Disclaimer: Characters of Gensoumaden Saiyuki belong to Minekura Kazuya.
Sanzo frets"Late." A saturnine man in a monk's garments muttered through clenched teeth as he took a drag from his cigarette.
"So unlike you, Sanzo, to be concerned about him," another man, this one with a cheerful countenance, replied. He was wearing a monocle over his right eye. "Though in some cases, a person's character does improve with time, I believe."
"Not him. My cigarettes. I'm down to the last pack," Sanzo growled, watching the smoke from the tip of his cigarette drift across the table. I know why he's late, he thought with disdain. The skirt-chaser. Well, that which cannot be cured has to be tolerated. With Hakuryuu down and Hakkai using that as an excuse not to do the grocery this time, that left only one half-decent person for the task. Sanzo and Hakkai were not too keen upon the idea of unleashing Goku upon the unsuspecting population. Therefore, the grocery list had been shoved into Gojyo unwilling hands, though Sanzo had pretended to forget all about the credit card until the half-breed actually demanded it from him.
Everyone needs a break once in a while… maybe so did Hakkai. So let Gojyo do the grocery. He, Sanzo needed a break too. Please, he prayed to the gods he had never believed in, let that dragon heal in at most one day's time. So that they could get off their asses and head on to the west. And once they arrived… then what?
Sanzo had no idea at all. Aside from the vague order from the Three Aspects, he had absolutely no idea of what they were supposed to do there. Truth be told, he didn't give a gnat's ass for the Bull Demon they were supposed to stop. His sole motivation for this mission was much more personal than saving the world. But sometimes he felt so tired that he began to consider how easy it would be to cross the thin line that separated his determination to reach Houtou Castle and the desire to just end everything now and here.
He fingered the gun in his sleeve, recalling the first thought that had struck him the moment he had laid his eyes on the weapon for the first time. I'll take this one. It'll be easy to put a bullet in my head with this, anytime, anyplace. Easy indeed, he thought, beginning to doze off as the half-smoked cigarette laid forgotten in the overflowing ashtray.
Returning from the kitchen with a fresh ashtray, Hakkai's smile crept reflexively on his face. "My, do we have a sleepy baby here." He scooped up the full ashtray from the table, laid the new one in its place, and left. Goku was somewhere, probably keeping their indisposed vehicle company. The boy had been uncharacteristically quiet today. Relatively, that is. Aside from a single "I'm hungry" moan (pointedly ignored by his keeper the irascible monk), Goku had not said much since the morning.
Gojyo's encounter in town
Another day, another town. Gojyo sighed. It was not like they got to see even a decent village every day though. And when they finally got to a town, there was not even an ogle-worthy babe in sight. How was he going to flirt around with these grocery bags in his arms anyway? They were heavy. Full of stuffs. Essential supplies. Such as his packs of fags, worldly monk's packs of fags (Oh why doesn't he smoke the same brand too? Why does he have to puff on that girly brand? Marlboro soft, eeeks! Perhaps girly brands suit him well. I wonder….) Plus cans and cans of food and beer, boxes of dry ration, the day's paper and new clothing. Did he miss something? The rubber for me? Check. Oh-hoh! Forgot one thing! Tampon for the monk, Gojyo thought gleefully. Except staying together with Sanzo was not really like being with a woman, because a woman normally has that time of the month at most 8 out of 28 days. Genjo Sanzo had it 28, or more days per month.
Gojyo's smirk at this take at his traveling companion was interrupted by a shout from a building that all but proclaimed itself as a love motel from its sordid fronts.
"I'm going to get you, you tramp. You whore! And I'm going to kick you where it won't blind you and then stuff those up where the sun don't shine you BITCH!"
Gojyo's jaw dropped with admiration at the (to him) beautifully constructed expletives, despite their grammatical shortcomings. Someone got caught, huh. Being a man of the world, Gojyo had had his share of this type of situations, at the opposite end of the shouter, of course. Being a smart bastard, he had long perfected the art of shingling down the pipes conveniently found just beside the windows of motels like this one [1]. However, this technique was to be used as a last resort, since it was a technique that was only complementary to the art of bribing the front desk for that timely room call.
He had never been caught that way, except for once. Even for that once, his street-brawling skills had sufficed to save his ass. Most of the time he simply crept away (thanks to that call) – out the front entrance, leaving the woman to explain to husband/boyfriend/pimp/dyke what the hell she was doing alone in this kind of place.
Lost in his own recollection, he would not have paid much attention to the figure rushing out of the motel which called itself "The Palanquin Place", had his brain [2] not registered 2 things: One, the angry yelling voice belonged to a man. Two, the first person to dash out of the motel was a woman. Something is out of place here. As he walked on, Gojyo tried to scratch his head, but found it impossible with two overflowing paper bags each wedged between his arms. In Gojyo's inestimable worldly experience, the first runner was always a man. Well, almost. He would be followed by the irate husband. The last person to run out would usually be the errant wife.
If the first person dashing out happened to be a woman, the discoverer should have been a woman too.
Wow. Heh. What do you know. I learnt something today. Some wives do betray their husbands with a girl lover.
Gojyo continued towards the inn his party was lodging at. The shouting had not attracted much of a crowd, but the street was bustling with people rushing home for dinner with their loved ones Ah, my loved ones, here comes Gojyo-sama, bringing home the bread. Someone knocked him over, spilling the contents of the grocery bags.
"Why you! My bread!"
The woman returned his furious stare. Gojyo's eyes rounded as he took in the sight before him. Dressed in flowing white robe, petite (she did not even reach up to his shoulders), long dark hair, sloe-like brown eyes, sexy pouty lips [3]. Her fearful eyes appeared confused at first, but Gojyo had time to see a calculating glint in them, measuring him up before he was grabbed, twirled around, and kissed to. Behind him, nearly lost among the rustling footsteps of people hurrying through the streets, he could hear a distinct set of angry footfalls, and the wrathful voice again: "Wait till I get my hands on him! I'll castrate him! I'll roast him!"
Another speaker intoned: "He turned this corner just now, must still be around this area."
"Down the street! Should be just ahead of us," the first speaker commanded.
"Right, boss."
Gojyo waited until the sound of the pursuers' footsteps had retreated far enough. What a clever bitch, he had started to say as she broke the kiss, but the woman put a trembling finger on his lips [4] and shook her head, a slight smile on her frightened face.
Please help me.
"Eh? Did you say something, my lady?"
You can hear me this way. That's convenient. By the way, you are using the wrong pronoun. My name is Shuuji [5]. Nice to meet you.
"I'll be damned!" Gojyo shook his head, ensuring himself that this was not some kind of a twisted dream. "I'd just been French-kissed by a man in a woman's clothing, plus I'm hearing thoughts from that man. Which is weirder, you mind telling me?"
The petite stranger smiled up at him. He sighed.
"My name is Gojyo, Sha Gojyo. Nice to meet you, too."
[1] Now you know what those bandages around his arms are for. (Glee!)
[2] Yeah, amazingly Gojyo's brain still works! Even after those countless traumatic bashing from Sanzo's fan!
[3] Original character #1, whom the author has determined is going to die terribly for doing what she would be doing to Gojyo in a few seconds. For better description, refer to the main star in the As If in a Dream PV.
[4] Original character #1 is going to so DEAD!
[5] Autumn child, or last child, depending on which kanji is the first character is (Ah, who cares!). Still going to be dead, never mind his actual plumbing.