Disclaimer – Still don't own it.
Beneath the Skin 2
Sanzou lifted the wash cloth out of the water and held it to his face for a moment, breathing in the warmth, pressing the damp cloth against his cheeks. Gently, he rubbed the cloth across his face, mixing the warm water with the sweat beads starting to build as he sat in the hot bath. He dragged his hand through his hair, brushing the dripping strands from his forehead and sat back against the tiles. The tiles above the water were surprisingly cool to the skin on his back, and the coolness above with heat below made for a comforting contrast. He closed his eyes, and sighed, allowing his own breath to mix in with the steam, and stretched out his legs, only to have the tops of his feet hit the other side of the tub. He cracked open an eye and peered across the bath. He let one foot float to the top of the water, and gingerly touched the other side.
The Inn's bath was small, probably big enough to fit two and offer a little comfortable space between. With two though, he couldn't lay stretched out as he was now. He would have to tuck in his legs or sit on them. He grimaced and contemplated getting out, since Hakkai would be done washing soon, but the water felt nice against his skin, and his strained muscles were slowly relaxing. He gave a sideways glance over to Hakkai who was sitting on a small stool, still scrubbing away at his skin. Sanzou watched as Hakkai methodically washed up one arm and then down the other, and then began the process again, scrubbing with soap then pouring the bucket of warm water slowly over, washing the suds away. Sanzou turned back to his foot still bobbing in the water, considering his options. He and Hakkai had bathed enough together for each to know the other's routine. Sanzou always finished first. Hakkai always took his time. "He's still at his arms," Sanzo thought dimly, "I have time. After arms is chest, than back, legs…" He leaned his head back against the tiles. No rush yet to get out.
"Today was little rough, wasn't it?" Even though his back was turned from Sanzou, Hakkai's voice echoed off the tiles, and his statement although small, seemed to surround them both.
A little rough was putting what happened today a little lightly. "Just say it sucked, Hakkai. No one will disagree with you."
"Well…" Hakkai held the bucket still over his arm for a moment, thinking. "It didn't completely…suck, as you say. We did make it out alright. A little worse for wear, but alright more or less."
Sanzou snorted. "We ride over a trap. We go over a cliff in the jeep. Youkai ambush at the bottom. The kappa gets stabbed in the leg. Bakazaru falls into a pit. I got tossed halfway down the ravine-"
"You should wear your seatbelt." Hakkai said.
"And you," Sanzou said pointing, "get hit with not one, not two, but five arrows. I feel totally confident that today falls into the Completely Sucked category."
"How's your ankle, by the way?" Hakkai glanced over from the wall. He had taken off his eye glass and his good eye squinted though the steam.
"Fine now, thanks to you." Sanzou rolled his foot in a half circle. He still felt a little pain, a low throb, but nothing compared to earlier when he hit the ground from a fifteen foot drop and then rolled down the cliff until he was able to grab onto a something to hold on to. "We're all fine now because of you. How's your shoulder?"
Hakkai rubbed his left shoulder slowly, where he had been hit with three of the five arrows. "Still there. Still works." He went back to washing his arms.
"You know, if you keep that up, you're going to clean all your skin off."
Hakkai turned towards the bath to where Sanzou was giving him a look that was half-way to glare, half-way to something else. He turned back to his left arm which was currently scrubbing and squinted. His skin was getting a light red color. "I see. It just…seems a little more difficult today to clean everything off."
Sanzou narrowed his eyes as Hakkai just stared at his reddening skin. This wasn't about dirt. The monk understood that.
By the time he had reached the others from where he had fallen after the jeep went over the cliff, Sanzou had found a complete massacre. Hakkai, with Goku down a hole and Gojou keeled over, had faced over thirty youkai on his own. Sanzou had finally cleared the brush to find him dripping in blood, kneeling by Gojou and looking at the half-youkai's leg wound.
"What happened?" Sanzou had stopped and put his gun down. There was obviously no need for it.
"When the jeep finally stopped…they all just jumped out at us." Hakkai was bending over, placing his hands on Gojou's thigh, a low light emanating. "Goku ran ahead to block, but they had set another trap." He nodded towards the hole not ten feet away. "He's all right but we'll need the rope from the jeep to pull him out. Gojou got hit almost instantly, but I don't think it's poisoned and…"
"No. What happened?" Sanzou turned back to Hakkai and waved towards the bodies. Hakkai looked back down at Gojou whose own eyes were closed. Hakkai slowly lifted his bloodied hand to his ear and tapped his limiter.
"All of them?"
Hakkai nodded. "I didn't see another way."
Sanzou turned and let out a slow whistle. "You didn't see that one coming, did you?" There was no response from the dead strewn about.
"Neither did Gojou." Hakkai started to lift Gojou up, but stumbled. It was then that Sanzou noticed that part of the blood on him was actually his own. A small arrow still lay partly embedded in Hakkai's shoulder. Sanzou scowled and limped over, lifting Gojou's other arm.
"Your leg?" Hakkai's voice was filled with concern.
"I don't want to hear it." Sanzou gritted his teeth and lifted. "You're fucking bleeding. I'll get him in the jeep. Just worry about yourself for a god damn second."
"But Goku…"
Sanzou glowered and turned his head towards the hole. "Bakazaru! Are you dead?"
"…No!" Goku's voice sounded strained. "What's going on?"
"Just…sit still!" Sanzou yelled back and then started back to the jeep. "You're pretty fucking heavy for a kappa," he breathed. Suddenly the weight was lighter and he turned to see Hakkai on the other side, lifting Gojou's arm over his shoulder. "I told you to-"
"All better." Hakkai smiled. "Just takes a moment." He's was out of breath though, Sanzou noticed. He was smiling, but his eyes were weary. He couldn't hide it.
They had carried Gojou back, pulled Goku out, and Hakkai had healed them all as well as he could, and then fell asleep in the back as Gojou drove onto the road and into town.
Sanzou turned to the back and saw Goku staring at Hakkai sleeping, his golden eyes wide.
"What's your problem?" Sanzo asked.
"Did you guys see it?" Goku looked over at him. "When he- he changed?"
"…nah…" Gojou didn't turn around but kept driving. "I got conked out pretty quick. Stupid fuckin' youkai. What were they doing anyway?"
"Trying to kill us. I thought it was pretty obvious." Sanzou looked back at Goku. "Did you see him change this time?"
Goku shook his head. "I just heard it…but I saw it once before. You know, in that place that Kami-sama had made?" Sanzou nodded, and Goku continued. "He just takes it off, and does all this stuff, and puts it back on." He pointed to the limiter clasped to Hakkai's ear. "In the hole I couldn't do anything. Just listen. It was just- just…he's just…" He clenched his fists, thinking, "Really strong."
"He's fucking cool so don't you forget it." Gojou turned to point at him and then went back to driving.
"I know that!" Goku started to get up. Sanzou pushed him back down.
"Sit. We need another accident like you need another hole in your head."
"I don't have a hole in my head!"
"Ba-ka, whaddya using to talk to with?" Gojou gave him a swap at his head.
"That's not a hole!" Goku's voice was rising. Sanzou's harisen was halfway out when all three heard a grunt from the back.
"…what's…going…" Hakkai mumbled and started to lift himself up.
"Oi, just…lay back, Hakkai." Gojou glared at Goku and mouthed "shut up." Goku made a face and sat back. Hakkai gave them all a bleary look and laid down again.
They were silent the rest of the way into town.
Sanzou's thoughts were interrupted as the still water was disturbed. He looked up to see Hakkai slowly entering the bath. Sanzou brought his foot down and tucked both beneath him. He must have been lost in thought for awhile to not notice Hakkai finishing.
Hakkai pulled his knees up to his chest and they both sat there against the tile, letting the silence and steam just rest there.
Hakkai still had his eye glass off, and without it, he had this somewhat lost squinting look in his eyes, and he would turn his head when talking to you since he favored his left over the damaged right. Both were closed now, and to Sanzou, he almost looked asleep as he sat there, still and silent. His shoulders were a little red though from scrubbing, and they shone a light pink in the glow of the lamps.
Sanzou was tossing between getting out or saying something. He finally went with the latter.
"Was it hard to control it?"
He didn't need to clarify. He knew what Hakkai was dwelling about. He could read it in his face, in the taunt line his mouth was making, in the small folds of skin that was bunching up between his brows.
Hakkai didn't answer immediately. When he spoke, his voice was low and strange sounding. "…Yes. Yes it was."
Sanzou looked at him. Hakkai's eyes were still closed, but he continued.
"I heard you coming. In my mind, I could tell even then, as I was just…ripping them apart that something was off. I could hear you coming, and could tell you were having trouble walking. A part of me turned to that and knew it would be easy."
"Easy?" Sanzou's eyes hardened.
"But a bigger part of me, the part that was trying to shield Gojou and look in at Goku, and…it was so afraid of that other part, that "it would be easy" part that I could feel the ground again, and my hands reaching for the cuffs, and then putting them back on. But it took a minute because my hands were shaking…It took a minute to put them back on."
"I see."
The silence fell again.
"What would you have done?" Hakkai turned his head, his left eye open.
"Done with what?" Sanzou tried shifting his feet which were falling asleep.
"What would you have done if you saw the "it would be easy" part?"
Sanzou was silent for a moment and then leaned forward, cracking his back. He turned to respond, when the bathroom door flew open. Both turned to look.
"Fucking takin' yer time!" Gojou yelled as he sauntered in naked, a small towel around his neck, a sponge in hand.
Sanzou glared. "There's no room. There's barely enough for the two of us."
"Well, boo-hoo, Bouzu," Gojou sat his ass on the bucket. "Get out or move over. That's the motto for tonight."
With that said, he switched on the taps.