[saiyuki fic] 'One Thousand And Four Voices'

[permetaform]

Yeah, I can't believe I'm writing again either.

Title: 'One Thousand And Four Voices' (drabble series)
Fandom: Saiyuki
Pairings: 58
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: for Vol 5
Summary: 'Cause haven't you ever wondered about the logistics of Hakkai's limiters? Written for the 100_roadtrips's Ghost challenge.

[One thousand voices...]

The residual youki of the thousand dead pushes at him, now, he could sense it, now, they speak to him, now.

Leave, they scream.

The bodies are piled around him, demons, demon prince, and.

Her’s.

Leave. The sentiment flows from the mouths of their open wounds; his own hisses up at him from his belly. His hand presses down, to stem the words, and they stutter.

Something stings at him.

Oh, his claws.

Some instinct of his youkai-body tells him, in the silence, how to leave.

And, somehow, rain hits his body as his body hits the floor and the floor is not stone.

It’s the muddy compacted dirt of a road.

[one steel song...]

He lies there, in the rain, no he’s not lying there he’s standing and he hasn’t lost his glasses and a man (man?) is standing before him who shines and. Who is this? Static person (person?) put into motion, he--

Knows this glowing one. Young, for one so old. Innocent, for one in the middle of such corruption. This one shines, and not with the slime of rot.

In many ways, his (his?) duty is to protect this brilliance from taint.

And for that he needs more control than this body has.

One steel band, made of will, snaps on.

[one metal chime...]

He thinks, with a choke of air, that he must be dreaming, delusional; he does not know who he thinks of, he does not know whose thoughts these are, he does not have a duty to anyone (not any more), he does not know who--

This child, moving like he knows the ground will always be there because he creates it because he’s part of it because as long as he knows where the sky is (where the sun is) he will be able to stand.

(Ten-chan, where are you?)

A second steel band, like a smile curling open, appears.

[one welded ring...]

His wound burns, and he makes it burn more, clawing at himself to regain what there is of him because he does not know who he is anymore, this beast filling his head with thoughts (memories) that he does not (should not) know, what is this--

Hand, seeping up his side, liquid, languorous. It is a question and a request (will you stay here?) and he arches into the body, spooned behind him, in reply. There is a smell of cherry wood (stay?) and something alive (please?).

A third steel band, like laughter, comes home.

And he is human again.

[...and one final blessing.]

The rain hits him and he thinks in the wide-open space of his mind, almost warily, that he might be alone in his thoughts once more. He thinks he knows who he is again. He thinks he might go to sleep now, it’s getting warm.

Mud squishes beside him and he knows he did not move, so it must be someone else.

He opens his eyes and red that is like blood greets him (stay?).

Is this death? Red-that-is-like-blood reminds him of the dead and the death that he gave.

If this red is death, he welcomes it.

Tenpou smiles.

Comments

[tehshiny.livejournal.com]

Oooooooooooooh. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

*massive applause*

I knew getting up at 4AM was a good idea. :D

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

Oh, WOW.

That...wow.

Sorry. Incoherent here.

Wow.

[lisa-bee.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Such an interesting take on the limiters--I don't think I've seen them addressed like this before. I really, really like these.

[permetaform]

=) glad you like! why the 4AM-ness?

[permetaform]

yay! you like! ::grins and bows::

[permetaform]

HEE! thank you! I'm glad this was original, thought I took some inspiration from mjj's How Hakkai Got His Limiters series (the idea that limiters are made of will/intent) =D

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Wow. A simple, clever concept, but so beautifully expressed. Disconnected like thought, yet still lyrical.

[permetaform]

=D Thank you! It was fun to write, though admittedly they're derivations on a theme, elements and counter-elements, y'know?

[tehshiny.livejournal.com]

I fell asleep around midnight but didn't brush my teeth. And oddly enough, I wake up at 4AM thinking "oh god! I need to brush my teeth!"

[permetaform]

XD ::giggles:: strange, what a body gets used to

[tehshiny.livejournal.com]

Yes, but instead of brushing my teeth, I went and checked my flist.

[permetaform]

=D well trained? ::winks::

[tehshiny.livejournal.com]

Very. Which reminds me...I still need to brush my teeth. :|

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

oh, that's nice. I've been wondering whether Hakkai getting his limiters will be one of the backstory things Minekura writes in the future -- but this makes a lovely placeholder. ;)

I especially liked that you focused on Tenpou/Hakkai's relationships with all of them, and not just the romance -- I love Tenpou/Kenren Hakkai/Gojyo to the core, but I also love the four-person dynamic, and appreciate stories which don't forget it.

[snowdrifted.livejournal.com]

Hi there! I'm so sorry for the OT comment - you don't know me but bwinter does, and she reccommended your memories page to me when I was asking about how to learn about vidding. Just wanted to say thanks so much for all the useful info! It made getting started so much easier. :))

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

This...seriously, it's really...

Still not coherent.

*drive-by friendsing*

[permetaform]

=) OT comments are never minded...I'm glad that you found the list so useful! Thank you for leaving a note about it ::hugs!::

[permetaform]

I've been wondering whether Hakkai getting his limiters will be one of the backstory things Minekura writes in the future

HEE great minds! I was wondering about that too, and I really hope that they go into Gojyo's backstory in between the time his brother left him and we see him in the Vol5...Minekura's good about bringing up the guy's past tho, to twap them in the future/present so hopefully she'll go that route ::crosses fingers::

And yeah, the four person dynamic just, it's like two is stable, three is unbalanced, but four is strong, and I love how Minekura's made it into both a healing and a forging journey. They are just all so much of a *family* (no matter how much they'd bite their tongues off before they'd admit it; well, minus perhaps Hakkai who'd said as much about Gojyo in that chapter about the half-breed baby) which is both beautiful and somewhat heartbreaking because they'd all pretty much got screwed over in the family/childhood arena.

[permetaform]

::beams and blushes and friends back::

[edonohana.livejournal.com]

I like the explanation here, but my personal theory (since the only one we've ever seen made was made by a God) that Kanzeon Bosatsu peered down, said, "Dammit, we have three of them ready and this one's about to die on us and ruin everything," slapped the limiters on him, and dumped him on the road to Gojyo's squalid little abode.

The only trouble is that he doesn't recognize hir, which would be explained if s/he'd done it all while he was unconscious, but he does know what the limiters are. And is also not surprised to be human again, though he was a youkai for such a brief and awful time that it would probably have seemed like a nightmare. Maybe s/he gave him a sort of post-hypnotic suggestion to leave them on.

But what I really want to know is where he got Hakuryu, and why Hakuryu is Hakkai's pet. With an explanation relating to their previous lives in Heaven.

[permetaform]

(since the only one we've ever seen made was made by a God)

=) The only thing is I wonder about Yaone's limiter and the limiters on the various other youkai we see, 'cause a god can't have made EVERY one of those...'sides which Goku's not exactly a normal youkai, per se.

[permetaform]

XD or not so well trained? ::hugs:: you cute.

[edonohana.livejournal.com]

No, but neither is Hakkai. I figured what with being a human/youkai and also the reincarnation of Tenpou, he'd need special ones too.

[permetaform]

oooo, good point with that.

[tehshiny.livejournal.com]

I think my body is more trained for checking flist than maintaining my personal hygiene...which can be a problem.

However, the teeth are now brushed. :D

*makes cute!face*

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Kanzeon does specifically say Goku's limiter is special, though, and his is gold, unlike Hakkai's or Yaone's, which look like silver or steel. I could go with the argument that this just means normal youkai require less power to control them, but I do think most limiters are made by people -- by youkai, it appears, in order to pass undetected among humans.

I also want to know the Hakuryu story. And I do still want to know the details of how it all fell apart in Heaven, despite having my own pet theories on the matter.

(I just watched Disc 11 and I was thrilled beyond words to get more Gaiden scenes -- I wasn't expecting there to be any more than Disc 10 and I was so sad that my favorite bits didn't get animated, and there they were some of them after all. And, dude, Kenren/Gojyo just can't stand to see kids unhappy in *any* lifetime. *Total* softie underneath the tough guy exterior.)

[permetaform]

And, dude, Kenren/Gojyo just can't stand to see kids unhappy in *any* lifetime. *Total* softie underneath the tough guy exterior.

He so very very is, very much with the justice kick tho he hides it very very deeply. Did you read the Reload ones? With the kids putting braids in his hair?? =D

btw, what do you think of the source? I still can't find summaries of it and source is dang hard to aquire, and half the vid-song is staring up at me with an accusing expression...

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Oh! There's a Hakkai smile that would be perfect for your ending sequence in one of the episodes I watched this weekend, but now I can't remember which one. Ah, wait -- it's episode 45, which also has a big Gaiden flashback.

I don't think I read the Reload with Gojyo's hair getting braided! Oh, that's so perfect.

I think Saiyuki S2 is slightly prettier than S1, but still generally hideous. The animation on the Reload fansubs improves from hideous to competent -- they were clearly on a bigger budget and could do things like actually animate fight scenes. And Gojyo's hair is the right color. I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.

[permetaform]

I don't think I read the Reload with Gojyo's hair getting braided! Oh, that's so perfect.

=) It's a good arc...want me to send?

And Gojyo's hair is the right color. I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.

That it does. I'm still experimenting with tinting Gojyo's hair, but I may have to scrap the idea if it just doesn't work. Mergle, why *pink*?? I mean, Kougaiji's hair they got right, Gojyo needs to have THAT color, but noooooo, mustn't have two characters have the same hair color, can we?? ::rolls eyes::

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

but noooooo, mustn't have two characters have the same hair color, can we?? ::rolls eyes::

And the antagonist's hair color is more important than one of the protagonists ... Honestly, Kougaiji's hair is a bit more orange than I think Gojyo's should be. Why can't it just be crimson? It's not as if they didn't have the color in their palette.

Yes! I have V.1 & V2. of Reload, I think -- if it's in there, then I've read it and forgotten it. Oh, is it in the first arc? I'll have to reread when I get home; I skimmed a lot of that because I found it such a comedown from the intensity of Saiyuki v.4-9.

[permetaform]

It's not as if they didn't have the color in their palette.

I know! They had the apples, like, right there, RED. And his hair is just, not. I don't *get* it, it's like a *plotpoint*...I wonder how many kids are now irrevocably confused as to their colors because of this...::snorts::

I think it's in V1 of Reload, the one with the children in the snow and the youkai that was madly flirting with Sanzo.

Not like they ALL don't madly flirt with Sanzo...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

And another thing-- when did Hakkai learn to use chi, and who taught him? Is this buried somewhere in an episode of Reload I haven't read, or is it yet another piece of his more-mysterious-than-anyone-else's backstory?

We know that Gonou couldn't, but what I'd like to know is if Hakkai learned it during his Lost Month with the monks, or some time afterward.

[permetaform]

Oh, in the first volume of Saiyuki and in the first and second eps of the anime he says he made it up on the spot because he saw someone else do it and/or he read about it. Goku was all "COOL! TEACH ME!" and Hakkai was all "err...it kinda takes concentration (and I don't think you have enough ::cough::)".

However, Gojyo wasn't very surprised at it so I wouldn't be surprised if he was practicing before that...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Oh-- that was what that meant? God, I'm dense. I thought he was talking about the particular move with the back-flip.

I think I prefer to believe that there's a more interesting story attached to it.

[queen-yokozuna.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. OH WOW. Me likes this very much. Clever, very clever. :D *hugs kanzy* < -- mind the nick? :P

[permetaform]

=) thank you! I'm not sure what 'kanzy' derives to, it's either 'twisted' or 'paper' =D

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

If it's in Reload, it's in one of the volumes I haven't found translations for.

[alee-gothphyle.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh! *flails* You know that I am officially stalking worshipping you now, right? I ADORE this sort of lyric, oscillating narrative, and your "take" on the limiters just makes me smile and sigh like a loon.

THANK YOU!!

[permetaform]

=D thank *you* for this awesome feedback!