Title: Surviving the truth Disclaimer: Saiyuki belongs to whatever company owns the rights to it. I'm not quite sure which company that might be… but this fanfic has been written for entertainment purposes only. No profits are being made. The story itself and any original content belong to me.
Author: Twilight Fang
Note: If reading about Hakkai x Gojyo interacting with each other in an intimate fashion offends you – or if yaoi isn't your thing – please avoid this story.
And I'd appreciate feedback if you have the time. Thanks!
Part 1
"Zzzz, buns… noodles… yum…" Untrimmed nails scratched through a thick nest of hair. The shaggy mop ensnared those fingers in a mass of knots while a sleeping Goku tried in vain to get them out. He rolled over onto his side, practically foaming at the mouth as his dreamlike fantasy continued.
A low overhanging branch belted into the jeep's front windshield, being pushed back until it was released. It then snapped forward like a slingshot, missing Hakkai and Sanzo in the front seats - because they had seen it coming - but it swung over them to thump Goku in the forehead as he dozed.
"ITAI!" Goku yelped.
"Baka-saru!" Gojyo shouted from beside the young menace, kicking at Goku's shins for the rude awakening.
Twin golden eyes flashed at Gojyo in a rage. The little hellion let out a half hiss/snarl as he dove in for Gojyo, snatching up a handful of long red hair. "Ero-kappa!"
"Temee! Don't mess with my hair!"
Grinning his wickedest, Goku gave his prize a nice sharp tug.
"Oww! Dammit!" Gojyo felt some hairs come loose and nearly went berserk upon seeing a fistful of his glorious tresses in Goku's upturned palm.
Taunting Gojyo further, Goku growled and the redhead hissed out a challenge; the two of them coiled in preparation for a really big attack.
"Shut the FUCK up!" Sanzo swung around in his seat, leveling the barrel of his gun between them. A cold metallic cavity stared at Gojyo and Goku, daring them to make Sanzo's trigger finger itch. "Keep it up and I'll kill you both."
"But… he started it, Sanzo," Goku whined like a faithful puppy, trying to shift the entire blame onto the older boy.
"Did not! He tried to eat my hand," Gojyo yelled. He haughtily folded his arms across his chest and began to pout.
"I was having a dream about food, kappa!" Goku explained, passing it off as a lame apology. Why should he say he was sorry to Gojyo when he really wasn't? Besides, the redhead really didn't taste very good.
"Doesn't your keeper feed you enough as it is? That's no excuse for biting me, baka-saru." Shallow teeth indentations couldn't contract rabies, or could they? Gojyo wondered if Goku had received all of his shots from whatever pet store Sanzo had picked him up at.
"Ne, Sanzo, when are we going to eat? I'm hungry." Goku pretended as if Gojyo had never spoken, dismissing the argument as old news. His top priority had always been, and would never fail to be, his stomach.
"URUSAI!" Whacking Goku alongside the head with his fan for good measure, Sanzo repositioned himself so that he wouldn't have to look at the two upstarts anymore.
While driving and keeping one eye on the road, Hakkai laughed good-naturedly at the fuss his companions were making. "Maa maa, you should save your energy for later. At this rate, we'll need to camp out tonight before we reach the next town."
The pathway that Hakkai had chosen was enshrouded in rough terrain woven into a net of wayward tree branches, tall prickly weeds, and furnished with a bed of rocks. Their makeshift roadway was seriously putting a hamper on their speed and there were numerous obstacles along the way that delayed them further.
A mauve veil was already extending over the sky as evening approached from beyond the horizon. Very quickly, the filtered sunrays that pierced through the tall trees in patches of oranges and yellows dissipated. Then, they were gone altogether.
Despite losing their only source of overhead lighting, Gojyo and Goku paid no attention to that minor detail. They chose to act as any backseat passengers would in their situation. Bickering, shoving, and uncensored foul language shook the backend of the little green jeep the second that Sanzo's back was turned.
"Sanzo, I don't want to camp out." Goku took another swipe at Gojyo, laughing when the redhead punched at him… and missed. Only to curse bloody murder when that fist curved around to make friends with his nose. "Red-haired pervert river boy!" He stomped on Gojyo's foot, laughing afterwards because he'd scuffed one of the leather boots. "There's no food here."
"Whatever you're doing back there… stop it NOW!" Who the hell in the high heavens had arranged for Sanzo to live out his life as a monk? Smoking and drinking was one thing but literally threatening people with a gun was entirely different. Sanzo failed - on every occasion - to set a good example as a monk. He proved this again by peering behind him with the gun lending accuracy to his eyesight. If he caught those two acting up again…
However, it turned out that Sanzo was quite disappointed to discover Gojyo and Goku at opposite ends of the jeep. Appearances could be deceiving, and those two really knew how to fake a peace treaty. Their honorable behavior was so convincing that one might imagine golden halos above their heads.
"Brrr, it's chilly." Gojyo fished a pack of cigarettes out from one pocket, tapping one out and holding it between two fingers. He raised an eyebrow when Sanzo inconspicuously copied him from the front seat. If he dared to take credit for thinking of the idea first, Sanzo would beat him with either the fan or the gun. And sometimes the fan could be a great deal more painful than the gun. Choosing to keep quiet, Gojyo leaned back to enjoy his smoke.
"How can you say that after so much exercise?" Hakkai teased.
"Correcting Goku's bad behavioral habits isn't exercise, it's work."
Goku sat there, sulking, angry about something but not really being able to remember what.
The fog, as thick as pea soup, began to settle near the ground, persuading Hakkai to flick on the high beams. Encountering any other vehicles on this path would be incredibly rare but he hadn't wanted to risk blinding anything in their path. Such unpredictable weather hadn't been in the forecast for today but neither had they anticipated getting lost in a forest. And they were pretty much lost.
"Hmm…"
"What?" Sanzo asked Hakkai, sounding a tad bit annoyed. He hated Hakkai's calm apathy whenever they were inconvenienced and felt very uncertain over the man's mental state of mind. Anyone who laughed in the face of danger and offered a polite greeting to the enemy had to be unbalanced. But Hakkai had always proved to be a reliable and adequate companion so Sanzo continued to trust him. That also meant not questioning why Hakkai acted so peculiar. If anyone had even a fraction of insight into Hakkai's character, it had to be Gojyo, and that man kept secrets with a card shark's grin.
"I think that we're on a bridge."
Was that a positive or negative indication? With Hakkai's random musings, Sanzo could never be quite sure. He glanced back to see how Gojyo was reacting to the oddness but couldn't discern much in the gray regions marking up his eyesight. Damn fog!
From beneath them, the jeep's tires picked up a rhythmic thump - thump motion, causing something to rattle. By that time, it was also too dark to see what they had run over, never mind avoid it or reverse directions.
"Oi, Sanzo, what was that?"
"Can Hakuryuu navigate on here?" Sanzo asked, brushing off Goku's constant pestering.
Hakkai was about to reply but clutched the steering wheel instead when the jeep lurched to one side. The fog thickened around them as the jeep swayed back and forth, Hakuryuu kyuu-ing miserably in his vehicle form.
"Don't tell me that the bridge is unstable," Gojyo complained, gripping the headrest of Hakkai's seat, his cigarette still pursed between his lips.
"I guess that I won't tell you then." Hakkai glanced back to give Gojyo a nervous grin before flooring the accelerator. "Gomen Hakuryuu. We need to get off of this bridge before it--."
Suddenly, a bulk of weight flew out from the fog, missed Sanzo, and knocked Hakkai out of the jeep. He cried out, tumbling over the side of the bridge's roped railing, barely able to catch one of the rotting floorboards with his fingers on his way down.
"HAKKAI!" Gojyo leapt out of the jeep, heedless of his own safety, and started to feel around blindly in the murky blackness.
"Gojyo! Get back in the jeep!"
"Like hell!" He ignored Hakkai's warning, pinpointing where he'd heard the voice to make a general swipe in that direction. His hand brushed Hakkai's but he couldn't reach far enough. "Hold on!"
"Hakkai! Gojyo!" Goku called out. But the jeep and its occupants were now invisible to both Hakkai and Gojyo.
"Stay where you are," Sanzo commanded, obviously getting out of the jeep.
"I've got… huh? What's this?" Gojyo grasped onto a cold and fleshy appendage, afraid to pull back in case that it was indeed Hakkai, but common sense told him otherwise. "Hakkai?"
"Wrong!" The hand reversed its grip to yank Gojyo off-balance, sending him airborne over the bridge and into Hakkai. Two screams echoed down the cavern as Hakkai and Gojyo plunged into the abyss.
To be continued…
