Angelkitten23: Haha! Yes, I love Sanzo to have a BMW! Well, as far as Goku is concerned… hmm, it's still a secret to be found out. It's close to the storyline, yet completely different.
Harahettabacasaru: Oh, I'm not done with my saiyuki fics! This is my new one. Thanks for liking my story!
RipOutTheWingsOfAButterfly-HIM: Thanks for putting me on your alerts. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Luthien-Ikari: Yes, I think I did go too fast paced (that's actually one of my weaknesses), I hope this chapter's better! Thanks for reviewing:D
ILovePierreFromSimplePlan: Here's the second chapter! Enjoy: )
Author's Note: This is Chapter Two! Thank you to everyone for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this story:D
Chapter Two: The Differences..?
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"What happens in the pantry stays in the pantry!" Gojyo harshly whispered.
Hakkai gave a knowing grin and sipped his coffee slowly. They were gossiping wildly (or rather, Gojyo was) about Sanzo's new assistant, Goku. It was the latest office talk about Goku worshipping Sanzo as if Sanzo had practiced black magic on him. Even Gojyo and Hakkai, who were Sanzo's two closest friends, were unable to decipher why Goku admires Sanzo so.
"Don't you think it's so weird that Goku helps Sanzo withis ashtray to doing practically all his paper work? I wish I had an assistant like that! The foreign affairs department could use some help, you know!" Gojyo said hotly.
"Oh yes, like you don't already have free assistance standing beside you," Hakkai said sarcastically with a small polite smile; showing that he didn't mean any offence.
"Geez, you may help me at my office sometimes, but at least I don't treat you as a slave! I wonder whether to pity Sanzo for having such an admirer, or to pity Goku for being driven to the wall by Sanzo!" Gojyo sipped his tea as he spat those words angrily.
"Ha, Gojyo, just admit that you're jealous of Sanzo's new raise! I know how you've been eyeing that BMW. It's kind of obvious, you know?" Hakkai said with a laugh.
"Oh Hakkai, you don't know how that baby moves! It's so sleek and slender and the leather seats are so comfortable. The engine is practically silent. I'd do anything to have that car. It's my dream! I can't wait to be the one sitting on that driver's seat, smoking a cigarette and getting all the babes with my cool new ride." Gojyo explained passionately. His eyes were full of wonder as he said those words, showing his love for the car.
"I knew it! Haha! I think Sanzo probably would know too." Hakkai teased playfully.
"Screw it if he knows, he should probably get me a ride like his, considering he's oh-so-rich now. Gee." Gojyo retorted while putting out his cigarette.
They both looked at each other for a couple of minutes before Hakkai gave a small teasing smile after recalling the conversation.
"Don't blame me if this leaks out…" Hakkai started, before being abruptly cut off by Gojyo.
"I told you, whatever happens in the pantry stays in the pantry!" Gojyo said angrily as he stormed out of the pantry, leaving Hakkai to chuckle quietly to himself as he followed behind.
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Knocking on the door was heard as Sanzo minded his business and read through some files while smoking a cigarette. He had no intention of allowing anyone to come into his office during his quiet contemplation time, but his tar-filled lungs choked with smoke as the door suddenly slammed open. There stood red-headed Gojyo in his navy blue suit, looking nonchalant as he walked into Sanzo's office.
"WHAT THE- GOJYO! HOW DARE YOU SLAM INTO MY OFFICE LIKE THAT," Sanzo bellowed angrily.
"I have to talk to you! I knocked, but you never answered the damned door!" Gojyo retorted as he sat himself down on Sanzo's guest leather seats raised his legs and crudely put them on Sanzo's work desk,
"Well doesn't that give you an idea that I didn't want to be disturbed? So speak, what do you want, after rudely barging in my office? And get your legs off my desk!" Sanzo said bluntly as he arranged his papers.
Gojyo looked around the square shaped office. It was one of the biggest in the company and twice, or maybe thrice the size of his! The walls were painted white with the modern style lighting that fitted perfectly with the ceiling. There was also the black leather guest seats and sofa, completed with a glass coffee table that has a single white vase that holds a white lily flower, recently changed by the secretary. A bookshelf resided next to Sanzo's work table that held his laptop and several other work items.
"Stop looking around, and tell me what you came here for!" Sanzo demanded.
"Don't even have that spare bit of patience, do you? Anyway, I came here to talk to you about Goku… Your new perky assistant, what's the deal with him? He's all smiles every time you give him work to do! Tell me Sanzo, where do you find such a good worker? You must have bought him off eBay!" Gojyo said with a fake laugh.
Sanzo gave Gojyo a menacing stare which Gojyo ignored and rolled his eyes. Sanzo's brown eyes gave Gojyo a shudder with its deep and warm colour. The air suddenly became really awkward. Finally, Sanzo stopped his staring game and answered Gojyo's question.
"The director insisted that Goku become my assistant. I didn't buy that brat anywhere. Is that all you've got to ask? I'm busy! Get your legs off my desk!"
"The director! Woah, that guy sure must like you to come all the way down to your office just to give you a new assistant. Anyway, Hakkai and I are hanging at the pub later on, want to join us?" Gojyo asked nonchalantly, still ignoring Sanzo's demand for his legs off the desk.
Sanzo gave a nod and made a sound in agreement while focusing his eyes on the report that he had just written. Before anyone could say anything else, Sanzo's office door slammed open again, with Goku in sight.
"Sanzo, I typed the new report! I think this is going to be the best report I've ever done!" Goku exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring Gojyo's presence.
Sanzo took the report, examined it and gave a nod.
"Thanks, Goku." Sanzo said while waving his hand to dismiss him, his face still facing down, reading his papers.
As Goku closed the office door shut, Gojyo sniggered loudly, and pointed at Sanzo hysterically.
"What!" Sanzo asked, irritated.
"Sanzo, I typed the new report! Ooh, it's the best report!" Gojyo teased while laughing wildly. "Sanzo, I think he's in love with you. He actually enjoys doing your reports!"
"Get out of here!" Sanzo yelled angrily as he picked up a pencil holder and threw it at Gojyo. "And GET YOUR LEGS OFF MY DESK, DO YOU WANT ME TO GET VIOLENT!"
"Geez, relax dude, I don't see what the big deal is about… I'll see you at the pub tonight… And oh, bring Goku. Hakkai and I are absolutely dying to know him. Such a character, Goku is." Gojyo said as he finally took his legs down from the desk and stood up to walk to the door.
"Do you want me to rip you apart before you're satisfied!" Sanzo threatened with much truth in his voice.
"Okay, okay, I'll let myself out now, no need to see me off!" Gojyo said while closing the office door.
Sanzo heaved a heavy sigh and stared at the skyscrapers and various office buildings that can be seen from his window. The smell of his room gave him some sort of nostalgic feeling; thinking about how he, Gojyo and Hakkai graduated from school together and went on to work in the same company. It was funny, how they tolerated his temper, his rudeness and mean words, and went through everything with him throughout his life. Thinking about the fun times they spent together in the past, Sanzo gave a brief, slight smile.
"Thank you… Thank you my friends for everything you have done for me. I'll never forget your kindness. Maybe I should stop being mean…" Sanzo thought to himself.
A few seconds later, he completely changed his mind.
"…Nah!" Sanzo said out loud with a small chuckle as he smoked on his cigarette.
Sanzo watched the sky as the clouds drifted by slowly. It was calming for him, in the sense that he didn't have much bothering him at the moment. Work was good, Goku did up most of the perfect reports; life was good, he just had a salary raise, his body was in good shape; his personal trainer told him that his muscles have improved despite his bad stamina due to incessant smoking. Just by watching the clouds, he felt his life float by slowly as well. However, he felt something was missing in his heart. The heart which beats for life, what was he living for? Sanzo couldn't figure out. After all these years of life, he never found what he was looking for. His father left at a young age, leaving his mother in much despair and loss. And after completing his studies, he left his home and started working; hardly visiting his mother at all.
Sanzo thought that she deserved it. Throughout his childhood and teenage years, what was his mother doing? She worked at a bar, hiking young girls to the older men, got drunk and hardly came back home. She swore a hundred times that she will change, but she never did. He finally left home and moved in with Hakkai, who had his own place, before earning enough money to get his own, and still she never bothered to contact him nor search for him. So all this time, who was he living for, or what was he living for… himself?
Sanzo brushed the thoughts away angrily, and focused back on his work.
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The pub was packed with people as usual, and the ambience was rather good. The bar had a mediocre dance floor with several red booths and a bar counter. Gojyo and Hakkai were sitting comfortably in one of the booths as Sanzo made his way through the dancing crowd to get to them. It was easy to spot them, given Gojyo's flaming red hair.
Sanzo was greeted with smiles and a 'hi', but he just sat down and immediately pulled out a cigarette.
"Got a lighter?" He asked bluntly.
Gojyo sulked and flicked the lighter to him. Hakkai was sipping on a strawberry margarita while Gojyo chugged beer. Sanzo ordered a plain vodka coke as the waiter walked pass. The three of them were back to their usual hang out place again; just like old times. The past few months had been pretty hectic till the extent that these three friends could hardly go out anymore. They were either too busy, or too tired.
"So, where's Goku? I thought I asked you to bring him." Gojyo asked slyly.
"I don't have to listen to what you say." Sanzo replied rudely.
Gojyo smirked and gave Hakkai a knowing look.
"Now what was that look for!" Sanzo asked angrily.
"You know what Sanzo; I think you're becoming someone's role model… Goku totally worships you. He does all your work, he fetches you coffee, he eats lunch with you, sometimes even paying for you! And you treat him with such indifference…" Gojyo said plainly while taking a swig of his beer.
"Aren't that what assistants are supposed to do?" Sanzo retorted bluntly as he fetched his drink from the waiter.
"Yes- but that dude totally worships you! I see him hanging around after work waiting for you even though he's finished his time! You better be careful, Sanzo…" Gojyo said with a small chuckle.
"Yeah, right, whatever. And what were you doing after work, stalking Goku?" Sanzo asked with an eyebrow raised.
Hakkai let out a laugh as Gojyo's face turned red and sulked.
"I was merely waiting for Hakkai to finish up the paper work! He was supposed to send me home in his car; and I just happened to see Goku lingering outside your office, waiting for you, a few nights ago! Not everyone has a swanky BMW like yours!"
Sanzo rolled his eyes and played with his lighter. He wondered where Goku was, where he lived, how he went home… Goku was very cheerful at work, but mysterious when it came to going home. Goku was a really good worker at work, though. He brought Sanzo coffee whenever he saw that Sanzo was getting frustrated, he helped Sanzo with his paperwork and helped to tidy up his office when he's got the time.
'Goku's quite a nice assistant…" Sanzo thought as he began to drift off in his own thoughts.
"Sanzo, Sanzo!" A voice called as Sanzo was awakening from his thoughts.
Sanzo focused his eyes on Gojyo, who was pointing hysterically to a blonde woman with a curvaceous figure, wearing a black tube top and a mini red skirt.
"I'm going to get that chick tonight!" Gojyo whispered as he left the table to buy that woman a drink.
Hakkai looked at Sanzo and gave him a shrug as Sanzo looked at him questioningly. Hakkai was the same old Hakkai that Sanzo lived together with for a few years before moving out last year. He was patient, kind and fun-loving, never really getting angry with anyone who did anything to him. Sanzo did see Hakkai angry once… and it was sights that Sanzo would much rather forget.
"So, how have you been, Sanzo? The cat's been wailing for you lately, and I have no idea why." Hakkai said with a smile.
Sanzo thought about the cat that Hakkai and Sanzo kept while they were living together. They found it as a kitten by the roadside one day as they were walking back from the grocery store. Sanzo hated cats, but after much persuasion from Hakkai, he agreed to live with it. In fact, he's grown pretty fond of it.
"Not like I care…" Sanzo pretended as he stubbed out his cigarette butt.
Hakkai laughed and grinned. He knew that Sanzo was fond of the cat. He often saw Sanzo cuddling the cat secretly at night and sneaking it snacks. What Hakkai loved most about his friend, was his tough exterior and his soft interior.
"Oh you do! The cat goes to your old room and jumps onto your bed at night, always hoping that you'll be there. I think you better move back, Sanzo." Hakkai said jokingly.
"Hakkai, you know that's impossible…"
"Yeah, but I sure missed you so…" Hakkai said under his voice, before moving out of the booth to join Gojyo.
Sanzo thought about what Hakkai said and suddenly felt emotional. It was hard on him to constantly live off Hakkai. Even though they've been sharing the rent, Hakkai often pays for food and the bills. Sanzo didn't like that idea; and often felt really bad. However now, he prefers staying alone. Feeling a weird sense of emotion that he couldn't handle, Sanzo left the pub abruptly without informing anyone.
The road to the car park was a short one, but Sanzo raced towards it. He couldn't control his thoughts and he hated being that way. He knew it was impossible to turn back time and relieve those happy moments, but he had a hard time expressing his feelings to his friends. Finally, he reached his car. Opening the door with such haste and slamming it shut after getting in, Sanzo paused for a second, and began to cry.
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Yes! Chapter two is done! I hope you guys enjoyed this one. The next few chapters would hopefully be more interesting ones… There'll be the revealing of some character's secret past and much more… REVIEWS are what makes my day, and makes me happy… SO REVIEW AWAY!
