Disclaimer: Minekura Kazuya owns all that is her Saiyuki
Warning: Language, some violence
Notes: ...A long pause in updating. To say the least. I have no good excuse. Feedback is always appreciated though, and thank you for reading up to this point.
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Situation Normal – 4
He felt his head. Was this another trick? He closed his eyes again, trying to regain his focus, and then like a slow steady stream, Sanzo's words entered his thoughts again.
"Hakkai...Hakkai...if you can hear me...don't open your eyes...keep them closed and whatever you hear...just keep them closed..."
"Sanzo?" His voice faltered.
"I'm here. Don't open your eyes."
"Why?"
"It's the only way we can remain in contact. Listen."
And Hakkai stood there, silent in the clearing, eyes closed, listening.
And he could hear...the forest...a bird calling in the distance...and after another minute, he heard soft muttering to his left. It was Goku, talking while he was writing. "...I don't understand."
"And I don't know if I can explain it." Sanzo's voice was steady. "Imagine my surprise when I sit down and meditate, and suddenly, I can hear you all talking to yourselves. Gojou's off his rocker, out there running around in the woods, and from what I can gather from the sounds, is stabbing trees."
"Oh my...And Goku?"
"Goku's another thing altogether. Where I've finally made contact with you. He's made contact with something else. And that something else is evidently running this circus."
"But then how do we stop it?"
Hakkai could almost hear Sanzo shrug. "You can try your ki on it, but I've already tried shooting it with no effect."
"When?"
"Once I finally got a clearer picture of what was going on. I might as well have thrown a fucking rock at it, little good it did. After that, I came back, sat here, and just waited, and tried to gain contact with one of you."
"I'm sorry-"
"Save it. We have to get the others."
Hakkai paused. "But how? Should we trying waiting?"
"I don't think we can afford to. Not at this rate. Gojou's not the only one riding the edge."
"We can't see each other though. We can't touch-"
"Wait." Hakkai paused again at Sanzo's order.
Sanzo, still sitting, began tapping the ground. "We can't touch each other. We can't see each other. But we can see what we do. Your fire. Gojou's cigarettes. Goku with the wall. We all can see that."
"So, objects we can see."
"Better. Objects we can feel. And pass. Quick. Give me something."
"How-" Hakkai turned. Sanzo sounded like he was talking behind him.
"I think I'm behind you. Roll something, anything towards this direction. If what we think is correct, I should see it once it's out of your hands."
Hakkai fished around and found some coins in his pocket. "Okay, I'm rolling a coin over. Towards you." He crouched down and tossed it gently over to where Sanzo seemed to be. He waited but heard nothing. "Sanzo?"
After a few beats, "I got it. I had to break contact to find it."
Hakkai sighed. "So we can touch objects from each other, but I don't know how that will help us. If I threw a coin at Gojou, it would probably get his attention-"
"If you could hit him with your eyes closed. You were off a few feet there."
"Right, if I could hit him at all. But that doesn't solve our problem. He would have to close his eyes-"
"And clear his brain enough to listen. And that's the hard part. Getting them to not just close their eyes, but really listen. I was meditating, and that's how I found it. You must have been focusing your ki, and so I was able to contact you."
Hakkai nodded, and then, remembering that Sanzo wouldn't be able to hear it, voiced his thoughts, "And it looks like Goku is fully involved, and you said Gojou is..."
"Fucking nuts. Keeps mumbling about missing a cigarette, and is lumbering about like an elephant with his scythe. It's almost better that we don't see him." Hakkai heard some rustling. "Ah, dammit," Sanzo muttered. "I left my pack in the jeep."
"Cigarette?" Hakkai, eyes still closed, searched in his pockets until he felt the stick. "I have one here. I found it this morning."
Sanzo was silent for a moment. "...That's it then. When he comes back around, leave it on the ground. Write a message with it. That's probably the best way to reach that kappa."
"Understood. Shall I write it on the wall?"
"No." Sanzo said firmly. "Stay away from the wall. We'll have to save that for later. Write anywhere else, but not the wall."
"I guess the ground will do." Hakkai started to move and then stopped. "I am...I'm going to be breaking contact. I'll be right back."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Hakkai opened his eyes and blinked. The sun was very bright, and focusing his vision, he looked again at the empty clearing.
But not empty. They were all there, together. He involuntarily shivered at the thought. How long would they have gone on, trapped here?
He placed the cigarette on the ground near the center of the clearing in front of the wall and grabbing a stick from the side, drew a small circle around it. Then, slowly and carefully, he wrote out a message in the dirt in front of it.
Gojou, Close your eyes
Hakkai paused and then added.
And count to ten, slowly. And listen. - Hakkai
He stepped back and closed his eyes again. After a few moments, the forest sounds returned.
"Sanzo?"
"I'm here." There was a pause. "He's coming back."
Hakkai listened intently and after a moment, heard the crashing sounds as Gojou made his way through the trees. He definitely sounded...strained.
----
"Let's go to the WEST, he says!"
Well, fuck the West! Fuck the east too! Fuck it all! And fuck these damn fucking trees!
He moved through the forest, scythe out and ahead. One more forward slice and he was past the trees and back in the clearing. His breath felt ragged in his chest, but he kept moving and swinging.
"Save the fucking world, he says!"
Well, fuck that! Fuck the monk! And fuck his world!
"Well, Bouzu, I'll tell you what. YOU can take YOUR world, and shove it up YOUR as--"
Gojou stopped, his scythe held frozen in mid-air above the ground. He stayed there for a second, not moving, as his mind registered first- there's a cigarette on the ground, and second- there's a message next to it, and finally- if he stared at it long enough, he could read it.
----
"Well, fuck me." Gojou's voice had dropped down to a whisper.
"Not bloody likely," Sanzo muttered. "I'm too busy with my world up my as-"
"Shhhhh..." Hakkai stepped towards where Gojou had spoken. "I think he's found it."
There was another pause and Gojou spoke again, his voice low. Hakkai strained to pick up a few words. "...and count to ten...slowly....listen...Hakkai..."
"Hakkai! Are you there! Answer me!" Gojou's voice rang out through the clearing. Hakkai had to bite his lip. He knew calling out was futile, but it hurt to just listen.
"Fine! I'll play your game! See? I closed my eyes. Now, what was it you wanted? Ten? That's pretty steep. How about five? You know how much I like to use my fingers, and only one hand free now since I got my cig back. Five, okay? Well, fuck it. How about three?"
"For fuck's sake, just keep your fucking eyes closed and listen to us!" Hakkai flinched under Sanzo's yell.
"Now, you listen here, Bouzu." Gojou's voice rose. "I don't know who the hell you think you are to be telling me to shut up. Where have you been since yesterday, huh? Tell me that? Sitting on your white ass somewhere drinking all the beer that's left. I PAID FOR SOME OF THAT BEER."
"Gojou-" Hakkai wished he could see him. Intervening was easier in person. He moved towards where he thought Gojou stood.
"This isn't about your fucking beer, you stupid kappa!" Sanzo abandoned all his coolness. "If you just listened you'd figure that part out!"
"Listen to what? There's nothing here to listen too. All that's here is me, and now my one cigarette, and this fucking wall!"
"Idiot! That's the point. Now just-"
Hakkai heard it, the clanking of the chains. Gojou was unwinding his scythe. He rushed forward. "Gojou, wait, listen! It's us. Just stop and-" His words were cut off as he felt a sudden splitting pain in his shoulder. As Gojou's scythe sank in deeper, Hakkai's eyes shot open and his left arm automatically went up to shield himself, but he saw nothing in front of him. He gripped his bleeding shoulder and sank to his knees. Except for his own pained breathing, the clearing was silent, and he was alone.
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Gojou blinked his eyes open as he felt his scythe sink into...something. He stared at his weapon as it appeared to hang in mid-air. He pulled it, stepping back, and it became unstuck. He peered closely at the blade's edge and saw it drip red. He stared at it in horror.
"What the-" He turned. Nothing. Alone. He was alone. But he had not been. Sanzo had been there, and Hakkai-
His hand touched the blade, and he felt the blood on his fingers. "Hakkai..." Hakkai's voice had seemed the closest, but how-
Leaning on the scythe for support, he sank slowly to the ground. His hand felt the dirt beneath him, and not knowing what else to do, he beat the ground. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced around wildly. "I heard you! I heard you! Where the fuck are you? Hakkai! Bouzu!" His gaze fell on the words that were written on the ground, hard to read now that he had scattered the dirt, but still there.
Gojou, close your eyes.
And count to ten. And listen- Hakkai.
He breathed in and out, and let the words and their meaning sink in. Still gripping on to his scythe, he closed his eyes and started to count. At one, he heard nothing but his breath. Four, a bird off to the left, high up. Six, he heard- "Hakkai!"
Silence for a moment, and then, "Yes. I'm here."
"Bouzu?"
"Right here." Gojou didn't turn at Sanzo's voice behind him.
Gojou let out a ragged sigh. "Hakkai, did I..."
"I'm all right, Gojou. It wasn't too deep. Besides," From the sound of his voice, Gojou could easily picture Hakkai's sad smile, "better me than Sanzo."
"He already healed himself." Sanzo answered Gojou's question before he asked. "But I think that's a mistake we can't make again." He heard the monk give a low humorless laugh. "At least now we know that even though we can't see each other, we can still hurt each other."
There was only silence then.
"Gojou...?" Hakkai faltered.
"I'm here," he answered. "I'm not crazy am I? You're really here, right?"
"Well, that's to be debate-"
"We're here," Hakkai interrupted Sanzo. "Listen and we'll explain. We still need to get Goku back. And whatever you do, don't-"
"I gotcha. I gotcha. Keep my eyes closed. I figured that bit out at least."
"Yes," Hakkai said. "You got it."
Sanzo sighed. "Now we just have to reel in Goku from the-" He stopped in mid-sentence and paused.
"Sanzo, what is it?" Gojou realized that Hakkai must have moved since his voice was closer.
"Do you hear that?"
They all stood silent, listening.
"I don't hear anything." Gojou shifted on his feet. "Just the woods and-"
"And us." Hakkai said quietly. "But not Goku."
"Fuck." was all Sanzo said.
------
I remember sky.
That was the last thing the wall had said, and after that, there was nothing. No more of Goku's scrawls or the wall's short questions. Empty. All that was left were the footprints where Goku had stood.
Hakkai rubbed his shoulder without knowing it. The wound was gone on the surface, but the pain was still there, low but steady. That would take some time to heal.
He paused and closed his eyes. They had all taken a moment to look around, and now he had to regain contact. After a few seconds, he could hear Gojou's voice.
"Where the hell is he?"
"I don't know." Hakkai went back to rubbing his shoulder. He was thankful that Gojou couldn't see him. It would only make him feel worse.
"And what the hell does that mean? I remember sky?" Gojou's voice was moving around, left to right. He's pacing again, Hakkai thought.
"Like, here's the saru, writing away," said Gojou on the left. "Then here's this fuckin' wall, writing away back. Whatever that means," said Gojou on the right. "And here we are, stuck. Can't see nuthin'. Can't leave. I can fucking hit you but I can't see you." Gojou on the left, far left, Hakkai noted.
"Now saru's gone and- OW! Fuck!" Hakkai spun to where he heard Gojou's voice, still far left.
"What happened?" He instinctively started to walk over.
There was a pause, and Hakkai stopped, listening. Had Gojou left? But then he heard him mumbling.
"What happened?" he asked again.
Another pause and Gojou swore some more. "I hit a tree."
Hakkai was glad Gojou couldn't see his smile.
"I hate this place."
"Well, remind me to fire our travel agent." Hakkai moved closer. It felt more comfortable to talk that way. .
Gojou snorted, "I can just image that going really well up there. Sorry, all you Gods, but you're all fired."
"You can't do it." Sanzo's voice filtered in. "They're all unionized."
Hakkai turned as Sanzo came back into the conversation. "What do you think happened? Where did he go?"
"He didn't go anywhere," he answered simply.
"What?" Gojou must have stood up. He voice was moving again.
"Like I said. He's here."
"But how do we know?" Hakkai asked. "I don't hear anything, and it doesn't look like he moved from the wall."
Sanzo paused. "I just....know....Like I knew you all were here even when I couldn't see you. He's here, and I'm assuming unconscious. That's why we can't hear him."
"Great, so what do we do?" Gojou asked. "Dance around naked until he wakes up?"
"Do what you like. I, for one, am glad I can't see you."
Hakkai coughed to interrupt. Those two could snap at each other for hours. It was their form of comfort, but it didn't help right now. "So, do we wait?"
Sanzo paused again, then spoke. "No. I think our shot is here, while he's asleep. I'm going to try to contact him. There's a form of meditation that involves dreams, and the sliding of the living into the dreaming."
"Is that some fancy-schmancy Sanzo shit going on?" said Gojou.
"Well," Hakkai could almost hear Sanzo smile as he spoke. "Yes. I think that is the technical term for it."
"And you are going to enter his dream through this?" Hakkai asked.
"That's the plan thus far."
They all paused, lost in thought.
"Well." Sanzo's voice was moving away. "I might be gone for awhile, depending."
"Understood," Hakkai said. "We'll be here."
"Dancing naked," Gojou added.
"Ah, so punish the gods now since you can't fire them."
Gojou snorted. "You know they like it. Why else put four hot guys together if you weren't hoping that someday, somewhere, they'll get naked."
"And dance?" Hakkai chuckled. "This whole journey is making so much more sense now. I'm sure they're disappointed though since we're one short."
"Well, then, let's even the numbers." Sanzo spoke up. "I'm off."
"Good luck."
"Kick his ass back here, Bouzu."
Sanzo paused a moment. "I will."
And then he was gone.
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-tbc