By: akuma-tenshi
It was already noon when a beat-up, green jeep parked in front of a small inn. The sun had already reached its peak, glaring angrily at those down below as dust coming from the rocky dirt road gathered around the vehicle.
At the driver's seat, Hakkai gratefully sighed and announced with a smile, "Well, we've already arrived minna! Let's check in to some rooms first before doing anything, ne?"
"Yay! Food! Food! Then we're going to eat next, na Hakkai?", Goku was the first one to get off the jeep, eyes sparkling just at the very thought of food. Hakkai could only chuckle and nod at the excitement of their golden-eyed companion. "Hai. Hai. Just make sure you behave yourself for a few minutes while we're getting our rooms then we can go eat lunch."
"Ch! You sound like a damn mother hen!", a grumpy voice spoke as the remaining three climbed out of the vehicle. The moment they got off, Hakuryuu transformed and went to perch on his favorite spot on Hakkai's shoulders. The latter laughed softly. "Gomen ne, Sanzo."
"Well… I guess I could lay off from the beautiful women out there for a few minutes more. Besides, with two good-looking men in my company right now, life can never be boring!", their red-headed companion drawled as he put both his arms on each of his friends' shoulders.
"Temme…You really want to die early?!", Sanzo growled in a dangerously low voice, glaring at the offending arm on his shoulder, his other hand slowly moving inside his robes.
"Ahaha… can't really take a joke, can you?" Gojyo quickly removed both his arms and winked at the brunette on his left. "Sanzo-houshi-sama sure is a lot more grumpier today."
CLICK!
At the sound of a gun's trigger being pulled, Gojyo decided that it would be wisest for him to shut up.
o o o 0 o o o
But as fate would have it, there were only two vacant rooms left, which gave them no other option but to pair up lest they wanted to spend a cold night outside, bitten by mosquitoes. Sanzo with Hakkai. Gojyo with Goku. Really, it was quite inevitable. They then ate lunch with Goku gobbling almost everything he could lay his hands on, Gojyo teasing Goku, and Hakkai laughing at their light banter. Sanzo, for the most part, remained quiet on his seat, looking very irritated for no apparent reason at all. At least it seemed to his three companions.
"We're out of most of our supplies already, Sanzo. I think I should go make a visit to the grocery today. Just in case we need to leave again tomorrow." Sanzo held out the gold card of the Three Aspects to the brunette. "Count me out. I want to rest here for a while."
"Aa." Hakkai nodded and dutifully took the card from Sanzo's hand. "Is there anything you want me to buy for you?"
The blonde monk looked thoughtful for a second. "A pack of cigarettes.", was all he said as he got up from the table and headed towards the stairs for the second floor. Hakkai also got up and asked the other two who were still bickering if they wanted to come with him. Gojyo refused, saying that he still needed a lot of catching up to do with his 'manliness'. [a/n: ahehe you know Gojyo… ;;] So Goku accompanied Hakkai at the market.
The trip to the market went peacefully if a bit uneventful. There weren't any youkai attacks and the market was bustling with life even on a hot and humid afternoon. Both shoppers and merchants alike walk to and fro the place, each and everyone busy with their own businesses. Hakkai bought enough supplies to last them at least a few weeks before they can manage to get to the next town. He also bought two boxes of cigarettes for Sanzo, in case he ran out earlier than expected. The ill-tempered monk usually smokes more when he's irritated. The past few days surely were enough proof of that.
They were already walking back to the inn, holding two paper bags each, when Goku abruptly stopped and tugged at Hakkai's sleeve. "Hakkai! Look! Those apples look really delicious!! Can we buy some? Can we buy some? Onegai?" The kid managed to put on his best puppy-eyed look that Hakkai could never seem to resist. "Hai. Hai. It does look good. Let's buy some for everyone." To the seller he turned and asked politely, "Could you give me four of those apples, please?"
After making their purchase, they went back to the hotel. Sanzo was reading a newspaper at his and Hakkai's room while Gojyo, unsurprisingly, had yet to come back from his latest 'adventures'. The blonde didn't even seem to notice as Hakkai and Goku walk into the room and discarded their load at one corner.
"Hakkai, I'm going to eat my mine now, ne?", said Goku as he held out an apple and bit on it happily. "Mmmm… oishi!! You should eat yours too while it's still fresh. Ja, I'm going to my room now. See yah later!" Goku walked out the room and closed the door behind him.
Hakkai got out two apples from the bag and offered the other to the blonde monk. "Sanzo, would you like an apple?" The other occupant of the room looked up from the newspaper he was reading and glanced at the bright red fruit the emerald-eyed youkai was holding. "Aa.", he nodded a little.
"Catch.", was the only thing Hakkai said before he calculatingly threw the apple to the other's direction. Sanzo caught it with his right hand and looked at the other man. "It looks delicious, ne? Goku was the one who pointed it to me.", Hakkai smiled and bit into his apple.
Sanzo couldn't help but notice Hakkai's lips as he bit into the fruit. Some of the juice threatened to trickle down the brunette's lips and a small pink tongue darted out to lick it before it goes further down. The monk gulped, surprised. 'What the hell?! Is he even aware of how sexy he looked doing that!?! Those pink lips… That tease ought to…' The trail of thought took an abrupt stop as Sanzo finally realized what he was thinking. 'K'so!! Just. WHAT. The. HELL. Was. THAT?!?! Since when did I get interested with that stupid… stupid youkai's lips!?! And since when did I think of him as sexy, much less want to kiss him?!? What… kiss?!?! ARRRGGGGHHHHH!! STOP IT!! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!?! Am I becoming like that stupid ero kappa!?!?' Sanzo growled in frustration and held his head, feeling the stirrings of a headache coming.
"Sanzou? Daijoubu ka, Sanzo?", Hakkai looked at the other man worriedly. The priest had been pretty irritated and easy to aggravate these last few days. He wondered if their leader was okay. "Sanzou do you need some medicine? Or maybe water? Sanzo--?"
"Urusee!! Just… shut up!! Leave me alone!!" The blonde got up and bolted out the room, letting the door slam behind him. Hakkai could only stand there, a bewildered look on his face. After a few seconds, he sighed, defeated, and went to sit on his bed. "I wonder what's happening to you, Sanzo."
o o o 0 o o o
Dinner went peacefully that night. There was the usual bickering coming from Gojyo and Goku with Hakkai chuckling. But other than that, it was monotonously boring. Sanzo was still not talking ever since coming back from where ever it is he disappeared into. After dinner, they all retired to their rooms, tired and very much ready to sleep the night away.
Hakkai changed into his nightclothes and went straight to bed. Half an hour later, he was already fast asleep. Meanwhile Sanzo, who still couldn't sleep, sat on the window's ledge, smoking. About an hour later, he heard quiet moans coming from the other man's bed. He decided to just ignore it, thinking that it'll stop after a few minutes.
'Hakkai was just having another one of his nightmares, anyway. There's nothing new to it.',he tried to reason out silently. Unfortunately, it only worsened and got louder. Grumbling to himself, he padded silently to the other's bed. Sanzo shook the brunette's shoulder gently, as he tried to rouse him. When he got no response, he shook harder and called out the other man's name. "Oi! Hakkai! Wake up, you idiot! It's only a nightmare!" Damn Hakkai!, he thought silently. "OI!! I said wake up! Oi! Hakkai!"
He was taken aback when suddenly, a pair of strong albeit skinny arms encircled him in a hug. Loosing his balance, he toppled over the figure lying on the bed. Sanzo's mind refused to work correctly for a few minutes as he was assaulted by the soothing scent of pine coming from Hakkai's hair. He tensed for a few seconds, gradually relaxing after getting used to the feeling of being embraced by someone. The moaning stopped and Hakkai once again looked peacefully asleep.
'So this is how it feels like. It's really warm. I… I… think… I think I might like it. No. that's not quite accurate… I think I –already- like it.' He sighed and took a deep breath, getting some more of that intoxicating scent that was uniquely Hakkai. For once, he felt truly relaxed and peaceful.
They stayed that way for a few minutes more until the brunette shifted and was suddenly breathing near monk's ear. This jarred Sanzo's mind awake and working again. 'What the hell am I doing?!?' The blonde's eyes opened wide and with a surprising strength, violently shoved the other man away from him. The brunette fell with a loud thud and groaned. Sanzo wasting no time, scrambled out of bed and out of the stuffy room.
Hakkai woke up with a start, feeling groggy and sore from where he fell. "What was that? I… was that Sanzo who went outside?" He held his aching head and looked at the other man's unmade and empty bed. "Yare yare, I really have no idea on what just happened.", he sighed heavily, crawling back to bed.
o o o 0 o o o
The next morning, Sanzo was even grumpier than the last few days combined. No one, not even Goku, dared to question him when he announced to the other three that they were already leaving that morning after breakfast. They ate quickly and by noon, were already driving on Hakuryuu.
"Hakkai, did something happen to Sanzo-houshi-sama last night?", Gojyo whispered to Hakkai from the back of the jeep.
Hakkai shrugged and smiled. "I have no idea."
"You didn't do anything, did you?" Gojyo wiggled an eyebrow suggestively, a lecherous grin forming on his lips.
"URUSEE!!!! Don't think I haven't heard you… you stupid ero kappa!!!!", Sanzo growled from his place on Hakkai's side, pulling his gun out from the folds of his robes.
A gunshot was heard followed by an angry protest and the screeching of tires as the four made their way to the west.
owari
Mwahahahaha!!! I'm finally done!! Whee!! jumps up and down with glee Now I can finally move on and do school work! Heehee Just a little note, before I go. About Sanzo's unexplained grumpiness, there really isn't any reason for it. I just figured that everyone undergo that mood from time to time so there's no reason that Sanzo shouldn't, right? laughs Even more with Sanzo, ne?? ;;
Oh and please kindly excuse some grammar errors that you might have read… it's been a while since I've written something. ;;
Lastly, this is for Sari-chan's 38 challenge!! YAY!! waves 383 flag Let's spread the 383 goodness to the world!!!