Imperfection Amalgamated: Slaves of Fate, Chapter 5b

After Yaone had arrived at the inn, she tried to wake Gojyo. The demon-hybrid was still snoring peacefully in the back seat of the SMP jeep she had borrowed for the trip. Carrying the much heavier male wasn't an option, so she decided to employ the help of one of the night shift SMP or someone from the inn personnel. But the inn's ground level seemed deserted; instead, she found Dokugakuji. He occupied a table in the corner of the dining room, almost as if he tried to hide himself from view. The tall demon looked subdued, nursing a beer despite the fact that it wasn’t even ten in the morning and he usually gave a wide berth to alcohol.

“Dokugaku?” Yaone's worry found its way to her voice. “Aren't you supposed to be with Lord Kougaiji?”

“Kou? He decided that he didn't want my service today.” Dejected, Dokugakuji took a swig from his mug.

Yaone frowned. Of course, Kougaiji wasn't always in need of Dokugakuji's service as a bodyguard. However, if this had been merely about their employer wanting to spend some time on his own, Dokugakuji would not have such a depressed reaction. With a sigh, she pulled one of the unoccupied chairs from the table and sat down opposite to her stricken friend. “May I ask, what happened?”

Dokugakuji shot her one of those 'Do you really have to ask?' kind of looks, and then reluctantly began to fill her in.

“I know Kou. There's no way Gojyo's special talents will save him today,” he finished.

Yaone could tell that there were a few facts he kept hiding, but the fact that Kougaiji doubted Dokugakuji's loyalty was unprecedented. Unfortunately, she had more pressing problems at the moment. “Special talent or not, your favorite slave needs medical attention.”

“What did he do now?” Dokugakuji asked with a sigh. “Pick another fight with the SMP?”

Yaone shook her head. “Not at all. It's a bit more serious than cuts and bruises.”

“Is he sick?” her fellow demon asked, tensing visibly. “He just seemed to have a pretty bad hangover...”

“It wasn't you who made him drunk last night, right?” She shot him a stern look.

“Me?” Dokugakuji's eyes widened. “Why should I take such a risk?”

'He has a point,' Yaone thought. 'For the duration of this journey, any non-medical drug consumption by the slaves will be punished.' Also, she had noticed traces of handcuff marks on Gojyo's wrists. “He's outside in the jeep. I need to run some more tests on him, but I'm pretty sure that someone had... fun with him last night.”

Dokugakuji paled. “F-fun...”

“He's a love slave, Dokugaku,” Yaone reminded him. “You know that the SMP use them for their own entertainment sometimes.”

“Of course.” Anger burned in brown eyes that usually held only friendliness. “But I thought I had made it clear that he's mine alone.”

Yaone understood his feelings. It was hard to see someone you tried to help fall victim to the wolves in one's own fold. “Please, help me carry Gojyo inside so that I can treat him.”

Soon, Yaone had logged the transmitter of Gojyo's branding cuff out of the main trek's tracking system and into the medical section's unit. It took her almost forty minutes to finish her in-depth examinations. Gojyo slept fitfully in an inn bed under Dokugakuji's careful observation. Occasionally, the slave muttered something that sounded like 'Kai', and whenever he did, he seemed to be caught deeper in whatever nightmare plagued him. Shivering and trembling, Gojyo would claw at his own throat, or tried to sit up with a jerk.

“What's wrong with him?” Dokugakuji stood next to Gojyo's bed, eying the ailing red-head anxiously.

“He's probably suffering from some side effects of the drugs he used,” Yaone suggested. The initial test results she had gained from the blood sample had confirmed her diagnosis.

“Shit.” Dokugakuji grabbed Gojyo's shoulders and pressed him down into the pillows. If he had expected to calm down the man, he was severely disappointed, because the redhead began to struggle in earnest.

“No.” Gojyo recoiled, his eyes half hooded as he tossed his head from side to side. “No...”

“Yaone, do something!” Dokugakuji bellowed. He strengthened his grip on the hybrid, but it was no good. Gojyo's knees connected hard with the bodyguard's torso; with a swift move he rolled out of the bed and tried for the exit before Dokugakuji managed to recover. “Gojyo! We're trying to help you!”

“H-help?” Gojyo repeated dreamlike, his entire body trembling with exhaustion. “Help...”

“Yes.” Dokugakuji tried a smile and slowly came closer to the sweat-drenched slave. “Let me help you.”

“Help me?” Gojyo sneered, and punched hard in Dokugakuji's direction.

Luckily, this time the tall demon was prepared and easily evaded the blow. “Damn it! Stop fighting, you idiot!”

Whether it was the sharp commanding tone of Dokugakuji's voice that brought Gojyo around, or the plain fact that he had depleted whatever energy reserves his body had still possessed, Yaone never knew. Slowly, as not to startle the half-kappa, she walked around the bed, disregarding her own safety in her professional urge to help her patient.

“Jien.” Gojyo's eyes widened, and the shivers stopped. “Jien... Help...”

“Yes, help. We'll help you,” Dokugakuji reassured him.

“No. Don't help... taboo.” Gojyo cringed, his arms wrapped around his body as if he had to keep himself from falling apart. “Help... Hakkai.”

Then, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed before Dokugakuji could catch him. “Damn.”

“Hakkai's the one with the PunTag, isn't he?” asked Yaone. A curt nod was her reply. “That Hakkai,” she continued with a frown. “You said he had risked his own death to protect Gojyo from harm? Rather reckless behavior for a slave, if I may say so.”

“And what good it did.” Dokugakuji gathered Gojyo's unconscious form and carried him back to the bed. “Will he be all right?”

Yaone contemplated the question. The general condition of Lord Kougaiji's new slaves was barely within acceptable limits. Of the four, Goku's chances to survive the trip were probably the best. 'As for the kappa hybrid and his watchdog Hakkai...' Yaone glumly stared at the entry in her organizer. 'Even if they pretend to be okay, being sex slaves in the Casinos of Chang'An took a high toll on the two.' However, Gojyo's apparent drug use wasn't her biggest concern. The human, Sanzo, was underweight and seemed to have withdrawn from reality. To worsen things, her trained medical eye had spotted at once the tell tale signs of recent serious injuries on all four slaves.

'Will Gojyo be all right?' The detailed medical file she had retrieved from the Catalogue, the registry where information on all slaves was recorded, had revealed some unpleasant surprises. 'I don't think Dokugaku needs to learn the technicalities of what was done... Not about Gojyo, or on the rest of them.'

Yaone wished she could just pretend everything would be fine with a bit of sleep and some good food, but it would be a lie. “I don't know. His physical injuries I can treat, but... a person's mind is a delicate thing. I'm sorry.”

Only the sound of Gojyo's ragged breathing filled the air as Dokugakuji mulled over her words. Quite obviously, the bodyguard was shaken by the little incident more than he admitted. Finally, he asked in low, tired voice, “Can't you at least do keep him sleeping?”

Yaone sighed. “I need to know what kind of drugs Gojyo took before I can think of giving him anything else.”

“Oh.” Shock reflected in Dokugakuji's expression. “You think he's an addict?”

“He's not a pusher. There're only two needle marks on his body, and one is from when I drew his blood.” Yaone smiled helplessly. “But if you ask me if he's abusing other substances... To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me.”

Dokugakuji didn't reply, just continued to stare at the pale face of her unwilling patient. 'This is about more than just rescuing a slave, isn't it? You and Gojyo, you have a history together,' Yaone pondered. She knew better than to stir in other people's pasts, but this involved her, too. “Who is Jien?”

x

By the time the hakuryuu had caught up with the last vehicles of the trek, they had traveled for an hour without sharing a single word. Not that Goku could concentrate on small talk anyway; he was fully focussed on the task at hand – keeping Jeep on the street and avoiding a crash with the vehicle ahead of them. Hakkai was fast asleep and Sanzo ignored any attempt at conversation.

It didn't matter. Goku had become accustomed to quiet, no matter how much he hated times of silence. He had spent an eternity locked up all by himself, isolated and in chains. Of course, things had changed for the better when Sanzo had appeared, and Goku still thrived on those memories. But, as with all things good, the happiness was a thing of the past, a dream just beyond the horizon. 'I wished he would call me stupid ape, or scold me for eating messy. I wished...'

Goku sighed. Only fools believed in wishes and dreams. Fools, and stupid apes.

x

The inn room's door flew open without warning, but before the intruder had made a step into the room, Dokugakuji reacted, wrestling the creature down. Instinct told him to kill the man who stank of death and mankind, and all things the bodyguard had learned to loathe. Unfortunately, getting rid of this human was not an option.

“Nii,” Dokugakuji growled, removing his claws from around the man's throat. “Next time, knock.”

“Why, Dokugakuji... are we having a case of bad temper today?” Nii smirked, rubbing the skin around his Adam's apple. “Ah, so this is where you're hiding your precious bunny?

“You!” Dokugakuji snarled, his fists clenched so tight in his palms that the nails drew blood. “What you want, pervert?”

“There, there... Why the anger?” Aggravation seemed to be Nii's middle name, and the slimy bastard apparently enjoyed capitalizing on this particularly annoying character trait. “Lord Kougaiji sends me. He wants a PunTag on the mongrel before noon,” the human announced.

“What!” The rules of the game had been changed, and nobody had bothered to inform Dokugakuji about it. “But that's too early!”

Yaone positioned herself between the Head of the SMPs and her patient. “I can't allow it. The slave's in no condition to undergo surgery.”

“So much worry for a useless, drugged up sex toy? My, my, Doctor Yaone, you surprise me.” Nii's voice dripped with sugar-covered sadism. “You know I'm qualified to give the critter his tag. More qualified than you, I may add.”

Which, of course, was annoyingly true. Nii's multiple talents not only had him in charge of the slave guards;he was also a skilled surgeon, a dedicated researcher in the field of medicine, and expert in half a dozen other things left to the murky imagination of gossips. Some swore he was a god, but Yaone thought him to be the devil incarnate. “Listen, you... The slave is in no condition to receive a PunTag.”

“Lord Kougaiji knew you'd say that, so he gave me this.” Ni grinned, and handed her an order with Kougaiji's signature. “Our enchanting little love slave is going to serve as a warning for all others. He should thank his master for that honor.”

“It's real,” Yaone said, her eyes shining with sympathy.

“Of course it's real, Miss Doctor,” Nii mocked. “Why should I waste my time with fakes?”

Anger surged through Dokugakuji. 'If I had told Kou the truth...' His mind raced. 'But he always believed me. Kou never objected when I took the other half-breeds under my wings. He never doubted my word when they disappeared... Why did it change?'

Dokugakuji understood that his loyalty was the main dish of the day, and from Kougaiji's point of view, the poison of distrust must made every bite a dangerous gamble. 'He kept Gojyo for my sake, even though he knew that there would be problems...' Could three days of Gojyo's misbehavior cause such a drastic rift in a relationship of trust that had needed years to grow? Had Dokugaku overlooked, or even subconsciously ignored what was going on under the demon Lord's tempered surface?

Kougaiji would never dream about subjecting his family to shame.He stemmed from a royal bloodline, was the heir of Gyuumaou's throne. Within the tight boundaries of his position, caught between protocol and responsibilities, Kougaiji had already done more than Dokugakuji could have hoped for.

'Damn it, Kou... why did you have to do this? Why this hurry all of a sudden?' With effort, the sword master reigned in his temper. 'Gojyo... brother. The bastard child that brings bad luck to every life he touches. Once, I had to decide between you and mother... Do I now have to make the same choice between you and Kougaiji?'

“It seems we have no choice.” The same anger that simmered in Dokugakuji pearled in Yaone's voice. “Operate on my patient, if you must. I have a condition, though. I'll assist you during his surgery.”

“Making conditions now? Tsk, tsk...” Nii chided. “But you're lucky. Assist all you want, doctor. Who knows, you might actually learn something.”

x

Kougaiji had ordered Kiyoshi to stay in the car, and the bodyguard had complied after voicing his worries about their security. Of course the demon was right, but Kougaiji knew it was a calculated risk. He watched his sister dance through the bazaar, exploring the place with her very own brand of childlike enthusiasm. From time to time, she'd show him a bizarre item. Sometimes, she just wrapped her small hands around his, dragging him to the next food stall.

“Onii-chan! I'm hungry!” she complained, and Kougaiji wondered if she knew just how easily he caved in to her calls of 'brother'. So he bought her food, watched her laugh, and tried his best to make her happy. 'I shouldn't love her... After all, the whore who gave birth to her is the reason my mother lives in shame. Still, what the bitch did isn't Lirin's fault.'

The enthusiastic girl had more energy inside her than an army of river dragons. Kougaiji smiled when he recalled how she had tried her luck at fishing once. However, her only catch had been a certain loyal and kind-hearted bodyguard, who had developed a healthy respect for fishing hooks ever since. 'Dokugaku... I hope you can forgive me for what I'm doing. It's the best for everyone.'

“Is something wrong, onii-chan?” Lirin queried in a soft voice, and slung her arms around his waist in a gesture of sibling affection. “You look sad.”

Her care struck a chord deep inside Kougaiji. “I'm okay, just a bit tired.”

“Those slaves giving you trouble again?” the girl asked knowingly.

He smiled. “Something like that, yes.”

“I don't like it when you look so sad,” Lirin hugged him tighter. “Just tell me who's the troublemaker, and I'll beat him up!”

“Really?” Kougaiji smirked. “Say, why don't you go and buy some manjuu for us? I'm kind of hungry.”

“Sure!” His sister beamed, and off she went.

He smiled, counting the seconds until she would return for the credit card. “Three... two... one...”

“Oniiiiii-chan!”

x

Dust billowed in the air, dragged along by the traveling trek of utility vehicles, trucks and jeeps. The micro-particles found their way through gear and clothes alike. By the end of the day all participants of the unusual caravan to the west were covered with a fine layer of dirt.

Dokugakuji sat at the wheel of Yaone's jeep, a reliable four-wheel-drive rescue vehicle that had proven to be useful more than once in transporting the injured and medical equipment alike. Right now, the person secured on the stretcher was Gojyo. Gojyo had received a PunTag. According to Nii, it would take about two weeks before the device would be working to its full potential. That didn't mean that the PunTag was harmless before that – with every day that passed, the artificial tendrils fused with more nerve strands. “A rather painful process,” Nii had added with a gleeful smile before leaving Gojyo in Yaone's care. It was early afternoon by the time Gojyo was stable enough to survive the transport to the next destination of the slave trek.

Now, several hours into the drive, Dokugakuji wished he had just ignored the second part of Kougaiji's order and had remained at the hospital. A fresh bandage was wrapped around Gojyo's head, sealing off the wound on the temple where the PunTag's tendrils passed the skull and spread into the brain. The stark white of Gojyo's face contrasted sharply with the crimson of his hair, and only the feverish hue that flushed his cheeks was an indicator that he wasn't a corpse quite yet.

Yaone checked her patient's vital signs with a serious expression, making notes in her medic organizer every now and then to document Gojyo's condition. When she was done with her examination, she climbed to the passenger seat and buckled up.

“How's his fever? Still climbing?” Dokugakuji wanted to know.

She nodded. “It's not critical yet, but...”

“But what?” Dokugakuji prodded.

“The narcotics in Gojyo's blood reacted with the local anesthetics Nii injected during the operation.” Yaone sighed. “I can't believe Lord Kougaiji gave him permission to operate under the circumstances.”

“Well, at least he'll stay under your protection for the next few days.” Despite himself, Dokugakuji tried a smile. “And we've almost reached camp.”

x

His world was dark, comfortably dark and soft. In his world, pain didn't exist, only memories of the woman he loved. He remembered her embrace, could almost feel her red, full lips taking a walk on his neck and abdomen in her search for his desires. Her soft, hot skin pressing against his, pure pleasure that made both of them race towards ecstasy filled every fiber of their bodies.

His world was dark, frighteningly dark and cold. In his world, the pain inflicted by losing her suffocated all hope and joy. He remembered her death, clung to the memory of those precious last moments when her lips formed her final good-bye. His hand reached out through metal bars. Desperate to close the space between them, yet unable to touch her cooling skin, he sunk into the pits of devastation. Drowning, drowning in a pool of blood, drowning without resistance, drinking death, drinking-

“No!” He bolted up. The sky darkened, and for the moment, he had no idea where he was, or who he was. 'Gonou' was how his lover had called him, but with her, Gonou had died as well. Now, he was... Hakkai. The branding cuff weighted his left arm down; the frightening lack of muscle power went hand in hand with a delicious numbness of his body. Cotton seemed to have replaced his brain. The PunTag must've tried to finish him off this time. When was that? Had it been this morning? Or yesterday? He remembered Gojyo kneeling, and then... Hakkai groaned. He vaguely recalled a female demon doctor, Gojyo's soothing words and then...'Kanan. Was that paradise, or hell?'

No matter if it had been just a dream, or if he had indeed been dead, the harsh world of his punishment had claimed Hakkai back. Someone cried, nearby and so heart wrenching that Hakkai wondered if someone had died. “Goku? What's wrong? Why are you crying?”

“H-hakkai?” Between sobs, Goku hastily rubbed the tears out of his eyes. “S-sorry. I thought you were still sleeping.”

Only then did it register in Hakkai's consciousness that something was amiss. “Gojyo... and Sanzo?”

His tentative question was met by a distraught sigh. “They're going to flog Sanzo. Five lashes, I think. An SMP came for him a couple of minutes ago.”

“What about Gojyo?” Fear surged through Hakkai, burned away the numbness like a wildfire in dry grass. “Goku, what about Gojyo?”

“I don't know. The Lady Doctor took him with her this morning, and... That's the last I've seen of him." Goku evaded Hakkai's eyes, and it didn't took an expert to tell that the young slave knew more than he let on.

“What did they do to Gojyo?” Hakkai asked, his voice carrying a clear threat that made Goku tense at once.

“I... Some of the slaves say that Dokugakuji had his way with him. But I've heard the SMP say... Kougaiji wants to...” More tears spilled out of desperate golden eyes. “Please, Hakkai. I promised to protect... and I can't...”

“Tell me.” Hakkai realized just why Goku was sad. It wasn't because of Sanzo and the whipping their former master would receive. Goku cried for him, Hakkai.“It's all right. Whatever it is, please tell me.”

Goku swallowed hard. “The SMP said that you... you and Gojyo-”

“The SMP,” a sarcastic voice suddenly boomed, “says that you two will move your sorry carcasses over to the fireplace. Lord Kougaiji sent for you.”