Author's Notes: Merry Christmas, everyone! I have finally posted up the 3rd
chapter of this story (Gomen, I'm a very bad updater.) Not much going on in
this chapter, but it builds up the foundation for the real excitement,
which is going to take place in the next chapter....._* You know the
drill, R & R, see you guys real soon.
P.S: Bad Faith has struck again by changing her user name. She is now known as Evanescence.
* * * *
"Ne, Hakkai, are you going shopping? I'm coming with you!" Goku chibified and tugged at Hakkai's shirt sleeve, flashing a pair of impossibly enormous golden puppy eyes at him.
Gojyo snorted as he lit his 8th cigarette for the day. "Stupid monkey, you just had lunch." He exhaled in a leisurely manner, watching as the smoke wafted over to Goku. The latter coughed, waving his hand around to clear the air. Then he rounded furiously on Gojyo.
"I'm not a monkey!"
"Denial won't do you any good...monkey!"
"Red cockroach!" Goku lunged at Gojyo, knocking the latter's shoulder. The cigarette was knocked out of his grasp.
"Baka zaru, you're going to pay for that!" And they were off and running.
Hakkai cleared his throat and tried in vain to intervene. "Uh, it's not good to fight right after lunch, you know..." He gave up as Goku's shoe went flying past his face. Sighing, he turned to Sanzo, the usual "peacemaker" on occasions like this. To his surprise, Sanzo didn't even seem to notice what was happening.
"Sanzo, are you alright? You don't look well," Hakkai remarked. Hakuryu squealed in agreement. Sanzo's face looked paler and possibly droopier than usual. Beads of sweat dotted his face excessively, and when Hakkai looked more carefully, he could see that Sanzo's hands were shaking slightly. "Sanzo?" Hakkai prodded tentatively.
Sanzo grunted something indistinct and shook his head. Yet Hakkai could see that even that movement required considerable effort. Upon seeing this, Goku untangled himself from Gojyo's death grip and peered into Sanzo's face.
"Hey, Sanzo, you look sick. Maybe you should sit down for a while. Or we could go to an inn where you could rest. Hakkai could fix you a drink..." Goku's efforts to comfort the monk were clumsy yet so touching in a way that Hakkai smiled. Even the corners of Gojyo's mouth turned up slightly.
The smiles were instantly wiped off their faces when the unmistakable folds of Sanzo's infamous paper fan materialized out of nowhere and landed squarely on Goku's head. Goku clutched his head, howling as he fell facedown onto the ground. "Itai," he moaned, glaring into the dirt.
Sanzo made an impatient sound, then straightened his robes and turned around -
And walked straight into a wall.
Goku's eyes widened to the size of Hakuryu's jeep tyres. Hakkai made to steady Sanzo, but the monk stubbornly resisted, stumbling back and moving away from the rest of them. "Go to the nearest inn," he mumbled.
"What about you?" Gojyo thought it very likely that Sanzo might walk into a pond and not even notice, judging by his bizzare condition right now.
"I'm just going for a short walk," Sanzo answered shortly.
Goku opened to say something but was silenced by Gojyo's warning look.
Hakkai, ever the understanding person, merely nodded. "We'll see you back at the inn, then," he said cheerfully, starting off in the other direction with Gojyo and Goku in tow.
"Do you think he drank too much?" Gojyo wondered.
"You drank as much as he did," Hakkai reminded him. "I'm sure he'll be okay - although I've never seen him like that before."
"If he were reasonable, he'd take my advice and find a pretty woman and get laid."
"Laid?" Goku piped up. His eyes clouded with confusion.
"You're too young, monkey. Maybe one day when you're older."
"I'm more than 500 years old! I'm older than *all* of you!"
"Ne, do I look shorter than you?!"
"Guys," Hakkai said reproachfully. He could understand why Sanzo wanted to be alone - what with all the arguing, *he* was starting to get a headache.
* * * *
If Zenon had never felt complete astonishment after this, he was feeling it now. This situation felt so surreal, he wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. As it was he was pinned down by his master's weight - not to mention his lips. *I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay.* Zenon was sure his face displayed all signs of a chicken about to be slaughtered.
Just as he was wondering whether he preferred to be grilled or fried, he was brought back to reality by the parting of Homura's face from his own. To his surprise, Homura looked somewhat disgusted, suspicious and dissatisfied, all at the same time. *The guy makes a move on me and HE'S the one who gets all offended?Hello, harassed god here....*
Zenon's train of thought broke off as the reason for Homura's disgust came clear. The latter had lifted up his hand - and in it he clutched a blond wig.
*Oh, crap.* Zenon attempted his most innocent smile. *Good thing we had those Smiling Is Caring sessions at the Kindergarten For Godlings."
Unfortunately, as Zenon should have known, Homura was no fruitcake and the fighting god angrily threw the wig down, muttering obscenities as he stood up. Daze, Zenon watched his master perforn a clean sweep of the room before announcing, "Genjo Sanzo...he's not here."
*Good statement of the obvious, boss.* "Uh...no, he's not."
He wished he hadn't said anything, because Homura's eyes landed on him. "Do you know where he is?"
"I....no." Then, as Homura advanced menacingly towards him, Zenon hastily added, "In town, maybe. One of the towns. Can't be too far."
"Hmmph." Homura eyed him for a few seconds, then turned around, his cloak swishing perfectly behind him. "Genjo Sanzo....I won't rest until I find him," was all he said before vanishing.
Before Zenon could even begin to comprehend what his master had meant by that statement, he was alerted by the sound of shifting rubble somewhere behind him.
"Well, that was entertaining," Shien commented in an amused tone.
"Yeah, so entertaining you had to hide behind rubble to witness it," Zeon snapped.
"He really thought you were Sanzo, didn't he? He's gone off his rocker. Why is he looking for Sanzo?"
That reminded Zenon of something. "There is another upside..."
"What?"
"I never realized it before...but damn, that god can really kiss..."
"What?!"
* * * *
"Damnit!" Sanzo cursed as he stumbled on the hem of his robes for the umpteenth time. He groped the back of the wall in the dark alley he had sought refuge in, trying to keep stable. He was sure someone had spiked his drink on purpose. It didn't seem like something Homura would have done, he wasn't that cheap. He was sure Kougaiji had better things to do too. *Why me? Why not the stupid monkey?*
Wearily, Sanzo blinked and peered at the dirty wall in front of him. *Hmmm. The patterns there look like the frills on Shien's underwear.*
Without realizing it, he let out a sharp, shrill giggle that resounded down the alley.
Sanzo stopped, stunned. His face turned bright red, and he was thankful that he was alone. *Get a hold of yourself. You're on the verge of becoming drunk! Stop, damnit!*
"Happy, aren't we?"
Sanzo sucked in a breath of air. Even though his eyesight was bleary and he had a majoy headache, that didn't stop him from recognising that quiet, calm voice.
Homura was standing ten feet away from him.
P.S: Bad Faith has struck again by changing her user name. She is now known as Evanescence.
* * * *
"Ne, Hakkai, are you going shopping? I'm coming with you!" Goku chibified and tugged at Hakkai's shirt sleeve, flashing a pair of impossibly enormous golden puppy eyes at him.
Gojyo snorted as he lit his 8th cigarette for the day. "Stupid monkey, you just had lunch." He exhaled in a leisurely manner, watching as the smoke wafted over to Goku. The latter coughed, waving his hand around to clear the air. Then he rounded furiously on Gojyo.
"I'm not a monkey!"
"Denial won't do you any good...monkey!"
"Red cockroach!" Goku lunged at Gojyo, knocking the latter's shoulder. The cigarette was knocked out of his grasp.
"Baka zaru, you're going to pay for that!" And they were off and running.
Hakkai cleared his throat and tried in vain to intervene. "Uh, it's not good to fight right after lunch, you know..." He gave up as Goku's shoe went flying past his face. Sighing, he turned to Sanzo, the usual "peacemaker" on occasions like this. To his surprise, Sanzo didn't even seem to notice what was happening.
"Sanzo, are you alright? You don't look well," Hakkai remarked. Hakuryu squealed in agreement. Sanzo's face looked paler and possibly droopier than usual. Beads of sweat dotted his face excessively, and when Hakkai looked more carefully, he could see that Sanzo's hands were shaking slightly. "Sanzo?" Hakkai prodded tentatively.
Sanzo grunted something indistinct and shook his head. Yet Hakkai could see that even that movement required considerable effort. Upon seeing this, Goku untangled himself from Gojyo's death grip and peered into Sanzo's face.
"Hey, Sanzo, you look sick. Maybe you should sit down for a while. Or we could go to an inn where you could rest. Hakkai could fix you a drink..." Goku's efforts to comfort the monk were clumsy yet so touching in a way that Hakkai smiled. Even the corners of Gojyo's mouth turned up slightly.
The smiles were instantly wiped off their faces when the unmistakable folds of Sanzo's infamous paper fan materialized out of nowhere and landed squarely on Goku's head. Goku clutched his head, howling as he fell facedown onto the ground. "Itai," he moaned, glaring into the dirt.
Sanzo made an impatient sound, then straightened his robes and turned around -
And walked straight into a wall.
Goku's eyes widened to the size of Hakuryu's jeep tyres. Hakkai made to steady Sanzo, but the monk stubbornly resisted, stumbling back and moving away from the rest of them. "Go to the nearest inn," he mumbled.
"What about you?" Gojyo thought it very likely that Sanzo might walk into a pond and not even notice, judging by his bizzare condition right now.
"I'm just going for a short walk," Sanzo answered shortly.
Goku opened to say something but was silenced by Gojyo's warning look.
Hakkai, ever the understanding person, merely nodded. "We'll see you back at the inn, then," he said cheerfully, starting off in the other direction with Gojyo and Goku in tow.
"Do you think he drank too much?" Gojyo wondered.
"You drank as much as he did," Hakkai reminded him. "I'm sure he'll be okay - although I've never seen him like that before."
"If he were reasonable, he'd take my advice and find a pretty woman and get laid."
"Laid?" Goku piped up. His eyes clouded with confusion.
"You're too young, monkey. Maybe one day when you're older."
"I'm more than 500 years old! I'm older than *all* of you!"
"Ne, do I look shorter than you?!"
"Guys," Hakkai said reproachfully. He could understand why Sanzo wanted to be alone - what with all the arguing, *he* was starting to get a headache.
* * * *
If Zenon had never felt complete astonishment after this, he was feeling it now. This situation felt so surreal, he wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. As it was he was pinned down by his master's weight - not to mention his lips. *I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay.* Zenon was sure his face displayed all signs of a chicken about to be slaughtered.
Just as he was wondering whether he preferred to be grilled or fried, he was brought back to reality by the parting of Homura's face from his own. To his surprise, Homura looked somewhat disgusted, suspicious and dissatisfied, all at the same time. *The guy makes a move on me and HE'S the one who gets all offended?Hello, harassed god here....*
Zenon's train of thought broke off as the reason for Homura's disgust came clear. The latter had lifted up his hand - and in it he clutched a blond wig.
*Oh, crap.* Zenon attempted his most innocent smile. *Good thing we had those Smiling Is Caring sessions at the Kindergarten For Godlings."
Unfortunately, as Zenon should have known, Homura was no fruitcake and the fighting god angrily threw the wig down, muttering obscenities as he stood up. Daze, Zenon watched his master perforn a clean sweep of the room before announcing, "Genjo Sanzo...he's not here."
*Good statement of the obvious, boss.* "Uh...no, he's not."
He wished he hadn't said anything, because Homura's eyes landed on him. "Do you know where he is?"
"I....no." Then, as Homura advanced menacingly towards him, Zenon hastily added, "In town, maybe. One of the towns. Can't be too far."
"Hmmph." Homura eyed him for a few seconds, then turned around, his cloak swishing perfectly behind him. "Genjo Sanzo....I won't rest until I find him," was all he said before vanishing.
Before Zenon could even begin to comprehend what his master had meant by that statement, he was alerted by the sound of shifting rubble somewhere behind him.
"Well, that was entertaining," Shien commented in an amused tone.
"Yeah, so entertaining you had to hide behind rubble to witness it," Zeon snapped.
"He really thought you were Sanzo, didn't he? He's gone off his rocker. Why is he looking for Sanzo?"
That reminded Zenon of something. "There is another upside..."
"What?"
"I never realized it before...but damn, that god can really kiss..."
"What?!"
* * * *
"Damnit!" Sanzo cursed as he stumbled on the hem of his robes for the umpteenth time. He groped the back of the wall in the dark alley he had sought refuge in, trying to keep stable. He was sure someone had spiked his drink on purpose. It didn't seem like something Homura would have done, he wasn't that cheap. He was sure Kougaiji had better things to do too. *Why me? Why not the stupid monkey?*
Wearily, Sanzo blinked and peered at the dirty wall in front of him. *Hmmm. The patterns there look like the frills on Shien's underwear.*
Without realizing it, he let out a sharp, shrill giggle that resounded down the alley.
Sanzo stopped, stunned. His face turned bright red, and he was thankful that he was alone. *Get a hold of yourself. You're on the verge of becoming drunk! Stop, damnit!*
"Happy, aren't we?"
Sanzo sucked in a breath of air. Even though his eyesight was bleary and he had a majoy headache, that didn't stop him from recognising that quiet, calm voice.
Homura was standing ten feet away from him.