becomes the
demon
by Bethany Ten
Genjyo Sanzo is a stranger to betrayal. He blames Goku, who has never let him down before, regardless of rhyme or reason. If Sanzo had been that pissed at Gojyo, then the idea of Goku turning against him is almost a physical ache, and he's grateful that he's always (somewhat) unconscious when Goku sheds his diadem. Gojyo's worn-raw hands (the metal links in his shakujou are heavy—they looped thrice around Sanzo's wrists, and his carpal bones shifted disagreeably) are substantial penance, but not when ghosting above Kinkaku's now-shut eyes, wrist-pulse throbbing something ominous.
Genjyo Sanzo is no stranger to fear, and he's not reticient about admitting it if one is to ask. (No one asks.) He simply refuses to allow it to get in his way.
Gojyo and Cho Gonou thought that Gojyo's eyes were variegating shades of the same thing: blood. Sanzo originally dismissed the idea with a scoff, but the words are making a triumphant return, unbidden, a collective of whispered murmurs in the back of his mind, echoing in the woodlands in sync with Kami-sama's singsong:
"……It's a secret."
Gojyo raises his head, shadowed eyes and shadowed heart.
Sanzo has forgotten what it means to breathe.