Had to be Fate

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"Sanzo, why the hell didn't we take the car into the city? I'm so damn tired now!" Whined Goku as he and Sanzo had walked to the city and then all the way back to their home. Of course the walk would not be forgotten without the occasional smack from Sanzo as Goku would do or say something stupid which triggered of his already super-annoyed behaviour. Goku didn't know what was up with Sanzo as he lost himself in his thoughts and only smacked him over the head for breaking his thought process. The little monkey stepped into the apartment and moved down the hallway to sprawl out on the couch in the lounge room, thankful that Sanzo had remembered to turn on the fan before they went out.

"Because monkey, I felt like walking." Sanzo replied as he kicked the door closed with his foot and headed into the open kitchen, which was joined with the lounge, and living area and began making himself a strong cup of coffee.

"Hey Sanzo, can we go back to that restaurant sometime? Those meat buns were the best I've ever had and we might even see that nice man again." Goku rambled while flicking through television channels. Sanzo frowned at Goku's words, knowing the monkey said that everytime he ate meat buns and shook his head while concentrating on pouring coffee into the mug and not on the kitchen counter. He dumped in one sugar and stirred while listening to Goku ramble on about the food and what dishes he'd try next time and whether the nice "Mister" would buy him more meat buns and so on.

"Will you shut up monkey!" Sanzo yelled while turning away from the boy as he headed down the hallway and towards his study with coffee in hand.

"And don't you even think about annoying me!" He snapped before slamming the door shut.

"What's his problem?" Goku mumbled but shrugged his shoulders as this was normal Sanzo to him and then switched off the television. There wasn't anything good on anyway and so he headed into the small backyard to see if the neighbours were home.

# Outside… #

"Oniichan no baka!" Screamed a high pitched voice which grabbed Goku's attention. He easily climbed the large tree in the small backyard and looked over the high fence to see a girl with orange hair glaring at a taller man with long red hair.

"Ah, Lirin-chan!" Goku yelled and watched two pairs of eyes focus on him as he jumped from the tree branch to their side of the fence. He gave a wide grin and a wave and was instantly glomped by the hyperactive girl.

"Goku can come with me since you won't oniichan." Lirin voiced happily while Goku blinked his golden eyes confusedly at Lirin's older brother.

"And oniichan should give us money for meat buns and for upsetting Lirin-chan." She also added while breaking from Goku and folding her arms under her breasts while pouting at her older sibling.

"Take it and leave before I change my mind." The money was instantly snatched from an outstretched hand as Lirin dragged a dazed Goku out of the backyard, through their apartment and obviously towards the closest park and food store. He shook his head knowing he had great difficulty trying to resist Lirin's pout and sighed before picking up the chair she had kicked over in one of her childish rants.

"I owe you a beer for that Kougaiji." Snapping his head up, Kougaiji turned to see Sanzo peering over the fence at him. Sanzo always had his study window open and because it faced his neighbour's house he could hear whatever argument was going on. When he heard the commotion and heard the monkey's name he'd come out to see one of the annoying brats pulling the other annoying brat through the house.

"For what?" Came the deep almost annoyed voice of Kougaiji. He and Sanzo had never really seen eye to eye, but both couldn't help the fact that his sister and Sanzo's…well pet seemed a good word at times…were in fact really good friends.

"Allowing that little brat sister of yours out of the house and taking the monkey while she was at it too."

"Don't worry he'll be back sure enough to cause you grief." Frowning deeply and narrowing his eyes at Kougaiji's response Sanzo snorted before mumbling a reply and headed back inside.

"For that you get no beer."

# Inside Sanzo's Study #

Sanzo was now back at his desk and glaring at the blank screen of his laptop. His fingers had hovered over the keypad and yet nothing would spring to mind. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair while unbuttoning his black shirt. He really needed to get the air-conditioning fixed in this place as the warm weather was starting to kick in again. Not only that he truly needed to clear his mind of every thought possible to be able to start writing once more. Snapping his eyes open and sitting up properly in his chair, amethyst eyes blinked grew wide as he stared at the reflection on his computer screen.

"No!" He mumbled to himself while shutting his eyes and then reopening them to see…nothing on the screen except a plain black background. Sanzo cursed profusely, rising from his seat and headed for the bathroom to take a long shower.

What he had seen disturbed his usual rational state of mind. He had seen a reflection…a reflection of a smiling face. That smiling face belonged to that emerald-eyed stranger from the restaurant who he had a run in for mere minutes and yet his appearance, his voice and mainly his eyes and slight smile were not engraved into his mind. For what purpose Sanzo did not know, but it sure was pissing him off.

"Che!" Remarked Sanzo as he entered the bathroom and turned on the hot and cold taps and adjusted them to the right temperature that he liked. Stripping himself of his usual black shirt and blue jeans ensemble he stepped under the shower nozzle. He stood with his head bowed and scorching water running down his skin. Golden bangs plastered to his reddened face while longer strands brushed the back of his neck and shoulders.

"Stupid bastard, just what the hell was with that look anyway?" Sanzo muttered to himself before shaking his head, streams of water hit the fogged glass and tiles of the shower stall as he did so.

'…I'm just glad you weren't hurt.'

"Leave me the hell alone!" Sanzo shouted before turning off the taps and stepping out of the shower. He fixed a towel around his waist before hearing a timid knock on the door.

"What do you want?"

"Ano Sanzo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." It was a definite answer, which required no further talking on that particular issue. There was silence as Sanzo glared at the door, just waiting for Goku to pester him some more while feeling the now chilled water droplets stream down his slender figure.

"Oh, well I borrowed money from Lirin-chan and got you some curry rice for dinner. I told her we'd pay her back sometime tomorrow." Sanzo was surprised the monkey had not back chatted him. Perhaps he was finally beginning to learn something.

"Just leave it in the kitchen." Sanzo remarked while wiping the condensation from the small mirror above the vanity unit with his hand.

"Okay…" Sanzo peered his eyes back at the door, looking over his shoulder as he knew the little monkey had not moved away from it yet.

"Goku…" It was weird saying his real name. Sanzo couldn't even remember when he had spoken it the last time.

"Um…yeah?" The boy replied quietly from outside the door.

"Go to bed soon, you start school again tomorrow."

"Alright…" Hearing the boys faint footsteps move down the hallway towards the kitchen and then back again towards his own room across from the bathroom Sanzo waited for Goku's door to close before stepping outside. He headed towards his own room across from his study and dumped the towel on the unmade queen-size bed. He slipped into a pair of loose black slacks, pulling on the draw strings to tighten them around his narrow hips and then placed on a deep blue long sleeved shirt.

Sanzo moved out of his bedroom and glanced at the screensaver as his laptop was still on and behind that saver he knew there was a blank document opened up. He made a small 'che' noise before heading into the lounge room and turned the television on. He placed it on a news channel and then walked barefoot into the kitchen to get the curry rice. He took off the lid, noticing it was still steaming hot and knew it was the curry he always ate from the small deli down the road. Goku had a good memory when it came to food.

Plonking himself back down onto his soft couch he watched the news, ate the curry, drank a beer and smoked a few cigarettes. That was his nightly ritual. Send the monkey off to bed and then he sat up to all hours of the morning raking in all the news he had missed during the holidays as he had Goku around more and more to pester him during the day over the Christmas break. Now he was thankful that the school semester was kicking back in as of tomorrow morning.

# The next morning – 7am #

"Sanzo? Sanzo!" Snapping his amethyst eyes open, Sanzo noticed that Goku was shaking him awake as he had fallen asleep on the couch with an astray full of cigarettes and a few empty cans of beer sitting on the coffee table.

"Are you driving me to school? Cause if you are we gotta go in like 15 minutes." Brushing Goku's hand off his shoulder Sanzo got up and stumbled slightly towards his bedroom. It wasn't long before he was dressed in a light blue button down shirt and black jeans and topped it off with a pair of sneakers.

"Well come on monkey lets get moving."

"You don't want coffee first?" Goku asked in sheer surprise because Sanzo never missed drinking a coffee every morning when he woke up.

"I've got places to go this morning and I'll grab one when I feel like it. Now move your butt monkey."

"Okay, okay, geez what's eating you this morning?"

"Nothing, now move it." Sanzo ordered and pushed Goku out the front door. While Sanzo locked the door he watched Goku head for the car.

The scruffy haired boy looked like he had just rolled out of bed and straight into his clothes. He was dressed in baggy black shorts, an untucked white shirt and a very loose tie and an old pair of sneakers. It was the school uniform he had to wear – minus the sneakers – but the boy never wore it properly and Sanzo never cared if he did either.

Sanzo had in fact been called numerous times about Goku's daily appearance and his reply had made the principal and vice principal sweatdrop. After that he'd never been called back about his attire as the matter had instantly been dropped. Now however phone calls these days were more or less about his grades and general attitude. Like Sanzo really cared just as long as the boy was out of his hair for most of the day. He listened to Goku grumble quietly while getting into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut on the black car.

"If you don't pick up your grades this semester, I'm kicking your ass monkey." Sanzo spoke while placing on his seat belt. So maybe he cared just a little bit for the fact it was his money sending Goku to school.

"What the hell is wrong with my grades?" Goku retorted back before receiving a smack over the head.

"I received 18 phone calls last semester from the vice principal. If I receive one more phone call about you ditching class, failing tests or picking fights with other students you will soon be a dead monkey. Have I made myself clear?"

"Its not like I start it Sanzo. Those students call me a freak and the only one that's nice to me is Lirin-chan cause she has weird eye colour as well. Its not like I had a choice, I was just born with them is all." Sanzo turned his head to glance at Goku as they waited for a traffic light to turn green. He was fuming in the passenger seat, arms folded and crinkling his white shirt even more then what it already was. Sighing in slight exasperation Sanzo dropped one hand from the steering wheel and placed it on Goku's head.

"Just don't send them to hospital this time. I don't want to have to pay for any more hospital bills." Golden eyes blinked over at Sanzo, watching as his guardian placed his hand back on the wheel as they turned a corner. Goku smiled happily at the remark and nodded his head.

Minutes of silence passed by before the car slowed down as Sanzo pulled up at the kerb.

"Don't worry about picking me up after school these days. I told Lirin-chan I'd start walking home with her today." Goku spoke while grabbing his backpack, got out of the car and slammed the door closed. Pressing the button to wind down the electric window, Sanzo pulled his black shades away from his amethyst orbs before calling the boy back to the driver's side.

"Yeah what is it?" Goku wondered before observing as Sanzo brought out his wallet, opened it up and gave him some money.

"Don't even get any ideas brat. It's payment for Lirin buying that curry and your meat buns last night." Goku's happy smile faded at that and he mumbled his own little 'che' noise before scrapping his sneakers along the concrete pathway heading inside towards the main school building. He had thought Sanzo was giving him money for meat buns and knew he couldn't keep the cash for himself, as Sanzo would end up asking Lirin if she received the payment back…and if she didn't he'd receive a bump bigger then he'd ever had before on his head.

# Hours ticket by… #

A cool breeze moved through the cemetery as Sanzo made his way towards the one person who now lay here that had ever cared for him. It wasn't long before his legs brought him to a plaque, his eyes reading the name written on it:

Komyo Sanzo

"Another year has passed already." Sanzo muttered to no one as he knelt by the plaque and brushed away dead leaves. His frown had deepened remembering when he received the call of his death. It had been late…really late that night and it was raining heavily too.

"Sometimes it feels like yesterday I received the call of your death." This was the only place he could freely speak his mind without anyone over hearing or interrupting him.

"I remember your words, a week before you had died. You had said I looked bored and needed enlightenment into my life. I think…I took those words too seriously. I found a child in need of help like you helped me when I was alone and lost, but now I know I picked wrong. He's such a pain in my ass, but I guess I could never throw him away. Though he is tough on the outside, his heart is weak. Like yours and mine I believe. Yesterday, I found another…another who wept within their eyes, but showed nothing on the outside. Though it was for a short moment, that moment has now made me wonder if I'll see him again. I felt…he was like me in a way." The shrill ring of his cell phone interrupted Sanzo's reminiscing.

"Moshi, Moshi…" His eyes narrowed, knowing the voice on the other end off by heart.

"I'll be right there." Hanging up Sanzo bowed to the grave and then jogged out of the cemetery. "Stupid damn monkey." He cursed while getting into his car and sped off back to the school. School was over for the day, hours whizzing by as he did nothing but travel for the cemetery and stand at that grave, contemplating n whether to voice a thing or not. This is what had been bothering him most of all. It was the anniversary of Komyo Sanzo's death. It appeared Goku was again in trouble, but this did not surprise Sanzo in the least?

# Tokyo Private High School #

Stepping down the corridor Sanzo had walked down numerous times he headed straight for the administration area knowing the principal or vice principal was waiting for him. Just before he was about to knock on the door a voice caught his ears.

"Konnichiwa Sanzo-san." Turning his head he watched the short podgy vice principal walk towards him.

"Please come this way, one of Goku's teachers wishes to speak to you." Frowning at this Sanzo quietly followed the short man before stopping in front of a closed door, he's eyes glancing down at the slouching boy on a bench seat beside it. Goku dared not look up into those narrowed eyes and continued to eye the floor. He knew he was going to get a huge lecture and a few smacks on the head when he got home.

"I'll leave you to it." Watching the balding man head off, Sanzo pulled the door across and turned around to close it behind him, not even looking over at the teacher just yet. He slowly took of his sunglasses and placed them in the 'V' neck lining of his shirt.

"What is it, what's he done this time?" He remarked while turning around. Sanzo was not looking forward to speaking with one of Goku's teacher's. He knew he'd receive a lecture from the teacher about his poor "parenting" skills and then he'd zone out thinking of what he should write about next.

"Oh, how strange, we meet again." Snapping his amethyst eyes up, Sanzo glued them onto the slouching figure leaning against the teacher's desk. The man was dressed in a pair of tan trousers, an untucked white shirt and a loose tie. There was no mistaking that gentle voice as Sanzo's eyes widened to confirm who Goku's new teacher was. The brunette's hair was slightly ruffled with thick bangs covering most of his right eye and he still held that same smile from yesterday, but Sanzo for the life of him could not utter a single word as he continued to stare into those sparking emerald eyes from the restaurant.

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TBC…

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Authors Notes: I'm sorry it took so long to be uploaded, but due to being banned for over a week at ff.net, I had to wait…as did others. So I'm sorry…