What Does Heaven Look Like To You-Saiyuki Gaiden AU

The tunnel didn’t need any type of torches or lightening system to get to the waterfall. The waterfall that was underground had a very large hole that had steep rocks and jagged edges on the sides of the pool. The waterfall was a crystal blue color, running down the rocks seamlessly in different directions, practically splitting itself into three different types of waterfalls. There were other people in the pool, some of them wearing nothing and some wearing something modest, but not a single person there was in it for pleasure or for a swim. Many had attendants at their side, helping them ease them into the water or help them get out of it. The attendants either wore a type of shorts that were thin and stuck to the skin, or they wore something like a bra and panties, made from the same material. Not a single person batted an eye at their immodesty, but of course why would they?

Mai remembered how she thought about becoming one of the attendants down here. The easy breath of fresh air and water was soothing and comforting. There was a bit of a draft, but it wasn’t too cold to cause a chill. The warmth of the sun was welcoming to those who were thin blood and needed the warmth, while the draft cooled those stricken with fever.

She looked into the pool a little more closely, and saw that Kaede was being helped by a blonde haired attendant as she soothed the water onto the wound on her. Kaede was submerged into the water along with the attendant, but they were at the edge of the pool. It was a nasty stab wound and Mai could only hope that the water would do something for them. Konzen had Goku in his lap. The attendant approached cautiously to put a cool rag on his forehead, and gave a smile at the god. Mai wished Riko was there.

She decided that her first thing was first. Goku was in need for more help, the attendant could do wonders in the waterfall than Mai could. She walked over to him and knelt down. “I’m going to see about getting those chains off of him.” She told Konzen. “You should worry about how to fix the diadem on him so that we don’t lose him all together.” She patted his shoulder. “Kaede will be alright, too. The attendants here do wonders in the waterfall. Not a single person who left here wasn’t healed.”

"I remember, but I don't know how to fix the band." Konzen frowned, "He's fitful with a nightmare. He might wake up soon."

"You're a god, Konzen." Mai said gently. "What do gods have that humanity craves?"

"A lot of things." Konzen huffed, but he brushed his fingers across Goku's forehead, watching him breathe heavily. What could he do? How could he help him? Could he make another one? He wouldn't know the first thing about that.

"Power, unconditional love, and peace. Everything else, well, that comes naturally doesn't it?" Mai smiled warmly as she stood up. "You're a high status god whose ability are to purify if you wanted. Give it a try." She urged. "It only requires a bit of belief, spiritual power, and the intent to help. After all, isn't that why he chose you? To protect him, even from himself?"

"I don't know why he chose me. I was just...shiny." Konzen muttered, but it wasn't rude. He continued to brush away Goku's hair. He had reached out to him first. Had he not survived any of this, he would have told Goku that he would reach out to him first. He was sure. "Goku..." he murmured. I'm here. It's going to be okay. I got you. He wouldn't say these things out loud, but he knew Goku knew without having to ask or pry it out of him.

Ran and Kenren and Tenpou were off to the side, Tenpou getting a cloth rubbed over his back from a pool attendant as he didn't want to take a full dip in the water. The three of them were quiet, but they all looked over as there was a golden glow that lit up the area.

"Who knew Konzen was stronger than what we took him for." Kenren whistled a little as he watched the golden glow slowly dim and Goku was still fast asleep in Konzen's lap. The aura around the two of them had changed a little. "I knew he was high ranking, but not all gods have powers. Mai's good at pep talking."

"Imagine that." Tenpou smiled, "That's good. At least now all we gotta worry about is Kaede. Hopefully she'll be healed enough when Goku wakes up. I don't think he'd handle it very well if she's not."

"Kaede and Riko." Kenren folded his arms. "I'm not liking the fact that she's talking to the Jade Emperor by herself. Sure, alright, she has ears and she knows things that we probably /don't/ know. But while that's good and all, that leaves her vulnerable. Kanzeon might not be able to keep her under protection at all. Also, Nataku."

"We might not see Riko for a while." Tenpou agreed slowly, "Mai said she wouldn't want to leave Nataku there. Yet, from what I suspect from Li Touten, he might be the only one who could heal Nataku. That will put a damper on things. He might take his sweet time and fake how long it really takes so he can figure out a way out of the hole he dug himself."

"Well, she's either coming back with Nataku or not at all." Kenren shifted, folding his arms against his chest. "We got away from the storm, but we abandoned a comrade in the process. Though I suppose...what could we have done? If we were there, we could give our own suspicions, but then we'd get questioned as to how we may or may not know. If the Emperor found out that we've been doing this for years, well...he's not going to take kindly that we let it escalate as far as it did. He's gonna want a scapegoat. Would Li Touten really be enough of one, or will he skin Riko too?"

"We don't know how long Riko's really been in that district, and she can, as Kaede said, read the heart. She can get away with knowing things we couldn't." Tenpou sighed as another fresh cloth of water smoothed over his back. The throbbing had gone and now it was just sore. "We have no way of finding out. So for now, we should let it be. It might take a week, might take a month. Might take longer. We will find out somehow. Movement between that district and others might be on lockdown, but we have our ways. We wouldn't be very good at our jobs if we didn't."

Kenren looked at his friend and then glanced over at Konzen and Goku. Mai was off trying to do something, probably get information or get someone, who knew. "Well. At least we're good for something here." He sat down heavily. "I'm beat."

"Surprised you've been standing so long, dummy." Ran rolled her eyes "As soon as we're able, Mai will take us somewhere you can all actually rest and you can pass out where you fall."

That soon as they were able came a little quicker. Goku woke up, looking disoriented just as Mai came back with a man that was a little taller than her. His hair was sleek black and tied up in a braid. He had a long angular face and he was carrying a large silver mallet on his back. He wore a dark darkish blue vest that had yellow beads as fringes. He wore baggy pants that looked slim on him and strapped shoes that went up to his ankle.

Kenren was about to get up again, to see what was going on over there, but he was just too tired to even make a move. Ran was right, he was kind of surprised that he even stood for as long as he had. Without the adrenaline or the need to rush into battle, Kenren just felt bone tired fatigue.

"Where are we?" Goku asked, rubbing his eyes a few times to get used to the dark. He was kind of surprised to see Mai with a new person and the guy didn't look at all scary.

"The Japanese district of Heaven." Mai answered, kneeling down next to Goku. "I'm glad you're awake. I thought you'd be out for a bit longer." She pushed some of Goku's hair out of his eyes. "I told you, you could do it Konzen." She teased him.

"Where's Ri-chan? Kaede?"

"Ri-chan decided to stay behind. Kaede's in the healing pool. She'll be fine." She said hastily as Goku was about to scramble up and run over towards the pool. "It's you we're worried about now."

"Huh? What do you mean? I'm not hurt." Goku frowned looking at her.

"Those shackles must." The man said speaking finally and making Goku look at him. He was tall like Kenren, but a little more on the muscular side. "They weigh you down, if you even try to get into the water, you probably wouldn't even move around well in it. We're a heaven made of nothing but water and rocks and mountains. While I'm sure you can move agilely across the lands, water is another issue entirely."

"You're one of the thunder brothers?" Konzen eyed him, supporting Goku to sit up straight. "That mallet...thunder? You're going to break Goku's chains? How will that work on his neck?" He didn't mean to ask so many questions, he was simply concerned.

"Calm down. The neck one might be a clasp or have a key-hole that could be removed by an actual blacksmith. As long as the ones on his wrists and ankles are removed, he should have an easier time in general until we can get him to one." Ran called over.

Tenpou waved the attendant away who had been massaging his back. He felt good enough, and anything more could heal on it's own. Standing, he put his shirt back on and walked over to them, his hand finding the hallow of Mai's lower back, "This was smart thinking. One less thing to worry about." He smiled at her, and then at Raiden, bowing to him politely, "Pleasure to meet you, and thank you for helping."

"The pleasure's mine. At least you didn't ask for my brother." Raiden said, with a smile and bowed to him as well before turning to Konzen and also bowing. "I suppose Lady Riko's been talking about us again. That girl loves her stories. My name is Raiden, I'm a Thunder God. My mallet is just one of many things I use to create it." He let his smile slip a bit, knowing that this was a concerned father talking about his son and there was no way he was going take this conversation lightly. "Yes, I will be breaking the chains around his ankles and his wrists. For him, he'd feel a vibration, nothing more. As for the one around his neck, the woman...I'll have to get names later...is right. We'll talk to a Metal God about that one. If worse comes to worse, we'll just to simply continue to mold the metal as he grows so that he won't wind up choking himself. But I'm certain the Metal God can do a lot more than I can. But it won't hurt him. Not the ones on his ankles and wrists. He may have a loss of balance, as he had to adjust to carrying so much weight, but...nothing dreadful. Nothing serious."

"If you're certain." Konzen nodded, "You just do as he instructs so it goes smoothly. Then you can go to Kaede." He told Goku gently, then looked up at Mai, "I know everyone wants a bed to sleep on, but I'm taking a page out of Riko's book, and we'll stay until Kaede can join us." He didn't bother telling the others like Ran and Kenren they could go, because he knew them. They'd come this far, they wouldn't split up now.

"I don't mean to eavesdrop, but in response to that, by the time Raiden-san is done with the chains, Kaede-chan will be out of the danger zone. She still needs a lot of healing, and will probably be in a coma for a while, but Mai-san is allowed to take a few vials of the healing water with her, being a Water Elemental. That should help things along." The assistant that had been helping Tenpou spoke up in reply to Konzen.

"So a few minutes then," Raiden said as he finished the last chain on Goku's ankle and was delicately holding Goku's wrist in his hand as he started gently hammering against the metal. "Riko would be pretty pleased to know that she's doing alright. Since you're her guests, you'll stay at her place."

"I wonder how the servants would react to a bunch of us." Mai frowned. "We didn't exactly give them a warning that we were coming."

"I'm sure that by the time you arrive, they'd already be done with the preparations. Don't forget, you're not the only water elemental here." Raiden teased, looking for at Mai. "Tsume-chan certainly felt your arrival."

"Hmm? So you left more than just your favorite thunder brothers here?" Tenpou asked as he finished putting his shirt and jacket back on, putting his arm around Mai's waist.

"You got some introducing to do, Mai-chan." Ran added as she planted her feet on either side of Kenren and held both hands out, "C'mon you big sack o' potatoes. I'll help ya up."

Konzen let Goku go when Raiden was done with his wrists and watched as he stumble-ran over to Kaede, unused to the lack of weight and also still drained from losing himself as the Seiten Taisei. "Thank you, for helping him." He said to Raiden as he got to his feet, dusting himself off. "I had to exert quite a bit of energy to carry him with those chains. I'll no doubt pass out just like Kenren when we're settled somewhere."

One of the assistants moved away from Kaede to Goku and took the boy's wrists, rubbing her already wet hands into his skin gently, "Let them wrap her in something dry, then you can take her." She smiled in assurance as she dipped her hands again and massaged his ankles next while they waited.

Goku nodded as he watched the assistant do her job. "How does the water do that?"

"You want that answer later," Raiden said quickly, knowing too well how long of an explaination that'd be. "Here. I'll take Kaede. Suzaku will be thrilled to have you on his back." He winked knowing too well that his brother was going to wring his neck for that one.

Kenren snorted, "Thanks for helping the sack of potatoes, Ran."

"We left a bunch of people. This a realm of a thousand or so gods...if Raiden's here, Suzaku's probably at the mouth of the cave. He's not allowed in here since he's lightening and all. if he needs healing, /everyone/ gets out of the water." Mai explained. "We have...oh gosh...I'll introduce you to the ones we come across and the ones we don't we'll seek when we're feeling better and can go out for our own thing."

"Considering they're all so rowdy, especially Tsume's husband and his sister." One assistant quipped, "/Definitely/ don't go see them until they're better."

"How rude. Ikki-san and Meg-chan are lovely people." Another sniffed in mock offence.

"Except when they decide to get at each other." Another rolled their eyes.

The one helping Kaede had finished putting her in a fluffy robe and she handed her to Raiden, patting his arm, "You did good today. Eri-chan will be happy. Give her our love. Next time bring her snacks, yes?"

"Food. Someone mentioned food." Tenpou laughed as Kenren and Ran groaned when the word 'snacks' was said, "Let's go, then. Before stomachs start competing with thunder."

~
Suzaku most definitely was NOT pleased to be carrying a dead weight on his back, but he had to admit that it was better than a child that was wide awake and easy to distract. Goku was half-asleep and half-awake. He supposed he couldn't blame the boy, not really.

Their lands were magnificent, like they came out of a painting. There were mountains, tall as the skies and covered with a mist. There was a lot of water, so they crossed plenty of bridges and rivers. Their villagers were made up both high ranked and low ranked gods, all of them chattering with one another while buying fruit from a harvest god or bargaining for fish from a fisherman god at the stands. There were certain stores that were emitting smells of food, bread and baked goods.

There were a lot of trees and not all of them were Sakura like the ones up in the Chinese district. There were plenty of oak and willow trees to be found as well as others that didn't have names. Plenty of children were climbing on them, some of them had painted faces, or long ears or both. The grass was a dark color of emerald too.

"Tree nymphs." Raiden supplied helpfully as he adjusted his hold on Kaede. "Playful little spirits, but shy. They'll be nice to you if you're nice to them first."

"How sweet. Maybe we can get to know them another time. For now, we just need to get to where we're going so we can eat and sleep." Tenpou smiled at one of the nymphs and chuckled as they ducked behind the trees. "How much further?"

"I'm feeling a sense of deja vu, Ken. At least this time you're not drugged." Ran said to Kenren as he partially was leaning on her.

Konzen sighed as he only gave the area a cursory glance, not really paying attention. He wondered how Riko was doing, cleaning up their mess with his Aunt. Nataku was worst for wear than Kaede was, and he didn't have a healing spring to go to. Goku and Kaede would be devastated if they lost the war prince, especially since Kaede had tried to stop Nataku from killing himself. Where did gods go when they died? Were they reborn? He had been ready to find out, to take Goku and run with Kenren and Tenpou to their last stand, then Riko had come and stopped it all in it's tracks.

Mai nodded her head solemnly as they continued to walk. "I'm sorry that the palace so far away." She winced. "Normally I'd make a portal for us to go closer, but I think we're all on our last stand here."

"Well that means Suzaku would have to go in very last and he has Goku. I'm not sure how well a monkey would take to electricity." Raiden pointed out.

Suzaku gave his brother a glare. "Earth can conduct electricity. I don't think he has any brains to fry right now. He's dead as a rock."

Raiden looked up. "I hope you and Murguru have kids one day. Just to torture you."

"I hate you."

"I love you too."

"It's interesting...that everyone here has blue eyes. Does that mean you're originally from here, Ran?" Tenpou tried to strike new conversation and looked over his shoulder at the brunette.

"I could be. Hell if I know anymore. I've passed through a few times but never really thought about it." Ran shrugged but then she paused and chewed her lip, "Would the palace have a big fire pit for rituals?"

"We have one that's outside, that's on the south." Raiden said smoothly as he hitched Kaede up again since he felt her weight shift. "We have one inside as well that takes up most of the room, but that's for holidays like Yule, when Yuki's doing his thing and there's a blizzard outside. We also have a fire pit in the basement below where the baths are. I know, it's weird to do a ritual there, but if Hisako's in a mood to enchant something, she'll do it."

"Though her time's coming to a halt." Suzaku said casually. "Considering that she's expecting, she can't do too many rituals anymore. So she'd be pleased as peaches to see someone take over at least one of the pits. Riko would take one for her, but...she's not here."

"That could be something I think about later. Right now, I'm asking because I could try my hand at making a portal that won't get anybody death by electrocution." Ran explained, also shifting Kenren's weight. He was getting more and more tired and they'd end up passing out on a bridge if they kept on like this, "If you got enough in you, Mai, you could go and get someone to light one, and come back to let me know when it's lit. I'd go through first to make sure it's not directly in the middle of the pit and the rest of you could step through onto the stone and not get singed."

"Sounds like fun to me." Mai said as she turned to Tenpou. "I'll be back." And without further ado, she dove off the bridge and disappeared in light.

Raiden whistled. "I forgot she can do that."

It didn't take long before Mai popped up, her hair sopping wet and her dress floating around her as she shoved the fabric down. "The one inside is lit."

"That was fast as hell. Okay, let's get on the stone path at least. Don't want to cause a fire on my first day here." Ran and everybody else got off the bridge they were on and to the stone walkway. She looked at Tenpou for help and he took Kenren's weight from her.

It was hard as hell to make a portal from nothing, but at least she had a source to pinpoint. Yeah, with how far she had to stretch her energy to tap the flames of the palace, surrounded by water of the baths, they wouldn't have made it. This was going to drain her, too. She didn't /make/ portals. Too dangerous with her type of power, but she was needed. It was even more dangerous for Suzaku.

It probably looked like she was creating a show, flourishing her hands to and fro, up and down. She was focusing as hard as she could, creating a circle big enough Kenren and Raiden, the two tallest, could go through. She didn't even see everyone else after a while, zoned out, seeing nothing but the fire and her destination. After a moment, she stepped through it and moved and shoved and pulled it to the edge of the fire pit, stepped back and made a quick arm motion for people to go through, her mouth in a thin line in concentration. She saw shadows, felt the air of people passing. Maybe they were talking, she didn't know. She instead focused on the presences, waiting until she felt no one was left before she broke herself from her trance and walked through the remnants of the portal, watching it go up in literal smoke as she tumbled over the stone and landed on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Luckily despite that she couldn't do anymore, everyone else could. There were palace servants that were quick to get to everyone's side, fretting over them and helping them up, supporting weights and conversation to those who were able to at least talk back. No one really knew what the interior of the palace was...

But everyone could agree that the beds were fucking soft and easy to fall asleep on the moment they collapsed into it.
()

Konzen was the first to wake up. Shin watched him wander through the halls of the one he was supposed to call 'mate'. He faded in and out through the shadows, and Konzen was so lost in thought about what-ifs and wonderings that he didn't even notice.

Finally he couldn't stand the moping anymore as Konzen found and moved by the room Goku and Kaede shared.

"It's almost as though there's been an eclipse. Are you not able to shine for the boy you fought so hard for? Do you need her that much and you're not nearly as close as the military men with their women?"

"Who the hell is that? Where are you?" Konzen whipped around, immediately on the defensive.

"Shin, God of Wilderness and the Moon." He shrugged off the shadows cloaking him, letting himself be seen, "It's my time right now. I've been watching over all of you. Noticed you were too fitful to sleep."

"What do you mean it's like an eclipse?" Konzen demanded, not at all happy, "What makes you think I can't shine for Goku?"

"The unknown is driving you up the wall, not knowing if she's alright or not. This worry is consuming you. Your hair is sunshine, yet none of your rays pierced my darkness. If she was here, and you were fine, you would see me." Shin told him easily, "Goku will be able to sense your unease."

"Don't you think I know that? I know I won't know a damn thing for a while. Maybe never will and I'll have to move on." Konzen gritted his teeth. "I'll sort myself out and I won't worry Goku."

"I can help you find your answers." Yup, that made him stop in his tracks. "Or rather, my mate can."

"And what the hell do you mean by that?" Konzen whipped around.

His attempt to growl at a wolf was amusing and Shin just flashed him a one-fang smirk, "If you care to follow me, she can answer your questions. Maybe then you'll sleep like the rest."

"Maybe." Konzen scoffed at him but shoved his hands in his pockets and submitted. That was better. Shin nodded and pushed off the wall, leading the way through the halls. Once they reached a quiet and fairly dark room, he called out, "Hisako, I brought the testy sunshine. Poked his fire a bit, too."

"So you're the reason!" The candles suddenly flared to life and the room brightened considerably. The woman was wearing a red and black kimono that had dragons printed all over it. The only difference about this kimono and the ones that others wore was that it had a short skirt that went up to her thighs and she had the obi tied in front rather than the back. Her hair was down and there was a deep bruise on her neck. She was lying against a few pillows that were on the ground. The room was...needlessly to say magical. Herbs hung from the ceiling and right before her was a table that was filled with crystals, paper, inks and quills. There was a knife within reach as well. There were sutras and talismans hanging from the walls. Sachets were pinned to different support beams, it wouldn't come to a surprise if she had more things that just weren't seen. She stood up, her kimono falling a little to show just the tops of her breasts. "Hello. Welcome to my little corner of the world. Come. Sit. Riko and I are good friends so a friend of hers is always a welcome addition. I'd tell you to forgive my mate, but I'm glad to see some life stroked into you. You /do/ look better when you're shining."

Konzen noticed the faint bulge at her stomach and remembered the earlier comment that she was pregnant. She wasn't very far along, but far enough. He tilted his head in a bit of curiosity, not replying right away. He'd never seen anyone pregnant before. Children weren't born often, and people didn't fall in love either. Not in his district. "He told me you could give me the answers I'm looking for."

"About Riko?" Hisako glanced over at her mate who nodded and she sat down at the alter. She watched Konzen for a while and nodded her head. "What do you want to know? I'm a god of magic, not of mind-reading. Shin's better at it."

"I don't read minds, I just read the /body/." Shin rumbled and smirked when she shuddered, rubbing the bruise on her neck. He went over and lounged on the cushions out of her way so he would no longer be a distraction.

"Body language..." Konzen snorted and shook his head, but he sat across from Hisako, "So you do...divination?"

"I do all sorts. Divination, scrying, protection spells, anything that has to do with magic is mine to control." Hisako explained gently as she ran her fingers against the alter. "Just like anything that has to do with strength can be yours if you so wanted it to. I'm shocked really. But it's not just divination that I do. Ri-chan is a good friend of mine and I protect my friends. I'd know in an instant if something was to happen to her. Just like I know for a fact that she had decided to choose you." She placed a hand against her cheek. "What made her choose you is beyond me. But I heard about how you cared for Kaede. Very much like she's yours."

"Kaede and Goku and Nataku became close. I wasn't about to turn away a friend." Konzen furrowed his brows, "l just...want to know if she's alright...and I am...wondering if Nataku is even still alive. I don't have anything of his, so if you needed something like that then we're out of luck. I know Riko chose this, and we left her there to suffer, and we can't change anything..." he rubbed his forehead, his head starting to pound, "I don't know how to properly convey what I'm after."