middleofsomewhere | Jema'grethy: Memory Cave

It could take Genjo a while to process all the details of that memory. It had been vivid, the memory only a handful of months old for Koumyou and so, so fresh.

And despite how he acts, Koumyou Sanzo's mind tends to juggle many thoughts and processes at once -- how else could he control individual strands of the Seiten, while also fighting, and casting other spells?

Dad's multitasking is on point. His thoughts have layers, his memories have memories. Being bonded to two sutras for over twenty years will do that to a person.

But in the here and now, Koumyou Sanzo sits up, and before the motion's even over he exclaims a fond, "That fucker!" with a light and breezy laugh.

He's nothing if not observant, though, and Genjo's curled form isn't that far away.

(And the Maten, always in his peripheral awareness when it's within a few hundred feet of him.)

His mood instantly switches to concern, and he holds out a hand like he's about to touch his son's back, hovers there for a second without contact, then drops. "Kouryuu? Are you okay?"

Clearly, he is not. But Koumyou doesn't quite realize their situation just yet, so he has no clue what his son just revisited.

Edited 2022-05-21 09:49 (UTC)

Genjos last memories before showing up here were fast paced yet whimsical. Filled with foreign sights, a room full of familiar faces, and fantastical magic dealing in Gods and youkai alike. It was stressful, to be sure, more so because Sanzo was in the end, a man who hated detours, but it was also surprisingly light hearted for the sheer amount of destruction that had occurred in within the room they had been fighting in.

But Koumyou... Genjo knew well what Koumyous memories were just before he had arrived on the Voidtrecker. After all, Genjo was there when it all happened. He had seen it all go down before his very eyes, the poor sad brat of a kid he was at the time.

But this was different. In this vision he was able to see his past not through his eyes, but through Koumyous. He had thoughts and feelings and memories that were not his. And worst of all he could feel it. The pain as he was diced away at as he heard his own child-like voice screaming out desperately.

Genjo Sanzo had dealt with more physical pains than most others. And he had endured through every bit of it all, never giving up on the life he so desperately clung on to. He couldn't even count how many times he had come close to knocking on deaths doors.

But here it actually happened. He had felt death. And it horrified him.

He was near unresponsive to his masters words as they were spoken. Still curled up and trembling as his fingers dug into the sleeves of his sweater. He had heard them. But his mind was still far too abuzz with the new perspective and the new feelings that came with it; of a period in his life that he was almost always trying to avoid.

Koumyou hadn't paid any mind to the whole, 'waking up in a strange place' thing immediately. He is, as that nice Osigan lady had called him, a seasoned Voidtrecker at this point.

But something is super wrong with Kouryuu, and that gets his doting papa's hackles right the fuck up.

The Seiten blooms, all at once covering the walls and ceiling and most of the floor in golden-glowing tendrils. Everywhere except under Genjo, because Koumyou doesn't want to try to move him with the holy paper while not knowing what is going on.

But now, cave-ins or dropping stalagtites or sudden openings letting enemies in is pretty impossible. And with that golden glow, anything that holiness, light, or even just sheer energy can purify that might be coming from any of that glowing moss is going to be sterilized.

It also makes for clearer lighting, letting Koumyou glance his son over for any obvious injuries. Unless he's curled around something and it hasn't puddled beneath him yet, he seems fine.

Physically.

So that leaves the rest of him.

Greatly daring, and knowing the risks of touch now, Koumyou sets one gentle hand on his son's shoulder.

"Genjo. Can you hear my voice?"

Edited (someday I will stop catching the typos, today was not that day) 2022-05-24 06:05 (UTC)

The bright light that filled the cave felt overwhelming. It was a light that contrasted so suddenly to the dark that Genjo and Koumyou initially had been sitting in, causing his eyes to shut and his teeth to grit in reflex.

But the light felt warm. And, faintly past the buzzing of Genjo's mind, he had heard the familiar voice of his master calling out. That soft, reassuring voice from his childhood. The same voice he had last heard just now within his own now muddied memories. Koumyous own memories? He still couldn't quite parse it all out.

But it still managed to get a response out of him regardless. Not a verbal response, but after a second or two, he managed to adjust his gaze past the bright warm light of the sutra. Teary eyes were looking up to meet the friendly, welcoming features of his master-- His father.

His father was alive right in front of him. Right here. Right now.

Right. That was the past.

Everything was okay.

Koumyou just smiles one of his calm, sad smiles that fools almost everyone but never fooled his boy. He'd never confided the reasons for that old, dull ache of sorrow in his bones, even when called out.

Here and now, he takes up the edge of one of his sleeves and reaches to carefully, ever so gently, dab his son's tears away.

"There you are," he murmurs, "it's okay. We're both okay."

He still has no idea what set his boy off like this, but it's the same method he'd used to soothe a child's nightmares. And it's the same one Devero is now familiar with, too. Koumyou hadn't known it was a real thing, though, until recently.

Grounding, not for meditation or spellcasting, but for easing fears and sorrows.

"Just focus on me, Kouryuu," he says gently, "we're both okay."

They were okay.

He was here now, it was the present, and the two of them were okay.

He is no longer the scared, lost child he was back then. He had survived past it. And because of it, he was now more powerful for it.

The Genjo Sanzo of yesterday is not the Genjo Sanzo of today.

His shoulders went slack as Koumyou had reached out to brush the tears from his cheeks. More than anything, he hated showing such weakness, even to someone like his master. He didn't want to be pitied or seen as weak. Such sympathies were perhaps the things he hated the most.

It reminded him of some assholes back home who saw him in such vulnerable moments, assholes who said that that was just how people who spent a lot of time together were.

Kouymyou was someone who had spent a lot of time with him, even if it was so long ago.

"... Right," He took a deep, shaky breath. Lowering his head with a sullen nod, he accepted the situation for what it was—for the first time, acknowledging that it was okay for Koumyou to see him like this.

Although he did wish Koumyou would stop looking at him like that.

And so he began to push himself to a stand. Keeping his voice as calm and composed as he could. "Sorry."

Koumyou is who changed your diapers and taught you how to walk, Kouryuu. Not much point hiding from him now.

When Genjo gets up, Koumyou rises to his feet with him, tucking his hands into his sleeves in that familiar way of his.

"Nothing to apologize for," the older Sanzo assures him, and goes ahead and slides glowing holy paper over that last spot of floor once his son is on his feet. The sutra presses outward, folding into each crease and crack in the cave.

Still no paths out. He might have to get creative, if their air starts to run low. Pick a direction and start slicing, and hope that direction doesn't just go deeper into whatever mountain they're under. Keep them surrounded by tendrils to hold back anything falling...

That's where Koumyou's thoughts have moved, or at least some of them. While part of his mind is aware, somehow, that talking about... memories? will free them, he still has to make plans. And Genjo might have an idea now of how easily his father's mind works on multiple tracks at once--

"What set that mental land-mine off?"

Hopefully, Kouryuu hasn't gotten horribly claustrophobic in his years without Koumyou.

(He hasn't quite realized that that weird dream he'd had wasn't just a weird dream. Look, someone had probably told him memories get shared on this world, but he'd probably paid very little attention to that.)

Edited 2022-05-26 12:02 (UTC)

It felt so surreal, seeing the full force of the Seiten go into effect. It wasn't until he had run into Koumyou here on the Voidtrecker that he had even known the the potential of the Seiten scripture besides the fact that it was capable of 'light and holiness'. And even then he had only seen a sliver of what it was capable of, a warning.

This was much more than simply that. This was a full purifying barrier encompassing them both and seeming to breathe and move as it attempted to seek an exit. Genjo couldn't help but wonder what the full benefits and actions of the scripture entailed as he watched it shines and surround them.

Of course, this also meant that at the moment he was not able to use his own to try and blast them out a possible escape route. But he was patient, instead focusing on the concerned gaze of his father as he tried to describe what it was he had just endured.

"It felt like a dream, but more coherent. Perhaps maybe a memory? It was probably caused due to the fact that my past has been biting me in the ass a lot these days," Well, not literally. But he certainly had been seeing a lot of his dead pops these days when he really wasn't expecting to see him ever again!

Oh Kouryuu, this is far from full force. More than you've seen of it before, but it's still mostly dormant compared to the sheer nuclear fission of that which created the stars.

A bunch more tendrils unfold from Koumyou's back, and snake through the air in all directions, sliding past Genjo on either side. They slip in between the layers of their brethren, and then just... continue. Forward. Into the stone.

The only way to tell is the script on the paper moving along, and the scent of burning stone. Wherever Koumyou first finds less resistance, that will be the direction to tunnel.

Meanwhile, he takes his hands out of his sleeves to hold his chin, in obvious thought. "I had a strange dream, too. Have you met Sai Tai Sai? And did he throw an illusory ash tray at you?"

He drops his hand to rummage around in his ARMs band up his sleeve, producing a battered notebook.

"What world is this one, again? I sort of didn't pay attention beyond it not being in need of rescue or evacuation this time..."

Edited 2022-05-27 01:16 (UTC)

Sanzo didn't say anything in response to the initial inquiry. But the small surprised grunt he let out in reaction to hearing Sai Tai Sai's name was indeed enough of a tell. Instead, he looked away quickly as he instead focused on the second thing Koumyou had asked.

"If I remember correctly, it was a vacation spot to relax. At least that's what they announced over the train," The exact name of the place was beyond him, though. The announcement system had only mentioned a long string of numbers when naming the location. And like hell, he was memorizing all that when it was only supposed to be a quick vacation locale. "It had mentioned that the Voidtrecker had visited once before and--"

He froze with that, suddenly coming alert as another description of the planet came to mind. Primarily, the Voidtreckers' primary motive for arriving.

"Ah," Right. The passengers were initially assigned to dig through memories, specifically the Voidtreckers memories. But to do that, they had to--

"That was real," He muttered lowly, looking up at Koumyou a bit more directly. "Memories."

On the pages of his battered, train-issued notebook, Koumyou's running down a list of names and short descriptions of worlds the train had been to before he'd woken up on a platform. He's heard little bits here and there, but one in particular has several paragraphs of his notes, and he lands on it at the same moment Kouryuu makes the realization.

"Jema'grethy," Koumyou sighs, closing the worn blue cover of his notebook and tucking it away again. "I see."

And his son had been in that state, that undone. He's neither foolish enough or selfish enough to hope the memory Genjo had witnessed wasn't exactly what he immediately thought it must be. Although the level of detail, the perspective through his own eyes, the depth of his multiple channels of memory and thought... experienced, he couldn't guess at.

Perhaps it had been more like a little film of horror. A highlight reel of that night of shared trauma.

"...Well."

The tendrils of the sutra burrowing out into the rock suddenly vanish, as Koumyou realizes how pointless an attempt at escape is if this is the purpose for them waking up in here. He leaves the others in place, just for peace of mind.

And, you know.

He isn't looking directly at his son, actually.

It takes his racing thoughts several long, tense seconds to find something to comment on, which is very unusual for him.

"Sai Tai Sai certainly hasn't changed a bit."

"... You know him?" That had managed to take Genjo off guard successfully. He watched in confusion as Koumyou began to recoil the light of his scroll from the surrounding walls. Was Koumyou unable to find a way past the cave even with the Seiten at his disposal?

Genjo's body language still seemed vulnerable compared to how it usually was, but at least now, he seemed to have stopped thinking about what he had just experienced.

Koumyou sees the confused watching, and clarifies, "If this is Jema'grethy, then this is no ordinary cave we were simply teleported into. I could slice for a hundred years and not find open air to tunnel toward. It will let us out when we've done whatever it wants us to do in light of..."

A vague gesture with one elegant hand. In light of this.

"We shouldn't run out of air; this place doesn't kill. I'm still going to make sure it can't collapse on us, just for peace of mind."

Which is why there are still glowing tendrils plastered to the walls and ceiling, still, just not as many. And no more burrowing outward into the stone in all directions.

"I know him, yes. I met him when I was around your age, actually. He seems to take a personal interest in us once in a while, and since he watches all of us regardless of showing himself or not, you may as well trust him to whatever degree."

"So you're aware of his stalking tendency then," Genjo stated bluntly, outwardly showing through his expression how unamused he was by such a concept. Slowly leaning back against the stone wall of the cave for support, along one of the sections that didn't have Koumyous Seiten supporting it, he finally took a moment to look over the cave which surrounded them.

It'll let them out when they do whatever it wants them to do, huh?

Right.

"We were in Nepal when he made himself known. Came marching in on order of the Kumari herself. They were worried about us running off and getting ourselves killed for some goddamn reason," he never understood why they would care so much about such a thing. What Genjo decided to do was his own damn decision to make. Like hell, some 'prophetic vision' was going to stop him.

"Well, speaking as a dead Sanzo myself, I'd much rather you get some tutelage from an old friend of mine than have you join me."

It's light, easy, both a joke and an honest sentiment, but not something Koumyou's letting weigh him down right now. He's dead because he's dead, there's nothing to see here.

But, yes, someone should teach Genjo properly; Koumyou certainly hadn't. And that's a thought that he's carefully stepping around inside his own mind, lest he bump into it and ruin his usual demeanor.

"And anyway, with Sai Tai Sai it's less like having a stalker and more like having a peanut gallery."

Edited 2022-06-01 09:15 (UTC)

"I don't want any more of a peanut gallery than the one I'm already stuck with, thanks," It was a genuine sentiment on Genjo's part. Genjo's expression seemed to drop with tired aggravation as his mind flashed with images of all the idiots he was already traveling alongside, sighing as he finally reached into his sweatshirt pocket to pull out a carton of cigarettes.

If they were going to be stuck in here talking about things for a while, he may as well make himself comfortable and have a smoke. After all, Koumyou did affirm that they probably weren't going to suffocate. That was more than enough green light in his eyes.

"Besides. Just like the kumari, you do not need to worry about my path," With that, Genjo popped the cigarette in his mouth before lifting his gaze. His eyes alight with an ice-cold seriousness. "I will not die any time soon, no matter how badly anyone tries."

"That's good," Koumyou agrees easily enough, "but you won't stop me from fussing, you know that. I'm your papa, I'm allowed!"

It's unavoidable, Genjo.

"And for that matter, Tenkai's sister is basically your auntie."

That had managed to get to one of the most emotionally dead-pan stares Genjo Sanzo had probably ever given in his entire life. Perhaps only second to the time Goku recommended that they try bicycling to India after they thought they lost Jeep.

".........What?"

Who the hell is Tenkai? Why does that name sound vaguely familiar?

Edited 2022-06-26 06:26 (UTC)

"Tenkai Sanzo, the protector of the Maten before me, and who I believe intended for it to go to you."

You know, that night. With the bear.

Koumyou mentally slips past that thought, still not sure how much Genjo had seen of his memories related to that night. Had he seen Koumyou's thoughts? How deeply?

-- Wait. Right. So that's why the name had felt so familiar. He had never directly heard of the person before but-- That memory.

The images of Koumyous experiences only flashed through his thoughts once more, sending a cold chill down his back, enough to get his body to tense. A small youkai with a round face. Besides the more youkai traits, he looked almost identical to--

"So you're saying the kumari was related to a previous Sanzo Priest?" Right. He did remember her mentioning something along those lines when Sahrak first introduced them. But that Sanzo was a friend of his masters?

"There is no way I'm calling her my aunt."

Rude old child-lady.

"Oh, no?" Koumyou chuckles, "Just imagine how baffled everyone would be. Other than Sai, of course. He knows how close the last of us were."

"How close the last of you were..." The statement came off more as a curiosity. A sentence that he felt needed to be further elaborated. Should he bring it up? The strangely surreal memory he had just experienced? Part of him was worried about mentioning it to his master, even though he was sure the other Sanzo Monk already had a fair idea of what had just happened. His shoulders slumped as he averted his gaze while thinking of the best way to broach the topic. "... Tenkai also had prophetic visions, right? Just like his sister."

"Yes," Koumyou confirms with a sigh, "that's how he knew who you would be. That you would have the Maten."

Tenkai had never said shit about the Seiten, but that didn't mean anything. Even though it's here with Koumyou now, the older priest has to die for real someday. Then it will become Genjo's, as well as the choice to guard two sutras or to pass one along to another.

"He couldn't get anything but a confused jumble of light and darkness from me for the longest time. A kaleidoscope. Normally, anyone he touched, he saw their future as clear as day."

Koumyou gazes over at his son quietly, then reaches into a sleeve for a cigarette, too.

"I suspect you were the light he saw. You must have been, there wasn't much other light to be had in that life."

He lights up in his usual way, a fingertip, a burst of chi. Takes a drag, holds it in, lets it out again.

"Plenty of darkness. I suppose the cave won't let us out until we discuss what we actually saw, hm? I already knew you had companions in your time, but I'm still glad for it. And glad to have seen them, now. Friends who are too stubborn to die are all too rare."

A light, huh?

"Stubborn idiots, the lot of them," It was a simple answer but summed up how Genjo had felt about the ragtag team he somehow traveled alongside. 'The Great Sanzo-Party,' a holy monk of the highest position followed by three loyal yet ferocious youkai who leave a pile of bodies wherever they go. "They ended up with me because of circumstance. Although I suppose they're useful enough to keep around."

He only shot them a few times so far. That has to account for something.

"I don't know if I could even express how happy and relieved I am that you have people," Koumyou tells his son quietly, and sure enough, his emotions reflect it. "The fact that you've made it. Not just survived, but made it."

Made friends, whatever he wants to call them. Koumyou's not particularly fooled.

His eyes are extra damp. Maybe Kouryuu can pretend it's just the smoke getting into them.

Edited 2022-06-30 09:05 (UTC)

it's definitely Koumyou's favorite night too, high-five!

Brb off to cry forever

Three! THREE relived traumas! Ah! Ah! Ah!!!

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