Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Tainted Love ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

CHAPTER SEVEN

The sudden opening of the door immediately roused Gojyo from slumber. However, as he lifted his head from the pillow, he was horrified to behold Hakkai standing at the doorway, his handsome face transformed into a mask of pure hate.

Feeling the half-breed already awake, Sanzo also raised his head, blinking at the stiff figure at the door. "What is it, Hakkai?"

"I just came to tell you that breakfast is ready downstairs," Hakkai replied.

"What about the storm?"

"The wind has died down, but it's still snowing heavily. The innkeeper did say the winter weather is unpredictable in these parts. I don't think we're going anywhere."

Sanzo plopped down on the bed. "Curses! Just what we need – more delays."

"Be reasonable, Sanzo," Gojyo placated their infuriated leader. "Its dangerous to be caught in a snowstorm in the wilderness. We also don't know if there are any youkai out there, waiting to ambush us in the bad weather. It's better to stay here until the weather clears up enough that we can move on."

Sanzo sighed in surrender. He was not accustomed to hearing the half-breed spouting sensible advice at him. "Looks like I don't have a choice. We'll be right down, Hakkai."

Hakkai scowled darkly at them, but did not say anything more as he closed the door.

The monk sensed Gojyo's apprehension. Taking the redhead's hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Gojyo, however, was not convinced. The hatred on Hakkai's face remained etched inside his mind.

~~~~~

Sanzo and Gojyo went down to the kitchen together, where Goku was already chowing down on plate upon plate of food. As they sat down at the table, Hakkai went about serving them breakfast, giving a plate to Sanzo first.

"Where's Kanan?" Hakkai asked the nervous redhead.

"Oh, she's in my room," Gojyo quickly answered. "I'm sorry. I thought she would be much safer up there and…"

Hakkai slammed the plate in front of the half-breed, sending bits of food splattering on Gojyo's face and clothes.

Sanzo and Goku were shocked by what the former gentle youth did.

"Hakkai!" Sanzo said sharply. "That was uncalled for."

Goku was in total agreement. "Yeah! Why are you treating Gojyo so badly? What wrong did he do to you?"

"That's enough." Gojyo's hands shook as he wiped the food from his face with a napkin. "It's all right. It's my mistake. I'm going up to get Kanan." Saying this, he hurriedly left the dining table.

Hakkai threw the dishtowel furiously into the sink. Glaring down at Goku, he snarled, "You want to know what's going on, bakazaru?" The boy flinched. That was the first time he heard the green-eyed younger man call him by that moniker. "Tell me! You really want to know what's going on? Why don't you ask that bastard monk you so worship?" At these words, Hakkai too left the kitchen in a huff.

"Sanzo?" Goku turned to the monk, the suspicion and the desire to trust warring in his golden eyes.

Sanzo massaged his aching temples. He looked the boy straight in the eye. "We did nothing wrong, Goku."

To that honest answer, Goku nodded once and smiled.

~~~~~

The incident at the breakfast table caused Gojyo to lose his appetite. Despite his growing dread of the doll, he retrieved it and his jacket from his room, sneaked outside the front door, and went to the vine-covered gazebo he had seen in the garden when he looked out the window last night.

Sitting on the bench, the redhead carefully re-plaited the doll's hair. "Kanan, I don't know if you're really alive or perhaps I'm going crazy with despair because of what's been happening between me and Hakkai. But you know that Sanzo and I did nothing wrong. You were in my room last night. How I wish you could speak and tell Hakkai."

A high-pitched voice, like that of a child, declared, "You're nothing but a slut!"

Gojyo dropped the doll in shock. No! It couldn't be the doll that spoke!

As he stared at the toy lying on the leaves-covered floor, its head turned to gaze back at him. Gojyo's hair stood on end as the doll cackled evilly, "YOU'RE A SLUT!" To his greater horror, the doll spoke in a voice he never expected to hear again. The voice of a man… "You're my whore, Sha Gojyo! MINE!"

Gojyo turned on his heels to flee, but found himself bumping into Hakkai.

"Hakkai!" he gasped out. "What are you…"

Wordlessly, Hakkai bent down and picked up the doll, brushing away leaves and twigs from its hair and dress. "I thought I told you to take care of her. Gojyo, you've made her unhappy."

"Hakkai, I'm sorry," Gojyo stammered. "I was taking care of her, but…"

"You were busy fucking with Sanzo." Hakkai said it ominously as he set the doll on the bench.

"That's not true! We didn't do anything! We just slept, that's all. Why don't you ask Sanzo? He'll tell you that…"

Hakkai suddenly whirled around, giving Gojyo a hard slap that sent him falling to the floor. Picking himself up on one elbow, the redhead stared at his friend in stunned disbelief. His hand went up to his aching cheek and it came away blooded. That blow apparently had cut his lip as well.

"Why should I talk to Sanzo?" Hakkai roared at him in fury. "He'd just lie to me to cover up your slutty ass!"

Gojyo winced as Hakkai grabbed a fistful of his crimson tresses and bent him over the bench. To his horror, rough hands undid the buckle of his belt and ripped his jeans down to his knees. The doll sat before him with a merciless stare in its glass eyes, as if saying, "Now you're getting the fucking you deserve, whore!"

Arms wrapped around his waist and something long and hard slid along the cleft of his ass.

Gojyo gripped the doll's arms tightly. "Don't do this to me! Please!"

"Why are you having cold feet all of a sudden?" Hakkai jeered behind him, fingers cupping those tight cheeks and prying them apart. "It's not as if you don't have any experience. I know you've got lots of it. After all, you are an ero kappa."

The redhead cried out as he was brutally invaded, his torn flesh bleeding in an instant. Tears filled his eyes as the thrusts began, hard and swift, causing him to whimper in pain.

Although in agony, Gojyo drew in whatever meager strength remained in his battered will, and looked straight at the mocking face of the doll.

"I…DID…NOTHING!" Gojyo stressed each word with every violent rock of his body. "Look inside your heart and tell me, Hakkai! Would I lie with another man after what was done to me? You called me a 'whore' and a 'slut', but even a whore doesn't deserve to be used in this manner, like trash! They used me like a piece of meat, and now you're doing the same damned thing to me! Hakkai, it doesn't have to be this way! All you need to do is ask and I'll give you my body, tainted though it may be, and the whole of my soul! Oh please, Hakkai! Don't give me a reason to hate you!"

As he burst into sobs, Gojyo felt those furious thrusts stop. At lot more gently than he expected, Hakkai pulled out of his body. Wearily settling down on his haunches, wincing at the sharp pain in his butt, Gojyo heard the rustle of clothes as Hakkai zipped up his pants. Turning, he gripped Hakkai's wrists before he could walk away.

"I love you, Hakkai," Gojyo said with all sincerity.

To his astonishment, a tear fell from Hakkai's left eye. For a moment, his lips trembled. "If you love me, you should have told me the truth. Those words, those visions haunting my dreams…I don't know what to believe anymore!" Hakkai shook his head in anguish, clutching his temples. "You should've told me the truth!"

Before the half-breed could say more in his defense, Hakkai ran off. Gojyo bit down on his lower lip to stop the leaking of tears from his eyes. Remembering what Hakkai said, however, despair instantly turned to anger.

Gojyo's crimson eyes focused on the innocent-looking doll. "What lies have you been showing?" He grabbed it and shook it roughly. "I know you're alive, damn you! Why are you tormenting me? Isn't what you did to me from years ago enough for you? Why are you doing this?"

The doll's eyes suddenly flashed a sickly yellow like pus. A whirlwind blew up right from under Gojyo's feet, sending him flying around and around. The violent wind also sent leaves and twigs whipping up, creating tears on the redhead's shirt and slashes on his skin. As Gojyo looked down in horror, he saw the doll standing in the heart of the maelstrom, smiling up at him. It raised its right hand, and an inky black cloud extruded from its fingertips. More of that black substance poured out from the tattoo on his left shoulder. His eyes flew wide as that inky substance assumed very familiar human shapes.

"No!" Gojyo gasped, feeling the wind delivering him right into the arms of those eager shadows.

"Why do we do this to you, Sha Gojyo?" the largest shadow of them all said in a mocking tone. "Because you belong to us."

As the wind carried him towards those hated wraiths, a snarl rose up from Gojyo's throat and tiny tongues of flames flared from his glowing red eyes.

"I DON'T BELONG TO YOU!"

~~~~~

"Did you learn anything, Sanzo?"

Sanzo took a deep drag from his cigarette and shook his head. "Not a thing. You know how tight-lipped Gojyo can be."

"What about that room?"

"No luck either. I need to figure out what kind of spell was put on it. I didn't get the chance last night because you told me to stay with Gojyo."

Goku's lips pursed in a pout, frustrated at their lack of progress. "I'm really worried. Hakkai's acting very strangely. Even Hakuryu doesn't want to be in the same room with him. Gojyo's being torn apart by all this. It hurts to see him suffering and not being able to do anything to help."

"If you really want to know what I'm dying to do," Sanzo began grimly, "I want to put bullet holes through that damned doll."

The saru nodded in agreement. "I'd like to beat it to a pulp with my nyoibou."

"Damn that kappa!" the monk cursed under his breath, as the front door opened with a soft squeak. "He won't let that monstrosity out of his sight!" He waved his hand flippantly in the direction of the door, knowing full well who had just entered. "Just look at him! Let me guess! I bet he has that hideous thing with him right now."

Goku's shocked eyes were as wide as platters. "Sanzo…"

Seeing the expression on the boy's face, the monk turned in the direction of the door. His cigarette fell to the floor as his jaw dropped. He and Goku got out of their seats in an instant and ran towards the pitiful figure standing before the door.

Gojyo only had a shirt on, and even that was torn in several places, especially at his left shoulder, the sleeve bunched at the crook of his arm. The half-breed sported a number of bruises on his face and body. Some of those bruises looked like handprints. There was a small cut on his lower lip. Drying blood caked his long legs. He trembled all over, clutching his jacket to his chest in a tight grip.

Sanzo seized his shoulders, but Gojyo pulled away with a mewling cry. "Gojyo, who the hell did this to you? Was it Hakkai? Was it because of last night? For god's sake, tell me!" When the redhead still did not answer, Sanzo's face hardened, gritting his teeth, as he pulled out his gun. "I'm going to kill that fucking son of a bitch!"

Those angry words roused Gojyo from his stupor, and he seized Sanzo's wrist in a death grip before the monk could storm off. "It wasn't Hakkai! It wasn't him!"

"Do you expect me to believe that? Who else could it be! Goku and I were here this whole time!"

"And I'm telling you it's not Hakkai! If you do anything to hurt him, I won't forgive you! To hell with your mission! I'll leave if you harm even a single hair on his head!"

Sanzo was seething in fury, but despite his bruised and battered state, Gojyo held firm, matching him will for will. In the end, the monk yanked his gun hand free from the half-breed's grip, crossed his arms over his chest, and turned his back to them.

"You go with that fool this time, Goku," Sanzo ordered testily. "Hakkai won't think you're fucking him because you're a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Goku exclaimed, offended that the monk would still think of him as a juvenile.

A slight tilt of the monk's head revealed a single lavender eye, flashing daggers at him. "You're not a kid anymore? So you don't go and start fucking him or I'll pump that monkey brain of yours full of lead!"

"Why would I do something like that? The only person I want to make love to is…"

A gentle hand was laid on his shoulder, and Goku saw Gojyo shake his head, a hint of a smile on his lips. The redhead was right. This wasn't the right time to tell the monk how he felt.

"Sanzo…" Gojyo humbly bowed to the angry monk. "Thank you."

Sanzo snorted, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Just get the fuck out of my sight!"

The monk listened to his companions' soft footsteps as they went up the stairway. Pity for the half-breed softened his heart and he slowly turned to give the younger man an encouraging word. But what he saw stopped his words from coming out.

Glowing a scarlet red at Gojyo's left shoulder was a heart shaped tattoo with the names of seven men written inside it.

~~~~~

"No! Don't sit down yet!"

Gojyo stopped before he could plop down on the bed in weariness. Taking his hand, Goku led him into the bathroom. Not a single drop of water fell from the tap when the boy opened it, but one hard kick to the pipes and water gushed out in a torrent. As Gojyo looked on, Goku took a basin and proceeded to wash the blood from his legs with soap and gentle strokes of a wash towel. The saru hesitated when he was up to the half-breed's thighs, but Gojyo gave him his permission with a nod. With meticulous care, Goku washed away all traces of blood on the redhead's thighs and butt, blushing hotly when his fingers accidentally brushed against Gojyo's most private of parts.

"It wasn't Hakkai," Gojyo suddenly answered Goku's unspoken question. "I admit he tried. He was already…inside me. But he never…"

"Then who…"

Gojyo knelt down and embraced the surprised boy. "It's best that you don't know, Goku. You and Sanzo. I don't want you two to get involved in this. You'll only add to my worries if anything happens to you."

"This isn't right!" Goku argued. "You shouldn't be shouldering this heavy burden alone! Why couldn't you tell us?"

"I can't, and I must deal with this problem on my own – to protect you and Sanzo, and especially to save Hakkai's soul." As Gojyo's eyes clouded with tears, a relieved smile formed on his lips. "I now have good reason to hope. Despite his anger, despite his cruel words, I'm now certain of it. Hakkai still loves me."

~~~~~

Hakkai came in thirty minutes after Gojyo, and Sanzo was waiting for him. He made to walk past the monk, but Sanzo seized his wrist.

"I want to talk to you," Sanzo said grimly.

Hakkai pulled his hand out of the monk's grasp. "We have nothing to talk about."

"Oh yes we do!" Sanzo forced the younger man to face him, but Hakkai wouldn't look at him. "Whatever it is that's inside that dirty head of yours, it's not true. Gojyo may be drop dead gorgeous, but he's not my type."

"So you say."

"Why do you continue to doubt him? Because of a secret he kept from you? That you weren't first to claim that delectable ass? I thought you were the smart one among us. Turns out you're an even bigger idiot than the saru!"

"That may be true."

At that listless answer, Sanzo frowned as he looked closely at Hakkai. The younger man seemed to be in pain. What could be seen of his face was his jaw, and it was tightly set. His body shook with the effort of controlling his emotions.

"Since I'm not going to get a straight answer out of you…" The monk gave his distraught traveling companion a warning glare. "Hurt Gojyo that way again and I swear I'll kill you."

But when Hakkai lifted his head to finally face the monk, Sanzo was surprised to see that handsome face streaked with tears.

"Then you're better off killing me now," Hakkai said in anguish as he trudged up the stairs, "because despite your words, I'm sure to hurt him again."

~~~~~

In the garden, what was once a picturesque gazebo was transformed into a mound of ashes and charred wood. Smoke still rose from the ruins.

Suddenly, a tiny hand shot out of the ashes, and the grotesque, partially melted form of the doll clambered out. Yellow lightning streaks snaked across the toy's ruined features until it was as good as new once more. Still, it moved clumsily, and its pretty face was contorted with the rage of six evil wraiths that were now confined in its tiny body.

The doll tilted its head back and roared out the name of the half-breed in fury.

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