Sanzo's eyes slipped open when the peel of his alarm clock finally became to annoying to stand any longer. He'd been sleeping deeply, caught in a pleasant dream that was already starting to sleep away from him. He'd known the truth the moment he'd heard Goku's voice, but it still surprised him when another night went by without the plea's. His sleep certainly hadn't been without dreams, but since actually meeting the youth, the calling had ceased.
Had their spirits been calling to each other? Could it be something as strange as that? As a man who had lived his life absorbing facts, something so celestial seemed impossible. But he couldn't deny the utter contentment he found himself in. His studies just seemed to flow into his mind and stay there, his essays and compositions slipping from his hand without second thought. Things were exactly as they had been before, except for one big exception.
They had gone out three times now, all within one week. Twice to dinner, once to a movie. He'd never thought he could enjoy someone's company so much. Goku was fun, so energetic and bright. He had a quippy mouth, which spilled out whatever happened to be on his mind. Although the brunette embarrassed himself on occasion, Sanzo found it endearing. Goku couldn't lie if he had to, and despite the fact he hadn't had what most people would consider a normal education, he brought up many interesting, or at least amusing, topics. He did skirt around his childhood, but Sanzo knew better than to keep asking questions to someone who was probably still feeling the pain of his parents passing.
They always set up their next meeting before parting, working with their different schedules, and Sanzo found himself looking forward to them like a kid days before his birthday.
How could a simple smile affect him so much? Sanzo had never imagined himself longing for the sound of someone's laughter, had never thought he could miss someone just after a few hours of not being together.
He'd never thought he would want to kiss someone so badly.
Sanzo had never been someone who wanted physical contact. He hugged his mother, of course, but it would hurt her feelings if he didn't. He had people he joked around with in school, but was not close to any of them. Certainly not enough to want to hug them. He'd had a crush when he was in junior high, one he'd never acted upon, but he'd never thought about kissing.
He wasn't a mutant, he did have the thoughts that one would expect in any red-blooded man. He'd just never had the desire to act upon them before.
Now, he wondered what Goku's reaction would be if he placed his arm around Goku's shoulders while they walked. Or slipped his hand into other's warm grasp. What would Goku's hair feel like if he gave into the desire to run his fingers through the untamed locks? What would Goku's lips feel like, if he worked up to nerve to actually press his own against them? What would Goku's skin feel like, if he -
Sanzo pushed the thought aside quickly and forced himself to out of bed. He was going to be late if he just laid there, wondering. Besides, it would only be their fourth date tonight. He had to tell his hormones to take a back seat for now. Things would come in time, as they were meant to, and he didn't want to try to do something that Goku might not be comfortable with. As open as the youth was about most things, he still seemed a bit awkward around Sanzo at moments, as though he wasn't sure what to say or do. He would wait until Goku was more sure of himself and, truthfully, he was too.
It didn't take long for him to shower and dress, and not long after Sanzo was on the familiar street that would take him to the cafe. He stopped in every morning now, taking in every moment with the other that he could. If his mother knew about this, she'd be shocked in the chance in him. It as though a load had been taking off his shoulders, and Sanzo found himself looking forward to each day more than he had before, smiling and even laughing more often than he could remember. His life, in such a short time, seemed to of reached a perfect balance. If he wasn't living it, he would hardly believe it.
The moment that smile fell upon him, Sanzo felt something lift within him. It was the same remarkable feeling every time.
"So, are you ready for tonight?" he asked, a teasing smile on his lips.
"I'm looking forward to it. I don't think I've actually been to the zoo before. I've seen the animals on TV, but it's not the same. This will be fun."
"Well, I'll have to meet you there, because I'm getting my final assignment today and I'll need to head to the library after classes."
"No problem, I can catch the bus."
"All right, see you then."
They shared a parting smile, and Sanzo headed on his way. Really, he should remember to get Goku's phone number one of these times. Those few moments they were allowed while Goku poured his coffee were just not long enough.
"Each of you have been given your own case, although you are free to work together if you wish. Each of them have occurred in Japan, at one time or another, and all of them are unsolved to this day. I want you to go through them very carefully, gather all the information you can from in those files and wherever else, and create a composition on your findings. I want a detailed rundown of the case, your thoughts and opinions, as well whom you think is the most likely guilty party. Once you've established that, I want you to build up a defense case for that person whether you believe them innocent or not, one that you would bring into the courtroom with you if you were to actually be that person's attorney. Remember, this makes up thirty percent of your overall mark."
Sanzo frowned thoughtfully as he opened the unmarked folder. It was a cold case, over a year old now, and there was quite a bit of paperwork for it. A murder, he was surprised to see. He'd been given one that would of been quite a high profile at it's time, as all murders were. It'd also happened in Tokyo, which would definitely be to his advantage. There was more likely to be information in the library, with old newspapers and such, than should it of taken place someplace else.
Sanzo set about skimming through the information. There had only been one witness who could remember what happened, a waitress that had been outside taking a smoke break. She'd seen two young men arguing in front of the movie theater across the street. Not just yelling, but pushing each other. The conversation, she couldn't remember, but she did remember the bigger boy pulling the shorter one into an alley not long after.
There had been about two-three minutes of silence, then two screams. Different sounding, one like an animal, the other one of pain. Then the smaller boy emerged from the alleyway and ran off before the waitress could get back into the store and call the police.
The victim was Yamakura Mazaki, age 18. He was in his final year of high school, and had a pretty good average all around. He was involved with three different clubs at his school, and had a trove of friends. All of whom said that the thought of Yamakura being in a fight shocked them, he was always cheerful and easy-going around them.
Yamakura had been dating a male, around the same age as himself, for only a couple weeks before this had happened. However, he rarely talked about his personal life, and so none of his acquaintances could remember the name of his boyfriend. None of them had met him either, although one girl remembered seeing him with a brunette at a fast food restaurant once. She hadn't approached them. She had given the police a similar description as the waitress.
The waitresses description was of a short, Japanese male, with messy brown hair. He'd been wearing black jeans and a yellow shirt, but she was too far away to make out any more details. The cashier at the movie theater remembered only the additional fact that the boy was about 5'5" tall, and had brown-hazel eyes.
Whomever the boyfriend had been, he didn't go to Yamakura's school. Months of questioning lead nowhere, the police had been unable to find out which school the boy attended, if any. They were also unable to find out a name or anything else. Finger prints and DNA collected were useless without something to compare them with. The case had died not soon after, written off as unsolvable without more information.
Sanzo found one part of the case especially disturbing. Yamakura's body had been found with his chest gouged and his face nearly gone. The coroner's report said that, if he hadn't known about the circumstances, he would of thought that Yamakura had been attacked by some kind of animal. The wounds couldn't of been done with human hands, although what could of done them were only guesses. And it seemed unlikely that any person, especially a teenager, could of had the strength to wield such injuries.
No wonder the case had gone cold, Sanzo thought. It was highly unlikely that he could solve this. However, it did appear rather obvious that the boyfriend had been the killer. Creating a defense for someone who could do such a thing would not be easy.
Well, he wasn't surprised. This was his final big assignment, after all. Picking up his pen, Sanzo set about searching for points that would work as a defense. He had two months to prove whether or not this mysterious young man had actually killed his lover.