Memory #6 (Sound, Touch) -- Cuz it's almost like...
For awhile all he heard was the sound of rain and heavy steps trudging through mud. It was a slow pace, and soon enough he could tell there was only one person walking. He wondered if his entire memory might be comprised of just this sound, until gradually the feel of the rain started to register - and the complete lack of any visuals to accompany it. He could feel the rain on bare arms, a wet sleeveless shirt on, and he was carrying a slightly heavier - but equally damp - bit of clothing over his left shoulder.
"Gorgeous hair, she says. Like I buy that." It was his own voice! World-weary, to be sure, but it was definitely his own. He felt his memory-body stop and tug at a bit of his own hair. "... eh?"
Smoke kind of wished he could see what was going on, but then he heard his voice mumble aloud, "Ugh, those're a lotta guts." He started to be a little glad for the lack of sight now as his memory-self walked a few paces. His memory-self pushed at something on the ground with the front of his boot, then spoke a little louder over the sound of the rain. "Oiiii - you dead down there?"
His memory-self set his boot back down as his head jerked up a little. "Woah, so you are alive!"
And then it was just the sound of the rain, like maybe his past self - Gojyo - was contemplating what exactly to do. Just barely, Smoke picked up the sound of some movement in the muck, but still Gojyo didn't move. There wasn't a single hint as to what was going through his mind at the time.
Finally, Gojyo knelt to the ground. Smoke felt him press a hand against... they had to be the aforementioned 'guts,' no two ways about it. He felt as Gojyo touched blood and intestines and maybe a few other organs as he rolled the person onto their back. A quick pass over the person's chest and Smoke could tell it was a man. He then felt Gojyo take the clothing - probably a shirt, since he could feel two sleeves now - and wrap it around the man's mid-section. Next, Gojyo's right hand went under the man's knees and his left under the man's shoulders while still supporting his hair - short hair, even more drenched than his own.
Just how long was this guy laying out in the rain with his gut cut open before I - Gojyo - found him? And how was he still alive?
"Kanan..." It was too mumbled for Smoke to recognize it at first. He could only tell that the voice hadn't been his own, and Gojyo didn't seem to respond to it either.
He felt the weight of the man in his arms and how slow he moved through the rain now. That bit felt really familiar somehow - and how many people made a habit of carrying fully grown men around in the rain? Or trying to carry a monkey and a-
Smoke was on the verge of a realization when he felt the impact of Gojyo propping the man's body up against some wall and then reaching out to open a door. Gojyo then scooped the man back up and appeared to leave the door alone in favor of not-quite-gently setting his dead weight down on something soft. Maybe a couch? No there were sheets and a pillow too.
"What the hell am I doing, anyway?" His memory-self wondered aloud to the flick of a lighter.
"Kanan...?" the man groaned again and that was when it clicked for Smoke.
A long time ago, in his very first birth dream, he'd seen himself carrying a man in the rain immediately after his form shifted from being a child into an adult. He'd nearly tipped over from the shock of the weight in his arms. The man's face from that old dream, the sound of his voice now in the memory, the face of someone he'd met two years ago, the face matching what he'd seen back then in the dream, the admonishment he remembered from the dream, and the voice of the same man from two years ago...
And that was when Smoke dropped his memory crystal. "Hakkai." He'd returned to his Adult form, back in Edensphere. It was a heck of an exchange.
-----
This memory is taken from Be There [1] - Chapter 24 of Gensomaden Saiyuki, slightly extrapolated at the end from hints in other portions of the backstory arc plus headcanon provided by Hakkai-mun. I borrowed the exact dialogue mostly from the official translation, plus the Mangafox translation, plus a bit of inspiration from Hirata's emphasis in the anime. Smoke's first birth dream and Smoke meets Hakkai during the first Adstring crossover for reference.
"Gorgeous hair, she says. Like I buy that." It was his own voice! World-weary, to be sure, but it was definitely his own. He felt his memory-body stop and tug at a bit of his own hair. "... eh?"
Smoke kind of wished he could see what was going on, but then he heard his voice mumble aloud, "Ugh, those're a lotta guts." He started to be a little glad for the lack of sight now as his memory-self walked a few paces. His memory-self pushed at something on the ground with the front of his boot, then spoke a little louder over the sound of the rain. "Oiiii - you dead down there?"
His memory-self set his boot back down as his head jerked up a little. "Woah, so you are alive!"
And then it was just the sound of the rain, like maybe his past self - Gojyo - was contemplating what exactly to do. Just barely, Smoke picked up the sound of some movement in the muck, but still Gojyo didn't move. There wasn't a single hint as to what was going through his mind at the time.
Finally, Gojyo knelt to the ground. Smoke felt him press a hand against... they had to be the aforementioned 'guts,' no two ways about it. He felt as Gojyo touched blood and intestines and maybe a few other organs as he rolled the person onto their back. A quick pass over the person's chest and Smoke could tell it was a man. He then felt Gojyo take the clothing - probably a shirt, since he could feel two sleeves now - and wrap it around the man's mid-section. Next, Gojyo's right hand went under the man's knees and his left under the man's shoulders while still supporting his hair - short hair, even more drenched than his own.
Just how long was this guy laying out in the rain with his gut cut open before I - Gojyo - found him? And how was he still alive?
"Kanan..." It was too mumbled for Smoke to recognize it at first. He could only tell that the voice hadn't been his own, and Gojyo didn't seem to respond to it either.
He felt the weight of the man in his arms and how slow he moved through the rain now. That bit felt really familiar somehow - and how many people made a habit of carrying fully grown men around in the rain? Or trying to carry a monkey and a-
Smoke was on the verge of a realization when he felt the impact of Gojyo propping the man's body up against some wall and then reaching out to open a door. Gojyo then scooped the man back up and appeared to leave the door alone in favor of not-quite-gently setting his dead weight down on something soft. Maybe a couch? No there were sheets and a pillow too.
"What the hell am I doing, anyway?" His memory-self wondered aloud to the flick of a lighter.
"Kanan...?" the man groaned again and that was when it clicked for Smoke.
A long time ago, in his very first birth dream, he'd seen himself carrying a man in the rain immediately after his form shifted from being a child into an adult. He'd nearly tipped over from the shock of the weight in his arms. The man's face from that old dream, the sound of his voice now in the memory, the face of someone he'd met two years ago, the face matching what he'd seen back then in the dream, the admonishment he remembered from the dream, and the voice of the same man from two years ago...
And that was when Smoke dropped his memory crystal. "Hakkai." He'd returned to his Adult form, back in Edensphere. It was a heck of an exchange.
-----
This memory is taken from Be There [1] - Chapter 24 of Gensomaden Saiyuki, slightly extrapolated at the end from hints in other portions of the backstory arc plus headcanon provided by Hakkai-mun. I borrowed the exact dialogue mostly from the official translation, plus the Mangafox translation, plus a bit of inspiration from Hirata's emphasis in the anime. Smoke's first birth dream and Smoke meets Hakkai during the first Adstring crossover for reference.