Beast of Burden
A
Hakuryu Discovery Story
Inspired by the Premium OVA
Chapter 1: Kyuu?
By Nekochan
Author's Note
I'm pretty sure this idea came about as a result of Miki Shinichirou-san (one of my favorite seiyuu) being in the Premium OVA and not the main series. That and perhaps the fact that I like nothing more than filling in the holes of plots... and let's face it, Hakuryu's very existence is probably one of if not THE biggest plot holes there is in the whole Saiyuki series. So, here's my contribution to the theories of his discovery. (You don't have to have seen Premium to read this fic.)
I want to mention that I usually have songs I listen to and that inspire me while I write. In this instance, it was 'Proud' by Heather Small (Queer as Folk) for Hakkai, 'Eighteen' by Aaron Pritchett for Gojyo, plus two for Hakuryu: 'Sound the Bugle' by Bryan Adams (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron) and 'Transformation' by Phil Collins (Disney's Brother Bear
Arigatou Minasan! (Thanks everyone!)
Nekochan
(-)(-)(-)
Early Evening
The door slammed open and bounced off the wall as a large boot took its place. "That cheap, uncaring piece-of-crap priest!" An irate redhead stormed into his house, grabbed a chair, and sat down in a huff before lighting a cigarette. "Arrogant, lazy, pissy sonofa-"
"Now, now, Gojyo," a brunette wearing glasses sighed as he entered and shut the door behind him, moving towards the kitchen. "At least he reimburses us for our troubles, right?" Door hinges that open both directions - the best investment I ever made into this house.
"OI, HAKKAI! Whose side are you on anyway?" Gojyo slammed one hand on the table and tugged at his collar with the thumb of his other hand. "He could at least pay for the goddamn cleaning bills!" A dark brown blot of mud that matched the others on Gojyo's jeans and shirt stood out on the pale blue collar. His cigarette barely clung to his lips as he shouted, "It's not like I've got a million shirts . . . or just one frickin' robe that I never get dirty."
"Well, uh . . ." Hakkai gave one of his sheepish grins as he took stock of the refrigerator's contents. "It's not like these missions allow us to remain very clean. At least we're being employed, right?"
"He's just lucky we keep agreein' t' do his dirty work for him. As I was sayin'," Gojyo drawled, frustrated, "He could at least pay for the cleaning. Not like it comes out of his pocket anyway."
"Hmm . . . The fact of the matter is he probably won't change his mind any time soon-"
The playboy snorted loudly, exhaling smoke as he did so. "Yeah, hell 'll freeze over first."
"-But what if I made us both outfits to only wear on these missions? That way, none of your casual clothes would get dirty and its only one outfit to wash or mend," Hakkai continued. Which would make my life a whole lot easier, naturally.
Red eyes blinked dazedly. "Where the heck did that idea come from?"
"Heh heh . . . Actually, it came to me as I was looking at the sad state of affairs where food is concerned."
"You accusin' me of somethin'?"
"Well, you were the last one to do the shopping . . ."
"OI!"
Gojyo's outburst had little affect on Hakkai's mood. "While this black shirt you permanently lent me doesn't get nearly dirty enough to see the spots, these pants of yours are rather baggy at the waist on me, you see." The brunette, smile blazing, headed briskly towards the door, grabbing his coat as he walked by the rack. "So, if you'd rather I not make you an outfit, I suppose I'll just go out on my own then."
Gojyo gawked, rising to his feet. "Wha? Why do I hafta' go?"
Hakkai spoke pleasantly as he put his coat on. "Well, I certainly can't be expected to know what colors you like. So, unless you come with me . . ." He turned around to head back out the door.
"Wait up, man! Geez . . ." The redhead quickly tucked his shoulder-length hair up into a ponytail before snuffing his cigarette in the ashtray on the table. He shoved his hands in his pockets, grumbling, "How come those two are the only ones who ever get away with bossin' me around?" With that, he shuffled out the door after his roommate.
(-)
Evening, Marketplace
"Blue?"
"What's wrong with blue? Besides, it's jean."
"It's frickin' blue."
"It will compliment your pants and hair."
"It'll CLASH with my hair and I still don't like what you have planned for those pants."
"My, my, you certainly are picky, aren't you, Gojyo?"
Gojyo crossed his arms and looked away. "Not picky, Hakkai, just tryin' t' be good lookin' when I'm workin', is that such a crime?"
Hakkai laughed it off. "I suppose not, but if you honestly don't like the color then you're going to have to suggest something else."
"C'mon, man, gimme a break here . . ." Gojyo trailed off. "WHAT!?"
Nearly dropping the groceries and supplies, Hakkai spun around. "What is it, Gojyo?" He demanded frantically.
Gojyo was furious, his bangs flapping in his face. He pointed at the local tavern as he tuned to Hakkai. " 'Poker Challenge Tonight?' Why the heck didn't I hear about this beforehand? Did you know about this? Sonofa . . ."
Cocking his head to the side so he could see just what Gojyo was going on about, Hakkai saw a sign on the side of the building. 'Poker Challenge Tonight - Losers pay the winners' tabs - No rematches.' "Do you have something in mind?"
"Hell yes! That's a great way to get free beer an' lots of wins in a single evening, which means one heck of a profit!" Gojyo chuckled, "An' maybe the beauties will show up to cheer me on . . ." He grinned playfully and started walking away.
"Oh, wait a minute, Gojyo - what about the rest of our shopping?" Hakkai protested.
Gojyo groaned as he put his left hand behind his head. "D'you think you could just finish up yourself an' meet me there?"
Hakkai sighed, giving in as usual. "You'd better not complain about my choices, then, Gojyo."
"Yeah, yeah, I promise!" Gojyo waved it off, but turned around before leaving. "I can look good in anything, after all." He gave a thumbs up.
"Modest as always . . ."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing. Go have fun." Hakkai made a shooing motion.
Gojyo grinned merrily before walking away, the smooth playboy attitude quickly taking over.
"My, my . . ." Hakkai shook his head before turning back to the merchant. "I need two yards of that blue fabric, please." Who knows, maybe he'll win enough to pay for the outfits.
(-)
Late Evening, Marketplace
Hakkai walked the streets with his hands in his coat, heading for the tavern to meet up with Gojyo. His gaze traveled from one side of the street to the other and back again, taking in the atmosphere of the night market. This was one of his guilty pleasures, just walking around and seeing all of the townsfolk happily going about their everyday lives. It was why his shopping trips alone usually took so long and why he decided to take the long way through town to the tavern tonight.
The brunette's complacent mood was ruined by the sound of an engine revving nearby. He frowned, upset at the rudeness of whoever saw fit to disturb the townspeople with such a ruckus. Then, he noticed it wasn't just an engine . . . it was also the clanking of chains and tires digging into the dirt. A gang? Why would a gang come to a town like this?
Staying behind a corner of a building, Hakkai listened closer. He was soon able to determine that it was only one vehicle, but he heard no voices. He did hear one strange noise over and over again that he assured himself must be the horn. It sounded something like a "Kyuu" noise.
Intrigued if nothing else, he stepped out into the open.
The sight that greeted him was a green vehicle with no top and no driver struggling desperately against its own tow-cable that had been attached to a stake in the ground. There were deep tracks in the street where the tires were spinning and now Hakkai could even hear the metal parts of the car's underbelly scraping together under the strain from the cable.
Just as Hakkai was trying to figure out how a car could move on its own power let alone why it would struggle against its own bonds, he had to shield his eyes as a bright white light burst forth from the car accompanied by a high-pitched squealing, "Kyuu!" After the light subsided, Hakkai couldn't help but gasp at the new sight he beheld.
Where the large car had once been was a creature no bigger than a house-cat. It looked like a white snake with bat wings, but it also had a metal body-brace surrounding its middle and wrapping around its wings, ending in a collar around both its neck and tail. Now, the small creature was flying around in circles, tugging on the chain and failing miserably to do anything but wear itself out. It landed on the ground and began to gasp for breath before lying on its side.
If Hakkai's curiosity had been peaked before, now he was desperate to know what was going on with this creature. It looks like it could be a dragon . . . but it's so tiny! How . . . He decided to approach the poor thing, praying it wasn't dead from the stress. "Hey there, little guy . . . you okay?" He reached out his right hand, but stopped when it opened its eyes.
Its tiny beads of red held pain and sadness, but also a strong will that wouldn't be compromised. Hakkai had seen such eyes before.
Tentatively putting his hand closer, Hakkai noted the long white hair along the creature's back rising as a sound rose in its throat. "I'm not going to hurt you . . . I want to help you." He tried presenting the back of his hand instead of the palm.
Like a tiny bolt of white lightning, the white neck snapped forward and bit down on Hakkai's middle finger.
Hakkai recoiled as the creature screeched. It was only trying to defend itself, after all, poor thing . . . It may have never known a day in its life without being hurt by its master - wait, that's it! "Your master, little one - where is he?"
The hair stood up on end as the red eyes glared in the direction of the tavern. "KYUU!" It hissed as it stood up on its two tiny, clawed feet with long tail stretched out behind it for balance. With its wings spread wide, it looked at least four times bigger as it hissed again.
"All right, then, I understand." With that, Hakkai stood up slowly and brushed the dirt from his knees. He looked down at the white dragon, smiling broadly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."
As the brunette walked away, he didn't catch a white head cock to the side in confusion. "Kyuu?"
(-)
Late Evening, Tavern
"HA! Pay up, buddy!"
"Geez, not again!"
"Wow, Gojyo, you're on a roll tonight!"
"Yeah! You could take on any guy in this whole place, I bet!"
The redhead grinned and took a drag on his cigarette. "Thanks, ladies," he breathed. "If my luck keeps up, we can all have a round, 'kay?"
"YAY!" Gojyo was promptly hugged tightly by two women.
Man, am I glad I'm such a good bluffer-
"GOJYO! Gojyo, where are you?"
Saved by the roommate, Gojyo thought grudgingly. "Be right back, ladies. Need to get my friend in on the action, too, y'know?"
The two women giggled. "Hurry back!" They chorused.
"Of course, of course!" Gojyo replied as he winked. He weaved in-between chairs as he made his way to Hakkai by the door. "Hakkai, you gotta get into this thing right away!" He blurted out quickly, "I'm not makin' nearly enough even with the losers payin' the tab and so -"
"Gojyo, that simply will have to wait -" Hakkai insisted, then lowered his voice. "I need to find the owner of the vehicle outside."
Red eyes blinked, confused. "A vehicle? You mean a car? No one's been braggin' about a car - why?"
"I'll explain later, but right now I need to find that owner. He's in here somewh-" Hakkai let out an audible gasp as he scanned the room for the presence he suddenly became aware of . . . like the youkai had been concealing it, but stopped doing so. Why would any youkai do that unless they were about to attack?
"You feel that too, Hakkai?"
"Where do you suppose he is?"
"Notta clue."
After looking over the crowd, Hakkai spotted a rather raucous conversation going on in the back between four men. He motioned for Gojyo to follow him before walking past the bar to listen in. It was hard to see their faces since they were all wearing brown cloaks with hoods, but their hair made it easy to tell them apart.
"Aww, c'mon, 'Sui, tell us how ya' got such a sweet-ass ride!" One man with short, purple hair and a green headband insisted.
As the man took a big gulp of beer, his hood fell back, revealing goggles pushed back into his short, spiky pale-pink hair. "I didn't 'got' nuthin', man . . . I made that sweet-ass ride that ya' like so much!"
A man with orange hair sticking out every which way and a red headband set his mug down without even taking a drink. "No way! Seriously, Ensui?"
"Yer not pullin' our chains, are ya'?" The one with pale blue hair in a low ponytail falling along his shoulders and long bangs asked incredulously.
Ensui chuckled. "Unlike you three, 'I don't let what I can't do stand in the way of what I can do.' " He sat back to put his boots on the table, leaning back in his chair. "Tha' Lady gave me a whole brood of 'em an' I jus' kept tryin' an' tryin' 'til I made tha' Jeep ya' see parked outside." The goggled man took another swig.
"More like 'tethered' than 'parked', wouldn't you say?"
Nearly spitting out his drink, Ensui turned around as his three drinking companions turned raised eyebrows on the brunette standing before them. He glared, sobering quickly. "What's it to you, Mr. Nosey?"
"Well, that would be . . . my own business," Hakkai insisted through what Gojyo, even from behind, could tell was a fake smile. "On the other hand, how much is he worth to you? Five-hundred? One-thousand? Perhaps two-thousand?"
Grimacing, Ensui stood up. "You mean tha' Jeep? More like four-thousan', you simpleton! That thing's not something you can jus' buy off tha' street, y'know!"
Hakkai set his expression to serious. "I see. I wasn't convinced you valued the poor creature's life that much."
"I guess it's true that 'the only weapon that becomes sharper with use is the tongue,' then."
By this point a few other patrons were looking their way and Gojyo wasn't alone in looking more than a little anxious.
"Oi, Hakkai . . . What're you doin', man?" Gojyo whispered. He's never this confrontational unless it's really important - what does a stupid car mean to him?
The three seated men, however, were cheering their companion on. "You tell 'im, Ensui!" "Ha ha, that's how you do it!" "Hey, Ensui, you're awesome!"
"I would like to play you at poker for 'that Jeep-thing', as you call him."
"Oh ho? Well, is that so?" Ensui stretched his spine to its full length as he dropped the goggles onto his face, taking on the same mocking air as Hakkai. "What, praytell, do you have to bet against me with? 'To win without risk is to triumph without glory.' "
Hakkai merely pointed to his left ear as Gojyo's cigarette fell from his mouth. "1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . Even as scrap metal, these are worth at least fifteen-hundred apiece, I'm sure."
Gojyo hissed, "Hakkai! Are you frickin' crazy?" What on earth is he tryin' t' do!? Betting his cuffs? Sanzo'd never forgive him for just losin' 'em like this!
Ensui put his hands on his hips, leaning back a little to enhance his haughty air. "Heh. Power Limiters, huh? Talk about a 'book you can't judge by its cover'."
The seated men gasped audibly and kept glancing between Hakkai and Gojyo, completely confused.
"Fine, I accept your challenge. I choose . . . 5-card Stud . . . with trade-outs to the dealer . . . but either of us can call at the end of each round of trade-outs-"
"Then it's not Stud, moron, it's regular Poker-" Gojyo cut in, but Hakkai's raised hand moved in front of Gojyo's face, signaling him to stop.
"I accept."
Gojyo called one of the dealers over as Hakkai and Ensui sat across from one another at a nearby table.
Grinning pleasantly, Ensui extended his hand. " 'Close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades,' so I intend to win all-out."
Hakkai took the hand in a firm shake out of professional courtesy. "Indeed. 'To the victor goes the spoils', right?"
Ensui growled as he released the handshake and accepted the first card from the dealer.
The brunette smiled back as he looked at his first card, Gojyo peeking over his shoulder. A two.
Then the second card was dealt.
That's better - a Jack, Gojyo noted, fixing his stare on the cards in Hakkai's cards while keeping Ensui's face in his peripheral vision. Gojyo was using poker face, since he felt like he was playing along with Hakkai. I can't give away Hakkai's hand, good or bad.
The third card was an eight.
Shit, this is so not looking good, the redhead moaned inwardly.
Hakkai reached for the fourth card . . . and placed it to the left of the first card.
Gojyo almost breathed a sigh of relief. Well, I guess a pair of two's is better than none at all . . . still, if that guy gets a pair, he's guaranteed to beat Hakkai. He checked Ensui's expression . . . he certainly wasn't disappointed with his hand, but looked like he could be doing better.
The last card turned out to be another eight.
Two Pair, Jack High - I guess it could be worse. Red eyes drifted down to try to gauge Hakkai's expression. Man, the guy I could never beat at cards still has the best Poker Face in town - maybe in the whole frickin' country. Eyelids drooping slightly, Gojyo raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What will you choose, Hakkai? You know you gotta' toss somethin' - the twos are too low t' save you in the end, right? Maybe you'll pick up another Jack, but even if ya' don't . . .
Ensui grinned, sincerely pleased with himself as he picked up his replacement card.
. . . Then ya' keep your high card, 'cuz Tenkai knows the bastard's not goin' t' give ya' another round of this.
Much to Gojyo's dismay, Hakkai plucked the Jack out and tossed it face-down to the dealer. Neither of them got a chance to see the new card, however, because Ensui slammed his cards down on the table.
"Don't even bother! I call!" Goggles shining, Ensui pushed forward four of his cards. "Three of a Kind - Aces, King High! Beat that!"
Hakkai pulled his final card into his hand and sighed heavily, "My, my, I wish I could have high cards like that in my Poker hands more often-"
"I'm sure, now hand over-"
"But it looks like the 'chicken-feed' wins it this time." Hakkai laid all five of his cards on the table.
Gojyo gaped at the cards. "Full House! A Triplet of Twos and a Pair of Eights!"
"I believe that means you 'counted your chicks before they hatched', right?" Hakkai smiled sincerely, stretching his hand across the table. "So I'll take the keys to your vehicle, now, if you please."
Ensui's acquaintances were whispering low at the table as Ensui himself threw down his cards. "You know what? Fine, have the damn thing. HERE!" He threw a set of keys on the table before storming towards the door. "Come on, you three, we're leaving!"
"Uh, yes sir!" The three called out as they hastily went after their leader.
"Don't let the door hit ya' on the way out, cheapskate! Ya' didn't even pay-" Gojyo yelled after them, raising a fist.
Hakkai put a hand on Gojyo's arm hanging at his side. "Never mind, Gojyo, what's important is that I won. That makes up for any tab he would have to pay on my behalf."
A smirk crossed the hanyou's face. "That reminds me . . . I wanna' see this new ride you just won yourself."
"Ah, yes, that sounds splendid. I want to get that harness off of him anyway," Hakkai remarked pleasantly as he stood. After returning the deck of cards to the bartender, Hakkai and Gojyo strode out of the tavern. "I fear I may have had my fill of Poker for awhile."
Red eyes twinkled. "Heh. Guess that gives me time to reach the great Cho Hakkai's level of skill."
"Now, now . . ." Hakkai gushed.
(-)
Late Evening, Tavern Exterior
"What's going to happen now, Mr. Ensui?" Blue asked.
A malicious grin broke across Ensui's face as his goggles shone in the moonlight. "We're going to see if that guy is one to 'look a gift horse in the mouth'." He patted the pocket of his long jacket lovingly and cackled as he walked ahead of the other three.
(-)(-)(-)
-to be continued-
2/13/2007
So, the annoying thing about writing Ensui's dialogue in English is that in Premium, Ensui quotes common English phrases VERY often. Not only that, but they are always appropriate to the situation, not like the normal 'Random Engrish' you sometimes hear in Japanese shows or songs. How does an English writer get this to come across? Well, all I could come up with were relatively common quotes that (American) English-speakers are likely to be familiar with.
I admit that there's a bit of an inside joke at the start of this one: Hakkai can sew and, as we shall see, can sew well. This joke came about when my friend (ASeptemberRose) and I cosplayed as Sanzo and Hakkai, respectively, from Gensomaden. I was forever helping her with her outfit right up to and including the con itself, from locating lost items to working out wig issues to dressing her. We joke that it would make a hilarious 83 fic, but neither of us really ascribe to that pairing. In any case, that's where the sewing joke came from, as well as any references to me 'being Hakkai' or 'Sanzo fails at...' where she is concerned.
There's a second half coming, so don't get settled in just yet. (grins) By the way, I know Hakuryu doesn't have keys, but naturally Hakkai and Gojyo wouldn't.
Nekochan
Japanese Definitions
Tenkai - heavens
Hanyou - half-youkai, half-human