new_kate | Fic time!

Title: Recovery
Fandom: Saiyuki
Words: ~1200
Warnings: implied het
Notes: many thanks to

hibem for the beta!

When the madness was over and most of the youkai were put down or driven away, it came time to mend the wounds.

The village would take a long time to recover. The fields were neglected, needing to be nurtured back to full fertility. The torched houses near the river still stood there like charred black skeletons, half-crumbled, groaning loudly when the wind picked up. So much needed rebuilding, so much could never be restored now. Yet life went on.

The village needed strong hands, people not afraid of hard work, and many that were orphaned or made homeless by the youkai needed a shelter. There were plenty of empty houses still standing, damp cold shells, with no one to inhabit them. The newcomers were moving in, settling, forging ties, making the place alive and buzzing again.

Those two were just like many others, wandering around looking for the place to put down roots. All they had was clothes on their backs and their silver wedding bands, thin and plain, not much of a treasure in their own right. Still, they were luckier than the most, they didn’t get torn apart, still had each other.

They chose a small abandoned house on the outskirts of the village and set about scrubbing it clean and mending it best they could. The man, Zhou, was healthy and strong, tireless skilled worker. He took any job anyone would give him, no matter how hard the labour and how small the pay, always had a kind word and a smile for everyone. Kids, what few there were, loved him, dragged him into their noisy games whenever he wasn’t too tired to stand on his feet after the work was done for the day.

Yin, his wife, was a pretty, quiet girl, a little stand-offish at first, with an air of a noble about her. The women gossiped vigorously, making up stories about those two – aristocrat’s daughter eloped with a stable boy, sacrifice rescued from youkai by a brave traveller. She fit in soon enough, was always polite and generous, kept a spotless house, knew best herbal remedies for any ailment and would never refuse to tend to a sick neighbour, even if called in the middle of the night.

Some evenings they would both come to the village hall where the people gathered to enjoy the peace and the well-earned rest after the long day. Zhou drank, laughed, joined the dance. Yin chatted with the women, and watched him from the corner with a tender, loving smile.

It wasn’t over, of course. There were plenty of youkai still lurking here and there. The army that sat in the capital for all those years, guarding the palace while the people got slaughtered, finally stepped in and was hard at work chasing last of the youkai clans off their lands and forcing into exile those they couldn’t kill. The youkai pushed back with animal tenacity, holding to their homes fang and claw. Any news that got into the village was cherished and retold at their gatherings over and over. Most people’s attention was on the whereabouts of the new youkai king. Elusive, everywhere at once, he seemed to be darting around the land, gathering the youkai under his banner, searching for the place for them to occupy and turn into the new youkai empire.

He tried opening talks with the court, claiming all he wanted was to give his remaining people a safe home, let them lead peaceful lives. Humans knew better, of course. No more youkai lies for them, not after what happened. The taxes were hard to pay, as always, but nobody argued that strong army was needed to fight and corner the youkai king and his ilk, to finish this once and for all.

All the talk about youkai worried Yin, brought her near tears. Zhou would hold her then, kiss her hand and touch her wedding ring, whisper sweet nothings into her ear till she got hold of herself.

Sweet, good kids they were, a nice couple.

One day the word got in that the youkai king was finally captured, was held safely in the dungeons under the palace, paying for his crimes in blood and flesh, his minions defeated and scattered. In the midst of a hearty cheer nobody noticed that Yin had fainted, hanging pale and limp off Zhou’s arm.

“Too much excitement,” he said, when he took her outside and was gently patting her cheeks, urging her to wake up. “Ah, she… I think she might be expecting or something.”

That was the day of good news, no mistake. Every new child was a blessing in this ravaged, suffering world, a promise for the future, a good omen. Many sticks of incense were lit on the shrines that night for Yin and Zhou and their good fortune.

At next sundown, coming home from checking his fishing nets, Shun spotted Zhou near the riverbank, talking to someone under the cover of low-hanging tree branches. The stranger flinched at the sound of his steps and left swiftly, keeping to the shadows.

“My brother,” Zhou explained. “Uh, wife doesn’t like him, so we gotta meet in secret like that.”

He grinned guiltily and headed back to his house, where Yin waited, standing on the porch with a lit lamp, looking for him through the dim twilight. That was the last time anyone saw them.

“He’s safe, they don’t have him,” he said as soon as they were inside. “The army is spreading this rumour to flush out his followers around the capital. He’s fine.”

She sagged against the wall, breathless with relief, and tugged him down with her. They held each other tight, coming alive again after more than a day of sleep-walking, forced smiles and cracking masks.

“Gojyo said Sanzo is still trying to talk some sense into the emperor, but so far no dice. In time of peace nobody fears gods or needs priests. Sanzo himself is this close to being thrown into the dungeon, which is no wonder, with his people skills…”

“This isn’t the time of peace,” she sobbed against his shoulder.

“It is for them. It is supposed to be for us. He wanted that for us. Safety. A good, quiet life. That was his order.”

“I know,” she said. “I just – I can’t.”

She got up, still shaking, looked around, at their small shabby house, at their frail smooth bodies, cringing, disgusted.

“This isn’t us,” she said, clawing the ring off her finger. “This stops now.”

She flung the limiter in the corner and stood in front of him, herself, glorious and beautiful.

“You know what we are,” she whispered, old fire gleaming in her eyes, and he was on his feet at once, tugging his ring off over his work-swollen knuckles, feeling the change even before in rolled over him.

“Yes,” he growled as he reached for her. “We’re his.”

They were, still and always, and even Kou himself couldn’t change that.

Several people saw two youkai, male and female, leaving the village before dawn. Nobody knew how they had sneaked in, but what they had done was discovered soon enough. The youkai had gotten into the house where Zhou and Yin lived and did something to the poor kids. Ate them, most likely. All that was left of them was their torn clothes and their wedding rings.

Damn youkai. Nothing but animals.