Hey, everyone! This is just a short, four-chapter character centered piece
I'm doing. ATD is by no means forgotten, and I'm writing away hurriedly on
that! I've realized some things too, though, which is half why it's taking
longer to get out.
This is also a 'Thank You' for more then fifty reviews. I love all you guys for staying behind me and offering encouragement and suggestions. So I wrote this so each of you would have a focus on your favorite character for at least one chapter ^^
I hope you like it!
Disclaimers: I do not own them. Still.
Shunkashuutou
Summer
He was lounging in the back seat, one leg hanging over the side of the jeep. To the right of them were rolling hills of lush grass, dotted wild flowers. Parallel on their right was a river that had been running along beside the road for so long now that it had almost become another companion. There were more towns now, because sources of waters always attracted civilization. They were good towns—thriving and prosperous. They were young, filled with young women in their prime, with dozens of children rushing out to greet the visitors in the green jeep as soon as they rolled into town. The river was being used, but it was still clean and new. The banks were green and bountiful, and more than one tree threatened to fall into the shallow river. They wouldn't fall for a while yet. Someday, but not yet.
It was a clean river, glittering continuously as the rays of the sun touched the surface, breaking the river into thousands of sapphires. At night when the moon rose, the river became molten silver, and he longed to touch it. To cup his hands around the water and bring it to his lips, certain that somehow the properties of the water changed by the night.
It was hot, but not oppressively so. It wasn't late summer yet, so the heat hadn't set in. The river managed to keep things somewhat cooler, too. Today there was a strong breeze. It was enough to keep things comfortable if they stopped, but otherwise drowned out by the wind that flew past them as they drove.
They'd been driving a long time.
He was hungry.
He was always hungry, though. So that didn't matter so much. He had begun to wonder if it was a hunger that could be appeased by food—he was beginning to suspect it wasn't. He could feel other things in him changing, feelings and ideas. How he thought of the monk.
Gold eyes flitting to the monk, he didn't allow his gaze to stay too long. He was too anxious, too uncertain. He called him his sun, and it was true. Sanzo couldn't understand it, couldn't understand why he followed him everywhere. To Goku's way of thinking, a lifetime of following his savior would small repayment for being freed. And when Sanzo left this world, he would follow him there, too. Not because he couldn't live without him, but because he knew he would be needed there. Even if Sanzo didn't know.
But that was in the future, somewhere far away. Today was today, and would last forever. Summer days always did. It continuously amazed him when the days began to grow shorter, the breeze a little colder. He would watch in horrified awe as the trees turned, and the leaves fell. How could it be fall already? If summer lasted forever, how could it end?
He sighed, eyes closing. He was jolted out of his thinking roughly by a kick from his seatmate. Sitting up abruptly, he glared at Gojyo. Their fights were almost routine, and they always ended the same—with a smack from the fan or death threats and a pointed gun. But to stop would be to change, and in his life, where nothing stayed the same, small things like this were comforts.
"Gojyo! What the hell was that for, you stupid water kappa!?"
"You were taking up too much space!"
"I wasn't, you're the one stretched out all over the place!"
"I can't help if I have longer legs than you, you midget monkey!"
"Shut up!" Sanzo turned rapidly, hitting both of them across the head with the cursed fan. He hadn't had it in the beginning; it was an accessory picked up after he realized how loud and whiny the boy was. Both glaring at Sanzo, and then at each other, Gojyo gave Goku another nudge once the monk turned around. Not wanting to be without the last say, Goku nudged him back, this time a little harder. Within moments there were fighting again, the nudges escalating into rough, but playful shoves.
"Dammit, I said shut up!" Sanzo turned again, this time firing the gun between them. It was always something of an amazement that he'd never hit either of them. Settling down against almost instantly, Goku knew their bickering would cease, at least for the next few minutes. Both of them were wary of the gun, even if they knew they didn't have to be. Despite countless times of it only being waved at them threateningly, bullets flying past their ears, it was still a gun and they had both seen it kill scores of demons.
"Maybe we should stop for lunch?" Hakkai's voice, always pleasant and agreeable.
"Yeah!" Leaning forward, Goku looked anxiously at the two in the front. They always had the say in matters, rarely Gojyo and never was he aloud to make decisions for the group.
"Whatever."
What started as lunch slowly stretched into an afternoon. They rested under an old beech tree, and the sunlight that filtered through was a hazy, diluted green. When the breeze blew, the branches rustled and the leaves whispered of other summer days, and other travelers, and fishers who had stopped here last week, last summer, the summer before that, and of all the endless summers before that.
They didn't have much to eat—they never did. There was too much rationing that had to take place for them to be gluttons, a fact that Goku regretted.
He had grown taller recently, and they hadn't been able to buy new pants yet so he now wore high waters. He'd undergone a few other clothes changes, had gotten rid of the clasps around the ankles. He wouldn't get rid of the bands on his wrists for a long time. He had changed them from the gaudy things they'd been for more streamlined, maroon ones, but he couldn't get rid of them. He'd had them for five hundred years already.
When Sanzo had first taken him to get his clothes for traveling in what now seemed like years ago, he'd chosen the gaudy, mismatched outfit not only because it looked cool (and it did, contrary to what the monk said.) but for other reasons, too. The shoulder claws were a great defense ("You're just trying to make yourself look bigger, monkey. It's not going to fool anybody.") and the loose shirt helped keep things cooler, which worked to his advantage when they were in the desert, and in the summer, but was a poor insulation against the snow and colder months.
But winter was a long way off now, and today it was summer.
He'd seen the design for the red tunic in an old Buddhist tome he'd been rifling through one time when waiting for Sanzo to get back from another of his meetings with those creepy floating heads. He didn't know what the symbol meant, but he knew he had to have it. There was something about it that seemed important to him, and he had convinced Sanzo to take him to a merchant who could put designs like that on clothing. It had cost more than a plain red tunic would have, but Sanzo had paid it anyway, and strangely enough, without saying a thing.
The bands had been the most important though, and it would be a long time before he could shed them. "You're free," Sanzo had said, posing indifference as Goku had chosen the accessories.
"I know."
And Sanzo hadn't asked why, or belittled him. Sometimes, he just knew about those sorts of things.
Goku sprawled across the grass under the tree, enjoying the moist, green blades that bent and molded to his body as he rested. Sanzo and Hakkai were talking quietly a little ways away, and Gojyo was standing on one of the moldy rocks next to the river, his hands shoved in his pockets and a long blade of grass dangling from his teeth. The calm was shattered the next moment when Gojyo suddenly lost his footing. For one long moment he was on the rock, his arms quickly pulled from his pockets and spiraling wildly, trying to regain his balance. It was a futile effort though, the moment ended and he fell with a shout, arms still wheeling in huge circles. His splash managed to soak both Hakkai and Sanzo, and Gojyo was met with a cold glare when he resurfaced seconds later. The redhead smiled though, because Hakkai was laughing.
When Hakkai laughed, /em laughed, it lifted the soul, if just a little. And to do anything at all to actually make him laugh, even if caused a little embarrassment, was always worth it. Even Sanzo looked slightly less irritated.
So they ended up staying the rest of the day, letting their clothes dry. Sanzo didn't mind, even seemed to relax a little. The afternoon stretched on forever, and entirely too soon was the sun setting. The sky became a myriad of red and blues and purples, and the few clouds that had graced the sky that day were now rosy wisps.
It was dusk, than night, and the stars came out. Hakkai pointed out the constellations, and Gojyo and Sanzo were both smoking cigarettes, the smoke trails spiraling up into the tree branches above them. They set up their bedrolls, but none of them were tired yet. Around them the fireflies rose, and danced in their lazy swirls. Goku caught one in his hands, and held it to his face, the small insect glowing in his cupped hands. Wandering around over his fingers for a while, the bug apparently grew bored, or maybe anxious. It only had one night to live, and its mate wasn't to be found in Goku's hands. Lifting its wings, it took flight, and in moments it had become just another of one of the numerous flashing spots of light.
Laying back on his bedroll with his arms behind him, Goku watched the stars for a moment longer before his eyes shifted to the others. Gojyo and Hakkai were talking now, down by the river. Sometimes Hakkai laughed, and then Gojyo would laugh too. Looking farther up, he saw Sanzo, also watching Hakkai and Gojyo. A cigarette was held loosely in his fingers and sometimes he would lift it to his mouth and blow the smoke out. Violet eyes shifted, and their eyes met. Goku looked away first.
Maybe one day he would tell him.
Maybe tomorrow.
But first tonight would have to end.
End Summer
A/N: The design on Goku's shirt matches that of the design on his tattoo when he takes on his demon form. (As least in the manga.)
Okay, I hope everyone likes this chapter! The next one should be up soon. Thanks, everyone!!
This is also a 'Thank You' for more then fifty reviews. I love all you guys for staying behind me and offering encouragement and suggestions. So I wrote this so each of you would have a focus on your favorite character for at least one chapter ^^
I hope you like it!
Disclaimers: I do not own them. Still.
Shunkashuutou
Summer
He was lounging in the back seat, one leg hanging over the side of the jeep. To the right of them were rolling hills of lush grass, dotted wild flowers. Parallel on their right was a river that had been running along beside the road for so long now that it had almost become another companion. There were more towns now, because sources of waters always attracted civilization. They were good towns—thriving and prosperous. They were young, filled with young women in their prime, with dozens of children rushing out to greet the visitors in the green jeep as soon as they rolled into town. The river was being used, but it was still clean and new. The banks were green and bountiful, and more than one tree threatened to fall into the shallow river. They wouldn't fall for a while yet. Someday, but not yet.
It was a clean river, glittering continuously as the rays of the sun touched the surface, breaking the river into thousands of sapphires. At night when the moon rose, the river became molten silver, and he longed to touch it. To cup his hands around the water and bring it to his lips, certain that somehow the properties of the water changed by the night.
It was hot, but not oppressively so. It wasn't late summer yet, so the heat hadn't set in. The river managed to keep things somewhat cooler, too. Today there was a strong breeze. It was enough to keep things comfortable if they stopped, but otherwise drowned out by the wind that flew past them as they drove.
They'd been driving a long time.
He was hungry.
He was always hungry, though. So that didn't matter so much. He had begun to wonder if it was a hunger that could be appeased by food—he was beginning to suspect it wasn't. He could feel other things in him changing, feelings and ideas. How he thought of the monk.
Gold eyes flitting to the monk, he didn't allow his gaze to stay too long. He was too anxious, too uncertain. He called him his sun, and it was true. Sanzo couldn't understand it, couldn't understand why he followed him everywhere. To Goku's way of thinking, a lifetime of following his savior would small repayment for being freed. And when Sanzo left this world, he would follow him there, too. Not because he couldn't live without him, but because he knew he would be needed there. Even if Sanzo didn't know.
But that was in the future, somewhere far away. Today was today, and would last forever. Summer days always did. It continuously amazed him when the days began to grow shorter, the breeze a little colder. He would watch in horrified awe as the trees turned, and the leaves fell. How could it be fall already? If summer lasted forever, how could it end?
He sighed, eyes closing. He was jolted out of his thinking roughly by a kick from his seatmate. Sitting up abruptly, he glared at Gojyo. Their fights were almost routine, and they always ended the same—with a smack from the fan or death threats and a pointed gun. But to stop would be to change, and in his life, where nothing stayed the same, small things like this were comforts.
"Gojyo! What the hell was that for, you stupid water kappa!?"
"You were taking up too much space!"
"I wasn't, you're the one stretched out all over the place!"
"I can't help if I have longer legs than you, you midget monkey!"
"Shut up!" Sanzo turned rapidly, hitting both of them across the head with the cursed fan. He hadn't had it in the beginning; it was an accessory picked up after he realized how loud and whiny the boy was. Both glaring at Sanzo, and then at each other, Gojyo gave Goku another nudge once the monk turned around. Not wanting to be without the last say, Goku nudged him back, this time a little harder. Within moments there were fighting again, the nudges escalating into rough, but playful shoves.
"Dammit, I said shut up!" Sanzo turned again, this time firing the gun between them. It was always something of an amazement that he'd never hit either of them. Settling down against almost instantly, Goku knew their bickering would cease, at least for the next few minutes. Both of them were wary of the gun, even if they knew they didn't have to be. Despite countless times of it only being waved at them threateningly, bullets flying past their ears, it was still a gun and they had both seen it kill scores of demons.
"Maybe we should stop for lunch?" Hakkai's voice, always pleasant and agreeable.
"Yeah!" Leaning forward, Goku looked anxiously at the two in the front. They always had the say in matters, rarely Gojyo and never was he aloud to make decisions for the group.
"Whatever."
What started as lunch slowly stretched into an afternoon. They rested under an old beech tree, and the sunlight that filtered through was a hazy, diluted green. When the breeze blew, the branches rustled and the leaves whispered of other summer days, and other travelers, and fishers who had stopped here last week, last summer, the summer before that, and of all the endless summers before that.
They didn't have much to eat—they never did. There was too much rationing that had to take place for them to be gluttons, a fact that Goku regretted.
He had grown taller recently, and they hadn't been able to buy new pants yet so he now wore high waters. He'd undergone a few other clothes changes, had gotten rid of the clasps around the ankles. He wouldn't get rid of the bands on his wrists for a long time. He had changed them from the gaudy things they'd been for more streamlined, maroon ones, but he couldn't get rid of them. He'd had them for five hundred years already.
When Sanzo had first taken him to get his clothes for traveling in what now seemed like years ago, he'd chosen the gaudy, mismatched outfit not only because it looked cool (and it did, contrary to what the monk said.) but for other reasons, too. The shoulder claws were a great defense ("You're just trying to make yourself look bigger, monkey. It's not going to fool anybody.") and the loose shirt helped keep things cooler, which worked to his advantage when they were in the desert, and in the summer, but was a poor insulation against the snow and colder months.
But winter was a long way off now, and today it was summer.
He'd seen the design for the red tunic in an old Buddhist tome he'd been rifling through one time when waiting for Sanzo to get back from another of his meetings with those creepy floating heads. He didn't know what the symbol meant, but he knew he had to have it. There was something about it that seemed important to him, and he had convinced Sanzo to take him to a merchant who could put designs like that on clothing. It had cost more than a plain red tunic would have, but Sanzo had paid it anyway, and strangely enough, without saying a thing.
The bands had been the most important though, and it would be a long time before he could shed them. "You're free," Sanzo had said, posing indifference as Goku had chosen the accessories.
"I know."
And Sanzo hadn't asked why, or belittled him. Sometimes, he just knew about those sorts of things.
Goku sprawled across the grass under the tree, enjoying the moist, green blades that bent and molded to his body as he rested. Sanzo and Hakkai were talking quietly a little ways away, and Gojyo was standing on one of the moldy rocks next to the river, his hands shoved in his pockets and a long blade of grass dangling from his teeth. The calm was shattered the next moment when Gojyo suddenly lost his footing. For one long moment he was on the rock, his arms quickly pulled from his pockets and spiraling wildly, trying to regain his balance. It was a futile effort though, the moment ended and he fell with a shout, arms still wheeling in huge circles. His splash managed to soak both Hakkai and Sanzo, and Gojyo was met with a cold glare when he resurfaced seconds later. The redhead smiled though, because Hakkai was laughing.
When Hakkai laughed, /em laughed, it lifted the soul, if just a little. And to do anything at all to actually make him laugh, even if caused a little embarrassment, was always worth it. Even Sanzo looked slightly less irritated.
So they ended up staying the rest of the day, letting their clothes dry. Sanzo didn't mind, even seemed to relax a little. The afternoon stretched on forever, and entirely too soon was the sun setting. The sky became a myriad of red and blues and purples, and the few clouds that had graced the sky that day were now rosy wisps.
It was dusk, than night, and the stars came out. Hakkai pointed out the constellations, and Gojyo and Sanzo were both smoking cigarettes, the smoke trails spiraling up into the tree branches above them. They set up their bedrolls, but none of them were tired yet. Around them the fireflies rose, and danced in their lazy swirls. Goku caught one in his hands, and held it to his face, the small insect glowing in his cupped hands. Wandering around over his fingers for a while, the bug apparently grew bored, or maybe anxious. It only had one night to live, and its mate wasn't to be found in Goku's hands. Lifting its wings, it took flight, and in moments it had become just another of one of the numerous flashing spots of light.
Laying back on his bedroll with his arms behind him, Goku watched the stars for a moment longer before his eyes shifted to the others. Gojyo and Hakkai were talking now, down by the river. Sometimes Hakkai laughed, and then Gojyo would laugh too. Looking farther up, he saw Sanzo, also watching Hakkai and Gojyo. A cigarette was held loosely in his fingers and sometimes he would lift it to his mouth and blow the smoke out. Violet eyes shifted, and their eyes met. Goku looked away first.
Maybe one day he would tell him.
Maybe tomorrow.
But first tonight would have to end.
End Summer
A/N: The design on Goku's shirt matches that of the design on his tattoo when he takes on his demon form. (As least in the manga.)
Okay, I hope everyone likes this chapter! The next one should be up soon. Thanks, everyone!!