Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Transposition ❯ Complications ( Chapter 2 )

Transposition

By Orenda

 

Rating: R - It's changed since last chapter.

Beta: Iapetus

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki. If I did, you would see Sanzo in a grass skirt and a coconut bra.

 

Pairings: Kougaiji/Yaone, and possible hints of 58 and 39, but no more than hints.

 

WARNINGS: Violence and character death. I warned you.

 

A/N: I know this one is more on the short side of things, but I promise I'll make up the length next chapter. I just didn't want to add on a scene prematurely just so it could be longer.

 

Chapter 2 - Complications

 

 

Having constant responsibilities like the ones given to her under Kougaiji's orders made it very difficult to leave time open for other important things, such as cleaning. In fact, it took Yaone quite a bit of effort to even take the time from her work long enough to clean up the current place Kougaiji had given her to stay in. She usually was not the type to put such things off until the point that it could wait no longer, but lately she had been rather distracted by other things that kept her from it.

 

On the other hand, she was also not used to Kougaiji being away for such a long period of time without her accompanying him. Being his “apothecary”, as they jokingly called her talents, among her other duties, usually required her to travel with him. And while being left in charge while he was away proved his trust in her, it did make her wish that she could have came along to help as well.

 

So of course when the phone rang in the middle of the time she had set aside for just cleaning, it made her a bit frustrated. But her frustration left as quickly as it had arrived. Only a few certain people knew the number of this place, so maybe she would finally be able to hear some good news for a change.

 

Grabbing a nearby towel to wipe her hands dry from the soapy water she had been using to wash dishes with, Yaone managed to rush over and grab the phone by the third ring. “Hello?”

 

“Yaone,” a familiar voice greeted her - Dokugakuji, she realized. “Kou just left with Lirin a few minutes ago by dragon. They're coming your way, and they should arrive there in a few hours.”

 

Yaone blinked in surprise. Kougaiji wasn't supposed to come back from his trip until his business was completed in another week or two. “He finished his negotiating early?” she asked.

 

“No. Apparently someone has a grudge, or maybe issues with the way he operates, because Genjo Sanzo has been hired by someone to kill him.”

 

She gasped, grasping the phone tighter, “And he's not exactly affordable to just anyone. It would take someone with almost as many resources as Kougaiji's…”

 

“…Or at least someone with as many connections, yes.” Dokugakuji sounded a bit worried, “But I sent them to you to help him protect Lirin. I'm afraid I'll have to stay here to protect Kou's other… secrets.”

 

It suddenly registered to Yaone what he was talking about, and she nodded, despite the fact that he would not be able to see her. “Right, of course. Thank you for telling me. I'll keep an eye out for them to arrive. They should be safe once they're here.”

 

She detected a grim amusement in his voice, “Between you and Lirin's over-protective brother, there should not be much of a problem. Take care.”

 

There was a click of the phone as he hung up, leaving her in an eerie silence.

 

So now someone was after Kougaiji, the one whom she cared the most about, and soon she would be the only thing standing in their way. The idea was rather intimidating - not that she believed that he couldn't take care of himself. In fact, he was most definitely a force to be reckoned with, stronger than a lot of demons that she had seen. But still…

 

True she hadn't been expecting to see him for a while yet, the longest time that they had been separated since Kougaiji had asked her to stay and work for him. But knowing that he was coming did give her a bit of an incentive to finish her cleaning before they arrived…

 

The lights in the room suddenly grew dim before going out completely, causing her to freeze where she was as she looked around. Something did not feel right. The rain wouldn't have caused a power outage that easily, would it? She hadn't heard any thunder… Her eyes darting back and forth, she spotted the steadily growing shadows that surrounded her.

 

She spun around quickly to face the new intruding presences. But unfortunately for her, the previous distraction of Dokugakuji's phone call had been enough to keep her from noticing them in time.

 

With the phone still within reach, she picked it back up and dialed the number quickly, and heard it pick up after the first ring.

 

“Yes?”

 

She took in a fast breath, “Doku, I-”

 

A cloth was shoved into her mouth forcefully from behind, cutting her off. She struggled to break free, but they had too good of a hold on her, keeping her from moving much at all. The shadows soon overwhelmed her, and her last conscious thought was for Kougaiji's safety before everything disappeared into darkness.

 

The phone had dropped out of her hand, falling with a clunk to the floor. Dokugakuji could be heard yelling Yaone's name over the phone for a few seconds before the line was cut, leaving the recipient of the call without even so much as a dial tone.

 

--

 

What had started out to be an annoying downpour of rain slowly turned into a damp, foggy drizzle by the time the sun was beginning to rise. The trip itself had been starting to get rather troublesome, and they had barely even started. So it was much relief to both the “master” and his “apprentice” that even though their clothes were soaked all the way through, travel would soon be much easier.

 

Making their way through the streets, they checked a few addresses before finding the right one. The building was completely deserted, or at least it appeared to be, on the outside as well as the inside. The door had been left unlocked, so gaining access inside was simple. Sanzo kept his guard up, though, not taking any chances. If Kougaiji was still there, then he would definitely be guarded by someone.

 

After doing a brief examination of all of the rooms on the ground floor, he made his way over to the stairway. He glanced back in annoyance at his smaller companion, who was visibly distracted by the materials in the room they were in.

 

“Sanzo, this place is huge! Think they have any food? How come you don't have this much stuff, huh?” While Goku knew that Sanzo usually had more than enough money to stay in a place of the same size, he couldn't always understand why the blond chose not to.

 

Sanzo decided that it wasn't worth answering the question. “…Idiot. I want you to stay here. I don't need you being a distraction.”

 

Goku's look instantly became one of protest and hurt. “B-But Sanzo! I'm trying to learn how to be really good, like you, and I can't if I don't watch. I'll stay really quiet, I promise!”

 

Sometimes the man would give in when told things like that, and let Goku help a little. He was definitely stronger than others that were his age, and with his constantly improving fighting skills, Goku would easily be a force to be reckoned with in a short amount of time. But this particular job was a bit more complicated than some of his other ones; Kougaiji was well known and respected, and it would not be easy to catch him off guard. He refused to be distracted right now, even if all he managed to accomplish was gathering more information.

 

“I said that you're going to stay here. Wait for me.” With that, the blond turned around and started his way up the stairs, not bothering to look back and see what the other would do.

 

Goku walked up to the bottom step, watching with a little disappointment as Sanzo ascended to the next floor. The brunette sighed deeply before taking a seat on the step, wondering how long it was going to take. He blinked as a mental image appeared in his head, causing him to smile. For some odd reason, seeing Sanzo climbing the stairs reminded him of the sun rising in the morning sky.

 

--

 

There was nothing. No sounds of anyone moving around except himself, no bits of information or clues lying around, just nothing useful to him. It was annoying, and Sanzo had had enough annoyances for one day already, considering that his clothes were still damp and he wasn't any closer to hunting down his target than he was when he started.

 

He was down to just one room left to search, and it was behind a locked door. Well, Sanzo's lock-picking skills were not exactly expertise, but he knew enough to get around to where he needed to get.

 

Right now, however, he wasn't in the mood; he simply aimed his Smith and Wesson at the doorknob and fired. Once his way was cleared, Sanzo stepped into the room, cautiously awaiting the results of his efforts.

 

The first thing that he noticed was the window. The other rooms on the floor had some small windows, but this one opened up onto a balcony - or rather, it used to. Now it was nothing but a hole in the wall, with glass shattered everywhere.

 

And then there was the blood… Splatter marks on the wall trailed down to form a crimson puddle on the floor. Sanzo quickly spotted what he needed to know about the scene - the lifeless body on the floor was not his prey.

 

It was a demon, but it was not Kougaiji. His short, dark hair helped to prove that.

 

Judging by the chaos of the room, he must have struggled very hard to protect something. But whatever it had been had obviously failed.

 

Sanzo knelt down next to the demon's limp form, being careful not to get any of the blood on his clothes; he didn't want to be connected to a crime that wasn't his. He carefully touched the demon's neck - there was no pulse. It looked like he had been shot with a machine gun, and possibly attacked with a whip as well. Standing up, he examined the blood-stained wall a bit closer. Judging from the freshness, the act must have occurred only a short time before he and Goku had arrived.

 

Although Sanzo was now glad that Goku wasn't going to be seeing this; he knew that the monkey was getting used to such things in this profession, but Goku still had a hard time dealing with violence involving “innocent bystanders”. Then Sanzo would have to put up with his depression for the rest of the day.

 

There was one other thing that bothered him. If this really was Kougaiji's office, as it appeared to be, then why was nothing else in the room torn up? Whoever had killed this demon must have been interested in Kougaiji's dealings, but the only signs that anything was wrong were the broken window and the new blood-stained decoration on the floor. So either they were very clean and thorough in their search, or… Perhaps they were deliberately trying to stop him? It was possible, but not an idea that he'd like to think about.

 

It was time to move on to the next step. He left, making sure there was no evidence of his presence remaining. He was sure the police would come to investigate pretty soon, so it would be much better if they were long gone by then.

 

He was suddenly given an idea. It would be much more efficient than walking…

 

--

 

The whispers started several hours later, a while after the two newcomers had made their way through the streets towards the other side of town. Tension was in the already dampened air from the earlier rain, the ones moving about seeming to tell each other to keep an eye out for anything unusual.

 

One of the town's inhabitants, a man who just so happened to be out and about a bit earlier than usual to run some errands, picked up on the slowly building tension. The strange feeling caused him to feel cautious, yet curious at the same time.

 

He brushed his dark hair away from his face, suddenly spotting someone that he knew walking in the opposite direction. Perhaps this friend could tell him what was going on, since he had been living in the area for a longer period of time, not to mention the fact that being a detective in training had its advantages of knowing information before most others did.

 

“Tonpou!” he called out, waving at him with a smile when attention was given to him.

 

The other man waved back, and changed his course to meet up with him. “Hey, Hakkai. Haven't seen you or Gojyo around in a while.”

 

Cho Hakkai nodded in agreement, “I'm afraid that we've been rather busy lately. How have you been?”

 

Tonpou grinned at the question, “Probably as busy as you two have been, if not more. There's been some accusations of embezzlement and sabotage from within Tenjiku Corporation. We've been assigned to investigate it for the last week or so.” His smile faded a bit, “It's tiring, but I guess someone has to do it.”

 

Hakkai's look became thoughtful, “I see. Is that what all the commotion is about?”

 

The other man's smile disappeared completely as he was reminded of his reason for being out that morning. “That is… part of it. One of Kougaiji's personal assistants that had been staying here with him was found murdered early this morning, and Kougaiji himself seems to have disappeared.”

 

Hakkai frowned. A murder… That would explain the strange feeling that was in the air. But there still seemed to be a piece of the puzzle missing.

 

He nodded in understanding, “…And I take it that's about all you're allowed to tell me?”

 

“The victim's name hasn't been released yet, no. They're trying to figure out how to contact his family.” Tonpou hesitated, looking around before continuing. “Well… There's been some rumors spreading that Genjo Sanzo came through town very early this morning, headed in the direction of the scene.”

 

Hakkai's eyes turned cold at the mention of that name. Genjo Sanzo… Not him… He looked rather frightening for a moment before he quickly managed to collect himself. Yet the darkness remained behind his eyes, making them seem greener than usual. “Sanzo…”

 

The other man picked up on Hakkai's sudden uneasiness, “But I wouldn't worry about it too much. There weren't any real witnesses to confirm anything. Someone probably started the rumor just to cause a commotion, I'm sure.”

 

“Maybe.” Hakkai's expression didn't change. “Thanks for the information. I should probably be letting you get back to work now.”

 

He nodded, “Yeah, probably. We should catch up sometime.”

 

“Sure.”

 

It was then that Hakkai continued on his way, not looking back and struggling to maintain his composure until he could make it back to Gojyo's place a block away.

 

Tonpou watched him leave, wondering what had caused the usually very collected man to be shaken up. Although he supposed if anyone knew the answer to that, it would be Sha Gojyo.

 

 

To Be Continued…