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Mangled bodies, the scent of blood lingering in the air, and amidst all of it was a rock shaped like an egg.
It was the spot where Seiten Taisei drew his last breath, fell, and became one with the earth again. His last words to his companions that his spirit needed to heal, that the only way to do this was to go back home.
The sage’s body became dust, intermingling with the dirt below him, then almost immediately, the egg rose from the ground. The remains of the weary, battle worn Sanzo group had no words, only staring at the spot where their companion laid to rest. The monk was silent, but Hakki could tell he felt a great loss. The two had been together for so long, their bond so absolute that it must have felt as though Sanzo lost a piece of himself.
Not long after the battle the goddess hirself appeared to survey the carnage, but to also bring a glimmer of hope to the broken men.
“He is not dead.”
“What do you mean?” Gojyo’s voice sounded irked, as if he felt he was being toyed with. “We saw the extent of Goku’s injuries. Even his true form was...” He didn’t want to continue. The visions alone of the damage Seiten Taisei sustained were fresh in his mind. His energy had been spent, he was unable to heal.
“Don’t be so feeble minded. That boy is no mere mortal. Not a human, not a god, but something more. He wouldn’t fall so easily. Especially not a boy as fiercely attached to you three as he is. You’ve already transcended lives to reunite once before.”
Sanzo remained quiet, a hand holding onto his arm which had been broken during the final battle. All of them had been badly wounded during the fight. The priest knew it would have been worse if Goku had not been there to handle the nearly endless waves of demons.
Goku would come back. That’s all that mattered to him.
“Can his egg be moved?” Hakkai inquired. “I am sure everyone here is in agreement that we wish to keep it safe. This may not be the best place to keep the egg protected.”
“This rock in unmovable.” The goddess replied. “However I believe things will begin to change now that you have altered the course of history. Perhaps you can work with the son of Gyu Maoh to preserve the egg.”
Hakkai gave a faint smile. “I suppose we can discuss it with Kougaiji. While he and Goku may not have been friends I know they respected each other's strengths. Perhaps he too would wish to see him come back. Maybe under different circumstances they could even be companions.”
Luckily for them the battle ended up being a few miles from Castle Houtou. It could be possible to build some sort of safe house to keep the egg.
“How long til the monkey wakes up?” Sanzo spoke up, looking at the Merciful Goddess with a look that demanded a truthful answer. He didn’t want to hear ‘soon’ or an answer to just appease him.
“To be honest that is something even I do not have an answer to.” Was the response. At least the goddess wasn’t sidestepping the question and being honest.
“Fine then. I’ll have to wait here until his stupid ass wakes up. He’s going to get a beating for letting himself get killed.”
The half demon chuckled at Sanzo’s response. “I think Sanzo-sama just misses his little monkey and wants to be the first to kick his ass when he comes back.”
“It would seem so.” Hakkai smiled and nodded, ignoring Sanzo’s glare.
“I told him not to get killed, and yet look what he did.” The blond muttered.
“Well technically, Sanzo, he didn’t die. So he hasn’t broken his promise.” Hakkai corrected, earning another glare paired with a twitch. “I believe, for now though, we should tend to our wounds. We can focus on celebrating when Goku comes back.”
---
A year passed and the seasons changed. The egg remained.
Sanzo worked with Sharak to construct a small living area for Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo to reside in while they waited for Goku to come back. Thanks to the help of those who lived in the fortress and some demons who were no longer under the influence of the Minus Wave, a moderately sized building was made.
Some chose to stay and began producing crops, others wanting to learn the Buddhist lifestyle from Sanzo or to become more educated thanks to Hakkai’s worldly knowledge. Small demons who had been misplaced after their parents were killed ended up finding shelter in the small village.
Hakkai and Gojyo ran the orphanage, the healer becoming their instructor, with Sanzo begrudgingly teaching a bunch of children the ways of the monk and martial arts.
More years passed.
The weather was getting colder and Sanzo could feel a constant ache in his bones.
On a daily basis Sanzo would sit at a tree that loomed over the still unhatched egg, smoking a cigarette in silence. His once blond hair was now silver, his hands wrinkled and often shaking. Hakkai and Gojyo were slowing down as well, leaving their mentoring duties to youkai that had grown under their care.
One night he felt restless. While lying in bed Sanzo swore he heard it again, a voice that hadn’t entered in mind in over 50 years. He forced himself out of bed, his bones protesting the movement. With him he took his cigarettes and proceeded out into the cold air wearing only his monk robes. Long gone were his sutras, passed down to a youkai who proved her worth to wield the Maten Scripture.
Leaning against the egg, the elderly monk was surprised to feel warmth seeping from it, almost vibrating. He took a long drag from his cigarette, resting against the rock and sighing. Rarely one to speak to Goku’s sleeping form, he finally spoke up.
“You take too long, monkey.”
The next morning a young demon boy roused Hakkai from his sleep and urgently had him follow him outside into the snow. The healer and his companion, Gojyo, ran outside to find a still form curled up by the egg. The old monk known by everyone in the small village died in his sleep that night.
---
More years passed and the egg remained.
On a warm summer’s day, three children played close by the egg. Orphaned after their parents died from an illness that had spread years prior, the young boys were taken in by the caretaker of the orphanage.
“Stop teasing Kosuke. I’m gonna tell the teacher, Kenta.” A young halfling demon wearing glasses with neatly combed red haired scolded the taller human boy who was currently trying to stick a frog down the shirt of a youkai with hair that matched the brightness of the sun itself.
“Stoppit...” Grumbled Kosuke softly, the youngest of the group at only 8 years old. Hitoshi was always scolding Kenta who seemed to have a thing for messing with the shortest of the group, probably because he seemed unamused with most things. “I’ll tell on you...”
“Aw come on, Kosuke! The frog just wants ta be your buddy!” Kenta grinned and shoved the frog forward, the creature staring at the blond haired demon boy and croaking.
Startled, the child stumbled back and fell on the rock behind him, the egg suddenly jostling from its spot and beginning to roll away down the hill. Kosuke’s eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet to chase after the now rolling egg. Everyone in town knew that the egg was to be protected, though many had forgotten why over the years. He would be in big trouble if something happened to it, though it momentarily confused the boy that he had been able to move the egg in the first place. It had never even so much as budged before.
The egg continued to roll until it ended up landing in the shallow end of the river near by.
“Uh oh...” Hitoshi murmured as he followed, Kenta right on his heels. The egg was now soaked and sporting some cracks from its tumble down the hill.
“Oh man, now you’re in biiiig trouble.” Kenta looked over at rock, inspecting the damage.
Kosuke was pale. He knew the egg was sacred and yet he alone had managed to break it. Was he going to be cursed now? No one said what would happen if something happened to it, but he was sure it would be scary. Cautiously he crept towards the broken rock, wondering if there would be a way to blame this on Kenta. If he hadn’t provoked him none of this would have happened!
But before he could continue his thoughts, Kosuke was shocked when suddenly the top of the egg fell off, revealing something brown and fuzzy. Now more curious, he peered inside the egg and was surprised to see two golden eyes staring up at him. Slowly a young boy who looked like a demon pulled himself out of the egg and stared with curiosity at the blond, before reaching out and gently touching the golden strands of hair.
Kosuke was silent, though he swore in his mind he heard a voice. The words made little sense, something like ‘I missed you’ and ‘I’m back’. But one word stood out in his mind.
“Goku?” The young demon perked up, as if responding to that name.
Everything felt so familiar in that moment, as if Kosuke had found a long lost friend. Kenta and Hitoshi were whispering to each other but they too felt something from seeing this demon child.
After a moment of silence, Kosuke pulled back and gave a huff, his expression looking annoyed. “You’re wet. And naked.” Reaching his hand out he took the demon’s, pulling him onto the shore. Kosuke didn’t even seem phased by the sudden hatching of the egg, or how a boy could even come out of an egg.
The golden eyed boy eagerly went along with the blond haired demon, a smile on his face. Goku didn’t know why but he felt like these boys were familiar. He had been silent most of the time, but as he followed Kosuke he finally spoke his first sentence.
“I’m hungry!”