I own nothing! I wish I did but I don't (sigh) Oh well, hope you like this story! I think they seem kind of OOC but they had to be a little, hope it's not too noticable...
In retrospect, it had been a pretty stupid fight (most were). It was something small, something that shouldn't have been a big deal to clear up easily but had quickly escalated into a near full-blown civil war before everything was said and done.
Flashback
"Hey Sanzo?"
"Hn."
"Why do you almost never call me by my name?"
"What kind of idiot question is that?"
Goku flushed a little at this, pulling himself upright from the position he's been lying in on the other bed. "It's not a stupid question." He insisted seriously. "I mean it. Why do you never say my name? You always call me "idiot" or "baka" or something mean like that."
Sanzo sighed irritably, flipping the newspaper page he's been reading. "I just call you what you are."
"Huh?"
Sighing again, he elaborated. "If you act like a stupid monkey, then I'm going to call you a stupid monkey."
"But you call me that almost every day!"
"Then what's your point?"
Goku's gold eyes flashed slightly. "Well, if I ever called you a droopy-eyed priest or something insulting like that what would you do?"
"Shoot you in the face."
Goku growled under his breath. "Do you know why I don't call you names like that Sanzo?" he asked, putting strong emphasis on the other man's name.
"Because you know I would shoot you in the face."
"No! It's because I care about you, you jerk!"
Sanzo simply rolled his eyes at the outburst. "Glad to hear it."
Goku pounced on the other bed suddenly, pinning the blond to the headboard. "It's really not that hard to say. See? 'G-o-k-u'" he said, moving Sanzo's mouth to form each letter.
A pistol pressed under his chin caused him to stop quickly.
"Get. Off." Sanzo hissed dangerously.
The boy glared back. "No."
With a quick, sharp kick, Goku landed hard on the ground, the wind rushing out of his body in a low groan. He glared up at Sanzo, standing slowly and brushing off his pants. "You're an asshole, Sanzo." He grumbled softly, walking over to the door and yanking it open just as Hakkai and Gojyo came walking up.
Hakkai, usually acting as the "mother" of the group, immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly hauled Goku off with him to go shopping for supplies.
Gojyo watched the two walk out of the hotel but made no move to follow them. Instead, he turned his attention to Sanzo who had been watching out of the corner of his eye.
"Care to explain?" The redhead offered, lighting a cigarette and tossing the lighter to Sanzo.
"Not really." The blond replied, the lighter landing uselessly next to him.
End Flashback
Goku sighed heavily and kicked a clod of dirt away from his foot. Long shadows painted the streets and buildings around him and the temperature had begun to drop as the sun slipped lower into the sky.
Late afternoon shoppers bumped past him, almost oblivious to his presence. Goku quietly slipped his way through the crowd, heading back to their hotel towards the edge of town.
He dug his hands a little more deeply into his pockets and scanned the crowd one last time for any sign of Hakkai. He couldn't exactly remember how or when they'd gotten separated, but one minute he'd gone to look at a fruit stand on one side of the street and the next Hakkai was nowhere to be seen.
The idea of going back to the hotel wasn't all that appealing for more than one reason. First, it meant Gojyo would be drilling him about where Hakkai was and second it meant he'd have to face Sanzo again. Not that that in itself was particularly horrifying but the memory of the fight was still relatively fresh and burned at him just beneath the surface.
Goku sighed again, irritated with how quickly things had gotten out of hand. Granted, maybe he shouldn't have been so insistent on the subject but at the same time, Sanzo had not only refused to answer the question but had kicked him off the bed as well.
Not that he wasn't used to the name calling; hell, Gojyo called him names all the time. However, the two things wrong with that situation were that number one: it was easy to tell when Gojyo was teasing and number two: Gojyo wasn't sleeping with Sanzo. In fact, Sanzo's cold exterior often made Goku wonder if he actually cared about him at all. Not only that but the fact that he never called him by his name only fueled that insecurity.
Goku hated feeling so dependent upon the other man but to him, Sanzo was his everything. He'd been completely and absolutely in love with him forever, possibly longer, and just needed to know that Sanzo felt at least an iota of the same feelings for him.
Goku had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hardly noticed the little boy that ran head-first into his leg. Stumbling back a little, he thought about yelling something in annoyance but stopped when he looked down.
The kid couldn't have been older than about six or seven but his baggy clothes made it hard to tell. Rust colored hair fell over his face and his large brown eyes were wide with fear and panic. Through the dirt and grime that smudged his face, Goku could make out several dark bruises and cuts along the child's cheeks and jaw line. An intricate, maroon pattern swept under the boy's right eye and his pointed ears were almost completely hidden behind his hair. The kid was youkai.
Before Goku could ask any questions, angry shouts and threats could be heard coming their way. The child whimpered softly and clutched Goku's pants leg, his small frame trembling beneath the clothes that were at least twice his size.
Goku watched him for a second before gently pushing the boy behind him and setting his stance a little wider so he was more protected. "Stay behind me." He whispered softly, watching as the little boy nodded in response.
The shouts drew closer and finally a mob of men, about 10 in all, emerged from the late afternoon crowd. The men's eyes locked on the teen in front of them along with the child he was protecting and stopped. Goku waved happily at the front man of the group, keeping his position in front of the boy. "Hey, how's it goin'?"
The man, a black-haired individual in his forties stepped forward, a large mallet clutched in his hand. "Hand over the brat, kid. This doesn't concern you!"
The little boy winced and Goku felt his gaze harden. "Well, you guys look like your ready for a fight and if that's the case, then you can forget it. I don't know what this kid did but there's no way in hell I'm going to let you assholes take him."
A look of rage passed over the man's face and he growled deeply in the back of his throat. "Either you give us the boy or we take you down with him!"
Goku smirked despite himself, the urge to fight itching at his palms in response to the anger and frustration he's felt earlier. Turning ever so slightly, he whispered, "Hey kid." The boy looked up nervously, meeting Goku's eyes with his. "What's your name?"
"C-Coden…"
"Nice to meet you Coden, I'm Goku. Okay, you know that hotel at the edge of town?"
The child nodded slowly, his eyes completely focused on the older boy.
"When I tell you, I want you to run that way as fast as you can, okay? I have some friends staying there that will protect you until we get these guys off your case."
Noticing the men advancing threateningly, Coden shuddered and gripped Goku's pants leg a little tighter. "W-What about you…?"
The teen smiled and ruffled his hair gently. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I can hold them off until you get out of here." As soon as he finished, one man lunged, landing just short of stabbing Goku in the stomach. Within seconds, Goku's weapon was in his hand and he'd hit the man hard enough to break his jaw.
"Coden go!" he shouted, fighting off three more men that attacked all at once. The men slashed and lunged at hit with dizzying speed but the teen managed to avoid each blow, even if it was by an inch. Fighting the mob was easy enough, each man fighting hit hard but not well and it was simple to predict their movements after a while. The golden-eyed boy smirked, knocking back the last one and turning just in time to see the black-haired man making a run for Coden.
Adrenaline hit full force and Goku took off after him, determined to get him away from the little boy. He could hear the man laughing dangerously as he got closer to his intended target. Sure, the kid got a head start but the man was still faster and stronger. Then, just to make things easier, Coden managed to trip and tumble onto the ground only a few feet away.
The man grinned hatefully as he got closer, the child's eyes locked onto him in fear. Coden seemed to know that running was all but pointless now because he made no effort to get up.
"Time's up, brat." He growled, raising the heavy mallet and bringing it down with deadly force.
The mallet connected solidly, blood splashing over Coden's face and clothes. He blinked slowly, the world slowing to a crawl. He was somewhat surprised he was still conscious and only then noticed something heavy draped across his legs. "G-Goku…" he gasped, alarmed by the large amount of blood that had begun to stain the teen's face and head.
Goku winced, blood running into his eyes. "Coden…go…" When the child hesitated, the wounded teen pushed him away gently. "Go…" he insisted again before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed lifelessly over the boy's legs.
The man, who seemed equally surprised by the turn of events, barely seemed to notice as the child he'd been completely prepared to murder only seconds before got up and took off again towards the edge of town.
His companions had since recovered and made their way over to their leader, stopping at the sight of the unconscious teen on the ground.
"What now, Grek?" one commented from the back. "The kid just got away! What the hell do we do now?"
Grek, who had been absorbed in his own thoughts until now, knelt down and examined the blood streaked headband across Goku's forehead. "You boys remember a couple of months ago there was that rumor about a golden-eyed heretic that was supposed to traveling along these parts?"
A few men nodded, stepping a little closer to have a better look at the unconscious boy. Grek smiled grimly, sweeping his finger across the gold band and shuddering at the feeling of power that coursed through it.
"I think we may have found something better than some little youkai brat."
I just love torturing Goku, it's so easy (grin) I'm a terrible person -.-;
