Proud of My Loneliness
~Part: 7~
"Come on Sanzo…we've been waiting five minutes, already…we should get a move one," moaned Gojyo, as he came back from his umpteenth scout around the town, only to find the monk still waiting outside the Inn. Sanzo had his arms folded, each hand placed within the sleeve of the other arm, his eyes were closed and he looked as though he was trying to block out the annoying sounds of the half-breeds whining, and the distractions of the towns life. "Hey, Mr. Worldly-Monk, I think we should get a move on," the monks brow twitched as he had finally had enough of the kappa's annoying pestering.
"We'll get a move on, when I say we get a fucking move on, okay, you bastard kappa!" he growled, his voice deliberately harsh and darker than usual, as he placed an icy gaze upon the redhead. Gojyo seemed taken aback by those words, and raised his hands in resignation, as he perched himself on the second step leading to the Inn. "Any luck, Hakkai?" the monk asked, his tone slightly lighter than the one he had used on the half-breed, as the dark haired youkai returned from his scout of the nearby forest. The green-eyed man shook his head as he let out a sigh, Sanzo's brow furrowed, just slightly so as to keep it hidden, 'Just where is that stupid monkey…' he thought, his mental voice sounding with worry, an emotion he hardly ever felt these days.
A sudden rustling from within the forest caught their attention, bringing them out of their moment of worry, and rousing them into looking ready to leave. Their hope was short lived, for the thing that had disturbed the forest came gliding out upon its outstretched wings, and settled itself upon Hakkai's shoulders, bowing its head in resignation, indicating its failure to spot anything that looked remotely like Goku.
"Don't worry Hakuryuu…I'm sure he'll turn up," the green-eyed man cooed, as he stroked the hairs along the dragon's neck. Gojyo looked between the two, then placed his eyes on the monk, who returned to his private thoughts. The half-breed sighed and stretched, then came to his feet, slinging his weapon over one shoulder.
"Hey, you two…you can wait here for the monkey, I'm gonna go check out the beautiful women in this town, I hardly got to grace them last night," he announced, then began to walk away when a sudden gunshot was fired, the bullet flying right past his head. He froze where he was, standing still, knowing that if he dared to take another step, the next shot wouldn't miss its intended mark.
"You stay the hell where you are, no one is going anywhere, unless I say so, understand…we'll wait five more minutes," came the blond's calm and cold tones, as he kept his gun still trained on the tall redhead. The taller man just stood there for some time, as though thinking about his options, then his shoulders sagged, and he turned about with a somewhat infectious smile.
"I could never turn down an offer from you, Sanzo," he replied, hiding his dissatisfaction at the situation very well, with the use of smooth words, which would normally have a woman falling in his arms. Sanzo didn't flinch, nor did he show any sign of humour at the words, he just stood there with that hard, steel gaze which belied his true feelings. Gojyo let out a heavy sigh as he walked past the monk, understanding full well why they had already waited more than they should have done, each time being extended with the promise of 'five minutes more', but what if the teen had just decided to leave, feeling that he no longer wished to fight for a cause he didn't have to take part in, 'Fat chance,' he thought, answering his own doubts as he perched himself back on the step he had occupied for the umpteenth time that morning.
Silence filled in the gap between them, all three of them, as they waited again for the youth they had discovered to be missing that morning. They had been in a state, searching the whole Inn and town, and the surrounding forest, for some sign of the young youkai, and now it had been hours since they had woken up and began the search, continuing it whenever they sensed a derogatory yelling about to be sent their way, from the taciturn monk. Gojyo cast a look towards Hakkai, who stood leaning against a tree near the forest entrance, and was returned with a silent answer…it was time to go on their most likely fruitless search again. He let out a heavy sigh as he came to his feet and stretched, then jumped back just as quickly as a sudden person burst through the tress some way away from where Hakkai stood.
"Sanzo! Wait!" they cried, their tone breathless and desperate. They were doubled over, their hands on their knees as they were panting heavily, trying to even out their breathing. The monk blinked in surprise as he looked upon the figure with something next to curiosity, they were covered in twigs and dirt accumulated from their sprint through the forest. He was about go over to the youth to see if they were anything close to alright, when they suddenly straightened and launched themselves at him, their arms wrapping tightly about his slim waist and their face buried in the fabric about his belly. "I'm so sorry I worried you…I was stupid to runaway!" they wailed, while Sanzo tried fruitlessly to pry them off of his figure, and clean robes.
"What-Who the hell…" the violet-eyed monk began to say, but trailed off as he looked down and into the face of Goku, his hair in such disarray and his face tear-streaked from sobbing into his robes, and possibly other reasons. The youth sniffed and buried his face once more into the pale-yellow fabric, only to be shoved and kicked off by all the might that Sanzo could muster, "Get off me you dumb ape! You're soiling my robes!" Goku stumbled back, looking at the older man with such emotion, that it could not be described with the right words.
"You ran away…?" came Gojyo's half astonished query, he could hardly believe that the youth had actually tried to runaway, but what had made him change his mind, "Why'd you come back if you ran away? Part of the 'running away' bit, is to get lost and never return, which would have done us all a favour," He said, folding his arms and shaking his head in disbelief, 'Just how stupid is he anyway…'
"Gojyo! You did miss me!" the young youkai cried, as he launched himself at the redheaded half-breed, only to be held out at arms length as Gojyo placed a hand on Goku's head, keeping him well away from his torso.
"Just stay away from me, you dirty ape…I dunno where you've been," he exclaimed, as he tried vainly to keep his arm locked, since the youth seemed to have a far greater strength coming up from an impossible source.
"It's good to see you, Goku…I do believe, that our dear Sanzo here was worried about you," Hakkai commented, his tones light and gentle as he expressed his joy and relief at seeing the youngest member of their group again. Goku turned about at the sound of his name, is face portraying a joyous smile as he looked at the green-eyed man, his dragon still perched upon his shoulders. The older man smiled back, then held up his hands in apology, "please Goku, as much as I'd love a hug…a simple gesture of happiness is more than enough,"
"Which is why, I brought these!" the young man exclaimed, whipping out the three neat bouquets of flowers he had within his shirt. He grabbed one of the two bunches that were similar in size, and handed one to Hakkai, who seemed to blush and laugh awkwardly as he accepted them. Without waiting for a word of gratitude, Goku went back to Gojyo and handed him the other similar sized bouquet, and rushed off to Sanzo with the largest, handing it to him with his head somewhat bowed. "For you, Sanzo…to express my apologies at my behaviour," the monk looked at the bouquet, taking them with one hand as a small and rare smile played on his lips, the boy didn't have to do this, but he had.
"Uh…you don't think we're gonna forgive you that easily, right? I mean the flowers are nice and all, but they're more likely to work on women, than men," the half-breed commented, looking at the flowers with a nervous glance and holding them away from him. He raised an eyebrow when he wasn't answered, but let out a sigh of relief when a cry of shock and pain escaped the young youkai, when the monk had smacked him with his paper fan.
"You stupid ape! Next time if you want to runaway, don't come back, but make sure to let us know!" he cried, smacking the teen a few more times for the sake of it, while the younger boy just seemed to laugh with the joy of feeling the punishment.
"Yeah, you better listen to him, 'cause I ain't waiting another bunch of five minutes just for you…I swear, our corrupted monk has gone soft, the number of times he threatened us and told us to wait 'five more minutes', it was like he had lost a pet or somth-" Gojyo had said, but was cut off as Hakkai clamped a hand over his mouth, seeing that Sanzo was about to do something, that neither of them thought he would later regret. Sensing that it was about time to go, Hakuryuu caught Hakkai's look, and flew away from them, only to morph into the jeep they used as their means of transport.
"Uh…Sanzo, you think we can eat first…I'm kinda hungry," the young youkai stated, his stomach growling louder than his words to give them an idea as to the extent of his cravings. The blond man glared menacingly at the youth, and turned his back on him, making his way to the waiting jeep as Hakkai seated himself in the drivers seat.
"You should have thought about that before you went gallop hunting in that forest, you brainless ape," the redhead chided, as he followed Sanzo's lead, and jumped into the back of the jeep. Goku frowned and pouted as he followed, and jumped into the back with him.
"Don't call me a brainless ape, you bastard perverted kappa, and its not my fault I ran away…" he retorted, his tone matching that of a disgruntled child. Even though he was angry and felt a little urge to hurt the half-breed, he was happy to be back. He now knew why he was able to feel alone, and yet endure it…it was all thanks to his companions, they allowed him to endure the isolation he felt and the loneliness he was destined to feel. So, no matter how much he felt alone, or how much he was isolated, he would always have these three men to accompany him and help him through it, relieving the full intensity of what it really meant to be alone.
"Here, idiot, have this if it'll quieten that damn stomach of yours," Sanzo growled, as he threw a meat bun at the unsuspecting teen. Goku jumped slightly, caught unaware by the sudden appearance of the item of food, caught it, and began to eat into it with a vengeance. He savoured the exotic mix of spices and meat, all wrapped up in a filling bread bun, and let out a contented sound of pleasure and approval.
"Thanks, Sanzo…" he managed to say around his mouthful, the obvious lack of manners causing Gojyo to turn away and wrinkle his nose in disgust, 'Oh yeah…I am so proud of my loneliness,' Goku thought, as he finished off the last of his meat bun and lay back against the side of the jeep, cushioning his head with his folded arms.
~END~
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Thanks to the Reviewers
Hey there!!! I'd just like to thank you all for reading this story, and this will be where I answer all your questions about it, and thank you guys and gals personally. Well, on with the thanks:
To Hakkai-san: Thank you so much for your views, I'm so happy about what you said ^_^, it's given me the incentive to carry on with my next Saiyuki fic, and sadly, I won't be mentioning anything about here, other than its about a certain redhead we all love. About Parts 4-6, yes, they did take place in Goku's head; sorry if there was any confusion, but I thought it'd be a bit more effective if he sorted it all in his mind as he slept. Thank you again.
To Hanae da Firefly: Thank you so much for the support, man I've read some of your stuff and its really good, and thanks for the inspiring words ^_^, I'll keep them in mind. Oh, and many thanks again!
To Mabaroshi16: Wow, I never knew my work could be emotionally powerful…I hope you didn't cry too much, otherwise I'd have to tone my work down a little in future ;) Thank you! ^_^
To Sadistic Shadow: Hehe, thanks for your views…I'll remember that next time I post, but to explain for the multiple postings, its cos I originally wanted it to be a one-part story, but then I looked at the size, and since it was already finished, I just posted all of'em up at the same time, but thanks anyway ^_^