notes:
/ / -- italics and titles
* * -- emphasis
Chapter Two: ...Of the Time...
Ten days later, Cho Hakkai found himself still, in his mind, staring at the outfit he'd worn to Club West. He'd had it washed and pressed some time before; when it returned he immediately stashed it in an obscure corner of his closet, protected against the elements by a clear-plastic garment bag.
There was something about that place that troubled him. And it wasn't just the fact that his students were continuing to make regular pilgrimages to that adrenalin-drenched heaven, although he'd put his foot down after the fourth day, and had quit letting them use his LIT class as a recovery room. He noted wryly that it was only in his class that they were getting sluggish; they were still on the Wagnerian sagas, and were long overdue to tackle /The Song of Hiawatha/. Everywhere else academically, their lives were going on.
Well, no, scratch that. *Someone* about that place was troubling all kinds of heck out of meek, mild-mannered Professor Cho Hakkai. And that person had gotten to him so much, he thought that even if he found a costumed superhero lurking under his skin, he'd still not be able to get away from him.
He *still* didn't know why he had run away. He *still* didn't understand why he had felt so possessive about that red-haired man. He *still* didn't feel comforted by his routine of books, lecture halls and eager-faced students.
He *did* know by now that it wouldn't bother him to find himself gay. Which was probably the only good he'd had out of this adventure so far.
'Sir!'
Hakkai snapped out of his reverie and looked up; there was a paper airplane on his desk, and the bell was ringing outside for second period.
Kougaiji and Lilin were leaning on opposite sides of the door into the classroom, watching their teacher with their arms crossed in a way that made them look more like twins.
He unfolded the airplane, and there were three words on the paper, in the younger man's firm handwriting: /Just do it./
Lilin's looping script at the bottom: /Faint heart never won anything, period./
'I'll think about it,' he said again, this time into an empty room.
*****
He decided to pay Club West a visit, at a more convenient time - meaning he didn't have to get into any more exotic costumes, stand in line and face a body check.
There was a bookstore just around the corner from the club, and he loitered there one late afternoon, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the elusive owner of the most popular nightspot in the college town: the woman who went by the moniker Suon. He'd done his research, just like any other academic; he'd found out that she lived near her club, and walked there for personal inspections every day she was in town.
And Yaone had confirmed to him that she was indeed present and accounted for today.
So he stepped out of the bookstore and watched as a handsome woman walked past him and its glass front, stiletto heels clicking as if she owned the sidewalk. She wore a blazing white power suit, its long skirt seriously spoiled by the sky-high slit up the left side. Her wavy, thick hair was tied into a high ponytail, and just so everyone knew for sure who she was, there was a gold pin on her lapel that said /Club West/.
She walked past him for about six to seven meters before looking over her shoulder with a sultry smile. 'Looking for me?'
'Yes, actually,' and Hakkai introduced himself. 'I'm...kind of looking for someone who comes to your club regularly. I was wondering if you were familiar with the name Sha Gojyo?'
Suon thought about it for a moment. 'Oh. Red-haired guy who comes in every night like he's looking to get laid?'
Hakkai hoped he wasn't blushing. 'You could say that.'
'Well, there's a very good reason why he's at the club. One you won't hear, not even from God Himself if you asked Him - unless I get to the club within ten minutes. I'm inspecting the place today, have to see if my people are keeping the rats out. If you're interested, you can come along with me.' She turned sharply on her heel and started walking again.
*****
'Where's my nephew?' Suon's voice echoed again and again in the emptiness of the club. And someone fell off the bar counter in surprise, with a *thump* that echoed again and again. 'Hello, Club West, I'm looking for my neffy!'
Out of sheer curiosity Hakkai looked over the bar, and there was Son Goku sprawled on the floor in an ice-bucket puddle. The blistering stream of curses that resulted from that mishap didn't get to him, but the sight of a blonde man smacking the boy with a large paper fan did.
'Shut up, you, and yell at someone to clean up the mess,' the man said in a flat voice. 'And move it. There's an extra set of clothes in your locker, get changed before you get a cold and give it to everyone who comes in tonight.'
'Aa.' Goku picked himself up off the floor, bestowed a warm smile upon the man who'd whacked him, and left, with a vague wave in Hakkai's direction.
Suon spotted her nephew standing on the edge of the icy puddle and immediately swarmed all over him, either expertly avoiding or completely ignoring his martial-arts-style blocks. 'How've you been, dear, I've missed you so much! Did you keep this place running okay while your dear auntie has been out and about? Are we making money? Keeping your nose clean?'
'Get. Off!' Sanzou finally extricated himself, and then with one word answered nearly all of his aunt's questions: 'Yeah.'
'Well, that's good to know,' and Suon resumed her brisk, businesslike manner. 'Oh right. There's someone here who wants to hear about your resident redhead, womanizer and troublemaker. Or I hear he's quieted down of late? Cho Hakkai from the university, meet my nephew Genjo Sanzou. Give the man a drink, Sanzou, talk his ears off if you ever find yourself capable of picking up that skill. Help him any way you can, hear? You know, this place looks like my kind of dump. I may even be here tonight....' And she stalked off.
'Orders, orders. Well. Saw you dance with him...week ago was it?' Sanzou said suddenly. One of the club's other staff had brought down a couple of bottles of beer, and they were both grateful for the cold amber liquid. 'Yeah, around that, second night we were open. Shien! Zeon! Anyone of you here?'
The eye-patched bartender climbed down into the middle of the club from the ceiling catwalks. 'What now? I have to take inventory.'
'You can take inventory and answer questions at the same time, Zeon. Someone here wants to know about Gojyo. What the hell happened to him since ten days ago, that sort of thing. Might well be talking to the perp. Have to go check up on the monkey, he hasn't come back yet.'
'Let me help as well,' and another man walked in, reaching over the counter with one long arm to grab a bottle for himself. 'Both with the questions and the inventory. I heard Ms. Suon and Mr. Sanzou. I'm Shien, the resident DJ of this club. I remember your face well, you were here on our second night and you danced with Mr. Gojyo. I saw you run, by the way. What would you like to know?'
'You all seem to know him somehow,' Hakkai said tentatively.
'Shouldn't we?' and Zeon started washing glasses. 'He holds the mortgage on this building, *and* owns a quarter-stake in the club itself. Wouldn't be here without him. Wouldn't want to know how he came by all that money, either, though I heard once he just got really lucky at the casinos.'
'That's about as much of his past as is relevant to the current question,' Shien went on. 'As for the rest, well, he *has* been a little down lately. I believe that would be ever since you showed up - and left, Mr. Hakkai.'
'Oh, I remember something,' Zeon suddenly said. 'There was that deal of his that fell through that same night. I thought he was trying to talk to that kid about lifting the mortgage on the lot. No idea why the kid was so against it though.'
'That may be so, but it's not relevant either. The logic seems unassailable here,' and Shien held up his fingers. 'Ten nights ago Mr. Hakkai and Mr. Gojyo met, and within half an hour one of them has vanished into the night, leaving the other looking rather like he'd been told that he needed a frontal lobotomy within the hour.'
Zeon leaned in for an aside: 'Forgive his humor, he dropped out of med school some years ago and never forgot anything he learned.'
Shien went on, undisturbed but for a long gulp of beer. 'Mr. Gojyo is out of sorts every night thereafter. And suddenly you come here and ask about him. There aren't very many conclusions that can be drawn from that.'
'I haven't come here to ask any one of you to help me aside from this,' Hakkai said after a short silence. 'It's just that I thought I owed it to myself to find out what happened on his side after that night. You saw parts of the story, so I don't mind telling you that I've been just as unsettled as you're telling me he has been.'
'Hey, man, it's your life,' and Zeon took off his apron, hanging it on a peg behind him. 'Might be nice if we could help, and that's about all we're willing to do about it.'
'I don't mind that either. In fact I'm very grateful for all of your help. Please give my thanks to Ms. Suon, and to Sanzou and Goku.'
'You're welcome,' Shien said as he left.
*****
Exhibit one: that makeshift clubbing outfit, now laid out on top of his bed.
Exhibit two: one unfolded paper airplane.
Exhibit three: a collection of related facts about one certain Sha Gojyo.
And, the /prima facie/ evidence: the currently confused state of mind Cho Hakkai was in.
What good was it going to do either of them to show up tonight?
On one hand - he could be in for just about everything good that could possibly exist in the world, even if for just one night. On the other - he could be in for just about the worst disappointment in his life, plus there was the possibility that the other guy might just come gunning for him instead. There had been more than one hint of a less-than-savory past to the red-haired man in the things he'd heard about him, and it was definitely putting him on tenterhooks.
In the end it was Lilin's advice that won the day (and not so much her brother's).
Hakkai put on the outfit, exchanged his trench for a short leather jacket, and walked out with the keys to his jeep.
*****
Standing on the line outside the doors to Club West, Hakkai decided it had been a good idea to leave the jacket behind in the jeep - one less place to be pried into for the usual inspection, and he didn't have to bother with the coat check either.
The problem with that was that everyone seemed to be checking him out. Tonight he'd decided to wear the shirt half unlaced and with the sleeves unrolled, and that meant he was attracting more than his fair share of speculative looks.
A healthy-looking Goku opened the doors for him, into the packed cavern that was Club West.
Shien and Zeon looked to have been watching out for him, because as soon as he came within eyeshot of both they pointed out his quarry: red hair, strange eyes, that unbelievably sexy demeanor.
Tonight Sha Gojyo was dressed in white leather: a sleeveless, wide-necked shirt that clung to his shoulders and torso, long, long pants, and wide bands around his neck, left wrist and right shoulder.
Cho Hakkai squared his own shoulders and approached him. 'Hello. Would you like to dance?'
As if on cue Shien changed his mix, putting in a deeper, more sensual backbeat and a strong rhythm riff. Sensuality and courage. /Just do it./
'Come back to taunt me again? You've wasted a lot of my time, I ought to charge you something, anything. Or I should just kill you, seriously.' The expression on the redhead's face was a mix of anger and eagerness and...something more. His eyes raked him, up and down and again, really seeing him for the first time. 'Wasted the last ten nights refusing everyone else. I was hoping you would come back. Or I'd have gone looking for you only I didn't really find anything I could hunt you down on. How was I supposed to know you were a *professor* at the university? I'm pretty sure there was no one else who could have told me that, and the source himself was unwilling that night. So what is this?'
Hakkai warmed to him anyway. 'Maybe I'm here to make amends. And maybe I'm here to challenge you. You've come this far, and your goal may not be so far away as you think. If you care for it still.'
Gojyo actually missed a beat in his dancing, his eyes had suddenly gone so glazed over. 'God, you're evil,' he said breathlessly, leaning into his partner's personal space. 'And He can strike me down now, 'cause I swear there's nothing else I could care for just about now.'
'That's what I wanted to hear.' And then Hakkai leaned into him, hauling him close by his neckline and kissing him as soundly as he knew how.
The lights went down on the still-dancing crowd.
*****
'Tell me what you see,' Sanzou muttered around his cigarette. 'This's killing my night vision.'
Goku squinted into the darkness. 'Looks like something we never tried.'
'That's funny, thought we tried everything already.'
'What they're doing, Sanzou? It's something I never saw before.'
'Keep watching, you could learn something.'
/ / -- italics and titles
* * -- emphasis
Chapter Two: ...Of the Time...
Ten days later, Cho Hakkai found himself still, in his mind, staring at the outfit he'd worn to Club West. He'd had it washed and pressed some time before; when it returned he immediately stashed it in an obscure corner of his closet, protected against the elements by a clear-plastic garment bag.
There was something about that place that troubled him. And it wasn't just the fact that his students were continuing to make regular pilgrimages to that adrenalin-drenched heaven, although he'd put his foot down after the fourth day, and had quit letting them use his LIT class as a recovery room. He noted wryly that it was only in his class that they were getting sluggish; they were still on the Wagnerian sagas, and were long overdue to tackle /The Song of Hiawatha/. Everywhere else academically, their lives were going on.
Well, no, scratch that. *Someone* about that place was troubling all kinds of heck out of meek, mild-mannered Professor Cho Hakkai. And that person had gotten to him so much, he thought that even if he found a costumed superhero lurking under his skin, he'd still not be able to get away from him.
He *still* didn't know why he had run away. He *still* didn't understand why he had felt so possessive about that red-haired man. He *still* didn't feel comforted by his routine of books, lecture halls and eager-faced students.
He *did* know by now that it wouldn't bother him to find himself gay. Which was probably the only good he'd had out of this adventure so far.
'Sir!'
Hakkai snapped out of his reverie and looked up; there was a paper airplane on his desk, and the bell was ringing outside for second period.
Kougaiji and Lilin were leaning on opposite sides of the door into the classroom, watching their teacher with their arms crossed in a way that made them look more like twins.
He unfolded the airplane, and there were three words on the paper, in the younger man's firm handwriting: /Just do it./
Lilin's looping script at the bottom: /Faint heart never won anything, period./
'I'll think about it,' he said again, this time into an empty room.
*****
He decided to pay Club West a visit, at a more convenient time - meaning he didn't have to get into any more exotic costumes, stand in line and face a body check.
There was a bookstore just around the corner from the club, and he loitered there one late afternoon, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the elusive owner of the most popular nightspot in the college town: the woman who went by the moniker Suon. He'd done his research, just like any other academic; he'd found out that she lived near her club, and walked there for personal inspections every day she was in town.
And Yaone had confirmed to him that she was indeed present and accounted for today.
So he stepped out of the bookstore and watched as a handsome woman walked past him and its glass front, stiletto heels clicking as if she owned the sidewalk. She wore a blazing white power suit, its long skirt seriously spoiled by the sky-high slit up the left side. Her wavy, thick hair was tied into a high ponytail, and just so everyone knew for sure who she was, there was a gold pin on her lapel that said /Club West/.
She walked past him for about six to seven meters before looking over her shoulder with a sultry smile. 'Looking for me?'
'Yes, actually,' and Hakkai introduced himself. 'I'm...kind of looking for someone who comes to your club regularly. I was wondering if you were familiar with the name Sha Gojyo?'
Suon thought about it for a moment. 'Oh. Red-haired guy who comes in every night like he's looking to get laid?'
Hakkai hoped he wasn't blushing. 'You could say that.'
'Well, there's a very good reason why he's at the club. One you won't hear, not even from God Himself if you asked Him - unless I get to the club within ten minutes. I'm inspecting the place today, have to see if my people are keeping the rats out. If you're interested, you can come along with me.' She turned sharply on her heel and started walking again.
*****
'Where's my nephew?' Suon's voice echoed again and again in the emptiness of the club. And someone fell off the bar counter in surprise, with a *thump* that echoed again and again. 'Hello, Club West, I'm looking for my neffy!'
Out of sheer curiosity Hakkai looked over the bar, and there was Son Goku sprawled on the floor in an ice-bucket puddle. The blistering stream of curses that resulted from that mishap didn't get to him, but the sight of a blonde man smacking the boy with a large paper fan did.
'Shut up, you, and yell at someone to clean up the mess,' the man said in a flat voice. 'And move it. There's an extra set of clothes in your locker, get changed before you get a cold and give it to everyone who comes in tonight.'
'Aa.' Goku picked himself up off the floor, bestowed a warm smile upon the man who'd whacked him, and left, with a vague wave in Hakkai's direction.
Suon spotted her nephew standing on the edge of the icy puddle and immediately swarmed all over him, either expertly avoiding or completely ignoring his martial-arts-style blocks. 'How've you been, dear, I've missed you so much! Did you keep this place running okay while your dear auntie has been out and about? Are we making money? Keeping your nose clean?'
'Get. Off!' Sanzou finally extricated himself, and then with one word answered nearly all of his aunt's questions: 'Yeah.'
'Well, that's good to know,' and Suon resumed her brisk, businesslike manner. 'Oh right. There's someone here who wants to hear about your resident redhead, womanizer and troublemaker. Or I hear he's quieted down of late? Cho Hakkai from the university, meet my nephew Genjo Sanzou. Give the man a drink, Sanzou, talk his ears off if you ever find yourself capable of picking up that skill. Help him any way you can, hear? You know, this place looks like my kind of dump. I may even be here tonight....' And she stalked off.
'Orders, orders. Well. Saw you dance with him...week ago was it?' Sanzou said suddenly. One of the club's other staff had brought down a couple of bottles of beer, and they were both grateful for the cold amber liquid. 'Yeah, around that, second night we were open. Shien! Zeon! Anyone of you here?'
The eye-patched bartender climbed down into the middle of the club from the ceiling catwalks. 'What now? I have to take inventory.'
'You can take inventory and answer questions at the same time, Zeon. Someone here wants to know about Gojyo. What the hell happened to him since ten days ago, that sort of thing. Might well be talking to the perp. Have to go check up on the monkey, he hasn't come back yet.'
'Let me help as well,' and another man walked in, reaching over the counter with one long arm to grab a bottle for himself. 'Both with the questions and the inventory. I heard Ms. Suon and Mr. Sanzou. I'm Shien, the resident DJ of this club. I remember your face well, you were here on our second night and you danced with Mr. Gojyo. I saw you run, by the way. What would you like to know?'
'You all seem to know him somehow,' Hakkai said tentatively.
'Shouldn't we?' and Zeon started washing glasses. 'He holds the mortgage on this building, *and* owns a quarter-stake in the club itself. Wouldn't be here without him. Wouldn't want to know how he came by all that money, either, though I heard once he just got really lucky at the casinos.'
'That's about as much of his past as is relevant to the current question,' Shien went on. 'As for the rest, well, he *has* been a little down lately. I believe that would be ever since you showed up - and left, Mr. Hakkai.'
'Oh, I remember something,' Zeon suddenly said. 'There was that deal of his that fell through that same night. I thought he was trying to talk to that kid about lifting the mortgage on the lot. No idea why the kid was so against it though.'
'That may be so, but it's not relevant either. The logic seems unassailable here,' and Shien held up his fingers. 'Ten nights ago Mr. Hakkai and Mr. Gojyo met, and within half an hour one of them has vanished into the night, leaving the other looking rather like he'd been told that he needed a frontal lobotomy within the hour.'
Zeon leaned in for an aside: 'Forgive his humor, he dropped out of med school some years ago and never forgot anything he learned.'
Shien went on, undisturbed but for a long gulp of beer. 'Mr. Gojyo is out of sorts every night thereafter. And suddenly you come here and ask about him. There aren't very many conclusions that can be drawn from that.'
'I haven't come here to ask any one of you to help me aside from this,' Hakkai said after a short silence. 'It's just that I thought I owed it to myself to find out what happened on his side after that night. You saw parts of the story, so I don't mind telling you that I've been just as unsettled as you're telling me he has been.'
'Hey, man, it's your life,' and Zeon took off his apron, hanging it on a peg behind him. 'Might be nice if we could help, and that's about all we're willing to do about it.'
'I don't mind that either. In fact I'm very grateful for all of your help. Please give my thanks to Ms. Suon, and to Sanzou and Goku.'
'You're welcome,' Shien said as he left.
*****
Exhibit one: that makeshift clubbing outfit, now laid out on top of his bed.
Exhibit two: one unfolded paper airplane.
Exhibit three: a collection of related facts about one certain Sha Gojyo.
And, the /prima facie/ evidence: the currently confused state of mind Cho Hakkai was in.
What good was it going to do either of them to show up tonight?
On one hand - he could be in for just about everything good that could possibly exist in the world, even if for just one night. On the other - he could be in for just about the worst disappointment in his life, plus there was the possibility that the other guy might just come gunning for him instead. There had been more than one hint of a less-than-savory past to the red-haired man in the things he'd heard about him, and it was definitely putting him on tenterhooks.
In the end it was Lilin's advice that won the day (and not so much her brother's).
Hakkai put on the outfit, exchanged his trench for a short leather jacket, and walked out with the keys to his jeep.
*****
Standing on the line outside the doors to Club West, Hakkai decided it had been a good idea to leave the jacket behind in the jeep - one less place to be pried into for the usual inspection, and he didn't have to bother with the coat check either.
The problem with that was that everyone seemed to be checking him out. Tonight he'd decided to wear the shirt half unlaced and with the sleeves unrolled, and that meant he was attracting more than his fair share of speculative looks.
A healthy-looking Goku opened the doors for him, into the packed cavern that was Club West.
Shien and Zeon looked to have been watching out for him, because as soon as he came within eyeshot of both they pointed out his quarry: red hair, strange eyes, that unbelievably sexy demeanor.
Tonight Sha Gojyo was dressed in white leather: a sleeveless, wide-necked shirt that clung to his shoulders and torso, long, long pants, and wide bands around his neck, left wrist and right shoulder.
Cho Hakkai squared his own shoulders and approached him. 'Hello. Would you like to dance?'
As if on cue Shien changed his mix, putting in a deeper, more sensual backbeat and a strong rhythm riff. Sensuality and courage. /Just do it./
'Come back to taunt me again? You've wasted a lot of my time, I ought to charge you something, anything. Or I should just kill you, seriously.' The expression on the redhead's face was a mix of anger and eagerness and...something more. His eyes raked him, up and down and again, really seeing him for the first time. 'Wasted the last ten nights refusing everyone else. I was hoping you would come back. Or I'd have gone looking for you only I didn't really find anything I could hunt you down on. How was I supposed to know you were a *professor* at the university? I'm pretty sure there was no one else who could have told me that, and the source himself was unwilling that night. So what is this?'
Hakkai warmed to him anyway. 'Maybe I'm here to make amends. And maybe I'm here to challenge you. You've come this far, and your goal may not be so far away as you think. If you care for it still.'
Gojyo actually missed a beat in his dancing, his eyes had suddenly gone so glazed over. 'God, you're evil,' he said breathlessly, leaning into his partner's personal space. 'And He can strike me down now, 'cause I swear there's nothing else I could care for just about now.'
'That's what I wanted to hear.' And then Hakkai leaned into him, hauling him close by his neckline and kissing him as soundly as he knew how.
The lights went down on the still-dancing crowd.
*****
'Tell me what you see,' Sanzou muttered around his cigarette. 'This's killing my night vision.'
Goku squinted into the darkness. 'Looks like something we never tried.'
'That's funny, thought we tried everything already.'
'What they're doing, Sanzou? It's something I never saw before.'
'Keep watching, you could learn something.'