Hakkai the Swindler?

[ennui_demorte]

This post is my response to a question posted at saiyuki and, as always, I have gone overboard once again. Also, it seemed to me that the person who asked the question or the people who responded may not know of Cho Hakkai's back-story, so I felt the need to cut my examples that use possible spoilers and to do that, I needed to post it here. Also, when my

Comments

[hikethekilt]

I really enjoyed reading this; thanks so much for posting it! I also agree with all of the above.

"Muichimotso" what you're thinking of? ^^ I hadn't thought of the murderer charge in lines so much with that (I was thinking of the Reload Burial chapter in which he remembers his near-rape, the fact he had to kill to survive, and his disgust with himself) but it makes so much sense. Especially if you want to quote some Buddhism and Sanzo with the, "If you meet the Buddha, kill him." Sanzo would definitely uphold that.

[ennui_demorte]

I'm glad that you enjoyed this.

"Muichimotso" what you're thinking of?

Yes, yes! That's it!

I just remember the whole situation with Chin Yisou, when they were stuck in the forest by that fog, and Sanzo said plainly that, if he has to, he will leave a trail of bodies behind him as he heads west--that he will kill anyone who stands in his way.

I am so happy that someone agrees with my somewhat insane theory about why it's Sanzo out of the four that gets labeled the 'murderer' in their mug shots. I thought it was way off the wall, but it was the only explanation that came to my mind, and it does help explain why, out of the four, Sanzo is the most nonchalant about the killing they have to do as they go west. He really doesn't care how many people he has to go through to accomplish his mission. Of course, it does help matters that the mission just happens to include retrieving his master's other scripture--the whole reason that Sanzo left the temple he called home with Koumyou in the first place

[hikethekilt]

Sanzo said plainly that, if he has to, he will leave a trail of bodies behind him as he heads west--that he will kill anyone who stands in his way.

This (and your comment about Sanzo's not caring how many people he has to go through) made me think that maybe it isn't so much their dark potential, but what they're willing to do to live, to accomplish whatever it is they have to do. Goku's willing to break stuff, Sanzo's willing to create corpses, Hakkai's prepared to charm and lie his way through situations, Gojyo will... okay, his is sort of lame and how he is anyway. Maybe there isn't much truth to this theory. XD

I would've liked that very much in Konzen! He bored me a bit. : /

But I totally agree with your theory and don't think it was insane at all. Then again, I'm called insane rather regularly, so that doesn't really carry much weight.

[redbrunja]

Thanks for this. I just got caught up on Saiyuki, and now the 'swindler' makes so much more sense.

Also, I love your meta about the Burial arc, in particular, this Feeling both justified and apologetic for the same actions is almost impossible to do and retain ones sanity-probably why Hakkai is somewhat insane- really clicked with me and was like, of course that's one reason he's the way he is.