Checkmate

Chapter One: The Pawn

Sanzo gasped, sweat rolling down the sides of his face. The room itself was too hot, his muscles quivering as he tried to keep control over himself. He was supporting himself on his forearms and his entire body quivered. He didn't want to crush the teenager beneath him, who was having an equal amount of trouble catching his breath. Tanned hands were shaking as they pressed to his chest, probably to keep him from falling, Sanzo figured. Chocolate hair was pasted to his temples with sweat as bright brown eyes looked up at him. Sanzo felt like he was going to collapse all over again. Jesus Christ, why did Goku have to look at him like that?

"Sanzo…" the young altar boy breathed in such a way that set a fire in Sanzo's veins.

"Holy…" the priest let his sentence trail off, closing his eyes and trying to get control over his body.

They were both in Sanzo's room, locked safely behind closed doors. Sanzo's robes were in a heap on the floor, only leaving him in a pair of trousers that did not conceal his arousal at all. Goku was in a similar state, clad only in his underwear as he looked up at Sanzo lovingly, completely trusting.

They had been fooling around for several months like this. They had discovered their attraction for each other and it had only bloomed from there, though it had taken a while. The twenties, as "roaring" as they were, were still pretty restricted when it came to sex. Sex with two men wasn't unheard of, but a complete no-no. When Sanzo stopped denying himself and finally allowed Goku in, I'll admit I was proud of him. Despite society's rules restricting him, he didn't have thousands of emotional barriers like before. It didn't take as long for Goku to weasel his way in. Sanzo never did like obeying the rules anyway.

As for Goku, the brunet never seemed to really care that what they did was frowned upon. I was amazed that he could shrug off so much so simply. He just did what made him happy. I'm glad it was Sanzo that made him happy, instead of rampaging through the streets and killing people randomly.

Though that would've been interesting, it would have still been far too short lived. I think I like this better.

They did it behind the back of the church, of course. During the day they acted like they didn't even know each other, but at night, they were like this, locked in an embrace together. They had only gotten so far, but tonight was the night they had agreed upon. Tonight was where they were going to take it all the way. If they were discovered, it would be the biggest scandal in a long while. Though Sanzo liked to disagree with Goku's logic; after all the stock market had crashed only a week ago. People were going to be more concerned over that for the next few months than a priest and a senior altar boy who were having sex.

Still, it was a good idea to keep it on the down low. If they were caught… at the very least they would be kicked out of the church. Sanzo and Goku both had nowhereelse to go. They didn't need that.

Sanzo gulped audibly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so. Goku bit his lip slightly in response. Damnit, that was so adorable. Sanzo resisted the temptation to kiss him. "Are you sure?" Sanzo stressed, his voice threatening to crack on him.

"Yeah," Goku breathed, his arms wrapping around Sanzo's neck.

"There's no going back," Sanzo continued, still giving the teenager a way out.

Goku's face scrunchedup. "Good grief, Sanzo! Hurry up! I've been waiting too damn long for this!"

Sanzo faltered, looking down at Goku for a moment before nodding. He discarded the young man's underwear, moving towards his pants. He knew his hesitations were his own. He still wasn't sure what he was doing, but he still had faith in his decision. He wasn't going to back out now. He fumbled for the small thing of kitchen oil he had stolen that morning as he turned back to look at Goku, flushed and naked out before him. Something in his throat caught and it took him a moment to move again.

Time, destiny, and beyond has a way of tying people together again, lifetime after lifetime. Then again, who knows if it's really destiny or some warped Goddess deciding that it's better if all the characters in her favorite soap opera are back together again? Like a happy little family. I've been watching them both for a long time, watching as Sanzo was abandoned on the steps of the church when he was almost two years old. Goku was in a similar situation, since he'd been given to the church in exchange for a wad of cash.

But we'll explain that later.

I had been watching them grow and become who they were today, knowing who they were even if they didn't. They didn't recognize me, of course. I wasn't anybody to them, which was probably better in the long run. I was able to stand back and watch them for years as they grew and changed, never remembering anything. Goku and Sanzo were naturally drawn to each other, even if they were in different parts of the church. They never understood why, but I did.

Goku moaned when Sanzo fully sheathed himself within his heat. They stayed together a moment, as though suspended in time. The only sounds were their deep breaths and the faraway sounds of a wailing siren. It was probably another ambulance heading to another suicide. They had been happening quite frequently since the stock market crashed. Goku laced his fingers with Sanzo, squeezing tightly as he sucked in a breath.

"Everything Jake?" Sanzo breathed, appearing to try and hold himself back.

Goku nodded, licking his lips. "Move Sanzo…" he breathed.

Sanzo nodded and slowly began to rock his hips, thrusting into Goku as the teenager moaned and writhed beneath him.

Funny how everything comes together. One single moment can define everything. One single, insignificant incident can ruin a person's life forever. Heh, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," Goku chanted endlessly as Sanzo continued to pound into him. It was a perversion of a prayer, since what they were doing was absolutely blasphemous. I wonder if they knew how blasphemous. Sanzo always was good at turning a blind eye to things that were supposed to be important.

He continued to ram into the youth until finally their orgasms rocked them both. They both collapsed in a sticky mess together, murmuring things that I couldn't hear. It took them a long while to finally unlock from one another, trading long, slow kisses before Goku finally broke off to get dressed and Sanzo to clean up. Neither one of them wanted to be caught, whether it was from the nun on watch that evening or the servants that would clean the rooms in the morning. That was more then they needed.

Goku gave Sanzo one last kiss before disappearing back out into the night, heading back to his own dormitory. Sanzo just sat there a moment, slightly dazed as he changed into his night attire and hung up his robes for the service the next day before crawling into bed.

It would probably be one of the last peaceful nights they had together. You know how these things go.

I wasn't about to tell them what was going to happen. They had their own problems to deal with and I couldn't help them. All I could do is watch the fun. And tell you, of course. Why? You'll find out later. Giving you the answers now would just be no fun.

And the game begins again.

---

Mass that morning was boring, as usual. I never liked standing there and listening to the prayers and verses. We did this every morning and every evening, with only the people in the church. I don't know why I keep calling it a church; it was more like a cathedral. Or a prison of boredom. It was going to kill me one day, I swear. Anyway, like I was saying, we do this every morning at nine a.m.and then again at nine p.m. On Sundays our mass was open to the public. Otherwise, our church was pretty closed off, expect for special occasions. New York was a dangerous place in the twenties, and with the stock-market crashing people were resorting to any means to get money.

Then again, the church had nothing to do with any of that.

Sanzo had arrived on time that morning, as usual, looking as though nothing was out of the norm. It was as though a stray hair out of place could be admitting weakness. I had spared him a glance as he came in and noticed he looked lighter then he had the past few days. I was damn glad I spied on them last night. I may have been a pervert, but at least I was enjoying myself.

Life wasn't about work; it was about living to the fullest. I saw no better way then watching a pair of hot teenagers go at it. If they want to be blasphemous and engage in the world of sin, then who was I to complain? I mean, come on.

Oh yeah, the mass.

Goku stumbled in late that morning. He was the last to enter. I noticed as he made his way along the rows to sit with the other senior altar boys that his gait was off. Again I had to hold back my smile. I guess most of the priests figured I was smiling at them, and they smiled back.

The elderly priest at the altarwho was reading the Morning Prayer stopped mid-sentence as he watched Goku scramble across the ground. The guy was an asshole, but not in a good way. He always annoyed me, since on more than one occasion he found something to yell at me for.

The man must've at least been in his seventies. Nobody knew how old he was, but he was feeble. I was wondering how much longer it would be until he died. He cleared his throat, causing Goku to freeze in his tracks. He knew he'd been caught. "Perhaps, Mr. Goku," the old man said loudly, causing many heads to swerve towards the brunet standing awkwardly in the middle of an aisle. "You could inform the rest of us who gathered here on time today, why you feel you must come late and then disrupt our service?"

Goku glanced at the row of senior altarboys, which none of them made eye contact with him. He sighed, turning back to look at the man with deep brown eyes. Gone were the golden heretic eyes that Goku had once had. I wondered if Seiten Taisei had disappeared with them, but I doubted it.

"I beg your forgiveness, Father," the teenager said, bowing his head slightly. This was a practice that Son Goku went through daily. It didn't seem like he always wanted to cause trouble, yet he continued to wind up in it. "I slept in this morning."

"Swell," the old priest mumbled. What was his name again? Charles? Charlie? I don't know, something like that. I didn't really care, either. "Perhaps, then, you can ask the Lord to forgive your sins of laziness as you scrub the floors after mass."

Goku frowned deeply; clearly he didn't seem too pleased with that. That day I believe something changed in Goku, or at least it had been leading up to it. Instead of bowing his head and mumbling something in submission, he turned to face the priest, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Why of course, Father," he replied sarcastically. Goku had always been at the harsh end of Charlie? Um… No, that's right! It was Thomas! Silly me. Father Thomas had always disliked Goku, and the young brunet would often find himself punished unfairly. Clearly, Goku had had enough. "I would love to clean the bathrooms, and I promise to never be late again. We'll have great fun and mass'll be the cat's meow from now on!" A few people chuckled. "And hey! Since your lectures are so boring, I can always just nap through them. Then I'll never be tardy again!"

There was dead silence save for a few snickers that managed to escape. My own included. Father Thomas' face was so red I thought his head might explode. "Outside!" he yelled, pointing a finger towards the door. "Now! I shall deal with you later!"

Goku shrugged and made his way towards the door. Goku looked confident, but he knew he'd be in serious trouble later. I wished I could just bust out laughing right then and there. Those two always entertained me to no extent. I glanced over at Sanzo, finding his expression indifferent. I'll admit, he was good. It must've come from all those years of denying Goku, from this life and the last. If I was him, I would've jumped the little bugger the first chance I got. But, I guess this was where we differ.

As soon as Mass ended, Sanzo disappeared. I didn't need to ask why. Father Thomas left as well, probably off to torture Goku endlessly with chores. My heart went out to the little guy. He was in for a rough break and several cruel ruler slaps to his palm. That was one thing about the twenties that you probably aren't used to; physical beatings were still allowed to punish children, or in this case, teenagers. The church used these methods as well. Why not? It builds character.

After mass I went back to my office to do some paperwork, but then got bored. It doesn't take long. Have you ever done that kind of stuff? Jeepers creepers, that gets dull. I wandered out of my office some time later to get some fresh air. Or, however fresh it could be. Automobiles were still a new invention, so they spat out carbon monoxide so thick it was choking. Maybe it was because I could remember past lives where air was clean and fresh I was the only one who seemed uncomfortable with the unclean air. It would be years later before anyone realized how damaging their cars were to the environment. I didn't care. It wasn't my problem to deal with it. It still isn't.

Anyway, I found Goku on his hands and knees sometime later, scrubbing the floors with a small, hand-held brush. He was grumbling under his breath, his robes completely soaked through. I could see small, but painful-lookingcuts on his hands, back and front. I knew those were caused by a ruler. Looked like Thomas used a metal one on the boy. Son of a bitch.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully, stopping in front of him. He looked up at me, brown eyes still radiating bitterness.

He seemed to relax when he realized it was me, leaning back on his heels and brushing the back of his hand across his forehead to clear away his bangs. I caught sight of his palms, frowning softly; Father Thomas had done a number. I wonder how Goku felt, having soapy water into his fresh cuts. He didn't say anything in complaint though, and I knew he wouldn't. Goku knew what it was like to have less.

"Mornin'," Goku replied simply, his eyes darting down to the floor for a moment. I looked at the brush he held in his hand. That was just cruel, to clean the entire church with just a brush. I would've given the boy a mop. "Is there anything you needed, Father?"

I shook my head, walking around the soapy water spread out over the ground. "No. Nothing. Continue with your work," I said, moving to head down the hallway. I heard the scraping of the brush on the floor and I knew he'd begun again.

I don't know what, but something made me pause. I turned to look back at the boy, hunched over. I wondered if he was starting to get sore yet. I doubted it, since Goku was used to long, painful chores like this. Considering Thomas had punished him, I didn't doubt that he said something along the lines of, "You won't be fed until you finish." I felt a bit of sympathy for the boy. Without even thinking, I asked him, "Goku, do you know what Muichimotsu is?"

He paused, turning to look at me. For a moment, I could've sworn I saw a gleam of gold. Any second he would jump to his feet, shake off this disguise as an altar boy and proclaim that of course he knew what Muichimotsu was. He only had Sanzo preaching it to him for his entire life; however, that split second past and by the confusion setting into his brows I knew he didn't remember. It was a ghost of a person I used to know that flitted across his face, and now it was gone. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I don't."

I remained quiet, nodding. Too bad. "Is something eatin' you, Father?" Goku asked, typically using slang. Normally he held it back around higher members, but he slipped up every once in a while.

I couldn't help but grin as I held up a thumbs-up. "Everything's Jake," I said simply.

His eyes lit up as he grinned, giving me a thumbs-up in return. "Nifty," he said.

I turned my back on him and began on the hallway again, feeling something loosen in my chest. I had to remind myself this wasn't the same Goku; this wasn't Son Goku from China, who had fought and loved and died alongside his friends. This was an entirely different person, someone who had been born just as the Great War was ending and had become this defiant slave to the church. I didn't even know him anymore.

Then again, wasn't I the same?

---

Goku had worked all day and late into the evening. The boy didn't come down for lunch or dinner, and I could only imagine that he was starving. I wasn't about to pity him though. I knew Goku's fiery spirit was still buried deep within there somewhere. Pity would've only made him angry, so I forgot about it.

Goku cleaned the entire church, top to bottom before he made his way back towards Father Thomas' office. There, he was instructed to put away his cleaning supplies and go to bed without eating anything. He was expected to be on time for mass in the morning and never repeat what he said. He was supposed to be respectful and that this was a place of worship and blah, blah, blah. I didn't care. Goku ended up stalking out with a look of pure rage on his face. I almost smiled. The Goku I knew hadn't died. He was still alive and kicking, and looking as though he wanted to punch Father Thomas in the mouth.

He'd get his chance.

He headed down the corridor, stomping and fuming under his breath. However, instead of taking a left towards the dormitories, he made a right towards the Main Hall, where the service was held. I was surprised, but followed him none the less. I was like a ghost. He couldn't hear or see me. He made his way into the Main Hall, closing the large wooden doors behind him and making his way along the pews. He looked like a ghostly figure in white robes, walking along the empty pews towards the altar of a darkened church. Most of the light was coming from the lit candles at the altar. There looked to be about twenty or thirty of them lit. Standing in front of them was Sanzo, his head bent down in what looked like prayer.

I know what you're thinking. Sanzo? Pray? Those words usually don't go together unless they're separated by, 'will never in his life' or 'direly needed a cigarette so he began to.' I don't know what he was doing. He could've been preparing his grocery list for the next day. Who knows?

Goku approached silently from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sanzo literally jumped. He turned to look at Goku, and the brunet smiled softly. Sanzo visibly relaxed. The pair turned to take a seat in the first row, slumping down into the wooden seats. "What were yah doin', Sanzo?" Goku asked him, wrinkling his nose. "You weren't actually praying."

Sanzo scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Lay off," he snapped quickly. Goku's grin seemed to widen and Sanzo's face began to turn pink in embarrassment.

"Aw, c'mon Sanzo," Goku urged, sliding closer. "Don't get all embarrassed now. It's just me."

Sanzo turned to him and wrinkled his nose. When he opened his mouth to retort, he found himself with a lapful of Goku. The brunet wiggled where he sat, grinning devilishly. "Whatever. It doesn't matter." He leaned forwards and pressed his forehead against Sanzo's as the blond wrapped his arms around Goku's waist. "I swear that Father Thomas is such a killjoy. I mean, I wasn't doing nothin'."

Sanzo scoffed. "Just like how you didn't insult him in front of the entire church, you sap," Sanzo scolded. Goku grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

The pair closed in a kiss. It was slow, drawn out, lazy even. They were enjoying each other's company. Normal people would feel embarrassed from invading on a very private moment. I didn't. They were wrapped in a tight embrace together, fitting together so perfectly it was as though they belonged like that.

However, their peace didn't last long. See, this is where it really starts to get fun.

"Dear Lord, have mercy on your souls!"

The loud bellow through the church caused the two boys to break apart. Goku jumped to his feet, backing away from Sanzo as though the man carried the plague. They both stared wide eyed at each other, breathing heavily before they turned towards the doorway. Father Thomas stood, his beady little eyes wide and a hand clutched over his chest, where his heart was. I wondered if he was going to have a heart attack. Sanzo and Goku weren't that lucky.

"How dare you desecrate this church with your blasphemy!" he roared, taking a few precious steps in. Sanzo and Goku didn't say anything. I think they were still in shock. "Satan has corrupted you! How dare you bring your filth in here, a place of worship!!"

Still, Sanzo and Goku didn't move. Father Thomas' eyes raged. "I shall report you immediately. You shall be kicked out of this church for your blatant disregard for anything holy! I cannot stand to believe that you would…" he seemed at a loss for words, fumbling in his rage.

Something in his words clicked in their minds, I believe. Neither Sanzo nor Goku knew where to go if they were kicked out. They didn't have any friends or family outside of the church. They didn't have any money. Not to mention that not many places would take them in if they learned that they were gay. Though it wasn't uncommon, it was still widely discriminated against. Coming out could mean killing yourself.

Father Thomas turned, preparing to stalk from the room and rouse the other people at the head of the church. I could see the sweat breaking out along Goku's skin and his eyes slightly crazed in the candlelight. His muscles were tense and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something in protest, but nothing came out. I could already tell what was going to happen. He rushed after Father Thomas, wanting to explain himself, rationalize. He placed a hand to his shoulder and spun him around. However, he used too much force.

Remember when I said Father Thomas was feeble? I meant it.

The old man lost his balance and fell. He ended up clonking his head on the wooden peers as he fell. When he hit the ground, there was blood.

For a moment, nobody moved. Father Thomas bled on the floor, his eyes closed and his jaw slightly open; Goku stared in horror. Sanzo's own eyes were on Father Thomas, and he was able to break out of his trance first. "Get away from him!" he barked, pulling the boy away. Blood on white robes would not work well.

Sanzo bent down next to the body, avoiding the pools of blood as he reached out. He seemed reluctant to touch the body, as though he would be infected with something. Gently, his placed two quivering fingers to the man's neck for a pulse. He swallowed audibly as he felt around, growing more anxious as the seconds continued to tick by. Sweat broke out over his skin, and Goku held his breath behind him. I knew exactly what they were thinking.

It was an accident, but greed comes first in humans. If Father Thomas lived, then they would be exposed and their lives would be ruined. If he died, they would be murderers. Despite not wanting to kill and be good and all that junk, I knew what they were hoping for. It was always about saving your own skin first. You may not like that, but it was true. For me, and for them.

Finally, Sanzo gasped, stumbling away from the body. He ran his hands through his hair, eyes wide in horror. "This is… screwy…" was all he was able to mumble.

Goku placed a hand over his mouth. "Sanzo, I didn't… Please… no…."

"Yeah," Sanzo breathed. His chest tightened and he couldn't stop staring at the blood pooling from the head wound. It was staining the tile floors, and someone was bound to stumble upon them soon enough. "Yeah, he's dead."

The words were like a siren going off in a quiet room. Goku placed two hands over his mouth to suppress his sobs as he dropped to his knees, buckling over. Sanzo just stayed where he was, staring at the blood creeping along the floor. He was in shock, unable to move or speak. Goku was making soft noises as he tried not to cry in horror. I couldn't even imagine the guilt he was feeling.

Check.

Your move, Sanzo.