Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Tainted Love ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

TAINTED LOVE
© May 5, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual


CHAPTER TEN

Sanzo closed the grimoire with a bang, wishing he hadn't read the accursed thing. Those evil spells made his skin crawl, and he was disgusted that the most powerful ones were being directed at the poor half-breed.

Jinnei… The man was a bastard for holding on to his obsession even beyond the grave.

Picking up the book, Sanzo went straight to the fireplace and threw it in the blazing hearth. For good measure, he also used the sutra to destroy it completely. As he watched the book burn, the monk heaved a weary sigh. Although now he knew what they were up against, they were still faced with a serious dilemma. They'd fought youkai and gods in the past, but those beings possessed tangibility. How could they defeat intangible entities like ghosts, especially if the wraith in question was a blood magic user? Then, there was Hakkai. Jinnei's ghost was obviously controlling him, and if what Sanzo suspected was correct, Jinnei sought to occupy the green-eyed man's body for his own. If they didn't act soon, Hakkai was sure to lose his soul.

Sanzo glared at the closed door of the room upstairs. Gojyo was the key to all this. Their kind hosts had yet to tell them the story of what happened that tragic night of the redhead's youth. But the monk was certain about one thing. After what he had witnessed last night, Sanzo was resolved that he wouldn't put Gojyo through any more hardships. The gods only knew that the half-breed had suffered enough.

When nothing was left of the grimoire but ashes, Sanzo decided to go up to the bedroom to see how the redhead was doing.

The monk opened the door just in time to see Karin pull the covers up to Gojyo's chin. Takeo was washing his bloody hands in the basin. Seated beside the bed was a very pale Goku.

"You've got a brave young man here, Sanzo-sama," Karin praised, ruffling the boy's hair.

Tears filled Goku's eyes, and he shook his head. "What they did to him… It's terrible! He had to be stitched up…down there." There was bitterness in the boy's voice as he glared at the doctor. "And you did…this…to him when he was eighteen? You make me sick!"

Takeo gripped the edge of the dresser tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. "Of all the things I've done in my life, it is that which I regretted the most. Up to now, my conscience continues to torment me for what I did to him that night."

"As well it should," Goku retorted. "Only beasts would do what you bastards had done to him!"

A weak voice spoke from the bed. "Goku, it's not right to judge if you don't know the truth." To the surprise of Sanzo and Goku, Gojyo reached for Takeo's hand and laid it over his scarred cheek. "I…I thought you had perished. I've taken so many innocent lives. I believed you were one of them… You and dear Karin…."

"Oh, but Karin survived!" Takeo exclaimed, bringing his wife forward. "Here she is, Gojyo. She became my wife."

Tears welled up in Gojyo's crimson eyes as he smiled. "You don't know how happy I am to see you alive and well." He even pressed their hands to his lips. "Thank the gods they kept you safe!"

~~~~~

The door to the bedroom closed, but Goku remained silent. He found it unbelievable that the half-breed would weep in happiness to see his abuser still alive.

"You're angry with me," Gojyo observed the boy beside him.

"No, I could never be angry with you," said Goku with a shake of his head. "It's just that… I don't understand."

Gojyo eased himself up to a sitting position, wincing at the pain in his ass. Goku hastened to lay thick pillow at the half-breed's back for support. With a sigh, Gojyo settled back.

"Hakkai once told me that you hated people who kept secrets from you," Gojyo began softly. "I understand how you feel. I kept a secret from Hakkai, and this has led to a lot of hurt feelings and trouble, not just for him, but for you and Sanzo as well. I meant to tell Sanzo everything, and then he would tell you. But I realized that it would be better if you heard the whole truth from me. I must warn you, though, Goku. It's a very ugly story. Think you can handle it?"

Goku clasped Gojyo's hand and squeezed it gently. He doubted if he could be strong enough to listen to the half-breed's story, but he had to help his friend get through this. His reply was a simple nod and a reassuring smile.

Gojyo looked fondly at Goku. "Karin's right about you. You certainly are brave, Goku. A hell of a lot braver than I am. But don't worry." He gave the boy a wink. "There'll be a surprise for you in the end. A surprise for you and you alone."

~~~~~

Sanzo sat at the dining table, drinking tea with Takeo and Karin.

"I'm sure you passed that burned town on the way here," Karin began to narrate. "That's where I first met Gojyo. He was wandering around, searching for his half-brother Jien. Even if he was two months shy of turning eighteen, he was quite a charmer. All the girls were drooling over him, not to mention some of the older women too. Not surprising at all, given how good-looking he was, with his long red hair and his lovely sunset eyes. He was also so damned good at the gambling tables. At that time, I was working at the gambling house as a dealer and hooker, you see. When I found out that he didn't really have a place to stay and was only using his winnings to buy food, I decided to take Gojyo in."

~~~~~

"Karin was a wonderful woman," Gojyo told Goku with a smile. "She became both a mother and a friend to me. Before I met Hakkai, Karin's the only one whom I told my childhood past. She was so kind and understanding, and she never got mad at me even when I started making clumsy attempts at flirting with her. Yes, it may come as a surprise for you, Goku, but at that time, this ero kappa you see before you was still a virgin. In fact, Karin was to have been my first, even if she was ten years older than me."

The half-breed leaned back comfortably on the pillows. "I still remember Karin telling me, 'Gojyo, I will show you how to make a woman happy. I will teach you how to treat her with respect and love, and yet be able to drive her to the peak of ecstasy. I am doing this because you have a great respect for women, and I know that you will not treat us as shabbily as other men have done.'

"Karin promised that she'd…teach me…on the night of my eighteenth birthday. You had no idea how eagerly I looked forward to that day. When that day finally came, Karin decided she was going to treat me at the local bar. She wanted me to experience what it felt like to be an adult and a man."

~~~~~

"I had been with Jinnei's group for only three days," Takeo took over Karin's narrative. "I was new in town, and I learned that if you wanted to get anywhere, you had to be under his good graces. Jinnei ruled the town. It's no surprise that it became a haven for every lowlife and cutthroat you can imagine. Even the so-called "law" was owned by him.

"We were at the bar that night, drinking and playing pool in the game room, when Gojyo came in with Karin. Jinnei's face lit up when he saw him. It was hard not miss the obvious attraction he had for the boy. He kept asking the waitresses for every little bit of information about him. When he found out that it was Gojyo's birthday, he even had a glass of fine wine sent to him. Not for one minute did Jinnei take his eyes off him. He watched Gojyo like a hawk, waiting for that chance to seize his prey."

~~~~~

"A song I liked began to play and I asked Karin to dance with me," Gojyo went on. "There was a good crowd on the dance floor and we found ourselves dancing and swinging along with the music. Karin wasn't really a good dancer, but she managed to move along with my steps.

"After a few minutes, she begged off to go to the powder room. I told her that I'd be waiting for her right there on the dance floor. She gave me a smile before she left. By that time, I was tipsy with the wine I had drunk, perhaps even a bit dizzy. I just kept on dancing, oblivious to the fact that people were leaving the floor one by one, being replaced by a different crowd altogether."

There was a glimmer of tears in Gojyo's eyes. "If I had known what was to happen next, I would've left that bar and never looked back. But I never realized what was going to happen to me…until it was too late."

* * * * * * * * * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you everyone for your kind comments re: this story. As you can see, I'm still writing…for as long as the magazine schedule remains this loose and relaxed.

Thanks to Kiba-chan for proofreading this. Just too mentally exhausted right now. It'll take time to post the next chapter, simply because I prefer to post the rest in a bunch. Definitely, the next chapter is non-con so you can consider this an advance warning.
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