Nightshift 20: M71-M80 Hallway
“Where is that damn flashlight?!” Kuronue muttered to himself, shoving the remainder of the cookie that he was given into his mouth as he was quite nearly about to tear his room apart if the stupid thing didn’t show up sooner or later
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He glanced at Hakkai for a second, eyes narrowing in concentration. He was so like Tenpou in some ways, and yet... his reactions could be so different. Tenpou didn't hide behind false smiles for one thing. And five hundred years? That was a long time, even for a creature of heaven. An odd suspicion was starting to form in his mind. They'd been sentenced to reincarnation, and this guy knew Goku...
Kenren smiled again as the subject returned to Goku. "Yeah, I doubt I do. He's not exactly defenceless," he said, rubbing at his arm where the monkey had decided to chew on it that time. "He loses that Diadem and, well... it ain't pretty." He smiled wryly. "Just, I made a promise that I'd stick with him forever. Not one I feel like breaking."
The next question threw him for a loop. "Well, yeah. I think punching the Merciful Goddess counts as a temper."
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He sobered quickly, though. "No, it's really not. I'm almost positive it hurts him as much as it hurts those he faces, as well." Hakkai had taken down Seiten Taisei, he knew he was defeatable, but it took more than most would be willing to give. Hakkai should have been dead. He might be dead, for all he knew. Goku... "Still, that's quite an admirable promise. I hope you are able to keep it."
Hakkai's smile was no more or less real than it had been at any point in their conversation, so there was no tell-tale sign of the pieces finally clicking all into place. The Merciful Goddess had called Sanzo 'Konzen,' this Kenren had known Goku over five hundred years ago, he was being confused with someone named 'Tenpou'... "Ahaha, indeed. That would."
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The memory of Goku in his feral form, violent and cruel and terrifying sobered him instantly. "Definitely. He... he attacked his friend when it happened. Didn't seem like he even recognised him." He could remember it so clearly, Goku leaping at Nataku and Li Touten, cutting at them like they were nothing.
He sighed heavily. "I hope to keep it too. Just.. doesn't look like I manage it if you're saying he was locked up for three hundred years." And that hurt. He prided himself on being honest and when he made a promise in all seriousness, not one of the sweetly murmured ones made in the bedroom, he intended to keep it.
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He smiled sympathetically. He was more familiar than he'd ever like to be with broken promises. "I somehow think you did."
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He stopped dead at Hakkai's next words, the forced away thought coming back to the front of his mind with a vengeance. "What... how?" He stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "If he was imprisoned, then I did break it. I left him alone."
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The moment of honesty passes and the smile returns. "Besides, we're all often alone. It's behind Goku now, in any case."
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"Could have been worse, but I'm not exactly fond o' the idea. I quite like being me." Who knew what kind of person he'd be reincarnated as anyway? He could just hope that it was someone fun.
And hell, this guy was good at changing the subject. "You know Goku pretty well then?"
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Of course he was good at changing the subject, he has had quite a bit of practice. Probably much more than any of his companions would like. Then again, the best way to win an argument is to make sure you're the only one quite sure what exactly is being argued about.
"I suppose you could say I do. I've known him for about four years now. For Goku, that's more than enough time to make friends." Translation: Hakkai never really stood a chance.
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That kinda' hurt when he thought about it. It has been the four of them, Ten-chan and Ken-nii-chan and Konzen all centered around Goku. But he had other friends now, who he'd known for longer. And after what had happened, who was to say Goku even remembered him?
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He schooled his features into no more than polite curiousity. "How do you mean brought in?"
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His expression turned grim at the question. "He's an odd creature," he began. "Born from the spirit of the Earth's what I heard. And Heaven can never leave well enough alone."
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"Ah." He'd always known Goku wasn't quite a normal youkai, but it was different to hear it from someone who had, apparently, been there at the beginning. "And you tried to make sure they, hm, didn't make things worse?"
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"Actually, Kenren said, scratching the back of his head slightly sheepihly, "I'm fairly sure we caused a whole load of chaos and broke a few cardinal rules of heaven." He turned more serious, trying to explain the whole mess to someone who wasn't from the same time, let alone the same place. "Gods aren't allowed to kill. All the army does is capture and incapacitate. Only one person is allowed to kill, the War Prince. It was Nataku most recently, a good friend of Goku's. The war Prince is always a heretical being," he spat the words, making clear his distaste. "Chances were that once Nataku died, they would've tried to make Goku fill that roll. We weren't exactly fond of that idea. Among other things."
Heaven had never been a paradise. There was just as much backstabbing and politiking as the lower world, just hidden better.
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