Title: Man of Science
Author: Diva Urd
Beta: Zelgadis55 (thank you!)
Chapters: 2
Pairing: None
Warnings/Rating: PG-13 for adult themes
Disclaimers: Saiyuki is owned by Minekura Kazuya and the distributors of anime and manga. The writing of this fic did not and will not involve monetary gain of any kind on my part.
Check chapter 1 for further disclaimers regarding adherence to canon timeline.
Chapter 2
Nii remembers thinking about Koumyou's words about the sun and the boy Kouryuu. The other Sanzo's metaphorical statement that his disciple would eventually prove to be stronger than both himself and Ukoku was as close to a challenge as it could possibly get, and that fact gnawed at him all the way back to Houtou Castle. However, it also strengthened his resolve as to how to obtain Koumyou Sanzo's sutras.
The small group of youkai he sent out once he had arrived back in Tenjiku had specific instructions: To take the sutras and kill anyone who dared to stand in their way. He was quite sure that they would dispose of Koumyou, and also wouldn't be overly sad if they got his disciple, as well.
When the party of assassins finally returned, however, it turned out that the operation had not proceeded as smoothly as anticipated…
"What do you mean, you only got one of the sutras?" Gyokumen Koushu demanded angrily, watching her subordinates cowered before her.
"There were supposed to be two of them, you brainless idiots!"
"We could only obtain one of the sutras, Lady Gyokumen Koushu – and when we sent a small group back later that night to find the second one, none of them ever returned!"
Nii, standing next to the throne Gyuumaou's mistress lounged in, already knew where this particular line of conversation would lead – all these people would be dead by sundown.
Not that it mattered, really; they had partially fulfilled their purpose, and they would get their hands on the other sutra quickly enough. After all, there were two other scriptures to find and obtain, and from what he gathered from the group leader's stammered report, they had killed both the monk and his disciple. The only chore would be to find the new Sanzo holding the Maten sutra, and take it from him.
His thoughts were interrupted by high-pitched wailing and the sound of blades rending flesh – obviously, Gyokumen had not wasted any time in getting rid of the unfortunate group of youkai.
As he watched the guards who had eliminated the luckless assassins file out of the room, he felt her hard gaze upon him, and turned to face her.
"This is just a minor setback", he assured her.
"We will focus on finding the other two sutras next, until we can find out who the new owner of the Maten scripture is. In the meantime, I shall see whether I can find other means to channel the energy flow. Hwan can take care of things here."
Gyokumen nodded, her anger somewhat pacified.
"Ah yes, Dr. Hwan… quite capable, from what I hear from your staff."
The way she said it indicated that her interest did not only stem from Hwan's exceptional work, and Nii had to hide a smirk. Gyokumen Koushu was truly ravenous. He wondered if his colleague knew and just what she might think of her employer's inclinations, and filed the thought away for later use.
Suddenly, a side door to the great hall opened, and a girl's voice, high-pitched and bubbling with energy, called out.
"Mother! Look what I found!"
Gyokumen rolled her eyes in dismay, obviously grieving for her peace and quiet which had just been shattered.
Her daughter Lirin came running further into the room, her orange pigtails bobbing. In her hands, the five-year-old seemed to hold a brightly-colored stone which she probably intended to show to her mother.
"Mo…!"
The call broke off as the little girl caught the carnage in front of her mother's throne; there had been no time to dispose of the bodies.
Gyokumen did not really seem to care about her daughter's suddenly crestfallen expression.
"Lirin, go outside and play some more. Mommy doesn't have time right now."
The child nodded numbly, and when she turned to leave, she walked away slowly, as if caught in a nightmare.
Once the door had audibly closed behind her, Gyokumen turned back towards Nii and shook her head.
"Children…" she said, as if Nii, now that he had brought an apprentice with him, knew exactly what the hardships of a parent were like.
He smiled and nodded in feigned empathy.
Nii arrives back in his lab and sinks into his office chair, fiddling with his plush bunny. He picked up his affinity to toys while educating the child who now calls himself Kami-sama; to him, they approximate the human world in more ways than one. The vast majority of sentient beings rank as nothing more than playthings to him. Why not? Most of them are uneducated, dirty, loud and aggravating. In fact, most of the time it seems more worthwhile to talk to the bunny than to the people around him. Furthermore, the toy has an interesting effect on people – they tend to be unsettled by the fact that a full-grown man, a scientist, carries a plush animal around with him wherever he goes. The reactions he provokes in doing so are rather fascinating.
Of course, human beings and youkai tend to be the more interesting toys, compared to the inanimate ones – and 'Kami-sama' has always been one of his personal favorites.
A short time after the Seiten sutra had been brought to Houtou Castle, Nii and the boy left under the pretense of finding out more about the other sutras and a possible way to replace them as magic-channeling agents. In truth, however, Nii was mainly interested in finding out what had become of the Maten sutra, and also to provide a "playground" for his young disciple where he could train his magic without being observed by all and sundry. A concealed weapon was better than one openly displayed, after all.
They traveled around for a couple of months until they happened upon the abandoned temple.
It was large, nearly half as big as the temple in Chang'an, and thick dust inside hinted at the fact that the building had not been used in decades. A forest concealed it from view; they probably would not have found it if they had not decided to stop in the woods for the night - it had looked like it might be raining later.
Despite the building being dirty and in obvious disrepair, Nii decided that this would be his disciple's future 'playground'.
The following day, they walked on towards the nearby town, and while the boy amused himself by running off to the local toy store, Nii went and bought himself a newspaper. He had been out of touch for a while, which was not exactly to his liking.
As fate had it, vital information leapt at him right from the very first page; the article was even accompanied by a picture printed next to the column of text.
Koumyou Sanzo not without Successor, after all -
new Sanzo appointed shortly before his death
investigation of the massacre at the local temple has been
concluded. A scroll found with the abbot's body falsified
an earlier assessment that both sutras of Earth Creation kept in the
temple have been stolen by the youkai responsible
for the murders - apparently, Koumyou Sanzo, who was killed in the
first attack on the temple, appointed his disciple as his successor
mere minutes before he died. The new Sanzo subsequently left
with the Maten sutra hours before the second attack. It is
possible that he is traveling with a man named Shuuei, whose
body has not been found with the others. Genjo Sanzo, the new
bearer of the Maten sutra and legitimate heir of the stolen Seiten
sutra, is the youngest Sanzo to ever receive the honor of the
title at a mere 13 1/2 years of age. For further coverage, see
page 3A.
The photo depicted next to this unsettling piece of news dispersed any further doubts: It was Kouryuu who scowled back at him from the page, the subtitling of the photo proclaiming it to be "Genjo Sanzo before his ordainment (archive picture)". Obviously, the group of assassins had been unsuccessful in more than one aspect of their mission.
In the first seconds after his discovery, Nii was overcome with a bout of uncharacteristic rage. In a very real sense, Koumyou Sanzo's prediction about his disciple had already fulfilled itself in one aspect. Until now, Ukoku had held the position of the youngest Sanzo in history, as he had received the confirmation of his new title at age 16 – and the blond boy had surpassed him by three years.
Then, however, his anger dissipated. The fact that he knew the person who now owned the Maten sutra might just work out to their advantage. Furthermore, it gave him the interesting option of a battle of wits and resources with Genjo Sanzo, to see who would eventually come out on top. Not now, of course. Challenging a child would be boring. However, once the boy had grown up a little more in body and spirit, Nii would make him come to him, and the matter would be decided.
Nii smiled, tucked the paper under one arm and went to get the boy.
His disciple looked up at him with a pleading expression when he arrived at the toy store; in his arms, there were at least eight different dolls and stuffed animals.
"Can I have these, master? Pretty please?"
Nii's smile widened into a grin. "Of course. Just remember – these are your toys, but people are God's toys. Do you understand?"
The boy thought about that for a while, frowning, but then he brightened up again and nodded happily.
"God can play with anything he wants to, right, master?"
Nii nodded gravely. "Exactly, boy. He is in a most enviable position."
While he paid for the items his disciple had picked out, the boy seemed lost in thought again, and on their way back to the abandoned temple, he delighted his master by mentioning the result of his thinking.
"If God can play with anything in existence and make it do whatever he wants… then I want to be God."
Nii stared at him for a moment, and then, he began to chuckle.
"Well, good luck trying, my boy. Good luck trying."
They stayed at the temple for a few months, renovating it according to Nii's specifications largely by means of magic. Once that was done, they left, placing a mirror barrier around the building and a sizable chunk of surrounding forest to make sure that no one unwittingly happened upon the boy's 'fairy tale castle' , as he had dubbed it.
The following year, they traveled all over Tougenkyou, trying to find out where the other sutra bearers currently were. In Chang'an, they learned that the resident Sanzo had recently died without selecting a person to follow in his path; thus, the sutra was being held while the authorities discussed which one of his disciples to bestow the honor upon. That made getting this particular sutra impossible at that point in time – Nii doubted that Gyokumen had enough people to launch an attack on Chang'an, and people were bound to find out about their little project prematurely.
The other Sanzo had not been at his temple either; the other monks told him that he had apparently gone on some sort of pilgrimage months ago and was yet to return. Tracking him down would probably have cost a lot of time, and since he had been away from Houtou Castle and his work for far too long already, he opted for returning home instead. At least he had pinpointed two of the other sutras, even though they were currently inaccessible; he did not disclose the status of the Maten sutra to Gyokumen Koushu.
Nii remembers little of the following years, which were mainly spent in preparation of Gyuumaou's seal for the procedure and instruction of the boy. The time might have felt useless, if it had not been for the fact that he now had another incentive to further his efforts in the experiment.
Until he had learned that the boy representing the "sun" was still alive, he thought of his project mainly in terms of interesting study data – interactions of youkai and humans before and after Gyuumaou awakened – as well as the golden opportunity to spite the Gods with a good chance of getting away with it. Now, however, another point factored into his thoughts; he would use his work and the data it provided him with to challenge Genjo Sanzo and prove the late Koumyou Sanzo wrong once and for all. Oh, the preparation would take time – but time was the one thing he had in abundance. Once the former disciple of Koumyou came for him, he would be prepared.
And now, Nii is prepared.
After about four years of gathering further equipment, such as more high-end computers, laboratory items and miles upon miles of different types of cable, a day came during which Nii Jenyi was summoned to the throne room by Gyokumen.
"This is taking far too long", she complained without bothering with the nicety of greeting him upon his arrival.
"When are we going to be able to free my beloved?"
Nii shrugged.
"I had never claimed for this to be done within a couple of years. However, it's not like we did not accomplish anything. Most of the technical equipment is in place, the laboratories are built and equipped and we finally have the means to connect the sarcophagus up to our new power source. In short, we are finally ready to commence with the experiment. While we are currently not able to raise him completely, we can begin to actively scan the seal and try some minor magic on it to find weak points where we will eventually break through."
Gyokumen set her hard gaze on him while thinking about his answer, and finally sighed.
"Very well, however, I want you to do something for me."
Nii performed a mocking little bow, smirking at her.
"For you, my milady, I will do anything that is within my power."
She glared at him; obviously, she did not consider the current situation to be humorous in the least.
"Unseal Kougaiji."
He frowned. "I remember you telling me about him – didn't you say he believed in personal honor and would probably refuse to help us?"
Gyokumen sighed again. "Indeed. However, I have some tasks for him, and I believe there is a way we can control his actions at least somewhat."
This sparked his curiosity. "Tasks, milady? And – how do you propose we control him?"
"Well, I have the feeling we could use an envoy to the other demon kings to establish diplomatic relations. Not that we'd honor them once Gyuumaou is back, of course – but it wouldn't hurt to make sure that no one attacks us just when we finally manage to awaken him. I am sure we will find other uses for him later. Oh, and I want someone to take care of Lirin – she is ruining my nerves!"
A cold smile appeared on her face before she continued.
"As for the control issue, I have spent some time thinking about it, and I came up with a very easy solution: We will promise him that his mother will be freed once Gyuumaou awakens. The pampered little prince was never very attached to his father, but he absolutely adored Rasetsunyo."
Nii nodded. Gyokumen Koushu might not be the brightest person demonkind had to offer, but she had her moments – if Kougaiji was indeed as attached to his mother as she made him out to be, this might be a good way to control him. If not… well, there were other means to either force him to cooperate, or to silence him if he turned out to be a problem.
"That might work, milady. I shall unseal him right away."
As predicted, Kougaiji did cooperate once led to believe that only the revival of Gyuumaou could free his mother from her seal. As irony had it, he was actually quite well-versed in magic, but did not know much about the sealing magic the War God had practiced so many years ago. Thus, he had no idea that unsealing his mother was not such a complicated thing, after all. Lirin took to him almost immediately, since her mother still would not give her the time of day – a behavior that would eventually prove to be troublesome to their purposes.
Meanwhile, the Negative Wave began to emanate from Houtou Castle once the procedures Nii had devised were started. After a thorough analysis, he and Gyokumen decided that this side effect of the experiment was quite positive for the furthering of their goals and actually increased the effect. Slowly but surely, the wave made its way toward the east, its grasp on the youkai growing stronger and stronger at a minuscule rate, until, one day, they began to change…
A few months after the twenty year old youkai prince had been freed, a man appearing to be a vagabond showed up in front of Houtou castle. The guards apprehended him, and while he was sitting in the castle's dungeons, Kougaiji happened upon him and set him free to become his right hand man. The stranger called himself Dokugakuji, although his name had originally been Sha Jien. Jien had killed his mother and apparently wandered all over Tougenkyou and a good part of Tenjiku until he had happened upon this place, according to Nii's findings.
Another year later, during a visit to Hyakuganmaou's castle, the ever-honorable prince saved a young woman, Yaone, from being raped and devoured by the demon king. The apothecary's particular background was another point for Nii's personal data file.
He used his knowledge of these things which he should not have known very successfully on Kougaiji just a couple of days ago – they were the reason that the fiery prince is now in his hands. Apparently, the very thought of this kind of information being used against his friends made him fear for their safety.
Kougaiji, Dokugakuji, Yaone and Lirin – quite the happy little family. Sadly, they proved to be fairly ineffective against the Sanzo party so far. However, one of their adversaries' biggest challenges yet is about to step into their way…
When word had gotten to them that Genjo Sanzo and his companions had received orders from the Three Aspects to come to Tenjiku and stop the impending resurrection of Gyuumaou, Nii was not surprised – he had predicted this line of action. The Aspects might exist on a higher plane than humans, but they were nothing if not predictable.
He told Gyokumen a nice little half-truth about needing to reconnoiter the area to set up traps in their defense, should the group make it that far. He left for 'Kami-sama's' temple the next day. The boy was eighteen at this time, and his master had visited him less and less as he grew older, which was probably the reason why he laughed in childish delight when he saw Ukoku Sanzo crossing the front yard of his "castle". Contrary to popular opinion, leaving a child alone to fend for himself did not always result in early maturity; his disciple was the living proof.
After Nii had endured an extended welcoming scene, he finally took control of the conversation.
"Do you know why I am here, boy?"
Adoration still clearly spelled out on his face, his disciple shook his head quickly.
"No, master."
Nii smiled, the long shadows of evening casting sinister shadows upon his expression.
"I have finally come to elevate you to my position; there is nothing I can teach you anymore."
The boy's head shot up as he looked at his master in disbelief and just a little bit of fear.
"Master... are you dying?"
Nii chuckled at that.
"Oh, no – you misunderstood me. I am not planning to die anytime soon. However, I am growing weary of all the traveling around, and you deserve the title more than me by now."
The ritual did not take long; after reciting certain spells and touching his hand to the forehead of his disciple, a red chakra appeared under Nii's fingertips. The boy sighed softly, eyes closed as if in some sort of rapture – obviously, he took all of this a lot more seriously than his master.
Afterwards, when Nii helped the boy into his new robes, his disciple finally realized something was amiss.
"Master, where is my sutra?"
'My sutra' – obviously, he had gotten used to his new rank fairly quickly...
Nii smiled regretfully.
"I am afraid I am unable to give it to you."
"But...!" the boy began, before he was silenced by a glance.
His master continued, "... however, there is no reason for you not to obtain one. Say... what do you think about a little game?"
The rules of the 'game' were fairly easy; Nii would provide his student with all means necessary to obtain the object he desired, 'Kami-sama', in turn, would have to get his hands on the scripture and keep it from its rightful owner – by killing him, if the need arose. If he lost the sutra, the game was over, and he would lose everything his master had provided him with. It was a high-stakes game, and for a moment, Nii had not known whether the boy would agree or turn on him, but his indoctrination had been so complete that his disciple did not even give the matter a second thought before consenting.
What 'Kami-sama' does not know, of course, is that if he manages to defeat Genjo Sanzo, he will nevertheless lose the sutra – after all, it is needed for the resurrection experiment. Maybe Nii will consider giving it back to him once it has fulfilled its purpose – if he is not forced to dispose of him for not being willing to give it up in the first place, of course. Maybe.
Nii lights another cigarette and decides to go for another stroll; there is no particular reason for his decision, but since he is not accomplishing anything by sitting here reminiscing about the 'good old days', he might as well walk around for a while. This time, he decides to go to the elevator and up to the ground-level floor of the castle.
'Kami-sama'… how pretentious of his disciple to name himself after God. How pretentious – and ambitious. He has been an exceptional student, and shows promise as the deadly weapon Nii honed him to be… and yet he is not sure he wants him to succeed. Not because of any foolish attachment issues like the ones Prince Kougaiji's little group seems to harbor for their enemies, or for each other – no. The reason for his resenting the thought of success is much more simple: To be quite frank, Nii would be disappointed if someone of lesser knowledge and skill managed to get rid of Genjo Sanzo, even if that someone was his disciple. A lot of his efforts in the last decade indirectly served to strengthen the young monk into an enemy actually worth considering, and he would hate to see all that work go to waste.
Nii arrives in the currently empty throne room; it is very late, and Gyokumen Koushu has long since retired to her rooms, no doubt dreaming about the day when she will finally become the most powerful woman of Tenjiku and Tougenkyou – the demoness that spited the Gods. Behind her throne, the giant steel sarcophagus in which Gyuumaou awaits the day of his unsealing towers above everything.
Genjo Sanzo…without even realizing it, he is the one who turned Nii's scheme, so quickly conceived, from a simple test of abilities into something much more – a game of chess, as it were. Move and countermove, a battle of wits, intelligence and resources. On one hand, the fact that he did not die in the attack on Kinzan Temple and developed into someone who would actually be able to challenge him results in a sense of danger Nii probably would not feel comfortable with – if it were not for the thrill of wanting to see the outcome of total opposites clashing, which provides him with an excitement he has not felt in many years. White versus black – a conflict as old as time itself, now embodied by a rather irreverent priest and an errant-priest-turned-scientist. After their final confrontation, will the sun rise the next morning? Or will the world be smothered by perpetual darkness? Soon, there will be an answer.
Nii raises his hand to the steel-encased demon king in mocking salute – if not for him, this highly interesting series of events would probably not have happened. He only lowers it again to stifle a yawn. It is time to go to bed and gather strength for another day, one day less he will have to wait for a conclusion to all of his work, all the deliciously torturous waiting.
Nii Jenyi. Ukoku Sanzo. Kenyu. Names do not matter – he knows this better than anyone else. Thus, he scoffs slightly at the name tag next to the door leading to his personal rooms before he enters and pulls the door shut behind him.
And here the conclusion to "Man of Science". Sorry about the somewhat weirdly formatted news article - ff dot net does not allow the "justify"-tag which I was trying to use, so I had to make do with "center". Comments, critique and of course praise are appreciated. ;-)
EDIT: I finally got to actually read the complete Sanzo chapter of the "Burial" arc, and Jikaku is indeed NOT a Sanzo, at least from what I can tell. I changed that part to fit with the canon I worked with in this. As said before, though: Anything occuring after the "Burial" chapters will be disregarded and renders this fic AU. Thank you for reading!