A special thanks goes to Muki and KarotsaMused. I'd also like to thank cesmith, Salmastryon, Me-Nuriko, treneka and blooddebt for their kind support on the message board. This chapter is dedicated to you!

This chapter isn't betaed yet. (Thankies to treneka for pointing out the check.)

All warnings from the Prologue and earlier chapters still apply.

Part 1

Slaves of Fate, Chapter 4

Gojyo bit back a curse. His attempt to play cool wasn't going as he had planned. Lord Kougaiji had obviously no sense of humor, and Jien – 'No, his name's Dokugakuji now,' Gojyo corrected himself - looked like he was going to throw a fit. 'Either that or he'll strangle me.'

His brother kneeled down next to him, and whispered angrily: “Kou's in a lousy mood, Gojyo. Be a nice boy, and you won't have to get back to the camp tonight.”

Dokugakuji's grip was painful, a needless reminder of what was at stake. Gojyo closed his eyes briefly before shooting Dokugakuji a contemplative look. “What makes you think I'm gonna crawl under your blanket?”

Dokugakuji sighed before he got up. 'Don't be an idiot,' his eyes seemed to say.

“Any time, Dokugakuji-sama.” Gojyo tried to laugh, but even he could tell that he sounded more like a strangled horse than a human being. 'At least, I won't get Hakkai into trouble this time.'

Then, just when Gojyo thought he could relax for the moment, calamity struck. Hakkai burst into the tent aiming for Dokugakuji, and screaming bloody murder.

For an instant, Gojyo froze, shocked by the violence of his friend's sudden attack as well as by Goku's swift intercepting move. Time progressed in slow motion as Hakkai's eyes rolled back and he slumped into Goku's arms. Rapid convulsions twisted his haggard frame until he looked like a possessed marionette.

From the entrance, two SMP dashed in. They pinned the medic slave to the ground face-forward, slamming their knees brutally into his back while they twisted his arms upward. Through the commotion, Gojyo could hear Hakkai wheeze for air – the tortured body had switched to autopilot and tried to survive through the cramps and abuse.

“Hakkai...” Gojyo whispered. 'Shit. Why are you doing this?' Even though he was unconscious, Hakkai whimpered, almost trying to answer. Nausea made Gojyo want to gag. 'Don't you get it? You can't help me. You shouldn't try!'

“Kou!”

The urgency in Dokugakuji's voice jolted Gojyo out of his lassitude. Kougaiji watched as the medic slave drifted in and out of consciousness, his disgust obvious. Yet Gojyo realized that the offspring of a royal bloodline would wait with any... punitive measures until their target was awake enough to appreciate the pains taken on his behalf. Desperate, Gojyo looked up, searching for demon eyes that had almost the same crimson color as his own. For a fraction of a second, he managed to catch his master's attention, sending an unspoken plea along with his apology before he bowed his head in defeat.

“Sorry. I'm sorry.” He repeated the words over and over, determined to continue until the demon lord reacted. “Sorry. I'm sorry.”

A guttural groan tore from Hakkai's lips, making Gojyo want to cry in helpless frustration. 'Please... Please...'

“Let the medic slave go!” Kougaiji spat.

The SMP protested against this. After all, Hakkai had tried to attack Dokugakuji, and their master knew about Hakkai's criminal past. Gojyo wondered what his friend would've done if not for the PunTag's intervention. 'Demon slayer... Death a thousand times over... Would you kill to save me?' His heart constricted with fear when he realized that the open display of aggression could very well mean a death sentence or worse for Hakkai. 'Shit. What am I going to do?'

It was clear that he had to somehow distract the demon from Hakkai's transgression, but his hung-over brain delivered only aching emptiness instead of smart solutions. 'Crap, crap, crap! Ten years of living on the streets, and I can't even come up with some stupid scheme to help my friend.'

Kougaiji spoke, but by the time the fact registered, valuable information was forever lost in the dark void that sat between Gojyo's ears. All he heard was: “...you have the stink of a troublemaker... So, who hit you?”

The indignant tone of Kougaiji's voice made Gojyo's skin crawl. 'Last chance, huh?'

The gambler in him knew the odds of further 'accidents' happening should he talk. Besides, even if he dared to speak up, there was no say that anyone would believe him.

'If I keep lying, what will Kougaiji do? Have me whipped?' It didn't matter. Last night's events had shown Gojyo his true worth. 'Child of taboo, aren't I?'

Still... 'No. For my brother and Hakkai, I can't let anyone know what happened.'

If he managed to aggravate his master with carefully calculated disobedience, there was a small chance that Kougaiji would forget about Hakkai and instead focus on the true source of the discipline problems. “No one, master. I fell.”

Anger washed over his master's face. “I have no more need for your service.”

'Oh the joy. Am I going to be sold to the next whorehouse, or what?' He could hear Goku's gasp, and Dokugakuji didn't look pleased at all. Despite the growing fuzziness of his mind, he tried to figure out his next step. At the edge of his vision, he could see how Hakkai tried to get up. 'Crap! Stay down, you idiot. Stay down and let me do this.'

Then, he saw the look in Kougaiji's eyes. It dawned to Gojyo that his 'carefully calculated disobedience' had just increased Kougaiji's determination to deal out severe punishment to all involved parties. 'At least, I have his full attention now.'

“Doku, send him back to Konchen.” Kougaiji announced the verdict without the slightest trace of mercy in his voice.

'No. No! Oh, shit!' The words 'worst case scenario' popped up in Gojyo's brain before it was flooded with memories that he would rather forget. “K-Konchen!”

A shiver ran down his spine when the gurgling and gluckering waters of a flood of images pressed his mind against a wall of crumbling sanity. 'Konchen. Back to Konchen.' Their force burst the fragile containment of his bottled up fears. “Please... no!”

The world around Gojyo lost shape, reality tweaked itself until there was nothing left but a living nightmare without end.

x

The slave's amethyst eyes shone with pride, demanding respect from his master in a situation where others would grovel in the dirt. Kougaiji pondered briefly if this new slave, who he had given the name Genjo Sanzo mere two days ago, was suffering from a rare spell of courage. Or was more behind the man's action than outright stupidity?

“So, he fell, you say...” Whatever arrogant attitude the insolent person managed to display, it faltered under Kougaiji's intense stare, leaving just the mask of an obedient slave. “You saw him fall?”

The blond withered under his look and finally evaded his eyes. “No, master.”

'A lie. A blatant lie and the low-life even admits to it.' Anger welled up in Kougaiji, his patience vanishing faster than a gambler's luck in a forged game. He barely suppressed the urge to strike the slave.

“Do you crave for a whipping? Or are you missing your old master that much?” Kougaiji's voice dripped with sarcasm. “Spineless bastard!”

The blond's sallow face turned white as a sheet. As a result, the green and purple of the bruised skin around his left eye stood out in stark contrast; and the red dot on the man's forehead screamed out like a drop of blood on fresh fallen snow.

“Master,” a new voice interjected.

Kougaiji shot a surprised look to the young slave who seemed eager to function as a shield between Sanzo and the rest of the world. Even though the teen had spoken softly, the strength of his voice carried enough determination to make Kougaiji listen. He remembered this one well from the day the four had become his property. An honest, fighting spirit ,such as this young man possessed, was rare in a slave. Most turned into lying wretches, just like the half-demon bastard groveling at Kougaiji's feet. “You're Goku, right?”

Goku nodded. “Don't send Sanzo and Gojyo back, please.”

Golden eyes pleaded for mercy, disarming with ease what anger Kougaiji still harbored. Still, the situation was not one of those that one could smile and forget about. Mercy towards slaves was a luxury that, in Kougaiji's society, was rarely tolerated. He decided to humor the boy. “Give me just one good reason why I should want them here.”

To Kougaiji's surprise, Goku maintained eye contact. “Konchen will...” He hesitated a moment as if finding the right wording proved to be too much of a task. “He will destroy them.”

That, of course, was true. Konchen wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty when it came to dealing with slaves. But then, neither was Kougaiji.

“And what,” Kougaiji asked with an air of amusement in his voice, “makes you think I won't?”

The boy's eyes widened briefly, then he bowed his head. “You're not like him.”

'I'm easy to influence, that's what you want to say...' Kougaiji grimaced at the innocent, matter-of-fact statement. “Don't underestimate me.”

“Kou,” Dokugakuji intervened, leaning close enough so that he could whisper. “I know you have to punish them, but...”

'First Goku, now Dokugaku. Who they think I am, some kind of pushover?' Kougaiji shot his bodyguard an annoyed look.

“But what?” He hissed back. Nii's words weaseled themselves back to his thoughts, corroding his confidence in Dokugakuji more than Kougaiji liked to admit. 'What's this half-breed to Dokugaku?'

The sword master was pale, and a slight trace of fear had found its way into the older demon's expression. “Not here and now.” Kougaiji didn't fail to notice the glance that Dokugakuji flung at the kneeling redhead. “You need to trust me on this.”

Trust. There it was again, the word that was at once the ultimate reward and the ultimate curse. Kougaiji frowned. Trust was hard when all evidence required immediate action. 'Leave it to Doku to get me into trouble.'

However, Kougaiji hadn't much of a choice if he wanted to maintain discipline. “We'll break up camp as planned. I want the convoy on the road in an hour.”

Everyone stared at him in disbelief, until he continued: “These three troublemakers will be publicly disciplined tonight – that should teach the other slaves a lesson.”

He saw Dokugakuji's troubled expression, but things had gone far enough. Maybe even too far. His bodyguard had better have a good explanation for the open display of insolence, or Kougaiji would go through with his threat to send the slave back to his old master.

x

Goku felt how his intestines cramped. For once, it wasn't because hunger ravaged him. 'Tonight.'

Without paying any further attention to his stunned audience, Kougaiji went for the tent's entrance, leaving Dokugakuji behind. Goku shot the tall demon a dark look, but Dokugakuji's attention was focused on Gojyo.

“You just can't stop getting yourself into trouble, eh?” When there was no reaction, Dokugakuji grabbed Gojyo by his shoulders and shook the slave slightly. “Oi, Gojyo... Gojyo?”

“Sorry. I'm sorry,” whispered Gojyo, his body tensing more with every moment the touch lasted.

Dokugakuji frowned, pulled his hands back, then shot a questioning look into Goku and Sanzo's direction. “What happened to him?”

“As if you don't know,” Goku snapped. He barely kept himself from hammering his fists into the demon's face.

“What!” Dokugakuji stared incredulously at Goku. “You think I did this to Gojyo?”

Goku's hands clenched and flexed as he fought the rage that threatened to destroy all reason. 'I can't say what I think, or he'll do worse things to Gojyo next time.' Still, it was perfectly clear to him that Kougaiji's henchman tried to hide that he was found out.

“With all due respect, Sir, but... He was picked up to provide Service for you, and the SMP brought him back to us in this condition last night. Please don't take us for fools just because we're slaves.” Hakkai's face was a pained grimace; ridden by severe cramps and helplessly lying on the ground, he looked like the breathing dead.

“I would never-” Dokugakuji began, then interrupted himself. “Wait a second. What time did the SMP bring Gojyo back?”

When Hakkai's only reply was labored breathing, Goku supplied, “Dawn. It was around five in the morning, Sir.”

“Dawn, you say? Strange.” The sword master frowned. A moment of silence passed, and it seemed as if Dokugakuji was thinking hard about something. Finally, he sighed, “Konchen, huh?”

“Sir?” Goku wanted to know, casting a quick glance to Sanzo out of the corner of his eye. The vacant expression his former master wore quickly crushed all of the desperate hopes that had built up during the unexpected outburst a few minutes ago, and left him with the dull feeling of renewed loss.

“Oh, nothing.” Dokugakuji smirked. “Listen, Lord Kougaiji is waiting for me, but Gojyo and that one over-”

“Hakkai,” Goku interrupted. “His name is Hakkai, Sir.”

The demon grimaced, and slapped Goku across the face with a sharp smack. “Did I ask for a name?”

“No, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir.” Goku rubbed his right cheek, which reddened from the imprint of Dokugakuji's hand.

“Don't do it again. You really need to be more careful...” Dokugakuji sighed. “Anyway, I'll make sure a doctor comes to treat Hakkai and Gojyo. They won't survive a day on the road in their condition.”

Goku wavered between gratitude and open distrust. In the end, the certain knowledge that any further misbehavior would only make the situation worse, won. “Thank you, Sir. That's very considerate of you.”

“Don't sweat it, kid.” Dokugakuji smiled, making Goku wish he could try out some of the things he had witnessed in Konchen's realm. “Besides, I'd really hate to see my favorite love slave being blown to smithereens by his own branding cuff.”

x

Muscles contracted in spasms, and if Goku hadn't reacted fast and forced a chop stick between Hakkai's teeth, he'd probably bitten his tongue off. Hakkai's entire body seemed to be engulfed by invisible fire, was ravaged by searing agony that threatened to throw him in the dark pits of unconsciousness.

He and Gojyo rested against the side of Jeep's chassis. Not long after Dokugakuji had left the tent, the SMP had 'evacuated' the four of them from the camping ground to the nearby rest area. Out here, they were told, they should wait for the doctor. So they waited.

He had no idea how much time had passed. Occasionally, Hakkai closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the shadows had wandered a bit more towards the east.

Through hooded lids, he watched how Goku tried to force some water into Gojyo. Hakkai was grateful for the younger slave's efforts. Sanzo wasn't of much help; he kneeled next to Hakkai ever since Goku had told him to sit down and watch over the injured. Now, the former nobleman stared through them as if he was lost in thoughts, or on an entirely different plain of existence altogether.

“I'm Yaone, Lord Kougaiji's private doctor.” A female voice interrupted Hakkai's musings. “Are you his new slaves?”

x

Meanwhile, at the inn, Kougaiji busied himself with the daily paperwork that had to be finished before they left for the next town. He wrote out cheques and signed bills to cover the costs for logging, food and supplies.

It was amazing how expensive it was to travel around with such a large group. Kougaiji wondered why his father went through the effort of importing slaves from the east of Tougenkyou, when it was considerably cheaper to buy them at the local slave markets in the Western Lands. What made it worse was that the majority of this transport were humans, fragile goods that no slave trader sane in their mind would bother with. As far as Kougaiji was concerned, there was no difference in whether the 'merchandise' was human or demon, if they traveled a long or a short way – they would all suffer a sad fate by Gyuumao's hands.

Tonight, however, three of his own 'lot' awaited Kougaiji's decision over their future. 'I'll make it clear once and for all who's the master. If I let them off with just a whipping, I'll dig my own grave.'

Of course, Dokugakuji would not just stand back and watch. The sword master sat at a table at the opposite side of the dining room, wearing a grim expression. 'He's upset enough to do something stupid, that much's for sure.' Kougaiji watched how his right-hand man sorted through the pages of a clipboard he had confiscated earlier at the camp. 'What does he expect me to do? It's not as if I can present him Gojyo as a bonus for many years of loyal service...'

Actually, that wasn't quite true – as a demon lord, he had the power and means to do as he wished. A life, may it be demon or human, ended when it pleased Kougaiji. Whether he desired women, wine or entertainment, at his father's palace, a crowd of servants waited to catch and obey every whim of Gyuumao's only son.

However, this wasn't his father's palace. 'In Tougenkyou,' Kougaiji mused. 'I'm a trader for perishable life stock. I can hide in a crowd of ordinary people if I choose to do so...' Unfortunately, he was also a royal heir, which meant that a thousand eyes watched his every movement and reported any shortcomings or weaknesses to his father. Kougaiji sighed. 'This is getting me nowhere. I need to talk to Dokugaku, the sooner the better.'

He was just about to call for his long-time bodyguard, when Nii entered the room.

“Lord Kougaiji, may I have a word with you?” The smile and honey-sweet tone of Nii's voice heralded no good.

“Of course.” Kougaiji forced his face into a friendly expression.

“I've heard about your predicament with your new slaves,” Nii explained in a bored tone. “I think I can help you.”

Kougaiji frowned. Nii volunteering help was so unusual that it seemed a potential trap. 'The vulture that feeds on the misery of his fellow creatures is lurking close under the surface of a civilized being.' Still, that human was his father's head of SMP, and an expert when it came to punishing slaves. “Go ahead.”