In These Dying Hours
Chapter Seven
Sanzo could feel the irritation eating inside him as Goku and Gojyo made their way down for breakfast. The monkey was chattering on about food, while the kappa tried to keep to his feet, bumbling about like he normally did on mornings. Once they headed over to their table, Sanzo expected Goku to avert his gaze. To shy away from him like he'd been doing as of late. But the monkey turned a smile on his face. As golden eyes caught violet, that smile slowly faded. Sanzo could plainly see the hurt as it dashed across his face. But he must've blinked, because a moment later it was gone.
"Good morning, Sanzo," Goku said politely, before turning his attention back to Gojyo, picking up whatever conversation they had been previously having. Sanzo took a sharp drag from his cigarette, more annoyed that their short exchange unnerved him more then it did Goku.
"Is something wrong, Gojyo?" Hakkai asked, concern touching his voice as he began pouring Sanzo's morning coffee. "You seem half-asleep."
"That's because I am half-asleep!" Gojyo snapped, before grabbing Goku and waving him in front of Hakkai's face. "This little thing kept me up all night with his tossing and turning and grumbling."
"It's not my fault I couldn't sleep!" Goku shot back, wrestling out of Gojyo's hold to grab himself some more mango slices.
"Yes it is-- give me some of that," Gojyo turned his attention to the breakfast table, and things resumed as they normally did.
Sanzo could already feel a headache setting in. Reacting towards his pack, he paused, when an earth-shattering scream ripped through the small town. He grunted in annoyance as he placed the cigarette between his lips. He didn't even have to look up. He knew what the cause of those screams was.
The door to the inn shattered in a thousand splinters. Then demons began filing in, causing many of the people in the inn to run screaming. Sanzo grit his teeth over the cigarette. Great. He hadn't even gotten his morning coffee yet and assassins were creeping out from every turn. "Genjyo Sanzo!" one of them yelled. "Hand over the Maten scripture and we will spare your life!"
Sanzo's response was a quick shot to his head. "Eat me," he replied as the demon hit the floor.
Goku frowned, clearly annoyed. "You ruined a perfectly good breakfast," he growled, snapping a pocky stick in his hand. "Someone's got hell to pay."
Gojyo snickered, already calling his shakujou. "What do you say then, Goku? Whoever kills the most demons gets the last meat bun."
"You're on," Goku replied, before lunging into the hoard, slamming his fist into the closest face. Gojyo was after him in a heartbeat.
Hakkai sighed. "They're going to make a mess," he tsked, before turning to Sanzo. "Are you coming, Sanzo?"
"Yeah," Sanzo replied, grinding his cigarette into the table. "Just give me a minute."
It was going fairly easy for a while. Goku and Gojyo continually shouted numbers of how many they took down, while Hakkai hung back, placing a barrier around the monk when the need to reload had arose. It was fairly easy at first, but there seemed to be no end to the demons. It was only partway into the fight that Sanzo fully understood their plan. He dodged an oncoming sword, still while trying to reload. Glancing around, he noted that he'd been separated from Hakkai in the masses. Goku and Gojyo were also no where in sight. Damnit. This was getting irritating fast.
He could still hear Goku and Gojyo's incessant counting, which was now somewhere in the hundreds. It appeared they still had no idea what was going on.
He slammed the butt of his gun into a throat, before placing the last bullet in. He cocked the gun, shooting three off. There simply was no end to them. His back connected with another, and he tensed, turning to shoot whatever had gotten too close to him. It was then his eyes caught gold, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Goku," he growled, turning and firing the last two shots in his barrel. "Don't sneak up with me like that."
Goku sneered, slamming his Niyou-bo into another two demons. "Sorry, Sanzo, I thought your senses were strong enough to realize it was me."
Sanzo merely snorted. He reloaded his gun quickly, before firing off two more shots. "I need you to cover me for a few minutes," Sanzo explained, shooting another demon who dared to get too close to him. "Can you do that?"
Goku glanced over his shoulder at him, before nodding in understanding. "Yeah, but make it quick. The second they realize you dropped your guard they'll attack."
Sanzo nodded in understanding, placing his gun back into the folds of his robe and closing his eyes. Immediately, his consciousness was smothered by blackness. Ever so slowly, the sounds faded from his mind. He could no longer smell the scent of blood and bodies. The feeling of the soft breeze on his face disappeared. He was slowly detaching himself from the world so he could tap into the full power of the Maten scripture. It was the only thing he reasoned that would take care of all the demons now swarming down atop them.
He began to chant lowly, the mantra burning into his soul with ever word spoken. He was sliding deeper and deeper into the darkness, finding light on the other side. So close... almost there...
His concentration was broken abruptly from a cry. Someone screamed his name before he was shoved to the side, hitting the ground at an awkward angle and grunting at a broken chair leg that dug into his side. "Damn monkey!" he insisted, tearing open his violet eyes and looking up at the young man. "Do you want to kill us...?"
Somehow, his words died in his lips as he caught sight of the monkey-boy. A large blade punctured through his chest, the tip of the blade poking out his back. Sanzo watched in horror as the boy's golden eyes widened, his body raked with pain. Blood began pouring out of the corners of his mouth, hitting his shirt and mingling with the blood pouring from his wound. His head lolled forwards, hands gripping the blade. He wanted it out. Wanted to rip the blade from him in hopes that the pain would stop. Sanzo knew him well enough.
The demon on the other end of the sword grinned, pleased that he had caught someone, even if it wasn't his initial target. With a sharp jolt, he tore the sword from the man's chest. Goku let out a strangled cry, before his knees buckled under him, and he hit the ground with a painful, soundless thud. Sanzo could hear his heart thundering, panic coursing through his veins like a sickness. This wasn't happening. Any moment the monkey was going to get up, and shake off his injury with a grin that seemed to crack his face. Any minute now. Sanzo found himself gaping, waiting and praying he would get up.
Goku lay motionless.
As the realization began to sink in, he allowed anger to replace guilt and sadness. An overwhelming anger that completely devoured his soul. He rolled away from an oncoming attack, pulling his gun out and firing. His vision was obscured by absolute hatred. He didn't even know who he was hitting. He just fired, and fired, pleased when he heard a cry of pain and a thud as a body hit the floor. He didn't even know if he was reloading, but somehow he didn't run out of bullets, so he figured he was.
Hands suddenly gripped his shoulder, fingers burning into his flesh. "Sanzo!" he fired his gun again, not caring who was in front of him. The grip did not loosen, and the body did not fall. He must've missed. A sound punch slammed across his face, causing his head to snap to the side. He could taste the metallic blood that filled his mouth, and immediately spit it out, disgusted.
His senses began to come back to him, and he blinked away his anger, not surprised to find his own breathing ragged and uneven. His violet eyes registered on the man in front of him, finding crimson eyes glaring in stubbornness. Gojyo sighed in relief, releasing his shoulders.
Sanzo didn't even bother to ask what happened. He had already replayed the events that took place minutes ago-- minutes that felt like hours. "Goku..." he breathed, flipping around to scout out for the brunette. He didn't even bother to notice that most of the demons had run off, the rest of them had all died. Apparently they didn't want to cross an angry Sanzo.
He dropped to Goku's side, not surprised to find Hakkai already working on his wounds. Goku was awake, his golden eyes wide, and brimming with pain. His hands dug into the ground beneath him, willing himself not to fidget. Despite the painful procedure of knitting his flesh back together, Goku was doing a very good job of not crying out. Sanzo all but ignored him, knowing anything he said would be lost in a daze of pain. "Is he going to be okay?" he demanded of Hakkai, his gaze quizzical and demanding.
Hakkai sighed; sweat pouring down his brow from concentrating on his task. "Probably," he admitted, causing a ball of fear to secure itself in Sanzo's stomach. "The sword hit a lung," he paused as Goku let out a strangled cry, no longer able to hold it back. "I know Goku's rechargeable, but this hit damaged quite a lot. At worst he'll be out of commission for a few days." He bit his lip, continuing his work with great care. "Gojyo!" he cried, catching the red-head's attention. "I need you to head to the pharmacist and find some sort of painkiller. I'm afraid we're all out, and Goku's going to be in a lot of pain for the next few days."
Gojyo nodded in understanding. "Got it," he exclaimed, before tearing from the inn as fast as his legs would carry him.
It was another minute before Hakkai finally finished. He leaned back on his heels, clearly exhausted. "That... should hold. I can't do much more for him... it'll have to heal naturally."
Sanzo's eyes were locked on Goku as the boy's golden eyes rolled back in his head. His grip on the ground loosened, but his breathing came in short and labored, proving he was still in a lot of pain. Still the young man would not pass out, which Sanzo found odd. Golden eyes slowly moved towards him, and a small, knowing smile passed across the monkey's lips, as if he knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble for his actions. Then his eyes rolled back, and Sanzo figured he'd lulled himself into an unconscious state.
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
---
Goku was drugged into unconsciousness by Hakkai, who was clearly angry that the boy would simply not stay asleep. Even if he was awake, he was dead to the world, confusing the young healer to no end. He was placed back in the room, allowing him to sleep as long as his body would let him. Sanzo was worried as hell. Hakkai forbid the man from staying in the same room with the young brunette, as he was afraid Sanzo's presence would wake him up, and he needed his sleep.
Sanzo tried very hard not to pull his gun on Hakkai, but managed to suppress the urge, as Hakkai was the only one who could cook amongst them.
Almost an entire day rolled by, and Sanzo was starting to get very anxious. Even his cigarettes did little to calm him anymore. He proceeded to glare at Hakkai whenever the man went in to check on Goku, or give him more painkillers. His glares did nothing to affect the man, of course, as Hakkai merely smiled and brushed them aside.
It was later when Hakkai was out shopping with Gojyo that the door to Goku's room opened. Sanzo's eyes snapped up as the man proceeded to limp out, an arm crossed over his chest awkwardly, meanwhile mumbling soft 'ows' as he walked. Sanzo could feel a spark of anger ignite within him, and he bounded to his feet, grasping the younger man by the collar of his shirt and lifting him up to meet his eyes. He ignored the startled yelp Goku emitted. "What the hell are you doing?" Sanzo growled, far rougher then he meant.
"I was-- ow, going to get something to eat. I'm hungry," Goku couldn't help but snicker, all too used to Sanzo's overprotective nature. "Don't tell me you treat all your injured this way."
Sanzo let another growl escape his throat, as he dropped the younger man. "Back to bed," he said with a slight shove. "I'll get you something."
Goku mumbled something about being bedridden, but none the less stumbled back into the room. Sanzo waited until the boy was back in bed, before turning and heading towards the kitchen. He ordered simple snacks that the cooks could make quickly. The young chef smiled at him, busying herself with the food he asked for. After she finished, she handed him the large plate with a smile. "Please do give my best to Goku-kun. I hope he gets better."
Somehow it didn't surprise him that Goku had gotten to know the chef. "I will," he mumbled, before taking the plate back up towards Goku's room.
He found the young monkey sitting up in bed, attempting to stretch without killing himself. "Have you ever heard of resting?" Sanzo snapped, shoving the plate into his hands, before taking a seat next to him. "Hakkai says you're going to need a lot of it."
Goku wrinkled his nose, before taking a bite out of a roll. "I can't just lie in bed all day and night. It's boring."
Goku couldn't help but stare at the anger radiating off of his sun. He swallowed what was in his mouth, pushing the plate aside momentarily. "S... Sanzo?"
"What the hell did you do that for?" Sanzo snapped before he could stop himself. "Look... look at you! You got yourself hurt, and for what? For me." His fists clenched at his sides. "You will never do that again, you hear me?!"
Instead of backing down, Goku stood, a frown crossing his features. "No! You know what, I won't! If you're in danger again, I will help you! I'm not going to stand back and watch you get killed!"
"Do you want me to suffer?!" Sanzo snapped. "I will not be the cause the death of someone else who I care for!"
Goku's retort was cut short. Instead, all he could do was stare at Sanzo with wide, golden eyes. "S...Sanzo?"
"I don't care what I said before," Sanzo mumbled, turning to look away. "If you died... I don't know what I'd do. I need you alive. Here. With me. So promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again."
"I promise Sanzo," Goku whispered, afraid to speak any louder. "I love you, Sanzo."
"I know you do," and then Sanzo leaned forwards, capturing Goku's lips in a kiss. Goku's arms snaked around Sanzo's neck, and Sanzo's hands found their place on Goku's hips. As the kiss began to intensify, Sanzo broke away, reminding himself that Goku was injured. "You should get some more sleep."
"Yeah," Sanzo placed one last kiss on his forehead, as the monkey retired to bed. Sanzo could hear Hakkai and Gojyo arriving back from their shopping trip. Casting one last glance over at Goku, he stepped out to try and act like nothing had happened, and to try and keep the fire from rushing through his veins.
A/N: Again with the Goku-abuse. –sigh- of well. I just can't keep myself from abusing small, adorable child-like characters. I have to remember to spread the abuse around. Hm. Maybe I should lay a bit on Hakkai –snicker- Anyway, review and such. Love yah all!
