Disclaimer: Characters of Gensoumaden Saiyuki belong to Minekura Kazuya.
Note: For parts in which original character(s) feature(s) (too) prominently, the title is marked with an *. So that you can skip 'em if you want. For this chapter, scroll right down to the second half for Sanzo-ikkou's part.
Sweet dreams, Shuuji*Sleep should come easily to him, on this comfortable bed in one of the rooms rented by the weird party his savior was with. Shuuji was not a person who brooded on petty stuffs, like the blunder of the day. But, dear Buddha on the high! he had thought earlier after "persuading" the redhead to provide him with a shelter for the night (he didn't dare return to the room his client had rented for him earlier). What is the chance of coming upon this kind of stupid coincidence?
Flabbergasted? No, he was merely amused, a smile blooming in his heart. Amused that the woman's husband had been his client in the previous town. When the irate knockings had begun, he had grabbed her clothes instead of his own, because the one-piece sack-like gown would be faster to put on than pants, tunics and shirts. Also, her purse was tied to the waist of the gown, of course. Plus he had thought that he had a better chance sneaking out the window to the streets, where, out there, none of them would have recognized him in a woman's garment.
It turned out that he had been too conceited. When he had looked out the window, a group of men had been ready for him down on the back alley. "That's him!" One of them had shouted. "Damn! That was the whore we had last week!" Another had called out. He had recognized Shuuji even before Shuuji had remembered him. Oh right. That was one of the group of men he had entertained about ten days ago, in a neighboring town. He should have remembered. They were a party of generous men, very generous indeed, if not in manners, then in terms of money. That had reminded him. Grabbing his own pouch from the night table, he had placed himself on the wall beside the door, which was shaking ominously from the attempts to break it.
He had made it just in time. When the door had fallen down, Shuuji had been ready. The door-breaker (a big man, presumably the husband, whom Shuuji had also recognized as one of the generous clients) had found a coin-laden pouch swinging directly towards his nose. The impact had not caused him to fall, but the daze it had caused had bought Shuuji enough time to rush down the corridor, the stairs, and then out of the building.
Big stupid men. Brutes who think that they own the world through their size and fists. Them and their drunken boasting and rancid breath and jutting gut. Lying here, in the safety of the homely inn, Shuuji realized that he had not obtained what he really wanted from the woman. Even though she was an ugly hag, she was a woman still. That was just too bad. There would be another town, another set of brutish male clients and another set of foolish female customers. Money is not all of it.
Shuuji was letting that thought lull him to sleep, like a soothing litany
Money is not all of it.
when suddenly, an earlier thought
Big stupid men.
infringed on the edge of his consciousness. Big stupid men of the world… like Papa, who brought the wolf into the house….
Gojyo goes out for the night
After dropping off the guest at the room he and Goku shared, Gojyo gamely indicated his plan for the night to the other three, who were for some tacit reasons, gathering in Sanzo and Hakkai's room.
"I don't intend to spend the night playing poker with you guys." No sir. Not when this was their first stop in a real town [1] in months. The monk simply grunted in disgust as he unrolled the newspaper, which was stained with dirt here and there [2]. Everything from the monk sounded like disgust these days. Gojyo did not help things at all when he dropped another of his lame gay jokes on Sanzo (not the tampon joke, he was saving that one for a better occasion – the next time it rained, perhaps).
"Why don't you help yourself too, Sanzo?" Gojyo said as he preened in front of the mirror, combing his long hair with his favorite comb: his fingers. "Of course, to each his own taste. Goku, you room with Hakkai tonight. Give our Sanzo some time and space to make that pretty boy's acquaintance."
Hakkai stared at the red hair on the lanky back as a paper fan slowly emerged from Sanzo's sleeve. How could you, Gojyo? And because Hakkai was still staring at Gojyo's posterior even as the half-breed executed a graceful evasive maneuver from the fan, he did not see a similarly hurt expression on the face of another person in the room. And would you, Sanzo? a pair of golden eyes asked.
"You're really getting old, monk, if even this shitty river boy is able to escape your fan that easily. I honestly think that boy would suit you. Because he won't clog your ears with that noisy chatter you hate so much. Ha ha! Ta ta, boys, have fun!" Sleeveless jacket slung over one shoulder, Gojyo opened the door, then stopped in mid-action as he said: "Don't wait up for me, Hakkai," while still staring at the floor with sudden interest. There was no trace of banter in his voice this time.
The door slammed shut.
"Well," a trademark Hakkai-chuckle was heard in the following silence. How could you, Gojyo? "Gone for the night."
"And if he couldn't walk back on his third leg it might as well be, because if Hakuryuu is well enough, we leave sharp at dawn tomorrow, and latecomers can walk, no, crawl after Jeep," Sanzo remarked acidly as he refolded the newspaper.
"Hakuryuu might not be well enough, even by tomorrow, you know," Hakkai reflected quietly.
"We'll see," the monk replied tartly, and stood up.
"Where are you going, Sanzo?" a plaintive voice came from Hakkai's side as Sanzo headed for the exit.
"I'm going out for some fresh air. And then I'm going to take that fool's advice for once. At least I'll have some real peace and quiet tonight," Sanzo answered, looking pointedly at Hakkai instead of the questioner.
"But Sanzo…."
"Shut the hell up! I don't want to hear another peep from any of you for the rest of the night. Is that too much to ask for?"
Hakkai did not like the expression on Goku's face when the door slammed shut this time. He liked it even less when Goku literally rammed his snotting face onto Hakkai's shoulder and started to heave racking sobs. Sobs that sounded so heart-broken Hakkai would have cried along too, if not for the distasteful awareness that a damp patch was expanding on his newly laundered shirt.
This was not like the times when the mean old monk
yes you are mean Sanzo you can be just so mean sometimes
had denied the boy some meat bun or an extra order of dumpling. This was something worse. And Sanzo had never put the hell between his shuts and ups. Even then, Goku, yes, Goku especially, should be inured enough in the monk's ways by now that a bit of hell from Sanzo would not kill. Looking at the sobbing boy, Hakkai thought: Or would it?
"Is that why he hates me?" Sobs. "Because I'm 'noisy'?"
Hakkai gently pried Goku from his shoulder. "Now, we all know Sanzo says things like that and stuff, but we also know that he doesn't really mean them," he said putting on his best schoolteacher voice. Putting on his schoolteacher voice (Hakkai tended to think of it as his bullshitting voice) was something he did when he had to convince someone of something he himself no longer believed in. "Otherwise you and Gojyo would have been so much dust by now."
"I don't mean that he hurt me by what he said just now," Goku managed to sniffle and blush at the same time. "I mean…"
Cho Hakkai had been sure of two things in life: One, Kanan was the one and only woman he loved. Two, he, Hakkai, was the one and only love of his sister. Now, taking in the expression on Goku's face, a face on the edge of confession, he thought he might have discovered the third item: He did not really want to hear the reason behind Goku's distress. Obviously, it was not as simple as due to being yelled by the monk. Oh dear, we already have enough of this kind of problem among the three of us.
"Goku," Hakkai cut in delicately, still in his schoolteacher voice. "Remember what I told you after the desert incidence?" And started the you-must-be-strong lecture, because you know, old Genjo Sanzo was a weak man who detested weak creatures and reserved the bulk of that contempt especially for himself, how he did not want to be saddled with the burden of protecting weak comrades, hence, you, Son Goku, must grow stronger, blah blah blah.
Hakkai stopped when he realized that a sleepy weight was slumped on his shoulder. Goku had fallen into a slumber in the middle of the speech, though it looked like uneasy sleep to Hakkai. Well, time to put the sleeping beauty to bed, he said to himself as he carefully heaved the boy up and carried him to the other bed in the room. Gojyo, Gojyo, what are you doing right now?
[1] Gojyo's definition of a real town: A tavern, a gambling establishment and a *cough* brothel (back-up in case his charms failed to get him a free lay).
[2] Gojyo dropped them all, remember?
Thanks to Shiroki, Guardian of Jupiter for reviews!