Hotel California
Chapter Two: This could be Heaven or this could be Hell...
A/N: Yay, second chappeh! ::grins:: I hope everyone has as much fun reading this as much as I do writing it. Whee! I'm working on all the creepy scary stuff, so it'll beh more like a horror story in the next chappeh or two. Right now it's time for EXPOSITION! And I dunno now about the whole 38 thing. If I did it, I'd hafta make Sanzo -really- mean, and I don't really wanna do that. I'll just have Kannon do all the damage in this ficceh, thankehs very much.
And just for further notice, a lot of the injuries sustained in this ficceh are based on ones I've currently fallen victim to. Such is my life. ::blinks:: anyway, on with the story!
---
The next morning brought relief from the night's rain. After a few rounds of poker with Hakkai and Goku, the redhead had excused himself and stumbled back to his room in a half-sleeping daze. He awoke sprawled in his bed, face-first in the pillow. Realizing he hadn't eaten since his last work shift, he pulled himself out of bed and, after a bit of cleaning himself up, plodded down the stairs.
Gojyo wasn't expecting anything different in the lobby since he'd come in. But when he came downstairs, he almost thought he was in a different part of the house. The lobby was filled with light, pouring in through huge windows, the curtains pushed back to welcome the sun. While last night, the hotel had seemed ominious and creepy, this daytime showcase almost put him at ease.
He wandered down the stairs, slowly taking everything in. He reached the bottom of the stairs, yawning as he entered the dining room. Instead of restaurant-style seating, the Hotel California boasted one long table, decorated with crisp white tableclothes and beautiful candles.
Kannon sat at the head of the table, picking at a plate of eggs and talking to the two on either side of her. One was Hakkai, now wearing a pair of glasses, who nodded to something she said. The other wasn't Goku, he could tell. But the unfamiliar person's face was obscured by a newspaper, which they rustled through quietly.
Gojyo heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and Goku waved at him, walking into the dining room. He grabbed Gojyo by the wrist as he walked by, pulling him to the table. Gojyo sat beside Hakkai, while Goku plopped into the chair next to the mystery person.
"Glad to see everyone awake," Kannon said, in her ever-cool demenour.
"Did you sleep well?" Hakkai asked, giving him that pleasant smile he was quickly getting used to.
"Yeah," he replied, grinning. "A lot better than I would in my car."
"Big surprise there," a voice from behind the newspaper quipped sarcastically. The paper lowered to reveal a rather annoyed-looking blond.
"I don't believe you've met Sanzo yet, Gojyo," the older brunette decided to ignore Sanzo's bad attitude.
He nodded a greeting lazily. "The one who's allergic to cats."
"Damn cats..." Sanzo muttered, rolling up his newspaper. He whacked Goku with it suddenly.
"Ow! I said I was sorry! Jeez!" the boy shielded his head in case another blow was on the way. He looked at Sanzo like a wounded puppy. "I wouldn't do it on purpose..."
"I was up three more hours sneezing thanks to your stupidity," Sanzo glared at the boy. "Stupid monkey."
Gojyo didn't think it was fair to pick on Goku, but he made a note to use the monkey nickname later on. He also caught the lingering glances the boy cast the blond's way. Interesting.
"Please don't pay them too much mind," Hakkai said quietly at his side. "They're like this all the time, but they're really quite good friends."
He laughed, watching the two across from him. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"I'll bet you two are hungry," Kannon said to Gojyo and Goku, interrupting the blond's triade.
"Starving!" Goku instantly forgetting about cats and sneezing. Gojyo smiled at the boy's hyperactivity, only to realize he was hungry as well.
---
After breakfast, Gojyo went back to his room to fully clean up. On the way, he passed Goku, who was jotting something carefully in a notebook. Seeing someone coming, the boy quickly shut his book. "Hey."
"Hey monkey," he grinned.
Goku glared at him. "I'm not a monkey. Don't you start that too."
"If the name fits, use it," Gojyo smirked, patting the brunette on the head.
"Only Sanzo's allowed to call me that."
This brought a thought to mind. "Speaking of the anger-management blond, what's the deal with you two?"
Goku tilted his head, genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"
Gojyo crossed his arms, explaining his next statement simply. "It's obvious you're in love with him."
"What?!"
"Sure," he said matter-of-factly. "Anyone can tell. I did, and I've only been here one night!"
Goku narrowed his eyes poutily. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about. You're just a perverted weirdo."
"Aww, what's wrong? He doesn't love you back? Poor monkey..."
"Just shut up!" the boy snapped, storming off to his room.
Gojyo suddenly felt bad for teasing him. "All right, my bad!" he called after him. "Promise I won't bring it up anymore."
Getting no answer, he opened his own door. He found a new set of clothes, folded neatly on the edge of his bed. A white dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Whoever put them there was an excellent judge of size, because they fit perfectly. Clothes changed, he went out into the hall.
Hakuryuu was there, pacing listlessly down the corridor. Gojyo stopped to scratch the cat's head. "Heya kitty. You wouldn't happen to know where the phone is, huh?"
"There isn't one, I'm afraid," a soft voice answered him. Hakkai walked up the stairs, scooping the white ball of fur into his arms as he continued down the hall.
"What do you mean 'there isn't one'?" Gojyo fell into step beside the shorter man. "There's gotta be a phone!"
Hakkai opened his door, offering the redhead inside. He closed it quickly behind them, petting Hakuryuu a few times before setting him on the bed. "Trust me, I've looked. Kannon doesn't keep a phone."
"Well, what about emergencies?" he sat on one of the chairs, leaning an arm on the table.
"We've never had one...at least since I've been here," Hakkai crossed his arms, gripping them at the elbow.
"How long is that?"
He looked down. "I believe it's been the better part of six years."
Gojyo looked at him incredulously. "Six years?! Why? What were you doing before that?"
His voice was sad. "I honestly can't remember what I was doing before I came here. This place does that to you. I suspect it's the same for Sanzo and Goku, though they haven't been here as long."
The redhead couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How long -have- they been here?"
This actually required some thought on Hakkai's part. "Sanzo came in my second year. I believe this is Goku's second."
Gojyo frowned. "Why don't you leave?"
Hakkai sat on the bed, not meeting his gaze. "We can't."
"Why not?"
The brunette, if possible, looked even more uncomfortable with this question. "I really can't say. I'm sure you'll figure it out for yourself soon anyway. The rest of us did."
Gojyo was getting slightly annoyed at Hakkai's evasive answers. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Hakkai caught the sharpness in his tone. "I'm sorry I can't be of better help. But there's things at work here that I don't understand, let alone have the ability to explain."
He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Like -that- helps," he glanced at Hakkai and immediately regretted his words. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm just tryin' to firgure this place out. I don't mean to get all snippy with you."
Hakkai smiled half-heartedly. "It's fine."
Gojyo stood up. "Well, if there's no phone, I'm afraid I've gotta go back into town."
The brunette sighed, but said nothing. He followed Gojyo into the hall once more.
---
"What the hell happened to my car?!" Gojyo looked around, throwing his arms up.
Hakkai stood next to him, arms wrapped around his sides. "I figured as much. This always happens."
Gojyo turned on him. Are you saying that you knew this was gonna happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
The brunette looked down. "I figured you'd get upset."
"Damn right I'm upset!" He clenched his fists. "I need to leave!"
Hakkai finally met his eyes. "Don't you get it? It doesn't matter if you need or -want- to leave! She won't let you until it's too late!" He gasped, putting a hand over his mouth.
"Too late? I don't have time for this dammit!" He turned to walk down the driveway.
"Gojyo wait!" Hakkai put his hand on the redhead's shoulder.
"Look Hakkai, you might be fine staying here, but I've got a life to get back to. So either come with me and get outta here, or just leave me the hell alone!"
Hakkai spun him around to face him. He was shaking, and speaking sharper than Gojyo'd ever heard him. "You think I don't want to leave?! You think I didn't six years ago?! I've -tried- Gojyo, believe me! This place won't let you! You stay here and it only makes things wose in the end!"
"Okay!" the redhead grabbed ahold of Hakkai's arms, attempting to calm him. "All right, you've tried. I get it. So let's try it with the two of us, okay?"
Hakkai looked up at him with wide eyes. Then finally he nodded. Gojyo let go of him and started on the driveway. The brunette cast a worried glance back at the hotel, then followed.
The afternoon heat, mixed with the moisture from last night's storm had covered the surrounding area with a thick fog. The two stayed close as they walked, turning onto the main road from the driveway.
After about half an hour of walking straight down the road, they came to another driveway. They started on it and it led them all the way...
...to the Hotel California.
Gojyo stared at the building in utter disbelief. Hakkai sighed, glancing at his friend.
"How?" he asked, a faint trace of madness deep in his tone. "We walked straight all the way! It didn't curve at all!"
"It's the hotel," Hakkai murmured with a long-suffering sigh. "There's something wrong with it. Supernaturally wrong."
"We've gotta find a way past it," Gojyo looked straight into his green eyes. "You, me, Goku. Hell, even that sanzo guy if you want."
"I...I believe we will," his face brightened. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Hey 'Kai! Gojyo!" Goku yelled, running down the porch steps and over to the pair. "Heads up Hakkai, Kannon's wondering where you guys are. She wants to see you."
Hakkai paled again.
---
A/N: End of chappeh 2! Why is Hakkai scared of Kannon? What is Goku writing in his notebook? Where did Gojyo's car go? And why is Sanzo so pissy? All this and more in later installments! Or maybeh not all of em. No one knows why Sanzo's so pissy. 'Tis one of the mysteries of life, it is...
::coughs:: I really didn't mean for it to beh so drama/angst... Ah well. Scary stuff soon! The fog thing came from a trip to the bank in the morning fog. I thought it was kinda weird. Which reminds meh, I'm taking suggestions for this! Wanna see something creepy in here? Tell me in review or e-mail! ::thumbs up:: Ah crud muffins, I'm bleeding again... ::wanders off for a band-aid::
gabyou: I had no idea, if I did use anyone's idea. Sorry. I've mailed you about it.
NekoMegami-chan: I'm really not either, but this was just too good to pass up, ne? Thankehs for the kind words!
Broken Reflection: This soon enough? ::grins:: Glad you're likin it so far!
KawaiiLilMarron: Read today's author notes for the 38 info. But there's definate 58 in the end! How can I pass those two up? ...Fooly Cooly-ing? ::shudders:: That sounds more wrong than it should...
Until next time guys!