Multitudinous chaotic thoughts were whirling through his mind.

Hai, he suddenly remembered. A month before…it…happened, there was a brain fever epidemic in the village. Kanan fell ill, but I was able to heal her. She was the only survivor.

Following the directions that Kinkedo had given him, information acquired on the pretense that he was too addle-pated, Hakkai easily found Kanan's grave, marked by a simple white cross with her name etched on it.

"Is this my test?" Hakkai thought aloud. "Are you saying that none of those terrible things would've happened if Kanan had died of illness, if I hadn't saved her life? Maybe she would've been better off dying from the brain fever instead of suffering at the hands of Hyakugan Maoh."

Silent tears fell from his eyes as he placed his hand on the cross.

Bitterly, Hakkai muttered, "Why did you bring me to this place, Bosatsu-sama? Why did you make me human again? What am I supposed to accomplish here when Kanan is lying six feet under the ground?"

As Hakkai wept over his lost love, unknown to him, many pairs of sharp reptilian eyes were watching his every move.

---

The first thing that Gojyo saw when he opened his eyes was the color red - that, and the scent of flowers tickling his nostrils. Sitting up, he discovered that he was lying in a field of fragrant red flowers. The sight of those crimson blossoms caused him to crinkle his nose up in distaste.

"Of all the places to be sent off to," Gojyo hissed under his breath, "why did it have to be here? I hate these flowers!"

He was about to get to his feet when a very familiar voice called out his name, stopping him cold. Breaking out in a sweat, Gojyo slowly turned in the direction of that voice to see a woman running towards him. The glint of the sharp edge of the axe she was holding was unmistakable.

Kaasan… There was no mistake. The woman was indeed his stepmother!

Gojyo was torn between running and just sitting where he was. Or he could fight back, like what he had done when he had confronted conjured apparitions of her during their battles with Homura and Kami-sama. Already, his hand was inching back, fingers groping for his fallen scythe.

"GOJYO, DON'T MOVE!"

Gojyo froze at once. Then, he felt warm, rancid air blown in puffs at the back of his neck, followed by low menacing growls.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!"

Then, the axe swung down and Gojyo shielded his head with his arms. There was a pained yelp and something warm splattered on his left cheek. He was expecting blood. He had been in far too many battles to know what blood felt like. What Gojyo did not expect was to find his cheek smooth once more. The two parallel scars on his cheekbone have disappeared.

Gojyo was jolted out of his thoughts when a dead wolf fell with a thud before him. Looking up, he saw his stepmother standing above him with bloodied axe in hand, facing four more wolves. Its two other companions lay dead not far from them.

One wolf leaped at the youkai, snarling and drool dripping from its mouth.

"KAASAN, LOOK OUT!" cried Gojyo.

"I WON'T LET YOU HARM MY SON!" she shouted as she let the axe fly, plunging the blade in the wolf's soft belly. With a roar, she hurled the carcass at its companions, knocking them to the ground. Getting to their feet, the wolf pack went slinking away with their tails between their legs.

When the wolves had disappeared into the woods, the youkai fell to her knees before Gojyo. "Daijoubu, son?" she asked, cupping his face and running her fingers through his hair. "For god's sake, Gojyo! I told you not to go after those wolves alone! Yes, I know that you're a man now, but that doesn't give you any excuse to do something so dangerous and reckless as this! And besides…" She turned her head away. "Did you think you're going to gain everyone's respect in this way? You'll always be an object of fear and derision for them…a taboo child."

Gojyo stared at the woman before him. As far as he could tell, this youkai before him was not a doppelganger. This woman was flesh and blood. But she couldn't be his stepmother. His stepmother had never shown anything but contempt for him. For her, he was the taboo child of his youkai father and his human mistress. The hated child of the woman who had destroyed her life. The ultimate cause of her descent into insanity and brutal death.

Noticing his confused stare, she asked, "Why are you looking at me that way, Gojyo? You look like you've seen a ghost! Tell me, son. Did those wolves hurt you?"

"Why…why are you so worried about me?" Gojyo blurted out the inevitable question. In his mind, he added, You hated me! You wanted to kill me!

Then, the unexpected happened. Gojyo was stunned to silence when his stepmother embraced him.

"What kind of baka question is that?" she exclaimed. "I'm your mother! I have every right to worry over you! You're my son!"

"But I'm not your true son. Jien is."

"When that fool of a mother of yours abandoned you, I took you in and loved you as though you were my own. Jien knows this. That's why he was confident to leave you in my care before he went off to seek his fortune in the world."

For a while, Gojyo could not move, unsure of how to react. He had always longed for this - acceptance and, most of all, love from his stepmother. This was like a dream come true for him. How could he refuse such good fortune?

Raising his arms, Gojyo gave her a tender hug. As tears filled his eyes, he murmured in joy, "Arigato, Kaasan." You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say you loved me.

That night, for the first time, Gojyo slept peacefully in his own bed. He was blissfully unaware that his stepmother was watching him as he slumbered, her sharp eyes gazing at his handsome face and his long crimson hair fanning across his pillow.

Closing the door quietly, she padded through the front room and went outside the cottage, where another youkai was waiting for her.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"He's had a rough day," she told him. "I'll tell you when it's all right."

He looked at her suspiciously. "You're not planning to cheat me, are you?"

"Of course not! I have every intention of ensuring that you get your money's worth." She scratched her head. "I must admit that I was gravely concerned, though, when he didn't come home at the time I told him to." A sarcastic laugh. "He wanted to be a hero!"

"Leave it to me," he reassured her, pounding his fist on his chest, smirking. "I'll teach him what he's truly meant to be."

A wicked smile formed on the woman's face. "I am hoping you would."

---

"NYOIBOU!"

Goku's hand closed around his staff as it materialized. Giving it a few twirls, he assumed a fight stance, ready to battle the band of youkai that had him surrounded.

"If this is my test," Goku chuckled in glee, "this is going to be a piece of cake!"

With methodical precision, the saru picked off his opponents one by one with a piercing thrust or a crushing blow to the head with his staff. He had wanted to burn off his frustrations of the past few months, and this little exercise was helping him quite nicely.

However, as the minutes passed, Goku noticed something disturbing about his adversaries. Unlike before, these youkai were more like wild beasts, relentless in their attacks. There was not a trace of sanity in their eyes. The only thing that was on their minds was to kill…and to eat their kill. Goku barely stepped out of the way when a fallen youkai reached for his leg, teeth bared to sink into his ankle. He dispatched it easily with a plunge of his staff in its back.

Then, there was the bigger problem that the youkai seemed to be crawling out of the woodwork like pesky roaches. Just as he defeated one band, more jumped out of the bushes.

Panting for breath, Goku thought, This is not good! For a moment, he even contemplated removing his kinko. But without Gojyo, Hakkai and, especially, Sanzo, who was going to stop him when he goes into a killing frenzy?

There was only one option left to him - to flee. And run he did.

Desperate to elude the youkai, Goku used a tortuous route - leaping through brush, jumping from tree to tree or swinging from vines. But the youkai were just as determined to get him.

Kuso! Goku cursed in frustration, seeing his pursuers closing the distance. How do I shake these guys off?

Doing a mid-air somersault, he used a tree branch to propel him back towards the youkai, willing his staff to stretch out at the same time. Goku barreled into them, knocking them forcefully to the ground below.

But from out of nowhere, more youkai appeared. Goku cried out as sharp claws rent his clothes and tore his skin underneath. Because of the suddenness of their attack, Goku lost his momentum and he fell crashing to the ground.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Goku eased himself up on one elbow. Although he could hear the menacing growls of the youkai who were moving cautiously towards him, his eyes were focused on the quaint little cottage standing a short distance before him, and the blond haired beauty bathing in the pond.

"Run!" Goku called out weakly to that slim bathing form, a trembling hand raised. "RUN!" Already, he could feel the youkai breathing down his neck.

But as he blinked, the bather suddenly disappeared. Goku wondered if his weary mind was playing tricks on him or if it was because of his blurring vision.

Then, there was a flash above him. Goku lifted his head to see long golden hair glinting in the light of day. Just like sunbeams. A blinding light emanated from the base of that pale, slender throat, causing the youkai to stagger back in fear.

A powerful voice declared, "Heed my command! Return to your true selves this instant!"

The youkai's screams were deafening as the light consumed them, that Goku had to clap his hands over his ears to drown out the noise and close his eyes against the glare.

Great was Goku's astonishment when he opened his eyes once more to see that the youkai had reverted to their more human forms. At first, they were shocked to see themselves back to normal, gaping at their hands and feeling their bodies. The youkai immediately prostrated themselves at the feet of their savior.

"Arigato!" they bowed again and again as tears rolled down their cheeks. "Arigato gozaimasu!"

"You have nothing to thank me for," their savior replied, his voice deep and refined, but very kind. "What I've done is but a temporary measure. I don't know how long my spell is going to last." He added in sorrow, "I could only free you all from this…curse…if I could find what's causing this metamorphosis and destroy it. What I've done now…it's nothing."

One of the youkai vehemently shook his head. "No, my lord. You're wrong. You don't know how much this means to us. Now, we can go see our families and loved ones again…even for a short time."

"Then go, my friends! Go to them, while you still have the precious time that I have given you."

The youkai beamed as they bowed to him one last time before disappearing into the woods.

Goku was on the verge of blacking out when he was turned over and cradled in strong, but gentle arms.

"It's all right, young man," that kind voice tugged at the saru's aching heart. "No one's going to hurt you."

Lifting his head, Goku found himself gazing at a face he had not seen in months. Or was it centuries? So mesmerized was he by that handsome face and those warm lavender eyes that he did not notice those pointed ears nor the demonic power control device, in the shape of a golden neckband with a sun stone set in its center, adorning his savior's neck.

Seized by intense longing, Goku broke into a wail and embraced his startled savior, and pressed his lips to that delectable mouth. As his tear-filled vision wavered, he could see the images of two men overlapping that of his savior's.

Before he fell into unconsciousness, Goku gave voice to the tender feeling that he had kept inside his heart for too long.

"Aishitteru…Sanzo…Konzen."

TO BE CONTINUED….