Night
Dark Hearted Shinobi
Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or the Saiyuki guys. 'Tho. . . I wouldn't mind. . .
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Night. . .
The quiet haunts me. It is the time I can hear my inner demons talking to me.
Inner demons.
Can a demon have demons?
Is that even possible?
Anyway, I've hated the silence of night since that . . . night nearly four years ago. The night I changed.
After I moved in with Gojyo, I could never sleep. He would sometimes come home late, half-drunk and turn on the television, always slightly too loud, always forgetting that I was there. I didn't mind, however. I could sleep when he left the television on, since half the time, he fell asleep before the television.
When Gojyo found out that I did not sleep, he went out and bought a small radio to sit on my bedside table. The soft classical music that it played at night helped me sleep, helped keep my inner demons at bay.
When we started on this journey, I learned to force myself into sleep. It was a troubled, light sleep, but it would keep me rested enough for the next day. After several weeks on the road, I started sleeping more soundly, both because half the time, Sanzou would buy only two rooms, so I was with someone, or because I was just plain worn out from the fighting we had done that day.
But night still haunts me.
I am alone right now, lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, struggling to sleep. Hakyryuu's soft snores fill the air, usually enough to help me sleep, but tonight, they do not help.
I can hear the screams of the murdered, their cries, whispered promises that they will come for me.
Half-stumbling footsteps sound outside the door, then the lock clicks and it swings open. Gojyo's tall form stumbles in and he grasps for the lightswitch. He flicks it on, blinks in the flood of light, then frowns, flicking the light back off.
"Sorry."
"It's all right, Gojyo."
He drops heavily onto his bed, the springs creaking under his weight. He tugs his boots off, dropping them beside the bed. His vest, then shirt follows and he flops backwards. "Are you okay, 'Kai?"
"I'm fine. I just. . ."
"Can't sleep. Too damn quiet?"
I laugh to myself. "You know me too well, Gojyo."
"'Course I do." He laughs, his voice low. "I've lived with you long enough."
"So you have."
Gojyo sighs softly. "Good night, 'Kai."
"Good night, Gojyo."
He soon descends into sleep and I smile, finally able to sleep myself.
For a moment, just a single moment, the demons have stopped their crying and all is peaceful.
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