Chapter 2: When Sanzo Wakes Up
The darkness was a good place to be. There was no one to bother you – either to bug you for food or try to kill you for the sutra. Being unconscious is just as good as being in the darkness. You feel no pain. In fact you feel nothing because you are nothing. You have no worries and you suffer naught. No one sees you and because of this you can simply exist to be free of all responsibilities and burden. Unfortunately, this state of nothingness can never last.
Sanzo had been awake for quite some time. For some reason, he had none of his previous inclination to try and walk around or grab a smoke of two. He didn't want to move an inch. Probably due to the fact that if he tried to move, he would be in a world of pain. He felt strangely philosophical as he stared at the ceiling. It was strange – this atmosphere of peace and quiet. There were no sounds of quarreling or cursing or gunshots or … the list could go on and on. Sanzo realized he could do with more peace and quiet. It was not fun being nearly killed on a weekly basis. He needed a vacation away from those bloody youkai and also from the damned monkey and the kappa. Maybe somewhere sunny-- a remote tropical island where the possibility of rain is less than zero. It would be just him and Hakkai, frolicking under the sun…
His very enjoyable daydream was rudely interrupted by a very loud snore coming from his left. When he had first opened his eyes, he had half-expected Hakkai to be by his side and fussing over him. Sanzo couldn't suppress the twinge of disappointment when his lover was obviously absent. Hakkai had an uncanny ability to discern his state of awareness. He would have known the second Sanzo had awakened and would have called him on it. If Hakkai wasn't by his side, who was it?
Curiosity and the urge to shut that person up forced Sanzo to sit up and look to his left. Hmph… surprise, surprise, the saru was leaning against the back of a chair and was in deep sleep. Goku was probably thinking about unholy amounts of food since there was so much drool. At that moment, the door creaked open and Gojyo entered. The kappa gave a smile and sauntered his way to the monk.
"Bouzu, you awake already? Sensei told us you would probably wake up tomorrow. Only you would be impatient about this kind of thing," Goyjo remarked as he passed a glass of water to Sanzo.
Sanzo decided that he couldn't be bothered to waste his energy to curse him and simply settled on giving the half-breed a death glare.
Gojyo had to admit he was a little surprised by the lack of reaction from the monk. Just a glare? For the first time, he had emerged unscathed from the wrath of Sanzo Houshi Sama. Wow. Hmmm. The bouzu probably needs time to warm up. The redhead stood beside Goku and with a devilish grin, shoved the sleeping saru out of his chair.
The poor kid crashed unceremoniously to the floor and immediately started broadcasting his pain to everyone within a 10-mile radius. Holding his head in consternation he cried out, " Itai! Damn you, can't you see I was sleeping?"
"Baka, you were snoring so loud, even Sanzo woke up a day earlier than he should."
The effect of Gojyo's words on Goku was hilarious. He spun so hard on his heels to see the now awake Sanzo that he nearly fell. "Sanzo!" The gaki exclaimed, his fight against Gojyo forgotten for the moment.
Whatever tranquility Sanzo had experienced before was shattered. The baka saru fired a barrage of questions, " Are you hungry? Do you want anything? How about some siew mai? Or wantan mee? Or pizza?" Sanzo sighed as he began to tune out Goku's annoying chatter. He could feel a headache looming. The monk looked at his hands and thought, I've been in bed far too long, I need to exercise.
With that in mind, he took out his harisen from God knows where and with all the strength he could muster, whacked the noisy duo on their heads. He was satisfied to see both of them stop and look to him in shock. He could easily tell what they were thinking: How can Sanzo have so much strength?!
Before the two started complaining about the pain they felt from the whacking, Sanzo asked the question that had been on his mind the whole morning. "Where's Hakkai?"
His lover should have been here ages ago to rescue him from the two idiots. The fact that he still hasn't made his appearance worried him … slightly. A rush of images came to his mind – blood, blackened clothes, Hakkai with closed eyes. His eyes were closed. Dear God, his eyes were closed!
Gojyo's voice intruded on his thoughts. Sanzo looked up. The kappa was grinning. "Aww. Does Sanzo miss his boyfriend? How sweet." To Sanzo's utter horror, the half-breed made some disgusting kissing sounds.
Sanzo's fingers started to twitch. That was it. Where. Was. His. Gun.
Apparently something in his countenance gave his intentions away because Gojyo held up his hands and tried to placate him. Surprisingly, Goku came to Goyjo's rescue. He explained, " Don't worry Sanzo, Hakkai's fine. The sensei's tending to him in the next room. He was just as badly injured as you but the sensei said he should be awake soon. We can't see him yet though. She promised that we can see him tomorrow if we don't trouble her."
Ch. Tomorrow? Damn it. It seems that he was stuck with these two idiots for the whole day. They made terrible nursemaids. What made things worse was that he can't see his love. Life sucks. The Gods hate him. Sanzo was aware that he was being petulant but he didn't really care. Every part of his body hurt like hell and he had no one to comfort him. The sensei probably told Goku and Gojyo to make sure that he didn't have any beer or cigarettes. Crap. The kappa was right. Hakkai really did spoil me. Oh well.
The healer's apprentice appeared a few minutes later with some medicine and herbal brew. The apprentice, a very assertive young man, gave detailed instructions on which medicine to eat and in what amounts. The instructions were repeated again as he started to inspect and change some of Sanzo's bandages. Looking satisfied with his handiwork, the apprentice made Sanzo finish every drop of the herbal brew.
"You need to rest. You're body's been though a lot." His tone brooked no arguments.
Sanzo winced. He can't believe he was being bossed around by some kid at least four years younger than him. The herbal brew smelled bad and tasted worse. He only drank it in order to see his lover. Hakkai, the things I do for you…
The brew was already making him drowsy and he was dimly aware of hands ushering him back to bed. Before he completely lost touch with the waking world, his ears picked up a sound. It was the sound of birds chirping – a sign of good things to come.
Everything was going to be fine. Hakkai, from what the apprentice reported, was on his way to a full recovery. When everything goes back to normal, the Sanzo ikkou will find out who was behind the ambush. This new threat will be dealt with later – much, much later.
As Genjo Sanzo slept, a small smile graced his face. Life was good.
Later on, When Time Stood Still….
There was an almost breeze in Sanzo's room.
An almost touch. It was a fleeting one.
Fingers ghosting against a cheek, almost lovingly.
Almost.
You can see but you can't touch.
A voice speaks out, soft and melodious, just like an angel. " Are you ready to go Marshall?"
A sigh. Then the answer: "Yes."
Then there was a sad chuckle, too soft to be heard by mortal ears. "Sanzo, I hope you don't kill Goku and Gojyo for this.." {1}
There was the sound of leaves rustling and the two voices disappeared. It was as if they were never there at all.
Author's note: Sorry it took so long to get this part up. ff.net was down for quite a while, no? Anyway, this chapter was meant to be action and angst free. This is the calm before the proverbial storm. By the way, a lot of you guys have more or less guessed what is in store for our heroes. *evil grin * Or maybe you don't? Don't take anything at face value in this fic.
Thank you to all who has reviewed. If I could give you Haagen Daz ice cream, I would.
{1} The comment about Sanzo killing Goku and Gojyo was a suggestion given to me by Kenren19. Arigato!
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