A Novel Distraction

Disclaimer: Saiyuki and all associated characters were created by Minekura Kazuya. I am making no money from this and am merely using the characters and setting for storytelling purposes.

…

Gojyo entered the room he was sharing with Goku and flopped face down on one of the beds with a sigh, bored out of his mind. They were low on supplies, and the sorry excuse for a town they were stuck in for the day didn't have any bars. And as for the women… well, his cheek still stung from where a pretty lady had slapped him just for smiling at her.

He sighed again and flipped over onto his back. Sanzo had taken Goku off someplace to stuff his face, so he couldn't even entertain himself by teasing the monkey. Although… with the monkey away, there was something he could do to pass the time.

He got up and dug through his things, pushing a couple of porn mags out of the way before pulling out a worn, heavily dog-eared novel. He went back to the bed he had chosen as his, opened the book to one of the places he'd marked, and began to read.

Ricardo held Antoinette in his muscular arms as she shook with mingled fear and desire, her bosom heaving like the swell of his first love, the sea-

"Whatcha reading?"

"GAH!" Gojyo jerked up into a sitting position, nearly dropping his book. Goku peered at him innocently from the foot of the bed, then looked at the title of the book.

"The High Seas Ravisher? What's a ravisher? And why is there a half naked man standing over a girl with a ripped dress? Are you reading one of those icky girly books?" Goku asked, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

Gojyo blushed bright red and hastily put his hand over the front of the book, blocking the monkey's view of the cover art. "What? No way, you stupid chimp! This is a historical novel documenting the mating habits of pirates."

"Hee hee…." Goku grinned at him stupidly. "I'm gonna tell Sanzo an' Hakkai that you like trashy romance books."

Gojyo cursed and lunged forward, grabbing the boy before he could even turn fully toward the door. "Keep your mouth shut, ape, and I'll buy you some meat buns before we leave tomorrow."

"You promise?" Goku asked, eyeing him dubiously. " 'Cause I'll tell if you don't."

"Yeah, yeah, I promise I'll get you some damn meat buns," Gojyo said, waving him away. "Go pester your owner for a bit."

"Okay."

"Stupid kid," Gojyo muttered once Goku had left. Then he settled back onto the bed and returned to Antoinette and her heaving bosom.