15 The Binding Spell of Crimson

The Binding Spell of Crimson is the Fifteenth episode of Gensoumaden Saiyuki.

Summary
''"Three companions come together in the steady rain. Each with their own wounds to heal. The pursuer and the pursued. Then the wheels of fate slowly begin to turn. Who knows what the future holds when a man's past comes back to haunt him." - Genjo Sanzo''

It’s raining, so the Sanzo Ikkou is forces to stop and set up a tent. As Goku and Hakkai finish putting the stakes in, Gojyo starts thinking back to three years ago, around the time that the four of them met. Heading home from the bar after some tart said some pretty words about his hair, Gojyo runs into a man lying face down on the road in a puddle of rain water and his own blood. Gojyo nudges him to find out he’s still alive and then takes him back to his place. The man wakes up eventually and it allowed to stay at Gojyo’s place until he can get on his feet.

At the same time, Genjo Sanzo is told by the Sanbutsushin to find a murder named Cho Gonou. Sanzo take his new charge, Son Goku, with him to hunt down this murder.

The stranger staying at Gojyo’s house is well enough to leave now and wishes to tell Gojyo something before he leaves. He admits to the murders he committed and tells Gojyo that his hair color and eyes admonish him for the crimes he has committed. As he’s about to leave, Gojyo asks the man his name.

That’s when the pretty-boy priest knocks on the door. He’s following a lead that Gojyo’s been housing the criminal. Gojyo tried to turn Sanzo away, in only the way he can, but Sanzo’s persistent. Gonou comes out telling Gojyo to stop trying to protect him and Sanzo sics Goku on him, but somehow Gonou can block Goku’s kick. Gonou picks up Sanzo’s abandoned gun aims it at Goku. He says he need more time and runs off into the night. After hearing a little more from Sanzo about Gonou, Gojyo says he’s coming with them to go after him.

Quotes

 * "The rain always puts Sanzo in a bad mood. I think Hakkai told me why once, but I've forgotten. Well, that's got nothing to do with me anyway. I don't hate the rain that much. It was my past that always poured down on me in droves. I never minded getting a little muddy. Then again, maybe I convinced myself that the rain could wash the memories away that I'd been unwilling to forget. I used to think like that. But I'm not the only one here with scars to heal. You couldn't sever the bond between us even if you tried. Now that I think about it, that night three years ago, it rained like this too." - Sha Gojyo


 * "I get through my days living off my winnings in cards and survive the nights by seducing women with cheap words. In a way, living is disgustingly easy. That is, so long as I never have to look anyone in the eyes. Pretty hair, she says. I don't know about that. To me it looks rather..." - Sha Gojyo


 * "He looked at me. And it almost looked as if he laughed at me too." - Sha Gojyo


 * "If this is Hell, then all looks rather common place." - Cho Gonou


 * "For your information, this is the one and only time I take a man to bed. You got it?" - Sha Gojyo to Gonou


 * "Sometimes I wonder why I ever bothered with him. He was so damn noisy for one thing. His voice kept calling out, really grated on my nerves. When I'd had enough, I went over to smack him one, but then he looked up at me with that stupid look on his face. I lost my will to strike." - Genjo Sanzo


 * "For some reason, these things just come easily to me. But, even if I can read the flow of the game, I still need a lot of luck on my side to win. I guess I'm not making much sense." - Cho Gonou to Gojyo


 * "Why look for a wounded man at my friend's house, when there's a perfectly healthy, totally hot number right here. I'll bet you all carry big guns in your robes." - Gay Stranger to Sanzo


 * "But there is something I want to tell you before I go. I've killed so many with the blade of my ego and I murdered everyone of them in the name of revenge. I have one thing left to do then I intend to accept whatever punishment I have coming. I am truly grateful to you for saving my life that night. Perhaps this is my act of penitence...The color of your hair and eyes remind me of the color of the blood that I have spilt. The crimson that stains my hands is what keeps me grounded in reality, even as I attempt to escape the weight of my sins. Your hair and you eyes are the only things that admonish me, Gojyo." - Cho Gonou to Gojyo.


 * "Maybe what I wanted was someone that could see blood in this crimson color just like I do." - Sha Gojyo


 * "I don't want to have to bloody up those luscious locks of your, pretty boy." - Genjo Sanzo to Gojyo


 * "In all honesty, I've desired to be condemned to Hell, ever since I lost what was precious to me...To me she was my true love, but in some ways was also like my older sister. She gently embraced everything. I did love the way she was so open to the world. I made a promise that I would always protect her, that I would always be with her no matter what happened. But, you know how people often talk about premonitions. Well when all those terrible things were happening to her, I was completely oblivious. It was just another day, working with my students. I couldn't sense it. Why couldn't I know what was happening and run to protect her when she needed me the most." - Cho Gonou to Gojyo


 * "That's the way life is, isn't it. It doesn't mean you didn't love her, so don't blame yourself. Not that I'm in a position to say. I don't have anything that is precious to me, so I wouldn't know. What the heck is love anyway? Not that I want it." - Sha Gojyo to Gonou


 * "I let my hair grow out as a lesson to myself and to hide the scars from when my mother almost killed me. The color of blood that's like admonishment. I thought I was the only one that saw it that way. So it appeared that love was a sources of both our pain: The love I couldn't win, The love he couldn't protect. That night, as we both blamed ourselves for being so powerless, the phantoms of our memories vanished in a sea of blood." - Sha Gojyo


 * "Well, he did go without eating for about 500 years, so his body must be trying to make up for it." - Genjo Sanzo to Gojyo


 * "Hey Sanzo, is he really a bad guy?... For some reason he just didn't seem like a bad guy to me." - Son Goku to Sanzo


 * "Murder doesn't necessarily mean evil, right? The world, being what it is, a lot of people out there deserve to die, don't they? But those who do take it upon themselves to kill others, have to be prepared to have others try to kill them as well. And that's what they call the law of Karma, my friends. That's why, good or bad, the only ones that are going to be left standing are those with the strongest wills to survive." - Genjo Sanzo


 * "I'm afraid you're wasting your time. I don't know what kind of unfinished business he has, but whatever it is, he's gonna do it and then, he'll probably die. That's just the kind of guy he is." - Sha Gojyo to Sanzo.


 * "I can't have him dying at his own convenience." - Genjo Sanzo to Gojyo