8 Months later
"Thanks, man. Catch ya later." The young man said as he stepped off the bus. One hand raised up to wave bye to the driver behind him. Not bothering to look back to see if the gesture was returned, he headed for his small apartment a few blocks down.
Casually walking along, his thoughts wandered. Damn lucky I caught the bus, otherwise I'd had to walk all the way from the bar. And that was something I was in no mood to do. You could say that Sha Gojyo lived on the edge, not only in lifestyle but in location as well. The apartment building he lived in was in a border district. If one walked a few blocks in one direction, you entered the fringe areas of Hyakugan Maoh's Territory. They rarely made it this far but they still claimed ownership. But if you walked a few blocks in the other direction one would find themselves in the outskirts of Gyumaoh's District, not like that was a total surprise considering Gyumaoh owned most of the city. But the narrow line between the two realms remained oddly neutral. And this was one aspect that drew the young man here.
For years he had wandered from city to city searching for a place he belonged. And he didn't know why or how gangs always seemed attracted to him, but they constantly tried to recruit him for one side or another. Not like he would join any gang, he made that decision long ago. Maybe it was his flamboyant I-don't-give-a-damn attitude that lured them. Or perhaps, it was his looks, which he happened to be very proud of. His wild black hair had streaks of red where he bleached and died the stripes in. His wardrobe was loose, comfortable and flattered his thin muscular tone. But his favourite article was his worn leather jacket he sported. At one time it belonged to his older brother, but when he took off after the attack, it was left behind. When Gojyo decided to leave as well, he took it in hopes of returning it to its owner, but that seemed unlikely after a while so he started wearing it himself. And it was because of said jacket that he now found himself walking home solo.
At the little bar he was earning his keep at - not by actual work mind you, but by winning it - he was finding his luck was at a peak. He was just starting another hand that would undoubtedly steal the last bucks his buddy had when a new girl sauntered on over to him. He didn't know her name, who she was, where she came from, and quite possibly couldn't even recognize her again if he needed to, but one side comment fouled his mood enough for him to leave right then and there. 'Isn't that the symbol for the Demon clan? I haven't seen one of those around in a while, were you a member?'
Instead of answering her question, he called it a night and left. In one sense he should thank her, because he was able to catch the last bus that stopped in his area. But on the other hand, the memories it conjured up annoyed him. A night of blood and terror. If he wanted to, he could tell the woman exactly why she hadn't seen any Demons around, it was because their rivals, the Huang Long gang saw fit to slaughter them all. Well mostly, he prayed. He still hadn't found his brother. And even if he wasn't an official member he was a Demon by association.
Jien wasn't home when a few Huang Long had broke into their home, but he did manage to stop them before they could finish the young boy off. Unfortunately he was too late to save their mom - or step-mom rather. Gojyo was a bastard in the literal sense of the word. His real mom died in childbirth and his father decided to take him home. Needless to say, his step-mom was not exactly pleased with the new addition but she tried to deal as best she could. She never showed any emotions to the boy other than her continual depression. There were even times she struck out at the child that reminded her of his father.
You might ask what his father thought about all this, but it would be pointless. The bastard - in the other sense of the word - took off shortly after he got tired of the 'home life.' They never saw him again. Not like it mattered. Jien always took care of him, and he did save him on that horrible night. But even now Gojyo missed him. A 'che' escaped him in response to the memories. Deciding that they weren't worth his trouble anymore he pushed them back to the recesses of his mind and walked on.
All those thoughts and feelings and moments of the past flitted across the landscape of his mind's eye in the blink of an eye. In reality, he had only walked half a block when he banished them. It was at this precise moment a light drizzle started to fall.
He knew a storm was brewing, when he stepped out of the bar flashes lit up the night sky briefly. It rapidly moved in from the time he got on the bus and the time he walked off. All Gojyo knew was he was glad he was so close to home. He was in no mood to get caught by the pending downpour.
Suddenly, just up ahead, he heard a loud rumble. It could have almost been mistaken for thunder if not for the pained moan that followed it. Curious as to the source, Gojyo picked up the pace to reach the opening of an alley. In the dim street light he caught sight of a garbage can that rolled on its side. He knew that that was the cause of the rumble but he still didn't see what had moaned. In a quick flash from the growing storm above, he saw a shadow that resembled a figure leaning against a dumpster.
As he watched, the dark form pushed off and took an awkward step before collapsing against the side again. The impact elicited another pained cry from the figure. Without really knowing why he was bothering with a stranger, Gojyo called out, "Hey man, You ok?" Even as the words left his mouth, his eyes were rolling. It was pretty damned obvious that the guy wasn't ok, but he had asked the stupid question anyway. Despite the distance between them, Gojyo could hear the startled gasp. "It's alright man, I'm not going to hurt you." He took a tentative step forward.
The reaction was abundantly clear that whoever it was, he was extremely frightened. For each step Gojyo took forward, the figure staggered desperately backward. In only a couple of paces, the figure ran out of support and crashed to the ground. One handed he tried to scoot himself away. Quick shallow breaths escaped the shadow.
Gojyo put his hands up in plain view and said, "Stop man, see I don't have anything. Listen, it sounds like you need help, why don't you let me..."
"no!" Rough tenor cut through the night making Gojyo stop once more. Thunder rolled across the sky reminding him that time was growing short. He could feel the droplets increase and gain weight.
"If you are hurt, it would probably be best to get you out of the rain. I'm sure it can't be good for you." Painstakingly slow, he eased himself closer to the young man who was now backed against a wall. "Come on, my place is just around the corner." Crouching beside the silhouette, he started to realize there was a funny smell in the air – and it wasn't the garbage. But when the next lightning bolt illuminated the alley, he knew exactly what it was he smelt. Blood. And there was so much of it.
Unconsciously, he whispered, "Gods." The young man's clothes and face were spattered with the crimson liquid. Without thinking, he said, "Man I think you need a doctor. We should get you to a hospital."
"no," a shaky voice commanded, "no hospital."
"You don't sound too good and I can't see where all that blood came from. We really should get you to where they can..."
"No!" The word punctuated with a surprisingly strong push.
Gojyo fell back on his butt and as he said, "Alright man, you win," a pained cry tore from the other youth. An odd emotion washed over Gojyo. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but it left him feeling rather annoyed that the stranger was so stubborn. Well, I can be stubborn too. Scowling he started to get up, "Fine man, you say 'no hospital' then no hospital, but you are not going to sit out here in the rain and bleed to death when I have something to say about it. You're coming with me and that's final, ya got that?" Regardless of the man's refusal or acceptance, Gojyo was prepared to drag him back to his place anyway. Fortunately, the wounded figure was in too much agony to fight back any more and relented when his saviour yanked him to his feet.
Pulling an arm over his shoulders, Gojyo wrapped one of his arms around the other's waist to support them. The rain started to come down now, not quite an all out downpour yet, but it wouldn't be far off. Gojyo knew they had to move and started for his apartment. With little resistance, they made it to the entrance of his building just as the sky opened up to rinse the world clean.
The hard part was the stairs. The building was old and the landlord never bothered to worry about getting an elevator installed. Normally, he didn't care, but when practically carrying a full other body up them, he now wished for the convenience. Stopping in front of his door, he managed to hold the man up and fumble for his keys at the same time. The interior was dark and it was only his familiarity with the layout that got them safely to the bed in the studio apartment.
Settling his guest on the thin mattress, he quickly dumped his jacket on the back of a chair and turned on the light. "Now let's check out the damage. Hopefully, my first aid kit will be able to handle it." Turning back at the now visible man, Gojyo stopped dead in his tracks. The blood was prevalent on torn garments, but what really stopped him dead was that the stranger couldn't have been older than himself, which happened to be a mere nineteen years of age. In truth the wounded body lying on his bed looked a good deal younger but that was more than likely due to the smooth soft features of his face and thin build.
Recovering from his momentary stupor, he walked over to the bed. "Try to relax, I just want to see where you're hurt." Cautiously, he tugged at wet clothing to locate any cuts that may have caused all the blood. At first it looked as if there wasn't anything too serious but when he pulled the bottom of his shirt up to reveal a large gash in the stomach, he whistled his discovery. "That looks nasty. You'll probably need stitches or something. Sure you don't want to go the hospital?"
And for the first time since he was drug from the alley, the man spoke, "no, no hospitals." As tired and strained as the voice was, it brooked no room for argument.
"Well, I'm no doctor. I'll do my best, but it'll probably hurt - a lot." Smirking, he added, "For your sake, I hope you pass out quickly." He laughed sardonically as he wondered if anything he did would actually help. A shaky hand came up to grasp his shirt. And in the next instant Gojyo couldn't get a breath. The most stunning set of green eyes looked up at him conveying too many emotions for his simple mind to comprehend. And something deep in his soul told him exactly what he needed to say. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I'll keep you safe. Now rest while I fix you up."
Sparkling jaded gems were concealed beneath soft brown lashes, as the stranger finally succumbed to pain and exhaustion. Gojyo silently watched his anonymous patient before going to get a change of clothes, some washcloths and bandages and his meager little first aid kit. All the while he pondered the enigma that walked into his life. But one thing was certain, he would not let any more harm come to the man. He knew exactly what it was like to be lost and alone and he wasn't about to let another soul go through it, even if it was a complete stranger.
So with extra special care, he cleaned the blood away and bound the injuries as best he could before slipping some fresh clothes on the unconscious figure. And when that was all done, he finally changed himself. Not even the least bit upset about loosing his bed, he flopped onto a well-worn couch and drifted off to sleep.
Well, that's interesting, no reviews. Oh well, I'm writing this because I'm having fun anyway. Anyway, if you wouldn't mind and you actually were curious enough to read this, a review would definitely be welcome. And just to make a quick amendment to my previous AN's, I think Goku's more like 16-17. Don't worry, him and Sanzo show up next chap. Well, I guess I'll be back next chap, hope there are some reviews by then. If not, no matter, I'll post anyway. :D Tchüss!