Hello my friends! I have returned and I come bearing a new fic. Well, new to everyone except Empy-chan, but she's amazing (and mi numero uno beta) so she gets to read stuff when it's still in crapily unpolished mode.
Disclaimer: Not mine. SO over it.
I wrote this for my Son Goku (Seiten Taisei) claim at Fanfic100 on LJ. Prompt: Outsides.
Gypsies
by PunkWolf
Sometimes, he really hated living in a town centered upon the crossroads. The strangest folk tended to travel through and make messes of things.
Like this newest group that insisted on making a huge ruckus just in front of his stall. It was scaring his customers away.
"Like hell we're eating at a smelly ol' bar AGAIN, kappa! I'm sick of 'em! And their food ain't that great either!"
A red haired man shoved violently at his shorter companion. "Tough shit, monkey-boy. Cuz Hakkai said I could choose again, and I wanna eat at a bar!"
"If you two don't shut the hell up, I'll make sure neither of you ever eat AGAIN!" The blond roared as the tall burnet sighed wearily.
They'd arrived an hour ago and hadn't ceased bickering since the short one had tripped the redhead on their way into the city. And then their was the loud, grumpy blond one, who insisted on wearing a heavy brown cloak even though they were in the height of summer.
Hmph. Must be a troop of damn gypsies.
"Ano sa... Sanzo. Why don't you pick where we eat, to be fair?" The calmest of the group suggested.
The shortest glared heatedly. "Noooo. Sanzo always pick nasty ol' bars, too!"
"Maybe I won't if you make it worth my while, bakazaru." The one called Sanzo sneered.
The golden eyed one eyed him warily. "... Like how...?"
Sanzo smirked. "I'm sure your underdeveloped brain can figure it out, Goku."
Goku flushed. "S-Sanzo!"
The redhead laughed. "There's nothing like saru humiliation to brighten a mood." Though he eyed Sanzo cautiously. "Even though it still creeps me out that he's serious."
"Maa, Gojyo. You've had months to get used to the idea, and you're still timid?"
"You're damn right I am!" Gojyo insisted. "The idea of Sanzo and sex being in the same sentence, let alone the same room, still freaks me out!"
Suddenly, Sanzo was beating Gojyo with what appeared to be a paper fan.
"You should really learn when to shut your trap, cockroach!" He snapped and tossed a brutal glare at the tall burnet. "And you should learn to properly control your pets, Hakkai."
"I'll keep that in mind, Sanzo."
"Hey hey!" The Goku called out from a little ways ahead. "Can we eat there?" He pointed. "Pleeeeeese?"
Hakkai and Sanzo glanced at the establishment, which happened to be located adjacent to his own fruit stand. It was quite ritzy and wasn't often frequented by travelers. He highly doubted these pawns could afford it anyway.
Gojyo whistled as he rose from the dusty ground. "You sure have expensive tastes, saru." He grimaced. "I am NOT gonna think about how Sanzo's gonna make you pay for it."
Sanzo looked mildly thoughtful, as if considering Gojyo's words. He nodded resolutely. "We'll eat here." He tossed a smirk at the shortest member of their party.
Hakkai and Gojyo trooped inside as Sanzo hung back wait for Goku. When they were level, the burnet whispered to the taller man.
"Are you really gonna have us do it again, Sanzo?" He whined softly. "I hardly got any sleep last night."
Sanzo grunted as they walked toward the double doors. "You should have thought about that before you decided to think with your stomach." He smirked again. "And you can't say you didn't enjoy it at the time."
Goku flushed again. "Th-That's not the point!"
He couldn't catch the rest of their conversation, for they had cleared the entryway and been swallowed up by the crowd within the restaurant.
--
The next few hours had been quiet without the rowdy travelers disturbing the peace.
The sun began to slowly sink below the horizon, and the stall owner began to close up for the evening, negotiating a few final purchases before officially shutting down.
But just as he'd been about to leave, someone screamed from within the fancy restaurant.
He froze. Whoever had screamed, though judging by the lower timbre of the voice, sounded like they were in extreme pain.
After the wailing died down, he heard another voice shout "Shit!!" Before a table crashed through the front doors and pandemonium erupted within the establishment. Numerous patrons began fleeing the building as more crashes and thuds began sounding within.
Another voice shouted above the din. "We need to lure him outside! He has the advantage in here!"
Not a moment later, the troublesome party from before burst through the disheveled doorway and onto the street.
Followed closely by a monster.
A second glance actually revealed their antagonist to be the short burnet from earlier, though... he was different.
Unruly brown hair whipped about behind him as he skirted around the plaza avoiding the weapons and attacks trained upon him. A crescent shaped blade whizzed by, colliding with one of the pillar holding up his stall's roof, sending the whole building toppling to the ground. The shopkeeper groaned in dismay.
But despite his business' demise, the battle was not over. Bullets and balls of light sped across the clearing toward where the little beast was slowly working his way back toward them.
"I think he has the advantage no matter where we lead him, Hakkai!" The redhead shouted.
The blond whirled around to face their errant companion. "None of this would be happening if you hadn't insisted on antagonizing him all of dinner! How fucking stupid can you get, knocking off his fucking limiter!?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's not like I meant to make the chimp go batshit on us!"
"I don't think now's the time." Hakkai called out as the short burnet charged them from across the area.
"Shit." Sanzo cursed as he reloaded his small handgun. "How'm I going to get close enough to him?"
"Me and Gojyo will have to distract him while you try to sneak close enough." he paused before continuing. "Though it will be difficult considering he seems to be after you specifically."
"When is he not after me?" The blond growled, but began retreating from the immediate fray anyway.
The remaining two fought earnestly against their assailant, but were beaten back farther and farther down the street. The honest shop owner knew he should escape the scene as soon as possible, but couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off the fight before him.
Ten minutes of none stop battling later, the beast-ish one had cornered them across the street. The shop keeper wasn't the only curious bystander now. No. The alleys and verandas were lined with a frightened and curious audience riveted upon the uproar.
But the two heroes were cornered, and they knew it.
"Fuck. What do we do now?"
The burnet worried his lip. "I do hope Sanzo has a plan..."
Red eyes widened. "Our lives are in the hands of that shitty monk?" He slapped his forehead. "We're so doomed."
Just as Hakkai rolled his eyes, the shopkeeper caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Hidden within the shadows next to his stall lurked the blond man.
Sanzo's eyes darted about the scene franticly, searching for a way to insert himself back into the fray, cursing when he found no opportunity and the distance between the monster and his friends was decreasing quickly.
The beast raised a clawed hand to strike.
The shop keeper's eyes widened in alarm, and his sights trained upon a clay pot among the wreckage of his stand.
Taking the bowl in hand, he drew it back before letting it fly.
With a smash, the pot shattered across the back of the little burnet monster.
The blond's eyes widened.
The short burnet spun to face his newest contender.
The last thing he saw was the fiend blink out of existence and appear before him not a second later. Golden eyes bore into his own, and then all went dark.
--
He heard voices. They were coming from all around him. Two of them were arguing. Loudly.
"I shouldn't be surprised you were stupid enough to do such a thing, and yet I'm fucking shocked!" Someone was hit with a blunt object. "What the hell we you thinking, cockroach?!"
"Nothing! OW!" Someone was hit again. "I mean, I didn't mean to do it!"
"No shit."
"I'm sorry, alright?! I really, really am!"
A third voice broke into the argument. "Sanzo's just frustrated, Gojyo. He was worried about Goku, and us."
The voice that was presumably Sanzo cut in. "He's waking up." He informed them blandly.
"The monkey?"
"Your hero, dumbass."
He blinked his eyes open only to snap them shut when he met the light.
He heard someone approach from his left. "How are you feeling?"
"What... happened?" He asked, slitting his eyes open to take in the group around him.
The tall burnet from before smiled kindly. "You... were mixed up in our affairs, I'm afraid."
He must have looked confused, because the redhead felt the need to explain more. "You were hit with a fifty kilograms of rabid monkey, that's what happened."
"There's nothing to worry about." Sanzo growled. "I took care of him."
"You mean you'll take care of him later." Gojyo grinned slyly. "I know how much the whole ferocious demon thing turns you on."
Before he could blink, the blond had whipped a fan out of nowhere and began beating the loudmouthed redhead.
Hakkai laughed uncertainly.
Upon closer inspection of Sanzo, however, it was easy to see that he was most definitely not wearing the dark cloak from earlier.
"You're... you're..." He raised a shaking hand to point at the quarreling duo, who ceased fighting to turn questioning gazes upon him. "The Sanzo-sama?" How had he not picked up on that?
Sanzo grumbled dramatically as Gojyo slapped a hand to his forehead. "You had to take the damn cloak off, didn't you?"
"You wear all the clothes I wear for a fucking day and I'll let you give all the grief you want, kappa."
Laughing nervously again, Hakkai spoke to him imploringly. "Please don't make a fuss over our appearance. We appreciate your help, but the attention Sanzo receives is..."
"Annoying."
"Hilarious."
"Inconvenient."
"W-What was that... thing that was attacking you? Did you kill it? Did it hurt anyone? What did it want?"
The priest stomped toward him. "You saved our asses, I'll give you that." He growled. "But if you value your life, you'll refrain from calling him a 'thing' ever again. Goku. His name is Goku, and he's saved my life more times than you can jack off in a year."
Gojyo snickered, "And jacked you off practically as many times."
The shopkeeper's face was pale. "I'm s-sorry, Sanzo-sama."
Sanzo ignored the both of them. Instead, he trudged over to the other bed in the room and sat down at its foot. Their was a figure lying beneath the covers, but the heavy blankets obscured them from vision.
Hakkai addressed him once more. "I was hoping there would be a way for us to repay you for coming to our aid, but I think it would be best if you left for now. We'll come down in the morning and rebuild your stand. It's the least we can do."
He was quickly ushered the door just as the figure on the other bed began to stir.
--
He stared at his wrecked stand forlornly. The travelers' vehicle was gone, and he could only assume they'd skipped town, leaving him with only his livelihood's wreckage to remember them by.
Suddenly, there was a commotion to his left. His eyes widened when he saw he four travelers striding towards him.
Gojyo was laughing. "I told you! Didn't I tell him, Hakkai? Sanzo totally gets off on the demonic monkey!!"
"Shut. Up. Kappa." Sanzo hissed. The priest was limping, if only slightly. The shopkeeper didn't remember him doing that when he'd left last night.
The short burnet didn't respond to the redhead's goading. He was talking to Hakkai, who was in turn ignoring their bickering, despite the fact that Gojyo was talking to him.
"It wasn't your fault, Goku, and no, Sanzo wasn't mad at all. Well, not at you..."
"But he was acting really weird when I woke up this morning."
"I... can't imagine why." Hakkai replied, though he was obviously uncomfortable with the situation... and clearly lying to his smaller friend.
Gojyo stumbled forward a few paces to catch up to Hakkai and Goku. "So you really don't remember waking up last night, monkey?"
"Not a monkey! And no." Goku shifted uneasily as they drew even with the disheveled stand. "Um... hi. Sorry for... breaking your stuff." He shifted him weight before turning to Hakkai for assistance.
The tall burnet smiled. "We're here to help with repairs. Just tell us what you need us to do."
"Um... well... I need someone to lift this rafter so we can raise the supporting beam... it's heavy so we might need a few people to..."
"Like this?" They all turned to see Goku supporting the rafter with one hand, the other one groping for the fallen support beam that was just out of reach. "I... can't... reach..."
Gojyo laughed. "That's cuz you're a shrimp, shrimp." He strode over to help the short burnet by picking up the beam, only to stumble under its weight. "Hmph. Hey monkey, you wanna switch?"
"Fine. But I'm NOT a monkey!"
When the taller man was in position, Goku let the rafter fall from his palms onto the redhead's shoulder.
"GAH!" The beam came crashing down leaving Gojyo sprawled beneath it. "You..." he panted, looking menacingly toward where Goku was doubled over laughing next to Sanzo, who was failing at covering up his own quiet laughter. "Are a freakish little titan, you know that?"
The next couple of minutes involved Hakkai coming to Gojyo's aid, and then straining to lift the rafter together. In the end, the shopkeeper himself had to team up with the other two to successfully raise the rafter high enough for Goku to position the support beam beneath it. Sanzo fixed it into place with a few well placed nails.
The work went smoothly after that. A few more rafters needed to be repaired and installed, with which Goku had no issue. Hakkai and Gojyo, who was nursing a badly bruised shoulder, worked on repairing the walls of the stand while Sanzo... supervised.
Two and a half hours later, Hakkai and Gojyo stood back to admire their work. The stand was completely resurrected, except for the final few sheets of plywood that made of the roof, which Goku was busy installing. Sanzo watched the short burnet work with ill-concealed interest.
"You almost done up there, Goku?" Gojyo hollered.
The smallest of their group leaned over slightly to get a look at him, which was quite the feat considering he was balancing on a rafter 10 feet off the ground. "Almost."
A few seconds later, the teen landed on the ground with a small thud. "Ok, I'm done. Can we eat now?"
Sanzo stepped up to where the three were standing. "Hakkai and Gojyo will go get food. We're going back to the room."
Goku frowned. "Where are we getting food from?"
Sanzo grasped Goku shoulder and began leading them toward the inn they'd come out of. "Somewhere far away."
Gojyo choked on nothing. "Again?!" He sputtered. "You gotta be kidding me!!"
"Meat buns, please!!" Goku hollered over his shoulder.
Hakkai sighed before escorting Gojyo in the opposite direction. "Go easy on him, Goku. C'mon, Gojyo. We need to find a meat bun stand."
And as the shop owner watched them all walk away, he couldn't help but wonder how such an infamous and revered group of men could be so dysfunctional and chaotic.
--
With cries of shock, numerous pedestrians jumped out of the way as Hakkai's little dragon pet sudden blinked out of existence, only to be replaced by the monstrous jeep the group had ridden in on.
The monacled man smiled serenely. "Everybody ready to head out?"
"Yeah." Goku called out as he swung himself over the side and into the back seat, immediately beginning to rummage through the food stocks.
"Oi! Monkey! Don't be eating all the food before we've even left!" Gojyo chastised as he too vaulted into the back seat.
Sanzo ignored everyone and everything around him as he climbed up into his designated seat.
Hakkai turned and smiled at the villagers. "We thank you for your hospitality and understanding during our stay. It means a lot to us." He met the shopkeeper's eyes, "And that you for coming to our aid. You're a very brave man and this town is lucky to have one such as yourself. Ja!" And he took his place in the driver's seat before they jeep began to coast down the street and out of town.
All eyes focused on him in response to the burnet's praise.
A little rough around the edges, he thought, but perhaps gypsies aren't so bad.
That's all there is, there isn't anymore.
For serious. That's it.
Why are you still reading?
LEAVE!!