Blind Devotion

Chapter Seven

"Sanzo!"

Flipping around, he tried to pinpoint the sound of the voice, but all he could see was darkness. Suffocating, endless darkness. He knew that voice, though. It was Goku.

"Sanzo!!"

It sounded scared now, frightened. It tugged on Sanzo's heartstrings. Was Goku all right? Where was he? Sanzo attempted to find the young man, but he could only wander blindly in the darkness. How could he help the young man when he couldn't see anything? He attempted calling out, but his own voice was lost out within the vast darkness. Fear and worry began to settle into his chest. What was going on?

"Sanzo! Where are you?"

'I'm here' he tried to yell, but the words wouldn't even form on his tongue. He attempted to find the boy, but suddenly found himself rooted in place. He could suddenly hear Goku whimper, and with it came small sobs. He wished he could do some thing to stop this, but he couldn't see, couldn't even move, couldn't even call out to him. Sanzo had never felt more helpless.

"Sanzo!" he heard Goku scream out again. "Help me!!"

He heard a low chuckle and his body grew rigid. He recognized that tone. He'd lived and worked alongside the owner of that voice for longer then he could remember. "Sanzo, vas-tu le laisser mourir?" he heard Homura chuckle, before more of Goku's choked sobs rang through. "Je croyais que tu essayais de te sauver de ce sang qui te tache les mains?"

"Stop this, Homura!" Sanzo screamed, surprised to find himself unable to speak French, as he normally could. It felt like his tongue would only allow him to speak English. It was infuriating all the same.

"Comment veux-tu le secourir lorsque tu ne peux même pas te sauver toi-même?"

Then he heard a choked gurgle, and feel the blood splatter on him. He could feel it on his face, on his hands. The scent of it was nauseating. It was real. So horrifyingly real. He felt Homura shove the smaller body into him. He could feel Goku's cold cheek pressed against his shoulder, the feeling of his hair tickling his neck, but mostly he could feel the blood soaking further into his clothes. He could only rest his shaking hands on Goku's shoulders.

Turning his eyes upwards, he was surprised that he could see Homura's form standing in front of him, clear as day. The man's hair was hanging messily and yet orderly around his face, and his long dark jacket hung down to his ankles, making him seem all the more dangerous as he stared at Sanzo with eyes laced with pure seriousness. "Le patron est très déçu de ton comportement, Sanzo. Il est temps de rentrer à la maison. Je suis las de constamment avoir à venir te chercher."

"Go to hell," Sanzo spat, once again the French turning to English on his tongue. He tried not to let that bother him as he glared at the man in front of him. "I'm not coming home, and I'm not handing over the Maten scripture. So fuck off and stop hunting me."

"ARIYA se meurt," Homura said simply, his eyes unwavering in their intensity. Though his tone took on a false sadness. "Et s'il meurt, nous ne pourrons nous permettre de te laisser nous quitter. Nous avons besoin de tes talents, Sanzo."

Sanzo merely growled, his hands on Goku's shoulder growing taunt. "Leave, and don't come back."

Homura frowned softly, closing his eyes. "Comme tu le désires."

---

Sanzo awoke with a start, gasping in air as he attempted to fill his lungs. It wasn't like the previous dream, where he'd been choking, but the shock and pure weight of the dream had driven the strength from him. Homura had always had that affect on people. He felt a touch to his shoulder, and startled, before relaxing under the familiarity.

"Sanzo…" it was Goku. He was alive. All okay… just an illusion… "Are you okay?" Sanzo could practically hear the frown in his tone, and let out a shaky sigh, before attempting to regain the composure he'd lost.

"…Yeah," Sanzo said after a minute, running his fingers through his hair, as though trying to sooth himself. "Just a nightmare."

Goku seemed to accept that as he stood, smiling away. He could hear his happiness that morning as he listening to the soft footsteps along the ground. Goku wasn't wearing socks, was the only real thought that managed to get through his still sleep-muddled mind. "Okay then," he heard Goku say happily. "Then why don't I make you lunch? You slept for a long time, the sun's already up."

Turning towards the window, Sanzo could feel the sun streaming in, warming his face. He stared out the window a moment, before hissing, and turning his eyes away.

Goku looked up from his spot at the kitchen. "Something wrong, Sanzo?"

The blond got to his feet, making his way expertly around the coffee table and over towards the kitchen with accuracy. He finally blinked a few time, shaking whatever it was off. "Nothing, my eyes just hurt, is all," he said, before taking his seat at the table.

And only after a few moments died the pain in Sanzo's eyes disappear.

Weird.

---

The cold air was brisk that afternoon, and standing next to a river was not exactly smart, Homura thought as he hugged his jacket closer to him. Discovering Sanzo's location that morning had not gone as well as planned, but at least he'd been able to prove his point, as well as find out he was staying with someone. Though thanks to the man's blindness he wasn't able to find out who. He didn't even have a face. His own attack was coming back to bite him in the ass.

He frowned, watching the people move along the back in search of any clues. There were only a few left along the river; others were out searching the city. They were going to find Sanzo no matter how many buildings they had to overturn.

"Homura," he turned at his name, watching as Shien and Zenon approached him. They were his most trustworthy accomplices, since no one were really friends where they came from. The taller of the two, Shien, tied his hair back and kept his eyes closed. He swore a thin jacket and jeans, as the weather never seemed to affect him much. Zenon, however, wore a thick winter jacket and a tuque, his arms in his pockets. The man had never really accustomed to the cold.

"Anything?" Homura asked, hopeful.

"Nothing," Zenon replied, shivering. "I've just received reports that our men throughout the city are still searching, and have no leads."

"It seems as though he was carried away," Shien continued, causing Homura to turn back to him. "There are no footfalls that could belong to him, leading away from the river. Though I have found another set farther up that belong to him. They return to the river, and then depart with another set."

This caused Homura's brows to crease in question. "Do you know where they lead?"

Shien shook his head. "I have not been able to discover that. I shall continue looking." The pair both bowed, before turning off as Homura dismissed them.

He then turned, and began walking along the riverside, wondering idly how it was that Sanzo could escape their grasp. Like a ghost fluttering away in the wind. Three units scouring the city and yet he could still remain totally oblivious. He knew someone must've taken him in, and was hiding him. Sanzo's dream had only confirmed it, not to mention that if he was on the streets they would have found him by then.

Smiling, Homura turned his gaze up towards the nearby apartment buildings, taking in the stature of them. He let his gaze trail over to Goku's apartment, cocking his head to the side as he wondered if Goku was home.

"He's probably right under our noses," he muttered, before turning back towards the search party.

---

"Come Goku, Mommy's cold," the tug on his hand did nothing more then slow him down as the young golden-eyed child took in their new house. It was huge to him. It may've been only one story, but it was beautiful. Crisp white snow covered the roof, and all out over the yard. They had a yard! Better yet, he had an entire ranch! The place was far away from the city, making it absolutely peaceful. He tugged on his mother's hand, beckoning her to come and play.

"Mommy! Mommy! Can we play in the snow?" he asked happily, eyes unnaturally bright as he watched the snow fall silently to the ground. It was beautiful and breathtaking. The youngster attempted to waddle out towards the yard, his snowsuit making movement difficult.

"Maybe later, sweetheart." His mother told him soothingly, smiling sweetly at the sight of her son. "Maybe after your father comes with the boxes, we can all go out and play in the snow? We can celebrate the new house and build a snowman."

"Yeah!" the brunet cheered happily. "I wanna make a whole lotta snowmen! A snowmen family!"

His mother smiled, tapping him softly on the nose. "Then be a good boy until then, Okay?"

The three-year-old grinned. "Okay!"

---

The five year old raced through the yard, making snowballs and hurling them towards their small dog, Nana. The dog jumped in the air, catching the snowball in her mouth and yipping happily. Goku laughed, before whistling and turning back towards the house. The small dog yipped happily and chased after him. Goku tore open the back door as Nana slithered past him into the warmth of the back door. Goku pulled off his boots and jacket, and moved up towards the kitchen.

He froze in the doorway, watching his mother and father yelling yet again. They had gotten into a lot of fights over the years, and it only seemed to be getting worse with each day that went by. He was never sure what they argued about, only that most of the time it was bad, often ending in screaming fits.

"I don't care what you say!" his father yelled, echoing through the small house. It made Goku wince. "We don't have enough money as it is and that dog is only sucking up even more money! It's the dog or the house!"

"Oh, but he loves that dog," his mother argued back. "Can't you take something else? If you stopped drinking so much then maybe we'd have enough money to pay off some bills!"

A sound slap connected with his mother's face and she went tumbling back into the counter. Nana gave a bark and Goku let out a horrified scream. He raced forwards, falling next to his mother's side, already crying. His father paid them no mind as he went to deal with the dog who was barking loudly. Nana gave out a whimper and Goku turned back in time to watch his father drag her towards the door.

"No Daddy!" Goku screamed, grabbing the dog's mid-section, still crying. "Don't take away Nana! Please Daddy!"

"Shut up!" the smack that sounded sent him spiraling off the dog, cracking his head against the wall. It hurt, but did not cause him to lose consciousness as he watched his father drag his dog out the door, taking it away to god-knows-where. Goku found all he could do was cry.

---

It was the winter when he was eight that everything finally came together. Over the year things had grown worse and worse. Goku had not seen Nana again, and assumed he never would. The state of the house worsened until it was a little more then a sinking shack. Cleaning and caring had stopped. Their entire world was falling apart.

It was late that night as Goku stumbled out of his room, heading down the hallway lazily. It was late, but he couldn't sleep. He headed towards the kitchen, where a light was on. Entering, he froze at the sight of his mother, seated at the table with an assortment of needles laid out before her. She had grown thin over the past years, and looked little more then skin on bone. Her hair was messy, and matted in places. There was dried blood caking her upper lip, but she didn't seem to mind. Grabbing a needle, she placed it to her forearm, before injecting the liquid. She smiled an eerie smile and Goku suddenly thought it would have been better if he stayed in bed.

His mother turned to him, and smiled, holding out her hand. "Goku? Honey? Come here."

Reluctant, he approached his mother. Goku let out a shriek of surprise when she suddenly grabbed his arm, ripping up his sleep to show his bare arm. He immediately began pulling and twisting, crying for her to let him go.

"Hush baby," she whispered, picking up a needle and placing it over his arm. "It'll only hurt for a minute."

Using his other arm, he slapped her hand away. The needle drug over his skin, leaving a thing layer of fire as he pulled away from her, panting. His eyes were wide as he watched his mother's emotionless expression. Just as she was about to move, his father stepped in. He said something Goku couldn't hear before producing a knife.

Goku screamed out in terror as he watched his father knife his mother, over and over and over. After his father seemed satisfied with his work, he turned to look up at Goku, who had frozen in shock. Goku couldn't move, couldn't breathe as he watched his father drop the knife like it was nothing, and then turn, and walk out the door.

Goku turned towards the body of his mother, and screamed, and screamed, and screamed. He continued to scream as the snow fluttered soundlessly to the ground outdoors.

Seven weeks later when social services came to find out what had happened to the family, they found the body of the woman who'd purchased the house still rotting away on the kitchen floor. They had discovered Goku not long after. The eight-year-old looked practically bone-thin, and was lying in a puddle of his own blood. The boy had eaten whatever remained in the house, which wasn't much, and when he couldn't handle it anymore, had torn open his wrist with whatever had been left of his mother's needles.

"Help me…"

"Goku!! Wake up!"

"Who's that…?"

"Goku! Ouvres tes yeux!"

"…Sanzo…"


A/N: I understand this chapter is confusing and rushed, but everything is going to come together in the next chapter, I promise. And I'm sorry if Goku's past upset some of you, but I promise that's as detailed as it gets.

C&C appreciated.

Translaltions: (As they appear)

"Sanzo, are you going to let him die?"

"I thought you tried to run from the blood on your hands?"

"How can you save him when you can't even save yourself?"

"The Boss is very disappointed with your behavior Sanzo; it's time to come home. I'm tired of having to keep retrieving you."

"ARIYA is dying..." "...If he does die, then we cannot let you go. We need your skills, Sanzo."

"As you wish."

"Goku! Open your eyes!"