Title: The Life that Wasn't His
Prologue B
Author/pseudonym: NemKess
Fandom: Saiyuki
Pairing: Hakkai/Goku main.... Sanzo/Goku hinted at.
Rating: PG13
Status: WIP
E-mail address for feedback:: nemsmuses@msn.com

Disclaimers: Goku and Hakkai belong to me? I could only wish. Nope, not mine. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is made. This is purely to silence the voices in my head. ^_^


Notes: This just popped into my brain this evening while I was trying to get the Angel to sleep. My spelling of some names/titles could be a little off. Don't stone me for it, please?


Summary: After a serious injury, Hakkai wakes up to find things... a little different than he remembers.
Warnings: Mostly AU. Shonen ai. Het.

~*~*~

Cho Hakkai woke up with a groan. One hand instinctively reached up to gingerly touch the back of his skull where pain radiated.

What...

Gods but his head hurt... He massaged his head for a moment wondering at the intense ache. It took a few moments for memory to kick in and even then, he was a little fuzzy. His last memory was of Goku scolding him for something.... something about.. the shale being too loose?

That's right, Hakkai breathed a sigh of relief. He and Goku had taken a trip to the beach and he'd thought to climb up one of the cliffs overlooking the spot they'd chosen. His companion had been quite cross with his 'stubborn stupidity' as he recalled. Obviously the younger man had been right and he'd been injured. But how long had he been out? And where were they?

Surely Goku wouldn't have allowed him to be taken to a hospital, no matter how upset he'd been. Hakkai hated those places with a passion.

Sanzo knew that though and had never been overly fond of him. Perhaps he'd been injured badly enough that the blonde had been able to convince Goku that it was necessary? Hakkai didn't even question the obviousness of the golden eyed imp calling Sanzo for help. Goku's hero-worship of his cousin was legendary in their town.

Wincing, the brunette tried to get himself propped up on one elbow to take stock of his surroundings but finally gave up and just turned his head from side to side. The bed he lay in was tatty thin, and small. Wherever it was, it definitely wasn't home.

Just then, a familiar face popped around the corner of the door. "You're awake! Hey Sanzo, Gojyo! He's awake!"

With a relieved laugh, the young man entered the room and bounced over to sit on the edge of the bed. He brought one hand up and felt Hakkai's forehead. Warm golden eyes beamed at him. "The doctor Gojyo found says that you have a concussion, but other than that you should be all right. He said we ought to keep you still for a few days, but you know Sanzo. He says we're heading out tomorrow afternoon at the latest whether you're feeling better or not."

Hakkai blinked at the odd words and their rapid fire delivery but pushed it out of his mind for the moment. Right now he was more concerned with other things. He smiled a hooded half smile and reached up to slip one hand behind Goku's neck. "You could always just kiss it better," he replied in a husky voice before pulling the other down into just such a kiss.

The injured man ignored the squawk of surprised protest and the 'what the fucks?' coming from the doorway. Kissing Goku always made him feel better.

For once that wasn't true. Rough hands jerked Goku out of his arms while others pushed Hakkai back onto the bed. He let out of whimper of pain and curled into a fetal position. Oh, that hurt.

When he finally managed to curb the pain down enough so that he could look at the others, he was shocked by what he saw. Goku was leaning against Sanzo looking more like a familiar stranger had taken place of the Goku that he'd come to love so much. He was younger, closer to sixteen, Hakkai guessed. Gone was the long chocolate locks that he'd always loved to run his hands through. Nestled atop his head was a crown of some sort. And the clothes... It definitely wasn't the designer label type thing that Goku's aunt and cousin usually insisted that he wear.

It was the look in his eyes though, that was really different. Bewildered and unsure. Affectionate but not loving. Or, at least, not the kind of love Hakkai was used to seeing in the big golden eyes.

Still shell-shocked by the one-two blow of his lover's altered appearance and the pain, it took a second for the other two to really register in his mind. Sanzo looked more menacing than usual, a small handgun out and pointed steadily at Hakkai's head. The confused man vaguely recognized the cream colored outfit as some kind of priestly garb, but the idea of Goku's bastard of a cousin as a monk was too outrageous to really be considered. The gun didn't surprise him in the least though. Gojyo's clown pants weren't nearly as hard to accept though the huge crescent blade propped against his shoulder gave Hakkai a bit of a pause. The self-professed ladies man was good with his fists for sure, but the brunette had never seen him give any other weapon anymore than a disgusted look.

Feeling very much like he'd stepped into a bad rerun of that American show, The Twilight Zone, Hakkai closed his eyes and counted to ten. But when he opened them again, the strange doppelgangers remained.

The hostile Sanzo and Gojyo had eased Goku a bit more behind them when the blonde cocked the gun. "Who the fuck are you?"

Hands held out instinctively to show they were empty, Hakkai offered an uncertain smile. "Umm.. Cho Gonou Hakkai... but most people just call me Hakkai... Except my sister and uh.. you, actually."

Sanzo only called him Gonou because he knew how much it got under his skin. His parents had called him Gonou, before they'd died, and the nuns in the orphanage. He truly loathed that name.

"Liar, Cho Hakkai doesn't have a sister," the hostile man growled and Hakkai could tell he was about to pull the trigger when Goku stepped around and in between them.

A silent conversation seemed to pass between the pair before Sanzo offered an annoyed 'ch' and put the gun away. He stomped over to the window, his back to the others.

Hakkai could only breath a sigh of relief and offer his savior a soft smile which was hesitantly returned.

"Goku..." The tall redhead was looking between the others and seemed just as confused as Hakkai felt.

"He still smells like Hakkai. Only.. a little different."

The blade at Gojyo's shoulder disappeared and the man sighed. "Different isn't a good thing here, bakasaru."

Two annoyed voices blended together with the same complaint worded only slightly different. "Don't call me/him a saru!"

Only one continued beyond that, though. "He's not some kind of animal and even if he never says it to your face, it hurts his feelings when you call him that." Green eyes glaring frostily at Gojyo, Hakkai didn't notice that all three of the others had turned to stare at him in shock.

Really, he'd spent years trying to get Gojyo and the others to stop calling Goku that and even if this was some strange nightmare, he still wasn't going to let them do it.. None of them realized how very badly their insults of his intelligence hurt Goku. He valued their opinions too much for it not to.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against his knees. Perhaps if he went back to sleep and woke up again, everything would be back to normal? It was odd that he should wake up to this group in the first place. Goku had been expected... But Sanzo and Gojyo? Why would he have a dream where he didn't even have a sister?

Where was Kana?

The uneasy silence that followed his barely voiced question had green eyes opening again to look at them.

Gojyo was the one who dropped down onto the side of the bed and broke the news as gently as he could. "Oi, Hakkai.. if that's who you really are.... Kana is dead. She's been dead for years."

Hakkai was only vaguely aware of strange yet familiar arms catching him as his eyes rolled back and he passed out again.

TBC

Author's Notes
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So, this fic is coming quite easily and quickly so far so I'm going to concentrate on it as much as I can. As you can see, there are two Hakkai's. It's more of a misplaced in the multi-verse type thing than a reincarnation one. Although that's a tempting idea too. ^_^ If things seem a little rushed, that's because the whole thing is basically written in my head and I'm trying to get it written before I lose any of it. Thanks for the reviews! Nice to see some fellow Hakkai/Goku fans out there as well as those not normally into the pairing, but willing to check it out despite that. You guys rock! Later Days! NemKess

Notes to Reviewers
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Nightengale13- ^_^;; I already emailed a response out to yours. Thanks for the long in-depth reviews that you tend to offer. They're great!
Merf- I'm pretty sure that this answers your reincarnation question and the issue of Hakkai's memories. I hope it helps with the confusion part while not dousing the curiosity. SankYuu!
ruishi- concerned? about? ^_^ I wasn't sure about her name. I have the Hong Kong subtitled version and it offers both spellings. Thanks for the correct one though. Hakkai and Goku are such an under-appreciated pairing! I hope you continue to enjoy it.
ChaosDaughter- ^_^ I love Sanzo/Goku for the most part, but I really think that overall I'm coming to prefer this pairing.
Everyone- Thanks for taking the time to review!