Journey to the West
by fogdragon23
Warning: shonen-ai...maybe yaoi in later chapters...violence, cursing, guns, drinking, regular Saiyuki warnings.
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Chapter 1: Escaped
Flashes of red and gold were reflected back at him as he sped along the side of the celestial lily pond. The pond rippled and flowered in peace, not caring for the current situation. Loud hoots and hollers helped to shake the ground that the refugee was fleeing on. The regally garbed man lifted his hand and spun his reliable weapon in the air. "Nyoi-bo!" The long, thin weapon darted forward. Sparks of glowing yellow lights marked it as it grew in length and projected him easily over the calm water. He glided to his feet on the other side and continued his hapharzard rush to the gates. His golden gaze soon fell upon the green painted exit of Shangri-la. He gritted his teeth as he seethed with the knowledge that the gates could not break; would never be brought down. Yet they were still in his way. At this rate he was going to be cornered. White teeth flashed inside his smile as he forced his feet and legs into a brake just before the doors. He held his trusted weapon horizontally from his body and cried out its name. "Nyoi-bo!" The weapon lengthened on both ends and smashed through the rock walls holding up the gates. With his own godly strength the Monkey King heaved against the staff, forcing the walls to crumble before him. Without walls the gates were not able to stand against the Great Sage.
Now all the immortal could see was the tops of clouds. They billowed and swirled underneath him, sensing something was wrong. Small snakes of lightning crackled toward him in investigation. Though curious, the bolts were quick to scurry away when the Monkey King decided to leap for the mortal world.
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"Get him!" screamed the Emperor to all those around him. "Stop him before he ruins the balance between our worlds!"
The temple of Shangri-la burst open as the many deities scrambled to fulfill the Emperor's strangled order. The main gates were unceremoniously trodden on as fellow immortals spilled over the edge of the Heavens. They broke off into small groups to cover more sky as their search began. Hundreds of different shaped bodies broke from the ribs of the clouds as they raced to be the first one at the Monkey King's throat.
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"Shut the fuck up!" demanded the blond, suddenly standing up at the table. "I will not suffer anymore of your crap today!" Two heavy hands slapped the table with determined force. The many cans littering the table rattled their sides against each other.
A man with red hair also chose to stand to gain better ground. "Well you won't have to if you just walk yourself out of here right now!" He flipped a thumb toward the inn entrance. "No one's stopping you!"
The blond spun on his heel; taking to the impromptu idea. "Fine! I'm out!"
The other man slumped back into his own chair with a bitter smile dancing on his face. "Who needs you anyway?" He banged his elbow against the back of his chair in fueled anger then hissed from the pain that followed.
The third party member had wisely chosen to stay where he was and avoid the argument. However now that one of the sides had left he was able to scold the other. "Do you think that was wise, Gojyo?" he asked lightly yet giving each word appropriate weight.
Gojyo made a sound of disgust before speaking. "I think it wouldn't be such a bad thing to exclude the bane of our party. He's done nothing useful since we got here. Fuck him and his holier-than-thou-attitude!"
The third man tried to keep his temper in check, but he found himself slipping as well. "I'm going to tuck in then." He cracked his sore shoulder then rose to his feet to leave. "Goodnight, Gojyo."
"'Night, Hakkai," the redhead answered back over a can of beer. He brushed his top lip over its cold edge before taking a sip. His hand disappeared into his jacket and he pulled out a red lighter, then a thin cigarette. He flicked the flame to life and brought it to the end of his relaxation stick. The feeling of the spongy paper in his mouth brought him slight comfort in the desolate bar. He let his head slide back as he stared at the ceiling fan over him, watching the smoke flowing into it. "Goodbye, Sanzo," he hissed. "Good riddance."
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Once breaking from the cover of the clouds, the escaped deity came to a realization that the world had gotten much bigger since the last time he saw it. Also, land was much higher and uneven than it had been in the past. A mountain rose up beneath him like a giant spearhead as he came closer to landing. Dirt crumbled from under his feet as he slid down the solid rock face with his expensive robes ripping behind him. Hunks of the light fabric broke from his body and drifted away on the much stronger wind. He surmised that he needed to find shelter, away from any possible search that was after him. He halted on a slim overhang to pause and plan.
'Well,' he thought, 'anywhere in the open is off-limits and most of the sky. I need an area that's low profile for now. I could stay in the wild and risk discovery of my scent...or...clothe myself in the masses of humans...' He smiled at that thought, 'Immortals are not allowed to show themselves in their true forms. At my rank, I could hold off any that find me with the mortals...perfect.' He slung his staff across his back to make ease of moving along the sun-dowsed mountain. He climbed his way down the rock face, head-first and with all four limbs pumping. His tail streamed behind him, making sure that he was completely centered in his steps.
To speed things along the god jumped from summit to summit until he encountered a deep valley that pocketed a small town in its canyons. 'Success!' he thought, proud of his discovery. He delightfully glided down to the town's ground level and boldly strutted through the strings of people. The strong scents of sweat, food, and sex filled his nose. 'I think I'm going to like it here!' Suddenly a very strong shoulder rammed his chest, forcing him into some of the people around him. "Hey!" he whined, feeling offended. A very strong looking man fed his gaze as he calculated what his next move should be. "What do you want?"
The man glared down at him with a snarl. "I've never seen you around here, boy. We don't tend to welcome visitors here."
"Boy? What are you talking about?! I'm over five hundred, creep!" Then again, that man did appear to be very large and so did the people around him. The Monkey Sage looked down at himself and exclaimed in shock. "I'm small!"
"I'll say," the gruff man spoke. "Small enough to cause trouble for the rest of us."
A low growl rumbled in Goku's throat. "Gr, I really don't get what your problem is. I just need to lay low for awhile!"
"So you're a thief," the man concluded, whipping out a hand gun.
"That's a cheating weapon!" Goku jumped back in reflex. Is this what the humans resorted to while he was gone? Something got caught under his foot and he tipped backwards. "What the-"
"Stay down," a different voice growled at him.
A metallic clack sounded and the big man switched to a new target. "Who the hell are you?"
Goku looked up at the man who tripped him and squinted through the sun light. 'His hair...is as radiant as the sun,' he thought silently.
A cigarette dropped from the stranger's lips to spiral to the ground. The strange blond quickly drew his own small firearm and shot a succession of four shots. He cleanly holstered the unique gun in a hidden pocket of his jacket then offered Goku a hand. "Can you stand or not?"
Goku was too busy watching the dying man a few feet away to notice. By the time he gathered what had happened the blond was beginning to disappear in the milling streets. "Hey, wait up! What's your name?"
The blond shook his arm out of the Sage's grasp. "Don't touch me!"
A shock from the contact burned Goku's skin, "Ow! Ow! Ow! You feel like fire...what's with that?!"
The man pulled Goku roughly aside and into the wall of a building. "What the hell are you?" His words were harsh coals.
Goku blinked, "Uh, what? What does that matter?"
"You said it burned. My skin?" the man spat with suspicion.
"Yeah, it was like touching the sun."
"Then you aren't human," the man whispered in defeat. He released the boy a moment later.
The Monkey Sage considered the anxious tone in the man's voice as he fixed what was left of his garments. "What was your first clue?" he asked smartly. His gold-tipped tail flicked with agitation.
The man pulled away and glanced down the busy street as if he had other important engagements. He turned away to abandon the kid.
Goku snorted in irritation and slugged the taller man in the back. "You better tell me your problem or it's going to cost yah!" He dodged back from a good-sized boot. "Ooh, close one!" He slammed his right palm on the heel of the foot to drive his opponent off balance. A hard right-hook greeted him and planted itself on the concrete building behind him.
"Fuck!" the blond man exclaimed, babying the bruised fist. "Shit!" He drew his gun with the other hand and aimed for Goku's unprotected head.
Goku heard the bang and let his seasoned senses take over. Nyoi-bo flashed to his hand and he used it to block the tiny bullet. A few twists of the wrist and he chucked the bullet back at the same speed.
The man took the lead into his shoulder and defensively dropped to his knees.
Goku grinned in victory, "You better be nice to me now or I'll kill you. How about buying me some food? I'm famished!"
The man yelled some sort of curse at the child-like deity before running toward a building further away. He had his hand clamped over the wound. It wasn't enough to stop the crimson from falling to the ground.
"No yah don't!" Monkey was not done yet. The smell of blood spurred him on as he pursued the blond.
Another person in the crowd pointed at his rear as he ran by. "He has a tail! Demon! It's a demon!" Multiple people responded with their own gasps and attempts to vacate the street. "It'll kill us all!"
Earlier Goku had no wish to cause a stir but the panic of the people was beginning to excite him. The sun man ducked into a building he probably thought was 'safe'. Easy pickings. "This day keeps getting better...whoa!" He ducked under a few flying fists from inside the building and pulled back. Way back. Reinforcements was also cheating. So he surmised staying in this place was not an option...at least not a smart one.
He dropped his chase for now. It was quickly becoming no fun."Another time then. Nyoi-bo extend!" His body was propelled over the establishment and the many people that were coming to apprehend him.
He landed onto a hillside nearby then dashed over it quicker than a human could run. Goku eventually found shallow gorge that opened at the bottom. It was very damp but he shrugged it off. "At least they won't find me here," he assured himself.
The end of the gorge dropped into a shallow incline that led into a narrow yet dry cave. "Camp!" he cheered, sloshing to the narrow hole. "And I bet I can make some breathing space for myself." He lightly touched the tips of his fingers together and said a short chant. A path seemed to open up in his mind as the old language drifted from his lips.
A low breeze caressed his ears lovingly. Goku smiled as the entrance before him grew and morphed until the cave became more spacious and livable. "Thank you, Mother!" he cheered to the air before exploring his new home.
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"A child did this to you, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked the blond as he inspected the wound. "That story is a little odd."
Sanzo clenched his teeth together as the brunette carefully pried the bullet out with a knife tip. "Nhg, that kid was odd. He had a freakin' tail like some sort of monkey! Ow!" He jerked his arm as the feeling of heat brushed his shoulder.
"Steady, Sanzo. I'm almost done." The brunette blew out the small match in his hand. He picked up a roll of bandages and applied them to the dampened wound. "Here we go."
Sanzo rested the side of his fist against his lips trying to ignore the crackling pain. "He's no ordinary kid. My skin burned him, he said before he began hunting me. He has no humanity left in him."
Hakkai smiled weakly, "Do you suppose he is a full blood?"
"I don't doubt it," Sanzo scowled. "He didn't seem very half-assed to me."
Hakkai chuckled lightly, "If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you were giving him a compliment."
"Not likely," Sanzo degraded. "I'm not into kids."
"Is it possible that he's older than he seems?"
The other man placed a hand to his forehead to deepen his thoughts. "And act that stupid? Not likely."
Hakkai shrugged, his handiwork finished. "Well if it's all the same to you, I'm going to go to the market for a little while and get some supplies. That was the last of our bandages."
"So the high and mighty one decided to stalk back home," mocked Gojyo as he entered the room. He hadn't seen anything of the blond since the night before. "What happened? You get mugged?"
"Piss off!" Sanzo snapped.
Seeing it useless, Hakkai shrugged off their inevitable argument and left for errands.