Part I

Chapter 3

Hakkai was surprised the next morning when Sanzo seemed more willing to stay another day in the village than he had anticipated. The monk appeared to be healing well, but dark circles under both his and Goku's eyes told the healer that neither had gotten much sleep the previous night.

"Yes, I am feeling stronger, and no, I did NOT get enough sleep," Sanzo declared impatiently when Hakkai inquired. "Not with that damned monkey in here tossing and turning all night and calling out in his dreams."

Sanzo didn't mention that he was more than a little concerned over just how badly disturbed his roommate's sleep had been, as well as why these nightmares were resurfacing now. It had taken over two years for Goku to stop dreaming nightly about the stone cave in which he had been chained and the utter isolation he had suffered for five hundred years before Sanzo had rescued him. Barely eleven years old and frozen in time for those centuries, he had clung to Sanzo all night long more than once during his first years in the monastery, constantly needing reassurance that the monk wouldn't take him back there or otherwise abandon him.

Those nightmares still occurred occasionally, but it had been a long time since they had come as strongly and repeatedly as they had last night. And last night Goku had not sought comfort in Sanzo's arms as he used to, but had fought him off and pushed him away during the dreams, and had pulled his blanket tightly around himself and insisted that he was okay when he had awakened between them.

Sanzo hoped that Goku had just become too overtired fighting and working the last day or two, and perhaps had drunk a little more than he was used to last night. He decided that Hakkai's advice to stay put for another day and night might do Goku as much good as himself and the healer. Even he had to admit that they had been pushing pretty hard the last few weeks, and the youkai attacks were becoming increasingly frequent and more violent the deeper they traveled into this part of the country. Hakkai was right that they couldn't afford not to be prepared.

Gojyo was on the ground playing marbles with Hakkai and his two young shadows when Goku and Sanzo came out after breakfast. As the two approached their little group, he called out, "You're looking kind of tired, monkey boy. Did your girlfriend keep you up last night?"

Sanzo's eyebrows arched at the remark as Goku lunged at his antagonist, color rising through his face into the roots of his brown hair as his fists struck Gojyo's shoulders and knocked him onto his back. "You stupid kappa! I don't have any girlfriend and it's none of your business even if I did! I'm not like you, running off spending the night with girls, you perverted cockroach!"

Hakkai and the kids backed out of the way of Gojyo's kicking feet and the two men's flailing arms. Gojyo rolled with the younger man's punches, getting in as many more jibes as he could between breaths. "Wouldn't know what to do with them if you did anyway, stupid monkey!" He dodged another swing. "Maybe you could use a few lessons from an expert." He was sitting on top of Goku now, pinning his arms to the ground, grinning at him.

Goku wrenched free, throwing Gojyo to one side, while he rolled back to his feet in the other direction. Gritting his teeth, his gold eyes glowing, he took a defensive stance as Gojyo gathered himself up to fight back.

But before either could continue, Sanzo's harisen flew out of his hands and clipped Goku across the side of the head. "Enough!" His voice echoed, and the two children pressed closer to Hakkai.

"Don't worry," he comforted them. "Goku and Gojyo fight like this all the time. They're just teasing each other. They actually really care for each other a lot."

"Yeah, we gotta keep in shape," Gojyo said to the kids, looking somewhat sheepish. He immediately relaxed into a crouch at their level when he noticed that he and Goku had frightened them. "And Sanzo makes sure we don't get too far out of line. See. We're not hurt. Just dusty." He opened his arms and smiled, beckoning them to examine him.

"Yup. We're fine," Goku followed his lead, rubbing his ear where the fan had caught him. But he glared at Gojyo over the top of the kids' heads.

Hakkai suggested that Gojyo and Goku walk the short mile into town to explore for the day, and Gojyo agreed, pressing Hakkai to come as well.

"No, I promised the kids a walk by the stream this morning to hunt frogs, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to get some reading in this afternoon. But it looks like the two of you could use some activity. Besides, I want to make sure Sanzo doesn't overdo." He threw the white-robed man a benevolent smile, which was answered by a growl.

"Don't expect us back for dinner," Gojyo warned, hoping to find a card game to join in the evening.

"Don't be out late," Sanzo warned. "And you'd better not come in drunk. This little vacation ends tonight. I intend to be out of here by dawn tomorrow, whether you're hung over or not."

* * *

Gojyo and Goku bickered their way through a relaxing day, checking out the local shops and arguing over an assortment of local meat buns, noodles, and pastries along the way. Then Goku fell unusually quiet as they headed to the inn for dinner at dusk.

"Thinking of your girlfriend again?" Gojyo teased. Then "OW!" as Goku's elbow jabbed him hard in the side.

"I told you this morning to shut up, pervert!" A serious undertone in Goku's voice made Gojyo back off for the moment.

After a few minutes of silence, he raised the subject again. "You know, she's kind of pretty, monkey."

"She's NOT my girlfriend!"

"Maybe not. But she could be. She definitely likes you… though I can't imagine what she sees in a scrawny monkey king. You'd think she'd have sense enough to go for the tall, handsome one."  He indicated himself, bracing for the expected whack across the head; but he was not inclined to fight back when he got it. His words belied  the thoughts that had crossed his mind the night before as he had watched Yanane and Goku together. Looking sidelong at the boy now, he again took in the lanky, muscular limbs and the eyes bright with anger—and some confusion, too, he noticed—set  off by the deep tan and well-formed, though still smooth, planes of Goku's face. "Damned if he's not getting pretty hot," Gojyo thought.

"Seriously, Goku… " He surprised himself by using his companion's name instead of any of a series of variations on damned monkey. "Sanzo's not the only fish in the sea, and there are plenty out there who are an easier catch and a LOT more fun to be with. If she's interested, you oughtta give it a try. At least find out if you like it with a girl."

Goku wasn't certain exactly what Gojyo meant by "it," but his color deepened at Gojyo's casual but direct reference to Sanzo and at the thought of Yanane kissing him last night, even if it was only on his forehead. "But… " He stopped, realizing he had no idea what he wanted to say.

They were in the inn waiting for their meal to be served before he tried again. "Gojyo…'

"Yeah."

"Do you like all those girls you've been with?"

"I like 'em when I'm with 'em. Not in love and don't want to be tied down by any of them. But flirting is fun. And it's nice to have a warm body wrapped up with you now and then. And shit, you gotta get release somewhere, idiot! Beats doing yourself if you can't get it where you really want it… Or don't you have those feelings yet?"

Gojyo's unexpected candidness took Goku by surprise, and he was knocked into silence again, his face redder still, his eyes tracing the grain in the wood of the tabletop.

"Damn, monkey boy, if you keep up this quiet act, I'm gonna report to Hakkai that you're really sick!… Lovesick!" He cuffed Goku in the shoulder, grinning.

"No, I'm not! Just hungry," Goku protested, his face breaking into a smile that was more natural to him. "Where's our food?"

"Your wish is my pleasure, Goku," their waitress said as she put a platter down in front of him and another in front of Gojyo.

Goku's head jerked up at his name, and he caught sight of the strands of crimson hair spilling out of the girl's cap. "Yanane! What… I didn't… "

Gojyo had never seen Goku's face get red as many times as it had today. He stifled a laugh as the boy spluttered, and gently kicked him under the table to silence him before he embarrassed himself further.

Yanane smiled, barely glancing at Gojyo, eyes only for the younger man. "I work here a couple afternoons and evenings a week. I saw you come in, but I was with some other customers, so my partner took your order. But I told her you were friends and that I wanted to serve you."

"Thanks," said Goku, having had a minute to recover himself.

"It looks great," put in Gojyo. "Any chance you'll be able to take a few minutes to join us?"

Goku flashed a warning glance at him, looking like he wanted to melt into the high-backed bench.

"No, I can't. It's our busy time. But if you can stick around, I get off in about an hour, and I'd appreciate having someone to walk home with."

Gojyo responded smoothly, "I was hoping to stick around town and find a card game tonight. But Goku doesn't gamble, and he wanted to get back earlier. I'm sure he'd be happy to walk back with you."

This time it was Goku who kicked Gojyo under the table, and harder than he had been kicked.

Yanane informed Gojyo that there were always games going on in the back room nights. Then she turned to the younger man. "Thanks, Goku. It'll be great to have your company." She spotted a customer looking for her. "I've gotta go… is there anything else I can get you?"

"I think we're all set," said Gojyo. He smirked at Goku as she crossed the room. "Oh come on. You talked to her alone for an hour last night, and you didn't have any trouble. She'll make it really easy. Just talk. Not something you usually have a problem with. If something else happens, it happens. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. The worst that can happen is you'll be a little less naïve by tomorrow morning."

Somehow Gojyo didn't anticipate the consequences of Goku becoming a little less naïve.

* * *

As Gojyo had assured him, Goku did find it easy to talk with Yanane. She took him home the long way through town, past some of her favorite spots, pointing out homes of her friends and some of the relatives he had met the night before. She spoke easily and happily of her family, and he couldn't help but relax and laugh when she recounted some of her brother's exploits with his friends. Her questions encouraged him to tell her about some of his own adventures with the Sanzo-ikkou, and he found himself matching stories of her own and Tomaki's relationship with stories about himself and Sanzo in the monastery and himself and Gojyo butting heads over things during their travels—like who would get the one bed in a room or the last meat bun at dinner or the larger share of Jeep's back seat—but fighting side by side and covering for each other when it counted, or working together with Hakkai to set up and break down camp.

"When you said last night that you didn't have any brothers and sisters, I felt sorry for you," Yanane remarked as they talked. "I have so much fun with my brother and sister that I can't imagine not having them in my life. But now I don't feel so bad, because it sounds like you and Gojyo are a lot like brothers, even though you didn't grow up together."

"I don't think so," said Goku. "We argue all the time. And he insults me and teases me every chance he gets."

"So do me and Tomaki. We're always teasing each other and trying to outdo each other. But we don't usually mean anything serious by it. And we have a lot of fun, and there's a lot of things we like to do together, too. And he's really protective of me—especially when he thinks I don't notice. And we both would die before we'd let something bad happen to the other one…  I'll bet deep down you feel that way about Gojyo and he feels that way about you, too, even though you fight a lot. You had fun hanging out with him today, didn't you? And you looked like you were having a good talk over dinner. I think you have a brother in spirit, even if he's not your real brother."

Goku was so stunned by the implications of this line of thought that he stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her, his mouth agape.

"What?" she asked.

He could hardly find words to respond. "I just… never thought about that before," he told her. His mind was racing. As when she had asked about their relationship last night, he realized that he took their day-to-day interactions for granted, without thinking about what they meant to each other. He spent so much time being mad at Gojyo that he didn't always remember all the things he liked about him. But all kinds of little things jumped into his memory now, and he realized that Hakkai had been right when he told the two children this morning that he and Gojyo really did care for each other.

When he felt lonely because Sanzo was mad at him or wanted to be alone, Gojyo's teasing and silliness were what most often brought him out of his slump. And when he had nearly killed them all going youkai in the desert, it was Gojyo who said it was okay and told him he had done the right thing, even though he had broken three of his ribs. And at dinner tonight, Gojyo wasn't just teasing him about Yanane; he was paying attention to his feelings and looking out for him and giving him advice… just like Tomaki did with Yanane.

One path back to the village followed a brook, parallel to and a few yards away from the road. Since the night was brightly lit by a nearly-full moon, they had walked along that rather than on the road itself. They were almost within sight of the first of the cottages in the clearing when the girl led him off the path, toward the brook. "Come here, I want to show you something." He couldn't remember when she had taken his hand, but when she pulled him along, he realized that she had been holding his hand for a while now.

The sound of water babbling over rocks was louder here, and when they reached the stream, there was a small fall of water dropping into a pool, not quite deep enough to swim, and so clear they could see the sand and rocks sparkling at the bottom even with just the light from the night sky. Several warm, smooth rocks large enough to sit or lie on were scattered around the pool. She pulled Goku toward one at the water's edge, and invited him to sit with her there.

"This is one of my favorite spots," she told him, her voice soft and secretive. "I could sit here listening to the water for hours."

They sat together quietly for a long time, Goku lost in thought, Yanane close beside him with her arms circling her drawn up knees, her head resting on them, face turned toward Goku, studying him.

After a while, he laid flat on his back on the rock, looking up at the sky, one arm raised to cushion his head. "Hakkai knows all the constellations and all the stories about them," he mused allowed. "If he were here, he could point them out to us."

She didn't answer right away. "Goku," she said eventually, "do you think you'll really be leaving first thing in the morning?"

"For sure," he said. "This is about as long as we've stayed anywhere, except when one of us has been hurt really badly. Sanzo was already anxious to get back on the road yesterday."

"I wish you could stay longer," she told him.

"Me, too," he replied. "It's nice here. And it's been a good break—" His brow furrowed as he recalled how their stay here had started. "I mean, it didn't start out very well… and I know it's been a bad time for your family…"

"It's okay," she said. "I know what you mean.

"Goku…" She leaned closer to him, eyes searching his. She had pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and it cascaded around her face, the ends brushing his face and neck, tantalizing, but not quite tickling. He breathed in its scent, smelling of her shampoo and the night air.

His breathing slowed and deepened, while every muscle in his body tensed, as though he were ready to run or fight, and yet at the same time frozen with anticipation of he knew not quite what. Yanane's hand was resting on his chest now, and he felt it rise and fall with his breath. Trusting her, and trusting what Gojyo had told him, his eyes stayed on hers, and she saw both his nervousness and his anticipation.

"I really like you a lot, Goku," she whispered. Then she lowered her face to his, and this time when she kissed him it wasn't lightly and it wasn't on his forehead.

At first he lay so still his breathing seemed to stop. His entire being was caught in the feeling of her lips against his own and the momentary internal struggle raging, deep inside himself, between the panic of not knowing what to do next and the natural burning desire of his youth bursting through that panic. As her other hand lightly caressed his hair, and her lips parted slightly, her tongue tentatively tasting his lips, his mind gave in to the struggle, and his body took over, responding without need for thought.

One of his hands found her hair and pulled her head closer, while his lips first returned the pressure of hers, then parted slightly, his tongue returning her tentative taste of his mouth. She pulled back slightly, surprised, and he raised his head and shoulders to stay with her, his own mouth now the pursuer. She stretched out beside him and lay on her back as he rolled onto his side to face her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. Their lips had barely separated, and their first taste of each other begged for more. His fingers slid into the silkiness of her hair, fallen in a pool around her face, and now he was kissing her, his mouth hungry for more, his entire body flushed and tingling with newly awakened desires.

They were both breathless when he finally pulled back to look at her, and she smiled into his golden eyes.

His mind kicked back in then, and the panic returned. He sat up stiffly beside her, flustered. "I'm sorry, Yanane. I mean… I don't—"

"Why sorry, Goku?" She sat up, then knelt in front of him, taking his hand in one of hers and reaching to touch his cheek with the other. "Relax." She kissed him again, barely brushing her lips against his, and he shivered at the light touch. Then she rested her forehead against his. "I would have been disappointed if you'd left tomorrow without kissing me good-bye… and somehow I don't think it would be quite the same with Sanzo and Hakkai and Gojyo looking on."

She chuckled, her breath warm against his cheek, and he couldn't help but laugh with her. She felt the tension leave his body, and his forehead leaned into hers for a moment. Then he sat beside her again, lost to another wave of thoughts and sensations that had been foreign to him only that morning.

"We'd better get back," she said a few minutes later. "My family will be getting worried about me by now. It's later than I usually come home, and with all the trouble with the youkai…"

He rose, the moonlight reflecting off his diadem, and this time his hand closed over hers when she slipped her fingers into his palm, rather than hers closing over his and pulling him along.

***End Part I***

Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed this story so far and/or referred someone to it. Thanks especially to Aki and bunni-wings for publicly recognizing that Yanane is not a Mary Sue and to Me-Nuriko for repeated praise and encouragement here and elsewhere.

If any of you are unhappy about Goku kissing a girl, stay tuned; I did say 39 in my summary… eventually.

Gnine: "Cute?" Again? You DO abuse the poor word!

I look forward to having all of you here for Part II (which, I warn you, is MUCH longer than I).