Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Tainted Love ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been having second thoughts about posting this early because it was my original intention to do so only when it was finished. But Kiba-chan somehow convinced me that I should post the five chapters of this story for everyone (especially her) to preview (You owe me a review, Kiba-chan!). So this story is for Kiba-chan, for being sooo persuasive and being such a prolific writer of wonderful stories.

Once I'm done with this, expect more chapters of Metamorphosis very soon. I'm taking advantage of a surprising lull in deadlines. And short note to Beysie, Hazel is not an original character I created for Metamorphosis. Hazel Glosse was the villain in the "Worm" story arc of the Saiyuki Reload manga and Saiyuki Reload Gunlock. And quite a cute villain he was too. Love his clothes!

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Prologue

Watch… That was all he could do.

Besides, what could he say to two headstrong individuals who've been driving themselves into abject misery over what?

Lost innocence?

How could he tell them that innocence was lost the minute one was born into this mortal world? That one was tainted with the sins of his father and mother, his grandparents, and his ancestors before him.

He stole a glance at the golden-eyed monkey beside him. Even he could not call this little one innocent. Oh, utter stupidity could be mistaken for innocence. Sheer stupidity, however, will not get you imprisoned in a lonely mountaintop for 500 years, and by those arrogant gods in Tenjoukai no less. This drooling saru, whose attention was focused on the nearby takoyaki stand and not the tiny shop where their green-eyed companion entered, was certainly not an innocent. The scent of blood emanating from him was unmistakable, and it has not diminished at all in 500 years.

Unfortunately, none of them wanted to hear him spout those words of wisdom, which they all, him included, considered nothing but "monk's fart."

Like the red-haired fool who was hesitantly walking down the snow-covered street, shivering in the cold despite the thick jacket he wore, heading for that same shop. Then again, what did he expect? That one certainly never listened to him. Despite his warning, there he was, keeping his rendezvous, even if he knew he was setting himself up for more heartbreak and pain.

He slapped his hand to his face. Just what he needed… More delays.

"Taku!" he cursed under his breath.

"…yaki?" the saru added with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Kono…" A sharp whack with the harisen sent that idiotic face into the dirt. "…bakazaru!" With his head buried in the ground like that, he looked more like an ostrich.

Gluttony certainly can make idiots of men. Same as love.

As he hurried to the shop after the redhead, he heard a loud pop followed by a confused series of "Nani? Nani? Nani?", something which he ignored.

Opening the door, the first thing he saw were shelves filled with dolls of all shapes and sizes, silent witnesses to the scene that was unfolding before them. He hated dolls, an aversion that was developed from past experiences with the bigger, puppet variety. Nothing escaped those round, glass eyes.

So it dismayed him to see the doll his fellow traveler was holding up in his hands for the startled half-breed.

The doll was the size of a ten-year old child, but it did not possess the chubby features of a little girl. It was a miniature adult clad in a plain pink dress that extended to mid-calf, brown leather boots on her feet. Her brown hair was tied in a long braid down her back. Despite its size, the doll looked so lifelike, a female duplicate of the young man holding her. They have shared the same emerald eyes.

He hated it on sight.

"Look at her." There was that charming smile on his handsome face. "Don't you think she's beautiful?" He gave the doll an enthusiastic hug. "My dearest Kanan!"

Stealing a glance at the redhead beside him, he saw the stricken expression on his face.

A wicked spark in those green eyes. "You can never be like my Kanan. She's loving, compassionate. She never lies or keeps secrets from me…and she's pure." The other flinched at that emphasized word. "You are nothing compared to Kanan. NOTHING!"

That choked sob seemed deafening in the sudden silence inside the shop. Without saying a word, the redhead bumped past him, nearly running into a startled saru who now held ten sticks of takoyaki in his hands, as he fled from the shop.

"What's going on?" the saru asked in confusion. Golden eyes focused on the doll. "What's that?"

It was his turn to step forward. "I don't know what's going on, but you've had your fun. Enough is enough!"

Green eyes narrowed in disapproval. "Why are you so protective of him all of a sudden? I thought you hated him."

"I dislike his big mouth, but I don't hate him. Are you telling me that you do?"

"He made a fool out of me! I'm merely teaching him a lesson."

"You believed what you wanted to believe."

"He should've told me the truth!"

He sighed in exasperation. It was useless arguing with him when he's in this mood. His stubborn will matched his own.

"And does it please you – seeing him hurting like this?"

"Believe me, I've only just begun."

A silence so thick fell between them.

It was the saru's voice that broke through the silence like a nyoibou breaking through a concrete wall. "Don't ask me why, but that doll… I don't like it."

"I agree with you there," he said just as strongly. "You're not bringing that…thing…along with us."

Instead of heeding his command, the younger man wrapped his arms tightly around the doll as he walked past them.

"I've put up with all your bullshit this long," he said firmly. "It's about time you put up with mine."

When he was gone, the saru asked worriedly, "What are we going to do now?"

"Uruse, bakazaru! Let me think!" he snapped back. With a groan, he exclaimed to no one in particular, "Why do these things always happen to me?"

He was practically fumy as he stomped outside the toymaker's shop with the saru tailing him, munching thoughtfully on his food.

Damn it! he cursed inwardly. All this trouble, and over what? Lost innocence! As if that bit of shredded tissue was the ONLY thing that mattered. 'What are we going to do now?' How the hell should I know when I don't even know how this whole fucking mess started in the first place!

But he did know, didn't he? The signs were all there and he just conveniently ignored them, as he usually did with things that did not concern him or irritated him.

The shy glances…exchanges of nervous smiles…deep concern that went beyond friendship…

No, this time, he hadn't ignored it. It was just too annoying to ignore. Worse, he had even encouraged it.

Damn it! When did everything begin to fall apart?

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