Saiyuki
does not belong to the author of this fic.
Through
the Looking Glass by Mitsima
Part 1 - The Looking Glass
The walls were stained with dried blood.
Different blood from different youkai who had united
their minds, souls and bodies towards the defense of their king. A
vain battle, but nevertheless bravely fought. Not that he wanted to
be contemplating messy skirmishes at this moment. That was for the
strategy table and his study, not for here.
Regardless of his weak resolution, though, a grim
part of his mind was bemusing itself with gruesome thoughts.
Now those youkai were now...truly...unified. Yes,
altogether now as a collective splotch of redness upon the castle
grounds. Beautiful...that is...to a more morbid eye. And not to Tenpou’s
myopic orbs. He looked at it all with distaste.
He hated the red. It made him think of mortality,
which (he believed) all gods feared. Then it made him think of losing
battles, which was something all soldiers feared. Then it made him
think of losing friends...which was something //Goku// greatly feared.
Of course, being a god, Tenpou was beyond that. Should have been beyond
that. But if he were truly honest with himself, could never be beyond
that.
Then it made him think of losing himself, as selfish
as it was to think of such things. Tenpou smiled, if not a little
morosely. “Sell fish?” Goku would say. He didn’t
know the meaning of the word, nor did he need to. ‘Sell fless’
was more fitting for the forbidden child. But Tenpou couldn’t
be like that, as much as he felt he should be.
There was too much at risk. The field marshal’s
arms were already occupied in performing a huge balancing act with
“heaven’s fate”- the outcome of which he was still
unsure- and he wasn’t really willing to unburden anybody else
for the sake of generosity. Too much at stake and too much to lose.
The higher up you are, the harder you fall and Tenpou was really really
high up. He wasn’t about to gamble to his decimation.
“Can I hold that for you?” No, that meant
involvement with someone else and involvement with someone else complicated
the web and jolted the equilibrium of the situation in someone else’s
favor.
Hence, the reason he slept with Kenren.
Tenpou smiled to himself again, this time a little
devilishly. Well, first of all it was fun. Can’t rule that out
completely. But second of all, Kenren never asked questions. Not anymore,
at least. And not since they’d started having sex because the
Taishou (sensible man that he is) had figured out that if he wanted
to keep having sex, then the topic of political/military motives would
have to be shut up tight in some dark corner of his lust-driven, alcohol
tinged head.
Then there was Konzen, whose tendency not to pry was
dissipating every day he saw Goku mope over the inability to see Nataku.
“What’s wrong with Nataku, Konzen? Konzen...Konzen! What’s
happening? And who’s that mean old man always with him? Why
does Nataku rather spend his time with him than me? Konzen...Konzen!
And why did That nasty old guy hit Ten-chan?”
That last one with a slip-up. Poor kid. Couldn’t
keep a secret even his lunch depended on it.
Anyway, Konzen got riled up, gave Tenpou the third
degree (futile as it was) then went straight to Tentei. STRAIGHT TO
TENTEI to clear his friend’s names, to apologize for them- though
his sincerity was a bit strained- and to get the ex-Taishou reinstated.
Maybe Goku was getting to him. High marks for selflessness there.
And this was Konzen for goodness’ sake...
Konzen-I-don’t-care-to-do-anybody-favors-because-you’re-all-dust-to-me-douji.
Literally, with the ‘holier than thou’
attitude radiating from him like sunlight.
Albeit the price for all his kindness was an explanation,
reported by Tenpou himself in its abridged, revised, edited, censored
and summarized version which came down to one simple, non-self-explanatory
conclusion: all’s bad in the holy land. It was enough to keep
Konzen at bay for now.
But any thoughts of Konzen were quickly pushed away
by the grim sensation of stepping in a puddle of still unsolidified
blood, staining parts of his black army boots with the acrid crimson.
Tenpou swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and kicked any loose
drops off his foot, //Disgusting//, then presumed surveying the ghastly
empty interior of Gyuumao’s castle.
Two pairs of footsteps echoed throughout the main
hall. Kenren was right behind him. Silent for once, but with his finger
ready at the trigger. Tenpou could tell that his lover...or rather...bed
mate... was wary of this place. As if checking the barrel eight times
wasn’t enough.
“I don’t like it.” said Kenren for
the umpteenth time.
“What’s there to like?”
//Nothing//, but that, if anything, was self explanatory.
“What the hell are you lookin’ for anyway? We’re
not fucking ghostbusters, you know.”
“I never said we were looking for ghosts, Taishou.”
replied Tenpou as pleasantly as he could. “I distinctly remember
telling you that we were going down ‘to look.’ But if
you’re scared, Taishou...” he taunted playfully.
“Oh, cut the crap. All I’m goin’
to say is that I had better get good compensation for being made to
work while off duty.”
Tenpou decided to play along. “I’ll talk
to Goujin about giving you a short vacation in a century or two. Not
now though. Busy times, these are.”
“Idiot.” That wasn’t the type of
compensation he had been asking for. “Well, since you were the
one who dragged me down here, you have to give the compensation, not
Goujin.” He shuddered at the thought.
“Okay then!” the field marshal replied,
overly-cheery. “I’ll give you a...”
He paused.
Kenren pushed him to continue, a little hopefulness
in his voice. “A...”
“A hug.” replied Tenpou with simple decision.
“A hug.” Kenren was incredulous.
“Or is that too intimate?”
“A hug.” A...hug?
“What did you think I’d give you?”
Fine, if the marshal wanted to play the damn innocent,
he could very well do it. Kenren had threats. Very good threats.
“I...” the raven-haired general stated
with obstinate resolution, wishing the loudness of his voice (and
the provocativeness of the thought) would banish that eerie gut feeling
he was getting from this place . “WILL get something VERY, VERY
GOOD from you TONIGHT because I ain’t prancing around in youkai
guts for NOTHING. And you had better promise me something VERY, VERY
GOOD or else I’ll take you right here and now...on the damn
FLOOR and I won’t give a damn if the whole western army came
in looking for us and found me screwing you senseless.”
“Well, if you put it that way, I guess I’ll
have to...” but his voice faded when he caught sight of a faint
glow coming from a far off room. It disappeared. “One moment,
please.” And he quickened his pace to a slow jog until he reached
the decrepit door which housed the “mysterious glowing thing.”
Farther behind him, he heard Kenren cursing as he smacked his own
face with consternation.
“Dammit Tenpou!”
“Don’t worry, Taishou.” he called
over his shoulder. “You’ll receive fair rewards for your
efforts.”
Kenren grinned and vowed to make sure that Tenpou
lived up to his word. ‘Rewards’ not ‘reward.’
Tonight...will be a very very fine night indeed. Taking the time to
make short celebration of this little victory, he lit a cigarette
and posted himself outside the door, gun ready, while Tenpou foraged
inside. “Hurry up Tenpou, this place is really too fucking creepy.
I’m gonna have nightmares.”
“Didn’t I say that I’d help you
deal with that?” he heard the voice mix with sounds of wooden
boxes being open and shut. Open and shut.
Drawers opened and shut. Opened and shut.
Shelves being moved. “You’re telling me
now, and I’m gonna remember it.” Books being opened...
“And don’t tell me you came here looking for books, dammit!”...and
shut.
But Tenpou didn’t answer. After two minutes
of random treasure hunting, he found the rumored relic. Supposedly
something that one of the demon king’s spies stole from heaven
years ago. So much for border security.
From beneath a silken cloth, he found a mirror, and
upon exposing its pristine surface, he nearly stumbled back from shock.
The reflection he saw was not of himself...or it may
have been...or might have not...
His same hair, only shorter.
His same face, only kinder.
His same ears, only with cuffs.
His same eyes, only...with a monocle?
His same lips, but instead of the grim line of abject
horror Tenpou knew he wore, his reflection simply...smiled.
It followed, his movements...the reflection did...just
like any obedient reflection.
“Oi, Tenpou, what’s takin so long?”
He didn’t hear Kenren’s voice, only a
little hum ticking the back of his mind, saying...
“A pity isn’t it? That this isn’t
hell?” Tenpou whispered the words to himself.
Then behind his reflection...in the mirror...was a
shadow. A specter of some sort. Hazy. Ambiguous. Tenpou checked behind
him. Nothing. Looked back at the mirror. Definitely...something. So
he neared the glassy surface, touched its coldness and looked deeper.
Into his own strange eyes, but also into that shadow which seemed
to move and take shape until his reflection wavered...transformed
into something else...into some...youkai?
“Tenpou? You okay?”
Again, he didn’t hear it.
Suddenly something roared in his ears: wild, vicious
and unrestrained. Tenpou tried to stagger back, but could not. His
hand was paralyzed, locked palm to palm with that of his mirror image
which seemed to oscillate before his eyes...from youkai to that other
form. From gentle to malicious. Malicious to gentle.
He felt pain...rushing through his abdomen like a
claw being dug into him.
Felt the rain, when he was nowhere near water. It
drove him half mad and he cried out. Tried to. No sound emerged from
his throat.
Rain and roars. The smell of blood. Pouring rain and
pouring blood. Before his eyes. He hated it. Hungered for it. Pounding
rain and blood pounding through his ears. Then...
Soft rain...soft bed, and a voice. “Did you
want to die?”
No. No. No. Nononoonononono...He screamed...
The mirror shattered. Now a broken piece of nothing
with a bullet hole.
***
500 years later...on the road...
The jeep screeched to a halt, its driver leaning forward
over the wheel...his skin growing pale and his eyes dimming with extreme
fatigue.
“Oi, Hakkai!” Sanzo’s harsh tone
woke him up.
“Sorry...Sanzo.” Hakkai apologized sheepishly.
“I guess I’m just tired, that’s all...but I’m
fine now. Really. The next town shouldn’t be more than ten min-”
“Just shut up and drive. The faster we get there,
the better.” He paused, then adding in a kinder (as kind as
Sanzo can get) tone, he said, “Sleep later, not now. I’m
not in the mood to be road kill.”
“H...hai.”
And so Hakkai continued driving. Then...in an ever
so rare and ever so awkward silence that permeated the air, he heard...
“You okay?”...and it echoed.
“I’m fine, Gojyo, really.”
The halfbreed lifted a slender brow. “But I
didn’t even say anything...”
- TBC -
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to part 2
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