Kouryu's Rescue

Summary: We keep hearing about how Sanzo's master fished him out of a river. My take on how it happened.

I'm so cold. So tired. Please, someone, help me. Help me. I'm…so tired. The words flowed through the boy's head like the water that surrounded him. He fought weakly to stay afloat. One flailing hand caught a branch, and the child dragged himself to it, pulled his head above the water. He looked at the banks of the river, rushing by, but was too exhausted to pull himself towards them, against the current. Instead, he was helpless as the river swept him onwards. Only his sheer stubbornness kept him from sinking altogether. He closed his eyes and clung to the tumbling branch. Someone, help me. I'm so tired.

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That voice again. It's gotten louder. The man walking along the banks of the river stopped and frowned thoughtfully. He'd been out by the river for hours, driven by that faint feeling he sometimes got, the feeling that someone was calling for him. With a sigh, he adjusted the white robes he wore. Anyone else seeing this man would have known precisely what the white robes meant, even if they hadn't identified him by the scripture draped across his shoulders and the crimson dot, known as a chakra, on his forehead. The man was one of the five highest ranking monks in all of Shangri-la. In truth, he'd come out to the river to escape that burden as much as to follow the elusive feeling. He sighed again. That voice, it keeps getting louder. But am I coming toward it, or is it moving towards me? And why do I feel drawn to the river? Is it something in the river? The river itself? A boat? Well, there was no point in speculating too much. The man had learned to be patient. He'd see it when he saw it, or the voice would disappear and he'd go back to the temple and eventually forget, until next time.

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The boy was much weaker. He could feel his cold and numbing hands slipping from the branch, but he couldn't stop them. With a panicked burst of strength, he fought to get a tighter grip. He managed to fling himself partway out of the water, wrapping his shoulders and arms around the stout piece of wood. He even managed a few wild kicks toward the shore. For a moment, he thought he might make it. But then the strength of panic began to ebb away. He felt himself growing even weaker. Worse, in his struggle to get to shore, his grip on the log had loosened. No. I don't…I don't want to die like this. I can't. Please…someone…please. But there was no one. He felt his hands slip, and lost his grip entirely.

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The man had moved to the riverbank in curiosity. I've stopped walking, but it's still getting louder. It's in the river's flow. But what? He looked upstream. The source of the call had to be moving toward him. He waited. Then, as he stood there, he felt the strength of the silent calling weaken sharply. He sighed. Apparently, the sender was stopping. Perhaps he had been wrong, it hadn't been meant for him. It happened sometimes. Or perhaps they'd just decided they didn't need anything right now. That had happened too. There was no point in fretting about it.

The man turned away. He was just about to start back for the temple when a flash caught his eye, like sunlight on gold. He turned back quickly. For a moment, he didn't see what had caught his eyes, and then, he spotted it again. Blond hair? There's…someone in the river? He dashed to the river's edge. His eyes widened. A child?! What on earth? Could he…be the source of that call?

Just then, the boy hit something in the river, a rock close to the surface. The man standing at the edge saw him flip, saw him go under. Something sounded in his mind, and in that moment, he no longer had any doubts. He didn't even pause to remove his sandals. He flung himself a few yards down the bank, then plunged into the river. It was shallower there, shallow enough for him to stand, though the boy probably couldn't. He saw the flash of gold he was looking for and lunged forward. It was deeper in the middle, too deep to stand even for him, but he was a good swimmer. He lunged forward in the water, just in time to catch the small slight frame as the current bore it past. He kicked hard and lifted the slender child from the water, dragged his head up so he could breathe, and was rewarded by coughing, and a slight flutter of the child's eyes. He sighed in relief and began to haul the youngster from the river.

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The boy felt himself sinking. He tried to fight to the surface, but his arms wouldn't move. He tried to breathe, but he inhaled water. Fear touched him, mind-numbing fear of death. He was drowning, sinking. His vision was fading.

Suddenly, a golden flash lit his fading sight. It seemed to him as if hands plunged into the river, and something caught him. Dimly, the child felt himself being lifted. He shivered, though he was so exhausted he couldn't tell if it was air, or simply a colder current he felt. He raised his head weakly, just a little. Through blurred vision, he looked up. The sight that met his eyes was the face of a man, perhaps middle aged, though he might have been younger. His gentle blue eyes and kind face were framed by pale golden hair, cut to chin length. There was a crimson spot on his forehead, right above the bridge of his nose. The boy tried to speak, but all that came out was coughing as he exhaled the water he'd breathed in. The strength required to regain his breath proved to be too much, and he passed out.

When the boy came to, he was lying on the riverbank. The sun felt warm and comforting. He was still wet, but something was wrapped around him, easing his shivering. He looked down to find himself wrapped in a monks robe that was several sizes larger than he was. A strange rustling caused him to turn his head, and he found himself looking at the man whose face resembled his rescuer. Confused, he murmured, "Who?"

The man turned and smiled at him gently. "Well, you did wake up. I admit, you had me worried there. Are you better now?"

The boy blinked. He was still confused. Too disoriented to think straight, he blurted out the first question in his mind. "Are you God, or Buddha?"

The man laughed, but gently. "Oh no, I'm not God or Buddha. I'm afraid I'm not even close, even if some people think otherwise." He sighed wistfully. "No I'm just a monk. My name is Koumyo. Koumyo Sanzo, actually. And you are?"

The question made him go cold inside. "I don't really have a name." The boy sat up slowly. He looked at the robe that wrapped around him, then back at the man beside him. "This is yours. I should return it." He started to hand it back.

The man, Koumyo, smiled gently and shook his head. "Give it back to me later. I took it off because it was so wet, but you were small enough to wrap in the dry half. If you don't need it anymore, you can set it aside to dry a little more." He paused. "So, why were you in the river? Your parents will be worried."

The boy bowed his head, and his fists clenched. Koumyo watched in surprise as the child's body started to shake. "They aren't worried. They aren't worried at all. They don't care. In fact, they hope I drowned."

Koumyo raised an eyebrow. "Now, why do you think that?"

The child's head whipped around, eyes blazing angrily. For the first time, Koumyo noted their deep purple color, the fire and spirit that was hidden in their depths. For a long moment, the boy only sat there, shaking. Then he snapped his gaze back to the river. "My parents threw me in that river. We're poor. Our village has had problems for the past few years. Some of the villagers started saying I might be bad luck, that I was strange. My parents…my parents accepted their view. They rowed to the middle of the river and threw me in to die."

Koumyo said nothing. He could understand why the people might have thought this boy was strange. Even he felt there was something unusual about this child. The bright energy, the chi flows, they were exceptionally powerful in this small boy. Doubtless, that was why he had managed to survive as long as he had in the middle of a raging river. Koumyo knew the area around his temple, and there wasn't a problem area for nearly a day's journey. Most children would have died. But this boy had survived. More to the point, Koumyo was sure, beyond any doubt, that this child had been the source of that insistent calling. The voice in his mind had stopped, but he felt the resonance of that call, the energy signature, flowing from the youngster. Buddha, or perhaps the gods, had clearly marked this boy.

After a while, the child began to calm down. The rage in him was slowly displaced by a steely calm. He turned, and picked up the robe, then held it out. "Here."

Koumyo stared at it. "I told you, you can return it later."

The child nodded. "I understand. But I must be moving on, to find myself a place. I will need to find food, and shelter, and figure out how to fend for myself. Since I am leaving, I can't return it later."

Koumyo blinked. This boy was definitely strong-willed as well. And for someone who had nearly drowned a short while ago, he didn't seem to be lacking confidence. Especially given that he couldn't even have been ten yet. "You think you can fend for yourself, out here?"

"I have no other choice, so I will manage." The boy faced him squarely. "Thank you for rescuing me. I wish I had something to give you, but I have nothing."

Koumyo smiled, and pushed himself slowly to his feet. "Well, I didn't pull you out of the river for a reward." He reached out and drew the robe on. It was still pretty damp, but that wasn't a surprise, and he'd long known that the scripture he bore was impervious to just about anything. Besides, he had been careful to stow it away. He suddenly realized the boy was leaving. "Wait."

The child turned back around. "Yes, sir?"

"I have an idea." He smiled. "Come back to my temple with me. I want you to become one of my students. Come to the temple. I'll take you as a novice." He smiled. "Well, it will be a lot of work. I could use some help, and there are lots of chores. Plus, there's training, and prayer time, and your lessons. It won't be easy at all. But I want you to come."

Violet eyes stared at him. "You think I can become a monk? A priest like you?"

Koumyo laughed. "Well, maybe not like me. But who knows? It will be better than having nowhere, right?"

The boy stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "I will go with you."

It was almost dusk when they returned to the temple. As they passed through the gates, the monks came rushing out to crowd around them. One of the senior monks shoved through the crowd to address Koumyo. "Master Sanzo! Where have you been? You have missed the lesson, and nearly evening prayers!" The monk spotted Koumyo's damp hair and robes. "Oh, master Sanzo, are you all right? What has happened? You're so wet. Is something wrong?"

Koumyo held up a hand to stop the barrage of questions. "I'm fine. I just took a little swim I wasn't planning on. But it was well worth it." He looked at the child standing beside him. "Is something wrong?"

"He called you Master Sanzo. You are…someone important, aren't you?" The boy looked up at him.

The monks were shocked by his attitude. Several of the ones nearby stood up indignantly. A few of them moved forward. One of the senior monks even went so far as to step forward and admonish the boy. "How dare you? You claim not to know whom you are in the presence of?"

The boy looked back at him with calm eyes. "I only know the man who rescued me from the river today."

"Insolent child." The monk stepped forward and took hold of his thin shirt. "You are in the presence of the great Master Koumyo Sanzo, one of the greatest monks alive, and keeper of two of the sacred Founding Scriptures of Heaven and Earth! You will show him the respect he deserves. Now apologize!"

"That's enough." Koumyo's voice was as mild as ever, but no one could mistake the steel underneath the quietness. "This boy can't be expected to know things like that. He's still just a child. There will be plenty of time for him to learn." He pushed the monk away from the child, and stepped to the boy's side. "I've decided to take this child as a novice, for however long he wishes to stay with me. You will treat him accordingly. Until he decides otherwise, he is under my care." He smiled gently, but there was an edge to it. "Understood?"

"Yes, Master Sanzo. I apologize if my behavior has offended you." The monks backed away.

"That's fine." He turned a warm smile on the child. "Come with me. We'll settle you in with the other temple novices tomorrow, but you may stay with me, just for this evening. Come along now, or we'll miss dinner."

"Yes sir." The boy followed him to his rooms within the temple.

Once inside, Koumyo allowed himself to relax. They'd be calling on him soon, but for now he could sit back. He really disliked being the object of their reverence. Perhaps he'd taken this boy because he wasn't like that.

The child stood watching him for a moment, then came up beside him. "What can I do for you, Master Sanzo?"

Koumyo looked down at the youth. "You needn't be so formal. It's all right. I won't get mad. At least, you can be relaxed when we're talking like this."

"No." The boy looked up at him. "If I am serving as your apprentice, and under your care, then it is only right to refer to you respectfully. Besides…." The boy looked away for a moment, then looked back and met Koumyo's gaze with his own. "I do not mind calling you Master. I look forward to learning from you." His gaze seemed to read Koumyo's sensing his feelings. "I will not be like those monks, but I think I consider the right to call you my master to be worth something, and I will work to make you happy with having me as your apprentice."

Koumyo smiled, more light-heartedly this time. The boy might be using respectful terms, but the pride, the spirit was still there. Somehow, Koumyo knew that this boy would give him exactly the respect he thought he deserved, but no more and no less. It was a refreshing thought. "If that is what you decided, then it's fine. I look forward to your progress."

They sat for a while, then the monks brought Koumyo dinner. Someone had wisely provided enough for his new acolyte to eat as well. The monk who delivered it cast a strange look at the boy, but said nothing. However, as they stepped out to get some air afterwards, Koumyo heard voices. "Master Sanzo brought in a child? Why? The boy doesn't look to be worth the trouble, and he certainly is insolent. Especially for a river orphan. Kouryu the river rat."

Koumyo looked down, to see if the boy had heard them. The child's face was set like stone. "Don't worry, they'll stop whispering soon enough."

"Maybe. There were whispers like that in my home too. But it doesn't matter. I will still serve as your apprentice, and I will show them what I am worth."

Koumyo chuckled. "I have no doubt of that. Well, rest assured that even if you weren't so set, I wouldn't throw you in the river."

They stood in silence for a time, watching the sun set. Finally, the child looked up at him. "Master, may I ask you something?"

"You may. I might even have an answer."

"Why did you pull me from the river today? You said it was for nothing, but I don't understand. If you were supposed to be at the temple, why were you there? I feel as if you were waiting for me."

Koumyo chuckled. He knew there were several answers he could give, but for some reason, he understood even then that he would always give this boy the truest answer he could. "Well, you were so noisy. I couldn't just ignore you."

"I don't understand. I didn't say anything."

"I heard your voice. You kept calling out to me, calling for me until I just couldn't leave you alone." He saw the confusion in the child's face. "It doesn't matter if you don't understand now, Kouryu. Just take your time, and I'm sure you will someday." Kouryu. Not the kindest of names. But the child hadn't given him another to use, and he had to call him something. He watched for anger, but saw none. "Does the name bother you? If there's one you'd prefer..."

"No Master. That name is fine. I don't mind using it until I've earned a better one." Together, the two of them stood and watched the sunset. Koumyo smiled, feeling the presence of the boy beside him. It looked as if tomorrow would be full of promise.

Author's Note:I unearthed this old story, possibly one of my first, on a drive that got lost on a moving day and re-discovered. Thought I should post it. After all...I've always had fun imagining how Sanzo met his Master.