I have officially scared myself. Words of caution: *NEVER* write fics at two in the morning,
after having had *way* too much sugar. This was spawned from those conditions.

~~~~~~~~~~

This was great. Just great. Stuck with the kappa, inside, on a raniy day, with *nothing* to do
but pace, sleep, eat and twiddle thumbs.
Or count cracks in the ceiling, Goku sighed to himself, 201 ... 202 ... 203 ... no,
wait, I already counted that one. Oh, there's 203 ... or was that 28?

Frustrated, Goku came to the conclusion that there were 202 cracks, and he was *really*
desperate.
"So desperate that an arguement with Gojyo would be a welcome thing," he muttered.

Said kappa was currently taking up the entire bed they had to share, so sleeping wasn't really an
option. It gave him time to ponder the deep meanings of life, though. For instance, where did
Sanzo keep his fan? Why was there never any food when he needed it? And if Gojyo's hair was so
red, why wasn't it hot?
Oh yeah. The meaning of life all wrapped up in one nice little package, Goku snorted.

He looked over at Gojyo and decided to try and wake him up.
"Oi! Perverted Kappa! Wake up!"

Nothing. Damnit, he wanted something to do! He began pacing. Twenty steps from window to door.
Twenty steps back. Twenty steps to door. Twenty back.
Goku hate being stuck inside. It reminded him of his imprisonment. All those years of staring
through the stone bars, see the same scenery, watching as the world changed, leaving him behind.

All alone ... always alone.

Goku still didn't know why he'd been thrown in there. He just knew that he owed Sanzo more than
his life for getting him out.
So wrapped up in depressive thoughts, Goku almost didn't hear the pained sounds, muted as they
were, coming from his roomate. Gojyo had twisted himself up in the blankets to the point that he
couldn't move. Goku carefully tread closer, not sure what to do.

The red-head began struggling against the blankets, face scrunched up in pain, sweat beads
forming on his forehead. His hands, or the hand that Goku could see, had the pillow in a death
grip, kunckles white.
Ara? ... Is he having a nightmare? the boy wondered.

If he was ... what was he supposed to do about it? Leave Gojyo to wake up on his own? Or try to
wake him up?
Argh! I'm a youkai, not a doctor damnit! he mentally yelled, I don't know! (1)

The half-breed managed to tear the sheets in his sleep so he was no longer restrained. He curled
up in a fetal position, whimpering gruffly every now and then, apparently remembering bad things
of the past. Goku finally made up his mind and approached cautiously. He shook Gojyo
hesitantly.
"Oi, kappa! Wake up!" he ordered.

The other curled up tighter.
"Any smaller and you'll disappear! Omae wa baka-kappa!"

Inside, Goku was shaking. He couldn't lose him now. He couldn't lose any of them now! They
were the only people in the world who gave a damn about him! They were his only family.
"Gojyo, wake up!" he ordered, shaking the half-breed harder.

It didn't work. What had he always done to get rid of nightmares? When he was feeling uneasy,
Hakkai would sit with him. That comforting presence was usually enough. But when the nightmares
got really bad ...
Vaguely he remembered ... just a blur with short, dark hair, really. That blur had held him,
when just a simple presence wasn't enough. That contact had brought him back down to reality.
Maybe that would work now ...

Sighing, Goku climbed into the bed, wondering how to go about this. He wound up having that
problem solved when Gojyo suddenly uncurled and very nearly melted into the comforting warmth
offered. Awkwardly, Goku put his arms around the older half-breed. It took a few minutes before
he realized this shirt was getting wet.
Gojyo was ...
Masaka! He doesn't cry!

True, the other wasn't *weeping* buckets of tears, but there were those few that were getting him
wet.
Oh man. He'd better be prepared to pay for *all* my meals for a year for this!

With slow, jerky, unsure movements, Goku started petting the other's hair.
Still cold ... he noted absently.

He kept petting the hair of his companion, losing track of any time, and slowly the unsure
movements smoothed out. Gojyo stopped crying after a while, but Goku knew that he wasn't going
to be let leave any time soon. Then he felt himself nodding off.
Iie! ... sleep ... must stay awake. ... It's warm. ... Must be ready to move ... it's
comfortable. ...

Goku snuggled into the sheets, one arm loosely draped around the now fairly calm Gojyo.
Oh well ... anybody says anything ... I'll just kick their asses ... was his last
conscious thought before letting himself fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Less than ten minutes, a knock sounded.
"Goku? Gojyo?" called Hakkai's voice.

Upon recieving no answer, he pushed the door open silently. And was greeted with the sight of
Goku, holding Gojyo, on the bed, with a youkai-like form hovering above them. Hakkai was
instantly on the alert, but the dark haired youkai-spirit looked directly at him, winked, put a
finger to his lips, and disappeared.
Hakkai stared.
"Well, what do you know? Goku hasn't forgotten Kenren, after all."

And he closed the door.

~Owari~

Just a note before I'm killed by SW-chan, I'm *NOT* hinting at a Goku/Gojyo relationship, not in
*that* way. ::holds up "Sanzo/Goku 4ever" banner:: It's more the brother/brother thing we were
talking about.
Also, I don't know if Hakkai remembers anything about their past lives, but for this stories
purposes, he does. So there ::strikes triumphant pose:: ... ::hears crickets chirp:: ... ::drops
ridiculous pose and hides in dark corner.

(1) I'll give you a prize if you can figure out where I snitched this line from.